Wings of Fire #1: Sahara's Destiny

Chapter 6

"Sunbeam, get ready to take off your necklace." Polar said as she flexed her talons. Sunbeam clutched her necklace and lashed her tail.

Fennec almost flew by until she saw Sahara and stopped. She hovered and stared at Polar, Sunbeam, and the MudWing. Fennec cautiously landed inside and gave Sahara a concerned look. She took a step closer, then Sunbeam leaped in front of her and flared her huge wings, blocking her path. Fennec jerked back and hissed.

Sahara didn't want to see Fennec get hurt, so she ran past Sunbeam and faced Fennec. "What are you doing here?" Sahara asked in a whisper. Sunbeam folded her wings back in and tilted her head.

"That's what I should be asking you!" Fennec shot back. "Where have you been? When I woke up, you were gone!" Sahara hesitated as Fennec glared at her. What was she supposed to say? She came to this animus-touched village and became an animus in her dreams? As if Fennec would believe a statement like that.

Polar walked up beside her and studied Fennec. "Your not an animus." she observed. "You don't seem like you have any special or unique qualities at all. Just an ordinary SandWing."

Fennec eyed Polar and gave her an offended scowl. "Ouch." she snarled. "You didn't have to be so rude about it."

"Salamander." Polar called. The MudWing rushed up to her and she glanced at him.

"Um." he stammered. "What Polar is trying to say is you shouldn't be here." Fennec snorted and put one wing on Sahara's back.

"Sahara isn't suppose to be here either." she countered.

Sunbeam stifled a laugh and everyone stared at her. "She is supposed to be here." she stated. "She's an animus." Sunbeam couldn't hold it in and she burst out laughing and thumped her tail on the floor.

"Sahara's no animus. Besides, she would of told me if she was." Fennec grimaced. She grinned at Sahara, but Sahara couldn't smile or grin back. She hated that she made a decision to not tell Fennec where she was going or that she was an animus.

She didn't like keeping secrets from her friend, but she had to. What would happen if she did? Would Fennec be scared of her? Or was she gonna love her even more? "You're not an animus, right?" Fennec asked in a worried tone. Polar, Sunbeam, and Salamander were staring at her. Sunbeam looked as if she wanted Sahara to tell Fennec, but the other two looked as if they didn't.

"Don't tell her.'' She saw Salamander mouth at her. Sahara glanced at Fennec and shook her head.

"Oh, good." Fennec said with a sigh of relief. "I was hoping you weren't because Queen Camel would have freaked out." Fennec laughed and grinned. Polar and Salamander both sighed with relief, but Sunbeam scowled at Sahara.

"So, now that I've found you, we're going home." Fennec told her.

"What?" Sahara exclaimed. "No, I can't." Fennec pulled on Sahara's tail and dragged her out. Fennec ignored her protest and pulled Sahara into the air. They both hovered for a moment before flying off. Sahara hated that Fennec was making her leave this beautiful place. This didn't seem or even feel like a dream, this was real. Every dragon here was special in their own ways, but Fennec couldn't see that. They were all friendly and peaceful dragons with respect for others.

Sahara glanced down at the dragons gathering by the campfires. Most of the fires were lit and dragons chatted with one another. She could still see some still by Stargazer and Moonglobe and sighed. She was gonna miss this place and everyone she'd met. Sahara didn't know how Dolphin, Ivy, and Heatwave would take it if they found out she was gone. She surely didn't want to know. They reached the tunnel that led back to the Kingdom of Sand, but didn't see Ivy anywhere. Fennec felt the invisible space and nodded at Sahara. Fennec started walking through and Sahara glanced back at the village one more time. Sahara knew she might never see this place again and inhaled slowly. She exhaled and turned back, walking with Fennec to the other side.