Soaring (BTS KTH FF)

01. The Riding Faculty ~

The car pulled to a smooth halt in front of a huge glass dome of a building.

The Faculty.

Miok's new home for as long as she would be a Rider. Which is is to say, for the rest of her natural life.

Miok had been too nervous on the drive to the Faculty to pay attention to her surroundings, but from the little she'd seen, she could tell the Island wasn't any more different from Seoul. It didn't consist of overgrown forests and caves as the Academy had initiated.

Then again, Miok had yet to see the rest of the Island. She'd already found out it was much bigger than it had appeared from the boat. Not to mention, from the moment she'd landed on the dock, she had only seen the city.

Thanking the driver, she stumbled out of the car. She wasn't someone so uncoordinated, but these weren't normal circumstances. You didn't get accepted to the most prestigious Riding Faculty in the whole world every day. Especially not as a Rider Cadet. Everyone's dream job. Of course, she was super nervous today.

The lobby she stepped into was ginormous. Towering at least seventy feet high and quite possibly able to fit 5 of the largest kind of dragons. Eyes darting around, she marvelled at the sheer beauty of the glass building.

It was a lot to take in all at once.

It wasn't just the building in itself that was overwhelming. If anything, it was all the dragons - in their human form - that fascinated her the most. Each dragon was with its respective human - or Rider.

She was still busy ogling when a lady approached her. Blonde hair pulled up in a tight bun with not a hair out of place, icy blue eyes that regarded her as if she were a test subject. Her black blazer and pencil skirt made her fair skin much paler than it was. All in all, she looked the epitome of a strict, no rule-breaking nonsense kind of woman.

"Rider Miok! Welcome to the Faculty, or the dorms as the Cadets are fond of calling the place. I'm Caren, Faculty manager. It is a pleasure making aquaintences with such a talented young Rider such as yourself." She prattled off in one breath. The speed with which she talked hard to keep up.

While Miok didn't hesitate to accept the hand she extended and give a firm shake, she never got the chance to reply to Caren's greeting. Mostly due to being stunned to silence, staring at Caren with wide eyes. Sucking a deep breath instead of the elder woman.

"We run a covert operation here in the Island. Whatever you learned in the outside world of what goes inside here - the Academy included - is but a small portion of what really happens in the Island. Your Unit Leader requested to explain this to you once you are all settled in." Caren went on, not waiting for an answer from the girl. As she talked she motioned for the pair of them to cross the Lobby.

Miok fell into step beside her, letting the lady lead.

For one she didn't want to lose her. For another, everything she explained seemed important. As much as she wanted to continue to marvel at the beauty of the building and the sheer number of dragons - even in human form - that roamed the place, she paid close attention to Caren. After all, she needed to know the rules before she could even think of breaking them.

"All newbies are usually put into the Cadet Quarters until they get paired with a dragon or their skills get them accepted into one of the five Sectors. Most Fleet Commodores don't always believe what's on the Academy record." Pausing Caren shot Miok a secretive smile. "You are a special case. Fleet Commodore Namjoon sent in a personal request asking you to join his Unit."

Caren fell silent after letting that bomb drop. She was well aware how deep the context of her words were. And the perplexed look the girl shot her was enough to tug her lips up in a smile.