Chapter Text
Naolin POV
It’s the first week of December, and I sigh in relief as I step outside the walls of the rider citadel into the icy cold wind sweeping through Basgiath. It’s been dark for a few hours already, so I can just barely see the puffs of steam that my slightly fast breaths make in the air. Pressing my back into the stone wall, I get the frigid structure to brush against my neck, providing further relief.
When I was chosen during Threshing by Tairn, one of the most formidable dragons on the Continent and a cunning, rare black, I didn’t exactly imagine this to be one of the results.
It’s still a little surreal that he chose me as being worthy for his first rider. Tairn didn’t go to Presentation like the other dragons; I’m pretty sure he finds the whole concept degrading and a disregard for his time. He only arrived in the valley for Threshing after I inserted myself into an unfair fight on behalf of my friend.
Christa is one of the other first years in my squad, and she’s fast and ruthless. But she’s also gorgeous, and that’s why she was targeted. A group of five bastards who came across her in the valley decided it was an ideal time to corner her and have fun. She killed two of them, but their numbers were too overwhelming. When I ventured past them, they had her backed into the wall of a cliff, completely disarmed, and were starting to tear at her clothes.
I saw red as I threw myself into the mix, ending one with a thrown dagger before fighting the remaining pair and killing them as well. Dealing out death, especially to my fellow cadets, is never the path I want to take. But any man who targets a woman against her wishes doesn’t deserve to live.
That was when Sgaeyl appeared, creeping forward through the thick forest until she towered above us. Her piercing gaze locked on me for long enough I thought her golden eyes would be the last thing I ever saw, until she flicked her attention back to Christa. My squadmate made a gasping noise of surprise when the blue daggertail spoke with her, thanking me quickly before she went to mount her newly claimed dragon. I gave her a wide grin and a salute as she took to the air for the first time.
Only a few minutes later, the sun was blocked entirely from the area around me before the ground shook enough to send me scrambling for my footing. A quick glance up showed me midnight black scales and eyes so intelligent I knew this dragon was smarter than any man could fathom. I probably should have looked away to try and preserve my chances at life, but something in the gaze intrigued me. The two of us stared at each other for a few minutes until Tairn’s echoing voice pierced my skull, commanding me to climb. I couldn’t help but wonder what had triggered his arrival when he hadn’t bothered with Presentation, but figured I should wait to ask that question until he was a little less likely to incinerate me for being annoying.
We arrived at the flight field to the sound of fierce dragon cries at his unexpected presence. All the smaller reptiles scrambled from the center of the field to give Tairn room to land, heads bowing in acknowledgement of respect and power. Sgaeyl was the only one who didn’t defer to him, instead walking toward his side and brushing her tail against his.
That was when I realized. They were mates, and he must have watched the encounter with the now dead cadets through Sgaeyl’s mind. Otherwise, I’m certain he wouldn’t have deemed a human worthy of his time when he’d been unbonded for nearly a century. Which means that I have the mating bond to be thankful for being chosen, but I also now have to survive the activities that go along with it.
Thank the gods Tairn decided to start truly channeling to me a couple days ago. In that time, I’ve worked endlessly to make my shields into something tangible for this very moment. Meaning that even though I still feel some effects of his escapades with his mate, it doesn’t make me want to grab the nearest person and lose every last thought in my brain other than satisfying the lust. Still, the biting winter air is refreshing against my hot skin triggered by the sensations I can’t block.
When I have my breathing back under control and my shields reinforced to the point that I trust myself around other people again, I head back into the citadel. My squad will almost certainly be wondering where I am - this is one of the evenings that we meet in the small weight room off the main sparring gym for additional training.
A flash of movement in the corridor in front of me grabs my attention. I’m in a relatively unused area of the fortress, and what’s more perplexing is the fact that the sound of the footsteps is from someone very lightweight, with a small stride. A child, I realize with astonishment. What in the gods’ names is a little kid doing in the riders quadrant?
They’re going in the opposite direction I need to, but I change course to follow them. I’m fairly certain the rider cadets will show more leniency to an out of bounds child than if someone from another quadrant was snooping around, but there are still some unsavory figures I don’t like to picture the little one running into.
“Do you always have such a penchant for inserting yourself into situations that have nothing to do with you?” Tairn grumbles in my mind. Guess he’s done with his antics for the night.
