Breath of Fresh Air

"Got it," Noah said with a nod. He flopped forward, flailing instinctively to try and right himself, but he smiled and slowly got himself back into position. "Okay! That's not so bad." He pretended to slip or fall off a few more times, twisting and turning a few different ways. "That is a really secure saddle," he said after a few minutes of practice.

Chaital chuffed in agreement, swishing her tail happily through the grass. No matter how much Noah "fell off," she could tell from the tension of the straps that he wouldn't actually leave the saddle. She glanced hopefully at Nel and stretched her wings a bit.

"Can we try flying?" Noah asked with a grin. "Feels pretty comfortable so far! We can start by flying low at first!"
 
Nel was glad Noah felt comfortable looking a bit goofy by throwing himself around since it meant he was serious about learning, and willing to listen. He kept a hand close, lightly touching the boy's shoulder at times to let him know it was there, and only murmured soft encouragements.

"You may lose your hand or footholds in the air," He said when Noah was through, handing him up a pair of goggles to wear, "but you'll be perfectly safe, so just take a couple of breaths if it happens and do your best to be calm as you reposition." He gave a small smile as he moved away finally, stepping out of the danger zone of Chaital's wings and tail and making sure Axle was out of the way as well. "For this first run, you won't have much say in where you go, I think. Chaital is very eager, but if you feel like you need to come back down only tell her. She'll listen to you."

He looked to her to be sure she understood once again that Noah was inexperienced despite his eagerness, then just smiled for her and looked at the boy again. "Are you ready?" He asked, and nodded when he'd gotten a response. "All right, Chaital. Go easy on him."
 
Noah yanked the goggles on at once, bouncing in the saddle. "Holy fuck. I am so ready for this. This is gonna be so much fun!" He grinned and held tight to the front of the saddle. "All right, Chaital. Let's see how fast you lift off compared to a space cruiser!"

Chaital spread her wings wide, casting a shadow over the ground below as she made excited grunts and chirps. She glanced at Nel and bobbed her head. Of course she'd keep Noah safe. But they shared the same building excitement to get up into the sky and fly.

She arched up briefly and tensed, her claws pressing against the dirt and her tail positioning to angle her for takeoff.

Noah's heart beat rapidly in his chest as he leaned forward and also got ready for takeoff. Already his shoulders moved almost in tandem with Chaital's. He grinned and adjusted his goggles and his grip on the saddle a final time.

And Chaital shoved her wings downward and rocketed them into the air.

Noah screamed in delight as he jolted backward a bit and the air rushed past his face. Chaital spiraled upward to get them a bit higher into the clouds, and he held onto the saddle for dear life. But at last she evened out and sank into a glide, passing over the fields in a large circle. Her rider yelled again and held his arms out, the wind tossing his hair back over his eyes. "This is the best!" he screamed; his voice could be heard faintly down below.
 
Nel couldn't help but smile at Noah's enthusiasm, but otherwise was quiet and watched Chaital's body language intently. She was eager, of course, but she was a good girl, and she wouldn't give Noah more than he could handle. He would be safe even if he came back frazzled, the training saddle in good condition and doing its job. He was sure that Axle, being the boy's father, was very grateful for that.

"I think they're both equally excited," he said with a bright little smile, staring up after them with a sort of relief he hadn't known he would feel. It was good to see Chaital in the air again. It was good to see her happy again.
 
Axel gazed up at the pair, a wide smile on his face. "Not only that, this'll be so good for Noah," he murmured. "He's always been adventurous. Loves exploring. It was so dangerous before, in Upper Floaten. But now, with a dragon, he'll be much safer. I hope."

Noah gripped onto the saddle again and laughed. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he nodded. "Chaital! Chaital, do a flip!"

Chaital rumbled happily and rolled in the air, sending Noah loose from the saddle.

"Whoa! Shit!" Noah burst out, his arms flailing briefly. But he quickly found his grip again and grinned. "Do it again, Chaital!"

The pair practiced flipping and rolling for a while. Eventually, Noah figured out the best way to angle his body so he wouldn't fall off. And ten minutes later, he barely left the saddle at all.

Eventually Chaital glided back to the ground, folding her wings as she landed. Both she and Noah were panting. They looked exhausted, but extremely pleased.
 
