I exhaled shakily. I had to save my friends- maybe... wheels turned and screamed in my mind. "What if I went and told them. Helped them escape-" I said without really thinking.

Zach stopped petting Caedmon. "I know you want to protect your friends. I understand, really. But that would completely.. destroy the plan. I know you think you can trust your friends, but if somehow one slips up, or if it's caught then they are all doomed."

This guy was dramatic. Kind of like me, I guess. I sat down with a sigh. "Well.. I guess you're right." I mumbled before realizing Caedmon was chewing on the bedpost. "Hey!" I pulled him away before apologizing to Zach. "Sorry he isn't usually this mouthy."

"It's quite alright," Zach chuckled. "He's probably getting ready for his adult teeth. Here... I have something that'll help." He said, getting off the bed and crouching. His hands patted around a little before his dragon snaked his head down to look and he quickly nabbed something. "Here," he presented me with a dog toy in the shape of a squirrel. "He'll probably like this." He offered it to me.

I wondered why this guy had a squirrel toy but I wasn't about to ask. "Thanks," I said, taking it.

"Don't thank me," he chuckled. "Just wait to hear the sound it makes."

Caedmon snatched it out of my hands without further ado, chomping on it like the ferocious creature he was. Every time he bit it, it made a loud squeal. "Thanks a lot," I said, though this time it was more sarcastic than anything. Caedmon grinned up at me, mouthing the dog toy. His deer ears perked up as he shook it around.

"Dinner's ready!" A hefty knock made the door rattle and shake. I jumped up, heart in my throat as I thought the door was going to be busted into tiny wooden fragments. Zach too seemed a bit frightened because he almost fell backwards. Terral nudged him between the shoulder blades to keep him from falling. "Thanks Ter," Zach mumbled.

"Does he usually knock that loud?" I whispered as I could hear his footsteps fading.

"Yeah," Zach said darkly. "Scares the heck out of me. One day I'll get him back for it. Fool never knows how to be quiet. I can't.." his angry mumbles started to fade as he opened the door and started walking down the hall.

I had to wait for Terral to get out before I could follow. His icy-tipped tail swished slowly in front of me. One of those icicle spikes could probably shred my leg. I decided to follow a few feet behind.

Foodie foodie foodie! Caedmon sang in my head as he pranced beside me. He was in a good mood. I could tell by the way he was hopping from paw to paw, his head tilted so he could grin up at me. His tail swished good-naturedly.

"Finally you've talked to me. You've hardly said boo all day," I whispered, lifting a brow at him.

Thinking a lot. He replied, surprisingly serious. Ves-i-gait-in. He worked hard trying to pronounce it. Sniffing around. Like Scooby Doo. Trying to see if there is bad guys. He bit the squirrel hard to make it squeak in agreement.

Do you think there is bad guys? I asked back in my head, looking at him seriously.

Before he could answer I heard Zach grunt. "What kind of food is this?"

I walked in to a room that was so full of tension I had half a mind to take cover under the table.

Aly was standing by the table, one hand on her formidable hips, the other with some formidable tongs. She waved them back and forth as she spoke. "I see what you boys eat. There's nothing in that fridge but.. detestable genetically modified food, high fructose corn syrup, and... animal flesh!" She about shivered with rage. "I am saving your lives and the lives of poor animals by throwing out the bad food."

Darius was smiling so tightly it looked strained. "Now now honey.. no need to go overboard with this.." Although he was clearly wanting to ask 'where's my food, woman?'

"What the heck is this?" Zach poked the leafy greens in his salad bowl.

"That is a proper meal," Aly said frostily. "And you're going to eat it."

"Just because you're the only lady here right now, doesn't automatically make you my mother," Zach said sharply. "Darius- you just had to get some weird vegan as a girlfriend, didn't you?" I was shocked at how fiery this guy could be.

"She's not weird," Darius said defensively. "She's just... looking out for us," he said, forcing another smile to look at her. She made a little giggle and rewarded him with a kiss. I felt like facepalming. I barely knew the guy and I knew he was fake-smiling. Didn't she get it?

"That's right," she said with renewed vigor. "Everyone is going to start eating better. Feeding the mind. We have a big year ahead of us."

I noticed Jesse quietly eating his kale salad in the corner. Zach looked in my general direction and opened his mouth, pointing inside like 'yuck!'

The hellbeast was standing beside Darius, looking at his salad bowl with his one good eye. Then he pushed it away.

