Friendship To Last -[Rrah]-

[Amur]

Ace couldn’t help but smile widely as Varden told him that he was enjoying their conversation as well. The first person that had made a real effort to talk to him hadn’t been put off by Ace’s lack of mastery of the native tongue of this land... He had even said that he was fine with it! Had he made a friend? The idea made him feel happier and his smile only widened. After years of only having Baldur to talk to, Ace had finally made a friend!

As Varden asked Ace where he learned his Pyromancy from, he had to stop and think for just a moment. Obviously, Varden already knew that Ace had learned Pyromancy in Empire Nirvana, so did that mean he wanted a more specific, and more in-depth answer? And did he want to learn exactly how Ace had learned Pyromancy? There was a lot to explain, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to explain everything that was required to learn Pyromancy... But, he was eager to keep talking, so, he was going to try his best.

“F-from the mohn-nahs-stair-ee... Pyromancy is an old-old a-art, an’ can onlee be taught te-to peepol ahft-ter they ha-ve been alt-terd.”
He said slowly. Now trying to think of what to say next, trying to explain things in this foreign language was hard, but, Ace wanted to try it.

“M-magic iz used te-to change teh per-sons so-ul, an’ ab-ill-it-tee t-to use magic. Ahft-ter that, the n-new Pyromancer learnz how t-to use their new Pyromancy... Be-cuss it iz dif-fer-rent to normal magic...”
He finished off, explaining what people in Empire Nirvana at large already knew about Pyromancy. Of course, there was more to explain, but, Ace did not yet possess the knowledge he needed to translate what he hadn’t told Varden... And, his previous Mentors had told him that such knowledge should only be shared with people that he trusted beyond any kind of reasonable doubt. Which, as the way Ace saw it, were the people that were as close to him as Baldur was.

He paused for a long moment, his mind working over various thoughts. He remembered that Baldur had taught him to hold his past close to his heart, and to always treasure it. But, he had also made it a point to teach Ace not to become paranoid to share it with other people, he had said that far too many Nirvanians had lost sight of what it meant to “treasure their past” which had eventually created the Nirvanian way of viewing the value of history.

Baldur had said that he didn’t want Ace to be trapped by the unfair values of a twisted society.

He smiled at Varden again. Suddenly realising that he had not explained how he was different to other Nirvanians to Varden yet.

“Y-you cahn ask me about my history... Baldur says that te-too many of us Nirvanians have bee-come pah-rah-noyd an’ lost sight of wh-wat it meens to tr-treasure our history. He taught me to treasure it, but naht te-to bee afraid of sharin’ it.”
He said lightly, his smile widening once again. He wanted to keep talking to his friend, and if that meant having to tell him about what Baldur had taught him, first. Then he was happy to do so.

[Mali]

Ace had learned pyromancy from a monastery? Did that imply that the art form was considered religious? He wanted to ask Ace about that and confirm his assumptions but knew that Ace wasn’t done explaining yet. He had only told the dragon where he had learned. Then again, that was all that Varden had asked the boy, afraid that if he asked more, he wouldn’t get an answer. But Ace had left his answer with an open end that surely Varden would ask what he meant by ‘altered’, so surely he was going to continue.

And as Varden had suspected, he did continue. Varden knew some of the forms that Morona had spoken about during their first meeting of him. He had even demonstrated for the rider pair what they could do without the use of an ancient language. He had also mentioned that there were other forms of specialised magic, which Varden assumed to be pyromancy. “Morona explained a bit about it. It’s specialized magic. So you can only perform pyromancy then?”

[/b] So Ace’s soul had been altered so he could perform pyromancy. Sounded painful if you asked him. He wondered how one would go about undergoing this transformation. Maybe there was a ritual or something that did it. Maybe like how Morona used the purest form of magic, maybe there was another secret from Empire Nirvana that would help to allow Varden to use and wield the magic he possessed.

“How would one alter the soul? Do you think that this technique could be applied to other forms of magic?”[/b] Ace probably wouldn’t know the answer to his question, but it made Varden curious now. Like using the purest form of magic and being able to alter the soul to be able to wield the magic, maybe there was a way for dragons to use the magic they possessed. He would have to check with Morona about this sometime soon as he couldn’t wait too long to find his solutions.

Brought out of his musings, Varden looked over to Ace as he stated something Varden found very interesting. So he didn’t place a value on personal history like other Nirvanians did? That was very interesting indeed. He figured that there were some pieces of his history that Ace wouldn’t share with him, but to know that most questions were fair game was nice indeed.

“That is good to know Ace. I was worried you wouldn’t answer some of my questions, if I asked, because of the value placed on history by your people.”[/b] he smiled back and heard what Ace called him just as he was leaving his mind. He called him his friend. Varden’s smile softened toward Ace and he felt like nuzzling his head against him but decided not to do so. He might frighten his friend away by getting too close to him too soon.

