"Should we wake him? Is it safe?"

"Vampirics go into a deeper dormant state than the rest of us. It might be harmful to wake him artificially."

"But look at him. His fangs are smaller than an average vampiric— and his talons are webbed. I think he's a hybrid. That means he might not go into as deep a stasis."

"That would also mean he can hear everything we're saying."

"True. So we should probably wake him."

"I agree. Have you finished with the nanoinjections?"

"Yes."

"Alright, administering adrenaline now."

"Maybe we should have done a genetic test first..."

Gwyndion's eyes snapped open, a symphony of lights blinding him and beeping sounds blaring into his ears. He roared against the assaulting senses, clawing at the air as if he could make them go away. His claws scraped against something solid— the source of this torture, it must be— and instantly all of his instincts honed in on stopping it. He tried to reach out again with his claws, viciously searching— why did his arm hurt so much? He didn't care. Some sort of force was holding him down, but his arms— those he could move and no matter how much it hurt he had to stop that blasted noise!

Suddenly the same force that bound his body snapped over his arms, and he was completely immobilized. He practically saw red as he hopelessly thrashed against the bindings to no avail. The cool scent of blood tinted the air— that didn't help at all. He enjoyed that scent... It could be miles from him and he would be able to smell it... He didn't need to be immobilized for him to want to freeze and home in on exactly where that scent was coming from...

Then another scent interrupted his scent trail... Sweet and herbal... It flooded his sensitive senses, overriding all the others. Lavender and thyme and tawelych flower.

Slowly, his vision began to restore, and the volume of the noise started to die down. He steadied his breathing, focusing on the gentle scents. Around him the details of the room materialized... Silver curved walls made the place seem like a massive tube, and bars of light shined from above... A metal table lay beneath him, and white bands of energy wrapped around his wrists and back and wings held him down... And two figures hovered over him.

"That's right... Keep your breathing nice and steady..." The elder of the two figures said comfortingly. The water Naturae peered down at him with gray eyes. "Welcome back."

Gwyndion glanced between the merwyss and the younger jungle Naturae arwyn beside her. He noticed violet blood dripping down the former's forearm. He stuttered, horrified, "Did— did I—"

"Don't you worry about that," the merwyss assured. "Just a natural reaction to being woken from dormancy. It was our fault in forgetting to restrain your arms before waking you," she chuckled, then turned to a control panel on the wall. "But there's no need for that now," she declared, tapping a pattern of buttons with a claw.

A moment later, the force-field bonds flickered out of existence, and he was free to shake his head in dismay. "I'm so sorry..."

The water Naturae returned to the table on which he lay. "Don't apologize," she insisted. "My apprentice luckily remembered the scent combination to break you from your trance," said she, causing the young Naturae to beam. "Though I am curious... Your reaction was stronger than we anticipated."

Gwyndion sighed. "I'm more vampiric than Naturae," he admitted.

The young jungle Naturae cocked his head. "So your mother was a vampiric?"

The elder Naturae batted him with a wing. "You know enough dragon genetics to not ask silly questions," she scolded.

"I don't mind," Gwyndion assured, turning to the apprentice. "Yes, she was. And my father a water Naturae," he explained. He glanced around again at the strange room before refocusing on the duo. "If-if you don't mind... Where am I? How am I here?"

The young arwyn was happy to answer. "We're on a medical transport to Cepheus Prime," said he.

The merwyss nodded in affirmation. "We found you floating in space on our way from Anfeiddreidd by pure chance. It was a good thing we found you though— your helm had cracked and you were steadily loosing air. Your body reacted by going dormant, we presume. Luckily it kept you alive long enough to be rescued," she explained.

Gwyndion attempted to take this all in... Though the throbbing in his arm distracted him. "Why does my arm hurt?" Asked he.

