I'm here! And it's been a little over two months, but I am HERE!
Yes this took long, mainly because I had to plan out the majority of the next arc, which I didn't think would be hard, but was a lot harder then I anticipated. I had to learn how to write an actual second act of a story, which means, simply: WOW EVERYTHING IS WAY MORE COMPLICATED AND THERE'S A TON OF CHARACTERS AND EVERY CHARACTER HAS DIFFERENT MOTIVATION AND PERSONALITY AND BACKSTORY and ahh my brain is melting helppppppp.
But that's mostly in the past. Now I just gotta write it! The sometimes harder, yet much more fun part of the process. And now the first chapter of the new arc is the longest chapter yet. *sigh* (not an unhappy sigh)
Well, enough of that. How was your guys' Christmas and new years? Hope it was great. Hope yall are straight chillin'.
Obiben: Thanks for the review as always!
DuskenDragon: I really like Kenra too! I hope this arc can live up to any expectations you may have!
Kunmai: Thank you! And nice name. :P
And yes, I renamed last chapter to "Seeds of Change", and labeled it as the Arc 1 epilogue, instead of a prelude. Makes way more sense that way in my opinion. Nothing else was changed.
Alright that's enough from me. If you have any questions or things to say, definitely leave a review or send me a PM! I don't bite I promise. Thank you all so much for reading!
Arc 2 Beginning
Chapter 16
"Downward Spiral"
2 Months Later
[Kenra]
Chkk!~
Chkk!~
Chkk!~
Groaning, I worked my arm up and out of my blankets to stop the incessant sound coming from the device. Curse Volteer for giving us it. I blinked my eyes open and rubbed the sleep from them, looking towards the window to see the sun just barely rising, not even going above the Warfang walls yet.
Today I had school, it was the first day of the school week. I hadn't even learned of the concept of "weeks" until I started going to school. My tribe often just counted days on a sundial, and watched the seasons pass. There were no days where we were allowed to relax. But I had to admit I was getting used to it this way, more time to spend with Kunmai. Although he has been pretty busy lately…
Spyro lightly knocked on the doorframe and poked his head in, "You awake buddy? Breakfast is waiting."
I shook the rest of my unconsciousness out, turned and nodded. I rolled myself off of my pillow bed, which was pure black and very fluffy, I liked my pillow. I had been given a room, and we had redecorated it with Spyro and Cynder's help. My walls were a purple color, which I came to find is my favorite color. The curtains on the window were black as well, and my room was carpeted in a grey. There wasn't much in here, Spyro and Cynder had urged me to completely make it my space, but I told them that possessions were nothing I knew well anyway. So my room was basically just a bed behind a door.
I got up and stretched, yawning and hearing my limbs pop satisfyingly. And walked my way towards the door. Whilst going down the hallway I didn't hear anybody, but still poked my head into Kunmai's room just in case. He was quite hard to make out, I squinted at his light blue pillow, and grey rug, but couldn't make out his happy little face anywhere. His dark blue walls were covered in clouds and tornadoes, painted in by him and Cynder themselves. He had two bookshelves with so many books you'd think he'd be a librarian, and he had a little ladder thing he could move so that he could grab any book from the higher shelves. Cynder had made quite sure that the floor under that ladder was padded to the ancestors and back, in case he fell. He had a desk with a lamp and a bunch of paint and paper in case he felt creative.
I guess this is what Cynder meant by "making it my own space". But I just really wasn't sure of what I wanted, I had never concerned myself with… well… myself. Ironically, he didn't even sleep in here all the time. More often now than back when they decorated, but Gale preferred the safety of our two guardians. And Cynder at the very least, felt way better when he slept in their room with them than by himself. Though Gale did have his days of moping where he'd refuse to sleep anywhere but his room.
Gale was busier lately, I mean, so was I but… Gale was always playing games with Kaali or working on his hobbies he'd developed. Which included painting, and writing a story involving his adventures, which Spyro and Cynder praised him for. His writing was good, not quite professional but better than anybody my age, he was a prodigy. Although in passing mentions I heard him say he'd been doing this for five to six years before… which didn't add up, and he'd always backtrack on himself. I began to wonder if he had an older soul in him, my people always spoke of reincarnation and the potential to have lived dozens of lives. Maybe Gale had a few past lives? Either way I was proud of Kunmai.
"Kenra?" Cynder said from right behind me, I jumped quite hard and looked back defensively.
She lowered herself to the floor, "Sorry! Sorry. If you're looking for your brother he's already downstairs sweetie. Didn't Spyro tell you breakfast was ready?" She asked sweetly.
I nodded, "Sorry, I'm still waking up." she smiled as she grabbed me by the scruff. I would've contested her on it, but she was doing it a lot lately. She would always tell me I wouldn't be so small forever, and that I needed to be used to it "just in case". So I dealt with it, unhappily.
We descended the stairs and into the dining room, my Kunmai and Kaali were eating and talking to each other. And Cynder plonked me down on Gale's right side. "Found him." Cynder said with a giggle.
Spyro raised a brow at her, "Did he get lost?"
"He was daydreaming already, I think he fell asleep standing up." Cynder continued as she placed a plate in front of me. I said my thanks and zoned the two out.
"Kenra!" Gale leaned into my fur and nuzzled under my muzzle.
I smiled widely and reciprocated, "Morning," I said simply.
Kaali leaned over, "Gooooood morning Kenra!" She said excitedly.
I nodded happily as I leaned down to eat some of my food. Once we were all served Cynder and Spyro sat down with us. Gale was finally eating food now, for the past week he had been a ravenous little hatchling. He was embarrassed by it, but he kept teething on random things absentmindedly about two weeks ago. No clue why he was embarrassed about it. Cynder and Spyro got him some toys that were meant for hatchlings who were growing their canines out, it keeps the instincts to hunt things suppressed, and lets hatchlings strengthen their teeth.
He had been ecstatic to be eating regular food, and Spyro and Cynder were very much spoiling him with a bunch of Warfang's best foods to try. Of course me and Kaali got the same thing, but we knew it was because they were excited to show Gale their culture. And I had to admit, it was pretty good.
