Clouds Don’t Last Forever
The two of them looked down in silence. The bright circle had slowly been covered up as dark clouds began to drizzle. The boys did not take cover though. Nothing in the world could be of any comfort. Nothing could take away their mix of regret and grief. Not one single thing could make them happy again. Thunder could be heard echoing all around them, but neither Rinkus nor Sierra noticed the lightning when it struck down in the distance. They merely sat atop the high, rocky cliff looking at area so familiar to them. She was going to depart either way, but they missed the end. Worse, she had gone through it without them.
Rinkus was the first to turn, and he looked at his companion with a grave countenance. When Sierra turned in response, he could not tell if his face was pouring from the rain or his own eyes. He was not the type to hug; he hated them. This was noticeable when he awkwardly jerked Rinkus over and embraced him hard enough to suffocate. The pink flyer was in pain, but one eased the other, so he did not pull away. He spread his wings around his back, and they stood there for several minutes as the sky expressed its sympathy. As the sky water began letting up, they tried letting go in acceptance, but with a nearby flash of lightning and burst of wind, they nearly squeezed each other to death.
“Why did we follow him?” Rinkus asked dejectedly with his eyes clamped shut.
“We had to! Ya hear me? We- had- to!” he almost screamed in reply. “We had no other choice, none at all. Blind hope was better than sittin' around.” He let go and backed up slowly, looking at the ground as Rinkus looked at him, but all they saw was a memory.
“Please… I don’t want you to go… Please…” a female flyer told them sadly.
“Don’t you worry!” Rinkus exclaimed. His cheerfulness took her aback, as she was not expecting a jovial answer at a time like this. He clutched her by the hand as she lay in her nest, her wings wrapped around herself as she struggled to stay warm. “We met someone who can help, yes! He knows a way that will let me do anything!” As she rested on her side, she looked up, not sadly, but pitifully. The moment was interrupted, however, as Sierra jerked his hand away.
“That power is goin’ to me. I’m gonna save her, ya hear?” he almost growled in a low tone.
“Please, I just want to be with-"
Rinkus reaffirmed his grip and stuck out his tongue. The brown flyer, in a rage, tackled him to the ground. As they rolled around, biting and clawing in a rolling motion, the light-grey female groaned. It was not a complaint about the ruckus, but rather, an outcry of pain.
“Now see what you’ve done, you stupid fool!?” Rinkus exclaimed, his eyes widening and teeth clenching in disgust. Instead of running to her side, though, he chewed Sierra out even more. “We need to find that stone to keep her from dying, and here you are making her worse!”
“By the noise?” Sierra asked him.
“Yes!” Rinkus hissed loudly, jutting his face forward.
After a slight pause, Sierra looked up at the pink flyer and asked, “If the noise is makin’ her worse, who’s the one to blame right now?”
Rinkus opened his mouth, raised a wing, then proceeded to do the opposite slowly. He turned to the sick flyer, her face contorted in agony, and then took to the skies at once. Sierra extended his wings to follow but suddenly stopped at the sound of shivering. He grabbed a few leaves, piled them on her, then took off in fast pursuit. The plants were soaked from the morning dew, so she trembled as more chills ran down her spine, but they were from Sierra, so she would not take them off.
As they flew side by side, their thoughts were on saving her, and saving her alone. The landscape down below did not match their thoughts at all, though. There was a filthy stream, polluted with blood from carcasses that sharpteeth had finished with, bubbling tar that gurgled with a sickening beat, a large, flat landscape of hardened gray soil that was entirely barren, and insects devouring each other under the hot sun. In their minds, on the other hand, were beautiful days lined with sky colors, succulent food almost glowing in tenderness, and the serene sound of explicit joy. They both believed that these things would come to pass when she was cured, so they actually smiled as they glided on the air’s currents.
It was Rinkus who jerked back to reality first as the mountain came into view. That was it. That was the spot where they would again meet up with the answer to their problems- the flyer named Pterano. With a gentle flapping of their wings and outstretched feet, they descended onto the peak to discuss the plan. They both looked all around eagerly, jerking their necks around in anticipation, but what they saw caused their lips to curl down; they saw no one. Fists curled in anger, almost seething at the mouth, the two of them came to the conclusion that they’d been duped. Rinkus fell to his knees, his head grazing the ground as his fingers scraped at the dirt in thin lines that drew closer to his knees. He closed his eyelids so hard that they hurt. Rinkus wanted to comfort, but it just felt so against his nature. Therefore, he just stood there in silent awe, wanting to kill a certain flyer.
