Protectorate
#3 of Guardians
I sat up slightly and then pressed my upper back against the wall. My head was throbbing and my eyes were burning; I felt as if I had been hit by a hammer. Gingerly I placed my hand on the back of my head, as I thought it would soothe the pain. Instead I found a large bump. I immediately began to rub my hand through my hair, and afterwards I looked at my palm. I promptly began to check for any signs of blood, and there was none, which made me glad. I would hate to have blood stains on my white fur.
Quickly I pressed my hand onto my bed as I was feeling better, and then I stood up. My back cracked and that sent a shiver throughout my body. At the same time it caused me to yawn. Like every morning I then turn to the mirror, which was next to my bed, to check how I looked. The image quickly caught my attention, as I saw that my ears were folded against my skull. I began to wonder if I could move them like I could my tail. I found that I was able to. There was two ways I could move them. I could either point them into the air or fold them against my cranium.
I was beginning to love the fact that I had these wolf ears; they allowed me to hear better, and I thought they looked really good on me. I had also always adored the silvery, white fur; it looked so much better than my normal, mud-blond hair. At the same time I hated the fact that I had to hide them, and that they made me even more different.
The change I liked the most was my eyes. I began to just stare into them. They still remained the shape of a human's, and yet anyone could tell something was different about them. Where the blue once used to be, was a bright, golden yellow that seemed to shimmer like the harvest moon. Around the pupil was a small, ring of brown, which had tiny spikes on the outer edge. The brown ran into the yellow, and that made them look wild; it made me feel as if not even I could tame them.
I stretched softly and began to crack my neck and back. The changes no longer seemed to cause any pain. In fact, I felt better about myself, as if I was truly becoming what I have always thought of myself as. I was beginning to think that these changes were the best thing to ever happen to me, as if I was going to become everything that I had ever sought.
When I looked down at my right hand I saw that my ring had vanished from my pinkie. I immediately began to tear apart my bed. It had to be here. At first I began to pull the blankets off my bed, and then I tossed off my pillows. I found it. It was whole, and yet something was different about it. This was not the ring I had first gotten. Instead of having silver inscriptions it was blank. I also could not feel any energy coming from it.
Quickly I looked at my alarm clock and sighed loudly. I missed both of my exams, and that made me angry as I studied so hard for them. Instantly I called the school to see if I could make up the tests. I No such luck, as no one answered. Why did I sleep in? I was always one to get up when my alarm clock rang, and I knew I would have, as I had it set to ring ten minutes after I first woke, just in case. Even the softest of noises normally woke me up.
I needed to go for a walk and find a place to think. Swiftly I got dressed, and hid my tail within my pants. I then ran downstairs and grabbed a hat that was able to cover the area below where my ears used to be. Luckily my eyes I did not have to disguise, as I could say they were contacts. That made me happy. I knew everyone who knew me would know that I had always wanted contacts. I also knew that those same people also knew that I had always wanted contacts that would change my eye color, so it would easily fool anyone.
Briskly I sprinted out of my house and began to run towards the woods. I already knew where I was going, and I was excited for it. I knew this area better than any other. Even my own house had more mystery to me, but I had always loved mystery. Either way, this was like my home away from home, yet at the same time it always seemed to make me somewhat miserable.
Winter was the most beautiful time of the year. All the trees were covered in show and the ground had small tracks, marking where animals had walked. Every time I saw the snow covered trees it made me hate when cars made the snow dirty. Cars made what should be seen as a miracle of nature, into something disgusting. I had always wished there was a place that allowed nature to remain without human interference.
Hastily I walked through the forest, until I came upon my old, elementary school. Immediately I felt my heart begin to beat faster, as I began to gaze at the school. All the memories of being teased and being alone as a child floated in my mind. I don't understand why, but I always came here to think. Maybe it was because this place reminded me that I really could not trust anyone, or maybe it was because this area was where my life became a living hell. Either way, I always came to this one spot.
