~ CHAPTER 15 ~

"Come on! Let's go already," said Peacemaker, impatiently trotting in place near the entrance of the sleeping cave.

"How can you have this much energy so early in the morning?" Cliff asked in between yawns, sluggishly dumping some scrolls into his pouch.

"We've got hunting class up first! How could anyone not be excited about that?"

I can think of a dragon who isn't too excited about that, Snow thought to himself sullenly as he got his morning affairs in order, listening to his clawmates' exchange. Can't believe they put hunting class the day after self-defense. Can't a dragon catch a break?

"Hunting isn't as exciting as you're making it seem," Cliff said to Peacemaker. "You're just happy that it's not math or history class."

"Not true! Well, okay it's half true. But you're wrong about hunting not being exciting!" argued Peacemaker. "Do you even know how to hunt or did they just deliver food to you when you were in the palace?"

"I know how to hunt," Cliff huffed, sounding mildly offended. "I wasn't pampered and spoiled… that much. Besides, what dragon doesn't know how to hunt?"

Snow felt a surge of shame flow through him, hoping that his clawmates wouldn't see his dejectedly drooping wings. He's right. Every dragon should know how to hunt.

But Snow was never any good at it. Despite the best efforts of Cactus, he couldn't quite master the art of hunting… or even get a base level of proficiency. Eventually, his sister decided to just hunt for him and leave piles of preserved food in his cave when she went out for extended periods of time.

She often said she regrets that decision, claiming that she should've kept trying to teach him instead of giving up and coddling him. Although Snow disagreed, it was hard to deny that there wasn't some truth to it.

I doubt I would've ever gotten good at it anyway, because I'm a failure of a dragon. Hardly a dragon at all really… more like a big cow covered in scales.

"Come on Snow, no need to get so down on yourself," Peacemaker said, presumably noticing Snow's despondent appearance. "Being bad at hunting doesn't make you any less of a dragon."

"But… I'm really bad at it," Snow mumbled. "I've never actually successfully hunted… anything."

"That's okay," Cliff said, nudging Snow's sagging shoulder with his snout. "I shouldn't have said everyone knows how to hunt. Different dragons have different circumstances."

Snow nodded silently.

"And besides," Cliff continued, throwing a wing over Snow's shrunken form and pulling him in. "We can help you out when we go hunting. It'll be fun."

Seeing Cliff's bright smile, Snow couldn't help but return his own. Being wrapped in Cliff's warm wing seemed to wash away all his self-deprecating thoughts.

"We're never even gonna get to hunt if you guys keep taking so looooooong," Peacemaker said impatiently, now jogging around in small circles near the entrance.

"Right, sorry," Snow said. "One more minute and I'll be ready."

Peacemaker groaned and resignedly flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling in silence.

Snow continued packing his things for the day, and noticed that there was still a small amount of Cliff's healing ointment left in the jar. Probably won't need this, but might as well take it just in case, Snow thought as he stuffed the jar into the pouch around his neck. That reminds me…

He looked over to Cliff, who was almost done with his own preparations.

"Hey Cliff," he called as he approached. "Can you raise your wings?"

"Sure," Cliff complied, flaring his large wings upwards majestically. Still as impressive as the day I first saw them, Snow thought.

He scanned the SkyWing's body… there were minor marks on his torso, but he looked otherwise healthy.

"It's looking good," Snow commented. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yep! I feel even better than I did before getting slashed. All thanks to you, Doctor Snow," Cliff flattered.

"I hardly did anything… but I'm glad I was able to help." Snow felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

"Well, we better head out before Peacemaker gets too bored and has an existential crisis."

"It's too late," Peacemaker called, still lying on his back and staring despondently at the ceiling. "I have become one with the cave."

"I'm almost done. Just need to pack Green," Snow said, mildly worried about his hybrid friend. Where has Green run off to?

"If you're wondering where Green is," Peacemaker piped up. "He's over here."

Sure enough, Snow looked towards the supine dragon to find a similarly positioned Green lying beside him. It was an amusing sight. I wonder what any other dragon would think if they walked in to see this scene.

"Green, what are you doing?" Snow asked when he approached the scavenger.

"I am… becoming one with the cave," he droned.

