Chapter Four
The Storm
I watch as the other students continue fighting. Honestly, I thought it would take longer to defeat Sawyer. But here I am, sitting on his chest while he flails his large wings.
"Okay." He pants, "I stand corrected. Or I would if I were actually standing!" I laugh and say, "You can't stand!"
At his surprised, and slightly worried, look I laugh even more and say, "You have no legs. Only your wing claws and body." He looks thoroughly relieved and I continue, "But if you mean that you want me to get off…"
I leap off and help him up. "You're a pretty good fighter," Sawyer says, "for a dragon your size." I roll my eyes, trying to suppress my anger at being teased once again for my size. But, I try to take it as a complement and nudge him playfully, "Thank you."
The young Timberjack jerks his head in a sort of 'you're welcome' way. "Anyways," I decide to ask him the question, "you know how me, Ash, and Dracen are our own little group, right?"
"Yeah, the Trio," he nods, "I've heard of you guys." I had no idea we were called the Trio, but ignore it and continue, "Well, we were wondering if you wanted to join our gang." He stares at me and I stand my ground. Confidence… you are the leader…no weakness.
Then, he shrugs and says, "Sure. Why do you want me, though?"
"Well, I just thought you seemed pretty cool and you're a good fighter and flier so I thought, why not?"
Sawyer makes a rumbling noise and turns to observe the other dragons wrestle. I watch as Dracen gets tangled in the Zippleback's necks. Meanwhile, Ash is basically laying down on the poor Terrible Terror. Every now and then she would even yawn, as if bored, which she probably is.
I shake my head. Finally, Mrs. Storm calls for us to stop tussling. Everybody stops, panting heavily.
"That was great!" Fiery says, "I saw a lot of you use the moves we taught you. But others went and did their own thing." He turns to look at me and some others. "Good job, guys!"
I purr at the praise and then a few minutes later he dismisses us. Ash and Dracen bound towards Sawyer and I, Dracen looking a little grumpy. "Well, that was embarrassing." He grumbles.
I grin, and then say, "It's okay if fighting isn't your thing. You could be a great flyer."
"I'm a definite fighter." Ash comments and I agree with her. Sawyer speaks up, "I'm a mix of both. By the way, my name is Sawyer. Thanks for inviting me to join your group."
"No problem." I say, "Do you have Flight class?"
He nods, "Yeah, but I'm a bit older than you so I'm not in your class. The Storm is next week, and Miss Sky is going to combine three classes together. Maybe we'll see each other then."
Dracen narrows his eyes and tilts his head, "So soon? But we're not even teenagers yet!"
"Almost." Sawyer shrugs, "I asked her about it and she said that by the time we are teenagers it won't be storm season so we're going early."
I sigh, "Well, it's almost night. You guys keep talking; I gotta get back to Skurge." They say good-bye to me and I turn around and take off into the sky.
The sun is almost down and the stars are staring to come out. It's a beautiful scene- that I don't have time to enjoy. "Hey, Skurge!" I call down to the dark dragon below me, who is barking orders to other dragons along with Alvin.
I dive down and land next to him. Alvin glances over his shoulder, "Hey, Stoneblood," before going back to yelling at Savage. I walk next to Skurge.
"Just put yourself to use and make sure that these pathetic excuses for dragons don't starve!" he snarls at a Gronkle, who casts him a fearful look before fleeing. What a joy my mentor is. Hahaha!
He turns around and his gaze softens when he sees me. "Ahh, Phoenix, good. I wanted to talk to you. Let's go for a fly."
I look at him in confusion and spread my wings, ready to take flight. He barks one last order to a dragon before nodding to me and we fly. We fly above the village and then slow down as we near the forest.
"So," my mentor begins, "I've been noticing that you're growing up fairly quickly."
I nod and wait for him to continue. "And I've been thinking that, after you go through the Storm and have excelled in fighting, which I know you will, you could become my… deputy."
I stare at him in shock, but my heart speeds up in excitement, "Deputy?"
"My second-in-command. You know, ordering the dragons. Just to give you a little more power. And it'll be great in the Berk battle."
I nod and say, "Of course. I would be honored."
Skurge jerks his head, "Good. Now go catch yourself some dinner and rest up." He angles his wings and turns around in a large arc, and for a moment I idly wonder how a dragon with such small wings could fly so well.
Then, I tuck my wings in and dive into the forest. Just before I hit the ground I open them up again and zoom upward in a big whoosh. The leaves whirl around in a circle before settling down. I flap my wings and then stop, flying silently through the woods and angling my head towards the sounds of prey.
My heart is filled with pride as I fly. It stays there the whole time, and starts to overwhelm me as I sink my claws into a stag.
