Through Sad Eyes
Chapter. 3
The Failed Plan
“Teacher Ramset, how come we can’t visit Teacher Gravel? It’s been forever, and I’m tired of waiting…” Falspar grumpily huffed, toying with his plate of spaghetti in front of him.
“Two weeks is hardly a long time, Falspar.” Ramset let out a small laugh from his dramatic behavior. “Let him recover a bit more, alright? Your rambunctious nature maaaay be a bit too much for him to handle at this time.”
“But we promise we’ll behave!!! Pleaaaaase? You and Miss Alba see him all the time. We just wanna drop off a few more drawings, right Dragato?” He turned to the other for support because two voices are certainly better than one.
Dragato didn’t speak, and continued quietly fiddling with his food despite Falspar calling out to him once more.
“Hellllo! Dragato, back me up here, will ya?” He called out again.
Dragato didn’t share the same enthusiasm as the other, and just gave a shrug in response. “Let’s just wait, okay, Falspar?” His voice had a hint of irritation in it. “Quit annoying Teacher Ramset, and stop asking about Teacher Gravel.”
“W-whaaaaat??” Falspar’s voice shrieked when he was given the cold shoulder. “Hey, just hold on a second!!! You wanted to visit him this afternoon, too! You even said we should ask Teacher Ramset at dinner!!!"
“Well, I changed my mind, alright?” He mumbled, ignoring the glare his comrade was giving him. “Just…shut up already, will you?”
“Dragato.” Ramset’s voice cut in before Falspar had the chance to bite back. His voice was stern, and Dragato instinctively looked up at his mentor; wings lowered, and an expression on his face that made him regret what he said.
"S..sorry.” He softly spoke as he pushed his plate away from him. “U-um..I’m..not really hungry anymore.” He said, and got up from his seat to excuse himself.
Falspar huffed and crossed his arms once Dragato left. “I don’t know why he got all mad when he’s the one who asked me to say it in the first place. You should ground him, and….and…oh! Let me have his dessert for the rest of the week!!"
Ramset reached over and slightly ruffled his hair. “Calm down, sheriff Falspar, we don’t need to take such drastic measures such as that.” He joked. "I’ll have a word with Dragato, but here-“
He went to the kitchen counter to hand him an extra cookie. “You can have my dessert in the mean time.”
Falspar cheered and eagerly went to work on finishing his dinner while Ramset went into the other room to talk to Dragato. He slid the worn curtain that separated his room from the rest of the house, and saw the little warrior on his bed looking out the window. Ramset quietly walked over and took a seat.
“I already apologized….” Dragato didn’t turn around as he spoke to the other in a muffled voice.
“Yes, I heard you. Quite the exchange you two had. From what I heard, I guess you changed your mind about wanting to visit?"
“Hm…yeah.”
“I’m guessing it’s not because you know how severe his injuries are, but something else?” He asked, knowing something was troubling him.
Dragato eventually let out a small sigh, and turned around to face the elder.
"If it wasn’t for us, he wouldn’t be hurt in the first place.” He started to sniffle and sob between words when he recalled the incident. The way he was mercilessly attacked, the blood constantly dripping down his mask, and his ragged panting as he raced out of the canyon. It’s been something that has haunted him ever since, and it was all because they didn’t listen.
"He doesn’t want us to visit him, not even to drop off our gifts. He probably hates us, that’s why we can’t see him…” He admitted as he started to sob harder from the realization that he’ll never get to see and play with him again.
“Oh- no, no no. It’s not like that Dragato.” Ramset intervened as he reached over to pick him up, and the Puff let out a small yelp as he was gently scooped in the arms of his mentor.
“Don’t cry, I promise he doesn't hate you.” He hushed the sobbing child. “In fact, he told me once he gets better, the first thing he wants is for you and Falspar to come over and see him.”
“Wha- r-really?” His wings slightly perked as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Cross my heart!” He smiled. “He wanted to keep it a secret, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Just act surprised when you see him, okay?” He whispered, which caused the child to let out a small giggle.
"It’s going to take a few more weeks for him to get back on his feet but once he does, visiting him will be the first thing we’ll do.”
“O-okay.” He nodded, hugging Ramset.
“Spending all that time with Gravel during your summer break has made quite an impact on him. Then again, I’m sure you already know from all the stories you’ve shared with me.” He smiled.
Dragato nodded, thinking back to the days where he would ask him to draw, or help him perfect his dives. In a way, he greatly reminds him of Bate. Quiet, distant, and a bit grumpy at times, but deep down he would do anything to make sure they were happy and safe. Risking his own life to protect them from that Demon Beast just showed how much they really meant to him.
“I hope he gets well soon. I really miss him.” He said, clutching on to Ramset a bit tighter.
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. Miss Alba’s taking good care of him. He’ll be back on his feet before you know it! I know my Grav, and these injures definitely won’t stop him. I know waiting isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but it’ll fly by in no time.” He gave Dragato a cheeky smile and patted his head.
