Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space

Alec's eyelids closed as the feel of the soft grass, where he sat, gave him a buzz of peace from somewhere within him. He inhaled the sweet scent of flowers and humid air which the wind blew towards the clearing from the lake. He looked back up and his pale orbs met with dark brown-orange ones. Taking a deep breath, he stood and walked over to where his classmates gathered in front of Professor Gravis. Feeling the man's eyes still lingering on him, he opted to fix his attention on the three adorable creatures crawling along side him.

He chuckled when the grey Draeling clung to his combat trousers and climbed up to the top of his head, taking care to avoid imbedding her sharp claws on his flesh. Her brothers looked up at them, before they flapped their wings and landed on either side of his shoulders.

"Seriously?" he mumbled. A smile continued to tug at his lips until he stood next Solana and Knox in the group. "Climb down guys."

The two males hopped off of him, while Entiny continued to settle herself on his head. He let out a sigh, and grabbed her small body. As gentle as he could be, he cradled her in one arm, while he rubbed her head.

Two days ago, Professor Linan came and checked on the triplets. He remembered how he sighed in relief, when the professor declared that his Draes were all well. But worry replaced that relief when the lanky professor broke the news to him.

"Drae's Vigor have powerful healing abilities, but they can't always heal permanent damages from birth. Entiny has an abnormality in her heart, one similar to the Draes who are born along with one or more. It beats so weakly that at times it's barely there," Professor Linan said. "As much as possible, do not tire her."

He sighed yet again, and looked to the front when Professor Gravis spoke. The man's eyes still lingered on him from time to time, and it made him uncomfortable after remembering what happened days before. I still haven't apologized, he thought.

"Today, we'll be heading into the Southern Woods," the man yelled. "I have prepared a little activity for you all there. Form two lines and follow me."

He heard groans, especially one coming from Solana, while her brother rolled his eyes and grumbled as well. Soon two lines, 16 students each, trailed after Professor Gravis into the woods.

As they followed a narrow path covered in the lush expanse of greens, he ducked every now and then to avoid the thick low branches hindering their way. As they continued further into the woods, he noticed how the trees grew taller and taller, and the undergrowth getting thicker.

After a couple more swerving and ducking along the woodland path, they came across a glade, almost as wide as the one near the lake. Looking up, Alec saw the tallest and the thickest tree he had ever laid eyes upon. Needle leaves, similar to the snow pines in Arktis, adorned its fruitless branches. Its trunk was so thick he doubted if anyone could actually circle their arms around it. Its roots covered a good amount of the glade, with a few smaller trees growing in between.

As his gaze shifted higher, the branches grew shorter and he caught sight of a white flag at the top. The Draeyer Academy emblem shown on the field of white as the wind blew on it.

"This is where I see how my endurance training worked on you all," Professor Gravis began. Using his only hand, he grabbed a small knife from his leather belt. He spun, and with movements like water, he released and the blade flew up the tree. It landed below where a rope tied the flag's pole to the tree. "Touch the knife, the flag, and climb back down."

A series of chatter erupted. It contained a mixture of excitement, doubts and protests of the activity their professor mentioned. He on the other hand, stared at the tree with blank pale blue eyes. Numerous times in Arktis, he climbed trees for good hiding spots during his hunts. He would be fine. Professor Gravis silenced them all with a loud cough. Once silence settled over them, he spoke.

"To make it more interesting, I decided to make this a race," he said. Gasps and whispers filled the air, but quickly vanished when the professor continued. "I'll be pairing you up. No one cheats, or you'll be in detention after classes for the next four days."

Before he could hear anymore groans and moans of protests, he called the first pair to race up the top. Alec sat himself on the grass, as he watched pair after pair racing each other. Every now and then, he caught glimpses of his classmates through the gaps in the tree's stick leaves. He would hear a scream, and spot someone dangling by a hand on a branch. He lost count how many times Professor Gravis had to intervene.

A couple of minutes later, Solana came down with a graceful twirl when she landed on the grass. Alec saw her face scrunched in annoyance as she narrowed her eyes at Knox who grinned at her for besting her in the race. As expected they squabbled on, even when they stood behind him. He suppressed a laugh when their argument of the race turned to one about the food they choose to eat every day. As he shook his head in silence, he heard his name.

