5,000 years later...

~~~

THWACK!

The red SkyWing jolted as something hit her head, abruptly waking her up.

The classroom was filled with giggles as dragonets pointed at her and whispered. The teacher, Sierra, took no notice of this. Her full attention was towards the student, who was rubbing her head in pain.

"Oriole." She said in a stern voice. "Pay attention to the class, or would you rather have me write to your mother again?"

"Sorry, teacher." Oriole replied, barely managing not to sound sulky. She was rather irritated at being embarassed in front of everyone, but tried not to show it. Letting dragons know you were angry was a sign of emotional weakness: that was her philosophy.

Sierra narrowed her eyes slightly, as if debating whether or not to lecture her futher. To Oriole's great relief, the teacher swept around and headed back to the chalkboard, where drawings of different tribes could be seen.

"Can anyone tell me again why hybrids are outlawed?" Sierra asked her class. A few students raised their talons. Sierra nodded towards one. "Yes, Armadillo?"

"Because their bodies are deformed and the mixed genes make their brains go crazy." The SandWing answered with a hint of sarcasm, earning a few giggles from his classmates.

"That's right." Sierra said, opening a textbook and showing it to the class. It contained a rather gruesome drawing of a heavily mutated MudWing with RainWing frills, hideously colored scales, fangs too big for its mouth, unevenly sized limbs and an agonized expression on its face. Most of the students recoiled, making 'eww' noises or laughing.

Personally, Oriole felt bad for the dragon in the picture, rather than disgust. She'd often wondered why so many hybrids even existed for so long if their parents knew what they would turn out like.

"This is the result of two dragons of different tribes having an egg together." The teacher explained, unbothered. "That is why inter-tribe couples are only allowed to adopt if they wish to have dragonets; to prevent creatures like this from existing. If you ever spot one at any time, report them to the nearest guard immediately, so that they can protect you and your family."

Oriole wanted to scoff at that last sentence. Not a single hybrid had been spotted in decades— the most recent one supposedly being a half IceWing, half SeaWing. Of course, it had been found out and captured before anyone could take pictures of it, so no one could agree for sure on what it looked like.

The chances of finding another one when the entire city was under such heavy surveillance were astronomically low. And besides: who would even want to have eggs with someone from another tribe? Everyone knew the consequences, and it heavily outweighed the pros, if there were any.

Sierra closed the book, resting it on her desk. "Now, can anybody remember the name of the dragon who saved an entire village from a hybrid attack?" She hesitated, before sighing. "...Yes, Troublemaker?"

"His name was Hoarfrost, and he killed a whooooole bunch of hybrid dragons." The NightWing said, grinning his usual charming grin. He was held back for a year, so he was older than the rest of his classmates, but still small enough to pass as another three year old. A sapphire necklace hung around his neck. "After that, he hunted down their base and killed some who didn't even deserve it, like the tiny dragonets or creaky old elders who couldn't fight back."

Sierra rubbed her forehead in aggravation. "Troublemaker." She said in a tired tone that implied she'd spent a lot of time handling this particular dragonet. "Hoarfrost was a hero. He got rid of all those hybrids for the good of dragonkind."

"Or maybe because he was a cold hearted murderer who was prejudiced against anyone who looked different from him?" He suggested, blinking innocently. He lifted his black wings in a nonchalant shrug. "Just a thought." Several students around him snorted and rolled their eyes.

The teacher banged the book against her desk. "Troublemaker, that is it. Do you want to see the principal again?"

The NightWing's tail flicked, a tiny sign of nervousness that did not go unnoticed by Oriole. "Oh no, I'm soooo scared!" He flared his wings dramatically, nearly smacking the face of a HiveWing who sat beside him. "The principal! I'm gonna get put in detention again, aren't I? Oh, the horror! Whatever shall I do?"

Sierra slammed the wooden floor with her tail, creating a painfully loud BANG noise that effectively silenced the class. She pointed towards the door with a glare. "I don't know why you're feeling particularly defiant today, but it needs to stop." She growled. "Go to the principal's office right now and tell him what you've been doing in my class."

He agreeably got up and left, still smiling as though nothing could possibly bother him.

