Wings of Fire: A Dark Nightmare #1

Prologue

The three moons hung in the black sky, their milky light sheding down onto a dense forest below. Stars danced around in the night sky, but not shining as brightly as the moon was. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked. A large lake was sitting in the middle of the forest, the water still. The three moons were being reflected in the dark water, and soon silence settled in. The silence of the night felt like forever, until the beating of wings could be heard. 

The still water of the dark lake stirred as a rush of air was forced upon it. A dragon gliding in the darkness was hovering just above the water, his jaws scooping downward to take a drink. As the moons shed their light down on the dragon, his features popped out.

The dragon was a SkyWing, and was rather large. His red scales were so dark that it looked as though he'd been soaked in blood. His wings were giant and they beat against the air, and in his unusually long talons, he carried the corpse of a large deer. His amber eyes flashed, and some of his yellow scales popped out in the moonlight.

"I hope the egg has hatched now," The male SkyWing muttered to himself. He soared over the water, then beat his wings as he flew higher. He glided over the dense forest until he reached a really tall oak tree. He glided down, his tail streaking behind him as he dove down. He landed perfectly on the grass and then folded his wings at his side. 

"Overheat! You're just in time, they're trying to hatch!" A dark purple NightWing rushed forward from a deeply carved out hollow in the tree. Her eyes shown with excitement. "Thanks for bringing the food with you."

"You're welcome, Moonglider." Overheat began to make his way into the large hollow, his heart pounding. There must be two dragonets in there. He looked closely. "Come on, you can do it!" He cheered. 

Moonglider appeared beside Overheat, rubbing her snout against his folded wing. "They're going to be so pretty!" She chirped. She blinked in the darkness, curling her tail at her side as her talons tapped excitedly on the ground.

Peering closer, Overheat saw a tiny claw poke through the shell of the egg. As the hole got bigger, he could see smoke rising from it. Panic washed over his scales and he jumped up. "Why is there smoke? What's happening?!" He gasped.

Moonglider rushed forward. "Are they somehow breathing fire already?" She questioned, her eyes dark with panic.

A cry of pain erupted from the egg, and Overheat growled. More of the shell fell off and a small jet-black dragonet popped out, smoke rising from his scales. He scrambled from the egg, almost blending in the darkness.

Another dragonet scrambled from the egg. It was pale yellow with a few black scales. Her side was burnt badly.

"Oh no," Overheat gasped. His eyes were wide. "I know what this is! The jet-black one has firescales!" He growled. "He is a danger to us, we must kill him."

Moonglider gasped. "Kill him? Are you insane? You're not hurting my son, even if he has firescales!" She hissed, spreading her wing forward to protect the baby hybrid. "I know what you SkyWings do with dragonets with firescales, but that's not what I'm gonna do!" 

"But how can we take care of him when he has firescales? And what about the other one? She won't even be able to breathe fire!" Overheat growled.

A burning smell could be scented from behind Moonglider. Lifting her wing, she saw that the moss and grass was catching on fire from the firescales. Quickly, she scooped up the pale dragonet and escaped from the hollow, watching as her son laid there helplessly with flames around him.

Overheat stepped forward. "We must go somewhere that can't catch on fire," he informed. "We'll have to hurry when carrying him, he might burn me." He quickly scooped up his son with his talons, wincing as he could feel the firescales burn the flesh of his palm. He quickly flew into the air, forcing himself to ignore the pain.

Moonglider flew ahead, almost blending into the night. As the two dragons flew through the night, it almost seemed as though they'd never find any kind of stone part.

"Oh, over there!" Moonglider dove down towards a patch of stone that rose from the ground. It was a pretty large chunk of stone. Overheat quickly dove down, almost dropping his son. The burn was so bad that he could feel blood welling. The pain was unbearable. He almost smacked into the stone as he was very eager to drop his son. 

"So, we're ok now, right?" Moonglider asked, setting their daughter down on the lush grass. She bent down to lick the burn on the pale dragonet's side.

"Everything will be fine now," Overheat huffed, lifting his forepaw to shake the blood off of it. He glanced down at his son, narrowing his eyes with hate. They had left their home, and it was all that dragonet's fault. Lifting his head, he could see smoke rising from far away in the forest. This was all the doing of his son. "I'm going to name my son Nightmare."

Moonglider looked up. "I'm naming our daughter Palesky, for her very pale scales, and because she takes most of her appearance from a SkyWing."

"Nightmare has this name for the nightmare that he has caused us. He ruined our home by burning it, and he has ruined his sister's life," Overheat spat. "He should've never been born. Any dragon with firescales should immediately be killed."

"Don't say that about your son! When he grows up, he'll be of great help!" Moonglider pointed out, lifting her wings. "If any enemies come here, he will protect us."

"If he doesn't set the forest on fire again," Overheat groaned. He glanced down at Nightmare, his scales tingling with hatred. This dragon would only be danger when he grew up.