The Dragon's Scale (COMPLETE, EDITING)

21.2 || Place on the Team

Josh let the shadows in his mental scenario swarm the group. He couldpicture what Cale and Mara would do easily. He'd seen how Cale fought in a teamduring the orc mission—weaving through the edges of the fight to let hisopponents chase him, taking them down as he could and providing assistance whenneeded. Truly like earth. A stable force he knew would have his back if heneeded it.

Mara remained out of the main fight, picking off the shadows with arrows. When those weren't enough, tricks joined her shots much like with Darren. Clouds of mist, exploding ice arrows, patches of frozen ground. She was the unseen danger of ice about to make an enemy slip.

A knot curled in his stomach as his imagined figure stood amongst the chaos, having no idea what to do. When he thought of a lightning fighter, he thought of someone darting around with quick, powerful blows. A ninja, maybe. He shifted his sword and shield, deep down knowing that wasn't right.

How could he be so oblivious to where he would fit in a team?

Because you always fought alone, Boomer murmured. Well, except against the louse, but you were a decoy there.

Josh's eyes flew open, but he squeezed them shut quickly and grasped at the mental image he'd created. Boomer, you're a genius!

I know I am, but, uh, care to tell me how in this case?

In video games—

Boomer chuckled. Video games again.

Josh scowled, then forced his face to relax so Cale wouldn't see. Yes, video games again. Look, in video games, there is this class that I always liked to play. It's called the tank in most MMOs.

What are MMOs?

Wow, Josh really had failed to teach his dragon about video games. Means I play with a lot of people at once. And whenever I would try to slay monsters with those people, some of us would have to keep the monster's attention. Those people were the tanks. The monster just attacks us while the others hack away at its health.

The more he spoke, the sillier he felt. Video games couldn't compare to the reality of having an ogre trying to beat him to death or a louse's painful sand blasts. Maybe video games felt somewhat silly now, but their terms led to the dots connecting.

He slid a single eye open. Cale watched him expectantly. Josh's shoulders slumped as he closed his eye again. He raised his hand between them. Here went nothing.

For my team, I am lightning. As he thought, his imagined self appeared in the midst of the shadows and charged at them. I move ahead, unrelenting like lightning through the sky. I am a light they cannot look away from, blinding them so they cannot see my allies behind me. I am a force they cannot stop, so they can only focus on me or be struck down.

Boomer didn't hide his chuckles, and even when the lightning zapped between Josh's fingers, he felt stupid.

His cheeks burned. He let go of the mental image and instead stared determinedly at the wall beside Cale. "Okay, I did it."

Cale smirked. "Congratulations. You can at least use a technique that a ten-year-old invented."

Josh felt even warmer at the jab. He glared. "I was going to say thanks, but never mind. You're still a jerk."

"Next time, don't snicker at someone trying to help you." Before Josh could retort, Cale pointed at his sword. "Your best bet is to channel the energy into that. Or your shield, I guess. You may know how to summon lightning now, but it'll be a while before you can control it with any level of proficiency."