Petal didn't look back as she glided between the trees. Her body was flattened out as much as possible to catch the wind. Her wings hardly even flapped as she soared.

She didn't dare fly too close to any tree should there be a cat in it. Nor above the trees should there be a pure dragon flying by. She stayed well clear of the ground as well. The dragons of this colony had little to fear while in the air. But Petal knew she was small enough a hawk might decide she was lunch. In the air or not, Petal was prey to everything bigger than her.

At least until her metamorphosis.

When she would weave her cocoon and sleep for three years. She would grow her legs, her talons, and nearly impenetrable scales. Scales that were as tough as diamonds. Like all spirit dragons, she would develop her own powers. When she awoke, she would be able hypnotize anyone who dared make eye contact with her and have the strength to rival even Queen Seyte of the elemental dragons. Oh, it would be glorious!

But not yet.

It wasn't time for that yet. She still had to find the soul crystals. Soul crystals that still held the dragons who had preserved themselves in order to escape the horrors of the Purity Wars. Wars so brutal between dragon species that many species had gone extinct and several others were currently facing extinction. Like Petal's species.

As far as she knew, there were only two spirit dragons alive. Herself and her mother. If she could find the soul crystals and free those trapped spirit dragons... she wouldn't be alone anymore. Maybe she could even find a friend that was of her own species.

"Petal? What are you doing here?"

Petal turned her head to see a deep purple dragon with black splotches - as if ink had been spilled on him. Electric blue stripes accented in gold creeped across his wings as he leveled a confused golden gaze on Petal. The golden jagged horns on his head seemed to wink at her as she landed on the tree branch above her friend.

"Hello Spike. Fancy meeting you here in the elemental colony's territory where you are exactly where you're not supposed to be," Petal purred. Mischief gleamed in her sky blue eyes as the electric dragon below her shuffled all four of his wings uncomfortably.

"You didn't answer my question," Spike grumbled. Petal flicked her tongue out at him as if she were a snake.

"And you didn't give me the answer to your own question," she chirped. That reminded her... "Aren't you supposed to be gathering more food for the hatchery?"

The hatchery. While in the elemental colony parents created nests for their eyes inside their homes, the sepren colony was far too small to take any risks with eggs. Not to mention the dragon species in the sepren colony were notorious for laying large clutches averaging between fifty five and seventy eight eggs per clutch. Plus the fact if young dragons in large clutches got hungry it wasn't uncommon for them to eat their siblings. So, as to make it easier to care for young and increase the survival rate for young dragons, the colony had created a hatchery to keep the eggs and newborns in.

Petal's mother had come up with that idea after what had happened with Petal's clutch.

"I was hunting here. Chased a rabbit, and now I can't find it," Spike said. Petal frowned.

"That's a huge load of dung and you know it. What are you really doing here?" Petal replied.

Spike groaned. "I forgot about your super nose. Can all Nightmare Walkers smell lies or just you?"

Petal growled, "you're switching the topic."

"I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Liar liar, horns on fire," Petal sang. Spike growled, no doubt remembering the little prank Petal had pulled on him a few months ago when he had first emerged from his cocoon. "Perhaps I should leave another gift for you in your cave."

Spike tensed. "You didn't leave a tarantula in my nest did you?" His only response was an evil chuckle. He sighed. "I was meeting Queen Seyte."

Now it was Petal's turn to tense. "Queen Seyte. As in the evil queen? As in the queen of elemental dragons Queen Seyte?" She hissed.

Spike nodded slowly.

"Spike! Queen Seyte is evil! Her twin sister started the Purity Wars and Seyte made the entire Wars a game! She's enslaved millions of dragons just because they didn't want to be under her sister's tyrannical rule anymore! Not to mention she caused the extinction of the bone dragons! What you're doing endangers our entire colony!" Petal scolded.

"I know, I know. Just, hear me out," Spike reasoned. He shuffled his feet nervously.

"Hear you out?! Are you mad? What possible reason could you have for meeting Seyte?! I bet the only reason she didn't mutate into a dark dragon herself already is because she has her precious 'Cletin' do her dirty work for her!" Petal snapped. Spike winced.

"I have reason to believe Seyte has a soul crystal."

