Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you sure she’ll be safe?” King Deathbringer asked.

“Yes.” Queen Glory responded. “Firefly will be fine. My friends will watch her over her.”

“I’m standing right here.” Princess Firefly said. “Don’t act like I’m not in front of you.” The RainWing-NightWing hybrid was about to go to Jade Mountain Academy. Which meant she’d finally be able to get away from her parents. Which, truth be told, she was very excited about.

“Oh, sorry.” Glory said. She looked at her daughter. Firefly flicked her tail back. She walked out of the hut.

“You’re so lucky!” Nightshade said. The small NightWing was two years younger than her. He had always wanted to go to Jade Mountain.

“I know!” Firefly said to him. “I’ll finally be able to get away from my parents for more than a day! I’m so excited.”

“That’s not the only reason you’re excited.” Nightshade said mischievously. “Poison Oak is going, too.”

Firefly’s face turned pink. “Not a word.” She said.

“My mouth is sealed.”

—————————————

“I’m feeling really nervous.” Beetle said. The HiveWing-SilkWing hybrid was in one of the classrooms at Jade Mountain. She wasn’t sure what to expect from this school.

“That’s normal.” Blue said. He was helping set up the classroom, and had brought Beetle along so she could see what it was like.

“I’m not worried about school, dad.” Beetle said. Her antennae twitched. She was mostly yellow, but splotches of black covered her scales. The splotches faded into blue.

“What are you worried about, then?” Blue asked gently.

“I’m worried about my Metamorphosis.” Beetle admitted.

“I know how that feels.” Blue said. “When I was your age, going through my Metamorphosis was my biggest fear. I was scared of what would change for me. But things turned out good.”

“Because you were able to meet mom.” Beetle said.

“I meet your mom before I went through my Metamorphosis.” Blue said. “But, my point is, it’s going to be okay.”

“You’ll tell me what to expect, right?” Beetle asked.

“Of course I will.”

————————————

“Get back here, you stupid chicken!” Magma yelled. The SkyWing-MudWing hybrid was chasing a chicken in the prey center. It kept slipping though her talons.

Maybe I should try swooping down on it, She thought. She spread her deep orange-brown wings and took off.

The chicken stopped running. It looked like it thought that the dragonet had given up pursuing it.

Gotcha, Magma thought. She swooped down and caught the chicken in her talons, killing it by biting its head off.

“You’re getting really good at that.” Clay said. The large MudWing was standing in the entrance of the cave.

Magma looked at him. “Thanks, dad.”

Clay smiled warmly. “You’re welcome, Maggie.”

————————————

Sandshard flexed his claws. The IceWing-SandWing hybrid was in the music cave. In front of him was a large drum.

C’mon, He thought. Why are you acting so nervously? You have a toy drum at home. You’ve seen dad play the drums. Just copy the movements you remember.

He took a deep breath and started tapping the surface of the drum, looking for a rhythm. When he had one, he began tapping furiously. One of his back feet started tapping to the rhythm. He was getting into it.

“Hey, what’re you up to?” Qibli asked.

Sandshard jumped, and lost the rhythm. “Sorry I scared you.” The SandWing said.

“I was drumming, like you do.” Sandshard said. “Was I doing good?”

Qibli smiled. “You’re getting there.”

————————————

“Hello, little plant,” Poison Oak said. The LeafWing was practicing her leafspeak on one of the plants in the botany classroom. “Would you like to grow?”

Grow big yes please the plant said.

“Okay.” Poison Oak put her pale green talons in the soil. The plant shot up. It was a violet.

“More violets, huh.” Poison Oak looked up. Sundew, one of her two mothers, was watching her.

“Yep.” Poison Oak replied, blushing. The violets were for Firefly, who she had a crush on.

“You’re doing good.” Sundew said, giving a rare smile.

I hope Firefly likes them.

————————————

Axolotl hopped from foot to foot. The RainWing-SeaWing hybrid rubbed her pink webbed talons together.

“You’re doing your incredibly excited dance.” Kinkajou remarked, smiling at her daughter.

“I am incredibly excited!” Axolotl exclaimed. “Jade Mountain Academy has one of the best libraries on the whole continent! All of the books and scrolls are kept in the best condition! They even have a copy of the Book of Clearsight! I’ve always wanted to read it! Also, I’ll finally be able to get away from Grandmother and her sappy love stories!”

