(I'm sorry, but I can't resist, I ship it too much! MOONBLI 4 EVER!!!!)
The following content contains spoilers from Winter Turning and Escaping Peril.
Possibility
Her form was small, pale, almost lifeless. Moon's eyes burned with tears for her wounded friend. "I'm so, so sorry Kinkajou," she breathed.
Warm scales brushed her tail. She looked up into Qibli's dark eyes. He nudged her with his wing. Why is he standing so close? Why am I nervous?
"Hey, hey, it wasn't your fault. And you know, she'd tell you the same thing. Plus, you should really trust me on this," he soothed.
Moon smiled, sadly at first, but then it grew beyond her control to a happy one. "Oh yeah, and just why is that?" she challenged.
He smirked and puffed out his chest. "Cause I'm your favorite dragon. It's already been established that I am the most awesome dragon." The SandWing watched as her gaze drifted down to the white RainWing.
Droplets rolled down Moon's cheeks and fell like raindrops on the unconscious dragonet. Two large wings wrapped around her and she leaned into Qibli's comforting, warm scales. They were different than Winter's, almost better. He pressed his forehead on hers. She sobbed into his scales.
"I miss her, I miss Winter, I miss our winglet," Moon whispered.
"Aww, does that mean you don't like being here with me?" he teased quietly.
She responded by burrowing deeper into his embrace. He pulled back after a moment. "I think I know how to get your spirits up again," he said confidently.
Within no time they were soaring high above Possibility.
"So where are we going?" she asked nervously.
He grinned at her. "To the market, where else?" He made a graceful curve with his wings and turned towards the town, where he landed in the market square. She copied him, much less gracefully; the rainforest was where she could really fly. Over the desert, in open skies, was Qibli's strong suit.
The streets were crowded with dragons of various tribes, rushing to and from different stalls, where street vendors called out merchandise and prices. Moon focused on turning each of the thoughts into rain drops. Luckily, Qibli seemed to know where he was going so she followed him, ignoring the stares of dragons unused to seeing a NightWing, at least that's what she told herself. It wasn't at all the fact that NightWings were one of the most hated tribes, right?
Qibli paused in front of a SkyWing selling jewelry and Moon nearly crashed into him.
The merchant's eyes bugged when she saw Qibli. "No way! It can't be!" she cried and backed up and out of her stall, which was made up of three counters enclosing the SkyWing, and a canvas roof.
She hugged Qibli and a flicker of jealousy flashed through Moon. The SkyWing looked in her direction and Moon looked down at her talons. The SkyWing's eyes gleamed. "Qibli, who is this dragonet?" she asked playfully. Qibli gave her a hard stare.
"Moon, this is Chrysocolla. I rescued her from Scarlet back in the War of SandWing Succession."
Every time someone mentioned the fact that Qibli fought in the war, it hit Moon like a blow. Qibli was such a kind dragonet, she hardly could picture him killing someone.
The SkyWing was quite beautiful. She was an orange/red with yellow highlights in her scales. She had a pouch hanging from her neck on a thin cord and tiger's eye earrings.
Chrysocolla nudged Qibli. "Did you already get kicked out of that fancy school?" she teased.
He grinned. "It was so boring, all there was were lessons and the occasional attempted murder."
There's that jealousy again.
The SkyWing smiled. "With you at that school, I'm not surprised," she laughed.
Moon shuffled her talons. It felt like she was interrupting a meeting between close friends.
Qibli seemed to notice her discomfort. He walked up to her and put his wing around Moon. "Anyhow, I was in the market for some jewelry and thought of you."
Chrysocolla puffed out her chest. "Of course you did, after all, before you rescued me, I was the one who put the gems in Scarlet's scales." She raced behind the counter and waved her hand over the jewels on the black pillows. "Take your pick. For you, Qibli, I'd recommend a nice bracelet, and for Moon," she paused and smiled kindly at her. "I would say clip-on earrings and a necklace." Her eyes sparkled. "Oooh, maybe a crown. She looked up at Qibli. "I assume you're taking her to the festival?"
He nodded.
She smiled at him. "Please, please, can I take her under my wing?" she begged. Qibli glanced at Moon, whose eyes were wide as she watched the scene, then looked back at Chrysocolla as if debating. "Please, I'll return her at the festival," she pleaded.
