True Adversary (Sunflower Dawn)

[Zer0ic]

   He was glad the Captain had acknowledged his hard work in the Adelan Dragonrider's 118th Airborne Division and rewarding him with an important mission protecting the breeding grounds of the nation's dragons, but why was he stuck with her, he asked himself.

   She was a Draconian just like him, but what the Captain did not know, because he was human, was they were from rival clans. And, on top of that, she was from the Stark clan that had killed his older brother. She was even a rookie in the division.

   Both of them during their travel to Dragon's Nest Village, in the Thunderblacks, never took an eye off the other. Nero was prepared for her to attack at any moment. This was going to be a long journey to the village and he wished they could let bygones be bygones, but he knew it wasn't the average Draconian way. She probably did not think the way he did.

   Well, they may be adversaries, but he didn't want silence the whole way there and since spike could not speak a language, he would only have her for conversation. "Hey, rookie, what's your name, and your dragon's? I know you are from the stark clan," Nero said trying to start conversation. "I am Neroth of the Arynkhun Clan. And, this is Spike," he said patting his companion who was too busy flying to their destination to respond with a roar.

   Waiting for her response he took a good look at her. She was a beautiful Draconian female and had attractive traits most Draconian males liked. She had blazing red hair and stone cold green eyes, which if she was human it would be blonde hair and blue eyes. He noticed her hips were in good size and breasts to match. All-in-all, she was what he looked for in a female, except the fact she had her hair in a ponytail. He liked it when woman had their hair down and secretly liked to see their bed head.

   Her lips began to part and he started to listen for her voice.

[Sunflower Dawn]

"You call that a dragon?!"  Lyra popped off, then immediately began to beat her inner voice to a pulp. Why do I always to that?  she thought, irritated now. He was just making nice, there was no reason to insult his ride.

Her expression changed to a grimace, then to an expression of apology.  "Sorry.  I guess I'm just on edge."  She stuck out her hand suddenly and grabbed his.  "Name's Lyra.  And you're right...I'm a Stark.  I'm proud of that, by the way.  And although I was rude just now, I meant what I said.  My ride's name is Yenn, which, by observation, is a helluva lot more than your pathetic excuse for one is."  She smiled a menacing yet saccharine sweet smile at him, showing all teeth...and then raced ahead. 

"Whatsa matter, Arynkhun?  Can't keep up?!"  she yelled back.

[Zer0ic]

   Spike snarled at her remark and let off a magnificent stream of flames.

   "Calm down boy," he said with a simple pat to his back. He had never seen Spike so angry. He was usually very hard to upset, but she did call him less of a dragon.

   Gripping hands he could tell she had a strong sword arm. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Glad you are not rude, just honest. And your right, he is not a dragon," he said as he smiled back and she darted off taunting him to keep up.

   Did she just taunt him? Oh, it is on! "He is my partner," he said kicking his heels into Spike and the dragon knew what to do.

   Spike darted silently at them and began a slow rotate into an upside down flight. Now, they were quietly over them. Nero looked up, or in her case down, at her and said, "Hey, are you sure you're not the one on something other than a dragon?" The statement caused Spike to release a roar of amusement.

[Sunflower Dawn]

Lyra's jaw dropped.  Was he...killing her with kindness?!  Aw, hell.  She realized with a start that she actually might have some competition.  Which spiked her interest as well as infuriated her.  She would lay him and his ride flat, if she had anything to say about the matter. 

Without thinking, she rose up to the belly of his ride and punched it.  Hard.  Diving down a bit and maneuvering herself and Yenn to the position where she could glare at Nero, she spat out her response. 

"Watch it, Arynkuhn.  You are no match for me.  Whatever you throw at me will end up as your ruin.  I will be the best because I am the best.  No gloat, no bluff.  Total truth." 

Speeding ahead, she fumed at herself.  Why did she have to ruin everybody's day?  Maxim had warned her about using her mouth to fight.  All she needed were her skills and nothing more.  She knew how to use literally everything around her in her favor...there was no need to taunt her opponent with silly words.  "Get out of the latrine and fight, woman!"  Maxim had yelled at her once.  He had punished her with enough bruises and welts more times than she could count, mostly for the backtalk she couldn't seem to help.  Lyra half smiled, remembering the dragonrider she had come to love.  She had given him her heart and everything else she had. 

Coming back to reality, she grimaced again and widened her eyes.  Nero's ride looked pissed as he charged Yenn. 

Uh-oh...

[Zer0ic]

   Spike instantly when on the offensive and charged at them so fast Nero fell from him. Spike rapidly spun and tackled Yenn at a high speed of Mach 1, sending Lyra off her mount.

   Nero channeled his primal energies and transform, granting him dragon wings. Then, he rushed over to Lyra. Though, as much as he did not want to rescue her, he knew the Captain would be pissed if he let her die, because his dragon erupted.

   Catching her he said, "Quick, tell your dragon to fight back with all its might. Spike is out for blood." He wanted to worry about his dragon, but he has seen Spike rip other dragons to pieces, literally.

