"Here for another go?" The fiery wolf questioned calmly.
Toshiro stood before him again as the sun began to set. There seemed to be a difference to the way he stood, a rigidness to his posture, and his hand was clenched tightly around something. Though it was obvious he was trying to suppress it, his Spiritual Pressure was drifting off his body in small tendrils of icy-white light. Blazefang had to let his power out in order to keep his fire burning near the boy.
"I promised I'd beat you today." Toshiro replied.
Blazefang nodded and once more opened the doors, stepping into the portal with the young prince close behind him. He immediately set himself ablaze once inside, and just in time too as Toshiro let some of his control slip. Ice shot out from under his feet and covered the platform in a thick layer, the wolf digging his claws in so as not to slip. His normally intense white flame seemed muffled by the brilliance of the ice around him. Before it was a little rough, a darker sheen to it to prove his underdeveloped skill. But now it held a lighter color and his flame reflected off of the cold crystals in various colors.
"Impressive. It seems you've already found the source of your power." Blazefang extended his flames to counter the intense cold, white fire fighting for dominance with white-blue ice. "I shall attempt one last attack. If you truly have found your power, it will not reach you. If you survive, my trial is finished."
Toshiro held his hand up, the one closed tightly, and finally released his hold on the object inside. In his Inner World he held the pure ice crystal, still standing in the depths of the lake. In reality he held a blazing ice-fire that unleashed a blizzard around them.
"I'm ready." He said to the wolf.
Blazefang held nothing back. Fire raised high above them in a scorching inferno and threatened to consume the blizzard in its heat. The cold intensified.
'He's not controlling it.' Blazefang noted, seeing how Toshiro's stance was still rigid, eyes blank. 'But that's not what he's here for. This is definitely the power at his core. All I need to do now is exhaust it before he loses total control and bring him to Lady Ruala.'
He let out a long, piercing howl and his inferno increased in intensity. If he had let such power loose outside this room the entire forest kingdom would be ablaze and his flame would be quickly spreading. The young prince flinched slightly as he felt its pressure but quickly reacted, lifting the hand with the white light high above him. Winds roared and ice spiked up from the ground, Blazefang using a heated updraft to lift off the floor. The tornado of fire was trapped to the center with snow whirling around outside of it.
'Come on, Ice Prince, exhaust your power. Before it takes hold of you…use it all!'
The wolf snarled and dove downwards towards the white haired child. His fire followed, roaring to life and twisting around in the wind to come at its target.
Sensing the danger, Toshiro held his hand out in front of him towards the diving canine. With a massive burst of Spiritual Pressure, a wave of ice-water rose in front of him and smashed into the oncoming fire. There was an explosion as ice and fire collided and knocked Toshiro to the edge, shocking him out of his stupor. Stunned, he turned to see where the wolf was, his blizzard dying down with no fire to be seen. Had he killed the beast? That was not his intention…he'd reacted instinctively.
"Well done, Ice Prince." Teal eyes snapped to the source of the voice and found the wolf sitting calmly in the center. However, there was no fire on the wolf, no color. He was a pale white like the ash left behind from a fire, and he looked far older than before. "You're power is stronger than I expected. Pardon me while I stumble around like an elder man."
The wolf stood, though obviously with a little effort, and approached Toshiro.
"I…I'm sorry. I sort of…lost control." Toshiro bowed his head.
"No need, I figured that would happen. My test is just to find that power. The next spirit gets the task of teaching you to control it. My last attack was to force you to exhaust your power before it consumed your mind."
Once the wolf mentioned it, Toshiro realized how exhausted he was. He couldn't even stand up yet and his arms shook as they tried to support even his small weight.
"I may be a little creaky in my ash state, but I can at least get you back to Lady Ruala in one piece. The girls will be glad to know you've passed."
"I did promise." The boy smirked slightly.
"That you did, Prince Hitsugaya." The wolf offered his back and Toshiro accepted, though it took effort to move his limbs enough to mount. "I should have known you'd keep your promise from the look in your eyes when you said it. You're a determined dragonling."
"Did you get that from Lilianna?" Toshiro scowled at the name as the wolf moved through the portal and away from the mountain. Toshiro had come to accept that the outgoing portal always took one straight to the beginning of the path.
"Ah, you've met the Dragon Keeper. No, I did not get that name from her; I can sense the dragon in your spirit. Being a dragon herself I'm sure she could which is why she'd call you that."
"I'd prefer not to be called that."
"The dragons will not listen, but that is probably a good thing. There is one absolute rule among dragons and that is NEVER to attack dragonlings. As long as they consider you one they will not ever attack you and if they must they will protect you."
"Why?"
"Dragons are a dying species. Even rival dragons will assist each other if it means their species will live on through their young. Over time that has turned into an instinct, to protect the young dragons no matter whom they belong to. So, I suggest you learn to live with it, dragonling, because the dragons aren't going to stop."
"You're not a dragon." Toshiro pointed out.
"Oh but I am. Anything that holds ties to fire I can be, and dragons are among my best friends."
"Then why a wolf?"
"This form was gifted to me by Lady Ruala so I could interact with physical beings and souls."
They were nearing the Greenleaf home, to Toshiro's surprise. The wolf walked faster than he seemed to.
"For someone who's exhausted their power, you're rather alert." Blazefang commented, spotting Ruala running towards them with Sofia as a horse beside her. "I suppose that's a survival trick beaten into you from your days as a Soul Reaper."
"Wouldn't say beaten in… more like forcefully learned." Toshiro rather painfully dismounted the ashen wolf only to find his legs would not hold him up. He gripped the wolf's fur tight to try and keep a standing position.
"I suggest lots of sleep." Blazefang turned away from him to Ruala as the guardian offered her support to the prince, relieving him of the boy's death grip. "He did wonderfully, Lady Ruala. The second spirit will enjoy teaching him."
The girl simply nodded and watched the wolf vanish back into the forest with surprising speed. Her attention now focused on Toshiro as she helped the boy walk towards the house. With how low his Spirit Energy was, it was best he took the next day to rest and recover it. She'd call Kirio in for her specialty and perhaps introduce the boy to a few new friends.
Toshiro went straight to bed and fell quickly asleep. Just before oblivion took him he heard the pleased rumble of a familiar dragon and grinned in his sleep.
Kind of a short chapter, sorry. I think maybe i'll go ahead and post the next one later in the afternoon, after I get some painting done. Then tomorrow we can start the day off with a chapter on Karin XD Bet you're all excited now, lol. So Shiro completed the first trial now and is getting some much needed sleep. You can probably figure out who forced him to learn vigilance while tired ;) silly Captain Shiba. Enjoy!