The Queen

Chapter Four: Fight

"You will be put through three tests," said Crimson. "For most dragons, they would be easy, but for younglings, that is a different story. The first test is a test of strength and teamwork. The four of you will pick one dragon to fight. Now, now," she added, seeing our panicked faces. "The dragon you pick doesn't need to be too experienced in battle. That would hardly be fair, would it? Simply pick one dragon from the adolescent group," Crimson gestured with her wing to a particular level.

They looked older than us, but softness still brushed their scales. No major scars, I noted. Probably old enough to participate in raids, but mostly likely not play a major role. Ages of 6 to... 11 probably.

Mystic nudged me. "I can tell you have a plan already, Yin. We still need to talk," he gently reminded me.

"I am aware of that fact, Mystic," I said calmly, a smile faintly curling my lip upwards. "I'm merely analyzing them."

From the ledge of other Night Furies, Mother's ear twitched and she nodded in approval.

We gathered closer to the side where the dragonets were gathered. I narrowed my eyes in thought. "Don't pick anyone as easy to fight. We are Night Furies, after all. And it is four against one, even if we are younger than our opponent. Don't let them think that we are weak." I murmured.

Eclipse shot me a faintly annoyed look. "We are barely a month old, Yin, not three years old!" He hissed. "Save that for later, should we pick an five-year-old? They're not the most experienced, but they should pose enough of a challenge even for a four versus one fight."

I grinned. "Good thinking, Eclipse. Phan, would you like to do the honors?"

Phantom sighed in annoyance at the nickname. "Thank you, but let's pick out some candidates to consider first. Let's go." Without another word, she spread her wings, nodded to me, and we glided down in different directions to examine the dragonets. Still on the ledge, I thought I saw Mystic and Eclipse exchange an eye-roll before flying off in the other two directions.

I closely looked at the line of dragonets before me. Not many scars, like before, but I could tell that they had strength judging simply by the way they tilted their wings upward and how most of them met Phantom's gaze, but strangely enough, avoided my own. Strange, I thought. Could be my imagination... or I could exploit this. I spotted a few dragonets that fit our search, but three of them were literally asleep. My lip curled up slightly in distaste. Perhaps....

Aha! There!

I spotted a Rumblehorn, one of the younger ones, perhaps four or five, but she held her wings high and readily met my gaze with respect. She had strength, and she definitely had skill, if the small, thin, white scars that crisscrossed her talons said anything. I held eye contact with her for a few seconds before I landed on the ledge in front of her. "Hello," I greeted. "I'm Yin, but I'm sure you already knew that about me. What's your name?"

She tilted her head and answered, "My name is Tumble. Thank you for considering me as your opponent."

I nodded. "You have skill. You would be a worthy opponent in battle, were we all older in life."

Her gaze softened slightly and I thought, we could be friends. I smiled before nodding and flying back to land on the original ledge where we arrived.

I was the second one back. Eclipse was there, sitting. He glanced at me. "I found one of the younger Razorwhips," he whispered. "He'd make a good opponent, a bit younger, but a good fight." I tilted my head and he pointed with his tail. I saw the male Razorwhip who had apparently moved to the front of the ledge. He held himself high with the experience of an adult rather than a teen, which I thought was a tad bit arrogant.