Hello and welcome to my first fic outside the RWBY fandom... yet somehow a lot of names overlap... Power Reluctant! This is a bit of an experimental (for me) fic, just to see how things go writing with different characters for the first time in (checks history) nearly over six and a half years... geeze I've been doing this a while.

Obligatory 'I don't own Wings of Fire.'

The beta for this story is rsclaymore.

This fic takes place entirely after book 15 Flames of Hope. There will be spoilers... and headcanon. Also... I've never read any of the books, only listened to audiobooks from the local library. Some things may be capitalized or split up weirdly.

Anyway, onto this new story.

Sunny hummed to herself as she boxed up the last of the scrolls for Clay. She still needed to speak with the Mudwing about some specifics that needed to be taken care of while she was gone, but that could wait until tomorrow. She was tired, and she had much of her own packing to do. If all went well, she'd be gone for a few months and return just in time to see the current class graduate.

She stepped away from her desk and into the room that had temporarily been converted into a hatchery. Sunny couldn't stop a smile from bursting onto her face. Her two eggs, her two dragonets, lay in a pile of sand and leaves. A small fire burned nearby to keep them warm. The eggs themselves were almost opposite in color, one primarily green with gold spots, one was covered in gold with green stripes. Both had a few black lines running throughout.

One week. Sunny knew they'd hatch in one week. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew just the same.

"I can't wait to meet you two." Sunny curled herself around the eggs and nuzzled them with her snout. "I can already see you're beautiful." She covered them with a wing and laid her head on the bedding.

"Comfortable?" a voice asked in the other room.

Sunny raised her head and faced the voice' owner. A Leafwing with dark green scales stood in the doorway. A scar ran along the right side of his chest, one he got while under control of the Breath of Evil. Some of the leaflike webbing along his spine was tattered, a sign of his life in the poison jungle of Pantala. A few of his talons on his rear right leg were also gone. Despite all these signs of fighting, Oak was one of the kindest dragons Sunny knew, and one of the least violent outside the Rainwings.

Sunny smiled at her mate. "As a matter of fact, yes. Care to join me?"

"Of course." Oak walked up beside Sunny and laid down with the eggs between them. Sunny lifted a wing, letting her mate see the eggs nestled up against her warm scales.

Oak's eyes twinkled as he caressed the eggs. A quiet laugh escaped him. "I can already hear them laughing."

"I know." Sunny beamed at her eggs as well. "Probably at one of my mom's jokes."

"Or insults."

Sunny snorted. "Yeah. There's that too."

Oak laughed before sighing. "Are you packed and ready to go?"

"Not in the slightest." Sunny shook her head. Shortly after she told her mother that she was with egg, or eggs as it turned out, the Queen of the Sandwings insisted that her only daughter's eggs be hatched in the Sandwing stronghold. Something about introducing the newest members of the royal family to the tribe. It was tradition, but Sunny wasn't sure about having her dragonets displayed for everyone to see. She thought it would have been better if it was just her, Oak, her oldest friends, and a select few others near her children for a while… Then again, she was raised in a cave. That might have been too small of a group. "Everything's in order for Clay and Winter for when we leave. Tomorrow's for packing everything."

"I know that feeling. Sycamore's ready to take over for me in the infirmary." Oak snorted. "Then again, I'm not sure she needs me anymore. She'd be a great help in any town in Pyrrhia… or back home. My tribe could use the experience."

"I'd be sad to lose her. She's so good with the younger dragonets. But if she's needed elsewhere, she's needed elsewhere."

"Which she very well could be." Oak sighed. "I hate to bring in the tonal shift, but have you heard from Riptide yet?"

"Really?" Sunny cocked her head. "You haven't heard around the halls?"

"The fight earlier today took up all my energy and attention."

Sunny winced. "Yeah… that…" She shook her head. "Well, it wasn't Riptide, it was one of his messengers. Do you want the good news or bad news first?"

Oak shifted where he lay. "Bad first."

