Dragon City

Story by hazardbwb on SoFurry

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#10 of Rising Downfall

The ninth chapter of Rising Downfall. Will this be Guil's new home?


"You don't really plan on eating a chicken raw, do you Shang?" I asked my new canine companion while we were walking along a mountain trail.

"Hey, there's nothing like watching a chicken run around with its head chewed off," Shang replied licking his lips. I shook my head and just chuckled at him.

"You have an odd appetite."

"Hey, you're one to talk! Didn't you say one time you made a popcorn sandwich?"

"I got curious. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Then I guess there's nothing wrong with someone who really wants to know what a grilled cheese sandwich tastes like."

I looked at them with an interested, but curious, look. "Where'd you hear about grilled cheese sandwiches?"

"Um...well... I was peeking through your books while you were sleeping."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What? What were you doing with my books?"

"I couldn't sleep so I snuck into your bag and found a book with a page that had food on it. The most delicious thing I saw in there was the grilled cheese sandwich. I want to try one, now."

I chuckled at him and smiled. "Well, it seems we both like that certain type of food."

"R-Really? You had one?"

I nodded. "Yes, and they are really good. My sister makes the best around. Tell you what: If we can find my village, I'll have my sister fix you up some. We can enjoy them together. How's that sound?"

He barked and nodded. "It's a done deal!"

I smiled as we continued walking. Now, you may be wondering what's happening now, so let me explain. Shang and I have long left the forest and now walking alongside the mountains. Unfortunately, we have been wondering around for a good 3 weeks. We were lucky enough to find some random spots to rest for certain nights. Nine times out of ten, it would start raining and we would have to find shelter under a rock. It's been rough, considering we hardly had anything to eat. We did find some rabbits and deer to munch on, but even they weren't enough sometimes.

We had climbed to the top of a mountain to get a better view of our surroundings. I could easily turn into a dragon and just fly, but I was so exhausted and Shang was a little bit too heavy for my small, frail body. Just when everything had seemed hopeless, we spotted a village not too far from our exact location. I was hoping it was mine, but Hawktown was near any mountains. At least, not that I know of.

Climbing down in excitement, we rushed off toward the village. I could hardly wait to finally see some more civilization. We've been out here for a really long time and I had forgotten what a bed feels like, let alone what it looked like. We arrived at the entrance and what we saw took me by surprise: Dragons. Lots of them. They were everywhere! It was like a Dragon City. It was amazing.

"Wh-whoa!" Shang yelped out as he slipped behind me, a bit terrified. "Look at the size of them all. M-Maybe we should go..."

I smiled and petted him on the head.

"No need to worry," I told him. Most dragons these days are very friendly." Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my head as I clutched it, grunting softly. Shang saw this and he whimpered.

"G-Guil? Are you okay?"

I rubbed my head and nodded. "Y-Yeah... I'm just tired. Let's see if we can find anybody to help us."

He nodded to this and we started walking into the village. I don't know where that pain came from, but it was still there and I was starting to feel sick. I felt dizzy, like I was going to pass out at any moment, but I had to keep moving. As we looked around, we saw all kinds of drakes flying around. Some were even being construction workers and, well, constructing new buildings and reading over blueprints on where to put this and that. It was a fascinating sight. There were still some close calls where some bricks almost fell on top of me and almost getting knocked upside the head with some wood that some dragons that didn't have wings were carrying. Man, some drakes just weren't careful.

Speaking of being careful, I sure wasn't when I bumped into someone. The impact was nothing, but due to the dragon's huge body, I was easily knocked back on my back. I rubbed my nose and apologized.

"S-Sorry," I said still rubbing my nose. "I wasn't paying attention." I looked up and it was a blue dragon with tiger stripes smiling at me. It appears that he didn't really mind seeing a human in the area.

"Heh, not a problem, little one," he said with a hearty chuckle. "It's easy to bump into people here in Dragon City. Though, I must say, I haven't seen a human" - he then looked at Shang that was next to me - "or a wolf in these parts."