The elder doctor cracked a grim smile. "Somehow in the process of whatever you were doing out there in space, you managed to shatter just about every bone you had in your arm and a few of your outer ribs," said she. "But you weren't out there long enough for the bones to try and heal themselves, so we gave you a dose of magick-infused stem-cell-nanites. They should put you back together before we reach the station, though you're going to be pretty sore for a few days."

Gwyndion studied his arm. Hardly a trace of damage could be detected on the outside, though his arm certainly felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces and was being stitched back together by an army of microscopic robots.

"So that still leaves the question," the merwyss continued, "Of why you were floating about in open space with a cracked helm and shattered bones?"

And then it hit him.

Every single event at outpost 42 that led to him being here rushed back to him. The comet. The explosion. His desperate attempt to escape...

The outpost being swallowed up by the explosion.

The slab of metal hurtling towards him.

"Oh yeah," he murmured, suddenly feeling hollow. "That."

The merwyss began to clear away some of the medical supplies from the little end table by him. "Let me guess," said she. "You were trying to pull some fancy space stunt for a pretty young ryss, got yourself detached from your teacher and slammed pretty darn hard against the side of your ship, getting yourself left behind in the process?"

"... Not quite," said he.

If only it was... He wished. As if any merwyss would find me interesting... Nothing fascinating in a dragon who prefers computers over company...

But that doesn't matter right now. Not whatsoever.

"Where did you say we were heading again?" He inquired, peaking his head up.

The water Naturae returned over to the table on which he lay. "Only the largest interspecies station out there— Cepheus Prime," answered she.

Gwyndion nodded. "Perfect," he said. "That's exactly where I need to go."

"Wake up mate, we've arrived."

Gwyndion's eyes opened without difficulty, and he tilted to see through the dark the young jungle Naturae by his side. "I couldn't sleep," said he, rolling onto his talons so that he could work his way down off the metal table on which he had rested.

The Naturae nodded and moved on to wake the next patient down the line of the ring-shaped medical bay.

Gwyndion tentatively tested his weight on his mending arm, figuring out how much he could rely on it before it started sending shoots of pain up his shoulder.

By the time he had gotten onto his talons and leaped down to the metal floor, the lights had begun to flicker back into life, and the water Naturae from earlier entered into the room from a door at tangent with the ring-shape of the bay. "Oh good, you're able to walk," she noticed, stepping over to him. "Now, we're going to be taking the other patients to the Cepheus Prime Medical Center, and we have a special port right there. Our patients are more on the serious side of needing medical attention, and so they get carried in. Seeing as you can walk I don't think you'll be needing that— so I'm going to have you disembark with the flight crew. Do you think you'll be able to manage from there?"

"Yes," Gwyndion answered, nodding. "I think I can handle it. Thank you for your help,"

The merwyss gave a smile. "You should make your way to the crew's disembarking zone now. Just go through the door and to the right," she explained, indicating to the door behind her with her tail.

"Got it," confirmed he.

The Naturae slid past him towards the other patients, then paused. "Have you ever been to Cepheus Prime before?"

He shook his head. "No, it's probably the only station in our space that I haven't been on," he said humorously.

She returned his humor in her eyes. "Well I advise you to find a guide or at least a holomap before you try and get anywhere— this station isn't like any other," said she, starting again before she paused once more. "Oh, and, welcome to Cepheus Prime." With that, she turned and left.

Gwyndion held his smile until she was around the bend, sighed, and started through the door, which opened upon his approach.

Through the door he found himself in a gray corridor of similar design to the medical bay. Following the Naturae's instructions, he turned left and followed the passageway to it's end.

The corridor opened up into a rectangular room of moderate size, with a glass floor-to-ceiling window looking out into space. Several crew members had already gathered there, looking out at the view through the glass.

Gwyndion found himself an empty spot to join them, curious as to what they were looking at.

A massive station loomed just outside.

