The Prison of Colors

Chapter One: Facing Reality

What. Is. Happening? Snowfall internally screamed. "Haha! That's game! I win! Again!" Her father, Lemming, exclaimed.

She didn't know how this was possible! Hadn't she been winning moments ago? Furious, she scribbled in the dirt; What? How is that legal? I was winning!

Her father shook his head. "Sorry, my little snowflake. You know nobody can beat me at this game!" He replied. And she did. She'd been trying to beat him for years, but to no avail.

Sighing, Snowfall crept away from the game room while her father and sister argued about the wisdom of winning every game. Her sister would argue that losing a game to your dragonet boosted their confidence, and her father would stubbornly insist on the importance of earning victories rather than receiving them. This meant that they'd be occupied for a while, so the little peach-colored dragon was free to do what she liked. Which, in this case, was sneaking out to meet Thermal, her Skywing friend.

Thermal was the only dragon Snowfall knew who wasn't part of her family. She had been coming to see her bright red friend for a few months, now, and it seemed to be going well. No abhorring, no judging. Just friendship. And that felt good.

Unfurling her wings, Snowfall took wing, staying low to the trees as she flew. The mountainside never got old. The forest spread as far as she could see and beyond; the mountains rolling and twisting across the landscape with both jagged peaks and eggshell-smooth slopes. It was breathtaking. She had first been out here only two years ago; her parents had felt that she would be caught as a blundering dragonet, so they forbid Snowfall and her older sister from leaving the cave until they were at least five years old. Updraft had dazzled Snowfall four years ago with stories of the mountains; how they stretched for miles and miles, how they never seemed to end, how they were always there and would never move, no matter what. Unlike those untrustworthy trees, who would sway in the slightest breeze. Snowfall had imagined odd-looking dragons when her older sister had described them and was pleasantly astounded to see landscape two years after that.

Angling her wings against the headwind, Snowfall glided through the air towards her intended target: the old, hollow cottonwood. Its bark, which once grew back after falling off, had long since permanently departed. Its branches were bare of leaves, and termites had taken several trees near it, but still, it held on, though a husk of its former glory.

A brightly colored dragon lay under it, staring at the skies in search of her best friend. Thermal fiddled with her talons. The other students at the academy were fun, but their perspectives were muddled by the concept of being shipped off to war, so it was nice to have a friend who wanted to be her friend because she generally wanted to be her friend, and not for some hidden agenda. Tensions were high at the academy and in the Sky Kingdom in general. Some thought the Skywings should back Blister because she was the smartest and could win them more spoils, but many more thought that Burn was the better candidate. With her brute strength and primal rage, there weren't many who could realistically face her, including any heirs she may have. She would rule for a long time, and a strong alliance with the Sandwings could be essential. Together, Sandwings and Skywings would own a third of all the land in Pyrrhia.

And that, more than the concept of war, scared Thermal to death.

Snowfall landed, her talons brushing across the spongy grass as she bounced toward her one and only friend. Her face lit up with excitement, and Thermal gave her the biggest, warmest hug she could manage, complete with her massive wings. "How have you been? Haven't seen you in a couple days!" she exclaimed. Snowfall gave a thumbs up, and Thermal nodded her comprehension. "Good! I've been waiting for you for hours! What took you so long?" she asked. The peach dragon cleared a patch of grass away with her talon so there was mud to write on. Family games, she wrote. The red dragon didn't quite understand what her friend meant, but she nodded her head in understanding anyway. Snowfall wiped her talon on the side of the dead tree before laying on the grass. She stretched all the way out, spreading her wings and popping bones in her hips and talons. "Three moons, Snow, how long has it been since you stretched out?" she asked. The peach dragon stretched out her arms as far as they could go. "Pretty long, then, I'm guessing," Thermal laughed.