The Light Fury and the Archeologist

Making a Saddle

Think of Toothless's saddle, just modified differently.

After her first flying lesson with Opal the night before, Lara was going to see if she could make a saddle similar to Shadow's so she could ride her dragon when she flew through the sky without falling off.

Once she'd visited Jade in the hospital, the young woman still unconscious, but making a slow recovery, Lara went out and bought some leather for the saddle, she got some needle and thread to help stitch the leather together. Once she was finished, the brunette headed home to begin her project.

At home, she stood outside with Opal beside her, a measuring tape in hand as she measured the size and length of Opal's neck to get the right measurements. She smiled and patted the Light Fury before heading into the garage, taking out the leather she'd bought and placing it on the work bench, pulling out a few tools and laying them down beside the leather.

Lara grinned and began to outline the shape of the saddle, making sure it was the right size before she started to cut it out, once it was cut out, she outlined two more pieces to add to the first, making it more comfortable and began to stitch it all together. She cut out some strips of leather for the loops of the saddle, to hook around Opal's neck and body.

Hours went by, with the wolves checking in on her every now and then, making sure she ate and drank before going back inside the house to be with Alisha. By five in the afternoon, sweat dripping from her forehead, Lara backed up to examine her work.

The saddle was about the same size as Shadow's, just slightly smaller. There were loops that would connect around Opal's neck and body, holes cut into the leather so Lara could remove it anytime, there were stirrups for her feet and handles where she could hold onto during the flight. The brunette smiled, now there was one more thing to do. Put it on and test it.

Picking it up, Lara headed outside. "Opal." she called, almost immediately, the Light Fury bounded to her side, sniffing the saddle. "What do you think?"

Opal cooed and Lara gently placed it on the white dragon's back, making sure she was comfortable, she'd added some soft padding so the leather didn't feel uncomfortable for Opal. Then she started to secure the loops around the dragon's neck and body, making sure they were tight and didn't move, she didn't want the saddle sliding over the side while flying, how would that look!

Once the loops were secure, Lara backed up, it looked actually pretty good despite her not knowing anything about sewing. She grinned. "Does it feel too tight?" Opal shifted her weight, finding the saddle very comfortable and it didn't move with even the slightest movement, which made Lara very happy. Opal growled in thanks.

"Now all we need to do is test it." Lara approached Opal, even if she'd spent all day building the saddle and despite last night's flying lesson, Lara was sceptical about riding on Opal's back. The Light Fury, even though Lara was her friend, wasn't known to let people ride her.

But the Light Fury stayed completely still as Lara mounted the saddle, fitting perfectly. She put her feet into the stirrups and gripped the handles, leaning forward slightly like she was on a horse. "Okay, ready girl?"

Opal unfurled her wings and with one leap, she was in the air! Lara, this time, didn't scream, she just held on as the Light Fury shot into the clouds, smiling as the wind caressed her face and hair, drying the sweat she'd had on her forehead from working all day.

"HA HA! IT WORKS!" she shrieked in joy, letting go of the handles and spreading her arms wide! Her face was a picture of pure joy!

Her yell of happiness echoed through the air as Opal spun, ducked and weaved through and around the clouds, creating her own little obstacle course, grinning at the joy Lara was radiating! She was happy too, she had not just a good friend, but a rider. She'd never imagined she would be like this, in the sky with a human on her back. If someone had told her four months ago that she'd break her wing during a fight, bond with a human and let that same human ride on her back, she would have blasted you to hell! But she was, and she wouldn't trade it for anything else!

Flapping her wings, she shot a plasma blast in front of her, folding her wings as she flew right through it, disappearing and giving Lara a experience she'd never forget. Opal became visible a few moments later, glancing up at Lara, who grinned and patted the side of her head in thanks. The Light Fury purred happily and kept on flying with her new rider.

()()()()

While Lara and Opal were out, Alisha, the wolves and four dragon's were inside the house. The teen was tucked into Soren's side, watching a movie with them. Soren was resting on the ground in front of the TV with Alisha curled into his side, sitting on a cushion so her bottom didn't get sore from sitting on the floor for so long. The movie they were watching was called The Avengers, the new marvel movie that had recently come out on DVD and Lara had bought it for them.

Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion were cuddled in her arms with Shadow lying beside them, his head resting on his paws as he watched the movie too. But he was restless, he missed Jade and wanted her home so they could go flying like they used to. He cooed in sadness, drawing the wolves and Alisha's attention.

"You miss her, don't you, Shadow?" Maya asked, they all knew how much he missed the Snow Queen, they missed her too, but until she woke up, they could do nothing about it.

"We all miss her, Shadow." the Night Fury's head turned as Soren spoke, his green eyes full of sorrow. He only huffed and turned away.

The movie soon ended and Alisha went to get something to eat as the front door opened, Lara and Opal walked inside. The Light Fury wore a saddle similar to Shadow's just smaller. He got up and headed over, cooing softly at the Light Fury, who warbled and headed over to where the wolves sat.

"Well, guys. The saddle is done and it works!" Lara told them excitedly, grinning like a mad woman as Alisha walked back in with a peanut butter sandwich on a plate, biting into it while sitting down next to Soren once more.

"Really?" the teen asked through a mouthful of white bread, looking up at Lara with wide eyes. The brunette nodded.

"Yeah, it works and Opal likes it. Right girl?" Opal wandered over, nudging her head under Lara's outstretched arm, purring happily as she gazed at the wolves and teenager.

"That's wonderful news, Lara." Soren smiled warmly at Lara, the brunette receiving congratulations and well done's from everyone.

Drogon and his siblings were perched on Hugo's back and they crawled onto Alisha, settling on her shoulders and in her lap, the teen allowing it since they too, missed their sister dearly.

Drogon squealed happily, flapping his paper thin wings. "Well done, Lara!" he said, projecting his voice into her head. She smiled and nodded her head.

"I think this calls for a celebration. Movie night!" Keena shouted enthusiastically, jumping to her feet, the others just looked at her before bursting into fits of laughter at her excitement.

"She's right, movie night!" Maya agreed.

So everyone agreed to watch a movie to celebrate Lara's success in making Opal's saddle and while they ate dinner later that night, they all were curled up or laying around the couch as the movie X-men played. Despite all that had happened, all of them knew that Jade would recover from her wounds and be back with them soon.

All done. Enjoy and comment.