Pyrus: Rise Of Darkness

Bonding

  "We-we should take him back. So Richard can see him," I croak. A couple tears start trickling from my eyes. Delta was a friend of mine.
  River nods, still crying. The twins come to, and agree. Grabbing the animals and our friend, we trudge back silently. I rush inside the Sanctuary as soon as we arrive, and search for Richard. I find him in the mess hall, speaking with Gaia.
  "Sorry to interrupt," I wheeze, panting. "But there's something you should both see. Urgently."
  They follow me to the entrance of the sanctuary. I lead them out, and start crying again. As soon as he sees the carnage, Richard's face falls. Gaia stands there dumbstruck, not believing what she's seeing.
  Richard swallows, trying to stifle a sob. "I-I see," he stammers, his voice cracking. "L-let's get him inside. He deserves a proper burial."
  As we walk grimly through the city, Delta's body being carried by the two adults, River, the twins and I following as mourners, people start poking there heads out their doors. The older ones who know Delta start crying and rush over. The little ones hide back in their houses, not wanting to watch. Everyone is crying, and the mood is depressing.
  Richard makes an announcement. "There will be a funeral for Delta tomorrow at noon. All those who knew Delta are encouraged to come."
  After we place Delta's body in a safe spot where it won't be disturbed, I trudge home, and the others do the same. Richard has given everyone the rest of the day off.
  When I arrive, Firebolt and I flop onto my bed. I start wailing, and Firebolt curls up against me, trying to provide some comfort.
  It's all my fault. If I hadn't told Delta about what I saw, he never would have gone looking for it. I didn't even stop him or anything.
  I hear my front door open, but I'm too devastated to see who's here.
  "Pyrus?" comes a soft voice. "Are you here?" I hear footsteps coming toward my room. "Pyrus?"
  The door to my room opens. I turn my head to look and see Sky's head poking in. I put my face back in my pillow and grumble.
  Sky let's out a sympathetic sigh. "Oh, Pyrus." She walks over. Firebolt hops up to greet her.
  "Hi, Firebolt," she says softly. Then she sits down on the end of my bed.
And just sits there.
  About 15 minutes pass before she speaks. "What happened?" she asks quietly.
  I roll onto my back to look at her gentle face. "It was my fault," I sob. "I had seen something and suggested that someone go check it out. Delta, being the leader, did. I should have followed him, should have done something, but I just stood there. Then we heard the scream. We rushed over and-" I start wailing before I can finish. But I don't really need to. She saw the body. I roll over on my side and cry into my hands.
  She pats me sympathetically on the back. "It wasn't your fault, you know," she almost whispers. "It was his choice to go." When I don't reply, she gets up to leave.
  "No," I call out. "Please don't leave. Company is nice." She stops and smiles at me. I try to smile back. Firebolt jumps on her leg and whines. She leans down to rub him.
  "I should probably feed him now," I say as I get up. I wipe my eyes. "Thanks for coming."
  She smiles at me again. "That's what friends are for!" Sky says. "That, and making your life MORE miserable." I laugh. Sky is a good friend.
  I lead the dragon and the girl into Firebolt's room. I had hung the painting I made up by the window, along with my painting of Firebolt. Sky is awed when she sees it. "It's beautiful!" she gushes. "They really do look like my eyes. Oh! And there's yours and Firebolt's!" I had added them at home on spare time.
  "Thank you," I say. I scoop food into Firebolt's bowl. Hmm. He's running low. There wasn't much in that small bag.
  Sky notices it, too. "Oh my. He's almost out. Would you like some help to make some more?" she offers. I nod.
  While Firebolt eats, we head to my kitchen. The recipe calls for things I have not heard of. Dragon Snaps? Omega Squash?
  Sky sees the confused look on my face. "There are ingredients down in your cellar," she explains. I open the trap door and climb down.
  The cellar is damp and dimly lit by a few torches in the wall. I enchant the to glow brighter, permanently. That's better. On the right wall is a shelf with some food on it. The left shelf is empty. There is a locked chest at the end of the cellar. I guess that's where my gems are. I take a look at the shelf to my right. Ah! Much better! I look at the list of ingredients.
