Chapter Two:

Meetings

After that day, in which Adurna and Vanilor had spent the rest of the afternoon together, Adurna started to visit the young dragon almost everyday in his cave. The white dragon grew at a tremendous rate, and, by the end of the month, his shoulder was only a few inches shorter than her waist. Vanilor also started to get a larger vocabulary and the two, Rider and Dragon, would talk for hours through their mind link.

At last, Vanilor's shoulder was a little taller than her, and Adurna was longing to go flying with him. We'd be masters of the sky, she told him one day as they were walking together along the shore.

Indeed, we would be. Adurna and Vanilor. Water and Sky, he answered, then scurried away from an incoming wave as it crashed down on the shore, drenching Adurna in saltwater.

You could've stayed put, you know. Would have saved me the trouble of freezing to death, she snapped at him as she rung her hair and cloths to rid them of water.

Vanilor snorted a plume of white smoke that engulfed her before being torn to tatters by the wind. But the salt tastes something terrible when I clean my scales, he told her with all but dignity.

She sighed, exasperated, and said pointedly, Did I ever tell you that you act exactly like Evandar?

I take that as a compliment.

Adurna shook her head and shivered in the chilly wind as it blew her long hair into her face. Vanilor nuzzled her affectionately with his warm snout, and said to her, You should really be getting back. Their going to start wondering where you are. She nodded, but kept on walking, putting one hand on his scaly side as he moved to shield her from the wind. She walked with him back to the cave and, once there, hugged his neck tightly before bidding him farewell. Vanilor stared after her until she was swallowed up by the mist that hung over the green forest. Though he would not admit it to anyone but himself, he was starting to get lonely. Adurna had seemed to realize this, for it was hard to hide anything from her when they were mentally linked, but she could do nothing about it for his loneliness lied in his heart. He longed for another dragon to talk to, to fly with. But he knew that his hopes were to go unfulfilled, because, if there were any dragons beside himself and Shruikan, they had hidden themselves away, never to be seen again. But he had to remain hopeful. There had to be other dragons, whether or not they had hidden themselves from prying eyes. It was just the matter of finding them. And Adurna had said that she would go with him to look for these other dragons when the time was right. But for now, he would have to wait.

As Adurna approached the gates to the city of Teirm, she saw two riders on horses ahead of her on the road. One was an old man with a long silvery beard who rode a pure white stallion. The other was a boy, only Adurna's age, who had brown hair and was riding a bay horse. He seemed uneasy, a bit nervous and kept shifting in the saddle. The two males were talking in low voices, and Adurna followed them to the city, were the old man adopted, a stupid, if a bit crazy, demeanor and slouched to one side. When the guards asked the two what their business was in Teirm, they spoke in thick accents that were very different from the ones they used back on the trail. Adurna wondered what they were trying to hide.

Once she was in the city, Adurna quickly walked to the tavern and entered. Only a few people were there so early in the morning, and once she had closed the door, Telnir assaulted her as usual with questions. "Where have you been? It's been two hours since you left."

Adurna took a deep breath and said, "Walking. I went up the coast, just like I said I would."

Telnir gazed at her suspiciously. "Mighty long time for just a walk."

Adurna realized what he was implying then. "I would never do that. You know that. I would never let a man take part –"

He cut her off with a glare. "Just go up stairs and get some dry clothes on."

Adurna obeyed, flying up the stairs at an almost inhuman speed. She met Evandar at the top and rushed into the room to get changed into warm clothing. Once done, she glanced down at the palm of her left hand. The gedwëy ignasia shone bright on her hand, if not brighter than usual. She pulled on a pair of black leather gloves so she could hide it more effectively than just not using her hand.

The rest of the day was spent serving the customers and watching Telnir throw a man out for breaking the rules again. "And stay out!" he shouted after the man as he shut the door. Eventually, the two riders that Adurna had seen on the trail came in with another man that she recognized as Jeod, who lived just down the street next to Angela's shop.

"Good evening, Jeod. And who might your friends be?" greeted Adurna.

"Why, hello Adurna. Haven't seen you in a while. How's Telnir? You keeping him in check?"

She chuckled, and replied, "Very well. But he's going off the deep end I'm afraid. Losing it a bit. But he'll be fine once he actually start's to sleep again," she leaned towards the other two to shake their hands. "I'm Adurna by the way. And you are…"

"Neal." Said the older man, who then gestured at the boy standing next to him. "And that's Evan."