"Queen Coral… isn't going to last the month." Sunny shook her head. "Her sickness has finally won. Tsunami's doing what she can to keep her mother comfortable."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Oak dipped his head. "She was a good queen… and… the challenges?"

"Auklet was never going to fight Tsunami. She idolizes her too much. She'd only fight Anemone." Sunny allowed herself a small smile. "But Anemone spoke to Tsunami through Pantala's Dreamvisitor earlier today. She would like to keep her position as the Seawing ambassador to the Silkwings. She will not challenge either of her sisters to the throne... at least for now. Tsunami is going to be the next Seawing Queen."

Oak sighed with a laugh. "Good. Now she can bite her tongue about it."

Sunny giggled. "Oh, she and Glory are going to be fun to be around for a while." She looked at her eggs again and her smile faltered. In most of the tribes of both Pantala and Pyrrhia, it was tradition for a descendant, sister, or niece of the current Queen to fight to the death for the throne. The Rainwings had their own challenge and Glory was exploring options for the Nightwings. The Silkwings had their Assembly and Sunny would love to bring that to Pyrrhia, but dragons choosing their own leaders didn't go so well with the three Sandwing Princesses.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Oak draped a wing over Sunny. "I've never seen you look at our eggs like that."

"It… just hit me. My mother is the Sandwing Queen. I'm her only daughter." Sunny nuzzled her eggs. "One of them could be a girl." She gave her mate a pained look. "I don't want to be Queen. I really don't want to fight my mother for it. I'm fine right here at the academy. But… What if our daughter sees my mother as a threat? What if she sees me as a threat?"

Oak just stared at her. "You really think a dragonet raised by the biggest sweetie on the continent-" Sunny glared at him, "-and the kindest, bravest, most empathetic Sandwing in history can turn out anything other than that?"

Sunny flicked her tail at Oak's face. "You know I don't like it when you do that."

"And yet, you're still with me." Oak nuzzled Sunny's face. Still annoyed, Sunny returned the favor. She couldn't stay angry with Oak for long.

Someone knocked at the entry to their cave. Oak stood up and peaked out of the hatchery. "Ah, Moon! Come in. Come in." Oak stepped out of the hatchery. Sunny nuzzled her eggs once more before she followed.

Moonwatcher stood in the entryway to Sunny's and Oak's small apartment. It had been a long time since she'd seen her former student. "Moon, it's good to…." She blinked as she registered Moon's expression and shifting stance. That wasn't her 'it's good to see you too' face, it was a 'I've got bad news' face. "Is something wrong?"

"That's what I'm here to prevent." Moon sat on the cushion closest to the exit. "It's about one of your dragonets."

Sunny narrowed her eyes. While Moonwatcher could see the future, there was a year or two where her attempts to bring the 'best future' caused more harm than good. "Moon…"

Moon held up a talon. "I know you don't want me to tell you about their futures. I made that mistake before with Glory's dragonets. I won't even tell you which one this affects." She rested the talon back on the ground. "I haven't even told my Queen about this, even though this is something she ordered me to tell her about. If it was anyone else' dragonets, I would."

"What's this about?" Oak sat beside his mate. "Is something wrong with them? Hatch without toes? Are they sick?" Sunny cocked her head. Something Glory ordered Moon to tell her about? There couldn't be many things Glory would do that for… but about Sunny's dragonets?

Moon shook her head. "It's nothing like that. Your dragonets will hatch happy and healthy." She winced and gave Sunny an apologetic look. She shook her head and straightened. "But I can tell you that one of your dragonets will be an Animus."

Sunny blinked and her mouth hung open. "An… Animus?"

Oak looked between Moon and his mate. "Animus? Like Darkstalker?"

"Like Turtle," Sunny shot back, a little harsher than she meant. None of her dragonets would be compared to Darkstalker. She turned her head back toward the hatchery, then back to Moon. "You wouldn't be telling me this if things always went well."

