Jurny

"Who are you?" She asked, the enormous ridgeback, Jurny, stared down upon the Wildclaw, judging him without hiding it. "My name is Renaissance, I come from the Arcane flight, and I traveled to you seeking training in the arts of a beast slayer." He answered, Jurny scoffed, "Why come here? If you want to slay beasts go to the Plaguelands, over here are just birds and alligators."
Jurny grumbled as she shifted her stance, still uncomfortable in her new, giant body. They sat in her large cave that overlooked the waterfall that in which housed her clan, she heard it thundering in the background. Renaissance's brow furrowed, looking slightly frustrated, " I traveled ALL this way to ask the great Jurny of Verdant to teach me her ways, I do not intend to turn back." Jurny was almost impressed by his fortitude, she felt a familiar seriousness in his voice.
"I don't believe you'll be turned back, I was just testing you, I've always wanted to teach someone how to fight, but they all say I'm too rough and disciplinary, I am simply just a straightforward kind of mentor." Jurny almost felt herself lie, but her statement rang with truth and Renaissance's gaze brightened. Jurny had her second thoughts, this peculiar dragon wore no gear or supplies, no armor either. He had a purple bandana that looked like it hasn't come off in ages, with the occasional necklace or jewel let adorning his body. Jurny herself wouldn't be seen dead with jewelry on, only battle gear. She sighed briefly and spoke once more, "Rhio will assign you a sleeping area, rest up, I will meet you bright and early tomorrow morning." Renaissance nodded and headed toward the main cave, aiming to make a good impression on his new clanmates. Birds chirped happily while Jurny waited patiently in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by trees, but with a hole in the canopy that perfectly outlined the clearing, The sky above was littered with gray clouds, threatening a day of rain, though Jurny knew how to predict clouds, this rainstorm would come in the late afternoon. She listened to the bustling forest and pinpointed the swift padding feet of a bipedal dragon, most likely Renaissance. He burst into the clearing breathing hard and sputtering out excuses, though Jurny didn't even listen to them. She only sighed and smiled slightly, chuckling softly as well. "I'd be lying if I said I knew you wouldn't get here on time," She paused, "Now, are you acquainted with the proper way to perform a scratch attack?" She proposed, Renaissance nodded. "Well, I can't say I know the correct form, but I get the general idea." Jurny nodded to him, and followed his statement, "The first thing you need to know about this move is that it is not simple, it is a skill that is different for each dragon, mostly because it can be done in a multitude of ways. Now, demonstrate what you think it should be to you." Renaissance tried to bunch his back legs, then leaped up and swung his back claws in an offensive swipe. Jurny was impressed again by this small warrior, he definitely had the eyes of a soldier. "Very good, Renaissance, that is your basic skill as a Wildclaw, you seem to catch on quickly." Jurny acquired, walking to the opposite edge of the clearing, parallel to Renaissance. "Young warrior, I believe the best training is through experience, so therefore, attack me with that swipe." Renaissance was quite appalled, how could she possibly believe he could duel her? He dismissed his doubts and repeated his scratch move, flying through the air towards the ridgeback. She roared loudly, flaring her wings to counter, this startled Renaissance and caused him to fall awkwardly at Jurny's feet.
"First mistake, you didn't gain enough speed beforehand to make a good attack, you must always gain momentum as a Wildclaw." She lowered her head. " Also, don't get startled by large opponents, fear will cause your death if you don't battle through it." She sat back up, motioning with one paw for Renaissance to move away. "Try it again." Many days turned into many months, Renaissance had come a long way with fighting, bounding his way to training each morning to find Jurny waiting for him. When she deemed him ready, she brought him along with Ameyla to battle the hostile beasts outside their borders, the raids were successful for the most part. The Wildclaw and the Ridgeback became good friends, Jurny began to be less of an authority figure around him, laughing more and scolding less often. It started to appear to the dragons around them that their relationship went beyond the borders of a teacher-student relationship. Ameyla made it a rule that anybody could have a nest with anyone else, regardless of pairing or preference, but only if the two of them were both comfortable with it. So following the law he made himself, he did not do anything to get in the way of the two of them. Jurny and Renaissance grew closer still, though Renaissance refused to wear any armor to Jurny's dismay. He didn't have the heart to tell her he felt the call to serve the Gladekeeper after she finished training him, so he asked her if she would want to bear a nest together, to do something before he had to leave. This had happened to some dragons of the clan before, a dragon came into the clan as a traveler, or cast out of their previous clan, and bore hatchlings with one of the clan dragons before leaving to the Gladekeeper to serve. It was just that Renaissance felt so conflicted about leaving Jurny, he could probably train with her forever, doing her job alongside her, and stay in her clan permanently. Though the call to serve was strong, so he vowed to himself he would share a batch of eggs with her before he left.