I'm really surprised. Already, I've received a lot of views. Must mean that the people reading his so far care. I'd'nt think that I'd be good enough to receive all of this praise and all that jazz. Thank you for the support.
Anastasios
P.O.V. Shift - Zero
I felt an annoyance. Something was jostling me while I was sleeping. I moved my paw and swatted at it. It went away. I smiled, thinking that I had power. But it just came back! This pest is driving me insane! I opened my eyes, and glared at the pest. It turned out to be Star, who was awakening me for something… but what was it?
"Did you forget, Zero? The first day of school is today, for you at least," she said wearing this huge grin on her face. In my mind, I imagined myself get crushed by a pile of bricks as the realization hit me.
"...Are you serious!? Am I late!? I got to go! But where is it!?" I shot up out of the bed and onto the floor, only to become instantly dizzy. Shit, I stood up too fast. Meanwhile, Star was giggling at my predicament. One day Star, I'll take you down a notch… eheheheheh. I shook off my dizziness, and my senses finally kicked in. I smelled… a very delicious meal awaiting me to start me off on my day. Duty calls for the bottomless pit of a stomach I have. I chuckle in my mind before exiting my room, going down the stairs, with my tail swishing back and forth in agreement.
I stood in front of a temple of some sort. This was where Star led me to. She told me to wait for Spyro and Cynder here, so here I was, sitting on my haunches, with a bored look on my face. I'm guessing that this was where we would all learn about the history of dragons. I yawned loudly, but no one heard, likely because they weren't allowed on such sacred grounds. I decided then that I would pass the time by taking a short nap. I was awoken quite early as a matter of fact.
I had napped for a good bit when I was nudged by something soft, likely a wing. I cracked my eyes open, blearily looking around to find out who this was. My vision was clouded, so I blinked away the cloudy substance from my eye.
Confirming my suspicions, Cynder and Spyro were standing in front of me, Spyro smiling innocently, but Cynder, however, had a smirk gracing her lips.
"Napping? On the first day of school? If you were in class with Cyril, he would have likely gave you quite the scolding."
"Cyril..?" I said tiredly… my muscle were aching, likely from laying on hard ground for a while. "Who is Cyril?"
"One of the Guardian Dragons," Spyro chipped in. "He knows a lot about elemental attacks. There's also Terrador. He's the combat trainer. Finally, Volteer is the Guardian Dragon teaching about dragon history in general."
"Yeah, but watch out for Volteer. Once he starts talking, he'll bore you to sleep," Cynder said. I deduced that she had fallen asleep a couple times or so.
"Hey, his teachings are actually fun. It goes as deep as dragon ancestry, and how dragons first gained their elemental attacks, and then there is how the Guardian Dragons first formed, dragon anatomy…"
"Ugh. Spyro, you're starting to talk like Volteer." Cynder playfully whacked him in the wide of his head with her wing, just like how she nudged me with it. She motioned for us to follow her, and while Spyro was grinning with a blush, he started forward without a single hesitation. I hesitated to admire the deep friendship those two shared. It got me to wonder if there were any other dragons learning under the Guardians. I shook my head, chuckling inwardly, before I followed the two friends inside the temple. It looked small on the outside, but it was fucking massive on the inside! There were separate chambers, presumably the rooms where the Guardians had slept. There was also a large, spiral staircase, from which Cynder and Spyro were climbing. I felt that there was more than what met my eye, so I followed them up the stairs. I soon heard some voices, which gradually got louder as we got closer to the top. We eventually reached the top of the stairs, where the Guardians seemed to be in some kind of meeting in this classroom-esque environment.
"Good morning!" said the ever cheerful Spyro. The ice guardian, whom I assumed was Cyril, first locked eyes with Spyro, then glared at me. Was he supposed to be like this? Cyril was a cyan colored drake, with frill on the sides of his faces, and the membranes were a bright purple, the same as his wing membranes and underbelly. His wings were a duller cyan color, almost like ice. His spines were actually the color of ice. They also seemed jagged, and his tail tip even had six spikes of their own. There were a few white specks here and there on his body. His irises were a beautiful sky blue. Lastly, his horns took the appearance of ice stalagmites. This is such a majestic appearance for a dragon that seemed very judgemental. Ironic, don't you think?
