Chapter Two - PART ONE: BEWARE THE TRAITOR

~CHAPTER 2~

After meeting Jellyfish, Hippo, and Scorpion, Glow's heart felt a little lighter. Blossom was right - she had made friends who liked her just the way she was. Skipping down the hallway, she came to a stop. Jasper's words were stuck in her head, Hmm... oh! Glow, your dormitory is down the hall, up the stairs to the right, seventh door on the right. Glow beamed as she saw her best friend, Bubbledreamer.

Bubbledreamer was curled up on a black vine hammock, reading a scroll. "Bubble!" cried Glow. Bubble looked up.

"Glow? Oh my gosh! We're roommates!" Bubbledreamer gave her a hug, completely forgetting about the scroll she had been reading.

"I've also made some new friends," said Glow, still smiling.

Bubbledreamer beamed, delighted. "What're their names?"

"Jellyfish, Scorpion, and Hippo. They're super sweet and really funny. I'm sure we can all be friends and hang out together!" Glow was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "I hope they're our roommates too!"

"Yeah.." Bubbledreamer took a step back, then squinted at her. Might as well tell her. "You do realize that we're stuck with Prince Anubis in our seminar, right?"

Glow sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Maybe he's just... misunderstood. My mom told me that in order to be accepted, we need to give everyone a chance."

"I'm with you, Glow. I'm kind of nervous though... what if he doesn't like us? What if he's secretly evil and is plotting to destroy the world?!" Bubble flared her wings. The thought of Anubis taking over the world seemed to fill Glow's heart with fire.

"Bubble, it's fine. Stop worrying," said Glow, giving her a friendly nudge. "Tell you what, to take this issue off of our minds for a bit, how's about I introduce you to Scorpion, Jellyfish, and Hippo?"

"Sure.." Bubble shook out her wings. Glow was struggling to get rid of the worried feeling, like it was gnawing a hole through her heart. "Yeah, let's go." said Bubble.

"C'mon!" Glow dragged Bubble after her. "Then after that, let's go check out some of the other winglets!"

"Sure thing," Bubble answered. "That... actually sounds like fun."

They flew around for a bit, occasionally asking griffins where Scorpion and the others were. Twice they ran into Jasper, and had to deal with her irritating voice asking them absurd questions. "Ugh," grumbled Bubble. "Jasper is so annoying. I can't believe we have to put up with her!"

"It'd be such a nightmare if she was actually the one at our seminar meeting," Glow responded, hiding her smile as Bubble narrowed her eyes and scowled.

They finally reached the entrance and lifted off into the air, soaring through the wisps of would-be clouds, diving, spinning, and laughing, swooping around the area to look for the three griffins.

"Hey!" Glow yelled over to Bubble who seemed to have become quite interesting in playing with the clouds.

"What?" complained Bubble, "I'm doing something over here! I'm a little busy."

"I found them, air-brain!" Glow flew over to whack Bubble with her wing.

They found the trio hanging around in the cool shade of the palm trees. "Hi!" Scorpion grinned when she saw Glow. Jellyfish inclined her head, before poking Hippo with her tail. The copper-colored griffin waved a wing in greeting.

"What's up, Glow? And who's the smoking griffin you brought along?" Hippo smirked at a blushing Bubble.

"This is Bubbledreamer," said Glow.

"Hi," Bubble offered a shy smile. "You can call me Bubble, if you'd like..."

"Aw c'mon, we don't bite!" Jellyfish smiled, her sharp white teeth glinting in the sun. One of her eyes was silver, the other an amethyst purple, like the color of the beetle ring that Scorpion wore. "Hippo might, but Scorpion and I don't."

"Shut up, Jelly." Hippo hit her back with his tail. Jellyfish lost it, laughing so hard that she was leaning on Scorpion who was looking extremely uncomfortable with the close contact.

"Ew... it's Jellyfish.. she's so jelly about everything... disgusting." Scorpion's shoulders were heaving - it was clearly a pain trying not to laugh.

"I-I'm sorry!" gasped Jellyfish, almost choking on her breath, wiping tears of laughter from her face. "I-I can't stop! It's too funny!"

"It sure doesn't take a lot of time to crack you up, Jelly." observed Hippo, clearly unimpressed.

