Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 5

Naria wakes up early, as she prepares some breakfast for herself.

"Good morning Naria." Paku says, waking up.

"Good morning Paku, Patch. Did you sleep well?"

"As well as one can sleep with buccaneers roaming about." Patch says jokingly.

"Ah come on Patch, it's not like they stole your booty." Paku teases.

"Real funny Paku." Patch sarcastically says.

"Let's eat some grub." Naria says as she sits down and begins to chew on a piece of jerky.

"Sounds good." Paku says, as he takes a bite of jerky.

The three eat the beef jerky breakfast, and the curious Paku wants to know more about Naria.

"How long have you lived here?" he asks.

"As long as I can remember. This place wasn't always so empty and run down." Naria explains. "There used to be other dragons here, bringing life and happiness to the place."

"What happened to them?"

Naria looks at Paku, sighing a bit. "Most of the adults went off to fight against the evil races of the Molt. I remained behind to raise the young ones, and hope grew dire when none of the other dragons returned. I assumed the worst happened to them."

"So, you became the only dragon left?" Paku asks.

"Yes, and I have been living here ever since. Once the young dragons grew up, they begged to find the others. I should've not let them go, I should've been a better guardian..." Naria says regretfully.

"It is okay. It is hard to control a dragon who has his mind set on something." Paku tells Naria trying to comfort the dragoness.

"You're telling me." Patch jokes, nudging Paku with a smirk.

"Hey! You'll make her feel bad." Paku says.

"I don't care if I do, it was funny." Patch says as he continues to chuckle.

Naria gets a serious look on her face as she thinks of the past. Watching Patch and Paku argue a bit reminded her of her own children, whom she had failed to protect from the buccaneers. They had stolen everything from her. Naria promised herself that she wouldn't let it happen again, and if needed she would die to protect Paku and Patch from evil.

"Come on, let's train. We need to prepare you for this dangerous world." Naria says, as she stands up.

"Alright." Paku says, as he follows Naria.

The three finish their breakfast, heading into the training room once more. Patch watches on the side as Naria begins to teach Paku a new fighting move of the dragon arts.

"Sometimes Paku you will not be able to breathe fire. You will have to learn that there are more weapons a dragon has then just that of their maw." Naria explains, as she flies up in the air, performing an example claw attack on a training dummy.

"What if it's an enemy resistant to my physical attacks?" Paku asks.

"Then you must become stronger. Train your body. Your strength. Make sure you're ready to fight even without your flame." Naria says, as she steps aside to allow Paku to try the gliding claw attack she had just performed.

"Alright Paku, jump as high as you can and glide down at the target. Rip into it with your talons." Naria orders Paku.

"Okay!" Paku says excitedly, jumping up and swinging his arms wildly.

"Perfect. Now, hit it as hard as you can." Naria commands, watching on as Paku hits the dummy with a mighty blow. "Very good young dragon!"

Paku lands on the ground as straw spills out on the ground from the dummy. "My claws are sharper than I thought!"

"You were raised by cats you know." Patch calls as he continues chasing after a butterfly floating about.

"What other moves can you show me?" Paku asks Naria.

"I can teach you many things, but the most important thing is how to defend yourself." Naria explains. "You must learn to use your wings to deflect blows, and your tail to block strikes.

"Got it." Paku says getting in a combat ready stance as Naria pulls a lever, causing the dummies to animate and attack.

"Move fast, dodge, and use your wings to protect yourself." Naria instructs Paku. "Now, watch."

Naria swings her claws and knocks away the sticks, while dodging back and blocking some of the dummies attacks with her large wings, using her tail to disarm them and send them flying into the wall. "Now, your turn."

Paku tries to mimic what Naria did, swinging his arms and hitting the dummies with his claws. He quickly learns that he needs to keep moving, and not stay in one spot. His wings are strong enough to push him forward, and he uses that power to move around the room, avoiding some of the dummies attacks.

"Remember, protect your body and head, and when the opportunity is right, strike!" Naria orders as Paku lands on the ground, fighting off a small dummy successfully with the combo Naria had shown him.

A larger training dummy approaches Paku, swinging a bigger stick at the young dragon.

"Watch out!" Patch shouts as he dives onto the dummy, knocking it away from Paku.

"Thank you Patch!" Paku yells as he dodges the next attack, landing on the ground and preparing himself for another swing. The dummy strikes down at the smaller dragon, as Paku manages to run under the dummies legs, getting behind it. Paku then jumps up and rams his horns into the dummy's back, knocking it to the ground.

"Nice work." Naria praises, as she watches on.

"Did you see that?" Patch asks, excitedly. "He's a natural born fighter!"

"It would seem so." Naria smiles. "There is still hope for our kind to be reborn."

After Paku finishes off the dummy, he goes over to Patch and Naria, taking a minute to catch his breath. "That was fun!"

Patch and Naria smile as they watch on, impressed by the young dragon.