Val grinned at Seraph. But that smile disappeared once she read the scroll. She frowned as she stared at the paper as if answers would suddenly pop out of nowhere. She didn't even notice Riven budging closer to her. "No, there's a chance to stop this terrible danger. Look, Riven, it keeps saying something about four riders. If we find out who they are...they can help stop this!" Val jumped up, eyes sparkling with a newfound determination. It shouldn't be too hard. Just look for clues, find the riders, Doomsday crisis averted! Simple as that....

Val couldn't help but see the amused look on Thorn's face. "What?" she asked with a frown. The older student cleared his throat and shook his head. "It's nothing. Nevermind." She also saw him glance at Riven with the same look. Val almost rolled her eyes. Boys were so weird. Especially these two.

Val joined Seraph at the window. She could see the smoke too. Panic started to set in but Val shook herself mentally. In a second, Val turned on her heel and rushed to the door. Thorn stared after her in surprise.

"Come on, we have to help!" Val looked back at Thorn, Riven and Seraph, her amber eyes pleading with them. No way she could do anything on her own. All four of them though? They might be able to help somehow. As she stood there, she thought about the eggs in there, unhatched and in danger. They hadn't even met their riders yet!

A million years seemed to pass before Thorn got up from his seat now a serious look on his face. "I'll come," he said simply, dashing past Val and down the stairs with a sudden burst of energy. Val nodded and went after him. "Join us if you want!" She called out loud enough for the other two to hear.

~~~~~

Obsidian nodded in agreement with Whiplash. 'Me too. My rider is very... introverted, to say the least.'

The jet-black dragon narrowed his eyes as Whiplash got up. Suddenly his nose caught a whiff of smoke, bitter and harsh. And it wasn't Pheonix this time.

His discomfort rised when he noticed the smoke billowing out into the sky, right above the Hatchery. Obsidian turned his head when he noticed the presence of his rider. He lowered himself to let Thorn clamber on before taking off towards the fire. Only moments later, Pheonix was at his tail, her rider urging her on.

Obsidian landed down on the ground near the Hatchery, waiting for his rider's next instruction. Pheonix, however, let Valentina slip down from the saddle and dashed off into the fire. The pros of being fireproof I suppose. Then he looked at Thorn. What do we do?

-

Seraph and Riven exchanged a glance to each other when the other students darted off, Riven immediately scrambling to his feet and hurrying down the stairs. Seraph took one last look back out the window, seemingly like her feet were stuck in place. Who would set a hatchery on fire? With a sudden jolt, as if the willow itself was trying to toss her out, Seraph sucked in a breath as she bolted off. By the time she got outside, a flash of pale icy scales whipped past, a slight zap ringing in the air. Aetherion spiraled into the sky, storm clouds seemingly clustering near his presence, like they were drawn to him. "When storm and poison clash in the skies..." The word barely audible as they left her mouth, her jade green eyes glossed over like she was in a trance. Whiplash lowered herself near her, Seraph shook her head and climbed into the saddle strapped onto the bright red dragon. With a whip of her tail, the serpentine dragon launched herself into the sky. Flying just above the ground with virtually silent wing flaps.

She arrived just as a few of the professors and staff were, some on their dragons, others on foot if they didn't have a dragon. Bronn was there on foot, shouting about needing troughs and buckets. Someone needed to get those eggs out! Her green eyes spotted Thorn with his dragon, and Valentina, Aetherion had landed with Riven who jumped from the pale dragon and ran to other two.

Whiplash slithered over, "I have an idea. They have really big troughs for water at the stables. If we can get enough water over here, we might be able to put out the fire." Seraph suggested. She'd often spend a lot of time at the stables and she remembered seeing the large wooden troughs. And luckily enough, the hatchery was closer to the edge of the island where the ocean was.

---------------------------------------

Riven nodded slightly in agreement, "Right, someone needs to get those dragon eggs out though. We can extinguish the fire all we want, but if those eggs cook, that's entire generations worth of eggs, some of which are extremely rare species." He looked back at the building, "Me and Aetherion are going to work on getting a hole into the building to maybe find a path that's not engulfed in flames. The rest of you try to gather as much water and as much help as possible." Aetherion lowered his head to about chest height on Riven, as if they had a mutual agreement without exchanging any words, and they started towards the building. Riven checking with a few of the people he passed to make sure they were okay. Aetherion was shaking his head and neck, rattling the spines along his back that began sparking with electricity, as if inquiring to the dragon's anticipation and power building up. Overhead, the storm clouds brewed even heavier, threatening to spill the relief of rain.

---------------

Seraph shot a slightly worried look at the sky, rain would help with the fire, but for some reason, she had a bad feeling about it. The storm looked awful menacing and almost seemed to be following them. Was this a bad omen or was she just paranoid? Shaking her head as Whiplash rising up jostled her from her thoughts, the dragon let out a whistling roar. Poison dragons were often known for having unique calls, more whistley than a guttural roar. As Whiplash called for attention, Seraph called out, "Anyone who has a dragon and can help, follow to the stables!" She yelled out, without waiting for any responses from anyone, the bristling red dragon leapt into the sky and spiraled off for the stables. They already knew which one to grab. There was lot of troughs of water near where they housed the water dragons. Hey! That was it! They needed some water dragons! Some dragons and their riders had slight control over the waters! As if sensing her plan, Whiplash pivoted directions slightly. There had to be water dragons near the water.

Val yelled out for Pheonix to come back but her dragon, stubborn as her rider, pretended not to hear. Val let out a breath of relief when she saw Riven and Seraph with their dragons. The dark sky rumbled, promising rain. Hopefully enough to help with this fire. She perked up at Seraph's idea with the water troughs only to realise that her dragon was still inside.

'I'm here,' said a voice. Val whipped her head around to a feathery red dragon. Pheonix was backing out of the Hatchery, facing away from Val as she dragged a nest of eggs outside. Grinning, Val made sure the eggs were okay and safe with a teacher before climbing up into the saddle. "Let's go help the others." She patted Pheonix's neck as they launched up into the sky, heading to the stables. As they got closer, following Whiplash, Pheonix let out a low growl.

"What's wrong?"

'Water dragons.' Val almost smacked her forehead. She had completely forgot that fire and water dragons couldn't stand each other! "It's fine, just grab a trough and leave." The redhead prayed that Pheonix would behave and it seemed like her wish had been granted as Pheonix swooped in, grabbing the closest trough, and turned to the ocean. Once it was filled, Pheonix flapped her wings as hard as she could to get back quickly. Pheonix let one -foot? Hand?- go of the trough, water spilling over the fire.

