The Silver Revenge

Chapter 32: Silver's Dance

The void dragon rose early the next morning, feeling vibrant and at the same time nervous. He glanced around at the other dragons sharing a cave with him, still sleeping. Their soft snores echoed throughout the large cave that he had been sent to. It had been a bit difficult to get used to, after spending so many years by himself, but now he was reasonably comfortable with the other dragons. They talked often, and he had even befriended a few. A cave by himself wouldn't be that bad though.

He shook himself, getting rid of the stiffness in his bones and wings that came from lying down for long periods of time, and walked to the edge of the cave. It was about halfway up The Nest, and had a reasonable drop down to the floor below. Iraliene had moved him here after Raize's equilibrium, hoping he would find someone, probably under the assumption that he hadn't found anyone yet. But he had.

He smiled at the thought of what was supposed to be happening that day. The 'battle' between Silver and him. A battle that would decide whether or not they were right for one another. He doubted many other dragons realised the significance of the fights. There really was only one other who could have figured it out, or a mind dragon, but no mind dragon had come forward to face her.

It was really quite simple when he thought about it. Every fight Silver had had with the other dragons had started with a simple hop, or jump, or step, to the side, either left or right. Every single one. When she had done it with Gravon he had been a little confused as to why? It wasn't exactly the smartest way to start a fight. It had crossed his mind that she had done it to confuse the other dragon, but when in the next fight she did exactly the same thing he began to wonder. When he had seen her battle with Raize the day before, and she hadn't done it, he realised that it was something specific, and not just a strange thing she did before a fight. Of course, a dragon would have to know what the hop was before responding to it, in the proper way.

He landed on the ground below, scraping the stone with his claws as he skidded to a halt. There was something that bothered him however. Zepos. He liked the lightning drake, even if they did both love the same dragoness. After he had made his announcement Zepos had stormed away, angry and hurt. It made Retrix slightly guilty for doing this to him, and in some ways he regretted his decision. Nothing was worse the betraying a friend.

He sighed, coming to a stop before the tunnel that led from The Nest and into The Training Centre, leaning against a rock wall. He loved Silver; there was no denying that. And he had loved her for a long time, ever since their talk just before Eldawin's Syndicate. At least, that's when he began to feel something greater then simple friendship for her, but then she was with Zepos.

He second-guessed himself for a moment, glancing around the area. There weren't many other dragons out at the moment. A fire dragoness was walking over to one of the lower caves, the 'hatchlings cave', for any dragon between one and seven. There was an earth dragon, sitting on a tall rock in the centre of The Nest, just looking over everything. The two made eye contact and Retrix snorted slightly, before turning to look down the tunnel again.

No, he had made this decision. He wouldn't go back on it. He guessed he would try and make it up to his lightning friend later, after this had all settled down. But, he may fail this little challenge as well, and if that happened he was quite sure Zepos would succeed. He had known Silver for longer after all.

Taking a deep breath and regaining his resolve Retrix padded down the tunnel, going slowly. The fight wouldn't be until a little later in the day, but he wanted to be ready for it. Even if the test was what he thought it was, he doubted it would be the same as what they had done previously. Knowing Silver, she probably had thought up some more dangerous element to add to the challenge.