The next week drags by due to their extra hours, but once it comes to an end, Soren could not be more excited. The boys walk out of the assembly hall, having finished their last task. Soren stretches his arms above his head and Zephares is walking beside him with his hands tucked into his pockets. With a groan Soren starts, “This hellish week is finally over! Now we can get back to our regularly scheduled events.” Zeph quirks a brow at Soren “Don’t be dramatic, it wasn’t that bad. Besides this is the consequence of your actions, you need to own up to it.” Soren stops walking and places his hand on his chest, glaring at Zeph’s back. “I’m being dramatic? They were creating tasks for us to do just so we needed to stay after. They wanted us to separate the garden rocks by color, only to place them back in the garden, not separated!” Zeph sighs and turns around to look at Soren.
“It’s a punishment Soren, it’s not supposed to be fun.”
“I’m aware, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t serve a purpose.”
“The purpose is to teach us to behave. Well, teach you to behave.”
Zeph turns around walking towards the barn where their Ajaiyi are held. After spending many extra hours on these grounds with Soren, doing menial tasks that he knows serve no real purpose, he knows what he says to him will just go in one ear and out the other- but that doesn’t stop him from telling him each time.
Soren is the town’s resident troublemaker, though only for those that deserve it. There was an aristocrat that visited town once a week for his trade company. The atmosphere always shifted when he was around, but everyone had to just deal with it, this tradesman had caused an economic incline in Prodon. When Soren was walking through town with Rayzil one day, he noticed this aristocrat berating a pregnant woman for running into him, yelling at her as to how she could repay him for her incompetence. She was sobbing on her knees, having no idea what she could possibly offer this man. Soren glanced at Rayzil, a smirk growing on their faces, knowing exactly what to do. When they got close, Rayzil “accidentally” tripped the man with her tail and took a seat on his back. Soren helped the woman up and sent her on her way. The man had yelled all kinds of profanities at Soren, telling him to get his disgusting beast off him. Soren did not appreciate what the man had said about his Ajaiyi. So, they embarrassed him a bit more by “accidentally” causing his pants to fall down and his expensive coat to be thrown over his head, blinding him. After that incident, the tradesman pulled all business from Prodon. The townsfolk were not appreciative of Soren making the situation worse than it was.
“Whatever man, it’s done now. You want to get back to training today? I’m itching to let out this pent-up energy. Rayzil has been extra restless since we haven’t been able to fly as long with the extra hours we had, and since your dad left for the Capital earlier this week so I know you haven’t been able to do much.” Soren jogs to catch up with Zeph who rolls his eyes at his friend’s excessive energy. Something he has grown to cherish in weeks like this one. “You want to resume training already? You don’t want to take a break from having to do physical labor?”
“If the labor is sparring or flying then I’m always ready. Come on, today was our shortest day- we have more daylight, so let’s go to the lake.” The boys pause at the door to the barn. Zeph stares at the old wood, thinking for a moment. He would never admit this out loud, but he had also grown restless in the past week. Not being able to spar with Soren and short flights with Nercostes weren’t cutting it. He knew his answer to the question when Soren asked him to resume their training- today. But he needed to ask his Ajaiyi before any decisions were made. Snapping out of his thoughts, he turns to Soren “I’ll have to talk to Nercostes. I’m pretty sure I know his answer, but I will still give him the choice.” Zeph opens the large doors to the barn, the size of this building seemingly bigger on the inside.
Piles of hay are strewn about the floor; water troughs line the front of the barn and there are perches of various thickness and height. What is usually an active site, is now quiet and still. The boys walk in and easily spot their Ajaiyi. Nercostes lies towards the back of the barn, his large head laying on his front legs and his black scales reflecting the light that crept in through the window. When the doors latch shut his eyes slowly open, their deep red almost glowing. He slowly lifts his head, stands up and shakes his body, easing the tension on his muscles. Even from a distance, it’s obvious he’s larger than his sister. His horns are longer than Rayzil’s and they have a slight curve upwards, while hers are straight. They are twins, but the only thing they have in common is their birthday. When Zephares spots Rayzil in the other corner of the barn, what he sees only confirms this.