As the transport ship neared closer, the massive station only appeared to grow. It looked sleek in it's oval structure, and it's dark-blue-metal hull reflected the light of the blue giant which it orbited. At the center of the oval rose a great glass dome, and through it he could see obscured, colorful glimpses of the station within— he could see forests of trees and great masses of water and mountains and—

He couldn't take it in fast enough before the transport ship dipped below the hull towards the curved underside of the station.

But it truly was the largest station he had ever seen. "Whoah..." He murmured.

A dragon crew member nearby heard him. "It's amazing, isn't it?" He commented. "I've been here hundreds of times... It never gets old."

Gwyndion couldn't tear his eyes away, trying to sneak glanced through the windows along the underside of the hull. "It is..." He agreed. "It must be twice the size of Nova Anfeiddreidd..."

The crew member nodded. "It is, if not a bit larger than that— and it has what our capital does not: Multi-species capabilities. A wolpertinger or raiju could visit Nova Anfeiddreidd— but here they can live."

"I'm surprised they haven't made it the capital station yet then, for like, multi-species equality and all..." Gwyndion said thoughtfully.

"I've heard that's what the captain is trying to achieve. But it's also why the station is so strict— he wants everyone on their best behavior to help persuade the Court to change bases. So many rules..."

He turned his head to face the crew member, alarmed. "Rules?"

Click!

Gwyndion was distracted from his question by the sound of the ship docking reverberated through the room. He snapped his head back towards the window, and through it he could see a long, blue corridor, illuminated by long bands of blue light that lined the top of the walls.

The glass made a subtle whirring noise, and it slowly slid upwards into the hull of the ship. The crew members all started into the hallway, and after a second Gwyndion realized that he should probably follow them.

His talons clicked on the black granite floor as he followed the crew down the corridor. A black glass door greeted them at the end of the hallway, which opened at their approach into a medium sized rectangular room. A tall metal arch cut the room in half, and creatures in security uniforms directed each crew member through.

A magma volcanic glared at him suspiciously as Gwyndion reached the arch. "Where's your flight uniform?" He questioned.

Gwyndion froze. "I... I'm not a part of the flight crew," he mumbled.

The volcanic's brow furrowed. "Then who are you? Do you have identification?"

"My name is Gwyndion... I'm afraid I don't have my identification chips with me," he stammered. Because it's not like I had the chance to pack before the outpost was attacked and destroyed... He mentally muttered.

"Then, Gwyndion, you must have a very good reason as to why you don't have them," the guard prompted.

It was difficult to resist a chuckle at the irony. "It's... A bit of a long story. One that I need to take to the captain of this station. It's urgent, so if I can just get through..." He started edging towards the arch.

The arwyn planted a talon on his shoulder. "Identification or no entrance," he growled.

"Could you do an eye scan for him?" A raiju called from the other side of the arch. The small, blue, weasel-like creature perched atop a table crowded with various tech.

The guard shook his head. "No, he's vampiric. Eye scans don't work reliably with vampirics considering that their eyes change color. So I suppose that means it's back on the boat for you—"

"Actually," Gwyndion interrupted. "I'm not fully vampiric. The whole eye changing color thing is one trait that I did not inherit. An eye scan should work."

The vampiric frowned, and glanced back at the raiju. "It's worth a try," said the mammal.

The guard sighed. "Alright, go ahead."

With that the raiju picked up a small black pyramid in her mouth and skittered under the arch over to Gwyndion. She set the pyramid on the ground before him, and tapped a small button on one of the sides. Upon doing this a blue holographic screen projected up from the point of the pyramid. The screen itself reflected Gwyndion's face like a mirror, and the box hummed as the program worked to identify him. Finally, the screen flashed, and instead of a mirror it displayed a picture of him. In a artificial merwyss' voice, it began to speak, "Name: Gwyndion. Age: Four-thousand-two-hundred-and-fifty-three. Species: Multicor Dragon. Race: Vampiric and Naturae. Class: Vampiric and Water. Current Assignment: Outpost forty-two. Occupation—"

The volcanic turned the machine off with a stab at the same button that had turned it off. "Alright, that's enough. Go on," said he, nodding towards the detector arch.

