The sword flew a few centimetres from the dragon's side. Darco twisted further and attacked with a quick thrust. Forth was ready, however, and jumped back, slightly out of his opponent's reach. He quickly returned to his position and, without giving the dragon time to react, struck from the side, aiming for Draco's outstretched arm. The mage read the vampire's intention and instantly shielded himself, taking the quick blow. He threw Forth's sword away and hit the boy with his shoulder. The vampire flew backwards and almost fell over, but managed to regain his balance before the counterattack fell on him. Agile shielding cleverly dispersed the force of the dragon's blows so that Forth did not have to work so hard to defend himself.
-End!- echoed across the training ground. Today's morning exercises were led by Lieutenant Eghart. Draco liked it when he was in charge of instruction because of his open approach to training. -Now change!
-It's a draw.- The dragon smiled.
-Yes.- Forth nodded.- You've been at it longer, so take a rest.- He made a strange face.- Although you probably haven't tired yourself out too much.
Draco pretended to be indignant and turned on his heel. Admittedly, his broad smile spoiled the message, but why worry about that? Passing Kei, who was getting ready for battle, he patted him on the back in a friendly manner.
-Give him hell.- He said with amusement.
-I will, and I mean it!- The lycanthrope grinned in response and rushed towards the vampire, whose face showed a look of anguish.
Draco fell heavily to the ground next to Ari. Vi just nodded at him with approval. Earlier, the dragon had fought the dwarf and the elf, whom he managed to defeat. Although he had to admit that while it helped him greatly that he did not have to hide his strength and dragon fighting style from them, the young soldiers also stopped holding back, and it turned out that in their previous skirmishes, they had been careful not to accidentally hurt him. Now they had no reservations.
The dwarf fixed his gaze on Kei, who lunged at the vampire with ferocity and delivered a series of blows at a dizzying pace. Forth was completely pushed back into defence, but it was clear that he was planning something. His graceful parries became wider and wider, and the lycanthrope's sword occasionally strayed from its intended path. The vampire was waiting for this. Seeing the cut coming too high, he crouched down and lunged under Kei's guard, aiming his sword at his chest. At the last moment, the lycanthrope bent backwards and performed a backflip almost from a standing position. The shapeshifter landed low on his feet, quickly crouched down and lunged forward again, baring his teeth and resuming his barrage of attacks.
-He's doing well, - Ari muttered.
-Both of them, I think, - the dragon watched the fight with interest. They often trained together, but he had to admit that he had never seen this style of fighting before.
-Kei is better.- The elf turned to Draco, but kept watching the fight out of the corner of his eye.- Forth has given up too much ground. That charge can't be broken.
-He's parrying pretty well.- The dragon glanced at his interlocutor.
-You'll see, it won't last long.
Draco didn't want to argue. It quickly became apparent that Ari was right, and the vampire had lowered his arm too much, which Kei took advantage of to ram him and knock him over. The two began to wrestle on the ground.
-You were right.- Draco was glad he hadn't questioned the elf's opinion.
-Kei is in a good mood.- The elf suddenly changed the subject. The dragon looked at the boy and then assessed the two struggling figures. The lycanthrope, who was certainly stronger than Forth, was having trouble hitting him. The vampire was using his surprising advantage in speed. Draco smiled crookedly when he noticed a vial still glistening with fresh blood lying near the vampire's hand.-Even a very good one.
-We'll see if he'll be in one tonight too.- The reptile muttered quietly enough that only his interlocutor could hear him.
-He probably will be.- Ari moved uncertainly.- Draco, he... he talked about the transformation.- The elf faltered, looked around and sighed.- Last night, when we went to bed, he said he didn't have any nightmares about the transformation. He didn't stutter.- He added quickly.
-He didn't hurt me during the transformation.- Draco calmly watched as the vampire, cursing under his breath, threw Kei away with his magic. The lycanthrope rolled over after the fall and, grinning wolfishly, launched another attack before Forth could do anything else.- From what you said, previous cases of transformation didn't end so good.
-Maybe so.- Ari nodded unconvincingly.- But I still think it's something else. Kei saw that something could be done about it. He believed it.- He shook his head.- The fact that you're unharmed is just a bonus. He saw that it could work.
-He saw...- The dragon watched in surprise as the lycanthrope almost lay down on his stomach on the ground and jumped from that position to attack from above his opponent's head. Forth, strengthened by blood magic, was faster, however, and slashed with his sword. Kei reacted quickly, changing direction and flying sideways past the vampire. He braced himself on the ground with one hand, turning completely in the air and using the same movement to launch himself into another attack.-Master wants to watch our training.- He blurted out.
-What?- The elf completely stopped watching the duel.
