Crackerjack II

Chpt. 14: Tea Time

Kristen wandered in her search for William before finally accepting defeat. She decided to look for other answers while she was waiting. 

The library was mostly empty, as usual, and Kristen had no trouble settling into her spot with a stack of books. She set the skimmed books on the floor to make room on the desk. The "read" stack was as tall as the desk's edge by the time Drea pulled up a chair.

"I see you're hard at it." She nodded to the open book. "What is it you're looking for?"

Kristen sighed. "Well, I wanted t' figure out bond stages, but I've barely gotten int' the initial connection." She rubbed her eyes. "And over half this stuff is in impossible language."

Drea grinned. "I could give you a run-down, if you'd like."

"Really?" Kristen peered through her fingers. "Why haven't you offered this before?"

Drea shrugged. "Not much I can narrow down for you on the dragon side because I don't know what kind of dragon you're bonded with. But this is generally the same for most riders."

"Okay, then." Kristen lifted books until she found her notebook. "Ready."

"Well, how far have you gotten?"

"Just that the initial connection usually leads into the transition stage, which isn't technically a bond stage, but it's different enough from the initial stage t' warrant another name." She scratched her throat. "That's it."

Drea smiled widely, and Kristen rolled her eyes. 

"There's a lot of information, okay?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Well, you were smirkin' like I was a kid askin' 'bout farmin'."

Drea giggled. "Alright, I'm sorry. It's just that there's so much more." She tapped her chin. "You know, maybe you should be asking Sylvia about this. She is a dragon rider, after all."

"Uh," Kristen shifted, "I'm kinda scared of her."

"Of Sylvia? What for?"

Kristen blushed. "I don't know! She just scares me. I'd rather you tell me."

"Okay, fine. There's the second connection where the dragon accepts the rider, which leads into the cultivative stage, where the rider and dragon learn more about each other, and then the mature phase, which is usually the longest, where the rider and dragon are fully bonded."

"That's it? You have all these books in here, and you condensed them int' one sentence?"

Drea shrugged. "Well, they go a lot more in-depth about the sub-phases and what happens in each phase, but I figured you just wanted the basics."

Kristen thought for a minute, then nodded. She scribbled a few notes in the margins.

"Why're you here, anyway? I thought you were off for a bit."

"Well, I couldn't find William."

Drea lifted her chin until her head touched the back of her neck. "That explains it. I was worried that you were reverting, spending your vacation researching."

Kristen shoved her. "As if you aren't happy t' see me!"

Drea shoved her back. "I am happy to see you alive, but it also makes me happy to see you living. Researching never suits teens." 

They continued shoving, shushing each others' giggles. When Kristen pushed Drea out of her chair, they collapsed on the floor with laughter that turned heads.

"How about some tea?" Drea finally gasped, wiping her eyes. "So we don't bother them anymore."

Kristen swallowed her giggles with difficulty. "Sure."