Spiraling through the air, the little dragon curled into a tight ball and prepared for the worst. His eyes closed tightly and his talons clasped around each other close to his chest.

The whistling air around him seemed to slow and change in direction at a moments notice, now moving across him instead of up him, and as he opened his eyes, he found himself in the talons of another dragon.

Fearing the same outcome as the moments prior, he attempted to wriggle free, earning a sharp noise from the dragon above him.

The two dragons declined towards the ground slowly, towards the trees below which offered shelter from the piercing wind that had crept into the whelp's very bones.

The leaves and branches slashed out at him at they sunk below the canopy of the forest, and to the soft, mossy ground below.

Placing Tempest on the earth below them, the large dragon pointed off into the forest, indicating where to go, and before saying anything, flew off into the air with a rapid movement of his wings.

Turning towards the trees in which he had motioned, the whelp began to limp off, the vines seeming to shift to aid his movements through the dense brush.

Not thinking of this however, he continued to trek onward, blood dripping from his open wounds, filling the air around him thick with the scent of iron.

The blood dripping from him left a violet trail as he carried onward, shuffling through the overgrowth ahead of him, towards the distant sounds of rushing water.

A piercing shriek filled the air some distance behind him, freezing him in his tracks. In his fear he turned back towards the sound of water and darted towards it, forgetting to himself that he was injured.

The quick and irrational movements made the blood run faster from his now fully-open wounds as he stepped over leaves that now shattered as he set foot upon them.

A loud crashing was now audible behind him, as another shriek sounded out, much closer now. Fearing being found by whatever was making it, Tempest backed into a small hole in the ground displacing the foxes which called it home.

The larger of the two foxes darted off in complete terror, leaving a tiny one completely lost in the small clearing outside their home.

The crashing of a large creature barreling through the underbrush came to a halt as a medium-sized dragon slid across some of the hardened leaves as he attempted to slow down.

Looking around feverishly with maddened eyes he spotted the small fox-kit and lashed out in rage, knocking it into a tree with a small thud.

From his place of hiding Tempest let out a low growl, slinking slowly from the hole in an attempt to help the small and fragile kit.

In a swift movement he placed himself between the dragon and the kit, blood still dripping from his wounds, but now boiling as they hit the ground below him.

Taking a step back, the larger dragon had a look of terror and of confusion, mumbling to himself.

"It's you.... I WILL ####### you!

He spoke and lunged quickly at the whelp.

Tempest braced himself for the impact, but felt nothing as the dragon stopped very suddenly, his eyes again wide with fear.

Hearing the kit cry out once more, Tempest took a step foreward, now feeling an extreme warmth growing around him.

A soft glow was exuded from his scales, and his once dull orange eye now flared fiercely. He let out another low growl, before taking another step towards the large dragon.

The beast, in one swift motion turned away, crashing off through the brush back the way he came.

Hopeful that he would not return, Tempest shot a glance at the kit, who was unconscious, but still breathing, and began walking the way he was pointed.

Eventually he came upon a stream, and wading into a shallow portion, felt his wounds stiffen up.

The water had caused the blood to harden to the gashes, forming solid masses of blood. Sensing more trouble if he stayed, he hurried across the stream towards a new sound, one of bustling and movement.

They pushed through a dense spot of brush into a large clearing, before collapsing due to a rush of foreign thoughts pounding in their head.

"Who is that?"

"Where did he come from?"

"He looks hurt, someone help him!"

"Sleep now.... We will speak more when you wake."

The last though echoed through his mind as he fell out of consciousness, a different feeling, as if they were standing beside him, instead of yelling towards him.

Tempest woke many hours later, not remembering the events of the night prior, and feeling a glowing warmth from nearby.

Blinking the blurriness from his eyes he raised his head, finding himself staring at an ice-white dragon, laying a few tail-lengths away.

The dragon seemed familiar, but this did not stop Tempest from freezing up in fear, tensing almost every muscle he could feel.

