Walking into the library, the first thing Drift noticed was the purple RainWing-NightWing dragonet fiddling with the ends of a few scrolls on their shelves.

Drift knew Princess Firefly for the most part. The Princess of the RainWings and the NightWings, she had a talon in both tribes. Though, her RainWing side was the most obvious. Drift knew she could change color from the one time she visited the Archipelago Palace fully, during a RainWing diplomatic visit. Queen Glory and Princess Tsunami seemed to clash, but more in an Auklet and Anemone manner, where the Queen and the Princess were teasing each other. Firefly had played hide and seek with Drift, and he ended up losing because she managed to make herself look like one of the RainWing statues in their building.

That had been two years ago. Regardless, the little hybrid was still smaller than Drift, and was much smaller than most of the other dragons in the entire school. That must've been thanks to how small her father was, considering despite his age against Starflight's, he was barely any bit bigger than him.

When Firefly had seen Drift walk into the library with Snipe, she had nearly tackled the SeaWing.

"Hey! Long time no see, huh?" she chortled, poking him with her bendy tail and holding him in a tight hug. Drift blinked, nudging her with his wing.

"You need to visit the palace more often," Drift teased, a more comfortable side of the SeaWing showing as the familiar face calmed him down. Firefly pulled out of the hug and looked over at Snipe, waving a bit.

"Have you gotten your library stamp yet?" Firefly asked, beckoning toward the desk where Starflight was. "Constellation already got her stamp and a bag for it and other things. I did too!"

Firefly proudly held up a black cloth bag, holding it tightly and smiling. "Mother said that it may even have enough space for some keepsakes for when I'm away from home. Maybe even some small plants to weave around the strap for a bit." Firefly smiled, before darting off to find another scroll to read. Taking in the scent of new scrolls and the nicely lit cave, Drift took a few steps forward. The NightWing at the desk flinched slightly at the sudden new, quick footsteps, but he seemed to relax after a moment. The cloth covering his eyes were a clear indication of his condition.

"I forgot about Starflight," Drift muttered, frowning. While he wasn't told who had attacked him twenty years before, he was told about the attack. Obviously, it still worried him. Just the way he flinched and the way he was listening so intently.

"It's just us!" Snipe called, nudging Drift with his wing. "Prince Drift an' I!"

"Oh… Drift. Good to have you both." Starflight nodded, returning to sorting his scrolls. Drift watched with fascination as Starflight seemed to so effortlessly made his way through the scrolls, despite his blindness. Though, he had worked there for twenty years now. Hopefully that meant he felt some security in his career now. Now that Icicle was gone, at least.

Drift never found out what happened during her trial. All he knew was that she was found guilty of attempted murder or something like that. The IceWings were much more furious than a tribe like the SkyWings would've been for the failed murder attempt, especially from a princess. Drift shivered slightly. He didn't like thinking about it.

"I think we saw most of the school. How about we get our library stamps and check up on Goldmaker? He's probably still upset about his failed work," Snipe said, rolling his eyes. Firefly poked her head from one of the aisles of scrolls, watching as she was joined by another NightWing dragonet. Remaining quiet for a second, Prince Drift slowly nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be fine." Drift stretched his wings out, taking in as much of the sunlight as possible. With a content sigh, he nodded. "Maybe he'll be in a better mood…"

"Blasted NightWing probably isn't," Snipe chuckled, his laugh echoing in the cave. Drift noticed Starflight seem to shrink a bit, but didn't say anything. As far as Drift was concerned, Starflight thought the same about some of the rest of his tribe anyway. After a moment of watching Snipe walk off, the little SeaWing followed him, keeping himself behind long enough to watch Firefly and her NightWing friend emerge from the aisle to check out a scroll.

"Fourth moon and fireballs…"

Drift poked his head into the sleeping cave before Snipe, watching his NightWing clawmate as he covered his eyes once more and returned to work. It seemed he had just finished cleaning up- he did well, as not a single shard of glass was left on the floor. His talon protectors were put away on the ledge where Goldmaker was working. Oddly, Drift found it rather fascinating to watch the dragon work, seeing his talons move swiftly. For such a young NightWing, he had plenty of expertise on his work, it seemed.

