Wings of Fire: The Forgotten Dragonets

Repercussions

Doomsayer.

"Doom, wake up!" A voice called from a distance, before fading into the grey background.

Is she okay? I've never seen anything like this, does she need food, or water or . . .

"She'll be alright Clay. You should go check on the others. I'll stay with her." In a few moments she heard the sound of retreating footsteps, paired with the increasingly distant, ridiculously worried mind-voice. The other dragon sighed, muttering, "I don't know why they made him nurse, he worries too much." For a long while all was silent, and Doom relaxed again, falling back to sleep.

A gong rang, announcing class time had begun, and Doomsayer woke.

Slowly her eyes cracked open, caked layers of sleep trying to keep her eyelids glued together. Stifling a yawn, she uncurled, shaking the piled blankets off of her wings. She sat up, looking around at the cool blue and white room she was in, inhaling deeply. The soothing smell of lavender permeated the air, and purple bouquets were scattered around the room, their glass vases catching the light and sending it sparkling around the beautiful cave. 

In the nest nearest to her - slightly raised above the ground and made of soft green leaves - rested a tiny Rainwing with burns across her wings and snout. At the moment her scales were deep emerald, matching the leaves beneath her, but whenever she shifted streaks of white shot through. A thick blue gunk covered the burns, emitting a scent like jungle blooms.

Across the room from them rested a deep orange Skywing, claw marks and a slight burn on his forearms, a bite on the soft part of his tail. Peregrine, the dragon who'd supported Scarlet in yesterday's battle. 

Doom realized that she must be in the clinic, a cave she'd had no need to locate previously. In fact, looking around, she had no idea why she was in here now. Everything felt fine, but . . . Her head gave a massive throb, carrying with it the vague impression of stone and steel. And fire, lots of dragon fire. With a spark of dismay, she remembered.

She stood up too fast, heading for the door. Someone had to know, and there was only one dragon she could tell. With one last look at the sleeping dragons, she walked out of the clinic looking for Boto.

                                                                  ***

She found him in the entry way to the academy, standing still as he watched the sun come up. Streams of gold and ruby scattered across the nearly bare stone, dancing as the wind blew the aspen's branches and tossed dancing shadows onto the ground. The air was surprisingly cold, and she stood in the lee of the cave entrance, waiting for him to come back in. After the constant heat of the volcano for much of her life, she was still easily susceptible to the cold. She hated being cold.

As the brilliant colors finally faded from the sky he stood up, scales shifting easily into the guise of a Sandwing. Unlike many of the Rainwings camouflages, he actually looked like a desert dragon, the dusky yellow of his scales pale like the sand. Black diamond patterns started at the top of his head and went down between his wings, ending there instead of covering his tail as well.  His eyes became midnight black, flecked with gold, reminding her of the night sky, and the end of his tail . . .

For the first time she noticed a small, dagger-like implant at the base of his tail, shaped like the venomous barb all Sandwings had. She wondered if it was something he could remove at will, or if it was permanent, and they simply hadn't noticed it. All thoughts of questioning him went away, however, as he began to move.

The Rainwing? More a Sandwing now, moved with the grace of a feline, claws outstretched as he went through different movements, tail flicking back and forth for balance. He started the moves easily, going steadily through every segment, his muscles straining to keep going at the same incessant speed. He never stopped, and instead got faster and faster with each repetition. It was beautiful, though done in silence, and stripes of warm gold flickered at the edges of his wings as he practiced, what she thought was the color for pride and joy.

With a sharp whirl he leapt into the sky, wings flaring as he glided for a half-second, before slamming back to the ground and vanishing. Doom heard the sound of continued practice, but saw nothing save for the flashing metal tail-spike. The barb began to slow, gently coming to a rest on the ground as Boto reappeared, eyes closed momentarily as he took a deep breath and shook himself off, wings loose - nearly brushing the ground - as he stretched luxuriously. 

He stood up straight and bowed once to the sun, before walking towards the entrance to the school. Boto still hadn't seen her, but she felt as if she was seeing him clearly for the first time. This was the dragon he'd had to be to survive, and it was glorious. She felt as if Deathbringer had been easily bested by this dragonet, if not in killing ability then in grace and kindness. For a moment she considered going out to him, but no. He seemed so happy right now, so calm. She didn't want to ruin that moment of precious peace.

She could wait to tell him about the prophecy. Right now she was just glad that the war was over, that the academy opened. She was so glad to have met this amazing dragon. She was so glad they were finally free from the horrors of the bloody past.