Kinkajou chuckled. “Don’t let your grandmother hear you say that.”

“How would she be able to hear us?” Axolotl asked. “She’s miles away!”

Kinkajou lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I’m happy to get away from her, too.”

————————————

“I can’t believe I’m going to attend classes here!” Listener said happily. The dark purple NightWing was wagging her tail in excitement.

“You’ve already attended classes here.” Starflight, her blind father, said.

“I mean, officially,” Listener explained. “Not overhearing it in students’ heads.”

Starflight smiled. I love that she’s so eager to learn. Most of my friends were never this eager when we were dragonets.

“I know I’m eager.” Listener said. “I gotta go, bye!” She flew out of the library.

“No flying in the halls!”

————————————

“Dusty, come on out.” Sunny said. Dusty could hear his mother’s voice, but he didn’t want to come out of his hiding spot. The SandWing-NightWing-SkyWing tribrid was incredibly shy, and now that he was going to school to interact with a bunch of strangers, he was terrified.

“There you are.” Sunny said, opening the trunk where Dusty had hidden. “Mommy, I’m scared. What if the other dragonets are mean to me? What if something bad happens? What if…” He curled into a ball.

Sunny lifted him out of the trunk. “Shh, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Remember, I’ll be at the school, you can come to my office whenever you need me. I’ll be right there.”

Dusty looked at her. “P-promise?”

“I promise, Dusty.” Sunny said. “I’ll always be there for you.”

————————————

“This is so boring!” Seal yelled. The IceWing was on her way to Jade Mountain, which she wasn’t excited about.

“You haven’t even arrived yet.” General Ivory, the guard who was escorting the princess to the school, said. “Why do you think it’s going to be boring?”

“Because school is ALWAYS boring!” Seal exclaimed. “And Great-Aunt Tundra is always mean to me!”

“Well, Tundra won’t be here.” Ivory said. “And Jade Mountain Academy is no ordinary school. You’ll meet dragonets from the other tribes! Isn’t that exciting?”

Seal snorted.

Ivory looked at her. “The queen thinks the school will be good for you. Will you at least try it for her?”

Seal yawned. “Okay.”

————————————

Gill swam in the underground lake. The SeaWing prince was happy to be here, but not because of the idea of making new friends.

Here, he was far away from Queen Coral and the watchful eyes of everyone in the deep palace.

Here, he was far away from anyone who could discover his secret.

A secret that he wanted to hide at all costs.

A dangerous secret.

“Are you enjoying your swim?” Tsunami asked. She was Gill’s mother. She didn’t know his secret, and likely wouldn’t find out about it.

“Yes, mom.” He said.

“Good.” She replied, and left. Gill watched her go.

She can’t know. If anyone finds out, my life will change for the worse.

He got out of the water.

And I can’t let that happen.

————————————

“I don’t wanna go!” Prince Swallowtail yelled.

“Well, too bad.” Swordtail said. “You’re going.”

The young SilkWing stuck out his tongue at his father. He was going to Jade Mountain Academy, despite the fact that he desperately didn’t want to go.

“Why don’t you want to go?” Swordtail asked.

“Because I don’t want to be away from you and mom!” Swallowtail admitted.

Swordtail’s expression softened. “Well, we won’t be unreachable. You’ll be able to dreamvisit us. And cousin Beetle will be there, too.”

“Okay.” Swallowtail said, sniffing. “I understand.”

Swordtail smiled. “Now go learn, you little larva!”

Chapter Text

Firefly made her way into the Great Hall. It was full of dragonets. She didn’t know where to sit.

Firefly, over here! A voice in her head said. Firefly looked around and saw Listener waving to her. She was sitting with Magma and Gill.

Firefly made her way over to them. “Hey, guys!” She said happily.

Shhh, they’re about to start. Listener’s voice said. The NightWing dragonet had hatched under a full blood moon, so not only could she read minds, she could project her thoughts into other’s minds.

“Ahem,” Sunny said. Everyone turned to look at her. She was one of the staff members, and also one of the dragons on the raised platform.

Firefly looked at the other dragons there.