"Ooh, can I call you Jelly too?" inquired Bubble.

"Yeah, sure, if you want," Jellyfish seemed to have gotten her laughing under control and turned to Scorpion. "Sorry.. I didn't mean to collapse on you. Just tell your big-jerk boyfriend to leave me alone."

"He is not my boyfriend!" exclaimed Scorpion, as Jellyfish started giggling again.

"Is this what you do all the time?" Glow demanded. "Just.. pick on each other for the fun of it?"

"Oh lighten up Glow," said Hippo. Glow couldn't help but smile at the pun as Hippo continued, "we're just messing around.. except for the part about how I'm Scorpion's boyfriend."

"Are you.. really?" Bubble didn't dare wipe the smile off of her snout as Scorpion glared at Hippo.

"I am so dumping you, Hippo!" she shouted. "Come on, Jelly, we've got better things to do!"

"Drama queen!" Jellyfish yelled after her. Jellyfish shifted slightly from her spot and only smiled as thee dark shape of Scorpion flew and landed inside the school.

"She'll come back," Hippo assured Glow and Bubble. "She's always like that - she's only joking. Oh, and hey, Jelly, maybe instead of your name being Jellyfish, it should be Yellyfish. You know, 'cause you're always shouting about something or the other." Jellyfish glared at him.

"I'm confused - are you and Scorpion together, or are you two just joking?" Bubble looked at Glow and Jellyfish, but Jellyfish shook her head, in response to Bubble's question - Hippo and Scorpion weren't together, they were just messing around.

"Hey Bubble, Glow," Jellyfish beckoned the two over. Bubble hesitantly walked over to the other griffin, while Glow happily pranced ahead. "I've got some shocking news to tell you."

"What's this shocking news you tell me?" Bubble widened her eyes. Glow trod on her tail. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Let her get to the point," hissed Glow. "And you worry too much; it's nothing bad, I'm sure."

Bubble stuck her tongue out at Glow. "You're so sure," she sneered back. "What a surprise."

"We're roommates!" cried Jellyfish, flaring her wings and laughing as Bubbledreamer shrieked in surprise and Glow's fur spiked.

"Hilarious," said Bubble scathingly. "Next time you think it's funny to scare me like that, you're getting a whack in the head with my wing."

"I'm so scared," said Jellyfish dryly. "I'm terrified of getting hit on the head by the mere shadow of a griffin."

"Be quiet!" Bubble glared at her, daring her to laugh. Jellyfish didn't laugh. "Enough with the bad jokes - you're giving me a headache, and this is only the first day."

"Is that Scorpion?" Hippo inquired, leaping to his paws and staring at the horizon. Bubble and Glow squinted, and after a moment, they could see a dark figure winging back towards them.

"Yep," said Jellyfish. "That's Scorpion. I guess she's decided she couldn't be alone without us for long - you know how desperately attached she is to us, Hippo."

"What about us?" Glow demanded. "Doesn't she care about us too?"

"Oh," Jellyfish laughed. "You guys too. I think."

"You think?" Bubble whined. "I don't want you to think. I want you to know."

Scorpion landed, flaring her wings, wearing what looked like a superior smirk on her snout. Glow blinked at her, confused. Would Scorpion say something, or just stare at them until they got uncomfortable? "I thought about it, and realized that I couldn't stay mad at you, Jellyfish. Hippo is, of course, full of mud, so he's a lost cause. I'm still thinking about it."

"Camel dung," muttered Hippo under his breath.

"Oh. Anyways!" Scorpion turned back to smile at Glow, Jellyfish, and Bubble. "Let's go to our dormitory," said Scorpion to them. "Come on, Jelly."

Jellyfish sighed as she got up. "I'm coming."

But as Hippo got up, Scorpion whipped around, her dark green eyes flashing. "You can't come. At all."

"Why not?" he demanded, looking genuinely hurt.

"Because she hates you," said Jellyfish. Hippo stared at her.

"Because you're not female, like the rest of us. Go hang out with your weirdo male friends." said Scorpion, sounding quite bossy.

