Well, this took a fair bit longer than I expected it to. Sorry for the delay all, It's been tough trying to figure out what direction I want to take this. I really want to focus on the alternate dragonets and how they would interact with the main cast, so I hope this one delivers in that regard. I'm not really sure what else to say other than I'll try to make it so you all don't have to wait as long for the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.

"Normal speech."

"Thoughts"

Viper's eyes slowly cracked open, being woken up by a soft poking in her side. She groaned lightly, before turning her head to see what was going on, before giving an annoyed stare at Fatespeaker, who was trying, and failing, to set Viper's spear next to her. "... Maybe just wait until I'm awake to give it back next time."

Fatespeaker jumped lightly in surprise, before giving Viper a sheepish smile. "Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you."

Viper grumbled, too tired to argue back as she let her head fall back on the stone she was laying on, pausing for a moment. "... Fatespeaker... Why do you care about us so much?"

Fatespeaker blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I care? I've known you all since we all first hatched."

Viper frowned lightly. "Even though Flame and I torment you and Squid?"

Fatespeaker smiled at her. "Maybe you go a little too far sometimes, but I can tell you don't really mean it. Flame... It's hard to tell with him sometimes, but... You're a good dragon, Viper. Just rough around the edges. And no matter what, you're my friend."

Viper stared at her for a long moment, before turning away from her. "Sure... Keep thinking that."

Fatespeaker just smiled, before leaving Viper to get some sleep, unaware that Viper trying her best to stop the tears that had welled up in her eyes from falling. "Fatespeaker always talks like this, so why?... Why does it hurt so much this time?" She moved her talons to wipe away the invasive droplets of water from her eyes, before laying back down to try and get some more sleep before Morrowseer came back. A part of her was afraid that he'd kill one of them, but... for the first time in her life, the fear was not for herself.

She didn't notice in her short time awake that Flame was missing from his spot in the cave.

Clay was beyond bored. Of course, he was fine with keeping Moonwatcher company, but he really had nothing to do, and he was getting hungry. "... I'm gonna go look for some food."

Moonwatcher looked to him worriedly. "That... sounds like a bad idea Clay. You shouldn't go alone."

Clay nodded. "I see your point... Kinkajou, wanna come with?"

The younger Rainwing immediately jumped onto her talons. "Yes! Anything to get out of this boring place!"

Moonwatcher could only groan in defeat. "Just... Be careful out there."

Clay nodded, giving her an encouraging smile. "Of course we will. Kinkajou won't get seen and I can handle myself. Besides the rough trip here, Most of the Nightwings have been fairly nice so far, if a bit on edge."

Moonwatcher couldn't help but watch his disappearing form as he walked towards the exit to the lab, Kinkajou melding into her camouflage as she followed. She frowned in worry, before yelping as Wither settled near her. "Don't worry about it too much. Clay is tough, even if he is a little air headed sometimes. I can say with confidence, you can rely on him to stay true to his word."

Moonwatcher sighed. "I know, Just... It doesn't stop me for worrying."

Wither smiled. "That's good. It shows you're starting to get the hang of having friends."

Moon blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

Wither watched as Clay's tail disappeared around the corner. "You're getting into the habit of unconsciously worrying about dragons who you care about. That's one of the first signs that you've accepted that he's your friend." He chuckled at her blushing expression. "Don't worry too much. I promise, as long as I'm alive, you'll make it out of here, and it's gonna be a long time before I ever die."

Moonwatcher nodded, before looking up to him. "... Wither... How old are you really?"

Wither paused, before taking a deep breath. "... I hatched three years before the event that all dragons know as the scorching, so... Nearly five thousand and twenty years old now. It might seem like a large number, but... well, my tribe normally lived about as long, though... mine is a unique situation."

Moonwatcher's eyes widened. She knew of the scorching from her mother, but to think that Wither had been there when the dragon kingdoms were first founded. "... What... caused the scorching?"

