Chapter Fourteen: Pentigual
"Hey Nall?"
It was the next day and we were closing in on Pentigual. I could see it vaguley in the distance, and my heart pounded with excitement. Soon our journey could contiune, the three of us, together. A bright smile flashed across my face as I turned my head to Zoteaki.
"Oh, hey Zoteaki." I watched as he walked over to me. "Who's manning the wheel?" I asked, resting against the railing of the boat, starring at the crashing sea.
"Amber is." Zoteaki replied, looking out with me. Trying not to crack up, I scanned his expression. He turned to me and noticed I was laughing. A snicker flashed across him also as we joined in a small chuckle. "She actually is quite talented at it." Zoteaki admited.
"Hell, even a two year old could steer!" I joked, and as hard as Zoteaki tried, a smile rolled across his face as he shook his head bearing the biggest grin I had ever seen in this whole journey.
"I heard that!" Amber's voice rang out from the Captian's Cabin as we joined in another round of laughter. Turning my head to it, I called out once more.
"Then you'll defietnley hear me say this.. Your outfit so does not match!" I spoke, closing my eyes from laughter spreading across me. I glanced over to Zoteaki who was shaking his head.
"You're in for it," He sighed as I watched fire being shot out of the door.
"Shut up, you ass!" Amber hissed.
"Watch where you're aiming that! You're going to burn down the damn boat," I warned, leaning against the railing.
"I wouldn't put it past her," Zoteaki admitted.
"Same here." I replied, watching his hair rustle in the wind.
"Do you ever wonder about death?" I asked, remembering the conversation I had with Amber the day before. It was really getting to me, and I wanted to know I wasn't the only one who was this nervous about it. We had so much to do, the three of us, yet death could easily hault our plans.
"Yes, why?" Zoteaki asked, glancing over at me.
"This battle could be lost if any of us are to die," I whispered, looking downward. The thought of losing my two newest friends pained me. They understood the feeling of being in a human body, and having to take on the role as a dragon. Yet they did not know the feeling of not having the aurora to transform.
"That's true. But you shouldn't worry that much." Zoteaki said. I rose my head over to him and saw a light smile.
"Why?" I asked nervously.
"If you worry to much, you won't win, and this won't be a memorable journey, just one filled with misery and anixiouty." Zoteaki explainied, looking out on the sea.
"You know, you may be confusing at times, but you really know how to make a guy relaxed," I admited, watching the waves also. It was truly a beautiful day, and each melodic wave we hit as another reminder on how far we've traveled.
"Thanks." Zoteaki whispered.
"One more thing." I spoke up, averting my gaze to the blue dragon.
"Hmm?" He asked, eyes still peeled on the sea.
"I won't fight Ghaelon without you, I want to avenge my friends, and your sister, not just one or the other. I want us to fight him together.." I whispered, determination flickering in amythest eyes.
"Agreed." A light smile washed across his face.
"Hey, you two! Look to the right!" Amber called out from the captain's room. My eyes instantly scanned over to the other side of the boat and saw Pentigual coming in sight. To think without the aid of my friend's I'd stil be on that island.
"Magnicifent," I spoke aloud, walking over to the otherside of the boat to take in the awe.
"It's even better inside," Admitted Zoteaki,
walking over to my side.
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Amazingly, Amber landed the boat in the port woth ease. Probably the countless days on the ocean taught her the ways of the sea. When we first started she was so naive and got seasick rather fast, but now she was more mellow and was learning to except nature. Rather it be her opposite element or not.
"Come on boys!" Amber cheered proudfully, walking out of the room and down the small plank that lead to the port off the boat. I cast a free glance to Zoteaki who was already making his lead off the boat. Taking one more glance at the boat, knowing we'd probably never ride it again seeing it was a rental, I got off the boat.
"Isn't this super, Nall?" Amber smiled.
"Who uses the word super anymore, anywho?" I heaved heaviliy, walking one pace behind Amber, alongside Zoteaki.
