Dragon Wars: Flames Of Pain (Book 3)

Chapter 23 (Jangras POV) Go!

I walked away from the over powered group, that Lunk had just made for him self, as I was a bit angry with what he had done. Surely he knew that no dragon would stand a chance in a fight like this, right? Even if I was the dragon of destiny, and we were to go and fight the black dragons, I could not just simply fight them by my self.
I looked at the group that was around me for a bit of some time, as I saw that they were a lot smaller than the other dragons that were on the other side of the clearing, talking about their own plans, which I had to assume that they did not have to make many.
Not only were they smaller, but they were not as fast as the others either, besides for Nink and Penta, but as I looked over at Penta, I could see that she was not happy, and that she did not want to be here. She was not like that most days, when we did our training, but I knew that this was not just a normal day for us.
I looked over at Lunk, and the others, as I saw that Lunk was just staring at me, with a big smile on his face, as he knew that he had set me up for failure. It was almost as if he had just wanted to make a fool out of me, and make the others believe in the fact that I might not be the dragon of destiny.
That is what it seemed as if he had been planning on doing all along, and I wish that I had known that, or that I had seen it coming, before I had agreed on what he had said. When he had told me it was going to be a test, I did not realize that it was going to be a test that would be impossible for me.
I stared back at him for a bit of time, as I wondered why he was not talking with the rest of his group, and why he was not making plans on how they were going to play capture the stick, with his own team. I then looked at the others that they were with, as I saw that a lot of them were just laughing.
It did not seem like they were taking it all that seriously either, and for good reason as well, as it was clear that they too, knew that I had no chance of beating them. I shook my head though, at the same time, as I knew that I should not have my thoughts focused on the other team at the moment.
I needed to be paying attention to my own team, as I felt like I could use the fact that they were not making plans, to my advantage. Maybe we could score one point, if I made a plan that they did not expect. I was not sure if that would be enough for Lunk though, as I was sure that he would want me to win.
I felt like, even if we did win, he would still refuse to believe that I was the dragon of destiny. I shook my head though, as I knew that I did not need to worry about all of that, at the current moment. I turned my head over my raggedy group of misfits, that was the team of mine.
I looked at all of them, as I saw that they had their heads low to the ground, and they were all looking away, as it was clear that they did not want to be here. They knew that we had just about 0 chance in us having a chance of winning, and that was not a good mind set for us to start with.
I looked at all of them, as I saw that there was one dragon in specific, that did not have his head down. It was a bit strange to me as well, as it always seemed like he was some how always happy, even when the worst things happened to him. I wondered if it was perhaps the fact that he had been chosen first for once.
No... The dragon that I was looking at, that had his head held up high, was in fact Nink. He always had his head held up high, even when the worst was to come for every one, he some how always managed to find some sliver of hope, down deep inside of his soul.
It made me feel better as well, as I knew that he, just like a lot of the other dragons that were in the tribe, had lost just about all that he had cared about when we had got attacked by the black dragons a few years ago. He still always seemed to be happy though, and even if he was not the strongest dragon around, he always seemed to be fearless.
It began to motivate me, as I looked at all of the dragons that I was with, with a big smile on my face. I saw that a few dragons noticed me do so as well, from the corner of their eye, as they lifted their head up, a bit confused as to what it was that I could possibly be excited about at the current moment.
Feeding off of that, I saw that the other dragons that I was with, began to lift their heads up, at the exact same time as well. It was good too, as I knew that we only had a certain amount of time, for us to make our plans, before we started our small little skirmish, if you wanted to call it that.
Though I had a smile on my face, I did not see very many smiles on the other faces of the dragons, besides Nink, which was to no surprise at all to me, as I nodded to him, hoping the others had noticed me do so, and hoping that they could feed off of him.
They did not do so, as I looked around at all of them, as I saw that most of them had looks of confusion on their face, and a lot of them had their heads tilted to the ground as well. I blinked a few times, as I then started to feel like the rest of them. I began to feel like there was no hope again.
That did not last all that long though, as I then heard the voice of one of the dragons that was in the group, begin to step up, and speak to me. I turned my head over to the dragon, as I noticed right away, that the dragon happened to be Nink too.
