Why? Of all dragons! Did she have to find me! I should've found a better place to sleep for the night! She scolded herself as she looked at the other hybrid who was perched on a jagged bolder less than a wing length away from her.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." The splotchy hybrid said with a smile, her two tails coiling around the jagged rock she was perched upon. Her jewelry glinted and shimmered in the sunlight. The emeralds embedded into the scales above her eyes glowed the brightest along with her gold earrings. Her eyes glowed just as brightly as the jewels she wore.

"What are you doing here?" Lavender hissed, her tail lashing behind her, scattering any small pebbles around her.

"Am I not able to go where ever I please?"

"You know what I meant!"

"Alright fine," the hybrid gracefully leaped down from her perch, shaking out her wings slightly, the small star like markings within her wings looking to sparkle and twinkle like actual stars that would look to dance within the cool night sky along with the glowing moons. "When I came back, I found you were gone, which, let's both be honest, it was kind of expected."

"Obviously."

"Anyways," the their hybrid started to walk around Salamander, her claws lightly tapping the stone with each step. "I looked for you. Yesterday I couldn't find you, but clearly I was lucky this morning when I found a certain purple dragon sprawled out across the stones on the side of a mountain."

"Why did you even bother searching for me?" Lavender demanded once the other hybrid had finished talking. Once Lavender spoke, Salamander stopped dead in her tracks.

"Why?"

"Yes! Why?!"

"You're fun company, which, I haven't had in a long time."

"I can see why." Lavender grumbled under her breath. Salamander either didn't hear her comment or just didn't care. She seemed to not care about a lot.

"Plus, you're kinda involved in some dangerous stuff now. So, I wanna keep my little niece safe, don't I?" She smiled, as though she were trying to be charming.

"I'm not your niece! So stop pretending I am!" Her tail lashed back and forth across the stone. "And I didn't want to be involved in all your troubles that you created for yourself by STEALING! What'd you even steal to get into this much trouble? To have such a high bounty price hovering above your head like a flock of butterfly's?!" She demanded as she poked the larger hybrids chest with one of her talons. Salamander didn't even flinch or try to push her talons away, she just, sat there, taking it.

"Okay, okay, I get that. No more calling you my niece, alright, that's settled. As for what I stole, I didn't really steal anything to get myself into trouble, I was just apparently getting in the way of a certain dragon and figured out to much, so, that's why I'm wanted."

"But you did steal something."

"Oh, no, of course not."

Lavender didn't even need to read her mind to know she was lying. She raised an eyebrow at the other hybrid, giving her a "really, you sure about that?" Look, which seemed to make the other hybrid crack.

"Maybe I did steal, some stuff, but that wasn't what got my caught!"

"Oh? And what did get you caught and lead up to all this. Go on, tell me. If I'm dragged into this whole mess, maybe I should, oh I dunno, know about it." Lavender sat back upon her hind legs as she crossed her forearms across her chest, her pink eyes narrowed into a glare towards Salamander.

"All I did was do what I do best."

"Which would be what, sneaking around like a total creep?"

"No, but the sneaking part, yes. But anyway." Her wings twitched at her sides as she sat down, her tails coiling in front of her talons. "You remember the gang of dragons I saved you from?"

"I wouldn't call it saving me form, but yes, how could I ever forget their murdery faces that definitely said I love you so much and I definitely won't strangle you behind a tree, oh no, I definitely won't. But yes, go on."

"Well, lets just say I found something out about them that they didn't want getting out."

"Figured, but seriously, what did you even do?"

"I found out that Apricot, the leader of The Barbed Cobra's, didn't just magically become leader after their last leaders death. He killed her, made him look like the hero in trying to find out her murderer and made it to where everyone saw him as a leader, which made it easy for him to take up said position."

Lavender was in shocked silence. THATS WHAT SHES IN TROUBLE FOR?! SHES BASICALLY CAUGHT A MURDERER!

"How did you even figure that out!?"

