Atlxntic's Bonfire

1. Beyond the Wall

"Come on, Heath!" Emine chirped, bounding ahead of the other dragonet.

"I'm coming!" Heath, the young dragoness, muttered. She caught up to the older dragonet after a moment and sighed. The rain was lighter after the initial storm, but the ground was sloppy and their claws sunk deep into the mud.

Emine fluttered her small wings in excitement. "Just a little further! Come on, I promise it'll be cool!" The purple dragonet slipped and slid, but pressed on out of determined excitement. Heath followed as closely as she could.

Their rainforest village was small, but adorned with flowering vines and fostered plenty of fruit trees. It was safe, mostly due to the high wall that shielded it from the rest of the forest.

All dragonets knew not to go near the wall, much less past it. Stories of lurking monsters and rumors of bloodthirsty serpents remained in their minds after campfires. The dragonets would sit in rapt attention, barely blinking as an older dragon claimed their imaginations as he painted his stories.

But there it was. Heath skidded to a stop, watching with disbelief as Emine kept going, slipping and sliding, straight up to the wall.

The older dragonet turned and motioned impatiently. "Come on, Heath! Don't worry, no one's around. Come on! Come on!"

After a moment, Heath slowly crept forwards. Chills raked up her spine as she looked upwards. The tops of the trees outside vanished, replaced by the top lip of the wall, grey and splintering with age and weathering.

Emine leaned forwards, placing a paw on the wood. "See, its fine!" She giggled, adrenaline from just being here making her giddy.

"O-o-ok. Ok." Heath looked over at her friend. "What is it?"

"Look up!" She could barely press the laughter out of her voice.

The gentle rain made it difficult, but after looking, Heath's stomach dropped. Situated about a tail length above her head was a hole, just big enough for an adult dragon to look through, but big enough for the two dragonets to squeeze through.

Heath didn't need to ask. She knew what Emine wanted. But still, going beyond the wall would mean trouble, especially if the adults caught them.

But Emine had that pleading look in her eyes. She was so reckless, she had always been the adventurous one out of the dragonets. She never stopped to think of the consequences...

"Emine... I can't." Heath took a step back, trembling from the rain and the fear.

The purple dragonet's ears dropped slightly. But she was determined. "C'mon, please? You don't even have to come, just a little boost? Nothing's gonna happen, I just want to see around."

"You haven't even earned your wings yet."

"I won't need them. Nothing's going to happen." Impatience grew in her young voice.

"What if you get stuck on the other side. What if.... the monsters get you?" Heath whispered, eyeing the wall with pupils slitted out of fear.

Emine laughed. "Do you actually believe any of Onca's stories? There's no monsters..." Her voice wavered slightly. "There's nothing. Just the rest of the rainforest. I don't wanna be stuck here my whole life! I wanna see the outside world!" She shoved her ears forwards and her tiny wings tucked in.

Heath dipped her head sadly. If she didn't help, Emine would go wake up another who could. She silently outstretched her talons, which Emine immediately took.

With the support of the smaller dragon, Emine reached the hole, grasping the lip with her front talons and pushing upwards with her back ones. For a moment, the dragonet was balanced on one the wood, then, with one grin shot down to Heath, the dragonet launched off into the unknown world on the other side.

And that world was quiet.