Just as I was close to finishing, a knock came to the door. It must be her. Cynder quickly walked over and answered, "Good morning Ferra," I was correct.
"Morning Mrs. Cynder" she chimed back tiredly.
Cynder must've invited her in, as Ferra trudged into our kitchen and smiled the best she could. "What's up." She said casually.
"Morning Ferra." Spyro said from the kitchen.
Kaali and Gale jumped out of their seats and ran up to her, simultaneously yelling her name out joyously, "Morning, Ferra!"
"Good morning." I said quietly.
She smiled and leaned forward playfully, "How're you little toe biters doing?" I smiled as they both savagely attacked her head, and she giggled.
She mock fought them by pushing them over a few times and blowing raspberries on their stomachs. As Cynder laughed from behind her. "Are you hungry, Ferra?"
She stood up and turned, politely declining, "No, thank you though. I'm just here to pick up the daily order of fluff." She said, referring to me as she turned and gave me a wink. Cynder nodded and returned to her own breakfast.
Ferra walked over to me, "Well? Are you ready bro?"
I nodded, jumping out of my chair and walking over to the wall to grab my bag with my books and homework. It had taken a while to get used to not doing my dishes at breakfast. I was almost late multiple times due to them having to convince me to let them handle it. Gale and Kaali ran over to me this time, I leaned downward, "Bye Una!" Kaali said. I had taught them that word, which meant "brother" in my language and was easier for hatchlings to say.
"I love you." Gale said quietly to me as he nuzzled into my fur.
"Me too!" Kaali beamed.
"Love you too." I whispered back to them both, licking my Kunmai on the forehead. Then turning to do the same for my new little sister.
I felt someone grab my tail, and turned to see Ferra holding it with raised brows, "Come on fluffy, I'm not gonna be late because of you."
I said my final goodbyes to Spyro and Cynder as we walked out the door. I knew Ferra was a good dragon at this point, she was very outgoing. She always tried to make conversations with me, I just happened to be bad at social interactions. Ferra was older than me by a year, so she was in the same section of the Warfang building. And some of the same classes even.
The walk was always pleasant. Warfang was a big change for me, but no doubt it was a good one. The city itself was rather beautiful, and the weather was always admirable. The wind here would gently brush between my fur rather than threaten to lob me off a cliff side. Ferra always walked the whole way, most students would fly to school unless they were too young, but not Ferra.
I told her once to go on ahead, she just shrugged it off and said she always liked walking to school more. I asked her why, and she only glanced at me. Then she bumped into me with her shoulder and walked farther ahead of me the rest of the way. I thought I'd made her angry until we got to school and she finally wished me a good day.
Today was like most days, we began earlier than most our age, and got there later than most. The school was always bustling with dragons from around two or three years younger than me, to around four to five older. I always got a few weary glances, and raised eyebrows, but less so than when I began. Ferra reassured me they were just "jerks that haven't seen anything other than their hindquarters in a mirror" but I knew not to repeat that to anyone else…
Once we had entered the doorway and ended a cross-section at the hallway, Ferra turned and held her paw up. It was a sort of friends thing she taught me how to do, where we put one of our paws together each, then rolled them into a ball and brought them back. She reassured me it was only a greeting she used. We caught each other's paws and she smiled, "See you in history fluff," I began to pull away and turn but she grabbed my paw again, "And hey, you're always welcome to join me at lunch, Ken." She smiled sweetly before releasing me.
I nodded, "See you later," I let out quietly. Than stalked away.
My first class was always language, where I learned how to speak the common draconic language better. My teacher there was very understanding, a nice older fire dragon who even had a beard. He would often have me sit at a desk nearby his own, so that he could help me at a moment's notice. And the few times that other students made fun of me for it, or called me "teacher's pet" he would immediately give a punishment to. It was thanks to him that my understanding of the language had gone up immensely.
My first period always went nicely. Especially today as I managed to get a good grade on one of his tests on my first try! He would often revisit tests with me if I didn't get a passing grade, then he'd make me retake it a few days later. It was very generous of him. But today I didn't need that, and he was super proud of me. It felt great!
My other classes… were not as lucky.
In my other classes before lunch I had history and math. And while I wasn't particularly terrible at either of the two classes, it wasn't the work that made them worse. As I entered history, I noticed Ferra, who smiled and waved. However, due to our assigned seating I was always two or three seats away. We worked together on group projects though.
The history teacher was an earth dragoness, she was quite slim and smaller than I'd expect earth dragons to be. And she always wore a colorful bouquet of flowers on her head. I heard a bunch of the other kids call her a "tree hugger" sometimes, but I knew it was more rude than a nickname. She was a nice enough dragoness, however she often made me feel quite out of place. My first week, she completely scrapped her previous plans to teach the class history about my northern dragon race. She was overly excited to meet me, and she would constantly call on me to gather input on whether I had experienced the things she was teaching.
When she got to the way we travel, the concept of flying came up. Now, it was taboo in my culture to tell anybody how exactly you flew, or to show them. It was so ingrained in our brains, the only information other races had was pure word of mouth. I personally couldn't fly. I never could, it was just another one of my famous problems that my kind hated me for. But once I explained that I didn't know how it worked either, the class laughed at me. It was petrifying, and I had run out of the room as Ferra growled at them and raced after me.
It was awful that first week, Ferra eventually told her off and she apologized profusely, to Spyro and Cynder even! So she was nice, but the damage had been done.
There was one group in that class, that hadn't stopped ever since that first week. They would point and laugh, and they always knew how to upset me more. I avoided them as much as possible. And Ferra confronted them as much as possible over it, she was quite an amazing friend. The group consisted of an ice dragon named Vax, who was a dark blue with a grey underbelly and a never ending sneer of superiority. His annoying friend, who was an earth dragon with sand colored scales and a brown underbelly named Gerunder. Ferra said he had "more rocks than brain in that thick skull", which made me laugh.
Then finally, his dragoness-friend Neuh, they were definitely a couple, that's for sure. She was a poison dragoness with lavender scales, and a black underbelly. She was constantly hanging off of Vax like a disturbed ape in my mind, she was his biggest fan, and the only one that could make even Ferra upset when an argument broke out. Ferra told me she'd always been like this, ever since dragonling classes. She always took things too far, it wasn't hard to see why she had the poison element. She spat lies and rumours like a diseased snake.