Moon held out her front talons in a shrug. "I'm not Clearsight. I can't see nearly as many futures as she did." She placed her talons back on the ground. "Believe it or not, I'm not telling you because of something I saw. I'm done trying to bring out the best future I can see. That hurt more dragons than it helped. No, I'm telling you because of Turtle."

"Turtle?" Oak cocked his head. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He was an Animus before the magic stopped working." Sunny paused. "I take it that's not the case anymore?"

"No, but your dragonet is the only one I know of."

"Still, why Turtle?" Oak pressed.

"He grew up without anyone knowing his secret and no support, no one to tell him how to and not to use his gift. Even if your dragonet never uses their magic, having the constant support will help, and avoid dangerous accidental magic. I don't believe I need to explain what can happen there."

Sunny nodded. "Well… thanks for telling us. Now we need to figure out which one."

"There's the Seawing test, or I'm sure the Icewings have their own way." Moon gestured with a wing to another part of the Academy. "Winter would probably know, but I don't know how to ask him without revealing anything."

"We can decide when they can understand what's going on. Do you have anything else for us, Moon?"

Moon's tail curled and she smiled. "Just that I'm excited to meet both of your dragonets." She laughed but silenced herself. "I should leave before I reveal anything." She glanced at the flat travel sacks laying by the wall to Sunny's and Oak's sleeping cave. "Enjoy packing."

"Oh, we will." Oak almost managed to mimic Glory's sarcasm. "It's the best thing ever." Moon chuckled before walking out of the cave. Oak faced his mate. "So. An Animus. What are the odds?"

"Not as far off as you'd think." Sunny shook her head. "It runs in my family."

"What?" Oak's head shot up.

"My father also used to be an Animus." Sunny pointed in the rough direction Stonemover lay. She shifted on her feet. "Darkstalker was part Icewing, and his sister was my however many greats grandma. Their father, Prince Arctic, was an Animus. So... I think I'm technically somewhere in the Icewing line of succession."

Oak's jaw dropped but he raised it just as quick. "My apologies, your Double Highness. I didn't know."

Sunny smacked him with a wing and smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Dragons should take note of it." Oak brought a leg across his chest in a dignified manner. "I suppose this makes me a Double Highness too. Though I must say, the Kingdom of Ice is far too cold. We would have to warm it up." He used his exaggerated 'high and mighty royal' voice.

Sunny couldn't help but giggle. Her mate's eyes practically glowed as well. When her giggle fit subsided, she sighed. "You're taking this really well."

Oak snorted. "I had evil literally control my every movement a few years ago. Before that, I lived in a jungle where almost everything tried to kill me. My tribe has to replant our homeland from the ground up after it was burned down by an egotistical Hivewing. I think I can handle a little magic. If anything, I'm a little upset that Moon didn't mention Leafspeak… then again, that doesn't run in my family."

"There is that." Sunny turned her head back toward the hatchery that actually would have no eggs hatching in it. "Our lives as parents just got a little bit harder."

"Was it ever going to be easy?" Oak draped a wing over Sunny's back. "Two awesome dragons as parents and a bunch of equally awesome aunts and uncles. What could possibly go wrong?"

Sunny soared over the desert south of the Sandwing stronghold. She let the glorious sun beat down on her scales. More than half her life was spent beneath a mountain with only a little sun able to make it through a hole in the ceiling. Now that she knew this feeling, she didn't know how she survived in that cave. Her other friends felt the same way with the sun, mud, and water. Glory's scales were finally starting to be as sparkly as the other Rainwings.

The Sandwing princess hummed to herself as she searched the ground far below. She already had one lizard for her family's meal, she needed another. They usually liked to hide in this area, in the shadows of the dunes. Of course, they hid even more after one of them was snatched up, but they needed to come back out at some point.

One did, and this one looked bigger than the one she had in her prey bag. Sunny nosed down and folded in her wings, keeping only the tips out to keep her level. As she approached, she extended her wings to level her out and finesse her aim. The lizard took a step out of the sand and Sunny snatched it out as she passed. She flapped a few times to raise and slow down. Her prey secure, she slit the lizard's throat with a talon. As soon as it stopped struggling, she reached back and put it in the bag with the other one. Two lizards, both a little bigger than half the size of her dragonets. It was a good day hunting.

