Note: I do not own Wings of Fire or any of the characters or locations mentioned. The series is created by Tui T Sutherland and published by Scholastic. This work is fanfiction meant for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made from this story.

One Month and 4 weeks after the end of the war.

It was a calm summer day at Jade Mountain, the tallest in the Claws of the Clouds mountain range. As the day passed, fluffy white clouds slowly passed through the mountain's tall, fang-like summits. While the outside of the Mountain is peaceful, it's a very different story from the inside.

Inside the mountain, sawing, hammering, and the occasional small talk echoed throughout the narrow tunnels, traversing long and wide, leading to several caves. Inside some of these caves, SkyWings and SandWings sent from recently crowned Queens Thorn and Ruby were hard at work converting the caves into would-be classrooms. Wood was carved into long tables for the students, and a desk for the teacher was made from it as well. Maps, documents, and other scroll work were set up as well.

Clay, A MudWing, peered into several classes, curious about the progress. He could only smile as the school slowly came to life one nail at a time. As he continued walking through the tunnel, a sharp stab of pain shot through him, and he let out an agonized roar as he collapsed. He took a few heavy breaths before he reared his neck to see the cause of his pain. His hind leg was wrapped in some blood-soaked bandages from the near-fatal injury he had gotten from that dragon-bite viper and his friend Peril's move to save him. His leg twitched as the pain mostly subsided. He carefully brought himself to his feet and partially opened his large wings to keep balance. He continued walking while holding his injured leg up.

Eventually, Clay managed to reach one cave he was excited to see: The Library. The entrance was a long corridor of carved stone. Upon walking through it, Clay saw that the room was quite beautiful. There were special-made wall cubbies, racks, and cylinders that housed scrolls of almost every kind in the walls. Underneath each scroll was a wooden plate of dots. Everywhere the MudWing looked, there was a spot to lay down as one read their preferred scroll; Sometimes it was a ledge of rock, other times a bed of moss or reed, or even a carpet-adorned spot near the windows. The room had an emerald green hue thanks to the skylight at the roof, and its large leaves imported from the Rainforest Kingdom. Slightly below it, large banners hung that read notable quotes such as "Knowledge is a flame in the darkness." and "The claws of war are no match for the wings of wisdom."

After taking in the beauty of the library, Clay's brown eyes locked on a sight he wanted to see. In the center of the room was a wooden table, with the word "Librarian" etched onto the front of it. Behind the table were two NightWings. One NightWing, Fatespeaker, had dark purple scales adorning her body, and a few silver scales on her tail, especially near her eyes. The other Nightwing, Starflight, had black scales with a light gray underbelly. But at the neck and head were a sight that saddened Clay upon seeing them. Red scars from that brutal eruption at NightWing Island served as a reminder of how he failed to protect him when they escaped. The worst scars on his face, which blinded him, were covered by a simple white blindfold that was held tight by his horns. The similarity they and all NightWings had was their wings having star-like patterns that would blend with the sky on a starry night.

Clay could hear Fatespeaker reading something to Starflight, the closer he hobbled toward them.

"I see reading to him is going well," Clay said in a deep, warm voice.

Fatespeaker lifted her head upon hearing his footsteps, and she smiled as the MudWing approached and sat down just a few feet from the table.

"Hi, Clay!" Fatespeaker greeted in a kind-sounding voice. "It's so good to see you again!"

Fatespeaker walked up to Clay and nuzzled him once she was close enough. The MudWing accepted her gesture kindly, a warm smile on his face.

"How is everything with you two?" Clay asked. "I've meant to check in on you and the library."

"We're…getting by," Starflight answered. "...considering," Starflight spoke in a noticeably heavy voice, which made Clay raise an eyebrow.

Fatespeaker walked back to Starflight's side, maintaining her bright smile. "We've made so much progress since we started living here," She explained. "He can already fly well without using his eyes now, and the braille system makes scrolls easier to manage."

Clay gently shifted his tail and his wings shivered. "That's all great to her." He replied.

Fatespeaker then thought for a moment before she realized something that needed to be done.

"It's good timing that you're here Clay." She said, making Clay raise an eyebrow concerningly.

"I need to collect the new scrolls from the Sky Kingdom," Fatespeaker explained as she aimed her thumb at Starflight. "Could you keep an eye on him while I'm gone?"

"Of course, Fate." Clay nodded and smiled.

"Great!" said Fatespeaker, as she looked at Starflight and placed a talon on his shoulder. "I'm gonna be right back, Starflight; The new scrolls are coming any second."

Starflight gently nodded. "Take all the time you need, Fatespeaker," he answered in a quiet voice.

She smiled at him, then walked away from the desk toward the corridor, as she brushed a wing against Clay's side and smiled at him. "Thanks again," she repeated.

