They were here. Quickstrike searched her gaze as she looked down at the town below them.

The town wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. Houses and huts were built from wood and rounded stones. Some houses were built like a wasp hive, up from the ground with mud, smoothed to have smooth roofs like that of an egg. Some were larger, having balconies reaching off of their roof. She had heard of those kinds of homes, they were built by MudWing's, a tribe who almost seemed to be the experts at building anything for a dragon to live in. Just pay them right and you'll end up getting more than you paid for.

There were white pillar homes that rose up like spirals, those were generally housed by SkyWing's, as they preferred living up high and off of the ground. Only the poor lived in ground caves in their kingdom. There were seaweed huts, leather shacks, any kind of simple house was there from any tribe.

Lydia could see the streets bustling with life, dragons from all tribes roaming around, parents with their dragonets skipping around at their talons, trying to walk without tripping over them. Others at stalls selling or buying, a group of dragons were making music with their instruments, but none of them looked to be from the same tribe. Everyone was different. There were clusters of MudWing sibs, flocks of SkyWing's, groups of SandWing's, SeaWing's, every tribe looked to be here.

A sandy path led up to where they were at the edge of the lush treeline, trees filtering out down the hill, bushes clustering together as they stretched down to the town below. The town itself looked to be in a large open valley, surrounded by lush forests that get around it, almost like a border. There were other paths that lead into them, similar to the one she and Quickstrike were on now.

"Well, what do you think my little star?"

My little star, that's what her father calls her, his little star. Quickstrike doesn't have the right to call her that, Charming does, her true father. Not Quickstrike. She wanted to tell him that, to cry, but she held her tongue, but her eyes couldn't hold back their tears.

"Oh don't cry, shhh, don't cry."

Quickstrike quickly unbuckled himself from the cart, making his way beside it, reaching in with his talons to gently grasp the side of her face, whipping away her tears with the soft padding of his palm. His talons were warm and soft, welcoming yet frightening to Lydia. She desperately wanted those to be her mothers talons, her fathers talons, comforting her. Not a random NightWing who believed she was  his daughter when she wasn't.

"We'll get you all settled in, you can rest and then tomorrow I'll take you around the town, I'll show you the best river for fishing, the best trees for fruits, the best sellers and traders. Everything my little Swift."

He's not going to call me by my real name is he? To him I'm just Swiftrunner.

"Now come on," he gave her an encouraging nudge, "do you want to walk with me or stay in the cart for a little while longer till we're home?"

The NightWing dragonet wanted to stay in the cart, but she also wanted to stretch her legs, to get rid of the odd feeling they had. They felt like they were being weighed down by the heaviest stones. Walking should make them feel normal again, she hoped so at least.

"I'll walk." her voice was quiet, nearly a whisper.

"Great, now come along Swift!"

Quickstrike gave her a large smile, going to strap himself back up at the head of the cart. Lydia let out a huff though her parted jaws, weakly standing up with a wobble.

The Princess took a few moments to steady herself before she looked over the edge of the cart, her talons grasping the side fencing along the edge. She pulled herself over, landing on her talons with a light thump. Once she was out, they were on the move, making their way down the path and out of the welcoming shadows of the forest, into the pure blinding sunlight that came from high up above them. The ground was warm underneath her claws, it felt uneven and grounding at the same time.

It didn't take the pair long to be walking down the hill and into town, the sounds of music and chatter filling Lydia's ears. They pinned back against the sides of her head, her earring pressing against her scales. It was one of the few comforting things she had at the moment, aside from the cloak draped across her shoulders and back, clasped together on the front of her chest.

Now that they were starting to walk inside of the town, it seemed so much larger than it had before, full of life and so many different kinds of faces. These dragons weren't just blobs of colour, they were now dragons she could see, make out their faces and their features, what they're wearing, what they're saying and who they're talking to.

It was so loud. So much louder than she was used to back home in the mountains.

Ahead of them was a small group of MudWing's, only three of them. Talking to them was a pair of SandWing's and a RainWing. Not too far from them was a group of dragonets chasing after a ball of woven branches and dried grass. In that group of dragonets was a dragonet who looked to be a RainWing SandWing hybrid, two little SeaWing's flashing their scales happily, a Skying dragonet racing after them, laughter erupting from their jaws.

This town looked so....happy.

There were older dragonets her age, talking loudly with satchels strapped under their wings, full of scrolls and slates.

