Warm Welcome
Welcoming new dragons to Jade Mountain Academy was part of Fatespeaker's job.
Most of the time, she enjoyed it. After all of those years spent crammed in a cave with dragonets who hated her, she was glad to see some cheerful faces. She loved making new friends and learning about all of the new students' tribes. Even the meaner ones, like that pair of royal IceWings, would provide her with fascinating stories.
But this time...
Fatespeaker had tried her hardest not to be judgmental or mean. She wanted to be an kind, open-hearted sort of dragon; goodness knew that Pyrrhia was in desperate need of them. She was just a bit frightened of Peril, and she had no idea how to approach her.
Honestly, was there anyone who wasn't a little scared of Peril? Except for Clay, of course, but that was hardly fair - his scales were immune to her fire.
It had taken a while for her to muster up enough courage to go and talk to Peril. She felt terribly guilty about that. I hope Peril doesn't feel too out of place here, she thought. Oh, what am I thinking? Of course she feels out of place! That's why I have to give her my big, friendly WELCOME TO JADE MOUNTAIN speech!
She would have to wait a little longer, though, since Clay was apparently giving Peril one right now.
Fatespeaker hadn't meant to eavesdrop. She had no desire to overhear anything between Peril and Clay, especially anything of the extremely personal sort. Still, leaning against the wall a safe distance away from Peril's cave, she really couldn't help listening to what they were saying.
"I shouldn't have come here," Peril hissed. Fatespeaker heard her sigh loudly, followed by the sound of crackling flames. "Ugh, see? I really shouldn't be here."
The smell of smoke filled the hallway. Fatespeaker held back a cough.
"No. Peril, that's not true." Clay's low voice sounded shaky and unsure. "We made this school so that all dragons will have somewhere they belong. Somewhere to be safe. That includes you. Please, we can make this work."
"Pfft, sure." Peril's voice rose with anger and despair. "Nowhere I go is SAFE, Clay. Don't you see?" She paused, and then added quietly, "Your friends do."
Desperately, Clay interjected, "Peril - "
The SkyWing cut him off. "You know how they feel about me. They don't want me here." There was a loud thump. Fatespeaker wondered what Peril was doing. "I'm not a hero; dragons don't forgive me when I mess up."
"You are a hero, Peril," Clay insisted. "And we need you here. I need you here. Look - "
Clay stopped again and Fatespeaker wondered what was happening. She stepped a little closer.
"Sorry," Clay gasped.
"No, I..." Peril's voice had become quiet again. "I'm still not used to that." She paused. "The not-burning-your-face-off thing. I'm still not used to the whole not-running-away-screaming thing, either."
A long, heavy moment passed. "Listen," Clay said softly, "I know you're not sure about all of this, but please give us a chance. Please stay."
Fatespeaker tensed at the sound of foosteps. Then she realized Peril was pacing.
"Fine," the SkyWing finally said. "But you can't make me go to your classes and do homework! There's paper everywhere - fire hazard, you know. Plus, super boring."
Clay chuckled. "Okay, I'll tell Fatespeaker to hold off on making you a schedule." Fatespeaker winced when she heard this, ashamed of intruding on their conversation. Peril said nothing. Clay added gently, "I'll...I'll just go now."
"Wait." Peril's voice sounded strained for some reason. "There's something I should tell you."
Her thoughts a constant stream of What am I doing here what am I doing here what am I doing here?, Fatespeaker awkwardly fiddled with her talons.
"What?" Clay asked, concerned.
"Uh, sorry about freaking everyone out with my dramatic entrance," Peril answered a little too quickly, "and thanks for the room."
There was an extra beat of silence. Then Clay said, "I believe in you, Peril."
A moment later, Clay came out of Peril's room. Fatespeaker jumped backwards, wondering how she was going to explain herself. Fortunately, he didn't even notice she was there. His wings were wrapped around himself. Fatespeaker couldn't see his face. She watched him go, his limping gait a little slower than usual, and couldn't help taking notice of his burned leg - a permanent reminder of the power of Peril's fire.
Fatespeaker decided to wait a while before going to talk to Peril. Maybe this isn't such a good idea, she thought. She probably doesn't want to talk to anyone. What if I make her sad or angry? She shook her head. And what if she needs to know that someone else trusts her?
She stepped forward and stopped at the sound of Peril muttering to herself. Then, forcing a big smile onto her face, she rushed into Peril's room.
The copper SkyWing stared at her, wisps of steam rising from her dangerous scales.
Fatespeaker tried to open her mouth and say something along the lines of: Hi, I'm Fatespeaker! Welcome to Jade Mountain Academy, a place of friendship and opportunity! Instead, a sort of dying-frog-warble was all that came out. She wanted to smile - really, she did - but Peril's blazing, electric blue stare made her feel like she greeting death itself.
"Hello," Peril said after a considerably awkward amount of silence had passed. "Uh, Fatespeaker, right?" Fatespeaker could tell from her face that she recognized her. Perhaps the SkyWing was recalling the last time they'd seen each other, that fateful night when the war ended, or maybe she was thinking of something that Clay had told her about Fatespeaker.
Fatespeaker nodded. "Just stopping by to say hi!" she said. Before she realized what she was doing, she had already stuck her talon out to shake.
Peril glanced down at it, bit back a scoff, and said, "Bad idea."
"Yeah," Fatespeaker gulped, pulling away just fast enough to make herself feel bad about doing so.
Casually scratching her snout, Peril and took a long, head-to-toe look at Fatespeaker.
Fatespeaker shifted uncomfortably. It felt a little weird to have those eerie eyes studying her. Then she realized that she had been staring at Peril in exactly the same way. So this is what she has to deal with. Everywhere she goes. Fatespeaker frowned, feeling genuinely sorry for Peril. She wished she could offer the SkyWing a hug. Her reasons for not doing that were pretty obvious.