On Sunny’s left, there was Clay, a MudWing and Magma’s kindhearted father; Tsunami, a terrifying SeaWing and Gill’s mother; Kinkajou, a bubbly and friendly RainWing, who happened to be Gill’s aunt; Blue, the half-brother of Queen Luna; right next to him with her wings buzzing quietly was his wife Cricket. And next to them was the terrifying LeafWing Sundew. Poison Oak’s mother, Firefly thought.

On Sunny’s right stood her husband Sky; Listener’s parents, Starflight and Fatespeaker; Qibli, the street-smart SandWing; and Webs, Gill’s grandfather.

“Hello, everyone!” Sunny began. “I’m proud to say that today marks the tenth anniversary of Jade Mountain Academy opening!”

Everyone cheered. “I am also pleased to announce that, for the first time, we have two humans teaching here! Everyone give a warm welcome to Wren and Axolotl!”

Everyone turned to look at the two humans. Firefly had only met one of them, Wren. She could see Wren quite clearly. She always held herself intimidatingly. She had short brown hair, a shirt made of dragon scales, and long brown pants. She also had brown gloves, and had a sword tucked into her belt.

Firefly had never met Axolotl, who was standing next to Wren. They were pale, and had dark hair. Their clothes were pink, and they had a book under their arm.

Wren suddenly said, “Sunny, there’s a little dragon hiding behind you.”

Sunny moved to the side, revealing her son Dusty. Everyone chuckled.

That didn’t stop Sunny’s smile. “Welcome to Jade Mountain Academy!”

Chapter Text

Firefly walked down the hall to the sleeping caves. As she walked, she noticed a tapestry on the wall. It depicted nine dragons flying high above the clouds.

She knew this tapestry. It was called Freedom. Everyone knew the story of how Queen Luna had helped Freedom learn that dragons weren’t animalistic monsters. Freedom was in the center, surrounded by the eight dragons that had given her their memories: Dusky, a young SilkWing; Queen Luna herself; Pineapple, who was Firefly’s uncle; Moonwatcher, the first NightWing to have actual powers in over 2,000 years; Lady Lynx, the wife of Queen Snowfall; Qibli; Sundew; and Tsunami. It was a mesmerizing piece of art.

Firefly walked into the sleeping cave. There was a rack of scrolls, a bookshelf, two hammocks, and a bed of leaves. She settled down into one of the hammocks.

This is nice. Firefly thought. She heard talonsteps approaching. She looked up in time to see Listener walk into the cave.

“We’re clawmates!” Firefly said excitedly.

“I know, right?” Listener responded. “The bed of leaves is mine.”

“Who’s our other clawmate?” Firefly asked. Listener gave a mischievous smile. “You’ll see.”

Before Firefly could ask what that meant, a third dragon walked into the room. A pale green LeafWing with assorted brown scales.

It was Poison Oak.

Three moons, Firefly thought. I’m sharing a sleeping cave with my crush.

“Hey, guys.” Poison Oak said. “What’s going on?”

Listener giggled. Your face is bright pink. she thought at Firefly.

“I’ll take the other hammock.” Poison Oak said. As she walked to it, her wing brushed Firefly’s scales, making her feel like a bunch of butterflies and moths were flying around in her stomach.

Now you’re completely pink. Listener thought.

This was going to be a crazy year.

Chapter Text

“I’m gonna go for a walk!” Firefly said, all too fast. Listener squinted at her. I’ll make sure they get together, if it’s the last thing I do.

As Firefly walked, she bumped into Magma. “Maggie!” She said. “Do you have a clawmate?” Magma nodded. Behind her was a HiveWing-SilkWing hybrid who was fiddling with the glasses she was wearing.

“This is my clawmate, Beetle.” Beetle looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Beetle, good to see you.” Firefly whipped around to see that Poison Oak had followed her.

Beetle’s smile grew. “Oak! It’s good to see you!” The two dragonets hugged.

“You two know each other?” Firefly asked.

“Yeah.” Beetle said, adjusting her glasses. “Our parents were on the Pyrrhia-Pantala Stealth Team together. My mom was the HiveWing.”

Firefly had never met Cricket, the HiveWing who was on the stealth mission, but knew that she probably would soon, as she was teaching at the school with her husband.

“Hey,” Firefly watched as Gill emerged from a cave and ran over to join them.

“Gill!” Beetle and Poison Oak said at the same time.