“Do you like it here so far? Even though you had issues in Empire Nirvana that forced you here, and you have to hide while you’re here, do you at least find it good, to be here?”[/b] Varden was trying to word his question as easily as he could. He didn’t want to confuse the boy with large words.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

“I dun-no how, I cahn naht rem’mber whut the non-humans did, t-to ah-alter me... I jus’ rem’mber that it hurt... It f-felt like burnin’, an’ I wahss sick for a while after...”
He explained to Varden as he asked Ace how his soul had been altered to allow him to use his Pyromancy. Despite the nature of his explanation, however, Ace still managed to smile back at his friend.

“D-dun’ ree-gret it, thow...”
He said happily, thinking for a moment on how Varden’s question could be better answered; the only solutions he could come up with were to ask either Baldur or Nemesis Morona. And while he didn’t want to send his friend away while they were talking, he thought that it would be good to at least put them on the right track for whenever they had the time to ask.

“Baldur or Nemmy Morona w-wood be able te-to answer y-ya’ qwest-on, better ‘en I c-cood.”
He finished, his smile widening ever so slightly as he spoke.

He nodded gently as Varden responded to being told that Ace wouldn’t mind being asked about his history. He knew how offended many Nirvanians could get by being asked even simple questions about their personal histories only because Baldur had explained it to him before he had told Ace that he didn’t want him to ever become to protective of things that, in his own words “ultimately did not matter”.

He wasn’t sure he completely understood why Baldur wanted him to think so differently from everyone else. But, here Baldur’s views on the matter had been right.

He spent a moment thinking about his answer to Varden’s next question, he hadn’t really seen much of Empire Nirvana. And when he thought about the day he had first met Mentor Josk and the week to follow he realised that he had seen more in that short span of time than he had ever seen in his life beforehand, so, he already knew his answer.

“Ye-ja. Did naht see much of Empire Nirvana, spent tew much time ah-way from peepol an’ places. Wh-when we came here, first saw that big sit-tee, the won th-that y-ya’ kind live in. Wahss sh-ok-kin’...”
He said happily, pausing for a brief moment as he remembered the conflict with those idiots that had tried to rob him and Baldur just before they had met Mentor Josk, which made him smile again.

“Iz, a much ees-eeh-er land t-to live in... An’ I dun’ mind the hidin’ so much. I’m used t-to it, was jus’ hidin’ from the armee of W-Warlord Kaathe for as long as I can rem’mber. Ah-at leest here, we ain’t bein’ hunted.”
He concluded lightly.

[Mali]

As Varden expected, Ace didn’t remember what had been done to him to alter his soul to be able to cast magic. But it just meant that he had another lead to follow, when they weren’t running errands for the council that was. He would have to convince Taured to make another visit to Morona to find out if he knew the process of how to change a person so that they could be a pyromancer. If he did, then he might have another clue to helping Varden wield magic.

“That’s good, that you don’t regret it,”

[/b] It would suck if Ace did regret what he had done. Varden assumed that once the ritual, procedure, whatever they did, was done, it couldn’t be undone. For him to regret what he did would be sad.

Again, Ace confirmed that Varden would have to ask either Morona or Baldur about the procedure. He didn’t know where he would find Baldur and didn’t want to risk coming here again to find that he was travelling again so the safer bet would be to go to Morona and find out. That way, he would be able to be sure to get his answers, should Morona know. And seeing as Morona was knowledgeable on practically everything, it would make sense for him to have the answers Varden sought.

Varden chuckled as Ace’s comment on Ilirea. “It is pretty big.”[/b] Ilirea was huge and the capital of the land. It was part of the reason that the riders had chosen it to settle and make their base. The city didn’t have just one race living there. It was cohabitated by both elves and humans and would make for a good spot to suggest peace to the people. Ilirea wasn’t just a good vantage spot for peace, but also very historical. A lot had happened in the city and the largest collections of Alagaesia’s history had been gathered in the city. It only made sense for the Riders to settle there.

Wait, hunted? Why would they be hunted back in Empire Nirvana? Varden understood that the people who had come with Morona were all outsiders in some way and had reasons to leave Empire Nirvana, but he had no idea that some of them had been hunted. Maybe none of the other people with Morona had been hunted, but for Ace and Baldur to be hunted meant something big. “Why were you hunted? Or is that too personal a question?”[/b] Varden knew that he was pushing it. He would consider that piece of information to be highly valued personal history if it were his. He doubted that Ace would even answer the question, but he had to ask. Just in case Ace did decide to answer it.