Hesitantly I walked up to the jungle gym and then I began to stare at it. I could see the memories of myself as a child in front of my eyes. I was running away from Mike and Kyle, while they were chasing after me. Every time this happened the teacher just happened to be looking away. Most of the time I ended up hiding on the largest slide, until they grew bored or the teacher looked towards us. There was nothing I could do; I was the weak child, who had no friends. I was that lone kid, who no one would defend, who no one noticed.
I gradually cleared the snow off the slide, as there were no classes for the elementary school students today, so the half a foot of freshly, fallen snow never got the chance to be cleared off. Warily I climbed up the steps and sat the top of the slide. I began to look around and I instantly noticed that this area seemed so much smaller to me. When I was a child I thought that it was a large leap, but now it was only a five feet jump to the wood chips. It had changed and yet the memories still haunted me. Every second I spent in this place was like watching my entire childhood and that was a painful experience, yet every time I came here I was able to think clearly.
I continued to stare at the ground, while remembering everything that had happened to me. The memories terrified me, and I felt as if I could even see them happen in front of my eyes. Most of them made no sense. Why would so many strange events take place within my life? Yet not one explanation for anything that has happened has appeared. Even my childhood had mysterious events. Whether it was random things flying off the walls, or ending up at my neighbor's house in the middle of the night, while all the doors and windows remained locked; these events always seemed to happen to me.
Was some cosmic force really guiding me? I don't think it could be possible. If some all powerful being was really guiding my life then, that would mean that a god, goddess, or multiple gods would exist. If some super being like that really lived then why has he not shown himself to his own creations? Why would he let so many cruel things happen within our world if he could easily stop them? All these things proved to me that the idea of a creator could not be possible. My life was only few, random series of events.
"Why me?" I sighed, putting my head into my hands. I felt as if I was going to cry. Why would I be cursed to live so differently than anyone else? It couldn't just be my imagination, so why was this happening to me? I wanted to scream, but most of all I wanted someone to answer back. I needed an explanation for my transformations, and the dream I had last night. I felt as if I at least deserved that.
I stood up and turned towards our middle school, which was across the field from where I was. I was going to do it. I did not care who heard. Briskly I inhaled a large breath, and screamed, "Why me?" I heard it echo a few times. There was no answer; not one single person heard me. No one cared that I struggled with this curse. I continued to keep shouting the same thing over and over again. Each time there was an echo and no one answered. I hated it so much. All I wanted to know was, why me? Why would no one answer that?
I fell to my knees and looked towards the ground. My hands were pounding against my lap, and tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was not crying in anger or sorrow; I was not crying because I was envious or spiteful. It was because I had been defeated, and the only choice that I had left was to resign to my fate.
The sun slowly began to drift through the sky, and yet I remained there crying. My stomach was beginning to growl, and I felt as if I was going to puke. Every muscle within my body was pulsating and sending its pain towards my hands. The affliction alone was tremendous, but at the same time the chilling effect within the air was making things worse. It only seemed to add an extra element of pain.
A piercing pain shot through my body and I fell down the slide, landing on the ground below. I was screaming loudly, because my hands were burning. Instantly I put my hands in between my legs, as I thought putting pressure on them would help. My fingernails began to glow a bright white and then they fell off. Blood began to drip from the open wounds and absorb into the snow, staining it red. In the back of my mind I heard my bones begin to crack. A larger, more intense pain shot up through my arm and spread across my entire body, as I felt my bones break. I began to scream loudly as the air was burning the open flesh. From my open wounds large, black claws sprouted out and began to dig into the red snow. I could feel the bones compress within my hands, yet they kept their general shape. Pads pushed out from my palms and each finger; they were hard and leathery. After my bones had fixed themselves and my claws fully came in, I began to grow fur. I felt my skin being stretched by millions of hairs. The hairs quickly grew and my paws were covered in an inch of fur.
I remained on the ground, twitching slightly. My screams grew louder than they were before, as the pain only seemed to grow. Tears continued to roll down my face fell onto the bloody snow. The top layer of the snow was melted by the warm blood and ears, which caused some of the surrounding snow to melt. My eyes themselves were blank as I was barely able to see out of them, yet I was somewhat conscious. The only thing that caused me pain was my hands. They felt like they had been rapidly smashed with a large, sledge hammer. It made every second feel as if it was an eternity.