Petal arched her neck, one eye crest raising. "You're serious?" She asked. She smelled no lie on him, but she wanted a verbal confirmation anyway. If Seyte had a soul crystal... she shuddered just thinking about it.

"Me and Seyte made a deal-" Petal interrupted Spike with a growl. "-she will leave our colony alone and give me the soul crystal so long as I serve her." Spike gritted his teeth, his golden eyes searching Petal's face anxiously.

Well, slap her tail and call her a hydra. Spike couldn't possibly be dim enough to actually believe Seyte's word. If Seyte even had a soul crystal, then there was no way she would just give it away.

Soul crystals held a single trapped dragon inside them. They were used as a way of imprisoned as well as preservation, as if a dragon was trapped inside a soul crystal they were immortal and couldn't be killed. The price? The dragon trapped inside couldn't free themselves and needed outside help to become free again. Not to mention their powers and magic - if they had any - could be used by whoever held their crystal. Whether it be a human or a dragon.

If Seyte had a soul crystal, especially if that crystal held a spirit dragon, then there was no way she would just "hand it over." It was too valuable. Petal's instincts screamed Seyte was lying, and if Petal trusted anything it was her own instincts.

"I'll believe that pack of lies when humans fly," Petal snorted. "If she has one like she claims, then she'd sooner kill you than hand it over."

Spike rolled his eyes. "There's no way she would. She wouldn't dare risk starting war number four of the Purity Wars."

Petal gave a dry laugh. "Don't tempt fate now. She's already banned any mention of non elemental dragon species from her colony and erased us from her colony's history books. She's even banished a wing full of her own subjects just because they brought up our existence in conversation. Who knows how long until she tries to finish what she started during the last Purity War?"

Spike huffed. "Fair point. But I have a good feeling about this. Just, please, for my sake, don't tell anyone?" His eyes went as wide as the moon. His chin tilted upwards, exposing his throat as he spread all four of his wings and lowered himself until his belly touched the ground.

She choked on a hiss as she recognized the universal silent dragon language for begging and submission. Petal bared her fangs, shuffling her wings on her back. She couldn't help but lock her eyes on Spike's throat.

No dragon had submitted to her before. No dragon had begged her before. It was a bit unnerving.

Oh, why did he have to beg? He knew how she felt about that. Probably why he's doing it. Her mind whispered. Shut it. She snapped back at her mind.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. But the second I feel you've gone too far I'm dragging you out myself. I don't care if I do it by your tail or by your horns."

Spike laughed as he jumped to his feet. "You won't regret this!" He cried as he flapped his wings in excitement.

"I have a feeling I will," Petal muttered under her breath. "You better get to the hatchery before Bark comes looking for you. I heard she's in a foul mood today."

Spike rolled his eyes as he crouched down in preparation to take off. "Since when is she not in a foul mood?" He pointed out.

A small smile graced Petal's face. "True. I have to make my report to Commander Clye. The most promising Cletin recruit is a Nightmare Walker. She just thinks it's apart of her primal power right now," Petal purred. Spike gave a mock laugh, his head rearing back.

"I'm guessing you gave her the good old, 'go ask Nitsu about her old Nightmare Walker boyfriend' idea?" Spike asked. When Petal nodded, he winced. "Youch. Harsh way of learning the truth. If she has any sense of self preservation or really, any common sense at all, she'll flee Queen Seyte before Seyte realizes what exactly is right under her nose."

Petal scoffed. "Something tells me she won't do that. Five rabbits say she stays."

Spike eyed Petal up and down before he chuckled. "Ten rabbits say she flees within three days. I lose I give you twelve rabbits."

"You're on. Now you better go before you get caught," Petal said. Spike stuck his tongue out at the much smaller dragon before quickly taking to the sky. To her slight annoyance, he did so before she could have the chance to hurl something at him. She shook her head before spreading her wings.

She would get him... eventually.

She turned her head only to come face to face with a human. She froze, sucking in a breath. How long had this human been here?!

The human only watched Petal. She - or at least Petal thought it was a she - didn't move. Only watched. She occasionally jotted what Petal assumed to be notes in what looked like a mini human sized book.

