They both look at me blankly. 

"... So nothing yet then? Hmm..."

I tap my tail on the stone floor softly as I ponder a bit. 

Only three items, and no more or less. Limiting myself to three seemed like the right decision, and I can see ahead to quite a few good ones... But a few stand out.

We need them to be very different, and versatile. 

So...

"... I got an idea."

I turn to Jupiter, who looks at me actually with a serious and slightly hard expression, his soft purple irises burning.

"Spit out then"

Dark says, looking a bit annoyed. He had moved to lounge on the bed, looking at Jupiter irritated.

I can't read Jupiter's mind very well, with all the flames. But I do hear a few words here and there... Including now.

... fossilized piece of carrion...

He hisses in his mind, probably towards Dark.

"ANYWAYS" Jupiter says, interrupting my train of thought.

"I thought it would be a good idea, to make something that could heal, just because we don't know what dangers are there"

Jupiter explains, a bit of a growl in his voice.

"Oh, that would be a good idea..."

I ponder aloud as I think. What would it look like though? Well, since Jupiter had the idea, I'll let him decide. Though, I can see Dark is also reluctantly agreeing with Jupiter.

"... Your right, that's a good idea" he grumbles to Jupiter, who looks at him suspiciously.

"Are you messing with me Nightwing?..." He hisses. But Dark shakes his head, actually looking less, angry.

"Nope. Its a good thing to have. The only question is, what will it look like?" He asks him with a small smirk, which makes Jupiter pause.

"Well... It needs to be versatile, so it can heal anyone easily, nothing to heavy or stiff..." I add in, trying to help. I really wish they could get along better.

Jupiter taps a talon on the stone floor in thought, glancing around the room as he thinks. 

"... What about something soft as well? It does heal after all... maybe a blanket?... No to big... Smaller..."

He starts thinking aloud quietly, whilst Dark turns away to mess with the curtains on the bed, and I start trying to think with Jupiter.

Jupiter stands suddenly, yanking the red curtain out of Darkstalker's talons, the Nightwing looking a bit surprised, before he hands it to me.

"A scarf. Make it a red long ribbon scarf. It can wrap around anyone, and should be comfortable but undestroyable"

".. you mean indestructible?" Dark chimes in, but Jupiter ignore him, his intense glowing eyes directed at me only.

His idea seems pretty perfect, so, it sounds good to me.

"Alright" I answer softly, running my talons over the curtain as I cast the spell in my head, the curtain tuning into a long and soft scarf, with gold trim on the ends. I thought I'd make it Skywing themed for Jupiter.

I hand it to him, and he actually smiles a bit, and I know he feels a bit proud he was able to come up with something before either of us.

Now, two items are left though.

"Hey, what about a weapon?"

Darkstalker asks suddenly, and I notice he still seems annoyed about Jupiter taking the curtain from him, his talons still clenched, but otherwise serious.

"We can have some kind of weapon, but, I'd prefer something not so deadly, and versatile, since we can't be sure what we'll be fighting"

I tell him with a raised brow. I'm not big on violence, or fighting. Though Jupiter's attack showed that I needed to better protect myself, from more than just other dragons magic.

"Ughh... Fine. Something that doesn't necessarily kill anyone, but restrain them... Maybe a mind control object-"

"No, that's to complicated. It would be to stressful if it's a large group of dragons, it needs to be more easy to use."

Jupiter cuts off Dark, and they glare for a moment, but Dark knows he's right.

"Um... Maybe we should take a break for now. We got one item done already, and I need to make those underwater breathing necklaces for you both" I intervene. We could use a break, and some time to think without arguing so much.

And, they needed to cool down. One of them, literally. I can see a bit of smoke coming off a few of his gold scales.

Jupiter doesn't hesitate to take off out of the window, leaving a cloud of ash in his wake. I cough a little from it, but, I'm relieved he actually listened.

Dark on the other hand... He stomps out the door into the hall, his tail lashing. A lots happened to him recently, and I know we need to talk about it still.

So I follow him quietly, not speaking yet as we both walk down the halls, him still angry, and me calm and silent.

Through our new bond, which I'm still getting used to, I can sense his fear under all his anger, stemming from our new mission. 

He's not as invincible as he used to be, lacking his powers, and his magic right now. And though I'm reluctant to... Maybe I should restore a little of it, as a way to make him feel better. I do want to show I trust him more after all.

But I'm worried... I don't want him becoming that arrogant dragon again in the process.

