A Little Normalcy
Spirit lands in Jade Mountain's entrance cave with her parents. "Be safe, ok?" Qibli said, hugging his daughter tight. "I will," Spirit promised to hug them both. It had been 3 days with her parents and she just felt…. Whole, after who knows how long in a hypnotic state, and being raised like a soldier away from her parents. She just felt like she was finally whole. "I'll be sure to write." She promised, beginning to walk off before pausing.
Moon chuckled, "First tunnel on the right goes down into the mountain and it will be the last tunnel on the left." She explained. "Hehe, Thanks," Spirit said awkwardly, scratching her neck before waving to them and running off. "She sounds much happier," Starflight said, walking out from a darkened tunnel, using his wings to help him navigate. "As do the two of you." He added with a smile.
"Oh, you have no idea," Moon said leaning into her mate as Qibli wrapped a wing around her. "How are you and Fatespeaker doing? We are sorry we weren't there." Moon said, remembering the invite to his and Fatespeakers' wedding. "No, don't worry about it." Starflight smiled, brushing its wings with the younger nightwing. "If it were mine and Fatespeakers daughter we would have done the same thing." He reassured her.
"Mindreader is her clawmate so she will help her get the lay of the mountain again. And Spirit is definitely your dragonet as she is incredibly intelligent and has even helped find new ways to make the lessons more engaging so as not to lose any student's interest." Starflight chuckled. Gaining a smile from both of them. "Thank you…. We can't thank you all enough for all of the support you've given." Qibli said smiling for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Don't mention it," Starflight said. "That's what friends do. Why don't you visit Turtle and Kinkajou? I hear they are expecting their first egg soon." Starflight suggested. They nodded and said their farewells hugging the blind librarian before flying off to what would undoubtedly be a bright yellow rainwing and mellow, but still excited, blue-green seawing.
Spirit ran down the tunnel and paused at Clay's classroom entrance. She remembered Clay, as she knew him before she was put under. She remembered Avalanche's appearance as she had saved her from the Desert. But she couldn't remember the rest of them. "Hi…" Spirit said shyly, giving a small wave of her wing.
Avalanche, Alligator, Mindreader, Cactus, Treefrog, and Archerfish all looked at her. A few smiled but Spirit could tell a few of them could tell she didn't recognize them. "How are you feeling?" Avalanche asked, remembering how much Spirit had been shaking from pure terror after Desert, an old enemy of Qiblis, had nearly stabbed her through the heart.
"Much better, thank you.," Spirit said with a slight nod. "Is it Avalanche?" Spirit asked, earning a nod from the icewing Princess. "For the rest of you, I am sorry but I-" Spirit was cut off by Cactus saying. "Sunny explained everything, don't worry I'm cactus," He said with a smile. "This is Alligator, Mindreader, Archerfish, and Treefrog. Falcon should be coming at any moment." Cactus explained, pointing at each one when he said their corresponding names. Spirit nodded to each one, smiling at them. "Well, I hope that I can still be friends with you all." Spirit said with a smile.
Falcon stalked through the halls toward Clay's classroom.He had been fine without the blasted Hybrid in his class, unfortunately, he ran into her as he turned to enter the door. Spirit only managed to take a few steps before Falcon entered. stepping on her tail as he snarled at her. "Out of my way Hybrid filth." Falcone snarled.
Spirit seemed to remember that threat, and as the others had explained what he did she looked back at him and said. "Get off my tail and I can." Falcon grumbled something and removed his talon from her tail; only to find Spirit using her tail to wrap around Falcon's snout and pulling hard enough to make Falcon slam nose-first into the stone ground. Spirit released him as Falcon stood up, rubbing his snout, everyone in the room looking at her with shock. "Next time you can ask politely."
