Heyoooo guess who isn't actually dead? Not. Me. But here's an update anyways, and a little message to tack on.
First of all three months dry on updates and Cobs got featured! Big yay, and welcome all you new readers (and old, I love you guys too), hope you're enjoying this! Cobs also hit 2.8k and climbing, so thank you all my lovely readers.
Lastly, here's a quick blurb of my update schedule. The next part will be coming out after the second week of December, in which I'll hope to shower you all in chapters~ I've been juggling full time school and work these past three months, so that's the reason I've been dead since September. Keeping that GPA canoe afloat ain't easy, but this zombie student sales associate will be sure to deliver in December with one big happy holidays gift bundle!
Without further ado, here's the next part.
Káel cradled Puff in his arms, the dragon filled with so much excitement he'd been purring all the way to their destination. Truvius had pulled ahead of the pack, cutting through the sea of whispering students that peppered the group with an even mix of judgement and praise.
Word of Puff's release had spread through the schools populace faster than Káel's unfortunate nickname, and although Truvius seemed impervious to the jabs, Vera and Talli had faired for the worse.
Vera tugged Talli to her other side, taking the shoulder of a student passing them and nearly knocking them off their feet. The sour frown they paid her was doubled in return by a scorching scowl as she tugged Talli closer. "Are we almost there?"
"Couple minutes," Truvius replied, swerving around a set of students that hadn't bothered to move from the center of the hall. "I was expecting worse honestly."
"Worse?" Káel scoffed, his growl lightening as he caught some of Jade's friends waving their group good luck. "Which idiot told everyone?"
Leon snorted as Káel's gaze naturally wandered to him. "If I told anyone, it wouldn't be these skatheads that hate innocent balls of fluff because they have teeth."
Talli squeaked, trying to hide her whimper when Káel paid her his confusion. "I-I'm sorry."
"For what?" Káel paused, clicking in as she flushed red.
—————
A hollowed roar shook the rigid bones of the room, Samanthra flinching at the rattling windows of glass above their heads as Mr. Mudelin swiftly cut the chattering hoards of students off with his thick classroom doors.
Mariel had been the last guest to slip in after making sure the breakers positioned outside didn't have their hands full with the crowd of nosy students, and now with silence to cradle their thoughts, everyone paid their fellow guests a skim.
Káel kept the center of attention, Puff huddled in his arms as Samanthra and his least favourite teacher lingered together near the desk, Mr. Mudelin taking the only chair so he could shove his nose in a book again. Káel had already noticed the presence of his two house leaders, the only flecks of silver stripes lined in a rainbow of what he had now assumed to be the other house leaders. Which meant Horus, who wore nothing but a permanent mask of disgust for Káel, was one of the purple house leaders.
He pulled his gaze away from their stone expressions, his heart clenching as he ran over Puff's chances at freedom. The way the rest of the students took every meter wide stretch of the circular room screamed anything but an open armed welcome, their uniforms clad with golden stripes that flaunted a house Káel had never seen in his classes.
Except Ray.
He had somehow slipped into the private event, and was taking up the doors where Káel's friends had been forced to stand. Ignoring Phantom's suggestion to avoid eye contact with the blond, Káel caught his cheesy smile with a glare, hugging Puff tighter as the nuisance took a couple steps towards him.
Samanthra caught the motion with a booming voice, the student freezing to his spot with a cringe at her tone. "Raymond Peterson, that door is your position. It's bad enough you never wear the proper uniform."
With a pout and sunken shoulders, Ray retreated without a word, squatting in front of the door to pet Ragdoll instead.
"I'll ask everyone to remain near the walls for this," Samanthra continued, not a peep to fight her command as she seized the center of the room to face Káel, her golden eyes scanning the small drake. "Mariel."
She stepped forwards, bowing her head while she awaited an inevitable set of orders.
Samanthra paid Vera's sister a warm smile. "You and Horus will be representing the Breakers on this one." Her eyes switched to the purple house leader, lingering on his quick nod and unchanging frown. "I hope you can both reach a consensus."