It then brought a strange bit of new life in to my body, as I felt shivers run down my spine, as I turned my head over to Nink, to hear what it was that he had to say to me at the exact same moment too.
"So... Jangra... What are our plans? We are running out of time..." He said to me right away. I blinked a few times, as I still had not gotten those in to my head just yet, as I had been so focused on the fact that I had already told my self, that we had no chance of winning this battle.
I knew that Nink was right, at the same time too, as even if I thought that we did not have a chance, that did not mean that I still should not make plans. It would only be an even worse look for Lunk, and all of the others that still might believe that I could perhaps be the dragon of destiny.
I stared down at the ground, as I began to think the plans through out my head at the exact same moment. I was not sure how in the world we were even going to get to the safe circle on the other side for one, and the second part was, how a couple of small dragons were going to defend 6 dragons running at them, trying to get our branch.
I was sure that I could maybe get to the circle, if a bunch of us were distracting them, but the question was, how I was going to get back to the other side, and score a point for us, much less 3, which was how many we needed to win. I gulped, as I could find no possible way of us being able to defend the other side.
I looked up at Penta, and at Nink, who were by far the fastest of the group that I was in right now. I stared at Penta for a few moments as well, as I knew that she was also the strongest as well. I could use that for defense, but how much would that really help, if Lunk was running at her?
I shook my head, as I felt like her speed would be much more useful for us. Nink was one I usually used for offense, though he had never scored a point, not once for me, he always did a fairly good job of distracting the other dragons, just in time for me to run off with the branch in my paw.
That was 3 though... I needed 3 more to attack with us, and just based off of the looks of these dragons, I wondered if Lunk had purposely chosen the slowest dragons, so that we had no chance of scoring a single goal on the opposition. I looked at them, trying to single one that would be good for offense.
None of them had done offense before though, and they were all used to just being defenders. I shook my head, as I heard the voice of Lunk, begin to speak up, very loud to all of the other dragons that were in my group. I turned my head over to him, to hear what it was that he had to say.
"We are almost out of time! I hope that you all are ready!" Lunk said, with the same big smile on his face, as he stared directly at me. It no longer felt like this was a plan made by my father any longer, as this felt a lot more personal. I was not sure why, as me and Lunk never really had much beef, or disagreements.
I shook my head though, as I heard a lot of the dragons that were in the other group, begin to laugh overly loud, as if it had been done on purpose, to get in to our heads. I was not sure if that was the case though, as it seemed more like the fact that they were just having a good time over there.
I shook my head though, as I stared at Lunk for quite a bit of time, as I saw him wink one of his eyes at me, as he stared right back at me, with no fear at all in his eyes. Not like he needed to be afraid at all any ways, as he knew that he had made a team that was impossible for me to beat.
I blinked a few times, as I saw that all of the dragons in his group were just staring at me, as it was clear that they had already finished, with their so called, 'plan', and they were just waiting for me to finish up with mine. The problem was, I had not even started to tell my group what it was that I had thought of.
I was not even sure if I had even thought of any thing just yet, either. I looked at all of them for a bit longer, as I saw that they were all waiting for me to speak to them. I did not hesitate this time, as I nodded to all of them, and then I began to speak to them all.
"We are almost done! Just give us a little while longer!" I said to them, as I knew that it was a straight up lie, but they would not know any better. If any thing at all, I felt like they might get a little bit nervous, as to the fact that they might think that I indeed, did have a plan to beat them, which was not the case at all sadly.
I looked at them for a little bit longer, as I saw that a lot of them nodded to me. I saw that Lunk was staring at me though too, as it did not seem like he was buying any of it at all. I shook my head, as I looked away from him. I knew that he was just trying to get in to my head, and he was doing a damn good job of it too.
I turned my head to the group that I was with, as I saw that once again, all of them had their heads down low to the ground, besides the 2 dragons that I had my mind on earlier, which was Penta, and Nink. Nink had a smile on his face still, as it seemed like he might just be in a whole nother world.
Penta was just the opposite though, as I saw that she had her eyes squinted at me, and she had a bit of an upset look on the face of hers. I looked at her for a little while, as I blinked a couple of times too, as it almost felt like she was looking in to my soul, and reading in to my thoughts.