“I think you already know the answer to that. After all, inserting myself without an invitation is what piqued your interest during Threshing and led to the start of our glorious partnership,” I respond cheerfully. My dragon is the definition of a curmudgeon, and I take great pleasure in providing the voice of optimism in our conversations. “Besides, no child deserves to be caught by cadets with less than noble intentions. You’ve even said you have a soft spot for hatchlings yourself.”
He growls out something entirely unintelligible. Although we’ve only been bonded for a little over two months, he’s mentioned the young dragon he took into his care some years ago several times. She’s apparently into the true adolescent phase now, and is extremely fond of bothering him and his mate. I’m also convinced he grumbles about her just because he’s decided it’s required of him, but from the tone of his voice I can tell he has a very real fondness for whoever the youngster is.
Creeping forward on silent feet, I call out. “Hello? Is someone there?” No need to give the kid a heart attack by actually sneaking up on them.
Silence is my only response. However, I know this part of the citadel well enough to realize we’re in a hallway that results in a dead end; only classrooms branch off of it. Meaning there’s no way the child is going to get away from me, and I should just be patient and do my best to not frighten them.
Making it around the corner to the dead end hall, I stop and lean casually against the wall. “I know you’re here. There isn’t an exit from this area, so the only way you can leave is by going past me. The only question is if I’ll have to go through all the classrooms to find you, or if you’ll come out on your own. Your choice, I really don’t have anywhere else to be.” Not exactly the truth, but that doesn’t matter.
A little shuffling noise comes from the classroom two doors down on my right, and then to my great surprise a young girl leans out curiously from the entryway. The automatic mage lights in the area make it so I can clearly see her bright hazel eyes, freckles scattered across her cheeks, and brown hair braided into a little crown. Her head is tilted in open question, and it’s only when I notice the glint of silver in her hair that I suddenly realize I know who this is.
“Hello there,” I say, crouching down a bit so that I’m not towering over her quite so much. I think the girl is around ten years old, but she’s small even for that.
“Hi,” she returns, her voice clear and undaunted, even if she’s looking at me with a little bit of concern.
“Is your name by any chance Violet?”
Her bright eyes widen with surprise, before they narrow in suspicion. “I’m not supposed to talk to people I don’t know.”
I grin at her in return. “Even when you’re clearly sneaking into parts of a war college that you aren’t supposed to be in? If you’re breaking that rule, surely talking with a stranger is acceptable.”
The girl considers me for a second, before she smiles and hops over to stand before me. “I guess that’s true. But how did you know my name?”
“Well, Violet,” I say with an emphasis that makes her giggle. “I happen to be a rider cadet, and I have a friend in my squad who’s told me all about his adorable, trouble-making baby sister, who lives in the main part of Basgiath.”
“You’re friends with Brennan?” she blurts out, clearly delighted. “He’s who I’m looking for over here!”
“I had a hunch that might be the case,” I admit with a chuckle, standing back to my full height. I hold out a hand to her. “Allow me to escort you to him?”
Violet’s little face is bright with disbelief. “You’re not going to make me go back to my parents?”
I answer with a casual shrug. “Technically you haven’t left the building your home is in. And you went to so much work getting over here, I think it’s only fair you get to see your brother before heading home to face your inevitable punishment.”
The little grin she gives me before grabbing my hand makes my heart melt. There’s a small paper bag in her other hand which I wonder about, but she distracts me quickly with more chattering. “I think that’s a great plan! It took me ages to figure out how to make it over the bridge from the main college without being seen. And I have something to give Brennan. What’s your name?” she chirps each statement out in rapid fire, skipping along beside me with her little legs. I already find Brennan’s younger sister ridiculously endearing. He’s talked about how smart and overzealous she is and he clearly wasn’t exaggerating.
“I’m Naolin.”
“So you’re a rider too?”
“Yep. Just a first year like your brother.”
“What’s your dragon like? My mom won’t let me get close to hers. What does it feel like when you fly? Have you ever fallen off?”
“My dragon is a black morningstartail named Tairn. He’s one of the biggest dragons alive. Flying is amazing - eventually you learn to love the feeling of a freefall. Yes I’ve fallen off a couple times, but don’t tell anyone.”
Her hazel eyes are huge. “Wow! Did you know that black dragons are the rarest and most cunning? They’re supposed to be the smartest too, though I don’t know how something like intelligence can be linked with scale color. You should ask him what the rest of his den is like. If he’s so big, does that mean he’s one of the fastest dragons too? Or is that only over short or long distances?”