~~~~~

Thorn decided to do what Pheonix had first done and so did a few other people.

Obsidian, among others, went into the Hatchery and dragged nests of eggs back while Thorn checked on them to make sure they weren't damaged too badly. Despite all the commotion around him, one thing played over and over in his mind: Who would try to get rid of a whole generation of dragons?

There were only a few more nests to save. As he finished checking on a clutch of eggs, Thorn heard a heart stopping sound. He turned around. The wooden support beams of the Hatchery, burnt and weak, were cracking, threatening to collapse. Thorn held his breath as the beams just kept together.

Until a rush of water came crashing down.

He looked up to see a bright red figure in the sky. Then he turned his attention back to the Hatchery as it came crashing down, drowning in scarlet flames, but not before he heard the cries of his dragon. But the first thing that came to mind? And flame consumes the darkest cries...

It only took a moment for reality to kick in. Thorn's eyes widened as he rushed forward, yelling, as he tried to escape from the grip of his fellow classmates who were trying to keep him back.

"He'll be fine! He'll be fine! Obsidian is strong." The girl next to him said. He's strong...

Slightly disappointed, Pheonix had been hoping for the water to extinguish more of the flames. Instead it only killed a small part of the fire. That's when she heard it. The crashing sound as the support beams gave way to the fire. She also heard a rather strange sound. A choked, slightly muffled, scream.

Pheonix stared down at a tiny little dot struggling against other tiny dots and realised what had happened. Her eyes widened and she spoke to her rider.

'V-val. I think that our trough of water, it made the Hatchery collapse and... Obsidian was inside."

