Hurricane hated flying through mist, especially mist as thick as it was today. He also hated being forced to go places. Unfortunately, luck hadn't really been on his side recently.

On this particularly gloomy morning was winging a good way over the Bay of a Thousand Scales on his way to Jade Mountain academy, the one and only place where dragonets of every type of tribe can go to learn and study and… stuff. Hurricane wasn't quite sure what dragons studied over there, but he was certain that whatever it was, it would pale in comparison to the vast amounts of knowledge found in the Seawing Royal library… which was where he should've been right then.

He sighed, looking to his left and right flank at the palace guards escorting him. Stone faced as ever, though that's what he expected. They had been specifically instructed by his mother not to talk to him, on penalty of death. Harsh? Maybe, but not unusual for the queen of the Seawings. She could definitely be frightening when she wanted to.

He adjusted his crown with a small flick of his saphire head. It was a thin, wiry little thing, a band of gold set with a small ruby, and it was prone to falling off. He cursed himself for bringing it along. One unexpected updraft and it would fall into the ocean, which, if not an awful scenario, would at least set them back a half hour or so looking for it. And if it did get lost, three moons, the backlash would be terrible. He could imagine how grandfather yelling at him now, "priceless artifact, passed down for generations, a prince's duty, blablabla!"

He squinted his eyes and aimed his luminescent wings more toward where he imagined the shore would be, but to no avail. For miles… or yards as far as he could see, there was only the ocean. He loved being in the ocean, not over it with nothing to look at and no book to read, leaving him with his bland compatriots and his overclocked brain to keep him company.

I wonder if Tempest... No, best not to think about it right now, it wasn't as if he could do anything about it.

...

Finally! Jade mountain academy! Hurricane was not as excited about getting to the destination as he was for the journey to be over.

He was almost taken aback by the huge twin peaks, covered in dew soaked trees and vegetation, cutting through the mist like large stone claws. Amazing! The sheer size was simply amazing! Of course, he had read all about Jade mountain in his scrolls back home, including the indigenous wildlife (most of which he was sure he could name if he was close enough) but nothing could prepare him for this.

He circled the mountain, ever flanked by his escorts who were in no hurry, using the scales on his nose as a torch to cut through the mist, and finally located the entrance.

He angled himself properly and glided down to the landing platform in front of the huge open mouth of the cave. Once again, the size of this cave was much bigger than he could have prepared himself for, and he had to steady himself as he looked up at it.

He looked over to the guards who had landed beside him.

Their task finished, they looked at Hurricane, nodded, looked at each other, nodded, looked back at Hurricane, nodded, and without a word flew up and away, back to the safety and comfort of the ocean. Hurricane took a little too much sadistic pleasure in knowing the fact that they would have to make the long journey again, with no time to rest. He turned to the mouth of the cave. Above the dark yawning cavern was carved into the stone the words "Jade Mountain Academy, welcome all!"

Well, he might as well get used to the sight of this cave. After all, he didn't know when he would be going back home. Technically, he was here for one class, but his mother wasn't very specific on the details, such as, when he would be coming back. Could be tomorrow, could be in two years. He could also be killed, though the guards would have likely done that already if that was his fate.

Ok, Hurricane, you got this. It's just a school, you like learning, it'll be fine. I mean, what could go wrong? In fact, this will be better than home! Yeah! You'll finally have time to read for as long as you want. Perfect!

So, with that, Hurricane straightened his crown, again, and waltzed into the unknown.

…

Hurricane swiveled his head around, from wall to wall, taking in the amazing sight. The main hall was huge! There were stalactites drooping down from the ceiling with colored orbs hanging from ropes between them, each one holding something that looked like… Fire? They were casting beautiful multicolored light that danced in the cool breeze that issued from the few holes in the ceiling leading to the outside world. He would have to steal one of those later, in order to find out how they worked. Or maybe there would be a book in the library.

At the very back of the room was a giant gong, almost taking up the entire back wall which shone even through the dull mist dampened light. He wondered what it would sound like if someone rang it. He wanted to ring it. He really wanted to ring it. He also noticed that there were a few hallways leading off to the right and the left.

Finally paying attention to the social situation in the room, Hurricane noticed that there was almost no one in the room. There were a few stragglers milling about (A Icewing and a lost looking Seawing) but other than that, what he assumed was the great hall was practically empty. I mean, I did come forty-eight moons after the school year started. I wonder if I can find some directions?

He was just making his way over to a wall when a creature, which could only be classified as a Rainwing, appeared in front of him. And no, not appeared as in reappeared from being invisible (he had just remembered they could do that). Appeared as in waiting to ambush any newbie that walks in the door.

"Oh Hi! So, you're the new guy? Welcome, welcome!" The Rainwing female in front of him said, quite overenthusiastically. She was a light green with yellow highlights, like on her frills and whatnot. Honestly, Hurricane had seen some stranger color combinations in his diagrams at home, but it still made him dizzy. "The school director gave me the job of welcoming you, so here I am! I really think you'll learn to love it here! Here's your map and your welcome pamphlet, and yeah there you go!" She, rather forcefully, thrust the papers into his claws. "You will be housed in the fourth cave on the right." She pointed one of her claws across the hall to the cave in the corner.

"Oh, Uhh, Yeah- tha-"

"I hope to see you around," She said, somewhat snootily, interrupting him and strutting off in one breath. What a strange dragon. Hurricane didn't know it was possible for someone to lose all of their charisma in a few seconds. Hmm, must be her problem.

He looked down at the pamphlet, searching for the self defence class. After the whole happy fluffy "Welcome to school!" mumbo jumbo there was a list of classes and the times they would be happening. Self defence at midday. It was about nineteen minutes from midday when he first got here, so he should have about enough time to stop off at his sleeping cave before class. He sighed heavily, wondering if he would ever find time to check out the library. This was going to be a long day.

Hi, so, this is my first entry on this site, so that's cool. I can't promise any regular updates or anything, as this is more of a pet project that I'm not taking too seriously. I would, however, love it if any of you wanted to give me criticism (and don't hold back). I want to be a professional author someday and I would love the chance to upgrade my style and descriptions and whatnot. Anyway, thanks for read!

Peace. - Fluffy