Here's a short story that I wrote when I was twelve (with many rewritings since):
The gentle ocean waves crashed softly against the glossy, smooth green rock. The light, breezy air smelled of sweet oceanfruit. The fine white sand had rippled slightly from the wind, forming tiny mountains in the sun-warmed, silk-smooth stretch of beach.
Mayazoql closed her eyes, soaking up the warmth of the sun. Her diamond-like scales sparkled, her underlying golden skin shimmering in the light.
She sat between two oceanfruit trees, as still as a statue.
She was thinking.
Maya dreamt of finding her family clan. She could just imagine seeing the familiar, albeit vague face of her mother. She imagined meeting her father, the king of the Bladinqxis, with his bright, teal-blue skin; she imagined seeing all of the Bladinqxis playing and laughing, and the silly, clumsy hatchlings sparkling bronze or grayish-teal. She was barely a graduate hatchling herself at twenty-four years of age. I’m just a baby, she thought, opening her eyes. They were sapphire and jade, freckled with gold.
She longed to see the clan again, to smell their scent and hear their laughter. She was lost, long ago, with no one to care for her or reassure her that she would live. She had been starving and freezing cold. It was a wonder that she even survived the merciless, bitter winter that year. She had spent twenty years trying to find them.
Maya finally stood up on her four short legs, striding purposefully toward the woods behind the beautiful beach.
She was off to find her clan, once and for all.
Maya dreamed of flying. She always wanted to fly, like her mother. She imagined the fierce wind catching beneath her thin wings as she took flight for the first time, ascending rapidly, tasting the clouds, soaring freely… When Maya’s dreams took flight, she fell into pure bliss. Her heart ached with longing to glide in the currents and to soar between the clouds.
A low growl cut through her dreams. She woke with a start.
Something wasn’t right. She heard something unusual, and the air smelled of …wolf.
Predators.
The horse-sized wolves were less than half her size, but they were still incredibly powerful. Although she had strong, hard scales that they couldn’t penetrate, they could swipe at her soft, vulnerable eyes and get under her scales--
Maya didn’t want to think about it, but the gory image insisted on pushing to the front of her mind. She started to run.
Especially now, she wanted to fly more than ever. She saw the wolves behind her growl in anticipation, howling and snarling. And salivating.
She sprinted with her weak, stumpy legs. She hated running. She wasn’t supposed to run. She should be flying right now, high above those wretched carnivores, laughing at their feeble attempts to pursue her.
They were gaining on her. Their breath was so hot; she could feel it from yards away on the tip of her tail. Maya ran harder.
Suddenly, she halted before a steep cliff. She cursed.
Only a few more strides and the wolves would get her. Did she have to jump? Maybe she would finally be able to fly in this time of crisis, like in all those clichéd stories her mother told her when she was young. Or maybe she’d fall and smash her head open.
With the wolves upon her, did it matter?
She jumped.
Maya frantically stretched out her wings, but she was flipped over and falling down back-first. She twisted around and pushed her wings out on either side of her body. Her heart pounded as she plummeted face first toward the hard ground.
“No!” Maya screamed in her mother tongue. She instinctively pulled the front of her wings up… and she caught a bit of wind! She wobbled in the current, slanting rather sharply downward. She was gradually pushed by the wind toward the woods at the side of the ravine before losing balance and landing in the soft, fuzzy branches of a furr tree.
I’d hardly call that flying, Maya thought, but that’s pretty damned good first-time!
With a smile on her face, Maya climbed down from the tree and resumed her quest as the sun’s first rays peeked above the horizon.
This place was familiar to Maya.
A crystal-blue waterfall cascaded into a lovely aqua blue oasis, surrounded by sweet, blooming oceanfruit and coconut trees and sand as fine as silk, but this sand was teal and flecked with gold. If she closed her eyes, Maya could still see an echo of her tiny baby self, frolicking through the shallow water and darting among the trees.
This was home.
Maya knew the clan was here, but where, exactly? She had finally found them… but she couldn’t see them! So close, and yet so far, she thought, frustrated.
She smelled them, and she saw evidence of their presence: halved and fuzz-stripped coconuts, indents and claw marks in the sand, and clumps of drying seaweed for later consumption lying on rocks in the sun.
They were definitely here.
Maya looked everywhere in the surrounding jungle, but she couldn’t see them.
Then something occurred to her: The waterfall! They could be in a new cave behind the waterfall.
Maya inhaled slowly and stepped behind the droning water, only to find, unsurprisingly, a tunnel. “Hello?” she called out quietly. Her voice echoed in the darkness. “Anyone in here? It’s me, Mayazoql—“
“Mayazoql!” The sudden voice—no, voices—made her jump. They said it so immediately and simultaneously that it sounded like one loud voice.
Then, loud chattering and shouting filled the cave. A golden light, undoubtedly the product of magic, flared up in the back, and there was her pride, grinning joyfully and loping toward her.
The Bladinqxi clan crowded around her, talking, laughing, and cheering for their long-lost family.
Myraqoze pushed to the front and embraced her daughter with a foreleg. “Maya! You lived… I never thought I’d see you again.” Myra nuzzled Mayazoql. “It’s wonderful to have you back.”
