Ah yes, the long-awaited chapter 4 ^^ WARNING: Mentions of d3ath, bl0od, ghosts, and viol3nce, some sharp things, fictional dieties, and a whole lot of cheesy (but cute) romance! *italics* {notation from me, outside of story} The night she delivered the prophecy had been the most terrifying part of Moonstone's life. One minute, she'd been sitting by the koi pond with her new friends, Spark, Ember, and Charcoal, and the next, visions were flashing before her eyes. *Hundreds of strange dragons, battling an army of red-eyed, goopy-looking strange dragons. * *a spiky, pale green dragon (who, she would find out, was named Froe) holding a pale purple flower, a tear slipping from his eye.* *a spiky lavender dragon (Glace) alongside another IceWing, this one teal with a red moon-shaped necklace, both dragons had eyes that flickered between white and red.* *Normal Glace, next to a green and yellow dragon with antennae.* *a black dragon collapsed into a bow, red veins spreading through her scales.* *Croalix, the messenger goddess, flying into the clouds with a grim look on her face.* *An aquamarine dragon with fins and glowing speckles, sitting in an eerily lit cave.* *a gate.* *ghosts.* *a black mushroom dripping with blackish-red goo* *wings blotting out the sun* *two blue dragonets, chasing each other in circles* *char, much older, placing flowers by a gravestone, a sad smile on his face* {ee you have no clue >:3} *A dark blue dragon hissing on the sands of some sort of arena.* *Ember, covered in bruises and scratches, screaming with anger as Spark held her back with a stunned look on his face.* {eeeee this one's even better haha >:3 >:3} *The battle against the red-eyed dragons again, except this time there were a lot more attackers, and a lot fewer normal dragons.* *The black dragon again, stepping carefully through flaming ruins.* *a scarlet sunrise.* *a dark vine.* *A ShadeWing next to an odd-looking green dragon* {struggles to read notebook} *a {something} army.* *Moonstone's grandfather, Opalite, scoffing and turning away.* *A storm.* *a butterfly.* *a rainbow.* And then Moonstone woke in Char's arms, and that was the most important thing. Not the visions. Not the prophecy. Char. Char, her favorite dragon in the world. Char, who was perfectly beautiful. Char, the only dragon who truly, deeply loved her. {sorry not sorry haha} She'd known they were meant for each other from the moment he'd first stepped into her little market stall. She could have sworn she could see the cupid goddesses, Alevka and Chelexa, in the corner of her eye. That night, she had fallen asleep not to visions, but to dreams of shimmering black eyes and bright, shining, sapphire-blue scales. She would never forget the feeling when she first saw him. It was like... a click in her brain. As if she'd know him her whole life, even though she really only knew his name. Thinking about it now, a few visions faded from Moonstone's mind. Some of the worst ones, where she grew old all alone, or where she tried to fly across the sea out of spite and never made it. The ones where she never amounted to anything. {ik lol she's basically Clearsight II} New possibilities were crowding in to take their place. Many were with Char, but at least ten were with other dragons. Most of them she didn't recognize, but one was with Ember (though that marriage was pretty rocky) and even one where she dated Spark briefly, but that never actually worked out. And, of course, there would be dragonets. There were so, so many, but Moonstone couldn't trace any of their names or looks clearly. Another vision appeared. Just one- but much, much darker than the others. She couldn't see it well {she should be glad lol-} but there was a lot of death and it drifted off into shadowy fog. There were only two possibilities there; neither was better. She sent a silent prayer to the gods, hoping that that future wouldn't happen. {lol I was listening to music and Takedown from KPDH came on and I was vibin' XD} Moonstone sat up in her bed and glanced out the window. She couldn't decide whether to gasp or sigh with relief, seeing a bit of light on the horizon. Had she been lying awake all night?! Well, it was better than seeing the horrible nightmarish visions that haunted her dreams. She got out of bed and began slipping her veils on. First her leg warmer-looking ones, then the one that covered her eyes and horns. Then her tail veil, her neck veil, and lastly, her wings. She hated putting on those veils, having to see her stupid scorched wings. She hated thinking about the accident that had led to her inability to fly, the flashbacks, the memories. But is she couldn't use her wings past slowing a fall, she might as well use them for something. And at least the veils looked beautiful on Moonstone. She decided to wake up the IceWings and take them hunting. N&C
