The Dragon Chronicles
Part 1: The Surrogate Cavalry
Chapter 4: A Blossoming Adulation
Lao Shi.
None of the eight dragons knew this name– they had never even heard of him. However, given the evident prestige of Atticus Stevenson's academy, plus the old man's near-overwhelming presence when he entered the room, they determined that whoever he was, he must be important. He DID survive the Dragon Summit killings, after all– that counted for something, didn't it?
"Lao Shi," Atticus continued, "was once known better as the Chinese Dragon. When he became older, he and his family immigrated to the United States, where he had a daughter, who eventually had a son– Jake Long, the current American Dragon. Or... at least he WAS the American Dragon... but he happens to be among the many dragons that are still reportedly missing after the attack on the Isle of Draco. At the time, Lao was Mr. Long's Dragon Master– although that will obviously change."
"When I found that Mr. Shi was still among the living, I knew that he must come here. I had already, at this point, decided upon bringing the eight of you here to be trained, and I had the feeling that, in the long run, he would be very beneficial to you all."
Atticus paused and turned to Lao. "Well, I believe that this is all you need me for. Please speak to the students about whatever you wish– and carry out some training if you'd like." He handed the old man a small slip of paper. "Here are their names, and their known specific abilities. It should be of some use to you." And with that, he nodded, bowed to Lao Shi, and hurried out of the room.
After he left, the classmates and their teacher sat there in utter silence, no one saying a word to another... that is, until Lao Shi finally broke the silence.
"So... you are the children destined to save the magical world?" he spoke in a near whisper.
"That's what we've been told," said Shade.
"Very well, then. I suppose that if we plan on getting anything accomplished, we had better get started." He wheeled around and headed off towards the front door of the academy, saying not a word. However, it was evident that he wanted the kids to follow him– and they did, slightly reluctantly, yet without question.
When they stepped outside, they realized that this was, in effect, the first time they had been outside the academy. It was a bright, sunny day– yet it was also slightly cold; maybe about fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, the front-outside area of the academy was, if you were expecting much, a bit disappointing. There was a paved black by the entrance of the school, which curved away and stretched off towards the horizon. Needless to say, it was a long road. The amount of greenery that spanned the area was immense. A grassy lawn sat in front of the academy, complete with a mid-sized, blue-water lake in its center. The lawn was extremely well-trimmed– near to perfection, as if it was maintained by some sort of magic. A lush, dense oak tree forest was visible in the distance– giving the students the impression that the academy was well-hidden, and that there was rarely a visitor that lumbered down that long road.
The eight of them continued to follow Lao, until he paused at the edge of the lawn. "Since I am unsure if my chair will be able to roll in the grass," he said, glancing down at the wheels of his chair, "I will observe from here. Now, all of you– please enter the lawn and form a line."
They all did so, without question. Lao Shi stared at each of them individually, seemingly sizing them up in his mind. After about a minute or so, he turned to Raffi, "Your name is Raffi, correct?"
"Why... yeah, it is," Raffi was astounded, as were the other seven. How did he know their names already? He had only glanced at the slip of paper Atticus had given him for a mere few seconds– no more than ten. How could he already identify them out of a crowd?
"Step forward, please."
In a slightly reluctant manner, Raffi did step forward. She crossed her arms nervously, wondering why she had been chosen. Was she some kind of example? What were Lao's motives?
Lao reached out his left arm and pointed to Shade. "Shade, I presume?"
Shade nodded, saying not a word. "Please join Raffi," Lao said. Shade stepped forward, joining Raffi by her side.
"Any idea of what we're doing?" he whispered to her.
"Not a clue."
"Do know that I can hear you," interrupted Lao Shi in a slightly perplexed tone. "My hearing may not be what it used to, but I am not deaf."
"Sorry," Shade's gaze lowered to the ground.
"Yeah, sorry," followed Raffi.
"Now," Lao began, "here is what I want you two to do. Face each other," he directed. And after they did so, he continued, "A piece of paper can only tell me so much. I would like to test your true abilities in battle."
"Wait... you want me to fight her?!" exclaimed Shade.
