Master Otis
Leon was up before I was, apparently. Though, I supposed that was nothing new, given I was pretty lazy in the cooler mornings.
The chill made me drowsy and my scales itch.
Still, it was barely dawn when the prince barged into my makeshift sleeping quarters with a bright-as-day smile and a bucket full of cleaning utensils.
I grumped and grumbled as he laughed, cleaning my scales and trying to rouse me to full wakefulness.
It was clearly a struggle, but he didn't seem to mind overly much.
Indeed, I had never seen the prince in such unbelievably high spirits!
It kind of made me feel good, thinking that he was this happy over just being able to spend more time with me.
I knew it was due to his dream being made reality, but as I told him before, our partnership was not a true dragon/dragoon bond.
.. Still, if it made him happy, then all the power to him I supposed.
"How can you be so chipper when it is so cold?!" I huffed at Leon, flicking the tip of my tail so that it tussled his hair. He was currently seated on my back tending to the scales on my neck. He was being especially through today, it seemed.
Leon laughed. "The cold helps to wake me up."
"Must be nice..." I grumbled, tucking my paws further under my belly.
"Dragons get lethargic in the cold when they are young. Once you are bigger, and your scales provide that much more insulation, then you will hardly feel either hot or cold things. Unless its an extreme instance, like falling in a volcano or something."
"Are you telling my I can survive swimming in lava?" I asked, not really believing that for an instant.
He shook his head. "I wouldn't go that far. But, once you are bigger, it is possible that you could survive a brief dunking! Though, I doubt your wings would be in any condition to help you fly out of a caldera..."
I snorted. "So, no volcanoes then?"
"Er... Probably for the best." I felt him brush my scales for a few, silent, minutes as I listened to the far off falls when he spoke again. "You know, I think you are growing in a mane..."
"Huh?" I asked, confused. A mane? like a lion?
That did not sound attractive what-so-ever!
Just picturing my scaly pink self with a fluffy pink lion mane was enough to make me shiver in disgust. Dragon vanity was so ingrained into me now that I didn't even bother to try and reason with myself that looks didn't matter.
Clearly reading the panic coming over me, Leon patted my neck. "There, there. I am sure it is not as you are imagining! I rather doubt anything could make you look anything less than lovely."
"Enough with your flattery!" I snapped with a slight growl. "I am sure that Mother did not have some floof of hair on her! I do not like this!"
At that Leon laughed loudly, nearly falling off my back. I sincerely appreciated the fact that he seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with me each day, but now was not the time to be giggling over my potential bad hair days!
"Easy!" he continued to laugh, literally whipping a tear from the corner of his eye.
"A floof? I highly doubt it. You saw the other dragons in the throne room yesterday, didn't you?
Some had something similar, though I suppose theirs were more of a mix between a mane and a crest..
. I think yours will be far lovelier!" I felt him tug softly on something on the back of my neck.
"It doesn't quite feel like hair, but it has a similar consistency.
I look forward to brushing it once it grows in more. "
"Well, aren't you lucky then?" I huffed, puffing out a frustrated, yet defeated breath from my nostrils. "Dragons with hair..."
Leon chuckled once again, affixing himself better on my spine.
"Much like your slender shape, there are dragon families out their with that trait, but they are rare.
If you say your mother did not have this, then I can only assume that you inherited it from your father's side.
Perhaps your sire also came from a rare line of drakes? "
"Mother had a mane like array of sharp spines down her neck. No hair. I don't know anything about the drake who sired me..."
"It would have been information your mother would have given you had you had more time with her, I am sure.
I think it is something the mothers gift their young while still in their eggs.
At least, it is one of the few things they impart on the eggs given to the Dragoon Order.
The dragons who hatch out to the dragoons know their lineage.
I think it is something dragons are quite proud of. "
"Yet another thing I have been denied..."
Sensing my growing melancholy, Leon bent down and wrapped his arms around my neck in a hug. "I'm sure your mother had wanted to leave you with many things, Allura."
