Takeshi Ueto's Story

Reechi

What happened next between the walking giant and Trista did surprise Reechi. She didn’t expect the harsh reply that came from their acquaintance, and Reechi sort of shifted back towards Rowan, uncomfortable as to the tension between the two. What happened to surprise her next, though, was how Trista’s bad mood seemed to be difused at Angel’s words. She grinned, slinking to the back of her Ryder’s neck and hooked her toes into the cloth of his shirt, placing her front paws on top of his head, and her belly against his hair as she peered back over at the twins with mischief in her eyes, expecting what she saw.

The two did their seemingly signature teasing and hair screwing up, before Aya replied with her suggestion of swords first. Her tail twitched against Rowan’s back excitedly, interested to see how well her Ryder did with the blade. Aya suddenly dipped her head and departed from the group, obviously, or at least to Reechi, excited to get started.

She glanced down at Takeshi’s arm suddenly around Angel, and she grinned laughingly. Angel made a remark, suddenly announcing he’d never even held a sword before. A slightly sullen, I-should-have-guessed look flashed across her face, but it was gone as soon as it came, and Reeps was grinning once more. Saga introduced her to the tall one, and Reechi turned her head to her, eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring as she scrutinized the girl. After a few seconds, she turned back to Rowan, and nommed his head.

Angel wrapped an arm around Trista’s waist, and Reechi hid a tiny little smirk. However, her claws dug into Rowan a bit as her head shot up and she looked around, eyes wide and nostrils scenting. A look of glee flickered onto her features, and she shot down Rowan. ”Well, what are we waiting for, off you go!” she thought at him, suddenly darting across the field towards the swords where Aya seemed to be examining a thin sword. Reeperchi scampered across the training area before seeing Estabel trotting off. “Oi, hey, vait for me!” She called after her, veering to the right to follow the unicorn happily, using a bit of a Russian accent. She quickly caught up, launching up onto her back to catch a free ride, a look of content on her face. “Hope you don’t mind.”

They were headed to the Special Abilities area, something Reechi was definitely interested in, and not so much for herself, but to judge the competition. Training was definitely on her mind, but might as well get an upper hand whenever the opportunity presented itself.

"I believe that the word you should be using is 'sorry.' After all, you are the one who stopped without warning to anyone." Trista snapped her eyes up to meet the girls. She was a giant, it was rare that Trista had to look up to any girl. It didn't feel good. The raven haired girl turned to fully face the woman, lifting her head confidently, inspecting the face that challenged her as it looked over those around Trista. Did her eyes linger on Angel, hopefully it was just her imagination.

"Oh, thank the Cree, there are tall people here." What?! What kinda thing to say is that? Course there are tall people here, there were tall people everywhere.

”I’m going to go ahead and check out the weapons, I’ll meet you guys there.” Trista was momentarily popped out of her negativity to see Aya running of towards the sword. She raised her hand to return her friend's wave with a smile.

"Ok, see you in a bit." She watched the girl for a second more. Then turned back to the larger girl and her big dog. There were several routs she could take here. The high rout, the low rout, or the middle rout where she just ignored everything and walked away. Already the Middle road was out of the question, Trista did not walk away from something she started. Oh, she knew she started it. She knew this girl was probably about to say sorry but changed her mind when Trista's mouth had run away without thinking. But what was done was done and now it was her job to finish it.

Just like her Dad told her.

It was a hot spring day, annoyingly hot. The type of hot that blasts down and hangs wherever it can, like a loiterer that couldn't be caught. The streets were silent with the lack of activity, no one in this city enjoyed the hot weather. Normally it was cold or mild this time of year, but this spring had brought an odd heat wave.

A bell's shrill cry broke the silence. A river of bundled energy, screams, and giggles was released from its dam and rushed out of the small school yard. The river stopped when it spotted a mountain that cast a large intimidating shadow over all of them. For a few harsh seconds the silence returned, only to be cut again by the river's squeals of terror as it ran of in all directions for the safety of home. Only one within the river did not run. She starred up at the mountain and the one who stood beside it with a growing toothy grin of joy.

"Daddy!" The little girl with a small ponytail of black hair and bright green eyes ran up to her father with wide open arms. The man bent down and scooped up his daughter, swinging her round and round.

"How's my little dragon?" He laughed setting her upon his shoulders. Trista didn't answer too preoccupied by her attempts to reach up and pet the mountain. The mountain bent down and let the her pat and rub his rough nose with a rather fond look in his eyes. The three began to walk home and the Ryder began his tales of the adventures taken in his absence. He noticed his daughter was unusually silent.

"What's wrong Tristlea?" He asked, she told him of course. Daddy would never get mad at what she had to say.

"Daddy, if you're fighting with someone and want to stop, do you?"

Her father stopped in his tracks and stood, as if considering something. Then he took his daughter off his shoulders and set her upon the ground in front if him and knelt down to her level. Little Trista looked up at her father expectantly.

"Who started this fight?" His daughter looked to the grown shamefully.

"I did." She mumbled. Now any other father would have told their daughter that it wasn't their fault. To just say they were sorry and leave things as peacefully as they could. But Marcus was no normal father.

"Then you finish it." Trista looked up at her father in surprise. "You started it, it's now your responsibility to finish it."

"But- but what if she and I aren't friends anymore?!" The little girl gripped the hem of her dress as she whined.

"Then I guess you shouldn't have started that fight." It was his final word and his daughter did not test it. She simply returned her gaze to the ground with a pout on her face and a sniff. The Ryder stood, he didn't like having to tell her the hard truths but if she didn't hear them, he knew she wouldn't learn them in the environment she was in.

"C'mon now," he ruffled her hair, "no more frowny faces. Lets go get some ice cream and get out of this heat, how does that sound?

At the mention of ice cream the little girl perked up immediately and nodded her head so that her hair flopped up and down with it. Her father laughed and placed her on his shoulders once more. All the way to the ice cream store, all the little girl chirped was "Ice cream, Ice cream!"

She finished her fight, even if she got an enemy in the end.

That was just the consequence.

Anyway back to elephant in the room, or should she say giant ass woman with her giant ass dog.

”Come on everybody, let’s be nice. It’s the first day, give each other a break.” She heard Saga say. It annoyed her slightly but she didn't hold it against him. ”I’m Saga and this good looking man here is my buddy. Angel,” he also introduced their companions.

"Awww, Saga," replied Angels voice. "You think I'm good looking? I'm so touched," Suddenly the boy was beside her. No, not just beside her, his hand was placed gently on her waist! It sent little jolts of electricity up her side from where his fingertips touched. "Why, aren't you forgetting the lovely Trista? Or are you two ladies already acquainted?" Had this been any situation other than her going toe to toe with a giant she would have glowed and smiled. Already on the inside she having a freaking spaz attack of happiness! Why, oh why was the universe so cruel, as to have such a thing happen when she was facing off with someone?!

And for that matter why did it make her THIS happy?

Whatever, she would contemplate that later. Angel had asked her a question.

"Oh no I haven't met this girl till just a moment ago, when she rammed straight into my back." She said. Now here is where things became complicated and difficult. She had her crush with his arm around her waist and a person who was probably about to become her enemy in the same situation. Saying what she wanted to say could possibly decrease his opinion if her. Then again there was really no way to get through this with her pride fully intact.

Besides it was just a crush and she always would have Fucuello and she always finished what she started. Even if it got her hated.

I really needed to watch my mouth.

So she addressed the tall girl. "I personally think I have nothing to say sorry. You ran into me, not the other way around. Plus I'm not responsible for what going on behind me or else I would have eyes on the back of my head. If I will apologize for anything it would be for sounding rude in the beginning." Oh, God she couldn't believe she was about to say this, and actually mean it! "So for that I am sorry, but you really should watch out for where your going honestly. Now if you'll excuse me I have some training to get to."

She regretted it, she always did, but it was done now and she couldn't take it back. She had made an enemy and would keep an enemy. Whatever, she could please them all. Fucuello would be by her side and that was all she needed. She could hold her head high and smile through it all. Though what was this uneasiness in her stomach. Was it about what Angel or Saga would think of her after saying that and leaving it there? Was it the fact that Angel had his hand where it was? This never happened to her before so why.... What had her mother done to her?

She sighed and mentally put the situation in the past, done, finito. Then turned a tentative smile to her friends. If she could still call them that after that drama. Damn her trigger happy mouth, she really needed to get a hold of it sometimes. "Well, shall we go join Aya?"


Sleep was exactly what he needed. The sun wasn't so painfully bright, sounds didn't cut his ears, smells were sharp but mellow, and whatever he was laying on was warm and comfortable. The little dragon twitched his eyes open and looked around. They were outside again in a big wide open area with odd things set up in even odder ways around him. He was on Saga's shoulder and the boy was talking to some of the people he'd seen earlier. The sibling of his companion with the tall girl and their companion's. he also spotted the Angel guy from earlier and Reechi. BlueJay smiled at the dragon and waved his tail at her then yawned big and wide.

”Yes, I’ve under-gone a transformation. I am now…BAG MAN!” BlueJay was rocked back and forth with Saga's arm as thrust it in and out. ”And I will protect all of you from scary Gargoyle!” It stopped as Aya swung her leg at his companion's shin. ”Ow! Aya!” he whined while she just smiled. BlueJay shook his head to clear the murky fog that cluttered it. The sun felt good, maybe he should take another nap. Yeah that sounded good... The little dragon closed his eyes again.