(I love being so evil lol)

With a sudden rush, Whiplash skidded to a halt, eyeing the area for what she was searching for. Her and her rider's anxiety feeding off each other, almost making it difficult to focus. Finally, a soft roar called out. Almost like their prayers were answered, Nina Poole on her deep blue water dragon, Tsunami. Following closely behind was Luna Pearlwater with her dragon, Coral, a vivid sky blue streak bulleting through the water towards them. They must have had a swimming lesson today.

Whiplash greeted the blue dragons with a whistle as she swooped down to pry one of the troughs from the ground. Seraph quickly shouting to the other riders a quick explanation before the three turned and flapped as quickly as they could back to the hatchery. About that time, Seraph watched, almost in slow motion, as the weight of the water being dumped caused the already instable building to collapse. Was anybody in there!? Seraph's frantic eyes searched for the others, Riven was hurrying along and ushering others out of the way. Aetherion looked very agitated for some reason. Each time he bristled or stomped a talon, the clouds would surge and an occasional thunder boomed. This definitely looked like a bad omen.

Whiplash surged forward, tossing the water from her trough and throwing it on a patch near the door. Before the red dragon lowered herself to the ground, Seraph scrambling off and running towards the hatchery. "We need to get in there!" Before she could launch herself into what looked like an opening, a pair of arms grabbed her mid-leap. "You'll get yourself cooked. You won't help anyone dead." Riven's voice sounded in her ear, and although it was reasonable, Seraph flushed red with anger. Pushing Riven away with a hard shove but this time her dragon batted her back with a swing of her tail.

The two water dragons angled themselves closer to the water, rising up in the air and with powerful wing slaps, the water from the ocean began to coil up into the air.
"This is going to be a pretty strong wave guys!" Nina Poole's small voice was barely heard over the clamor. Before a surge in the water sent a wave flying forward. It might knock some things down in its path, but a wave this size should be enough to get a majority of the flames. Hopefully everyone either held on or got out of the way.

Whiplash could barely react before she jumped forward, sheilding her and her rider in a protective arc of her wings and digging her claws into the ground. The wave washed over them quickly, the water dissipating once it lost its momentum. No one had time to even open their eyes and recover from the wave before a final clap of thunder echoed out. Massive water droplets began pouring down. This wasn't a, "hooray we're saved, let's celebrate" soft rain. This was a, "the next flood is going to happen," kind of rain. With relentless pounding of icy cold water drops.

Seraph pushed herself up, raking water from her face as she tried to see through the downpour. It sure would be handy to have something that produces light right now. She could barely see Whiplash standing right next to her. ~Go straight East. That is where the academy will be and where everyone will go to meet back up.~ A voice whispered in her head. It was different from Whiplash's.

"Whiplash, did you hear that?" Seraph spoke aloud, although she could barely be heard over the rain. Her eyes searched through the downpour one more time before turning away with a defeated sigh. She would have to trust her... friends? Would she even call them that? She had to trust them, trust they got out safely. WIth begrudging steps, the duo, with Whiplash sheltering her rider with a wing, slowly made their way back to the safety of a roof of the main building.

--------------------------

Riven had just let go of Seraph when he moved his attention back to getting Thorn out. He had just laid eyes on him and was hurrying towards him about the time he heard the a faint yelling. Without giving him much time to react, the wave swept through. Knocking him from his feet and sending him swirling through the water and to be spat out on the ground in a non-delicate manner. Coughing and sputtering as he tried to get up, the next thing he knew, rain was pounding down his back. He was already soaked from the surge of water, but this rain carried an ominous chill to it that drenched him to the bone.

Once again attemping to push himself to his feet, he felt a scaly body beside him. Aetherion. He hated the rain but he was here for his rider. His eerie yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. Riven used him to pull himself to his feet. He was washed further into the hatchery building, this could give him a chance to look for Thorn and Obsidian. Seraph and Valentina were okay. He saw them before the wave, they were okay. It was Thorn he was worried about now. With his pale dragon at his side, the brown-haired male moved forward. Having to explore his surroundings as he went.

