Happy Halloween, everyone! I have a special treat for you guys on this fiftieth chapter. The votes are in, and most of my readers said that they wanted to see the dragons talk. Starting now, there will be dialogue between the dragons. I decided against italicizing their dialogue or putting it in brackets, because that would be more of an annoyance than anything. I'll just trust you guys to remember that the dragons can understand the humans, but the humans cannot understand the dragons unless they specifically speak using human words.

Enjoy!

That night, snow continued to fall. Tiny white flakes cascaded from the sky to silently nestle in the grass, creating a cold blanket over everything. All was quiet, except for one sound that came from a certain earth dragon's stall. It was a sound that came and went every few minutes, preceded by and followed with an annoyed huff. It was a rattle of metal against wood and reinforced plastic, an insistent jiggling followed by a clunk.

A loud groan sounded from the metal stall nearby. "Pit, would you give it a rest? I'm trying to sleep here!" Fang rolled over on his bed of fireproof cloth, digging his claws into the mangled remains of his latest rubber toy with an exasperated snarl.

"Hush!" Pit snapped. His yellow eyes were narrowed and the faint glow from his freckles painted a night sky pattern across the darkened walls of his own stall. "I almost have it." Focusing once more on the latch that held the door closed, he allowed his powers to activate. He tried to remember how it had felt to stop Twiggy from falling from that tree, how it had felt to lift Specter for a few moments, and tried to concentrate that sensation on this smaller target. If he could just lift it another few millimeters without jerking it around…

"Yes!" The earth dragon puffed his chest out triumphantly as he heard the telltale click of the latch opening and saw the door open just a crack.

Fang, suddenly not at all interested in sleep, rolled back onto his stomach. "Wait… You actually did it?!"

"And you said it was a waste of time!" Pit gloated, nudging the door open and peering outside. "Huh. It looks really different before the humans get a chance to walk on it," he noted, staring at the unbroken layer of snow on the ground.

"Hey, quit staring at the snow and let me out!" Fang growled, walking over to his door and pawing insistently at it. "Come on, don't hog all the fun!"

Pit snorted. "I almost want to leave you in there so I won't have to listen to your grumbling." A cold wind swept by, causing the earth dragon to shiver. "But, I do need someone to keep me warm." Walking over to Fang's stall, he sought out the latch and slid his tail underneath the handle. While he could probably use his powers, he was rather tired. Now that he was outside, this was more practical.

A worried warble sounded nearby. "I don't think we should be doing this. We're not allowed to leave the stalls." Storm was pacing back and forth nervously.

"Says who?" Fang snorted. "The older dragons can fly wherever they want, and we're just as smart. The locks are for the idiots who would wander off and freeze to death or something." He leaned against the door. "Hey, Pit. How's the-WHOA!" He yelped as the door suddenly opened, causing him to barrel out, rolling over and knocking Pit to the ground.

Pit hissed irritably. "What were you were saying about idiots? Be quiet!"

A familiar, eerie whistle sounded from another stall. "Well, I would like to come out. From what I hear, the weather is simply glorious tonight." Specter tossed his head, scratching his claws eagerly on the floor.

Pit shoved Fang off of him before padding over to Specter's stall. "Please don't lean against the door."

Specter let out a superior sniff. "Please. I'm not that stupid."

"You're stupid enough to stick your tongue to an ice block multiple times…" Fang muttered, coughing pointedly.

"Oh, shut up!"

"How about you, Storm?" Fang asked, walking over to Storm's stall while Pit worked on Specter's door. "You in?"

"I…"

"Aw, come on! Don't leave me alone with the priss and the nag," he urged.

"Hey!" the ice and earth dragons protested.

Storm couldn't help but giggle, though she still hesitated. "What if someone sees us? I don't want Ruby mad at me…"

"Storm, I don't think Ruby can get mad," Fang muttered. "If anything, I got the most to worry about. I mean, have you seen Yang when her eyes go all red. It's freaky. Awesome, but freaky."

"Well…" Storm really didn't want to be left out of this adventure. Ruby is asleep, she reasoned. She'll never know. And it's not like we're going to go far or do anything bad. "Okay."