"I suppose she does." Zoteaki piped in beside me. Amber glanced over her shoulder at us.
"Yea, gang up on me why don't you? Anyhow, we'll be entering the main part of the city. Remember, we are here looking for clues about the Black Dragon's identity. We'll be splitting up and meeting back at the city plaza at dinner. Got it?" Amber asked as we stood before the main entrance of Pentigual.
"Duh, we know that." I said, but showered her with a smile.
"Well, don't complain when we eat dinner because you were too busy running around like a country boy." Amber joked and turned to Zoteaki. "Good Luck." She told him.
"What? No words of luck to me?" I pouted, bearing a slightest grin.
"You don't need luck.. you need help." And with that Amber trailed off, down the mainstreet. Cheeks turning a bright red from embarassment, I turned to the blue dragon who had his hands in his vest.
"Well, I guess we're off." He spoke softly.
"Want to look together?" I asked, getting the gut feeling that this large of a city woudl be very easy to get lost in.
"Humph, sure why not." He replied and took the lead.
Pentigual was truly amazing from the first few minutes I had seen so far. Each side of main street was covered with shops and buildings, each with their own certain flare. Even though we had stopped at the first one, the sight of what was to come filled me with excitement. Before this I was rather cold and unfeeling, but now felt young and alive. Something I hadn't felt in a few years.
"Do you know anything about the local Black Dragon?" I heard Zoteaki ask the vendor. Taking a step closer to them, I stood beside my friend curiously, hoping a good answer.
"Black Dragon, eh?" The man asked. He bore a rather messy beard and moustache, with a ripped hat. He was rather overweight, but looked like a good person besides that. At least that's what I got from him.
"Yes, that's right." Zoteaki replied, as the wind brushed his hair in his face.
"What a pretty boy like you doing looking for the Black Dragon?" The man asked, leaning over the counter. Instantly, sweat fell from Zoteaki's face as shock rushed over him. I couldn't help but be shocked also as I looked at Zoteaki's expression. It looked like he had seen a ghost.
"J-just interested." Zoteaki replied, sweat rolling off his face. Truly, it was odd to see Zoteaki stutter. Then again, he did have that 'pretty boy' look to him, if you didn't know him well enough.
"Humph, another dragonmaster want to be." The man sighed. Eyes widening, I glanced at the man wearing a bright smile.
"Another?" I asked.
"Yea, some kid 'round this city believes he's the next dragonmaster. Load of crap if you ask me." The man laughed as he swatted a fly away from his shop of food.
"Like another thing around here." I whispered to Zoteaki, staring at the strange man. Zoteaki cracked a smile but kept his eyes on the man.
"What is his name, by any chance?" Zoteaki asked, stuffing his hands back into his light leather vest.
"How you expect me to know?" Now the man's words were becoming slurs as he turned to a customer, placing his grummy hands on the food.
"Let's move on.." I advised Zoteaki. Zoteaki nodded instantly and walked beside me down to the next store, in equal strides.
"Pretty boy, eh?" I snickered, as Zoteaki turned a flushed red again.
"Are you going to hang that above me head forever?" Zoteaki mutterted, trying to push away the upcoming blush. Cracking up, I nodded briskfully and contiuned next to him.
"You better believe it."
The next stop we hit was three minutes along the crowded main street. It was on the same side, and was yet another sidestreet shop, outdoor so the inventory was for all eyes. Scanning it curiously, we both took a step up to it and watched the vendor glance at us. She was a young woman, wearing some sort of gypsey clothes. I swear, these people need to take a hint...
"Excuse me, miss." Zoteaki interjected, walking up to the main counter, with my in close pursuit.
"Yes?" She asked, placing her elbow on the counter. I took the spot next to him and watched her curiously.
"Do you happen to know anything about the Black Dragon?" Zoteaki asked, hoping this person would know something valuable.
"No..." She replied. Zoteaki hung his head down hopelessly but the woman cleared her throat and drew his attention back.
