The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

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      They looked at me as if I had ten heads, which caught me off guard considering all I had said. I found it rather amusing that they found the prospect of learning to fly to be such an abnormal occurrence, considering the events that had taken place not long before.

"Well?" I exclaimed, with Tahli snickering beside me.

Lucy and Jules looked at each other with wide eyes, their dragons sitting off to the side, paying them no attention.

"A-Are you sure they're safe?" Jules asked hesitantly.

"Well, he's never hurt me, and he's a fair bit bigger than any of them." I said while gesturing to Doron.

They all looked up at him, along with Ragon and Vernon, before turning to their own dragons as they aimlessly wandered the valley floor.

"But, before you take to the air, you must name your mounts. Lucy?" I exclaimed.

"Uh-Uhm.... I don't know what to call her." She replied.

"Give her a name that comes from your heart." I replied.

Lucy thought long and hard, and for several minutes, utter silence filled the area around us, with only the distant sound of dragons filling our ears. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Lucy looked to her dragon and placed her hand on her snout.

"Ionia." She said.

For a moment, no-one said anything as the newly names Ionia purred and kept her head held towards the ground in submission.

"Durio."

I turned to see Ryder standing under the massive head of his dragon, who he had confidently uttered the name of just seconds before. I nodded my head, before turning to face Jules, expecting her to reveal the name of her dragon.

"Temano. Her name is Temano." Jules said confidently. 

"Wonderful. Victor?"

Victor seemed caught off guard, but still uttered a reply.

"He will be called Kepenie." He said.

"And you?" I asked as I turned to Brent.

Brent stepped out in front of his dragon, who towered above most of the others with a confident, yet somewhat arrogant step.

"His name is Trao." He said with a half grin across his face.

"And Nina?"

"His name is Keplon." She replied.

"Mine will be called Legon. Even though he's the smallest, he will prove his worth to you. I promise." Sue added.

We all turned to Micheal and awaited his dragons name.

"Her name will be Belara." He said with a smile across his face.

I smiled at Tahli and Amy as I panned my head back and forth to lock eyes with each of them before looking back out to the group.

"Very well! Now, comes the real test. If you wish to be of any use to us, and more importantly, if you wish to stay bonded with your chosen dragon, you must learn to fly with them. A dragons flight is its way to escape the world around it, its way to hunt, live and protect itself. If you cannot fly, you cannot bond with a dragon for long. If you are as brave and determined as you say, prove it." I said.

"Wh-What do we do?" Jules asked as I turned away towards Doron.

I turned back towards her.

"Mount your dragon how ever you see fit, and tell them to fly. If the bond is for real, they will understand. Just make sure you don't fall off." I said slyly before I started up the slope and out of the valley.

"Wait! we're just going to leave them there to figure it out for themselves? You and Tahli taught me to fly, why cant we teach them?" Amy said in protest.

I stopped where I stood, part way up the slope.

"We taught you to fly because you had already shown far more determination than any of them have. For all we know, they're going to be our enemy if what they've told us is true. If they really want to help us, and not be against us, then they will come find us in the sky." I said as I started up the slope again.

"And what if they turn against us?" Amy asked.

"Then we hunt them down and knock them from the sky. Their dragons are no match for Doron." I replied.

I mounted Doron and looked down into the valley one last time. The dozens of dragons that filled the valley were paying us no attention, but the few that had bonded with Lucy, Jules and their group were looking up at Doron as he gazed back down at them.

"Fly."

Doron spread his wings, and leaped off the valleys edge, shrouding it in darkness for a brief moment as he passed over head and ascended towards the clouds, with Veracon and Ragon close behind.

"Well, let's see if you were right, Doron." I said.