"Hello dragonets! Welcome to Jade Mountain! My name is Professor Bulrush, and I am the headmaster of this school." Goldfinch grinned as the famously jovial MudWing flew onto the stage. He was one of Clay's descendants, the legendary MudWing of the dragonets of prophecy that had lived over two hundred years ago, when there was still war between tribes, queens fought to the death to ascend, and Pantala was simply a rumor. What an odd thought! No SilkWings or Hivewings, and everyone hating each other? She was glad she lived in the time of Queen Aurum and not that awful Scarlet. She was well known for being the worst queen in SkyWing history.
"I hope all of you have a fantastic time here at Jade Mountain. I will give out the weekly timetable for lessons later, and there will be a copy in each of your caves. As lessons start tomorrow, today is a time for fun, games, exploration and friendship! Now, your classes will be taken with your winglet, a group of dragonets, hopefully one representing each tribe, who will stay together for most of your school life, so I hope we picked wisely! There are 7 winglets, each with ten dragonets. The name theme this year is gemstones! Here they are, so listen closely. By the way, the species order is SkyWing, SandWing, NightWing, RainWing, IceWing, SeaWing, MudWing, SilkWing, Hivewing, and as we have a few hybrids again this year, they will fit into whichever species they prefer to identify as.
Opal Winglet- Peak, Arid, Prophecy (our Rain/NightWing), Macaw, Blizzard, Abyss, Swamp, Atlas and Cicada." Goldfinch watched a normal looking NightWing embrace a beaming red-yellow-blue RainWing, and was confused until she saw the ever-shifting rainbow stars under Prophecy's wings, her curled-up tail, her slender horns and her non-forked tongue.
"Diamond Winglet- Peregrine, Cactus, Timeknower, Baobab, Crystalline, Kelp, Terracotta, Hawk and Bumblebee.
"Sapphire Winglet- Goldfinch-" Her!!!! She leaned in, studying everyone's expressions so she could work out who was who.
"-Palm, Darkwatcher, Orchid, Snowdrift, Ripple, Bog, Hairstreak and..." Aha, was this the LeafWing? In her winglet? "Aphid." Oh. She stared at a blue and purple SeaWing who seemed to be happily gazing wistfully at a pretty SilkWing. Ooooh, young love already? She sat back as the headteacher announced the rest of the winglets.
"Emerald Winglet- Kestrel, Dune, Thoughthearer, Bromeliad, Penguin, Surge, Marsh, Adonis and Hornet.
Citrine Winglet- Vermilion, Rattlesnake, Eclipse, Hummingbird, Glacier, Seahorse, Peat, Hawkmoth and Mantis.
Amber Winglet- Soar, Camel, Halfmoon, Powerful, Frost, Octopus, Orange-Tip and Termite.
And finally, the Ruby Winglet- Tern, a certainly striking Sky/IceWing.." At that, a murmur went around the cave, and she heard quite a few "Oh no! I'm with her..!"s.
"Oasis, Allknowing, Mango, North, Aqua, Peacock and, because we didn't have enough HiveWings, and they really wanted to go, we have a LeafWing representative instead, Maple!" Everyone stared, shocked. A LeafWing? Here? For real? She was half convinced it was a RainWing in her dorm instead of a real, live, LeafWing, just another one of her fancies. But no. She was right.
"Now, off you go! Today's events are going on all day so feel free to pop in and out! They're marked on the maps around school so just follow them if you want a particular one! Okay, have fun!" The jolly old MudWing strode off the stage and began talking to one of the other professors quietly. She caught the words 'Maple', 'hybrids', 'concerned', 'bullying' and 'animagii'. Oh, intriguing. She stood up and lingered by the door, looking for someone from her winglet. She spotted the shy IceWing, Snowdrift, fiddling awkwardly with his claws. She walked over, her wings held wide to show off the many ruby piercings running down her left wing. She smiled kindly at him, her mind going 'SHINY SHINY SHINY'. Thoughthearer laughed and quickly put a palm over her mouth, the special mindreader silver scales glinting like tears perched by her eyes. Snowdrift frowned at her, slightly confused.
"Hello! My name's Goldfinch! How are you? Isn't it fantastic here? Did you see the look on that poor Tern's face when Professor Bulrush called her 'striking'? Sorry if I'm rambling, I'm really excited and I don't get to gossip much in SkyWing courts. Where are you going to go first?" The IceWing looked bemused and a bit frightened.
"I... I, uh... was going to head to ice carving first? My name's Snowdrift. W- wait, you already know that, don't you.. he said it out loud.. anyway... hi?" He said softly, his mane of spikes sagging in relief when he finished. She tilted her head. Thoughthearer looked like she was on the verge of exploding into fits of giggles and had to leave the room. Hmm. Not much of a talker, was he. He gave her a weak, slightly anxious smile and walked off. He seemed like he was trying not to run away. She sighed, biting her lip, and padded towards the blue and purple SeaWing, Ripple. She was flashing a message to a dark blue SeaWing across the cave who nodded and flew out of one of the skylights. Ripple turned away and jumped when she saw Goldfinch standing there.
"Hello?"
"Hi, I'm Goldfinch! I'm in your winglet!" Keep it short seeing how it went last time, she thought.
"Ripple."
There was a short silence.
"Are you in the cave with the-" Ripple started.
"The LeafWing?"
"Yes."
"Yes, I am too. Um."
"Ok."
Another silence.
"Do you know the hybrid?"
"Which one?"
"Tern."
"No... I think she may have lived in one of the SkyWing villages, but I spend most of my time in the court. My parents work there, so I have to be there. With them."
"Oh."
Goldfinch realised the conversation was quickly dying. She didn't have much social practice other than client defense and legal jargon. She decided to leave before she gained a reputation as socially inept. Oops. Maybe going for a fly would clear her head. Her wings automatically trembled with excitement. She was a SkyWing, there was the the sky. She let a RainWing fly in from a skylight and then took to the air in three beats of her huge, powerful wings. She suddenly realised she hadn't even said goodbye. Oh no. She hovered by the opening, waved and grinned awkwardly, and barreled into the open sky. Phew, back in her element. She whirled through the air, completely surrounded by miles and miles of blue, pure and empty with room to spin and dive and soar, the best kind of sky. The wind whistled around her, wings outstretched, lifting her up. She smiled and glided in a wide circle. The mountain getting smaller, she relaxed. Aaahhhh, she loved being a SkyWing...
ns 15.158.61.12da2
