Kraken Unleashed - Book 2 [Wings of Fire Fanfiction]

Chapter Nine - Tag

"HYAA!"

Kraken's yell carried through the trees as she swung Tyrant's Bane downward. Essence brought her stick up at the last moment, and wood splinters flew as metal and wood connected.

It had been a week since the group had met Quicksand. As she had promised, Essence was sparring with Kraken so she could train in dual wielding, and she was slowly getting the hang of it. It wasn't the weight of the two swords that Kraken had a problem with, as she was very strong for her size from hunting with Tsunami and training with... Swellow.

If anything, the weight difference between her sword and Tyrant's Bane was dissorintaing, but the real issue was the techniques that Kraken had to learn. They were much more complicated than the ones she would use when fighting with one sword, and sometimes she wondered if dual wielding was really worth the struggle. But slowly she was learning, although she wasn't too sure if she would fare well against a more skilled opponent.

Kraken was thankful that Essence was willing to train her, but the seer was nowhere as good with the sword as herself or Swellow.

The two continued to duel. Kraken was going a bit easy on her opponent, not wanting to accidentally hurt her or break the training sword. They only had three, and Kraken had already broken one.

Seeing an opportunity, Kraken reared and lifted both swords above her head, whipping them downward before Essence could take a jab at her exposed underside. But at the last moment the dark dragon dashed to the side and swung at her wing. Kraken jerked her wing out of the way and pivoted, sweeping her tail forward and catching Essence unawares. She was swept clear off her feet and fell on her side heavily with a grunt.

Kraken turned around to help her friend up. Essence accepted her outstretched talon with a smile. She flicked her ear in amusement. "You know, I'm glad you're getting better, but... ouch!"

Kraken beamed back, sheathing her swords. "Thanks." The two walked back to camp.

Team Jade (and Quicksand) had settled on a rather large island, one of the largest in the bay of a thousand scales. Camp was made at the edge of the forest, next to the sandy beach overlooking the ocean. Quicksand was looking at the water, sitting on a rock. She turned as the dragonesses approached with a bored expression. "Yo."

Kraken raised her eyebrows slightly. Sure, it had been a while since the Hivewing had joined their group, but she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. It made her feel guilty in a way for not trusting her completely, but she had no idea what the strange dragon's intentions were at all. I have a reason to be suspicious. Kraken shook her head as if she were chasing off a fly. But, she did save our lives, and helped us out a lot...

Her train of thought was broken as Essence spoke up. "Hey Quicksand. Where are the others?"

"Oh, they went ahead into the forest. Looking for the third obelisk, I think. They didn't want to disturb you, so I stayed behind to tell you guys." She hopped down from the rock and walked up to them. "Also, I'm not too sure where they are right now, so we should go look for them as soon as possible."

"Huh? Those dumbasses really left without us?" Kraken snorted. "Well, I guess getting a head start isn't a bad idea."

"Yeah, but now we're separated," Essence pointed out. "They could've waited for us, at least."

Quicksand shook her head. "In any case, we should look for them. It can't be that hard, they leave quite a trail." She nodded to some broken branches, walking toward them. Kraken and Essence followed.

They travelled in silence for a while, Quicksand in the lead, Essence in the middle and Kraken at the end. The air seemed thick. Eager to break the awkward atmosphere, Kraken tried to speak up.