Scorpion had told her about Apricot and how his leadership had turned a relatively peaceful gang that took residence in the Scorpion Den into one that was a problem for all dragons. Forcing dragons to pay them to drink water or eat anything, or just straight up robbing them of heir belongings just because they could. Scorpion had been trying to figure out ways to calm the situation, but with each move she made, it felt as bough Apricot was one step ahead of her.

"I used to be a Barbed Cobra."

"You used to be a Barbed Cobra?! Then why don't you have a tattoo?" Lavender's mind was swirling with questions, her anger long forgotten. Okay, so Salamander wasn't wanted for the reason she suspected, she was wanted for something she found out and it was most likely that Apricot wanted to find a way to keep his secret hidden. So maybe she wasn't all that bad, but she was still a thief.

"I just never got one." She shrugged. "I lied and said a did, plus, everyone wears block cloaks that basically shout hey, I'm part of a gang, fear me, and I didn't like that look. Besides! At the time, Aardvark wasn't all that strict about having the tattoo, it was the dragons choice if they wanted it or not, she even didn't recommend getting it unless you wanted it known by anyone who looked on your shoulder to know you were in the gang."

"Was Aardvark the past leader of the Barbed Cobra's?"

"Yes, she was great." Salamander huffed with a smile, as if she was thinking about a memory with the mentioned SandWing. Lavender couldn't help herself as she focused on the other Hybrid's mind.

"You seriously thought that was a good idea?" A warm sandy yellow SandWing with warm red-ish brown scales running down along her spine asked, raising an eyebrow towards a younger looking Salamander who looked to be around five years old. The SandWing wore a black, gold rimmed cloak with a golden piece attaching it at the front. The golden piece was circular like a gold coin and on the front of it, carved into it, was the Barbed Cobra's symbol.

She must've been Aardvark.

"Yeah, I did, that's why I did it." Your Salamander huffed as she put on a necklace. It was one of the emerald necklaces she wore now.

"You could've gotten caught."

"Yeah, but I didn't."

"I said could've, I didn't say you did you lizard brain."

"I'm not a lizard brain!" Salamander pouted with an annoyed huff.

"Could've fooled me." Aardvark chuckled with a warm smile on her face that seemed to be as warm as the sun itself. "But, aside from you being an idiot, I'm glad you didn't get caught."

"I wouldn'tve gotten caught, I never get caught!"

"Let's hope it stays that way then Sal." Aardvark chuckled as she flicked her barbed tail. "Common, let's get back to the hut."

The memory seemed to fade away as Lavender was brought back into reality. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. It seemed as though they had a good relationship, she thought to herself. Maybe Aardvark was Salamander's mother?

"What was your relationship with her?" She blurted out, not even thinking twice about it until she realized what she said. Would she figure out I read her mind and saw what she was thinking? She knows I can read minds!

"She was like a parent, or, an older sister. What ever you prefer." Salamander shrugged. "When I heard she was found dead, I was so focused on trying to figure out what happened that I went against the gang, and one day, I found Apricot speaking with a NightWing about what he did and telling her that he'd have a better chance at stealing for her with his current position."

"Wait, a NightWing?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, a NightWing."

It could just be nothing, but will all the bad feelings I've got about Animosity, it could be her, she thought with a flick of her tail. "What did they look like?"

"Couldn't get a good view, but she had eyes that looked to glow like gold, and every word she spoke sounded as though she were about to absolutely snap and lose her mind." Salamander rolled her eyes. "Like really, I was somewhat hoping that she'd snap at Apricot and choke him out there and then to get rid of him. But, she didn't, instead, she spotted me and that's why I'm on the run from the Barbed Cobra's."

Golden yellow eyes, just like Animosity, her mind swirled with questions. Maybe it was Animosity, it sounded a lot like her, but maybe it was just some random NightWing. Her frills shook as though to clear her thoughts.

"How about we go back to something interesting."

"Huh?" Lavender looked up to meet Salamander's emerald green eyes that were surrounded by black whites that made them pop even more against her dark patches scales that were around it.

"Where were you planning to fly off to? I bet it was some place interesting." Salamander looked down at her talons, as though she were looking over every single one like a piece of expensive jewellery.

