The North (Closed)

[KieranSoares]

"Sadah! High speed and emergency drills!" Durban barked toward the dragoness. With a snarl, she practically chased the greenhorn dragons away from the Riders, roaring orders and herding them like a collie nipping at the heels of livestock. The dragons needed to commit life-saving maneuvers to muscle memory to save their Riders and themselves in the heat of battle. It was the split second reactions that made the difference between a treatable wound and a horrible death. Soon other decorated dragon officers were called to join her, giving the same harsh treatment and unrelenting force.

"Riders!" Durban snarled at their own trainees. He gave a glance to his brothers and niece, and brought his drake for Riley to use. "You all are gonna start runnin'. And we're gonna start huntin'. If we catch you, you better hope t'fuckin' God you remember how to grapple. If we pin you before you can undo your harness, you don't eat til tomorrow."

It was a classic form of young Axeman training. With no weapon, no resources, and no help, Axemen were expected to defend and free themselves and subdue enemies. For a Rider, being able to get free and deal with their safety gear would translate to high-stress situations in the sky where they needed to shift equipment, unhook, and prepare to jump free of a crashing dragon or falling broken saddle. Being able to get free and slow their fall was how they could give allies time to catch them and avoid impact. It had been drilled into Fiona and veteran Riders so hard that they could practice falling drills without a flinch, and even knew how to free themselves from enemy claws and fall on purpose if they were torn out of the saddle. The worst outcome was not death, but capture. If the trainers had their way, each Rider would be able to choose their fate instead of being taken prisoner, and someone might be able to save them if everyone was trained well and acutely aware of their allies' positions.

Now on foot while his niece and brothers were ready to chase, Durban menaced the Riders by drawing his axe. Trainers wouldn't hesitate to use the handle or flat of the blade to attack. With the Riders thoroughly terrified, Durban growled low.

"Five. Four."

The first few with the fastest reaction time fled in a panic.

"Three."

Some Riders tripped over each other and scrambled in the grass and dirt to dart away in a different direction from the group.

"Two!" Durban roared now that the last few began to clear out. "ONE!"

He lifted a hand to signal his kin. "Give 'em fuckin' hell, brothers," he rumbled. Boar and Brogan took off, dirt spraying behind their drakes. "Riley, hold... Hold." Saving the most frustrated and fastest for last, Durban reined his niece in just a couple seconds longer as her drake crouched low like a car ready to spring. Durban pointed his axe toward the frontrunners. "Bring me the fastest one. Show them no one is safe, lass. Go!"

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley let loose on her uncle’s drake with a volley of cracks from the reigns. As smooth as if she were riding Marth she set off after the leaders of the pack as Durban had commanded.

Fiona dismounted, pressing a kiss to Durban’s bearded cheek. “I admit, I’d have pissed myself in their position.” She said as she watched the recruits run for their lives. “I pity who Riley catches.”

Fiona turned to look at her commanders, giving them a slight smile as she left Durban’s side and came near.

“I suppose it’s not proper to get sentimental…” her words stopped as she caught sight of dragons flying in the distance.

She was speechless as she recognized Idunn, Diana, and Schaller all gliding with a great black dragon. “Did he…?”

She swallowed those words as the great black dragon banked and Fiona saw a tiny figure in distinct Voya riding armor clinging to the saddle. Tati’s seat and form were perfection, the dragon smooth in flight, but Fiona still felt something unnamed in her chest at the sight of her youngest on the back of an elder dragon.

 

[KieranSoares]

Markos, sitting high and proud in his strange saddle atop Diana, gave the lead to great Odessa of the Reven line and her little passenger. The Greek laughed brightly and called encouragement, complimenting the tiny Fox's form and confidence as that of a seasoned veteran. Idunn and Schaller watched from further back, comfortable but alert as Tati tried a new partner. Even Dzana came to join them, falling into formation with a tiny puff of pride to her chest. She saw Tati as Fiona's family saw Sveri: a fledgling they were all helping to protect and raise.

Schaller broke formation with Dzana taking up his position by Idunn, and he banked and sped up, coming in close above Odessa to check in with Tati. "You move with Odessa like you've known her all along," he called out with obvious pride. He was a little heartbroken in a way to see Tati achieving milestones and growing up, especially having been part of her Rider training. And for a Reven line dragon to accept one who was not Blackstone by blood was rather a powerful statement. It wasn't clear yet if Odessa and Tati would be partnered going forward, but Odessa's icy shell had melted in an instant upon introduction to the kit by Markos, her new teacher.