((Sorry for the sudden, "hey, we're doing this conflict now", I was trying to find a way to get them past the hatchery burning so they could start being like, "Okay, something's up. XD ))

A rush of guilt swept through Val. What had she done? Obsidian was still in the Hatchery, I should have checked, now Thorn panicking, Obsidian is trapped and injure or even worse and-

'Stop it Val!' The sound of Pheonix's voice snapped her back into reality. 'We don't know exactly what happened to him he's probably fine.' How did she know? Oh right. Val had forgotten that her thoughts were connected with her dragon's. Val drew a shaky breath and nodded. "Let's go a-and check."

Without another word, Pheonix changed her angle, now diving down to the ground before landing next to the burnt remains of the Hatchery. She got off Pheonix's back with a light thud.

Glancing at Thorn, who seemed to have calmed down now, Val bit her tongue anxiously. Would he blame her? How could they even continue to investigate the prophecy if he couldn't stand her? Perhaps the group would be better off without her. Val couldn't start feeling sorry for herself right now, not when they didn't even know what happened to Obsidian.

Instead she went to join Thorn in searching through the rubble, though not as panicky as him. A part of her was worrying.

~~~~~

He could still feel that connection that tied him to Obsidian. What if he would always feel that even after- No! He could not think like that.

Thorn was so absorbed in finding Obsidian he didn't realise the ground was trembling slightly underneath his feet and the giant pile of rubble was shaking. His top priority was finding his dragon.

When someone grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back, Thorn whipped his head around to find himself face to face with Valentina. Rage boiled in his chest, threatening to spill over at any moment. Too late.

"This is all your fault!" he snapped. "If you had just looked, double-checked, used your eyes, Obsidian would be standing next to me! But now he's trapped under all that rubble and injured or even-" He couldn't find it in himself to finish that sentence. His face was red with anger, eyes blurring with tears he didn't even realise were falling. Val took a step back, stuttering as she tried to find the words to apologise. But she couldn't say anything to make this better. Nothing at all.

Thorn continued to yell. "And-"

Something burst out of the pile of rubble. A blast of wind threw the closer students back, hands up to shield their faces from the shards of wood that went flying. A deafening roar filled the air.

'That's enough! Is Valentina not a friend of yours?' rumbled a deep and familiar voice in his mind.

Thorn paused. Only when he saw Val's eyes widen at something behind him did he dare to turn around.

There stood Obsidian, translucent wings outstretched, black scales glistening with beads of water. Thorn paused for moment before rushing to Obsidian and hugging his leg. Or as far as his arms could get anyway. The shadow dragon chuckled quietly and curled his tail around his rider. "I- How- What-" Lost for words, the second-year just hugged Obsidian again.

'I am fine. So are the eggs.' Thorn frowned, looking up. Eggs? Then it hit him. He had been so worried that it had slipped his mind. Thorn peered behind Obsidian's front leg where the last few nests were hiding. Thorn grinned from ear to ear. His smile faded when he remembered the reason he thought Obsidian was hurt. He wasn't sure he could forgive Val. Not yet anyway. Did she even count as his friend?

~~~~~

Obsidian was fine. A bit battered and tired but fine. Val's breath hitched in her throat. Obsidian is okay, Obsidian is okay, Obsidian is okay...

Overcome with relief, she repeated this in her head like a mantra. But it didn't take the guilt off her shoulders. That had been her fault. She couldn't face Thorn right then so she went to look for Seraph and Riven while Pheonix bounded up to Obsidian to check if he was alright. Once assured, she shot question after question at him, curious about every detail.

"Hey, looked like your plan worked Seraph!"

"Yep. And so are the rest of the eggs." It was Thorn. He had come up behind her without a sound. He averted his eyes, looking somewhere behind Val.

"I, uh, yeah that's good. We should head back right? I think the teachers will probably be busy with this whole thing for a while. We can take another look at the prophecy." Val looked around at the others.

Surprisingly, Thorn nodded in agreement, messy hair falling in front of his eyes. "I also think I might have found something about the prophecy."

Seraph and Whiplash spilled into the large opening of the pavilion that lead into where many of the main classes, for students at least, were held. The main areas were built large enough to hold dragons, but a large majority of the hallways were only human sized, unfortunately. The rest of the students and staff all were tumbling in as well. Exchanging murmurs, worried looks, trying to dry off and warm up, and many all seemed very lost. Seraph was too entrapped with studying everyone around her. Whiplash was right at her back, also observing everyone. They looked like a lost tourist in the middle of a large, bustling city.