Vax never did the work himself, only instructing the other two at somebody, and telling them to make the target miserable. Of course, if you ever called him on it he'd say he didn't need to waste his breath on low class.
History passed easily, than it was math class. I didn't have Ferra in math class, but I did have the three that currently had a target painted on my back. I shivered as I walked down the hallways, I hid out in a nearby bathroom for longer, to make sure I didn't encounter the trio in the hallway. My teacher always thought I was late just because I was new to all of this, but they quickly grew suspicious after a month had passed. I peaked out of the bathroom until the three had passed, waiting an extra minute until they were surely gone. Then I continued my walk.
Entering the room everyone was still getting their papers to the correct page, but they were all seated, as the teacher was writing on the board. An ice dragon who was younger than my other teachers. I quickly went to my box, to pull out my own items, and as I was walking to sit down I heard the teachers voice boom, "Late again, Kenra?"
I almost shivered as I turned to face him with a frown and a short bow, "Yes," I mumbled out.
He didn't hear most likely, but he continued on, "Well, take your seat. We haven't all day." As I rushed to my seat I heard giggling from up behind me. I knew who it was, it was pointless to care. I simply made myself as small as possible and slumped in my seat.
A few minutes later, the teacher turned around to address us. Going over yesterday's work briefly, and bringing up today's topic. Then he gestured to the board which had a math problem on it. He pointedly looked towards me, "Kenra, why don't you come show the class how to do this problem? Since you seem to not need to be on time for my class, you must know."
I heard muffled laughter from behind, my sinking in my seat had not worked and now every eye was on me. I nervously smiled and got up. Walking down the steps and up to the board, northern dragon ears were better than regular. We lived on a mountain with howling winds and snow, it had to be better. So when I froze at the board due to the incessant laughter and name calling from Vax's group, the teacher raised his brow. I knew how to do the problem, I just couldn't focus because of those three. I picked up the chalk, and raised my paw up, I could still hear them. "Loser" Vax laughed, "Think he'll wet himself?" Gerunder giggled back, "I think he's too stupid for this, maybe hatchling classes would suit him better," Neuh said too a fit of quiet laughter.
I was halfway through writing the first number, when I cracked the chalkboard due to pressing too hard in anger. I looked up at the teacher, "I can't do it, Sir." I could do it, it was so simple. I didn't want to be up here anymore.
The teacher raised a brow, he might've known I could do it, I aced every test. But regardless he shrugged, "Return to your seat Kenra," he said simply, "Hmm… Vax, why don't you show the class how?"
Vax stood himself up and cracked a few bones in his wings, "Gladly," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. He walked with so much confidence and arrogance, and as he passed by me he purposefully got closer on the stairs so that he could bump me out of the way with his shoulder. "Oops," I just lowered my head more and got back to my seat, I could feel the other two's eyes burning the back of my head.
Once he was at the board, he quickly and decisively solved it, though he had to erase an error once. Then he stood back, and the teacher nodded, "Good job Vax, mind telling us how you solved it?"
He smirked, "It was really easy! I think an ape could've done it. First you-" he continued on, explaining it in a few sentences. I tuned him out, I tuned everyone out. I may not be stupid, the problem was easy… but isn't half of being smart having the confidence to do that? If so, I was a failure. A coward too, I buried my face in my book the rest of class.
I exited class as quickly and stealthily as I possibly could, the teacher was staring at me my whole way out. I think he wanted to speak to me, but he eventually shook his head and went back to his papers. Most of the class was looking at me with what almost seemed to be a bit of superiority on their parts, dragons were prideful creatures, I couldn't blame them for instincts. A few looked at me pitifully, thought it felt more like It was because they thought I was a lesser creature. I slinked away from the crowd and into the cafeteria. I was smaller than most other dragons here, probably due to race difference, so it was much easier to weave in and out of crowds.
I got in line at lunch, and began to wait for the line to move. The cafeteria was a little bit crazy sometimes, there was always a teacher or two watching. If not, the sports teams would end up practicing their flight moves in the air, and maybe raining down food on unsuspecting dragonlings. I tried to make myself as small as possible, but it didn't work. Vax's group scoured the line for me, not that I was hard to spot due to the way I look. Once they had their targets set they cut the line, nobody would fight them over it. "Hey, good job back at math class." Vax began as i teamed up, "I don't think anyone here could look that stupid if they tried." He said with a laugh.
His two followers laughed, "Made Vax look smart too, what a wingman!" Gerunder said.
I hunched even lower, if that was possible. "No problem." I said simply.
"Really though," Neuh began, kill me now, "Why bother showing up? Why don't you and your family go back to the mountains and live like the insignificant wannabe dragons you are."
At that I wheeled and turned on her, with a scowl, nobody insults my family. "Why don't you three get lost?"
They all laughed, the line began moving around us as other students gave the group a wide berth. Vax wiped a tear out of his eye, "Wow, you made the little drake angry. I didn't know he could even understand us!"
Gerunder got up close in my face, "Show us how to fly, hairball. Oh wait! You can't." They laughed so loud it hurt my ears.
Finally I gave up my thoughts of eating lunch, and slinked away from the line. They didn't pursue me at all, and why would they? I had them in two of my other classes. I trudged my way out of the cafeteria, and as I did I passed Ferra, she smiled, "Kenra, what's up…" she slowed down as she saw that I didn't care. I merely walked past her with my head down, walking into the courtyard.
Almost nobody was out here, other than a few earth dragons who were adamant on soaking in as much of the outdoors as possible. And the occasional eccentric wind dragon. I trudged my way over to a bench and plopped myself down with an audible sigh. Sometimes it was hard not to believe them. About being stupid and a lesser dragon, and about not belonging here. I desperately wanted what they said to be wrong.
Maybe I didn't belong here? Gale was doing wonderfully now, he had a sister his age, and two parents that loved those two like no other. I… I felt like an outcast. I wasn't young enough to stay home and play games all day with my siblings. Spyro and Cynder gave me much more space, I didn't blame them, I wasn't their hatchling or even the same race. Who really needed me? I know Gale would say he does, but if I was gone would he still remember me in five years? Ten?