   "By the way," he said softly and then yelled, "why the hell did you hit my dragon for?" Then he mumbled, "The best my ass. No gloat, no bluff," under his breath mockingly.

   The two dragons went claw to claw, wing to wing.

[Sunflower Dawn]

The impact from Spike's body hurling itself against Yenn's was enough to make Lyra scream out a string of expletives in anger.  Then she went pale as she realized she had been knocked off her ride.  Shit!

There was nothing in the air for her to use to stop her fall.  Nothing.  In a blind panic, she screamed again in terror...and immediately stopped her screaming as she felt Nero catch her.  Good Gods, the man had dragon wings...  she thought deliriously as she realized that she was not going to fall all the way to the ground. 

She was about to forget all about her warrior status and thank him profusely for saving her ass...but he chose at that moment to open his mouth again.  He sounded incredibly frustrated, which made Lyra harden up at once and throw up her guard again. 

"Get me back on my ride. Now.  If you and your manners hadn't have pissed me off, I wouldn't have touched your ride.  That's your fault, buddy."  she spat out sarcastically.  Lyra was so angry she couldn't even see straight.  How dare he embarrass her like this? 

"AND GET YOUR DRAGON OFF MINE!!"  she yelled in his face.  He was another pompous asshole she would have to deal with, she knew know.  Not willing to deal with his attitude, she shut off all the emotion that she felt toward Nero and ignored the fact that he was touching her.  It didn't matter that they were in mid-air and he was carrying her around like a damn rag doll...all she wanted now was her dragon and a stiff drink.  She couldn't wait for either of the two.

[Zer0ic]

   "I wouldn't yell at the person who is carrying you hundreds of feet in the air," he said letting go of her. He watched her fall towards the ground and then re-saved her. During his catch, he decided to quick cop-a-feel of her ass.

   "Now, that I think you've learned your lesson, we need to get those two separated," he said with serious intent.

   Spike roared flames down onto Yenn. Relentlessly attacking the other dragon with all him might. It was furious that the dragon had hit him with its tail, but Spike didn't know it was Lyra's fist. Nero's dragon never who have guessed her that strong.

   "Can you not squirm so much," Nero said trying to fly the two of them to their dragons. "God, you're heavy for such a small thing," he teased, though he liked her stature. "You need to lose some weight fat ass. I think you rider around on that flying creature of yours a little too much."

   Sneaking in another squeezed of her butt he yelled, "Spike, quit it before I join in and beat the crap out of you both."

[Sunflower Dawn]

"No!!"  Lyra yelled out in horror as Nero promptly dropped her into the air, waited for a couple seconds, and then caught her again.  Lyra's eyes pricked with tears, much to her chagrin, and she glanced at her adversary with such submission that he did a double take.  She didn't even feel him grab her ass the first time. 

Thinking only of her mistakes since she met this strong and capable dragonrider, her mind hardened once again.  It was time to put all these awful bygones behind them, she thought bitterly.  He might not be so bad.  Quickly, she shoved that thought clear from her mind and scowled as she fought hard with her emotions.  He's trying to break you, Lyra, she screamed at herself.  She was as angry as her ride was at the moment, but she had no choice but feel the twinge of passion for the guy as well.  Lyra, as warrior-minded as she was, felt more confused as she held tight to Nero.

Nero's dragon immediately obeyed him and the two dragons split from each other and started flying straight again.  Once again on Yenn, she checked her for signs of battle and rubbed her ride's scaly forehead.  "Are you okay, dearheart?"  she asked Yenn softly as it coughed fire and growled at her mount.  Yenn, for all intents and purposes, was not happy.  Not at all.  But that couldn't be helped.  They'd kiss and make up, so to speak, later.

Turning to Nero, Lyra looked sheepish.  "I apologize for my actions, and thank you for saving me.  But I meant what I said, Arykuhn.  I am the best.  Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't kick your ass.  Good Gods, you are the most infuriating man I have ever come across!  So.  I guess we'll just have to compromise."  She stuck out her pinky as a sign of promising her word. 

"Truce?"

All Lyra wanted was the situation to get better.  It had to, otherwise they were gonna kill each other.  And that would totally suck dragon snot.

[Zer0ic]

   Nero transformed back into his standard form and landed on Spike. "It's only a truce if you call me Nero and stop pronouncing my Clan incorrectly," he answers, grabbing her pinky with his.

   After was seems like forever, five minutes, pasted on by. "Look, a tavern up ahead," he said with a huge grin. Spike barrel rolled to compensate for Nero not being able to see his eyes roll and dived down for the tavern. "I am stopping for a drink before we continue on," he yelled back.

   The tavern was empty and needed a cleaning. Nero still dived in just to get a drink, even though he wanted some ladies around. Oh, well, and then her called over the waiter, "Hey, bald man, get me a shot of your ten finest drinks," he said, insulting the man, but he didn't care cause Nero pulled out a large bag of coin.