"Spyro. Cynder. Who is this fellow dragon?" the ice guardian said coldly. Ha, coldly! Get it?.. I'll shut up.
"Cyril, this dragon stood up for Cynder yesterday. He also moved to Warfang the same day, and he got into a fight with a dragon who was antagonizing us. I'm afraid that things would have been much worse hadn't Zero stepped in. His family moved to Warfang so Zero could get educated," Spyro explained to Cyril, whose gaze softened after he finished explaining.
"Stood up for Cynder, you say?" spoke up the malachite colored dragon, presumably Terrador. Like I said before, his scales were the color of malachite. His horns, which seemed to take the appearance of jagged rocks, along with his spines, were an earthen color, along with his underbelly, frills, and his wing membranes, which had holes in them. His tail ended in a rock club of some sort. I wouldn't want to get hit by that anytime soon. It'd probably leave a bruise the size of my paw. There were some toxic green splotches in different areas of his body, and his eyes… toxic green as well. This dragon looked like he was ready for any kind of battle, by telling of his rough appearance.
"Y-yes… I did stand up for her. I don't care what she was originally known for. Cynder is a young dragoness. She shouldn't deserve any of this. It was Malefor's fault," I spoke calmly, feeling all eyes puncturing my skull.
"Well, Terrador? Should we allow this dragon in under our teaching? It's ultimately up to you," Cyril calmly said to Terrador, who was deep in thought. Terrador was weighing out the pros and cons, but it looked to be that the pros outweighed the cons, because he smiled and looked down at me.
"I believe we should Cyril. Zero has given Cynder the benefit of a doubt. He didn't care of what Cynder did under Malefor's control, instead, he did what no other dragon would even think of doing. Not only that, but he has a buried potential," Terrador said wisdomatically. My heart instantly skipped a beat. I wish I had a "that was easy" button right now.
"Well, you're all here just in time then. Except for another dragoness. She should be making her way here soon. Oh hoh! It's time to get class started! Come on now, Cynder, Spyro, Zero; make haste, come forward, scurry along at once!" spoke the electric guardian. This was obviously Volteer. And like Cynder said, he sure liked to talk. Volteer's scales were an electric yellow, with some lightning markings around his body. His underbelly, horns, spines, and wings were a lavender color. His wing membranes were a duller shade of electric yellow. His tail ended in two spikes curving and jutting out. His eyes were a peridot color, and they glowed with energy… I think I'm going to get shot one of these days.
I started walking forward to an empty desk, which I had just noticed, but there were no chairs. That makes much sense. We can just sit on all fours, unlike humans. It'd make things much easier if I could sit on all fours as a human. No more having to sit in chairs with criss-crossed legs.
Cynder and Spyro sat down next to each other in the same row as I was. Just as Volteer was about to open his mouth to speak, a shrill voice said, "Wait!" A feminine voice. I looked over at the top of the stairs, and a dragoness with periwinkle colored scales stood there, panting. She hurriedly scuttled on over to the fourth desk, with was beside me, before sitting her haunches. This must be the other student here. She had a white underbelly, and her horns were white, and spiraling back. Her tail ended in a sharp blade, similar to Cynder's. The most defining feature about this dragoness was that her scales shimmered a bright green from the sunlight shining through the window. I don't know how long I was observing her, but when she looked over at my way, I snapped out of my daze with a small red hue surfacing on my cheeks, and I looked away at Volteer.
"Welcome, welcome, Vita. You've arrived just before we were about to start. It would have been most substantially unfun hadn't you to arrive. I was about to get started on the origins of our ancient, primeval, prehistoric ancestors, and how we originated from them," he said excitedly. Man, this guy sure knew how to make up words from out of nowhere. And he seemed pretty excited to pass on his knowledge. But putting that aside, I'm going to learn how dragons came to be! I felt myself smile goofily at Volteer, from which he made note of my apparent eagerness to learn.
