𝑩𝒆𝒓𝒌

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒆𝒏

Life had been increasingly becoming better, these past few days for the brunet male; he had started to come out of his shell after six years, he'd chosen what Dragon he was going to train and Jeff had decided to leave him alone. The weather also seemed to mirror his mood, recently, as well. The skies were normally a soft and light blue, with the occasional fluffy cloud. The sun was out, too; it shone brightly yet didn't make people uncomfortably hot. Maybe his Dad was right- everyone went through a slump, they'd feel like an eternity when they're short, in reality, compared to your happier memories. 

Toby was feeling as if he was starting to fit in; that he was finally starting to heal and that he could truly make his parents and sister proud. Today was the day of the assignment, too. The day were Toby, Jane, Jack, Jeff and the few others in their class trained their Dragon; a creature of life-time loyalty.

The line to the arena wasn't fairly long but it was making the students rather impatient, all of them excited to train their Dragon. Only one person could be allowed in at a time, for safety precautions, which only made their anticipation grow.

A blond man walked out of the arena, closing the doors behind him- so the eager students wouldn't be able to see inside. He had shaggy, messy hair that was mostly put into braids, and a bit of stubble in the shape of a moustache. His tired, brown eyes were glued to a piece of discoloured paper in his hands. Toby recognized the man as Brian; the blacksmith that had somewhat taught him.

“Uh, I'll be supervising you lot today since Tim's busy- Dragon's sick or something.” The man stated, his eyes darting down the list. He began reading down the list, “..Deadly Nadder, Sentinel Dragon, a Mood Dragon and finally, a Monsterous Nightmare.” He listed, in a monotone voice, “You should know which Dragon is yours, one at a time, scream if you need help.”

The first student was let in, which only caused the others to quietly bicker amongst themselves. The curly haired brunet turned to Jane, with an excited expression. “I'm training a Dragon.” He said quietly, smiling brightly.

Jane laughed softly, “All of us are.” She replied- she was amazed at the progress he was making, and was honestly proud of the boy.

Toby nodded slightly, taking a few steps forward as the line progressed. He smiled softly, “Yeah, but.. I'm actually doing it!”

Jane nodded a bit as well as she smiled, “Yeah- Lyra'd be proud.” She said softly.

Toby seemed to initially tense with a hint of sorrow on his expression, before a bright smile filled his features. He nodded a bit, “Thank you.” He mumbled. It was nice to be told that; and he didn't realize how much he actually needed it until she said it.

“It's the truth, Toby.” Jane said, with a small yet warm smile, “Hey, you're soon.” She said, pointing to the entrance; which the pair, as well as the rest of the line, had slowly edged closer too. Just as Toby looked up, Jeff had walked into the arena, leaving Jack, and then Toby.

It wasn't too long before Jack had entered the arena, leaving Toby at the slightly agape doors. Brian looked to the peice of paper in his hands, chuckling softly. “Good on ya, kid. Didn't think you had it in you to get a Dragon like that- maybe a Terrible Terror- but not that.” The blacksmith joked.

Toby rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit, “Why a Terrible Terror?” He asked, with a small head tilt, and a small smile.

“You know, a lap Dragon. One that wouldn't cause you as much stress.” Brian replied with a small shrug, “But I have to say, I admire your boldness for going for a Monsterous Nightmare after all that happened.”

At those words, everything around Toby sounded muffled and his expression fell into one of fear and confusion. His eyebrows knitted together as he somewhat squinted at the blond man in front of him. His mouth hung slightly agape, completely shocked.

What?

“No, no, I- I said a Deadly Nadder- there has to be something wrong- I- no-” Toby rambled, quietly, as if out of breath.

Brian sighed, not looking up from the paper, “Look, Kid- I have the Dragons listed on my paper, there's only one Deadly Nadder on the list, and it's already gone. I know for a fact that the Mood Dragon is Jane's. You're gonna just have to go in.” Brian stated, looking up from the paper finally, with a slightly sympathetic look.

“B-But Jeff's the one that wanted the Monsterous Nightmare-” He stated in a mumble, before his eyes widened, once again freezing. “Jeff.” He muttered, almost inaudibly, as he came to realization.

Jeff did this. He'd lulled Toby into a false sense of security by leaving him alone before pulling this off. He was destined to go this far to hurt Toby?

“You have to go in, Toby, it's your turn.” Brian said softly, gently pushing the door open even more, so Toby could walk in.

“N-No, no, I can't, I can't.” Toby rambled, shaking his head as he looked to the agape door.

“Yes you can, Toby, you've done so well so far!” Jane said softly, as if trying to coach the boy into the arena.

Toby shook his head, not even noticing that he was being slowly and gently pushed into the arena. He wasn't even aware of who was pushing him. He didn't realize what was happening until there was a small click behind him.

His eyes widened as he looked behind him, too see the door had been closed behind him. Seeing as there was no other way out, other than to pass the Dragons, Toby hesitantly started to cross the arena, only to freeze when he heard an ominous growl.