Tag: flight

Emine (pt 18)

On Emine’s eleventh birthday, she flew.

“Hold on as tight as you need, you can’t pull out my feathers.”

Those were the first words Norro had ever said to Emine. She had picked Emine right off of the ground and placed her at the base of her neck, a ways before the place where her wings met her torso. Emine had no fear of pulling too hard on the feathers, she had cleaned off Milwurl’s and Milwurl’s had been strong. Norro’s were stronger. These feathers could not be compared with a bird.

“Do not worry about falling. Even if you let go, you won’t.”

Whether that meant she would still be able to cling onto Norro’s back or if Norro meant that she wouldn’t let Emine hit the ground, Emine didn’t know. But from where she sat, holding onto Norro, she didn’t think she would be going anywhere that neither of them wanted.

“Have fun!” she hear Sanni shout.

Then Norro took off. Emine’s heart beat in her throat. She held where she was, before pulling herself forward with Norro’s feathers until she could see properly off the side of her neck. There was the Heights, becoming smaller and smaller as they ascended.

Everything was so small. Like from a dragon to a human. Dragons made more sense.

Emine began to laugh, unable to help herself. And as she did so she heard Norro, in such a foreign and draconian fashion, do the same.

The first of many

No moon means no tides, and Nashita couldn’t bring herself to trust a sea so still. She would have flown over it before without hesitation. Now she wouldn’t dare. Leaving her stranded. It would take someone with a lot less care for their own safety to pass over the sea now.

It was why she flitted around this Ria right now. “It would take less than a minute.”

“That’s still a minute over still water,” Nashita retorted.

“If you don’t want to do this, go away already.”

Nashita didn’t know why Ria thought she could fly. She was no fairy. Or any other type of creature that naturally flew. Ria had no wings or anything else to keep her off the ground.

Ria settled the goggles over her eyes.

Nashita scowled. “You wouldn’t be going that fast.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Nashita might have spent the rest of her long life on that island, separated from the rest of her kind. Or she could take a chance on this child. This child with no sense of danger.
She took the chance.

Emine (pt 17)

“You have to dress warmly for flying,” Sanni told her.

Emine almost couldn’t hear her. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She wanted it, of course she had wanted it, but she didn’t believe that the dragons had agreed. She wasn’t Bonded. This wasn’t for a reason. It was just because she wanted to. And apparently it was okay.

Sanni helped her decide which coat to wear. “There is more you’ll be putting on, so it can’t be too thick.”

Emine nodded, following Sanni out from their rooms to the Alcoves. They met up with Tove, Ghelli’s Bonded.

“I had this made when my girl was about your age,” they told Emine, handing over the jacket. “It should fit you. She grew up way too fast and didn’t get to wear it much. It’s for longer flights, after all.”

After putting on the jacket, she got to put on Tove’s daughter’s gloves. Those fit perfectly, unlike the jacket which fit well enough. Emine could tell she was trembling. Tove put one of their hands on her head.

“You’ll be fine. If it’s too much, say so. No matter the gravity of the situation. Say so and come down if you need.”

Finally, between Tove and Sanni, Emine could speak. “Who’s taking me up?”

“It took them quite a while to decide,” Sanni admitted. “Apparently there was some fighting over you.”

Emine stared up at her. Sanni smiled down. “We’re going to Norro’s nest. Come.”

Norro? Emine couldn’t believe it. But with Tove smiling after the two, Emine followed Sanni there.

Emine (pt 16)

As far as Emine knew, people didn’t ask that sort of thing of a dragon. Even if humans tended to ask more of dragons than she would have initially imagined. Sanni certainly hadn’t been expecting it. Emine wondered if she’d overstepped her bounds.

Sanni took her to Ramar’s nest. Why Ramar? Emine didn’t know. Sanni and Ramar just had some sort of connection that wasn’t a Bond, but something else. Emine wasn’t sure.

“Ramar? Is Arvid here?”

Ramar had to have known they came in, but she took her time in turning around to face them. “Why?”

“I’m here, Sanni,” came Arvid’s voice from the other side of the red dragon.

Sanni didn’t go over to Arvid though. She fixed her look onto wherever it was she had deemed it safest to stare at Ramar. Ramar stared back. “How dare you wait to ask something of me until making certain Arvid was here.”

Sanni remained unfazed. “It’s Emine’s birthday tomorrow.”

At first, Ramar said nothing. She was quiet for long enough that Arvid was able to walk around her and into view. “Why is this the first I’ve heard of this?”

“She wants to fly for her birthday.” Arvid stopped walking then. From Emine’s vantage point, she could see Ramar’s eyes focus in on Sanni. Then to Emine. Emine wondered if she should look away, but Sanni didn’t back off. “Which one of you would give her a flight?”

Ramar then acted very peculiar. Her feathers rustled, but because of a shift of her muscles underneath. Without a word, Ramar left.

Emine would have been concerned, except for the fact that Arvid began to laugh.