Short Stories

Date Night (Qinter)

3rd time is a charm, that's what they say, right? Well, Qibli had never been superstitious, but he worships whoever came up with this saying. After 2 tries, Qibli had finally been able to convince the higher-ups to give Winter a day off. On his normal days off, Winter was always too tired to do much, and Qibli didn't want to deprive his best friend of his rest.

Qibli had been so excited about his date with Winter, that he had forgotten how much he hated being outside the house. His muscles ached quickly, making long-distance travel quite a pain in the tail. By the time they reached the restaurant, the sandwing's legs were burning; but Winter was so patient, always assuring Qibli that it was okay if he needed to stop and take a break. Something Winter couldn't help, however, was how other dragons looked at him.

It was always just for a second, but he noticed them every time. The shiver or shift from discomfort, or the looks of distaste or worry, and even the occasional glare as if he was being a nuisance by looking this way. Winter eventually seemed to notice Qibli's discomfort and nuzzled him affectionately, which calmed Qibli for a moment before he realized that now Winter was getting judgmental glances.

How dare they?! Qibli thought, returning their looks with little glares of his own. He understood their looks toward himself, he was covered in injuries he shouldn't have survived, it was his fault, and his fault alone; but Winter? Winter chose the path opposite of Qibli, so he escaped without these scars; he made the right decision, he shouldn't have to endure this!

A cold talon on his shoulder made him turn with bared teeth, but Winter didn't even flinch; he just looked at Qibli with those deep blue eyes, silently encouraging him to take a deep breath, to relax; for a moment, Qibli was afraid that the icewing knew, that he figured out how dark the path Qibli had chosen really was. But he realized that he was just worried about his friend... his lover. So Qibli tried his best to calm down and continued walking.

"Is this the place?" Winter asked when they reached a restaurant in the Rainwing Kingdom, and Qibli nodded. It wasn't the fanciest place around, but it was one of the only "fancy" ones within walking distance. Also...

"It's run by a rainwing seawing couple, so they have some seafood," Qibli explained, hoping that Winter would understand the subtext; judging by the way his face lit up, he did.

When they entered, Winter was surprised by how empty it was; Qibli chose to keep the fact that he rented out most of the tables to himself. He had gotten Sunny to get some money from Thorn and give it to him. It hurt to get money indirectly from Thorn, but he didn't think he could face her after everything that had happened.

During the entire ordeal, Thorn had been in direct contact with Qibli... He had been a monster. Moon's death had filled him with such hatred that he had become a bloodthirsty monster of pure rage, going after and even killing anyone associated with her killer... Until the killer eventually returned the favor, beating Qibli to the brink of death.

The waitress sat them down and handed them the menu, then left them alone for them to order.

"I still don't know how you convinced the Talons Of Peace to give me a day off," Winter said with an affectionate smile. "Those smoke breathers are stubborn."

Qibli smiled. It had proven difficult, but let's just say that Qibli didn't spend all of the loans on the restaurant.

"I have my ways," Qibli said smugly, scanning the menu. But when he looked up at Winter, the icewing had a look in his eyes; the look he always had when he wanted to say something. "What is it?"

Winter was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked, "Have... Have you talked to Thorn lately?"

Qibli had to stop himself from getting defensive like he did whenever somebody said the queen's name. "No," he said almost bitterly. "Why?"