Dragon Rider (#Wattys2016)

Lunch... Isn't what you expect...

~Theas POV~

With help from Zodiac I managed to navigate my way back to the entrance of the library, well do you know where we can find food? I asked the black dragon next to me, I climbed onto Zodiacs back and he spread his wings.

As his joints cracked Zodiac answered not exactly...

Well that's helpful, I said sarcastically.

I hadn't finished! Zodiac said annoyed before continuing, as I was saying I can take a guess and we can hope its right.

Well what are we waiting for?! With a hum of satisfaction Zodiac spread his wings and launched off the cliff edge, with several beats of his wings we gained height before gliding down. Several times Zodiac changed direction in the air by dipping a wing on the side which we wanted to turn.

Most of the other dragons avoided us instead of us avoiding them, but I'm pretty sure that was because by looking at Zodiac you could tell he wasn't in the best condition to fly in. Gliding down Zodiac entered yet another tunnel, which climbed steeply up. I dismounted and walked in front of him, although Zodiac was no small dragon he was no gigantic dragon either. Storm was slightly smaller than Zodiac by about maybe a metre? Maybe less, just thinking about Storm made my heart feel like it was being torn in two.

Zodiac wavered in the air and fell a few a few metres before managing to catch himself and regaining height. As Zodiacs' breath became laboured he glided down towards a hole in the massive cliff face. Entering the hole, the wind ruffled my hair before Zodiac landed heavily, he stumbled before stopping completely. Sliding down his shoulder, I landed on the ground my knees slightly bent, the dust that rose up made me sneeze which echoed through the tunnel. With his nose Zodiac pushed me forward a couple of steps and I made my way through the tunnel.

I continued down the tunnel which didn't seem to go up or down it was just flat out straight. By now, I could make out the end of the tunnel which just looked like a glowing doorway. As I got closer to the doorway I could now make out two small flames on either side of the doorway in rock sinks.

I'm not meant to come here, so I'll leave you here make some new friends and try to learn something, Zodiac said as he pushed me through the doorway before disappearing. I half turned to look back at him, only to see a retreating black blob in darkness. Smiling wryly to myself I turned back to look at the room. My eyes traced up one of the walls and onto the dome-like roof, around the room were torches but unlike torches that I had seen the flames didn't flicker, but that's probably due to the fact that the air doesn't move that much. I thought to myself, I looked around there were three long tables curved from wood with raised stone seats around them. No one was sitting at the middle table or the table on the left however there was a group of three girls. One of them laughed loudly but stopped as they all saw me. I ignored them for the moment and kept allowing my gaze to wander the room.

I snapped to attention as someone came to a stop in front of me, I looked at the girl in front of me. She was around my height but had pale blue hair with white highlights unlike my dark brown, almost black hair. Not to mention hers is straight and pulled back into a high ponytail while mine is slightly curly. Her eyes were aqua which was also a rare feature in my village.

"Hi," she said quietly she looked back over to the table where two girls were now watching us carefully, "would you like to come over to our table?"

"Well it would defiantly beat sitting by myself!" I joked, she smiled and I grinned back. "So thanks, my name is Ignuis Stellam," I told her struck by a strange revelation to say Stellam, "call me Stella though it's way easier to say."