"Fine," he sighed. "How much?"
"For a friend, hmm, five gold coins?"
He rolled his eyes and passed her the currency. The SkyWing smiled. "Okay then. Pine, my husband, will get you ready… and I'll take her." She came out of the stall and another SkyWing emerged from the building behind her. He started cleaning up the stall as Qibi leaned towards Moon.
"Don't worry, you can trust her," he whispered before Chrysocolla wrenched her away and led her into the building across the street.
Moon's eyes were locked on Qibli's, and his on her's until the curtain shutting behind her blocked her view. The SkyWing nudged her as she ushered Moon into a room with mirrors for walls and a clay floor. A wooden pedestal big enough for a dragon to comfortably stand on was in the center of the circular room. Chrysocolla pushed her onto it and rushed out of the room, only to return with her talons and neck covered in jewelry, which she took off and set on the wooden circle, beside Moon.
As she picked up a necklace from the jumble and clasped it on Moon's neck, the SkyWing teased, "So you and Qibli?"
Moon turned beet red. "Uh, er, well," she stammered.
Chrysocolla laughed. "Don't worry, I know you two aren't a couple, but still, when you know Qibli well enough, you can tell when he likes a dragon."
If it was possible, her face turned even redder. The SkyWing looked up at her. "Which is why we need to make you look beautiful for tonight." She winked. "Just don't break his heart."
Moon shuffled her talons as the SkyWing frowned and removed the necklace. With a shock Moon realized that she wasn't hearing Chrysocolla's thoughts.
She cleared her throat. "Umm, so do you have any skyfire?" she tried.
Chrysocolla smiled and pointed at the horn at the tip of her nose and with a start Moon realized that inlaid in the tip was a small piece of skyfire.
"Yeah, a SandWing was selling it in the market a few years ago and I really liked it. Plus I had a bit of a habit of losing things before I met Pine, so tada!" the SkyWing laughed.
Chrysocolla tried different types of jewelry and by the time she was done, Moon could hardly recognize herself. On every one of her small silver scales, aside from her underbelly, was a diamond, which had temporarily stuck on. She raised her wings and gave a puff of fire, which illuminated the shining diamonds on the underside of her wings. The tear drop scales by her eyes shimmered the brightest. Sparkling silver wire embedded with sparkling diamonds the same color as Winter's scales twined around the spikes on her spine.
She felt a pang at the memory of her friend.
A silver band spiraled up her right arm. It looked like a vine, however the exterior of the leaves were made of small diamonds, as were the tips of the small, silver shoots sprouting out of the center band. This was one of her favorite pieces of jewelry, as it reminded her of the rainforest.
Beautiful clip-on earrings that matched her bracelet, except much smaller, curled around the edges of her ears. Matching wires curled around her horns.
Chrysocolla smiled at Moon's reflection in the mirror. "Perfect, except…" The SkyWing reached into her pouch and drew out a small box. She popped open the lid and withdrew a small, thin, silver chain. She put it around Moon's neck and Moon held up the pendant to admire. It was a single crescent moon made up of diamonds. All along the chain, small diamonds were imbedded in the wire, thus it glittered.
She gasped. "This is gorgeous."
The SkyWing smiled. "I've been saving it for something special. Helping Qibli's crush fits that description." Her eyes twinkled as brightly as the diamonds.
Moon blushed and looked down at her talons as the SkyWing laughed. Suddenly the SkyWing's eyes widened and she raced out of the room. She darted back in. "Come on! You're going to be late for the festival!" she cried, then raced away. Moon followed swiftly.
Festival
The beat of the drums echoed through Qibli's blood. His tail and talons beat against three different drums alongside the other SandWing drummers, who were gathered in a circle around the huge bonfire. Dragons danced over and around the fire. The drummers made a ring around the dancers and lifted their snouts into the air.
"The moons give us light,
The moons make us wise,
The moons shine so bright," they sang.
Qibli looked high above at the two full moons. I'm in love with a Moon, though not one of the ones we're singing of. Something black flew past the fire and he saw small lights flickering on it. Moon landed in front of him. His jaw nearly fell open. She's… beautiful. Does she want me to say that? Or should I make a joke? Moon…
He realized with a start that she was blushing and looking down at her talons. He felt for his skyfire and felt that it was still in place. So why is she nervous?