Slowly, but surly, Dragato returned the smile as well. Teacher Rasmet and Teacher Gravel have known each other waaay longer than he has. Before he was even born, in fact. If Ramset says he’s going to be okay, then he’ll be okay. He hugged his mentor one more time and gave a small nod.
“Thank you, Teacher Ramset.”
“Of course! Now, let’s go back and finish our meal before Falspar decides to take your dessert for his own.” He hopped off of the bed and motioned the other to follow.
With his appetite now returning, the warrior soon jumped off as well to join them.
————--
“So, what did you and Teacher Ramset talk about?” Falspar asked.
It was late at night, and both were sent off to bed around 30 minutes ago. Normally when they’re lost in thought and have something to discuss, they usually wait for Ramset to turn in. Unlike Bate or Gordon, they didn’t need to worry about keeping quiet. They lived with him long enough to know he turns off his hearing device, so the probability of being caught isn’t as high as the others.
Falspar sat up, and stared at the bed from across the room. He called out once more before Dragato finally sat up as well.
“Just about Teacher Gravel….” He spoke. “And why we can’t see him right now.”
“So, what’s the reason?” He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
Dragato shrugged. “Nothing. He’s just recovering. Teacher Ramset said we can see him when he’s a bit better.”
“That’s it? Then why’d you get all mad at me during dinner?”
“I…” The warrior slightly hesitated. Part of him wanted him to forget all about the incident. Of course, that wasn’t the case. “I…just thought maybe he was mad at us or something. When Teacher Ramset got hurt, we were always able to see him. I figured….he didn’t’ want us coming over anymore.”
“Dragaaato, of course he’s not mad at us. Haven't you noticed how happy he is anytime we visit?” He fell back into his bed and held his hands high up to the ceiling. “He remembered how much I liked the Nova Crunch bars Teacher Ramset packs me, and the next time we came over he had a whole box of them for us!”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“And the time you asked him to draw with you, and he actually did it! He’s not even right handed and he still did it!”
“I know, b-“
“And what about the time when he jumped into the lake to help you cause your wings started to cramp up and you couldn’t swim anymore."
“Okay, I get it Falspar! I know he cares about us, so quit it alright?” His voice raised just a bit louder than normal. “I just..thought, okay? I was wrong. I just…I want to tell him we care too. But I guess we’re gonna have to wait a bit longer.”
“I know Teacher told us to wait, but I bet Teacher Gravel would be SUPER happy if we surprised him! ”
“Have you forgotten why Teacher Gravel got hurt in the first place?” Dragato snapped. “Do you wanna become lizard food?”
“I haven’t forgot about that! But, I have an idea!” He smugly stated. “We can just fly instead! Nothing will be able to harm us when we’re in the sky!”
“It’s too difficult to navigate when all the rocks look the same! We’ll get lost! And what’s gonna happen when Teacher Ramset finds out?” He pointed out the obvious. “He’s gonna be so disappointed when he sees we disobeyed him.”
I know, but…” Falspar sat up again and looked his way. “C’mon, I know you wanna visit too. “It’ll only be for a few hours. And when we head back home, all we need to do is fly high enough until we’ll spot Kalmari Forest!”
“And you really expect Teacher Gravel to let us go just like that? You know he’ll have to supervise us, and he’s still hurt.” Dragato stated.
“If worse comes to worse and he won’t let us leave, we’ll have Teacher Gordon and Miss Alba help us once they visit. They always visit in the early afternoon, that’s what I heard from Teacher Ramset.” Falspar spoke, "If we visit in the morning, that’ll give us enough time to give him our gifts before Miss Alba arrives. See? Problem solved!"
“You left out the part where they scold us...” Dragato mumbled, not sold on the plan. “There’s no way I’m going to get in trouble because you wanna do something dumb. I’ll wait like Teacher Ramset said, and you better do the same or you’ll be grounded until the cold season.”
“You’re no fun..” He huffed, curling back in his spot in bed and softly muffled in his pillow. “I’ll do it on my own, then. I don't need your help anyways...."
Dragato couldn’t make out the last part he was saying and figured it was just angry mumbles. He didn’t bother replying back and burrowed himself back in his blankets before falling asleep.
——--
Dragato didn’t think he’d actually do it. Not after the conversation they had. Not after he warned him of the consequences..
But apparently, he was wrong.
Once Dragato woke up, the first thing that caught his attention was all the gifts they made were gone. His backpack was nowhere to be seen, and most importantly, Dragato couldn’t find him anywhere in the house. The Puff swiftly packed his own backpack before dashing out of their home before their mentor woke up. Flapping his wings, the little warrior flew to the entrance of the canyon and swore to Nova he was going to make Falspar regret ever coming up with such an idea in the first place.
Unlike Bate who can fly there in less than a minute, it took Dragato nearly 15 minutes to reach it. He scanned the area before landing on the ground when he couldn’t spot him. He took a few cautions steps towards the entrance and looked around.
