Pyro meets Spyro
Chapter 7: A Helping Paw
This chapter shows that Pyro can be fierce and compassionate. Now you'll learn what the king of the dragon city is really about. Watch as he lends a helping paw to a young dragon who desperately needs his help; read and leave a review.
Spyro and his friends led Pyro and Star to a very large stone building. The building stood two stories tall and was as wide as a foot ball stadium. There was a separate building behind it that looked like a stone Condo. Pyro turned to Spyro and asked, "Where are we?" Flame stepped forward and said, "This is the 'Dragon Training Academy'. This school teaches all young dragons basic knowledge, as well as combat, and elemental skills." Ember spoke next, "This is where Flame and I trained before we became fire guardian candidates. That's when we trained with the guardians at the temple with Spyro and Cynder." Pyro nodded showing he understood.
Cynder then turned to Star and asked, "What are the schools like where you're from?" Star turned to her and said, "There are actually many schools back home. Each school teaches a specific thing and specializes in that subject. Everything you just described has its own teaching area." Everyone was surprised by this, but didn't say anything else. Pyro then said, "When I first got back to the dragon city, I had to go to everyone of those places to learn how to be a dragon again, but as soon as I got there I was the best." Sparx grunted and said, "Well, someone sure is full of himself." Star turned to the yellow dragonfly and said, "Actually he's telling the truth. The dragons of the royal family are naturally gifted in all forms. If they are going to rule the kingdom they have to be the best."
Flame then said, "Wow, that's really cool. It must be awesome to be good at something on your first try. I bet everyone looks up to you." Pyro sighed and said, "Yeah, but that's not always a good thing." Ember then asked, "What do you mean?" Pyro answered saying, "As king of the dragon city people expect me to be the best. They expect me to learn everything they have to teach almost immediately. They believe that I can do anything. I don't want to let them down, they expect so much from those of royal blood even as children. I don't want to let them down, so I have to pass every challenge without fail." Spyro looked at Pyro with a look of understanding and pity. He felt sorry that Pyro had such a demanding life, but he could relate.
He moved closer and said, "Pyro, I know where your coming from, and what your going through. As the purple dragon people expect me to be their protector and help them with everything. Even though I'm just one dragon and I'm not that old, they still expect so much from me and Cynder too." Pyro looked at Spyro with a smiled and said, "I guess Ignitus was right. You and I are alike in more ways than one. Maybe we should trade places one day." Everyone laughed at Pyro's joke as they entered the building. As they entered they hear someone yell, "GET BACK HERE!" They then heard a much lower voice yell, "No, leave me alone!"
As the group watched a small blue dragoness ran from around a corner right into Pyro. She shook her head and looked up at the larger red dragon. The little dragoness was a sky blue color and had yellow horns, claws, and tail spike. The inside of her wings were yellow as well, but her yes were a deep, dark blue. Pyro looked down at her heard someone running after her. The little dragoness looked up and asked, "Please you've got to hide me. They're trying to force me to fight in class." Pyro heard whoever was chasing her coming in fast. He leaned and said, "Quick get on my back, and don't make a sound." She jumped on his back and held on tight, while Pyro folded his wings hiding her. As he did this a very large adult earth dragon came running around the corner. He was as large as Terrador, but not as muscular. He had black ram like horns and a very blunt tail club. It was obvious no one wanted to get on the bad side of this dragon.
He walked up to group of young dragons and asked, "Have you seen a little blue dragoness run through here? I'm pretty sure she came this way." Pyro turned around and pointed with his tail blades as he said, "She ran right past us. I think she went down that hallway over there." The large earth dragon nodded and said, "Thank you. You should probably get to class now." Pyro waited until he was sure the dragon was gone before he opened his wings letting the blue dragoness out. She turned to Pyro and said, "Thank you. You really helped me out." Sparx flew in front of her face and asked, "What was all that about. Why was he chasing you?" Star used her wing to blow Sparx up and out of the way and asked, "What's your name sweetie?"The little dragoness looked up and said, "I'm Lia. To answer the previous question, that guy was my combat teacher. We were training with wooden dummies today, but I got scared. He told me to suck it up and just fight." She started shivering and her eyes were watering as she said, "I-I tried, but I just couldn't. I want to be a good fighter like my Mom and Dad, but I just get so scared."
