The sun rose over the eastern horizon. Her rays stretched lazily in to the sky as though the sun were stretching herself out after a good nights sleep. The dark colors of the night sky began to fade, turning gentler shades of light blue with yellow, orange, and red appearing. In some spots, the sky was a pretty shade of purple.
Thalia had not slept a wink, eagerly awaiting the morning. She was confident about her plan. She could practically hear Tuuka's roars of joy in her mind already. She had been replaying her daydream of how rescuing him would go in her mind for hours.
Just as the iron bar doors closed behind the crew, each rider removed their hood at once and drew their weapons. It happened in a flash for the smugglers they had been following. The six in front of them dropped dead, completely unable to even utter a sound before they had fallen limp.
As others turned to their fallen comrades the three sprung off in different directions. In Devon's hand, Nuri's spikes. He held the blue spikes like daggers and sliced at throats as if he had done it all his life. He moved like water, unrelenting and swift. Blood dripped down the long blue spikes and touched his hand but Devon continued to attack, flipping over bodies and dodging attacks just to make the final blow more dramatic.
Noah remained hidden in the shadows of the hallways, having stolen a bow and a quiver of arrows from a corpse. No one seemed to notice that the three dock workers they'd brought had dropped to two until arrows started to lodge themselves in the thieves skulls. A few thieves turned to discover the source only to have one of their own manufactured arrows nestle itself inside their eye sockets.
Thalia had a dragonsteel sword in her hand, picking off her opponents one by one with ease. The weapon felt familiar in her hand, like she was holding the hand of her lover. The blade spun and sliced, parrying attacks and stabbing through the weak points in armor. A fire burned in the young girl's eyes as she made her way through the group. None had managed to even place a scratch on her. The blood pooled by her feet and soaked in to her shoes but still Thalia danced with her sword. It was graceful yet horrifyingly brutal.
As the last of them began to cower and surrender, Thalia raised her blade and decapitated the nearest one who was groveling at her feet. She raised her sword to do the same for the next until Devon's voice echoed in the chamber.
"I got the keys," he said plainly.
Thalia's sword lowered as she looked to him. Dangling from his weapons was a golden loop with a set of fifteen keys on it. They clinked, swaying slightly as he moved the loop around.
"Let's go see what they unlock," she hummed.
The two, who were in the thick of the bodies, stepped over corpses and splashed through blood to get to the nearest door where Noah was waiting.
"You both look like barbarians," Noah snickered.
Thalia smirked and lunged at him with her sword. He flinched, instinctively putting his bow out to act like a shield. Devon laughed at the sight, easing the tense feeling in the air as his laugh rang out. The other two chuckled and left the main section, traveling down the hallways to find any locked doors.
After three tries and twelve extra victims the trio began to hear dragon roars. Possibly not even roars, but they sure sounded like them. Maybe it was the swell of joy in Thalia's mind that amplified the sweet sound of the dragons. She sped up to find the source, stopping as she came across the end of the hallway with a massive iron door in front.
She whipped her head around to glare at Devon, silently scolding him for not keeping up with her. He laughed a little and caught up. He tried several keys before the lock finally clicked. He pushed open the heavy door, revealing an even longer hallway lined with cages.
In every cage was a dragon. Thalia could even recognize some of them as dragons she had raced with Tuuka. Beside her, Devon let out a shaky breath. Thalia would be lying if she said she didn't understand why he was overwhelmed. There were so many.
Despite that, Devon was the first one to start moving. Noah trailed to keep an eye out for any more enemies. Devon paid attention to the nearest cages trying to unlock it but Thalia traveled further. As selfish as it was she was here for something specific.
She passed hundreds of dragons and rounded two corners before she could see them. The soft blue eyes without pupils. They were filled with pain and not the same wiseness they had before. Thalia's sword clattered to the ground as she sprinted to the cage.
