(Unedited. Sorry if this sucks!! I swear it will get better!)

Zach turned his head as he heard Caedmon scream. "JUZZIN!"

"Nosedive. Now." Zach barked, closing his eyes. Suddenly he was seeing the world through Terral's blue eyes. The trees were a dull grey, each leaf sharply defined. The short teenager falling at high speeds was a flash of darkness that swelled from his large overcoat that was spread like crow's wings from the wind's harsh blow.

Terral's wings folded to his sides halfway and he went into a nosedive, his long, slender forelegs reaching out, gecko-like fingers stretching out towards the boy. Zach pressed himself to Terral's back, making them more aerodynamic, his hair flying out of his blind eyes from the wind. He perched like a man on a race horse, sweat prickling his forehead. Come on come on...

Terral snagged the coat and gripped it in his paw, spreading his wings and immediately they shot back up into the sky. Justin was jerked up before his arms snapped towards Terral and he began to slide out of the coat.

"NO!" Zach barked and his hand snatched at the air, Terral's paw following his movements, trying to grab the boy before he fell.

It was too late. Justin fell through his fingers and into the forest below.

Suddenly there was a flash of purple.

A black comet raced through the sky, wings unfurled and tail swishing to guide him expertly over the air streams. His forelegs wrapped around Justin's middle before he flapped hard, muscles burning, tendons straining. His huge wingspan spread to its full extent, buoying them up into the sky.

"He's flying. He's flying," Zach whispered before yelling. "Caed- you're flying!"

Caedmon was panting too hard to reply, his wings flapping hard as he struggled to stay aloft. He gave a happy chirp, seeing the house poking out of the hilltop and swooping down for the landing. His wings shivered in exertion, his wing 'fingers' stretching and curving to catch as much wind as possible. He was struggling. 

Zach whooped. "Hey guys! Anyone out!?" He yelled down below. "Come out and see! Caedmon's flying!"

Alasie, who was sharpening a stick with a knife, looked up from her gnarled stump and her lips twitched. "Great. The traitor can fly," she murmured, twisting the stick in her fingers before feinting at throwing it at Caedmon. Then she stuck it into the earth with a grunt.

Caedmon flapped heavily to slow himself down, angling his body so that he could set Justin down carefully. He let him down a foot from the ground before hopping forwards, trotting to a stop in front of Alasie. He gave a big reptilian grin, his tail swishing side to side in excitement.

"If you're expecting praise from me, traitor, you're not getting it." Alasie said stiffly. "I always knew shadow dragons were yellow bellied cowards." She spat venomously at the dragon, who stepped backwards in shock. The little dragon had never had anyone speak rudely of him before.

"Oh don't be rude," Zach said as Terral landed gracefully in front of them. "They're back, and that's all that matters."

Alasie rolled her eyes. "If Darius wasn't his great Uncle, Justin would be dead, you know that right? That's what deserters get."

Zach gave her a look as Caedmon's eyes widened. "Don't talk like that. Darius wouldn't do that."

"Sure, keep on thinking that," she snorted and grabbed another stick to sharpen.

Zach went over and picked Justin up with a grunt. "Come on, Caed, don't listen to her." He said, heading back to the house.

"Dar-eye-us grrreat Unky?" Caedmon slowly pronounced as he padded after Zach.

"Yeah, for some stupid reason Darius hasn't told him yet. Apparently his brother James, who used to live here, is his grandfather. Justin comes from a long line of dragon Riders. Probably why he had special abilities before he hatched you. The whole thing is a scandal really. His grandmother... well some say his grandmother was a dragon. But that's just a legend."

Caedmon made a huffing sound, amazed. What? A dragon marrying a human? How was that even possible? And if it were, how would they have kids? His little dragon brain thought that was absurd.

He would have to tell Justin. "Wh-who father and muthurr?" he asked something he knew Justin was dying to know.

"Oh I don't know that." Zach said. "I only know so much gossip about the Smith family." He set Justin down in the bedroom and turned off all the lights, setting up the blinds so that Justin can heal. "I'll call Darius in, you wait here with Justin and help him heal." He said before counting his steps on the way out, carefully maneuvering through the house.

Caedmon squirmed as he waited by Justin. He had so much to tell him!

