"Wake up! Wake up!"

Meadowhawk's voice tore through Shiver's slumber.

"Come on! It's our hatching day! We gotta go! Oh, wake up!" the HiveWing huffed.

"Up!" Aether yelped, raising his head. "I'm up."

"We're all up now," Dusk grumbled.

"You should be! We gotta go!" Meadowhawk said. "Come on!" The HiveWing turned and raced out of the cave.

Shiver stretched, spreading her wings out as wide as she could. Shaking herself off, the IceWing followed after her siblings, though keeping quiet.

"They're alive," Frog joked as the group walked into the main cave.

"Happy hatching day, guys," Goliath smiled. Atlas rushed to hug him. The SilkWing chuckled, holding the younger close.

"Thank you, Goliath." Starseer dipped his head.

"Sit now, all of you," Frog said. "I've got a surprise."

The dragonets hurried to their table, awaiting their gift. Frog walked over with a tray, setting it down. The tray held ten small chocolate cakes.

"Ooo!" Atlas grinned, grabbing for the tray.

"Only one for each of you," Frog said. The dragonets each took one cake.

"Where did you get these?" Shiver asked.

"Up north in Sanctuary," Frog answered. "This lovely SkyWing runs a cake shop."

"You went all the way to Sanctuary?" Chestnut gasped.

"Ah, they thought nothing of it," Frog smiled. "Just another MudWing, to them."

"You arrogance worries me, sometimes," Farcaller sighed.

"It is not arrogance!" Frog huffed. "I'm not an enemy to them, might as well use that to my advantage. Besides, it's not like I was followed."

"Kids, never listen to this dragon ever," Farcaller said. Frog scoffed.

"Mmm. They bought us treats. I'll listen to them until the end of time," Aether said. Frog smirked at Farcaller.

Shiver took a bite of her cake, immediately overwhelmed by sugary rush of flavor. Small bits of frosting stuck to her scales, which she quickly licked away.

"Thank you, Frog," Boulder smiled.

"Of course," Frog smiled, tapping their nose. "Now eat up. Once you're all done, we're heading out to the lake."

"YAY!" Meadowhawk cheered.

"And after that, we're going hunting," Aardvark smiled. "We'll have a big feast tonight!"

"I love feasts!" Aether smiled.

"We'll catch so much prey!" Dusk smirked. "It'll be the biggest feast in the history of feasts!"

"I'd sure hope so!" Frog chuckled.

Once the dragonets finished their cakes, they gathered by the tunnel leading to the entrance. The Guardians took the lead, heading up to the entrance boulder. Frog gripped at the boulder, slowly shoving it aside. The MudWing peaked their head out of the tunnel, scanning the forest in front of them, before checking the sky. After a painful few seconds of waiting, Frog turned their head back to the group.

"It's safe," they announced.

Shiver stepped out onto the soft grass, along with the rest of the dragonets. Cascade scurried under the trees, Chestnut hurrying after him. Beautiful's scales shifted to blend more with the environment.

Every journey outside was always a bit nerve wracking. Any dragon seeing dragonets of all tribes together would immediately recognize them as the Dragonets of Destiny. And any dragon could be looking for a reward, a corrupt royal, or someone who just wanted to watch the world burn. All of those dragons would be more than happy to capture or kill the dragonets.

The group made there way down to a small lake that was close to the cave. Aardvark did another quick check of the sky before giving the dragonets the signal to move along. Cascade rushed for the lake, diving in almost immediately. Boulder jumped in after him, sending a large spray of water everywhere around them.

Starseer stepped into the lake more gently, paddling after the others. However, Aether leaping in next to him sent him tumbling away.

"AETHER!" Starseer shrieked over the water. The SkyWing hollered with laughter.

Atlas paddled beside Aether. "Race you!" he smirked. Aether growled and hurried after him.

Chestnut waded into the water and turned on her back, spreading her wings out. Floating on the surface of the lake, the LeafWing soaked up rays of light from the sun. Meadowhawk, meanwhile, sat beside Goliath at the shore, dipping their talons in the water.

Shiver watched the others roughhousing in the water, not entirely feeling up to whatever games they were playing. She did however spot Beautiful laying in the sun and decided to join her.

The IceWing headed over to where her sister was laying. The RainWing's normally dull, grey scales now gleamed vibrant shades of blue, green, and purple. Shiver rolled onto her back and spread her wings on the opposite side of Beautiful.

"Sunning yourself?" Beautiful asked.

"Apparently," Shiver nodded.

"Never took you as the type," Beautiful snickered.

"Go eat a slug," Shiver huffed. She had to admit, though, the sun felt nice on her spotted scales. The warmth made her feel calm, at peace.

This is very much not IceWing-like, she thought. But no matter. While she was living away from the Ice Kingdom, she might as well take advantage of the sun, she supposed.