“I’m glad that you like it here. Maybe one day you could come with us and see some of Alagaesia. After your training is done, of course. You might even enjoy flying,”[/b] He added the last bit as an incentive to Ace. He was implying that the boy would be able to fly with Taured and Varden and he wasn’t leading the boy on. He would gladly have Ace accompany them as long as Taured didn’t mind. The saddle on his back was large enough for two people and Ace was so small compared to Taured that there would definitely be enough room for him.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace sat in silence for a long while as Varden asked him why he had Baldur had been hunted back in Empire Nirvana. While Baldur had explained some of the situation to him, he didn’t know, or completely understand everything he had been told. He spent some time trying to translate what he did know, even if he didn’t understand it.

“Uh, I dun’ un’nerstahnd errythin’ Baldur said. But I cahn tell y-ya’.”
He paused for a brief moment again as he thought about what to say first. Perhaps Baldur’s heritage as the heir of a Warlord would be the best place to start... He nodded gently to himself as he came to that conclusion, and then tried his best to explain it.

“Baldur iz, son of a Warlord... Our mother wahss b-bow-bound tew him by a mat-ing ag-gree-ment... Wh-when she had me, she br-broke that ag-gree-ment. An’ as wahss his ri-ight Baldur’s father tried tew kill me when I wahss a baby.”
He said slowly, trying his very best to pronounce each word properly... He had no idea if he was succeeding, but at least he was trying.

“Baldur did naht let him, an’ kill’d his father while he sl-lept. Break-king the roole of suck-sess-sion with his act... Th-this turned his father’s armee ag-gains-st him, an’ it also turned Warlord Kaathe ag-gains-st him. So he ran. Its jus’ been me an’ Baldur ever s-since I cahn rem’mber. All-ways runnin’ from the armee...”
He finished his small explanation and then fell silent once again. He left out what Baldur had said about their mother, as he was sure Varden wouldn’t want to hear that. He smiled again.

“Wahss naht all bad... May have never become a Pyromancer if things were dif-fer-rent, an’ may have never met you.”
He said warmly.

Ace soon found himself fidgeting as Varden spoke again, flying? The idea was exciting to him, but, he wasn’t quite sure how to express that. He didn’t allow himself to get too excited by the idea, as it would be quite some time before it ever happened, but, he still couldn’t help but smile at the dragon as he said it.

“Fl-flyin’? Sounds, ecks-site-in’... Wh-whut’s it like? I-iz it scary? C-cahn naht im-maag-gin b-bein’ in the sky...”
He said; his curiosity now getting the better of him as his words seemed to speak themselves without his knowing it. He had never had that happen before, was that what happened when people got excited? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to ask. So, he simply found himself smiling again when he fell silent.

[Mali]

Varden was shocked to hear about why they were hunted back in Empire Nirvana. They had mating agreements in Empire Nirvana? What did that entail? And it seems as though Baldur’s mother slept with another man and Ace was born. It would make sense since being in a position of power, that Baldur’s father couldn’t allow his mate to have children with other men. But to kill the baby produced? That didn’t make sense to him. The laws and rules in Empire Nirvana confused the dragon.

Taured had woken up for the good part of the conversation, catching tidbits from Varden’s consciousness but wanting to hear what Ace had to say. He conference with Varden that it was in fact strange and they would be paying another visit to Morona to investigate for their curiosity’s sake. As soon as Ace finished, Taured decided that he would go back to sleep. That was the most interesting that this conversation would get.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I am confused slightly as to what a mating agreement would consist of, but I know you’re just as confused as I am,”

[/b] He smiled down to Ace. They would figure this out. Even though it wouldn’t change anything and there was nothing that the rider pair could do about it, they were still curious about what had happened and why.

Varden smiled down to Ace as he seemed excited at the idea. Sure, he wouldn’t be able to travel with them until his training was over and that wouldn’t be for quite a while, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t take Ace flying for a bit.

“It’s a lot of fun. It can be scary when you travel down at fast angles, the pit of your stomach moves to your throat.”[/b] He was talking about the feeling that Taured had first gotten when Varden had been cheekier and decided to do a downward drop. As cheeky as he had been, he had even started spiraling as they fell down to the ground before he shot his wings out and hovered above the ground. It was a good thing he wasn’t as cheeky as he had been. But then again, Taured had instigated the act by saying that flying couldn’t possibly be that terrifying. Varden still remembered hearing Taured scream as they were about to hit the ground, his legs pushing against Varden’s shoulders as his hands held onto the saddle to keep from flying off. Fond memories.

Looking over at Taured who had gone back to sleep, Varden then looked at Ace with a smirk on his face. “Hey, I have an idea, want to go up?”[/b] As he asked, he nodded his head to the sky and his smirk widened into a grin. “I promise not to do any nose dives toward the ground or anything that could make you fly off the saddle. So what do you say? Wanna go up for a fly?”[/b] He hoped Ace would. It would prove to be fun, he knew it.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace was not entirely sure why Varden had said that he was sorry to hear what he had just been told, but something told Ace it was a comment he should be appreciating. So, he allowed himself another small smile despite the fact he did not understand why Varden had just said what he did. He listened to Varden as he explained to Ace what flying was like –Ace making the assumption that he had been describing it from Taured’s point of view, as he had the feeling that beings able to fly did not experience flight in the same way as those who were unable to fly naturally- and he found himself enthralled, as he had thought, it sounded exciting.

