Stalker of Dreams

Chapter Nine

The scrolls did not do the Jade Mountain Library justice. 

Peacemaker was sort of expecting a large room, filled to the brim with books. But instead the library was more like a long hallway, with a cushion or reading nook every few steps. Along one wall was an impossible amount of scrolls and books and stories and information that Peacemaker knew he would never be able to read in his lifetime. The other wall was lined with windows and smaller shelves, which looked like reading material for younger dragonets. Each window had a leaf placed over it, and each leaf was partially translucent, so Peacemaker could see the mountains and clouds outside if he looked closely at the windows and squinted. Green light poured in, and for the first time since Peacemaker arrived at Jade Mountain Academy, he felt homesickness pour over him. 

"Look, look!" Firefly hopped up and down in some bizarre dance, pointing and waving wildly at two NightWings sitting a few tail-lengths away. 

Immediately inside the library, there was a long stone slab that operated as a table along the right wall. Behind it where a few racks of scrolls, and each had a symbol printed onto them, one for every student at Jade Mountain Academy. 

Two NightWings sat behind the desk; the blind librarian, Starflight, and his mate and assistant, Fatespeaker. 

"Firefly?" Starflight asked, lifting his head up. 

"And Bumblebee and Peacemaker," Bumblebee piped up. A warm smile spread across Starflight's face. 

"I see you're taking your clawmates on a tour, then," the blind NightWing said as Fatespeaker turned around the scan the scroll rack. 

"That's right!" Bumblebee beamed. "Is Cricket in?" 

"She's talking with Winter about the... special curriculum for this year," Starflight grinned, and Peacemaker assumed he was winking under the bandage over his eyes. 

"Oh. Alright," Bumblebee nodded knowingly. 

"Here you three are," Fatespeaker said, placing three scrolls on the table. She rifled through the desk for a moment before pulling out three stamps, which matched the symbols on their respective scrolls. 

A bumblebee, a firefly, and... a strawberry. Peacemaker smiled, taking his stamp from Fatespeaker as she handed it to him. 

"Waaaay cool," Firefly said, holding the stamp out into the light to study it better. 

"These are awesome," Peacemaker said, still smiling. 

"They're to keep track of when you're taking out books or scrolls," Starflight explained, holding out a talon. Peacemaker dropped his stamp into it. "It seems to work pretty well, so we've kept the system." He demonstrated by dipping the stamp in some ink and pressing it on Peacemaker's scroll. He then handed the stamp back to the dragonet. 

"C'mon, let's go check out the rest of the library!" Firefly darted ahead, her wings lighting up with cascading shades of eyehurting pink and yellow and orange. 

Peacemaker turned to follow her, and accidentally tripped, coiling his tail with Bumblebee's. 

"Oops, sorry," he yelped, pulling back. 

"I-it's fine," Bumblebee stammered, recoiling slightly as well. Fatespeaker shot Starflight a look, before face-palming as she remembered that he couldn't see. 

"Hurry up, you two!" Firefly yelled from ahead of them. Peacemaker quickly hurried towards her voice, trying to keep the pink embarrassment out of his scales. 

A few moments later, they were snout-deep in scrolls. 

"Look! It's all about strawberries!" Firefly pointed at the aforementioned scroll, which Peacemaker pulled out. Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Strawberries: The History, the Plant, and How to Grow It.