Robbin's POV
This is real. This moment...Vision...is real. But how? How is he here? How...did he find me? I watched him spew his fire as he targeted the other dragon with my feet completely melted to the ground. Maybe it's shock? Maybe I don't want to process this all at once. I want to stay like this, not fully knowing what the hell was going on, because if I move, if I focus on this, on him, I might have to deal with a realization that might not be favorable to me.
I take a vast breath and cleared my mind, only concentrating on Vision, watching his wings circle around above me. I'd only now noticed that he was alone in the sky. That, and Ryker, who was standing feet away from me moments ago, has also vanished. Did they escape when I was lost in my thoughts? I don't care, not in this moment;I do not care.
Vision circled me once more before easing down from the sky, and lands in front of me. I don't bother to hold back any tears because I've been waiting for this moment for one hundred years. But strangely, there was no flow of tears. No crying mess on the floor. I just...watched him. My eye did, however, become watery from my uncontrolled, yet concealed emotions. I scanned his form all at once, taking in my other half. He was just like before, so massive in size. His stone black scales, burning red eyes; it was all the same.
He took loud breaths as he examined me, perhaps trying to see if I too was real. He must know it's me, though. Why else would he be here; fly over to this Westerlie territory if he wasn't sure. I stretch out my hand slowly, just wanting one touch, one anything of him. Vision doesn't bear his teeth or do anything hostile. He's as still as I was just moments ago.
My fingers just barely grazed his snout and I flinched my hand back. Not because I was afraid, but his feel against my own skin sent electric waves through my body. This brought me a vibrating sense of reality. Giving him a welcoming smile, I move toward him, embracing his entire face in my arms. The warmth, familiarity it brought me was enough to finally let the tears flow.
"I'm so sorry." It was the only thing I can say to him. During my entrapment on that island, I dreamt of this reunion every day that I was there. I never wanted anything more than to apologize. It is my fault that he was turned to stone, after all.
I wiped away my tears to get a clear view of him, but my vision went blurry seconds later. I need to control myself. I'm in a battle, I remind myself. I grab both sides of his face and rest my head on his snout, recollecting myself. "We need to go, Vision," I whisper to him.
More rough breathing came from him as he motioned forward. "Tilenes vintrudo," I repeat to him, this time in the Westerlie tongue. He seemed to get the jist of it and lowered his right wing for me. I move back from him and make my way over to it, memories of our flying journeys suddenly coming to mind.
I climbed up his wing and settled myself at the base of his neck; My hands gripped the thorns that ran across it and leaned in. everything felt like it froze. The wind didn't push my hair around, waves crashing on the beach weren't echoing along the shore. It was just me and him. I didn't take another calming breath.
"Tilenes vintrudo," I directed once more. Vision suddenly took off into the sky, sending chills through my body. He flapped his wings and began to ascend. No matter how many flights Phoebion and I went on, nothing could ever compare to what Vision and I have. Our bond makes us stronger together, better than we are separately.
We flew high above the fog, but not far enough to be out of view from the fight below, and loomed over everything. There was a tickle in my throat, when turned into a drying scratch seconds later. It took only a moment to know why.
Vision let out a dominating roar. This is something that connects us physically. The dryness in my throat must be from the amount of time it's happened. Usually, the feeling is a vibrating one and doesn't ever hurt, unlike this one. Heat from his throat melted through his body and found this way entering mine, giving me a comforting feeling that I'd missed for what seems a lifetime. After Vision made his presence known, I heard two more roars from below me. Vision hovered over the fog as we waited for what was coming, but they weren't our enemies.
Sereion and Phoebion flew straight up from under us, circling Vision and I. Grey rode with his chosen dragon, while Phoebion was left without anyone. A partial piece of guilt washed over me as it felt as if I was abandoning her. She hasn't had a rider since my mother died.
Grey watched me in confusion before understanding the situation. Somehow, Vision had broken free of his stoned figure and came to my aid. It was indeed something I planned to look into once this battle is one. My eyes watched the ground below, which has seemed to have died down, and scan for Xander, who I haven't seen since we left our base of operations. He'll be fine, I told myself. He's stubborn as hell and is too pissed to give in so easily.