"Oi, Goldmaker! How are ya doin'?" Snipe asked, nudging Goldmaker with his wing. The NightWing fumbled to keep a hold on a glass vial, glaring daggers at Snipe. The usually energetic MudWing blinked, before standing and walking back to Drift. "He's angry at me. Can tell easily."
"He's… interesting," Drift whispered, flinching a bit as he watched Goldmaker's ear twitch slightly. Turning his head to look back at the two, Goldmaker smirked and set down the vial in a rack-like contraption.

"Interesting is an understatement, my… acquaintances. Intelligent beyond belief in a better way to put it. A perfect tutor for you two," Goldmaker said with a chuckle, though he glanced more at Snipe. "However, I am probably not as experienced as the tutors you must be use to, Prince Drift." Goldmaker tilted his head, turning back to his work. Drift couldn't help but feel extremely intimidated in that moment, his wings curling tightly toward his sides. Snipe grunted.

"Moody more like it," he muttered, making his way back to his bed. Drift watched the MudWing flop down on the nest, letting out a deep breath as Goldmaker finished up whatever he was working on. Pausing, he turned and approached Prince Drift, inspecting him for a moment.

"You must be Princess Tsunami's son, then? I've heard plenty about you from… let's see… that IceWing Princess in the Jade Winglet, Prince Sidewinder in the Silver Winglet… and I heard Princess Firefly herself mention you once. In passing, though. You must be quite a popular dragon, then," Goldmaker commented, his striking blue eyes staring directly at Drift. They were unnerving. NightWings had dark eyes, but these?
They were so oddly bright.

Goldmaker raised an eye ridge, before shrugging. "Or maybe it's because you're a Prince, I guess. I don't know. Haven't been in such a large school before, don't know how words spread." Goldmaker smiled, but it seemed threatening. With a small nod, Drift watched as Goldmaker made his way toward the stone ledge that was one of the three beds in the room. That left Drift with the hammock. He didn't mind, though he didn't like how close it was to the others. If he fell, he'd probably wake them up with a slap of his tail.

Sighing, the dragonet rested his talons beside his striped neck, inspecting the dark grey NightWing as he finished tidying up, and the dark brown MudWing- fast sleep. Oblivious to the work the NightWing was doing.

For his first day at Jade Mountain Academy, Drift was more unsure than ever.

Web's class was the one that Drift really cared about the next morning. His grandfather wasn't around often, but he knew the SandWing War and before the best. And, to Drift's surprise, Igneous and her friend Algid were also in this class. Drift was… curious. Hybrids weren't the most common, still, save for RainWing-NightWing hybrids due to their close proximity. But Igneous was a hybrid that, as far as Drift was sure, wasn't marked down in any sort of history book. Most hybrids were RainWing-NightWing, SeaWing-IceWing or NightWing-IceWing. Sunny was one of the outliers Drift knew of, but hybrids were pretty unheard of recently. He only knew three by name.

Well, four, now. Drift couldn't help but be curious. With a sigh, he turned back to the lesson. He wanted to meet the odd hybrid and her even stranger, amber-eyed IceWing friend. Algid. Princess Fox of the Jade Winglet seemed confused when she looked his way as they entered the history cave, and that made Drift feel nervous. Didn't he know all of the IceWing nobles by name?

Why had he never heard of an Algid before?

Why was it unnerving him so much, anyway? It wasn't his business. As he wrote down notes on the Scorching, his mind couldn't help but stay on the topic of the odd duo. In a sense, Igneous' mysterious aura reminded him of how stories were told of Queen Thrasher, the first true SandWing Queen- if she even was that. No one was truly sure, as hybrids were much more widespread then, even when the tribes were first defined.

Focus, Drift, the Prince told himself, tapping an ink stained claw on the scroll he was writing on. He couldn't keep thinking like this- comparing dragons to the dragons of the past. It just made them feel like he was comparing them to villains. No, right now they were finel.

But so were Sora and Icicle, and they killed or tried to kill dragons, Drift thought with a shiver, looking around with wide eyes for a moment. He caught Webs' gaze, quickly relaxing. He was fine. He was going to be okay.

