Kitt had barely said a word since the end of the race. "She must have cheated. She didn't even have any gear on!"
"She had white cling gear." Artha commented smartly.
"Aughh." Kitt stomped away.
"Hey Artha." The man bowed.
"Hey Khatah" Artha responded. "Quite the race, huh?"
"Indeed. What a strange newcomer. However, her ability to enhance her dragon's speed like that without any gear- she's almost as good as the Inner Order."
"Yeah, she's good alright." Artha smirked.
"I tried speaking to her but that dragon- what a brute! The other is no better."
Artha stared at Khatah, unsure if he had heard right. "Two dragons?"
"Yes and they must be top breeding. I've never seen such high class dragons before." With that, Khatah turned and left. Artha wondered about the other dragon. Was he as strange as the grey? "We'll know soon enough, Beau. We still have to thank her for saving us." And so Artha headed over to where the other tents were set up. It wasn't hard to find her tent amongst the crowds.
So this is what Khatah meant. The dragons stadning near her were an entirely different breed. Their build and stature was off the charts. Their hind legs were long under perfect quarters, giving them a slight downhill conformation, but it was lethal on the track. The other dragon was standing out front with the grey, and if Artha had to guess, that dragon would be even faster than the grey. Artha hadn't taken two steps towards the tent when the dragon spun and charged him. The grey sauntered over out of the tent, also blocking Artha from coming closer to the tent. However, the grey was not nearly as savage as the black, purple, and blue dragon currently growling at Artha. This wasn't looking good.
"Ketu?" A girl's voice rang out from the inside of the tent. The grey dragon turned to his girl, careful to stay between her and Artha. The other dragon quickly stepped in to balance the void left, still growling.
"Can I help you?" A voice asked.
Artha looked past the oversized guard dog to see the racer.
"Uh, well, I just wanted to thank you and I guess, well, uh, congratulations! Ha-ha." Artha scratched his head, feeling rather awkward. The girl was practically hidden behind her dragon. The dragon however, seemed to give her courage.
She spoke quietly but there was strength in her voice, "Thank you. You and your dragon are very close. It's good to see that in racing."
Now Artha relaxed. "Me and Beau? We're inseparable!"
She laughed a soft sound. Her dragon nudged her, as if encouraging her laughter. She playfully pushed his head away before continuing, "I know the feeling. Ketu and I are very close. Ao, however," she motioned towards the black dragon, "has his own alliances. Thanks again, Artha. Good luck."
"Thanks! And good luck to you too!" She nodded and waved. Artha turned and left. But before he went around the corner, he turned to look once more. Ketu had lowered his head and Shadow was giving him a hug. She pulled back and gave a kiss on the nose. Then the dragon magged her up on her back and they rode off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Artha was in the middle of tacking Beau when Kitt approached.
"They're throwing your girl out of the circuit."
"What?!" Artha spun to face Kitt, who crossed her arms and stared at him.
"They're accusing her of cheating somehow."
"And you're on their side?" Artha asked, disappointed.
"No, I'm not." She looked him square in the eye, "Because you believe her."
Artha hugged her. "Thanks, Kitt."
"No problem Stable boy. Just see if you can help her. They're pretty riled up."
With that, Artha rushed over to Shadow's tent.
"What are you trying to pull, girl? Whose dragons did you steal?"
More yelling from the crowd. But the girl just turned away, as if use to this kind of treatment. Her grey dragon, Ketu, glared once more at the spectators before following her back into the tent. Artha was too shocked for words. It looked like almost every racer had gathered in a mob outside the tent. They demanded her to leave, that she needed to return the dragons to their owners and accept her punishment.
A loud roar sent the crowd shrieking and running as the other dragon, Ao, came charging through. Following behind him, much to Artha's shock, was Beau.
"Now she's trying to steal Penn's dragon! Another good one to add to her collection."
As pleased as he was to hear his dragon being praised, Artha couldn't help but think something was wrong. Pushing through the crowd, Artha got to Beau. The dragon turned and seemed to call Artha over there. "What's wrong Beau?" Despite his belief in Shadow, Artha did a quick once over to check Beau for control gear. Beau seemed agitated by this and pushed Artha in the direction of Shadow's tent where she had headed in with Ketu moments before.
"Do you think Ketu's gonna hurt me?" Artha asked Beau. Beau glared at him. "Okay, okay. I think you've got a little crush going on Beau."
The next thing Artha knew he was flung through the door of the tent, courtesy of Beau's patented head butt. Artha braced himself, preparing for the worst from Ketu.
"It's Ao you have to watch out for, not Ketu."
Artha opened his eyes, surprised to find himself with all his limbs intact. "Uh- why's that?"
"Like the crowd said. Ao's not my dragon." She responded, not looking at Artha.
"Whose is he then?"
"He belonged to a friend." Shadow continued packing.
"So why don't you give him back?"
"I would, but Ao almost died last time waiting for him to come back. Can't take very good care of you dragon if you're dead right?" Shadow slammed the last of her things into a bag. "So now you know. I'd rather you not tell the crowd though. Let them think I stole these two. It's easier."
Outside, the crowd had grown very quiet. Whether it was in fear or awe of the dragon that stood before them Artha didn't know. Ao ignored their stares. The dragon was every racer's dream. He showed power, strenght, and beauty. Shadow walked out with Artha, Ketu following behind. Her gear was all packed and she was preparing to leave, just as the mob had demanded.
"She can't keep a dragon with that kind of potential. He'll be ruined!" A racer yelled.
Shadow grinned evilly, "How's this? If you want him- try and take him." A few racers took up the offer. Artha wasn't sure if he should try and stop them. Part of him knew they would get hurt, but they deserved it for what they had done. Sure enough, Ao spun and glared at the men. They froze. Ao lowered his head and seemed to size them up. The riders misinterpreted this as a welcoming gesture from the dragon and continued their cautious approach. Ao charged, scattering the racers and the crowd back.
Amongst the chaos, gear was thrown in attempt to restrain Ao in a hope to obtain the spectacular dragon- black trapping gear, energy drains. Ao obliterated them all with his mag power.
"What a brute! He doesn't belong here!"
"Make up your minds." The crowd quieted and turned to the voice. Shadow was seated on Ketu. "He's powerful- you could win every race on him. Unfortunately no one here understands that. You think only about controlling your dragon- not about releasing their power and letting them share it with you." Ao walked over to Shadow. She scratched him from Ketu's back. "Dragons of this potential are wasted on humans like you." With that, she left. Even her exit left the crowd on awe. It was perfectly silent, no sound of thundering feet- it was like spirits disappearing. Artha's hands shook in rage. They had treated her so cruelly. Yet she had proven to be one of the fastest racers out there. More importantly, she shared the kind of bond the Dragon Booster encouraged. Artha looked again at Beau, who was still watching the street where the three had disappeared down. "We'll go tonight. We'll find them."