Arya grimaced at the thought of falling. That was the only real fear she had of flying, was the idea of falling. But she had to trust Vervada. And she did believe the dragon wouldn't actually let her die if the straps did give out on them. With a small sigh, she lifted the saddle, then looked up at the dragon again. "May I?" She asked, gesturing to the dragon's back, which towered far above her head.

Neryth turned her head as a new dragon spoke to her. Dipping her head in acknowledgment to Nyx, she moved her gaze back to the newly bonded pairs. 'Hmm... maybe keep an eye on that small human with the purplr dragon,' she said to Nyx, referring to Arya and Vervada. 'Do you agree?' she asked Kiran, as she always asked for his opinion on this matter. Choosing whom the already bonded dragons and riders would fly with was another important detail of the ceremony. Pairing up swifter dragons with the newly bonded who seemed likely to have the most trouble was always important.

Vervada : Dragon : Warrior : Female
M: Arya (dir) Neryth (ind)

Vervada snorted slightly at the girl's grimace, but she certainly wasn't going to embarrass herself by repeating what she'd said earlier about not letting her fall. Besides, she was skilled enough at diving, she'd probably catch the girl before she even hit the treetops. It was just a matter of flying high enough. Reflexively, she growled as Arya lifted the saddle, tensing up and glaring at the hated leather. But she was asking.. not demanding... and she would rather let her put it on than have Neryth come over and force her to submit. She growled again in her throat, but folded her wings out of the way and crouched down as low as she could get to the ground, still very tense as she waited.

Having half expected the dragon to refuse, Arya blinked for a moment, slightly surprised. Shaking herself a little, she moved to place the leather seat in the correct place by the base of Vervada's neck, the straps dangling on either side. Ducking down, she carefully looped the belly strap between her front and back legs, tightening it just enough to keep the saddle in place, but not so much that it would restrict the dragon's breathing. Standing up again, she moved on to the leg straps, looping them carefully around the upper part of Vervada's legs, and making sure they were properly in place so as to not restrict movement. Then for the neck strap, she was very careful not to tighten it too much, as she knew a dragon very much needed her neck during flight. Standing back, Arya inspected her work carefully, making sure everything was tightened properly, and nothing looked like it would restrict movement at all. "How's it feel? Not too tight?" She asked, wanting to be absolutely sure she hadn't tightened things too much.

Vervada gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing to slits as she felt the leather slide onto her scales, her body tense and still as Arya fixed all the straps, buckling them. The girl finally finished and stepped away, having the decency to at least ask her opinion on it. Which she willing gave, shaking her entire body violently, wishing she could just tear the saddle right off her back. The saddle slid a tiny bit on her back, rubbing against her scales in a way she hadn't felt in years. And it was horribly unpleasant. Her neck arched in tense displeasure she lifted her front legs, the leather sliding up and down her legs unnaturally. Her tail was lashing behind her in defiance as she gave another violent shake, just barely able to keep herself from reaching over and ripping the hated leather off her shoulders.

Nyx | Dragon | Warrior | Female | Rider - Kaisen

M: Arya, Vervada (dir)

-

Nyx nodded and moved over to where the two she was assigned to watch were still getting ready. The girl was trying to get an old leather saddle on her dragon, who looked quite annoyed at the idea. Nyx waited from a small distance, watching their interactions carefully.

The human girl looked nervous as she approached her dragon, but didn't seem to have any issues while putting on and securing the saddle. Nyx narrowed her eyes in mild interest. Most newly bonded riders tended to tighten the straps too tightly or messed it up some other way, but Arya didn't seem to have that problem.

She turned her attention to the purple dragon. Vervada, a warrior like her. They had interacted a few times, but only when they were working. She had never spoken to her unless it was necessary to do so. From what she could tell, Vervada was standoffish and had quite the temper, so she was never very interested in getting to know her. She could tell that the dragon hated the saddle, her tail lashing behind her and anger glittering in her eyes. Nyx sighed. I hope this goes smoothly.

Arya ducked with a startled yelp as Vervada's tail whipped over her head. She could tell the dragon greatly hated the saddle, but she wasn't sure what to do. She had never ridden a dragon bareback, and had actually heard it was strongly advised not to, as the hard scales could rub the skin right off your legs. "Is it too tight?" She asked nervously, uncertain about if she should loosen it or tighten it or what she should do.

Vervada : Dragon : Warrior : Female
M: Arya (dir) Nyx (ind)

Vervada paused her movements to glance over in surprise as Arya let out a surprised noise. She blinked, a bit guiltily, realizing she'd almost beheaded her rider with her tail already. But even though she felt badly... the saddle was still soooo irritating on her scales. She shifted her shoulders and rumbled unhappily, glancing down at the elf again, eyes glittering with unveiled annoyance. "No, It's fine, It just feels absolutely horrible" she snapped at her rider grumpily, adding with a scoff "You riders never could understand how horrible these beginner leather saddles feel." She gave another shudder to emphasis her point, her tail twitching again behind her as she tried to keep it still, not wanting to risk injuring the girl again. A sudden movement appeared in her peripheral vision and she snapped her head around, her violet gaze glaring the the other warrioress standing nearby, watching warily. Oh great, now she had a babysitter. She growled angrily, tail twitching again. Why did they have to openly irritate her?

Arya looked up at Nyx and Kaisen, waving shyly. Turning back to Vervada, she said, "I can somewhat understand. It's probably as uncomfortable for you as it is for me to wear a dress." The girl shuddered. "I hate wearing dresses. But I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it for a while. We'll be sure to make getting a new saddle one of our first priorities," she promised, eyeing the worn straps again. "Particularly cause those aren't exactly safe. I trust you'd catch me, but I don't want to take any risks I don't have to. Particularly if they're easily preventable by just getting a new saddle." She clicked her tongue with slight disapproval, then looked up at Kaisen. "Why do you make us use these saddles?"

Kaisen had been watching the exchange silently, and was slightly surprised to have been spoken to directly. "Well," he started, "we use old saddles from previous riders. Makes for less waste. You'll be given a new saddle afterwards, but it has to be custom made for your dragon in particular. The dragon's measurements are taken into account, so the saddle will fit like a glove." He reached down to pat the saddle on Nyx. "And, to be honest, it's slightly a trust exercise. It helps build trust between dragon and rider, to know that your dragon will catch you, and know that your rider trusts you to catch them if something does go wrong."