Fate - First Reply Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym (Thanasis)

[Polina]

Ōmeyōcān

Early morning sunlight filtered in through the wide hole at the top of the cavernous training arena. Various practice weapons hung along the walls. A course lay in the middle. Those from the Rising stood alongside the students from noble families, gathered for the session. New against those already somewhat seasoned. Vhagor was there and Polina made a point not to look his dragon in the eye. There was also another woman at his side, a slim female dressed all in black, with just as black hair tied back. There was something unnerving about the woman's gaze, the scar on her face only adding to her whole vibe. And even though the woman didn't have a mighty warrior's build, she still screamed danger like a finely sharpened blade.

Polina's very bones ached from her ordeal during the Rising. Bruises and scrapes still splashed across her pale skin. She imagined this was how Grandma Meemaw had felt on her good days, when her spine began to curve in on itself. When things hurt just from sleeping in a poor position the night before. And the looks her peers kept casting her way, made her want to shrivel further inward. She didn't know if she was more baffled at her own luck to be alive and standing here than they were. Most thought her a fool for even entering the Rising.

But she'd had no choice.

Her father had needed something that could only be found deep within those guarded and treacherous lands.

She just hadn't expected to also come out with a dragon.

The White dragon's warm breath puffed across Polina's blonde-haired head, rustling her wayward strands with an odor of the fish hit had for breakfast. Her small hands balled into fists at her sides. She needed to be brave, she needed to...

There was a snap of teeth and scream that echoed throughout the air as a juvenile red dragon bit into the shoulder of the unfortunate student standing next to it around the training arena. A cocky laugh and sneer from a scarlet-haired boy, who was probably just a few years older than Polina.

Anluan let out a low growl as its white tail circled around Polina protectively, even as the girl who wanted all the courage in the world swallowed and took a step back.

 

[Lukrozub]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Curiosity. Maybe that was why he came today to this training arena in a cave place. He knew caves, yes, but mainly in the mountains. Ever since he had left his homeland, of which the steppes were open, he made it a purpose to venture beneath the clouds of the lowlands and plains, his adventures throughout the strange lands made with his gaze kept skyward.

Then again, he did always quite like sleeping beneath the moonlight as much as in the grotto, so ultimately what truly mattered for him was just keeping on the move, day and night, in one environment or the next. For, he was an explorer, a wanderer, and he was an orc of the Cromnag tribe.

Also, words were hard in his head, for thoughts could often get the better of him even in his own language. Out loud? Forget about it. It was ever a wonder how he had managed to get in with this training regiment to begin with.

Was it a regiment? Definitions were difficult as was the common tongue. Though that wasn’t why the orc wore a mask over the lower half of his face. The fabric did cover his mouth and his nose, and depicted the image of a skull, though the ‘green skin’ as some called him was not inherently belligerent.

Dragons? These were different beasts indeed. The orc stood back as he watched the red dragon attack the student. If I was the student then I would strike back as that bite was not warranted. His thoughts were formed well enough in his mind, in hindsight, unlike his garments which were little more than pants at the moment as he was shirtless amid his necklace.

“Me no like dragon bite.”

Right. While he might think in fluid speech within his mind, this orc could not quite speak the same way, as his words were anything but liquid in his limited experience.

“You fight me?”

Axe in one hand, sword brandished in the other, the orc stepped forward toward the dragon, not backward.

“You fight Lukrozub, yes?”

Yes, that was his name, Lukrozub, or ‘Luke’ for short, as chosen. Forgive him? Maybe.

“You bite hard, you bite fast, but Luke move like dragonfly, bite like honey bee.”

Hopefully he was not getting in over his head, yes? The orc had never met a dragon before.

Polina

 

[Polina]

The large maw of her white dragon whipped through the air. Eyes that promised death peered down at the being that smelled....odd. Something it hadn't smelled in eons. Polina spun her head toward the voice, though Anluan made sure to keep a protective scaled leg between herself and Lukrozub.

Blue eyes widened in curiosity. Even being a servant and living in the lower levels of the city, she'd never seen anyone like him before. Or speak like him.

Vhagor was walking toward the injured student. The rest of the students and their dragons eyes each other as they waited. Nyx looked like she'd like to eat them all. Virdan was the only one that wasn't scared of the dragon teacher's dragon even as she began to take over class instruction as to where Vhagor left off.

