First two chapters out, and now Bricriu's powers have been explained as well (one heals and one is acid/poison). So I think it's time we see what kind of a mess he can get himself into. Besides the ones he is already in.
Bricriu groaned as he awoke on a clean white mattress. He pushes up with his forepaws and throws the blanket on his body off him, then looks around in confusion.
He seems to be in a very large white room, with a white curtain around him. Blinking once or twice to get used to all the white around him, he gets out of the bed and calls out. "Hello?"
His call is answered by a dragon throwing apart the curtain and demanding. "Open your mouth." Startled, Bricriu complies, opening his maw wide while humming, "Ahhhh."
The dragon, who Bricriu notes is wearing a patch with a red blood drop on his back like a saddle, looks inside and nods, then pats Bricriu's leg to get him to stop. "Any idea why you passed out in the combat room?" He asks.
Bricriu frowns and asks. "I passed out?" When the dragon nods, Bricriu sighs. "Just too much excitement. It's a bad habit of mine, when attention is on me and stuff."
"It was more than that." The doctor dragon nods and notes it down, then smiles warmly at Bricriu. "I believe you used up to much elemental energy in one sitting. Here." He hands Bricriu a green gem. "Crush this in your paw."
Confused, Bricriu does as he is told, crushing the gem in his grasp. It shatters easily and Bricriu quickly drops it with a cry, afraid of getting cut, but nothing painful happens. Instead, he feels energy race through his body and rest in his chest, where he first felt the energy he used in the combat room.
The doctor smiles wider. "Don't worry. Doctors don't hurt their patients on purpose." He then looks outside at the sun. "You might as well head out. The guardians said that you should follow around a student in an average day so you know what to expect. He's waiting outside."
Bricriu nods in return and climbs out of bed a little awkwardly, then grabs his school satchel off the table by the bed. With a little wave goodbye, he goes out the door of the big white room.
"How was your first visit to the infirmary, crazy?" Someone asks to Bricriu's left. Bricriu smiles as he turns and sees Jade standing up from the ground with a grin.
"Not bad." Bricriu answers. "Though I feel like I went blind. All that white everywhere." He fakes a shudder.
Jade laughs and nods. "I know that feeling. C'mon, we gotta get to our writing class." Jade turns and starts walking towards the stairs. Bricriu quickly follows.
As they are walking up the stairs, Lurra intercepts them on her way down. Squinting a little, she sighs in relief and says. "Thank the ancestors you're awake. I need you Bricriu." Walking back upstairs with him and Jade, Lurra raises her wing and shows him her side, still covered in the blue healing stuff. "No other element can remove it, not even Lason's acid."
Blushing, Bricriu mutters. "Sorry." He quickly spits a small amount of his poison onto her side, which proceeds to melt the blue away.
"What are you going to call that stuff, Bricriu?" Jade asks curiously. Bricriu frowns and thinks for a moment, putting in the same thought he got for his name but coming up with nothing.
"May I make a suggestion?" Lurra asks as she turns her body towards the two friends. Bricriu looks up at her as she continues. "Maybe call it an Elixir, seeing as how it seems to be a cure all for injuries as well as indestructible. It reminds me of the stuff snake oil merchants you'll find outside the city sell, except this actually is a cure."
Jade gasps. "Dude, what if this stuff can cure all diseases too!" Jade's tail begins wagging behind him.
Bricriu smiles at him, then shakes his head. "I doubt that's how my... Elixir would work, Jade." Bricriu smiles wider and nods to Lurra. "It's a great name. Thanks. Anyways, the stuff only disappears when my acid melts it. Meaning that there is a high possibility that when someone drinks it, it will grow Inside them and suffocate them from within."
Jade's tail stops and he thinks about it, then shudders. "That's one hell of a way to go." Bricriu simply nods in agreement.
Lurra looks at them both, then says calmly. "Don't you two need to get to class?"
