Chapter 1- Homeward Bound

"The Hidden World
Our home
We lived here for generations, lived longer than any other beings. We survived because of our former alliance with humans.

But those memories for just that, memories from the past, and now we must strive to what we could do for the future,"

"Will we ever go back out there, Da?"

"I'm afraid not, little one. Who it's been years and I doubt my allies survived this long. It's safer here than out there."

"But what if there is more allies?"

"No. As Alpha, I can't risk it. Do yer understand?"

"Yes Da,"

"I just want to keep my family safe,"

"I know,"

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You snuck through the tall seaweed, peaking your head upward to spy on the Rumblehorns, who were guarding and patrolling the entrance to your Hidden World. Your home. Your ears were pinned down to the sides of your head, trying to be stealthy as possible.

"I thought ma said we can't go near the Rumblehorns since they're on watch duty,"

You rolled your eyes, feeling 6 pairs of paws on you, and the mischievous voice of your sister.
"She said that we can't bother them, I'm not bothering them as yer can see," You said with a sly grin, making Dart giggle.

"We're bored (Y/N)! Play with us!" Pouncer whined and laid on your back, with Ruffrunner pulling your ears.
"Oh yeah? How about you both fight to the death, and whoever wins gets to play with me," You jokingly said, trying to get them to tire themselves out.

"Let's fight Ruffrunner!" Pouncer grinned mischievously, and Ruffrunner smile back.
"You're on!" They both attacked each other, or at least kitten fight, and Dart just rolled her eyes. She turned back to you as you stared at the giant hole above the Hidden World.

"How come we never go near the entrance?" Dart asked you, sitting next to you as you shrugged.
"Da said it's dangerous, but I bet there's nothing but water, where else is the water coming from?" You simply told her, but you knew what was beyond the entrance.

Humans.

When you first heard the name, you thought it was a stupid name to call living beings, but the more your Da and Ma talked about them, the more interested and curious you were about them. They never told you where the humans came from, but you connected the dots about where they probably are now.

"Alright yer kids, enough fighting," You heard the gruff and deep voice of your Uncle Hookfang.
"Uncle Hookfang!!" The triplets shouted happily, and you smiled at him, getting up from your spot.
"Time for dinner?" You asked, and he nodded.

"Yer Da is cooking tonight," He said, and you four cheered. Da always know how to roast a fish.
"Race you four!" You said and flew upwards for a head start, making the three siblings whine and fly after you.

Hookfang simply chuckled.

"Just like her Da,"

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"Enjoy my fine cuisine, everyone, enjoy!" Your Da smiled brightly as your aunts and uncles, Ma, and siblings sat around the rock like table to eat. You merely took three bites before staring off into space.
'Maybe today will be the day I ask about it. Just be brave (Y/N), what's the worse that could happen?' You thought with a small gulp of fear.

"Are you okay, hun? Yer don't like Da's food?" Your mother teased, making your Da cry dramatically.
"So mean!" He sniffed, but was concerned for you.
"Da, I was, uhhh, thinking about something," You started up, and he simply hummed.

"Oh yeah? Thinking is something completely unheard of from me," He joked, making you snort, but continued on.
"Well, this thought involves... humansfromtheoutsideworld," you muttered out as fast as you could muster.

That made your Da and Ma stop eating, and you looked down to avoid their stare. Your aunts and uncle noticed and tried to distract your siblings.
"What?" Your Ma finally asked, and you slowly looked up at her.

"I want... to Uhh... find humans. From the outside world..?" You trailed off, giving him a tiny smile. Your siblings looked up from their food, looking confused as your Da still said nothing.
"D... Da-"

"No,"

"But Da, the stories yer told me about having human alliances could be beneficial! It could help us grow as a community!" You tried to reason with him.
"(Y/N), I don't want to have this conversation right now. Those stories are nothing but bedtimes stories. I don't want yer to go anywhere near the entrance," Your Da sternly told you with a firm tone.

"But there's nothing better to do here either! If I'm going to be the next in line for Alpha, I need to know the ones who we trusted all those years ago!" You kept pressing on, not wanting to let this go.

"(Y/N), I said no, end of this conversation," Your Da was getting more and more firm with you, and your aunts and uncles were getting more tensed.
"Toothless-" Your Ma started out.

