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-=Friend or Foe=-

"Oh watch out! The dragon queen is going to sick her pet on you!" chanting laughter echoed through the hall as Isabeau picked up her pace, heading to her next classroom. "Really! Ask her about it, she found it outside the city grounds! I'm sure it's a big scary dragon too!" "Haha, right! If she has a cool dragon then where is it?!" "I bet it's just another daydream she had, looks like they're finally starting to replace her reality!" More laughter could be heard from the kids as they turned the hallway corner and faded out of earshot, Isabeau slowed down finally and leaned her back against a wall of lockers. She pulled one of the feathers from her bag and began playing with it, closing her eyes and seeing the image of the beast flying away into the sky, she sighed before putting it back into her messenger bag and holding her text book tighter to her chest. "I know you're real, that's all that matters." She started back to her class, deciding she was better off not talking to anyone else anymore. "I believe you." A voice came from behind her, turning around to see who had spoken, Isabeau realized it was the boy she bumped into a few days before, the one that she had seen just before running into the dragon. "Thanks, I guess." She was believing people less and less as the week drew on, unsure of who was really trusting her or making stuff up. She was getting used to ignoring people and their responses to her story of the white dragon, it was a becoming a usual thing.

"I'm serious, I believe you." He looked towards her, with an open eyed glance, assuring her that he honestly doesn't think that she is completely crazy. Blushing all over again, Isabeau turned into her classroom and sat at her desk, placing her book bag on top of it. Smiling to herself about the boy she keeps running into, Isabeau pulled her notebook out of her bag and opened it to a blank page before pulling out a pen and began doodling on the paper. Sketching the dragon the best she could, Isabeau began to daydream about the encounter she had, wondering when she will see the dragon again. Physics was the class and a boring one too, boring enough that she couldn't pay attention at all and let her mind go completely out of reality. She had decided that tonight she was going to try and find the dragon again, with no idea if it was even in the area she found it was worth trying and never finding it then never searching and missing out on a chance to meet the creature another time. Her sketch showed the dragon with her sitting beside it, reading a book of course. It's body laying upon the ground with the tail wrapped around her showing protection. The sound of the bell was a relief for Isabeau didn't know how much more of this class she could handle. Just lunch and then math and she would be out for the day and off to search for the dragon, just a couple more hours.

She strolled towards the lunch room, digging through her bag for money that had hidden itself well within it's folds. She normally didn't eat much for lunch but if she is successful at finding the dragon she was planning on being late for dinner and didn't want to starve herself having to leave the creature's side before sunset. Collecting her meal which consisted of a tuna sandwich and an orange juice, Isabeau proceeded to find a secluded seat within the tables laid out before her. She realized the only seat available in the room that was almost secluded was right next to the boy she kept encountering for the past week. Releasing a sigh, Isabeau took the open space and put all her attention to the food sitting on the table in front of her, trying not to look the boy in the face. "You're not going to say hello?" He looked at her with a confused look, he could tell she wasn't good with boys but didn't think she would be rude to him because of it. "Oh, I'm sorry." She choked on her sandwich after his words, she didn't want to be ignoring him but she also didn't know what to say. "I'm just ... well ..." She stuttered off into her own conversation of muttering and sounds that were impossible for anyone else to make out. Letting out a chuckle he turned his attention to his own tray and started picking at a small dish of cottage cheese.

"So I was thinking, what does that dragon look like you saw the other day?" He looked back up at her with a curious look of wonder. Sighing Isabeau didn't move her gaze from the food on her fork, it was getting annoying that everyone kept bringing it up and she didn't want to talk about it in front of people anymore. "I'm sorry, I just thought you would like to tell someone who actually believes you about your adventures with a dragon." He looked quite shot down and looked back away from her towards the line of people still waiting to purchase their own lunches. "I don't even know your name, why would I want to talk about it with you? I've gotten enough harassment from people about it and I don't need anymore." She had started to regret telling anyone anything to begin with and knew it was smarter in the end to just keep it all to herself now. "You don't even know my name?" He sounded surprised about this like he figured she knew it already. Shrugging, Isabeau put the spoon of jello in her mouth and swallowed it without chewing first. "My name is Max." He said, glancing back in her direction. Isabeau didn't say anything in return, just continued working on her jello bowl and making sure to get every last piece from the corners of the dish.