Wither frowned as he scraped a talon across the ground. "... Humans. Dragons refer to them as scavengers in current times. The legend might have changed over time, but I remember the crying and anguish of the dragons who suffered from it." He shifted to look into Moon's eyes. "... Power comes with responsibility. You are right to be cautious with your powers, but never let that fear control you. But at the same time, never blur the line between what you can do, and what you should do. Humans ruled Pyrrhia before Dragons did, but their power paled in comparison to ours... many speculated they were jealous, some thought they were hateful, but I remember clearly why it happened."

He growled, glaring at the ground. "I was still a young dragonet. The Deathwing tribe... my tribe, formed long before any of the other tribes did. We lived very long lives, some of us tens of thousands of years old, but never exceeding a hundred thousand. We believed that that though we could potentially live forever with our abilities, it would be a curse to do so. But that's beside the point. I remember hiding with some of my friends in the cave of one of our favorite visitors. She was an early skywing, before the Skywing tribe came to be. We wanted to surprise her for her hatching day, and to congratulate her for having her first eggs... and then we saw it."

He growled louder, his claws digging into the hardened rock below. "... The humans... Stealing her newly laid eggs. She had only had them for a week... And the humans took them, led by a single human who was... boasting, about his new... Weapon." He hissed the last word, his voice full of anger. "We... Told the elders of what we saw, and the visiting dragons heard and spread the information. In the course of three days, every dragon in Pyrrhia was furious at the arrogance of the humans, who thought they could steal their eggs... The Deathwing council was going to try and convince them to resolve this peacefully, but... They never got the chance... The night before the scorching, the Deathwing tribe vanished without a trace... I was the only one left... the only survivor."

Moon saw the ancient dragon she had only known a few days, the dragon she saw glare Morrowseer down and gave her a chance to live without fear, trying and failing to hold back tears that dripped down his face onto the ground below as he took a shaky breath. "... I was only three years old when it happened... The terrible accident that killed my tribe... I've... Tried to be alone since. I've met some dragons who I grew attached to, but... It's hard, knowing that I'll live long after they have passed away... That I'll be alive even when their great grandchildren have children, and them after... There was a saying in my tribe, and I can tell you it rings true."

His eyes met with hers, the older dragon's eyes full of a contained sorrow. "... Long life is a blessing... Immortality... is curse."

It took Clay all of ten minutes to get lost in the maze of tunnels in the Volcanic palace of the Nightwings. Each turn looked the same to the mudwing. He wasn't sure he'd be able to make it back outside, let alone back to Wither in the lab. He was about to give up and ask Kinkajou for some help in where to go when he stepped into a large area, his eyes widening as he saw the multitude of those tri-tipped spears the Nightwing guards usually carried around with them propped up on racks.

"Oi! Mudwing! What are ya doing in my training ground!?" Clay whipped around to end up face to face with a Scarred Nightwing who was, in his personal opinion, far more intimidating than Morrowseer, glaring down at him.

Clay swallowed lightly. "Ah... J-Just looking for food... sir. I got lost..."

The Nightwing rolled his eyes. "You and the other Dragonets around here... Say..." The Nightwing's frown turned into a grin, his single gold tooth shining in the torch light. "I'm curious, Mudwing-"

"Clay... My name is Clay." Clay gave a sheepish smile as he interrupted, backing up a little at the Nightwings small scowl.

"Well then, Clay... I'm curious... How well do you fight? I heard you held your own in Scarlet's arena, but was it skill, or luck? I want to find out." He returned to his grin, just as a Skywing that Clay had never seen before wandered inside.

The Skywing looked around, growling. "Back here again... Grrr! Why can't this stupid place make any sense?"

The Nightwing turned to look at him, before grinning. "Skywing. I've got an opponent for you."

The Skywing's head looked up curiously, just as Clay's heart sank. "Oh no... What did I just get myself into?"

