Happy Dragon Tuesday, everyone! Can I get a RAWR?
Today's dragon of the week is Gorbash from the Rankin Bass movie The Flight of Dragons. It's one of my favorite animated movies of all time, and Gorbash is an awesome dragon, even though we technically only get to see his character at the beginning of the movie. He's a young, impulsive dragon who is eager to prove himself on a quest to defeat the dark wizard Ommadon. I love him so much, I have him as my avatar on Tumblr.
Anyway, enjoy the next part of the switch!
Pyrrha opened Barracuda's stall door, bracing herself for an immediate attack. Instead of a swift charge, however, she saw that the blue-gray water dragon was awake and standing by one of the misters. She touched her nose to the buttons, her transparent second eyelids closed as the water covered her already-moist face. She walked past the mister slowly, letting her gills get nice and wet. As she walked along the wall, she noticed Pyrrha at the door and tensed.
"Good girl," Pyrrha said, holding up her hands. "I'm not going to hurt you. I hope you return the favor."
Barracuda turned around to face the new human fully, her eyes narrowed. She knew this one. This was one of the enemies. She bared her fangs, fanning out her head fins in a threat display. What had the enemy done to Russel? Where was the strong fire dragon who was usually with her?
Pyrrha took a step back, swallowing nervously. The dragons were now larger than horses at the shoulders, with long necks, large heads, and much bigger teeth. A serious bite from any of them would be severe, even deadly. "It's okay," she murmured. "I'm a friend."
Barracuda snorted at the word "friend." She knew better. This human wasn't a friend. Why else did Russel always encourage her to attack her, that annoying fire dragon, and that stupidly-cheerful water dragon? She slapped her large, flat tail against the ground, making a satisfying thumping sound.
Pyrrha flinched, suddenly unsure of what to do. She had gotten so used to Titan, who was passive to almost everything. How did she deal with a dragon this obviously aggressive?
Then, she found herself thinking back to her dragon wrangling days, and felt herself growing calm again.
That's right. They were even more aggressive than this, and fully-grown. But…I can't just throw a rope around Barracuda and knock her out. She thought back, trying to remember a time when she had needed to capture a conscious dragon.
Those captures had always resulted in long, drawn out fights that involved much dodging, ducking, weaving, and finally roping once the dragon became exhausted. Pyrrha didn't have time for something that elaborate. She is younger, she thought. And there is limited space in here. That might be enough.
Resolutely, Pyrrha stepped forward. Barracuda lunged, and suddenly, the young Rider was a wrangler again. She jumped to the side, crouching down as Barracuda spun around. When the dragon charged again, she easily rolled out of the way.
Barracuda skidded to a halt, spinning around to gape at the red-haired human. What exactly was she?! Fanning out her fins, she puffed out her chest and let out a loud, bugling roar.
Pyrrha stood up and stepped toward Barracuda again, stomping her foot down loudly. She growled deep in her throat and locked her gaze on the water dragon's blue eyes.
Barracuda froze, digging her claws into the ground. This one was tough. No wonder her partner and the others kept trying to assert their dominance! She glared right back, trying to get the human to back down.
Pyrrha took another step, taking Barracuda's halter off of a nearby hook as she did so. She walked forward slowly, not taking her eyes off of the water dragon. As she got closer, she watched Barracuda's fins flatten and her eyes take on an unsure look. Quickly, she closed the distance between them and strapped the halter on, then stepped back.
Barracuda blinked at Pyrrha, raising a paw to touch her halter. Why hadn't the human attacked her?
Pyrrha let out a sigh. "Okay, girl. Let's check your food and water."
To her surprise, she only had to top off the half-full water dish. The food dish was full, and the litter area was completely clean. At least Russel takes good care of her. She stepped away from the bowls. "You should probably eat," she said gently. "Class is soon. Don't worry. This is only for today."
Barracuda glared at the human, then looked at her food and water dishes. Why had the human given her more water? Was she trying to get Barracuda's guard down? Still, she was hungry, and ended up turning her back on Pyrrha long enough to eat and drink her fill.
Pyrrha waited for her to finish, then quickly attached a rope to the halter. "Come on, Barracuda. Forward."
Still feeling incredibly confused and tense, Barracuda obeyed. She would be vigilant, so that this human wouldn't catch her off guard. For the time being, however, she could play along and see what would happen next.
