Roleplay

(Yeah I thought in war she'd be primarily used as a relay or courier, or maybe as a wingman for another dragon - I'm kinda going all temeraire-ish on this but I don't have to be ^^)

"Thank you, sir," he said, a little flustered. He was thankful that, indeed, Lord Ironhand was not his commander. "I'll make efforts to not let it happen again," his eyes lowered. Seeing that he was dismissed, and not much more was asked of him, he excused himself and bowed out the door.

Aeira perked up her crest when she saw Ren come out, her tail beginning to swish from side to side and a smile or sorts forming on her muzzle. Ren walked briskly towards her, her high spirits lifting his own, and by the time he got to her, he had a big smile on his face as well.

"Oh! I see they've dressed up your shoulder, how diligent," he commented, looking over the bandages. He sat down by the crook of her foreleg, "how are you feeling? Is it bothering you?" When she replied well to both his questions he chuckled. "We'll have to train some more... the higher ups aren't exactly pleased with our performance. A couple laps won't hurt anyone, right?" He recoiled slightly as the Silverfang blew air at his face.

Maybe you should stop dillydallying every time we fly," she retorted playfully, I bet he was complaining about us being late, right? I wonder whose fault that is...

Hearing this, Ren sighed and shook his head. "Fine, fair enough. Get some rest, that wound can't heal fast enough."

Ren marked the sundial as his dragon whirled overhead. Aeira had been eager to train this morning, and after getting fed early, she'd been flying, pushing her cruising speed nonstop after a quick warm up. He had laden her harness with weights indicative of a fairly typical loadout for their scouting missions. Down on the ground, he was still pointing out small details about her flight while also keeping her motivated and energetic.

After nearly 4 hours, Aeira finally had enough. Once she completed the lap, she tucked her wings in and dropped like a rock, flaring and landing and still heaving from her exertion. Ren was jotting down her times, comparing her speed to that of a few weeks ago. "Well, we'll have to keep working at that. You are getting faster for sure, though!" He ruffled her mane lovingly with a smile. "Let's get you cleaned up, hmm?"

As they returned to her corner of the clearing, Ren took note of the commotion. Aeira, however, sauntered right into her spot and stretched before laying down on the sun-warmed stone. Ren didn't bother trying to figure out what was going on just yet - the other soldiers never clued him in anyway - and he busied himself with washing Aeira.

The buckets of water were placed down roughly, then Ren began to remove the weights from the harness, the finally removed it altogether. The Silverfang purred contently as the weight of her harness disappeared and let her rider scrub her clean. Ren couldn't help but smile as he took the rags to her scales, making them shine as he wet them. He was preoccupied with his work, so much so that he didn't realize the nobility approaching.

(it's a fun read! highly recommend if you love alternate history ^^)

Ren jumped, nearly kicking over the bucket by his feet when he was addressed. Nobody had ever called him 'sir' before, what was this, a dream? He spun around and bowed, "at your service, ma'am," he said, not recognizing her presently. "I am not well furnished with the latest happenings, unfortunately, but such is life."

Aeira looked up, her eyes had been closed as she caught her breath, but they opened, revealing the striking green eyes that were hidden. She studied Julia, not quite sure how to take her. At least she seemed nice enough on the surface. The Silverfang rewarded the noblewoman with a friendly warble and tilted her head, her crest raised in question.

"This is Aeira, we are dragon and rider," he explained, then smiled wanly. "Why, would I not attend? I hope I would have an excellent excuse to shirk such a responsibility," he said, sarcasm in full force, "I don't believe we've been introduced, my lady?"

(I kinda 'binged' the series a few summers ago and now own the entire collection :P)

Ren quirked a brow, he didn't expect a response like that at all. "Given the current situation, drills and practice appear to be more important." He could tell there was an undertone in her voice, one that was displeased. That was also surprising, why was she here then, if she didn't want to?

"Renell Gale," he bowed, while Aeira crooned softly at the praise, dipping her head as well. As Julia turned away, she looked at Ren and giggled, happy that she had gotten praise. Ren patted her neck, "how vain..." he said with a smile.

He knew Julia had a point, though, he ought to attend the festival at the citadel, but he knew he would simply feel out of place given that he was the only commoner. He much preferred Aeira's company instead.

(What was your intention for Julia? And did you have a plan for Ren/Aeira? I thought it would make sense for them to do a night mission or something)

With Julia gone, Aeira laid her head back down and rumbled contently as Red continued to wash her. Her white scales gleamed, clean and free of grime and dirt. She loved being clean, which was certainly reminiscent of a noble dragon. Ren was certainly happy to treat her, and Aeira didn't complain much, either. He'd take her over any other dragon.

He noticed that much of the bustle had left with Julia's presence, and the place seemed to be returning to normal. Ren thought that they would have been sent on another scouting mission early on account of the updates he brought back - the amount of buildup was staggering, with each successive flight the amount of supplies, men, and weaponry seemed to double.