"Oh thank the Cree, there are tall people here." Who said that? He's never heard that voice before. He popped his head up and stared. That human was huge, her companion was huge. The air that felt stretched to the max between the black haired girl and the huge one was gigantic and scary! BlueJay quickly tried to burrow into Saga's shirt again. Nope he did not want to be here! Not with these scary ladies. Oh, there had to be a better place to hide! He could only fit his head into Saga's shirt and then he could still feel it. The air, he could breath! If they stretched this air to far it would snap soon he just knew it!

“Oi, hey, vait for me!” Was that Reechi? BlueJay popped his head out of Takeshi's shirt to see that it was indeed Reechi running of to join a black four legged thing over to one of the set up things. Did he know what it was?

Nope.

Did he care?

Nope.

As long as it got him away from those two ladies and their air, he was happy.

"I'm gonna be over there with Reechi, ok Saga?" And without waiting for an answer the little blue dragon hopped to the ground, briefly noted how small he was, and was off in a flash.

”Oi, you are suppose to play dumb and say how handsome I am back,” he laughed
and leaned more onto Angel. The guy was comfy and at just the right height for Saga to use as something like a side chair. His muscles were not making him any comfortable though, why did he have so much muscle!? No matter how much Saga worked out his body would never get like that. He could only become toned. How frustrating. He put his hand on Angels stomach, about to make a joke when he got goose-bumps.

Eyeing the two girls, he noticed the electricity riding on the wind between them. The air felt polluted with girl drama and he thought he was going to be sick. It seemed his little guy thought so too because his dragon had woken up and tried to hide himself in his shirt. Shoving his whole head down there and apparently aiming to get the rest of himself in. He used his free hand to pet his back and calm him down. His dragon was so cute! He had never once felt like awing over something other than his little sister. Getting back to the bigger picture here (literally) He should had done what Aya did and scrammed! He couldn’t even make a joke and just stood there in silence as the girls were having a full out stare-down.

Saga wasn’t stupid. He may be a guy, but he could read women. Tristas reaction to Solara barely grazing Angels looks with her eyes was flat. Out. Jealousy. The woman was merely trying to see who the people were around her, so what if she thought he was cute? Girls…he didn’t like how females always showed two faces. With men, it was one face and once face only. Two faces was just too much work. Men got along easy, take Angel and himself. All the guys didn’t have a problem with each other! Guy problems were always solved fast too.

Still as much as he found Tristas reaction surprising and a bit annoying, she was good for his little sister. This showed that the girl had a backbone and would stand up for Aya if someone tried to mess with her. And he liked that about her, but at the same time….. Argh! He was getting a headache. He was done thinking about this.

"I personally think I have nothing to say sorry. You ran into me, not the other way around. Plus I'm not responsible for what going on behind me or else I would have eyes on the back of my head. If I will apologize for anything it would be for sounding rude in the beginning.” Saga cocked his head to the side, looking up at his buddy with raised eyebrows. His expression saying, are-you-hearing-this? "So for that I am sorry, but you really should watch out for where your going honestly. Now if you'll excuse me I have some training to get to." Wow. Talk about harsh. Although…at least she apologized. It looked like it took her a lot of effort, almost like it was painful.

"Well, shall we go join Aya?" he was about to rejoice in the fact to move on till he saw his dragon hopping off, following Reechi. No! Not a good idea! He will get squished!

”Sorry guys, I’ll catch up with you later! Bye bro,” he waved goodbye and rushed off to follow his dragon. Pushing past people and ducking some fists to make it.



This girl may be taller then Trista, but she was NOT taller than him. Fucuello stared down at the girl menacingly. He tried to look as dangerous as possible, blowing out of his nostrils, shaking his head side to side. The two of them were having a sentimental moment, and she had to come and ruin it! He was getting the attention he deserved! And she took it!!!

He stayed out of Tristas way, but was dyeing to interject between the two. She had started the fight, and Fucuello had been scolded more than once by her father to let her finish a fight that she started. When Trista had finally blew her off, ending the conversation, Fucuello stepped in front of Solara. Cutting off all ties with the two. It’s not like he didn’t like the girl, but she had stolen his attention. He was not a happy camper. He rested his head on Tristas shoulder and rubbed his nose against her cheek.

Wait a second. He quickly looked down to see Angels hand around Tristas waist. He had been so preoccupied by the girl that he hadn’t noticed this! He glared at the man, and slowly lifted up his hoof. He was touching Trista. He was stealing his attention! His looks would be recognized!!! BAM! He jabbed Angel in the side with his hoof, pushing him away from Trista. His tail flew violently side to side.

”Watch where you put your hands buddy,” he neighed roughly.

"I don't accept your apology."

She had never said those words before to someone; at least not that she could remember, but she meant every word. Her righteous anger was almost ruined however when Saga and Angel, trying to calm the situation, came to Trista's defense. Saga's companion trying to hide within his shirt further weakened it. She had just about recovered it when Trista's companion thrust himself between them. It was further ruined when the unicorn, jealousy coming off in waves, kicked Angel and told him to back off.

Laughing outright now she smiled and with a considerably lighter tone "Sorry, I was merely hoping to get by you when you suddenly stopped in front of me. The only reason i wanted an apology was because it was your fault for suddenly in the middle of a busy section." Calming herself visibly she then smiled more naturally. "If you wouldn't mind, would you like to spar with me some?"

This was as much a peace offering as it was a way for them to work out their anger. It also bought her time to calm her companion, who at the time was all for attacking the woman on the spot, damned the consequences. There was also a third purpose of allowing her to size up the woman, and see if she was someone she could stand.

Angel

"Oh no I haven't met this girl till just a moment ago, when she rammed straight into my back."
If Angel didn't think literally face palming would be a bit awkward definitely would have smacked himself. Oh. So that was what he'd missed when not paying attention. Speaking of not paying attention, why was Saga prodding his stomach with an annoyed and slightly longing look? He poked to asian back, noting he should make him train with him- his abdominal muscles put up seriously lack resistance to his poke.
Now though, Angel turned his attention back to the two ladies. He felt extremely awkward. Trista was obviously annoyed that this girl expected an apology when the Amazon woman seemed to be the one who'd caused the problem. Then again, Angel hadn't exactly been paying attention.
Even so, his face split into a completely expressionless poker face as Trista smoothly delivered a swift and harsh counterargument to the girls expectant look. He met Saga's shocked face with a blank look not wanted to show favor or distaste to what the girl was saying.

"So for that I am sorry, but you really should watch out for where your going honestly. Now if you'll excuse me I have some training to get to."

Angel admired that she had back bone; the raven haired girl really hadn't done anything to severe to deserve the seemingly demanding attitude of this girl. She almost seemed to have a superiority complex if she thought this was that big of a deal-

His eyes widened in surprise as Trista's unicorn was suddenly was to close for comfort, then let out an 'oomph' and fell backward, away from Trista, clipping Saga and barely avoiding falling. He rubbed his side as he regained his balance, glaring at the unicorn who quite promptly glared back and snorted violently at him.
"Watch where you put your hands buddy,”
"You watch were you put your hooves!" Angel complained, overreacting because, he'd decided he wasn't to fond of Fucuello at the moment. Literally, the unicorn had whacked him hard enough to bruise and his side felt tender. It was one thing to take a punch- it was another to be jabbed violently with a pointy, hard hoof completely unexpectedly.
Another unexpected turn of events- Reechi had scampered off with BlueJay and Saga soon in tow. Angel blinked and sheepishly smiled at Trista and the tall girl (Though it switched to a comical narrow eyed evil pout to Fucuello.) He didn't want to be alone in this tense womanly issues thing- he was glad Trista seemed to have in mind that they would take their leave. Soon. Now. Immediately.

Or the tall girl could speak to her again, causing Angel to stop in his tracks where he'd been discreetly backing away, not wanting to leave without Trista.

"Sorry, I was merely hoping to get by you when you suddenly stopped in front of me. The only reason i wanted an apology was because it was your fault for suddenly in the middle of a busy section. If you wouldn't mind, would you like to spar with me some?"

Angel took a step forward, leaning over to whisper to Trista (Not close enough for her unicorn to spaz at him of course,)
"Awe, your gonna make me find someone else to teach me swords?" He hushed jokingly over her shoulder and then gave the other crazy tall girl a tense smile.

"We can figure out sparring partners over by the swords, yeah? We should get a move on,"
He turned and made his way towards the swords, slow enough so the girls could catch up. Phew. He was glad to be away from those tense chicks. Why couldn't they just get along easily?!

He spotted Aya looking at a badass Katana thing, holding it with knowledge that hinted she knew how to use it. Of course, the tiniest of the people he'd met today would have bad ass ninja skills. It made perfect sense. Maybe she'd help him if Trista decided to spar with the tall ger, who Angel either hadn't heard the name of or had forgotten, so he was just going to refer to her as Amazon from now on. Like those crazy Amazon warrior women.
He called out to Aya,
"Short stack, we're baaaaack~ Miss me?"

He walked into the assortment of weapons whistling. He didn't know how to use any of this stuff, but it couldn't be too hard right? He picked up a pair of cool hook things, waving them around inexperiencely.
"Woah these are cool,"
He continued wiggling them around in the air, until he turned and almost succeeded in whacking Amazon with one. He immediately pulled back before it was even close to her face, grimacing.
"Oh sorry! My bad!" He dropped the hook-swords back on their rack sullenly watching as everyone seemed well aware of what they were doing.
He was definitely going to have to work on this stuff on his own time.

(This describes her outfit better)

"Short stack, we're baaaaack~ Miss me?" Aya raised her head to see the immensely tall people gather around her. Their inhuman height reflecting in her chestnut eyes. For the first time in a couple of months, she was beginning to feel a bit claustophobic. They were like sky scrapers, intimidating and posing a difficult challenge to her fighting capabilities. No worries though, she would just aim for the legs. She had to crank her neck completely back to have them plus the amazon woman in eye-sight. She was sure that sooner or later her neck would get stuck like this. But it was rude to avoid eye-contact though, so for now she could only hope she would recover from it quickly when it did happen.