Nel only gave a soft, interested hum as Axle spoke, watching the way Chaital twisted and turned in the air. He knew that the world could be a dangerous place even for dragons, and that adventuring often wasn't very safe, but it wasn't his place to stop anyone from going, only to make sure they were prepared. Noah was his own person, and he was mostly grown. He would make his own decisions.

"They'll make a good pair," he said eventually, with something soft and fond in his voice. Chaital had always been a brave, loyal dragon. They would be fine.

When they landed, finally, Nel was smiling despite a somewhat scolding tone. "And what would you have done if you weren't strapped in?" He prodded, and just gave a soft laugh. "It looked like you were having fun. Do you want me to help you unhook so you can get down?"
 
Noah scoffed and pushed his hair back away from his eyes, grinning and pulling his goggles off. "We wouldn't have been doing flips, then. Duh. The whole point of that was to practice flips without the risk of falling off," he explained happily. He nodded and let out a sigh. "But yeah, I would like help getting down. Thanks."

Chaital swished her tail a bit, standing patiently while Nel helped Noah get off the saddle. Then, once her saddle was off, she heaved a dramatic sigh and flopped onto her side, rumbling deeply and closing her eyes.

"You're tired too, huh?" Noah asked with a laugh. He pulled off the last of his harness and shook his head. "We were only up there half an hour, Chaital." He glanced back to Nel and held the harness up. "Should we keep the supplies here when we're not using them, or is there like a checkout system?"
 
Nel shook his head with some amusement and only stepped forward to help Noah get unhooked and off Chaital's back. He left Noah to his own harness in favor of getting the saddle off of Chaital. He would make sure Noah knew how to do it later on, but for now it was amusing to see how she flopped down without it.

"Most things are free for anyone to use," he explained with a small shrug, considering the thought, "but I think you're the only one who needs a training saddle of this size, right now. Feel free to come get it, but be careful not to trip over any of the other equipment. If you're going to use it for longer than . . . let's say an hour, there's a binder hanging near the doors on the inside where you can write down your names, what equipment you took, and when."

It was all just to keep track of things so nothing was misplaced, and to help locate anyone that might be out flying without a partner.

"For now, it's best to always use the training saddle and harness," he continued, crouching down next to Chaital to give her flank a friendly pat, "and to have a spotter somewhere who knows you're in the sky. Once you get the hang of it, I'm sure it will be fine to be alone, but just for a little while be sure to find any of the staff here and just tell them you're going up." At least then the general community would be aware in case he needed any help.
 
"Sounds fair enough," Noah said, smiling and nodding. "And that's a great idea, having a spotter! Especially while I'm training. Oh! That reminds me - Malia said eventually I'd be put to the rest before I could become a scout. Is there a list of skills I should be working on? I'd love to be a scout, and I really want to do it the right way."

Chaital huffed in agreement, glad Noah was willing to listen to others. Despite him being a beginning rider, he showed a natural knack for the skill, and he caught onto things quickly. Chaital was already looking forward to having him as her rider.

"I can make a list of the skills, as well," Axel said, holding up his notepad. "That way Noah will be able to use it as a reference later."

"Aw, thanks, Father!"

"Of course. Don't want you to miss anything important," Mr. Harn said with a nod.
 
Nel gave a soft, almost nervous sort of laugh and held his hands up in front of him as if in surrender. "Ah- I applaud your want to be thorough, but it's best for now to focus on learning to fly properly. Most of the rest is made up of knowledge you'll get while shadowing another scout. Before then, you'll need to know how to ride with no risk of falling, and to maneuver through small spaces on Chaital's back. Keeping an eye out for people and dragons that might be in distress is a big part of scouting, but I'm afraid I don't know much about what's involved in inspecting the city's structure."

His focus was dragons, and things on the ground. He had a decent eye for fixing random things around the Dragonry, but he didn't have any schooling about just how Upper Floaten was held up and what seemingly small things could be problems. Once Noah was competent in riding, he would learn the rest from an actual scout by following along on their shifts like an apprentice.
 
Noah smiled. "Focusing on flying's gonna be easy! Hey, would you be willing to spot me and Chaital tomorrow sometime? I want to practice some more flips and tricks. And we can practice some small space maneuvers, too!"

