Ysera gave a brief nod to Victor as she raised her head and gave a massive roar. As the sound permeated out through the forest, reality seemed to blend. The dream shifted and morphed as the scene of the forest changed, finally settling into a completely different place.
It was a valley surrounded by stone pillars with rune-like markings peeking out of the thick forest. Within it, green dragons could be seen flying throughout the area as little green hatchlings could be viewed from all over.
Ysera and Victor flew under an arch and began to walk through the place, some dragons stopping to give a momentary bow to the Green Aspect.
Duskscale could feel all the piercing eyes on him, the green dragons staring at his odd appearance. Not only that, but it didn't help that he was being escorted by this flight's very leader!
Ysera gave a kindly look as she guided the hatchling forward with her tail. Continuing down an overgrown path, and leading into a grove hidden by ivy hanging from trees. Within the grove was a small gathering of several green dragon hatchlings, all positioned as if it were a classroom setting. At the head of the grove, a green dragon a little bit smaller than Ysera, was attempting to demonstrate some form of druidic magic to the hatchlings, but grew silent as Ysera came through.
"Grandmother!" one of the whelps with a shade of green scales similar to Ysera's emerald leaped forward towards her, "I've learned to manipulate the Dream more! I can grow plants faster, teleport, my acid breath is stronger, I think my wings got bigger…"
The Dragon Aspect waited patiently as the hatchling rattled off for a long while, "Well now, I am sure Merithra must be very proud of you Revira. I have a personal request for you if you don't mind."
Revira's eyes widened as she flew excitedly in a small circle, "YES! Ah" she took a small pause to clear her throat, "Yes of course, it would be an honor grandmother."
Victor watched as Ysera tucked her wing over Revira and whispered something. Then, she approached the teacher, and began to converse with them. He could notice as the expression on the other dragon pale as their eyes shifted towards himself.
Ysera approached the chromatic whelp once more and gave some final words of encouragement, "The first few days will be rough, but I dearly hope you will persevere. Good luck young dragon."
With that, the Aspect closed her eyes, and seemingly disappeared as it felt as though a mist had covered the area where she once was.
"Alright hatchlings!" The green dragon at the end spoke, "We have a new hatchling among our ranks, and not only that, he is a unique dragon with the scales of all out flights..." They shifted a bit awkwardly before speaking again, "Nonetheless we are here to spread the hope of nature, and I hope that extends to the kindness of this young dragon as well! May we continue to learn well as we develop the nature of the Dream."
"Yes teacher Tavius," all the green hatchlings chirped in unison.
The dragon then turned back to the display of plants that was in front of them. As they were showing the mechanics of how to manipulate the nature of plants or make them grow, Victor was awkwardly trying to find a place to sit.
Most of the other green whelplings either blocked off Victor trying to move to a spot, or just a single glare given was enough to stop his attempt to sit.
"Having some trouble there newblood?" a voice from behind the chromatic whelp spoke.
It was the green hatchling that excitedly interacted with Ysera earlier, her pale blue eyes rolled a bit as she approached him.
"I wouldn't worry though, I have been tasked by Ysera herself to babysit you!" Victor could tell that if it weren't for Ysera, she probably would have never even approached him, "My name is Revira! Daughter of Merithra, and grandchild of the Aspect of The Dream herself!"
She spread her wings outward, giving a proud pose. Victor's eyes shifted over to some snickering he could hear from the other hatchlings as Revira gave that display.
"Ignore them!" she said quickly, "You should feel honored… what's your name anyway?"
"My name is Victor Dusk…"
"So it IS true!" she interrupted, "You took an early visage! I don't mean your human name or whatever you transform into, what's YOUR name?"
The chromatic whelp took a long pause, "I- I don't have one? I'm sorry."
"Well that absolutely won't do, will it?" she thought for a moment, "Something unique… something you… I KNOW!"
She flicked her talons towards him, "Chroma! Henceforth you are the weird dragon Chroma!" Revira gave a confident laugh, "You can thank me later!"
"REVIRA!" Teacher Tavius gave a glare towards them, "While I appreciate socializing with the new student, shouldn't you be focusing on the task I just gave the class?"