Shiver turned her head, watching her friends in the water. Chestnut was still floating, as if he didn't have a care in the world. The others were apparently playing SeaWings and Scavengers, as the group was trying to avoid something swimming around (Starseer, she figured, as she didn't see him anywhere).

It was a bit funny to think that these were the dragons meant to save the world, playing around like all the problems in the world had melted away. She couldn't blame them, though. Whatever made them feel like their lives were slightly normal.

Shiver sometimes wondered about this whole plan the Talons of Peace had come up with. There wasn't a prophecy backing them up like there had been hundreds of years ago. But with enough spreading the word, suddenly the continents were convinced that the Dragonets of Destiny would save the day once again.

She didn't know how. This war felt too complex to put an end to so easily.

The IceWing turned her head back to the sky. The clouds were thin and spread out, gliding slowly through the sky. Shiver sighed, closing her eyes and imagining the Ice Kingdom. Despite the sun shining on her scales, she could picture a cloudy sky, releasing a gentle snowfall upon her. She imagined the frost beneath her, the soft snow slowly piling up on her wings. Oh, how desperately she wanted that fantasy to be a reality.

A spray of water suddenly snapped her out of her dream, as well as Beautiful's cry of surprise.

"Atlas!" the RainWing hissed.

"Quit laying around!" Atlas said. "We're playing another game! Come on!"

"You asked for this," Beautiful huffed. She jumped up and lunged at Atlas. The SilkWing screeched as he was pulled under the water.

Shiver sat up a bit, watching Atlas hurry back to the surface, paddling away from Beautiful. The RainWing looked over at her. "Come on!" they smiled, heading after Atlas.

"Mmm, but that's over there and I'm over here," Shiver sighed, laying back down.

"Oh, get your tail over here!" Dusk huffed.

"Go bother Chestnut!" Shiver said.

The dragonets turned to the LeafWing, still floating off in the distance.

"Is she asleep?" Starseer asked. Dusk paddled over near Chestnut before raising his arms and crashing them down, sending a large wave that knocked Chestnut over. The LeafWing let out a shriek that was quickly garbled by the water.

"Dusk-" Boulder started.

"What do you want!" Chestnut hissed.

"We're gonna play a game," Dusk said. Chestnut smacked her tail over his head. "Ow-"

"Take your game elsewhere," Chestnut huffed, turning to climb out of the lake.

"Now look what you did," Starseer huffed. Dusk turned and hissed at him.

"Hey, play nice over there!" Aardvark called. Dusk merely huffed in response.

"Come on, Shiver!" Cascade begged. "It won't be the same without you."

"All your other games are just fine without me," Shiver scoffed.

"Please?" Boulder frowned.

"Ah, she's too dignified for us anymore," Aether sighed jokingly. Shiver shot up in an instant.

"I'll show you dignified," the IceWing growled, leaping into the lake. The others hurried away in fear as Shiver roared, swimming after them.

"Alright, alright!" Starseer shouted. "Enough messing around. I gotta explain the rules."

"Boring!" Atlas groaned.

"Shut your trap," Starseer huffed, whacking the back of the SilkWing's head with his tail. "So one of us is trying to catch the others, but you have to have your eyes closed. We find each other by roaring. If you roar, we have to answer back."

"This sounds just like SeaWings and Scavengers," Cascade commented.

"Well it isn't," Starseer said. "Now, there's no peaking, no going underwater to open your eyes.. and no turning invisible!" He looked over at Beautiful, who raised her arms innocently.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Atlas sighed. "So who's gonna be it first?"

The dragonets glanced amongst each other, but didn't say a word.

"Well don't everybody shout at once," Starseer grumbled.

"I think Shiver should go," Dusk smirked.

"Me?" Shiver huffed.

"Yeah, for never hanging out with us! This is your punishment," Cascade smirked.

"Oh boy, I spend time with you for two seconds, and this is how I'm treated," Shiver sighed, thought still swam to the center of the group. She closed her eyes and turned to where she believed Starseer was. "Now what?"

"You just roar, and we'll answer back," Starseer said.

"Try not to be too loud!" Goliath added from his spot beside the lake.

"Got it," Shiver sighed. She opened her jaws to let out a small roar. Immediately, she heard different roars from all around her. Shiver turned and started swimming in one direction, prompting someone in front of her to start flailing and paddling away.

That's gotta be Atlas, she thought. Only he would panic like that.

The IceWing hurried after the noise, determined to catch her brother. However, when the splashing faded, and it was only the noises of her own paddling that filled her ears, Shiver came to a stop. She turned and roared again, studying the roars that came around her.

She could point out what she guessed were Beautiful and Boulder closest to her. Shiver turned and rushed toward them. She could hear Beautiful's giggling clear as day as the RainWing paddled away from her.

