Crackerjack II

Chpt. 28: Tightly Strung

Scorch was significantly less excited than she was to start the day, but despite his dragging feet, they were one of the earliest arrivals to training. Kristen stood to the side while everyone else gathered in clusters with excited mutters. She was too busy deciding what to discuss with Scorch to wonder what they were so riled up about. She assumed, like herself, they were excited to train.

Her thoughts drifted even further from her classmates when she settled on a subject of conversation.

Scorch, do you remember your home?

He turned his attention from the main area, blinking in what she guessed was surprise.

I just wondered. She remembered the journal's rant regarding the length of a dragon's memory. You know, what it was like for you. Growing up.

She was startled when the bond jumped to life, sending an astonishingly-detailed image tinged with sorrow. Thick clumps of grass covered a wide expanse of prairie, their height almost enough to block from view bare patches of hard-packed dirt. Golden with muted life, they stretched toward a sky so blue she could hardly believe it wasn't tinted by nostalgia. Scraggly bushes that wished they were trees jutted between the batches of grass. Thin leaves, yellow disguised as green, dangled around long thorns that reminded her of dragon claws. Beneath the spotty shade, dragons of all colors and sizes rested with half-closed lids and crossed forelegs.

Kristen blinked, and the image was gone, filed less stunningly in her memory. Scorch's gaze rested heavy on the side of her head. Her breath was slow to return, and before it did, someone detached from their group to approach her.

"Hey, you're friends with Ernold, right?"

She stared, trying to hold on to the last tendrils of vibrancy.

"Did Serendipity really knock him out?"

And the peace was gone.

"What?!"

Kristen frowned, and Scorch shifted with a snort.

"They're not sure what happened, but neither of them did it on purpose."

"But they got knocked out?"

Kristen hesitated, glancing over the boy's shoulder to see the entire arena waiting for his report.

"Not exactly. If you want the story, I'd go ask him."

He frowned and his shoulders slumped. "Oh. Okay."

Kristen crossed her arms as he jogged back to his friends, who tightened their circle in anticipation. She raised an eyebrow when they scowled in her direction. Ernold's bond—and its bumps—were not gossip fodder for the school. At least, not on her account. If Ernold himself wanted to give out the story, well, it was his story to give out.

Just as the chattering climbed again, the door slammed open. Students scrambled to form a circle as Spencer strode into the arena behind Tobias.

"Meditation stances, everyone!"

Several groans added an undertone to the shifting.

"Shut up!"

The room plunged into silence at his abrupt order. His face was absent any humor whatsoever as he ran his eyes around the circle.

Crossing his arms, Spencer gruffly said, "Today isn't a lesson. It's a test. You fail, or even make a single mistake, and your ride has grounds to sever your bond."

Kristen gulped as the room erupted in whispers.

"Shut up!"

His severe frown demanded, and received, compliance.