Dragon Rider

Chapter 16

"How did you sleep, baby?" River quietly asks the next morning after I flutter my eyes open.

I spent the night sleeping on River with my head laying over his heart. The steadying thumping lulled me to sleep, and kept me in a deep slumber the entire time.

"Best sleep I have ever had," I grin sleepily at him. "Thank you for everything, River. How did you sleep?"

"Best sleep I ever had, too," he grins, gently rubbing the tips of his finger over my cheek. "You are welcome, love, even though you do not need to thank me because it is my pleasure to bring you comfort however I can."

Snuggling deeper into his side, rubbing my palm over his side with a soft squeeze before resting my hand on his belly.

"When do you need to get going?" River softy asks while squeezing my hip.

"In an hour, so do you wanna have breakfast with me?" I reply with a hopeful smile at him, and he agrees instantly, so we climb off the bed to get ready for our day.

"Should we invite your roommate to join us, too?" River quietly asks into my right ear when we are both off the bed,

"Carson, do you want to join us for breakfast?" I ask my roommate instead of answering River directly.

"No thanks, Larken," Carson replies with a shake of his head with a smile toward us. "I do not wish to be a third wheel with you two."

Flipping him the middle finger with a grin; "Suit yourself. You are gonna miss out on our awesomeness."

"By awesomeness you mean your grossness, right?" he replies with a grin, and I roll my eyes at him while River loudly laughs, pulling me back into his body by lightly grasping me by the hips.

"Be nice, Larken," River fondly states, kissing my temple.

"I am being nice," I grumble, pouting at him over my left shoulder. "How was I being mean to Carson?"

"You flipped him the middle finger, and that is mean," River lightly scoulds with a frown that lasts only for several seconds before he grins, letting me know that he is teasing me, and I pout harder at him for his teasing, he grins broadly at me, leaning his head down to kiss my lips.

"Let's go have breakfast before you have to be an Intern," he grins down at me, and I agree with an eye roll at his sassiness.

"See you later, Carter," I say with a wave toward him as River and I walk toward the door.

Entering the cafeteria, River looks around with a smile; "Nice to see this cafeteria looks the same as the one at the school."

Grinning over at him with a small giggle; "What are you gonna grab to eat and drink?"

"Probably an egg, cheese, and sausage sandwich with orange juice," he replies thoughtfully. "What about you?"

"Probably the same, and the cooks here make that sandwich amazingly," I reply with a grin, and a slight bounce in my steps.

River grins at me with soft laughter, and a nod; "That is what I will have then."

"Mmhh, orange juice is amazing first thing in the morning as long as you have not brushed your teeth yet," I moan with a soft giggle.

River stops mid step to look at me with a slightly opened mouth in surprise; "That is true, but I never expected to hear you moan like that over orange juice."

Giggling loudly with sparkling eyes at him, and shrugging my shoulders; "I enjoy my foods and drinks, and I do not play around."

"I guess so," he replies with a fond smile, and we start walking toward the food line again, and we get our sandwiches and drinks, and pay for our meals before finding a table in the corner to sit and eat.

"Other than being a little homesick, how is it being here?" River asks as we start eating as we sit across from each other.

"Other than being homesick, being here is amazing," I answer with a tiny smile. "The Warriors I have met are wonderful, insightful, and they are very helpful. I have been learning so much since I have been here. I have a feeling I am going to have to sit down once I am done with my Internships, and give serious thought on my two Career options."

He nods while chewing on a bite of food before swallowing to say; "That is understandable, Larken. You are deciding between two possible Careers, and I am proud of you for deciding your Career now."

Blushing at his compliment, I mumble out a 'thank you.' We continue to talk while we finish our breakfast before River kisses me deeply before he leaves for home, and I make my way to meet with my mentor, Harris Moore. Harris is 35-years-old, 6'5" with a large muscular build, blond hair and blue eyes. He has been a Warrior for seventeen years. He has been married to his wife Hannah for the last fifteen years, and they have three children together. They have Harrison Jay, Rain Meadow, and Harley Michael. Harris, I feel, is an amazing mentor because he is patient, stern, has a killer sense of humor, and explains everything well when I have questions.

"Good morning, Warrior Moore," I warmly greet the man when I step into his office where I am to meet him every morning that I am here.

"Good morning, Warrior Sawyer," he replies just as warmly with a grin. "Are we ready for our day?"

Nodding with a bright smile; "Of course, Sir."

He stands from the chair behind his desk, and takes long strides toward me, and we exit the room toward the field outside where the other Warriors meet to start the day.

"Good morning, Warriors," Gerald, the Head Warrior greets in his booming voice as he looks over the fifty of us gathered in front of him, and we greet him back. "Today, we are running through a basic combat training mission. The goal is to save the four people from the political family that have been kidnapped by terrorists."