Snow and Romance and... danger (Destella)

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I'm sick of being tossed around by storms....
Snowscale painfully got up, his left foreleg bent at an odd angle. He snarled quietly to himself and promptly fell down a hole into a large, spacious cavern.
"Oh fantastic..." he muttered under his breath, fully aware that he was dead meat if a monster found him.
He wandered for a few moments, keeping his injured forearm close to his body. After a moment he could take the pain no longer, and fell to the ground with a roar of dismay.

Destella was fast asleep, at least until she heard a loud shout nearby. She let out a slight yelp of her own, and, in fear, let out one of her Flashes. She then looks around. Her feathers were pale, and she could see Snowscale was awake. Then she realized what had happened. No one else was there. He had yelled and frightened her.

The feathered serpent quickly slithered towards him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I just.... I got spooked."

She then became more concerned about what happened in her new friend's mind , at least Des figured they were friends. What would scare him that much! "Snowscale. What were you dreaming about?"

All Snowscale saw was the color white. Something had blinded him.
How did he find me?????
"NO!!! Not again! I don't know how you found me Firebrand but I'll--" he roared, cut off when he slipped and smacked his head into the wall.

Destella was shocked at how Snowscale was acting. He seemed so scared, this wasn't something she'd have thought he would be. Then he slipped, hitting his head on the ground! Des quickly slide towards him, trying to calm the drake down. "Snowscale! It's Destella! There's no one else here! Just us."

The terror in Snowscale was immense. Many memories played themselves in his head, and at last he screamed and fainted.

Destella watches Snowscale, her feathers still pale with fear. She didn't know if she could help him, or how. Then he let out a fear filled scream and passed out. The serpent quickly came to him, check to be sure he was ok, and trying to wake him up. What was he thinking of? What had triggered this!? How in Pyyrai could she help him?

Snowscale welcomed the.inky blackness. To him, he was unconscious for a day. In reality he was out for a full five seconds.
When he came to, Destella was very clearly worried.
"You okay? You look like you've just seen someone get killed."
Snowscale had no memory of what had just happened.

Destella was happy to see Snowscale was ok, but she was surprised when he ask if she was ok. Did he hit his head harder than the dragoness thought? She sighed, some of her color returning, but still paler than normal. She finally managed to get something out as she looked the dragon in the eye. "Y-you woke up shouting, and scared me. I... kind of... blinded you, and you started talking about someone finding you. Firebrand. What was going on in your mind, and whose Firebrand?"

"Firebrand? I was talking about that..... Thing?" Snowscale shuddered. "Let's not talk about that dragon.... Or else I might panic again....."
He offered no explanation, but instead flew off into another cavern, so as to let Destella sleep in peace.

Destella frowned as her once red feathers turned blue. She watched as Snowscale flew towards a different cavern. The serpent wished she could do something for him, but it was pretty clear he wanted to be alone, or didn't want to frighten her again.

Des began to slide his way, but stopped. She had no idea what to do, with only one thing coming to her mind. "If you ever... you know... want to talk about it. I'm willing to listen," she said, calling out in the white scaled dragon's direction.

Destella then coiled up again, though she found it hard to sleep. She was worried about Snowscale. Why did she worry about him so much? They had just met that day. The dragoness kept pondering this until sleep finally fell on her.

Snowscale landed, trembling uncontrollably. His shoulders were hunched in fear, his wings drawn over him like a cape. Against his will, memories danced in his head.
Irelia and Aurel were the first Nightwings that Snowscale had ever met, along with their children Starshine and Night Sky. That was the first, and so far only, time he had fallen in love. That had all changed when Firebrand and his rogue band of Nightwings came along.
They stormed into the home cave of Irelia and Aurel, gutting the, before the eyes of Snowscale, Falcon, Jade, Starshine, and Night Sky. When Falcon ordered Snowscale and Jade to flee, Snowscale had watched from behind a rock to watch.
Starshine, Falcon, and Night Sky attacked Firebrand. Night Sky was the first to die, by a broken neck. Falcon was next, his head ripped clean off.
But Starshine, Snowscale's first love, died in the most pain of them all.
Firebrand sprayed the Nightwings acid all over her face and head.
Snowscale did the only thing he could at the moment, alone in an unfamiliar cavern. He cried, his sobs echoing of the cavern walls.

