The Dracomancer

CHAPTER ELEVEN: UNUSUAL TALENTS

Alex arrived earlier than before to find that Felicia was already there. It made him wonder if she was trying to be there before him so that he wouldn't be kept waiting. He appreciated the gesture, but he didn't want her to get lonely waiting for him. However, if she didn't mind waiting, he wasn't going to keep her from it. The only thing she had left to do since he had graduated from her classes was be there when someone needed healing, so it seemed that her schedule was pretty free. However, he had a feeling there would come a time when he would need her to heal him.
"Oh! So you're done with shape shifting, too! Now all that's left for you to train in is swordplay," she said when he arrived in Greater Dragon form.
She noticed that he had a fifth horn. That was odd because most Greater Dragons with fifth horns were the older males. If she wasn't mistaken, he was about her age, maybe a little older, but not much. Most male humans were older than they looked, and she had a feeling that Alex was no exception. She didn't know his exact age, but she figured he was somewhere between eighteen and twenty-two. Damn! She would have to ask him his age and birthday, so she could find a way to celebrate with him. Humans often celebrated birthdays, and she didn't want him to feel upset because his birthday went unnoticed. If he asked the same of her, she would share. Who knew? He might find a way to surprise her on her birthday. She had made sure to keep track of the day she was born since she was young. She didn't know why then, but it suddenly made sense.
"Yeah. I finally nailed Greater Dragon form today. My fifth horn feels a little heavy. Are my scales still red?" Alex said nervously.
"Yes," Felicia answered, laughing to try to ease his nervousness. What he had told her before was true. He still had anxiety. That was okay with her as long as he didn't show it around the others or in battle.
"Sorry if I seem nervous now. I'm not used to Greater Dragon form. It feels so different from the other forms," Alex said, reverting to human form.
"I never made it past Lesser Dragon form. I lost a lot of determination after the queen died. I wanted to specialize in shape shifting, but it wasn't meant to be. Looking back on it, though, I'm glad it didn't work out. I have a feeling that if I had actually gone through with it, I wouldn't be in the same relationship with you that I am now," she told him. "Just out of curiosity, when is your birthday and how old will you be?" She asked.
"My birthday is December nineteenth and I will be twenty-one," he answered.
"That's less than a month away," she pointed out. Her guess about his age was a good one. He was right within the range she thought he was. However, he hadn't bothered to ask her about her age and birthday. Maybe he would, soon.
"Wow. I lost track of which day it was. When is your birthday?" He responded.
"My birthday is October nineteenth. I'll be nineteen next year," she replied. She was glad he had asked.
"That will be a special birthday for you. I kind of got cheated on my nineteenth. I'll make sure it doesn't happen to you," he replied. So she was a Libra. That probably explained why they were so good together.
"Thank you," she said, blushing lightly. So he knew what it was like to get cheated on his birthday. She would make sure it didn't happen again.
"You're welcome; I just wish I could live forever," he said, starting out in an affectionate tone and ending in a sad tone.
"You might have been able to when you mastered Lesser Dragon form. Drakes have a slightly longer life span than the average human, but Lesser Dragons and all dragons of the higher ranks are immortal," she told him.
"Nick told me about Monarch Dragons some time ago. You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you?" He asked.
"I know all about them. The queen was a Monarch Dragon. They are slightly bigger than Greater Dragons and have five large horns. They possess the ability to resurrect with their tears. That is the only type of resurrection that is guaranteed to work every time. However, only a Monarch Dragon would be able to teach you that form, so you're out of luck on learning that one. The Monarch Dragons died with the queen," she answered.
"Nick told me that last bit, but I didn't know the rest until you told me," he responded.
"There is one other dragon form that Nick still hasn't told you about, but that's because it's said to be myth. The Dragon God form is the most powerful form. It is vastly larger than even the Monarch Dragons. It is sometimes depicted as having five large horns, with the fifth horn being bigger than the others; other times it is depicted as having four large horns and two medium horns. Its tears are guaranteed to resurrect and are said to have another effect of an unknown nature on a fallen dragon. However, it is also said to be able to destroy every world in existence if it chooses to, and nothing would be able to stop it. That is why it is said to be myth," said Felicia.
"A dragon form that powerful might be what we need to defeat the demons. Imagine the amount of damage it could do to them! And it would probably be invulnerable to their attacks, too," Alex mused.
"Even if you could reach that form, you wouldn't be able to control it, Alex. Though you are right about how effective it would be against the demons," she replied.
"Is there even a chance of my being able to control it if I managed to reach it?" He asked. He wanted to know because even a slim chance was still a chance.
"Yes, but it's so slim that it's not worth thinking about," she answered.
"A slim chance is still a chance, and sometimes you have to take risks to achieve the desired outcome," he responded.
"I understand that, but that risk is too much. Just forget I told you about it," she replied.
"How am I supposed to forget about something as powerful as the Dragon God form is once I've heard about it? I'm not overly religious, but with how powerful it is, I can understand why it's called the Dragon God form."
"It's a myth and that's how powerful it is according to the myth, but most myths are false, so don't get your hopes up about being able to reach it, never mind being able to control it." Felicia was trying to get that through to him, but it was almost like trying to use a stone bowl as a sieve. "Anyhow, it's getting late, even for me. Meet me here again tomorrow night," she finished, kissing him.