Varden looked back at Taured and then turned back to Ace and smirked at him.

Ace blinked slowly as Varden asked if he wanted to go up... As Varden’s smirk widened into a grin, Ace felt somewhat conflicted, he wanted to see what flying was like, but he still had Mentor Josk’s threat to think about.

“Wh-whut? Now?”
He looked at Varden curiously as he promised not to do any nosedives toward the ground.

“Y-ya’ did that tew Taured?”
Ace asked, chuckling as he tried (and failed) to envision that scene. He spent a moment longer thinking over his decision, surely, if he was with Varden; then he wouldn’t be in any immediate danger, would he? Varden would know what would be dangerous well enough to know that he should avoid them, in his mind’s eye, it made sense... He thought, for just a moment longer on Mentor Josk’s cryptic words and then decided that what Mentor Josk did not know would not hurt him.

He smiled at Varden and nodded at him.

“Ah-all right... If y-ya’ dun’ mind it.”
He said slowly, if Varden was alright with showing Ace what it was like to fly, then it would have been rude to reject, wouldn’t it? Standing up slowly, Ace stretched his legs slowly to work off the discomfort brought on by the simple act of standing up after having been sat down for so long. He had no idea what he should be doing, though.

“Y-ya’ will have t-tew show me whut I sh-ood d-dew. ‘Cause I dun-no.”
He said slowly, unsure of whether or not he should be embarrassed by that, after all, he had apparently been expected to immediately know that dragons were sentient upon arriving in this land from a distant, and foreign land that did not contain the species, so he had no idea what else he was expected to just immediately know... Though, he didn’t think Varden would make any assumptions of him, the dragon had been so patient with him so far.

He smiled, staying where he was stood for the moment, he didn’t want to make the assumption that it was alright for him to get closer to Varden. Doing so in Empire Nirvana was considered rude, so, he waited.

[Mali]

Varden nodded his head as Ace asked if Varden meant now. Of course he meant now, when else would they have a chance to do this? They couldn’t do it if Baldur was here as he would state that it was impractical and dangerous for him to go up and he had no idea what Josk would say but it would probably be a no as well.

“Yea, it was my first time flying and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to do it and Taured here, acts all cocky as in, ‘this won’t be scary,’ so after I got the hang of it, I thought I’d teach him a lesson.”

[/b] It wasn’t one of Taured’s better moments. He had learned from his humility and fright and knows never to judge something before he tries it. Flying wasn’t scary, it was when Varden decided to do weird angles or convince Taured to do tricks that it could get frightening. However, he wouldn’t do that with a first time flyer.

“No, I don’t mind, it’ll be fun. Okay, so I’ll help you get up and into the saddle, and we’ll go from there.”[/b] Taured was so tall that when Varden was lying on the ground, he was able to just climb over Varden’s knees and climb into the saddle by himself. But Ace was much shorter and wouldn’t be able to climb up by himself.

Varden stretched out on the ground, leaning to one side so the edge of the saddle was closer to the ground. However, he was confused when Ace remained where he was standing. “Ace, you don’t have to keep your distance.”[/b] Varden smiled to him and motioned for the boy to come over and climb onto his tail. He would use his tail to help lift Ace into the saddle if he wasn’t able to reach the edge of the saddle and pull himself up.

“Once you’re on my saddle, there’s a belt for your waist. It’s to stop you from being able to fall out of the saddle. Once buckled in, I’ll run over a few more things you should know before we go up. So, climb aboard.”[/b] Varden gave Ace a sincere and gentle smile, hoping that he would have reassured the boy before climbing into the saddle.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace chuckled again as Varden elaborated on how he had taught Taured a lesson during their first flight together. He found the idea of someone like Taured actually finding anything scary, he seemed like he was usually the calm and logical type –almost like Baldur- the idea of someone like that being scared was something that Ace found funny, and was something that he resolved himself to seeing at least once before he died.

He nodded gently as Varden told him that he didn’t have to keep his distance, however, Ace was still hesitant and approached slowly. The largest being that Ace had ever been near had been Nemesis Morona, and while the man confused him, he at least retained some kind of humanoid form, and wasn’t quite this big.

He liked Varden, but the size difference still made Ace feel intimidated and hesitant to approach him. However, he continued walking. Determined not to shrink away, not after the –what looked like- encouraging smile Varden gave him.

As he reached Varden, Ace paused and looked up at the saddle. And then back down again, drawing in a calming breath, he gingerly placed one of his hands gently on the dragon’s side. He held the position for several seconds before reaching his above his head, taking hold of the saddle, and then hoisting himself towards it.