“Dragato!! You made it!!”
The warrior whipped his head around when he heard his name being called. Behind a large boulder, Falspar slowly appeared from behind, and waved at the other. Dragato gave an angry huff and ran to him.
“You’re lucky Teacher Ramset was asleep when I woke up. If we head back now, he won’t suspect a thing, so let’s go.” He ordered, tugging on the others’ arm. When Falspar didn’t budge, Dragato spoke louder.
“I’m not kidding around, Falspar. If you don’t come with me then I’ll tell Teacher Ramset.” He tugged harder, until he felt Falspar aggressively pulling his arm away.
“Go ahead, I don’t care!” He stated, refusing to budge. “I’m going, and there’s nothing you can say to stop me!”
Dragato’s patience finally reached a boiling point, and he harshly shoved the other. “You’re so selfish! Why can’t you just wait?!! Do you wanna get attacked by that Demon Beast again?!!”
“Of course not, but-"
“But nothing! If you cared about Teacher Gravel, then you’d wait! But the fact you’re disobeying him proves how little you care!”
“Take that back!!” Something inside Falspar snapped once he heard that, and without warning he lunged forward and knocked the other to the floor. They scrapped and wrestled in anger for a few minutes before Falspar got the upper hand and pinned the other. Dragato struggled to get him off, but without the use of his wings or arms, it was proven near impossible to do so. The warrior yelped out in pain, and told the other to release him. Eventually, Dragato felt the pressure on his arms reside, and he sat up a few minutes later to rub his sore shoulders.
"Jeeze, you didn’t need to be that rough, Falspar.” He mumbled. He continued to run his shoulders and didn’t bother looking back at the other.
Something green caught his attention moments later, and he looked up and spotted his comrade’s backpack not too far in front of him. Leaning over to grab it, he lightly shook it and could hear the distinct sound of papers rustling. From the way they were fighting, he had a feeling they got damaged from the scuffle. He unzipped it and wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he saw the jumbled mess. Wrinkles papers, dents and folds on each one. He felt a bit of anger rise up, but realized it wasn’t worth it. He pulled out each one to flatten out the dents to a minimum before gently placing it in his own backpack for good measure. He kept silent, and didn’t hear a squeak out of Falspar. Good. He probably realized how badly he messed up.
When he got to the last one, it was one he didn’t recognize. A good portion of the paper had writing on it, with a small drawing of Gravel at the bottom. Dragato easily knew the writing belonged to Falspar. It surprised him at first because he knew Falspar HATED to write. He struggles a lot when it comes to reading and writing, so anytime they would write on the drawings they made, Falspar always let him handle it. Falspar was always embarrassed about it, so seeing a whole letter written by him couldn’t help pique his curiosity. He didn’t hear Falspar walking towards him, so he took this moment to quickly glance at it.
It was an apology letter, from what he could tell. Many of the words were misspelled, hard to read, and several words throughout the letter were scratched off with crayon. For Falspar to take the time to write something that always made him uncomfortable, his frustration and anger of being pinned by him started to subside. He wondered if this was the reason he wanted to see Teacher Gravel so badly.
“Falspar,” He finally called out- his voice had no trace of anger to it. “You’re not the only one who wants to apologize too. I feel terrible what happened, I really do, but disobeying them won’t make things better. I know it seems unfair and boring to wait, but we have to trust what they say. They’re our mentors, they know what’s best for us, so c’mon— let’s go back home."
Dragato waited for a response, but surprisingly he never received one. Surly he wasn’t still mad at him…right? He turned around to face him, but to his sheer horror, Falspar wasn’t there.
“Oh, no…."He quickly looked up to the sky and could faintly make out a small green dot. Gritting his teeth with anger, Dragato shot into the sky with all his might. “Falspar, get back here!!!” He yelled, catching up to him faster than he expected.
Falspar isn't the best flyer- in fact, he’s the slowest out of the group, so it didn’t take long for Dragato to catch up after several minutes. Of course, Falspar doesn't make it easy for him. He would dodge his grips anytime he got close, and would occasionally kick his hand out of the way which infuriated Dragato to no end. After a rather harsh kick to the face around 30 minutes into the chase, Dragato uses what remaining energy to flap his wings as hard as he could to tackle Falspar.
Both started to lose their momentum in the sky, and they slowly descended into the canyon below. The fall itself didn’t hurt as much since they were able to flap their wings at the last minute to soften the landing. The each landed with a loud thud that echoed throughout the endless cavern. Exhausted and tired, the pair were too tired to scrap, and instead rested next to each other to catch their breath.
“Y-you are g..gonna be in…so..much t-trouble.” Dragato panted as he glared at the other next to him.
“If you just l-let me g-go..in the… f-first place, then none of us w-would be...stuck down here.” He bit back, equally tired as well.
The pair continued to bicker back and forth; not one letting up even when they were finally well rested enough to continue their trek.