Fang wasted no time in slipping his tail under the latch. "Let's see, just lift the thing up…"

In the meantime, Specter padded out of his stall, barely suppressing a wild bark of joy when he saw the outside. "Oh, this is lovely!" He ran his claws through the snow, shivering with pleasure as the powdery coldness slipped across his scales.

"Yes, lovely." Pit hurried over to Fang, dancing irritably from paw to paw. "Erm, once you release Storm, I could really use a wing."

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on." Fang stuck out his tongue as he concentrated on getting his tail in the right position. He snorted proudly when he heard and felt the click. "Okay, Storm. You're free!"

Storm peeked her head out, blue eyes wide as they darted around to make sure no one else was in the area. Once she was satisfied, she stepped out, immediately huddling under one of Fang's wings as the fire dragon heated up his scales. "Should we get the others?" she wondered.

Pit, slipping under Fang's other wing with some difficulty due to his greater size, shook his head. "No. Four dragonets can stay hidden. If we have twelve out, it'll be total chaos, and everyone will wake up and want to be let out. Let's keep this with our team for now."

Storm shifted nervously. "I hope Guang isn't mad he got left out."

Fang rolled his eyes. "Storm, you always worry about the ones who literally never get mad about anything. Guang's stupidly happy all day, every day."

"He is not stupid!" Storm protested, her head fins flaring out defiantly.

"Easy, Storm. Fang wasn't trying to be insulting," Pit soothed while giving the fire dragon a pointed look.

Fang huffed. "Everyone's so sensitive. Jeez…"

Specter, meanwhile, was rolling around in the snow, purring as he scrubbed his back against the frozen grass. "This is heavenly! You all really should try it!"

Storm shivered. "No thanks. I think that's just an ice dragon thing."

Specter stood up, shaking a little and letting his frills come out fully to take in the cold. "Well, if I'm the only one who wants to play in the snow, why are we outside?"

"Ooh! I have an idea!" Storm chirped. "Why don't we look for the moms and dads?"

Pit tilted his head at the smaller dragonet. "The what?"

"You know," Storm insisted. "The ones who made all of us! Tempest told me that moms and dads make the eggs that hatch into dragons, humans, and Faunus! Having the same moms and dads are what make brothers and sisters."

"But…we aren't related," Specter noted. "I don't think I have any brothers or sisters. Maybe I don't have a mom or dad either." He glanced to the side. "I mean, I'm the only ice dragon here."

Storm bounded out from under Fang's wing to nuzzle Specter's shoulder. "Don't think that. Maybe there's an ice dragon we haven't met yet. We don't know all the dragons here, right?"

"True," Specter allowed. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"I don't think we'll find mine," Pit muttered. "I don't remember much, but I don't think I hatched here. I remember being in dry grass…being carried for a long time…" He shook his head. "It's all fuzzy now…"

Fang yawned. "Are we gonna keep talking, or are we gonna actually try to find something? I already have an idea where to look."

The others looked at him with surprise. "Really?" Pit asked skeptically.

"What, you don't think I hear stuff?" Fang tossed his head. "A few days ago, during a lesson, Tank asked Pepper where eggs come from. I wasn't paying much attention, but Pepper did say something about brood dragons. We just gotta find out what kind of dragons those are and find them."

"Ooh!" Storm gasped, her eyes widening excitedly. "I think I know! When I first met Penny, I was taken into a barn I'd never seen before. It had a bunch of dragons in there, but they didn't look or smell like any of us. You think those could be the brood dragons?"

"It's as good of a lead as any," Pit said. "You think you can find that barn again?"

"Uh…" Storm shuffled a forepaw in the snow. "Maaaaybe?"

"Well, that's encouraging," Specter sighed.

"Hey, it's not my fault! The cold makes my nose all stuffy." Storm rubbed her snout against her shoulder, sniffing loudly. "And everything looks different with this white junk everywhere…"

"At least we'll leave tracks," Pit reasoned. "So we won't get lost. Why don't you just pick a direction, and we can see what happens next?"

