- Whisperpeak Academy for Wayward Dragons - Ch.16 P.1 - Dying Tears -

Instructions

Chapter 16: New People, New Horizon In an hour, dinner was prepared and our small kitchen was a mess. Adrian stared mournfully at his burnt grilled cheese sandwich. Even with Oliver's mediocre help, the dish wasn't very mouthwatering. "On the bright side, we've managed the first day pretty well! The house is still intact. . . We're still intact. . ." I took a gleeful bite out of my sandwich and grinned. God, it tasted like gassy milk and ash. Was that even cheese. . . ? My inner complaints were interrupted as a loud wave rumbled outside our little house. Oliver blinked and slowly got up. A teeny swirl of yellow popped in his gaze. "What do you think that is?" I questioned, slightly jogging to keep up. "That sounded like some new visitors. . . " We stepped out of the motion-activated stone maze that separated us from the dangerous canal, instantly greeted with thrashing waters and the beeps of defense protocols locking in. I yelped as a jellyfish hopped out of the water, crackling with electricity. Oliver instantly pulled me behind him, and I felt my insides light up at his protectiveness. Over the minor tidal wave being stirred up, we heard familiar bickering voices. "My god. So inconsiderate. What happened to politely knocking on the door before barging in?" Alex was clinging to the concrete walls desperately, occasionally coughing as the salty artificial waves whipped against his cheek. He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently. "Shortie, they are /guests/. Henry didn't even know how we would get in. Do you think they were expecting a finely-tuned military-level base? The guest entry lever isn't very obviously placed, is it? It'd anyway take forever to formally sign them in." "You have zero class. They shouldn't have been expecting an open facility!" She groaned and punched her hologram keyboard, trying to reprogram the system. "Get off the dang wall before you-" Suddenly, her bare foot slipped on the rough edge of stone she was standing on. "I'm- you be careful, verdammt!" Alex had grabbed her arm in an instant, his eyes flashing in alarm. "Do you have any idea-" "I'm fine. . ." She grumbled, though Alex hauled her up anyway. "Great- now we both look like a mess." He beckoned to her dripping wet hair. "Whatever." She shoved him away, just lightly enough so he wouldn't fall in himself. Then the stone jaws of the entrance snapped open, the heaving waves slowed down, and we were introduced to our new partners. One girl had a fluffy flower-print dress on, paired with little flats bejeweled with emerald. Her figure was feminine and apple-shaped, radiating with energy. Her hair was in long, swishy braids the color of rye, pale mushrooms poking out of it. She had a long ivy-draped scythe thrown breezily over her shoulder and amber eyes that proved nothing about her was a threat- well, the shiny gold tool made me uneasy. Then there was a man- he was lanky and fierce-looking. Gray horns topped his long, straight silver hair, and his whole body was decorated with thick chains and a light blue robe. His eyes were strange and elf-like, silver chain earrings adorning them. He held a Galian star in one hand (think a cross but from Skygale), and a glimmering scale in the other. His arms were marbled with muscle and were the most enticing part of his body, the rest of him slim. He easily made his scale and star levitate beside him as he dug through a small, aged burlap bag. The last person was a surprisingly young lady. Her face was swirled in colorful makeup, her chocolate brown curls tossed in an energetic ponytail down to her boot-clad feet. Her fully white outfit was accented by bouncing, rainbow sheets of silk and a pair of clear - functional - fairy wings. Gold buttons lined her high-waisted shorts and matched them with a fluffy blouse. Her ponytail was held in place with rings of gold metal that shifted as she moved, along with a stack of bangles on her neck and a few tighter ones on her wrists, reflecting beautifully on her golden-brown skin. Well. These three were definitely not the group of charity cases I was expecting. I hurried down to them. "Hi!" I started, thinking maybe a friendly approach would send us off well. "Finally... You'd think they would want to make the grand entrance a little more flattering for esteemed guests like us... I mean, look at this flooding- my shoes-" The farmer girl critiqued angrily. The man huffed in response, while the rainbow-painted girl rushed to the front of the group. "Heyyy! Is this. . . 'The Resistance'? It's so pretty!" Her dramatic exclamation was only enhanced by the shimmer in her strange, cloud-colored gaze, so impressed by something that could drown her in seconds. "Pretty?! A stone-concrete tube with a bulky, rusted entrance, tattered in rails and glitchy forcefields, on top of that, absolutely /dripping/ in pest plants and lichen? THAT'S /PRETTY/?" The farmer girl snorted in disbelief. (+)