Wings of Fire: Revenant

Chapter Two

 "Moon! Moon Pie!" Peacemaker cried delightedly as he pounced into her waiting arms, nearly toppling her over in the process.

"Oof!" Moon exclaimed, quickly trying to regain her balance. "When did you get so big, Peacemaker? You're nearly as tall as I am!"

"You'd know that if you came to visit me more often!" Peacemaker chided her, though his smile never wavered.

"I've not been able to get away," she replied, "but haven't I written to you every week, just like I said I would?"

"You have," he admitted, remembering how eagerly he would await the messengers sent to bring letters to and from the dragons of Jade Mountain Academy, "but it's not the same."

"I know, and I'm sorry," she said, squeezing him tighter. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

It wasn't entirely clear to Peacemaker just how Moon had come into his life, only that she had always been there. His earliest memory was of her, sitting with Hope, Kinkajou, and Qibli on a mountaintop covered in strawberries. From then on she had been a constant figure in his life.

Moon was his closest companion and his biggest supporter, more like a sister than a friend. However busy she was, she always made time to write to him and discuss his joys, his dreams, and his problems. He couldn't imagine a life without her, and often thought of how lucky he was that this dragon with seemingly no connection to him had decided that he was worth caring about.

Hope approached the pair as they pulled out of their embrace. "Hello, Moonwatcher."

"Hi, Hope," Moon replied. "How are things with the queen?"

"Same as usual. We're still trying to work out communication with the NightWing settlement on the Talon Peninsula. I figure I'm going to be forced to make a trip out there pretty soon, which I can't say I'm looking forward to. How about you? What are things like at the Academy?"

"Great! A few new students are coming in tomorrow. None from the rainforest, but I know at least one NightWing is coming from the settlement."

When Peacemaker was a small dragonet, Moon had been a student at Jade Mountain Academy, but in recent years she had graduated to teacher. She had taken up teaching history after Webs retired, and had also pioneered the more recent classes on the study of NightWing abilities. This was especially helpful for the few moonborn dragonets that had hatched since the NightWing Exodus. A few of her friends from school also served on the teaching staff.

"Is Qibli with you? Or Kinkajou?" Peacemaker asked, looking around.

"Nope, just me. Qibli's gone to visit Queen Thorn, and Kinkajou needed to stay behind to help with the new students coming in."

"So are you here to see Secretkeeper?" he inquired.

Moon shook her head. "Mother came to visit me at Jade Mountain only a couple of weeks ago. So actually, I'm here to see you."

Peacemaker raised a brow. "Why do I feel slightly suspicious? Have you had a vision about me?"

This wasn't an invalid accusation, as Moon was the first mind reader and foreseer born into the NightWing tribe in centuries. Over the years she'd made a habit of showing up at seemingly random times without giving a reason, only for something either very good or very bad to happen. If it was catastrophic enough, then she would interfere, but otherwise she didn't think it was fair to manipulate the future to her whims.

Moon gave her standard reply: "If I did I wouldn't tell you. Besides, why do I need a vision to visit one of my most favorite dragons in all of Pyrrhia?"