"Stupid forest," a voice said, as tall black haired boy pushed his way through the thick foliage of the island. He had been wandering around for many hours now, with very little to do but to complain about his current situation. Put simply, Zenith had run away from home many years prior to that moment, but without proper training in other fields of survival, he had been island hopping for years with no suitable place to settle down.
After cutting through a few more stacks of tall leaves and giant bushy shrubs, Zenith finally stumbled upon the beach that bordered the South side of the small tribal island. Moments after stepping onto the warm grainy sand though, he spotted a beached figure up ahead, and naturally he began his approach. As he approached, the massive sea soaked figure finally came into view, and revealed itself to be a shimmering golden Dragon who had only just washed up onto the warm sandy shore.
"Well this is new," Zenith hummed, casually stepping around the beast as he eyed their figure, picking up on their small and fairly weak form, but also sensing a greater power within. Of course, the Dragon was far larger than Zenith, maybe two or three times taller, and ten times longer, but for a New World Dragon, those measurements would be considered small.
"Hey, are you alive?" Zenith asked, poking the Dragon's snout with his forefinger, before pulling away and rethinking his options. He wasn't stupid by any means, he knew damn well the Dragon could eat him whole, but in Zenith's mind, he had plans to attempt to train it.
Without wasting any time, Zenith began pulling the seaweed off of the beast's back, allowing their frail scales to bask in the sunlight. Then, he began making a fire close by, and after many minutes of failed attempts he had a large enough flame to begin cooking food. Which led him to his favourite part, hunting.
It took barely a few minutes for Zenith to wander off and return with a kill; he was highly skilled with a sword so hunting was his preferred profession, as well as his only source of income when he began hopping from town to town. Cooking was not his speciality, but he made do with what he had, lifting up a slightly charred chunk of meat and approaching the Dragon once again.
"Hey, I made food," he said softly, noticing the gentle rise and fall of the Dragon's chest as she slept. "Wake up already, it'll get cold." He groaned, stepping a little too close and allowing the sweet smell of venison to wander up near the Dragon's nose. Instantly her eyes snapped open, as her body whipped around and allowed her jaws to snap down over the meat before she ravenously swallowed it whole. Despite her quick and instinctual movements though, she avoided harming Zenith with a predator-like precision.
"W-woah." Zenith gulped, pulling his hands away as he slowly stepped back in fear. Like many Demons, Zenith had never seen a Dragon this close up before, and was wary of what they might do to him. To his utter surprise though, she sat down in front of him and smiled with a happy and sharp toothy grin, producing a gentle swishing sound as her tail swayed behind her. "I can not believe that worked," Zenith sighed, stepping aside and showing off the remaining food that was available to eat.
Instantly, the Dragon bounced forwards and began locking her jaws around the meat, ripping it apart and swallowing it down like a ravenous animal who hadn't eaten for days. Her actions both horrified and impressed Zenith, who kept his sword hidden in its sheath while he sat down to observe the creature before him.
"Thank you so much," she said suddenly, causing Zenith to fall backwards in fear, sliding off of the rock he was seated on and whacking his head hard against the ground.
"You can talk!?" Zenith yelled, scrambling backwards until his body was pressed tightly against a tree. "T-that's not possible!!" He said, feeling horror rise in his spine as shivers consumed his entire body.
"Ur, I mean.... Roar?" She mumbled, reaching down to grab the last chunk of meat in her jaws before she booked it into the forest nearby, attempting to escape her fatal mistake.
"Hey! Wait up!" Zenith stuttered, confused why he had such an instinct to follow. But despite his doubts, he picked himself up from the ground and took off running after the Dragon girl. "Why are you running!?" He called out, gasping for air while he ran endlessly behind them.
"Because you'll kill me!" She squeaked, twisting around another large tree trunk in an attempt to lose him with sharp turns and quick corners.
"Huh? Why the hell would I kill you?" Zenith huffed, turning the corner to follow and tripping over a lumpy root which had been poking annoyingly out of the ground. Instinctually, he screamed, before slamming face first into the grass and groaning at the crushing weight of another failure. "Dammit," he hissed, wiping his eyes and brushing the grass off of his clothes. Why could he never seem to do anything right?