“Let’s fly above the canyons again and head back home. It’s almost lunch and if Teacher Ramset can’t find us, you know he’ll come searching for us here.” Dragato said as he began stretching his wings. He kept a close eye on Falspar since he didn’t want him running off like last time.
He watched Falspar slowly stretch his wings. He struggled a bit and let out several painful hisses when it would stretch too far. He weakly looked up at Dragato as he lowered his wings to the ground.
“Ummm, Dragato?”
“I’m not falling for it, Falspar. Now c’mon, stop fooling around and finish warming up.” He huffed, stomping towards the other as he grabbed his wings. Falspar yelped out in pain and quickly recoiled back.
“H-hey!!” He snapped, taking a few steps back so he couldn’t get near his wings again. “I’m not joking, Dragato. It must’ve been when we landed.”
Falspar tried to stretch it again to show he was being serious, but Dragato stopped him.
“It’s okay, Falspar, I believe you. Just….” He sighed and looked around the canyon they were stuck in. There was no way he could carry him all the way back to the forest without straining his own wings in the process. He’s been reluctant about seeing their mentor, and especially the scolding that would follow soon after, but if Falspar couldn’t fly back, it was their only option now. It’s not like he could leave him behind….
“You’re lucky you’re my comrade.” He mumbled, motioning the other to follow him. “But when we reach Teacher Gravel’s place YOU’RE taking the blame for all of this, got it?”
A smile quickly formed on Falspar’s face and he eagerly nodded as he followed behind.
Seeing as they flew quite far into the canyon before they landed, the trek to Gravel’s home isn’t far. At their current pace, it would be around 20 minutes to reach their destination.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way? I don’t remember seeing that stone before.” He pointed off to his left to large stone pillar. It was around 10 minutes into their hike when Falspar gave a small whine and started to slow down. He didn’t think they were going to correct way and suggested backtracking to a fork in the road they hit earlier.
“Falspar, all the stones here look alike, how could you even tell the difference? He shook his head, trying to block out his annoying rambling. “C’mon were almost there. Once we turn this corner, we should-“
Dragato immediately quit talking and stumbled back before Falspar was able to turn the corner. Falspar yelled out when he bumped into him, but Dragato quickly pushed him against the opposite side of the wall and covered his mouth.
Falspr struggled in his grip to break free, but it wasn’t until he looked at the terrified eyes on his comrade did he finally settle down. He felt Dragato’s hand shaking; tears now starting to form as he silently told him to be quiet. Falspar gave a nod, and Dragato slowly removed his hand from his mouth. He wasn’t sure what Dragato saw, but by the way he reacted, he had a VERY good feeling what it was.
Falspar looked at Dragato with a worried expression as well.
“Is it….the Demon Beast?” Falspar mouthed.
When Dragato nodded, a chilling numbness ran through his body. He slightly peered to the left and caught a small glimpse of its tail. Dragato was right. It was the monster that attacked them. The beast that almost killed Teacher Gravel, the titan reptile that could easily kill them in a blink of an eye if it wanted it. And it's only a few feet away from them.
What makes matters worse, they’re alone. No one knows where they’re at. Teacher Ramset is likely making lunch, and Teacher Gravel is probably resting. They didn’t tell their other comrades where he was going, and without the use of his wings he’s as good a lizard food. Why didn’t he listen. Why didn’t he just follow Dragato back to their home and wait. Instead of enjoying their lunch with Teacher Ramset, he is now fighting for his survival.
Falspar could quickly feel his body go on autopilot seconds later from the dire realization he could really die from this. He couldn’t stop running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. The need to survive, and the regret of not listening came flooding in his mind like a jumbled mess of chaos and panic. He never stopped running, he never stopped flapping his injured wings to try to take flight. Tears falling from his eyes, he did everything he could until reality painfully struck as he hit the floor with a loud thud from several stone cluttering his path.
Dragato, who was not too far from him, quickly dashed to his side to help him back up. He nudged Falspar to keep running, but the large Candlemader that appeared from behind the large stone pillars caused both of them to freeze like a dear in the headlights. The sheer terror of locking eyes with the large beast made Falspar realize he wasn’t going to escape from this. Running wasn’t going to do anything at this point.
This is the end.
“D-Dragato…..” Falspar said as he took several steps back when the creature fully emerged. “I…I’m sorry.”
“Two weeks is hardly a long time, Falspar.” Ramset let out a small laugh from his dramatic behavior. “Let him recover a bit more, alright? Your rambunctious nature maaaay be a bit too much for him to handle at this time.”
“But we promise we’ll behave!!! Pleaaaaase? You and Miss Alba see him all the time. We just wanna drop off a few more drawings, right Dragato?” He turned to the other for support because two voices are certainly better than one.
Dragato didn’t speak, and continued quietly fiddling with his food despite Falspar calling out to him once more.
“Hellllo! Dragato, back me up here, will ya?” He called out again.