  "Let's see here," I mutter to myself. "Omega Squash...aha!" I find it and send it up with magic. "Dragon Snaps...yep, here they are too...Sarijin Peppers, Sarijin Peppers...mm hmm, yup..." I send the ingredients up to Sky, and there are a lot of them. The last thing, Grindilo tentacles, does not appear present.
  "It's in the trunk!" calls Sky from above, as if reading my mind. "You scan your mark by flashing it, and then it will only open when you flash YOUR mark." Huh. Easy enough. With a quick spell, my marks shine. The lock hums for a second, it's silvery shell seeming to vibrate. After a few seconds it clicks open, revealing a pile of gems and some jars, one of which is filled with tentacles. I guess this is it. I send it up, too, before climbing out of the cellar myself.
  Poking my head out, I can see that Sky has already prepared a pot and has begun sizing out the portions.
  "Hello, there," I say to her. "You wouldn't believe how much I feel like a reincarnated person." She laughs a bit.
  "Well, let's see if your once-dead fingers can still cook," she jokes. We get to work.
  We chop peppers, fry tentacles, mash squash, and mix it all together. I am able to keep the stove at a steady temperature thanks to my magic, which makes life much easier. I can hear Firebolt snoring. As we come closer to finish, the smells of dragon food waft through the house. I guess Firebolt must have caught a whiff of them because the snoring soon becomes scratching. I sigh.
  After a couple of hours, the food is finally cooled. Sky uses her magic to clear the house of the smells, and we decide to let Firebolt give it a taste test. We fill a small bowl of it and set it down for him. Judging from how deep his head goes into his food, I'd say he enjoys it. When he pulls his head up, bits of the fresh food are sticking to his face. Sky and I laugh. Firebolt bounds over and gives me a big lick, making us all laugh harder.
  Sky and I decide to give him a bath. Since he is a fire dragon, I don't have to worry about making the water too hot. I bring the water in my tub to a boil, and then plop the squirming dragon in. He squirms and thrashes in the water but suddenly realizes how nice it feels and relaxes. Sky gives me a bar of soap, which I wet. Sky creates little pockets of air around my arms so I can wash my dragon without fear of scalding myself.
  Pretty soon, he is squeaky clean. Climbing out of the tub, Firebolt looks around for a sec before shaking water all over us.
  "Firebolt!" I scold, but I'm laughing too hard for it to actually sound remotely threatening.
  Then something weird happens. Firebolt chirps at me, but I don't hear a chirp. Instead, I hear "What? I was wet." I stumble backwards, shocked. Sky looks at me.
  "Are you ok?" she asks, concerned.
  "I-I he-" I stammer, but then realize what happened. My confusion turns to joy and a huge smile breaks out on my face. "He understands me! I understand him! This is incredible!" I exclaim. I throw my arms around Firebolt, who squirms at first, but finally accepts it.
  "That's awesome, Pyrus!" Sky congratulates. "That's really great!"
  Then I get an idea. "What say we teach him a few tricks?" I suggest to Sky. "You've had a pet longer than me. What are some neat things to teach him?"
  Firebolt looks at me quizzically. "What do you mean, 'tricks'?" he chirps.
  I wink at him. Sky snaps her fingers together. "Can he fly yet?" she asks.
  "I don't know," I reply. "Can you fly, Firebolt?"
  He nods. "Not very well, though," he says in his strange dragon tongue.
  I turn to Sky. "He says he can fly, but not very well," I quote.
  "Then why don't we teach him?" she suggests. I nod.
  "How would you like to learn to fly better?" I ask Firebolt.
  He nods enthusiastically. "Yes, please!" he roars. I smile at Sky and nod.
  We spend the next forever helping him improve his flying skills. Sky even calls over Fluffy to help. Together, the three of us hone his flying skills to a point of near expertise. He is very pleased. "Thank you," he croaks.
I smile in return.
  Then the bell chimes 7 times. "Oh my word!" Sky half shrieks, half says. "The kitchen is closed now! I planned on eating at the hall tonight. I don't have anything I can really make. Oh well. I guess I'll have to eat out tonight. Thanks for the lovely time, Pyrus."
