Chapter 14: Aphrodite's Rock

Summer

I'm in Possibility.

Just a dragonet again. A tiny little thing. Innocent, ignorant, just trying to survive, and still incapable of taking life for granted.

I'm standing in the market square again, in front of that familiar, wily Sandwing I'd seen involved in all sorts of schemes—all of differing legitimacy. He has a friend with him. An old Icewing, a newcomer to Possibility, with a name I'll never forget.

Shoggoth.

It's a strange name. A name I've never heard before, not in any of the tribes.

The wily Sandwing is preaching, doing his best to bring over a crowd. It's working. There is the remnants of what looked like a big crowd from earlier, with people coming and going and standing around, observing his wares.

I approach the table, my eyes on Shoggoth the entire time. I haven't seen many Icewings. They're rare here.

His snout is pulled up into a soft, contented smile, and he looks out over the crowd in a manner that seems entirely foreign in a place like Possibility.

His eyes meet mine.

He seems surprised at first—not shocked, and not disgusted, just surprised, with no judgments or amendments or opinions mixed in. His smile widens and he beckons me over.

Back then, I was always out to prove something, always trying to be the strongest, to be threatening and 'worthy.' To be anything other than a target. It's what I had to do to survive.

But I also had to be careful.

I eyed Shoggoth warily as I pushed my way through the small crowd. Dangers aside, I didn't mind his attention so much. It gave me an excuse to stare at him, and I liked looking at Shoggoth. He was pretty and for some reason I trusted him almost immediately. That could be a fatal mistake in Possibility, especially when tangling with the wrong dragon could easily end in death-but I felt inclined to, compelled to trust him at least a bit.

Plus, if I didn't trust him now, I knew that compulsion would manifest later and possibly cause me to trust another dragon, possibly one much worse. It could cause me to end up in a situation with more to lose than the nothing I had in this marketplace.

So really, I had to trust him. It would stupid of me not to.

Anyway, I liked his old wrinkles and that soft smile; that mysterious, confusing, tantalizing smile that didn't look like any smile I'd ever seen before. I wanted to trust it, because I wanted to see more of it.

I arrive at the front of the crowd. I lift up my snout and peer onto the table.

Ice... I think.

My eyes widen. I've never seen anything like it before. Thick blocks of frozen water resting in a block of fluffy colored stuff—probably snow, I imagine.

It's not until I see the Sandwing scoop up a cup full that I realize they're not selling the ice blocks, but rather the fluffy colored stuff—or rather, ice shavings, apparently with fruit juice added.

I stare on with envy as the Sandwing hands a cup of the ice to one of the buyers. The buyer tells a few people how it is, shares it with his friends, and then walks off, enjoying it.

I swallow.

"Hello."

My head darts up.

"H-Hi." I stand as straight as my back will let me, and I put on the toughest, smartest act I can manage, to let him know I am not to be messed with, that I am not his to abuse. But I am unfamiliar with Icewings, and I have trouble coming off as confident as I want to. As cool and fascinating as they are, they scare me with their spikes and their blueness and their ice breath—but what's worse than any of that is the unfamiliarity, the fact I've never seen any before. That I don't know what to expect, that I don't know how to act.

"You look interested." Shoggoth says with a pleasant smile. "Would you like one? I call them Snowcups."

"Snowcups..." I repeat. "Yes. I-I mean, no... I... I don't have anything to trade."

"Hmm," he puts a thoughtful talon to his snout. "No metals? Or buttons? Or even old rags? I could maybe give you a discount."

A discount...? It's not the word that mystifies me, but the tone in which he says it. He sounds like he wants me to have the ice—not for his own gain wealth wise, but... for some other reason.

Had it been anybody other than this wise looking old man, I'd have been wrought with skepticism.

"Sorry, no. I don't have anything."

He smiled pitifully.

"Here," he says, a sudden vitality unique to old, wise men replacing the pity. He makes a snowcup and hands it to me. "I think you've earned it, little hybrid."

