Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Amelia Bright, or just Amely as everyone else called her, was sitting in a classroom, bored out of her mind. Slight drowsiness was overtaking her mind as her brain demanded a nap. Unfortunately, Amely couldn't possibly do that as the teacher dragon would not take that lightly.
Their teacher was a middle-aged female earth dragon. Amely couldn't remember her name, and the only specific detail about their teacher was that she was known to abuse the coffee machine a lot.
A sudden loud noise of the doors opening caught Amely's attention. She raised and turned her head towards the source of the disturbance, only to see a pink dragoness entering the classroom. She was panting heavily, her backpack about to slide off her back.
Vara.
That was the name of the dragoness that had just entered in the middle of the engineering class.
"Uhm," Vara looked at the teacher sideways to avoid the questioning glance. "I am sorry."
"What happened this time?" the teacher asked, as unamused as someone who would have to fill out a lengthy form.
Vara hesitated, trying to find the right words. "The schedule changed last minute, and I barely had time to get here."
"Oh, right," the teacher responded, a hint of understanding in her expression, although only just barely. "You are one of the remote students. Well, go pick a seat and pay attention. I'll pretend you've been here the whole time."
Vara nodded in a silent gesture of thanks and trailed off into the back of the classroom. Her eyes found Amely in the crowd of students, and the pink girl beamed with a sudden surge of excitement.
Amely smiled back politely, unsure how to approach Vara after not seeing her for a few weeks. They were friends, but certainly not best friends. It seemed like the pink girl wanted to change that, though.
Vara took a seat next to Amely. She was much bigger than the red-white runner, so she sat down on the ground instead of using a chair.
"Hey, Amely…" whispered Vara, leaning over to the other girl's side of the desk, pretending to fish for her textbook in the backpack.
"Hey yourself," Amely responded with the corner of her mouth, as silently as she could. "Long time no see, huh?"
The pink dragoness glanced over at the teacher's desk. When she verified they weren't watched, she replied, "Yeah. How have you been?"
"It's been getting tougher lately. We are nearing the finals, so…."
"I've meant your life outside school," interrupted Vara. "How's Remy doing? I haven't seen him in ages."
"Oh, right," Amely scribbled a few lines in her notebook before answering. "He's not coming out too often, mostly working from home. The medication he got last week did him good, though. He's no longer having nightmares all the time…."
"Good for him," Vara sighed in relief. Remy was somewhat of a second father to her and she held him dear to her heart. The white dragon raised her alongside with Amely before she decided to move out and live on her own.
"He endured enough. It's about time something worked out for him."
"And how about you, V? Are you still with Lorem?" Amely asked a more direct question as she wanted Vara to talk for a change. Taking notes while listening was, in fact, easier than coming up with sentences yourself.
"Nah," Vara thought about how to embrace the reply. "We are taking a break."
"How so?"
"Amely, they're… he's old," Vara took a peak over her shoulder as if she got a sneaking suspicion someone was eavesdropping on them. "A few extra years, and he could be my dad. People are asking questions. Uncomfortable ones that could get us in trouble…."
Amely didn't respond immediately because the teacher lady was about to pass around their desk. During the pause in gossip, Vara finally found her writing utensils and textbook, so she could at least pretend to be interested in the class' content.
When the danger was over, meaning the teacher moved away to spy on the learning habits of someone else in the room, Vara leaned over to Amely again.
"So, just as I was saying…."
"You're saying you dated Lorem because of your daddy issues?" Amely smirked at the thought, as well as her response made Vara blush.
"Ha ha," the pink dragon, unamused in the slightest, rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Amely."
"I always please my audience," grinned the runner from ear to ear. "But seriously, you did lose your dad pretty early on. I wouldn't blame you, y'know."
Vara remained silent, a slight redness still occupying her cheeks. She averted her gaze from Amely, making it clear the topic was no longer worth discussing. It was time for Amely to roll her eyes.
"You didn't say anything about pursuing the same career as I did the last time we spoke…."
"I am not," Vara didn't look at the runner as she attempted to draw the diagram their teacher had just finished sketching on a whiteboard. "I am merely finishing up my engineering degree. Because of the human coup and the chaos that followed…."
"I get it. I was there with you, y'know," Amely interrupted the speech to prevent Vara from getting caught not paying attention.
