Reedfeather the dragon cat jumped off a cliff. Although this might have been a problem for a normal cat, Reedfeather wasn't a normal cat.
She could fly.
The winged cat plunged downward, feeling the wind whistle through her fur, both tails, a cat tail and a dragon tail, whipped back and forth by the speed of her descent. Tiny pieces of earth stung Reedfeather's face, but she was too exhilarated to notice. It looked like she would hit the ground and shatter every bone in her body. If anybody had been watching, they would surely have been holding their breath and bracing themselves for the sound of a body hitting solid rock.
But that sound never came. Instead, there was a snap as immense dragon wings opened at the last second and a shriek of joy as the red-and-yellow dragon cat hurtled through the forest, using her bladed dragon tail to navigate between barely-missed trees.
Eventually, the young flier's wild flight came to a stop on top of a tall tree near the Twolegplace. She hid her wings and dragon tail with the illusion powers that all dragon cats had, an action they called a zhon. She watched the Twolegs scurry about far below, her cat tail flicking back and forth.
For the thousandth time, she wondered why Twolegs did the strange things they did. Going around in brightly colored monsters at crazy speeds, capturing cats and putting collars on them, keeping dogs as pets... were all Twolegs completely insane? They looked so strange, with no fur except on the tops of their heads and sometimes their faces. And they went around covering themselves with colored pelts that weren't even their own pelts. Couldn't they just grow their own fur instead of only having it on their heads? Where did all the other fur go?
As Reedfeather mused on the oddness of Twolegs, a particular pair caught her eye. There was a full-grown Twoleg and a smaller Twoleg in a large green space, rare in Twolegplaces. The full-grown Twoleg was standing and watching the little Twoleg crouching on all fours in the grass. Was it trying to hunt? If it was, it wasn't very good at it. Something about the big Twoleg's attitude reminded the watching dragon cat of a mother watching over her kits. Perhaps Twolegs were more like cats than they seemed.
Reedfeather was jerked out of her thoughts at the sound of another dragon cat flying towards her. She turned to see one of her best friends, Dragonsplash, approaching her, sleek black fur gleaming whenever a shaft of sunlight hit it. Dragonsplash was the healer of the Dragonwings, their group of dragon cats, but since her services were so rarely required she often acted as a hunting flier as well. She landed on the same branch as Reedfeather and zhon'd.
"I knew I'd find you here," Dragonsplash said, amusement glittering in her emerald eyes, which were the same shade as Reedfeather's. "You've always been fascinated by the Twolegs and the things they do."
"More like I've always wanted to figure out if all of them are crazy," Reedfeather replied, smiling. "But maybe they're more like us than we think."
"What are you talking about?" Dragonsplash asked curiously.
"Well, look down there," Reedfeather began to explain. "See that big Twoleg, watching the little Twoleg in the big meadow-like area?" She pointed with her tail to the pair she'd been watching. They were still doing the same thing.
"Yeah, I see them," her friend replied, intrigued.
"Doesn't the big one remind you of a mother cat watching her kits? Making sure they're safe while they're playing?"
The black dragon cat watched for a moment, then gasped. "I see it! Who would have thought a Twoleg would ever do something so like a cat?"
"I know!" Reedfeather replied. Both cats watched the Twolegs for a few minutes until Dragonsplash turned to Reedfeather. "Well, anyway, unless you plan to catch and eat a Twoleg, we should leave. We're supposed to be hunting."
"Oh."
They both un-zhon'd and launched themselves into the air, soaring nearly as high as the clouds. Since they weren't in a hurry, they had time to wait for airborne prey to appear. As they scanned the landscape for possible targets, Reedfeather was struck with a sudden thought. "You know, there's something else about Twolegs and dragon cats."
"Another way we're exactly the same?" Dragonsplash asked jokingly.
"No, a difference," Reedfeather continued thoughtfully.
"Well?" Dragonsplash asked. "Don't just leave me hanging, tell me what it is!"
"The Twolegs are everywhere, and they know it. There are hundreds, even thousands of them. But as far as we know, the Dragonwings are the only dragon cats in existence. Only twenty of us." Reedfeather looked down sadly. "They're everywhere, and we're alone."
Just as Dragonsplash started to reply, she was shushed by Reedfeather, who had just spotted a hawk far below. She paused to assess the wind speed and direction before going into a soundless dive, plunging towards the hawk, which still didn't even know about the presence of the deadly predator diving towards it. Just before colliding with the hawk, Reedfeather somersaulted in the air, bringing the deadly curved blade on her dragon tail down to kill the hawk instantly. She quickly caught the hawk between her front paws and ascended quickly, sending a quick prayer to the Starwings, the spirits of the dragon cats' ancestors, to thank them for the life of the hawk. When Reedfeather rejoined Dragonsplash high above the trees, she noted that the healer had caught a sparrow, which she carried in her mouth. It was a good catch, but not as impressive as a hawk.
"I think we have enough," Dragonsplash decided, her voice muffled by her feathery catch. "Let's go home."
The two friends headed back towards the camp, satisfied at a job well done. About halfway back, they met up with Reedfeather's other best friend, Icesky. Icesky was the deputy of the Dragonwings, which meant that she was second-in-command and would be the next leader. She was carrying a starling, and although the three friends exchanged greetings, conversation was made impossible by the birds effectively gagging Dragonsplash and Icesky. They flew the rest of the way in friendly silence.
The hunting was good today, Reedfeather thought. Normally, it's hard to find any prey above the treetops, but today none of us had to do any ground hunting.
Eventually, they began to dive through the trees, taking advantage of a tiny hole in the canopy that was barely visible from above. Branches whipped against their faces until they finally broke through the tree canopy to spiral down into an open space, like a clearing completely hidden by the leaves of the trees. Below, dragon cats ate, groomed themselves, and chatted with each other. Some looked up as leaves shaken loose by the three friends' dive landed on or nearby them.
It was the home of the Dragonwings.
A/N: So what do you think? Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated, but no flames please! The other chapters I have finished will be up soon!