Hippo's mouth was hanging open in disbelief, but a moment later he blushed as Scorpion nosed his furry cheek. Glow guessed it was her way of showing affection. "Sorry, buddy. It's the stupid rules about this place. We'll catch up with you at the seminar meeting, okay?"

"Sure thing," said Hippo, his face more red-brown then copper. The four of them lifted off into the air, but Scorpion wouldn't let them go anywhere as she waited for Hippo to catch up. The five of them flew and flew, before Jellyfish went spiraling into a dive, landing with a thump on the sand, sending up clouds of sand everywhere.

When all five of them had landed safely, Scorpion, Jellyfish, Glow, and Bubble set off for their dormitory while Hippo went down to the Dining Hall.

Scorpion threw herself onto her bed of sand-covered rocks while Glow curled up on a large pink and yellow flower. Jellyfish sighed as she settled herself into a cool stream, washing off the sand from her paws. Bubble reached for her scroll and flopped onto her hammock. The four of them lay in complete silence, the only sound that reached their griffin ears was the soft burble of the water from the river.

Glow caught her eye.

"Awkward silence," said Glow in a loud, audible whisper that only the four griffins could hear, trying to ease the unnatural silence.

The tension snapped like a branch under heavy griffin claws.

All four of them burst out laughing and Jellyfish had to duck her head into the water, bubbles rising to the surface. Bubble was gasping for air and clutching the vines of her hammock to keep from falling out and Scorpion was sending sand all over the floor as she howled with laughter. Glow herself was giggling, her fur turning hot pink.

When the laughter had subsided, Scorpion smirked at Jellyfish's river. "I think she ditched us."

"Why?" asked Glow.

"Probably so I don't splash you all with water because I'm laughing too hard," said Jellyfish, emerging from the river, resting her front paws at the riverside and putting her head on top of them. Water was dripping from her fur and Glow spotted gills pulsing through her dark blue fur. Her paws had slight webbing, which Glow could only assume helped her swim faster.

"What genre of scrolls are you into?" Bubble asked, trying to begin a long-lasting conversation.

"Ooh.. someone's trying to hide something," sang Scorpion. "What is it? Have a secret crush on Hippo? Maybe you've got the hots for... Cliff?"

"Who's Cliff?" Glow asked, grinning as Bubble went blue in the face with embarrassment.

"Not cool," Bubble muttered, "not cool at all, Scorpion."

"Cliff is this air-element griffin. I met him in the halls - he seemed okay, but was giving me too much cheek. Like, I swear, Hippo and Cliff are related somehow - maybe they're super irritating brothers, or something." Jellyfish rolled her strange two-colored eyes.

"Huh," said Bubble. "How can I have the hots for a griffin whom I haven't even met?"

"Maybe you're trying to act like you don't know him just to test us," suggested Glow. Bubble glared at her.

"When we're friends," snarled Bubble, "it means that you don't encourage kelp-heads like Jellyfish and Scorpion."

"Watch your profanity!" Scorpion smirked at Bubble. "Admit it, you like somebody."

"Yeah, I guess it's no use, trying to hide it from you three.." Bubble sighed in defeat. "I like you guys... as friends!"

"That was not what we meant," said Jellyfish.

"You told Bubble to tell us that she liked somebody. Not loved somebody." Glow pointed out.

Bubble sighed and rolled over, opening her eyes at the ceiling above. "Thank the stars that I've got somebody in here to back me up."

.                                                      .                                                      .     

Bubbledreamer looked back the scroll she was reading, grateful that she made such good friends. She had the feeling that if she told them all her secrets, they would keep them, they would be there for her... not abandon her like her family had.

But the mere thought of her family sent tears in her eyes. It was too much to hold in. She turned away so her friends couldn't see the tears starting to roll down her snout. Why? a voice whispered in her head. Why did they leave me? Alone? With nobody by my side? Did they find out that I'm half-vampire? It wasn't my fault... it wasn't like I asked to be half-vampire.

"Bubble? You okay?" Glow's voice broke through her thoughts. I hope she's okay, another voice whispered. Bubble jolted and sat upright, feeling as though she had been stung by a jellyfish. What? C-Can I read minds? Who was that? Oh stars, was that Glow? But I can't read minds! Coal told me that mind reading doesn't exist!