Gale and Kaali would be so disappointed if they found out. I'm their older brother, I'm supposed to be big and strong. I had acted as such for Gale many times, I fought that evil tiger with him, defended him from wolves... But now that some others say some mean words I'm sitting here pouting like a hatchling. I'm supposed to be everything they think I am. But I'm just not!
I felt a few tears go down my face, "Hey, fluffy!" I heard Ferra's voice and quickly raised a paw to wipe my tears away. She came up with a tray and sat on the bench next to me. The tray had an assortment of a bunch of meat on it. "Is something wrong?" She asked quietly as she tried to meet my gaze.
I shook my head, "I'm okay, thanks Ferra."
I began to stand up to walk away again, but she grabbed my shoulder, "Nuh-uh," she said sternly, "Look at me Ken, what happened?"
I met her gaze and her face softened with worry, "N-Nothing! It was just Vax and his group looked at me funny…"
She raised a brow, "Really? Is that why you were crying seconds ago, and didn't pick any lunch up? Spill it." She said putting a wing over my back protectively. She rubbed back and forth with it in a calming manner.
"They…" I started, "They told me the usual stuff. Get lost, and northern dragons are stupid. But then they insult my family and… it was too much."
She growled and I felt a bit of heat emanate from her body, as most fire dragons did when they were angered. "Those good for nothing little…" she sighed, and put her paws around my neck, "They're just stupid themselves Kenra, don't listen to them."
I nodded, and laid my head on her neck, she rested her head over mine, "You're right Ferra. Just need to ignore."
She smiled, "Exactly, you're the only one who decides what you're worth, not other people. At least, that's what I do with them." I shrugged mildly.
She studied me for a moment and sighed awkwardly, "Kenra not to be mean but… why don't you just talk to Spyro? Or even better, tell Vax that they're your parents. That'll get them off you easily."
I shook my head, "But they're… they're not my parents. I'm still a northern dragon, and I'm still a… loser."
She slapped the back of my head with her tail, "Hey quit it!" I yelled.
She glared and scolded me, "Kenra, they love you, they are definitely your parents even if it isn't blood related. And stop calling yourself stupid!" I had my disagreements and doubts, but overall I agreed with her begrudgingly.
She heard my stomach growl, and giggled. She drew back from me as she held her tray up, "Come on, share with me."
"Ferra it's okay-" I began.
"You are not going to class on an empty stomach. Take some." She commanded me. I nodded, choosing not to argue anymore and shared some of the food with her. Lunch food was always only okay, but it was something at least.
"Hey," she said, catching my attention, "Wait for me near the end of hallway C, I'll pick you up every day and we'll have lunch together. How does that sound?"
"Don't you have friends that you like to sit by?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah, but I've told them all about you. They're just curious why you haven't joined us yet. You'll like them, I promise!" She said excitedly.
I shuffled nervously, "I don't… I don't know Ferra."
She rolled her eyes and bumped me with her shoulder, "I know you love your two little siblings, but I promise, some friends your own age will go a long way."
Gale was probably too busy for me nowadays anyway. "No, it's not that…" she looked at me curiously, and I averted her eyes, "Won't they dislike the fact that I'm…" I said looking down at my fur.
She seemed to catch on and she scoffed, "I'm hurt, you think I'd hang out with dragons like that."
I stuttered a recovery, "N-No, Ferra I wasn't-"
"I know," she said with a giggle as she stuck her tongue out, and bumped against me with her shoulder, "So then you should know that they won't act like that!" She said happily.
Finally after her giving me a begging look, I nodded. "Yes, but tomorrow."
She smirked and nuzzled me quickly, "That's my fluffball!" I felt myself raise an eyebrow. She brought herself back and quickly turned away from me, her orange scales on her cheeks being contrasted by a pinkish red. "I mean, cool! Can't wait."
The school bell rang and she barely gave me a glance as she stood up, "Alright I'm off to class remember to ignore those three okay bye!" She said quicker than I could let out a confused hum, before rushing off. What was all that about?
I stood up myself and stretched, depositing the tray she left behind in the appropriate area. My next classes were Magic History, Flight Training, which was also sorta just a physical work class, and Self Defense. Magic History was Vax-free, thankfully. And it breezed by me in a flash as I thought of how to deal with their group. My teachers in those other two classes were never having any of it from Vax and his group, so he was less of a nuisance. Especially my Self Defense teacher But they'd find every opportunity they could get.
Entering into flight training always made my mood drop a bit. As I walked out of the courtyard into an open field, littered with hoops of varying height. There were seats on either side of the field for sports matches from our upper class, they played various ones I'd never heard of before. Mainly Wingball. In the center of the field was our teacher, Wayner, surrounded by a growing group of dragonlings. He was a very tall and wide earth dragon, he was built like a building I'd say. He had Dark brown scales and a dark green underbelly. And scars which he would constantly tell stories about from the war ten years ago. He looked menacing, but every dragon up here loved him, he was the nicest teacher probably. He was also the Wingball coach, shocker.
I sat down in the middle of the row of my peers, and eventually caught a glimpse of Vax and his group. They pointed me out to each other and giggled a bit to themselves. I pretended they didn't exist and held my head high, and as they tried to sit near me our teacher quickly stomped his foot. He caught the attention of the small group and promptly pointed to the other side of the row of students from me. When I caught his eye again I smiled, and he winked at me with a smirk.
"Alright, class." He began, bringing everyone to an eager silence. "As you know, last week we went over proper wing positioning, and how to lessen strain. As well as how to fly in place." The class nodded and murmured amongst each other.
"And so today, I'd like to put that to the test! I would like each of you to team up with a fellow student, and take turns flying in place. You will take turns, and the one who isn't flying will be making sure you're holding proper form and not overdoing yourself. Of course, if you're stamina gifted, remember to take turns with your partner." He said with a chuckle. "Alright, team up!"
I watched as my peers slowly dispersed and made teams. I backed away from the crowd and stood on the outskirts, the past few weeks of this class had been nothing but flying and now this week was too. What was I supposed to do here? Vax's group laughed at me from afar, but didn't try to approach again. They were probably still scared of the teacher. Once everyone had seemed to have teamed up, Wayner called out, "Raise your hand if you do not have a training partner!"
