Rizze slammed into the wall with something akin to a sack of potatoes, visible indentations left in the mix of dirt and stone. For a moment, all was still. Not a thing moved. But the silence was broken, by a long and nearly mournful groan that came from the lump of scales that now began to retake his footing.
He shook his head, clearing the eggshells from his mind and refocusing his eyes with effort. They found themselves looking upon his looming mother once more.
"Again. And this time, try not to fail." She growled, before nudging him in the direction of the beginning once more. An outcropping of collapsed rock that had once been held overhead the side of the deppression... That near perfectly ramped upwards towards the edge of the wall, if not for the several meter gap between the ramp and edge's perspective ledges. With a bit more soreness added to the fatigue of his muscles, Rizze followed the orders, and readied himself a small distance away from the start of the incline. A preparation of breathing, and the slightest of stretching.
Then started the charge. The initial pickup of his front-most fore, and the leaning motion of his body to place it forward... Chaining into the motion of the rest of his sinuous, scale-ridden body afterwords. He had begun his ascent of the slope, at the best of speeds he could currently manage. Which for the task, his Mother believed well enough. Personally, he wasn't so sure. But, he wasn't going to be pessimistic.
Besides, if this truly did work, he'd have an entirely new avenue of motion. One far more free than the last.
These were the recurring thoughts that took upon his mind, during each and every attempt that he was forced to make. Whilst he might believe that a dragon the size of his mother could take flight, his wingspan was simply... Well, from what he could guess, not enough. Perhaps there was something more to it, then.
He could remember well enough what she'd told him, before his first attempt. "Hold the conviction, and take action. That is all you need."
Simple words, for something apparrently more complicated than he thought. But, for now they were all he had to follow. And evidently, he wasn't following them well enough. Once more, he reached the edge of the small chasm at breakneck speed, his thoughts and eyes focused upon the opposing ledge... That he could, nay, would reach that area. Well enough, he could already imagine that his meal for the day could very possibly rest there.
More of those front-horned goats... Meaty haunches, ripe for the tearing. The mere thought nearly made the proud hatchling drool. Yet, he didn't. Mostly, because he was already breathing hard enough from the constantly repeated sprints.
His wings unfurled, as he hunched forward into a lean, and lowered his center of gravity like a housecat preparing a leap of faith... And such a leap he made.
His rock-studded wings caught the air, leathery undersides visibly spreading to take all of it for themselves as he sailed. Something churned within him, and at first he'd thought he was going to be sick... Vertigo, that would've be humorous for a dragon to have. But, that wasn't it. It was different, and as he now realized that he had begun his short flight... There had indeed been something more to it than just his wings.
He directed his attention inwards, as he had several seconds more to take a potshot of a guess towards what was happening... And he made it. Near where he could assume was his own, budding crystal of a Gemheart, was a swirl of circulating energy. And, as the time went by in flight, it visibly reduced in amount. Slowly decreasing in size and intensity...
Rizze panicked, as he realized that this would not be such a good thing, if he ran out mid-flight. He decided it would be best to leave the soul-searching for once he'd made landing... On that note, with his attention towards his destination, how was he supposed to land? He had little time to ruminate, as the ground was now calling out loudly in greeting... And he replied rather clumsily. A loud-enough combination of a thud and scraping alike, and he had made his landing. Far from graceful, nearly a crash. Visible scrapes, and thrown trails of earth where he'd obviously tried to best stick his landing.
But, he'd made it. And with that, his first ever flight was successful. More of a glide, but he supposed it was the best start he could feasibly achieve. He rumbled in happiness, the pride welling from within. He truly was a dragon. A land creature capable of taking to the skies... An honorary bird.
Scratch that, birds were honorary dragons. Except pigeons. Those were honorary raccoons. Which were honorary bears.
With that thought cleared, he gleefully turned to bring his attention back to his Mother, who'd be on the other side of the chasm at this time...
Yet, she wasn't. A stone within his heart, dropped. He suddenly felt very... Alone.
"Mother~?" He called out, a shrill tone to his... Near pleading voice. He continued to call out, as he paced across the edge of the chasm, his slitted orbs searching the treeline across frantically.
This continued, until he could nearly hear her sigh, as she became visible, raising herself from a dirt blowout. "Go, Rizze. That is enough."
He froze, utterly confused. "What do you mean? Won't you come?"
She kept an eye focused upon him for a moment, before shaking her regal, yet gnarled head. "No, you must find your own path. All that I am to teach you, has been taught. There is much else for you to learn, but I will not be the one to show you."
He kept silent for a moment, before calling out. "Then, who should I go to?" He was desparate to prevent her from leaving him... Safety was such a nice thing, but he found that... He didn't want to lose her.
"Rizze, little one. You are your own teacher. There are many lessons to learn from your own mistakes. Here, you've shown yourself how to fly, I merely told you that you could. I'm sure you've noticed just how you could make it possible. Expand upon that. As for your safety, little one... Few would contend with you, for as young as you are, you are still a dragon." And with that, his Mother rose from the blowout entirely, and began to leave. Stepping into the darkness of the forest across.
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"Wait! Don't leave me! You're... Mother~!" He cried out, the wails crossing the air like a whip upon his Mother's soul... But on she trod, with a clenched jaw and an aching heart. This was the way, she knew. It was the best, proven way for her offspring to grow up the strongest they could. It was how it had been done for... Countless years. Yet, that couldn't stop it from hurting.
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As he finally began to calm down, the throat of the young dragon hoarse long ago, the air felt... Cold. The shadows of the forest felt far darker than they had before. The sun, hidden behind clouds. He gazed woefully across, the gray, craggy dragon forlorn at the edge of the chasm. But, eventually he had to make the choice. The decision to follow his Mothers last orders... To venture out on his own, to learn what he needed. With this, he hoped not to fail her.
He turned, and Rizze the Dragon began his journey, as the shadows of the overhead trees seemed to almost consume him as he was hidden by the foliage... Leaving the chasm and its edges empty, and the only evidence of the separation being the rough scrapings and indentations across the earth, where Rizze had made his landing.
Even now, the earth had nearly blown over that, too.