_________________________________________________________________

I woke up in complete, refreshing darkness. I blinked twice and my 'night vision' kicked in, revealing I was back in Darius' home, the shutters all down to block out the blaring sun. Above me, the fan circled, sending a fresh breeze onto my face. My mind immediately went to my arm which had gotten ripped open by a wolf and I gripped the spot where my skin had been torn. But my hand met fresh, soft skin. No stitches, no swelling, no pain. I squeezed it with a sigh before remembering I had also fell from Terral's back. How... how did I make it from that?

"Juzzin! Juzzin! Juzzin!" A voice sang happily outside the door and the door knob turned, allowing Caedmon to parade inside with Darius and Zach on his tail.

"How are you feeling?" Darius smiled at me as if nothing had happened as my not-so-little bugger jumped on the bed and tried to snuggle with me. He was now eighty pounds and was by no means small enough to sit on my lap, but he sure as heck tried to. I grunted, trying not to look too pained as I stroked his face. "I'm doing great actually." I said. "How-"

Darius looked over my arm, making a clicking sound with his tongue. "What an advanced healing mechanism. Incredible." He murmured.

"Dude! It was awesome! I've never seen such a small dragon have so much power!" Zach said with amazement. "Caed swooped down and grabbed you, stopping your fall! I swear, you even coasted a bit!"

Darius shook his head. "I'll believe that when I'm dead," he joked. "Caedmon couldn't support Justin."

"I did!" Caedmon said, his voice cracking like a teenage boy, starting to rumble. "I carried you all by myself! Soon we fly together!" He promised proudly.

I grinned. I could not wait for that day. "That will be amazing, buddy," I whispered, watching him puff out his chest and leaning forwards to kiss his cheek tenderly.

"I big strong brave dragon!" Caedmon said proudly, sending out a puff of flame from his spine. "I pre-tect from wolf! I fly like fawl-con!"

"Yes you are, buddy. You're the best dragon I could ask for," I ruffled his flames, which didn't hurt me one bit. It felt like little puffs of air against my skin.

"He does have strong wing muscles," Darius noticed. "Get dressed. Let's go outside and watch him fly." He patted my shoulder.

"Uh... alright.." I said.

"See ya!" Zach said as he filtered out, Darius ducking his head to follow.

I sighed and got out of bed. "Well, what a day," I whispered. "We hike across Alaska, almost freeze to death, and fight wolves. Oh, and you fly me around as well. Insane day." I opened my drawer and went through my clothes. Quickly I changed into the burgundy turtleneck, leather jacket, and tight black pants with my old S-11 combat jump boots. Finally I pulled on my motorcycle gloves, sighing as I put a cap on my head to shade my poor white face. "I'm going to turn into a freaking vampire," I murmured as I looked in the mirror. In the darkness, the most apparent thing was my bright violet eyes reflecting in the mirror.

Caedmon bounced on the bed, making it creak and groan under his weight. He grinned and jumped around, twisting in the air, his tail snapping around like a whip.

"You're happy to be back, aren't you," I sighed and rubbed my fingers, remembering the chill of the day before. "Alright... lets go."

It was a very windy day. A sort of windy only Alaskans and Canadians knew- the wind seemed to slice through your clothes and chill you to the bone. I shivered as soon as I stepped out, seeing the thin trees sway a bit in the breeze. Caedmon made another huffing sound as soon as he came out, purple flickering between his jaws. Whatever he did seem to warm him up and he trotted out behind me, keeping to the shade of the trees. Darius and Jesse met me at the corner of the woods and we all headed silently to the cliff side. I could tell Jesse was staring at me, but I didn't say anything and pursed my lips, looking fixedly at the dead leaves before me.

Caedmon was in a great mood and ran around us in circles, trying to see how fast he could go, before zooming off in front of us, legs flying, His fire left a trail of light behind him, like the Flash so he looked like he was going incredibly fast. Then he twisted around and raced right back, his neck pumping as he urged himself to go faster.

"He's full of energy ain't he," Jesse said with amusement in his tone before he backed up as the little comet headed straight for him.

"Incoming!" Darius laughed before short Jesse was bowled over by a hyper dragon. Jesse wheezed on the ground as Caedmon used his belly as a springboard, jumping off and spreading his massive black wings which almost took my breath away. They were ten feet long, their massive span thin like a peregrine falcon's. I hadn't seen them much, so it was quite the shocker when I did. He coasted for a moment before plopping to the ground and turning to smirk at us with his draconian features.

Jesse scowled and turned over. "Ya little rascal. I see you laughing at me," he pointed an accusing finger at the dragon before grunting as he got to his feet, his huge Mohawk kind of askew. I couldn't help but snicker.