For a second I thought I could see. I swear I saw the older man walking towards me. He was the one I remembered from all those years ago. The Other man from my class looked much different, now that I saw the real one clearly. I did not understand how I could have gotten them mixed up, as they looked so different.
What was this old man going to do with me? Was he going to help reduce the pain that I was experiencing? Was he going to put another curse on me, or was he going to help me get rid of these aches? As I needed to know; I did not want to end up in harm's way. As he walked up next to me I passed out.
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When I woke up I saw that my hands were covered in a white cloth, which had strange drawings on top of the fabric. No longer was there any feelings within my hands, which made me happy and yet wonder why. Were these bandages somehow absorbing the pain? Was this all just my imagination or was this really happening? I mean, my hands turned into paws before my eyes. Could it really be possible that I was starting to change more? Even so, the pain should not have faded already. I wanted to know why this was happening.
I sat up and looked around me. I placed my hands onto the ground for support, but I could feel nothing coming from them. It was as if they were numbed. Slowly I scanned the area around me; I was trying to find any differences in the layout. Stains of blood were surrounding me, and a small circle, which was void of snow, surrounded my body. Within this circle all the snow had magically vanished, leaving no traces of any water or blood. It was only me and dry woodchips.
"Ain't that just so-o cute, sleepin' beauty got up," I heard Mike say. Instantly I began to scan the area for any signs of him, but I saw no one. Where could he be? He sounded as if he was standing right next to me, but no one was within my sight. He had to be somewhere that I could not see. He probably was hiding somewhere in the woods, just waiting for the chance to hurt me. "Aww, he looks all confused. Probably thinkin', where am I? What an idiot." I turned around to see if he was there; no luck.
"Come on, let's go!" Kyle demanded. Why did he not want to pick on me like Mike? Normally he was worse than Mike, mainly because he was more intelligent, but now he wanted to leave me alone. "You know I've got to see Youngar today," he growled. Was he just trying to trick me? I mean, he knew I could hear him, so was this just some clever plan?
"You've got..." Mike paused for a second and then said, "Twenty-three minutes. It takes two minutes to get to your house, just one quick prank, please." I bit my lower lip with my fangs, and continued to scan the area for a few moments. I could not pinpoint where this sound was coming from. "Come on, you know you wanna." I did not want to listen to these two anymore.
"Fine!" he snarled loudly. Swiftly I stood up and began to walk away. In no way did I want them to mess with right now. I tried to walk away as fast as I could, but I wanted to make it seem like I did not hear what they were saying. As if by instinct I lifted my ears straight up into the air, so that I could hear every possible noise around me. Luckily for me, my hat was just large enough to do that.
The trees began too rustle, and I speedily began to run away. A sharp pain shot up my legs and I fell onto the ground. My feet were burning like my hands had before. I did my best to kick off my boots and push off my socks. My screams were echoing throughout this land. This pain was worse than anything I had ever felt. Even when my hands, had changed into paws, the pain was less.
"Help me!" I screamed loudly, while tears began to roll down from my eyes. "It hurts so much, please come help me!" My feet felt as if it had been placed inside of a fire, and were just melting away. Unlike last time, I was fully conscious; the pain was too great to sleep. One last time I screamed, "Please, I know you can hear me!" I began to pant loudly. "PLEASE HELP ME!"
Like last time my nails fell off and blood began to drain from the open wounds. The bones in my feet began to snap; it was as if they themselves had disintegrated into nothing. All I could do was scream, as more blood began to cover the snow. My feet began to reshape themselves. They began to shrink, but their width began to grow. It seemed as if my toes were cut off and my feet began to swell out from the heel. After they finished reforming, larger, black claws sprouted out from the stub like toes. My pinkie toe was pushed lower on each foot, it became close to where my heel was. The feet themselves kept their general shape; I still had a heel, and with shoes they would just look like wide feet. Like before, leathery, black pads began to push out from my flesh. One was under each heel and a total of ten were under each toe. In the end fur began to grow on the flesh. I hated this the most as I could feel every hair begin to push through my skin. It was not like normal hair, where it took a while to grow. I had an inch within a few seconds.