"Thank you," Gwyndion bid, and proceeded to pass through the detector.

Once through, the raiju directed him towards a door at the end of the room. Cold air surged through the door as it opened, greeting him as he took his first steps onto the actual station.

He halted.

"Great cababits."

All around him the station swarmed with activity. Dragons hurried past him and wolpertingers soared through the air this way and that. Tall, beautiful, elaborate buildings of metal and glass towered into the air in fantastic, gravity defying architecture, and winged wolves and Pegasi soared between them. Bridges linked the buildings from above for the wingless Kirin, quilin, unicorns and raijus. Some of the buildings themselves even seemed to move, rotating or flexing back and and forth on phantom breezes like trees in the wind, connecting themselves to other buildings for a few moments, allowing creatures to cross over, before swaying away again. Trees grew in little plots of earth and waterfalls cleverly maneuvered themselves around the buildings. Light beamed from Windows and from the waterfalls and from lights branching out from the buildings to illuminate the ground. From the black granite floor a myriad more other creatures strolled and chatted and went about their lives.

He almost tripped over his own talons as he dared to move forward, transfixed by the place.

Exactly how he was going to find the captain seemed all the more impossible.

Yet still, he considered, this place is incredible.

What was it that doctor had said I should find? Ah yes, a holomap. Those are generally helpful.

He craned his neck, scouting around for something displaying an overview of the station. Spotting a holomap a little bit away, he maneuvered his way through the crowds towards it. With so many creatures about, he constantly had to pause and glance around again to make sure that the movement of the crowds hadn't shifted him away from his course.

Almost there, just keep going straight—"

Scales rammed into his injured shoulder, sending sparks of pain shooting down his arm.

"Watch it!" A harsh arwyn's voice growled. Gwyndion turned to see the angry violet eyes of vampiric before his attacker slipped away back into the crowds.

Gwyndion huffed in annoyance, rubbing his sore arm with his right talon. Strange, he mentally muttered. Oh well.

Dissipating his annoyance, he returned his attention to reaching the holomap. He weaved his way through the crowds until finally he reached it.

Projected from a black cylindrical base, a three-dimensional image of Cepheus Prime lazily rotated in the air. He reached a talon up to the map, and tags identifying the locations popped up wherever he held his talon. "Okay..." He murmured to itself. "Now where's the bridge of this place..."

The map rotated and flipped to the will of his talon, and he scanned it over, looking for what might be the bridge. "So I'm at the stern of the station... District twelve..." He hovered his talon over other parts of the ship. "The bow is district eleven..." A ring around the large domed area was district ten and inside that ring was a large circle divided into eight more districts. Then, at the center of these eight districts was a circular district— the final district— district one. Gwyndion squinted at this circle, for at the very center of it lay another tiny circle, labeled simply "B".

He bit his lip. Hopefully that stands for "Bridge", thought he. He poked the little circle with his claw. "Now how do I get here?" He thought aloud.

Just then a light appeared beneath his talons. He tilted his head down to peer at it— the floor itself seemed to be what was glowing; a little circle of blue light. It then started to drift away from his talons, before pausing, as if waiting for him.

Is it trying to show me where the bridge is? He suspected.

Suddenly the little circle started speeding away from him. "Hey, wait!" Gwyndion called, dashing after it. The light did not wait for him this time, and instead darted and zigzagged away around buildings and down streets. Gwyndion struggled not to loose track of it while also not colliding with the other creatures hurrying by. That, and around every corner he wanted to pause and absorb all that there was to see.

Creatures advertised their wares outside their businesses and restaurants— "Fresh gugamari shanks! Seasoned with fire salts from the Volcanic Plains of Anfeiddreidd!" A dragon called to him, thrusting a tray of delicious-smelling meat towards him.

"Chocolate bubbles! So light they literally float!" A wolpertinger on his other side tried, holding a bowl of chocolate spheres that seemed to be escaping into the air.

