Arcanati approached the stone carefully, not wanting surprise the other young dragon he thought he had seen. When he finally peeked over the rock the two locked eyes in surprise.
“But… You… You look just like me!” Arcanati couldn’t help but exclaim as they began approaching each other cautiously.
Nimbus could not believe her eyes, and tried to say something but her mouth would not work. How was there another dragon just like her? Was this MAGIC?
“You’re me! Was it a spell? I would love to see some magic! Why look like me though? Can you change into something else?” Nimbus prodded the shoulder of the other dragon, finding it as firm as her own. “Okay so you are real, not a magical gambit. This is cool! Who are you? I’m Nimbus from Siltaria’s Lair over on cliffs overlooking the Bay.”
Arcanati could already tell, with the instant certainty particular to hatchlings, that the two of them would be the best of friends. He could also tell that, judging by the mischievous glint in the other hatchling’s eyes, they were both thinking of an ingenious way to exploit their similarity.
“I’m Arcanati, of Andante and Cadence’s Lair at The Observatory. We’re here collecting supplies and samples, but I was searching for where my egg was found. I’m an orphan.”
“I am an orphan too!” Nimbus shouted in excitement. “My egg was found here on the border, leaning against this stone. Siltaria says they searched and didn’t find a sign of parents or anyone else.” Nimbus climbed up on top of the stone and sat down, leaving room for Arcanati to sit next to her.
“We must be nestlings, siblings, - hey, we’re family!”
They smiled at each other and swung their legs wildly off the side of the large stone.
“So you live in Wind huh? What’s that like?” asked Arcanati. He had always wanted to go exploring in the neighbouring domain.
“Boring a bit, there’s always stuff to gather and lessons, and Siltaria works a lot with dragons all over the Flight. She’s an explorer and leader among the Wind. What’s Arcane like?” asked Nimbus, excited as Arcane always seemed to be mysterious and magical. She’d dreamed about seeing the Great Observatory and playing with magic.
“Arcane’s… a bit boring too.” Arcanati admitted. He had wanted to tell Nimbus that his clan was wonderful, but really they just messed about with magic. Nothing as exciting as flying wild with Wind dragons. “The adults are always doing experiments and studying things, then trying to teach us about them. I’m sure they’re really interesting to them, but it gets in the way of me exploring.” He grinned crookedly, “They sure are easy to prank though.”
They looked at each other for a while longer, rocking back and forth on the stone.
“I think your clan sounds much more interesting!” They blurted out simultaneously, before bursting out into light peals of laughter.
“Why don’t we give this a shot,” Arcanati suggested slyly. “You go home with my clan, I go home with yours… They’ll never know the difference.”
Nimbus was already nodding her head in agreement. “We could switch for a week. Then meet back here, and they’ll be none the wiser. We should probably split up,” she suggested in a conspiratorial tone. “It’ll be much more effective if they don’t know there’s two of us!”
“My clan should be just through the trees that way,” Arcanati pointed. “You should be able to hear them. They move slowly when gathering.”
“Siltaria told me she would come find me here, she gave me some time alone with the stone,” Nimbus replied. “She should be back any moment now.”
The two conspirators hopped down from their perch and gave each other a quick hug. Arcanati sat down behind the stone where he had first seen Nimbus, while the latter scampered off in search of her new friend’s, her brother’s, clan.
Nimbus quietly bounded through the undergrowth. How EXCITING. How DARING they were, the two of them. Siltaria would never know she had been gone. She listened carefully and soon enough heard a concerned father dragon calling out for Arcanati. That was her now. She giggled gleefully before rushing towards his voice.
# # # # # # #
Arcanati could barely sit still. He attempted to look at the rock in a considering way, so that when Siltaria found him she would believe that he was Nimbus, examining her finding place. He still jumped at the sound of her heavy footfalls behind him.
“Come along Nimbus, it’s time to go!”
Arcanati scrambled onto her back quickly, refusing to miss his once-in-a-lifetime chance to go on this adventure.
# # # # # # #
“Arcanati? There you are. We’ve been looking for you! I thought I told you not to wander off.” The relief in Darwin’s voice at finding the hatchling was palpable.
Nimbus kept her eyes downcast as she trudged behind him as they left the forest and took flight with the rest of the gathering party, but she couldn’t keep the smirk off her face.
