Pyrus: Rise Of Darkness

Crushed

  "Thunder was giving me a hard time. I guess Firebolt understood he was being a jerk, and bit Thunder," I explain, still sobbing. "Thunder whipped Firebolt of his leg and Firebolt slammed into the tree."
  Gaia arrives. She takes a look at me, Firebolt, Thunder, and Thunder's followers, then yells, "Someone quick! Grab me a wee branch I can put 'im on!" Then, looking at me, she says, "And 'ou! Get down t' th' tower! I'll talk t' ye later!"
  I nod. "Gorgon," I spit at Thunder when I pass him. His face is covered in blood, and it's still coming, gushing out of his nose like a red fountain. I then storm off to the tower.
  It's empty when I arrive. I take a seat in one of the chairs in Richard's office while I wait for Gaia. Finally, they arrive.
  "I'm tellin' ye, I saw it wi' me own eyes!" Gaia's voice.
  "Now, now, I'm sure Pyrus would never do something like that without provocation." Richard.
  The voices get closer. "Ye know as well as I 'ow unpredictable fire can be."
  "Gaia, how dare you judge someone based on the past! That was-" I walk out of the office and interrupt.
  "That was what?" I demand. "And don't think of lying to me, Richard, you've hidden enough things from me as it is."
  Richard casts a worried look at Gaia and chews on his lip. "Why don't we go to my office?" he suggests. "It's much nicer in there."
  I head in. He takes a seat. I do. Gaia just stands at the doorway. "Alright. Come on. Tell me," I press.
  Richard takes a deep breath. "Well, you see Pyrus, I, well, long ago, I had a friend. A very good friend. He was fire magic, and very talented with it at that. His brothers, too," Richard begins. "But you see, one day, he was caught. He had been, oh, I don't know, maybe entertaining some children or whatever. But anyway, he was caught, and no one but me tried to save him. The guards, well, they couldn't burn him, so they hung him. Left the body there, hanging, until the crows are the flesh. His brothers, spurred by pure rage, rampaged the town, killing every sorcerer and sorceress but me.
  "And it didn't end there. They continued to rampage, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. Eventually, they were stopped. It was a sad time for all, especially me."
  Gaia snorts. "An' two o' 'em they murdered were me parents," she comments harshly. "An' it wasn't th' first time somthin' like 'at 'ad 'appened, an' not th' last, either."
  I looked down at the floor. "I-I'm sorry," I say quietly.
  Gaia shrugs, her great bearskin cloak shifting on her shoulders. "Well, enough 'bout me past. What 'appened out there? An' I want th' truth."
  I clear my throat. "Well, Thunder and his cronies had decided they were going to try to piss me off, and they succeeded, I must say. They started teasing me and everything. I tried my best to shrug it all off, but Firebolt I guess saw that Thunder was being a jerk, and attacked him. Firebolt bit Thunder's leg, and Thunder threw Firebolt into a tree and told his 'friends' to get me. I defended myself and then punched Thunder out of rage. That was about it."
  Richard grows thoughtful. "Well," he muses. "While your actions were done in a state of defence and provocation, they cannot go unpunished. Allow me a few hours to come up with a fitting punishment."
  Gaia coughs. "Uh, if ye don't mind, sir, I've a great job fer 'im. I'm in dire need o' some 'elp wi' th' kitchen clean up."
  Richard claps his hands together. "Well, it's settled then! One day of kitchen duties. Now, we have a funeral to attend in a few hours, so you may want to get ready for that. Your punishment will be served tomorrow."
  He and Gaia walk out of the tower. "Sir?" I call out to them. Richard turns around. "Where is Firebolt now?"
  He smiles. "The clinic is just beside the pet store," Richard replies. I nod and thank him, then rush off to the clinic.
  I rush to the clinic, fear flooding through me. I burst through the wooden doors and look around, frantically. I can't find him, and panic sets itself in. I dash around the clinic, peering into beds, looking for my little red dragon. I finally find him. A couple of nurses stand over him, studying him carefully. I zip over and look in. Firebolt lies there, curled up in a ball, bandages wrapped around his midsection. His breathing is short and husky. I am worried.
  He turns his head. "Pyrus!" he croaks quietly. He lifts his head up and his face twists into a pained complexion, forcing him to lay it back down.
  My hands immediately go to my face. "Oh my god, Firebolt, what happened?" I cry. One of the nurses answers instead.
  "His ribs were all cracked by the impact, and that's saying something because dragon bones are very hard, even as babies. His lungs were punctured and he has a broken jaw. We are doing our best, and he IS recovering," she explains grimly.
  My legs just collapse. I slump to the floor, as if is had happened to me. I can't believe it. That Firebolt moght not make it. I just lie there at the food of the wooden cot until a nurse helps me up.
  "There, there," she soothes, clasping my shoulders. "He'll be alright." I smile meekly. Giving Firebolt one quick kiss, I head out of the clinic, devastated. I just can't believe it.
  The funeral time rolls around fairly quickly. I trudge silently over to the square, not even acknowledging Gale and Lilly when they ask if I'm OK. I am just too sad. No, that's an understatement. I have no clue how to describe how I feel. Basically every single bad emotion you can feel put together into one, then amplified. When we arrive, Gale goes to find her other friends, I guess realizing that she isn't going to get anything out of me. She motions for Lilly to follow, but Lilly shakes her head and stays here. I spot Sky beside Gale, and Rocky beside Sky. She starts to walk over, but Gale whispers something and Sky reluctantly stays put. My mood worsens.
