Kris

18 | Male | Rider | Mentions: Mircea, Sihir

Kris had overslept. Shit.

Frantically he dug through his clothes, snatching anything he could, ending with a pair of worn black boots, baggy brown pants, and a loose-fitting, deep v-cut shirt. He was hoping on one foot while pulling he was pulling his remaining boot on with one hand as he exited the dorm. Hair still a mess. God. How could he be so stupid? They had probably already started without him. The rider practically raced outside to get to the valley, only to find out that he was not, in fact, late. But on time, he let out a groan and whipped his hand down the front of his face, trudging over to his dragon before nodding good morning and flopping on the ground in front of him. Sihir, I thought I was going to be late! Imagine missing the first ride. He scoffed.

From where he lay, Kristopher had a lovely angle of his dragon, staring up at the creature's magnificent horns. He found it still hard to believe that he had even bonded with a dragon and quite a rare one at that. In all his short years Kris had never seen a Seer class in real life, and now he had the honor of being paired with the best dragon in the bunch! During this week in class, he had begun to learn more about Sihir as well as other important aspects that he had been taking notes on. The week had seemed to fly by fast, and Kristopher could only hope that the lessons had prepared him well enough for what was about to take place.

His dragon turned sheepish for a moment as he spoke, "Do forgive me if it takes me a moment to initially take flight, it has been a while." "I do advise you to hold on tight at first. Once we are in flight, it will be much easier," Sihir motioned to his antler, to which Kris nodded, it seemed as if he needed to, he would be able to hold onto his dragon's antlers. “Of course, it would be terrible to fall so early on, I will do my best,” he spoke.

His attention was turned to none other than Mircea, as he caught his friend near his own dragon a short distance from him, along with some of the other riders. “Mirceaaa,” he called, his voice going up an octave, from where he lay on the ground, now propped up with his elbows. He wiggled his eyebrows in his friend's direction, as, who he thought to be Percival went up and seemed to be kissing his hair. Kris was not the best with names, so he could only assume that's who it was. Mircea would be hearing about this later. Oh, the endless amount of teasing he could see in his friend's future.

Returning his attention to his dragon he spoke, “I believe we will do well today, and surprisingly, I feel hardly nervous about this experience,” Kris admitted, he felt that confidence was the key to success, even if a small nagging bit at the back of his mind was a bit nervous, he would ignore it, and focus on the idea of actually being able to fly with a dragon. It was quite literally a dream come true for the young man.

✾ Mircea Vasilica Rosenberg ✾

Dragon Rider | Male | 17 | Mentions: Percival [dir.] , Aether [ind.] , Zehra [dir.] , Micheal [indir.] , Other Riders & Dragon (ind.)

The young man had been exhausted. The night before he had spent studying and reviewing the books on proper riding techniques, and he gave a soft yawn. He would admit it but he was bone tired, but of course he kept moving and going forward. Maybe it was the fact he still was half-awake even though he looked fully wake. Or he just have a very serious hearing problem, because he didn't expect Percival to call him ''darling" at all. He was awake now and gave his friend a shocked glance. He could also feel a bit of heat rising in his cheeks at the simple term of endearment (if that's what you could call it.) And not to mention the tone of voice it had been said in - one that was indication of actual flirtation. Him and Percival? No, no , no - they were just friends. But friends don't give each other rings or flirt with each other like he does, the logical part of his brain supplied. Gods, he was feeling quite conflicted right now. However, his attention turned to when he began to speak and a furious blush rose in his cheeks at the innuendo.

" You little cheeky gr-" He began, oh how he wanted to just disappear in a hole in die. His ears were literally going to burn at this point. He caught himself when Percy decided to stop being a menace and introduce his dragon and he gave the dragon a polite smile saying, "Nice to meet you Aether, I'm Mircea, and this is my dragon, Zehra." But then he instantly went back to about to be at Percival's throat about what he said.

" Don't even mention that witch of a mother you have. Honestly she needs to loosen up, is there a reason you're preventing me from getting rid of her?" He said with a bit of distaste as he glared at Percival's mother, when he was younger he thought she was cool and now he realized how much of a fool he was. Maybe he was jealous that she had tried to marry him off to some random girl and make his life miserable with her.

Why was it he was relieved when the two broke it off ? Hm, he then caught site of something insane, another girl by his mother's side. What the hell? What was she trying to do? It was the ex-fiancée, and could feel his blood boil as he narrowed his eyes at the sight. What was that bitch doing here and for what reason? He couldn't help but feel annoyance at the sight of her. But he was snapped out of his thoughts by being called a masterpiece by his friend and he had to widen his eyes in shock and embarrassment. No one had every called him that - not at all. And then he had even went as far as to call him pretty without even saying the words. And he could feel himself looking a bit stunned and confused.

