Storm sat on the patio, her luggage held tightly to her chest. They would be here soon, to bring her to the school. To bring her to her inexscapable doom. She clutched her suitcase closer, as the sun started its journey back down the sky.

She knew that she wouldn't see her family, or her home, for a very long time, and truthfully that scared her. Stormseer squeased the suitcase till she was sure if she squeased it anymore it would break.

Then she saw her incoming doom. Though it was disguised as a group of dragonets flying torwards her house. They swooped down and landed in her front yard, led by a beuatiful, yet feirce looking Seawing. Storm had to beat down the urge to turn tail, and flee.

They all turned to stare at her as she jumped down from the patio, and swooped torwards them, landing a few feet away. She dropped her eyes as their thoughts crowded in. Is that the Nightwing-Seawing hybrid that I heard about? one Seawing thought. Oh look at her, she's so ashamed she can't even look at us, the lowly earth worm. Thought a Hivewing snobbily. Does she really read minds? a Mudwing thought, curious. Why's she so sad? thought a Skywing. Storm raised her head and met his eyes, and he smiled at her crookedly. She cocked her head and smiled back faintly.

"Welcome Storm!" said the Seawing loudly. She guessed this one was Tsunami, the all-to-famous Seawing princess, her mind was like trying to get your ears blown off.

"Thanks." she murmured, not really sure why.

Tsunami nodded, and spun around, strongly lifting off the ground. The dragonets lifted off, following her in their ragged group. Storm fell in behind, and the Mudwing she had heard before, drooped back next to her.

"Hi," the Mudwings said shyly, her name turned out to be Aven. "Can you read minds?" Before Storm could even blink in suprise, she babbled on. "Is it true your mother tried to escape the kingdom of the sea, killing all dragons she met on the way out? Oooohhh, is your father blind? Are you rich? Does your father ever talk about your mother? Oh, and who do you have a crush on?"

The deep blue hybrid just blinked, stunned by the torrent of questions. Aven seemed to be waiting for her to anwser, her mind comfirming that. "Um, yes. No, because my mother did flee, but with no death," she said slowly, planning her words carefully."No, he can see perfectly, and I don't know very many dragons, so I don't have a crush." She ended, letting her wings relax, and nearly fell out of the sky.

Some dragons in front of her snickered quietly. She glared at them feircly, then projected words through her mind to theirs, something she had learned she could do only about a year ago.

'Stop laughing if you know what's good for you.' she projected angerly, with an internal growl. The dragons stop snickering, and their eyes were suddenly as wide as the moons. They started to whisper frantically, flapping around each other like pathetic ducks. Finally they seemed to decide to move to the front of the group, for some, urgent reason.

It was then did Storm realize that the small Mudwing had stopped her babbling. "Was that you?" And Storm wondered if she'd accidently sent the words in Aven's mind too. "Why did the just... leave."

Storm blinked at her, unsure what to say, when, thankfully, Tsunami's voice breaking in, telling them to go hunt for a while, then settle down for the night being.

*             *             *

Storm poked at the fire with a metal stick, poking the small potatoes that Aven had given her before slipping into her tent. Storm's scales reflected the brilliant orange-gold of the flames, seemingly making her glow faintly. The smell of the roasted bore still hung in the air tauntingly, even after after it had been devoured long ago.

Storm glanced the camp, noticing that most of the dragonets had already resigned to their tents, though she noticed that most of their minds were buzzing with fear or excitement, but mostly, both.

She sighed, and dropped the metal poker, rolling onto her back and stared forlornly at the stars that twinkled far above her reach. She would have been at home by now, fast asleep in her own dreams, but she just had to be here, lonely, scared, and wide awake.

She turned her head when she heard a faint rustling in a tent on her right. Tsunami came out, yawning, holding a small cup. She seemed to suddenly notice Storm, and she frowned slightly, before sitting gingerly on the ground next to her.

"What's up?" she said with a friendly smile, her mind worrying if that had sounded to forced.

"Nothing," she mumbled in answer. She really just wanted to tell her, but she wasn't all to comfortable with that idea yet.

Tsunami looked up at the sky, and was first to break the awkward silence between then. "My friends used to imagine that the the stars were shining spirits that watched over us, though we would only be able to see through the sky-hole of course." Storm had heard the stories about them growing up under a mountain, but never really beleived it. "We used to wonder if anyone was really watching over us." Storm looked at her, noticing a far away look in her pale blue eyes.

There was a long pause, before Stormseer spoke. Softly she murmured,"It's hard really," Tsunami glanced at her in confusion, she quickly explained."To be a Nightwing-Seawing, when they hate each other. You don't feel a part of either tribe." She sighed, and squinted at the fire, bringing her wings closer.

"It will all go away, that feeling of loneliness, when you go into Jade Mountain." She pointed out then yawned.

"Yeah, it would be hard to be lonely, with, like a million dragons staring at you." The dark blue hybrid muttered under her beathe.

If Tsunami heard the comment, she ignored it."Alright," She yawned. "I'm going to get some shut eye before dawn." She patted Storm on the shoulder, amist another yawn."You should too." she murmured sleepily.

A long while after Tsunami fell fast asleep, Storm slipped into her tent, oblivious to the neon green eyes watching from the shadows of the trees.