Dark Snow

26

     The darkness rushed past her, and she kept her wings and tail close to her body. "Watch out!" Breaker's voice cried out from below her. Blackice's white wings snapped open, and her claws skimmed the surface of another body of water, this one moving quite fast. Breaker appeared beneath her, swimming with the grace of a dolphin in the cold water. Blackice stopped to hover, and Breaker's snout popped out of the river, his wings spread and his tail lashing to keep himself from being swept away. "You passed right by it," he said, laughing. He ducked back under the water, his scales flashing at full brightness, and led her to the side of the tunnel she had emerged from. Another, smaller tunnel was carved into the wall, the sides smooth from water that used to flow through it. Breaker clambered out of the river and up the tunnel wall, starting into the tight space. "Follow me, and stay close," he ordered, before making a sharp left turn that Blackice wouldn't have noticed until she bumped into the wall in front of her. The two dragons slipped through the tunnels, some parts wide enough for them to spread their wings all the way, some parts where the ceiling was so low that Blackice had to shimmey on her stomach while the rocks scraped her horns. At first the tunnel sloped steeply up, but then began to flatten out the further they went. As they walked, Breaker explained the natural security system on their home. "In the main cavern, there's that big lake. When the tide is high, the lake is full, and it fills that huge hole to the brim. The river is what makes the ocean water come in and out. At high tide water flows in, fills the hole, which fills the lake. At low tide, the water flows out, and drains the hole, which drains the lake. Most of the time, only SeaWings can go through. This tunnel we're in right now partially fills with water too. That's why it's sloped, so the water doesn't go into our living space. The only way for a normal dragon to come in or out is at low tide." Breaker paused, waiting for Blackice to say something. "I guess that was helpful during the war, living so close to the Sky Kingdom," she said after a moment. "You must have had SkyWings flying around all the time, waiting for someone to leave the cave." Breaker nodded, the glowing stripes on his snout dipping up and down. He turned suddenly, standing in front of her with his wings spread. "Welcome," he said with a grin, "to my humble home." With two sweeps of his powerful tail, he spread apart a black curtain that was hanging over a wall. Under the curtain was an archway that led into a cave full of light. The SeaWing held the curtains back for Blackice, and she padded in, looking around in wonder. It was a huge cavern, with several holes in the sand-colored rock walls. The holes were covered with large plant leaves, allowing in green-tinted light. Along the back, a waterfall tumbled down the smooth wall, into a pool of water that channeled into a tiny crevasse and disappeared back into the wall. A circular carved wooden table sat in the middle of the room, scattered with scrolls, inkpots, and tiny stone dolphins. Alcoves were spaced strategically along the walls at different levels, light blue curtains hanging over two of them. Cushions were scattered along the outer edges of the cylindrical space, in different hues of blue and green. Blue talon-shaped flowers sprouted from the walls, and vines wrapped around the walls, making everything look alive. "Great, isn't it?" Breaker said right into her ear before brushing past and pulling a cushion up to the table. He tilted his head at the nearest scroll before rolling it up and shoving it away. Blackice took a step into the cave, then curled her tail around her claws and sat down. Breaker gazed at her for an awkward moment. I wonder if he's ever seen anyone like me before, Blackice found herself wondering. He barely had a reaction. Or maybe he knew I was coming. Maybe this is an elaborate test set up by Jujube. If so, I've probably already failed. Just as she was working up the courage to try to speak to him, he started talking again. "We haven't had any visitors in a while," the SeaWing said, sweeping his tail across the stone floor. "We?" Blackice echoed, looking around and expecting more sea dragons to pop out of the doorway any second. "My sister and I," he amended. "Your sister.... I was thinking she was your partner," Blackice said quietly. "Most dragons think that. They don't expect siblings to be as close as we are." Breaker laughed at himself. Blackice blinked, thought for a second, then blurted, "This is such a nice place. Your family must have a lot of treasure." Breaker snorted. "Please be messing with me. My family is probably the lowest born SeaWings ever. We're lucky Queen Coral even let us apply to move to this cove. Nori says that the only reason the queen agreed was because she wanted us out of her scales and as far away from her fancy palaces as possible." Breaker noted the confused look on the hybrid's snout. "Nori's my sister. The other dragon you might've seen hanging around." He turned and watched the waterfall trickle down the wall. "It's better this way," he said. "We don't live in one of the poor villages, with all the sharks that swim around those places. Both literally and figuratively. Plus it's better for my..." He trailed off, giving Blackice a sideways glance. "Job," he finished, getting up and beginning to roll up the scrolls and pile up the loose leafs of paper. An idea popped into Blackice's head, but before she could explore it further, the sound of talons, with an extra squish-flap sound to them, came marching up the tunnel. Blackice moved away from the doorway just as the curtains came flying open. A disgruntled looking SeaWing came marching in. "Nori!" cried Breaker, leaping over the table and wrapping his wings around the green dragon. After a second, Nori pulled away from her brother. Breaker immediately held up his talons and spread his wings in front of Blackice. She stayed quiet. "Before you say anything," he said, "we have a guest." "From the SeaWing court?" Nori asked, trying to peer behind Breaker. "We're supposed to have a visit from one of Coral's ambassadors." Breaker shook his head. "She isn't a SeaWing," he murmured quietly. With a growl, Nori shoved Breaker to the side. Her green-eyed glare landed on Blackice, and she suddenly seemed to swell up. Her tail lashed, and her gills fluttered furiously. "She is definitely not a SeaWing," the dragon cried, hissing accusingly. "For the sake of the three moons, Breaker, you've brought home a hybrid!" "How nice of you to notice," the navy dragon hissed back. Blackice faced off with the angry sea dragon while Breaker tried to get Nori to let him explain. He told her about how she had been hanging around the cove because she had nowhere else to go (That's not what I told him, but she can go ahead and believe that, Blackice thought, flicking her tail and clattering the spikes around her neck.) and how he had taken her in because she seemed like the type of trustworthy dragon that just needed help at the time. When he had reassured her that she had no weapons on her, Nori backed down a little. Still tense, Blackice flicked her wings closer to her body, and sat down with her tail curled around her talons. She clicked her claws against the smooth rock floor, pleased with the look of annoyance on Nori's snout. A moment of silence passed, Nori glaring at Blackice, Blackice grinning innocently at her while giving Breaker sideways glances, and Breaker beaming at both of them as if he expected them to twine tails and get along perfectly. At last, Nori snorted, and stood up, shaking herself vigorously. "Well," she said, flicking her tail and flashing the stripes along her wings pointedly at Breaker, "The tide's probably coming back up by now, so she can't leave unless she can swim." She turned her head to look at the hybrid. "Which, I take it, she can't." She sniffed disapprovingly. Turning back around and flicking the tips of her wings so they bumped Blackice in the nose, she leapt up to one of the alcoves covered by blue curtains, perched on the ledge outside for a minute, then disappeared between the folds of blue. "Sorry," Breaker mumbled, sidling up to Blackice. "She doesn't approve of crossing tribe bloodlines. I, personally, don't see the issue. It's not illegal, just rare." He clicked his talons together, glancing up to the ledge where Nori disappeared. "Older sisters, am I right?" He laughed to himself. "I wouldn't know," Blackice murmured, "I never had any siblings." Breaker made a noise deep in his throat, then slid toward one of the alcoves situated a small step above the ground. "Hungry?" he asked, lifting a large kelp leaf from the top of a small stone cauldron. Blackice nodded, padding toward him and lifting the cauldron from his claws. She set it on the table, and peered inside to see a salad of leafy greens, in hues of greenish-blues and purples. Lemon slices were arranged in a fancy circle around the edges, and octopus tentacles sat among the leaves. Blackice picked one up, turning it over and over in her claws. It had a squishy texture. Breaker brought two wooden bowls over, and sat next to her. "Ever had calamari?" he asked, his wings fluttering in amusement. "Can't say," she replied, poking the tip of the tentacle. She brought it to her snout, and took a small nibble. It was rubbery, chewy, and had a tang of lemon. She swallowed, making a face as it slid down her throat. "Not bad," she remarked, "but I might stick to fish." Breaker just laughed, practically choking on the bite of salad he had just taken.