"Quickstrike!" a dragon bellowed loudly, shaking Lydia from her thoughts with a flinch.

The NightWing beside her must've noticed as he stretched out his wing, resting it over the dragonets shoulders as though he was hiding her away from sight, which helped to put her at ease.

"Don't worry sweetheart," Quickstrike told her softly before looking up to see the dragon who was approaching them with a large smile. It was a large MudWing who's lower canines poked out from his lips like tusks, gold bands wrapped around them, matching a similar thick arm band on his left arm.

"Bullfrog! How've you been? I didn't know you were in town!"

"Oh you know, just stopin' by," the large MudWing laughed, sounding as deep as the bellow of a large crocodile. "I actually brought a friend with me, she's off in the markets right now and I'm looking for something nice for her ya know? The dragons here don't sell their merchandise trying to get all yer gold savings."

He talks really weird, she thought as she watched him. When the large tusked MudWing talked, he would make gestures with his large talons, or even his tail and wings. As he talked with quickstrike, Lydia was able to look him up and down. Bullfrog was a large, dark brown MudWing with thick, heavy set shoulders and large wings, a thick tail that looked as hard as a tree's trunk. His talons were large, his claws thick and dark in colour. There was a dark coloured scar that wrapped around one of his hind legs, almost like he was once caught in a snare trap years ago, the wound long since healed. His horns were thick like those of a ram or bull. His eyes were a warm gold, but his right eye seemed to be more green, a yellowy green.

As she looked at him, their eyes met and she froze, her sines stiffening and spiking up slowly like a panicked hedgehog or porcupine.

"Who's this little thing?"

"This," Quickstrike said,his tone sounding proud as he lifted his wing, "is my daughter, Swiftrunner." The NightWing sounded emotional when he said her name, almost like it was still registering within his head that she was his daughter. Even if she wasn't.

"Your daughter?" Bullfrog shot him a puzzled yet surprised look. "I thought-"

"This is her, I found her after years of searching." Quickstrike reached out, his talons gently holding the sides of her face, moving her head to have Lydia face him., his thumb tracing the scales that went up the sides of her snouts and under her eyes, tracing her markings that matched his own. "And it is her before you say anything. Just look at her markings!"

Bullfrog took a closer look at Lydia as Quickstrike moved her so she was facing the large MudWing who towered over her.

"You're right," he commented as he looked at her face, then reached out with his own talons to grab her much smaller ones, holding them up to his face to get a closer look at them, "she does look like you." he hummed with a nod as he let her claws go, which quickly shot back to be closer to her instead of him. "Where ever she's been and whoever she was with, it looks like they've been treating her well, like a princess. Not a scratch on her scales."

"I can talk to you more about it later,"

"Always being mysterious eh?"

Quickstroke rolled his eyes, "I will tell you that a kind SilkWing found her and knew I was looking for her, he connected the dots and helped me find her."

"A SilkWing?" The MudWing looked surprised, "I've hardly seen any of em since they moved here with those HiveWing's and LeafWing's. It's like they're all hidin' away in those new hives of theirs along the IceWing and SandWing Kingdoms."

"Well they are joined with the HiveWing's-"

"You know what I mean Quick."

"I'm just pulling your tail, you overgrown frog."

Queen Scorpion isn't happy having so much of her territory taken away, Lydia remembered from her lessons with Wiseflight, her tribe needs every oasis and river, and two places have been taken by other tribes. They're really testing her patience. Though Queen Iceberg doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Now then," The older NightWing said, wrapping his wing back around Lydia, tucking her close to his side, "we better be off, my little Swift has had a tiring day and needs her rest. She's a growing dragonet and I'll be showing her around town tomorrow."

"Sounds like a fun day," Bullfrog bellowed, giving Lydia one last look, "get a good night's rest kid, he'll talk your ears off, so you'll need your sleep in order to be able to keep your sanity with this one"

"Hey! I am a delight to be around! Now shoo and go find your sweet love bird you old dork." Quickstrike shooed away a laughing Bullfrog, though he didn't look angry, there was a smile across his face.

They must tease each other a lot then, like friends do.

"Where were we? Oh! Right! Getting you home to get some rest, come along now Swift!"