Time had passed and the clock had moved closer and closer to the end of lunch, Isabeau hadn't exchanged any more words with Max, just finished off her meal and got her books out for the next class. "Are you going to see it again today?" He finally asked her, trying to break the silence between them. "I don't know." She didn't want to say anything more, she found him cute but didn't really enjoy his company too much, she felt like he was trying too hard to talk to her. She was used to not having any friends around which was why she always had her nose in a book instead. Trying to break herself from the conversation, Isabeau grabbed her book bag and walked out the door, leaving the black haired boy with a confused look upon his face. Walking with a quick and steady pace, Isabeau rounded the corner and into the doorway of her math class. Taking her seat which was right next to the entrance, she placed her messenger bag on her lap and her chin in her hand, taking a glance out the window to the courtyard which was lined with trees and flowers. It was so pretty, the summer blossoms, with colors of red and yellow, gave a cheerful feeling and hope that she would see the dragon again today. She had decided she will begin her search where she last encountered the creature and then go from there, hopefully the search would pay off and she will get to make sure the dragon wasn't hurt from it's fall it took before.

Math class seemed to fly by for Isabeau hadn't noticed the clock with her daydreams taking over her mind. Before she knew it the bell had rung and she was on her way out the door to the outside. Finally, she was able to find the dragon and for once she wasn't reading a book as she walked. She wasn't being aware of her surroundings and hadn't noticed Max was following far behind her, his pace a lot slower than her own. It was a short walk to the wood's edge and a quick thought to enter them, something she never would have done willingly if it weren't for her personal mission. Taking out the feather she was playing with earlier that day, Isabeau came upon the clearing the white creature had made with it's fall, branches still broken and a little bit of blood still splashed on the ground. Looking up at the sky and then back down to ground level, Isabeau walked up to a tree with more red than brown and rested her hand upon it, as if to ask it where the dragon had gone.

A crack from a stick was suddenly heard from the left of her, making Isabeau jump from the instant sound. "Hello?" She started to walk in the direction of the snap, she couldn't tell if it was created by something large or small. Her heart was pounding in her chest, a part of her was excited that maybe it was the mystical dragon she saw before but another part of her feared for what it might be. What if the dragon was too angry at humans for hurting it so badly, maybe it wasn't the dragon at all and it was somebody coming up to her. "Hello!" She called out once again, almost hoping to get an answer back. She stood motionless for almost five minutes before taking a couple more steps towards the sound. Almost instantly with her movements a blood curdling screech filled her ear drums, so high pitched it was almost as loud as a jet plane taking off beside her. Isabeau quickly covered her ears with her hands and squinted to the noise, taking a couple steps backwards but faltering with her actions to run.

An enormous orange and red dragon stepped into her vision, many horns upon it head and more feet than she remembered on the dragon before, it was instantly obvious this dragon wasn't as friendly as the one she saw before. Isabeau's eyes got big and her heart dropped as the creature opened it's maw and screamed in her direction once again. Taking another step back to prepare herself to run, Isabeau tripped on a small fallen branch and landed flat on her rump. Immediately the orange dragon ran for her, taking advantage of her weakened state, it's mouth wide open barring it's teeth as it lounged towards her. Isabeau let out a scream and covered her head with her arms, a pitiful failed attempt to protect herself from the creature that towered over her but all she could think to do in such a short time.

Suddenly another roar could be heard and before Isabeau knew it the white dragon from before slammed into the attacker's side, sending it to the ground in a cloud of dust. Letting out another yell, the dragon prepared itself for a battle with the vicious beast that attacked an innocent person. Shocked and frozen with fear, Isabeau could do nothing but watch the two battle as the orange dragon got back onto it's feet and returned the attack to the white dragon. "No!" Isabeau was afraid of which one would win and called out to stop them, another failed attempt to protect all living creatures. Realizing she was too close for comfort, the shaken up girl got to her feet and ran in the direction back towards the exit of the forest. She knew the snowy dragon would be fine protecting itself for she didn't think it would have attacked otherwise.

