From the Ruins

Chapter 20

"So, the dead can be raised," she said, an eyebrow raising. Aerrath didn't bother to react; her tone wasn't nearly as intimidating as Vaal's when he caught Aerrath doing something he didn't approve of. "Is it safe to assume that your work is done?"

Aerrath nodded, another yawn overtaking him as he tried to reply, "It's done, just need the, uh... mmmnnnnhhhghhhh, just need the materials now."

Selloana looked unimpressed with how fast Aerrath had gotten his work done but nodded none the less. "Good. Get some food and go sleep, we can start assembling it tomorrow."

He smiled at her, thankful that he wouldn't be responsible for anything today. "Yes, ma'le."

"Dammit, Kaivol, just call me Selloana, for the last time!" She cuffed him up the side the head lightly, a smile playing at her lips.

Aerrath laughed slightly and headed inside. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say."

. . .

Not long after Aerrath had recovered from working throughout the night on his design, Selloana began to coach him through assembling his saddle. He knew it was going to take much longer to make it than he would prefer, but he couldn't go anywhere long-distance without a saddle. He had minor scarring on the inside of his thighs from when they escaped almost six months ago. It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.

Between leatherworking and mold forming sessions, Selloana began to recondition Aerrath back into fighting health. To his surprise, it wasn't nearly as rigorous as she made it out to be. The only thing he could find complaint in was how his endurance had dropped, but after working on the farm for months now, his strength was relatively the same. When he expressed this to Selloana, she switched up their routine to build up Aerrath's endurance, and soon enough it was a regular thing to see Aerrath awake just before the sun was over the horizon and jogging around the perimeter of the town.

Every other morning, Sae would join, muttering something about his mother making him do this, but more often than not, Aerrath wasn't interested in conversation so the two of them ran silently until their route was over.

For a month this went on before it was replaced with full-time saddle work. All the pieces were formed and ready to be attached. Again Aerrath was forced to sit by and wait while Selloana did it all for him. (She had tested his sewing skills on scrap fabrics and was appalled by Aerrath's attempt. Now she wouldn't let him near the saddle, in order to ensure that it was put together properly.) This went on for nearly a week before Selloana said that the saddle was complete and ready for a test flight.

Aerrath needed no coaxing after the words left her mouth. He sprinted to the barn just after she finished speaking, his excitement bleeding through the bond and causing Am to dance around in the nearby field where the dragons stayed. It didn' take long for Aerrath to get the saddle on her back and before he knew it, the air was rushing around him and he truly felt at peace for the first time since he escaped.

Ashura loosed a jet of flame in the air, Aerrath whooping out loud on her back. They were complete, whole again, finding reassurance in the wind that carried them higher and higher into the sky. The sun warmed Aerrath's back and Ashura's scales glittered. They hadn't felt this free since before they were forced to join the military, they felt young, ready to tackle their goal of finding Vaal and Sycra, to show them how much they had grown since he had left. And they had, despite how stagnant they had thought they were at the beginning, but Ashura had regained her prowess and even gained a couple of feet in length. Aerrath had grown into himself more, his shoulders broadening and losing much of the royal layer of fat he had while at the palace. He looked older than he was, his face more solemn, heavy brows making him look far more serious. He finally looked like a man rather than the awkward teenager he knew himself to be. He finally felt at peace within his own skin.