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As he flew past the grassy field and the large lake. He saw the forest ahead with the familiar faint lights coming from within, however that's when his eyes spotted a small glow coming from right outside the forest at a small pond that Azuri remembered his mom and him watching animals swim in. He started flying towards it to see what was going on. As he approached the pond and the forest, he noticed that the glow was coming from a familiar dragon species. His eyes widened once he remembered what they were called. A Luminian, he thought to himself a little surprised. Why is one so close to Floria?

He decides to start diving down toward the small pond that the Luminian was sitting by. He tried to be quiet and cautious so as to not scare the dragon away. The Luminian didn't appear to notice him as Azuri landed not far away from them. He slowly approached the dragon and was finally able to examine him. The first thing that he noticed was that his wings were massive, larger than any other dragon he's come across by far. He never heard from either his mother or in the books that they were so big. Maybe they just skip over that detail because it wasn't important? Regardless, the wings by themselves made him look larger than he really was. It also appeared that the dragon was around Azuri's age as well, just based on his size nearly matching Azuri's.

The glow from the tip of the wings, the ears, and even his tail was enough to reflect off of Azuri's body even though he was standing a couple meters away from the Luminian. Azuri continued to be cautious as he approached, seeing the dragon staring down into the pond's water. Azuri could hear small sobs from the Luminian as he approached. That's when Azuri accidentally stepped on a small twig and snapped it in half between his claws, causing the Luminian to look up and flinch from Azuri's presence. To Azuri's surprise however, he didn't fly off. Instead, he just sat there and hid behind his wings.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Azuri said softly as he cautiously and quietly approached the pond and sat down. "Are you okay?"

The Luminian raised his head from beneath his wing and looked at Azuri with sad and scared eyes. He didn't respond, but he stared into Azuri's eyes which reflected the color of his current emotion of sympathy, a mixture of blue and purple. What was interesting about the Luminian's eyes was that the colour of the sclera and the pupils were inverted. He had white pupils and a black sclera, but it was hard to see as the sun was setting upon the horizon, the sky growing darker. He could see the irises growing a gentle electric green.

Azuri started to examine the Luminian dragon carefully. That's when he noticed he had a beautiful, small clock on his chest. It was silver on the outside and purple on the face of the clock. The thing that shocked Azuri the most was that the clock looked to be shattered.

Azuri was unsure what to say to the little Luminian as he noticed the sadness in his face. Was he okay? Why was he crying all by himself? I hope nobody hurt him, he thought. As Azuri checked the Luminian, he couldn't find any sign of injury apart from the shattered clock on his chest. It made him feel slightly relieved, but he was still curious about why he was here. "Are you by yourself?" It took the glowing dragon a second before he nodded his head, another tear streaking down his cheek and dripping into the water, causing ripples to cascade over the Luminian's reflection. Azuri decided to try again with his previous question, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

The Luminian opened his mouth like he was trying to speak but didn't say anything, closing it a few moments later. It was as though he couldn't form the words correctly. Azuri tried getting closer, which the Luminian didn't react to. Azuri tried to think to himself about what to ask next. Then, he remembered the extra apple he was holding. He checked it before holding it out toward the dragon. "Here. Maybe this'll make you feel better." He looked at Azuri and the apple, slowly approaching. Suddenly, the Luminian grabbed the apple and retreated back to his spot, hiding behind his wings and sniffing the apple.

Azuri could manage a half smile, but he was still a little worried about him. He didn't want to scare him at all. The Luminian took a bite out of the apple, chewing while still staring at Azuri. He didn't appear to be staring at him in caution, it was as if he was waiting for Azuri to make the right move on him. Azuri took out the apple he was eating through the flight and continued eating it with the glowy dragon, trying to show him that he can trust Azuri by eating his own apple. It sort of worked, but he stayed hidden behind his wings.

Once Azuri finished his apple, he tossed it away. It was a good thing he wasn't within the walls of any tribe, or even the forest, otherwise the guards would've considered that littering. Florians especially hated it, because it ruined the forest's beauty and, depending on what it was, could potentially kill the local wildlife. It was a good thing it was merely an apple core, which would decay away naturally and be eaten by bugs and wildlife.

