Dragon Rider

Chapter 18

Papa stayed at my rest quarters for two hours last night, and River spent the night with me, and stayed the day with me, too. He said he wanted to take care of me for the day because I was not allowed to train with the Warriors today. River is also staying the night with me tonight, and I am excited for this.

"Babe?" River asks, bringing me out of my thoughts while I am sitting on the edge of my bed while staring down at my clasped hands that I have resting on my lap.

Snapping my head up with a soft 'huh?' River softly smiles at me while he moves across the room to sit down next to me. He wraps his right arm around my waist with a soft squeeze.

"What is on your mind, my love?" he gently asks, and I shrug my left shoulder.

"I dunno, I am sorry for being weird now," I mumble, feeling a little lost at the moment. "I feel lost and sad, I have no idea why I feel this way. I love that you are here, and being kind and gentle with me. I love that papa came, too."

River softly kisses me on the temple, keeping his lips there for several seconds before softly saying; "Baby boy, it is okay that you are feeling off. You were injured during a training mission, and could have died if Tiamet had not reacted quickly. I think this would have rattled and been unsettling for anyone who experienced what you did. I will always want to take care of you when you are healthy, sick, or injured. Your papa will always be in your corner, too. I am sure Afra feels horrible for not coming here yesterday to physically check on you himself.

Nodding at him with a tiny sniffle, murmuring; "Thank you. I love you, River, very much. I appreciate everything you have done for me."

"I love you, too, my sweet Larken," he murmurs before giving me a soft kiss on the lips that I eagerly return.

"Come on, I think we need to get out of this room for a little while," he says when we pull away. "Let's have some breakfast, and then whatever you want us to do."

"Can we ride Tiamet together for awhile?" I quietly request, slightly excited about this possibility of doing this with River.

He nods with a smile; "We sure can. I need to thank him anyway."

Giggling at him softly while standing, rolling my shoulders slightly to test out the soreness of my right shoulder to see if I need any pain medicine before we leave the rest quarters. Deciding to take a small dose, River looks at me in concern, but does not comment.

"I am ready to leave," I say to him with a wide smile after placing the pain medicine away.

"Let's get some grub," River chuckles, making me softly giggle again while slipping my right hand into his left, and we leave the quarters.

After breakfast, we head out to the enclosure to get Tiamet ready for our ride, but before I can do this, River is thanking Tiamet for saving me.

"Tell River that he is welcome, and I will always keep you safe," Tiamet says through our bond, and I repeat his message to River who nods at Tiamet.

We climb onto Tiamet's back with me in front of River, and he holds onto the reins, and we are launched into the air. We fly around leisurely for a couple of hours before returning.

"Intern Sawyer?" Harris calls as I hang up Tiamet's hook on the wall opposite of his enclousure.

Looking over my left shoulder toward Harris with raised eyebrows, he does not continue speaking until he is a foot away from River and me; "Your papa is a wonderful man. He came to visit me this morning to thank me, and our medical staff for our swift and kind care for you yesterday."

Blushing at his words for my papa, murmuring; "Thank you, Sir."

"Do you by chance have two fathers? If so, is your other father Warrior Afra Sawyer?" Harris asks with a raised right eyebrow.

Nodding as I reply; "Yes, Sir, I have two fathers, and Afra Sawyer is my other dad."

"Speaking of your scary father," River mumbles, looking behind Harris with a small smile and a chuckle, making me know that he is joking about the 'scary' part.

"Hey, he is not that scary," I scold, trying to tease him, but failing miserably because I let out a soft laugh. "Okay, he may be a little scary at times."

"Your father is an amazing Warrior," Harris says in awe as Afra approaches us once he has spotted us.

"Hello Larken and River," Afra greets us wth a small smile before greeting Harris.

"Hello Warrior Sawyer, it is an honor to meet you," Harris greets with a nervous smile toward Afra. "Your son is an amazing Intern. You and your husband have raised an amazing person."

"Thank you, Warrior...?" Afra replies with a raised right eyebrow at Harris.

"Harris White, Sir," Harris instantly replies, holding his hand out toward Afra for a handshake.

"Larken, I came to check on you after the incident," Afra says then after acknowledging Harris. "Also, I wish to apologize for not being here with Dametri when he came to check on you."

"That is okay, Afra, I understand that you had an emergency at work," I reply with a nod. "I am fine, thank you for asking, and checking on me."