Gill nodded at them. “I needed to get away from my clawmate.”

“Why?” Firefly asked.

“He’s a…special kind of annoying.” Gill responded.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that! My grandmother calls me that all the time!” Another dragonet emerged from the cave. This one was quite pale, with most of his scales looking like desert sand. However, his underscales and the sail on his head were blue, and Firefly was fairly sure she could see spikes on the tip of his tail.

“Ugghhhh.” Gill said. The newcomer looked at Beetle and Poison Oak, and Firefly noticed him blush when he looked at the former.

“Who are you?” Firefly asked.

“Sandshard,” the dragonet said. “And you must be Princess Firefly.” He did a cheeky little bow.

“Well, I’ll be, my favorite cousin is here!” A young SilkWing trotted out of a cave, dragging Dusty behind.

“Well, if it isn’t my ONLY cousin.” Beetle said, sounding a little annoyed. “Hello, Swallowtail.”

“That’s Prince Swallowtail.” He said. Firefly noticed that he didn’t have his wings yet, like Beetle.

Firefly looked at Dusty, who mouthed “Help me.”

Before she could do anything, Magma went over to him, and pried him free from Swallowtail.

Magma and Dusty knew each other well, probably because they were cousins. Dusty’s father and Magma’s mother were twins. Which Firefly had trouble believing, mostly because Dusty’s father was like an overgrown puppy, while Magma’s mother was the most intimidating dragon Firefly had ever met.

“Is there a party going on outside?” Two dragonets had arrived. One of them Firefly knew. It was Axolotl, one of Gill’s many cousins. The other one was perhaps the chubbiest IceWing she had ever seen.

“Who’s your clawmate?” Firefly asked Axolotl.

“This is Seal,” Axolotl replied. Seal had a determined look on her face. “That’s Seal, the heir to the IceWing throne, to you.” She retorted.

“All of my friends in one place!” Everyone looked to see Listener smiling. “This is going to be the best school year ever!”

Chapter Text

After a rather uneventful first day(except for Poison Oak getting in a fight with a snobbish HiveWing), Firefly was heading to her sleeping cave.

Both Listener and Poison Oak had turned in before she did, so she tip-toed.

When Firefly got into the cave, she could make out the sleeping form of Listener and could see that Poison Oak’s hammock was full.

When she got to her hammock, Firefly realized there was some beside it. She looked, and saw a vase of violets.

What in the… Firefly picked it up and saw a note attached to it. The note read: For Princess Firefly of the RainWings. From a secret admirer.

I have a secret admirer! Firefly thought. She quietly set the vase down and got into her hammock. I wonder who it is…

She didn’t notice that Poison Oak had one eye open.

Chapter Text

After a good nights sleep, the Jade Winglet filed into the botany classroom. That morning, Firefly had discovered who was in the winglet with her: Magma, who was both the MudWing and SkyWing; Sandshard, who was both the SandWing and IceWing; Gill, who was the SeaWing; Listener, who was the NightWing; Beetle, who was both the HiveWing and SilkWing; Poison Oak, who was the LeafWing; and, of course, Firefly herself, who was both the RainWing and NightWing.

As they entered the classroom, Firefly leaned over to Listener and whispered, “I have a secret admirer. They left me a vase with violets in it.”

“Ohh.” Listener whispered back, smiling. “Who do you think it is?”

“I don’t know.” Firefly replied. Was she imagining it, or did Poison Oak’s face look a little bit pained?

“Alright, everyone listen up!” Sundew said as she swept into the cave. Firefly noticed that she wore a necklace with a jade frog on it.

“Welcome to botany class! I’m your teacher, obviously. You’re going to learn about what plants are harmless, and what plants can hurt you. You’ll also learn how to care for plants. It is very important that you treat the plants with respect.”

“And what if we don’t feel like doing that?” Someone yelled. Firefly realized it was the same snobbish HiveWing that Poison Oak had gotten in a fight with.

Sundew walked over to him and looked him in the eyes, her face only inches from his.

“Then I’ll ground you into mulch for my garden.” Sundew said dangerously. “Understood?”

The HiveWing looked absolutely terrified. “U-understood, Ma’am.” He said.

“Good.”

