Wings of Fire: Saltreef's Destiny

Chapter 2

At the same time that Tsunami entered the teachers lounge, Riptide was swimming through the estuary that SeaWings of the Talons of Peace used, looking for fish. His eyes scanned around him warily, his wings were tired and his heart heavy; being an almost single father was not easy, especially when he had to juggle that with being the leader of the Talons of Peace.

Just as he was starting to give up on his hunt, Riptide spotted two salmon trapped underneath a pile of rocks.

It's my lucky day Riptide thought with a grin. With one swift swipe, the fish were dead. He collected them in his talons, and shot out of the water, wary of dragons flowing him. One in particular. Squid. The nosy SeaWing had given him no end of trouble, constantly trying to follow Riptide when he visited his children and insisting that he should lead the Talons of Peace.

Riptide sighed with relief when he reached the his cave with no trouble. Reef was already awake, standing guard by the cave while her twin, Salt still lay asleep. Riptide resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he gently shook his son. Salt's eyes blinked open blearily before widening with delight as he spotted the salmon. The two dragonets devoured their meals quickly, much to the amusement of Riptide.

"Thanks for the food, Dad," Reef said. Riptide blinked before smiling, then nodded in acceptance.

"Not to worry my young dragonets, I'll come back later."

"Dad?" Salt asked.

"Yes, son?"

"When is Mom coming home?" Riptide swallowed the lump in his throat and forced his answer out.

"I'm not sure Salt. I'm not sure. Now, you know the rules. Stay in the cave until the night falls, then you can go swimming and work on your aquatic." Salt and Reef nodded glumly before Riptide turned, and flew off back to the base of the Talons.