# # # # # # #
Arcanati didn’t have a problem with the long flight back, plenty of the other hatchlings were around to take cues from their behavior. One of the other dragons, Feenyx, was even teaching them to fly upside down as they went, and laugh like a real pirate! Arcane never did any of that fancy flying, and everyone in the group was was carefree and happy.
When they reached Siltaria Lair along the coast of the Bay, it was a wonderous place filled with dragons from all over, doing all sorts of things. There were other Arcane dragons even, but Arcanati avoided them as they might notice his eyes. He put on a pair of goggles to hide them.
Dinner was great here, with long tables brought out into the sunshine and food from all over. Some Arcanati didn’t recognize, but tried it anyway.
“Wow, Nimbus, you’re a good dragon to try everything tonight! Glad you got over your fussiness! It shows you are growing up.” Siltaria said as she waggled his ear.
Dragons were everywhere after dinner was cleaned up, but then WindSong called everyone together for songs around the main cavern’s fireplace. A dragon named Lyric started out with songs for the Hatchlings, songs Arcanati had never heard before!
For a moment, Arcanati wished he could tell his father how wonderful the songs were and they could sing that Arcane lullaby Arcanati loved so much. But his father was far far away across the Bay.
Lyric asked if the hatchlings had any requests, and Arcanati leaped up into the air. “Please please, can we sing Moon Spell Lullaby?”
The Bard looked at him strangely, but smiled and nodded. “Where did you hear of that one, Nimbus? It’s an old Arcane one, I haven’t played it since Callis was a hatchie.” Lyric nodded at the large Arcane Imperial quietly reading in the corner.
Arcanati desperately searched for an answer. “Ummmm, I don’t know, maybe sometime when we were out on Starwind Bay?”
Lyric stopped strumming his lute and the entire cavern was suddenly looking at him.
Siltaria leaned over with a concerned stare. “Nimbus, can you take off the goggles while you are inside? Be a polite dragon, please.”
Arcanati slowly took off the goggles and stared down at the floor, but it was no use.
# # # # # # #
Nimbus was amazed at the difference she saw as they flew over the foreign territory. Shimmering stones and strange wisps and sparks of magic were everywhere. The bamboo forests of her home were nowhere to be found. She flew quietly, taking everything in. Where was Siltaria to explain plants and other natural wonders to her when she needed her?
“Arcanati?” Darwin asked, swooping down to glide alongside her. “Are you alright? You’ve been exceedingly quiet since we found you again.”
Nimbus simply nodded her head. “It’s just so… beautiful,” she sighed, missing the odd look Darwin gave her at this comment as they landed together near their lair.
“Early bed for you tonight after supper son,” he stated, “I think the excitement has gone to your head.”
Nimbus stared around at the strange foods on the table. Some she knew, but others were… weird. She picked at her dinner, eating the parts she knew she liked, meticulously avoiding the others with the practiced claw of a fussy eater. She had pulled a large hat down over her head so that the wide brim would hide her eyes, but it kept slipping onto her snout.
“Arcanati!” Darwin said in a low voice, “You’re behaving quite strangely today. You love redworms! Why are you pushing them all aside? And this hat is ridiculous. You know we don’t wear hats at the table.”
Nimbus poked at a worm. It wiggled. “Nu-uh. No way I’m putting THAT in my mouth,” she pouted. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Then she would finally discover more about Arcane’s magic. She already knew she didn’t like their food. Even if she didn’t like everything at home, at least she didn’t have to eat worms. Siltaria always made sure she had the bugs she liked… Suddenly she missed home. What if the clan didn’t go gathering again next week, what if she and Arcanati could never switch back.
“When are we going to fly back over Windstar Bay again?” she asked Darwin timidly. She had to know.
He was not the only one who had heard her question. Heads turned and necks craned towards her.
“Son,” Darwin was surprised, his tone cautious. “Please take off your hat when we’re at the dinner table.”
Nimbus knew she had no choice. She removed her disguise and looked up at the older dragon. His face dropped as his eyes took in the bright green colour of hers.
# # # # # # #
In two lairs, one on either side of the Bay, evening was deepening to a velvet blue sky with millions of stars. Siltaria and Darwin discovered, too late, that they had not taken their own children with them.
“WHAT HAVE THEY DONE WITH MY CHILD!?”
Panic spread through both clans.
# # # # # # #