"The beginning of dragonkind did not begin with dragons. Many theorists originally thought this to be true, and so, theories sprung forth as to how we came to be. The theory that holds its place today to show the basis of whence we came forth, started at the beginning of the world being created. Or rather, heh, after it was created." This sounds familiar I thought, intrigued that one of the theories of mankind exists in this world. "We all know that there are tiny organisms invisible to the naked eye, and we know this because dragons do get ill and become weak. What else could cause this kind of reaction? It would be preposterous, absurd, and even laughable to think that no such thing would ever exist. Those organisms eventually evolved into a wingless dragon, a lizard that I like to call it. Those lizards thrived in our world, just like how moles, dragons, and cheetahs thrive today. One day, a lizard, through means that we don't know of yet, was born with wings; the first dragon had been born that day." Huh. Must mean that no wings is a dominant gene, from my calculations that is. If there were many lizards without wings… then what happened to the lizards? I raised my front left paw, grabbing Volteer's attention.
"Yes, Zero? What is on your curious mind right now?"
"What exactly happened to the lizards? I've yet to see a single lizard. All I see is… well... us."
"Ah, yes, a very perplexing question. To tell the truth, not even I know!" I heard Cynder fighting the will to laugh. I'm going to guess that this is a first to her.
"However, dragons have this foreboding feeling that these lizards went extinct. All that was left were many dragons of all different kinds. It's astounding to think that in such a short period of time, a species went missing! What could have happened that made the lizards go extinct? It's frightening to think about what could have happened. But nevermind that, back on track."
"Soon, through sexual intercourse, more and more dragons were born into our world, and the dragon population began rising higher than the lizard population. Throughout every continent, dragons thrived and lived and prospered. The magnificence of it all is that we all could think and perform many tasks on a mind not quite so dumb, unintelligent, and dense. Our minds allowed us to live to this day. Spyro and Cynder, you two used your minds to defeat Malefor once and for all. You get to live to this day. We all do. All because of our brains. It holds a lot of power."
I nodded in agreement with Volteer's statement. This was turning out to be a blast already. There was so much I didn't know about dragon history, and now I'm learning this this very moment. I loved learning back on Earth… with all my friends. I wonder how they are doing… damnit. I'm getting emotional again. I'm guessing that Cynder noticed my sudden shift in atmosphere, because I felt a paw on my shoulder, prompting me to turn my head towards her. Spyro was also looking over at me, wondering why the sudden shift in mood took place.
"Are you okay Zero? You're crying…" I finally noticed the slickness of my cheeks, and indeed I was. Perhaps I was missing my friends. Perhaps I yearned for the happy memories of them. I shook my head, forcing a smile across my muzzle.
"Yeah… just reminiscing on some happy memories."
"Well I won't pry in on it. But should you need someone to talk to, Spyro and I are here for you." She gave me a comforting smile to me, which I returned without any force; an all natural smile of gratitude if you will. Volteer wasn't talking the whole time we did, and once we looked up and at him, we found him gazing down at us with a grin.
"Amazing. It seems you two are already great friends. I'm proud of you Cynder. And you as well Zero," Volteer said cheerfully. I felt embarrassed from feeling all of this attention on me, while Cynder looked to be completely fine. How does she put up with this exactly?
"Zero is your name, huh?" the periwinkle dragoness, Vita, said to me, with a hint of curiosity. I turned my head towards the dragoness whom I found was beautiful. Even then, I couldn't keep my heart rate from increasing. It's like talking to a high school crush.
"Y-yeah. And yours is Vita, right?" I received a nod of confirmation.
"Yes. I've heard of a silver-scaled drake who stood up for Cynder. That's you, right?"
"...Mhm..." Where was this leading?
"Then I would like to thank you. There needs to be more people like you standing up for her. You probably know of the reputation she has, right?"
"Right," I replied with distaste of the people acting towards her.
"Look out for her and be a friend. She'll do the same for you, and so will Spyro. I've stood up for her plenty of times. She trusts me because of that. She trusts you now. Don't lost her trust, alright?" she said with a hint of experience. I deduced that, from what Vita said, Vita protected Cynder a lot. Spyro must have been protecting Cynder since their arrival in Warfang… that was kind of romantic now that I think about it.
"Got it Vita." Finally we were all back on track again, and Volteer began speaking again.
