Chapter 29 – Jean A5
In all honesty, Jean hadn't expected the meeting to go so well. He had fully expected Dante to light himself on fire and bare his teeth at the new comer who was so close to his raiser. And yet, almost the exact opposite happened. As Marco had walked into the room he had made eye contact with the dragon who had at first stared at him, unsure of what to make about him, before Marco dipped his head in a bow. 'Huh.' Jean thought 'I always thought you had to do the hand on snout routine'. But as Marco kept his head bent, he saw Dante's snout dipping as well, the two being equals in mere moments of meeting. Absolutely brilliant. The two appeared to have complete respect and formality for each, neither wishing to breach the connection. Well. That's how Jean saw it. Evidently, he had seen it wrong.
Seconds after the bow had been sealed, Marco threw himself onto Dante's snout, his arms wrapping around the jaw, giving a soft… hug? Marco threw himself onto a Monstrous Nightmare? A dragon that can quite literally light itself on fire? A completely tame on but still… As the two played in the stone stable that was Dante's home, Jean made a conclusion; He'd never fully understand either of these two, but gods dammit if he didn't love and care for them both with all he had.
As the bonds between the three grew stronger, the day of their final second year examination was drawing closer and closer. They'd have to have mastered the Dragon Fire Gear with their weapon in order to pass, capable of clearing a course that not even the most agile dragon can complete. The day drew closer and closer until it was even closer than Jean's toes to the starting platform of the examination course he now stood on. As Jean stood on that edge, he passed a deep inhale and exhale through him, allowing his body to perfectly align with the machinery that surrounded him. Every firing of a minute pin in his gear would feel as plain to him as a hand on the shoulder. Every tiny shift in weight in his sword would be completely in his control.
His eyes flitted around him, through the chains of the testing grounds, he could see both Dante and Marco, along with his other squad mates like Sasha (Still 'Potato Girl' in his mind though) and Connie. All of them were cheering as he took one more breath and allowed himself to fall.
The pull of the earth on his body was strong and in all honesty, exhilarating, but as he drew close to the ground, he felt a confident digit pull the release trigger on the hilt of his sword as he fired the first shot of many, losing himself in the pace of the course, wind blowing through his hair like the mane of a horse in full gallop until he finally felt his feet his solid ground once more. He was so shocked as he landed that he had to check if had missed some huge part of the course, but no. He had done it. He'd gotten a fast enough time to put him into the top ten.
That night was full of celebration for all of them; Most of them in his squad go in the top ten as well, Sasha, Connie, Marco and, most surprising, himself. As he and his squad mates drank the hours away, Jean felt something that he had longed to feel for years and years. True Accomplishment.
But the real challenge was to come the next day. For the next day, the 104th trainees began their journeys to find their dragons. He was one of the lucky ones, as he already had Dante, who was now a full Broad Wing Monstrous Nightmare. No… For him, the great challenge would be being without Marco. Jean had never thought of their relationship as necessary to him, but being without him, even if only for a few days would be his first big test… He had come to rely on him so much, and Marco on him the same way. So as Marco stood, a sack strapped to his back and a goofy smile on his face, Jean couldn't help but feel some selfish sadness alongside his pride about Marco's adventures to come.
"So you know which kind you're going for right?" Jean poised, already knowing the answer
" Well I'm not going looking for any specific dragon, more, I'm looking for a dragon that I could fight beside, who I'd fight for and who'd fight for me" Pausing a moment, he looked at the boy in front of him "Kind of like you" A soft smile playing at his lips and he started to feel his eyes wetting.
Jean couldn't help the small tear that rolled down his cheek, pride be damned, he stepped forward to Marco, throwing his arms around him and pulling him so tight that he couldn't move, feeling the same being thrown around him. They stood like this for what seemed like an eternity,
"You come back to me you hear? Don't do anything stupid." Jean whispered
Marco laughed fully "Oh Thor, this must be a sad day, you telling me to be careful; feels like it's the wrong way around!"
Jean felt the smirk spread across his face as he listened to the boy's laughter which was followed by his promise and plead,
"I swear I'll come back to you" Marco pledged, before pulling his face away and looking into Jean's eyes "Promise you'll wait for me."
Unable to break the gaze, Jean reached around his own neck, pulling off the worn leather necklace that Marco had given him all those years ago, he set about taking Marco wrist and wrapping it around it.
"There" Jean stated "now I'll have to wait for you if I ever want that back eh? And I have grown rather fond of it" He said with a smirk
Running his thumb over the pendant, Marco looked back up at Jean "Aye, that you will" He spoke, the smile never once leaving his face as he set off down the path, until he was nothing but a blip in the horizon.
As Jean stood at the path's beginning, the tears welling in his eyes once more, he felt Dante's tail press to his back gently, just enough to show his rider that his dragon was still there to support him. Jean's smile wasn't without struggle as whilst he was happy with Marco's adventure, he couldn't help but worry over him. But for Jean, with his dragon, right in this moment, he knew that he'd be alright, and from here on out, it was only going to get better.