"Yo! Miguel! Heads up!" another dragon shouted to him as he looked up and he quickly caught a bucket of cement. The dragon came down and approached us slowly. This dragon had black scales and a grey underbelly.

"Jack, you trying to kill me?" Miguel said to him. "You could've waited until I called up to you!"

"Well, we can't have any distractions, Miguel," Jack replied. "We have to have this building finished by the end of the week!"

"Yeah, I know. Don't get your tail in a knot." He smiled as he looked back at me. "Sorry, lad. Let me introduce myself. My name is Haythem Miguel Bayord, but I prefer 'Miguel'. It's...simpler. This is my good friend, Jackson Nickels, 'Jack' for short."

Wow, I never knew some dragons had...human names.

"And who might you blokes be?" Jack asked us.

"Bloke?" I heard Shang snarl a bit behind me. "I'm Shang Boswell! Best you remember it well!"

This made Jack chuckle. "Aww, you're so adorable, trying to act tough."

Shang blushed in embarrassment and he just looked away. "Wh-Whatever."

Miguel chuckled as he was still looking at me. "And you, little one? Who might you be?"

I blinked as I rubbed my head. This is weird. Why did I have to think and try to remember what my own name was?

"Uh... My n-name is Guilbert. Um, 'Guil' for short."

Miguel tilted his head and he gave me a weird look.

"That name sounds so...familiar," he said as he had a serious look on his face. "Tell me, where are you from?"

"Um..." was all I said. My hand was still on my head. My memory was foggy. I couldn't remember where my home was. What in the world was happening? Why was my memory disappearing when I need it the most? "I-I don't r-remember... I...can't remember anything..."

Shang, Miguel, and Jack gasped to this. I was shocked myself. It was horrible. All of those treasured memories, good and bad, weren't there anymore.

"G-Guil? You don't remember where you came from or who your family is?" Shang asked me with a worried expression on his face. I just nodded as it was scaring me.

I heard Jack whisper something to Miguel.

"I think the kid has amnesia," I heard Jack say. So...that was it, huh? That was just great.

The only thing Miguel did was smile. Why was he smiling?

"Miguel? What are you thinking?"

"Well," he started to speak, "it's kind of a long shot, but I can tell just by looking at you that some horrific things happened to you during your years of growing up." If I remembered, he would have no idea how right he was, but all I did was stare at him. "So...think of this as a brand new start. With the King's permission, you and your wolf friend can live here now."

I blinked at him and gave him a "say what" expression.

Jack looked at him with a shocked expression instead.

"Miguel, you can't be serious!" he said. "What makes you think that His Majesty will allow Guil to live here?"

"Because our King is wise and knows what's best for our city. Plus, look at them. They're just kids. They need a home. We can't just turn our backs on them, can we?" Jack looked away and shook his head. "Plus, well, my wife and I always liked kids. We have one of our own, but we can always have another."

"Um, Mr. Miguel?" Shang asked softly. "Are you...um...adopting us?"

This made Miguel laugh and he nodded. "Sure does sound like it, doesn't it?"

Jack gave him a stern look. "Miguel, I hope you know what you're doing."

Miguel just rolled his eyes and turned from us. "This way, little ones. I'll take you two to our King and get his approval."

Shang and I looked at each other and we followed behind Miguel as he walked ahead. I continue to rub my head on the way to visit the King and Shang was staring at me. He could see my face turning a bit red, like I was coming down with the flu. I could actually feel my memories fading away, slipping from my grasp. I was starting to forget more and more. I'm barely able to remember my own name. I couldn't even remember how to change into a dragon...or a wolf. Shang grew more and more worried, but I still remember him. Thank goodness for that.

We soon came up to some sort of tower, much larger than all of the buildings that I have seen in the city. We walked through some steel doors and as soon as we entered, we had to walk up some stairs. Oh, you got to be kidding me. There were stairs that go all the way to the King's chamber? If only Miguel had wings.

