Chapter Text
Sykkuno was many things, but mostly, in his humble opinion, he was an optimist. Too kind for his own good, as quoted from his good friend Toast, and too willing to believe that life was nice, as quoted from his other good friend Rae.
Well… they weren’t wrong, but was it wrong to believe in the world being beautiful? Sykkuno hoped not. At least, he desperately hoped so. Such was his thoughts as he treaded through the surrounding forest around Fort Synthia at the ungodly hour of dawn. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was beautiful. The dappled shade on the grass was pretty. It was scenes like these that gave him the motivation to wander beyond the fort, where he was vulnerable to dragon attacks. The only good thing about his walks was that dragons didn’t enjoy narrow, dark places like the forest. They liked the open areas, where they could extend their wings to the max and soar through the sky free.
Ah yes. Dragons. As dangerous as they were as taught in the lectures, they were beautiful. Sykkuno thought as he fingered a leaf from an overhanging branch. He still vividly remembered the illustrations of dragons in his textbook. The vibrant scales that covered every inch of their serpentine bodies, in all colors of the rainbow. The. pair of horns that sprouted out of their heads, sometimes resembling those of a gazelle, sometimes of a ram, and sometimes completely unknown to this world. Eyes that shone and sparkled like jewels. He could tell that the person who did those illustrations truly appreciated the beauty of those creatures, even though they were the biggest enemies of mankind.
In a distant, he heard a distinct rumble.
Sykkuno looked up in confusion. That didn’t sound like the firing of canons. Curious, he inched out of the forest and looked in between the leaves, hiding himself in the trees. His eyes widened.
Fort Synthia was one of the five forts surrounding the capitol, and it was close to the mountains. Jagged peaks ran high up, and beyond those peaks was a dragon lair. Hence, Fort Synthia was quite dangerous to be a soldier in. What caught Sykkuno’s eyes was today, there was a huge black mass at the bottom of the cliff. It wasn’t far from him, maybe a five-minute run. The mass was rising and falling, as if it was alive. Sykkuno squinted at it, and only then did he notice it was covered in scales, its pearlescent sheen glowing under the sun like obsidian. Its back was decorated with distinctive spikes, jagged and sharp.
It was a dragon.
Sykkuno gasped, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He really wanted to go up and look closer. Being a training soldier who just joined, he really hadn’t seen many living dragons. This was a rare chance. As he watched on, he saw how its head rose from its gigantic body, an odd patchwork of black and dark purple as well as randomly patched scales. Something was trickling down its head. Sykkuno frowned as he tried to deduce what it was. Its dark skin was making it hard to make out anything, but as Sykkuno pondered on, the dragon let out a faint huff, sounding eerily similar to a wounded animal.
Oh.
The dragon was wounded. That was blood.
Sykkuno was many things, and one of those things was being a selfless angel, as quoted from Jack. He proved it unconsciously by surging forward and running towards the huge beast. It was kind of stupid… no. It was stupid. Toast would have chastised him for hours for it, but Sykkuno couldn’t help it. He ran across the short stretch of meadow and right up to the dragon. He stopped just short of a few meters and stared up at the huge creature.
Oh Jesus it really was huge. It was easily on the larger side of dragons. It was definitely some five meters tall if it stood up, maybe even taller. Sykkuno stood frozen in front of it like an idiot, gaping at the sheer size and wonder of actually seeing a dragon up close for the first time. Really, it was beautiful: the shiny black scales, the large fangs, the huge ram-like horns. Being so close, he could now see the gash right below the left horn, which was pouring out blood. It was red, perhaps darker red than human blood. Hesitantly, with one hand on a thunder spear strapped to his back, he inched forward. The dragon’s eyes suddenly shot open, like two huge glowing amethyst beads, as it reared its head. Sykkuno let out a squeak as he stepped back, his hand wrapped around the thunder spear so tight it hurt. He stared in absolute terror at the creature, ready to fire and run away as fast as he could, even though his survival rate wasn’t that high. The dragon stared at him, its purple eyes large and unblinking, but it made no move to get up or open its mouth. It finally blinked after a few minutes, and its head settled back down.
