Dragon Wing

Chapter Two

I stared at the book, dumbstruck. The book was about a 14-year-old girl, with abnormal aqua-blue eyes, raised by dragons, who could talk to them. I WAS A 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH ABNORMAL AQUA-BLUE EYES RAISED BY DRAGONS WHO COULD TALK TO THEM!!! Alright, Kaylie. Take a breath. Go to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning. I climbed into bed, and was asleep almost instantly, but the book haunted my dreams.

The next morning, I went hunting to get my mind off things. And to get breakfast. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about the book's uncanny resemblance to my life. Plus the fact that me and the girl were practically twins.

I came back with a rabbit for me, and some deer to contribute to the dragons' pile of food. I cooked my rabbit over my fire place, while the rest just started to eat. After a bit, Fern padded over.
"Why do you burn your food, Kaylie?" he asked, tilting his head.

   I laughed. "I'm not burning it, Fern. I'm cooking it." When he still looked confused, I added, "Humans can't eat their meat raw like dragons do." Yet another way I'm different. I thought resentfully.

"Why?"

"I don't actually know." I replied. "People have eaten it like this for a while. Guess I never stopped to consider it."

Magnali stood up, stretching. "Those were some tasty deer, Kaylie. Now I have to get going, I have a meeting with some other dragons. Galeah, you're in charge." And with that, she flew off.
Galeah stood up, her white scales shimmering. "I'm going to help Fern with his fire. Sorry, Kaylie, but I need to make sure he doesn't burn anything."

"I understand," I said, only feeling a little hurt. Being fried was not on my To-Do list. "Besides, there's something I have to do." I finished up the rest of my rabbit and headed to my room.

I grabbed my squid ink jar and a thin blue scale I used for writing, along with large leaves. I looked over the book again, memorizing each illustration and place it was associated with. I redrew them all on leaves just in case, stringing them together in order. I triple-checked the order. I can't afford to mess this up.

Next, I got out the largest pice of paper I had salvaged. I recorded all the distances from one location to another in the book, along with nearby locations I recognized. When I had enough info, I drew the map.

Meh. It's not an artists work, but it'll do. I studied it from all angles. Looks realistic enough.

"Whatcha doin?"

"GAH!" I whipped around, startled. "Galeah, you scared me half to death!"

"Whoops! Sorry," the white dragon said, dipping her head. "I finished up with Fern, and came to see what you were doing. Whatcha working on?"

My brain automatically listed all the ways to tell her, plus outcomes. I decided the best would be a half truth. "I was re-reading one of the books I brought from home, and seeing if the places actually existed."

"Why?"

"Just curious."

Galeah nodded, then looked over my shoulder. "Seems pretty realistic. Nice drawings, K."

I smiled. K had always been Galeah's nickname for me. Then it hit me. Dragons had a great sense of direction and how the world worked. If Galeah thought it looked right, then it must be. I nonchalantly asked, "So how's it going with Fern?"

"Pretty good, actually. His aim could use some work though. I made it extra clear that he wasn't allowed to use fire in the house." Galeah replied with a wink.

I giggled. Galeah was the sweetest dragon you would ever meet, but she was not one to be messed with.