"Elements. All a part of our ancestors origin. The lizards, though they were unable to breath any element, when the first dragon was born into the world, that dragon was able to breath the earth element. All different species of lizards produced different elemental dragons. From poison, to wind, and from electric to shadow, these newborn dragons brought forth a new period of time; the birth of the guardians. There were originally eight guardians, and every so generations, new guardians were brought forth. The guardians' elements were fire, electric, ice, earth, wind, poison, shadow, and the most uncanny of them all, fear." Fear? That was an element? Huh. Guess that I was missing some information from the original seven that I knew of.
"The guardians were the main protectors of dragonkind. They were also role models for many younger dragons. The younger dragons fight and battle and persevere through training, and they, in turn, get very strong, strong enough to protect themselves with ease. That right there is the dragon spirit, the flame dancing and burning with passion in our hearts," Volteer said with a wide grin.
"Our current guardians, myself included, were mostly wiped out, defeated, annihilated by Malefor. The fear, wind, poison, and shadow guardians were killed. That only left Terrador, Cyril, myself… and Ignitus."
I heard Spyro choke for a second before going into a hacking fit. Cynder was immediately at his side, whispering to him soothingly. Who was Ignitus? And why did Spyro react that way at the single mention of the guardian's name? My answer came very shortly.
"Ignitus was, in a way, Spyro's parent, and his only mentor. During the war, Spyro and Cynder were saved by Ignitus, but it was a sacrifice for his life. Ignitus perished in the Belt of Fire, while Spyro and Cynder had the whole world's fate on their shoulders." Immediately, I felt like a jackass for not knowing that Ignitus had sacrificed himself for the greater good. It not only let Spyro and Cynder save the whole world, but, it gave Spyro emotional damage. It was like me… when my father passed away on Earth. Damnit, stop it brain! Don't… cry…
"...I'm so sorry Spyro…" I whispered to him loud enough. Spyro wiped his eye with the back of his paw, before he forced a smile onto his lips whilst looking at me. "I-It's fine. I'm going to have to accept reality one of these days. I just wish… that I could have saved him."
"Spyro… it isn't your fault. Ignitus sacrificed himself out of love for you…" I heard Cynder say. Love… it was such an amazing, non-existent force. So strong… it can control you and make you never let go. I've never experienced anyone loving me… and I'm sure it won't happen anytime within the next month. I feel myself getting emotional again…
"Vita," I whispered. "Something tells me that those two are in love. I don't think they realize each other yet." The proof behind this was right in front of me. Spyro seemed to be contented by Cynder's presence. He also wore that dopey little smile on his muzzle. Those two indicators were the dead giveaway that Spyro loved Cynder. Cynder was hard to interpret, but I have a feeling she did as well.
"Agreed, Zero. Agreed." She whispered back. This heartwarming moment of true love and friendship has me sniffling for two seconds, and then Volteer speaks.
"This is all that I will teach today. While knowledge is very important, and I believe that it should be, it isn't reality, truth, nor accurate. Next, you will be training your elemental and combative skills with Terrador and Cyril. Now up you go, chop chop. I can imagine that Cyril does notl take kindly to lateness."
Cynder and Spyro stood up, and with Cynder's gaze locking onto mine, seemingly saying "follow us," I stood up from my haunches and began amble on behind her and Spyro, Vita quickly at my side after she got off her haunches. I hadn't noticed the archway leading into another room before. I guess my eyes were up in the blinding clouds. Awaiting past this archway was a large, circular room, with Cyril and Terrador awaiting us. Combat training. I knew how to fight, but I wouldn't be able to fight as well as the other three. So for now, I'm going to have to try as best as I could.
"Welcome. All of you. I suppose you learned a lot from Volteer, yes?" Terrador announced to us. I grinned at Terrador at the comment. He returned a small smile, knowing that we did indeed learn a lot.
"Yes, it was very great, Terrador. I've never knew so much about dragons than just a few moments ago. I'm fascinated ever so," I said, while Cynder just scoffed at me.
"How are you fascinated? I remember a certain dragonfly saying that Volteer's talking would bore anyone to sleep. What is your secret? And as a matter of fact, the same goes for you Spyro. How is it that the two of you can stay awake during his lessons?" Spyro and I locked eyes before looking back at Cynder simultaneously, both of us giving an innocent smile and the shrug of the shoulders. The black dragoness simply groaned at our naivety, before turning her head at a smirking Terrador.
