Raging River

It's pretty early. Everyone is still asleep, except for Loong and Forest. I want to move around instead of laying in one spot. So, I slowly stand up and stretch, careful not to bump my sisters. They look so peaceful.

"Can't sleep?" Loong asks, looking up at me, magenta eyes glowing. I nod.

"Yeah," I reply, looking at the fiery dragon. "I've been very restless lately. I'm not too sure why though." Is it my nerves? Maybe, but there's nothing really bothering me. "I might go walk around the river." Forests eyes widen with worry.

"Please, be very careful. We can't lose you," the green dragon says. "We need you."

"I won't get hurt," I say to Forest. "I promise."

After turning a few corners, I finally find the river. It's still very rough, brushing up strongly against the dip in the stone. The stone is very damp and slippery under my paws. Hopefully, I don't slip. That would really hurt on these rocks.

A bit further down the tunnel, I see a log going up across the river. I guess I'll try crossing it, I've never done that before. Just as long as I walk with caution. As I stand next to the log, I notice that there are patches of moss.

Slowly, I begin to walk on the wet, slippery log. Oh god, I hope I don't fall into the river. That wouldn't be good, especially because there's no one here with me. As I get closer to the middle, there's a patch of moss I have to walk across. Looking back, I realize that I can't turn around. If I try to turn around, I'll fall. This log is too narrow.

I shouldn't have looked back. When I look ahead, I feel overwhelmed by nervousness. I slowly take a step forward, shocked by how slippery the moss is. My black paw quickly slides dangerously close to the edge. This makes me lose my balance, and I instinctively unsheath my silver claws. All at once, my other paws slide, and I'm hanging onto the side of the log. I slide down farther and farther, becoming more panicked by the second.

My eyes widen with fear as I dig my claws into the side. But, my claws aren't helping me. Instead, I was ripping off chunks of the wet log. I just couldn't hang on anymore.

"Help!" I yowl, hoping someone hears me. I fall into the river, my body freezing with fear. All I know is that I need to keep my head above water. Sounds easy, but it isn't. Not in this body of water. The water is very powerful, and I struggle to keep myself upright. One thing that sucks about having long, thick fur is that when it's wet, it holds me down.

I can't tell what's going on. I can't see anything under, above, or beside me. I continue to paddle. I can make it, I know I can. I need to get through soon, or I'm going to drown. I feel myself getting dizzy and lightheaded.

I break through the surface, gasping for air. I've never been so glad that I learnt how to swim. I look around urgently for something to grab, although I'm in the middle of the rough river. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Forest running towards me from the tunnel.

"For--" I'm cut off as the current sweeps me under the surface. My legs are very tired, and I'm very dizzy from constantly being thrown around in the river. I spin around, accidentally gasping as I see rock. Inhaling water, I choke.

A sharp pain runs through my head as I hit my head on rock. One more hit and I'll be done. Either that, or today will be my last day.

I feel another harsh hit before the world turns black.