꧁ The Last Hope HBD IC (semi open- PM ME!) ꧂

❖ Byxem Arros • Neha

Byx tensed as they felt Raymond's rough hand lay on their's. "It's gonna be okay," he had whispered in a calming voice.

No, no, nothing is ever going to be okay this is not okay. What would your family think? They cleared their throat, opening their eyes and nodding to Raymond, with a (forced) grateful smile plastered on their face. Why were their palms so sweaty? They cleared their throat again, wiping their other hand on their pants, looking the in opposite direction of Raymond. They focused on one of the children, the girl that had brought a falcon. Nyx, her name was. Hm. How confusing.

"When will we get our wyverns?" she asked, her expression flat and jaw tense. Byx raised a nrow, momentarily forgetting about Raymond. "You will get them when earn them, child," they said, not unkindly. Yes, it seemed rude, but it was the truth. "You are hardly ready to take care of yourself, much less a powerful beast."

As they spoke, they glanced up at the sky to Neha, her golden scales flashing in the light like mini suns. High above them, she let out a great roar, cracking her wings together, before soaring towards Kyrena and diving underneath her, catching an air current and shooting back up behind her. Wyverns were dangerous creatures, and needed to be treated with respect. They would have to teach these kids how to properly act. They looked down their nose at Nyx, eyes narrowed and mouth a thin line.

۝ Ilia || Kyrena  ۝

Kyrena allowed the snapping tail and soared up on the air current, swinging her wings at the younger dragon. Her larger claws flashed at Neha but the fire wyvern was careful not to truly strike Neha. There was a decent age and maturity difference between the two, and after the strike the harpoon had caused, Kyrena was terribly careful around the other wyvern.

Ilia, watching Byx and Nyx - how matchy - suppressed a small smile. "As Headmaster Arros said. Once you are ready, once the wyverns are ready, they will choose you. We can try and prepare you but it's not up to us in the long run, it's all on you."

Kyle had just snuck up behind them, watching silently. Ilia turned slightly, "Just quickly, this is Kyle, another of the dragon handlers. You'll likely see him around as well." Had she remembered to invite him to whatever lessons he felt like attending? That was.... a good question. Later.

"Any other questions so far? If not, I suppose if everyone's ready, we can get started with the day. It'll be an easy day, we'll start proper lessons tomorrow." Give them a chance to get changed if they needed to, ask Byx and Raymond what they thought of the younger ones.

❖ Byxem Arros • Neha

Ah, what was taking so long? These children were so unresponsive. It made Byxem tap their foot impatiently, their body tense. There was so much to be done! They considered speaking up, but they didn't want to overstep Ilia's boundaries. They knew how she got when she was pissed; they had often witnessed it first-hand and even been on the receiving end once. It was utterly terrifying.

Leaning over to Ilia, they whispered under their breath. "Are you sure this is all of them?" Byx glanced around. Wasn't there one more? Was Byx going crazy? They could be overthinking, but the idea of one of the children being taken right under all of their noses kept pushing past their more logical reasoning. Without waiting for an answer from Ilia, they looked up to Neha, squinting at the bright sky, reaching into their pocket as they did so. Pulling out a small wooden trinket. Taking in a deep breath, they blew, and the call let out a strange sound, similar to the crackling calls of Neha, but at a higher pitch and with longer intervals.

Far above, the storm wyvern paused, tilting her head down at the humans. Couldn't they see she was busy? She let out a long huff, throwing her head over to look at Kyrena, rolling her eyes like she'd observed Byx doing many times. She pulled in her wings, tucking her legs in close and stiffening her tail. Angling her tail down, she swooped down, landing with a great thud. What was so important that they just had to bother her?? Stooping low, she roughly nudged Byx, who grabbed her snout and pulled her head down, looking her in the eyes. "I apologize for spoiling your fun, old friend," they said, to which she snorted in agreement. "But I must ask you of a favor."

She flicked her ear, considering them, before turning her head and tilting it down. Byx cupped her ear, whispering. When they were done speaking, Neha nodded with a snort. As Byxem stepped back to give her room, she flung upon her wings and jumped into the air, soaring away. She had a mission to accomplish! Byx watched her retreating form, her head swaying back and forth as she watched the land below. They felt a weight being lifted from their chest.

۝ Ilia || Kyrena  ۝

"There is, but she lives perhaps the furthest away. Apart from young Ori. I'm sure she's quite alright. Neha will find her in any case, I'm sure." Ilia replied, too late to stop the wyvern soaring away. Kyrena landed soon after, mood soured as her spines crackled uncomfortably against each other.

"Not to worry, Neha has just gone looking for a friend. They've travelled far, likely slept in and not woken in time." Ilia explained, keeping the student part out of it. There would doubtless be some smart enough to figure that wasn't it all, but that was of no concern to them. Which, already, seemed apparent. Nyx's gaze had followed Neha and she seemed more prepared to retreat to her dorms. Alright, that was good enough. Time to move on.

"What an odd start hmm? Are you all ready? We'll be walking a bit, mostly just talking and walking... hopefully sitting. I do hope I've set out some chairs in the rooms, get a small break.... ah well. If not then head back to your dorms... oh! Of course, dorms, I rather suppose I've forgotten about those. Did everyone find a decent one? Given the small amount of students, I figured I would leave it for you but of course, I've gone and missed that in the letters of instruction, haven't I?" Ilia laughed lightly, hoping to set some of the more anxious students at ease.

"To cut down on my rambling, if you aren't in clothes you're happy to wear to walk around - both flat ground and stairs - head up to a dorm and get changed. The dorms won't be given signs with your name until next week, giving you time to pick and choose. If everyone is comfortable, then we'll head on around for a small tour and explanation of what we'll be doing."