Sundew walked back to the front of the room. “As most of you know, a big part of LeafWing lifestyle revolves around plants.” She reached down, grabbed a pot with dirt in it, and put it on her desk. “What some of you might not know is that some LeafWings hatch with the ability to make plants grow faster than they would normally. This ability is called Leafspeak.” She put a claw into the pot. A couple of seconds later, a plant shot out of it, growing to full size before their eyes. It was a sundew plant.

“Ooooooh.” Most of the students said.

Sundew smiled. She handed out a diagram of a plant to everyone, then gave everyone a potted plant.

“See if you can identify all the important parts. Be EXTRA careful. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Everyone began looking at the plants. The plant that was in front of Firefly was a violet.

“It’s so pretty.” Firefly said. “It looks just like the ones in the vase.”

“I wonder why that could be?” Listener said, a knowing glint in her eye.

Chapter Text

After a (thankfully) uneventful botany class, the dragonets walked into the history cave. Firefly noticed that they were being joined by the Copper Winglet.

As everyone settled in, she watched as Axolotl chose a seat close to the front of the classroom, her tail wagging in delight.

“She loves history.” Gill whispered to Firefly.

“I can see that.” Firefly whispered back. The chatter in the room stopped when Webs, the history teacher walked into the room.

“Hello, everyone.” He began. “My name is Webs. Welcome—“

“TO HISTORY CLASS!” Everyone looked to the entrance as Cricket walked in, with Axolotl the human on her back.

The HiveWing was practically glowing with enthusiasm. She straightened her glasses, her only other accessory other than a flamesilk scarf.

Webs looked annoyed. “Cricket, why are you interrupting my class?”

“Sunny said that we should teach together.” Cricket responded.

“Okay, then.” Webs replied through gritted teeth. “Class, we shall start—“

“—before the Scorching.” Cricket interrupted.

Webs looked even grumpier. “Fine, pretend I’m not here.” He said.

“You may think dragon society started with the Scorching, but that’s actually not the case.” Cricket said. “In fact, the oldest known scrolls in dragon date back to before the Scorching even started.”

“Did you know that?” Firefly asked Magma. “No,” was the dragon’s response. “I did.” Beetle whispered. “My mother has practically every single scroll and book that has ever been written in her library back at home.”

“The first dragon author that we know of was named Athena.” Cricket continued. “Which, fun fact, means wisdom in the old language. She wrote many scrolls during her lifetime, the oldest one being dating fifty years before the Scorching, and the newest one dated one hundred years after the Scorching. She is actually the reason that we know about the Courtship Ritual, as she wrote about it in a journal of sorts during the Scorching.”

A bunch of the dragonets in the room started whispering to each other.

“Luckily, we have copies of her journal. Axolotl?” The human immediately began digging around in their pack, and pulled out several scrolls. “Here you go!” They said with a smile.

Cricket handed the scrolls to Axolotl the dragon. “Take one, pass the others around.”

Pretty soon everyone had a scroll. Firefly opened it to a random section and started reading.

I’ve traveled the continent, and seen almost everything I thought there was to see, but I have never, in all my life, seen this many dragons in one place.

I’ve decided to try to get to know them, even though I’ve never been one for talking to others. They all have such interesting stories! One of them sets almost anything she touches on fire. Another one is completely resistant to being hurt by fire. Yet another one can disappear into thin air. One can make anything do whatever she wishes. One of them can even read our minds and has visions of the future!

And yet, there is a pair of dragons that are so close to each other, that they can’t stand being apart for long. They say they have invented something much more personal than just being partners; they say that they are married to each other. I have never heard of such a thing!

They told me that they invented a kind of Courtship Ritual: one of them brought the other a meaningful gift, and then they spent the night together however they felt like it.

The gift was a something called a pearl necklace. It’s beautiful! Part of me wishes I had one.

Firefly stopped reading. She definitely wanted to keep this scroll.

Chapter Text

“Guess who helped set everything up?” Sandshard asked, his voice bouncing off the walls of the music cave.

“You?” Poison Oak asked, looking annoyed.

“Yep!” Sandshard responded.

“I hope you all like dancing, because you’re about to do plenty of it!” Qibli entered the cave. It was the first time Firefly had gotten a good look at him. He looks like Sandshard, Firefly thought. The two had very smilier-looking snouts, right down to the freckles, although Sandshard’s were blue. Qibli wore two earrings, in the same ear, and they didn’t even match. One was golden with an amber drop on it, the other looked like a snowflake.

