Dragon Fingers

The two sisters spent the rest of their morning in the cave until noon. The meager stack that was their food supply was stashed behind a large rock protruding from the ground, against the wall. It only consisted of a loaf of bread and a cut-off piece, some jams, pickles, and a pouch with strips of jerky and preserved meats. It was barely nothing, considering how long they might be here, but Sonata tried not to think about that. They ate hardened bread and preserved meats in the quiet of the cave, the pitter patter of the occasional water droplet trickling off the stalactites then only noise between them. Sonata brushed her hands across the sand, sifting her hand through it and making small shapes and drawings. Sophia, who'd fallen asleep after being fed, woke up and made a chirping sound as she poked her small head, only about the size of her own fist, out from the cloak.

"I'm drawing a portrait of myself."

Chirp

"Wait."

The small being rummaged around her shoulders, trying to make it's way down her drawing arm.

"I said wait!"

Sonata picked the impatient creature off her arm and onto the ground, who proceeded to hop across the sand to where her sister was drawing, clawing at the ground to join in as her slithery tail behind her brushed away the marks her sister had made.

Sonata stared sourly on as her drawing was destroyed. "Sophiiaaa."

The small dragon looked up, clueless as to what she'd done. Sonata pulled up her legs, pressing her head against her knees.

Meep?

The tiny dragon approached her concernedly, pressing two small claws on her leg.

"Can you change back now?"

The small dragon looked down at its arms.

Chirp!

"There's no harm in trying." Sonata rubbed her eye.

The smaller one tried. Her feathers stretched out as though she had goosebumps, her eyes squeezed shut, her tail flicked determinedly from side to side...Nothing happened.

"It's okay, you tried your best." She ruffled the baby-yellow feathers on the top of her head.

...

It was probably around midday when Sophia finally changed back. Sophia's elvish form was different from Sonata's. It came a lot easier to her who'd been born as a baby, as opposed to Sonata, who was born as an egg. She was a lot frailer and had much harder of a time taking forms that weren't her human form, but Sonata's form had imperfections, pale green translucent scales on the bone of her wrist and the corners of her cheek and the edge of her jaw. That was normal for a dragon her age, but sometimes her horns would come back or her tail would show, if she was excited. The hardest thing to control was when her eyes went slit-like. It wasn't that she needed a perfect elvish form—she wouldn't normally walk around humans—but seeing people around her do it so easily made the dragoness's shortcomings a lot more disappointing.

"Flowers! Sis, flower crowns!"

AaaAaAAaAa-

The smaller, bubbly figure who'd previously been passed out on her shoulder tugged her out of the cave with quite a bit of sporadic force, determined to get to her goal.

The cave was hidden at an incline. A small patch of grassy hill that gradually medley into bushy forest took up half of the outdoors, and the steep cliff side the cave was pressed onto took up the other half.

There were a few wildflowers scattered here and there. Though she didn't know the first thing about flower crowns, Sonata figures the daisies would probably work best, of all of them. With their giant yellow centers, maybe if she cut a hole through that she could slip the stem of another flower through.

"Ah! No—"

"No-"

"No—No!"

Mmmmmmmmphhggg—

Sonata buried her face in her dress as she muffledly screeched at the death of another set of flowers. Curse these dragon fingers! She could sort of-get the stems through a hole in the stem in front of it if she was careful, but they bent so easily, they slipped out so easily, they tore clean apart so freaking easily!!!

And yet Sophia frolicked around her, perfectly content picking flower after flower after her sister destroyed her last set.

[Incoherent noises of defeat.]

"Sophia," Sonata spoke, cupping her head against the grass in despair, "I don't... I don't think I can do this with my clumsy hands. They keep—"

Sonata looked up. It was quiet. It'd been quiet for awhile of her tantrum, now.

"Sophia?"

The pale-haired girl sat up, nervously plucking up grass as she looked around. The familiar head of blond curls and set of tiny feet were nowhere to be found. Panic began to rise inside her.

"Sophia?" Sonata called again. Time felt like it stood still. Panic began to set in. How long had she been gone? Where could she have gone, how far could those small legs take her? Had she already failed to protect her?

"Sophia! Sophia!" Sonata began to desperately call. Her feet began to move on their own, she was running, somewhere, everywhere, she needed to be everywhere at once if she was going to find her sister in t-

"Sis!"

Sonata's heart stood still. She stopped where she was, looking around for the source of the sound.

"Ah—...Sophia?"

She saw a small figure looking up from the bushes.

"Sophia? When...How...? What are you doing in there? I was looking for you." She felt herself fall to her knees.

"I found more flowers!" The figure disappeared again, then crawled her way out, a bundle of flowers, indeed, in one hand.

Sonata could only stare blankly for a few moments, then she noticed the smaller figure's smile begin to waver in worry. She sighed, brushing her pale, greenish white hair out of her face.

"Don't leave my side without telling me, you silly feathered drake."

"I am a mighty dragon! Has history taught you nothing! Titania was the smallest hatching and she grew up to be the most biggest!" Sophia argued in all seriousness.

Sonata's pose relaxed. "What do you say to taking a break from the flower crown making?"

"Nope!" Sophia quickly refused.

"...I thought not." Sophia tiredly caved in. And had absolutely none the more crownmaking luck the rest of the afternoon.