Wings of Fire Hunter of Dragons *TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED*

Chapter 2 - Freedom Calls Me Into A Storm

I breathed in the pure salty air and sighed, lashing my tail. Deathbringer and I sat on a small rock sticking out of the ocean. Deathbringer was swallowing the last of the trout I'd caught. Far into the distance, I could see the mainland.

Pyrrhia.

"Look," I growled. "There it is." I nodded towards the mainland, far, far off into the distance. 

"Aren't you happy?" Deathbringer said in surprise, following my gaze curiously. "You've always said you wanted to see it. You can see it now. Why don't you sound happy to me?"

I stared at him. "I am happy," I snapped. "Can't you tell?"

Deathbringer nudged the fish skeleton until it dropped into the sea. ""Well, not really," he answered after a while. "Whenever you talk you always sound angry. To me, at least."

Lashing my tail, I took a step forwards, stiffening. "I do not," I hissed.

"You sound angry now," he pointed out.

"Of course I do." I glared at him, then relaxed. This is a pointless argument. "You've made me angry."

Deathbringer rolled his eyes, then lifted off into the sky. "If you say so," he said in such an agreeable tone that it was irritating.

I flew after him. "Where are we going?" I asked. 

He looked back at me, surprised. "To Pyrrhia. The continent. Isn't that where you want to go?"

I froze in midair, then quickly flapped my wings to stop myself from falling. "But hang on!" I growled, steadying myself. "I thought you were the 'I like to obey rules' dragon? And you want to break the biggest rule ever? I don't get it."

"Well, no-one has to know, so how is that breaking it?" Deathbringer pointed out. 

"Three mooms," I muttered. "For once my brother is making sense to me..."

He ignored me and went on. "Anyway, I know how badly you want to go, and the Sky Kingdom is just nearby here, if we studied those maps correctly. So. Shall we go, Hunt?"

I gave him and challenging grin before taking over, wings flapping harder than ever before. "Race you there."

****

I landed on a rocky cliff. The air was pure, no volcanic lava pools in sight, and I could scent other dragons.

"Pyrrhia," I whispered to myself wonderingly, then shook my excitement away. I couldn't be foolish. This was a dangerous place, we had to be careful. Also, I couldn't scent other dragons, I could scent targets. 

"Well," Deathbringer said aloud, landing beside me. "You won the race, but I'll win next time."

I turned towards him quizzically. "Next time?" I frowned, tensing as I continued to scent the air for danger. We would probably have to hide soon, so I need to keep a lookout for cover. "What do you mean, next time?"

"If we come here again!" Deathbringer spread his wings. "Or don't you want to? Are you scared?' he mocked me cheekily. I swiped at him again with my tail.

"Stop that!" I snarled. "This is a dangerous place. Look around you!" 

Deathbringer's expression was skeptical. "I see a cliff, grey skies and a raging ocean. So what?"

"So what?' I repeated. "We need to find cover! Come on!" I pounded forwards, running quickly towards a nearby cave in the cliff. As I did so I heard sounds of wingbeats and voices. I skidded into the back of the cave, hid the glittering silver scales under my wings and was enveloped into the darkness. Deathbringer scrambled into the back beside me, pressing himself close. I could practically hear his heart thumping with fear.