It took twenty minutes to finally reach the King's chamber and Shang and I were catching our breaths and Miguel couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah, it does take it out of you when you first walk up those stairs," he said still giggling. "Don't worry, you'll soon get used to them." He then put his hands on the door and slowly opens it. The King's chamber was huge even though there was hardly anything in it. The whole floor was covered in a red carpet and there were knight armors stationed at every corner of the room and there was a huge window on the ceiling. In the center of the room stood, or laid, the King. It seems the King was of course a dragon. He was an orange dragon and he was wearing a golden crown. "Kids, may I present, The King of Dragon City: King Henrich Maynes."

Henrich rises his head up from hearing this and he yawns a little bit before wiping his eyes.

"Miguel, who have you brought into my chambers this time?" he asked him.

"Your Majesty," Miguel began as he bows to him, "I have brought you two weary travelers who have come from afar to be a part of this village."

Henrich yawned again. "Bring them closer so I can have a better look at them."

Miguel nodded as the three of us slowly entered the chambers and got a little bit closer to His Highness. He's much bigger up close than he was from afar. He leaned in closer and he squinted at the both of us and he started sniffing us.

"How old are you two?" he asked us.

"I'm 2 years old!" Shang yipped out.

I just looked away and softly said, "I'm ten, sir."

Henrich tilted his head and looked at Miguel. "Shy one, isn't he?"

Miguel blinked and then I saw him approach him and whisper in his ear: "Be easy on him, sir. He has amnesia and he can't remember much of his past. I figured it's best that he forgot all the bad things that befell him and start fresh."

Henrich nodded his head, approving of this.

"You have a big heart, my friend," the King said to him as he turned to me. "Little one, how would you feel to be in Miguel's protection?"

I looked at Miguel, who was smiling warmly. Then, I turned to look at the King. "I... I think I would like that." I looked at Shang. "How about you, Shang?"

Shang didn't say anything at first. He looked down for a little bit and then smiled at me. "I'm game."

Henrich nodded and looked at Miguel. "Then it is settled: Miguel, you are in charge of them."

Miguel smiled and nodded, bowing once again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said in excitement.

Henrich smiled and turned to me. "One more thing: What is your name, human?"

I looked at him and looked down again.

"G-Guil, sir."

He blinked and then he rubbed his chin. "That name rings familiar.... Oh well. It is not important at the moment. I welcome you two to our city." With that, he laid back down and it looked like he went back to sleep. Miguel, Shang, and I smiled to each other as we made our way out of the building.

"That went way better than I thought it was going to be," Miguel said with a smile as he looked over at me and then reached over and picked me up. He raised me up until I was eye level with him and he pressed his snout against me as if he was trying to nuzzle me. All I did was stared at him. What he was doing kind of reminded me of what another dragon that was looking after me used to do. Sadly, I could not remember who he was or what he looked like. "I guess I'm your new father, eh Guil?" My facial expression changed from when he said that. I did not like that comment for some reason and I got even sadder. He saw this and he hugged me, holding me close. "I'm sorry I said that. It was out of line, but trust me. Whatever happened is in the past now and it's time to move on. I'll take good care of you two. I promise." I looked up at him and I could tell he was serious. It wouldn't hurt to give him a chance.

"I trust you, Miguel," I said to him.

"I do, too!" Shang said as well.

Miguel smiled as he put me on his back and picked up Shang. "Alright then, I'll show you two around the city," he said in a cheerful tone. Shang and I just smiled and nodded.

He did give us the grand tour all right and it was fun. The city had all kinds of places and tourist attractions. A couple of them were monuments and statues of dragons of legend and dragons that have broken world records like flying around the world in 80 days or something like that. The city had their own grocery store. Most of the aisles consisted of meat products and not much of vegetables. I guess even dragons don't like to eat their greens and such once in a while. On top of all of this, they were even building their very own amusement park. It'll be a place where dragons, big and small, can go and enjoy themselves. I can't wait until I see it finally open. Other than that, nothing else really surprised me from what they had that regular villages and cities would have: Stores, restaurants, houses, spas, and other buildings that I didn't really pay much attention to.

The tour ended just when the sun had set and I was getting a bit sleepy. Miguel brought us to his home where a little teal dragon ran up to him and hugged him.

"Daddy! Daddy! You're home!" the little dragon yelled out. I take it that's his son.

