Blazing

== Blazing ==
(This is an AU that takes place in a continent called Kala, which has all the tribes from the books in it)
=== Summary ===
A young SkyWing, Flighty, is on his way to Wings Of Change Academy, a school made with the intent for dragonets from every tribe to learn how to live together peacefully. Flighty is furious, however, that he has to attend school with the other tribes, since he's wanted nothing more than to be a royal guard for Queen Mahogany of the SkyWings, who had been reluctant to sign the peace treaty between the tribes. But then, at the academy, he meets Queen Mahogany's son, Prince Crimson, and develops a romantic interest in him. However, he soon becomes attracted to two other dragons from other tribes. Not only that, but he still has a deep hatred for the other tribes. So what will Flighty do?
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=== Part 1: Welcome to Wings Of Change Academy ===
==== Chapter 1 ====
Flighty flicked his tail and glared around as he followed his grandmother into the academy. His grandmother was an old dragon named Robin, and had many battle scars covering her scales and wings. She had been involved in two wars in her lifetime as a soldier, and had killed many battles. Her scales were a dark red color, and her wings were an even darker shade of red, along with the scales along her spine. Her eyes were a dark shade of orange, and always seemed to have a vicious glow to them.
"Hmm..." Robin growled as she strode through the academy entrance, which was a huge gaping hole in the side of the biggest mountain in Kala, Ringo Mountain. "This place seems rather... odd." She hissed sharply as a small SilkWing dragonet nearly smacked into her, running at full speed. The dragonet let out an apologetic yelp before turning around and scampering off in the other direction. Flighty noted the dragonet didn't have her wings yet, and knew SilkWings got them when they were six years old.
"It does seem odd," Flighty agreed with a small grunt. He stopped beside his grandmother in the middle of the massive entrance cave and gazed around. The entrance cave itself was huge, and there was probably enough room for fifty full-sized dragons to fly around in it. The entrance itself was wide enough for dragons to fly in and out without touching others, and was letting in a lot of sunlight. Dragons of all kinds were filing through the cave, many saying goodbye to family, while others were already talking with dragons from other tribes.
Do I really have to be here? Flighty thought bitterly, his wings slouching a bit. He hadn't wanted to come to Wings Of Change Academy at all. However, he had been chosen by Queen Mahogany herself to attend the school, along with nineteen other SkyWing dragonets, although he had no clue as to who.
"Well," Robin growled, "I guess we should find out where the heck you're supposed to go from here." Her wings twitched slightly and she cast a glare at a passing HiveWing dragonet. It had only been two years ago since a huge continental war had torn the tribes apart, and HiveWings had been one of the tribes SkyWings had fought against. Flighty's mother, a dragon named Ace, had been viciously killed by a HiveWing during the war. Flighty guessed Robin would never forgive the HiveWings, and he couldn't blame her. He wanted revenge as well. That was one of the reasons he did not want to be in the academy.
"Hey, look," Flighty said, spotting a desk on the far wall between two cave openings across from where he was standing with Robin. "Maybe we go there?" There was a small line of dragons in front of the desk, so he guessed that might be where dragons got information about the place.
"I guess," Robin said with a grunt. "Although I hate standing in lines, especially with dragons from other tribes." She scowled as she slowly walked over to the line, and Flighty marched along beside her. There were about nine dragons standing in the line. The one at the front of the line was a cheery looking RainWing with bright yellow scales, with hints of pink along her her tail. She looked to be about Flighty's age. Behind her was a huge muscular NightWing with a jagged scar along her tail. Standing beside her was a very small male NightWing who looked quite timid. He guessed the adult was the small one's mother, and he also guessed he was about a year old. Behind those two dragons were three MudWings, all of which looked about four years old, which was a year younger than Flighty. The three dragons looked as though they were having a happy conversation, and he guessed they were siblings. Behind the MudWings were two SeaWings, one of which was an adult male while the other one was a smaller female. They looked as though they were having a heartwarming goodbye. Behind them was a SandWing dragonet who looked very nervous and twitchy.
