(I do not own Wings of Fire.)
Silverscales stirred in her sleep, having to be awoken by a dream of black void. She yawned as she raised her head, still feeling very sleepy. She looked around to see that it was still nighttime, and she was at the camp site with Lobster and Starfruit, who were still sleeping.
'Hmm, I wonder what woke me...' she thought, scratching her neck. She stretched her wings before shifting her position and returning to doze off. Except she couldn't. She couldn't sleep no matter how much she tossed or turned, and for some reason, none of her friends were disturbed by her.
Silverscales grumbled as she sat up, yawning a little right after. 'Gee, what does a NightWing have to do to get some sleep around here?' she wondered, her ears twitched at the sound of a twig snapping. She snapped around to see what was in the forest, but she could see nothing.
What Silverscales thought were trees turned into silhouettes of odd-looking figures, they looked vaguely like dragons. She stood in alarm, her tail raised slightly as her spines stood on an edge. She felt a cold breeze blow over her and shivered, she tried going closer to the fire for warmth, but none came.
It was only then did Silverscales realize, the fire should've burnt out the wood long ago, but instead, it was still burning with intensity. "Lobster! Starfruit! Wake up!" Silverscales called, looking around the area.
But there was no one there.
Silverscales' breathing quickened, she looked around frantically as she stumbled back. A claw landed in the campfire, and she cried aloud at the heat searing her scales, she quickly hopped out of the way and scampered around as she attempted to put out the fire on her left leg.
She managed to smother out the fire somehow by repeatedly stomping her foot and burying it in dirt. Silverscales tucked her limbs close to herself and her tail was between her hind legs as she glanced around, breathing uneven now. "S-star? Lobby? Is somebody there?" she called out, shaking where she stood.
She was replied with deep mumbles a few seconds later, it sounded as if someone was talking. This didn't help Silverscales at all, the mumbles occasionally got lighter, but then it returned heavier and louder.
Silverscales whimpered and crouched down to the floor, tail hidden under her and wings covering her head. "Stop it! Whoever you are! Stop! Please!" she shouted, not daring to even crack open an eye. "I just want my friends back! Leave us alone! Please!"
"S... l... r... s... ale... s..." a voice called, it was softer than the mumbling in the strange forest, but Silverscales had her claws over her ears and was too afraid to listen to it properly.
"Stop! Stop it! Just stop this please!" Silverscales shouted, her wings tucked tight to her and her tail curled around her legs. But the mumble came again, louder this time. "Sil... er... s... les..." it whispered.
Sniffling, Silverscales didn't stop the tears running down her face, "I just want my friends back..."
"SILVERSCALES!"
...
Silverscales awoke with a cry, immediately trying to get onto her feet until someone held her down. "Let me go! Where are my friends?! I demand that you let them go!" she shouted, trying to bite the claw that held her down, but she only got her snout clamped shut instead by small claws.
"Silver! It's just me!" Lobster exclaimed, his claws holding Silverscales down gently but firmly, but he was clearly struggling to keep his hold.
With surprised eyes, Silverscales immediately forced herself to calm down, although her heart was still rapidly racing. She glanced at the claws holding her snout shut and then looked to her left, where Starfruit looked at her with worry and fear in her eyes and scales.
Swallowing, Silverscales took a deep breath and sighed it all out, Starfruit freed her snout when she felt that Silverscales had calmed down.
"What happened?" Silverscales asked, turning to lie down properly when Lobster took his claws off her. She folded her wings and brought her tail about to rest it on her arms, she glanced back at where she had stepped in the fire, but there was nothing. 'Then why did it hurt?' she wondered.
Lobster sighed as he sat down next to her, "You had a nightmare." he said, spreading a wing over Silverscales.
Starfruit narrowed her eyes in worry, "I woke up and saw you thrashing, even though my vision is extremely blurry." she said, turning to the fire. "I didn't know what to do, so I woke Lobster up. You were hard to grab, every time we managed to get a hold you somehow slip out." she explained.
Feeling guilty for causing so much trouble, Silverscales looked down at her slightly shaky talons. "Sorry..." she mumbled, her tail switching to the other side and resting by her side as she lied her head on her claws.
She felt Starfruit cuddle up with her, squeezing herself under Silverscales' wing before she felt her relaxing the limb. Lobster lied down next to Silverscales, the only thing keeping the two apart was the tiny RainWing.
"It's okay, Silly." Lobster said, gently nudging Silverscales with a wing. "You had a nightmare, we all get them. I'm just glad you didn't hurt yourself in your sleep."
As Lobster spread his wing to rest it over Silverscales, the warmth of the fire and from him calmed Silverscales. She sighed softly and felt her eyes drooping, hearing Starfruit's slow breathing and Lobster shifting a tiny little bit to a more comfortable spot.
"Sleep well now, Silver." Lobster said, his voice a whisper in Silverscales' sleepy mind. She felt a chill settle over her as Lobster spoke his next sentence, "Please don't have another nightmare."
...
The next morning, Silverscales awoke without thrashing around. She felt great, she stretched out her claws, tail, and wings, the sunlight of an early sunrise was peeking over the trees of the rainforest.
"No more nightmares?" Lobster asked, setting down some fruits in front of him as he raised an eye crest at Silverscales.
Silverscales giggled as Starfruit hopped over to her, "No more nightmares." she said, patting Starfruit's head with a bright smile.
Lobster approached the girls holding a banana leaf with slices of mangoes and some blueberries, he set it down in front of them. "Breakfast is served, m'ladies." he said, bowing a little with a claw outstretched, much like how someone would introduce something to royalty. He was grinning.
