Shadows

Night closed in, but sleep did not take the barracks. The rotation had been particularly swift lately; the Militia was preparing for something. Linus and Radice had better things to worry about than what the Militia was ramping up for; what the Militia intended to do after they left didn’t matter to them in the least. No, the real problem was that it made sneaking through the shadows hard. The two were doing their best to stay out of trouble–or at least, trying to keep their trouble out of sight. 

Radice was the only one who gave her orders, and he would turn his attention conveniently elsewhere if he suspected she was going to be disagreeable when away. Any time Lino felt ‘whimsy’ and played on the training courses, he was always focused with work. Such was the case now; While he was busy training, the dark dragon slinked between the shadows of furniture and wall hangings, darting out of sight whenever someone approached. Lino might have been large now, but the shadows hid her every toe. She crept into the natatorium, eyes peering out to see if anyone was nearby. The pool area was dark and empty. Even the trash that lined the edges sometimes had been swept away, which meant she wouldn’t have a pesky janitor bothering her.

Lino smiled and slid into the pool. Her scales roiled as they hit the chlorinated water, but she managed to hold them together. Her first expedition into the pool had ended in an ink-colored disaster, but her magic was even better now. Her main body held. The Worm writhed in the water, but it could handle itself no matter what she threw at it, it seemed. Perhaps there was a touch of dark magic in its roots. She tentatively spread her leather wings, letting her skin adjust to the pressure before getting to work. The last thing she needed was for them to disintegrate during practice again. Today she would fly. 

She sucked in a lungful of air and then dived deep into the water. The pool accommodated ocean dragons, so it gave her more than enough space to practice. She beat her wings and powered through the water, doing her best to exercise the muscles. Linus had seen other dragons fly, both with her own eyes and through Radice’s memories, but she had never been trained to do so herself. She peered through the water as she mimicked flight. Every now and then, a small spirit would dance in the corner of her eye–a reminder that they needed to leave as soon as possible. The ghosts of dragons, humans, Naki, and unrecognizable creatures flickered in and out of these depths. The Militia worked them too hard here, took them beyond their limits, and left them to die when it was clear they didn’t yield the desired results.  

As dragons grew in strength, so too did their usefulness; The Militia would work her to the bone and beyond if they knew she was ready to fly. Lino grinned to herself. Certainly, she was a flight risk. She flapped harder, doing her best to channel whatever primal instinct a dragon had to fly, straining against the water pressure to move forward bit by bit. The water got through the cracks in her beak, so she did her best to close her throat and press on. Practicing above water was impossible with so many eyes watching, but she had to learn somehow. She felt her chest grow tight and she swam up for air, hoping she wasn’t causing Radice discomfort as they both trained.

To her surprise, the pool grew bright as she surfaced. Had she been so deep she hadn’t seen the light turn on? She poked her snout out like a crocodile, eyes flicking around, trying to find a shadow to dive into so she wouldn’t be seen.

“Lino, is that you?”

She almost gasped in water as she recognized the voice. “Curt? What are you doing here?”

The blond boy fidgeted nervously in front of her. “I had a feeling you’d be around. You should go back to the barracks before someone sees you.”

Someone like you, Lino thought, eyes growing narrow and dark. Grim was always watching through Curt’s eyes. Lino coughed and sputtered, flailing around as if she was drowning. “Help! My legs aren’t working anymore!” A ruse–hopefully one this gullible Rider would fall for. As expected, he scampered to her side and grabbed her by the head. He leaned back, doing his best to pull out the viscous dragon from the pool. They made a loud slurping sound as he finally pulled her free. She played up her distress and panted. “Thank you Curt, I was drowning,” she lied. “I guess I’m too weak to swim.”

Curt smiled weakly. “Perhaps so. Ventures like that are dangerous, both to you and Radice. Don’t hurry to grow up.” There was something sad in his voice. He stretched out his hand carefully, slowly getting closer to her until he could pat her head. She narrowed her eyes, wary of his touch, but allowed him to pet her spines once or twice before snapping at him with her beak. A simple pat was enough to pick up his mood, and he seemed to glow gently with happiness. “You aren’t supposed to be here. Anyone can see you–maybe they already have.” He brought his voice down to a whisper. “There are cameras everywhere. I can take you back to the barrack room in my shadow, if you like.” Lino nodded and phased quietly into the darkness beneath him. She trusted the Rider, even if she didn’t trust his dragon.