FA+
Shop
459
Views
Views
3
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Story / General Furry Art
Species Western Dragon
Size 959 x 844
File Size 661.4 kB
Report this content
★
More from Northern-Crosshair
Listed in Folders
This is part 1 to the short story "Training Day" that I wrote as both entertainment and as character development for Hazard, Toulia, and Belatrix. The story is split into 3 parts, each with a piece of artwork done by the talented 
Oli_Snowpaw
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
"Training Day" Part 2
Beletrix walked to the side of the “stage”, if you could call a grass field a stage, all the while glaring at Hazard while he walked up to take her place, something clearly bothering her. Hazard than began his part of the presentation, glancing intermittently at the clipboard in his hand, “OK, as you all know, I’m a dragon. However for our purposes, such general terms are useless. There are many different sub-species of dragon, each with their own unique attributes. We could fill a week long seminar on the different types of dragons, but I want to get home sometime before midnight so I'll just tell you about myself.”
“My species is called the “Plains Drake”. I know some of you are wondering so I'll say that yes my wing coloring is uncommon in my species. That said, lets go over some of my strengths and weaknesses.”
Hazard motioned to Beletrix, who dragged out a wooden pallet stacked with a few inches of light wood and straw and set it a couple feet from him. Once she had left, he continued, “First, like quite a few dragons I can spit fire.” Hazard turned, opened his mouth wide, and shot a small wad of flaming goop at the pallet, igniting it. Turning back to the trainees he continued, “ That's not really useful when fighting fires, but it can be used for signaling or getting a fire going to warm hypothermia victims.
As the fire on the pallet quickly grew, Hazard extended his wings to their full span and continued, “No offense to other dragon species, but these wings are not just for show. I'm a good flyer and use this ability at times for being an eye in the sky, relaying information to those on the ground about a fire. I've also spent time flying search and rescue, which is quite boring to be honest. Flying takes a lot of energy and sometimes I have to fly very inefficiently. Sometimes I can stay in the air all day, other times I'll have to land frequently and refuel. My body chemistry allows me to consume and digest hydrocarbon fuels along with regular food.....”
“I TOLD YOU I SAW HIM DRINKING FROM A GAS CAN!!!”, Exclaimed one of the trainees to a friend.
“That was Kerosine and it was delicious.” contended Hazard, doing his best to hide his embarrassment at having been seen sneaking a drink from the can earlier, “While I can drink gasoline too, I don't like the taste, not to mention it produces lots of flammable fumes compared to Diesel or Kerosine. Getting back on topic, I can drink diesel, kerosine, and such like you guys can drink Pepsi or Coke. You may at some point be asked to bring some to the landing area for me so I can get back into the air. I can digest it very quickly and it doesn't require a trip to the little dragons room afterwords.”
“Due to the speed I need to run at in order to talk off, my legs are well suited for high speed running so I can cover distances on the ground quickly as well if I need to.” The fire on the pallet by this point has engulfed it in flames. “As some of you have figured out already, since I can breath fire and because I'm standing so close to the pallet, yes my skin, hair, and lungs what most people refer to as fireproof. This is useful for several purposes, the most obvious being the ability to just walk through fire to get somewhere,“ With this said, Hazard then calmly turned and walked into the flames. He stopped for a moment to flip through the pages on his clipboard.
Standing in the middle, Hazard continued addressing the group. “As you can see, not only am I not burned, but neither are my pants.” The clipboard in has hand was clearly not fireproof, as once it started to burn it was quickly consumed by the flames, leaving him holding only a few pieces of ash. “They are made of the same material your firefighting uniforms are made of. While you won't be able to just jump into flames like I can, I hope this quick demonstration gives an idea the level of protection your gear can provide, but don't let it give you a false sense of security. It does have it's limits.” Hazard then walked out of the fire and stood in front of it extending his wings to form a barrier between the fire and the trainees.
“In reality I seldom have a reason to just go waltzing through a fire. A far more common use is, as I have done here, to use my body and wings to shield victims and fellow firefighters from heat and flames when necessary.”
Hazard got clear of the flaming pallet as several other regular members of the brigade doused the flaming pallet with a hose, the soaked bits of wood and straw skidding across the grass, providing yet another a visual demonstration of the power a stream of water from a fire hose has. After they had finished, Hazard walked back to where the now extinguished pallet had been and continued, “Now, some of you are looking a little dejected and probably wondering what you're doing here if there are people like me around. Well that's because I'm only half done. I may have many strengths when it comes to this job, but I also have many shortcomings and now it's time to go over them.”
“While my legs are well suited to fast running, I don't have much in terms of strength and stamina in my arms and legs, all that is concentrated in my flight muscles. Though I'm no slouch, many of you will be able to keep going long after I've had to call it quits or slow down.”
