I awoke to the sharp rays of the sun hitting my face. Dawn was well over with and Naxan had curled around my body as he watched the trees with an intense look. My stirring caused his ears to twitch back.

"Twoleg slept late." Naxan continued watching whatever he was focused on. I noticed the shift in his words, he was getting better at forming sentences.

Placing a hand on his side, I felt the strength in his scales through my skin. "I had a crazy dream last night." I recollected my dream. Alec and I sparred until the world around us began to shudder with our wakefulness. He had bid me a farewell after giving me his appraisal. My mouth turned into a small smile, pride still brimming through me.

My thoughts went to the stone that was waiting patiently in my bag. I could feel its pull even stronger than before. My palm itched as I anticipated my next moves.

I riffled through my bag, moving its contents around until my hand grazed its smooth surface. I held the stone in my opposite hand, watching as the stone's glow burned amber against my face. Naxan's curiosity made him turn around to look at what was causing a deep chill from behind him.

Naxan's emotions seeped through the bond in small worry at the unknown object I was holding. "Danger?"

I shook my head. "This is how I found out I was a dragon rider," I said to him. Twiddling the stone in my fingertips. I inhaled deeply before moving the stone to my other hand. I squinted my eyes, tightening my muscles in anticipation. At first, the glow coming from the stone dulled slowly, then, in an instant, the light was snuffed out. The stone was no longer singing it's call. There was no light shining through the angry turmoil of rolling clouds within the tiny orb.

The black lines on my arm suddenly began to move and were becoming aggressive in behaviour. I watched helplessly as the lines moved on their own accord, seeming to tighten around my arm. They clasped onto the stone and held it in place as my body fought internally with itself. With a loud crack that had Naxan hissing and moving away from the noise, the stone broke in half and a whirling, black mass exploded from within the stone. The lines on my arm tightened even more against my skin, and with a silent pull, the black mass of shadows was being absorbed into my skin. The black lines pulsed and shifted as the contents of the stone were being pulled into me.

I watched as my forearm became bare in colour as the lines weaved up and settled around the dragon wings and sword. My body was no longer under attack as the lines disappeared into the upper half of my rider's mark. The wings slightly shifted as if making room for the new occupants now settling with them.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. That was quite theatrical and I had no idea what just happened.

"Feel that?" Naxan inquired. I took a moment to process his words, and then, realization struck. I did notice a distinct sensation, one that felt as if it had always been a part of me. It resided within, and Naxan could detect it through our bond. I could perceive what lingered in the darkness where sunlight failed to reach. It felt as though my mind was intertwined with the shadows, allowing me to feel the essence of anything that ventured into them.

I stretched my mind, testing out my new ability. I bounced from shadow to shadow until I came upon a dragon who was walking under the trees. Her scales were a dark, mosey green. The dragon halted, its eyes on full alert. It shot into the sky, and I lost connection with her.

Naxan gave a proud nod. "Twoleg like dragon."

I raised my eyebrows. "You could sense that dragon too?"

He rubbed the side of his jaw on my shoulder. "Been watching her. Getting close to us."

That must've been what he was watching when I had woken from my sleep. "So whatever was in the stone, must be the dragon rider's ability. And it's connected to the dragon they are bonded to!" I explained out loud to decipher my new findings. I was alit with excitement. I had all this new power at my disposal.

My feelings shifted quickly. Yet, I had no one to teach me how to use them.

Naxan huffed in annoyance. "I teach."

He was right. What better being to learn from than one who is born with knowing how to use it naturally. I scratched under his jaw, the rough scales scraping my fingernails as I do so. His tail smacked the ground happily as he stretched his neck out, his eyes closed lazily in bliss.

The bond running through us hummed. I could feel Naxan's content zip through my own emotions. I wished to the world that he and I could stay like this forever. Lounging in the sun, not having a care in the world what was going on around us. It was almost surreal, this feeling we shared. We were at a place with each other where we held trust. Our bond was becoming stronger by the day, and I knew I wanted this for as long as I lived.

It made me think of all the memories we would continue making through our journeys together. What other things lay in store for him and me?

Our moment of contentment was violently disturbed by the sound of a guttural scream coming from an unknown direction. I twisted and turned my head to pinpoint the sound, but I was useless.

Naxan got to his feet, staring off into the distance. His teeth bared as his eyes saw something I could not.

"See," Naxan said as my vision flooded with his. I gasped in shock as my vision flooded with vibrant images. Crisp green leaves shone brightly with the golden rays of the sun hitting their surfaces. Moulted red and orange leaves dotted the trees and some flitted to the ground in a peaceful drop. "Distracted twoleg, see!" His voice was angrier than I have ever heard it before. It left a terrible ache in my head.

I looked more closely at what he was seeing. The vibrancy of the world Naxan saw was hard to decipher through my eyes. As I focused on an object that stood out from the rest of the surroundings, the image became clearer than I have ever seen. A dragon with scales of fire was struggling in some kind of netting. Its wings were bent awkwardly. The netting it was captured in was stringed tightly around it. Its attempts at trying to free itself were useless.

My vision was roughly ripped away and I was back to looking at the world through my own, dull eyes. Blinking rapidly to regain my sight, my balance gave away and I sunk against a nearby tree.

"We have to help him." I breathed out in short gasps, trying not to upset my stomach any further.

Naxan growled. "Naxan go. Twoleg stays." His obsidian body rippled as he got ready to take flight.

I pushed myself off of the tree. "I'm going too!" Naxan did not like this.

"Slow Naxan down." He folded his wings against his body and turned around to face me. He nudged me back with his snout.

