Shadow and Flame

Bird of Prey

The start of Christmas holiday brought great joy to Eden.

Her annoying roommate was gone, as was Rafe. And all the bad seemed to have gone with them.

Though sitting across from Wes, she didn't need to excel at divination to sense trouble in her future.

"Come with me to the woods today. I've something to show you."

"You've barely spoken a word since Halloween. Whatever you've got planned, I think I'll pass."

"Your decision, really. But when you change your mind and I do mean when, I'll be waiting for you."

He walked off with an arrogant bounce in his step.

She swung her legs out, tripping up an approaching boy.

"I'm sorry." She blurted, helping him gather up his things. Her hands paused over the papers that had flown every which way. Each sketch filled with nightmare.

She handed them back. He waved them at her, seeming angry.

"You going to call me a fanatic too?" He went on. "I like what I like and I'm proud. In fact, I hope I work with dragons and never have to deal with another sodding girl again!"

The boy stomped off, and she blinked.

I don't know about fanatic. But erratic? Possibly crazy? Absolutely.

Shaking off the encounter, she headed for the wood. There he was, waiting for her. They walked for what felt like an hour, and she stopped.

"If you were planning on killing me," She shook out her shoes, pebbles tumbling out. "Do get on with it."

Flashing a smile, he took flight, leading her ahead.

They came before a chasm in their hike, one easy for a bird to cross. Easier still for something larger. Wes challenged her, flying across the width of it and changing himself back.

"Not much further now." He shouted through cusped hands.

"You horrid man!" She grumbled, searching the woods around them.

"There's nothing to fear here."

She closed her eyes. In and out, deep breaths chilled in the winter air. And she transformed.

The earth began to shrink, trees becoming nothing but twigs. Fire burned within, rumbling in her gut. Eden leapt, wings stretching.

With two flaps she was across, landing as a girl. His mouth agape, Wes offered a slow clap.

"I don't know what to say."

"How about nothing and we get this over with."

Wes led her on, shaking his head. "You know most wizards don't think it's possible to change into a magical creature."

"I'm sure more exist than they realize."

"But yours must be the rarest form of them all."

"The most indiscreet. I could never blend in like you."

"But what is blending in to such magnificence. To such power."

He kept looking at her every so often, even as they came to a bend in a brook. There, he'd laid out a blanket and spread it.

"I've always wanted to ride a dragon."

"And you'll certainly go about wanting, I assure you."

They sat down along the gingham.

"So you brought me all this way for a picnic?"

"See for yourself."

She peaked inside the basket, but there wasn't a single piece of bread or square of cheese. Not a morsel in sight.