章 547: CHPT 547: Found
Again….
Again….
Again….
Lupine's are special. It's the Potential's Focus and Willpower that could overcome things as disastrous as dragons fire.
As long as the Dragon was adolescent, and the Potential of Romulus was also a Beast Tamer.
He'd been at it for hours. The small crowd of spectators he once had couldn't take the heat after the first few attempts. He was alone. Ideal for himself, he could focus better. Try and forge a deeper connection with Furnace— at least deep enough to get more than a Gauntlet of Dragon scales.
Beggars couldn't be choosers but Claude also couldn't be unprepared. He kind of had the feeling the war waging in the underbelly of the Sunlands Tournament wasn't so low key anymore.
"[Are you thinking about bringing a Dragon home, now?]"
Claude watched a blister pop on his hand, oozing foul whiteness that stung as it seeped into the other heated wounds.
"Man, hell no."
"[It would be a great asset…. I mean if we can get this close already.]"
Claude sat at the entry wall into the labyrinth. The heat had grown so much that his passive Aura activated in response to the immediate physical damage of it.
The other Shifters were immune. Don knew the heat like a blacksmith himself. No need to feel guilty.
"Only reason we're getting this close is because she's got a metal plate grafted to her face and a life of imprisonment that's stopped her from understanding her true power." Claude groaned as he licked his wounds. Lupine saliva was a lifesaver when all else failed.
"[Hm. I expected more sympathy on your end….]" Was all Arne said.
"How do you go from shitting yourself at the sight of a Dragon to wanting one as a puppy?"
Don scampered off somewhere to a far wall alone, eyes focused in the dark.
"[Same way I go from a Lupine racist of sorts to…. Well. I'm a staunch supporter of Ursula and Cassidy.]"
Claude smiled on the inside, "That's fair. But the same way you've gained more clarity on the subject, I have the most here…."
"[Ohhh confidence….how wondrous.]"
"Dragons are gods of earth."
Silence lasted as long as the other metal workers weren't. So not long at all.
"One constant I've come across is gods are not designed to have our best interests in mind. We're food….. or fun little experiments. Or…"
"[Or….?]"
Fenrir's eyes seemed to find a home in the spirals of smoke and sparks popping off the Dragon in the darkness.
"Nothing. Let's get back to work."
Claude picked himself up physically and metaphorically and headed back into the labyrinth.
By the time he reached the break in the wall, he was moving on muscle memory. He'd only been a metal worker for two days now but he had something akin to the same level of experience as the elders.
There was comfort in his steps. Knowledge of his direction and routes that had become instinctual. Comfort in feeling the Dragon turn to face him. Scenting his blisters and sweaty skin. Comfort was the closest word at least.
"Ahhh come on give me something…." Claude shut his eyes and stuck out his hand.
He stood as still as a statue in an abandoned city. So still he could hear his sweat fall and splatter— steaming for a moment on the hard floor. So still he could hear the Dragon lick its teeth.
He saw the tethers. His was damaged. He didn't like or even know what that meant but time was of the essence.
He braided them like hair on infinite length, they grew closer. Once a dozen feet away now only so far he could barely reach.
The Dragons mental tethers spit off arcs of frothy red lightning and tufts of flame. They illuminated the dark of his psyche. He tried not to pay attention to what he saw. Only the tether.
He reached. The first strand of his bound to the Dragon. Hot as hell. It burned his with an electrical sear. Immediately he felt his skin tighten as it chang—
"HRAAAGH!" The Dragon reared and—
FWOOM!
"FUCK!"
***
"No progress then, Dragon man? Was your whole plan centered around this? I can't rally behind you if you can't even get to the rallying portion you know?" Don whispered as they gathered up more scrap. "That was awesome still! Dragon hand!! You can probably hold lava with that hand."
It had been an hour since the most recent failure and Claude's hand felt completely trashed.
"I'm shedding this month if you need more skin." The old Crocodile shifter commented.
"I won't be here that long." Claude grunted.
"If that hand comes off yea you will."
Claude looked at her and then at his hand. He got back to work quickly.
He had just about one day to train this idea. The day was over. He barely made it by the burn of his skin. And he probably wouldn't be able to try it at all the next day. He didn't heal like the Silver Cursed. And he couldn't use his Druidic gifts in a building of the Old World. Too disconnected from Nature.
"[No sweat. We just need to make adjustments, mate.]" Arne commented. Claude could almost feel him walking on eggshells as he spoke.
Like Claude was about to—
BOOM!
"HOO HOO! HOOO!" Alpha barged in from above and smashed his Stoney knuckles against the wall until their vision shook as he hooted wildly.
Their smelting shift had ended.
The Dragon sent balls of fire in Alpha's direction blindly until he stopped.
Everyone rushed to head upstairs. Claude followed behind, careful not to step in the spilled Liquid Metal of the people ahead of him.
One by one, everyone was reattached to their collars.
It was nice to be without one all day. With the heat fading he could feel his strength creep back. He could feel what he was capable of.
He stood before Alpha. Eyes to the floor, performing like he was supposed to.
Alpha sniffed and touched at him as if he were a corpse.
"Hoo….." Alpha muttered before snatching him by the wrist and lifting his Dragon flame damaged hand.
"HOOOO! HOO! BURNED!"
"[WHAT?!]"
Alpha saw him as burned. Claude didn't know if that meant he was as good as dead, fired or something worse.
It didn't really matter. All of them equaled death and he wasn't dying for a long time.
Plus, Fenrir's words had been caving his skull in for days.
Finally, he'd found his desperation.
To hell with the Full Moon. He'd go to war right now.
SLSH!
Alpha's eye came out with a single deep slash before he was thrown into the void of the lower levels of the Tower.
He fell for too long. But worse, he fell to the Dragon.
He could feel the heat clearer than ever. It was good…
クリエイターの想い 
_Avatar0FFury_
_Avatar0FFury_ Yo! Thanks so much for reading. Lmk what ya think! Got something coming up these next few chaos. Something you’ve never seen on a couple fronts. I hope it gets you hype for the future. Big change big change!
Thanks for the powerstones Sonuis, Shazac, Bop, alex99, w_g_gates, Ominous_Reader, Deadra606, train_master, krissch, MAESTRO, lazitrites, and everyone else!
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