Knights of Eithia

Ricia

Retired M
(Close to @Autumn , [MENTION=3676]vaarsuvious[/MENTION] , @FrostMischief and Myself.)


“Congratulation on graduating Dragon Core Training and Academy! You will all now be transferred for a Core base or places here. You will also be paired according to your scores in the Partnered Training and Tests that you had taken over the last few months. Because of The Dusk we will require that you remain with your Dragon Core Companion when taking flights or in any unfamiliar areas. Please get along with your Companions and work together well. Congratulation, you are dismissed.” The Instructor then saluted everyone and then pressed his hand back down to his side and nodded for everybody to leave.


Rhea breathed a long sigh of relief and felt herself bring her saluting hand down and pressing it to her pounding heart. She made it! She was an official member of the Dragon Core! Every bit of her was excited. She wondered who her partners will be. She felt like she had gotten along with everyone relatively well.
The room was an auditorium style room with a class that was possibly around 100 students large. As soon as the Instructor dismissed everyone, the new Dragon Core members started piling out of the room to go look at the lists that would put everyone into a squad of four.


“Rhea, Calina, Norgren, Victor. Please see me ASAP.” The Instructor called over the swarm of members, just as he started to turn into his office.



Oh no, Rhea thought, maybe she really did fail, maybe she was getting let go right now? No, other people he called did too well in her opinion to not pass. Holding onto her chest she began to approach the Instructors office, butterflies swarm in her stomach with fear. She looked around at the other around her to see their own reactions.
 
(where are our dragons?)


Vaarsuvious heard the instructor's order and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself before walking tall and strong into the office. He saw Rhea and thought she looked worried for some reason. Hmmm... ~I wonder what the instructor wants... maybe we're the best and he has a special assignment for us!~ He strained to contain a shivver of excitement as visions of glory and victory flashed through his mind. When everyone is in the office, he salutes and asks, "What would you ask of us, sir?"
 
Calina could do nothing to hide the broad grin on her face. This is what she always wanted and she had finally achieved her goal. She could do something useful now instead of working for her parents and taking over their company. She felt the happiness and relief spread through her. She had made it and now she could start her life, the life she had always imagined for herself.


Calina was pulled out of her reverie by her name being called.



"Rhea, Calina, Norgren, Victor. Please see me ASAP," was all Calina heard. Her excitement quickly dissipated and was replaced by a feeling of anxiety. What had she done? Why was she being called? She glanced around, noticing that a lot of the activity had stopped around her and people were openly staring. She squared her shoulders and walked confidently towards the instructor's office. Yes, she was nervous. However, there was no point in showing anyone else any weakness. She kept her eyes focused on the instructor's office door.



Calina was a small girl in stature but she made up for it in her attitude. She had to make up for the first impressions people had of her by being unwavering and strong. She knocked solidly on the office door, waiting for him to allow her entrance.



 
A sigh of relief escaped Victors chest once the entire student body was dismissed and he head his name called by the Instructor. It had been a very claustrophobic like experience for him to be jammed into a room of loud, excited, students of various ages and decible of sound. Victor waited till the mass of bodies completely cleared then casually walked over to the Instructors office, not paying and heed to the other three who were called. Maybe he was getting a low job of doing nothing but cleaning and small tasks like that which kept him isolated from the rest of humanity for his "-does NOT play well with others-" remark on his file. Then again...how could it be if the others that were called upon were social butterflies compared to him.


He sighed again with the thought and approached the door, he gave it a stiff knock before entering silently to wait for what is to come.
 
Once all four new Privates were settled the Instructor pulled four envelopes off his desk and placed them individually between the graduates. After each received an envelope the instructed moved to go sit down behind his desk.





Clearing his throat he began with an explanation, “You four have been assigned Companions, but I did not call you in here for that. You see, you four were out top graduates in both the Core Training program and the Core Academy. We have been given orders down from the Aria Headquarters that the next top graduates will be transferred to Aria Headquarters for a special mission. Now don’t get your hopes up, in my opinion, it is really nothing special. But regardless, this is an honor.”


Rhea could not help to let a small quite sigh of relief escape her lips. She felt herself relax a little, but then tense up, with excitement this time. The instructor continued after a small pause to let the recruits take in the news.



