Knights vs. Dragons, one of the cliches among cliches. But I've never heard of a goalie vs. a dragon. Yet, here I am. UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.
It all started in this dreadful forest. Heck, doesn't everything?! We were just running along, minding our own business, (we may or may not have trampled over several animal burrows), when suddenly I hear a scream. Well-half of one before it gets cut off. Then lil ol me is dragged down a hole by the princess clutching my hand in a death grip.
You know in those movies, where a group is traversing through a forest when suddenly holes open up in the ground and one by one members keep disappearing? Yeah, that happened to us except I got dragged under too by my terrified companion.
So, down we went, straight into a hole I could have sworn wasn't there a second ago.
Aaaaaaand that brings me to now. Face to face with this giant scaly lizard. I'm biting my lips, my entire body tense. I'm crouched in an almost squat, stick raised, ready to spring up at a moment's notice.
Fi stands behind me, her arm gripping mine in a death grip. Despite this I can't help noticing the silky softness. Damn. My calloused fingers certainly can't compare. Well, I suppose this is my retribution for being too lazy to buy moisturizer.
The strange hiss-roar from the being in front of me snaps my attention back. It's like a large pterodactyl with a few variations. Plus it's radiating heat, geez it's practically a furnace.
In case you're wondering how I'm calm enough to give this description it's primarily because everything hasn't sunk in yet. It feels too surreal plus I'm almost able to trick myself into believing we're really at the Science Center nears my house where they have a life sized pterodactyl model. Because otherwise me in my rubber pads is dead before you can say-holy-!
I dive to the side, nearly avoiding the fireball that misses me by centimeters. The death grip saves her life as Fi is pulled along with me. I scramble up back on my toes.
"Ow!" Fi cries out, prompting me to glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She's got a couple light burns. Thankfully I don't have any because of-my pads.
Nylon and synthetic leather are heat resistant. True, it's only to a slight degree before they turn into a pile of gloop but hmm...Maybe, just maybe, I could work with this...
"Fi!"
"Ye-Yes!"
"What do you know about drago-!" The sentence abruptly breaks off when another blast causes me to pop a squat.
"Wha-!" Fi cries out as I yank her with me.
"Dragons, dragons, dragons!!! Come on girl this ain't a roller coaster ride, tell me all you know!! Now!!!!!"
"I-uh, I-"
"Weaknesses girl, weaknesses!!!! They gotta have one!"
This dragon dude seems really lazy, shooting fireballs with seemingly no intention of getting up, not that I'm complaining. Still, my reflexes, honed from diving and leaping after balls, can only take me so far.
"U-underbellies, go for their underbellies!"
Ahh, finally something useful. At least my teammate is useful for something. In this life and death situation my mind has shed all presences of cordiality and politeness. Just like in a game my adrenaline is pumping (not that it wasn't already) and my eyes hone in to focus on my target.
I grab Fi and shove her to the side, I can't have her slowing me down. Then, I make a dead sprint. Fireball, fireball, one to the right, one below me, another to my right. I continue to sprint.
I meet it's yellow orbs, flickering with a predator like gaze. Nearly there. I suddenly become aware of something smoking. Huh, is the corner of my chest protector on fire? Don't think about it. Don't think about it. My mind snaps back to focus on my target, just like in a real game, ignoring all other distractions.
The creature seems to sense something wrong, rearing up and lifting the soft underbelly it had previously been lying on and I grin.
Every time I make a particularly challenging save my friends always tell me I have this smile on. They call it a sadist's smile, maybe because I sometimes-no often tend to bash people up to get the ball.
With that smile, while watching the ptero-drago creature react accordingly to my plan, I go down.
A stop clear is a specific type of clear involving a sprint before ending up in a slide with one foot sticking out. I perform precisely this, except my slide takes my right under the creature's underbelly. At the same time my stick is poised, pointing straight up.
Now, my stick is by no means sharp but using the muscles I've gained from wavering my 640 gram stick around I start jabbing at the underbelly. To provide a better mental image the momentum of my sprint and slide carries me under, I'm lying flat on the ground, and my stick is being thrust continuously at the soft underbelly.
Shove, shove, shove, pop! I pop a hole in the thing, damn, how soft is an underbelly??? This is so delicate!
With the pop though I'm covered in a thick layer of wonderfully scented gloop. It's even worse than when my ten year old brother forgets to flush his poop.
On the other hand though, the gloop is slimy, thick, putrid yellow, and cold, easily putting out the fire that could have been my doom and that I'd conveniently ignored earlier.
"Pah!" Guts in my mouth, ewwwwwww. Inch by inch I crawl my way out of the slime party and recall my companion.
"Fi? You there?"
Sniffle.
Ah? Is somebody crying?
