Wings of Renewal: A Solarpunk Dragon Anthology by Claudie Arseneault Page A

hips. She glared at him in defiance.
    Luan sighed, as if he had to repeat it for the thousandth time. “Because no one but my mother is allowed to. Those are the rules.”
    Chataya narrowed her eyes. “I've seen you pet her.”
    Luan smiled in that infuriating way, but didn't say anything in response. Likely he knew she'd call him out on those lies as well.  
    Chataya glanced longingly at the dragon, curled in the corner of the room. She was about the size of an ocelot, and her feathers glowed faintly in the dim light. It's not like Chataya planned on stealing her. Well, she had thought about it. More than once.  
    But she didn't understand why she couldn't at least touch her, even with one finger. She'd even settle for the pinkie. As far as she knew, the dragon wasn't violent. She reminded Chataya of a house cat; napping for hours on end in the sun, peaceful and content.  
    “Fine, then I'll leave.” The festival would cheer her up and take her mind off the dragon for a little bit. The town was celebrating the solstice, and all the life the sun gifted them. The sun provided everything for them, from their technology to their food; even their homes, built in the canopies of the massive, ancient trees of the rainforest.
    The air was already full of the scent of roasted bananas and juicy meat. Her stomach rumbled, and she longed to be down there, mingling with her friends and stuffing her face with sticky, sugary yams.
    She turned back to look at the dragon one last time before she left. Luan was standing by the dragon's bed, running his hand down her back in slow strokes. He looked up at her with a mean glint in his eyes.  
    Chataya stalked back into the room and punched him right in his stupid face.
    His yelp of alarm woke the dragon. She screeched and launched into the air, flapping around their heads like a disoriented bat. Luan's mother burst into the room, already dressed in her ceremonial robes.  
    “Chataya!” She said in her Chieftainess voice, which wasn't so different from her Mother voice.  
    But Chataya ignored it. She was so mad at Luan she hit him again. And again. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged off him.
    “Calm down,” she heard her father say.  
    “He's. Being. A. Jerk.” She punctuated each word with a kick, but they fell short of their intended target.  
    “And you're being a brat,” her father said.  
    “Only because he's so awful.”  
    “And you don't listen,” Luan shot back. His mother put a steadying hand on his shoulder.  
    She lunged at him again, but her father held her back.
    “I think it will be best if you stay home tonight,” her father said. He glanced at the chieftainess, who nodded her approval.  
    Chataya couldn't believe it. She was being banished from the celebration. Banished.  
    “But …” But everyone will be at the festival, she thought. All her friends, her family. The dragon.  
    “Save it, Chataya. Luan is supposed to be your friend. This is not how you treat your friends.”
    “No, it's not,” she said with a pointed look at Luan. She left before they could say anything more.  

    * * *

    Chataya grumbled all the way back to her house. It wasn't like Luan hadn't deserved it. He had a way of getting under her skin, of knowing the exact buttons to push. It was an old fight, she knew, one they've had many times in their long friendship. But she was too stubborn to let it go.
    She sighed and contented herself with watching the festivities from her balcony. Butterfly dragons flitted through the air, their iridescent wings a myriad of colors as they caught the light of the dying sun. It was the height of their mating season, and the air seemed choked with them. Soon, they'd return to pollinating the flowers and fruits until their eggs hatched in the sun. But that was another festival for another day.  
    Horns blew, announcing the chieftainess's arrival, and the tiny beasts scattered. She appeared out of the woods off to Chataya's left,