  I grab her sleeve as she turns to leave. "No, wait. You can have supper at my place," I offer.
  "Could I really?" she exclaims. When I nod, she hugs me. "Thank you!"
  "No problem," I say. "I'll go get cooking. How's rabbit stew for you?" She licks her lips and gives me a thumbs up.
  I head to my kitchen. I got to keep a whole rabbit from today's hunt so I figured I might as well use it. I put in some fresh veggies I got from the Pot and Fiddle and use a decent amount of flavourings and spices. While the stew cooks, the process sped up with my magic, I prepare a small salad and butter some bread. Getting an idea, I quickly prepare a small batch of cookie dough. I decide on Gingersnaps. I then quickly shape the dough into little balls which I then put on a tray and stick in my wood stove, using magic to make sure it's protected from flame. I hear shrieks of laughter coming from down the hall. I smile. I figured she might be playing with Firebolt.
  "Come and get it!" I holler. Quickly lighting a couple candles for light, I set the table and finish serving just as Sky comes into the kitchen.
  "I put the pets in Firebolt's room," she announces, then gets a waft of the smells. "Oh my centaurs, this smells amazing! Where did you learn to cook like this?" she exclaims.
  I grin. "Well, when you spend your life on the run, learning how to cook is usually important."
  She sits down. "Well, I don't believe you," she teases. "There's got to be a secret you learned. Come on."
  I decide to play along. "Alright, alright, you got me," I sigh. "My actual trick is..." I drop my voice to a whisper. "Rat meat. Put it in everything I cook."
  She laughs. "You aren't being serious, right?" she kids.
  I grin. "Well, taste and find out!" I tell her mysteriously. She laughs again. I take a seat and she takes a spoonful.
  "Oh my god, Pyrus, this is amazing!" Sky compliments. "Not even Gaia cooks this well!"
  "Thanks," I say, a bit embarrassed by all the compliments. We spend the rest of the meal chatting about the past few days.
  "So," Sky mumbles through a mouth full of stew. "Has Thunder been giving you much trouble lately?"
  I snort. "THAT gorgon? Nah, of course not. Well, apart from the time he deliberately spilled water on Firebolt," I reply. "Oh! Speaking of which, would you like some water to wash down all that stew?" I ask, noticing her finished meal. She nods.
  "And I hope you saved room, because I've got a little surprise for you," I add as I get her a glass. She looks at me curiously before swallowing.
  "Well, if you made it, I hope I do have room," she says. I wink at her. Setting down the glass, I use magic to open the wood stove door and produce the cookies.
  "Oh my god, Gingersnaps!" she squeals.
  I cough. "Uh, do you mind cooling them? Fire isn't generally very good at making things cool," I ask. She chuckles at my joke and sends a gust of air at the cookies, which cool immediately.
  "Help yourself," I tell her, already shoving one in my mouth. She takes a few and starts nibbling on them.
  "Well, I am officially impressed. Were they baking while we were eating?" she asks. I nod. "And where are you getting all the ingredients?"
  "Since I'm new, I get my first few purchases down at the Pot for free," I explain. "Richard has also, uh, 'helped' me buy a few items, too."
  "Lucky," she says with a fake nastiness. "Do you mind if I take a few cookies for Fluffy?"
  "Go ahead," I say, handing her the tray. "Take the whole rest of the batch, if you want."
  She just squeaks in response. I smile and dump the cookies in a leather satchel for her.
  She thanks me. Grabbing Fluffy, Sky turns to me. "Well, thank you so much for everything. The meal was truly amazing and I'd love to stay, but it's getting dark and I should probably be heading home now. Goodnight."
  "'Night," I reply. "Oh!" I add, quickly conjuring a small fireball. "Here. This will light the way for you. You can blow it out with your magic when you get home."
  Her look says everything. She throws her arms around me in a giant bear hug. "Thank you," she whispers in my ear. "For everything." Then she waves, and leaves.
  Firebolt walks up beside me. "She really likes you, you know."
  "Aww, what do you know," I kid. "We are good friends. Goodnight." He grumbles in reply and trots over to his bed. I settle into mine for a nice, peaceful sleep.