Chapter 4

Author's Note: Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Here's Chapter 4!

Daiki hadn't slept for yet another night. Instead, he had laid in his bed staring blindly up at the underside of the top bunk with its snoring resident that sounded more like a growling worg than a person. His mind was too active anyways, too hot to allow him to sleep, so instead of trying, he just let the night pass him by.

When dawn had come, he rousted and went to find something to eat, finding it in the form of a breakfast at his favorite tavern. The porridge wasn't the best, but it was hot and cheap, and since he and the tavern's owner, Natalie Drakefyre, were on such good terms, it usually came with a tankard of mead.

The morning was ordinary in the tavern with a few patrons scattered around while Natalie and her barmaids worked to prepare the tavern for the day. The air inside was taking on the scent of the day's available meals and the tables were all cleaned from the previous nights rowdiness. The floor was cleaned and many of the windows were being opened to allow fresh air to take the smell of food outside to help draw people in. It was a calm morning and once Daiki had stepped through the familiar door of The Dragon's Fyre, it only took its owner a second to see that his young, attractive face wasn't set into its usual smirk.

"I know that face, Sugar. You have another sleepless night?" Natalie asked as she pulled a readied plate from the serving window to give it to another awaiting patron while Daiki sat down on his usual stool.

Daiki nodded, "Yeah." He said blandly, scrubbing his hair while Natalie poured him a drink.

"Man, woman, or yourself?" Natalie asked, huffing a small yet crooked smirk as she set the filled, foam topped tankard down in front of him.

Daiki shrugged, "Myself."

"Hope you at least had a good time." Natalie chuckled as she leaned on her hands.

"You know me, Nat. It's always a good time." Daiki said without even looking up from his tankard.

Natalie smirked for another brief moment before picking up a readied bowl and setting it down in front of him where she watched Daiki for several minutes while he started to eat. The lack of sleep showed in his darker skin, how that rich, caramel color seemed to lose its vibrancy, and how the blue of his eyes was just on this side of being gray. The bags were beginning to form and he was lacking that usual gruffness that she liked so much. Something was kicking his ass, but she wasn't going to pry... Too much.

"Whatever's on your mind, Sugar, I'm sure the answer will find you." She said after awhile, putting away the cleaned tankards on the shelves in the back of the bar.

"Is it bad that I'm not willing to bet money on that?" He asked as he finally looked up from his meal.

"A betting man is usually a foolish one, Sugar. The Fates always have something else in mind." Natalie said as she leaned over to rest her elbow on the bar and seated her chin in her palm.

Daiki huffed, "Don't I know it," he took the last bite of his porridge, "Thanks, Nat." He said, pushing the bowl away.

"No need to thank me. What's on your mind that's got you in such a state?" Natalie asked, ignoring the bowl to watch Daiki's eyes instead.

Daiki rubbed the back of his head as he let out a long sigh, "Looking for help around here? I might be out of a job by tonight."

Natalie's brows furrowed, "I'm not sure I heard you right, Sugar. Did you just ask me for a job?" She stood up and placed both hands down on the bar.

"Yup." Daiki said with a pop of his lips.

"Sugar, you're a rider, not a bar hand. Why are you hanging up your reins?" Natalie asked, her brows still furrowed at the man's sudden declaration.

Daiki sighed again, "It's been months since I was grounded and I probably just let my last chance slip through my fingers, so... yeah... I need work. Got any room? Got a room?" He smirked crookedly.

"Now... This isn't the Daiki Aomine I know. That man wouldn't be giving up so easily. The one sitting in front of me almost looks like he's given up on life." Natalie said, relaxing her brows.

Daiki half shrugged, "Maybe it's just time for me to admit that me being a rider is over."

Natalie rasped her lips, "Bullshit... You're the type to be in those saddles till the day you die. What's gotten into you?"

"Just hit a wall, I guess. A very stubborn, aggravating wall." Daiki said as he scrubbed his hair.

"Look, Sugar... There's no way you'd let a simple 'wall' get in your way from being a rider. You're too good to just give up. You didn't give up when you got burned, and you certainly didn't give up when you got hurt during training. A wall should just be an annoyance for you at this point." Natalie said, having cupped his chin to lift his hung head so she could look into his tired eyes.

"I know you're right, Nat, but I can't be a rider without a dragon. I'm missing that second part." Daiki said as he took his chin from her rather strong fingers.

"Then go get it. Don't just sit on your ass in my bar and mope. You aren't good at it." Natalie said, her brows furrowing and her tone stern as if she were chastising a child.

Daiki huffed a crooked smirk, "Maybe so, but I'll find out tonight."

"Why wait?" Natalie asked plainly with her own matching smirk.

