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Arcantos

was in his tent when the news came in. Teprogia

came bursting in, startling Arcantos and making him knock his ink-pot

over, through fortunately

only onto the desk. The papers he had been writing on were left

untouched. Before Arcantos

could even express his irritation at the dragoness' interruption,

she bounded up to him,

her front-feet grabbing onto his shoulders as she said excitedly. "He's

here! He's really here! The High General! In the flesh! He's

visiting the camp!" The blue dragon

took a deep breath to calm himself, and also shook his head to clear

his ringing ears from

high-pitched squealing before he placed his hands over Teprogia's

feet. "Tep,

please. Calm down, I can hardly hear what you're saying." The green

face pulled away from

Arcantos at this, allowing him to make out her brown horns and the

expression on her face as

she apologized. "Heh,

sorry Arc. But he's actually here! The rumours of the High General

coming to visit were true!

I was him! Tryndamous, in the flesh! Not only that, but he has a

patrol of Aether Guard with him! They look so strong, and soooo cool

in that purple armour!" Teprogia was nearly squeeing in excitement,

making Arcantos chuckle and shake his head, saying."Your

fangirling over the military is becoming a little worrying." As he

spoke, Arcantos gently pushed on the dragoness' chest, making her

drop to the ground and back onto her four feet, with a little huff at

his statement."I'm

not fangirling, I just have a healthy respect for the military,

that's all.""Yes,

so healthy that you go completely gaga over the colour of armour

high-ranking soldiers wear." Arcantos said, rolling his eyes at

Teprogia's reply. "And that you constantly fantasy about you being

accepted into the Aether Guard, and that Tryndamous chose you as a

lover and you get to see just how big he really is, very very

intimately.""S-shut

up!" Teprogia protested with a blush, glaring at the smirking

dragon. "A girl can dream, alright? Its not like I'm the only one

like that anyway. If the High General was a sexy dragoness instead of

a handsome dragon, that I bet you would be wanting to be the High

General's lover yourself!""You

forget who your talking to." Arcantos said with a chuckle and shake

of his head. "Others like Caross definitely would, and I bet he's

already checked out any females in the guard, he was on guard duty

with you after all. I'm guessing the Aether Guard have replaced you?""Yeah,

and Tryndamous was SO awesome about it! He came to us, examined us

and then said 'Stand down good guards, allow the Aether Guards to

take your duties for now, you have more important tasks to come'.

Talk about amazing!""Not

bad, I'll have to remember that for my stories..." Arcantos said,

trailing off as he turned back to the mess he had made. Quickly, he

picked up the ink-pot and placed the quill inside of it, before

moving his papers far away from the the spill. Teprogia meanwhile

pulled up a large ball of sand and dropped it onto the ink, before

spreading it by hand, commenting."Coming

here really gives me good practice at controlling sand. Give me a

couple more years, and I'll probably have to change my element from

plain old earth to sand.""Thanks

for reminding me what an expensive friend you are." Arcantos said

dryly, checking just how much ink was lost and mentally noting how

much money he had lost because of it, Teprogia meanwhile, snorted as

she finished covering the spill."Oh

hush, ink isn't that expensive, and I haven't spilled that much.

Besides, which one of us, is the one that belongs to a noble family,

and the one that actually provides you with all the ink and papers

you us, hmmmm?""Well

actually the inks and papers aren't provided by you, their a gift

from your parents to encourage not just my writing but also studying

and research, as you decided to be an animal keeper instead of a

scholar, like your parents... and brother... and sisters... and-""And

the rest of my family, I know, I know." Teprogia said with a sigh

and roll of her eyes, giving Arcantos a little nudge with her

shoulder. "I know full well that I'm the black sheep of the family

thank you very much. Especially with how often they poke and prod at

my animals back at home.""They

poked at me when I visited for a first time." Arcantos said dryly

as he finished sorting the papers and turned back to Tep. "I still

stand by my first judgement that your brother is one of the creepiest

dragon's in existence. Thank the Aether that your parents turned up

before he could kidnap me away for his experiments.""He

wouldn't of kidnapped you." Teprogia said, scoffing at the

accusation. Arcantos just arched an eye ridge at her, and waited...