Bricriu and Jade glance at each other with a bit of a grin. "Yeah, we do. Glad I could help you, Lurra. Show me the way, Jade."
Lurra nods and walks past them down the stairs. Jade and Bricriu do the opposite, heading upstairs to the classrooms.
"Here we are. Scath's classroom." Jade smiles as he leads Bricriu to the same classroom that he had said before was the language arts class.
All eyes are on them as they walk in, but Scath quickly gets the attention of the class back on him. "Ladies and gents, please keep your attention on the papers. Bricriu, find an open seat please. Assignment is on the board. I assume you will need school supplies?" Bricriu nods as he takes a seat at one of the empty desks.
Scath hands him a paper and a quill. "We are writing about our opinions on light. Last month was darkness, so unfortunately you missed that, but I'm sure you'll have something interesting to talk about." Bricriu smirks a little and nods again.
Thirty minutes later, Scath begins collecting the papers. Bricriu scribbles his name on the top and smiles as he hands his paper to Scath.
Scath smiles back and says. "Okay class. Might as well chi-" A fearful glance at Jade silences him. "Er... you might as well stay here and relax for the last five minutes of class while I read over your papers." Some of the class snickers at his stutter, but Bricriu just shrugs and lays his head down on the desk.
Five minutes later the bell rings in the form of a large bell outside of the school in a tower. The students have already packed up and rush to get out of the classroom, leaving Bricriu to pack up his stuff and walk out.
"Wait Bricriu." Scath calls from his desk, and as Bricriu turns around Scath beckons him over to his desk.
With a small gulp, Bricriu nods and walks over to his desk. Scath smiles reassuringly at him and simply points to Bricriu's paper on the desk. "I like what you wrote. You bring up an interesting point in your third paragraph." Scath looks down at the paper and reads allowed. "Despite many praises that I and many others have for the light, I also have an opinion that light can be dangerous. It can hurt people, blind people from the truth, and trap others in the idea that darkness is evil." Scath smiles wider. "Those are some great points if I have ever seen them. Not to mention it could be an interesting thesis for an entirely new paper."
Bricriu smiles happily at the praise. "Thanks Scath."
Scath nods. "Tell me, who inspired this idea within you? Your parents? Your friends?" His eyes, while still full of humor, are also quizzical and questioning.
Bricriu's smile disappears as he notices the gaze. "M... my parents taught me it to think that way." He looks down to avoid Scath's look. Scath simply shrugs and puts the paper with the rest.
"That is very interesting... I would love to meet your parents some day. You can go now." Scath waves him out with his wing, and Bricriu nods and walks out quickly.
Jade sits outside on the floor while waiting, and before Bricriu can say anything, Jade leaps to his paws. "What happened?!" Jade shouts. "We don't have time for this, we have got to go!" Picking up his school satchel, Jade takes off running through the nearly empty hall.
"H-Hey!" Bricriu rushes after him as fast as he can manage, barely keeping behind Jade as he runs down the hall to the science classroom. "It's not your fault if you are late, don't worry! It'll be my fault!"
Despite Jade's fear, they do make it to the next class in time, which is outside in a small courtyard. The yellow dragoness is standing in front of a group of students, but as Jade and Bricriu walk over she turns her attention to them. "Hello Jade, Bricriu. Glad you two could make it." She focuses her attention on Bricriu. "My name is Fulma. I'm the lightning guardian here at the school and I teach flight classes." Fulma smiles warmly at Bricriu. "Have you ever flown before?"
Bricriu shakes his head and Jade's jaw drops. "Well then, after I get everyone working, why don't I take you off to the side and teach you?"
Bricriu nods. "That sounds alright. Where do I put my stuff?"
Fulma points with her tail to a side wall, where everyone else in the class has already placed their stuff down. Nodding again, Bricriu walks over and puts his school satchel down in the corner so he knows which one it is, then sits down and watches while Fulma gets everyone into the air and shows them where to go and how fast.
