Dust was supposed to be normal.
Dust stared out into the swamp, sighing a little before turning her head and staring at the roasted crocodile that she was sure most MudWings would like. The issue is, Dust wasn't a normal Mudwing. She preferred the night over the day, had sparkly scales under her wings, and was at least two shades darker than any MudWing she had known. Why did she look so peculiar? Why did she seem so off? Simple, she's a hybrid.
Most dragons would scoff or maybe even laugh but when you looked at her closer, it made sense. It made sense why her snout was a lot less flat than most MudWings. It made sense why her wings didn't round off like most. It made sense why she was an only child.
Random thing to mention for the last point, right? Thing is, the majority of Mudwings had at least two or three sibs to count on. Something with her other heritage absolutely screwed her over in being alone, even if that wasn't the only thing it screwed her over in.
What was her heritage you may ask? Consider the fact that she has scales under her wings that are silver and sparkle. Also, consider the fact that she has amber scales that looked like teardrops and a little natural bracelet of silver scales. Do you get it now? Do you understand that Dust's father is nothing more than a hated and infamous NightWing?
Luckily Dust didn't get much from that side, the scales under her wings only dotted on the fringes, her scales were only a little darker than most (that was an over-exaggeration earlier), and her eyes were a good old casual MudWing dark brown. Still, the scales near her eyes (scales that she assumed would be silver, purple, or blue if she was a full NightWing) and the slight physical differences were enough to give her away. Not that Dust really cared, others could say what they wanna say.
The only reason why it was even on her mind was because of Jade Mountain Academy. She had been accepted into the academy, although she didn't really get why they aimed for a weirdo like her. Had she asked to become apart of the school? Yes. Did she expect to actually get in? Not by the moons.
Sighing a little, Dust took only a moment more before starting to pick at her crocodile carcass. Only two more days. Two more days until the madness began.
{(:)}
Jade Moutain was swarming with dragons by the time Dust arrived. Landing as close to the edge as possible, Dust had to weave through the crowd to even try to get to the check-in area. Friends and family covered the place, saying goodbyes and playing around for a little while longer before leaving their dragonets alone.
The cave where everyone gathered was giant, spacious even though it seemed like it should've been cramped. Well, it was a little cramped with all the dragons around but who wanted to focus on that? Four tunnels connected to the cave, a banner above everyone's heads making Dust chuckle at the extravagance.
The front desk was clear by some miracle, the NightWing manning it grinning at Dust the moment she got close. Said NightWing was barely the size of a full-grown dragonet, still looking like a normal NightWing if one ignored the silver scales near her eyes that looked like teardrops. "Hello! Welcome to the Great Hall of Jade Mountain! I'm Fatespeaker, not quite one of the teachers but I do help out. Who are you?"
"Ah, I'm Dust," she said, bowing her head for a moment in respect. Teacher or not, Fatespeaker still technically ranked higher than her. That thought continued in her head for about five seconds before Dust mentally whacked herself with her tail.
Rankings do not matter anymore. There is no more war. The only war I need to worry about is my mental one, thought Dust, repeating those same thoughts for the fiftieth time since the peace began.
Fatespeaker continued with only a small amused glance at Dust's actions. "Dust, Dust, Dust, Dust, where are you...? There you are!" Fatespeaker handed Dust a couple of scrolls as she spoke. "You're in the second tunnel on the left, seventh cave on the left. Those are your welcome scroll and map. Have a good day!"
"You too, Fatespeaker," Dust left the NightWing to her duties with another small nod of respect, one that Dust mentally berated herself for, and continued down the hall.
Tucking her scrolls under one of her wings, Dust carefully dodged around a few dragons stopped in the middle of the hall talking. A buzz started up in the back of her head, one that Dust purposefully ignored. And maybe she concentrated a bit too hard on ignoring that and not paying attention because she ended right next to a fight.
A SkyWing and a SeaWing were way too close to each other, another SeaWing following relatively close to the first. When the SkyWing stepped on the SeaWing's tail, Dust had to fling out one of her wings to stop said tail from by accident hitting the SeaWing's companion. The two spun to face each other, growling and roaring insults at each other, not caring that there were plenty of other dragons that just wanted to go about their day.
