Big Nate - Dragon Training Time

Quetzalcoatl

As the sun began to rise, I hopped onto Sing-Sing, and we started flying toward P.S 38. It turned out, Principal Nichols had officially returned from his vacation. He was sad that he forgot that his  vacation would take place in Dragon Day, and he'd decided he'd tame the remaining dragons around P.S 38. We would watch too. We landed near Gina, and she growled. Why is there dirt and mud all over your face? She scoffed. I gulped. Teddy had kicked a spray of dirt into my eyes when we were saddling out dragons this morning. Nothing! I replied swiftly, with a gulp. Gina scoffed, and walked away. But then she stopped dead in her tracks. Principal Nichols was walking out of a limo, and everybody cheered. Oh! Cried Gina, running over to our principal. We've missed you so much, Principal Nichols! Here, I brought muffins! Better yet, they're keto! Er, thank you, Gina! He smiled. Anyway, are you ready to see your principal tame a dragon? Everybody cheered, and he smiled. I almost forget what it was like to be here, he whispered to himself. I rolled my eyes. Personally, this would've been very annoying, all this attention when you're a principal, and you just did nothing more than return from vacation and... I also have a treat for you all! He said. I said I was going to tame a dragon. But do you know where...? Las Vegas! So... Field trip day! P.S, we can fly there! YEP. Saw this coming, really. My dad gave me three packed lunches, and five flasks to share with my friends. I loaded my backpack onto Sing-Song, as so did everybody else, with their own dragons. Flamethrower, Jack Frost, Seedling and Suction were beside me, in the same row. Wow! Dee-Dee cried. I didn't expect this! But seeing the unnatural bulge in your pack, I guess you did. I nodded. Yes. There must be enough and water in here for the whole gang! Only, we might need to ration on food. Finally, our dragon took flight, and Principal Nichols smiled to everyone. He was riding on a recently expelled student's hydra. He smiled at all of us, when we noticed a huge shadow hovering above us. I looked up. A dragon similar to Quetzalcoatl was flying above us. Um, P.S 38! I yelled. Fly hard! Everybody glared at me, then glared at the dragon, and they all gulped. They sped up, and the dragon growled. Quetzalcoatl gained a sudden burst of speed, and rammed into our principal's hydra. Sing-Song! I yelled. She nodded, and breathed her fire. It seemed as though it only tickled Quetzalcoatl. He ignored us, and grabbed Principal Nichols by his leg, and dragged him off his hydra. Doing the thing where your song sigils glow! I yelled to her. They did. She reeled back, readying herself for the final strike. A faint flicker of light gleamed within her maw. She finally started at Quetzalcoatl at ramming speed, and once hitting him, breathed her fire close up. This did catch Quetzalcoatl's attention, though not hurting him seriously. Like the legends, a force field of wind surrounded him, and I bit my lip. He was using his power over the wind! OKAY, Sing-Song! You've got any more big league, serious offenses to show to me? She looked up at me. There is one thing, her eyes seemed to whisper. Use it! I said. Desperate times call for desperate measures. First, her eyes said again. Name a song. Believer, I said quickly. Suddenly, a deep rumble started in her throat. Then it turned into a slow, moaning, hypnotizing melody, resembling Believer. Suddenly, the wind force field weakened around him, and he was in a trance of some sort. Then, suddenly knowing what I had to, I said to him calmly: Leave our principal. Go away. He did drop our principal. He dove down in a slow motion, and plopped him down on the ground. Then he flew up, slithering over the air. He then disappeared above the clouds. Splendid, Nate! He grinned, as Randy, Marcus, and Gina groaned. Then they rode away on their dragons. Speaking of which, Gina had gotten her own tarasque to replace the fake Dukey. Well, he sighed, brushing dust off his coat. Where were we? Oh, yes! You can get to see me a tame a dragon now, if that's what you want. Everybody cheered, and we rode away into the horizon once again. In the afternoon, we reached Las Vegas, and found an area with more, forestry, one would say. In other words, it was a tightly packed, dense forest. The trees blocked every glimmer of sunshine. Okay, sighed Principal Nichols. His rope was concentrated on a tiny hatchling of a water basilisk. Though small, as mentioned, it was still scary as a demon with its little white pincers, gleaming slightly in the low sunlight. It drank from a pond the size of a horse, and sniffed the air, and I whispered to Principal Nichols. Now! I whisper-cried, and he seized the hatchling. It must have wailed for its mother, but he muzzled it, and tied the rope over his neck. The school cheered slightly, too scared to alert the mother any more.