8 Years Later...
"Axel! Jeez!...Are you ever getting up?"
The tangled mass of red spiked hair merely grunted and rolled over, brushing her off entirely. Kairi pouted for a minute before an evil grin spread across her face, and she tip-toed closer to the bed silently.
The room was dark like a cave, save for the little crack of light coming in through the side of the shade. A bag rested at the foot of the bed, shoved to the brim with rumpled clothes and various knick-knacks, and anyone who didn't know Axel well might have guessed that the bag of clothes was actually an overflowing fountain. The room was littered with a sea of clothes, broken up by the occasional single boot or belt scattered here and there, and it all reeked like a chicken coop in the summer time.
Axel was buried in the center of the chaos, already snoring again beneath the light cotton blanket. He shifted a little in his sleep, completely unaware of the danger that crept slowly closer...
Braving the heavy parts of the war zone, Kairi made it right up to the side of the bed and, without warning, jerked the shade up quickly.
"Argh!" Axel shouted, instantly bringing his arm up and over his eyes. The sun around here was bright enough to annoy even the most sober sleepers.
"Kairi, what the hell? Couldn't you have just...I don't know...poked me or something?"
The younger redhead smiled sweetly in return.
"I do whatever I have to get your lazy ass out of bed...I mean, come on, Axel! Didn't Leon just say yesterday that he had something important to discuss during the lesson today? And that you'd have to be up bright and early for training?"
Axel groaned and sat up slowly, running a hand through his messy spikes irritably. He blinked hazily around the room as his eyes adjusted, wincing when his gaze feel once again on the blaring light from the window.
Suddenly, his emerald eyes widened, and he snapped his attention back to his younger sister.
"Damn it, Kairi! The sun's been up for hours, hasn't it?" he snapped, glaring fiercely.
"It's not my fault you sleep like a rock...And besides, you need to start taking responsibility for your own problems. I'm not always gonna be around to baby you, you know!"
Axel snorted, jumping out of bed and heading straight for a mountain of clothes piled high next to the closet.
"I'm fine by myself, thanks," he grumbled, digging through the mess. "Leon and I're probably gonna leave here soon so I can get some more training anyways. I'm just worried that you can't look after yourself!"
The young girl smiled softly, much more like her usual self. She came over quickly to the spot he was kneeling by and gave him a good whack on the head.
"Ow!" Axel rubbed his temple briefly before pulling out a long, simple green tunic and slipping it over his bare chest. "You can't blame a guy for worrying!"
"I know..." Kairi watched him dig frantically for a few minutes before she shook her head and sighed.
"I'm gonna be fine! I'm a big girl now!" she smiled proudly, flexing her skinny left bicep. "I've been managing this house and cleaning up after you for how many years now? I think I can do it just fine without you in the equation!"
Axel looked up, dumb-founded, as his sister walked over and dove her hand into a pile of clothes behind the bed. Within seconds, she had pulled out his trusty googles, and he gaped when she came over and dropped them in his hand, still smiling.
Even if he was still slightly peeved, he couldn't hold back a small smile in return. For all her nagging, Kairi was a very warm and caring person. She was fun to be around when she came out her shell and opened up to others a little, and all annoying baby sister crap aside, Axel couldn't have imagined the past few years without her.
"Now get your ass to that lesson, you bum. I'm praying I don't need to help you find the door too?" She was trying to act cute, but her eyes showed how innocent she really was.
Axel just huffed and stuck out his tongue, accepting the googles and throwing a small pack over his shoulder before he strode out the door, ignoring Kairi's nagging.
"Really, Ax! You're nineteen years old! I'm the only one who has an excuse to be childish around here!"
He groaned, slamming the front door on her, mid-sentence.
Leon's gonna burn my ass for this...
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Axel ran through the town like a madman, grinning and quickly waving to all the villagers he greeted on the way. But he couldn't stop to chat. It was busy in the square today, and the forest clearing where he was supposed to meet Leon was a good ways away...