There were no weapons that Petal could see, but she knew very well looks could be deceiving. The human was sitting on a boulder with her legs crossed and a basket next to her. Petal's nose twitched as she took a deep inhale.

Human. Spike. Bird. Chicken. Chicken! There was chicken nearby!

Petal licked her lips at the mere thought of chicken. The last time she had tasted chicken, she had been both brave and stupid enough to sneak into a human house. The chicken had been delicious. The giant stick with many twigs on one end had not.

She would have to be sneaky. Ultra sneaky. If not invisible sneaky.

Petal flapped her wings, testing to see what the red haired human would do. As it turned out, nothing. The human only blinked and scribbled more notes down.

Interesting.

Petal glided down to the ground, landing not too far from the human. She watched the human, not feeling even an ounce of fear. If worst came to worst, she'd just melt the human's face off with her acid or prick her with one of the hidden spines just barely underneath her scales on her tail.

When the human didn't move, Petal slithered closer. Her mouth practically watered now she was closer. However, she didn't make any sudden movements as she watched the human.

The human's green eyes seemed to examine her every scale as what looked like a smile made its way onto her face. The human set down the tool she was using to write with and lowered her hand to Petal's head level. The human cooed something in her own language, as if Petal would be able to understand her.

Petal made a chirping sound that sounded eerily like a baby bird. In dragon language, that usually meant a newborn was hungry. She wondered if humans produced the same sound when their newborns got hungry too.

No time like the present to experiment!

From the look on the human's face, it appeared Petal was either succeeding in making the human very confused or she was indeed correct in her theory. But, judging by the lack of food being handed to her (much to her annoyance) it was the former.

She made the same kind of chirp again and dared to slither close enough for the human to touch her. And that was exactly what this human did. Perfect. Just a little closer, my minion. Petal mockingly teased in her mind.

The human gently rubbed the top of her head with a finger, which to Petal's surprise, actually felt rather... nice. When that finger stumbled upon a particularly itchy spot between her horns, she couldn't help but push against that finger. The human, seeming to get the idea, switched from rubbing to scratching.

Petal closed her eyes as she emitted an almost cat-like purr. Her jaws parted slightly as her head tilted and she leaned into the scratching. Oh what a relief it was! Her wings couldn't reach that spot and the spines on her tail were of no help relieving that pesky itch!

To her dismay, the finger vanished.

Petal opened her eyes and was about to voice her displeasure when she was scooped up into the human's arms. Her eyes widened as she was gently set on the human's lap. She twisted her head around until she was looking straight up at the human.

Up close, she could see this human had freckles splattered across her cheeks. The human's eyes weren't entirely green like Petal first thought, but were ringed in blue. Something deep inside Petal's soul stirred. As if it were opening an eye after a long nap.

At the same time, Petal sensed something in the human. Something... strange. She felt an invisible pull towards this human, as if fate had somehow brought them together.

Whatever.

Dismissing the... whatever that was, Petal made the chirping sound for the third time. As if teasing her with it, the human had the guts to pull out a particularly meaty chicken leg from the basket and bring it up to her own mouth. The dragon opened her jaws wide, exposing her bright pink mouth.

Feed me. Petal thought. She made a series of baby bird chirps again, hoping the human would catch on.

Nope.

Instead, the human cooed and pet her head instead of feeding her. Ugh, this human was becoming insufferable! How did their young even survive when they didn't recognize the calls of a hungry newborn?!

Okay so Petal wasn't exactly a newborn, but so what? Chicken is chicken. She didn't dare how she got it, she just wanted it. No, needed it. It was begging her to be in her stomach!

The human looked down at Petal, smiled, and took a bite. Enough of this! If the human refused to feed her, she would just take it!

Before the human could blink, Petal shot into the air with a powerful flap of her wings. She then folded them in, letting gravity take her as she "fell." The human only gaped, eyes wide. Perfect.

Petal swooped past so fast she was a blur. As she flew away, she heard the human squawk in alarm. The human frantically called to her in that foreign tongue of hers as she gave chase. Unfortunately for the human, Petal was long gone.

And so was the basket of chicken.

* * *

"Sleeping on the job I see."

Petal awoke with a start. She didn't mean to fall asleep in the chicken basket! A nervous smile made its way onto her face as she looked up at her superior.