”No,” she stated rather harshly, she hadn’t missed them. Was it wrong to be that honest? They were only away from each other for a few seconds, and she had been completely focused on her task and in the moment. If anything, they interrupted her train of thought. She exhaled softly, the thing she couldn’t remember was just on the tip of her tongue before Angel and the rest had arrived. She waved sheepishly to Trista, pressing her katana against her chest with her other hand.

"Hi..."

Be nice. Be friendly.

She encouraged herself. Ok, she had missed Trista a bit. But she wasnt going to say that out loud. She bowed to the new girl, showing her respect even if Trista had not. Aya didn't like conflict, that's all she's ever had at school an she would prefer to avoid it. Whether she liked a person or not, respect and peace were required. There was no other option.

"I'm Ueto Aya, nice to meet you." she rose from the bow and caught a glimpse of her companion. A kitsune! She put her hands together and bowed deeply to the fox. "I pay my respects, sorry about earlier." she said softly and genuinely. Once she finished paying respects to what she called a spirit back home, her attention went back to Angel. She raised an eyebrow at the pathetic display of his handling of swords. He really wasn't joking. He sucked at this.

"You really.... don't know what you're doing, do you?" she placed one hand on her hip and leaned more on her right leg. No wonder Saga and him got along, both weren’t quite at her level. She blinked. Wait. Now that she thought about it... where was her brother?

"Angel, where is my brother?"





Keeping up with Bluejay was honestly…tough! For a small fry he was darting back and forth dodging legs and tails and hoofs. Saga was only human, and running in the middle of a large crowd was definitely strange. And slightly difficult. But he had too. He didn’t want to be separated from BJ, he just had this bad feeling deep in his gut. Like, he would die or get squished or kill himself somehow. He shivered, the dragon mothers words ringing through his head.

I warn you, he’s a late bloomer.

Crap. He hoped she didn’t mean what he thought she did. BAM! Saga heard a yelp ahead of him off in the distance. When he caught up to where the sound had come from, Bluejay was already off scampering to Reechis side. Saga didn’t stop, but he caught a glimpse of the woman who had fallen. Messy brunette hair and a warm smile, he could feel her free-spirit all the way from here. He turned his head back around and debated with himself. Should he turn around and help her up? But what about BlueJay? He peered over his shoulder to see if the soldier was still down.

Nope.

He watched her shoot up to her feet and dart off, racing her rabbit companion. He smiled stupidly; she was a gentle girl. He made a mental note to himself that the next time he saw her, he would apologize properly. Maybe even get her name if he was lucky!

---At the companion station----

In the middle of the companion area was a large circle, about the size of a gym. Other sizes were placed around it for other battles. A phooka stood in the middle of each, ready to address a battle and judge. Reechis claws dug into her skin, and she pointed out that the dragon should grip her mane. Below her, Bluejay bolted around her legs. This area was filled with all kinds of scents: sweet, enchanting, disgusting, horrid, and shocking. Estabel jerked her head back at the sound of a feline roar.

”Come on youngins, to scare to fight an old man?” Kirk taunted. He stood in the middle of the biggest circle. Head high, teeth bared, and the hair on the back sticking up slightly. His white fur glistened in the sun to the point where he almost appeared transparent. Esta was captivated by his beauty. His eyes reminded her of the open sky.

Saga heaved and flung himself over Estabel. Hanging onto her to keep himself up, he sounded like an old man wheezing. Saga had never run so much in his entire life. He was sure he had a couple bruises on his sides from all the elbows he failed to dodge. Stupid dragon, Saga cried in his head. Estabel hung her head to the left, peering up at Saga though the corner of her eyes.

”Saga?”

"I don't accept your apology." I didn't expect you to. Trista just wanted to get out of here. This was enough negativity for her day, she was done. She stroked Fucuello's cheek and took a deep breath.

"Fucuello!" Trista gasped. One moment her unicorn had just been snuggling her side and then BOOM! He was attacking angel with a well aimed hoof to the boys torso. Thankfully her crush wasn't knocked of his feet but he was angry.

"Watch where you put your hands buddy!" Fucuello snorted aggressively.

"Watch where you put your hooves!" He jabbed back.

WACK! Trista glared her stallion straight it the eyes. She was mad, she did NOT need her companion's jealousy crap right now. She could understand him getting upset and when him and her had their little wrestling matches it was fine, but when he started getting physical with other people it was NOT ok! She had only ever gotten angry with him twice, and this was the second time.

"That was not ok." Her words came out slowly in a low tone. As an after note she thought to him, We'll talk about this later, and turned away. What was wrong with him? She had never had this kind of problem with Fucuello and her other guy friends.

Then a laugh rang in her ears, she looked up at super tall girl. "Sorry, I was merely hoping to get by you when you suddenly stopped in front of me. The only reason i wanted an apology was because it was your fault for suddenly in the middle of a busy section." What was this? She didn't except her apology,but…. here she was laughing and apologizing- to some extent- and explaining herself. Not, what I expected. "If you wouldn't mind, would you like to spar with me some?" Whaaaaa- Now Trista's mind was officially blown. Never had this happened to her before. At school the girls had just stuck their nose's up and huffed away. Then she would hold a grudge and be prideful towards them. This time though, she couldn't whatever she held against the girl was being washed away with that calm admission. Maybe she isn't so bad.

If she wasn't mind blown enough, Angel then stepped forward and leaned in to whisper in her ear. She could freaking feel his breath on her ear. Shivers slithered up her body."Awe, your gonna make me find someone else to teach me swords?" She laughed airily, truth was she had very little sword knowledge. The only swords she had ever handled were her father's and those were too heavy to actually do any work with.

"Truth is, I really only know how to hold the things. I can help you with that if you want." she then turned back to address the girl's challenge. This time with a smile. "I can't meet you in the ring just yet, but some day when I actually know what I'm doing, I'd love to!"

"We can figure out sparring partners over by the swords, yeah? We should get a move on." Angel started over to the swords, Trista followed with the other girl.

"What's your name?" She asked the tall girl.

Aya was already there of course and it looked like she already had some knowledge of swords, or at least the one she was holding. It was impressive sword with a curved blade and long handle.

"Short stack, we're baaaaaack! Miss me?"

"No." This time Trista giggled at the girls harshness in tone. By now she figured it was just Aya's way of being honest, not intended as rude or cold. "Hi…" The girl gave a shy wave, to which Trista waved back.

"Hey, you seem to have a head start. I'll have to work hard to catch up." she joked, of course her working hard was a rare occasion. "I'm gonna go pick out a sword to work with. I'll be right back." She smiled to the girl before going over to the rack that held the swords. This is gonna be hard. She knew she would need a lighter sword, the heavy two handed stuff was not for her. In the end she decided on a rapier. It seemed one of the lightest.

When she turned back around, she had to quickly hide her laughter behind her hand. Angel had picked up two large and strange looking swords and started swinging them around. Not such a good idea since he'd almost cleaved if Solara's face. Ok so that part wasn't so funny, but Angel's movements were so ridiculous and clumsy she couldn't help it.

Solara took the blades from him. "Hook swords are not for beginners to use, and even harder to master. Perhaps we should get you something better for you?" Her eyes scanned him for a second. Oh right. I forgot she might have a thing for him. I really hope I'm wrong, we just worked things out. Sorta. The excessively tall girl gave Angel a long sword from the rack. "Walk over there and try a few swings."

When Trista saw that Aya was slightly preoccupied with Solara she took this opportunity to talk a little with Angel.

"Hey Angel, I'm sorry about Fucuello's behavior earlier. He's the jealous type, and if I don't say sorry for him he never will." Her hand found the back of her neck, it was new to her to have to apologize for her companion. At the thought of the rift in between them she sighed. As soon as they got back to their dorm room she would talk things over with him.

"It's really not his fault though." She took a few swings at a dummy. It was a mystery to her why she was explaining this, but it felt like one was needed. This thing doesn't cut at all, is it dull? "I've really been the only good thing in his life since his mother died when he was a foal."



Can'tstopcan'tstopcan'tstopcan'tstopcan'tstop!

He had already knocked over a bunch of people, tripped a few, and distracted several others. The world whizzed by in flashes of color and sound that all blurred together into one consecutive drone. The ground didn't exist except for a few minor touches here and there. What was this feeling, this speed? It soared, it screamed, it leaped, all in unexplainable joy. He loved the air that whistled past him. How weightless he felt.

But how did he stop?!

Several times he tried to put on the brakes but each it felt like the world tipped forward to far and his muzzle would spear through the dirt. What would he do if he couldn't stop? Would he keep running till he reached the end of the earth? Would he fall of and float in space the rest of his life? What if someone did manage to catch him and stop him? Would his legs just keep on running without him? Why couldn't he-

WHAM!

-stop?

Whatever BlueJay had rammed into was large and round and...soft? The little dragon picked himself up. Everything spun in circles, the same feeling as when he was in the darkness, that dizzy one, came back. It cleared after he shook his head fervently and looked up. What he had ran into, was big, white and black, and...

...scary.

Eventually, the two made their way back from the bleachers, Colette and Riley's companions behind them. Razeth joined Riley at his side again, and Quinn came back onto Colette's shoulder.
Ash smiled a bit as Jay talked enthusiastically."That fight was sick! It's said that you lost though, dude. But that fight was sick!"
Jay had a big grin on his face and was jumping around excitedly, and Colette and Riley could not help but share a laugh.
"Huhmm, quite." Ash's dragon Liath said as he looked up from a book.

