Glory was walking by the gardens.
It was nothing. Just a little stroll during break time, enjoying the sunlight and basking in the green shelter of leaves.
"I don't think Glory appreciates what she has, it's like..."
Glory froze in her tracks, peeking behind the bushes. A flash of familiar blue and yellow scales: Tsunami and Sunny- and she felt her heart still with curiosity.
She felt the shimmering changes of her scales morph into the surroundings, melting and blending into reflected sunlight, plants and flowers.
"She's like a spoiled brat- she didn't even look at Riptide when she rejected him. She doesn't appreciate what she's given and how great her life is compared to mine." That was Tsunami's voice- Glory felt her chest sink in, like a deflating balloon.
If only you knew, Glory thought, her eyes subconsciously drifting to cuts on her talons, fresh and deep.
"She can act a little funny sometimes," Sunny agreed. "Glory's been acting really rude to some dragons lately- I don't think she's faring fine."
Even Sunny? The cheerful ball of golden light, with a hopeful smile and faith in everybody- did Sunny really think that about her? Glory felt something settling on her, uncomfortable and throbbing.
"She acts as if she's better than Riptide-" Tsunami said, and Glory felt her throat catch, like a small hitch in an old door. Glory quickly went away as soon as possible, trying to block out any horrible things about her.
Her heart was pounding. Maybe faster than ever. How did her closest friends go against her like that? Depression sunk its claws into her as she thought of Starflight and kind, gentle Clay- did they think that about her, too? Did they think she was spoiled and incompetent?
"You seemed ticked off today, RainWing."
Glory felt her vision focus, and again the NightWing was staring back at her, smug and cold and sadistic as ever. Glory shook her head, trying to clear everything, but clutters of concern in her mind were still lingering, sticky and horrible. "I'm not in the mood, Deathbringer."
"And you think I should care about that?" Deathbringer continued, and Glory felt her scales reveal her emotions again, but she pushed it down, not daring to show anyone how horrible and regretful she felt after hearing that conversation. She pushed her way past Deathbringer and decided to ignore him for the time being.
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Glory didn't pay any attention to the lessons that blew past her in a blurry blizzard, passing by like a train.
All her mind revolved around was Sunny and Tsunami- how could they hate her? Did she do something wrong? They- they knew she didn't mean to, did they?
Soon, the class scattered out as it ended, leaving behind a still distraught Glory, sitting in her seat, the chair pressing against her back like a queasy acceptance she couldn't bring herself to embrace.
She didn't know when the tears came, but when they did, she didn't stop them. They just fell like stinging pain seeping into her scales, agony and sorrow all at once. Crestfallen, she put her head on the table and tried to look unoticible.
"Wow, RainWing. Not so perfect, after all." Deathbringer's voice rang from above. "Sleeping, aren't you? Like all lazy RainWings do."
"Just leave me alone." She mumbled, her tears still trickling at her face, warm and ticklish. She felt ripples of gray and blue shift in her scales, from her wings to her tailtip.
Glory lifted her head to see if Deathbringer was still there, and he was.
"I'm not in the mood. As you can see. Go away." She mumbled again, putting her head onto the desk once more. A screeching sound of metal against floor erupted suddenly, and Deathbringer was in front of her, sitting down on a chair.
"What's wrong?" Deathbringer asked, and it didn't have the usual sarcasm in it. It was...concern, and maybe guilt.
"Everything's so messed up." She said, muffled into the wood. "And I'm not even supposed to be crying."
"Hey, it's okay to feel sad once in a while, Glory." He said gently, and Glory's heart skipped a beat. Glory. He called me Glory. Not lazy, not RainWing, but actually Glory.
"I don't know. Everything's been messed up the past few days, Tsunami and Sunny probably hate me and it's all my fault. And I didn't apologize to you for snapping at you." Glory sighed. "It's painful."
Deathbringer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "If it's any consolation, I'm sorry."
"No!" Glory yelped so abruptly that Deathbringer jolted. "I'm the one supposed to apologize to you- not the other way around."
"It's okay, you don't have to-" Deathbringer looked at Glory's trembling lip and sighed.
They stayed in silence for a while, Glory sniffling and rubbing away her tears, Deathbringer awkwardly sitting there throwing a glance towards the ceiling now and then.
"Hey, is it okay if I take you out? You might feel a little better."
Glory looked at him strangely, trying to figure out his intentions behind that smile of his. Is he asking me out? Or are we just friends? She bit her lip. I'll settle on just friends.
"Sure." Glory nodded, earning a beam from Deathbringer, which was a foreign yet pleasantly surprising feature she'd never seen before on him. Her heart beat a little faster, like tiny little pulses of flames, radiating bursts of heat.
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The party was loud.
"You've never been to a party before?" He asked, incredulous. Glory whimpered as another blast of music roared from the speakers, accompanying dazzling pink-orange lights and blue-green streamers.
"No. Is this how it's like? I thought you were supposed to be having fun." Glory had to raise her voice over the loud songs playing from all different corners of the room.
"We are having fun!" Deathbringer protested.
Glory sighed and shook her head.
"Oh come on, it'll be fine!" Deathbringer gave her a small, wanting smile, and Glory felt her heart ache just a little. He was actually kind of cute, his smile gentle and kind. All at once, Glory saw how his scales were not actually black, but bits of blue hinted into them like glimmering sapphires.
Wow. He's actually good looking for a delinquent. Glory felt her face pink for a moment, but then she realized it wouldn't be visible under the lights and glittering silver around them.
Deathbringer grabbed her talon, his claws sliding smoothly over hers, and pulled her into the center, surrounded by a sea of moving dragons.
"What are you doing?" Glory asked.
"Dancing."
"Oh, no, no, no, I don't know how to dance. I'll pass-"
"It's okay!" Deathbringer squeezed her talon lightly, sending another jolt into her chest, and put his other talon over her shoulder. "You don't even need to have experience. You just...let the music flow over you, and dance."
Glory nodded firmly, although she was shaking internally with uncertainty.
"You're doing it!" Deathbringer said, delighted.
"Huh?" Glory looked down, and saw her feet move to the music, beat by beat, the rhythm thrumming into her, filling her with confidence.
"You did it! You danced! Now, that wasn't so hard, wasn't it?" He smiled hopefully, and Glory smiled back.
She didn't have this kind of fun in a long time. In fact- she didn't remember being so happy, fitting in with the crowd, just doing what made her happy.
Deathbringer spun her around, along with her heart, and dipped her, his eyes sparkling.
"Quite the dancer, I see." Glory laughed.
Deathbringer pulled her up again, his smile wider and more genuine. Glory gave a nervous grin back, her heart pounding in her ears. "So. Did you feel better?"
"Maybe." Glory poked him with her tail playfully. "I might try this again."
Deathbringer laughed again, laughing and smiling and happy, and caught in that moment, Glory smiled along, her body tingling with excitement and thrill. They kept dancing, in the late evening light that sparkled off them, black and blue and shimmers of rainbows, Glory had never felt more content in her life.