When the heat was off them again, Vara spoke up. "I am only attending the classes because of the stupid points-per-lesson system. I already know most of this stuff anyway…." She pointed at an article in her textbook about weather manipulation technology.
"Humans have an amazing record of trial and error experiments with the weather. Starting out with infusing clouds with aerosolised silver to induce rain cloud production, ending with manipulating the magnetic field of the planet itself…."
"Vara!" The teacher was suddenly standing behind the pair of girls, listening to their conversation. "Do you have something to share with the class, my dear?"
Vara stiffened up like usual when someone she didn't know too well spoke to her. So, Amely took it upon herself to fill out the role of an attorney for her friend.
"Actually, ma'am," the polite reference to the teacher came out more sarcastic than the runner intended, which earned her a frown. "I have a burning question."
"What is it, Amelia?" asked the earth dragoness, glaring at the frozen-in-place Vara, who was indeed unsure how to process the situation.
"You've been talking about the weather processor for the past few minutes, but I still can't wrap my head around how it works…."
"Maybe if you've been paying more attention…." The teacher was prepared to give Amely the scolding of her life, but the runner girl, true to her family origin, wasn't about to tolerate it without speaking her mind first.
"Why don't we visit the Northern Processor and see for ourselves? They say experience is the best teacher…" said Amely boldly, interrupting the older adult as if it was nothing. Vara, regaining her composure a tiny bit, gave her friend a look of admiration.
"Now, that's a good question," the teacher raised as tall as she could above the students. "With a small number of flaws, you see." With that, she walked away to her desk and sat down on the floor.
"You may be familiar with the nature of the outside world," the teacher continued, taking short breaths between the sentences. "Not mentioning the harsh weather, the wastelands run rampant with lawless groups of raiders and mercenaries that will kill any peacekeeper on sight, especially rookies like you, Amelia."
Amely rolled her eyes, but she supposed she brought it upon herself in a way.
"It's perilous to go outside without proper equipment and, ideally, a guide to aid you in navigating the ever-changing…."
"Well, actually, I know such a person," Amely interrupted the monologue. "She worked on the Northern Weather Processor and made it work again. Thanks to her, we aren't getting hit by blizzards anymore."
The teacher looked genuinely angry at that point. "That's pretty and all that," an arrogant and dismissive frown, accompanied by a puff of smoke escaping from the teacher's nostrils, indicated she had just enough of Amely speaking her mind.
"No one has seen Miss Anna in over a year, so bringing her into this argument is more than…."
"I'll find her if that's what it takes," Amely said, still more or less unamused by the teacher's antagonistic behaviour. "She's the best one around to give us a tour."
Before the older female could scold and punish Amely, the bell rang, effectively ending the learning session. The other students, who were asleep during the class, woke up and started packing their things.
"Don't forget about your assignments. They are due on Friday," the teacher yelled over the noise of moving chairs and feet rapidly going towards the exit.
Amely and Vara were the last ones to leave.
Vara looked concerned. She likely didn't expect Amely to stand up to her teacher and get away with it. Or maybe, she was worried because of the dangerous idea her friend proposed. "Amely,..." Vara started, uncertain how to approach the topic. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Your teacher did have a point regarding the dangers outside the city walls."
"I'm not afraid of anything," Amely shrugged off the pink dragoness' concerned question. "I'll go on my own if you're scared."
"I'm not scared," Vara defended. "I would like to have a plan because charging into a fire isn't really my style, y'know."
"Do you have a plan then?" Amely didn't even bother looking back at her friend, marching forward throughout the academy's endless hallways.
"Maybe asking someone from the exploration department could work? These guys know everything," Vara suggested. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Home," Amely slowed her pace down. "This has been the last class for today. Do you wanna hang out?"
"Well, school isn't over for me," Vara admitted. "I still have one more lab session."
Amely thoughts for a second. "I'll walk you there if you don't mind. I've got nothing else better to do anyway."
Vara agreed with a quick nod, "Sure."
The two girls walked into the cold air outside the Peacekeeper academy. Amely shivered to a sensation that could be best described as thousands of tiny needles poking her nostrils all at once. She sneezed violently and lost her balance, stumbling forward and crashing into someone who happened to be walking on the nearby sidewalk.
