I heaved a sigh of relief as I finally emerged from Webs' cave. He had gone through all the usual drills - testing if I could fly properly, checking my fire-breathing abilities, and other typical dragon skills. I'm not sure why, but I always feel drained after these sessions for no apparent reason. As usual, I kept to myself and tried to stay in the background, away from the other dragonets.

"Icemoon, there you are!" Tsunami called as she emerged from her cave, nuzzling me with her snout. "Come on, Starflight is going to read to us again so we can sleep." I mumbled and padded after her.

We arrived at the main sleeping chamber where Starflight had already unfurled one of his precious scrolls. Sunny was curled up under Clay's wing, and Tsunami and I were the last to join. Starflight glanced up as we entered, his eyes meeting mine for a brief moment before darting away. I settled down next to Clay, folding my wings over my head as I lay down.

Starflight cleared his throat. "Alright, let's begin," he said, and started reading from the scroll about how the great dragon war began. As I lay there, my mind wandered, pondering over everything we'd learned.

I sighed, starting to drift off to sleep, when a nudge from Sunny made me roll over and look up at her. I noticed she was the only other dragon left in the cave.

"What now?" I grumbled.

"The others have gone. I thought you'd want to join them," she said brightly.

I sighed again, my tail thumping against the cave wall, making my spikes rattle. "Fine." I stood and headed towards the cave entrance, but noticed Suny wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?" I asked.

Sunbeam shook her head. "Tsunami told me to stay here and sort the scrolls."

I sighed and shook my head, padding out. Poor Sunbeam never gets to know what's really going on.

I made my way to the cave with the underground river. Clay looked up as I entered and smiled. "Icemoon, there you are!"

I sighed and sat down by the river, the cool water rushing past my talons. "What now?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Tsunami flicked her tail against the ground, sending small pebbles scattering. "Well, it's time we make our escape," she said, her voice tinged with frustration. The earth seemed to tremble under the force of her anger. "I overheard Kestrel and some of the others talking. They're planning to either ship us off tomorrow or leave you behind when the time comes for the rest of us to go." Her eyes blazed with fury.

The news made my heart pound, fear clawing at my insides, but I was too uncertain, too paralyzed to respond. I could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on me, the uncertainty wrapping around my wings and holding me in place. Tsunami's anger was palpable, like a storm ready to break, but all I could do was sit there, the sounds of the forest and the rushing river filling the heavy silence between us.

"How can we escape?" I finally asked.

Tsunami's eyes lit up with a determined glint, and she smiled. Starflight twisted his claws nervously. "Are you sure we should do this? I mean, of course, I want to have your backs, but..." He sighed, his wings drooping. "I... I just can't do everything you guys do."

I smiled and stood up, looking him in the eye. "Starflight, you're the smartest dragon here. If anyone can figure out an escape route, it's you."

He looked down, still unsure, but I could see the gears turning in his mind. The sounds of the forest surrounded us, a chorus of insects and distant bird calls. The river flowed steadily beside us, a reminder of the world we wanted to be free in. Tsunami stepped closer, her presence a steady force beside me.

"Think about it, Starflight," she urged. "We need you. Without your intelligence, we'll never make it out of here."

Starflight's eyes flicked between us, his resolve slowly solidifying. "Alright," he said quietly, then more firmly, "Alright. I'll do it. But we need a solid plan."

As he spoke, I felt a spark of hope ignite within me. We were in this together, and together, we just might make it.

"What about Sunny?" Clay asked, shifting where he sat next to a scroll Sunny had forgotten. His brow furrowed with concern.

"We don't tell her until the last minute," Tsunami replied, her voice firm. She dug her claws into the ground, sending small pebbles flying. "She can't keep a secret to save her life." Her tail flicked with impatience. "She's just a bit too bubbly like that."

The forest around us seemed to hold its breath, the rustling leaves and distant bird calls a constant reminder of the world outside our prison. Clay looked down at the scroll, worry etched on his face. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the same tension we all felt.

"But we need her," Clay said softly, his eyes pleading. "She's part of our group."

"Of course we need her," Tsunami snapped, her scales glittering in the dappled sunlight. "But if she knows too soon, she'll give us away without even meaning to."

I glanced at Starflight, who was deep in thought, his mind no doubt racing with plans and possibilities. "We'll figure it out," I said, trying to sound confident. "We have to."

The river beside us continued its steady flow, a symbol of the freedom we longed for. The forest, the river, the distant mountains—all of it felt just out of reach. But with Tsunami's determination, Starflight's intelligence, and Clay's unwavering loyalty, I began to believe that maybe, just maybe, we could make it.

Suddenly, we all heard the large entrance gate slam into place, and we exchanged glances. "Something's happening," Tsunami said. She hurried over to the door, her ears twitching and the spines along her back standing straight up. "We need to go and listen."

Starflight slowly spread his wings. "We'll probably find out what it is in the morning."

"I don't want to wait that long." Tsunami spun around and flicked her tail at his underbelly, causing him to stagger back with a grunt. "Don't be a smoke-breather! Come on!" She darted out of the cave.

I gave Starflight an encouraging look before hurrying out after her, with Clay right behind me.

The night air was cool against my scales as we moved silently through the shadows. The forest was alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures, but my focus was on Tsunami's determined figure ahead of me. We crept closer to the source of the noise, our hearts pounding with a mix of fear and curiosity.

