I do not own any part of the Spyro franchise whatsoever. This includes all the original characters, worlds/levels, etc. Smokey, Stanley, and Daniel are Flowerstar's original characters and rightfully belong to her. Macy is my original character and she belongs to me. I also do not own the song "I Walk Alone" which is rightfully owned by Tarja Turunen.
Hello, Topaz16 here!
First off, I'd like to give a big thank you to Flowerstar. For my birthday (which was back in December) she made me a video tribute called "Died In Your Eyes – Macy x Bartholomew". It was dedicated to the main couple of my fanfic, "A Yeti's Love".
Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to all our reviewers. I greatly appreciate everyone's reviews because I like to know that people actually took time to read our story (which Flowerstar and I have been working very hard on). I also like constructive criticism because I want to get better at writing. Hopefully all of you loyal viewers out there will continue to be patient and enjoy what's yet to come. I recently just got out of school so hopefully I'll be able to write more.
Here's the next chapter to Flowerstar and I's first ever collaboration together! Just a side note also, the things in italics are Spyro's thoughts, not things he says out loud.
Chapter 4: Tedious Training
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Daniel, Smokey and Spyro's instructor, asked the ill hero one more time.
Spyro rolled his eyes and complained, "How many times do I have to tell y-y-" His sentence was interrupted by what the dragon thought would be another coughing fit to add to all the other ones he already experienced. The purple reptilian's throat tickled as if someone were lightly moving a feather up and down against it. Even though he had the strongest urge to cough, Spyro just quickly cleared his throat and composed himself. He started over, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'll be fine. I'm sick of hearing this question." By now, Spyro sounded really aggravated but who could blame him?
"Spyro, we're only showing our concern for you," Smokey said worriedly while resting a claw on Spyro's purple, scaly shoulder reassuringly. He was sitting to the left side of Spyro on the warm, soft, smooth sand. Luckily the day wasn't too hot or else the two young dragons wouldn't be able to handle themselves in the heat, sitting on burning sand.
The fourteen year old dragon let out a sigh that ended up making him wheeze a little. "I'll be fine," Spyro's voice got raspy as he said that statement.
Smokey glanced at Daniel with a concerned look but Daniel just shrugged. He could do whatever he wants to do. It's his choice if he wants to be so stubborn. Still, I can't help but feel worried for him… Daniel thought to himself.
There was an uncomfortable silence between the three male dragons. Daniel decided to clear it up and get back on topic with what really needed to be done. He was here to train two new employees to be responsible protectors of the beach, not to talk to the well-known hero about how he's feeling, especially when he's being stubborn. As the two younger dragons sat a close distance from Daniel just so they could hear him, he started to pace back and forth, indicating he was going to start his teachings. "Many think that being a lifeguard is an easy job. Many think that it's all about lounging around in a lifeguard chair lazily while working on their tan and flirting with the attractive-looking visitors."
He paused just enough for Spyro and Smokey to exchange confused glances. They never thought that being a lifeguard would be that easy but they never thought that it would be really difficult either. Spyro especially thought that it wouldn't be overbearingly difficult to watch over the beach because he has vacationed there before and watching a beach seemed to be a cinch compared to saving a whole realm, just as he had done multiple times.
The aqua, older dragon continued his lecture, "If you're one of those people who think that being a lifeguard is all about sitting around like bums and picking up females, then you're wrong." He narrowed his eyes at the two younger dragons. Even though they seemed like responsible young fellows, they were still young and inexperienced. Their immaturity could easily take over them at any point and it would be tragic to lose another creature due to drowning because one of the lifeguards wasn't doing his job. "I have already given you the equipment that you will need when you start your journey to defending the people on the shore." He was referring to the well stocked first aid kit rescue aids, manual about being a lifeguard, rulebook, megaphone, surfboard, binoculars and whistle. "Before I start teaching the two of you some drills, I'm going to go over the rules of Dragon Shores Beach and other things you'll need to know."
Spyro and Smokey nodded their heads at their coach and newfound acquaintance. The sick winged creature couldn't help but feel as if his brain were moving around, bumping his head while he shook it up and down. It hurt for him to move his head, causing sharp pains every time he did. He quickly clutched his forehead with one of his claws while faking a smile to make it seem like he was okay. Daniel just glared suspiciously at him.