Quickstrike took the lead, pulling Lydia along, which she moved with hardly any reluctance. As they made their way through the bustling street, Lydia felt like they were being watched, when she looked over her shoulder, she didn't see Fatefinder like she was hoping, only seeming to confirm that he might've just been her imagination.

Though, as she turned away, to focus back on the path ahead of her, she swore she saw someone turn their head in her direction to watch her go, but she didn't look back a second time to double check.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The first place Quickstrike took her once he brought her home, was her room. It reminded her of her own room back in the mountains. The room was round, the walls looking to be made of trees growing around them, the roof painted like pink leaves, tiny stars speckled across the ceiling, made with a fine brush. Along the walls were bookshelves filled with books and scrolls, neatly kept with some toys laid across the top on display.

Along the base of the shelves were more toys, some carved of wood to look like animals and other dragon tribes, some painted and some plain yet polished. There were also stuffed animals and dolls, mostly of NightWing's, but there were other tribes there as well. Above the shelf was a circular window with thin bars of rounded wood, crossing over the glass space, splitting it into four sections. It casted a funny shadow when the sun shone through it, but it wasn't bad.

There was a nest like bed, filled with soft blankets that were thick yet very light, there was one blanket that felt heavy and weighted. All of the blankets had a similar pattern to one another, a colour palette of black and brown with hints of a copper or maroon colour, with gold stitching that shimmered in the light. One blanket looked to have a rose pattern stitched onto it, each petal made with care and love. There was another thing that Lydia noticed about each blanket, there were five of them, each a size larger than the last.

Almost like they were being made for a growing dragonet throughout the years, she thought, holding the smallest of the blankets It was the perfect size for a hatchling, large enough to barely fit a dragonet who was a year old.

"Your grandmother made those for you."

Lydia looked back at Quickstrike who stood in the doorway, a happy and emotional look in his eyes, his ears pinned down similar to the way Lydia's does when she's emotional.

"My..." she swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked at him, her grip on the small, soft blanket tightening, "my grandmother?"

"Yeah, she made all of those, the dolls too." The NightWing nodded his head towards the shelf where the dolls and toys were, "She would make you so much each year, a blanket and a few dolls. It was her way of showing that she had hope for you, hope that you would come home."

"She made these for me? For all these years?"

"She did," he nodded as he made his way over to sit down beside her, his wing wrapping around Lydia like a blanket. "She loves you, just as much as I do."

She didn't want to think about what could've happened to this dragon she had never met, was she dead? Is she still around? Was it rude to ask? She didn't know, all she knew is that this NightWing she had never met, who has never met her, loved her dearly. Her heart felt like it was being torn in two. On one side, she felt overwhelmed with love and affection, a feeling of belonging, but on the other side it felt wrong, wrong to feel this way.

"Is she...?" Lydia didn't want to finish her own sentence.

"She's still alive," he must've known what she was asking, his wing tightening around her, "you'll be able to meet her, you'll even be able to meet my brother."

"Brother?"

"Yes," Quickstrike smiled as he looked at her, "you have an uncle." he almost seemed overjoyed to say those words. "A grandmother and an uncle!"

A grandmother and an uncle, she knew what those were, but she didn't have any of her own. Charming didn't have any siblings, he told her it was hard for his parents to have even one dragonet as his father was a hybrid, a RainWing SeaWing hybrid, while his mother was a NightWing. Hybrids had a harder time having dragonets compared to dragons who were purely one tribe. Lydia didn't know what happened to his parents, but she never had the courage to ask.

Animosity never told her if she had any aunts or uncles from her side of the family, never told her about her own parents, so in Lydia's mind, her only family was her mother Queen Animosity and her father King Charming. No one else, just the king and queen and their one and only daughter, the heir to the throne once they were gone.

"You should get some rest," he broke the silence that filled the room, it wasn't an unwelcome silence, it was just silence, "we've got a big day tomorrow." he shook her lighty, gently, in excitement. Like a parent getting his dragonet excited for a present they would receive on their hatching day. With that, he stood up, pulling his wing back to his side. Quickstrike went to the window, pulling the soft and short curtains to cover the circular window, making the sunlight that filtered through tinted a darker shade, making the room turn a warm organe.

Before he took his leave, he reached out and grabbed one of the sown dolls, a little NightWing made of soft string and fabric, its eyes were painted black beads that were smooth to the touch. He held it out to her, letting Lydia take it. It was a simple doll, yet one that held so much detail, care and love.