Nalgo was only a tiny fishing village, a speck on the map that hardly anyone from the rest of the island kingdom would recognize or pay much attention to. It was quiet, quaint, and out of the way, sitting on a cliff facing the Azure Sea and walled from behind by a deep, dangerous forest. But the people there thrived on the simple life, catching and making what they needed unless it could only be bartered from passing ships.
It was very bright in the earlier part of the morning, a trait of the small village by the sea. A stranger might have been blinded by the intense bright light that rained down upon the rooftops, but Axel barely noticed it anymore. He had lived there for most of his life with his family, having moved there at the age of ten just before his father had disappeared...
Needless to say, everything had all gone downhill since then. His mother had grieved to the point of illness, and died only two years after Reno had disappeared, leaving a young Axel to look after his baby sister alone. But the villagers had been kind and supportive, sharing with them until they were old enough to live on their own, and together he and Kairi had gotten by just fine. It wasn't a bad life, not at all...But Axel was always an adventurous boy, and he wanted a little something more...
The young redhead pushed his way through the overgrown brush and branches quickly, not even hesitating as he sped into the dark, foreboding forest. After some time, he reached the little clearing where the trees broke apart, and the sun burst through to shine upon the grass below.
Suddenly, there was a large gust of wind hitting his back, and Axel spun around quickly to come face-to-face with large, fierce golden eyes.
"You're late, Axel..."
The redhead merely chuckled, and reached out his hand to stroke the hard, stoney flesh beneath the large eye.
"Yeah, yeah, Saix...Just chill...I made it, didn't I?"
The blue dragon sighed, lowering his head so that Axel could reach better.
"You made it...but Leon is not too happy about you showing up three hours late."
"Oh boy, sounds like that'll be fun..." the redhead chuckled, a tad nervously. "Did Cloud tell you that, or have you seen him today?"
"I've been talking to Cloud all morning. Leon's debating whether or not he should come to your house and burn it down...Maybe that'd get you out of bed... " The dragon cocked his head slightly, pausing before smirking down at his partner. He chuckled darkly.
"He says you're going to get it...oh, now that should be fun to watch!"
"What? What's he saying?" Axel whined back. He hated being left out by his supposed 'partner,' but he couldn't do much about it.
Saix and Cloud were linked by a special scar just beneath their left eyes, a mark they attained in battle with one another. This special mark between dragons allowed them to be able to speak telepathically to one another, and with practice and time, it also allowed a dragon to briefly see through the other's eye. Leon had told him that it was a powerful tool, useful for both fighting and reconnaissance missions.
Saix smirked, turning his back to the human. "And why should I tell you?"
"You big lizard! Who's side are you on, anyway?"
Their conversation was broken, however, when another large gust of wind shook the trees and flowers, and a large shadow appeared over the clearing. A large set of wings flapped, and the shadow slowly descended until it was sitting in the middle of the grass, large blue eyes sparkling in their direction.
The large, golden dragon lowered his neck slowly, and Leon slid off with surprising ease and grace, landing on his feet softly on the grass. The brunet quickly strode over to Axel and crossed his arms, glaring and tapping his foot impatiently. Axel just shrugged nervously.
"Okay! I'm sorry, Leon! I really am! You know I'm a heavy sleeper!"
The man's blue eyes narrowed further, and he held up a hand to silence Axel's pleading. He sighed, rubbing his forehead irritably.
"The path of a true dragon knight is discipline, Axel! You do know what that means, right? You don't have long before you become an adult and are ready to take the dragon trial, but first you have to understand how serious this job is! Dragon-riding is not some game; it is a way of life!"
Axel stepped away from his dragon, looking his master right in the eyes.
"I take this very seriously, Leon. If I even hope to be as great as my dad was one day, I've gotta train long and hard. It was an accident, I promise. It won't happen again..."
Leon sighed again. "Alright, I'll let it slide for today...Let's mount up and practice what I showed you yesterday..."
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"Whew! I'm beat!"