Tempest tried to stand, but could not raise himself upon his own legs. It was as if they were not his own.

Falling over from this attempt caused an audible thump as he fell onto the leaves that had been placed around the woven mat he was sleeping on.

He suddenly heard another thought that was not his own.

"Is he finally up...?"

As if on cue with the question, the white dragon stood up, and using a set of clicks, moved towards the whelp slowly.

"Hello.... Tempest was it...? Could you make some sort of noise... so I know you are awake, and that I'm not talking to the air?"

Feeling the stone underneath his talons as he laid still, quivering, he mustered up the courage to squeak softly, barely loud enough to be audible.

"Ah, thank you." The large dragon said quietly.

"I apologize if I seem intimidating, but after you collapsed in the clearing, someone had to help you."

A thought came as he finished speaking. "Not that anyone else in this forsaken village would have helped him."

Tempest looked around as the large dragon mumbled to himself, slowly realizing that he knew this cave, and the dragon in it.

"Ah! I'm dreadfully sorry." Boomed the white beast, "I forgot that you don't know my name, you can call me Ethrox."

He sat a short distance from Tempest and resumed mumbling under his breath.

Looking around again, Tempest spotted four smaller caves in the back of the large cavern, three of which sat empty.

The fourth had it's blinds drawn, and he could feel more thoughts, thoughts of screaming and terror flooding from the small cave.

Forcing himself to his feet successfully this time, he crept slowly towards the small concealed cave, the thoughts becoming stronger with each step.

Tempest stretched his talons out, and taking the blinds in his claws, pulled them slowly to the side.

Within the cave laid a vibrant blue dragon, their wings the color of ice, while most of their body was a deeper blue, dotted and with intricate lighter blue designs covering every aspect of them.

Placing his open talons on the other whelp's arm, he immediately felt the awful thoughts begin to dissipate, leaving behind a soothing calm in its wake.

The other whelp began to stir, raising their head until it was level with Tempest's own, before blinking their eyes open.

A look of confusion and fear crossed their snout before it faded into a softer look.

Their mind however was now racing with terrified thoughts.

"Who is this, and why are they so close?"

"Another one of Ethrox's supposed Prophecy?"

Tempest took a step back, running into Ethrox, who, much to Tempest's surprise, had been sitting behind him for the duration of the scene.

"Ah, I see now that you've met Tidepool, good, good."

Looking in the direction of the Blue whelp he motioned for her to stand, which she then did.

"Tidepool, this is Tempest, the other dragonette that I had mentioned."

She tilted her head slightly, looking towards Tempest and inspecting his face.

"There is something off..... I can't seem to tell what it is though...."

She looked back and forth between Ethrox and Tempest for a short while, before shooting her talon up in exclamation.

"Oh! His eye! The orange one! It's dull just like yours Ethrox!

The large dragon seemed taken aback by this, mumbling to himself.

"No... this can't be....... Can't control...."

He paused in his mumbles and looked in the direction of Tempest.

"I want you to do something for me now Tempest, close your left eye for me and try walking around."

Tempest did as he was told, closing his eye. Doing so plunged him into darkness, and he stumbled around cautiously.

"Tide, tell me what is happening."

"He's just blundering around, kind of like you when you....." Realization dawned on her suddenly, as she blurted out, "Oh moons..... He's blind in his right eye..... That's awful!"

Ethrox let out a heavy sigh, his mind racing with hundreds of thoughts that Tempest could not understand.

Tidepool however had one persistent thought running through her mind.

"How will he save us all if he can't see....?"

"Tempest." Ethrox said suddenly, making the whelp jump, "I want you to answer something for me. Nod or something to Tide if yes, shake your head if no."

Tempest waited patiently for Ethrox to speak again, hearing many thoughts whisk by as he sat thinking.

"Tempest.... Have you ever experienced anything weird....? Water not behaving correctly when around you.... Extreme bursts of heat or cold...." He trailed off.

Tempest paused, thinking back to all the times before where he had fallen or waded into water and felt it cling to him, or when his wounds had solidified.

