Young Writers Society

Zoltar stirred a few hours later. The lights of the cavern had dimmed slightly and off in the distance he could hear the faint melodies of birds.

Yawning, Zoltar got to his feet and stretched, flexing his claws. Then it dawned on him. There was no pain. His wings and back felt … normal.He spread one wing and inspected it. Red streaks of healing tissue had replaced the open wounds from the night before. Zoltar couldn’t believe it. Other than that and the faint throb along his left wing, he would have never guessed that he’d been wounded the night before.

Then he remembered Emerald. It was because of her that he was healing this fast. He looked across the cavern. She was resting in a bed of green vines, her scales a rolling ocean of azure and amethyst waves.

She glanced over at him, “Morning. Feeling better.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Zoltar padded over to her, “I can’t believe it worked so well. I thought that they’d help last night, but this is amazing. How can I thank you?”

“Having someone to talk to is enough,” she smiled, sitting up, “Just don’t let me find you looking like that again.”

Zoltar smiled sheepishly as he and Emerald slowly walked towards the entrance to the cave.

Sunlight was flooding through the opening, lighting up the soft brown tones throughout the rock walls. Just outside, the sweet songs of birds floated through the crisp morning air. The golden light of the sun danced along the beads of dew hanging from the trees bright green leaves.

“So, will I see you again?” Zoltar asked, turning to Emerald.

She looked away from him, smiling, “Well if I can’t get you to leave the island, I guess I might as well check on you once in a while since you seem to have a knack for getting into trouble. I'll visit the Lake of Rippling Glass to the South every day when the sun is at its highest. If you need me, I’ll be there for half an hour every day. Be careful though as sometimes I’m not alone. Check before you land.”

“Thanks Emerald,” Zoltar batted her wing with his, “I guess I’ll see you around then?”

“Yah,” Emerald spread her wings, the sapphire scales sparkling in the dawn light as she lifted off, “Be safe,” she called as she cleared the trees and rose skyward.

Zoltar watched as she flew off into the distance. Breathing a shaky sigh he started to pick his way down the mountain side.

Soon the rocky alpine slopes gave way to thick forest once more. Zoltar took a deep breath of the cool morning air. The rich scent of moss and turned dirt filled his lungs as he walked. He felt so much better. Apart from the occasional dull ache he felt perfect.

The sun was rising quickly and already blades of golden light were piercing through the canopy above him. He planned to head back to the clearing. It was early morning and Shiraku and Felistia might be looking for him. He secretly hoped they were, but knew that the likelihood of them searching for him was slim. They hadn’t known each other for that long and there didn’t seem to be much reason for them to look for him. He’d been the one to offer to protect them. That didn’t mean they’d do the same.

Maybe they were a little worried about him though, just a little. He had risked his scales for them. That must mean at least a little to them.

Zoltar rolled his eyes and huffed in slight amusement at himself. What did it matter if they were worried or not? He was fine, thanks to Emerald, and didn’t need their help right now, so what was he getting himself all worked up over? Besides, there wasn’t anything he could do to change it either way. He’d just have to get to the clearing and see for himself.

It would be nice of them to be looking for him though. It had been a long time since he’d had any friends and had kind of started to think of Felistia as a friend. Shiraku he’d just been trying to get along with, but he’d started to like Felistia. She was a nice dragoness and he’d had a good talk with her the night before the hunt. He just hoped he hadn’t been naive to think of her that way.

…

Before long the clearing yawned before him, the thick forest breaking into clear open grass.

Zoltar scanned from the forests edge. The glade was empty, but he was cautious. Anything could be lurking in the trees beyond and the last thing he wanted was to end up like the deer he’d stalked the day before.

He watched for a few moments, searching for signs of movement, but all was still. The grass was soft under his paws as he silently crept out of the trees.

He was trying not to think about it, but he was a little disheartened that Felistia and Shiraku weren’t here. He’d know it was slim, but he’d still hoped they’d be here.

Suddenly, there was a rush of air above him as a shadow sped past. Startled, Zoltar shot a fire ball skyward and turned to dash back into the forest, his heart pounding with fright.

“Hey! Watch where you’re throwing those things,” a familiar husky voice shouted.

Zoltar skidded to a halt, “Shiraku?” He looked up. The Sea Talon was hovering overhead, a scowl plastered over her snout.

“You can’t even shoot straight. That fire ball missed by a mile. It’s just as well I’m not a real threat, Shadow Talon.” Her scowl transformed into an amused grin.

Zoltar rolled his eyes, but smiled, “You gave me a fright. What did you expect?”

“That a so called "superior" Shadow Talon like you would be able to detect a flappy Sea Wing like me before I was right on top of you.” Shiraku scoffed. She twisted her head to look back towards the mountain and yelled, "Found him,"

A few seconds later an answering roar thundered across the forest.

"Felistia will be here in a moment. She insisted we look for you this morning," Shiraku landed with a thump, growling, “She's been talking my ear off about you all night.”

Zoltar opened his mouth to answer, but was cut short as the Felistia swooped into land with a joyful roar, “Zoltar.”

“Speak of the devil,” Shiraku said, flaring her ocean blue head spikes.

“You’re alright,” Felistia bounded over and gently swatted him with her wing, “Where were you last night? We were so worried.”

“We?” Shiraku raised an eye crest and huffed, “You know what, I’ll just be over here. I’ve had enough “Where is Zoltar?” for one day.” She walked a little way off, ignoring them as she proceeded to roll in the soft green grass.

Zoltar and Felistia watched her go, their eye crests arched. Zoltar’s head was whirling. He couldn’t tell them about Emerald, not after what happened to Shiraku’s father. They might not react well and it was too complicated to explain right now. He’d have to make something up.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come back last night. The storm got worse and I couldn’t fly through it. I had to seek shelter for the night. I’m alright though.”

“But all those raptors? Didn’t they hurt you? You don’t have a mark on you. Not that I’m complaining,” Felistia said, looking him up and down.

“I’m a good fighter and the storm helped confuse them,” Zoltar hoped she’d buy it. It was the best he could come up with such short notice. He probably should have been thinking of a better excuse on his way down the mountain, but somehow the thought had escaped him.

Felistia sat back, eyeing him with her shimmering gold eyes. Zoltar tried his best to look sincere, but it felt like she was reading his mind as she stared straight through him. Finally she broke her gaze and smiled, “Just glad that you’re okay.”

Zoltar breathed an inward sigh of relief.

“You know what you did was very brave. Don’t let Shiraku fool you. It’s not every day a Shadow Talon offers to help a Sea Talon. She was worried about you too.”

Zoltar looked down at his paws, his ears hot, “I wasn’t even thinking about that. I just wanted to help my friends. You are my friends’ right?”

Felistia beamed, nodding, “Of course. Don’t tell Shiraku though. She’ll deny it to the grave.”

Zoltar snorted, “That sounds like Shiraku.”

“We wanted to head down to the lake today. You want to come?” Felistia asked, batting his wing as she walked towards Shiraku.

“Sure. I’d like that.”