and after a few moments the earth dragoness had to concede. "Most

likely... he's just... enthusiastic about his research and sometimes

forgets that he actually has to ask first if he can use others as

test subjects.""Or

owners if their okay with their animals being test subjects. Poor

Benson's never even been able to approach the nearby area without

freaking out." Arcantos lazily pointed at his bed, where a ball of

fur and feathers could be seen, part of it gently raising up and

down. Teprogia nodded in agreement at this, sparing Benson a glance,

before turning back to Arcantos."Enough

on my brother and family. I suggest we had to the mess tent, with

Tryndamous's arrival, pretty much everyone's likely there already

discussing it, and whilst a lonely soul like yourself may entirely be

fine just sitting in your tent working on your stories, I am not and

I'm dragging you along with me because this talk isn't something to

miss.""That's

always your excuse." Arcantos said with a huff, crossing his arms

as he glowered down at the dragoness, looking very stern and

stubborn. The dragoness just smiled at the sight, knowing her friend

too well to be fooled and said."Well,

maybe sometimes it is an excuse, but I think we can both agree that

this time it isn't. Besides, I haven't dragged you out of your room -

or tent - and you disliked what I dragged you to for years now.

Through I don't actually know if that's because I've gotten better at

knowing what you would like, if you've opened up more, or you've just

given up complaining and now tell me you enjoyed it, even if you

didn't.""I'm

horrible at lying." Arcantos said with a small shake of his head,

smiling as he allowed his arms to drop. "Its probably a bit of

both. You have helped me to open up quite a bit, but at the same

time, I've taught you how to be a bit more... tactical with what you

do.""Oooh,

tactical huh? That's what your calling it now, instead of

'bull-headed' or 'rash' or 'thoughtless'?" Tep jibbed as she turned

around, the end of her tail coming up to playfully flick Arc's muzzle

as she continued. "Sounds like your the one that's learned how to

be more 'tactical'.""No,

you've just become less annoying so I use less insulting words."

Arcantos said, still smiling as he shook his head, willingly

following his friend out of the tent. "If you were still annoying,

I would still be using insulting language, simple really." As

he moved outside, the blue dragon looked around. Noting that the camp

seemed pretty quite, save the command tent and the mess tent. The

latter of which a few dragon's were heading towards. Obviously the

news had already gone round the camp and everyone was talking about

it."So

the more annoying the dragon, the more insulting the words you use to

describe them become?" Teprogia questioned pausing to allow Arc to

catch up and walk with her to the mess tent, not behind her. "If

that's the case, then how exactly would you describe Caross? He's

gotta be the most annoying guy in the world.""Strangle-worthy."

Arcantos said, making Tep laugh, the dragon annoyed even to think of

what Caross was like. "I think everyone that talks to him wants to

strangle him at least once. He's not all bad, he just needs to learn

how to shut his mouth for more than ten seconds at a time.""Amongst

many, many other things." Teprogia said in amusement as they

approached the tent, pausing to allow a black and and blue dragon

into the tent first, before stepping through themselves. Arcantos

winced at they passed from the relative silence of the camp into the

barrage of sound that was the mess-tent. With some many dragons all

talking, it was a little intimidating for him, though rather warm and

luckily their attention was elsewhere, not on him or Tep.With

his greater height, Arc was able to spot their patrol before

Teprogia, and was soon leading her through the crowd towards the five

other dragons. As they approached, an orange dragon looked up and

grinned to see them."Well,

if it isn't the love birds! Finally chose to join us huh?" Arcantos

flushed at the term used, whilst Teprogia just rolled her eyes and

sighed, before stepping forwards to speak."Really

Caross? When are you going to get with the times, that's so old by

now." Caross just grinned back at Tep with a small chuckle, saying."It

ain't old to me until I decide its old, and a tease is never old to

me when it still provokes a reaction, and whilst it wasn't as bad as

it was, its still gets good old Arcy there all red and blushy at the

implication I'm still gonna be using it!""Don't.

Call me. Arcy." Arcantos said, his cheek scales still purple from

his blushing, but it was quickly dying down as he glared at Caross.