Where did he get a book from!?

There was also a little gargoyle who was struggling to stay on Jay's shoulder. Colette hadn't noticed him before. He looked like a little baby one, and Colette smiled at him. She noticed Riley grimaced, though.
Colette also noticed Ash hadn't been talking much, and that was weird. Was she uncomfortable in group situations?
"Lets go to the next place now!" Jay said as he started walking off. Colette shook her head at him, smiling, and Riley ran to catch up with him, Razeth rolling his eyes. Ash was walking a regular pace, and Colette fell into step beside her.

She looked up to see Jay and Riley dodging people ahead, and Riley seemed to be in a better mood.
Riley likes that girl......Aya.And it hasn't even been a full day yet and she hates him.
This saddened her, and Colette was truly sorry for what she said. She wondered if she should confront him about it, but then voted against it.
Maybe when there's more evidence I'll approach him.
However, she was still thinking about what Riley had said.

It is worse when it's someone you're close to.
And she was transported to another time, briefly.

"Don't be so weak!", he shouted at her as he cast a Ventus Murus at her, making it hard to breathe.
"I am not weak!", she shouted as she tried to get out of it, but received a bloody, deep cut on her hand.
"Foolish child, do you not remember you cannot simply walk out of a wind wall?", he scolded.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember!", she shrieked into the wind, and fell to the ground, the blood running down her arm, as she closed her eyes and thought of a way out of it.


Her chest hurt for a little bit, as if she was still there, struggling to breathe.
Get over yourself.
She supposed she would try to make conversation with Ash. She was friendly, really, and Colette knew she needed to have some friends other than Riley.
"Haha", she laughed good-naturedly. "Is he your friend? And is he always this hyper?" The fairy dust in her hair glowed when she smiled in a friendly way.

They approached the ring where the swords were, and saw a crowd had already started to form.
It was all those people from the bench, along with some new people.

Sheesh, are they everywhere?

She slipped into the area, surveying the swords in the area.
Hey, a Shashka!
She showed the sword to Ash, and talked animatedly.
"This was one of my first swords,since it's really favored in Aquilonis. Of course, I've graduated to using varieties of swords, since my family has a collection of them from when we go on vacation." She held the sword gingerly in her hand, and looked down at the shiny finery.

She noticed a few people.
Angel, the guy with the egg,oh wait he ran away, Aya.....
Oh boy, Aya's here. She saw her speaking to that Angel guy, probably showing him how to use the swords.
She looked for Riley and found him smiling, looking off into the distance towards the sunny obstacle course. He hadn't noticed her yet. She bit her lip, looking between the two.
Plan A: I will steer Riley away from Aya so he will not see Aya, and again become super depressed and moody.
Plan B: I will approach Aya, and demand to spar with her, so Riley will come over and see me, and redeem himself.

"Quinn", she whispered.
"Yes?", Quinn's whisper was so soft even the breeze could not carry it.
"Pick a letter: A or B."
"A."
"Kay, thanks."
"Wait! What did I do?"

It's for the best anyway. She looks preoccupied. Maybe another time.
She looked to Ash. "I think it's too full at this time. Would you like to go against me in the obstacle course?"
She hoped she didn't mind.

Reechi’s head swiveled this way and that, taking in all of the training areas while they made their way to the Special Abilities. Once they made it there, Reechi’s eyes scanned the opponent rings, watching as a few companions went at it. She watched their reaction times and moves, tilting her head to the side in order to better focus. She was jolted out of her analyzing by Estabel’s remark that she was kind of hurting the unicorn’s skin, and should move towards her mane. Reechi dipped her head a bit as she clambered forward, settling into the fur.

She looked around the equine’s head to one of the bigger rings, spotting a rather large white tiger there, roaring out challenges to the other companions, ”Come on youngins, too scared to fight an old man?” Reechi remained comfortably seated right where she was. She was definitely not going to mess with that one if she could help it. There was suddenly loud panting behind her, to which Reeps turned her head around to identify the source, when a large form suddenly launched itself onto Estabel’s back, and Reechi went scrambling backwards against her neck. “Saga?” She looked up at him curiously.

Suddenly, Bluejay came out of nowhere, managing to weave through the unicorn’s legs, but going at a ridiculously quick speed. ’If he doesn’t stop soon-‘ She began in her head, but the thought was finished for her when the little blue dragon rammed right into the large tiger in the ring. “Oh geez, that’s definitely not good.” Chi spoke quickly, suddenly slithering off of Estabel’s back to scamper towards the two. She stopped at the edge of the ring, looking over at the two and wondering uneasily what the white tiger would do to the little runt of a thing.

She turned back to Saga, who was currently weezing like an old man who smoked way too much in his youth, and shot him a look. He had probably come for Bluejay, worried over him. Reeps suddenly paused, her eyes narrowing before a look of open mouthed despair came onto her features. Rowan was nowhere nearby. Sure, she could take care of herself, but it's the first day, her Ryder should be there anyway! She hunched her shoulders a bit before dropping the emotion, returning her attention to the ring.

Check mate. Derek turned his head slowly, staring at Macari with a blank expression. The space cadet had hit the bulls-eye dead on, a calm expression laid upon her foundation. He didn’t think someone like her could ever display a serious expression. His eyes followed her as he watched her adore her companion and then go sit next to him, inviting Drew over to sit with them and giggle at the fairy dew in the pretty boys eyes. A new entrée. He stared at him for 5 seconds before concluding that he was, indeed, a pretty boy.

Haven’t you leaned your lesson yet, boy? Your profiling can be off and misleading. Still needs some work.
Kirk corrected, an old mans laugh following soon after. Derek rubbed his temples; he wasn’t even going to respond this time. He cocked his head to the side, shoulders relaxed, and called out to the talented archer.

”Hey…Macaroni right? Could you help me with this?” he asked. He still wondered…what kind of parents named their kid after a food?



What’s this?

Kirks wise eyes met those of the same color, but different experience. Young. Inexperienced. The white beast towered over the little guy, most beasts his size or greater would have to squint their eyes to see him. But he was a cat. His pupils dilated, he could see between his feathers, the rise of his chest as he breathed, his hunting instincts were rising. He pawed at the little guy, pushing him around rather gently but with some force. He licked his lips and chuckled.

”Hey little guy, far from your nest are you not?” the blue dragon reminded him that of a Bluejay, a bird. ”Will you be challenging me? What’s your name?” Kirk asked. He had to admit, there was a bit of an impulse to eat the guy…

Pretty boy..
Kirks ears flinched and shook his head lightly, for a silent kid, he thought a lot.

Haven’t you leaned your lesson yet, boy? Your profiling can be off and misleading. Still needs some work.
He corrected, but with no response. Ah, so the guy was giving him the silent treatment. So be it. Humans never listened to cats anyway. By most people in the world, cats were not adored. They were seen as evil, rude, and emotional. Well, how do you think cats view humans? Felines can sense things most can’t, and when Derek starts to listen to him…he will become stronger. He hated it when people tried to do things on their own. Heh, what was he saying. He was the same way. That's why he liked the guy.




”Saga, your companion…and Reechi…” Estabel gestured towards the big ring where the tiger was pushing his companion around. Reechi merely just watched and than looked back at Saga. Almost pitying him. He huffed; maybe he should cut back on the smokes. Nao’s words about how bad cigarettes were for you were actually starting to make sense now. He picked up his feet and put his arms behind his head to get a better breath and walked over casually. Almost tiredly. What was Bluejay doing? Did he seriously want to fight the feline? Saga couldn’t stop him but…he hoped the cat would go easy on him. BJ had to learn things on his own or else he would never grow up and mature, Saga knew this. He had to let Bloo take his own course. He bent down beside Reechi, scratching her behind the ears.

”Hey girl,” he charmed.

The girl seemed suprised when Aya bowed to her, but nevertheless returned the bow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you miss Ueto Aya, My name is Arnlar Azamanin; but you may call me Solara. This is my companion Ravian Solariat, who does prefer you to call her by her last name."

Aya smiled at the formal, but familiar greeting. She has just expected a weird look from the girl, but she liked that the girl, Solara, had returned the custom. It brought back a little piece of home to her.

Spying the katana Aya held in her hands, Solara smiled and pointing to the blade asked, "May I?"

Why can't you get your own?, she thought, but forced herself to be nice, because she didn't want to break her promise to herself so quickly.

"Of course", she said through gritted teeth, practically throwing the beloved katana towards her.

At this time, Angel decided to answer her question about the whereabouts of her brother.

"Uh, your brother..." He waved his sword, using it to pointing in a general direction."He's over there somewhere. He said he'd catch up later, so he's bound to show up at some point in time."

Aya fretted over this as Angel seemed to nod,as if trying to discern if assuming this was correct.
Of course he's alright. Why wouldn't he be? He probably just wanted to explore, or check on Bluejay.
Still, she felt her instincts telling her to go look for him. There was no time to pretend to want to be friends with people.

"If you'll excuse me", she said to Solara as she departed.She didn't try to speak to anyone else, as Angel and Trista looked preoccupied in other things. She walked in the direction Angel had pointed in,and didn't really hear anything until she heard a shout of enthusiasm over to her right.

"Hell yeah I wanna go!"

Aya looked towards the yeller, and found herself face to back with none other than Colette, her hair glowing with fairy dust easily recognizable. She also saw a girl from the bench earlier, and the boy that had approached her,
Colette and Riley before she had run away.
What is she doing here? And why is it that I feel like I know that name, before I even met her?

