Exploration
Silverspot woke up from restless sleep due to her internal, natural alarm. Early light spilled into her webbed home, casting stringed shadows across her scales. The sun pushed against the dark sky, shining its saving rays across the savanna.
Silverspot blinked her eyes open and stood up. Leaning her front half down and her haunches up, she stretched herself, feeling the tightness if her muscles alleviate. Her wings were still an uncomfortable addition, and she wobbled some, not quite yet used to the weight.
An anxious knot in her stomach made her feel queasy. In an hour, she would be flying to Cicada Hive to carry out the rest of her life. The prospect was incredibly scary, but Silverspot put on a brave face so her parents would not suspect her concern.
Her mother and father were already up and had prepared a few salak fruits and a bowl of cashews for breakfast.
“Here,” Ocola said, pressing a pre-peeled salak fruit into her daughter’s talon. The pale yellow interior made Silverspot’s mouth water. She lifted the fruit to her mouth and bit into it, minding the inedible seeds. The sweet and tangy flavor rested on her tongue as she savored the moment. This would be her last meal in her home, the last meal surrounded by her family.
“Ready for your flight to Cicada Hive?” Mullein asked between biting into his own fruit.
“If you ever get tired, don’t be ashamed to land on the bridge and walk the rest of the way,” he mother assured her before Silverspot had the chance to answer her dad.
“You didn’t give her a chance to speak!” Mullein said, annoyed with his Ocola.
Ocola swiveled her head to glare at the amber male. “Oh, I’m sorry for caring about my daughter! Maybe you should stop yelling at me everytime I speak!”
“I’m not—“
“There you go again!” Ocola said, waving her talons in the air.
“Just let other people speak for once,” Mullein spat back, his voice slightly rising.
Silverspot tucked the scene into her list of things she wouldn’t miss. At least I won’t have to listen to their fights, even if I am alone, she thought.
She came back to reality when she realized both parents were staring expectantly at her. “Oh…um,” Silverspot said, not knowing what she had been asked. “I’ll be okay with flying, mom,” she decided on. She hoped that was the right thing to say and calm down the rising tensions.
She did, however, keep the advice about using the bridge on the surface of her mind. She didn’t know how far her new wings would take her. Her flight the day before had been so tiring, once the exhilarating feeling wore off— and that was only a very short distance. She was lucky her new Hive was only one Hive north of her home.
If I was lucky I would be staying close to home, maybe even stayed in the same cell, she thought bitterly. If I were a HiveWing, this wouldn’t be happening at all!
“The sun is up. If you want the day to explore your new home before your work days start tomorrow, I recommend you leave now,” her father suggested.
A pang sprung in her heart. Did her father want her to leave? Almost like Ocola had heard her thoughts, she swatted her partners snout.
“Mullein! You sound like you want our baby to leave!”
He ignored Ocola and looked at his daughter apologetically. “I’m sorry, Silverspot. I just know from experience that you’re going to want to study the layout of your new Hive.”
A memory of Mullein telling a young Silverspot about his Metamorphisis day and his assignment letter jumped into her mind. He had had to leave his home too, which had been Bloodworm Hive.
“If you have to move, don’t fight it,” he had told her. “It’s just the way thing’s are.”
“Why?” She had asked, tilting her small head to the side.
“Im not sure, sweetie. But it would make me very sad if something happened to you because you didn’t follow the rules.”
Silverspot had curled up in her fathers shadow, pressed against his warm scales. “I won’t. I’ll be good,” she insisted.
Now that Silverspot was older, she could recognize the sad silence that followed their conversation. That flare of anger came back for a heart beat, heating her chest. It felt so unfair to her, and she knew it was. But she was smart, and she had made a promise to her father.
She nodded, directed at Mullein. “You’re right, I should be going.”
Silverspot hugged her parents one last time and her awkward wings bumped into their multiple times, making her embarrassed. She shook her head, determined to not spend her last moment with her family embarrassed. Silverspot assured her mother she’d be fine one last time and gave a small wave. She then jumped from the large web structure and flew into the vast sky.
She looked back at her parents a few times and each time she could still see them waving to her. She repeated this until the distance was too grand and they were too small.
She was alone now above the empty savanna, the only connection to her home hung from her neck, thumping occasionally against her chest and arms. Her being alone wasn’t completely true, she came to realize. There was the occasional animal below her. She saw a few wildebeests and gazelles, but no animals that depended on trees. In school, one of her classmates had told her about giraffes, and how they were incredibly tall, the same height as dragons even. Giraffes ate leaves on trees, and when the trees disappeared, so did they.
Following an impulsive thought, Silverspot flew down close to the ground, opening her senses to smell the earthy long grasses.