"Where's your dragon?" She asked quietly. Timid eyes only widened at the weapons he wielded. His massive chest and that skull mask. She wanted to swallow but her mouth was suddenly dry.

Anluan was not so patient or inquisitive as her bonded. The dragon's sharp, white tail whipped from the side, as if to splat an annoying bug against the wall.

 

[Lukrozub]

Wind whipped amid the air of the cavern, a gust rushing over Lukrozub, who stood as still as a statue, and he had seen many statues upon leaving his remote homeland in the mountains. On the Spine. He had a spine, and that was an expression he had learned in a tavern when someone had threatened to rip his spine out of him but, in the end, they didn’t and were finished.

Brave dragon. Yes. Very brave. That made sense. Some dragons had wings, teeth, nails as sharp as shark’s teeth, and he had learned of sharks in a shop but had not yet seen them. Wyverns. Were those dragons too? I don’t remember. However, he did recognize challenge as it stared him in the eye, there with this dragon.

“My dragon?” He answered the question with another question. Or was the correct way of saying actually he asked the question with another question? I don’t know. “Me no have dragon.” Luke shook his head as his dragon opponent’s tail whipped like the wind.

Maybe it thought him to be a bug. He had crushed many bugs. One bug was a beetle he had named Meetle because it was on his meat while a seamstress was sowing his shirt with her needle.

“Me have axe.” He brandished his axe. “Me have sword.” He brandished his sword. “Me come to train. Fight dragon, yes yes?” He nodded yes. “Good good.” He stepped forth toward the dragon. “Who make first move?” He just stood.

That was the moment when the dragon's tail whipped from the side to treat its opponent as said bug. The orc was ready for it, most yes, however he honestly had never met a dragon before this moment so, admittedly, didn't really know what to expect.

As the tail whacked at him, Luke swung both his sword and his axe against it. At least one blade might connect with the target but, ultimately, neither would prevent what happened next as the orc smacked against a wall only to fall and land on his back.

"Hmmmm," Luke hmmmm'd. "Me hurting."

Polina

 

[Polina]

"Anluan!" Po yelped in protest as her dragon attacked. The blades of Lukrozub was skitter across the dragon's scales as if across armor. The sword did find a way between the scales for a moment but the large beast shook it free. A snarl working its way up the massive throat as it blew a puff of very hot air toward the orc.

Not enough to burn.

A warning blast.

One of the beasts talon's tapped against the cavern's floor, cracking the earth.

The petite blonde girl managed to take a few steps free from within the safety of the white dragon's foreleg, her hands held upward as her brows knitted in confusion.

"I'm so sorry. He, um, gets protective. You don't have a dragon? Why did you...are you from Thanasis?"

And if he wasn't...how did he get here she wondered? Not many solo travelers made it to the city, if at all. Everything beyond the wall was dangerous and full of monsters. The clang of weapons and dragons around them filled the training space as students began to practice and do as instructed.

 

[Lukrozub]

Though the dragon’s tail was sharp like its scales were hard, fortunately the orc’s sword and axe had managed to get in between its blade-something-thing and his flesh and bone. Though that did not mean he was not bruised to say the least after smacking the wall and landing on his back quite like a fly, yes-yes?

“No uh-paw-lee-jee necessary,” Luke enunciated. Pronunciated? Emphasized. Something like that. Terminology of the common tongues were often as lost on him as dragons. Then again, he had come here to practice, despite being quite a bit oblivious of his opponent. “No sorry for Lukrozub.” He said, blinking up at the rocky ceiling.

Hmmm. Yes. This is beautiful stonework as made by nature, paved by her ways of beauteous craftsmanship. So often taken for granted, isn’t it? What a shame. Curious how the denizens of these lands construct their cathedrals and their castles but cannot even see the beauty in front of their faces.

Thinking in his own tongue, however, was an entirely different story.

“Me no have dragon. Me have sword and axe.” He lifted both weapons while still lying on his back. “Lukrozub from village of Ortabur. Orc village in mountains on the Spine. Me from Clan Cromnag. Me like cave. But me from steppe. Me like dragon but dragon very much dangerous, yes-yes.”

He groaned just then. His bones did ache. Beneath his mask his lips did break apart as if to say ‘Uggggggghhhhhhhh’. “But me like practice. Thank you, dragon. You too, mother of dragon.”

Polina