• Atmos looked out of the so called "bus" heading to NWAS Academy, a school he got accepted in. The "bus" was a hovering model, drawn by a mechanical dragon, though Atmos disapproved of this, due to his Dragon half, but it clearly stated that this school was far from ordinary. As the lone passenger of the high-tech bus, Atmos grew bored. Feeling the torn and worn traveler’s scarf he wore, a constant reminder of his abandonment from his real, unknown parents to a strange, yet kind and wise old woman who raised him for the past 15 years, Atmos felt, to put it simply, confused. He was abnormal, extremely fast and able to transform into a dragon, which, is not any bigger than him, but far stronger, and put among humans, whom, Atmos was only half of. They mocked him and constantly teased his eyes, forcing him to wear a mask, however, it is rather cool and does complement his outfit, a white undershirt, a black vest, a worn blue jacket, bronze goggles, black gloves, black pants, bluish shoes, and the scabbard hanging from the side of his belt, which contained a recently sharpened, but old fashioned, sword with a flame metal hilt. He brushed some of his navy hair and touched the scarf, made from the cloth he was wrapped in on that night, which the old lady fashioned into a scarf before he left.
    “My sincerest apologies for leaving, Grandmother, but I must. I feel something here, and it’s making me come, despite my laid-back lifestyle, to train me, and help me find my parents, my true parents.” He said in the way he always talks when he reminisces about the past before falling asleep.

    BOOM!


    Atmos awoke to the boom. The mechanical dragon had gone haywire and started bucking to escape its bindings.
    “Whoa! Man! Not work so soon!” Atmos said in his usual demeanor. He smashed through the window and was grateful for the bus only hovering 5 feet over a desert. The dragon broke free and faced him. It opened its maw and a speaker came out.
    “He, who lies between the borders of humanity and dragon-dom, defeat your mechanical brother to earn your student pass, fail to do so results in death.”
    “Isn’t that a bit harsh for failing a test?!” Atmos said, but the speaker was crushed and the tech-dragon stared him down. “Aw great! Work already!” He drew his sword with his left hand. It came out smoothly and gleamed in the desert sun.
    RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” The metal dragon yelled. Atmos almost shivered.
    “Nice battle cry, but as they say, actions, preferably cutting actions, speak louder than words!” He charged quickly, at a speed no human could run, in an acceleration no mere human could ever match! “YAAAAAAAAH!” He swung the sword and lopped off a portion of the dragon’s hide. This only made it angry. It hit Atmos with its tail, batting him away, and breaking a few ribs.
    RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” The mech-dragon yelled again.
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it, you were programmed to kill me, or at least try.” Atmos started. “Too bad you puck the wrong Dragon-Boy to mess with!” He charged again, wincing at the pain of his broken ribs, but continues to run. The metal dragon tried to bat away him again, but Atmos wised up and converted his running speed into jump height. He was soon at least 15 feet above the 12-foot metal dragon. It was momentarily stunned for a second. Atmos landed on its head and slid down its back, dragging his sword through the metal dragon’s hide, leaving a long gash on its back from high up on its neck to between its sharp metal wings.
    GRAAAAAAAAAAR!” It yelled in pain. Atmos jumped off and landed behind it. It turned quickly and sliced Atmos’s back with both of its wings, leaving a big, bloody X on his back.
    “OW! Okay, THAT crosses the line! Normally I don’t like doing this, cause it’s too much work, but YOU’RE ASKING FOR IT! SHIFT FORM!” A dark blue fire erupted from him and engulfed him in the flames. The flames vanished like the came and revealed a 5.5 foot dragon with navy scales, a green underbelly, and claws. He also had Atmos’s hair, goggles, and sword belt with sword included.
    “GET READY, PUNK!” The Dragon-Atmos yelled. The metal dragon laughed. A 5.5 foot dragon against a 12 foot mechanical dragon. It looked back and the Dragon-Atmos was gone! Then it suddenly fell over. Dragon-Atmos had ran underneath it and sliced off its left leg and seriously damaged it’s right with his claws. It was immobile, but not without fight. It shot out a chunk of metal from its mouth and Dragon-Atmos countered by shooting out more of the dark blue flame and melting the metal. He ran in close again and the mech-dragon tried to slice him again, but Dragon-Atmos merely crumpled the metal with his bare hands. He threw aside the now useless wings and drew his sword and started hacking away at the helpless tech-dragon. Soon, nothing was left but a bunch of scrap metal.
    “Shift Form.” Dragon-Atmos was reverted back into regular Atmos, who had no damage on his clothes, but did still have blood dripping out. He walked over to the once metal dragon. “Hmph. This is why you should never get a real dragon mad.” He kicked a piece of metal and found a sort of red and green card and a piece of paper. His student pass and instructions. He read the paper first.

    Instructions for NWAS Academy

    1. Retrieve pass from test.
    2. Insert pass into bus slot, underneath wheel.
    3. Show guard at gate the pass.
    4. Survive and stay long enough to graduate.

    “This better be worth the work.” Atmos retrieved the pass and inserted it into the slot. The hovering bus got going at an even faster pace than before. “Just wait mom and dad, as soon as I’m done with this Academy, I’ll find you. I swear by the very blood of our races that flow within me!” Atmos clenched his fist and slowly fell asleep.