Underneath her dark shadow which was quickly moving across the savanna, she watched as the wind from her beating wings shoved the plants down and about in wild directions.
Up ahead, Cicada Hive began to appear larger. Dots of dragons were flying around the branched top that started to take shape and gain detail. Cicada Hive was even more expertly built and carved than Mantis Hive, who valued smart dragons over master builders.
Silverspot regained her previous height and continued on to the Hive’s entrance.
By the time Silverspot was rappidly approaching the Hive’s large welcoming platform, her wing muscles were burning and threatened to stop working right then and there.
Finally, her talons hit the tree-stuff and relief flooded her body; she had never been so happy to be on a Hive.
The set up was exactly like Mantis Hive’s. A long line of SilkWings stood waiting to gain access into the Hive, and HiveWing guards watched and maintained the whole procedure. Silverspot joined the line and patiently waited for her turn to arrive. Her game plan was to explore the Hive and then receive her web placement from the SilkWing customer service office.
With time to spare, however, her mind wandered. What if the HiveWings at this strange new Hive were meaner than the ones at home? What if she didn’t fit in with her neighbors? And lastly, what if she hated Admiral?
On her flight, she had finally understood that she would meet her partner as soon as she was sent to her new web. Probably, at least that is what she thought.
Her stomach felt like it had just spun one thousand times over and was still moving. She was suddenly nauseous, but had to ignore it to save face. The dragons around her could be her new coworkers or even her neighbors.
The HiveWings ushered Silverspot forward and asked for her name and wrist cuff. Her rist cuff was new, a symbol of her adult identity, and something she had gotten the day before. It was shining silver, and although she would never like that she was forced to wear one, it did complement her silver scales and markings.
The HiveWings were taking longer than usual to locate her name on their parchment, and for a second, Silverspot was convinced there had been some mistake and she was going to get arrested for trying to sneak into the Hive. She kept her mouth shut, though, and waited painfully for the HiveWings to speak, either to pas her through or yell at her for wasting their time.
Finally, after Silverspot’s heart had officially quickened, the HiveWings checked off something on their clipboards and waved her through. She sighed and tried to sooth her racing pulse.
I’m here, this is my new life, she thought, gazing up at the large entrance arch that led into the Hive.
Large posters of Queen Wasp littered the walls of the Hive’s entrance. Her pitch black eyes stared down at Silverspot, making her uncomfortable and her scales itch. They seemed to follow her as she walked through the tunnel. Looking on her right, she saw a colorful poster in the mix of the yellow-black ones.
She strode closer to it, reading the words. ‘Famous Mosaic Gargen Up Aead!’ it read. Silverspot followed the arrow and traced it back to an archway opening to a staircase.
The Mosaic Garden was what Cicada Hive was known for, and Silverspot was very excited to see what the talk was about. Seeing the Mosaic Garden was on the very top of her list of things she wanted to do.
She walked up the stairs made from the same treestuff the rest of the hive was, looking at even more posters glued to the walls. She stopped breathing for a heartbeat when her eyes cleared the landing. The garden was massive and took up the whole floor. Sloping green hills with orderly stone paths covered the floor, and beautifully trimmed hedges sided the paths. The paths wound their way to the center of the garden, where Lady Cicada was imaged in a magnificent mosaic.
Colorful flowers grew in neat sections, somehow organizing natural beauty. And it was beautiful; Silverspot couldn’t believe her eyes. It didn’t seem possible that such a lovely garden could thrive in a Hive.
Even more vibrant than the flowers, incredibly detailed mosaics, like the one on the floor at the garden’s center, covered the garden’s walls. In many cases, whole sections of the curved wall were filled top to bottom with tiny pieces of stone and glass.
A wide path bordered the wall, and Silverspot chose that as the first thing to do. She walked along the polished stones, her eyes glued to the mosaic walls. The largest mosaic was of Queen Wasp holding the Book of Clearsight, depicted in gold tiles, standing over the bodies of dead LeafWings. It was disturbingly gorgeous.
Silverspot didn’t know how a dragon could bring themselves to illustrate dozens of dead dragons. Ruby red tiles that illustrated the LeafWing’s blood sparkled in the sunlight coming from the open ceiling. Definitely shouldn’t be a mosaic, Silverspot concluded, a little queasy.
The yellow and silver SilkWing walked the rest of the way around the large circle. Her favorite mosaic was one of Clearsight holding her famous book with a starry night sky in the background. A pure silver tile was placed next to her eye, like a teardrop. It reminded Silverspot of what her father had said about Clearsight and her powers. She had received them from the moons, and followed the stars to get to Pantala. The story of Clearsight had fascinated Silverspot since she was a dragonet, as it did with most dragons.
