"I see." Condor said quietly, his head hanging low and his black wings drooping. "So that's what's happened." Avalanche had her wings draped over his shoulder, Condor's hazel eyes clouded with shock.

       "Three moons, what did you even see in her to begin with?!" Corona asked, albeit rather tactlessly.

       The gentle SkyWing shook his head and swung his head around to face Corona, although he was visibly squinting. "She wasn't always like this," he said. "When I met her, she was like a normal dragon, although she was ambitious, brash, and strong-willed. Although I have to admit," he paused. "She was always rather poor at hearing the word 'no' and always complained when things didn't go her way." He explained.

       "In hindsight, we probably should've seen it coming." Flashover said weakly. The other SkyWing's heads bowed in disappointment and regret. It seemed as though it wasn't only Kite they were saddened by.

       "Yeah. I guess we should've." Ore finally said.

       Combustion and Charcoal dragged themselves to Ore's side. "But would anything have changed if we did? Would she have listened to us?" Combustion posed.

       One-Eye straightened his wings slightly. "Maybe if I had scolded her more when she was a dragonet instead of letting her behavior slide so much, things would have been different." He said, ruefully.

       Corona shifted her ebony gaze towards the ground awkwardly. "Sorry I asked." She apologized quietly.

       Condor padded up to the small SandWing and put a claw on her shoulder. "It's alright, no need to apologize." He reassured her.

       Tsunami shook off her wings impatiently. "Well, there's no point in wondering what you could've done. How about you worry about what you can do now." She said.

       "Yeah, Kite needs you now. The best you can do is go save him!" Sunny cried, stamping her foot passionately.

       "We'll help you." Clay said.

       Glory whipped her head around at him, red and green flaring through the brown guise of her shifting scales. "No way. We can't waste any more time. We need to leave as soon as possible. In fact, we should have left already." She hissed in disagreement.

       Sunny gawked at Glory. "But we can't just leave them." She said pitifully.

       "No." Glow finally said, staying quiet this whole time and ignoring the fluttering of her chest. "Glory's right. You've been here long enough, and if you stay here any longer, I don't doubt that Burn will catch you." She said. "And right now, she's the last dragon you want to have their claws on you."

       Clay stepped forward and stood level with Glow. "But, what about you? Are you sure you can handle this on your own? I mean, with your, um –" He said.

       Glow ran her forked tongue over where her teeth used to be and suddenly felt the absence of remaining flesh on her right ear.

       She nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not alone. And besides, from the sky, we'll just look like another squadron. You look very distinct." She explained.

       "But –" Clay interjected.

       "You five are number one on Burn's hit list. The longer you're out here, the more danger you'll be in." Clay still looked unsure. Glow smiled at her and shoved his shoulder playfully. "Come on. I survived Burn, and a whole NightWing battalion. I can survive a tiny rescue mission. Trust me."

       Clay smiled and dipped his head reluctantly at her. "Okay, but come get us if it's still too much for you to handle." He looked towards the river. It looked like a torch just lit up in his head and he turned towards his fellow dragonets of destiny. "Since that's the case, I have an idea." Clay said somewhat reluctantly. "But you're not going to like it."

       "Oh, good," Glory said. "My favourite kind of plan." Glow and Corona couldn't help but snicker a tad.

       Clay extended a talon towards the river. "We could swim to the delta."

       Glory's face shriveled up like she just swallowed forty lemons at once. Her claws rippled from the camouflage of brown to pale blue and back.

       "I'm not a very good swimmer." Sunny said anxiously. "But I guess I could try."

       Corona chuckled. "Don't worry, Sunny. Neither am I."

       "Guess it's a SandWing thing." She said cheerfully. Something about the interaction between them made Glow feel slightly queasy.

       "They'll see us from the air." Tsunami pointed out.

       "Not Glory." Clay defended. "She can camouflage herself in the river. And if she rides on your back, she'll hide you, too."

       Both Tsunami and Glory looked less than thrilled at the mere suggestion.

       "Then we roll Sunny in mud and put her on my back," Clay went on, while Glow was thinking about how adorable a mud-covered Sunny would look on top of a big MudWing. "I'll stick to the shallows, and from the sky we should look like part of the riverbed."

       Peril jumped in. "I'll wait till you're gone and then fly off in a different direction. Maybe I can lead them away for a while. It's not like they can touch me or do anything to me, once you're safe." She glanced quickly towards Clay, and then away again. I swear you need to get your feelings sorted out. Suddenly she thought quickly of Sunny and her heart started racing again. Then again, I'm not really any better.

