(Warning for violence, death, heavy themes, and homophobia)  banner: a beautiful drawing of Cheetah by ScorpioStudios!!

On the busy streets of the town of Unity, a SandWing dragonet was sobbing quietly into her wings as dragons swerved around her and over her. Nobody really cared about the dragoness underfoot, and she hadn't really expected them to.

Until...

"Are you crying?"

Cheetah looked up to see a glittering IceWing standing over her. The new dragoness had beautiful, odd bright teal overscales, matching the horn bands she wore on each horn. Her underscales were pale purple, like the sky just between dawn and sunrise. Her deep, clear blue eyes shone with concern and curiosity. For a too-short moment, it felt like the only other thing in the whole world was this beautiful dragon.

And then everything came crashing back on top of Cheetah with the question, "What's wrong?"

Cheetah scrambled up and wiped her eyes, still dizzy from grief. "I-I, uh...." she desperately tried not to embarrass herself in front of this glittering dragon. You've already embarrassed yourself, growled her mind, you've been crying like a dragonet in front of the entire town. Fine. She desperately tried not to embarrass herself any further in front of this glittering dragon.

Finally, she just admitted, "I didn't think anyone cared."

The IceWing sat down, flicking her long, graceful tail. Cheetah noticed a scar over one of her perfect sky blue eyes, one that, incidentally, looked a lot like her own. "I guess I care," the IceWing responded, blinking. "So, what's going on?"

"My friend," Cheetah sighed, her voice shaking, "Dingo. He's been my best friend since... well, forever."

"And...?" The IceWing prodded. Cheetah had to grit her teeth just to say the next part.

"I just watched him die."

Cheetah's eyes flicked down to her talons. "Three moons, that's... that's awful. I'm sorry."

"It was my fault," Cheetah choked, her eyes agian filled with tears.

The IceWing moved closer, just a tiny bit, but comforting coolness still washed over her scales. "Why would you say that?"

"I... I told him I'd be there and I wasn't and I was too late and..." the ice dragon shushed her.

"It's okay. Listen, the past is the past. It's gone. Bad things happen, and nobody can change that. If it already happened, does it really matter whose fault it was? If it was an accident, that is?"

Cheetah shrugged. The IceWing was silent for a minute. "I know what it's like to lose someone important to you," she finally confessed. "My brother died in the war. I couldn't save him. It gets better, alright? The pain never truly goes away, but it eases with time."

Cheetah nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem. I have to go now, but," the ice dragon cleared her throat awkwardly. "Maybe I'll see you again?"

"Yeah," Cheetah managed to smile. "I'll be around here somewhere. Running for my life, failing to save my dearest friends, regular stuff like that ."

The IceWing laughed (what a beautiful laugh!), nodded her goodbye, and took off.

Just a minute too late, Cheetah realized that's she hadn't caught the IceWing's name. She sighed and lifted into the air, powering her wings toward her den at the foot of a mountain. It was small, only about four times the size of Cheetah herself, but it was enough. At one side, blankets and pillows were piled up to make a sort of bed, and scrolls were scattered everywhere. The only light was from three dim oil lamps hanging from the ceiling.  Several content lizards, each of them named and loved by Cheetah, lounged about her den. 

She curled up in her nest and soon the entire world faded into black.

Cheetah welcomed sleep with open wings.