A Starspeaker Tragedy by Quietriver[]
Author's Note:[]
Obviously, I can't html or code the page or anything, so I'll just do this lame format for this story. It's an incomplete fanfic anyway. I haven't really proofread or revised it, since I decided that its subject was not exactly captivating (to me at least) and had no major potential (For a "humble" writer like me. Notice how my modesty reaches the point were it's actually quite snobby XD). Anyways, the story is owned by me, Quietriver, please do not edit without giving me a heads up on my message wall, add or change categories if you'd like, give constructive criticism, it's not a WIP, just incomplete, blah blah blah, this story uses the characters of Tui T. Sutherland and they do not belong to me, oh god get on with it you stupid writer~
Okay, without further ado...
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Two of the three moons cast their light into his study. The librarian was silently remembering her after a long week of school. Her absolute radiance, not merely in color but in soul. Yes, that would sound poetic. He pulled out another sheet of paper from inside his desk and carefully dragged his quill across the surface, also jotting down some other melancholic thoughts about her. Most likely the writing would be illegible, as Fatespeaker said half his notes were. It was so difficult to remember what his talons had done to make that elegant script, so all he could do was hope that the words were coherent. Starflight sighed.
He had sighed a lot since he lost his eyes.
Patting the side of the desk until he found the secret compartment, Starflight slid the paper in. This was probably the fifth or sixth paper that he had hidden there, since he had only recently though of the idea. Hopefully, he would be able to find someone besides Fatespeaker to read them. If not, it could get… awkward. But Starflight didn’t want either of the two dragons to know of his fantasies.
For the rest of the night, Starflight refused to write more. As a Nightwing, he had found it more difficult to sleep with any moonlight whatsoever, and preferred to rest in total darkness so he could be well rested for the students in the morning. Unfortunately, some of the windows were out of his reach from the ground; Starflight preferred not to fly in small areas like the library, especially since it was such a valuable place. So he decided to huddle in a dark corner and curled up into a ball, dreaming his sight had came back only to see that every scroll was filled with the words “Like a brother.”
***
Fatespeaker prodded Starflight’s side. He groaned. “Fatespeaker, it’s too early. Is this really urgent, or-” “Yep, totally urgent. It’s a beautiful day outside, you should feel the sun on your scales! Come on, Starflight, I know you need this!” ‘Fatespeaker, peppy as always,’ thought Starflight as he yawned. “Alright, fine, bring me to the sunrise.”
Despite Starflight’s complaints, he had to admit that the warmth of the new day was soothing. It reminded him of something, or rather, a certain someone.
Fatespeaker broke into his pensive mood. “Hey, I’ll describe the sunrise to you. The sun itself is something to behold, like a disc of brass and gold. Heh, that rhymed.” An image of a grinning dragon flashed through Starflight’s mind. It was like two dragons overlaid on top of each other. “Oh, and the clouds are like wisps of… it’s just so beautiful, maybe they’re like waves or something, curling in and out like the currents of the sea. Yeah, that’s it. And the color of the sky, moons, it’s amazing. Near the horizon, it’s all orange and stuff, but it slowly fades into a beautiful, clean blue, becoming pink and lavender and all these pretty colors in between. Starflight, I wish you could see, then you would know…”
Starflight could have sworn that she had muttered, “No, that’s too direct,” and turned her head away from him. Hiding a smile, or at least trying to, he asked, “Sorry, I would know what?” Too late to change his tone, he realized that his voice had sounded a little too smug. He hoped that wouldn’t make her uncomfortable.
“Well, uh, then you would know, that, uh, what the colors looked like! Yeah, that’s all! And the shapes of the clouds, that too!” The voice was panicked and embarrassed, completely uncharacteristic of Fatespeaker. Starflight guessed her eyes would be flitting all over the place, and her face would be covered in a pink blush. At least, that was what he preferred to imagine. In reality, it was a brilliant crimson. But there was no way for him know that.