A HiveWing couple entered the garden and Silverspot felt on-edge. The HiveWings barely spared her a glance, completely ignoring her, but Silverspot felt their presence like it was a Queen Wasp herself. They were discussing a spring holiday, one that Silverspot had never heard of.
The garden was no longer enjoyable, since Silverspot would have to monitor her expressions and words with the HiveWings around. She decided to move on to another part of the Hive, the lower, SilkWing occupied levels.
She traveled down many flights of stairs and even was able to fly down a few that had open centers. HiveWings walked busily around the floors as if they opened the place, which they did. SilkWings kept their heads down and scurried by, not wanting to be noticed. Silverspot saw it all, and observed all the dynamics so she could perfectly replicate the SilkWings’ mannerisms.
Walking down another flight of stairs, Silverspot came across wide double doors with a label that read, ‘Misbehaviors Way’. Curious, she opened one and peered inside. Two rows of frozen dragon statues were lined on the sides of a stone walkway in the dark, only lit by lanterns above each stone podium.
Horror erupted in Silverspot’s mind as she stared at the frozen dragons. In Mantis Hive, this room was called ‘Discipline Lane’, as it was to ‘teach’ the inflicted dragons how to properly act. It was cruel. Silverspot knew it, her classmates knew it, her teacher’s knew it, approximately everyone knew that it was wrong except the HiveWings. Or maybe they just don’t care , Silverspot had thought after one of her school’s field trips to Discipline Lane.
Silverspot squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep breaths and counting to ten. When she reached ten, she opened her eyes back up and continued into the room. Part of her wanted to run away like a frightened dragonet, but the other wanted to help these dragons. The brave part didn’t want to run away, it wanted Silverspot to prove that she was an adult that could do things to change dragons’ lives.
It was just as eerie and horrible as Disciple Lane had been. Dragons’ eyes were frozen wide in fear, their expressions ghastly and grim. Silverspot forced herself to look at each dragon. This is why she followed the rules. This is why she had promised to her father and herself that she would be a good SilkWing.
In front of each inert dragon, Silverspot said, “I’m sorry this happened to you,” and other phrases along those lines. She wished she could do more, like pour the life that was stolen from them back into their limbs. But all she could do was give them company.
Eyes seemed to follow her as she moved down the line of eight dragons. The SilkWings ranged from deep burgundy to cobalt blue. One exceedingly bright SilkWing was a bold yellow and looked like citrine in the glowing lantern’s light.
When she was done speaking to each dragon, she turned and walked back to the doors she entered from. This time she looked down at her talons as she walked. She kept her tail tucked close to her body, an instinct to save herself if one of the statues were to come alive and pounce on her, an old habit from when she was a dragonet.
After going to the SilkWing support office and receiving her living quarters, Silverspot thought it was time to find where she’d be living for the rest of her life, or until Queen Wasp ordered her to move again.
The whole way back through the Hive, Silverspot was missing her parents. She had been since she had left Misbehaviors Way. She couldn’t shake the image of herself on one of the cold, stone podiums. How would her yellow, orange, black, and silver wings look frozen mid flight? Would her eyes be open in rage or frozen shut in fear? Would a SilkWing dragonet look up at her in fear and wonder what crime she committed to end up there?
She desperately wanted her parents to hold her and tell her It'd be alright. They’d probably say something along the lines of, ‘Don’t worry, you’re a good dragon. Just follow the rules and you can live a happy life.’
Looking down at the piece of parchment she had been given by the light green SilkWing working the front desk of the Customer Service building, Silverspot followed its directions, weaving her way through the white stringy webs. She found the right cell, now it was just time to find the right web.
SilkWing families walked the webs together, and a tiny pink dragonet raced past her, only as tall as her legs. She really missed her family.
Climbing up a few levels, all she could think about was her far away parents and if her assigned partner, Admiral, was going to be in her web. Did partners share a web right away? Silverspot didn’t know. She cursed herself for not asking her parents more questions when she had the chance.
Finally, she came across the web labeled the same as what was written on her slip of paper. She took a deep breath and walked in. Immediately, she inspected every inch of the webbed room. To her relief, there was no sign of any other dragon. There was no satchel, no bowls of food or water, no anything, it was completely empty . She mourned the artworks hung in her parents’ web, the ones she had made at two years old that they had kept all these years. She longed for the lived-in feeling the messy bags and capes on the floor created. She was even going to miss the carved bowls she ate her dinner in.
Silverspot lifted up her satchel and removed it from her body. Placing it on the white ground, she thought with great determination, I guess this is home now. Let the stars give me strength to make it the best it can be (and thank Clearsight there’s no strange male SilkWing I’m forced to share a web with).