My eyes were wide. No longer was I able to make any noise; I could barely think. Once again the old man began to walk towards me. This time I could see him clearly; he was walking out from a cloud of fog and looked as if he had not aged since I first saw him. Once he reached me he knelt down next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be alright now," he softly said, as he pulled out the same white cloth from his pocket, and began to wrap it around each foot-paw. The aches vanished and yet tears continued to roll down my cheek. The memory of the pain still remained in my mind.
"You over there, come here!" he demanded. Two, large creatures landed in front of me. The one on the right was covered in darker, blue scales. His wings were blood red as was the tip of his tail. His eyes were a bright blue and shimmered like the ocean when the sun first hit its waters. On top of his head were two lengthy, pointed ears, which looked like horns. Between his ears was a long, silver mane; it seemed to turn blue in the light.
The other was covered in dull, golden scales. Everything on his body was a dusty gold; from the hair on his head to the claws on his feet. They both stood up straight like that of a human and their body shape was also that of a human's, but they looked like a reptile. I had never seen creatures like this before. I mean, I've heard stories about creatures like these in my mythology class but they weren't real. There was no way that they were real, I mean; dragons were the most unbelievable of all mystical creatures, in my opinion.
I looked at both of them and then over to the older man. Why was there two dragons standing in front of me? Dragons were not real, I mean, these two had been in my classes for years and yet this was the first time I had ever seen them as anything other than human. It could not be possible; it had to be just my imagination. There was no way any creature could be both human and another animal.
The older man looked down at me and rubbed the tears away from my eyes. "It's alright now. I'll be taking care of you." He smiled and waved his right hand over my eyeballs, while saying, "Now sleep." I closed my eyelids and pretended that I was sleeping. I did not trust any of these creatures; they all seemed as if they were trying to hurt me. I would not allow that to happen.
I felt one of the scaly creatures pick me up into his arms. I had to try to act as if I was unconscious and I was failing. The hardest thing was trying to act limp and let my body fall naturally. I could not act like my body was lifeless; I just had to try to let my limbs fall in their own positions.
One of the scaly creatures jab me in the neck with the side of his hand. I could feel the scales rub against my neck and his claws press against my flesh. Did they know that I was faking this? I was not that bad at it; even a normal person would not be able to tell that I was awake. How did one of these beings figure it out? I was afraid of what might happen, but either way I was drifting into unconsciousness. Before I fell asleep I felt air begin to blow against my body.
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"Will he be alright?" asked a person, whose voice sounded like a female's. Where was I? Who was this strange person? The last thing I could remember was a sharp pain in my neck and then nothing. I also remembered two monsters, though I still think I was hallucinating. I must have just been sick and dreamt up the entire thing. My hands and feet did not change after all. I mean, there was no way that such an intense pain could have faded within seconds, just because of a bandage. This had to be the only explanation.
"He lost a lot of blood, but he'll be fine," I heard the old man say. Was he just some type of doctor? "We have to let him rest for a while." I opened my eyes slightly, as I wanted to know what was happening; they were facing away from me. "Alright, now for the real reason I'm here." He paused for a second and then said, "Kyle, come here." I almost jumped out of the bed in anger, but I managed to control myself.
"Yes Youngar?" Kyle said. What were they doing? When I saw Kyle he was not some dragon in fact he appeared to be human. I knew that I had just imagined that entire thing. Either way, I still did not understand how I ended up at Kyle's house.
"You know on the eighteenth birth-year of any dragon's life is the year they get their first protectorate. As you might of guessed, I'm here to assign you yours." Hesitantly I looked over to the older man and began to squint. What was he talking about? Could he not see that Kyle was human and not some mystical creature? "See that wolf behind us?" Youngar said, as I instantly closed my eyes. "As you might know his name's Haru; he's your protectorate."
