[center][h1]Chapter 15[/h1][/center]

        The young dragoness stretched and yawned. The sun was rising on the horizon over the sea burning its surface with orange and ochre rays. Moonlight was slowly getting used to the NightWing’s living schedule. She had spent another night running errands to discover new sites and books that had either been ignored or not found by other NightWings, thanks to her guide. She never seemed to get tired of learning or reading. Sometimes she would report a discovery or two to Fierceteeth, but more often than not, she would just keep them to herself, the NightWing Queen would probably not understand the importance of her findings, unlike her brother. So, she kept the scrolls and books she found in a corner of the library that she had cleaned up and carefully arranged alphabetically and by themes. Since she found a map in one of the ruins, she had used it to keep tracks of the locations she discovered, and while she could see now and had started to mark spot with ink, she realized she wanted StarFlight and Tamarin to find them as well, and so with the help of her trusty letter-presser, she used the different letters to mark each location and when she felt like she had time, she would emboss the roads and the buildings’ layouts onto the map.
        She kept the map with her at all time, tightly rolled up in a leg bag that she had been gifted by one of the NightWings not so long after she arrived, allowing her to carry it easily, along with her letter-presser that she had kept in a pouch around her neck since she left the Academy. She would bring it back with the scrolls she found when she flies back to Jade Mountain. 
        Eventually...
		
		
        DarkStalker, or rather his ghostly head, was by her side constantly, talking almost constantly. Most of the NightWings had noticed her unusual behavior and tended to avoid her as they couldn’t understand why she would talk to herself like that. Combined with her weird-looking eyes, a few rumors had started circulating about being her being either mad or an animus dragon turned mad like... [i]The DarkStalker[/i].
        Fierceteeth had asked her subjects to drop the matter any time it would grow out of proportions. She didn’t even seem to care about it, as she appeared to treat Moonlight like any other NightWing, but she would regularly hear others mentioning things about [i]That Weird NightWing[/i] whenever she came back to the sleeping grounds.
        DarkStalker, of course, had told Moonlight to ignore them and she easily agreed with him. He was much more interesting to talk to anyway. Those researches to excavate hidden artefacts of a time long gone was very exciting to her and each day would bring a new thing to discover. Of course, having someone who knew exactly where those were situated was a great help. A few of the discoveries that she had found of low value were sent to the Jade Mountain Academy for further study after she had explained why to Fierceteeth. Others had been kept around the camp to decorate or improve the lives of the present NightWings.
        Moonlight had visited the tower mentioned in DarkSight’s book almost immediately after she had read about it. It was surprisingly well-hidden, in such a way that would she be tailed by any dragon they wouldn’t be able to tell where she had disappeared. A secret panel on the far wall of the Tower of Knowledge ornated with carved dragons had a switch that made the panel swivel silently freeing the way to a spiral staircase barely large enough for an adult dragon to climb it. The light coming from the walls was provided by delicately carved torches that were typical of the time during the existence of the Night City, it was soft and eerily uniform, not a single flicker from any of the flames.
        DarkStalker had explained to her that he created this magical staircase within the confine of the Tower of Knowledge when he needed to relax away from the other dragons, especially his father. He made it a unique design and ambiance that fit his mood then and allowed to have his mind at peace then when DarkSight came to him for his help on writing his scroll, he had shared this secret and allowed him to write about it.
        Moonlight felt that DarkStalker wasn’t telling her everything but she didn’t want to push him about it. She had though snarly remarked that the staircase was long and tedious for something that was built for the sole purpose of relaxing.
        “[i]Anything worth something deserves to be earned.[/i]” Had he then solemnly replied.
        She scoffed and remained silent for the rest of the climb, admiring the effort that DarkStalker put in his spell to make sure the place had every single corner decorated.
        At the top of the tower, or what Moonlight imagined was the top when she reached the end of the stairs, stood a large wooden door with elegantly carved hinges and a heart that covered its whole width with two dragon heads inside nuzzling each other with a date under them: [i]3,012 AS[/i].
        “[i]That’s me and ClearSight... I miss her.[/i]” Confided her guide.
        Moonlight gently nodded to him and turned back to the door, trying to find a way to open it but found no knob of any kind. A bit surprised, she pressed her left talon on the door and it swung open gently before revealing the only room in this tower.
        