Spirit then sat down in between Mindreader and Avalanche, watching Falcon closely as he slowly walked over and sat down at his usual spot. Avalanche laughing finally once Falcon sat down. "Yeah! That's how you retaliate!" Avalanche said, brushing her cold wings with the warm-winged hybrid. "Before," Alligator commented. "you just sat back and let him walk all over you."
Spirit couldn't help but sigh. "Well, I won't be doing that from now on." She said determinedly, planning on making sure that the other hybrid students here didn't get treated the same way. Clay glanced between her and Falcon. Falcon was sitting at the back left desk. Farthest from the teacher but also closest to the door. Spirit on the other hand was at the front middle desk, with Mindreader to her right. To her left was Avalanche and next to her was Alligator. Treefrog, Cactus and Archerfish were behind Avalanche, Spirit and Mindreader respectively.
"Falcon, watch yourself, you are already in a foul mood." Clay warned, looking at the big skywing before turning to Spirit. "As for you I have no issues with defending yourself or others but if you do any more than that it is not standing up for others or yourself."
"I understand." Spirit nodded, pulling some paper and ink out to take notes. "And," Clay continued, catching her attention once more. "Don't roll the dice like that, he may have insulted you but that does not constitute you slamming his face into the floor." Clay warned, gaining a nod of understanding from Spirit before he turned to gather the rest of his lesson plan together.
"How are your folks doing?" Mindreader asked while they waited. "They are happy again, Thankfully. My mother taught me a few tricks on how to block thoughts which is always helpful." Spirit said with a small grin. "My father was introducing me to his bad joke side, which I actually find hilarious."
"Oh no." Mindreader chuckled. "Please don't tell me you are telling bad jokes as well." Mindreader asked jokingly. "What do you call a dragon who is good at juggling?" Spirit asked instantly. "What?" Avalanche asked, she, unlike Mindreader, hadn't witnessed any of these bad jokes before. "Talon-ted" Spirit finished with a laugh.
Mindreader groaned but smiled at the bad joke. Avalanche couldn't help but face-talon at how bad the joke was. "I Didn't think they were gonna be that bad." Avalanche shook her head.
Alligator chuckled he didn't think it was that bad. It wasn't necessarily a corny joke. It was more like a pun. "I have 7 younger siblings. I've heard worse." He commented
"Like what?" Treefrog asked, his scales a bright pink as he had enjoyed the joke, hoping to talk to Spirit about a potential prank to pull later after class. A prank on Falcon as a harmless form of revenge against him.
"I think one went like this:" Alligator said, tilting his head to think."Knock, knock. Who's there? Dishes. Dishes who. Dishes glad to meet you." Alligator finished with a chuckle, shaking his head.
Treefrog laughed, holding his side as he did so. On either side of Alligator, Cactus was writing out a plan to explore the deep caves of the mountain, just wanting to explore on his break. Archerfish however was snacking on a salmon he had saved from breakfast. Neither were paying much attention to the conversations taking place. Not because they didn't care. They both just weren't interested in the moment.
Falcon was sulking in his spot, wishing they would all shut up, which they did not until Clay was finally ready. In truth Clay had been ready the night before however he wanted to give Spirit a chance to rekindle her friendships. "Alright class today we will be looking over how different tribes' natural weapons can sometimes counteract each other," Clay said as he passed out some scrolls. "Specifically we will be talking about seawings vs icewings.
They each took one and opened it, ready to begin the lessons. Almost all of them write down notes as he taught. "Now we all know that fire and ice are natural opposites." Clay began "But if a seawing were to go against an Icewing then it provides a few different possibilities. If they are able to drag the Icewing underwater for example the Icewing can attempt to use their frostbreath. However, this comes at the cost of losing air as well as any water being sucked down their throat expanding into ice shards as they use their attack."
Avalanche jotted that down, wanting to try an experiment later but was already having second thoughts about it.
After Clay had finished his lesson he had them split into groups to discuss how else icewings could use their frostbreath. Whether it be to benefit the seawings or the icewings, Falcon, Avalanche, Treefrog, and Cactus in one group with Alligator, Spirit, Mindreader, and Archerfish in the other.