“I would like you four to keep this between yourselves. In this folder is the map and location to your new post, nothing on the mission, you will be briefed when you get to your location. I would like for you four to leave today since the morning has just broken. You will be reporting to Sergeant Major Symon Maui, Major Maui to you. When you get there, be sure to hand Major Maui your folders with your transfer information. You four are dismissed. Fly safe.” The Instructor saluted one last time and then nodded to let them know that they may leave now.






Rhea jumped out of the office, her heart beating fast. They got a special mission, they just graduated Dragon Core training. Rhea wondered if they were even ready for this. Turning around to look at the others Rhea took a deep breath and stared at them. Only two of the three were she truly failure with. Calina she knew from somewhere she couldn’t place. She had talked to Norgren a few times during Core Training, he was friendly enough. Victor on the other hand Rhea knew little about, he had kept to himself.






Familiar with the map, Rhea knew that the fly to the new base where they were assigned was about a 3 day flight
. I hope we all get along, Rhea thought. “I hope we can work together well, my name is Rhea Adorra, my Dragon is Roen…” Rhea said, introducing herself. She looked more at the folder in her hand then she did at anyone else. After introduction they will probably need to get their things and leave in a few hours.
 
Calina's smile returned when she heard the instructor talk about their assignment, not that he gave much information. She was one of the top graduates. A sense of pride filled her and she nodded as the instructor continued. Calina was overeager to get to Aria Headquarters and learn about her assignment. She looked over at her partners. She really knew very little about all of them. She had tried to talk with as many people as possible during her time here and as a result, she had made no close friends. That was honestly how she preferred it, though. Strong relationships get in the way of being a competent and able leader in her opinion. Some people would accuse Calina of being too focused on success and not enough on her personal life. Calina definitely didn't agree with those people.


When they were dismissed, Calina immediately studied the map to make sure she knew exactly where they were going. She walked out of the office, eyes trained on the map. She heard Rhea introduce herself. Calina glanced up, looking at Rhea as she stared at the folder. She vaguely remembered her but she couldn't quite place where. Calina made a mental note to try and figure out why she looked so familiar.



"Calina Satoru," she said quickly. "Pleasure to be working with you all."



She hoped it would be, anyway. If this were a big mission it could mean that these people would be partially responsible for her life. Calina really wasn't comfortable with that but she knew that she had to do this to get any further in her career. Obviously all her partners were able: they were the top of the class. She decided to not think about it too much and just relax. They weren't chosen randomly and they wouldn't be given an assignment they couldn't handle.



 
Through the entire small speech that the instructor had to give, Victor stayed his unchanging face of emotionless neutrality. Though, he did suppose he felt a bit honored...for a few seconds, then remembered his purpose and promise for joining and the feeling quickly dissipated. He sat quietly through the rest of what the instructor had to say then got up at the end and took a copy of the map just to be safe, he wasn't going to take any chances for mistake on something he supposed was indeed fairly big of a task for a few newbies to the official Core. Victor left the office in an unhurried fashion and was stopped outside with short introductions from the girls.


He sighed a little, quietly to himself, supposing he should probably introduce himself, though he thought by now, everyone should know his name and face. He knew their names and faces and that was all he had needed and wanted to know. Victors mood slightly died with the thought of having to actually put effort into getting to know these people now, even though it was unavoidable, that didn't mean he still wouldn't like it. It was a necessity, not a want.



Vitor, however, did break the silence with his soft and quiet, but firm voice, "Victor Creed." He stated simply, "..Nice to meet you."
I guess...He added on in his mind.


There. The awkward part that he always hated was over, hopefully he wasn't forced to speak too much from now on. That only left the task of getting to Aria Headquarters smoothly.
 
Vaarsuvious heard very little of the instructor's speech. He was too distracted by the idea of working with Rhea. He wondered how he could possibly focus on any of his assignments with her working at his side. He was surprised when she introduced herself, shaken from his deep thoughts. Then he heard Calina and Victor do the same, and even after that, it took him a moment to remember that it's polite to reply in kind.


"My name is Vaarsuvious," he began, "I swear by my bow, and by the songs in my heart, I will protect you three with my life. You can count on me."