Tsunami paused, her eyes narrowing as she listened intently. "They're talking about us," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I strained to hear, catching snippets of conversation that sent chills down my spine.

Starflight finally caught up, his eyes wide with worry. "What do we do?" he whispered.

"We need to know their plans," Tsunami replied, her voice firm. "It's the only way we'll have a chance to escape."

Clay's eyes were filled with determination. "Then let's get closer."

Together, we inched forward, our movements synchronized, our breathing shallow. The stakes were higher than ever, but for the first time, I felt a surge of hope. We were a team, and together, we could face anything.

"Coming here? Without warning? After six years, he's suddenly interested?" A jet of fire shot from Kestrel's snout, shattering the nearest stone pillar.

"Maybe he wants to make sure they're ready to stop the war," Webs suggested, his tone cautious.

Dune snorted. "These dragonets? He's going to be very disappointed." He settled onto a flat stone slab, stretching his stump of a foreleg and his injured wing toward the fire. The large SandWing never talked about his scars or how he lost his foot, but the dragonets could guess from the bitterness in his voice whenever he mentioned the war.

Webs growled, "Don't be so cynical. You like Icemoon as much as the rest of us."

Dune rolled his eyes. "I don't like any of them," he snarled back.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing thoughts. Tsunami, Clay, and I had been listening in silence, hidden in the shadows. The tension in the air was palpable, and we knew that what we were overhearing could change everything.

"We need to find a way to prove them wrong," Tsunami whispered. "We're not just kids. We can do this."

"But how?" Clay asked, his eyes wide with worry.

"We start by understanding what they really want," Starflight replied, who had now joined us. "And then we come up with a plan to show them how strong we really are."

We exchanged glances, a shared resolve forming between us. We stood on the brink of something huge, and there was no turning back now. Whatever awaited us, we would face it together.

We continued to eavesdrop on the conversation among the older dragons, the tension palpable in the crisp night air.

"Does he even know what happened?" Kestrel demanded, her voice sharp and demanding. "Does he know about the broken egg and the RainWing? Or the defective SandWing?"

I blinked, puzzled. There was no RainWing here, and Sunny was perfectly fine, despite what Kestrel seemed to believe. But it was clear that these senior dragons had their own set of priorities, and those were the only ones that seemed to matter to them. Their words seemed to float in the air, mingling with the rustle of the leaves and the crackling of the fire.

Webs slammed his wings against the ground in frustration, sending a shower of sparks from the embers. "I don't know what he knows or why he cares," he said. "The message just said 'Morrowseer is coming.' I'm supposed to meet him and bring him here tomorrow."

I felt a pang of sympathy for Webs. He was just doing his job, caught in the middle of something much larger than himself. But the mention of the RainWing puzzled me further. I wondered why I hadn't seen any sign of that RainWing and what it all meant. It was as if there was a piece missing from the puzzle, and I needed to find it to understand the full picture.

The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting long shadows and adding to the sense of mystery. The forest was alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures, but our focus was entirely on the conversation unfolding before us. My heart raced as I tried to piece together the clues.

Tsunami's tail flicked nervously, her eyes reflecting the firelight. "We need to be careful," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "There's something we're not being told."

Clay shifted next to me, his eyes dark with concern. "What if the RainWing is important? What if it's connected to why we're here?"

Starflight nodded thoughtfully. "We need to find out more. There's too much at stake."

We exchanged determined glances, a silent agreement passing between us. We had to uncover the truth behind these secrets. Whatever it was that Morrowseer was coming for, whatever the implications of the missing RainWing, we needed to know. We were on the edge of something crucial, and it was up to us to unravel it.

"I'm not worried about Sunny," Dune growled, his voice like gravel. "We followed the prophecy's instructions. It's not our fault she turned out the way she did. But the RainWing—that's something he won't like."

A deep rumble of discontent emanated from Kestrel's throat. "I don't like it either. Never have."

"Glory isn't so bad," Webs argued, his tone defensive. "She's cleverer than she lets on. And what about IceMoon? She's exactly what the prophecy demanded."

"Yes, she's perpetually exhausted," Dune retorted. "And you need to look at yourself, too."

"I can see just fine, Dune, thanks," the seabird snapped, his feathers bristling. He flicked his tail dismissively. "But I think our dragonets are fine. If he doesn't like them, he can find some of his own."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. It was about time Webs showed what he was made of.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kestrel bared her fangs, her eyes flashing with frustration. "If he pokes around too much, the entire continent will know more about the NightWings than it should! And then we'll have our heads on pikes!"

Webs sighed deeply, withdrawing into his usual shell whenever Kestrel's temper flared.

I felt a surge of irritation. What a foolish dragon.

Kestrel took a steadying breath. "Did Talons say what he wants?"

"Well, it's his prophecy," Webs said, his voice edged with resignation. "I suppose he wants to make sure it actually comes true."

My heart skipped a beat. Morrowseer—the NightWing who had declared the dragonet prophecy ten years ago—was coming. The realization dawned on me like the first rays of sunlight breaking through the morning mist. Perhaps Morrowseer was more crucial than I had ever imagined. He was coming to meet us. Perhaps he would take us under his wing and show us what lay beyond our confinement. Maybe we wouldn't need to escape after all.

Everything felt on the brink of change, and the future seemed to stretch out before us like an uncharted horizon.