As delicious as that last delicacy looked, his guide was already disappearing around the next corner, and he sped to keep up with it.

Upon turning the corner, the buildings temporarily gave way and the towering ceiling opened up into glass, allowing a view of the stars. Ahead he could see more tall sleek black buildings, which all appeared to be rotating behind a screen of black glass dividing the two areas. Directly in front of him, however, was a large clear glass capsule on magnetic tracks— and the guide light was headed right for it.

Gwyndion leapt into a run, determined to catch up with the pesky little light. Closer... Closer... Just another meter...

One moment the light disappeared from beneath his talons.

The next, he collided into the interior of the glass capsule.

"Ooof!" He grunted, collapsing to the granite ground. Pain blossomed in his injured arm again, and he groaned, rubbing it with his other talon.

Then he realized he could also see a few other talons. And some paws. Even a few hoofs.

Slowly he raised his eyes to see that there were indeed other passengers on the transport. All staring at him.

Great.

Pressing his spines flat against his scales in embarrassment, he pushed himself to his talons, and proceeded to suddenly find something about them very interesting.

A second later he was suddenly jerked backwards as the transport jumped into motion, the sleek ground providing him no traction whatsoever. He was saved from colliding into a Dyre wolf behind him only by a black pole in the center of the capsule.

He flattened his ears and looked over his shoulder with an apologetic expression towards the wolf. Thankfully the fellow passenger only responded with an sympathetic nod.

When the transport was moving Gwyndion's balance stabilized, and so he properly sat himself down by one of the curved glass walls and stared out at the station going by. It was all more of the the same that he had seen earlier.

Until the transport turned a corner.

A holographic map projected on the ceiling of the capsule revealed that they were now cutting through the ring-shaped district ten. Here, the buildings changed from those of district twelve.

They were still tall and majorly made of black metal and glass and illuminated by cool neon blue light, but these were loaded with plants creeping along the walls and cascading down from the balconies and rooftops. Glowing blue vines wrapped around the buildings and a cool mist seemed to hang in the air. Elegant flowers from all realms of Anfeiddreidd dotted the walls with color. It was a fascinating mash of tech and nature that somehow managed to go perfectly together.

It all disappeared in a flash as quickly as it had come, and already he was in a whole new area.

The ground gave way as they now sped hundreds of dragon-heights in the air along a narrow track. To his left down below he could see dunes upon dunes of hot sand and a few oasis— the perfect place for desert inhabitants like sand rocs and sand territes. To his right the ground turned ashy and black, and a few volcanoes even made up a ring off in the distance. There he scouted magma, fire, and ash Volcanics all roaming, as well as Wyverns.

The transport zoomed straight between these two pie-wedge-shaped areas, nearing closer and closer towards the center of the ship.

Gwyndion was jolted again as the transport suddenly started slowing down. It soundlessly ground to a halt, and a door in the glass capsule slid open, allowing the passengers to file out.

Gwyndion stumbled out through the door, and found himself in a whole new world.

The only similarity between this area and the last was the black granite floor. Besides that, however, this place was in stark contrast with the metallic theme of district twelve and ten. Here the buildings seemed carved from various shades of stone— some pearly white and others reflective black. They seemed as if meant to replicate the old dragonish buildings of Anfeiddreidd, with beautiful, intricate carvings of dragons and other creatures. Majestic trees of myriad variety accented the area as well as clever waterfalls that emanated a light of their own.

He started down the street directly before him, studying the buildings as he passed them by. Theaters and art studios and training academies and magic schools all towered around him. Young creatures learned to dance on open stages and older creatures practiced ceramics. Everywhere, the arts flourished.

What a strange location for the bridge of the station, he considered. Swiftly he pushed the thought away as he neared the center, following the guide light on the floor that had helpfully returned to a reasonable pace.

Helpful, until the ground gave way beneath him.

