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16

16

       I feel my body give out in a scream of agony. I feel pressure against my chest and my wings hurt. I flap my wings in clarity and growl, but no words come out. My chest compresses and my body heaves and tosses. I hear the leader, Leon, calling my name. I feel my chest grinding against the ground, and realize that the pain is fading now. I push off the ground and see the concerned staff rushing over. I remember a name like an echo off the past, “Chantrea”. I freeze and my wings go limp. I look up, and I feel my body slipping away from the rest of my conscious. I fall into blackness, the world out from under my body. I suddenly feel stone under my claws. I grip the stone with my talons of metal, and open my eyes. My tail lashes like a phantom, and I walk forwards. I see metal bars in a stone chasm, and tread forward with caution. Then I see her….

    I now see from her eyes, so I suppose. She cries, “BÄRCHEN!”

    I reply, “Yes, angel?”

    She cries, “I missed you so! How did you find me?” I smile inwardly and prepare a response.

    I then trash it and say, “Why did you call me here? You never have since your passing.” She suddenly closes her eyes and I feel the cold ground.

   I come around in my own body. I shake out my scales, and the leader snickers, “Who’s she?” I glare and try to peice together how to explain this as we walk. We soon enter a grand hallway made of boring stone and paintings of old monarchs. The paintings all involve dragons. Every. Last. One. I find it personally degrading that these baffoons sit on such noble beasts and don’t end up being devoured. Such regal heads and the colours of the natural world coat these beasts, they are too elegant to be depicted like lap dogs. How is this not infuriating to anyone else? My wings shuffle a bit and I growl my frustrations. This is infuriating. I should be in the library, studying on how to save Vienna and what to do about Chantreas’ call. That call wasn’t at all possible, so why did it happen? If she is dead, which she indeed is, she cannot Heart Call me. Her heart no longer beats in time to our world, so calling me is illogical and impossible. “Day dreaming?” I stop and search for that stupid leader. I don’t see him anywhere, so I can assume he’s in the courtyard ahead. I dash, my muscles contrating and relaxing towards the smell of food. It smells fantastic, honestly. I change gaits to a gallop and hear screams of surprise. I enter a dull courtyard full of training dragon riders. They all stop and stare at what’s entered the courtyard. I flap my wings in annoyance. The food is not here? What malarky is this? I spread my wings and barrel towards the other short end of the courtyard. I flap a bit and kick off. My wings carry me into the air and a scream causes me to look back. The lost trainer returns! He’s curled up in the end of my tail.

    I cry, mirth filled, “I have found you!” He stares at me with shock. I feel like he has never flown before, which makes this even more weird. I fly towards the smell of food, mouth watering.

     He hollers, scaling my tail, “Who is she?” I stare as he world goes black again.

     Chantrea sighs, glanicng around the cell we’re sitting in, “Don’t fuck off like that! I lost signal!” I roll my eyes and lash my tail lightly.

    I sigh, “Why am I here?”

    She replies  “Your family is here, with me. The ones who were killed by the Para Virus. I’ve been unable to contact you since they took me here…”

    I reply, dragonic form rigid, “So they died. Like I thought.” She shoves my shoulder and glares.

    She replies, hopelessness in her voice, “No. This world has things you don’t know about. Side realms and back doors to everywhere. That’s why I made you a dragon. I can call you in this form, and you can see the portals. Being Mélomaine, you will hear the song the portal plays. Bärchen please believe me.” I feel dismay bubble in my chest.

    I growl, betrayal in my heart like a fire, “Why did you leave me then?” Silence fills the cell. She shakes her head and sighs. I feel something between us now, like glass. I pound on it with my horns. She snaps her fingers and I fall through the floor and into my body again.

    I shake my head and growl in frustration, “Chantrea.” The trainer is now seated on my back, unable to even touch my wings.

   He sighs, “That was quite the call. You were tossing your head and growling!”

   I reply, anger burning me apart, “I was abandoned by Chantrea and Vienna, and now they need me to rescue them. Unfortunately, I am being forced into dragon form.”

    He gapes, “Dude. What happened?” I spill my guts as he directs me to a stable. He sighs, “Unfortunately, the school bought you. That means you have to accept a rider. Being a dragon, you’ll know when your rider emerges in the group coming through in ten minutes. By the way, you have a nice flight pattern. I’d be surprised if a more advanced didn’t take you to show.” I snort, metal in my mouth. No fucking way am I being taken to show and yanked around by the mouth. I land outside a vaccant stall and let the human get off. I enter the spacious stall and realize I’m not the scariest beast here. There are some pretty rough characters here. I hope I’m chosen soon.