The school was... surprisingly fun. The dragons here, though diverse in species and personalities, welcomed me with warmth I hadn't anticipated. There was laughter in the hallways, the hum of wings beating through the air, and an almost infectious energy that made me feel like I might actually belong here. The classrooms were alive with chatter, discussions about history, magic, and the endless possibilities of dragonkind. It was a place where even the most unusual dragons could find their way, and for once, I felt like I could, too.

Of course, there was always one dragon who stood out, and for me, that dragon was a SkyWing named Ashfall. He was hard to miss—his wings a deep, fiery red, his scales gleaming like molten lava. But it wasn't just his appearance that was striking. It was his personality. He was grumpy, aloof, and perpetually irritated, with a deep scar slashing across his snout, a mark of some forgotten battle. Every time I passed him, I swore I could feel the tension radiating off him like a heat wave. He glared at anyone who dared make eye contact, muttering gruff responses to any attempt at conversation. Ashfall didn't seem to care about the school's sense of community. He was just... there. A simmering storm in the middle of an otherwise peaceful sky.

But I didn't let his cold demeanor bother me. After all, we all had our struggles. It wasn't long before I figured out that Ashfall had more history buried beneath that prickly exterior than I could ever fully understand. Still, as much as he tried to avoid anyone's company, I wasn't about to let his gruffness define the atmosphere of the academy. We were all here for a reason, and perhaps in time, he'd soften—though I wasn't sure I could make any promises.

Then, one afternoon, the air shifted.

It started with a strange scent, an acrid, pungent odor that made my scales prickle. At first, I thought it was just my imagination—some stray scent from the kitchens or the distant practice fields. But no. It was sharper now, more insistent, curling around my senses in a way that made my pulse quicken. Smoke.

The realization hit like a bolt of lightning. My wings shot out instinctively, the starry patterns across them shimmering as I flared them wide, ready to take flight.

"Smoke," I breathed, my voice barely a whisper before panic clawed at me. The room felt suffocating, the air thickening with each passing second. Without thinking, I sprang into action, my claws scraping against the stone floor as I pushed through the crowd of students. "Fire, everyone out!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls.

Chaos erupted around me. The sound of panicked voices, dragons scrambling to get to the door, the shuffle of claws on the floor. In the frenzy, I could hear Ashfall's voice cutting through the noise, his words gruff as ever.

"Get out of the way, Midnight!" he barked, pushing past me with a force that sent a gust of wind flapping my wings.

But I wasn't paying attention to him. I was already heading for the nearest exit, the smoke growing thicker as the fire spread. My heart thudded wildly, my wings beating hard as I soared over the heads of the panicked dragonets, the heat from the flames licking at my scales. I didn't know what had started the fire, but right now, that didn't matter. Every second felt like an eternity, and all I could think of was getting everyone out safely.

As I neared the exit, I took one last look back, my star-filled wings catching a glimpse of the flames that were beginning to crawl up the walls. It was all happening so fast, but we were almost there. We had to be.

My heart slammed against my chest as my eyes locked onto Kinja. She was a striking dragonet—her wings glimmering like the colors of a rainbow, each hue shifting as she moved. But now, those wings were pinned beneath a massive rock beam that had fallen when the cave began to crumble, trapping her in a deadly grip. Her breathing was shallow, her scales coated in dust and sweat, and her eyes were wide with fear as the smoke thickened around us.

"Oh no," I muttered under my breath, feeling the urgency clawing at my throat. "Kinja!"

I didn't hesitate. I rushed toward her, my wings snapping out to clear a path. My heart pounded in my ears as I darted through the smoke-filled air, hoping against hope that I could reach her before it was too late. The weight of the beam was too much for her to lift, but maybe, just maybe, I could do something. I flared my wings, pushing with every ounce of strength I had, trying to lift the beam enough for her to escape.

But then, the worst happened.

The cave exploded.

The force of it hit me like a tidal wave. My ears rang as the shockwave slammed through the air, tearing the stone walls apart with a deafening roar. The ground shook violently beneath my feet, and I barely had time to react before I was flung backward. My wings whipped through the air uselessly as I lost control, my body slamming into the cold, unforgiving stone of the cave wall with a sickening thud. Pain exploded across my skull, and everything went black for a moment.

I heard nothing but the ringing in my ears, the distant crackling of flames, the harsh breaths of panicked dragons—but my own thoughts were a haze. My body ached, my mind struggling to focus through the fog of pain.

When I finally regained a sliver of consciousness, my head felt like it was being crushed by the weight of a hundred stones. My vision swam as I blinked, trying to clear the haze. Everything around me was distorted, the cave lit by flickering flames and shadowed by billows of smoke.

But then, I saw her.

Kinja.

She was being carried away, her rainbow wings drooping in the arms of another dragon, a figure blurred in the chaos. My breath hitched, relief flooding through me, but it was quickly followed by the gnawing terror that gnawed at my gut. She was alive, but was she okay?

And then... darkness closed in again, pulling me under like a wave. My thoughts scattered like fragments of glass. I could hear distant voices, the shouts of dragons, but none of it made sense. Everything faded into a soft, endless void.