He turned to Tidepool and nodded quickly, a relieved look crossing her face as she responded to Ethrox.

"Yes, it seems he has."

Ethrox exuded a sigh of relief, before asking another question.

"Did you start the fire in the woods last night....?"

Tempest reeled backwards, becoming dizzy suddenly and hearing a new thought in his head.

"Do not let them know you can use the flame, not yet."

Tempest tried thinking back to them, still swaying on his feet.

"But..... they seem nice.... Why not...?"

The voice in his head paused, before he heard it again.

"Do not be as trusting to them as you think you can be, I do not wish for you to be used by them yet, for your safety, please, listen to me."

Feeling a tap on his shoulder he blinked, seeing that Tidepool was right infront of him.

"S-sorry..... No...." He said quietly, looking to the stone floor between his talons.

"He spoke.... He spoke!?" Raced in her mind as she looked to Ethrox for his response.

"It seems our little dragonette is becoming more vocal...." He said with a kind grin, looking in the direction of the self-conscious and worried Tempest.

"Tidepool" He spoke again, "I want you to explain to Tempest why he is here... and please try not to scare him off...."

Tidepool roller her eyes, looking over to Tempest and motioning for him to follow her to her little cave.

He sat close to the wall opposite of her, and looking around the small hovel he noticed a few scrolls hung on short racks on the walls.

"These scrolls were made by a friend of Ethrox a long time ago.... Nobody knows what ever happened to him.... But I still think he's hiding in secret...."

Her mind raced with questions about Tempest, but he didn't dare answer any of them in fear of saying something that could get him in trouble.

"So Tempest, I want to know now that he's gone, did you really start that fire?"

Tempest paused, expecting to hear a warning from the mysterious voice in his head, but there was nothing but silence.

Tidepool sighed, before sticking out her talons towards Tempest.

"Listen, if I show you something he doesn't know about, will you tell me?"

Tempest nodded with little hesitation, instead watching her talons with curiosity.

"Okay.... Here it goes."

Tidepool took a deep breath before closing her eyes. Her talons began to emit a cyan glow, and she suddenly grabbed Tempest's wing and held her talons over the small tear.

When she pulled her hand back, the tear had mysteriously vanished, leaving nothing to even signal it still being there.

"Now," She said huffing "I want you to tell me the truth...."

He looked at the ground beneath his talons, and to the small straw mat she sat on, and very quietly spoke.

"I did.... I think..... I don't remember much.... There was another dragon.... He hurt a fox.... And I just got so mad that...."

He trailed off, closing his eyes and beginning to tear up a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed the topic, I didn't know it was sensitive...."

His tears began to freeze, falling to the ground like little gemstones before him.

"Oh moons, I didn't know it worked like that, Tempest, I'm sorry."

She spoke softly, sitting beside him and wrapping her tail around his to try and comfort him.

"I didn't mean to.... I just didn't want the kit to die...." He paused briefly before continuing. "I don't know how it happened.... I felt a pain in my eye.... And then it all got much warmer...."

Tidepool mumbled to herself quietly, many thoughts running through her head.

Tempest felt his tears and breathing beginning to return to normal. Tidepool also noticed this and began to ponder a question to herself.

"Do his emotions affect how it works?"

She sat up taller and looked towards him, wondering how to ask the thing she was thinking.

Without realizing it, Tempest spoke. "Yes, I was angry at the dragon who hurt him.... I didn't want him getting hurt because of me...."

Her bewildered thoughts and expression told him what he had done, and in absolute terror he fled to the farthest cave from hers in a mad dash, slamming the blinds shut behind him.

"How did he.... I didn't even ask...." He heard her think as he sat, burying himself in the moss that lined the edge of the cave, feeling safety and solace in it's dampness and the darkness it brought.

After sitting alone in near silence for what felt like an eternity, he heard a new voice in his head, growing louder and louder.

"I can't wait! Ethrox said there is a new dragonette here! What if they are talkative, or if they are really kind!"

