[Art by me]

   The sun warmed Oro's scales as he lazily draped himself in a tree during sunning time. Birds chirped and whistled overhead, as the smell of fruits and flowers were all around him.

In the distance, the sound of howler monkeys and roaring jaguars could be heard, but they didn't venture near the village. Razzberry was a little way away from him, her scales melting from their pinkish red color to a softer, calmer pink, chin resting on her talons.

"This is always so nice," she muttered. Oro opened an eye, looking to her. "It's the only time we have to have some mother and son bonding time, isn't it? Normally I'm always too busy with keeping records for Queen Cherry, and you and your little group go off on adventures."

"Yeah, it is..." Oro mumbled back. They laid there in silence, content with it. Razzberry rose her head, looking over to him.

"After this, care to get a bite to eat?" she asked. Oro smiled, nodding his head.

"That sounds good, you want to choose?" he asked. Razzberry opened her jaws, but suddenly froze before she could answer.

The sky above flickered from blue to red, and the trees around them started to lose their leaves at a rapid pace. The branch under him suddenly grew rotten, and before he could stand up, it broke out from under his talons.

Oro let out a scream as he fell faster and faster, wings fluttering and flapping as hard as they could, catching himself before he hit the ground.

When he rested his talons down, bony claws suddenly came up from the ground. Flesh and bones scraped at him, all grabbing and pulling him towards them. Oro went to scream, but before he knew it, a talon had reached up, sealing his jaws shut.

His eyes widen in fear, feeling the talons dig into his sides and underbelly, pulling him to the ground. Claws tore at his wings and ripped his legs and tail to peices, more and more talons reaching and grabbing him.

Dragons of all tribes started to dig out from the ground, wails and screams piercing his ears.

"Help me!"

"Can't die..."

"It hurts!"

Oro tried to get away, but no matter what he did it was useless, blood was splashed everywhere around him and was beginning to be dragged underground.

Dozens of undead dragons stood around him, jaws open in petrified screams, rotting and sunken in eyes stared into his soul. Some were missing their wings or limbs, some more skeleton than dragon.

Oro made out a IceWing with half of his face severed off of his head, bones and exposed flesh making him feel sick.

A MudWing had a hole in her chest, a spear going straight through her skull. But what stood out, and what was the most common, was their skinny, bony appearance, like scales were just placed on bones rather then flesh.

'Wake up, wake up! It's just a nightmare, wake up!' He shook his head, trying to loosen the talon around his mouth.

The sky above suddenly let out a powerful thunder, red lighting bolting and striking a dead tree not that far away. Flames suddenly covered it, the sound of its once somewhat stable trunk crunching, beginning to fall.

It kept going and going, growing bigger and bigger with each quicken heartbeat. Finally, the talon around Oro's mouth let go, a piercing screaming sounding from him as the flames and sharp branch just a horn length away.
   
     
Oro sprang to his feet, letting out a scream, wings being thrown open as he looked around. In the midst of his panic, he realized he was back in his room, his woven leaf mat under his claws, slightly scratched and stripped under him.

Moonlight leaked in from his window to the right of him, casting light onto his desk right in front of it. Cushions and a small table were to the left of him, where him, Crusade, and Lyre would spend their time playing with paints and mud when they were younger. Red, yellow, blue, green, and other colors of paint were dried onto it, small scratches for their claws etched into it.

Oro panted as he slowly settled onto his mat once again, shaking and quivering as he tried to calm down his racing heart.

He looked over to the side of his mat, finding a small clay cup of water he had before going to bed. He looked at it, seeing a little bit of water in it, before pouring the rest outside his window.

Slowly, on shaking legs, he laid back down. He felt too nerve wracked to even think about falling back asleep, the haunting look of those sunken in, bloodshot eyes flashing behind his eyelids with every blink.

He reached under his desk, pulling out a small wooden box and opened it. Inside were firesticks and extra candles, something Solaris had given him after learning of his son's love for nighttime reading.

He took a firestick, striking the red colored head on the scales of his shoulder, watching the fire light glow. He placed the flame to the wick of the candle, lighting it, making it give extra light in the dark room.

He made sure to blow out the firestick afterward, placing it to his tongue to make sure of it, grimacing at the smokey and burnt taste of it.

Six years old and still need a candle to go to bed, how humiliating. He couldn't help it though, every shadow that was casted looked like a dragon out of the corner of his eyes, he felt more safe with it.

He rested his head down, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths, trying to fall back asleep.