This is so great! I'm a great hunter, I'm a great fighter, and now I'm going to be a great leader! Now I can see how Skurge wants me to be the best dragon there is. I'll make everything better, and easier, and when the battle for Berk comes we will win.
And then when Skurge is gone, I'll rule the dragons of Outcast Island. I'll have enough power to do anything. Free to do it all my way…
I shake my head and pick up the dead prey. I shouldn't get ahead of myself. That's not going to be for a long time. I'll be even bigger then, and stronger too. And that's good, maybe even better. But I'll just have to wait….
I screech in surprise as a gush of wind and rain tosses me to the side. It howls in my ears like a wolf and a bear mixed together. My wings hurt so badly, it feels like they're about to be ripped off.
"Straighten you wings!" I hear Miss Sky shriek over the wind, "Don't fight the Storm, go with it! Find your way through its currents!"
Through all rain and dark clouds, I can barely make out the other classmates around me. Sawyer is a bit away from me, and he looks like he's doing okay. Swinging my head around, I see Ash flapping her wings franticly. Meanwhile, Dracen is looping through updrafts and thermals, looking like this was the easiest thing he'd done in his life.
"Why can't this be easy for me, too?" I mutter to myself. Obeying Miss Sky's orders, I straighten my sore wings and look around for an air current.
Suddenly, lightning strikes. As the night lights up for a split second, I see an area in the wind and rain where it's moving in a rhythm, more peacefully.
Flapping my wings, I enter the area and find that it's much easier to fly in. But the current soon breaks and I quickly find another. It's a lot simpler now; just loop into a current and before it breaks, find another. It's easy to find another draft once you're in one.
As I do this, I watch the other dragons. A couple of them have already dropped from the sky in exhaustion, including Ash, and are being carried by another dragon.
I laugh quietly. Deputyship, here I come. My muscles feel strong under my scales, thanks to Skurge's training. Fighting should come easily to me. My claws already have a deadly point. Berk will fall under my rule and the Outcasts shall thrive-
A sudden shriek interrupts my thoughts. A young Deadly Nadder is tumbling out of the sky, falling quickly. I roll my eyes, but no one seems to be getting her.
Sawyer glances at me and dives down after her, "Don't worry, I've got her- omph!" A Monstrous Nightmare, spinning out of control, rams into him. They both drop a few feet, but Sawyer quickly regains flight and uses his snake-like body to grab the dragon.
"Phoenix!" he shrieks and it takes me a second to realize that the Nadder is still falling. Immediately, I flatten my wings to my side and dive down. I plunge through black clouds, looking around franticly for my fallen classmate.
I break through the lowest layer of cloud and am able to see the ocean below me. The light blue dragon is barely seeable against the ocean, but I can hear her calls.
I spot her and dive again. My heart is beating quickly. She's really close to the ocean. If she falls in, the rough waves will drown her.
The Nadder catches my eye and shrieks, "Help me, Phoenix!" I make myself as small as possible, trying to dive as quickly as I can, but I can tell it's too late.
With a lump in my throat, I desperately reach my arm down and yell, "Grab my paw!"
She flails her limbs about, and then crashes into the ocean. I spread my wings and surge upwards so I don't share the same fate. Once I'm high enough, I turn around and look back down.
A light blue head surfaces, and hope rises within me. The Deadly Nadder lashes her head this way and that, and for a moment her gaze locks with mine. It looks pained and sorrowful. Then, a huge, almost black, wave rises and crashes down on her.
I gulp and fly upward, back towards the class. The strength of the hurricane doesn't bother me; I'm so shocked that I can barely feel a thing. I failed. Someone died. Someone that could've been a great warrior and hunter one day.
The first thing I see is Miss Sky. The class is behind her, watching me intently.
"Well?" the teacher snaps, "Where is the pathetic flier?"
"She's dead." I swallow hard. Skurge is going to kill me.
I stand, completely soaked, in front of my mentor, who is totally pissed off.
"What the heck, Phoenix? Has my training meant nothing to you? You completely wasted a good soldier! She could've meant the difference between victory and defeat in the Berk battle! Every warrior counts! I can't believe you did this!"
He continues ranting for a long time, and I lose attention, but when I think he's near the end I listen, "You're a pretty pathetic dragon if you can't catch a fallen comrade! And my deputy is not going to be a pathetic dragon like you- you stupid little runt!"
Something clicks inside of me and my pupils turn to slits. Before I realize it, I lash out at Skurge, my claws hooked and deadly.
Her first hint of power, gone. But that doesn't give Skurge the right to yell at her. I felt like adding that stuff in the Storm, so if you're not happy about what happened... idk I guess you can review about it but I don't see the point cuz I'm not changing it.
The next chapter might have a POV from Berk... let me check... ooh yeah and Skurge's POV too! Laters