       "All right, it's our best shot." Tsunami said and slid into the river with Glory. "Let's do it, then, and quickly."

       Clay turned towards Peril. "Are you sure?" He asked her. "What if Burn takes her anger out on you?"

       Avalanche glared towards her. "If that were possible, I'd wish for that." She said callously.

       Glow mentally hissed at Avalanche's mean-spirited remark and turned back towards Peril and Clay. Was that really necessary? "Besides, I think Burn would be angrier at me, considering." Glow reminded. Somehow Burn being angry at Glow gave her an immense smug satisfaction. The feeling of getting under Burn's scales made her feel strong, like she was in power.

       "She does have a point." Evenstar piped up, listening intently to everyone else.

       Peril gazed at Glow's ear and smiled ever so slightly at her. "And how would she even be able to, exactly?" Peril asked. "There's only one good thing about me, and it's that no dragon can hurt me. Except you, I guess." Her golden shimmering wings wavered.

       Clay gingerly took her talons in his, his eyes radiating kindness. "That's not the only good thing about you, Peril." He twined his tail around hers and wrapped his large amber wings around her in a hug.

       Peril leaned into his shoulder. "You make me hope that's true." She said plainly.

       "Clay, we have to go." Tsunami called.

       Clay pulled away from Peril, and she stepped back, touching her talons where they had touched him. "And he's not the only one who believes that, Peril." Glow added. "We're all willing to take you in." Peril turned to her SkyWing friend and smiled. "But when you're ready, we're here to help."

       Peril dipped her head at her in respect and sighed. "Thank you. So much, Glow." She said. "You've been a better friend to me than I ever deserved."

       "Be careful, all right?" Clay said.

       Peril nodded. "When you end the war, come back and visit me."

       Sunny lay down in the mud, letting Clay cover her scales, Glow feeling faint at the sight. She trusts him so much. I mean, I do too, but. She thought, with just a flare of jealousy. Her beautiful radiant golden scales disappeared under the thick layer of brown mud. He made absolutely sure to submerge her tail and pack mud in-between the spines along her back. As soon as he was done, Sunny didn't look like Sunny anymore, but she certainly didn't look like a MudWing.

       "I feel all heavy and goopy." She said, but she still looked like she didn't really weigh anything. She crawled onto Clay's back, clutching tightly onto his spiny ridges. He lifted her quite easily, and began sliding towards the lake.

       Suddenly, Sunny stopped him. "Wait a second, Clay!" He did as she asked, and looked up at her confused. She turned towards Glow, and the curious glint in her deep mossy-green eyes made Glow's heart skip a beat. "I never got your name!" She said, seemingly addressing Glow specifically.

       "O-oh! Me? W-well, I, um – w-well, my name i – I mean, I a-am – I mean!" Glow stuttered, kicking herself for sounding so clueless in front of object of her affections before her.

       "Sorry, you'll have to excuse her." Corona pardoned on Glow's behalf, making Glow flare with irritation. Corona turned back at her with a cheeky grin on her light face. "She's not exactly eloquent when she's put on the spot like this." Glow felt embarrassment and anger surge up inside her. I'm seriously about to toss you into the sun in about two seconds, you cheeky sarcastic lizard! "Her name's Glow, and I'm Corona, in case I haven't already introduced myself." She finished.

       Sunny smiled, trying not to hide a giggle. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Glow, and Corona. Thanks for everything." She said cheerfully.

       Glow was fighting back the urge to allow her body to tremble under the weight of being appreciated by her crush. "Y-yeah, no problem, S-Sunny." She stammered.

       "I hope I'll get to see you again." Sunny wished.

       Glow stared directly into her green-eyes with her own amber ones. "Yeah. Me too." She said simply.

       Clay and Sunny slipped into the river and were floating on the water. Glory's wings spread and mostly hid Tsunami well, despite little bits of wings and tail sticking out. It probably wouldn't be enough to spot them from the sky.

       Sunny turned back to address Peril this time. "Thank you for helping us." She said.

       "After betraying us first." Tsunami muttered. Glory shoved her head back into the water, earning a silent thank you from Glow.

       "Good luck." Peril said.

       "You too." Clay replied. "Bye, Peril."

       Clay slid into the lake and they headed off down the river. Glow noticed that Peril's blue eyes were trailing across the horizon, locked on Clay and his friends. Their exchange earlier gave Glow some much-needed hope for her. Clay's a good influence on her. If she can learn to live a normal life after growing up under Scarlet, then I think she'll be alright. She was relieved to see Peril's eyes as hopeful as she felt. They bring out the best in each other.

