Survivors of the Wild - Larry Stylinson

Chapter 9

They go back to a more regular schedule after that. Harry has lessons with Liam the next morning and training with Louis in the afternoon, with extra training from both after dinner. Liam teaches him a more exact history of the dragon riders than the one he learned in school back in Fernstart. Harry moans that he doesn't understand why it's important to learn the history in the short weeks he has before the dragon comes.

Liam fixes him with an intense look and says, "You have to understand the history and story of what you're becoming a part of. There is a reason why we do things the way we do, there are traditions and a way of life that can't be fully understood until you understand the context and reasons behind them."

Harry just nods, eyes wide. Liam sighs, deflating a little. "I'm sorry. I know it's tedious. But you'll get it when you've been here longer. There are people out there that are against the way we do things. They're very dangerous, and we want every rider to understand why we are how we are."

Louis takes him to the same training grounds as yesterday again, hauling a large, long bag over his shoulder. They drag Liam along to help for a bit. Garza's already waiting for them there, curled up as if she was just napping. She stands up slowly and shakes out her legs, greeting Louis by pressing her cheek to his and nodding deeply at Harry and Liam.

"Alright," Louis says, dropping the bag. He opens it up to reveal a bunch of long, wooden poles with crosses of various sizes. He lifts one up and hands it to Harry. "This is your sword today." He picks another one up and keeps it. "And this is mine."

"Okay," Harry says slowly, spinning the thing around by its handle. It's got a cross near the bottom imitating a handle, and the part he's holding is wrapped in black gauze of some sort.

"We're gonna learn how to use these today." Louis grins, twirling his own pole. "When you go to Vroengard, you'll get your own sword made specifically for you. They're really cool – they hold energy in the hilt and the stone, so if your own energy isn't enough for something, you can draw on that."

Harry nods, remembering the stories of riders he's heard since he was young. "Do you still use them, though? It's pretty peaceful now."

Louis says, "More than you'd think. Especially for me and Garza, when you're transporting the eggs you find plenty of uses."

Garza blinks her blue eyes slowly. "There are many wild creatures that want to try their hand at eating dragon eggs. And rebel groups who try to steal eggs."

Harry open his mouth immediately to ask a question, but Louis says quickly, "It's not a problem. We keep it quiet, because there aren't many of them and they're easy to handle – we don't want to alarm people." He pauses, smacking the pole in his hand. "Besides, you need to know how to use it in case something does happen."

He doesn't wait for Harry to respond before instructing him to watch him and Liam demonstrate some of the maneuvers. Harry watches in fascination as they spar in perfect synchronization, Louis yelling out each of the moves as they perform them.

Louis brings it to an end a few minutes later, easily knocking Liam's pole out of his hand. He turns to Harry with a giant grin. "Think you can do that?" he asks.

Harry sputters out, "Are you crazy?"

Liam snorts, retrieving his pole. "He's kidding. We'll show you the basic ones slower and then you can drill them."

It turns out, Harry is really awful at sword fighting. Like truly awful. After teaching Harry the basic moves, they'd moved on to drilling them. They've been at it for hours, and Harry ends up tripping or dropping the pole or something else disastrous every time. Liam sat down a while away under a tree after a while, frustrated with the lack of progress. Harry's pretty sure he's napping now, head cocked in a funny angle.

"Ok, ok," Louis says, dropping the pole. "Let's take a break, yeah? Let me think of something new."

He walks over to the lake, Harry and Garza following, and strips off his boots and socks before walking into the shallows. Harry follows suit, Garza right next to him. Louis strokes down her nose gently before stepping back. "She loves swimming," he says shortly, before Garza is trotting through the water and diving, splashing Harry and Louis with water. Harry shakes out his damp curls and watches as Garza comes back above the water a while away, black head shaking off the water.

"Dragons can swim?" he asks.

Louis has his arms crossed, leaning back and watching the black dragon dive under again, tail flicking above the surface briefly. He grins at Harry. "Of course they can. The trick is tucking their wings in."

Louis looks good like this. He's got on another scoop neck today, and it's damp from the splash. The way it clings to his tanned skin is intoxicating, but Harry can't take his eyes off how bright his eyes are in the sun, especially with his wet fringe clinging to his forehead. Harry flicks his eyes away when he looks over, shuffling his bare feet in the sand.

He can feel Louis' eyes on him now, and it makes his cheeks feel hot. He blurts out the first reasonable question he can think of. "So, um, can I see your sword?"

Louis blinks at him owlishly. "Is that an innuendo, Styles?"

Harry smacks a hand to his face. "Oh my god."

"Jesus, Curly." Louis starts laughing, bending over and holding his stomach. Even his laughter is pretty, high and sweet and just the perfect amount of rasp.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh my god, mate." Louis lets out one last soft laugh. "I know what you meant! And maybe. If you improve by dinner, I'll show you it sometime."

"Are you sure that's not an innuendo?" Harry wiggles his eyebrows, cheeks dimpling.

Louis reaches over and smacks him in the arm. "Show some respect, I'm your mentor and you don't even have a dragon yet."

Harry snorts. His hands come up to hold the egg unconsciously, making him look like a pregnant woman. He'd put the sling back on after drilling, and it's warm and solid against his chest.

"By the way," Louis says. "We're going for a run tonight, and I'm having Liam write up an exercise routine for you. Your stamina is shit."

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