Eventually though she turns back to Bricriu and gestures for him to walk over, which he does. "Now then, let's go over where no one shall bother us." She says with a happy smile, turning and walking to a far corner of the courtyard, with Bricriu right behind her.
Other students fly over, swooping and diving through the sky. Jade and another dragon are racing around the temple in circles, nearly hitting others mid-flight but managing to avoid collision with over-the-top acrobatics. "Will you teach me to fly like them, Fulma?" Bricriu asks hopefully.
Fulma looks up and frowns a little before saying. "Two things. One, they have had a few years of practice." She then raises her voice. "Two, they shouldn't be doing that in the first place!"
The two racers stop quickly and hover, looking down at Fulma fearfully. She points at the ground and they nod, landing and going to the wall to sit down. "Flying like that is not permitted above the city or the temple. You'd do well to remember that, Bricriu." Bricriu nods and she is smiling once again. "Good. Now, let's get started. Proper takeoff position is like so." Fulma spreads her wings and places her four paws firmly to the ground, then crouches down as if to leap into the air, then stands back as normal. "You try." She orders.
Bricriu nods and does his best to copy her first position. Fulma walks around him, taking in every bit of his pose before adjusting his wings. "You're too loose up here. You need your wings firm, so they can lift you off the ground. Once in the air, you can relax." Bricriu frowns and tries to firm up his wings, but can't.
Fulma giggles. "No, that's your back." She gently rubs his back to get him to relax. "It's okay. Just try flapping them once or twice. Get used to them."
Bricriu looks back at his right wing and tries to move it at all. Eventually he manages to flap it, getting a cheer from the people in the air who are watching him struggle, as well as Jade and the other dragon. Smiling nervously at them, he turns and flaps his other wing, then both in unison.
He yelps in surprise as he can feel himself lift off the ground and he sinks his claws into the stones below him. Those watching laugh and snicker at him, but Fulma rubs his back again. "Nice work, but you need to find balance first."
"How do I do that when I didn't even get in the air!?" Bricriu snarls, then blushes a little from the attention.
"Shh, Bricriu. It'll be fine. You need to find balance before you can fly." Fulma thinks for a moment. "Let's try this method. Close your eyes and forget that you're on the ground. Imagine that you are above the air, soaring with the birds."
Bricriu shuts his eyes and tries to daydream as Fulma continues. "Forget everything. Forget yourself, Forget now. Only flow with your instincts, what your ancestors already knew."
Bricriu frowns and tries, but can't think of any ancestors to specifically dream about. 'How far back should I go? Does she want me to think of a few decades, or a millennium ago? And what heritage? Russian? French? Danish?'
His struggle must be on his face, because it isn't long before Fulma tells him to open his eyes.
Bricriu blinks as he opens his eyes and then looks around. At some point he had moved forward a great deal, almost halfway across the courtyard. "Did I fly?!" He asks Fulma excitedly.
Fulma shakes her head and Bricriu's smile disappears. "Actually, you just started pacing... And muttering... What did you think about?"
"I tried to think about my ancestors, but I didn't know who to think about." Bricriu growls.
Fulma gives him a confused look. "What do you mean? Just think about your ancestors."
"Which ones, Fulma?" Bricriu continues to glare. "Do I think about the ones from years ago, or decades ago?"
Fulma blinks in surprise and stutters. "W-Well... You should think about whoever you can. It shouldn't really matter."
Bricriu sighs and sits down. "Well then I guess that I won't be flying today." The other dragons stare at him for a little while longer, then they go back to flying around.
Fulma stares as well, then shrugs. "If you say so, Bricriu." She then takes flight to help others in the air and make sure nothing else goes wrong.
Bricriu lays down and sleeps for the entire class period. When the bell rings, he stands at the door to the courtyard and waits for Jade.
