❄️Chapter 17: Is This Happening?❄️

   I love the above image. They're both so confused, and it's adorable! Also, looks like the artist didn't quite align their eyes so that they're looking at the other's eyes, because Winter appears to be staring at her nose, XD.

 Winter stood, waiting impatiently by the punch bowl in Jade Mountain Academy's Great Hall. He was growing annoyed and nervous at once; the dance had started fifteen minutes ago and Moon hadn't shown yet. He fidgeted with the navy blue and white-striped bow tie around his neck, the fabric irritating the sensitive scales. Maybe it was just his nerves. 

  Is she mad that I didn't ask her instead of the other way around? Then again, I probably wouldn't have been able to bring myself to, even though I guess I did want this. Why else would I be here? 

  The pale blue IceWing looked over across the space, where he could see Blizzard - still relatively new here - trying to work up the guts to talk to Sparrow. The dark blue dragon had spilled the fact that he liked her to Winter about four days ago, which puzzled him, as Blizzard had only been here a couple weeks. How could he know he liked someone that quickly? It had taken Winter two months to figure out that he...

  Liked Moon. As more than a friend.

  He still despised himself every now and then for letting those feelings blossom into what they were now, a desperate desire to be something more with the pretty NightWing, even if he rarely consciously admitted it to himself. He hoped to the love of everything that she didn't know that he felt this way. 

  He'd pretty much figured out by now what those weird feelings he always got when he was around her were: he was in love. Badly. He'd confirmed it after reading that scroll he'd gotten two days ago.

  Winter turned and filled a glass with some fruit punch to take his mind off of things. He'd never been a huge fan of sugary things, since he'd never had any real fruit before, but everybody knew the flavoring in this drink was artificial and loaded with sugar. Besides, he was feeling a little tired despite his anxiety, and could use a pick-me-up.

  The lighting here was dark, the only fire globes lit being dark blue ones that made the grand cavern seem like it was midnight. Blue and silver ribbons and streamers strung from stalactites and stalagmites added to this, and there a few dragons Winter barely recognized playing instruments including a harp, a musical triangle, and possibly some sort of wind chime to create very calming sounds, almost sounding nature-like. 

  Winter drank down his glass of punch quickly, then nearly choked on it when he noticed Flame at the other end of the cavern, standing next to Tamarin. What was he doing here? He'd been expelled earlier that week, and should've been long before that! 

  The IceWing saved himself from a possible bout of choking, only to actually start choking as he saw Moonwatcher enter the Great Hall through the single entrance cave on the far left wall. A purplish-blue SeaWing approached him, wearing a worried expression, but he held up a talon as he cleared his throat of the sugary drink. 

  "I'm good," he croaked as soon as he was once more able to speak. They just nodded and walked away, and Winter decided to avoid the punch for a bit, at least until it seemed all the surprises were over.

  Pull yourself together! You're an IceWing, for Pyrrhia's sake! Now go over there and talk to her, before she catches you gawking like a half-wit!

  Winter didn't ignore his own command. He took a couple deep breaths until the shaking in his arms stopped, then walked over to where Moon was looking around, either admiring the decorations or looking for him. She saw him coming and flashed a genuine smile, her off-white teeth showing and everything. 

  Moons, she looks gorgeous in this light, Winter thought before he could stop himself.

  "Hey," he greeted her, stopping only about two feet away from her. 

  Hey??? What about something more...thought-out?

  "Hi, Winter. I'm so sorry I'm late! Kinkajou spent hours trying to find 'the perfect accessory' and trying to figure out what her color scheme would be for the dance," Moon explained with a roll of her sparkling green eyes. 

  "It's okay. You're not that late," he replied. He hesitated, checking to make sure nobody was within earshot besides her, before he quietly added, "you look absolutely stunning," stupidly grinning after that. At least it didn't feel forced.

  She blushed enough for it to be noticeable in the dark light, although she was smiling a closed-lipped smile. "Thank you. I didn't realize how hard finding the right earrings would be. Kinkajou is lucky since literally anything can suit her if she changes her scale color."