I dipped my head a little bit low, but not too low, as to the fact that it might look a bit suspicious to her. Penta continued to stare at me for quite some time, until she let out a bit of a sigh, as she then shook her head at me. I lifted my head up, as I was a bit confused, as she then began to speak to me. I listened to what it was that she had to say as well.
"So... You just lied to them? If you had a plan, that could you please tell us what it is?" She said to me. I lifted my head up to her, as I was a bit surprised, but I was also a bit worried as well, as she had a very angry tone in her voice, as she spoke.
A lot of the dragons lifted their head up, as it seemed like we might be about to get in a fight, and I knew that the dragons on our tribe, sure as hell loved to see drama. I shook my head though, as I did my best to not pay any kind of attention to any of those dragons, as I stared right back at Penta.
We both had our eyes squinted at each other for some time, as I then began to think on what it was that she had just said to me. I began to realize that she was right for once, and I had in fact lied to them. Kind of at least, as I had began to make a plan in my head, before they had interrupted me.
After a little while longer, of us just staring at one another, I then nodded to Penta, who blinked a few times, with a bit of a look of surprise on her face, as she nodded to me, interested in what it was that I had to say to her. I looked at all of the dragons that were with us one more time, as I then began to speak.
"Yes... I was thinking of one in my head, and I am ready now... I think that we might have a chance..." I said to her, as she looked at me for a little while longer, and then she looked at the group that we were working with, as it did not look like she believed a word that I had just said.
I was not sure if any one had at all, but it at least had gotten the attention of all of the other dragons that were with us. I nodded to all of them, as they all just blinked at me, with shocked, and confused looks on all of their faces. I looked away from all of them though, as I looked back over at Penta.
Penta just stared right back at me for a little bit of time, as she was waiting to hear what it was that I had to say to her. I was not sure what it was that I was going to say, as I began to realize at the same time. I looked at all of the dragons that I was with, in a bit of panic, as I began to formulate a plan straight off of the top of my head.
I knew that was not going to work though, as we were really cutting it close on time now. I closed my eyes for a couple seconds, as I thought back on the fact that I was going to have Penta and Nink go on the attack with me. Was that all that I needed? We were going to have a very hard time defending if we just played like a normal team.
I knew that I was always able to get in to the circle, and if I managed to think of a plan, I could possibly slither my way out, before the others had a chance to stop me. I blinked a few times, as it was all going through my head so fast, but at the same time, it also felt like it was a plan that could work for us too.
The problem was, we were running short on time. It was a simple explanation though, if I just had the time to explain it to all of them, and how it was that we were going to be able to do this, it might actually be able to work for us. I started to get excited, as I looked at the others.
Nink was staring at me now, as I saw him, and he did not seem to have the same happy look on his face, that I had seen from him a few moments before hand. I looked at him a little bit confused, as I nodded for him to speak his mind. He nodded back gratefully, and then he began to talk up to the entire group, which was a first for him, as I began to realize.
"They are splitting up in to their sections, and we don't even know what our teams are going to be yet!" He said to me. I blinked a few times, as I turned my head back to the other group that we were about to fight against. I looked at all of them, as I realized that what Nink had said was right.
Lunk was about to call it a time to start, and I did not have much time left in me, to tell my group what our roles were going to be. I was about to freak out, but instead, I stopped my self, and I did what it was that Socra had recommended me to do, as I closed my eyes for a few moments, and I breathed in heavily.
I let out a sigh, and then I turned my head back over to my group, and I nodded to all of them. I saw lots of worried, and confused looks on the faces of theirs, but I felt like that would not last all that long, when I explained my plans to them, just not in full detail due to the fact that we were short on time.
A couple of them nodded back to me, but I also saw that a few of them felt a bit helpless already, and it seemed like they were already ready to give up, and just forfeit the loss to the other team. I shook my head though, as I knew that I should not worry about those dragons at all, I just needed to let them know, that they at least needed to try.
I blinked a couple of times, as I saw that all of the eyes were on me. It always scared me when it was like that, especially when I spoke to the entire tribe, but I was used to it at this point, and I was ready for it as well. I stared at all of them, and then I began to speak as a team.
