Ghost Rider

CHAPTER III: the first day of the rest of my life

I woke up to my mother gently shaking my shoulder trying to rouse me from my peaceful slumber. I stroked the beautiful dragon hatchling that lay sleeping next to me. "What's going on?" I mumbled groggily, trying to find the strength to sit up in my comfortable bear skin bed. "Your first day of dragon training starts today" my mother plainly stated; but I sensed a twinge of excitement for me in her voice. "You will go the village circle where the other Dragon Protectors will be training." My mother instructed "There, you will learn how to care for your dragon, and eventually, ride her." That sent a shiver of excitement through my bones. I couldn't wait until I could ride Amber, this magnificent beast that sat by my side. "Come on, Amber I said sleepily after I had gotten ready. And we headed out of the mouth of our cozy cave.
" Hey, Vivian" I greeted as I saw my pal walking down the path. "What dragon did you get?" I asked curiously "I didn't see you after we entered the nursery." "I got a deadly nadar!" She exclaimed with both excitement and just a hint of proudness "Wow nice!" I replied, looking at the dragon walking by her side. (It was obvious what she got but  I figured that it was still polite to ask.) "what dragon did you get?" She enquired "deathsong" I responded still in awe that I was now in companionship with such an extraordinary beast. "Wow! I'm happy for you!" She said lovingly "I know that you've always been enthralled by that species of dragon." It was true. As long as I could remember, deathsongs we're always my favorite species of dragon in the whole archipelago. "I can't believe that we're going to be on the same dragon training grounds as the older kids" I said mystically. I suddenly felt very important. "I guess that makes us official Dragon Protectors now." I said, gently nudging Vivian. "I don't think so." She sated mournfully. "I think it just makes us Dragon Trainers, not Dragon Protectors." "Yet." She added giving me an encouraging look.
We finally reached the training grounds, and I got my first at my teacher that would be my mentor for the next three years in dragon training. Ugh, three YEARS! I thought wailfully, by that time I would be twice my age. I would have spent half my life learning how to be a Dragon Trainer. The teacher had better be nice if I'm gonna have to endure this for the next three years. I added.  My soon-to-be mentor was a woman much younger than the one in the dragon sanctuary. She must have been in her early thirties. She wore a dark greenish shirt with a thin goat hide skirt that had flaps of leather over it. She also had woolen pants like me, (of course they were much longer) but they were the same color as her shirt. She had brown caring eyes, with dark, chocolate hair to match them. Her hair was in a single braid, tied off with a strip of fabric, that rested on her chest. I knew immediately that I was going to like her.
"Good morning Dragon Trainers-to-be!" She greeted. "Now, I assume that all of you have brought your companions with you?" She questioned "OH NO!!" One of the boys shouted. I whipped around to see who yelled and recognized that it was Antin. I don't want to be rude but...he's basically the village idiot. "What is it?" The teacher asked, both surprised by his out burst and curious what in Thor's name startled him. "I forgot my dragon!" He said as he ran back towards his home. I rolled my eyes. " what idiot forgets his dragon on his first day of Dragon training?" I whispered to Vivian. "Antin" she replied, also rolling her eyes. "um...ok." The teacher continued; evidently still unsure about what had just taken place. " has everyone else got their dragons?" She enquired. We all nodded our heads. "Good. I am Raeth. I will be your mentor for the next three years during your dragon training sessions, where you will learn how to not only care for your dragon, but also how to bond with him or her so that that at the end of this session, you and your dragon will have one mind. Which will make it much easier for you to ride your dragon,  which we will discuss immensely in your next course: dragon riding." We looked at each other in awe and excitement at the prospect of actually riding our beautiful companions. "Now, behind me, if you haven't noticed already, we have dragon bathing basins." Dragon bathing basins were basically a large, thin metal basin perched on top of a platform. The platform was a square-shaped plank of wood that rested on a pole which was about the size of your ankle. The pole was stuck firmly in the ground so that it didn't budge an inch when you leaned on it. But, unfortunately, the basins has to be moved down to the ground and off of their perches because we couldn't reach them. " today you will learn two things." My teacher continued "one: how to bathe and properly groom your dragon. Two: how and what to feed your dragons." "What will we do first?" I interjected. "first, we will learn how to bathe our dragons. Then, after we've eaten our lunch, which will commence at the great hall, we will learn how to feed our dragons." She replied. The great hall I wondered in amazement. You see, the great hall is where all the Combat students, Dragon Riders, and Dragon Protectors ate. Basically, it's where all the big shots dine. And now I'm one of them... I thought proudly. The Great Hall is the largest building in our village. The stone walls only go about half way. The pillars supporting the thatch roof, placed strategically at every corner of the floor,  are giant poles made from gigantuous trees. Inside, there is one extremely long wooden table that extends from one end of rectangular building to the other. There are two long benches on both sides of the table with one large wooden chair, which had a wolf skin draped over it, where my mother, the cheiftess, would sit.
