The Academy - A Wings of Fire fanfiction work in progress

Chapter 1

Amora, the three-year-old LeafWing, was excited. As always. 

She arrowed down towards the ledge of the Jade- Savannah Academy, her admission scroll curled in her talons. The Academy was designed to be an exact replica of the legendary Jade Mountain Academy in Phyrria, to promote peace. Amora had never been there, but she wished to visit it someday.

She swooped down on the ledge, wishing her parents, Sundew and Thistle could be there, but they were on a diplomatic trip to Phyrria.

"Stay safe, my darling, and do as I would do," Sundew had told her.

"Which means blow up every HiveWing in sight?" Amora asked.

Sundew ruffled the top of her daughter's head and chuckled. "That's my girl."

Now Amora stood under the shade of a tree, watching the other students milling around in the Great Cave, or the main entrance. Taking a deep breath, and forcing her sunny smile on, she walked with her head held high, and immediately ran into a blue HiveWing.

"Hello!" the HiveWing smiled, her strange scales shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. "You must be Amora, right? Gosh, it's hard to remember all these names. Thirty new students! In the first semester ever! Anyway, I'm Prisim." she stuck out her arm to shake.

Amora smiled and shook Prisim's hand.

"I was trying to find my cave and Winglet..." Amora began.

"Right!" Prisim cried, making Amora jump back. She fumbled with a large sack that was slung over her shoulder. "Amora, Amora.... Aha! Here we are." she pressed a scroll into Amora's talons. "Down that tunnel to the left, turn left again, then the fourth cave on the right. You're in the Swordtail winglet. I hope you like your clawmates!"

As Amora started to make her way towards her cave, she heard Prisim shout over the crowd, "Make sure to visit the library sometime! I'm the librarian, you know!"

She trotted down the stone hallways, which were lit by glowing lanterns, and soon she was at her cave.

"Fourth cave on the right," Amora mumbled to herself. "Well, here goes nothing."

She walked into the cave.

The cave was rather small, but cozy. The room was arranged for the five female dragonets of the Swordtail winglet, and the boys slept in the cave down the stone passageway. One bed was a nest of pillows that smelled like honey, the next was like a trampoline woven from vines, spotted with throw pillows and blankets, the third a pile of polar-bear skin and arctic fox fur blankets, the fourth a hammock woven from vines, and the fifth was a bed of camel-fur blankets.

There was only one other female dragonet in the cave, who laid in the camel-fur blanket pile. And she was the strangest dragon Amora had ever seen.

Her wings were bat-like, instead of shaped like leaves, but without the fur. Her eyes were jet black, like a crow's, and her scales were the color of wet sand, dotted with lighter splotches. The end of her tail was a barb, like a scorpion.

"Wow, you're beautiful," they said at the same time. 

"I'm Amora," Amora said quickly, sticking out her hand. The strange dragon smiled. 

"I'm Kangaroo." she said quietly, shaking Amora's hand. 

Amora pointed to the bed next to hers, which was the vine trampoline. "Do you mind if I take this one...?" she asked.

"Sure! Not at all," Kangaroo beamed. 

Amora flopped down on the vines, which bounced under her weight. She pulled a blanket over her wings, which were sore from her long flight, and turned to Kangaroo. "What do they call your tribe?"