Pyrrha let out a quiet sigh of relief as Barracuda followed her from the stall without further incident. She made sure to close the door tightly behind her. With how much Barracuda seemed to be using the mister, it would be all too easy for the inside of the stall to freeze in this weather. Thank goodness they're heated.
They arrived at the water arena late, but Glynda just nodded at them before continuing with her lecture. "So, you will assist the dragons in basic swimming exercises, similar to what they did at the beginning of the year. Mister Arc, I will help you personally with Specter once the others have started."
Jaune nodded, glancing at his temporary partner. He had managed to get Specter to follow him without incident, though the pale blue ice dragon had let out several concerned whistles on the way to the arena. He smiled when those black eyes turned in his direction. "It's okay, buddy. I'm not too bad."
Specter warbled quietly, shifting from one paw to the other. Storm had told him that they were switching partners for the day. He supposed that this was okay, as long as it was temporary. Jaune was a nice human.
Nymph was perfectly content to be with Nora for the day. She had figured out the gist of this switch relatively quickly. If she was correct, this meant that her partner was with Freya, and that was perfectly fine. Freya was a nice, easygoing dragon who wouldn't hurt Neptune at all. She was more worried about Ao Guang.
Nora was also keeping a careful eye on Ren's dragon, who was sitting next to Sky further down the line. I'm watching you, she thought. Lay one hand on Guang, and it's leg-breaking time!
Ao Guang, meanwhile, wasn't sure what to do. He kept glancing at Sky, half expecting the angry human to hit him or somehow summon Tornado out of the air. It was strange. The human had been very brusque, but not aggressive when he had appeared at Guang's stall. Still, the water dragon had refused to move for several minutes. Only a reassurance from Titan had managed to get Guang to follow this human to the arena. Apparently, he'd be back with Ren the following day. He just had to make sure his temporary partner didn't kill him or something.
Glynda turned to Pyrrha. "Miss Nikos, would you and Barracuda like to go first?"
"Of course, ma'am," Pyrrha immediately replied. Carefully, she took Barracuda's halter off and patted her shoulder. "Good girl. Forward."
Barracuda trudged after Pyrrha, her eyes narrow. Why was she doing her arena exercises with this human? This was very wrong.
Pyrrha knelt next to the pool and dipped her hand in the water. It was icy cold, which was to be expected. Water dragons are expected to swim in deep, cold waters on their own sometimes, she noted. The indoor pool lessons Neptune had mentioned were likely only for the exercises involving joint swimming. "Okay, Barracuda. Swim."
Barracuda sat down and huffed. She was not about to obey the enemy!
Pyrrha tried staring her down again. "Barracuda. Swim."
The water dragon snarled, narrowing her eyes. She wasn't going to fall for this again. She thumped her tail against the ground and stomped her paw.
Pyrrha looked helplessly at Glynda. "How does Russel command her?"
"Well, he usually- Miss Nikos, look out!" Glynda gasped, noticing too late the way Barracuda's mouth was opening.
Pyrrha instinctively jumped to the side just as a thin jet of water shot past her, right where she had been standing. She spun around, glaring at Barracuda, who quickly closed her mouth and sat up, giving her a very smug look.
Glynda shook her head. "She's very spirited. As I was saying, she doesn't respond well to orders. Mister Thrush generally speaks to her in a very offhanded way, if that makes sense."
"Offhanded?" Pyrrha blinked at Barracuda. I'm never like that…how do I speak in an offhanded manner? "Um, Barracuda. Swim? I suppose?" She trailed off uncertainly. To her surprise, the water dragon turned toward the water, looking at it as if she was considering Pyrrha's request.
"I mean, only if you want to," Pyrrha added, trying to sound nonchalant while looking intently at Barracuda.
Barracuda flicked her head fin thoughtfully. Why hadn't the human attacked her. She had been waiting for that, so she'd have another excuse to spray her. Instead, she seemed almost resigned. Barracuda sighed. Messing with the human wasn't any fun anymore. She'd might as well get this over with. Otherwise, they'd be sitting by this pool all day. She jumped in, thrashing desperately against the water, pumping her tail to push herself along.
Pyrrha frowned as she watched the water dragon swim. Are they supposed to still be this clumsy? She waited on the other end of the pool, watching as Barracuda put her front paws on the edge and pulled herself up. It was then that Pyrrha saw the problem.