"Sorry," Amely apologised out of instinct, only to realise a pair of bright pink eyes were gleaming back at her. "Adine?"
The banana yellow wyvern gave Amely the brightest smile she could muster. "Hello, Amely! Vara! I haven't seen you two in a while."
A strange sense of deja vu washed over the teen runner. She took a step backwards, maintaining distance from Adine. "Hey," she responded. "Are you coming to check up on me?"
"Nah!" waved Adine her three-fingered wing talon. "Just making a delivery to your hungry teachers."
Amely scanned Adine's appearance, and the wyvern did wear a relatively spacious delivery bag strapped onto her waist. Adding to that, Adine wore a light hi-visibility vest made of synthetic fabric adorned with a logo of the delivery group - The Snowflake Express - she worked part-time for. Everything seemed to check out that Adine did speak the truth.
"So, how are you girls holding up? I've heard finals are knocking on the door…" said Adine, as cheerful as ever.
"Jeez, thanks for reminding me," Amely rolled her eyes. Then she remembered her previous pursuit. Adine used to be a friend of Anna's, and maybe she could help track the rogue scientist down.
"Well, I am still on the clock. If you'll excuse," Adine was about to head out before Amely rushed to state her request.
"Actually, I could use your help with something." The sentence alone caught the wyvern's attention enough to make her stop in her tracks. "Recently, I've had urges to see my…." Amely paused to think what role Anna filled in her life."... stepmother again. It's been a while since I've last seen her."
Vara shifted behind Amely, her feet compressing the new snow cracking and filling the silent gap. Adine looked at Amely with a borderline concern mixed with investigative curiosity every parent had in them to a degree.
"I am sorry, I don't know where Anna is at the moment," Adine explained, fiddling with her talons uncomfortably. "From what I know, she doesn't want to be found. By anyone. Just like last time." The thought brought a sad look into Adine's face, her frills dropping as she eyed the ground at her feet.
"That's rather odd," Amely looked at Adine, wanting to use the moment as thoroughly as possible. "She literally made this colony thrive by fixing the weather, sort of. Why would she leave?"
However, Vara interfered by whispering into Amely's earhole. "Amely, don't push it. That's enough." And before the runner could protest, Vara bridged the gap between herself and Adine and gave the distressed wyvern an apologetic look.
"We are so sorry for bringing this topic up. We won't keep you any further."
Adine was back in her previous cheerful mood as if you snapped your fingers. "Oh, no need to apologise. I guess some things just aren't meant to last…." She spread her wings, stretching a tiny bit. "Stay out of trouble, you too. Until next time."
"Bye!" Vara nodded in leaving Adine's direction, then frowned at Amely, who only responded with a confused stare.
"What?" exclaimed the spotted runner.
"You can't just brute-force investigate a sensitive topic like that," explained the pink dragoness. "You need to motivate the person to speak on their own. Otherwise, you will likely make them either lie or withhold important details."
"Heh," smirked Amely, pure cynicism dripping from her eyes. "So you're not only a star engineer but a detective too?"
"No," Vara grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. "I have common sense."
"Ha ha, very funny," faked Amely her amusement. "Truth to be told, I should be working on my annual report and final thesis."
"They make you summarise what you've learned?" Vara tilted her head sideways, trying to understand what her friend was referring to. "We just need to work on a project and then defend it in front of the school council."
"It's more of a research," explained Amely. "We pick a topic and then write a report about it using the knowledge we've learned. That's why I am interested in the Weather Processor. My report is about its benefits and how humans discovered the technology."
"I thought you were a police officer, not a historian."
"I think it's supposed to make us learn how to grasp and use information, whatever it is. Besides, this is just one of the pieces I have to hand in…" added Amely. "Speaking of investigating, I am going to go and gather clues about Anna. Maybe some of her other friends will know more…"
"Well," Vara's eyes fixated on the runner the same way as Adine's earlier. "Just be careful, okay? I'd hate to… oh, darn it!" The pink dragon looked up at the analogue clock hanging over at one of the academy's many towering buildings. "I am late again."
"Go then," Amely saluted in Vara's direction. "I'll see you later."
"Bye!" Vara yelled over her shoulder and ran off as quickly as her feet allowed her.