[center]***[/center]
        
		This day, Moonlight had planned to visit another section of the old palace under the advice of her guide. She had been going there regularly over the last week and learned a lot about NightWings history and regency. There hadn’t been much writing to collect as whatever official papers that were left had already been collected by StarFlight and his scholars. 
        DarkStalker seemed to enjoy entertaining her with lots of tidbits or historical facts while she rummaged through the remnants of the different suites. She could sometimes spend hours just carefully digging for something she had noticed in the corner of her eye. 
        Now and then, she would find old assets that DarkStalker happily reeled off about for quite some time, but more often than not those were either too broken to be identified or just some colorful rumbles. She didn’t mind either way, as it felt like she had finally found something worth doing for the rest of her life.
        Walking along the different halls and rooms, her [i]special[/i] vision allowed her to appreciate some of the treasures lost to time, such as the mirrors in the black-marble hall and the fountains that complimented every other room. She only regretted that she could not touch or feel the water as it was only a magical projection from DarkStalker’s spell.
        With lengthy explanations, he had recounted how this one room had been a guest suite that once received many ambassadors from other tribes, including the [i]not-so-great[/i], according to him, Fathom, whose only goal was to try to stop him from using his animus power and protect his tribe -like this ever happened...- Moonlight remembering some of her history classes snorted a bit at his story but couldn’t help herself from wondering if his side didn’t have a bit of truth to it. She quickly pushed away the thought and proceeded to scrutinize the room, she immediately noticed the obvious fountain and the abundance of cushions, which, despite their age, looked rather nice and comfy though they would probably crumble into dust if she tried to touch them.
        She walked to the balcony and admired the view over the city and the sea. The scenery felt both eerie and tragic as almost half of the Night City appeared ghostly with a constantly floating appearance exacerbated by the fact that its actual modern residence was underwater while the illusion remained above the sea level.
        She sighed a bit and put her chin on one of her talons for a moment letting her mind wander about.
        A movement in the corner of her eye took her out of her reverie. She turned her head and saw what appeared to be a SeaWing gliding from the mountain tops down towards the center of the city. She wondered why would one of them visit the NightWing place, was it an ambassador of some kind? After all, since Fierceteeth had claimed the place for herself, any visit or exchange would be done with her or her minions.
        It took Moonlight a long while until she realized that this SeaWing was Tidal. Her first thought was to rush out of the palace to go greet her when she saw Fierceteeth and her sons approaching and started questioning her. She blinked and looked intently at the exchange, straining one of her ear as if it would make her hear them better from the distance. She knew the NightWing Queen was aware of Tidal as she had probably mentioned her a couple times when they first discussed or when she wasn’t actually doing some sort of research in the City, or when she talked about herself, or when she wished she would not sleep alone or when... Well, maybe [i]more[/i] than just a couple of times.
        After a while, Tidal and Fierceteeth walked together to the camp and Moonlight stood there staring and daydreaming from the suite balcony. It took DarkStalker’s cough to bring her back to reality. She blinked and looked at him.
        “Hmm?”
        “[i]Do you want to join them or continue searching? We can start again tomorrow if you prefer.[/i]”
        Moonlight looked down at the sun fully embracing the sea with its girth for a short moment and replied.
        “She’s not a NightWing, she probably flew all day and will need a good night sleep. I shall join her when the sun rises again.”

[center]***[/center]