Oh great. Flighty thought sarcastically, letting out a soft sigh. We have to stand behind a SandWing. I just hope she doesn't accidentally stab me with that barb of hers. He nervously looked at the dragon's barb. It was coiled safely inward at the moment, but the dragon looked so nervous that he didn't quite trust her not to accidentally flick her poisonous tail tip in his face.
After what felt like forever, it was finally Flighty's turn at the desk. A few dragons had begun to line up behind him and his grandmother, and that made him even more impatient. He was bored and simply wanted to figure out where to go. Well, actually he wanted to go back to the Sky Kingdom and train to join Queen Mahogany's guard, but he supposed just hurrying up and finding out where to go was probably just the second best thing.
The dragon behind the desk was a skinny old NightWing with a monocle over one eye. She had stacks of scrolls behind her desk, and one spread out on top of the desk with a small bottle of red ink in it. Flighty could see red on the tips of her front claws, which he knew was from the ink.
"Oh, hello!" The NightWing said with a small wave as Robin and Flighty stepped up to the desk. "Welcome to Wings Of Change Academy! I know I haven't seen you here yet." She nodded at Flighty. "Who might this lovely dragonet be?"
"This is Flighty," Robin replied, "My grandson." There was respect in her tone, and Flighty knew why. The NightWings and SkyWings had been allies during the past war, and even the previous war that had taken place when Robin was younger. He knew his grandmother respected the NightWings because they had been allies.
"Oh, yes!" The NightWing dipped her claw into the ink and looked at the scroll that was spread out on the desk. Flighty peeked at the scroll and discovered it had the list of all the names of the dragonets attending the school, and they were all grouped in within their tribes. He watched as she spotted his own name and crossed it out, before turning and looking through the huge stacks of scrolls behind her. "Wait one moment please..."
Flighty and Robin waited while the NightWing rummaged through the scrolls. As they waited, Flighty looked at the list of names on the scroll, feeling quite bored of waiting in pretty much the same spot for a long time. Most of the SkyWing names on the list were already crossed out, and he guessed it meant those were the dragonets who had already arrived. Queen Mahogany had given all the dragonets who were supposed to attend the academy five days before they had to leave, and Robin had waited until the fourth day to bring Flighty. It wasn't a surprise that most of the SkyWings were already there. In fact, there were only five dragonets who weren't crossed out on the list.
The names Crimson, Aerial, Owl, Amethyst, and Swoop were the only SkyWing names left uncrossed on the scroll. Before Flighty had a chance to even think about the names he saw, the NightWing behind the desk came back with a scroll for Flighty.
"This scroll will tell you all about your cavemates and what cave you will be sleeping in, as well as your classes for the first while." The NightWing gave him a friendly smile as she handed him the scroll. "Thanks for coming to Wings Of Change Academy. I hope you enjoy your time here!"
Flighty and Robin turned and stepped out of the line, letting the next dragons step up, which were a pair of nervous looking IceWings.
"Well," Robin said gruffly, "I guess you don't need me anymore." She gave Flighty a curt nod and flicked her tail. "I'll see you again sometime. Good luck. Just remember not to get too close to the other tribes." And then she turned and left before he could reply, leaving him all alone in the strange academy.
==== Chapter 2 ====
Flighty wasted no time figuring out where to go. He knew there were signs in the school, and his scroll provided enough information for him to know which ones to follow. He carefully examined it again.
Cave C Room 3 
Not looking at any of the other information on the scroll, Flighty focused on where to find his cave. He found Cave C after a few moments of walking around the main cave, looking at the signs beside each entrance to the interior caves. He quickly walked in the cave, brushing past a dark green SeaWing as he did so. The SeaWing flinched and darted out of the cave.
SeaWings! Flighty thought with a scoff as he went into the hallway that served as Cave C. They were always cowards during the war, hiding all the time in the safety of the ocean! 
It only took Flighty a few moments to find Room 3, and it was made even clearer because the names of the dragonets who would be sleeping in those caves were posted on a wooden board attached the the wall beside each small cave entrance. He stopped and looked up at his for a moment.
