Her village, it was her village. Why did Animosity and Charming lead everyone here?! Why not somewhere else in the Rainforest Kingdom?!

Salamander must've noticed her shock, because she was looking directly at the smaller hybrid with a confused look. "What's wrong?" She asked with a twitch of her ears that in turn made her earrings clink together lightly, making a soft tune of clicks.

"This is my village," she stated as she quickly tucked in her wings to dive down to the forest floor with a light tump and the squelch of mud beneath her talons. She heard a larger thump along with several others as Salamander and several NightWing's landed onto the forest floor. "Where my parents live, along with me and my brother. Why would they lead us here?!" She hissed.

Up ahead she could see the village clearly. NightWing's and RainWing's were coming out of their huts in confusion at the large group of dragons. Two dragons that Lavender recognized immediately were her parents. Strongwings and Orchid, they'd both stepped out of their hut to see what was going on. Then, out came Shadowsplitter. Soon after, Funnel and Sapphire came out as well.

They're all here, she wanted to run up to them and tell them she was okay, but she couldn't. She was pretending to be a different dragon, she was pretending to be a dragonet named Strongmind who was Salamander's Niece through her fathers side. If she were to reveal herself, who knows what would happen.

Another dragon that Lavender recognized was Silentbreath, the old NightWing had his eyes narrowed as he watched the group of dragons land at the edge of the clearing that marked the village.

The old NightWing started to make his way over, his eyes never looking to soften their glare. He soon stopped at the last hut at the village which was Lavender's families hut.

"What is the meaning of all this?" The old NightWing grunted with a shake of his head.

"Silentbreath, What a surprise to see you here." Animosity snarled.

Wait, did they know each other? Lavender wondered as she looked back and forth between the two NightWing's.

"I live here, so there's not much surprise." He snarled with a flick of his tail. "Now, explain what you're doing here, and why you've brought so many dragons along with you."

"Am I not allowed to visit my subjects?"

"Your what?" His voice lowered in pitch with a growl.

"You heard me, or are you to old?" Animosity hissed. "My subjects, which includes you. The NightWing's are rebuilding, we are rebuilding. We're going back to the ways once were!"

"What are you talking about? His is the way things are, we cannot rebuild. We've chosen to be a tribe along side the RainWing's."

"And for what reason? Because we were weak? Defeated?" She snarled. "Not anymore, we will rebuild our once glorious kingdom, and I will make sure everyone is treated equally like it should be!" She roared as her wings flared.

"Animosity." Hissed a familiar voice. It was Strongwings. He was ushering Orchid and the others inside the hut with his wing. "What is the meaning to all this?"

"Strongwings, oh it's so lovely to see you." Animosity's eyes narrowed.

"I would be lying if I told you likewise." Lavender's father's wings twitched.

I've never heard him sound like that, her mind raced as she watched the interaction between her father and the female NightWing.

"Oh please, I know you've missed me, no mater how much you try to deny it." She walked around him, her wings twitching lightly. After she circled him twice, she stopped and looked towards the group of NightWing's. "Everyone can get settled for now. We'll soon be off to inform the rest of our tribe of our rebuilding." She announced.

NightWing's started to make their way through the village just for a small break to rest their sore wings. Those who lived on the village were quick to go back into their huts, at least those who were RainWing's anyways.

Lavender watched until it was just her, Salamander and Silentseer left standing still and silent in their spots.

"You both coming?" Silentseer asked the two of them, but it looked as though he was mainly asking Lavender, his eyes shinning hopefully.

"Um, we'll be coming in a minute, there's something I wanna do first." Lavender have him a smile, trying to hide her confusion towards her fathers reaction to Animosity.

"A-Alright." He nodded before he started to walk off, following after Dooming and Quietmind.

Once he was out of earshot, she quickly turned to Salamander. "We need to talk to my family."

"What? Why?"

"Because! They probably think I'm still missing and we'll need their help. My brother could help us get information on Charming and Animosity. So could my father! It looked as though he recognized her-"

"In a bad way."

"So they can help us! Now come on you lazy lizard." She hissed as she quickly started to make her way towards her hut where her father still stood outside of, watching Animosity walk away with Charming, a glare on his face. His warm yellow eyes glowing as his glasses shimmered in the light that filtered through the canopy, lighting up the Rainforest with a warm yellow glow.

She heard Salamander groan in annoyance before following after the smaller hybrid.

"You're lucky I adore you and find you to entertaining to leave alone."

"Lucky me." Lavender huffed.

It didn't take them long to make it to Strongwings just as he begun to turn around to head back into his hut.

"Dad." Lavender called out to him. She saw him freeze before whipping his head around to look at Lavender and Salamander. His face was confused and hopeful. He looked to focus on Lavender for a few moments before his eyes widened.

"Lavy?"

"Dad!" She couldn't help but rush over to him, her frills fanning out happily as she felt her eyes start to water.

Strongwings opened his arms, and his wings, so when she crashed into him for a hug, her wrapped himself around her.

"You're back! Oh, Lavy, you have no idea how worried your mother and I have been."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She burred her face into the crook of her neck, felling his grip tighten around her as if she'd suddenly vanish if he let her go or even loosened his grip.

"Where did you g- I doesn't matter, you're back home and you're safe." He told her as his talons rubbed up her round spine spikes softly. "And it seems as though you've brought a friend."

Lavender pulled her face from the crook of her fathers neck and turned to look at Salamander who was shuffling her talons in the dirt, looking slightly awkward as she avoided her gaze.

"That's Salamander," she told him as she felt her father let her go so she could stand. She whipped the tears from her eyes with one of her wings. "And she helped me get home." And was part of the reason why I needed to leave the SandKing suddenly, she kept that part to herself.