"I hope firehead's sister can handle pretty boy," Phantom muttered, his hushed tone losing its purpose with an audience that couldn't hear him anyways. "She's about a head taller, her chances are pretty good."
Káel bit back a laugh before Samanthra turned to face him again, her eyes locking with Káel's this time around as she held her palm out. "So I've heard you brought your own lockpick."
She waited for Káel to fish it out of his pocket, flicking down her glasses to squint at the paper thin needle. As the light danced across it's enchanted coat, her eyes fell back to Káel with a nearly dark smile. "You went to Soren? This couldn't have been cheap."
Káel shrugged. "The guy traded it for Puff's cuff, so I agreed."
"Ah," Samanthra replied, suddenly seeming to understand the situation. "in one way or another, he always overcharges even his best customers. Dedrick, would you do the honours?"
Mr. Mudelin looked up from his book at Lady Samanthra, cocking an eyebrow at the pick she wiggled between her fingers. "You just asked if you could use the room, I'm sure you've learned at least a little bit of lock picking by now."
"And I'm sure you like your paycheck."
Káel tensed as his teacher rose, his usual permeating aura of cold pessimism engulfing Káel and his cowering guardian with a dismal presence that would make a funeral reception jealous. Looking around at all the pairs of eyes staring at him in suspenseful anticipation, he let loose a soft sigh. "I still think this setup is extreme, it's a young dragon not a raging coinkidink."
"I didn't write the school code, I just have to follow it," Samanthra replied.
Mr. Mudelin snatched the pick, masking his irritation as Puff slipped out of Káel's arms to hide behind his legs. "It's alright dragon, show me your cuff."
Puff didn't budge, a sudden fear shaking his body as he felt the weight of a thousand eyes sinking into his fur. The cuff could have very well been the only thing keeping him safe in Cobalt alongside his friends, and a shred of freedom would be a small price to pay for his life.
"You wanna be stuck in that cuff the rest of your life Mudbrain?" Phantom said, a cocky chuckle shaking his shoulders as he popped his chin up. "Guess there's more mud than I thought in your little noggin."
Puff scoffed, a haughty flare puffing his fur as he strutted up to Mr. Mudelin with a pompous snort, but when he stopped to hold out his paw, his little toes were clearly trembling.
Mr. Mudelin twisted the cuff around until he could see the keyhole, his eyes slowly lifting to Káel. "You gonna back up?"
"Nah, I trust him."
Mr. Mudelin fiddled with the lock for a couple seconds, snapping it off like second nature as a splay of hissing white mist cascaded from the shattered enchantment. Mr. Mudelin blocked his nose before the sour cloud could touch him, fanning it at Káel to reveal a small silver cuff broken at their feet.
Puff sneezed out the last of the itchy cloud, the welcomed kiss of cold air finally stroking his wrist. Dizzy with numb euphoria, the small dragon stared at his broken cage, his eyes washing with a surge of tears as he gave Káel a cracking warble.
"You're free buddy."
Puff let the words sink in. He really was free now, free to do whatever he damn pleased. Which meant no more tiny fluffy dragon.
A pulse of magic rushed through his body, bathing every inch of his fur in a blinding white glow that forced every set of eyes in the room to duck for the cover of darkness until his transformation was complete.
Where the light died down a large fluffy white dragon sat prestigiously chasing his own tail. He was easily twice as large as Káel, but aside from his size, not a lot had changed. Puff stopped his playful chasing and looked at the cuff one more time, his eyes glazed with a feral rage as he snarled at the contraption that had stolen years of his youth, viciously shaking it back and forth before slamming it to the ground and engulfing it in a pool of hot flames.
Most of the students in the room tensed, awaiting the headmaster's orders if the dragon proved to be feral. But after his scales returned to their fluffy state Puff turned to Káel, his eyes wet with joy as he tackled his friend and showered his face with slobbering licks, stopping only after he realized his weight was crushing the tiny human.
