As promised, I showed Naxan what I meant by a porcupine. He and I had flown down from the mountains and into the forest below, in search of the prickly creature. I tried showing him an image from my memories, but he did not believe what I was showing him. He thought I was making it up. However, once he laid eyes on one, his curiosity got the better of him and he got too close to the tiny critter, which resulted in Naxan getting a face full of quills.

So here I was, pulling quills out of an angry dragon. I felt that his pride was more wounded than anything. But there was something funny about seeing him squirm whenever I pulled a quill from his hide.

"Should have let Naxan eat the pork pine." He glowered as he looked at the eight quills accumulated by his feet.

"Then I would be pulling these out of your tongue." I pulled the last quill from his nose and threw it onto the ground. His nose crinkled and he let out a loud sneeze that rustled the leaves around us. "Bless you." I laughed.

"Will hunt pork pine down and kill it." Naxan seethed, glaring into the forest around us.

I grabbed my pack from the ground and secured it on my shoulders. "The porcupine was only defending itself, Nax." I patted my dragon's head while walking further into the trees. "Come on, we'll find something else to eat."

I had hunted down a rabbit while Naxan went off to hunt for himself. He grew impatient of my methods of hunting and flew off to find something bigger for himself to eat. He said something about me being too slow and loud and that my stick wouldn't be able to take something larger to the ground. I knew he was right, but a bow and arrow are all I had for hunting, I wasn't as fortunate as him with the claws and teeth his body supported.

As I was roasting the rabbit's meat on a spit, Naxan came back with a large boar in his claws.

"Nice catch," I said over to him as he placed a protective clawed paw over the creature.

"Want?" Naxan tore off a strip of the hide and threw it over to me. It landed in my lap, blood and all.

I groaned. "Thanks, Nax." I got to work on cleaning the meat and cooking it along with my rabbit. The rabbit's meat was close to being finished. My stomach grumbled in anticipation.

Naxan was ripping apart the boar beside me, making a noisy ruckus as his teeth pierced through flesh and bone. His tongue forked out occasionally to test the air of any unwanted visitors around us.

I ate the rabbit meat, watching him devour his meal. He ate the entire thing and picked through the stomach for any other treats he found inside. It was mainly plant matter and berries, although boars are known to eat meat as well. Wild boars are the same as pigs, and they're not picky eaters. My family had two pigs that we fattened up to later butcher and eat. We fed them what we called slop. Among other things, they ate leftovers or food that was slightly too old for us to eat ourselves. They weren't hard to manage, but we had to be cautious if they caught the scent of blood. Then that's when they became dangerous.

The feeling of homesickness ran through me. The number of times that occurs in a day was hard to count and keep up with. But it was hard to not think of my family and the memories I shared with them. I wondered how they were doing, especially mom and dad. They had their eldest children taken away from them in one day, they must feel lonely in such a quiet house without us there.

Chay, Keaton, and I would always cause a ruckus in the peaceful village. We would verbally and physically start fights, sibling feuds I should say. Our parents would always scold me the most because a lady was not supposed to speak and act in such manners. I would constantly remind them that even though I was born a female, I was not a lady.

Now, Chay and Keaton were becoming soldiers, they most likely already were as it had been several months since I had seen them last.

If only my parents knew exactly what happened to me.

My thoughts were abruptly shaken as I picked up a distant call that sounded like a dragon. The noises it was making made it clear that the dragon was in distress. I gave Naxan a look. "Another day, another dragon."

After we had freed the dragon from another hunter's trap, Naxan and I flew around the island in search of other traps that were still lurking around. We had incapacitated another four of them, but I'm sure there were more somewhere.

Naxan and I called it a day when the sun sunk behind the earth's horizon. My body and mind were bone tired and I fell into a deep sleep until Alec appeared in my dreams. He and I were practicing my sword-wielding skills, which was a completely terrible experience. My movements were slow and sloppy and my stamina was wearing thin. Sweat beaded my forehead and dripped down my back.

"Always keep moving. You're less likely to die. But seeing your movements, you'll most likely stumble right into their sword." I groaned as Alec's movements surrendered me into a hold, his sword inches from my neck.

"I'm hopeless." I scowl, scuffing my feet on the dirt.

Alec pushed me backward. "It's time you start recognizing your achievements, or else you'll never be a good fighter."

I looked at him confused. "What achievements? My movements are horrendous, and you just proved that I'll walk right into my opponent's trap." I glowered, feeling my anger rising. My body was already overheating, but with the added emotions I could feel the heat waves pulsing off of me.

Alec shook his head. "You're improving far more than you realize. With every session, you've lasted longer each time. Your movements aren't as horrendous as when you first started, they're becoming more fluid and natural. You're learning from your mistakes fast, and you've corrected them." Alec's words made pride bubble from within. "You're doing very well, Navidean."

His face became serious. "You'll soon be at the Academy, and you'll be training with everyone else, where you should be."