"Wait," the Dragon's voice came again. "You don't want to kill me?" She asked, skidding to a halt as she turned back and bounced towards him. "...Are you crying?" She mumbled, noticing the tears that fell silently down his face.
"Of course not," he snapped, rubbing away his tears with his sleeve and looking away from the creature in front of him. "It's a Demon thing, you wouldn't understand." He tried to explain, before turning back and staring in wonder at the new figure that stood before him.
While he was turned away, the Dragon had transformed down into a much smaller form, barely five foot ten in fact, almost a whole foot shorter than Zenith. She stood there in a perfect human form, covered by a long red jumper and tight black jeans, while her long golden blonde hair swayed gently in the forest breeze. A moment of staring passed, before she approached and wrapped her arms around him, patting his back and humming a gentle tune.
"I know what crying is, you big squishy idiot." She said, leaning back to smile up at him, but Zenith could only stare back with a jaw dropped gaze.
"Y-you're a human...? Or are you an illusionist?" He questioned, confused and panicked by this new development. It only took a soft hand on his shoulder to calm him down though, as he angled his head towards the floor in order to stare at the girl's sweet and adorable smile.
"Nope, I'm a Dragon." She grinned, showing off her sharp canine teeth which had a hard time acting intimidating atop her adorable human form. "But enough about me," she said, waving off their previous conversation. "Why did you cry when I ran off?" She asked.
"I wasn't crying because of you," he stated, attempting to turn away but continuously getting caught up in her warm embrace. After many moments of resistance, he sighed and accepted her hug. "I just don't want to fail again." He muttered.
"What does that mean?" The Dragon girl hummed, looking up to him with shimmering crystal blue eyes.
"Well... My mother was killed a few years ago by bandits, and my father blamed me for her death. He claimed I wasn't strong enough to protect anyone, so he cast me out into the forest in order to survive on my own..." Zenith sighed, stepping away from the hug as Madison lowered her arms in sorrow.
"That's so cruel," she cried, tears welling up in her eyes at the mention of his story.
"I guess," Zenith muttered, staring off to the side before sighing and looking back at her. "But it gave me my goal in life." He stated boldly.
"Your goal?" Madison asked, wiping her eyes and looking up to him.
"I want to become the strongest man alive, so I can take down the bandits who killed my mother, and prove my father wrong." He said, reaching to his side and pulling out a long, gracefully encrusted blade. "This was my mother's sword, it was the last thing I could take from my father's home. And I plan to use it to fulfill my life's goal."
"You should join my pirate crew!" Madison smiled, bouncing up and down with happiness.
"You're a pirate?" Zenith laughed, sliding his sword back into its sheath and grinning down at the excited Dragon girl.
"Yep! I'm gonna be the best pirate on the seas! Battling bandits and saving villages! I want people everywhere to know my name so that when I find a place to settle down and reveal what I am, people won't hate me." She explained, staring up at Zenith with a determined smile.
"I can't argue with that," he chuckled, feeling a connection to the girl in front of himself, as though the universe was telling him to serve and protect her. "I'm in. Where's your ship?" He asked, looking around and trying to judge where exactly the beach would be.
"Oh, I don't have one yet." She giggled. "You're my first crew member."
"I'm your what!? You're a pirate without a ship and you're searching for a crew already!?" He yelled, slapping his hand onto his face and groaning loudly. "How are we supposed to fight sea bandits without a ship?" He asked, looking down at her with a questioning hum.
"I can be the ship for a while. I'm a really good flier." She smiled, glowing softly as she let out a burst of magic and once again revealed her Dragon form. Up close, Zenith could see more clearly the cuts and scars of her past, but he bit his tongue and nodded, climbing up onto her back and sitting down between two of the spikes that lined her spine.
"Off to adventure then," he chuckled, leaning back slightly while Madison grinned and bounded off through the forest, leaping out towards the ocean and gliding effortlessly across the water. "Oh yeah," Zenith laughed, realising they had skipped one important detail. "I'm Zenith by the way. Zenith Rix."
"I'm Madison Nightshade," she replied, letting out a happy and victorious Dragon roar. "And I'm going to be the greatest female pirate to ever sail these seas!"