Who quickly recoiled away and lifted his front-feet up."Sorry

man, forgot how sensitive you are bout that." Arcantos glared at

Caross for a few moments still, before letting out a small huff and

sitting down, not exactly accepting the apology that Caross was

giving him, but not turning it away either. Caross took this an an

acceptance and quickly carried on with his teasing."Sides,

its only old till you actually let him under you tail Tep, and well

all know its going to happen." The heat in Arcantos' face quickly

flared up, whilst the earth dragoness just sighed, before stating

firmly."I

haven't even kissed a guy, let alone Arcantos here. I'm not looking

for a relationship, and Caross? Despite what you might prefer, most

girls actually stick with the tradition, and only mate with their

actual mates, and I'll be long gone from the army before I take a

mate, if ever." With that said, Teprogia walked away, moving to

join the other dragoness of the patrol, leaving the boys to

themselves. Caross watched her go, and then turned to others."Man,

she really needs to get laid and open up.""Perhaps

the fair Teprogia is fine as she is, and that it is your annoying

blathering that makes her have little desire to talk with you?" A

pale blue dragon suggested as Arcantos gingerly took a seat, glad

that attention had been taken away from him right now. "I

personally find her company quite pleasant, but a gentleman like

myself knows how to treat a lady right, whilst you it seems, have

much to learn with no desire to.""Oh

shut up Frost." Caross said, rolling his eyes as he turned to face

the ice dragon. "Your just as annoying with your arrogance despite

your manners. Hell, your as much a virgin as myself and we all know

your as interested in getting tail as I am.""I

may have desire to share my body with other fine dragoness's yes that

much I will admit. However, I am no more a virgin than you are not

annoying. Indeed, I have three fine ladies back at home who are all

willing to share themselves willing with myself.""Family

doesn't count." Caross said a little crossly, only for Frost to

shoot to his feat, glaring down at Caross who was visibly surprised

by this dramatic response."Get

up you miserable worm, so I can wreck the bloody vengeance upon ye

that such a comment and slight on myself and my family's honour

deserves! And think yourself lucky that a gentleman such as myself

would even let you fight back, a lesser dragon would simply slit your

throat for such slurring insults!""I

don't know what even half of those words mean." Caross said, a

smirk on his face as he rose to his feet, facing Frost and ignoring

the alarm of Arcantos, who was hastily moving away from the two

clashing dragons. "But hell, if its a fight you want for whatever

reason, its a fight your gonna get!""They'll

be no fighting here." A large pink dragon said with a growl,

staring down the two and grabbing their attention as he rose to his

full height. Not exactly towering above them, but still much higher

than the other two, and still on all fours. "We are a patrol, and

we will act like one. Caross, show some bloody discipline. Its what

the army is meant to teach you after all. Frost, just give Caross the

cold shoulder. He's simply a colossal idiot, and his words are

meaningless.""Whilst

you are our patrol leader Scorch, and worthy of being in that

position and thus my respect. These insults simply cannot be

ignored!" Frost said, turning back to Caross and opened his mouth,

water vapours swirling together as he rapidly formed an ice-ball.

Almost a split-second later, Caross spoke up himself."Ah

shut it Scorch, this arrogant asshole's had this beating a long time

coming, he needs to learn what respect really means." The orange

dragon turned round, his own jaws falling open and a ball of fire

began to form. However, neither of these attacks were launched, at

Scorch struck first.His

large feet wrapped around the two fighting dragon's jaws, clamping

them shut and cancelling the build-up of their elemental attacks. He

then yanked their muzzles down and forwards. Caross and Forst unable

to resist his physical strength as he brought their skulls cracking

together. Letting

go, Scorch allowed the two dragon's to reel away from one another,

shaking their heads to clear the ringing, or taking a few unsteady

steps. The pink dragon waiting a few moments for the two to recover

before speaking, his voice a low and dangerous growl."You

two hard-heads need to cool down and think! Wait until your on the

spar-grounds and then beat the hell out of one another. The

punishment for going too far in a spar is much less than starting a

fight on the grounds. Besides from that, do I need to remind you two

imbecile's that we have a special visitor? If Tryndamous catches you

acting like your half your age, he'll rip you a new one before

sending you back home, failure your 3 years compulsory time in the

military, and that's practically a death sentence, and if Tryndamous

doesn't do it, you can bet that the Sarge would for the sheer

embarrassment! Whilst the High General is here, everyone is

representing not just their patrol, but the squad as a whole. So you

two best be on your best behaviour, otherwise it won't just be skulls

I'm cracking, is that clear?""Crystal."