"If a seawing has any water on them it could be frozen around them, kind of like a statue." Avalanche said with some nods of agreement. "Or freeze the ground to make them not have stable footing." Cactus pointed out.
"Mmmmm…" Spirit said listening to Archerfish explain how the seawings could use the water to block the ice before dragging them down to try and drive them unconscious without air. "What if…" Spirit said slowly. "What if the icewings froze the ocean?" Spirit asked and, seeing the looks of confusion she did her best to explain.
"Alright, picture this: the icewing battalion is planning an attack. They all use their frost breath to freeze the top of the ocean." Spirit said. "But that is only temporary and leads to the icewing's favor." Mindreader pointed out. "We are doing the Seawings."
"I know, I wasn't done." Spirit said. "This will allow the seawings to rest and heal any wounded soldiers as well as make a choke point from their summer palace. Seeing as seawings have an abundance of food in the oceans and can stay under there indefinitely." Spirit finished.
Alligator was impressed with her level of ingenuity especially since Spirit didn't have much experience with battle strategy. "Impressive." Anglerfish said with a smile. "Mind if I hold onto that?" He asked.
"I don't mind," Spirit said with a smile. "Now what about-" Before Spirit could finish her thought the gong rang. "Oh well, another time." She chuckled. "I'm going to get something to eat, then head to the art cave." Spirit said, stretching after she packed up her things.
"I'll come with you." Alligator said with a smile, walking beside her as they headed to the prey cave. "I am glad you are doing better." Alligator said to her. " Me too." She responds, flicking him playfully with her tail, causing him to chuckle.
"Want to share a cow?" Spirit asked as they entered the prey cave, seeing a small group of cows in the corner. "Mmmmm!" Alligator licks his lips. "My favorite!" He caught them one, coincidentally the fattest one, and sat with her to eat. Slicing the cow in half Alligator slides her half of the cow.
"Thanks!" Spirit said, pulling a leg off the cow and taking a bite out of it. While they ate they talked about how the theory Spirit suggested back in class could hold any water in actuality. "The constant wave crashing alone will weaken it." Spirit said with a shrug as she began to work on the second cow leg. "True not to mention the powerful tails that the seawings have." Alligator pointed out.
They went back and forth sharing ideas until they had finished eating, heading to the art cave Spirit grabbed some ink and paper; Starting to sketch her and her two parents having a picnic in a clearing. They were in the rainforest, a small pond with a waterfall pouring into it.
Alligator grabbed some clay and began to mold it, glancing every so often at Spirit, hoping she wouldn't mind being his muse for the statue. About an hour later he took a break from his clay and glanced over her shoulder. His mold was only her two back legs so far but they had a startling resemblance to her real ones.
"Three moons!." Alligator exclaimed, looking at her sketch. " What, what's wrong?" Spirit asked, glancing at him. Her Sketch had a shocking amount of detail to it. She had only finished the waterfall so far but everything from the rocks around and in it. To the water itself and even some moss on a few of the rocks, it was beautiful. Every detail was thought through. It looked so well done that if Alligator stared at it long enough he could swear it looked like it was moving.
"How long did you work on this, an hour or a week?" He asked, gently tracing a rock that was jutting out of the waterfall. Spirit giggled, looking back at it. "As long as you were working on your statue." Spirit said, looking over to see how his project was coming. "Who are you using as your muse?"
"Oh, I hope you don't mind me using you since you were the only one here." Alligator said with a blush, wishing he had something to cover the statue up. "Oh." Spirit said with a small smile. "I don't mind, I just honestly wasn't expecting it." She admitted with a nod.
Alligator was glad she didn't mind, smiling as he wiped clay off his talons. "I'm gonna take a break, see you later?" He asked. " Sure, see you!" Spirit said, waving with her wing as she resumed her sketching.Alligator walked out, heading to the library to ask Starflight where the nearest store was, wanting to search for a gift for someone.