Room 3: Salamander, Flighty, Hornet, Seaweed, Jag
Bracing himself, Flighty took a step into the room. There were five sleeping spots in several different parts of the room. It was smaller than he had initially been hoping, although it had a bookshelf. He noted that he would probably isolate himself in the room and read a lot, so as long as his cavemates didn't get in his way. There was a small jar with some sort of glowing substance in it that served as a light source for the room. It was settled on the bookshelf, which was in the corner of the small cave, and emitted a dim light that was bright enough for dragons to see things, but not so bright that it would disturb their sleep.
There were two dragonets in the room already. One was a powerful looking MudWing with dark brown scales and light yellow eyes. He bore a scar on his shoulder, and was sitting in his sleeping spot with a fierce expression on his face. Curled up in one of the sleeping spots was a well-built IceWing, which was snoring softly in his sleep. Flighty scowled. Neither IceWings nor MudWings had been an ally to his tribe during the war. He didn't really want to share a cave with any dragon from a tribe who had been an enemy to him until two years earlier.
The MudWing glared at Flighty as he entered the cave and his scowl seemed to deepen. "I'm guessing you're Flighty?" The MudWing growled, a look of disgust on his face.
"Yes," Flighty said, narrowing his eyes at the MudWing. He thought about the names he had seen on the wooden board outside the room, and guessed the MudWing was Salamander, which was a very MudWing name.
The IceWing grunted and lifted his head, narrowing his blue eyes at Flighty. "Oh. Great. It's the SkyWing." He got out of his sleeping place and stretched his wings. The IceWing had eyes the color of an evening arctic sky, and was white with tints of light blue along his scales. There were also a few small blue scars on his snout and chest.
"I guess that just leaves the HiveWing," Salamander sighed with an annoyed look on his face. "Although I was personally hoping I'd get a bit more peace before anyone else showed up."
The IceWing scowled and lashed his tail, his tail spikes clattering loudly against the cave floor. "Hey at least you got some peace. It was impossible for me to get any with your constant snoring and lumbering around."
"Well at least you stayed out of my way, Jag." The MudWing growled, twitching his tail. "Which is better than most of your tribe."
Jag rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Flighty. "Just be quiet, alright? I want some rest, since this rock-for-brains kept me up all night with his snoring." He shot Salamander a pointed look before turning and crawling back into his sleeping spot, which was a raised surface with silky sheets and blankets on it. All the sleeping spots were.
I guess I'll just have to put up with this, Flighty thought with a sigh. He groaned inwardly as he slithered across the room to an empty sleeping spot that was beside one that had already been used. That must be Seaweed's spot, He thought, recalling the names outside the room. I guess the HiveWing, Hornet, is going to be the last one here. He put his scroll beside the sleeping spot and flopped down on top of it with a sigh. He felt no urge to explore and was just tired after the long flight to the academy. His wings were sore from flying, and he wanted no more than to just rest.
Salamander grumbled to himself unintelligibly before leaving the cave. Now Flighty was alone with the IceWing, Jag,
Ugh, IceWings! Flighty thought distastefully as he stretched his wings out on either side of him. They were apparently one of the worst tribes during the war. He glared at Jag, who was curled up again with his back facing him. He wondered what it was like in the Ice Kingdom, and had heard that it was pretty much just a cold wasteland that was useless to any tribe but the IceWings.
Commotion outside the cave made Flighty's head snap around. He could hear the sounds of two angry dragons outside. Jumping to his feet, he shook his wings and bounded across the sleeping cave to go see what was going on. He could hear Jag doing the same behind him.
In the hallway a few paces to the right of Flighty's sleeping cave, two dragons were facing each other, hissing angrily. One was a thin female SandWing with dark eyes, whose tail was poised as though she was ready to use it against her opponent. The other was a dark red HiveWing with black scales along his spine, along with black scales completely covering his talons. His teeth were bared and he was snarling viciously at the SanWing. Flighty was sure there was going to be a fight.