"Bubble?! Talk to us!" Jellyfish sounded panicky. "Please! Or else I will splash you! With water! That is cold! Right here! Right now!"

Somehow, even through the pain and misery... and the shock of finding out she could read minds... she found this threat quite funny. It started out with a smile and then she snickered before it became full blown laughter. After a moment of the other three griffins staring at her, they joined in too.

"Was that seriously the best threat you could come up with, Jelly?" asked Scorpion, smiling.

"Well seeing as water is my element... and it's currently the closest thing to me, I'm pretty sure that was a legit threat. Right there." Jellyfish countered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Bubble in response to Glow's earlier question.

"Okay, it's just because you kinda... stopped talking and we thought we might have said something offensive." Glow ran a claw through her fur.

"No, I was just trying to sleep. And I was trying to dream. But you interrupted me. Obviously I'm fine. Nothing could ever offend someone as great as me." Bubble tried to look okay, but she wasn't so sure she convinced her friends. "Can we go eat something before the winglet meeting? I'm starving."

"Sure," said Scorpion.

"Sounds good to me," replied Jellyfish.

"Let's go!" Glow exclaimed.

"Urgh," said Jellyfish, as she climbed out of the river. Her expression certainly said that she had changed her mind and would rather just sink to the bottom of the river and do nothing. "I think I'll just hang back here in the river. I've already eaten."

"Yeah right," said Scorpion. "You sliced a fish into oblivion with your claws and left it there. Hippo's probably found it and finished it off. I don't think that is called "eating" if you leave your mess for someone else to clean up."

Jellyfish stuck out her pink tongue. "Fine," she snapped. Grumbling, she followed after the others and Bubble slowed down to walk next to her.

"Why didn't you want to come with us?" asked Bubble.

"Because I got out of the river, so now I'm freezing and wet. Oh, and I'm not hungry." Jellyfish sighed, dragging her tail behind her.

"Come on, Jelly!" said Scorpion. "Nobody said that you couldn't talk to us! We can still talk to you, even if we're eating."

"My mom told me that talking while eating was rude," said Glow.

"Your MOM isn't here right now. So it's fine." Jellyfish pointed out, somewhat forcefully.

"Does anyone know the way to the Dining Hall?" asked Bubble, as they found themselves at an intersection.

"We do," answered Scorpion and Jellyfish at the same time.

They took a couple left turns then a single right turn and found themselves at the end of a large hallway. The doorway itself was enough to allow five adult griffins to walk in, wings spread to their fullest.

"Wow," whispered Bubble. Beautiful cactus flowers of pink, yellow, and blue were strewn across the doorway, and underneath the colorful flower wreath was a large golden plaque that read, Dining Hall. On the sides of the doorway were two large cacti, both sprouting flowers and a single hole in the middle of one of them. A small bird was perched on top of the cactus and was chirping, its itty-bitty high-pitched voice directed towards the four  griffins.

They stepped inside.

.                                                      .                                                      .          

Hippo felt the smile slide off of his face like the warm mud he'd applied earlier. Jellyfish... No, he hissed at himself, I will not tell her. I refuse to tell her. She's safer not knowing. But.. he couldn't keep this inside of him, right? His mother, Queen Parnassia, had told him that sharing his burdens with others would make his life easier. Hippo's older sister, Terracotta, had said the same. But I don't want to share my burdens with others! I can handle them just fine on my own! ... Or can I?

The gong sounded, interrupting his thoughts, and startling him so much that he dropped the bowl of fruit he had been carrying. CLANG! CLANG! Guess that's my cue, thought Hippo. The earsplitting CRASH! of wood hitting a perfectly wonderful tile floor joined the noise of the gong. The wood splintered, striking the fruit and creating a sticky mess. Stupid, stupid, stupid, a voice cheered. Way to go, Hippo. You act just like one, clumsy, inefficient, you sure like to make a mess of things, don't you?

Griffins were hurrying past him trying to get to their classes. Gloomily, Hippo stooped down, picked up the fruit and shredded pieces of wood, dumped it in the fiery pit where their trash was to be incinerated, and started off. Yanking the map from the black leather pouch that Hippo carried with him, he studied it closely. Scowling, he pocketed the quite unhelpful map. Oh terrific, he thought, irritated. A helpful map of the school. It looks like I'LL be planning my escape route pretty soon.