I instantly sat up and dragged my arms to my side, while yelling, "No!" I wanted to run; I wanted to escape, but I felt as if I did not have any power to move. It felt as if my legs and arms were paralyzed. This was the worst feeling I had ever had. I hated being helpless. The very thought of it made me wish that I would just vanish.
"What do you mean no?" Youngar asked me. His eyes darted back towards Kyle. He had an icy stare, which instantly made Kyle back down. I had never seen Kyle act so weak. In school he was always the one to lead the pack. Now he was just submitting to this old man. What power did Youngar hold? Was it just his pure confidence alone that made Kyle back down, or was it something else?
"Well..." I paused for a second. A shiver traveled down my spine, and I grew nervous. What power did this man hold? Even I was terrified to answer. "I don't even know what's going on." I was trying to dodge the answer with another truth. The real answer was, not even I knew the reason why I yelled no. All I knew was that I did not want that asshole anywhere near me, and I would try anything to keep it that way.
"Oh, I see." His stare grew colder. It felt as if I could really feel a chilling sensation within the air. He began to walk out of the room, and Kyle followed him without even being told. It was almost as if they understood each other telepathically. I was frightened to see the power that this elder man held over Kyle, and yet I was impressed. It made me wish that I could do that; it might have spared me all those years of pain.
Before Kyle and Youngar left Youngar said, "I left a portal open for him. Once he's ready let him come after us." What did he mean? Did they really think that I was going to go find them? Why not just tell me everything right now? I saw Kyle's mother nod as they walked through the doorway, and then they vanished. I was left speechless; where did they go. I just saw them. This could not possible, and yet it just happened.
"What the fuck's going on?" I growled loudly. I wanted answers and I wanted them now. How dare they just throw all this information on me and then leave. Without a second though I turned to Kyle's mother and glared at her. "Who the fuck are you? And what the hell's happening to me? And what the fuck just happened?" I had questions and I wanted them answered right away. I did not care how rude I was being.
"Excuse me, but that's no way to talk in my house." She sat down on the chair next to the bed and grabbed my right hand. "ButIf you need answers here they are; I'm a dragon, along with my son. I have no idea what's happening to you, all I know is that you're changing. And my son just got taken by Youngar, until you unlock him or pick a new protector." I looked down at my hands; they had turn into paws. She began to unwrap the cloth on my feet. I did not understand why she so compliantly answered my questions. Were things going to start making sense soon?
I looked at her, and then took in a deep breath. I needed to calm down. "Okay..." I exhaled loudly. "So let me get this straight. You're apparently a dragon? I'm still some unknown creature? And Kyle's being locked up, until I set him free?" I was counting on my claws. "And you guys really expect me to set him free? HA! What's the catch? I can't leave this room or something, till I do?" I laughed slightly. Kyle's mother did not even smile. Was she really being serious? I mean, did they really see me freeing that asshole?
"Hun." Kyle's mother began to rub her forehead with her left hand. "I know you dislike my son, but you still need a protector." I looked at her and lifted my paw up to my head to scratch it. What did she mean by I need a protector? Protect me against what? The only ones I needed protection against were Mike, Kyle, and their friends. Other than that there was nothing to protect me against. I mean, it's not like I was important. I'm just this average person, who had nothing special going for him.
"Fine, if it's the only way to leave this room, then how do I get there?" I asked as I clenched my paws into a fist. I figured that if I just got it over with, then I could move on with my life. Maybe I could even find out the answers that I sought. One of the main things that I wanted to know was what was happening to the world that I used to know? Everything was changing and I did not want it to. I liked my blissful existence.
She slowly lifted her right hand into the air, and then she pointed it at the door. Lining the doorway was a faint, purple light. What did this mean? Was it some sort of teleport? I did not think that was possible; our world's technology had not even gotten close to finding a way to make that possible. Did she mean that I had to walk? In no way was I going to walk anywhere. I did not even know where I was going. There had to be some trick that involved this purple light.