He unfurled his wings before all six of his hearts could beat, catching the air beneath them before he could fall what looked like hundreds of decks down... Down... Down...

Taking a steadying breath, he flapped back over to the floor and set himself down. He then looked around, getting his bearings.

Before him in a massive ring the floor disappeared, allowing winged creatures access to all of the decks below. A spiral ramp also connected these decks for all of the wingless creatures. Connected by a bridge to the deck he was on, a grand building stood in the center of this ring of empty space, going all the way up to the peak of the glass dome ceiling. And from it he could hear... Music?

Maybe being Captain of the largest interspecies space station is a slow job.... He considered.

Noticing his absence from the air, the guide light appeared on the floor again and led him around towards the bridge that crossed over the gap. He followed it, all the while staring up in awe at the circular, elegant building that almost looked too beautiful to be a command bridge. The music boomed louder as he grew closer— dragon orchestral; dancing music.

The gilded golden door swung open at his approach.

It definitely wasn't the bridge.

He was blasted with the delicious savory and sweet smells of myriad delicacies, luring him further inside. Bright, vibrant color twirled around as dragons — and a few other creatures — danced a most beautiful dance. They flipped and spun in the air, and on the ground they flared their wings and stepped in calculated form, their elegant cloaks and cloths twirling, all together creating an incredible scene as they danced to the music. The floor golden floor beneath them rotated in in depended rings, making the land dance all the more complicated— in fact, those closer to the center seemed to literally slow down, as if time itself slowed across the rotating rings of the golden dance floor.

He stood hypnotized, watching, until it occurred to him that he still needed to warn the captain of the whole destruction of Outpost 42 thing.

Tearing his gaze away from the dancers, his attention was drawn to the temping tables laden with meats and pastries and sweets— but he forced himself to continue looking, until he saw a group of dragons standing aside from the rest of the dancers.

Technically, one merwyss with her back turned to him and a gathering of dragonets. They'll have to do, he mentally murmured.

Gathering his courage, he stepped over towards them, the ground beneath his talons practically vibrating from all of the dancing. "Ex-excuse me?" He nervously prodded to get their attention, his spines instinctually flattering against his back.

The dragonets noticed him first, glancing past the merwyss and watching them with wide, curious eyes.

Then the purple jungle Naturae turned around.

And he was temporarily stunned.

Lavender scales glistened, reflecting the soft light of the candles that lit the ballroom. An aqua velvet cloak draped over her delicate body, ending just above her narrow ankles. Soft blue, almost turquoise eyes gleamed at him, and her mouth curved upward in amusement. "Can I help you?" Asked she.

Her words finally broke him from his trance. "Yes— sorry— I—" he stuttered, then forced himself to stop and took a quick breath to steady himself. "I need to speak with the captain. I realize this may seem strange in a ballroom of all places, but I got a little lost and it is rather urgent that I speak with him..."

The merwyss patiently listened through his request, and assessed him for a moment more with her clever eyes before she finally spoke. "The captain is a... Very busy arwyn. One usually has to schedule an appointment weeks if not months in advance through one of the governors just to speak with him..."

His hearts sank. "Months? But... You see, it is really important that I speak with him, like, today, preferably." He tried desperately, and sighed. "Do you know a governor I could speak too? Maybe one that could get me in contact with the captain, like, really quickly?"

The lavender dragon cocked her head, considering him. "Well... You could start with me."

Gwyndion blinked. "You're a governor?"

"Governess," the merwyss corrected. "A double governess if you'd like, as I also look after dragonets in my spare time."

Gwyndion shook away his surprised expression in embarrassment. "Forgive me, I didn't... I'm rather new to Cepheus Prime."

The governess only grinned. "I'm Emlyn, governess of District One and governess of these fine little ones here," she introduced, indicating to the group of dragonets with a tilt of her wing.

Gwyndion took a moment to glance at the dragonets. A little water Naturae and mountain Prinuae beamed, while an ash volcanic eyed him suspiciously. A fire volcanic watched him curiously, while a delicate frost Prinuae regarded him with an almost nervous look— glancing between him and her gleaming white talons.