Caedmon was getting full of himself. He raced forwards again, his gaze set on Darius. Darius didn't notice as he kept walking to the Cliffside. I watched, brows raising as the dragon's strides lengthened before his body bunched and released like a spring, sending him straight up to the giant's shoulders. His front paws touched Darius' shoulders before pushing off, his hind legs catapulting him off of Darius and into the sky.

"Woah," I whispered as I saw him spread his wings and take flight, coasting on the angry Alaskan winds with ease. I could see every little micro-adjustment, every little flick of the tail as he rode the winds like a cowboy on a bucking bronco. With a shot of warm air, he was propelled higher into the sky.

"Looks like he didn't need the cliff after all," Jesse said. "He just needed the blond giant."

"Very funny," Darius said, but he was grinning to the sky as he watched the small dragon twist and turn in the sky, giving us an aerial show. How did he get so good? I didn't know where he got it from. The wind battered him, sending him left to right, up and down. He flapped a few times and I could see him falter a bit, struggling to stay at the same height.

"The best teacher for flight is flight itself," Darius said wisely as he sat on a stump. I bit my lip, hoping if I concentrated on the dragon he wouldn't start telling me how stupid I was.

"You know what the grounds for deserting is?" Jesse was the one who spoke up instead. "A shot in the back."

I shivered at the thought. I was about to say something but I held back.

"Jesse, calm down. He's just a boy," Darius said, clapping Jesse's back and almost sending the small dude hurtling into outer space. He gave a sigh. "I think you learned your lesson, Justin. Which is why I ain't gonna punish ya for deserting. But if you do it again.... Boy, I will tan your hide. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Caedmon swooped down towards us and I felt his wind ruffle my hair. I beamed up at him.

"It's time for him to build up some muscle. He's going to fly with Tahn Ra to the mountains, while you're going to get a little workout, curtesy of Jesse here."

I looked at Jesse and gulped. This wasn't going to be fun.

I was right.

Jesse tired me out. He worked every part of me, even muscles I didn't know I had. Squats, push ups, crunches, he even had me running around in the Alaskan wilderness. By nightfall, my legs were jello, my lungs were raw, and I was limping. In the meantime, I was informed by Caedmon on all that he overheard when I was out. 

After the work out, I managed to say  "Thanks for killing me,"  to Jesse, who chuckled.

I wasn't the only one who had a rough day. Caedmon's wings were dragging on the ground as he panted, heading back to the house. He had been out flying for hours with Tahn Ra. We were almost too tired to eat. Caedmon flopped on the ground, lazily dragging pieces of his meat to his mouth with his claws.

I cleared my throat, looking around the table. "So... Uncle Darius." I spoke up.

Darius' eyebrows jumped and he looked over at me. "What did you just call me?" He asked.

"Oh sorry. Should I say 'Great Uncle Darius?'" I said pointedly.

Zach seemed to shrink in his chair.

"Who told you that?" Darius demanded.

"It doesn't matter. I found out. And I've got a lot of questions." I sat down my fork. "First one is why? Why not tell me?"

Alasie, Aly, and Jesse all looked towards Darius, slack jawed.

Darius seemed to swell in indignation. "I just didn't want you to expect special treatment for being my relative. I was going to tell you-"

"When?"

"After the war." Darius took an angry bite of his bacon. "Who told you?"

I ignored his question. "Who were my parents? Tell me!"

Darius gave a sigh. "Your father was Ryan Talbot. A regular guy who worked as an auto repair man."

I blinked. So this was it. The grand reveal. They had kept secret from me that my father was an ordinary Joe. Wow. "Seriously? That's it? That's the great secret?" I managed, trying to process this information. So my last name was Talbot. Not Timberlake. Justin Talbot. Not too bad. "Where is he now?"

"Dead."

"How about my mother."

"Well... your mother was a different story. She was a Smith.... But she went down a different path. Her name was Sarah Smith." He paused dramatically as if I would know the name.

I just blinked. "Uh... am I supposed to know the name?"

"Did S-11 teach you nothing," Darius grumbled under his breath. "She's one of the Generals of Mjolnir."

Suddenly the toucan clacked his beak and settled on Darius' shoulder. "I think that's all you should say, Darius."

"Nice to see you again, bigbeak," I snapped at him. "But I deserve to know." Then I fell silent, leaning back against my seat. Mjolnir. So that's why they thought I had joined that hate group. Avery told me that it was a group of Viking-like hunters that killed dragons. That's why Mardu had the borders and everything... "Is that why you didn't tell me?" I whispered. "You were afraid that I would go and join her or something?"