Finally, a loud voice broke her from her thoughts. Headmaster Stormblade cleared his throat and stood on the small stage positioned in the center of the room. A whispered hush fell over the room as everyone looked to their beloved headmaster for their answers. He was supposed to protect them, how did this happen? Headmistress Darkwing was at his side, her hands clenching and unclenching in a worried way. But her eyes seemed to hold a different light. She kept glancing up at Headmaster Stormblade like she didn't believe a word he said, before glancing elsewhere, as if to not allow anyone to catch it. Seraph did though. That's what she was trained to do. Observe and notice the details others didn't. Her mentor's words still rang in her ears, even after years of not seeing him. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she tuned into the speech being presented.

"Students...Staff... Friends... I am here today to express my greatest sorrows, and deepest regrets. What happened today was... a tragedy... We are still investigating the source of the fire but from what we can believe, a candle or torch must have fallen over and caught the straw we use to line nests. Trust that we are doing everything in our power to account for all the eggs and we will be moving the eggs recovered to a safe location until another hatchery is restored. Albeit sad, that hatchery was an original building from when this academy was founded generations ago. I also would like to say, given today's stress, we will dismiss any classes for the rest of the week to allow everyone time to recover. Please, go to your dorms, rest, relax, fly with your dragons, safely." He emphasized safely, also pausing as if to add further exaggeration. "Please do not hesitate to come see any of us if you need to talk about anything. Most of us are easily found around the campus at some time. There will also be extra checks being preformed by Mrs. Hilda Bracken and possibly a few of the other staff as well. We will also be hosting meetings in the library for anybody seeking a little extra solice. Miss Scrollkeeper will have teas and coffees and other herbal remedies upon requests, along with freshly baked snacks provided by Mrs. Greta Hearthfire." With that, Headmaster Stormblade dismissed himself and stepped down, quickly ushering away Headmistress Darkwing with him out of sight.

The rest of the clutter in the building began to rise up in clamor as everyone found their friends to discuss what happened and what they were doing. Seraph stood still and quiet for probably a moment too long. Something didn't feel right but she couldn't place what. Clutching her arms to herself, her and Whiplash exchanged a silent look before Seraph went to find her friends. She was at least going to tell them all goodnight. She couldn't deny the exhuastion tugging at her body as she trudged back out to find the others.

--------------------------------------------------------

Riven and Aetherion had hung near the doorway when Headmaster Stormblade began his speech. His pale eyes weren't focused and he could barely hear though. His eyes were glued on Valentina. Studying each of her features as if this was his first time seeing her. She was okay. A few bruises and scratches, but she was okay. How would he have felt if she wasn't? He exhaled a breath and dropped his gaze to his feet. Aetherion's tail snaked around his boot as if it say, "I'm here." Riven smiled to himself as he saw it. He almost couldn't recognize himself. A few years ago, he would have barely batted an eye at any of this. Valentina, the hatchery, Thorn, Seraph, the prophecy, any of it. Boy they weren't lying when they said growing up is a b****.

Once the speech was over, Riven looked up to see everyone beginning to bustle around. Weariness tugged his eyes into a sleepy haze and a yawn escaped his lips. "As much fun as I am having, I am very tired... Meet at the willow at sunrise?" he suggested with an optimistic look on his face, despite the heavy eyebags. A soft smile tugged at his lips as he swept his gaze over Valentina, before offering a reassuring look to Thorn. He knew Thorn probably needed a little extra support right now. Seraph had joined them, but she was pale like she'd seen a ghost and hadn't spoke a word yet.

Once Headmaster Stormblade finished his speech, crowds of students, still talking about the fire, all went to their rooms, blocking the hallways. No way it was a torch that set the Hatchery on fire. It was definitely a person, perhaps part of the 'doom' in the prophecy? But who?

Val was exhausted from her long and very confusing day. What had Thorn meant when he said he knew something about the prophecy? Who were the four riders? Would Thorn ever forgive her?

Letting out a stifled yawn, Val realised how tired she really was and now was no time to be thinking so hard. They would meet up later at the Willow to discuss everything. It was strange how a lot seemed to change in such a short time. A few days ago, Val was worried about the new school year and now she had stolen a prophecy, almost killed someone's dragon and was now part of a small group of people investigating the mysterious events going on. She sighed. At this point, she was giving herself a headache just thinking about this but the mind couldn't focus on anything else.

