It was a fairly normal midafternoon day for Jade mountain and its winglets. The last class of the day had just finished, and the winglets were regrouping for their regular after school activities. One such Winglet was the Legendary Jade Winglet, known for defeating the infamous Darkstalker and the Othermind five years ago. Moon was exiting the History cave when she was found by her friend and mate, Qibli.
As usual he wore his signature witty grin, as if he might make a pun or joke at any moment. "Hey lovely, you come here often?" Moon couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile at the goofy SandWIng. "Moons Qibli, you know your remarks don't work on me" Moon smiled softly and giggled as she gently swatted him with a wing. "What? Seriously? So I spend hours every night for nothing?" Qibli had a look of mock hurt on his face, which only made Moon giggle some more. "Why don't you try using them on Winter, I'm sure you'd get a much better reaction from him".
Winter, like Qibli, was Moon's friend and mate. After their adventure on Pantala, Moon and Qibli had both admitted their feelings for the IceWing, and he did the same, leading to their current three-way relationship. "Oh I could definitely do that, but he doesn't react like you do. He gets all grumpy and defensive." Moon just rolled her eyes again as she walked with Qibli down the halls, heading to their winglet dorm. "Can you blame him? He's been through a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if he still had some inner conflicts." "Moon, it's been five years since Darkstalker, there's no way even Winter could still have problems after this much time."
"I don't have problems" A dragon suddenly snapped from behind them. They both already knew who was behind them as they turned to see Winter walking towards them, frowning slightly. "Well speak of the devil. Y'know, you're surprisingly stealthy when you want to be ""shut it sand-snorter. Not in the mood for your antics." Winter brushed past a slightly stunned Moon and Qibli, who looked at each other with concern for their shared mate before walking up on either side of the IceWing.
"Winter, what happened?" Moon asked as she slung a wing over the grumpy IceWing. Qibli did likewise on the opposite side as they both walked with and waited for Winter's response. "Nothing, I'm fine." "Winter, we both have been with you long enough to know something is bothering you. What is it?" Qibli responded, concern still visible on his face.
"Winter, we're for you. You can tell us." Moon said, her emerald eyes boring into the ex prince. They walked in silence, watching their friend with concern before he sighed softly and his shoulders slumped. "You two can be more stubborn than me sometimes… Fine. But not until we get back to the dorm." Qibli and Moon both smiled at Winter's agreement, continuing to walk in silence with their wings still on the IceWing. After a few silent minutes they made it to their dorm. It wasn't much, just a large cavern capable of fitting at least 10 dragons, with room to spare. There were a couple corners in the dorm, each with two outcrops meant to be beds. In the center of the dorm was a decently sized fire pit, with cushions large enough for a dragon to comfortably sit. Around the room were a few scroll racks and bowls for snacks. They walked over to their little corner of the room and their beds, where they promptly sat next to Winter and waited, listening.
"Sometimes I wonder how I was lucky enough to get stuck with you two…" Winter sighed softly as his shoulders slumped further, distress written all over his face. Moon placed a reassuring talon on Winter's as Qibli did the same, the SandWIng and NIghtWing leaning into Winter and nuzzling their cold neck. Winter returned the affection moments later, nuzzling Qibli and Moon and squeezing their talons.
"I… got a letter. The Ice Kingdom knows what happened at the Diamond trials and… Queen Snowfall herself is coming here to take me back for a trial. They'll be here in a couple days…" "Oh no…" Winter sighed again, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "I don't want to leave either of you…" "Don't worry Winter" Moon responded, nuzzling the bottom of his chin while Qibli just scooted closer to him. "We'll be here for you always, no matter what." "Moon's right. No matter what happens Winter, we'll never abandon you."
Moon and Qibli both smooched Winter's cheek at the same time, forcing a dark blue blush onto his face. "I love you" Winter said in a slightly choked voice as tears began to fall, burying his snout in Moon's shoulder, who wrapped her wings around him in a tight hug. Qibli then joined the hug too, pulling Moon and Winter close to his heat radiating scales. "And we love you." Moon and Qibli said at the same time.