"Okay!" Storm looked around for a moment. "Hm. The field's that way, and the courtyard's that way… I say we try the courtyard!" With that decided, she scurried back under Fang's other wing. "Let's go!"

"It'll take all night with both of you pressed against me," Fang growled.

"I suppose I'll see you whenever you get there!" Specter trilled, prancing away cheerfully.

"Don't lick any lamp posts on the way there!" Fang called after him.

Pit shook his head slowly. "I honestly don't understand him. He acts so self-important and refined, but he is just such a… Hm… What's the word?"

"Dork?" Fang supplied helpfully.

"Yes, that's it!"

"I bet Huo could come up with a better word," Storm warbled playfully, glancing at Fang. "He's really creative when it comes to stuff like that. Maybe we should wake him up."

Fang groaned, flattening his ears. "Let's not. I put up with that barking loony enough already."

The three walked until they got to the end of the stall area. Storm groaned. "Ugh. This is taking forever. I'll deal with the cold." She bounded ahead, trying to cover the distance in leaps so that her feet wouldn't touch the ground for too long.

Fang glanced at Pit. "So, are you going to take the high road and deal with the cold so we can both walk properly?"

"Nope."

"Of course not…"

Storm, meanwhile, found Specter sitting in a patch of grass at the edge of the courtyard, staring at the sky. She crept close to him. "Hey, be careful. The humans who take care of the trees are out at this time." She glanced around nervously. "Did anyone see me?"

"I think they would have shouted if they had," Specter reasoned. "Look up, Storm."

Storm tilted her head up and let out a gasp. The snow was still falling, but the glow of the lamplights made each flake look like a tiny yellow star. "Pretty!" She turned her head to the side and let out a sneeze. "Too bad it's so cold."

"I wish it could always be like this," Specter sighed, spreading out his frills so that he could feel the flakes falling on the thin membranes. He shivered delightedly at the feeling.

Storm looked around. "Okay, I think… Yeah, that's the path leading to the barn I was in. I remember because Ruby took me right to the big building from there to talk to Ragnar's partner." She looked at Specter. "What do you think a brood dragon is like? What's brood mean?"

"Hm. It sounds earthy. Maybe they're related to earth dragons somehow," Specter speculated.

The sound of shuffling paws signaled Pit and Fang's approach.

"Okay," Fang growled. "We need to sneak, so get out from under my wing!"

"I know, I know." Pit shook his head in exasperation as he moved to stand behind the fire dragon. "Thank you, Fang."

"This way," Storm hissed, creeping along on her belly through the bushes, which were definitely not sufficient for hiding four dragons of their size. This was going to be difficult.

At several points, they heard footsteps and froze, waiting for them to pass. Storm's nose started to twitch. "Haa… Haaa…"

"Don't sneeze!" Specter growled.

"Hey, did you hear something?" a human voice said from a distance away.

"Great," Fang snarled.

"Quiet!" Pit hissed.

The footsteps were coming closer…closer…

Suddenly, a shadow passed overhead, and a dragon landed in the courtyard with a loud thud. A familiar voice warbled "Lo," in human tongue.

"Oh, hey Nautilus!" the human said. "Bit cold, isn't it? Don't be out too long, boy."

Nautilus snorted. "I can judge my body temperature just fine, thank you." In human tongue, he just said "Gud. Safe."

The dragonets waited, holding their breaths as the footsteps retreated. They winced as a shadow passed over them.

"Bit late for a stroll, isn't it?" Nautilus's deep, stern voice washed over them like a heavy wave.

"It was Fang and Pit's idea!" Specter said immediately, sitting bolt upright. "Pit used his powers to undo the latch, and Fang helped! I was just supervising so that no one would get injured, sir!"

"Oh, you little rat!" Fang's hackles went up as he showed off his teeth.

"Specter, that's not fair," Storm reprimanded. "We all wanted to see the brood dragons."

"Storm, shut up. I'm trying to get us out of trouble…" Specter muttered, his black eyes fixed on Nautilus's narrowed milky eyes.

