it is derg time

The Sound of Falling Rain

Two young sandwing dragonets enthusiastically dashed into the music cave at Jade Mountain Academy. A third, who was trying very hard to look just as enthusiastic, followed closely behind. It was a few hours before lunch, and their friend Pronghorn invited them and another student, Ostrich, to play instruments. They had spent time together before, which gave them some degree of familiarity, but they each came from very different places. Ostrich came from the rough-and-tumble, free-spirited Scorpion Den, while Pronghorn came from Blaze’s fortress, which had access to some level of finery.

Arid, however, was born in an oasis town where everyone worked very hard gardening and raising animals. Usually, that wasn't a problem, but this time, the dragonet was nervous because their friends had music where they came from, and they didn’t. Back in their small oasis town, everyone was much too busy working to supply food for Burn's army, hoping they were good enough at it that they wouldn't be called to the battlefield.

“This is going to be so fun, Arid, I'm glad you came too,” Pronghorn said excitedly, “I have such a good idea, you'll love it. Onyx is missing out!”

“Onyx isn't coming?” Ostrich asked.

Arid hoped not, despite having agreed to invite her. She hung around them sometimes, but she didn’t seem to care for them at all. She found Ostrich a little more interesting, but none of them could describe it as Onyx actually liking her. As if Pronghorn could sense their friend's discomfort, he shot them a reassuring smile.

“No, she said she doesn’t really like music.”

Ostrich and Pronghorn shared an incredulous look, shaking their heads. Arid felt some sympathy for Onyx, since they weren’t sure what to make of music themselves. The first time they heard or tried making it was during class. There, they were instructed by their teacher a little about a few instruments, and everyone got to try one. They didn't practice much since then though, because the few times they did they seemed bad at it. They were going to wait until another music class to try again, but they also wanted to spend time with their friends.

“She also doesn't really like us.” Arid joked.

“Ha!” Pronghorn barked. Ostrich giggled a little too.

Each dragonet then took an instrument each. Pronghorn took a pair of bongos, Ostrich chose a harp, and Arid grabbed a wooden flute. He tried it once during his one music class, and he hoped he remembered enough to play it right.

“Now that we're ready, follow me!” Pronghorn motioned for his friends to leave the music room and head up a cave passage. He had mentioned before that they would have to take the instruments somewhere else.

“Where?” Arid asked.

“It's a surprise!”

They weaved through a few other students, but then as the path sloped upwards, there were no more dragons wandering the halls. Pronghorn must have found some kind of unused cave. Arid looked at Ostrich skeptically, but she was all smiles. That made sense, she liked music a lot and was probably just happy to be practicing with them - special cave or not. 

Pronghorn led them along until they reached the upper caves. Once up there, Arid could faintly hear rain on the mountainside, the sound drifting in from one of the caves in the system, right where the three were headed. The gentle, constant white noise resounded the loudest from the last upper cave because there was an opening at one end of it where they could watch the storm come down.

“I thought we could try practicing up here, where we hear the rain in the background,” Pronghorn beamed. “It’ll be so beautiful and calming!”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea!” Ostrich said, sitting in the middle of the empty cave and beckoning Arid to sit next to her.

“I'll start the beat, and you two try to come up with a melody together. It’ll be fun!” Pronghorn continued, setting down his bongos.

Arid sat with their flute in hand and waited for Pronghorn. Their mind raced. To make a sound I put my fingers on it like this… and then- Wait, I’m not sure if that’s right. They didn’t have much time to think before their friend jumped into a steady beat on the bongos. Oh no. What if I make a mistake? The dark sandwing thought anxiously. Ostrich was already thumping her tail to the rhythm and experimentally plucking the harp strings.

“First you have to feel it, Arid!” Pronghorn suggested. “Feel the rhythm of the rain and the drums!”

As Ostrich plucked a three-note, repetitive tune that melded beautifully with the pattering of rain and the steady drumbeat, Arid swayed their head and neck. Feel the rhythm… They told themselves, and they could! Their tail joined Ostrich's, thumping the ground. Their friends smiled in encouragement.

“Now play something!” Ostrich exclaimed, and suddenly Arid remembered the flute in his talons.

Their anxiety crept back in as they slowly brought the instrument to their mouth and blew, creating a sound that seemed too quiet. They tried blowing harder, but that caused a strange lilt that clearly made Ostrich and Pronghorn wince, though they tried to hide it. They tried changing how they were holding it and blowing into it again.

A strident, high-pitched noise that did not sound right erupted from the instrument.

Pronghorn covered his ears and as the beat stopped, so did Ostrich.

“Whoops?” she said, and looked from Pronghorn to Arid with an awkward smile. “It’s okay, let's try again.”

Embarrassment and frustration welled up in Arid's chest. If I try again, I'll just mess it up again! They thought, frustrated.

“I’m just not good at this,” they snapped, sounding more frustrated than they meant to. 

“Arid, that's not true. I’m sorry,” Pronghorn apologized. “I didn’t mean to react like that. Let’s just try again, like Ostrich said.”

“No!” Arid got louder. “You don’t understand. I just can't,” they huffed. 

“Sure you can!” Ostrich tried to be encouraging. “Maybe if-”

“No!” Arid interrupted her. “I thought I could play, but I can't. I've never even seen an instrument before coming here,” they explained, tears welling up in their eyes. “You two know about music because you lived with the outclaws or with Blaze. But I spent my whole life trying to prove I can work the hardest, and during a war, that means there's no time for anything like music. Everyone around me thought the same thing. So now I have no idea what to do!”

Arid let out a choked sob as they forced themselves to admit their worries. Ostrich and Pronghorn shared a look. Were they looking down on them? They're not going to want to spend time with me anymore, they thought bitterly. But instead of rejecting them, Ostrich and Pronghorn approached. Each tentatively offered a wing with sincere smiles. Arid froze for a moment, but his spirits lifted as they realized they were being offered comfort. They gratefully reached out to brush their wings against their friends’.

“I’m sorry,” Pronghorn said. “I wanted to have fun with you two. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Arid.”

“I’m sorry too,” Ostrich added. “I never wanted to pressure you either.”

“It's okay,” Arid exhaled slowly. “I should have said something earlier. I was just really worried you two would think less of me.”

Arid leaned into Pronghorn and Ostrich's embrace, and the three of them wrapped their arms around each other, warmth radiating through them. Arid relaxed as they realized that it was safe to open up to their friends.

“We still have a little time before lunch,” Arid smiled. “I'd love to just listen to you two play.”

“Surez we'll play for you then! If you want, you can dance too,” Ostrich suggested brightly, picking her harp back up again as Pronghorn nodded in agreement and gathered his bongos.

Arid remembered that just moving to the beat felt a lot more comfortable. They wiped a few stray tears from their face and nodded.

“I think I will.”

Pronghorn started again on the bongos, and as it melded with the raindrops, Arid closed their eyes and began to sway gently. Soon after, Ostrich plucked at the harp, hitting a wrong note at first with a soft ‘whoops’ and a laugh, before she went back into a soft, calming melody. Letting the music take them away, the dragonet moved along with it.