The three hybrids sat around the fire that Startide had made earlier in the night. Ivan curled happily around his master's neck, sleeping soundly. Riverbed gnawed loudly on the femur of a rather large animal he had eaten almost completely by himself. Radiance meanwhile, stared absently at the dancing fire, every once in a while her emerald eyes snapping back into focus on the flames.

"So," Startide mumbled, swallowing a hunk of charred meat. "You say you both have been watching me? That's a little creepy, why?"

"Well, kid. That's what we are. Radiance and I are the Watchers." Riverbed stated before setting the bone he gnawed on the ground. "We comb the continent, looking for hybrids like us. When we find one, we watch, simple. An' I'll tell ya'. You were one of tha most interestin' to watch. Your powers are nuts kid, what you did to that tree back there? Yeah, no other dragon ya age has ever done something as cool as that." He smiled in a warm way.

"We normally wait 'bout a week  before makin' ourselves known; that way we got the uppa' claw. Some kids like you have been 'urt real bad. They get an itchy trigger-finger, ya 'know? Next thing we know, there's an animus hybrid tryna' kill us before we get two words in edgewise. That's why we watch. To find out weaknesses in case somethin' like that happens. We lost one good dragon moons ago to a student who snapped like a dry twig. Boss says that we gotta wait n' watch now."

"Student?" Startide inquired. He laid down closer to the fire. The bitter winds were getting nippier. River scootched closer too.

"Yup. He took offa good chunk o' my tail, and killed a brother of mine. He's a good kid now. Eclipse is a fighter, but he's not as smart as 'e wants ya to think. You'll meet 'im soon, I'm sure."

"Are you a branch of Jade Mountain Academy?" the young dragon asked. Images of yesterday's event with the ball flashed in his head. Three moons he hoped that wasn't the case.

"Melting icecaps, no!" Radiance suddenly snapped into the conversation. A wave of sickly greenish-yellow washed over her scales. Startide didn't think those colors suited such pristine scales of the Ice-Rain hybrid. "We are nothing like them. Well, yes we do emphasize unity. But we are also a much larger school, and in a different location. Our academy consists of a student body entirely of a hundred or so hybrid dragonets."

Startide's eyes grew larger. His heart raced. "A hundred hybrid dragons!" he asked, on the verge of shouting. "Are you serious!" his smile spread wider and wider.

"That's only the students!" Riverbed roared. Radiance's scales faded swiftly back to mother-of-pearl. She smiled at the larger dragon. "The staff make up at least another twenty hybrids!" he laughed.

"And they're all hybrids, just like us?" Startide asked, eyes sparkling.

"Well, all but one..." Radiance said. Her scales were coated in a mysterious violet, streaked with blood-red. "His name is Widowmaker, the founder and headmaster of the academy."

"A NightWing,?" Startide asked. "Mum told me my father's name was Orphaner. So Widowmaker sounds like a NightWing name."

Radiance nodded.

"He's quite an awry dragon. No one has ever really seen him, and he spends most of his time holed up in his cave. Only River and I have ever talked to him, and even then, he seemed very temperamental. Widowmaker is the only one-tribe dragon in the Academy." She explained.

"He sounds, interesting." Startide rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"I'm with ya there, kid." River yawned. "Time to hit the sack. See ya in the mornin', Radiance." The big dragon laid down in the dirt, snoozing loudly within a few moments.

Startide looked over to Radiance. She deftly climbed a tree, laying peacefully in a lower branch. Her scales shimmered, and she was a dark green, almost black. The hybrid yawned. Her serrated claws were latched into the branches. She laid her head down on her talons, and was soon cat-napping.

The little dragonet ruffled his wings, and laid down in the dirt, his body curling around the fire. He watched the flames until passing out.

(Here. I hope this can make up for me being absent. I hope you're liking the story so far!)