Where Dragons Fly [Winters!]

[Tally]

They'd come far, but not quite far enough.  Angel stood out in an open field and looked up at the peak rising above, casting its shadow over himself and the village.  This was his home.  He had not left this mountain plateau for twenty-four years until the king had found him and brought him to the capital.

"Let's go," Angel called over his shoulder.  He was out here with two individuals—one a young soldier, still green and in need of some real training out where it mattered, and the other a baby dragon that clung to Angel's shoulder.  It was a female, dull emerald in color.  Scheherazade by name.

[Winters-Feather]

Taiyou had been so distracted by the sight of the village that she had been startled when her teacher finally addressed her.
"Yes! Sir!" she awkwardly replied, quickly scrambling onto the back of Shioko.
The dragon let out a puff of smoke, amused  by his rider's antics.
The girl scowled in return before casting one last glance at the small town.
She hadn't been here since she was little. It was odd, she knew- even as a rider, she hadn't done that much long distance travelling. Taiyou had some vague memories of the mountains, but most of life as she remembered it had been at the capital. Being back was nostalgic, though it stirred a sense of uneasiness in the girl.

Still, she was really excited. Though it wasn't quite a one-on-one lesson, as they had dragons with them, the opportunities to be taught in this fashion was rare for the girl, and she wanted to make the best impression.
I'm making a lousy start, she sheepishly thought as she adjusted her head band.
Taiyou dug in her heels and patted Shioko's side to get him to take off. She shuttered against the chilly mountain wind, though chose to ignore it as her eyes followed Angel.

[Tally]

"Just follow and don't stray.  We're northward a fair bit.  Connlaoth hunters like to trek down here and kill dragons."

He found the girl to be over-eager, but not badly so.  Not enough to take her to task on it.  A few rough nights in the Blacks would settle her down and get her confidence up.

Angel mounted up on Shai, a small purple dragon with a feathery white mane.  She wasn't his partner, but they often worked together and she was doing him this small favor while Sdheherazade was yet young.

Skybound, Shai circled the village once to gain height then soared up toward the next peak.  Angel waved a hand to get Taiyou's attention and pointed at their destination—another plateau just on the northeastern side of the mountain, a wedge of land choked by dense forest.  It wasn't particularly high up the mountain, but it was near impossible to get to it without flying.

[Winters-Feather]

Taiyou scowled  and shuttered at the mentioned of Connlaothians. It took all she had  not to spit at the mention of their dragon killing. Shioko, sensing her uneasiness, grumbled under her weight, to which she leaned in and patted the creature.
"They're all stupid brutes," she muttered so that Angel wouldn't hear.
Part of the girl hoped that they could run into such a hunter and punish the fiends.
Crazy people with weak hearts, Taiyou thought, though she wouldn't have dared to say that out loud. They had to be. What sort of people thought magic unnatural, and for their mages to put up with that?
If that ever happened in Adela, there would be riots, she mused, content with that answer.

Shioko soared in the sky as he followed Shai. Taiyou observed the village with awe.
It's so small, she thought, used to the city.
Her eyes narrowed as she just barely made out the plateau her teacher pointed towards. The girl nodded in response to his signal before directing her dragon to fly towards it. Taiyou smiled in the face of the wind, her eyes squinting as the wind pressed against her face, her clothes rustling against her skin, her braid swaying fiercely. The girl gripped tighter to her saddle and leaned as Shioko turned. She yelped as a white bird fearlessly passed by over head and stared at for a moment in amazement. Shio chuckled as the girl quickly turned her attention back to flying.

"That was too close," she muttered, shaken.
She had known the avian here had adapted to the mountain climate, but not that they were this fearless of dragons. She made a note to ask Angel why later.
Shioko landed  a couple of meters away by the westernmost trees in the clearing, but Taiyou didn't dismount. She wanted to wait to see what Angel would do.

[Tally]

Angel and Shai alighted after the other two.  It gave him a chance to observe, to see how well the girl sat her dragon, how they moved together, how they didn't move together.  True, in the isolated mountain villages, folk had been riding dragons for nigh two or three generations now, but flying a dragon into battle was a different thing entirely.  These wouldn't always be peaceful times.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, the baby dragon was off, flutter-hopping out into the brush.  Shai followed, to watch over the hatchling.

"We'll be on foot a ways.  We're going places no dragon can reach."

[Winters-Feather]

Taiyou frowned.
"On foot?" she asked, skeptical. Wasn't this supposed to be a dragon riding lesson? How were they supposed to learn if she and Shioko were separated?  However, Angel was her teacher and she had to trust him on that one. Her eyes instantly brightened at the  mention of going to a place where no dragon can reach.
"Where's that?" she asked, slipping off her saddle.
I bet it's magical! she thought.
Her body quivered with excitement as she clutched her staff.

[Tally]

"On foot."  She didn't ask why, and he admitted to a reserved approval in his own mind.  A soldier in service to Adela's standing army shouldn't question their orders beyond what they needed to know to do their job.  "We've a task to accomplish here."

The broad, flat grassy plain of the plateau gave way to a dense cover of trees.  Angel led the way into the forest.  "A crevice in the mountain face."

[Winters-Feather]

Taiyou slumped her shoulders at Angel's curt reply. She had been hoping for a more elaborate answer. Taiyou sighed, scratching her head. She supposed she would have to wait and see, though she preferred getting an answer straight away. The girl  couldn't imagine what sort of task they had to acomplish here that they couldn't do back in the capitol, so she just quietly followed Angel.

The girl swatted at flies as they entered a dense forest. Angel was a man of few words- there was no conversation throughout their walk. Taiyou felt awkward and restless, so she amused herself with the sights of the forest. There were fauna here, she realized, that didn't grow in any other part of Adela, as far as she was concerned. Taiyou wanted to ask him what the strange blue and black flower was, the one that seemed to grow upside down, but they marched past it. Finally, he spoke when they reached their destination.
"Crevice?" she muttered, confused.
What the heck did that mean?
All she saw in front of her was rock, a giant wall of rock, divided in two by a pass just wide enough for a human to pass through. Where it led she had no idea- all she saw was darkness.
"Do you mean that, sir?" she asked, pointing towards it.

[Tally]

"Aye, that."  And exactly where his scouts had said it would be.  An uneventful trek thus far, but he'd be a fool if he expected it to stay that way.  It would be dangerous to make assumptions given where they were going.

Shai descended and dug her claws into the cliff face.  Pebbles and dust rained over their head as she clung to the rock above them.  "We'll keep a look out for you on the other side as well."

"My thanks," he said, and led the way in.

The light didn't penetrate far into the darkness of the interior.  Angel slung his pack off his shoulders to hunt for a light.