Wings of Fire: Forever Hoping

Prologue

An orange and yellow sky faded with the sun setting in the horizon. Beetle sat on the edge of a cliff, his tail dangling over the side. Unfolding his wings, the breeze blew into him. 

"Beetle, where are you?" The Hivewing turned his head to see who the voice was coming from.

"Oh, hey Digger! Why don't you come join me. The breeze is amazing. Smells like fish. Speaking of fish, I think we're having fish for dinner!" Beetle licked his lips in the thought of tasting roasted trout. The black and orange dragonet landed on the edge his brother sat on and folded his wings. 

"Beetle, Mother and Father have been looking everywhere for you. They're pretty angry," Digger explained to him. Beetle rolled his eyes. 

"They can go roll in antelope dung for all I care. All I know is that they hate me and that's the only affection they'll show me." Digger rested his talon on Beetle's shoulder and smiled. 

"Well, I'm sure they'd smell awful after rolling in dung," he joked. Beetle burst out laughing, almost falling over. Digger joining in with a slight chuckle. The two settled down and watched the sunset from the cliff edge together. 

"Tell me this brother; do you think anyone will accept dragons like me?" Beetle asked as he folded his wings around him. Digger stared at him.

"I'm sure there's some like you and some that will accept. But I'm not entirely sure. That's a question you'll have to find out yourself, big brother." Beetle smiled and once again faced the horizon, watching as the sun and ocean collided. 

"We should be heading back now. Mother and Father are probably furious. You know how Mother is when we are late." Beetle nodded as he remembered flashbacks of starvation and bruises. The two dragonets unfolded their wings and jumped off the cliff, soaring on the wind. When they came upon their cave, their father stood outside, furiously flicking his tail and tongue. The two landed and looked at their father. 

"Get inside, both of you. You should've been back before sunset!" he yelled as he hit Digger and Beetle in the back on their heads with one of his wings. The two dragonets scurried inside the cave and sat around a small campfire, their mother growling at them.

"Here, you stupid dragonets," she said as she threw meat chunks at the two. "Wish I didn't have to feed you, but law forbids dragonet's never eating. But I swear, if you don't follow our rules again, it'll be two weeks with little food and no sun!" Beetle waited for his mother to finish talking before devouring his food. 

"You eat like a slob. If you're gonna grow up to be a soldier, start acting like one!" his father growled. Beetle knew his father had already planned out his future- he'd become an Hivewing soldier with no mate or dragonets. Thats no way to live. Beetle thought. He looked at his brother who had just finished his chunk.

"Now, go to your room. I don't want to hear a peep out of both of you till morning. Understood?!"

"Yes, ma'am," Beetle and Digger both responded and walked to their room: a small little hole in the wall on the side of the cave. If we're to grow up here, they're going to make up sleep in the floor, Beetle pointed out as he climbed into the hole. He held out his talon and helped Digger up. The two got comfortable and curled into little balls, soon drifting asleep. 

~~~

"Why did you want to have dragonets in the first place? They're so annoying and don't listen!" Beetle opened his eyes and turned to his parents who laid on the other side of the cave. He rested his head onto the stone and listened to what they had to say.

"Queen Sphex is in dire need of more guards and soldiers," Beetle's father responded. "I want to help the Queen out."

"No, you just want to replace Roach and become General," his mother hissed, hitting him in the head with her tail. 

"True but think. If I become General, we'd both be in a higher position. I can get you out of the kitchens. Plus, we only have to feed the little termites and make sure they attend school and that's it. We don't have to give them a proper dragonethood."

"I'd like to get out of the kitchens. Serving the Queen is nice and all, but it's not what I thought it'd be." His father wrapped his wings around his mother. 

"We just have to get through these two and Queen Sphex will be so pleased when I present them to her and their skills, she'll be firing Roach in no time! We just have to wait." Beetle looked at his brother and rested his head on Digger's back. I'm not going to let our parents control us like that, I promise.