[center][h1]Chapter 16[/h1][/center]
        The sun had already set when both dragoness woke up to the smell of cooking fishes on the communal firepit. They stretched and quickly joined the other NightWings, Tidal could feel some resentment as they approached. Clearly, there was a sort of uneasiness towards Moonlight when she walked among them. She tried to keep a low profile and followed her silently. She would ask question later when they would be away from the camp.
        Moonlight didn’t seem to notice or care any other way as she eventually introduced her to a few NightWings that didn’t appear to mind being around her. There was DreamBig and his parents and a couple house builders who looked like the rough kind on the outside but who would not dare hurting another dragon. Tidal spoke with them openly of her trip and her reason here. It was still a bit difficult for her to be referred as Moonlight’s girlfriend even if deep inside, she knew it was true. What could Moonlight have said about her before she arrived? Did she even say something or was it just the way she acted near her? Tidal suddenly felt very self-conscious and tried to concentrate on how she acted.
        She looked back at Moonlight, the dark green NightWing was discussing with her friend. She felt like there was something really mysterious about her, almost eerie. They hadn’t been together much yet, and each time it had only been for short periods but it seemed that she had known from the very first moment they met that she had a crush on her. She could tell it hadn’t been reciprocal until very recently but she wasn’t sure if it had been from their last interaction or if she had been tricked into it by her [i]friend[/i] that she was supposed to tell her about.
        Tidal was taken slightly aback when Moonlight turned to her and said they were going out to visit Night City. It felt like she had barely spoken to her friends and just left as soon as she greeted them. But they didn’t seem to mind nonetheless, so she just waved a wing to them with a smile and followed Moonlight.
        The NightWing whistled to herself a bit, a rhythmic but eerie air that she had never heard before. Before she could say a word, Moonlight turned around with a smile and jump-hugged her.
        “I’m so so happy you’re here Tidal!!” she exclaimed.
        “Woah girl, you are quite excited this morning...” Tidal chuckled.
        Moonlight nodded and turned her head.
        “Should I tell her?” she said to the empty space next to her.
        “Well, she’s my girlfriend and I trust her, plus you’re just a ghost...”, she then paused and frowned before continuing, “without his power.”
        She turned her head back to Tidal as if she had been talking to someone else. There was nothing the SeaWing could decipher on her expression that would tell if she had become mad or if this was a trick. Tidal tensed up her muscles, looking around suspiciously.
        “Well, he agreed. Not that he has a say into it anyway...”, Moonlight pointed out.
        “Wh..at? Who?”
        “DarkStalker.” She replied matter-of-factly, as if the answer was evident.
        Tidal blinked and raised an eyebrow.
        “You... are talking to him?.. Right now?” she inquired.
        “Yes! Well, I mean no but yes.”
        The SeaWing cocked her head and swished her tail in frustration.
        “Ok ok, let me explain,” Moonlight seemed overly enthusiastic to share this [i]secret[/i] with her, “so you remember when you noticed I could see when you arrived.”
        Tidal nodded solemnly.
        “Well, turns out DarkStalker made a spell to help blind dragons see around Night City...”, the dragoness went on for several minutes explaining how she had found it out, the scroll and the ghostly head of DarkStalker being by her side.
        Once she finished, Tidal was frowning, the SeaWing trying to see a reason behind that spell and if there wasn’t more to it than meets the eyes. “[i]If it’s too good to be true...[/i]” she thought. She wanted to tell Moonlight about her suspicions over it but she wasn’t sure how she would react. Instead she grabbed a small pebble, stared at it and pondered for a short bit while Moonlight was discussing outwardly with [i]that[/i] DarkStalker not worrying that any dragon could eavesdrop on her.
        “Mind if I join in on the conversation?” she asked suddenly.
        Moonlight blinked a bit and smiled.
        “You may be his spell but you obviously can’t tell what she is...”, she remarked and turned back to Tidal, “He said you can’t join as the spell only works for blind dragons, but he doesn’t know you’re an animus.”
        Tidal grinned slyly.
        “Well, if you will allow me...”
        She looked intently at the pebble and recited in her mind: “[i]rock, I enchant thee to let me experience exactly what DarkStalker’s spell does to Moonlight without any of the mind-altering effects he would have put in his spell that would make a dragon love, trust or obey him unconditionally, the spell will be effective until I stop holding you.[/i]” 
        She would usually say her spell out loud but she didn’t feel like it would be a good idea to reveal too much before she could know what that spell was capable of, so she only enunciated it in her mind, being careful not to think of anything else while reciting her own spell.
