Ninjagaësia

A Rider..?

Cole's egg finally hatched the very night after the traders had arrived to Carvahall, the boy frantically waking Nya when the egg started rocking violently in his room. The reptile that emerged had the stockiest body of them all, wings enormous in comparison with its back and front heavily plated in brown-black scales.

It slept curled up in his arms that night before being taken at dawn to Zane's place, where the other three dragons could meet, already much larger than the new hatchling.

Though over the next few weeks, the youngest dragonet was quick to catch up. By the end of the month, it was tall enough for its shoulders to reach most elbows. The other three were already getting taller than their Riders. The humans were astounded by the speed in which they grew.

And then, it happened.
Near the end of one of Lloyd's visits, his beautiful green and gold dragon looked him in the eyes and a rich voice in his mind spoke his name.
At first, Lloyd panicked, freaking out that it could speak.

He ran away to find Zane, who only snorted at his distress.
"Will you give him a proper name so that he will no longer repeat yours?" Was all he asked, pale blue eyes glittering in amusement.
Lloyd gaped at him. "You knew they were gonna do that the entire time?!"
"Yes. I told you dragons were not mindless animals."

"Well what do I do?" Lloyd pleaded uneasily.
"Do you want to suggest some names?" Zane offered. "I think I can help. Of course, we should ask him how he feels about each one."
Lloyd dithered a bit awkwardly before agreeing to the suggestion. The two made their way to the house in the woods, where the dragon of the hour was waiting.

They went through a few suggestions, though it wasn't.. great. Lloyd was bad at names.
"I just don't get it, why is Fernie wrong? It's Fern with an e!" He complained, leaning on "Fernie's" side.
Zane was silent for a moment.
".. Then what about Fírnen?" He suggested suddenly, changing the sound of it.

Said dragon started humming, and Lloyd looked up at him in surprise.
"..I think he likes it?"
Curious, he brushed out his consciousness only to be met with resonance from the young dragon.
Fírnen. It- no, he- echoed pleasantly.

Zane hummed back automatically, smiling.
"A fitting name for one such as yourself." He remarked.
Fírnen blinked, not quite understanding but sensing the intention behind the words regardless.

They stayed there with a comfortable silence hanging in the air for nearly an hour more before Lloyd realized how late it was getting, rushing to say goodbye and make it home in time. Zane followed along just to keep him company on the way back, returning to a nearby barn to watch over a sick pig.

Having the small thunder of dragonets near his home seemed to satisfy something deep inside him, giving him a peace he hadn't known he lacked before. In shorter terms; Zane was happy.
Content.
For now.

. • ° ° • .

Lloyd managed to sneak into his home silently, well aware he was late. Ears twitched as he listened in the quiet of the house. After a few seconds he decided his mother wasn't home, hurrying to the cold fireplace in the dark to light it.

When the sparks caught, he swung over a nearby kettle over the growing flames, blowing on it briefly to get it higher before trying frantically to clean up some of the scrolls on the floor before Misako returned.

To his disappointment when he tried to skim a few, he realized they were predominantly the fancy script he couldn't yet read. His mother had told him once that it was Shintarin, yet insisted on teaching him when he was older. After she felt he was ready to speak it first.
Which, annoying. It would be so cool if he could speak and write Shintarin. Impractical, yes, but everything interesting in Carvahall was impractical.