They sat there, holding Winter as he silently cried. A few minutes later, a feminine voice came from the doorway "uh oh, i think we're interrupting the lovers." Reluctantly, Winter pulled away from Qibli and Winter, his mood noticeably lightened as he wiped away the tears before all three turned to look at the door. Peril stood in the doorway with Turtle next to her, smiling and waving a bit at the three of them. "Nope, no interrupting here, just helping a friend." Qibli said, standing up, soon followed by Moon and Winter. "Good. You three get too mushy when you're doing all that." Peril walked in, steam rising from her scales as she walked to her and Turtle's corner, being wary of any scrolls or anything else flammable before flopping onto the bare stone outcrop.
"Don't mind her guys, she just had a rough day" Turtle said, still smiling as he walked up and hugged the three. "So how was your guy's day?" He asked as he sat down on a nearby cushion next to a small fire pit. Moon, Winter, and Qibli did the same, sitting next to each other on the opposite side. "Oh you know, same old same old, wishing Webs would be more exciting and all that." Qibli said, playfully rolling his talons as he spoke. "'Boring." Said Winter, his normal IceWing demeanor returning. "Hey, sometimes boring and simple is good." Moon said, looking at Qibli and WInter. The former only flashed his signature grim while the latter snorted dismissively.
Turtle looked like he was about to respond before Kinkajou walked in, the RainWIng trotting over and flopping between Qibli and Turtle. "Hey guys, whatcha talking about?" Everyone greeted the RainWIng, except Peril, who just snorted and flicked her tail. "We were talking about how our day went." "Oh. My day was absolutely horrible. First my suntime got ruined cause clouds came out of nowhere and blocked the sun, like hello, i'm trying to sleep here, Next i couldn't get any mangoes or papayas, so i had to have a kiwi for lunch." Everyone was listening to Kinkajou rattle about her day, not even noticing the growing shadow above them, or that Moon had begun to sway and hold her head.
It wasn't until the torches in the cave suddenly went out that they noticed the shadow on the ceiling and Moon. Qibli and Winter placed a wing over her and asked what was wrong, while Turtle, Peril, and Kinkajou looked up at the shadow. "Why is there a shadow on the ceiling?" Kinkajou asked. "No idea, but knowing our luck, it can't be good." replied Peril, who was now standing next to Turtle and flexing her claws.
Suddenly Moon Stood, her eyes rolled back into her head as a voice that wasn't hers spoke;
Beware the striped dragon with a glow
He is both Savior and Destroyer, friend and foe
Beware the Ruler of Fear, for he will destroy all you hold dear
Find the Lost City under the Mountains, to find the secret you must hear
Destruction is coming for the tribes, Death is coming to raze the land
Unite the wings of Ice, Night, Sea, Rain, Sky, Sand and Mud. Only then you will be worthy enough for the secret of the Brand
Retrieve the power to unite them all
Or the continent of Pyrrhia will Fall
After the last line, Moon collapsed with a groan and a gasp of air into Qibli and Winter's arms. The dorm was silent for what felt like eternity. The thing that broke the silence wasn't one of them, but instead a whoosh from above, from the shadow. Everyone looked up right as the shadow vanished and in its place was a silver and black dragon with glowing green stripes. He dropped and landed next to the doorway with a thud and a grunt. Groaning softly he slowly sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes and yawning while looking around.
It wasn't until he saw the others that he froze, all grogginess gone as he stared, his pulsing stripes slowly speeding up as he took in his surroundings. "Is this that 'friend and foe' dragon? He doesn't look very dangerous." Peril said, looking at the newcomer. He continued to sit there, silently staring. The Jade winglet returned the stare, all of them staring with a hint of suspicion or wariness, except for Kinkajou, who instead stared in slight wonder and awe.
