HOMEPAGE LIBRARY

When I saw the bomb, I knew I had to run.
I was sitting against a rock in the forest near the border of one of the clans. Fireclaw, maybe? I chewed my nails, watching a rabbit that had been following me for a bit. I didn't bother to chase it away. It was nice company, even if I couldn't actually talk to it.
I fiddled with my locket to pass the time. We sat for 5 minutes, I think. I'm not the best timekeeper. I absentmindedly reached into my satchel and pulled out a mulberry. I rolled around in my fingers for a moment staring off into space, then stuck the berry in my mouth.
Just then, the rabbit's ears perked up. It looked around for a second, then bounded away.
Wonder what that was about, I thought. I looked in the opposite direction the rabbit went. My eyes widened. There were strange-looking airships hovering around the town, and all of a sudden there was a huge explosion. I stumbled to grab my satchel, then started running. I could feel the heat from the explosions on my back. I ran deep into the forest until I couldn't even hear the bombs. I was also completely lost. I looked around. At least I wasn't being bombed.
I wandered around with my hands in my pockets. I blew a strand of hair out of my face, just for it to fall right back over my left eye. I decided to leave it alone. All of a sudden, I heard voices. They sounded distant, and I couldn't make out what they were saying. I slowly walked towards the voices. I started to hear words instead of a random jumble of sounds.
"Elison!" I heard. "I won't go!" I edged closer. After a minute of walking, I saw the people who were talking. (Yelling, rather.) They all looked in much better shape than me. I was really scrawny, but I guess that's what you get if you run away from your own clan.
Several of them were crying, from sniffles to meltdowns. One girl in particular. She had dark eyes and hair, but with a dash of green. She wore a heavy looking backpack. I crouched behind a clump of boulders, watching. Not to be a creep or anything, but maybe to get some info about the bombings.
A girl with strawberry blonde hair who I assumed was the leader (she was the tallest, so probably the oldest) spoke.
"I'm proud of you two." She and a few others ran back to the clan that had gotten bombed. I squinted. Why were they going back?
The two remaining girls, both of which sobbing, had a quiet talk, which I couldn't hear from my position. From the looks of it, I wasn't getting anything good out of them. Or anything, really. I got up and dashed away, as quickly and silently as possible.
As I got farther from the 'scene', I skidded to a stop. I stood in silence. I opened my locket to reveal a picture of me and my older sister, Lynna. We used to be pretty close, until she left. She, like me, ran away when she was about 7. On the night before my 8th birthday, I ran away to try to find her.
I sniffed. Not a crying sniff, more like a sniff of disapproval. I didn't really get sad, or any emotions really. I was all alone, so there was nothing to trigger them. I literally had nothing to lose.
I shut the locket and stuck in between my hoodie and my faded red t-shirt. I put my hands back in my pockets and casually strolled through the forest like I owned the place. I sort of did, since I 'lived' there. I kicked around a pebble. I wondered, what would it be like to be part of a clan? Apart of something? It had been 4, almost 5 years since I ran away. I was part of Silverwing. I don't remember much when I was there. The main thing I do remember though, was the night my sister ran away. I was 5, I think. Lynna and I were best friends, and had been for a while. We were at the playground. I remember digging around in the sand. I remember Lynna dangling on the swing set. I remember Lynna saying that she was running away, and me not believing her. I remember being devastated when she was gone the next morning. From that day forward, though I was just 5, I knew that I had to find Lynna. I would do it if it killed me.
It's been 7 years, and I still haven't found her. I just hope she hasn't joined Bluehawk. I don't know much about them, but I remember my mom saying something about how they were low-lie bandits and to stay away from them. Luckily, I haven't encountered them yet.
I looked in my satchel. There wasn't much in it; my pocketknife, flint and steel, and 4 or 5 mulberries. Luckily, I knew where lots of berries were. I ate a few more, then looked at the sky. It was about 11. I could tell which way I was going by the direction of the sun. I calculated that I was facing east, so I turned a little to the south and headed forward. There was a clan somewhere south-east of the forest. There was a big bush of mulberries near the border of it. I don't know the exact name, but I could tell them apart.
After a few minutes of walking, I heard something. I slowed. The 2 girls I had seen earlier came into view. I stopped like a deer in headlights, hoping they wouldn't see me if I stayed quiet.
Of course, as I stopped, they looked right at me. I pulled my pocketknife out of my bag and clutched it, trying to look braver than I felt.
"Um..." Said the dark-haired girl. "We come from Dragonslate! We mean no harm!" She looked embarrassed. "Please don't stab us!"
I spoke a word I hadn't said in a very long time.
"Hello."