It took him several seconds, due to the awkward positioning, and the fact he was unsure of how exactly he should be climbing another living being –which was not a situation that he ever thought he would find himself in- but he made it with minimal help.

He gasped and grabbed onto another part of the saddle as Varden straightened himself up when Ace had made it to the saddle, taking a moment to adjust to the unusual feeling that his new position brought with it. He drew in another calming breath before searching for the belt that Varden had mentioned moments ago –which was a short-lived task- and fastening it around his waist.

He began to feel nervous.

“A-all-right... S-sek-curr’d my-self... Wh-whut now?”
He asked. The feeling of nervousness intensifying, however, that was largely dwarfed by the excitement that was likewise, slowly intensifying. This was a completely new experience for The Young Pyromancer, he was already trembling –though, whether that was down to nervousness or excitement he could not tell- he smiled meekly now.

“N-no reeg-grets... No mat-ter whut hap-pens.”
He said happily.

[Mali]

Varden was patient as Ace slowly moved closer to the dragon. He knew that his size was massive compared to Ace, that he was far taller than Morona even but he couldn’t be the biggest thing that Ace had ever met. It’s called a mountain; they were certainly bigger than Varden. Then again, mountains didn’t move and weren’t alive. Unless they were volcanoes, then it could be considered alive. Good thing they didn’t have any immediate volcanoes in Alagaesia.

Varden turned his head to watch Ace, his tail moving closer to the boy, ready to help should he need it but as Ace started to hoist himself up, Varden assumed that he was doing fine on his own. As the boy climbed up, Varden had to admit that he hardly felt a thing. The boy was so light compared to Taured. When Taured climbed up, he could really feel the weight of the elf against his limbs. He didn’t mind the way that Taured climbed up, it was just a difference between the two. Since Ace was so light, would Varden be able to tell if Ace fell out of the saddle? But then again, as long as he was buckled in, he wouldn’t be able to fall out of the saddle.

As soon as the boy was settled into the saddle, Varden shifted so he wasn’t leaning down any more. He wasn’t sure if Ace had buckled himself in yet, but that position was awkward for the dragon. He shifted on his feet a bit, shaking his body gently back and forth as Ace said that he was secured. “Just checking,”

[/b] Varden smiled to the boy, though he wouldn’t be able to really see it from his position.

Now what would he tell the boy next? They would need a way to communicate when they were high up. Since the wind could be really loud in the ears, it would be hard to hear the boy should he try to speak. It was essential that they have a way of communicating should he get too scared, sick, or just want down.

“Okay, so since it may be hard for you to speak with your mind like I am, I have to implement a system. When you want to go in a certain direction, tap that corresponding side with your foot. When you want to go higher or lower, brush your hand along the back of my neck in the direction you want to go in. And if you want to stop, then kick both legs into my sides. Don’t worry, my scales are hard enough that I won’t feel any pain.”[/b] Varden said all this as he started to stretch his wings out. Like preparation before a takeoff, Varden started to steady himself against the ground. How should he takeoff? He couldn’t do it abruptly, but it was harder to get up in the air if he started out slowly. He could always run into it and take off, it would be less abrupt for Ace if he did it that way.

“I’m going to run a bit to get started, should be easier on your stomach. Are you ready?”[/b] Varden waited for Ace to say something before he started to run through the clearing. His wings were spread out wide and making sweeping motions as he built up air current underneath the flesh membranes. And then he jumped into the air. Ace’s stomach might jump to his throat for the brief moment as they left the ground, but that should go away soon.

As they got higher and higher, Varden made sure to look out for anyone that may notice them. He knew that there were nomad elves in the area that travelled through the area often. It wouldn’t be good if Ace were to be seen atop a dragon. At least, not in this area of Alagaesia.

As they climbed higher and higher in the sky, Varden could see the manor where Josk lived easily and started to fly away from it. It would be safe to travel past the mountains near Kirtan and toward the desert. There wouldn’t be many in that direction since the nomad elves liked to stay in the cover of the trees.

Once they were a safe distance away from the ground and swiftly approaching the mountains he decided that he would let Ace choose where they go next. “Have your ears made a popping sound yet? Where would you like to go now?”[/b] As Varden spoke, he turned his head to look at Ace as best as he could to see what he would do. Speaking directly into Ace’s mind meant that even with the wind in his ears, he’d still be able to hear Varden easily. They were about to pass over the mountain, maybe Ace would want to land, although Varden doubted it. Should he want to land, all he would have to do is brush down Varden’s neck and he would go down and eventually land.

A thought just occurred to the dragon, He hadn’t told Ace to hold onto the saddle horn if he needed something to hold onto. Oh well, the boy figured something out already.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace grabbed onto the saddle as Varden shook himself, while the shaking had only been gentle, it had been unexpected enough for Ace to have to suddenly grab hold of something if only to steady himself. Ace simply smiled as Varden then informed him that he was just checking –presumably to make sure that he was secure-and shook his head gently.