She stepped quietly through the smooth black hallways, peering out of the windows, which were long and elliptical, nearly covering the whole height of the hallway. Each one was framed with little embedded crystals, with each having a different kind. Moonstone paused at a window that was lined with little clear white gems. "Quartz..." she whispered absent-mindedly. The edges of her vision began to darken and blur. "What... Oh no... not now-" And she collapsed into visions. *An IceWing, like Glace, but a teal color, and with a silver-chained necklace with a silver moon pendant.* *The dragon's frame shifted, now with white eyes, and the pendant was the color of dried bl00d* *Her figure shifted once more, Now slack and heavy, with red eyes and the pendant radiated heat. The dragon was covered and dripping in red-black goo.* *Sharp, rigid teal claws stained black from bl00d.* *A dragon like a butterfly, yellow with brown patterns and graceful antennae on her head.* *The IceWing, hugging Glace and Froe.* *A pair of teal talons, grasping a second yellow pair.* *A string of lost memories unfurling.* *A shattered crown.* *The moon pendant, cracked and black.* *The IceWing falling unconscious.* The visions ended and Moonstone jerked back to the present. *Who was that?!* she wondered frantically. *Umbrenaquil, why would you show me this?* She started back towards the IceWings' room. As it turned out, neither Glace nor Froe had slept well. Glace was pacing the floor, a distressed look on her face, and Froe was asleep. Moonstone decided not to wake him. After Glace and Moonstone were outside, Moonstone asked Glace, "Do you know anyone named Quartz?" Glace froze midair, her face filled with shock and grief. "I- I..." she trailed off and shook her head. “Are- are you all right?” Moonstone asked. “I-I’m sorry. I had a vision about her. Well, a few visions.” Glace sat down, still looking stunned. “What did you see?” Moonstone told her about the visions. “Why? Is- is she-?” “My sister,” Glace breathed, a tear slipping from her eye. “Quartz is- was- my sister. The- she- the Othermind got to her. And they found the RATO camp, and we tried to escape, and the storm blew us here, and- and…” She was sobbing too hard to continue. Moonstone had no clue what Glace was saying, but she felt terrible for reminding Glace of something that made her so sad. Glace wiped her snout and took a deep breath. “I… owe you an explanation,” she mused. “I’m all ears,” Moonstone said. Glace’s story was incredible. Her sister, going off to rescue someone on her second day in RATO (which apparently stood for the Resistance Against The Othermind), and got infected by the Othermind, a strange parasite that controlled anyone and everyone it could get to. “Holy Titans, Glace!” Moonstone said when she finished. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me sooner!” “I’m sorry,” Glace said. “I didn’t know how.” “Come on,” Moonstone said. “Let’s catch something before we go back.” They went to get the FireTails. Ember was busy; she had a shop to run; but Spark was free and so was Char. “Moonstone!” Char yelped joyously as they entered. “You look beautiful today!” He bounced over to her, twining their tails together. They sat together as Moonstone told them what had happened. “Wow,” Spark said. “That’s crazy! Moons above! Why didn’t you mention this earlier?!” “Uh, while we’re on the topic of admitting things,” Moonstone added. “I had a prophecy about you.” “You’re joking,” Froe cried at the same time. He had come in during the story. “Quiet,” Moonstone instructed. “Listen.” She reached into her mind’s eye and began to speak. “Two dragons from the west you'll find All battered, bruised, and weak Their continent infected And a cure is what they seek If you succeed in helping them You'll be heroes in their minds But if you fail, prepare yourself To leave this world behind.” The room went silent as she finished. Everyone was staring at Moonstone. “Falling stars,” Froe said hoarsely. “I heard it before,” Char whispered. “But I was so worried about you that I didn’t pay attention.” Moonstone’s heart jumped. She leaned against his shoulder, smiling. “You’re such an idiot,” she said affectionately. Words started to flash in Moonstone’s mind. Her vision began to blur. *What? Again? Right now?* Then the future bubbled up under Moonstone’s tongue, and she shot upright. “Great joy, great love Young hearts, broken dove. Take all, take none, For two may soon come down to one.” Moonstone clamped her talons over her snout, sinking back under Char’s wing. He pulled her in tighter. “That was for us,” she said quietly to him Everyone was staring at Moonstone again. "Sorry,” she squeaked. “I can’t help it! It just- happens-” “It’s not your fault,” Spark said. But Moonstone couldn’t help thinking that it was her fault. *Why did it have to be me?*