To my absolute shock, I hear Tairn give a low laugh in my head. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him make the sound unless it’s in response to my spectacular failure trying a new maneuver in the air. “I find this hatchling to be quite entertaining,” he declares. “She is clearly very bright for one of your kind. You may tell her I have the greatest speed of our kind no matter the distance.”
Shaking my head in disbelief my grumpy dragon is deigning to have a conversation with a little girl, I dutifully deliver the message. “He says hello, and that he’s the fastest all the time.”
The ringing little laugh she lets out melts my heart. “I’m not sure if anyone can be the fastest all the time, but I get the point. I won’t doubt him again.”
I swear I can feel Tairn’s smug pride through our bond. As if his ego needed bolstering from a ten year old girl.
“Do you think he’ll let me ride him?” Her question is so innocent, her expression so absolutely hopeful, I can’t find it in me to tell her that’s not exactly the way dragons work.
Tairn makes a noise of consideration. “When she’s grown, we can revisit the question.”
My jaw literally drops, and I blink stupidly for long enough that Violet tugs at my hand in query. “He says to ask again when you’re older.” This triggers a small pout but a nod of acceptance. Meanwhile I’m still busy trying to decide if Tairn was placating the ‘hatchling’ or he was being serious. And what that potentially means about my status as his current rider.
Thankfully, I’m saved from having my head explode at the way the conversation turned when we make it into the weight room. We only passed by a few other riders on the way here, all of them giving me extremely confused looks at the small child by my side. One of the many perks of having bonded with Tairn means that other cadets give me a wide berth in general, thanks to the newly established status quo. Luckily, we didn’t come across any instructor who would have almost certainly detained Violet and sent her back to her parents just like she asked me.
Before I have the chance to caution Violet about being subtle, or announce ourselves in any way, her gaze has locked on her brother. “Brennan!!” she yells out, ripping her hand from my hold as she darts across the training space.
Brennan is in the middle of a repetition of weights, and just barely has time to set down the metal bar before she throws herself into his arms. Despite Violet’s small size, the force of her enthusiasm sends him stumbling back a few steps before he regains his balance. I can’t help but laugh at the look on his face, which is mixed somewhere between shock, happiness, and fury.
“Violet? What are you doing here?” he asks when he finally manages to make his tongue cooperate. He forces her gaze up to meet his with a firm hand under her chin. “You know you’re not supposed to be over here. It’s dangerous! Mom is going to skin you alive.”
Her little form deflates in the face of his disapproval, and I can see her bite her lip in trepidation. “But I had to tell you happy birthday!” she exclaims with a forlorn sniff.
Brennan - fierce cadet who’s lethal after training for the riders quadrant for over half his life - visibly caves under his baby sister’s sad expression. He lets out a little sigh of defeat, before he shifts to kneel and bring Violet into his arms properly. “Thanks, Vi. It’s the best gift I got all day,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. His sister - who I’m convinced is the physical embodiment of trouble - brightens and renews her vigor of hugging him. I can’t be sure, but from the speed in which she perked up I think the sad sniff was a bit exaggerated to manipulate the hell out of her elder brother.
I officially adore Violet Sorrengail without reservation and know I’ll do anything for this little girl. Gods, if her personality is this much of a force to be reckoned with before adolescence, what is she going to be like as an adult? I’m not sure the continent is ready for that.
I can’t wait to see it.
Our entire squad has paused in whatever training they were working on, watching the exchange between the siblings with expressions ranging from fond to fully amused. Callan, our squad leader, clears his throat as he admirably tries to maintain a stern tone. “Sorrengail, you’re serving as something of a distraction for the group.”
“Sorry, Callan. My little sister has a bit of a disregard for the rules.”
“But I didn’t break any rules!” she protests loudly, little hands on little hips in an adorable indignant pose. “The codex says that other quadrant members aren’t allowed in the rider citadel without express permission from leadership. But I’m not in one of the other quadrants. The codex doesn’t say anything about kids being over here.”
There’s a ripple of laughter and Callan snorts, while Brennan just looks like he swallowed something sour as he gazes at Violet. “Gods, Brennan, no wonder you’re such a pain in the ass. You’ve clearly been driven to the brink of insanity by your kid sister. Do you ever win an argument with her?”