Tempest braced himself, hearing the thoughts of Tidepool fade as the other voice grew louder. Suddenly the new voice was thinking about Tidepool, wondering why she seemed so lost in thought.

"Tide, are you okay? What happened? Is the new dragonette here? Are they nice?"

"Oh, sorry Ember... yea, they are here, but I think they are sleeping, they claimed the empty den as their own...."

Tempest felt Ember's hopes fall a little, wishing she had come a little sooner to meet him.

"Ember, you talk to the other dragons a lot, right?"

"Huh?" Ember exclaimed, "Of course! They all treat me so nicely, even though all they say about Ethrox...."

"Do any of them answer questions before you ask them?"

"Well." Ember paused. "Not that I remember, why?"

Tidepool's mind kept racing with the same question over and over, before responding.

"Just curious, that's all."

Tempest heard Ember's thoughts get a little louder as she walked towards the cave he had ran into.

"Are you awake....?" He heard her whisper quietly through the blind behind him.

He laid very still, not wanting to make any more mistakes on his first day in this new place.

Ember sighed, her thoughts expressing a twinge of sadness as she went to her own den beside his, and laid down.

Tempest waited until he could hear nothing but the snores of the other two whelps before he risked peering out of the little den he had claimed.

It was now dark outside and he wanted to explore this new area a little on his own.

He crept along the cavern wall, careful to not make any noise that would wake either of the two dragonettes behind him.

As he neared the door he heard another set of thoughts off in the distance, thoughts of loneliness and fatigue.

Curiosity pulled him towards this creature, and towards a small waterfall sticking out from the side of a nearby hill.

"I don't want to go back to that place.... They always want me to show them what I can do.... But i'm not powerful.... I just have a stupid power...."

The thoughts were clear, albeit pushed around by others of guilt and disappointment.

He noticed a small hole in the wall near the base of the waterfall, and crawling through it spotted a dull purple glow emanating from further in.

Listening to the thoughts of this creature, and becoming lost in the glow that he was following, he began to not muffle his movements, much to the alarm of the creature ahead.

Poking his head out the end of the small tunnel, he looked around, hearing a flurry of loud thoughts, but seeing nothing in the cavern ahead but glowing violet gemstones lining the walls.

"How did he find this place? Can he see me? Nobody knows I can do this, I hope I can escape."

Tempest paused in the tunnel for a second, before tapping three times on the stone floor gently, a soft click ringing out for each one.

"Should I tap back?" The voice thought.

Tempest heard three taps from the back corner of the cave, before more silence and worried thoughts.

"What if he's one of the bad dragons Ethrox warned us about....? I shouldn't have done that!"

Tempest crept out of the tunnel in the least threatening way he could, trying to spot the dragon which was thinking these things.

He looked around cautiously, before clicking three more times to try and signal that he was nice.

Silence.

No clicking returned to him. He sat at the entrance to the tunnel for a moment and blocked out the dragon's thoughts as best he could, before mustering the courage to talk.

"I'm not.... Going to hurt you...."

His whisper echoed softly around the hollow cavity, before he spotted a small dragonette in the corner opposite of him.

The dragonette was black, her wings the color of the clear night sky, a galaxy of soft blue and purple, mixed with three slashes of silver and countless speckles, like crescent moons and stars spaced on her wings.

Her eyes were a bright bronzed yellow, shining like the morning sun in summer, and as she stepped out from the shadows, Tempest heard her think:

"I shouldn't be doing this, but he said he's nice, and he looks different.... Like me....."

Tempest stood still, before a sharp pain rang through his ears like a spike being shoved into his skull, and he collapsed, hearing the mysterious voice once more before he fell under.

"I will help you as I can, but only if you listen, we will speak again once you wake, sweet dreams!"

He spotted the dragonette as he fell, her name echoing through her thoughts as she rushed towards him in alarm, interrupting her thoughts of an introduction.

"Hi.... I'm Everest.... Wait, what is happening? Why is he falling? No! Not now!"