"Bricriu!" Jade calls from up in the air. "Let's fly to next class!" He then winces. "Ohhh, right. You can't." He laughs, and those that overheard laugh along with him.
"Go eat a sock!" Bricriu snarls at Jade and walks away, not caring about school or classes for now.
Behind him, Jade snickers and flies to his next class, leaving Bricriu alone to sulk and explore, which he does, heading out of the temple and off into the strange mushroom forest surrounding it.
He stares at every mushroom in amazement, thinking to himself that each one looks just like the ones from a game like minecraft, but less blocky of course.
He gently runs his paw against one and giggles as he squeezes a little. Off in the distance, Bricriu hears the sound of the ten minute bell at the temple. He quickly turns tail and runs back towards the temple.
As he re-enters school grounds the bell rings and the hallways are swarmed with students. Bricriu yelps and moves out of the way, heading upstairs quickly to the dorms.
Bricriu stands at the top of the stairs in the near empty hallway, looking left and right before heading for the boy's rooms and looking for his.
A dragoness walks towards him from the other direction. "Excuse me, miss?" Bricriu asks gently and she looks up at him. "How do I tell which room is mine?"
She blinks, then mutters. "It's on your schedule." before continuing on. Bricriu waves to her, then looks down at his schedule and finds his room.
"Room 176." He mutters, opening the door and glancing around inside. The interior of the room is white, with a carpet made of green and red stripes. A closet lies at the back of the room, with a few large pillows of varying colors directly next to it. On the other side of the room a school desk lies with an unlit candle in the corner of it. Besides those objects across the room from his, it's a barren floor.
Bricriu frowns as he walks into the room and shuts the door behind him. Walking over to the large green pillow, he feels it with his paw and realizes it feels more like a mattress then a pillow. He carefully climbs on top of the pillow and smiles. "This is nice." He confirms to himself, nodding in agreement before curling up to take a nap.
In his dreams, Bricriu sees a far off mountain in the distance. With a single step, he arrives at the base of the mountain, and from deep within a cave he can hear the sounds of whispering, almost demonic chanting.
With a deep breath and a stealing of his nerves, Bricriu heads into the cave. As he walks, the floor changes from a cave floor to a stone hallway, and soon he finds a long stone stairway leading up. Gulping a little, he climbs the stairs and ends up in a large room with six hallways, each in a different direction.
Bricriu looks down each hallway and sees nothing but pitch black darkness. In the center of the room there is a small pedestal with strange writing on it.
As Bricriu cautiously pads towards the pedestal, the words rearrange themselves from the language to English.
It reads, "Trials of Malefor, the dark God of Avalar."
Bricriu frowns at the words, racking his brain as he tries to remember who Malefor was from his games. He remembers the sorceress, Ripto, and the Rhynocs, but never any Malefor.
Suddenly a loud rumble comes from the roof above Bricriu. Looking up, he gasps as he realizes the cave is collapsing. Scrambling to turn around, he races out of the temple and back into the cave.
Looking back over his shoulder, Bricriu sees the temple door slam shut with a giant rock, and he sighs in relief, slowing down to a steady walk as he leaves the cave into the sunlight.
He glances left and right, unsure of where to go, until a large shadow falls over him.
With a scream of panic, Bricriu is jolted awake and comes face to face with Scath, who stares at him, incredibly worried. "Are you okay? Why aren't you with Jade?"
Bricriu pants lightly and whispers. "Just a bad dream... And Jade's a dick."
Scath frowns. "Language, please... Well, you've slept through to eighth period. So you might as well just come with me to my eighth period class." Bricriu nods and stands up, stretching like a cat before following Scath out and to his classroom once again.
As they enter, the student who was watching everyone else breathes a sigh of relief and quickly goes back to his seat. Scath nods his thanks to him, then turns to Bricriu and points at the empty spare desk in the back. Bricriu nods and sits down there, listening to other dragon's hushed whispers and mutterings as he walks past.