Viper woke back a few minutes after Fatespeaker had disturbed her, shaking her head as she rubbed her eyes. The soot and ash in the air made her eyes itch and ache, while her throat felt like she had been submerged in swamp sludge. She groaned, remembering how Tyrant had told her to get to training early the next day. Her wings still ached, but she pulled herself up, gripping her spear as she slowly trekked along towards the training room. The tunnels seemed even gloomier than before, thanks to her thoughts before she went back to sleep. "What's happening with me? When... did I start caring about what happened to her. Or the others? I've never cared. I don't care!... So why am I worried?"

She was shaken out of her thoughts when She heard voices up ahead, finding herself on the outer edge of a large crowd of Nightwing soldiers, each talking amongst themselves. She tried to listen in, but only caught a few phrases.

"Isn't that the Skywing that the Sandwing came here with? The one Tyrant beat up yesterday?"

"I'm more surprised by the Mudwing. He was beaten unconscious two days ago and yet he looks right as rain. Do all Mudwings recover that fast?"

"... Do you know what's going on?" Viper jumped at the voice behind her, whipping around to see Starflight right behind her, limping lightly from his shark bite from yesterday. He looked to her sheepishly. "Sorry. I woke up earlier and couldn't get back to sleep."

Viper sighed. "... By the sound of it, Flame's fighting someone. A Mudwing of some kind."

Starflight's eyes widened. "... I think I know who that is... We need to get to the front to see."

Viper cocked her head to the side but didn't refute. She was interested in seeing the event up close. She and Starflight slowly started making their way through the crowd, trying to worm their way to the front, until one of the guards noticed them. "Ah. The new recruit... and you must be Starflight. Here to see the action?"

The guard seemed to have a bit of room next to him, moving so that the two dragonets could have some space to watch. Starflight nodded. "Th-thank you... um..."

The guard chuckled. "Nemesis. Acquaintance of that friend of yours, Wither."

Starflight nodded, but then stopped as both he and Viper saw what was in the arena. Flame was on one side, huffing in annoyance, smoke curling up his face from his snout. Tyrant was in the middle, pacing back and forth, while Clay stood on the other side of the arena, looking around as if trying to find a way to escape. "Um... is there a way we could do this... never? I don't want to fight."

Tyrant laughed lightly at Clay's nervousness. "Don't be scared, Clay of the Mudwings. Just a simple sparring session." He gestured to Flame with a smirk. "Skywing here thinks he's too good for training, so I wanna see if Morrowseer's gut is in the right. Match ends when I say so, or one of you get knocked out."

Clay did not appreciate his opinion being brushed off, but he was more worried about the murderous look on Flame's face. "By the moons, he looks angrier than Scarlet!"

Tyrant looked between them, before smirking, Starflight's eyes widening as Tyrant said his next words. "Alright, both of you. Fight!"

Flame immediately charged, roaring as he plowed towards Clay, who was still having the words process. "Oh no... I hope Kinkajou has a plan."

Wither tilted his head as he heard scrabbling talons against stone, seeing Kinkajou slide across the stone, panting. "Wither... Clay... Trouble..." Were all the words she could get out between gasps of air.

Wither frowned, getting up. "Slow down Kinkajou. What happened?"

It took Kinkajou a minute, swallowing to moisten her mouth. "Clay... Some Nightwing dragged him into a sparring match. He's fighting this really angry looking Skywing. They were just building a crowd to watch when I snuck out."

Wither hummed, tapping his chin, before smiling. "Well... Let's go observe this, shall we?"

He started out the tunnel, both Moonwatcher and Kinkajou looking at him confused. Kinkajou ran up to catch up with him. "W-Why aren't you worried? He could get killed!"

Wither shook his head. "No. Clay is smart enough to fight cautiously. Clay might be a mudwing, but his most underestimated feature is his intelligence. He was smart enough to figure out that the tracks we found in the rainforest were of Nightwing origin and was one of the first to figure out that the Nightwings were the ones doing the kidnapping. He's smarter than most think he is, and unpredictable because he was not trained in Mudwing fighting techniques. Have a little faith in him. He'll pull through." He got to the exit, looking to the palace. "Moon? Are you coming?"