Sandshard ran up to Qibli. “Dad, I’ve been practicing! Can I play drums with you?”

Qibli patted Sandshard on the head. “Let’s have a party.” The two dragons moved to the drums and started playing. It looked like Sandshard was trying to copy everything Qibli did.

Pretty soon everyone was dancing, except for Firefly and Poison Oak, who stood off to the side.

Go ask her to dance. Firefly thought. Don’t be a coward. Firefly walked up to Poison Oak, who looked up.

“Do you maybe want to dance with me?” Firefly asked. All at once, Poison Oak’s face broke open in a huge grin. “Yes!”

Firefly grabbed Poison Oak’s talons, and the two of them whirled around the cave.

Chapter Text

“I don’t get why this class is important.” Seal said. She was tapping her claws on the cave floor of the healing center, where the class was. It was starting to drive Firefly crazy.

“Because this information could save your life,” Magma answered. “Duh.”

“I hope you’re ready to listen,” Clay said. “Because, as Magma said, this information could save your life.” He had just entered the cave, and was limping to the front of it.

Firefly knew that the reason why he limped was because of a massive scar on his back right leg, but he never talked about how he’d gotten it. Maybe I could find out!

“Um, excuse me.” Firefly asked. “I have a question.”

“What’s your question?” Clay asked.

“How did you get that scar on your leg?” Firefly asked.

Clay look at his leg. “I normally don’t talk about it, but it is important.” He said.

“I got it at the end of the War of SandWing Succession, on the false brightest night. I was bitten by a dragonbite viper.”

Everyone winced. Dragonbite vipers were the only snakes able to kill a dragon with a single bite, and there was no known antidote.

“I would have died that day, if Peril hadn’t arrived and burned out all the venom. It’s why I limp.”

Yeesh, Firefly thought. She looked out the window as Clay went on with his lesson. I wonder if there is an antidote out there.

Chapter Text

About a week had passed since school had begun, and, thankfully, the only really noteworthy thing that had happened was Swallowtail starting his Metamorphosis.

So it was a pleasant surprise when Magma told Firefly that visitors were coming.

“How do you know?” Firefly asked Magma.

“I overheard my dad and Headmistress Tsunami talking about it.” Magma responded. “Apparently, we’re getting four visitors.”

“They’re here!” Seal yelled. Everyone looked as a dark green NightWing wearing a moonstone necklace entered the great hall. “Moonwatcher!” Firefly yelled.

The dragon landed in front of her and smiled. “It’s good to see you, Firefly and Listener. And I brought a friend.”

The second dragon that flew in was a NightWing-RainWing hybrid. He was holding a large basket full of fruit, and had multicolored scales on the underside of his wings. He wore a red bandanna.

“Hello, Firefly.” Peacemaker said, settling down with his basket of fruit. “Hey, Peacemaker.” Firefly responded. Poison Oak narrowed her eyes at him.

The third dragon was a pale blue IceWing who had two earrings in one ear. Sandshard made a delighted squeaking sound when he saw him. Firefly didn’t recognize him.

“Winter, glad to see you’re here!” Sunny said. Winter was about to say something when Sandshard tackled him.

“Hey, give me some space! I missed you too, no need to suffocate me.” Winter said, trying to pry the dragonet off him.

“I take it you know this IceWing?” Firefly asked Sandshard. “Yeah!” Sandshard responded happily. “Dad, this is Firefly. Firefly, this is my other dad, Winter!”

“Who’s the forth dragon?” Poison Oak asked.

As if on cue, a voice called out “Greetings, Jade Mountain Academy! The dragon you’ve all been waiting for has arrived!”

Firefly watched as a large, coppery-orange SkyWing swooped into the room. She radiated heat.

“Who is that?” Poison Oak asked as the SkyWing settled down next to Clay.

“That is Peril, the general of the SkyWing army.” Firefly answered.

“And my mom.” Magma said. “As you can see, she likes dramatic entrances.”

Poison Oak watched as Peril and Clay greeted each other, talking. “I can see that now.” She said.

Chapter Text

“So, Moon, why are you here?” Firefly asked. Moon looked like she had a headache, which she only got because of her powers.