But Colette wasn't the one that had screamed. Of course, it was Riley. Obviously since she was here, he was sure to follow. Aya felt her stomach grow queasy, which she assumed was because if her loathe and disgust for him. Trista was right. He was creepy.
Aya walked quickly now, not that it mattered, as they looked ready to head in the opposite direction, and Colette was blocking her anyway.

Good. I don't want to see him.

But she looked back,once, and caught the boyish smile on Riley's face.

........!!!!!
She went into an almost run, and the group escaped her view. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes for a few moments, and then walked on, remembering she was looking for her brother.

She tread the path until she got to the stations for companions, and she saw him right in the middle of a huge disarray.
On one side, Saga was clinging to Estabel, and on the other, little Bluejay was being challenged by a menacing tiger who looked like he would rip him to shreds.

Aya watched, horrified, as Saga just sat back, scratching Reechi on the head.
Why isn't he doing anything?!

Then, she saw Bluejay begin to dance around the tiger, playful and unafraid. Aya admired his technique, and, now calm that her brother was not in danger, sat next to him.

She supposed this was to teach the little dragon a lesson. "Tough love, huh?" She commented as Bluejay continued whatever he was doing.

Reeps blinked a few times before she suddenly felt fingers behind her ears, scratching about there. She churred pleasantly, enjoying the feeling before remembering Bluejay’s plight. Her attention returned there, watching the reactions between the two. Bluejay definitely had an intimidated air about him, looking the large tiger up and down.

As the white one commented on him being far from his nest, Bluejay simply nodded, and Reechi grinned softly, a bright look to her face. After Bluejay supplemented his name, he realized the tiger had asked him of a challenge, but… he seemed confused, or at least that was how it appeared to Reeps. However, he suddenly sprang into action, zipping about and circling the tiger, occasionally jumping and tapping at him, simply messing around.

She snorted with a slight laugh, shaking her head in slight disbelief towards the actions of the dragon. She tilted her head up so her eyes could focus on the tiger himself, completely unsure how the creature would react. She turned to crawl up Saga, suddenly realizing that Aya was nearby. She lifted a paw, a look of confusion on her facials. ’When did you get here?’ She mused to herself, placing her paws onto Saga’s arms and crawling up them to his shoulders with a small chirp.

Reeperchi suddenly paused, her ears swiveling and twitching all about the place, and her nose wrinkled as her eyes narrowed. Something felt off, she could feel anger emanating from somewhere, and she had a feeling it was somewhat related to her in one way or another. A soft growl rumbled through her throat, and she turned to look around. The feeling grew and receeded, then grew again, until finally, as she had almost located the general direction it was in, it disappeared altogether. Her nostrils flared and she snorted slightly, shaking her head before returning to the action in the ring.



The large tiger’s eyes focused down on the small little dragon, watching its every movement and facial perks and decreases. He nodded at his first question, but Kirk simply smirked just a bit, getting the feeling the small fry didn’t have much of an idea of what he was talking about. He let out a little huff as he fell back on his haunches, his tail sweeping along the ground, his eyes trained completely on the dragon.

"BlueJay! Who are you?" He blinked once more lazily letting out a yawn, he hadn’t answered his main question, or at least not yet. Once more, that niggling in the back of his head returned, doubt flaring up as to if this thing had any idea of what was going on at all. “Kirk.” He responded bluntly, suddenly shifting forward with his shoulders squared a bit, analyzing his prey with eyes that told of a long experience doing such. There was absolutely no question that he loomed over this Bluejay, which was a rather perfect name considering the dragon was so alike to its namesake, and once more Kirk licked at his chops.

Suddenly the thing darted around his form, seeming to dance and prance about, sometimes leaping up to poke and prod, which was somewhat amusing at first, but quickly became somewhat of a nuisance. It confirmed his previous beliefs that he didn’t know what anything was, and Kirk soon became bored with its constant buzzing about. Almost as if he were a fly buzzing about his ears. His eyes focused on the small creature, watching its motions and movements, every time he seemed to pause, as if taunting Kirk to come at him, he’d zip off without a motion from the tiger. He figured out the pattern rather quickly. The white tiger yawned once more, his left ear flicking. It looked as if he was going to settle down on his stomach for a nap.

Suddenly, his paw shot out of nowhere, clasping down on the little dragon’s tail. “Heh, gotcha.” He chuffed with amusement, shifting backwards a bit to lay down. His other paw came out from under him, batting at the dragon’s head gently before he released it. “A challenge is more a fight, not so much a game.” He said simply, eyes seeming to bore into Bluejay’s as he rumbled his comment.

Saga felt all warm and happy inside when Reechi churred. He felt so accomplished, and the vibration of her vocal chords soothed his soul. He divided his focus between both of his favorite dragons, adoring Reechi and keeping an eye on BlueJay, The tiger was not doing much harm and playing nice, so Saga did not fret much. Bluejay kept spewing question after question after question after question after question after question…after question. Saga couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. At least he wasn’t the one who had to answer the questions. Anyone willing to answer, he would gladly let them! He didn’t know the complete entail of everything, only bits and pieces. Although if he had to answer, he would just make it look like he knew what he was talking about by doing conductive reasoning…and sounding confident.

He felt a presence all to familiar to him sit by his side an wrap her tiny arms around her knees. He let his head fall back and stared at the sky. Smiling. His sister really couldn’t live without him, she was just too cute! Still though, he hoped she would mature this year and venture out of her comfort zone. Explore the new, make friends, be confident, be herself…take risks!!

” Tough love, huh?” she had asked.

”Yeah,” he replied simply. Both sat in silence, watching the baby blue dragon. His sister knew him just as well as he knew her. They knew what the other needed to grow but not themselves. They knew each others habits, nervous ticks, and pet peeves. They knew everything about each other. He loved it! But sometimes…he hated it! He could never get away with lying, or being sneaky. When she was around he was not allowed to be ok with his faults, she pushed him. She corrected him. She gave him discipline and he gave her Love.

Saga smiled warmly when Reechi climbed up his arm, it gave him shivers. He felt so professional with Reechi at his side, maybe Angel would trade dragons with him haha.



”Yeah.”he replied simply. Aya nodded in a plain response, resting her chin on her knees. She tapped her feet softly. up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. She glanced up at her brother with big eyes filled with admiration. Only him. Only him. Only was she most comfortable around him. She scooted closer to him until their shoulders touched and she could rest her head on his shoulder. He didn’t move, or push her away, just…sat there. His breathing brought peace to her heart and she paced hers with his. Taking one deep breath at a time.

She had seen Riley.

He was smiling, laughing, enjoying his time with his precious friends. He was scary. He was big. He was…creepy. She snuggled up closer to Saga and tightened her embrace around her knees. If this kept going on, she would have a plague #2 on her hands. At that thought, she grinned to herself. She really couldn’t stand Nao back home. Part of her found him annoying, another amused. His reactions to everything was far to great to miss out on, scaredy-cats like him were rare. Not only that, but picking on him was enjoyable. It was a way for he to vent and relieve stress.

---Flashback : D---

”Look, Aya! It’s your favorite person, Nao!” Saga gestured hurriedly for Nao to come over. The rest of the boys: Shou, Tora, Hiroto, Saga, and her were gathered around in a square on the roof. Saga and Hiroto scooted over so Nao could join them. Nao ran over like one of those girls you see prancing around like a unicorn. He jumped through the gap between Tora and Shou and landed into his spot. Flailing his arms around, thinking he was cool.

”Just sit down!” Tora exclaimed, slapping his leg as he laughed. All the othoys laughed while Nao took a seat, but Aya didn’t. She reached into her bag, took out a bug repellent bottle(filled with water) and sprayed him with it.

”Saga, why did you call the Plague over here? He would have gone away eventually…” she said sourly. Nao twisted his body in weird ways as he flung his arms and legs everywhere as if the water was killing him like radiation. He hit Saga Saga in the face and kicked Hiroto in the side. Both yelled at him to knock it off and he pretended to cry. Aya smirked to herself, and Tora pointed at her.

”Oi! Aya, you’re just like Shou!” Tora pointed out. Everyone looked at the tiger in confusion. ”Shou is our Sadist King…And Aya, our Sadist Queen!”

Everyone burst into laugher.

Even Aya.

-----Flashback End---



“I’m not sure if I want to partake in such things, they sound terrible. Plus what was death? And what did fighting entail how did someone or something fight?” the young duckling spouted out one question after another, vomiting his thoughts all over Kirk. The young flyer was curious about everything he saw, heard, touched, and smelled. It reminded him of his daughter. The little cub was always getting into things, being chased by bears, going after dears, pestering her father about how to hunt, what she could eat, what certain plants were, what new places were, blah blah blah. She asked every when, what, where, and why question possible. His heart ached. He missed his little princess.

”Death, means that a person or thing is gone forever. They are never coming back.” darkness and sorrow laced itself into his voice like fine thread, ”And that will happen to your Ryder, if you don’t learn how to fight. he warned. He curled his tail around himself, his overly large shadow looming over the small bird-like dragon. He glanced over at Saga from the corner of his eyes; the scent of the bird was strong on him.

He must be his human companion

The boy appeared of an asian descent, with chestnut styled hair. His muscles were merely toned, nothing compared to Dereks mass of muscle in every single inch of his body. The Asian held himself elegantly, and resembled a young lady next to him that reminded Kirk of a middle schooler. However, unlike the young lady, Kirk got a down-to-earth vibe from him. He didn’t fret or run to his dragons rescue like most, or even shout out words of encouragement of battle. He was just…watching.

Kirk had an idea.

”Boy, I will teach you the first lesson of fighting. If you wish,” the feline said with a devious smirk sprawled across his face.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Trista gave a pained smile to Angel, thankful for his concern. The boy seemed a little awkward thought, glancing around and not making eye contact. Then again they had just met, one couldn't expect him to be completely comfortable around her, especially since she just collapsed for what he could know was no reason at all. She suddenly felt a little guilty, it was just a little pain. Did she really have to collapse?