"So," Fatespeaker said, "I know we didn't really get to talk last time we met, since that huge war was ending and our friend Clay was kind of dying." When Peril didn't respond, she continued. "Then you saved him and I didn't have time to say thank you afterward." She grinned too widely and added, "Thank you for that, by the way. Now that you're here, maybe we can catch up?"
"Uh, suuuure." Peril nodded very slowly, clearly not eager to catch up on anything with the overly welcoming NightWing before her. Fatespeaker decided to change tactics.
While not the most romantically refined dragon in all of Pyrrhia (she could hardly keep herself calm around her own crush), Fatespeaker wasn't stupid. She knew that there was something between Clay and Peril. Maybe that would be a good starting point. "Speaking of Clay," she went on, "has he already shown you around the school?"
Peril shook her head. "All those flammable students walking around everywhere. Again, bad idea. I figured we should wait till later."
"Oh, I'll ask him to give you a night tour! The school looks much cooler at night, anyway. The darkness really makes the lighting pop," Fatespeaker said. "Starflight and I are usually in the library." Starflight and I. Those three words sounded particularly nice to Fatespeaker. She pushed that off-topic, blush-inducing thought aside. "You should come see us some time."
Peril's vibrant eyes narrowed slightly, making Fatespeaker wonder if she had said something wrong. Peril...library...oh. Before Fatespeaker could correct herself, the SkyWing burst out laughing.
"Me and a bunch of paper scrolls!" Peril exclaimed. Though her words were doused with sarcasm, her smile let Fatespeaker know that she wasn't offended. "Sounds awesome!"
A new, exciting thought occurred to Fatespeaker. "Okay," she admitted, "that did sound pretty ridiculous." She eyed the stone ledge that Peril was apparently going to sleep on. "You can...you can touch stone, right?"
Peril's head tilted. "I guess so. It doesn't burn." She picked up a rock to demonstrate, tossing it between her talons. "Not like paper or wood or most other stuff."
Other stuff, Fatespeaker thought darkly, like scales and flesh. She quickly chased that unpleasant image from her head.
"Well," she said, her voice rising and her eyes shining optimistically, "Starflight and I have been working on a little project for the library. We've figured out a way for Starflight - and any blind students like Tamarin - to read with stone tablets. You see, we carve the letters into the stone so that they can feel them." Peril still seemed confused, so Fatespeaker elaborated. "You could probably use them too. The stone tablets won't burn, and I'm sure that Starflight and Tamarin would be glad to share with you. We can all enjoy the library!"
Peril frowned and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Sounds cool," she mumbled.
Does Peril know how to read? The question had never crossed Fatespeaker's mind. She couldn't figure out a polite way to pose it to Peril.
"About Clay," Peril said, giving some Fatespeaker some reprieve by turning her gaze toward the floor, "since you're pretty good friends with him now." Was that envy creeping into her tone? "Do you think he'd go for a morning flight with me tomorrow?"
Her voice softened a little when she mentioned Clay's name. Fatespeaker was taken aback by the change in Peril. Then, with an ache, she realized that it reminded her of herself. This was exactly how she felt about Starflight. It was startling to see herself reflected in a powerful, infamous SkyWing. Maybe we're more similar than I thought.
Recalling Clay and Peril's conversation, the love and concern in his voice, Fatespeaker replied, "I'm sure he would love to." She winced slightly as she added, "He's been awful busy with the academy lately. I think Tsunami wanted to hold a meeting over breakfast." Peril leaned back, her face set in an uncaring expression, but Fatespeaker could see pain in her eyes. "He'll find the time for it! I'm sure he will," Fatespeaker said. "He...he really likes you."
"I know." Peril moved away from Fatespeaker, walking toward the wall that had a big window. Her tail slid past a piece of charred wood that had probably been a chair or small table. Whatever it was, it had to have been the source of all that smoke Fatespeaker smelled earlier.
Fatespeaker waited for Peril to say more. She ended up waiting for a while.
Like a fire that had burned itself out, that brief, weak connection that Fatespeaker had felt sputtered and died. Fatespeaker didn't want that. She tried to keep the embers alive.
"Ooh, you know, I think I just had a vision!" she said, trying to smile winningly. "I foresee that you're gonna have a great time here!"
Peril snorted, causing a plume of smoke to rise from her face. "Yeah, well, I foresee that I'm about to burn down a school and terrify some kids. So, uh, whoohoo." She sarcastically pumped her fist in the air and stared out of the window, making it clear that she was ready for their strained conversation to end.
"Ha ha," Fatespeaker laughed awkwardly, stepping back. "Ha, that...that's a good one."
Peril looked down at her own, deadly claws. "Thanks."
"I'll see you around," Fatespeaker said. "Let me know if you want to check out that library thing!"
The copper SkyWing nodded noncommittally. Fatespeaker turned to leave. Then, quite unexpectedly, Peril spoke again.
"Fatespeaker," she asked, "will you do me a favor?"
Fatespeaker stopped and looked back at Peril. "Sure," she said kindly. Her forced smile relaxed into a more natural one.
"Tell Clay..." Peril started. She stopped to take a deep breath and then began again. "Let him know that I'd...I'd really like that night tour you mentioned."
Peril raised her head. Her bright blue eyes met Fatespeaker's purple ones. Fatespeaker found herself mirrored in them. No matter now different she and Peril were, they were still dealing with the same struggle.
"I will," Fatespeaker promised her.
Peril looked at her, grateful and unsmiling.
Fatespeaker left the room with a similar expression on her face. Countless thoughts filled her mind, and the hope for a new friendship fluttered among them.