Foll

Raised for battle and harsh conditions, Foll has not experienced much sympathy nor compassion - aside from the brief moments of love from their parents. He trained, day in and day out to one day search for the dangers in the world and trap them behind seals. His muscles were often sore after extensive exercises to the point he could barely move, but that was its life for a very long time. The only thing it could do was take it.

Even during intense training, it had retained a child-like wonder and a compassionate view towards the world. A singular growing flower in a desert of snow was a miracle until it was crushed by one of its superiors, the sunset was beautiful when he wasn't awake for more than three weeks straight, the world was kind unlike the words of their peers and higher-ups.

They were humiliated for it repeatedly, considered a waste and a fool. Real Gaolers don't act like him. It's nothing but a naive child and a disgrace.
Day after day it would get threats, it would get belittled, treated like dirt. And nobody around him batted an eye.

It all culminated in bottled up rage and an impulsive decision he would come to regret. Foll decided to challenge their aggressors to a fight.
They accepted.

No snow was falling. The winds were barely noticable. The moon and stars watched the lands with their eternal gaze. Before the fight even begun, an audience formed a circle around one of the fighters, that being Foll itself. The other one hasn't arrived yet. They awaited their enemy with much anxiety. Foll inspected the dead nature around them, feeling the cold breeze brush against its fur. This was a mistake. A huge mistake, they thought, mumbling under their breath.

A deep, recognizable voice startles them: "Keep your eyes up, Seeker. Or else there will be nothing to see."
A Gaoler walked into the ring. The one they've been waiting for. Their midnight-colored fur clashed with their furrowed, bright purple eyes and their giant gnarlhorns colored like smoke reflected the light of the moon.
Foll growled. "Quit the snarky comments, Sergeant."
"Then let's get to it," Sergeant grinned confidently.

Foll swallowed his own breath. The crowd began to cheering, encouraging the two to fight.
The other Gaoler struck first - immediately ramming their gigantic horns into Foll's neck and chest. He retaliated, hitting them back, pushing and knocking them off their feet. The audience cheered louder.
Its knees shook, watching Sergeant slowly stand up, taking deep breaths. His heartbeat became faster, the adrenaline started to kick in.

Recklessly, it rushed towards them the same way its opponent attempted. Sergeant stood their ground, thrusting Foll away and then repeatedly bashing it and clawing at it, giving it little to no room to attack back. They dug their claws into its eyes and nearly tore off his horns with their teeth. Foll tried to fight back, but it was no use.
Every action was used against it - as an opening for more damage to be dealt to it. It only proved how truly inexperienced Foll was.
He was now on his back, his opponent's paws holding him down and digging their nails into his skin. Attempts at struggle were met with a slash to the face, resulting in yelps of pain. The previously cheering crowd were now laughing hysterically at the young Seeker. Their laughter rang in Foll's ears, and kept ringing, ringing, and ringing. This was the height of his own embarrassment. It was nothing more than laughing stock.

"I hope you can finally see how futile your effort is," Sergeant snarled, "or else I see no way to save you. I will leave the choice of what you will do next up to you. Be careful, however, there is a correct and a wrong answer. I'm sure you are smart enough to see your errors in this very moment. Now stand up, Seeker. You have a lot more to go through."
They walked off Foll and away from the crowd into their tent. And so did everyone else, one by one, leave to rest, the memory of the fight still fresh in their minds.
All except Foll.

He remained in the snow, alone. He no longer knew what to think. Were they right? Is it time to finally give up? Was this even worth fighting for?

...

They layed in the snow for the entire night.

After that, Foll became much more like its peers. Unfeeling, unquestioning, loyal, ruthless, efficient. Its pains became worse, but it didn't matter. They were improving. They were being useful. It wouldn't be long before he was praised for his strength in combat. He was finally accepted now that he was like the rest.
Soon enough, his training was over and he was released into the world - now an official Seeker.


It travelled the world, hunting and capturing various Shade creatures, as it is meant to. It met a companion that they refused to acknowledge, a Chipskink named Alvin, that kept following it across various missions and lands.
One day, while spending time at the Hoverview Vale, it met a strange trio consisting of a Fae, Guardian and a Pearlcatcher.

"A Gaoler? In these areas? Never knew that could happen!", the Pearlcatcher loudly commented.
"Yeah, it's weird! Do you think they're sweating under all that fur??", the Guardian remarked.
The Fae gently flied around the other two, inspecting the Gaoler from afar: "Probably! How do you think they regulate their heat? Maybe through their tongue like-"

Foll grinded his teeth, trying to take away a hardy antler from the playful Chipskink's jaws: "I can hear you very clearly from here. Stop talking about me."

"Right, right! Our dearest apologies, Sir Gaoler!", the small Fae fluttered to him, bowing.
"Just call me Foll."
"Alright Foll!", the Fae repeated after them, "By the way, I'm Pupil! The Guardian is Butter, and the Pearlcatcher is Orb! Nice to meet'cha!" The two other dragons approached, politely greeting the ancient dragon.
It stared down at the dragons, trying to think of something to say. "N- Nice to meet you, too?"

He was shocked by the three dragons, mostly in the way they acted. They seemed so... cheerful. So carefree. They cracked jokes amongst one another, teased each other, laughed, enjoying their time together. He just couldn't understand. Was it allowed to witness this? Was it right to say that these dragons reminded him of his old self?

...Was it right to say that he was jealous of them?

He talked to them for a lot longer than he wanted to.


...

Night overtook the once bright blue skies. The Fae invited the Gaoler back to its lair.

"No, thank you," he said, "I can't stay. We don't do lairs."
"Awh, come on, just for one night!", it insisted.
Foll groaned, agreeing on just one night.

It stayed for a week.

Foll enjoyed its time at the lair. It has already become used to the routines of the other dragons and became more sociable. Pupil remained their closest friend by far, but the others weren't so bad either. They didn't feel like going back to their old selves, yet being reborn as a person entirely. Sure, they were still a bit awkward at times but this lair felt comfortable. It felt like home.

But, Foll had to leave, returning to report his findings. They have already forgotten how cold and plain the interactions were back at "home". He would crack a joke to be met with silence and awkward looks. He would ask people about their day or their work and he would barely get a response. It was often told to shut up or "stop acting like that". They thought he was out of his mind and he started to believe it.
It begun pacing around the snow late at night, wondering just what was wrong with it?

Then, he thought. Maybe I do belong in a lair.

Upon this realization, it quickly wrote a letter to the rest, saying it would be leaving its duty - that it simply wasn't fit for it.
They left the letter in the same position they slept in every night before. And then ran back to Hoverview Vale.



They were finally free.