When he'd finished speaking, he went and sought out his dragon. He knew she'd be worried about him even though he was in good company.


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Khadvalla sat on a rooftop, sunbathing. She couldn't quite relax though, because she had no idea where her two-leg was. She knew that he would somehow aggrivate some other two-leg and then he'd have a metal-fang pointed at his belly.


She let out a puff of smoke, irritated that he always found a snake hole to crawl into and invariably get bitten.


She saw a swarm of two-legs filing out of the building and she looked for hers, but he was nowhere to be found. She growled deep in her gullet and spat a small amount of fire into the sky. What could have happened now?? She wanted very badly to tear through the tall-fake-cave-building until she found him, but she knew that would upset the other two-legs, so she sat back down and eyed the entrance in stoney silence. Some minutes later, her two-leg came out and she pounced on him. "Why were you late, who did you insult this time, and how many do I have to shoot fire at before it's solved?" She spoke to him through their telepathic link and growled at the same time, making for quite an impressive display.


"I'm fine," he said out loud and with his mind, "We've been selected for a special assignment, now let me up before I have you made into a pair of boots!" he joked, chuckling.


Khadvalla got off of him and let him stand, then nudged him with her snout, saying, "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, you know how I worry." Then, he jumped on her back and they flew to their tree house in the nearby woods to collect their things and prepare for the journey.
 
Calina nodded as everyone introduced themselves. She couldn't say she was more reassured but at least she knew who they were now. "Well, we should get a move on soon. Let's pack and finish any business that needs finishing. We should meet out front in an hour and leave together," Calina said, her tone business-like. She was actually really eager to get moving. She desperately wanted to find out what the assignment was. "See you in an hour," she said, turning from the group and walking to her room.


Calina was lost in thought as she made her way to her room. What could the assignment possible be? Surely it couldn't be something too important. After all, they had just graduated. Would they really be entrusted with something of grave importance? She thought about her group: she wasn't sure how she really felt about them all. Victor was stoic. That was a trait that Calina generally liked but if they were to get to know each other and be responsible for the lives of each other, she needed to know he had more emotion than what he showed on his face. She needed some emotional involvement from him to feel comfortable. She made a mental note to work on it on the trip to headquarters.



Rhea was shy and quiet. Calina hoped to bring her out of her shell. She believed that the group needed to be strongly interconnected if they ever hoped to be successful. Calina wanted to know as much as possible about her. She hoped it wouldn't be too difficult getting her to talk. Rhea seemed able and a companion that she believed would be helpful later on.



Calina was undecided about Vaarsuvious. He seemed willing and eager to start the mission and get to know everyone but Calina knew little about him. She decided to work on that on the trip as well.



She pushed the door open to her room, feeling better now that she had decided on a plan to get to know them all and bring their group closer together. Calina's thoughts turned to Esmer. Esmer wasn't one to trust very easily and Calina predicted that would be an issue, especially with this group of people she hardly knew. Calina busied herself with packing her belongings, trying not to focus on what the difficulties of their assignment would be. As she shut her bag, Calina glanced around the room that she had called home for a time. A frown appeared on her face. When would she see her parents again? She sighed and shook her head. Collecting her bags, she left the room, making her way to the front of the building. She was quite early but that would give her time to calculate the details of their flight and ready Esmer and her things.



Calina emerged into the slowly growing light, dropping her things momentarily to study the map again and plot their trip.
 
Vaarsuvious finished packing the necessary supplies for the journey, and khadvalla watched him. Hey eyes studied him like those of a cat, blank and calculating, calm and curious. When all the necessary preparations were complete, Vaarsuvious jumped into the saddle once again and they flew back to the main building of the school. Vaarsuvious loved flying, and he couldn't imagine why Khadvalla ever walked anywhere. It's such a freeing experience that he would rather lose his legs than lose Khadvalla and her ability to fly.


They reached the courtyard and saw Calina and Esmer, so he got off of Khadvalla and they both walked over to them, shouting greetings as they made their way across the cobbled path. "I know we've been training together for the majority of our time here, but I can't say I've ever gotten to know you." he began, "Tell me about yourself; what makes you tick?"
 