"But I do know where you can find someone to spend an exciting night with." She replied, batting her eyelashes. More sweat rolled off his face. Grinning I grabbed him by his elbow and turned to the clerk.
"Pretty boy here has a girlfriend." I snickered. Zoteaki's eyes widened and glared at me for using the pretty boy once more.
"Aw, too bad. How about you?" She asked.
"Uh... bye now." I blinked and dragged Zoteaki to the middle of the street. After a few moments I heard him grab me by the sleeve angriliy.
"What the heck was that for?" I asked, starring at him.
"Stop calling me pretty boy," He snapped.
"But I saved you from the horrors of a night with a slut, oh pretty boy." I joked, with a flash of a grin.
"Nall!" Zoteaki snapped.
"Fine.." I sighed and contiuned onward with him. "You take the fun out of everything.
It was another hour of hopeless searching before we decided to take a rest and get some lunch. By this point the only valuable information was of the boy who wanted to be a dragonmaster, Lethe they called him, and information on where the Black Dragon Shrine was, yet nothing on the Black Dragon itself.
Sitting down on a bench, biting my teeth into the lobster roll I was enjoying, I watched as Zoteaki hung his head down hopelessly, ignoring his lunch that sat next to him.
"Hey, aren't you going to eat that?" I asked, pussing the lobster roll closer to him. "It's lobster." I taunted.
"Not hungry." he replied, leaning his head into his cups of his hands.
"Come on, we got some information. Amber will probably be able to get some also. So cheer up and have some lunch," I smiled. Zoteaki glanced at me.
"Are you always this happy when it comes to food?" He joked, with a flicker of amusement residing in his eyes.
"Possibly." I shrugged and took another bite. Zoteaki watched me for a minute then took the lobster roll in his hands and began to eat.
"Do you think we should try and find this dragonmaster?" I asked, in the middle of my lunch. Zoteaki paused, swallowing the meat and glanced over at me curiously.
"For what purpose?" He wondered outloud.
"You said yourself we need as much power as we can get, and I was just thinking that if we had a dragonmaster on our side, we could easily overthrough Ghaelon." I smiled hopefully.
"Then we would have to take time out of our searching for the Black Dragon to give him the trials of us to see if he is deemed worthy. And quite frankly, I've never given a human a trial before." Zoteaki murmured, taking another bite.
"I watched Alex take them before, it's real easy!" I replied with a snicker.
"You weren't the ones giving them." Zoteaki noted, finsihing his lobster roll before me. Blinking in atonishment, I quickly changed the subject.
"Wholy Shit! You eat fast," I blinked once more.
"I was hungry?.." Zoteaki explainied, before I finished mine and shook my head aimlessly.
"Guess you where!" I tried not to laugh so I looked up at the sky. "So, want to look for him?"
"Him?" Zoteaki asked. He got sidetracked too easily.
"Lethe, you idiot." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, the supposed dragonmaster. Well, it couldn't hurt," Zoteaki guessed crossing his arms and wiping his hands on his vest. I couldn't help but wonder what the next dragonmaster was like, and whether we'd be able to find him in this huge town. He could be from the age of six to sixteen for all we knew.
"We'll just ask around for where Lethe is." I advised.
"Then let's get started. We've got a good four hours to look." Zoteaki arose to his feet and started to contiune our march up main street.
"Right behind you!" I chimed, arising to my feet and following in his footsteps.
"Excuse me," Zoteaki spoke out, bending over to talk to a girl around the age of fourteen. Her eyes glimmered when she saw Zoteaki. I paused and stopped beside the blue dragon, beginning to feel like this was going to be a long search.
"Yes?" She stuttered, turning a dark red.
"Do you happen to know a boy of the name of Lethe?" He asked keeping a stern face.
"N-o.." She spoke, face now completely red as she swayed on her feet.
"Oh, right. Sorry for bothering you." Zoteaki sighed but the girl grinned and looked at Zoteaki.
