Wings of Fire; The Creed

Chapter 26

Starburst was debating whether she SHOULD visit her father, the whole way to the NightWing Village, before leaving. He was still the one dragon she never wanted to see again, but she had a feeling she needed to.

Her shoulders hurt, so she was walking the entire way, which was taking ENTIRELY TOO LONG. She grumbled as she took the long way around the Moon Globe Tree. She could feel her bandages slipping off her body, and she shook them off as she continued on.

The crickets were extremely loud all around her, giving her a small headache. When she finally arrived at the NightWing Village, most of the NightWings were in their homes. A few were out and about, steering wide paths around her, avoiding her. She saw a few glares but thought nothing of them.

There were really only two NightWings who were kind to her, Hope and Peacemaker, but they were much older than Starburst, so she didn't often talk to them.

"Hey Starburst, want a strawberry?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned to see Peacemaker's huge grin as he held out a strawberry. She loved how he had these gorgeous colored scales where there should be silver scales.

"No thank you, Peacemaker. Do you know where my father is?"

He nodded his head toward her father's hut. It wasn't big, only two cylindrical rooms. One was just the main living area, while the other was her father's bedroom.

She walked toward the house, shaking. She didn't know why she felt so nervous. She reached up to knock on the door, her talon shaking uncontrollably. She hesitated right before touching the door. This was her last chance. She could turn back now, and not look back.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She heard a few muffled clatters inside the hut before the door swung open. Her father opened the door and stood there in shock to see his daughter standing there.

His eyes were sunk in, in an old and tired way. His glasses were resting on his snout awkwardly, as though they were thrown on in a hurry.

"Starburst!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "W-What are you doing here?"

Starburst felt as if claws were threatening to choke her. She struggled to say, "I... wanted to talk to you."

He nodded thoughtfully and backed up. She walked into the hut and a flood of memories hit her like a wave. She fought back her emotions and tried to keep control over herself.

They both sat down and looked around, avoiding eye contact awkwardly. Starburst finally broke the silence, blurting, "Why weren't you there for me?"

He jumped slightly, and Starburst scowled at him. He stammered, "I-I don't u-underst-stand what you mean."

"I mean, why is it, whenever anyone was rude to me or mean to me, all you would do is stand by? You never defended me."

Her father looked down at his talons, looking ashamed. Starburst felt bad for him for a moment, but she fought it off.

"I never intended to let you down. Ever since Aura... Ever since she passed, I haven't felt anything but emptiness. She was my world, Starburst. I wanted so much to add you to my world, but when she died, I felt like my world was gone. I know I wasn't there for you. I know I didn't protect you, and I didn't comfort you. I love you Starburst, and I never wanted to hurt you. I am sorry."

He let out a small sob and couldn't bring himself to look at Starburst. She felt horrible. She hated her father with her whole heart because he wasn't there for her. She thought it was because he didn't love her. She never knew how broken he was left after her mother died.

She stood up and slowly walked up to her crying father. She slid her head into the crevasse of his neck, and she closed her eyes. He wrapped his wings around her, and his breath shuddered a little. Starburst couldn't remember the last time she willingly hugged her father. It was years ago.