Soaring

©2004, Kelly "J'Karrah" Dugery (Page Four of Six)

          She noticed that the Tolin had gotten rather quite and turned to see that he had fallen backward and was apparently sleeping.  However, Eirlan remembered one of her clutch mates who had once crashed into the side of the mountain after attempting an aerial maneuver he was not skilled enough to perform and suffered a head injury.  The healers had instructed that he was not to be allowed to sleep for fear he would lapse into a deathlike sleep.   So she snaked her tail over and gently propped the male up into a sitting position and shook him just enough to get his attention.

          ”What were you doing out in such a small boat at night in a storm?  Should you not have been in your lair by a warm fire?”

          “We hadn’t intended to be out so long.  Brenna and I were fishing for deep-sea redfin* … they come to these islands to feed on the smaller fish that spawn here in the early spring…and strayed too far out to sea," he explained.  "We were caught in the great current and the storm drove us on to this island."

          “But what of your parents?" Eirlan asked.  "Surely they would net have permitted their cubs out on such a voyage alone?”

          Tolin dipped his head in embarrassment. “They did not know.  It was to be a surprise for our sire’s whelping day, so we told them we were going to visit friends.  I am old enough that they usually don’t object to such journeys.  After this, though, I fear it will be some time before we are allowed such freedom again.”

          Further conversation was interrupted when Brenna called to announce that she was ready to fit the harness.  Due to Eirlan’s size, Brenna first simply laid out three long lines of rope about a foot and a half apart and joined together by smaller strands in the sand.  She then directed Eirlan to lay down on the ropes with the first lining up around Eirlan’s neck and the other two behind her forelimbs.  Next she tossed the loose ropes over the Dragon’s back and down the opposite side while Eirlan snaked her long neck back and forth to watch what the female was doing.  Once Brenna had all of the ropes aligned to her satisfaction she pulled them tight against Eirlan’s side, tied all the ends together and knotted them securely.   Finally, she aided Tolin to climb up Eirlan’s shoulder and settled him behind one of the Dragon’s golden neck ridges and between the first and second lines of the makeshift harness.  She then used four more short strands of rope to secure Tolin by his belt to the harness by four points: two in front of her brother and two behind.

          “Is that going to be a problem for you?” she asked Eirlan. The Dragon extended her great wings and gave them a couple of experimental flaps.  The whole rig felt a bit strange, but she didn’t believe it was anything that would interfere with her ability to fly and maneuver properly.  Brenna then secured herself to the harness in the same manner she had Tolin before wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.  When everyone was ready Eirlan crouched low, lifted her wings high and launched herself and her passengers into the sky. 

* Redfin is a large fish similar in shape to a giant sea bass.  While its body is covered in silver scales, its fins are bright red.  Yellowfin can grow to lengths of 10 -15 feet, large enough that even Dragons had been know to hunt them.