=== Chapter 3 ===
"Get out of my way, HiveWing!" The SandWing hissed, flexing her claws angrily.
"You aren't supposed to be here, SandWing!" Snarled the HiveWing, lashing his tail. The action caused him to whip a curious bystander SilkWing in the snout, who had been peering out of his own sleeping cave. The SilkWing leaped back into the safety of his own cave with a sharp yelp of surprise.
"What makes you say that?" Growled the SandWing in a low, threatening voice. "All dragons are welcome in the academy." Her tone was dangerous. Flighty knew that if no dragon intervened, a fight would surely start. But he was curious to see what would happen between the two dragons. They were both from enemy tribes, and neither of them had even been on the same side as the other during the war. He wanted to see what which one would win if they got into a fight.
"This cave is obviously for the male dragonets!" The HiveWing snapped impatiently with an exaggerated wave of one of his talons. "You don't belong here."
By now, several dragons had come to watch the fight unfold between the two angry dragonets. Even the SilkWing who had been whipped in the face had come back out to peer at them. Many dragons were watching with curiosity or fear in their eyes.
"Well I'm sorry!" The SandWing spat. "But I'm quite new here, and I had no clue this cave was only for male dragonets!" She shifted her wings and hissed.
"Any dragon with eyes can tell that this hallway is for males only," The HiveWing huffed, his wings twitching. There was a smug look on his face as he added, "And I'm new as well, and I can tell it's quite obvious only males belong here."
The SandWing snarled. "Get out of my way, or you'll be scorpion food!" She brandished her tail and took a step forward. Before the HiveWing could react, another HiveWing dragonet suddenly took a step forward and tugged the angry one back.
"That's enough, Hornet," Growled the new HiveWing, "She meant no harm."
"Then why is she attacking me?" The first HiveWing, Hornet, retorted, with a fierce glare at the SandWing, who was giving him a look full of undisguised rage.
"I'm only attacking you because you started attacking me!" The SandWing snapped, throwing up her wings and lashing her tail.
"All dragons have the right to be here," A smaller voice said. A small SilkWing whose wings hadn't yet grown came forward. She was a soft pink color, with eyes the color of the setting sun. She flicked the tip of her tail and cast an anxious glance at the other dragons. "I mean, I-I'm in this cave, right? And I am a female. I came t-to visit my brother. We've both b-been here for two days."
For a moment Flighty felt sorry for the little dragonet. She looked to be about a year old, and had a small bracelet made out of what appeared to be dried flower petals. Her eyes were wide and terrified as she looked around.
"Yes!" Yelped the SilkWing that Hornet had accidentally whipped in the face with his tail earlier. He was a pale blue dragon with gray-blue wings, and was obviously older than Flighty himself. The SilkWing quickly hurried over to the small pink SilkWing and stood in front of her, looking protective. "This is my sister, Tulip. She's staying with the other female dragons, of course, but we visit each other's sleeping caves." He spread his wings out. "We're allowed to. I-I asked." He looked a bit nervous being surrounded by staring dragonets.
"See?" The SandWing said smugly, flicking her forked tongue in and out of her mouth. "I'm allowed to be here." She rolled her eyes. "Now if you excuse me, I will be going to find my sleeping cave now."
The female SandWing brushed past Hornet, earning herself an angry hiss. She stopped beside the HiveWing that had intervened and tilted her head at him curiously. "Thank you for the help, HiveWing. Might I ask what your name is?"
The HiveWing looked startled. "My name is Stinger. What's yours?"
"I'm Toxic," The SandWing replied. Then, with a small burst of laughter, she said, "Oh, I mean that's my name, not that I am Toxic or anything." Then, with a shrug, she said, "But I probably am. So that name is most likely accurate." Then, without another word, she pushed past the crowd of staring dragonets and left the male sleeping cave section.
