Meet The Jade Winglet

"What?! Why are SkyWings at the bottom of the list?!" A voice from behind me remarked with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"I'm a Princess! So shouldn't I be in either the Gold or Silver Winglets?!" The SkyWing yelled, her tail lashing.

"A SkyWing Princess hah? Well, this should make things interesting." I muttered to myself, with an amused smile.

I turned to see a SkyWing with Auburn-colored scales and bright green eyes, her wings opened up wide, their red membranes almost looked like fire for a moment.

I rolled my eyes in slight amusement at the SkyWing dragonet who stormed over to Fatespeaker, the older NightWing didn't seam fazed in the slightest. I waited patiently until the SkyWing was done venting her frustration.

I walked over to the SkyWing who looked up when I approached her. She then looked down at her scroll, most likely looking for my name.

"Clearsight, right?" Zephyr asked, a hint of familiarity in her voice as she said my name.

"We're in the same winglet," I said, with a warm smile and a nod to the Princess.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Princess replied, with a small smile. Then she frowned once more, most likely thinking of the previous Conversation.

"C'mon, let's head to our cave. We can talk on the way there." I said, motioning with my tail for the SkyWing Princess to follow me.

The Jade Winglet's common cave was circular in shape. In the center of the cave was a fire pit, with seven cushions circled a safe distance. Along the walls were storage containers and book shelves, all for the winglet's personal use. The cave was also connected to three smaller caves, where the winglet, I correctly assumed, would sleep.

When we entered I put my bag down on a sleeping platform near the other end of the cave. As I was organizing my scrolls I felt something collide with me. I yelped and scurried backwards in surprise.

"Hey watch where you're going! Can't you tell that I was trying to take a nap there?" The RainWing snapped angrily. I lowered my head in shame. As the RainWing hissed and her eyes glared at me.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mea-" but I was cut off by the still fuming RainWing.

"I don't care, you should still watch where your going!" She hissed in a low tone.

"She said she was sorry. So back off and let it go!" Zephyr shouted, glaring at the RainWing. I sighed and shook out my wings.

Suddenly the RainWings demeanor changed and she stared at me with wide eyes. I blinked and looked up from reading my scroll.

"Hay! Aren't you that NightWing who filled our classroom with your amazing paintings?" The RainWing exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. I nodded and smiled shyly at the prize.

"The one and only. The name's Clearsight." I answered, with a bright smile on my face.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. The name's Willow." The RainWing said with a smile and a shake of her wings.

I vaguely remembered Willow, she was usually pritty calm and reserved, but she could also be pretty loud for a RainWing. She would snap at anyone who EVEN DARED to call RainWings lazy. I laughed quietly at the silly and quirky RainWing dragonet.

"I plan on showing everyone more of my paintings. I just hope they have a cave where I can put them on display." I mumbled the last part to myself with a slight frown.

"The Academy has some places where you can put your paintings." Came a new voice from the entrance of the sleeping cave.

The three of us looked to see a SeaWing about our age walk in. With her scales a light blue, aqua green wing membranes and eyes. I couldn't deny she looked pretty. Her calm gaze and demeanor also relieved me, and maybe not all of my clawmates would bicker?

"You must be... Hurricane, right?" Zephyr asked, the first to recover from the appearance of the new arrival.

"Tempest," she corrected, though with a sincere smile and a nod of her head in greeting.

Before I could introduce myself, Tempest was already speaking.

"Maybe we could have introductions in there?" Tempest asked as she pointed her tail out to the common cave. I could just barely see someone sitting on a cushion reading a scroll.

Zephyr, along with me and Willow, nodded as the three of us followed Tempest outside to where the other dragonet was sitting.

The dragonet in question was an IceWing. Though her scales were completely white, her tail spikes and horns were a dark blue, which I thought was odd since I had always heard IceWings were always white. She was wearing a sapphire necklace around her neck and a ring, also embedded with a sapphire, was on her horn.

As the rest of the Winglet approached her, the dragonet looked up from her scroll and at Zephyr. Then she looked up at Tempest before turning back to the three of us.

"The name's Ermine." She said after a short while before diving instantly back into her scroll.

With a sigh, Tempest sat on a cushion beside Ermine, implying both dragonets knew one another, I looked to both the SkyWing and the RainWing Clawmates. I sat on a cushion next to Tempest while Zephyr took a seat next to Willow.

"Wow! I think I'm going to like it here." Zephyr remarked, from beside Willow. I smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Clearsight." Tempest added, with a bright smile. Tempest then turned to Ermine. In order to pull her out of the scroll, Tempest gently nudged Ermine's wing with her own, causing Ermine to look at Tempest with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you like it here so far, Ermine?" Tempest asked the IceWing dragonet, Ermine slowly nodded and returned to her scroll.

"Hay... Where are the SandWing and MudWing Clawmates?" I asked to break the ice. Tempest shrugged her wings in response, while Zephyr and Willow looked at each other. Ermine, however, was to engrossed in her scroll to pay attention to the present Conversation.

"I'm sure they'll show up eventually." Tempest said, after a moment of silence, then the SeaWing went back to reading over the IceWings shoulder. I laughed quietly at Tempest.

Silence fell once again and this time Zephyr was the one to break it.

How long have you and Ermine known each other?" I quietly asked, Ermine was to engrossed in her scroll, so Tempest answered for Ermine.

"We're Hatchmates. We hatched together." The SeaWing replied with a smile and a small sigh at Ermine.

"Is Ermine from the circles?" Kindle asked, with a curious look in said IceWings direction. Tempest nodded and answered for Ermine.