"You didn't tell me that it was a moon festival," she said, not taking her eyes off her feet.
He smiled and laughed, "Hey, I thought it would be nice celebrating a festival held in your honor." He jumped over the drums and landed by her side. "Want to dance?"
She looked up at him, alarmed. "But- but I can't dance!"
"Nonsense!" he snorted, then dragged her beside the fire. He spun his wings and lifted into the air. He moved to the quick tempo and spun his wings around him as if they were fans. Moon stared up at him. He dove down, grabbed her hands, and lifted her into the air. Qibli spun her and she flew away with graceful dips of her wings, copying him. He grinned and followed. She spun back into him and landed with her hands on his, their talons interlocked. Their snouts dipped beside one another's. He felt her breath on his warm cheek. Their wings beat as one.
The music seemed to slow beneath them.
"Under the moons we live,
Under the moons we love," he sang along in a whisper.
Speaking of the moons, look at how their light dances on Moon's scales, Qibli thought. Suddenly he was very happy that skyfire could block Moon's mind reading.
The verses continued and were interrupted by occasional bursts of flame from the drummers. Moon and Qibli hovered above the fire, neither breaking the stance. At last he spun away with one wing out and the other still curled around her. He hovered for a moment then returned and spun her out. She dipped and spun wth all the grace he had seen while they had flown through the rainforest. Her sparkling diamonds took his breath away as she flew around the fire, but then again, she always took his breath away. At last he couldn't resist it.
Qibli rushed to Moon. He embraced her with his wings, then let go and hovered in front of her. Her face was red, from dancing or nervousness, he did not know. She tentatively reached out and put one of her palms on his. He moved his other hand and brought her second hand beside their clasped talons. She pressed her forehead his.
"Under the moons," she sang with the drummers. He nearly jumped. Her voice was absolutely gorgeous. She nudged him when he was quiet.
They sang together, "We soar above."
The next line was: It's in the Moons we place our love. However, instead, he sang, "It's Moon I love."
She was silent and backed up. Moon stared at him in shock. He realized what he had said and put his talons over his mouth as red blossomed on his cheeks.
The drummers spat bursts of fire into the sky and when the light faded, Qibli was gone.
Arrival
Moon entered their room at the inn silently. Qibli was asleep on his mattress already, at least that's what he wanted her to think. As Moon removed her jewelry, she thought to herself, He's faking. Most dragons wouldn't have noticed, but when you know Qibli… you know that Winter's the one who snores, not him.
Moon, feeling as if her heart had been torn in two, settled down on the mattress on the opposite wall from Qibli's. She closed her eyes, but sleep did not come until the wee hours, and even then she had nightmares, but this time they were different.
A white dragon spiraled down from the sky. She tried to move, but was stuck in place. Winter crashed onto the ground in front of her.
"Moon! Look out!" someone cried. A yellow shape barreled her to the ground. She could only watch in horror as giant talons wrapped around Qibli and lifted him into the air. He stared down at Moon with fear in his eyes.
"Run!" he cried.
The giant black NightWing towering above them turned and his face was blocked from her sight, but as he reached down for Winter, Moon could see shadows swirling around, obscuring his face from all who could see.
Moon still could not move.
The dark dragon brought her friends to a mountain… wait, that's Jade Mountain! He towered above the peak and held the two dragons above it. Winter was limp. Qibli struggled against the giant hand.
The NightWing's voiced echoed around. "You know what happens to Jade Mountain. Now choose which one must endure that fate, the other will go free!" he boomed.
"Moon! Save Winter! I'll be alright!" Qibli yelled.
"No, you won't," she whispered.
She could only stare in horror as the giant NightWing opened his hands and yelled, "Now choose!" Winter plummeted swiftly. Qibli tried, in vain, to stretch his wings, which were torn and riddled with gaping holes.
Moon found she could move again. She beat her wings with vicious strokes and drew closer and closer. Qibli saw her approaching him.
"No! Save Winter! Let me fall!" he cried.
She drew closer. "I- I can't!" she cried in a near-scream. I can't and it's not because the dream is making me.
She felt scales, but were they warm or cold? She opened her eyes… and woke up.
Qibli was collecting her jewelry. He jumped when he saw her awake, then looked away.
