The sun beat down on the desert, its light harsh on a young SandWing dragonet's eyes as she stood on her father's back. Her small talons resting on his head, her neck craned as high as she could to watch the race start.

The whole arena was filled with chatter as dragons waited for the race to being. All of the seats were filled, the scent of fried lizards wafting in the air all around them. The large encircle of seats looked down at the center of the arena that filled with sand. Two sandstone pedestals waited down below for their racers.

"Daddy! Daddy, look I see Desert Falcon!"  The dragonet cheered, grabbing ahold of one of her father's horns, pointing with her claw to the gates that lead into the racing quarters down below.

Exiting from the right gate, the crowd cheered as a young SandWing flew up to one of the two pedestals, his claws landing on the sun baked sandstone. The crowd continued as he sat down, waving and smiling to the dragons around him.

His scales were a dusky golden color, with lighter cream color underscales. His sail was a darker golden-brown, a few nicks from his training. His wings were held to his side, but those who knew him knew of his tattoo. The insignia of the SandWing Kingdom's National Sky Racing Team; the sideview of SandWing's head, leaning forward, like it was bracing itself against the wind.

But Desert Falcon's was diffrent, he didn't have the SandWing headshot. It was a Peregrine falcon instead, the number '36' being held within the curve of the neck of the bird. That wasn't where he got his racer name though.

"I wonder who he's up against this time," the dragonet's father commented. The dragonet looked down, her dark eyes shining.

"Whoever it is, I know he'll beat them, he always does!" she said gleefully. Her father chuckled, pointing down below as another dragon joined Desert Falcon down below.

"Looks like it's Raptor," he said, his tone a holding a bit of amusement in it.

The SandWing was a bit bigger then Desert Falcon, his broad shoulders holding his large wings to his sides. His scales were a dark golden orange color, with creamy pale yellow underscales.

On his head, he wore a pair of brown goggles to protect his eyes from the wind and sand. A blue scarf with the SandWing racing team insignia resting around his neck.

"Raptor! Raptor! Raptor!" Some dragons started to chant, giving the racer a notable boost in confidence. Down below, Raptor nudged Desert Falcon with his wing, giving him a notable smug look.

"Desert Falcon can beat him! He's the bestest and fastest flier!" The dragonet said, a small growl of excitement in her tiny voice.

"Well, even the best have their moments of failure, dear. Don't get your hopes too high," her father said, almost as a small warning for her. The little dragonet shook her head, grabbing her father's horns a bit tighter.

"He's got this, daddy, just you see," she said, her tail starting to wag behind her as she leaned forward.

From the left gate came another SandWing, a small horn in his talon. He flew up high, high enough for all to see him.

"Drakes and Nesses! It's time for the final race of the SandWing Sky Race's Quarterfinals! To our right, we have Cassin, the Desert Falcon!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, roars of excitement and more coming from all around them. The little dragon gave a loud squeaky roar, her little wings flaring out to show her support.

When it started to die down, the announcer turned to the left. "And to our left, we have Raptor, the Sky Viper!"

More cheers erupted, followed by roars and talon stomps. A few SandWings that were scattered around the arena let out small flames from their mouths, a signature show of support for the Sky Viper.

"Racers! Brace your wings! When I blow this horn, you'll need to make three laps around the arena and back here. Now without further do, on your mark!"

Sky Viper and Desert Flacon crouched forward, their wings braced and ready to go.

"Get set!"

Their claws dug into the sandstone beneath them. Sky Viper's eyes narrowed, Desert Falcon curled his tail a bit tighter.

The announcer blew into the horn, and before he could get his first puff of air out, the racers were off.

The two of them both dipped low as they jumped of their pedestals, before quickly gaining altitude at alarming speeds.

Sky Viper's wings were far larger then Desert Falcon's letting him get ahead faster, but Desert Falcon was quicker on his turns as soon as they came to the highest point of the arena's ledge.

The air off of both of them made the dragons sitting by their designated path almost fall over, some popcorn bags being picked up by the gust behind them.

Cheers could be heard once more as the whole arena let out their cries of support for the two racers.

"Go Desert Falcon!" The dragonet cheered, her small wings flapping as she jumping in excitement.

Sky Viper was able to get the lead, his larger wingspan making it hard for Desert Falcon to get past him. The dusky golden SandWing stayed near the back, his wings flapping every few seconds.

"Raptor isn't letting him by!" The dragonet squeaked angrily, her dad looking up at her.

"Just wait, Desert Falcon's got this, it isn't the first time Raptor's done this."

Right as he said that, almost on cue, Desert Falcon beat his wings one massive time, sending him shooting past Sky Viper as the racer went to flap his wings.

