The Dragon Arises

Shadow

Pompeii's head slammed to the side, my out of control tail waving furiously. "Whoops, sorry!" I exclaimed. "Ugh! Focus on it, don't panic" Pompeii urged.

I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, today was the second day of training, after failings miserably the day before. I couldn't help it, where ever I went a ache of sadness kept my mind on my family. I wasn't certain they had all died but I wasn't going back to Athena. Now, after Pompeii had shown me a hidden room that was full of battered walls and scorched straw, I was learning to control my tail, something small but useful.

I tried to feel the connection between my body and the limp figure on the ground, but there was nothing. I could tell I wasn't a fire or water dragon, the most common. I knew because my tail was a slender pitch black line, with the end looking like an arrow tip, the under side was white. Ignoring the ache of depression I concentrated again, the tail twitched but lay limp.

"Try imagining yourself with a tail you could control" Pompeii suggested. I closed my eyed.

The royal prince brought his hand down but I was quicker, smacking it away with a flash of white and black. My tail came again, tripping the prince and driving the breath from his body.

I waved my tail, having full control. Excitement washed over me and I jumped in victory, the small act breaking my connection with the now limp limb. "That was good! Just try being calm" Pompeii said encouragingly.

I smiled at her praise "if you say so" she nodded her head, and so I tried again. It was a bit easier, my tail flicked a couple rocks, sending them flying. I backed up to the dark side of the cave, thinking I saw something move in the shadow, with a twist of fear in my stomach I stepped into the dark. Suddenly my 'tail' vanished into thin air, I looked around desperately, where's my tail? It disappeared! I knew it hadn't returned to me.

Pompeii had left, I wished she was here now, her guidance was like a mother's. I stepped away from the dark, suddenly terrified. Then it was back, my tail formed in thin air. I partly understood what had happened my tail had become the shadow. Does this mean I'm a shadow dragon? Is that even a thing? What had happened? I suddenly needed to know. The turn of events strikingly scary, how did I even do that? I thought desperately. My tail shrunk and disappeared as I ran.

"Pompeii! Pompeii! I think I know what type of dragon I am!" I shouted while running to the main cave. Pompeii's head shot up from her bowl of food. She got up from the chair and ran over. "Show me!" She yelled, excitedly. I didn't feel her enthusiasm but instead clumsily walked to a shadowed area and let my tail come forth once again. I walked into the shadow, and focused on it.

Nothing.

I looked back, my tail was as still as ever. "It happened before! I swear" I said. "I believe you, tell me what happened, now!" Pompeii stiffly snapped, as if the answer was gravely important.

"I thought I saw something move in the shadowed part of the training cave, so I went to check it out and I just focused on the dark, then my tail just vanished" I explained quickly. "But what did you feel, emotions?? Anything!" She asked.

"Yes, just before it disappeared I felt a sharp fear, like anxiety at it's worst" I said, worried at what she was getting at. "Just as what I first though, your dragon is triggered by emotions" she thought with a hand on her chin. I didn't know what it meant, but by the tone she used, this must have been bad news.

"Soo what are we going to do?" I asked frightened. Her eyes went blank, then shut completely. She laughed creepily and fell forward, crackles echoed on the stone, she was a dragon. I backed away from her, hitting the wall, she haden't told me anything about this. She was in a trance and I didn't know what she would do.

She talked, her voice hoarse and cracked. "a long time ago a dragon came to the valley, it said it couldn't control itself, it had the same problem as you." Suddenly she plunged into a current of memory, is this something dragons could do? A wave of power rolled away from the collapsed dragon, it hit me with a strange force, then it was gone and I slammed into the ground, only to find grass.

It was a day as any other, a baby fire dragon was stalking a mouse, following with light footsteps. A dragons roar echoed through the under growth and the mouse squeaked and scuttled away. The dragoness frowned and looked up, only to find the source of the sound wasn't anyone who she recognized. Dragons were already coming forth, the new comer landed on the ground, panic stricken.

"Please help me! I don't know what happened, or what I am! I turned into what ever I am and the people at my home attacked me, driving me out after I had felt a strong anger." The new dragon pleaded in front of big dragons, suddenly the hushed whispers died as a much bigger dragon stepped from the circle that had formed. Father! The young fire dragon thought. Scars lined his scales but he was far from defeated. He will resolve this! She thought.

Pompeii, the baby fire dragon, watched as her father strode into the circle, his huge body and ugly scars declaring him leader. He looked at the new comer, then spoke "don't worry new one, this is common in dragons who spent most there life as humans. All you need to do is-" the words were ripped away as the dragons faded, the memory ending as soon as it had become. Suddenly the words were back, as if they had to be heard before the memory came to a darkening end. "Is to stay calm, don't let emotion control your actions, and once you've mastered that you don't have to worry, they won't affect your decisions any longer..." The last of the world faded into a blur, the ground fell away but yet, no cry of panic was summoned in the air.

Coughing, choking, and a bit of sobbing brung me to my knees, across the room, Pompeii was back in her human form and was kneeling over in pain. Even as I got up I could sense living through the memory again had drained the crouched figure of her energy. She rolled onto her side and through her misery she spoke "Irang, you saw it too, we know what we must do".

Poor Pompeii...

I might change to third person perspective, idk