"Are you sure she's going to be alright, Starflight?"

The blind Nightwing sighed in exasperation. He already had to deal with the constant stress of being a librarian; 'unusual' incidents like these were, to say the least, troubling.

"I... am not sure, Jasmine. I know Gale's well being concerns you, but she just woke up, and it will be about an hour before the Rainwing healers can finish their diagnosis. Because of the particularly strange conditions under which this occurred, I think it's probably best that Gale stay here so she can get her rest."

Jasmine leaned to one side in an effort to look past Starflight and into the infirmary. She thought she saw a glimpse of Icewing scales, but they were quickly covered up by the bustling Rainwings as they stormed around tending to their patients.

"...Alright, fine," Jasmine replied with a huff, tints of orange flowering across her body. "Could I see her if I came back in an hour?"

"Well, just because time's up doesn't mean she's going to be ok," Starflight started with a half-hearted laugh. When he saw the expression the young Rainwing was giving him, though, he immediately took it back. "Er... I suppose I could get something arranged, however."

Jasmine's face instantly brightened at the proposition. She nodded, before turning and walking down the hallway. "Thanks, Starflight!"

"Yeah, sure," he grumbled, eyeing her dubiously. When she was out of earshot, the Nightwig groaned.

"Oh, thank the moons I'm a librarian!"

"Starflight says to come back in an hour," Jasmine said, as she carried a batch of bananas over to the rest of the Silver winglet. They landed with a 'whump' as she dropped them onto the stone in front of her, before plopping down herself. "Seriously Kauwari, what happened last night?"

The Chromawing stared solemnly at the chunk of meat he was picking at, and sighed in discontent. "I already told you, I don't know. I snuck out to... to get a little time to myself, and she followed me up to the top of the mountain. We talked for a bit, mostly about where I'm from, but then we got to talking about her brother, and... that's when she freaked out." He turned his pleading gaze to Jasmine. "I don't know why."

The words echoed through Jasmine's brain. 'Her brother...' She shook her head. "I should've known," she replied, taking a bite out of banana. "I probably should have told you this, but don't talk to Gale about her past. It usually doesn't go over well with her."

"Yeah, I remember one time, when she got in an argument with this Skywing, and she broke his snout," Blackfang chimed, making a snapping motion with his claws. "We're pretty sure he said something about her family. It was like he flipped a switch or something."

"Well, geez, I'm sorry, alright?" Kauwari cried. "Besides, it was her idea! SHE was the one who wanted to see him!" He gasped when he realized what he had just said.

Peregrine seemed to be the first to notice. "What do you mean 'see him', Kauwari?"

Suddenly, six pairs of eyes locked onto Kauwari. The ebony dragon gulped. "Uh..." 'Well, I'm cornered. Crap, I knew this would happen eventually,' Kauwari thought, wringing his claws. 'But... they seem trustworthy enough. I mean, I let Gale see... I guess they're ok, too.'

"Well, I... I have a secret. One that I haven't told you guys yet. I would love to show you, but I'm afraid we can't do it here," He said, pushing away his breakfast and rising to his feet. "So."

"Where's someplace where no one will bother us?"

"Well, if you're looking for privacy, this is about as good as you're gonna get."

Jasmine stepped aside to let the other dragons in, her lavender eyes scanning the cave. It was deep in Jade Mountain, and featured a small pond in the middle. It was a little small, and the ceiling was covered in fireworms that bathed it in an eerie yellow light.

"I heard this is where the old Jade winglet used to hang out. Isn't that cool? It's like we're celebrities too!"

She laughed, but paused when she saw the confused look Kauwari was giving her. "The old Jade winglet?"

"Nevermind..."

Clovis bounded past Kauwari, jumping up to sit on a rock at the far end of the room. His tail lashed in anticipation, the feather charm on his ear swinging back and forth. "So, you said there would be a secret? Well don't dawdle around, come on and spit it out!" He sang.

Kauwari seemed to shiver, before accepting his fate. "Alright, fine..." he paced over to the edge of the pool. He stared down into it, observing his sour expression, and looked back at Jasmine, Shale, and the others.

"Uh... could you guys go sit by Clovis? I think it'll probably be easier to see that way."

Jasmine blinked at him, blinked at the others, and then blinked at Kauwari again.

"Ok, sure, I guess."

They jumped onto the same rock as Clovis, shuffling about to organize their space. Jasmine muscled Clovis over, and Shale jumped up onto the Rainwing's shoulders. Blackfang and Peregrine sat next to each other, their tails twined.

Lagoon was the last one to move. "Actually, I'm gonna go in the pond. I'm a Seawing after all."

"What? But- I need to-" he had barely raised his talons before Lagoon dove into the pond, sending droplets of water everywhere.

"Aah, sweet relief! It's so dry here, I just HATE it!"

Kauwari sighed, casting a glare at the sea dragon before straightening his back and clearing his throat.

"Okay, here I go."

He extended his arms, spreading his claws out in the air before him. After a few seconds, the magic began to take effect.

The air almost seemed to vibrate as specks of light began falling out of his palms and onto the water, where they drifted in the waves and disappeared.

Jasmine's eyes widened. "Is that... magic?" Shale arched his neck to look at her, before he became fascinated as well. "Kauwari's got maaagiccc!" He squealed.

"It's not magic," Kauwari said. "You'll see what it is in a second."

"Yeah," Blackfang scoffed. "Just looks like a bunch of light tricks to me."

Across the cave, Kauwari shot him a glare. "Care to repeat that, goat-face?" Blackfang nearly fell off the rock. "Wha'd you say to me, mister magician? I'll take that sparkly stuff and shove it down your neck if I have to!" The two ebony dragons stared each other down, seemingly engaged in a mental battle to the death.

"All right, Blackfang, that's enough," Peregrine said, grabbing the Nightwing's shoulder. "Any more arguing and I'm going to get upset."

Blackfang glanced at Peregrine, then angrily back at Kauwari, who was smirking.

"Fine," he grumbled. He started picking at some lichen on the stone below him.

After a few minutes, the magic stopped. "Alright, it should be finished," Kauwari said.

"But, it doesn't look like you did anything," Jasmine complained. Lagoon nodded as she resurfaced from a dive. "Yeah, where's your hocus-pocus thingy?"

"Don't worry," Kauwari replied. He smiled, then snapped his claws at the water. "It should be here right about now."

Suddenly, a giant gray shape burst out of the water with a ferocious roar. Lagoon shrieked and tumbled backward, before scrabbling out of the pond in terror.

"YOU CAN SUMMON SHARKS?! WHAT THE HELL!" She cried.

Kauwari, on the other hand, had bowled over laughing. "No, no, it's not a REAL shark!" He choked. "J-just an illusion."

While the others stood in shock, Clovis just gasped. "An illusion?" He jumped off the rock and paced over to Kauwari. "You said you were on some sort of urgent mission, correct?"

Kauwari's laughter died out as he stared curiously up at the Sandwing. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Just taking a random guess, but would you happen to be here to see someone? Someone who would... help you get back to Ontegal?"

"Actually, yes, but only I should know that." Realization seemed to dawn on Kauwari. "So, then that means..."

"That I," Clovis said, holding out his talons. "Am your contact."