Fate

Prophecy struggled for consciousness. The storm had caught her unawares and had blown her all across the Southern Icefields, and gods, she was tired. Sometimes she valiantly fought the wind, tried to catch onto a tree, a rock, anything. Sometimes she dazedly drifted, and for how long she stayed like this she did not know.

In one moment of clarity she saw another dragon, about to be caught in the brunt of the storm. He was being knocked about. Prophecy held onto the feeling of hope that surfaced when she realized that she wasn't alone in this cold, cold world. She pulled up the remaining dregs of her energy for one last resort. Prophecy had promised herself that she would never do this, but...

Prophecy used her last reserves of magic to propel her in a quick spurt across the air, launching her straight at the other dragon. She ignored his cry of surprise; she was simply too exhausted. Then she draped her arm across his shoulders and drained some of his magic with a great effort. He felt it and started trying to get away from her, but Prophecy grabbed him by the wrist...

And ghosted.

She transformed into a shimmering, fae-shaped veil of faintly glowing snow. Her glow lit up the biting blizzard directly in front of them, now almost like a wall as Prophecy effortlessly moved through the blizzard. The fae she was holding onto was shocked and let himself be dragged along to a rocky shelf that Prophecy hoped would shield them from the storm's fury.

She crawled up against the rock and immediately collapsed of exhaustion, her hold on the fae growing limp as the world went dark.

---

If Fate hadn't been in such a dire situation, he would have attacked the fae, or at least immediately demanded an explanation. But here, now, his life had just been saved by a half-dead, complete stranger. Fate desperately hoped that she was alive - he owed her a lot.

Deciding not to ponder the strange magic that the fae had just done, Fate half-carried, half-dragged her body up against the rock. He draped a protective wing over her and slept the storm out.

---

When Prophecy awoke, the first thing she was aware of was the dull fatigue of combined hunger and exhaustion. Every muscle in her body groaned and ached as she used a shaky claw to help her stand up. Then she realized that a warm, dark blue wing was covering her entire body. Prophecy brushed it aside and heavily sat against the rock. She took in her surroundings. They were buried in snow. Their presence against the rock had created a small hollow in which they were currently resting.

She glanced at the dragon sleeping beside her with some effort. Prophecy was too tired to notice anything other than that he was a fae. After a few moments, her slow brain realized that she should probably wake him up, so she extended a claw and gently shook him by the shoulder.

"Hey. Wake up," Prophecy croaked.

"Mm... what is it?" he murmured sleepily. It was clear that he was not yet fully awake.

"Fae dude. Wake up 'cause I'm starving and I can't move a muscle to hunt,' she added half-jokingly.

He cracked an eye open, then slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh... this morning... I remember now. You're that stranger." He was getting more excited now. "Who are you? How did you do that... thing?"

"I do many things," Prophecy replied sardonically. "Oh, and my name is Prophecy. You?"

"I'm Fate... and I was talking about that thing you did while we were in the storm. You turned into some kind of cloud of glowing diamond dust. I've never seen the likes of it before."

"Oh... that. My clan called it 'ghosting'. Not many can do it... you blend in with the snow, scales and wings becoming one with the storm, and so the elements allow you passage unhindered. Or something like that." She chuckled. "Haha, Prophecy and Fate... know anybody called Destiny?"

Fate rolled his eyes. "Yes, I see."

Prophecy gave her wings a weak flutter. "Ugh, I don't think I can fly. My muscles feel like they've been ripped to shreds... But we need to get out of here. Can you heal me? Or dig?"

Fate nodded and approached her. He hesitated, then said softly, "Thank you for saving me." He laid his claws on her scales. A pure, light blue glow emanated from Fate's claws.

Prophecy winced but tried to smile. "You're welcome. And thank you too. I was almost out of magic."

After Fate was done, Prophecy tested her muscles. They were still sore, but not so much so that they hindered her ability to move. "That's much better. Now let's get out of here!"

---

Aurorablaze growled. "Icebound, Fate hasn't been in the lair since early this morning... now the moon is high in the sky. Should we send out a search party for him?"

Icebound was about to answer when a voice called, "Aurorablaze! Everybody!"

"What was that?" Icebound asked.

Two worn out fae dragons flew feebly into the lair. Dragons rushed over to them, asking who the newcomer was, where Fate had been, if either were injured, and how they had managed to survive in the blizzard.

But they were looking at each other.

Smiling.