   Soon followed, in what would be him only eye candy for the evening, was the rookie. "Hey, Rook, have a seat," he said pointing to the chair next to him.

[Sunflower Dawn]

Lyra softened at Nero's pinky wrapped around hers. Finally!, she thought.  The fight between them had ceased...for now.  She felt nothing but triumph as they flew on.  She'd do as he asked and would call him "Nero" from now on...she inwardly cringed at the notion that she had been saying his Clan name incorrectly.  She should have paid more attention to the pronunciation of her rivals when she was younger.  The last thing she wanted was to insult the man who had just saved her from a fall that would have likely killed her. 

When she saw the tavern ahead and heard Nero's plan to stop, she almost got giddy.  She'd get the chance she was waiting for to get to know him, her latest opponent, and find out exactly what made him tick.  She wanted to understand how to deal with him, she needed to know how to get past the sexy vibe he had sent through to her very soul.  Nero had begun to do things to her heart that was all too familiar to Lyra, and it scared the living shit outta her.  So, it was crucial to her that she kept her mind on the fact that she had to win.  Whatever it cost, it was sink or swim time.  She wouldn't...she couldn't...let him turn her into a pile of mush like Maxim had done. 

Maxim was her everything once...then he died.  Lyra vowed never to let her heart be taken again.  All she needed in this world was Yenn, and a challenge to fight.

She followed Nero into the tavern and started to smile at him...and then, once again, he opened his big mouth.  He actually had the audacity to call her a rookie...  Lyra's expression turned from pleasant to hateful in a nanosecond.  She glared at him as her hand itched to slap him, but she remembered the pinky swear, calling truce to the whole day. 

"You have no idea what I'm capable of,"  she hissed nastily.  Then she motioned for the bartender and ordered an ale.  She knew better than to drink hard around Nero.  She was a warrior, yes...but she was also a lightweight.  In order to be on top of her game, she needed to take it easy on the alcohol. 

[Zer0ic]

   "Hey, I was called, Rook, my first month by everyone. It's tradition. And, you shouldn't, being a Draconian, that tradition is extremely important," he said, excusing himself by calling it a tradition. Then, he quickly took his first two shots and continued, "By the way, you need to stop putting such a grimace on that pretty face of yours."

   Taking three more shots he told her, "I know exactly what you're capable of." Sending her a wink and then two shots down his throat.

   Wiping away some of his drink from his face with his gauntlets and started to hum a tuned. One she knew, a Draconian tune warriors whistled to stay calm in the heat of battle. While keeping tune he moved his chair closer to her and place his arm over her shoulder. "Lyra, you are the best," he said, trying to act drunk and slowly placed his hand, the one that was over her shoulder, on her breast and pretended in was unintentional.

   He took two more shots with his free hand and offered her his last shot.

[Sunflower Dawn]

Here we go...that's more like it!  Lyra thought with satisfaction.  She was going to pry his mannerisms from his soul whether he liked it or not.  She actually enjoyed this part, getting to know her adversary and observing how he dealt with certain situations and certain people he knew. 

But then he put his paws on her...filthy man as he was...and groped her breast. In front of everybody!  Of all the nerve...  Lyra had no idea if she was supposed to be offended or flattered.  For one strange, disillusioned moment, she wished like hell he would kiss her already...which mortified her.  In no way, shape, or form did she want to have an intimate relationship...especially with the man who was supposed to be her latest challenge.  She knew she would have to calm her nerves before she became a stuttering idiot. 

Taking a deep breath, she took the shot he had offered to her and downed it.  To hell with being a lightweight.  If she couldn't get a handle on her emotions for him when she was sober, she realized with a pang in her stomach, she would just have to roll with the punches. 

What the hell was she gonna do if he did kiss her?!  she thought with a panic she wasn't used to.

[Zer0ic]

   Her face was flushed red and turned brighter after taking the shot. Nero knew she was crushing on him and not just a happy drunk. So, he went in, touched the side of his nose to hers, and stared into her eyes saying, "O'sai vinve ryn'th canthos ra'kyrin." He spoke their native tongue, Draconian, and what he said was, "Your smile is brighter than the moon."

   Just as he finished trying to romance her she leaned forward and pressed her lips into his. Well, she didn't do it on purpose. She hiccuped from the shot she took, but he still accepted it and followed up with a firm squeeze to the breast still in his clutches.

   "I know. I just have a way with words. That and I am an amazing kisser," Nero exclaimed and shot her a wink.

   "Waiter, I need 10 more shots for each of us," he said. Nero lean toward the waiter and whispered to him, "Is this place also an inn and do you have any rooms available for the night?"

   "Yes, yes sir," the waiter replied with a greedy grin on his ugly mug.

   Immediately after the waiter left to get the shots. In the meanwhile, Nero's head filled with perverted thoughts, each one containing Lyra butt naked one way or another. His fantasies ran wild until the waiter served the next round of shots.