Chapter 3 – Daragan the Animal~

"The last ones to carry their bags will have no food for the week!" the trainer threatened. On horseback, he took out his horsewhip and smacked the few that lagged behind. Canna and Daragan ran side by side, near the middle of the group. The training exercise was to carry heavy bags of rocks all around the track. The track cruelly circled from the bottom of the mountain all the way to the top. Most of the boys had no problems, but some girls were already breathing heavily. Canna had hurt herself during an earlier exercise, and the wound on her back started to open up again.

"Hey, Canna, put some rocks in my bag! Hurry before the trainer catches us!" Daragan whispered. Canna shook her head. He growled savagely at her "You're hurt. Your back is bleeding again. "No." She replied stubbornly through gritted teeth. She and Daragan started to lag behind.

"Get going before you get whipped!" Canna urged. Daragan smiled. "Hey girl, I can be stubborn too…! Canna scoffed in response.

"S-sorry, could you repeat that last part again?" Kayla asked quietly.

Canna was on her 12th bottle and was slurring her speech. " I shaid, he waasss shweet, but a total…totull…shtubborn donkey!"

The trainer suddenly caught up to Canna and Daragan, who were one of the last ones. A boy and two girls had passed out and were draped over the horse to be carried. Daragan elbowed his friend to warn her to pick up the pace. The group paced ahead and knew that it was best to ignore anything that happened.

"Goddamn boys and their hormones. No getting close, you two!" The trainer yelled.

He raised the horsewhip and brought it right on Canna's spine. She gave a small cry of pain and dropped the bags. She fell to the ground and tried to get back up again. The trainer clicked his tongue and got off his horse. "Another brat goes and bites the dust." He spat right on her. Daragan threw his bags to the side and rushed over to Canna. He was met with a solid kick to the gut from the trainer, who threw curses at the pair. The rest of the group was already beyond sight, but they knew not to stop until they had reached the top. He muttered under his breath and raised the whip over Canna. She tried to get up, but she kept falling, like a newborn foal who was trying to learn to walk.

"I've just had about enough of you, you little useless bitch!" He yelled.

Just then, as he was bringing the whip down, Daragan stopped it and glowered at the man.

"What…did you just call her…?" He growled.

The trainer stepped back and let go of the whip. He spoke into his earpiece about needing backup. Daragan clenched his fists as his eyes changed colour.

"I heard of you around the other trainers. They call you Daragan the I ain't scared of little punks like you! I'll deal with you once I'm done with that trash next to you!" He growled.

The boy suddenly let forth his yoki; from 10% to 20%. His face stretched and his teeth became sharper. He went on four limbs and let out a roar that sounded more animal than human. It knocked the trainer off balance and he landed on his backside. He spiked his Yoma blood up to 30% and wings sprouted from his back. He charged savagely at the trainer. The trainer screamed as he backed up, lost his footing at the edge of the track and his scream echoed as he fell all the way down. The two children heard a small CRACK and then silence. The still-transformed Daragan rushed back over to Canna, who was lying faced-down. He whimpered sadly and nudged her gently. He was transforming back as he waited by her side, but it was a painfully slow transition. His voice, calling her name again and again, still sounded more animal than human.

"Da-Dara…Dara-gan…" Canna managed weakly. She was breathing heavily. He rushed to her face and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Dara…gan…!" She whispered, trying to reach for his cheek. He took her hand and held it to his cheek for her. She could feel the tears on his face. He was never one to be sentimental, but this once, they were streaming down like a waterfall.

"W-what's wrong with you Canna…? Why can't you get up? What's wrong? Does it hurt a lot?" He whined. With his small voice, Canna could not believe that he was called an Animal. He sounded more like a hurt little puppy than his usual fierce self.

Her eyes seemed unfocused and blurry. "Dara...Daraga...n. I-I-I can't…move…my body…I…I-I can har-har-hardly even…see…see you…" She replied. She tried to keep her voice calm, but her own voice sounded foreign to her and came out shaky and small. He answered with whines and whimpers, too scared to move her in case he made it worse. She tried to get back up, but her body trembled under her and she fell back onto the ground. Finally, she gave up and laid there. Daragan offered to carry her, but Canna refused, saying her body hurt too much.

By then the reinforcements came. Daragan had already stabilized his yoki, but threatened to awaken when they tried to come near the two. He didn't trust anyone and when the medical team tried to come near Canna, he stood protectively beside her, still growling and barking like a mad dog.

Canna burst out in hilarious laughter. She had stopped drinking after the 21st bottle, but she was still tipsy. "T-that idiot! I almost died! Not because of my paralyzzzed state, but the way he was keeping everyone away frum me! I heard someone shcreaming that Daragan had bit him too!"

Kayla and Rina brought the covers up. They were suddenly scared of Canna. With alcohol in her she seemed like a totally different person. She was a quiet and gentle person before, like a graceful ghost. But now they thought of her as a complete phantom straight from horror stories. Nevertheless, they wanted her to carry on.

"He was hissing and growling and snapping at anyone who tried coming close, yelling that only he was allowed to touch me and that he would rip apart anyone who would hurt me…so childish!" She laughed but suddenly her head fell sadly. She banged her fist on the table. "That fool was such a child…! He meant well, and was confused with the events, but he was threatening to awaken. Saying that right next to me! And if he went true to his word, I wouldn't even be able to bring him back..."

After two hours of useless persuasion and roaring, Daragan finally agreed to let the medical team bring Canna to the hospital part of the base, but on the condition that he transport her. He lifted the girl on his back and carried her piggyback-style. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming in pain. It took a long while for them to trek back down the mountain, waiting for a boy while they were on horseback.

"Dara…Dara…gan..." Canna whispered quietly. Her body twitched and he almost lost hold of her. She wanted to walk on her own, but seemed to have no control of her body.

"Don't." He commanded. "I'm not letting anyone else near you. And I'm not going to leave you either. You may not be able to speak right now, but I know you can hear me."

Canna awkwardly smiled. "I…I was …just…th-th-thinking…" She said weakly. "Y-you aren…aren't…like a…a…knight at…all…! You're…you're more like…like…a…really...pro-protec…protective…dragon." She finished and she relaxed her muscles. She touched her head with the boy's. Daragan gave a low bark which made Canna laugh weakly.

"I…I think that's really cute." interrupted Rina. "What happened then?"

Daragan was ecstatic. After 9 months in the hospital to treat her spine injury, they were letting Canna out. He bought a bouquet of flowers, canna lilies and roses, and waited at the hospital entrance. He waited, even when 2 hours passed by.

"You resemble a little puppy wagging its tail, waiting for a doggy biscuit from its owner. I really am considering a leash." A voice behind him teased.

He whirled around and tackled the girl in armour. Where they used to nudge foreheads as a sign of affection, Daragan seemed to smother her head with his. Canna let out a burst of laughter and knocked heads with him.

"Don't tell me you want to send me back in there!" Canna joked.

Daragan handed her the bouquet without a word and shoved his hands in his pockets. She took it gratefully and smelled them. He quickly planted a kiss on her cheek as a candid photo shot was taken. She blushed furiously and hit Daragan with the bouquet before realizing that the roses had not been de-thorned…