Dust lowered her wing, ignoring the slight throb from the SeaWing's powerful tail as she glanced between the two. Part of her wanted to jump straight into the middle of it and tell them to move along but another part knew that they wouldn't listen to her. Her talons curled in as she lightly growled, resigning herself to preparing to knock one of them away from the other if they did start physically fighting. Some other quiet part of her didn't seem worried at all, as if it knew this would turn out okay. That quiet part of her made the buzzing just a little bit louder.
Eventually, a savior did come, that savior coming in the form of the famous Clay. Dust had to move to the side to let the legend through, in turn bumping into someone beside her. Turning her head, Dust spoke to the dragon and temporarily ignored the whole fiasco going on beside her. "Sorry about that," said Dust, smiling a little at the SeaWing. She was quite small, her colors reminding Dust of pink lotuses.
"It's fine, you did make sure that Pike's tail didn't hit me," said the SeaWing, politely smiling back. "Who exactly are you?"
"Just your everyday dragon. Call me Dust," said Dust, fiercely ignoring the buzzing that seemed to grow louder just to disprove the first statement.
"I'm Anemone," said the SeaWing, her name making Dust's mind finally click. Anemone, Princess of the SeaWings and their only known animus.
"Would you prefer if I called you Your Highness or something of the like?" asked Dust, smiling a little nervously at the fact that she didn't recognize the princess at first glance. She should've been more respectful. Honestly, war or not, Dust was about as graceful and respectful as a dancing hippo sometimes.
"I'm fine if you just call me Anemone," said Anemone, looking slightly amused at Dust's fumbling. "Since my current bodyguard is in time out, I guess you'll have to protect me."
There was a hint of joking in her tone but still... "I'm sure you could manage yourself in a fight but if you need me I'm glad to offer up my services," said Dust.
It took maybe half a second before she was mentally bashing herself with her tail again. How fancy can she get?! Anemone isn't any older than Dust and yet she's acting like Anemone is some type of elder. Royalty could count for the amount of respect Dust is showing but it was still over the top.
Anemone looked a little surprised at Dust's words, not at all noticing Dust's mental berating. "You're probably the first dragon to say I could manage in a fight," said Anemone, beginning to walk with Dust following not a second later. The conflict had cleared up while they introduced themselves, leaving an open path for the two to walk and talk.
"Well, you aren't exactly a toothless shark. You have claws and teeth like anyone else, some just think that they're better for talking and looking pretty. Then again, I'm sure you got some bite in your words as well," said Dust, chuckling a little at the last statement.
Anemone let out a small snort at the humor as well. "You are quite the odd MudWing. I've never heard a MudWing be witty."
"And I've never heard of an animus being treated like a glass cannon," Dust shot back without much thought. Barely a second passed before Dust remembered who she was speaking to. "Sorry, I shouldn't speak like that to you. I sometimes speak without thinking."
"It's fine, it's fine. I kinda like how blunt you are," Anemone admitted before suddenly stopping. Dust stopped beside her, tilting her head at the princess curiously. "This is my cave, where's yours?"
Turning to look over her shoulder, Dust counted under her breath before ending up right where she was. "Looks like it's mine as well. Glad to see that I have at least one agreeable clawmate," said Dust, walking into the cave without seeing how Anemone reacted.
It was cozy for a cave, with small shelves and a few lanterns filling up space a little with beds helping with that. Three beds were really just ledges with little add-ons, one being filled with moss, another with a bunch of furs, and the last one with an indent filled with water and lined with algae and seaweed.
Anemone dashed past Dust, reaching the water bed and nodding in approval. Dust shrugged a little before checking up on the moss bed. Some part of her chimed with a helpful little message, There are SandWings at the door.
Turning her head, Dust assessed the newcomers with a simple glance. One of them was much bigger than the other, the bigger one having a little zig-zag scar on his snout and brown scales that looked like freckles. The smaller one looked much shyer than her companion who looked laid-back as a RainWing. "Hello," said Dust, nodding at the two while Anemone turned to look at them as well.
"Hi," greeted Zig-Zag Scar, giving both of them a grin.