Everyone was silent. They looked down fixedly at their food. Alasie got up and dumped her plate in the sink, heading back to her room.

Darius looked uncomfortable. He adjusted his collar. "Yes." He said, but I could sense there was more and it was killing me. Darius couldn't be telling me the truth. Why had everyone told me my father was a good man if he was just a mechanic? Why keep him secret? And most importantly.... "Is my mother still alive? Why is she part of the dragon hate group?"

"That's enough. I've told you enough." Darius waved a hand dismissively.

I stood up. "Hey, I've got a right to know." I snapped. "These are my parents. I'm your family."

"He has a point there, senpai." Zach piped up.

"That's all I'm going to say." Darius got up and walked over to the fridge, taking out a bottle of vodka. He uncapped it and was about to take a swig before I appeared next to him, like a girl from a horror movie. "I'm not going to let you off the hook that easily." I narrowed my eyes.

"I'll tell you later-"

"Why not now!?"

"SHUT.... UP!" Darius roared in my face. "I'm going to tell you when I tell you! Okay!?" I gulped, realizing that he had grabbed me by the front of my shirt and had dragged me until my face was just inches from his. I closed my eyes, turning my head away from those terrible fangs. I shivered a bit. "O-Okay," I said before I was slowly lowered to the ground, my feet touching the tile floor. I stumbled away as he returned to his vodka, taking another swig.

I turned and huffed, my face turning a bit red as I felt everyone's eyes on me. I lowered my head, ducking out of there. As I did, I grabbed Riley who was perched on the chair and dragged him after me. The bird squawked and flapped, his legs caught in my fist before grabbing my sleeve in his beak precariously, trying to balance there. His large orange eyes seemed to widen even further. "It's about time we had a talk." I said before sitting down in my room and slamming the door after Caedmon slunk in.

"Is this a hostage situation?" Riley squawked.

"Yes," I said bluntly as I sat down on my bed. "What do you know about my family?"

Caedmon crawled up on the bed behind me and spread his wings halfway, letting out a low hiss. Intimidation factor. We had it down. I furrowed my brows at the bird. "Tell me."

"I.... I can't tell you much. But I'll tell you what I do know. I was... your father... I was your father's familiar. His... animal spirit helper. When he died... He entrusted me to you... to take care of you."

"Well, why is he dead? Why didn't you take care of him?" I demanded, giving him a little rattle.

He squawked and adjusted his feathers. "I... I couldn't. He left me to watch over you and went... alone."

"Went where?"

"I can't tell you." Riley said. "He made me promise not to tell."

I rattled the bird harder and Riley flapped hard, squawking his beak off. "Stop! Stop! Familiars must obey their masters! I physically can't tell you!" He managed. I released him and he wobbled, stepping forwards on the bed before flopping on his side, breathing hard. I felt a little twinge of guilt but poked his feathery chest. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Yes. That your father loved you very much. More than anything. I am living proof of that. And your mother... she loved you very much too but she was so young... her father gone, and then her husband. She just couldn't raise you alone. That's why she gave you up."

"She's still alive.... I can still find her," I whispered.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The bird shook his big head, blinking slowly.

"Why not?" Caed and I turned to look at the bird.

"Because she's part of the Mjolnir group!" The bird sputtered. "This is the whole reason we didn't tell you! Because you would try to reach her! She's bad news, Justin. Caedmon will be killed on sight!"

I could see the truth in his words and shut up, settling down. "Alright," I said finally. "Alright." But I wasn't going to let this go. Not by a long shot. Maybe after all this was over... I would find her... reason with her.

Riley hopped onto my bed stand as I got ready for bed. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, Justin."

I just shrugged noncommittally at him and got into bed, pulling the covers up over myself. My mind was spinning so fast that it caused my body to become even more exhausted than it already was. I closed my eyes and sighed softly, slowly succumbing to sleep as Caedmon curled up behind me, taking up most of the bed with his big bulky body. A dark wing spread over me, hiding me in his warm embrace.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The toucan waited until Justin was asleep before he smoothly shifted to a tall, handsome young man. He had black hair just like Justin, thick and styled with gel. His eyes were a deep blue, framed by thick black lashes. He looked Italian, with tanned skin, a slightly hooked nose, and heavy brows. His weathered hand settled on the sleeping teen's side. "I love you, Justin," he whispered, leaning down and pressing his lips to Justin's cheek. Then, he faded into the shadows.