Ragin woke up to a pleasant hum of thoughts in the back of his head. Like a cacophony of bright colours rolling over him in a constant motion. A small smile spread across his face, the emotions rolling around inside his head to pleasant and content it was like he didn't have anything to worry about. It took him a moment to realise that they were the thoughts of someone else, and in that instant he shot up, wide-eyed. An annoyed grumble to his side made him look down to find the dark blue dragon laying by his side.

She opened one eye and looked up at her, a faint twinge of annoyance running through her conscious. He blinked, not quite used to the intimacy in their thoughts. With a small grunt he carefully blocked himself off to the overwhelming run of emotions and stretched, yawning. He could still feel the general buzz of her thoughts, but it wasn't as strenuous as before.

A small frown touched his face. Now that he thought about it, he shouldn't be feeling her thoughts at all. Glancing down at his side he saw his ring, laying on the corner of the bed. His eyes narrowed and he quickly scooped it up, glaring down at the dragon beside him. She tilted her head and rumbled softly, though she could feel his anger.

"That was a very bad thing to do, Akaysha," he growled between his teeth.

The small dragoness let out a warble, sitting up and curling her tail around her hind legs, almost protectively. She lowered her head as the scowl on his face increased. He could tell she didn't quite understand what she had done to deserve his anger.

"Don't do that," he said as her emotions of content and happiness dimmed somewhat, "This if for our own protection. What if they found us?"

The dragoness didn't answer. He didn't expect her to. It would be another month or so until she could finally talk. He clenched his knuckles, before sighing and shaking his head. He swung his legs out over the bed and stood up. He bent down and drew a new black shirt from under his bed, not really wanting to wear the blood stained one he had left on the floor. That one he lit on fire with a spell.

Akaysha turned to watch him, not moving as she could sense he was still angry. He moved around the room, grabbing a sword from the wall as well as a dagger and an unstrung bow with a quiver of arrows. The bow wasn't quite the make of his previous one, which he had been quite annoyed to leave behind, but it would go a long way to keeping him fed and safe.

He then moved to the chest with the food inside. He took out two pieces. One he cooked with magic, and the other he left on the table for Akaysha. The young dragon tilted her head in interest, and leapt to the floor before climbing up a chair and then onto the table. She glanced at the meat, then at Ragin. When he gestured for her to go ahead she let out a squeak of excitement and bit down into the meat, tearing off pieces at a time with her teeth.

He watched her for a moment, before digging into his own meal. As they ate the only sound was Akaysha's grunts and snarls as she battled with her meal, occasionally tearing off a piece too large for her to swallow. It amused him slightly, and he couldn't help but smile at her ferocity. She looked up at him and his smile disappeared, though she could still sense his amusement.

"I'm still angry at you," he said.

She rumbled in answer, before digging into her meal again. He sighed and sat back in the chair, already finished with his piece. He let his thoughts wonder. It was going to be a difficult couple of months. The dragon riders would be after their thief, and Tharin would also be after him. And it would do no good to just stay where he was. Dragons grew very quickly, and in a month or so Akaysha would likely be too big to be able to fit in the cave comfortably. In two months she would barely be able to fit at all.

The question remained, what could he do. He needed some place open, but well hidden from both the riders and Tharin. A place where he could be safe for a couple of months while the search for him dwindled. After that however... he didn't know. Now that he had a dragon with him it was going to be extremely difficult to remain hidden. It would be even more difficult to continue in his profession, which required him to move all over Alageasia.

He looked at Akaysha again as she finished her meal and clenched his fists. Again the thought came to him, he could abandon her. It would make his life far easier. Let her go and live with the wild dragons. He could even go and see her occasionally. The only problem was most wild dragons lived in a place called the Skulblaka Mountains, a mountain range far to the North-East, beyond the borders of Alageasia. It would take months of travelling to get there, and that wasn't even the biggest problem.

The Skulblaka Mountains were also where The dragon riders gathered and lived. It was a city called New Doru Araeba, named after the first great city of dragons. It wasn't as big as the first one... not yet anyway, as there were only about three to four hundred dragon riders currently alive, compared to the thousands back before Galbatorix, but it was an impressive sight. At least, that was what he had been told. He had never been there himself.

That aside, he doubted he would be able to sneak both himself and Akaysha into the mountains without the dragon riders knowing about it. He gritted his teeth before letting out a long low sigh, causing the dragoness to glance at him curiously. He looked down at her.

"Why did you have to choose me, ha?" he asked her, "Surely there were better options."

She tilted her head and warbled, confused. He shook his head and lightly scratched her under the jaw, causing her to purr softly. Moving Akaysha to The Skulblaka Mountains could wait, at least for now. At the moment, while she was still small enough to hide, he needed to focus of finding somewhere to stay out of sight and out of mind. Fortunately, he knew of the perfect little village.

"Alright," he said to the small dragon, "We are going on a trip. It'll probably take a week or so, and we'll be riding on a horse, so I expect you to behave yourself."

