The Beginning

     The statement echoed in Violet's head like a whisper, slowly growing stronger until she lifted her head and spoke softly. "I have to do something." She pushed herself back up to standing, muscles shaking slightly from being stuck in place for... who knows how long. Her brand-new vial bounced around, casting a shifting purple light on the old, crumbling walls and thick vines. She needed Angel. Angel could help her make a plan. She pushed the moss curtain hanging over her door out of the way and stepped outside. It was early morning, the horizon barely brightened by the first glint of sunrise. She crouched, lifting off into the star-filled sky. She wasn't alive when the humans were, but the oldest ones could remember and often told her stories. They said bright lights hid the stars, and the air smelled like death and fire. Not like now, when the air smelled like life and earth. And dust, but that wasn't the point. That was the other side of the point. She smelled the overgrown plants quite clearly, some of them already in bloom. But now she had to focus on her mission. A very important mission. She shook her head and flew determinedly onward, trying to force the dark cloud of grief away.

     Violet landed carefully in front of Angel's house, not making a sound. She slid slowly under the vine in what used to be a window, placing her paws far away from the glass shards. She slipped inside and crouched, freezing to see if anyone heard her. Not like she would get in trouble if she was caught. There was no one to administer punishment to her anymore... Nope. Not going down that path yet. Violet thought to herself, blinking fast. Nothing made a sound except for some crickets lazily chirping outside. She climbed up to the second level where she knew Angel would be. She tucked her wings in and slowly, carefully, ducked into Angel's room. 

     It looked like it would have been beautiful, back before the human's extinction, but now it was covered in plants and half-destroyed. Violet walked over to Angel and poked her. She twitched but didn't get up. "Angel." Violet whispered. No response. "Angel." She said, a bit louder. "Wake up!" Angel finally moved, jumping and landing in a defensive crouch. She hissed before realizing it was Violet. "Oh. Hey." She yawned, relaxing. "What are you doing in my room?" Angel looked outside. "At the break of dawn?" She added. Violet didn't hesitate with her response. "I need your help."

    "What for?" Angel looked surprised. "Well, um, you know about what happened... earlier..." Violet's voice faltered, but she continued on as Angel nodded. "So, uh, I've decided I want to, you know, do something." Angel leaned back and folded her feathered wings out of the way. "Like- avenge him or something?" Violet nodded. "But I can't do it on my own. Will you help me?" Angel looked excited. "Yes! Of course! Your'e my best friend, after all! Finally! Some adventure!" She immediately grabbed a bag and started packing food, water, and other supplies. "Wait- Angel, calm down!" Violet said. "Are you sure? This could be dangerous! We don't know where we're going, and we know this guy is powerful..." She trailed off as Angel rolled her eyes. "That's the point. This guy needs to be stopped." She turned back to packing. "But, even though I'm totally awesome, we do need other people."

     "Like who?" Violet asked. "I mean..." She trailed off as Angel replied. "The other rising two/ones, of course!" She said. "We'll get all ten of us together and go on a big quest." Violet shrugged. Angel's idea was better than nothing. And it's not like I have an idea. For my own quest. A bit pathetic, don't you think? "Okay, sure. Can you help me?" She asked. Angel nodded. "Come on!" She said and jumped out of the window. She glided down safely as Violet followed, both of them landing carefully and taking off again. "So where to first?" Violet yelled, fighting to be heard against the roaring wind. "Didn't think about that, huh?" Angel yelled back. "What about the schools?" Violet considered that. That would make sense. The students would be there. Well, obviously. She nodded. They both angled towards the nearest Level Two school, Birchleaf. It was next to Birchbranch and Birchtree, the corresponding Level One and Level Three schools. Violet spotted a few silhouettes hovering around the trees, but the landing area, a large clearing, was mostly empty. A lot of the hybrids here in Mystic's Refuge were dragon-hybrids like her. The dragon-hybrids acted like the boss of all the other hybrids, which was wrong in her opinion. But no one asked for your opinion... Her mind whispered. Who would care about a Level Two student? Leaf cares! She fought back, before remembering- Leaf's not here anymore, is he? She shrunk back slightly, lost for a moment in the harsh reality.

     She pushed the thoughts out of her mind as she landed neatly in the center of the grassy clearing. Folding her vibrant purple wings back, she stepped carefully through the trees. She scanned the dots of glowing light, looking for a familiar color. Who all was assigned Birchleaf? It was Coral, Petal, and... Deep, she thought. She could worry about the rest of the schools later. She finally caught sight of her first target: Coral. Stepping carefully past the group of Level Two students, she approached the excited fish-hybrid. 

     "Uh, hey, Coral?" Violet asked. "Yep, that's me! Wait, Violet? I thought you went to Ashleaf. Did you get transferred or something?" Coral said, barely pausing to breathe as they spoke. "Well, no, not exactly... So, I need some help." Coral's eyes widened. "And you want me to help?! Wow, no one's asked me for help in a while." Her pinkish-orange fins drooped for half a second before they quickly looked back up and smiled. "Yes! Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Violet smiled at their enthusiasm. "Are you sure? It could be dangerous..." Coral looked determined anyway. "I'll do whatever it takes."