I'm broken out of my trance when Komel, the pack leader and my adopted dad, walks through the male defense line. He doesn't look concerned. His snowy coat is lying flat, and his wings are tucked carefully behind him.
On the other hand, the males have their teeth bared, their wings up defensively and their fur bristling. He keeps walking toward the dragon, sits in front of it, and calls back to the pack, "Stand down. He won't hurt us." The males hesitate, then stop baring their teeth; they fold their wings, their fur lying against their necks, but their ears are alert, and the females haven't moved. "How do you know I won't hurt you" The dragon snarls, taking a step closer to Komel. My muscles tense, ready to jump to his rescue, but Komel twitches his tail and answers calmly, "You have no reason to, and even if you did want to hurt us, we would already be dead, so why are you here?" The dragon takes a step back, surprised. "I want to speak to Kaida and her parents," he said, catching my eye. He three steps inside, and all the wolves are back in defense poses. "Perhaps," Komel observes, looking around at the tense wolf pack, "It would be better if we spoke outside." The dragon nods and turns around, flapping his wings and heading to the ground; Komel follows him.
"Are you coming, Kaida?" he asks without turning around. I blink a couple of times, then realize he's talking to me and head toward him, launching myself into the sky and following Komel to where the dragon landed. When we land, he has already cleared some of the snow with his fire. I land in the snow outside the grassy circle while Komel lands inside it. "Well, as you probably know, it is highly suggested that a dragonet her age should go to faraday academy," The dragon addresses Komel and acts like I'm not there. "I don't need to go to school," I say confidently. "The wolves have taught me to fight and stuff, so I'm good. But thanks for coming. Have a safe flight!" He snarls, "You need to know more than just party tricks if you want to survive; if you want a job, you must go to Faraday academy." "Kaida," Komel says, turning to me. "You have to go to school; it will be good for you. You can make new friends, and he's right; we can't teach you to fight another dragon. You can learn that at Faraday Academy. And if you want a job..." he trails off. "You can't live with us forever." I protest, but he looks at me, almost pleading with me to agree. My tongue twists and I can't speak. "Fine," I reluctantly say, pushing my tongue into submission. "Ok then, we will see you on August 23rd, that is exactly 3 months from now. There will be severe punishments if you don't show up now that you are a student." the dragon said before taking off. Komel watches him before addressing me. "Listen, I think it would be good for you to go to school, but you must not lose your temper and fight another dragonet outside class."
I want to argue with him and say I don't have a temper, but I can feel anger bubbling up in my stomach and have to take some deep breaths to calm myself down. I hang my head in embarrassment. "Ok, but how? You know how the slightest things trigger it!" Komel tilts his head and smiles. "Do whatever you did just now," he remarks with a tiny laugh. "Ok, but what if they don't like me?" I say, voicing another one of my worries. "Kaida, these are silly worries. Focus on school. You will find friends, and they will no doubt help you with your temper." he tells me, calming my fears. "Enjoy these last moments before you go to school," he then takes flight leaving me in the snow. I smile, shake the snow off my snout and fly after him, excited at the idea of a change of scenery.
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