Wings of Fire: Frost and Fire

The Visitor

Taiga's point of view

I landed on the perch in front of Magmatic's den. We had agreed to have a sleepover today, and we were both stressed out. It's not every day the Primrose tells you that you have a role in her grand prophecy to save the world from disaster. I could be seen as something other than a monster! But at the same time, it's a lot of pressure...

"Hello! I'm glad you showed up!" Magmatic greeted me with her usual cheerfulness. She hugged me tightly, almost too tight for me to breathe. But, when I got to feel the soothing warmth of her scales, I really didn't mind. It was definitely worth it.

"Of course I came! Why wouldn't I?" I asked. Seriously, why would I pass up an opportunity to hang out with my best friend who is basically the only dragon on the continent to actually treat me like one?

"I don't know...cause I'm kinda weird?" she offered.

"You are very weird," I said. "But I like that about you. You're an outcast like me, so it's kind of expected." Magmatic's cheeks were glowing more brightly. Was she blushing?

"Thank you," she said, hugging me tighter. More of her warm scales pressed against me, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from whimpering.

Sweat began to cover my face in the form of ice droplets dangling from my scales. It felt uncomfortable, but I wouldn't trade this moment for the world. Finally, Magmatic let go, and I groaned in response.

"So, what do you wanna do?"

"You should give me the tour, show me what your den is like."

"Okay!" Magmatic went inside, and I followed. Her den wasn't very big, but there was still plenty of room for us to fit inside comfortably. She had furniture that seemed to be made of some kind of metal. Evidently, it seemed to work, because none of it had melted yet. A metal bed didn't seem very comfortable, though.

"Well ,this is my den. As you can see, I've got furniture made of metal that can resist the heat of my scales."

"What kind of metal is it?" I asked.

"I believe it's tantalum. It has a very high melting point so that it doesn't melt when I touch it," she explained. "Something I never mentioned is that I can create puddles of tantalum from minerals and manipulate it. I can make it solid, liquid, whatever, and I can mold it however I want. I'm not sure why."

"So, kind of like my ice manipulation," I said. "That's cool! What all can you do with it?"

"Well, for starters, I can make furniture, as you've seen. Barrels, beds, shelves, you name it. I've used it to make armor and barriers, too. It's pretty useful."

"You have got to show me that sometime."

"I plan on it. Maybe later, after I finish giving you the tour?"

"Sure."

Magmatic held out her wing, and I placed mine on top of it. She led me through the den, showing me what everything was and how she lived in it.

* * *

"You ready?" Magmatic sat up, wings outstretched. She looked at me, waiting for a response.

"Go ahead," I said.

"First, I'm going to draw the minerals from this boulder. Then, I'll convert it to tantalum. Watch this."

The boulder Magmatic was pointing at began to shake. Suddenly, it collapsed into an empty shell. A silver liquid came from underneath and began circling around Magmatic. It then splashed onto the ground in front of her. A shape began to emerge from it as it solidified, and it transformed into a metallic spire of tantalum.