Wings of Fire • Dragon of Secrets [2]

Epilogue

Eleven years ago...

Spottedtalon soared above the clouds. She was headed for the Little Pine Islands, on patrol for her tribe the SwiftScales. She was planning on cutting across the tundra after visiting her friend. She would spend the night there with Snowfall until the next morning and she could set off for the continuation of her journey.

     As she flew she kept her head down, scanning the landscape far below her. She was looking for a small lake with a clearing in the forest; that was the only place she could land safely in the dense woods.

     Spottedtalon spotted the familiar landmark. A rickety old tree with brown needles swaying in the wind, a small sparse area near it where a pond glimmered under the starlight. Spottedtalon tucked her wings in to swoop down.

     She whizzed through the air, feeling it tug at her wings and tail. She used her rudder-wings to make sure she wasn't blown off course as she glided to the clearing at lightning speed. She touched down on the grass with a thump, startling a raccoon that had come to drink in the late hours of the night.

     Spottedtalon snickered at it. "It's okay," she murmured softly, stepping to the other side of the lake slowly, "I don't bite."

     The raccoon, after careful consideration, scrambled forward and dipped its masked face down to drink and wash. It ran its scavenger-like hands across its fur, chirruping at her as she bent her head to drink too. Spottedtalon had a hard time swallowing due to being preoccupied with the animal's cuteness.

     "Whoo!"

     Spottedtalon turned around. She noticed her friend sitting up in a tree behind her. "Hello, Snowfall," she cooed, holding her talon out.

     The spotted owl, sitting on the branch, recognized the gesture and hopped off her branch to glide over to her talon. Spottedtalon smiled at the owl as it peered up at her with wide, black eyes.

     "Whoo?"

     Spottedtalon grinned. "Let's see what you remember," she said as she flicked her tail up.

     Snowfall recognized the command, taking flight immediately. She hovered over Spottedtalon's head, awaiting her next task. Spottedtalon smiled at her and waggled her right wing, moving it in a spinning motion. Snowfall hooted again and flew higher, flying in circles around the pond. The raccoon hissed in surprise and scampered off into the lush undergrowth.

     Spottedtalon gasped crossly in mock-anger. "You startled away our guest!"

     "Whoo!"

    "You know, the raccoon! You scared him away!"

     "Whoo!"

     "I know, I know," Spottedtalon chuckled, going through the basic commands she had taught the bird. Snowfall was extremely smart, smarter than Spottedtalon had originally thought, so once she had realized her potential she had begun to teach her Wing Waggle Signals whenever she could.

     Eventually, Spottedtalon let Snowfall rest. The spotted owl settled into a tree above the dragon who had found herself a resting place under a willow tree. She lay with her head resting on one talon, the other threading through the water absentmindedly until slumber claimed her.

- ❈ -

A tiny dragonet popped into her mind. Spottedtalon giggled at the cute way his rump wiggled as he prepared to pounce on her talons. She was taken back to her cave, where she and her son were awaiting the arrival of her husband.