Grey and I lower our dragons to the shore. There's barely any retaliation from the rogues. I guess since their leader abandoned them, they might feel betrayed. Vision lands us on the dampened sand, both with blood and water, and I climb down from him. Grey follows my lead and runs over to me. I imagine he has a few questions about this.
"Before you ask, I don't know," I blurt out. I rubbed my hand on Vision's snout as I stared at the aftermath of the battle. He moves away from my touch and huffs at Grey, who gives him a somber smile. I guess I'm not the only one who's missed him. "Is this what's left of the rogues?" I asked as I examined the limp wolves spread across the beach.
"I'm not sure. We need to find Xander. He might've taken some hostage." Xander. My head swung in every direction as I searched for him. We haven't had any contact since this bloody battle began. He didn't seem to be anywhere along the beach, and this is Westerlie Territory. It's not like there's many places for him to run off to. By the look of this aftermath, this battle is over. The Northerner kingdom has won, so where the hell is Xander?
There were some Northerner fighters checking for any live enemies along the shore. They might know something. I jogged over to them and they noticed my presence they stopped checking for pulses and bow deeply to their queen. "Where is Xander," I inquired. Their heads begin to rise and give me a worrisome look. "Well, get on with it," I demanded.
"Alpha Xander charged after Ryker," one announced. "He caught his scent and took off south." The young boy pointed toward the tall trees that spread for miles. Nothing lived in that part of this Westerlie territory, not even our dragons. The weather has always made it an unfavorable place to reside, so it was left abandoned for centuries. But Xander isn't some weak being. He can use his werewolf senses to find his way back to me-us. I just hope the muggy weather doesn't dull his sense of smell.
"This can't be all the rogues. Were there any captured?"
"Yes. twenty seven rogues have been captured and are going to be transported back to the Northerner kingdom once we leave, and the death toll is fifty three." I give them a small nod and turn on my heels, heading back to a waiting Grey.
"We need to find him." I back walk over to and around Vision and headed to retake my seat on his back, getting ready to scavenger the area. "He's probably gone far by now, so we should hurry."
"Xander can take care of himself. He doesn't need you flying to his aid."
I pause mid climb and glare down at Grey. "He's acting on wrong principles. Who knows what's he's going to do out there. What am I supposed to do?"
"You stay with your people," He replied harshly as he marched over to me, now standing directly below me. "You're a queen now, Robbin. You have people depending on you for leadership. I know you want to help him, but you have other priorities. I will find him, okay? I'll bring him to the capitol. Just, go; be there for your people."
He was right. I have a duty to my people, to give them the aftermath speech in Xander's absence. I sigh to myself and give Grey an agreeing nod, then proceeded to climb onto Vision. During the Pre-battle plans, we agreed to meet back at our base of operations, which wasn't too far from here. I'd have to go and congratulate them on our victory today, but it won't be too cheery. Ryker managed to get away. That is certainly not something to celebrate.
Vision takes off and we head back the way we came, but part of me doesn't want to go. After all these painful years, Vision has come back to me. I want him to whisk me away so we could spend hours flying together. I don't want responsibility.
That's selfish thinking, though. I am a queen, and forced into that role or not, I have to take charge in Xanders' absence. The wind was calm despite the speed we were at. Rain had stopped falling from the sky, but clouds remained looming over, as if threatening to shower us once more. The air was now thick with fog which felt smothering, so I pulled Vision high above it all. The world was always clearer from above. A creamy rose colored sky was found above the thickness below. I tried me best not to enjoy it too much. Getting lost in this wouldn't be wise right now. I can't let my emotions conquer my mind, not after all that's happened today.
Vision soars a while longer before I unexpectedly catch Xanders scent, even from this far up. I wasn't capable of enhancing myself before and it makes sense now. When I fell into the ocean, somehow it woke Vision up. His awakening must've triggered my dragon blood to activate, giving me pieces of its power. It would usually stay permanently, but its curruptedness might be keeping that from happening. Liability. I'm only useful a ungiven moments.
