Missing

Chapter 3

Dragon Riding

Kestrel walked to the nearest stable where a beautiful sky blue and soft grey dragon stood. It looked up from its bowl of water and stared at Kestrel with stunning yellow eyes, like a sun had set inside its eyes.

"Now remember, bow to it politely." their Dragon Riding teacher hinted, he had soft, curly brown hair and sharp, green eyes, he also happened to be Henrik's dad. He wore a black jacket, a blue scarf and had multiple belts.

Kestrel bowed elegantly, her head almost sweeping the ground.

The dragon lowed its head in return and stepped out of the stable.

Kestrel grinned and gave it a large salmon.

It stared at the salmon, glancing at Kestrel as if asking permission.

Nodding, Kestrel drew a step closer to it. Close up, she could see the individual scales shimmering in the morning light. It felt like they radiated a sort of heat, but it wasn't hot or cold.

The dragon finished the salmon and gazed at Kestrel intently, before lowering its back to let her climb on.

"Are you sure you don't want a saddle?" Henrik asked, saddling up his dragon beside her. His was a deep, velvety purple with amber streaks.

"Yes, I'm sure, thanks." she replied, hoping that she was right in her decision and positioning her legs in front of its wings as they slowly began to rise for take-off. She wasn't used to being wrong and didn't like it one bit.

Henrik grinned and gently nudged his dragon's side with his boot.

It took to the air in a flash, closely followed by Kestrel's.

The two spun in the air and flew up, above the clouds.

Henrik flicked his hand and a stream of cloud trailed from his fingertips and onto Kestrel's head.

She laughed and reached up to the air above her.

As she did so, a green plume flew from her hands, followed by a trail of pink and purple, dotted with small, silver speckles.

Henrik beamed and flew his dragon upside-down over her head.

"Woah!" she cried, as her dragon spun upside-down too.

Both dragons spun back the right way round as they neared a peak looming above the cloud.

"That's the Thunderbird mountains." Henrik explained, "It looks beautiful from up here."

And he was right. The dark peaks, caked in cool, white snow were showered in a rich pink glow and the edges of the mountain whipped swirls into the clouds.

"We should probably go back now." Henrik said, "They are probably wondering where we've gone."

Kestrel laughed and nodded as she gently guided her dragon back to the stables.

*****

Power Control

The class filed into the cabin, and the Souls yipped and squabbled.

A man with scruffy brown hair and thick-rimmed blue glasses stood at the front.

"Hello, you lot. For the benefit of our new classmates – not that we need any more -" he grumbled, "I am Mr O'Hare." a miniature-sized lion sat on his shoulder, "Welcome Crumble Wind, Cool Dog, Emma Daze and Ceramic Sofa."

Cora fixed him with a death stare. Her eyes began to glow orange and a hiss escaped her mouth. Her stare was so intense that a spark flickered on his arm, quickly escalating to his whole arm on fire.