I look back at him, at first with confusion to the point I must've looked pained. It is followed by curiosity. I look over at the old Sandwing, to make sure the snowcup isn't going to be slapped out of my talons. He's looking at Shoggoth with concern in his eyes. He looks back and forth between the old dragon and the ice shavings, as if he's as mystified as I am.

I wait for him to say something, but Shoggoth must have been doing him a favor by using him at his stand, because the wily Sandwing stayed quiet. He instead turned away with a shake of his head to continue preaching.

The snowcup was cold in my talons—unnaturally cold. I'd never felt anything like it. I brought it to my snout and pulled it away quickly from the shock. Shoggoth laughed.

I stare at it for a few moments, and then I look up at him.

"Go on," he says smiling. "Go enjoy it before it melts. They do melt you know—that's why I'm here." He blows a small wave of frost breath over the ice, refreezing it all. I watch in amazement. I knew what Icewings were capable of from the stories, but I'd never personally seen their infamous frost breath.

I smile widely. The smile makes me feel like a child, so I try to run away, but running away only makes me feel more like a child, so I stop running and force the smile down, but I can't stop moving. I can't keep my snout from curving up at least a bit and I look back at Shoggoth multiple times. Eventually, he looks over and waves at me, but that's it. He turns away to help the rest of the dragons.

Shoggoth presumably left Possibility shortly after—at least, I hope that's what happened. I never saw him again, but I had a new found respect for Icewings and always pressed any chance I had to come into contact with them. I found out most of them were not like him on the surface. They all had their own charm—a charm unique to Icewings, and a charm unique to each individual one—but deep down, there was something immensely big and powerful. A sense of loyalty and ambition and caring unlike any other tribe, a sense of incomparable nobility, and for some reason, whenever I perceived this trait in an Icewing, it summoned up that picture of Shoggoth, that remembrance I'd formed in the few moments we'd interacted.

I open my eyes.

I'm back at Jade Academy, sleeping in a little add-on nook. A literal hole in the wall.

The best hole in the wall in the world. I think.

In front of me is Trout, lying sound asleep, a dumb, adorable, droopy look on his face. Behind me is my own personal snowcup: Prince Blizzard-claws. The most precious and unique and special Icewing I've ever met.

The most interesting dragon I've ever met.

It's amazing how much he reminds me of Shoggoth, and all without really being like Shoggoth at all. I wonder if that's how Winter will be when he grows older. I wonder if that's how he is with young dragonets...

A pang travels through my scales and I exhale heavily. Suddenly, I feel very alone and in need of distraction.

I stretch out and yawn. Winter stirs.

"Good morning," he grumbles, sounding more exhausted then usual.

I flip around to face him. "Good morning, Blizzard-claws."

"Mmm." He groans. "Shut up."

I smile. "But I like your big Blizzard-claws. All the better for pulling me in to kiss." I snuggle in a bit closer.

I see the bob of his throat as he swallows, and I see his icy cheeks darken a bit.

He still isn't used to it, I think. Adorable...

"You can make anything good, can't you?" He sits up and yawns, acting aloof, as if he hadn't just said something painfully romantic.

I smile. "No, I believe you're confusing me with yourself."

He frowns a bit, clearly embarrassed. "You're awful flirty this morning..."

"It's an important morning."

"Oh yeah?" He yawns again.

"Yes, I get to wake up next to you."

He smiles this time and pulls me into a hug. He kisses me on the top of the head. Words don't describe the bliss. They also don't describe the immediate sense of pain that rips through my heart a moment later, the moment he pulls away.

"You'll have to eat lunch alone today, Winter."

"Hmm?" He looks down at me.

"Yep. I've got some... errands I've got to run."

"Errands?"

"Mmhm."

"What kind of errands...?"

"It is a secret." I smile. "But you'll see."

He squints at me. "So they do involve me."

"Don't worry about it, okay? Just accept it."

"Just accept what exactly?"

His tone becomes a bit harsher, and as usual, it takes up that princely offense that I love so much.

"Nothing, okay? It's not a big deal just stop dwelling."

"I'm not dwelling..."

"I don't think enough time has passed for it to be considered 'dwelling,'" Trout suddenly chimes in, looking at them.

"See. Trout agrees."