Pheonix gave her rider a worried look. 'I'm going to head to the stables. You should get to your tiny nest too. We're all very tired.'

Val, stubborn as ever, shook her head. "I'll come with you. I'm fine."

Pheonix snorted in disbelief. She nudged her rider away with her tail. 'Go. I'll be fine. I won't set the stables on fire, don't worry.' Val frowned. 'Too soon? Okay.'

Without letting her reply, Pheonix went off to her stall. Val trusted her enough to know that she would behave. She trudged back to her room, past the other girls who were hanging out in the lounge, gossiping about their day, some not even concerned about the Hatchery anymore. Hiding under her warm covers had never been more inviting but first she had to change out of her cold, wet clothes. After a warm shower, Val flopped onto her bed and fell asleep.

~~~~~

Thorn gave a weak smile back at Riven. He knew that he was trying to be nice but Thorn just needed to block everyone out just then. This was way more than he could handle in one day. A year ago, he would never have even talked to Riven or other students, forget getting involved in the whole prophecy thing. Hell, a few years ago he wouldn't have even cared about Obsidian! Back then he wanted nothing more than to return to his old life.

After checking on Obsidian one last time, Thorn went back to his room. Obsidian could walk himself to the stables. Maybe he should wait for Riven? Nah, he'd want to rest. With no other options, he closed his room for behind him and rested on the edge of his bed. Despite everything, Thorn just couldn't sleep. So, instead, he waited until sunrise finally came.

-

(This was very bad and so short, sorry! I'll probably write better next time, right now my brain's a bit fried)

Riven watched for Valentina and Thorn to leave. Obsidian began heading towards the stables along with Pheonix. Aetherion gave Riven an affectionate nudge before following Obsidian towards the stable. The silvery dragon grumbling a greeting to him, checking on a fellow dragon. Most of the dragons got along, asides from a handful. But Aetherion liked Obsidian. He was calm, Aetherion liked calm. Obviously storm dragons should like calm right, don't need to get excited and accidentally cause a lightning blast.

Whiplash was still standing behind Seraph who was holding her arms like she was worried her guts would spill out. Whiplash flashed a look to Riven with eerie purple eyes, before beginning to follow the other dragons to the stables. Her tail slightly pushing Seraph as she went.

As if knocked from a trance, the short blonde blinked and looked up at Riven, who was still staring at her with a slightly worried expression. Many different emotions flashed through her all at once. Hostility initially, the hell is he staring at? Then it became anxiety, what was he even thinking? Then back to hostility, before she finally settled on speaking. "I'll be at the willow." her voice was barely audible, "And fix your staring problem!" she snapped at him much louder this time. It was hard to tell if she was joking or not before she turned and began heading towards the dorms.

Her boots silent on the path so many traveled already. Her green eyes lacked their normal wildness to them as she tracked along. Why was there a cloud of worry hanging on her? She had a feeling the hatchery was just the beginning. How was she supposed to stop it? All her life she'd been trained, fix the problem. King having an issue with an unruly duke trying to put their input in where it doesn't need to be? Solve the problem.

Karlile's words rang between her ears. Shaking her head as she pulled open the door to her room. She'd been free from her mentor ever since she became a dragon rider. He disappeared shortly after she was chosen, but he still had a hold of her.

As her body slumped onto her bed she pulled her boots off in a lazy fashion before crawling into her little cocoon she'd made from various pillows and blankets. Sleep took long to come, and it wasn't alone when it did.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riven shook his head when Seraph walked away. She was such a cluster of emotions it was hard to tell what reaction you'd get from her. Although to be fair, snappy, sarcastic comments did seem to be her go to. He glanced back in the direction Valentina went one more time, just to make sure she made it back to her dorm safely. Before sucking in a deep breath as he began the journey back to his room. The sun had long hidden away, and the moon didn't offer much light either. Trying to make his way back mostly off memory it took a little longer than expected but he did it.

--

