The Next Generation, Book 1: The Beginning

Blurb
Many years after The SandWing War succession and Darkstalker's terror, the Dragonets of Destiny can finally settle down, and have families.

Glory and Deathbringer have a dragonet named Princess Firefly, Tsunami and Riptide have a dragonet of their own Watersprout, Clay and Peril have a dragonet named Copper, and Starflight and Fatespeaker have their own named Emeraldclaws. Even Sunny.

But, things aren't that peaceful yet. There's an assassin in Jade Mountain Academy, and the new dragonets must stop them before it's too late.

Prologue
Four years ago..

Two bright, full, speckled moons floated in the sky. A golden SandWing and NightWing dragonet with no barb on her tail stood in the darkness and grabbed her stuff. Tonight, she was going to drop off some materials in Possibility for Doctor Mayfly and her assistant, Meerkat.

Even though she never heard of Meerkat, nor Mayfly, the two had requested they bring them some medicine and materials.

The nearly grown hybrid dragonet grabbed the herbs in a jar on the far left shelf of her room. She exited, making sure to not wake up her friends, but then bumped into the familiar ocean, dark blue scales of her friend, Tsunami.

"Oh," said Tsunami with a tired grin, her sleep deprived eyes lighting up. "I didn't know you were up this late, Sunny." The SeaWing dragonet looked at the herbs in Sunny's talons. "Herbs for the two mysterious dragons?"

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I might as well get it to them earlier than expected." She looked at Tsunami with a small grin. "How's your long distant relationship going with Riptide so far?"

Immediately, her friend looked flustered. "Eh.. going good I guess." The SeaWing dragonet looked away. "Why don't you get those herbs to this doctor and her assistant, eh?"

The SandWing NightWing hybrid dragonet giggled. "Of course." Sunny trailed away from her embarrassed friend, and neared the exit of Jade Mountain Academy. Quickly, she opened her wings, and took to the night sky.

Sunny flew over the small homes of Possibility. Soon, she spotted a small hut with a large sign on the roof with the words "Healer Hut" in red.

Gracefully, she landed in front of it, and knocked on the door. Hopefully, whoever was in here, didn't mind Sunny's knocking.

It was silent for a moment, and then the door creaked open, and Sunny's eyes lit up unexpectedly. A handsome, young looking SandWing with pale yellow scales and deep amber eyes with a scar running down his shoulder stood in front of her. This must be Meerkat.

"Hi, you must be Sunny!" He whispered. He nudged the door open. "Go inside. Mayfly's asleep, but I wasn't. I was watching over a patient."

She giggled quietly, and stepped inside, the sound of a door closing behind her. It was pitch black, and Sunny could barely even see. But, she soon heard the sound of shuffling, and soon spotted Meerkat with a small light in his talons.

"Come on," Meerkat whispered. She followed him closely, right by his side with herbs in her talons. They both arrived at a small table with chairs surrounding them in the darkness.

Sunny set the herbs down, and looked up at Meerkat. "Are you..?"

He nodded. "Yup! I'm Meerkat." He flicked his tail toward a chair. "Sit down if you want, Sunny. I can get you some tea if you'd like."

The almost fully grown SandWing NightWing dragonet sat down in a chair in the darkness. Looking across the table, she watched Meerkat sit in front of her. For some reason, Sunny didn't know why, but she couldn't stop staring into his amber eyes.

"Are you okay, Sunny?" Meerkat questioned. Sunny looked away in a surprised and embarrassed manner. Is this what Tsunami felt when she met Riptide? Or how Peril met Clay?

Wondering whether or not her brain was working, Sunny placed a talon on Meerkat's. Though, he didn't pull away, but squeezed hers softly.

Meerkat seemed flustered. "What's this feeing, Sunny?"

She looked into the SandWing's deep, amber eyes. "I don't know," she whispered. "But, I feel something special between us, that I can't explain."

Chapter 1
Four years later.. Sunshine brightly shone outside of Jade Mountain Academy. Even though they were inside, the orange and yellow lamps flickered through the windows.

A sky blue SeaWing dragonet stood close to his mother, Tsunami, and his father, Riptide. The dragonet knew he wasn't technically leaving his mother, but he would be leaving Riptide.