The female SilkWing, Tulip, was pressed against her brother, trembling slightly. She looked frightened in the midst of the staring dragonets. Flighty felt an uncomfortably cold sensation beside him and knew that Jag was standing a bit too close for comfort. But he was too curious to get angry at the IceWing. He turned his gaze toward Stinger and Hornet. The two HiveWings were now glaring at each other with undisguised hostility in their eyes.
"Why must you always get in my way?" Hornet snapped, curling his claws in. "Every time I want to show my strength, you just get in my way."
Stinger shrugged. "Maybe if you stopped doing stupid things all the time, or trying to show off, I wouldn't have to get in your way."
Hornet threw his wings back and let out a laugh. "Oh please! You're just jealous because I'm fully capable of killing another dragon, and because I got to fight in the war and you didn't. You just have a petty grudge because I was higher than everyone else in our combat class."
After a moment, Stinger let out his own laugh. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! I never even wanted to be in the war. Heck, I hated that combat class!" He tucked his tail around his back talons and settled his wings. "The only reason I get in your way is because you're constantly doing stupid things and hurting other dragons."
"Whatever," Hornet growled, "I don't really care what you think. I was the only one who passed our combat class and got to fight in the war, so I know you've always been somewhat jealous." He shrugged and turned his back on Stinger. Then he glared to the left of Flighty's cave. "Oh, this is my cave." Without warning, he shoved past Jag and Flighty.
Jag growled and went back into the cave, looking annoyed. Flighty was annoyed as well. He knew he didn't want to be sharing a cave with a grumpy HiveWing who picked fights for no reason. In fact, he decided he would just go for a walk instead of stay in the cave. At least until he had to go back to sleep in it.
I wish I could just fly back to SkyWing Kingdom, Flighty thought with an irritated sigh. Then I wouldn't have to deal with a cave of enemy dragons who are just plain annoying. 
With an annoyed growl, Flighty stalked along through the hallway back to the main cave. He quite hoped he wouldn't run into Salamander, or even that SandWing who had been causing issues in the male hallway. All Flighty wanted was some peace and quiet.
Although I wouldn't mind coming across a fellow SkyWing, Flighty suddenly thought, and he kind of wished he would find a dragon from his own tribe. On his way out of the male's tunnel-cave, he passed the SeaWing who had brushed past him before. The SeaWing cast him a startled glance before hurrying into the hallway. He just snorted and continued walking, although he didn't know exactly what he was going to do.
Well there are obviously more SkyWings around here somewhere. Flighty thought, looking around the main cave. Now if only I could find some...
Commotion coming from the main entrance startled Flighty. The pounding of many pairs of wingbeats made him lift his head and snap it around so that he was facing the cave entrance. The only other dragons in the main cave at the moment were the NightWing secretary behind her desk, a small blue SeaWing, and a battle-scarred SandWing.
To Flighty's surprise, the dragons causing all the commotion were none other than Queen Mahogany and her royal guards. Along with Mahogany's son, Prince Crimson.
=== Chapter 4 ===
Flighty gazed at the queen, frozen with shock and wondering why she was there. She had twelve royal guards with her, six on either side of her and her son.
Queen Mahogany was a large light red dragon with paler reddish-brown wings, which were the same color as her eyes. Her son, Crimson, was a much darker red dragon with even darker red wings. He had amber eyes and a fierce expression on his face.
Mahogany was wearing her crown, which was made of pure gold and wound beautifully around her horns. She was adorned with several bits of jewelry, most notably a diamond necklace that fit around the center of her neck like a choker. She also wore a few other diamond items, such as a diamond ring, wristband, and a set of diamond earrings. She also wore a gold armband on one of her arms.
Although Prince Crimson wasn't as adorned as his mother, he still wore a bit of jewelry. He wore a silver armband on one leg, a diamond stud earring in one ear, and had several silver rings on his front talons. He also wore a thick silver chain necklace that made him look intimidating.
Two of the queen's guards were carrying one chest between them, and Flighty wondered why. He sat back on his haunches and watched as Mahogany and Crimson strode over to the secretary's desk.
