Doom looked around the small cave, gazing at her sleeping arrangements. On one side of the room was a deep hollow filled with warm, bubbling mud that let out the faint odor of rotten eggs. On the other . . . she stepped closer to it, prodding the fluffy white mass with her tail. It felt like . . . fur? But what could this come from? Surely not . . . Polar bear?

She turned and went to the open door. Was this really her nest In the distance she heard the scrape of talons followed by the trail of worried thoughts. Did she like it? Hope she doesn't mind. It was such short notice and Clay was desperate to find something . . . Doom shook her head, throwing up a mental wall before stepping into the hallway.

"Changbai?" He looked at her, worry evident in his contradictory warm blue eyes.

"Yeah? Is everything all right?" 

"I hope so. It seems like your bedding is in Sepia's and my room."

He looked at his talons, as if he'd noticed something particularly fascinating on them. "Umm . . . kind of?" She blinked at him, finally understanding the thoughts she'd heard coming down the hall. "There wasn't enough time to find out your preferences and Clay was really worried that you wouldn't like it here." He offered up a sheepish grin, "I just happened to have a surplus of blankets . . . you know how parents can be . . .so I offered to lend you some. This was before we actually knew what you'd be like, but . . ." he shrugged.

"Thank you."

The Icewing looked mildly surprised, but quite pleased. "See, that's where you and Fearless differ. He . . . he acted as if everything was his to take." When he smiled it reached his eyes, "You're welcome." Then her turned out of the cave, vanishing as abruptly as he'd appeared.

What? She shook her head again, sighing deeply, and sat down on the soft furs. They were amazingly plush, and as she rested her snout down among them she realized that the hairs were clear - hollow in fact. 

As she closed her eyes she slowly let the walls around her mind fade, the quiet thoughts acting as a soothing background for sleep. It was refreshing how happy everyone seemed far from the Nightwing village. After a while Sepia came in, settling into the mud pool with a faint squelch. 

Tomorrow I'm going to work on my landscapes. I wonder if I can carry an easel out front. hope the weather's good. . . Wow, I really do need to paint my clawmate. With the white  contrasting her blue-black scales . . . A gentle snoring from across the room told Doom that Sepia had fallen asleep. Doomsayer began to listen to the other dragons.

I don't want to go to History. The cave is so creepy, and  Pronghorn said they were haunted.

. . . if she thought I was funny. I couldn't tell . . .

I need to go see Stonemover. Could he help train me? He'd certainly be better than Whirlpool . . .

Relaxed, Doom imagined the wind brushing their thoughts away, turning mentally to her own memories. What a bizarre winglet . . .