The webbing between Barracuda's toes had holes, as if it had ripped through simple force. The skin was way thinner than webbing was supposed to be. Pyrrha knelt down, watching as Barracuda righted herself. She noticed for the first time that the water dragon walked with her toes clenched tightly together, likely as a protective measure.
Team CRDL has crippled dragons, too, she realized. She patted Barracuda's neck. "Good job, Barracuda. Good girl."
Barracuda blinked, too confused to bite. This human was being nice. Why was she an enemy if she was nice?
Jaune, meanwhile was leading Specter to a separate part of the arena, looking at some written instructions Glynda had given him. "Okay. Looks like we're doing attack moves." He raised an eyebrow. "Weird. Dragons usually don't learn combat till they're older. Let's get…started…" He trailed off when he turned to the ice block.
Specter was standing next to it, his tongue out and firmly stuck to the block. He narrowed his eyes and growled. How dare the ice betray him like this?!
Jaune bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Easy, buddy." Do I pull his tongue away, or…? He reached for Specter's tongue, only to jump back when the ice dragon growled sharply. "Okay. I'll wait." He watched while Specter slowly dislodged his tongue and turned toward him with it still lolling out of his mouth.
"Let's not lick the ice anymore." Jaune couldn't keep himself from snorting a little as he spoke, which elicited a grumble from Specter. "Okay, Specter. Right slash."
Immediately, Specter straightened up. He turned toward the ice with renewed determination, ready to take his revenge on it for trying to take his tongue. He flexed his claws and lashed out, easily slicing the block into pieces.
Jaune blinked, his mouth dropping open. "Uh, wow. Remind me to never make you angry."
Specter whistled proudly, smirking at Jaune's dumbstruck look. Yes, he truly was awesome!
Nora was leading Nymph to the pool. "Oh, you're such a well-behaved girl," she praised when Nymph padded ahead of her and jumped into the pool without prompting. She watched as the water dragon easily swam to the other side. I don't even have to do anything!
Nymph purred contentedly as the cold water coated her gills, and walked back over to Nora. She noticed that this human wasn't afraid of the water at all, and was dipping her hand in it with an easygoing smile. She wished Neptune could be that way. Even now, he was afraid. Nymph hated seeing her partner afraid or sad.
"Good job," Glynda said. "Mister Lark and Ao Guang, you'll go next."
Sky sighed and snapped his fingers at Ao Guang, who jumped and hurried after him, his head low.
This human had hardly said anything. Was he plotting something? Guang glanced toward Nora. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him, right? She loved Ren, which meant she also loved him. He was safe as long as she could see him. There was also Pyrrha. She'd destroy anything that threatened her friends. He still remembered watching her and Jaune deal with Cardin months ago.
It was this knowledge that gave him the courage to stand next to Sky by the pool. When given the swim command, he sucked in a deep breath and plunged in. He had gotten better at holding his breath and keeping his gills closed. He faintly understood that they were supposed to do something, but all they did was make him cough. He managed to get to the other side without taking a breath, which he was very proud of.
He let out the air in a loud gasp as he got out of the pool and shook himself. He flinched as Sky walked over and put his hand on his gills. The human was squinting at the slits. Then, his eyes widened and he looked at Ao Guang with a strange expression.
Ao Guang blinked. Suddenly, Sky didn't seem too scary. Cautiously, he leaned closer and licked the human's cheek. Ren always laughed when he did that. Would it work here?
Sky didn't laugh. He just blinked a few times. Then, he looked very sad for a split second. Then, his face went back to the way it had been before. He raised a hand, hesitated, then lightly patted Ao Guang's nose before taking him back to the lineup.
Pyrrha watched the exchange curiously. She then looked at Barracuda, who was finally sitting next to her without complaining. Perhaps…there is hope for Team CRDL, after all.
…
Before lunch, Pyrrha stopped by Titan's stall to check on him. To her relief, he looked perfectly fine. There were no bruises or signs of distress. Once she finished checking him over, he plopped his head on her shoulder, which surprised her. He wasn't normally so openly affectionate. Still, she was all too happy to scratch his neck and kiss his flicking ears.
"You're doing grand, Titan," she murmured. "I know today has been strange. Thank you for being so patient."
