Spyro had to rub the sleep from his eyes as he moved to find the "Leaders," if he had known offering his help would cause this much work, he probably would have thought twice about it. He knew Marshal meant well, and that the poor guy was probably ready to rip the wings off a few dragons, but he had a hard time believing Marshal had anything resembling a plan.
Actually, scratch that, he knew Marshal had no plan. The older dragon was definitely making things up as he went along. And yet, after three days, not only were they all still alive, but they were also getting stronger! It was not just the older kids either. Marshal had followed through on his idea of getting the younger ones into the mix as well. How he came to the idea of getting a few of them to think of it as a game, he would never understand, just like he could not figure out how some of the pre-teens had figured out how to play games of catch with balls of elemental magic that could leave craters in the ground if they failed!
There were a little over one thousand dragons, all below the age of 18. The number of dragons alone was more than he saw ever in his short life. Even when he was recovering in the Dragon Temple after freeing Cynder, they had only had maybe five visitors who stayed for all of an hour. And during the entire siege of warfang, aside from the guardians, he saw at most ten dragons (three of which had been trying to escape). When attacking the Destroyer, they only had maybe fifty other dragons with them (he was almost positive aside from Cynder and himself, the guardians too if he was pushing, everyone there was exhausted and were on their last legs). Ignitus was able to direct those numbers with ease and still seemed tired, and here he sat in a hoard of a thousand dragons. It took a group of ten to at most distract them, and all of them were tired. Except, it seemed, for Marshal.
Cynder and himself were not even really doing any of the leading; they were only helping out and offering advice. For some reason, most of the other dragons treated the two of them with calm indifference, some even with what he could only describe as distrust. How that worked, he still had not figured out, but it was honestly refreshing. No one was putting him on a pedestal and damn near, expecting him to save all their problems. Even the foxes were nice; they respected him, seemed to be cautious yet accepting towards Cynder by now, he was not a hero to them, merely one of another dragon who could help if they could not find anyone else.
It was nice, the constant work not so much.
0000000000000000000
Horhe was still pissed, even after three days. Harild was almost sure it was just for show by now.
Harild had been confident Marshal would have ignored or downsized the two of them after their initial introduction. And yet for some reason, partway through the first day, the wind dragon had come to them and managed to come to an understanding with them. He would admit it was very much a "You will do this or nothing at all. You look like you'd muscle your way into doing something regardless, so you are going to do something that doesn't cause unnecessary problems" relationship.
Thinking about it from that angle, that was probably why Horhe was pissed. The guy had an inferiority complex. But then again, so did he, but at least he admitted it! Either way, they were both involved in things, at least. Granted, most of it was Marshal using them to browbeat the handful of want-to-be troublemakers, as well as try and teach others how to wield their element. Considering they used to be the troublemakers, stopping the others was almost natural, even if it seemed weird. But hey, they were trying to survive right now, trouble should only be caused when it would not get others killed. As for the element, why the slightly younger dragon thought they would be the right choice, he would probably never understand.
"Morning, Boys. Still haven't killed anyone I see."
Harild and Horhe turned to look at the dragoness, which came to walk with them. She was an Ice Dragoness who was a vibrant blue with her chest a slightly darker shade. Her four horns, two out of the top of her head and two coming out of the side, curved perfectly backward, her tale was best comparable to a triangle with only the edges present, and she had tiny fins running down her back. And her wings had a blond coloring to them. She was ever so slightly shorter than Horhe. And every time she was near Horhe, Harild swore up and down, the guy would literally cool down and heat up at the same time. He swore he saw steam coming off the guy sometimes.
That was also why it was usually Harild who had to respond, "Not yet anyway. But if Tatsu, or I swear that damn brother of his, try and start any more shit again, I make no promises."
Luanda smiled and had let loose a light giggle, "Why don't you just throw, Dracul was it? Just point Stecra in his direction, we all know she'd love to test his...limits."
Harild was unable to suppress his scowl, "I'd rather keep my eardrums. Thank you."
Luanda giggled again and let a semi-comfortable silence cover the three of them as they walked.
Sadly, Horhe was never one for silence, and the longer he was in Luanda's presence, the more his brain seemed to work correctly, "SO. What do you think that punk's going to want to try today?"