She tilted her head.

"Now, come one," he got up and reached under his bed again.

This time he picked out a bag with a single strap on one side. He walked to the stares that led out of his small cave, extinguishing the torches inside with a spell, before making his way to the door. Akaysha followed curiously, hopping up the stairs one by one in an effort to keep up with him. He opened the slab of stone at the end of the tunnel, allowing the dragon outside, before closing it again. He could feel her excitement at being out in the open air.

He smiled at her eagerness as she ran around, sniffing and tasting the air, small growls and rumbles escaping her. He let her run around for a little while as he made his way toward the gates of Gil'ead. She made sure never to wonder to far from him, which he was relieved of. He didn't exactly want her to run into anyone along the way. He could sense a number of people close by, moving about their day to day business as the exited and entered the city.

Once they were close Ragin called over Akaysha with his mind. Thankfully she listened, and trotted up to him rumbling with excitement, wondering what he could want. He could feel the flashes of images rushing through her mind. A bird she had tried to catch with flash of feathers. The smell of damp moss and rushing water. He couldn't help but feel happy for her.

"Alright little one," he said bending his knee and lightly scratching her jaw, "Sorry about this, but I can't have you making a ruckus while in Gil'ead. Slytha."

He waved his hand over her and, with that word in the ancient language, she let out a small grunt, before collapsing to the ground, fast asleep. As carefully as he could he picked her up and gently deposited her in the bag, before swinging it around his shoulder. After casting a couple more spells to make sure no one saw her if they did peak into the bag, he walked up to the gates of Gil'ead.

There were a number of people making their way into and out from the city. The large stone walls created a rather ominous feel, that always made Ragin slightly uncomfortable when he saw them. It was a military city after all, where Alageasia kept most of its forces in times of peace. He entered through the gates, attracting suspicious glances from the guards as they took in his weapons. It was rare for someone to be so heavily armed as he was, but not unusual.

Once inside he asked around for the stables, and was pointed toward a large flat building in a rather open area of the city. He quickly recognised it as a stable, with many different horses prancing around and being auctioned off to byers. He made his way over to a large man who seemed to be running the business.

"Hello!" he called.

The man turned and grunted in response when he saw Ragin, "What do ya' want lad?"

Ragin winced inwardly at the greeting, but shook it off, "I'm looking for a horse that can travel somewhat long distances. See... my previous mount became lame during my trip from Illirea to here, and I was forced to put it down."

The man's gaze softened slightly, "Aah, poor thing. Where did ya say you was travelling to?"

"Teirm," responded Ragin, then faked a small blush, "There's a... girl there I met recently."

The man's eyes twinkled in amusement and he laughed, clapping him on the back and narrowly missing the sleeping dragon in his pack, "Very well then. I shall give you a horse so you can get to your beloved. Though I warn you, my steeds ain't cheap."

"Money ain't a problem sir," said Ragin.

"Good! Now let me show you what I have."

Eventually Ragin left the stall with a dark brown mare with a rather testy spirit. However with a firm hand she was brought under control and, thanking the man with a couple of gold coins, Ragin urged the horse forward, making his way out of the city. Once again he passed by the guards at the gate and they watched him go with the same amount of suspiciousness they had seen him enter. Ragin ignored them as best he could, and, once he had the room, moved his horse into a small trot.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief once the guards were out of sight. Usually he wasn't so tense, but with the happenings of the past week he felt as though everyone was out to get him, which was probably true except for the fact that not many people knew it. The dragon riders wouldn't have taken long to send out search parties for their missing egg, and they wouldn't give up easily either. They would likely be searching for years to come, if they didn't find him first of course.

When there was space on the road Ragin turned and looked into the pack. Akaysha was sleeping peacefully on her back, her wings and tail a little cramped in the bag. She had moved since last time he had seen her. He smiled as he watched her, feeling images from her dreams trickling through their bond.

He quickly turned away, frowning to himself. How was it that already he felt so close to her, like he would willingly step in front of death to save her, when, in all his twenty years, he had never felt that for anyone else. Was the bond between a dragon and her rider really that strong? The idea caused a shiver to run down his back and once again he glanced at the sleeping dragon within.

"What will life bring us little one," he muttered softly as he looked down at her.

In her sleep the dragon rumbled softly, turning a little in the bag. He blinked as an emotion flooded from her that he had never felt before. It was like she was worried about something, but what it was he couldn't figure out, as her dreams switched at a speed he couldn't follow. He thought he caught a glimpse of fire in her mind, a fire that burned far brighter than anything she had seen before. Of that he was certain.

They continued travelling along the road for a while longer, before Ragin pulled the horse in a sharp left down a smaller trail through the trees. Clapping the horses side he forced her into a canter. It was going to be a long road toward Teirm. He hit the grass planes an hour later, and continued onward.

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Hey guys! Sorry this is a bit late. But here it is! Vote if you enjoyed and comment what you thought. The next chapter will be out soon. See Ya

Pennator^^