-He said it could be dangerous.- Draco tried to focus his gaze on the fierce fight rather than look into the eyes staring at him. -He said that if I think it might help, that's good, but I should have talked to him about it first.
-Kei won't be pleased.- Ari exhaled, but didn't stop staring at the dragon.
-I know.- Draco closed his eyes. -That's why I'm telling you and not him.
-What difference does it make?- The elf seemed to refrain from snorting.
-Draco doesn't want to tell Kei.- Vi, who until now had been more interested in the fight than the conversation, also looked at the dragon.- The point is that he shouldn't know until the end.
-I thought about that.- Draco didn't need much time to draw conclusions.- If Kei knows, he'll just get nervous. He'll be more unpredictable, dangerous.- He sighed heavily and shook his head.- I don't want to take any chances. If something happened, we'd be back to square one, if not worse.
-The barrier isn't transparent from the inside.- Vi was well aware of what the dragon meant and seemed to accept it with understanding.- Even if the Earl is watching, Kei won't know about it, and it will be safer.
-Good.- Ari nodded, exhaling. -You're right. Basically, we should have thought about this earlier, before we started implementing your plan.
-We were all more concerned about Kei.- The dragon shook his head. The animorph had just dropped his sword and lunged at the vampire with his fists, brass knuckles flying. The move was so unusual that Forth wasn't ready for it. The boy defended himself as best he could with his sword, but Kei, deprived of his main weapon, became faster, and his blows clearly had a greater impact on his opponent.- Besides, maybe it's better that we took care of it right away. Without waiting.
-Yes, Kei didn't have time to think about it.- Vi kept his eyes on the two fighting.
-Back to tonight. Ari rubbed his temples with a strange expression. -How are we going to do this?
-I don't think the master will mind.- Draco watched in surprise as the vampire tried to break free from the barrage of blows. It was clear that defence was becoming increasingly difficult for him. - I'll go down to the arena with Kei, you guys activate the barrier and one of you goes to get the master. In the meantime, I'll talk to Kei, which is what I wanted to do anyway.
- You've really thought this through. - The elf shook his head. - So be it.
-End!- The lieutenant's voice interrupted the fights. Draco didn't realise they had spent so much time talking. - Change opponents!
-My turn.- Ari didn't look thrilled, but his crooked smile indicated that he had no intention of giving up.
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Draco waited in the arena for Kei to undress. The animorph kept complaining that he should have clothes that changed with him and that dragons had it too easy. Since he had been repeating this since they met in the evening, the reptile was starting to roll his eyes. He wasn't the only one, either. Forth seemed to be slowly losing his temper, and only Ari was stopping him from hitting the lycanthrope over the head. Well, they probably had to listen to it all afternoon.
-As last time?- Kei jumped onto the white sand with a broad smile.
-Just like that.- Draco nodded and signalled to Vi standing by the pedestal. A grey barrier rose around the arena. -Before we start, I'd like to ask you a few more questions.
-No problem.- The lycanthrope shifted from foot to foot. -Go ahead.
-Have you noticed any changes since the last exercise?- Draco slowly moved towards the centre of the arena.
-I... Hmmm, I'm not sure.- Kei almost unconsciously followed the dragon.
-Think about it.- The reptilian said calmly, with a smile that he hoped would be encouraging. He wasn't sure if he was doing a decent job of imitating his aunt.
-It's... It's not so scary...- The animorph looked at his hands. -I'm still afraid, but I don't have panic attacks when I talk about it.- He laughed uncertainly. -It's strange, after just one time... It will help me slowly, right?- He asked, almost pleadingly.
-Surely, Kei, it will get even better. - Assured the dragon, giving up on questioning the animorph in detail. It was better that he didn't get nervous before the transformation. - Now turn around. - He stretched his dragon paws and took a deep breath. - Gently... - He muttered, putting his hands behind Kei's neck.
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Darius went down to the basement shortly after the boys. Although perhaps he shouldn't refer to them that way. After all, they had earned recognition for their diligence and numerous talents. The officers and non-commissioned officers always praised them, without their knowledge, of course. They earned particular recognition for their determination and persistence in learning to fight. The fact that they stuck together no matter what also changed the way people viewed them. Especially after Kei's first attack in Wales. The lycanthrope transformed and attacked several soldiers who had just been accepted into service, severely injuring them. Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, the atmosphere in the barracks hit rock bottom, or perhaps even lower. It was generally believed that Ari, Vi and Forth would distance themselves from Kei and try to cut themselves off from the whole situation, but instead they stood shoulder to shoulder with him. In the end, all four of them were accepted.
-Sir.- The young elf looked uncertainly at the mage. He had to call me several times.- Draco and Kei went down to the arena.