"Just walk through the doorway and the portal will take you there." I looked at her, but I did not know what to think. Was this just some trap? Could I really believe that I was going to just suddenly appear on the other side? Either way, I did not have a choice; all I could do was move forward. I sighed loudly as I did not want to do deal with this and then I swung my legs to the side of the bed. I stood up and felt my claws dig into the carpet. My tail was swinging freely and y fangs clenched together. This felt better than I had ever felt.
Slowly I walked over to the doorway and then stopped. I was nervous. What if this was some clever plan, and when I walked through it I would end up in some government testing site or worse. I mean, she says that she is a dragon, but she looks like a human; how could that be possible? And if it was a trap there was nothing I could do. They had me ensnared. In the end I was just risking my life, because they told me to.
I was face to face with the doorway. My heart was pounding; it felt as if every beat was a drum vibrating through my chest. I was afraid and yet I was also slightly excited. Gradually I pressed my paw through the doorway. It vanished, and I quickly pulled it out. I held my paw in front of my face and began to examine it. Everything was the same. I was somewhat relieved, and yet I was curious. What was this tunnel? Instantly I closed my eyes as I jumped into the passageway, while saying, "Here I go!"
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When I reopened my eyes I found that I was on a trail, which was in the woods. This area was warm and that I did not understand, as it was winter. I also did not understand why I was here. Was that really teleportation or did something else happen? I mean, how was it possible? Our world was not even close to that type of technology. Was the world's government really hiding something that big? If so, did that mean these people worked for the government? Was I being lead into some sort of trap? Or was there some other explanation for this phenomenon.
I looked around me for a second and noticed that I was at the end of the trail. Something about this pathway seemed familiar to me. It felt like I had been here before, though I knew I had not. The trees, the smells, and even the place's layout; all of it felt as if I had once experienced it. This feeling of familiarity scared me. It made me wonder if there was something else that was being kept from me.
I gazed up the trail and then took a deep breath. Nervously I began to walk up it. My ears were perked and my claws were digging into the moist dirt. I was ready for anything and everything. As I continued to walk I often heard the woods begin to rustle, which caused me to stop. After not long I began to move again, acting as if nothing happened. I don't know why, but I felt confident, as if every fear I was having just vanished.
After about ten minutes of walking I found a plateau. Instantly I stopped in my place. What was going too happened to me? I did not have a good feeling about what was ahead. Somehow I knew something up there was just waiting to once again change my life. It felt as if all the fears from this world began to flood my mind. All the confidence I had from before vanished as if it had never been there. I wanted to run away, and I wanted to pretend that this was not happening, but I knew I could not. I knew that if I tried to run that I would just end up lost.
Quickly I peaked over the edge of the plateau, while doing my best to keep hidden. I saw a gigantic cave that had paper, thin bars at its entrance. A few feet from the gateway was a large, golden key. Who would leave a key lying right in front of a locked cage? Even if this cage could not keep most people locked up, as it had very thin, weak looking bars, anyone would have more common sense than to leave the key right in front of the lock.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Kyle asked with a growl. Immediately I began to look around, trying to see where he was. He was not in the sky, behind me, or even to my sides; where could he be? I mean, the only thing in front of me was that cage, and I saw no one inside of it. "Would you just let me out?" Hesitantly I walked up onto the edge of the plateau and saw him walking towards the front of the cave. I stood there staring at him, as if I was in shock.
Cautiously I walked up to the key, and then I gently sat down. I pulled the key into my paw. For a few seconds I watched Kyle; his hands were clenched into a fist and he seemed to be snarling, but he kept his distance from the bars. I did not understand why he did not just rip the bars apart. They were paper thin. Even I felt that I could at least bend them. Was there some trick that I was not seeing?
"LET ME OUT!" Kyle huffed loudly as he gripped the bars. His eyes looked at me with a cold stare. It felt as if I was in a blizzard, but I knew I was not. White sparks began to fly from his hands, and he instantly let go. "Please," he begged, falling to his knees. Why did he want to be let out so badly? Wasn't he the one who compliantly left with Youngar? He had to know something bad was going to happen, even his mother knew. Either way it was not my problem. Personally I thought that it was his just desserts.
