A warm glow

 A Warm Glow Snow flurries drifted down lightly from the gloomy sky above, wretched with an uncomfortable winter chill. Pyrrhia hadn’t been this far into a depression ever before, with war overcoming each kingdom, and plummeting them into crisis. Food was low, and violence was high. Nobody could be trusted nowadays.

Crane, a commoner among the SkyWings, was making her way towards her shop. She used to sell decorative terrariums before the war had commenced, but her lifetime hobby had been ripped away from her on the war’s first day. She now supplied rations for her kingdom.

She walked close to brick buildings, shifting her golden eyes around the scene. It was taught to every dragon and dragonet now to stay alert. Crane had done so many times now, looking around at every dragon, keeping note of who looked suspicious, what they were holding, and more. It wasn’t hard for her anymore.

Finally making her way towards her little wooden shack, she slipped out a key from her pouch. She studied the key, made by hand from her loving daughter. She missed her.

The key consisted of a rusted metal, corroded with grime after many battles. She cherished that key with all her heart, no matter how battered it became.

Crane unlocked the shop, creaking her wooden door open.

And then, a deafening explosion boomed behind her. She shifted around, growling. The MudWings had came.

She noticed the crater that was steaming with hot coals in front of her. It was massive, with a few shops obliterated by it’s range. SkyWings had already died on the first blow.

She ignored the screams that rang out from all directions, instead shooting up to their level. Crane roared, her eyes glowing with a furious heat. These were the beasts that had killed her daughter. She wasn’t going to let anyone else die.

Flapping her wings, she arched her neck forward and glided her way to a MudWing. In shock, the dragon dropped their bomb. It exploded relentlessly below their talons. She gave him a look of disgust, lashing her jaws out toward him. He slashed his claw back, dropping her to the ground, far below.

Crane sunk into the layers of fluffy white, lessening her fall. Her head was dizzy with anger. She missed her family. This was supposed to be her holiday, her Christmas.

Last year had been so lovely, when she, her husband, and her daughter all spent time together. They decorated their tree with homemade ornaments, and sat close by the warm flickering fire as they ate gingerbread from the local baker. Why couldn’t she have that anymore? Why did she deserve a life of loneliness and tyranny?

She opened her eyes.

A single MudWing silhouette loomed above her, with small flurries bouncing around. He held a bomb, and carried a smirk on his unforgivable face. She noticed beside her, a small flame. It, above everything else, was still flickering, slowly melting away the surrounding snow. It’s orange light burned brightly as it crackled.

It wasn’t the flame of their old fireplace, but it was enough for Crane. She thought of her daughter, and her husband, all of her family.

She thought, what was the point of any of this, without a single dragon she loved? Crane didn’t enjoy anything anymore, and her life had been misery. She used to think ending it like this would be giving up, giving her power to the MudWings.

She decided that she had fought long enough. Maybe this was truly the way it had to be.

It was like they were there with Crane, her family, whispering her comforting words. She closed her eyes, and held out her arms in the bed of snow. It was time to join them.

The bomb was dropped, and that firey light grew in size, leaving nothing but a shallow crater in it’s place.