Thorium arrived at the wall of leaves and ran straight through startling Amazon. "Mom! Mom over here!" he yelled. She ran over with Katina on her back.

   "Kat told me what happened. Bring him to the hollow, then take Kat to her hollow and stay there until I'm done," she commanded compasionatly. Thorium nodded once and galloped to an underground hollow on the north east side of the great willow.

   It was large enough to house about 24 full grown dragons. Small crystal shards dangled from the roots of the tree reflects the light outside, making it seem rainbow. Multiple nests made of palm tree leaves, moss, and deer pelts were lined on one side. On the other side, shelves carved out of wood and sandstone held tortise shells full of herbs, along with jars and viles filled with potions and water.

   Thorium rolled the large NightWing onto the nest closest to the shelves just as Amazon ran in. She got to work as Katina hopped off of her back onto his. He sadly walked out, looking behind him once before leaving to Katina's hollow.

   Her hollow was, messy. It was large enough to hold her and all of her stuff, but there were things scattered everywhere. There were shelves on the left side of her hollow that held peices of scrolls and some books. On the other side was a sort of nest sort of bed. It was mad of palm leaves, deer pelts and moss, like the other nests around the sanctuary, but it was more oval than the others. Her clothes were scattered all over the floor. On the wall opposite of the entrance sat a single framed drawing Katina had made of her, Thorium, and Amazon posed as if it was a family portrait. A large tangle of branches were directly outside of the hollows entrance, while a curtain of oak and maple leaves served as a door.

   Thorium sat outside her hollow as she passed the curtain of leaves. "So. Who do you think that dragon was?" she asked. He shrugged his wings. He lied down, wrapping his prehensile tail around the branches. Katina emerged from her hollow with a sketchbook Amazon made for her 9th birthday and a sack of pencils. She hopped onto his back and started drawing the screech owl she owned as a pet.

   "Did you see the marking on the NightWing?" Thorium asked after a few minutes.

   "What marking?" Katina asked, not looking up from her drawing. She looked up at the screech owl as it slept peacefully.

   "The one on his right shoulder, it was a dark red," he replied.

   "Oh that mark! Yeah I saw it. What do you think it is?" she asked. Thorium shrugged a second time and they both fell in silence again. Aside from the sound of pencil on paper and Thorium tapping his front claws on the branch until he fell asleep.

-2 hours later-

   Thorium jerked awake, accidentally shaking Katina awake as well. "Are we under attack?!" she yelped.

   "No. No sorry," he grumbled sleepily. "I just. I just had that nightmare again, and this time! The wolf ate me!"

   "Seriously?! How intense was it? On a scale from one to ten."

   "About a seven." He shook his head slightly.

   "Yeesh. Next time we go into town, I'm getting you a dream catcher." She looked at the now finished drawing of the screech owl. "What do you think?" He looked at the drawing and nodded.

   "That's really good Kat." She snorted, lifting her head up with a smirk. Thorium rolled his eyes, smiling. Amazon called for them to come down. They both looked at each other before climbing down. Katina quickly put her stuff in her hollow. "Is the dragon ok?"

   "His name is Nightstalker, he'll be fine and back on his feet in a month or two. He claimed to be out on a scouting mission of his own, before he was attacked viciously by hunters," She explained.

   "What about the symbol on his shoulder?" Thorium asked, tilting his head.

   "I asked him about that too. It's the symbol of the Autobots. A pack of scavengers who are working to stop the hunters. He's asking for you both."

   Once they were both in the large burrow, they approached the older NightWing. He was lying on his belly like a giant cat, he lifted his head off of his front talons and looked at them. A large bandage was on top of where his wound was. Thorium felt intimidated right away, while Katina felt her normal tough hided self.  When he spoke, his voice was low, growly, and rough.

   "I never got to thank you for rescuing me. I most likely would've died had you not found me. I am Nightstalker, I am allied with the Autobots. You are?"

   "Thorium."

   "Katina!"

   The large dragon smiled softly, wrapping his tail around his body. "According to Amazon, I need to stay here for a while. Which means I cannot report back to the Autobots, which means they won't be able to learn about what I discovered just on the outskirts of your territory. I'm asking you two to go find the Autobot base and talk to them," he explained.