A Dragon's Rider (Unedited)

Chapter 26

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"Hey," I'm about to walk in when he calls. "thanks." I smile and nod.

"No problem."

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I walk into my room and smile. 

'John is so nice.' Rayne sighs. 

'Ya. He is.' I reply, a goofy grin on my face as I think of him. He seems like a really nice guy. Walking deeper into the room, I toss my towel into the closet and grab another workout outfit. Upon entering the bathroom, I strip down and turn on the shower. I wait until the water's hot and then step in. The warm stream relaxes my muscles and washes away the stinky lake smell. I wash my hair with citrus  scented shampoo and conditioner before scrubbing my body down with green apple body wash. I come out smelling like a fruit salad. While my hair is still wet, I braid it to one side and slip into my clothes. I look at the clock on my dresser and realize I only have 15 minutes before I have to be back at training. 

Hmm. It will take 10 minutes to get to the field so I should probably leave soon. My boots are still by the door so I grab socks and put them on. On go my many weapons and holders until I look exactly like I did the first session. I walk down the halls, stairs, and through doors until I finally reach the training yards. All the other trainees are still there, practicing and such; just like I left them. I walk over to the sidelines and sit down, waiting for Hunter to call stop. John walks in and looks around for me. I raise my hand in greeting as he comes over. 

"Hey!" he says once he's sitting next to me.  "How'd you get ready so fast? I thought girls were supposed to take longer to get ready than guys." For some reason that irked me so I replied a little harshly. 

"And I thought guys were supposed to have manners but I guess we were both wrong." John blinks for a second, not used to me talking so fiercely. I sigh. "Sorry. It's just that that stereotype has always bothered me. Why should it matter if I take and hour versus 5 minutes to get ready?" 

"It doesn't matter!" John replies, happy that I'm a bit calmer. "I was just trying to start a conversation." I smile thinly at him.

"ALRIGHT PANSYS!" Hunter yells. "NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS." Everyone, including us, gather around him so he won't have to yell. "I've asked Gareth, my dragon," he explains "to call over your dragons. They will be coming soon. Today is the day you will start to train them. Your attendants will also be here to help." A large crowd of people come out, each attendant walking to their rider. Hunter continues. "You will also have the luxury of a third or fourth year student to help you get started. Don't get used to them as they are only going to help you for the first few sessions." I barely pay attention as he reads through the list of older students until he calls my name.  "Zircon, you're with Derreck." (A/N Told you Derreck was important.) A tall, dark skinned boy walks over. He's wearing the official uniform as well as a green baseball cap. It sits nicely atop his dark brown hair and makes his green eyes pop. 

"Hey, I'm Derreck."

"Zircon, and this is Aaron." I stick out my hand. He surprises me by taking it and bringing it to his lips, softly kissing it, never breaking eye contact. 

"My pleasure." His white teeth stand out nicely against his darker skin and it makes him look hot. 

'UGHHH!' Rayne complains. 'There are to many cute boys at this school!' I laugh at her, she can be so silly sometimes. The rest of the names get called, the last one finished just as the dragons start to arrive. At the head of the bunch in Amipere, looking frantically around from her aerial view. The other dragons come at a more sedate pace on the ground. A lithe dragon makes its way to John. It has light blue scales on its head, each scale getting gradually darker until they are almost black at the tip of the spiky tail. It's wings look like ice shards, each point glittering a different shade of blue in the sun. (A/N Thanks to  for the description!)

'His name is Balerion.' I hear a voice in my head. It sounds not unlike Rayne but more feminine. 

'Amipere?'

'Yes. It is me.'

'Huh. Do all dragons and rider communicate like this?'

'Yes. But it comes later for most pairs.' she seems to smile in my head. 'Of course, I'm special so it came earlier.' Makes sense. 

Once everyone is settled with their riders, Amipere is on my shoulder of course, the older students lead us away. Derreck leads me and Aaron to a small clearing far in the woods.  

"Alright, " Derreck rubs his hands together. "are you ready to begin training?"

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Hey guys! I decided to update early so YAY!!!!! I have some bad news, good news, and great news. Which do you want to hear first? Okay. I'm gonna slap you first then pat your back, then have a party. 

Bad News: I'm not going to be able to update for a while. Why? I have a really important school project coming up so I need to focus all my attention on that. :( Sorry.

Good News: I have my first softball practice tomorrow! YAY!!!! (It's good for me. I don't know if you guys care.)

Great News: We're #39 in fantasy!!!! YAY! We also have over 10 thousand views and over 500 likes! Thank you guys so much! We can party now!!!

Thanks, 

101silver_wolf

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