The Diamond Winglet: Frostbite's Power

Chapter 3

My mother dove into the ice without hesitation, and the water made the largest splash I'd ever seen.

I tried to decide whether to go after them. One part of my brain had it's share of water for it's life. The other part was screaming that WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU ICE-MUNCHER YOUR FATHER IS DROWNING GO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING YOU EMOTIONLESS SNOWBALL!

Yeah. The second voice was the most influential. I saw two shapes under the ice. My mother was reaching my father, and trying to drag him up. Chill had sunk about 350 feet below the surface, and my mother was attempting to drag him up.

My wings fell as I watched the slim, starved figure of my mother battle against the water and the heavy form of my well-fed, plump father. It was a hopeless battle. My mother simply could not keep Chill in her grip for long.

A horrifying thought crossed my mind; what if Blizzard drowned trying to save Chill? I didn't know what to do! I leaned towards the ice, desperately searching for something that might help. "Please don't let him drown! Please please please!" I begged to the water. Foolish? Probably. Did it give me some sense of usefulness? Yes.

I watched as my mother fought the currents, and clawed my father to the top. She fought hard, but I could see she was losing air. The being under water for the amount of time she was under was bad enough, but the effort it was taking to drag my father upwards was draining her. She was maybe a few more strokes to the surface, when she dropped my father and rocketed the rest of the way to the top of the ice. 

She broke the ice, breathing heavily, and then she threw up water. After about ten seconds of retching noises and trying to catch her breath, Blizzard dove back under the water to reach Chill, who had started sinking again. I screamed for her to stop trying to save him. It had been long enough for my father to lose consciousness. He would no doubt drown.

After another minute of struggles, my mother finally pulled the still form of my father from the cold, wet, grip of death. She dragged him to the cave she had dug in the cliff overlooking the sea. Me and my siblings followed, numb with shock. Blizzard built a fire, and put Chill's frostbitten talons into the roaring flames. 

She looked at us with surprise, as though she'd forgotten we were there. "Frost? Icestorm? Please go find some food. Frostbite, go wait outside." She ordered, hiding the worried face she had on moments ago. She turned to our father once again with a heartbreaking expression.

She looked so helpless. Like she didn't know what to do, but that couldn't be right. She always knew what to do.

We all did as she said... until I got bored. A few minutes later, I got curious as to what Blizzard was doing. I entered the cave, hiding in one of the piles of snow that had blown in. I looked in wonder as my mother stood on top of Chill. She was ramming her claws into his stomach, causing Chill to gag, although he remained in his fainted state.

After a few moments, Chill began to vomit water from his mouth, and Blizzard sighed in relief. "He's alive." She smiled slightly, and nudged Chill's moving form. "I see you, Frostbite. Come on in, near the fire. You need it to melt that ice off you." She said, and I obliged. "How did you see me?" I asked in wonder. 

"Your misty scales are quite obvious, little dragonet." She smiled, and looked over at Chill's talons. "I wish you hadn't let Chill touch you. It's not your fault, you know. How could you have known he'd fall through the ice?" She asked, and sat by the fire. Her beautiful scales glimmered in the firelight, and her darker blue eyes shone with humor and sympathy. 

Unfortunately, that was the one thing I could never stand. I didn't like sympathy. I just couldn't understand why some dragons felt bad for me. I didn't want them to. I am who I am, and I wouldn't change it... although I do wish sometimes I could give and be given affection. Physically, anyway.