Panting heavily and refusing to stop running, Isabeau hoofed it as fast as she could back towards the city. She was worried about the dragon but didn't want to stick around to see who won. Echoes of the epic battle behind her could be heard for miles before it suddenly stopped and the forest was filled with silence once again. Slowing down, Isabeau leaned against a broken tree and looked down to the ground, trying to catch her breath before she continued back on her way. A low rumble echoed amongst the trees and the fearful girl looked up to see the red and orange dragon walking towards her from the direction she was running. She didn't know what to do, obviously running wasn't doing it and now her protector had failed to save her life. Stepping backwards once again until her back was against a large oak tree, Isabeau began to release tears, she didn't want to die she just wanted to make sure the dragon she helped before was okay. Now, thanks to her, it was worse off than it had been when she saw it before.

Stepping closer and closer to her, the dragon continued to growl it's low rumble. A warning to her for entering it's territory and a lesson to be taught so she would never come into it again. Closing her eyes, Isabeau was ready for it's attack, she was ready to join the white and gray dragon she had risked her life to visit before. Clenching a fist she stood motionless as she could hear the dragon's feet gain pace. Suddenly a voice could be heard, one that she recognized more than she realized at the moment. "STOP! Stop this now!" The voice came between Isabeau and the dragon, a stern voice meant to control the outrageous beast. "Hebi that's an order!" Almost afraid to open her eyes, Isabeau looked up to see Max standing firmly in front of the dragon with his arms reached out to his side. The dragon stood motionless and scowled at the boy but took no more steps towards them.

Looking behind him, Max saw Isabeau shaking in fear with the attack that had just been placed upon her. "I'm sorry, he's a bit hard to control sometimes. He has an attitude problem." The black haired boy tried his hardest to calm her down but she wasn't going to have any of it. "You have a-" Suddenly she remembered the dragon that had protected her before. "No!" Isabeau then got the strength back in her feet and ran into the forest to find the fallen dragon. It couldn't have gotten too far from the battle sight, especially if it had lost the fight. Her heart was pounding once again but not from fear this time but more like worry, afraid that the dragon might be worse off than she imagined it to be. Coming upon the battlefield, Isabeau slowed down to a stop and fell to the ground. Blood covered the ground and fallen feathers, white with gray markings, littered the mossy grass before her. "I'm sorry." She started to cry before she heard a noise behind her. Quickly turning around for she didn't like anything being behind her, Isabeau's gaze landed upon the white dragon who had come back into the clearing to make sure she was okay.

"Oh my god ..." Isabeau's voice trailed off as she looked upon a battle scarred dragon, he moved with a slight limp and held his front left hand in the air so not to lean on it. Standing up, Isabeau's tears faded away as she walked towards the dragon, reaching towards it as she stepped. Lowering it's head, the dragon rested it's nose in her arms and embraced her with a hug in it's own creative way. "I'm so sorry." The dragon's breath was heavy but a lot more relaxed than her own. Tracing a couple of the scratches on his forehead, Isabeau began patting the dragon which only relaxed it more. "They're amazing, aren't they?" Max's voice was heard coming from behind Isabeau. Turning around she saw him standing in the trees, his dragon nowhere to be seen. "How could you keep a vicious beast like that in this forest? What if someone else had come out here and ran into it?" She was frustrated that he was the owner of the dragon that attacked her, she wasn't sure if she was happy to know he could stop it or angry that he didn't mention owning a dragon before now. "Where else am I supposed to keep it? If you haven't noticed it's kind of hard to hide a dragon in the city." Max tried his hardest not to get defensive, he understood she was shaken up and tried not to take her words to heart.

Turning back to the dragon in her arms, Isabeau looked it in the eyes and kissed it's nose as the creature rested it's body upon the ground. "It's over now. Thank you my friend for helping me." She whispered to the scaled dragon, so Max couldn't hear her words. "Are you going to name it?" He acted like he didn't hear her words towards the dragon and was curious to see what her answer would be. "Why would I name it?" She didn't feel like the dragon belonged to her but was more of a friend that would protect her. "Well you can't just call it dragon it's whole life and it's become apparent it will be sticking around for a while. It's only fair to the dragon that it has a name." Max had a made a point, Isabeau knew the dragon had done what another might not have and understood that it was going to be around for a while now. Letting out a smile, she turned back to the creature and touched it's forehead to her own. "Then I shall call you Snowprint."