"Nowhere special." Lavender huffed, with a lash of her tail. "Just to the SkyWing kingdom."

"But were already in the Sky Kingdom." The hybrid smirked when she saw Lavender's gave her slightly frustrated and annoyed.

"You know what I meant! I meant the main village outside of Queen Flicker's palace!" Her frills flared in annoyance. For a few minutes, she actually forgot how annoying Salamander could be. It's almost as though she enjoyed annoying Lavender. Which, sure, Lavender loves annoying Shadowsplitter, but she surely wasn't entertaining to annoy, was she? No, she wouldn't be.

"You were headin' there? Well, sorry to break it to ya honey, you might've flown off track and are heading closer to the Mud Kingdom rather than Queen Flicker's palace."

"What? No, I'm sure I'm heading the right way! I've flown through the Sky Kingdom at least a thousand times! Her palace is embedded into the tallest mountain."

"And where is that?" Salamander's smirk never left her face as she looked back over towards the smaller purple hybrid before her who's frills were fanned out still and rattling.

"It's over-" Lavender doin to where she was headin last night, pointing with one talon before she realized the mountain she had been originally flying towards yesterday wasn't there, just smaller mountains that looked to be starting to even out. "-there..."

"Ha! Yeah, you might've missed it." Lavender looked back behind her to see the mountain was behind her rather than in front of her, far, behind her. "And by might've, I mean definitely by a long shot."

"Oh shut up! I was tired!" Lavender felt he scales across the bridge of her snout turn a brighter colour, almost pink, in embarrassment. Lavender hated being embarrassed, it gave her a weird feeling that she did NOT like one bit.

"Tired of what? Being away from me?"

"No, I was tired from flying you dumb lizard!"

"So you did miss me."

"Nope, not one bit."

"Oh you're so cruel, Lavy, I think I might cry."

"You'll live."

"I don't think I will, I can see a bright light, oh, the pain is to much!"

Lavender grumbled as she stood up, watching Salamander flop onto the stone floor beneath them. "I'm leaving." She states as she turned to start making her way towards the edge of the cliff side, towards where the maintain that held Queen Flicker's palace, this time she wouldn't miss it.

"Wait for me!" Salamander quickly got up to walk beside her.

"Why do you want to come along?"

"I'm bored, and besides, it's fun to be on the run together than apart."

"Fine, I'll let you tag along as Lon as you don't steal anything." Lavender sighed as she spread her wings and shot off into the air, Salamander hot on her heals. As the two dragons soared above to towering mountains, with trees down below them, looking like tiny green fuzzy ants. They could see lakes and rivers that looked tiny from up in the sky.

"Who said about you letting me come? I'm coming by free will." Salamander flew ahead slightly, Lavender frowning as she pushed herself back into the lead.

"I could just lose you again and make sure you never find me so I can live without you attracting trouble wherever you go. How does that sound? I think it sounds amazing! Let's try it!" She clapped her talons like an excited dragonet, but kept an annoyed look on her face.

"Nah, I like this idea better." Salamander shot past Lavender, her wing tucked as she dived to gain speed before hey shot open and carried her up, now way in the lead.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Lavender shouted as she gallows her wings to catch up.

"Racing! What does it look like I'm doing?!" The other hybrid shouted back. Lavender could practically hear the smirk on Salamander's face from here.

"It looks like you're going to lose this race! That's what!" Lavender shout as she caught up and flew past Salamander with a twirl in the air. She looked back to see Salamander smirking back at her, and this time, Lavender met it with one of her own.

"Oh it's on kid!"

"Not a kid!"

"Well you fly like one!"

The two hybrids kept flying though the mountains, heading towards the SkyWing Palace, together. Maybe being with Salamander won't be to bad, she thought as the two kept racing through the mountains.

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This chapter was meant to be a bit longer, but it would've been a little large if I kept going, so, I'll save the next part for chapter 12.

But onto Lavender and Salamander, those two look to be getting along, don't you think?

- MindlessTyper