Where Nercostes is calm and collected, Rayzil is spirited and chaotic. Rayzil lays on her back, all four legs in the air with her wings splayed out on the ground, softly snoring. Zeph sends a glance to Soren who answers with a shrug. The two then make their way towards their respective Ajaiyi. Zeph comes to a stop in front of Nercostes who lowers his muzzle and places it against his Veisha’s forehead. Zeph gently puts his hands on the sides of his friend’s muzzle and they both close their eyes, soaking in each other’s presence. Once Soren is by Rayzil, he gently pries open her eye with his finger. “Wakey, wakey!” Soren says with a singsong voice. Her golden eye focuses on the blurry figure in front of her, and when she realizes it’s Soren, she quickly spins onto her feet and pounces.
“Again, with the pouncing! You know one day you’ll be too big for this and you might kill me. Actually, I take that back- you’re too big to do it now.” She looks at him with offense and says, “Are you calling me fat?” Soren rolls his eyes, “You know what I mean.”
Zeph and Nercostes take a glance at the two. Rayzil has gotten off Soren but now she’s bouncing around him, talking at a mile a minute. Looking back at Nercostes, Zeph asks him the same question Soren asked a few minutes ago. “Soren was wanting to resume training today. Since we have more daylight than we’ve had this past week, he wanted to go to the lake. Just wanted to make sure you were up for it.” A low voice responds, “Zephares, I will do whatever you want to do. If training is what you want to do, that is what we will do. You don’t have to ask me such things.” Zeph looks at him with a gleam in his eye, knowing all he had to do was tell Nercostes they were to train, and he would listen. But he’d rather ask, hoping one day the Dragon would say what he wanted to do instead- he didn’t think that would happen anytime soon, if ever.
“Brother! Are we going to train? Please say yes. I’m dying to get back to it. We haven’t flown together in forever!” Rayzil bounces over to her brother, her high-pitched voice echoing in the nearly empty barn. Nercostes responds to her with a chuckle. “We flew together just last week. But yes Rayzil, we are going to the lake.”
“Well, then what are we doing here? Let’s go!” Rayzil runs back behind Soren and shoves her head between his legs so he slides down her neck onto her back as she makes her way to the door. Nercostes shakes his head and with Zeph by his side, they follow the two to the front. Rayzil opens the door with her head and immediately jumps into the air. Once Nercostes has made his way outside, he lies down so Zeph can climb onto his back. Knowing his Ajaiyi is situated, he leaps into the air to follow his hyperactive sister.
Nercostes catches up to Rayzil. Soren managed to convince her to slow down and keep the energy for when they get to the lake. The twins ease into a glide and for the first time since they were back together, everyone is quiet. Living in the moment in the sky, the wind ruffling the boys’ hair, the sheer freedom they experience when together. Like they can conquer anything. The terrain beneath them changes from rolling hills to the thick trees of the forest. After a few more minutes of flying, a large lake comes into view. The two Dragons land on a small island with a large tree in the middle of the lake. The boys dismount and make their way towards the middle of this patch of land and the Dragons take to the sky once more. Today, Soren and Zeph would be practicing hand to hand combat and the twins would be doing their own version in the sky. They would resume mounted aerial maneuvers another day.
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Soren and Zeph stand a few feet apart from each other in fighting stances. Soren has his fists up by his face while Zeph is standing at an angle, his hands are by his sides. Soren makes the first move, charging at Zeph and sending multiple strikes towards his face. Zeph dodges each punch by leaning side to side. Soren sends a punch aiming for his nose when Zeph drops to the ground and swipes Soren’s feet out from under him. When Soren’s back connects with the ground, Zeph jumps away knowing this isn’t over. Almost immediately, Soren places his hands up by his shoulders and springs back onto his feet. Charging again, he throws a left hook at Zeph’s face, but when he sees Zeph start to move out of the way he quickly changes direction and sends a right hook towards his abdomen. The fist connects with his stomach, surprising his friend, Zeph lets out a grunt and grabs Soren’s forearm, attempting to trip him and put him on his back. Soren sees this coming however and twists around Zeph, now pinning his arm behind his back.