I discarded those thoughts and dropped Vision below the skyline in Xanders direction. His scent is stronger than before. It's stronger, more vibrant, more everywhere. I smell him on me. Even thinking about him makes me feel where he last touched me. This of course makes me want to get to him sooner. The air seemed to to clear up slightly and I carried on in his direction. Wherever Xander was, it's near our base. That's good, I tell myself. The closer he is to there, the more his pack members would've caught his scent too and most likely have found him.
But just as quickly as I got wind of his location, it dropped with no notice. The air went back to its recent state; the fog masking any trace of him. Losing that contact made him clear out from existence with nothing left of evidence of him ever being here. I knew not to panic, that it was my corrupted blood blocking my ability to track him, but I couldn't help it. The feeling was similar to suffocating, like the fog itself was sucking the air out of my lungs and filled in its place.
I begin to control my thoughts and my breath begins to pace itself. I know wherever Xander is, there are people searching for him. It isn't my job to find him. I have a battle to go over. I need to know the casualties and where the captured rogues are. Vision circled over the dragons pit before letting out a roar of arrival, not to the pit, but perhaps back into the world, and lands in the center. I climb down from him and when my feet hit the ground, I shivered. It wasn't a dragon blood sense, but something far more natural. My head flipped behind me and there stood the man in question.
Xander stood between the entrance of the dragon pit half dressed but uninjured. Either the battle didn't leave a scratch on him or he healed rather quickly. Knowing him, it was most likely both, but I'm just glad to actually see him. There was a look of relief plastered on his face and I assumed he felt the way I did. Xander's attention then flew up to the beast behind me, now noticing that I wasn't riding Phoebion anymore.
Even though it's been a century, Vision still has my scent on him. Part of me actually dwells in him, which in Northerner terms means he's mate. But to us dragon riders, it's more like a soulmate, and that can mean a number of things. Vision is my friend, but he's also my protector. He's my thought in the morning and at night, my emotional support. This is why I was broken hearted when we were separated. I lost everything in a matter of seconds. I guess in a similar way, that's what Xander and I are to each other, or rather what everyone says we are; what we're supposed to be.
I reluctantly step away from Vision and rush over to Xander whose eyes have returned back to me. For a moment, I thought he was going to stand there for some time longer, but Xander found me in the middle. His expression changed back into an angry one and I grew annoyed at the sudden change. "You're different," he stated.
"Something unexpected happened to me today." I motioned to Vision standing proud behind us with my hand. "I...ran into some trouble in the sky. I don't know why, but my dragon blood was activated when I fell into the water, and Vision broke free from his stone form. I really...can't explain it," I said in confusion.
"You weren't supposed to fight today," he gritted. Does he only care about what I did wrong now?
"I wasn't left with much of a choice." I felt angry. So much, that Vision must've noticed it radiating off of me. His heat crept up my back, and he was several meters away from us. Part of me is hoping that he does not mistake Xander for food. The other part is waiting to see how the rest of this conversation goes. Xander seemed to feel this change as well because his gaze went back to Vision who was now inching for us, and with his size, it wasn't going to take long.
"That's Vision," He confirmed in hesitation. I nodded in confidence and he continued. "He smells like you."
"That's because he is me." Despite the fierce glares and hungry rumbling coming from Vision, i grabbed Xander's hand and led him over for their first greeting. This is important. If Vision sees him as a threat, there won't be any Xander left.
Xander held back in his steps slightly as I brought him over. He wouldn't admit it, but he's still afraid of dragons, and I don't blame him. Anyone, even me, would see them as a menacing force. Once we reached him and still holding his hand, I brought it up to Visions snout and released my hold. Xander was hesitant to do what I wanted him to do, but still calmly moved it forward. I myself was clearing any stressed and hateful thoughts. I didn't want Vision to sense any hostility from me and....eat...him.
Vision's nostrils flared as he watched Xander closely. He was studying him, reading and tearing him apart before making a decision. Dragons have an incredible sense of judgement, and me being his rider, anyone I bring to him will receive one. Moments passed and Vision finally moved, pressing himself toward Xander's hand.