Daiki held his breath in preparation to retort, but he had to be honest with himself; He couldn't. She was right, just like she always was and it's part of why he went to her for advice. He was young, roughly half her age, and with no family to speak of, she was the closest thing to a mother he had. He had sought her advice on more than one occasion, and she had freely given it in return, but as he sat in the same stool he always sat in, he realized that she was entirely right. Just like always.

"You're right. Thanks for breakfast, Nat. I've got a saddle to alter." Daiki said, his smile evening out into a soft arc as he patted the bar top and stood.

"What? What's wrong with your usual one?" Natalie asked as she picked up a returned tankard in preparation for washing it.

"Too small." Daiki said back over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

It was shaping up to be another warm day, but not nearly as warm as it had been. The sun was already beginning to heat the air, but the town was still bathed in the shadow of the stone wall. It was cool for once while he walked back to the rider's barracks, heading for the equipment lauder for his saddle that was smooth with dust before gathering some coin from his trunk and heading off for the leatherworker's shop. With Taiga's greater size, he needed new straps made that would secure the saddle to his body; At the base of the neck with their legs right in front of the their dragon's wings. It was a spot that didn't restrict the dragon's movements, and despite Taiga's physical form being larger than the wyvren dragons, it was still the spot where he would be, if in fact, Taiga was still there.

He reached the shop to find it just opening and as he stepped inside, he was warmly greeted by the shop's owner. He was a much older man with well worked hands; The kind of hands one earned from a lifetime's worth of work. He had owned his shop for decades and was well respected amongst riders and even the King had ordered his ceremonial saddle for not only his dragon, but for his prized white horse as well.

Without having the actual measurements needed for the straps, the artisan leatherworker made them with a few extra holes just to ensure that they would work while Daiki set off to finish a few more errands. It didn't take the man long to work the straps and by the time he had returned, the leatherworker was had finished and had wrapped the saddle in a cloth to keep it bundled.

By the time Daiki was cleaned, dressed and arrived at the horse stables with his new saddle carried on his arms, the sun was just peaking over the top of the stone wall, casting aside the heavy shadows with its bright rays. He strapped the saddle to the horse, just behind the saddle before climbing up, taking a few moments to settle his nerves. He was ready to try, ready to see what would happen when he reached the Hold, but a small part of him feared that when he got there, the cell would be empty.

With a stiff exhale, he set off, riding with a gentle canter along the road towards the Hold with not really being in a hurry to have his hopes dashed. Natalie was right that he should fight for what he loves, but he could only fight if Taiga hadn't left. He doubted what he would find when he reached the Hold, but as it came into view, he saw the two guards just standing their posts much like they always did and with their guard dogs just lazing about like petulant teenagers.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Both the guards said as they both shot to attention.

"At ease... Good morning." Daiki said, blowing out a stiff breath as he stopped the horse and slid down to the ground.

"You're early today, Lieutenant. Eager to see Buddy?" The guard on the left asked as he took the horse's reins while Daiki froze from unstrapping the gathered saddle.

"What?... He's here?" Daiki asked before he could think better of it.

The guard's brows furrowed, "Huh?... Of course he is. We checked on him this morning. He was just sleeping like he always does."

"I see... Right... I guess uh... I guess that request got denied." Daiki lied to cover up his reaction.

Daiki's heart started to thump at the news. Taiga had returned to the cell instead of taking off, had taken the choice to give them both a second chance. He had doubted it, but Taiga was turning out to be full of surprises. He started to smile knowing that his coin hadn't gone to waste as he finished unstrapping his saddle.

With a thankful nod at the guard and the saddle bundle in his arms, Daiki headed around towards the back of the hold where the large door to Taiga's cell was closed and locked. His brows furrowed, as he hadn't expected for the Drake to go quite so far as to lock the door, let alone close them. He found it odd as he set down the bundle, but paid it no mind as he inserted the large key into the hole, gave it a hard turn, and unlocked the door.

The heavy bolts pulled back with hard thunks and the mechanisms inside the door began to crank, pulling the sides open and bathing the inside of the cell in the sun's incredibly bright light, but the moment the sun's rays hit the crimson hide of the dragon's skin, Taiga yelped and covered his eyes with his paws.

"Gah!... What the hell!" Taiga growled, shielding his eyes from the brightness that seared his pupils.

"Had to happen eventually, Taiga." Daiki said calmly as he stepped inside and walked right up to Taiga's head that lay on the dirt.

Taiga kept his paws over his eyes, but knew Daiki was close and it was confirmed when a pair of hands came down on his snout. Just like the previous night, their touch was soft, gentle and it helped to make the uneasiness of the daylight ebb away as those hands softly ran up and down his snout's length.

