Wings of Fire: The Hidden Key

~Prologue~

(Part 1)

One-year old Reed blinked open her eyes, yawning widely. She turned her head around, her ears twitching when a distant noise echoed through them. She shivered, tucking her wings over her head. "Kelp?" She whimpered. "What's that sound?"

 A large bright green dragon curled up closer to her, patting her gently on the head. She snuggled up against her half-brother, smiling.  "I'm sure it's nothing. And remember, you have to be on your best behavior if you want to see Pyrrhia." Kelp told her, bopping her on the nose. She giggled and settled back down to wait for her family.

Her mother was still at the LeafSilk Kingdom, and she had promised to come back soon with her father and take Reed to Pyrrhia. She had hatched in Pantala, so she hadn't been there yet. Kelp had hatched there, so he knew the other continent better than anyone else she knew.

 Her fidgeted with her talons in her excitement. "That's right! I forgot! I haven't met any Pyrrhian tribes yet, I wonder what they look like?"

Kelp chuckled. "Well, they're like us. Big flying lizards with wings and claws." He rolled his eyes playfully when she gave him a confused look.

 Ignoring him, Reed grinned even wider. "I wanna meet a SeaWingy! One of your tribes!"

"It's a SeaWing," he corrected.

"I don't care what they're called! I'm gonna see ALL of them!" She squeaked, puffing up her chest bravely.

 Kelp sighed, and soon silence stretched out between them. Reed always hated silence... it gave her time to think about her family. Based on what Reed knew, she and Kelp both had the same mother, a RainWing/SeaWing hybrid named Dewdrop, but different fathers. Reed's father was a LeafWing named Oak, while Kelp's father was a RainWing named Opalescent, although Dewdrop and him had broken up three years ago. The subject of Kelp's father was never brought up, and Reed hated that her mind always shot straight to it whenever she was quiet.

They waited for six more minutes, without speaking once. Eventually, Kelp rose to his talons and gave her a serious look. "Reed? Wait here, I'm going to go try and find mother."

Reed watched anxiously as Kelp took off into the sky, slowly getting smaller and smaller. She hoped nothing would happen to him. Kelp was her best friend and was always there for her whenever she was scared or lonely. He may be her half-brother, but she felt like he was her true brother instead.

 He was mostly there to comfort her whenever she was sad. Being a tribrid was hard. All the other LeafWings looked at her like she was a freak. She often wondered what they thought when they stared at her peculiar scales, hoping that it wasn't anything mean...

 A sudden screech of pain interrupted her thoughts. 

 "SOMEONE GET HELP!" A voice screamed, sounding hysterical. The small dragon whipped around, glancing at the sky with wide eyes. Kelp and Dewdrop were flying towards her, with two LeafWings behind her carrying a large and dark shape.

 Reed's heart pounded against her chest. "M... Mama? Kelp?" She said in a small voice, crouching to the ground with a flash of nervousness. The dragons landed, and Dewdrop ran towards Reed, sobbing. She picked her up, hugging her tightly to her chest. "He's gone. He's gone..." her mother cried softly, her body shaking.

 "W-What does that mean?" Reed asked, feeling bewildered.

Kelp landed next to Dewdrop, watching her with a stricken look on his face. "I liked your father much better than mine... now he's gone..." he choked out, his voice shaky.

"What happened?" she demanded, stumbling out of her mother's grip.

The first LeafWing, a dark green one with slightly brownish-golden spots, stepped forward. "I'm afraid to say that your father died in a rockslide. The boulders fell and crushed his body, but we got Dewdrop out of the way just in time."