Shiver wondered if games like this could help her with hunting. Especially in the Ice Kingdom, where practically every animal blended in with the pale environment. Maybe playing with her friends wasn't actually useless after all.

No. No. IceWings don't train like this, she reminded herself.

Shiver roared once again. The second she heard a roar almost right behind her, Shiver turned and practically lunged in the direction. The IceWing crashed against a larger dragon, earning a loud yelp. Aether!

Atlas broke out in laughter. Aether turned and hissed at him.

"Still too dignified for you?" Shiver smirked.

"Oh, stuff it," Aether huffed, pushing her away with his wing.

"Now you've gotta be it," Starseer said.

"Yeah, yeah," Aether sighed.

The game was surprisingly more enjoyable than Shiver figured. She found herself squealing in excitement when trying to escape from one of her siblings. She became more focused on catching one of the others as quick as she could. Even Chestnut eventually joined in when they started a new game, one that involved quitting a clump of leaves and sticks around (one that Goliath had wrapped together with his silk).

When the sun was past its peak, the dragonets had gathered in the grass, letting the bright rays of sunshine dry their scales. Shiver rested her head on Starseer's back, Meadowhawk curled up under her wing. The IceWing couldn't be more happy, under the sun and cuddled up with her siblings.

"Maybe tomorrow, after studying, we can do down into the dark tunnels again," Aether suggested. "Look for treasure."

"The Guardians said to stop going down there," Beautiful sighed.

"So? There's a bunch of gems and stuff down there," Aether said.

"We can wake up early so the Guardians won't know," Atlas suggested. "We'd be back before they wake up."

"You guys just love getting into trouble huh," Shiver sighed.

"That's kind of our thing, yes," Atlas nodded.

"No, it's not our thing," Starseer huffed. "It's just you, Aether and Dusk's thing."

"Cause you all are teacher's pets," Atlas said.

"Are not!" Beautiful frowned. "We just don't make upsetting the Guardians our favorite thing to do."

"Teacher's pets," Atlas smirked.

"You're a teacher's pet," Meadowhawk huffed.

"Enough fighting," Boulder sighed. "All you do is fight."

"We don't fight," Atlas said. "We bicker. Very different things."

"Not really," Shiver said.

"Eat a worm," Atlas huffed.

A loud roar from across the lake signaled the dragonets to look over. Frog motioned for them to head back. Shiver quickly stood and tried step out from the pile, though ended up tripping over Cascade, who yelped in surprise.

"Race you guys!" Aether smirked, lifting off.

"Hey!" Shiver shouted. "That's- That's not fair!" The IceWing scrambled away from Cascade and chased after Aether.

The dragonets made their way across the lake, back to the Guardians. Meadowhawk landed her talons down first, Aether following right after.

"Beat ya," Meadowhawk smirked.

"Yeah well-- That's just because you're small!" Aether huffed. The HiveWing chuckled.

"Alright, alright," Aardvark interrupted. "We're gonna split into groups, now. Beautiful, Atlas, you're gonna go with Goliath to collect fruits. Cascade, you'll be going fishing with Dolphin."

Cascade ran over to his mother's side. Shiver flicked her tail. Mama's boy.

"Aether, Boulder, you two will be with Frog," Aardvark continued. "Starseer, you're with Farcaller. Chestnut, Meadowhawk, you're with me. And then Shiver and Dusk will be with Diamondback."

Shiver looked over to the hybrid. His expression was unreadable behind his obsidian eyes. He was always weirdly ominous, though. Shiver went to join him, as well as Dusk.

"We'll meet back at the cave to store our finds, then we'll come back outside to watch the sunset," Frog smiled.

"Sounds like a plan," Farcaller nodded. "Let's head out."

Diamondback turned and headed off into the forest, Shiver and Dusk following close behind.

"What are we going after?" Dusk asked. "Goats? Mountain lions? I think I could take a mountain lion pretty easily."

"No, we're not hunting mountain lions," Diamondback said. "We're going after deer."

"Oh. Deer works too," Dusk nodded.

"Good. I know a spot where a herd gathers to graze every day," Diamondback said. "We're heading there now."

Shiver and Dusk followed after the hybrid, Dusk going on about previous hunting missions he'd been on (as if they hadn't heard those stories thousands of times by now). Eventually, Diamondback spread his wing in front of the two, bringing them to a halt. When he drew his wing back, Shiver looked out to find a large valley, full of grazing, unsuspecting deer.

"Woah," Shiver gasped. "I never even knew this was out here."

"You gotta bring us places more often," Dusk huffed.

"Yes, we'll- see about that," Diamondback said. "Now, when we fly out, they'll obviously start running. I'm going to fly ahead and block their path, and you guys pick a few off."

"Sounds good," Dusk replied. Diamondback waited for a moment, before bolting off, the dragonets hurrying after.

