A Past That Can't Be Forgotten

The Gold winglet

Peacemaker yawned as Cliff shook him awake. "Come on!" He pestered, "We have our first class with the Gold winglet today!" 

The hybrid groaned and groggily sat up. "Okay, yes I'm coming," he mumbled sleepily, and Cliff dragged him out of the room and down the hall before Peacemaker could object. The halls were crowded and busy by the time the first gong sounded.

Cliff led him through the Great Hall — where Fatespeaker was sitting proudly with a mallet next to the bronze gong — and chose a tunnel on the opposite side, slanting up.

To Peacemaker's surprise, this passageway was lined with plants: some with pale green heart-shaped leaves growing out of cracks in the rock, others with vigorous bundles of dark purple leaves, sprouting from small pots of dirt. 

Green vines covered the ceiling, winding around the green and yellow globe lights, with long blue flowers hanging down like dragon tails. A rivulet of silvery water trickled down the center of the tunnel, carving a small groove in the stone.

As they went higher, the air felt more damp, until finally they ended up in a cave Swarming with vines that was open to the sky on one side. Water cascaded down the back wall like a moving, bubbling tapestry, pouring into a small pool that fed into the stream in the tunnel. 

Tsunami sat on the ledge with the morning sun shining behind her, grinning at them as they came in. Her royal blue scales looked as if they were made of melted sky. BONG! BONG! went the gong, only twice this time.

"Hello!" Tsunami said. "Welcome to your first class. Nice work finding the right cave. Cliff and Peacemaker, right? Take a seat." Someone moved in the tunnel behind Peacemaker, and he turned to see a smallish Icewing coming into the cave with a golden dragon with four wings close behind her.

Tsunami dipped her head politely as they came in. "Bumblebee, Mink." she greeted them warmly, and frowned like she expected them to jump at her and claw her on the spot. 

"Where's Mandarin?" she asked them, and Mink and Bumblebee looked at each other and shrugged. "She wasn't in her bed when we got up," the one called Bumblebee admitted, and Mink nodded. 

"She isn't a really...social dragon." Tsunami huffed and turned to the others, "Well, she can find her own way here instead. We have a few more dragons coming, and then we can start." as she spoke, a small green seawing walked in, and Tsunami's face lit up.

"Auklet!" she said enthusiastically, slinging her wing over the seawing and gave her a toothy grin. "Hi Tsunami!" Auklet said, wrapping her wings around the princess.

  Oh... Peacemaker thought, They're sisters. 

"How do you like your clawmates?" the princess asked, and Auklet pointed to where a dragon was standing near the plants. Peacemaker hadn't even noticed her there. "Thats Fern," Auklet told her sister. Fern shyly waved a talon and sat down with the others.

"Wow!" a voice said, rushing into the room, "I love this place already!" it was a purple dragonet with small blue dots cascading down his spine. But the most shocking part was that he didn't have wings. 

"Where are you wings?" Auklet exclaimed, just as Bumblebee shrieked, "Dusky!" and barreled into the purple dragonet. 

"It's your metamorphis this year, right?" she asked, and Peacemaker stared at them in confusion. 

Metamorphis? What's that? Dusky grinned at the smaller dragonet.

"Hey Bee," he said. "Looks like were in the same winglet!" 

A dragonet came in behind Dusky, rolling his eyes. "I'm hungry," he complained. Tsunami shot him a glare and the mudwing looked at his talons.

"Move out of the way," a voice grumbled. A Sandwing pushed past him, his barbed tail flicking restlessly. "What are we even doing here?" he huffed impatiently. 

Tsunami sighed irritably. "Let's get started, with or without Mandarin." She waved her talons around. "Hello!" she welcomed them. "Glory said that we have to introduce ourselves, so I'll start." she cleared her throaght dramatically. 

"I'm Tsunami, a seawing, heir to the throne. I'm also the head of the school." she looked around, triumphantly. "Who's next?" nobody answered, so Tsunami turned to her sister. "Auklet, how about you go first?" Auklet looked around the room nervously and took a deep breath.

"Hi, I'm Auklet. I'm a Seawing, Tsunami's sister, and my favourite colour is green."Peacemaker noticed that Cliff was staring at Auklet in a way that made him grin evilly. I know what this is about, he thought. I'm going to ask him later. 

Next was the Mudwing. "Uh... I'm Cedar." he mumbled, "I, uh ... like mud." The Sandwing snorted. "Typical," he muttered, but Cedar hadn't finished. 

"I grew up with my sibs and my mother before they were all murdered, and now im in foster care," he said flatly. 

Silence greeted his words. He sighed. Was that too much? The silence was interrupted by a loud snort.

"I am Thistle. I am sandwing, obviously, and I should be back in my home, learning how to fight. I would appreciate it if nobody would talk to me," he said in a slightly venomous tone. 

Suddenly the air shifted beside him and a rainwing the colour of a sunset appeared. 

"Noted." she said ominously.