After everyone introduced themselves, Calina took charge and began to tell everyone to gather their things and come back in an hour. Rhea wanted to find Roen first and tell him everything that had happened so far, so she ran outside to find her scaly partner. Behind her she heard a dragon land and a growl and frustration. Rhea turned around and saw Norgren’s black dragon land on top of him and she looked kind of mad. She only laughed at the situation as Norgren pushed his dragon away. Continuing her searching for Roen she scanned the field and watched as several of the dragons crowed around there human partners. She spotted her dragon sun bathing lazily a fair bit away from everyone else. Roen was a large dragon; his muscles were bulky under his scales that shined a brilliant green.





Walking to him, Rhea told him everything that happened through their link: everything being the mission assigned, their transfer and the new partners . He raised his head to look at her as she approached. She named him who their team mates where, and in turn he named their corresponding dragon partners.
That female black dragon, Khadvalla is the smallest of us all. Envy is second largest to me, especially for his age. I am the eldest and largest of all dragons, Roen blew smoke from his nostrils. The last dragon is Esmer, she annoys me. Rhea sighed in disapproval. You don’t even know Esmer, don’t make such conclusions so readily, She scolded him in their link. Roen snorted again and turned his head to watch the Black dragon and her human.


Roen was the only soul she could stand up to, the only soul she could be confident with.
Go pack Rhea, I will be here. Roen said, shooing her away with one large claw. Rhea nodded and hugged his head, then ran to go pack her things. She wasted no time getting back with her bags and the saddles necessary for the trip. Her sword placed at the side like usual, and her complete Core Uniform. When she finished saddling Roen with her things, they walked together to the building, noting that Calina and Norgren were already there, ready and talking to each other. Rhea wondered if she should stay back, she did not want to interrupt them, that would be rude. Roen let out a long breath and approached them group because he knew Rhea would not. Rhea followed behind him, latching herself to his foreleg.


When they reach the edge of the group, Roen properly greeted the other dragons in Draken, giving them a simple hello. Rhea wished it was possible to learn Draken. But for some reason the language had some kind of magical properties that no one could learn it. Not even the Fey can learn such a language. Still attached to Roen’s leg, Rhea waved at the two but did not say hi. She did not want to interrupt their conversation.



(Happy Thanksgiving guys, you have a great one. :) )
 
Norgren's stomach churned as Rhea approached, and he dropped his conversation with Calina. He still had no idea how to act around her, and his emotions spilled through his link with Khadvalla. Stop that, she scolded him, you're making me want to snuggle her myself!


What would you have me do?
he replied, I have to figure out how to compose myself and the only way to learn is through practice.


Or you could simply ask her,
Khadvalla suggested, and Norgren felt something like a chuckle through their link. Bah! That wouldn't work! he lied. He knew in his heart that it would probably be the best way to handle the situation, but he was too afraid, and for no apparent reason. He hated himself for it, it was completely illogical.


"Hey," he said to Rhea, having completely forgotten Calina's existence.
 
Victor had been swift to leave and gather his things, he had packed the bare essentials not really having too many items of personal interest. Not but 10 minutes later he had set out to go to the desired meeting place knowing Envy would find him eventually, though, he had become distracted just simply staring at the leaves fall from a tree for most of the hour. Envy had eventually found him and sat next to him with a big dragon like sigh.





I wish I could be a tree...He sighed, their so peaceful and have to worry about nothing. They take their food and energy from the sun and grow so tall and strong...don't you want to be a tree, Victor?


No, not really.
Victor said softly in return. I'd rather just be who I am, and I'm content.


The conversation ended there and Envy panicked when the hour was almost up by a minutes time. He was the one to gather Victor out of his tree staring contest and go to where the others had already met up. Not that he minded be the last one to show up, but Victor sighed in slight from the thought of being started at as he arrived. He figured since they were already talking, it wouldn't hurt to just stay quiet. He took up a spot not too far from everyone else and just leaned against Envy's long foreleg and waited for someone else to speak to him before he felt like even attempting to talk.



 
Vaarsuvious saw Envy and Victor approach, and when Victor simply leaned on Envy's foreleg, he approached. "Victor, right?" he began, "Tell me, what do you think of our assignment?"
 
