Friends
He awoke the next day to bird songs and the noise of nature. Sunlight flickered through the trees onto the dirt, making moving shapes. Stoneshine reached out a talon and felt the warmth dance across his scales, his normally dull brown scales came alive like smoky quartz. A careful, calm wind ran through the bushes making the leaves rustle. The peace was almost too good to be true after such nightmares, but Stoneshine couldn’t help but trust it and let it fill him with refuge.
Through the joyful bird trills, another voice could be heard. It was high-pitched, yet beautiful. The sound felt foreign and Stoneshine could not place the song. However, as a dragon who had never left the Mud Queendom, that didn’t surprise him.
With a stretch, Stoneshine got up from his sleeping position and looked around at the trees, trying to find where the music was coming from. His ears flicked about, trying to get the clearest sound. Finally, he found that the singing came from the left of the small clearing. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow it through the thick trees and growth. As he walked he had to adjust his path multiple times. Small mammals scuttled away from him, scared they would be eaten.
At last, Stoneshine could see sunlight filtering through the trees in front of him. The singing was now loud and he was able to make out some of the words. There was an accent, however, that still made it difficult to understand. He moved closer to the edge of the forest, peering through the trunks of the tall trees. The clearing in front of him was much, much larger than the one he slept in. A large area of grass and flowers was soaked in sunlight. Large, thriving bushes lined the tree line and looked to have fruit dangling off the stems.
Picking the fruit off of the bushes, a pink and teal dragon with four wings stood. Her mouth was moving along with the words of the song, Stoneshine had found the source of the singing. The sunlight made her scales look like deep pools of color that moved of their own free will. She was the most beautiful dragon he’d ever seen.
Two options presented themselves to Stoneshine. One, he could leave and pretend he never saw this clearing or the dragon in it, so he could save himself from having to interact with her. Two, go and introduce himself to the pink dragon and compliment her singing. He needed to pick a choice quickly for he was beginning to feel guilty for staying hidden. He told himself that it was just one dragon and that if he was to stay in Sanctuary he was going to have to meet some dragons. On a whim, he stepped out into the clearing.
The pink dragon’s antennae swung around in his direction and her singing abruptly stopped. She turned her head to look at him, a quizzical expression on her face. Instead of shouting across the clearing, Stoneshine walked through the soft grass until he was standing in front of the stranger.
“Hello,” he said through his anxiety.
“Hello,” the pink dragon responded, clearly waiting for him to say more.
Gathering courage, Stoneshine spoke again. “I’m Stoneshine. I heard your singing.” He grimaced internally. He wanted to say more, but his mouth didn’t allow anything else out. To him, the words hung in the air awkwardly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did my singing disturb you?” The dragon looked genuinely worried that she was being disruptive.
“No— no, I actually came over here to say that I liked your voice.” Stoneshine felt his face heat from embarrassment as the words rushed out. The dragon across from him smiled kindly.
“Thank you, my name is Azalea.”
“You are from the lost continent, right?” Stoneshine cursed himself for stating the obvious.
“Yeah, I am,” Azalea said as her smile dipped slightly. “My mother taught me that song.”
“It’s beautiful,” Stoneshine said, giving her one of his own smiles.
Azalea prompted him this time with, “What are you doing here in Sanctuary?”
It felt a little soon to tell her he was running away from his murderous uncle who was sent to kill him, so he simply said, “Err, just trying to find a better place to live with new dragons.” He wondered if she could tell he was lying. If she did, she did not show it. “What about you?”
“I couldn’t go back to Pantala, even though Wasp was defeated. Too many bad memories.”
“I understand that, don’t worry. Have you been anywhere else besides Sanctuary? This is my first time leaving the Mud Queendom.” The conversation was flowing naturally now, and Stoneshine’s anxiety got swept under a rug, unneeded.
“No, this is where the Talons of Peace directed the refugees, and I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been able to explore the land surrounding here quite well though.”
“I only arrived yesterday. The only place I’ve been is inside the town,” he told her.
Azalea’s eyes lit up. “There’s a waterfall not too far away, it’s absolutely beautiful, you have to go see it sometime,” she hurriedly explained.
“I’ve never seen a waterfall before, where I’m from it’s all mud and trees. The true swamps start farther into the queendom.”
“I’d never seen one either before I came here! Pantala is very flat and there are no trees there, not to mention I wasn’t allowed to leave Tsetse Hive. Pyrrhia is like a magical land to me. There areso many trees here.” Her head swiveled as she gazed at the many strong trees surrounding the clearing, beautifully green.
Stoneshine laughed. “That’s true, there are a lot of trees.” In fact, Stoneshine began to think about what his life would have been like without trees. Plants were his only oasis from his mother. Climbing new trees as a dragonet occupied many of his days when his mother forced him out of their clay dwelling. He had missed enjoying plans when he was off fighting in the war. He was never on the front lines, and usually, his troop of sib-less dragons arrived after the fighting. There was no time to admire plants and trees when dead bodies littered the ground and soaked the earth with blood. No time to find new shrubs when his job was to count corpses.
“Hey,” Azalea said as she touched his arm, “You went somewhere just then, are you alright?”
“Oh— yes, I’m sorry, I just got distracted. Images of the war… It happens sometimes, nothing to worry about.” Stoneshine tried to play it off, shrugging his shoulders.
A worried frown plastered itself on Azalea’s face. “Would you like to go to the waterfall with me? I find it very relaxing— and it’s just a two-hour leisurely flight,” she assured him.
He smiled. “That sounds like fun.”
The two dragons launched into the air, Azalea in the lead.