"Hello!" Kinkajou suddenly yelled, standing up to walk over to the strange dragon. This action however caused him to stand up and bolt. One second he was there, the next he was gone. "Chase him!" Winter yelled. Jumping up and running into the hall, looking left and right before running to the left, the same direction as the strange dragon. He was followed by Peril, then Kinkajou, then Turtle. Qibli looked between the doorway and Moon, torn on what to do. 'Go. I'll be fine" Moon said "Are you sure?" Qibli asked. Moon responded with a nod. The SandWing hesitated for a moment before turning to catch up with his friends
—-
Alex ran through the halls, desperately looking for an exit or something to hide in. He had no clue where he was here. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his hut after talking to his mother, wishing for an adventure. He shook his head and regained his focus, right now he had to focus on escaping. He risked a glance behind and instantly regretted it. He saw the Ice dragon chasing after, slowly gaining. Behind him was the steaming dragon, the rainbow dragon, and the sea dragon. He had no idea why they were chasing him, but the sight of the other dragons behind him only spurred him on as he ran faster.
He rounded a corner in hopes of losing the others, and nearly ran straight into another dragon. He ducked under them at the last moment and kept running. He heard the one that said 'chase him' say something along the lines of "Tsunami, chasing mystery dragon" Whatever was said, it caused the second sea dragon to join the chase, her large, scar covered body much faster than the others. Alex kept running, fearing for his life as he ducked into a cave, one filled with scroll filled walls and a desk. Hopeful, he skidded behind the desk and hid underneath it, his stripes pulsing rapidly like some kind of strobe light.
He froze as he heard footsteps outside the cave he was in, not even daring to breathe as he heard voices. "Where'd he go?" he heard a somewhat gruff but feminine voice say; he assumed that was the voice of the dragon he nearly ran into. Next he heard the voice of the ice dragon "I don't know, i saw him turn then he was gone" "How do you lose a dragon that glows?!" he heard a different voice say. He recognized the voice to belong to the steaming dragon.
"I swear, whenever something happens, it's always you five… alright split up, search every cave. He's small, he couldn't have gotten far. Winter, walk with me. I want to know where this mystery dragon came from." he heard footsteps going away in multiple directions, but he didn't dare breathe until darkness swarmed the edge of his vision. He gasped for air and slowly peeked out from behind the desk, looking around the room. It was significantly brighter in here, so he let out a slight hiss as everything started to blur. Not wanting to risk getting caught, he decided to stay under the desk. Suddenly he heard a shuffling sound from the other side of the desk and male voice "Who's there? Tsunami?"
Alex froze again as he heard the voice, his heart pounding against his chest, feeling like it might burst out at any moment. "I know you're here. I can hear your heartbeat. I promise I won't hurt you." Alex risked a peek over the desk and saw another black dragon in front of what seemed to be a curtain to another room. This one had a blindfold across his eyes and what looked like to be burnt splotches around his eyes.
Hesitantly, Alex spoke, needing to squint to see the new dragon properly "H-How do i know i can trust you?" The dragon's ears perked up and he turned to look in Alex's direction. 'You don't. But I promise I won't hurt you. I can't even see you." "...Where am i?" Alex silently took note of the strangers point, and the fact that they made no move to come closer. "You're in Jade Mountain academy's Library. This is where I work as a Librarian." "And who are you?" "My name is Starflight. I'm a NightWing. Who are you?"
Alex squinted further, confused. What in the World is a NightWing…? He thought, silently looking over the NightWing librarian. "I'm Alex… What continent are we one?" "Pleasure to meet you Alex. We are on the continent of Pyrrhia. I take it you're not from here…?" "Not from here is an understatement." Alex was about to respond when he was suddenly lifted up by the back of his neck, going somewhat limp as the sea dragon from before looked him over. 'Winter said he came through some kind of shadow portal or something, right after Moonwatcher delivered a prophecy about a 'striped dragon that glows'"
"Oh dear… not another prophecy." "My thoughts exactly Starflight. C'mon, I'm calling a meeting to discuss this" Alex could do little aside from hang from the sea dragons talons, slightly swinging as they walked through the tried to memorize the halls so he could attempt another escape, but all the torches made it difficult. He didn't even know they stopped until he was suddenly dropped, landing with a small 'oof'. Slowly he sat up, trying to look around. Unfortunately for him, this room was probably the brightest so far, so he could see nothing but colored blurs.