     Nori didn't appear for the rest of the night, although Blackice could hear growling, hissing, and grumbling from where she had disappeared. When it had gotten dark enough that no more light filtered through the leaf-covered windows, and bioluminescent plankton along the ceiling and in the small pond began to glow softly, Breaker led her to the other alcove with the curtain over it, across the cave and a little bit lower than Nori's cave. He held aside the curtains for Blackice, his stripes glowing dimly, and casting a glow over Blackice's wings, making them sparkle in the blue-tinted light. After stepping through the curtain, there was a dip in the floor, and a nest of cushions and blankets met the hybrid's claws. She sank into the pillows, turning to look up at Breaker. "Comfortable?" he asked, plumping a cushion beneath his talons. "Yes. This is amazing," Blackice said, looking up. The ceiling was low overhead, but the roof was covered in glowworms, glowing like the stars. Tendrils hung down from some of the worms, trailing over the cushions. It reminded Blackice of flying through the star-filled sky, or perhaps like being underwater at night. Breaker slipped past her, his cool scales brushing against hers as he passed. A small chill passed through the hybrid, something she couldn't understand and didn't want to explore. Near the back of the cave was another pool of water, just big enough for a dragon to completely immerse herself in. Breaker waded into the water, then lay down, his head resting on a rock at the water's edge. "Good night," he whispered in the dark. "Good night," replied Blackice rolling over to face the wall. A small splash echoed through the cave, and then it was silent. Just as Blackice was closing her eyes, she remembered that she was sharing a cave with the very dragon she had been sent to kill.