“A bit early, are we?” a voice suddenly echoed from above. Rinkus jerked up so quickly that he pinched a muscle in his neck, and he grabbed it in pain. With a glance of nonchalance, the brown flyer made it very clear that he had no interest in wasting time.
“We’re heading over to this Great Cave place right now,” he declared. “Show us the way, Pterano.” To further express his readiness, he spread his wings.
“Ahem,” he replied regally. “I am the leader. I give the orders. You follow them,” he spelled out very clearly as he stood as straight as he could with his face focused forward and his wing in the air.
“You decrepit-“ he snarled, stepping forward angrily, but Rinkus stopped him.
“What did you say?” Pterano asked curiously, though he didn’t even bother to look at them.
“He started to call you incredible, but we mustn’t waste time, yes?” Rinkus answered meekly.
“Since when did you stop fights?” Sierra demanded quietly, finally jerking away.
“I told you before, we can’t risk losing this opportunity. And it’s Great Valley, you idiot,” he whispered back in his ear as Pterano was dusting himself off.
Finally clean, the old flyer answered, “Correct! We mustn’t waste time, so stop wasting it by telling me what I know already. Now come along!” he called out, stretching upwards with his wings out. As he gained altitude, the two below snickered.
They flew along in silence, as Pterano was not interested in conversation, and he might hear if the two of them discussed what they would do when they got to the stone. As the Great Valley drew near, Rinkus had a question, and he asked as mildly as he could.
“You sure that longneck you mentioned is going to tell us where that rock fell?” When at first he got no answer, he turned his head slightly in Pterano's direction.
“He will,” Pterano finally answered casually without looking back or moving any more than he already was.
“But how- Oof!” he cried out as he was smacked on the head. He nearly lost the wind flow and plummeted slightly. “What was that for?” He did his best to hide his anger; he met with success.
“I tolerate many things, but one that I cannot stand is a stupid question. I told you I’m related to a friend of his, correct?”
“Ah, now there’s clever thinkin’!” Sierra exclaimed enthusiastically. “Usin’ your own flesh and blood to gain power. I like you.”
Pterano snorted slightly, and his eyes moved slightly downward. Finally, the round walls surrounding their destination were in plain sight. Pterano began scanning the area, as he’d observed enough to know all of Petrie’s friends. He spotted a huge waterfall, but no one there was young enough to be one of them. Spying several children playing tag near a large, circular rock also brought a load of disappointment. Then, with a sudden, “Ah!” he found those he sought and glided past them, descending into some overlooking trees. Rinkus and Sierra followed quietly and landed beside him, waiting patiently for their “leader” to make his move. They never forgot how stupid they were back then.
“Is your foot feelin’ any better?” Sierra asked quietly, glancing down at it to emphasize his concern.
“Huh?” Runkus replied, looking at the same thing blankly.
“From that explosion. How is it doing?” he reiterated, glancing down at it expectantly.
“Oh, right. I was just lost in thought.” He carefully lifted his foot up and down a few times, then, thinking it better, brought it down normally. It was fortunate that Sierra was there to catch him. Unfortunately, balance was not all Rinkus lost.
“Brother, we’re all we have left! Our mother is dead!” Rinkus slammed his wing onto the ground, bruising his knuckles, but he didn’t care about physical pain. “Why didn’t we stay with her!? Why did we leave on a fool’s errand instead of comforting her while she lived!? I just- I just want to DIE! Die! Die…” His face muscles tensed as he cried out again. Despite the storm, it was plain as day that he was crying this time.
Sierra was silent for only a short while before bending over and putting a wing on his sibling’s shoulder. His voice was gentle but strong as a spiketail’s plate.
“Don’t you dare make the same mistake twice.” Rinkus looked up, his eyes opening further, and he bore a look of confusion.
“If you’re really sad you left someone to suffer alone, that you weren’t of any comfort, don’t even think about doing it again.” As the rain showered down fiercely, it was clear there would be no letting up any time soon. The clouds continued to block out the light, but they would not last forever.