-In that case, there's no time to wait.- He set off on the familiar route, trying not to get too far ahead of himself.
When he entered the arena room, Draco had just transformed into a dragon mid-sentence. He finished speaking so quietly that the barrier completely drowned him out. Kei nodded and spread his arms, standing with his back to the other boy. Draco carefully put his arms around the soldier and wrapped his paws around the lycanthrope's neck. It looked a bit disturbing, especially considering that Darius had seen with his own eyes how the dragon effortlessly lifted a 200-kilogram barbell in Dr. Herpetes' workshop. Additionally, considering Gizel's story about how Draco had easily lifted a half-tonne security plate in Matheo's laboratory, there was nothing to talk about.
He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. Something was starting to happen. Kei stiffened, then curled up into a ball with a scream. The scream turned into a howl, and the figure held by the dragon began to grow and become covered in fur. Darius had seen a transformed lycanthrope several times before, but this was the first time he had been able to observe the transformation itself. Kei, in wolf form, fell heavily onto the sand of the arena. Draco immediately tightened his grip, to the point where you could hear his muscles tense. The animorph remained motionless for a brief moment, with his arms and head stretched out and immobilised, and then began to thrash chaotically with a dull growl. It looked terrifying. Much worse than the mage could have imagined.
Bleist took his eyes off the struggling pair for a moment and glanced at the other soldiers. Forth stood right next to the barrier, closely following every move of the fighters. Vi leaned against the barrier control panel with a strange mixture of fear and disgust. Ari stood slightly behind, clenching his fists and staring at the scene with hope. Darius returned to watching the clash.
Kei writhed in the dragon's grip. Draco kept him slightly elevated the entire time so that the animorph couldn't properly brace himself against the ground. In addition, he countered the lycanthrope's violent movements with his wings and tail. He seemed to do this with skill backed by long practice. Darius swallowed the curse that was on the tip of his tongue. He knew that the dragon had probably had the opportunity to thoroughly familiarise himself with this technique of controlling his opponent, except that he was in Kei's place. And besides, it wasn't just about immobilising him.
The dragon was doing everything he could to prevent the lycanthrope from breaking free. Kei, deprived of solid support and with his paws locked, struggled violently and tried to bite Draco's arm. The struggle lasted a long time. The soldiers took turns at the console several times, monitoring the energy level in the barrier. When it was Vi's turn for the third time, Kei collapsed, panting, in the reptile's grip. Darius breathed a sigh of relief and was about to tell them to turn off the security system, but the three soldiers were still watching the dragon intently. Bleist turned back just as the lycanthrope lunged one last time, snapping its jaws dangerously close to the arm holding him. The mage clenched his jaws hard, well aware of what could happen if the animorph managed to reach his target.
Kei slumped back into his embrace. The dragon waited a moment and, at some signal only obvious to himself, put the animorph down. When Draco straightened up, the lycanthrope visibly shrank and did so faster and faster, returning to his human form.
-Phew, finally.- Ari breathed a sigh of relief and quickly regained his composure, glancing at Darius.
Bleist smiled crookedly. Draco sat down on the sand, still looking at Kei. Panting heavily, the dragon waved his paw, which was a signal to remove the barrier. The grey shield dissipated as soon as Vi took out the appropriate crystal.
-Not bad.- The dragon blurted out when everyone approached the centre of the arena. The reptile raised his head, looking at his master. -A few more times and he should start to feel the change.- He added, slowly getting up. -At least in my opinion.
-You're the only shapeshifter here besides Kei, so I'll trust your instincts. - Darius suspected that for both the dragon and the lycanthrope, transformation was such an integral part of their being that they would be unable to imagine life without it. Just as humans could not comprehend what transformation really was and how it affected those who were gifted with this ability. - What about him? - He turned to Ari.
-He's sleeping, quite deeply.- The elf immediately stood at attention.- When he wakes up, he'll be tired and sore, but nothing more than that.
-That's good.- Bleist nodded, turning his gaze back to his student.- How are you feeling, Draco?
-Tired. - The dragon bared all his teeth. - But other than that, it's not so bad. I need a moment to catch my breath, and then a little longer to do it as a human. - He shook his wings, fanning himself slightly. - Nothing a long bath and sleep won't fix.
-I'm glad to see your optimism.- Darius refrained from patting the dragon on the shoulder. It seemed rather inappropriate to him when his student was not in his human form. -I'll walk you to your room.
-Thank you, but... I'll wait until Kei wakes up. - Despite the hesitation in his voice, Draco was sure of it. - Anyway, it'll be best if I sit for a while before and after the transformation.
-If you think so. - Bleist smiled. - It's better if Kei doesn't see me. - He added when the lycanthrope stirred slightly.