“L-leetle more warn-nin’ next time...”
He replied lightly, with a small chuckle. He sat in silence; waiting for whatever Varden would say next, after all, there were undoubtedly things that he would need to know. He listened carefully to what the dragon had to say when he did speak; Ace listened to what he had to say carefully. He made sure to keep detailed mental notes on the signals that Varden gave him in order to know what he should be doing if he wanted Varden to do certain things. He was about to protest when Varden told Ace to kick him in the sides if he wanted to stop, but before he could open his mouth to speak he was reassured that Varden would not feel pain from the action.

So, he simply nodded gently.

“All-right...”
He replied. He looked around briefly and then quietly found himself holding his breath as Varden stretched his wings. There was a brief pause before Varden told Ace how he intended to take a running-start and asking him if he were ready. He absently nodded before answering Varden’s question vocally.

“Ye-ja...”
He answered, almost breathlessly. He gasped and reflexively grabbed hold of the saddle as Varden started to run forward. And then, the world around him lurched awkwardly, leaving an odd, almost empty feeling in the pit of his stomach and an equally odd almost weighty feeling in the back of his throat. While the experience the was brief and passed quickly, he found himself rapidly opening and closing his mouth and clucking his tongue as though tasting something strange for several seconds after the feeling had dissipated.

Then a whole host of other experiences assaulted him. At first, it took him some moments to adjust to having so much wind just... All around him; which for several seconds made breathing somewhat difficult, however, that feeling also passed. Then came a brief moment of fear; which rapidly dissipated and changed to an intense surge of exhilaration, he was barely even aware of the fact that they were still gaining altitude now.

Blinking rapidly against the wind he felt and heard an odd hollow popping noise in his ears, which made him jump ever so slightly. However, his sense of exhilaration continued to build, and he laughed excitedly as Varden continued to gain altitude.

As the dragon levelled and began flying in a solid direction, Ace allowed himself to looked around and get his bearings. He very slowly worked his way toward just looking down, and while that induced a sudden sense of nausea that was mitigated by the feeling of awe that the view of the land below gave him. He couldn’t help but stare, just to see everything laid out before him like this was breathtaking in its own way. Looking down at everything also offered an odd feeling of freedom, he couldn’t have possibly said why, the feeling of freedom, after spending so long in hiding with Baldur was something that Ace had yet to become accustomed to under normal circumstances, perhaps this feeling was little more than adrenaline... But he couldn’t tell.

He was so enthralled by the scene that he actually jumped as Varden spoke. Blinking several times, he nodded in response to Varden’s first question, and found himself unable to really answer the second question. He didn’t know anything about this land, how was he supposed to know where he was asking to go?

He opened his mouth to speak and then shook his head gently; he doubted that Varden would be able to hear him over the wind. And even if he could, Ace didn’t think he would be able to find his voice in order to speak, so how did he answer such a question? He remained in his state of awe-inspired enthrallment for several moments longer before he looked back at Varden as best as he was able.

Unable to speak mentally and unlikely to be heard vocally, Ace did the only thing that immediately came to mind and smiled gently while shrugging to the dragon. He didn’t mind where they went, because he had no idea where or what anything was. In fact, right now, he didn’t particularly want to land.

Even though he was still adjusting to the experience that was flying, he had to admit that Varden was right, this was fun.

[Mali]

“Sorry,”

[/b] Varden should have given Ace a little more warning before he had shaken his body back and forth. At least his intentions were in the right place.

As they started to take off, Varden could faintly hear a clucking sound and looked around to see if there were any birds nearby. Nope, no birds, so what was making that clucking noise? It couldn’t be Ace, could it? What could he possibly be doing?

Varden had turned to face the boy to ask his questions but received a shrug in response. Well that told Varden a lot. He had no idea where they should go. It would take a while for them to cross any vast parts of land so taking him to the Beor Mountains was out of the question. If only he could take Ace to see the wild dragons. But then again, it would probably be a bad idea even if it were possible. Sure, the wild dragons might also be amazed with Ace’s ability to create flames, but he had no way of protecting the boy. At least Taured had magic to protect himself, Ace was still learning and in training mode. The Beor Mountains were a bad a idea anyways.

They were about to pass over the mountain ahead of them and Varden decided to do a slow turning circle around the tip of the mountain. His body was tilted at an angle as they circled the tip of the mountain. If Ace reached out, he would probably be able to touch the tip of the mountaintop. That was, if he reached his hand out. As they did a few circles, Varden flapped his wings once to gain speed so they would be able to leave the slow circling with ease.

He was headed toward the desert now and knew that it would take an hour for them to cross the entirety of the Hadarac desert. As soon as they entered the desert, Varden felt that there wouldn’t be much to look at and decided to take a right turn and started heading to the silent plains.

