36- The Flight

With each step my anger, frustration and annoyance grows. 

She can never be damned pleased with me, I excel at basically everything else and she always picks out one damn thing to shame me for..though that one damned thing could kill me soon if I don't manifest it... or unable to control it..if it ever decides to show up.

" Fury."

I keep walking, not in the mood for Xaden's comments at the moment. " Sorrengail..." His tone get more annoyed and louder as we walk, I only walk faster. Soon his hand grabs my wrist stopping me " Freya." He finally says, almost a tone of plead in his voice.

" What?!" I snap as I continue to walk beside him.

He doesn't seem affected by my outburst, instead just sighing as he matches our pace. " I wouldn't listen to a word that women says."

" I'm not." 

" Really? I can see the steam basically coming out of your ears."

I scoff, " Shouldn't you be enjoying her picking at me? Telling me I'm not good enough? That whole conversation should've been music to your ears!"

He looks intently at me shaking his head lightly " Well it wasn't."

I roll my eyes, " Yea because you care so much about  taking care of your inconvenience to yourself and our dragons.."

He grips my shoulder stopping us, He looks away trying to keep himself composed before he looks back at me. " Your not an inconvenience."

I pull my shoulder roughly away from him, " Then what am I then huh?! You don't care, you and I both know you don't give a shit about me!"

" I do." He says simply.

Those few words make me feel all.. warm inside but I push it down shaking my head. " No..you don't. You only care about the survival aspect of it, so don't you dare try making me feel better or something! I already know I'm nto perfect and liked like Brennan and Mira, I already knew that, I'm not them-"

" No Freya.. your not them." Xaden interjected. " You don't need to be like them. You have grades just as well as Brennan and just as good, infact better reports then Mira on all your combat reports."

I open my mouth but he doesn't let me say a word, " Yes. I check, not only do I need to keep you alive, I make sure your doing well in everything your doing. Which you haven't been tutored so that's saying something. I know for a fact your also grounding better then anyone in your year too, so stop selling yourself short you got that? Now stop feeling bad for yourself and switch this damn conversation."

He continued to walk, now just a shoulder ahead of me. I set my lips in a hard line as we continued, " You told her all questions got resolved? What did you mean by that?"

He seems to visibly stiffen before he shakes his head ever so lightly " That's a conversation for another day and one where I'm not this annoyed and pissed at the same time."

" You-"

" I'm only warning you once. If you press the issue I might actually do something to hurt you, I said knock it off." He snaps looking now at me once more with that flare of anger.

I snap my mouth shut looking defiantly back at him, I knew he wasn't joking either apparently the conversation really did set him off. " Fine..sorry." I mumble.

The tension is his body seems to soften as he still looks at me, " Is this the first time you ever actually genuinely apologized to someone?"

" Who said it was genuine?"

The smallest, tiniest hint of a smile appears on his face making me return a bigger one as we look at eachother for a few seconds, I could feel the tension rising, I saw a small quirk his his lip and all I want to do is just feel them against mine once more.

Feel him once more.

 I saw his eyes skipping over mine a few times before his focus was broken my the flapping of wings. He blinks a few times rapidly looking just over the smaller hill seeing 3 dragons appear. " Come on." He says quickly walking once more at a faster pace.

" So, what are you exactly wanting to teach me? I'm sure you have a plan?"

We go up the stairs seeing my dragons make me instantly warm inside forgetting about what happened almost now an hour ago. " I want to see how you and Rhys operate. I've only heard of your lessons, never seen them."

" Heard?"

I chuckles, " You think these people don't talk about how you two seem to pound laps around the rest of them, added with Rhy's dramatic flare?"

There was a low growl making Xaden glance in Rhys direction. " And Andarna needs practice, she can't be in the Vale all the time, she's big enough she needs to learn how to keep up with us and learn that ways of a bonded dragon."

" So.. your just going to..watch us?"

He shakes his head, " No.. I'm going to see how well you can stay on." There was a sinister smile that appears now making the hairs on the back of my neck stand I don't like the sound of that.

He must know I still don't understand because he explains, " In battle you'll most likely be on dragon back. The most common way to kill the enemy is knock them off your dragon or gryphon. Normally, and disable the dragon from getting you so you fall and..splat." He smiles once more.

" So your finally deciding to kill me?"

He shrugs, " Not that lucky. Segyl was the fastest until Rhys decided to show up so we'll be coming after you and.. you'll be coming after me. If you can get me off... twice. Count that was one of the wins to leave you alone."

" And Andarna?" I mention to the small gold dragon.

" She just needs to try to keep up and build endurance. If she wants she can try knocking me off as well."

"Hear that?" I ask her.

" I did. Though I'm not to fast yet but I can try to defend and help you." She answers back meekly.

" That's all I ask. If you need a break-"

" I'll be alright, I assure you."