Her family's dinner secure, Sunny banked around and flew back toward the stronghold. While her mother decided to keep the walls, they were no longer meant to keep humans out… mostly, anyway. Now, they were massive art pieces. On the outside, they depicted interactions the Sandwings had with other tribes throughout history, including the current alliance between the Sandwings, Seawings, Rainwings, and Nightwings. Officially it had no name, but so many called it 'The Alliance of Destiny' due to the three females of the Dragonets of Destiny being either Princesses or Queens. The inside held more of the Sandwing's history, including all Sandwing Queens for the past few hundred years. While she'd never admit it, Sunny knew her mother always felt a little self-conscious when she saw herself in the same group as so many of the greats. While Burn's Weirdling Tower was torn down shortly after Thorn took the throne, the observatory tower was raised to be the tallest point in the Kingdom of Sand. When Moon visited, she almost lived in the observatory itself.

Sunny glided over the walls of the Stronghold and back flapped to slow herself and land. The guards in the area gave her respectful nods. Only the new ones bowed to her anymore. She didn't like being treated like a princess any more than Thorn liked being treated like a queen.

Speaking of her mother, she walked out of the main part of the Stronghold with Six Claws and another of her advisors standing on either side of her. They were speaking animatedly about something and walking with purpose. That is until Thorn saw her daughter. Her wings and neck rose, and her neck arched. "Beetle! You're back already?"

"The lizards were out today. My two salamanders will be happy." Sunny walked up to her mom, and they brushed wings. "I take it you're needed somewhere?"

Her mother's smile fell away. "Unfortunately. Some of the Indestructible City's traders were caught somewhere they weren't supposed to be in the Scorpion Den… again. Those little clumps of badger fur keep pushing our own traders' limits. We're flying there, then to the city itself. These things are happening way too often."

"Oh…" Sunny let her wings fall. While eating humans was now banned across Pyrrhia and the dragon tribes were speaking with the human ones, the humans still resented the dragons. Sunny couldn't really blame them, but she hoped things would be a little more peaceful between everyone.

"Oh, is right. We thought this was done too."

"Your highness," Thorn's advisor started. "We must get moving."

"I am speaking with my daughter," Thorn said with mock haughtiness. "The traders can wait a few seconds longer." She turned back to Sunny. "I'll be back in a few days. Make sure Smolder doesn't destroy the place while I'm gone."

"If I can handle dragonets, I can handle him."

"Keep telling yourself that." Thorn raised her wings and the others with her did as well. "See you soon, Beetle." She jumped into the air with her escorts right behind her.

Sunny turned toward the entrance and walked toward it. Something hanging from the roof of the fortress caught her eye. She looked up at it… Kinkajou, golden scales and all, slept on the roof with her head hanging over the ledge. Normally, Sunny wouldn't have given it a second thought. But with Turtle's last letter… It was time. Her dragonets were going to be tested for Animus magic.

She knew this day was coming. She and Oak needed to know who it was. Turtle confirmed what Moon said shortly after Sunny's dragonets hatched. It would be much better for whoever it was to have help growing up, and not in the way Anemone was raised. Still, she was more than a little worried about what Animus magic would do to one of her little salamanders. Excessive use turned the dragon evil… but she couldn't think about that. Like Oak said, none of their dragonets could possibly turn evil.

Sunny walked through the stronghold to the rooms her mother gave her family, nodding at dragons she passed. When she reached the halls that connected to her chambers, dragonet laughter floated between the rocks. Sunny's heart swelled, her earlier doubts forgotten. She loved hearing the sound at Jade Mountain. From her own dragonets, it was pure music.

She stepped into the entryway and into her family's chambers. Turtle stood across from her holding one of his books in his front talons, likely one that he wrote himself. He looked a little more… princely than when Sunny had last seen him. The Seawing's scales sparkled like polished emeralds, no small feat in the desert. He also had extra arm bands and rings on his talons. Tsunami likely had him doing something important in the Kingdom of the Sea.