"I know... She did her best with the little time she had before her passing... I grieve for how little my siblings will know when they hatch, if I myself am this woefully ignorant."
"Well," Leon said, his voice growing upbeat once again. "You can learn everything now, and when we find them, you can teach them all you learned! It is a human way to do things, sure, but at least they will not have to struggle as you are, right?"
"True." I sighed. After another ten minutes of contented silence while Leon pretended that there was more for him to do with my scales, I decided that I was awake enough and stretched out my lithe pink body and yawned.
The sound was close to a roar, and I had no doubt that, had someone been standing in front of me, they may have thought I was trying to eat them with how wide my jaw stretched. "Alright, I'm awake now. Lets go."
"Good idea."
I didn't wait for Leon to slide off my back, instead getting to my feet with him still there. His bucket of water wobbled precariously when I nudged it, and the prince's wash cloth fell to the stone floor as he lurched, grasping onto my neck once again.
"Whoa!" He gasped.
"Hold on tight and point me in the right direction." I said, stepping out of the covered pavilion and stretching out my wings so that the caught the morning light, just right. Chilly or not, it was a pretty good morning for a leisurely flight.
"Alright!" Leon said excitedly. Clearly he had not expected to be treated to my rather lack luster aerobatics today, judging by the wide grin on his handsome face. "We need to go that way."
Leon guided me toward a moderately sized island about as close to the opposite bank as the islands got.
Indeed, I could see a very long bridge connecting the island to the forest covered shore in the distance.
This bridge was not nearly as fancy and extravagant as the bridge we had enter over, but it was sturdy and seemed to have more guards on it.
The island itself held a large barracks with an equally large training field.
Behind the human sized building with somewhat larger door ways, stood a much larger building that appeared to be designed to house dragons.
It was big enough to do so, at least. Though, I couldn't say that I preferred the square building over the smaller, but wide open, pavilions I had slept in the night before.
Who knew that becoming a dragon would give me a mild case of claustrophobia?
"There, right for the training grounds." Leon shouted over the wind whistling around us. "The commander told me last night to have you enter through the main doors as soon as you were ready. So long as they were not out on the field yet..."
Clearly they were not. Humans and elves may have been able to hide from us at this height but dragons could never. So they all must have been in the building. I wondered if I would see the colorful array of dragons that I had seen the previous day in the throne room.
I angled my wings and marked my flight path downward, looking to land in the middle of the cleared training grounds where the earth was clear and hard packed.
It was the best place for me to land given my track record.
At least there wasn't anyone around to see if I tripped over my own paws and face planted. ..
At least, that's what I had thought at first. Unfortunately, just as I was mere feet from the ground the large doors of the barracks creaked open and out marched several teens and men in fairly basic training gear. Great, an audience.
Feeling more pressured then ever to not make a fool of myself, I focused on simply touching down with the bare minimum of grace.
If Leon and I were to be joining these people in their lessons and training, then that meant that we were bound to be spending a good deal of our lives with them for the foreseeable future.
I would greatly prefer not to have my first impression be me crashlanding and crushing my dragoon, minute one.
Fingers metaphorically crossed, I came to what I figured was a passably graceful hover, then touched down, my wings stirring up dust. As soon as we were completely still, Leon leaned forward and whispered in my ear slit: "Good job.
" And I could feel the suppressed laugh that he was just dying to let out.
If dragons could blush, then I was quite sure that I would have.
I'd like to see him carry me on his back and take flight! Much less stick the landing with both feet still under his body! Tch!
There was no applause- awkward or otherwise- after we came to a stop, and I wasn't sure if I found that more or less embarrassing at this point.
As Leon demounted, I eyed up the other dragoons in training.
The first thing I noticed was their ages.
Leon had said that he was on the older side for a dragoon, but for some reason I was not prepared for the fact that among the thirty boys and girls most were clearly under the age of sixteen.
