Wings of Fire: Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 3

"How do you manage to stay in your disguise all the time?" Macaw asks, resting her chin on her talons. "It's really hard to stay focused," Nova admits. "It hurts a bit and I can't stay in my disguise forever, so I try to stay out of sight as best I can."

Macaw frowns. "That's awful," she says. Nova snorts and her green eyes pierce her friend's expression. "Not as awful as your war! Did the SandWings find your squadron while moving towards the SkyWings?" Macaw looked down.

"Yeah. It was pretty bad. We lost Heliconia," she added, obviously upset. Nova stifled a gasp of shock. Heliconia was a young but skillful dragonet who was eager to fight for what he thought was right.

Macaw's usual look-on-the-bright-side self was silent. Nova was silent too.

"I have a gift for you," Nova says, breaking the silence. "Oh! I always love your gifts," Macaw says, breaking out in a large grin.

Nova shuffles around in a pouch in her cloak and pulls out a folded, stylized drawing of Macaw, grinning, but without her horrible scars.

"I love it!" The bright red RainWing cries, taking the paper delicately out of Nova's talons and inspecting it closer. "It looks just like me! This is really really good," Macaw says, turning back to her friend.

Nova appreciates the comment, but furrows her brow. "No, I got your nose wrong and-" Macaw shushes her. "Lemme stop you right now. You took time out of your day to make this for me and I love it." Nova beams at her friend. The cheerful yet up-front RainWing always knew what to say.

"Well, I'm gonna go hunting," Nova said, getting up and stretching her wings. "Okay," Macaw said. "Just don't eat the howler monkeys or ONE OF MY SLOTHS!" Nova frowned. "It was one time! And I said I was sorry!"

Macaw chuckles. "It's okay, it's in the past now. Stay out of sight!" She calls after the hybrid.

Nova grins at her friend before she hops into the air and pumps her wings, rising above the trees. She twists around, looking for a spot to hunt and finds a dark, thick part of the forest that would be nice for prowling.

Dropping down quietly, she slithers down a tree trunk and, much like a snake, uses her tongue to taste the air for prey. She breathes in deeply, the smells of the forest overwhelming her senses. Nova looked around and admired the beautiful forest around her. It wasn't often she could see green life, her living in the desert and all.

Sensing none yet, Nova shifts into the colors of the tree behind her, her bright green eyes matching with the shrubbery of the rainforest backdrop. She waited patiently for any sort of movement.

Nova's droopy eyes suddenly widened and focused on a wild boar who had wandered into her line of sight. Slowly she gathered herself and prepared to spring. Just a liiittle closer.... she thought. Keep moving forward...

Suddenly, she pounced and landed on the boar, rolling with it. "Aha!" Nova roared, triumphant. "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The pig screamed in return. Nova made quick work of killing the pig before settling down to eat it.

She was about to take a bite when she felt a gust of wind and the feeling of eyes on her. Greatly unsettled, Nova grabbed the wild hog and lifted into the air again, looking for a nicer spot to eat. Eyeing a clear, wide stream, she dove towards it, excitement rushing through her veins.

Nova landed and, forgetting completely about her catch, dove into the water, laughing and whooping while water rushed through her gills. It's been so long since I've been in the water! She thought joyfully. She swam around clumsily, scaring away all the fish. She settled at the bottom, taking in as much water as she could, sighing a stream of bubbles as the moisture relieved her dry scales.

Oh camel-spit! She thought suddenly, surging out of the water. "Garbage-sniffing lizard!" Nova spat. Her pig was gone, most likely taken by a panther or a tiger. She growled in annoyance. She didn't need to eat much to survive, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be hungry.

"Great," she said, frowning. "There goes that." She sighed, disappointed, as she was looking forward to eating it.

Might as well head back now, she thought. Nova shook off her wet scales and took off again, heading back towards the trees where Macaw's hut was, the setting sun's rays bleeding across the canopy.

- - -

Nova awoke to the sound of Macaw rustling about, preparing for another smuggling mission. "You headed out?" She asked groggily. "Yeah," the RainWing replied, not looking up from her work.

"Yeah." Nova said, rolling out of her hammock and blinking her bleary eyes. "I'll probably head out for Possibility today." Macaw nodded, turning towards her.

"I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer," she said apologetically. "It was really nice catching up with you and I wish we had more time."

Nova shrugged. "It's fine; I'll be sure to visit more often," she added. Macaw smiled and hugged her friend tightly. "Good luck," Nova whispered. Macaw nodded gravely and, securing her camouflage armor, took off.

Nova watched her fly away for a bit before turning to Macaw's dining table. The RainWing had woken up very early before dawn- which it was currently- to pick Nova some peaches and raspberries, which were her favorite fruits.

I hope you enjoy these! <3 -Macaw

Nova smiled at the nice little note and started eating the fruits, enjoying the sound of the early birds' chirping.

After she was done, she tidied up Macaw's house, watered her plants, and fed her tame panther, who was lounging around the hut. When Nova was finished it was mid-morning, with the sun nearly halfway into the sky.

She sadly looked around the hut, already missing her friend. I'll be sure to visit more often, she thought, determined, before starting to fly towards her next destination.

The air was clean and crisp, and Nova savored the cold air running through her talons.

The quiet of the morning was very peaceful and refreshing, until suddenly it was cut short by the sound of laughter and chatter coming from near the NightWing village. Curious, Nova flew towards the sound. She landed in the trees, and hopped down a few branches before blending in.

Young RainWings and NightWings, probably a few years younger than Nova, were gathered. But why? She thought. Then it hits her. Nova mentally slaps herself in the face. Of course! They're heading to Jade Mountain. I think the Dragonets created three more Winglets. Nova skimmed the dragonets before decided to observe a couple of NightWings.

Nova felt a strange aura from the female. She was currently talking to another NightWing, one with orange eyes. The female NightWing looked very nervous and out of place. The orange-eyed NightWing seemed to look exactly at her Nova in the trees. She flinched and drew back. He squinted, then turned back to the female.

She wondered if the NightWing had mind-reading powers. She heard that they drew their power from the moons, but she didn't know if they started having their eggs in the moonlight again.

Nova's creators tried having her egg in the moonlight, but that experiment ending up failing very poorly, as Nova also had a bit of trouble reading other dragon's emotions as an extra.

Having her curiosity filled, Nova took off again, breathing a sigh of cold air out of her nostrils. She took a last look at the welcoming green forest behind her before setting her sights on the misty mountains.