  Moon was wearing a pair of silver, medium-sized earrings that looked like upside down crescents. They were outlined in some black material, and there was a space that looked like an teardrop where they connected to the part that was put in her ear. These spaces were filled by what looked to be green emeralds, and Winter couldn't help but wonder how expensive they'd been. He didn't ask, for that would be rude. He'd never understood why asking the price of something like that was rude, but all he knew was that it was, so he never asked.

  "They really compliment your eyes," he said. "Even the silver matches the little silver scales by them."

  She grinned again, that shy, sweet smile that he couldn't help but smile back to. "Yeah. Your tie stands out a lot, but somehow matches, too."

  "I'm glad you think so. I wasn't sure whether to go with a necktie or this, because I was sort of worried it would make me look like a dork."

  "It does," Moon replied. "But I like it. Makes you seem less like you're attending a funeral. I mean, no offense, but we both know you're usually pretty serious and grim," she told him, reaching up to adjust his tie. "There; now it's less crooked."

  He looked over at where Flame was still standing with Tamarin, the two engaged in conversation.

  "Any idea why Flame is here?" he asked.

  A guilty expression suddenly wiped Moon's grin away. "Well, I knew Tamarin would probably be lonely or sad, not being able to go to the dance with him, and I wanted to give them a chance together. I know he's pretty unstable, but I knew you would be here in case things went wrong, so I asked Sparrow if she could try and convince someone in charge to let him go here for an hour or so. Looks like she succeeded."

  Winter just huffed, glaring in the crimson dragon's direction.

  "Oh come on," Moon said. "Don't let him ruin our night! 

  Our night...

  Winter took his attention away from Flame and brought it back to Moon. "You're right. I just don't want more dragons to get hurt because of him...you've already been a victim of his far too many times."

  She smiled. "I know you're just trying to look out for me, Winter, but you should worry a lot less. Maybe then you'll be less stressed all the time."

  "Who says I'm stressed? I can be totally cool if you want."

  "That was a horrible pun."

  "I know." He looked back over at the punch bowl, feeling more up to it now that he probably wouldn't be choking this time. "Let's go get some punch."

  The pair walked over to where he'd previously been standing and both poured themselves a glass.

  "This isn't anything like real fruit, is it?" Winter asked. "You growing up in the rainforest, and all."

  She shook her head. "If it was, I guarantee you the percentage of dragons who do eat fruit would double. It's way less sugary than this, because it only has natural sugar. It's still really good though."

  They struck up a conversation or two while they were over there, quietly sipping their drinks while the other spoke until they'd emptied the glasses. Then, Moon dragged him over to an array of different fruits piled up that looked like it would collapse at the slightest touch. Which, it in fact did. The top layer fell when she was trying to reach an orange, and it attracted some attention. They just laughed it off, though, like that first day in the science lab that seemed so long ago. 

  Once they put everything back where it was, she plucked a strawberry from the pile and tried to get him to eat it.

  "I'm not sure...what if I choke on all those seeds?" 

  "That's not how it works, Winter! They're too small for you to choke on, and they don't even fall out of the strawberry to begin with."

  "I don't know..."

  "Just try it," she said, shoving the small red fruit into his mouth as he talked. It was far enough back that he was forced to chew it up and swallow, and it turned out to taste pretty good.

  "You know that could've killed me, Moon."

  She shrugged. "It still worked."

  After awhile, a few pairs of dragons started slow dancing, whether it be toward the middle of the cavern, or closer to an empty space on the side. Winter didn't know why they started now, as the music had been right for it the whole time. However, it seemed things were drawing to a close, so maybe that was why. Moon insisted they should try too, and although he was entirely put off at the idea of dancing with her in front of so many judging eyes, he figured that if he'd already been seen with her here, there wasn't much of a point in refusing. 

