TCoE: Climb

A scoff erupted from above. "You'll never make it," a man's ragged voice sneered.

A twelve-year-old boy with messy dark hair and tan skin pulled his brown eyes from the parchment in his shaking hands. The sharp, resentful words cut his heart, leaving it frozen and gradually draining. The skinny lad was a bit taken aback by the stranger's harshness, but he mentally fought hard to brush it off. After a few moments, the bitter man who taunted the boy removed the hood of his cloak to reveal a scarred face. The man had wrinkly, tanned skin and long, dark hair.

"The climb has only been completed by Elvish, Dwarvish, and Razi children, not meek human spawns," his dark eyes narrowed. "Why would you want to do this anyway?"

"My friend is out there. I need to make sure she is okay."

A few heartbeats passed with a tense silence before the man took a step back and nodded. "What is your name, boy?"

"Lucius."

"Lucius... where do you hail from?"

"Zavi Providence," as the words tumbled out of the boy's mouth, the older man's eyes widened for a moment. "My friend and I grew up together playing in the outskirts of the town, we have always wanted to explore beyond the village. Over these last few moons, she has been sneaking further away... this is the longest that she has been gone..."

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Lucius hoisted himself up over a ledge near a cave carved into the side of the mountain, with water flowing and moss thriving around him.

"Oh," his jaw dropped. "Whoa."

Baby dragons pranced and sprang about, their developing wings gaining gradual practice with every lifted spin attack they unleashed on each other. The young majestic creatures playfully growled and roared at one another while they swiped their talons and bared their fangs. Lucius remained captivated by the sight unraveling before him, something the majority of humans would never even be aware of, leaving him so enraptured that he hadn't realized the young girl stalking him from the side with her dragon on his other flank.

As Lucius took a step forward with his eyes glazed over in a trance, the girl abruptly snatched his wrist, stopping him from stumbling into danger.

"Wha-?"

"Shh!" the girl hissed gleefully as she covered his mouth with her hand. "Follow me," she whispered. As he turned to face her, he instead crashed into the broad shoulders of a young dragon. Lucius fretfully stared up into the brilliant mossy-green eyes of Novacloviti, a young stone dragon that Selenithia had befriended long ago.

"Oh, uh, hello there..." he nervously greeted, "pardon me, nice dragon," he smiled as he tried to calm himself down.

"This is the boy you spoke of?"

Selenithia blushed as she rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Lucius, this is Novacloviti. Nova, this is Lucius."

After a few seconds of Novacloviti raising a brow at him questioningly, she slowly relaxed her demeanor while circling him, her tail gently brushing against Lucius. "Tell me, Lucius," she paused while she stared into his eyes. "How would you like to be one of the few humans to walk among us?"

He swallowed back the lump in his throat as a rush of confidence rose from within. "That would be the deepest honor I could ever receive." Lucius respectfully bowed, still maintaining eye contact with Novacloviti. The sincerity he presented brought a smile to Selenithia's face.

Before Lucius could share a moment with Selenithia, Nova curtly winked at them as she shoved the boy toward a nearby slippery stream that carried him to a small waterfall. As his screams erupted through the beautiful sanctuary, countless dracs jolted back and snarled when startled as the boy soared past them.

After a few thrilling minutes of splashing back and forth down a slick, stone surface covered in moss, Lucius finally collided with a tranquil pool. As the young boy breached the water and gasped for air to regain his composure, he soon noticed he wasn't alone in the natural pond. Wading across from Lucius was a gorgeous woman with sharp eyes. She smirked as he blushed and pulled his stunned gaze away from her.

"Selenithia has told me a lot about you," she grinned as she glanced high above him. "Novacloviti believes you are a good soul for Selenithia to be around. Your presence radiates a rare patience and compassion. A gentle spirit with a fierce core is hard to come by. Despite any fear of conflict or pain, you still made the climb to ensure your friend was safe - you sacrificed your own well-being for the defense of another, which is worthy of great honor. I see your intentions - while you would like to impress her and be with her, you still would rather her be happy than be pressured."

Novacloviti gradually rolled into the clearing by the water's edge in a curled rock form that swiftly opened when she landed. Selenithia shortly exploded from the bushes next to the dragon on what looked like a sturdy, broad wooden shield with sharp steel plates and edges. She beamed when she caught Lucius staring at her.

Selenithia joyfully raised her hands as she laughed. "Welcome to Dovena!"

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~ To Be Continued ~

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