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"Hey, Moon!"
Kinkajou's cheerful voice was an anchor that separated the dark, confusing thoughts in Moon's mind from the real world, where she was safe and happy.
Moon tilted her head in her clawmate's direction, smiling softly. Kinkajou's scales were shining with excited bursts of gold and lavender on top of her usual bright pink and yellow splotches.
"Hi, Kinkajou," Moon said shyly. She wasn't too sure why - Kinkajou was a friend to her, nothing else. But for some reason, for more than two full moons, Moon had caught herself staring wordlessly at the small RainWing, entranced by her positive energy and glowing courage.
Kinkajou was unlike any dragon she'd ever met. She was friendly, fierce, hilarious, and... adorable.
She reminded Moon of the one time where she'd spent a day observing a young sloth while waiting under the treetops for her mother to return. She still wasn't exactly sure what the fluffy creature had gotten into, but instead of slowly climbing from branch to branch and stopping for a nap every few hours like the rest of its kind, the sloth had run in circles for what seemed like eternity on the forest floor, moving up to the trees only to swing leaf-from leaf at an incredible pace. Moon's eyes had shone with curiosity and amazement the whole afternoon.
Secretkeeper hadn't believed her, but she knew what she'd seen.
Kinkajou bounded over to Moon's perch in the cave so close that their wings were just about brushing. Heat shot to Moon's cheeks once again, and she looked away.
"What are you up to?" Kinkajou said with a grin.
Moon remarked that she'd never really seen her clawmate without a smile - she was such a cheerful dragon. Except maybe when she had gotten mad at other students. Bossy ones, usually, is what Kinkajou liked to use to her defence. Like Winter.
"Just reading," Moon replied quietly.
The truth was, she wasn't actually reading (for once), but rather distracting herself from watching Kinkajou's adorably insane dance routine on the other side of their shared room in the mountain.
"Cool," Kinkajou said in return. A few silent beats passed before she spoke again, and for once, Kinkajou the RainWing sounded hesitant. "When you're done - only if you want, though, of course - do you wanna, um..."
Kinkajou brought a talon up to her snout and screwed her face up in frustration.
"Moon," she squeaked out after a second, "can I show you something? It's super cool, I promise."
"Yeah?" Moon giggled.
"Yeah! I mean, you don't have to, but I thought it'd-"
"No, no, Kinkajou," Moon cut in, smiling. That was the first time she'd willingly jumped into another dragon's speech in a while. But Kinkajou was different. She knew her clawmate didn't mind, because she did it so much herself already. "I'll go with you."
"Really? Awesome!"
Moon hardly had a chance to put her scroll away before her small bubbly friend grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her out the door, both of them laughing.
Moon ran to keep up with Kinkajou in the hall, for once not caring about the way her claws scraped uncomfortably against the rock cave floor. She wondered where the RainWing was taking her, and what sight was so amazing that Moon also had to be in its presence. Her confusion only grew when she was led into the prey centre.
"Kinkajou! And Moon!" Clay, the big MudWing teacher, called when they entered the room. "What a surprise! Make yourselves at home."
"In a prey center? No thank you!" Kinkajou said, muffling a giggle as she waved back at Clay. Whenever Moon accompanied her friend to get a snack, Kinkajou always jumped straight over to the fruit section. RainWings were vegetarians, and for a good reason, Moon thought. The animals in the rainforest they grew up in were so soft and cute! Moon could handle a lizard, though. They did not particularly make her mutter an “aww” every time she came across one.
"Did you find an abnormally large blueberry?" Moon asked, only half joking. "Kinkajou?"
Kinkajou shook her head and beamed mischievously. "Even better."
Moon's mind, usually clouded by worry over prophecies and if they'd come true (and what destruction they'd bring), was practically exploding with the curiosity that she was usually able to keep inside.
Finally, the two clawmates came to a stop just before the cliff on the outside edge of the prey center. There was a small perch hidden by a large boulder, but Moon and Kinkajou managed to slip past thanks to their small forms. Moon had only been in this area once before, when she needed somewhere quiet and away from the lunchtime chicken hunt to eat her prey.
The cliff edge looked off a long, wild patch of grass a few wing-stretched down the mountain. Moon had never flown down, but she imagined it would be a fun place for young dragonets to tumble around in.
She felt a sudden shift of weight on her arm; Kinkajou had removed her talons. Moon hadn't realised just how warm they were until she lost them. She gave a small internal sigh. It was nice while it lasted.
"Look," Kinkajou whispered. Her voice was full of wonder.
"Where?" Moon asked. She was still facing the rocks higher up the mountain. There was nothing special about the sky that afternoon, it was plain and sunny, dotted with a few cloud poofs here and there.
She felt a soft pull at her shoulder and obeyed Kinkajou's movement, twirling around on her talons until she was gazing at the field below the cliff edge she'd been thinking about earlier, only to find a breathtaking sight in place, waiting patiently for her eyes to find it.
The grass, which was usually stringy and alone, was now accompanied by thousands of rows and columns of flowers. There was one for every type Moon could think of - roses, daisies, pansies, tulips, sunflowers...
It was beautiful.
Moon got why Kinkajou had been so excited to show her this. Even in the Rainforest Kingdom, she's never seen such an open field of flowers, especially not one hidden from most dragons. It was special.
Right now, it was holding a moment only Moon and Kinkajou would ever experience. Together.
Moon blinked in surprise when Kinkajou spread her wings, scales flickering in the evening sunlight, and dove down to the canopy. She resurfaced with a pretty violet. She followed Kinkajou's playful eyes to the corners, where the deep purple color faded into two small droplets of silvery-white on each side.
"They're like your teardrop scales!" Kinkajou exclaimed with a huge grin. Moon unconsciously reached up to trace them with her claws thoughtfully.
"That’s true," she said, 'they are!"
Kinkajou did a silly dance on the spot and took Moon's talons in hers. She placed the flower between their grips, face illuminated with pink. Moon couldn't tell, because both the light and her friend's scales were bright, but she thought there was a hint of a blush on Kinkajou's cheeks.
There was certainly one on Moon's. And for once, she wasn't thinking of stopping it or worried about others noticing. With this dragon, she was free.
She squeezed the RainWing's talons. Kinkajou smiled, genuine and happy. Moon loved her smile. It made her feel like anything in the world was possible, even for a shy, fearful dragon like herself.
She smiled back.