The Storm Wolf: Tranquil waters - chapter 10 - Cirrus clouds 10.5
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Having just gone through the ordeal with Master Sunflare, I really didn’t feel like seeking out another dragon right away, but it seemed I had no choice, and breaking an appointment would be incredibly rude.
The sliding door panel displayed a default green light for clearance, so I let myself in.
If Master Sunflare's office resembled a lair, then Master Field’s office was truly a lair.
It wasn’t just my overactive imagination or some stereotype at play; there were gems scattered everywhere, cut in various ways, each refracting dazzling lights of different colors. The chaotic spectrum of colors made me feel slightly dizzy. If you looked carefully, you could even spot some uncut stones, still embedded in the raw crystals or metals they were originally a part of.
Among this overly vibrant and chaotic scene, there was a wafting… scent. I lifted my head and sniffed, noticing the source of the smell: a large glass jug on a table filled with dark brown liquid.
"Stand still. Don’t resist. I don’t want to waste more time." I hadn’t noticed when he appeared, but my tail instantly shot up. "I said, don’t move!" A consciousness circle enveloped me, and something cold began coursing over my body. It felt similar to a probing wave but more like the cold slithering of mercury, sinking into my spine… no, deeper this time, directly soaking into my soul, penetrating my essence.
I maintained my stance, shifting my eyes to glance at the dragon beside me.
He wasn’t as tall as Master Sunflare, but he was about the same size as Qana. His tightly packed deep-brown scales didn’t reflect much light, only dispersing to reveal a glimmering green around his eyes.
His pupils were spindle-shaped, like Master Sunflare’s, but unlike Sunflare, he wasn’t covered in spikes. Instead, behind each of his eyes, there were two horns curving back along the arc of his head. They weren’t large, so they resembled raised ears, and their color was a shade lighter than his scales.
"Good. You have potential." I assumed this dragon must be Master Field. His voice was deeper than I expected, like grinding stone plates together. But most importantly, he didn’t seem as strange as I had feared. "I enjoy carving raw stone."
I glanced at the scattered gems, unsure what to make of that statement.
At the same time, Master Field walked over to the glass jug, poured some of the liquid into a mug, and sat at a workbench, picking up a crystal about the size of my head to examine it.
"Why are you still here? The interview’s over. I agree to be your mentor." After quite some time, he seemed to notice I was still standing in the room and asked with a tone full of confusion. I think I was starting to better understand the meaning behind the dragon's song-like language.
"Uh…" I scratched my ear, searching for the right words. "But I haven’t decided if I want you…"
Master Field set down the crystal and the mug, exhaling a sharp breath through his nose.
"Fine. If you like playing this game, consider this a welcoming bonus. I'll break my rule and spend a bit of time giving you your first ‘guidance’ lesson." He stood up and walked toward me. I was sure he hadn’t seemed this tall just a moment ago. "Of all the cosmic truths I could teach you, the most important one is this: Don’t waste my time!"
My tail automatically curled between my legs, and my ears flattened against my head without me being able to control them. I didn’t mind lowering my posture before a more experienced elder, but the overwhelming pressure made me want to resist a bit. However, I suppressed the impulse, remembering what Qana once said: a qualified psychic should rise above that instinctual, insect-like reflex to defend itself.
"The bighorn sheep has no ability to guide you, so that’s out. If you want to work with diamonds, without the right tools, you won’t even be able to cut them, let alone carve. And even if Dawn gave you everything she knows, using psychic abilities to patch up bodies would be a complete mismatch for you, like trying to cut an emerald without using an Asscher cut." The dragon shuddered as if disgusted by the idea. Meanwhile, I caught sight of how a dragon rolls its eyes with its nictitating membrane.
Then, Master Field leaned down, bringing his snout close to mine, staring directly into my eyes with his emerald green ones. I could see the complex crystalline patterns spread across his irises. Beautiful.
"And if you truly have the potential I believe you do—trust me, my judgment is sharp—then there’s no way you’d degrade yourself by allying with someone like Sunflare." He paused for a moment, his pupils narrowing as if confirming something. "Unless, of course, you have an extreme desire for self-destruction. Otherwise, you wouldn’t try to reject all of us. Because while you may be strong, you're not strong enough yet to take on everyone."
The dragon finished speaking and quietly stared at me as though waiting for a reply.
I couldn’t find any flaws in Master Field’s analysis, and I was fairly sure I didn’t have a strong self-destructive impulse. So, I did the only logical thing.
"Yes, Master." I bowed my head and said it with the most submissive tone I could muster.
"I enjoy carving raw stone." The dragon stepped back and waved his hand at me, clearly indicating I had taken up too much of his time. "But I’m not sure if raw stone enjoys being carved." I tried to suppress the strange images that popped into my head but couldn’t help glancing at the shattered fragments of raw stone on the ground. "Let’s hope we both enjoy this process."
He returned to his workbench, took a large sip from the mug filled with that dark liquid, and focused back on his task, no longer paying me any attention. I could still smell that unique fragrance, wondering if it was some kind of product from Ceres.
I decided to act as if I had understood the first lesson and bowed as I took my leave. As the sliding door closed, some process Master Field was conducting caused a sharp scraping noise that pierced directly into my eardrums, making the fur on my body stand on end.
Trying not to let the ominous scene get to me, I smoothed my fur and made my way toward my final destination.