"You're hot..." She smiled, swaying on her feet. Bursting out in fits of laughter, I leaned against Zoteaki's stiff shoulder for support. Unexpectdely, a hand came from him and slapped me acoss my face.
"Ow!" I whined as Zoteaki smiled lightly.
"Um, thanks. But you're alittle to young for me." Zoteaki guessed.
"And pretty boy here has a girlfriend." I reminded him again. Zoteaki arose to his feet and smacked me once more across the same side of my face. Snarling my teeth I held my head painfully.
"Come on..." I whimpered.
"Oh! S-sory. Well, I hope you find this Lethe. I'll ask around also." She smiled then scampered off to rejoin her two friends who were giggling. Zoteaki sighed and glanced over at me as I held be head limply.
"I told you stop calling me that!" Zoteaki groaned.
"But it was the perfect timing," I joked.
"You know, no matter how many times you say it, it will never be funny." Zoteaki mutterted.
"Yea, whatever. And what's with all these girls in this town wanting you? What's up with that?" I shrugged and followed him along the street. Zoteaki didn't reply, but contiuned in steady steps.
"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhearing." We turned our attention to a young boy who was standing a few feet away from us. Mellow facial features gaze me the idea that we needn't worry about the threat of an attack. Along with the gentle face, a head of brown hair rustled in the gentle breeze as garent eyes flashed at us. He wore a tan shirt and pants with a large cloak over it.
"About-" I began but Zoteaki glared at me, silencin me from my comment I was about to make.
"About the next dragonmaster." The boy advised, running a hand through his hair. Residing on his left side was a sheathed sword. Nodding to myself, I scanned Zoteaki and noticed he was scratching his chin.
"Do you happen to know where we can find him?" Zoteaki asked hopefully.
"Right here." The boy grinned, with a flash of a smile. You see, if we had any dense members of the team they wouldn't have caught on and wondered what the boy meant. But me and Zoteaki were pretty sharp.
"You're Lethe?" I asked, furrowing an eyebrow. I was expecting someone more tough and physical. Then again, he had that gentle appearence like Alex. Alex...
"How old are you?" Zoteaki asked uneasily.
"Fourteen." His voice was filled with pride and determination. At least the young ones had that going for them.
"You seem pretty straight-forward." Zoteaki noted, as he removed his hands from his vest and took a seat on the bench a few feet away and signlaed for me to sit next to him. Lethe followed and looked us both in the eyes.
"Who are you guys anyhow?" Lethe asked casually.
"Wouldn't believe us if we tried." I sighed, and rested my head in the palms of my hands boredly.
"You guys aren't Ghaelon's minions, are you!" Sudden aleretness filled the young boy as he unsheathed sword and starred at us, fear overtaking the strength he seemed to have. We'd have to spend awhile training this one to overcome his fear.
"Of course not," Zoteaki advised, signlaing for the boy to lower his blade. However, he was having none of this and kept the blade out.
"Tell me who you are!" He demanded.
"Are we really going to take commands from a mere boy?" I asked, as the washing dulling effect of boredom crept upon me. Slowly, I began to wonder if Amber had found any clues on the Black Dragon.
"I am Zoteaki Sandor, and this is Nall." Zoteaki made a hand motion over to me. Glancing at the boy, I shrugged my shoulders in greeted and blew a stray strand of hair out of my face easily.
"What do you want from me.." He lowered his blade slightly.
"Like I said, I am Zoteaki Sandor, Blue Dragon of Althena. And this is Nall, White Dragon." Zoteaki explainied.
"Zoteaki!" I hissed angriliy glaring over at him.
"You're dragons! For real!" Excitement filled his eyes as he lowered his blade for a few moments then brought it back up."How can I trust your words?"
"Here." Zoteaki took the Blue Dragon aurora out from underneath his vest and passed it the boy. Instantly he sheathed his blade and held the locket, filled with the exciting youth.
"You've come to give me the trials of the dragons! I knew this day would come! Wait till I tell Kia." He grinned, pacing back and forth in front of us.
