chapter 1 Luca

The morning breeze slipped in through the window and ruffled my feathers. It was cool mountain air, not the dry heat of the plains below. The lights of the human cities were still visible just along the horizon before the sun rose up to outshine them. I sighed as I dreamed of one day walking those cobblestone streets and listening to music that made you want to dance.Or exploring the lakes of the Kelpies and maybe finding one of their golden bridles. Or the rubble of the ancient dragon cities that had rose over even the mountains before their fall by the hands of the humans. Even the solemn wolf caves sounded more interesting than Namibia. The repetitive daily cycle here in the city was almost boring enough to kill.The Phoenix may be great to others but to me they are all bitter perfectionists, stuck up scholars who refused to share their knowledge, women intent on copying human style by pretending to have bosoms or simple farmers. The only thing exciting was playing tricks on the teachers or other students. 

If I was lucky today I'd be chosen as the seer's apprentice. She was coming to choose someone to learn her trade. In years past she hadn't chosen a single hatchling. But hopefully she would this year. And the upside was that when you got good enough she would start to travel so you could learn of the world. I was skilled with magic so hopefully that was enough to draw her attention. I shook my head at myself. Who would would choose a hatchling that could barely stand still? All I could do was hope. 

I walked through the city towards the square and the large clocktower that towers over the city with gargoyles like a sentinels watching over us. Today all the students would be lined up by date of birth in the square. Most of the shops were already closed indicating that there was already a crowd. I didn't like crowds, I never have. The streets were more rough and worn down stone than actual streets and most of the buildings were simple wood and stone. Few windows actually had glass. It was hard to get the resources up the mountain. The streets were like a maze and if you didn't know the city it was easy to get lost. I heard the people before I saw them. I had to push and shove to get through them and into the center where my teacher was. Mr. Hail barely glanced at me.

"Luca you go between Mary and Damian" he shoved me between them before they could shuffle out of the way. Then he looked at my clothes. I wore a vest and trousers with leather boots, but apparently that wasn't good enough for standing in line.

"You could have worn a dress "

"I don't own a dress,"I retorted.

 He scowled at my comeback and walked away. 

"You didn't even put on a shirt " Mary giggled.

"I don't need to and neither do you " I muttered 

I turned to the boy on my left when he laughed. He had ocean blue eyes and his skin and feathers were a raven black. He smiled at me and held out his hand.

"I'm Darian. We must be in different classes because I don't know how we wouldn't already be friends" 

I took his hand and smiled "I'm Luca nice to meet you. We probably are in different classes because I think I'd remember a raven in mine." I answered.

 He laughed again "Well I guess I do stand out. Not always a good thing though. Actually I think I've heard of you, you're the kid who pranks all the teachers right?"

"You bet. Seems I've earned myself a reputation."

"Some people look up to you, but the stuck up kids all think you have a few screws loose"

I leaned closer and smiled, "Who says I don't?" I whispered and he laughed. But then one teacher called out for everyone to be quiet and the noise died down as the crowd slowly parted.

A short old woman came shuffling through the gap in the crowd. She was barefoot and had a cane, which was more of a simple stick, and her robes were thin and frayed at the edges. Her skin was leathery and wrinkled and her feathers were a graying brown color. She looked over the line of students with her milky eyes as she shuffled along. She merely glanced at the other students who let out a grateful sigh as she moved on.

She stopped in front of Darian and I, and looked between the two of us for what felt like hours though we knew it was only minutes. Finally she waved a claw like hand at us and turned away. 

"Follow me" she said in a voice that sounded as if it hadn't been used in a while.

"Which one?"Darian and I asked at the same time.

"Both" she grumbled and the crowd gasped.