Wings of Fire: Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 4

Nova did a few flips in the air. It had been a few hours after she had left the rainforest, and the sun was shining blindingly in the sky. It had decided to be a cloudless, bright day, and already Nova was a bit thirsty.

Seeing a small pool in the mountains, she dove down, relieved, towards it. She landed and drank thirsty gulps, slightly shocked by the coldness going down her throat. While she was drinking she heard distant wingbeats and concentrated on turning a dusty yellow.

Looking up, slightly blocked by her hood, Nova thought she could make out a familiar face. It appears the dragon flying had thought so, too. "Is that who I think it is?" They said, landing heavily on the ground.

Nova smiled nervously. "Dog-tooth! What a surprise to see you here!" It wasn't a surprise to see a dragon, though; the pass Nova was going through was very popular.

"Dingo!" Dog-tooth said heartily, clapping the jumpy dragonet on the shoulder. "What are you doing around these parts?" The SandWing's eyes glinted, curious.

Nova shifted, not wanting to give too much away. "Headed towards Possibility..." she said, shifting her feet but keeping eye contact. "What a coincidence!" Dog-tooth beamed. "I was just heading out there myself! You might wanna actually go to a smaller town closer here than Possibility; it's swamped with fighting."

Nova nodded and peered at the bag on her shoulder. "I suppose you're bringing supplies for the SandWing soldiers, then?"

Dog-tooth shook her head. "Nah, I don't want to get involved in that. I'm gonna see if I can earn a bit extra cash selling some of my jewelry," she said, shifting the shoulder the bag was on.

"They're well made," Nova said shyly. "Well, thank you very much," Dog-tooth smiled. "I work very hard on them.

After a quiet moment, Dog-tooth looked at Nova. "Would you like to travel with me, perhaps?"

Nova weighed her options. On one talon, Nova liked to travel alone. On the other talon, she might want Dog-tooth as a friend. On the third talon, she was afraid the SandWing would react negatively to her saying no.

"Sure!" Nova said. "That would be nice."

Dog-tooth smiled widely. "Well alright then! Let's get going, shall we?" Nova nodded silently in agreement and in unison the duo took off into the sky.

The sun was beating down hot on the two dragons, but with the strong winds it was a bit hard to keep steady in the air with.

"Y'know," Dog-tooth said after awhile of silence. "This whole war is honestly really weird. It's very unlike the SkyWings to start a war like this; not since Queen Ruby secured her position all those years ago. Maybe she's actually turning out like her mother." 

Nova curled her lip at the thought of Queen Ruby. Oh man, what she wouldn't give to rip her apart. Long ago, when Nova was a young dragonet, then Princess Ruby had found her Creator's stronghold and killed all of them. Nova would have been happy with just that, because honestly the stronghold was more like a prison where she was a lab rat, but Ruby took it too far. Nova's memory was fuzzy, but she remembers Ruby killing a few of the other dragonets and taking her best friend, Frostfire, probably as a pet. 

Despite all this, Nova couldn't help but agree with Dog-tooth. The fighting over Possibility had ended long ago, and it wasn't like Queen Ruby to stir up trouble again. Nova got a weird feeling from the whole thing, but she didn't want to meddle in the business of others.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Weird."

The two stayed quiet for a few hours more before both the dragons' sharp eyes' caught onto something. A pair of goats stood, far enough from their pack, munching on some dry grass. Dog-tooth and Nova shared a look before slowing down and circling over the goats. They were far enough in the sky that the goats probably thought they were birds, so they payed them no mind.

Suddenly Dog-tooth dove down, and Nova followed closely after. The goats spotted them too late and bleated helplessly before being snatched up by the two ravenous dragons. They quickly made ends to them before flapping back up into the air.

"Nice catch!" Nova complimented her companion. "Although to be fair mine is bigger." The SandWing laughed. "Please! I'd like to see you wolf down my huge catch."

Spirits lifted by their marvelous catches, the two dragons drifted towards a cliff-face to eat. 

They settled down and began to eat. Nova looked around and marveled at the darkening view, something she hadn't been able to do in awhile. As much as she loved the Scorpion Den, she needed a bit of space and freedom every once in awhile. Besides, she hadn't left her home in what, four years? She needed change of space.

Which led her to another thought of hers. What if I left the Scorpion Den? I feel like dragons have gotten to know me too well. They'll be bound to start snooping around at some point... She thought. We can't have that happening.

Nova meddled quietly in her thoughts for a good while, chewing her goat but not really tasting it. Dog-tooth gave her a side glance. "So," the burly SandWing said. "Where were you from before the Scorpion Den?"

Nova stopped eating, her mind racing as what to say. "Well," she began slowly. "I've really been living there for as long as I can remember," she said. "I've really been on my own for most of my life." Dog-tooth stopped as well. "That's awfully sad. You haven't made a friend or anything?"

She thought for a moment, and her mind wandered back to Frostfire. "I made a close friend years ago, but he's gone now. Other than him, I've really had no one as close as him. A few acquaintances, I suppose."

Dog-tooth sighed. "That's not very ideal. I would be your first friend in a while then, correct?" Nova nodded.

"Aww, you called me your friend!" Dog-tooth said, seemingly delighted. Nova laughed a bit. "Yeah, why not?" She replied, smiling.

"I guess now that you've told me so much about you, I better tell a few things about me," the other dragon sighed. "Like you, I've been living in the Scorpion Den all my life. My parents were two fine Outclaws, higher ranking but not too important. Very honorable, excellent role-models. Unfortunately, my mother was killed in a skirmish, and it was hard for my father to keep up, with three dragonets and all."

"I was the eldest, so I found myself on the streets, getting into all sorts of trouble trying to support my family as best as I can. You know how rare a tight family is in the Scorpion Den, yeah?" She said to Nova, who nodded. Dog-tooth continued.

"When I was about your age, I was caught stealing jewelry from a very wealthy jeweler. He could've gotten me arrested, but instead, surprisingly, he took pity on me and adopted me as his apprentice. I began working for my money, which made me feel pretty good. It took a lot of weight off of my pops. Eventually, my two brothers were old enough to join the Outclaws, which they did. They worked alongside my father until he too died in a skirmish."

"Now my two brothers are some of the highest ranking in the Outclaws. We're still very tight and keep in touch all the time. I'm very proud of them," Dog-tooth finishes, a small grin on her face. "Which reminds me, I need to write them a letter tonight and send it as soon as we get to our destination."

"There's a cave just behind us," Nova said. "Great!" Dog-tooth said. "I'll go find us some wood."

Nova walked in the cave and found herself a nice nook to sleep in, out of sight from most of the cave in case one of her dreams made her change colors. It wasn't long before her companion came back and started a warm fire. Nova sighed and curled up.

"Goodnight, Dingo," Dog-tooth said, as she fumbled in her bag and started to write a letter. "'Night," Nova replied before closing her eyes. As tired as she was, she felt very unsettled and it took awhile for her to finally drift off to sleep.