"First of all, I know this is going to sound like common sense to both of you but you never know; only one person can sit in the lifeguard chair at a time. Don't invite your friends to sit up there with you. For one thing, you aren't even supposed to be with your friends while you're on duty unless one of them is in trouble. Also, the lifeguard chair is the perfect size for each one of you, meaning it will break if more than one person sits up there. You wouldn't want to have to pay for a new lifeguard chair or deal with Stanley's wrath, would you? That situation could easily be avoided by listening to that rule," Daniel explained. In the meantime, Spyro and Smokey had turned around to eye the white lifeguard chair that they would be sitting in once their training is completed.
Daniel then motioned for the two younger male dragons to follow him. Smokey enthusiastically followed close behind his trainer while Spyro trudged behind. He wondered how much time was going by because he felt like he was sitting there for hours listening to Daniel talk. The sad thing is, this is only the beginning of his training session and he has a long way to go.
The aqua instructor led the boys to the water and pointed to two green flags that were a few meters away from them. "Make sure swimmers swim between these two flags. It is dangerous to go beyond these points because they could crash into the nearby rocks and really get hurt. We wouldn't want any injuries," he warned. There were small areas of sharp, jagged rocks sticking up out of the water. Smokey winced at the thought of any unlucky swimmer ending up by the rocks. Spyro, on the other hand, was so shocked that he hadn't coughed in a little while that he couldn't even pay attention. His thoughts were focused on the fact that he might actually be getting better.
Daniel instructed, "When red flags are out and replace the green ones, swimming is prohibited. The red flags are put up when there are dangerous conditions in the water. If anyone is caught swimming when the red flags are up, get them out of the water immediately."
"Yes, sir," Smokey said.
Suddenly it hit Spyro as to why his coughing stopped; his sore throat took place of his once continual hacking coughs. Oh how he wished that he could just gargle the salt water that was right in front of him. It was a gross yet tempting offer that would help him get better. He figured he would wait until he got back home before doing anything like that. Right now, the purple reptilian protagonist had to pay close attention to his lesson.
Daniel went on to say, "Keep an eye on children at all times; their swimming isn't as good as the older people of this beach. The more inexperienced swimmers should stay in wading deep water in the vicinity of a lifeguard so that they could be watched at all times. Also, floatation devices don't substitute for swimming ability. If a small dragon with floaties tries to swim in the deeper part of the ocean, that doesn't make their swimming any better. Alert them to move back to shallower water by blowing your whistle and motioning for the swimmer to retreat back to shallower water."
Spyro didn't even want to think about blowing a whistle right now with his sore throat. Hopefully when he is on duty he'll be well enough to at least blow his whistle without getting dizzy or hurting his throat even more. He started having second thoughts as to whether he should take the day off tomorrow or just try to handle it. It was only for the afternoon; how bad could it be? Spyro shook off his bad thoughts, moving his purple dragonic head from side to side as to actually shake the thoughts out of his mind. That made the piercing pains in different spots of his head come back. It's just a cold…it's just a cold…he repeated over and over in his mind.
"Make sure people don't litter," Daniel stated. "There are plenty of garbage cans and recycling bins for people to throw their trash in. If they don't obey that rule then there will be a fine of 50 gems after the first time. If they do it again, the fine goes up to 150 gems. If they commit that offense a third time, then it's 300 gems. Most people get the point by the second time so you won't really have to worry about anything dealing with litterbugs." Daniel pointed to the bins by the snack hut and lifeguard chair as an example.
"Most of all make sure people listen to you. If you don't enforce the rules then no one will take you seriously. Kick people off the beach if you must in order to keep the peace and serenity," Daniel said sternly while staring at the young future lifeguards.
"Now we're going to learn about giving residents CPR in an emergency. I'll be right back with some dummies we will use for this process," Daniel said. With that, he headed toward the watch tower where there was other equipment for the lifeguards such as the dummies. This left Spyro and Smokey with some time to talk.
"Feeling any better?" Smokey asked even though he very well knew the answer.
"A little I guess," Spyro lied. He didn't feel better at all, as a matter of fact, he felt like he was getting worse by the second.
"Are you sure?" Smokey asked. "You don't look so good-" Smokey stopped talking when he took notice of the irritated purple dragon's icy glare. Spyro wasn't only tired of being sick but he was tired of being asked the same question over and over again.
