(Old) Ice and Fire (Wings of Fire fan story)

Back to school... yay: Toad

Toad was extremely nervous. Back home, he could stay inside and hide from Amber, but at school, he would be out in the open for her to find. He knew he would be hunted like a deer on a dragonet hunting trip. 

"Hey, Toad," Chill called. Robin was glued to his side, and he didn't seem to care. 

"Oh, hey. I can't wait for next year, when we get multiple teachers with different classes," he tried to get a conversation going.

"Oh, ya. That seems like fun," Chill replied. "I'm not sure what I'm going to take. Maybe cooking. I kinda wanna learn to cook."

"Oh, I'm going to go for drawing classes," Toad replied.

"Wait, drawing? Why drawing?" Chill asked.

"I just like drawing," Toad shrugged. It was true, he did like drawing. He was pretty good at it. He thought about it as he was sorted into the male NightWing teacher's class. Him and Chill were in the same class. Robin and Slush where in the other room with the female SandWing teacher.

"Alright, class," the teacher called. "My name is Professor Fearfighter, but you can call me Fear, because I will scare you with the amount of work I will make you do," he joked.

Toad listened to his speech until lunch. He liked his new teacher, though he had an annoying cough, and he coughed more than any other dragon he knew. He looked a little beat up, and Toad assumed he had lived on the NightWing volcano before it erupted.

"Alright, dragonets," Fearfighter called to them as the bell rang. "Outside! Free time. You don't have to go outside, but you can't stay in here! Actually, I think you do have to go outside. Not sure of the rules on that. Anyways, go!"

Toad felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Outside was where Amber was. Outside was the last place he wanted to be.

"C'mon, Toad," Chill called to him as the other kids headed outside. Toad followed him, reluctantly.

"Oh, hey Toad!" Someone called. He looked over and saw a dark red SkyWing. "Someone wants to see you. Follow me," the SkyWing, he remembered, was one of the dragonets in Amber's group.

"Hey, Toad. Got yourself a girlfriend?" Chill grinned at him. He gave him a little shove towards the SkyWing. Another orange SkyWing appeared beside him, placing her talon on his shoulder and digging her claws in deep.

"Go on," Chill grinned wider, walking off. Toad still hadn't told him or anyone else about the bullying.

"Please, leave me alone," Chill tried as the other red SkyWing placed her talon on his other shoulder. This only made the two girls grip him harder.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here," a familiar voice hissed in his ear as they reached the darker area in the side of the school. A few other dragons were watching. Four SkyWings, a grumpy looking SeaWing and two MudWings, who looked like they were gambling, money and all, and, he realized after a moment, a small SandWing trying to hide behind the SkyWings. They all stopped what they were doing and sat down, watching the show.

He could tell this wasn't a good sign.

"So, worm," Amber hissed. He took one last look at the dragons, silently begging them for help. As he landed on the SandWing, he realized it was Pika. What was Pika doing here?

She realized he was staring at her, and raised her eye ridges at him, grinning slyly.

What the... What is Pika doing here? PIKA!? Of all the dragonets, PIKA!

He wasn't prepared as his talons were wrenched behind his back painfully. 

"You thought you had a chance, didn't you? You thought you had a chance with ME," she growled as she tied his talons together.

"Get 'em, Amber!" One of the SkyWings called.

"Ya, shut up. No one likes you, ether," Amber called from above him.

Toad cried out quietly as the dragonets kicked him. It wasn't as hard as last time, and there weren't any claws, but it still hurt. This time, though, Amber and her friends hurled insults at him. At the end, Amber got one of the MudWings to pick him up and threw him into the ground. He was lucky the ground was soft dirt. It smelt faintly of alcohol, but it was soft.

"Never forget how useless you are," Amber laughed evilly, cutting him free and shoving him out of the dark area.

Why him.