It had been some time since the golden queen had made her promise to the dragon stallion. Much had happened between then and now, some good things, some bad things. The most notable would be the revelation of true feelings between this little queenly dragon’s bonded mate and the bronze stallion. The dragoness acted like she had known about it all along, but one could never be sure whether that was the truth, or simply the truth as Akaith’s vanity perceived it. Mirage had to smile, just as she had to most other times when she thought about the undeniable love and devotion she held for the great winged stallion. In all her worldly knowledge, she had known that such things like these feelings existed – but she had only known of them, not actually felt their powerful embrace. This love carried her through whatever the next steps were she took, there was a new happiness within her that fuelled her ambitions now.

What could be mistaken for a wayward ray of sunshine was actually the graceful aerial displays of the lithesome golden dragon. She had been tugging at Vikram to fly with her for some time now, though they had shared short flights here and there, she longed to fly with him like this; with Mirage at the forefront of her mind, seeing and feeling the winds as they did. The inky mare stood in the clutches of the ocean, the shallow waves lapping at the still-sensitive burns upon her forelegs, her eyes shut as she embraced the mental caress of her dragon, whose mind seemed to occasionally leap out to the bronze steed as well. They were flying towards her, she could feel, though it was unusual for her to view Helovia from such heights – only snippets from Akaith’s mind had she ever gleamed of the spectacular aerial view of the lands she now called her home, this was something else entirely.

The Endless Blue had been selected as the destination for a variety of reasons; it was naturally, quite fire proof – which was essential for what Akaith was planning on doing with the stallion. Breathing fire was all well and good, but learning to control it was a whole other ball game. Learning the art of maintaining a solid stream of fire for hours at a time, by simultaneously breathing in through one’s nostrils and continually exhaling the scorching breath was an art as much as a science. Using one’s tongue and cheeks to craft the shape of the flame, or engaging one’s diaphragm more efficiently to allow a hotter breath to escape, were all secrets of the trade; secrets she was more than willing to see Vikram master. The golden one was excited as they rounded on the Endless Blue, her own flight growing faster as it descended towards the earth, racing along the dunes to find the dark form of Mirage awaiting them in the shallows.

[ For Vikram – others are welcome to join after a few posts though :-) ]