  "Pyrus, you gonna talk about this? It ain't right, someone being this sad," Lilly says softly. I sort of shrug in response, staring at my feet. Lilly opens her mouth to ask something more, but is cut off by Richard. The funeral has started, I guess.
  Richard stands on the platform beside a blue-painted wooden casket, with the word "Delta" engraved in it. Richard dons all black robes, instead of his cheerier red or yellow or blue. Also on the platform are Gaia, Shark, and a bunch of other adults I have never seen before. I have no idea where they came from, then almost smack myself for my stupidity. Duh. They must be residents of the sanctuary. I doubt it is kids only. And besides, Richard would have had to have gotten people to teach the other kids their elemental magics.
  Richard clears his throat. "Good afternoon, everyone. I don't believe I have to tell you all why you are here. We are here to honour the life of a brave, brave soul. A friend, a student, a lover." He says that last but looking sympathetically at a girl in the crowd, who is bawling her eyes out, whilst her friends try to comfort her. A bit like me. "I would like to begin by saying some words about Delta." Richard then proceeds by listing some particularly nice things about Delta. As do Shark, Gaia, and 4 other mystery adults. The first, a woman in her mid-twenties named Dolphin, was Delta's water instructor. Blonde hair, tall, fit. She isn't  able to finish her speech before she breaks down crying. The second is a man named Hawk, similarly aged and the air teacher. He is very thin, but looked very powerful, and had a mop of light-brown hair. The third is Quake, the eldest of the three instructors, aging in his late forties, and the teacher of earth. He is very, very well built, with a broad chest and powerful arms, all topped off by his black trim. And the final is an elderly gentleman close to Richard's age, named Edward. He is a user of Water, though did not use his true name, like Richard. The spindly old geezer is Richard's good friend, and took a liking to Delta, who would visit Edward during spare hours.
  During all of this, I grow more and more miserable, and Lilly keeps attempting to comfort me. Soon, it comes time for the burial. This, I cannot watch. It is too much. I shut my eyes and flop to the ground. Lilly crouched down beside me. She doesn't say anything, just crouches beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder.
  Richard says a few more things, but the emotional pain I feel is too much, and I do not feel anything. As soon as the funeral is over, I trudge home, not realizing Lilly has followed me. Fortunately, we have the afternoon off, so I am able to climb into my bed to lie down. I curl into a ball, and the hand startles me. It rests on my shoulder, then a voice speaks, in whisper.
  "I know how you feel, Pyrus. It is awful, to know a friend died, even more so when it happened right in front of you. But you have to be strong. For Delta, if not for you. At least for Delta." It is Lilly's voice.
  "Bye, Pyrus," she calls softly.
  "You sure you want to go yet?" I ask as light-hearted as I can. She smiles and shuts the door.
  "Well, I guess I can wait a little longer," she kids. I smile.
  We spend the rest of the day talking and hanging out. We go out to The Orb for dinner. The evening is great, and gets better when I hear from a nurse that Firebolt made a spectacular recovery, and can come home. I wrap my arms around my buddy, and look gratefully at Lilly.
  "I should probably get going now," she says, looking at her feet.
  I sigh. "Okay. Have a good sleep."
  She smiles. "You too."
----------------------------------------------------
  Days turn to weeks, and weeks to months. Life is good, despite the cold nip of the February wind. I mean, who could ask for more? I have great friends, a great pet, and a great life.
  But then strange things start happening. Lilly seems to be avoiding me, same with Sky. Gale will suddenly be about to say something, but then decide not to and try and cover it all up, horribly. And then one day, my life is ruined. I am playing with Firebolt in the square, when I notice a piece of parchment stuck in a hedge. It has my name on it. I open it and cry.

-Pyrus

I'm sorry, I really am. But I think you should know this. It's about your family, Pyrus. And something I did. Your father...I knew him. It's my fault he's dead. The plague wasn't a plague. It was dark magic. These people had possessed me, and made me cast the spell. I had no choice. But right before your father died, he killed my family. As a way of getting revenge. I'm so sorry. The pieces only clicked into place after the episode with Delta. I think they wiped my memories.

-Lilly

  Firebolt hops up to me. "What's wrong?" he asks. I show you him the letter, and he nudges me sympathetically. I cry. Then walk home to cry some more. My life is ruined basically. I miss my father, but sort of hate him now too. And it's all Lilly's fault but I can't hate her for that and I hate that, then hate myself for hating that. It's all so confusing. Thank goodness today is a special teacher meeting so there are no classes. It gives me time to mourn.
  Night comes. I don't even bother with supper. I just go to bed and await dawn.