He could hear footsteps coming into the room all around him. Panicking, he whirled around, trying to find anything that could block the light. Oh god… this is it. This is where I die. I'll never see my clan again. Alex couldn't help but feel fear, in an unknown place, surrounded by terrifying, unknown dragons. "He's terrified" He heard a female voice say, though he didn't recognize it. "Good, it'll keep him from trying to run" "Tsunami, we all know how you feel about prophecies, but would it hurt to have some compassion?" "Moon, I get you can feel what he feels and all that, but until we know who he is, why and how he's here, I'm not being compassionate" Moon spoke again, Alex's thoughts a whirlwind as he tried to see anyone, anything. "Maybe we could at least blow out some torches? He can't see with all this light." Another voice spoke, seemingly from the direction of 'Tsunami'. "What do you mean he can't see with all the light?" It sounded like a male, with a surprisingly deep yet smooth voice. "I can see his home. I think it's his home. He's lived under a mountain his whole life so he's more suited for dark environments. Right now we all just look like colored blurs to him"
Silence… "Fine. but if he makes a move to escape, i'm flashing him" "Whoa, that's quick. What happened to Riptide?" A dragon said from Moon's direction. "Qibli, i will give you detention for a week."
Slowly the light began to dim, Alex's sight returning as it did so. Once there were only 6 or so torches, Tsunami stopped blowing them out and returned to the table she was sitting at alongside three other dragons. Alex instantly noticed Starflight to be one of them, but he didn't recognize the gold-yellow one, or the one built like a brick.
He heard a giggle behind him and whirled around towards it, seeing the other NightWing, Moonwatcher he assumed, hiding a giggle. And failing.
Now that he could see he looked around the room. It was a simple rounded room, with two tables on either side of his, where the groups of dragons sat. aside from that, there wasn't much else. Then he turned his gaze towards the dragons with looked over her pitch black scales and spots of white on her wings. Like a night sky… He thought. The next thing he noticed were the teardrop scales behind her eyes. That's strange…He thought, though he couldn't help but admire the unique markings. He noticed the one made of ice next, who he assumed to be Winter, sitting to Moon's right and glaring at Alex, as if he might lunge and attack at any moment. He looked over Winter's scales, which were the exact opposite of Moon's. They were as bright and white as the diamonds back he saw spikes lining Winter's neck and the tail, slightly shuddering. Next he saw the other sea dragon he saw before on Winter's opposite side. He didn't see anything particularly noticeable about him, aside from the extra large tail and wrist band. He looks kinda like a green hippo… Alex thought, looking at Turtle. He heard another small giggle but ignored it, instead looking to Turtle's right, where Peril sat. He noted the steam rising from her scales and gulped quietly, not knowing why she was steaming, though he had a pretty good guess. She kind of looks like she's on fire… He noted, glancing at Turtle who seemed to scoot closer to her.
He then turned his gaze to the Moon's left and saw who he assumed to be Qibli. He instantly noticed the scar across the snout and the freckles. Just like Turtle, Alex didn't notice anything that stood out on the SandWing, except for the barbed tail and earring. The SandWing stared intently at Alex, and he stared back. After a few moments he blinked, and looked to Qibli's left, though he swore he saw a triumphant grin on Qibli's face after he blinked, as if he won something. Then he saw Kinkajou, who also stared intently at him. But this was a different stare. Qibli had stared like he was assessing or identifying Alex, whereas Kinkajou stared as if she was admiring. He stared back, his eyes drifting towards her shifting scales. He didn't know what they meant, but he saw colors of magenta, silver, and gold. For a moment he stared at Kinkajou's scales, admitting to himself that they were oddly beautiful. Reluctantly, he looked away from Kinkajou and turned around to look at the other four. He instantly noticed the glaring sea dragon, who he assumed to be Tsunami. To her left was the large dragon built and shaped like a brick, yet he looked a lot like a gentle giant rather than a glanced past Starflight to look at the Golden-yellow dragon, who's color reminded him of his mother's glow. He noted that she looked like Qibli, but smaller. He also saw that unlike Qibli, her eyes were a deep green instead of a pitch black, and she lacked the tail barb. She's kind of like a mini Sun…
Suddenly, Tsunami spoke "Alright, are you done staring? Done finding weaknesses?" Alex opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Tsunami. "Good, now you can tell us why and how you're here." Alex just stared at Tsunami, his thoughts a mess as he tried to explain the last thing he remembered "W-well, I don't know. The last thing I remember was going to sleep after writing a chapter of a story I'm writing and talking with my mother." Alex was slightly saddened as he mentioned his mother, wondering if he would ever see his family or clan again.