Puff looked around the room victoriously, bounding about the space and attempting to rub against anyone and everyone within reach, spare Ray, the likes of which he made sure to leap over.
When Káel got back to his feet, Puff immediately homed in on him, shoving his large head into his stomach for attention and accidentally knocking the wind out of him in the process.
In the chaos left by Puff's sudden spout of widespread affection, Samanthra raised her voice over the whispers with another booming speech. "Now that the dragon is free it's time to hold a vote as to if he is a suitable guardian we can place our trust in. One vote per house with a valid reasoning, I would also like our elites to reach a consensus, and our two present Breakers, Mr. Mudelin and I will represent the teacher's vote in this." She snapped her fingers. "Ten minutes starting now."
The room broke into quiet whispers while the leaders clumped together discussing their votes. Jeremiah yowled as Ray came up behind Káel and ruffled his hair, congratulating his success in freeing Puff.
"Aren't you supposed to be deciding your vote with the other elites?" Vera said, eyeing Ray with her usual hostility.
Ray grinned cheekily at her response, and threw his arm around Káel. "We're done, it was a pretty snappy consensus."
Vera raised an eyebrow at his response, and her lips curled into a taunting grin. "How's that return trip going?"
"It's going," Ray said with a chuckle, letting go of Káel and scratching his head. "How'd you find your cat by the way?"
"My uncle sent him... Oh, that reminds me, I still have to write back to him," Káel replied, contemptuously watching Ray's expression drop.
Puff passed the time with being cuddled by Káel's friends, Talli especially who was taken under Puff's good wing and nuzzled by the dragon. He permitted Ray to rub him behind the ears, but shoved off anyone who tried climbing onto his back for the ten minutes of grace, namely Leon.
When the whispers died to patient silence, Samanthra took the center stage once more, Mr. Mudelin at her side as he took every moment he could to finish his novel. "Times up," Samanthra called, silencing the room spare a laughing Talli. "It's only appropriate for the vote start with the silver house, seeing as Káel's a part of it."
"I hear ya," Sev replied, clearing his throat before speaking. "Course we voted for Puff being a suitable an' acceptable guardian for our newbie here. Reason bein' that ignoring the first day he was brought into our house, the dragon's been a cuddly little ball of fluff since. Not t' mention lookin' at the size of the little sucker I'd say he was taken by the hunters at a very young age, so there prolly ain't a smidge of nomad in the cutie. He's a little flying kitten as far as we're concerned, an' one that'd make a perfect mascot for our house when he puts his scales on."
"Thank you Sevastian," Samanthra said with a smile. "Yellow house, you're next."
A girl with long black braids stepped up to speak, her partner remaining out of the spotlight. "I appreciate the cuddles Puff provided, but we have reached a consensus against the dragon being a suitable presence on the school campus. Dragon hunters hunt nomad dragons, and only nomad dragons, and it has been proven time and time again that such creatures have a naturally violent disposition. If this vote is to stand mostly against the dragons presence he will be sent to the Garaean Capital, Frigusilvrum, for his behaviour to be studied, and if he is proven to be friendly in nature he will find a nice home there, and if savage, he will be returned to his natural ecosystem. We believe this is the safest decision that will not pose a potential threat to the student body of this institution, and will provide the dragon with a fair fate."
Puff looked to Káel and let off a quiet saddened warble. "Is that true? They'll send him away if we don't win?" Káel whispered to Ray.
"Yeah, he's a Nomad after all. Unfortunately if the vote is even on both sides he'll still be sent away, you need at least five votes to win..."
"Or you could follow Puff in banishment to Frigus-whatever," Phantom added, feeding off the glare Káel tossed him.
"Thank you," Samanthra said. "Green house, you're next."
A tall boy with shortly trimmed black hair, and dark caramel skin stepped up with his partner, who was only a head shorter with curly brown hair, and a leather eyepatch over one eye.