I scoffed turning away from Alec. I stabbed my sword in the ground. "They threw me out, Alec. They were most likely going to kill me. If I go back there, what's stopping them from doing just that?"

Alec's hand pulled on my shoulder harshly, turning me to face him. His eyes smouldered, the silver becoming darker. "You're a dragon rider now. If they kill you, they kill your dragon. But they won't get that close because Naxan will kill anyone who threatens you."

I was quiet, thinking of his words. He spoke the truth. With a dragon by my side, they surely could not deny me my right to become a full-fledged dragon rider. They would have to accept me, but what if they don't because of what happened in history? What if they think I'll become exactly like my ancestor and see that as even more reason to kill me?

"What if they still try to kill me?" My stomach churned at the thought.

He places a soft calloused hand on my cheek. I didn't shy away from his show of affection. "Navidean, you are stronger than you think. You are a dragon rider as well as a Rin. Your powers extend further than my knowledge. The Gods chose you for a reason, just as they have chosen every dragon rider for a reason."

My thoughts turned sour upon thinking of those girls who came before me. "Others before me weren't able to become dragon riders because of the Council's ways of thinking. If other girls are dragon riders after me, I want to make sure they are not killed. They have a right to become what the Gods destined them for."

Alec smiled while placing a hand on my shoulder. "Then get it done."

I awoke to something cold hitting my face. It tingled slightly but disappeared from my body heat. I opened my eyes to see snow softly cascading from the sky. Soft and fluffy snowflakes littered the ground around Naxan and me. The earth was still warm and was slowly melting the snow.

"Nax," I said to the sleeping dragon beside me. I could feel through the bond that he was awake, but his eyes remained closed. "Nax," I repeated. He hummed softly. "We'll have to find a place to stay for the winter. Snow is coming."

He cracked an eye open, and they darted around to watch the falling flakes of white. "Never seen snow." He lifted his head, flakes landing on his face. They instantly melted from the heat pulsing from his body.

I forgot Naxan was still under a year old. He hatched once I was in contact with the Choosing stone. He said he could sense me after I had claimed the stone as mine, and that is when he hatched. He lived on his own for the entirety of my adventure to get to the island, and that is when we finally met.

He uncurled his body from around me and watched the thick snowflakes fall from the clouds. He seemed mesmerized. His tongue occasionally forked out to catch the flakes. "Dragons of ice will like this weather," Naxan stated, watching the snow for a moment longer before fully getting up and stretching out his body.

"How many dragon breeds are there?" We seemed to run into a new one every day.

"Many." He continued to stretch out his body, extending his wings until he was satisfied. "Fire, ice, water, storm, wind, earth, and darkness." He stood proudly as he named himself.

"The only thing dark about you is your scales." I scratched behind the horns on his head. He was enjoying the attention I was giving him. Stretching out his neck and closing his eyes, he softly hummed through the bond. I stopped scratching him, which he wasn't too pleased with, but I wanted to look for a sheltered place as soon as possible. I didn't want to be stuck in the snow with nowhere to stay warm.

I mounted Naxan's back and once I felt secure, Naxan took off into the air. The flakes around us swirled with the shift in airflow, breaking apart easily and becoming tiny ice crystals glittering with the sun. As we peaked above the trees, I saw just how thick the storm was. The sky was completely white and the visibility was close to null. I was having difficulties seeing anything around us as we flew in the air.

It was as if someone had heard my worried thoughts and decided to increase my nerves. The wind picked up suddenly and in an instant, we were surrounded by a blizzard. I told Naxan to land, and that it would be easier to navigate through the storm on foot instead of in the air. It was too dangerous for us to be flying in such conditions. Naxan landed with some difficulty, trying to dodge oncoming trees in our path.

The snow was piling fast on the ground. I pulled out my animal hide and wrapped myself in it, trying to stay warm against the weather's assault. I laid myself against Naxan's back and huddled close to his scales, the warmth of him seeping into my bones. I was glad we wouldn't freeze to death.

Naxan was heading in the direction of the nearby mountain range. We wouldn't be able to fly up to the fire dragon's nest, but there may be better shelter down below under overhanging rocks.

I peaked out from my animal hide to look around, but since I couldn't see anything surrounding us, I kept my eyes closed. It was a little intimidating how quickly the weather turned against us.

The wind was still howling around me, but it was no longer hitting me as intensely. I looked around and Naxan had found a makeshift shelter. The rocky overhang would serve as a good enough shelter for the time being. I hopped off of his back and my boots hit the ground. I couldn't hear anything other than the wind as it overtook any other sounds around us.

Naxan and I settled on the ground, his body curling around mine as I huddled to get warm. "Weak twoleg." He said with a joking tone. He spat a ball of fire onto some dried debris. The wind threatened to quash it out. I used my boot to pull it closer to me and stuck my hands near it to warm their iciness. The pink in them was gone, a disturbing white replacing the colour.

Looking out into the white abyss, I realized that this was going to be a long winter.