Reaching up with his hand and grabbing hold of one of his wing claws, he moved on, “As for my wings, several of you have already noticed today that I am very protective of them. While they are very durable, even minor injuries are very painful and can mean that I can't fly, and I like to fly. Sure I'll heal eventually, but eventually can be a long time. Their size also means that there are many places I can't safely go. I also can't wear much in terms of additional protection because of them. Those of you who don't carry a glider on your back everywhere you go, or who can fold your wings under your clothing, are at a great advantage over me in that regards. Modern firefighting clothing is very good at protecting you from not only fire, but blunt force trauma caused by falling debris or collapsing buildings. As for me being “fireproof”. Technically I am fire resistant, I will eventually overheat in a fire if I stay in long enough.”
Hazard let go of his wing claw and folded his wings almost tight against his back. It was a bit uncomfortable to fold his wings this tightly, and it impeded his ability to regulate his body temperature, but he did not want anyone to be distracted by them. His tone of voice changed subtly, but noticeably the a more serious tone. “My biggest “weakness” if you want to call it that is one I really don't like to talk about, but I need to lead by example and I expect everyone else to not leave your fellow volunteers in the dark about something that could put you or them in danger.”
Letting those words sink in for a moment and glancing over all the trainees, Hazard continued. “ Like quite a few dragon species, I'm what is commonly referred to as cold blooded. While I can work through a wide range of body temperatures, what my species in particular has trouble with is rapid changes in body temperature. Going from cold to hot is not much of a problem, but going from hot to cold seriously messes with my metabolism. If the change is fast enough I will lose consciousness. Getting hit by even a relatively small stream of cold water will put me out for several minutes at least. The reason for this is that my skin is very good at keeping heat out, but very poor at keeping heat in.”
“So please, don't douse the dragon. I will do my best to be mindful of where hoses are, but also please be mindful of where I am if you see me in or around a structure that you are tending to with a hose. While giving your teammates a cooling rain of water may be helpful to them, it WILL NOT be helpful to me and will put me in serious danger. So talk to each other about your strengths and weaknesses so everyone knows these things and we can all go home safely.”
After a moment of silence, Hazard relaxed his posture, “Your homework for next time is to make yourself a list to bring with you so everyone can learn about everyone else. We will discuss how you can use certain abilities to your advantage while minimizing the risks caused by the weaknesses. That's all that I have to say, do you have anything to add, Beletrix?”
Beletrix walked at a brisk pace to where Hazard was and addressed the group, “I have nothing more to add and if nobody has any questions we will dismiss class for the day and begin cleanup. Back towards the equipment trailers you will find some tables with refreshments that Toulia has been kind enough to prepare for us.” Everyone heard a loud bird chirp coming from the vicinity of the equipment trailers, Toulia letting her presence be known to everyone. With that said, everyone began pitching in with packing up equipment, the veterans showing the trainees what went where.
Oli_Snowpaw<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
"Training Day" Part 2
Beletrix walked to the side of the “stage”, if you could call a grass field a stage, all the while glaring at Hazard while he walked up to take her place, something clearly bothering her. Hazard than began his part of the presentation, glancing intermittently at the clipboard in his hand, “OK, as you all know, I’m a dragon. However for our purposes, such general terms are useless. There are many different sub-species of dragon, each with their own unique attributes. We could fill a week long seminar on the different types of dragons, but I want to get home sometime before midnight so I'll just tell you about myself.”
“My species is called the “Plains Drake”. I know some of you are wondering so I'll say that yes my wing coloring is uncommon in my species. That said, lets go over some of my strengths and weaknesses.”
Hazard motioned to Beletrix, who dragged out a wooden pallet stacked with a few inches of light wood and straw and set it a couple feet from him. Once she had left, he continued, “First, like quite a few dragons I can spit fire.” Hazard turned, opened his mouth wide, and shot a small wad of flaming goop at the pallet, igniting it. Turning back to the trainees he continued, “ That's not really useful when fighting fires, but it can be used for signaling or getting a fire going to warm hypothermia victims.
As the fire on the pallet quickly grew, Hazard extended his wings to their full span and continued, “No offense to other dragon species, but these wings are not just for show. I'm a good flyer and use this ability at times for being an eye in the sky, relaying information to those on the ground about a fire. I've also spent time flying search and rescue, which is quite boring to be honest. Flying takes a lot of energy and sometimes I have to fly very inefficiently. Sometimes I can stay in the air all day, other times I'll have to land frequently and refuel. My body chemistry allows me to consume and digest hydrocarbon fuels along with regular food.....”
“I TOLD YOU I SAW HIM DRINKING FROM A GAS CAN!!!”, Exclaimed one of the trainees to a friend.
“That was Kerosine and it was delicious.” contended Hazard, doing his best to hide his embarrassment at having been seen sneaking a drink from the can earlier, “While I can drink gasoline too, I don't like the taste, not to mention it produces lots of flammable fumes compared to Diesel or Kerosine. Getting back on topic, I can drink diesel, kerosine, and such like you guys can drink Pepsi or Coke. You may at some point be asked to bring some to the landing area for me so I can get back into the air. I can digest it very quickly and it doesn't require a trip to the little dragons room afterwords.”