I pushed against his head. "Not if I ride on your back!" He stopped pushing me as his mind churned with thought. I felt hesitation coming from him, along with a displeased feeling. I frowned. "I'm not called a dragon rider for nothing, it's bound to happen sooner or later, Naxan."

"Do not like." He shook out his body.

I placed a hand on his head. "It's something we both have to get used to."

Naxan's mind was reeling at a fast pace. He finally let out a heavy huff. Lowering himself onto his stomach, he looked at me with an impatient glare. Without a second moment of hesitation, I hurtled my body on his back behind his neck. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to do.

His wings extended from behind me as his body was ready to take off into the air. "Hold on." I grabbed onto the nearest horn protruding from his back just before he took off. The wind slapped my face with sharp intensity. I nearly fell back, but I flattened my body against his and kept low.

The world around me zipped in a colourful mesh of green and red. I held on tightly to Naxan. I noticed my hand's sweatiness, I just hoped Naxan didn't. I feared his repulse would grow and he would drop me from his back mid-air.

I felt the shift in Naxan's direction as he tilted downward. He ducked through the trees and descended lower to the ground until he was running on the ground. He slowed and eventually came to a stop.

Poking my head up, I saw that we were a ways away from the red dragon. It had sensed us coming. The dragon's head was already pointed in our direction with a snarl. Its mouth was open slightly, tendrils of smoke were billowing from between its sharp teeth.

I jumped from Naxan's back and hit the ground hard. My hand grazed the spikes of grass that were slowly dying off from the colder weather approaching.

My gaze never strayed from the red dragon. It struggled fiercely as Naxan and I came closer to it. The dragon's violet eyes bounced back from the two strangers in front of it, fear and anger laced its expression.

I didn't get too close to the dragon's mouth. Even though it was tightly wrapped up, I still didn't trust that it couldn't incinerate me right there. The cords of rope were crisscrossing between the sharp teeth of the open red maw, ready to project flames if need be, but he watched the two of us with a fearful eye, determining our next move.

Observing the ropes wrapped around the dragon, I grew angrier by the second. It cut into the dragon's soft spots and left grooves of raw flesh on its body.

"This must be a hunter's trap." I spit out, the red dragon growled upon hearing me speak.

Naxan didn't like how the dragon growled at me and snapped in its face. "Help." Naxan's voice wasn't directed to me, but I could still faintly hear it as he communicated with the red dragon.

The captured dragon growled back at Naxan, but dropped its head onto the ground and didn't make any further protests. Naxan snorted. I could feel that he took the red dragon's cooperation as a submission, and his ego grew. I realized that Naxan might be a superior breed. Many dragons have cowered from seeing his black scales, and others have seen him as a threat. He never seemed too bothered until one tried challenging him.

Naxan moved around the dragon's body and started pulling at the ropes with his teeth. The thick cords took some time to break but eventually Naxan was loosening them. I pulled out one of the knives from my belt and attempted cutting at the thick cords roping the dragon's wings.

With some time, the ropes slackened, and they fell to the ground. The only part that was still tied was the dragon's mouth. I went over to assess the damage, its eyes watching me and the knife in my hand.

"Calm," I spoke softly. The dragon's gaze was piercingly sharp. I cut one of the cords wrapped around a horn on the dragon's head. It shifted its neck from its kinked position. "Just a couple more and you're free."

I could feel Naxan pacing behind me. He sent a warning growl to the red dragon as I cut more of the ropes around its mouth. The dragon, although bothered with mine and Naxan's presence, didn't move a muscle as the ropes continued to fall to the ground. With the final rope cut, I backed away and watched as the dragon shook its head. It stood from its position, looking back to its limp wing.

"Broken wing," Naxan growled in my head. "Won't live." His tail swung viscously behind him. Something prickled inside of me upon seeing the bone protruding from the dragon's skin.

Naxan turned to me. "Will take away misery." I realized what Naxan was saying and looked at him in horror.

"No. There has to be something we can do." The sensation inside of me grew as I looked at the broken wing again. The red dragon's mouth opened and a plume of smoke came tumbling out into the chilled air.

I could understand the dragon's injury clearly in my head. I couldn't see it but I could feel it. The prickling sensation grew stronger from within. Even though I knew I wanted to heal the dragon's injury, there was a tiny part of me that wanted to rip it apart further. To see more bone and flesh. More blood.

I pushed those thoughts away quickly with horror. That is not who I am. I wanted to heal this dragon, not harm it.

With that final thought, the sensation grew stronger. I crept up to the dragon slowly, not taking my gaze away from the broken wing.

Naxan growled at me to get back to where he was. I could sense his fear in the other dragon hurting me, but I pushed forward. The need to heal this dragon was strong within me. I placed a hand on the still dragon. It didn't move as it watched Naxan. He was ready to spring onto the dragon at any moment if it tried anything against me.

"Calm." I looked at the dragon, its gaze meeting mine with a sharp look. It flinched as I moved my hands towards the broken wing. I could clearly see the injury within my mind now. My mind hummed with power that went to my fingertips and into the dragon. It snapped its mouth shut and a pained expression glazed over its face.

With a painful crack, the bone was snapped back into place and the opened flesh was sealed. I jumped back as the dragon thrashed. Watching as its expression turned from pained to bewilderment, the dragon settled its movements. I myself was just as shocked at the experience. The wing that was hanging limp was now being tested out by the dragon. It moved with hesitation, but there was nothing wrong with it anymore.

The dragon looked full of power as it stretched out its wings and launched itself into the air. The trees bent back slightly as the dragon flew away. Leaves fluttered overhead and fell to the ground. The dragon was gone. Nothing but my own staggering breathing filled the silence.