"Anyway, let's begin our training session by testing our abilities. Zero, as you all know, is a new student because of his actions for Cynder. I'm thinking that we should have Cynder battle against him. Battles between dragons aren't just for show. Sometimes, it can sprout new relationships, and it can bring a dragon closer together in friendship. Cynder, Zero, does this sound fair to you two?" I looked over at Cynder, who seemed to be contemplating the proposal. A battle against a very well trained combateer? Welp, might as well surrender if this were a real battle, and she was still under Malefor's control. Cynder opened her maw and said,
"I'd be happy to, Terrador. I'm sure that Zero can handle a little bit of me. And I won't be holding back. Training means giving it your all each time, and not to just let it all blow over," the dragoness turned towards me, and held out a paw. "May the best dragon win."
She's wishing me good luck. Might as well take it. I reached out mine and grasped hers, in a pawshake. We let go, and Cyril was the one to confront me. He motioned for me to follow him to one end of the room with his head. Cynder was already making her way to her end. This should be very interesting. Though I'm sure that I know who the real victor will be in the end.
Once the two of us were in position, we stared at each other, awaiting the guardians' signal.
.
.
.
"Begin!" loudly said Cyril. It seemed as though the two of us had the same plan in mind, because I noticed that she circled me as I circled her; we were both sizing each other up, studying each other's movements, waiting for the other to make the first move. My thoughts got interrupted as Cynder shot forward, intending to take me with her sharp claws. My fight-or-flight response kicked in naturally, and my first choice was flight. I jumped back from her attacking claws, but then, using my hind legs, I rebounded forward and barrelled into the dragoness, sending us both to the ground. Whilst she was distracted with trying to shoot me off of her, I used my wind element to the advantage. The air picked up, and exponentially gained more speed. Cynder finally managed to push me off, which was what I wanted. I'm a smart mind in a battle, and that was one of the many talents I had. The air was gathering in a tight, compacted area above her, and as I was flying through the air, I released it. However, this wasn't part of the plan, as she seemed to have sensed it. Underneath Cynder, a black disc appeared, and she melted into it, turning into some kind of shadowy mass. A shadow dragon and a wind dragon, eh!? I instinctively flapped my wings hard, trying to keep from touching the ground, but I was too late because of the fact that I had watched Cynder perform her transformation. Feeling the full front of the attack as Cynder jumped out of the shadows, headbutting me right in the stomach. The air was nearly knocked out of me. Damnit, another unintended pun! I was sent flying skyward, but luckily, I managed to maneuver myself into a flying position. My stomach was stinging from Cynder's powerful headbutt. Growling competitively, I began engaging in another skill I had acquired before I got here to Warfang. I breathed out an icy mist over my front claws, and the ice gathered on the tips. Cyril seemed to be somewhat impressed by my display, of which I made a note of. I cut off my breath, and what I had created was a pair of razor sharp ice claws. Try saying that five times fast.
I darted upwards, before performing an aerial backflip, and nose diving towards the dragoness. I was secretly using the wind to speed me up to alarming speeds. Cynder once again saw through this obvious attack, because she jumped up into the air as I hit the ground below her. I shook the dust from the eyes, as I barely stood up before she came down and landed on my back, forcing me back down. I immediately felt a searing pain shoot up my left hind leg. She was trying to subdue me! Clever. However, I wasn't done. I turned over, toppling her like a house of cards. I got up quickly, and with one quick swipe, I raked my claws against her flank, causing her to cry out in pain.
There was no time to be remorseful. If this was a war right now, I'd be dead for simply feeling bad for the enemy. I instantly moved when I noticed her about to get back onto her paws. I shoved the dragoness over with my body, and I moved atop her body. I successfully managed to pin her her forepaws and hindpaws… Did I just win? There was no order saying the battle was over… so why is Cynder smirking? All of a sudden I felt very tired, feeling my energy draining out of my body. I instantly collapsed against Cynder's body, and I felt her shift around and remove herself from neath me. She took her time to pin me, turning the tables. I felt her tail blade press against my neck, along with a sickening substance. That's when it hit me; "poison…" I mumbled weakly. It must have happened when I had received the leg wound. It makes sense now.
"This duel is over, with the victory going to Cynder," Cyril announced aloud.
I felt the pressure of Cynder leave my back, followed by a gentle prickling sensation on my wound where she had poisoned me.
