'Here you go, sir. Hope you had a good time.' the valet worker said after he climbed out of my car and handed me the keys. I nodded, and me and Aidey climbed into my camaro. 'Wanna go for a drive?' I asked Aidey.
'Why not? Have any place in mind?' Aidey asked, and I nodded. I already had today planned , and so far, it was going well. Well, except for the part when Aidey cried, that is. Close to the restaurant there was a mountain hill that had a great view of the ocean below. I was planning on going there. There I would park my car and propose to Aidey. Hopefully she would accpet my proposal and test me out.
And hopefully, I would pass her test.
Dragons tended to test one's to be partner in a harsher way if they loved each other very much. That was to see without them getting blinded by love. And from the way Aidey acts to me and from the amount I love her, the test would be hard as hell, no doubt. I was by no means fat, but was also by no means the fittest dragon either. Those thoughts made me stiffen a bit out of nervousness, and Aidey noticed me stiffening. 'What's the matter? Anything wrong?' she asked. I just shook my head, and continued driving. Hopefully I will pass her test, and before that, hopefully, she will accept my proposal.
While I was thinking, we arrived at the place I had thought of. Pulling me out of my thoughts, I pulled my car off the streets and parked it on the curb. I motioned Aidey to follow me, and got out of the car. 'What are we doing here?' Aidey asked, closing the door behind her.Thankfully, she looked like she had no clue of what was going on.
'To go for a walk.' I replied. 'Thought we could use some cool air and some good sight. You're not against it, are you?'
'Oh. Well, of course not! Which way?'Aidey said, enthusiastically. Smiling, I led her up the mountain road, walking slowly. Aidey caught up quickly, and walked beside me. Together, we gazed at the sight revealed in front of us. It was truly beautiful. The moonlight shown across the wide open clear ocean made it look beautiful as well as mysterious at the same time. We walked in silence, just enjoying each other's company, until I broke the silence. 'Aidey,' I called. 'I have something to tell you.'
'Oh?'
'Well... I suppose ask you is the better word. So...'
'You can tell me anything, you know.' Aidey said, soothingly, squeezing my hand. 'What is it?'
'Will you... Will you be my mate?' I asked, preparing for the worst. I really hoped that she won't turn me down.
'What?' Aidey said, and my heart dropped. Maybe she would turn me down after all. 'Can you repeat that please?'
'Will you be my mate?' I asked, a bit more clearly and loudly, looking at Aidey. Aidey looked a bit more puzzled as she looked puzzled from the first question, then said '...yes?' uncertainly. Then I realized my mistake. 'Sorry.' I said. 'That was a bit out of place, wasn't it?' I said, sheepishly.
'Yeah, it was.' Aidey replied, smiling a bit. 'But hey, that doesn't change my answer. Yes, I'll be your mate. After a few tests, of course.' she said.
'Of course.' I replied, thankful that Aidey didn't take any offence. 'What will it be?'
'Hey, you can't just expect me to have any ideas after you asked like that! Give me some time to think!' Aidey said, playfully and happily punching me. I laughed, said sorry, and we continued on walking while Aidey was more in thought than looking at the sights. Finally, we reached the highest part of the road and sat down on a nearby bench. There were other mated dragons or couples like us walking around the place like us. But there were also dragons who just cam out for a walk or a flight as well. So it wouldn't look too strange if Aidey came up with a strange idea, unless it was bizarre. After catching up to breath, I led Aidey to a nearby coffee shop and ordered two cups of coffee. An Americano for me, and a Caramel Macchiato for my lover. We thanked the barista, and went back to the bench. We simply sat there in silence while sipping on our drinks.
'So, I take it you're ready for the test?' Aidey asked, turning towards me.
'Yes.' I replied. 'So, you're ready to give me the test?' I asked.
'Yup. Just follow me. I'll tell you when we get there.'
So I followed her. She walked through a trail that got us closer to the cliff, and stopped in front of the cliff. Then she spread her wings, and looked at me. Aidey just nodded at me, and jumped over the fence, and towards the ocean.
I was expecting everything, but not this. Panicking, I followed Aidey and tried to save her. I called out to her, to stop, asking what I've done wrong, desperately. Aidey just ignored me and continued to dive into the ocean. Panicking harder, I flapped my wings with all my might and tried to catch up to Aidey. But no matter how hard I flapped, I just couldn't catch up to Aidey! She had a better wing to body ratio, and that made it hard to catch her. The ocean below got closer and closer, and the closer it got, the more I panicked. What was wrong with her? Did I actually do something wrong? Was it all my fault and did I push Aidey to do something that she didn't want to?
Was all of this just my will and none of Aidey's?
The ocean was just over a meter far now. My panic meter got as high as I could, and I screamed at Aidey to stop. Aidey didn't listen. The water got closer and closer. I prepared for the worst to happen.
Then, at the last minute, Aidey opened her wings and shot up into the air. I thanked the gods that she wasn't going to commit suicide, and looked at my front again.
The water was so close!
It had to be at most 30 centimeters ahead of me. Panicking hard, I angled my wings and tried to get out of the situation. But I had the velocity from coming down so fast, and I wasn't able to shoot up back into the air like Aidey did. 30...20...10... I was slowing down, but wasn't able to shoot up back into the air. The water continued to come closer.
Splash!
I hit the water. It was damn cold! Of course, being winter, I expected it, but that didn't mean that it wasn't cold! A shock went through my body and I froze for a second. But then I regained control of my body again and tried to swim back out of the water. I finally broke the surface, and took in a deep breath. I really missed the air, after being taken from me by a surprise. Up in the air, Aidey was looking down at me with a concerned face. Flapping my wings, I got the rest of my body out of the water and flew towards Aidey. 'Are you ok?' she asked.
'Yeah. Thankfully. What was that about?' I demanded. Then Aidey laughed, which confused me. 'It was the first test I gave you, you clueless dragon!' Aidey laughed while saying, and I just shook my head. So it had all just been a test. What a sight I must have made, and what an idiot I must have looked like, screaming at Aidey to stop. Aidey just laughed harder, and slapped my wing with hers. 'Come.' she said. 'You've passed the first test, but you still have a lot left ahead of you.'
'I passed the test?' I asked, surprised. 'But I hit the water!'
'Yeah, yeah. You did. But that test was all about devotion and trust. And you passed it.' Aidey said. 'Now are you going to follow me or not? As I said, you have a lot left.'
I groaned. If this was just the first test, the rest would probably be a nightmare. 'Lead the way.' I just said, and laughing, Aidey flew ahead of me,and I followed.
