Wings Of Fire (WOF) : A dark family affair

Chapter 18

Nightjar woke up gently by the warm rays of the sun and the birds that were already going about their business while singing. She woke up in the shade of a tree, the wind blowing on her scales, forcing her to open her eyes even more and pulling her out of her dreams. As she let the light into her pupils, she saw the remains of the campfire they had extinguished, the embers now just dust. The sun had just risen a short time ago and to her surprise, the half nightwing was alone.Indeed, she was surprised that Maple was not present with her, he who rarely left her alone. Now that she thought about it, she had never wanted to get rid of her friend. He was a little clingy, perhaps, but he managed to be discreet. He was good company, always conscientious with her but now he was disappearing without warning. "Was I naive or am I imagining things ?" she thought. It was a little late to ask questions about that and a little early in the day to think about that. However, these worries did not stop juggling in her head.

She shook herself and motivated herself to get some height and get up into the sky to get a better look at this unusual forest. If Dandelion returned, he would have to wait patiently. From there, she looked for a green figure in the middle of this vegetation...green. It wasn't going to be easy, she thought, and she began to glide in a random direction above the trees. Her search extended to the beginning of the desert and soon she spotted a small water hole in the middle of the sand with a few blades of grass around the cool liquid. On either side, a few palm trees stood out. She assumed it was an oasis and next to a small dry shrub was the recognizable figure of Maple. "What in the three moons is he doing here ?".

She dove in his direction with a mixture of anger and worry in her. As she landed, she felt the soft, warm sand creep between her claws ; a sensation she did not find unpleasant. She then walked in his direction and as she got closer she could quickly see his face. He seemed to be looking at this small shrub and not to have heard Nightjar approaching. "Maple. Maple ? MAPLE ?" she shouted this time.

- OH MY..., he shouted back, You scared me.

- YOU scared me ! she shouted, Why did you leave without warning? I require a good explanation.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Maple apologized, his ears lowered and his eyes filled with guilt, You were asleep and I thought you weren't going to wake up...

- So you could run away without a word ?

- Of course not ! " he said, offended.

- Oh really ? Because it sounded like it.

- I already said I was sorry," he repeated.

- I know you did. I know," Nightjar stopped and sighed, "Let's move on now, but please let me know next time. I wouldn't... I wouldn't want anything to happen to you..."

Both of them looked away in shame and embarrassment, their gaze fixed on the sand. "Maybe I went a little too far..." she thought. However, she couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal. She had been genuinely frightened when he had disappeared and she wanted to be sure of his intentions. "Did I do something wrong ? I was just worried about him..." But she didn't have the luxury of continuing to question his actions as Maple picked up the conversation, "I'd like... I'd like to show you something. The reason I'm here is I want to try something."

Nightjar mindlessly followed the half leafwing that had turned to the shrub. This plant barely reached the dragoness' knees and had its branches oriented horizontally, spreading out instead of toward the sky. It was dry and looked like it was almost dead. She did not understand the special attention to this one and while shifting to see better, Maple put his hand on the plant and closed his eyes. They remained like that, in silence, for a while and as Nightjar wanted to address her friend, she saw small buds on the branches. "What ? I'm willing to bet they weren't there before", she said in a low voice, puzzled.