"I've given you the antidote, Zero. It was a nice duel while it lasted. You have a lot of potential, I admit. It was just unused," she said, sort of complimenting me. I felt my strength slowly but surely seeping back into my body, and I turned over onto my stomach, looking at the guardians. They seem to be pleased with how I lasted that long against a well trained foe.
"A well job done on both ends. Zero, I know that you fought well, but judging by the fact that you are a bit more less experienced, did you have to fight at all during the war," Terrador inquired.
"No… it was mainly my father who defended us. The best part is him coming home each time there was a scouting party, or a force meant for destruction. I sort've taught myself. My mother saw my inexperience, and now I'm here." I'm on my paws by the time I finish this sentence. Terrador calmly judged me for a few moments before shaking his head whilst smiling all the way.
"Like Cynder said, you have potential, it just went unused. Cyril, you will first teach Zero how to properly use elemental attacks. And since Zero also displays wind attacks, Cynder, since you are the only other wind dragon here, you will aid Cyril. I'll oversee Spyro and Vita's battle for now. Cyril, lead them to the other room, please," Terrador said calmly. I just realize now that since Ignitus was gone, Terrador was now the leader of the guardians. No wonder Cyril and Volteer took orders from him.
Cyril, with the flick of his tail, gestured Cynder and I to follow him into once again another room with an archway that I did not notice again. This was going to become a theme rather soon, wasn't it?
We were lead into a large, circular room, just like the other room where Cynder and I fought each other. There was nothing special in this room, other than the insignias of the elements, from fire and all the way to fear. We eventually arrived in the center of the room, where Cyril turned around to face us.
"Zero. This, is my class. I will be teaching you about harnessing your elemental powers. What I saw back there with your ice breath was truly spectacular. Not very many can make weapons out of their elements. However, you need more finesse, and especially, more strength, which is why Terrador instructed me to teach you in this art." I nodded slowly in understanding. I knew that I was sloppy. I only strived to be better, just like how my family wanted me to do.
"We'll start off with a simple task, and that is to freeze the floor underneath your foes. If done correctly, the floor should be slick with ice. It usually results in them toppling over. If done incorrectly, nothing happens at all, or at the most, your opponent's mobility is halted." Cyril decided to demonstrate this maneuver when he opened his maw, and a quick, icy bolt shot out at the floor beneath Cynder. The ice immediately spread out a good five feet in radius, and I heard Cynder yelp at the sudden attack towards her, followed by a thud, and a groan. I looked over at Cynder, and she was glaring annoyedly at Cyril, whom held a ghost of a smile.
"Now then, Zero, while I won't have you practice on Cynder, like I just did, I'll have you do it on a dummy. All you have to do is concentrate your ice stream breath into a single point, and point it at the ground below a target, and then let go." I noticed all of the spare parts, which I hadn't noticed beforehand… damnit. They all started shaking, and then they moved and pieced together into the dummy Cyril was talking about. Looked up at Cyril, I waiting for his instruction. I received a slight nod after a few seconds, and I focused my eyes at the dummy, and then at the ground. I opened my maw, and I brought forth an ice breath attack, only I held it in place. I felt the pressure build up more and more. It seemed like it was about to burst at any moment.
Once I felt it reach the required amount of power it needed, I let the attack go, making sure to aim it at the floor. The floor beneath the dummy froze, and the dummy slipped and fell, falling into pieces once more. I did it! I did something! I felt a bit of pride within myself, knowing that I had succeeded first try.
"Great job, Zero. I didn't do as well my first time with that attack, I admit." This was going to be fun and strenuous.
Hoo… I was winded. Cyril and Cynder together helped me improve my attacks with ice and wind. On top of that, Terrador had us come back in, and I was told to fight Spyro and Vita… I lost both battles. Terrador told me that he would tend to me tomorrow so I can touch up on some basic attacks and a few advanced ones. I definitely deserved a rest after today, but right now, I was hungry, so the four of us were walking through the streets of Warfang to eat up at a another restaurant. We all made conversations with each other, getting along just nicely. I was speaking to Vita.
"So, Vita, how did you get to know Spyro and Cynder?" I asked her, feeling rather curious of her background.