"Goodnight my little sundrop."

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

When Lydia opened her eyes, she felt confusion and panic flood through her mind, her body tensing and becoming stiff, her talons clenching, gripping the blankets she was surrounded by with such force she was afraid they would tear under her own claws. The NightWing dragonet didn't remember falling asleep, yet here she was, in bed, surrounded by soft blankets.

The room was dark, a small streak of moonlight filtering through the wavy curtains that fluttered in the slight breeze.

Wait, she felt panic grip her body once more, that window was never open.

Her scarlet red eyes shot back towards the window, watching the curtains flutter and move softly in the wind. It looked so innocent, yet it made primal terror swarm through her body like she was a mouse being hunted by a monster in the shadows. She remembered that window being closed, sealed shut. It was too small for a fully grown dragon to fit through, but if someone her size frized their hardest to squeeze through with their wings pressed painfully against their sides, they could make it through. It would be tough, but they could do it. That thought only seemed to freak out the princess more.

Should I check it out? Should I go over to the window? Maybe I should get Mom and Da- Quickstrike, maybe I should get Quickstrike, her ears pinned down against the side of her head when a stronger gust of wind blew through the window, giving her a clear view of the town outside and the moonlit sky. She could only see one of the moons, but she knew the other two were out there. Mom and Dad aren't here right now.

Lydia moved slowly, standing up inside of the nest of blankets. Once she was out, she made her way towards the window, putting one talon in front of the other, moving slowly and quietly, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. She didn't want to get any closer, but she also didn't want to go get Quickstrike to check it out.

She sucked in a breath, come on Lydia, you can do this! What's the worst it could be? Her mind didn't need much more convincing than that to think up every possible scenario that ended badly. Shouldn't have thought that.

The NightWing dragonet made her way closer to the window, her breath trapped within her lungs as her jaws clenched tightly shut. Once she made it to the window, she took a peak outside and her heart dropped, her blood going ice cold.

Follow the torches.

Thump Thump Thump Thump.

Lydia's heart pounded within her ears as her eyes refused to look away from the open window. The voice was back, it was back. It was back for her. Was this another dream? Was all of this a dream? Maybe she would wake up back in the comfort of her own bed, her parents coming to wake her up with warm smiles on their faces, telling her how much they loved her and how proud they were of her.

But these dreams, no, these nightmares were hard to wake up from. Unless she followed the torches.

The NightWing dragonet felt terrified, she didn't know what to do as her body continued to keep as still as possible like a scared mouse, her sides rattling with each breath she took. Lydia should go get Quickstrike, but she didn't. She stayed where she was, her scarlet red eyes staring so hard at the window as though something would lunge through it any second now and grab her.

She could feel a soft breeze fluttering through it, the curtains swaying gently, almost like they were trying to welcome her or encourage her forwards like a scared animal, trying to be as non threatening as possible.

Lydia took a few more steps closer, her movements slow with hesitance as it tried to pull her back, trying to make her run back and hide under the soft blankets in her bed. Wait, no, she shook her head, it's not MY bed, my beds back home and this isn't home.

If I'm hearing the voice, this must be a dream, she realized, her body starting to relax from its overly stiff state, but even those are scary so it's not the best reassurance.

Lydia sukced in a breath through her parted jaws, the air feeling cold against her teeth yet refreshing against her tongue. She could do this, just take a peek outside of the window and it'll be fine. I am Princess Lydia of the NightWing's, she moved closer, reaching up with the thumb of her wing to gently brush aside the soft curtains, I was born with a destiny, a destiny to save my tribe.

She remembered her mothers words ringing throughout her head as she pulled herself up to the window with her talons, feeling the cool night air brush over her black scales.

Fear Nothing.

She peeked her head out the window, seeing the small town surrounding her in the cover of night, lit up by the sparkling silver moonlight, making everything look to glow. It didn't look bad, it actually looked somewhat normal.

The world outside didn't look scary like she thought it would. It actually looked fairly beautiful. The blanket of dancing stars above making the sky look alive.

Follow the Torches

The voice softly hissed in her ear, so light it sounded like nothing more than a breeze, but she still heard it and it still made her shutter, her spines shaking and heart rate quickening again. Lydia looked around outside, but she didn't see any torches, none at all, not even the glow of any nearby. The only light she could see was the silver light that shone off of the stars and the moons.