Luanda's sigh was best described as epic, "I'd like a lazy day for once. Trying to keep the girls from freaking out was easy compared to the last three days of 'teaching.'" She had to hold her paws up and do an air quotes to show exactly what she thought of that word.
If there was one thing most of those who the other kids were calling "The Leaders" could agree on, it was that trying to teach anything to most of the other kids their age was like pulling teeth. It almost made them appreciate their school teachers more!
Horhe let out a breath of hot air, literally, before responding. "I could care less. I'm getting tired of this bull either way."
Harild turned his head to look at the fire dragon, "If you're that bored, you could always volunteer for something today."
A hard throat and nasal snort responded to that, "And do what, go play goody-goody with the foxes and search the dirt and trees for food? Deal with other people's waste? It's not like we have options here.
Luanda rolled her eyes and said nothing. Harild could tell she was agreeing but saying nothing, as usual, so he said nothing as well he could not think of anything to say either.
Horhe took the silence as agreement, "See, we're all getting bored."
Harild sighed and decided to cut him off before the rant started, "We know, you bubbling volcano. Let's just see if today's different before you go pissing on everyone again."
A grunt was his only response.
0000000000000000000
Elsewhere in the Cave, a young poison dragon was also making his way to the "Leadership Meeting." The dragon was pale green, with an even paler green on his chest, five horns, two coming out of the top of the head, two coming out of the side, and one coming out from the chin like small syringes. His tale looked like a leaf. His fins looked like pine needles. His wings were very light brown. He was one of the tallest dragons of anyone there, about a head bigger than Harild, and yet had to be one of the slimmest dragons there.
Despite looking tired, this young dragon had a vibrant smile on his face and seemed to give off an air of "piece in a storm." Which, to most, seemed almost contradictory for someone heading to the Leadership Meeting.
A harsh snort next to him was the only indication he received that he was no longer walking along. But the young male took it in stride without even looking towards the shadow dragoness who appeared next to him. "Good morning to you, too, Georgia."
The Shadow Dragoness in question gave off another snort, this time seemingly more indifferent. The shadow dragoness, the only dragoness in the entire cave who creeped out Harlid and Horhe enough to not mess with on sight alone. The only creature among their numbers with the claim of having done better in a fight than their illustrious leader (mostly based on the fact that she prevented him from being speared by a Dragon Deer), was not a morning person. Everyone knew it, and everyone stayed clear until such a time as she decided it was time to talk to her.
However, the poison dragon knew differently, having as many siblings as he sometimes helped, "Bright and bushy-tailed this morning I see. Is my ready attitude finally changing your ways?"
The dragoness groaned, "For the love of all that is holy, Kean, please stop with the morning person routine. We're already going to have to deal with three of them as it is, I don't think I can deal with a fourth!"
The now named Kean, a smile stuck on his face, but he did let out a sympathetic chuckle, "Alright, I'll tone it down. If you tell me why you seem to be in a slightly better mood than normal for this time of a day?"
Georgia's look of 'What the heck are you talking about?' was all that needed to be said.
Kean chuckled again, "Sure to most, you'd look like your normal," he slightly deepened his voice, "'I'll kill you if you look at me wrong.'" His voice goes back to normal, "But We've been classmates for how long now, and damn near neighbors for longer? There are subtle differences in morning actions that can tell a lot to those watching. And I'm guessing; I ain't the only one watching?"
Georgia was quiet for a little bit before sighing and letting an almost hidden smile grace her face, "Fine, You win. Yea, I'm in a better mood this morning. Fabree got that annoying cousin of his to leave me alone for all of yesterday evening. Was actually able to relax in peace for once."
Kean wanted to laugh; he wanted to laugh so badly.
"Hia Kean, Hi Georgia."
"Hey, you two, ready for the day."
Two new female voices entered the fray making Georgia's smile to transform back into a scow and Kean to turn to the two new dragoness who decided to walk with them.
One was a sparkling yellow, with a sun-bright yellow on her chest. Her two horns that came out of the top of her head looked like lightning bolts and leaned to the side. Her tale was four lightning bolts leaning in four different directions, all in a cone-like fashion. She had no fins. And her wings were more golden than anything. She was about the same size as that purple dragon and his blackish-purplish female friend who were always trying to help out.