"First and foremost– do not speak while you are being spoken to by your Dragon Master, Shade," leered Lao. "Now, as for your question, let me begin by asking the eight of you a question of my own. Why are you here?"
Kay raised her hand.
"Yes, Kay?"
"We're here to save the magical world."
"Precisely. But let me ask you this, Kay– will you, as an individual, be doing this on your own?"
"Of course not! All eight of us are going to fight together, as a team!" said Kay.
"Exactly. Thank you, Kay," he then turned to the entire group, although it seemed that, most of all, he was addressing Shade. "Team. That is what you are. You will never have to fight a friend, because both of you are committed to the same overall cause. See," now he was speaking to Shade and Raffi, "why would I have you, Shade, fight Raffi, if she is in fact your partner, your teammate? What good would it do to train the eight of you to fight as individuals... when in all, there will rarely be a time when you are fighting alone? Am I understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Shi," they murmured in agreement.
"Please, call me Master Shi. Now... Raffi and Shade, listen carefully."
The old man wheeled himself a few feet away, to a pedestal on which sat a series of buttons. "You two shall work together– as a team– to face whatever it is that is your opponent. To the remaining six of you– observe carefully, for you all will be paired accordingly and will face similar challenges."
He turned his head back to Raffi and Shade. "Are you ready?"
Raffi nodded in confidence. Shade glanced over at her for a moment, and then nodded as well.
"So we begin," Lao pressed one of the buttons.
A nearby section of the lawn suddenly opened up, folding off to the sides. An elevator-like platform rose up from the pit, with a large, metallic figure atop it. Upon further examination, the students determined it to be a robot of some sort. It had sharp, claw-like hands connected to four long arms. Else, it had the appearance similar to that of a human.
It didn't seem too imposing to Raffi and Shade, nor to anyone else. They had, after all, defeated the robotic arms earlier that day with minimal effort. Why would this be any different?
The robot continued to stand there, motionless, which prompted James to turn to Lao and ask, "It isn't doing anything... is the robot defective or something?"
Lao Shi provided no answer. Instead, he merely put a finger to his mouth, signifying that James be quiet, and continued to eye the event with a sense of trepidation in his gaze.
Shade turned to Raffi. "Maybe we should... walk over to it or something..."
"Sure," agreed Raffi, her gaze not leaving their immobile opponent.
Slowly and cautiously, they walked toward the robot, until they were standing right next to it. Upon closer observation, they found that the robot was actually in a kneeling position. It also appeared to have eyes, although they were closed tightly.
Raffi grinned. "Hah, this is a joke! This thing isn't even turned on!" she laughed, patting the robot on its foot and turning to Shade.
Upon this action, the robot's eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of fluorescent, glowing green eyes. Shade saw all of this unfolding, yet he was in such a shock that he had frozen in place– unable to move or say anything.
Raffi saw his gaze, though– and his gaze told her that something was amiss. "Shade...," she whispered, "what's wrong?" From Shade, there came no answer.
"Raffi! Behind you!" Ash screamed from the rest of the group. They, too, had been watching this startling new revelation.
Raffi turned slowly... and stared up into the lifeless eyes of the once-thought-to-be-immobile robot.
Target acquired the robot spoke in a monotonous voice. Initiating flamethrower
"Raffi!" yelled Lao Shi, attempting at one point to move from his wheelchair, but then realizing his predicament. "Get out of there!"
There was a whirring noise that was emitted by the robot– inferentially signifying the powering-up of the flamethrower. Suddenly, the whirring stopped. The robot opened its mouth, which was now glowing a deep orange.
Raffi shut her eyes tightly, bracing for impact, shutting out all the voices telling her to move. She wished she could... but just as Shade had been, she was frozen in shock. And for the longest time, she stood there, bracing herself for the worst. And then she felt something. But it wasn't pain. It felt like... wind. It was like wind rushing through her hair.
She slowly opened her eyes, and the image of the moving ground from high in the air filled her vision. She was flying! She felt a firm grip around her waist, and she looked down to see two blue, muscular arms around her– the arms of a dragon.
