Dinner was once again rather boring, at least to Shiver. The others' conversations didn't interest her much. So as per usual, she stuck to her scroll as her source of entertainment.

"Almost done?" Dolphin asked as she walked over to their table.

"Almost!" Meadowhawk smiled.

"Good," Dolphin nodded. "I want you all to do a bit of studying in the history cave after dinner."

"What?" Aether frowned.

"Mooom," Cascade whined.

"Come on, a bit of learning never hurts," Dolphin smiled.

"We can learn tomorrowww," Aether pouted. Starseer smacked his back with his tail. "Ow--"

"We'd be happy to do some studying," Starseer nodded. Aether glared at him.

"Maybe an extra hour of your precious silent reading, huh? Since you're apparently the boss now?" Atlas smirked. Starseer growled at him.

"Hey, enough," Dolphin said sternly. "There's no need for arguing."

"Yes, Dolphin," Atlas sighed. The SeaWing smiled and tapped his nose.

"Chin up," she purred, her voice soothing as always. "I'm sure you guys will find a away to make it fun. You always do."

"We'll make it the most fun ever!" Meadowhawk smiled. Her joy was cut short when the sound of the boulder in front of the entrance being moved rang through the halls. The cave went quiet in an instant.

"Tunnel," Dolphin hissed. Shiver rushed after the dragonets as they scurried out of the room.

The cave system had a built-in escape tunnel, in case of any emergency. The tunnel lead into the forest, the other end covered by moss. The Guardians had trained them many times how to use it properly, what order to go in (smallest dragonet to biggest), and where to hide once outside.

The dragonets huddled by the tunnel entrance, waiting for a signal to rush through. "There's no way we were found again!" Aether panicked.

"Calm down," Starseer shushed. "It's probably Diamondback."

"What if it isn't?" Cascade squeaked.

"He's the only other dragon who knows where the cave is," Shiver pointed out, sitting up. "Besides the Talons, but they usually give notices before they show up."

"Maybe one of the Talons turned on them! Maybe they gave away our location!" Cascade yelped.

"Hey, hey! That's never gonna happen!" Atlas reassured. "We're safe. I promise."

"Come back!" the dragonets looked up in the direction of Farcaller's roar. "Diamondback is home!"

"Told you!" Shiver said, standing up. The IceWing hurried back to the dining room, followed by the rest of her siblings.

There was Diamondback, gathered with the rest of the Guardians. "You're home!" Shiver exclaimed. Dusk quickly jumped on Diamondback, swatting at his head.

"You took too long!" he growled. "Where did you go? We missed you!"

"Ow- Ow!!" Diamondback hissed. He grabbed Dusk and pinned him on the ground, the SandWing flailing under his talon.

"Good to see you again!" Starseer smiled. "How'd the mission go?"

"Oh- quite well," Diamondback smiled. "We found those IceWings and convinced them to join us. They're at the Talons' camp now."

"That's great to hear," Aardvark smiled.

"So you didn't fight any cool bad guys?" Aether frowned.

"No. No bad guys," Diamondback sighed, walking off. Dusk quickly jumped back onto his feet. "I sure hope you saved a meal for me," Diamondback commented.

"There's a leftover deer no one wanted," Frog said. "All yours."

"Diamondback! Diamondback!" Cascade called, scampering after him. "Mother taught me how to catch prey! I caught a fish! Big fish!"

"Yes, that does sound rather interesting," Diamondback said, taking the cooked deer from their prey pile.

"I caught a frog!" Meadowhawk smiled. "Goliath made me let him go though. I wish I could've kept him."

"I found a snake in the library! He was a nice snake!" Atlas said.

"He was a scary snake!" Chestnut frowned. "All big and icky!"

"I'm- I'm sure you all have wonderful stories to tell, but I'm quite tired after a long few days of flying," Diamondback explained. "I'd like to eat my food and take a nap, please."

"Run along to the study cave, now," Aardvark smiled. "Diamondback needs to rest."

"Alright," Aether sighed. "Let's go!"

The group headed down to the study cave. "What are we learning about this time?" Meadowhawk asked.

"I think we should go over the war again," Chestnut said.