I sigh. "Don't worry about it. Just go to class."

"It's still early, though," he frowns, looking more depressed than usual. "But, yeah, I guess I could go..."

"Oh," I smile. "My mistake, I guess it's a bit earlier than I thought." I lie down on the bed. "Come to me, Winter! I need your cool scales against me! Oh! How will I bear this long absence!"

A long absence...

He blushes, and then snorts and turns away. "Too late for that. I believe I will go get breakfast."

"Woe...! What nobility would abandonst his fairest maid?"

Winter ignores me, but I can tell by the way he is frowning that he is enjoying the back and forth deep down.

Trout watches us with a smile on his face.

I feel a bit bad about teasing him so mercilessly, so I decide to catch up to him and eat breakfast and chat with him for a bit.

The day goes by as normal until the end of history. At this point, I would usually go to the prey center to eat and chat with Winter, but today I head somewhere he'd never think to look for me.

The cave with the Seawing pond is lit up by the small blue orbs that are placed against the walls, and the few placed down in the small pit of water. Still, the cave has been sealed up with the exception of the entrance, and with the exception of the animus orbs, there is no light source. I squint as I move toward the shore.

It doesn't take long for me to spot Turtle: the famous animus dragon who had attended Jade Academy during the Darkstalker fiasco and played a critical role in ending the madness. Apparently he had returned to acquire more information on writing, and one of his classes involved just sitting in the library reading, with occasional instruction by Starflight.

In other words, he was like Winter and I. A special case.

I approached him, the most inviting and friendly and cautious and polite smile I could manage on my face. A smile similar to the one I'd used when I'd introduced myself to Winter's history class. It's an effective smile, a valuable one that I believe has gotten me through a lot of tough situations and padded a lot of rocky introductions.

"Hi," The soft-featured Seawing says, before I have a chance to initiate the conversation.

"Hello." I wave. "You're Turtle, right?"

"Yep. And you're... Summer?"

My smile widens. "I am! I'm surprised you know my name."

"News travels quick. It's not everyday we get a hybrid." He squirms and his smile turns to a frown. "Oh, um, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, no! Not at all! I'm not bothered by it. I've learned to live with my uniqueness-even love it."

He relaxes and smiles meekly back. "I'm glad. I'd hate to offend you five seconds after meeting you."

I giggle. "Don't worry, you'd have to try pretty hard to offend me. Possibility is a pretty... not-polite place.

Winter has good taste in friends...

He laughs. "Actually, that's part of the reason I know you." He begins to fiddle with his talons. "You're a special guest, like him. Other than myself, the only two special invites at Jade Academy yet."

"Yep. It's an honor, too."

"An honor to meet you."

I laugh. "Says the prince."

Turtle blushes a bit and smiles.

"Anyway," I go on. "I hate to do this... you know, because we're just now meeting. It's just... you're Winter's friend and I figured it might be alright because of that..."

"You want me to use my magick, right?"

My eyes widen and I slowly look up at him. I smile nervously. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"I read a lot of books." He says with an equally nervous smile. "...But no, nothing like that. I get a lot of dragons who come here for favors. You start to notice it before they even ask after awhile. Sometimes by how they talk, other times even by how they walk."

"Sorry... I know it's rude to ask for a favor immediately after meeting somebody, but it's... it's important. At least important to me."

"It's fine. I've learned to live with my uniqueness, even to love it."

Hmm, easily flattered. I thought. Probably insecure, and also likely easy to manipulate. But from what I hear he is a bit stingy with the powers. He seems nice, though... There's a chance.

"Heh, clever and smart." I smile.

He blushes and looks down a bit to avoid my eyes.

"Anyway," I continue. "I'll take that as a yes, so I wish for infinite treasure."

He laughs. "If I had a piece of treasure for every time I got that request I'd have infinite treasure. But unfortunately for you, I'm not a genie. Just a dragon... who is basically a genie... I guess. Anyway! What is it you really want and I'll tell you if I can do it or not."

"It's nothing too big... I was just wondering if you could enchant this rock for me."

"A rock enchantment?" Turtle smiles. "My specialty."