:: http://www.geocities.com/dragynmistress ::
:: By Jennifer Vromant			   ::
:: jen_vromant@yahoo.com		   ::
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Aerdancer - Chapter 05

We spent the next few days travelling through the rock desert.  We only talked when we had to.  Moonbreeze and Stardust travelled between me and my two younger siblings.  During one of our breaks at night, I inspected the two equines.

Moonbreeze was a small pegasus, even for his age.  His little wings weren't used to flying, and I had seen him trying to fly a few times before, without success.  He had a light gray coat with darker spots on his rump.  His mane and tail were white during the day, but glowed silver in the moonlight.  His wings were a light feathery blue.  I could see where he had gotten his name by the way his mane fluttered when he walked at night, with the moon shining down on it.  Equines usually wait a month before naming their colts, so thier names tell you something unique about out them.  Gryphons choose their own names when they're ready, and my siblings hadn't chosen yet.

Stardust was neither big or small for a unicorn.  He had a light brown coat and a golden horn that protruded from a white star on his forehead.  His mane and tail were a light shade of tan.  I could see where he, too, had gotten his name, as the moonlight made his coat shine like the stars, but because he liked to roll in the dust to get rid of bugs, his coat had a dusty look to it.  Hence Stardust.

I smiled to myself and looked over to my brother and sister.  When a gryphon is born, it has brown feathers and a yellowish beak, as to blend in with the cliffs it is born in.  Its individual colors and patterns don't begin to form until two or three years later, about the time it should be able to fly reasonable well.  As we were about two and a half years old, we were starting to get our new feathers.

My brother's feathers were turning a dark brown, and I suspected they would eventually turn black.  There were dark greenish stripes along his feathers as well.  My sister's feathers were turning into a light coppery gold with darker brown stripes.  Her beak was also turning orange.  I looked down at my own feathers, my pride and joy, for we gryphons tend to be a bit vain.  They were turning into an outright golden color, which in itself was rare.  The moonlight reflected off of them and I imagined myself in full glory and grinned to myself.  Soon I fell asleep next to the others.