" Masterpiece? Pretty? No, you must have the wrong person. I'm not that pretty." He said meekly with an awkward look on his face as he rubbed his wrists nervously, a nervous tick of his.

After the whole ordeal with Micheal he had been left more concerned and confused than before. He then was caught off guard by Percival saying he would need comfort - a frown was produced as he furrowed his brows in confusion. He honestly didn't know what he would need comfort for. Had he said something wrong? Done something wrong?

" What would he need comfort fo-" he turned ask but he suddenly was aware of their closeness. The look in Percival's eyes - and by the stars they were magnetic, they reminded him of sapphires because of their brilliance. And he couldn't help but notice the way the sun seemed to illuminate his hair- making the golden strands appear even more brighter and like the finest gold. He was taken aback when the male had began twirling a strand of his hair around his fingers. And then the compliments and small kisses to the hair was enough to turn him beet red.

Mircea had officially be stunned to silence. He feared that his lips and legs would betray him if he said anything else - because if one didn't even consider fainting or falling at the words then they were better than him. He had to clear his throat to gain his composure back, but their was still a bit of rouge to his cheeks, however he fought the feeling of just absolutely fainting there and then by getting the comments out of his mind.

"Well, I need to find a good spot for me and Zehra to take off. I wish you and Aether luck on your flight. Though you probably won't need it since you were immerse in the book as much as I was. Bye." And he gave a small smile before attempting to walk away with what grace he had.

He then caught the sound of his friend Kristopher calling his name and he brightened and waved at the sight of the male. And then he noticed the teasing manner that his friend was looking at him and the wriggling of his eyebrows. And if he could blanch, he did - he wasn't living this down was he? Goddamn it.

Quill got to her feet, using a ribbon she had tied around her wrist to tame her hair into a short ponytail. Maybe she should cut it again, to stop it getting in the way? Hmm, nah. She allowed her mind to wander over to the other Riders as she stood, arms crossed, watching them. The First Flight would be starting soon.

Percival du Bec | M| 17 | Noble/Dragon Rider

Mentions: Kavik (ind.)
Aether, Mircea (dir.), and other dragon riders (ind.)

Percy's lips coils into a devious smirk, and his eyes beam with amusement. Observing the color change on Mircea's face-red of that of the brightest ruby. It was a joyous sight to see. His eyebrows raised curiously, but he knew why for Mircea's sudden shift. It all involved him and his actions. His fingers let go of his hair, stroking the tip of his fingers along his friend's darkened cheeks-tickling his cheeks with a light brushing. "What's wrong, Mirly? Are you coming down with sudden? You appear so," bringing his lips to his ear, "flustered." Whispering it with a smile appearing afterward. Percy pulls himself back a few centimeters-pressing the tip of his nose against Mircea's cheek. "You feel quite warm? You have a fever, Mirly?" Brushing his nose lightly along Mircea's cheek before pulling away.

He was locking eyes with the embarrassed man, tilting his head with that goofy smile on his face. His heart was racing with utter excitement, and his cheeks were changing shades. On Percy's cheeks was a light pink blush-he was blushing, but not for the same reason as Mircea. "You know that woman crawled out the pits of Hell. Mirly," his hands reach in the other man's direction, "no killing her. Understand? I don't want my precious piece to get arrested." His fingers touch his friend's burning ears, cupping them while twirling his thumbs along the earlobes. His eyes falter with the glimmer in his eyes fading-noticing how hot the ears were by touch. Mircea's ears were on fire-the physical contact alone tells how hard Mirly's nerves were getting to him. Guess this means Percy is doing his job too well.

"Masterpiece? Pretty? No, you must have the wrong person. I'm not that pretty."

When Mircea said those words, this made Percy frown. He wasn't angry at what he said, more so disappointed. Why would he ever shame himself like that? Does he not see how beautiful he is? Those beautiful luscious locks of midnight and how velvety it was. His eyes of sweet honey-amber bring undefined shivers coursing through his body, and how they make Percy melt. Not to mention, the man's voice made every inch of Percy swoon. This man was a fallen angel-this man's perfect in every single way. It feels like minutes. No. Hours. His sapphire eyes glued on Mircea's supernatural-like beauty.

