It was all echoing back, every night, again and again and again.  The crooked forest, the silver nest, the sand-coloured egg, the crack—and Cinder always woke at that exact moment.  Even when she was awake, it was all she could think of.  The dream, whether it actually meant what she dreaded it meaning (and wanted it to mean), how Treason would react if it was true.

They'd been searching the first few islands in the bay for days.  No "RainWing's Tail" to be found.

Something hit her front talon and she yelled in pain, jumping back.  Cinder realized that she had stubbed her talon on an old looking dragon statue lying in the middle of the beach.  She scowled at it, and then blinked, squinting.  The neck of the dragon was long and graceful, and on its snakelike head was a jagged ruff.  A RainWing, she realized.  Where is its tail pointing...? 

Cinder followed the direction that the RainWing's poised tail was pointing.  It pointed inland, to her surprise, not out to sea.  There was a tiny folded scroll in the RainWing's wide open mouth.  Cinder picked it up with delicate care and unraveled it.  You're almost there!  Can't wait to meet you, new friend!  Cinder rolled her eyes, tucking the paper back into place.

"Treason!" She called.  A minute later, he thumped down beside her.  "I know where to go."

They soared over a shallow forest, eyes scanning the ground.  They almost soared right over it, but Cinder saw something move below... a flash of iridescent blue, before it faded right before her eyes.  They landed in the forest.

"We know you're here, RainWing!" Cinder called.  "Come out!  We don't want to hurt you."

There was no response, but Cinder noticed a trail of fresh talonprints leading down toward the sea.  She glanced at Treason and ran after the skittish RainWing. 

"Intruders!  Get ready everyone!  I think they saw me!" The RainWing's shrill voice cried, his scales bright green with fear.  "Strangers!  There are strangers here!"

Two familiar heads popped up, and they both brightened like the end of a total eclipse.  "Those aren't strangers," a reddish brown SandWing hollered, jumping up.  "That's Cinder!  Cinder!" The dragoness tore across the sand, tackling Cinder happily.

"Rye!" Cinder cried, smiling.  Whisky followed and happily flung herself on top of the pile.  They all laughed.

"I'm so flattered that you missed me so much," Treason said drily.

Rye snorted at him.  "We didn't," she told him.  "We missed Cinder."

"I missed you, a bit," Whisky admitted kindly.  "But mostly you're just our best friend's boyfriend, so we have to put up with you."  Cinder laughed.

"Seeing as I've actually known Cinder longer," Treason rumbled, "I think I'm the one forced to put up with you."

A shining orange dragon landed on the sand next to the scared RainWing.  Her teal glow scales flashed curiously, and she smiled.  "Hi!" Said what looked to be a SeaWing/RainWing hybrid.  "I'm Pina Colada!  Welcome to our cove!  What are your names?"

"Pina," Rye said, stepping off of Cinder, "do you remember when I told you about Cinder and Treason?"  The RainWing, whose scales had simmered down to a calm blue, shot right back to bright green, ducking behind Pina Colada. 

"T-the murderers...?" Pina Colada asked, nervously glancing at them.

"We aren't here to hurt anyone," Cinder said quickly, but the hybrid was shaking her head.

"I don't think I should risk it... that would be bad for my dragons, right?  I should put them first, shouldn't I?"

"You can trust them," Whisky said.  "Well, you can trust Cinder, and I'm pretty sure Treason won't hurt anyone if she doesn't want him to."

"Wouldn't it be bad leading if I risked these dragons lives for pretty sure?" Pina Colada asked, but her eyes were more gently worried than angry. 

Cinder gently pulled Pina Colada aside, to the bewilderment if everyone else.  "Please," she said in a low voice when they were out of earshot of the others.  "I... I think I might be having eggs soon, and I need a place to be."  It kicked her in the heart to hear it out loud, out of her own mouth.  She'd even avoided thinking it up until now, and she'd just told it to a stranger.

"Okay," Pina Colada said after a moment. 

"What did you say to her?" Whisky asked later, as they all sat on the beach, staring out at the sea.  Treason had found somewhere else to be right now, maybe sizing up all the potential enemies around here.  "I hope you didn't threaten her.  She's really a sweet little thing.  Makes me wish I could have dragonets."

"That's kind of what I told her," Cinder said quietly.

Rye's head snapped toward her.  "What?"

"Don't say anything to Treason..." Cinder rasped.  "B-but... I might... be... pregnant..."

That was a lie.  At this point, she was quite sure.

Their eyes widened, and Rye jumped up.  "I'm gonna kill that camel-brained son of a—" she broke off as Whisky pounced on her, wresting her to the ground.

"Please keep quiet!" Cinder begged.  "And don't get mad at him!  I'm actually happy about it—I'm just worried about what he'll think."  Whisky slowly let Rye up, and they sat down in either side of Cinder, wrapping their wings around her.

"You have to tell him," Whisky said gently.  "This is one of those things that you can't afford to keep secret."

"How long until you lay your eggs?" Rye asked.

Cinder inched the round bump in her stomach.  "One egg, I think," she corrected.  "And soon—maybe next week?  But I can't just tell him.  He's never wanted dragonets, and you know how his temper is."

"Cinder, if you think he might hurt you, you have to leave him," Rye said fiercely, but Cinder was already shaking her head.

"That's not what I meant.  But we'll probably argue, and then he'll leave... and he might not want to come back.  I'm so scared to lose him."  Tears started running from her eyes, and her friends leaned into her scales comfortingly. 

"If you love him, you'll see that he deserves to know." 

"I know," Cinder said to Whisky.  "I'm just... not ready... to tell him."