-=A Weekend at Last=-

Isabeau woke up to the music playing on her alarm clock, the station played a lot of her favorite songs and was a much more pleasant way to wake up than a buzzing sound. Rubbing her eyes she turned her head to look out the window. It was early in the morning, a normal time to wake up for school but an unusual time for the weekend. She didn't care though, she wanted nothing more but to go find Max and spend the entire day in the woods with their dragons. Releasing a yawn, Isabeau rolled out of bed and onto to the floor, landing casually on her feet, before reaching for her clothes. Most of the week she spends her days in her school uniform but on the weekends she finally got to dress the way she wanted to herself. After getting into some normal clothes she reached for her shoes and slid them onto her feet. Tying them she looked back out the window, the sun had risen a little more in the sky but still, quite early in the morning. She was unsure about knocking on Max's door to see if he was awake or not for it was a Saturday after all but she was being impatient for the day to begin. Choosing it was better to let him sleep some more, Isabeau stumbled down the stairs, still a little tried from waking up so early, and made her way for the kitchen. Opening the cupboards she admired the food that filled the shelves, never pleased with the choices she had even though there was always plenty there to select from. After picking her cereal of choice she sat down at the table and poured the milk into her bowl, the kernels of puffed rice crackling with the contact of the white liquid. Dipping her spoon into the dish she began eating her breakfast, reading the back of the cereal box as she did so.
Isabeau's mother soon walked into the room and glanced at the young girl with a confused look. "Isn't it a little early on a Saturday morning to be up, Isabeau?" She took her own seat next to her daughter and poured some cereal into her own bowl and then the milk. "Yeah well I was meeting up with a friend and we were going to take a walk together later." She looked up suddenly as her mother almost choked on her spoonful of food before returning the glace back to her. "A friend, huh? How come I haven't met this friend yet?" She was used to Isabeau spending her time in her room reading books all day and never really expected such an answer from her. "Oh, well we just met this week at school. We wanted to spend some time and get to know each other some more." She didn't know what else to tell her. The words 'We're going to go for a walk into the forest and spend some time with our dragons' just didn't seem like the correct thing to say right now. Finishing up her bowl of cereal, Isabeau reached for the box and began to dish out some more for a second helping. "Well I'm glad to see you have someone to spend time with now." This was a genuine response from her mother which made Isabeau smile. She was always worried about her daughter with how she was antisocial and didn't want anything to do with another human and always preferred her reading over real life. This was a wonderful changed and brought joy to her.
After finishing up her second bowl of food, Isabeau placed her dish in the sink and then washed it along with the spoon. "Well, I'm going to go meet up with him now. I will probably be out until later, okay?" She didn't want her mother to expect her for lunch or maybe even dinner so she didn't waste food that she wasn't going to eat. Looking at the clock she decided that 8am was an okay time to wake Max up. Walking to the door, Isabeau reached for her sweater and messenger bag then exited her home leaving her mother still sitting at the dinner table with her breakfast. Stepping onto the sidewalk outside her house, Isabeau made sure her books were still in the bag where she left them and then made the walk towards her new friend's house. He lived only a few blocks away so it wouldn't take long for her to get there, even at the slow relaxed pace she was currently walking. Passing a building she hadn't noticed before, Isabeau heard a sound coming from behind it's walls. The building was tall, almost 4 stories high, and seemed abandoned. Grass was growing through the cement walk way and windows were broken and then boarded up with graffiti sprayed along the sides of it. Confused about the sound she had just heard, Isabeau payed no mind to it for as she walked passed the tall brick building for not another noise was heard.
Finally Isabeau made it to Max's house, it only took her about fifteen minutes to walk there. Opening the gate to the entrance of the building's yard, Isabeau walked up to the front door and knocked ever so quietly. She didn't want to wake anyone up if they were still sleeping but also wanted to be heard should they already be up. After only a couple of minutes the door handle turned and Max's figure was standing before her. "Hi, I wanted to know if you'd like to go for a walk with me." She didn't want to say the word dragon, just out of habit for herself. Looking into the house behind him, Max turned back towards his friend and replied "Sure but let me get my things first. I'll only be a moment." He then closed the door quietly and ran up the stairs to get his bag before bolting back down and putting his shoes on. Isabeau waited outside the doorway, feeling a little awkward that he didn't invite her in to wait. After a moment Max opened the door again and stepped outside, a little happy inside that he didn't have to deal with his father today but even more excited that Isabeau came to spend the day with him on the weekend.