"... What is it Rogue?" He says annoyed and tired sounding as he stops at the end of the hall, his silver eyes narrowed. 

I almost do a double take seeing him act that way, but keep my voice soft and calm.

"I'm just a little... Concerned for you. You've been uneasy ever since we spoke to Gem-"

"-the goddess of Skywings, I know" he hisses, turning away once more.

"... Dark... I know it's a lot.." I start slowly, feeling like I'm walking on eggshells with his new volatile side. 

"A lot? I had no idea meeting a literal god, was a lot!!" He exclaims loudly, his voice echoing around the empty and broken halls. 

Sometimes I try to imagine it as it was in Dark's time, clean and large, powerful seeming... Now it's a shell, cracked and worn over time, so fragile that a miss thrown pebble could bring the whole place down on our heads... Just like Darkstalker at this moment.

I take a moment to really look at him, his pained yet furious expression, the sadness in his silver eyes... I can see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes more quickly and deeply. I knew he was upset. But this......

My purple eyes look down.

"I'm sorry"

His whole demeanor shifts once I say that, becoming concerned as he reaches out, gently holding my head in his talons.

"Don't apologize, I'm just... A bit mixed up right now" he says gently.

"Then... Just tell me, Dark, how your feeling. Please" I say to him quietly. I just want him to be honest, and tell me what was bothering him so much. I want to be here for him, but if he keeps things from me, how am I supposed to do that?...

He didn't want to tell me. I could tell you his face, as he avoided my eyes now. His wings shifted a bit as he took a deep breath.

"Rogue... Everything I knew about our history, the scorching, the forming of our tribes... Knowing there are gods changes everything. How many times could they have helped, especially the Nightwings, when they were in trouble? They lost their home... Their powers... Everything"

I listen quietly as he starts speaking, and I start to understand what's exactly bothering him as he continues.

"...they had so many chances to do something about it... But they let our tribe get sick, and start to almost die out. Right now, dragons there are in pain all the time... Why are they sending us on a journey away, when we could fix things here ourselves?..."

Everything he was saying made sense to me. He'd seen in my mind what the night kingdom looked like now. I'd never been there, but glimpsed it in my future paths a while back. It wasn't a good situation.... But it would get better. I could see it.

"Dark... I know you can't see it right now, but, they will be safe soon... Sometimes soon, in the next year or so, the dragonets of destiny are going to finally stop the war, and in the process, save the Nightwings. They won't be perfect, obviously, like your picturing now. But they'll live through it. I promise"

His face changes to a more... Hurt one, that almost breaks my heart to see.

"But I can make it perfect! I had the power to make them the greatest tribe in all of Pyrrhia! But now-"

He stops.

"-now I have nothing. I have nothing to offer to make things better. I missed my chance" he says more quietly.

His silver eyes stare into mine, almost begging me, as if he's asking me to give him that again, the power he lost, that he feels he needs still.... Sigh....

"Darkstalker.... you don't have to carry that responsibility anymore... your free to find what you want now, remember?..."

I remind him softly. Now I'm cautious about returning his gifts more so, seeing him like this. He wasn't ready still.

His heart seems to break in front of me, and his wings fall to his sides to the dusty stone floor, a bit of dust swirling around us, further showing how far gone this place is.

"... I understand..." He whispers, lowering his head, and lowering his talons from my face. He looked defeated, but there was nothing I could do about it.

...or maybe I could, a little.

"Dark, how about... You make the weapon you wanted. You get to decide what it will be, and enchant it yourself"

A glint of light shines in his eyes again, as he looks up at me. He's still upset, but, this is something.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise. I'll take care of the last item on my own" I assure him, smiling a little. He sounds so eager, and hopeful, though still I can sense his loss. He's still so dependant feeling on his power, even now. But over time it will fade, I know it.

He already looks down in thought, tilting his head and tapping his chin with one talon. He looks so serious right now, I want to laugh a bit, but I just smile instead.

The thought crosses my mind, if Clearsight watched him think like this too. I don't know much about her, except that she really loved Dark, and tried her best to keep them happy. But she just missed to many signs, and by the time she did it was to late. I wouldn't make the same mistake... Though... Did I like Dark that much?...

I didn't know. After what happened with Thysan, I wasn't sure yet about love. Maybe one day.

I decide to let him think, giving him a tiny smile before flying out a nearby window. But he gives me a tiny smile in return before I go.

