Chapter 2: Koa slammed into a wall of grey. She gasped. The WarWing standing in front of her was only a head taller than she was, but he was bulky with muscle. His huge wings were folded neatly behind him, the membranes an off-white color. He was a dark grey all around, with a light grey underbelly. His thick, deadly white claws glinted in the afternoon sun, and his horns were gouged with scars from previous battles. He looked to be about Koa's age. But his dark, sapphire-colored eyes were surprisingly kind, considering what his tribe did to Koas. A Warwing with kind eyes, Koa thought, What is THAT about. And yet... She found herself being drawn in by his eyes, the way he looked at her like she was a good dragon. Like she was a normal dragon. No. she told herself. Do NOT let him hypnotize you like that, no matter how pretty his eyes are. "Hello", he rumbled, his voice deep. Koa flinched. He noticed her cringe and chuckled. "I'm not going to hurt you, WoodWing."

'I seriously doubt that.' Koa thought. She began backing away. The Warwing held up his talons in the universal 'I'm not gonna hurt you' sign. "It's okay," he told her. "My name is Lesion, what's yours?" "Uh--" Koa hated being the underling, but she knew he could kill her with one snap of his jaws. "So you're not going to tell me." He cocked his head to the side. "Let me guess, then." He pointed to her chest scales, where along the points in the middle were little notches. "I'm going to guess that you're a royal. So... Koa, is it?" Koa flinched, and Lesion grinned. "Ha. I got it right." "How did you know that?" Koa snapped. The royal WoodWing markings were hardly a secret, but she still asked the question. Apparently, he turned her brain to mush. "Our dragonets are taught WoodWing anatomy, should we ever chance upon one in the forest. " He gestured to her chest plates again. " These notches indicate royalty." He grinned at Koa's scowl. "You're adorable, you know that right?"

Koa's heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly, but she pushed the feeling away. No, she reprimanded herself. Stop that. "Leave me alone," she spat at Lesion, who grinned wider. "Okayyyy," he replied teasingly, drawing the word out. Koa turned around and stomped away. Before she got far, though, Lesion called out, " You intrigue me, Koa." The Queen stopped. "Uh-" "So meet me back here at midnight tomorrow night." Koa growled to herself, and as she walked back into the tunnel she heard Lesion yell, "It's a date, WoodWing!"