"Hello Commander Clye," she greeted. She looked around in the basket hastily before wrapping her tail around a scrap of meat and offering it up. "Chicken?"

A growl was her answer.

The massive electric dragon before her wrinkled his snout in disgust. "Did you at least find anything useful while you were snoozing away or eating from the palms of humans?" Clye's dark brown almost black eyes seemed to burn into Petal's flesh. The hidden insult in Clye's words did not slip past her attention.

Petal nodded. "The most promising candidate for the Cletin is a Nightmare Walker. Her name is Avrae. She's also friends with the princess. Very smart too and can fight very well. Perhaps we can recruit her-" Petal started.

"I don't care about any of that! You've gotten useless information! I thought I taught you better than that!" Clye snapped. His tail lashed behind him, the arrowhead on the end nearly smashing into the side of Petal's den.

"It's not useless!" Petal protested. She reared up, daring to stare into Clye's eyes. A dangerous move for Petal, as that meant a challenge in the dragon world. For dragons, if neither broke the "staring contest" after a few moments, that challenge escalated into a fight that lasted until one either submits or dies.

Clye bared his fangs, taking a single step forward. She was only half the size of his pointer claw, yet she didn't shrink back. His snow white scales faded into a pale ice blue on his wings. His scales looked more faded in some spots due to his old age while some scales along his spine looked more grey than white.

"In case you've forgotten, Queen Snapper herself specifically requested for information on Queen Seyte's plans and any problems her colony faces that we can exploit. Not for information on some stupid candidate that will be dead within the year. Two if she's lucky. So, did you find any information on that?" Clye hissed.

Petal shrank back. Yes. She would've said in another life.

Spike's plead rang in her mind. She would have to word it very carefully. She gulped, finally breaking eye contact as her wings shuffled nervously. She couldn't challenge him. Not yet. She wouldn't stand a chance until after her metamorphosis in a straight up fight.

Her eyes widened, as if in realization and horror. She lowered herself, purposefully dropping into a submissive posture. Her wings drooped so low they nearly touched the ground. "N-n-no," she lied, feigning meekness. She knew she likely looked pathetic, but she didn't really care right now. Clye's warm breath enveloped her tiny form as he snorted. He reared his head back as he looked down his snout in disgust.

"Just as I thought. And here I was thinking you'd be just as cunning as your parents. Yet here I am proven wrong. If I were you, I'd be ashamed to even live in the same area as your mother," Clye rumbled.

Petal whiped her head around so fast she nearly got whiplash. Her teeth ground together in an effort not to just spit a ball of acid at the other dragon. Had she been a fire dragon, smoke would've been pouring from her mouth and nostrils. Before she could do anything however, a familiar voice hissed, "I'd watch how you speak to my daughter if I were you Commander."

Petal nearly sagged her wings in relief as alarm flashed across Clye's face. He turned around to find none other than Petal's mother, Lily, standing right there. Clye lowered his eyes to the ground, one wing spreading out as he half bowed to her.

"Forgive me, Heiress, for I did not see you there," Clye apologized. Since all of the queen's children were killed in the Purity Wars and Snapper was far too old to lay anymore eggs, an heir had to be chosen. Hence, unless Snapper was killed in a duel for the throne, the Heiress would become queen upon Snapper's death. That Heiress was Petal's mother.

"That shouldn't matter when it comes to speaking with Petal," Lily scolded. Clye gave another half bow. He turned to Petal, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Many apologies, Petal. I assure you this incident will not happen again," Clye grunted. Petal nearly made a face at the stench of his lie. She could see the disgust in his eyes and hear the unspoken promise of revenge for his humiliation in his voice.

No doubt, he had figured out exactly why Petal never sought him out at the time they were supposed to meet. Well, other than the fact Petal had stolen chicken from a human. She knew her mother always came to their shared cave at this time of day. She also knew the cave was one of the last places Clye looked for her for this very reason.

It was an effort not to smirk at her minor accomplishment.

"Apology dully accepted," Petal replied as politely as she could. Now get out of my den. She wanted to hiss. Nonetheless, she kept a lid over her tongue and didn't dare speak her mind.