Snow sighed.

"You guys were taking super long," Green said with a shrug. "And this looked like fun."

"All right all right. I won't take so long in the future, okay?" Snow assured, rolling his eyes. "So get in the bag please."

Green obliged, and Snow carefully cast the bag over his shoulder.

Peacemaker rolled back onto his feet. "Are we all ready?"

"Looks like it," said Cliff, and Snow nodded in agreement.

"Finally," Peacemaker said as the three of them stepped out of their sleeping cave.

Immediately, Snow noticed a cherry red SkyWing waiting a little ways off from their entrance. I think that's Canary, Snow recalled. The dragon that accidently hurt Cliff yesterday. Her tail was tapping on the floor nervously, suggesting that she had been waiting outside for a while.

"Oh, that's Canary," Cliff remarked. "Sorry, I gotta go talk to her for a second. Be right back!" He began making his way over to her with a quick jog.

"Three moons, we're never gonna get to class are we?" Peacemaker said.

Snow watched as Cliff approached his SkyWing friend and began speaking with her. They were a little too far away for him to make out any of the words, but their expressions communicated the general essence of the conversation.

Canary's face was riddled with guilt and remorse as she presumably apologized. Cliff said some things with a smile (probably telling her it was nothing, Snow imagined), before flaring his wings and showing off his more or less healed wound.

Cliff made a few more inaudible remarks before laughing jovially, earning a small smile out of Canary; the first since the conversation began. Cliff is so good at talking, Snow admired. I hope that I can be as confident as him one day.

Cliff brought down his wing over Canary, wrapping her in its warmth. I guess he does that to everyone, Snow mused.

"Daww, that's nice," Peacemaker said. "It's good that they got it all sorted out. It looks like that was plaguing her all night."

Cliff marched his way back over to his two clawmates after exchanging his goodbyes with Canary, a content smile plastered on his face.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Snow pointed out.

"I am. It feels good to make other people happy," he hummed. "Anyway, shall we?"

"Yes. Please," Peacemaker begged. "No more distractions."

"Oh! I forgot a scroll back in our sleeping cave," said Cliff.

"Oh moons, why have you forsaken me," Peacemaker said, looking forlornly towards the ceiling.

"Just kidding!" Cliff said with a snicker. "Come on, let's go. I'll race you there!" He darted down the tunnel towards their classroom.

"Hey that's not fair!" Peacemaker called after him as he began giving chase. "You know I can't find any class on my own!"

Snow followed behind at his own pace, enjoying his friends' enthusiasm (and also making sure to redirect Peacemaker whenever he took a wrong turn).

Seven dragonets were gathered within an open-faced cave, a large forest of green visible just outside the opening. Of the Diamond Winglet, Snow and his two clawmates were the last ones to arrive (the classroom was deceptively far away from their sleeping cave). Though they arrived within the ringing of the second gong, their new teacher still seemed dissatisfied with their belatedness.

He was a tall MudWing, with an even tree-trunk brown coloring his scales; sporting a well-built body that alluded to his hunting expertise. The intense look in his eyes told Snow that this was someone who took his job very seriously.

"Diamond Winglet," he addressed, with a stern voice to match his stern expression. "My name is Log, and you will call me as such throughout our time in hunting class."

He scanned the dragons in the room with his demanding gaze. "Can anyone tell me why we hunt?"

A short silence descended upon the dragonets, before Amber spoke up and said, "To eat and not starve?"

"Correct, but not the answer I am looking for," he responded. "Can anyone tell me what drives us to hunt?"

Tide spoke up instead this time. "Our natural instincts honed over countless generations of dragons, resulting in the culmination of the intrinsic skills and tools we have at our disposal."

"Yes, exactly," Log said with a nod of approval towards Tide, which left the SeaWing with a very pleased look. "Hunting is more than just killing prey for food. It's an art, and an important tradition passed down from our ancestors."

He paced around the front of the cave and continued speaking. "They gave us these jagged claws and these sharp teeth. To abandon hunting would be to reject the gifts our ancestors presented us. It would be no different than losing part of what makes us dragons!" he preached. "That is why it is absolutely essential for every dragon to know how to utilize the tools at their disposal and fend for themselves, lest we forfeit a crucial fragment of our identity as a species."