Before his swordplay lessons of the following day, Alex approached Artemis and asked her what day it was. When he got his answer, he was confused. Apparently, snow was virtually non-existent on this world.
"It's November twenty-sixth," she stated as if he had asked a stupid question.
"Sorry if that seemed like a stupid question. It's just that I lost track of the day since I arrived," he replied.
"Why didn't you just say so?" She asked rhetorically.
"Sorry if I wasted your time," Alex finished. She seemed to be in a foul mood for some reason, but Alex wasn't sure if he wanted to know. She might come into her usual good mood later today. He knew her well enough to know that she usually did.
In swordplay, Jaden told Alex that he had mastered his one-handed strikes, but still needed to work on his two-handed strikes. He then told Alex that that was normal and that he would have been surprised if Alex had mastered his two-handed strikes first. However, Alex had a feeling that he would be learning the more complex one-handed moves after the break. His feeling proved to be correct. Jaden taught him a way of disarming his opponent so that the opponent's weapon ended up in his hand, and brought out another practice sword which he held so that Alex could practice this maneuver for the third quarter of the lesson, then taught Alex to block for the final quarter. He was surprised that Alex already knew how to block, but he pulled out a two-handed practice sword for himself so that Alex would learn how difficult it was to block two-handed strikes with a one-handed sword. Alex made sure to eat a fruit that was somehow rich in protein afterwards.
After his swordplay lessons, Artemis approached Alex and apologized for her foul mood of that morning. She seemed to be her usual good-natured self again. Alex forgave her and continued on.
Later, he was approached by Felicia. She looked sad, which wasn't like her. Alex brought her into a bear hug and she cried on his shoulder again.
"Thank you," she said, recovering.
"I'm always here for you," Alex responded.
"It's just that the deer you helped me with before died again and I wasn't able to revive it this time," she explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that. If only I could have been there to revive it," he said.
"I appreciate the thought, but I doubt you could have done anything for it. It was too far gone for me," she said sadly.
"I might still be able to do something about it. I just have a feeling that I can revive it. Let me try. If I fail, then I guess it will have been for nothing, but if I succeed, it will certainly be something for the records," he stated hopefully.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to try. I hope your instincts aren't failing you," she said, kissing his cheek.

Felicia took Alex to where the deer had been lain. It was above-ground, which was ideal. Alex used his sadness from the sight of its body lying there lifeless to revive it. When the deer stirred again and stood on its legs, Felicia went up to Alex and kissed him passionately. Alex could tell that she was ready for third base again. He was feeling the same way. They went to the tree together.