        A flash of light, as if the sun had suddenly rose again in the sky and then the darkness fell back on her. For a moment, it didn’t feel like anything had changed but then slowly she started to notice highlights around the buildings, each detail seemed to pop out further than necessary and each street had their contours marked with bright colors. The same ones that were in total ruins a second ago now looked as if they were brand new and never actually suffered the passage of time. More over, she could see the colorful ways the NightWings painted their walls and paths. As Tidal stared longer, she realized that her conclusion wasn’t exactly accurate. The buildings weren’t pristine again but rather their mint appearance superimposed over their own ruins, only those that still stood straight didn’t feel as uncanny.
        Tidal was almost in awe at what she saw, being able to revisit a long gone city was not something she had ever imagined in her wildest dreams. It never occurred to her that animus magic could do that. She realized how long and crafted that spell must have been and her mind slowly wandered about all the complex spells DarkStalker must have written in his spare time.
        “You think of her as violet but she’s emerald, if you adapt to it, you will light her darkness.”
        Tidal jumped back in surprise as the voice came right from her left side. If a dragon had walked by her, she hadn’t heard anything. She felt a bit worried as her heart raced in her chest. She wasn’t able to see any dragon next to her. Did her spell go wrong?
        “Sis! I’m so glad to see you again!” claimed another unfamiliar voice.
        Tidal turned her head towards it, but all she saw was Moonlight. The dragoness was surrounded by a gentle green aura pulsing with every movement she made. In this new [i]vision[/i], Moonlight’s eyes were not covered by their veils anymore. She could see them in their perfectly bright emerald color as she stared back at her, blinking every so often. She was truly enthralled by her beauty in this almost dreamy state until she spotted [i]him[/i].
        His head was larger than Moonlight’s and was floating about a yard away from her and in plain view for any dragon to see, if they were under the correct spell that is. Unlike Moonlight’s green and purple hints around her scales, his were a perfect midnight black, easily contrasting with the vivid surroundings, except for the two unique teardrop-shaped scales at the corner of his eyes.
        He was acting as if he hadn’t noticed her and although he seemed focused on her general direction, she could tell he wasn’t looking at her, but rather slightly to her left and apparently having a long monologue about it. That’s when she caught a glimpse of it, another spectral head by her side, the one that undoubtedly scared her the first time she had heard its voice. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed DarkStalker wasn’t actually monologuing, he was talking at length with whom he had called his [i]sis[/i] earlier. Tidal stared at the floating head next to her, it was also altogether black however it had hints of dark sapphire blue, its eyes were a striking pale blue shade trailed by the same teardrop-shape scales albeit much duller, to a point that one wouldn’t see them if they didn’t pay enough attention; yet unlike her brother’s twisted horns, she had two straight white horns surrounded by several spikes, the likes Tidal had only seen on IceWings.
        As she pulled her eyes away from her, she realized Moonlight hadn’t say a word in a while, and for a good reason, DarkStalker and his sister had been talking ever since she appeared. “[i]It seems she only appeared after I cast my spell if I judge by their incessant conversation...[/i]”
        She coughed loudly to get their attention and the silence fell between them followed by all six eyes turning to her. 
        “[i]Oh dear...[/i]” she thought.
        Did she make a mistake? Was the spell going to backfire on her if she had forgotten some ways to protect herself? It was too late now anyway... 
        She could always drop the pebble if anything went wrong.
        A guttural laugh sounded from DarkStalker as she was delving into her thoughts. She glanced back at him.
        “Well well, I see that someone tried to replicate my spell.” He cackled.
        “[i]His[/i] spell.” Said Moonlight.
        DarkStalker looked a bit offended but tried to hide it.
        “Well, yes, obviously. But I’m still him, I mean me...” he blabbered.
        “Hardly, but we already discussed that several times.” Moonlight replied coldly.
        “And I enjoy our discussions quite a lot”, he replied with a courteous smile.
        “So do I.” She smiled back with no hint of resentment.
        “[i]Maybe she is not under his spell after all.[/i]” Thought Tidal.
        “Anyway,” he continued and turned his head, “welcome Tidal, may you enjoy this spell with your friend here.”
        Tidal nodded politely and looked at the head by her side.
        “And who might you be?” she kindly inquired.
