The Smuggler: Chapter Four: The Distant Kingdoms

 This chapter might be a little strained, because Tui T. Sutherland never actually describes coming out of a cocoon from the character's perspective, but I'll give it my best shot. Please, don't judge.

Chapter Four

The Distant Kingdoms

    Moth's eyes opened. The golden of the flamesilk cocoon surrounded him. He didn't feel very different, except for a weight he had never felt before on his back. He strained against the flamesilk and heard it rip beneath his talons. His head burst out into the light of lanterns lining the walls. No one was there. No one called encouraging words to him. He was alone. Pulling harder, he slowly made his way out of the cocoon, then fell onto the ground. Probably not the most graceful movement.

    Moth turned his head to see his wings. They were a royal blue, mixing well with his sky-blue scales. He caught himself wishing that his brother and sister could see them. Julia would wonder what hers would be like, and Peacock would complain about not getting his for three years. Then Julia would correct him that it was three months. Like always. But it wouldn't be like that now.

    His stomach rumbled. He glanced around and was surprised to see that there was a neat pile of fruit next to him, with a piece of paper next to it. It said, "For Moth -Dragonfly". So Dragonfly was here somewhere, but where was he? Was it just his imagination, or was the ground rocking under his talons?

    Picking up a cluster of strawberries, Moth tried to remember what Dragonfly had told him. She had said that her magical friends had made a boat. This must be it, but this was bigger than he had excepted, especially if Dragonfly was in another room. Grabbing more of the fruit, Moth opened the door. Instead of another room, there was a hallway with more doors. This boat must be huge, he thought. One door marked, "Dormitory", led to an empty room. Another, "Visitor Area", was just a pool of water that apparently led into the sea.

    Moth was starting to wonder if all these rooms were empty when he opened "Control Room", and saw Dragonfly. The red-orange HiveWing was standing at the front of the room, staring intently out a floor-to-ceiling window that showed the sea. Her talons were resting on a long pole, and she maneuvered it to change the direction of the boat. She turned and her eyes lit up. "Moth!"

    "Dragonfly." Moth looked around the room. There was a cabinet in one corner, next to a map of Pantala, with pins sticking out of it.

    "Sorry I couldn't be there when you came out of your cocoon. We're getting close to Pyrria, and I have to avoid rocks sometimes."

    Pyrria. The Distant Kingdoms. Home of Clearsight. Moth walked up to the front and gazed out over the sea. The sun was setting, and the silhouette of a large piece of land could be seen outlined on the horizon.

    "I was kind of thinking one of the SeaWings would find us before now," continued Dragonfly, turning back to the pole. "But I guess-" She was interrupted by a loud splash coming from the Visitor Area. "Never mind. I stand corrected. Come in!" she called.

    The door opened and a dragon like Moth had never seen before walked in. He fit Dragonfly's underwater dragon description perfectly. What was his name? Turtle? "Hey, Dragonfly." His gaze landed on Moth and he blinked in surprise.

    "Hey, Turtle. This is Moth."

    "A...what are they called...SilkWing?"

    "Yeah," replied Moth.

    Turtle nodded. "Good. Dragonfly said that there are webs joining the Hive things, but we haven't been able to build them. Could you help us?"

    "Oh. I might not be able to help with that." Moth remembered the balls of fire under his scales. His silk would burn any non-flamesilk.

    "Why not? Dragonfly said that you got your silk with your wings, and it looks like you have wings. Shouldn't you have silk?"

    "Well, yeah, in most cases, but I don't have normal silk." Moth held out his wrist and slowly spun a strand of flamesilk from it, looping it around his hand. "It's flamesilk."

    "Oh." Turtle nodded again and glanced at one of the lanterns on the wall. "Like in the lamps?"

    "Yeah." Moth carefully gathered up his flamesilk and glanced at Dragonfly. "Are we almost there?"

    "Almost," Dragonfly replied.

    "I should probably get going," said Turtle. "Anemone and I felt you summon the boat, so we knew you were coming. Moon, Kinkajou, and I will meet you at the dock." He turned and dove into the pool, disappearing from sight.

    Dragonfly said, "So, what do you think about your first Pyrrian dragon?"

    Moth glanced out the window where he could see Turtle's dark shape speeding through the water. "Cool. I wish Julia and Peacock were here to see him. I hope they aren't mad at me."

    "I hope Moth isn't mad at us," said Julia, resting her head on the table. "I was only trying to protect him."

    "I think he knows that," Peacock replied. It was five days since Moth had run. He would be out of his Metamorphosis by now. He had often complained about how boring and lonely it would be once Julia and Moth left, but he hadn't actually imagined it. Moth's loss seemed to create an empty hole in his chest, like one of the webs collapsing. It was nice to see that he had used the moves they had created to escape the guards, and he was pretty sure Moth had also used the canvas to get to the savannah. "I hope he's all right."

    Julia sighed. "I wish I at least knew where he was. Oh! I'll ask Mother if she knows!" She got out the letter and flipped it over. "Pass me the ink, please."

    Peacock slid the ink over to her. "Are you going to use the invisible ink, too?"

    "Yes."

    Reaching behind him, Peacock pulled out a few lemons from a drawer and began squeezing them into a bowl. "What are you going to tell her?"

    "I'll tell her we were all happy we got her letter, but Moth couldn't reply before his Metamorphosis, and that kind of stuff. But then with the invisible ink I'll explain how he was a flamesilk and how if he showed up in the cavern to tell us. Although I hope he doesn't."

    Peacock murmured an agreement and finished the invisible ink. He gave it to Julia and climbed up to the top of the web, leaving Julia engrossed with her writing. He lay on the web and sighed, looking out over the ocean. The sun was setting, leaving streaks of red, like flamesilk, through the sky. So many things could have happened to his brother. He could have been captured by the guards and taken to Wasp. He could have accidentally been killed or fell into a gorge or something. He could have gone into his Metamorphosis but then injured by something, or maybe was out flying with his new wings when he was struck by lightning.

    Peacock rubbed his forehead to stop the flow of overwhelming images. "Moth. Come back soon. I miss you."

    The boat slid to a stop in front of a dock. Dragonfly lowered a plank made of actual wood and she and Moth walked down it. Before him were three dragons. There was Turtle, a dragon who must be Moon, and a pretty, color-changing dragon who Dragonfly later explained was Kinkajou. They talked for a while, introducing themselves and chatting about Operation Metamorphosis and his siblings, who they decided would bring next. Apparently they knew about Clearsight too, although she didn't have a super huge role like in Pantala.

    "Have you seen the new Pantalan dragon city yet?" Moon asked Dragonfly.

    Dragonfly shook her head. "Not yet."

    "A Pantalan dragon city?" Moth looked up from a sketched map of Pyrria he had been looking at.

    "Sorry, didn't I mention that? We're building a city for the Pantalan dragons where they can stay before they decide to go somewhere." Dragonfly beckoned to him. "Come. Let's see more of the Distant Kingdoms."