The Dragon's Nest

Chapter Six

The next few weeks, the four dragons had trained the young girl. Occasionally, they would have to heal her or influence her to think that she was better than them. In the end, it all led up to the day the whole flight would see her. In the few weeks, Monosia and Theran had hatched three eggs, which one was a guardian and the other two were tundras. They played on Theran's back as they waited for Kihomina to come out. Her hair needed to be trimmed and she insisted on doing it.

As they waited, the guardian male, Ulima, nibbled on Theran's ear. "When is sis gonna be ready? When when when?" He asked and giggled lightly. Theran chuckled. "Soon, she just has some matters to attend to." Confused by some of his words, Ulima shrugged and sat quietly next to Theran, one with a stern look like Monosia's and one a relaxed smile like Theran's.

Mina came out, her hair freshly trimmed down back to comfort. Her hair had grown over the weeks and if she was being tested, she was going to look nice while doing so. She knew she would have to wash it afterwards anyways. Nazumi, aware of her presence, stood and hopped off the platform, the other three following suit. They all looked upset with her, of course only for show to get her ready. She hopped off and stepped into the pature, where they all surrounded her.

She looked serious and determined. The three hatchlings laid down on the perch and watched intently, as if it were their favorite teams against each other. She got into a stance, gritting her teeth. Monosia winked at her as a sign of good luck.

Kurenai roared in a war call, signaling the other dragons the attack. First was Nazumi. She swiped at Kihomina, who only backflipped over her paw and onto her neck. Kihomina grabbed one of Nazumi's spikes and plunged her weight into the ground. Nazumi's tail swiped at Kihomina next. The young girl ducked and grabbed her tail, pulling it towards her head. This made Nazumi's leg get off the ground. Letting go of her tail, Nazumi was down for the count.

At this point, Monosia was charging towards her and fast. Kihomina let her charge before the last minute where she ducked under her legs. Monosia, confused on where the female went, looked around confused. Silently, Kihomina came up and hopped onto her back. The wooden sword she held tapped the back of her neck. Out of instinct, Monosia dropped to the ground. Now down for the count, Kihomina turned to the other two.

Only Kurenai and Theran were left. Two more and the test was done. Kurenai attacked next, unsheathing her claws. Kihomina immediately got ready before the female disappeared. Mina, used to her style of fighting, dug her foot into the ground. She felt a rush of air and ducked. The dirt around her feet moved and she jumped out of the way, where a sinkhole appeared. Feeling another rush of air near her leg, she swiped her sword downward and Kurenai became visible and fell to the ground.

Kihomina now stood opposite of Theran, her face serious and her sword at ready. Suddenly, she dropped her sword and kicked it away from her. Monosia exchanged glances of confusion with Nazumi before looking back at the girl. Theran growled loudly and charged her, teeth revealed. Kihomina, again, waited for him to be a foot away from her before flipping over his head and running down his back. The dragon wasn't confused as he whipped around and roared. Kihomina slid under his legs and grabbed his tail, pulling it between his legs. This caused Theran to yelp and fall onto his back. Quickly grabbing her abandoned sword, she jumped onto his stomach and lightly swiped her neck. She hopped off as the dragon dramatically fell to his side.

Kihomina, a sweaty, panting mess, grinned. She dropped the sword and punched the air. "I did it!" She yelled victoriously. She stopped suddenly and ducked, preforming a backwards roll as Toma flew over her. A hiss could be heard from the hennin dragon before she swooped again. Instead of ducking, the girl grabbed Toma's leg and held on, climbing up. She hadn't trained with Toma, but she seemed to understand what to do. Climbing onto her back, she lightly punched the back of Toma's throat, earning a screech of pain.

Toma gently flew down and Kihomina slid off. "Now you did it." Toma smiled at her. The other four dragons had stood up and watched them, unaware that Toma was going to attack. Monosia, proud of Kihomina, went under the girl's legs and lifted the girl on her head. "That's my girl! You did it!" She cheered and grinned happily. Tanima had woken in the midst of the fight and was loudly cheering Kihomina on.

After Kihomina got off of Monosia, Tanima grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground, nuzzling her. "I knew you could do it!" Kihomina grinned and hugged Tanima. "Now I think I'm ready to fight Nicohima." She announced proudly. Toma and Theran nodded. "Of course you are, you were trained by us." Nazumi grinned. Kurenai chuckled at her modesty. Kihomina got up and wiped the dust off of herself. She had been in regular clothing for the fight. Noticing this, Monosia looked at Theran. The male alpha looked from Kihomina to her and nodded.

"Kihomina!" The gaurdian yelled. The girl turned around and walked to Monosia. "Yeah Monosia?" Monosia sat and looked at her. "I understand you have no battle armor, correct?" Kihomina gave her a weird look. "No. I thought you would know this." Theran chuckled as the dragon child gave Monosia a smart answer. Monosia smiled and stood again. "Follow." She ordered and began to walk off. Kihomina raised a brow and followed. "You too, Tanima!" The snapper scrambled to her feet and followed them, in step with Kihomina. "What are we doing Kiho?" Kihomina just shrugged and continued to follow Monosia.

Sometime later, they finally stopped if front of a vine ridden cave. Tanima and Kihomina exchanged confused glances. "What's this place, Monosia?" They asked in sync. Monosia only chuckled and ducked underneath vines and into the cave. The two younger ones followed suit and were met with a damp cave filled with armor, from shiny and new, to old and battered. Both of their jaws dropped at the sight. Monosia started rummaging through a pile, picking out bits and pieces and tossing them aside, keeping a helm, a chestplate, and some boots. When she found leggings, she smiled. "Kihomina, try these on." She said and started looking for armor for Tanima.

As Kihomina did as told, Tanima took the chance. "Why are you getting armor for me?" She wondered. "Simple, I heard your fight with Mina a few weeks ago and both of your words said something. I figured, why send Mina alone? The prophecy never said anything of a companion." Monosia smiled. Tanima had listened, but became shocked when Monosia said Mina. She hadn't called Kihomina that since she got her dragon name! "So, I'll fight with her? But I haven't been trained!" She said, eyes wide. "Oh but you have. Over your life span, you have been trained by your flight. We helped you to your level because we knew you would have to deal with something great. And our hunch was right."

By this point, Monosia had found the armor she was looking for. "Put it on." She said and went to check on Kihomina. Tanima slowly put on the armor, thoughts running through her head like wild fire. She was going to help Kihomina? If she could, why wouldn't the others in the flight help? Something strange was going on and she could feel it. Now she just had to find out why it was strange.