Dragon Raja

2 - The Promise We Made

They waved him off and watched a few children follow Dr. Herzog down the hill. The two of them glanced at each other and sighed in unison.

"That was close," Y/N said.

"If Dr. Herzog found out Z was sleeping in again, he'd get in trouble," Renata replied. "I told him to wake up. I'll just have to go and tell him again,"

Renata groaned irritably at their friend's behavior. It wasn't the first time Z's slept in late. Everyone around the orphanage knew about this, not that it affected him in any way. No one knew why he slept so much, most of the orphans assumed he was just incredibly lazy. Y/N wouldn't doubt it, though. She hadn't seen him do much besides help out with certain things every now and then.

A tug at her sleeve caught her attention from watching Renata go inside to wake Z up again. When Y/N looked down, she met Vera's bright green eyes. They smiled at each other.

"Hi, Vera," Y/N knelt down a little to get closer to the younger girl. "Merry Christmas,"

Vera shyly smiled and twiddled her fingers. "M-Merry Christmas," she said, "A-are you-you going to the capital?"

"I sure hope I am," Y/N answered. "You know, I heard that the people in the capital live and super tall buildings, they use these things called cars to travel, and I even heard they eat chocolate with every meal!"

That last bit may have been an exaggeration, but the smile that curled up on Vera's lips made it all worth it. "R-really? That s-sounds amazing!"

Every year before Christmas, a supply ship would come and drop off presents and supplies for the orphanage that would last them a year. If anyone had a special request, they had to take it up with Dr. Herzog. Otherwise, they'd have to settle for a gift from Siberia. Y/N knew Vera loved sweets and chocolate, so she made a special request with the director and asked him to order chocolate when he was ready to get supplies.

They heard the snow behind them crunching as someone approached the two of them. When Y/N turned around to look, she saw a smiling Ivan. The girls waved at him. As he waved back, his ashy brown hair swayed along with his movements and the slight breeze.

"Hey guys," Ivan greeted, "I was watching the sea, but the supply ship still hasn't come, I wonder if it's running late,"

"Speaking of running late, where's Z, Y/N?"

Another voice joins the trio, and this time it's Khorkina, following behind her is none other than Anton.

"What do you two want?" Y/N asked, her voice turning sour.

"Let me guess, he's still lying in bed, huh?" Khorkina folded her arms across her large chest. Y/N couldn't help but force her eyes away from them. Y/N wasn't sure if she requested her winter outfit to be made with a low cut, purposely showing off her cleavage, or if Khorkina did it herself. Whatever the reason, everyone knew it was to get attention. From who? No one knew. She had a major crush on Anton, but he hardly cared. The two of them were always together, but Anton was always focused on being the strongest and beating Z.

Anton scoffed, "What a waste of nutrients. I heard his sessions with Dr. Herzog have him sleeping like a baby. If I had those nutrients, I would've met the requirements to go to the capital long ago,"

Y/N rolled her eyes at Anton, who adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. She hadn't realized it yet, but Ivan had dragged Vera away from them, as to not get in the middle of their argument.

"If you had the same doses Z has been getting, you'd be sleeping for way longer than he is," Y/N argued.

Anton and Khorkina both scoffed in unison. "Oh yeah?" Anton mocked, "Z is just a lazy bum. All that power going to waste. Who truly is the strongest one here? If I had those nutrients, they'd make me stronger, not weaker as they do to Z,"