Chapter 43: On The Edge

                                    

                                          
   Alaya gazed at the pages, words scribbled into them that seemed to click in her mind just as much as bird squawking did.
                          
   It had been four months, and the Edge had been built.  Huts were built on wooden platforms, on the sides of cliffs, connected with bridges, ziplines, and stairs.  Alaya had a simple treehouse, overlooking it all, and usually Amber or Dewdrop would spend the night watching the glittering ocean, making sure nobody was trying to sneak in at night as Allen had.
                          
   Alaya sighed.  Neither the Hunters nor the Riders had run into one another or had attempted to attack.  It honestly unnerved Alaya, thinking of what the Hunters could be planning that took so much attention away that they had barely even seen the effect of Hunters on the islands that they'd explored.
                          
   But the Riders were going to make a move soon.  They'd been preparing for two months, to save Heather and get the Dragon Eye back, along with grabbing Allen and talking some sense into his brain if Alaya or her dragons had the chance.
                          
   And...that was scary.  Alaya didn't know what Allen would do if he had to defend the Hunters from her - he'd changed so much, from following his gut and their mother's teachings to seemingly discarding them from his mind entirely.  Worse yet, she didn't know what she would do if she had to defend against him or attack him, or anything like that.  He was her brother, how could she attack him?  Or how could she avoid attacking him while still helping the Riders?  What if he attacked her?
                          
   He wouldn't.  That's what Alaya had told herself, but she knew that Allen didn't seem to be the brother she knew anymore.  Maybe she hadn't seen him for long enough, maybe he was just the same brother she knew, just manipulated or discarding certain teachings.  
                          
   But Alaya hadn't seen Allen in six years before that night.  He could've changed much more without her before even entering her world.  She had no way to know.
                          
   "Alaya?  Hello?"  Hiccup's voice snapped Alaya back into reality.
                          
   "Oh, uh, yeah?"  Alaya said, blinking rapidly.
                          
   "Are you okay?"  Fishlegs asked.
                          
   "Yeah, I'm fine,"  Alaya said brightly.  "What's up?"
                          
   "Did you think of a name for Moon's species?"  Hiccup asked.
                          
   "Oh...uh...not yet, sorry."  Alaya chuckled.
                          
   "Why don't you ask Moon?"  Fishlegs said.
                          
   "That's a good idea.  Hey, Moon, what do you think you should be called?"  Alaya asked, turning to her dragon.
                          
   "Silverfrost,"  Moon mumbled, half-asleep, and curled into a small ball in the corner of the clubhouse.  She'd watched over the island that night, and they had been going over the different talents and features of Moon's, Amber's, and Flame's species since morning.  It was noon.
                          
   "She said Silverfrost."  Alaya shrugged.
                          
   "Hm...what about Nightfrost?"  Hiccup suggested.
                          
   "That sounds good!  What do you think, Moon?"  Alaya asked.
                          
   Moon perked up tiredly.  "Sure."  She said, then proceeded to fall back asleep.
                          
   "Already, now what about Amber, Dewdrop - and - uh - Dewdrop."  Hiccup stammered.
                          
   Alaya pushed the thought of Paradise out of her mind.  She and Moon had gone on countless adventures, trying to track down the young dragon.  They, obviously, had been fruitless.  The rest of the Edge had accepted he was dead, but Alaya's gut told her otherwise, and until her gut told her he was gone, or she saw a body, she wasn't going to give up.