"She feels and understands all I am about to do," Odessa called back to Schaller, "more intuitive than many Callers I have flown with! You cannot convince me she is not of Margaret's blood."

 

[heartofcourage]

Tati said nothing as they all encouraged her to ride the elder dragon. It was rare that one so young might even have the strength to control the great beast, but when Markos had offered to take her flying, she didn’t hesitate.

The world around her was a blur of color. With her poor eyesight, she couldn’t see to command. It was all by feel. She could feel everything about the great Odessa. Every movement of muscle under scale. Every vibration from her voice. Every draw of breath. It was almost as if she were the dragon.

Tati gave Odessa slack in the reigns, encouraging her to dip towards the earth. She sat low in the saddle, dipping when Odessa did as the earth came up quickly to meet them. Perhaps she was showing off a little as she reigned in above the ground, Odessa gliding around the group gathered on the ground.

Fiona shielded her eyes against the sun that was burning through the mist, Odessa’s wake blowing against them all. She turned to watch the great dragon lift again, her eyes straying only momentarily to Sam. She apologized to her husband with that look, seating herself on Roman and taking off after the group.

Roman moved smoothly as Fiona gained ground. As they dipped back down to the earth, she lifted her arms to be snagged in Schaller’s claws.

 

[KieranSoares]

Roman, familiar with pickups by Schaller, maintained a smooth and constant speed, ducking his head low out of the way. Schaller's great claws closed around Fiona without snagging the saddle, lifting her up as she got a grip on his scales. He shot high into the sky, giving himself plenty of room to lose altitude with his next move. With the Rider Queen still regaining her strength, Schaller took on an odd maneuver developed specifically for dragons helping wounded Riders return to their saddle. He rolled upside down, allowing Fiona to crawl over his chest without fighting gravity as he slowly rolled back. It caused him to fall several hundred feet, but it was the gentlest and easiest way to help her, and he had room to spare. With his Rider secured, he darted after Odessa.

 

[heartofcourage]

She didn’t stay with Schaller for long. As soon as he was within distance of Odessa, Fiona was making her way to sit behind her daughter.

“Sorry for the intrusion, Lady Odessa.” Fiona called above the wind as Schaller hovered to make sure she was properly seated.

“Hi, Mama.” Tati said brightly, blinking up at her as Fiona got herself buckled into the harness.

When Tati tried to offer her the reigns she declined, shaking her head. “This is all you, little kit.”

Tati grinned even broader. “Tighten your hold.” Fiona instructed, watching as Tati corrected herself. “Pull back to your hips.”

Tati followed instruction, Odessa soaring skyward. “As high as you can take her.” Fiona murmured against Tati’s ear. “Lean forward the higher you get. When she breaks the cloud cover, give her leave to fly.”

Tati did beautifully, the clouds and mist rocketing by them. When the first break in the clouds came, Tati released the reigns and Odessa spiraled into the clear morning, her wings outstretched. Then they were gliding, far above the Scottish landscape.

“Take her towards the bay. As fast as she’ll go. Skirt the waves.” Fiona instructed, grinning as she simply had fun with her kit, the other dragons following their lead.

 

[KieranSoares]

Idunn, Schaller, and Dzana exploded through pockets of clouds, putting on a little show for their Caller and her daughter and joining in the fun without distracting from the moment. Diana and Markos fell further back, giving mother and daughter space and respect.

"I'll show you a game my mother used to play with us fledglings when we were in training," Odessa called to Tati and Fiona, deeply touched to be part of their bonding and getting her own chance to bond with the family she had lost. "Wave-dancing!"

She let her forward momentum run out, allowing gravity and her locked wings to drop them into a steep glide down toward the bay. She evened out just above the sea surface, her wingtips skirting the water. When a larger wave began to build somewhere ahead, she would pick up speed, shoot up, drop, and tap the crest of the wave with her claws as if skipping off of it, and shoot back up like she was leaping from wave to wave like solid rocks. It was a practice in fine flight control, making herself look graceful and mimicking bounding off solid ground despite it being water beneath her. For a young fledgling, it would've been fantastic and fairly safe flight training, the worst consequence being a crash into cold water. But Odessa was so adept that she barely got her claws wet and her Riders were treated to a lovely dance and a smooth ride.