"So? How did it go?"
Kauwari let out an exasperated sigh as the heavy oak door closed behind him. He had just had a several-hour-long talk with the Dragonets of Destiny, giving them the low-down on who he was and his less-than-comforting hypothesis.
"They said they'd send messages out to all the Queens, and tell them to send reinforcements to their coastal outposts. I don't think they trust me very much, though," he said, rubbing his temples.
"Well, who would? We've never seen a Chromawing before, and I don't think they'd put too much trust in a dragon who says that a spooky secret society is coming here to take over the continent and enslave us all." Jasmine frowned. "I think it's mostly because of the Sandwing War of Succession, though. After that, I think they would want to believe that the tribes had changed their hearts, seeing as how many innocent lives were lost."
Now Kauwari just felt guilty. It was obvious that the dragons here had been through a lot, and seemed to be only the beginning. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he had to tell them. "Well, I'll make sure that you won't have to go through another war again. They can't just take over an entire continent that doesn't belong to them. They can't. I won't let them." I hope.
At least Jasmine was smiling again. "Look who's all fired up. You know, you look so cute when you're serious about something." Kauwari blinked in surprise. I-I do? He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks.
"Uh, thanks, I guess." Jasmine just smiled back, seemingly ignoring his embarrassment. What a weird dragon, he thought. "Oh, I have an idea! We have the rest of the day off, so my winglet is playing a game. You should come do it with us!" She wants me to play a game with them? Kauwari didn't like the sound of this. It was like they were expecting him to stick around, although he really just wanted to leave right now. Still, where would I go? I don't know anything about this place. Alight, maybe he wouldn't leave. He was pretty bored anyway, and a game with those crazy dragons of Jasmine's did sound kinda fun… "Alright, I'll come play the game with you guys." The Rainwing squealed in delight, her scales turning an oppressive shade of pink. "Great! Come this way, there's no time to waste!" And with that, the two dragons bounded of down one of Jade's many hallways.
When they got to Jasmine's winglet, or the Silver winglet, as it was called, Kauwari immediately began to reconsider his decision. "Come ON, just do it already!" Shale yelled at the Nightwing shuffling awkwardly in the middle of the room. Peregrine sat on the floor in front of Blackfang, a blindfold covering her eyes. "What's going on? Clovis, is that you?" She said, groping at the air. Jasmine slithered in and Kauwari followed her, staring wide-eyed at Blackfang. He turned and gave the Chromawing a look that said, 'please give me a nice funeral when this is over.' Kauwari gulped. He had never seen the sarcastic Nightwing so scared before. "So, what's the dare?" Jasmine inquired as Kauwari sidled up next to her. "Actually, it was two dares," Shale replied. "First we dared Peregrine to wear a blindfold for ten turns, and then Blackfang got dared to kiss his crush. And you know what that means," He grinned maliciously. Behind him, Lagoon giggled. "This is gonna be so funny!"
Kauwari and the others then turned to watch Blackfang and Peregrine. Suddenly, Blackfang reached out and took one of Peregrine's flailing claws, squeezing it. "I'm so sorry about this, Peregrine. Please forgive me," he said. "I- wha? Who is-" She was cut off as he planted his snout right on hers. After a second he pulled away, hanging his head in shame. Peregrine just sat, shocked, with her mouth hanging open. Then, her talons shot up and scrabbled at her face, tearing away the blindfold. "BLACKFANG?!" She screeched. The Nightwing yelped, jumping in surprise. "I-it's not what it looks like, Peregrine! I promise! I-it was their fault!" He pointed an accusing talon at the three laughing dragons, Kauwari, and Gale. "I didn't want to, but they made me! I'm sorry Peregrine! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He wailed. Suddenly, he turned and bolted out of the cave. "Blackfang, wait! I didn't… I wasn't…" The room was silent for a moment. "Ahh, young love! It makes the world go 'round!" Shale cackled. Peregrine turned to her clawmates and glared at them. "How could you?! Forcing him to do something so personal! You guys are evil!" With an irritated flick of her tail, she ran after Blackfang. "Blackfang, wait! Come back!" Kauwari watched her sprint after the upset Nightwing, a look of horror plastered to his face. "Oh, that was hilarious," Jasmine wheezed, gasping for breath. "Hey Gale, why aren't you laughing?" The antisocial Icewing just gazed at them, annoyed. "Because it wasn't funny." She mumbled, picking at the ground. "Say, YOU haven't gone yet." Jasmine said. The Icewing froze (no pun intended hehe). Barely lifting her head, she set her eyes on the Rainwing in an unflinching glare. "I don't want to." She said coldly. Jasmine smirked, pulling Shale aside. "Oh, no. You are definitely going."