He looked up to the Luminian's eyes and with a soft smile decided to ask him another question. "What's your name?" The Luminian still didn't speak, but he used his paw to write into the dirt in front of him.

Azuri examined what the Luminian wrote. "Uhrwerk." Azuri was in awe, he thought the name was cute. Better than my mother's name, Azuri thought with a smirk before shaking his head and returning back to reality. He looked back at Uhrwerk before speaking. "Uhrwerk, that's a wonderful name." Azuri told him in a soft and comforting voice. "My name is Azuri, it's nice to meet you."

It looked like Uhrwerk was starting to trust Azuri now. His wings folded up along his back as he stared at the ground and the water. Azuri noticed that the moon was about to rise up from the horizon, the sky turning darker blue and the stars beginning to slowly become more visible in the sky. Azuri was beginning to notice that it was getting late outside. He looked at Uhrwerk's sad expression, "Hey, it's getting late. Um, I should probably start heading home. I was wondering if you have any parents or a home to head back to? They're probably getting worried and um-." He stopped himself mid-sentence as Uhrwerk shook his head, and another tear dropped from his cheek.

"Oh, do you not have any family?"

Uhrwerk used his paw to wipe his eye, shaking his head again. Azuri turned his head down to the pond as well. It took him a second to realize he was staring down at it, seeing Uhrwerk's full expression in the reflection. "I'm. . . I'm sorry." Azuri raised his claw up toward Uhrwerk's back, but he flinched. It only took a minute before it appeared that Uhrwerk realized what he was doing and accepted Azuri's claw on his back. Azuri started to pat Uhrwerk, noticing how soft Uhrwerk really was. He was even softer than Azuri.

Azuri patted the dragon on the back a couple more times, before pulling his claw back in front of him. Azuri thinks to himself about what he could do to help, eventually coming up with a brilliant idea. He turned to Uhrwerk with a grin, "I have an idea, would you like to stay back at my place? You could sleep in my room!" Azuri stood up on all fours with a bit of excitement. Azuri has always wanted a sleepover with another dragon. He hadn't had many friends, especially when other Florians always made fun of him - particularly because he was homeschooled.

Uhrwerk and Azuri's eyes met, Azuri could see that Uhrwerk was a little conflicted at the idea. "It's okay, my house is perfectly safe. My mom wouldn't know you were there." I know my mom hates Luminians, but I'm not going to leave this guy out here all alone. Screw what she says, I don't see why she even hates them. Uhrwerk had no family, what harm could he do? "Does that sound okay with you?" Uhrwerk just stared, trying to find the courage to speak before he turned his head away and hesitantly nodded.

"Follow me, I'll take you to my place." Azuri started heading toward the forest, with Uhrwerk hesitantly following behind. Azuri showed him how to get past the fence, flying over it without touching it. Uhrwerk cautiously flew over the fence, which inadvertently caused a large gust of air to blow down onto the grass and trees around him. Azuri even felt like he was about to fall over from the strength of the breeze the wings generated. Once Uhrwerk landed on his paws and noticed how Azuri nearly fell over, he grew slightly embarrassed and nearly hid behind his wings, believing Azuri would be mad at him. "I wasn't expecting that." Azuri sort of chuckled to himself as he regained his balance.

When Azuri noticed how embarrassed Uhrwerk was, he slightly grinned. "Oh, it's okay! Don't feel bad, I'm not mad at you at all, see?" Uhrwerk looked up to Azuri's face and noticed how Azuri wasn't mad at all. It made Uhrwerk feel more calm and relaxed. "Come on, let's go." Azuri gestured for Uhrwerk to follow him, and Uhrwerk continued to hesitantly follow. As they walked deeper into the forest, Azuri noticed movement to his right. Within the trees, he could see the night patrols walking toward their direction. Crap, I think they heard us. Azuri turned around and noticed how bright Uhrwerk's glow was. Uhrwerk's glow is going to give away our position! Azuri approaches Uhrwerk and tries to gesture with his claws to turn down the brightness of his glow. "Turn off your glow! Quick!" Azuri whispered to him as quietly as he could so the guards couldn't hear him.