       As they disappeared over the horizon, Peril sighed heavily. "Well, I should get going right about now." She said. She started walking away from the group, underneath Avalanches sharp gaze, the grass beneath her smoldering into ashes. "Good luck on your rescue mission. I hope Kite will be alright." She said.

       Frigga and Evenstar looked surprised. "Are you not coming with us to at least save him?" She asked uncertainly.

       Peril shrugged. "I think I've had enough of killing dragons. At least for a really long while." She answered nonchalantly. Glow could understand that.

       "Hey!" Corona said, before Peril could fly away. "Before you go, I just want you to know something." Peril looked at her curiously. "If you ever want to talk to someone who knows what you've gone through – I mean, someone who's grown up with someone like Scarlet – we have a forge on the east side of the mountains down south and a forge on the Bay of a Thousand Scales." Glow couldn't help but smile at her best friend. "If you want to talk to someone who knows what that's like, you can come find us. I'm your friend too, and not many dragons can really say 'I know what that's like.' So, just know you have someone to talk to if you need it."

       Peril paused, surprised by Corona's offer. She nodded. "I will. Thanks." She said.

       As she started walking away, a burning question in Glow's mind was overwhelming her and she ran towards Peril before she could fly away. "Wait!" Peril turned around, not sure how to react to so many dragons stopping her. "Before you leave, I want to know one thing." She whispered. Peril looked anxious, not sure if she wanted to answer her question. "Is it true? That Scarlet is my mother?" She asked her.

       Peril looked away, clearly not wanting to answer her question. Her silence spoke volumes to Glow and she felt her body grow cold and numb as shame clouded her mind over. "So, it is true." She said flatly. She felt like she wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. She wanted to curl up somewhere and hope everyone who knew her forgot her over time. She didn't want to exist in that moment, and regretted everything she had ever done, both good and bad. She regretted even being saved by Frigga. She just wanted to fade out of existence forever and not be remembered by anyone.

       "That's why I wanted you to leave." Peril said, snapping Glow out of her growing dark thoughts. "All of Scarlet's heirs have been killed. Her three sisters, and eleven of her daughters. Ruby's the only one left. And you being the SkyWing of destiny would have instantly gotten you killed." Peril shook her head. "Or worse."

       Glow stretched herself out, trying to get feeling to return to her body. "It wasn't your fault." She started.

       "She didn't give me a choice, I know I know." Peril stopped her. "I'm just trying to get used to the whole 'it's not actually my fault' reality."

       Glow smiled. "Just remember that your talons are not only for destruction." She reminded. She pointed to her ear, torn by Burn and healed by the smoking SkyWing beside her. "I'm living proof of that."

       Peril flinched, looking at her talons differently. She looked back at Glow, sympathy in her blue eyes. "Don't let the fact that Scarlet's your mother get to you. You're nothing like her. You're way more than she'll ever be." Peril reassured. That's exactly what Glow was worried about. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

       "Thank you, Peril." She said. Peril nodded. "Good luck."

       "You too." She responded. She prepared to take off into the air, when Glow suddenly interrupted her.

       "And Peril?" The copper SkyWing tilted her snout, her blazing blue eyes glittering in the sunlight. "Stay blazing." Glow said with a wink and a cheeky toothy grin.

       Peril looked dumbfounded and took off with a smile, leading some of the SandWings and SkyWings in the sky away from the group.

       Glow walked back to the group and saw Corona bound up to her. Suddenly she felt a strong wave of embarrassment and irritation rise up in her. "Well, you finally talked to her." She said teasingly.

       "I'm seriously going to trade you for a pear." She responded angrily.

       "Since when do you like pears?" She asked mockingly.

       "SINCE NOW!" She retorted irritably. "And since pears are way more appealing than you are right now."

       "Ap-peel-ing?" Corona joked, much to Glow's frustration.

       Glow stared at her, her eyes like daggers and talons hiding her exasperated expression. "I actually hate you so much right now." She grumbled.

       "You know you love me." Corona said, her voice smooth and slick.

       Glow felt a wave of embarrassment and she began getting flustered. "That's beside the point." She hissed.

       Corona's face lit up in mock shock and genuine amusement. "So you admit it – you do love m –" Before Corona could finish her sentence, Glow interrupted her.

       "ANYWAYS!" She interrupted, earning a smug smile from Corona. Stupid SandWing. She didn't want to confirm her allegations, but for some reason she didn't feel right about denying them. She already felt incredibly confused and didn't appreciate Corona flustering her further. Besides, they had a much more important matter at hand at the moment. "What's our plan?" She asked her group.

