Stardancer's Vision

Chapter 3: Citrus

Four dragonets were asleep. Desertfrost seemed lonely without Citrus, and she shifted around, half asleep, semi-aware that she was grumbling about her rainforest life, like how she liked to get up early and how all the other RainWings slept until noon, but she liked sleeping until nine, then took a break to eat, then went back to sleep, and how she usually napped with her brother Lemon and her sister Lime, and her littlest sister Orange. Her father and mother had drowned after trying to fly to Pantala, and she was the second-oldest, but luckily rainforest life was easy. Her venom targeting was excellent, and her camouflage was pretty well developed too, if she had to judge it.

She couldn't sleep. Nocti was curled up, head resting on his talons. He appeared to be asleep, but he wasn't fooling her. He was still conscious, at the very least. She turned her head away and raised herself up so she could see out to the top of the prison, where a tiny sliver of metal was missing and moonlight shone down on her face. She began to sing, a haunting yet comforting lullaby she remembered from when she was little. She knew lots of songs, and she liked creating them too. She sang of dewdrops and moonlight, of death and life, of destiny and sacrifices, and of stars and galaxies. She hadn't realized how much she missed being able to sing without judgment.

"That's really pretty." Citrus jumped, making eye contact with Nocti.

"Oh, thanks." She replied, blushing just a little.

"Really! I barely know how to sing, let alone that! It's really good." He said genuinely.

"I've had a lot of practice." She replied modestly. "And I bet you can sing well too!"

Nocti grinned, eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Oh, really? The deadly assassin can sing well?"

Citrus smiled, seeing the irony. "I bet you could if you tried." Nocti shifted.

"Maybe. I guess it might be a good idea..." Citrus waited for more, but none came. She began singing of opportunities, of being freed from chains, and of starlight glimmering in someone's eyes. She wasn't aware that Nocti had joined in until she heard their voices aligning. He sang in a deep baritone, her in a light, melodic voice. They harmonized beautifully. She felt her dappled blue scales turn pinker, and she was sure she looked like some rare fruit, with her pink-blue-green scales. She curled her tail up, trying to dim the pink, but she couldn't control it. At least that was one way of being see-through- ha. She was usually great at hiding emotions.

Now, though, in this horrible prison away from the rainforest, she felt different. When the other RainWings started turning into stone, Queen Glory told her to fly away, but she couldn't make herself leave. She had stayed, uncertain, trying to find her siblings. But they were already turning to stone, and after seeing that, she met Star and the rest of the dragonets, and although she didn't understand why they were immune to the spell, she had her theories. Maybe another animus had made the dragons in the prophecy unable to be affected by Painite's magic. Maybe it had something to do with Nocti. But they were theories. Not necessarily true.

From what Citrus had overheard, Desertfrost's backstory was cold. It had grown up in the Scorpion Den's outskirts, and although Queen Thorn held dominion over that place, some nasty dragons still resided there. Desertfrost was an orphan, abandoned by parents who didn't want it. The only thing it had from them was its name. Other dragons called it a monster so much that it felt less like a dragon, and more like an it. But now, it was all right with those pronouns. They showed how much it had grown. One day, a few months after its birth, Qibli had found it with an injured leg. He had adopted it then, feeling sorry for the unwanted hybrid, and Desertfrost had gone with him to meet his other daughter, Star.

They'd occasionally met ever since then. They were about the same age, Desertfrost was a few weeks older. It had never minded Star's intrusive mind reading, as it had developed mental walls. Citrus had overheard it talking to Star, reminiscing on those times. It had gone away for a while, to the Scorpion Den to trade and find work. It was a healer and used its frostbreath to extinguish the occasional fire. It had seen the other dragons and flown away immediately to find out if Star was okay, intercepting her before she'd met Citrus. Desertfrost had told her some of this, but not all. She felt a little guilty for eavesdropping, her scales turning slightly purple.

Just then, she and Nocti finished the song. "See? Deadly or not, you can sing."She was sure he was blushing now.

"All right, but you're still better." He pressed.

"Eh. You're not half bad yourself." She joked. Then he shook his head, the laughter gone from his eyes.

"Quiet. Painite doesn't like noise from prisoners." His face was blank. Citrus winced, holding a talon out to him. He got up and paced away from her, not giving her a second glance. She sighed unhappily. If only he could be free... Star had even sensed that he wanted that, too. But as he trotted away, he gave his tail a flick, just once, and she knew it was him trying to say sorry. She scratched the floor with two talons, trying to say that she forgave him. She couldn't quite tell, but she thought he was smiling. Her scales turned blue-purple-indigo. Her talons and the lower part of her tail were sky blue, and the upper half of her tail and upper legs were darker blue. Her wings were indigo like her back, with purple stripes, and her head was a royal purple.

Her ruff was a brilliant pink, though, and her eyes were pink too. Citrus sighed and curled up, ready for a long night. She closed her eyes and slipped into a dreamless sleep, which she was grateful for. She didn't need to dream about the rainforest when she was trapped in prison- it would only make her feel worse when she woke up. She didn't know how long she slept like that until she suddenly gasped and sat up. Nocti was a foot away, eyes open, watching her. One of his talons was holding hers, and she... She was holding it back. He immediately blushed and pulled away. She didn't resist, her ruff flaring pink and red.

"Just so you know, my pronouns are she/her now. Could change." Nocti said. She nodded. Then she heard a long sigh.

"Guys?" It was Star. Citrus started. "They must not be awake. Okay, Nocti, can you come here?" The hybrid assassin cocked her head and got up.

"Okay... Why?" Nocti asked.

"You'll see." Answered Star ominously. Nocti rounded the corner and Citrus was left waiting in suspense. She waited a few moments before Nocti came around the bend again.

"I don't feel so good. My head..." Nocti seemed like she wanted to sit, but couldn't.

Then she opened her mouth and here eyes blazed blue for a second. She let loose a roar of such rage and pain and emotion that Citrus covered her ears and scrunched herself up. A blue-black burst of flame erupted from Nocti's mouth and grew until it was much bigger than any normal flame. The roof of the prison began to melt. Nocti continued roaring, seemingly unable to stop. The fire kept blasting, scorching Citrus from in her cell. She scooted back. A hole big enough for several dragons had been formed in the roof when Nocti gasped and the fire stopped, along with the roaring.

"N-Nocti?" Citrus said sofly.

"I-I'm-What-" Nocti sputtered, looking happy and confused and angry at the same time. "I'm free."

Citrus widened her eyes. "How?"

Nocti shrugged. "I dunno. But now I think we can escape. Here..." She breathed frost on Citrus's bars, and Citrus shot venom to dissolve them too. Combined, their abilities cracked the bars, allowing Citrus to escape.

Citrus and Nocti ran for the four others. They broke them free, and Star had a look of such joy in her eyes that Citrus was tempted to ask why. Not even the jailbreak could have made her that happy. Maybe it was because Nocti was free? But again, how was she free? It made no sense.