"...Shade?"
"It's alright, Raffi. I've got you," said Shade reassuringly.
Raffi let out a long, strained sigh, glad she was okay. She stared back up at Shade. He had saved her... from death... and somehow, it all felt... right, like this was the way it was supposed to be all along.
Shade soared through the air in a u-shape, as they began to descend back towards the academy. If ever the robot had used its flamethrower, it had ceased to do so now, as it merely stood there, awaiting its opponents' return.
"Raffi," Shade spoke again, "you're gonna need to change into your dragon form. I think we can take this thing out– but we'll have to do it together."
Raffi nodded in agreement. She concentrate on her dragon form, feeling the changes ripple across her body, and she opened her newly enhanced eyes to find herself just a few feet from the ground.
Shade, seeing that she was fully prepared for battle, released her from his grip, and the two of them flew headlong into the robot, knocking it to the ground. However, just as quickly as it had been seemingly knocked out of submission, the robot's metallic legs bent at what could be considered the kneecap, and the robot sprung back to its feet.
The two dragons hovered in the air nearby and turned toward each other. "Raffi, if this thing's like most robots, it could probably be taken out pretty easily with an open flame. Go on ahead and see if you can stop it there. I'll be right behind you," instructed Shade.
Raffi posed no resistance to the proposition, and sped through the air toward their opponent once more, Shade in tow. She reared back, and sent a large ball of orange fire directly at the robot's head. It impacted quickly and rapidly, knocking the robot back a few feet. However, despite the contact, their opponent did not seem phased. In fact... it seemed as if it had actually absorbed Raffi's blow and added it to its own energy.
"Whoa, not good," Raffi commented as she flew past the robot. She soared a few feet higher, and paused to wait for Shade. "Fire isn't gonna work," she sighed as soon as Shade reached er.
"So I noticed," muttered Shade, turning his gaze to the awaiting robot.
"Well... any ideas?"
Shade nodded. "I do have one. But you're gonna have to trust me on this."
"Okay... what is it?" she asked.
"We're gonna go stand right in front of it."
Raffi was silent for a few moments. "Wait... why would we do that?" she finally spoke. "We'd be killed!"
"What, you don't trust me?" Shade flashed a grin.
"I'd trust you if this didn't seem so reckless."
"Fine," Shade turned away. "I'm going in there. Whether you want to come or not is up to you." He flew to the ground, and walked over to the robot.
Raffi sighed heavily. "If he really knows what he's doing... I guess I can believe him." She joined him by the robot.
Soon, they were both standing directly in front of the metallic monster. Upon noticing them, the robot's mouth opened once more.
Targets acquired it spoke again. Flamethrower initiated
"Shade..."
"Wait for it...," said Shade, his eyes transfixed upon the robot– predominately its mouth, which had begun to glow a deep red.
"Shade!" Raffi winced.
"Almost there..."
Flamethrower fully charged. Flamethrower engaged
At these words, Shade threw upon his mouth and unleashed a flowing stream of ice. The ice shot inside the robot's mouth, and seemed to put out he glowing red color that was emitted. Shade didn't stop there, however, as he transferred the ice to the other parts of the robot's structure. Within seconds, it had been covered with an entire sheet of blue ice– rendering it immobile where it stood, defeated.
Shade let out a long sigh of triumph. He reverted back to his human form, and turned around to Raffi, who had already done the same. She walked quickly over to him. "You did it!" she laughed, a huge grin spread across her face. Upon reaching him, they both hugged– and were caught up in this embrace for what seemed like an eternity. But they pulled away quickly thereafter, after realizing what they had just done.
"No, Raffi," Shade said, his face flushed red with what appeared to be slight embarrassment. "We did it."
"Well, actually...," started Raffi, "I didn't do anything. You're the one that brought the thing down in the end..."
"True, but if you hadn't tried fire on it, I never would've thought of using ice..."
"So you're saying that because I screwed up, we beat it?"
"I could say that," he gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder.
"You're mean!" Raffi laughed. She turned away and ran back to the rest of their classmates, who were cheering and waving back by the school. Even Lao Shi had broken into a subtle applause, a sense of fulfillment covering his face.
