Winter In The Ice Lair

The cold hit my wings since the Ice Lair was close to the Fire Lair. It was a freezing torrent of snow that built up on my wings so fast I had to go into a spinning dive to shake off the snow that was quickly freezing into ice. "Winter, the harshest winters in Celilo are always here." I muttered as I crashed into the snow. My father was a roamer, I remembered, so I had a bit of wandering blood in my veins. I looked around for any signs of life. Fire glowed in my nostrils, as if that would frighten the blizzard away.

As I trudged through the deep snow I rapidly blinked, trying to get icy water out of my eyes. The wind would suddenly pick up and push me. I could tell that this blizzard was getting much worse. If I did not find any shelter soon I had no idea of what would happen. I tried to pick up my speed but it wasn't easy. I growled angrily, as a sudden swirl of wind pushed me to the left. When I was pushed I saw something. A... red... figure? Hmmm. What would another dragon be doing here... at a time like this?

A faint white, since snow blurred my vision, was blending in well with the background. I sneezed sparks, and fire flew out of my mouth. It warmed my scales, and my body shuddered, and I didn't feel as sleepy. I trudged forward, and the shadow of the figure, probably a young hatchling, appeared closer. "Hello!" I called, trying not to open my mouth too much because then my very mouth and tongue might freeze.

Yes. I did see the other dragon. I knew that it saw me, too. It had called out to me. I hadn't respond. I didn't have the time to make chit-chat with random bystanders. I ignored this dragon and continued walking. I knew that when I got closer the dragon would call back again. I would just ignore. This weather was putting me in a very grumpy mood. I breathed out of my nose, warm air wiping over my lips. It was nice. It reminded me of times when you could actually see what was going on in front of you. Then I came out of my trance and realized how close I was now to the other dragon.

I growled in frustration. I was sure it was a hatchling, it just wasn't responding. Fear. Was it afraid? Part of me laughed. It was in a blizzard, surely it couldn't be afraid of me when it was out in a blizzard like this. I roared, as if that would do anything. The snow had a strange, almost angering effect. I roared again, angrier this time.

I looked at the dragon, the dragon who stood before me, roaring for no reason. I questioned saying anything to the dragon. Now we were both standing across from each other, in silence. My teeth were chattering from the cold weather, making it hard to say anything. So I just stared... stared at the strange dragon who was probably thinking the same of me.

This time, I decided getting angry just because I wasn't used to the cold wasn't helping. I wish the hatchling would say something. I thought. "Hello?" I called again. "I'm Trisha, Leader of the Fire Lair. What's your name?" I walked closer, until only a foot was between us.

I clawed at the icy ground, snorting and flapping my wings occasionally before folding them back up again so that they wouldn't freeze. I went into a trance a few times, staring at the grayish sky blankly. Then I would shake my head furiously, struggling not to fall asleep and breathe fire softly at the ground. I blinked, still waiting for the hatchling's answer. Tail flicking back and forth almost in impatience, I yawned and wondered why a hatchling would be so far from its main Lair.
I'm just not used to the cold, I thought. I could just leave, but what about the hatchling? Part of me told me to leave the hatchling for dead, but the other part told me stay and wait as long as it took. I was torn with two directions that could even affect the hatchling. I shook my head of these thoughts, and waited, ever waited, growing ever the more bored.

I shifted foot to foot, snorting in impatience. I slapped my tail against the icy ground, snow blowing into my eyes. The blizzard still wasn't over. I lowered my head, all the snow, ice, the blizzard, and winter here in general was making me sleepy.

This was nonsense. The storm had been going on for far too long now. Just for it to end, so that I could find my way home, would make me happy. So I continued my wandering, with no luck, through the foggy air as the snow flaked into my wide eyes. I squinted, and tried to walk farther. I flapped my wings in attempt to get snow off and away. Obviously I had no luck. Angrily I growled and found a snowy tree. I sat underneath almost knocking the tree over as a boulder of flurry snow fell on top of me.

"Hello?" I asked again in an almost whisper voice. I followed the smaller hatchling until it fell down underneath a tree. I snarled, and upon seeing the hatchling covered with snow, i softly breathed fire on the snow, and when I was done breathing fire I was afraid I had burned the hatchling. Luckily, it appeared I hadn't. I figured it was time to be a bit more serious. "Hey hatchling. You must be lost, and I'll lead you back yo your Lair's main cave, or rather, lair. I know you're a new hatchling, you won't survive very long if you don't go to your Lair's main cave, which usually is the safest place. Every Lair has one, and that's where the hatchlings, like one, are raised. Or supposed to be anyway. It's also probably where the blizzard won't be. Let's go if you don't mind." I tossed my head like a nervous horse, but I was really just impatient.