Anyway, back to dragon bathing. "I'm back I'm back!" I turned to see who was yelling and was met by the sight of none other than Antin the idiot. At least that's what I secretly called him, although I know I shouldn't. "I'm back." He repeated again, breathlessly. "Yes, we heard." I said monotonously, although I'm pretty sure there was a tad of annoyance to my voice but I didn't care. I mean, honestly! Who on Valhalla's green slopes forgets their dragon when the only two things we were learning today is dragon bathing, and dragon feeding?!? He set his baby gronkle down on the ground by his basin. We all took small wooden buckets and filled them up with cool, refreshing water; which we retrieved from the large brook that flowed by at the outskirts of the cluster of huts. The brook was a breathtaking blue. bright green ferns and gorgeous pink and yellow flowers grew on the edges of the life-giving water. As I filled my bucket, I took a second to take in all of its beauty.
We had to go back and refill our buckets several times before the water in the basin was high enough to wash our dragons in. I didn't think Amber  looked very dirty but I supposed it was just for practice.
After about two hours,(dragon bathing is not as easy as it sounds. Especially when a particular female deathsong decides to play tag in the middle of her bath. Not to mention that she decided that now would be an opportune moment to take a mud bath in the boar pit!) we finally sat down to eat. There was chicken, and yak chops, and bread with butter, and fruit, and ginger ale ( I couldn't wait until I could get my hands on the real stuff) etc. etc. what a healthy meal. I thought sarcastically, but deep down I knew I would enjoy it immensely. The rest of the day was uneventful despite Atin's and myself's( yes, I was a bit of a trickster at times) presence.
I tiredly trudged up the path that had a cliff on one side and a rock wall on the other, that led to my home. Amber pranced beside my completely happy and content, while I was the complete opposite. I was physically warn out from all the chasing I had to do trying to catch a begrimed Amber who seemed to be enjoying her one-sided game of tag immensely. "I see that your mud bath must have been quite rejuvenating" I stated sarcastically, scoffing. She looked up at me and seemed to be smiling. It was both annoying, as if she was rubbing my woes into my face, and heartwarming, as if she was apologizing for the crucible that she had inadvertently handed me. I was confused by my own feelings and instantly looked away. We finally reached the mouth of the cave and the warmth of the fire inside sent relief surging through my body. I'm here, I'm home. I don't have to walk another step until tomorrow. I let out a satisfying sigh as this uplifting thought swirled around in my head. My mother, who was folding some washed clothes, must have heard my sigh because she slightly cocked her head in my direction. "How was you first day, sweety?" She queried. "Exhausting." I groaned. "How is Amber working out for you?" She asked almost in a more cautious voice. "She's perfect" I stated monotonously "She's just like me ,which, after today's incident, which I would have done in a heartbeat if I was in her situation, worries me a little." My mother chuckled at my reply "Now you know what I have to go through!" She said cracking up again. She had obviously heard about the incident. I rolled my eyes. "but do you like her?" My mother inquired after gaining her composure once more. " Yeah I lover her." "In fact" I said a little more slowly " I think she could be my missing piece." "Your missing piece to what?" My mother asked, a little taken back at what I just said. "To life I guess." I responded "As long as I can remember, there's always been a part of me that's been missing. Lost somehow." I continued thoughtfully "As if, without that missing piece, I'm lost too. Like my identity has been stripped from me. Like I don't truly know who I am without it." I finished with a sigh and allowed my mother to process what I had just said. After a few minutes of silence, my mother stood up and tucked me in under my soothing, soft blankets. "I hope Amber's your missing piece too." She said hopefully as she kissed me on my freckled forehead. But as I watched her walk back to her seat and continue to fold clothes, she looked troubled, distant even, after I brought up my ongoing thoughts to the surface of my lips and uttered them. I wanted to ask her what was wrong but I was much too tired to vocalize another word. My legs still ached as I felt the lactic acid swishing around in my tired muscles. My eyelids felt heavy. I wanted to think about what had just happened, and about why my mother reacted the way she did, but my mind went blank as my eyelids involuntarily closed, and I fell into a restless sleep.
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Author's note: so I'm kinda getting down to the point, right? I'm really trying but there's so much other stuff that I really want to put in so be patient with me! Also, if you guys have any ideas at all for either Antin, Vivian, or Tigly, let me know in the comment section below! Don't be afraid to vote, either. I would really LOVE to hear what you guys think of my new book. Thanks for the support! Bye!