Unfortunately, Uhrwerk seemed to shake his head as he looked at his wings. It did seem like he was trying, but the guards were getting closer to them. Once he realised that Uhrwerk wouldn't be able to simply 'turn off' his glow, he decided to go to plan b. "Hide," Azuri whispered to him as he quickly jumped into a nearby bush. Uhrwerk noticed the guards starting to rapidly approach them, so he decided to do the same. He looked for the nearest thickest tree that could hide him, and jumped behind it. He could hear the sounds of clawsteps crunching on the leaves and twigs snapping, as the guards got closer to their location.

Azuri tried to stand as still and silently as he could, trying not to attract any attention. The guards finally stopped, literally meters away from him. Azuri could hear them whisper to each other in confusion before one of them proceeded to yell loudly. This made Azuri shiver, feeling as if he was just caught in the act, however upon taking a small peek around the trunk of the tree he noticed that the guards were not facing him, but rather facing Uhrwerk's direction. "Who's behind that tree? I see that glow, reveal yourself!" One of them calls out.

However, he heard the sound of shuffling within the leaves and bushes. He heard Uhrwerk beginning to run away toward the edge of the forest. The two guards began running and followed closely behind, calling out to him in commanding voices. As soon as the guards were gone, Azuri came out from behind the bush and looked out toward where the guards were following Uhrwerk. He heard the large breeze of air impact the nearby trees and leaves as he flew into the sky. Both of the guards got to the fence and were staring up toward Uhrwerk. Dangit, of course the night guards ruin my one chance to meet someone new.

Azuri sighed with disappointment as he turned around and saw his house. Though, before he could turn around and start heading back to his house. One of the guards shouted back toward Azuri, frightening him instantly. "Oi, you there!"

Azuri froze in place as he slowly turned around and faced the night guards, who were running over toward Azuri. "What are you doing out here so late, youngling, don't you know it's dangerous?" Azuri felt his body shiver in fright, feeling his body shrink in upon itself.

"I was just... um..." He was about to say something, but he was too terrified to say anything.

The guard leans in and slowly examines Azuri, before his face lights up in surprise. "Wait a second, you're Aphure's kid." The guards put their claws onto Azuri's back and started to lead him back home to the house that wasn't far away from them. Oh no, my mom's not going to like what she's about to hear. When they got to the front door, one of the guards proceeded to knock on it. Azuri could hear shuffling from inside approaching the door.

Once the door opened, he noted the look of disappointment on Beckar's face. The disappointment began to shift into anger as she noticed him standing in front of the two guards, one of which began to speak. "We're sorry to bother you Beckar, but your son Azuri was found outside past curfew." Beckar took a deep breath and sighed with even more disappointment, making Azuri feel ashamed. He wanted to sink into the ground and never be seen again.

"I'm very sorry, he was supposed to have returned two hours ago as I told him." Her eyes fell onto Azuri as she said that last bit of the sentence, which made his heart sink. His mom moved out of the way for Azuri to walk inside, his ears fallen above his head. The two guards then changed the subject to when they chased off Uhrwerk out of the forest. The guards proceeded to describe him and tell her about how dangerous it was to be within meters of the scene. Azuri could tell how furious this made his mom as she thanked the guards for returning him and closed the door as they walked away.

Silence fell through the house as his mom brushed her claws from her face and brushed past her ears. Oh no, I know that expression... she wants to beat me. The only time she ever did that to me was when I was playing with a ball in the kitchen and smashed the plates on the counter.

She finally turned her head toward Azuri with a very irate expression. She slowly walked into the dining room and started to put her books back onto the shelf. Azuri felt like he just ruined a moment to herself before he returned. Now I am really going to get it, he thought to himself as he watched her place the books back before staring down at the table.

"Mom?" Azuri finally was about to speak. His mom raised her head and slowly turned toward him, but did not look directly at him. He continued.

"I'm. . . I'm sorry I'm late, I was just-"

She interrupted him with a soft, but firm voice. "Do you understand how angry I am at you? Deliberately disobeying a direct order. You literally just turned 8, and you have already broken curfew. You could've been arrested- No, you could've been killed, Azuri." The shame that washed over Azuri couldn't be described anymore. His head sank to the floor, he couldn't look up at her anymore. He didn't want to see her face, he already knew it was filled with a visceral anger and disappointment that made Azuri cringe. He doesn't usually get in trouble. In this exact moment he could feel the tension being beyond anything he's felt.