"Fi, is that you? What's wrong?"
I finally see the light and scramble over to my companion.
She's covered in dust and lying in the corner nursing her bruised limbs. Huh? How did wind up in this corner? Wasn't she in the middle of the room earlier? I reach out towards her.
"Are you-?"
"Don't touch me!"
"Ah? Fi what's wrong?" I glance down at myself, then wince in realization. It's the guts isn't it.
"Sorry about that, guess I'm kinda gross right now, huh?"
"You..."
"Hm?"
"What do you think of me?"
"What?" Where did that come from?
"Um I don-"
"You threw me away."
"What?"
"In the battle, you threw me away."
"I didn-"
I blink as I realize. I did didn't ? It was me who pushed her to the side like this. It was me who gave her these bruises. It was me who became so focused that I forgot about anything and everything around me. Just like last year's championships.
I shake off the thought. No, no way. That's not it. It's different...right? I return to reality when I realize the princess is speaking to me.
"-knight's job is to protect his princess. You, all you cared about was defeating the dragon. You-you threw me away."
I catch that same line again. 'You threw me away'. It's true I could have seriously hurt her if there had been something sharp in the direction I pushed her, if the dragon had aimed a fireball, if...okay, I guess there are a lot of If's. But her line 'you threw me away' gets me thinking that she's not referring to that fact. There's something personal going on here...or am I just overthinking it?
"That's why, that's why...I'll release you from your knight oath. You saw me as annoying right? You wished you could leave right? Well, I-I'll grant your wish".
...
Ah? Did I just hear what I think I did? I'm about to be ecstatic-when I catch sight of her. A lonely girl with one hell of a burden on her shoulders. A lonely girl who reminds me of...AAAGH! Is today melancholic memory day??? I can't handle this. But then again I did fight a dragon so it definitely isn't your average day.
Sniffle.
My attention once again returns to the girl sitting before me. A desperate young girl, who's expression seems like a woman giving up driftwood while drowning. A very stubborn, tricky, she devil like girl and one who may or may not be my ticket home. A girl who-technically-did save my life, and hers, with that piece of information about the dragon's underbelly. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, not easy since I'm inhaling guts.
"I'm sorry."
The girl looks up, her red eyes make me flinch. I've never been good at watching others cry, especially when it's because of me.
"I'm...not a knight."
She opens her mouth but I interrupt her.
"No, not because I haven't been knighted yet or anything. I haven't even been trained. Honestly, I'm a normal person from a normal town with a normal life. But, I suddenly wound up here. Now, I'm no knight who's grown up with the...code of chivalry wasn't it? I've never been taught all these rules and especially not how to serve another person."
"But, that doesn't mean I'm a person with no morals. What I did-pushing you-it was wrong. I know that and I'm sorry, it's my-my problem. And in a life or death situation, I can't promise I wouldn't do it again."
"Still, I'm sorry. It was not right. And to tell the truth I did find you annoying at the beginning and I did want to leave but you're not so bad and technically you did save my life and I, although I guess I saved yours first-"
"Ok, this is turning into a mess." I take another stinky breath. "What I want to say is...I can't make any large promises. You and I are just strangers brought together by this strange fate. But I can promise you this: I will not leave you for now and I don't know how long I can stay but while I am here I will do the utmost to protect and help you."
"I am sorry I can't give you anything more concrete. I-"
"So we are just strangers, is that it?"
I face the girl wearing the hopeless unsurprised smile. Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth before you say something you regret Dillon!" The inner voice inside me chides. But in the end its plea is ignored.
I take another gut filled breath and get down on one knee.
I clear my throat, why does this remind me of asking a date to prom? "Uhh, this isn't a knight's oath but...Fiwhateveryournameis, I, Dillon would like to ask you will you do the honor of being my friend?"
I get so caught up in the whole knight thing that I almost kiss her hand but then I remember the guts. Instead, I glance up at Fi and blink when I see her frozen expression. When has she ever been so much at a loss of words? Certainly not in the time I've known her. It makes me want to tease her more, hehehe.
"Fi?"
"Ah? I-I mean, friends was it?" Is it my imagination or is there a hint of disappointment? Must be my imagination.
"Yes, will you accept me?" I gaze unwaveringly at her and for some reason she turns red to the tips of her ears.
"I-I will!"
"Phew. Now that that's said and done how do we get out of this hole and I seriously need a bath."
Fi wrinkles her nose. "You certainly do, and what's with the strange thing you called me? I have a proper name and if you're my knigh-I mean friend you would do well to remember it. It's Fi..."
Ahh, there's the Fi I known. I tune out her words while searching for an exit. Isn't this usually the part in the plot when a mysterious new character is introduced?
"Was someone calling for me?"
Fi and I whirl around, oh well, speak of the devil.