Callum was standing at the edge of the clearing with Tyviin perched on his shoulders, staring at the people of the village. All eyes seemed to be looking right at him and his new companion. He could hear gasps and whispers be spoken about him and he began to feel slightly embarrassed, however before he had time to think about it, he could feel a deep sense of pride washing over him. He looked to his dragon and their eyes met "Be proud Callum, you are a rider now, and bonded to a most fearsome beast I might add." As Tyviin projected his thoughts into Callum's mind he sounded much like a boy in his teens but with a rough, growling undertone.
Tyviin jumped down from his spot on Callum's shoulder and proceeded to flap his wings fiercely as if showing off. Callum and Lyara couldn't help but giggle at the display. "Yeah, you're fearsome alright." Callum thought to himself.
At the same time, Varyn had arrived at where they were standing. "I had a feeling that egg was the one for him, I'm glad you made it in time, you don't know how relieved I was when you contacted me. But I have to tell you, Brenna is not going to be happy that you broke tradition." Lyara stepped forward and wrapped both arms tightly behind Varyn's neck in a loving embrace. "She will get over it, we've added another rider to the order, and one with great potential. I'm not worried about Brenna yelling." She replied before standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss directly on Varyn's lips.
Callum looked over at his sister and Varyn and suddenly a few things began to make sense, however before he was able to ask any questions he was approached by Raela and Firrol, their dragons following closely behind.
"I don't understand! Where did this dragon come from?" Firrol shouted in outrage as his crimson dragon puffed its chest out in a similar fashion as his partner. "Oh, be quiet, you are making yourselves look foolish. It's obvious that Lyara had another egg with her and was just late to the party." Raela said as she bent her knees to get closer to Tyviin, her dragon approaching quietly, studying the orange dragon. "What is his name?"
Callum was experiencing all of the emotions that Tyviin was feeling as he hopped around playfully with the other dragon. He could feel silent communication between the two, seeing glimpses of the blue dragon's thoughts, including images of Raela. That, coupled with his own emotions in regards to Raela, nearly overwhelmed him, but suddenly aware of his red cheeks, he composed himself quickly. He smiled proudly and said loudly enough for most to hear, "His name is Tyviin, and he is glad to meet you all."
Raela stood back up, still facing Tyviin, her dragon back on her shoulders. "It is an honor to meet you as well Tyviin," she said with a bow. Now turning to face Callum she spoke, "This is my dragon, Naria. It seems our dragons are quite fond of each other." Callum noticed that she seemed to be blushing and he was suddenly concerned about how much information the dragons had shared. Before he could let himself think too much Raela had spoken again. "Firrol, don't be rude."
Firrol stepped forward with a strange scowl on his face and very awkwardly said, "I...uh...this is Endross." as he spoke the crimson dragon stepped forward with his particularly bulky chest sticking out, bowed his head only slightly, and snorted as a puff of smoke exited his nostrils.
'They think they are better than us Callum.' Came Tyviin's voice sounding quite aggressive. 'He thinks his bit of smoke is impressive, let's see how he likes this.' as the thoughts came through the orange dragon unfurled his wings, flapping them aggressively, and slowly lifted into the air and settled down back on Callum's shoulders. As he landed he lifted his snout to the air and a single thin stream of smoke slowly exited.
"Whoa! Flying at an hour old? That's a rare trait indeed, quite the companion you have there Callum." Varyn said loudly causing a snarl to come across Firrol's lips and Endross to growl.
Suddenly a deep rumble was heard, shaking the very earth itself causing everyone present to go silent. Callum looked to the source, the massive brown dragon, still a ways away from where he stood, and walking towards them was Brenna.
"Now that this wing measuring contest is over I would like to greet our newest dragon and rider. Callum, Tyviin, It is my honor to welcome you to the ancient order of riders, typically we conduct a brief training session immediately after the hatching to inform you of what this means. Unfortunately, it seems tradition has been broken tonight and I sincerely hope you do not find yourself disadvantaged because of it." the small woman said while shooting a sharp glance at Lyara who in turn smiled awkwardly. "Our original plan was to leave at dawn for Scaleforge, as we are already behind our schedule, however, due to these odd circumstances we must amend our plans." a disgusted look shown on her face and Callum wondered why she was reacting so intensely. "Enjoy your evening, at dawn, the three of you and your dragons are to meet down at the water. We will get Callum and Tyviin up to speed and then we depart with the midday sun. Congratulations to you all. Lyara, I need to speak with you in private, now. Varyn, you as well, come along."
With that, Brenna turned on her heels and shuffled off towards where Jorviss was currently finishing off his meal consisting of a cow.
Varyn and Lyara looked at each other and laughed quietly. "Told you she would be pissed," Varyn said in a teasing manner as Lyara took a single leap and landed more than ten feet up in the black leather saddle on Aurelia's back. "Yeah yeah, it was worth it," she said while winking at her brother as Aurelia flapped once and was airborne. Callum noticed again that the typical "boom" did not accompany the wingbeats and he made a mental note to ask her about it.
"Spectacular woman isn't she?" Varyn said as he watched the violet dragon fly away. "I would follow her anywhere." he smiled at Callum in a way that made him aware that there was more that he wanted to say but now was not the right time. "Welcome to the riders brother, you're going to do great things, I can feel it," he said, then walked off, Firrol and Endross close behind, leaving only Callum, Raela, and their dragons standing at the edge of the feast.
As they stared out at all of the people from the village dancing and laughing, Callum was trying to think of a means to break the silence, but it was Raela who spoke. "I can't explain how happy I am that you will be coming with us, it would feel wrong without you." She looked up smiled, and without warning wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace and then quickly ran off to join the festivities. Callum and Tyviin stood still for a moment, each of them thinking about what a wonderful day this had been.
They were snapped out of their trance by Wenrys who had been standing behind them the whole time. "Did she just hug you....on purpose? As if being a rider didn't have enough perks, now you have Raela hanging all over you." he put his arm around Callum's shoulder and flashed a goofy smile. Callum smiled back at his best friend and replied, "Oh shut up, she wasn't hanging all over me. Let's go eat, I'm starving."
Callum and Wenrys returned to Orin. They ate and danced, trying not to remember that this would be their last night together.