"Follow the Torches," she whispered back to herself, her body seemingly moving on its own as her wings tucked themselves tightly against her sides as she started to try and squeeze through the window, "maybe I can find them-"

POP

She let out a light shriek as she tumbled out of the small circular window, her wings flapping wildly like a spooked birds. The grass was soft against her scales, but the landing was not. "Ow," she whined, but as soon as her complaint left her lips the dull ache seemed to fade away into nothing more than phantom pain, like they hadn't even been there in the first place.

Lydia let out an unamused and tired snot from her nostrils as she shook herself out, standing up on her own four talons. "Okay Lydia," the NightWing dragonet told herself as she looked up and down the path, trying to decide which way to go first. "Faster you find the torches," she looked up the path that led over towards the hill that she and Quickstrike had come down from when they first arrived at the village, "the faster you'll wake up."

Follow the Torches.

The princess started to make her way over onto the path, the worn down ground feeling smooth and dusty, everything felt so different from what she was used to. She missed the familiarity of the smooth and cold cave floor. Sure, grass felt nice, really nice against her claws but it also felt weird. She did like how it made the ground softer though, almost like a free cushion to walk on.

A small breeze fluttered across her scales, making her eyes narrow slightly to block it as it felt a lot colder against her eyes.

Follow the Torches

She continued to follow the path, walking through empty stalls, and now that she looked at them, they didn't look as though they had been packed up like most were once the stall owners were done.

They were just...abandoned.

Lydia slows down her walk, stopping to look at one of the stalls.

It was decorated in cloths and hanging tapestries that looked to tell stories through the sewn art. Across the table were piles of folded up ones, made into neat squares, each one was a different colour and all looked to have different designs.

But one tapestry caught the young NightWing's eye.

There was a hanging tapestry, its colours were dark, the center growing lighter in colour, sewn on patches that looked to be torches were surrounding a dragon in the center. It was hard to tell what the background was meant to be, but that wasn't what she was focusing on. What she was truly looking at was the dragon sewn onto said tapestry. There was a NightWing with warm, dark black scales. Their talons, face and tail were a pink-ish red colour, but their talons looked to have been dipped in scarlet red blood, the rich colour matching those of the dragon's eyes.

Follow the Torches

The NightWing in the tapestry with scarlet red eyes had her talons over her chest, her wings flared out as she looked to be falling, but there was something else that made Lydia's heart stop when looking at the tapestry. Sticking out of the NightWing's check was a spear, a log wooden spear that was embedded inside of her chest, blood splattering out of it like a blooming flower.

Thats, she felt her heart rate quicken even more, making her feel as though she were running, me.

The dragon on the tapestry was her, it was Lydia, that was her on that tapestry, her falling body with a spear sticking out of her.

"Lydia."

She whipped around as she heard someone say her name behind her, she barely caught a glimpse of them before she felt a blinding white pain strike her below her ribs with enough force to knock her backwards.

"GASP"

Her eyes shot open as air flooded her lungs, the pain within her chest below her ribs faded away into nothing more than a phantom ache, dissolving away into nothing like she hadn't just been stabbed with some unknown object. Lydia laid there for a few moments, taking everything in around her.

The NightWing princess was back in her room surrounded by soft blankets that had been made for her by Quickstrike's mother over the years. The room was warmly lit with the early rays of the sun's morning light, the texture within the walls becoming more defined in the golden rays that filtered in through the curtains.

It was all a dream, she felt an overwhelming amount of relief wash over her like a cold dip into the cave rivers that flowed through the tunnels back in the mountains.

The warm coloured NightWing looked over towards the window, her eyes staring at the curtains as though she could see right through them and at the window on the other side. It was closed, she knew it was closed. The curtains weren't moving, so it wasn't open.

I'm awake, she sucked in a deep breath, holding it within her lungs for a few seconds, I'm no longer dreaming, she let it out. I am awake, she repeated the process again, I'm no longer asleep, no longer dreaming.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Sweet pea," Quickstrike's voice came through the door, the silver knob turning to open the door, "rise and shine!" The older NightWing peaked into her room and when he saw that she was awake, he gave her a warm smile, "goodmorning my little shooting star!"

Lydia tried her best to not wilt at the nickname, it made her think of her father Charming.