"Ermine is from the circles, though she's much more... open in her opinions about it... Most of the time she's pretty quiet and she tends to keep to herself when I'm not there." Tempest explained, answering for Ermine. "At the meetings that the older IceWings have every few months... Let's just say she's caused some IceWing spikes to rattle." Tempest added, clearly poking fun at her friend good-naturedly.

Ermine rolled her eyes at Tempest. "Haha, IceWing puns. Hilarious and original! What's next, coming up with the cool and cold jokes?" Asked the IceWing with a mix of betrayal and a pout on her face. But Ermine was clearly being sarcastic. There was no mean spite in her tone when talking to Tempest.

I muffled my laughter with a wing and I noticed from the corner of my eye that Tempest was doing the same.

"But seriously, Tempest? I thought you were on my side?" Ermine pouted up at the SeaWing. Tempest just shrugged her wings in response.

"Ohh... I get the joke! But what are the circles?" Evergreen questioned, tilting his head in confusion. Ermine looked up from her scroll briefly and added.

"The IceWings have rankings and they go up depending on how high up in the circles you are. Most of the IceWings are really... lets just say there all pretty cold to others. They are also very strict in their traditions." Ermine quietly explained.

"IceWing Royals are instantly placed at the highest ranking in the circles. I'm from the circles, but I don't really agree with the IceWing aristocracy." Ermine quietly explained.

"So you're like, what, against the circles?" Asked Evergreen, frowning.

"Not necessarily." Ermine added. "A chain of command is certainly needed. I'm not saying that the system is bad or anything... But in practice, the system of the circles are flawed and dated. It doesn't have to go away, but it does need to change." Ermine quietly explained, though the IceWing's expression changed slightly at the mention of the circles.

"Willing to change traditions, but keep somethings in place." Kindle thought aloud. "I think you'd like my mother."

And, if I was being completely honest, I liked Ermine to. I had heard bad things about the aristocracy from Moon and Quibli over the years. Apparently they had a friend from their winglet, an IceWing Prince, who was once part of the circles... But even after doing so much to prove himself, he was still in exile from the IceWing tribe.

But Ermine was from the aristocracy, yet she did not like how it operated. I wondered what kind of system she would include if she were in control of it?

Ermine nodded in agreement at Kindle's statement.

"I've read scrolls about Queen Ruby and how she reformed the Sky Kingdom...Ruby is one of the good queens that have recently ascended to the throne. Moorhen has always been decent, but real change came in the form of Glory and Thorn. They're much better then Coral and Snowfall." She said, turning to Tempest. "No offense about Coral, of course."

The SeaWing shrugged her wings. "I live in the Kingdom of the Sea, but I cannot say I have much emotional connection there."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. How can you live somewhere but not love it?

"I have done a lot of traveling for most of my life," Tempest explained. "While I am loyal to the tribe, I wouldn't say I bleed for the Queen."

Now that was a thought I had a hard time understanding, being ruled by a Queen who you didn't like. I had heard somethings about Queen Coral, but at the same time my mother told me that complaints about Coral by SeaWings were rare...

Though if rumors were true, Coral may not have been Queen for much longer.

"Hay, Ermine?" The IceWing looked up from her scroll at the dragonet who had spoken. It was Evergreen.

"What are you reading?" The RainWing asked curiously. The NightWing dragonet sighed and replied quietly.

"Hm? Oh, just a scroll about IceWing history." Ermine responded, her tone changing ever so slightly. "In particular, how the Circles came to be." Continued Ermine, frowning slightly at the mention of the circles. "And how they developed over the years, and the effect it had on the non-aristocratic IceWings." She explained.

Me, Zephyr and Willow glanced at one another. I found this... Interesting to say the least. I had always learned at school that it was rare for an IceWing to actually think outside of the circles.

"That is kind of weird," Zephyr answered bluntly, voicing our thoughts out loud. "I mean you clearly look to be in the aristocracy..."

"So you're from the IceWing aristocracy?" I chimed in curiously. The IceWing nodded and went back to reading her scroll. Tempest just sighed quietly at Ermine.

"How high in the rankings are you, Ermine?" I asked, the IceWing was to busy reading her scroll, so Tempest answered for Ermine.

"Ermine is in the 3rd circle. See the sapphire neckless around her neck, and the ring that's also embedded with a sapphire that's on her horn? IceWings in the higher circles wear jewelry to signify how high up in the rankings they are." Tempest explained, answering for Ermine. Kindle and Evergreen were wide eyed at what they had just heard.

"That's really impressive, Ermine." I said, looking at the IceWing hybrid dragonet with an impressed look on my face.

Then after a short while, Tempest spoke up to break the silence.

"I mean... If I was an IceWing, I would probably be questioning everything to. I've heard that IceWing culture is very strict and complicated." Tempest added, giving a small sigh.

Ermine looked up from her scroll briefly and added,"I think we should be more organized... And command is certainly needed. But to be honest... I prefer reading scrolls and staying close to Tempest." Ermine quietly admitted.

"Umm... Please don't tell me that those two are our Clawmates." Zephyr remarked, scowling at the thought. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head in amusement.

Ermine, on the other hand, had her talons over her eyes, exasperated at what had unfolded.

"Yup, they must be Falcon and Hyena." I replied, as I remembered what I had read on the Welcome Scroll.

Ermine, meanwhile, removed her talons from her eyes to stare at the leaving dragons... Only to then quickly dive into her scroll again.

"Nope, nope, nope. Not going to get involved..." Ermine said, with a roll of her eyes and an exasperated sigh.

Tempest smiled in amusement at what had just happened. Tempest then turned to Ermine and she wrapped a wing around her friends shoulder.

"Don't worry Ermine. I don't want to get involved either. Now, let's go back into the common cave." Tempest said, and we all headed back into the Common Cave.