Titan blinked slowly, allowing his partner to continue petting him. He was so used to having her around, it had never occurred to him what it would be like to be partnered with someone else. While Russel wasn't the horrible person he had thought he was, he still was inferior to Pyrrha in every way. Titan was a very lucky dragon. He let out a sigh, which came out as more of a rumble.
Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat as she heard her fire dragon purr. She wasn't sure if he had ever purred before! Smiling, she hugged him around the neck. "I love you, Titan." She drew back to kiss his snout. "I need to go to lunch now. Will you be okay?"
Titan blew a puff of warm air through his nostrils and bobbed his head. He could handle whatever came the rest of the day. He was pretty sure of that.
When Pyrrha left, she heard Jaune's familiar voice saying: "You're doing so well! Who's my girl? Who's my best girl?" She couldn't help but giggle quietly as she approached.
Jaune looked up from where he was giving Twiggy a thorough back-scratching. The earth dragon was on her side, her hind foot thumping happily against the floor of the stall. He blushed when he saw Pyrrha. "She, uh, missed me a bit," he muttered.
"I can tell." Pyrrha smiled at the two, her heart warming as she looked at them. She waited for Jaune to settle Twiggy down and walked with him to lunch. "You are so sweet with her," she commented.
"Well, she deserves it!" Jaune said with a grin, his blush deepening a little. Being called "sweet" by basically anyone would normally be a little patronizing. Coming from Pyrrha, however, it made Jaune's heart do weird flips in his chest.
"So, how's Titan?" he quickly asked. "Is he doing okay?"
"Yes, actually," Pyrrha said. "He doesn't seem to have been abused at all. Also, I noticed something during class today." She quickly recounted Sky's exchange with Ao Guang.
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe actually interacting with the dragons they're bullying is making them have second thoughts. You think Cardin might have a similar change of heart?"
Pyrrha sighed. "I very highly doubt it."
When they got to lunch, the group started immediately comparing notes on their dragons. "Specter was pretty easy," Jaune said. "He got his tongue stuck on the block of ice, though."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "I don't understand why he didn't just stop after the first time that happened."
When Ruby came in and went straight for Cardin's table, conversation halted. Eventually, they heard her loudly accusing Cardin of threatening her, which was more than enough to get Yang over there. Pyrrha started to stand up, ready to step in if she had to. Thankfully, Yang was easily able to scare the team away on her own.
Or, most of them. Dove was still there, picking at his food, a resigned look on his face. After making sure Ruby was okay, Pyrrha made a split-second decision, remembering that day he had apologized for his team, and asked him to sit with them.
When he started talking to Scarlet, she felt herself relax a little. As she talked to the others, she thought about what she had learned. From what everyone was saying, Cardin was the only member of his team who was actually cruel. The others cared about their dragons, and Dove didn't even seem to want to be a bully.
Perhaps, if a miracle happened, the majority of Team CRDL would actually make decent Riders of themselves.
After classes, Pyrrha asked Jaune if he wanted to join her in walking their temporary dragons around the courtyard. She was honestly curious to see if Barracuda could get along with another dragon if she wasn't being egged on by her partner.
Upon seeing Specter, Barracuda snarled a warning, thumping her tail against the ground. This ice dragon was probably the scariest of all of them. She had to be extra careful of him. She still remembered when he had pinned Mudslide. What if he froze her paws to the ground?
Specter, recognizing one of the dragons that had attacked the rabbit-eared Faunus, hissed and flared out his head frills.
Jaune frowned. "Hm. This might not be a good idea."
"Agreed," Pyrrha sighed. "We should just walk them alone, then put them to bed."
"Yep." Jaune patted Specter's shoulder. "Easy, buddy." He shrugged at Pyrrha. "Oh well. See you in the dorm."
"Bye," Pyrrha called before turning back to Barracuda. "You poor thing," she muttered, patting the water dragon's neck. "You have so much potential. If only your teammates could get their acts together."
Barracuda blinked. The enemy was petting her again. She was so, so confused…
The plot thickens! Also, between here and on P/atreon, it would seem that most people want me to give the dragons actual dialogue. I'm already looking forward to figuring out the speech patterns and mannerisms of the dragonets! This is going to be fun!
If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
For writing tips, prompts, top 10 lists, and fandom rants from yours truly, check out my blog at soloragoldsun dot wordpress dot com.
Peace out!