With his wings tucked by his sides, it gave Desert Falcon just enough momentum and room to squeeze by Sky Viper, stealing the lead. The two closed the first lap, beginning their second one.

Sky Viper beat his wings harder, gaining speed before gliding on the gust he created, letting him swoop by Desert Falcon, his large wings nearly twice his opponent's own wingspan.

This was one of those moments when the audience was reminded of how young Desert Falcon was compared to Sky Viper, a whole three years younger, just at the age of six years old.

But being a quick learner didn't match up with actual experience. As they closed in on their second lap, Sky Viper took the lead, the air whistling as he and his opponent went by.

"They're so fast!" the little SandWing squeaked. Desert Falcon was stuck behind Sky Viper, the younger SandWing noticeable slowing down.

"What, why's he slowing down?" the dragonet asked, her eyes round with worry, gripping her father's horns tighter.

Even Sky Viper seemed to notice, looking over his shoulder towards his opponent. Desert Falcon didn't pick up much speed, instead, going higher and higher above the arena.

"Waaait for iiit," her father said, watch as the racer got higher and higher until he was a good wingspans up from Sky Viper.

The larger SandWing noticed, beating his wings a bit faster, gliding as quickly as he could. From up above, Desert Falcon suddenly nosedived, gaining an incredible burst of speed from the aid of his premeditated dive.

The extra push was all he needed, able to gain just enough speed to glide above Sky Viper. As the final line came closer, Desert Falcon was able to get one more good push with his wings, his neck stretched out to steal the win from Sky Viper.

They closed the third lap, before Desert Falcon made a hard turn, aiming his way for the middle of the arena. Sky Viper just closed his final lap, but wasn't fast enough to making his turn as quick as Desert Falcon did. From the help of the dive, it Desert Falcon enough momentum to swoop down, landing on his pedestal with plenty of the time to spare.

Sky Viper came up behind him after a few seconds, taking his place on his own pedestals as the crowd around them cheered and roared loudly at them.

The crowd cheered loudly around them, roars of approval and some of disapproval sounding around them. The little dragonet let out a happy cry, bouncing on her father's shoulders.

"He won! Desert Falcon won! Daddy! Daddy, he did it!" she cheered, her voice loud with excitement.

"He sure did, his Falcon Dive always work!" her father chimed.

~~~

The crowd had moved from the arena to outside, some dragons leaving while some stayed behind to talk, collect any bets, or whatever else.

Cas walked out of the racing quarters, into the large lobby, a blue bandana around his neck, the same embroidered racing insignia being shown on the front.

The SandWing looked to his right, seeing the other racers meeting fans and signing autographs. He could see Raptor and some of his other fliers chatting with dragons on the other side of the room.

A small group noticed him, beginning to swarm around him, bursting into chatter.

"Cassin! I'm a huge fan, oh my gosh, this is amazing!" A young SandWing dragoness said, her talon to her mouth as she spoke, a faint blush on her face.

"Cassin, can you sign my notescroll? My classmate won't ever believe me if I said I met you without it!" A small SeaWing said, holding a small scroll out for him, a small thing of ink with her.

"Cassin, oh my gosh, you were so cool! Ahh, this is so cool!" A little SkyWing squealed, his tail thumping on the ground beneath him.

"Hey, now, one at a time, there's only one of me!" Cas chuckled, before taking the small SeaWing's notescroll, dipping his claw in ink and signing it.

"And who do I make this out to?" he asked, a small smile on his face as he listened.

"Oh! Salmon, you can put Sammy though, they'll definitely know it's me then!" The SeaWing said, her bioluminescent scales glowing a light shade of blue.

Cas smiled, signing the scroll before handing it back to her. The SeaWing let out an excited squeal, before running away to who seemed to be her mother.

The other two dragons spoke with him for a moment, mostly talking and asking questions that the racer was use to, but happy to answer.

"What's your training like?"

"Up early in the morning to stretch my wings properly, eat a good breakfast, and then spend all my afternoon with my dad, training with him."

"Oh yeah, your dad is the old captain of the Queen's personal racing team!"

"Yeah, Queen Aloe and him go way back. You know, she was supposed to be a racing captain too; but uh... then the whole thing with her mom."

"Oh, yeah, um... well, what about-"

The sound of a squeal followed by the sound of tiny claws tapping against the sandstone ground was heard. Cas quickly turned, feeling something latch onto his leg.

"Desert Falcon!"

Cas blinked his dark amber eyes, staring down at his left back leg. Wrapped around it was a small SandWing dragonet with scales that color of the purest white gold. Her small talons were hugging his leg so tightly, her face against it, a sharp squeal and giggles escaping her still.

A larger SandWing came over quickly, his face weirdly contorted with embarrassment, anger, and shock. His sandy gray scales looked a bit dull in the torchlight.

"Yucca! I'm so sorry, Mr. Desert Falcon sir- Yucca, you can't just run up and hug him," he said, Cas guessed that he was the dragonet's father. Cas smiled, looking down at the small dragonet, he opened his wing, gently holding her under it.

"She's fine, sir. She was just excited to meet me, that's all," Cas said, looking up to the older dragon. The dragonet giggled, poking her head out from underneath Cas's wing, looking up at him.

"You smell like flowers," the dragonet said, before pulling her head back under his wing.

"Yucca-"

"She's fine," Cas interrupted, before crouching, looking under his wing, "thank you, I love the smell of flower. I really like lavender, what's your favorite flower?"

The dragonet, Yucca, giggled, crawling out from under his wing and standing next to him. "I like cactus flowers!"

Cas smiled, giving a small chuckle as he spoke, "Oh hoho! Those are really pretty ones huh?"

Yucca nodded her head, her smile wide as her small tail wagged behind her. "Yeah! They're mommy's favorite! We have a whole garden of cactuses and they have really pretty ones!"

"A whole garden? That must be a spiky place then, huh?" Cas asked.

"Yeah! Daddy takes care of it and he always hurts his claws," she giggled, looking up at her father. The SandWing gave his own soft smile back, before opening his arms for her to come to him.

She came over, and her father picked her up to let her get on his shoulders again. "Well, someone has to do it. Thank you for your time, Mr. Desert Falcon."

Cas shook his head, a smile still resting on his face. "Please, call me Desert Falcon or Cassin, I'm not even that old yet."

The SandWing gave a small nod. "Oh, sorry. Well, thank you for speaking with my little Yucca, I'm sure she appreciates it," he said, looking up as Yucca leaned against his head, her tiny talons on his head to see.

"Thank you!" She squeaked. Cas looked up at her, his tail curling by his side.

"It's no problem, thank you for speaking with me. You two be safe heading home," the racer said, waving to Yucca as she and her father started to leave.

He turned to the other two dragonets still standing there, the two quiet as they watched the interaction. Cas cleared his throat, sitting up a bit better as he focused on the young SandWing and SkyWing.

"Sorry about that, now what was your question?"