“Come on, dude. You’re out of practice. This doesn’t usually work on you.” Soren taunts Zephares with a shit-eating grin on his face. Zeph in retaliation, stomps hard on Soren’s foot with the heel of his boot. Soren shouts in pain, letting go in shock. Zeph then puts Soren in a headlock, placing pressure on his throat- not enough to make him pass out, but enough to try and get him to yield. Soren struggles and starts to walk backwards, attempting to find something to slam Zeph against. Instead, they trip over a root from a nearby tree and fall to the ground. Zeph doesn’t lose his composure and keeps his grip on Soren’s neck. “Yield, Soren. Don’t make me choke you out. I don’t want to piss off Rayzil.” Soren grunts and starts to struggle more, “No… I can… Get out… Of this…”
Zeph decides to put more pressure on his neck, showing Soren that he can and will put him to sleep. Eventually, Soren does yield, tapping twice on Zeph’s arm. Soren leans forward and coughs a little before punching the ground in frustration. “Damnit! How do you get me every time!?” Zeph glances at his friend, knowing he has an unfair advantage over him. “It’s not your fault, Soren. My dad has been training me since before Nercostes was around, and you didn’t have a very good teacher.” Soren frowned at Zeph, knowing his dad was always a hardass when it came to his training, but Zeph looked up to him. Magnus Steele was everything he wanted to be and more. It was all to prepare him for what he would experience when he goes to train with the Steorra Guard.
“You’re a fine teacher, Zeph; without you, I wouldn’t know as much as I do. I’m grateful for it. My dad wouldn’t be much of a better choice. Even though he knows how to fight, you push me harder than he ever would.” They stand back up and face each other, preparing to go another round. “Well once we go to bootcamp, you’ll get actual training. Much harsher and more advanced than anything I could ever teach you. We’ll both improve there.”
A subtle roar is heard on the wind and the boys look skyward. Rayzil is being chased by Nercostes- she’s attempting to lose him by turning tightly, but he stays on her tail. Zeph watches, intrigued as to what they are doing, “Looks like he’s testing her speed, and she’s doing pretty good.” Soren watches, eyes gleaming in pride as Rayzil attempts to outmaneuver her brother. The two friends look back at each other and get into their fighting stances once more.
They go a few more rounds, each ending with Soren on his ass. Zephares helps his friend to his feet and claps a hand on his back. “The sun is starting to set; we should head back home.” Soren has a defeated look in his eye before sighing.“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Rayzil won’t be happy, but she’ll get over it.” Zeph smiles slightly at Soren’s comment.
As they are about to call their Ajaiyi, they are doused by a wave of water. Now soaked to the bone, they look out towards the lake and see Nercostes hovering in the air a few yards above the surface. They shift their gaze towards the surface of the water when Rayzil emerges and glares at her brother who has a smirk on his face. “That was uncalled for,Nercostes.” He lands on the island the boys are standing on. “Then don’t let me catch you. Even if I do, you need to be able to get out of it.” Rayzil swims to shore and once she is on land she shakes like a dog, further soaking the boys even more. Now it’s Soren’s turn to glare. “Watch where you’re shaking, you overgrown lizard!” Soren then tries to get the water out of his hair by shaking his head. Zeph flinches as water gets in his eyes and looks at him. “Ya know, you could take your own advice sometimes.”
Once they finally get their clothes somewhat dry after wringing the water out, they mount up and take to the sky. The sun is almost gone, the sky a mix of dark orange and purple, and the stars have started to peek through. Soren turns around while on Rayzil and lays on his back, looking at the sky. “Man, I can’t wait to graduate and go to the Capital. What do you think it’s like, Zeph? I imagine we’ll get to see lights that run off of electricity- maybe we’ll even see those holograms!” Zeph turns his head to look at his excited friend and responds, “I would assume we would see those, as it is the only city with that kind of technology.” Soren sits back up and corrects his seat “If only the King and his Ajaiyi could provide that kind of power to all of the cities, but I guess he would spend more time traveling to imbue a power array with their magic than he would be at his own castle.”