"Is this all the jewelry Chrysocolla gave you?" he asked. His voice didn't betray any emotion.
She sat up and unchained the moon necklace, then handed it to him. She looked down as he took it. "I also have the diamonds on my scales, but I can't pry them off."
"She'll let you keep them," he told her, avoiding Moon's eyes. He opened the door and it swung shut behind him with a creak. She flinched.
He left. Moon's eyes burned and she shook her head. The tears didn't go away. This time she didn't try to hold them back. The tears fell and she wrapped her wings around her head. Her shoulders shook with her sobs.
The voices drifted in. The MudWing across the hall was wondering if the inn had a buffet. The SandWing above them was debating whether to go to the market.
At first the voices were a trickle, but then they gushed in like a waterfall.
What should I eat?
Why is mother sending me on this trip?
I can't wait till he comes back. This will be the best honeymoon ever!
Ugh, the people next to us have annoying, loud dragonets.
Moon, I know you can hear me, I'm so, so sorry.
She jumped. Qibli? She searched for his voice, but he was gone.
A knock came at the door. Moon rushed to answer it. A MudWing stood at the door. Her shoulders sagged.
"Are you Moonwatcher?" the MudWing asked, looking down at the scroll in his talons. She nodded. "Well there's a Qibli waiting for you in front of the inn."
Her jaw fell open and she rushed past the MudWing. Her feet pounded on wood as she raced down the stairs. The door to the inn was open, and framed in the door's outline, was Qibli. He smiled weakly.
Moon rushed for him. She embraced him with her wings and in that simple moment, while she bathed in his warmth and the fluttering of her heart, the thoughts of the dragons around them faded away and the only thoughts in her mind were her own.
My heart's beating so fast. It feels like it's flown out of my chest and to the moons high above.
And for that one moment, she forgot all about Kinkajou, and Winter, and Darkstalker, and Jade Mountain, and the prophecy. In that one moment, she was in the present, not the future or the past. She was living in the moment, in the now, and that now was with Qibli.
Beneath her wings, Qibli was frozen with shock. Then he wrapped his wings around her.
They stood, in the street, not even caring that dragons stared, not caring that Moon was the only NightWing in Possibility, not caring that Qibli was one of QueenThorn's closest advisors.
Then the world exploded.
Qibli wrapped his wings around her and covered Moon with his body as shrapnel rained down. She could hear his scales being peppered by wood, clay and other materials.
At last his wings left her sides and he turned to where the blast had come from.
Moon stared at him. He- he blocked the explosion from hitting me. He would have sacrificed himself for me.
"We need to see if anyone got hurt," Qibli said, waking her up.
They pushed through the crowd of dragons streaming away from the blast site. Qibli elbowed dragons out of the way, leaving a path for her.
Qibli halted. "Turtle?"
"Qibli?!"
Moon looked past Qibli. It was Turtle and Peril.
Under the Moons
Qibli woke up and glanced around at his companions. Winter, Moon, and Turtle all dozed peacefully.
It had been a day since Winter arrived with Foeslayer, who was nowhere to be seen, and the winglet was on its way to find Peril. Things still were weird between Qibli and Moon, which was a fact Winter had taken advantage of. He had spent almost every moment with her, but Moon still looked at Qibli over the IceWing's shoulder.
Qibli shook his scales and walked away from where the group was sleeping on the ground.
He crossed through a line of trees blossoming with pink flowers and came to a creek. He watched at the water bubbled over small stones in its path and felt the grass under his feet. The light from the moons reflected off of the running water.
He heard footsteps behind him and he tilted his ears to hear his visitor.
"Qibli," she whispered.
He turned to her. "I'm sorry for the festival," he apologized. "You must think I'm a horrible dragon."
He set a dark blue jewelry box on the grass and pushed it towards Moon. "Chrysocolla said you could keep it, and that you'd know what it meant," he told her.
Moon opened the box and looked down at the shimmering crescent moon necklace, then stared up at him.
He looked up from his talons and met her intense eyes.
"I love you too," she whispered. Moon reached up and kissed him.
A wind blew through the trees. The flowers scattered on the breeze and floated down around them.
He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against her's, and they stood with their necks bent in the shape of a heart. "I love you Moon," he whispered.
"Always," she whispered back.
Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Sorry for any typos!