The water dragon tossed his head irritably. "Stop placing blame, Specter. You're better than that."

Specter's wings and frills flattened. "Yes, sir…"

"Now, why did you want to see the brood dragons?" Nautilus asked, glancing at each of the dragonets in turn.

"We, um…" Storm shuffled her paws. "We wanted to meet our moms and dads."

At this, a strange, sad look came to Nautilus's face. "Ah…" He looked to the side for a moment, then turned back to the four. "You won't find them here. Your parents weren't from here."

"I knew it!" Specter declared. "The ice brood dragons must be somewhere else!"

"There are no specific ice brood dragons," Nautilus explained. "Brood dragons are…different from us."

"Different how?" Pit wondered.

"They…" The water dragon sighed, scratching behind one of his fins. "They don't have powers, or…the same level of intelligence that we have. We sacrifice the ability to have eggs in order to be elementals."

The dragonets shifted, looking curiously at each other. None of them could have eggs? Was that a good or bad thing?

"But, where are our moms and dads?" Pit wondered. "If they aren't here, where are they?"

Nautilus sighed. "For you, Pit, I don't know. You came to us a month before the hatching of the other freshman dragonets. I'm sure Ragnar told you this."

"Yeah." Pit nodded slowly. "He did. I thought he meant I was just early."

"There are special circumstances surrounding you, Pit. You will be told more after the next semester starts, I expect." Nautilus paused, wondering just how much to reveal. "The power you used to open your latch… You probably shouldn't use it in front of anyone."

"Why?"

"It's different," Nautilus explained. "And to some, different can be scary. And scared people are very, very dangerous. Do you understand?"

"I…think so…" Pit thought back to the other day, when Blake had looked so panicked when he had lifted Specter. Was Blake afraid of him? An ugly sinking feeling appeared in his stomach.

Fang pawed at the ground. "What about me?"

"Your egg came from the Xiao Long broodery. There are two brood dragons there, who are your parents," Nautilus said. "Storm comes from the broodery next door. Specter is from the Schnee broodery in Atlas."

"Atlas…" Specter tilted his head. He had heard that name a few times before. "Is that where ice dragons come from?"

"I believe so," Nautilus said. He wished that Glynda talked about more things around him. He truly wanted to give these children the answers they wanted. "It's late. You need to go to bed before someone else catches you."

"We…aren't in trouble?" Specter asked hopefully.

Nautilus cracked a rare, crooked smile. "Not today. If I catch you out again, however, you'll discover just how forceful a jet of water can be."

The four dragonets gulped loudly. Fang shivered a little despite his best efforts not to. They walked back to their stalls in subdued silence.

"Well, that was a bust," Fang grumbled.

"I don't know." Specter scratched at the ground. "I'm not sure if I want to see the brood dragons now. Are they really so unintelligent? I always figured that Tornado was the dumbest dragon alive."

"I still wanna see them," Storm said, though she did feel just a bit unsure. She hadn't liked the weird, unsettled look on Nautilus's face when he had described the brood dragons. "Pit, will you be okay to latch your door?"

"Huh?" Pit looked up. "Oh, yes. Of course." He waited for the others to enter their stalls, locked the doors with his tail, and entered his own stall. He glared at the door, concentrating as he had before, until the latch was locked again. As the glow from his freckles faded, he curled up on his bed, thinking back to Nautilus's words.

Am I really different from other earth dragons? he wondered. Is that why Blake seems so nervous a lot of the time? Do I make her nervous? He looked at his claws, his scaly brows furrowing. Is there…something wrong with me?

Having the dragons talk is actually going to do a lot of good for the story. I have the backlog going, and already the dragon dialogue is allowing info to be revealed to the readers that wouldn't be revealed until much later if limited to the human perspective. I'm reminded of the anime Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, which is about sentient dogs. The first few episodes are solely from the point of view of the humans. It isn't until later, when the main dog is older, that the dogs begin speaking and the point of view shifts to their pack. I'd highly recommend it, if you like old anime (and can tolerate an unfortunate lack of strong female characters…)

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!