"Are you ready, Watersprout?" Riptide said cheerfully with a smile, his eyes lighting up. "You'll be staying at school with your mother, and making friends!"

Tsunami rolled her eyes. "You don't have to act like that, you know. You're going to miss Watersprout anyways." She looked at her dragonet. "Hey, at least you're staying with me."

Letting out a sigh, Watersprout said, "Can I go now?" He looked at Riptide. "I'll miss you."

His father chuckled. "I knew you always liked me better than Tsunami." Riptide didn't look at Watersprout's mother, but Watersprout caught an offended and playful look from his Tsunami.

"Plus, you'll meet Brightclaws!" Tsunami burst out. "She's Sunny and Meerkat's dragonet. Oh, and there's Emeraldclaws, Starflight and Fatespeaker's dragonet, Princess Firefly, you can already guess who she is, and Copper!"

Watersprout let out a sigh, and quickly departed from his parents. He walked towards a female black NightWing with purple underscales, two small, silver teardrops near her eyes, and had midnight-black, scales with deep blue, magenta and indigo coloured underscales.

"Hello, fellow student!" The NightWing dragoness exclaimed, giving Watersprout a welcome scroll. "I'm Fatespeaker! What's your name? I need to know it because of your Winglet!" She then pulled out a list, setting the scrolls aside.

He tipped his head, then sighed. "My name is Watersprout, and my parents are Riptide and Tsunami." He nervously gripped the sky-blue amulet around his neck.

Fatespeaker nodded. "Alright, Watersprout! Your Winglet is the Jade Winglet. And, nice! You'll be with I and Starflight's daughter!" She passed him a map. "Here ya go! Enjoy your stay!"

The sky blue dragonet sighed, and opened his map. Following the directions to his Sleeping Cave, avoiding the Prey Center, Art Cave, Music Cave and History Cave, Watersprout arrived.

When he arrived, Watersprout spotted a large, brown MudWing stand in front of him, having a limp leg. Beside the MudWing, was a orange, flame colored SkyWing with sky-blue eyes. And underneath the grown dragons, was a MudWing- SkyWing?- with brown scales of no color Watersprout had ever seen before. These dragons must've been Clay and Peril, and their only dragonet.

"Heya!" Clay said to Watersprout, gently pulling him towards Peril and the dragonet. "You must be Tsunami and Riptide's dragonet. I remember when you were just an egg!" He smiled, and flicked his tail to the brownish red dragonet. "That's I and Peril's dragonet, Copper."

Copper waved, and Peril placed a talon on her daughter's shoulder. Strangely, the dragonet didn't seem to flinch in pain by the dragoness' firescales.

"Go on in, Watersprout and Copper," Peril said. She pushed the two towards the entrance of their sleeping cave(not Watersprout though, she just made a waving motion like she WAS pushing him), and Watersprout's scales pressed against the SkyWing-MudWing hybrid, and realized they felt a lot more warmer than a usual dragonet's scales.

The first thing the SeaWing prince saw was a dark purple RainWing- NightWing?- lying in a hammock. The circles on her neck were a bright yellow, like the sun, and her eyes were green. Her horns were pale gray, along with her beak, and she had a flower crown dappled over her horns. Star-like markings laid on the frills near her ears, and her wings.

Beside the dark purple RainWing dragonet, was a goldenish SandWing with dark brown eyes. He was shorter than the dragon beside him, and his claws were unusually curved, like long, twisted daggers. Other than that, there were  no other dragonets except the other two dragonets, Copper, and Watersprout.

"Hello!" The dark purple dragonet said, bouncing over to them. She shook Watersprout's talon, which made his cheeks turn slightly pink. "I'm Princess Firefly! A RainWing-NightWing hybrid! I'm so happy to meet you!" She flicked her tail to the SandWing. "And that's Hyena. He's a prince and all, but all he does is talk about his 'father."

''Hyena? ''Watersprout said. ''Why didn't Tsunami mention him? ''He looked into Hyena's cold, dark brown eyes, and saw rage burning inside them. He felt chills go up his spine.

Copper rolled her eyes. "Well thanks for welcoming me." She walked over to Hyena, her bright, hazel eyes narrowed with annoyance.