"Welcome to Wings Of Change Academy!" The NightWing secretary exclaimed, sounding a bit flustered at having the fierce SkyWing queen facing her. "I'm guessing this is your son, Crimson?"
Crimson frowned, looking unimpressed, but the queen just nodded and said, "Yes. This is my son, Prince Crimson of the SkyWings. I have chosen him to see if he thinks any of the other tribes are worth befriending, although I think the only one who has proven themselves worthy is the NightWings."
"W-well I'm sure all tribes are lovely once you get to know them," The secretary said with a nervous laugh. She turned and quickly found Crimson's scroll and handed it over to the prince. "Here's your scroll. It should tell you everything you need to know until the day after tomorrow, which is when school starts."
"Thank you," Queen Mahogany said, sounding pleased. "My guards and I will escort Crimson to his room for a proper goodbye. He's not thrilled about sleeping in the same cave with other dragons, just so you know, and I'm not sure how I feel about that either." She frowned a bit.
"Oh, I assure you there's nothing to worry about," The NightWing replied quickly, "We've chosen what we think will be the best fit for your son, and we think he'll get along well with his cavemates."
"We'll see," Mahogany replied, narrowing her eyes. She flicked her tail and nodded to the guards. "Come on. Let's not waste any time settling in." She looked at Crimson. "Where does that scroll say you're supposed to go?"
Crimson unrolled the scroll and peered at it, flicking his tongue out as he did so. "It says to go to Cave C Room 1." He replied.
"And where would that be?" Mahogany asked, looking sharply to the NightWing.
"That way," Replied the NightWing, pointing toward the cave system Flighty had just arrived from.
The queen gave the NightWing a nod of thanks before striding over there with Crimson at her side. The guards followed, with the two holding the chest walking directly behind the queen and her son.
Uh oh! Flighty thought. The queen is coming my way! I better bow.
As Queen Mahogany and her son swept past, Flighty stepped aside to make sure he wasn't in their way and bowed low with his wings spread out. He closed his eyes as he did so, but opened them out of curiosity before they were totally in Cave B. When he opened them again, his eyes briefly met with Prince Crimson's before the young prince turned his head away and continued to walk into the cave.
Flighty was curious, although he didn't want to seem nosy in case he was noticed by the prince or the queen. So instead of going to watch from around the corner, he folded in his wings and walked away, wandering to Cave C, which was another cave nearby. Instantly he hurried back out. It was the hallway for the female dragons, and he definitely didn't want to cause a scene like that SandWing had before. Instead, the young SkyWing went to explore Cave A. It was a busy cave, with many dragonets walking from room to room, and he instantly knew this was the hallway where all the classrooms were probably located.
A small HiveWing rushed out of a nearby cave and ran straight into Flighty, obviously not watching where she was going. Hissing, he jumped back sharply and lashed his tail. "Watch it!"
The HiveWing, who looked to be around a year old, let out an apologetic noise and rushed past. With a snort, Flighty continued to explore, making a careful effort not to touch other dragons. The first room was to his left. It was a small cave with a rack of scrolls on one wall, and a desk in the front. There were no dragons in that room, which he knew was a classroom, so he turned and continued to explore other caves.
Eventually, after poking his head into different classroom caves for different subjects, Flighty came upon a much bigger room. It was the library. And it was huge. It was one of the few caves he had seen so far in the hallway that had enough room for a dragon to actually fly in. Each wall was a giant shelf, full of thousands of scrolls. There were shelves in the middle of the room, as well as sitting areas for dragonets to read in. There was even a skylight in the ceiling, letting light shine into the library.
Six dragonets were in the library, and an adult SeaWing. The adult was a bright green SeaWing with a calm, serene expression on her face. She was standing behind a desk in the corner, and it was clear she was the librarian.
One dragonet was a dark pink SilkWing with dark red wings. She was humming to herself as she looked for a scroll to read. Three MudWings were sitting on a spot on the floor where light from the skylight reached, all reading from the same scroll. Last were two LeafWings, quietly murmuring to each other beside a bookshelf.