"Why should I? What nice things have you ever done for me? And not picking on me doesn't count." I felt like growling and using my fangs to make him bleed, but I could not; I knew that would be wrong. I remembered that at one point in my life I wanted to be his friend, and I still somewhat did, but I mostly wished that he would just leave me alone. I knew friendship was impossible. I could see that his hatred of me ran to deep.
"What have I ever done to you? It's not like I've ever hurt you. I never fought back, till recent years. And you really expect me to let you free? No, not happenin'," I said before he had a chance to speak. I would not allow him the privilege to do that. This was my chance to tell him off and I was not going to waste it. "I've suffered most of my life thanks to you. I should of just told on you when we were in middle school. But no, I was dumb and gave into the pressure of the other kids. Now I'm gonna make you spend as long as I can in that cage." I felt my claws scrape against the key as I gripped it tighter. The thought of what I had suffered angered me.
"You still need a protector, so I'm going to be let out eventually," Kyle said with a grin. I looked at him and shook my head. Did he really not get it? I was not doing this to anger him or to get revenge. I wanted to teach him a lesson; I wanted to show him that what he had been doing was wrong. I did not care whether it took a day or a million years. I was going to make him aware of his actions.
"Protector? What'll he protect me against? The only thing that has hurt me in the past five years was you or Mike, beating me up." Did he really believe he could play this game with me? No matter how many times he tried to divert away from the problem at hand; I knew I could bring it back on track. "Even if Youngar did assign me someone at least he'd pick somebody who would take the time to get to know me!" My tail pulled tighter into my body. I did not want to do this for much longer; it hurt too much.
I watched Kyle. He seemed to be baffled. Had he never been talked to in this way before? Did he not know how to handle someone trying to guilt trip him? The only thing that I did not know was, was this enough to make him change his ways, and become a better person? Would I actually change him for the better? Even if I had, how would I know that this change would affect how he treated me? Would things become better or worse for me?
I tossed the key into the cage, and Kyle caught it. I gradually began to stand up; my knees cracked as I did so. "You can open that cage and leave now, or you can listen to me for a while," I proposed. "So what's your answer?" I hoped that he chose to listen. I did not want to end up making things worse after all. Slowly I inhailed a deep breath and then sat down again. I was waiting to hear what his answer would be. I figured that if he took off Youngar would show up.
Kyle sat down on the ground, gripping the key in his hand. Why did he stay? He did not owe me anything and I was just going against everything he had ever done. I heard him sigh and then say, "What else do you have to say?" There was no anger in his voice and he no longer looked at me with his cold eyes. What happened to him within a few seconds? Did something I say kick in? Was this all a clever act?
"Well first I've gotta ask, what's up with this whole protector/protectorate thing?"
"Is this all you've got to talk about? I'm going to go then," he growled and then stood up. Was there something wrong with my question? I mean, he was free to leave at any point, but I still wanted something answered. It is not like I would know these things; I have never experienced this world before.
"WAIT!" I placed my paw on the ground. "If you won't take the time to answer my questions then please tell me how to find someone who can, please." He stopped and looked at me. "Fine, whatever, here's my proposal." I stood up and walked over to the cave, resting my back against the bars. I did not want to lose what I worked so hard to gain. "You can be my protector, but there's a condition." I grinned and said, "You can't pick on me or my friends anymore."
"No!" he growled as his eyes once again became cold. He then pressed his hand through the bars. I saw sparks fly from his arm every time he touched the metal. Why when I touched it nothing happened, but when he did white sparks came off? As he slowly tried to push the key into the lock more sparks began to fly from his arm. He quickly pulled his arm away from the keyhole and the key fell to the ground. What could be causing these flashes to occur?
I reached down and picked up the key. Gently I pushed it into the hole and turned it. The lock clicked and I swung the door open. "You're free," I said as I began to walk away. I grew tired of this game; now all I wanted to do was somehow get in contact with Youngar. Maybe he could answer my questions. "Now be off with you, your mom's waiting." I wanted to see Youngar and get this over with.