Then an idea hit him. Ace had mentioned seeing Ilirea once and how big it was, maybe he should take him there. But it was a fair ways away from where they were right now. Maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea after all. If Taured were with them, then it would be safer for Ace to go see Ilirea with him, but since Taured wasn’t with them, they should probably avoid big cities. So where should he take Ace? Maybe to the spine and back? That sounded safer.

They had been flying for a half hour when they finally approached Isenstar lake. It would be another half hour to get to the spine and then an hour to get back. Maybe they should cut their trip short and head back now.

Performing a sharp turn, Varden steadied himself in the air before deciding to have a little fun with Ace. “Hold on tight,”[/b] Varden warned before he started to dip down for a moment before tilting back upward, as if were following an up and down track, he started to weave himself back and forth as he dipped up and down. Then he thought about it, maybe Ace would want to try a trick before they headed back?

“Want to do a spin? You won’t fall out if we do, don’t worry, but you will be upside down for a brief moment. Kick my sides if you do,”[/b] Oh Varden wished that Ace would kick his sides.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace was still utterly enthralled by the scenery he was able to look down upon, in a way; even his response to Varden’s question had been half-hearted. Since the view was very distracting for him, he hadn’t expected flying to be quite this amazing. He was jolted from his distraction as Varden circled a mountain, he couldn’t help but stare. He had only ever seen them from a distance, to suddenly be this close to one...

He did briefly consider reaching out, just to touch it... However, he stopped himself; he was already in awe from this incredible, yet, very surreal experience. He didn’t want to do anything he may end up regretting, as he was right now, Ace was perfectly content to just sit and enjoy the rest of the flight.

He had no idea just how long they had been flying for, in fact, he had barely been aware of the time passing by at all. There was just so much to look at, so much to admire that Ace was just ignoring every other sense that alerted him to the world around him.

(In a way it was similar to the way he usually ignored Mentor Josk’s rants, but different; which was once again, something that he couldn’t even explain to himself...)

It was due to his continued enthrallment of the experience as a whole that once again allowed Varden’s next words to catch him unawares –very much the same way as they had done the last time- it took him a brief moment to register what Varden had said before he followed the instruction and held on tightly to the saddle.

He let out a loud gasp as Varden dove down-wards a short distance, and then tilted himself back up to gain some more altitude before making another short distance dive to begin the process anew. The motion and the feeling of exhilaration that this part of the flight caused him to feel was enough to make him laugh again. This was the same kind of feeling he got whenever a fight was unavoidable, or whenever he had to kill someone, but, it was more intense. It was... Enjoyable, in fact; Ace could honestly say to himself that this was the first truly enjoyable experience of his life so far.

Ace blinked as Varden asked him if he wanted to do a spin. He had no reason to doubt Varden when he said that it was safe, but the idea made him apprehensive. Everything that had already happened today had been a new experience for Ace, and likely all experiences that he would never forget, how could he?

But then again, if he had already experienced so much today, then what was one more new experience? There was a chance he wouldn’t get to do this again, would he regret passing up an opportunity like this if he didn’t take it now? He held his decision in mind for a brief second before deciding to throw caution to the wind, and kicking Varden in the sides.

[Mali]

Varden chuckled as Ace gasped as they did up and down arcs through the air. It was like an up and down track that he was following, but he could sense that Ace was happy. Rubbing his mind against Ace’s gently, not saying anything this time; he decided to see what he was thinking. He knew the boy was enjoying the joy ride that he was giving him. And that made Varden happy. He was glad that he was able to do something for Ace. He knew that he shouldn’t ask Ace to demonstrate his pyromancy as it would make Josk angry at Ace, but at least he was able to do something for the boy. This time, he wouldn’t ask for anything in return.

And then he felt it, Ace kicked his sides and Varden couldn’t help but grin to no one in particular. This was going to be fun. “Okay, here goes,”

[/b] And then Varden started to do a barrel roll/corkscrew movement with Ace buckled in tightly, his hair going in different directions at the movement and angles as they spun upside down.

He was laughing as they pulled out of the corkscrew spin; he was having fun right now. Maybe Ace wouldn’t notice if he were to do a loop. Of course, Ace would notice, but maybe he wouldn’t comment on the extra trick that was added in. Deciding in that brief moment, Varden started to angle his body into a loop-de-loop motion, going around in a looping motion twice before flying upside down for a moment before spinning to right himself again.

Looking back at Ace, Varden grinned. “I couldn’t help myself, sorry for the extra tricks,”[/b] he smiled sheepishly to the boy. Hopefully Ace wouldn’t mind.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Ace kept a tight hold of the saddle as Varden gave him extra warning before performing the more complex aerial trick, for a long moment Ace lost track of which direction was up and which direction was down as Varden did a mid-air roll. And while it was similarly exhilarating and all-around more intense experience than simply flying was, it didn’t scare him. In fact, if anything, he found it exciting, and thrilling.

