Chrystal woke that morning, opening her jaws wide in a long yawn. After shifting uncomfortably for a few more minutes, the dragon finally sat up, feeling her muscles straining with every movement and flaring her ruff unpleasantly.
She could see the first rays of sunshine peeking through the gaping mouth of the den, lighting it up and forcing darkness into a distant memory. Chrystal slowly turned her head to her companion, and snorted at the sight. The royal blue dragon lay in an awkward position on the stone floor, wings spread out and head slightly lolled to the side. She was eerily dim in the den, yet Chrystal could still make out the familiar outline of the dragons gem-like scales.
After shooting her friend one last glance, Chrystal got to her feet and padded out of the cave. The bright sunlight that awaited Chrystal outside pierced her like an arrow, enveloping her in a tight blanket of warmth. Winter was coming; it was impossible not to tell. The distant mountain line ahead was covered in layers upon layers of sleek, white snow, and even more of the wet substance crunched under her thorn-sharp talons.
A few trees dotted the area, eventually leading to an evergreen forest. It seemed to hum with song, the looming palm trees swaying and whispering in the morning breeze. Chrystal could easily get lost in the sight any day, but there were things to be done. Huffing, Chrystal made her way to the entrance of the forest, and a heartbeat later, stood before the first, towering treeline. Chrystal suddenly felt extremely small, and she shivered, shaking her wings. Just as she was about to stalk through, Chrystal’s ears twitched as she sensed another presence. “Morning,” Sapphire yawned, “going hunting, Chrystal?”
She blinked, then nodded in response.
“Alright!” the other dragon replied cheerfully, “maybe we should see if there’s any prey in the mountains?”
“Sounds good,” Chrystal agreed finally, before spreading her frosty-blue coloured wings and leaping into the air. The wind whistled in her face, resulting in her snout going numb as she soared over the forest, going up and up and up. The beating of wings told her that Sapphire was following, and not stopping to look around, Chrystal dived down to the direction of the nearest mountain’s summit. A heartbeat later, Chrystal stood on the jagged, rocky surface of the targeted mountain. Glancing down quickly, she shivered once more. The forest trees were now only miniature dots in the distance, and she missed it’s calming sounds, now replaced with the roaring of a nearby river, as though it were a huge dragon tangled in a net. Chrystal suddenly didn’t want to be there, on the frighteningly tall mountain.
“Cool, right?” Sapphire grinned, clearly oblivious to Chrystal’s reluctance.
“Y-yeah,” she stammered, before gulping out, “let’s just get this over with.”
The pair split, Sapphire winging away to circle the area and Chrystal scrambling blindly down to hunt for prey. Minutes later, Chrystal caught sight of a hare stumbling away at a rock outcropping, slowly making its way to its den. She grinned, all her fears momentarily forgotten. Un-sheathing her claws, Chrystal dived, spreading her wings and barreling towards the unsuspecting animal. It looked up in alarm, before yelping and darting away, yet to no avail. Chrystal twined her light blue, spiked tail around the creature, and scored her talons across its throat, resulting it to fall limp in her grasp. To Chrystal’s surprise, Sapphire had seen the whole thing.
“Wow!” she beamed, “nice catch!” Chrystal dipped her snout, smiling slightly.
“Thanks,” she replied, before stopping in her tracks. All was silent as she lifted her head upwards and opened her snout to taste the air. The frosty smell of snow was gone, now replaced by the distant scent of crisp smoke.
“Do you smell that?” Chrystal questioned in alarm. Sapphire sniffed at the air, before her eyes widened.
“Fire?” she suggested. Chrystal nodded, before zooming off into the direction of the dreaded smell, prey now clutched tightly in her talons. She finally reached the mountain’s axis, Sapphire landing with a thud beside her, and both looked down. The sight that awaited them was horrid. Chrystal’s face fell, as though it were boulders tumbling down a smooth slope, and she placed her talons over her snout, eyes shining with the beginnings of tears. The snow did nothing to prevent the great shimmering spirit from moving further, as it melted at the smallest touch. The deadly wildfire illuminated the forest, slowly but surely making its way towards their home.
“No,” came Sapphire’s barely audible, shaky whisper.
The cackling fire reflected off of Chrystal’s ocean-blue eyes, causing them to glint in malice as it’s tall tongues of greedy flame lit up the sky in an unusually bright, orange glow.