       One-Eye was the first to answer. "Well, if I know Cinnabar, she has a cave just a little up north where she used to go all the time." He said. "That's probably where she's keeping Kite."

       Corona nodded. "Then we head out immediately." She said quickly.

       "Hold on, Corona." Evenstar said. Corona looked at him suspiciously. "It's not unreasonable to assume that both Cinnabar and Kite are guarded. We need to be cautious."

       "The little NightWing's right." Combustion added. "Cinnabar is anything but dumb. She probably knows that you'll come looking for Kite, and in case you find her, she'll be prepared."

       "How prepared?" Glow asked.

       "At least a dozen SkyWing soldiers." Ore answered.

       "She's always wanted to make sure things went her way." Charcoal added.

       "Then we depart immediately, and save my apprentice." Frigga said.

       "No. We'll save Kite. You and Evenstar stay here until we come back with Kite." Glow ordered the IceWing.

       Frigga looked appalled and Evenstar looked scared. "But! He'll need me there!" He begged.

       "You'll be here to greet him when we return with him." Glow retorted.

       Frigga stepped forward. "But, are you certain that you will be able to handle it? You've suffered enough." She asked.

       "No! I'm tired of being helpless. I'm tired of just sitting by while other dragons get hurt because of me." Glow cried. "Kite was captured because I was reckless, but I won't let him suffer because of it. This is my responsibility and I have to own up to it and fix it."

       Frigga was shocked, not certain how to reply to her apprentice. Corona pushed in between them and bowed her head. "Besides, right now, it's too dangerous for both an IceWing and a NightWing to be flying around right now. You'll be instantly recognized. Without the two of you, we'll just look like another SkyWing squadron." Corona explained.

       "You can look after the stuff we brought back until we get back." Combustion suggested.

       Charcoal piped up. "Oh! By the way, Vermilion gave us some scrolls. He said that we should give them back to you if we see you. Said they were yours and that they were really important." She explained.

       Glow's mind chimed instantly. Zinc's scrolls! She rushed into the back of the cave and rummaged through their supplies, and sure enough, there they were. In perfect condition, no less. They're safe. Vermilion really came through for me!

       She emerged from the cave and Condor was standing tall. "If you're leaving right away, then I want to join you."

       Avalanche gripped his shoulder. "Are you sure?" She asked.

       "He's my son. I have to save him." He said firmly.

       Avalanche nodded. "Then I'll join you." She said.

       Condor shook his head. "No, you need to go back to the Talons and tell them you lost me." He urged her.

       Avalanche dipped her head. "If it were my son, I would do anything to help him. I'm not letting you do this without me, especially if you're not going back to the Talons after this." She pressed.

       Condor sighed in defeat. "Alright, we'll do this together." He said.

       Glow's ears flicked in confusion. "Wait, Talons? Then, that means you're both from the Talons of Peace!" She concluded.

       Evenstar and Corona exchanged a look. "That was one of our guesses as to what happened to you, Condor." The small black dragon reminded.

       Condor simply nodded. One-Eye spread his wings wide and got everyone's attention. "Well, if we got a plan, let's be on our way. Time ain't exactly something we've got in abundance."

       Glow nodded and turned to Frigga. "Please just stay in the cave. We can do this. Trust us." She pleaded.

       She nodded solemnly and placed her cold talons on her shoulder. "My SkyWing apprentice." She whispered, her eyes wistful. "Look at how you've grown. Of course I trust you." She praised. Glow wrapped her wings around her master and hugged her tightly. "Be safe, Glow."

       Glow nodded and unfurled herself from Frigga. She craned her neck down towards the small NightWing – Kite's closest companion. "We'll bring him back, Evenstar. I promise." She assured.

       "You trust us, don't you?" Corona asked him.

       "Of course." He answered. "Without a doubt."

       "Then we'll be back soon." Glow promised.

       "Are we ready to head off, then?" One-Eye inquired. Everyone in the circle nodded and Frigga dipped her head towards the general.

       "We'll be inside the cave, then. Patiently waiting." Frigga said. She turned and corralled Evenstar in front of her towards the cave.

       "Alright, troops. It's time to take to the sky!" One-Eye called.

       And with that, all the dragons on the ground lifted into the air towards the north. One-Eye was in the lead and Ore was taking the rear. Although Glow felt confident in her promise to get Kite back, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She knew what the end result was going to be, but what was going to happen once they got there?

       What were they willing to do to save their friend?