"Ah there you are darling!" Taproot exclaimed as Terracotta quietly shut her room door behind her. She gave a halfhearted smile to her father, but she could see he was staring at her bracelets, already worried about what Tualang would say. "I shall be alright, yes," she said reassuringly to him, patting his wing gently. There's no way on Pyrrhia I'm taking these off tonight, Terracotta thought, feeling her forearm gingerly. The bruises and cuts underneath the bangles were still fresh, and the ones that had healed over already looked ghastly.
Taproot returned Terracotta's smile, tenting his warm wing around her small, thin body. "I suppose you're right," he beamed. "Anyway, you're mother is very exited about this...promotion. Tonight's very special for her. Needless to say, I don't want you getting in her way or drawing too much attention, okay?" Terracotta nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak. I'd just say something stupid anyways, she thought bitterly. Mother's going to kill me if I say a single word at that party—
"TERRACOTTA!" Tualang shouted from the other room, causing Terra to jump with fright and smack her father's wing against her head. "S-sorry, sorry," she said apologetically, scrambling into her mother's bedroom. "Y-yes yes Mother?" she said shyly.
Tualang turned around, and Terracotta's breath caught in her throat. Her mother looked like a queen, or some kind of radiant goddess. Her scales were a light, sky-blue, with swirls of black and teal strategically twirling through her wings and horns. She wore a delicate gold chain around her neck, and her posture expelled 'high-rank' with breathless ease. Her amber brown eyes pierced through the room as if she were here to sentence Terracotta to the worst fate imaginable with a flick of her royal blue talon.
"Come here, and put this around my neck," Tualang snapped, jolting Terracotta out of her reverie. She handed another gold necklace to her, that matched the one she was already wearing. "I'm having some trouble fastening it."
Terracotta ducked her head and did as she was told. As her mother's smooth scales scraped against her own, she squeezed her eyes shut with fear. She felt as if, at any moment, Tualang would whip around and grab her wings to give her a good hard smack, or that she'd rake her bracelets off her arm and discover the puncture wounds. Terra shivered. Who knew what the punishment would be for such 'harmful behavior.'
Terracotta finished clasping and winding the chain around her mother's scales, and stepped back hastily. Tualang turned towards her, her eyes narrowing. "What's this?" she asked, eyeing Terra's bracelets and bangles.
"I-I-I decided I should like more of the decor then just one or two gracing my appearance. I quite favor the way it l-looks, yes yes. Altogether m-m-more more dignified."
Tualang let out a harsh bark of laughter. "I could not imagine you 'dignified' for all the gold in the world." She grabbed a scarf from her rack of jewelry and looped it around Terracotta's head, yanking it tightly against her neck. Terra held her breath, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as Tualang tied the scarf and dropped her talons. "There," she said, not unkindly. "That's more...presentable."
Terra and Tualang stared at each other for a moment, and then the silence was, of course, broken by Tualang's sharp snarl. "Go!" she barked. "You're in my way. We'll never get there in time if you...insist on tripping over your clumsy talons."
Terracotta swallowed, drawing her eyes away from Tualang. She hustled out of the door and past her father, climbing up on the balcony to gaze at the trees below her. "Where are you Twitter?" she called softly to the trees, tears leaking from her eyes.
Suddenly she heard the soft mourning of a bird of paradise, and she smiled. It gave her courage, and the feeling that she wasn't alone. "Thank you," she whispered.
Terracotta drew a sharp intake of breath as she heard her mother and father step out onto the balcony behind her. "You ready Terra-ific?" Taproot called. "Yes yes, I am ready." she stumbled. As ready as I could ever be, she thought.
The beautiful orange sun set below the trees as the family of dragons glided through the rainforest to the Queen's party court. Terracotta heard the faint clinking of glasses and the indistinct murmur of conversation. Her small talons started to shake violently, and she tucked them close to her chest, hoping her parents wouldn't notice. "H-how many incomprehensibly dispositioned dragons s-shall be at the p-party, yes?" she asked her parents.
Tualang rolled her eyes, but Taproot just smiled at her. "You mean people? Only around fifty, I suspect." Terracotta's eyes widened with fear, and she faltered in the air.
"Are you okay darling?" Taproot asked. "I know you see about that amount of customers every few days at your stand."
"You happen t-to be correct," Terracotta answered. But only one at a time, her brain panicked. I don't know if I can do this. She braced herself as the noise of the gathering got louder. Soon they landed in the clearing, a half-mile wide platform made of fallen trees, hovering two wing lengths from the ground. Beautiful, dainty lights were strung around the trees, casting a warm light over the mass of dragons, contrasting perfectly with the barely visible sunset. Firefly torches were planted in the ground so that the dragons cooking and preparing meals underneath the platform could see.
Terra touched down, her breath leaving her. "It is beautiful," she exclaimed.
"That it is," her mother agreed, making Terracotta jump.
The party was filled with sound; RainWings eating, talking, singing and laughing, mixed with the sweet melody of a musician trio. The dragons all around them flashed with colors; mostly pink, yellow and orange, Terra noted. Everyone was enjoying themselves.
Terracotta had just begun to relax when a handsome, green dragonet passed by her and she was thrust into his future.
The cool, night air.
A dragon screaming as she was dragged away from her mate.
Drops of venom spattering the ground.
Terracotta covered her snout to muffle her gasp. She pushed the feelings of the vision down; she had trained herself to do so. He'll be okay, she thought to herself reassuringly. Something bad happens in everyone's life. Nevertheless, his sweet, happy face enjoying the celebration and loudly singing along to the music made her heart feel cold.