Silverscales and Starfruit looked to each other and giggled, but the former quickly diminished it and cleared her throat as she put on the look of horribly displayed arrogance on her face. "Thank you, dear SeaWing." she said, hearing a loud snort escape Starfruit.
"But I am afraid we shall not eat it." Silverscales said, looking away with her snout pointed upwards and her eyes closed in artificial disdain. Meanwhile, Starfruit was clutching her stomach and howling with laughter, her tail thrashing around and her wings clapping against the ground.
Lobster looked up at Silverscales with mock shock, "But why, m'lady?" he asked, the emotion in his voice obviously fake.
After a second or two of pretend thinking, Silverscales turned to Lobster again, "I'm afraid it's because we simply do not have enough dragons at the table, two will not be able to finish this meal alone." she said.
Straightening himself, Lobster withdrew his claw. "What do you suggest, M'lady?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he raised an eye crest.
"How about you join us?" Silverscales suggested, she turned to Starfruit, who was now wheezing on the floor. "And quick, so we can prevent ourselves from murdering our friend."
Finally, Lobster burst out in laughter, which was rare for the normally composed dragonet. Silverscales hissed in a non-threatening way and laughed too, a claw placed on her head as she howled into the air.
The three's happiness was heard loud and clear throughout the silent forest, echoing for minutes after minutes before finally dying down as the dragonets made sure their breakfast didn't go to waste.
Once they finished the fruits, Silverscales wrapped up the leafy used and buried it by a tree. Meanwhile, Lobster and Starfruit packed up whatever they had strewn about the area.
Silverscales grabbed her satchel off the ground and slung it over her shoulder, she then scooped up a handful of dirt and tossed it over the ashes of the firewood from last night. She kept throwing dirt over the pile of ashes until it was covered.
Starfruit flapped her wings, "Ready to go?" she inquired, walking pass Silverscales to stand next to Lobster, who had already spread his wings for flight.
With a smile, Silverscales padded up to stand next to Starfruit, a wing lightly brushing her friend's. "You bet." Silverscales answered, she looked up at Lobster and nodded.
Lobster nodded back and took off, glancing back to make sure Silverscales and Starfruit had followed, which they did not too long after.
Following Lobster's map, the three continued towards Jade Mountain Academy, hoping to get there by the estimated time. Leaving the campsite and Silverscales' nightmare behind.
...
"So, if a fire were to be cold, would it burn or freeze the target?" Silverscales asked, twisting in the air to fly backwards, looking at Lobster and Starfruit.
Lobster shrugged, a movement that made him move up a bit before he settled back down. "I don't know Sill, nothing like that has ever happened in dragon or scavenger history." he replied, glancing to Starfruit and brushing his wings against hers as she was starting to fly a little lower.
The little RainWing seemed to snap back to attention and corrected her position, flapping idly.
"But it could still happen, right?" Silverscales asked, twisting again and flying next to Starfruit. "I mean, it's not impossible."
"But it's improbable." Lobster said, he fiddled with his necklace. "How can something hot be cold? It defies logic."
Silverscales sighed, though she was smiling softly. Lobster was a dork, but it was what she liked about him. At least he knew how to have fun.
"Maybe you'll be able to learn about it in one of the classes in the academy." Starfruit piped up, her tone picking up and her ears twitching.
Noticing Starfruit's expression, Silverscales and Lobster looked ahead, seeing the silhouette that could only be Jade Mountain.
Silverscales gasped, "We're here!" she exclaimed, flying a little faster in her excitement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lobster look up at the afternoon sky.
"And just in time too!" he exclaimed, sounding a little proud that he has estimated the time correctly.
Flying faster, the three dragonets were able to see the entrance to the academy after a few flaps. Silverscales tipped her wings down, going for a landing on the platform in front of the cave that was the doorway to Jade Mountain Academy.
There were several dragonets hanging out by the entrance, though they were on different platforms. The groups or pairs had dragons from different tribes mingling, from IceWings and NightWings to SandWings and RainWings.
Silverscales landed and walked ahead a bit before she turned and watched Starfruit carefully land near the edge, she padded up to Silverscales and turned to look at Lobster, who landed not long after she walked away.
"Here we are." he said, smiling as he looked at what lied get and the cave. Silverscales and Starfruit turned, looking into a fire-lit hallway of Jade Mountain Academy.
Adults and dragonets were everywhere, and no matter where Silverscales looked, she could see all the tribes of Pyrrhia together. If she looked hard enough, she could see some hybrids between two or more tribes!
Silverscales could feel her excitement boiling through her veins, she felt as if she needed to hop around, so she did. She jumped around Lobster and Starfruit, squealing and laughing and not caring about the looks she got from other dragons.
"We're here! We're here! We're finally here!" Silverscales cheered, not noticing Lobster's smirk and Starfruit's giggling. The little RainWing exclaimed in surprise when she was suddenly picked up by her NightWing friend.
"Can you believe it Star? We're at our dream school!" Silverscales said, a bright and idiotic smile on her face.
Shifting so she won't fall, Starfruit nodded, "Y-yeah!" she said as she smiled.
Silverscales placed Starfruit back down and went to stand near Lobster, "You excited?" she asked, dragging the last word out by its last syllable a little.
Lobster chuckled, "Before we even left the rainforest." he replied. He watched contentedly as Silverscales giggled and bounced ahead, entering the school with the look of innocence on her face.
"Come on guys!" Silverscales said, her tail wagging happily as she looked back to the SeaWing and the RainWing by the entrance. "Let's go find our winglet!"