        As the astral orb of day slowly peaked over the waves, Moonlight left the palace after another night full of discoveries and more NightWing history to write. She gently pat the book tucked in the leather pouch gifted to her by DreamBig, a young dragonet gifted with the power of prophecy and barely older than her. He had told her that he loved creating with his own claws and crafting leather and other materials to make pouches and other bags for his fellow dragons. He had seen that he would fly all over Pyrrhia and share his creations with all the tribes one day but for now, he was happy with honing his skills with his parents by his side.
        A campfire was burning low in the middle of the city, with a few carcasses piled up in a corner ready to be recycled first thing in the morning, well, in what was the NightWings’ morning. The flames danced softly and projected weak shadows as the sun rose further up. The wood and stone cabins that the tribe had built were carefully aligned in a way that neither door nor any other opening would point West or East, and a thick lining of a dark substance coated the wood to both protect against fire and light so that the NightWings inside could sleep without being bothered by the daylight if they wanted to. Still, a good number of them continued to prefer sleeping outside including Fierceteeth herself.
        Moonlight walked casually among them towards her own cabin, careful not to make a noise around those who were already asleep. She also refrained to speak to DarkStalker, on his own advice, while she was among other NightWings.
        As she came close to her own place, she heard some noise inside and a soft groan followed by a jaw-breaking yawn.
        “I guess you slept well?” she said peeking through the door.
        Tidal looked up and smile, a thunk resonated on the cabin floor.
        “Oh hi! I’m glad to finally see you!”, she got up on all fours from the bed and resume, “and yes, quite well, thank you. You guys built some really good cabins!”
        Moonlight chuckled as she walked inside.
        “Fierceteeth said I could use your cabin, I hope you don’t mind.” Inquired Tidal.
        “Well, if Fierceteeth said it was fine, who am I to say otherwise?”
        Tidal gently smacked Moonlight’s nose with her tail.
        “It’s your cabin, silly, not hers!”
        “And I’m happy to see you too!” grinned Moonlight.
        Tidal smile broadened.
        The two dragonesses stared at each other for a while and the awkwardness grew quickly as seconds passed by until a dragon burped outside.
        “So er... d-did you have a good trip, Tidal?” sheepishly asked Moonlight.
        “Oh er... yeah, I... did...”
        They both looked just as flustered and neither knew what to say or do for a long moment. Then Tidal looked at Moonlight who had been staring at her and appreciating what she was seeing for the first time.
        “Wait... you can... See?!”, exclaimed Tidal.
        “What? Oh that, yeah I can.” Dismissed the NightWing as if it had been the least uncommon event that happened to her.
        “You [i]do[/i] seem awfully calm for someone who was blind not so long ago.” Pressed the SeaWing.
        “I... Well, since I arrived here, I met...” Moonlight voice trailed as she looked around. “A... [i]Friend[/i] who helped me with that.”
        Tidal felt some confusion as to what Moonlight didn’t want to say but she wasn’t sure why.
        “I will tell you tomorrow...” Moonlight quickly responded as she noticed Tidal’s attitude, “I mean tonight, when I go back to the City and... well, that is, if you want to come with me... Sorry I should have asked first instead of making assumptions.”
        Tidal smiled again.
        “I’d be glad to go with you and visit that place indeed.”
        Moonlight hesitated, took half a step forward. [i]Was it the right thing to do?[/i] It did feel like it was, if she believed her instinct. She refused to look at DarkStalker, she was too afraid he might disapprove of her. She closed her eyes and finished her step pushing her muzzle under Tidal’s. She could feel Tidal hesitating too, for a split second before she pressed back against her.
        “It’s good to have you here.” Moonlight whispered.
        “It’s good to be here.” The SeaWing replied in the same tone.
        After a moment, Moonlight stepped back and sighed, she pulled a thick blanket from her bed and spread it on the ground before laying down on it and inviting Tidal next to her.
        “Please, sit down.”
        The blue dragon folded her wings tight and did so. For a moment, only birds chirping could be heard outside. Moonlight started to feel something she hadn’t considered in a long while. [i]How long had it been since she arrived in the Night City?[/i] She was afraid to ask. [i]What had happened outside since then?[/i] She looked at Tidal, the SeaWing was really beautiful, her cyan scales running down her sides from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail contrasted with her general indigo hue, almost exactly how she imagined she would appear when she couldn’t see. Even if when the last time they met, it wasn’t in the best of conditions.
        “I...” she stopped and hesitated again, looking down at her talons before she turned her gaze at her again.
        Tidal looked at her questioningly but she didn’t seem mad or surprised, just waiting for her to say something.
        “H..How was your trip?” she ask, almost stumbling on the words as it was the first she managed to say.
        “Oh... well, I broke out of jail.” Tidal mentioned casually.
        “YOU WHAT?!” Moonlight yelped.
        Outside, several NightWings grumbled, tossed and turned in their sleep.
        Moonlight flattened her ears and repeated in a much lower voice:
        “You what?”
        “Well, after you left, Coral threw me in jail for protecting you and since she’s... well, Coral... She didn’t feel like pulling me out of there, so I took it upon myself to revoke my sentence.”
        “You feel awfully proud of you...” Moonlight pointed out.
        Tidal shrugged.
        “Eh, she’ll get used to it, or she’ll find another animus... within the next triple full moon.”, she chuckled.
        Moonlight felt compelled to laugh with her, it was good to have another actual dragon that you could relate to.
        “Anyway, I was worried about you since nothing moved on my side so, I flew to you.”
        “But how did you know where I was?”
        Tidal smirked and gave her a knowing look.
        “Ooooh... Right, right.”
        “I stopped on my way here in the RainForest to see if there was anything I could find there...”
        Tidal paused for a moment and Moonlight stared at her. Her electric blue eyes shining brightly in the morning sun.
        “I think I visited your house there... It’s the one in the hill side at the outer limit of the Night village, right?”
        Moonlight earnestly nodded.
        “Yes...” she paused for a second and sat up, her wings neatly folded along her body, almost wrapping it and her tail curled around her hind legs as if she was actively reviving some sour memories. Her stand appeared majestic with her neck and head bathing in the morning glow as her veiled eyes reflected the light of the sun while she stared in the distance. 
        “That’s where my parnets died.”
        Outside her cabin, several NightWings mumbled in their dreams... 
        "Parnets" 
        "Parnets" 
        "Parnets"