This is another piece of my book! I hope you like it! I've decided to call it Dragon Fire. Click/Space (there's information in the project). PROLOGUE: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/618185454/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I gulped down bites of fish as Raga paced around the beach. She had told me to eat my fill, so I would have strength for the long flight ahead. As I finished my last fish, she walked over and sat down. “Have you finished?” “Yes, Raga,” I said. “Are you ready to go?” She nodded, then slowly said, “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want? It will be dangerous, and take many long days of flying.” “Yes! I have to rescue Sunny!” I stood up. “I don’t care how dangerous it is. I will bring her back.” “Then let us fly.” With a few, strong flaps of her wings, Raga rose into the sky. I launched myself after her, marvelling at how long she could glide on her massive wings. I had never seen her fly more than a few tree-lengths before. We circled above the sparkling river, and Raga gazed down at her home with eyes that seemed to be able to see it. “I will not return to this place.” The statement was so sudden, so final, that I dropped a few stick-lengths in the air. “W-what do you mean, Raga? Where else will you go?” She turned her golden head toward me, and I saw sadness in her eyes, but also resolve. “I will never return to this place, because I will give my life for yours. I have just Seen it.” I stared at her, my mind filled with alarm. “Raga, no! You can’t die! I need you!” She gave a short laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Star, I do not know when I will die, but when I do, you will no longer need me. You are strong, Star, in more ways than you realize.” “No, Raga. I won’t let you die. I don’t care what happens. You won’t die.” I turned away from the river and shot upwards, soaring above the clouds. Raga caught up and steered me in the right direction, flying towards the facility, and Sunny. (DAY FOUR) Raga folded her wings and dived through the clouds. I followed her, tucking my wings close to my body and plummeting downwards at an exhilarating pace. When we came out the bottom of the cloud, Raga snapped her wings open just in time to avoid crashing into a spire of rock sticking out of a mountain. I spread my wings as well, and we landed gently on the top of the spire. It felt good to rest my wings. We had been flying for three days, stopping to sleep and eat only a few times. “How did you know where this rock was, Raga?” I asked, puzzled. She had reacted like she could see the rock when she almost flew into it. “You saw it for me,” she said simply. When I repeated what she had said, confused, she elaborated. “I knew we were above a mountain because of the way the wind was blowing. I also knew that if I went down, there was a possibility that I might crash instead of landing on the peak. But you were right behind me, so I watched myself through your eyes to make sure I landed safely.” I gaped at her. “You can use other dragons’ senses?” I had known my grandmother could sometimes See what was happening elsewhere, or in the future, but seeing with someone else’s eyes… That was an aspect of Sight I had never expected. A laugh rumbled in her throat. “Not just dragons. How do you think I catch fish?” I tilted my head, looking at her. “I never thought about it. How?” “I just watch out of their eyes until they come close enough for me to grab them,” she said, amused. “And sometimes I See with one that is about to fall over the waterfall, so I know when to be at the front of my cave. It’s really quite fun.” A snort burst out of me, giving way to a wave of laughter. Raga started laughing too, and for a moment I forgot all the stress and worry about Sunny. But then she said, “I will go with you only a little farther.” “What? I thought you were coming with me to the Facility!” I protested, my heart plummeting. “It would be a bad idea for me to go with you there. I am much too noticeable, and I would be of no use trying to find a way in, or anything of that sort. I can’t use your eyes all the time.” She sighed. “Let’s keep going. I will stay with you until night falls. We can spend the night in a cave I know of. Then you will go on without me.” When I tried to argue, she said, “It will be better this way. Please don’t argue, Star. I have made up my mind. We should start flying again, so we will be there at dusk and have time to hunt.” “All right.” I flexed my wings, preparing to take off again. I’m coming, Sunny!
