Ausren returns his gaze to the desolate rock in front of him, rolling his shoulders. Then, softly, he says, "Alright, hold on."
Leo does as told, gripping tightly with both hands to the handles of the saddle.
Ausren tenses beneath the boy, and Leo braces himself for the explosion of motion.
"And relax, Riorra." The prince's voice echos in the boy's mind and a part of him does relax on instinct.
And then Ausren bounds forward, leaping gracefully over boulders. To Leo's own surprise, the motion is rather smooth and much less jarring with the added security. The prince lands just as gracefully, feet placed perfectly to avoid a fall. Claws digging into the rock for purchase, the dragon surprises Leo and actually turns up the mountain, aiming directly for the barren peak. The dragon easily makes it up the first length of the peak, but the higher they climb, the larger the boulders become. Eventually, the dragon is leaping from boulder to boulder, occasionally using his wings to drive them the last few feet to a safe landing.
This… isn't so bad, Leo thinks, matching the movements of the dragon with his own body and keeping himself centered.
Immediately, the dragon lets out a purr, his thoughts colored with happiness. "I told you."
Ausren grips the edge of his current boulder, claws scraping pebbles off and sending them careening down the mountain. The boulder he is aiming for is a good ten feet away, and close to four feet above the one they're on. The dark grey-green of the rocks is striking, moss lining every crevice, making the precipice below them a little less nerve-wracking.
I'm probably the first person to have ever been up here. Leo wonders, staring down at the forest, now so tiny below them. And, nearly a speck in the valley below… that's the Dismal Fort. Peaking out from between trees, the cleared area around it barely visible. Somewhere down there, Leo's brothers are scrambling around like ants, focused only on the next grueling task.
If only they knew what they are missing.
At that thought, Leo laughs, throwing his head back and letting one hand come free from the handles. Having been the one that was belittled for his lack of blood lust, Leo is now the one atop a dragon, free from the menial war. Free from their scrutiny and so much more than they believed.
Pride echos from Ausren as the dragon launches himself across the gap. Knowing the movement was coming, Leo lets his free hand trail through the rushing air, only removing it from its outstretched position to brace against the landing.
Ausren gathers himself one last time, then flings the two across the gap, reaching up and hauling them to the summit of the mountain.
As Ausren crests the boulder, Leo rips his attention away from the tiny fort and turns his attention to the landscape beneath him.
The mountain range stretches to the north, and beyond them the northern sea sparkles. Covered in ice this far north in winter, the sea is completely iced over, the cracked white expanse expanding to the horizon. Cold and uncaring, unimaginable depths of water hidden underneath a sheet of ice thick enough to hide a dragon.
The mountains themselves are not to be overlooked. Peaks stretching into the sky all around the human and his dragon, the mighty range looks like some sort of stoic guardian over the continent. Bursting through the blanket of snow are massive expenses of cliffs and boulders, magnifying the sheer size of the mountains. And, even more impressively, the infestation of stubborn pines littering their sides. Defeated only by altitude, the colossal forest clutches at the sides of the mountains, shaking off snow and indescribable cold to find their lives. So much power, in an immovable and inanimate landscape.
It's serene and magnificent.
"Wow," Leo whispers as the dragon balances atop the boulder, flaring his wings against the wind.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ausren answers, tipping his head enough to watch the human on his back.
The boy smiles, standing up in his stirrups and looking around with growing excitement. The fort to the south, the sea to the north, and endless mountains to the east and west. Only the breeze dares to break the trance-like silence, stirring against the brilliant white of the fallen snow. How tiny and insignificant the little fort below them.
Tipping his face into the wind, Leo breathes in the fresh smell coming off the icy sea, mixed with the thick pine of the massive forest. It is clean, crisp… it feels like a chilled form of pure freedom.
Throwing both his hands up and tipping his head back, Leo lets out a shriek of delight, shouting his delight at the sky.
Ausren braces himself under the human, tips his head back, his front feet coming off the boulder, and lets loose a roar that shakes the very air around them. Leo matches him with another howl, letting the dragon's delight mix with his own.
This, Leonidas thinks, letting the cold air coil around his body. This is what I was meant to do. I finally feel… complete. I feel untouchable, undefeatable.
The moment is perfect.
Unfortunately, like most things, it doesn't last long.
Ausren shakes his neck, settling himself back on the boulder and tucking his wings to his sides. As he does so, a colossal crack splits the air, and the snow balanced on the peaks around them breaks from its precious hold and goes careening down the mountains.
