Moons and Stars

Fennec

Fennec was----especially in comparison to his "cousins"---a very average dragon. He had mossy green eyes hidden behind large glasses, sandy yellow scales, and he was very, very small. Nothing special, unlike Firefly or Peril and Clay's dragonets, who were hybrids, or Starflight and Fatespeaker's dragonets, who were hatched under a full moon and therefore had special abilities, or Tsunami and Riptide's dragonets, whose parents ran the school.

Naturally, this made him very forgettable, but Fennec didn't mind. He liked it that way. If people paid too much attention to him, his secret wouldn't have stayed secret for so long.

But that particular secret didn't bother him today. In fact, as he flew off with Firefly to the Silver Winglet cave, he felt completely and absolutely calm. He didn't even have to worry that his secret would show itself.

"Your mom said our cave was over there," Firefly said, interrupting Fennec's thoughts. He gave her a nod.

"Who else is in our winglet, other than Amber?" he asked.

"Um......there's Lightseeker, she's a NightWing and she lives close to our hut. She's really nice. Then a MudWing named.....Gadwall, or something. And I don't remember who the IceWing and SeaWing are," Firefly said. 

"The IceWing's Boreas," Fennec said. "I've met him before a couple of times. He's okay. And I don't remember who the SeaWing is except that they're nonbinary."

"Oh well, guess we'll find out," Firefly shrugged. "C'mon, let's go."

                                                      ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Silver Winglet's sleeping cave was very nice. It had large windows facing outwards, at the mountains, and there were large, luminous torches in the entrance. Firefly smiled, clearly relaxing a bit. Fennec did too. Although he's lived at Jade Mountain Academy his whole life, this was the first year he would actually be a student  and not just Sunny's weird little dragonet.

Fennec's clawmates were Boreas and Gadwall, so naturally the beds were made to suit them. Boreas' bed was made entirely of ice and stone and had stalactites hanging above it, Gadwall's was woven of reed grasses, leaves, and mud, and Fennec's was a bit of sandstone with lots of sand on top of it. There was a tiny mahogany table by the side of each bed, and Fennec immediately placed his books, lantern, and bag on it. He then stood back and admired his handiwork proudly before heading off to see Firefly's room.

Firefly's bed was a hammock woven of grasses, leaves, mosses, and poinsettia flowers, just like the one she slept in at home. The NightWing, Lightseeker's, bed was made of stone with moss and leaves on it, and Amber's bed was like a mix of hers and Gadwalls---a slab of stone with moss and reed grasses. Amber herself was currently sitting on it, reading a scroll.

"Hey, Amber," Fennec said.

"Oh, hi, Fennec," Amber said quietly, looking up briefly before turning back to her scroll. Her scales resembled Peril's, except more soft and glowy in color---no doubt this was how she got her name. Her snout and tail were that of a MudWing, but she had more of a SkyWing build. A pair of deep brown eyes were set deep within her face. Even though she was Ember's twin---they hatched from the same egg---they were almost nothing alike. Where Ember was loud, boisterous, and outgoing, Amber was quiet, careful, and shy. Not once in his whole entire life had Fennec ever seen Amber having a conversation with someone without turning red, speaking barely above a mutter, and looking away. Maybe this was why the two of them got along so well---Fennec also wasn't one to endlessly chatter, although he did talk a lot in class.

"How do you like your cave?" he asked, attempting to start a conversation.

"It's okay," she shrugged, looking around warily. "I kind of wish they could allow two of each tribe, though."

Fennec didn't have to be a NightWing to know that she was wishing she could be in the same winglet as Heron and Ember. Although Amber and Ember were different, they were extremely close----and Amber and Heron were rarely seen apart. 

"Well, you've got me and Firefly," Fennec said cheerfully. "We'll always be there for you if you need us. Oh no, that sounds incredibly cringy---sorry. Anyway, I mean it. You can always talk to us."

"I guess," Amber said, relaxing a bit. "Are your clawmates here?"

"Not yet," Fennec said. "Where'd Firefly go?"

"I think she went to see the art cave. Lightseeker isn't here, either," Amber answered. "But the SeaWing is. They're in a separate room between the two of ours. Their name's Azure."

"Do you want to come meet them with me?" Fennec asked.

"No thanks. I'd rather read for now," Amber said, blushing furiously at the thought of talking to a stranger.

"You do you, I guess," Fennec said. "But I think I'm gonna---"

"Attention, students!" came a loud voice from down the hall---that was undoubtedly Tsunami. "It's time for dinner. We hope you'll have a wonderful time enjoying the meal,  meeting new friends, and talking to old ones---but don't stay up too late, because tomorrow is our first day of classes!"

Fennec shrugged. "I guess we'll meet them later. Let's go, Amber. Or are you skipping dinner, too?" he teased.

"N-no! I'm not chicken," Amber said defiantly, jumping off her bed. "Come on."