"It Was So..."

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO:

As Qibli neared the sanctuary, his eyes sparkled with admiration. It was clear how much work Winter had put into this project.

Maybe I should give him a scavenger for his hatching day. Qibli thought. The thought of seeing Winter so happy, holding a scavenger in his talons made the SandWing's heart soar and he did a little flip in the air.

When Qibli arched his wings and aimed for the ground, he saw the familiar shapes of his friends: Turtle, Kinkajou, Moonwatcher & Winter.

"Hey!" Moon greeted him with a giant grin. "Nice to see you finally made it!"

"Yes," Kinkajou added, "Winter was so nervous — he thought you wouldn't come."

Qibli chuckled slightly. He landed besides the group, tapping their wings and making dopey noises to greet them.
"I was not nervous," Winter grumbled. "You all have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course we do!" Kinkajou protested, turning yellow with ripples of red and orange for annoyed, angry and, of course, happy.

I knew he wanted me here. Qibli thought proudly. Who else will annoy him during his tour?

"The caves are here — if you want to stay." Winter turned towards Moon and Kinkajou. "You two can feel free to go back home until the grand opening."

"Why would we?" Moon cocked her head. "The RainWing village is close, sure, but I want to stay and see your village."

"Me too!" Kinkajou chirped, turning a blinding yellow with pink circles.

"Uh, Kinkajou?" Turtle said quietly. "Could you maybe tone down the colors a bit?"

"Oh! Sorry! So sorry," Kinkajou fretted. Her scales rolled to a pale blue and violet with gold and white flecks. "Is this better?"
Winter just nodded, as it seemed everyone turned their attention from Kinkajou's scales to the sanctuary that surrounded them.
"Winter," Qibli grinned. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since... well, you know."

Winter smirked. "Yeah it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been worry about you... guys."

What? Was he about to say he was worrying about me? Me? Of all dragons?
Too bad Qibli couldn't read minds, because he would definitely be rummaging through Winter's mind right now, trying to figure out if that's what Winter meant.
But the IceWing cleared his throat and waved his talons to the first enclosure.

"This, everyone," he started, "is the Rainforest enclosure. We found these scavengers here. The few in the enclosure are Tangerine, Lime and Grape."

"Who named them?" Kinkajou asked. "Because those names are super cute!"

"Thanks, one of the employees here did — Jambi, I think." Winter tilted his head as he spoke. "But anyways, the leader of these scavengers is Tangerine. It seems that she..."

Slowly but surely, Winter's voice began to fade into the surrounding rainforest noises as Qibli's dark chocolate eyes scanned over his features.
His pale blue and white scales seemed to glow in the cover of the trees. His teeth were pure white, and his eyes. They were so pretty — his eyes were a pretty glacier blue that seemed to freeze Qibli's heart every time they even looked in his direction.
Winter looked plump, like he was eating. He surely didn't look thin and wiry like all the other IceWings in the Ice Kingdom.

"Qibli?" A voice broke into his thoughts. "Hello!"

The SandWing dragonet shook his head, turning it every which way to find the body of the dragon speaking to him. It was Turtle,

"Yes?" He asked.

"Winter is giving a tour, and he's already moved on to the swamp territory." Turtle explained. "Are you coming?"

"Oh! Uh— of course." Qibli chuckled awkwardly, then hurried after the rainbow of dragonets.

"Crocodile, Mosquito, Ochre and Lig live in the mud habitat." Winter explained proudly, puffing out his chest slightly. "Ochre is the leader. He's the one with the black fuzz on his head."

"Interesting," Moon tapped a talon to her chin. "Did you go looking for all of these scavengers yourself?"

"Yes, with the help of Sunny, Peril, Clay and Queen Thorn."

"Oh I remember Thorn sending Ostrich and Six-Claws to go help you." Qibli commented. "It sounded like fun. So next time you have a scavenger hunt, invite me."

Winter smiled warmly, then flicked his tail in the direction of a gray, rocky enclosure.

"This is the mountain enclosure." He explained. "They were found near Queen Ruby's palace. Their names are Cliff, Goat and Sky. Cliff is the leader, and very squeaky."

"Did you get permission to take them?" Turtle fretted. Winter frowned.

"Of course I did!" He growled. "What do you think I am? A barbarian?!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Turtle sighed of relief. "I thought you were just finding them and taking them."

Qibli side-stepped towards Moon, trying to get the perfect angle to fantasize about Winter's beauty, but then he thought it would be awkward if he moved towards Moon without anything to say.

"Er..." Qibli's eyes searched the sanctuary, looking for something to say. "Do you think he has any rescues?"

Moon blinked at him, her eyes wide and filled with curiosity. "Why don't we ask him? Hey Winter! Do you have any rescues?"

"Not at the moment, no." He snorted a puff of frost. His pale blue and white spines shifted and he leaned all his weight to one side, and eyed Moon and Qibli. "But we're— er— I'm thinking about it. We want to rescue scavengers from getting eaten, from cages, traps. You know, the usual."

Qibli's heart began to beat against his ribs so hard, he was sure the other dragonets could hear it. Was that why Winter was staring at him? Geez! Why did Moon have to go and ask his fake question for him?

Thanks Moon. Now I'm sure I look like a tomato. But then again, now I'm closer to Moon. And I can look at Winter like he's looking at me. Wait!
Winter was staring intently at Qibli.

"Why are you so red, Sand Snorter?" Winter growled, stretching out his neck so that his face was closer to Qibli's. "You look stupid."

"Uh I— whatever! Let's just continue with the tour." Qibli grumbled. He jabbed Moonwatcher with the claw on his wing.

"You'll thank me later though," Winter smiled and tilted her head towards the IceWing. His face was handsome, with a tinge of blue near his cheek bones.

"What do you mean?" Qibli frowned.

What is she hinting? What does she mean 'I'll thank her later?' She's a strange dragon for sure,

"Look at him," Moon explained. "He's been doing this all for you. A few moons ago, he specifically said he loved you, Qibli."

"That's nonsense." Qibli shook his head. "I bet you're just saying this to get under my scales, Moon."

"I'm being serious, Qibli," Moon retorted, then trotted ahead.

"I'll show you guys the cabins." Winter tilted his head slightly. "Who's okay with sharing a cabin?"

Qibli didn't hear anyone say yes, so hefigured they nodded, which he did too.

"Okay. But I only have two built right now — my personal cabin and one with only 3 nests." Winter looked expectantly at Moon, Turtle and Kinkajou. "Who wants to share a cabin with the girls?"

"Ew, girls," Turtle mumbles, but he quickly said sorry when the girls flared daggers at him.

"I don't want to share with the girls, if that's okay?" Qibli dipped his head towards Turtle, giving him a sorry-you're-stuck-with-them look.

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1244 words! A giant difference than the other pages I've written uhm— sorry this chapter was so boring. The next chapter will be a lot more entertaining for sure. ;)