Chapter 6

A/N: Guess who's back?

*"Still DRE" by Dr. Dre" starts to play*

Also, on a completely unrelated note, Chemistry is a pain in the ass.

Also, chapters will remain around this length until October- I have to literally make notes for thousands of pages worth of textbooks. So, yeah.

As for music, try Billie Eilish Bellyache, and then some Electro Swing like the Die House remix. This chapter only has two scenes in it, so…

~ On the train ~

Shimmer was slowly sipping a cup of steaming brown stuff. She hadn't asked what it was, but, judging by the taste, it was made up at least partially of dirt.

"How's that wound feelin' now?" the dragon next to her asked.

"Better." She replied simply, feeling around the gigantic bandage wrapped around her head. Apparently, she had had a concussion, but it was alright now.

"Ain't I thankful for that." The young dragon had said while delivering the news. "You seem like a nice lady! Doesn't hurt that I'm now an actual healer, rather than just some nobody helper…"

She was a Silverwing; everybody on the train was. But apparently, they were different Silverwings- ones who didn't hate the Sapphirewings, ones who were actually reasonable and sane. Her healer had told her as much when she had woken up from that drug induced coma. Her mind was, in fact, still a bit hazy.

As the dragon had rambled on, Shimmer had suddenly been struck by a realisation- Kiwi had wanted to be a healer. He had told her as much at one of their now rare family outings. Would he be like this when he grew up?

If he grows up. He could be dead.

The thought had brought tears to her eyes so fast the healer had been worried that the painkillers weren't working, but Shimmer had assured her they were. The dragon, surprisingly, had understood, and had left her alone for a while.

And that was where they had ended up.

She was still too weak to walk, the healer had informed her, but she could probably stand with support. The tea was meant to help with that; grant her strength, were the exact words she had used.

I wonder…

"I didn't catch your name." Shimmer said to the healer, who grinned lopsidedly and responded, "That's 'cause I didn't offer it! Alexandria, at your service!" the healer stuck out a talon for her to shake. "But you can call me Alex. What about you?"

"My name is Shimmer."

"Pretty name. Now, you ready to move?"

"I suppose." Shimmer replied.

"Right then." Alexandria said. "So, I'm just gonna tell you what we gotta do- we need to get to that there carriage, and to do that, we'll need to walk between the cars. Its only about fifteen feet, but with how weak you are, it could be problematic. So, I'm gonna ask you again- are you ready to move?"

"I'm ready." Shimmer replied. She could handle a little walk, right?

And just as Alex was going to help her up-

"Wait." Shimmer said, remembering something. "Before I passed out, you mentioned something about another dragon like me coming here before. Could you… tell me more about him?"

"Aw, shucks, I don't know much about him." Alex replied, putting her talon up to scratch her head. "See, he came through at least ten or twelve years ago. Got captured in the same way as you, best I can remember. Gran-gran knows more, though. She was there when he came through."

"I suppose Gran-gran is in that next car?"

"Everybody is on this stretch of the tracks." Alex replied. "It's far too dangerous to remain in these ol' rusty carriages. The only reason you're here is because we didn't want to hurt you more by moving you."

"Will Gran-gran have more medicine?"

"Yes."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Shimmer asked, slowly rising to her feet.

Alex grinned. She was already beginning to like this strange dragon.

"OK. Now, this isn't gonna be what you expect. Be ready for really, and I do mean REALLY strong buffeting."

"I'm prepared. Let's go."

The door was thrown open. And the first words out of Shimmer's mouth were "Crap."

Firstly, her perception of time must've been really off. While she had thought it was at least evening, the sun was just rising. That meant poor visibility.

But there was enough light to make this out- the train was travelling over a mountain, along tiny tracks. There was mountain on one side, and a huge ravine on the other. And whoever was driving the train had apparently come out for an early morning's suicide.

The train was coming up fast on a corner- she could tell, because the river had fallen away to the right, implying a drop-off ahead.

"Alex, is that a turn up ahead?"

The silver dragon took one look at the river, uttered a string of colourful curses, and grabbed onto Shimmer.

"Hold on!" she yelled over the sounds of squealing wheels.

And then the train hit the curve.

There was no other way to describe it- a gigantic shuddering, protesting of metal and wood, wheels crying out in protest, the cars rising off the rails and into the air while also tilting towards the ravine, and in the midst of it all, two dragons clinging on to a doorframe for dear life, screaming at the top of their lungs.

But then it stopped.

And the train continued on its way.

Both the females were breathing hard. Shimmer spoke first.

"What. The. Fuck?" she gasped.

"That doesn't usually-" Alex inhaled deeply, "usually happen. The driver must be a newbie."

The train then accelerated towards the side of a mountain.

"Alex?" Shimmer asked fearfully.

"TUNNEL!" Alex screamed, grabbing her and throwing the both of them back into the carriage. Without them there to support it, the door flew open.

The wind then hit.

The sounds of two screaming dragons was drowned out by the noise coming from the wind outside the carriage. Cars up and down the train were shuddering, but theirs more so, due to the open door. It felt like the wind would first tear the carriage to bits, and then shake the rest of the train apart.

Alex screamed something as the bales of hay flew around them

"WHAT?" Shimmer asked.

The Silverwing pressed her lips to her ear and yelled "BUFFETING!"

Oh.

Just as the wooden boards lining the cabin were beginning to rattle and shake, the train exited the tunnel and the chaos stopped.

"Aaaaargh!"

Alex stopped screaming as she noticed that the train had left the tunnel.

"Stay here." She mouthed, and ran to the door.

