Under The Full Moon

Disappearance

Gale sparred with the old man for a while under the watchful eye of Broin, who had perched himself in a tree just a little ways away after the disagreement with Dillan. It made him smile, watching as the old man jumped out of the way of Gale's paw, or how she ducked away from his mock blows. He knew it was, for the most part, all in fun. As with most of the other matches, they couldn't really apply full force to each other without the risk of hurting one another. Gale especially. Her attacks were too strong to give full force to the humans around her. What he didn't know was the "battle" going on currently was to distract Gale's mind from the argument that had gone on a little while beforehand.

Gale playfully snapped her jaws near the older man, missing him on purpose before she reached out and grabbed the stick that he held. Letting go, he allowed her to pull it away from him before she pulled her head back and let out a trumpet of a roar in triumph. Broin laughed from where he was seated, clapping his hands. "Way to show him, Gale!" He shouted, both the old man and Gale turning around to look at him. The old man waved a hand at Broin as if to dismiss him, giving a light chuckle. 

"Of course you'd be on her side. Not like your mentor matters or anything," The old man spoke, his tone as light as his laughter. Broin playfully rolled his eyes, climbing down from his perch. 

"You matter, Toby. Gale is just..." Broin pauses, his cheeks turning a shade of pink that made Toby laugh. He scowled playfully, looking away from the two before Gale leaned over and bumped her snout against the side of his head. A soft thrum left the dragon's throat, making Broin's face warm up once again. Lifting his arms, Broin settled them gently around Gale's head, burying his fingers against her fur. Toby chuckled softly. 

"And you wanted to wait to tell her," He hummed, moving a little to walk away. He gave Broin a pat on the shoulder as he walked away, the young man turning his head to look at his mentor as he left. Turning back to Gale, Broin sighed. 

"I promise you that before this is through, I'll be able to hold you in my arms where I can keep you safe," He whispered. Gale's eyes closed as she nestled her face closer against Broin. His words alone were enough to make her feel safer. She sat as she was with him for a few minutes before something made them both turn toward the forest. "Did you hear that?" Broin asked, looking from the trees to Gale. Her ears were perked and her eyes were tuned in hard. The dragon gave a soft rumble of a growl before she stood. "Gale?" He moved to follow her as she walked to the trees. 

"It sounded almost like a scream..." She started, her ears pinning back hard when she thought about it for a moment. Wysteria was still absent from their campsite. With panic growing in her chest, Gale picked up her pace. Broin had to jog to keep up with her, grabbing her tail and climbing up onto her back. Ducking down, he avoided the trees as Gale hurried toward the sound. "Wysteria is still out there somewhere," Gale's voice reached Broin where he was between her wings, his face twisting in concern. 

He had forgotten that Wysteria had left the campsite to study with the staff. Slowing to a stop, Gale lifted her head and inhaled heavily, trying to catch the scent of their friend. "Find anything?" Broin asked, his gaze turning from Gale and to the trees around them, watching for any kind of movement. Something shifted to their right, Gale's head snapping toward it. She growled a little, though a bright light threw her off, making her step back and wince with a hiss. Broin lifted his hands to shield his face from the light, looking through his fingers to try to find the source of the light. 

"You will not find the girl. The little traitor is being dealt with as she should be," A gruff voice reached their ears. Gale snorted at this. 

"She did what was right," She hissed, baring her teeth at the speaker. A rough laugh followed her words. 

"To you, maybe. But we hold a certain order here... an order that you have disrupted by your lack of discipline," The voice spoke from behind the light, which seemed to grow brighter for a moment before it seemed to pulse and go out. Gale lunged forward toward where the light had been, but her jaws snapped closed heavily on nothing but air. Broin lowered his hand, looking around some as Gale growled viciously beneath him. 

"She has to be here somewhere... Wysteria wouldn't allow anyone to get close enough to catch her... you've seen her fight just as I have..." Gale spoke after a few minutes of silence. Broin nodded. He had seen her use her abilities before. Even Gale couldn't grab the girl. The dragon searched around the area, her nose low to the ground for a moment before she lifted her head and sniffed around some, trying hard to find any sign or smell that would tell where their friend had gone to. 

"Gale... we should go back," Broin spoke up after a little time had passed, though she ignored him and continued to search. "Gale..." He leaned forward, resting a hand on the side of her neck. He could feel her muscles tense under his palm.

"If you want to go back, Broin, then go. I want to try to find Wysteria... or find an idea of where she might have gone," Gale's voice was hard, though it wasn't aggressive. It held more of a suggestion that he didn't try to change her mind. Broin lowered his hand, resting it on her back. "If you have nothing else to say, help me... or go back," 

Broin slid down off of Gale's back, going around to stand in front of Gale. The dragon's eyes followed him as soon as he was in their range, one of her ears twitching a little as she waited for him to speak. "I know you want to find Wysteria... but we need to be back at the camp. What if that was a diversion? What if Wysteria is alright and we are just standing out here while there is an attack at the camp? That sound could have been anything... and for all we know, whoever that was was bluffing," Gale's nose wrinkled a little at this, though she couldn't protest against the man's words. She looked back toward the camp before she hesitantly turned to start walking back. Her silence unsettled Broin, but he did understand her concern. 

Wysteria wasn't at the camp when they returned, causing Gale's worry to grow. Where had she gone? And who was it that they had encountered in the forest? Had he had anything to do with Wysteria going missing? Gale's ears were pinned as she thought about it, her head lowering as she glared toward the trees.