Leonidas places both hands on Ausren's shoulders and watches as the snow crashes through canyons, buries entire sections of the forest, and eventually comes to rest in the numerous valleys. Other than the distant and persistent rumbling of the cascade, there is silence.
The silence is deafening after the sheer power of Ausren's roar.
"Well," Leo finally comments when the snow has finally settled, "if the humans didn't know you were still here before, they do now."
Ausren shakes his head again, the motion rippling through the muscle of his neck, and bares his teeth. With a soft snort, he billows smoke from his nostrils; it is promptly carried away by the wind.
"Let them come. They cannot bring their dragon-killing bows to me. I will not be so easily defeated a second time."
Leo scowls at that, the notion of Ausren fighting with his human compatriots disturbing for a multitude of reasons. Despite Cecil's anger and hurtfulness, Leo doesn't want his brother dead. And he most definitely doesn't want Ruhban anywhere near the line of fire. As for Ausren… the idea of losing his new friend brings an instinctual terror and rage that the human cannot explain. For all the world, he doesn't know the dragon. And yet the boy owes the prince his life and is soul bound to him. Disregarding all that, he has found a sense of worth in the dragon.
His death is not an option. I will not allow it--
"Calm down, Riorra," Ausren says softly, but with an unmistakable note of command.
Indeed, Leo blinks and comes out of the spiral of uncontrollable fear, realizing that the scales have returned, and he is digging talons into the scales on Ausren's shoulders. And that… that's a feral growl in his throat. A sound that he has never made before, and one that he was not aware a human could make.
"Oh," the boy murmurs, removing his taloned grip. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was… doing that."
Ausren, now with his head coiled up to watch the human fully, responds, "If you wish me to stay away from the humans, then I will do so. I have no intention to worry you so. But, know that I can handle myself. I will not die easily."
"Cecil nearly killed you with a single shot," Leonidas responds blandly.
Ausren flares his wings again as a rather rowdy blast of wind batters him. "That was a lucky shot. If I hadn't gotten greedy thinking I could fry you and the bow, I wouldn't have been hit. But I did, and besides, I was under orders to attack directly and without hesitation. I am under no such restriction now. I can ensure my survival and your own with the utmost precedence. Anyway," as he speaks, the dragon moves, sliding his front end off the edge of the boulder. His long, serrated claws cling to the surface of the massive rock, keeping him from simply falling. Behind him, his tail cracks as it sweeps around to balance out his weight. "We need to get down now."
"Absolutely no flying," the boy yelps immediately, clutching at his handles and well aware that he could not stop the dragon if he wanted to.
Ausren's eye flicks back to watch him as the deep ruk ruk ruk laugh echoes through his chest. "I promised no flying, I plan to keep that promise. I don't want to scare you away. I am planning to simply glide back down to our quaint little cave."
"How is gliding any different?!"
"I won't beat my wings and I won't get very far off the ground. All it is is simply removing the jolting from your ride back down the mountain. Besides, it's much faster than climbing."
For a moment, Leo stares at the precipice below them and scowls, his heart racing in his chest. I am most definitely afraid of heights, the boy thinks to himself, his mouth going dry.
"We… we're not even on the correct side of the peak," Leo croaks.
Ausren laughs again, smoke billowing from his nose. "I am aware. I'll make a loop."
The boy scowls further, tremors starting from his stomach and spreading through his body. Ausren has not done anything to hurt him, saved his life, protected him… the prince wouldn't hurt the human.
And yet Leo's very bones are light and shaking at the idea of plummeting down the mountain.
"Leonidas," Ausren says softly, barely audible over the winds. "Do you trust me?"
Leo lets his eyes travel to the dragon's own, large and fiery pink… but open and honest. "Yes," he mutters.
"The trust me to take care of you. I will not cause you any harm, nor allow anything else to do so. Let me show you something wonderful."
Closing his eyes, steeling himself, and taking that blind leap, Leonidas whispers, "Alright."
Without waiting for the human to change his mind, Ausren bunches his haunches and launches the pair off the boulder. On instinct, the boy lets out a yelp as the feeling of falling claws its way up his abdomen. Clawing at the handles, he drags himself closer to the dragon's neck as his body lifts from the prince's back.
But then, just like the very first time Ausren offered to carry the boy, the massive leathery membrane of the dragon's wings catch the air. And with a dull whomp, suddenly the fall is not so much falling anymore.