After pumping her talon in the air, she turned and ran back towards her.

"We're clear for the next few miles. You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The dragons got up, Alex supporting Shimmer, and they stepped out of the door.

Immediately, Shimmer could see why Alex had been so worried- the wind attacked them from all sides, hitting them as hard as it possibly could. It would've been the easiest thing in the world to be swept over- certain death awaiting on either side.

But slowly, step after step, they made progress. It was only fifteen feet, but it may as well have been fifteen miles. The walk was torture, but they were getting there.

And then Alex noticed something.

"Another tunnel? It can't be!"

But it was. And it was approaching them fast.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-" Alex chanted as she practically dragged Shimmer to the ever- elusive door. "C'mon, go faster!"

They reached the door, and Alex dragged her in. Just a second after she had closed the door behind them, the buffeting began- except much gentler, for they weren't exposed to the outside.

"Oh, thank goodness." Alex said, leaning against the door. She looked over to where Shimmer lay. "You alright?"

"Dandy." Shimmer said drily as she sat up and rubbed her aching head. "Now what?"

"Now, we go through that door."

Shimmer stood up, and walked over to the door. She opened it and-

~ Back in the Library ~

Brook was currently regretting every single life decision that had led her to this exact moment.

"Suck it up. Suck it up. Suck it up."

That annoying chorus came from the dragon trudging alongside her, who was currently trying not to look at her. She sighed and looked back at the dragon in front of them- Tsunami, who looked especially smug.

"Relax, you guys. You're gonna love them! They've all just joined, EXACTLY LIKE YOU, they're all friends, UNLIKE YOU, and I think they'll be a great influence on the both of you!"

She turned, apparently expecting raucous applause for her speech. What she got instead was one Skywing with a twitching eye, and a Mudwing who looked like he'd given up in life.

"Kill me now." He said with a completely straight face.

"Ah, cheer up!" Tsunami said, undeterred. "These will be, quite possibly, some of the best days of your lives!"

"I doubt that." Brook quipped.

The female led them into the library, where a few other dragons were sitting in a circle on the ground. They were all staring- apparently, they were expected.

"Meet your new clawmates!" Tsunami declared happily.

Wow. Brook observed. They look positively miserable.

"You all look positively miserable." Firestorm blurted out.

Tsunami facepalmed as their now-clawmates glared at him. One of them- the one with blue scales- said "Well, we've just been involved in a fight YOU TWO STARTED, so excuuuuse us."

"Wait, that was them?" the green one asked.

"It was!" the Seawing responded, his eyebrows lifting up. "I remember!"

"I know nothing." The Rainwing said, but everybody ignored her.

"Gold Winglet, these will be your new clawmates. Introduce yourselves!"

Tsunami then tuned and left the room, leaving Firestorm and Brook standing in the middle of the library rather awkwardly.

Until Firestorm piped up.

"Hello!" he began. "I'm Firestorm, and that's Brook."

Asserting himself as the more open and communicative one. Smart move. Brook thought to herself.

"How are all of you?" he continued.

"Why were the two of you fighting?" the Rainwing asked.

"Let's not discuss that, shall we?" Brook said, sliding right into their ranks. Two can play at this game, Firestorm. "What's up?"

"Nothing." replied a Nightwing with jet black scales and orange eyes, quickly tossing a slate over his shoulder. It flew out of the broken window.

"Now, why don't you two get comfy and tell us more about yourselves?" he continued. "Like, for instance, are you going to fight again?"

"No, we made up." Brook said at the exact same time Firestorm said "You just threw a slate out of a window."

"You know, let's start with me! My name is Brook-"

"You can't possibly act like that didn't just happen!"

"Yes I can." Brook continued without even glancing the Mudwing's way. She could tell he was getting annoyed.

"He can do whatever he wants." The Mudwing continued. He then turned to the blue dragon next to him and extended a talon. "Hello! What were you guys doing?"

"We- we- we were just discussing how nice it would be to make some new friends?" The blue one said it like he was asking a question.

"Firestorm! Let the poor dragon be! We're all friends here!"

The rest of the winglet suddenly developed horrified expressions on their faces.

"Help."

~ Time skip ~

"…and then I said 'What are you? A HEALER?'"

"Funny story Brook, but the punchline is supposed to be 'Ain't you a healer?'"

"Actually, Firestorm, it's supposed to be 'AREN'T'."

"BUT THAT ISN'T AS FUNNY AS AIN'T, BROOK."

These sounds of chaos were emanating from the two dragons, who were currently in the process of deciding who had made the best knock-knock joke.

"Why would Tsunami do this to us?" Blue whispered to Green, who moaned and put her hands over her ears.

"I don't know, ask her!"

"Hey, any of you guys want something from the prey centre?" Brook asked, and then immediately continued without waiting for a response. "Yes? I'll go and get food!"

She bolted, and Firestorm screamed "OH NO YOU DON'T!" before running after her.

There was momentary silence.

"What in the WORLD WAS THAT?" Tamarin yelled out, her face white.

"I think my ears are bleeding." Pike pointed out.

Pluto simply stared the thousand-yard stare of a broken dragon.

"Pluto?" Blue asked.

"They didn't even ask our names." He said in shock.

"Hey, did any of you notice that the two of them are trying to get us to dislike the other?" Tamarin mentioned.

"Now that I think about it, yeah!"

"They seem untrustworthy." Green pointed out.

"How about we don't tell them about any of this?" Pike asked.

"Yeah. Let's do that."

Protip- Don't change subjects after a year of studying one; it really, really sucks.