"Smokey, I assure you that I'll be fine. It's just a little cold," he reassured his concerned friend.
"That doesn't mean I can't worry about you," Smokey pointed out.
Spyro was about to object but Daniel walked back over to the two future lifeguards and tossed a dummy at each of them. The CPR dummies were about the size of Daniel and they were in the shape of a dragon, since mostly dragons were the ones that came to Dragon Shores. They were made out of a soft, squeezable material that was perfect for pushing down on when practicing CPR.
"Aren't these a little…big?" Spyro asked, unsure about the size of the dummies.
"You never know who's going to drown in these waters," Daniel stated. Something about his words made chills go up Spyro and Smokey's spine. What if they had to save someone bigger than themselves? Could they handle carrying someone bigger than them to shore under a lot of pressure? Daniel cleared his throat when he noticed something was wrong. "Ok, let's start."
Daniel instructed, "First check the victim for unresponsiveness." He put a dummy that he had brought out for himself to show as a demonstration on the ground in front of him horizontally. "If the victim is still not breathing normally, coughing or moving, begin chest compressions. Pushdown in the center of the chest two inches thirty times. Pump hard and fast at the rate of at least 100 per minute, faster than once per second." He showed them what he meant, doing exactly what he said to do. Putting his claws on the dummy in front of him, he began to push down in the center of the material dragon's chest hard and fast. Then he turned to the two younger dragons when he was done showing them the demonstration. "Now it's your turn."
Smokey was off to a great start. He was able to do the chest compressions perfectly right at the rhythm their instructor expected. When the adult dragon turned to Spyro, he could see that the young hero was having some trouble. Sensing this feeling, Spyro didn't look up from the dummy and started to press down on its chest even harder. "Don't worry, I got this," he said while gritting his teeth. Right now he couldn't even concentrate. He just wanted to lie down. This blistering heat wasn't making anything better either.
"Here, watch me one more time," Daniel said to Spyro. He performed his demonstration one more time in the hopes that Spyro would get what to do.
Spyro nodded his head and did just as Daniel had done. "Very good, very good," Daniel said while nodding his head in satisfaction and folding his arms. "Now you're getting the hang of it."
Daniel went on to say, "Now tilt the head back and lift the chin. Pinch the nose and cover the mouth with yours and blow until you see the chest rise. Give two breaths. Each breath should take one second. Be careful not to accidently breathe fire into their mouth."
"Who would do something like that?" Smokey questioned while cocking an eyebrow and tilting his head.
Daniel shrugged and simply said, "Accidents happen." The two young, male dragons shuddered at the thought of making a wrong move. "I'll show you two the rest of the CPR process and then watch you two do this exercise." He started off from the beginning, checking if the "victim" was unresponsive. Then he started the chest compressions and then performing mouth-to-mouth following the compressions. "Now it's your turn."
Spyro and Smokey simultaneously started doing the CPR exercise that their lifeguard instructor, Daniel, taught them. So far so good, Spyro thought as he moved on from chest compressions to the mouth-to-mouth component. Luckily, he wouldn't be able to breathe fire on the "victim" because he was sick and couldn't breathe fire properly at the moment. Instead, when all seemed fine, a cough attack ruined his perfect show. "Now we wouldn't want you doing that to a drowning victim, now would we?" Daniel stated more than asked while putting his two claws on his hips.
"S-sorry," Spyro said while letting out another harsh cough.
Daniel said, "I think you two understand the point of CPR. If you have any questions, ask me now. If not, then we'll be practicing more later on anyways." The two dragons trainees stayed silent. "Well then, let's move on to our last lesson for today before doing some drills: surfing. Do any of you know how to surf?"
Smokey's eyes widened. He liked the idea of riding the waves and having the breeze in his face, feeling like he was practically walking on water. Spyro, on the other hand, was still uneasy about it. "No," Spyro answered flatly for the both of them.
"You don't sound so excited," Daniel said. Spyro just shrugged and Daniel continued on. "Since you'll be sharing a surfboard during your shifts, I'll just have each of you practice one at a time. Spyro, let's start with you since you seem so eager."
"Whoop-dee-do," Spyro mumbled under his breath sarcastically. He knew that his teacher was only poking fun at him but now was not the right time, not when he feels like the living dead.