After several hours of intense training, Axel let himself slide off of Saix's back and into the grass, landing with a faint grumble. He stretched out on the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his tunic and watching the sun as it moved by slowly overhead.
Saix settled down beside him, extending well beyond Axel in the grass. He was still a fairly young dragon; Axel had only found and tamed him in the forest three years ago, not long before Leon had first stumbled into their quiet little town. But a dragon was a dragon, and even the young ones were twice as big as the average human.
"You really got your act together today. I don't think we've ever flown once without taking out several trees with us..."
Axel grinned and closed his eyes, enjoying the dimmer sunlight.
"Very funny. One of these days, I swear I'm gonna beat Leon! We came so close to catching them off-guard today..."
A shadow spread over him then, and the redhead blinked up to see Leon staring down at him. The brunet smirked a little at him, while still managing to look so serious...
"You wish, brat..."
Leon settled down in the grass beside him, and within seconds Cloud had bounded over and joined them. He carried a small deer in his mouth, only spitting it out when he settled down so that he and Saix could eat. The blue dragon accepted it quietly, staring off into space a little as he dug into the tender flesh.
"Practice was very good today, I'll give you guys that. I see a definite improvement in your strategizing, Axel...but you still need to work on synchronizing with your dragon. Feel his movements, feel his thoughts...Dragon-riding is a team effort, and without a mutual understanding between a dragon and his rider, you'll be knocked out of the sky before you even get to see battle..."
Axel sighed as he pushed his googles up onto his forehead, feeling all too familiar with this lecture.
"And don't waste your skills on performing those silly aerial tricks! Use them only when necessary; when you need to dodge an enemy, for example..."
Cloud chuckled deeply around a mouthful of venison, swishing his tail back and forth almost like a cat. "Yeah, Saix...Stop dancing around like a show pony and fight! Your enemies won't be impressed for long if you die!"
"Shut up!" the younger dragon growled, getting up and leaping into the air, a gust of wind tearing up the clearing in his wake. He flew off in a huff, a dark speck against the sun as Cloud continued to snicker. Leon just shook his head.
"I swear, I'm never going to make it to a ripe old age, between the two of you hotheads..."
Axel just grinned back mischievously. He then turned back to watching his partner's shadow vanish in the sky, leaning back into the grass. He sighed a little.
According to Leon, most dragon-human partnerships began when the rider found the dragon's egg and hatched it on his own with loving care. That was supposedly how Leon had bonded with Cloud; the man was a bit of an enigma, having stumbled into the village years ago, injured, and taking up residence in the dark, dangerous old forest. He didn't talk much about his life before, but Axel suspected that he had once been one of the great dragon knights himself..
He didn't doubt that the bond between the old hermit and his dragon was powerful; it seemed almost ancient, and as strong as a bond between lovers or family. It was as if they could read each other's thoughts and moves...like they worked as one unified body, flying together in the sky...
But Axel's bond with Saix was different. He had found Saix after he'd already hatched, wandering the forest as a young, hormonal male dragon. By some miracle, Axel had saved the forest from being burned or torn down completely in his wake, and had even somehow gotten the dragon to trust him. But Leon had warned him that the bond was unnatural, and not nearly as strong as a traditional one.
Accepting that fact for what it was, Axel and his partner each had a lot to make up for. And half the time, he didn't have a clue about what the blue dragon was thinking...
"I have some news I'm sure you've been anxiously waiting for, though..."
The redhead looked up at his master, eyes sparkling as his interest peaked. Cloud laughed with another big chunk of meat in his mouth, and Leon couldn't help but smile a little at his pupil's enthusiasm.
"I've taught you just about all I can, given the circumstances. So I think it's time we set out on a journey to further your training, and give you a glimpse of the world and what it means to be a true dragon knight..."
Axel almost jumped, looking much too excited for someone his age.
"You mean it? It's really time?"
The brunet nodded, looking back and meeting Cloud's eyes before turning back to him.
