Both Oscar and eveline knew how hopeless Ignell's future is, and were desperately trying to convince her to not overdo it, to find a different way in life, to let her know that strength isn't everything
But alas, just One look at The confident smile on her face would let anyone know that she was not giving up yet, but no matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't understand what she was planning to do, nor where her confidence was coming from, but a certain dragon did
"oh please, just wipe out that silly smile from your face! just One look and I can tell what you're thinking" Ignis said, and it was clear to everyone that he was not calm
"you probably think that you can join our dragon council just by relying on your physical strength, no? do you really believe that you are the first person that thought of that? SNAP OUT OF IT! THERE'S A REASON WHY ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE MAGICIANS!"
Now without holding back and yelling at Ignell with the most intimidating roar, even Oscar and Evelyn were being put on edge! but on the other side, Ignell was unwavering! and The confident smile on her face turned into a cheesy grin on top of that
"oh? is that so? well, sorry to bring it up to you but, none of the previous dragons had what I have, as such, you're useless standards don't really apply to me"
She was very confident in her own capabilities, she knew for a fact, that with what she have under her sleeve, she can easily achieve whatever she please, but Ignis on the other hand, had a different say in the matter
"oh really? then let me guess, are you perhaps referring to the useless titles you showed off earlier?"
With that remark, the expression on Ignell's face was slowly fading as she froze in place, and the one grinning now was Ignis
"as I thought, you really believe that some beginner titles are enough for you to climb up this high!? WAKE UP YOU STUPID BRAT! DON'T OVERESTIMATE YOURSELF!"
Again! with a loud roar, and without hiding any of the anger or the annoyance he felt towards her, Ignis was bent on making her face reality, and this time, it's finally affected Ignell, but even then, she was still unwilling to give up
"w-what do you know? do you have any idea how hard I worked for these titles!? don't make me laugh! you're clearly just trying to discourage me just because I disrespected you earlier!"
"argh for God's sake, can you just shut up! and Oscar you bastard, why are you just watching from the side?! f*cking say something! you're the one who's supposed to do all the boring explanations"
Ignis was barely holding himself back, trying to not do anything as extreme as before, he was genuinely worried about her, yet Ignell kept on arguing with him to no end, he was already on his last line and couldn't take it anymore, at this point his best option was to turn around and storm out
"Ignis stop! Oscar is your leader! you can't just talk to him so disrespectfully and leave! hurry up and apologize to him!" Evelyn furiously said, she was clearly not on good terms with Ignis, and was always displeased by how disrespectfully he talks to everyone, but just like every other time, Oscar waved his wing in front of her and stopped her
"it's fine let him go"
"but Oscar you can't do that! if you keep forgiving him every time, then his behavior will just continue getting worse!"
"sigh, look I know that his manners are not the best, but never once have he broke a rule, and he always properly follows the orders given to him, and even if his actions just now can be perceived as hostile, I assure you that he was just worried about the little one we have here, he've just seen way too many deaths off dragons that had more confidence than what they can handle, and didn't want this one to end up the same"
After he finished talking to Evelyn, Oscar then turned towards Ignell with the most gentle look on his face and said "please don't hate him, I know that he can be a little rough sometimes, but deep down, he's a very gentle and caring person"
Oscar was a leader for a reason, he wasn't given that position just based on his strength, he was also deeply respected for his overview type of mentality, the mentality that allowed him to look at people as who they really are, not as how they looked to be, that was why he treated Ignis so forgivenly, that was why he kept his gentle tone even with Ignell who've been continuously rude to him
But even with that much display of kindness, Ignell's behavior didn't change "what did he mean by that?"
"pardon?"
"WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT!? HE CALLED THEM BEGINNER TITLES, WHAT DID HE MEAN!? WHY DID HE SAY THAT!? WAS HE JUST TRYING TO DISCOURAGE ME JUST BECAUSE I WAS RUDE!? OR WAS HE TELLING THE TRUTH? TELL ME!!"
With her wings up in the air, her legs spread out and her head lowered down, her aggressive voice was the only thing left to let anyone know that she wasn't taking this laying down, that she wasn't going to let matters be without receiving a proper explanation, and with the type of person Oscar is, he had no other choice but to give her an answer
He took a deep breath then went back to being serious before he said "I'm afraid it is"
That one statement was the last drop in the bucket, whatever determination she had, whatever belief she had, and no matter how unwavering her will to not give up was, it just didn't matter anymore, she was broken! she worked really hard to get those titles, she was so confident about her strength, about the achievements she've made!
Then why? why was everyone telling her that she is weak? why was everyone telling her her achievement were insignificant? why was everyone telling her her titles didn't matter? why was there no one on her side? where did all the adults that kept on spoiling her go? why did they stop looking at her? why did they stop looking after her? what changed that made everything go wrong? she worked really hard! why was none of her efforts paying off?
She was confused, scared, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't think straight! her body was giving up, her wings floply fell down, her tail flat on the ground, her legs shaking, and her eyes tearing
She was lonely, everyone she ever knew left her, everyone she ever trusted turned their backs on her, no matter where she looked she couldn't find anyone to help her, that's why she left the ravine in the first place, but even after that, nothing changed, she was alone, and stayed alone
In the end, there was only one person that can answer her questions, her eyes that were glued to the ground slowly looked up, looked at the one standing in front of her, looked at Oscar!
But as he looked back at her, he was saddened, his heart felt like tearing apart just from the sad site she was in, the fierce and confidence girl that was bravely confronting them was now looking so miserable
He wanted to help her, to lend her a shoulder to cry on, but he couldn't, he couldn't let her grow dependent on him, he had many responsibilities to take care of, and if she really was a genius in the past as she said, then he was confident that she can get over it on her own, she had to do it herself, otherwise, she would never grow up, and will always be the little greenhouse flower she was in the past
Not being able to take the sad site in front of him, Oscar closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, then continued with his explanation
"the titles you have are what we refer to as the beginner pack, if you don't have at least two of them then you wouldn't be allowed to graduate from the dragon academy, so it's safe to say that most of the dragons in this valley have the same titles you do if not more, that's what Ignis was trying to say"