He looked back up at Emlyn. "Nice to meet you, Emlyn," said he. "I'm Gwyndion..." He trailed off, not sure what to call himself now that his assigned station had sort of been blown up. "Engineer from Nova Anfeiddreidd." He settled on. "So, I don't mean to be curt, but would you possibly have a way for me to talk with the captain? Soon, if possible?"

The governess wrapped her tail over her talons as she sat down. "You're quite an interesting dragon, Gwyndion from Nova Anfeiddreidd. I'll make you a deal. I'm quite good at getting time with the captain... I might even be able to get you an appointment today," said she, "I just need a... little favor in return."

He shrugged. "Anything, what is it?"

She nodded towards the dragonets. "Help me teach these youngsters how to land dance," she said. After receiving his startled expression, she added, "You do know how to land dance, right?"

Gwyndion shook away his surprise. "Well, yes— of course I can— I did say I was from Nova Anfeiddreidd," answered he.

Emlyn smiled. "Great," she said and within the same second she had swept up to him and had her talons resting on him in the perfect position for a traditional land dance. He reciprocated with almost instinctual reflex, and before all six of his hearts could beat, they had slipped into a dance.

Years of drakehood lessons had him knowing exactly what dance they were doing within executing just the first few steps. He flared his wings and tilted his head and placed his talons and swept his tail in perfect symphony with Emlyn— he was surprised that he managed not to tread on her tail even once in all of his distraction with how pretty it looked when she twirled and her cloak spun and her scales caught the light...

Before he knew it, they were working through the last few steps. Finally, he dipped his body and flared his wings in a last bow, the scales around his throat vents rattling as he panted, his four lungs heaving.

So need to exercise more.

The clicking of tiny talons clapping sounded from the group of dragonets. Gwyndion turned his head to see the fire volcanic excitedly applauding them. The ryn's clapping slowly died away as he realized that none of his compatriots were following suit.

The merwyss did not at all appear winded, and sprung up from her bow after only a few short breaths. "Well done," she complimented him before promptly turning to the dragonets. "Oh-kay, who wants to try?"

The white ryss stares down at her talons. The ash volcanic found the ceiling very interesting. The fire volcanic looked about to raise a talon...

The water Naturae, however, instantly jumped to her talons and dived for the white dragoness. "I want to try! Come on Gwyneira, It'l be fun!" Said she, locking the shocked ryss in a dance so suddenly that the latter was stumbling over her own tail. Swiftly the mountain Prinuae had gotten an unwilling partner out of the ash volcanic as well, leaving the fire volcanic to sit alone, looking vaguely disappointed.

Gwyndion watched the dancing pairs in amusement. Despite the flawless example that he and Emlyn had given, the dragonets proceeded to trip over their talons and tails and get their wings tangled up in their little cloaks.

Though that doesn't seem to matter to them, he noticed. Indeed, despite the fact that they looked more like floundering mongooses than elegant dragons, they smiled and laughed at their dancing— except for the one they called Gwyneira, who seemed to be trying to look towards the center of the ballroom with every chance she got between twirls and turns.

The first pair finished their dance, the water Naturae grinning widely as she breathed heavily. The frost Prinuae didn't seem to notice her fellow and continued to sneak glances towards the ballroom's center as she shuffled back a few steps towards where she had previously been sitting.

The fire volcanic nervously shifted a couple steps towards her, the ryss all the while completely oblivious to him. The young ryn tentatively lifted his talon and began to open his jaw—

A roar of terror echoed out across the ballroom.

"He's... He's dead!"

~~~~~

Hey there readers! So... There's a lot going on in this chapter, and I'd love to hear what you all think of it! Please remember to vote if you liked. There will be a bit of a delay till the next chapter, but it is being worked on and I can promise it to you within the next two weeks! Thanks for reading, everyone!