Chapter 1: Sponge
Sponge sauntered through the halls of Jade Mountain Academy, nodding and smiling at the dragons who walked past. Better to show off his "confident" side, rather than the emotional turmoil that felt like it was going to rip itself out of his stomach. He was just your average royal SeaWing. The spines along his neck rattled, (which he noticed not one other SeaWing had.)-that was just another strange normality to add to his list of "What the hell is wrong with me?", right?
Sponge was just a young scroll writer, who had been the top of his class in school. It was easy to be popular, since being different means you'll either get treated two ways: Like a king, or a lowlife sea slug who's a punching bag for all of those who feel like beating something up. He slithered through the cave halls, weaving his way in between the other new students, which frankly, should TOTALLY GET OUT OF HIS WAY. Didn't they know who he was? A royal SeaWing descendent with STRAIGHT A'S and a (not) CLEAN RECORD.
He rolled his eyes, pushing himself out of the tangled mess of tails and wings. Which would have been great, if he hadn't run straight into a towering black dragon. Shit, shit, shit- Run straight into the first dragon you see. Awesome. Just act cocky and confident, act like HE was the one who ran into you- Sponge thought frantically. The black dragon looked down at him, a sweet smile appearing on his face. "Ah, hello! Are you a new student too?" The strangely colored SeaWing stared up at this dragon's kind face, and realized his scales weren't an ugly charcoal at all, in fact beautiful purples and indigos patterned his face, the front of his snout a light purple fading into a gradient that melted into a deep blackberry color. He had white freckled scales that spilled out across his face, which complimented the soft tilt of his head. Three moons, thats a NIGHTWING? I had no idea their scales could be so colorful- this dragon is GORGEOUS. Sponge thought enviously, untangling his tail from the stranger's. "Yup! You've got some handsome scales on that face of yours, no wonder I got distracted and bumped into you! Anyways, I'm heading off to some "group discussion class" or whatever, do you know where it is?"
The NightWing regarded him for a moment, before letting out a chuckle that rumbled in his throat. "That's a brave first thing to say to a stranger, SeaWing. At least, I think you ARE a SeaWing, right...?" Sponge folded his wings up regally, scrunching his snout at the dark purple dragon in offense. "Yes, I am a SeaWing, what else do I look like? A scavenger?" The NightWing laughed again, his tail swishing behind him. "I'd be impressed if a scavenger had the gall to come up to me like you did." He thought for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak again, (which Sponge liked how he always thought before he spoke). "I'm NebulaChaser, by the way." What the HELL did that mean? Why could he suddenly not think of anything charming or witty to respond with? "I'm Sponge. So, group discussion class...? Do you know where it is?" He prompted, and NebulaChaser nodded. "Yeah, I think it's through the right tunnel when you enter the cave, first room on the left." Sponge smiled up at the NightWing, tipping his head in gratitude. "Thanks!" He plunged back into the froth of dragons, popping out into a tunnel and strolling confidentially through the opening. Sponge's eyes widened at the class of dragons in front of him, and for the first time, anxiety stormed its way through his nerves, planting him in place.
Chapter 2: NebulaChaser
Nebula watched the handsome pale green SeaWing assertively stride through the crowd of dragons, not looking back once. Well, it was kind of funny to see him walk straight into the classroom Nebula was about to walk in. Might as well beat him to it, right? NebulaChaser slipped into the crowd, crept in a wide circle around Sponge, and stepped into the brightly lit cave. Plants seemed to explode out of every corner, and the stream of water that ran straight through the cave made it feel even more like a jungle. A dark gray and tan SandWing sat tall on a ledge that was bathed in sunshine, smiling at the gathered dragon's bellow. Something about the way he smiled a little too hard down at the dragonets made Nebula uneasy...
"Welcome, Gold Winglet! I'm Mamba, and I'm going to be your assistant principal, helping run the school and all that fun stuff. Anyway, enough about me, let's go around in a circle and introduce ourselves." Nebula glanced around at the gathered dragons, a SeaWing, MudWing, SkyWing, and what looked to be a very strangely colored SandWing stood in a circle. He hurried over to join them, folding in his white-speckled wings. Sponge looked over at him with a startled expression, which was quickly masked over by a look of haughty confidence.
Mamba looked over at the strange SandWing expectantly. "Can you start? All you have to do is say your name, your favorite color, and something you like or interests you." He nodded, standing up. "I'm Tarragon, but I'm fine with being called Tarra, my favorite color is blue, and I like marine biology." Tarragon announced, and right before he was going to sit down, Sponge raised his hand. "Uh... Yes?" Tarragon arched a brow quizzically at the SeaWing. "What tribe are you from? I've never seen a dragon with that color combination before." Sponge asked bluntly. Tarragon glanced down at his brownish-gray underbelly, to his tan scales, and then to the dark green accents along his back. "Oh, forgot about that. I'm a LeafWing and SandWing." Nebula felt the whole class stare in awe at the newly proclaimed hybrid, and Tarragon wrapped his wings self-consciously around himself. Sponge nudged him, smiling. "Hey, I know a thing or two about having fancy weird colored scales, so don't let it bother you." Nebula watched them closely. It was weird how this SeaWing knew how to make an entire class like him in only a matter of minutes.
Next, the MudWing stood up, massive and broad-shouldered. She took a nervous step forward, "I'm Duckweed, my favorite color is yellow, and I like playing the drums." her dark-brown and brass colored thick tail swept anxiously behind her. Mamba clapped his talons together, forcing a sly smile again. "Great, let's wrap this up so that you can get to exploring!"
The SkyWing stepped forward, squaring her shoulders eagerly. "I'm Keanu, my favorite color is pink, and I love birds!" Her thin, pale yellow and orange wings fluttered dreamily.
NebulaChaser rolled his eyes in amusement at the uncharacteristically bubbly SkyWing, standing up. "My name is NebulaChaser, but I prefer just Nebula. My favorite color is orange, and I like painting, if you couldn't tell." He held out his brightly blue paint-stained claws, chuckling.
Sponge jumped forward. "My name is Sponge, my favorite color is green, and I like sculpting." Sponge took one of Nebula's talons, displaying his own clay-dusted talons, which made them look almost brown. "Wow, cool! We can be permanently stained-clawed buddies!" The SeaWing announced, giggling.
Mamba swept his tail across the stone he perched on to get their attention, his snout scrunched in a condescending expression. "Welp, now that's out of the way! Your caves will be listed out in the main cave."
NebulaChaser hurried out of the cave, hope sparking in his chest. He wove through the walls, dragons scrambling to get out of his way. Once he finally reached the main cave, he realized it was almost completely empty, all except him and Tarragon. "Have you seen our caves yet? We're in the same room!" The green and tan dragon tapped one talon to a chalkboard with a lot of small writing on it. Nebula took the chalkboard between his talons, excitement sparking in his chest. Him and Sponge were in a room together! He stopped suddenly, and it finally occurred to him that Tarragon would be with them. Nebula looked up from the chalkboard with a wry smile. "What? I swear I'm not that bad!" Tarragon laughed, his strange leaf-shaped tail barb rattling against the stone floors.