"No, Blaize," she said patiently, like a mother trying to get her toddler to eat his greens. "You've got to eat this. You can't leave until you do."

Darius looked a bit more strained at the way she was talking to his hellbeast like he was stupid. I could tell he was fighting an urge to snap at her. He took a deep breath before exhaling slow.

Blaize just looked up and stared at her, his eyes beginning to flame a deep blue. I'm surprised that she didn't start melting under that stare- or at least drop dead.

"Blaize," she said, raising her tone a bit more. She was asserting her dominance over him. "Eat the food I made for you."

The hellbeast continued to stare at her. Darius looked like he was going to start sweating. Everyone else in the room was completely silent, staring at the scene.

"I hope he eats her," Zach whispered to me, smirking.

"Dary," Aly exhaled with a sigh. "Why isn't he listening to me?"

"Honey- Blaize can't eat vegetables," Darius said, putting a large taloned hand on her shoulder.

"Nonsense! Of course he can," Aly said. "Please, honey. It would make me happy." She gave him the puppy eyes.

I didn't like this lady already. Why was she trying to force the hellbeast to eat greens? I remember Mrs. Geier saying a long time ago how dragon's really can't eat vegetables unless they wanted to throw up. And she was taking away all our good stuff. I couldn't survive off salads!

"Eat it." Darius gave in to her.

Zach spread his arms like 'seriously?' Darius raised a finger to him like 'wait'. Aly's grin just got wider as the poor dragon obeyed his Rider, slowly starting to chew on the food. His facial expression didn't change, but he definitely didn't look happy. Spit bubbled and frothed with green specks from the scar in his cheek. It started to drip onto the floor. Jesse looked fixedly down at his salad. Zach stared viciously at the cupboard. And Aly, Terran and I stared at him unabashedly.

It took five minutes. He had finished half of it before his head jerked forwards and green vomit ejected from his mouth... splattering onto Aly's black pencil skirt.

Her blue eyes widened and she unleashed a scream, flailing her arms in choppy motions as the slime dripped off her skirt. "Blaize! Get it off get it off!"

Zach snorted behind his hand. Caedmon giggled. Everyone stared at her before bursting out laughing. Everyone except for Darius and Blaize, who had masterfully kept their cool. "I'm sorry honey. I warned you," Darius said, giving her a condescending glance.

"Darius! You knew this would happen! You.. punk!" She slapped him. Or tried to. She couldn't reach him. Her hand swatted at nothing. She grunted and jumped, but still couldn't quite nail him.

Everyone was laughing even harder. Even Darius was looking like a chipmunk trying to contain his laughter.

She only looked more determined. "Give me just a second." She mumbled before walking away, before returning, dragging a stool.

No way. This was crazy. I was almost crying with how hard I was laughing.

She plopped that stool down and crawled up it with determination in her features. Finally she was able to give Darius a proper slap.

Darius didn't even have the decency to pretend he was shocked, or hurt at all. The dam broke and his laughter broke loose.

She looked around at all of us, her dress dripping with puke. "Go ahead and laugh." She pointed at all of us. "But don't come crying to me when you're dying of heart disease with your unhealthy lifestyles and eating habits!" she snapped before getting down the stool and walking out, her high heels sharp amid the bouts of laughter that followed her.

As soon as she was gone, Darius asked. "Burger King anyone?"

Then we busted out laughing again. All except for Blaize, who looked expressionless. I wondered if he was mad at Darius for making him eat the salad.

_______________________________________________

Darius wasn't joking.

We all had burgers and fries for lunch. I thought he had bought the whole Burger King's supply. We all piled the fries together on top of a stack of newspapers on the kitchen table. All together, the fries made a towering mountain of fries, three feet high.

"No way we're gonna eat all these fries," I whispered, looking at the mound of crunchy goodness.

"You'd be surprised," Zach replied and squirted a bunch of ketchup on his plate before grabbing a handful of fries and slathering them in it.

Caedmon jumped on the table and grabbed some in his jaws, chewing. His jaws weren't really made for chewing so he looked a bit funny as he continued to mangle the fries, some of it dropping to the table. I tore up the fries in little bits to make it easier for him, as well as tearing up one of our twenty hamburgers.

Jesse was the only one who didn't touch it. He was eating the salad.

As the rest of us chowed down, Zach spoke up. "Darius where do you get these girls?" he asked. "Your last girlfriend was a neat freak- now this one's a vegan control freak?" he shook his head.

