Hoatzin watched the dragon below them fiddle with something in his claws. A piece of bone it looked like, and something red? With the same almost pinkish hue of their own feathers. He circled a little lower, still being careful to stay in the cloud cover. The mysterious dragon attached the contraption to his ear, and Hoatzin was able to make out that it was one of their feathers. They supposed that he had found it on the sand some time after Hoatzin had dragged him out of the water. He must’ve kept it these last few weeks.
Hoatzin continued watching him from afar, bringing him food every couple days if he seemed to be continuing to struggle with getting it himself. They were itching to talk to him, but their sense of self preservation left them waiting a bit longer. What if Hoatzin was wrong about him seeming to be different, and he would run- or worse, attack him- like most other dragons have?
They had been getting a bit closer to the Icewing with the spots where they rested, sometimes going hunting just on the other side of the forest that the dragon wandered the edges of. One night, after watching the dragon curl up for sleep, Hoatzin was also getting ready to rest for the night. They were around the edge of the woods, not too far from the ice dragon, but they had confidence they would wake up before he could stumble upon them. He circled on the singed grass and laid down with a huff.
The next morning, he woke up to the smell of smoke. The sky was turning lighter and they must’ve flicked their tail while they slept, because a shrub, about a foot or two away from him, was burning. They jumped up to their feet and looked around, hoping for a conveniently placed stream or something, but there was no water in sight. He paced as the bush smoldered, trying to figure out what to do. They didn’t think it would reach the whole forest, but he still had no way to put it out himself at the moment. Touching it or trying to stamp it out would just make it worse. They had one idea- uproot the shrub flames and all and fly over to the nearby shore and drop it in the ocean. That would certainly stop it from spreading. He just hoped that the ice dragon was still asleep- throwing something burning into the sea is not exactly how they pictured the dragon seeing them for the first time.