"We've reached a consensus to welcome this dragon to Cobalt as a suitable addition," he started. "Just like if a person from a waring country was to join us, we want to judge this dragon fairly, and not jump to any conclusions without first giving it a chance."
The girl spoke up as soon as her partner finished, the authority in her voice nearly comedic against her height as she propped her chin up. "Also, he may be a nomad dragon, and if this is the case, no matter how far fetched it may sound, he may be a mouthpiece to some of the smaller tribes we've been trying to reach out to for peace. Alienating this dragon with the stereotype of all nomads being savage is exactly why Lumi's been in this mess with nomads for hundreds of years, and although I will respect the decisions of this meetings and the other houses, I will not accept the fueling of an ever growing conflict between us Lumers and the nomad dragons of the Mauran region. I sincerely hope the rest of you use the gifts in your heads Tesirus gave you, and make the right choice."
"Thank you Kestrel," Samanthra said. "Red house, it's your turn."
"Two points, gotta get back to my group," Ray muttered, stroking Káel's shoulder as he slipped away.
A man almost as big as Sev stepped up, his face rested into a permanent glare. Phantom looked to him with a slightly rise to his shoulders. "Wow, didn't think I'd ever find someone crankier than you."
"Shut up," Káel whispered, watching the man clear his throat.
"The Red house has reached a consensus that the dragon is not a suitable presence at this school. Dragons are smart, they've been known to play elaborate tricks to achieve savage and cruel plans. As the yellow house said, if for some reason this dragons is not savage, it will likely find a good home in the city of dragons under the Garaean Capital, so there's no reason to keep it here because one of the first years thinks it's friendly."
Puff shot an audible blast of air out of his nose, glaring at the man with a pouty face that Káel quickly got rid of by turning his head away.
"Thank you Red House," Samanthra said. "Last but not least, Purple house, you're up."
"This is gonna go over well," Vera muttered, as both her and Káel watched Horus.
He didn't step up however, and refused to acknowledge his partner as she gestured for him to follow. After glaring at a passive Horus for a couple seconds she rolled her eyes and turned to her audience while regaining a professional posture. "As the Purple house, we've reached a consensus that the beast will not be a symbiotic component of this facility, due to its common savagery associated with its species and geographical location. We've acknowledged the fact that this creature has the possibility of being raised by dragon hunters, but that doesn't counteract the fact that it can still run the chance of having a violent disposition, since dragon hunters aren't exactly caring and civilized people. I hope you can respect our views on the matter, since our key goal is the safety of this student body," she said, eyeing Káel with a strange sneer. "And if our lucky first year loves the dragon so much, Frigusilvrum has enough schools full of dragon lovers to make him feel right at home with the nomad."
"Thank you Purple house, but transferring Káel was in no way part of this discussion," Samanthra warned, putting her professional smile back on. "As it currently stands the houses have voted two for, and three against, and since I'm already talking I'll cast the teachers vote. As the head administer of Cobalt, I believe that so long as we accept the student, which we clearly have, we should be required to accept their guardian, no matter where it came from. Puff is Káel's guardian, and so we have reached a consensus to accept him as another valuable member of Cobalt. Elites, your vote is next."
The golden uniformed students and Ray all looked at each other, and after a string of inaudible whispers, they huddled into a group, seeming to be stuck in an argument.
"You've reached a consensus I'm assuming." She folded her arms at the bickering students while impatiently tapping her foot.
"Yeah, we're choosing a speaker," one of them called.
The group did something with their hands, and after a couple seconds they all snickered at Ray and shoved him forwards to bear the task.
Ray looked around at his audience and grimaced. "Well as you can tell we all appear to hate talking, and I am exceptionally bad at getting points across." Ray brushed his loose hair away from his face, tucking it under his goggles and letting out a sigh. "We've reached a consensus that the dragon, named Puff for those of you who don't seem to know, has the chance of being dangerous. We've also reached a consensus that he is definitely a nomad, and nomads have the chance of being extremely violent towards Lumers." He paused looking around the room once more, but as soon as he caught a smile from the Yellow and Red house leaders, his face broke into a mischievous grin. "But don't go jumping for joy yet you anti-dragon ninnies-"
"Raymond," Samanthra cut in, her dead glare somehow shoving the professionalism back in him.