Reluctantly I raised my paw, and I instantly heard laughter from Vax's group. I tried not to get too angry or upset, and gritted my teeth. "I've got an important job for you Kenra, don't you worry." Wayner said with a reassuring smile.
"Scrubbing the hallways?" Somebody yelled out.
Laughter followed by much of them, a few looked at me in pity and I huffed annoyed. I walked over to Wayner as he seemed to become slightly angry. "Why are we laughing I must ask?" He asked in such a cold-hearted disappointed way. All of them went quiet, even looking ashamed of themselves, except a few. "Just for that, I'm turning this into a physical exam. You will now be getting a grade." An audible groan emanated from the crowd, as a couple of the students who hadn't laughed mumbled things along the line of "thanks a lot," and "all because of Vax." I considered this a small victory. But… I also had to take the test, didn't I?
After the dragons all lined up in rows, they all decided in their own ways who would go first. "Alright, your time starts… now!" Our teacher said.
I watched them for a moment before turning to my teacher with curiosity, he smiled and leaned down. "Kenra, I've got a special job for you." I nodded and listened intently, as the coach handed me a board with paper and a way to mark on it. "Listen, I know you don't have wings " he began, as I looked down in sadness, "But… you are the best student at following proper form on how to fly. Which means, I want you to go around and mark how everyone is doing. How does that sound?" I smiled up at him and nodded eagerly. He laughed and nudged me forward as I walked out into the rows of dragonlings.
At first they looked annoyed or upset by me, but quickly realized insulting me would get them a bad grade. So they stayed almost completely silent. For the time, at least.
[Gale]
My time here had very quickly and quietly slowed down from the daily grind of just trying to keep myself alive. After all of the confusion and commotion from the incident at the temple, nothing had happened. Well that's not true… everything had happened! Just not bad things this time, thankfully.
I had finally acquired my vicious dragon teeth, and could tear at meat and other foods at will! Well, I was getting there, my teeth were still tiny and Cynder constantly giggled at them when she'd check. I felt slightly embarrassed by literally going through the teething process of a puppy or something, but Spyro and Cynder were very good at making me feel safe and loved. I hadn't until recently, really known what that word felt like. It was wonderful.
I had tried multiple times since the incident to activate my wind powers with Cynder's help. But I never could do more than half a second of a bubble before it'd be gone. And the voice in my head and the dreams, they were gone for now too. That slightly scared me, I wish I knew who or what that was.
Although I was less concerned with myself, and more with Kenra nowadays. He's always stayed in his room, and he acted all the same if I went to him. He was avoiding us, but he always said it was because he had so much homework. I've been scouring books on northern dragons, and the secret of how it is said they fly is closely guarded to the point of insanity! I wasn't even sure if it was truthful, whether or not they could. I just wanted to see if there was some way I could help. I unceremoniously shut yet another book on races of the Dragon Realms, shoving it to the side with a huff as I rested my head on my paw.
"Gale get down from there right now, young hatchling!" Cynder's voice scolded me.
I nearly jumped in fright, and peaked down from atop my perch on a shelf high up in my room, where I had been reading my book. I know I had a ladder for it, but using short bursts of flight I could just come up here and read it instead. Cynder didn't approve as she raised a brow, I thought she was busy with Kaali's tea party. That's the whole reason I hid up here! "Well?" She said expectantly.
I sighed and walked close to the ledge, and before I could leap off to glide down, Cynder suddenly panicked and shot up to me. "Oh my ancestors!" She shouted, using her own wings and wrapping her paws around me. "Don't scare me like that!" She gasped.
I almost rolled my eyes humorously, as she slowly lowered me to the floor in my room and I sat down, looking up at her with a 'really?' face. "What do you have to say for yourself little hurricane?" She said with a raised brow.
I tried to hold a serious face, "The book was good, this disturbance displeases me." I said deeper than usual as a joke.
She giggled and nuzzled me, "You know better than to fly without supervision." She said, trying to return a stern voice she never could keep.
"But… I can do it so easily!" I whined.
"That's what every hatchling thinks before they plummet from too high up and break something!" She said confidently. She was right, it was a dangerous thought process. Icarus and all that…
"I'm sorry momma." I said lowering my head sadly, my wings drooping to my side. It took me a while before I was comfortable referring to them as my parents. But when I had I think I melted their hearts. It's the least I could do for them after all they've done for me. And they had done so much.
Cynder didn't hold her stern look very long, she never could. As she leaned down and picked me up, she sighed, "It's alright my little breeze, I'm sorry too." She started, coming eye to eye with me, "I know you're still a much older and adventurous little dragonling in there, and you wish you could do more. That's not your fault."
I shook my head, "If it's any consultation… I've blocked most of those memories!" I said as a dark joke. Realizing she didn't laugh I continued seriously, "It's not that I wish I could. I actually can do more!" I said excitedly.
She smiled sadly, "Just because you can do more doesn't mean you should. Regardless of that… You're still just a hatchling, my youngest one at that... So I'm always fussing over you, since y'know, that's my job as your momma. I'm not trying to make you angry or trap you like an animal."
"I know mom." Cynder nodded, she always liked to reassure me that she wanted me to feel free. She always thought she was making me feel like I was a prisoner in this house. If anything, she gave me more than anything I'd ever wanted! So basically, just books. She acted that way with Kenra too, giving him a bunch of space to let him feel free. She worried a lot about overbearing him. Sometimes I wondered if Kenra was asked if he wanted that first.
"I love you." She said, giving me a lick on the side of my face.
"Hey, why now?" I said suddenly, trying to lean away.
"What, you don't love me back? I'm hurt!" She giggled.
I sighed with a smile, "I guess I love you too…" I said mischievously as if it was a chore to say back.
She just giggled more and licked my cheek again, "I guess I'll forgive you for disobeying then!" I shook my head at her with a smirk.
She hummed enthusiastically, "Let's go see what Anu is up to, shall we?" Anu meant sister in Kenra's language. Literally just the reverse of Una for brother. They were both easier and less awkward to use for a hatchling. Ignoring the fact that I could easily say brother and sister if I wanted…
"As long as it's not a tea party…" I said as she carried me out, laughing at my lack of tea party prowess.