Destella didn't sleep for long, still worried about Snowscale. That was when something caught her ears. It sounded like... crying? She almost knew exactly who it was, so she followed the sound. When Des got close, she slowed he pace, moving almost silently to the cavern's opening, and laid eyes on something that surprised her.

Des looked at the white dragon. He was just sitting there, crying. She tried to think what could have happened to him. What was going on in his mind? First he woke up screaming and now this? The feathered serpent slide closer before speaking. "Snowscale.... Are... are you ok?"

Snowscale sniffles a bit. "I told you. I haven't been 'okay' for years."

Des's red feathers shifted to blue as a sad look crossed her face. She slide next to, hoping to look him in the eye. She looked at Snowscale, not sure what to say, but knowing she was worried about him. "Wha... what made things so... not alright."

"Death. Depression. Grief. Anger. Pain. Heartbreak. I've seen it all now. Terror, paranoia, worry, stress.... I've just been alone for so long, I'm not used to being with other dragons..." Memories of Starshine swept over him again, and he broke down helplessly into tears.

Destella slithered closer to Snowscale, and genteelly laid a wing on his shoulder. She looked at him, trying to figure out just WHAT to say. How do you help a dragon like this? "If... if it's any consolation, I'm not good around others either."

Snowscale mad no move to flinch away from her touch. "The worst part of everything I've seen? I just sat there and watched. I could've saved them!"
He bent his head even lower, shutting his eyes as tight as he could.
"I'm bad luck. That's all there is to it. You want to stay safe? Keep away, out of harm's reach... I.... I don't want to see another dragon killed because of me."

Destella couldn't help but tear up at what Snowscale said. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he had been through, or how that has affected him. All she knew was that she saw the end result of it all. A dragon who feared that he would get others killed.

Des didn't know what to do. She wanted to help her friend, but she just didn't know. She bowed her head a bit at her lack of knowledge on this. Throw her in the middle of nowhere, she could probably tell you how to live there. But ask her to talk to a dragon.... She just didn't have experience.

As she thought, Destella finally started to move. She sort of leaned into Snowscale, not enough to knock him over, but enough for him to notice. As she did this, the rest of body slid closer as well, but the serpent didn't say a word.

Snowscale didn't  say or do anything for a few moments. "You know, this is the first time in years I've even SEEN a fellow dragon, and already I am you my life story." He smiled, and under his breath added, "And I pray to the Star Wolf that you don't end up like Starshine."

Destella was surprised by what the white scaled dragon had to say. Snowscale had told her his life story, which wasn't something you told just anyone. Then there was something else he said. "And I pray to the Star Wolf that you don't end up like Starshine." Did he... love her?

It finally hit the feathered serpent. She had worried about Snowscale since his nightmare incident, more than any other dragon she had met. It actually made her feel... good being around Snowscale, and her blue and red feathers turned yellow as at the thought that her and the white dragon could love each other.

She then smiled and looked at Snowscale. "It... it's been a long time for me too. And don't worry. I know you won't let it happen again." As she said this, her tail slide over to the drake next to her, and wrapped around his own.

"Well, here's hoping, anyways. It's a bit hard to undo five years of habits..." With a start Snowscale realized that Destella's tail was wrapped around his.
Heh. I wish Jade were here with me now... she'd probably tease me a bit...
For the first time in what felt like millennia, Snowscale leaned into the embrace of another dragon.

Des smiled as she felt Snowscale lean into her. She couldn't believe someone actually loved her, but she was enjoying every minute of it. She could feel her heart beating quicker as she nuzzled him slightly. "Hard, but far from impossible."

"True. Very true." He yawned a bit.
"Sorry. I'm just a bit tired..."

Destella just gave Snowscale a slight smile. She gave the drake a nod before she responded. "It's ok. I think we both need some sleep."

"Yeah. Hopefully it's sleep and not nightmares..."
Snowscale lay down, his eyes slowly closing. "Goodnight, Destella," he said before drifting off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"And if it is a nightmare, just remember that I'll be right here." Destella then coiled up beside the white scaled dragon, though she stayed close to him. "Goodnight, Snowscale." She then slipped into a deep sleep.