By the time he finally did, dawn light trickled thought the emerald leaves of the jungle trees.

~~~

"You look terrible," stated Lyre, laying herself down along a tree branch, tail wrapping around it. Oro looked up to her, giving a small grumble as he dug his claws into the mushy mud below.

"Wow, thanks, Lyre, way to boost my self esteem."

The RainWing's silver colored wings twitched a little, a small frown on her pale purple face. She rested her head down, looking to the two under her.

Crusade sat next to him, Ziggy sitting just a few feet away from them, chewing on a piece of mango he had gotten for her.

"Well, do you wanna talk about if?" Crusade asked, turning to his friend, brown ears perked. Oro grumbled a little, digging his talons into the dirt below.

"Just a nightmare..." he muttered. Crusade gave a small frown, cutting another piece of mango and gave it to the possum, who chattered for more.

"Oh, okay. Hey, did anyone hear the news about Queen Fawn?" He asked. Lyre gave a loud sigh, a small flash a red sweeping over her wings and tail.

"Crus, you know I hate talking about politics," she groaned loudly.

"No, no, not like that! Princess Agate challenged her yesterday, she took a spear straight through the head! And she's alive!"

Oro felt his breath hitch, an uncomfortable shiver going down his spine as memories of the MudWing with the hole in her chest and spear in her head came flashed in his mind.

"Whoa, what? That would have killed her!" Lyre squawked, suddenly sitting up on her branch.

"I know right? Get this, Agate also tried to snap her neck, but nothing was working no matter what happened. You think she pulled a Darkstalker and made herself immortal with animus magic?" Crusade asked.

Lyre rolled her eyes, snorting, "MudWings don't have animus magic."

Oro ignored them as they began to bicker back and forth, stuck trying to remember his dream. The MudWing with the lethal blows... was it Queen Fawn? No, no, maybe it was coincidence... but it was very unlikely.

It didn't make since however, he didn't hatch under the moon, it was late evening! How could he see something moonborn NightWings should only be seeing?

A haunting chill ran up his spine, a brief flash of Cateye entering his mind now. Even though it had been a year since they met her, there was something so... wrong about her.

That flight from her hut to the village, it felt like something was watching them, even after they knew they supposedly lost her. Her abnormal glowing eyes gave him nightmares for only a few nights in the week.

Had she cursed him or something with her... whatever powers she had? Why now if it was?

"Ugh, Crusade, just shut it for a moment! Oro, I can hear Solaris calling for you," Lyre groaned. Oro rose his head, giving her a small nod before mumbling a 'bye' to them.

He flapped his wings, gliding on a small breeze up towards the vine walkways. They rocked slightly as he landed on them, making a small dragonet on the side teeter back and forth, giggling as he continued with whatever he was doing.

Oro turned his attention and looked to the house just tight of him, making his way and knocking on the door.

In a few heartbeats, the door open. A dark gray and black NightWing stood at the door, a bright smile on his face as he took off a pair of leather strapped goggles. His black eyes gave a twinkle.

"Oro! That was quick, come in, come in," Solaris said, stepping to the side. Oro walked inside his father's workshop, no matter how many times he had been in here, he was mesmerized by the astronomers house.

Star maps laid on the walls and desk in front of him, seasons scribble at the top of pages of each. A large talon crafted spyglass stood at a window, pointed to the sky for nighttime observation. Sweet cinnamon and vanilla scented candles were little, giving a little light so Solaris could work with a clearer picture of the stars.

On the star map, constellations were drawn, carefully pinpointed and constructed, they looked like small mini versions.

"You're probably wondering about what I called you here for, I'll keep it simple. I recently learned that some of the NightWing wing patterns mixed with a RainWing's scales came produce much clear pictures of constellations like Draco and Leo,"

"Well, yeah, I feel like that's kinda obvious," Oro muttered.

"Hold on now. I also have a sneaking suspension that if you can copy the night sky onto your wings, the silver scales will show something that hasn't been seen yet. Like a new hidden constellation, or maybe a map to Lirix's Nest."

Oro rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. His father was so creative, yet so stupid. Scales and starts don't work like that.

"And how will thing help?" Oro asked. Solaris gave a small nervous look, beginning to shuffle his talons a little, turning to his work.

"If I can find anything hidden, or something related to Lirix's Nest or Arix's Wings," Oro felt his heart skipped a beat, "then Queen Cherry has agreed to letting me have a break and spend more time with you and Razzberry."

"Wait, dad, can I ask you something?" Oro asked quickly before he lost his father's scattered train of thoughts.

"Of course," Solaris said, beginning to etched down marks on one of his new constellation findings.

"Who... are Lirix and Arix, and why do you want to find their... whatevers."

Solaris looked over, black eyes blinking in confusion. "You don't know? Oh, well no one really knows who they are nowadays,"

"Well, it's a long story, or at least the version I've heard. According to the scrolls I've read, there are a series of stars that look like a pair of wings, and if you follow them, you will find Lirix's Nest, a group of stars that are incredibly hard to find without the aid Arix's Wings. The Nest is supposedly where dragons go after death. There is a map in this one that's dated a very long time ago."

Solaris took a scroll from under his desk, carefully unrolling it and setting it out. The paper was a light brown, and crinkled where Solaris put his talons at.

Faint black dots could be seen, making a zigzag in the sky, just north of it being a small cluster of stars.

"If I can find this, we'd have a lot more family time... if Razzberry ever agrees to it," Solaris said under his breath. Oro looked up to him, before looking to the paper once more.

"I... would try but... I can't. I can't change them no matter how hard I try," he answered. Solaris looked to him, giving a small nod. "Thank you for being honest."

Oro quietly gave him a nod of acknowledgement, before turning to the scroll once more. A small idea came to his mind, making him smile.

"Hey, dad, could you... tell me more about the stars?" he asked. Solaris' disappointment vanish, replacered with a touched smile.

"I'd love to."

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Finish - Dec. 7th

Sorry for the delay! I wanted to try and straighten up what plot I have and try to come up with more questions for us.

So, question time. What did you think about the dream and who is giving it to him? Cateye and her strange powers, Lirix, or maybe someone else? I'd love to hear what everyone has in mind since it helps with the story.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll hopefully see you in the next chapter. Take care!