She trudged back into the den and collapsed back onto her nest, leaving a trail of melting snow in the room. Her back and wing stung after being out in the snow. She splayed her injured wing out and started to unwrap the bandage. It was a mess, with torn webbings and claw marks along the wing. She shuddered, leaving it out to dry before any infection settled in.
She waited for a bit while the cold air dried her wing until Raindancer trotted through the door with two salmon dangling from his jaws. She sat up, her appetite finally beginning to reach her and walked over to the main room. "Thank you for taking care of me." She said. "I will leave once I'm healed and will do everything I can to repay you." Tia added. Raindancer shook his head. "I... just don't like when dragons are hurt. You really don't have to." He replied. "So," he prompted. "What happened? I heard a boom and then a moment later, you were dangling off the cliff." He said. Thunder Strike looked away. "Nothing happened, just a small problem." Raindancer rolled his eyes, but they were softer than his tone. "And the 'small' problem caused you to almost bleed to death?" He asked gently. Tia hissed. "I thought I could trust him! I..."
I loved him... once.
"He was my friend!" She finished, tears building up inside her eyes while her claws itched to rip his throat out. Raindancer nudged a fish closer to her. "Would you like to go home?" He asked her. "No. N-not yet, anyways. I don't want to face my friends." She shuttered. "I'm not ready." Raindancer licked his jaws and picked up the remains of his fish and carried it out the entrance. Tia gazed after him, then took a bite of her fish.
I'll have to go back to my home eventually.
I have no choice.
A few days later...
Tia woke up to the sound of hail pattering on the roof of the den. Raindancer had fallen asleep on a soft rug, his face still towards the window. Thunder Strike yawned and stretched her injured wing. She was starting to recover from the shock earlier that week. She padded down the room and walked outside, to where the hail was dropping onto the ground, small enough not to harm any dragon. She jumped off the floating island and fell down to the forest floor. Gliding down is much easier on my wing than- her eyes widened. How will I get back up!? She half landed on the forest floor, though her injured wing still couldn't support her weight entirely. She walked around until she spotted a deer nibbling at a fresh piece of shrubbery that had sprouted through the thin layer of snow. She dropped into a crouch, closer and closer. I haven't tasted deer in a while. She thought hungrily as she eyed the deer as it scampered to the frozen stream.
She leapt forwards and pinned the deer down. Her spine hurt, but she finished the animal off with a killing bite to the neck. She glanced at her back to make sure the wounds hadn't opened and dragged the deer over to a clearing to wait for Raindancer to wake up.
Raindancer had carried the dead deer up to the floating island then had helped Tia fly back up to the den. "Your wings are getting stronger, I can see that. You may be able to return to your home soon... unless you want to stay with me." Raindancer said to her. My wings are strong, but my heart is as brittle as the leaves that crunch under the snow. Tia thought bitterly, but did not say out loud. "Yes, I will be able to return to my home." Not that I want to see my friends. She added silently under her breath. Raindancer looked hurt, just a tiny bit for a split second, but then looked cheerful again. Why? Thunder Strike thought.
The following day, her wing was no longer stiff, there was only a long scar along her spine and a few membranes along her wing that still needed healing. I hope the scar on my spine won't be there forever... She prayed.