Mindreader looks up from talking to Avalanche, seeing Archerfish poking his head inside the cave. "Oh hey Archerfish, what's up?" Mindreader asked him with a smile. "Well, uh, I wanted to ask you if you would like to come join me in the underground lake? I wanted to show you something." Archerfish said. "Unless I am interrupting something?" He added not wanting to intrude
"Oh no you're fine." Avalanche said, stretching as she stood up. "I wanted to send a letter anyways." She reassured him, smiling as she walked out of the cave. Heading to the library and beginning to write a letter.
Dear, Mother
I am doing well. The classes are very insightful, allowing me to get to know just how lax we have been with our tribe. Staying only focused on military advancement has narrowed our tribe dramatically. When we did a discussion I heard many creative and out-of-the-box ideas that actually made sense! They were ideas that we never would have thought of because we do not explore avenues that allow us to be creative and unique. I strongly urge you to try and make changes within the tribe to allow us to get to the level of our opponents.
P. S. I think there is something wrong, every so often I will get flushed and my cheeks turn blue. I hope to hear from you soon.
Love, Avalanche.
Avalanche paused as she finished writing. Mother? Love? Avalanche blinked a few times before chuckling. Good, that was the point of her coming here. Be influenced by social norms and apply them to her tribe. Avalanche rolled up her letter and tied it with a walrus skin. Stamping it with a small bobble she had. The stamp was a diamond inside a snowflake. Showing it was for the queen's eyes only.
Mindreader looked around in surprise as Archerfish led her into an underground cave. They had to squeeze through a crack to get to it, leaving it hidden from most of the other dragons. "It's beautiful." Mindreader said with a smile, there was a hole in the ceiling that cast sunlight down to the lake, colors lined the walls as the sunlight hit the thousands of gems and geodes on the lake bottom.
Archerfish grinned. "Thank you." He said diving into the lake and popped back up. " Want to take a swim?" He asked her, hoping she would agree. Mindreader giggles, jumping in with him. "Sure!" She said splashing him before diving under to avoid retaliation.
Cactus was exploring deep inside the mountain when he suddenly collided with someone, knocking her over. "OH!" Cactus quickly got up and helped the dragoness up. "I'm so sorry, are you ok?" He asked, looking over the skywing. She was a Garnet red, her eyes surprisingly an amber orange. "Yes, I'm fine." She said, smiling. "Are you exploring as well?"
Cactus chuckled, glad to see he wasn't the only one who enjoyed the thrill of exploration. "Yeah I am, care to join me?" He asked, showing her the map he had made so far. "Sure! And your map is amazing." Amber said with a smile, walking with him. "Name is Amber by the way." She said, "Cactus." He replied.
Treefrog walked into the music cave, hearing someone play the violin. He stood at the door of the cave and watched a gorgeous, almost shining icewing play the violin. She was off by a note, and without thinking Treefrog said: "You are off by a note." Startling her and nearly causing her to drop the violin.
"How long have you been there?" She hissed at him. "Not long, sorry I shouldn't have broken your concentration." He apologized, walking over and tuning the violin for her. "Don't…. Don't tell anyone." Antarctica said. "My tribe doesn't exactly approve of music, they find it is a waste of time compared to training all day." She sighed, playing a few notes to find that he was right and it did sound better.
"It's none of my business." Treefrog said with a shrug. "If you would like we can meet in private and I can help you, I've played almost every instrument." He offered with a smile. The ruffs behind his ears flapped happily as he believed that he had made a new friend.
Antarctica giggled, finding his ruff flapping cute. "Sure, I'd like that.' She said beginning to play again, Treefrog watching and listening, giving her some pointers every so often.
A/N: and there is chapter 4! From this point on there are going to be more interactions and POVs seen from the other dragonets. I hope you all enjoyed it!