The RainWing-NightWing hybrid dragonet huffed, then looked at Watersprout. "Well, who are you? If someone tells you their name, at least tell them your name, too!"

He gulped, glancing away nervously. "I'm Watersprout. My parents are Tsunami and Riptide. Copper's parents are Clay and Peril, and let me guess. Your parents are..?"

She nodded quickly. "Queen Glory and King Deathbringer!" She looked over to Hyena and and Copper. "Hyena's parents are Sunny and Meerkat. I bet he loves being the grandson of Queen Thorn, and the son of Princess Sunny, but really? All SandWings are boring, having their heads in the clouds, and only thinking of jewelry and themselves."

How rude can this dragonet be? Watersprout rolled his eyes, and got onto a stone bed, wrapping a blanket made of thick fur around him.

Watersprout was ready to end the day already. His sky-blue amulet glowed under the blankets like it usually did. After all, it was enchanted by his six year old aunt, Princess Anemone.

Chapter 2
"Bong, bong!"

The ringing of a large bell shook in Watersprout's ears. He jerked up, and nearly fell out of his stone bed, the thick blanket thrown to the side.

Watersprout glanced around, and saw Firefly at the doorway. She waved her talons, dark purple scales blending into the pale shadows. "Come on! We'll be late for Group Discussion Class!"

"What's that?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes as he walked up to Firefly. But the RainWing-NightWing hybrid only shrugged, and they both walked quickly to a cave. Watersprout was surprised she didn't even looked at his glowing jewelry.

Inside, was three rounded, tables made of rock in the middle of the classroom. Racks of scrolls leaned against walls, and lamps filled with fireflies hung at the ceiling. Watersprout saw most of his clawmates sitting down at one of the tables, other dragonets at the other two tables, who he's never seen before, and his mother, Tsunami, at the front of the classroom.

"There you are, my lazy seaslug!" Tsunami said, obviously teasing Watersprout. He could hear giggling from the back of the classroom, and groaned with humiliation, his scales glowing with embarrassment, and he made his way toward two empty seats with Firefly.

Finally sitting down, Watersprout looked at Tsunami. She was grinning at him, then said, "Now, why don't we all introduce ourselves? Who would like to go first?"

Immediately, everyone raised their talons.

"Pick me! Pick me!"

"No, me!"

"I'll gladly go first!"

Tsunami was silent for a moment, then she pointed at a dragonet who wasn't raising her talons at all. She was a small, skinny SkyWing dragonet with white scales mixed with shades of pink near her back, and she had sky-blue eyes. Her snout was curled like a fish hook, she wore a few golden rings, wore a golden necklace around her neck with a large ruby inside curled around her neck, and she had a crown laying atop her head.

"You!" Tsunami shouted, smiling. "Why don't you go first? What's your name and your favorite color and one fact about yourself?"

The SkyWing looked confused for a second, then leaned into the ear of one of Watersprout's clawmates, Prince Cliff (who he had learned about by the loud talking in his ear when he was trying to sleep). There was silence, then Cliff spoke up. "Her name is Princess Cloudheart, and her favorite color is coral pink. I'm her brother; she's mute."

Tsunami tipped her head. "Really? I've never seen a mute dragonet; especially if they're royal." She glanced away, then pointed at a SandWing dragonet with pale, yellow scales mixed with shades of brown. She had dark maroon eyes, a missing horn on her right, and had a brown satchel thrown over her chest. "Why don't you go next?"

The SandWing dragonet smiled. "I'm Silverbill!" She announced. "My favorite color is blue, and I was sent here by Queen Thorn herself! What an honor!"

Watersprout's mother smiled. Before you knew it, she called on everyone, including him, and everyone was done answering. The bell rang, and everyone walked out of the classroom.

He glanced around, his tail flicking. He looked at Prince Cliff. For someone who was described to be immature and small by Tsunami(who heard it from Peril), he was tall, and sturdy, had dark red scales, and a long neck. He hardly looked like what Tsunami described him as.

"Watersprout, come on!"

He looked up and saw Firefly. "We have to go to Music Class, sea slug! Hurry!"