And the other was a light sky blue all over her body; her two horns looked like a microphone and went straight up. Her tale looked like a megaphone. No fins and her wings seemed to be whitish. She, too, was about the same size as the purple duo.
Kean nodded to each as he greeted them. First to the yellow, electric dragoness, "Carmeta." Then to the light Blue "Audio" dragoness, "Stecra. Good morning to the two of you."
Kean was positive that if Carmeta smiled any brighter, they would be blinded. Thankfully the way she seemed to bounce everywhere was probably what saved them.
Stecra, on the other hand, "It's good to see you as well. What do you think we'll be doing today. I'm hoping for more of that magic circle stuff we were doing yesterday. It was so cool. O, maybe it'll be that whole extension of elements Spyro and Cynder talked about the day before."
As Stecra continued to try and guess what they might be doing, Kean almost missed Georgia's patented 'I wish I could kill someone, but I'm secretly glad I won't have to' sigh. This time, Kean could not hold back the good-natured laugh.
0000000000000000000
Marshal was already tired. The day had barely started; he was unsure if the sun had fully come yet as he had not checked. And again, he was already tired. Claw had learned pretty quickly that he got up early, so for the last three days, Claw made sure to talk to him first thing, and today was no exception.
"Damn, man, you look like you want to go back to sleep."
Marshal startled from his half leaning but still sitting position to see who the voice was. It was a wind dragon with the same type of colorization as himself, but his chest was more white than sky blue. His two horns looked like hooks as they leaned to the side, out from the top of his head. His tale had four hooks pointing in opposite directions, like a grappling hook. He had no fins, and his wings were a vibrant white. He was the size of Marshal, and someone Marshal was glad to see.
"Walf, Good. I'm probably going to need you to take care of a few things after everyone gets here."
Walf's head leaned to the side slightly, "Hm? Really?"
Marshal nod was firm and quick, "Yea. Claw requested some help, and while I have an idea of how to take care of it, depending on what the others say will detriment what I will need you to do."
"Alright, I can work with that. Any hint of what it might be? Let me know if I should be prepping for helping out with magic or with making sure someone doesn't get themselves killed?"
Marshal tried and failed to stop a snort, "Not this time, hopefully." A quickly forced cough to regain his bearings, "I'm hoping it's just Claw being paranoid, but either way…"
Walf could see where this was going, "Either way, you may need me to go where you're not and help out with some possible magic?"
Marshal sighed, "Damn, am I that easy?"
"No, just predictable. But I brought it on myself considering why you asked for my help."
"More like you demanded to let you help me."
Walf made a faux-innocent face, "Who? Me? The only other Wind Dragon here who hasn't been blown up trying to use magic? Surely never."
Marshal could not and did not even try to stop his laugh, "Sure, whatever you want to go with."
Walf smiled, but before he could respond, they noticed that the other "Leaders" were showing up.
It was time to get ready for the day. Marshal had already plotted out what he needed to say about what they would be doing for the day. He just hoped…
BOOOM
This thought process was suddenly interrupted by a powerful force, and the world decided it was going to defy the laws of physics.
Every creature in the cave was suddenly lifted off their feet while at the same time assaulted by what could only have been the pressure wave of an explosion.
AN: Yes, I am leaving it there. And yes, I did get a new chapter out much faster. Time skips are sometimes helpful, wouldn't you say. I actually thought it would take me longer, but the beginning came, and I could not stop typing. I was trying to write for Tournament of Elements, but the most I've been able to wrangle up for that abomination of a story is brainstorming. I actually have an idea of what each chapter will look like until chapter 9ish, all goes to hell, and I've finally gotten the eight new charters partially figured out with a description but the beginnings of a personality!
In other news, the world is still on fire...literally in the case of outside my window, and I'm slowly losing my mind, but that's nothing new, so the possibility of getting more chapters out is increasing. Hell, getting more out for this story alone is becoming more and more likely as I'm finally getting past this damn arc!
In story news, I'm having fights with Grammarly, and every time I reread my stuff I swear I find something wrong. I do want to apologize for any bad grammar that anyone notices; I no English good sometimes.
And on that note! Until we meet again, Happy reading!
Other's OCs mentioned in this chapter:
Tatsu and Dracul belong to Xer0ify (I promise, you will see these two wackos here soon; they won't always be relegated to Cameos, I promise!)