Even in this world- where I have seen girls younger than Leon with more than one child themselves- most of them were still considered children.
"Why has everyone sto- Oh!" Trilled a rather high pitched voice, announcing a frazzled looking older woman appearing in the barracks doorway.
She was tall, thin and had her grey hair pulled up tight in a bun.
As I examined her, she pushed a pair of glasses up her pale nose and grinned wildly in my direction. "You must be Allura!"
"Er, yes... Hello..." I said a little awkwardly as the woman squeezed herself past the gawking crowd of teens and preteens so that she was standing before them.
"Miss Fortezza. Good morning." Leon said, stepping to my side with his trademark smile firmly in place.
"Good morning Prince Leon!" Beamed the woman, dipping into a deeper than necessary bow that caused her glasses to fall off her face.
She caught them before they hit the dirt, but the children got a good laugh out of it.
Clearing her throat and straightening her self out, now a little red around the ears, Miss Fortezza set her spectacles back on her face.
"Allura, this is Miss Fortezza, one of the honored instructors of the dragoon hopefuls.
And, behind her is one of our current classes of dragoon hopefuls.
" Leon said as way of introduction. "Class, this is Allura.
She has honored me by acting as my dragon for the time being, and will be attending the training regimen starting today. "
The children simply stood there, eyes wide and filled with awe. Surely, out of all children in this world, these were the ones that had seen dragons more than any other. Why were they gawking at me like they were just learning that dragons were real?
"Um..." I said, awkwardly, not really sure what it was I was supposed to do.
These kids my have been wearing generic training uniforms, carrying wooden swords on their hips, but I was pretty sure that most, if not all, were children of nobles and the like.
If I wasn't expected to bow to the king, then I was sure that I was fine not doing so here either.
But I didn't want to scare them or something.
The last thing I wanted was their powerful and influential parents getting a poor impression of me.
"Do you mind if they touch you?" Leon asked out of the corner of his mouth, clearly also picking up on the strange levels of awe the kids were projecting.
"You are the first female dragon that they had seen.
To be honest, we were taught at a young age that wild dragons- especially females- are kind of scary. "
Ah, so they were more afraid of me then I was of them... I suppose that made more sense than anything else, actually. "I don't mind."
"Why don't you all come say 'hello'?" Leon said in a louder voice to the younger herd and I saw their eyes widen even farther. If that was even possible. "Allura doesn't mind. Right?"
"No, not at all." I said, resisting the urge to awkwardly smile.
On my dragon face it would have looked like a snarl more than anything else.
"Just... No climbing." I hesitated. I really did not need an entire elementary class clambering all over me.
I wasn't a cat, I couldn't sheath my claws and I really did not want any accidental eviscerations.
"No need to worry about that." Laughed Leon as the young students started to edge closer, still being more cautious than I had expected.
Perhaps the princess's lack of restraint had simply made me more expectant that children in this world really did not have any fear for dragons, despite everyone else telling me again and again that we were a feared and respected race.
"Allura, your scales are so pretty." Breathed a young girl as the bravest of the group approached, her small, pale hand just barely brushing against the paler scales of my chest. "They are so shiny."
I couldn't help but feel amused. "Leon works hard to keep them that way.
" I stated. And his efforts were very much appreciated.
I never would have thought it, but cleaning myself could really be a chore!
Especially when it came to dirt. Mud and muck had a nasty habit of getting cacked between scales and in crevices I would rather not mention.
I watched as several young eyes, filled with admiration, swung toward the prince. Apparently brushing the dirt off the sides of a dragon was something to see as being a life goal. Their gazes didn't seem to bug Leon, who just stood there, smiling politely, as the children gathered closer.
"What is all this then?" Came a growling voice that, for a split second, I had thought had come from a dragon.
I wasn't the only one to look back at the barracks to find the source, and I saw that it had come from an old man, not a dragon.
"What are you all doing?" The man grumped, eyes narrowed on the children's teacher.