Scath begins the class talking about the same stuff he talked about with Bricriu's class, and so Bricriu sighs and lays his head down, wishing with all his might for his cellphone.
After an hour that seems to drag on and on, the bell finally tolls, signaling the end of the class. As people pack up and head out, Scath walks to Bricriu and asks. "Do you know where to go next?"
Bricriu shrugs and answers. "I had assumed that I could go to my dorm for the rest of the day."
Scath shakes his head. "Right now is dinner time, then you can go to your dorm." Bricriu nods and heads for the cafeteria, his pack over his shoulder.
Walking into the large room slowly, Bricriu scans the groups looking for Jade and Cloud. Spotting Jade and Coral in the middle of a group of ditzy dragonesses and athletic dragons laughing their asses off, Bricriu makes sure to keep as much distance between him and Jade.
He grabs two slices of bread and beef before walking around. Finally he spots Cloud sitting outside on a bench, and he quickly walks to her.
Cloud notices his approach and moves her school bag for him to sit by her, which he gratefully takes. "Finally stop hanging out with that womanizing man whore?"
Bricriu smirks a little, but shrugs. "If you mean Jade, yes. If you mean Scath, I had no idea he was like that!"
Cloud glares angrily at his joke and he quickly erases the smirk. "Good." She mutters, before continuing to work on her homework. "He is a bastard, him and his whole family."
Bricriu frowns. "That's a little harsh Cloud. I doubt his entire family was a bunch of dicks. There has to be a good one in there."
Cloud snorts. "Yeah. His mentally retarded brother is pretty nice." Cloud begins giggling at her joke.
Bricriu looks at her, appalled. "That's not funny!"
Cloud slowly stops giggling and returns to her work. "It's true though." Bricriu frowns and starts eating, looking down at the ground and chewing slowly.
"So." Bricriu pauses to swallow. "What makes you hate Jade so much?"
Cloud growls low and Bricriu flinches away, then she sighs and whispers. "He... He made me love him once."
Bricriu's eyes widen in surprise, and she immediately snarls at him. "Yes, you green idiot! I can love!"
Bricriu blinks, then says reassuringly. "I didn't say that Cloud. I was just surprised that you would tell me such sensitive information about yourself. It almost makes me feel like you trust me, which I am proud to be if I truly am. I promise I will never betray you like he did, because your friendship and happiness matters to me, as I am your friend and care immensely about you."
Cloud stares at him with the same exact confused look he's gotten so many times from her before, then rolls her eyes. "You just like to hear yourself talk, don't you?"
"I'd much rather hear your voice over mine, Cloud." Bricriu says in a sultry voice, which makes Cloud blush. Smiling wide, he carefully moves his wing over and covers her back with it.
"W-what are you doing?" Cloud stutters, blushing even more. "People can see us."
Bricriu whispers. "It's obvious you needed a hug, and forget everyone else. Until they make themselves known, they are not important. Just extras in the movie of your life." He covers Cloud with his other wing, blocking her view. "There. Now no one can see us together. Out of sight, out of mind."
Cloud opens her mouth to say something, then sighs and nuzzles close. Bricriu smiles wide and nuzzles her back.
As Bricriu opens his mouth to say something this time, Cloud suddenly starts purring from within her chest. His eyes widen and he hugs her tighter, whispering. "You sound adorable."
"Shut up." Cloud answers playfully.
"Seems I found the squishy interior that was hiding inside you Cloud." Bricriu retorts. Cloud just sighs and continues the hug, even as the final bell of the day rings out.
Now I know some of you might think that what just happened was a bit out of Cloud's character, but she's a Wind dragoness. When I picture a wind dragoness, I think of someone Bipolar or a little cruel, just like how the wind can be. But like a gentle breeze, they can have their calm, happy moments too.
Also if anyone knows how to put LINES in here, I would be very grateful. After all, I tend to bounce around like each thing is another mini chapter so I need dividers.