Hippo knew it was stupid of him to stop, especially since the gong already rang, and that stopping meant he would end up dearly late, but he needed to check the seminars. Maybe it showed where they were located? Taking out a different scroll, he unrolled it and scanned it with increasing horror.

RUBY SEMINAR:

Ice: Shiverburn

Earth (Type 1): Fen

Shadow: Stonecutter

Air (Type 2): Gorgeous

Earth (Type 2): Sidewinder

Water (Type 1): Conch

Air (Type 1): Everest

Air (Type 3): Gale

Earth (Type 2): Osiris

SAPPHIRE SEMINAR:

Ice: Snow Flurry

Earth (Type 1): Savannah

Shadow: Doomflayer

Air (Type 2): Adore

Earth (Type 2): Poison

Water (Type 1): Conch

Air (Type 1): Mountain Fury

Air (Type 3): Gale

Earth (Type 2): Bastet

EMERALD SEMINAR:

Ice: Periwinkle

Earth (Type 1): Cypress

Shadow: Haze

Air (Type 2): Opulence

Earth (Type 2): Bonfire

Water (Type 1): Manta

Air (Type 1): Tornado

Air (Type 3): Downpour

Earth (Type 2): Ra

TOPAZ SEMINAR:

Ice: Atlas

Earth (Type 1): Magnolia

Shadow: Farstriker

Air (Type 2): Opal

Earth (Type 2): Coyote

Water (Type 1): Archipelago

Air (Type 1): Jet

Air (Type 3): Monsoon

Earth (Type 2): Isis

MOONSTONE SEMINAR:

Ice: Blizzard

Earth (Type 1): Hippo

Shadow: Bubbledreamer

Air (Type 2): Glow

Earth (Type 2): Scorpion

Water (Type 1): Jellyfish

Air (Type 1): Cliff

Air (Type 3): Stormlash

Earth (Type 2): Anubis

Hippo's heart almost stopped. The third CLANG! of the gong had rung. Starting to run, he shoved the scroll back into his bag. Sprinting through the hallways, skidding and leaving scrapes along the glittering tile, he ran, not pausing to catch his breath.

"Sorry!" he gasped, as he came to a rather abrupt start. "I-I lost track of time. It won't happen again." Leaning against the doorway, he closed his eyes, taking in one long, shaky breath.

"It's fine," his teacher responded. Opening his eyes, Hippo realized that his teacher was an earth element griffin - Type 2, apparently. Scorpion was sitting next to Glow, who was sitting next to a red-orange griffin, while Bubbledreamer was sitting on the other side of the red-orange griffin and on the other side of Scorpion was a handsome cryokinetic griffin. Jellyfish was sitting on the other side of the cryokinetic griffin.

Unlike most water-related or water-element griffins, Jellyfish's fur was a blue so dark it was almost black. Her gills were hidden from view, protected by her fur. Her underbelly was a considerably lighter shade of blue that complemented her two colored eyes. Around her right arm was a black leather wristband. Hippo couldn't see from where he was, but he remembered the intricate designs of jellyfish and bubbles on it.

"My name is Kha," the griffin continued, pacing around the class. His friends were sitting on one side, leaving a space open for him... but that space meant that he was next to an air element griffin (Type 2) and next to.... Prince Anubis. Well that's what you get for arriving late, thought Hippo. With the feeling that this wouldn't end well, Hippo sat in between the air element griffin and the prince. "How about we all introduce ourselves?"

"Sure," the rest of the griffins said as one, while Anubis muttered incomprehensible that resulted in Kha gazing at Anubis sternly until he grumbled, "Sure."

"When you introduce yourself, you must state what your name is, preferences, and where you are from. If you would like to add in your favorite color, then that is fine as well. Who would like to go first?" Kha looked around the strange assortment of griffins. "Anubis? Would you like to go first?"

Anubis rolled his dark purple-black eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever." he sighed, blowing a lock of dark gold fur away from his face. "My name's Anubis. Don't call me Anu, like my crazy sister. Just Anubis." He gave Kha the expectant, 'Are you happy?' look, but Kha merely scowled. "Okay, fine, I'm from Rubriyturn and I like.." Anubis hesitated. "Um... I like... scrolls.. like the good sci-fi ones.. I don't mind fantasy.. I guess.." his voice trailed off and he tilted his head at Kha.