"Alec," Professor Gravis said, "and Areisha, both of you get ready."

"Just my luck," he whispered with a secret eye roll. He stood and kept his silence, even when he stood next to Areisha who did nothing but stare ahead of her. As expected, he thought. But now soon after, he heard her speak.

"Just to let you know, I'm one of the best climbers back home," she said. At the same time, their professor counted.

"One," he said.

Alec sighed, and trailed his gaze up at the knife and flag at the top branch. A smile tugged at his lips as a feeling of competitiveness coursed through his body. He took his hands out of his pockets and dangled them on his sides.

"Two," Gravis said.

"And I should care because?" he said. Areisha gave him a side glance before shifting her feet apart. He heard her faintly taking a deep breath.

"You'll see," she said.

"Go!"

Alec bent and sprinted forward. But instead of heading for the tree, he dashed for a shorter one. Using a rock as leverage, he jumped on one of its long branches. As his weight fell on the branch, it sagged to the ground. In a swift motion, the branch flicked upward, sending him soaring across to the large tree. Before he landed on a high sturdy branch, he saw Areisha had done the same move as him. Once his feet connected with the wood, he grasped a higher branch. He swung his body to land on top of it. He continued the action, before the branches got closer to each other and shorter. Twisting his body, he landed on a thin one. It broke. Before it fell with him, he hopped over to a new branch, leaving the last one falling to the ground.

"You copied me!" Areisha yelled. He glanced to his left. She jumped and grasped branches with grace in her movements, which almost made Alec stop and admire it. He continued his ascend, ignoring the sharp leaves prickling at his exposed skin.

"I did not," he said.

"Did to!" she yelled.

He kept quiet, saving his breath, when he noticed he stilled had a few more feet to go. He took a deep breath, and inhaled the woody scent surrounding him. He winced, when he grasped a branch and broke it, splinters falling over him. He paused for a second to catch his breath. For a moment, he glanced to his right and spotted the academy building shimmering under the sun from his position.

He snapped from his short moment of distraction and continued his venture up. When he looked, Areisha was a good couple of feet away from him.

Not soon after, his brows scrunched when he saw her pause. He hastened his pace, until he crouched on a branch adjacent to hers. She looked paler than her complexion could lead on, and her mouth parted as she panted. Her wide blue eyes stared ahead at something, and her body faintly quivered.

He followed her gaze and his own eyes widened as well. A creature with a long body covered in diamond patterns slithered out from a hole on the tree's trunk. Its white wings contrasted with the black scales. White black-slit eyes stared at them both, as the animal curled around a branch. Its body was as thick as Professor Gravis' arm. A long tongue jutted out as a hiss escaped the creature.

"Snake," he whispered. Without taking his eyes off of the creature, he reached for a knife tucked on the pockets of one of his boots. "Don't move," he told Areisha.

He heard no response and spotted no movement from her, and assumed she heard him. But not soon after, Areisha stepped back to the branch below the one she was standing on, and her other foot followed. The snake raised its head and recoiled. It was a position Alec knew all too well. It was a predator ready to strike.

"Drae's shit," Alec muttered. The snake lunged forward. Alec grabbed a branch and veered away from its path. Areisha on the other hand, let out a yelp. She avoided the creature, but let go of her branch in the process. She screamed as she plummeted, her sides hitting branches as she fell. At the same time, Alec jumped.

In the process, he twirled his knife, and aimed at the end of the snake's tail. Thick red blood burst out, as the blade pierced through its flesh and pinned the creature on its spot.

Alec continued to fall, before landing on a sturdy branch like a cat. He hopped to another, and caught Areisha before she could plunge further. Pants escaped her as her face contorted in pain while clutching her sides. He set her down next to him, but kept a tight hold around her shoulders.

Something wet and red landed on his arm, and he was forced to look up. He let out another curse, before wrapping an arm under Areisha's thighs, and carried her. A moment later, the large snake landed on the spot he hopped off of.