"Same way as you Zero. Just another dragon, just another fight, and just another friendship," she replied back with a small smile. Gods… even her smile was beautiful! One of these days… wait? Am I to accept that I have a crush on Vita at first sight? It couldn't be… Anywho, one of these days, I'm going to have to take Vita for a treat. But only when it is well deserved. I know I'm stupid, but I am not that stupid.
"Interesting. Were you always here in Warfang? Or were you born outside of the city?"
"Inside Warfang was where I was born. I grew up here, and managed to survive the war in underground safe houses. I was scared the whole time to be quite honest," Vita said with a laugh.
"I mostly avoided the war. My family and I were in the forest, and my father fended off most of the grublins that dared to attack us. I was mostly scared for my father's life…" my voice trailed off at that. My human father had once almost died in a car accident during my childhood. He was drunk, but he could drive. One of the parts on his truck went bad, and it sent him into a pole, causing a chemical fire. My cousin had pulled him out after going after him. I was so shaken up that day.
I guess Vita noticed my prolonged silence, because I felt her looking at me as I looked down with a sullen gaze. "Zero? Are you okay?" I looked up at her with teary eyes.
"I… I don't want to lose my father. Or anyone. I'll be all alone. Again." Just like how I was back on Earth… Shit, I acted suspicious there. But luckily, Vita viewed it as a scary experience rather than suspicion.
"Spyro, Cynder, go on ahead and get us a table." Vita shouted ahead, from which Spyro replied with a "yup!"
I had stopped walking at this point and I sat down on my haunches, letting the tears drip onto the ground. It was so painful to even think of what happened to my family when we moved to that port town. It was so depressing… so stressful. So heart weakening. I don't want this to happen with my current family. I don't want to end up going through depression again.
"The memories… they hurt!" I shouted feebly at nothing. I felt my head being drawn inwards, while a pair of soft wings wrapped around my back. Vita was trying to comfort me. So what did I do? I cried it out into her scaly chest. Sure, we did get some odd looks, but it was like the moment blocked off the whole world. I needed some comforting. This day was truly emotionally nerve-wracking. My shoulders jolted with each pathetic little hiccup out of me…
"Look at me… I'm supposed to be a drake, not a bawling hatchling," I mumbled into Vita.
"It's bad to keep your emotions bottled up. You were doing it during Volteer's lesson. Why were you crying, then and now?" Vita asked of me…. I can't trust Spyro, Cynder, or Vita enough yet. They probably wouldn't believe me right now.
"...Just some memories that I'd rather not relive. I'll talk about it when I am feeling up to it. For now… just no," I replied for pulling away with a soft smile plastered in my muzzle.
"Thank you… y'know, for comforting me."
"Anytime, Zero. After all, any friend of Cynder and Spyro is my friend. Speaking of friends, let's not keep them waiting."
We both started heading forward to catch up with our friends. Terraform was right; my battle with Vita started our friendship, and now ours was a little stronger than before. Hopefully this stays this way for a while. I remember that I had secluded myself away from most of my friends on Earth. I wonder how they are doing…
P.O.V. Shift - Vita
We all left the restaurant happy that our bellies were bulging. We all waved Zero goodbye as he left us, probably going to go home. Once he turned the corner, I turned towards Spyro and Cynder with a hardened gaze.
"Something is up with Zero," I said, getting straight to the point. Spyro looked at me meekly, along with Cynder.
"We already know this. It seems like he doesn't want to talk about it, whatever it is," the purple drake said.
"Well, what I do know is that it has something to do with his family. Zero doesn't want whatever happened to happen again. I… had to comfort him. It seems to be that bad of a memory. It all started at the mention of his father," I explained to them. "He also has some trust issues. He'll tell us when the time comes, he said."
"For now though, we'll have to help Zero. He's our friend, and he is in need.
Sound like a plan you two?" Cynder said. Of course it was a plan. No one objected towards this idea at all. After all, the other two dragons were saved by the other dragon. It was only natural to help Zero all the way. The drake was in need, and right now, us three are his only friends in Warfang. I still can't help but wonder why he cried. What was that memory that made him cry so much? Why is it feeling like Zero is hiding a secret from us? I guess we'll find out eventually… I hope he gets a good night's rest tonight. He needs to after today.