"Ah, she's very smart though," Darius said after inhaling two burgers at one time. He wiped his mouth free of mustard with a large hand before licking his full lips. "And beautiful. You'll see why I brought her here."

Blaize had been carefully putting a patch over his scar so half his food wouldn't fall out as he ate. He sat down and started wolfing down burgers and fries. It wasn't long before blood mixed with drool and food started leaking from the patch. I tried not to look.

"I hope so," Zach said, tossing a burger into the air for Terral to snap up in his jaws with a quick strike of his slender head.

Caedmon head-butted my hand with a 'meep'.

"Caed, that's baby talk," I said, trying to get him to use more English. "What do you want?" I asked, running a hand down his spine.

He patted at the quickly diminishing mountain of fries.

I sighed. "You are a pampered little dragon- you know that?" I said as I started shredding the fries. Then I thought about what Zach had just done and smiled. "I'm going to make you work for it, buddy," I said, before picking him up with a grunt. He had to weigh at least twenty pounds now. I set him down on the ground. "You're going to have to catch it."

He didn't seem amused. He glared at me. Until I waved the first morsel of food over him. He stretched his slender neck as far as it would go, then slowly raised himself to his hind legs before tenderly taking the food from my hands and dropping back to all fours to chew on it.

"Good idea, Justin," Darius praised me. "Make him use his muscles to get what he wants."

I got another fry and wiggled it a bit higher. He went to his hind legs again but he still couldn't get it. He hopped and managed to snatch it. His wings spread a little as he lurched back down awkwardly with his prize.

This time I used a chunk of hamburger meat to entice him as I stood up, holding it parallel to my head as I stood up.

Caedmon carefully balanced on his hind legs, staring up at the hamburger. He swayed, his front paws stretched out straight in front of him. His blue tongue stuck out as if he could almost taste it. He plopped back down and circled under the treat, staring at it, judging the distance. I smiled, seeing the feral intelligence in those purple eyes.

He turned and padded towards the kitchen, his tail swishing.

I frowned. That was all? He wasn't even going to try?

My answer was when I saw him barreling back towards me. His hind legs bunched before propelling him into the air. His wings unfurled and he gave a mighty flap, his front arms spreading, those wicked talons ready to snatch his prize, jaws wide open. I smiled proudly before I realized that he was coming at me pretty fast.

Before I could lower my hand, he had grabbed the hamburger and was fueled by his own momentum to smash right into my face.

"Ah!" I yelled and stepped back and got my boot caught on my chair. My back hit the ground and I nearly lost my breath. Caedmon squeaked and skittered backwards, running behind the counter, his tail high.

"Thanks... a lot Caed," I wheezed, looking up at Zach who looked like he was trying not to laugh. Darius' loud bass voice boomed in the room with laughter, and I heard a whuffing sound that sounded vaguely like laughing. "You guys suck," I mumbled as Zach offered me a hand. I took it and pulled myself to my feet. An instant headache pulsed from the back of my head.

"Your little dragon has power," Darius said, impressed. "The only one I've seen who could take off like that that young was my brother's dragon, and he was a Ventus Rex."

Something about what he said tugged on my memory but I didn't want to think to hard about it. I sat up with a heavy sigh. Caedmon slowly walked back to me, his head down and his pupils large like a kitten's. He laid down in front of my chair and nuzzled my leg.

How can I not accept that apology?

"It's okay," I said, running my hand down his spine. "I forgive you."

Zach chuckled. "He's so kawaii." He whispered.

"What?" I turned to look at my friend.

He turned his away and started eating the last of the French fries.

"Okay.." I drawled, shaking my head.

Darius however had the biggest grin on his face. "Come outside with me. I want to see how well Caed can fly."

"Okay..." I said again.

______________

A few minutes later I was grabbing onto small shrubs as I struggled to climb up a sharp incline. "Where are we going?" I asked. I remembered the flight facility they had at S-11, which was about three stories high with a roof of arching windows. I hoped we were going to a high tech facility like that. I had a feeling my hopes weren't going to come true.

Darius climbed up like a freaking monkey, his huge Wolverine boots sending leaves and dirt flying down to spray on my face. "Why don't you climb faster and find out?" He called down to me as he grabbed a rock and propelled himself five feet higher. How the heck did he even do that?

I was glad that I'd had some strength training at S-11 or I'd be wheezing like a pregnant dog. I grabbed a branch and winced when I found it laced with prickers. This was not fun.

