Dragon Rider Play

Luke laughed. "True, but I feel ever so slightly more prepared now!"

"Fair enough," Pat agreed.  She looked around curiously.  "Where is Tithenor?"

"I'll look for him after breakfast if he still doesn't show." Jeremiah volunteered.

"He's probably just out walking with Mellon.  You know how he gets all moody and brooding," Pat giggled.

"My favorite times to mess with him." Jeremiah grinned evilly.

"Be nice, if only for today." Luke teased, rolling his eyes and smiling.

"I will." Jeremiah retorted. "Just not right now."

"Mellon is big enough to squish you now, and you don't have Erica to look after you," Pat pointed out idly, trying to decide if she wanted more breakfast.  Better keep it light.  Being up high was rather dizzying.

"Good point...." Jeremiah mused. "I'll find him, and I'll only bother him slightly then."

"Deal," Pat giggled, automatically pushing her tray over to him.  She ate more now that she was burning the calories, but this morning she didn't want to eat too much.  She had nooooo desire to see breakfast make a second appearance.

Jeremiah thanked her, and like the Human Garbage Disposal he was, finished it off before taking the trays off. "Pat, you're in charge of Luke."

"I'm old enough to take care of myself!" Luke protested.

"Old enough, maybe. Mature enough...." Jeremiah shrugged before he hastily left to find his toriaun.

Pat saluted Jeremiah with a giggle and shifted over to sit next to Luke.  "What are you reading now?"

Tithenor had taken Mellon to the Second island where they wandered calmly through the trees.  Tithenor had his bow and Mellon was now big enough that none of the predators on the Second Island were much of a threat.  He liked it out here.  It was quiet and still.

"An astrology book." luke replied, showing Pat the cover. "It's theorizing that dragons actually originated from a divine plane in space created by the gods."

Blackwater of course knew the elf was in his woods, but he didn't mind. Out of all his current students, Tithenor had been the most respectful and attentive to the dryad's domain. Blackwater allowed the dragon and soon-to-be rider wander in peace. The professor himself was on the first island, calmly playing his flute.

"I don't believe in gods," Pat said simply, moving to stand.  "I'm going to check on Nightshade's harness.  Do you want to come?"

Tithenor stood at the edge of the island and stared downward.  "/It is difficult to believe that you and I shall soon be one with the sky,/" he told his dragon softly.

"Sure." Luke smiled and packed the borrowed book away. "I should probably recheck Warrior's as well."

Mellon merely blew an affectionate breath of cooler air at his beloved rider. The dragon was one of the bigger ones, and built pretty solidly too. However, that didn't mean he was clumsy. On the contrary, Mellon was actually fairly agile, especially for his size. The smaller Nightshade and Erika of course outsped and outmaneuvered him, but Melloraumo always had strength against those two.

"Just in case," Pat agreed, trotting off.

Tithenor smiled and reached up to scratch him under the scales.  "/You are as eager about this as I am, aren't you, my friend?/"

Luke grinned and followed Pat. "Oh, I think I've finally got done calibrating my one handed crossbow." He said proudly. "If you want, I can start making you one."

Mellon purred and leaned into the scratching. Ah! That felt wonderful!

"No thanks.  My aim still isn't that great," Pat said, smiling a bit.

"You have a loose scale here," Tithenor noted, gently working it loose so the new one could grow in.

(As they wait for Jeremiah to catch up..."

(I figured it'd take him a few minutes of searching  )

"All right." Luke said easily. It was hard to really offend him.

Mellon licked Tithenor in appreciation.

(Fair enough)

Tithenor grumbled as he tried to straighten his frosted hair.  "Melloraumo, we talked about this!  We need to look nice for our first flight."

Mellon crooned and nuzzled Tithenor, blasting his hair with cool air to dry it out.

Tithenor sighed, giving up for now.  "What am I to do with you, Mellon?" he asked with a faint smile.

Melloraumo crooned again and nuzzled Tithenor. 

Jeremiah walked to the first island with Erika in tow. After a short chat with Blackwater, he headed towards the second island to look for Tithenor there.

Tithenor groaned and hugged Mellon.  "Crazy dragon."

Erika tiptoed through the trees, trying not to get dirty.  She didn't want to mess the shine on her pretty scales!

Jeremiah noted his dragon's caution and tried to keep to wider, not muddy areas. After a while, he thought he saw Melloraumo and whistled a greeting.

Mellon nudged and crooned to Tithenor. He lifted his head attentively when he heard the whistle, looking in the direction of the source.

Tithenor turned to look and inclined his head.  "Jeremiah, hello.  What are you and Erika doing out here?"

Erika slithered over to Mellon and growled in greeting.

"Looking for you." Jeremiah answered. "Today's the big day, huh?"

Mellon chirped back at Erika and threw his head a little. She looked nice today.