"Pleasure meeting you. This way please," she led them to a free table. As she left, she noticed the man, Neal he called himself, watching her suspiciously. Adurna came back with a few plates piled with meats and vegetables and with some glasses of ale. She left quickly, feeling nervous about the man Neal. There was something odd about him that Adurna couldn't quite put her finger on. And the boy, Evan, seemed nice enough, but there was defiantly something strange about him as well. She continued to serve them until they left and later went to bed, exhausted for some reason.

A week later, Adurna wandered over to the city gates and left through them, walking over to the clearing were she usually called Vanilor to her. Vanilor! Vanilor, where are you? He sent her an image of him soaring over the trees, and then a sudden wind blew about the clearing and the white dragon landed. She walked over to him, and rubbed his side with her left hand. Hello there.

Hello yourself, he told her, nudging her with his snout. They started to walk out of the clearing and into the forest, talking to each other. They continued to wander, only stopping when the found a very large glade with a stream trickling on the far side. Adurna went over to the stream and splashed some of the cool water onto her face as Vanilor laid down on the far edge of the clearing. She soon joined him, leaning against his side.

Not far away from where the two, rider and dragon, were sitting, sat another pair, not quite unlike the first. A boy, the same one in fact as the one that Adurna had seen on the trail with the old man a week before, leaned against a large, scaly blue dragon whose scales shown in the light from the sun like a thousand gems. The two were talking when the blue dragon suddenly stiffened, sniffing the air for something.

The next to her noticed, and asked, What is it Saphira?

The dragon, Saphira, didn't answer for a moment, trying to verify what she had just smelt on the air. The wind blew a gust of air toward her again and she smelled it. A male dragon. There is another dragon here, she finally answered.

The boy abruptly stood up and said, Is it Shruikan?

Saphira slowly shook her head. No. No, not him. This dragon seems to be younger. Maybe about my age.

We should go check it out, advised the boy. Carry me down, and I'll search on the ground, to make sure he doesn't get away. You go by air.

Alright, she grudgingly agreed. She carried him down, then leapt into the air again. Be careful, Eragon. We don't know what to expect.

Don't worry, Eragon reassured her. I'll be fine.

Adurna started to stride to the stream again, intent on splashing her face with water again, when she heard soft thumps in the air, like wing beats. Then, out of nowhere, a dragon fell out of the sky. She started to turn and run when the deep blue color dragon knocked her down with a huge paw and pinned her down, growling. Vanilor snarled, and tried to attack the blue dragon, but then stopped as a female voice said clearly in both their minds, If you move to attack me, I will kill your Rider.

Vanilor starred at her for a few seconds, before backed away slowly, still growling. Eragon, Saphira called out. I found them.

Good, he replied back. Where are you?

Over in a glade. Here, she sent him a mental picture of where she was.

I'm coming. Saphira looked down upon the girl she had trapped under her claws. She displayed no fear what so ever. A calm placidness was displayed on her face as she starred up at her captor. Saphira suppressed a shiver at how emotionless the girl was. It was unnatural. She turned her attention to the dragon. He was as large as she was, with pure white scales and gold spikes and talons. As she met those incredibly light blue eyes, that his rider posed as well, she saw anger and hatred in them. Saphira knew that this dragon could be a formidable enemy if he decided to attack, but as long as she had his rider, he would not attack for fear that she would kill her. Saphira's thoughts went back to the girl and when how when she had threatened to kill the girl if the dragon attacked. Any normal person would have shone some display of fear, but this girl had remained calm, no hint of emotion even in her eyes.

Suddenly a rustling came from the edge of the clearing and Eragon came into view. At once the white dragon lunged at him, claws at the ready. Saphira moved in front of her rider and pressed down on the girl's chest hard to remind the dragon of the rider still trapped under her paw. The dragon stopped, mid swipe, and glared at her, snarling and showing his fangs when the girl gasped in pain as Saphira pressed down on her.

Eragon scurried to the safe place in between Saphira's front paws and starred down at the girl, entranced. Though her face was contorted in pain, she was beautiful. He examined her angular features for a moment but came but to reality as the white dragon growled again. He looked up at the dragon. His tail was swishing around violently, hitting a few trees, and his fangs were barred. Clearly, this dragon was on the verge of attacking and did not care if he was hurt at all. Why are you doing this! Said a voice in both Eragon's and Saphira's heads. Anger coated the dragon's voice as he spoke again. We did nothing to provoke you! Let her go!