Quickstrike walked over towards her and gently grabbed her chin, lifting her head up slightly. He looked at her for a few moments, emotions swarming inside of his warm amber eyes. The NightWing seemed to be taking it all in again, that he found his missing daughter.

He shook his head before tapping her snout with one claw, a warm smile on his face. "Today I want to show you around the town, so come on and get ready."

Lydia's stomach felt like it were flipping, she hated this, but she didn't know what else to do so she silently agreed, nodding her head stiffly. That seemed to make him smile even more as he pressed his snout to her forehead, a comforting show of affection between dragons and their dragonets, but to Lydia it didn't feel that way.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The town was just as busy as it had been the day before. Dragons from all tribes roaming around, chatting to one another loudly, some singing together with instruments and others laughing with their friends or family. Everyone just looked so happy, in comparison to Lydia at least. She felt scared, being in such a lively place. She had her cloak back on, the thumbs of her wings hanging onto the silver hoop clasp that kept it together across her chest. The hood was pulled up over her head, helping her at least a little with the blinding light of the sun that shone brightly high up in the sky.

Qucikstrike walked beside her, his wing resting over her gently with reassurance, holding her close as they walked. It was something Charming would do when they walked the long winding hallways within the underground tunnels.

"So Swift," Quickstrike started, pulling Lydia out of her numb trance, 'the town is mainly split up by rings."

The scarlet eyed dragonet looked up at the older NightWing with her head tilted in confusion, "Rings?" she asked with a flick of her ear that had her silver chain earring hanging from it. The metal was cold like always, comforting, like a safety net.

"It's how some dragons describe where things are placed in areas. Some call them sections but here we call em rings." he hummed as they walked, his thick tail dragging on the ground behind them while Lydia's was stiff behind her. "In the centre of town is the founding fountain, it's what this town was built around when it was being founded as a MudWing village."

"A MudWing village?"

"It was long ago when territories were still first being established, SkyWings wanted to claim all of the mountains and their Queen would do anything to get her claws on the territory, even trying to lay claims in nearby swamps where MudWings resided." Quickstrike told her as they turned down a corner after walking past some stalls with dragons setting up their markets for the day. "They would invade nearby villages, raiding them of their food and supplies while also kidnapping their dragonets."

"Kidnapping dragonets?" that felt all too familiar to her, but she didn't want to compare this to what those poor MudWing dragonets had to have gone through.

Quickstrike's wing tightened around her, as though making sure she was still there.

'They would hold them hostage until the MudWing queen at the time agreed to give the SkyWing queen her mountain territory. Some didn't like this though, so a group of MudWings decided to build a village right outside of the SkyWing's new territory. It was a rebellion, and some SkyWings didn't like it so they built a town of their own on the other side of the border. Because of the MudWings bravery and pride this town is here today as one of the most diverse towns in all of Pyrrhia."

I never learned this back home, she thought as they continued their journey through the lively town, but Wiseflight was going to teach me more about Pyrrhian history so maybe this was one of the lesions she had planned for me.

Quickstrike continued to tell her more stories about the town, but Lydia was stuck within her own head in a trance.

If this village was founded by MudWing's, that means I'm close to home. This place is basically on the border, She was going through everything Wiseflight, Animosity and Charming had taught her, her mind racing so much that she hadn't realized they had stopped walking. I know that home is by Claws of the Clouds mountains and if this is the border, then it should take a few weeks give or take to find my way home, faster if I can get my talons on a map and pinpoint landmarks.

Lydia felt a burning feeling in the side of her neck, not one of pain but the one someone would get when they're being stared at by someone. A kind of sixth sense some say. One that can save a dragon's life in the right situation. She toned back into the world around her, Quickstrike was talking to someone, when she looked around him she could see he was talking to a merchant who looked to be selling leather strap replacements and leather strands wrapped up like rope.

The merchant was a SandWing, his talons looked worn and rough, probably from his work or work he had done before becoming a merchant. She noticed he wasn't the one looking at her as he was focused on Quickstrike.

Maybe it's just my imagination.

She looked away from Quickstrike and the merchant, looking around at the other few stalls, some of which were still getting ready for the day. As she was looking around with her eyes, she spotted someone, someone looking at her.

It was a MudWing with cold brown scales, almost the colour of dirty stones governed in dried mud that had been poorly washed off by the rain. Her eyes were as cold as ice, even with them being the colour of the sun, they just looked so cold. Their horns were curled at the tips, pointing up to the sky, hanging from one horn was a silver chain attached to two thick bands, each having a spike that curled like that of an IceWing's claw. Wrapped around the MudWing's neck was a thin necklace that held onto what looked to be teeth, the teeth of dragons.

