Frozen Desert | A WoF Fanfiction

(Chapter 4) Green Apple

A/N: ok so it's been a little while- Sorry for the lack of updates, my motivation has been kinda nonexistent for the past few weeks. But finally, I had a burst of inspiration and finished this chapter that's been sitting around for weeks. Consider it a Christmas gift! Hope you enjoy it :)

Tundra's POV

"Alright, ready?"

I wasn't ready. At least, I didn't feel like I was. As I sat in the clearing my father had taken me to, I was completely overwhelmed. In front of me sat a single red apple that somehow looked menacing. Father hadn't explained them to me, and neither had Mother. She had just been standing next to him, watching with her usual sad look. The forest itself was calm, but something about my father's overly excited demeanor and my mother's sullen attitude deeply unsettled me.

"Rea- Ready for what?" I asked hesitantly, turning to face him. "I'm not sure what we're doing."

"It's simple, Tundra," he said. He gestured at the fruit in front of me. "This is your animus test. I want you to take that apple in your talons and say, 'I enchant this apple to turn green.' If you have magic, it should turn green. If you don't, it will stay red."

I glanced at the apple, then back at him. That seemed... stupid. How could anyone possibly make an apple change at their will?

"That sounds stupid," I commented.

Father sighed irritably and pressed his talons against his furrowed brow. "It might sound stupid to you, but it's true. If you can mess with fruit, you'll be able to do so much more, which is the entire reason we're doing this," he growled lowly. "Now stop stalling and pick up the damn apple, 'kay?"

Mother nudged him with her wing and quietly said something I couldn't hear. Father scowled and pushed her wing off of him, earning himself a sharp glare.

With Father's intense gaze watching over me, I cautiously reached out to pick it up in my hands. It felt... normal. It was just an apple. I squeezed it slightly, feeling my claws puncture the skin. Was I just supposed to say the words aloud or what?

I decided to say it out loud. It was embarrassing, but it was just us in the clearing right now. It would be fine.

"I... I enchant this apple to turn green," I said, hesitating between words to make sure what I was saying was clear.
At first, it didn't seem like it did anything. It felt the same in my claws, and its skin remained a crisp red. My father let out an audible sigh. I fumbled with the appple before setting it down and bowed my head in shame, staring at it to avoid the disappointment in his eyes. I had let Father down yet again.

Then, it changed. Slowly but surely, the dark color shifted into a pale green. I stared at it with a newfound wonder as it transformed. When it finished shifting, I picked it up again. It felt exactly the same. The only thing that made it different from before was its shiny green exterior.

Excitedly, I picked it up and turned my head to my parents, grinning. My father returned my look with a bright smile and said something to Mother. She just turned her head, refusing to look at either of us. Ignoring her, he walked over to where I was with pride.

Father praised me, looking more excited than I thought I had ever seen him. "That's my boy!" he exclaimed, grabbing my talons. He pulled me up into his arms, and I couldn't help but laugh and smile along.

"I knew you had it in you, Tundra," he said, looking me in the eyes. "You're going to change things, Tundra. I just know it."

"Be careful with him," Mother said softly. She still wasn't looking at us, but her body language was depressed. "He's still just a dragonet."