Alek nodded. "Mhm. On my bucket list of things to do before i die, I suppose." He said, eyes flickering for a moment, his smile slipping slightly, before he looked the same as he had. He was still sitting down, and was looking up at the big dragon curiously. "And you know, maybe it isn't the human dream, but it's been my dream, and I'm human, so…" He shrugged.
Seig seemed to tilt his head, if only for a split second. He then moved forwards, towards the door in the cage which led to the main building of the Aviary.
“If it is your dream, then I suppose you would want to fulfill that, right? I could offer to help with that..” ..If only to feel the wind on my wings again, the dragon kept his second statement within his mind. His pupils shifted towards the human again, awaiting a response.
Alek stood. "So…what are you saying?" He ask, looking at the dragon curiously. His right hand drummed a strange rhythm on his leg. Strange only because of the missing fingers, the stumps of which twitched as if trying to drum.
“I’m asking you if you want help with that dream of yours. Look who has the wings here. You said you wanted to fly.” Seig unfolded one of his wings, though he did not completely stretch it out yet. It seemed it was just to prove his statement. He folded that wing back up.
He noted the missing fingers, though said nothing of it.
Alek smiled slightly. "Alright." He looked at the dragon. "So…what do I do?" He asked. "Obviously you know more about this than me." The dragon was much older, and had had riders before; of course he would know more about it than Alek.
“Well, we’ll need to go to the balcony. You can get to it from within the Aviary. It’s usually a place where new riders practice their flying. We’ll decide what to do from there.” He moved towards the opening in the cage, preparing to leave. Seig knew the way to the balcony, after all.
Alek nodded. "I'll follow you, then, since i assume you know the way." He replied, smiling. He wondered why this dragon had chosen him, if he hadn't chosen a rider in years.
Seig pushed the door out with his snout. He moved out, expecting the human to follow, and proceeded down the large hallway of the Aviary. It wasn’t all too odd to see a dragon walking around, especially with a human. Even more so around this time, since there were people and dragons almost everywhere, and probably would be there for a few more hours.
They would eventually arrive at what seemed to be a massive doorway, though there were no more doors to be seen. Instead, it was like a large balcony. There could be some riders seen taking off, or just getting back. Or maybe getting ready.
“We’re here.” Seig announced. The light of the day showed off some of his features more clearly as well. It seemed he had quite a few scars on him. They seemed fairly old, though. None of them were recent.
He scanned for an area that was somewhat cleared, and not crowded.
Alek smiled slightly, tipping his face into the sun for a moment. "Okay. Where do you want to go?" He asked, looking over at Thunder. He raised his eyebrows slightly at the scars, but didn't ask about them. It wasn't his business, after all.
Alek followed him, and hummed for a moment. "That's a good question." He replied. "I mean…yes. Maybe not well, but yes." He walked over to Thunder.
Alek nodded, and climbed up onto Thunder's back, holding on slightly nervously.
Alek nodded, then realised that the dragon couldn't see him. "Yeah." He said aloud, biting his lip slightly, nervous. How is this going to go? He wondered.
Seig unfolded his wings, his wings were large which suited a dragon of his size. At the edges, parts of his wings were torn at the edges; though it was a common sight in older dragons. Or at least dragons a few centuries old.
He looked down. The ground was far from them, so he studied how he’d take off for a few seconds. He backed up slightly, then started at a slight run, then off the edge.
For a moment, it was as if they were falling, though he immediately stretched out his wings, which seemed to even out the balance. He flapped his wings a few times, with 10-15 second intervals between each group of flaps. Though he hadn’t flown for a while, so it was clear by the slight waver in his flight as Seig began to try and even himself out.
Alek yelped, and hung on tightly to Thunder. He laughed slightly, forcing his eyes open against the wind and grinning.
Seig had evened out his wings and seemed to be flying calmly at the moment. He looked around, before exhaling. “Feels good to be in the air again,” he murmured to no one in particular.
Occasionally, another rider could be seen here and there, but they all seemed to be doing their own thing. The sun was warm on Seig’s scales, which was another feeling he missed.
“I do not mean to dampen the mood, but I have not chosen a rider yet, either. A dragon only chooses their rider once they tell their true name.”
Seig turned slightly, and some birds flew up next to them.
Alek looked down at the dragon, and nodded. "I understand." He replied. "And…its alright. You've at least helped me achieve this much. Thank you." He said softly. He closed his eyes, enjoying the breeze in his face and the sun on his skin.