Maya grinned.
She was finally home.
The gentle ocean waves crashed softly against the glossy, smooth green rock. The light, breezy air smelled of sweet oceanfruit. The fine white sand had rippled slightly from the wind, forming tiny mountains in the sun-warmed, silk-smooth stretch of beach.
Mayazoql closed her eyes, soaking up the warmth of the sun. Her diamond-like scales sparkled, her underlying golden skin shimmering in the light.
She sat between two oceanfruit trees, as still as a statue.
She was thinking.
Maya dreamt of finding her family clan. She could just imagine seeing the familiar, albeit vague face of her mother. She imagined meeting her father, the king of the Bladinqxis, with his bright, teal-blue skin; she imagined seeing all of the Bladinqxis playing and laughing, and the silly, clumsy hatchlings sparkling bronze or grayish-teal. She was barely a graduate hatchling herself at twenty-four years of age. I’m just a baby, she thought, opening her eyes. They were sapphire and jade, freckled with gold.
She longed to see the clan again, to smell their scent and hear their laughter. She was lost, long ago, with no one to care for her or reassure her that she would live. She had been starving and freezing cold. It was a wonder that she even survived the merciless, bitter winter that year. She had spent twenty years trying to find them.
Maya finally stood up on her four short legs, striding purposefully toward the woods behind the beautiful beach.
She was off to find her clan, once and for all.
Maya dreamed of flying. She always wanted to fly, like her mother. She imagined the fierce wind catching beneath her thin wings as she took flight for the first time, ascending rapidly, tasting the clouds, soaring freely… When Maya’s dreams took flight, she fell into pure bliss. Her heart ached with longing to glide in the currents and to soar between the clouds.
A low growl cut through her dreams. She woke with a start.
Something wasn’t right. She heard something unusual, and the air smelled of …wolf.
Predators.
The horse-sized wolves were less than half her size, but they were still incredibly powerful. Although she had strong, hard scales that they couldn’t penetrate, they could swipe at her soft, vulnerable eyes and get under her scales--
Maya didn’t want to think about it, but the gory image insisted on pushing to the front of her mind. She started to run.
Especially now, she wanted to fly more than ever. She saw the wolves behind her growl in anticipation, howling and snarling. And salivating.
She sprinted with her weak, stumpy legs. She hated running. She wasn’t supposed to run. She should be flying right now, high above those wretched carnivores, laughing at their feeble attempts to pursue her.
They were gaining on her. Their breath was so hot; she could feel it from yards away on the tip of her tail. Maya ran harder.
Suddenly, she halted before a steep cliff. She cursed.
Only a few more strides and the wolves would get her. Did she have to jump? Maybe she would finally be able to fly in this time of crisis, like in all those clichéd stories her mother told her when she was young. Or maybe she’d fall and smash her head open.
With the wolves upon her, did it matter?
She jumped.
Maya frantically stretched out her wings, but she was flipped over and falling down back-first. She twisted around and pushed her wings out on either side of her body. Her heart pounded as she plummeted face first toward the hard ground.
“No!” Maya screamed in her mother tongue. She instinctively pulled the front of her wings up… and she caught a bit of wind! She wobbled in the current, slanting rather sharply downward. She was gradually pushed by the wind toward the woods at the side of the ravine before losing balance and landing in the soft, fuzzy branches of a furr tree.
I’d hardly call that flying, Maya thought, but that’s pretty damned good first-time!
With a smile on her face, Maya climbed down from the tree and resumed her quest as the sun’s first rays peeked above the horizon.
This place was familiar to Maya.
A crystal-blue waterfall cascaded into a lovely aqua blue oasis, surrounded by sweet, blooming oceanfruit and coconut trees and sand as fine as silk, but this sand was teal and flecked with gold. If she closed her eyes, Maya could still see an echo of her tiny baby self, frolicking through the shallow water and darting among the trees.
This was home.
Maya knew the clan was here, but where, exactly? She had finally found them… but she couldn’t see them! So close, and yet so far, she thought, frustrated.
She smelled them, and she saw evidence of their presence: halved and fuzz-stripped coconuts, indents and claw marks in the sand, and clumps of drying seaweed for later consumption lying on rocks in the sun.
They were definitely here.
Maya looked everywhere in the surrounding jungle, but she couldn’t see them.
Then something occurred to her: The waterfall! They could be in a new cave behind the waterfall.
Maya inhaled slowly and stepped behind the droning water, only to find, unsurprisingly, a tunnel. “Hello?” she called out quietly. Her voice echoed in the darkness. “Anyone in here? It’s me, Mayazoql—“
“Mayazoql!” The sudden voice—no, voices—made her jump. They said it so immediately and simultaneously that it sounded like one loud voice.
Then, loud chattering and shouting filled the cave. A golden light, undoubtedly the product of magic, flared up in the back, and there was her pride, grinning joyfully and loping toward her.
The Bladinqxi clan crowded around her, talking, laughing, and cheering for their long-lost family.
Myraqoze pushed to the front and embraced her daughter with a foreleg. “Maya! You lived… I never thought I’d see you again.” Myra nuzzled Mayazoql. “It’s wonderful to have you back.”
Maya grinned.
She was finally home.