"But we've been over the war a million times," Atlas groaned.

"No, he has a point," Starseer said. "The war is the whole reason we're here. It's important to keep learning about it."

"Oh! Let's act out everything that happened!" Chestnut smiled.

"Isn't that just a game?" Beautiful asked.

"Not a game!" Chestnut said. "We're learning, aren't we?"

"I like this idea!" Dusk smiled. "We're going with it now. We're acting out the war."

"We gotta start at the very beginning," Chestnut said. "Boulder, you're a MudWing, so it's only right that you're Queen Quagmire."

"But-- I don't wanna be the queen," Boulder started.

"Shush," Chestnut said, tapping their nose. Boulder grumbled. "Everybody else can be queens of their tribes. So, we start when Queen Quagmire has a meeting with the Pantalan queens about trade." The LeafWing jumped on a large rock, motioning for Atlas and Meadowhawk to join her. The two sat beside Chestnut on the rock.

"Um- Hello, queens of Pantala," Boulder started. "I've come to discuss trade plans. I think your resources are really cool, and would benefit the MudWings."

"And what resources are you interested in?" Atlas questioned.

"Only your finest silk creations," Boulder explained, "and your amazing plants, and- and the cool things you make in the SilkWing factories. Yeah."

"Seems to me she wants to use us to her advantage!" Chestnut exclaimed.

"Typical Pyrrhians!" Meadowhawk laughed. "Their useless inventions are nothing compared to ours!"

"Ouch," Dusk commented.

"How rude," Boulder frowned. "I mean- Outrage! An outrage! You're nowhere near as strong as Pyrrhia."

"You're just jealous!" Atlas smirked. "Be gone now, you won't get anything out of us!"

"Then she goes to tell the others queens!" Chestnut ordered. Boulder turned to face the others.

"Um- my friends. Pantala thinks we're weaker than them," Boulder said.

"And why is that?" Dusk asked.

"Because their inventions are better than ours," Boulder explained.

"They're full of themselves!" Aether growled. "We will not stand for this! Let's go to war with them!"

"War!" Beautiful shouted.

"For Pyrrhia," Shiver sighed.

"Well, I think your story is flawed," Starseer commented. He paused for a moment, before nudging Cascade.

"Yes! Me too!" Cascade yelped.

"If you attack Pantala, we will become your enemies," Starseer nodded.

"Fine!" Aether hissed. "We don't need you!"

"Traitors!" Dusk shouted, jumping at Cascade. The SeaWing shrieked as the two tumbled over.

"Hey! Leave our friends alone!" Atlas shouted. He lunged toward Dusk, tackling him.

"Wh- Guys!" Chestnut yelped.  "This isn't how things went!"

Shiver watched as Aether seized Atlas, yanking him away. Meadowhawk barreled into the SkyWing, knocking them both down.

"Hey- Hey! Enough!" Starseer yelped. The NightWent to break up the fight, but was tackled by Atlas. "WH- I'M ON YOUR SIDE--"

"TOO BAD SO SAD!" Atlas smirked.

The entire group was cut off by Shiver's roar. The dragonets froze, facing her.

"Knock it off!" she snarled. "You always do this! You turn studying into playtime!"

"She's right," Starseer huffed, sitting up.

"Oh, you two just don't know how to have fun," Atlas grumbled.

"It's not supposed to be fun!" Shiver hissed. "We're trying to stop a war. You act like it's a game!"

"Who spit in your wormmeal?" Chestnut commented.

"We're just just trying to make the best of things," Aether frowned. "You want us to just act miserable all the time?"

"I want you to take things seriously!" Shiver growled. "And maybe learn why things are happening."

"Why are things happening?" Meadowhawk asked. "I mean, was a whole war really necessary over a trade dispute?"

"The queens wanted to keep their dignity," Starseer shrugged. "Besides, it's way more than just a trade dispute now. So many important dragons have died. The tribes are angry, they don't just wanna prove their worth anymore. They wanna eliminate the opposing sides."

"What about the NightWings not trusting Queen Quagmire's story?" Dusk asked. "Or was that just a bit you did?"

"No, that actually happened," Starseer explained. "Queen Lostsight thought Queen Quagmire was leaving details out, and Queen Monsoon tagged along with her."