She must have just come in to his view, because it wasn't until she was a few feet from the cage that Tuuka finally reacted. His head rose up and his eyes widened. His tail swished as she clamored to his feet, panting as he watched his rider slide to a stop in front of the cage. He bounced on his feet just as she did as Thalia tried to undo the lock herself. He roared with joy as the lock clattered to the ground as well.
The door swung open.
The light of the sun was slowly creeping in to the cave, reaching out to touch the scales of the dragons within. The feeling of light on Thalia's face snapped her out of her daydream. She sighed and looked to the others, softly nestled under their dragons' wing. A few days ago the sight would have made her heart sink but this time it invoked no reaction at all. She simply waited for them to wake up.
The silence had been unbearable as she waited for the boys to wake up. In the time it took for Devon to even twitch Thalia had managed to: perfect a cartwheel, draw a story about a baby dragon on the wall, have a rock throwing contest with herself, and compare every cloud she could see to a type of dragon.
Devon roused finally, causing his dragon to blink awake. Dragons were pretty light sleepers unless they were recovering from an injury. Nuri removed her wing from Devon and gave him room to stand up and stretch.
He looked to the mouth of the cave through hooded lids, just barely able to see Thalia sitting at the edge of the cliff. He shook his legs out and walked over to her.
"Whatcha thinkin about?" he asked as he crouched by Thalia.
"The plan," she hummed.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" he questioned as his eyes fell a little further down her face to notice the light bags forming.
"No, but it's ok. I don't feel tired," Thalia answered. Devon frowned slightly.
"Are you sure?" he sat down fully.
"Yeah I'm sure," she turned her gaze away from the clouds to look at him, "I'm just too excited," she said with a smile.
He smiled back and looked at the same cloud she had just been staring at, "We've still got some time before the boats come in."
"I know. I was thinking once Noah was up we'd go grab some weapons before we knocked some poor saps out for their clothes," she chuckled a bit at the last part. Devon shook his head, smiling.
"I'll just use Nuri's tail spikes. Those things are sharper than any dagger a store would sell," Devon commented.
"I bet. When I first showed up at Ridgeview I was really hoping I would get paired with a dragon like Nuri," Thalia responded.
Devon looked at her curiously, "really?"
She looked back at him confused, "what, is that hard to believe?"
He shook his head, "no no it's just you and Tuuka seemed like such a perfect fit I can't imagine you'd ever want a different dragon. I assumed Tuuka was already your dream dragon."
"It's not that I wanted a different one. I guess it was more of...I was a different person my first year at the academy. I thought a dragon like Nuri would fit me better than Tuuka," She shrugged.
"Yeah that makes sense I guess," Devon sighed, "I totally thought I was gonna get one of those acid spitting dragons if I'm being honest."
The thought of Devon riding any dragon in that category made Thalia laughed. Devon blushed as the brunette covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound.
"What?" he huffed.
"I'm sorry it's just. I image you thought you were sooooo cool and soooo tough to be getting an acid spitting dragon," Thalia laughed.
Devon's cheeks were bright pink as he responded, "I was! I am, I mean. Listen you wouldn't get it my first year brain is just too complex for you."
His response only made her laugh harder, making it impossible for her to conceal the sound anymore.
"Is it now? Did all those concussions make you not like the other boys?" Thalia laughed, poking at his temple.
"As a matter of fact they did. How many boys do you know randomly think certain foods taste like dirt for a week?" Devon huffed, puffing his chest out like that fact was a point of pride for him.
"You got me there, I can't name one boy who's sense of taste is even slightly that messed up," she responded.
"Exactly. I'm special," Devon crossed his arms.
Thalia reached up and patted him like a dog, "yes you are sweetie."
He swatted her hand away with a laugh. They heard a low grumble and shifting behind them, both turning to see Noah waking up.
"Well good morning sleepy head," Thalia cooed.
Noah was rubbing his eyes, not even looking at either of his classmates. His blonde hair was a mess. Somehow he had gotten it to stick straight up.
"What're you guys laughing about?" He asked.