The two dragonets in front of him sat in rapt attention. Savanna, the heir to the Sandwing throne, sat on the right. The scales on her back and wings shined gold like her mother fading to more common Sandwing yellow and tan on her legs. The ones on her belly, however, matched those of her father. Unlike her mother, she had the Sandwing barb on the end of her tail. The frill running down her spine matched the tribe she would one day rule as well. Her black eyes matched her grandmother's, much to Thorn's delight.

Prairie, her little troublemaker, crouched on the right as if he was about to pounce. In appearance at least, he took more after his father, with forest green scales covering most of his body. Sunny's gold decorated his belly and parts of his wings. Strangely, he had a black stripe running down his back, beside the Leafwing frill, though Sunny was half Nightwing. His wings were shaped like leaves while he also had a Sandwing barb on his tail. He had his mother's eyes, though Sunny didn't think her own ever held that much mischief.

As Turtle spoke about a daring Seawing peasant diving to save the life of a Mudwing princess, Prairie's head and nose shot up. He sniffed the air twice. "I smell prey!" He turned his head completely around and locked eyes with his mother. "Mommy's home!"

Savanna jumped and turned in the air so she faced her mother when she landed. "With food!" She jumped forward then sat patiently in front of her mother. Prairie, on the other talon, didn't stop jumping and pouncing around Sunny.

"Easy, you two." Sunny reached back and pulled one of the two lizards out of her bag. "You'll get your food."

"Two?" Savanna pouted. "What did I do?"

"You're the distraction," Oak called from his and Sunny's bedcave. He walked out with two rocks in a talon. "We know your ways."

"What?" Savanna brought a talon to her chest. "I don't do that."

Sunny noticed Prairie had stopped pouncing around her. She set the lizard on the floor. Talons grated on the floor to her left. She reached up with her opposite talon and caught her son in the chest. Prairie gaped at her. "What? How?"

"I'm half Nightwing. I can read your mind." Sunny booped her son on the snoot and set him down next to his sister and their meal. The two dragonets gave each other a regretful look, though Sunny didn't think they regretted the attempt at stealing their parents' food. They set to eating their lizard without taking it to one of the table ledges.

"That was close," Oak said as Sunny approached him. "He almost got our food."

"But he didn't." Sunny took the second one out of her bag and laid it on one of the ledges. "I'm still too fast for him." She looked over her shoulder at Turtle, who now stood beside her. "I wish I knew you were coming. I would have stopped by an oasis to pick up some fish."

"It's no problem." Turtle waved her off. "The cooks here have fresh enough stock, and they can do some interesting stuff with it."

"Only the best for our allies." That's what Sunny's mother always said. 'It keeps friends friendly,' though it was also good to be a good host.

"So," Oak started, "how fast will we know?"

"Right away." Turtle took the rocks from Oak. "There's no warm up. Unless whoever it is has already protected themselves, the magic will take place instantly."

"Good. I don't like waiting." Oak cut the tail off his and Sunny's lizard and popped it in his mouth.

"Has this ever gone wrong?" Sunny asked. She glanced back at her two dragonets. As always, they were making a mess of their meal. So much blood everywhere. They'd need to be cleaned and the floor would need to be scrubbed. Maybe it was time for them to start doing more chores themselves…

"All the 'wrong' that I can think of has come years later." Turtle brushed one of his wings against Sunny's. "Don't worry. Your dragonets are smarter than I was. Nothing will happen."

"Okay." Sunny smiled at Turtle. "You're the expert. I'll trust you." She joined her mate in their dinner. As fast as the two salamanders ate, their mouths were still small. Sunny and Oak had a little bit of time to enjoy their own meal before their dragonets jumped on one of the three adult dragons for attention.

Fortunately, they timed their pounce for when their parents were finishing their lizard. "More story, Turtle!" Savanna cheered.

