Chapter Text
Nightshade slid into a seat next to her best friend Kinkajou, looking around the dining hall. A section of it still held live prey, for those interested in hunting. However, Nightshade, a RainWing, preferred hunting for the fruit buffet table rather than for a chicken.
“Hey, Nightshade!” Kinkajou said happily, digging into her plate of berries.
“Hi, Kinkjou.” Nightshade responded to Kinkajou, who normally called Nightshade just ‘Shade’.
The sun was just beginning to peek over the jagged peaks of Jade Mountain, flooding the Great Hall with warm, golden light. It was breakfast time, which meant the echoing stone cavern was absolute chaos.
Dragons of every shape, color, and tribe were laughing, burning breakfast, or shouting across tables.At the center of the noise was the Jade Winglet table. Qibli was grinning, mid-sentence as he told some dramatic story from the Scorpion Den, gesticulating wildly with his talons.
Sitting right next to him was Winter, who looked thoroughly exhausted by his roommate's existence, his silver scales catching the morning light as he aggressively stabbed a piece of frozen meat with a claw.
Moonwatcher watched them both with a quiet, amused smile, while Kinkajou was practically bouncing out of her seat, her scales a dizzying swirl of happy pinks and yellows.
"Shade! Shade,” Kinkajou squeaked, turning. "You have to hear what Qibli did in the library yesterday. Starflight is still trying to organize the scrolls!"
Qibli winked at Nightshade, flashing a crooked, charming smile. "Hey, Nightshade. It wasn't my fault. The history scrolls practically volunteered to fall over. Don't let Winter convince you I'm a menace."
Winter let out a sharp, icy huff, glaring down his snout at Qibli. "You are a menace. A loud, irritating, sand-snorting menace."
Nightshade felt a soft, familiar hum against her chest --her enchanted animus necklace resting safely against her scales. It was completely still and cool, signaling that despite the chaotic bickering of the dragonets around her, she was perfectly safe.
Nightshade's scales rippled into a warm, amused yellow, reflecting her inner delight at the chaotic scene. She took a seat next to Kinkajou, keeping her movements casual as she focused her thoughts.
Glancing down at the silver-and-sand dynamic right in front of her, she silently willed the two boys to spark up another round of playful bickering. She just needed them to lock horns enough to give her the perfect opening.
As if on cue, Qibli leaned an elbow on the table, tilting his head toward the IceWing with a teasing grin. "Oh, come on, Winter. 'Sand-snorting menace'? That hurts. Deep down in my secondary heart. Besides, you love my dramatic retellings. I saw your wing twitch when I got to the part about the scavenger."
Winter's snout flared, a frosty mist curling from his nostrils as his spikes rattled. "I did no such thing! Your 'retellings' are eighty percent fabrication and entirely a waste of breath. You wouldn't know historical accuracy if it bit you on the tail."
"Maybe," Qibli chuckled, leaning a fraction closer into Winter's personal space, totally unfazed by the sub-zero glare. "But it keeps life interesting, doesn't it?"
Winter opened his mouth to shoot back another sharp retort, his silver scales bristling, completely absorbed in his exasperation with the SandWing.
Kinkajou giggled loudly, burying her snout in her talons, while Moon simply sighed into her breakfast bowl.The stage was perfectly set. The boys were completely distracted by each other, and the rest of the table was watching them.
“WOULD YOU TWO JUST ADMIT YOU’RE GAY ALREADY?” Nightshade yelled.
The words cut cleanly through the noisy chatter of the Great Hall like a scavenger's sword.
Before the final syllable even echoed off the stone ceiling, Nightshade ducked her head, her scales instantly flashing into a camouflaged stone-gray to blend perfectly into the rocky ledge behind Kinkajou.
The reaction at the table was immediate. Winter froze mid-sentence, his jaw snapping shut so hard his teeth clicked. A sudden blast of absolute freezing frost burst from his snout, instantly turning his breakfast meat into a solid block of ice. His silver scales flushed a vivid, humiliated dark blue around his snout and ears.
He whipped his head around, his dark eyes wide and furious, scanning the crowd. "Who-- who said that?! Show yourself!"
Qibli, for the first time in his life, was entirely speechless. His snout went bright, dusty orange, and his wings flared wide in surprise. He blinked rapidly, looking at Winter, then looking around the table, a thoroughly stunned but completely entertained grin slowly fighting its way onto his face. "What in the name of all the moons . . . Wow. Okay. Someone in this academy has zero chill, and honestly? I'm kind of impressed."
"It isn't funny!" Winter hissed, his tail lashing the floor. "It is highly inappropriate, wildly inaccurate, and an insult to--"
"Oh, come on, Winter, don't be so cold," Qibli teased, though his scales were still burning a nervous SandWing orange. "You have to admit, the timing was perfect."
Kinkajou was vibrating so hard her scales were shifting through a manic rainbow of bright yellow, neon green, and hot pink. She threw her talons over her mouth, trying desperately to stifle a massive squeal of laughter, her eyes darting right toward the exact spot where Nightshade was hiding in plain sight. Moonwatcher just buried her face in her front talons, letting out a long, groaning sigh of pure embarrassment for them both.