"I am always gentle,"Onyx protested in my mind, though I sensed his mental equivalent of a grin.
Ravel was lucky to be bonded to him. I had a feeling that other dragons were not as friendly or as talkative.
"They are not,"Onyx said in my head."Most dragons are too full of themselves."
I laughed and then braced myself as Onyx's muscles tensed beneath us. He crouched slightly, and then we were airborne, the initial launch more vertical than I'd expected. My stomach lurched with the sudden elevation change, but the sensation was surprisingly brief. Within moments, we stabilized, soaring upward at a steady angle that felt almost comfortable.
The roof of the Citadel fell away beneath us, shrinking with alarming speed. I shifted my eyes forward and kept focusing on the horizon rather than the increasing distance between us and the ground far, far below.
"You're doing well," Ravel said as we leveled off. "Many first-time fliers close their eyes entirely."
That was what I had done during our first flight together, but I knew he wouldn't let me cower like that again.
"I'm tempted," I admitted, gripping the saddle handles with white-knuckled intensity.
"Look around you, Little Warrior,"Onyx suggested in my mind."What you humans call fear often dissolves in wonder."
Hesitantly, I allowed my gaze to sweep across the vista spreading around us. The mountains of Elucia stretched to the horizon, their peaks gleaming with snow and ice, the valleys between them green and thriving with spring's renewal. And in the distance was the ocean.
"It's beautiful," I murmured, momentarily forgetting my fear in the face of such majesty.
We soared higher, and I realized with surprise that my initial terror was already beginning to recede. There was something about being this far above the ground that was qualitatively different from standing on a mountain ledge or balcony. Up here, the concept of falling seemed more abstract, less immediate, and besides, I knew with absolute certainty that Onyx wouldn't let anything happen to me.
"You're correct,"Onyx said."I will never let you fall. But you should also note the difference between standing on the edge of a cliff and looking at the drop, feeling its pull, and the vastness of the sky where you are cradled by the air itself."
“I never thought of it that way,”I admitted.
Then again, I was a wingless creature, so I would never feel cradled by the air. This was a dragon's perspective that I couldn't share. Still, Onyx's joy of flying and confidence in his power and ability seeped through our connection and became mine in some synergetic way.
The dragon was lending me his strength, and it was intoxicating.
Ravel shifted behind me. "Onyx and I are going to teach you how to communicate your intentions during flight, signaling physically instead of verbalizing mentally."
"Why do I need the physical stuff when I can just ask Onyx for what I need him to do?"
"Because during battle, there is no time to verbalize your intentions. Physical cues are faster, and they become automatic. You don't need to think about them. You just execute the moves."
For the next hour, Ravel guided me through the basics of weight distribution and body positioning to indicate desired direction. I learned how a slight shift to the left would signal a left turn, how leaning forward suggested increased speed, how straightening up indicated a desire to slow or hover.
Onyx was remarkably responsive, translating my smallest movements into smooth directional changes. The synchronicity of it was almost magical, as if we were performing a dance that my body somehow already knew the steps to.
I concentrated, picturing a gentle turn to the right. “Can we turn this way?”I thought, directing the question to Onyx.
"Of course, Little Warrior,"he replied, banking smoothly in the direction I'd indicated."I like the way you communicate. You don't overthink it. You simply show me what you want, rather than struggle to find the right words."
"Images often work better than words," Ravel added, joining our mental conversation. "Dragons think more visually than verbally."
"Are you eavesdropping on our conversation, Ravel?"Onyx asked, his mental tone teasing.
"It's hardly eavesdropping when you know I can hear everything through our bond," Ravel said.
"You didn't hear it when Onyx talked to me in class earlier today," I reminded him.
"True, but that was because I wasn't tuned to him, and he wasn't projecting his thoughts at me. A lot of the communication depends on the intent."
"Always the instructor,"Onyx lamented."Ravel doesn't chat. He either commands or teaches. I have to pry from him miserly morsels of gossip."
Ravel chuckled. "Didn't I tell you what a gossipy bunch the dragons are? They like nothing better than to talk shit about their humans."
