darkstalker's daughter

5

Taking a deep breath, Asteria pressed her talons firmly into the cold, stone floor beneath her. Feeling a stab of sympathy for this SkyWing, Asteria suddenly saw a glimpse of a small group of dragonets.

Six tiny dragonets sat in a circle, happily playing with one another. Match, Copper, and Skyfire, Asteria thought, gazing at the two SkyWing dragonets. Their scales glimmered in the sunlight, and the sound of sweet laughter filled Asta's ears. And Destiny, Constellation and Futuregazer. Glancing at the three NightWings, she felt a rush of something strange. Asteria felt as though she should scoop these tiny creatures into her grasp and protect them with her life, and as the vision faded, she was left feeling strangely empty.

Dazed, Asteria suddenly noticed that Pyrite was standing over her nervously. Of course, whenever I meet anyone even REMOTELY important, I have to have a seizure, she thought, embarrassed. But as she stood up and locked eyes with Pyrite, she realised that she was going to be good friends with the dragon.

"I'm Pyrite," said the princess suddenly, and Asteria nodded, tapping her silver teardrop scales. "Ah, I'd assume you already knew that. I'm Queen Ruby's only daughter, and Falcon and Eagle's older sister. And you're Asteria."

"How did you know?" the NightWing asked, startled.

Pyrite hid her laugh. "Oh, Mother gave me a list of all the students attending here, and honestly, you just look like an Asteria," she said between smothered giggles. Her snout crinkled as she did so.

"Ah, fun! Well then, do you know of any 'friend-worthy' dragons around here yet?" Asteria asked, thinking about everyone she had met so far.

Mango seemed welcoming, and resembled a bright ball of happiness. Surely if she failed to find any other friends, Asteria could drift over to the Emerald Winglet?

When Asta looked back up, she caught of glimpse of Pyrite's expression, which was deep in thought.

"Well, I guess there's my brother's, but then again, they're my sibs, so I'm kinda biased," the SkyWing eventually stated, "but other than them, I haven't really spoken to anyone here yet. Can't go to the massive meet n' greet party, can I?"

Pyrite indicated to her flaming, golden-orange scales with a nod of her head, and Asta grimaced in sympathy.

"Ah, true. Well you aren't missing out on much, it's really just a huge cave filled with dragons and excessively loud music. I was actually trying to ditch the party before, y'know, I almost got burned alive," Asta informed her, laughing.

Pyrite bore a guilty expression on her face. "Sorry 'bout that. Again," she said, but Asteria shook her head.

"You're fine. It's not your fault. Hey, come out and watch the moons with me. I heard they're pretty tonight."

Leading the SkyWing princess to the nearest exit that she could remember, Asteria tried to process what had just happened. So this is the princess from Splash's winglet, she thought. She seems nice enough.

Exiting the mountain, Asta sat up on a large rock. Beckoning to Pyrite to sit next to her, she smiled and looked up at the stars. They shone back at her, and she felt the spirits of her parents gazing over her fondly.

"Can you feel that?" Asteria asked Pyrite, sighing contently. The SkyWing's expression morphed into one of confusion. Pyrite shook her head and sat with her wings tucked in to her sides.

Grinning, Asta said, "My parents. I can feel their presence in the stars... see?" Lifting a talon, she pointed to two brightly shining stars directing above her.

"Your parents? Are they... dead?" Pyrite asked hesitantly. Immediately after, her face flushed, and she looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Well, I guess. My mum certainly is, and my dad... it's complicated," Asteria replied with a strange expression. "You'll think I'm awful if I tell you, though."

Sighing, she looked up to the stars. The only way I can see them together, she thought, sadly. Her frown must've worried Pyrite, because the princess's eye's widened and she quickly responded.

"Oh, no! I promise I won't. Why would I?" Pyrite rambled, and a gust of smoke arose from her scales and into the night sky.

Asteria glanced at the princess and fiddled with her talons. "They're kind of... famous. But not in a good way, for my father at least."

"Oh, tell me, I'm sure they're perfectly normal. It's not like your father is the Darkstalker!" Pyrite cried, seeming desperate for an answer. Asta paused, taken by surprise, and stiffened. "He's not... right?"

Pyrite watched her nervously. Oh, she's going to hate hearing this, Asteria thought in dismay. But there wasn't much that she could do about it. The princess was sure to find out, sooner or later.

"Asteria? You're making me nervous," Pyrite fretted. Her wings twitched and small coils of smoke spiralled towards the stars.

Asteria gulped. "Yeah, uh, about that..."

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