Sahara wrung her talons.

"Are you sure you don't know where she went?" She asked Conch.

The SeaWing princess shook her head and shrugged.

"Sorry, I can't say I do. But you should go swimming with us in the lake later today!"

"I'll try to." Sahara replied.

Dashing out of her cave, the SandWing turned the hallways and ended up in the library.

Though it was earlier in the morning, the library twins were already at their work, cataloging scrolls, checking off turned in and not, etcetera.

Greatwatcher looked up, silver scales by her eyes glittering.

STARMIND IS GONE

A look of panic overtook her twin, as if she'd heard.

Sahara rushed up to the desk and shook out her wings worriedly.

"Have you seen-?"

The NightWings shook their heads. Greatwatcher poked Sahara's chest.

"Try using that locket of yours." was the only advice she offered.

Sahara narrowed her eyes, broadcasting bitter thoughts.

The NightWings giggled to themselves.

Sahara whipped around, flinging her barbed tail in their faces. They ducked, and waited underneath the library counter for her to leave.

The SandWing found an unoccupied hallway to pace.

Sahara knew that Starmind had gone off after Hibiscus. That was a fact. The problem was that she never came back.

She sat down promptly, tail curled around talons. Bitterly, she thought that she would have to bring this up with Desert, and probably even the authorities who ran the Academy.

The gong rang, reverberating through Sahara's skull. She realized that she had been sitting there for way too long.

Try using that locket of yours.

The words echoed in her head. Clutching her locket, she whispered, Where is Starmind?

A faint glow illuminated a hallway. She would have to remember this for later.

She had now memorized the passageway to her winglet. Winding through twisting halls, she stumbled into the room right as the third gong rang.

In the middle sat Desert. Splayed around her were Sahara's winglet- Polar, then Raptor, Heron, Hibiscus, then Conch. Sahara took her place.

"Has anyone seen Starmind?" Desert asked as the class fully assembled. Everyone mumbled incoherently and fervently shook their heads. Sahara tapped her talons.

"Sahara? Did you?"

Wild emotions ran through her head.

She coughed.

"Sahara?"

Sahara nodded.

"She... she snuck out of the cave last night. I only heard her leave, I didn't know where she was going."

Desert frowned.

"She was following Hibiscus." Was all that Sahara added.

All eyes turned to the RainWing. He immediately turned bright red and smacked his tail on the ground loudly.

"Are you saying I have something to do with this? You were the ones creepily talking about me!" He exclaimed.

The rest of the dragonets had their eyes going back and forth like a ping-pong match.

"Is this true?" Desert asked confusedly. Sahara shrugged, turning her back to the dragonets.

Hibiscus hissed, black floating across his body. Sahara narrowed her eyes.

"We were talking about you because we heard you in the hallway with Citrine. We would've figured out the prophecy by now if it wasn't for your little clash."

A sudden hiss came over the classroom. Sahara realized it a little too late and clamped her claws over her snout.

Polar was the first to speak.

"What prophecy?" he drawled, his low voice echoing in the silent cave.

"I-uh-"

"Yeah, what prophecy? I thought there wouldn't be anymore since the last one with Darkstalker!" Heron asked.

Raptor and Conch nodded silently, while Hibiscus hissed.

"Yes. Would you mind reciting this 'prophecy' for us?" asked Desert, air-quoting 'prophecy'.

Sahara cleared her throat, feeling eyes pressing into her on all sides. A slow tinge of red blossomed on her cheeks.

"Mind of stars and desert rose," she began, her voice cracking.

"When the seashell sings then shall its foes.

Breath of fire and breath of frost,

Come to find what once was lost.

Eddying the futures and stirring the past

Impostor comes to justice at last."

She choked out the last words.

There was a silence in the room for several minutes.

"I...well then." Desert said simply.

Sahara turned to see Conch staring at her, dumbfounded. On her other side, Raptor was looking puzzled and confounded.

Hibiscus was the one who broke the ice.

