The Calm Before The Storm

13

Crystal felt a shaking in the pouch around her ankle. She took the blue stone out and held it between her claws. The stone shook again and then lay silently. Then it cracked. Crystal panicked. How could this happen? I didn't do anything!

A little head poked out of the crack. Crystal gasped. She slowly peeled away the hard casing of the...stone? Or was it an egg? The little dragon looked up at her, seemingly unbothered by the cold. It stretched its tiny wings and yawned. Then it went to sleep.

The door to the freezer burst open and Tempest stood there with a fierce look on her face. She stopped her roar halfway when she saw the sleeping dragon between Crystal's claws.

"Wha..."

"I don't know either. Be quiet." Crystal held up a claw to silence Tempest.

"What kind of dragon is that?" Tempest whispered, drawing closer slowly.

"I don't know."

"Well, we should name it. So that we at least know something."

Crystal looked at the old shell. She had thought it was a stone called labradorite.

"I think we should call it Labra," Crystal whispered.

"Labra? Why?"

"I thought it was a stone called labradorite. The Gem Queen gave it to me when she...when She offered me the chance to observe the other clans," Crystal finished her lie.

Tempest looked a little confused but then shook her head and returned her gaze to the little dragon.

"Well, we should probably get this little one out of the cold," she said. "Wouldn't want it or you to be caught by the Icewing."

"Icewing?" Crystal asked, apprehensively.

"Yeah, we found a trail of ice on in the floors in the castle. An Icewing could kill us all. It needs to die."

"How could it kill everyone? You know what? Let's not talk about this stuff in front of Labra," Crystal walked out of the enchanted freezer and waited for Tempest before closing the door. She put Labra into the pouch but walked gently so as not to wake it.

They walked back to the training room. Crystal made sure to keep her tail off the ground.