"Thank you for inviting me." He said to Isabeau as they started their journey to the forest. "Well of course I'd invite you!" She seemed somewhat shocked he would say such a thing since it was something they both enjoyed doing, especially together. "Well, it's just that it's a weekend and I never really have friends that want to do something out of school." He was starting to sound as insecure as Isabeau, who giggled at his comment. "Well I guess I'm unique then, aren't I?" She said in a joking manor, amused at the boy for his words. "Yes you are." Max replied back, seeing at her blush as soon as his words came out. Releasing his own laugh the two began conversing about other things but mostly about what they wanted to do with their dragons. Isabeau then mentioned that something Max said in a story of his that sounded like something in one of her books and he looked at her confused. "I don't really read much." He admitted to her before receiving a shocked look from the girl he was walking with. "Are you serious? Reading is my favorite thing in the world! All of the adventures people have and journeys spoken from knights and mages that someone like me will never have!" She loved getting lost into a book about almost anything for she wasn't picky about her choices of literature. "Well it all just seems so fake to me. I can't really get into the story lines so I just don't bother." He shrugged because to him it was no big deal, but to Isabeau it was a crime for someone to not enjoy the tales of traveling with dragons and even ninjas. "Well I'll just have to read one to you then and I won't take no for an answer!" She had the perfect book in mind for him, too. One about a lord who's family had been killed by a king's men and his journey to reclaim his family's name and honor. It was a book about adventure with a journey and lots of sword fighting, something she thought he could get into for sure. Surprised with her reaction to him not having an interest in reading, Max looked up at Isabeau and chuckled "Well then I guess I will have to listen to one of your stories then, won't I?" He really didn't mind, in fact was happy she was going to read a story to him. He never got to have time with anyone like that before and was excited to share it with her.
The two finally encountered the forest's entrance and they both walked right in without a worry on their minds. Isabeau knew she was safe from Hebi as long as Max was around and couldn't wait to see Snowprint once again. It had been a couple of days and she felt bad for not coming to visit him more often. Once the had approached the clearing where she always saw the white dragon, Max looked into the dark forest ahead of them and let out a whistle before calling "C'mon Hebi! Over here!" Within moments later the loud footprints could be heard as the beastly dragon made it's way towards the young boy. Entering the sunlight casted through the trees, the large red dragon approached Max and snorted a puff of air from it's nostril. Reaching up Max stroked the forehead of his dragon and told it to rest. The dragon's body hit the ground with a thud, it's hind legs spread out beside it and his front legs tucked into it's chest. Wrapping his tail around his body, Hebi's gaze fixed upon Isabeau who was admiring the sheer size of the horned creature. Suddenly realizing it was watching her back, Isabeau began to feel a little nervous but then saw Max taking his own seat on a large rock next to his dragon. Looking up at the sky she wondered if Snowprint would even come with Max's dragon in the area. They didn't exactly have a good history together and he might be too afraid to come from wherever he was at.
Taking her own seat on a tree stump from a trunk Snowprint nocked down with the struggles of their first encounter, Isabeau opened her messenger bag and dug for the book she was planning to make Max sit through as she read it. Suddenly a screech could be heard from above them as the large white dragon was coming down, his giant feathery wings flapping hard to keep himself steady. "Snowprint!" Isabeau called as he landed upon the forest floor and made himself comfortable behind her. Isabeau reached up and stroked the horn on Snowprint's nose and then looked at Max who had a large smile upon his face. It was wonderful to see him arrive when Isabeau was around, it showed him that dragons really are loyal creatures and his thoughts about them were finally being tested. Looking up at his own dragon he smiled even more, watching Isabeau enjoy the company of her dragon made him appreciate having one of his own.