What?
Sykkuno’s hand went slack as he stood, stunned. The dragon wasn’t attacking him? He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, so he gripped the thunder spear again as he stepped closer. The dragon seemed to be in no hurry as it watched him with its huge eyes. They looked almost languid, like those of a lazing cat. Sykkuno glanced up at the wound. It was still pouring blood. Hesitantly, he unwound the scarf around his neck. The dragon huffed, and it sounded so unimpressed Sykkuno’s cheeks got warm.
“It’s all I have…” He pleaded as he held it up to the dragon. The creature didn’t budge as he got so close to it every instructor would’ve screamed bloody murder if they saw him. Miraculously, the creature leaned its head to the side, as if beckoning him. Working as fast as he could, he wound the scarf around the base of its left horn, trying his best to stop the bleeding. He paused for a second, panting as he reflected on what on earth he was even doing. Saving a dragon? Patching it up like he knew first aid when he absolutely didn’t? He stared at the dragon, who huffed as it righted its head.
“Um…” Sykkuno looked down as he heard the dragon move slightly. Judging by the scraping, it was probably the wings. He looked up tentatively, and sure enough, its massive black wings were outstretched. They were magnificent, bat-like with its webbed parts, and the sheer size of them was enough to block out the sunlight for Sykkuno, creating a gigantic patch of shade.
Overhead, he heard the distinctive screeching of dragons. His eyes widened. The dragons were awake.
Oh no. Oh nonononono- If any dragon spotted him, he was dead meat. Dragons were extremely aggressive towards humans, attacking them as soon as they spotted them. However, as he looked up, he realized something.
The dragons couldn’t see him because of the massive wings. Through the patch of space, he saw the dragon raising its head, almost alert. He could also see the horde of traveling dragons above. There was a cacophony of screeches, then there was silence. The wings retracted, revealing the sunlight once more. Sykkuno looked up at the dragon, who was also looking down at him.
“Did you try to protect me?” He asked. There was no way. Why would dragons even want to protect humans when they killed so many on a daily basis? The dragon wouldn’t even understand his question. The huge creature settled back down on its belly, its wings returning to their normal position on its back. Sykkuno gazed at it for a few more minutes before he stepped back. He had to go back to the fortress. If he was gone any longer Toast and Rae were going to kill him with their scolding.
“I have to get going. I’ll… be back tomorrow?” The dragon didn’t respond, but Sykkuno continued. “No pressure or anything! Thank you for not killing me!” Then, he ran as fast as he could. He ran through the forest and back into the gates, not once looking back. His luck had gone on a streak for long enough, it was bound to crumble at some point. He was just making his way into the barracks when his luck finally gave out.
“Sykkuno! Where the hell were you?” Rae screamed as she met him right outside the door, her hands on her hips. Rae wasn’t tall, but she could be so intimidating sometimes. Sykkuno put up his hands in surrender.
“I was just out for a walk, Rae! Nothing much… Like always!” He stammered. Rae’s eyes narrowed, and she pointed at someone behind him. Sykkuno spun around, and stared right into Toast’s unamused glare.
“Really, Sykkuno? You were gone for hours.” He scolded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “We were so worried, Sykkuno. What if you got eaten outside?” Rae nodded emphatically beside him. Sykkuno sighed.
“I’m okay, really. I’m sorry.” He pouted, hoping it would work. It normally would. Sure enough, Toast softened.
“It’s fine. We just worry for you, you know.” He said quietly. Rae also calmed down after that, even though she still had her glare.
“Just don’t be stupid!” She exclaimed. Sykkuno smiled. He was safe… for now. They led him to the dining hall, and that was when Toast turned to him with a raised brow.
“Sykkuno… where is your scarf?”