Pyro walked over to her, put a wing over her back, and held her close as he said, "Shhhh, shhhhh, everything okay. Just calm down, you don't have to be scared." The little dragons was shocked at first by this sudden show of affection, but she just couldn't hold back anymore. She hugged Pyro as tight as she could and just let her tears come out. Pyro smiled and held her close as she cried; he started rubbing her back to help her calm down. Flame then said, "Wow, he really is a nice guy." Star then said, "That just goes to show why he's king." Cynder then asked, "What do you mean?" "A king has to be strong and willing to do whatever it takes to protect his people, but he must also be compassionate and gentle enough to care and help them any way he can." Everyone smiled at the scene as the young dragoness's crying slowly stopped.
Pyro pulled away from Lia and said, "Listen if you really wan't to fight. I can teach you." Lia wiped away her tears and said, "Really?" Pyro nodded and said, "I'll also show you a way to get rid of your fear." Lia nodded and said, "Ok, how do we start?" Pyro pulled his head in one direction and said, "Follow me." Lia followed him, with the others close behind. Pyro led Lia and the others outside and said, "Ok if I'm going to help you, I need to know what you're afraid of." Lia once again had a sad look on her face. She then said, "When my family and I lived in the forest a bunch of apes came to our house and attacked us. My father fought of a lot of them but he couldn't keep them all back. My mother fought the ones that managed to get past him. They were both risking their lives to protect me. Then a really big ape snuck behind my mom and slashed her in the back then he… he… he ran some strange crystal blade through her heart."
Pyro's eyes shot wide as he heard this. His own father and mother had been taken away from him and his father died protecting him, so he could feel her pain. He then said, "I guess your father managed to save you both." Lia nodded slowly and sat down as she said, "Now that were fighting wooden dummies that look like apes I always freeze up. I just wish my mom was still here. She always helped me with my problems, no matter what they were." Pyro smiled and said, "Lia listen to me…" Lia looked up as Pyro continued to speak, "…Your mother isn't gone. Like the other ancestor's she's always with you, watching you and guiding you. When my father died I didn't think I'd ever see him or hear his voice again, but I learned a trick that helped me see him whenever I wanted." Lia looked up and asked, "How do you do that?" Pyro smiled and said, "I'll show you."
He pointed with his left wing and said, "You see that pool over there. Go look into it." Lia stood up on her back legs and looked into the pool. All she saw was her reflection. She gave a sad sigh as she said, "That's not my mother it's just my reflection." Pyro walked up next to her and asked, "Lia what element are you?" She looked up and said, "I'm a wind dragon like my mom." Pyro turned to her and said, "Lia close your eyes." Lia gave him a strange look before doing what he said. He then said, "Now clear your mind of all thoughts and listen. What do you hear?" Lia listened very closely and suddenly she heard something, "Lia…Lia… I'm here." Lia then said, "I hear the wind and my mom's voice. I can hear her in the wind." Pyro smiled and said, "Very good now look in the pool again."
Lia opened her eyes and looked in the pool and was shocked at what she saw. Everyone else was wondering what she saw, and listened carefully. Pyro then said, "You see Lia, your mother lives continues to live in you." In the pool Lia saw the image of her mother smiling at her. Pyro then said, "Whenever you need her look inside yourself and listen to you element. You'll hear her and see her." Lia smiled and hugged Pyro's right foreleg. Pyro then said, "Lia, why don't we head back inside. I'll talk to your teacher about teaching you my way." Lia nodded and followed Pyro back inside, with everyone else close behind.
Lia led Pyro and the others to her classroom. Pyro looked at the other dragons and saw that he was getting some looks from the dragonesses. One ice dragoness even winked at him earning a growl from Star. She positioned herself next to him showing everyone this dragon was taken. As the dragons continued to walk, Lia stopped in front of a large door. She then said, "This is it." Pyro moved ahead and put his paw on the door. He then pushed it open with very little effort. As he opened it he saw a whole class of young dragons. In front of the class were two earth dragons. One of them was obviously around Spyro's age the other was the adult dragoness that Lia had given the slip to earlier.
