Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 8

The blue-purple sky sparkled on the fresh snow. The sun bore down on the tundra, but not even its warm light could pierce the cold breeze. 

Cold, icy water lapped at the snowy bank, and Auora stood at the edge, her wings folded at her side. Her neck was drawn downwards, her tongue lapping softly at the water. Her frill twitched, and her ears pricked forward. Her eyes danced upward, and further out on the river, a young IceWing stood on the frozen surface of the water.

"Snowball, what are you doing?" Aurora asked.

Her cousin wobbled on two legs, his tail wavering behind him. He let out a small roar. "Look! I'm a polar bear!" He yipped. He struck a forepaw through the ice as fast as a snake, then a second later he pulled a flopping fish out.7

Auora giggled slightly. She dipped the tip of her wing in the water, then splashed it on him. 

Snowball laughed and fell, the ice cracking under him. He gasped when he slipped under. But he quickly resurfaced, his wings spreading to spray water on Aurora. "How do you like it?" He mocked.

"Oh no, I'm hurt!" Aurora joked, falling down in a tangle of legs and wings. Snowball burst from the water and landed on her, his eyes bright. "You got me! I give up!"

"Roar!" Snowball growled. He reared up on his hind legs, then slammed down, pinning Aurora. "This polar bear's got cubs to feed!" 

"What are you doing?" An angry voice demanded. 

Aurora glanced up, seeing purple reflect out of the corner of her eye. She saw Gellis land on the snow a tail-length away from them. "There is fighting going on, and you're playing?"

Snowball instantly got off, his tail drooping. "We weren't hurting anyone," he mumbled.

"Shut up," Gellis hissed. "You think because you've got royal blood, you can be lazy and let others fight for you?" He snarled, lashing his tail. He came closer.

"Hey!" Aurora growled. She stood protectively in front of her cousin and spread her wings. "Snowball hasn't done anything! And he's too young to fight!" She argued.

"It doesnt matter. He should be helping- just like you," Gellis grumbled. He reached into a large sachet and pulled out a helmet, along with some small dagger. "We've got HiveWings near our border. I expect that you fight immediately. There are some IceWings there that need backup."

"And so I'm backup? What about you?" Aurora growled. 

"I'll keep watch of Snowball," Gellis said quickly. He flicked his tongue. "Besides, I don't fight, I heal," he pointed out.

"Fine then," Aurora grumbled. She snatched the dagger and helmet, then spread her wings and was up in the air. Waving goodbye to Snowball, she headed towards the south border. 

More and more time passed, and Aurora was beginning to get a bad feeling. She couldn't hear anything. It was silent. Dead silent. Surely she should at least be able to hear growling? She gripped the dagger tighter as a pit of anxiety formed in her stomach. Something just wasn't right. Something seemed off.

As Aurora flew closer and closer, she could hear her own heartbeat. She swallowed hard, her talons trembling. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was stress that was causing her to think badly. But something in her head screamed at her to go back. 

Aurora flew quicker, and the pale yellow of the desert could be seen once the white haze faded. The mountains could be seen in the distance. Aurora then looked at her reflection in the dagger. She knew that the HiveWings were pretty dangerous. "I enchant this dagger to protect me from HiveWing abilities," she sighed.