"You two were awesome!" Kay greeted them as soon as they had both reached the group.
"And did you guys see Shade save Raffi?!?" said Ash. "Wasn't that sooooooo cute?!"
"Ash!" yelled Raffi.
"Wasn't me," Ash muttered, her head down and finger pointed to James, who promptly smacked her lightly on the back of the head.
"Raffi and Shade... please come here," Lao Shi motioned. Everyone became quiet as Raffi and Shade walked over to their teacher.
"Well done," he nodded to the both of them. He then spoke to Shade. "That was very reckless of you, don't you think?"
"Master Shi, with all due respect, I knew what I was doing," grinned Shade. "As soon as that thing was fully powered up, I was gonna, you know, cool it off a bit."
"...I was talking about saving Raffi."
"Oh yeah," Shade blushed. "That."
"And while it was quite reckless and could've cost both of you your lives," Lao said, "it was one of the most unselfish and brave actions you could've taken. And for that, I am sure that Raffi is eternally grateful."
Shade's eyes darted to his side to see Raffi nodding slightly.
"You both did very well," he continued, "and now I am sure you would appreciate some rest. Please, have a seat with the rest of us as we view the next duo face their enemy."
They both did sit down– although Shade went off with James and Raffi with Ash. "Now then," said Lao Shi, staring around at the other six, "who shall we have go next?"
Each and every one of those that still had to go averted their eyes from the old man's gaze. Kay even began to whistle.
"Ah, so I see," said Lao. "Hm... well, since the thought of this has been intriguing me for a good while now, I would like for Kate and Jay to go next."
This came as a bit of a surprise to the eight, including Jay and Kate themselves. Everyone had figured that they would not participate in the training just yet– especially considering that both of them had never even been in their dragon forms, let alone fought in them. Surely he wasn't serious.
It soon became apparent, however, that Lao Shi had meant what he had said. And thus, the two newest participants stepped forward. Kate seemed to be in a decent mood; she was apparently over the initial shock of finding out about her dragon powers. On the other hand, Jay still seemed rather far away– as if he was in more of an apathetic sort of state. He had been this way ever since Warburton had taken him into the other room to explain to him the circumstances by which they were at the academy.
"I understand that neither of you have ever used your dragon powers, is this correct?" asked Lao.
"Yeah... actually, we didn't even know we had them until today...," Kate said with a slight laugh. Jay nodded in agreement.
"We will make this training a bit easier, then," Lao stated. He once again wheeled over to the control pedestal. Upon pressing a different button, a few red and white bullseye targets rose from the ground near where the robot that Raffi and Shade had fought with earlier had stood. He turned back to Jay and Kate. "I take it that you will require help in becoming your dragon selves?"
"That would be helpful," said Kate.
"Very well– this should not be too difficult," he moved back over to them. "The key is, when it is your first time, to cut off all other distractions and visualize yourself as a dragon. It will obviously take some imagination– considering that you do not know the look of your dragon form. It should work, though– as it should tap into your power and release it... although it requires immense concentration during your first time. It will become easier the more you utilize your powers. Now, focus."
Kate and Jay nodded, and both closed their eyes. "Concentrate," Jay whispered. "Hm, easy for him to say."
"Shh," shushed Kate.
Jay felt a tingling sensation all over his body, and there was suddenly a warm feeling to it. His eyes snapped open, and the sensation dulled.
"Do not break your concentration," Lao said. "It will never work if you do not concentrate fully."
Jay sighed and stared over at Kate. She seemed... relaxed. Not a part of her body moved. Then, all of a sudden, she began to glow a dark green. Thick vines shot from her fingertips, spreading and covering every inch of her body. Once the vines were done spreading, they snapped off, as if by some kind of tremendous force. And when the vines fell away, they revealed a plant-green dragon, roughly seven feet tall. It was, with the exception of the color, a mirror image of the other dragons.
"I did it!" Kate exclaimed, looking her changed self over. "This feels... awesome!"
"...interesting," said Lao Shi, as he closely examined Kate's dragon form.