No, the dragon's head is still pointed nearly down, his nose pointed at the very base of the mountain, but his wings are stretched fully out and directing the pair through the air. They are not falling at all, but gliding.
I'm not falling…
As gravity does its work, the air starts rushing by Leonidas's head and ever-increasing rates until it is a continuous, deafening sound. And, despite their break-neck pace, the human starts to relax. They're not falling, and despite his complete lack of control, through his bond with Ausren, Leo can feel the absolute confidence and control the prince has. This is the dragon's element, where he has spent over half his life… in the sky.
There is nothing to be afraid of.
After what feels like hours of adrenaline-filled flight, Leo finally works up the courage to peak over Ausren's shoulder. There, not twenty feet below them, whizzing by at incredible speed, is boulder after boulder. Bone-breaking impacts, if he was to fall, or if Ausren was to falter.
Yet outriding even the fear of collision is the fascination at the intricacies of flight. Or… gliding. Every air current they encounter is another small correction from the dragon, a slight tilt of his wings, a twitch of a muscle in the very far edge of his wing. And the wind rippling under the membrane of the wings, making it vibrate and hum… it's amazing.
And then, suddenly, the dragon's shoulders come up, the massive muscles attaching the wing to the shoulder flexing. Leo watches in fascination as the dragon's wings rotate from a completely horizontal position to a nearly-vertical orientation.
Bam!
With a yelp, the human slams into the dragon's neck, very much unaware of how incredibly quickly flaring wings brings the dragon to nearly a complete stop. For a second, the pair hangs in the air above the scree slope by their cave. Then, the wind billows out of Ausren's wings and the dragon drops lightly to the ground, absorbing the impact with bent legs.
Shaken out of his trance, Leo is ready for the movement and rides it relatively easily.
"How was that?" Ausren asks, his voice loud in the absence of the insistent wind.
"It was… how do you do that?" Leo breathes in response.
"Do what?"
"That… fly? How do you do it?"
Ausren looks back at the human contemplatively. "Well, it's second nature now. But when I was very young I did what all hatchlings do and launched myself off a cliff. We either learn to fly or we die. Or, at least that's how it was back when I was just a hatchling. Nowadays the Elders have been pushing my father to take a more lenient approach," the prince answers. "Now, do you want to actually fly? Like I said before, what we just did was simply a glide."
Leo immediately blushes and ducks his head, coiling his fingers into the front of the saddle sheepishly. "I don't… I don't know. I still don't think I'm ready for that yet."
Ausren shrugs, the movement jostling the human. "I have promised that I'm not going to force you to fly until you are ready. I'll keep that promise."
"Thank you," Leo mutters. Then, looking up, he glances at the sun. It's not late, per se, but the human woke up late this morning, and he spent the better part of the day working on the saddle. Then he went for the joy ride. The sun is getting closer to the horizon.
"Would you be willing to give me a ride back to the fort?" Leo asks his dragon, turning his attention from the sky to Ausren.
The dragon tilts his head curiously, just like a dog. "Of course. Are you going back so soon? We have a lot of daylight left to use."
Leo smiles slightly, turning his gaze to the forest, through which he knows the fort is waiting. Stoic and silent as always.
"Sorry. I need to get back earlier today, I think. I don't want them to realize that I've been sneaking out. At the very least I need to be spotted wandering aimlessly around. Maybe I could come back later, but I'm guessing I'm going to need to wait until tomorrow."
Ausren huffs a tiny sigh, but responds enthusiastically with, "Well, I'll drop you off then! And I'll come get you tomorrow morning."
Leo smiles slightly, guilt creeping up on him. "What do you usually do when I'm gone?"
"So far?" Ausren replies, turning down the slope and starting toward the trees. "I just sleep. I hunted once, ran for water once. But other than that, I just nap. It's nice. If you need me, just shout with your mind and I will come to you at once."
The boy smiles more widely at that, putting his hands on Ausren's shoulders once again as the dragon walks into the trees. "If I am in the fort, please don't. I don't want you getting hurt."
"I don't want you hurt either," Ausren replies, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "I can't heal you again. I don't know how."
"Let's make a pact, then," Leo murmurs. "We don't let each other get injured, but we also don't recklessly endanger ourselves. Sound good?"
Ausren is silent for a moment, and Leo catches a tiny snippet of thought: "And yet you're going to walk directly into that fort, surrounded by the enemy.
But all he says is, "Deal."