I'll come back here tomorrow and look for combat books, Flighty decided. He turned and, feeling exhausted, went back to his sleeping cave. His wings were still sore from flying, and he decided he'd try and get some sleep, even if he had to force his cavemates to keep quiet.
On his way out of Cave A, he nearly walked straight into a dragon. Another HiveWing. As he opened his jaws to hiss angrily at the HiveWing, he realized it was Stinger, the dragon who had stuck up for the SandWing, Toxic, earlier.
"Oh, sorry!" Stinger yelped, fluttering his wings in surprise. "I didn't see you there."
"It's all fine," Flighty said gruffly. He narrowed his eyes at the HiveWing, a question suddenly rising up in his mind. "Why did you stick up for that SandWing back there, against a dragon from your own tribe?"
Stinger blinked at him with startled yellow eyes. "Well, he was being a bit of an idiot, wasn't he? I mean, I don't think it was necessary for him to start shouting at her for simply being in our hallway. It's not like she was doing anything wrong, exactly." He rolled his eyes. "And besides, I know him personally. We were in the same classes for a while. His name is Hornet, and he's always looking for a fight, or somebody to pick on. He was the only one from our class to get into the army, and he won't let anyone forget it." He wrinkled his snout before adding, "I never wanted to go into the army in the first place, so I never thought it was too awesome."
Flighty stared at the HiveWing in surprise. He had always assumed HiveWings were all dragons who enjoyed fighting, and were endlessly hostile toward his own tribe. He had never met one personally before, and it was strange talking to a dragon who was from a tribe that SkyWings had fought against only two years earlier. It was even stranger to hear that dragon talking about how he didn't want to be in the army, since he had been under the impression all HiveWings enjoyed war.
I mean, I'd have loved to be in the army for my own tribe, Flighty thought. The royal guard still counts. Why would any dragon not want to have the honor of fighting and defending their tribe?
"Well, I'm going to go to the library," Stinger said cheerfully, "I'll see you around!"
Flighty stared at the HiveWing dragonet as he whisked past him and trotted cheerfully into the hallway.
I might have to talk to that one again, Flighty mused, He seems quite interesting.
 When Flighty made it back to the sleeping cave, the hallway was pretty much empty. He spotted a dark blue SeaWing sitting hunched outside a sleeping cave, grumbling to himself, and there was a small male SandWing dragonet pacing nervously nearby, but other than that the hall was empty. Most of the dragons had gone somewhere else, or were in their sleeping caves. He guessed it would be sunset soon.
Flighty stepped into the sleeping cave to see that all his cavemates were wide awake. Jag was sitting in his sleeping spot, looking very deep in thought. Salamander was eating something in one corner of the sleeping cave. Seaweed was curled up in his own sleeping spot with his head resting on his tail. Hornet was sitting in his nest, glaring at him Flighty as he walked in.
"Oh great," Jag grumbled, his tail spikes rattling on the floor as he lashed his tail. "The cave's gonna be full now."
"That's a shame," Salamander agreed, swallowing a piece of whatever he was eating. "I was hoping to- uh, never mind." He shot Jag a sheepish look and started to pick stuff out of his teeth.
"MudWings," Jag muttered with an eye roll.
"Now it's going to be crammed," Hornet growled, "I hate sleeping in the same vicinity as other dragons, especially from other tribes. I'd rather sleep in my own cave, or at the very least, a cave with another HiveWing." He scowled and curled his claws.
Flighty glared at all of them before stalking over to his sleeping spot and sitting on it, his spines bristling. He wondered, not for the first time, why the queens had thought this school was a good idea.
"I'm going to find something to do," Jag muttered, standing up with a grumpy look on his face. "Anything's better than sitting around in here." He swept out of the room, nearly hitting Hornet in the face on the way out with his wing. Hornet bared his teeth at the IceWing, before grunting and marching over to the final empty sleeping spot.
"Keep quiet," Hornet hissed, settling down in the sleeping spot and curling his tail close to him. "Or I'll give you something to really talk about." He showed his teeth before closing his eyes and resting his head on his forearms. Soon the muscular HiveWing dragonet was snoring away. It was quite unpleasant, really.