Zeph thinks about what Soren said. The King has a Giant Cobra as an Ajaiyi. If he were to go up against Nercostes at his current size, the Cobra would surely win- but the bond between the two is just as extraordinary. Not long after the coronation, The King discovered that through their bond he and his Ajaiyi were able to produce enough power for the city to use in the form of electricity. New technology was made and the quality of the peoples’ lives greatly increased. Zephares admired that about the King. He wanted to have that kind of bond with Nercostes. Something so powerful, he would be able to help others in ways he couldn’t even comprehend. He would go to bootcamp and become part of the Steorra Guard. His next goal would be the Aurorites so he could meet the King, and hopefully he would be able to learn from him personally so he can understand the powers of a bond with an Ajaiyi even more.
The two eventually make it back to Prodon and separate so they may go to their respective houses. Nercostes lands outside his house with a powerful thud. Zeph dismounts and gives Nercostes a few pats to his side, telling him good night and making his way inside. Due to his size, he is no longer able to join Zephares inside his home, but he does sleep next to his window, in case anything were to happen, he would have quick access to him. When Zeph enters his home, he sees his mom sitting at the dinner table crying. Lyra is perched on the chair next to his mom, her feathered head rubbing against her face. Zephares is immediately concerned, running over to his mom.
“Mom? What’s wrong? What happened?” She looked up at him and more tears came out of her eyes.
“It’s your father. Two days after he returned, there was an attempt on the King’s life. He stopped them but he and Draven lost their lives. I just got the message from the Capital.”
Zeph’s world goes silent. His mom is still talking. About what, he has no idea. Everything is muffled and the world around him starts to spin. Had he heard that correctly? His dad was… dead? He was just here- he couldn’t be dead. After fifteen years of service, there had never been an attempt on the King’s life. He couldn’t believe it. His dad wouldn’t see him go to the guard or become an Aurorite- Hell he wouldn’t even be able to see him graduate school.
“Zeph? Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me.” His mom’s plea brings him back to reality. He looks at her brown eyes when she tells him what will come next. “They said they were going to have a ceremony for him in the Capital tomorrow- to honor his sacrifice. They will send messengers here to bring holograms, so we are able to watch. After that, we will figure out what will happen next. But right now, go to Nercostes. I know he senses your pain but has no idea why. We will get through this, son. We have to.”
Without saying a word, Zeph turns and makes his way outside. Like his mom said, Nercostes was standing there waiting for him. The large Dragon was tense, like he expected Zeph to walk outside with a knife in his chest, although that fear wasn’t entirely wrong. “My dad…died.” Zeph’s eyes start to water and Nercostes shifts, unsure of what Zeph wants to do. Whatever it is, he’ll do it without question.
“I want to believe this is some sick prank. That Soren will jump out pointing and laughing at me and say the letter is fake- but he would never do this to me. He can’t really be dead, can he?” With that last sentence, he breaks. Tears run down his face and he doesn’t say anything else before he feels scales on his skin. Like earlier that day in the barn, Nercostes’ muzzle is pressed against Zeph’s body. But unlike that time, Zeph is holding him like he is his lifeline. Zeph’s knees start to buckle, and he sinks to the ground. Nercostes goes down with him. Zeph never breaks his hold.
“What am I going to do now, Nercostes? I don’t think I can do this without him.” Nercostes speaks for the first time since he heard the news. “You will do what you’ve been doing. Go to school, train with Soren, and become a soldier of the Steorra Guard. Even though your dad won’t be here to watch, that doesn’t mean he can’t see it. You still have your dream, and he would want you to stop at nothing to fulfill it. You will do great things Zeph and he always knew that.” Hearing his words gives Zeph strength. He’s right- he will do this for himself, for Nercostes and now for his dad. And that night, for the first time in years, Zephares slept by Nercostes under the stars.
