Wings of Fire: Dragonets of Change AU

Clay was never very adventurous. He liked his underground home, he liked his siblings, and he liked his guardians. 

His little sister, Tsunami, was always trying to find ways to experience the outside world. Clay assumed it was because of her SeaWing instincts. The guardians made sure their home had an underground river so she could swim, but it never seemed to be enough for her.

Clay didn't blame her. He knew most of the other dragonets felt the same way, but they didn't like to admit it out loud.

"Clay, are you paying attention?" Asha interrupted his thoughts. 

"Um. Yes?" Clay said, wincing as he heard the uncertainty in his own voice.

"Alright. If you were listening, tell me what I just said."

"...That you love your son and you don't care if he was thinking about lunch instead of paying attention to your class?" He grinned, hearing Starflight laugh. 

A small smile tore its way through Asha's stern face. "I was asking if everyone's essay was finished, and I sure hope you have yours or else I won't be happy with you, mister." 

Clay rummaged through his papers. Asha taught the dragonets' lessons on reading and writing, but out of the three guardians, she felt the most like a real parent. And it wasn't just because the two were from the same tribe, Clay could tell his siblings liked her, too. 

"I have it!" Clay announced, holding the scroll in his talons triumphantly. "I didn't lose it or set it on fire!" 

The other dragonets giggled, and Asha nodded. "Now, who wants to read theirs first?" 

Sunny's talon shot up immediately, as always. 

Asha ignored her, looking around the cave. "Glory, how about you start?"

A few of the RainWing's scales turned deep green, but only Clay seemed to notice. Glory stepped to the front the cave next to Asha, and began to read from her scroll unenthusiastically. 

"About me: My name is Glory. I am a RainWing. My tribe is responsible for the most casualties and injuries in the war. They are allied with Blaze. I am grateful for the Talons of Peace because they saved me from a cruel life by locking me in a cave as a dragonet. Thank you."

Asha winced, but recovered quickly as Glory handed her her scroll and returned to her seat. "Very nice, Glory. You could project your voice more next time, but overall a good job. Your handwriting has improved a lot!" 

Glory didn't reply. 

Clay made eye contact with her and smiled.

Glory smiled back.

Sunny's arm was still held high, and Asha flicked her tail at her. "Sunny, how about you go next?"

Sunny hurried to the front, brimming with excitement. 

"Sunny. I've always loved the name my guardians gave me, because it reminds me of who I want to be. Even deep underground, the sun's rays can reach us and bring hope in the darkest of places."

Clay looked up at the sky hole overhead. Instead of the bright, blue sky he expected from Sunny's essay, he saw a glimpse of a cloudy, overcast morning. 

"Us SandWings may have started the war, but I believe we are still capable of ending it and bringing peace. I think we can change lives, if there's just someone there to motivate us. I'm grateful for my guardians, because they have motivated me, and I want to do the same for future dragons."

Clay clapped, but stopped when he realized nobody was doing the same. 

"You went a little off prompt" Asha said, mirroring the dragonets' annoyance with Sunny's above-average writing level. "But as always, well done." 

Sunny returned to her seat. Times like these made her age obvious to the others. Although Sunny was the smallest of the five, she was the second oldest, only younger than Clay. 

The youngest was Tsunami, who was now bouncing out of her seat. "Me next! I want to be right in the middle!"

Asha glanced at Tsunami. "Alright, go ahead."

Tsunami marched to the front, scroll tucked under her wing. She cleared her throat, and spoke with a loud and confident voice.

"My name is Tsunami. I'm a SeaWing, which is the best tribe because the ocean is bigger than Pyrrhia. My favorite things, in order, are water, the ocean, fish, and my siblings and maybe Starflight. I think the war is stupid because if I could go outside, I'd scare everyone into getting along. The end."

Asha took Tsunami's scroll as she marched back to her seat, head held high. "That was accurate to the prompt this time. Good job, Tsunami."

Asha's gaze hovered on Clay for a terrifying second, before turning. "Starflight, how about you go next for a change?"

Starflight seemed to shrink. Each step lasted a lifetime as he walked to the front of the cave. 

"My name is Starflight. I'm a NightWing. The rest of my tribe has been extinct for two thousand years. I don't know how I am alive, but the Talons of Peace say I am important. My favorite thing in the world is my brother, Clay."

A long pause followed to confirm if he was finished. When Starflight didn't speak, Asha nodded. "Good job! Your spelling has improved a lot."

Clay nudged Starflight when he returned to the seat next to him. Starflight fidgeted with his talons, but smiled up at him. 

Clay knew it was his turn next, so he walked to the front before Asha said anything. He stared at his scratchy, uneven handwriting. He took a deep breath, and began to read.

"Clay. ...M-MudWing."

He knew it was nothing compared to his siblings. Clay always had trouble with his writing, it was especially difficult with his large talons. Asha understood, but she was determined to help him improve.

Tsunami giggled a little at Clay's short essay, but Glory quickly stomped on her tail. Asha shot a look at Tsunami, then turned back to Clay.

"Good job. Stay here a little while, the rest of you can go wait for Kestrel to come back with lunch in the main cave."

As the dragonets filed out of the study cave, Asha sighed. "Do you think they're happy here?"

Clay stared at her, surprised by the question. "I think they'll appreciate it eventually."

"But what if they try to escape?" Asha replied anxiously. "What if they're so unhappy that they find a way to get out, and they get hurt because of me?"

Clay looked away. He knew that most of the dragonets felt bitterly about their situation in the cave. "They don't really hate it here. They know that outside is worse. They're just desperate for the war to end. They want things to be normal as much as you do." 

Asha's big talons wrapped around Clay as she hugged him. Her scales were warm against Clay's much smaller scales. 

Just then, the sound of rocks scraping against rocks signaled Kestrel's arrival. Clay and Asha hurried to the main room to see Kestrel closing the stone door, her talons empty.

"Hey, where's lunch?" Clay spoke before thinking. He noticed Kestrel's expression, and quickly shut his mouth.

Kestrel was the kind of dragon to always look grumpy. There were few times when she actually smiled, and even then she looked threatening. 

But now, something was off. She was silent for too long, and her face held a seriousness that didn't feel like her normal stern personality. 

When she finally spoke, the entire room went still.

"I just got news from the Talons. We need to move." 

Asha stepped back, shaking her head. "No, please, it's too dangerous. And we need to stay here so Dune and Hvitur can find us."

Smoke rose from Kestrel's nostrils, curling around her face dangerously. "Dune and Hvitur are dead."