"That's not true. You're a beautiful person, Mirly." His smile returns. The light of his eyes came back. "I'm saying this from the deepest regions of my heart." After saying that, his left hand settled on his chest, right over his heart. Percy's next thing to touch was Mircea's wrists, holding them firm. "Have I ever lied to you before?" Raising a singular brow, pulling Mircea towards him into a hug. "If you doubt yourself again," burying his face into Mircea's neck, "I'll smack you in the back of your head." Holding him for a few more seconds, then lets go of the anxious Mircea. Was he treated terribly within his family for him to act this way? Why was he nervous about earning such compliments? Percival's head turns to the crowd to see Mircea's family.

There they were, with Mircea's ex sitting beside his mother. No wonder he's upset. His eyes scan them before stepping in front of Mircea to block his line of sight. "Ignore them, Mircea. Once this trial is over, you can live your own life and chosen path." When the two parted ways, his attention was on Aether. "Ready to fly soon?" His excited side comes back, and he steps closer to Aether. Percy checked out the area to find the perfect place to take off. "Have any suggestions on where we should take off, Aether?" Taking advice from a dragon who has many years of experience when it comes to flying.

Aether - Air Dragon - Male - 190 - Mentions: Percival, Other dragons (indirect), Nicodemus (indirect), Brontes (indirect), other riders (indirect)


Humans are weird.

A good example was his rider's interaction with his friend. And he supposed that he included that other human, the Storm Dragon's rider. As he idly listened to their conversation, now that it had narrowed down to two instead of three, he used it to try and figure out that dynamic. It seemed to him, based on what he was hearing and seeing, and aided by that brief few moments when the other rider was present; that his rider liked his friend -Mircea- and he either didn't know, or didn't return the feelings. And then the other one liked Mircea, probably, and...something like a love triangle? Was that what the situation was?

Eh.

Humans.

Nevermind that dragons could have that too, it seemed humans did this more often to him.

His attention was grabbed by the presence of their leaders, he thought that the human was named 'Nicodemus' but he could have been wrong. And the dragon, 'Brontes', that one he remembered. Perhaps only because that he was a Water dragon, territorial lot those dragons are, but at least they're calmer than others. After it seemed like they said their piece, he glanced down, and noticed that his rider's friend was walking away.

"Ready to fly soon?"

Came Percival's voice, the human's attention was on him, and he looked excited. Good to see that excitement was back. He gave a flick of his tail, moving only the last inch or so of it.

"Oh yes I am." Was Aether's answer, his voice and being filled with that fierce jittery excitement of something about to happen; the good kind. Not the jittery-anxious-uneasy sensation of something bad impending.


"Have any suggestions on where we should take off, Aether?"

Came the question after his rider looked around. He didn't respond for a minute, the Air Dragon straightening up, arching his long neck and scanning the valley for ideal places. Technically, he could take off almost right where he was standing, his large wings in proportion to his relatively smaller body made it easier for a ground take-off like that.

"Hm...perhaps that spot over there." Aether jerked his head towards the area he had seen in the valley. There was a natural rise, quite small, more a lump in the earth. But he could see how he could use that to launch himself upwards; which would help a little to make the lift off more smoother. Of course, the true ideal place for him to take off was at a cliff or mountain, where he could launch himself into the open air, with the ground far, far below him. But in the valley, that looked like a good place.

"There's a rise in the ground over there. I could use that as a small springboard, and it would help to gain a bit more air rather than starting off on level ground. Make the whole thing a bit smoother." He decided to explain, in case his rider couldn't see where it was.

"And, as you know, I will test you in the air, Percival," Aether could have gone with the more casual version of his name, although he was being quite serious at the moment and thought that it would help if he used his rider's actual name. "see if you can hold on. Don't take it personally, it's also an instinct of ours. If you fall, I will catch you, don't worry about that. Though I don't believe you will. All the same, good luck my rider." he wasn't too sure what specifics were taught about the First Flight regarding the dragons' point of view, but he thought that making sure his rider knew it was the nicer thing to do.

Zehra

Dream Dragon | Female | M: Mircea & Xevioso, Percival & others[ind.]

As her rider spoke Zehra drowned out everything around her, as if Mircea was the most important person in the world, and to her, he was. She bobbed her head so she could hear the jingling of her horn ornaments, given to her as a gift from her rider the day they met, just as she had given him something as well. If dragons could blush, Zehra would've at her rider's compliment, "Excited that I'm flying with the prettiest dragon of the bunch. But also nervous since this is my first time actually flying a dragon and I want to make my brother and family proud."