Caross growled, returning to his seat as he rubbed his skull. Glaring

at Frost as returned to his place on the bench, eager to have a go at

the ice dragon. Frost was returning the glare with equal venom,

wishing to teach the insolent worm his place. Yet, his commander had

spoken, so he wrenched his eyes away and nodded at Scorch."Understood

sir, I will call upon all of my knowledge on manners and etiquette to

ensure that I give the High General Tryndamous the best possible

impression of myself, and from that the rest of the patrol and squad

as a whole." Scorch kept his eyes on the two for a few moments

longer, before nodding in acceptance. Arcantos letting out a small

sigh, relived that the incident had passed without anyone coming to

blows this time.The

final dragon of the five - a cyan dragon by the name of Sig - chose

to spoke up now. "Talking of the High General. Does anyone actually

know why he's here? I mean, I'm sure we've all heard the rumours,

save Arcantos most likely, but there's so many of them its hard to

guess which one is right.""Who

knows? He's the High General, he does whatever he wants and by Terra,

no one will ever think of telling him otherwise. Heck, I don't even

think anyone in the council would dare oppose him. With how he came

to power, no one wants to mess with him.""Yes.

The bloody swathe he cut through the other potentials, and the

previous High General are quite infamous." Scorch said with a nod,

not exactly agreeing with Caross's words, more like simply

acknowledging them. "And he has been far from a passive general,

that much is for sure.""Well,

one thing I've heard is that Tryndamous is trying to make a junior

squad of the Aether Guard. You know, take dragons doing the 3 years,

and picking out the best of the best to receive greater training so

they are ready to join the Aether Guard once their time is done and

there is position's open in the Guard.""Incredibly

unlikely." Frost said, shaking his head at Sig's suggestion.

"Whilst Tryndamous is a very aggressive High General, with little

care of what others think of him, not even he would dare to mess with

the Aether Guard. Their tradition dates all the way back to Arthurian

the Uniter, and have always consisted of a squad of 64 dragons. No

more, no less, and never with another squad.""But

what I'm suggesting isn't actually a new squad of the Aether Guard

however, but simply a new squad amongst the young-bloods that

recognizes who are the best of the best amongst their peer's, either

by raw natural talent, or by putting in the extra hours of training

whilst others sleep." Sig argued back with a shake of his head. "It

isn't unknown for potential recruits to get training from the Aether

Guard to ensure they are good and ready to take on that role when

openings are created. Especially during times of war whilst

casualties are a possibility despite the skill of the AG.""It

would likely be a controversial subject, but I can see it happening."

Scorch said with a nod after listening to the two arguments. "There's

long been grumblings that exceptional young-bloods are not properly

recognized for their talents or effort, and such a squad would more

than likely satisfy the majority of those complainers.""Yes,

and I suppose as long as they are not linked to the Aether Guard too

strongly, it could be accepted." Frost accepted with a nod,

admitting his defeat in the small debate that had started up. "After

all, the Aether Guard has been linked to other squads before. Why,

when Excalibur the sword-mage sought to unite the west long after the

collapse of the Arthurian Empire, the Aether Guard has two

sister-squads that were basically lesser versions of it and were a

large reason for his outstanding success in completing his task."There

was a small pause in the conversation, Sig, Scorch and Frost had all

said their points and come to an agreement, whilst Caross wasn't all

that bothered and was idly filling away at the table edge with his

claws. Then Scorch turned to the final member of the patrol -

excluding the girls - and questioned him."So

Arcantos, what do you think on this matter?" Arcantos jolted at the

sudden address, having been working on his stories in his head,

creating scenes and thinking of possible modifications to his current

plan. The blue dragon turned to face Scorch and hastily replied."M-me?"

He said, his mind scrambling to come up with what else to say, not

liking the attention that was currently been giving him before he

managed to come up with something. "Why? You all seem to have

managed to come to a solid reason yourselves.""Your

a better scholar than us." Scorch said bluntly, making Arcantos

fall into complete silence, as the pink dragon got the curious

attention of the rest of the patrol, wondering what their leader

meant. Noticing both this, and Arcantos' confusion, he sighed

slightly before explaining."Me,

Sig and Frost are smart dragon's, and whilst Caross is a complete

idiot most of the time - for good reason - he's not entirely

blank-headed. Being a Sapper involves much more than just blowing

stuff up, and he's one of the best in the squad. However, when

thinking over a subject, you might be slower than us, but you take

that time to take much, much more into consideration. Information

that we thought inconsequential could be essential information that

we miss and you don't, and you're much more likely to remember facts

than us. That's what makes you a better scholar than us."Arcantos

visibly flushed at this, surprised and uncertain how to react to the

praise that Scorch had just given him, especially as the attention of

the pink dragon was directed on the others. Frost and Sig were

nodding in agreement, and whilst Caross had a small smirk on his face

at the compliments sent his way, he gave a nod himself. "W-well...