He's more clever than he seems. Nothing is ever face value. He looks relaxed and goofy but he's complicated, kind, and cunning. Once again, her little weird sixth sense about others went off. It was more elaborate than usual... Meh, Dust didn't really understand it half the time but it hasn't let her down yet.
Zig-Zag continued over Dust's thinking, "I was just coming to see who Ostrich's clawmates are."
"Understandable," said Dust, nodding at him for a moment before turning her attention to the smaller and shyer SandWing. "I'm assuming you're Ostrich unless you are friends with a rather odd RainWing and came to meet us too."
She giggled a little at that but shook her head. "I-I'm Ostrich," she said with a small and adorable stutter. That plus the giggle and her size practically made Dust melt.
That's it, this one is my child and I will kill anyone who hurts her.
None of that showed on Dust's face but she still smiled at the smaller dragon. "I'm Dust. Nice to meet you. I'll let our clawmate introduce herself," said Dust, nodding at Anemone to direct their attention to her.
"I am Anemone, Princess of the SeaWings," Anemone didn't hold anything back, even holding herself more regally to make her title sound cooler. It certainly worked on Ostrich who stared at Anemone in awe.
Dust let Ostrich awe over the princess as she turned her attention to the fourth one in the room. "And may I ask for your name, protective friend of Ostrich?" asked Dust, tilting her head at him curiously.
It almost seemed like he hesitated before speaking. "I'm Qibli, nice to meet you," said the SandWing. He watched Dust carefully, causing Dust to give him a questioning look.
He knows you're not normal. He has ideas. He'll figure it out eventually. Again, that little voice in her head gave Dust an answer. Not the answer she would've liked but it was an answer nonetheless.
"Nice to meet you too. I'll see you all later, I think I'm going to go explore a bit," said Dust, unintentionally interrupting Ostrich and Anemone's little conversation.
Maybe I can ask Ostrich to accompany me, it would be fun.
Before Dust could act on her thoughts, Anemone unintentionally dashed them to the side. "Can I join you?"
I wanted to talk with Ostrich a bit but I think I've dealt with Anemone for as long as I can before lapsing into soldier mode. I don't want to hurt her feelings though, she does seem like the type to hold a grudge. Anemone is a good dragon but her status is going to go to my head and hers.
"Sorry Anemone," Dust gave an apologetic grin that wasn't that fake. "I'm gonna go solo. I'm sure we can talk more in a bit."
After taking a look at Anemone's face which looked a little crestfallen before being turned to stone, Dust grabbed the scrolls from under her wing and tossed them on the moss bed. Anemone didn't have time to question it before Dust was pressing her wings against the princess'. "I'll be back in time to say good night. Don't let your actual bodyguard bite."
Anemone let out a laugh at the joke, Dust smiling proudly at her reaction. Dust brushed wings with Ostrich as well as she walked out. "See you in a bit, Ostrich," Dust shot a smile at Ostrich which was shyly returned. "Have a good day, Qibli," Nodding at the SandWing, Dust left without another word.
Dust didn't really have a plan, it was more of an idea. 'Wander until you find something or someone interesting' was about as far as she got. That's what she did, reading the little announcement boards on the way.
At one point, Dust nearly ran into a small blue RainWing. She barely seemed to notice, barely blinking at the fact that she nearly rammed into a MudWing who nearly doubled her size. Dust didn't even get the chance to apologize before she was using her wing to pull the RainWing to the side and away from the chance of getting trampled by a couple of SkyWings.
"Are you alright?" asked Dust, studying the RainWing carefully. A pale film over her eyes made Dust finally realize the obvious. This dragon was blind.
"Yes, thank you for asking," said the RainWing, looking to the source of Dust's voice.
Dust suppressed a shudder at the sight of unseeing eyes looking past her. "No problem," Dust nodded before realizing she couldn't see it and mentally beating herself with her tail once again. "I guess I'll see you around."
With that rather insensitive comment ending the conversation, Dust considered actually whacking herself with her tail as she started to walk away. The RainWing couldn't see it and Dust was a decent liar. On a good day.