Drift wasn't prepared when Webs called "class dismissed" and everyone began to leave, some to the prey center. That was where Drift was going, where he'd meet Snipe. However, as Drift stood up, someone else did and nearly toppled him over, his scrolls barely staying within his reaching range as he yelped.

The hybrid looked toward him, pinning her ears back as she quickly snatched one of the scrolls that was starting to unravel.

"Teeth of the viper…" she grumbled, looking up. "Sorry 'bout that. Tight quarters and all, I guess. Not use to being so close to other dragons."

"Y-yeah, I get that," Drift stuttered, a bit taken aback still by nearly being knocked over by the large dragoness. She was only a bit smaller than Goldmaker, an already massive dragon himself. Igneous, as well as being tall, was definitely built more like a SandWing. She seemed compact, but had plenty of muscle. An Outclaw, maybe? But she seemed too young to have been an Outclaw- though, Qibli was one. Maybe she has a close relationship with Queen Sunny? Drift couldn't be sure. Sunny only recently ascended to the throne, after all. "Uh… I'm Prince Drift."

"Igneous." That was all the hybrid said, as Drift watched her eyes scan around the cave, catching maps of Pantala and Pyrrhia on the wall. A few paintings of Queen Thorn, Queen Coral, and Queen Glacier adorned the opposite wall, and Drift saw Igneous look toward the painting of Thorn. "So, since you're a Prince, did you ever meet Thorn before she died?"

Drift blinked, looking back into the dark eyes of Igneous. They unnerved him. All SandWing eyes did- even NightWing eyes sometimes, unless they were a dark green or purple. Drift slowly nodded.

"She came by once during a land dispute over… over a town of SeaWings and a town of SandWings, on the northern end of the Sand Kingdom. She came to the Archipelago palace about two weeks before her death," Drift replied. Igneous nodded, glancing at Webs for a moment. There was fire in the hybrid's eyes- Drift could see it now. Some sort of anger or passion.

"Hmm," she hummed, shrugging. "Well, I've got to go. I'm hunting with Algid in the mountains today." With a small flick of her barbed tail, Igneous trotted out of the cave. The Prince blinked as he looked toward his grandfather.

Webs simply shrugged. They both were thinking the same thing, no doubt.

Igneous was curious about Thorn's death. It was a simple illness, one that attacked quickly.

But Drift couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than that.

The prey center was hectic, as Drift expected. His mother always told him about how Clay needed to really adjust how things were run, but for the time being, it was going to be like this.

Drift didn't spend long, snatching a fish the moment he found one and finding a place to sit. Hopefully, Snipe would be there. He didn't like sitting alone like this. Especially not surrounded by dragons trying to catch their own food. Loud, obnoxious… Clay really needed to adjust how things were done, didn't he? Drift snorted, lowering his head slightly as he went to take a bite from his fish.

"SNIPE! Don't shove me!"

Drift blinked, lifting his head and squinting a bit at the sunlight. He didn't realize how cloudy it was until now. His eyes locked on a group of MudWings, with Snipe in the center of them. The MudWing's ears flicked back as he stared up at the taller female, who was fuming.

"Sorry, Bracken," he said, glancing around. With a wide smile Snipe trotted toward Drift, sitting down next to him. He looked around, before snatching a chicken quickly as it flapped it's wings and darted past him. "Hectic today, huh?"

"Yeah," Drift replied. The Prince glanced around, spotting the currently sky blue scales of Firefly. "Is she alright?"
"Earlier today Algid snapped at her for something stupid. Don't know what, she won't tell. Probably related to her father." Snipe shrugged, plucking a few feathers off of his chicken. He did it almost aimlessly, lost in thought. "Fen got all huffy due to it, I think she's back in her room. I'll bring her something later," Snipe replied with a chuckle. Drift smiled for a moment, but glanced back at his fish. His appetite was gone. Snipe noticed. He raised an eye ridge, tapping his claws on the stone ground as Drift set his fish back down, making the stone under it damp.

"Have… you ever wondered about what happened to Queen Thorn?" Drift asked, catching Snipe by surprise.

"Illness. Some are very fast, and don't show signs 'til it's too late. Why do ya ask?"