Dragato didn’t share the same enthusiasm as the other, and just gave a shrug in response. “Let’s just wait, okay, Falspar?” His voice had a hint of irritation in it. “Quit annoying Teacher Ramset, and stop asking about Teacher Gravel.”
“W-whaaaaat??” Falspar’s voice shrieked when he was given the cold shoulder. “Hey, just hold on a second!!! You wanted to visit him this afternoon, too! You even said we should ask Teacher Ramset at dinner!!!"
“Well, I changed my mind, alright?” He mumbled, ignoring the glare his comrade was giving him. “Just…shut up already, will you?”
“Dragato.” Ramset’s voice cut in before Falspar had the chance to bite back. His voice was stern, and Dragato instinctively looked up at his mentor; wings lowered, and an expression on his face that made him regret what he said.
"S..sorry.” He softly spoke as he pushed his plate away from him. “U-um..I’m..not really hungry anymore.” He said, and got up from his seat to excuse himself.
Falspar huffed and crossed his arms once Dragato left. “I don’t know why he got all mad when he’s the one who asked me to say it in the first place. You should ground him, and….and…oh! Let me have his dessert for the rest of the week!!"
Ramset reached over and slightly ruffled his hair. “Calm down, sheriff Falspar, we don’t need to take such drastic measures such as that.” He joked. "I’ll have a word with Dragato, but here-“
He went to the kitchen counter to hand him an extra cookie. “You can have my dessert in the mean time.”
Falspar cheered and eagerly went to work on finishing his dinner while Ramset went into the other room to talk to Dragato. He slid the worn curtain that separated his room from the rest of the house, and saw the little warrior on his bed looking out the window. Ramset quietly walked over and took a seat.
“I already apologized….” Dragato didn’t turn around as he spoke to the other in a muffled voice.
“Yes, I heard you. Quite the exchange you two had. From what I heard, I guess you changed your mind about wanting to visit?"
“Hm…yeah.”
“I’m guessing it’s not because you know how severe his injuries are, but something else?” He asked, knowing something was troubling him.
Dragato eventually let out a small sigh, and turned around to face the elder.
"If it wasn’t for us, he wouldn’t be hurt in the first place.” He started to sniffle and sob between words when he recalled the incident. The way he was mercilessly attacked, the blood constantly dripping down his mask, and his ragged panting as he raced out of the canyon. It’s been something that has haunted him ever since, and it was all because they didn’t listen.
"He doesn’t want us to visit him, not even to drop off our gifts. He probably hates us, that’s why we can’t see him…” He admitted as he started to sob harder from the realization that he’ll never get to see and play with him again.
“Oh- no, no no. It’s not like that Dragato.” Ramset intervened as he reached over to pick him up, and the Puff let out a small yelp as he was gently scooped in the arms of his mentor.
“Don’t cry, I promise he doesn't hate you.” He hushed the sobbing child. “In fact, he told me once he gets better, the first thing he wants is for you and Falspar to come over and see him.”
“Wha- r-really?” His wings slightly perked as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Cross my heart!” He smiled. “He wanted to keep it a secret, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Just act surprised when you see him, okay?” He whispered, which caused the child to let out a small giggle.
"It’s going to take a few more weeks for him to get back on his feet but once he does, visiting him will be the first thing we’ll do.”
“O-okay.” He nodded, hugging Ramset.
“Spending all that time with Gravel during your summer break has made quite an impact on him. Then again, I’m sure you already know from all the stories you’ve shared with me.” He smiled.
Dragato nodded, thinking back to the days where he would ask him to draw, or help him perfect his dives. In a way, he greatly reminds him of Bate. Quiet, distant, and a bit grumpy at times, but deep down he would do anything to make sure they were happy and safe. Risking his own life to protect them from that Demon Beast just showed how much they really meant to him.
“I hope he gets well soon. I really miss him.” He said, clutching on to Ramset a bit tighter.
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. Miss Alba’s taking good care of him. He’ll be back on his feet before you know it! I know my Grav, and these injures definitely won’t stop him. I know waiting isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but it’ll fly by in no time.” He gave Dragato a cheeky smile and patted his head.
Slowly, but surly, Dragato returned the smile as well. Teacher Rasmet and Teacher Gravel have known each other waaay longer than he has. Before he was even born, in fact. If Ramset says he’s going to be okay, then he’ll be okay. He hugged his mentor one more time and gave a small nod.
“Thank you, Teacher Ramset.”
“Of course! Now, let’s go back and finish our meal before Falspar decides to take your dessert for his own.” He hopped off of the bed and motioned the other to follow.
With his appetite now returning, the warrior soon jumped off as well to join them.
————--
“So, what did you and Teacher Ramset talk about?” Falspar asked.
It was late at night, and both were sent off to bed around 30 minutes ago. Normally when they’re lost in thought and have something to discuss, they usually wait for Ramset to turn in. Unlike Bate or Gordon, they didn’t need to worry about keeping quiet. They lived with him long enough to know he turns off his hearing device, so the probability of being caught isn’t as high as the others.