One of the earth dragons then said, "Spyro, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Ignitus and the others." This dragon was named Tremor; he was the new guardian of earth and one of Spyro's best friends. Spyro walked up to Tremor and said, "They told me to come and introduce you to my new friend over there but that will have to wait." Tremor raised a brow and looked past Spyro to see Lia hiding behind an unfamiliar red dragon. Tremor then asked, "Who's the new guy?" Spyro then said, "That's Pyro, he's new in Warfang and came to help with the teaching." The older earth dragon stepped past Tremor and Spyro and walked right up to Pyro. Lia shivered and hunkered low as she continued to hide behind him. However Pyro stood his ground and showed no fear.
The older dragon then said, "Might I ask who you are and what you're doing with my student?" Pyro cleared his throat before speaking and said, "My name is Pyro. I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but it seems Lia isn't to found of your… teaching methods. I came to find out why." The elder snorted and said, "Well she said she wanted to be a warrior so I had her train as one. However she can't seem to get over her fear of apes. Only the truly greatest of warriors can overcome their fears. That's who I train. She has tried to face the ape dummies repeatedly and has failed every time. She would do nothing but put her comrades in danger if real apes did attack.
Pyro had finally had enough and said, "Instead of telling her to do it over and over again, don't you think you should be helping her face her fears?" The earth dragon then said, "How dare you try and tell me how to teach my class." Pyro then said, "I know enough that she is a youngling and they need a teachers full support when learning combat." If you think you can get her to face her fears than try it. If you can get her to defeat one ape-dummy I will apologize to her." Pyro looked down at Lia and then back to the earth dragon and said, "Fine then. Not only that I'll teach anyone else your having similar problems with just to show you how wrong you are." The elder then said, "The three in that corner are also failing to meet my standards. Do with them what you can."
Pyro snorted smoke out of his nose and stepped past the green jerk. He walked up to the three younglings in the corner. One was a red fire dragoness with black horns, wings, claws, and tail club. The other was a young earth dragon that looked like a young version of Terrador. The last one was a grey dragon with a white under belly, claws, wings, and tail scythe. Pyro then said, "Okay everyone stand up." The younglings followed his instructions and stood up. Pyro then said, "Hello little ones my name is Pyro and I'm here to teach you how to really be a warrior. Look I know this guy has told you that you can't be good warriors. Well I'm here to tell you that what he said is giant load of crap." The younglings looked surprised by what he said.
Pyro then continued, "Each of you has a warrior hidden deep within you. All you have to do is bring him or her to the surface." The younglings looked excited; there was something they liked about their new teacher. Pyro led the younglings into the ring and turned to them. The four younglings stood before him waiting for him to say something. Pyro then said, "Okay each of you tell me your name and your element. Lia since I already know yours you can just stand there." The fire dragoness stepped forward and said, "My name is Flare sir, and I'm a fire dragon." Flare stepped back in line and the earth dragon stepped forward. He then stated, "My name is Jake and I'm an earth dragon." He stepped back in line and the grey dragon stepped forward and said, "My name is Volt and I'm a electricity dragon." Volt stepped back in line and waited for Pyro to say something.
Pyro took a look at all of them and smiled. He then said, "Okay everyone its come to my attention that you all have some difficulty in combat. Look no one is perfect. Every dragon has his or her flaws or differences, but it's that flaw or difference that makes them special. Each of you has something that makes you… well you. Now I don't want to admit this but I was in the same spot you guys were in when I was younger. Now I'm the best warrior in my entire City. Each and every dragon who came before you had to learn things and each of them learned it a different way." The younglings could already feel their confidence going up by hearing the words coming from their new teacher.
Pyro then said, "Okay I've found it that the more moves you learn to use in combat the less afraid you are of confrontation. So I'm going to show you kids a few moves to get you opponent off balance so you can have room to counter attack. As my former teacher always said, 'The best offence is a good defense." Pyro then yelled, "Hey Tremor, can you come here for a sec?" Tremor looked surprised and turned to Spyro with a questioning look. Spyro just shrugged and tilted his head towards Pyro. Tremor walked over and stood in front of the younglings across from him. He then asked, "What did you want?" Pyro then said, "I want you to attack me. With a physical attack and don't you dare hold back."