FWOOM! FWOOM! Bright flares of heat and light caught Trista's eye. Woah! That's awesome! Solara was a boss! The girl was expertly dodging and parrying balls of fire with grace and speed. Something that Trista knew she lacked. For some reason she had always been a slight klutz and always managed to blame it on her hight, but now it seem that excuse had just been torn up and tossed out the window.

"Ooooh." She heard Angel coo. While she had to agree, it didn't help her self esteem at the moment. "Maybe we should go to her for sword help, eh?" To this Trista's thoughts decided to make a fork in the road. One took the road No! That girl will catch his eye, besides she never really accepted your apology, I mean really nag nag nag the other said Oh, hush! The girl really does have impressive skills and it can't hurt to learn. Trista decided to take the higher rout and nodded.

"Yeah, might help to make sure I don't make a fool of myself." She laughed. It would be silly to start something again. She wanted to, but she had enough drama for today and-she didn't think she would ever say this-honestly just wanted to train. Solara finished her exercise and many, including Angel, began to clap. Trista gave the impressive show its dues in her own personal awe.

"I'm going to have to practice and train hard, I feel incompetent compared to her." Angel noted. That was very true. Now that she thought about it she was grossly unprepared for this. What would her dad think if he came and she was still waddling around like a duck? Though she knew her fate probably did not lie in swords, she did spot a few other things that might work better. "Do you think we should keep trying to work this out, or you think this free period will be over soon?"

Trista blinked, not quite sure how to answer. Angel seemed suited to sword, especially that claymore he had been using, but at the same time she didn't want to separate off and go on her own. She was actually enjoying training with Angel. So even though the pole weapons at the other end of the field caught her eye, she decided to give that Rapier another go. "I don't know when Draconem is going to end this, I assume in time for dinner. But for now," she took back the Rapier with a motioning glance to Solara. "Lets go see what we can learn."



"Death, means a person or thing is gone forever. They are never coming back." Kirks words had only just reached his ears when his entire being turned cold. A harsh cold that burned and froze his innards. His mother, had she... had she made the slithery voice...die? Made a thing like him and her be gone forever and ever. Something about that was big. He didn't see completely why, but whatever it was made him cringe. If thats what fighting was then he didn't want to do it. "And that will happen to your Ryder, if you don't learn how to fight." No! He didn't want Saga to die! They just met, and Saga was his companion!

A foggy but new idea began to form out of the ice that held BlueJay's heart. To fight, for the ones you love. The thought hurt the dragon's head.

"Boy, I will teach you the first lesson of fighting, if you wish," Kirk said.

BlueJay couldn't think, he just knew what his answer was. "Yes."

Fresh green leaves of a new season fluttered down to the ground, and were picked up by the wind the next second. It wuthered through them, giving Kirk a refreshing cool down for his fur and skin. He always enjoyed a nice breeze. While waiting for the feathery bird to respond, he bickered back and forth some smart remarks at his Companion. The young man reminded Kirk much of himself, especially when he was younger. Inexperienced, serious, and lonely.

But I can't blame him... he thought to himself after losing everything dear to you, your emotions just shut down so you can endure the pain everyday. It's hard enough just to breathe, or even sleep at night

Kirk couldn't remember the last time Derek and he had a good sleep. On their journey to Ryder Academy, they'd often go days without sleep only to find themselves collapsing from lack-of-sleep. They never slept, unless forced to by their bodies. None of them wanted to face what would haunt them in their dreams...The unconscious mind never lied.

”Yes.” he blurted out, probably by instinct. Kirk brought his slit eyes down.

”Alright,” he got up, stretching like every cat does. He curved his back in and then stuck his butt out. After shaking his fur, he roared fiercely and leaped over Bluejay, making a straight bee-line to his Ryder. No words could describe the excitement Kirk felt when the Asains eyes shot open in shock like a worried prey. The monstrous sized tiger pressed his paws against his torso and pushed him down onto the ground, baring his teeth with a growl. ”Fight me, or he dies.” Takeshi lay under him, trapped, squished and straining for air. He clawed at the tigers hand to no avail. The woman next to him almost lunged at him…until Saga did something that surprised even Kirk.







”No, Aya.” he gasped, barely scraping out enough air. He threw his hand out, signaling for her to stop. ”Let….him….” he returned to his previous action of pointless pulling and ripping at the tigers paws, he stood no chance. Here was a feline that was twice his size and weighted more then 300 pounds or possibly even more. How was he going to get out of this? Bluejay was too small, would he be able to stop him? Would he die here? Draconem had said that companions felt everything he did, and they would never have another companion. Would Bluejay die if he himself did? He didn't want that! He clenched his eyes shut, damn it, he couldn't protect his family. And he couldn't even protect his own companion.



Shit! Shit! SHIT!



The rims of his eyes were starting to go black, and his face slowly began to merge into the color of light purple. He could hardly lift up his arms, it was as if gravity was magnetizing his hands to the ground. He winced. Attempting to steal small breathes worsened his taste. The slight bits of air he could get were only teasers and was sending the inside of his body into a fit. Raising his chest for breath was nearly impossible, everytime he tried the tiger pressed down harder. Pushing more force onto him each time, at this rate his ribs would-

Crack!



”AH!” he hazed, his voice cracking. Was this it?



Bluejay…….Bluejay……Bluejay!






What the hell was going on!? Her brother. Near death. Before her eyes. Dragon. Cat. She didn’t want this! Everything was moving by too fast, and her first instict was to lunge at the feline with all she had. Put it into a head lock and threaten to snap it's neck if it dared to pain her brother any more. Seriously, what was her brother doing? Why was he telling her to stop? He would surely die! Her breathing grew heavy quickly, her shoulders rising up and down in fast paces. Breathe in through her nostrils. Out through the mouth. Again. Repeat. Again. Repeat. また。また。また。また。また。また。また!　なんだよ?　如何?　 如何?　 如何?　鬼!　サガ!　



The guilt she felt for having the ability to breathe right now could not be expressed. It should be her there, she was tougher then him. She could take it. Stop!Think calmly, her mind was running so wild that her thoughts went back into her natural language. She knew her brother, why would he think something like this was ok? She backed up and Estabel came to her side, rubbing her head against Ayas cheek as she usually did to calm the young, fragile girl down. Usually, Takeshi would run away from every single thing that was associated with fighting. It was hard enough just to keep him in martial arts long enough so he could learn how to block. Why did he have to pretend to be strong right now? 馬鹿!　馬鹿!　馬鹿!　



”AH!” he yelped. Hazing and coughing, his skin tone changing. She clenched onto Estabels mane and shut her eyes tightly. Biting her lip, a small tear filtered down her cheek from her left eye. She shouldn't cry! Everything was going to be ok....Everything would work out alright...right?



”Isn't that enough Kirk? Please, stop!” Estabel begged, the fear of her human companion was transmitting into Estabels emotions. She was scared, she was scared she would be all alone in this world. Her only source of happiness in her entire life was in pain and possibly on the verge of dieing. Estabel didn't understand why, that if Aya loved her brother so much, why wasn't she going against his wishes?



My culture...Esta...My trust...I have to listen...and have faith

Reechi’s tail curled up and then unfurled, then curled up once more. She could tell Saga felt pleased with her being on him, and that in turn further pleased Reechi. She grinned very happily, all previous unease forgotten, and she climbed down his back from his shoulder just a bit, to about his shoulder blade, and then shifted upwards to lounge over his shoulder. Her hind legs rested against his back, while her stomach laid against his shoulder itself, the rest of her splayed over the upper part of his chest.

She tilted her head up to watch Bluejay and Kirk, as she learned was his name, and perked her ears up to listen more easily. Kirk had by then caught little Bluejay, patting at his head before releasing him, and then he began to make a quick explanation of what a fight was, sort of. Bluejay sat there, listening to Kirk, and remained in the same position for a little while, unmoving. Reeps tilted her head to the side, curiosity written on her face, wondering just what the dragon was thinking at that moment.

Suddenly, a bunch of questions, and a few comments, spewed forth from his mouth, aimed right at the tiger’s face. Reeperchi could feel Saga’s form rumble just a bit as he laughed, and her attention was grabbed by the closer voices of he and his sister as they spoke just a bit to each other. Saga seemed to be lost in thought for a bit, and she watched his face for awhile before Kirk’s rich voice reached her ears once more, and she turned her head back to him. He was just explaining death to Bluejay, and finished with the blunt bit of, ”And that will happen to your Ryder, if you don’t learn how to fight.” Reechi’s eyes narrowed slightly, ’Well, that was a bit harsh.’ She frowned, and then Kirk told the small dragon he would teach him the first lesson in fighting if he wanted.

Bluejay’s answer was swift, and a yes. Reechi’s head perked up, interested to see what the tiger had planned for the little dragon. After confirming, Kirk simply stretched, and all seemed well and good for that moment. However, a fierce roar broke through the tiger’s maw, and he suddenly leapt over the dragon, and he kept going. Straight towards Saga and herself. Her eyes widened in shock and fear as the large animal reared up and forced Saga to the ground, taking her with him, and Kirk pinned him there. Reechi was trapped under his shoulder, a loud whine of pain squeezing past her vocals. ’Idiot, what are you doing!?’ Her thoughts were frantic, and she seriously questioned the sanity of that tiger right there and then.

”Fight me, or he dies.” It was one, simple rule, that was completely ridiculous. How could Bluejay possibly force the tiger off of them when Kirk seemed so content to strangle the both of them right there? Reechi struggled underneath Saga, her panic crystal clear before her real worry became Saga.