He noticed the other Sea dragon perk up slightly as he mentioned his story, seeing a faint spark of curiosity in Turtle's eyes. Is he a writer too..? Alex wondered. "He's telling the truth. He's just as confused as we are." Alex turned to look at Moon, confusion written on his face. How is she doing that…? He thought, looking over the NightWing again as if he missed something. He saw nothing, so he instead looked Moon in the eyes. Now that it was somewhat darker in the room, Alex's sight improved a good amount. Testing something, he thought of a memory; a private one of himself, experimenting in private. His thoughts were confirmed as he saw Moon look away, a very small blush on her cheeks. "You can read minds…?" "Yes" Moon responded, regaining her composure, though the blush was still visible. "So try not to lie. I'll see it." Alex just sat there, trying to make sense of everything. He was shook from his thoughts as he heard the brick dragon speak. "Well whoever he is, perhaps he has something to do with this new prophecy" The brick dragon, who Alex would later learn is named Clay, looked at Moon expectedly. Nodding she recited the prophecy, that strange otherworldly voice once again speaking as her eyes went blank. When she finished she sat back down, slightly swaying. "Oh dear…" He turned to the voice, seeing that it was the Sunny dragon, who he would soon learn is actually named Sunny. "W-what, you think the striped dragon is me?" Alex asked, looking at all the dragons. Only then did he realize how right Tsunami was. All the dragons were practically three times his height, except Kinkajou, but he barely came up to her shoulder. He quietly gulped as he looked at the dragons further, suddenly much more nervous. "Well there aren't any other dragons with glowing stripes on Pyrrhia." He heard Tsunami say. "H-How could it be me? I'm not a fighter. Not to mention how… large you all are…" Alex noticed several reactions from the dragons around him. From Sunny, he saw her pull her wings close and slouch down slightly, flashing a small smile at Alex. Winter did the exact opposite. He puffed out his chest slightly and flared his wings slightly, those deep blue eyes drilling into Alex. He Saw Kinkajou quite literally sprawl out on the floor, trying to look as small as possible. Moon and Turtle copied Sunny and Kinkajou, not sprawling out or slouching, but trying to appear smaller. Starflight just stood there, brow furrowed as if lost in thought. Clay also stood there brow furrowed, as if trying to think of a way to be smaller. "Well looks can be deceiving. Look at Clay here for example. Sure, he's big and scary looking, but in reality, He wouldn't hurt anyone. Well, as long as nobody hurts those he considers family." Tsunami slung a wing over Clay's back, who looked at Alex in turn. "A gentle giant…" Alex wondered aloud. His assumption was correct. "Or look at Kinkajou." Tsunami pointed a claw at the RainWing, who was still sprawled out like some kind of rug. "She's small, adorable, and colorful. But she's more dangerous than Clay." Alex glanced at Kinkajou, who waved at him. He seriously wondered how a dragon like her could be dangerous, until he saw her fangs, which looked much like a Viper's. "Despite your small size Alex" Moon said, drawing his attention. "You're here for a reason. What that reason is however…" Moon trailed off, and Alex suddenly had a shiver sent down his spine as Moon spoke again, looking directly into his eyes. "The fate of our world… depends on you"
Heyo! Sorry about the delay, completely forgot about this. That's it. I forgot. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, feedback and all that would be appreciated. I'll post next chapter tomorrow, later today, or the day after. Whenever I feel like it.