  "I'm not exactly sure how to do this," he admitted as they walked over to a mostly empty area in the corner of the cavern. Dancing was never a 'thing' back home, unless it was something like slow dancing. That only happened at Royal gatherings though, and he'd never had anyone to dance with unless it was one of his siblings, that that would've just been awkward.

  "Don't worry, it's probably the easiest dance out there," she assured him. "Even the form isn't tricky. I'll guide you at first."

  Winter's mind flared with surprise and a little embarrassment as Moon took hold of his left talon, lifting it to about shoulder-level. Then, she grabbed his other talon and brought it to her waist, before putting her free talon on his right shoulder. His instincts told him to stop this, to rip himself away and storm off like an IceWing should, but he didn't listen to them. If he did that, he'd blow his chances with her, chances he shouldn't even care about.

  "Now, we just sway to the music," she said, the silver scales by her eyes shimmering in the blue light. 

  Why am I doing this? Why am I letting HER do this? I should stop. But I can't. But I have to!

  It looked like she was listening to something for a moment, a conflicted expression on her face. Whatever emotion she was feeling quickly subsided though, and Winter wondered just what was up with her. He'd noticed this strange behavior several times before, and it didn't seem one bit normal.

  Winter tried to forget about it, beginning to sway just like she told him to. She followed his lead, slowly drifting along to the calming music practically resonating through them.

  After several moments, he got the hang of it, starting to feel more confident. He couldn't mask the grin on his face, and Moon smiled in return. Then, that very confidence messed them up, as he forgot to move his tail in time with the rest of him, and it tripped her up. She almost fell backward but he caught her, wrapping his arms around the middle of her back, as trying to catch her by the wrist might cause injury. She wrapped her own arms around the back of his neck to further ensure that she wouldn't fall. Winter expected her to right herself, and though she did steady herself by planting her feet on the floor again, she stayed like that, staring straight into his eyes while he leaned over her.

  Why am I doing this? he thought again. Never mind, I know exactly why...

  Moon laughed, more than a little awkwardly. "Thanks, Winter."

  He could practically hear his heart hammering, as if it would make its escape from his chest and leave him a dying mess at any second. "No problem," he said, despite this feeling of adrenaline and tension. He realized their snouts were almost touching, separated only by a few inches of empty space.

  Moonwatcher suddenly pressed her forehead against his lightly, in some kind of action Winter had never seen anybody else do before. Was it an act of friendship or something? Gratitude, maybe? Even...affection?

  Whatever this was, Winter didn't want to stop. It felt so, serene, and peaceful, like they were the only two dragons in the entire cavern.

  They were painfully reminded that this wasn't the case when Winter narrowly ducked under an orange lobbed at his head from a pure white IceWing a ways away. They met his gaze and glared at him with the ferocity of a polar bear chasing its prey, before shaking their head at him and looking away.

  "I think we'd better get going..." Moon whispered, finally letting go of him and standing up. 

  "I couldn't agree more," Winter replied, following her as she left the way they'd entered. She started going toward their winglet's set of caves, but he stopped her. "C'mon, I've got something to show you."

  She looked at him curiously, but proceeded to go with him out into the cool night air outside of the academy. "Where, exactly, are we going?"

  "To the top of Jade Mountain," he told her with a smile. "Race you there!" 

  Winter shot upward, knowing Moon would be close behind. She was a better flyer than he was, at least in terms of avoiding obstacles. The fastest way up the mountain was heavily forested for the first couple hundred feet, but he liked a challenge, so he darted straight into the cover of the trees. However, this wasn't a very good idea, as he constantly had to slow down and alter course to avoid head-on collisions with trees, constantly being whacked by pine branches all the while. He felt a whoosh of air to his right, knowing that it was Moon slipping her way among them while he struggled to do just that.

  Once he emerged from the forest, covered in green pine needles and a few cuts on his arms, he saw that she was already nearing the peak. She was going to win for sure, but with a grin creasing his normally serious face, Winter continued to fly as fast as he could.

