Wings of Fire: Skyfire

Firescales

Cloudshine has firescales.
Most dragons don't even know, she keeps it so well hidden.
She can control it.
It was very hard for her at first, to stop herself from burning up anything and everything that she touched.

Don't firescales dragons have a twin?
I asked her one day.
Without any fire?

Oh, yes,
she replied softly.
But Momma said the other one didn't even survive two hours.

I think back on this now, suddenly wondering if Cloud felt guilty for that, even though it was not her fault that it was born that way.
Now, Cloud has two deaths on her talons.
Not her fault.
But she thinks it is.

The healer rushes around, using what little supplies are available. In the far outskirts of the Sky Kingdom, life is rough.
A healer, named Goat, self-trained.
A meager pile of food at the center of our village.
A village school, but hardly any dragonets to go there and teachers that don't know much themselves.
The queen doesn't pay hardly any attention to poor villages like us.
So far from her palace.
So dull and poor.
This is our life.
And right now, that life is crumbling down for Cloud.
Her mother dying.
Her own scales causing it.
And only her best friend knows.

Cloud, I whisper.
Cloud. She'll be all right.
Goat knows what to do.

I say these words to myself as well as to my best friend.

No, she whispers back in reply.
No. She won't make it. She won't make it, okay? She won't make it she's going to die I will never ever see her again ever again because she's dying and she's going to die and all we have to heal her is a stupid doctor named Goat! SHE'S DYING AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!

Her voice seems to rise to a yell.
But I look around
and no one else has heard.
Cloud's voice has no power right now.
It can only whisper.
I can't think right now.
I can't breathe
my throat is so tight.

I've got to go,
I say.

And flap away.

A rock juts out.
A ledge, really.
It juts out from a cliff.
I go there, sometimes.
When I want to be alone.
When I need to get away.
Now, some one else is there too.
Sunmist.

Hello,
she says to me.

Hello,
I reply.

I come here when I need to think,
she says.

Ok,
I reply.
Me too.

And we both just sit there.

Sunmist, Cloudshine, Skyfire.
All the dragonets have names like that.
We pretend we don't know why.
It's not exactly a secret,
but we know the adult dragons like to still think of us as innocent
and little
and young
because they trick themselves into thinking
that if we never know about the danger
we will never be in danger.
It makes them feel better.
Our names are like that.
All related to the sky
in some way or another.
But we are meant to separate from the Sky Kingdom.
And form our own tribe of dragons.
And show ourselves when we are strong enough.
The SkyWings give no thought to their poorer tribemates.
The SkyWings kill prisoners for fun.
The SkyWings are bloody and carefree and we don't want to be a part of them.
So the adults will sit all the dragonets down one day, I know.
And they will tell us to split off,
find an abandoned mountain,
start our own tribe.

Rainfall comes looking for Sunmist,
who heads off with him.
Sunmist and I aren't close
But it's lonely to think by yourself
And I soon leave the ledge
And fly away again.