        “I am Whiteout, I like to paint and knit.” The pale blue eyes stared at her for a moment, “You question yourself a lot, each word has controllable outcome with consequences the likes of a rolling boulder. Indigo is not you, you will have to go...”
        “She is my sister,” quickly added DarkStalker, “I am glad that you brought her here, I haven’t talked to her in so long, I truly missed her.”
        “But you’re just a spell, aren’t you?” Asked Tidal.
        “A spell with feelings.” He pointed out.
        She looked at Moonlight and the NightWing dragoness nodded softly.
        “But wait a minute, I was supposed to experience the same thing as Moonlight here, how come your sister manifested besides me instead of you.”
        “Because there can only be one me.” DarkStalker beamed for a second, “but more seriously, that’s part of my... [i]the[/i] spell: if you try to force it, you don’t get to experience me directly, you get someone else.”
        “I will help you knit the thread of teal you want.” Whiteout said almost blankly but with a kind tone.
        Tidal blinked at her. She couldn’t figure out what she had meant by that. [i]Was it a sort of dialect from long ago that NightWings used or was it some kind of prophecy?[/i] The SeaWing pondered for a short bit and then asked.
        “I’m afraid I didn’t understand what you were saying, Whiteout.”
        “My sister is saying that she will help you find your path in life.” DarkStalker offered, “The one with your partner.”
        Seeing that Tidal was not any less confused, he added.
        “My sister associates colors with dragons or objects and that’s how she expresses herself. I must admit, I sometimes am not able to understand everything from her either.”
        “Even with all the spell you cast?” Tidal replied snarly.
        There was a long and awkward pause as DarkStalker face went from shock, to questioning to mild anger and back to impassible. It seemed clear he didn’t want to reply to that question. Would it be that he considered his sister too important to cast a spell on her or even one to try to understand her?
        “So, er...” Moonlight intervened, “this is the [i]friend[/i] I told you about yesterday. I hope you’re not mad at me...”
        Tidal blinked and turned her head to her friend, she was hanging her head low as if in shame.
        “Why would I be mad at you?”
        “Well, he is [i]DarkStalker[/i] and the other NightWings sort of [i]hate[/i] him for what he did...”
        “First of all, I’m not a NightWing.” Said Tidal proudly, “and secondly, it’s not like you had any choice in meeting him anyway. Did you do something special to get him to manifest like that?”
        Moonlight went on to explain how it all started as she approached DarkStalker’s Teeth and she suddenly heard his voice in her head and how she had been scared of it and the animus magic around the city, but that she eventually got used to it since she has started living in here.
        Tidal gaze went from Moonlight to DarkStalker to Whiteout, trying to see how any of them would react to the story but none of the ghostly heads appeared to care or be affected by it whatsoever even if she had the feeling that DarkStalker just did not want to reveal anything; As for Whiteout, she was clearly not even interested in it, regularly staring at the sea in the distance where the moonglades shone bright. 
        Tidal then took a couple steps forward and pressed her head under Moonlight’s softly.
        “Of course, I am not mad at you, you silly dragoness.” She whispered.
        “I hope you will stay here with me in the city...” pleaded Moonlight.
        Tidal glanced at both the heads before replying.
        “We will work something out.”
		
        As the night pressed on, Moonlight trotted around the city, mentioning and pointing out every little thing they passed by even if they seemed insignificant as if she knew all the secrets the city had and eagerly wanted to share them. Here she would mention an ancient relic that had belonged to a noble dragon, there she would reveal what spell DarkStalker had used to help the school or other dragons in need.
        Tidal had a hard time keeping up with her, the NightWing was talking incessantly and running from places to places, as if they only had this night to visit all of them and that she tried to squeeze the most out of it.
        DarkStalker had been almost completely silent during the visit, only pointing a thing or two that Moonlight got wrong or to add to her story. Whiteout, on the other talon followed next to her silently, she noticed how the spell made her always stay in her field of view no matter where she looked, the same way it did for DarkStalker and Moonlight. Only when she was directly asked a question would Whiteout reply in her own ways that DarkStalker had to translate. Although she had wanted to a couple of times, Tidal refrained from using a spell to translate her directly. It just didn’t feel right.
        The three moons were now low on the horizon and the sun threatened to light up the sea. Tidal was surprised that she had managed to stay up all night without feeling too much tired. But now that she thought about it...
        She struggled to resist a yawn when Moonlight brought her in the corner of a tower they had already visited earlier that night. She found it peculiar that she would come back to it, as if she had forgotten something.
