The Odd Dragon Out: Reckoning of the Cinder-Born

Ginger was caught off guard. He took a step back, somehow feeling intimidated and at the same time, confused.

Reiss also wore a look of surprise and looked at Ginger.

Why would Professor Lyall be disappointed in Ginger specifically?

"What?" the plump dragonling said with his eyes shooting out.

Professor Lyall's stare grew intense, and her angled lips wobbled. Like always, it was impossible to discern what exactly she felt solely from her lips. They were drawn taut, the lipstick on them spreading thin.

"I expected restraint from someone of your background, Ginger. Quite frankly, I have been keeping a close eye on your work in every course. Your habits. Your relationships. If this is the kind of attitude you present to the table, then I truly wonder whether your entry into this institute is a benefit for all of us," the woman said, her head angling low in a way that made her glasses slide to the end of her nose.

Ginger stammered.

From the way she was speaking, it seemed as though...

"I thought it would have been obvious, my dear. We know about you. The entire staff does. Background and all," she added, clearing Ginger's confusion tactfully, but without exposing a third party to the information.

Ginger felt a crushing guilt.

Well, Ira had said it. It was impossible to keep such a thing a secret.

"Professor, I didn't do it because I wanted to. I just... It was..." Ginger made an effort to explain himself, but he couldn't find the words. What was he to say? Which of the things that happened yesterday wouldn't lower Professor Lyall's image of him even more?

Him dragging Reiss out of the dorms?

Whatever he did to Professor Alexandros?

Professor Lyall kept staring at Ginger, expecting an answer, but ultimately, she couldn't get one.

Ginger had deflated.

Reiss had been looking between Ginger and their Prime Instructor the entire time, lost to the context of their exclusive conversation.

Was there something special about his bunkmate?

The portly woman finally spoke, though with less of a rebuking tone.

"You know, Ginger, the most consistently significant thing in any reality, is perspective, not logic. At the best of times, all creatures only believe what they see from their own point of view. Perhaps you had righteous reasons for wandering out at night with Reiss – thankfully, Madam Agathe said she saw nothing warranting serious consideration – but that won't matter if certain circumstances get in the way. Don't give others the chance to draw bad conclusions about you."

Ginger looked up.

Professor Lyall genuinely seemed to be wearing a warm smile as she gazed at him, but it was quickly wiped away when she turned to Reiss.

"And you. I expected much, much more for such an intelligent dragonling. You are easily the most intelligent student in the class, but I must say, you must have traded some of your wit for stupidity yesterday. This is quite the stain you have already painted on your record, and Madam Agathe will make sure to remind you of it till the day you leave this school. Both of you."

Reiss, as if seeing his already deficient height as much too tall, hung his head in embarrassment.

Professor Lyall had explained a few days ago about a Point System adopted by Prime Instructors for the actions of their students. As long as a student did something worthwhile and recognizable by other students and Professors, they would be awarded Points. Of course, the opposite was true.

At the end of the first half of the year, the points would be tallied and the Prime Instructor was mandated to award the leading student with a prize. Naturally, recognition, trust, and several degrees of bias would be side-rewards to this.

The fact that Reiss, who had been doing well so far, had to suffer losing Points – even without knowing exactly how many – made Ginger feel a rough pang of guilt in his hearts.

Reiss shouldn't have to suffer for his mistake.

It wasn't right!

The plump dragonling made to speak up for him.

"I'm sorry, Professor. It won't happen again. I promise."

Alas, it was Reiss who spoke first.

He wore the same resolute look he always did whenever he was berated for his size.

Ginger's words died in his mouth, as did his attempt to clear Reiss of a crime that was his own.

"Good," said Professor Lyall. "Hopefully, you'll both be in shape for the Burning next Stride after your undoubtedly unpleasant Breather. Do give Madam Agathe my regards."

*

Ginger wasn't surprised to find just after he and Reiss left Professor Lyall's office, that the dwarfish dragonling briskly went on his way without looking back.

He didn't expect anything less, to be honest. This hadn't lessened how his diminutive bunkmate should feel about him.

If anything, Ginger was glad that Reiss hadn't told anyone what he had done to Professor Alexandros, but time would tell. It wasn't like that matter had just disappeared, after all.

Because he was so sleep-deprived and tense, Ginger felt even more suffocated during his other courses for the day.

This was especially so when the hateful face of the harbinger of boredom himself stepped into class for Expired Times and Diluted Histories.

Professor Fotis Edelman.

The straight-backed Professor's quote for the day felt especially aggravating.

"Heroes and scoundrels through eroded millennia have always been separated by their deeds under the glow of the suns, and in the veil of the night. Little dragonlings, even the whimsical escapades of heroes need no veil!" he had said boisterously.

Ginger could have sworn he saw the old bastard eye him at 'scoundrels'.

It was no surprise that news of Ginger and Reiss' late night had reached some of the teachers. According to Professor Lyall, Madam Agathe didn't consider them to be doing anything more than harmless loitering, which was a great relief, but Professor Edelman inflated the matter.

He seemed more than happy to hint at it being something truly atrocious to the rest of the class which was slowly getting more and more curious. It got to the point where, for the first time during Professor Edelman's lesson, the students of First Blue actually paid attention.

To the old dragon's credit though, he had a knack for weaving ancient stories and small talk together, almost making the two into one amusing tale.

At some point, Ginger found it hard to not listen too, despite the fact that the theme Professor Edelman had started with was centered around his misconduct.

More than that, despite Ginger's exhaustion, he found himself getting a bit more intrigued by the history that the old dragon went on to teach about.

"...our culture is also built on the existence of the Ancient Elders or Ancient Dragons, as some like to call them. It isn't all about the type of creatures they were morally, or behaviourally, true, but they each had a drive. For instance, the Ebony Dragon, Draggard-Phoenix, had a shroud of dark rebellion about him. He wasn't exactly a benevolent hero, but because of his dominance, us dragons managed to carve ourselves as the superior race on this continent."

"But this doesn't mean all dragons have to be brash and cruel, does it? No. Look no further than the Argent Dragon, Sopphira, the weakest among the Five, yet she contributed heavily to our society by guaranteeing that future dragonlings wouldn't have to struggle to awaken. How? With the Rebounding Seether, of course!"

Ginger didn't quite understand what most of the other students did, but he managed to learn that the Rebounding Seether was related to the ghostly, golden flame that he had been introduced to during his First Burning.

Apparently, it was a product of the Argent Dragon, who was said to be meek, and reserved, unlike the other dragons.

While missing a lot of what Professor Edelman went on to explain as he slowly deviated from the topic of scoundrels, Ginger found that he didn't hate Expired Times and Diluted Histories as much as he thought he did.

It wasn't all bad.

He couldn't enjoy it for long though.

As soon as his mind was torn away from the distraction, he once again began to worry about his fate.

A day passed with Ginger not meeting the sudden harassment from other Professors that he had expected. He didn't even see Professor Alexandros, shockingly.

What was happening?

Why didn't they come for him already?

His paranoia with this aspect, along with his shun of sleep had only been defeated when his body finally gave in, forcing Ginger to sleep on a desk in the study.

Thankfully, while Ginger woke up in a panic, and stricken with horror, he discovered that he hadn't sleepwalked as he had feared.

Unfortunately for him though, the Breather finally arrived, and he wasn't going to enjoy it like everyone else.

At the very least, he had a companion to share with the misery that was ahead.