The Asian forcibly told his sister not to help, and that only baffled Reechi more. ’Does he seriously want to tempt death?!’ The tiger seemed to put more pressure if Saga tried to struggle, and that apparently also meant trying to breath. Reechi had turned her head to look at the boy’s face, and quickly realized the shades were all wrong, and purple didn’t look good on him right now. Reechi was able to breathe with a little trouble, but Saga was crushing her just a bit, ’How am I supposed to get out of this one!?’

Her eyes were wide, her breath frantic, her heart beating way faster than it should, and her thoughts reeling. Suddenly she heard a loud crack, and everything seemed to freeze within her. But it certainly didn’t stay that way. Her mind was clear now, and the only thing that seemed to remain was… pure fury.

Her pupils narrowed to mere slits, and her body wracked with held emotions, her mouth set in a fierce line, and she slowly turned her head to look up at Kirk. The air surrounding the group seemed to grow immediately heavier and gained a bit of negatively charged atoms to it. Static ran through it, and it could certainly cause the reaction of hair standing up on the back of your neck. Reechi’s own fur now parted and flickered up like spikes, and her eyes gained a yellowish tint to them from the electricity. Her maw parted, and sharp rows of teeth were displayed. Some were hooked backwards, others were jagged, and one thing was for sure, they definitely didn’t seem to have been there before.

She suddenly strained against Saga’s shoulder, forcing her neck as far as it would go to reach Kirk. She just managed to reach a nice size of his chin, and she clamped her mouth down on the flesh, a determined look on her face.

"Fight me, or he dies. What?! This was the lesson? Why had he said yes? Stupid, stupid, stupid! He shouldn't have listened to his gut. Now Saga was in danger! No, nonono! BlueJay couldn't fight, he didn't know how? He had just wanted to learn, not endanger any body.

Crack!

"Ah!" It was Saga!

Ow! A sharp searing feeling lodged itself into his his chest. It became harder to take in air. He had to move, save Saga, but he couldn't! His feet, they wouldn't move! The ground had decided to anchor him to the floor. Why?!

BlueJay..... Wasn't his job to save Saga? So why didn't he? What was stopping him?

BlueJay..... Was it Kirk's size, the challenge, the idea of hurting someone?

BlueJay! No! Kirk was hurting his companion and he WOULD stop him!

A sound, somewhere between a hiss and a mighty roar leapt from BlueJay's chest. The ground released him, instinct took over, and he flew. Body out stretched and reaching for the white thing that was causing Saga harm. Fast as a flash he dug his claws and razor teeth into his opponent. He tasted flesh and fur. Then up, up he went with a powerful flap of his wings, tearing away bits and prices with him.

BlueJay flew towards the clouds now till the figures on the ground were small and insignificant. Snap! he was falling. Wings strapped close to his body. Kirk came closer, closer, closer, now! The dragon snapped his wings out and grazed past Kirk, tearing again at his flesh with his claws. Then he zoomed away.

Get Kirk off Saga! That was the goal. He banked around and came zooming back at Kirk, this time sinking in his teeth before tearing away. He rose up and dove again and again, each time bombing Kirk with claw, tooth, fang, and even full out ramming into his side head on.

No giving up! Was the single thought in the little dragons mind.

The first attack he could handle.

The dragon trapped under Sagas shoulder, strained to force her neck as far as it would go to reach Kirk. She had just managed to reach a nice size of his chin, and clamped her mouth down on the flesh, a determined look on her face. He hissed in annoyance at the petty thing and lifted one paw off of Saga, grabbing her with his claws and threw her to the side and into the ground.

”Stay out of this, this is not your battle.” his voice boomed rather coldly, eyes narrowing down on the smaller dragon. His tail lashed side to side irritably. He rubbed his chin with the back of his paw, smearing blood onto his alabaster coat. Stupid dragons. He whipped his head around with a hot uproar. ”You're going to make others fight your battle for you!? WEAKLING!” he taunted. His eyes bore into Bluejay, convicting terror into his soul. The measly, tiny dragon froze in what Kirk saw as confliction. Right now, the connection was possibly taking effect. And instincts were on the verge of take over.

Come on! Fear is an illusion of the mind, open your eyes to face your fears. Let your heart still. he thought.

”Deep inside, let the feeling of instinct take over! Better now you realize danger hangs around, side by side. You won't be able to call for help, because no one is going to rescue you! You'll have to face it, you'll have to fight! Bluejay!” he snarled when a sound, somewhere between a hiss and a mighty roar leapt from BlueJay's chest. Yes! The ground released him, instinct took over, and he flew. Body out stretched and reaching for him. Fast as a flash he dug his claws and razor teeth into Kirks body. He tasted flesh and fur. Then up, up he went with a powerful flap of his wings, tearing away bits and pierces with him. Kirk attempted to bat the thing away from him, but he was too small...and too fast.

He backed off of Saga, who flailed around on the ground gasping for air pathetically. Kirk tried his best to concentrate on his movement, his pattern, he had to endure a few more of his attacks before he would see it. The opening. He could hear it now, Bluejay diving down at him. Kirk tensed up, ready to take it. The dragon snapped his wings out and grazed past Kirk, tearing again at his flesh with his claws. Then he zoomed away. Kirk took a deep breathe and winced, the pain was little but it still hurt. Bluejay banked around and came zooming back at Kirk again, this time sinking in his teeth before tearing away. Kirk flinched.

Bluejay rose up and dove again and again, each time bombing Kirk with claw, tooth, fang, and even full out ramming into his side head on. Kirk easily took the hits, being full of muscle and durability he was a hit taker. Born in a jungle, he fought stronger and bigger foes then him. When Bluejay repeated the dive pattern again, right before the small dragon was about to rip at him again, he arched his back and flipped. Stretching his claws out to grab the pestering little guy and landed on his back. He sunk his teeth lightly around his neck, just as a warning and held him down with a heavy paw. He then pressed one overly large paw onto Bluejays wing and once sure the dragon couldn't get out, sat up. He got his free-paw and pushed onto Bluejays other wing, holding him down.

”I'm impressed.” he admitted.



At the first chance to breath, he took it! It felt as if a huge weight had been taken off his chest, literally! He had never been so thankful for the oxygen and trees in his entire life! Flailing his arms around he rolled away from the tiger who had backed away at Bluejays minimal damage and numerous attacks. Bluejay! Bluejay! He had saved him! The hyper-ball of many questions...actually saved his life! His sister rushed to his side, flustered and unable to control her shaking hands. She helped him sit upright, hanging onto his arm with a deathly pale face.

”Saga! Saga! Takeshi! Are you ok?” she repeated this over and over again, her voice cracking mid-way through. He laughed nervously and was sent into a coughing fit. Ayas head darted back and forth as she sat up on her knees and patted his back. ”Takeshi?” she hadn't called him by his real name in a very, very long time.

”I'm alright Sis, everything is alright.” he reassured her. Right hand on his chest, he hooked his other arm around her neck and pulled her into a hug against his chest. His heart still pounded madly against his rib-cage like a drum, but he could breathe. And that's all that mattered. He wanted to go kiss a tree! His little sister embraced him tightly, burying her face into his chest like she had done on late stormy nights. This reminded him of the time when she was 14, and she came running into his room and onto his bed, on top of him crying. She was bawling her eyes out, crying about thunder! She would flinch every time at the crack of thunder outside their house. From then on, even now, she comes running to his room. And because of that, she is a constant weather freak and checks the weather constantly. If there was even a slight chance of thunder the next day, she would spend the night in his room.

”Bluejay, I'm ok!” he yelled, holding the hand that was against his chest now next to his mouth. He had felt it. In that heated moment when his ribs had-

his ribs...he sucked in a breathe in realization, remembering the pain. He had been so happy about breathing, his adrenaline pumping, that he had forgotten about it. He hunched over, feeling agonizing pain over Ayas sudden tight embrace. She jumped back in shock, a pained expression of what-have-I-done across her face.

”Shit, Aya...I think I broke one of my ribs!”



stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid!!!!!!

”I'll go get a nurse,” She rushed off frantically into a the pile of people, disappearing within the many faces. Searching for some doctor or nurse only to no avail. All she saw were people. People. And more people! Damn it, she didn't care about them! Unless they were a doctor and could help her brother, they were nothing to her right now. She kept turning around in circles, turning, turning, turning. Voices muffled her thoughts, and everything sounded like screeching cars. Hammers banged wildly on the inside of her head, jackhammers buzzing away pain spots and nothing else. Lights and sound were driving her crazy! Ushering the tempo faster on whichever wall, left or right, to knock down, crumple. Everyones whispering was talking, talking was yelling, and screaming was a death sentence for her nerves! She gritted her teeth.

My head is going to explode! And my eyes are on fire! Aya thought as she shut her eyes tight, Estabel neighed for attention and Aya glanced up to see her loving companion. She didn't always notice the unicorn, but she was always there, watching.

You need to calm down, Aya. her voice was soft-spoken, gentle. Reassuring. It cleared a path through all the noise and allowed her to think. Even if it was just for a little bit. She was right. She needed to clam down.

Breathe Aya. Who can help you? Who to go too?