~~~

A bit of time passed, a few other dragons coming up to speak with him, until it was finally cleared out.

In the racer's quarters, Cas was gathering his things, making sure he had everything before leaving for the night.

With everything gathered and put up, Cas blew out the torch to the room, leaving through the curtain-

"Ow!" Cas said quietly, hitting his snout on something as he was exited his room. A familiar pair of bright yellow eyes looking down at him.

"Cas, there you are," Raptor said, his tone gruff as he spoke. Cas looked up at him, a whole head shorter then the other racer.

"Oh, Raptor, hey. You looking for me?" The SandWing asked. Raptor motioned with his snout to the other racers who were gathering in the large lobby, the same room as where he spoke to his fans.

"Me and the others wanted to know if you wanted to come out tonight, to celebrate you and Burrow getting to go to the finals," Raptor explained.

The other quarterfinalist, a racer named Burrow, was being bragging and hyping himself up for his previous win. The other racers were giving him their congratulations, some playfully shoving him, and talking smack talk with him.

"Oh, Burrow won, that's cool at least. Where do you guys think about heading to?" Cas asked, starting to make his way down the short hallway to the lobby.

"The drakes are saying The Ole Waterhole, but it's your and Burrow's choice, me and the others are buying tonight, so pick wherever," Raptor said, his tone playful as he spoke.

"Waterhole is fine with me, be nice to see Magpie again," Cas answered, coming to the lobby. The other racers looked to him, before dogpiling around him, greeted with shoves and tight hugs from his fellow racers.

"Cassie, my drake! That was amazing flying today! You did great out there!"

"Your dives getting better every day, buddy!"

"You and Burrow were great today!"

The dragons around him continued, hyping up and cheering around him. The group walked out, Cas being swept away with them.

Raptor watched them leave, his tail twitching behind him. He watched the group, seeing Cas's small self being practically engulfed by the other racers.

His yellow eyes narrowed slightly, before finally getting up to follow them.

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Mar. 5th, 2024

Had to finish the cover before I posted, finally finished it last night, so now we can begin!

Comments and Kudos are always welcomed. If you have any creative criticism, let me know. I know my grammer isn't what it use to be, nor my story telling, but I hope this is good enough for me just starting back out in writing.

Also, this is crossed posted onto A03, same user and title. Hope to see you over there maybe!

Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!