Fiery disks appeared underneath the boy's feet, increasing his height as he quickly closed the gap between them.
Storm just barely had enough time to dodge the blow directed at him.The boy dashed past him, leaving the same fiery trail he saw on the ground around the site.
Storm suddenly had the feeling that it's not the boy's safety he should be worrying about.
As the boy twisted back towards him, a disk covered in fire appeared in his left hand.
He threw the projectile at Storm, who twisted around it .He took a running start and tried to strike the boy, but he jumped around Storm's strike, before delivering a roundhouse kick to Storm's face.
Sending him flying towards Leyocan, who simply stepped aside as Storm flew through the wagon.
"Still doubting the boy's skill?" Asked Leyocan with a grin on his face.
"Are you just going to stand there! Or are you actually going to help!?" Retorted Storm.
"Nah... I'm good." Responded Leyocan.
The boy made an exasperated yawn.
"Boring!! If this is all you're capable of, then maybe you should sit this one out!!"
Storm gritted his teeth as he rose to his feet.
"Fine, you want to see my best!!" Said Storm.
He shifted into his humanoid dragon form.
Growing several feet and expanding his muscles. His blue scales covered his whole body and horns extended from his draconic head.His tail swung back and forth behind his back, a sign of his mood state.
His sudden change in appearance didn't trouble the boy at all, he just grinned wider.
"Now we're getting somewhere!!!" Exclaimed the boy.
He closed on Storm again and as he the distance shortened, Storm caught the blow that the boy directed at him. Stopping the boy's movement in the process.
Storm tried to take advantage by grabbing and lifting him off the ground, but before Storm could grab him , the child slapped his hand away.
He suddenly somersaulted through the air and caught Storm under his jaw with his foot, launching him into the air.
As his feet touched the ground again, the boy dissappeared, only to reappear above him.
He drove his heel into the back of Storm's head, and Storm's trajectory changed and he crashed hard into the ground, leaving a small crater.
Storm lost his temper fully at that point, he roared in rage and drew on every reserve of lightning currently in his body.
He fired a bolt, but the boy easily dodged the attack. He continued to unleash bolt after bolt, but not a single one managed to hit his target.
He jumped into the air and pulled back his fist, intending to strike his opponent in the face.
The boy caught the blow with his left hand, but before he could take advantage of the situation, Storm wrapped his tail around his leg and pulled. Breaking his opponent's balance in the process.
His blow connected with his opponent and he flew back through the air.
Using his power over light, he sped up his body until it appeared like the world was standing still.
He'd strike the boy from one side, before dashing around him and striking again from a different direction.
He knocked his opponent around in the air for a bit, before driving him into the ground with a particularly hard kick.
Storm shifted into his true dragon form and unleashed every last reserve of lightning he had left in his body at the place where the boy landed.
As his rage began to cool, he suddenly felt concern for his opponent and regret for losing control like that. Much to his relief, he soon heard clapping from the dust cloud his attack had caused. He saw the boy step out of the cloud with a maniacal grin on his face.
"Ohhh, nice enraged state!!! I've got one too!!
Wanna see?!" Asked the boy.
A column of fire hid the boy as he transformed.
When the fire cleared and he was able to see his opponent. Storm had the sinking feeling that he had just made a grave error.
Two hours later...
Storm was walking down a pathway through the forest behind the fort where the Order was reportably operating from.
It had taken him that long to recover after the beat down the boy had given him
His body was covered in more bruises than he ever had before.
Ahead of him, the boy was whistling and skipping over the ground as if nothing had happened.
"I could have beaten him!! I just didn't want to hurt the kid!!" Defended Storm.
"Of course you could have." Said Leyocan sarcastically.
Beside him, Vulgar snickered.
The boy suddenly raised a hand, causing everyone to stop.They had reached a large clearing in the forest. They were meant to follow the trail until they reached the rear of the fort.
From there, they would figure out the best way to take out everyone inside the fort.
As they were still a distance from the fort, Storm thought they might have stumbled across a patrol. He looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary in the clearing.
"Why are we stopping?!" Asked Storm.
The boy gave no response as he looked back at Storm, Leyocan and Vulgar, after a moment's consideration, he reached out for Storm's snout.
Still remembering his fight with him, his body reacted by instinct and he recoiled slightly.
Before he could completely pull away however, the boy closed the distance and they touched.
A pleasant warmth flowed into his body, banishing his aches and restoring his body to the same condition it was before their fight.
"You could have healed me this entire time?!" Asked Storm.
"Uh huh." Replied the boy.
"Why didn't you do that earlier!!?" Exclaimed Storm.
"Because you were mean to me!!" Replied the boy.
"Fair enough, but what changed your mind? Why help me now?" Asked Storm.
"Because I need you all at your best!!" Explained the boy.
The boy cocked his head and almost seemed to peer through Storm.
"I sense that something else in you is still broken. Something my magic could not heal." Explained the boy.
"Probably a rib." Joked Storm.
The boy shook his head.
"It's something else... something deeper... Something important to all dragons..." Explained the boy.
Storm realized what he was talking about.
"...I had an accident when I was a hatchling.
I lost something dear to dragons at that point, but gained something else in it's place."
The boy looked at Storm in sympathy.
He opened his hand and aimed his palm upward. A peach appeared in his hand a moment later.
"Eat this." Stated the boy.
"I'm not hungry right now!" Stated Storm.
The boy gave Storm a flat stare.
"Humor me!!" Exclaimed the boy.
After a moment's hesitation , Storm opened his mouth and the boy placed the fruit carefully on his tongue. Once his hand was safely removed, Storm chewed up the fruit and swallowed.
It was sweet and juicy, but no different to any other peaches Storm had tried.
"Thank you but wh..." started Storm.
An intense heat formed in his chest, he hissed in pain and fell on his side and began to spasm.
Leyocan and Vulgar quickly rushed to his side.
The heat continued to increase, and became unbearable. Desperate, Storm lifted his head to the sky as he felt it travel up his throat.
Opening his mouth, he spat a stream of fire from his mouth.
The moment it left his chest, the pain dissappeared.
"Cough....What... Cough.. Did you do to me?!" Asked Storm hoarsely.
The boy smiled fondly.
"I couldn't restore all that was lost, but I gave you what I can ." Explained the boy.