Moonwatcher hesitated. On one hand, she was worried about what would happen to her friend, but she was also scared of Morrowseer or her mother finding out she was here. But... She promised she would use her powers to help, and this would be the best opportunity to do so. She took a deep breath, before nodding as she followed. "Yeah. I'm in."

Wither nodded. "Well, let's not be late to cheer our Mudwing friend on in his endeavors."

Flame was charging as fast as he could towards Clay, His obvious intent being to charge in and overwhelm Clay fast. What he did not expect was for Clay to jump above him as he lunged, Clay dodging Flames talons, before Kicking off of Flame to land on the other side, Flame grunting as he was shoved down due to the weight of the Mudwing, feeling rocks scraping against his underbelly. Flame roared in anger as he pushed himself up, spinning around to glare at Clay, who was backing away. "Hey, um... I'm not exactly a fan of fighting, so how about we call this off?"

Flame's rage only grew at clay. "You think I'm not worth fighting!?" He roared again as he charged, spinning to lash out his tail at Clay. Clay reached out against the lashing tail, grasping it as it struck against his sturdy talons, before pinning it down, causing Flame to growl as he tried to move.

Clay looked up to him. "No? I just don't want to fight you."

Flame lashed out, scraping his talons against Clay's who winced as he pulled back. Flame took the opportunity to try and swipe at Clay's face. Clay saw the Talon coming toward him, So he ducked out of the way, sweeping his tail to knock Flame's other talons out from under him. Flame gave an undignified yelp as he was thrown onto his side, scrabbling back to his talons. By the time he was up again, Clay was a good few feet away, standing defensively.

Starflight had to stop himself from chewing on his talons out of worry. He knew that Clay was decent at fighting. Clay would often last the longest in fights with Kestrel, but he knew nothing of how well Flame could fight. And Flame was looking angrier with each passing second.

Viper could tell Starflight was getting worried, due to the Younger Nightwing padding between which talon he was leaning weight onto to. "Stop shuffling so much. It's just a sparring match."

Starflight looked to her, a look of worry on his face. "I know that. Clay knows that... But does Flame? He looks out for blood."

Viper's gazed turned to flame, who's scowl had transformed into a snarl, where she had to agree... Starflight did have a point. "... Flame's never gone too far whenever he fought with us..."

Starflight followed her gaze, chewing lightly on a claw. "Yeah... But he's not fighting one of you this time."

The Nightwing guards were all rowdy at the opening act, whispering amongst themselves. "I've never seen a Mudwing do that before."

"The Skywing is rushing in too blindly."

"This is already more exciting than training."

Then a commotion broke out amongst the guards at one of the cave entrances. Many of them were backing away, causing everyone but Clay and Flame to look to what was causing it. Both Starflight and Viper's eyes widened as Wither stepped out into the Torchlight, the disguised Moonwatcher following shortly behind him. Wither looked around, before giving a chuckle. "Don't let me stop your enjoyment. I'm simply here as an observer." He settled down on a ledge that let him get a good look at the fight, Moonwatcher settling nearby as the Guards started to form back into their viewing crowd.

Flame roared as he ran towards Clay, intent on grappling the Mudwing, before skidding to a stop as he remembered when he tried to do the same against Wither, stopping just in time to see Clay jump to the side. He growled in triumph as he reached to slice his claws against Clay's tail, only to get whipped in the face with it. Clay backed away, looking to Flame apologetically. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to hit you there."

Flame just roared again, before breathing fire at Clay. This caused many of the guards to gasp as fire was often restricted in their training. Even Viper had a worried look but noticed that Wither and Starflight were both not too concerned. The flames battered and licked at Clay's scales while the mudwing closed his eyes, feeling the heat rolling over his body. Flame spewed fire for a good ten seconds, before needing to breathe again, looking to see if he had killed his opponent. Clay opened his eyes, his scales now glowing a faint red as Flame's eyes widened in outrage. "How!? How are you not burned!?"

Clay scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I was hatched from a blood red Mudwing egg, and apparently that means my scales are fireproof." Most of the Nightwing guards looked against each other in bewilderment. They had heard the rumor about blood red Mudwing eggs, but many had speculated it was just an intimidation tactic.

