Ronan 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 Ronan's unfortunate nickname, and although Truvius seemed impervious to the jabs, Veronica and Talli had faired for the worse.Veronica 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?" Ronan scoffed, his growl lightening as he caught some of Jade's friends waving their group good luc
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 Ronan 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 Ronan, 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 for
Ronan had himself awkwardly sprawled across the bed, arms stretched to flatten a spare scrap of parchment on the corner of his nightstand. Aimlessly tapping his lip with the butt of his pen as all the ways he could have worded his letter escaped him. He had briefly recapped his stay at Cobalt to his self proclaimed uncle, but before he could end the note with a sagging signature, Phantom popped up the idea of begging for illicit artifacts again.Now, torn between the unlikely chance of getting what he wanted, and banking on the bliss of ignorance his uncle would tack to him when he asked for the object, Ronan was at an utter loss for what to write.He tried to imagine the situation as if he was back home. Opening his front door to face the towering man, his flowing clothes just as colourful as his personality, and the little blue car he swerved about the roads on parked right on the lawn. What would he do if Ronan opened that door with a stiff smile and asked for drug money?Ronan bit
Puff's popularity had withered in a matter of weeks, only a few points and whispers shedding the fading trails of his spectacular transition to freedom. Despite this, Veronica could still see the undying twinkle of cheer in Puff's eyes, and the wandering attention in Ronan's.He was in a conversation with Truvius, the two talking about Puff's refusal to fly and Mr. Mudelin's disappointing lack of call outs on Ronan. Yet his gaze had bounced just past her too many times to be a coincidence. Their suspicions seemed to be right.Veronica had put her patience to practice, slowly softening Ronan up with a wave of warmth in place of her comfortable chill. On this particular lunch break she felt that she had gotten close enough to him to ask about the room without having to give anything in return. So, after the four had topped their plates with more snacks than substance, Veronica made sure to seize the spot right next to him, banishing Truvius and Talli to face them across the table.Witho
Ronan eyed Jeremy, distrust pitted to his stomach at the feline that had not only returned unscathed after his little letter run, but appeared to come back bearing gifts. A thick leather shoulder bag that nearly popped Ronan's arm from the socket when he casually grabbed it from Samanthra and flung the hard weight over his shoulder with a wobble.The stuffed sack most certainly wasn't something his scrawny house cat would be able to drag through the wilds, which held many speculations to its possibility, but at the head of the helm was Jeremy having an unknown form of assistance.A person?Ronan averted his squint before Jeremy caught it, sighing with relief as he cracked his door open to face an empty room. Puff was still with Alestra, happily committed to quaint biweekly flying lessons just behind the stables. Ronan could spare his friend an unnecessary barrage of feline harassments if he got Jeremy out before curfew.Ronan threw the sack on his bed, wincing at the hard crack that p
As Ronan pulled his covers up to go to bed, he caught the usual flash of red as Phantom drifted through the wall to the outdoors. Granted, he was glad he could go to sleep knowing Phantom wasn't sitting there watching him like a creep, but he was still curious as to what was out there that could keep the man entertained for so long.With the thought heavy on his mind, Ronan pulled his mind to sleep. A sequence interrupted by the cold lick of a breeze tickling his face and crawling through his warm covers. The irritation quickly became unbearable, and he lifted his head drowsily to inspect the culprit.All at once his body lurched back with a shriek of surprise, his heart pounding at the unexpected visitor perched in the frame of his window. The figure with snowy white hair watched him impassively, allowing the thin curtains to flutter and set the eerie scene in the unwelcomed breeze.Ronan sucked in a breath, holding his covers up to hide his body from the visitor. "What are you doing
"Where are we off to?" Phantom said, following Ronan through the grassy field. The sky was covered on a thin sheet of hazy grey clouds; the closest thing to rain Ronan had seen so far.He walked over to the forest's edge, and looked down at the familiar, rugged patch of grass from his dreams. After ensuring his only spectators were Puff and Phantom, he got on his knees and started digging.Sure enough, after tearing up a large portion of grass and dirt, and thoroughly confusing his audience in the process, his fingers brushed against the cold surface of a large rock. He scooped the remaining dirt away, revealing the smooth, white surface of the Ceptrum.It wasn't just a dream."How'd you know that was there?" Phantom said, transfixed to the stone as he squatted next to Ronan. "I thought they'd have torn down most of the old Ceptrums, I don't recognize this one...""I had a really messed up dream," Ronan replied, concealing the rock with dirt and chunks of grass. "Do you know anybody w
"Who is that guy?" Veronica seethed, still burning at the strangers knowledge and jabs at her even as they walked towards the forest trail. Red chuckled dismissively, still drawn to the overhanging towers of black mere minutes from loosing a shower of droplets on them. "He's an information broker, shopkeeper, advertiser and distributor of... contracts. He's a great guy. Don't worry, I don't think he meant to threaten you, he was being blatantly honest." Veronica sighed, relaxing her face to fatigued indifference. "I guess most of the information on me isn't really guard-worthy, I just don't like people creeping on me." "Don't worry, he didn't creep on you, someone else did," Red said, his smile souring Veronica's lips even further. "Thanks for that," Veronica replied sarcastically. Another crack tore through the sky with an echoing roar, and Puff dug his claws into Ronan's shoulders. Like the highly intelligent creature he was, he had accepted their fate, waiting for whatever mon