"Penta... Nink... You come with me, and we will go on the attack... The rest of you defend..." I began to say, as I saw a lot of shocked looks on the faces of a lot of the group. I shook my head at the same time, as I knew that I needed to not focus on that, as I continued to speak to all of them. "The rest of you defend... I need 4 around the circle... 4 near the edges in case the get by, and then I want 1 in the middle..."
I saw a few of the others still had a bit of a shocked look on their face, but I also then saw that a lot of them had begun to understand what it was that I was getting at, at the exact same time as well. As I began to think it through a bit more, I began to realize that it might actually be able to work.
At least, it might be able to work on the defensive side of it, as I was not sure if it was going to work for us other 3... I stared at all of them, as I saw that they were all starting to look quite a bit excited for this now, which was great to see from them too.
I still felt like we might not be able to win, but if we made it to where we held them off, until Socra called the meeting, than we would be not call it a loss. I blinked a few times, as I knew that was not the way that I should be thinking this through at the same time either.
I knew that it was not going to be enough for Lunk, or my father, who I felt had a lot to do with this. I knew that we had to score, which brought up the fact that Nink was so fast. If we were able to distract the dragons with just me and Nink, than perhaps Penta could go in, and be able to score with out the other team noticing.
I nodded, as I knew, that no matter what, this was our only chance. We were at the heaviest disadvantage that I had ever had to run in to, and this was our way out of it. I blinked a few times, as I heard one of the dragons step up and begin to speak to me, at the same time as well, as I listened to what it was that she had to say.
"It is supposed to be 6 defenders, and 6 attackers... Is that not against the rules?" She asked me. I looked at her for a few moments, as I thought about what it was that she had said. I thought about the rule books as well, as I did not remember it ever saying anything about how many people were allowed to attack, and how many were allowed to defend.
I thought through the rules in my head, where I knew that you could only go so high, you could not go out of the clearing, you could not use your claws, and you could not throw the branch forward to the other side... It had never said any thing about how many people were allowed to attack and defend.
If any thing, that was by far in the rules, as I knew that at half time, you could switch the roles of who was allowed to attack, and who was allowed to defend your side. I blinked a few times, as I took the thought of the rules from out of my mind, at the exact same moment as well.
I then looked over at the dragon that had just spoken to me, as I squinted my eyes at her, as I saw that it got her a little bit nervous. It was not what I had meant to do, as I just shook it off, as I then began to speak back to her, and the rest of the group, once again.
"It is not in the rules to where we cant, so I think it is just a normal plan for 6 and 6... If you think that 1 of you can take down Lunk by your self, than go ahead and try..." I said to her. She stared at me for a few moments, with a bit of a surprised look on her face, as to why she had never thought of that before.
I then saw her nod to me, with a bit of a smile on her face, as I smiled right back at her too. It seemed to resonate to the rest of our group at the same time as well, as I saw them have big smiles too. I let out a bit of a sigh of relief, as I then began to think, and believe that we might have a chance of winning.
It looked like the rest of them too, had begun to think the same as I, as I saw that they were all excited to see how this was to go. I blinked a few times, as I then suddenly head the loud voice of Lunk, begin to speak up to all of the dragons that were with us, in the very big clearing.
All of the dragons that were in my group then turned their heads over to Lunk at the same time, as they all still had the same big smiles on their face. I looked over at Lunk, at the same time too, as I saw that he noticed that we all had smiles on our faces, and for once, I could tell that it got in to his head.
I started to really think that they had not made a plan to fight against us at all, as I saw just based off of the look on his face. Lunk shook it off, just as soon as he had hesitated just in the slightest bit, as he continued to begin to speak to all of us.
"You are now out of time! Get ready to begin! And remember that the rules are that there are no claws! No going out of the clearing! No going higher than 15 dragon lengths above the sky, and once you are down, you must go back to the other side... If you break any of those rules you are disqualified..." He said to us. We had all gotten used to it at this point, but it was always good to have a reminder.