Brennan has his mouth open to respond, but Violet answers for him. “Nope!” she chirps. “Well, at least not often. And then it’s usually on a technicality. Oh, and I brought you a present!” Heads are shaking around the room as my squad tries in vain to keep up with the thoughts of this kid, meanwhile she proudly holds out the little paper bag she’s been holding.
Taking it with an exasperated shake of his head, Brennan unfolds the top and then visibly startles.
“It’s the peppermint candy from your favorite shop in Chantara! I convinced dad to go visit it so I could get the candy because it reminded me of you. I’m pretty sure he knew I was doing it to give it to you somehow, but he took me anyway. Surprise!” Violet is beaming with happiness, clearly proud of herself for managing to pull off such a well thought out scheme.
Brennan thanks her heartily, offering her one of the little candies before popping one into his own mouth. Then he snatches her off the ground, putting his sister up on his shoulders as he spins around, causing her to giggle uncontrollably. The next half hour is spent with Violet peppering questions to everyone in the room, mostly about our dragons and signets for the older years. No one in the squad can seem to deny her, making the weight training session entirely unproductive but the most fun we’ve had in ages.
It’s only when Violet starts to yawn every few minutes that I realize it’s getting close to ten at night, which has to be way past the bedtime for a kid her age. Brennan is of a similar mind as he teasingly flicks her nose. “I think it’s time we get you back home, Vi.”
A disagreeable expression rises onto her young face. “But I just got here!”
“True, but you’re not really supposed to be here at all, and if mom and dad notice you’re missing they’ll be worried. And something tells me this won’t be the last time you sneak over here without permission.”
“They don’t even know I’m gone. I snuck out after dad tucked me in for the night,” she mutters rebelliously, but I distinctly notice she didn’t make any protest about Brennan’s predictions of her continued adventures to the riders quadrant. After all, now that she’s figured out the lay of the land, there’s really no stopping her.
But she must also realize she could be in real trouble soon, so she begins her sad trek to the door. But because she’s striving to look as crestfallen as possible, she isn’t looking at where she’s putting her feet, and the tip of her shoe catches on the edge of one of the mats lining the weight room floor. With no other warning, she lets out a noise of surprise as she goes sprawling toward the stone ground. Brennan lunges to try and catch her at the same time I do, but neither of us is fast enough. Violet’s elbow hits the floor with a sickening crack, and she makes one of the saddest cries I’ve ever heard in my life.
“Violet!” Brennan exclaims, throwing himself to his knees beside her. She’s sitting up, cradling her right arm to her chest with tears flowing down her cheeks. I can’t help but be surprised by the state of her shoulder, which is very clearly not in the correct place. The fall wasn’t very hard; I can’t imagine how she caused a dislocation with such a small misstep. But then I remember a few times Brennan has mentioned she has weak joints and bones, and it sinks in that he didn't even cover the half of it.
Realization settles into my gut. I’ve dislocated my shoulder twice; once when I was a dumb kid and fell out of a tree I shouldn’t have been trying to climb, and then just last month in a particularly brutal sparring challenge. Both times had been enough to leave me dizzy with pain and overwhelmed with nausea to the point it was an effort to not pass out. And here is this ten year old girl, sitting up with just a few hitching breaths and calm tears as she holds the injury still.
What kind of fucking pain tolerance does this kid have?
“Those who are all too accustomed to pain in life often bear it more stoically than their peers,” Tairn rumbles. “It is unfortunate to find such a quality in one so young. She has admirable strength despite her size.”
“We should take her to the healers,” Christa suggests, her dark blue eyes tinged with concern.
Brennan is already shaking his head. “I can reset her shoulder. I’ve done it before. The faster we get it back in place, the less damage there’ll be to surrounding tissues.” His eyes flit around the room before they land on me, a note of anxiety obviously present. “Nao, can you help hold her still?”
“Of course,” I return, hoping I sound more confident than I feel. I don’t know a thing about healing, but Brennan talks often like he does, so I hope he knows what he’s doing. I’m also a little overwhelmed that out of our whole group, he chose me to assist. We’re good friends - and honestly I hope that someday we’ll be more - but we’ve still only known each other since this summer. And it speaks volumes he’s willing to let me help when his beloved little sister is in trouble.