Quickly following behind, Watersprout caught up to Firefly. They both trotted towards a cave, with a sign next to the entrance with the words "MUSIC CAVE" in big, red letters. Watersprout guessed this was necessary, because APPARENTLY NO ONE KNEW THAT IT WAS THE MUSIC CAVE BECAUSE OF ALL THE RACKET COMING FROM IT.

Firefly had already entered inside, but all Watersprout did was peek inside. He saw a group of dragonets gathered by the chest of instruments, Cliff and his sister, Cloudheart, Silverbill next to a pale gray NightWing, and a dark blue RainWing with a mint green ruff. But the thing that caught Watersprout's eye the most, was a sky blue IceWing with a twisted snout and burnt hindlegs, playing the drums.

After what seemed like a minute, Watersprout walked in. No one looked at him other then the IceWing with her cold, black-and-white eyes. She quickly looked away and continued to play the drums.

"Do you need anything?" Watersprout asked. He walked towards the IceWing, tipping his head.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to someone," she murmured. "No one likes disable dragonets apparently. They can't do anything important I guess." She looked at him, blinking. "I was also wondering about your amulet; it's glowing."

"Oh," he said, putting the sky-blue gen of the amulet in his talons. "It's animus enchanted by my aunt Princess Anemone. It grants me nothing but shiny scales."

She seemed to glare at him. "We once had an animus, named Prince Arctic. He was our last, and thanks to one singular NightWing, we have no animuses." She continued to tap at the drums. "Though, it was only her fault. I don't see why my tribe hates ALL NightWings."

"Oh," Watersprout said, rubbing the back of his neck. He then looked at her. "What's your name? Mine's Watersprout."

Her face seemed to light up. "Kea. It's nice to meet you, Watersprout."

"While this is cute and all, but I need to talk to Watersprout."

He and Kea turned to see Firefly, looking at them. Kea nodded, as if she was dismissing him, and waved goodbye. Watersprout was pulled over to the music chest full of instruments.

"By the three moons, what do you want?" Watersprout sighed. "Or did you want to show me something?"

Firefly rolled her eyes. "I do want to show you something, but it's important, I swear." Her purple talons dived into the music chest, and pulled out something. Something that shouldn't be there.

An obsidian dagger, with what seemed dried blood on it.

Chapter 3
Watersprout's eyes widened. He managed to catch himself before he tripped over a harp, laying on the ground. What the..

"Exactly," Firefly said, as if she read his mind. She observed it slowly, and tried wiping the blood on her talon. Only a little scraped off. "The blood must be old, but new at the same time."

"I believe we should show that to the teachers."

Firefly and Watersprout turned to see Hyena. He toward above them, his long neck was like a SkyWing's, and his scales were a golden sand color. He had dark brown markings under his cheek, like freckles. His cold, dark eyes were the only thing Watersprout had remembered about him.

"Hand it over." The words slithered out of his mouth like a snake. His talon extended, signaling for Watersprout to give it to him.

Jerking away, Watersprout glared at Hyena. "I'm going to give it to Sunny. Why don't you come? She is your mother after all."

Hyena let out a barked laugh. "She isn't even close to being my mother! Plus, she has my ignorant sister, Brightclaws. She only needs her." He looked away. "But, I'll come."

Firefly, Watersprout and Hyena then left the Music Cave and walked through the hallway. They passed the Prey Center, History Cave and library until they reached the Headmaster's Office. There, they found Sunny sitting down at a chair, with a golden dragonet at her side, talking to Peril.

"Mrs. Sunny?" Watersprout asked. She and Peril turned to him, and he continued. "We found something that could be hazardous."

Peril looked at the three dragonets, then moved away, making sure not to set the scrolls she was next to on fire. The golden dragonet looked at Hyena, who he was glaring at, and ducked under the desk.

"What is it, Watersprout and Firefly?" Sunny asked, not paying any attention to Hyena, who seemed slightly hurt by how he winced.

Sliding the dagger across the desk, Watersprout began to explain. About where they found it, and how the blood on it was new.

"Thank you for telling me," Sunny smiled. She opened a drawer and put the dagger inside, then closed it. "Now, go back to your class. You're about to start lunch."

