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Ruari sat alone behind a pine tree, eating the lunch his mother had made for him before he left. He was out in the courtyard of the school building on break so everyone could eat their fill before continuing class. For everyone else, it was the perfect time to socialize and play together. However, for Ruari it was anything but. He tried his hardest to not be noticed, and for the past two weeks it had been working very well!

No one really wanted to talk to him, anyway. He was too young to really wrestle and play around with the older dragonets, though there were some six-year-olds closer to his size. Still, he'd never dare approach them.

Ruari only knew his classmates, and that was because he was forced to meet them on his first day. With a brief shudder, he remembered how terribly awkward and stressful that had all been, but thankfully that was over now. All he had to do now was just attend school, learn, and then go home.

And so far all of the subjects have been extremely easy. He looked forward to the next couple weeks where he would be able to learn more about magic. On his own, he had been practicing again and gaining more control over his spheres of light. He learned how to change the colors just by focusing on one, solid color in his mind, and he could even move the orbs around and control their size.

Ruari finished his lunch and looked around to make sure no one was watching before he started to practice. He concentrated his energy to his talons and watched as a blue sphere of light blossomed above his palms. With a smile, he moved it around his paw and then let it grow into a brighter light. It hovered over his head for a moment before he sent it higher into the air, keeping it just below the top of the pine tree before bringing it back down in a spiral.

"Wow, that's really cool!" a young voice said to the side of him.

Ruari meeped and lost concentration; the light dispersed and disappeared. He glanced at the ruby-red dragon next to him and gulped. It was one of his classmates, Aidan.

"H-hi... uhm... thank you," he said, baring an awkward smile.

Aidan chuckled and sat across from Ruari in the grass. "Ruari, right? Why are you sitting by yourself?"

Aidan had curious and brazen, golden eyes that looked like he was in need of an adventure. Like Ruari, he had a plated underbelly, but it was painted white. It split apart his deep-red, glimmering scales. A pair of black horns jutted out of his skull with a slight curve to them. Being seven years old, he was a bit taller than Ruari was, and definitely a lot bigger.

Ruari shrugged his wings and started to pick at the ground with his talons. "I-I don't really have anywhere else to sit... I like to eat alone anyway."

"Ah, okay. Is this where you normally sit?"

Ruari nodded.

"Good. Anyway, I was wondering if you understood today's lesson? I could use a little help as I'm not quite sure what 'symbiotic' really means... or 'antibiosis'... or really what we were even talking about." He bared a bright, toothy smile and looked hopefully at Ruari.

It was strange. It was as if Aidan was trying to look dumb, but there were too many thoughts in his mind--intelligent thoughts. Ruari could usually tell when someone was smart, and Aidan looked smart, so he wondered why Aidan was asking him for help like this.

"I can help you," Ruari said and dug into his satchel and took out the notes he jotted down today.

"You take notes?" Aidan asked, surprised.

Ruari nodded. "I always take notes, just in case I want to go back through them later." Even if he understood the lesson fully today, that knowledge may slowly disappear as more and more information fills his mind. He learned that taking notes helps him retain a lot of information, giving himself something to fall back on.

"That's pretty impressive, I guess," Aidan said and started to read through them as Ruari handed them to him. "Although, I can't really make out anything these say!"

"Oh... yeah, sorry. I write really fast so it gets sloppy." He held up his white claws with black marks staining the tips of them.

Aidan giggled and held up his black claws. "I don't have to worry about that."

Ruari laughed too and started to read some of his notes off to Aidan. The red dragonet nodded and listened intently, often making a funny remark that made Ruari giggle. It wasn't long before their lunch break was over, and Ruari had to pack his things back into his satchel.

"Thanks for helping me," Aidan said with a smile. "I get distracted pretty easily in class."

"By what? I usually have nothing else to do but focus on the lesson."

A big, toothy grin replaced his smile. "Ciara. Isn't she the most beautiful thing to ever grace this planet?" he asked with obvious, wishful thinking. He gazed across the courtyard where Ruari saw her sitting, talking to her female friends.

Ciara was a sandy-colored dragonet who was a twin sister to Caden, the first student Ruari had met. He had briefly met her the same day he met everyone else. He admitted she was pretty, but he didn't get distracted very easily.