"I suppose we have to go and look for her. After all, we are her winglet. And that's what usually happens anyway."

Conch shook out her wings.

"Well, I suppose I must agree. I'm her cavemate or clawmate or whatever you want to call it."

Sahara nodded.

"I suppose it's decided then?"

Desert slammed her tail on the ground, creating a loud noise and shaking loose rocks from the ceiling. Pebbles showered the dragonets.

"Now hold on. You six belong at this school, I can't exactly let you be running off, can I? I'm your legal guardian, so what I say goes. And you are not leaving this Academy until the end of this year. Understood?"

The classroom was silent. Desert had never raised her voice like that at them.

"Now, since everyone has no objections to that, we're going to be starting our unit on the Scorching. Everyone get a scroll and read along."

The SandWing waved her tail at a scroll rack on the wall. The dragonets shuffled over and picked each one up silently.

While Sahara was there, she nudged Conch.

"Hey, meet me in the library today, preferably after the whole lights-out situation. Get everyone else to as well." she whispered.

Conch nodded silently.

Sahara elbowed Raptor ever so slightly. The SkyWing turned to look at her with an expression of disdain.

"Hey, can you meet me and Conch in the library after lights-out? Try to get Polar and Hibiscus as well." she asked.

Raptor considered this, then nodded.

"Sure, I'll try to get venom-breath and igloo-face there as best I can." he replied. Sahara grinned as she returned to her spot.

Desert narrowed her eyes and sharply nodded at everyone. There was a rustling of paper as everyone unrolled their scrolls.

As Desert began to drone, Conch elbowed Sahara in the ribs.

She hissed.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"You like him, don't you?" Conch asked, a grin spreading on her face.

"What-who?"

"Raptor, duh."

Sahara blushed profusely.

"What? No I don't! Why would I?"

Conch giggled.

"Weeeellll, he likes you."

"What! No he doesn't, he's arranged to marry Citrine or something." Sahara replied.

"Uh, just 'cause he's royalty doesn't mean he can't do whatever he wants! I mean, for sure I ain't marrying some stiff baron twice my age!"

"Then who are you gonna marry?" Sahara teased.

Conch's aquamarine scales turned a light purple as they blossomed with flush.

"Someone at this school's all I tell you." She whispered stoutly. Sahara stifled a giggle.

"Girls!" Desert snapped, "Quiet down!"

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

When the gong rang, Sahara ran to catch up with Heron. She tapped the MudWing lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey!" She said, whirling around.

"Hey, Heron. Listen, I know we aren't close friends or anything, but could you meet me and Conch and probably the rest of our winglet in the library, about, what, an hour after lights-out?" Sahara asked.

Heron tapped her talons.

"Sure, I suppose I could try to get away from my sibs. But Squish and Squelch take a lot of time to fall asleep...and I'm their bigwings."

Sahara shrugged.

"It's okay if you can't, you don't-"

"Wait, did you say Conch would be there?" Heron interrupted.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, ahem, I'll certainly try to be there. Not because of Conch, or anything. Because you're my winglet. That's why."

Heron blushed profusely and awkwardly scuttled away.

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

The dragon patrolling the halls was now a female RainWing.

She peered into Sahara's cave as Sahara disappeared into the sand and Conch slipped under the water into her little pool.

The little light globes in the halls dimmed.

Sahara waited for half an hour, making sure there was no one in the halls as far as she could hear. She couldn't fall asleep, excitement, worry, an a knot of other emotions beat in her heart loudly.

When the scraping of talons and the whoosh of tails on stone faded away, Sahara bounded over to Conch's sleeping pool and stuck her talons under the water.

The SeaWing lunged out, showering the room with droplets. A grin spread across her face from ear to ear.

"Are you ready?" she whisper-shouted.

Sahara nodded and put a claw to her snout, signaling quiet. Conch nodded and made a motion to indicate winding a chain around her snout.

They slipped out of the cave and into the halls. The fire globes lit the stone passageways dimly, illuminating the slight passage to the library.