The MudWing was just staring at her with a look within her eye that Lydia couldn't identify, but she knew it wasn't good as it sent a shiver down her spine, making her spines stick up and rattle.

"Hello!"

"AH!"

Lydia jumped out of her own scales as she whipped back around to stare at the dragonet infront of her. He was odd looking, his head tilted to the side as his icy blue eyes. He looked to be an IceWing, but his scales didn't look right. Instead of a shimmering white that sparkled with all kinds of colours underneath, his scales were as black as night with an odd shimmer to them. The scales started to blend into a pearly white at his neck, his face was all white, like a normal IceWings. The dragonet looked thin, not unhealthy or starving thin but just naturally thin with sharp cheekbones and pointy ears.

His eyes were black with sharp icy blue irises. Running up along the sides of his snout were smooth scales similar to those Nightwings have running along their faces and under their eyes, but his tampered off at the very edge of his eye, not going past that point to meet up with his neck scales.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you!"

"Uh," she winced a little as she watched him, "we?"

"Yes! We!" He nodded with a kind, closed eye smile, "Moonglobe!"

"Moonglobe?"

"Mhm!" he nodded again as he looked at her. He was taller than Lydia, she probably only reached about to his chin, if she were to sit on her hind legs however then she would be able to look at him eye to eye. "Moonglobe, our name. What's yours?"

"My name?" she asked as she looked back over towards where the dull coloured MudWing was, but she wasn't there anymore. It's almost like she wasn't here to begin with.

"Yeah! Everyone has a name."

"Um," she shot a glance over towards Quickstrike, the NightWing still had his wing wrapped gently, yet firmly, around her as he was looking at a rope of leather within his talons. He did look to be finishing up as he was asking about a price. The NightWing princess looked back over towards the odd IceWing, Moonglobe. "Lydia."

"Lydia? That's a new name!"

"A new name?" This dragon is strange, she thought as she watched him give her a nod.

"A new name," he told her with a twitch of his slender wings, "a name Moonglobe has not heard before. We like new names, easy to remember."

"How would new names be easy to remember?" Lydia had a hard time understanding this odd dragon, but she had to admit she was curious about him. Why dose he talk like that? Why dose he look funny?

"Moonglobe remembers names by faces!" he smiled with a clap of his talons. "New name means new face! Lydia means your face, Moonglobe means our face." Moonglobe said as he pointed to her with one of his serrated talons before pointing towards himself.

"You explaining to Swiftrunner how new names work, Moonglobe?" Quickstrike's voice piped up from beside Lydia. The older NightWing seemed to be finished with purchasing the leather rope from the merchant, the rope neatly packed away in his underwing satchel.

"Mhm! New names are fun, I like Lydia's name."

"Lydia? No Moonglobe you silly dragonet," he laughed as he reached over to ruffle the odd IceWing dragonets spines, "Her name is Swiftrunner."

"Swiftrunner?" He tilted his head in confusion, "No, she said Lydia?"

Quickstrike looked at her with a confused look before it seemed to click, "Oh," he huffed lightly, "Was that the name you were given?"

Lydia felt frozen as she looked up at Quickstrike, a feeling of guilt swelled up inside of her for not saying anything, but he never asked. He just called her Swiftrunner as though that were her name, even though it wasn't.

"Well," Quickstrike broke the ever growing silence with a light huff that was similar to a laugh, "why don't we all talk about this another time? I still have to show you all around town my little shooting star!" Lydia quietly nodded her head as Quickstrike tugged her along, waving one wing to Moonglobe who watched them leave.

Moonglobe waved back, a big, closed eye smile on his face as he watched them go.

As Lydia watched him, her spines shook as she swore she saw Fatefinder standing beside the odd looking IceWing.

The feeling of being watched confined to follow her, and Lydia didn't know anymore if it was a real dragon watching her, Maybe that MudWing wasn't real.

or a dragon from her own imagination.

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Lydia's not having a fun time is she?

But hey! At least we now are introduced to Moonglobe! He's a fun little character and I've been excited to introduce him. I was planning on introducing him sooner, but nows as good of a time as any right?

- MindlessTyper