She didn't know why, she couldn't explain it, but she needed to get back to the swords area and tell Angel! She pushed through the crowds, curses and foul language being thrown at her. She ignored them. They weren't important right now. They weren't worth her time! Dashing through the crowd, she came into a clearing, it was the obstacle course area. Going around it would take longer then going through it, is what she concluded. Jumping off the ground, she started to climb the wall with a few grunts. A focused expression, she almost appeared angry. Once at the top, she jumped down. Rolling into a ball, she fell on her right shoulder and rolled up perfectly fine, using the momentum to pull her forward and onto the rope swing. Easily, she made it to the other side and landed on her feet. Pillars were next, running through them she dodged them with grace considering her frantic state. When she arrived at the log balance, no hesitation was used to slow down, and so she ran across it! Lastly, was the tires. She could see the swords in plain sight now! Angel was off talking to Trista, and Solara! Friends! She needed to tell them! They would know what to do!

Trip!

At the end of the obstacle course (which was technically the beginning) she fell face first into the dirt, her foot getting stuck in the tire. She sniffled, adrenaline pumping and feeling no pain except in her heart. She lifted her head up, pushing herself off the ground with her arms.

And saw a Pegasus, talking to two males.

Riley and Jay. But she didn't notice them. Only the horse. Eyebrows furrowed, and dirt splotched all over her face she cried out.

”Pegasus! My brother, he's hurt! P-please go help him! I-he...” Estabel came up out of no where, trotting over. She sent those reassuring thoughts again. ”He broke a rib, and, and.....he's over in the c-companions section......” as soon as she finished her sentence, her cheeks flushed a bright, heated-red. She had over-reacted..... big time!

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He's broken a rib before and lived!

She hung her head low in embarrassment. No reason could be given for this unforgivable action. If Saga saw her now, he would laugh at her....

As Reechi was thrown to the side, she glared right back at the tiger, ignoring the blood pooling and dripping down her sides from Kirk’s claws. ”Stay out of this, this is not your battle. Her tail straightened out behind her, and she hissed lowly. “Idiot, you made it my battle when you decided to inadvertently attack me.” Her nostrils flared, ’Clinically insane tiger.’

”You're going to make others fight your battle for you!? WEAKLING!” Reeps merely rolled her eyes in exasperation, this tiger was definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, this was a downright unfair fight in many aspects, and she had merely gone in for self defense. Bluejay definitely showed him as he started flying in and ripping chunks out of the animal’s body, fur flying everywhere. Reechi’s ears plopped backwards onto her head, and her body regained normal functioning. Kirk finally let go of Saga at Bluejay’s… insistence… and Reeperchi quickly made her way over to him to check to make sure he was okay. However, Aya beat her to it, and she quickly withdrew.

She turned back to watch the two fight for a few moments, for that was as long as it lasted, before Kirk ended it as he had before. Reechi slunk off away from the group, figuring she could go ‘explore’ the enclosure further away from the special abilities area, and find a nice shrub to hide under until she felt ready to come out. The day had pretty much caught up with her, and she would rather get away from all of the people for as long as she possibly could.

She darted carefully under hooves and paws, shoes and claws, talons and snatchers, pausing constantly before moving again. Eventually the distance between souls and herself grew drastically, and she relished the feeling of untouched grass beneath her paws and in between her toes. She glanced around before finding a suitable shrubbery, and crawled into it with wide eyes. She settled down, beginning to preen and dab away at the blood. She’d locate Angel later, for now she was more interested in what she was doing.



She grinned up at Derek, her eyes wide and bright as he gave her that soft almost awkward compliment. May’s eyes soon widened as he finally released the arrow, and it stuck right into the bulls-eye, and she clapped lightly for him, a stupid smile on her face. “Nice shot.” Her tone was enthusiastic, and she turned to look at the others, to see what they had been up to in those few moments she had left them with.

Drew flashed her a quick, sarcastic comment, and she stifled a laugh, ”So he isn’t as awkward as we thought, Pip.” The Jackalope merely grinned, his back legs tensing and ready to zip off to the companion’s area. However, Derek made it clear he would not be joining them, and Macari swiveled around on one foot with a large pout, “Aww, come on, you know you want to! You can train laterrr~” A soft whine escaped her lips, and she gave him large puppy dog eyes. “Pah.” She waved him off, returning to Drew and JJ, ” I g-guess I should g-go to found out more about phhhooka's." Minxy clapped her hands together excitedly, glad someone was at least willing to go with her. She patted him on the back a little hard, “That’s the spirit!”

"I'd love to accompany you actually.” JJ then confirmed he would be coming as well, and she laughed with excitement, it was great to have some people she’d befriended already, or at least one of the two she knew was her friend. “Groovy.” She stuck her tongue out with a grin, and Pippin groaned at the expression before giving chattery laughter at his companion, he actually really liked the word now that he thought about it. He’d definitely be using it a lot. JJ then introduced his companion, the phoenix, and she covered another grin as the bird puffed out with pride.

"Well then, I guess we are off then!" A mischievous look flickered across May’s features, and she was about to dart of with, “Race ya,” before she noticed JJ’s attention was elsewhere. Three girls to be exact, and they seemed to faun over him for some reason. A sheepish look took residence on her facials, and she laughed a little good naturedly. “Well, guess JJ’s busy.” She spoke to Drew, and then half smirked half beamed, and poked his shoulder. “Betcha Pip and I can beat you there~” And with that, she practically dragged him to his feet and forward just a bit before letting go with a laugh and darting off with Pippin in tow.

By the time JJ had apologized, she was already off and running, dodging a few people who were switching areas, and Pip weaved between legs, tending to trip someone on an off occasion. But their progress was swift, and Macari and Pip sauntered over to the special abilities area, suddenly turning around to announce a successful win, “Be-“ however, she didn’t get far, as her eyes suddenly locked onto a small form trapped under a large tiger, and the tiger appeared to be keen on strangling the stranger. Her eyes widened, and all play left from her form. The tiger quickly left the figure as something small and blue whirled around it.

Suddenly, a small Asian girl was at the figure’s side, quickly wrapping her arms around the person, before frantically getting up and leaving at a run. She caught just the last bit of broken ribs. May looked down at Pippin worriedly, before quickly jogging over.

As soon as she reached him, she knelt down on the grass and leaned over his head, large eyes peering down at him. As soon as she got a good view of him, she inhaled somewhat sharply before blinking and looking away for just a second. Minx then turned back to him and gave a really tentative, small smile, “Hey, guy, you look like you’ve seen better.” She joked carefully, trying to make light of the situation, but not be insensitive. She then turned to Pip, and poked the little Jackalope on the forehead. “Hey Pip, think you can work your magic on him?” Pippin tilted his head, looking at the male with worry himself. “I can try, but the best I’d be able to do was dull the pain until he actually gets some medical assistance.” She bit her lower lip, glancing over her companion before giving a quick nod.

May turned back to the guy, and gave him a reassuring smile. “You’ll be fine.” Pip quickly hopped over, the dull, warm light returning to his antlers. He carefully poked the tips of them into the boy’s side in attempts to dull the pain. ”I sure hope this works.” He thought silently at his Ryder.

Saga used one hand to lay himself on his back and clench the patch of grass. His chest arose and dropped achingly, something felt misplaced. Obviously, something was misplaced! He rested one hand over his stomach, closing his eyes to take in the sun. Going through his short filing cabinet, he recollected a memory similar to this one. As his family and dearest friends knew, Saga could be a bit of a klutz. During his freshmen year of high school, he had fallen out of bed horridly onto the ground. He'd noticed he had bruises the next day when he had gotten out of the shower, and went to go ask Aya if it was possible to get them from from what had happened. She had convinced he probably did something else strenuous and didn't remember, and he believed her. She was smarter then him! The second day, his rib hurt to breathe and exhale! So, the next day he went to the doctors and get an x-ray, just in case. The entire ride he had to deal with his father calling him a sissy and the females awkward silence. Turned out that he had a non-displaced fractured seventh rib. He gloated inside and revelled in his fathers apology. Even if it was a bad one. They couldn't do anything for it and just gave him pain medication till he healed after a few weeks. Aya had come to his beck and call during that event, probably because she felt slightly responsible.

Saga attempted to take a deep breathe, only to cough up some blood in the process. He didn't want to open his eyes and have to battle between light and darkness. At least with his eyes closed it was just dark, and that was that. Sooner or later Aya would come to his rescue anyway.

“Hey, guy, you look like you’ve seen better.” a sweet, gentle voice filtered itself through his ears. Who was this? He didn't recognize the voice...He opened his cerulean eyes to see a girl with autumn hair that curled into thin ringlets and eyes much like the ocean on a stormy day. Saga felt a jolt go through him straight to his core, leaving him breathless. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were a soft, cobalt blue with specs of faint turquoise that seemed to swirl in motion around her pupils like two tiny solar systems. She broke the gaze first as she turned to face a rabbit-looking creature.

What.

Was.

That!?

“Hey Pip, think you can work your magic on him?” the creature, known as Pippin, tilted his head, looking at the male with worry himself.

“I can try, but the best I’d be able to do was dull the pain until he actually gets some medical assistance.” He noticed the bite of her lower lip, before giving a quick nod. Why was he thinking about how sexy that was just now in his situation!? He sucked in a sudden deep breathe, somewhere along the way his breathing had picked up and it was lighting his lungs and ribs on fire. The brunette turned back to the guy, and gave him a reassuring smile.

“You’ll be fine.” her smile was beautiful! Pip quickly hopped over, a dull, warm light going to his antlers. He carefully poked the tips of them into his side in attempt to nullify the pain. It worked. Saga exhaled in relief, but didn't force himself to move around in fear it would wear off the healing effect. This would do till Aya got here. Gazing up at his hero, he realized who she was....

She was the one Bluejay had tripped!

Lucky!

”I'm sorry, about before...my dragon tripped you over by the....obstacle course I think,” he laughed sheepishly and lightly, ”You saved me, may I ask the name of my heroine? I'm Ueto Takeshi.” he joked half-seriously and half-lightly.