"The trainees were greeting Allura and his highness, Prince Leon." Stated Miss Fortezza in a respectful tone. I could tell by the sudden stiffening of her and the children's posture that this man was someone they all respected. "Allura, this is the Dragoon Commander, Sir Otis Harrow."
"He holds the highest position amongst dragoons in Orelious." Leon explained as the man descended the stairs, seeming to have a slight limp. "Basically, only my father out ranks him in our kingdom when it comes to military matters, and the defense of the kingdom."
Okay, so very, very, respected then. Noted.
He made his way forward slowly, even though it looked like he had an old injury, his steps were purposeful and strong.
He was short for a human male, but had broad shoulders and a barrel chest under a set of weathered armor.
Honestly, he didn't look like someone who was second only to the king of a powerful nation.
Indeed, if Leon had told me that this grizzled old man- with white hair and beard, and an actual eye patch- was a retired foot soldier, or a ex-mercenary, I would have believed that first.
The children parted like the sea before Moses as the commander walked forward.
He stopped before me, but rather than look at me, he glared around at the children.
"Are you all not supposed to be training right now?
" He growled and glared. A glance at Leon showed that he was still standing there, smiling politely, as if this was all normal and expected.
At his words the children scattered, quickly followed by their teacher, who bowed respectfully before following her charges.
They didn't seem upset or chastised at all, so I assumed that this was just how this old man was, and they all knew that he was good hearted despite his grumpiness.
Only once they had all disappeared around the back of the barracks did the commander turn his eyes onto me.
He didn't say anything at first, just eyeballed me for a solid three minutes while we all stood their in a strained silence. Eventually I gave in and spoke first, even though it felt a bit like I had lost.
"Good morning?" I hedged, narrowing my green eyes down on the elderly man.
I watched his lip twitch. "Good morning, young dragon. His majesty, the king, informed me that you would be gracing us with your presence for the time being..."
"I am unsure how much 'grace' is involved, but yes, that is true." I said, unsure what he was getting at.
"I was also told that you gave those nobles a firm talking to?"
Annoyed, I glared harder at the man. "They were rude."
"And presumptuous." Leon added, finally speaking up.
The old man actually laughed. "I am sure they were.
One day, the lot will get eaten by a dragon, and then they will relearn to fear the beasts they think they have tamed.
" His eyes landed back on me, a kind smile now making his one visible eye crinkle.
"Normally I am not here at the training center, but decided that meeting you was worth putting up with all the ankle biters. .."
"The human, or the dragon kind?" I asked.
At that Otis laughed out loud. "Both! I swear that I have never been that young and obstinate. And thank the gods I never cursed the world with a whelp of my own. Come, the class you both will be joining is gathered inside."
Without another word the old man turned on his heel and headed back towards the barracks, not even bothering to look back.
Perhaps seeing my incredulous look, Leon took pity on me and laughed, offering up the best explanation he could muster, no doubt. "Master Otis may seem brisk, but he is a true hero in Helios and beyond. I am sure you will like him to, given your uncomfortableness with human manners!"
I snorted (A sound quite horrifying coming from a dragon, I might add.) and shook my head. "I am sure that I will find the noble etiquette of any race stressful to be honest."
"Well, it is a good thing that no person alive would be fool enough to expect a wild dragon to even bother attempting it then." The prince smiled, leading the way after the old man who had now vanished into the building.
"Wait," I said, confused and a little disappointed. "If he is some famous dragoon, than does he not have a dragon partner? Where are they at?"
"Ah, you mean Brakus. He is a very old dragon! maybe even the oldest dragon in the order. He and Otis are never far apart, so my guess is that he is out back. I don't think he could fit inside the barracks, as he is several times larger than you..."
Dumbfounded, I followed the prince inside.
I could hardly imagine how big that would be.
.. The dragons I'd seen yesterday were large, especially the golden one.
.. But even he might have been able to get inside.
Though, if I were in his position, I wouldn't want to squeeze in anywhere, so there was that. ..