I need my own time now, to figure out what to make. It occurs to me now, that I still have my other enchanted objects. My ring, my bracelet, and my horn band of course... To name a few. And, back in my bag, that necklace Thysan tried to enchant me with. I don't know it's use exactly, but, maybe it would come in handy.

So I glide around a bit, my spots glowing softly as I land in one of the old towers, with an open roof. It had vines all over it, more green than grey stone as I landed, the leaves soft under my talons. But there were dusty cracked mirrors here, in better shape than the others in the castle. The rain probably kept them this clear, and I take some time to look at them, my reflection fractured but strangely beautiful.

What a strange place... I ponder, touching the glass softly with my talons, humming.

As I try to come up with an idea, I start by going over in my head other spells I knew about. I list off different objects... The eye of onyx.... The great ice wall... The obsidian mirror... And the dreamvisit- Wait!

The idea springs into my head, and I get to my feet, my tail lashing a bit excitedly, almost knocking over one of the mirrors. I apologize silently, before launching myself in the air, smiling brightly.

I knew what to make, and almost rushed to go find Dark... But then wondered if I should wait, and let him come up with his own idea first. He was bummed out before when Jupiter came up with the first item, so if she had one before him as well it might sadden him further.

So instead I went down to the woods, wanting to catch something to eat. It had been a while, and my hunger was catching up to me now.

I catch a deer soon enough, blinding the young buck with my spots before pouncing. It was an effective tactic when it came to deer.

After eating, it's already mid-day, so I head back to the castle and to my rooms balcony. She didn't know where Dark or Jupiter were still, but knew they would come back eventually.

So I spent some time writing out how to word my spell, making sure it was perfect before I presented it at all. And of course, on the side made those necklaces for the two boys, like I said I would.

Jupiter...

... The red sash feels odd, yet comforting around my neck, as it blows a tiny bit in the breeze. 

Such a powerful item, though so harmless seeming.

He would have done anything to have this before, when he really needed it.

I sigh, looking back up at the blue sky, the clouds drifting past like leaves in a pool. I miss my family already. But, they don't need me, they need to be happy.

The thought of them reminds me of what I'm leaving though, and I wonder about those two nightwings. The girl, Rogue I think, is nice. I don't know a lot about her, but I wonder who she's going to miss when we leave.

And then there's that Dark one. Just the thought of him makes my blood boil. That arrogant and sarcastic jerk always seems so full of himself, even though I could burn him to a crisp in moments.

Ah, the thought of burned asshole makes me smile. But, I won't do it, since Gem says he's essential for our mission. I can't just kill him if she says not to.

I owe her so much...

I look down as I catch movement in the corner of my eye, and see the purple dragonelle enter her room again looking excited. 

I tilt my head, my claws gripping the tower roof I'm on more securely. She looks like she got an idea, which is nice. But that means the Dark one still hasen't, which I find amusing. For someone so smart he's taking a long time to make a weapon for us.

I'll try cutting him some slack though, and play nice when I see him again.

Darkstalker...

...sitting in a broken courtyard alone is actually very lonely. I look around at the destroyed beams, and the trees growing through the broken glass ceiling. It's still so beautiful here overrun by nature, soft moss covering the stone now.

Oh how it makes me miss Clearsight, knowing this was our first meeting place. But it's a good place for me to think, with her past advice in mind.

A weapon, but one that doesn't only hurt, but possible restrain and have other uses... Grah, it's so annoying that I can't come up with anything logical.

Traditional weapons, spears and knives, can't be used, and armor also won't be very useful to everyone other than the person wearing it. 

I'd thought a bit about my past spells, like those contraptions I made to make fire travel farther for soldiers during the war. But nothing made sense in how that would work, shooting things not seeming very helpful, and the dumbest idea anyone could have.

Still, something I can use without touching the other dragon or enemy... Hmm...

As I ponder, a small bird flys close, and my tail whips through the air, pinning it down, but not killing it. I watch the small panicking creature a moment longer, before letting it go.

As I watch it flutter away frantically, my silvery eyes widen and a smirk comes over my face. That's it.

I pull out a loose paper that I 'borrowed' from Rogue's room, writing down the details of the spell carefully. This is going to be perfect.....

I'm so, so sorry for howling this took but I've been very distracted lately. But I'm getting back on track, and I decided to make this have one more chapter before the one with details about the second book. Just cuz, so you can have it faster.

Please forgive me for writing so slowly :')