Victor sighed softly to himself when he saw Norgren approach him, he figured talking would be inevitable and sure enough, the questions were asked.


"I don't think anything of this assignment yet." He replied simply and softly with no notion of explaining or continuing on with this conversation.



Envy, however, would have loved to talk to Norgren if his voice could be heard, for he knew Victor sure wouldn't talk for him and he didn't want to make him. Instead Envy just lowered his head to Norgrens level and looked at him with happy big eyes and a slight dragon smile, if dragons even could smile.
 
Norgren reached out and put his hand gently on Envy's snout, ackowleging his presence. "Well," he said, speaking again to Victor, "You're certainly not much for conversation... I'll make it short then. Can I count on you when the shit hits the fan?"
 
"That is a decision you will have to make." Victor said, and was all he was going to say.


Envy snorted softly at his partners difficulty with people, and nodded his head slightly to Norgren, confirming that they could be counted on.
 
( :( … one lines is what I don’t want to see. That was one of the requirements that was down for joining this RP. Sorry I hate to be a stickler. Also I put down like… 1 quarter of the map on the page.)


Rhea smiled when Norgren has said Hi to her. Before she could really say hi back, Victor and his dragon approached the group, making everyone accounted for. Norgren took an instant interest in the new member and migrated toward them.
He must have a short attention span. Rhea thought between her and Roen. Roen made a low growl that sounded like a chuckle.Smiling with him, Rhea let go of his forepaw and walked over to Calina and gazed over the map she was holding. “It looks like a two and a half day travel on dragon back. “ Rhea said quietly to Calina. “it should be relatively quick journey as long as we stay on course and leave relatively early when we wake up.” Rhea smiled weakly at Calina.


Roen on the other hand wondered over to Envy and Vaarsuvious, Speaking to them in Draken. “The sun has blessed us today with its warmth. Today will be a good day for flying.” Roen did not speak to the two dragons in Draken because he felt the need to hide their conversation just that he felt like it was polite to speak to his own kind in their native tongue.
 
"Indeed it is. These two-legs, however, seem to be content puzzling over their land-pictures and whatnot. What say we firechildren take to the sky and see what there is to see?" Khadvalla replied, also in dragon tongue, her tail twitching like that of a cat.


Vaarsuvious, feeling left out, asked her through their link what was going on. Nothing of import, she said through their link, I am going to stretch my wings for a time. And she flew off before the other dragons had a chance to reply. She knew they would follow if they were going to, so waiting was pointless.


"Well then," Vaarsuvious said loud enough for all his companions to hear, "What say we figure out how we're going to get from A to B?"


(Sometimes, one line is all you need. I felt that I was communicating more than the words I used by only saying what I did. I'll try to limit one-liners, but sometimes words just get in the way.)
 
Roen nodded at Vaarsuvious and spread his own wings to take off. Leaning back on his hind legs, Roen pushed his bulk off the ground, flapping his wings several times to get off the ground. Unlike some dragons that can pick themselves off the ground in seconds, he still took several seconds to get off the ground. When he was air born, he spread his wings full length and tucked his feet under his chest. The sun on his back felt just as amazing as the thought it would.


Following Vaarsuvious, Roen quickly learned he will probably be the slowest flyer in the group. Looking down to the ground, he noticed the instructor and another dragon core member slowly walking towards Rhea and the group
. Incoming, your instructed is approaching you. Roen spoke to Rhea, sending her the Image in his head.


Rhea looked up from the map to see that Roen was right. Rhea waved to get everyone’s attention and pointed at their instructor who was almost here. With him he had another dragon core member. The dragon with him was extremely small, relatively compared to Envy and Roen anyway, both whom were larger than full grown dragons.



When the instructor finally approached, his own grey dragon circling over his head, he motioned for a young man to come closer. “I am glad I caught you guys in time before you left. I had some orders passed down and I need to add an extra member to your mission.” As he finished speaking, his grey dragon landed next to him.



“This is private Kaname and his dragon Draco. Draco may seem small, he is only 10 years old, but he is very capable. Try and take care of each other, and be careful.” The instructor then turned around, mounted his dragon and they took off. Rhea watched him go and then trained her sight on the new comer and his adorable tinny dragon. Rhea thought the dragon looked fierce but cute. She had never seen a dragon yonder then 20 years.
 