Well to me anyway. Caedmon thought this was perfect fun. He scampered beside me, his little talons perfect for gaining traction on the ground. It almost felt like he was mocking my struggles as he bounced from one stronghold to the next. And then to make things worse, he started to sing. "Iz de.. eye of de tigie, iz de frill of fight! Risin' up to the chawenge of our rival!" He sang loudly, turning back to grin at me like the cheeky little bugger he was.

"Not eye of the tiger," I groaned, spitting out some dirt as I scrambled up faster, trying to grab his tail. "Come here you little scamp. Who even showed you that song?"

"Avery."

My fingers loosened and I slid back five feet before my combat boots caught on a rock that was jutting from the swamp of dead leaves and pine needles. Avery. Dang I missed them...

"Justin! You going to get up here or what?" Darius barked from the top. Caedmon was standing beside him, his silhouette lightly shimmering against the bright blue Alaskan sky.

"I'm.. coming," I grunted, clambering up as fast as I could. My inner thighs were already burning. We'd walked half a mile to get to this point and I wasn't used to climbing. Let's just say I didn't have access to many trees as a kid.

I grinned when I looked up and saw Darius' big boots not too far away. My knee pressed to my chest before I jerked it back, propelling myself forwards, lurching awkwardly as my other knee crunched on the rocky ground.

"Woah!" I didn't hear Darius' exclamation when my outstretched hands failed to find purchase and I fell forwards, the blood rushing to my head and pounding frantically in my ears. Hundreds of feet below, the waves crashed against the rocks, licking the jagged teeth of stone with tongues of froth. I gasped as the hungry roar filled my ears with terror.

I felt dull pressure on my throat.

"Easy there, tiger," Darius chuckled as he set me upright, scared stiff. "Caedmon's here to learn how to fly, not you."

I was so relieved I could have hugged him and cried. But instead, I just smiled and set my jaw like the manly man I was.

Darius crouched. "Quite a view, huh?" he said, looking over the ocean. The sad thing was, even when he was crouching he was taller than me. I was almost too scared to look, but I didn't want to look chicken. I slowly looked over the edge.

I gulped as my eyes raked past the rocks hastily onto the open blue water. Looming mountains shimmered on the surface, their aged wrinkles and rivets of rock capped with thinning white. I grinned and looked beyond the gorgeous reflection to the large (Alaskan large) city rising up just downwind. I could see a few large boats loitering about it from this distance. I didn't realize we were so close to civilization. No wonder Darius got the Burger King so quickly.

I was about to remark about it to Darius, when I found that he was staring intensely at my dragon, who had his tiny paw on Darius' jeans, staring up at him with a rapt expression. I tilted my head, wondering why they were gazing into each other's eyes like old lovers. But when I concentrated hard enough to hear over the din of the waves, I could hear growls and hisses, a sort of mix between a snake and a tiger. Wow, Caed's voice was changing?

But when I looked closer, I saw that Caed's little snout wasn't moving, instead it was Darius.Darius' throat thrummed with the strange sounds, and his lips pulled back in a sort of snarl to enunciate some louder growls. It was one of the weirdest things I've seen. Was he trying to communicate to Caed like that? Was he crazy? When I turned back to Caed, though, the little dragon was nodding in agreement to something he said.

What were they saying?

I was dying to know. Why wouldn't Darius say this in English? I was tempted to ask Caed, but didn't for some reason.

Finally Darius chuckled. "He's a smart fellow. I think he's ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked, one brow lifting. I hoped he would tell me what they had been talking about.

"To fly of course." Darius grinned. "That's why we came up here, ain't it?"

"Wait, what!?" I yelped, finally realizing he meant to throw my poor dragon off this very cliff. He watched me with a smile as if my apprehension amused him. "This isn't safe! He could die!"

"Justin, when I rescued you, told you that I would teach you how to be a real dragon Rider, yes?"

"Yes..." I said. So real dragon Riders threw their dragons off cliffs? No thank you.

"He's a dragon, Justin. He was hatched to fly. That's one thing S-11 doesn't teach you. Trust. Sometimes you need to take chances, Justin."

Caedmon looked up at me with his huge, toothy smile. "I can do it, Juzzin. I have eye of tigie."

I was melting under that smile, but I still had one more protest. "He's too young! He's never even flown before!"