  By the time he made it to the top of the mountain, she was there, standing with her wings tucked in, sort of like a bird. "What took you so long?" she teased with a smug smile.

  "You only won by a few seconds," he said, checking to make sure the pouch he'd been wearing was still there. It was. "I knew you'd win if I went through the forest, since you've been able to practice avoiding trees all your life."

  Moon just smiled more. "You wouldn't last a day in the rainforest, Winty. There's vines, and spiderwebs, and all kinds of things to worry about besides trees."

  Winty?

  "Sorry- it's just a new nickname I though of for you. If you don't like it, I won't use it," she said, most likely noticing his confused facial expression. 

  "No, it's fine," he said. "I sort of like it, actually."

  "Alright then, Winty," she said, emphasizing the name, "is this what you wanted to show me?" The NightWing gazed up at the star-filled sky above them, the white lights twinkling like tiny snowflakes. One and a half moons were up as well, but the stars outshone them by far.

  "Mhm," he said. "What do you think?"

  "They're beautiful."

  He nodded in agreement. 

  Not as astonishing as she, is though, he thought to himself. He noticed a blush appear on her face, although she kept her eyes trained on the stars. Hm...strange.

  "Any reason why you brought me here?" Moon asked, curiosity filling every word as she turned her attention back to him.

  "Not particularly. Just thought there'd be a nice view tonight," he told her. "Although...there are a couple of things I wanted to give you. I mean, I didn't have to bring you here to give them to you, but why not?"

  She tilted her head as he opened up his satchel, removing the two items he'd been keeping safe since this morning when he'd bought them at that little shop near the school. Neither of them had been cheap, but he hoped they would be worth it as long as she liked them.

  The first object was a wristband, similar in size to Turtle's gold one with the black stones set in it. This one seemed far prettier to Winter though; the main part of it was jet black, just like Moon's scales, and there were five round emeralds set equally apart around it. There was a silver lining to it as well - literally.

  Winter passed it to her with steady talons, as he would actually explode if he dropped, broke, or lost it. Moon gazed at it with wonder and amazement as she slipped it onto her right arm, just below the elbow.

  "Wow, Winter...this is gorgeous!" she said as she peered at it closer in the dark light. "And it fits perfectly...thank you!"

  "You're welcome; I thought you would like it, since it matches your scales and eyes so well," he said. Before he could give her the next thing, though, she leaned forward, placed a talon on his shoulder, and whispered quietly in his ear...

  "Tag! You're it!"

  HA! You thought! Also, right now, go to YouTube and search Coldplay, Sky Full of Stars. If you can, try to read this and play it at the same time; again, I wasn't able to link it to Wattpad because apparently it's outdated. Very good song, and I thought it would fit. SO GO DO IT RIGHT NOW AND LISTEN TO IT EVEN IF IT DOESN'T WORK!

  The small, dark dragon then flew off, and Winter could just barely see her form against the night sky. Rather than being frustrated, he decided to play along and raced after her, but not before making sure his satchel was sealed tight.

  He saw Moon turn right and start descending down the mountain, and started gaining on her within seconds. She may have been good at navigation, but he was the faster flyer. 

  But once again, her obstacle avoidance triumphed, as he was so focused on catching up to her that he didn't notice the tall rock spire looming in front of him until he slammed right into it. Moon immediately stopped, turning to see if he was okay. Winter shook it off and smiled to let her know he was alright, and then resumed the chase. 

  They darted among trees, slipping along the mountainside, disappearing and reappearing out of the few clouds that obscured the incredible view tonight. Moon would occasionally look over her shoulder and smile at him, before going back to trying to outrun him, while also seeming to stay close enough to where he was still motivated to chase her. She was playing with him, and he knew it. Normally he would've given up long before now, as a few minutes had already passed, but there was an insatiable urge for him to keep following her, his body hardly tiring out at all. He could've caught her by now as well, but he was enjoying this far too much to stop.

