Luna

Chapter One

"There are no whippings in the Araki tribe" the word fell out of me with a sigh, "at least none that I've heard of." I couldn't believe those rumors, but I also didn't want to think about it, so I said, "I truthfully have no idea what would happen if they caught me so let's just have fun and I'll do some investigating before we meet next week." She agreed and with that we resumed the decorating of our cave. We had created this cave with our powers. She would heat the rocks until they glowed and then I would hit it with winds strong enough to blow away the heated parts. Now that the cave was big enough, we had started cutting small designs into the side of the caves. They looked like burned etchings and we had the whole cave almost covered in flowers, animals, designs, and as a centerpiece in the back of our cave we had a detailed map of Chora. Today we were going to finish it. We spent hours in silence, focused on our work. After a while I noticed the sun shining directly into the entrance, signalling that it was time to leave.

"Hey Lily." I kept my voice soft but she still jumped slightly as I broke her focus.

"Hmm? Yes?" mumbled as she tore her gaze away from the heated stone in front of her.

"Look at the sun Lily, it's time to go." her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Already?" her voice had risen and she seemed worried.

"What's wrong? Isn't this our normal time?" I quizzed her, wondering what could be the issue.

"Well yeah it's the normal time, but I promised my mom I would be home early today. I have to go!" and with that she grabbed the sheet and I lowered her gently to the ground. I watched as she hid the sheet under a pile of rocks once again and sprinted towards her home, whatever was happening must have been important. I guess it was time for me to make my way home as well. I took a deep breath and churned the air up where Lilly had just been. I jumped and fell for a few blissful moments, then let the air catch me and once my feet touched the ground I released the rough air around me. I turned towards home and began the run home. I climbed the side of a mountain with assistance from the wind and once back in Araki land, I called Fidi, my dragon. Our dragon's powers fed off of our own. The stronger the Araki, the stronger the dragon. I could feel the air shifting slightly as Fidi grew nearer, and I closed my eyes in an attempt to receive any images he wished to show me. I could now see his bright red and yellow mottled figure, a stark contrast to the blue sky. His serpentine body landed silently by my side in moments. He came close and I rested my forehead on his, enjoying the moment of being alone with him, for he knew me better than anyone. I slid onto his back and asked him to take me home. He did so joyfully, sending bright images of the fireplace and the garden into my mind. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of flying. I had to convince Fidi to take Lily sometime, because I just knew that she would love it.

I was hit by a gust of wind that sent me toppling, separating me from Fidi.

"Fidi!" a high pitched scream escaped my lips, I hoped with all of my might that he was okay. Then I had to focus on myself, I had to find the ground so that I cushion my fall. Before I could figure which way was down I hit a solid green mass that was Rocco, my brother's dragon. I quickly sent out the image to Fidi, if Rocco attacked Fidi, he could do real damage. My side hurt and I could feel sticky warm blood soaking my shirt. I placed my hand over it and winced, I must have landed on one of Rocco's tail spikes. I pulled myself to a sitting position and saw Ark's broad shoulders, he hadn't turned around or even said anything. I threw my senses out to find Fidi and make sure he was okay. Closing my eyes I felt he was nearby and coming closer I sent him one more image of exactly where I was and waited.

"Why do you keep doing that?" my brother asked me sternly. I could see the muscles of his back tighten under his shirt.

"Doing what Ark?" I'm sure he could feel the daggers that were flying from my eyes, "Flying with my dragon?" I snapped back, irritated at the pain in my side and his rude greeting.