When Lightning Strikes -Open-

The robin perched daintily on the end of the branch, little feathers puffed up as if he were irritated. Settling down, he turned his head and began to preen, smoothening his feathers down to give him his texture back. Several minutes passed, and once the robin was finished, he turned back around and half closed his eyes in a slight doze. The day had been long, and hard, weeks of feeding his new hatchlings taking a toll on his little body.

Ah well, it was a beautiful day. The sky was shining, the air was warm, and the clouds that rolled overhead were a dark grey against the cyan blue of the heavens. Wait, dark clo-



CRASH!


The robin was scared into flight and Kymon jumped. He watched it fly off like a speeding bullet, allowing a sigh of disappointment to escape him. So close! Just a foot and he would have been within pouncing range! Hark! The struggles of being so young and small! To add icing to the cake, the rain came down in torrents, diving between the leaves to splash against his scales. Trickling down, they crept beneath the layer of protection and chilled the hatchling to the bones. Groaning, Kymon shut his eyes in pain for a moment, before he opened them.

Taking a quick scan of the foliage around him, Kymon emerged from the bush, snapping a twig as he went. The rain was refreshing, at least, if too chilly, a break from the scorching heat that plagued the borders between the ShadowScales and the FireScales territories. Moving further into the trees, Kymon became aware of the silence in the woods as he slipped through the roots of the tall oaks, paws sliding on the wet leaves that crinkled like paper.