"I'm only naming pros and cons here," Ray continued, his smile growing as he looked at Puff. "The only fact we can provide is that us elites really hate one thing, and that's trying to make valid points off of uncertainty. He has a chance of being vicious. A kitten has a chance of being vicious. You're more likely to get stabbed in the middle of the hallway than munched on by a Sandregian ice drake here, but chances are powerful, and horrible things, aren't they? As such, we fully endorse the presence of students attending Cobalt, regardless of if they have a shank shoved down their boot." He cautiously glanced at Samanthra's glare. "We also fully endorse the use of kittens as guardians."
Samanthra cleared her throat, signifying the end of Ray's jokes.
"And regardless of chance, we fully endorse Puff's acceptance into Cobalt."
Puff warbled in excitement, bounding over to Ray and shoving his fluffy head into his stomach for a well earned massage. Ray embraced Puff's head, scratching the scruff of his neck, and the remaining elites joined in on the celebration embracing the enthusiastic dragon in a group hug.
"It's still a bit early to be throwing any parties." Samanthra boomed, the dog pile of elites paying her their full attention, but in no way moving away from the fluffy dragon. "We still have one more vote."
Puff froze to look at her, his face sinking to worry as everyone remembered the Breakers.
"Mariel, Horus, have you reached a consensus?" Samanthra called, a hint of worry in her eyes.
They both nodded, and Horus stepped forwards, dropping Ray's smile to complete hopelessness as he cursed under his breath. "Sorry Puff, this may not go so well."
Horus's face hadn't changed since he entered the room, stuck in a permanent scowl of hatred and disgust, but as he stepped up to speak, it softened. "On behalf of the Breakers we have reached a consensus that the effectiveness, and just nature of this trial is extremely flawed. So flawed in fact, that we have chosen neutrality. I have no love for dragons, but I also refuse to take a position purely based on assumptions, there is no solid evidence for nor against this dragon's savagery, and I will not participate in a trial of biased opinions, since all that will be procured from it is a corrupt sentence." He soaked in the silence of the room, fixing his collar with a tug as he released a heavy sigh. "Thank you for your time."
Káel realized his mouth was hanging as he watched the house leader turn away, exchanging his confusion with Vera, who shared in his spiking emotions at the turn of events.
"Maybe my sister did something," she whispered.
"She definitely did something," Káel replied, watching Samanthra step forwards to speak.
"Well then, that was fun... and no paper work." She fixed her excitement when she realised the students didn't share it. "I'll respect the Breakers decision to not participate in the voting, since it held a valid reasoning, so that ends the vote with three against... And four for Puff's acceptance into Cobalt as Káel's guardian." She looked between Puff and Káel with a playful smile. "Congratulations."
Puff withdrew from cuddling Ray and ran at Samanthra, giving her face a big lick before rubbing against her with his furry head. She rubbed the dragon saliva off her face, barely giving Puff a stroke before the dragon ran off to his next victim.
By the time Mr. Mudelin had shaken all the white dragon hair off his clothes, being one of Puff's first victims, Puff had given everyone in the room who accepted him a shower of snuggling dragon rubs. Horus threw up a thick force field when the dragon went for Mariel, and only put it down when Samanthra allowed everyone's dismissal, the members on board with the verdict lingering to admire Puff.
"Thanks," Káel said, as Mariel joined Vera's side, the three standing by to watch Puff soak in cuddles and rubs.
Her face shifted to confusion at Káel's statement. "For what?"
"For making the Breakers vote neutral," Vera replied.
Mariel looked to Horus as he left the room and smiled. "That was him, I just agreed with it."
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Quality Quip #8:
'Freedom is the power to choose our own chains.'
~ Anon