She watched as her father stood and walked over to the larger Hybrid. He was slightly shorter than Salamander, but hardly, since her frill made her look taller. He held it one talon to shake, and she hesitated before reaching out and grabbing it to shake, but as soon as she grabbed his talons, Salamander was pulled into a hug of her own by the NightWing.

"Thank you, for bringing my daughter back."

Lavender watched as Salamander had a look a pure shock and confusion, as though she didn't know what to do in this situation. It was the first time Lavender had ever seen the fashionable dragon with such an expression. A cute one at tha- wait. NO, BAD MIND!

She shook her frills as her scales shifted from the dark black to their normal purple, but some pink formed across her face and her snout, showing her embarrassment at her thought.

Salamander looked to stutter for a moment as she tried to find her words before she coughed to clear her throat.

"Um, no problem...sir."

"You can just call Strongwings." Lavender's father smiled as he let the hybrid go from his strong grasp.

"Okay," she nodded. "Strongwings."

"How about we all head inside?" Strongwings suggested to the two of them. "There's some dragons who'd be happy to see you Lavender."

She nodded as he lead them inside, holding the door open for the two hybrids to walk inside. Once inside, Lavender was met with the sight of her mother, brother and her friends Sapphire and Funnel.

Orchid was first to spot Lavender, her mother's soft eyes widened as she covered her snot with her talons, her frills twitching before she ran over and wrapped Lavender in a hug. "Lavender!" Her mother's voice filled her ears, a voice she hadn't heard for days. "You're home! If you're finally home! My little dragonet, oh thank the moons!"

She couldn't help but hug her mother back tightly. As soon as her mother and her let go of course me another, she was crashed into by three other dragons.

"Lavender!" Sapphire cried, the small SeaWing hugging her tightly. Funnel had her wings wrapped around the three of them, a comforting warmth radiating off of her scales much like that of a SandWing's.

"You had us worried sick you flying lizard!" Shadowsplitter hugged her tightly in the group.

"I'm back now, so I can bother you more since you seemed to have missed me so much." Lavender smirked as she was able to hug her brother.

"Who's this?" Orchid's soft voice pulled Lavender out of her happy trance to look back at Salamander who had once more looked to feel out of place as she stood by Strongwings.

"This is Salamander, Lavender's friend." Her father introduced the other hybrid as he wrapped his wing around Salamander in reassurance with a kind smile. "She was the one to bring her home."

"Thank you so much for helping Lavender get home." Sapphire smiled to Salamander. The taller hybrid looked to melt at Sapphire's kind hearted smile.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who melts at Sapphire's smile." Lavender smirked.

"What?" Sapphire and Salamander both looked back at Lavender. The older hybrid puffed her cheeks in denial while Sapphire just looked confused with a slight tilt of her head.

"Who doesn't?" Shadow commented with a roll of his warm golden eyes. "So, where in all of Pyrrha have you been?!"

Lavender was released from the group hug and she smiled nervously. "I was chased out of the Sand Kingdom by the Barbed Cobra's and I got lost in the Sky Kingdom." She admitted with a twitch of her frills.

"You what?!" Sapphire and Funnel both shrieked, their eyes widening.

"Yeah, we both got chased out, but I kept her in one piece." Salamander spoke with a shake of her head, probably to stop the ringing in her ears from Funnel and Sapphire's panic. Lavender felt the larger hybrid walk over and wrap her wing around Lavender's smaller frame.

"Oh shush you over grown lizard!" Lavender stuck her tongue out, earning herself a chuckle as the other hybrid did the same.

"So are you two, like, friends?" Sapphire questioned softly as her spinal fins twitched slightly in curiosity.

"Yes."

"Nope." Lavender looked at Salamander who was looking directly back at her.

When she looked back at the group, she saw Shadowsplitter watching them, a smirk forming on his face.

"Oh, it's that kind of friendship."

"Shadow!" Lavender hissed, earning a laugh from the NightWing.

"Well, all that's important is that you're home Lavender." Orchid's voice caught her attention as she looked away from her older brother to look at her mother, the orange and brown coloured RainWing looking happy with a soft smile on her face.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"How about I start setting up some dinner for all of us? I gathered some fruit this morning that hasn't been finished." Orchid tapped one of her claws on her chin in thought as her frills twitched. The RainWing started to make her way into the main room of the hut where the dinner table and her fathers bookshelves were located. "I'm also positive your father had some chameleons stored somewhere, along with a toucan."

"I can help." Funnel offered, the tall SkyWing fallowing after the much shorter RainWing.

"I'll help too!" Sapphire offered as she quickly went after the taller dragons, almost trotting to keep up with their longer strides.

It now was just Lavender, Strongwings, Shadowsplitter and Salamander left. The hybrid looked over towards her father, meeting his gaze.

"Dad, I've got a question to ask."

"Anything dear, what's your question?" He asked as he started to make his way after Orchid, Sapphire and Funnel, Shadowsplitter following behind as Lavender and Salamander slowly tagged along too.

"It looked as though you knew who Animosity was," at that her father and brother stopped and looked back at them. "How do you know her?" She asked.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Strongwing's let out a sigh as he met Lavender's gaze.

"Animosity," he started. Lavender could see Shadowsplitter's wings and shoulders stiffen at the name. "Was my ex wife." Lavender couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She's Shadowsplitter's mother."

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What a wonderful family reunion, don't you think? I think so since it's staring the pot of plot.

This chapter was a bit shorter, but it felt like a good place to wrap up for now.

- MindlessTyper