Edited - May 22, 2024

"Come on Peacemaker! You'll be late for your first day of school!" Hope shouted.

Peacemaker rolled his eyes. He knew classes didn't start until an hour later, but he grabbed a last talonful of blueberries and dates and flew out the door.

"Do I have to go to school?" Peacemaker whined, still chewing. "I like being with you."

"Yes, we talked about this a lot of times, Peacemaker," Hope sighed. "Think of it. Moon is a helper there. You will make friends!"

I don't want friends! I want my mother!

Peacemaker fell silent. "Mom, how come I never see Daddy?" he asked.

Hope froze. Because he was the handsomest, bloodthirsty traitor.

"Because he– isn't here," Hope said cautiously.

She's lying.

"We should get going, do you think you can fly the whole way there?" Hope asked.

Peacemaker nodded, spreading his wings. Seeing the rainbow scales always made him angry. It seemed like everything made him angry.

"Do you still remember the things I taught you?" Hope asked, mid-flight.

Peacemaker sighed. "Address the teachers politely, no roughhousing, and don't give out any personal info."

Hope nodded, pleased. "Oh, look, that's Jade Mountain. We're here."

Gliding into a spiral, Peacemaker followed her mom down to the entrance.

"Hey! Is this Peacemaker?" A yellow dragon asked.

Hope nodded. "Yup, nice to see you, Sunny!"

"Great!" Sunny's smile hurt Peacemaker's face. "Let's see.. You're enrolled in flight training, history, hunting, herbs and healing, music, and small group!" Sunny exclaimed. "Whoo, that's a lot. And– your is the Jade winglet. I'll show you your clawmates, and your den," Sunny said.

"Then this must be my cue to get going," Hope said anxiously. "Be good, Peacemaker!"

As Hope left, Peacemaker felt scared, angry, worried for his mother. "Come on, Peacemaker!" Sunny said. "Today is an exploring day, so no classes. Do you know how to read?"

"Yup," Peacemaker said in a small voice.

"Great," Sunny said. "There'll be banners all over the place telling you about the school," she explained, leading Peacemaker into the school. "On the right is our main office, where you can ask questions of any sort. On the left is the library, which Starflight runs."

"Is he a Nightwing?" Peacemaker asked.

Sunny nodded. "He's really nice, and he's blind."

Peacemaker's eyes widened. "How does he know which scroll a dragon needs?" he asked, curious.

"He knows what the title of every scroll is by running his claw over the title," Sunny said. "No one knows why."

"Hey Sunny," A SeaWing that was heading their direction said. "Is this Peacemaker?"

Sunny nodded. "Peacemaker, this is Tsunami. She's the head of the school."

N–nice to meet you," Peacemaker stammered. "Can I go to my den?" he said rushingly. He was desperate for some space. Tsunami scared him.

Sunny widened her eyes. "Sure. Down the hall, make a right, the 8th door."

Nodding, Peacemaker ran down the hall and shut himself in his den.