I am sorry, said Saphira true fully. We cannot until we can be sure neither you, nor your rider, are a threat to us. Please, understand –

Understand! You have my rider trapped under your paw and you ask me to understand!

"Please," Eragon said to him. "We only wish to know if you are friend or foe. We attacked because we were afraid that you worked for the empire. We have had too many encounters with servants of Galbatorix to take any chances." Eragon watched as the white dragon considered this new bit of information.

I will not harm either of you unless you give me a reason to, he said in the ancient language, though Eragon had trouble deciphering it because of his limited knowledge of the language. Now please, let my rider up. I'm afraid that you are squishing her, he told Saphira. She complied, but not with out a bit reluctance. The girl scuttled to her dragon, who moved foreword to stand protectively over his rider, wings raised.

Vanilor nudged Adurna with his snout and asked, Are you alright?

Fine, she answered, nonplused. Who are they?

I don't know, but there is only one way to find out. He turned his attention to the blue dragon and her rider. Who are you?

The boy answered first. "Who we are is of no importance. Who are you?"

"You know," said Adurna, speaking for the first time, "playing mind games with us is not going to get you any closer to knowing who we are. Best if you tell us who you are first, and then we'll tell you exactly who we are, though that is only my opinion."

The boy seemed to debate the matter for a few minutes, then said, "Fine. You win. I am Eragon and this is Saphira. Now, tell me who you are and why you are here."

"First, I live here in Teirm and anyways it's not your business if I'm here or not. And my name is Adurna, and this here, is Vanilor. Satisfied?"

"Water? Your name is Water?"

Adurna grinned. "Yes, fitting, isn't it?"

Eragon shook his head, only more confused than he was to begin with. Saphira interrupted his thoughts. Should we tell Brom about them?

Yes, answered Eragon. You tell him. I'm going to ask some more questions. Eragon turned back to Adurna and asked, "How did you find Vanilor's egg? As far as I know, there are only two other dragon eggs, both in Galbatorix's control. Obviously, his egg isn't one of them, so how did you find it?"

Adurna regarded him coldly for a moment, "What makes you think I'm going to tell you? Heck, I don't even know you." She watched as Eragon looked at the ground, slightly abashed. "But, I guess I will tell you." She sat down and for the next half hour or so, explained to him how she had found Vanilor's egg, with the occasional interruption from the white dragon so that he could add in something she had forgotten to mention.

At last, she finished her tale and Eragon looked at her amazed. "So you've been here in Teirm all this time and no one has found out about Vanilor yet?"

"Not that I know of, and I intend it to stay that way as long as possible." She gave him a meaningful look.

Eragon held up his hands. "I won't tell any body." Except Brom and Jeod. "Is there anyway to convince you to come with me to see Brom?" asked Eragon, for he had just told her about the old man.

"No, I don't wish to involve myself with either of you. You're all looking for trouble."

"It's entirely possible," was his only response. He suddenly stood up and said, "We've got to go." He walked over to Saphira and climbed up to the space between her shoulders, and she took off, flying out of sight.

That was strange, Adurna said to Vanilor, watching the place where the two had disappeared.

Quite. He was silent for a while as they walked back to Teirm. Then, Adurna, I'm not sure if we did the right thing.

What are you talking about? She queried, sending a curious look at the white dragon.

I mean, when we refused to join them.

Why do you say such a thing?

It's just… I feel like we are missing something by not going with them…. It's hard to explain… I just feel that we are missing the chance of a life time… that it is our destiny to follow them.

I understand. I kind of feel the same way. But I don't want to go pursuing something that we aren't involved in. I don't want to lose you. She said the last bit with a sense of desperation, looking worriedly at Vanilor.

Do not despair, little one, he comforted, I will always be with you, no matter what you get yourself into. He gave a dragonish grin. Adurna only smiled. They walked a little while longer, occasionally saying something to each other. Once they reached Teirm, Vanilor said, Here I will leave you. And don't forget what I said.

I won't, she promised, giving him a tight hug around his neck. As she walked towards the gates she heard him say, And tell Evandar hello for me!

I will.

I am so sorry that I didn't update as soon as I said I would. I just got this writer's block and to add to that I had to write a creative paper for English (grumbles darkly, "Stupid thing") so all my creativeness was spent on that. I will try to update sooner.

Signed,

V.H.