“I’ve been having some new visions.” Moon said. “And I’ve painted them.”

Moon had been in and out of the art cave for about five days. Firefly was curious as to what she was doing in there.

“Can I see them?”

“Sure. Come in.”

Firefly walked into the cave, and saw six paintings, all of them pretty troubling.

The first one took place in a desert, and it showed Queen Snowfall fighting a large, deranged-looking HiveWing. Half of the HiveWing’s face was melted off.

The second one showed Wren in an unfamiliar room, looking at something with shocked anger.

The third one showed Seal in a cave, about to cry, while a NightWing held a razor against her throat.

The fourth one showed Sandshard; an IceWing she had never seen before; and Hope, Peacemaker’s mother, in what looked like a ghost town, staring at something in what she could only describe as pure terror.

The fifth had Queen Thorn facing on older SandWing who was covered in tattoos of dragon skulls, and he was reaching for her throat.

But it was the last one that scared Firefly the most.

It showed Poison Oak holding onto Firefly herself, while a massive eye stared at them. When she got closer, she noticed that she was crying.

“These look…” Firefly began.

“Scary.” Moon finished.

Fire turned to her. “Are all of these going to happen?”

Moon looked at her. “I’m not sure.”

That was when they heard someone scream.

Chapter Text

“Who else could be up at this time of night?” Moonwatcher asked, as she and Firefly ran toward where the screaming was coming from.

“I’m more worried about who’s being hurt!” Firefly responded. The two dragons turned a corner and saw a shocking sight.

A large HiveWing, the color of tangerines, was standing in the hallway, choking someone. When Firefly got closer, she saw that the dragon was choking Cricket, who was trying to pry the the other dragon’s talons off of her neck.

Before Firefly could do anything, the unfamiliar HiveWing was yanked off of Cricket, and crashed to the ground. She was wrapped in flamesilk.

“Sorry,” a voice said. It was Blue. He ran over to Cricket, who was rubbing her throat. “Are you okay?” He asked. “I’m feeling better, now that you’re here.” Cricket said.

The HiveWing cut the flamesilk off of her and growled. “Hey!” Firefly yelled.

The HiveWing swiveled her head towards her. “Leave them alone!”

“Why should I?” The HiveWing asked. “If you get in my way, I’ll kill you.”

Yikes, Firefly thought. “Yikes, indeed.” Moon said, crouching down like she was about to pounce.

“Before anyone could do anything else, a loud CLANG rang out, and the HiveWing fell to the ground, unconscious. Right behind her, holding a frying pan, stood Clay.

Blue, Cricket, Clay, Firefly, and Moon moved closer to the unconscious HiveWing. Clay put two claws on her wrist to get her pulse. “She’s still alive.” He said. “Who is she?”

“That’s Cadelle,” Cricket said, with an unusual expression on her face. “My grandmother.”

————————————

“Why would your grandmother want to kill you?” Clay asked.

“She hates me.” Cricket said, looking like she was about to cry. “She’s always hated me.”

They were in the healing center. Cadelle was lying unconscious on a bed, but there were restraints around her, just in case.

“I know how that feels.” Firefly looked at the cave entrance as Qibli walked in. “My grandfather hates me too. Although the feeling is mutual.”

Cricket smiled a bit. “At least you have your feelings about him all sorted out.” She said, and then burst into tears. Blue wrapped two of his wings around her and pulled her close. “I grew up thinking she was my mother.”

Firefly gasped. For Cricket’s entire dragonethood, she thought her own mother hated her. That’s horrible.

Someone coughed. Everyone looked as Cadelle opened her eyes and sat up, staring at Cricket.

“Why did you come here?” Cricket asked.

Cadelle laughed ruthlessly. “So I could finally be rid of my disgrace of a granddaughter. Do you have any idea of the shame you’ve brought upon me? Betraying Queen Wasp, and stealing the Book of Clearsight? And then, if that wasn’t enough, you go on and marry that lowlife of a SilkWing. If you died, I could finally be at peace, knowing you were out of my life forever.”

“You’re horrible!” Firefly yelled at Cadelle. “Don’t make me shoot you with a sleeping dart.” Qibli said. “Because I will do it.”

Cricket got up. “I need some time alone right now.” She left the healing center.