        “I thought I would finish here. Ever since DarkStalker had shown me this secret place, I had thought of showing it to you.”
        Tidal’s curiosity was piqued and took a step closer. She couldn’t see anything particular about it but then Moonlight pressed a secret button and a large panel of the wall swung out.
        “Please follow me.” Offered Moonlight.
        The SeaWing felt reluctant to go as if it could be another trick from DarkStalker but then she couldn’t just leave Moonlight alone there, now that she was able to help her. Plus, the ghostly animus dragon has been surprising non-threatening all night, almost to the point that Tidal wondered if some of his feats had not been overly exaggerated. He seemed... nice.
        She suddenly froze when she realized and almost dropped the pebble. A couple heartbeats passed before she resumed breathing. It was just a false alarm and her [i]own[/i] mind had been thinking this. She still was very wary of him, even in his supposedly powerless form. His sister though, was quite intriguing. She hadn’t remember any mention of her in the history books. She wanted to talk more with her if she could find the time... but then she might need DarkStalker to translate for her or cast a spell, or just maybe learn her ways...
        “Something wrong?” Moonlight asked.
        “Hmm? No.” She shook her head. “Nothing important, dear.”
        Moonlight nodded and turned away from her to climb the stairs. They walked up the tower slowly, one after the other, Tidal almost touching Moonlight’s tail while admiring the fine work a spell could do if it was thoroughly thought out. Not that she didn’t know about Albatross’ accomplishments but they both came from a time long gone, if she could learn their ways again.
        As they reached the top platform, Moonlight paused and put her talon on the door then looked at Tidal and smiled as the door silently opened. The room was dark but she could see that the floor was made of ornated wood, several essences mixed together to form shapes and paths, as if they were recounting a story.
        The place seemed wide and endless, like a hole of darkness that could swallow everyone and everything that entered it. Her heart skipped a bit before she trailed Moonlight inside. The light seemed to follow them too as the floor lit just enough to show the next tile before them until they were fully inside. A warm glow started to fill the room from their position, expanding around to the walls and then up to the ceiling. 
        The walls were made of alternating lavish brown and pink wood planks. Every other wall had a thick dark brown demarcation that surrounded a recess covered with the same planks and on which was bolted a large plaque that held a lamp at the end of a recurved suspender. The other three walls each had a large open window to the night sky where each of the moon appear in its own dedicated window, which seemed impossible at first, until Tidal remembered that it was probably just another spell.
        In the middle of the room, a thick wood pedestal stood fiercely, its content still hidden in the dark. From what she could gather, it looked like some kind of nightmarish apparatus that only a twisted mind would be able to create.
        As the light turned on, it looked even worse than what she had imagined at first and it took all her might to stare at it and try to figure it out. From the main circular form, several branches sprouted, she counted no less than five spreading straight out of it horizontally and at least four more vertically. They were very thick and sturdy but she wasn’t sure at first if those were just for decoration, even if it didn’t look very pleasing, or actually animus-powered arm that would catch and kill them.
        Each branch appeared to have some kind of strings stretched over them, for unknown purposes, ranging from just two strings up to eight on the thickest one but what she saw next as she moved closer to investigate, turned her blood to ice.
        A multitude of spider legs curled up and grouped together, here two, there eight. Ready to strike and hit whoever had the misfortune to come too close to them. Tidal was about to scream when she realized nothing had moved since they entered the room. Either waiting a little more before striking or just because... it was an instrument!
        A musical instrument, although a twisted one at that, as it looked more like someone had mashed several of them together in a fit of rage rather than design this out of love and purpose. As she looked even closer, what she had first mistaken as spider legs, were actuated arms that would, if moved, press onto the strings to pinch them over the different outstretched branches for some, and pluck or strike the strings for others, which, she thought, would produce a sound... or a noise, as she wasn’t sure this thing would be able to create any pleasant music.
        The branches ended up with several metal beads that if turned could tension the strings, and she wondered if anyone was still maintaining those after all the years it had been in Night City. All the limbs were covered in black wood that had been fitted with metal bars crossing throughout their length. The center of the device had been hollowed out and several holes were placed under the strings to probably help them resonate.
        Silently and very smoothly, a couple of the arm rose in the air placing themselves at a specific position over their strings then implacably lowered themselves before another perpendicular set of arms started striking the string as an [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKnRgsoO2ME]eerie music[/url] filled the room.
        As the melody carried on, Moonlight pressed herself against her with her eyes half-closed and she murmured.
        “I love you, Tidal.”