Calina rolled her eyes at Norgren. His infatuation with her was slightly infuriating to Calina. She generally didn't approve of such emotions as they got in the way of her own personal goals. Plus, she didn't feel that it would be good for the group. She sighed and looked at the map once again.


Calina looked up at Rhea and returned her smile. "I hope we can manage to leave soon. I really want to get on our way. I'm actually quite interested to see what our assignment will be," she said, storing her map in her back pocket.






Her dragon, Roen, is absolutely infuriating
, Esmer said to Calina through their link. A small smile appeared on Calina's face: Esmer absolutely hated working with anyone so she knew that there would probably be some tensions between her and the other dragons. Esmer glided around, keeping an eye on Calina. You never like anyone, Calina shot back. Either way, they all seem relatively capable, Esmer responded, ignoring her comment. Esmer kept her distance from the other dragons, observing them. Esmer was never one for socializing. She seemed to be the complete opposite of Calina. Calina loved to talk to new people and form connections. Calina looked up at Esmer, watching her as she flew, wishing she were up there with her.


Calina was pulled out of her daydream by the approach of her instructor. She squared her shoulders and watched as he approached.






Another one!?
Esmer practically shouted through their link. Calina winced at the frustration in her tone. Esmer snorted, frustrated, as she landed near Calina. So young, too, Esmer muttered. Probably going to have to watch him.





Calina smiled at the newcomer, trying to seem welcoming even though Esmer's frustration was starting to taint her own emotions. "I'm Calina Satoru," she said, extending a hand to shake. "Nice to have you with us," she continued. She hadn't ever noticed him in training. She wondered why because she had generally made it a point to notice anyone who seemed above average. She was slightly frustrated with herself for missing him completely because he was obviously capable since he was assigned to their group.
 
Not wanting to spark an argument over if Envy should go join the other dragons and fly, Victor simply leaned forward and off of Envy's leg to let him go, though he did not go yet. The instructor was approaching and the sight made Victor sigh with annoyance, he already had to deal with three other people, then along came lucky number four.





This dragon is tiny...
Envys soft voice ran through Victors head but he did not give a reply. Envy took this as his sign that it was okay to leave for a few minutes and fly. He moved away from the group a little as to not gust everyone to death with his wings. Despite his rather large size, Envy raised his wings and was up and out in three great pushes towards the sky. He sure wasn't as quick as the smaller dragons to get up but wasn't as slow as Roen, Envys slender body and abnormally long legs helped with his sorta fast take off but still, he became envious of the smaller ones and their ability to take off and sometimes climb altitude faster than he could.


Back on the ground, Victor found it best if he just didn't speak until the new guy or anyone else asked him a direct question. He had already spoken too much for one day compared to his usual of maybe just a word or two. So the idea of talking even more wasn't all that appealing, especially if it was useless things like his name, they should all already know that, and if this Kaname guy was any better than him, Victor wont have to introduce himself again.
 
Vaarsuvious was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the instructor until Kaname was introduced. "Oh, hello," he said, quickly returning to his thoughts. He had begun to stew on the big question of the day: What is this mission which is so important, yet small enough that four... I mean, five new recruits would be sent? And why all the fanfare? Surely a mission involving stealth similar to that of a small team such as ours would be kept under a much tighter lid. Maybe... maybe it's a suicide mission! A sacrificial martyrdom planned by the creeps with super high ranks!


...He'll have to keep his eyes and ears open if he wants to get to the bottom of all this nonsense.
 
(As promised, two day. Moving on.)


When the introductions were over Rhea looked at Calina and gave her a small nod. “we should go.” She said.
Roen its time to move on, come back please. Roen did not respond, but she felt a tingle of excitement tremor back through the link. When Roen landed with the other two dragons, Rhea went through one last check to make sure the saddle and equipment were properly set on him.


Rhea sometimes felt like she was climbing a mountain when she was mounting Roen. Roen would lay on the ground rather flat and use his fore claw to lift her up as far as he could, from there she uses his wing joint to pull herself up the rest of the way. When she finished strapping herself in with safety belt so she wouldn’t fall out she looked back up at the rest of the group to see if they were ready.
 

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