While Jasmine brainstormed with Shale and Lagoon in the other room (Clovis had mostly taken to just watching), Kauwari was left to stare at Gale. For the most part. It seemed like every time she glanced at him, she was making an effort to psychically set him on fire. It was that kind of quiet resentment, the kind that said, 'touch me and I'll kill you'. Although, it didn't help that she was actually very pretty. She had a lean, slender, Icewing-type build, and her scales glistened with the sheen of fresh snow. Her horns and claws were pearly white, and she had her long tail wrapped around her defensively. And her eyes. They were deep purple, with bright, sky-blue irises.
And they looked very, very familiar.
"Is there something you want?" She snapped, breaking the silence. Kauwari fidgeted. "I'm sorry, I just… have we met before?" She opened her mouth to reply, but seemed to falter. "I don't know. If I'd met a dragon that looked like you before, I think I'd remember." She said, quickly looking away again. Liar. Now he knew she was hiding something. What was it? Was it the reason she was so quiet? He had to find out more about this dragon.
But before he press any further, the rest of the group walked in from the other room. "Oh, Gaallee, you have a dare!" Gale scowled at them, flattening the spines along her neck. "Oh, great. How are you guys going to torture me now?" she hissed. "Don't be such a grumpy guss. It's really not that hard anyway. All you have to do…" Jasmine paused, letting the tension build in the air.
"Is make us laugh."
Gale's expression lifted for a bit, showing the slightest hint of relief, before slamming a grumpy face down over it once again. "Alright, fine," she said, getting up a trudging to the center. Then turned around, closed her eyes, and sat.
And sat.
And sat.
And sat.
And then suddenly…
FWOOSH!
Twin jets of frostbreath came shooting out of her nose.
"Bwahahaha!" Immediately, the rest of the Silver winglet fell to pieces. Even Kauwari had to laugh. He had to admit, for such a serious dragon, Gale could make a funny joke. "Ok, guys, come on, somebody's going to here you and wonder what's up," she said, distressed. "O-ok, hehe, ok," Jasmine said as she wiped tears out of his eyes.
When they had recollected themselves, they continued the game. Dare after dare, truth after truth, each one of them was humiliated over and over again as revenge for a dare or truth of their own. Peregrine eventually showed up with Blackfang, who, although he looked like he had just eaten a clawful of fire blossom fruit, seemed "much better".
They played Truth or Dare for the rest of the day, till the ghostly forms of Pyrrhia's moons began peeking over the horizon. Eventually, though, on command of Sunny's gentle but firm orders, they made their way back to the dormitories.
"Where am I going to sleep?" Kauwari stood in archway of the silver winglet's sleeping cave. "You could sleep in my bed," Shale piped. He hopped off the moss-covered ledge he was laying on. Kauwari gave him a surprised look. "Really? But, then where are you going to-" "On the floor." Shale watched the dragon's face morph from surprise to disgust. "Don't worry," he laughed. "I used to bunk on Blackfang's bed. It's really not much different." He looked over to where the Nightwing was snoring, snarling and clawing at the air. "I wonder what he's dreaming about…" Kauwari watched Blackfang growl at nothing before flipping over again. Shale gave him a sideways look. "Probably about all the ways he'd murder us for that dare earlier today. Anyway, I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow!" The wisps of flame on the torches flickered as Shale paced out of the room. Kauwari walked over to the moss bed, feeling its texture. It's soft. He thought. Not quite the same as his bed at home, but a bed nonetheless. Jumping up, he layed down and put his head in his talons. Soon, darkness overtook his vision, and he was asleep.
Kauwari opened one eye, scanning the room. He didn't know whether any dragons had walked past the dorms to make sure they were asleep, but as far as he could tell, his snoozing act had worked. Making sure the coast was clear, he stood up, quietly stretching his legs and neck. The torches were out, now doing nothing more than sizzling away in the night. It would make seeing in the dark a little harder, but he felt safe knowing that it would do the same for other dragons as well.
He tentatively put one claw down on the stone floor, testing its noise. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be heard though. Clovis was asleep, and Blackfang had finally calmed down. Shale was probably out in the lobby, which, thankfully wasn't in the direction he was headed. Alright. Looks like I should be able to get there without a hitch. He silently swooped over to the doorway, poking his head into the darkness. No one in the halls. Good. He turned and headed left, tucking his wings in took make sure they didn't scrape the walls. He was about to let out a sigh of relief, when a small, almost unnoticeable sound make the air catch in his throat.
Scraaape.
He froze, eyes wide, ears poised to listen. He swore he had heard something. But what could it have been? Was it a dragon? It DID sound like talons scratching on rock.
Is someone following me?
He didn't want to believe that. No, it couldn't have been a dragon, Now that he thought about it, it was more like a rock rolling. Or a mouse, skittering across the floor. Taking a deep breath, he continued walking.
Yeah. No one's following me.
I hope.