Sand and Stars: A Moonbli Story

Epilogue

Three months later...

Moon

"You were right, Jou," Moon said. "I was sure we were boyfriend and girlfriend and everything on the mission, but when we got back, he started ignoring me. I thought it was because he didn't like me anymore, but you were right, and he literally didn't understand."

"Told you boy dragons never understand when you give them hints," Kinkajou shouted.

"I do," Turtle interjected.

"No, really, you don't," Kinkajou said, bursting into laughter.

"This is the last day of school before break," Tsunami announced, "And that break is only a week long."

Moon couldn't wait until break. Not because she disliked school, she loved it, but Qibli had promised to show her around Queen Thorn's Stronghold. She was so excited.

"Now," Tsunami said, "It is officially break!" A pair of SkyWings began to fly to the exit, followed by Shard and Ebony.

Qibli poked her in the side with one of his claws.

"They're perfect together," he declared.

"Who?" Moon asked, confused.

"Ebony and Shard," Qibli explained, "They really like each other."

"Awesome," Moon said.

"Now, do you want to see the Stronghold?" he asked.

"For sure," Moon told him.

Qibli

"And this is the library," Qibli said sternly.

The library was large, with several rooms, and a ton of scrolls covering every surface other than the polished granite floor. It had been smaller before, but Thorn had expanded it into other rooms.

"It's huge," Moon breathed.

"You can check it out," Qibli told her.

"I wasn't aware I needed your permission," Moon said.

"I am speaking for Queen Thorn here. Do you want me to say it in her voice?" Qibli teased.

"No, no, no," Moon said quickly.

Qibli was giving Moon a tour of the Stronghold. So far, she was enjoying it. He still had to show her the feasting hall and his room. He was sure it would be a couple hours before he got her out of the library, but it wasn't that long at all.

After only a couple minutes, Moon told him, "Do you have anything else to show me?"

"This is the feasting hall," Qibli declared. It was truly a grand feasting hall. It had sandstone walls and a large, wooden table in the center. It didn't have a lot of jewels, because Queen Thorn and her Outclaws weren't into adorning the palace with tons of jewelry while SandWings struggled to survive in the barren desert, but it was sturdy and well-carved.

"This is so pretty," Moon said.

"I agree," Qibli said.

"Our last destination on the tour is my room," Qibli declared as they neared the door to his room. It wasn't that big, but Qibli was glad about that. He wasn't the sort of dragon that needed massive rooms to stay happy.

"It really looks like your room," Moon noted as he opened the door.

"It needs one more thing," Qibli pointed out. On a small shelve, he placed the painting he'd made a while ago, the one of him and Moon together.

"Next time I'll show you the NightWing village," Moon told him.

"I'd love that," Qibli replied, twining his tail around hers.

Both of them

"I'm so glad I went to Jade Mountain Academy," Moon said, "Because if I didn't, I wouldn't have met you."

"You're so nice," Qibli said.

It was just the two of them. They were in Moon's cave. Kinkajou and Sienna weren't there. Qibli had been right about Shard and Ebony. The were spending a lot of time together.

"I brought coconut," Moon said, holding out a fuzzy brown sphere, "but I can't figure out how to open it. There weren't many in the rainforest."

"Just whack it against the ground as hard as you can," Qibli suggested.

"Really?"

"Yes."

They ate the coconut together, feeling completely happy. They loved each other with all of their hearts.