As we walked down the hallway Cynder nudged me, "Why don't we play something Kenra and dad can join in on when they get home?"
I looked up and nodded happily, but then my smile slowly faded. "Kenra's too busy… I… I don't want to bother him."
Cynder's mood deflated a bit, and she walked slower. I looked up at her face and she was deep in thought, an unsure look on her face. She noticed my staring and snapped out of it, "We'll just have to see then."
[Kenra]
In my last class, I had self defense training. And my teacher for this class was Norruth. Which was much appreciated honestly.
The class was already lined up on the wall. We were in an oval-shaped arena that was used for certain sports, spectator events, one of which being; sparring. The surrounding walls were much higher and held seating completely surrounding the place. The arena was attached to the main temple, and was used by all classes of all ages.
"Alright, good afternoon all of you. I hope you still have some energy left for this class." Norruth announced, to a couple of tired groans from fellow classmates.
"Now as you all know, we have a very important guest visiting the temple tomorrow," my ears perked up in interest.
"And for some reason, the guardians have chosen this class to be sponsored during our tour of the temple. Yes, Spyro was slightly offended." Norruth said with a laugh. My peer erupted into whispers and unease, I myself feeling just as bad if not worse.
"Calm, calm." Norruth began, quieting us once again. "Yes, the visitors will be staying for our full class. And yes, the guardians would like us to exhibit our self defense, particularly with sparring. But do not worry, we won't have time for all of you to show off, so in this case, volunteers are going to be our main showcase. If there aren't enough volunteers… sorry, it'll be up to me."
I'd say about half the class groaned, while a good few looked at eachother with determination and hunger for victory. I kept to myself, I would fight if I had to and not for my own entertainment, I was quite good at sparring. But being good didn't mean I liked showing off.
"But!" He interrupted our wild thoughts, "That's tomorrow. So today, we will be choosing our sparring partners for today and tomorrow. Who you pick today, you may end up fighting tomorrow in front of all the guardians and their guests. So I suggest not picking your best friend. Any questions?"
One dragoness raised her paw and was promptly pointed at, "Why our class?"
Norruth nodded, "Because it's the last of the day. And the guardians consider our complete claw to claw sparring to be the most interesting. While Spyro's class has some wildly entertaining fights, they are mostly elemental based. And during elemental fights, it's much more centered around who's element works better against who. And some dragons are just better at elements than others. That makes our class the most skill based showcase available, pat yourselves on the back. Any more questions?"
There were murmurs, but a distinct lack of questions being asked. After a few more moments he waved us off to go find our partners. I had no idea who to go with, I didn't know almost any of the dragons in here. Waiting for the last other person to pair with would be my best bet.
While scanning the arena and watching others form into pairs, I noticed a distinct dark blue dragon sauntering my way. I avoided my gaze, but that didn't seem to do much as I heard his paws stop just in front of me. I sighed annoyed, "What do you want, Vax?" I said, looking at him with a glare.
"We'll, I can't really beat my girl up. So I decided to go for somebody I despise, it'll make me fight better." He said with a degrading tone.
"You want to be my sparring partner…" I said with a deadpan.
He shrugged, then he smirked, "Ah so your brain's working now. Yes I was offering to be your sparring partner, I don't see anybody else asking you."
I rolled my eyes, "No shot…" I walked away from him, he quickly grabbed my tail with his paw and I felt a shiver go through my body.
His paws were icy cold to the touch, "Oh, actually, I wasn't asking. I was telling you. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you in front of the guardians tomorrow. It'll be hilarious."
I turned back and yanked my tail from his grasp, giving a low growl. "What's your problem?" I yelled at him.
He scoffed, puffing his chest up to try and make himself look better. "I like to make inferior races know their place. You're an inferior race. It seems pretty easy to understand, hairball.
"You don't know anything about my race, or me, and you've decided all this. How much of a joke is that?" I said, trembling with rage.
He stuck his face up to mine, "You can't fly." He said, shoving me back, "You can't use your elements yet." He shoved me a second time, "You're just a filthy little drake that nobody wants around. Except that stupid dragoness, that has to stand up for your pathetic waste of space."
I'd had enough, before he could shove me again I lunged at him. I kicked, scratched, and bit him as much as possible. We rolled around in the dirt, trying to restrain our opposers. Of course, with scales all over his body my attacks didn't do much. He was doing the same thing as we snarled at each other in rage. "HEY!" The sound of Norruth's voice boomed. We both halted in our actions as the teacher pried us away from each other. A crowd of our classmates huddling around curiously.
He held us each by our scruffs in opposite paws, "What's the deal here!?" He demanded to know.
Vax instantly pointed at me and tried to act like a scared victim, "He tackled me and started attacking sir, I-I don't-"
"Stop," Norruth said, "Vax, your little innocent ploy doesn't fool me. Kenra, talk." He said turning to me as Vax huffed angrily.
I sighed, "He called me a bunch of names and kept shoving me. He also said he wants to be my partner so he can beat me up in front of the guardians tomorrow." I said truthfully.
Norruth sighed and shook his head, "That doesn't mean you can just start attacking Kenra,"
"Yes sir." I said looking downcast as Vax snickered.
"And you." Norruth said, holding him up closer to his face. "This behavior is absolutely unacceptable, and not the first time it's happened either. I've heard of what you've been doing all day to Kenra. I will be talking to your parents."
That made him look fearful, as Vax looked at him and practically pleaded. "N-No sir. I'll do anything, just please don't talk to them."
Norruth finally set us both down, "Regardless, you two will be sparring partners. But only because I hope it brings you both to an understanding of sorts."
I turned my head away from him and scoffed. Like I'd ever get along with him, I'd have to go genuinely insane. Vax looked upset still, probably over his parents getting told of his behavior. But he did not seem upset about sparring with me.
A little while later we were both staring at each other from across the arena. We were the last match of the day. Sparring matches were based on a best of three point system, where whoever had access to either a killing blow or an incapacitating move won the round. The surroundings were our classmates spectating us, as Norruth stepped up, "You know the rules, no injuries to the face, no tail grabbing, wing pulling, and absolutely no elements. Intentional injury to your partner will result in suspension or worse. Begin!"