Daniel handed the reptilian, fourteen year old hero the red surfboard. "First we will practice on the sand because I know you're not ready for the water yet," Daniel assured him. Spyro lay the board down in front of him so he could see the design of red, orange and yellow flames at the bottom. "When you get into the water, go out far enough so that the water is up to your chest," he explained to the young protagonist.
Spyro nodded and Daniel continued on, "When you get in far enough, you want to stop and feel the rhythm of the waves. When you feel like there's going to be a good wave, turn around to face the shoreline and start to paddle in. When the wave reaches you, it'll surge you forward so make sure to stay in control of the board or else people will be seeing the purple end of the board instead." Spyro and Smokey both remembered that the back end of the board was similar to the color of Spyro's scales.
Daniel kept on instructing without letting the males get a word in. "As you're moving forward, stop paddling and grab the sides of your board with your claws. Then you're going to do what is called the 'popup'. You will push yourself up, making sure your legs are straight, one in front of the other, with your toes pointing perpendicular to the centerline of the board. Right afterwards, you'll let go of the sides and stand in a stable crouch, putting your arms out to your sides so that you can keep balance. And there you have it, you're surfing! Did you two get all that?"
Smokey nodded, taking close note to everything that Daniel said, not letting the information go through one ear and right out the other. He was ready for this. Spyro's nerves were taking over his concentration though. Why did a little surfboard seem so intimidating? He's skated against Hunter plenty of times and even against the best team in the Forgotten Realms. This should be effortless for an old pro like him too bad he was only a beginner at surfing. "I'll show you guys a quick demonstration on the sand before making you guys replicate my movements," Daniel said.
He lies down vertically on the red board in front of him and started to paddle in the sand, making sure not to send scoops of hot sand into the young dragons' eyes. "This is how you do the paddle once you're deep enough in the water." His arms were moving in a constant pattern, almost as if it were timed movements. "Then when you feel the wave coming, do your popup like this." He jumped up on his board, almost in a pushup-like motion and held on to the sides of the board that Spyro would soon be doing the same thing on. "Make sure your legs and feet are in the right position or else you'll wipeout." He ever so slowly and carefully began to let go of the sides of the board, as if he were actually in the ocean and put his arms out to his sides. "Let go of the sides cautiously because one wrong move and you're done but you don't want to be too slow or else you'll miss the wave," he warned his pupils.
"What happens once you're surfing? How do you navigate?" Smokey asked, clearly interested in this sport.
Daniel chuckled and answered by saying, "That's up to you. I can't teach you everything. Some things you got to learn on your own. It really depends on the surfer and how they most feel comfortable." Then he turned to Spyro. "Your turn." He got off the board and motioned for Spyro to lie down on it just as he had done a few minutes ago.
Spyro gulped as he slowly crawled over to the surfboard. He was acting as if it were some sort of monster or as if the painted flames were going to come to life and burn him alive. Both his fellow peer and surfing instructor took note to this behavior. "It's okay, don't be shy!" Daniel reassured him. "Surfing is so easy that pretty soon you'll be doing tricks you didn't even know existed."
Surfing, easy? Yeah right,Spyro sighed. "Here I go…" Spyro said. He got on the board and started paddling through the sand. He felt like he was on a treadmill just paddling his way to nowhere land.
Daniel observed him closely and nodded his head in what seemed like a pleased expression. "Here comes the wave. What do you do?" he questioned his student.
Spyro grabbed the sides of the board and did his popup. It was a little sloppy (he wobbled a little even though he was on sand) but it would do for now. Then he slowly let go of the rails of the board and stretched his arms out to his sides as if he were walking on a tightrope.
"Good, now let's do that one more time before trying the real deal," Daniel said. "You're catching on quite fast for someone who's just learning and not feeling too well."
This compliment made Spyro feel a little bit better inside. Maybe his sickness would get him down but this little ego booster was enough to give him a small amount of energy and ease his tenseness. Spyro got back on the ground and started to paddle again, digging his claws into the sand and letting the small grains flow through the spaces between his fingers. Feeling more confident, he did his popup, this time a lot better than the last, and ended up landing the exercise perfectly.
Daniel and Smokey applauded the teenage, heroic dragon. "Great job, now let's see you do that in the water," Daniel said. He put his big claw over his forehead, shielding the sun from his eyes and stared out to the sea. "Look at those waves; they're beautiful. These are the perfect waves for a day like today."