Flame scrapped the ground, growing even louder. "Stop making a fool out of me!" He grabbed a spear from the rack beside him, thrusting it forward in an attempt to stab Clay.

Tyrant was about to step forward when Wither placed a talon in front of him. "Don't worry. Just watch." Tyrant glared at the larger stone scaled dragon but relented.

Clay eyed the spear as it came closer, before ducking under it as it stabbed into the wall behind him, the blunt end of the spear slamming into Flame's stomach due to the sudden stop, knocking the air from Flame's lungs. He coughed harshly, dropping the spear as he held his underbelly in pain. Clay waited as Flame took a few seconds to be able to inhale again, looking worriedly at the Skywing. "That looks like it hurt... Are you okay?"

Flame only growled louder, before grasping the spear to swing it. "Stop mocking me!"

Clay backed up just enough to only get a shallow cut on one of his talons, wincing from the cut. "Ow- I'm not!"

Flame charged forward, wildly swinging the spear as anger built with each swing. "Yes, you are! All of you! You're all making fun of me for being weak! All of you wanting to watch me fail! To watch me suffer!" Clay was having a hard time dodging, each swing earning a shallow cut, before he found what might have been able to save him.

He gripped his talons into the ground, bringing up a fairly thick slab of Volcanic rock that he used to block the next swing, Metal clanging on stone as he guarded. "Why would I? I just met you a few minutes ago!"

Flame didn't care, swinging harder and harder against the impromptu shield that Clay was using to defend himself, sparks and bits of stone chipping away. Starflight was looking more worried, though Wither was... calm. Almost as if he expected this to happen. Clay didn't attack, hoping that his defense would last long enough that he could think up a plan. "What would Tsunami do? What would Glory do?" His gaze landed on Wither, the elder dragon meeting his eyes. He couldn't see worry that he was losing or that he was playing defensively. Instead, Clay saw... Faith, and confidence in Wither's gaze. ""... What would I do?"

Clay swallowed as he realized the blows were starting to slow down, hearing Flame starting to pant on the other side. He tensed, before shoving the slab forward just as the next attack struck. The sudden movement caused vibrations to travel up the spear, Flame's grip so tight that it caused his talons to throb. Flame yowled in pain as he was forced to drop the spear, before yelping as the stone slab was pushed into his stomach. He grunted, trying to fight the force pushing him back, But Clay, though younger, was a fair size bigger than Flame. His talons scraped against the ground as he tried to push back against Clay's assault, before the slab was thrown to the side.

Flame glared at Clay, before realizing his opponent was no longer in front of him. He looked to his sides frantically, trying to spot where the big Mudwing had gone. Then a heavy weight crashed on top of him. He yelped in surprise as Clay threw his full weight on top of him, pinning him to the ground from above. Flame struggled, roaring in anger and struggling to get free, but to no avail. The mudwing had trapped him to the ground with no way to escape. His tail lashed as he tried to turn his claws around to strike at Clay, but Clay had already used his own talons to pin Flame's down.

Tyrant had enough, stepping forward. "Enough. Clay of the Mudwings wins."

Flame could only glare at the ground in frustration, trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall down his face. He had been humiliated again. He couldn't even defeat a lousy Mudwing! Clay crawled off of him, sighing as he turned to face Flame. "That was a good fight. I had to think creatively."

Flame glared at clay, before lunging with a roar, Clay reeling as it took all his reflexes to catch Flame's talons from piercing his neck. "What are you doing!? The fight's over!"

Flame roared in anger. "I'm done with all of you worthless worms humiliating me! Berating me when I try anything! Keeping me in this moon forsaken place! I'm supposed to be the special one! Why can't I beat you!?"

Clay was quite worried that Flame was about to slice out his throat, but he couldn't help but notice the tears falling down Flame's face. He took a breath, before pushing Flame's talons away from his neck, obviously the stronger of the two. "... Flame, right? Are... you okay?"