They all waved goodbye, and walked out of the door. Hyena was walking towards the Prey Center, and Firefly was already ahead of Watersprout.

Watersprout sighed, and walked to Hyena. His eyes were narrowed and he looked mentally exhausted.

"Are you okay, Hyena?" Watersprout asked.

"I'm fine," Hyena sighed. "My mother hates me. She always spends time with Brightclaws, and my father Meerkat can't spend time with me because he's busy with the clinic."

Why are you telling me ''of all dragons? ''"I'm sorry," Watersprout said. He flicked his tail. "You don't have much friends either, do you?"

The mostly SandWing dragonet shook his head. "Copper is busy with Silverbill and that NightWing." He looked disappointed. "She probably thinks I'm a disappointment. That's what everyone at the Sand Kingdom thought."

Watersprout patted the back of Hyena's neck. "I never had much friends either," he murmured. "I can be your friend if you want."

Hyena's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Sure," the SeaWing dragonet said. And for the very first time, Watersprout saw Hyena smiling.

Chapter 4
Finally, Hyena and Watersprout arrived in the Prey Center. There was tables that were shaped like rectangles, the chairs being connected to them, a large area dedicated to hunting, and a door that had a sign above it. The letters were written in red, and it said, "Hunting Classes".

"Come on," said Hyena. The two walked over to Firefly, who was sitting down and scarfing blueberries into her mouth. They both sat down next to her.

"Finally!" Firefly said, nearly spitting the chewed up blueberries onto Watersprout. She then swallowed, looking at them both. "So, what was that about? You guys were going as slow as sloths."

Hyena let out his barked laugh. "We were just talking, you blubbering camel. And plus, I need to get some food." He walked off, his tail swishing.

"Oooo," Firefly teased. But she quickly stopped. "So, who's dagger do you think that was?" she asked. "Maybe a dragonet? Or one of the teachers?"

Watersprout rolled his eyes. "It was probably left there because someone forgot it was there. But who knows. No one can hurt anyone now."

Soon, Hyena came back with a few lizards and a fish he gave to Watersprout. They both ate the delicious meat (well, Watersprout wasn't so sure about the lizards).

"Anyways," Hyena said, picking at meat in between his teeth. "I was wondering about your amulet? I saw it glowing last night."

"Oh," the SeaWing dragonet said. "It's enchanted by my aunt, Princess Anemone."

He smiled at Watersprout. "Cool."

Soon, the day was over. Stars shone through the window, and crickets outside chirped. Everyone was fast asleep, except Watersprout.

He didn't know why, but he couldn't fall asleep. Maybe a walk through the dark could help him? Or maybe-

CRASH!

Watersprout jerked out of his bed. He glanced around his sleeping cave, only seeing the outline of what he guessed was Prince Cliff and Hyena upright in their beds, also seeming surprised.

"What was that?" Hyena hissed through the darkness, getting up. "I'm going to go check it out."

"Wait," Watersprout whispered. "You'll need me. My scales can glow in the dark, and it'll be easier for you to move without bumping into things." He imagined Hyena nodding in the darkness, and then his scales lit up, not too brightly. He and Hyena waved goodbye to Cliff.

They both walked in the hallway. Watersprout stayed close by Hyena's side, scared something would happen to his new friend.

"Look, over there," Hyena said, pointing to something shiny at the end of the hallway. They both walked over there, and saw something that should've been put away.

The dagger that they gave to Sunny. With drops of blue blood on it.

Chapter 5
Watersprout got closer to Hyena. "That blood..! It's.. new!" The drops led to the Music Cave. Watersprout had to make sure someone wasn't hurt!

They both began to follow the drops, the blood drops getting bigger and soon forming puddles of blue blood. The Music Cave door was wide open, and the two had no choice but to enter.

Glancing around, Watersprout saw a burnt foot sticking out of the dark. He forced himself to shine his scales brighter, and saw Kea, injured, her breathing slow.

"Kea!" he shouted. He leapt forward, and looked over his shoulder to look at Hyena. "Get help!"

Hyena nodded, and ran off. A few minutes later, Clay and Sunny walked in (Watersprout was surprised on how Hyena got his mother's attention). Sunny lifted Kea up Clay's shoulders, and the adult MudWing quickly ran towards the infirmary.