The morning came all too early, it's rosy fingers trying to pry open his window. Riven blinked awake as the shimmering light splattered across his face. Almost mocking the horrible events from yesterday with it's splendidness. He almost closed his eyes again before he remembered what he agreed to yesterday. Why does he make plans for early in the morning, knowing he hates mornings? With an unhappy grumble, Riven pulled himself to his feet and sleepily got dressed. A deep blue tunic shirt and black pants and his usual boots made up his outfit for today. Comfortable and not pajamas.

He was a little slow to head out the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he went. Maybe he could try to make breakfast for everyone before they got there if he managed to beat everyone? With a newfound purpose, Riven took off with a pep in his step. First things first, sweet talk Greta into giving him some food to cook with, then hurrying to the willow! Aetherion should sense he's awake by now. But knowing that dragon he'll have to go get him. If only Riven knew what today would entail, maybe he would've stayed in bed. Probably not, Valentina was going to be there, so he'd go anyways, but it's the thought that counts right?

It seemed like only moments later when Val woke up. A ray of sunlight blinded her momentarily as she sat up. Her first thought was to go back to sleep, then she remembered they were meeting at the Willow. Val dragged herself out of bed, eventually, and got dressed. As she brushed her red hair, Val stared at the mirror. Yesterday's events kept replaying in her mind. It was something she just couldn't leave alone. The guilt was still heavy on her shoulders though Obsidian had turned out fine.

With a sigh, Val pulled her hair up into a bun, sticking a few pins in A quick trip to grab some toast and she was ready to go.

All the way to the stables Val felt sick in her stomach, unsure of how Thorn would react. He was a fairly quiet guy, a second year too, so she had no idea what he did when he was angry at someone. She reached Pheonix's stall and opened the door. "Come on Phee. We're supposed to be at the Willow soon. If we're not late already." she added. Pheonix grumbled. Opening one eye to look up at Val, who was crossing her arms as she stared back, Pheonix knew that now was not the right time to be difficult. Her rider was still upset about what happened last night.

"Okay, I'm getting up. You really need to relax Vally." The fire dragon followed Val out of the stables into the fresh air. She stretched her wings, actually excited for once. While Riven, Thorn and Seraph were quite... quirky, this whole prophecy business was definitely worth it.

"Phee! You can't say things like quirky!" her rider scolded from the saddle.

"Beans? You know what, nevermind. Let's just go."

Massive wings beating steadily, they took off into the air.

"You humans are the size of beans." Pheonix commented after a while. "And why are you in such a rush? I doubt anyone else is there yet. Oh wait-" Pheonix glanced back at Val, green eyes flashing cheekily. "I bet you're excited to see your boyfriend Riven."

Val's face flushed bright pink. "He is not my boyfriend! Who the hell gave you that idea?" Riven was nice and all but Val just couldn't imagine him as her boyfriend. She's never seen him in that light until Pheonix just mentioned it now. He barely counted as a friend if Val was being honest. "We've only know each other for a couple of days."

Why was her dragon so weird?

"You're a weird one, you know that Pheonix?"

Pheonix slowed before landing rather ungracefully on the ground next to the Willow. "You better behave," Val warned. "Or no more late night treats."

Pheonix huffed, but nodded nonetheless, and walked away to curl up in the shade of a nearby tree.

~~~~~

Thorn paused. He peered through the leaves, catching sight of a red tail.

He wasn't sure how to feel. Val hadn't known that Obsidian was there but she could've checked. Then again, everything was so chaotic last night. Obsidian had been fine and Val had apologised. Yet a small part of him just couldn't forgive her. Or face her.

So there he was. Hiding behind the hedges because he'd seen Val already heading to the stables.

The tips of Thorn's ears tinged pink in embarrassment at the sound of his dragon's words.

"Thanks. I'm coming," he mumbled back in reply, running a hand through his hair to get rid of any stray leaves. Obsidian was already waiting for him.

"Have you eaten?" Thorn asked.

Obsidian nodded and turned his head to the horizon. "We should get going. I think the others must be there by now."

It was a quick and quiet trip to the Willow. Thorn was wondering about whether the four of them would ever make any progress with the prophecy. He spotted Pheonix laying in the shade which meant Val was inside.

Thorn shook his head. "I'll wait for Riven."