Forewarned (BEING REWRITTEN)

Crash Course on Flying with Dragons!

Finally it was my turn and I set a combat boot on the surface of the dragon's paw. The leader held out a hand to help me out but I avoided it. I could do this myself. As Caedmon held tight to my shoulder like a hawk, I grabbed a knobby looking protrusion in the dragon's armor. It was smooth and dry, like it was just a rock that he had laid on centuries ago and never bothered to shake off. Using the crook of his elbow as leverage, I slowly heaved myself upwards. I'd done this before. Scaling walls is part of the job being a highly wanted criminal. But climbing a dragon is a bit different.

For one, they are breathing. Which means they expand a bit every thirty seconds or so. And it feels like he is trying to push me off. When I grabbed a broken spike, he shivered and I almost slipped backwards.

"You sure you don't want help?" the instructor said.

"Sure," I grunted between grit teeth as I took another step and clung onto another bony protrustion. Was spikes like these a dragon's warts? Because they were definitely not flattering. But at least they helped somewhat.

With a final grunt, I heaved myself on board and found the others all in this derpy saddle. It was like a horse saddle limosine. Saddle after saddle lined up and everyone was basically straddling the person in front. Well actually a small saddle horn separated everyone, probably to hold onto when you're trying not to fall to your death. Everyone's dragon looked eager on the Rider's shoulders. One even crapped on a poor girl's uniform. She started crying, distracting the leader enough for me to make it to the saddle in front without him staring at me with those intense eyes.

Once I sat down I did just what he told me. I found the clip behind me and snapped it onto the ring on the back of my harness. Then I snapped on the clip attached to the horn of the saddle to the ring over my belt buckle. Then I strapped myself in with the seat buckle. A rush of excitement sent a chill worming down my spine as I looked up to find the dragon slowly spreading his wings. Merman's group with the glacier dragon was just taking off. I watched as the two legged creature started to awkwardly run a short ways before spreading enormous wings and giving a powerful downthrust, sending them hurtling into the sky. A few girly screams met my ears, making me grin.

This is it! I'm going to be riding on an actualy.. dragon! What kid gets to do that? This was going to be amazing. And one day I would be able to fly whenever I wanted with my own little buddy. I smiled at Caedmon who grinned right back before a small brace was shoved on him by my leader.

"Hey!" Caedmon peeped.

"Hey yourself. We don't want him opening his wings and trying to fly," the trainer said, attaching Caedmon's harness to mine. "He does that and the force of the wind is going to break his little wings and send him hurtling into space."

I was a bit stunned by his words so I just stared as he stood in front of us all. "Listen up everyone!" He clapped his hands, twice. The sound was impressively loud, making us all want to cover our ears. Caedmon's ears perked forewards like he wanted to take in every word.

"When riding a dragon it is important to think of your stance," the instructor said. "Think of yourself as a jockey and the dragon as the racehorse. To win, you need a fast horse and..." He trailed off, looking at us for an answer.

"To not be fat," Rihanna spoke up.

"That and..." the instructor drawled.

Everyone looked at each other. "Drugs?" A smart mouth said behind me.

"No. Definitely not drugs." The trainer sighed, realizing this was going to be a long day. "How about a racecar then. What does a race car need other than a fast engine?"

"Wheels?" the same guy said behind me.

The trainer glared at him before looking at the others. "What kind of shape should the racecar have?"