A Nightwing, about nine years old, stared at him with annoyance and pulled his tail up. "Stop it, you!" He said. Spectro backed away. The Nightwing decided to make conversation. "Who are you?" He asked the scared Rainwing.
There was no answer.
The Nightwing shrugged and went on. "You do know that you are out of The Rainwing kingdom, right?" He asked the frightened Rainwing. He vigorously nodded and the Nightwing continued. "Of course I know that your name is Spectro, and you are on the run, but why not have some talk in you? What's the matter? Scavenger got your tongue?" He stared at Spectro, who was astonished by this. How did he know? His powers... Or he knows the queen! He thought. The Nightwing was quiet for a moment, then said "I don't know the queen! Of all of them, she is the fattest, laziest one!" Nothing like our queen!"
Spectro stared at him for a second, then asked quietly, "are you reading my mind at this moment?"
The Nightwing scoffed. "Of course! How else would I know a friend from an enemy. And you are severely messed up. I don't know if you are either!"
Spectro wasn't sure what to say. Did he just insult me? "Well, who are you?" He asked him.
"That doesn't matter. What does is that you are very close to my camp." He closed his eyes for a minute, as if he was thinking deeply.
"Who are you?" Spectro asked again.
He turned his attention back to Spectro. "Well the real question is... Are you going to the valley of the mists? And if so, why are you here?" Spectro, learning that he could read his mind, was not stunned. "I'm just resting here for a night. Then I will leave. I want to head towards the valley of the mists, but the road is dangerous. I've already been caught by the Skywings, so all the tribes around them were informed about that. I'm not safe even here. If Coral catches me-"
The Nightwing cut him off. "You want safe passage as far as the northern corner of the Skywing territory?" Spectro was startled. He didn't even think of that. This Nightwing was smart. "If you can..."
The purple dragon nodded and waved his claw to the sea. "I have a friend that can help. I'll call him and he will be here by morning. He... owes me a favor."
Spectro nodded as the strange dragon took off. "Thank you..." He called, then quickly retreated to the den he had dug out.
Morning came, but the 'friend' did not. Spectro did not mind. He went out to the shore and stepped into the water. It was pleasantly cool and refreshing. Spectro washed himself clean of dirt, twigs, and blood. He stepped out of the water and the sunlight bounced off his scales. He layed on the beach, letting the warmth that he had so long wanted to heat his very bones. Suddenly there was a splash behind him. "Hey!" A dark blue Seawing emerged from the water. "Who are you, and why are you on the Queen's beach!" He growled, then whispered under his breath, "oh boy, my first battle with an intruder!" He scowled again at Spectro again and said "I will pluck every scale off your multicolored back, you lazy Rainwing!" He stomped the ground to emphasize his point.
"Enough, Torrent." A stern voice behind them spoke up.
Torrent turned around and moaned. "Can't I fight someone who isn't worried about picking sand out of their webs?" He turned back to Spectro, and growled one more time. "This will end soon," he murmured close to the Rainwing's ear. Then the blue dragon dove into the ocean and was lost in the murky water.
"Sorry about that. Torrent is always wanting to do something that he thinks the queen Coral would like him to do." Another blue dragon, this one a lighter shade, stepped onto the sand. "My name is Shell, and I will be your escort today," he said.