The first couple of games that we had done, a lot of dragons had broken the rules, and had gotten away with it, but at this point, all of the dragons had learned to play fair. I hoped that my team knew the same thing, even if we were at an insanely unfair disadvantage in this battle.
I shook my head though, as I looked back at the group that I was in, to make sure that they were all ready for the battle. I saw that a lot of them were a bit afraid, but they kept the same smiles on their faces any ways, which was good for me to see from them as well.
I nodded to all of them, as I saw them all nod back to me, I began to turn my head to the middle, to get ready to start, when I suddenly heard the voice of a male dragon begin to speak this time. I turned my head back over, a little bit annoyed, as I listened to what it was that he had to say any ways.
"You did not tell us who goes where on defense..." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, as I saw the smiles from many of the dragons faces go away just as soon as he had said it. I cursed my self, as I realized that he was right, and I had not thought about that at all, before hand.
We were out of time too, and I did not have time to tell them where it was that they should go to. It was all starting to go vert bad, and we had not even started the battle yet. I was more worried about the fact that they had all lost faith, rather than the fact that I had not planned on where it was that they should head over to.
I blinked a couple of times, as I thought it through my head real quick, to make some sort of way to lighten their spirits back up, while also having a plan, which both were very important pieces. I nodded to all of them once again, and then I began to speak to them all.
"Go where you are most comfortable at, and if some one is already there, than find some where else..." I said to them. They looked at each other, as it was clear that they were not sure how to handle what it was that I had just now said to them. I then continued to speak to them again. "And all of you... I want to see you try harder than you ever have in your life..."
Eventually, they then nodded to each other, as I watched as they got in to their places, with out any sort of disagreement either, which was good for me to see. I shook my head, as I looked at Nink and Penta, as I saw that Penta, to my surprise, did not have her eyes squinted at me, like she typically did.
She seemed like she was good with what it was that I had said to all of them, as I saw that she had a bit of a smile on her face at the same time too. I nodded to her, and then back over to Nink as well, to make sure that he was ready. They both nodded right back over to me, as I saw Nink's face light up, as he began to speak to us.
"We are going to win..." He said to me. I looked at him a bit surprised for a few moments, as to how much faith he had in our team. I then realized what it was that he had faith in, as I knew it was not the team so to say. It was the fact that he had a lot of faith in me... He always did... He was a great friend...
I looked at him, as I was still a bit surprised for a few moments, as I saw Penta roll her eyes at him, as if he was some sort of crazy dragon, for him to actually believe that we had a chance to win this battle. I shook my head at Penta, as I was glad that Nink had not noticed it, as I wanted him to have this moment.
I was starting to actually believe that what Nink had just said, could possibly be true as well, as crazy as it was to think that, and to look back at the team that I was working with. I smiled at both of them, as they were both my friends, even if me and Penta had our differences in the past.
I knew that Penta was a bit embarrassed with what she had done still, but I was over it at this point, and I wish that I could tell her the same. I blinked a few times, as I knew that was not where my thoughts should be at, at the exact moment either.
I then turned my eyes to Nink, who I saw had the same little smile on his face. I smiled right back at him, as we both nodded to each other at the exact same time. I looked at the group that was in front of us one last time, as I shook my head, and then kept that smile on my face as I spoke back to Nink.
"Yes... We are going to win..." I said right back to him. We stood there for a bit longer, as I saw Penta staring at me, as if I was some kind of stupid dragon, as she just shook her head, and then began to head over to the line that was in the middle of both sides. Me and Nink began to follow her, as she headed close to where Lunk was.
Once we got close to him, we stopped right in front of him. He looked at us for a little while longer, as he kept that same smile on his face through all of it. I could tell that it was getting in to the head of Penta as well, as he began to feed off of it, as he looked right over to her.
He stared at her for a bit of time, as I kicked the back side of Penta, which she turned her head over to me, with a bit of a confused look on her face, as to what it was that I was doing, and what it was that I was trying to say to her. I just shook my head at her, as I knew that she was a smart dragon, and she knew what I was getting at.
She nodded to me, as she then turned her head back over to Lunk, with a much different look on her face. Once Lunk saw that, he shook his own head, and then he looked away from her at the same moment. He then looked over at me and Nink, as Nink still did not blink one bit.
