Droplet beat her wings, soaring away from Jade mountain. She flew next to Clay, the MudWing who was one of the founders of the school.

"Thanks for helping me get everything organised." Clay said, bumping his wing against hers and nearly sending Droplet out of the sky.

"No problem." She said, smiling. 

Clay was one of the most loyal dragons she knew. He loved Tsunami and Sunny and Starflight and Glory, the four dragonets he was raised with, more than anything. He was like an uncle to Droplet and her siblings. 

"We're almost there." Clay said, and his stomach rumbled, and he winced. "I hope Queen Coral brings food when she meets us." 

Droplet laughed. 

"What's funny?" Heat crackled against Droplet's scales as a third dragon flew over to join them. "What happened? Can you tell me the joke? Is it important?" 

"I was just saying that I hope there's food when we get there." Clay said patiently.

"Oh. Ok. Ha ha." A dragon with burning copper scales flew up beside Clay. "I mean yes, food is good. No one likes when I hunt for them though, because then everything's all scorched and ashy. Picky dragonets. I think food tastes best burned." 

"Really? I like it raw." Droplet said, and Peril huffed. Most dragons were afraid of the SkyWing, which was fair. She had Firescales, which meant she could kill dragons or set things on fire just by touching them. But Droplet had grown up living near Peril, and she honestly quite liked the SkyWing. Peril was really careful, anyhow, to not burn anyone. 

"You sound just like Turtle." Peril said. "One time, he got me to try raw fish by throwing it in my mouth. It was all slimy and gross."

Droplet giggled. "Suit yourself."

For a few minutes, they flew in silence. Then Tsunami called out for the winglets to stay near their group leader and follow them to land on the beach.

Droplet said bye to Clay and Peril and went to fly at the back of the sapphire winglet with her siblings. One by one, the winglets swooped down and landed on the long, sandy beach, gazing out at the seemingly endless kingdom of sea.

While the older dragons were organizing and counting the students, Droplet crept closer to the ocean. She set her talons down in the dark, wet sand, giggling when the waves gently crashed to shore and lapped over her claws.

"I know we come here all the time, but it's just so pretty." Droplet breathed.

"Yeah." Emerald said, flicking his powerful tail across the water and spraying Rainstorm with glittering drops. She snarled at him and sat down on the other side of Droplet, claws sifting through the sand.

There was a disturbance in the water, waves parting and growing, and suddenly a group of SeaWings rose out of the ocean.

"Tsunami, my baby!" Cried the one in the lead. Queen Coral, Droplet's grandmother and Queen of the SeaWings.

"Mother." Tsunami said, stepping forwards. Coral swooped down and wrapped her daughter in a fierce hug.

"You really should come to visit more often. Your sisters would love it. And it would be good for your dragonets." She let go of Tsunami and turned to face Droplet, Emerald and Rainstorm. Without hesitating, she wrapped her wings around them and pulled them into a group hug. "My other babies! How are you, little ones?"

"We're not little anymore." Rainstorm complained, squirming out of Coral's grip. "We're four years old!"

Coral smiled and nuzzled Rainstorm's cheek. "Of course you are, little one! So big already!" 

"Grandmother!" Rainstorm protested, but Coral was already turning to the students, who stood watching silently. 

"Jade mountain students! Welcome to your field trip of the kingdom of sea! The island is all ready for you. Come along, follow me." 

She lifted into the air, and the teachers quickly reassembled the winglet groups before following. The SeaWings Coral had brought spread out, some following behind their Queen like guards, others talking with the dragonets and teachers.

Droplet made polite conversation with one of the SeaWings on the way to the island, which was out in the ocean but close enough that the shore was still visible. It was large enough to hold all of the visitors from Jade Mountain Academy, mostly soft sand and smooth rocks but with many large palm trees. 

"Ok, Topaz winglet over there! Peridot winglet on this side! Pearls here! Sapphire winglet, with me!" Tsunami's voice rang out over the chattering students and SeaWings. 

In no time, each winglet had laid out their sleeping mats on the soft sandy ground, each group in one of four sheltered areas made from woven seaweed tarps cleverly strung between palm trees. There was a separate spot for the teachers, closer to the edge of the island. Droplet, Emerald, and Rainstorm had their own sleep spot in between three palm trees. Droplet lay down her seaweed mat and put down her bag. Every student had their own set of travel things for field trips like this; a woven mat of seaweed or reeds or vines, depending on personal preference; a blanket; and a bag that could easily fit both of those things with room for souvenirs or personal belongings.