"Then this will be his first," Darius said, lowering his arm. Caedmon crawled onto it, before turning and standing to that his front paws hung over Darius' elbow, while he balanced on his bunched hind legs, ready to jump. My eyes grew round as Darius raised his arm.

"Wait! Stop! Don't do this!" My heart pounded in my throat as I reached out for him. "Give him back!" Darn you Darius, for being so frickin tall. I swatted at the air just like Aly.

Caedmon jumped.

My heart stopped.

I screamed as I saw my buddy give a few desperate flaps before falling like a rock over the edge. Flinging myself to the grassy edge, I looked over in an attempt to see him. "CAED!" I scanned the rocks, looking for a tiny black body crumpled on the shore. What if he had drowned? I would never be able to find him- give him a proper burial.

I heard deep laughter behind me.

I whirled around, face flushed and eyes watery. I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind but all that came out was a crackly sound like my voice was still changing. Darius was nothing but an even, ugly, stupid el-

Darius smirked and pointed behind me.

I turned to find Caed giggling at me, his wings spread as he coasted over the roaring waves. His slender black wings wavered as he constantly corrected himself with a flick of his tail, balancing on the winds like a tightrope walker. He was flying.

My little man was flying.

My little baby was growing up. I smiled, before laughing. My laugh was strangled as it released the emotion built up from before, as I spread my arms. "You're flying!" I yelled.

"Fie fie fie like a napple unner de sea." Caedmon sang, grinning cheekily before he swooped in a circled before turning to face me with a giggle, showing off what he could do.

"Wow! That was awesome!" I clapped for him.

His chest puffed out proudly before he flapped his wings hard, gaining altitude slowly. He gave a quick flick of his wings which send him windmilling through the sky. "Careful!" I yelled, but my voice was shadowed by Darius' grunting growl. Caedmon straightened his wings and bobbed up again like a little cork. His eyes widened like he hadn't expected that, before he giggled again. I giggled along with him, but mine sounded more like crying.

"This is a special spot," Darius said, crouching beside me as Caedmon kept on doing tricks for me. "There's a vent down there, a geyser. Hot air is constantly being pushed out, which creates perfect flying conditions for beginners." He smiled at Caed as he showed off his diving skills. "See how fast he's learning? He's made for this. It's just the landing's you have to worry about." He chuckled.

The landing? Why? My blood ran cold. Was Darius going to make him land on the rocks? "Why?" I whispered.

"It takes a while to learn how to, then they have to relearn it when they have someone like you on their back- extra weight," Darius said. He chuckled. "Look at you- tense as a bowstring." He poked my side, making me flinch. "Trust him. He's got this. Right, Caed?"

Caedmon was flying off after a seagull.

My eyes widened when I saw him. He was too far out! "CAED! GET BACK HERE!" I yelled.

Caedmon lazily swooped around and headed back towards me, before he squeaked as he suddenly dropped five feet. He had lost the air current.

"Darius! Do something about it!" I demanded.

"Wait... let's let him handle it," Darius said, his golden eyes fastened on my dragon.

Caedmon's wings clawed at the sky. His head twisted back and forth before he tilted his head down and dove.

I barely bit back a yell as I watched him fall, my hand over my mouth, my heart in my boots. Come on Caed, come on!

Suddenly the dragon unfurled his wings. He shot up once more. He had found the air current! He trumpeted out in victory as he flew above the cliff to face me. "I did it!"

"Yes you did." I said, pasting a smile on my face.

"We'll continued flying lessons later," Darius said. "For now I think your Rothai's a bit worn out." He said before he started pulling at the air. I squinted before realizing he had a tiny, see-through string he was pulling at, and it was reeling Caedmon in like a kite. Caedmon's tail wiggled and he laughed like he was having the time of his life.

"What? You had that on him the whole time?" I sputtered. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you help him?"

"He had to learn on his own," Darius said. "He's stronger and smarter than you give him credit for- you just got to learn to trust that he knows what he's doing. Someday soon, he's going to be taking care of you." He said as he grabbed Caedmon from the air and stroked his spine. Caedmon purred.

I tried not to be jealous. "Okay," I sighed, feeling like he was poking me with a needle every time he said I needed to trust Caed. I trusted him!

The whole way back, Darius was coaching Caedmon on how he could have handled some of his situations, as well as praising him for finding the air current so flawlessly. But I wasn't listening. I was lost in thought, thinking about when it would be me on his back flying over the Alaskan cliffs.