A Dragon's Rider (Edited)

Chapter 12

Jason seems like a really nice guy. Walking deep into my room, I grab fresh set of clothes, mud free. My boots come off at the door of the room so I'm free to stretch as much as I want. I start a small warm-up routine, conscious of time constraints. I start with body stretches, splits, back-bend, and arms before transitioning into harder routines that include small tumbles, handstands, and core workouts. All too soon, I'm sweating and feel a different kind of sore, one I'm all to familiar with.

I look at the clock and realize I only have five minutes before I have to be back at training, my work-out having taken more time than I thought it would..

I estimate it will take several minutes to get to the field, so I should probably leave now. My boots are still by the door, so I grab socks and put them on.

On go my many weapons and holders, until I look exactly like I did the first session though with a different color tunic. I walk down the halls, stairs, and through doors until I finally reach the training yards. All the other trainees are still there, practicing and such; just like I left them. I walk over to the sidelines and sit down, waiting for Hunter to call stop. John walks in and looks around for me. I raise my hand in greeting as he comes over.

"Hey!" he says once he's sitting next to me. "How'd you get ready so fast? I thought girls were supposed to take longer to get ready than guys."

I clenched my fist. "And I thought guys were supposed to have manners but I guess we were both wrong."

John blinks, not used to me talking so fiercely.

I sigh. "Sorry. It's just that that stereotype has always bothered me. Why should it matter if I take and hour versus five minutes to get ready?"

"It doesn't matter!" John replies, happy that I'm a bit calmer. "I was just trying to start a conversation."

I smile tersely at him, still a little angered.

"ALRIGHT, PANSIES!" Hunter yells. "NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS." Everyone gathers around him so he won't have to yell. "I've asked Reyna, my dragon," he explains, "to call over your dragons. They will be coming soon. Today is the day you will start to train them. Your attendants will be your main instructors for today. Listen well to them because your success depends on them." A large crowd of people come out, each attendant walking to their rider. I smile at Berian as he comes over to me, his dark hair flopping wildly around his head.

When all the attendants have found their riders, Hunter whistles sharply through his teeth and a large swarm of dragons races into view. Above all the others is a small navy blue blob that I instinctually know is Airre.

At the head of the bunch in Airre, looking frantically around from her aerial view. The other dragons come at a more sedate pace on the ground. A lithe dragon makes its way to John. It has light blue scales on its head, each scale getting gradually darker until they are almost black at the tip of the spiky tail. Its wings look like ice shards, each point glittering a different shade of blue in the sun.

'His name is Balerion.' I hear a voice in my head and start in confusion. I look around frantically before my eyes are drawn to Airre. Her wide purple eyes are trained at me as if she knows exactly what I'm thinking.

'Airre?'

'Yes. It is me.'

'You can talk to me in my head?'

'Yes. All dragon riders can. But it comes later for most pairs.' I can hear the smile in her voice, soft and feral 'Of course, I'm special – so it came earlier.'

Makes as much sense as everything else I guess.

Once the dragons are settled with their riders – Airre, naturally, perched on my shoulder – the attendants lead us away. Berian leads me to a large clearing to what I believe to be the east of the training grounds.

"Alright, " Berian rubs his hands together. "Are you ready to begin training?"

"I guess," I reply, unsure as to if I like this new man.

"Well, lets begin!"

"So," Berian paces around slowly "I have decided that we will start with something small. I want you and your dragon to communicate using your thoughts."

"Um.." Something tells me to go along with it so I do, broadcasting my message.

'Hi.' I link to Airre.

'Hi.'

"Ok. Done." I tell Berian. His mouth is open as if getting ready to explain something but stops when I talk.

"Really?" he leans in, curious.

"Uh. Yah?" Airee said she was special so I guess it's not normal

"Oh." Berian says and turns serious "Liora. Most dragon- rider pairs can't so much as communicate orally, much less mentally on the first day. I'm impressed." I nod.

"Thanks."

"Well, in that case, we can learn more about your dragon."

"Sure. What do you want to know ?"

"What's her name?"

"Airre." Easy.

"Is she defense or offense?"

'Offense', comes the immediate reply from Airre, and I translate.

"Okay. What kind of dragon is she?"

'Um..' Airre has to think for a moment. 'Elemental, I think.'

"She thinks she's elemental." I relay to Berian, who nods.

"Ok. What element?" Airre seems stumped with that one, so I try to help.

"What are the options?"

"There's water, fire, earth, air, and spirit."

She thinks for a moment before hesitantly replying. 'Maybe air.'

"She says air sounds right to her." I look at Berian expectantly

"Well," he smiles "That would make sense, her name being Airre and all." Airre chortles, a strange sound coming from a dragon.

"The few females we have are all for breeding. They can have up to nine eggs in a clutch." Wow, that's a lot. Who wants to have nine kids at once?

"I think, then, that Airre is a female, offensive, air dragon."

Berian nods and then walks over to us. "I need to give Airre a physical exam. Just to make sure she's all healthy."

Airre looks less than happy but allows him to take her off my shoulder and poke and prod at her. While stretching out her left wing he tsks over a place near the base. When he runs his hands over the spot Airre hisses at him and snaps her wing closed. Berian nods, silently finishing the inspection before turning back to us.

"Well, she seems to be in good shape except for the muscle at the base of her left wing. Somebody -" he eyes Airre sternly "-decided to fly one day too soon." Airre grins and then yawns, her jaw stretching wide. "It shouldn't hinder her training too much, but we should be careful just in case." Berian turns to me and smiles. "Okay. Liora,"

"Yeah?"

"Drop and give me fifty."

"I thought the saying was 'drop and give me twenty'," I whine, but still get on the ground to do the pushups.

"Well, too bad." He laughs and I grin. It takes me all of four minutes to do the pushups, and then he makes me do fifty sit-ups, fifty squats, and fifty laps. By the time training ends, I am tired right down to my bones. I trudge back to my room and wearily open the door. The navy and purple colors gave me some peace as I dragged myself to the bed. The blankets were soft and warm and I reveled in it. The next day would bring no relief to me.