And I need to take my mind off of this. Firefly thought. Maybe I should go for a swim.

Chapter Text

Firefly sat by the large underground lake. It was a good place to think. And there was a lot to think about, from the paintings, to Cadelle.

“Mind if I sit next to you?” Firefly looked to see Poison Oak walk in. The LeafWing had a concerned look on her face. “I heard about what happened with Cricket.”

“Sure.” Firefly said. Poison Oak sat down, her wings gently brushing Firefly’s.

Firefly’s mind immediately went to the painting of the two of them, and her crying.

Then, she realized that in the painting, Poison Oak looked like she was saying goodbye to someone she loved, as if she thought she’d never see them again.

Does-does she like me the same way? What do I do?

Just tell her how you feel, said a voice that sounded like Queen Thorn. Firefly had met all of the queens, as her mother had dragged her to meetings with all of them, to give her an idea of what it would be like to be queen one day. Thorn was very levelheaded and practical, and she got things done.

Firefly took a deep breath. “Poison Oak?”

“Yes?”

“Moonwatcher showed me some paintings she did of visions that she’s had, and there’s one of us.”

Poison Oak gasped. “What are we doing in it?” She asked.

“We’re holding onto each other, and I’m crying in it. Also there’s something massive behind us.” Firefly answered. She turned to face Poison Oak. “Poison Oak, I think there are tough times ahead for me, but they be so much better if you were helping me. So—“

“Do you want to be my girlfriend!?!” Poison Oak rushed out.

Firefly chuckled. “I was going to ask you that!”

“Sorry, you go do that.”

Firefly smiled. “Poison Oak of the LeafWings, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes!” Poison Oak yelled happily. The two dragons twined their tails together.

“Whatever comes next,” Firefly began.

“We’ll face it together.” Poison Oak finished.

Chapter Text

Firefly and Poison Oak were walking to their sleeping cave, when they ran into Queen Luna.

“Your Majesty,” Firefly said, bowing. Poison Oak nodded her head at the queen. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, my son’s Metamorphosis just ended, and someone needs to take Cadelle back to Pantala so she can face judgement.” Luna pointed her head toward Cadelle, who’s mouth and front talons were bound.

Cricket and Blue were there, too. Cricket looked nervous, while Blue was holding her talon reassuringly.

“Hey, mom, dad.” Beetle said, poking her head out of her sleeping cave. “I think my Metamorphosis is about to start. Who is that?” She asked, walking out of her cave to get a better look at Cadelle.

Firefly looked at Cadelle, and had to stop herself from laughing. Cadelle looked like she was about to spontaneously combust from rage.

Cricket looked from Beetle to Cadelle and back. “Um, Beetle, this is your great-grandmother, Cadelle.”

Two SilkWing guards grabbed onto Cadelle to keep her from attacking Beetle. Luna followed them. “Well, Beetle, good luck.”

————————————

The Jade Winglet stood in the Metamorphosis cave. Beetle’s wrists were glowing.

“I’m so nervous.” She said. “You’ll be here when I wake up, right?”

“Of course we will, sweetie.” Blue said. Blue and Cricket were also there, along with Beetle’s adoptive sister Bumblebee, and her brother Moth.

“Okay.” Beetle took off her glasses. Flamesilk started pouring from her wrists. She gave a little smile to her winglet. “I’ll see you all soon.”

Chapter Text

It was night. The stars were out. Two of the moons were full. Everything seemed peaceful.

But it wasn’t, not entirely.

Down on the sand dunes, a scavenger was running for its life. It was being watched by a SandWing covered in tattoos of dragon skulls.

Vulture flicked his forked, black tongue in and out. As he watched, the scavenger was caught by a massive black and yellow dragoness.

“About time.” Vulture said. “I was beginning to think you’d never show.”

Silence.

“Right, you’re not much of a talker. And you’re colder than Queen Scarlet. I heard that the assassination attempt on Queen Luna failed.”

The other dragon nodded.

“Unfortunate. Luckily for both of us, I know some dragons who can get into any place, even a heavily guarded palace. Assassinating a queen isn’t easy, but if everything goes according to plan, Pyrrhia will be mine, Pantala yours. Anything else?”

The large dragon smiled. “What else do you smuggle?” Asked Queen Wasp.