Work Text:
The lone dragonet found himself lost amidst the deep gray light of the sleeping sky. A thick sheet of eventide clouds covered the expanse over his head for as far as he could see. He smelled that a storm was brewing or had brewed, he couldn’t quite discern which one.
I should not be flying right now.
He flew down to the dimming forest below him. The firs and pines gently swayed in the wind as he landed. He could feel the first faint mistings of rain that had managed to work themselves through the layers of tree branches. The colors of his pale red and mist gray scales were one under the fading light. Murus looked around the area he had landed in. Nothing. He began to worry. How did he get lost? Why was he flying in the first place?
“Help!” He shouted into the dark swaying forest. “Please anyone! I- I don’t know where I am!” Thunder rolled deep within the sky. “Help! I’m lost!” Tears welled up in his eyes as his voice wavered. “Please I just want to go home. I just want to see my mom.” A warm light cast his shadow in front of him and illuminated the trees around him. He turned around to view what stood behind him.
A dragon made of timeworn stone, two times the size of any adult dragon he had seen, towered over him. Olden vines hung off its body and wings. Deep green moss grew in the cracks of its lithic form. Sporadically placed, small, candle-occupied niches were carved into its sides. It gave a closed-mouth smile at him. It pulled one of the candles from a niche and held it out to him. The dragonet quelled his weeping and eyed the dragon curiously.
“Are you going to help me?” He sniffled. The stonework dragon nodded its head. The dragonet took the candle. A gentle shield of candlelight suddenly appeared around him, blocking the rain from reaching him. The stonework stared walking. The dragonet followed.
They walked through old paths and past moss covered trees. They soon reached what looked to be a vine-hidden cave. The stone dragon parted the vines and unveiled a large cave with rows and rows of and candles along its walls. Another dragonet, a MudWing, was relaxing on a pile of moss by the right wall.
Windrider held tight the ashen body of her dragonet to her chest. A crude gash lay across his chest and head, most likely from when he fell through the tangle of tree branches. She did not cry, for tears, or any form of expression, were too little for her grief.
The SkyWing dragonet went over to the MudWing and spoke.
“I didn’t expect I would find another dragonet here.” She ginned at him.
“Me neither, my name is Puna.”
“Mines Murus.” The candles flickered and danced in their moss-crawled recesses. “Do you know what’s going on?” Asked Murus
“The stone dragon?”
“That and everything else.”
“Everything else?” Asked Puna.
“Yeah… I mean not remembering anything that lead up to this.”
“I remember… wait… do you not know?”
“What?”
“I think we’re dead.”
“What?!”
“My last memory before this was that I was playing with my siblings. I heard our Big Wings shout something about IceWings. Before I could react I felt claws on my throat and… that’s it. I then found myself in these woods.” Murus shuddered.
“Moons. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, but no need really. I don’t remember the pain and none of my sibs’ are here so they must have got out.” She paused, the candles flickered, the stone dragon watched the rain from the entrance. “You really don’t remember She asked. Murus closed his eyes.
“Let me try here.” He strained to recall his memory. “It was evening, this evening. I think I was playing in the sky with some other SkyWings. Then… a huge gust of wind hit me.” He paused as he recalled more of the memory. “I was tossed into the clouds, I remember… thunder and then a flash?”
“Moons! You got struck by lighting!” His eyes widened.
“I did! Moons I’m dead.” He sat down. “My mom is probably worried about me.”
“Maybe you can tell her that your alright?”
Just then another large dragon entered into the cave. Its scales were like white opals and radiant sunlight and its four wings drifted like clouds as it moved. It first nodded to the stone dragon, who nodded back. Its three eyes glowed with a gentle fulgence as it looked upon them.
“Murus and Puna, if you would please come with me, it’s time to go.” The voice of it was like the star-decked vault, lofty and vast.
“Go where?” Asked Puna.
“The Cloudland of course.”
“The Cloudland? That were dead dragons go?”
“Indeed. It’s a nice place I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“I need to go see my mom first.” Said Murus as he moved by the opal-scaled dragon and rushed out of the cave.
“Wait! Murus!” Despite its protest, it did not chase after nor lay a hand on the dragonet. For what authority does the divine have over a pure and caring will of one who is nascent? Murus rushed through the dark wind-addled woods, holding his candle out to show the area in front of him. He soon heard screaming and bellowing from deep within. It sounded like his mother. He ran forward for a bit before he saw the soul and body of his mother. Her body was clutching his dead form. Her body was quiet, the only sound from it was of her shallow breath. But her soul stood behind it. A monstrous wraith-beast in her form, of screaming rage and grief. Of red flames and ashen embers.
“It's just mom.” He said to himself. He approached the beast and looked into its eyes.
“Mom? Its me Murus.” The spirit stopped her screaming and looked to him. “I know your really sad right now but I’m alright. I’m going to the clouds and I’ve met a another dragonet here, I think we could be good friends.” The beast slowly started to blow away in the wind. The fire wilting. “Look I’ve got to go but, don’t worry about me I’m good. I love you.” He quickly hurried off.
Windrider felt herself calm just a bit. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she began to cry. “I love you to.”
Murus met back up with the rest of them at the cave.
“Everything in order?” Asked the cloud-like dragon. Murus nodded. “Well then.” The stone dragon waved goodbye as the other wrapped its wings around them. In a swirl of light the two dragonets found themselves amongst a landscape of solid iridescent clouds, under a bright-blue star-speckled sky. They could not wait to play together within the infinite sky.