With Brennan’s guidance, I brace Violet’s intact shoulder with one hand and go to put my other on her hip to counter against the movement needed to reset her joint. But she stops my second hand, clinging to it tightly with her good hand, eyes wide and beseeching as they look up at me. Without hesitation, I call Christa over to take over for supporting her lower body.
Without a countdown or warning of any type, Bren takes her arm, straightens it out at a very specific angle, and rotates it back into place. Violet lets out a shriek of pain, before she goes boneless. She’s still conscious, but just clearly relieved to have the vast majority of pain from the dislocation resolved. Her brother is still working though, using determined motions to probe into the joint and feel the tissues.
“I think one of the ligaments or muscles is torn,” he mutters to himself, looking worried in a way that only an older brother can manage.
“We can take her to see Nolon-” I start, but get cut off when Violet lets out an unexpected scream and jerks away from her brother and into my arms.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, looking at her in bewilderment.
She’s clutching her arm to her chest again, watching him with wide eyes. “That hurt,” she declares.
“But I already set your shoulder; I was barely even touching you. I was just feeling for damage…” once again, he puts his hands on either side of her shoulder. Violet starts to openly cry, wriggling into my embrace away from him.
I figure it out when I look down and can see the faintest hint of a glow coming from my friend’s hands, but Callan gets there first. “Brennan,” he says sternly. “I think you’re manifesting.”
That finally snares Brennan’s full attention, causing him to pull away from his sister and glance down at his hands in shock. “What?” he breathes, looking like he can’t quite believe it.
Unaware of the true significance of the moment, Violet starts to move her arm around as she tests her range of motion. “It doesn’t hurt anymore! You fixed it Bren! How did you do that?”
A huge grin breaks out over my face as I gaze at my friend. “He was able to fix it because your brother is a mender, Violet.”
Brennan’s jaw completely drops as I voice the word for his signet aloud for the first time. He stares at his hands in awe, raw emotion swimming in his eyes as he takes shaky breaths.
But he doesn’t have much time to dwell on the enormity of what just happened, as Violet launches herself into his arms once again, wrapping around him in exuberance. “A mender! That’s amazing! That’s such a rare signet! Now I don’t have to go to see Nolon all the time, I can just come find you and mom can’t even get mad at me! What did it feel like to wield? Do you think it works on things like that vase we broke last year?”
I let the endless questions coming from Violet fade into the background. Luckily she’s distracted enough that she doesn’t seem to notice no one is actually answering her as she voices her newfound theories about mending aloud. Not when the majority of our squad is staring at Brennan in open amazement.
Not only is he the first of our year to manifest, but he managed to present with a signet so rare as to be career defining. He’ll be able to save gods only know how many lives on the front with that type of wielding and will be in demand across the entire continent with his skill. And seeing the way he’s basically clinging to his little sister in light of this development, it hits me like lightning that Violet is probably the single driving factor behind his new status as a mender. If tonight was anything to go by, he’s probably spent her entire life watching over her and helping to fix her injuries. His signet is a literal manifestation of his innermost desire to be able to heal his little sister.
Tairn’s deep voice rumbles down our connection once more. “A remarkable signet often presents itself only to those connected with exceptional people. I imagine there will be many more inspiring events centered around this Silver One.”
Notes:
I couldn't stay away from this universe for long! There were SO many things I loved about this chapter. I thought it would be interesting to see Nao risking his life for someone else during Threshing be the reason Tairn chose to bond him, serving as a parallel to why he picked Violet too. Then introducing a very talkative, inquisitive, scheming little Violet was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Not only did this let us see how she and Nao met (very briefly alluded to in The Cost to Turn the Tide chapter 5 for anyone who's interested) but also how Brennan manifested and Tairn also observed her for the first time. And did you guys like my tiny cameo by Andarna? I have her as about 20 years old when we meet Vi in the first fic, so she would have hatched when Violet was about 7 years old, making Andarna 3 in this chapter and fully tormenting Tairn as an adolescent. I think the only things that are technically outside of cannon for this chapter are Andarna's age and Lilith is already the general at Basgiath so therefore Vi can sneak over to visit her brother without issue.
Updates to this work will be a little more sporadic than my other fics as it doesn't have a continuous plot. There will also be another separate fic in the future with snippets of Lexi growing up, so you won't find those here. But let me know if there's anything you always wanted to see from this AU that I haven't mentioned already. I love your comments and ideas!
A very humorous attempt at saddle making is likely going to be the next chapter!