Once Fatespeaker was out of sight, Clay looked back at Starflight, a gentle expression forming on his face. His footsteps were slow as he approached, the sounds echoing through the library. Starflight seemed to look saddened by something, from the look of his lowered wings that were nearly touching the floor.

"...Is everything…alright with you?" Clay quietly asked, looking saddened.

There was no response from the NightWing, which added to the MudWing's growing concern.

"Star?" He spoke up again, his head leaning and his talon nudging the NightWing. Starflight lifted his head in Clay's direction.

"Oh…um…I'm alright Clay." Starflight answered. His delivery sounded like he was trying to hide something bothering him.

Clay squinted his eyes over Starflight's words: his tone was the cherry on top to prove something was wrong.

"I'm not falling for that easily, Star," answered Clay, as he shook his head. "You're sad about something, and it shows."

Starflight's frown deepened, and Clay clasped the NightWing's talon with his own.

"You can talk to me when something bothers you," Clay told Starflight. "And I don't mean your blindness. That's already made clear."

Starflight seemed frozen, but only for a moment. He then sighed quietly before answering Clay's concerns. "I'm just thinking, Clay…of Sunny."

Clay's eyes widened over Starflight's answer, but it had him raise his eyebrow afterward, even more confused about why she was making him sad.

"What about Sunny saddens you?" Clay asked further. "I don't understand."

Starflight blushed as he remained silent. Clay quietly inched closer to the NightWing, concerned look unchanged.

"Starflight, I can't help unless you explain what's going on." Clay insisted, gently tightening his grip on Starflight's talon.

"It's just…for the years I've been with you guys…I loved Sunny most of all." Starflight began to answer.

"She loves you too, Starflight; Just as much as any of us," added Clay.

"My love…ran deeper than what you guys have." Starflight continued, unbothered.

Clay paused when Starflight said that about Sunny. His eyes darted in a few directions as he processed the NightWing's words, then his eyes widened slightly and he looked back at Starflight.

"...You mean…?" Clay asked. Starflight only nodded his head.

The puzzle pieces of the scenario slowly assembled as Starflight explained his romance for Sunny. It was surprising to learn when he remembered that she and the others grew up like family in the years leading up to the war's end. Clay kept his cubical snout closed as his ears remained upright, listening to every word the NightWing spoke.

"But…she turned me down in the days after Thorn became queen." Starflight continued with his frown growing and his ears lowered. "I should have known when she said she was confused about me confessing to her….I'm just…trying to accept it…but it still hurts thinking about-"

Starflight felt something warm drape around him…something huge, but comfortable. It didn't take him long, however, to realize that Clay was embracing him in his wings, which were just large enough to cover his entire body.

"I understand now…mostly." Clay gently whispered. "I'm…sorry this happened to you."

Starflight leaned onto Clay's muscular shoulder for comfort. "It's just…all of you grew annoyed with me knowing so much; but not her" He continued quietly, his frown slightly wobbling. "I just thought…we had-" Clay gently shushed the NightWing, stroking his back with a talon. "It's gonna be OK, Star."

But…how can things be OK from this? The only time he ever felt real heartbreak was when his mother sold him for, of all things, two cows. A look of concern over what he should do formed on his face. However, his ears perked upright, and his eyes widened when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Clay quickly let Starflight go and moved away from the table. Standing on her hind legs, Fatespeaker waddled into the library with an assortment of new scrolls in her arms.

"I'm back, you two!" She happily greeted.

"Hi Fatespeaker, Did the scroll collecting go well?" Clay asked, making the brightest, toothy grin he could make.

"It went great!" Fatespeaker answered, her wings fidgeting with glee. "And it wasn't even that hard, I just had to go to the great hall and there they were with the-"

Fatespeaker stopped talking and noticed the odd feeling in the air. "Um…did anything happen while I was gone?" She asked slowly. "Something feels off with you two."

"Nothing bad; I was just checking in with Starflight while you were gone." Clay excused to Fatespeaker, holding up his talons and slightly opening his wings.

The NightWing maintained a suspicious glint in her eyes but nodded in understanding.

"Okay…You can leave now if you like." She stated quietly.

Clay relaxed upon hearing that from Fatespeaker. After he said goodbye to her and Starflight, the former with a short nuzzle, Clay carefully hobbled away from the table and out of the library, but slowly stopped at the lip of the corridor. He looked back at the corridor, his face filled with worry.

"Poor Starflight…what can I do?" He thought as he looked down at the floor. Deciding how to help Starflight was a challenge; Telling him to forget it is out of the question now. But Clay remembered something throughout his travels with the other dragonets. Memories of situations such as Tsunami's sisters being killed, Glory's subjects disappearing, and Sunny's involvement with Thorn and the SandWing sisters. The core memory of those moments was that they all did something to resolve those matters. Raising his head and smiling, Clay realized it was now his turn to do something. As he hobbled away from the library, he looked around, hoping to find others to support his cause.

"...I wonder where Tsunami is?…."