Dark Snow

1

     Hello there! Thanks for checking in again. I know these posts are very close together, and expect the next few to be like that. This is because I'm writing these first in Google Docs. Thanks for being patient, and hope you enjoy the first chapter!

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     Blackice's earliest memory of her mother and father was that they had been digging a hole in the ground. It wasn't any ordinary hole, though. Little Blackice and her father had been carving an underground storehouse for food into the snow. Her father had told her that they were making it to keep the seals, walruses, and other food that they caught fresh. As their claws scratched away at the frozen ground, Darkness was telling her stories about the other dragon tribes. After hearing about four of the six tribes, she mustered up the courage to ask him a question. "What about you and Mommy?" she asked. "Yes," he said. "Your mother and I are special. We decided to not to fight with each other, and we had you." "But what tribe are you from?" she had questioned. "I'm a NightWing, and Mother is an IceWing. NightWings and IceWings used to fight a lot, but this all happened a long time ago," he told her. "But what about now? Did you make up?" "Well, not exactly. The NightWings moved to a secret, safer place to live, but unfortunately, the two tribes haven't got over their war." Blackice had puzzled over this for a while. "But how did you and Mommy meet if you were angry at each other?" Permafrost had then slid from the entrance of their cave. "We'll save that story for another time," she had said gently. "Now, why don't you build an igloo?" Then, about a year and half later, when Blackice was three, her mother had been teaching her how to fly long distances without overexerting herself. They had flown all the way to the Pyrrhia's mainland, and had landed to rest in the shadow of a enormous snowdrift. ‍‍‍‍‍Permafrost climbed to the top of the small hill, surveying the land. She had obviously seen something, because she had then flung herself back down the slope, grabbing Black and flinging her pure white wing over her back. She then pressed herself into the side of the slope, blending in perfectly with the snow. When Permafrost allowed Blackice to come out of the safety of her wing, the young dragonet had asked why they had had to hide. "Because they are IceWings, patrolling their territory," Permafrost had replied. "But why are they bad?" Blackice wondered. "Because they don't approve of me and your father. We had you, and you don't belong to the NightWing or IceWing tribe. That makes you special, but they think that your a bad thing. They'll try to hurt you." But Blackice still didn't understand. She wanted to meet other dragons besides her parents. However, her mother and father continued to keep her separate from the neighboring tribe of dragons, insisting that the IceWings didn't approve of a half-NightWing, half-IceWing dragonet. But now, in the present time, Blackice was not the little dragonet that didn't understand the ways of other tribes minds. She had learned the hard way that other tribes couldn't be trusted. At the age of five, she lost her parents. Then, when she was six, she started out into the world by herself, heading to the Kingdom of Sand, which she had heard about in her parents' stories about traveling around the continent. During the day, she would sleep in a cave in the Claws of the Clouds mountains, and at night, she would wander the desert in search of food and water. The moonlight made her feel awake. Now, it was getting dark. Blackice was preparing to replenish her food stores, which were running low due to weeks of storms. As she stretched her wings for the long flight, she surveyed her supplies. A hollow in the stone cave wall was a quarter of the way filled with food, camel skin canteens of water, and a single long, wickedly curved dagger that her parents had kept in a hidden chest. Blackice had taken it from her old home when she decided to set off into the desert. A stolen SandWing spear was propped up by the mouth of the cave. Now, she scratched her serrated claws across the stone floor to sharpen them, tied a canvas bag across her chest, and picked up the spear. She hesitated at the exit for a moment, then grabbed a water canteen from her storage pile. She would stop at an oasis and get more water just before dawn. Blackice stepped onto the wide ledge that was just outside the cave exit. The mouth was hidden by a number of scraggly bushes that were clinging desperately to the steep mountain side. She took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, then spread her wings and launched herself into the sky.

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Once again, thank you for reading. By tomorrow afternoon, I should have another post out. Please vote for it if you get the chance. Thank you!