The Silver Reckoning

Chapter 32: Silver's Choice

Silver woke up, once again, with the moon still high in the sky and dawn not even close to approaching. Another nightmare. Another sleepless night. She allowed herself to calm down, laying her head once again on the nest. She was still tired, still very, very tired, but it was slowly waring off. She was beginning to win, and that was all that mattered.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since that first raid on A.O.D.H, there had been so many. Months, probably. Those months had been spent training, endlessly, building up towards the battle she knew was to come. Sky Mountain was preparing as well, trying to destroy as many hunter bases as possible. It wasn't often they were successful, and Silver didn't like the idea of using her equilibrium again, remembering the repercussions of doing so.

Instead, she focused on her mind, strengthening herself against the continued assaults, night after night. Eldawin was relentless, but so was she. Taking in O'hen's advice, she fought against the monsters that plagued her. She still didn't manage to get much sleep, but she managed to get more. She wasn't struggling to stay awake during the day anymore, and she was more alert. But she was still exhausted.

Her training with the time dragon had changed as well. They still met, though in the afternoons now, but she was no longer controlling her metal. Instead he put her through numerous mental exercises, teaching her how to control her breathing, and keep a clear mind during combat. Half the time she seemed to just sit there, eyes closed, just... feeling the area around her. It had been strange at first, and occasionally she had even drifted off to sleep, but the more she did it the more she began to notice everything around her. It was like everything had a... presence, one that was very noticeable if looked for. She found it helped to remove her shell, her sensitive scales able to feel even the slightest drift in the air.

The dragoness sighed softly, laying her head against the cool metal nest. Time seemed to move so fast, and she felt as though they were getting nothing done. Every A.O.D.H base they did manage to capture, only ended up in a small amount of dragons actually staying at Sky Mountain, the rest leaving, unable to fight for the race they hated. Every time one left, it hurt, and made her feel like the war was useless.

Silver grunted softly, curling up a little tighter in her nest and closing her eyes again, trying to find the sleep that wouldn't come. She stay there till dawn, and as the sun rose so did she. It was still earlier than she would have liked, but it wasn't like she was going to be able to do anything else. With a flap of her wings she launched herself from the exit of her cave and into the sky, the morning light causing her wings to glitter in the sky.

Awaiting her at Sky Mountain was a sight that made her hesitate a moment. She blinked in slight surprise, gliding down and landing at the entrance. She smiled at the human waiting for her.

"Morning Greg, you're up early," she said.

The young boy wasn't so much of a boy anymore. He was now fifteen years of age and was starting to fill out into a man. His eyes still glowed with curiosity, and he still had that boyish charm that Silver remembered. But he was starting to grow up, like all of them were. She suspected that he would become something great in his later years... if he lived that long.

"Yeah," he smiled back, "I heard that you usually come down here early in the morning, and I thought that since we haven't really caught up in a while, it'd be good if I could join you for... whatever you do at this time of day."

She chuckled, "Okay then. It is true, we haven't 'hung out' in a while."

Silver lowered herself to the ground, "Come on, get on, I'll fly you there."

His eyes widened slightly, "You sure? I mean... I thought you didn't like people getting on your back."

"I don't, but I've done it a lot recently, and it'll be far quicker then walking," she rolled her eyes, "Just hold on. My back is quite slippery."