“Of course, you will make your family proud! All you must do is hold on tight and I shall make the rest easy for you,”

As her rider's attention was turned to another little human, the dream dragon had noticed the other boy's line of sight go to her rider's hand, which had a shiny band on it! Oh, how pretty it was indeed! Soon after the fact, her dear friend greeted her, “Hello Xevioso,” she responded warmly, happy to see the storm dragon. "I wish you and your rider luck on your ride. I know the both of you will do well. And it seems that our riders know each other - so it looks like we'll be seeing more of each other ." he spoke, “I wish you the best of luck on your ride as well, and I look forward to seeing you more,” Zehra agree, before a dark feeling seemed to come over the other boy, making Zehra tingle with an emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on before the boy left.

She heard the disappointment in her own rider's voice and used her tail to pat her ridders feet in an attempt to offer some comfort. She feared she might knock him over if she had patted his back. She nodded in Xevioso’s direction as he left with his rider, when another friend of Mircea’s approached. How fun! Zehra loved watching the humans interact, running around with their little legs to reach each other. Now when Mircea’s friend began to speak she listened carefully, while she heard the words the two exchanged she could not pinpoint their tone. It was such a lovely one that she had never heard, and it seemed to make her rider bright red. “Mircea, are you alright?” she asked cautiously, Zehra wanted to make sure her rider was not feeling ill, concern lacing her voice.

Seeing her rider rub his wrists, perhaps his nerves for the first ride were still affecting him. It seemed as if he knew some other humans sitting a ways away as well. When Mircea quickly ended the conversation with his friend, Zehra walked after him. “Do you really think we need a better spot to take off? I thought our old one would do,” she spoke honestly, still confused about why Mircea had left his friend. Even if the area was difficult to take off from, Zehra of all dragons could have managed, with her lighter weight and double set of wings, giving her even more force for her take off.

The dream dragon always found human emotions difficult to understand, and now of all times, she wished that would end.

Ana-Lucia Cabellero

16 | Female | Rider | Mentions: Syvne, Geneviève

Knowing that Geneviève was near was a comfort to the young girl. She felt a lot of pressure on her shoulders to do good and be better, despite only being the young age of 16. Ana-Lucia could quite possibly be the youngest in the group, though she had no way of actually knowing. From what her dragon had to say through their link, it seemed to have calmed the racing of Ana’s heart by a few beats. It's a... natural instinct to test riders, from what I've learned and felt. But we also have no desire malicious desire to hurt you either. I believe that's reserved for the Fire Dragons, the insolent beasts." Ana-Lucia had figured others were just as nervous as her, if not more, and after what Syvne had to say, it was safe to assume Ana was glad she did not bond with a fire dragon.

“If that's the case, I'm glad I bonded with the superior dragon class,” she smirked, zoning out for a moment as she focused her gaze on the grass in front of her, after the week's work, she was tired, and some of her exhaustion made her nerves worse. "I have no intentions of dropping you, Ana-Lucia. Though I would not recommend falling off, I don't think it would be a pleasant experience," Her dragon’s words did have some comfort to them, which allowed her to begin to relax. Syvne’s next moves were some Ana could have never predicted, as the ice dragon lowered her head onto Ana’s lap.

Ana-Lucia let out a pent-up sigh of relief as she seemed to momentarily let go of her nerves. Giving Syvne a gentle stroke on the head. She had always found feathered dragons to be remarkable creatures, they seemed quite rare to the girl, considering the majority of the dragons had scales and no fur. “I will do my best to not fall off, I don’t believe I would enjoy that very much,” she spoke, in response to the ice dragon's last comment.

Syvne mentioned bringing Geneviève over, but her sister was so far, and the slight growl in the ice dragon's voice seemed to mean she disliked the idea. Perhaps only suggesting it for her benefit. Ana-Lucia didn't wish to draw their Squad leader’s attention to the small group, the man scared her and she didn’t wish to get her sister in trouble if the first ride would be starting soon, and she wanted her dragon to feel comfortable around her sister first, so she shook her head in response. “I wouldn't want Geneviève to walk all the way over here, just for the first ride to begin. Besides, I will be able to speak with her after the fact, though I appreciate the thought,” Ana added, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

From where the two were seated, it seemed like it might be a safe place to take off from when the first ride would start. It also looked as if many of the other riders were moving to find a good take-off place as well. Soon the first ride would begin.

