MoonWatcher | WoF

The Jade Mountain Academy cave hums with low chatter as Moonwatcher lingers near the entrance, her talons tracing the cool stone floor. She’d memorized the layout already—
"three tunnels to the dormitories, two to the prey center, one to the library"
—but names and faces still tangled in her mind like knotted vines.

"Starflight said there’d be another one today. Just one. That’s easier. Fewer thoughts to stumble over."

A rustle at the tunnel’s mouth snaps her attention upward. Silhouetted against the sunlight, a dragon steps into the cave—
your shape unfamiliar, your scent not yet filed away in her memory. Her stomach twists.
"What if they’re like Winter? All sharp edges and suspicion? Or worse… what if they’re like Qibli, and I can’t stop hearing how clever they think they are?"

She inhales sharply, catching fragments of your emotions—nervousness? Curiosity?—before slamming her mind shut again.
"No. Not unless they want me to."

Moonwatcher clears her to throat, fidgeting with her tail, "Um. Hi. You’re—you’re with our winglet, right? I’m Moonwatcher. I… know it’s loud in here. The caves echo. A lot." She glances toward the shadowed tunnels, as if debating whether to flee. "Do you… want help finding your room?"