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It was a starry night. Winter was perched on a high rock ledge atop Jade Mountain. A sea of clouds rolled below, obscuring the craggy peaks until only the highest and thinnest clawed through. A bent tree provided some shade, though the evening was plenty cold enough. IceWings like him simply thrived in as low a temperature they could find.
Winter was ruminating over recent events when he heard the sound of wings flapping. He looked up, and nearly fell off the ledge when he saw who it was.
Moon was nearly invisible, her dark and silver scales blending perfectly with the night sky. He saw a trail of clouds swirl under her wings, like the ripples a fish leaves when it leaps from a lake. She never looked more graceful (but of course, Winter had this same thought several times.)
“Winter!” She sounded both exasperated and relieved. “There you are!”
“You found me,” He said faintly.
The NightWing banked to land beside him, but he shuffled his wings. Seeing this, she awkwardly made a small space in the last moment, breaking the grace Winter thought she so flawlessly carried.
“We were searching everywhere for you,” she looked him over, making sure he was okay. “We were so worried Darkstalker still had some kind of plot against you and the IceWings, that it wasn’t over just yet…”
“Even if he did, don’t you trust me to fend for myself?” He raised his chin.
“Please, we’ve been through this before. Everyone had their own ‘dragon in distress’ moment these past few weeks. Even you.”
“And I see someone had her ‘getting bolder’ one.”
She ducked her head. “Sorry… I guess I still worry too much.”
Was that too harsh? He froze. Of course it was! Why do I always manage to screw everything up? Moon is already looking tense again, as if she’d rather be somewhere else now. She doesn’t deserve this, let alone my coldness. Not after everything she did against Darkstalker for Jade Mountain!
“Thank you,” he blurted. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She tilted her head. To this he sheepishly continued, “For looking for me. It’s late and it’s too chilly for anyone to enjoy but an IceWing.”
“It’s alright,” Moon treaded towards him and looked up at the stars. “There’s a certain peace being up here.”
Now they were both underneath the tree, just below the farthest-reaching bow. He followed her gaze to where one of the three moons brilliantly shone.
Its light cascaded down, not upon the dark mountain peaks, but the NightWing. It rimmed her silver scales. Even the moon knows her beauty.
He just barely missed Moon speaking again, “In the rainforest, back when I was just a hatchling, I used to daydream about having my own version of ‘suntime.’ That’s what the RainWings do when they find a nice spot to sleep under the sun for hours.”
“I know,” Winter discreetly turned his gaze from her to the moon she still watched. “Kinkajou won’t stop babbling about it to me.”
“Same thing here.” He could hear the smile in her words. “But the version I conjured was ‘moontime.’ Both because it would be just a time for me, away from everyone’s thoughts, and because I’d pick a comfortable spot to admire the moons and the stars.”
She paused, and from the corner of his eye he saw her look down at her talons. “But I never got around it. I knew the looks the RainWings were giving me. So I never tried to go above the canopies and perch on a tree myself. I stuck with my mother in the village, close to the ground, far from the sky.”
She met his gaze. “I know, it’s a childish idea, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s wonderful.” Three moons, that sounded so sappy. And another part of him screamed, Better to sound sappy than harsh! “It’s in your namesake, Moonwatcher.”
“Now it sounds even more childish.”
He curled his spiky tail over his talons. “If it makes you feel better, I like to while away on some scenery, too. In the Ice Kingdom, whenever my parents were just too… egregious… I’d find a nice, tall glacier to perch on to watch the dark sea. It’s as black as the night sky. Sometimes I’d make a game of differentiating the small glaciers from the reflected stars. And if my parents were particularly rambunctious, I’d wait a while longer to see the auroras.”
“Auroras?” She echoed, mystified.
She’s never seen one. Winter gestured to the vast emptiness around them with a wing. “They’re like colorful ribbons that light up the sky.”
She squinted at the starry night before them, as if trying to imagine colors weaving between the craggy peaks and over the rolling clouds. Winter was amused by her determination.
“I’m not the best with words,” he offered. “But they’re so beautiful they’ve become a staple of courtship in my tribe. The IceWings wait for when the auroras are brightest, then propose to their betrothed on the highest glaciers they can find.”
“Wow,” she said breathlessly. “I’m not sure what my tribe does for courtship. NightWings were always secretive, even among each other.”
Just then a chilly breeze blew. It shook the tree, and Winter caught the tiniest leaf fluttering down and landing on Moon’s wing. He brushed it away with his own.
She blinked at him, the leaf falling unnoticed. Heat ran from his horns to the tip of his whip-thin tail.
“Moon?”
“Yes?”
Just say it!
“It’s a shame you don’t learn more about your tribe,” he stood up straighter. No! Stupid! Why am I saving face? Argh, just do it anyway! “Who knows? Maybe this would be the perfect evening to bring that special someone up for a confession.”
She chuckled. “It is beautiful. But all the NightWings here are too engrossed in being mysterious or ambitious. Sometimes I think the only dragons they can love are themselves. But what about you? Maybe you can bring that soulmate instead.”
His throat constricted. “I guess it is a waste of a lovely evening.”
“Poor Winter,” she teased. “Enjoying the auroras and the stars all on his own.”
The scales along his spine ruffled. “I’m not so pitiful! Maybe I can slip our Winglet into the Ice Kingdom one day, now that times are changing. And as for tonight, I have you.”
“Really?” She stood from her perch beside him, already folding out her wings. “You’re sure you don’t want me to leave you to your princely reflections?”
“Stay,” he blurted before he could stop himself. He took a deep, chilly breath. “Please.”