Chaital chuffed in agreement, and then scooted closer to start preening Noah's hair.

"Or if you're busy, who's probably gonna be around tomorrow that wouldn't mind spotting us?" Noah added. He leaned back against Chaital, stroking her neck gently as she carried on grooming him. He reminded himself to ask Jasper where to get a dragon brush like the ones he used for Naga and Nobu.

"Maybe someone with a dragon of their own, as well, who could help if Noah and Chaital needed it," Mr. Harn suggested, putting his notebook away.
 
Nel made a thoughtful sound, considering his tasks for the next day. "I'll be doing some work with Soot tomorrow, so it may depend on the time of day. But I'm sure I could find someone. Malia has Lily running errands, so maybe she'll be staying back tomorrow as well."

Infernus was fast, and Lily was used to long flights at high speeds. She would be useful if whatever trouble was brewing got more serious, but he really wasn't privy to just how serious it was so he didn't know.

"I'll look around today while I'm checking on the dragons," he said after a pause to think. "I'm sure there's someone here that could help out." He would know who was around based on which dragons were there.
 
"Yeah, no worries! If no one else is available - could you spot us sometime tomorrow?" Noah asked hopefully. "We'll be here the entire day basically, so our schedule's gonna be pretty open."

Chaital chirped and got to her feet, licking her lips and huffing.

"Huh, water? Yeah. That does sound pretty good right about now," Noah agreed. "Nel, where's the closest spot to get a good drink? I'm pretty parched myself, come to think of it."

Mr. Harn slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm sure there's bound to be somewhere with running water nearby. A stream, maybe, or a waterfall."
 
Nel considered and nodded, thinking he could find some time, somewhere in the day. Most of the work he did involved a checklist without any real schedule. "I can be on the ground to get help if you need it. I'm sure I could get Joachim to help with some flying practice." He would happily enough raise his wings to create obstacles for Chaital to fly through, or form an arch with a tree and his tail. He was big, and not particularly gentle, but he could fly up and give Chaital a lift if she needed it for some reason.

Smiling a bit at Noah's intuitive knowledge of Chaital's, Nel gestured towards the corner of the building with a little shrug. "There's a hose on the side of the building. Otherwise, the stream is a bit far away, and not extremely safe for you to drink from. Chaital could go if you'd like to come inside and get a drink, or we can bring out a bowl for her."
 
Noah's eyes sparkled. "Aw, that'd be great! I'd love to see Joachim again. He seems like a sweet dragon." When Nel mentioned the hose, he grinned and hurried over to that side of the building. "Hose works for me! It'll get water into our mouths faster."

"Noah, you're not going to drink water straight from the hose again, are you?" Mr. Harn asked with a laugh. "Every single time you do that, you come back with soaked clothes. Somehow."

"Hey, no worries! Chaital will dry me off with her wings! Right, Chaital? Back me up here," Noah added, nudging her with an elbow.

Chaital snorted and playfully slapped his face with a wing. Then she ambled towards the house, looking forward to the cool water already.

Noah laughed and hurried after her. "All right, all right! Drinks first, jokes later. Got it."
 
Nel laughed softly and just followed after to make sure they saw where the hose was housed, then just left them to their own devices, trusting they knew well enough how to use it. "When you're done I'll show you where to hang the saddle up."

He had just stepped back around the corner to wait when he heard a familiar little cry and looked up in time to see Nobu descending from above. With a big, happy smile, he held his hands up to catch him as he quite predictably flopped into his body rather than coming to a graceful stop, and only made a soft 'oof' in protest. Expectant of a second visitor, he sat down on the ground with Nobu in his lap, and shortly after was accosted by Naga, the little she-dragon landing close by to run closer, clamber up to his shoulders, and make happy noises while she sat on his back to immediately get a mouthful of his hair.

Jasper was already approaching at a calm walk, Pumpkin riding on his shoulder as he'd been stuck 'babysitting' while Lily was away, and he wasn't cold-hearted enough to leave the tiny dragon alone. "Wondered what got 'em all eager to take off," he said as he got closer, smiling just a little. "Shoulda known they were going or see everybody's favorite dragon tamer."

Nel flushed a little, doing his best to look at Jasper despite not being able to pick his head up very far under Naga's weight. "Maybe they're just looking for treats. . ."