"I-I guess so," he replied and scratched his forearm.

"Oh, that's right. You still think girls are icky and gross!" he teased and turned away to start walking toward class.

"I do not!" Ruari retorted and walked along beside him.

Aidan chuckled and bumped into Ruari's side playfully, making him yelp and nearly fall over. "Then maybe I'll introduce you to her sometime."

Ruari gulped. It was hard enough to meet new dragons, let alone a very pretty female! "S-sure."

"The trick is to not be shy or at least act like you're confident!" he explained. "That's the best way to make new friends."

Ruari nodded and let his mind wander... Maybe he should make some friends? "W-Well, uhm..." Ruari coughed as if to clear his throat. "I uh..."

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Aidan said and interrupted him. "I need to go see my magic teacher about something really fast." He hurried off, leaving Ruari outside their classroom door with a mouthful of words that never came out. With a sigh, he stepped into the classroom and tried to prepare himself for the next lesson.

The next day, Ruari sat in the same spot behind the tree. He wondered--and hoped--that Aidan would show up again, even if he did feel a little nervous about it. Never once did he think that he'd be looking forward to talking to someone, but the longer he waited, the lonelier he felt. Lunch time was almost over, and he had nearly given up hope.

But Aidan soon appeared next to his side, wearing a big, friendly grin. "Hey, Ruari!" He sat down with his tail crossing his paws next to the black dragonet.

Ruari gulped down his mouthful of food and stammered, "H-hello." Now that Aidan was here in the flesh, Ruari felt like prey caught off-guard! Why is it so much harder to actually speak than it is to think?

"I'd like you to meet Desmond! But I call him Des for short," Aidan said indifferently and waved a paw at the air behind Ruari.

Ruari yelped and flailed backwards as he realized a purple dragon was standing right next to him as if he suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"S-sorry!" Des apologized. "I don't ever mean to frighten anyone, but it happens a lot..."

Aidan was helping Ruari up, giggling. "It's because you walked around the other side of the tree for some odd reason."

Des shrugged his violet wings. "I thought it would be quicker."

"It's okay," Ruari said and gave a friendly smile. He sat back down on his haunches. His heart was racing, but once he started to breath steadily again he felt much calmer. "It's nice to meet you, Desmond."

Des had a violet hide that covered almost the entirety of his body. Painted from his chin and past his cheeks to the middle of the underside of his neck was a deep, sapphire hue. That same color wrapped around his hind paws like socks and blotted the end of his tail.

"It's nice to meet you too," he replied with a toothy smile. Two, crimson spheres stared Ruari back, and they were almost as bright and cheerful as Aidan's but much tamer.

"His family just moved here a couple months ago," Aidan explained. "We met at the park and hung around there a lot. He's a year younger than me, but he's smart and taking one of the advanced classes."

"I'm not that smart," Des said. He pawed and the ground and dug his white claws into the dirt.

"Maybe not as smart as Ruari, but you're pretty smart!"

Ruari's face flushed. "I-I'm not that smart, either..."

"Oh, shush. You both need to learn to take a compliment!" he jested. He received a few awkward chuckles. "Anyway, I think lunch is about over already."

"My class is the other way," Des said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow!" He waved at them with his tail and trotted the other direction.

Ruari gathered his things, put them into his satchel, and walked with Aidan back to their class. The other dragonets around dispersed too. Some of them flew over the building while mostly everyone else went either left or right. Not many dragonets had a class in the back end of the building.

Ruari's mind wandered to the thoughts he had yesterday, and then to the feeling of loneliness that was nagging at him. It'd been in the back of his mind ever since Raegan left, but it made a vicious return when he learned of her death. And that feeling had steadily grown each day while he watched everyone else play together and have fun without him. The only place he belonged was with himself, but he didn't want that. He needed a friend.

He stopped in his tracks and gulped. I have to be confident. I have to be confident. Confidence...

Aidan stopped too and looked back at him. "We're going to be late for class if you don't hurry up! Not that I'm really worried, but I'm sure you would be."

"Willyoubemyfriend?" Ruari spouted out. Then his face flushed as he realized how terrible of a job he did at trying to act confident. "I mean..."