During the flight, Azalea told Stoneshine all about life in Tsetse Hive. She talked about how controlling Wasp was towards Silkwings and how she even mind-controlled her own subjects. The image she put into his mind was creepy enough to send shivers down his spine. Not all of what she explained was negative, though. One of the highlights of her stories was her metamorphosis. She painted the picture of a happy family celebrating with their beloved daughter and sister.
Her family consisted of her mother and younger brother. She never mentioned a father. Stoneshine felt sympathy for her, yet also a warmth in his heart that he found another dragon who knew what it was like to live without a dad. He also made note of how Azalea stopped mentioning her family halfway through her stories. That combined with the past tense she used when talking about them made Stoneshine’s stomach drop with the realization that her family was probably dead. He did not bring her family up any more than he already had.
Stoneshine shared his own life too—no matter how uneventful. He mostly talked of his life before the year he spent in the war. And even then, he left out the painful bits about his mother. Although it felt like talking to an old friend, Stoneshine was still uncomfortable with telling someone how his mother made his life a living hell. He told Azalea about his plants back at his mother’s home, and how he planted them and watched them grow into strong, resilient beings.
“The waterfall is just a few minutes away, you can see it, right there,” Azalea said, still flying, as she pointed to the mountain they were near.
“I see it,” said Stoneshine, nodding.
“I bet I can’t beat you to it,” Azalea said with a smirk. She blasted forward, flapping her four wings as quickly as she could. Stoneshine let out a gasp of surprise from being taken off guard, but with determination, he sped after her. Stoneshine gained on Azalea, she wasn’t too fast. Stoneshine thought that it might be because of the way she lived in the webs in trees back in Pantala; there wasn’t much need for lots of flying there. Either way, the race slowly morphed into a game of tag.
In the air, Stoneshione and Azalea were chasing each other and play-fighting. Azalea tagged Stoneshine and sprinted away from him. Stoneshine chased after her, but couldn’t quite catch her because she did a loop in the sky, avoiding his grasp. Azalea made a face at him as if to say ‘ You can’t catch me!’ Stoneshine had an idea— he flew up very high, above Azalea, and then dived, letting his weight carry him down in his desired path, wings angled accordingly. Azalea tried to move out of his way but she couldn't get away quite fast enough. They collided and tumbled to the ground, through the forest canopy, and landed in a heap of laughter.
“I win,” said Stoneshine.
“Not really, we both ended up on the ground. Hardly a win if you ask me.” They broke out in laughter again. “We are almost at the waterfall, follow me,” Azalea said.
“I can hear it!” Stoneshine exclaimed. Azalea led Stoneshine through the trees to the waterfall. It wasn’t a giant waterfall, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The water flowed from a hole in the mountain, sparkling when the sunlight hit it, flowing into a small pond surrounded by trees. The sound was loud but had a calming effect on Stoneshine. To him, the noise felt like earplugs that made every other small noise disappear. However loud the waterfall was, the dragons could still hear each other (though they did have to talk a decibel louder).
The whole scene took his breath away and his mouth gaped open. The smell was different from the ponds he was used to backing home. This was crisper yet still had the same earthy core.
Stoneshine’s talons sunk into the muddy shore. He closed his eyes and felt the silky mud squish between his toes. It reminded him of his old home and a part of him longed to be back in the Mud Queendom where there was a sense of familiarity. He opened his eyes and took a quick glance at Azalea, who was walking towards the water’s edge, and thought that maybe she could be his new familiarity.
“Hey! Wait for me,” Stoneshine shouted after her. Together they waded into the crystal clear water. The chill made him open his eyes wide as his nervous system got used to the new temperature. The water was not so cold that it hurt, it was a refreshing feeling that reminded him of what it felt like to fly up out of a forest’s canopy into the bright blue sky for the first time.
Azalea stretched out a wing to lightly bump Stoneshine, trying to grab his attention. His talons grabbed the cool, smooth stones on the lake floor for balance. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Azalea asked. Stoneshine took a moment to gaze up at the sparkling rush of water.
“It is,” he replied.
Stoneshine woke to someone shaking him, first slow and hesitant, then faster. When he opened his eyes with a gasp, Azalea’s wide, turquoise, eyes were staring at him with fear. His own, he realized, were crying. Then he remembered his nightmare. The air whooshed as he sat up quickly, adjusting his many limbs. In a sense of self-preservation, Stoneshine hugged himself and tucked his head into his arms. Azalea wrapped a wing around him and let Stoneshine sit in silence until he stopped hyperventilating and was ready to talk.
“Are you okay? Was it a nightmare?” Azalea asked in a hushed tone.
“Y-yes it was. I’m- I’m fine, though,” Stoneshine said, stammering. The hug was nice, really nice, but so unfamiliar to the brown dragon.
“Hey, it’s okay.” She hugged him with her wing a bit tighter. “Do you want to talk about it?” Azalea smiled sweetly as she waited. Stoneshine liked that she was patient with him… nothing like his old teachers or classmates. She was kind and trustworthy, and cared if he was hurt or in pain.
“I’m running from my uncle. He’s going to kill me.” It was as simple as that. Stoneshine felt a weight get lifted off of his soul, but new anxiety began to set in. Stoneshine began to worry that Azalea was going to leave him, just like everyone else in his life, to save herself from getting caught up in his mess. And he had to admit, he wouldn’t blame her.
To his surprise, she brought him into a hug, wrapping her arms and talons around his back. “I'm so sorry this is happening to you, but don’t worry, I’ll help you through this. How about tomorrow we go to the Talons of Peace and ask them to notify us if he ever shows up, okay? Of course, we’ll only do that if you’re up to it,” she said.
He nodded. With a sigh of relief, he melted into Azalea’s arms and began to cry again.