"Move off."

"You move."

"Make me." Nightstar snorted, throwing a well aimed blow at Striker's spiky tail. Striker twitched his wings cheekily in his ears, before rolling off the sleep pile with an almighty oof.

Nightstar slithered out himself, watching their Clawmate Tidal slump down into the empty space, and then straightened himself up. He was a going to be a really great student, after all. He had to have dignity.

Striker, meanwhile, was shaking the skies out of his scales over in the corner. Nasty talon scuffs all over the floor. It hadn't even been a night, and their room seemed a dump already. Even the leaf curtains were partially torn in sections, owed to a particularly high stakes game of tag earlier. 

Actually, I ... feel a little guilty about that. Maybe I should offer to help Starflight repair them.

His attention was quickly brought back to Striker as his tail knocked over a stack of rocks in the corner as it swung.

"What do you think you're doing!" Nighstar hissed, silencing his friend with a flick of his tail.

"Stretching."

"All over our cave."

"... Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

Nightstar shook his head exasperatedly. "Well, come on then! There will be no midnight exploration for us if you don't get a move on!" He cast a wary glance back at the sleep pile: something Striker had practically forced them to do as a 'bonding' activity. Unfortunately, Tidal had been all for it. "Tidal might wake up with all this noise."

"He won't. You're being paranoid." Striker assured.

"I'm being sensible."

"What does sensible mean to you, Night? Does sneaking out in the middle of the night scream sensible, really?"

Nightstar shuffled on his talons, and resorted to wafting Striker out of the cave with his tail. "Go on, shoo, move!"

Striker gave a barking laugh and rolled over the boundary, dust from the floor sticking to the bright purple scales on his back. Some of the other dragons they'd met said that Striker looked like a little indigo flower. Nightstar often had to correct them by saying he looked like a walking, talking bunch of grapes.

"Okay, where now?" He whisper-hissed to Striker, who stood lazily behind him. The purple SilkWing slunk past him with a wink and took the lead, stepping silently down the corridors.

Nightstar followed, although his frills had shifted to a pale green.

"So? Where to?" Striker asked, the glint in his purple eyes sparking dangerously. "The teachers' caves? The Prey Centre? Ooooh, the cliffs?"

"The cliffs? Strike, that's a little bit dangerous for two dragonets... And you've only just got your wings."

"The cliffs it is, then!" He declared, brandishing an imaginary flag pole.

"We are not an empire!" He hissed, but his snout contorted in laughter. Shaking the sleep from his eyes, he bounced after his friend like some sort of scaly ferret, until the reached the cave mouth that opened to the outside.

The whole Academy seemed transformed at night. The walls and floors seemed darkened and silent, so silent, Nightstar thought he could hear a scale drop... Or talon steps.

His heart momentarily sped up, but soon he realised this was just Striker. What would Mum think if she saw us now?

Actually, Dad would think it is pretty cool. Alright, Cloverpool can be the academic one, then. Let's go.

"Wait up!" He called, speeding after the SilkWing. Just as they had entered in tandem, the two dragonets stepped over to the outside in sync. Striker flashed him am excited grin, and Nightstar was a little ashamed to have smiled back despite the weight of at least ten broken rules on his back.

Since when have rules bothered me? He thought, torn. Since I grew up, I guess... But how has Striker managed to stay how he is?

I wish ... I wish I could go back to when I would have enjoyed this WITHOUT thinking of all the consequences. He thought with a little bit of regret.

But he shoved it away, and padded after Striker, who was leaping ahead into a scattering of trees.

The two of them ran into the depths of the woods, Nightstar trailing just before Striker. Great wooded roots scraped at his talons, and he felt ivy draping all over his wings like one big web. The trees here were spindlier, like ghost stalks, twisted into a canopy over their heads.

He couldn't see very well, but he reckoned Striker couldn't either. And in any case, the crunching of the leaf litter below them would alert them of anything.

"Come on, slowclaws!" Striker hollered.

"SHUSH. You. Will. Get. Us. Caught!" Nightstar yelled back. He tumbled ahead a few paces, ignoring the accumulating scratches from splintered tree branches along his spine, when all of a sudden, Striker disappeared.

He fell completely out of Nightstar's vision.

Then there was an almighty yowl and a flash of purple.

Nightstar bolted through the undergrowth until he came upon a sudden, sheer cliff drop, where Striker's claw was clamped upon the crumbly earth at the edge, and his other claw grappled at the rubbery roots that stuck out at wild angles. His eyes tremored.

"Nightstar!" He barked. "Nightstar!"

"Okay! O-okay! I'm doing something! I - I'm going to help!" He spluttered back. All of a sudden, his claws were shaking, and he felt nervous sweat slide in slippery ropes down his head.

He dived forwards and laced his talons strongly around Striker's, clenching his jaw in strenuous effort.

Nightstar flared his wings out for extra weight, and slowly, he began to shift Striker's midsection back onto the ledge. The SilkWing propelled himself upwards with his wings as soon as they could find a grip on the earth.

Both of them rolled over each other a few times, scaling back to the edge of the forest, and then Nightstar flopped over.

He let himself breath heavily, and closed his eyes in relief.

"This. Is why we follow rules." Nightstar panted.

"No. No." Striker repeated, his eyes still sparkling. "Maybe that rule is justified, but most rules are still made to be broken!"

"Rules are made to keep idiots like you safe!" Nightstar snapped.

Striker started to back away. "Alright. Keep your scales on." He 'apologised', reluctantly. "But... Look at this place. This hollow here, you see? Wouldn't this be the perfect hiding place?"

"If we were playing it right by the edge of the cliff." He said back, irritatedly.

"Fine! I get it! You're all mature now, and can't have fun anymore."

"Maybe I'm just more sensible!" Nightstar snapped back.

"Maybe you worry a bit TOO MUCH!" Striker flared his wings. They quickly folded in on his sides, and he looked directly at Nightstar. "You've changed."

His words were neither scornful nor positive. They were just a hurtful kind of neutral. The kind that pierced his chest and reaffirmed all his thoughts about himself.

Striker probably thinks I don't like him! He began to panic. How do I show him I don't? Hello? WORDS, brain? Can I think of any words right now?

But he'd stood silently for so long that Striker had got to his feet and brushed silently past him, making his way up to the school again. Nightstar turned and called his name, but he only paused for the slightest of seconds.

Have I just lost my only friend... On the first day?

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Me and Striker were supposed to be the best friends in the WHOLE SCHOOL!

I don't worry too much.

But as he dragged his sorry tail after Striker, Nightstar couldn't help but think that he really did worry too much for his own good.

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

Good news! Writing SoulMate has found a guaranteed place in my schedule at the very least once a week, so hopefully I can get some progress here.

Now who will Nightstar hang out with? His embarrassing sister and the Sunsquid Dragonet?

You bet!

~ Solar out