"What is it?" she asked, confused.
"A dragon of your sort... is quite rare," he explained. "In fact, I have actually met only one other in my life– former Councillor Oslo, of the Dragon Council. If only he were still alive... perhaps I would know more about your... sort..."
"I don't get it," said Kate. "What's so special about me?"
"Well," Lao Shi's awed gaze lowered to the ground, as he seemed to try and find the right words to say, "you, as I'm sure you've gathered, are not like the other dragons here. Most of the world's dragon population have predominantly two types of elemental abilities– fire and ice. A smaller portion has power over electricity. But your power– yours is extremely rare. In fact, only one in every ten thousand dragons have the power you have."
"To put it quite simply, Kate, you have the power over the earth," he said.
"The earth?"
"Yes, the earth. You have control of all that makes it up. Nature. From the plants to the dirt ground. And with this power comes an even greater amenity."
"What's that?" asked Kate, a wide smile spread across her face.
"The ability to heal yourself and those around you. It is an amazing power– and is something that near-to-all magical creatures long for," he paused, and then said, "You are very fortunate, Kate."
"Well, thank you... I think."
"It will be a bit difficult, though, as I have never trained someone of your stature. I pray you provide me with your patience in the coming days, and I am sure that, in the near future, you will be able to harness and utilize your powers to the best of your ability."
Lao turned to Jay. "Now, let us evaluate your dragon form. I am sure you can do it– Kate was able to, after all. Just concentrate and you will have no problem."
Jay nodded. "Concentrate... right...," he closed his eyes, attempting to shut out everything. In his mind, he pictured... well, he pictured Kate's dragon form, actually. He was obviously quite certain that he would not look anything like Kate– especially after hearing Lao Shi's speech about the irregularity of Kate's power.
After a few seconds, the warm, tingling feeling that he had felt earlier resurfaced. This time, however, Kay was not caught off guard, and thus was able to maintain his concentration. The tingling suddenly grew extremely esoteric in feeling. He had the sudden urge to look himself over and figure out what was happening with him. He fought this, though, as he predicted that his teacher would likely be a bit irritated with him if he broke his concentration once more. And so he stayed there, motionless– even after the warm sensation had long since dulled.
"Jay, you may open your eyes now– it is over...," came Lao Shi's voice.
Jay's eyes fluttered open. He felt... strange, like he was still himself, yet he wasn't. He stared down at himself... in an expression that soon changed to excitement and awe.
The initial change he noticed was his height. Jay was normally a tall boy– probably around 6"1. However, in his new height, he towered over the ground at about a half a foot more. His body was near-entirely red, with the exception of his underbelly, which happened to be white. He also noticed the orthodox features– the claws, the tail, and most of all, the wings.
"Very good!" Lao Shi congratulated him.
"Thanks...," said Jay, still in awe of himself.
"Judging by your color, I believe your elemental power is fire," inferred Lao. "Now, Jay and Kate, face me."
The two newest dragons both did so. Lao, after taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, said, "Now then, I am sure that you know your objective." He turned to the lawn once more, which was now full of the red and white bullseyes. "Take out the targets in any way you can. Since this is the first time you will be utilizing your powers, I have altered the settings on this session in order to make it virtually impossible to be injured, or for there to be other distractions. Simply hit the bullseye targets– either by forve or by your other abilities. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," said Kate. Jay mouthed the word 'yes,' signifying that he, too, was ready.
"Go then," said Lao.
At first, both of the novice dragons went about this on foot– as if they had forgotten that they now had wings. Jay seemed to be the first to remember this, though, as he paused, and then beat his red wings four times. He slowly began to rise into the air, but was only able to reach about five feet up, at which point he merely hovered, unable to move anywhere else. Disheartened, he touched back onto the ground. He looked over to see Kate lowering herself as well. She had experienced the same problem.
"Well...," Jay sighed.
"Wanna try a running start?" suggested Kate.
Jay laughed and nodded. "Couldn't hurt... I hope."