Kha nodded, then shifted his gaze to Hippo. He didn't feel very prepared. "Uh... heya," he began awkwardly, desperately wishing their eyes weren't all on him. "I'm Hippo. Uh... I like eating, which was kind of one of the reasons why I was late.. heh.. er... I.. um... I like..." Think, Hippo? What do you like, besides eating? "I like sleeping.. I mean, if I were given a choice, between eating or sleeping, I'd have to say sleeping. I, uh... I'm from Abroetania."

"Lucky," breathed Scorpion. Kha smiled.

Feeling slightly encouraged, Hippo continued, "I also like brown.. but not exactly brown, more of that reddish-brown, you know, like not red, but not brown either.. I don't know, I just think it's a pretty color." Like Jellyfish...

"I'm Stormlash," said the griffin next to Hippo. "I'm from a city in Astrypso called Tempestatis and was part of a Weather Patrol. I like any shade of blue, but really just in between blue is my favorite. I like reading scrolls that have good endings or continue on. I also enjoy flying and in my free time, I spend most of it climbing trees or hanging out with some of my friends."

"You like blue, too?" inquired Jellyfish. "Same! By the way, my name's Jellyfish. I love swimming and hanging out with my best friends, Glow, Scorpion, Bubbledreamer, and Hippo. I'm from a certain part of Fatheshan, where it's mostly covered in water. I guess that's all there is to me."

"I am Prince Blizzard," said the dazzling griffin. "I too am from Astrypso, but towards the East Pole. My mother is the Queen of Astrypso. I like pale colors, like an extremely light blue or white. Usually when it happens, I like to go outside and watch the aurora borealis across the arctic sky. It's beautiful."

"I'm Scorpion, daughter of Queen Tumbleweed. I like the color gold and I like to draw in my free time. Mind you, I'm not very good at drawing. I also like hanging out with my friends, Bubbledreamer, Glow, Jellyfish, and Hippo." Scorpion beamed at the other griffins.

"My name is Glow," said Glow. Her fur was a daffodil yellow, pink at the edges, almost like the cactus flowers strung across the doorway to the Dining Hall that Hippo had seen earlier. I can't believe she literally glows. Her mom wasn't very creative, I guess. "I like to walk and talk with my friends, who I'm sure you all know. I don't really have a favorite color - all colors are beautiful in their own way. I'm from Fatheshan, in the other part, the part with the rainforest."

"Hello!" said the red-orange griffin brightly. "My name is Cliffside, but you can call me Cliff for short. I love flying - it's like I'm a free griffin. I also love going to school, and I know for a fact that I'm going to enjoy it here as well. I'm from Zoshippe, and my favorite color is gold."

"You know," murmured Anubis, dropping his voice to a whisper and leaning over slightly so only Stormlash and Hippo could hear him, "when I first came here, I thought there would be a lot less giggling griffins and more on-point stuff." Hippo and Stormlash grinned and Anubis straightened up, a coy smile lurking at the corners of his mouth. Hippo, Stormlash, and Anubis caught each other's eye and agreed silently: they were friends, whether they liked it or not.

"My name is Bubbledreamer, but uh, if you wanted to, I guess you could call me Bubble. I don't mind. I like to hang out with my friends and usually just spend my free time reading.. uh... I like dark blues and purple, but mainly dark colors." Bubble's eyes were fascinating - her iris a deep, rich blood red, yet sparks of sapphire blue, like the streaks of rain on a window pane, her pupils pitch black, like her fur.

Kha nodded and then gestured to the balcony. "Well that just about sums it up! You can visit anywhere you'd like and the rest of the day is free time. There are classes on the blackboard at the front of the school - each seminar is listed below to show which classes you have. If you get lost, there are maps posted around the halls. Some of the older students here can show you the way if you are still lost." Kha raised his sapphire blue eyes to Anubis.

Congratulations. You got away with it this time, but when they find out what you actually are, they’ll leave you.

No one will come back for you.