"What happened to the Seawing?" Prairie asked, his eyes gleaming. "Did he catch it?"

Turtle glanced at Sunny, then smiled at the two dragonets. "In a little bit. Since your mother has returned, I need you two to run a little test."

Savanna's eyes brightened while Prairie's wings fell to the floor. "A test?" they asked, both tones matching their levels of excitement.

"Don't worry, Prairie, it's not a long one, or even that hard." Turtle placed a rock in front of each dragonet. Savanna snatched hers up right away while Prairie just stared at it. "Go on, pick it up. You need to be holding it." Prairie sighed and picked up the rock.

Sunny could barely stop a giggle at the sight. She blinked and she raised her head a little bit. The tingling feeling in her gut was still there, but it felt… different. One of her dragonets was an Animus, one of the strongest dragons in Pyrrhia, if not the world. As much as she was nervous about it, she was excited to know which one.

Turtle looked between the two dragonets. "The test is simple one at a time, you will focus your attention on the rock you hold and say, 'I enchant this rock to float out of my talons, hover for a moment, then fall back to my talons.'" He focused on Prairie. "See? Simple." Prairie didn't react.

Savanna cocked her head. "Ummm… okay?" She shook her head and straightened up, putting on her best 'royal face.' "I enchant this rock to float out of my talons, hover for a moment, then fall back to my talons." Her voice matched her expression. The rock stayed firmly in place. She blinked, then looked up at Turtle with sparkling eyes. "Did I pass?"

"Yes, very good." Turtle took the rock back and faced Prairie. Sunny faced her son as well. It wasn't Savanna…

Prairie sighed. "I enchant this rock to float out of my talons, hover for a moment, then fall back to my talons." Despite his utter lack of enthusiasm, the rock leapt from his talons and floated above Sunny's head.

"What?" Savanna gasped and jumped back. Oak gasped as well. Prairie stared open mouthed at the rock. Sunny felt a shiver run down her spine. Her little sapling was an Animus.

Turtle nodded. "Well done, Prairie. Well done."

The rock floated back down into Prairie's talons. "What did I do?"

"No fair!" Savanna snatched her rock back from Turtle and glared at it. "I enchant this rock to float out of my talons, hover for a moment, then fall back to my talons!" Despite the order, the rock didn't comply. Savanna cleared her face and hung her head. "I enchant this rock to float out of my talons, hover for a moment, then fall back to my talons…" She matched her brother's tone, but not his results.

"It's… real…" Oak whispered. Sunny turned to face her mate. Oak blinked at Prairie with his jaw hanging. "I mean… I've heard about Sundew's bracers. I've walked through the tunnels. I've just… never seen it in action."

"It is something to see." Turtle took Prairie's rock out of his stunned talons.

"No fair," Savanna whined. She glared up at Turtle. "Why did his rock move and mine didn't?"

"Why did my rock move?" Prairie asked, finally looking up at the Seawing.

Sunny brushed a wing against one of Turtle's. "Thank you, Turtle. Do you have any stories about Fathom?"

"I may have packed a book for this purpose." Turtle walked over to where his bag lay.

"Who's Fathom?" Savanna asked, sounding more than a little irritated.

"What did I do?" Prairie asked, now sounding a little excited. "Can I do it again? What else can I do?"

"Slow down there, Prairie." Sunny held up a talon. She smiled at her dragonets. Savanna was in on this as much as Prairie. "Can you two keep a secret?"

Both her dragonets perked up at that. While they had few secrets from each other, dragons in the Stronghold and elsewhere hardly knew what they were up to. They nodded at the same time and in the same way.

"Good." Sunny rested her eyes on her son. "You're an Animus, Prairie."

Prairie cocked his head. "I'm a what?"

I know there could be some people out there who have a problem with Prairie. It's not a very Sandwing or Leafwing name. To those, I say there are still plenty of trees out there, and *cough cough* go Bison *cough*

Another chapter of this will be uploaded one week from today. After that, we'll see. If you want to see more, be sure to follow, favorite, and review.