Falspar sat up, and stared at the bed from across the room. He called out once more before Dragato finally sat up as well.
“Just about Teacher Gravel….” He spoke. “And why we can’t see him right now.”
“So, what’s the reason?” He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
Dragato shrugged. “Nothing. He’s just recovering. Teacher Ramset said we can see him when he’s a bit better.”
“That’s it? Then why’d you get all mad at me during dinner?”
“I…” The warrior slightly hesitated. Part of him wanted him to forget all about the incident. Of course, that wasn’t the case. “I…just thought maybe he was mad at us or something. When Teacher Ramset got hurt, we were always able to see him. I figured….he didn’t’ want us coming over anymore.”
“Dragaaato, of course he’s not mad at us. Haven't you noticed how happy he is anytime we visit?” He fell back into his bed and held his hands high up to the ceiling. “He remembered how much I liked the Nova Crunch bars Teacher Ramset packs me, and the next time we came over he had a whole box of them for us!”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“And the time you asked him to draw with you, and he actually did it! He’s not even right handed and he still did it!”
“I know, b-“
“And what about the time when he jumped into the lake to help you cause your wings started to cramp up and you couldn’t swim anymore."
“Okay, I get it Falspar! I know he cares about us, so quit it alright?” His voice raised just a bit louder than normal. “I just..thought, okay? I was wrong. I just…I want to tell him we care too. But I guess we’re gonna have to wait a bit longer.”
“I know Teacher told us to wait, but I bet Teacher Gravel would be SUPER happy if we surprised him! ”
“Have you forgotten why Teacher Gravel got hurt in the first place?” Dragato snapped. “Do you wanna become lizard food?”
“I haven’t forgot about that! But, I have an idea!” He smugly stated. “We can just fly instead! Nothing will be able to harm us when we’re in the sky!”
“It’s too difficult to navigate when all the rocks look the same! We’ll get lost! And what’s gonna happen when Teacher Ramset finds out?” He pointed out the obvious. “He’s gonna be so disappointed when he sees we disobeyed him.”
I know, but…” Falspar sat up again and looked his way. “C’mon, I know you wanna visit too. “It’ll only be for a few hours. And when we head back home, all we need to do is fly high enough until we’ll spot Kalmari Forest!”
“And you really expect Teacher Gravel to let us go just like that? You know he’ll have to supervise us, and he’s still hurt.” Dragato stated.
“If worse comes to worse and he won’t let us leave, we’ll have Teacher Gordon and Miss Alba help us once they visit. They always visit in the early afternoon, that’s what I heard from Teacher Ramset.” Falspar spoke, "If we visit in the morning, that’ll give us enough time to give him our gifts before Miss Alba arrives. See? Problem solved!"
“You left out the part where they scold us...” Dragato mumbled, not sold on the plan. “There’s no way I’m going to get in trouble because you wanna do something dumb. I’ll wait like Teacher Ramset said, and you better do the same or you’ll be grounded until the cold season.”
“You’re no fun..” He huffed, curling back in his spot in bed and softly muffled in his pillow. “I’ll do it on my own, then. I don't need your help anyways...."
Dragato couldn’t make out the last part he was saying and figured it was just angry mumbles. He didn’t bother replying back and burrowed himself back in his blankets before falling asleep.
——--
Dragato didn’t think he’d actually do it. Not after the conversation they had. Not after he warned him of the consequences..
But apparently, he was wrong.
Once Dragato woke up, the first thing that caught his attention was all the gifts they made were gone. His backpack was nowhere to be seen, and most importantly, Dragato couldn’t find him anywhere in the house. The Puff swiftly packed his own backpack before dashing out of their home before their mentor woke up. Flapping his wings, the little warrior flew to the entrance of the canyon and swore to Nova he was going to make Falspar regret ever coming up with such an idea in the first place.
Unlike Bate who can fly there in less than a minute, it took Dragato nearly 15 minutes to reach it. He scanned the area before landing on the ground when he couldn’t spot him. He took a few cautions steps towards the entrance and looked around.
“Dragato!! You made it!!”
The warrior whipped his head around when he heard his name being called. Behind a large boulder, Falspar slowly appeared from behind, and waved at the other. Dragato gave an angry huff and ran to him.
“You’re lucky Teacher Ramset was asleep when I woke up. If we head back now, he won’t suspect a thing, so let’s go.” He ordered, tugging on the others’ arm. When Falspar didn’t budge, Dragato spoke louder.
“I’m not kidding around, Falspar. If you don’t come with me then I’ll tell Teacher Ramset.” He tugged harder, until he felt Falspar aggressively pulling his arm away.
“Go ahead, I don’t care!” He stated, refusing to budge. “I’m going, and there’s nothing you can say to stop me!”