Clye might be her least favorite commander to report to, but her mother was a whole other matter. A spirit dragon as young as Petal does not simply anger an older spirit dragon and expect to get away with it. Especially when spirit dragons are known to eat their own young should the said young anger them in any way.

Clye shot Petal a glare that would've sent any lesser dragon fleeing for the hills. 'This is not over' the look on his face said. Petal dared to shrug, as if dismissing the threat as something of little or no concern to her. Clye fumed as he turned away.

Before he could get out of the den however, Lily stepped in his path. Her golden scales reflected any light that hit them perfectly, as if she were made out of gold herself. Long deep purple whiskers that faded to white flowed from her snout gracefully. The horns on her head and the spikes on her wings were the same color as her whiskers. However her twin chin spikes were a pure white instead, with one spike being chipped on the end.

Clye stopped, his tail tip slowly flicking in irritation. "If I catch you speaking to my daughter like that again, and I'll make sure you pay for it," Lily hissed. Purple sparks flew from her dark brown eyes as she bared her fangs. Her head tilted downwards slightly - a silent dare.

"Your magic doesn't scare me. Purple magic wielders are good for healing, not fighting," Clye pointed out. Her own mother's smile unsettled even Petal.

"I may not have powerful magic, but possession sounds like a nice alternative, doesn't it?" Lily replied slyly. Venom dripped from her voice as Petal flinched. Her mother was a Nightmare Walker just like her. Her mother may not have the most powerful magic type a dragon could possess, but all Nightmare Walkers could possess others so long as their mind was stronger. Petal had never seen it done before or had ever tried it herself, but if the rumors were to believed than her mother had one of the strongest minds their colony had seen in over a thousand years.

Clye's gulp seemed to echo in Petal's ears as he ducked his head. Lily hesitated for a moment before reluctantly stepping aside. Amusement flickered inside Petal as Clye hurriedly scurried past, as if he had just remembered he had some place to be. Lily waited until Clye's footsteps had faded away before she entered the den herself.

Petal flashed her mother a sloppy grin. "Hi mom," she greeted warmly. Lily was half Clye's size, yet Petal knew Lily would easily best Clye in claw to claw combat if it ever came down to it. Rumor said they had fought once when Lily had only just emerged from her metamorphosis three centuries ago, and in that fight Lily had bested him so swiftly it had earned her the queen's ear.

Lily shook her head as she sighed. "Petal..." Petal hurriedly interrupted before her mother could finish her sentence.

"I know, I know! I just couldn't help myself! I'll do better next time!" Petal cried. This was the small price she had to pay for cleverness.

Her mother frowned, her dark brown eyes seeming to examine Petal's soul. She no doubt smelled the lie infused with the truth in Petal's words. "Do you promise?"

Petal looked down at a chicken bone solemnly. "I can't promise that." This time, she didn't lie.

A claw gently forced Petal to look at her mother. "Humans are dangerous. Any dragon that isn't apart of this colony is dangerous. Your metamorphosis is just three weeks away. Is chicken really something you should risk your life for? Are the soul crystals?"

"But I'm careful!"

"You've been lucky so far."

"That's because I'm one of the best spies in the colony!"

"It's because you've been ridiculously lucky."

"Luck has nothing to do with it."

"One day your luck will run out and you'll be somewhere where I can't help you. What do you plan to do when you get caught in a hunter's trap? Or when an elemental dragon, or whatever they call themselves, finds you? What are you going to do when you are brought before Queen Seyte? You know she has no tolerance for those who she believes pose even the smallest threat to her throne."

"Pure dragons. They call themselves pure dragons now."

Lily snorted. "That's a ridiculous name. Seyte clearly has truly lost her mind." Petal couldn't help a dry laugh.

"One could even argue all dragon queens loose their mind for good at some point. It's just a ticking time bomb," Petal replied. Lily's eyes flashed with alarm as she clapped a claw over Petal's mouth.

"Watch your tongue! Snapper has ears everywhere," Lily hissed. Petal sharply inhaled, her eyes widening as she realized her mistake. Slowly, cautiously, Lily removed her claw upon ensuring no one had heard Petal. "You know the queen doesn't take too kindly to being called crazy."