He's going to be so disappointed when he sees my hunting results, Snow thought somberly.

"Now, as this is our first lesson, we'll be doing an evaluation of sorts to see where your current hunting aptitude lies. You will be split up into random pairs, and you must bring back one piece of prey from the nearby forest. Any size will do for now. Ideally, you'd be hunting alone. But due to safety regulations, we can only let you go if you're with another dragon. It is unlikely that anything in the forest can cause significant harm to a dragon, but freak accidents can happen. Also, with all the worry about dragons going missing, Sunny absolutely will not allow me to send dragons out alone."

Snow was elated to hear that he didn't have to hunt alone. Having someone with him made him feel much better about his chances. I just may be able to get through this class after all.

"The pairings will be; Tide and Cliff, Amber and Peacemaker, Snowball and Barb, and Pear will hunt with me."

Oh no, Snow thought, immediately going into an internal state of panic. This is bad. Bad bad bad.

Things had been… tense between him and Barb ever since he got mad at her in music class (not that they weren't already tense before that). He'd been avoiding her more than ever, but now he was being forced to go out into a forest with her. Alone. With no witnesses.

His inner terror must've made it out to his exterior, because Cliff looked to him with a concerned expression.

"Can we switch partners?" Cliff asked the teacher. Tide looked somewhat hurt at the proposition.

"No," Log said strictly. "I made the pairs random for a reason. I don't want you dillydallying with a friend out in the forest."

"Well can you at least re-randomize the pairs?" Cliff tried. "Any other pairing would do."

"Do you really dislike the idea of hunting with me that much?" Tide asked, looking a little downcast.

"N-no! It's not that at all," Cliff assured. "It's just…"

"He doesn't want me paired with the IceWing," Barb deduced, her voice as gruff and gravelly as ever. "Relax, your highness. I won't hurt your precious buddy."

Cliff furrowed his brow at the SandWing.

"Oooh, I understand the situation now," Tide said. "I assure you, Snowball will be safe with Barb. She may make a lot of hostile remarks, but she's all bark and no bite. She hasn't done anything violent to me yet and I seem to infinitely bother her just by existing."

Maybe that's because she doesn't want to get in trouble for attacking a student within the academy. The forest on the other hand… Snow thought dourly. Cliff still looked concerned as well.

"It's okay Cliff," Snow began quietly, trying to keep his trembling to a minimum. "I – I gotta learn how to be confident, remember? This seems like it'll… help on that front."

"Yeah, it's gonna be fine," Peacemaker assisted. "I get the feeling that you and Barb are gonna catch something big too!"

"…All right," Cliff said, seemingly convinced. He leaned in close to Snow and whispered, "If she does anything weird out there, just yell as loud as you can. I'll be there in a flash." He lightly pumped his wings. "I'm a pretty fast flier."

"Th-thanks Cliff," Snow replied, a little caught off guard by his closeness, but also feeling better after hearing his friend's concern.

Cliff turned around and marched towards Barb, stopping in front of her. He looked up at the SandWing with a scowl, undaunted by her larger size. "If anything happens to Snow out there, I'll make sure you regret it."

Barb snorted. "That's a pretty vague threat, prince. They're usually more effective when they're specific. For example: if you keep bothering me, I'm going to claw your pretty little snout off."

"All right, break it up," Log commanded, noticing the two growling dragonets. "You've had enough time to chat with your friends. Everyone, pick a direction and fly with your partner."

All the pairs gathered together. Barb barely acknowledged Snow's existence as they stood side by side, instead electing to look ahead towards the forest. Picking a good direction to hunt? Snow wondered. Or finding a good place to hide a body…

He managed to wave goodbye to his clawmates before they left. Peacemaker cheerily waved back, entirely unworried about what the future held for Snow, which in a weird way made Snow feel better.

Cliff looked uneasy as they made eye contact, then flew off into the forest. He's gonna worry about me the entire time, Snow realized. Argh, I wish I was a strong and confident dragon that nobody had to be worried about ever.

This was his chance to build up some confidence and prove to Cliff that he was a capable dragon in his own right. He gathered his willpower and launched into the air, following his SandWing partner as she made her way towards the forest.