"Nah, they just love you." He raised an eyebrow at Axle, wondering when or if the man would return to Upper Floaten, or if he would linger to try and see the crisis through from below. "Why's your idiot dunking his head under the hose?" Nel tsked at him and Jasper just rolled his eyes. "Fine - why's our idiot dunking his head under the hose?"
 
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Pumpkin spotted Nel shortly after the other dragons dig. He didn't know the dragon trainer as much, but clearly he was a friend of both Naga and Nobu had climbed onto him. He leapt off Jasper in a glide and landed near Nel's feet. Then he craned his neck forward and sniffed at Nel's hands, hoping to receive some pets.

"Hey, Pumpkin! Good to see you again," Mr. Harn called warmly. "That's Nel. He's the Dragonry's resident behaviorist."

Pumpkin had no idea what that meant, but since Nel had even Axle's blessing, there was no hesitation in the small dragon's mind now. He flopped onto Nel's legs and sighed happily.

And at Jasper's comment, Axle burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. "He's - uh - " he tried to explain.

Noah shook his hair off and gasped in air, wiping his mouth with a grin. "I'm taking a drink!" he explained. "Chaital and I just finished getting some flying practice in. I'm training to be a scout," he added proudly.

Chaital didn't even bother pausing her drink to respond. She held her mouth open, letting it fill up before closing her mouth and swallowing. Her drinks took a lot longer than Noah's with a hose.
 
Nel was busy giving Nobu the rougher, more physical affection he liked, staying half bent over so Naga wouldn't start slipping off his back and use her claws to stay on. She wouldn't actually damage his hair by chewing on it, just make it dirty, so he didn't mind letting her despite her tail whaping lightly against his back every once in a while. When Pumpkin came to see him he smiled gently and shifted Nobu to a one-armed grip to slowly move his hand out for the smaller dragon to smell.

"Hello, little one," he said gently, wincing when Nobu squirmed and hit him in the chest with a horn, chattering at him like he was trying to tell Nel about his new friend. When Pumpkin flopped right into his legs with Nobu he only laughed and gave one of Pumpkin's paws a little massage since he only had the one hand free and didn't know if he liked belly rubs. "Thank you for coming to see me. You two are fast friends, hm? Do you like running around the Dragonry with Nobu?"

Jasper cracked a smile both at the fact that Axle had laughed rather than get insulted, and that Noah was getting himself wet trying to drink from the house. "You're supposed to point it away from you and lean over it, not stick your whole face in it." He said with a little shake of his head. "Don't worry, rich boy, we'll teach you how to be a low class bumpkin yet. How'd flying go? Have a blast?"
 
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Pumpkin chirped and licked Nel's hand, swishing his tail and enjoying the paw massage.

Axle smiled and nodded. "He likes belly rubs, too. Any affection he can get," he told Nel.

Noah, meanwhile, scoffed and waved Jasper off. "Please. It tastes better this way."

"I am quite sure you and Chaital are the only ones who think that," Mr. Harn said with a chuckle.

"It's true!" Noah retorted. He pointed the hose toward Chaital so she could get a better drink, and he smiled and nodded at Jasper. "Fuck yeah, we did! We were doing flips and rolling around and all sorts of stuff! It was great! What'd you and the other dragons do?"
 
"Thank you," Nel said with a grateful glance over at Axle, rubbing Pumpkin's other front paw for a pause before moving to rub over the little dragons chest and belly, giving careful pressure to make sure he liked the massage and wasn't pressing too hard. "How's that? You and Nobu are going to have to share - I've only got two hands." It was good that they were both small dragons, and that Nobu didn't mind cuddling up to Nel with Pumpkin pressed up against him too. Naga was just content to be queen of the mountain for a while, and he would let her until his back started to ache for it, if Jasper didn't snatch her up before then.

Jasper raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at Noah, the other hand propped on his hip as he looked at Axle instead. "You gonna sit there and let him use that kinda language?" He asked, serious at first and then breaking into a little chuckle. "Glad you had fun. We just walked home, cleaned up, came back. Nothing exciting." He'd needed to change his clothes and shower, then come back to wait for Lily. He was sure she would be back soon.
 
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