Wings of Fire: Awaken (A Wings of Fire fanfiction)

1. The Meeting

Nightrunner stared at the horizon as the last golden sunrays disappeared from afar to be replaced with darkness.

She was supposed to show up by now, he thought. What's taking her so long?

He was standing on a cliff ledge, gazing out at the vast expanse of sea that stretched beyond the horizon, thinking about the mysterious summon that had shown up at his doorstep a few days ago, bearing a message that was equal parts cryptic and intriguing.

Sure, the handwritten letters were a little too scribbly to make out, but he was pretty sure his name was right there up at the top. The dragonet who had contacted him remained shrouded in mystery, the signature at the bottom of the scroll only said: "Your Little Female Dragonet". Nightrunner couldn't help but ponder what this young dragonet wanted from him, why she had reached out, and if she held any authority to make such a request.

Suddenly, the sound of multiple wingbeats filled the air, and he turned around to look.

The sky was now the color of obsidian black and dotted with stars, so it was rather tricky for him to spot the three NightWings descending slowly down on him. The one in the middle, which Night figured must be the summoner, was slightly stunted and small, while the two flanking her were burly and big as boulders. One of them had an upturned nose, while the other one had an angular face and a funny expression like he had been gargling on the reeking gas of rotten animals every morning. Altogether, the trio made the impression of two bodyguards escorting a royal princess. 

Night hurried forward just as the dragons touched the ground with a soft thump, the bodyguards fanning out on either side of the dragonet.

"So," the little dragon said in a high, reedy voice. "This is Nightrunner of the NightWings, am I right?"

"Yes, you are," he said with a bow, then added "Your -" he hesitated, not sure what to say. Your Majesty? Your Highness? Your Princess But I'm Not Certain You Are?

"Oh, I forgot about that, didn't I?" the dragonet said. "You can't address me by the right title if we don't find out about each other first!" she giggled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Princess Stargazer of the NightWings, the great-granddaughter of Queen Battlewinner and the royal daughter of supposed-to-but-not Queen Greatness." She pronounced the word queen as though it had many meanings behind, none of them good. "But you can just call me Star, it's okay," she said with a grin as if her name was some funny joke she had read somewhere. She gestured to the two large dragons. "And these two are my loyal protectors, Earthquake and Warhammer." Their names alone evoked a sense of formidable strength and loyalty, and Starflight can sense that.

"All right," Night said, uncertain. He had only met Greatness once with his tribe in the rainforest during the NightWing Exodus, where they had made eye contact for the first time. As for Queen Battlewinner, from what he had heard from his friend, she had got mad and left the lava cauldron to attack another NightWing named Starflight and Queen Glory of the RainWings, which tipped the balance of ice and fire she had been holding in for years, resulting in her freezing to death within seconds. 

On the other talon, he had never met this particular individual before, and apparently, no one had ever told him about her existence before, nor that they even cared. The lineage of Stargazer was a tapestry of power and sorrow, and he wondered how much of that legacy she carried within her. He figured the reason why this little princess was here was somehow related to those two, and that made him as nervous and twitchy as a scavenger.

"Ah, no, I'm not here for that, so no need to be scared," Star said cheerfully, as if she had just plucked the train of thoughts from his head. Night flinched slightly but managed to hide his surprised expression. Did she manage to read what he was thinking? He scanned her face for the silver teardrop scales, a sign that marked a NightWing as a mind reader, but he couldn't see it anywhere. Maybe he was just paranoid about newcomers, that's all.