Isabeau searched for her book once again and was determined to keep looking until she found it. Her bag was full of different novels and stories that she often had to look for a while before finding the one she wanted to read. Amused with her frustrated searching, Max reached into his own bag and took out his sketch book. This was the first time he had ever taken it out his his room but he wanted to draw this moment and remember it forever. "Aha! I found it!" Isabeau held the thick book into the air with a victorious laugh and then paused when she saw Max drawing in his book. Putting the novel down she watched him quietly for he seemed really focused on what he was doing. Finally he looked up at her for the silence lasted quite a while and realized she was watching him draw. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." He was trying to make up for his ignoring her because he didn't realize she wasn't saying anything at all for a few minutes. "No, it's okay." She smiled with amusement as she looked back down at his paper. Max finished his drawing and held it up for Isabeau to see. "I like to draw when I want to remember something. It's a useless hobby and I guess it's a little dumb but I can't help it sometimes." He was almost ashamed of his drawing because all he ever heard growing up was how he should stop wasting his time and paper on stupid doodles and spend more time studying how to control his dragon more. "No it's not dumb at all! You have a lot of talent, it's amazing." She drew a lot herself, especially during her classes, but her artwork was never as good as Max's. She was almost jealous of his drawing he did in five minutes when she can spend all afternoon on one and not have it look half as good as his did. Laughing at her and glad she didn't think it was a dumb thing to do, Max flipped the page in his sketchbook and looked back up at Isabeau. "So are you going to read already?" She laughed at him and opened the book to the first page before reading the words written down to her friend. Max took the time to draw what the story was talking about, trying to keep the details to what was described in the book.
Hours had passed and the evening was getting late. Isabeau had made it to chapter thirteen and Max had pages of artwork done. Many of his drawings were of the places the story had described but a most of them were of the people in the book itself. Reaching for his bag, Max took out a couple of pages from his book and placed the hard covered paper into his messenger bag. Looking up at his dragon he smiled at it and slid off the rock before walking towards Isabeau who was also packing her own things for the day. "Here, I drew these for you. So you can have something to look at when you read your story again." He handed her the pages he ripped from his drawings and almost blushed when she took them from his hands. "Thank you! They're so amazing!" Isabeau was looking at the sketches he had handed her and wasn't expecting him to do anything else but suddenly Max leaned towards her and kissed her right on the lips. Isabeau's eyes got wide but she didn't push him away, she had butterflies in her stomach from him and was excited for the kiss. Slowly moving his lips from hers he looked her in the eyes and waited for a slap on his cheek but instead she smiled and let out a soft giggle. Max smiled back and then reached for his bag and put it on his shoulder before they both started walking towards the city again. Turning back she called to the dragons, "Good night! Behave you two! We'll be back tomorrow!" Max laughed because he found it funny how she spoke to them as if they were their children but was happy his dragon treated her so nicely considering how they met the first time.
Walking through the city the two barely said a word to each other for both of their minds were thinking of the same thing, that kiss. Max was embarrassed for doing it but Isabeau was excited that it had happened. Soon they came up to Isabeau's house, she paused at the entrance of her yard and turned to Max. "Thank you for such a wonderful day. I'm glad I came by and asked you to join me." Max laughed and commented back "I'm glad you did too." He was ready to turn around and walk towards his own home when Isabeau leaped forward and kissed him back on his lips. Her lips were soft and welcoming which was something new to Max before she broke the contact and ran to the doorway of her house. Max turned around to walk home when he heard Isabeau yell out "Good night, Max!" Looking back at her he saw she was standing in the doorway waving to him with a wide grin on her face. Letting out another chuckle, Max waved back and started home as soon as she was inside her house. The night had come and the crickets were chirping as he walked home. He knew it was too late out for him to be just getting home but he didn't even care anymore. Nothing his father could say or do would ever kill the cheerful mood he was in right now. Excited for another day with the dragons and Isabeau, Max got to his room and went right to bed, ready for it to be tomorrow. He soon fell asleep with Isabeau fast in his mind and their kiss still lingering on his lips.