Forgotten Legends (DRAFT VERSION)

Chapter 5

No. No. No, no, no, no, no!

Coal looked as though he had just won the lottery.

It felt more like a blow to the gut to Cloud. A Defender? It had to be some kind of cruel joke! There was no way in all of the Dark Realm he could have been selected to be a protector of Dragnaple! There were so many reasons why he couldn't be a Defender. The Defenders were strong, smart, and daring. They were the true heroes. Not dragons like him. It wasn't possible. It just didn't happen. Not to him. Not now. Not ever.

"No."

Coal, who'd been staring dumbly at him for the last minute and a half, started. "No?" he echoed. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Coal leaped to his paws in outrage. "No!" he yelped. "No way! I won't allow it! I'm putting my talon down right now! You are not throwing an opportunity like this away!"

"Watch me."

"Cloud. Hopeful. Star. You can't do this! Do you realize what you would be giving up? You've been chosen! Thousands of hatchlings would give an arm and a leg for what you've got!"

"Well, give it to one of them then," Cloud grumbled. "Just leave me out of it!" He turned and started walking away. There had to be more important things to do than listen to this nonsense. He had fish to catch, sparring techniques to perfect. He didn't have to stay here and take this nonesense. And he wouldn't.

"Cloud? Cloud!" Coal charged down the hallway after him. "It's not that bad! So, what if you are a blue-scaled dragon that everyone fears and wants to destroy? Doesn't nature seem to have a way of working itself out for the best?"

"Only this nature has a name and messed up big time," Cloud shot back, shaking out his wings tiredly. "Look, Coal, being a Defender...it just isn't for me. I'm not the kind of reptile who will dive headfirst into a battle if I can avoid it."

"Says the dragon who leaped straight into that fight back there without even the slightest regard for his own well-being," Coal fired back in return. "And before you start, you are brave and strong. And blue scales or no, you are exactly what this world needs. Will you accept that or am I going to have to bash it into your thick head?"

"This is insane!" Cloud exclaimed. Never in a million years could I have envisioned this. A Defender. I'm a Defender. "And the even crazier thing is that I believe you! Now what?" he questioned, glancing at Coal for guidance. "Is there some sort of initiation ceremony or am I just automatically a Defender?"

"Don't look at me!" Coal protested, throwing his talons up in shock. "I'm not Clouddusk! How should I know?"

"You're the one who knew about Clouddusk's team in the first place!" Cloud exclaimed. "You must know something!" He noticed Coal's wide-eyed expression. "Anything?"

"Well," Coal stammered, "a-according to the stories--"

"Which we now know are more than stories."

"Right. Anyway, the scrolls say that a true Defender--"

"--must pass a deadly trial, yes, I know," Cloud interjected, exhaling tiredly and letting his gaze drift toward the bubbling water once more.

Coal looked at him flatly. "Do you want my help or not?"