And so they began to run– Jay a bit faster than Kate, although she was still able to keep a respectable pace. "We'll jump on the count of three," Kate said. "When we're airborne, start beating your wings as fast as you can. It'll hopefully give us enough momentum to stay in flight. Ready?"
"Ready," stated Jay, unwavering.
"One... two... three!"
They both leapt into the air and began their attempt to fly. At first they, once again, began to lower to the ground. But after this initial discouragement, and upon a bit more determination, they soon began to rise again. Soon enough, both of them were soaring through the air– not as gracefully as the more experienced dragons had done, but it was well enough to keep them airborne.
"Good!" Lao Shi called from the edge of the lawn. "Now, each of you– choose a separate bullseye and take it out any way you can without using any special abilities!"
It seemed that Jay and Kate were trying to avoid the ground targets so as to preserve their flight, and thus they both chose elevated targets– one that had risen on a long pole from which Shade and Raffi's robot opponent had stood, and another that was perched on a branch of a nearby tree. Kate had chosen the target on the tree, while Jay chose the remaining one.
"Alright," whispered Jay to himself, "Master Shi said that my element was fire... well, that would explain the warm sensation I felt. But... if I'm not allowed to use it right now, then what can I do?" He stared down at his claws, and then an idea popped into his head. "These things seem pretty sharp... I'm sure they could cut these targets. It'll be like an axe cutting through wood."
And so he tried it, slashing his right claw against the wooden surface of the bullseye. The target splintered upon impact, and fell off the pole and onto the ground. Jay pumped his arm in triumph. "Man... these things ARE sharp..."
Meanwhile, Kate was hovering directly in front of the tree that held the other target. "The easy thing to do," she thought out loud, "would probably be to use my claws like Jay did. But I already know that works. I'll bet it'll impress Master Shi more if I could figure out another way." She examined herself over, and fixed her eyes on her twitching tail. "And I know exactly what to use."
Kate raised her spiked tail so that it was directly above her head. She swung her tail quickly, almost like cracking a whip, and smashed the bullseye in. Kate was astounded. "Wow, this thing is probably stronger than the rest of my body– and I think that's saying a lot!"
"Jay and Kate," called Lao Shi, "you did well. Now, this time, use your dragon abilities on the ground targets. This may prove to be a more difficult task than the last, but I am confident that both of you shall be able to handle it."
Jay and Kate both nodded, and flew down to two bullseyes that sat on the lawn side by side. "So...," started Jay, "I guess I just... breathe fire on it or something?"
"Yeah... and I'm supposed to... do something involving nature," said a thoroughly confused Kate. She knew from Lao that she had power over the earth. But how did she use it? Lao had only told her that she had the power– she wasn't sure how to actually use it. It was the same way with Jay, although he had a better idea of what to do.
He began to concentrate once more, attempting to search deep within the far reaches of his conscience for the fire-breathing ability. Then he, all of a sudden, found what he believed to be this power. He thought this because he had begun to feel that familiar warm sensation once more. "Alright," he said, with a hint of uncertainty, "here's goes nothing!" He threw his head back, and shot a ball of flame at the target. The fireball was roughly the size of a watermelon– not as large as, say, an experienced dragon's fireball. However, it was still enough. Upon impact, the target was engulfed in a bright orange flame. Still burning, it fell off the pole and to the ground.
"Easy," laughed Jay, impressed and content with his newfound ability.
"Makes me wish I had your power," Kate said with a half-hearted smile.
"Shoot, Kate... I'm sure your power– whatever it is– is ten times better than mine..."
"Even if it supposedly is, I still don't know how to use it...," sighed Kate.
"Well... just do what I did! Search inside yourself for your power. You'll know it when you find it, believe me. It'll feel... different. It'll be same sensation you experienced when you first became a dragon," Jay explained.
"Wow, Jay... you sure do know a lot about this..."
"Hm? Oh yeah, well... I mean, think about it– what you're about to do I just did myself– I should now, shouldn't I?"
"Ah... yeah, guess you're right...," she turned away, and focused on her target. She relapsed once more into the near-familiar state of concentration and relaxation, searching herself for the power.
