Rivertide

Powerful downward strokes of feathered wings carried the Coatl higher into the air, up past cloud level. The air was crisp and cold this high, but spring was in the air and the whole world around him had come to life in vibrant brilliant ways. Below him, he could see stretches of green, where the ground had been faded and dismal only a week or so before. He leveled out and headed East, toward the river, half a dozen miles away.

He was a handsome Coatl Dragon. His wings were a lovely shade of blue-green, his body a softer greener shade. His eyes were like pale green sea glass.
He'd been on his own for a while now. He'd felt stifled and crowded by his old life, and had needed open spaces and endless skies. The Coatl, who called himself Rivertide had been stricken with Wanderlust shortly after he learned to fly. He loved flying and he was quite good at it, both agile and swift in the air. He'd learned quickly and easily how to use air currents to his advantage. He could stay in the air for hours, gliding over the clouds, or swooping over treetops.

Rivertide loved flying, but there was something he loved more and excelled at to an even greater extent, and that was swimming and fishing.
He'd started from a young age, as a small hatching he would chase after minnows and tadpoles, and became quite adept at catching his own food. He soon graduated from minnows and tadpoles, up to larger fish, venturing out past the shallows, and sometimes even diving a bit to catch them. By the time he was grown, he was often catching food for his parents and siblings.
He'd been enjoying his time alone and the time he'd spent wandering and roaming free, but he was starting to think it was time to settle down, and find some place to call home. If only, he thought, he could find a place where he felt accepted and needed. It would need to be somewhere that he didn't feel stiffled and 'trapped' either, free spirit that he was.

He picked up speed as he drew closer to the river, and then, he swooped down in a wide winding spiral until he could see the slow moving wide waters clearly. He was still about fifty foot in the air, and he watched, following the stretch of water one way, and then turning and heading back. For several long moments all he did was watch with keen eyes, then he saw it, a flash of silver and a faint dark shape under the surface.

He dropped swiftly, drawing his feet up, pulling his wings close to his body, stretching his neck out and forward so that he was streamlined. He took a breath right before he hit. He was right on target his front claws hooked into the fish as he knifed into the water. Down deep the momentum carried him, before he twisted upwards and swam for the surface.
Water rolled off his feathers and several strong flaps of his wings brought him to the banks, with the fish struggling in his claws. He tossed it onto the ground, well away from the water. The fish was large and fat, and would make a fine dinner.

He had just started eating when a voice interrupted.

"That was rather impressive."

A dark blue-black Fae Dragon perched on a rock. She blinked her vivid electric blue eyes. "We could use someone like you.. You are alone aren't you?" The young Fae tilted her head, studying him.
He told her that he was. They talked for a while, and he agreed to follow her back to her lair.
He soon found that he enjoyed being around other dragons again, and his talents there were appreciated, both his fishing and his skill with flying. He helped bring in food, and became quite valuable as a scout, since he could cover so much distance, so very quickly and easily. He'd found it difficult to make friends once before, he'd always felt like a bit of an outsider. Now, quite to the contrary, he soon had many friends and dragons he felt close to. He was gifted a lovely green and white scarf, that he treasured greatly.

Rivertide took to the sky, his wings carrying him effortlessly above the clouds. To either side, (and a bit behind) were two more dragons. Friends, companions, dragons he could confide in and trust. He was still free, and being with others wasn't limited and suffocating. In fact, it made him feel more whole.
He laughed as the others tried to catch up to him, and he shifted direction, following the path of the river to the great lake beyond, leading the way the whole way there.