"Hm." Alek thought for a bit. "I don't know. It's… Strange. We're the only species that doesn't have natural weapons. We're kinda… boring? And those of us with magic can have a difficult time mastering those abilities." He shrugged slightly.
The dragon seemed to laugh, though it was hard to tell. “Boring? You humans are rather clever, if I have to say anything about it. I have personal experiences, believe me.” Though he kept flying, Seig glanced behind them, craning his neck slightly to look. He wasn’t looking directly at Alek, more so behind him, although there was nothing there. He returned to looking forwards.
“Some of you are so clever you’re annoying. No offence, of course.”
He paused.
“I was aware humans had magic. Dragons are some of the original teachers of it, though that goes back thousands of years. Way before I was born.”
He chuckled. "No offense taken. And yeah, I guess we're clever, but like…so are crows." He shrugged. "To be honest…some human magicians need to chill the fuck out. Really. They take offense at everything."
“Heh. I’d agree with you, but I haven’t met that many magic bearing humans in a while now. Out of all of the riders I’ve had, only 2 of them actively used magic. The others preferred weaponry. I suppose it is a tricky ability to master.”
He blinked.
“Crows may be clever, but crows couldn’t develop some of the technology that I’ve seen in the past centuries of my life. When you live in a world with dragons, you defend yourself in whatever way you can..and believe me, some of those nets humans develop are quite hard to get out of. I dread to imagine what they’re like today.” Seig realized that Alek may not know what he’s referencing, so Seig added in, “I’ve been around lots, fought in some wars. Humans needed inventions to take down rival dragon riders, so they made it.”
The birds that had flown around them previously seemed to have left all of the sudden.
"Oh. Alright." He said, closing his eyes for a moment. He thought. "I guess you're right about that." He acceded, opening his eyes and looking at Thunder. He looked around curiously. "Oh hey, the birds are gone. That's weird."
“We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.” He added, before returning to the current events.
Seig huffed, though it was not of frustration. “I know. There’s someone near.”
As he said that, there was a large gust of wind when another rider appeared, doing a complete circle over the two that were already there. Finally, they settled down to reveal another dragon, and a rider on top. The rider wasted no time when he sat up and turned his neck to the two, and in a mocking voice shouted over at them, “What a silly looking dragon you got there, unlike Yvol!” The rider’s lower face was not visible, though he seemed to chuckle as his dragon, ‘Yvol’ chortled in return.
“Hypocritical words..” Seig muttered quietly.
"Yeah? Well that's a fucking retarded dragon you've got!" Alek shouted back. "His eyes look like they go two different directions!" Without thinking about what he was doing, he stood up on Thunder's back, looking over at the other rider. "Plus, you're pretty silly looking yourself, sitting there all high and mighty." He crossed his arms.
Seig growled, partially at the other two but also at Alek. “..Sit down!”
The other rider seemed taken aback, but his dragon answered for him. Yvol seemed to shout, but it was a feminine voice that came out. “HIM? I am no drake! I am a Drakaina, thank you very much! Of royal blood, too!” She seemed very insulted. The other rider also followed up on his own, “Yeah, and you’re speaking to another royal blood here! Tack, going to be king of this land eventually!”
“King? You can’t even say that with confidence, wyrm. What kind of name is Tack, anyways?” Seig almost spat out, defending himself.
Alek sat down with a sigh. "Oh? Royal? That explains why the both of you are so ugly!" He taunted. "And Tack? That's the stupidest name I've heard in my life! Tack is what you put on a horse before you ride it!" He shouted. "And miss dragon, if you don't want people to think you're a Drake, then stop looking like one!" Maybe, he acceded, it was stupid to pick a fight like this. But they started it!
Tack almost seemed to growl, but it was rather quiet compared to the one Seig had done moments before.
“Watch yourself!” Though it was hard to see in his expression, he seemed to be getting annoyed by Alek and Seig, more so the former. Tack unveiled some chains, with at the end were spikes, almost like hooks. Yvol simply focused on flying.
Seig growled again. “If you attack us, you’ll ruin all chances at becoming a king in the future. However, I think this encounter is over.” Seig decided not to egg on them any further. Tack was young, and the Drakaina, Yvol, was young as well. They’d get their lesson sooner or later. With that, before anyone could say anything, Seig turned away and began flying back in direction of the Aviary again. Not before flapping his wings though, sending a gust of wind at the other dragon and rider, which seemed to surprise them. They seemed to not follow, however.
“I would rather avoid any conflict right now. Especially in the air.”