"Wait," said the RainWing, basically running after Dust with little to no concern for herself. Another SkyWing walked by, grumbling under his breath about ruffians and not watching where he was going. They were going to run into each other.
Dropping back, Dust wrapped her wing around the RainWing and pulled her to the side once again. The RainWing jumped a little at the sudden contact but that didn't stop her. "What's your name?" she asked without shrugging off Dust's wing, much to the MudWing's surprise.
"I'm Dust, you?" said Dust, taking a glance at the nearest board that luckily had a map before guiding them towards the prey center.
"Tamarin," said the RainWing. Suddenly, she shrugged off Dust's wing to come to a stop in front of the MudWing. "This is a bit of an odd question but can I touch your face?"
Considering she was blind, Dust didn't think it was too odd. "Sure," she said with little hesitation. Leaning down, Dust gently guided one of Tamarin's claws to her face. Waiting patiently as Tamarin used both of her claws to gently touch Dust's face, Dust didn't move a muscle while Tamarin did her thing.
"Thank you," said Tamarin, lowering her claws a moment after speaking.
"Course. Imma head to the prey center, do you know your way from here?" said Dust, frowning a little at Tamarin in worry. Tamarin had been dealing with being blind for all her life but Dust couldn't help but worry.
Tamarin took a second to orient herself, tapping the wall a few times to do so. "Yes," she said without a second thought.
"If you ever need help, I'm always open," Dust offered, walking next to the RainWing and brushing wings with her in a goodbye. "Have a good day, Tamarin."
"You too, Dust," said Tamarin, leaving as Dust did the same.
Dust entered the chaos that was the prey center, wincing a little at all the noise. Why did some dragons have to be so noisy? Sighing a little at the mess, Dust managed to pounce on a pig and kill it first try. Dust took a moment to glance around before aiming for a small trio of MudWings.
"Hello," Dust's sudden appearance made two of them jump while the last one gave Dust a small smile. "Is there any chance I could sit with all of you? I can share some of my prey if you want," she asked with a small bribe. They already had a pig split between them but it couldn't hurt to try.
"Sure!" The only male of the group grinned at her, the other two shyly nodding along. When Dust sat down, he began chatting albeit a bit more nervously than before. "I'm Umber. Those two are Sora and Marsh."
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Dust," she said while nodding politely. Dust cut the pig in half and slid that half towards the three. "How are you all liking the school so far?" Dust asked as she started eating her half of the pig, waiting for one of them to start talking.
"I-I like it," Marsh admitted, his wings twitching a little due to his nerves. "Clay has kinda favorited us a lot."
"I knew I recognized your names, sibs of Clay," said Dust nodding along before adding something onto her words. "Glad to see you guys came in. It'll be fun to get to know you for more than just your reputation."
They all looked a little surprised at her words but a commotion that challenged the earlier one left them without room to speak. That said commotion was something with a scavenger, a poor shy NightWing named Moonwatcher, a heroic Qibli, and a nephew of Queen Glacier who was named Winter. Having enough of the drama, Dust said bye to the trio with a small promise that they would talk again. Just by her luck, Dust managed to walk out at the same time as Moonwatcher and even bumped into the jumpy NightWing.
She's an odd one. Then again, I have a feeling that she is a lot more than she seems. My weird sixth sense must be going off. Now there's buzzing in the back of my head, fantastic.
"Sorry," murmured Dust, nodding a little at the NightWing before getting a little headstart.
That's it, I'm going to the library and curling up in a corner with a scroll. Too much weirdness for me today. And I have to get back to Anemone and Ostrich before night. Like yay, I get to hang with them but like nay, Imma go into soldier mode randomly and it's gonna be weird. Fifty fifty. The buzzing is getting worse. Buzzing means library, I've decreed it.
When Dust finally reached the library, her sixth sense went off. Someone was listening to my thoughts.
Shoving that little warning to the back of her head to deal with when she had a sane mind, Dust entered the library. It was a quaint little cave, a lot smaller than the prey center but bigger than her sleeping cave. Leaves acted as windows, giving a warm and slightly green light to the rows of scrolls and various relaxing places.
"Hello?" someone asked hesitantly. Turning her head, Dust easily recognized the blind librarian, Starflight.