"Those guards found a Luminian in the forest nearby our house. You could've been snatched up." His mother turned and looked down at him now, her claws were slowly clenching into fists. "You understand why that makes me angry, right Azuri? You could've been kidnapped!" She emphasized it to ensure Azuri heard her correctly. As the silence fell down upon them, he could hear her mumble something under her breath. "Your skull is as thick as your father's." The silence between them both was intense, Azuri wanted to cry but he couldn't. He didn't want to do it in front of his mother.

Did she really mean that? He thought to himself, incapable of saying any words as he faced the floor. Azuri's mother started to walk into the kitchen, stomping the floor with frustrated pounds. "You're lucky that the Luminian didn't snatch you up." Azuri started to think back to Uhrwerk and him telling Azuri about having no parents and his loneliness along the pond. Even his crying told Azuri that the Luminian wasn't as dangerous as his mother thought. He finally raised his head to look up to his mom. She had her back turned, going over to the counter and pouring a glass of water.

"I didn't think he was that mean" he mutters quietly, which makes his mom spit out her drink. She slammed the glass of water down onto the counter with a loud thud, almost hard enough to break it. She turned her head to him slightly. Uh oh, that probably wasn't the right thing to say.

"What did you just say?" Azuri heard the growl and anger growing in her voice.

"N-Nothing."

"Don't 'nothing' me young dragon, what did you just say?"

Azuri felt a cold sweat wash over him. Oh dear, I shouldn't have said that.

"I-I just thought that he was nice..." As soon as his eyes met with his mom, he saw her growl and her left eye twitch with infuriating rage.

"N-Nice! Nice?" She leaned toward him and screamed those words with even more rage. "So! You were with a Luminian?! And you thought. . . That he was nice?!" She was beginning to flail her claws around as she tried to understand what her own son just said. "I can't believe what I'm hearing, either my own son is a complete idiot or I am having a nightmare!" Azuri felt himself growing the strength to speak back to her. He had seen his mother read books about Florians and Luminians fighting each other. He'd heard her talking numerous times about how bad the Luminians were. He heard the stories about Luminians and the warnings they told Florians. Despite this, Azuri's interaction with Uhrwerk wasn't like anything that his mother nor the warnings had described. In fact, Azuri quite liked the little Luminian and wanted to help him because he was clearly hurting.

Azuri was beginning to wonder to himself if his own mom was being too paranoid for her own good. An adult Luminian is one thing, but this was a literal dragonling. Azuri knew he wasn't capable of causing harm. His mother didn't understand what he saw in the little dragon, and in his eyes she was getting frustrated at something she didn't understand. Azuri felt the rage building up inside him as he watched her try pulling out her hair as she went over to a wall to calm herself down. Unfortunately, Azuri could tell that she wasn't going to be calming down anytime soon.

"Mom, I think you should let me exp-." Before he could finish, she turned around and faced him.

"No, Azuri! I don't need to hear what you have to say! I've constantly warned you about them and you decided to approach one and say he was friendly! I can't believe what I'm hearing from my own son!"

"But mom, he was crying and hiding in his wings, he had no family and nowhere to go."

"Ha! And you believed the little runt? They say those things to get into your mind before wrapping you in their wings and snatching you away. You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Say what things? He didn't even say anything!" He watched her gulp down the rest of the glass of water, before throwing it into the sink without somehow shattering it. "Mom, why in all of that is holy do you think they're so bad?! Why do you refuse to believe what I saw!?"

Her eye twitched as she saat down and closed her eyes. "I don't think I ever told you this yet... but because you refuse to listen to me, the guards, and even the warnings from the queen herself, it's time I tell you the reason why I hate them." She took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down again, which proved to be a fruitless task as the amount of rage built up inside her was too much. She practically wanted to punch a hole in the wall at this point. She finally breathed out as she built up the courage to speak. "It's because they killed my parents."