 I look back at her, she blinks widely back at me. I look back at Xaden.. " OK. And do you want anything out of this?"

He raises a brow, " Your asking me if I want a prize?"

I nod, " Or should I be regretting my decision?"

He smirks, " No. I don't want anything from you. At the moment."

He goes to Segyl climbing on not waiting for me as they take off. 

" I don't want to lose." I say to Rhys.

" You know I don't either, I don't care if it's Segyl." He chuffs making me smirk. " So you better hand on White one and don't embarrass us."

" I'll attempt not to fall, you'll catch me right?"

" Maybe the Wingleader will." 

 I could hear the amusement in his tone as I glare at him. " Your such an ass."

I climb on and we were off, he rockets off heading straight for Segyl and Xaden who were just siting there seeming to wait. We go barreling at them, I thought for sure we were going to collide but at the last millisecond Segyl lurches upward grabbing my shoulders picking me right off Rhys dropping me..

I screech as Rhys dives right below me so I smack onto his back.   " Didn't I just tell you to stay on?" He growls.

" Didn't you know they were going to pull something just sitting there?" I counter.

 He snarls plummeting downwards where Xaden and Segyl were flying, Xaden looks back with a kiddish grin as they plummet as well. 

We were just at the same height when Segyl got so close to Rhys and I that me and Xaden could literally touch, he leans over my me grabbing my hair pulling me backwards.. falling off again. Though the spun around catching me a second later.

" Come on Fury this is almost boring!" Xaden calls leaning over looking at me dangling my Segyls talons.

 " Shut the hell up Xaden!" I yell.

He sighs, " I suggest you drop that attitude." He smirks tapping Segyls leg inches away from my arm..making her drop me.

" Xaden!" I scream.

Rhys was right there to catch me making my blood boil. 

He needed to get me off at least 30 times, Rhys just caught me again as they spin around flying upward. " They sure twist alot.." I mumble.

" It's her style." He answers back.

" And what's ours?"

" Tight maneuvers and fast flight changes not to mention my speed." He says confidently.

" Can't do that if we're in the open. We need to draw them-"

There was a gust of air Rhys twists downward barely escaping Segyls talons to grab me. " Good, you didn't get plucked off."

" Keep moving!" I yell " We need to draw them somewhere where theres not much room! Like-"

The cliff, during lessons it's a tight fit for the dragons where they normally slow..not for Rhys though.

" The cliff!"

" And if Segyl gets hurt?" He asks aloud.

" Don't tell me you've been holding back this whole damn time! My shoulders are throbbing where you and her keep grabbing me!"

He doesn't respond proving me suspision, " I'm almost disappointed."

" I will drop you." He snarls.

This whole while Andarna has been trying to keep up though she keeps taking breaks more and more. And again she's perched on a tree watching us with heavy breaths.

" Stay there." I demand. " We don't want you to get accidentally hurt."

She stays, guessing she got the memo as Segyl comes at us again. Rhys lurches up just like she did the first time nearly grabbing Xaden before he ducks looking up at us. " Nice try!"

I send him the finger and we take off, I hear him yell something though I couldn't make it out. " Give them all you got!"

Rhys switches again going back at them a few more times getting Segyl annoyed. I hear her roar and they're on our tail. Just like we wanted...

We get in the cliff side Rhys weavign through all the openings at ease, Segyl does the same though she's a little slower.

I see an opening pulling Rhys up, I know this part, we can come back around and we can grab him..Rhys skies up, Segyl following, as soon as she does I knock Xaden off.. she went so fast she didn't realize there was a rock in the wat as he lurches opposite where Xaden was..

Sending him back into the cliff.

" Shit!"

I push Rhys forward and we plummet back down once more, he was just about to hit the stone when I reached down grabbing his arm, pulling back at the pommel making Rhys accidently roll us on the clearing up top.

We both fly off hitting the dirt roughly, I grunt a couple times before Violently coughing with Xaden.. piled right on top of me.

" Fricken Shit Fury.." He pants his face right my my neck making me shudder lightly before he pushes himself up. He snaps his head to Rhys and Segyl who just landed looking at the both is us with worry some eyes. Andarna landed quickly as well scampering over.

He sighs, " They're ok.." He looks back down at me " Are you ok?" He still pants, his lips mere inches from mine. I nod, not really able to say anything with him so close.

He seems to quickly look me over pushing off of me with a grunt. " I got to hand it to you..that was..Deadly. But in the best way possible. And you got me off so.. A win for you."

I still lay there, I feel my heavy breathing now as I smile back up at him laying my head back down. We might've almost just died but it was worth it.

He looks down at him laughing a little, " Your crazy you know that?"

I simply shrug, " I've been called worse."

He offers his hand.. I slap it away " No knife in the neck for me."

" Now your learning."