Tremor's jaw dropped along with everyone else's in the room. He then said, "Dude I don't think that's a good idea." Spyro then said, "Of course it's not a good idea. Pyro and I just came out of a fight with Tundra and Stone." Ethan turned to him and asked, "You did? How'd it go?" Spyro said, "We won, but I'll give you the details later when the others get here." Tremor turned back to Pyro and asked, "Are you sure about this?" Pyro then assured him by saying, "I'll be fine. Now don't hold back." Tremor nodded and got into his battle stance.
He charged at Pyro full speed and tried to slash him with his right claws. As soon as he got within arms reach of Pyro his arm was grabbed. Pyro spun around and put his back against Tremor's stomach before flipping over his left shoulder and onto his back. Everyone was completely surprised by what just happened. They had never seen a move like that. Tremor wasn't hurt from the throw but he too was surprised by the technique. Pyro then asked, "You done?" Tremor got up and said, "Not even close." He charged in and once again tried to slash him with his, but this time with his left claws. As soon as he got close, Pyro disappeared. He was then surprised when he reappeared beside him. Tremor jumped away and stood his ground. He decided to try something else. He jumped into the air and tried to smash him with his claws. Pyro smiled and stood on his hind legs. As Ethan crashed into him, he pushed him to the ground.
Much to Tremor's surprise Pyro was still smiling. As soon as Pyro hit the ground he used the force created by Tremor to kick up his back legs and flipped him over. Pyro then flipped over and he was the one holding Tremor to the ground. Flare was the first to ask, "How did you do that?" Pyro smiled and said, "Where I come from, we all use moves like that. They are simple close combat moves that allow you to defeat your opponent with very little effort; that is if they're not trying to kill you. All these moves allow you to strike opponent by surprise. Not only that, everyone is able learn these techniques. All it takes is a little bit of practice. Now whose ready to learn?!" All the younglings cheered and ran over to him. Tremor got up and walked over to Spyro as he said, "That guy is something else." Flame nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm just glad he's on our side."
After the class ended all the younglings went to their next classes. There were three younglings left in the class room. It was Flare, Jake, Volt, and Lia. Pyro was standing before them. Lia was the first to say, "Mr. Pyro we can't thank you enough. You really helped all of us." Volt then said, "Yeah those moves you showed us were really cool." Flare followed up by saying, "I can't wait to learn more." All four younglings left leaving Pyro with a big smile on his face. Spyro then came up and said, "We better head upstairs. I'm pretty sure everyone else is up there." Pyro nodded and followed him and the others.
As they walked upstairs Pyro started to feel something in the pit of his stomach. He was feeling a little nervous about meeting Spyro's friends; however he knew if they were anything like Tremor and Flame they would get along just fine. As they arrived at the top floor and went into a room on the right side. On their way in Spyro said, "Hey guys, I've got a new friend for you meet. Pyro looked into the room to see a yellow dragoness, and an ice dragoness. Both dragonesses looked like blue and yellow versions of Cynder. Spyro then said, "Candice, Stella, this is Pyro. The Chronicler brought him here to help us."
Stella ran up to Pyro faster than he could blink and held out her paw as she said, "I'm Stella the new guardian of electricity, it's nice to meet you Pyro." Pyro extended his paw and said, "Thanks, you too." Candice walked up next and said, "I'm Candice the new ice guardian, pleased to meet your acquaintance Pyro." Pyro nodded and said, "Thanks, the pleasures mine." Tremor walked up and nuzzled Candice getting the same in return. Pyro smiled and said, "I see Spyro and Flame aren't the only ones who paired up." Tremor blushed and said, "Yeah, you know we were bitter enemies at first, but we grew to like each other." Candice then said, "Yeah, 'Pebble Brain' here was always giving me a hard time, but I realized that's what I like about him."
Tremor then said, "I think we're going to like this guy as long as he doesn't flip me on my backside again." Candice shot a confused look at Pyro and he let a sly grin go across his face as he said, "I only used you because I figured an earth dragon like you could take it." Tremor then said, "I guess I can let it slide. Now what's this about the Chronicler and what are you here to help us with." Pyro let out a loud sigh as he said, "It's a long story."