"Oh, just," Drift thought for a moment, "curious I guess. I saw her two weeks before her death a few months ago… she seemed fine, then. Absolutely healthy." Drift frowned, his claws piercing the scales of the fish. "Igneous mentioned it to me earlier, got me thinking I guess."

"Huh… well, maybe you can ask mister intelligent NightWing about it," Snipe muttered, nudging Drift with his wing and beckoning toward the entrance of the cave.

In more light, the NightWing was an absolute marvel. Even his eyes seemed to show power now. Goldmaker looked around, a bag secure around his neck and chest like some of the other students. But his was definitely his own. The chain was larger than the ones the school had, and it seemed to be made out of the same material as the gloves he was wearing earlier.

Drift knew it now, since he had asked Tsunami about it earlier. Not many tribes had things made out of leather, but a few did- mostly the tribes who hunted cows. Snipe probably knew the whole time that Goldmaker had leather on him. Drift just hadn't thought to ask.

"Hey," the air beside him said, before revealing the little RainWing-NightWing hybrid, her scales a darker blue than before. Firefly sat down beside the spooked Drift and Snipe, watching Goldmaker calmly. "I've never seen him before, you know. I know every NightWing here but him," she stated, curiosity in her tone. Drift looked back toward Goldmaker. He did seem rather skinny, compared to the other NightWings. Most had put on more weight from their time on the volcano, and most were larger now that they had a constant food supply in the Rainforest.

Goldmaker was large, but he was a lot skinnier. Likely not a brute force fighter. Drift could tell that much.

"Eh?" Snipe asked, blinking. "You know all of 'em?"

"Of course I do, they're my mother's subjects. Besides, the Rainforest's actual kingdom is small," Firefly replied. "I think I'd remember a strange, cocky, blue-eyed NightWing dragonet only a year older than me."

Almost in perfect timing with those words, Goldmaker looked toward Snipe, Drift and Firefly's spot, grinning as he strutted over to them. He had a persona of being cocky, but Fatespeaker had told Drift to be nice to him. Perhaps it was just a facade, then.

"Nice seeing you guys here again. Of course, Igneous and that IceWing friend of hers seem to not be here. A shame. We could have almost the entire winglet with us," Goldmaker mused, sitting down beside Drift- away from Snipe, between him and Firefly. He was avoiding Firefly's gaze, though, but she didn't seem to mind in the slightest as she simply listened to the dragon speak. "So, how have my clawmates been?"

"Fine 'til you showed up," Snipe chuckled. The NightWing frowned, but said no more as he looked over at Drift.

"I've been okay," Drift said. Goldmaker nodded.

"That's good," the NightWing said. He flicked his ear, finally turning to face Firefly. The RainWing was focused on trying to peel an orange, using her claws to pierce the thick skin and pull it away. "Who may this be?"

He speaks so proper… he isn't nobility, though. Firefly and I would know him if he was, Drift thought. "Uh, this is Princess Firefly of the RainWings."

Lifting her gaze, Firefly suddenly seemed to notice the attention on her. Bursts of yellow appeared on her scales, but she seemed to try and quickly turn it back to blue. Of course, Drift thought that going to her natural scale color would be best, but purple did mean guilty. Goldmaker tilted his head slightly.

He simply shrugged, looking back at Drift. "She looks rather RainWing-like to be a part NightWing," he commented. Firefly flattened her frill, her scales remaining the calm blue. But Drift watched as her tailtip twitched wildly.

"I can't spit venom, though. My appearance is RainWing, but my traits are part NightWing as well," Firefly replied. Goldmaker glanced back.

"Fangs."

With that, Goldmaker stood up. Drift watched as he quickly snatched a few fruits, making his way out of the cave. Firefly's frill ruffled up again.

"Stupid NightWing," Snipe murmured. Drift looked between the two, sighing as he finally finished his meal.

So much for asking Goldmaker about Thorn. Or anyone, for that matter. Prince Sidewinder had gone silent since the death of his mother and the ascension of his half-sister to the throne. There was always asking Sunny herself what she thought, but she never came to the diplomatic meetings at the SeaWing palaces.

Don't worry about it now. You've got plenty of time, Drift thought with a small snort. The curiosity was going to kill him.