Wings of Fire ~ A Special Snowflake

2 ~ A Streak of Light

The dragonets arrived at their destination. Hare gracefully sprawled downwards unto a glacier that over looked the ocean. The other dragonets looked out towards the water. Hare looked almost... Joyful?

"Look! Down there! I already see one! Look look look!" Hare was pointing her claw at ripples in the waves while shaking one of Ox's wings.

Snowflake squinted at the surface. Whatever it was, it was a group of large creatures. Eventually, what appeared to be a long spear breached the dark water and pointed towards the sky. Snowflake felt his jaw drop at the sight. He had never seen anything like it.

"What is that?" Skua gasped.

"Narwhals." Ox responded and crouched down.

"He's about to ponce! Come on, let's go get one!" Hare growled and stood closer to the edge of the glacier. Tiny chunks of ice broke off where she placed her claws.

"Seriously? Right now?" Snowflake asked before inching his way next to Hare.

"Yeah! Just be mindful that narwhals tend to swim in pods. When there's one, there's probably more. I don't think it would be pleasant to be impaled by one." Hare wiggled her hips before launching herself in the open air. Ox dove downwards while Suka and Snowflake flew above the waterline.

Hare was in the lead and was scouting out a target. Her crystal blue eyes scanned the prey rapidly before she landed on an old male. She grinned before positioning her shadow to the right of the narwhal. Ox swiftly flew to the left of it.

The narwhal began to swim away from its pod, confused and frightened. Snowflake and Skua flew behind it.

"Skua, trade positions with Ox! Snowflake can tackle the tail while Ox takes the front! Stay away from the horn!"

Skua glided next to Ox before he sped in front of the narwhal. For a brief moment, the creature paused once it realized that it was surrounded.

"Now!" Ox roared and dove into the water, his gigantic form embracing the narwhal. Snowflake saw the narwhal thrash, its tail breaching the surface. He tucked his wings in and splashed into the freezing depths and snagging the tail with his long teeth.

The creature had a surprising amount of stamina and continued to fight back. While under the waves, Snowflake heard two more splashing off to the sides. Hare and Suka joined the fight and held the narwhal from underneath with their claws. He felt the prey begin to lift up and he willed his wings to begin flapping. Before he knew it, he was above the water holding a giant snack in his jaws.

The four dragonets cheered as they brought their prize to the glacier. Ox had managed pierced the narwhal's skull with his hook claws while Snowflake held it down. They dropped the heafty prey on the ice.

"HAHA! That was the best hunt EVER! Shiver is gonna be sooooo jealous that we got this!" Hare laughed so hard that she had to lean against Ox to stop herself from collapsing. Snowflake glanced at Suka and wrinkled his snout.

"That was much easier than other times." Ox admitted before slicing the blubber into bite-sized pieces.

"That was honestly very fun, thanks for inviting us!" Snowflake cooed before Ox tossed meat in his face.

"And I'm glad nobody got injured! Ox had a bad encounter with one before and the stupid thing nearly impaled him." Hare snorted. "Those things can be annoying sometimes. Oh well, let's eat!"

The four young icewings all ate together and communicated for the first time, sharing stories from their lives.

"I hate jewelry, but my parents insist that I wear some, so I just put on some gold hoops to make them shut up." Ox snickered and tapped his earrings. "Once in a blue moon when Hare decides to be nice, she likes to give gifts. I kept a pink pearl necklace whe gave me around my arm. It clashed with my scales horribly, but it's comfortable and I don't care what it looks like."

"What do you mean I'm only nice sometimes?" Hare glared at the minty green icewing.

"Usually you're a bully, but like right now, your in a good mood despite this morning. Don't ask how that happened. You're really a mystery to me, Hare." Ox rumbled as Hare smacked his back with her whip-thin tail.

"Do any of you have good stories?" Ox turned his attention to their guests, trying to ignore the angry pink dragon next to him.

"I kind of do." Skua smiled. "Nothing really intresting happens to me, but one time, after my mother died, I met an icewing with bright scales. I mean, I couldn't even see their face because the sun reflected every scale! They asked me if I would like to go with them to join a group of unique dragons living together at an oasis in the desert and start a new life. I told them no, but they said that I could find them at the border if I ever change my mind. It was super weird!"

"What in the three moons was that about? What did they mean by unique dragons?" Hare pondered.

"Maybe because I look a little different than other icewings and so did they?" Skua guessed.

"All of us here are a little unique, to be honest. I got a pink tint, your purple and have speckles on your scales, and Ox is big and green. Snowflake.... actually he's pretty normal looking. So almost all of us here are unique." Hare started to chew another peice of meat.

"What do you mean Snowflake isn't unique? He moves up the rank faster than any icewing I know!" Skua defended him, flaring her wings. Hare was desperately holding in her laughter with her snout scrunched up.

"Is that all?" Snowflake chuckled and bumped Skua's side.

"Uh- no! Everyone is unique! They might look normal, but everyone has a different personality!" Skua shuddered and lowered her head. Now Snowflake felt embarrassed.

There was a peaceful silence. The ocean crashed against the glaciers, sending soft tremors throughout the mighty chunk. The storm back at the arena was nowhere to be seen and instead, a bright setting sun glistened orange. A chilly breeze drifted across the dragonet's jagged scales.

The first few stars bagan to tinkle in the twilight. Skua started longingly at the sky. Hare was leaning against Ox as they watched the sky together. Snowflake, however, was watching the sunset.

It was bright, but he didn't mind. Actually, it was getting brighter. Also, shouldn't the sun have set by now?

As he was about the ask the other dragonets the time, the sun flickered from orange to white, then blue, purple, red, ot kept changing.

"Hey, I think all of you should see this..." Snowflake muttered. The three icewings turned their gaze to the horizon only to be hypnotized by the dazzling light.

"What's going on? Why is the sun like that?" Hare shrieked and scooted closer to Ox.

"It's supposed to have set by now. The sky around it is dark. I don't think that's the sun..." Ox snarled, his deep growl rumbling the ground.

They all watched in awe at the phenomenon when suddenly, the light flickered and disappeared.

"Is it gone?" Skua whispered.

Before anyone could answer, a brilliant streak of light illuminated the dark sky, setting it ablaze with rainbow hues as it fell deep into the tundra, leaving smoke in its wake. A muted BOOM echoed in the distance. The sky slowly darkened once more as night loomed overhead. The icewings were stunned silent.

"A meteor?" Ox suggested with his snout pointing in the direction of the object.

"What else could that be?" Skua whimpered.

"Somebody should check it out, but honestly, that might be a little dangerous. But then again, I don't want the adults to have the fun of discovering a meteor!" Hare sighed and tapped her talons on a narwhal bone.

"I'll go first, if that's fine." Snowflake stood up and stretched his wings above his horns.

"Alright, come back soon! Don't get hit by another one!" Hare snickered and fell back against Ox. Skua was about to get up but Snowflake shook his head.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Snowflake gave his friend a soft smile before lifting off. Skua watched him as his white outline faded behind the glaciers.