Oriole did not share the same sentiment. She knew that dragonet; Troublemaker— or Trouble, for short— was someone who liked to live up to his name. She and him had been friends almost since her first day at Star Mountain Middle School, named after it being built on a mountain, high up in the sky.

She liked most things about him, like how he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, or how surprisingly sweet and thoughtful he could be. But the way he often got himself into conflict made her worry.

"What if you get expelled?" She'd demanded one day, when he involved himself in a fight during lunch. He was mostly fine apart from a few scratches and bruises, but it still twisted Oriole's heart to see him injured. "What if you pick a fight with someone dangerous? I don't want anything bad to happen to you!"

Trouble had rolled his eyes affectionately at her. "I think I'll survive." He'd said with a smile, much to her frustration.

No matter how confident he appeared, Oriole knew he was scared of the principal. Those two always seemed to have a weird vibe whenever they were in the same room together. Trouble always insisted it was nothing, but Oriole could tell that there was something there.

She lifted herself out of her thoughts, gazing around the classroom. She didn't feel like paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying. Her eyes met with a certain brown MudWing with a unique dark red underbelly and wing membranes.

Cranberry. Oriole's other best friend, besides Trouble. A female dragonet who she'd met under... less than ideal circumstances. Something that Trouble still liked to tease them over, despite it happening over a year ago.

Cranberry gave a small grin, jerking her head towards the door as if to say "so that was pretty eventful, huh?"

Oriole frowned at her, unamused. Some might call her a killjoy, but she thought her worrying was rather justified, considering how chaotic her friends could be. She adored them to death, but by all the moons, they really needed to stop putting themselves in danger all the time.

Talking back to authority figures, sneaking off in the middle of the night, picking fights with anyone no matter how big... Oriole could feel herself getting older every day.

Hours passed, and class was finally over. Dragonets scrambled to leave as soon as the bell rung. Oriole flung her pouch around her neck, and left the classroom. Each one had a balcony, where students could simply fly in or out if they didn't feel like taking the stairs.

She spotted Cranberry, and put on a burst of speed to catch up with her.

"Why do you think Trouble did that?" She asked as they flew together. "He's usually not that outspoken. Like, was he just in a more rebellious mood, or...?"

Her friend shrugged. "I guess he wanted to take the attention off of you after the teacher woke you up in front of everyone." She wrinkled her snout. "What was up with that, by the way? Did you not sleep last night or something?"

"Actually, I didn't." Oriole admitted. "I spent all night reading." She lowered her head slightly in embarrassment.

"Again?" The MudWing giggled. "Haven't you pretty much memorized all your books?"

"They're still fun to read!" Oriole objected. "And I don't have them memorized word for word."

"Ah, my bad." Cranberry replied sarcastically, beating her wings a bit faster. They'd almost reached the balcony of the science classroom: their last period for the day.

As they landed, Oriole felt something tap her shoulder. She turned around to see Trouble standing there, smiling like always, although there was a strange emotion in his eyes.

"Trouble! You're back already!" Her heart swelled like it always did whenever she saw her friends. Then she remembered something and put on a stern look. "Why did you do that to yourself?" She asked. "I don't know if you've noticed, but teachers don't particularly like it when you're sassy towards them."

"Rude." Trouble huffed. "Teachers love my sass."

"Um, hello?" Cranberry said, gesturing towards the entrance to the science classroom. It was almost empty, since there was still ten minutes before the next class began. "You're both hilarious and all, but shouldn't we be going inside?"

"About that." Trouble sidled away, suddenly looking mildly uncomfortable. "Uh. I need you guys to come with me for a minute. Please?"

"Why?" Oriole asked, a bit concerned. "What happened?"

"You'll see." The NightWing had an odd expression, which usually meant that he was serious.

Oriole exchanged a look with Cranberry. Then she turned back and nodded. "All right, but only for a little bit."

Trouble somehow managed to look relieved and worried at the same time, which were not normal emotions for him. The three dragonets spread their wings and took off, following him away.

As they approached the balcony of an unused classroom that was rarely visited by anyone, Oriole felt worry spike her heart further. What is going on?