"Hi," she said, smiling a little at him even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Are there any rules or things that I need to know or have to be in here?"
Starflight nodded, reaching down and tapping a few things with his claws before pulling out two things. As he was talking he pulled out a third. Dust listened to the explanation about the system, nodding along despite there being no need. "Your name is Dust, right?" he asked at the end of his spiel, tapping the desk nervously as he spoke.
"I'm surprised you remembered. I'm not the most memorable dragon," Unless you see me. Dust chuckled, only thinking the last phrase.
"I'm glad I did," Starflight let out a small chuckle of his own before continuing to speak. "I hope you're in the library more often. You kinda remind me of Clay."
Almost snorting at the mere idea, Dust managed to contain herself. Speaking stopped her reaction a little more, so that's what she did, "I'm honored for the comparison."
He's a hero, I'm a wannabe.
"Quick and kinda random question," she said, trying to distract herself. To do so, Dust grabbed her pouch and stamp as she spoke, "I overheard some of the other NightWings mention it when they were talking about the whole 'dragonets of destiny' spiel. Is your father Mastermind?"
He is, he is, he is, sang the part of her that held the sixth sense.
Please no, please by the stars no... mumbled another part. The part that wanted to be nothing more than a MudWing. To have it just be simple.
"He is, why?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. Like she had done not even thirty minutes ago.
"Just curious, I'll be reading now," said Dust, managing to choke that out without too much of a tremor in her voice. Starflight made a doubtful face and nodded along anyway.
Most likely debating about whether to ask or not like I wou-- Cutting herself off, Dust put the stamp in the pouch, put on the pouch, turned around, and began scanning the shelves. Busying herself from actually thinking about it.
Thinking about family.
Thinking about her heritage.
Thinking about the fact that she had brothers and sisters that she barely shared blood with.
Dust had to stop herself from hitting her head against the wall. That definitely would alert her brother that something was up. Her moon blessed brother.
Sure they only had Mastermind's blood in their veins but it was still enough for her MudWing side to scream at her to protect him at all costs. She was his bigwings. She had to.
Pinching herself a little bit, Dust shook her head at the thought. He already had a bigwings. Clay, the dragon Starflight compared her to. He was already protected.
As always, her sixth sense had to prove her wrong. He won't always be.
Why couldn't it just be simple? Why couldn't Dust just live with the fact that NightWings had forgotten her? Why couldn't Dust just forget them?
Curling her claws into a fist, Dust put said fist to her temples and closed her eyes. Her imagination created the world without much prompting. The night before the war came to an end, her patrol stopped by a nearby creek. She had taken watch, watching over her adoptive sibs with a ferocity not even the royal SandWing sisters could match.
The two moons and the false one reflected in the creek, the nearby forest full of mystery and charm. The forest was mentally her six sense, dark and clouded until the movement of the wind let the moons light up the mystery. All of her worries, thoughts, and doubts went into the creek, guided by the moons to a place where they would be stored for a long while.
It was just a mental escape, something to delay it all. And yet somehow, Dust found herself a lot calmer when she opened her eyes. The landscape was still there, in the corners of her mind as she focused on the present. Taking a moment more to look around, Dust decided against actually checking anything out and headed for the door.
Starflight was busy, giving Dust a chance to study him. To study the minuscule similarities they had. Somehow, Dust could see them. She could see a similar curve in their snouts. The slight twist of their horns. The shape of their spikes. The color of their claws.
Before Starflight could notice her staring, Dust mentally tossed her worries to the water. "Bye Starflight. I might come back tomorrow," said Dust, smiling at him as she left.
"Bye Dust," Starflight called after her. Her MudWing side was begging for her to go back and interact with him. In response, Dust threw one of her imaginary adoptive sibs into the creek and mentally cackled as they freaked out.
Dust continued to wander the halls, forcing the mental creek to start making noise to drown out her thoughts. Taking notes on the 'mud', Dust started creating a mental map. Very few dragons paid much attention to Dust, only making the walk that much better.
Maybe she could calm down from meeting her brother in a place that she wouldn't have thought she would meet him.
Maybe...