thanks..." Arcantos said, nervous about the attention, but deciding

to make the best of it, he sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"So, quick recap and double-check. The discussion is about

Tryndamous, and what exactly the High General is doing here,

correct?" Caross snorted at this, but the others simply nodded,

helping Arcantos becoming more confident as he continued. "And it

was decided that out of the rumour's for this visit - and likely

visiting the other young-blood patrols - in order to create a sort

of ''Junior' version of the Aether Guard, correct?" Another

round of nods, followed by a nod from the blue dragon himself,

thinking things through in his head as he stalled for a little bit of

time. "Alright... its a pretty sound argument I admit." He told

the others, hoping they wouldn't mind some praise being returned as

information began to click together in his mind to give him a full

picture. "But I don't think its the right one.""And

whatever reason could that be?" Caross said with a snort, looking

at Arcantos with an expression of mild distaste and disbelief. Arc

returned the look calmly, finding himself able to keep going as he

focused on the debate and not the dragons around him."Tryndamous

himself." That statement certainly got a few strange looks, and

Arcantos felt doubt and fear beginning to creep in once more. Still,

none of them were disbelieving, merely curious and/or surprised, save

Caross who just looked confused."Perhaps

you can elaborate what exactly you mean by that short statement and

enlighten us as to why the High General himself is the reason why he

wouldn't create a 'junior' Aether Guard squad?" Arcantos felt

ridiculously pleased at this response from Frost. The short reply and

pause were completely unnecessary, but Arc couldn't help but indulge

in some subtle theatrics now he was in the spotlight and confident. "Its

simple really. Tryndamous isn't one to bother himself with politics

in anyway. He always sends a representative to the Council instead of

appearing himself. Heck, its pretty much as well known as just how he

managed to get the job as High General.""And

what off it?" Caross asked with a snort, finally stepping into the

conversation himself, and sitting up to glare at Arcantos. "As you

said everyone know's that, but a junior Aether Guard isn't political

but military. A way to take the best of the young-bloods and prepare

them for a role in the Aether Guard, simple and practical.""Actually,

it would be a highly political move. Especially when one takes the

other kingdom into consideration." Arcantos countered, looking back

at Caross calmly and equally as he explained his reasoning. "Not

only would the creation of a junior squad be more about the

acknowledgement of the best, but it would also send a message to the

East. Telling them that we are strengthen our army even further and

is ready to war... no matter who starts it. That would not go down

too well, and the Council would object to the idea because of it, and

Tryndamous would not both arguing with them about it.""You

bring up a good point." Sig said, getting a small huff from Caross

at the admission, though this was swiftly ignored. "I hadn't taken

into consideration how the East might react to such development, and

with how testy they are about our army and the compulsory 3 years in

the military that all adults must do... strengthen our army would not

been good to them."Arcantos

nodded at this, only to carry on and state. "That isn't all."

After grabbing the patrol's attention once more, he quicken told

them. "Tryndamous is a solider first and a general second.

Something as complicated and multilayed as the junior squad isn't

really his style. He prefers quick, uncomplicated solutions and

ideas.""An

effective argument as to why the creation of a 'junior' Aether Guard

squad is most likely not the reason that the High General has come to

our encampment." Frost summed up with a nod, Arcantos smiling as he

knew he had swayed the others. The smile vanished as the ice dragon

promptly continued. "However, you have failed to enlighten us in

what you believe the actual reasoning for why Tryndamous is here.

Which is more than likely the most important information for you to

share with us and decide the High General's purpose.""I...."

Arcantos said, quickly feeling fear and doubt quickly beginning to

creep back into his system as the patrol's expect eyes turned onto

him. He had only just managed to come up with an argument dissuading

their initial idea. How was he meant to come up with a reason for the

High General's visit that would satisfy them on the spot? 'He's

a solider before a general.... quick and simple ideas...'

"Evaluation!" Arcantos blurted out, saying the first thing that

came to his mind, and quickly began to consider the idea. As did the

others to some degree. Scorch gave Arcantos a few moments, before

cocking an eyerdige and prompting.

