Scales Uncloaked

== Prologue ==
Flaw paced back and forth in front of her egg. It was a deep burgundy red with swirls of black, a few thin cracks already splintered across the top of the shell. It looked perfectly fine, if that was what NightWing/SkyWing hybrid eggs were supposed to look like. But how would she know? She'd never seen any hybrids before. 
She turned to face the mountains and squinted. She saw the silhouette of Cumulus winging its way towards their cave. Cumulus landed gently on the rock ledge, spreading his magnificent wings. They were topaz orange, glowing in the sunset.
"Has it hatched yet?" he asked. Flaw looked nervously at the egg. "No, not yet. There are a few cracks, but other than that, nothing. But maybe it won't hatch at all! I don't know how genetics work! What if something's wrong with it, like something's wrong with me?"
"Nothing is wrong with you," Cumulus assured her. "And nothing will be wrong with our dragonet." Flaw glanced down at her odd scales. Her body was a deep purple, and her wings were black. But there were no star scales on her wings. Only pitiful splotches of gray that looked like storm clouds. Instead her star scales were scattered across nearly her entire body. On her snout, back, tail, talons, even on her horns. But not on her wings.
She had unpleasant memories of being called hurtful names, such as "freak", or "star-face". She would hate for her child to be hated as she was. Unfortunately, her dragonet having a normal life was already out of the question. It would never have a normal life, just because it was a hybrid. Flaw growled at the thought of this. I will do everything in my power to ensure she lives as normal a life as possible, she thought.
Another crack splintered from the first. Flaw hushed her worrying thoughts and picked up the egg. She was about to say something when she heard wingbeats. Someone crashed onto the rock platform. Flaw whirled around.
"Maroon. What are you doing here?" Cumulus asked, dumbfounded. "I.. I wanted to make sure you weren't taken away already." Maroon panted.
"Why would he be taken away?" Flaw interjected. "Maroon, what's happened?" Maroon turned desperately towards Cumulus. "Queen Firebird, being completely paranoid about another tribe forming, said she didn't want mingling between tribes. As far as I know, you're the only one seeing a non-SkyWing. Firebird didn't like that. She's cast you out. And she sent me to take you back to her so you can apologize to her and leave Flaw."
"What?" Cumulus spat. "Queen Firebird? I thought she was okay with me.. I mean, she approved me and everything.." Flaw whispered, overwhelmed by the sudden news. Queen Firebird had officially welcomed Flaw just a few weeks ago. Why was she suddenly so against her now? 
"Apparently, the queen isn't okay with you. Cumulus, you have to leave. Go somewhere Firebird wouldn't dare. You could go to the rainforest with Flaw. I'm sure they would accept you, as long as you don't breathe fire." 
"Wait! Wait." Flaw cried as Maroon turned to leave. "What will happen to you? If you don't return to Firebird with Cumulus, she'll most likely execute you!" 
"She's right," Cumulus realized. "Come with us. I'm sure Queen Honeysuckle won't mind." 
"Well.. Alright." Maroon agreed. "Okay. Off to the rainforest we go, then!" 
Flaw clutched her egg tight as she leaped off the ledge. She had barely lifted off when she heard a brisk tap-tap-tap coming from the egg. The shell splintered into a thousand pieces, revealing the beautiful dragonet inside. Flaw gasped. 
She was beautiful! Her scales were a lovely currant red, fading into a deep black. Her wings were a rich sangria. And she had inherited her mother's star scales, scattered about like flecks of paint. But the most astonishing feature was her eyes. They were a bright harlequin green flecked with brown. Flaw was so entranced by them that she didn't see Cumulus and Maroon hovering beside her. 
"Wow," Cumulus said softly. "I knew she'd be pretty, but- I didn't expect it to be-" He reached for her, then pulled his talon back, as if he were worried he would contaminate her. 
Maroon gazed at the small dragonet. "With scales as eye-catching as those, the guards'll spot her from miles away," she remarked. "We'd better hurry." 
They winged their way towards the rainforest, cooing at the newly-hatched dragonet. About twenty minutes later, Flaw heard wingbeats, and she whirled around, troubled. Her eyes met the worst thing they could have possibly seen that day: SkyWing soldiers in the distance. "Cumulus!" she shouted. Cumulus turned and hissed under his breath. 
"What are we going to do?" Maroon asked, dismayed. "They'll catch up in a matter of minutes, whether we flee or not." 
"I have waited for my child to hatch and I have protected her egg for a year," Cumulus said fiercely. "I am not about to lose her now." 
 Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)