Wings of Fire: Missed | The Turning Tides #1

Chapter 2

Surprisingly, Gelid didn't get lost like she thought she would. Sure the rainforest was a large kingdom with trees and bushes in every part of her view and further but it wasn't that big. The desert that took up the entire sandwing kingdom was bigger in comparison but the open horizon and clear skies made it seem so much smaller and the flights shorter. Unlike the desert, the rainforest was so much more distracting and colourful. And so much more dangerous.

It wasn't the danger of other dragons that made Gelid worried, it was all the unfamiliar noises, the environmental repetitiveness that made every minute of flight look the same, and all the weird and wacky animals she'd seen. So far, she'd seen the same type of bug fly around her tail and then landing on one of her legs and creeping her out. There was a red bug that had attached itself under her wing and started sucking her blood. Gelid admitted that she didn't notice it until it dropped and rolled blue liquid over her leg, probably realising that icewing blood was far too cold for it. Creepy little creatures.

After stopping to check that she didn't have bugs unknowingly hidden around and under her scales, she continued on her flight and it wasn't long until she quickly embraced the sight of another dragon.

A nightwing like a single moon crescent in an icy night sky and slightly bigger than herself approached her, gesturing for her to land which she followed. He landed in front of her, asking her to state her intentions.

"I have been sent by Queen Firefly to retrieve an object of great importance. She instructed me to fly this way. I, however, do not posses the knowledge of the path to your village. Could you in any way assist me?" Gelid almost broke out in laughter to her own words. This was how icewings spoke, generally, though with their snouts pointed fancily in the air to appear higher and superior.

The nightwing opened his mouth but then closed it, looking as though he wanted to question her. He assessed Gelid from tail to talon, then asking if she had any weapons, any companions or any other intentions, which Gelid all declined. She noticed a silver tear drop behind each of his eyes that glimmered in the soft rays of sunlight that pierced the forest.

The nightwing was complacent, lifting into the air and beckoning for Gelid to follow. Quickly, Gelid realised that the sun was lowering closer to the horizon.

I should really hurry. I said I'd be by Queen Blizzard's side by the time the sun fell. Gelid considered flying faster but it would've made the nightwing suspicious with her eagerness to attend their village. And she was, she really was. Apart from scanning the forest for threats, Gelid's mind couldn't stop thinking of what the nightwing village would look like. She imagined a village made of dark stone and lit with candle lanterns that hung outside the buildings. She imagined herself bumping into the nightwings countless times because their scales were so dark. She imagined the nighttime where she could see nothing other than flickering fiery dots - almost like she was sleeping calmly but she guessed that wasn't the typical slumber dream of an icewing.

They were flying for a short while when Gelid noticed the trees grew thinner, like the spikes of an ice spike field during the warmer days of summer. It was reminiscent of the tundra trees between the desert and the great ice wall, but these rainforest trees were browner with much greener leaves. The noise and chatter of animals became less and less, enough that Gelid heard the small crashes of a waterfall but before Gelid had the chance of seeing it, the nightwing veered right.

She wasn't sure how she missed it, even in the corner of her eyes, she missed it. Before her was a wall made of dark wood panels and interweaving dark emerald vines. Thicker vines with blue flowers grew from the base of the wall and up to the canopy, creating their own walls of nature. Not much was seen beyond the wall as the nightwing descended, landing on a light grey ground of cobblestone and gravel that scrapped with her claws as she walked. There was a silhouette of a large wooden door within the wall.