Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 16

I drew Hyacinth in graphic novel form ^ 

Aurora dove down, landing just at the edge of the rainforest. Her palms touching the grass seemed to freeze the thin green stalks, and she sighed as she made another enchantment. I'm so tired from all that flying! She rushed towards the forest, which was a bit dense. Some animus long ago had enchanted a lake to appear in the forest. If I can just get there, I'll be safe. Now under the shadows of the trees, her scales felt cold again.

After running through the shady forest, Aurora reached the lake. She saw it just a few talon-lengths ahead of her, but she noticed a silhouette by the shore. She stopped, but the figure seemed small. "Uh, hi?" She questioned.

The shape turned, and thanks to the moonlight, Aurora could see that it was an extremely young dragonet. He looked as though he was only four weeks old. But then Aurora saw eerily dark red scales. The dragon looked like a young NightWing, but then how could his scales be red? Aurora rushed forward, her heart pounding. "Are you hurt? Is that blood?" She questioned.

"That's just the color of my scales," the red dragonet said softly. His horns slightly curled like a SkyWing's. "Who are you?" He hissed.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted. "I came here for the night to rest. I'm tying to get back to the Ice Kingdom," Aurora explained. 

Suddenly, a growl sounded behind Aurora. A lighter blood-colored SkyWing with long talons loomed over her. He was almost twice her size. His eyes were a piercing yellow, and his underside was a pale red. "What are you doing on my territory? Get off!" He hissed. 

"Wait! We must pry information out of her," The blood-red dragonet spoke. He lifted his head, his eerie golden eyes glowing. "She looks like she has no idea where she is." His talon pointed to her arm. "And she looks injured."

As the large SkyWing thought for a moment, Aurora began backing away. She felt uncomfortable since the blood-colored dragonet wouldn't peel his eyes off of her.

"Her blood is blue. Is that normal, Overheat?" The dragonet asked, a silver tear-drop flashing on the corner of his eye.

"Yes, it's normal for IceWings..." Overheat glanced at her frill. "Oh, you're a hybrid. And you seem like the type that stays out of trouble, correct?" He prompted.

Overheat? I feel like I've heard that name before. Isn't he... Nightmare's father? "Uh, yeah," she mumbled. I can't ask him yet. "I just needed a place to rest, I promise. I mean no harm. I have to get back home to the Ice Kingdom."

Overheat's gaze softened slightly. "I'm sorry I was so hostile earlier. We just can't trust strangers, you know?" He asked. "Unless it's a hybrid. I trust them, since.. you know. I didn't notice you were a hybrid though. In the darkness, the only thing that stood out were your glowing white scales and that threw me off. Sorry."

"It's okay. Who is.. he, if you don't mind me asking?" Aurora questioned.

"My name is Fearbringer," the dragonet answered quickly. "My scales are so red, they're the color of blood! The first group of dragons that saw me were fearful, they thought that I was actually covered in blood!" He laughed. "Oh.. and how do you know about Nightmare?" He asked, his voice sounding threatening.

Aurora blinked. He read my mind! Shut up, thoughts!

"Did you... read her mind? Fearbringer, I told you not to read other dragon's minds!" Overheat hissed.

"But I can't help it. And Fatewatcher reads minds too, but you never say anything to her!" Fearbringer argued.

"Because she's... she doesn't understand things, remember? She.. she doesn't have the right mindset," Overheat questioned. 

"Who's Fatewatcher?" Aurora asked. 

"Oh, she's my sister! I re-"

"Don't reveal information like that! Keep it down your throat," Overheat hissed, cutting his son off. He turned back to Aurora. "So.. how do you know Nightmare. Did someone tell you about him?"

"I.. I'm an animus. I enchanted a stone to answer questions I had. I basically went through a bunch of questions and found that Nightmare is a dragon with firescales. I'm trying to lean about that ability more, so I asked more questions about him," Aurora answered. 

"I'm an animus too, but-"

Overheat glared at Fearbringer. "Keep your mouth shut!" He roared. "Okay, so you have a stone that answers questions. How about I ask it where my son is?"

"Well, it only answers to my voice," Aurora stated, looking at her talons. "And I left it at home."

"Three moons, I don't know if he's alive or dead. But it doesn't really matter," Overheat sighed. "He burned down some of the forest with his scales. Even burned his own sister. She still has the scar."

Fearbringer stood up. "I guess I'll hit-the-rock!" He yipped, zooming through the darkness.

"Don't wake your sister!" Overheat hissed. "And especially not your older sister!"

It was then silent, besides the crickets and ripples of the lake water. Aurora stood still. "I guess I'll sleep too," she sighed. 

"Wait. What questions about Nightmare did you ask that stone? Did you ask it.. where he was?" Overheat questioned.

"I.. did actually. But it sounds like you don't care about your son. The way you talked about him, it sounded like he's just a stranger," Aurora pointed out.

"Huh, you're right. I don't really care about him. I just need to know where he is. Moonglider loves him, and if she knows he's safe, then I'm happy," Overheat sighed. He stood still. "Hmph, what am I even saying. I'm going to get some sleep. Night." And with that, he turned away.

Aurora stood still for a moment, the moonlight dancing on her scales. She turned away, dipping her head to take a drink from the lake. Her tongue kept lapping and lapping at the cold water, but then she got an idea. She placed one palm down on the surface, and watched as it froze under her. Then she leaped into the surface, the ice catching her. This is fun!

Aurora ran across the lake, the ice creating a trail under her. She ran for what seemed like forever until she was in the middle of the lake. With the ice under her, she sat down, staring up at the three moons. Maybe I should find Nightmare before I go home. I feel like we're connected through our abilities.