He even managed to allow himself to make a loud “whooping” sound as the moment occurred.

He even managed to laugh again as Varden began flying normally again. The entire experience had been exhilarating to Ace, and he was grateful for it. Not that he would be able to thank Varden until after they had landed, since he very much doubted that the dragon would be able to hear him over the wind.

There was a brief moment where Varden simply continued to fly before he suddenly angled upwards again. Clinging tightly to the saddle, Ace could only laugh yet again as Varden performed further aerial tricks with him. He couldn’t understand how Taured couldn’t find such tricks enjoyable, he could admit that the aerial tricks weren’t needed to make flight an unforgettable experience, but by themselves the tricks were fun, heart pounding, and exciting.

Maybe Taured was just boring.

He smiled as Varden apologised for the extra tricks, not understanding why he was apologising, Ace had enjoyed them. He smiled back at the dragon as he looked back at Ace and once again shrugged lightly, just to show that he didn’t mind. And despite not really knowing how to speak mentally –and due to the fact that all of his inner-most thoughts were still in Nirvanian-Common- he managed to organise his thoughts enough to let his sense of enjoyment sit at the forefront of them for at least a second or two.

In fact, Ace gingerly took one of his hands from the area of the saddle he had been using to keep himself steady and slowly reached forward and placed his hand on the back of Varden’s neck. He paused for a moment, trying to remember what Varden had told him before they had taken to the sky and then slowly moved his hand upwards, brushing his palm along the back of Varden’s neck in order to indicate that he wanted to go higher.

He wanted to have some more fun with this flight before they had to land.

[Mali]

Varden could hear the ‘whoop’ that Ace let out and thought that it was a nice change. He wouldn’t say that Taured was a stick in the mud, he just had an uneasy stomach. It wasn’t his fault that he got sick to his stomach very easily. Didn’t make him any less fun to be around though. Varden loved his elven brother for who he was.

After apologising, he noticed the wide smile on Ace’s lips. He could hear the laughing he’d done when he performed the tricks. Meaning that Ace really did enjoy himself when he performed aerials. That was good to know. Sadly, Varden didn’t know many other tricks other than the loop-de-loop and the barrel roll. If he did, he would be doing them for Ace. He wondered, should he do a nose dive, how Ace would feel about it. Would it be as much fun for him as the tricks were?

And then Varden felt Ace’s hand on the back of his neck. He waited to see if Ace remembered what to do and as he felt the hand slide up his neck, Varden angled his body up so they could go higher. He wondered why Ace would want to go higher. Varden saw the clouds up ahead and decided to go as high as the clouds. If Ace stuck his hands in the air, he would be able to feel the cloud. Maybe he should suggest it.

“You can touch the clouds Ace, go ahead.”

[/b] Varden smiled to no one in particular.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

The sense of exhilaration that Ace was feeling intensified as Varden followed his request to go higher. He noticed the air grow colder as teh dragon continued to ascend, but right now, Ace was enjoying himself far too much to care about such a small discomfort. Smiling to himself, Ace absently wondered how Varden (and to a slightly lesser extent, Taured) could ever want to land. Flight was so exciting; he knew that he would be somewhat saddened when they would inevitably have to land. But, he couldn’t complain about it... Much...

Concealing a small yawn Ace looked up suddenly when Varden told him that he could touch the clouds. Blinking, Ace simply sat; staring in wonder for a long while. He hadn’t noticed how close they had been to the clouds! He had seen them, who hadn’t? But, he had never once dreamed that he would ever be able to get so close to them, until now, they had just been there, forever out of reach.

Gingerly, Ace once again removed his hand from the saddle, but this time, he slowly raised it above his head. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting to feel when he first touched them, but, even so, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock when he felt how cold and wet the clouds were. He wasn’t sure if it was the sudden drop in temperature or the sudden increase in moisture that shocked him the most, though.

It was just another one of those things that Ace found himself unable to explain, he was glad in that case, that he would not have to explain this to anyone else. Ace shook his hand off as he lowered it in order to get rid of at least some of the moisture that had covered his hand. But now, his hand was really cold. He gave his hand one last shake and then pinned it between the side of his torso and his arm, so that he could use the fabric of the shirt he was wearing to fully dry his hand, and then, held it there for several seconds. Just to allow his hand to warm up slightly.

He sat still for several seconds, simply trying to decide on what he should do next. But, for now he didn’t really have anything else he could request. He knew already that asking to go highly would have been far too cold for him to ignore, and he wasn’t quite ready to go lower just yet, so, would it be best for him just to enjoy the rest of the flight before they had to land?

Nodding gently to himself, Ace took his hand from under his arm and once again reached forward and placed his hand on the back of Varden’s neck. This time, however, he simply held it there and smiled gently.