“Due to the speed I need to run at in order to talk off, my legs are well suited for high speed running so I can cover distances on the ground quickly as well if I need to.” The fire on the pallet by this point has engulfed it in flames. “As some of you have figured out already, since I can breath fire and because I'm standing so close to the pallet, yes my skin, hair, and lungs what most people refer to as fireproof. This is useful for several purposes, the most obvious being the ability to just walk through fire to get somewhere,“ With this said, Hazard then calmly turned and walked into the flames. He stopped for a moment to flip through the pages on his clipboard.
Standing in the middle, Hazard continued addressing the group. “As you can see, not only am I not burned, but neither are my pants.” The clipboard in has hand was clearly not fireproof, as once it started to burn it was quickly consumed by the flames, leaving him holding only a few pieces of ash. “They are made of the same material your firefighting uniforms are made of. While you won't be able to just jump into flames like I can, I hope this quick demonstration gives an idea the level of protection your gear can provide, but don't let it give you a false sense of security. It does have it's limits.” Hazard then walked out of the fire and stood in front of it extending his wings to form a barrier between the fire and the trainees.
“In reality I seldom have a reason to just go waltzing through a fire. A far more common use is, as I have done here, to use my body and wings to shield victims and fellow firefighters from heat and flames when necessary.”
Hazard got clear of the flaming pallet as several other regular members of the brigade doused the flaming pallet with a hose, the soaked bits of wood and straw skidding across the grass, providing yet another a visual demonstration of the power a stream of water from a fire hose has. After they had finished, Hazard walked back to where the now extinguished pallet had been and continued, “Now, some of you are looking a little dejected and probably wondering what you're doing here if there are people like me around. Well that's because I'm only half done. I may have many strengths when it comes to this job, but I also have many shortcomings and now it's time to go over them.”
“While my legs are well suited to fast running, I don't have much in terms of strength and stamina in my arms and legs, all that is concentrated in my flight muscles. Though I'm no slouch, many of you will be able to keep going long after I've had to call it quits or slow down.”
Reaching up with his hand and grabbing hold of one of his wing claws, he moved on, “As for my wings, several of you have already noticed today that I am very protective of them. While they are very durable, even minor injuries are very painful and can mean that I can't fly, and I like to fly. Sure I'll heal eventually, but eventually can be a long time. Their size also means that there are many places I can't safely go. I also can't wear much in terms of additional protection because of them. Those of you who don't carry a glider on your back everywhere you go, or who can fold your wings under your clothing, are at a great advantage over me in that regards. Modern firefighting clothing is very good at protecting you from not only fire, but blunt force trauma caused by falling debris or collapsing buildings. As for me being “fireproof”. Technically I am fire resistant, I will eventually overheat in a fire if I stay in long enough.”
Hazard let go of his wing claw and folded his wings almost tight against his back. It was a bit uncomfortable to fold his wings this tightly, and it impeded his ability to regulate his body temperature, but he did not want anyone to be distracted by them. His tone of voice changed subtly, but noticeably the a more serious tone. “My biggest “weakness” if you want to call it that is one I really don't like to talk about, but I need to lead by example and I expect everyone else to not leave your fellow volunteers in the dark about something that could put you or them in danger.”
Letting those words sink in for a moment and glancing over all the trainees, Hazard continued. “ Like quite a few dragon species, I'm what is commonly referred to as cold blooded. While I can work through a wide range of body temperatures, what my species in particular has trouble with is rapid changes in body temperature. Going from cold to hot is not much of a problem, but going from hot to cold seriously messes with my metabolism. If the change is fast enough I will lose consciousness. Getting hit by even a relatively small stream of cold water will put me out for several minutes at least. The reason for this is that my skin is very good at keeping heat out, but very poor at keeping heat in.”
“So please, don't douse the dragon. I will do my best to be mindful of where hoses are, but also please be mindful of where I am if you see me in or around a structure that you are tending to with a hose. While giving your teammates a cooling rain of water may be helpful to them, it WILL NOT be helpful to me and will put me in serious danger. So talk to each other about your strengths and weaknesses so everyone knows these things and we can all go home safely.”
After a moment of silence, Hazard relaxed his posture, “Your homework for next time is to make yourself a list to bring with you so everyone can learn about everyone else. We will discuss how you can use certain abilities to your advantage while minimizing the risks caused by the weaknesses. That's all that I have to say, do you have anything to add, Beletrix?”
Beletrix walked at a brisk pace to where Hazard was and addressed the group, “I have nothing more to add and if nobody has any questions we will dismiss class for the day and begin cleanup. Back towards the equipment trailers you will find some tables with refreshments that Toulia has been kind enough to prepare for us.” Everyone heard a loud bird chirp coming from the vicinity of the equipment trailers, Toulia letting her presence be known to everyone. With that said, everyone began pitching in with packing up equipment, the veterans showing the trainees what went where.
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Western Dragon
Size 959 x 844px
File Size 661.4 kB
Comments