Wings of Fire: Starling's Sky

Chapter 3

Later; Starling and Mango were hopping through the trees, headed for Starling and Barley's home on the far north side of the Rainforest. It didn't take long to get there, tree hopping was very efficient, but Starling still felt slow next to Mango. Unlike Starling, Mango was built for the trees. But Starling wasn't. Starling was built for the sky and the clouds and the open air.

They landed in the greenery outside of Barley's hut, and Starling heard Barley's grumbling voice in the distance. They followed the sound to Barley's farm of fruit trees. Banana trees here, orange trees there, even a tree with gleaming yellow-green star fruit. He'd pick them then sell them to Mudwings on the boarder.

Barley was in his farm, holding a long stick, poking at a monkey trying to steal oranges from one of his orange trees.

"Eh' get outta here!" Barley grumbled, "stop taking my fruit!"

Barley was an old Rainwing. His face was wrinkled and his body was thin and wiry. His scales were dull green as they usually were, but right now Starling could see bits of orange annoyance showing on his droopy tattered frill.

"Father?" Starling spoke.

"Ah, Starling!" Barley smiled, "mind lighting this on fire for me?"

Barley swung the stick in Starling's face and Starling scrunched his snout.

"Okay.." Starling breathed a small plume of flame, lighting the end of the stick ablaze.

"Ahhh haha!" Barley grinned, bits of indigo flickering on his wings.

Barley swung the torch around in front of the monkey and in squeaked, running out of the tree and away.

"That'll teach em'!" Barley chuckled.

"Poor monkey," Mango frowned, "he just wanted a snack."

"Yeah well he can get it somewhere else," Barley grumbled, "lucky I have this guy around."

Barley patted Starling on the shoulder.

"Or pests would be a much bigger problem," Barley explained, "his fire sure is a help."

Starling cringed. Another thing that made him different from the Rainwings. Fire. Rainwings didn't have fire. Did they find it scary? Did they find him scary? Did they worry he'd set the forest on fire any second?

"So what's she doing here?" Barley questioned.

"We're actually on a quest!" Mango exclaimed, her scales turning indigo and gold, "to find Starling's parents!"

"Your parents eh'?" Barley questioned, picking up a wicker basket, "well I dunno how you'd do that. They could be anywhere."

Barley began quietly picking oranges from the tree.

"Father," Starling spoke, "we were actually hoping we could see the sun pendant. The one you found with my egg."

"Hm," Barley grumbled, "I know I kept it. It'll probably be in the hut somewhere. Maybe I put it in a drawer."

"Aha!" Mango exclaimed, turning bright yellow, "lets go look! C'mon!"

Starling yelped as Mango grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Hey!" Starling protested, "you don't have to pull! I can walk on my own!"

"Yeah but it's faster if I pull you!" Mango explained, "moons you're like a gloomy old sloth sometimes! Walking takes too long and we gotta find this thing now or else my Rainwing brain will explode!"

Am I really that slow?

When they got to their hut Mango let go of him, and they went inside. The inside was a small circular wooden hut. A leafy bed on one side for Barley, and a second bed of leaves on the other for Starling. The hut was lit by a skylight in the ceiling, letting green rainforest sunlight into the hut. There was a small desk with drawers below it, and a table with old cooking tools. Starling had remembered when Barley tried to feed him meat like small lizards and birds when he was a dragonet. Until he realized Starling actually liked traditional Rainwing foods better. Starling hadn't eaten meat in years. The diet of strictly fruits and vegetables had made him scrawny compared to other Skywings.

Mango shuffled through the drawers with excitement while Starling checked the soft black pouch by Barley's bed. Barley said this was the pouch his egg was in. It was made of smooth, slightly tattered black fabric that felt cool in Starling's talons.

"AHA!" Mango exclaimed, making Starling jump.

"What?" Starling questioned.

"Is this it!?" Mango questioned eagerly, scales still the brightest yellow Starling had ever seen.

Mango held out a golden pendant the size of Starling's palm. It was in the shape of a sun with a tiny hole on one of the edges.

"It looks like a string is supposed to go through here," Starling observed, "like it's supposed to be a part of a necklace."

"Oo and look at the back," Mango said, turning it over in her talons.

There was writing on the back.

'Wings of Power will rule the skies'

"Wings of Power," Mango echoed, "what's that?"

"I don't know..." Starling spoke, eyeing the strange pendant.

"Maybe Ms. Aster will know," Mango suggested, "she's the smartest dragon I know. She knows so much about the other tribes."

"That's cause she's our teacher, Mango," Starling said, "it's her job to be smart."

"Well then maybe she can teach us about this 'Wings of Power'," Mango said enthusiastically.

"Alright," Starling sighed, "lets go."