"What dragons we thought we would have during our first years," Thalia answered.
Noah walked over and placed himself on the opposite side of Thalia, the one that Devon wasn't at.
"I was really hoping to get something a little smaller that was uh....." he cautiously looked back to Tatsu who was rolled on his back with his feet up in the air, "more intelligent than average," he whispered.
Thalia started to laugh, "But Tatsu's pretty smart," she defended.
"I'm not saying he's not but like....He's not the sharpest blade on the rack either," he shrugged. The laughter that rippled through the group caused both dragons in the cave to growl.
"Oh hush. We gotta get going anyways, you diva," Devon scolded his dragon.
"You call her Diva?" Thalia looked at him.
"It's what she is. A diva," he hummed and walked over to his dragon to get her ready to fly.
"Oh, we're going now?" Noah asked.
"Yeah. You and I are gonna grab some weapons and then we're gonna have to knock some dock workers out and rob them. Temporarily," Thalia explained.
He nodded slowly event though he didn't like the idea. Noah rose to his feet and helped Thalia up, "you riding with me?"
"Sure, since we both have to stop at a store and all," she shrugged. She mounted Tatsu behind Noah.
"We can handle the uniform situation. Meet at the docks?" Devon asked for confirmation. Both the other riders nodded. Now that they knew their plan the two dragons took off on their rider's orders.
The chill morning air seemed to drag along their skin as they flew. The whole continent still seemed to be asleep, but Thalia knew that would not be the case in the city.
"Hey Devon, out of curiosity, have you ever been in a city as big as Ecalon?" Thalia asked, turning to the rider beside her.
"No. I mean Stamburg had a decent sized population but cities are completely different" he answered.
Thalia smiled a little, "once we get back I'll take you to Kalisov and show you around. It's like twice the size as Ecalon."
"Twice the size? You might have to find me an emotional support dragon for the journey. Ecalon nearly sent me into hysterics," he laughed, trying to play off his very real fear of places like Ecalon as a joke. Luckily Thalia did laugh so Devon knew he was in the clear.
"I would take you Noah, but second years can't leave campus like we can," Thalia poked Noah's shoulder. Noah laughed weakly in response but seemed to be more focused on flying.
Nuri swooped down to fly under Tatsu, carrying her rider closer to the docks as the other two on the red dragon flew to find a weapons shop. Tatsu landed and stayed just long enough for both riders to slide off before he lifted back in to the air. Noah and Thalia walked in silence, looking for the right place.
They came across a smaller looking store with a sign that read "Mateo's Metals" with daggers as the 't' in both words.
"Looks like this could be the right place," Noah hummed. Thalia nodded in agreement and pushed open the glass door. A little bell went off, prompting a short man to poke his head in from the back room.
"Mighty early for shopping, but I open early for a reason," he said in a cheery tone. Thalia smiled sweetly at him and went to look at the swords while Noah just followed.
"Go find something, silly," Thalia nudged him with her shoulder.
"I don't think a bow and arrow are easy to hide," he responded.
"Find something else then," she said.
He obeyed, somewhat, walking through the tiny store to stare at the throwing knives. Thalia ran her hands over the leather-wrapped handles trying to find the best one. The handles came in all colors: black, brown, stained with a brighter color. They seemed to be handcrafted with care, but not necessarily on site. Some of the blades had nicks and scratches in random places that told her they had been shipped here.
Her fingers stopped at a sword with a black handle. It was rather simple looking, a light silver colored blade wrapped in black leather where her hand would be. She lifted it off the rack, finding it to be much lighter than expected. She carefully moved it to see if it was flimsy but the blade stayed straight.
"Ah, that one is made of dragon steel. Forged in the fire of a venus redthroat. Good for armor too, it's light but it's tough. I've been selling it in my shop since it was discovered," The man, who Thalia assumed to be Mateo, suddenly appeared beside her.
