Redemption - Fourth Wing

4. Time to fly

Ronny's pov
Ever since Aifos had touched that mind, they'd been more jittery than ever. Eragon found himself often chiding them because they were distracted, or because they hadn't been paying attention to Saphira's lessons I was listening to and sliding down our bond.
One day, he called them in his office, a circular room with a lively tree in the middle of it that reached up to the sky. According to Elf taste, as mostly of his Academy.
"Is something troubling you?"
What he hadn't completely mastered was their inability to go straight to the point. Whenever I'd listen to them, my mind would grow dizzy at one point; even Aifos would lose bits and pieces here and there. But thankfully, they'd always managed to say something; or, more likely so, the Elves had been too polite to fire back at them.
Down the bond, I felt their hesitation.
"Yes. I, uhm, a couple of days ago, I was meditating and... I got in touch with a dragon. But not one from here, but from... Another island. Or so, I gathered from his thoughts."
"You were meditating?"
"Yes. Ronny felt him too."
Eragon laid back and worried his lower lip, "From another island? How do you know?"
Surprise at being immediately believed jumped from their mind to mine. I sent down relief and I could almost feel them smiling.
"He had an odd tail. It ended with some sort of a sword. It was attached to it. And his eyes were of molten gold."
"Which colour were his scales?"
"Golden... But half of his legs were black. He truly was beautiful."
"Did he tell you where he came from?"
"Someplace called Navarre."
Eragon rose on his feet and gestured for them to follow him. They walked in the library, where he handed them a pile of old scrolls.
"Read them. They're the largest map we have. Only here you can find what you're looking for."
"Thank you, Eragon-elda."

Thankfully, my location was near the Academy. The shadow of the tree was shielding me from the sun, but the leaves still allowed some rays to go through them. I had never been fond of complete darkness and, overall, of enclosed places.
Aifos put down the scrolls and sat against my foreleg.
"Alright, where do we begin?"
-The first on top.-
We worked for days, until Elsie with her white dragon decided to help us in our research; only when stars started to appear in the vault of the sky during our fifth day they got on their feet, their fingers splattered with dark ink and maps scattered around.
Excitement made their eyes brighter than every star; their brown skin glowed with such new light I wanted to taste it with my tongue.
(Such thoughts weren't a novelty by far: they would strike me like a flame, and then leave smoke behind, and wandering eyes).
They grasped my snout and beamed at me so much their cheeks hurt, "Ronny, we got it!"
Their mind flashed with the hope of the very same anonymity which would be gifted to us only by a new land. There, we could be a nameless pair, just a dark-skinned youth and a brown dragon, and our names would mean nothing.
And our past would stay here, hidden in that far-off line that saw the kiss between sky and sea, in which the eyes would always get lost, whether they be mortal or immortal.
The next morning, the wind was favouring, and Elsie tackled Aifos in a tight hug, "Don't do anything stupid now that I'm stuck here."
"How could I? You take all the stupid with you."
"Very funny, ah-ah."
Then, they broke off their hug, and Eragon took a step forward, his hands placed on Aifos' broad shoulders. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his voice completely even, and that slight shakiness showed his human origins, in my belief.
"Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr. Un atra du evarínya ono varda, Eragon-elda."
(May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you, Eragon-elda.)
Eragon bowed his head, "Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse sköliro frá rauthr."
(May luck and happiness follow you and may you be shielded from misfortune.)
He seemed to hesitate, then steadied himself and pulled their first student to him and wrapped his arms around them. They stood motionless for a couple of seconds, before leaning into the warmth of their Ebrithil, who tightened his hold.
Tears prickled in the eyes of both of them, and in Aifos' heartbeats skipped a faint uncertainty. Then, they recalled the golden dragon, and disentangled themselves from Eragon.
The sun caught the brightness of Saphira's scales, and I turned to her. I briefly wondered if, deep down, they were glad we were soon to be far, far away.
We had been their most difficult students, after all, and shadows always followed all of our steps.
-Fair winds to you both.-
-So it shall be,- I said.
Then, Aifos turned to me, and swiftly mounted up. I waited for them to bind their legs, and for the sack with our armours to invisibly float above our heads for the time being.
-You ready?-I asked them, twisting my head snake-like so I could meet their eyes. They rolled back their shoulders, and nodded, -It's time.-
With a powerful sweep of my wings, off Vaeta we were, and to the horizon.