Off to one side of the island, the SeaWings had set up a huge buffet. Droplet saw roasted fish and seagulls and crabs, as well as cauldrons of raw fish and seaweed-mushroom salads, and coconuts and bananas for the vegetarians. A nearby spring had plenty of clean drinking water. 

With their sleep spots set up, the students converged upon the food. It had been a long day of flying, and everyone was hungry. Droplet joined them, selecting two raw fish and a couple coconuts. She saw Heron and Cholla already settled down in the shade of a palm tree, each with a roasted seagull and a bowl of salad. Droplet walked over to join them.

"Mind if I sit with you?" She asked, hesitating.

"Of course not." Heron said, smiling. He swept his tail across the sand, clearing a spot for her to sit down.

"How was the fly?" Droplet asked, biting into her fish. It had the fresh, salty taste of the sea. The type of fish she and her siblings caught in the lakes and rivers back home were always small and watery. She ate it in three bites and started on the second one.

"Great. Long, but great. Cholla likes long flights. Right, Cholla?"

The SandWing glanced up from her salad. "Yes. I do." 

Droplet blinked. It was the first time she had ever heard the SandWing talk. She had a soft, quiet voice. Droplet liked it.

"I'm so excited to be here." Heron said. He finished his food and rolled onto his back, gazing at the sky. "I've never been outside the mud kingdom before this. It's so cool out here. All blue and breezy."

"Blue and breezy?" Cholla echoed, looking around. "I guess."

"I can't wait to see the summer palace." Heron continued. "They just finished building it, so we'll be some of the first from other tribes. I mean, no one's been to a SeaWing palace in years. Not since before they hid their homes."

"Yeah." Droplet said, nodding.

"Alright, everyone!" Tsunami roared, distracting them. Droplet turned to see her mother perched atop a boulder, her wings spread and luminous scales flashing. "We're going to tour the summer palace now. Stay close to your wing leader and do exactly what they say."

"Bye." Heron said, waving at Droplet as he led Cholla towards Sunny, who was their winglet's field trip teacher. Clay was gathering the students in the pearl winglet, a SkyWing called Billow was in charge of the topaz winglet, and Tsunami was gathering the students in her sapphire winglet.

"Follow this way!" Queen Coral called, beating powerful wings. One by one, the winglets lifted off and followed. Droplet found herself at the back of the group, flying with her siblings.

"Oooh, look at that!" Rainstorm said suddenly. Droplet and Emerald turned to look where she was pointing. 

"What? I don't see any-AAAAAAH!" His question went up in a cry of bubbles as Rainstorm tackled him, her weight throwing them both into the sea.

A moment later, Emerald came sputtering up. Rainstorm grabbed his tail and tugged him back in the water, but not before he'd reached out and grabbed Droplet's front tallon.

Droplet yelped when she hit the cold water, bubbles flowing up around her. Below her, her siblings wrestled, exhaling clouds of bubbles as they shrieked with joy. Droplet rolled her eyes and dove down, latching onto Emerald and trying to break him and Rainstorm apart. The next thing she knew, she was in the middle of the tackle-wars, as Rainstorm called their wrestling games.

Emerald flashed a message, but it was lost in the bubbles and movement of the tackle-wars. Their brother huffed and lit up all his scales several times to get their attention.

We need to stay with Mom, squid brains. He flashed, nodding at the surface. We're not supposed to wander off.

You're right. Droplet told him, beginning to swim towards the surface.

Why? We know our way around. Coral made sure of that. Rainstorm argued.

All three knew Aquatic, the SeaWing underwater language. Tsunami hadn't been taught as a dragonet, which had made it harder for her to learn, so she made sure her dragonets were familiar with it from hatching.

Come on. Droplet flashed, swimming towards the surface.

They were deeper than she'd realised, but as SeaWings, depth wasn't dangerous. Still, Droplet found herself swimming faster as the light of the surface grew brighter. Her head broke free from the waves, and she lashed her tail to propel herself into the air.

Rainstorm and Emerald emerged a moment later, and all three hovered in the air, gazing around at the expanse of clear sky and white capped waves. There was no mistaking what Droplet had known when she first reached the surface.

Tsunami and the others were gone.