"I know, but it'll be so different! Without the ocean, and my octopus, and the coral, and the swimming.."
"There's an underground lake specifically for SeaWings. I think you'll be fine."
"But still.." Ripple sat down with a humph, lashing her aqua tail. The webbed spikes running down her back relaxed and she stared out the window at the rolling ground below, drifting off.
She woke with a start as the machine clattered to the ground. She looked at Surge, who shrugged and climbed out. She followed him carefully, her webbed talons clicking softly on the stone of the mountain. She gasped as she saw the sheer amount of dragonets already there; a group of excited RainWings bustling past, munching on various exotic fruits; starry bottomed wings of NightWings glinting as they flew overhead, a clump of tired young SilkWings just after Metamorphosis, clearly having flown all the way from Pantala; shiny Icewings; flame coloured SkyWings and everything else. Suddenly the bustle went quiet as a strange hybrid arrived. She was trying to look inconspicuous, but it was hard when you were a combination of two of the most commanding dragon species. Her scales were mainly white with red and blue in patterns here and there, her horns were those of a SkyWing, long and curved, but were red instead of gold, while white-silver Icewing spikes jutted out of her neck. Her eyes were different colours, one blue and one red, with red above them, and her underbelly and chest plates were blue. Her serrated claws dug into the rock as if clinging on for survival, her wings were huge and her tail was whip-thin with a tuft of white spikes. She looked hunted, eyes shadowed, as she marched straight through the crowd of hushed dragons into the caves. The crowd watched until she was gone, before continuing as loudly as ever. She looked back at Surge, but he was already bounding over to the old and stately animus SeaWing who taught the special abilities classes, Maelstrom. She ran over too, leaping in to twine tails with her. She was beloved to her and her siblings, kind, gentle, commanding and fair, she gave incredible gifts and took them on the best seatreks. She flashed her glowscales to her aunt on instinct. (Hi Auntie Maelstrom! Long time no see!)
(Hello little Ripple! How are you? I look forward to seeing your animus skills in lessons! Did you remember your soul bracelet?)
(Of course ma'am! I'm fine thank you, a little tired from the long journey, but I slept a bit on the way.)
(Hey, you slept for about a year!) Surge flashed back with an indignant expression. Ripple giggled out and turned to the cave system that made up the school.
"Should we find our dorm caves and get unpacked or is it too early?" she said out loud, seeing other dragonets watching them speak Aquatic with confused expressions.
"It's up to you. There are gemstones embedded into the cave wall representing whichever dragons are in each one. For example, because your scales are deep aqua, your gem would be blue topaz. And Surge's would be a darker sapphire for his navy blue scales." Maelstrom said.
"What gem do you have?" Ripple said quizzically, as she couldn't think of one that matched her aunt's deep, rich, green-blue scales.
"Why, malachite, of course! Now, off you go. Remember, make friends with other species, there's a map of the grounds and caves in every corridor and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. There won't be any lessons as usual today so just explore and hang out with some fellow students!" Maelstrom walked away in the direction the hybrid had gone with a concerned expression, leaving the siblings to bicker about where they wanted to go next. They decided to unpack in their caves first, go to the information speech and then go their separate ways before meeting at the lake at midtide. (Even away from the sea, most SeaWings had a sense for the time in tides.) Ripple strolled down the tunnels lit by glowing lamps of various colours, a pattern of scales painted on them. She guessed they were another thing to show equality. She saw a RainWing lamp, shifting colours constantly via animus magic, a SkyWing's, patterned with red and gold, MudWing lamps in deep shades of sepia and chocolate brown, and even a Hivewing lamp, yellow/orange with stripes and hexagonal splotches of black. She studied a map placed in a fork between tunnels, headed to the left and finally saw a cave opening blocked by a sliding wooden door set into the rock. There was a blue topaz in the shape of a wave, (a blue SeaWing, her) an amethyst set into brown rock in a butterfly's wing shape (hmmm.. brown and purple SilkWing?), a flame shaped ruby with golden inlay (SkyWing) and a jade in the shape of a leaf? A LeafWing? She thought they were still incredibly rare, trying to protect their numbers by staying hidden. Why would there be one here? She floated her magical suitcase to the ground where a seaweed-woven cushion lay, the edges embroidered with pearls. Her bed, clearly. She unpacked her jewellery, satchel and scrolls, laying the enchanted items out before deciding what to wear. Her fast-flying pearl wristbands would be useful, and her star sapphire spell-protection earring would be nice too. She slipped on her 'soul band': actually an ammonite-on-a-chain necklace, that did the same job of a typical soul band- keeping her from losing her soul by doing dark-classed magic- and sat on her cushion for a bit, wondering who her roommates would be. As if she'd summoned them (which she hoped she hadn't accidentally done) a nervous SilkWing poked her head around the door. She was beautiful, a lovely brown with iridescent purple highlights on her four huge wings and underneath her scales, poking out here and there. Her frame was elegant and she had a royal air to her, so she was probably related to the recently rediscovered royal lineage after the Hivewings had withdrawn their power, after the evil Queen Wasp had died many years ago. She looked startled to see another dragon there.
"Can I come in?" the dragonet said quietly, with the odd, gentle accent of a Pantalan native. Ripple nodded, liking the way the fire in the corner reflected in her deep purple eyes.
"Hi, I'm Ripple!"
"My name is Hairstreak," the SilkWing said softly, wiggling her delicate antennae. "Nice to meet you." Hairstreak walked over to a silk web-hammock in the corner of the cave and placed her belongings carefully on the tacky thread so they stuck to the fibres. Ripple opened a scroll and began to study, even though it wasn't needed. She loved reading. She looked up after a while to see Hairstreak weaving a tapestry with her silk. Ripple watched, intrigued, as the other dragonet shot silvery silk from her wrists, deftly moving them back and forth, creating a pattern as they stuck and hardened in neat rows of various thicknesses. A butterfly quickly took shape in the threads and she stopped weaving, holding it up to the white IceWing themed light orb in the corner to examine it.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Ripple blurted out suddenly. Hairstreak looked up, suprised, and blushed. She hung it up next to her hammock. Ripple felt the low tide pull to leave the water in the back of her mind. It must be noon. She hurried out of the cave, waving goodbye to Hairstreak, and headed towards the Main Cave Hall.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
