Stalker of Dreams

Chapter Eight

The Quartz Winglet, as it turned out, was not too hard to find. 

It was at the end of a tunnel that was apparently called "Stalagmite Hallway". It wasn't hard to see why; massive columns of rock rose up from the floor like long teeth, and the differently colored lamps cast long shadows across the walls of the cave. 

Peacemaker blinked for a few moments as his eyes adjusted to the much brighter surroundings than the Great Hall. He squinted at one of the lanterns and thought he could see a filament of glowing silk within it. Well, that certainly explained why it was so bright. 

Firefly stopped for the briefest moment to stare at a bright yellow lamp, poke it so that it bobbed slightly, then quickly get back to hurrying along. 

They dragonets finally came to a large cave with cushions and blankets strewn across the floor. A strangely-colored LeafWing sat on a sky blue pillow, her nose in a book. A massive scroll rack took up the entire wall behind her, and the wood was carved with beautiful patterns. She looked up as they came in, and Peacemaker felt a shiver ripple through his wings. 

"Stripes?" she asked quietly, setting down the book. Her scales were strangely off-white, speckled with pale pink. And her wings were the color of birch leaves buried in snow. She very well could've been half-IceWing, despite the fact that she seemed to hold herself like a LeafWing and didn't have any ice dragon-like traits. 

"Um-" Peacemaker started, but Firefly jumped in ahead of him. 

"Are you our clawmate?" she asked. "You're a LeafWing, so... Cherry, right? Are you half-IceWing? Your scales are so pretty. You might be the prettiest dragon in Pyrrhia, actually. I'm Firefly, this over here is my friend Peacemaker." 

Cherry blinked wide eyes at Firefly, tilting her head slightly. "The princess of stars," she said. "Yes, they call me Cherry."

"OOoooooooh," Firefly grinned maniacally at Peacemaker. "I'm 'the princess of stars'! Pretty cool. Do him next!" She shoved Peacemaker in front of her and he let out a startled yelp.

The LeafWing took a step backwards, then shook her head. 

"Too early to tell you. I won't let the roses fall again." 

Peacemaker wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified. What was that supposed to mean?

"Do you know when the rest of our Winglet is getting here?" Firefly questioned. 

Before the bizarre LeafWing could respond, Hourglass strode into the cave. They folded their wings down against their sides and smiled at the three dragonets already there. 

"Hello," the SandWing princex nodded at Cherry. They looked over at Peacemaker and Firefly. "We flew in together. I'm not surprised to see that you two ended up in the same Winglet." 

"I know," Firefly grinned. "It's awesome, isn't it?" 

Hourglass allowed themself the smallest of smiles, and Peacemaker wondered if they were the one who requested for him and Firefly to be put into the same Winglet. It made sense, as three of their siblings did work at Jade Mountain. 

"Have you seen any of the others?" Firefly asked them, craning her neck to see if anyone was arriving behind the dragonet. 

"I saw a SeaWing who was looking pretty intently at the Quartz listings," Hourglass replied. "Could've been Undertow. I didn't really stop to ask."

Firefly sighed dramatically and flopped onto one of the cushions. Cherry stifled a laugh before poking her nose back into the book she held in her talons. 

Peacemaker watched as Hourglass selected a scroll from the rack (seemingly at random) and slid onto a mat to read it. The SandWing sighed in contempt and spread out their wings in a comfortable position.