  It's probably something to do with hormones, I guess. I don't care though; I've never felt this...free, before. No rules, nobody telling me what to do, or what I can be, or what I should be doing better...no manipulation, no lies...this is perfect.

  He and Moon continued this chase-game for a couple minutes longer, and then Winter decided he'd had enough. The pale blue IceWing surged forward, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and finally matched her speed. She started to bank to the left, but he stopped her by rushing forward again and locking his arms around her torso. It did work, but they were sent spinning in a circle for a few moments before steadying themselves, their laughter echoing throughout the night. The NightWing staring back at him had a silly, yet somehow still beautiful smile on her face that he was sure he matched, minus the beautiful part.

  "That was great," she said, winded from the ordeal.

  I know I say this a lot, but in this story in particular there's a lot of stuff that would sound really wrong taken out of context, so don't!

  "You think so?" he replied, relishing the feeling of her smooth, cool scales against his chest.

  Moon nodded, still grinning.

  Winter all of a sudden felt a desire to kiss her, even if it was only for the briefest of moments. He would've been executed on the spot for anything like that back home, but here, there was nobody else around to see. Maybe he could just steal one, just for a second...

  He started to move his snout closer to hers, but she stopped him.

  "Hey, uh..." she said, leaning back to avoid it, a pink hue spreading across her face. "Before we do...any of that, there's something I should've told you months ago, Winter. You're not going to like it, but I need to tell you."

  He looked at her quizzically, wondering just what she might mean by that. He thought back to all the strange things he'd noticed about her...how she would sometimes have those sudden 'headaches', and how sometimes it seemed she could tell exactly what he was wondering and answer it for him, like if there was a misunderstanding that crossed his mind and she immediately cleared it up...

  No. It can't be...

  "No," he whispered, repeating his thoughts. Everything he should've pieced together so long ago suddenly came to light, and he hated, hated what it meant.

  With guilt-filled eyes, Moon solemnly nodded. "It's okay if you don't believe me, but I already know you do. Winter, I know those powers my tribe made up, like the mind-reading, and visions of the future and everything...they're supposed to be nothing but a lie. But...they didn't entirely make it up. Because...I have both of those abilities. I'm not sure what makes me have them, and not any other NightWings, as far as I know, but-"

  He ripped himself out of her grasp, everything he'd been told about her kind seeming like it was all true now. Winter turned and flew off before she could finish, flying faster than he had been just a few moments ago. He flashed back to about three days ago, maybe less, when he'd admitted that he'd thought about suicide before to his entire winglet. Moon had tried to get him to talk more about it, get him to stay, but he hadn't listened. He'd ran until he couldn't anymore, then avoided her for the entire night and barely talked to her in class. 

  Now, as she called for him to stop, to just listen, he ignored it once again. His satchel thumped against his side as he flew, and right then, he probably could've beat a SkyWing in a flying race for he was going so fast.

  Liars! All of them, filthy, no-good, rotten-to-the-core lying vermin! It's just like everybody's always told me...never trust anyone. Especially not a NightWing. NightWings with silver teardrop scales, and pretty faces, and voices...NightWings who trick you into caring about them, then turn around and snap your heart in two when you thought they were the only dragon you could ever trust...

  Winter spotted a rocky outcrop jutting out from the side of Jade Mountain, still very high up from the ground. He dove toward it, and by the time his claws touched down on the cold, dew-speckled stone, his eyes were leaking tears. Hot tears, rushing out like tiny waterfalls down this distressed shell-of-a-dragon's face.

  He heard talons clicking behind him, and knew who it had to be.

  "Can't you just leave me alone?!" he roared at Moon. "You've already done enough; you lured me into this trap of friendship, then what do you do? You practically drop a bomb on my head with your secrets, and lies, secrets and lies I should've known about long ago...but I was blinded by this, this mask of stupidity!"