"Go on." The blue dragon hesitated, wondering if the idea was

such a good idea or not, before taking a deep breath to calm himself.

There was no competition, nothing to be lost by being wrong here, as

he had already proven Scorch's words of himself being the most

scholarly of the lot by effectively breaking down their proposal, so

Arcantos went for it.

"Our mid-term evaluations are coming up, and the High General has

to look over them personally. He dislikes written reports greatly,

seeing them lose the flavour and importance. He is very hands on and

active as well, so he's likely here to give us a personal evaluation.

How exactly, I'm not sure, but it would give him a greater idea as to

what we can do." Arcantos paused now, letting this argument sink

in, giving the others time to mull it other as he racked his brains

for other points that he could raise up in his defence.

"Plus, Tryndamous doesn't exactly get much to do in terms of being

a solider. There's no wars, the bandits are a limited threat and

there are no raider's or worst to take care off. So the only duties

of the High General currently is mostly paperwork. An evaluation

gives him chance to stretch out is wings, camp in the wild, and

probably use those supreme fighting skills of his. Why wouldn't he

want to take a hands on approach?"

There was a moments silence as the patrol thought this through,

considering the idea that Arcantos had put forth and his reasoning

behind it. Trying to think of arguments or reasoning to counter it,

and causing the blue dragon to become tenser and tenser as time went

on... until eventually Frost nodded.

"A compelling argument. I for one, cannot find any reason against

it. A simple idea, with solid reasoning, makes it best idea and most

likely reason why the High General is here." The others soon nodded

in agreement, with Caross letting out a sigh before grudgingly

nodding.

"I concur." A new voice said, startling Arcantos as the pale

yellow dragoness that Teprogia had been talking to came over, with

the earth dragoness. "I had never believed any of the rumours that

had been spouted, as they were nothing more than wild flights of

fancy, no matter how well argued. However, Arcantos' idea is a well

thought out and logical proposal. One that I can find no disagreement

from."

As this was going on, and the patrol's attention was on the yellow

dragoness, Teprogia slipped to Arc's side and gave him a quick hug.

Surprising the blue dragon at the show of affection as the earth

dragoness whispered to him.

"Well done, not just in the argument, but standing up for yourself.

I know how hard it can be for you under the spotlight, and whilst

these were friends and not strangers, you still performed

brilliantly. Keep improving like this, and you'll be a public speaker

in no time."

"Public speaker? I have my doubts at that." Arcantos said with a

small smile as Teprogia ended the hug, glad that no one had noticed

the quick and quiet exchange. Unaware of the eyes of the pink dragon

on them and smiling slightly to himself, before turning his attention

back to the brewing conflict.

"A wild flight of fantasy you say? So our intelligent discussion

about it was meaningless because of that, is that what your saying

Giratina?" Caross said angrily as the newcomer took a seat on a

bench, neatly curling her tail around her feet and getting herself

comfortable before bothering to give a reply.

"No. I am saying that during your discussion, the only intelligent

part of it was what Arcantos said. The rest of it was mindless

drivel, which isn't a surprise honestly. It is well known that most

males only care about physical strength and sex, so expecting any of

you to not being an idiot is just asking for disappointment."

Teprogia winced at Giratina's words, whilst Scorch just let out a

small sigh. Caross reacted rather predictably. Standing up and

slamming his forefeet onto the table, his claws digging into the wood

as he loomed over the yellow dragoness, mouth pulled back into a full

on snarl as he growled at the disinterested dragoness.

"Shut it bitch! Just because your a fucking genius, doesn't mean

your the norm for the girls, and it sure as hell doesn't mean that

males are dumb idiots only focused on strength and sex!" Giratina

looked up at Caross with an expression of mild-disinterested, waiting

until he had said his piece and was simply growling and glaring at

her before saying in a bored tone of voice.

"Are you finished wasting my time with your mindless blathering? I

came over here because I was curious if the blue one was actually

intelligent or if he had just been lucky, not sit here and have you

males try and hold a conversation." Even at the beginning of this,

Arcantos quickly slipped from his seat and started getting away,

knowing that Caross was reached the end of his patience.

Once Giratina had finished, Caross was unable to hold back his rage

over more, an roared at her. The loud noise cutting right through the

mess hall, silencing everyone and have sixty pairs of eyes turn to

watch at the orange dragon launched himself as the dragoness,

forgetting his element completely in the all consuming rage.