She found it rather quickly– more so than Jay did, that is. She felt, like Jay had said she would, a similar sensation to the one she'd felt earlier on in the day. Without any sort of hesitance, she decided to activate it– whatever it was.
From her fingertips shot the same vines that had covered her when she first became a dragon. She grabbed the vines with her claws, and swung them like a whip. The vines made contact with the bullseye target, splintering the wood just as she had done with her tail earlier. The vines then retracted back into her fingertips just as quickly as they had appeared.
Kate sighed, and turned to see Jay looking on in awe. "Wow... that's a pretty awesome power..." he said.
"Thanks," acknowledged Kate, smiling at her fascinating accomplishment. Both of them, satisfied with their seemingly harnessed abilities, strode off together to meet back up with Lao Shi, who also had a satisfied look on his face.
"I am impressed with the progress the two of you have made today," he greeted them. "So, considering that you seemed to complete these tasks with relative ease, we shall try something a bit more difficult at training tomorrow."
"Sounds good," said Kate. "We'll take anything you throw at us."
Lao nodded, and then turned so that he faced the entire group. "Unfortunately, it looks as if we are out of time for today. Should you have arrived at the academy at an earlier time, we may have been able to allow everyone a chance. But it is getting late, and evenings at the academy are, as I've been told by Atticus, are reserved for students' free time, with the occasional night class. So, I shall leave the eight of you to that– we will pick up where we left off tomorrow morning at ten. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Master Shi," they said in unison.
"Very good. You are dismissed."
With these words, the students departed, heading for the academy's front doors. Within their group, there was talk of the day's activities and happenings– mostly centered around either Shade's act of heroism in saving Raffi, of Jay and Kate's first time using their powers, and even of Lao Shi's peculiar reaction to the discovering of Kate's power.
When they stepped inside the academy, they were met at the foor of the grand staircase by Atticus Stevenson. "Ah, children, welcome back," he greeted them warmly. "I trust that you all learned some valuable lessons from Master Shi?"
"Yes sir, we did," replied Shade.
"Good, then. As I'm sure he's told you already, you all will meet with him again at ten tomorrow morning, at the very same spot," he said. "Now, for the remainder of the evening– as it is custom with most evenings at the academy– you have your free time. During this time, most of the amenities around the academy are available for use. What those amenities are, I'd suggest you find out for yourselves. I'd recommend exploring the grounds tonight– become familiar with your surroundings, as you will likely be here for a good while. I ask, however, that you keep out of the specifically marked rooms– the ones that read 'Staff Only.' While there may be times that you will be permitted to enter these rooms, they are off-limits at this point in time. Curfew is at midnight. You are all expected to be in your rooms at this point. There is no set time for light-out in your rooms, however, given that your schedules can become a bit hectic at times, I would suggest getting as much sleep as possible."
He stared around at all of them. "Are there any questions?" The students all shook their heads.
"Splendid. Now, one last thing– we were able to make contact with each and every one of your parents or legal guardians and inform them of your situation– those of you whose parents already knew you were all dragons were told the honest truth, while those who did not know were told that you were at a prep school for excellent students. They all have agreed, and they all will be sending some of your belongings to the school, such as clothes, in the coming days. A few have insisted upon coming to the academy to drop these items off, while others have said that they will simply send them via airmail. Either way, you should all have your personal belongings here in a day or two. If you cannot wait that long, do recall that we have a convenience store in the east wing of the school, so you may stop there if you so desire."
He clasped his hands together. "Well, I believe that is all I have to tell you all. Please make yourselves at home here, and should I not see your during the remainder of the day, I will then see you all in the morning." And with that, Atticus turned and left, leaving the eight kids to ponder their next actions.
There came a prolonged silence soon afterward. James met this awkward pause with a long stretch, followed by a yawn. "I'm tired. Got no sleep last night. I think I'll just pass on the whole 'exploring the school' thing. I'll see you guys in the morning." He started up the stairs to his dorm room.
"Sleep does sound kinda good...," Kate said. "Later, everyone." She followed James up the stairs.
"Well, I guess that leaves the six of us," Ash stated, turning to the remnants of the group. "So... where should we go?"