  He could tell in the dark light that she was crying, too. "Winter, just listen, please! I never wanted it to be like this! I just wanted to make some friends here, and not have to worry about them thinking I'm untrustworthy, or a freak, with these horrible powers! You think I asked to hatch like this? With these abilities that will make everyone hate me, and fear me?"

  Winter just turned and walked closer to the edge of the outcrop. "Well look where NOT telling us got you, Moonwatcher! Is this any better than it would've been if you'd just...just told the truth?"

  "No, it's not!" she sobbed. "It's worse, so much worse, Winter. Because...you're more than just a friend to me. I knew it from the day we met, that there was something special about you. And now with you knowing about all this, it just makes everything a million times worse. I'm so, so, so sorry, but I couldn't go much longer without telling someone!"

  There was a faint rumble of thunder in the distance. Winter turned to the east and saw dark cumulonimbus clouds approaching, lightning flashing between them. How cliché.

  His eyes blurry with tears, he tore his satchel off of him, and threw it at her feet. 

  "Open it!" he yelled.

  She looked hesitant at first, but if either of them were to be joking, now would surely not be the time. Moon picked it up and did as he said, a confused look crossing her face when two silver necklaces fell fell out.

  "W-What are these?" she asked, picking them up off the ground. 

  "It's one of those missing half necklaces," he muttered. "Each necklace has the broken half of a heart on it, and when you put them together...well, you get the idea. I even chose ones with our initials on them."

  Knowing what they were only seemed to sadden Moon more. 

  "Why did you get these?" 

  "Because I...because I love you, for moons sake!" Winter said, his anger flaring again. "And that's what makes your lying all the worse! All this time, I've slowly developed these...stupid feelings for you, thinking that maybe, out of the hundreds, if not thousands of dragons on this continent, that YOU would be the only one I can trust. I knew I should've just ignored you, but I couldn't! You're just so...pretty, and smart, and funny, and caring, and everything else that makes me love you, Moon! But now...I see I could never really trust anyone but myself. Just like I've always been told."

  Another crash of thunder. Lightning, illuminating Moon's distraught face, glistening with more tears than he'd ever cried in his life.

  "You can keep the necklaces," Winter told her, taking on a sullen tone. "I won't be needing them where I'm going."

  He looked over his shoulder, saw the edge of the cliff just a foot away. Death, only a foot away. Relief from this awful, unforgiving world, right there. This was it. He just didn't care anymore. Life had screwed him over for the last time.

  Winter took another step back.

  "Winter, don't!" Moon cried, dropping the necklaces. "Please, we can fix this-"

  "No, we CAN'T!" he screamed. "I've tried too many times to pick up the pieces when life breaks me. I can't do it anymore. I just...can't."

  He took another step, saw her rush toward him. He took one final step, and felt himself slip over the edge, right into Death's doorway.

  But Moon still caught him by the wrist, pulled him back up. She took several steps back, and Winter did too, though he wasn't sure why, when he'd been so looking forward to not having to worry about anything ever again.

  Moonwatcher wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and brought her mouth to his ear.

  "Yes, you can, Winter. We can. Together."

  And then, they kissed. It was like back at the dance almost twenty minutes ago, when it felt like they'd been the only two there. The same feeling came rushing back to him like a tidal wave, that feeling of not caring who saw them, at least for now.

  Amid this feeling of glee and pure calm, Winter realized just how much danger they'd brought to themselves by doing this one simple thing.

  "You know what this means, right?" he asked her.

  Moon nodded. "We're gonna have to keep this secret. Even from our friends."

  "Well, do you think they already know?"

  She looked skeptical. "If they did, I would've noticed by now. But we will probably have to tell them once they do." 

  "But what about-"

  "Shhh..." she said. "Just forget about all of that for now. All you need to worry about is the dragon standing in front of you."

  He half-smiled, and then kissed her again. There was a stronger rumble of thunder, but he didn't check to see how far away the storm was. There was someone much more important he had to worry about.

  However, they would soon find out that the dark clouds approaching wouldn't be the only storm brewing over Jade Mountain Academy...