Giving a small wave of their hand, a small plant sprouted from the ground in front of them.
"Of course!" Revira yelled confidently, "A minute task for such a talented hatchling!"
"Good! Then I'm sure you will be able to help our new student as well!" With that, Tavius walked away to check on other green hatchlings struggling to manipulate their own plants.
Revira gave another sigh as she glanced over to the plant for a moment, "Alright…"
Victor, now Chroma, took a moment to inspect the plant. He was supposed to control it after all, but he had no idea what to do so he just stuck his talon out, and closed his eyes. Maybe he could try bubbling up the power he had felt before.
"Not like that you dolt! You look like you're trying to lay an egg!" Revira gave an embarrassed look.
She trotted over to his side and grabbed his claw, "The first step to controlling nature is not to force it, but to commune with it. Instead of pushing it outward, take a deep breath and just feel your surroundings. Don't even think about the plant."
Taking a deep breath, the chromatic whelp just took a look at his surroundings. The calming pools of water rippled as some leaves landed on top. A light breeze caused the trees to rustle. Everything felt natural and together for a brief moment.
"There you go, can you feel it?" Revira asked
"I- I think so…"Chroma paused for a moment, "What's next?"
She took his claw again and put it in front of the plant. "Focus that feeling onto here. Think about how you can make it flow, not forcibly move."
Looking down at the small plant again, Chroma took a moment to just observe it. Just a simple stemmed flower with a few leaves sticking out.
Then, he felt something strange. He could feel the plant growing, even if slowly, as everything within the plant was living as nature took its time. Yet, he had power, he could make it grow, nurture it! Taking his claw, he imagined raising it to raise the plant along with it.
The plant stirred for a moment, a slight crackling could be heard from it before it shot upward. It almost hit Chroma in the face as it spread leaves, twisting out into thick vines that caught and entangled some of the hatchlings. The flower had broken through the treetops as it pierced towards the sky.
All the hatchlings gaped at the now gigantic plant as Tavius took a moment to check on the other students before shaping the flower back so it didn't grow wildly about.
"Alright students," The teacher spoke out, "I think that is enough for one night, class dismissed."
The hatchlings filed out of the grove, most staring at Chroma as they went before leaving the area. Revira on the other hand, was having the time of her life.
"Did you see the looks on their faces?!" she managed to choke out between laughs, "I don't think I've had such a fun moment since Tavius had gotten entangled in a student's poison ivy project!"
Chroma looked at her sheepishly, "I don't think I made that good of an impression on the other students" he tried laughing to himself, but it came out as an awkward gurgle.
"Well you certainly made quite the splash!" Revira exclaimed, "I suppose grandmother was right. Too much power in a child's body, but I suppose we can work that out."
Chroma gave a small laugh, "I suppose this is better then where I started. You're a good teacher."
The green hatchling gave a surprised and slightly embarrassed look, "Well… I- I… yes, YES!" she shifted into a proud pose, "Of course! You should expect nothing less than a proud descendant of The Dreamer herself! I am sure with a lot more practice, someday you'll have control as great as me! Almost…"
"I'm looking forward to it." Chroma smiled, "So what do you do now? After spending time in The Dream, do you play with other hatchlings?"
Revira gave a frown, "N- no I don't at least… the others don't talk with me too much, besides I am busy with other things of course! Like continuing to practice with nature or other things…"
"If you want, maybe we could explore The Dream. I want to explore this place, and who else would know this place better?" Chroma suggested.
"I suppose I could fit in a little time…" Revira smiled, "The Wetlands might be particularly fun!"
As she said this, Chroma could feel a slight jolt in his reality. Everything was starting to fade. He could feel himself shift in his sleep as the worlds were beginning to blend.
"Ah, you're begging to wake up," Revira said disappointedly, "Tomorrow night then… don't forget! We will go after our class, okay?"
"Uh huh…" the chromatic whelp felt dizzy as his vision of Revira shifted. For a brief moment, he swore he could see her differently. She was taller, aged as the fin down her front was more pronounced. There was also something weird about her horn?
The image faded as his vision turned to black.