Shiver could already hear screeches coming from the herd as they started running. Diamondback rushed ahead of them and landed in front of the herd, send them scattering off to get away from him. Shiver managed to pierce one with her claws and catch another in her mouth. She looked over to find Dusk chasing after one of the deer, two of them already left dead in his path.

When the herd had escaped, the three dragons gathered in the center of the valley. Shiver dropped the two deer she had caught, Dusk was dragging his three over, and Diamondback dropped one deer he managed to catch.

"Yes, this should do nicely," Diamondback nodded. "I'm sure the others have caught a plentiful amount as well, so this is it for today."

"Can we hunt again tomorrow?" Dusk asked.

"Well you- We'd have to discuss with the others," Diamondback explained. "Yes, you know how they are about bringing you outside."

"I wish they weren't like that," Dusk sighed, picking up two of his deer. "We spent the whole day out here and nobody caught us. We're fine." The SandWing lifted off into the air.

"That's the way things are," Diamondback called, picking up his share and spreading his wings. Shiver followed after him.

The sun was beginning to cast its pink shadow onto the clouds. The air felt cooler on Shiver's black and white scales. She noted the way Diamondback's pale scales now looked almost pink, and the way Dusk's normally dull, speckled scales were practically glowing in the last few rays of the sun.

Eventually, Shiver soon spotted the rest of the group sitting on a cliff near their cave. Diamondback was the first to land next to Farcaller, while Shiver and Dusk landed by the rest of the dragonets.

"Took you long enough," Frog commented.

"Oh, hush hush," Diamondback huffed. "We're back in one piece, that's all you should be worried about."

"This sunset better go quick," Dusk commented. "I'm starving."

"Oh, he's dying. What ever will we do?" Aether smirked. Dusk turned and hissed at him. Aether hissed back.

"Boys," Dolphin huffed. The two looked up at her. Shiver rolled her eyes.

"Pay attention. You'll miss it," Goliath said. The group quickly looked back out to the sky. Shiver studied the environment below them. The vast, endless forests stretched on for miles. The IceWing noted a flock of birds off in the distance, soon disappearing behind the large peaks that stuck out of the earth like a dragon's claws.

The sun's rays shone over the mountains, illuminating the land in a bright glow. Shiver noticed the way her friend's scales glittered in the light. The way Starseer's normally pitch black scales (and his weirdly bright purple belly) were now shining as bright as the stars. The way Beautiful's colors were shifting and shimmering in glorious ways. The way Shiver's own scales, that she hated so much, for once glimmered like like the ice and snow of her home.

The sun soon sank beneath the mountains, leaving the sky pink and the clouds dark. "Let's head back inside and start cooking," Goliath said.

"Right. Come along, now," Frog agreed, turning to head back inside.

Shiver sat in her place as the others started back toward the cave, soaking in the last amount of enjoyment for the outside world. Who knew when she'd be out here again. The IceWing took a breath, the last breath of fresh air she'd take for weeks, maybe months.

"Shiver!" Cascade called. Shiver turned and hurried after the others, heading inside.

The dragonets handed their catches off to the Guardians and went to sit down. It took a while to cook everything, but soon the table was set with all kinds of foods. Fish, cow, deer, goat, fruits, and so much more. It truly was a feast fit for royalty.

"I hope you all had fun today," Dolphin smiled as the dragonets dug in.

"It was the best!" Cascade giggled.

"It was. Thank you," Starseer nodded.

"We're glad," Goliath smiled.

"Let us go outside more often!" Dusk whined. "We can handle it."

"Now, you know we have to be careful," Frog said. "Today was fun, but very risky."

"We were fine, though," Aether said. "We spent the whole day outside and didn't get caught once."

"They do have a point," Aardvark commented. Dolphin nudged them. "What--"

"Please?" Atlas frowned. "We'll be extra careful."

"Perhaps we'll have to think about it," Farcaller decided. "Today did go better than expected."

"Is that a yes?" Dusk smiled.

"I suppose, if you all are careful, letting you outside more often wouldn't hurt," Farcaller smiled.

The dragonets quickly erupted in cheers. Even Shiver found herself excited. She loved the sky, she loved the wilderness outside. She couldn't wait to see it all again.

And then there was a crash by the entrance.

The dragons snapped their heads up. Shiver's heart nearly stopped, the IceWing practically frozen in place.

"Tunnel. Now," Goliath hissed. The dragonets scrambled away in an instant. Shiver glanced back to see the Guardians hurrying toward the entrance, all except Diamondback. Why wasn't he doing anything?

The group hadn't even made it to the tunnel by the time they heard an explosion of roars from behind them. "Go- RUN, GO!" Aether shrieked, sending the dragonets sprinting down the cave. Shiver found her legs carrying her faster than they ever had before. They needed to get out of there.

The dragonets had been found.