Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 12

Wing beats outside tore Aurora from her thoughts. She stretched her neck forward to look outside. The yellow blob of Bright flying towards them excited Aurora. Then the MudWing can leave!

Bright scrambled inside the cozy treehouse, his tail curled inward. "Queen Lapis, they did see a group of dragons. A NightWing, a weird MudWing, an IceWing, and a strange HiveWing. They flew right past, into the thinner forest next to Jade Mountain. Canopy later saw the same NightWing flying past again, and he stopped him to get information. His name was-"

"I don't care about the NightWing. Bright, escort this dumb MudWing out of my Kingdom," Lapis ordered.

"Right on that," Bright said, dipping his head. He rushed to the MudWing, his talons clutching the MudWing's shoulder.

The MudWing roared, his wings flaring open. He shoved Bright away, stomping his foot into the leaves. "Where is Numb?" He demanded, his snout wrinkling with rage.

"Probably off to the Ice Kingdom. If you go there, you'll more than likely get killed by IceWings," Aurora hissed, glaring at the MudWing.

The MudWing turned his attention to Aurora. "Listen hybrid, I'll bring a whole army. And we may as well take you too while we're at it. Do you want to take Numb's place in the lab?" He growled, lifting his talon.

Aurora's heart beat faster. Lab? What is he talking about? What did the MudWings do to Numb?

"You aren't taking Aurora!" Lapis hissed, opening her mouth. 

It all happened so fast. The MudWing roared as something black landed on his face and thick neck with a sizzling sound. He fell to the ground, clutching his face. His wings stretched up to hide his face.

Aurora backed away, while Lapis stood panting, her lips pulled back in anger. "Aurora and Hyacinth, I want you to leave."

"A-are you mad with me?" Aurora gasped.

Before Lapis could answer, the MudWing stood up. The thick scales on the side of his neck seemed to be melted off, sitting in a small gushy pile of thick black slime at his talons. Red bubbled up on his neck, and the scarlet liquid ran down, dripping onto the floor. It was so quiet that the dripping blood seemed loud.

Bright and Hyacinth backed away, their eyes narrowed with hate, but also filled with surprise.

The MudWing grunted, his talons scratching at his melted face. His right eye was shut, and Aurora was grossed out seeing the mangled mess of dark flesh. "You'll regret that," he hissed weakly, turning away. He stumbled through the entrance, then seemed to fall off, his body falling like a lifeless corpse.

"Bright, escort him out of the rainforest!" Lapis ordered, her scales flashing with red.

Bright quickly rushed out, his scales washing with dark green. He disappeared quickly, his wing beats echoing around the inside of the treehouse.

Lapis paced around, her tail dragging behind her. Her scales were mixed with orange and green. "Three moons, I didn't mean to do that to him. I'm sorry Aurora, that you had to see that."

"It's okay. What was the MudWing even talking about?" Aurora asked.

"That's a story for another day," Lapis sighed. "You should go home, back to the Ice Kingdom," she insisted. "I think I might of just got you into trouble."

Aurora ducked her head. "It's fine. I always get out of trouble," she joked, laughing slightly. "The MudWing got what he deserved."

"I'm sorry Queen Lapis for causing trouble," Hyacinth stammered, dipping his head.

"What are you apologizing for, Hyacinth?" Lapis asked, turning her head towards the RainWing. "What happened here is not your fault. Why don't you go home and rest?" She suggested.

"Alright then. Aurora, you come too." Hyacinth was already stretching out his wings, the sunlight flaring on the bright yellow skin, which cast a faint yellow on Aurora's white scales.

Aurora rushed towards the entrance, her wings catching the air. She soared through the warm light, her heart fluttering. Maybe this is where I'm meant to be. It's better here. It's so peaceful, there's nothing to worry about.

The leaves swayed gently in the light breeze, and sunlight dotted the ground as it shone through the leaves. Aurora spotted the long yellow fruit hanging from a clump. She jumped up, up, her talons clutching the bananas. I found what Hyacinth needed!

Aurora placed the bananas in the leaf-woven basket, which was already filled with bananas, lemons, coconuts, and mangoes. Now all she needed was two pineapples, and potatoes.

As Aurora was about to climb up onto a branch, she spotted movement. She froze, and looking up, she saw.. "Eyes?" She gasped. Two emerald-colored eyes looked down upon her, then suddenly, red scales flashed, creating an upside down face. "Apple?" She gasped.

A pineapple suddenly appeared. "Yep, it's me. Glad to see me? I got this pineapple for you," Apple said, pushing it towards her. His neck suddenly sparkled into place, and soon his front legs appeared, then his wings, and the rest of his body. He was above the ground, his tail wrapped around a sturdy branch. "I thought I'd come out and help you. Nice of me, isn't it?"

Aurora felt calmed after hearing his soft voice, like gentle rain. She hadn't heard any dragon's voice ever since she left her father's hut, just the chirping of majestic birds and the howls of monkeys. She gently took the pineapple from his talons, placing it in the basket. "T-thank you."

Apple smirked, his wings coming forward to cover his underside and douse his face in shadows. His eerie emerald eyes seemed to glow. "So, what did Queen Lapis have to say? I heard she almost killed a MudWing. Huh, I thought she was laid back, but three moons."

"Oh, no no, it was an accident. And she didn't really say anything to me, she was just glad to meet me," Aurora said quickly, her talons digging into the dirt.

"Oh, uh, I almost forgot," Apple sighed. He reached down into the sachet around his neck, then pulled out a potato, his lips pulling up to for a smile. "Found this. Now all you need into one more pineapple. I made your job easy, right? Believe me, it was hard to find that potato. I bet you would've never found that dirty plant."

Aurora gladly took the potato from the RainWing, her talons shaking. "Well, can you take the basket back, please?" She pleaded.

Apple stared at her for a few seconds, unmoving. His talons reached out to touch his snout. "Fine. But I have something to ask. I'd like to... go somewhere with you," the red RainWing slurred. He stretched his neck forward, his snout almost touching Aurora's snout. "There's a tree here that RainWings carve their name into. So many names are on that tree, even on the branches, and.. well its mostly mates that do it. But we will go as friends."

Aurora stood still, looking questionablely at Apple. Are we really friends? We only just met yesterday. "Well, uh."

"Awe, come on! I've never carved my name into the tree. It'll be fun. Come on, please?" Apple pleaded, his eyes dark.

Aurora pulled away, unsure, but she didn't want to upset him. "Alright, fine, I'll go with you."