Its wings spread and flapped, hovering over the branch with its head ready to strike once more. He grabbed another knife. He released, and it pierced through one of the creatures wings. Without looking back, he jumped once more and plummeted down, before landing on a branch. He hopped from another to another, using it as steps to reach the ground.

He caught sight of their classmates approaching including Professor Gravis. Once on the soft grass, Alec placed Areisha, who shook and stared on the ground with big frightened eyes. Solana sat next to her at once, with Emera and Dia trailing after her.

"Isha," she said. "What happened?" She grasped her shoulders and shook the girl, who remained silent all throughout. Soon, their classmates gathered around them, all giving them questioning gazes.

"A snake," Alec said. Their eyes widened, especially when all the Draelings shrieked into the air. They ran across the ground toward Alec. They formed a line in front of him, crouching low as if ready to pounce in the direction of the tree. Alec's triplets stood in the same position at the center of the line.

A sharp crack filled the air, before a branch landed on the ground with a loud thud. The students gasped and stepped back with their eyes and mouths wide open. The snake rose up from the branch, and curled its body after slithering on the grass. It hissed at the Draelings, and narrowed its white eyes at them. Blood covered the grass as the parts where Alec pierced through with his blades, continued to bleed out.

"All of you run, when I say go," Professor Gravis said. He eyed the large creature with calculating eyes, never breaking eye contact. The students fell silent with a gulp, as some shrunk a bit further to the path. To Alec's surprise, bright orange fire lit on his teacher's hand. It crawled over the skin of his arm as it grew in size.

Small roars rang out, as the Draelings ran towards the snake. Some flew up, and dived down, bumping their silver heads on the creature's body. They bit and scratched at it, as if it wasn't capable of swallowing any of them in one gulp. When the snake swatted a yellow Draeling with its bloody tail, Alec snapped in anger at the creature.

"All of you get back!" he said. The Draelings refused, and continued their assault. Entiny's body flew and rolled over the grass, as whimpers escaped her from the impact of the snake. Leyan and Midnight, dashed toward their sister, crouching in protective stances as the black creature slithered towards them. The other Draelings jumped back when the snake raised half of its body off the ground. It hissed at the triplets and opened its large maw, showing a rotting mouth and four sharp fangs.

He didn't know how or when, but he soon found himself running towards his Draelings. The sound of his friends and Professor Gravis' voices sounded muffled by the loud beating of his heart. Time slowed, as one thought dominated his mind.

Not happening again, he thought.

When his hands wrapped around the snake's thick neck, time resumed to its normal pace. The creature writhed in his tight hold as he wrestled it to the ground. He ignored the way it wrapped its body around his leg, even when he fell to the ground.

One moment, his hands felt hot and sweaty, and the next he felt the cold sensation of ice and snow. It traveled up his arms, before the feeling settled back to his palms. His eyes widened when blue flames erupted from his hands. He released the creature, and stepped back. He watched as it struggled on the ground, the blue fire crawling all over its long thick body and where it lay. He fell back, sitting on the grass, as he continued to watch. Where the weird flames roared, ice formed in its wake. The weird-colored fire vanished. It left nothing behind but a snake made out of ice with its mouth wide open.

Alec panted as he stared down at his still cold hands. Oddly enough, he didn't seek warmth to ward off the cold. It gave him a sense of power which made him feel safe. His Draelings ran over to him, as Professor Gravis stood over the frozen snake. He stared at it with his eyes and face hard in seriousness. He turned his head to Alec, and his face softened, but not much for the others to notice.

"Good job, boy," he said. "It was impulsive, crazy, but still impressive."

He jerked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he spotted Knox smiling at him.

"You're officially a Draeyer," he said. The same feeling he had when he got the mark on his palm came once more. He looked back at the circle on his and, and stared at it with wide eyes.

An outline of a roaring flame appeared inside of it. But, what caught his eye the most was the snowflake in the center of the fire. He looked back down at his Draes smiling at him with their sharp teeth jutting out of their gums. Although still a bit taken surprised, he smiled back.

"A Draeyer..." he trailed off.

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I'm baaaack! And I'll be gone again. Hope you enjoyed. What do you think of Alec's new power? What happened to Areisha? Why was Gravis so serious?

Well, I'll just pretend I don't know the answer to the last two.