Flame blinked, the question catching him off guard. "... Why would you care!? I'm trying to kill you!" He strained to try and push his talons closer, but Clay's grip wouldn't budge.

Clay frowned, before sighing as he pinned Flame's talons to the ground. "... I care because, If I'm going to save Pyrrhia, I need to care about the dragons in it. But... I ask because you don't feel angry. You're sad... why else would you be crying?"

Flame's glare faltered for a second, before returning full force. "S-shut up! I'm not taking this from a mudwing! Just shut up and die already!" Struggle as he might, Flame spent too much of his energy in his assault on Clay's shield, his talons barely holding up in strength.

Clay frowned, before giving an encouraging smile to Flame. "You know, In my journey through the kingdoms, there's been a lot of sad times I had... Probably the worst was meeting my birth mom, Cattail." Flame blinked, staring at him in shock as Clay gave a sad chuckle. "Did you know? Mudwing parent's don't really care about their children... Cattail, my birth mom, sold me away for a couple of cows... I had fantasized about having a loving mom and dad, and... It really hurt to have that fantasy shattered... But I have my own family now."

Flame growled, trembling in Clay's grip, but not out of anger. "My mother hates me... sending me to this horrible place..."

Clay shook his head. "I spent plenty of time in the Sky kingdom to know that isn't true. I'm sure sending you here made her just as scared, but... Every dragon in this war is scared, not knowing what to do. I know it's tough now. This place is... not good for any dragon. But... that's why my friends and I are trying to change the world. We want to make a world where dragons don't have to struggle to survive. A place where dragonets and their parents can live without being afraid... I want to help you get back to your mom, Flame. I want to help all these Nightwings get out of this place... A good friend of mine referred to me as the guardian amongst my friends... And I want to be that way for everyone I meet."

The crowd of Nightwing guards all sat in silence at Clay's words. Wither could tell that Clay had said things that hit many of these guards more deeply than he might have realized. A lingering fear and doubt that had been present in some of them, replaced with admiration and hope. Even Starflight looked speechless at Clay's words.

Flame stared at Clay tears building in his eyes, before whimpering as they started to fall, slowly starting to sob as he slumped to the ground. "I... I... I just want to go home... I-I just want to be with my mom..."

Clay stopped gripping Flame's talons, putting one of his talons on Flame's shoulder. "... and I'll do everything in my power to make that happen Flame. I promise."

Viper slowly moved through the crowd up to Flame, letting her tail fall over his. "... Never took you for a mama's boy, Flame." Her voice, though still having some of her usual crass nature, was... softer. Not as insulting as she normally spoke.

Wither smiled with pride at the moment between the dragonets. "Good. They are working to improve each other. And Clay has inspired hope in these guards. It might be slow, but... perhaps we are working our way to saving this tribe."

Morrowseer made his way to the tribe's recorder, the one who was in charge of their recorded history and events. The scrawny looking nightwing was fumbling with several scrolls, before yelping in surprise at Morrowseer, adjusting a cracked monocle on her face "O-Oh, Morrowseer. Why are you here?"

Morrowseer growled. "Scribe. I need a list of our dragonets for the last few years."

Scribe blinked, gathering her things. "O-Okay... Why do you need it?" She rifled through some things, before pulling out a small bundle of scrolls, sliding them over to Morrowseer.

Morrowseer growled as he swiped them, Unrolling them one by one as he scanned them. Each scroll that he read went to the side until he had throws away the last scroll in the last seven years. "I knew it."

Scribe blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "Knew... what, sir?"

Morrowseer stomped out through the entrance, leaving Scribe to her duties, the scrawny Nightwing not seeing the sinister smirk on Morrowseer's face.

I hope this chapter lives up to the others. It took me awhile to decide the direction I wanted to take this chapter, and how I wanted to play the dragonets interacting with each other. I hope I did justice to their original personalities and how I portrayed them. And yeah, I'm hoping to make some more suspense for next chapter and what Morrowseer is doing. I only hope I haven't come off as utterly bashing him. But anyway, thank you all for your patience and sticking with this story. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can.