"Do you promise not to tell my friends?" Kyle looked away, but I could tell that he was suffering on the inside. He lost the game.
"I'll do you one better, you don't have to ever defend me. You just can't make fun of me or my friend." I stuck my paw out and he gripped it. "Is it a deal?"
"Yeah." He paused and then pulled his hand away. A bright flash a fire covered his body and when it faded he was once again a multicolored dragon. Kyle got onto all fours and lowered his wings, while saying, "Ready to go?" I began to study him. He grew at least a foot from when he looked like a human. I could feel an intense heat coming from his body. It felt as if I was standing next to a fire. I wanted to know more, but I did not want to bug him with any questions.
I stopped as I was about to climb on Kyle's back, as I heard someone clapping. Quickly I turned around and growled, "Who's there?" I began to bare my fangs and my claws dug into the ground. I was angry that someone had the nerve to listen to my private conversation. Who did they thing they were? If I had wanted people to hear what was being said, then I would have said it in public.
"Very nice," Youngar said as he walked out from behind the cave. How long had he been there? Did he hear everything that was said? Was he going to take away everything that I worked so hard to get? I finally had something over Kyle. I knew I could handle the rest of his friends, but Kyle was smart. He would have found a way out of most anything that I would have come up with. I would not let Youngar take this away from me.
"Is he your choice Haru?" Younger asked as he walked over to us. I just nodded. "Good, good. But, I listened to what you said about your past. Are you sure you want him?" He walked over to Kyle, and once again he gave him an icy-cold glare. "You can pick from any dragon out there. Even the ones who all ready have a protectorate." I watched Kyle's eyes widen slightly as that was said. Was I really that important? I mean I'm just some lone wolf.
"Oh? Why's that?" I smirked and saw that Kyle remained in shock. Maybe I could get Youngar to answer one of my many questions. This man knew something about me and I wanted the answer. If I had this choice from the beginning, then why did they not present it to me before? Was there more to this than I guessed? Was I really in danger of anything? No it could not be. I was just changing into another creature.
"Well that doesn't matter. Is he your choice?" He said as I growled to myself. How dare he avoid my question? Wasn't it my life? Didn't I deserve to know what was happening in it? I mean, I was not rich by any sorts and I was not a dignitary, so why was I that important? "It's just important that you get a protector that you get along with, and by the sound of it, Kyle isn't that protector. " I continued to look at Kyle. Could he really work with me? I know I could work with him if I had to.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said with a fake smile. Kyle remained where he crouched. His eyes continued to gaze at the ground and his mind seemed to be blank. Did he also know something that I did not? If so that gave me more of a reason to keep him. I knew that he and I did not get along, but I knew we could at least work together. Maybe I could even change him for the better. Maybe we could even be friends.
"Are you positive? This dragon's much weaker than others I could assign to you." Why was he asking me so many times? Why was it so important that I found one I could work well with? It was not like I had some importance in this world. I was nobody, who had nothing going for him. It was a sad truth, but I came to accept it a long time ago.
"Yes for the final time!" I shouted as I dug my claws deeper into the ground. Kyle snapped out from his trance like state.
"And you, Kyle, do you think you can get along and work with Haru?" I was out of luck. Of course Kyle would answer no. I would have to go out and find myself a new dragon. I did not want one in the first place, but at least being Kyle's protectorate meant that I would be saved from him. That alone was worth it. Even still there was no chance that he would want to protect me.
Kyle nodded softly; he still seemed to be somewhat in shock. Youngar smiled and began to trace his index finger around us. "Alright I'll leave you with your decision, but if I hear that you two aren't getting along, then I'll make you find a new protector. Got that?" I nodded. He had traced his finger halfway around our bodies. The same purple light, which was on the doorway, was surrounding us. Where were we going to be taken.
"Wait! Where're we going?" I screamed. "I've got to go somewhere tonight!"
"You'll see." He smirked as he finished the circle. A large hole opened up underneath us. We instantly fell inside and were surrounded by darkness. I could not feel, see, or hear anything. I felt as if I was trapped.