"We will go with you as far as we can, and when we deem you worthy, you two may go it alone. But I warn you now, Axel...The true dragon knights are now dead and gone. The ones that remain are greedy, selfish, and weak; they gave into the queen's power without so much as a fight and now they serve her evil whims, bullying the people they were once bound to protect. If you still wish to become a knight after all that you see, I will not stop you from going to Arentail and taking the trial. But I hope you will continue to aspire for better things. I hope that you will keep working to be the knight your father was, and never surrender your will and values for the will of another..."
Axel calmed a bit, listening to his words and nodding in affirmation. He then laughed a little, and Leon didn't fail to note the slight bitterness in his voice.
"I promise, Leon... I'll be better than my dad ever was. I'll never let anyone down..."
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The next day, all of the villagers gathered in the large, white cobblestone square, watching as Axel tied a large pack to his dragon's saddle, tightening the belts so that it wouldn't shake loose in poor conditions. Leon and Cloud had yet to show up, so the redhead used this time to say goodbye to the people who had done so much for him.
"Are ya sure ya want to be doin this, Axel?"
The redhead turned to see the old blacksmith Cid standing behind him, wearing a dusty tunic and a worn, concerned expression. The boy smiled, pushing his googles back a bit on his forehead before he went and embraced the old man warmly.
"Ya know ya can stay, right? Now's a bad time tuh be joinin the knights, ya mark me!"
"I hear ya, old man," Axel shot back, grinning playfully. " But this is something I want to do. I want to find out why my dad just left us here, and all the stuff mom wouldn't tell us...And see a little bit of the world out there!" He hoped for a little adventure on his journey...
Cid smiled back, but even as his wrinkles moved, the smile didn't completely reach his eyes.
"Be safe, lad. And know ya can always come back if ya need tuh."
Axel grinned back, punching him lightly in the arm.
"Thanks, Cid..."
The other villagers bid his goodbye as well, each of them trying to give him food or something to remember them by.
"Guys! Guys! I'm not going away forever!"
Many expressed their concerns about his journey, warning him of dangers beyond the forest. Not all villages were peaceful and happy like this one, which had the blessing of being small and not very noticeable. There was violence in the other cities and villages, where the cruelty of the queen stretched far across, like a shadow blocking out the beautiful, brilliant rays of of the sun...
"I know..." he replied to each of them. "That's why I need to go see it for myself. I need to know the people I'm fighting for, and what I'm fighting for! Experience is the only way I'll get any better..."
Last but not least, Kairi came forward with a small pack of food for the trip. Looking back at the grumpy and over-saddled Saix, Axel laughed heartily and accepted the food, slinging it over his right shoulder easily.
If we get any more food and supplies for the trip, we're never gonna make it back off the ground! He laughed to himself.
Kairi quivered a little as she stood in front of him, and Axel stopped laughing for a minute so he could watch her. Despite his sister's assertion that she'd be just fine, the older redhead could see small tears forming in her bright blue eyes as she embraced him. He sighed and smiled, ruffling her hair softly.
"I'm not gone for good, Kai. You said yourself that this would be good for me... 'It's character-building, and lots of hard work!' I believe those were your exact words..." Axel chuckled, imitating her nagging pitch almost perfectly. He smiled playfully, reassuringly, as his sister slowly looked up from where she was buried in his shirt.
Slowly, Kairi wiped a tear from her eye and stepped back, smiling back.
"Yeah...Just be careful out there, Axel..."
Just then, some of the crowd moved aside as Leon came walking into the square, his faithful golden dragon strutting proudly behind him. Cloud really did look regal in the bright sunlight, as it reflected on his rock-hard scales and gave him a brilliant glow.
Axel patted Kairi on the head one last time as he turned to go.
"Don't worry, Kai...I will..."
In a slow, but excited procession, the young dragon knight hopeful left with his master to begin their journey beyond the forest. And as everything familiar to him faded into the background, Axel wondered what to expect of the large, exciting world beyond...