"Hm... well, I dunno about the rest of you," said Shade, "but I'm hungry. There's gotta be a cafeteria or something around here..."
"There's another hallway over there...," Kay pointed out. "It'd probably be a good idea to go check it out."
They nodded together in agreement, and the six of them set out down this previously undiscovered corridor, in hopes of finding the cafeteria and other such places.
Kay and Shade led the way, attempting to navigate through the academy by means of using a few of the directional arrows that were implanted across the grounds. Ash and Raffi followed, Ash talking to Raffi about sporadically different topics– even though, it appeared, Raffi did not seem to be paying much attention to her. Her eyes, instead, seemed transfixed ahead of her– her mind teeming with thoughts of Shade. Despite the overall outcome of Shade and Raffi's battle with the robot, and the fact that she had indirectly contributed decently to the eventual defeat of this opponent, she still felt as if she had, really, done nothing– she had, instead, left herself vulnerable to attack and had almost got herself killed. If it hadn't been for Shade...
And then there was Jay and Laura in the back of this group, hands clasped together as they walked along sleepily. This had been, in reality, the first time that the two lovers had been able to be with each other since they arrived at the academy, and while they wanted to take this in as best as they could– although they both were so worn out from the day's activities that they could barely speak a word to one another.
Finally, after a good deal of traveling along these narrow corridors that frequented the academy, the six of them finally began to pass some of the amenities that Atticus had mentioned. There was a pool that was half the size of an Olympic-sized one, with an adjacent weight room. Further along sat the convenience store Atticus had spoken of, and then, finally, the cafeteria.
There was not very many people in the cafeteria at this point in time– mostly because, they inferred, the students were on their semester breaks and thus only a few were in the school anyway. There were about 20 circular tables in the cafeteria, each equipped with eight seats. On the far side of the room, there was a large bar-like spot, which was, in effect, where they were to order. Upon seeing this spot, Shade walked briskly over to the bar, while the other five stayed back, waiting for him to return. He did return a few moments later, holding a small silver package. "Ah, Pop Tarts...," he said, "Best food ever created."
"I'd disagree with you," said Kay, "but frankly, I'm too tired to. Let's go back and crash in the rooms for a while... we've still got five hours before curfew, so we can come back later if we want..."
There came a murmur of agreement from everyone else (all except Shade, who was as content as he'd ever be with his newfound source of calories), and they all began to head back to the dorms.
In about five minutes, they had reached their sleeping quarters. "We'll come over and tell you guys if we end up doing anything," said Kay as she opened up the door to her room. Laura, after exchanging a quick kiss with Jay, slid through the open door, and Ash opened the door to her and Raffi's dorm. She stepped inside as well, leaving just Jay, Shade, Raffi, and Kay outside in the hallway.
"Alright, sounds good," Shade said, nodding to Kay. Nodding back, she, too, stepped inside her room. Jay, bidding everyone good-night, opened the door to the boys' dorm room, where James was already passed out on his bed.
Shade was about to retire to his room, when he was stopped by a voice from behind him. "Um... Shade?"
Shade turned around. It was Raffi. "Hey, Raffi... what's up?"
"Well...," Raffi's gaze lowered to the ground, "I just... kinda wanted to... thank you for saving my life..."
Shade took a step closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Raffi, you don't need to thank me– really. I'm sure you would've done the same thing for me..."
"But that's just it," said Raffi. "I'm not sure if I would've... I guess I'm just not as... brave as you are."
"Well, Raffi... people can do great things in tight situations– things they never knew they could do. Don't doubt yourself; like I said, I'm positive you would've done the same thing for me."
"...Shade," Raffi said, her eyes finally meeting Shade's, her gaze intertwined with his, "Thank you."
There was a silence that followed, as the two stood there, each trying to find the words to say. Soon, though, Shade finally said. "Well, I should get to bed... good night." He took his hands off of her shoulders, and walked inside his room, closing the door gently behind him.
"Yeah... good night,"whispered Raffi. She, too, stepped inside her dorm.
And then, the corridor was silent.
END CHAPTER