Seeing Spirits

This is a fanfiction by BoneTheSandWing and Articuna-Dragon for the group project. Please do not steal the art or coding!
Sundance's wings spread out across the clear blue of oblivion. Her flight path was to Scorchwind, a rugged city on the furthest outreaches of the sky kingdom. As she flew, she looked back behind her, and checked her saddlebags. They were full of treasures and some gold. Sundance returned to her normal position and sighed. this was her life. Flight, trade, and back into the heaven of dreams until the rising of the sun.
"Curse this weather," she spat as flurries of dainty snowfall drifted pass. The treasure jingled in her pocket, threatening smooth flight. With the importance of her craft, she decided it was urgent to stop to regroup. Upon a crested hill, she lowered her legs for landing.
She almost didn't see the pale blue dragon standing idly in her path.
Sundance sensed the dragon just as she was about to land. There was no way to quietly slip away, and she was close to the ground anyway. She landed and made to take off, to find another hill, but then she realized something strange about the dragon. Their scales shone with a faint light, now visible under the darkening snow clouds. When the dragon turned around, she saw their eyes: pale and white. They seemed like they were translucent. And Sundance realized with a jolt that they were. She backed away and tried to take off quietly.
"Wait," said the dragon in a powerful, yet frail voice, like the voice of a child.
She spun quickly, her orange eyes meeting the empty abysses of the stranger. Sundance jumped, startled, as she took in the dragon's frame. They had bruised marks along their body, looking as if they'd been bound and shackled. In fact, undone chains stood marred on the ground. She wondered what kind of brute forced it must've taken to undo them, and, more importantly, why they existed in the first place. Initially, she turned away in fear, but sensing the almost infantile vibes radiating off the stranger, she was inclined to stay. Perhaps they were all alone, and being alone in SkyWing territory usually spelled disaster for those whose scales weren't the color of flame.
"What do you want from me?" she cried in despiration.
"Much. Perhaps just to feel the wind on my face again... " the dragon seemed closer. "I don't know."
" I see you are afraid. That can be fixed... " the dragon turned to face her and sighed. The air did not stir and this disturbed Sundance. She ought to feel the stranger 's breath; they were suddenly so close. "You are puzzled by my appearance. In life and memory, I was abused for being different. for being impure. Twoblood, they called me, and halfwing, and dirtscales, and doubleclaws. They chained me and beat me in the prison of my body. When I finally became free, I yearned for a second chance. I have found it, and it is too sweet an opportunity to let go. Seeing their faces in shock at my beauty wasn't enough. "
Sundance realized the dragon in front of her was a ghost. Upon closer inspection, whip marks and chain debts were marked on the dragon's body, if one could call it that. The dragon, despite being translucent, had an icy chill to their scales and the scorching eyes of a SandWing. They looked to be only 20-25 years old, judging by their horns, probably the age that they died. Sundance asked a question, "What is your name?"
Awestruck, Sundance gingerly stretched out her talons, feeling the cold embrace of the stranger's body. They- no, he, judging by his voice and body structure- stood placid, not minding her at all. She stopped at his shoulder, where a deliberately-placed mark on his shoulder, in what looked to be black ink, stood out.
"Opal?" she asked, "What does that mean?"
The stranger gave a chuckle, and replied, "She was the only one who cared about me."
The ghost sighed. "That Is, she did until her parents married her off to an IceWing prince. Mother to Queen Diamond.. Opal didn't need me anymore," the ghost murmured, glowing slightly red, "even she didn't care in the end. "
Sundance shivered. The ghost felt warm, but as in the warmth of the sun shining on your scales: fleeting, wavering. It warmed her but briefly, and she looked up, reminded of the snowstorm. "I should find a place to stay for the night. You may not get cold, but I still need to keep warm."
The ghost nodded and led her off to a cave in the side of a hill. He seemed content to wait in a corner while she prepared to sleep. "You still haven't told me your name. I assume you know mine?"
"Actually, I don't," said the ghost.
"Well, I'm Sundance," she said.
"Unusual name for a SkyWing, but then again, who am I to judge. I'm a specter, long gone. " said he.
"and your name?" Prompted Sundance.
" I had many. would you prefer to call me mixscales?" the wraith dragon snorted in disgust. Then, he shook his head, as if trying to rid it of memories. "Sorry. You may call me Lupinus. It is not my true name, and you may not ask of it. "
It was an odd response, but she shook it off. Sundance spread her orb-patterned wings in the snow, soaking up what little sun winked through the clouds. Inside, the walls of the cave winked and glimmered even more prominently from the intense icy aura of Lupinus' form. He didn't look up as he walked for a stretch, giving a view of his deep teal, serrated frill. Sundance pondered why he was treated so horribly in life, as his intermediate colors and blended features were rather fascinating.
Must've been the times, she concluded.
Lupinus finally reclined on a rock, his thin eyelids flashing over his eyes slowly. She decided to follow suit, spreading out her wares including ten full suits of hand-painted trading guitars, three different string instruments in various sizes, and a collection of kites. In her talons, she shifted her already-earned coins, one to the other- not for any reason, just because she enjoyed the feeling.
"Say, what did you say you do?" Lupinus questioned.
"I travel. I am a merchant." Sundance explained. She really didn't feel like talking. Instead, she tried to focus on the ghost, Lupinus.
His form was strong and graceful, but it wasn't frail like a RainWing or SkyWing body. His scales were hard and ridged, with edges that stuck out slightly. The teal ruff she had seen was of icicle horns, but they seemed softer and they flowed down his neck instead of sticking out like a pure IceWing. His SandWing horns were noticeable, and were pretty much in the same place they would be if he was simply a SandWing.
Lupinus's color was hard to distinguish among the glowing, but he seemed to be a dark cream with white, icy accents. His tail carried a barb, but it was clearly not full of venom. The appendage was shaped like a barbed spearhead, and flowed smoothly to the rest of his tail. His eyes were the deepest blue you could fathom. They were like the darkness on the edge of a black hole, just before everything for sucked in. 
Lupinus was studying Sundance as Sundance studied Lupinus. He did not ask any more questions of her, and stood and watched while she slowly fell asleep. The last thing Sundance saw before waking was the glow of Lupinus's light dancing around the cave's walls.
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