Wings of Fire: Dragonets of Change AU

Asha had never run so fast in her life, and she'd done her fair share of running.

Running from her home under attack as a dragonet.

Running through battlefields, her talons stained with red and blue blood.

Running away from prisons, unsure if the daring attempt could cost her her life.

Running from the war, hiding with a secret organization to have some semblance of peace. 

Rain pelted her scales, and she struggled to catch her breath. Her wings were soaked, it was too risky to stop even for a split second to attempt flying; and she knew that she couldn't take any risks.

The Talons were counting on her. More importantly, the dragonet egg in her arms was counting on her.

Nothing would ruin this mission, Asha decided.  

Mud squelched in between her talons, what would normally be calming and welcoming became nothing short of a nuisance. 

The good news was that the enemy would be even slower than she was. 

Thank the moons I'm not being chased by other MudWings, she thought. 

Asha snuck a glance behind her, and saw the two SkyWing soldiers gaining on her. Lucky for her, their huge wings meant flying would be extremely clumsy in this rain, and running was twice as bad.

Good. She was almost there. Just a little farther…

Hiss.

The sound instantly resurfaced horrendous flashbacks. 

A RainWing jumped out from what seemed like nowhere, their frill flaring up angrily. They bared their teeth.

Asha's heart stopped, and all her feelings left her body. She remembered the faces of many dragons twisted in pain as their scales melted to their skin, sizzling sickeningly.

It's over, she thought, a knot in her stomach growing. Her eyes glistened, blurring her vision as she started to panic. 

The only thing Asha could feel was the gentle heartbeat of the egg cradled in her arm. 

Beating slowly, trusting her with its life. 

Not an ounce of fear.

Something clicked in her brain, and she dug her claws further into the mud.

This isn't over, Asha thought fiercely. 

Her body moved before she could object. Soon she was crouched on the ground, narrowly avoiding the venom that splashed onto the SkyWings behind her. They let out ear-splitting screams as Asha seized the chance, spreading her wings and taking off, up and up into the sky, until she was miles away from the Mud Kingdom. 

Once she was sure nobody had followed her, she made a landing on a riverbank. Out of breath, Asha took long gulps of water until her heart stopped pounding and she was able to sit down on the damp rocks. The rain had eased away, and a sliver of sunlight was beginning to creep above the horizon. 

Asha spared a look at her cargo. A MudWing egg, or so she thought. She wasn't entirely sure because of the shell's deep red color. Asha had never seen any egg like it before.

Asha tried to remember a life before the war had devastated their lives to no avail. Perhaps a MudWing more knowledgeable of their history and biology would be able to identify this egg and explain why it was such a wrong color. But she didn't care. All she knew was that the dragonet inside would live a happy life, away from the war. She and the Talons would make sure of it.

"Clay." Asha said out loud. "I don't care if you're a MudWing or a SkyWing or any tribe. Whatever little dragonet you turn out to be, you deserve a MudWing name. Something that reminds you that we're family now."

She gently hugged the egg, smiling. "Let's stick together, alright Clay?"