Thalia was familiar with the metal. She had learned about it in combat class before they had gotten to the fighting part. Dragon steel was made with a combination of metals that were smelted down using fires from certain dragons. Some dragons naturally had hotter fire, it made them popular for tradesmen.
"How much?" She asked.
"fifteen asighs," Mateo replied.
Thalia tried to hide her disappointment. She didn't have that much on her. She set the blade back on the rack and looked at the rest of them. Her hand gripped a brown leather blade of a slightly shorter sword.
"That one would be ten," Mateo hummed already anticipating her question.
Thalia nodded, "I'll take it." It would be the last of her money, but a weapon was important right now. Mateo walked up to the register and let her pay, sending her and Noah off.
"What'd you get?" she asked Noah.
"this set of throwing knives. I'm better at long range," he answered. Thalia nodded and the headed off to the docks.
As the ships came in to view they heard a very loud hiss. Both kids turned to look at the source expecting to see a rouge dragon or a burst pipe but instead saw Devon hiding in the shadows of an alley. He was dressed in a dock worker's uniform, beige pants with brown boots and a beige shirt. Slung on his shoulders was a brown coat and hood, which he had pulled over his head to conceal a bit of his face. Devon pointed behind him, gesturing for the two to follow.
They did, slipping silently in to the alley. At the back where trash bags and dumpsters seemed to live was Nuri, curled up around three unconscious men. In front of her was a pile of the same clothes Devon had on currently.
"They're kinda big but no one else was walking by," Devon whispered.
"Whatever, it's temporary," Thalia sighed. She gathered up what seemed to the the smaller of the two uniforms and looked for a place to change. Noah, on the other hand, simply ducked behind a dumpster and stripped.
"Dude, you know that doesn't cover all of you, right?" Thalia looked away.
"I'm hiding from the general public not you two," Noah hissed, "besides I'll only be a minute."
Devon leaned in close to Thalia's ear, "you don't wanna see him naked?" he whispered playfully. Thalia smacked him.
"Ow! Oh my--You hit way too hard," Devon whined.
"Bad joke," Thalia said monotone.
"Ohh, critical rating. How ever will you recover?" Noah teased, emerging from behind the dumpster fully clothed.
"I won't," Devon sighed and dropped to the floor, closing his eyes and sticking his tongue out as a childish impression of a dead person. Thalia rolled her eyes but a smile still crept to her face.
"Go get changed T," Noah said. The girl was just standing there still.
She looked between the two boys and then to the three men in Nuri's grip. They were still unconscious but they could wake up at any second.
"We'll turn away. Right Noah?" Devon said as he stood back up.
"Yeah yeah we'll keep watch and make sure no one's coming down here," Noah nodded.
"But it's weird. I don't wanna hide behind a dumpster," Thalia scrunched her nose.
"Sorry, the changing rooms were all taken," Devon rolled his eyes.
"You should have been a gentleman done more to make them not taken," She huffed in response, prompting an even bigger eye roll from the black haired boy beside her.
Nuri snuffed and dropped the three naked dockworkers in a garbage pile, gesturing with her tail for Thalia to come closer.
"Look at that. Your dragon is more considerate than you," Thalia turned her nose up and strutted over. Nuri turned to let the girl be further from the boys and placed her blue scaly body between the female rider and her two male classmates. Nuri stood on her hind legs so she was much taller. She spread her wings wide and curved them slightly to completely hide Thalia from view as she got changed.
The boots were too big for her. It wasn't impossible, but it left enough space between her shoe and the boot that when she turned to walk her foot slid around inside the shoe. The pants had to be rolled twice at the hip in order to not drag. The shirt had to be tied in the back so it wouldn't hang so low. She had to roll up the sleeves of the coat so the arms didn't flop past her fingertips, though it wasn't excessive.
Nuri folded her wings and settled back on all fours. Thalia was in the process of hiding her sword as the blue dragon stepped aside.
"Finally! Let's go," Devon marched off, leaving Thalia to rush to close the distance the two boys had made in a matter of seconds.