Dragato’s patience finally reached a boiling point, and he harshly shoved the other. “You’re so selfish! Why can’t you just wait?!! Do you wanna get attacked by that Demon Beast again?!!”
“Of course not, but-"
“But nothing! If you cared about Teacher Gravel, then you’d wait! But the fact you’re disobeying him proves how little you care!”
“Take that back!!” Something inside Falspar snapped once he heard that, and without warning he lunged forward and knocked the other to the floor. They scrapped and wrestled in anger for a few minutes before Falspar got the upper hand and pinned the other. Dragato struggled to get him off, but without the use of his wings or arms, it was proven near impossible to do so. The warrior yelped out in pain, and told the other to release him. Eventually, Dragato felt the pressure on his arms reside, and he sat up a few minutes later to rub his sore shoulders.
"Jeeze, you didn’t need to be that rough, Falspar.” He mumbled. He continued to run his shoulders and didn’t bother looking back at the other.
Something green caught his attention moments later, and he looked up and spotted his comrade’s backpack not too far in front of him. Leaning over to grab it, he lightly shook it and could hear the distinct sound of papers rustling. From the way they were fighting, he had a feeling they got damaged from the scuffle. He unzipped it and wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he saw the jumbled mess. Wrinkles papers, dents and folds on each one. He felt a bit of anger rise up, but realized it wasn’t worth it. He pulled out each one to flatten out the dents to a minimum before gently placing it in his own backpack for good measure. He kept silent, and didn’t hear a squeak out of Falspar. Good. He probably realized how badly he messed up.
When he got to the last one, it was one he didn’t recognize. A good portion of the paper had writing on it, with a small drawing of Gravel at the bottom. Dragato easily knew the writing belonged to Falspar. It surprised him at first because he knew Falspar HATED to write. He struggles a lot when it comes to reading and writing, so anytime they would write on the drawings they made, Falspar always let him handle it. Falspar was always embarrassed about it, so seeing a whole letter written by him couldn’t help pique his curiosity. He didn’t hear Falspar walking towards him, so he took this moment to quickly glance at it.
It was an apology letter, from what he could tell. Many of the words were misspelled, hard to read, and several words throughout the letter were scratched off with crayon. For Falspar to take the time to write something that always made him uncomfortable, his frustration and anger of being pinned by him started to subside. He wondered if this was the reason he wanted to see Teacher Gravel so badly.
“Falspar,” He finally called out- his voice had no trace of anger to it. “You’re not the only one who wants to apologize too. I feel terrible what happened, I really do, but disobeying them won’t make things better. I know it seems unfair and boring to wait, but we have to trust what they say. They’re our mentors, they know what’s best for us, so c’mon— let’s go back home."
Dragato waited for a response, but surprisingly he never received one. Surly he wasn’t still mad at him…right? He turned around to face him, but to his sheer horror, Falspar wasn’t there.
“Oh, no…."He quickly looked up to the sky and could faintly make out a small green dot. Gritting his teeth with anger, Dragato shot into the sky with all his might. “Falspar, get back here!!!” He yelled, catching up to him faster than he expected.
Falspar isn't the best flyer- in fact, he’s the slowest out of the group, so it didn’t take long for Dragato to catch up after several minutes. Of course, Falspar doesn't make it easy for him. He would dodge his grips anytime he got close, and would occasionally kick his hand out of the way which infuriated Dragato to no end. After a rather harsh kick to the face around 30 minutes into the chase, Dragato uses what remaining energy to flap his wings as hard as he could to tackle Falspar.
Both started to lose their momentum in the sky, and they slowly descended into the canyon below. The fall itself didn’t hurt as much since they were able to flap their wings at the last minute to soften the landing. The each landed with a loud thud that echoed throughout the endless cavern. Exhausted and tired, the pair were too tired to scrap, and instead rested next to each other to catch their breath.
“Y-you are g..gonna be in…so..much t-trouble.” Dragato panted as he glared at the other next to him.
“If you just l-let me g-go..in the… f-first place, then none of us w-would be...stuck down here.” He bit back, equally tired as well.
The pair continued to bicker back and forth; not one letting up even when they were finally well rested enough to continue their trek.
“Let’s fly above the canyons again and head back home. It’s almost lunch and if Teacher Ramset can’t find us, you know he’ll come searching for us here.” Dragato said as he began stretching his wings. He kept a close eye on Falspar since he didn’t want him running off like last time.
He watched Falspar slowly stretch his wings. He struggled a bit and let out several painful hisses when it would stretch too far. He weakly looked up at Dragato as he lowered his wings to the ground.
“Ummm, Dragato?”
“I’m not falling for it, Falspar. Now c’mon, stop fooling around and finish warming up.” He huffed, stomping towards the other as he grabbed his wings. Falspar yelped out in pain and quickly recoiled back.
“H-hey!!” He snapped, taking a few steps back so he couldn’t get near his wings again. “I’m not joking, Dragato. It must’ve been when we landed.”
Falspar tried to stretch it again to show he was being serious, but Dragato stopped him.