Moon started back in mild surprise. Winter did not comment on how she was closer.
She settled down and lay her belly flat on the cool stone, her wings folded over her and her tail curled. “You know… even after accidentally reading your thoughts, sharing classes, and saving the world by your side, I still can’t put a talon on you.”
“How so?” He was surprised by how bothered he was with her words.
“Even Qibli and Kinkajou tell me you’re as frigid as ever.”
“I try not to be,” He mumbled, not denying her claim. “But there’s still a lot for me to unravel. I’m a disgraced prince. I’ve left my family. I’ve plummeted to the bottom-most Circle of my tribe.”
“I understand.” She searched his face, as if debating her next words carefully. Then, very slowly, “That’s why I’m happy we have these moments where we… break the ice a little.”
He snorted. “Did you just make a joke?”
“Maybe. To warm you up?”
He made a face. But soon they broke into quiet laughter.
“Where did you learn that from?” He smiled. “Qibli?”
“Maybe his humor is rubbing on us all,” there was still the rumble of a laugh in her words. “But I mean it. I’m glad you’re beginning to trust us, Winter. Even if it’s only a little.”
“I’ve always trusted you.” Now it was Moon making a face. “Okay, maybe we had a rough start, but I’m a better dragon now.”
“Disgraced, but better.”
“What backhanded flattery.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. The clouds were rolling slower. The air had melted from a chilly cold to just the right, mellow temperature for a tired dragon.
He realized she may fall asleep soon. And somehow he felt he could not let her rest - not on such a beautiful night - without telling her the truth. Their exams were looming, and who knows when the sky would be as clear as it is now?
Again, a leaf fluttered onto her wing. But he did not brush it away even if he was itching to. Instead, he tentatively settled next to her and carefully tucked his wings back.
“I am disgraced,” he murmured. “And maybe I’ll say something that will make me a terrible dragon all over again.”
She opened her eyes and turned to him. He tried not to panic when he realized how close their snouts were. “It has to be really stupid, then.”
“Oh, it is,” his voice was losing its strength by the second. “And I’m foolish for it. Terribly foolish. I have feelings for you, Moon.”
Moon paused. Then she whispered even more quietly, as if they were sharing a secret. “What?”
No turning back now. “I do. You want to know what’s going on in my head? It’s worrying about what you think of me, how you look at me, if I’m the kind of dragon you’ll ever like. I compare myself to Qibli, Kinkajou, and the others, and wonder if I’ll ever deserve you. I’ve felt it when we first met, and ever since it’s only gotten stronger. And… and perhaps I don’t deserve you, but you deserve the truth. All of it, even if it makes you hate me.”
The words all spilled, like the tiniest crack on a frozen lake shattering into more and more veins. Now they were plummeted into a gripping silence.
She hates me now. All his fears flashed before his eyes. I knew it. Qibli was always warmer, friendlier, and more easy to be around. Or Kinkajou - the RainWing knows how to make anyone smile. Even Turtle, with his patience and level-headedness, if he ever changed his mind. Why did I even bother? Now she’s going to tell me-
“I never thought you’d actually say it,” her soft words pulled him out of his frigid thoughts.
“You knew?” Now he felt as hot as a SandWing in a scorching desert.
“Of course I knew. Everyone in our Winglet keeps teasing me about it. Even Darkstalker caught on, and offered to show me our possible futures together.”
“Darkstalker?” Now the desert became a pit of lava.
“Surprise,” she waved her talons meekly. “I guess you’ll need another set of princely reflections for this.”
“I… I’m sorry, Moon.” He stared at the rock beneath him, wishing it would swallow him whole. “I’m sorry I…”
“It’s alright. I could never believe any of them. Not completely, until you told me.”
He looked up to find her pressing her talons into the ground, as she did when she was nervous. His heart warmed the same way it did when he first met her.
“Are you sure about this?” She curled her talons closer to herself. A hint of her old, anxious side surfaced. “I’m really nothing special. Maybe… Maybe I am just a NightWing. All mystery and grace outside, but a sham on the inside. I may not be the dragon you’re seeing in me.”
Months ago, he would believe her. He would assume the worst, jump into all the reasons he shouldn’t be with her, and find an excuse to avoid her for the rest of his waking days. But times change, and he had seen too much to cling to that prejudice any further.
“If our travels taught me anything,” He said just as quietly. “It’s that NightWings are deeper than the rumors and stories we’ve spread all these years. Yes, I still think most are as shallow as they look. But for instance… a rare instance… they can be bold, and wise, and far too beautiful.”
“Backhanded flattery,” she smiled at him.
It wasn’t until he felt it that he realized their tails were touching. With great care, he slowly twined his tail around hers. And when she didn’t pull away, he finally brushed the leaf off her wings, covering them with one of his own. No more leaves would bother her tonight.
The two dragons reveled in this extraordinary closeness. Scales warming and hearts racing, they watched the stars shimmer and the moon glow.
“If my parents saw me now they’d chew my tail off.” He sighed. “But I’d deserve it, Moon. My confession was less than tasteful. You deserve to be confessed to on the tallest glacier of the Ice Kingdom, under the brightest aurora, when the snow falls just right…”
She pressed closer against his scales. “I feel all the cold I need right here.”
Winter felt like he was falling from the mountain, even if he was on solid ground. He wrapped his wing tighter around her. He no longer looked up at the stars.
She was right. All he thought most precious in Pyrrhia - the colors of an aurora, the glow of the moon, the warmth that embraced him in his frigid home - he felt culminated in a perfect bundle right under his wing called Moon. At this thought, he smiled, and finally closed his eyes with ‘nary a worry in his heart.