Brontes

Water dragon | 259 | Male | M: Nicodemus, and others[indirectly]

Brontes stood next to his kneeling rider in a relatively protective stance, despite Nico’s excellent skills with his toothpick, the dragon was always at the reddy. There was never a moment of rest for this creature. In years prior, fights had broken out before the first flight, ending in panicked riders with angry dragons. One year a particularly defensive dragon had shot another student with boiling water, an incident Brontes and Nico had to deal with before it could escalate any further quickly. "'Back in our day’, You make it seem like we're ancient, Brontes. It was only seven years ago that we stood where they do now,"

“Seven years is a long time for you humans, with your little lifespans,” he spoke, “And much as changed since our day, so I found it appropriate,” Brontes had realized Nicodemus already had understood his last statement, he had been around long enough to witness the change, so the dragon offered what could only be described as a “dragons smirk”, his mouth hanging open just slightly to show his rows of teeth. He nodded at the mention of saddles being a help, it would definitely prevent riders from falling off so quickly, it may if even that feat difficult to achieve now that they had something besides their dragon to hold onto.

"When it starts, we'll head off once the last rider has started to leave the valley, I want to know if anyone fails right away before we leave. Plus, if we find any on our way, we can make sure they get help if needed,"

“I agree, it would not be an enjoyable experience to be left behind if one does fall. I haven't been around the other dragons much, so I'm not certain if any will purposely dump their riders.” Brontes had encountered many who had purposely tried to rid themselves of their rider counterparts, he could almost guess Nico was thinking of the year when they had the largest count of riders die during the first ride, due to the ill-tempered dragons that had bonded with the humans. The water dragon let out a pleased snort, steam rising from his nostrils as Nicodemus stood to pat the side of his neck. Brontes nearly rolled his eyes at his rider's next question, it was asked every year, and his answer was always no, however, this year was different. He had caught sight of this particular dragoness, a water class like himself, every so often throughout the past few decades, and now she had appeared to claim her rider in this year's bunch.

“Erm…no, I don’t believe so…” He lied, shooting a quick look in her direction, before clearing his throat. Turning the question back on his rider he asked, “Do you see anyone in particular?” Scanning the group for someone, anyone that his rider might take a fancy to.

Juniper | Demiboy | 17 | Pan Poly | Rider

M: Deirdre (Dir) Other Riders (Ind)

Juniper could barely remember the last time someone visited the Valley. Not the Dragon Valley, but Juniper’s Valley, their home. You see, Juniper grew up in a valley about two days away from where Juniper stood now. It was wide and open, not as large as Dragon Valley, but certainly more gorgeous. No offense to the Dragon Valley of course, but to never see the Valley for a person’s whole life is missing out on Juniper’s whole world. He had never left the Valley before now and this amount of people was scary… yet exhilarating. Juniper could still remember the last time someone came to their Valley, when they were only five, because not only had the person adopted two of Juniper’s favorite chickens at the time but because the man attempted to talk to them. Juniper was so scared that they burst into tears and ran away. Later that same day, Juniper’s dad gave them something the man left behind as an apology gift, a silver ring with runes engraved into it, with a note saying, “I’m sorry for making you cry, but I hope to be your friend someday.”

Since that day, they have vowed that they will make a friend with an actual human who was not a family member or an animal. Sure, practicing talking to other humans is far from the same as talking to the chickens, monologuing to the foxes, or ranting to the mule, but it was progress. Looking at all of the other riders on the stage with them, Juniper was determined to make one of them their friend. Twirling the ring in their cloak pocket, Juniper smiled at Deidre.

Although Deidre said something weirdly, something about anything happening to Juniper under her watch, which made no sense to them, but they still smiled appreciatively anyways, Deidre’s words about being better than even Brontes and his human, Nicodemus, made Juniper’s smile only grow as they nodded excitedly.

“Yeaaaah, let’s totally rock them out and be the fastest flyers in the sky!” Juniper giggled excitedly. Juniper was not sure how to ride a dragon. In fact, they had no idea how to ride a dragon. There was not exactly a course or a book on how to not die on a dragon, which was stupid in Juniper’s opinion, but regardless, Juniper would do everything in his power to help Deirdre win and—

Deirdre looked back at Juniper.

“I’m excited to ride with you too, my friend.”

My friend…?

Juniper’s eyes teared up as he just stared wordlessly at the dragon. Sniffling, Juniper threw his arms around Deirdre’s neck. Juniper held onto her for a moment longer before burying his face in her neck with a smile before mumbling with a soft whisper: “thank you for being my friend…!” Juniper pulled away with more sniffled and wiping his tears away with the heels of his palms before flailing his hands about as he often struggled to convey heavy emotions like happiness and tears. Juniper smiled as he finally swallowed down his half-sobs as he gently slapped the sides of his face and put on his determined, game-face.

“Now, let’s leave them in our dust!!”