"I could make human allies just like yer, Da! And we could finally find Uncle Cloudjumper agai-"

CLANG

"(Y/N)!!" Your Da finally slammed his paws against the rock table, making everyone flinch at the outburst, and you regretting even saying anything. He gave you a glare and bellowed out.

"Yer are not going outside the Hidden World, yer are not ready to be on your own, and yer are never going to be strong enough to face it!!" He shouted, spreading his wings out at the last sentence to show he was serious.

Everyone went silent and stared at you both, and you felt your face heat up in embarrassment because of it.
"Toothless, that's enough!" Your Ma stepped in and growled at her husband, who immediately backed off. He paused for a moment, looking at you looking down in shame, before sighing.

"Go to bed if yer not hungry," That's all he said, and you silently left dinner, but not before purposely knocking over a few corals in irritation.

'I wish I never said anything,'

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You stared at the dragons flying above you, head resting on your pillow, ears twitching.
"(Y/N)?" You froze at the voice of your Da, and you curled yourself further.
"Hun, I'm sorry for shouting at yer, I didn't mean to raise my voice," He started out, walking towards you.

"I realized what I said, and I didn't want to hurt yer, never in a million years," He stood over you, feeling very much guilty.
"Yer Ma scolded me very harshly, guess I'll be sleeping on the coral tonight, eh?" He tried to joke, but you still didn't say anything, making him sigh

"(Y/N), please understand this," He said, placing a paw on your head.
"I love yer with all my heart, just like the rest of the family. I lost someone because of me, I don't want the same thing happen to yer," He whispered, giving you a lick on your head before getting up to leave you at peace.

You said nothing as you heard him leave, and your Ma licking your head before leaving too.
"Next day, will be a new day little one," She mumbled before leaving too.

You heard both of them leave and you sniffed, wiping tears away.
"They got into a fight because of me," You muttered, shame washing over you.
"All because of these stupid curious thoughts," You hissed, looking back up at the entrance.

'But... just maybe,'

You got up, grabbing a bag in your mouth, before shifting it to be around your neck. You crept around to the cave next to you, seeing your siblings sleeping soundly.
"Bye, yer three gremlins," You whispered and tucked the three dragons in bed, then you went off to the other cave, which held your parents.

"... Bye Da, bye Ma," You then turned to crawl up pillars, getting more and more closer to the entrance.
'Just a little more,' You thought.

"(Y/N)?" You froze in your tracks, wincing at the voice of the dragon you didn't want to face during this.
"Hey Winger," You whispered, turning your head to face the blue dragon. He was one of your only friends, emphasis on was. After an argument, you both grew distant, but he still wanted to fix your friendship.

"What are yer doin'?" He yawned, tilting his head a little. You gulped, looking to the entrance, and back to Winger, making your decision.
"I... I'm leaving," You managed to say, and instantly, his eyes widened.
"Leaving? The Hidden World? Why?" He asked you, getting a little louder with each question.

You quickly covered his mouth with your paw, making sure no one else was awake.
"Not for too long Winger. Just for a little bit to get a feel, and soon, I'll be back," You tried to reassure him, but he wasn't letting it go easily.

"Then let me go with yer! Yer'll need someone to protect yer!" He whispered back, taking a step towards you, but you just spread your wings slightly to warn him to back off, which he did.

"Winger, I promise yer, I'm going to be okay. If anything, I need yer help to make sure my family doesn't know. Try and distract them saying I'm with yer or something. Please," The last part you slightly growled out, but it seemed to get your point across.

Winger paused, before nodding and taking a step back.
"Be back safe," He whispered, and you nodded, turning back to climb away. Hiding in seaweed, you saw Rumblehorns pass by you, and you paused for a moment.

You turned your head to look down at the Hidden World, your home, your family. You felt your heart quicken every second, fear building up in your stomach at the thought of even stepping a claw out of the home you always knew.

'Even if I do regret this, I just want a sense of what he faced, what he learned... I want to be who he was, so I could be a leader they want,'

From the corner, you breathed out plasma, making your scales invisible. Spreading your wings, you flew upwards, flying stealthily pass the guards. The water splashed on you, and saw the moonlight shining in your eyes.

You closed them, feeling the water no longer splashing you, and you opened them to see that you're finally out. You're finally outside of the Hidden World. You breathed out, a small smile on your face, before inhaling and started to fly off.

'I'll be back before you know it, dad. I promise,'