~ Darkstalker's POV ~

Three months later

Ugh. He peered out the window, his massive head brushing the top of the windowsill. Birds were singing, and the sun was shining. It was a perfect cloudless day, one of the ones where the breeze begged you to spread your wings and fly.

Exactly the same as every day.

The only thing that hinted that something was wrong were the dark shapes.
In the garden, in the halls, and along the pathways. They were scattered, almost carelessly, throughout the palace.

The NightWings' dark, smooth scales had once been shiny, but now, especially for ones in the garden, were dusty now.

Darkstalker decided that it was a day where he would go flying. He stepped back from the window and turned, his gigantic talons clicking on the smooth floor.

CRUNCH.

"Again?" He sighed.

Darkstalker moved his back talon out of the way and bent down to the source of the snap. He muttered something to the dark shape on the floor. Darkstalker then swept out of the room, his tail swishing.

Behind him, the small shape of Fierceteeth lay on the floor, her wing curled closer to her dusty body than it had been.

No one, not even she, would know that her wing had just been broken and healed.

•  •  •

The winds whipped Darkstalker's snout.

Nothing had changed, or even happened in these past few months, and he was getting bored. After all, there was only so many caves to explore on Pyrrhia. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he was  looking for some sign that Clearsight was still alive.

Darkstalker believed that this was a good idea, because all his ideas were good ones, but maybe this one was a little less good than his other ones.

Ugh. Now he was doubting himself.

There was a strong gust of wind. Darkstalker huffed, and decided he would go spelunking again. He knew there were a few caves along the southern edge of the Rain Kingdom that he hadn't explored yet.

He sealed his thoughts in a wave, like he did with voices. Darkstalker then shoved them into the back of his mind and focused on the coastline sailing along far beneath him. He was getting close.

After a few minutes of scanning the dark outlines of the rocks against the ocean, he spotted the huge fallen tree that marked the spot that he had left off last time he had visited.