Petal nodded, jaw clamped tightly shut. "Sorry," she mumbled. She rested her chin on the edge of the chicken basket. How could she be so careless? She should've known better. Snapper had executed a dragon last week just because he had exclaimed she had gone insane in front of a small group of hatchlings.

"Your magic hasn't revealed itself yet. For all we know you could have brown magic. You can't focus enough to turn someone to stone yet, can't walk in other dragon's dreams yet nor manipulate them, and worst of all you can't possess even a sparrow yet! Your mind is strong - even I won't be able to possess you - yet for some reason you can't focus it enough to turn it into a weapon," Lily lectured. Petal resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew all this already even without her mother lecturing her.

"I know," Petal nearly spat. Brown magic. The worst kind of dragon magic. So useless the user may as well not even have magic at all. She hoped to her ancestors' graves and back she didn't have brown magic.

She was supposed to be able to do things all Nightmare Walkers could do. However, she couldn't do a single one of those chilling Nightmare Walker abilities. The best she could do was smell lies - which she was alarmingly good at, not to brag or anything - but that ability was useless in a fight. She'd much rather have the ability to turn others to stone in her arsenal than to smell lies, at least that was useful in a fight. Yet, it seemed like fate was against her as it armed her with the most useless ability possible then gave her the worst possible commander to report to.

Lily sighed. Petal caught a glint in her eye that was all too familiar to her. Her gut twisted in her stomach even before her mother opened her mouth to speak. "The queen believes you are hiding your abilities from her and are planning to challenge her."

Petal snapped upright, her jaw dropping. "What?! That's outrageous!" She cried. That was the last thing she wanted to do! Being queen would be more of a burden than it would be a pleasure. The lives of all the dragons in the tribe would be her responsibility. One slip up and her colony would suffer. 

No, the throne was not for her. She would leave the responsibility of the crown for someone else. Snapper may not be the perfect queen, but she was experienced and a much better fit for the throne than Petal was. 

Lily gave a grim nod. "I highly advise you try to manifest your Nightmare Walker abilities and show them to the queen. If nothing else it'll convince her you aren't hiding them," Lily suggested. 

Petal nodded. Though she doubted that would be enough to convince the queen she wasn't interested in her throne. But, it was worth a try... right?

She just... needed to figure out how to activate her other abilities. She could possess bugs and rodents, but those weren't very helpful critters to possess unless she wanted to give someone a snack. Bugs and rodents were more food than a threat to dragons after all. 

"I'll work on it," Petal said with a sigh. Lily leaned over, her eyes softening with concern.

"Snapper believes your dangerous. If nothing else, then because of what happened to your siblings," Lily replied grimly. Petal closed her eyes, resisting the urge to let out an annoyed hiss.

She had been the runt of a clutch with sixty three eggs. Unfortunately, Lily had been unable to keep up with the food demand when her mate had been killed and Petal's siblings had started eating each other. One day, the largest of the clutch had decided to try to eat her. Something had happened that day. Even Petal herself still had no idea what had happened exactly.

She remembered it vividly, as if it happened only yesterday and not twelve years ago. 

Her biggest brother, a dark blood red with splotches of black and mystic green eyes, had cornered her in their nest. He had licked his lips, hunger burning bright in his eyes as he watched Petal like a predator does prey. Petal had hissed and snarled, but at that age her acid hadn't begun developing yet. She had been too young to speak as well, so she couldn't exactly use words to convince him not to eat her. Her other siblings were just watching, waiting for the kill to be made so they may feed off the scraps of her corpse. 

She should've died. But, on that day, she hadn't been ready to die. She had given a ferocious snarl as she had reared up with bared fangs. Her siblings had shrank back, fear suddenly flashing in their eyes. The next thing Petal had known, her siblings were screaming and turning to ash. Petal had no idea what had happened. Only that whatever had happened, for some reason she survived unscathed. 

"Whatever had happened, I'm pretty sure I was not the cause of it," Petal said slowly. Lily nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"I'll talk to the queen and see if I can buy you some time. In the meanwhile, you best try to use any other abilities other than smelling lies," Lily said as she turned to leave their shared den. Petal could only nod and watch her mother leave.