When Shadowwing awoke, he opened his eyes to see a Nightwing with her nose just inches from his face. He leapt back with a yelp, tumbling out of his hammock to land painfully on one wing. He scrambled on the mossy ground to right himself.
"You startle easily." she said in a bored voice with an eye roll.
Shadowwing froze. That was Passion's voice. He twisted his head around to look closer at the other dragon. It was definitely not another dragon that he knew. Then her scales rippled with a wave of radiant color before staying pitch black.
"Passion?" he asked incredulously.
She laughed. "I'm Dreamwatcher today! Look, look, look, look, look!"
She spread her wings to allow Shadowwing to see the spiraling shapes of silver star-like scales. Just below her wing membrane ran a line of bright, glimmering silver scales. She peered at Shadowwing, her bright gold eyes shining with excitement. He continued to examine her disguise. Her scales had a hint of violet to them when the sunlight caught them just right, and she kept her frill folded tightly against her neck. Her bigger spines and claws helped her look more Nightwing, despite the fact that her slender build might cast some shadow on the disguise. But truly, he thought to himself, it was an ingenious disguise.
"It's... very good. Why Dreamwatcher?"
"Because I stalk your dreams!" she said in an outlandishly theatrical voice. "And I will feed on them!!!"
Shadowwing shuddered. That sounded much too close to the old dragonet's story his father had once told him. About Darkstalker... Passion didn't seem to notice, bouncing around and beating her wings impatiently.
"So... umm, why are you here, Pa... uh, Dreamwatcher?" he barely suppressed a shudder.
She preened slightly. "Well, you can't hang around the Rainwing village. I can't be around the Nightwing village, unless I look like one of you. And now I do! So, it won't look all suspicious!"
Shadowwing cocked his head. "Why do you want to be around the Nightwings? Don't you hate us?"
"Well, you see," she started to explain. "I was never really around much when the Nightwings started taking Rainwings from the village. I came afterward. But when I heard about it, I was all 'Aarrrghhh, I'll help my queen bring back all the missing Rainwings!' But the queens were useless! Except maybe Grandeur, but she's very old. But when Queen Glory came, and challenged the old queens, and WON, and then launched the attack to bring back all the missing Rainwings, I went. I was really angry, but after seeing all your skinny sacks of bones, I got a little sentimental. I think you guys were just led by a bunch of scheming serpents."
Shadowwing blinked. Passion was... surprisingly understanding. But skinny sacks of bones?
"You are... surprisingly understanding." he said slowly.
"It's a very good quality of mine. Now, Shade, do ya wanna learn how to fly properly in the rainforest?" she asked, spreading a wing to him.
Shadowwing looked worriedly behind him, but there was no one he could ask. He was alone, and he had to learn at some point, right? He turned back to Passion.
"Yeah... could you show me?"
Passion grinned. Another wave of color washed over her scales, before she was once again 'Dreamwatcher'.
"Well, then! Let's go!"
YOU ARE READING
Shadow Falling
FanfictionShadowwing has lost everything. His island home, his parents, and any security he had ever known. As he spirals deeper into the sickness of depression following the island's destruction, things change once again. With a dragon named Passion.