“It’s okay, Falspar, I believe you. Just….” He sighed and looked around the canyon they were stuck in. There was no way he could carry him all the way back to the forest without straining his own wings in the process. He’s been reluctant about seeing their mentor, and especially the scolding that would follow soon after, but if Falspar couldn’t fly back, it was their only option now. It’s not like he could leave him behind….
“You’re lucky you’re my comrade.” He mumbled, motioning the other to follow him. “But when we reach Teacher Gravel’s place YOU’RE taking the blame for all of this, got it?”
A smile quickly formed on Falspar’s face and he eagerly nodded as he followed behind.
Seeing as they flew quite far into the canyon before they landed, the trek to Gravel’s home isn’t far. At their current pace, it would be around 20 minutes to reach their destination.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way? I don’t remember seeing that stone before.” He pointed off to his left to large stone pillar. It was around 10 minutes into their hike when Falspar gave a small whine and started to slow down. He didn’t think they were going to correct way and suggested backtracking to a fork in the road they hit earlier.
“Falspar, all the stones here look alike, how could you even tell the difference? He shook his head, trying to block out his annoying rambling. “C’mon were almost there. Once we turn this corner, we should-“
Dragato immediately quit talking and stumbled back before Falspar was able to turn the corner. Falspar yelled out when he bumped into him, but Dragato quickly pushed him against the opposite side of the wall and covered his mouth.
Falspr struggled in his grip to break free, but it wasn’t until he looked at the terrified eyes on his comrade did he finally settle down. He felt Dragato’s hand shaking; tears now starting to form as he silently told him to be quiet. Falspar gave a nod, and Dragato slowly removed his hand from his mouth. He wasn’t sure what Dragato saw, but by the way he reacted, he had a VERY good feeling what it was.
Falspar looked at Dragato with a worried expression as well.
“Is it….the Demon Beast?” Falspar mouthed.
When Dragato nodded, a chilling numbness ran through his body. He slightly peered to the left and caught a small glimpse of its tail. Dragato was right. It was the monster that attacked them. The beast that almost killed Teacher Gravel, the titan reptile that could easily kill them in a blink of an eye if it wanted it. And it's only a few feet away from them.
What makes matters worse, they’re alone. No one knows where they’re at. Teacher Ramset is likely making lunch, and Teacher Gravel is probably resting. They didn’t tell their other comrades where he was going, and without the use of his wings he’s as good a lizard food. Why didn’t he listen. Why didn’t he just follow Dragato back to their home and wait. Instead of enjoying their lunch with Teacher Ramset, he is now fighting for his survival.
Falspar could quickly feel his body go on autopilot seconds later from the dire realization he could really die from this. He couldn’t stop running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. The need to survive, and the regret of not listening came flooding in his mind like a jumbled mess of chaos and panic. He never stopped running, he never stopped flapping his injured wings to try to take flight. Tears falling from his eyes, he did everything he could until reality painfully struck as he hit the floor with a loud thud from several stone cluttering his path.
Dragato, who was not too far from him, quickly dashed to his side to help him back up. He nudged Falspar to keep running, but the large Candlemader that appeared from behind the large stone pillars caused both of them to freeze like a dear in the headlights. The sheer terror of locking eyes with the large beast made Falspar realize he wasn’t going to escape from this. Running wasn’t going to do anything at this point.
This is the end.
“D-Dragato…..” Falspar said as he took several steps back when the creature fully emerged. “I…I’m sorry.”
-End of Chapter-
Artist Comment:
Date: November 15 2021
-----------------
Dragato and Falspar come face to face with the beast who almost killed Gravel. With no one else knowing where they're at, how in Sweet Nova are they going to escape this? oAo
The ending is near!!! What's gonna happen next~!!!
Important things to note:
-Yes, Rammy turns off his hearing device when he sleeps. It was VERY vaguely hinted on Page 12 of PMaM when Gordon yelled at him how he didn't know there was a Demon Beast in the forest. Dragato and Falspar don't have to worry about keeping quiet when he's sleeping. >v<;
-Another thing that you may have forgotten is Falspar is dyslexic. I wrote an old story here, but it's never really mentioned again after that. Probably should re-write it since it's SUPER old.
Date: November 15 2021
-----------------
Dragato and Falspar come face to face with the beast who almost killed Gravel. With no one else knowing where they're at, how in Sweet Nova are they going to escape this? oAo
The ending is near!!! What's gonna happen next~!!!
Important things to note:
-Yes, Rammy turns off his hearing device when he sleeps. It was VERY vaguely hinted on Page 12 of PMaM when Gordon yelled at him how he didn't know there was a Demon Beast in the forest. Dragato and Falspar don't have to worry about keeping quiet when he's sleeping. >v<;
-Another thing that you may have forgotten is Falspar is dyslexic. I wrote an old story here, but it's never really mentioned again after that. Probably should re-write it since it's SUPER old.
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