"This one is really full of energy." I sighed. This was going to be a long journey. A very long journey.
"Not exactly. We've come looking for assitance in the vaniqushing of Ghaelon, and we need a dragonmaster on our team. Of course, as you stated, you will need to undergo the trials, but that is for later." Zoteaki attempted.
"But that's only two of the four dragons," Lethe pouted.
"Hey guys! Guess what I learned!" Speak of the devil...
Glancing over I watched Amber walk onto the set, casually speaking, and instantly stood next to the young boy as if he wasn't there. She placed her hands on her hips proudfully as she starred us in the eye, filled with that determination and self-assurance she always bore on that face of hers.
"Amber, nice timing." Zoteaki spoke up.
"Huh?" Amber glanced over at the boy who was eyeing her suspicously.
"Meet Lethe." Zoteaki spoke, pointing to the boy.
"No offense, Zoteaki, but we've stooped to the level of recruiting children?" Sweat rolled off her face as she starred at the boy. Lethe glanced at me nervously and I cracked a smile.
"She grows on you... sooner or later." I spoke, from my spot on the bench.
"What does that mean!" Amber snapped, glancing over at me.
"Exactly what I said." I smiled lightly, and she paused and rapidly smiled back then turned to Zoteaki and Lethe.
"He's supposdely the next dragonmaster. We're going to be testing that theory. Eitherway, the rumours claim he is a fair fighter, so why not give him a shot." Zoteaki smiled.
"You were supposed to be looking for clues on the Black Dragon. Not looking for trouble." Amber glared defiantley.
"Who are you anyway?" Lethe spoke, cutting off Amber's rant.
"Amber Rosewood." She murmured, and looked at the bench. Instantly I knew what she meant so I pushed over on my side more as she took her seat between us.
"And?" Lethe asked curiously. Amber was abou to reply but I cut in.
"Pretty boy's girlfriend." I grinned.
"What!" Both dragons said in unison, glaring over at me. Instantly I felt both hands smash across my skull, making me hold it in pain.
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Zoteaki hissed once more from over Amber's shoulder.
"No, but you didn't have to hit me again." I sighed.
"I'm the Red Dragon, and I'm not Zoteaki's boyfriend, only in his dreams." Amber smiled, extending her hand in greeting.
"Pffft." Zoteaki replied with a rolling of the eyes.
"You aren't like the dragon's I've heard of. They're supposdely prideful and very sopshistaed..." Lethe began but Zoteaki silenced him.
"A true dragonmaster doesn't listen to rumours, but instead finds out the truth for himself."
"Where did you learn that?" Amber asked, blinking in atonishment. Curling my lip, I watched the young boy sway on his feet, probably uncomfortable by our conversations that kept sprouting from the most oddest topics.
"I was a teacher at Vane before this." Zoteaki replied, sending a violent stare at her.
"I know that, anyway, can I call you Teach?" Amber giggled.
"No." Zoteaki hissed. Amber paused and turned to Lethe, now ignoring the blue dragon.
"Well, even if you aren't the dragonmaster, welcome to the crew! If you withstand the three of us, you're welcome to help up." Amber smiled, running a hand through her vibrant hair.
"Thanks!" He smiled.
"Lethe!" All four of our heads turned when we noticed a younger black-haired boy come running towards us and colliding with the standing Lethe. Raising an eyebrow, I remained on the bench next to Amber and Zoteaki.
"What's wrong Sybil?" Lethe choked, arising to his feet and pushing the boy off his body. Now was the time for us to confused. Cocking my head, I sat there, watching like the others.
"It's Kia! A group of thugs captured her!" Sybil panted, bending over as he placed his hand on his knees.
AN:
It wasn't as good as the other chapters, but it's an installment! And so far as it's planned, this story is about 35-40 chapters long. Maybe more, you never know. Anyway, expect many plot twists in the future, and more Lunar refrences, TRUST ME!