Giratina smirked at this attack, easily slipping off her seat and to

the side in one smooth motion, allowing Caross to sail right through

were she had been, smashing the bench with his weight and crashing

into the ground. For adding humiliation, the dragoness brought her

tail round, slapping Caross's rump as it stuck in the air and giving

it a painful zap of lighting.

"Typical male behaviour." She said in her usual disinterested

voice as she circled Caross, aware of a ring beginning to form around

them, through Arcantos was quickly slipping to the tent-wall as the

orange dragon scrambled to his feet. "Unable to comprehend the

intelligence of a female, you resort to the only thing that you do

understand, violence, and attempt to use it to silence your better.

Pitiful really, thinking that such a brute would ever stand a chance

against a skilled fighter of a female."

Caross had managed to get to his feet by this time and roared back at

Giratina, lunging at her once more. Just like last time, she was

ready for this, dropping her front shoulder, she rolled onto her

back, and kicked with all four legs. Using Caross's own momentum to

carry him crashing into a nearby table, shattering the wooden

structure and scattering the dragons that had been sitting on it.

"Watch it you idiot!" A red dragoness growled, shoving Caross off

her as she scrambled onto her feet. Enraged as he was, the orange

dragon did not take this kindly. Identifying the dragoness as another

enemy he swung as her, a spinning hook that smashed into her jaw and

sending her right back onto the floor. On the other-side of Caross, a

black dragon growled and leapt at his back.

"ENOUGH!" Scorch bellowed, stepping in before things escalated

and physically separating the two dragons, Giratina slipping off into

the crowd as the other patrol's leader moved to help Scorch, Sig,

Frost and Teprogia all coming forwards to help restrain the snarling,

near-feral Caross.

Teprogia in particular took something out of a pouch tied to the

inside of her front-left leg, and waved it in front of Caross's face.

The orange dragon stiffened, before letting out a very loud sneeze.

Blinking, he looked around with dazed expression of confusion on his

face before realization came to him and he grimaced.

"Damnit... Giratina provoked me into going near-berserk again,

didn't she?"

"Yes, she did." Scorch growled, looking down at the fire dragon

as Sig and Frost let him go, allowing him to climb to his feet as

they went to check on the dragoness and dragon that had gotten

involved in the scuffle. "I know she is antagonizing and

incompatible with the patrol. But you need to learn how to control

yourself, going-"

"Berserk can do as much harm to your allies as to the enemy, as a

berserk dragon sees nothing but obstacles to be eradicated, and are

likely to ignore any wounds they receive in such a state. Which along

with their magnified raw power makes them extreme difficult to stop,

I know I know." Caross said with a sigh as he climbed back onto his

feet and dusting himself down.

Turning to the dragoness he had clobbered, he walked up to her and

offered his right-claw. "Sorry bout that, Giratina's very good at

getting under my skin and getting me enraged. I'm much better with my

temper than when I initially joined, but that doesn't mean I'm still

not working on it." The red dragoness glared back at Caross for a

few moments, before huffing an giving the claw an brief shake.

"We know what she's like. The entire squad knows how much off a

bitch Giratina is, and its surprising that she's still in the army."

Caross nodded in agreement as this as he dropped his claw back to the

ground. As the tension was defused and the situation finished,

Arcantos crept back to the patrol as they moved to assist the

repairing off the table.

The tables and benches had broken at the earth pegs which kept

everything together, so all that needed to be done was hold the

wooden slabs in place as Teprogia and the other patrol's earth dragon

created replacement pegs to connect everything together. As the earth

pegs were always removed and left behind when the camp moved, the two

patrols were quick and skilled at this task, and in five minutes the

patrols were back at their tables making small talk.

It wasn't long after the incident was finished and the mess-tent had

returned to a degree of normality that a final dragon entered the

tent. With her scars and expression, it was easy to tell that she was

older than all the other dragons in the room. Not to mention that she

was wearing armour - a helmet, chest piece and back armour - that

was dented and pocked from usage.

"ATTENTION!" The entire mess tent fell silent in an instance as

everyone sat up rigidly straight. The dragoness looked around the

tent for a few moments, before continuing. "Everyone is to assemble

on the parade grounds in full battle gear to be addressed by the High

General. You have ten minutes." After that was said, the dragoness

left, and the mess-tent exploded into action, with Arcantos and

Teprogia sharing a quick glance. Things were about to get

interesting...