Aidan was giggling at him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Ruari took a deep breath and asked all too loudly and clearly, "Will you be my friend?" A few passing dragonets glanced his way and made his face flush even more before he hung his head.

Aidan laughed and nudged Ruari's head back up to look him in the eyes. Again, Ruari saw that blazing, golden fire of energy and jubilance. "That's not something you usually have to ask; but yes, I'll be your friend."

Ruari beamed widely and felt his heart swell with joy. He made a friend!

"Now let's hurry to class!" Aidan said and took off the other direction.

Ruari nodded and tucked his satchel against his flank with a wing as he ran to catch up to Aidan... his new friend!

* * *

Keira brooded in her room, only half-reading through a story she had already read twenty times while the other half of her mind was focused elsewhere. Nearly three months had passed now. She thought she was over it, but...

The pain kept coming back, like a scar that had never been healed. It ached and made her stomach twist.

She had felt hopelessness, grief, misery, agony, and all of the other blackest emotions she could possibly think of, but she still had yet to feel like this. In spite of living with a new family and starting a new life, there was another emptiness inside her that hadn't been filled.

Memories of Keira's friends flashed through her mind. She remembered playing and talking with them--bright, happy memories--but she couldn't remember their faces. Their names and the colors of their scales were about the only things she could remember. Their happy smiles were now forgotten and replaced by dull, blank expressions.

She remembered seeing the slain and torn body of her best-friend lying in the mud, blood pooled around him.

Keira sniffled and pinched her eyes shut, moving the scroll away so she didn't spill any of her tears on it. I can't even remember my own father's face. All I can remember is that terrified look he gave me before he...

With a sigh, she released the tension in her claws and opened her eyes. She wiped her tears away and rested her head between her paws, trying to keep her mind from becoming trapped in the darkness. The feeling of loneliness nagged at her thoughts, and she wished she could go outside and talk to someone, even if they hated her guts.

Fallon was out dealing with clan matters, Mara was gone for the week, visiting another clan along with Evelyn, and Ruari was at school again. She wished she could talk to Ruari, but he spent most of his time either at school or avoiding her, and... that really hurt. He was the only one close to her age that she even had the chance to talk to, and he had no interest in seeing her.

Then, she heard someone entering the house, their talons tapping against the wood floor. Was Fallon home already? He said he wouldn't be back until the evening.

Keira sniffled and regained her composure before hopping out of bed. She poked her head around the wall and saw a green tail slinking past into the living area. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about the possibility of danger, but her head was as hard as stone. Whoever would break into the clan leader's house in the middle of the day had a lot of nerve!

She snuck up to the corner before peeking into the next room, seeing the dragon rummaging through some papers Fallon had left. She felt like she had seen him before. Splotching his verdant scales around his shoulders and haunches were shades of brown.

"What are you doing?" she asked, stepping beneath the doorway.

He turned around and glared at her crossly. "Oh, it's you," he said with distaste and then continued his searching, undeterred.

Keira frowned and walked into the room. "That didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

He growled as she approached and bared his fangs at her. "I don't have to answer to you."

Keira backed off but steeled her own glare. "This is Fallon's home, and I don't think he'd appreciate someone rummaging through his belongings! Tell me who you are or leave."

He whirled around and snapped his maw at her intimidatingly, though Keira didn't budge an inch. "Don't threaten me, whelp! If Fallon weren't my brother, I would kill you right now and end this ridiculousness."

Keira stared at him, keeping her mouth shut. This was Fallon's brother? The one who had also saved her? He didn't seem like Fallon at all. This dragon was spiteful.

Dorian hissed and grabbed the scroll he was looking for and rolled it up. He stuffed it in the satchel at his side and glared at Keira as he walked past her and left, his tail swishing irately behind him.

Keira exhaled and tried to calm down while her heart raced in her chest. It was almost as if she could feel the intensity of his hatred seeping from him, but she had no idea why he despised her. She shrugged it off and loosened her wings.

Then she heard the door slide open again and immediately braced herself. Did he decide to come back and kill her after all?

But it wasn't green scales that she saw: they were Ruari's black scales that came walking past. He poked his head in and saw her, and then he immediately turned away and padded into the hallway toward his room.

Keira elicited a quiet sigh and dropped down into a bed. At least it's better to be lonely than it is to be dead.

* * *