Neither of us shot forward, both choosing to stay a healthy distance as we slowly walked towards the center of the field. Once at the center we continued to glare as we circled each other, daring the other to make a move. He flicked his tail back and forth eagerly, I could tell he was itching to rough me up. And as I predicted, he was the first to move.
Vax lunged forward, keeping low to the ground with his front legs. Once he got close enough, he tried to start with an upwards claw swipe. Which I easily ducked to the right of, choosing to swing my own paw over and catch his body. But Vax was already twisting his body to use his tail in a quick strike. I narrowly jumped backwards away from it, and couldn't get my own attack through.
Once he realized he missed, he used the momentum of his swing to whirl himself to face me again. And he was already sprinting into his next attack. This time, he reared up on his back legs, which surprised me, then he tried to swipe with his left paw. I was distracted by that move, as I put my arm up to block. I failed to notice that he used his right arm to grab hold of my horns, then he delivered a kick to my chest with his leg. He was using his paws as a distraction to kick me…
That didn't stop him either, as he pulled my head up by the horns, and kicked me square in the gut again. Vax was no stranger for going for dirty blows, I knew what I was getting into with this. He didn't let go of my horns either as he went to go for another kick, before Norruth called it.
"Round one goes to Vax. Reset to your places. Raise your claw up when you're ready for round two Kenra."
Vax snickered than dropped me as he walked proudly back to his spot. Showing off as much as possible to our peers. Norruth called it a bit earlier than usual, probably because he knew that even if I got out of it I'd be too sick to fight multiple rounds.
Vax was a good bit taller than me. By a good paw or so in height. I was realizing quickly that if I tried to be defensive and sit around I would clearly lose. I had to be more nimble and agile than he was. I couldn't wait to be attacked, I would have to do the attacking.
I raised the claw, and Norruth began counting down.
"Three..!"
"Two..!"
"One..!"
"Begin!"
This time there was no slow walking or circling. The moment he said begin I dashed as fast as I could towards Vax, taking a slight left arc trajectory.
"Oh, someone's mad!" Vax said confidently as he readied his claws and got into a defensive position.
He turned towards me as I was approaching him, but never seemed to expect me to stop, dead in my tracks. Knowing Vax would try and send out a counterattack, I feinted my charge. After his surprise counter came out from his left paw, he widened his eyes at the fact that I hadn't attacked. I swiftly dashed at him again, jabbing him right in the side with my paw, immediately followed by a swipe with my tail. It sent him skidding a few feet in the opposite direction. He grunted and looked at me, very angrily.
He must've decided to play my own game, as he got into his typical prowling-like dash. But I also dashed towards him, and once he got close, I expected him to jump up and lunge with both paws outward. Even if he didn't, my plan would work. I turned to my side whilst dashing, skidding a few inches before forcing myself upwards into a front flip. And right as he passed under me, my tail collided with his other side with such speed that it sent him tumbling and rolling halfway across the arena.
I didn't let him recover, and dashed over. Just as he was getting up I flung the arena dirt in his face subtly, he thrashed around, and I managed to put my claw against his neck.
"Round two, Kenra!" Norruth shouted. And a good number of my classmates cheered.
I breathed a sigh of relief, as I removed my paw from his neck and backed away. He continued to wipe the dirt out of his eyes as he stood up and spat some more dirt out. "Playing dirty now?" He said with a glare.
"On the contrary, you seem to be the one playing in the dirt." I said laughing a bit and walking back to my spot. In my mind I was thinking, 'He plays dirty, why can't I?'
He sneered and glared dangerously, I could feel his anger from my side of the arena. After a few moments at opposite sides once again, the final fight would begin. Whoever's won this won the match, not that it mattered, since this was just practice. But to me, and likely Vax, it felt like this meant something. Superiority? Maybe, for him. For me? A message, don't underestimate me just because I'm different.
I sighed and cleared my head, readying myself into position as Norruth counted down.
"Begin!"
We both shot off at the same time, gaining speed. Instead of running straight for him, I veered off and circled him. He stopped and watched me. I was hoping to catch him off guard after I had looped a few times, but as I finally decided to dash in he jumped to the side and tail swiped me.
I got back to my feet, taking stock of the situation. But I didn't get long as he began dashing at me again. Once he reached me he tried to do his underhanded claw swipe again, which I blocked by pushing his paw to the side. He used his momentum to lift his back leg up and kick me. I skidded a few feet and he came at me again. He went for an attack from both sides with his front paws raised, and as he did I ducked under the attack. He landed right behind me and I swept his back legs out from under him with my tail. I turned and jumped on him, restraining his shoulders and legs with my body.
I thought I had him, but he put his paws on my legs, and I felt an extremely painful jolt, something was wrong. I reeled back with my paws, and he took that opportunity to throw me to his side. He got on top of me himself, and since he was bigger and heavier it was impossible to move. He put his paws against my chest and I felt immense pain. My entire body flashed with an icy chill, and I could feel my breathing becoming harder by the second. I felt myself try and struggle, but eventually I could barely move my limbs. The pain was unbearable, I couldn't scream or cry, I was wondering why Norruth hadn't called the fight yet.
"Kenra, do you surrender?" Norruth shouted.
Of course I do. Why can't he see that I'm dying..? What was Vax doing to me?
Vax's face flashed a sinister grin. At this point he was barely restraining me, he had actually got off, keeping a paw to my chest and pretending to ask if I was okay. His face at that moment looked demonic to me.
"Round 3, Vax! Good job, both of you." Norruth called, walking over.
Finally, Vax lifted his paw. And immediately the pain began receding, and I was no longer feeling chilled to the bone. Had Vax used his ice element against me? How? I didn't see a thing, and surely Norruth would've. As Norruth got over he stood over me, still frozen against the floor, "Kenra? You okay?" He asked worriedly. He had to have used his element. There's no way. I wanted to tear him to pieces.