Terra closed her eyes. "I require something to drink, yes yes," she told her parents. Taproot nodded, and she walked over to the long table filled with food, squeezing her small body through the mass of dragons around her. Terracotta picked up a coconut water, gulping it down as dignifiedly as she could. The vision had left her tired, and she knew she needed to keep her energy up if she was to survive the party.
"I extend my thanks for the drink," she said to the round dragon loading more fruit onto the table. He smiled at her kindly, although he looked slightly befuddled by her choice of words. "Have as much as you want!"
Suddenly, Terracotta dropped the coconut, and she heard laughing—not the laughing of the crowd, but a pure, clear laugh echoing inside her skull.
A beautiful dragoness, lounging on a tree branch, laughing.
The healer's ward, a dragon's eyes blinking open slowly.
A bowl of blueberries, a pair of graceful orange talons gently handing them to someone.
A dragon yelling.
A hatchling, his wings the color of cream, surrounded by eggs, but all alone.
The server tapped Terracotta on the shoulder. "You alright?" he asked, looking a bit scared. "Your eyes turned all white—half blind or something?"
"Um...yeah," Terra answered, turning away from him. She darted back into the crowd, feeling dizzy. A dancing dragon slammed into her and she sank into another vision.
A body being covered by layers of dirt.
A dragon's smiling face, covered with paint as someone laughed softly.
Claws raking through a tree, lightning splitting the sky.
Tattered wings flapping uselessly in the wind as a storm raged, the lungs of the dragon filling with seawater as their vision faded.
A pair of kind eyes, a mother wishing her dragonet goodnight.
"No, no," Terracotta said, clutching her head as events swirled through her mind. She imagined squashing them down with her talons, and grinding them to dust...almost there...they were almost gone...and then a girl skipped by her and flung a flower garland over her neck, and her joyful face was suddenly in the middle of the desert.
A dragonet calling out, a sandstorm raging around her.
No one comes.
A frail-looking IceWing, putting a talon over hers.
A little dragonet being shoved around by others.
Tears pouring down somebody's face.
"Please...please..."Terracotta whispered, but no sooner had the words left her mouth than a red dragon came up to her and handed her a banana.
Screaming.
A dragon's mouth being yanked open, their jaw splintering apart.
A girl hanging happily from a tree.
A knife, dragging through a dragon's flesh like a shark fin.
Terracotta whimpered, shrinking in on herself. The visions were terrifying. A RainWing flew above her and she stumbled into a prophecy once more.
Bright light.
Bodies being buried by the thousands, a dragon in chains.
A queen laughing giddily.
The dragon's chest being sliced open.
Blood covering the sand.
Suddenly, Terracotta felt as if hundreds of dragons were closing in around her at once. Visions shot through her head like wildfire, and she could no longer tell them apart. Death, birth, happiness, more death. Murder, sadness, laughing. Over and over. Tears leaked from her eyes as she was jostled through the crowd, shifting around like a tidal wave, though she didn't move a muscle. Eventually, during a vision of two RainWings locked in combat, she fell off the edge of the platform and landed hard on the ground. Terracotta felt her arm snap underneath her and whimpered in pain. She squeezed her eyes shut. They're gone now, she thought. The visions are gone now, and that's all that matters.
Terracotta struggled to get up, but her left arm was useless. It hurt terribly, and Terra was sure she'd broken something. What will I tell my parents? she thought, her violet eyes watering. They won't believe me. They'll just think I tried to run away or something, and ended up crashing into a tree. She dipped her head, limping towards the platform. A RainWing underneath who was preparing food saw her and beckoned her over. "Here you go!" she said cheerily, handing Terracotta a mango drink. "Let's go back to the party. You need some cheering up." Terra raised her eyebrows, still shivering. Why do all RainWings act like they know me at this party? she thought. Her mind was definitely made up. She hated celebrations.
Despite her continual efforts, the dragon forced her up to the higher platform and laughed over Terra's excuses and pleading. When they reached the top, Terracotta was caught with the sudden sight of the queen patting her mother on the shoulder. "I know you will do amazing! Truth is, you'll probably do better than me!" Queen Gentile let out a bubbly laugh.
"Thank you, your majesty," Tualang said, giving her a curt nod. As the queen swept away, Terracotta's mother turned around to catch sight of her. "Terracotta," she said bitterly.
"H-hi Mother," she answered. Tua's eyes narrowed as she saw that Terra couldn't stand properly, she was shaking visibly, and her left talon was hovering above the ground. "What's wrong with you, girl?" she asked, coming over to her instantly. "Have you—Terracotta, your arm is broken!" she said, feeling Terracotta's shoulder. "What did you do?"
"I, um...fell off the d-dais yes, yes." Terra stumbled.
"Well that's awfully clear, but how?" Tualang asked.
"I had...there seemed to be..." Terracotta couldn't hold it in. She burst into tears and covered her face. "I was obtaining visions from all the d-dragons gathered here, a-and, and there was a great amount of them, all c-cluttering up in m-my mind, and they were altogether f-frightening..."
Tualang was silent for a while, and Terracotta did't dare to uncover her face. Then she felt a wing brushing hers and her claws slid a few inches apart. "I can't say I agree with your stupid visions," Tualang said. "But I do know your arm is broken, and we'll have to get you to the healer's ward." She summoned Taproot over, who had a papaya in his talon. "Taproot. Your daughter's arm is broken. Take her to the Healers, now."
"Terra!" Taproot said, rushing over. "How on earth did you do that?"
"It's...complicated yes yes." Terra said, glancing over at her mother...but she was already gone. She had left her for someone else, once again.