Storm Rising

Chapter Nine- The Academy

"Can you feel it?" Asked Thunder as they flew through the early morning sky.
"There's a storm coming." She said.
"The one from the Prophecy?" Asked Clay hopefully, looking at her.
Thunder shook her head.
"No. It doesn't feel... right." She said.
"But I can't wait to fly in it." Thunder said.
"Just be careful." Said her mother.
Thunder almost rolled her eyes.
"I will, I promise."
Thunder then flew above the other dragons, her large wings allowing her to fly faster then them. It felt to good to just... fly. No danger, no enemies, nothing. Just peace, and the wide open sky.
Pineneedle came up next to her, their wingtips brushing.
"How are you feeling after all of this?" He asked her.
"Tired, confused, still trying to figure out my place in all of this." Thunder answered, looking out at the gathering storm clouds to the East.
"I wish that we could go back." She said, looking into Pineneedle's sky blue eyes.
"That the war never happened, the prophecy was never spoken."
She sighed.
"I want Cyclone back." She whispered, her eyes glossing over.
Pineneedle drifted closer to her, touching his wing to her shoulder.
A tear rolled down her snout. She felt Pineneedle brush it away with his wing.
"Fight for him." He said.
"That's what he would want you to do."
"You're right." Said Thunder.
"He would want me to fight back."
Thunder shook herself mentally, focusing on the task at hand. When she looked up she saw Jade Mountain coming into view, and her thoughts of Cyclone were put aside. She was nervous and excited at the same time.
Thunder followed the other dragons as they dived down to the entrance of the academy. From the looks of it no one was outside, but she could hear the other dragons inside.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. She was nervous. She hadn't really been around this many dragons before, and these were dragons from tribes she didn't even know about.
When they got to the entrance Tsunami beckoned them to follow her. Thunder let her parents, Rainstorm, the RiverWings and the other ForestWings go first, following behind them with Pineneedle. The other dragonets followed close behind them as they entered.
The halls were bustling with dragonets trying to get to classes, with teachers yelling at students and friends talking to one another about various things.
Thunder saw dragons that were green and blue with gills, ones that were ruby red or orange, and ones that were white or ice blue and radiated an aura of coldness.
So many new dragons... she thought.
Truth tell, Thunder was overwhelmed. She wasn't prepared for the noise at all, and she especially wasn't prepared for the stares and whispers.
When the dragonets caught site of the new dragons they whispered and stared, some openly gawking.
Thunder lowered her head and tucked in her wings, trying to make herself look as small as possible.
"Here." Said Tsunami, pointing to three empty caves.
"The ForestWings can be in this one, the RiverWings in that one and the StormWings in the farthest one." She said.
The new dragons thanked the dragonets and went to their respective caves. Once they were hidden from the stares and whispers Thunder felt a whole lot better.
She looked around the room and saw sleeping places carved into the stone, each one with a soft layer and blanket. There were rugs on the floor, and a reading place next to the window complete with pillows and blankets.
They each took a sleeping spot, with Thunder closest to the window. She sighed. This new world was going to take some getting used to, but she feared that they wouldn't have that much time to get used to it with the FlameWings most likely not far behind.
She pushed the thoughts of the war and the FlameWings out of her mind as she watched the wind pick up outside. A storm was brewing, and Thunder couldn't wait to fly in it.
She waited until the sky became darker and rain started to fall, and then she got up.
"I'm going out." Said Thunder.
"Alright." Said Nimbus.
"But be careful."
"I will, I promise." Said Thunder.
She then walked out into the hallway. She tried her best to blend in with the other dragons, but she knew that none of them looked like her, and she got stared at and pointed at when she passed.
All Thunder wished for right now was the ability to melt into the walls, but when she finally made it to the entrance of the school she breathed in the warm, humid, rain-filled air.
She stood at the entrance for a few moments before spreading her wings and taking off, rising higher and higher into the air. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of the rain on her scales, the thunder rattling her bones.
She hadn't felt this since the nigh of her escape, and it was good to know that she was alone up in the clouds. Once Thunder was high enough she tucked in her wings and dove down through the clouds and right alongside one the windows to a Winglet's cave.
The StormWing then pulled up and clawed her way back into the sky with long, powerful strokes of her wings. Thunder felt immense joy fill her, and felt the fury of the storm raging around her.
She hovered in the air and watched lightning fork across the sky, bright and dangerous, crackling with energy.
This was where she belonged, in the fury of a storm, high in the sky were her abilities were at their strongest. Thunder wasn't meant to be down on the ground, she was meant to fly.
Thunder felt a strong gust of wind pulling against her, and she let it take her higher into the storm, not fighting it. It only took about a minute and Thunder was in an open space surrounded by clouds, lightning flashing all around her.
She was in the eye of the storm.