Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 17

Aurora had fallen asleep next to the lake, so that the calming ripples would help her sleep. After some weird dreams, she was eventually prodded awake with a talon. Jolting awake, she was greeted by Overheat, who was looming over her with pale eyes. "You have a visitor," the SkyWing informed. "And, there's ice on the lake. That is really weird."

"Huh, who?" Aurora asked, jolting awake. After standing up, she saw who it was. The sky blue RainWing was standing by a tree, talking to Fearbringer and a purple dragonet.

"Hyacinth," Aurora breathed. She rushed over, her frill drooping. "What are you doing here? Are you planning to follow me all the way back to the Ice Kingdom?" She asked.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. My mother.. just isn't the nicest dragon," Hyacinth sighed. "But Apple told me you were leaving. And you didn't even tell me!" He wrapped his wing around his daughter's neck, pulling her closer. "Aw, come on! I saved your life!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know! I'm sorry. I was just really upset," Aurora sighed. "It was stupid."

"It's okay. I'll come with you to the Ice Kingdom," Hyacinth said, placing his talons on her shoulder. "I know it's probably dangerous because Iceberg is mad at me, but I feel that I should stop being a coward. I'm going to apologize to Iceberg for killing our son. I want to give her some closure."

"Alright then, sounds good to me." As Aurora backed away, she noticed the dark purple dragonet who stood there silently, not even showing emotion. "And.. who are you?"

"That's my sister, Fatewatcher," Fearbringer explained, nodding his head. "She's pretty quiet and doesn't really understand a lot of things." He leaned in closer. "She doesn't really understand emotions," he whispered.

Aurora winced. "Uh, what does that mean?" She questioned, but it was more to herself. She looked at Overheat, who stood next to Palesky. "I think we're ready to leave now," she stated, sighing.

"Alright, I hope you make it back safe," the SkyWing said, lifting his large wings. "It was nice  meeting you two."

"Hey, if you find Nightmare, tell him that I'm better than him!" Fearbringer chirped to Aurora. "Make sure he gets it."

Aurora twitched her ears. "O-okay," she stammered. She looked at Hyacinth, breathing out a deep sigh. "I hope Iceberg won't be too displeased to see you."

"She wants to kill me, I know, but maybe she'll listen to what I have to say," Hyacinth sighed. "But we can't worry about that now, we have a journey to make." The RainWing hybrid spread his wings and lifted into the air.

"Bye, stay safe out in these woods," Aurora told Overheat and the rest of his family. They all waved their talons at her. Then she spread her wings and flew beside Hyacinth. They both headed in the direction of the large mountains, and past that would be the Kingdom of Sand. Then they'd arrive at their home. If we just fly quickly and take no breaks, we can make it back in maybe just two days. 

As they flew over the forest, Aurora noticed the lake down below, and she remembered how she had ran across it. That was fun. As more and more time passed, the forest thinned out, and the base of mountain began to rise up. 

"We don't have to fly over the top, we can just go in between the bases," Hyacinth suggested. "We've been flying for a while now anyway, why don't we rest for just a few minutes?" 

"Okay, fine," Aurora grumbled. She dove down towards the jagged rocky surface, her talons digging in. My talons were designed for ice climbing, but I guess this works too. Her father landed beside her, his long curled talons digging into the rock. "We should look for a better place to rest, like a cave or something."

"Well, I'll look, you just watch the sky and make sure there aren't any SkyWings," Hyacinth said. He peeled himself off the rocky surface, flying around the mountain to find a safer place.

After what seemed like forever, Hyacinth returned. "I found a place, but it only seems big enough for one dragon."

"Then you have it. I don't mind resting right here," Aurora sighed, lifting her tail.

"You're clearly tired, come on," Hyacinth prompted.

Aurora felt her talons slipping. She scrambled back up quickly, her heart pounding. Her talons scraped the rock, sending tiny rocks tumbling down below with a thudding sound. "O-okay, sure!" She followed her father to the cave. It was tucked it the rocky surface, almost hidden. She clambered into the tight cave, her wings grazing the rough, rocky rough.

"A tight fit, I know, but it's something," Hyacinth soothed. He looked at the jagged stone overhead, then jumped up, his tail wrapping around the rock.

"Hey, don't do that! That can't support your weight!" Aurora gasped. "It'll break and you'll fall."

"It doesn't matter if I fall. I have wings, right?" Hyacinth laughed. With the little room left of the rocky floor, he rested his lower half on it. But the pointed rock suddenly made a clinking sound as it shattered at the base from the weight. The sharp front half fell, and Hyacinth quickly moved his head. The sharp tip grazed his check, splitting the scales and drawing blood.

Aurora quickly scrambled over to him. "Are you okay?" She gasped. "I told you that would happen!" She growled.

Hyacinth sat up slowly, his frill twitching with amusement. "I'm okay," he muttered. "I think there's enough room for both of us in this cave, you know, if you just scoot back a bit."

"That cut looks nasty, let me heal it!" Aurora hissed. She quickly took a small rock fragment from the cave floor and held it in her talons. "I enchant this rock fragment to heal scratches," she breathed. She leaned forward, rubbing the small rock over her father's cut. The scratch quickly sealed up, the blood flow stopping. The torn scales returned back to their places.

"Hhmp, you're using your magic more and more for useless things," Hyacinth sighed.

"So? And that wasn't useless! If I hadn't of healed it, then it would've gotten infected!" Aurora argued. She flicked the rock piece over the edge. 

"That cut was hardly even showing," Hyacinth grunted.

 "And how do you know? You couldn't even see it," Aurora hissed. She scooted back more, till she was pressed against the wall. "Just... leave it at that. It's pointless. We may as well rest." Without saying another word, she closed her eyes and let the darkness take her. Before she could fall asleep, she heard Hyacinth shuffling around in the cave. They always said that using your animus magic would make you lose your soul. But is that really true?