A Drop of Magic (A Wings of Fire Fanfiction)

Prologue

Tsunami had never wanted to have dragonets. Sure, as a SeaWing princess, she knew her dragonets would be royalty, safe under the protection of the SeaWing queen. But dragonets seemed like so much work. And if she ever became queen, her daughters might want to kill her. Just might. But still.

"I think they're hatching." Beside her, the dragonets' father draped a wing over Tsunami's back. Riptide. It had taken a couple years for things to mend between them, and it was three years after that that Tsunami had the eggs.

That brought on the endless debate of where to raise them. In Sanctuary, where Riptide lived? No, not enough water. In the Rainforest, where Glory lived, and where they all stayed while they weren't at Jade Mountain academy? No, none of them would be truly happy there, living with RainWings and NightWings. The kingdom of sea? Riptide was still out of favor with Queen Coral, and Tsunami didn't much like the idea of raising her dragonets there. What if Coral decided all three of them needed harnesses to keep them safe?

Eventually, they had decided on Jade Mountain Academy. The school had expanded over the years, inhabiting the entire system of caves and tunnels that filled Jade Mountain. There were more winglets, and dragonets of any age or tribe were welcome, even the distant tribes of Pantala. There would be plenty of space to raise her dragonets, and Tsunami's friends would always be close by incase she needed them.

"Look." Riptide whispered, nudging Tsunami happily. "Look, it's hatching." 

Sure enough, small starbursts were appearing on the leaf green egg. A moment later, a tiny tallon popped out, poking a hole in the eggshell and sending more cracks spiraling across the smooth surface.

Tsunami held her breath as pieces of the egg began to fall away, giving way to the dragonet's kicking and squirming. And then, all at once, the egg exploded in dark green splinters.

In its place sat a tiny SeaWing dragonet. His scales were a shiny green, like rainforest leaves, and his eyes were bright blue.

"Hello, little one." Tsunami breathed, bumping the dragonet with her snout. Remembering how she'd wished she knew how to speak Aquatic, the SeaWing language of flashing stripes and gestures, she added Hello. Her son reached out with tiny talons and grasped her nose, giggling.

Riptide laughed, and the dragonet swiveled his head around to gaze at his father. He let go of Tsunami's snout and reached for Riptide, tripping over his own tail in the process. He landed on the dark blue egg, and a crack splintered through the delicate eggshell.

"No!" Tsunami roared, snatching the green dragonet away from the other two eggs. He whimpered and burst into tears, making adorable snively sounds that broke Tsunami's heart. But all of her focus was on the deep blue egg, and the dragonet inside.

Please be ok. She thought, reaching a trembling talon towards the egg. Before she summoned the courage to touch it, a starburst appeared, and a head popped out. The dragonet squirmed for a moment, pushing a tallon through the eggshell, and forced the rest of the shell to fall away.

Tsunami laughed in relief. "Riptide, she's ok. I'm sorry, little one." She added, hugging the crying green dragonet close to her before placing him back down beside his sister. Their newest dragonet had scales the same shade of deep blue as Tsunami's, but there was sky blue shading around her ears and tail and underbelly.

Riptide draped a wing over Tsunami's back and squeezed, hugging her fiercely. "She looks just like you." He whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"She does." Tsunami told him, watching their son and daughter bump snouts. Her gaze shifted to the last egg, slightly smaller than the other two. A tiny fissure had appeared on the shell, slowly growing bigger.

A crack appeared, and splinters of eggshell fell away as the dragonet fought to get out. The egg rocked from side to side before falling still. The two dragonets went back to playing.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Tsunami asked, gazing at the egg in worry.

"No. I'm sure it's fine. Some take longer to hatch than others." But Tsunami couldn't help but notice he looked worried.

Before they could say anything else, the blue dragonet's tail bumped into the egg. It was like someone set off a dragonflame cactus. Razor sharp shards of eggshell flew in every direction, and Tsunami lunged forwards, spreading a wing over the two dragonets and closing her eyes. When she opened them again, a tiny dragonet was sitting where the egg had been, blinking up at them. 

"Well, that sure was a hatching." Riptide laughed, gazing at their daughter. Tsunami just nodded, pulling her wing back so that the two other dragonets could see the third.

"What should we name them?" Tsunami asked, glowing with pride as she gazed at her dragonets.

"How about Emerald, for the green one?" Riptide asked. The dragonet wandered into a ray of sunlight, and the effect it had on his scales was brilliant. He looked like a dragon made of gemstones.

"I like it." Tsunami said, twining her tail with Riptide's. "Could we call the dark blue one Rainstorm?"

"Ok." Riptide smiled. "What about the last one?"

They both examined their third born daughter, noticeably smaller than the other two, with shimmering aqua scales. Already, she seemed to be able to move more easily than the others, walking on tiny legs and spreading jewel-like wings.

"What do you think of Droplet?" Tsunami asked.

"I think it's perfect." Riptide smiled and leaned into Tsunami, hugging her close. For once, she let him, consumed by the happiness of having a family of her own. 

I'll always love you, little ones. Tsunami thought, gazing at her dragonets with fierce pride. No matter what happens. You're going to be the most perfect dragons in all of the ten tribes, and I will keep you safe. I promise.