Still a bit flustered, Fatespeaker offered to guide him back to the academy. Her wings flapped hurriedly as she lifted off, as though she couldn’t wait to get away from the awkward situation. Which was true. Starflight followed the sounds of her flight but listened to her worries. “Oh moons, why can’t I tell him, why did I feel all clammy inside when I tried to speak, and I couldn’t even look at him even though he’s blind, why why why…”, Fatespeaker rambled, tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. Starflight slowed down his pace, not wanting to hear more. He had no idea what to do. Of all things happening, Starflight had not expected Fatespeaker, of all dragons, to break down.
Once the pair of dragons entered the library, an idea formed in Starflight’s head. He stored it away for later that day, but Fatespeaker noticed that a spark of life had risen inside his mutilated eyes while she changed the cover cloth. She had no idea what it meant, but it meant something. ‘My dear Starflight,’ thought Fatespeaker passionately. ‘I foresee you and me together, holding claws under the moonlight. Please, let it be true, for once.’
***
Starflight stayed awake the entire night, working hard at a poem for Fatespeaker. Honestly, he didn’t feel like he had spent enough time looking at her to understand what was beautiful about her. Starflight had to admit that Fatespeaker looked like an utterly normal female NightWing in his mind, so he it would be impossible to write about that. But there was so much more to her than just appearance. He hoped he had written down something suitable for her. An excerpt from the poem read in messy characters:
“Fatespeaker, you are my guiding light
In a world where I have lost my sight
And though your face I cannot see
You bring me to edge of infinity
Your laughter peals like chiming bells
And is enough to reverse my hell
Though I think you not a true seer
Your words can break my tides of fear”
As Starflight had written more couplets, he began to realize how wonderful Fatespeaker really was (As well as how poor and completely desperate his poetry was). It was just so much easier to appreciate her in writing, where he could analyze her charming character and acknowledge just how much dedication it required to care for a blind dragon like him. Something blossomed deep within his heart, something that had wilted after that terrible night. He couldn’t think of enough adjectives to describe how he felt, or maybe there just weren’t enough words in the dictionary to suffice. Either way, Starflight fell asleep wondering how his love had never surfaced before and hoping she would forgive how he had teased her.
***
Starflight woke early in anticipation for the day. Another thought occurred to him that he didn’t want to just show the poem to Fatespeaker while standing next to her. As he envisioned the potential scene, Starflight realized that he could get someone to deliver the papers to Fatespeaker’s room as a letter. It would be just like that chapter from one of the books he had read in the cave as a dragonet.
Starflight’s face creased slightly at the memory.
It occurred to him to hide the writing in the secret compartment. If Starflight asked someone to take the poem to Fatespeaker, they might take advantage of his trust or simply fail to properly deliver the message. Besides, his dark NightWing coloring would probably cover up for his lack of stealth as a blind dragon.
Soon, everyone else had woken up, and the day passed mostly uneventfully. Fatespeaker still seemed on edge from yesterday, shying away when Starflight brushed wings with her, but he never mentioned anything about her strange behavior. Starflight hoped that the letter she would receive the next morning would return her to normal, and better.
At the end of the day, Starflight felt very tired and could hardly be bothered to do his normal inventory check. The minimal, albeit restful, sleep he had gotten was starting to wear on him. In a few minutes, he closed the library and asked Fatespeaker to help gather some of the books strewn out over the tables. (Fatespeaker thought it was just some irresponsible dragons who had done so, but Starflight had actually asked Clay to leave them there. Unsuspecting Clay gave Starflight a dubious look but did as Starflight asked.)
[Talks about Starflight sneaking to Fatespeaker’s room during the night, dropping off the message. Hears Fatespeaker mumbling about heartbreak, narrator voices Starflight’s concern for her and how he hopes to make amends.]
[Reveals that Starflight delivered all the poems in his secret desk cabinet, POV is switched to following Fatespeaker’s thoughts, she breaks down upon reading the poem of Sunny’s love happening to be at the top of the stack (which she was aware of before, duh). Fatespeaker flies away, crying, Starflight’s reaction is optional.]
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