"All this dumb war stuff," Atlas huffed. "I don't wanna hear about how everyone wants my tribe to go extinct."

"Then you're dense," Shiver hissed. "You're a Dragonet of Destiny, and you don't wanna learn about the war."

"I don't wanna hear about how messed up the world is everyday!" Atlas hissed. "If I'm gonna live under a mountain, away from the war, I might as well try and live happily!"

"Guys.." Meadowhawk frowned.

"What's so happy about any of this?" Shiver growled. "We live under a rock, away from our families!"

"I don't mind living under a rock.." Chestnut frowned.

"Don't get mad at us," Aether huffed. "We're not the ones who took you from the Ice Kingdom."

"Yeah!" Atlas hissed. "Why don't you go tell the Guardians to replace you with some other IceWing if you hate us so much. We'd be better off."

"Atlas!" Meadowhawk hissed.

"Well!" Atlas huffed.

"Good idea, actually," Shiver growled. "Maybe I will." The IceWing turned and walked off, her tail lashing as the dragonets argued behind her.

She didn't actually plan on telling the Guardians to replace her. Much as she wanted out, they had a job to do, a war to end. Shiver wasn't about to give up on that because the rest of the dragonets didn't want her.

The Guardians had long since left the main cave, off to do their own things. Shiver walked closer to the tunnel across the room, only to feel a gentle breeze coming through. That was odd. Had someone left the entrance open?

Shiver quickly hurried down the tunnel. If the entrance was left open, then any dragon could find them. That wasn't good. However, when she turned to corner to the cave opening, she found a dragon already sitting there.

Diamondback.

The hybrid sat in front of the entrance, staring up at the sky. His wings were folded neatly at his side, his tail curled around his body.

Shiver sauntered over to the dragon, sitting next to him. Diamondback quickly looked over.

"Goodness, Shiver," he huffed. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I wasn't sneaking," Shiver frowned. Diamondback sighed.

"What do you need?" he questioned. Shiver merely shrugged.

"Just thinking," she said, looking up.

"You can go think elsewhere," Diamondback grumbled. Shiver flicked her ear. She supposed Diamondback was grumpy a lot of the time. Nothing new.

"I hope we can get out of here soon," she sighed. "I just want this whole war nonsense to be over with."

Diamondback took a moment to respond. "You seem eager to leave," he commented. "Are you unhappy?"

"Not really," Shiver said. "I just wonder, what it would be like to live in the Ice Kingdom. With my family, and actual IceWing friends."

"You and me both," Diamondback said.

"What was it like?" Shiver asked.

"Paradise," Diamondback sighed. "Every morning, we got to hunt in the snow, and every night we watched the auroras in the sky."

"I wish I could've grown up there," Shiver sighed. "Not that- I don't like it here- I just-"

Diamondback chuckled. "You would love it," he smiled.

"How did you end up there?" Shiver asked. "I mean. Pretty sure one of your parents would've froze.."

"My mother. She got very ill a few days after I hatched," Diamondback explained. "We were supposed to live in Possibility, but when she passed, my father saw no reason to stay. So he took me back to the Ice Kingdom. The queen was hesitant to let a hybrid live in her kingdom, but they learned to like me."

"I wonder if my family would like me," Shiver sighed. "Considering I hardly look like an IceWing."

"The tribe accepted me eventually," Diamondback said. "I see no reason why they wouldn't accept you." Shiver only shrugged in response. "Chin up," Diamondback sighed. "Tomorrow is your hatching day.. I'm sure things will be better."

"I guess so," Shiver nodded.

"Run along now. You'll need to be well rested for you big day tomorrow," Diamondback smiled.

"Alright," Shiver nodded, getting up. She turned to head back inside, before glancing at Diamondback. "Goodnight."

"Good- Goodnight, Shiver," Diamondback responded.

The young IceWing headed through the tunnel, making her way back to the sleeping cave.

She supposed Diamondback was right. Tomorrow was a new day, their hatching day. She'd be one year older, one year closer to freedom. Soon, they'd see the world, end the war, and she could live the life she wanted. She was sure of it.