Survivors of the Wild - Larry Stylinson

Chapter 3

Harry's teary again by midday. He's leaving his home. Sure, it's sleepy and boring. But it's home. All his friends are here. He's never expected to be a rider, especially since Gemma got magic at nineteen and left for the academy. Granted, she's been waiting four years for a dragon, but Harry never thought he'd be joining her.

The group is all outside when they finally leave the house. They're bustling about their own dragons, pulling at the straps of their saddles. Niall and Rakr are bickering at each other and Allanna appears to be in deep conversation with her own blue dragon, whispering in his ear.

Laurel grins at them when she sees them, tightening one last strap before turning around. "Harry, you'll be flying with me. Karif here is the biggest dragon, so you'll fit best on him."

The dragon inclines his neck to look at him. His red eyes are only a little lighter than the deep burgundy of his scales. "There is no need to be afraid," he says. His voice is even deeper than Rakr's, growly in a strangely calming way. Harry swears he feels it through his whole body. Karif continues, "You will not fall off."

Harry blinks rapidly at him. "Thank you," he says, voice tilting at the end like a question.

The dragon nods. "I can tell you are afraid. Do not worry."

"Alright, Karif," Laurel laughs, patting his massive cheek. "Sorry," she says to Harry. "We have strong emotional magic."

"That's ok," Harry says slowly. The dragon is still watching him, but he's drawn away as Allanna comes over with a cloth sack.

She lifts the edge of the cloth to reveal the opal egg, still glowing brightly. "This is your responsibility now. Be assured we will be keeping an eye on you at all times, but you must take care of it."

Harry holds out his hand to let her place it carefully in his arms. It's heavier than he expected, and large enough he needs both hands. "Do I need to keep it warm or anything?"

"No. There is nothing specific you have to do. But you must never leave it. This is extremely important. Do you understand?"

Harry nods hastily. "Yes, of course."

"Excellent. Let's get going, then." She spins around and makes her way back to her dragon.

"Here, I'll help you climb on," Laurel says, waving him over.

Harry stares up at the dragon, who's flexing his massive wings. The webbing of his wings is slightly lighter, like his eyes. He's definitely the biggest, and Harry is shocked he managed to fit inside the barn last night. "How do I get on?"

"Look, there's a strap here you can use to climb up. You can climb on top of his leg and he'll crouch down so you can get on the saddle. You can use his spikes to help too. Here, I'll take the egg for now."

Harry nods. He slips a few times climbing on, but Laurel just grabs him and places his feet in the right place. It's a strange feeling, sitting on a dragon. Karif's neck stretches out in front of him, stark white spikes standing out against his red. He glances around then, seeing the rest of the rider securely perched on their dragons, strapping their legs into their saddles.

Laurel climbs on a thousand times more gracefully than he did, sliding on just behind him. She's somehow managed to do it holding onto the egg, but she passes it to him now. "You can put this in the pouch right at the front, so you can keep an eye on it."

He carefully zips the egg in, then asks, "So how do we do this? Are there reins we hold on to or what?"

She laughs. "No, that's not necessary. You can either hold on to the spikes or the handles at the front. I'll just hold on to you or the sides." His eyebrows furrow, and she continues, "It's easier to ride than you think, once you get used to it. You can stay on without holding anything if your dragon isn't doing anything crazy. And once you start riding, you'll understand how to move with the turns. It's something you can't really explain. Karif will just fly straight, though."

"What about, like, directing him?"

"We can communicate in our minds through the bond."

"Oh," he says. "Gemma's mentioned that."

"Ready to take off?" Allanna calls.

Laurel calls back, "Ready here!" Ed and Niall both raise a thumbs up.

Allanna gives a short nod before her dragon is taking off with a short leap, beating wide blue wings only a few shades darker than the sky they're flying up into. Laurel pinches his side, and he feels Karif move beneath him. Suddenly they're taking off too, rising up into the sky. The beating of Karif's wings is loud, especially combined with the air rushing around them. Harry's heart is in his throat, and he can't help but close his eyes against the wind and the sick feeling in his stomach.

They level out after what feels like ages, and Harry hesitantly opens his eyes again. His insides still feel all twisted up, but he can't help the noise of wonder as he realizes that he's actually flying on a dragon. The air is cold up here, causing goosebumps to rise on his arms. They must be flying over Leona Lake, as it's dark blue beneath them. They're so high up he can see ground beyond the blue, stretching out in shades of green and brown. It's incredible, nothing he'd ever imagined he'd see.

"It's cool, right?" Laurel asks behind her. The strength of her voice is a surprise to him, but he supposes she's done this a million more times than he has.

"It's–" he stops, mind searching desperately for words that could possibly describe it. "It's amazing. Absolutely amazing."

"Well, this is gonna be all you soon, buddy."

He feels the grin on his face before the thrill of the words sink in. For the first time all day, he feels real excitement for the life ahead of him.

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