Spyro's nerves started to creep up on him slowly again. "Don't you want Smokey to learn how to do it on the sand first before I try it out?" Spyro tried to get himself out of this situation. What did I get myself into?
Daniel shook his head in opposition. "It's better to do it now while it's fresh in your mind, my boy," he told Spyro.
"If you say so…" Spyro said unhappily. He carried his red surfboard with him to the edge of the shore and stopped for a moment, letting his paws feel the water. It was a relief from the unbearable hotness he was feeling earlier. Whether the ground was actually hot or not, Spyro could feel his temperature rising all day long. This illness wasn't getting any better for him. He was upset that there was even the slightest chance of it ruining his first day on the job. Hopefully he would be better by tomorrow.
He carried the board out to sea with him until he reached where he thought was a deep enough spot for him to stand. He stood there and felt the waves, as Daniel told him to do earlier. Once he felt a wave coming on, he got on his board and started to paddle in. The wave, unlike the sand, was pulling him back. He tried to use his judgment for when to grab the sides of the board and do the popup. He started to shake to the point where he thought he was going to wipeout. Uh oh… Spyro thought. He shut his eyes tightly and attempted to stand on the board, putting his arms out in front of him.
The purple protagonist didn't even realize he was successfully surfing until Smokey started to whistle really loud and shouted, "Great job Spyro, woo hoo!" He did a thumbs up for Spyro and started clapping. Spyro heard his voice coming from shore and opened his eyes. He looked down and realized he was really doing it; he was surfing! For the first time all day, he felt a real smile creep across his face, a meaningful smile. He felt accomplished. Of course, another hacking cough attack had to come at the wrong time and ruin his "fifteen minutes of fame". This one was worse than the previous one though, or maybe it was the fact he was trying to keep himself from falling off of the board. He put his arm in front of his face, blocking his mouth as much as possible so as not to spread the germs. It wasn't enough to save him; he couldn't take the pressure anymore and wiped out.
In a moment's time, he washed up on the shore. Luckily he was responsive or else Smokey would've had to do the CPR procedure he learned earlier. "Spyro! Are you alright?" Smokey figured this was an appropriate time to ask him that question without his friend getting mad at him.
Spyro blinked rapidly to clear his vision and coughed out some water. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go-"
"No, Spyro; we've been here all afternoon. You're clearly too sick to do anything. You've had enough. Just go home and I'll teach you whatever I learn," Smokey said sternly and caringly while putting one of his claws out to stop him from getting up and going back in the water.
"I think both of you deserve a break. Good job, boys," Daniel complimented the two of them. Deep inside, he was worried for Spyro. "Smokey, we'll work on your surfing as soon as possible. Besides, it's getting late outside. You two better get home before people start to worry about you." The three of them looked at the painted sky. It was a mix of many shades of purple, pink, orange, and some yellows. There was half of a giant reddish-orangeish ball that was visible over the horizon. Stars were starting to appear in the soon-to-be night sky. It was a beautiful sight that the three of them could easily admire on a given day.
Smokey offered a hand to help Spyro up. Spyro accepted the offer while Daniel took the surfboard back to where it belonged. "Get some rest…okay?" Smokey asserted his newfound friend. "I'll see you later."
Daniel and Smokey left Spyro all alone on Dragon Shores Beach. Now it was just him and the sunset, or so he thought. He started to hear a chillingly familiar female voice singing somewhere in the midst of him. He couldn't see anyone to match the voice but the tune was one he definitely heard somewhere before. The words haunted him.
I walk alone
Every step I take
I walk alone
My winter storm
Holding me awake
It's never gone
When I walk alone
Seeing as this eerie feeling was getting worse and worse by the second, Spyro decided it was time to go home. He slowly trudged on back to the Artisans World, feeling less faith every second that he would eventually get better.
Sorry if this chapter seems shorter and not as interesting as the others. It was difficult writing about lifeguard training because (even after doing a lot of research) it seemed as there wasn't much to it other than enforcing rules, saving lives, and first aid. I hope you understand. I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting. Hopefully you'll enjoy what's in store for this story as things get worse for Spyro. And who do you think the mystery singer is? By the way, I got the instructions about how to surf and CPR off of websites that I give full credit to. I never knew how to do either of those hahaha.