Once all my warmth had returned I rolled up onto my feet. And immediately lunged at Vax in anger, he was caught completely off guard as we hit the dirt. We rolled around for a while as Norruth shouted from behind us. Once I pinned him again, this time making sure his paws were pinned, I began mercilessly striking him with my paws. It wasn't more than a few hits before I was restrained by Norruth, as some of our classmates tried to help Vax stand up. "Kenra!" Norruth shouted so loud at me I felt it reverberate through my body.
He turned me around to look at him, "What's the meaning of this!?"
I stuttered out an answer as I breathed heavily, "H-He cheated! He used his element and wouldn't stop!"
Norruth looked unconvinced and looked over at Vax, who was acting like an innocent angel. He was stuttering about how I was crazy, "No I didn't! You saw, right coach?" He pleaded.
Norruth sighed and looked back at me, "I would've called it if I saw him using his element, Kenra."
"No!" I shouted, "He used it, I swear! He's a lying bastard and you know it!" I yelled angrily at Norruth.
Norruth shook his head and stepped back, "It looks like I'll be talking to your father about this behavior too."
I scoffed, "Good thing I don't have one."
Norruth didn't say a word. He ushered me to follow him. "Class dismissed." He said simply.
A few minutes later we came into the guardians room, where Spyro was standing around talking. Spyro must've been waiting for my class to be over before taking me home. They noticed our entrance, and Spyro smiled. "Hey buddy, did you do good today Kenra?" Spyro asked nicely.
I averted my eyes, and Spyro could tell something was off. As he looked at Norruth then back down at me, "Kenra… What did you do?"
[Gale]
"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Kaali shouted from atop a rather large play set that looked like a small castle.
"You're a tyrant, and a nuisance, lady Kaali!" I shouted up at her from the base of the walls. "These people are starving!"
She scoffed and looked down at me evilly, "The people can starve as long as I get my daily serving of sweets!"
"How could you? This is absolutely horrendous!" I said falling to my haunches, "Somebody will bring an end to this oppression, someday! You better turn yourself around!"
She snickered, "That's why I have a new order! The execution of any and all opposers to my majesty!" She swooped down from atop the castle and stuck a small toy sword through the space between my arm and my chest.
"No!" I shouted, writhing around until finally falling backwards with a grunt.
We heard clapping, and me and Kaali both got to our feet and turned to our mother, who was watching the spectacle from a few feet away. She was clapping vigorously, "Bravo!" She said with a giggle. Kaali and I bowed a few times, as if it was a professional play.
After a few seconds we both ran at Cynder giggling, and jumped at her. She fell backwards, and futilely tried to defend herself as Kaali and I licked and nuzzled her face. She brought her paws around the two of us and held tight, "Aha! I got you little troublemakers!" She said, then sat back up whilst holding us and nuzzled us mercilessly, we all laughed.
The door suddenly opened, and Kenra walked in, followed by Spyro. Kaali and I both yelled out simultaneously, "Una!"
Cynder smiled, "Hi! How was your day..?" She said, slower the more she said it as she saw Spyro's face.
Spyro looked down at Kenra, "Go to your room." He commanded.
Kenra looked up at him in shock, "But-"
"Now!" Spyro yelled, causing me and Kaali to lower ourselves and hide as well. Kenra nearly jumped in fright as he turned and scampered up the staircase quicker than ever.
Cynder looked shocked, then she lowered us to the ground. "You two stay here and keep playing alright?" She said with a loving smile, we looked at each other and nodded begrudgingly.
As she walked off into another room with Spyro, me and Kaali looked at eachother. Than she gestured to the door, and we both nodded a silent message. We snuck quietly around the corner and over to the door they were behind, listening intently.
"He attacked another hatchling Cynder, I have to be stern about it." Spyro said.
She hummed unsure, "There had to be more to it than that Spyro. Kenra's never acted like that."
"He kept going on about how this other hatchling was cheating, and that he was always messing with him." Spyro said slowly.
Cynder sighed, "Then it sounds like the other one needs some discipline, don't you think? Kenra's a quiet hatchling but he's not a pushover. If he went off and attacked somebody it had to have been provoked."
"Norruth said that no rules had been broken whatsoever. Maybe Kenra's just competitive, and didn't take losing too kindly." Spyro reasoned.
"Spyro, did you try talking to him before yelling?"
An audible silence radiated from the room, "He refused to talk to me. Other than the words "Stop pretending to be my father.""
A long silence filled the room, before Cynder sighed, "Just… let me talk to him, later. I'm going to make dinner."
"Okay."
Me and Kaali raced away from the door, back to the room. And looked at each other in surprise, "That's not what Kenra would do…" Kaali said quietly.
I shook my head, "No, he would do it. Just not without a really good reason." I stopped for a moment, "I'm gonna go talk to him."
Kaali nodded, "I would too but… he probably will only let you. So, good luck." She said, patting me on the shoulder.
I ran up the stairs as quietly as possible. I crept slowly through the hallway and passed my room the the last door. I knocked on it briefly, before slowly nudging it open with my muzzle. The room was pitch black for me, and in the center on the bed was a lump, covered by a blanket.
I walked a few more steps inside, "Kenra?" There was no response.
I got closer to the lump, "Kenra, wanna hang out?" I asked slowly.
Again I gained no response, and finally I nudged the blanket, "Or talk? I won't-" my words caught in my throat.
The blanket came off, and Kenra stared at me with his piercing blue eyes. He looked terrifying in the dark, towering over me stil, the only thing visible to me being his eyes. He snarled, "Get out, Gale."
I backed up a bit, squeaking in fear. "I just wanna help…" I said quietly.
"I don't want help from any of you. Leave."
I couldn't help it as a few tears began to fall from my eyes. Kenra seemed to realize that, and his face fell into a regretful expression, "Gale I… Kunmai I didn't-.."
I didn't hear any of it, as I had already turned and sprinted out of his room, slamming the door with my tail. As I came down the stairs, Cynder was there, wondering what the sound was. Realization hit her as she looked at me pitifully. She saw me crying and brought me into her arms, nuzzling me, "Shh… little one. Whatever he said, he didn't mean it. I promise."
Kenra didn't eat dinner that night. No matter how much Cynder offered. And she said the only thing Kenra would talk to her about, is to tell me that he was sorry. But how did I know that the message was actually Kenra, or just Cynder trying to get me to stop crying?