It amazed me some times, as to how strong that Nink really was, as I wished that other dragons could have seen that from him, before he had gotten his job as a cave dragon. I felt like, at the end of this war, when people saw how strong he was, they would change their mind on him.
That was... If we won the war at least... I was the dragon of destiny, and not even I was sure if we stood much of a chance in it. I shook my head though, as I knew that it was not good to go in to it with that sort of mind set either, as I looked over at Lunk, as we held eye contact with one another for quite a bit of some time.
He then shook his head once again, which he seemed to be doing a lot of, which I was not sure if it was because he was afraid, or if it were because he was just thinking of all of this, like it was some kind of big joke. Either way, I did my best, to stay, and look strong to him, and all of the others that were around him as well.
Eventually, Lunk seemed to give up, which I was happy with as well, as he then in turn, looked at all 3 of us, with a bit of a confused look on his face, at the exact same time as well. He blinked a couple of times, as he then began to speak to us, as I made sure that we were all listening to what it was that he had to say.
"Is it just you 3? That is all that you are going to attack us with?" He said to me, as he was a bit confused, but also a bit amused by it, at the same time as well, as it seemed like he was starting to get a little bit high on his horse. I blinked a few times at him, as I was more focused on trying to look strong, rather than listening to what it was that he had said to us just now.
I stared at him for a few moments, with a bit of a blank look on my face, which I could tell was getting on his nerves too, as he was waiting for some kind of response from me. I was not purposely trying to do that, as I was just a little bit lost in my head, trying to make sure that we were all looking strong and healthy.
I stood there for a bit of some time, as it then hit me, as to what it was that he had said to me just now, as I blinked a couple more times. I then looked right up to Lunk, with a bit of a smile on my face, as I felt a little bit worried at the same time as well, as to what that dragon had asked earlier, might be true or not.
I had to make sure though, as I did not want to disqualify my entire team, for breaking the rules in the fight. I was not sure why that mattered, as there was no rules in war any ways. I nodded to Lunk, as I finally began to respond to what it was that he had just asked me.
"Yes... It is just us 3... Is that against the rules or some thing?" I asked him. He looked at me for a few moments, as he blinked a few times, as he was still a bit surprised my it. He then began to grow a bit of an amused look on his face at the same time too, which I was starting to get a bit tired of as well.
He stared at me for a little while, as I was starting to wonder if it was against the rules. If it was, than that meant that we would have to go in to this with no sort of plan at all, as we did not have much time until Socra called the meeting for tonight. I shook my head though, as I was just about ready for any thing at this point, as Nink's energy was really feeding in to me now.
Lunk looked around, at the group that he had chosen to attack us, as they all had big grins on their faces, as if they were thinking the same thing that Lunk was right now. Lunk turned his head back over to me, as he rolled his eyes at me, and then he began to speak to me at the same time too.
"No... Not as far as I know... It's just a bit strange is all..." He said to me. I looked at him for a couple of moments, as I then nodded to him at the same time too, grateful that it was the case, as I did not want to go in to this with no plan, even if I had a lot of strength right now, it did not mean that the rest of my group felt the same way. Lunk blinked a few times, as he continued to speak much louder than before. "Kota... Say Go on 3, when you are ready..."
Lunk nodded back to me, as he kept that same amused grin on his face all the while. This time I did not let it bother me at all, as I blinked a few times, as I then looked at both Penta, and Nink, to get their attention over to me. They both turned their heads at the same time, as they saw me do so from the corner of their eyes.
I looked at all 3 of them, as I smiled at them at the same time too, as we all 3 nodded to each other at the exact same time. We then turned our head back over to the middle, as we lined up in our spots, ready to attack at any moments notice now.
I looked over at Kota, as I saw that he was a bit surprised by all that had just gone down as well, but he shook his head, as he did not let it both him, or get in to his head, which was not a surprise, as I knew he was a strong dragon. Kota then began to speak up, as I listened to what it was that he had to say as well.
"On 3... 3... 2... 1..." He began to say, as he hesitated for just a second, when he saw that I was looking at him with a smile, he shook his head though, as he continued to yell. "Go!"