Miguel smiled and rubbed his head.

"Hey, you little squirt," he said to him. "How's my little guy doing?"

He smiled at his father with his yellow eyes.

"I'm doing great, father! I got a gold star in Dragon School today for helping cleaning up afterwards!"

He chuckled at him. "That's wonderful. I'm proud of you, son. Keep up the good work, my boy."

I looked at Shang. Dragon School? They have school here? Wow...to be honest, I never had the chance to really go to school. But, those days are behind me now. The little dragon noticed us and looked at his Dad.

"Daddy, who are they?" he asked.

"They will be your new friends, Rufus," Miguel said as he lowered himself to the ground for us to get off. We slowly slid off of him and I waved shyly at him. Shang waved to him as well with a smile. Rufus slowly came over and he sniffed at us curiously. He then smiled and nudged me.

"Hi, I'm Rufus! Nice to meet you, new friend!" he said in a happy tone.

I smiled back at him. "My name is Guil. It's nice to meet you too."

"Don't forget me!" Shang yipped, matching Rufus' excitement. "I'm Shang!"

"Heh, you'll love living with us, Guil and Shang! We can play all day if we want to and not have a care in the world!"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan! We can start tomorrow!"

Rufus nodded. "That's the idea! C'mon! I'll show you to my room where you'll be sleeping!" With that, Rufus turned around and ran off toward his room and Shang wasn't far behind. All I did was stood there and rubbed the back of my head. I felt Miguel nose bump me to push me ahead a bit. I sighed slightly and walked on ahead toward Rufus' room and it was bigger than I had anticipated. The walls were of pure green with portraits of dragons everywhere. He even had a little TV in his room so he can watch cartoons. He also had toys everywhere of almost every animal: Tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, even unicorns.

"Well, this is my room!" Rufus squeals out in pure happiness and he bounced around the room.

Shang took one of his stuffed animals and started nibbling on it as if he was still teething.

I looked around as I rubbed my head again. I slowly made my way to his bed and sat down on it, still looking around his room. I think I may like my new life here. I couldn't remember much of my previous life anyway, so this could indeed be a new start for me.

Rufus looked back at me and his ears had lowered a little bit.

"Um, I hope you guys don't mind sleeping on the floor with a blanket until we get some beds for you soon," Rufus said to us. Shang and I looked at each other and we both shrugged.

"That's quite alright, Rufus," I said as I smiled at him. "We really appreciate the hospitality you and your parents are giving to us."

He blushed in embarrassment.

"I-It's nothing at all. I'm just happy to had made new friends!" He let out a yawn as he then climbed into his little blue bed. "There are some extra blankets in my closet. My mommy put those in there just in case I get really cold during the winter, which is three months from now."

I nodded as I opened his closet and saw two extra blankets sitting under more toys. Geez, how many toys does he need? I gave a grey blanket to Shang and he immediately curled up in it. I laid down on the floor with a red blanket and used a stuff rabbit as a pillow and closed my eyes. After a few minutes, I was fast asleep.

The most disturbing dream occurred to me as I slept. I was dreaming that I was strolling through a village that was vaguely familiar to me. As I was walking, people were cheering my name and giving phrase to me. I was smiling and waving at them. All of a sudden, as I turned around, the village was on fire and there were people screaming. Then, a white dragon landed in front of me and stared at me with its red eyes. It opened its maw as if it was going to swallow me, but it was whispering something to me. I couldn't make out what it was saying because I was too scared. When it was finished speaking, that's when it lunged at me.

I woke up in the middle of the night screaming and panted. I looked around and I saw that I didn't wake up Rufus or Shang. I was dripping sweat and I wasn't even hot. I flopped back on the stuffed animal and just stared at the ceiling the entire night. What was that dragon? I felt like I...seen him before...but where? Will I ever get my memory back? Better question: Do I even want my memories to return if all I'll ever remember was how much destruction I witnessed and how many lives I've seen being taken away by other beings and there was misery and hatred everywhere I went? Only time will tell, and frankly, I don't think I want it back. I think my new life will begin here.