Two Sides of the Academy || A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎

Memories flicker and fade.

All in multiple shades,

And...

Can you truly trust them?

{ Sleet }

Meanwhile, Sleet had just arrived in front of their sleeping cave, and they also had to follow an annoyingly complicated route. A... passionfruit vine, was it?... grew around the entrance, sprouting from a thick ditch of soil. Water was trickling down into the soil, and then by some unknown force, the water was flowing back up. Three detailed symbols of a geranium, wisteria and a passionfruit flower was painted above. They stepped in, eyes widening when they saw what was on the back wall. A water clock! The latest technology... Sleet stepped in, and tapped at the glass of the clock. This must've been where the water trickling into the soil was from. A clever system...

Except Sleet's lungs was now full of the smell of wet dirt. Soil was a strange thing. They definitely preferred snow over it. They coughed slightly, grimacing when the soil and pollen created the worst allergy reaction. The closest window was all the way down the hallway, so air flow wasn't that great there. Sleet quickly located their dozing ledge. They didn't have a full night's sleep like normal dragons, they instead preferred sleeping in short starts and stops. The stone was cold to the touch, with a polished surface and a bundle of polar bear skin up against the wall. Sleet unrolled it, surprised to find that there were stationery in there. They sniffed at the ink, recoiling when they found instead of the comforting squid ink that was found in every corner of their home, it was of the new, thicker type, made with a special chemical that made it turn into something sludge-like. Then their interest sparked back up when they found that the old fashioned claw cap for writing was also in the pile. There was a spot to fill up on the ink, and a hole at the bottom where it would come out. In the pile there were also; one particularly straight stick with intervals on it- probably for measuring, an assortment of scrolls and books, a telescope for stargazing, a library stamp and last but not least, a couple empty scrolls. 

"Done exploring and ready to notice me yet?" Said a tired voice. Sleet jumped. They hadn't even noticed the dragon! They turned around, to find opposite of them was a sort of nest hanging from the ceiling. A dull purple and green snout was poking out. 

"Hi?" Sleet squeaked. Blizzards and seals! I sound like Caribou...  They waved with one shaky talon. They heard what was probably the world's most drawn out sigh ever, and the head lifted. Oh! A RainWing!  Sleet examined the small dragon, finding that all the scales showed was green, purple and white. And a little orange. They weren't an expert at emotions, but purple was pride, or guilt? And light green was disgust, or queasiness? Orange was annoyance, and white... pain. 

"You looking at my scales or what? Answer, IceWing. We're clawmates, get over it. You cold dragons may be all snooty and-" her voice went up a pitch, "-and all FALALALA WE ARE THE BEST DRAGONS EVER, CONQUER, LAZY RAINWINGS! But it's not my fault the teachers put us together." She let out a little huff. Sleet let out another squeak. Being around other dragons was not comfortable. They would much prefer to listen to Caribou's ranting any day. 

"I'm...sorry? And... I ... um..." Sleet mumbled. All of the words from the insanely thick book called 'Communication with Others'  that they had painstakingly remembered had vamooshed. The RainWing grumbled as though she was annoyed. 

 "Aaaaaand now you're going to ask about my lower half. This is all I'm going to tell you- it was a venom training accident, and I got...caught in it. No. More. Questions." She eyed him, then added, "To save you from the 'more questions needed', my name's Frangipani. Now go. Be quiet. Do IceWing stuff." Sleet blinked. They weren't expecting that. But now speaking of it...  Their eyes traveled to the shrivelled up and stiff tail that hung on the others side of the nest. They assumed her wings and hind legs had faced the same fate- forever useless and as white as chalk. Frangipani seemed uninterested in them again, she hadn't even asked for their name! Sleet took a quick glance at the dragons in their winglet. They already knew, but to make sure...