Dragons of War - Rising Storm

Chapter 16 (3/3)

His eyes were still locked on mine, so he knew right away what I was up to. The moment my wings pushed me up higher in the air, he rose away from me and broke rank completely, and with ease. His wings stilled, and he glided downwards, his head following mine, until we were freefalling through the air, the group falling far behind us.

The challenge clear, Omega whipped his head back around to look ahead and began beating his wings. Only slightly bigger than me, he shot up through the air at a speed that surprised me. My head followed him and I beat my wings to catch up but he had more practice than me.

Up through the air we sped - past every dragon behind us without even a second thought. My eyes were locked on target and I thought of little more than the excitement of claiming my title of the highest rank. No matter who he was, only one could have that title, and we needed to establish who it was.

Up and up we went until my lungs began to burn, and clouds filled the air beneath my wings. Omega didn't break rhythm for even a moment - and the second he did, it was too late.

Eyes wide, I froze in the air as his form came tumbling back at me. My wings flailed in the air to try and get away from his outstretched talons, but the space between was too small - I had flown too close.

His maw snapped down at me and my neck narrowly avoided it. My own form fell in the air with him, but his speed was greater and once his talons locked around my hind legs I was trapped.

I snarled and snapped in return but my limbs were weak from the struggle to rise so high so quickly - and he knew it. That had been the plan all along. Clearly, he had more control over his dragon form than I.

"Is this a game to you?" He broke the silence and asked me.

"Is it for you?" I responded.

Taken out of my thoughts and my mindless haze, I stopped to think. What was this? I had already gotten what I'd wanted, hadn't I?

"Why are you hiding it? I went on.

His eyes flickered, and then flashed between the ground that was fast approaching, and me again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied and released his grip.

Anger flashed through me and he slid past through the air. Without a second thought, I rolled around and snapped out at his turned back. His head whirled around and smacked me in the jaw so hard the sound echoed through the air. Dazed, the both of us wobbled towards the ground on unsteady wings, but I recovered more quickly, veered to the left and sped towards Omega again.

His wings were barely held up as he sped towards the ground, and his head hung low. Talons outstretched, I grabbed his wing shoulders and beat my wings as hard as I could. He was surprisingly light, and I was able to place him on the ground without harm.

I gasped for breath, placed one hind foot on the ground to steady myself, but kept the other on top of his back. His own breath came out in gasps but after a moment he turned his head to glare at me.

"Are you happy now?" He spat at me.

"No," I replied. "You lost too easily."

"They don't call me Omega for nothing you know," he replied and his head turned away from me in defeat. I felt the muscles beneath my claws relax and in response, I relaxed as well.

I stepped away from him and shook the energy from my scales. A more human part of myself returned immediately.

"I'm not fooled like the others - I see you," I said with a straight tone. "Aren't you bored, pretending to be like them?" 

Omega rose to his legs slowly and with a head low to the ground he glanced over at me - yet I saw an emotion I did not expect. Fear.

The way I'd first seen him fly flashed through my mind and a thought struck me - why didn't he want other people to know?

My eyes narrowed and guilt flooded through me. I hardly knew anything about this dragon - or person - yet I could have just done something that would upset their life. Their human life. The human part of myself returned with every beat of my heart and waves of emotions washed over me.

"Omega I-" I began but a large form slammed to the ground behind me and I whipped around.

"What the hell were you thinking? Pulling a stunt like that could get the whole group in trouble!" Aaron's telepathy seemed weak yet the anger in his tone was perfectly clear. His eyes were kept clear from mine at first and then his head whipped around to me.

"And I don't care if this is your first day, a stunt like that could have killed you both!" Aaron went on with fangs flashing.

I heard Omega shuffle behind me and I felt the nervous fear that radiated from him. This wasn't his fault though - it was mine.

"You can't control me," I warned, a low rumble in my chest.

Aarons eyes flickered for a moment, and that was when I saw it. How different he really was as a dragon. All that anger. All that rage. I had never seen it before, as a human. Where had it come from? Had it always been there?

Another dragon, Drew, glided down and landed in front of the both of us.

"That's enough, Aaron get back up there!" Drew snapped out. His head turned towards me but he remained silent and then glanced back at Omega.

"Join us as soon as you can fly straight," he told him. Then Drew turned and snapped at Aaron until he backed away. Aaron's eyes remained on me for a moment before he whirled around and leaped back into the air.

My head dropped, and the rush of flight from mere moments before fell into the pit in my stomach that only grew every time I saw Aaron. After a moment, I heard claws scrapping the rocky ground and approach.

"This is hard for you isn't it?" Omega asked me and my head shot up.

I opened my mouth to reply but the only words I thought of were of denial. Of course, it was hard for me. But what was he really asking? How could a stranger know anything about me?

Omega turned away for a moment and then lifted his head and wings to the sky.

"I wished you hadn't done what you did - but we are as similar as you think. Just don't over-do it next time okay? I don't like the spotlight." He told me and rose in the sky, rejoining the storm of dragons above my head.

Yet I remained there, almost stuck to the ground from the heavy weight of everything in my heart. My haunches lowered until I was sitting. My head scanned the sky above me.

No one missed me, no one glanced back. I knew Fred noticed me there on the ground, but his formation was complete without me.

I couldn't help how much I stood out. My scales were white after all.

That was it, right?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading, and if you are enjoying the story, please let me know through a vote or comment :) It means a lot to me!