Sahara slipped through the halls. She heard the wet flap of webbed talons on stone behind her, and felt Conch stay tight on her tail.

They arrived in the library and took a spot by the entry but also by the windows.

After a few minutes the clack of four pairs of talons approached.

Sahara heard four dragons enter the library. Then she heard Heron's voice call out softly.

"Sahara?"

The other dragons shushed her.

"I'm here, Heron." she called out.

A burst of flame illuminated the four dragons by the entryway.

Sahara counted.

The muddy-amber figure of Heron, the dark-gray dappled with a light pink figure of Hibiscus trying to be stealthy, the light azure and white, muscular figure of the horned Polar.

And the ruby-shot-through-with-gold lean figure of Raptor.

Sahara breathed a plume of flame and beckoned to the other dragons. Cautiously, they swept over to her and Conch.

"Hey, not everyone here has night vision." Hissed Hibiscus.

Sahara heard Conch snort a laugh, and she momentarily was blinded as she opened her wings and flared all the stripes on her body.

Spots danced in front of her eyes.

Heron clambered over next to Conch, Polar and Hibiscus stood stiffly by each other in a show of camaraderie, and Raptor brushed by Sahara as he took a seat facing her.

Sahara cleared her throat.

"Well, I guess I want to thank everyone for coming. I suppose you all know why we're here." she said in a hushed voice.

There was a hiss of approval from who-knows-where.

"Um, I just wanted to say that I feel, as Starmind's clawmate and winglet, we should go after her."

Polar spoke up.

"And how do you propose we do this?" he asked, hiss ringing through the library.

"Well, I enchanted my locket to find things and-"

A gasp rippled through the gathered dragons.

"You're an animus?" Conch murmured.

"I-uh, well, yes. I suppose this wasn't the best way to break the news, but-"

"Well, it sure is better than telling the grown-ups and having dragons lock you up and whatnot." Raptor said sharply. Sahara smiled warmly.

"I suppose, yes. Well, I enchanted this locket to help me find things that I need to find, and I feel that we could probably use it. Here, what is a scroll that someone knows off the top of their head?"

Heron called out.

"Royal SeaWing Lineage!"

"Okay, now watch. Locket, help me find the scroll Royal SeaWing Lineage." Sahara said. Immediately, the usually-dim golden path shone bright in the dark.

Hibiscus furrowed his brows.

"I don't see anything."

Sahara took the locket off and dropped it over his head. Immediately, he gasped.

"Why is there gold everywhere?" he asked with the curiosity of a newborn.

The other dragons narrowed their eyes.

Hibiscus took off the locket and passed it to Polar. He had the same reaction.

The locket got passed around, proving it's authenticity to everyone.

"But what about your soul?" Conch asked.

Sahara pried open her pouch and pulled out the stamp.

She pressed it on her arm and showed the deep azure color to everyone.

"This stamp is enchanted to show me my soul level. Black is perfect, blue is almost perfect, etcetera."

"Why were you hiding this from us?" Raptor cried.

"I..." Sahara's cheeks turned red. "I didn't want you guys thinking me a soulless freak."

Conch ruffled her wings, offended.

"I wouldn't think you that!" She offered.

Sahara smiled sadly.

"So, are we going on some rescue mission or something?" Polar asked.

Sahara looked around at everyone. They nodded.

"I..Yes. Yes, we are. Everyone, pack your library pouches with important things- and only important things. No jewels, no fancies, only helpful things, like food and money. I-I feel like we should stop at some town after we leave. So.. bring things we can sell that aren't helpful. Like a bracelet or something. Meet me here at the same time tomorrow night. Stock up on food and energy." Sahara instructed.

Her winglet nodded.

"Oh, and still go to lessons." She added.

Everyone went quiet, though, as a sudden scraping noise rang out outside the library.

Sahara went still. Another scraping noise.

Then a voice.

"Come out, come out, darlings. We both know you shouldn't be here."

Sahara and Conch looked at each other.

Kangaroo.