Flighty wrapped his wings around himself and glared at Seaweed. The skinny SeaWing dragonet looked nervous. He was a small blue-green dragon with lighter blue glow-in-the-dark scales and eyes. He was staring straight back at him with a fearful expression in those blue eyes.
"What?" Flighty snapped impatiently. "Never seen a SkyWing before?"
Seaweed yelped and threw his wings over his head. "S-sorry! I, um, didn't mean to s-stare, Flighty! My apologies!" The SeaWing began to tremble.
Flighty glared at him contemptuously. "Pathetic! Are you really cowering, SeaWing?" He snorted and rolled his eyes.
Seaweed lifted one wing to reveal his face. He was frowning. "I had bad experiences with SkyWings, sorry. Because of the war and stuff."
Flighty's eyes narrowed. He wondered, once again, why the queens thought putting enemy tribes together was a good way to make peace between them. Surely all it would do was cause trauma for the dragonets who had war-related fears from those dragons?
Salamander belched loudly, causing Flighty to turn his seething glare to him.
"Oh. Sorry." The MudWing dragonet said with a sheepish grin on his face. Flighty just groaned and sighed, rubbing his forehead. He really thought he was going to get a headache from being around all these dragonets from other tribes.
"I think I'll just go for another walk," Flighty muttered, jumping out of his bed and slipping out of the room. He had no wish to remain in his sleeping cave with those annoying dragonets any longer, and much preferred the solitude of exploring by himself.
On his way back to the main cave, he nearly stepped into a dragon coming out of another sleeping cave. He drew in a sharp breath when he realized who it was and breathed: "Prince Crimson."
"Hello," The dark red dragonet gave him a friendly nod. "Wow, you're the first SkyWing I've seen since I got here. Would you mind showing me around?" He snorted and tossed a look over his shoulder at the cave behind him. "A RainWing offered to show me around, but I don't accept help from such a disgraceful kind of dragon." He lifted his chin.
"Yeah," Flighty let out an amused huff. "Agreed. Of course I'll show you around, Prince Crimson." He bowed, opening his wings as he did so and accidentally tripping a HiveWing dragonet as he walked by. The HiveWing yelped and scrambled back to his feet, glaring at Flighty before stomping off and muttering to himself.
Prince Crimson laughed. "Ha! That was great. All HiveWings deserve that." He grinned. "Now what do you want to show me first?"
"Uh," Flighty thought fast. "How about the library? Do you like scrolls?"
"I love any scroll that involves learning how to take down an enemy," Crimson said with a laugh. He lifted one talon and fiddled with the chain necklace around his neck. "Take me there."
Flighty nodded and led the prince, feeling honored. He was not only the first SkyWing the prince had talked to, but he was his guide as well! Ooh, maybe I'll even be able to befriend him, and then maybe earn a place of higher power... like a general or something cool. 
=== Chapter 5 ===
Flighty opened his eyes and stretched, yawning and getting out of his sleeping spot. He looked around the sleeping cave with a frown on his face, though he wasn't as upset about being at the academy as he had been before he knew the SkyWing prince was also attending.
Seaweed was asleep with his wings over his head, and had been making whimpering noises all throughout the night, which had almost caused Flighty to set the green dragon on fire. Salamander had been snoring, which was actually more annoying than Seaweed's noises, but the other dragonets had been relatively quiet. Glancing at the MudWing dragonet, Flighty was satisfied to see that he was still asleep but not snoring like he had been throughout the night. He looked at Hornet, who was sleeping with his back facing the dragonets. The HiveWing dragonet hadn't made a sound during the night, but as he watched him sleep now Flighty noted that his claws and tail were twitching violently, as if he were having dreams about fighting. Lastly, Flighty looked at Jag. The IceWing was curled up with his head rested on his arms, and was wide awake. He gave Flighty a glare as their eyes met, and his wings twitched a little.Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)