"How did you find her again?" Sunny asked, kneeling down next to Watersprout, her moss green eyes soft.

"We found her after we heard a loud crash in the hallway," Watersprout said. "Hyena and I walked towards the noise, and saw the dagger you put in your drawer. It had blue drops on it, which eventually formed puddles as we followed it's trail. There, we found Kea, injured, and her breathing was slow."

Sunny nodded with understanding. "She'll be fine, Watersprout. How about I let your Winglet take a break tomorrow? You can join any class you want to at any time."

Watersprout looked at her, and nodded. "That would be nice, Mrs. Sunny. Thanks for your help." He watched her get up and walk off, and he looked at Hyena, smiling. "Thanks."

The SandWing looked away, embarrassed. "I only did what you asked me to."

"Do you want to go back to our Sleeping Cave?"

Hyena shook his head. "Honestly, I just wanted to take a quick walk outside. I like to look up at the stars at night; that's why I chose my bed near the window."

Watersprout nodded. "I'll come with you, if you want."

"You need rest, Watersprout. I don't want my friend to be tired in the morning."

"Alright," Watersprout said, walking off. He trotted through the darkness to his Sleeping Cave, where the others already were.

When he got back, he saw that Cliff was still awake. But, soon, he fell asleep, along with Watersprout.

Chapter 6
Cold wind swept through the window of Watersprout's Sleeping Cave. He tried burying himself under his warm, thick blanket, but he could still feel the wind pressing against his sky blue scales.

"Urgh," Watersprout murmured. His stomach was yowling louder then a jaguar. He hadn't eaten much since yesterday; all he had was a fish and a few berries before lunch.

Glancing around, Watersprout rose up. He stared out the window, and saw the pale gray morning sky. He must've woken up early, because Firefly, Cliff, Copper, Hyena and an IceWing named Crescent, who had pale blue scales and wore a silver bracelet.

He rubbed his eyes and suddenly, it hit him. Kea. An assassination attempt. Infirmary. Watersprout suddenly realized he need to see her.. she must've felt lonely, waking up in an empty office with a nurse named Mayfly.

Getting up from his bed, Watersprout peeked out of his doorway. He saw no one, other than a burly, dark red and orange SkyWing with black wings walking out of his Sleeping Cave.

Watersprout let out a sigh. He began to walk towards the infirmary, ignoring the odd SkyWing. He didn't need any delays stopping him from what he needed to do.

"Hey," the odd-coloured SkyWing said. "I was wondering where the infirmary was? I need to talk to Ms. Mayfly."

"You can follow me," Watersprout replied. "I'm going to visit my injured friend, Kea. She needs someone to let her know what happened."

The SkyWing's face had disgust painted all over it. He wacked Watersprout with his long, curled tail (which, made Watersprout wince). "Dragons like you are too caring. Too nice. It's a sign of weakness," he hissed. "It could get you killed it you were a SkyWing."

''But I'm not a SkyWing. ''"We need caring dragons too. We can't have too many rude dragons with murderous intentions," Watersprout said. "Now, are we going to the infirmary or what?"

The SkyWing snorted. "Fine, sheep-brain. Don't blame me if others comment on your unappreciative behaviour."

They then began to walk to the infirmary. Watersprout had only been there once when he was a few months old. He had spent a week at Jade Mountain Academy, only staying with his mother in her office. He remembered the cold, white and brown room of the infirmary, and watched Mayfly treat students with only minor injuries while they lay on comfortable beds. Watersprout had always wondered what it was like to be a doctor; was it frightening, or fascinating?

Finally, the SkyWing and Watersprout arrived. They both walked inside, and Watersprout found Kea curled onto one of the beds uncomfortably, and her burnt legs twitched like a cockroach after it had been stepped on. He had to stop his heart from stopping.

"Welcome," Mayfly said. She looked exactly as how he remembered her; mud brown scales, wide, flat head, and one of her back legs and half of her tail had frostbreath scars.

"Hello, Mayfly," Watersprout said. "How's Kea?"

"She's fine," the MudWing murmured. "Her condition is well. If you hadn't found her, she could've lost her life." She turned