With a long exhale, Taiga closed his eyes and removed his paws, but the rays were still searing and glaringly bright through his eyelids. It made him grumble with discomfort and cringe, but when a cloth was placed over his eyes, browning out the sun's light enough to ease the sting, Taiga's eyes fluttered open. They just weren't used to seeing daylight and hadn't for a year.

"That better?" Daiki asked, softly rubbing the crown of Taiga's head and between his eyes.

Taiga nodded, "Yeah. I-I'm a little out of practice with daylight." His jowl twitched in a sad smirk.

"It's alright. We're gonna take it slow until your eyes adjust." Daiki said, still rubbing and easing the Drake's discomfort that he could feel in his muscles.

"You're early today." Taiga said, just laying his head down and staying still, his eyes blinking underneath the thin blanket that still allowed him to see Daiki's outline.

"I got impatient I guess." Daiki lightly shrugged, running his hand up towards the twin horns that sprouted from the crown of Taiga's head.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Taiga asked, flaring his nostrils as he exhaled.

"I didn't... Just wanted to see what my future would be... Hey, where'd the harness go?" Daiki asked, noticing that the leather harness was no longer on Taiga's head where he had left it.

"Off." Taiga said plainly and with a short point with a clawed finger towards the back corner of the cell.

Daiki followed the finger to see the harness laying discarded in the dirt, completely forgotten and not broken. It was strange that the buckles weren't even undone and it was almost as if Taiga had just somehow, slipped it off.

"Huh... Didn't know you could get it off by yourself." Daiki said a bit quietly.

Taiga half shrugged, "I'm that good."

Daiki smirked, "I guess so. You even managed to shut the door, but I'm not real sure how you managed to lock it." He said, his hand drifting up the long and curved horn where Taiga leaned into the touch a bit, still able to feel it, but just barely.

"I just closed it. One of those guards locked it a bit later, grumbling about how mad you'd be if I had gotten out." Taiga said with a huff.

Daiki nodded, "I would've killed him in all honesty." He smiled.

"Right." Taiga grunted.

The sun was blazing, but after awhile, Daiki slowly removed the blanket to expose Taiga's sensitive eyes, holding it up and using it to block off most of the sun's brightness. He watched the dark pupils fluctuate, but once they had settled into a pinpoint, he lowered the blanket and allowed Taiga's eyes to finish adjusting.

Taiga squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before blinking rapidly a few times, but it was enough to take on the brightness full force. Outside looked so different now that it was bathed in sunlight. The greens were so vivid, the blues were so bright that it was like a dream, a painting. He hadn't seen such beauty in so long and now that his eyes weren't burning inside his skull, he got to truly take it all in.

"Wow-" Taiga breathed out, raising his head to look outside over Daiki's head.

"I just hope the rest of what I've got planned is as easy." Daiki said as he stepped away and went for the bundle still resting on the ground by the door.

Taiga tilted his head, but said nothing as he watched Daiki pick up and unwrap the bundle, revealing a leather saddle with long straps and an array of buckles. He started to growl, but it soon faded away as Daiki unfurled it all to show him exactly what it was.

"Why in the hell did you bring that?" Taiga grumbled, lowering his head as he plucked the saddle up between his claws to get a closer look.

"Pretty much this. I wanted you to see it." Daiki said, crossing his arms as he watched Taiga examine the saddle by sitting up tall on his haunches and fiddling with it in both clawed paws.

Taiga glared at the contraption, "Why do I get this weird bondage vibe off this thing?" He asked, draping the straps over his paw as if he were playing with hair.

Daiki cringed as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's not like that, I swear. I just had it altered to fit you since you're bigger than most wyvrens." He recrossed his arms.

Taiga sat up straighter, "You did?... What for?" He asked, setting the saddle down and lowering back down to lay on his belly.

"Can't ride unless it's on, but relax... It won't go on unless you let it." Daiki said with a hand up in defense.

Taiga's lip curled, "I'm still not a fan of letting you on my back." He crossed his paws again.

"So you're gonna what... carry me in your hands?... Paws?... Feet? I don't really know what to call your front legs." Daiki winced at how dreadful he sounded to his own ears.

Taiga rolled his eyes, "They have thumbs don't they?" He held one up with its palm facing towards Daiki.

Daiki lowly laughed, but it soon faded as he studied the large crimson hand with its darker palm. It was large, the palm alone as big as his face and he was certain that the whole thing could curl around his head like his does a doorknob. He took a step forward, glancing up to meet Taiga's gaze before looking at his own hand. It always amazed him that a dragon's front feet were so close to his, no matter whether they were wyvren, or Drake. He lifted his own hand and looked back up to Taiga's eyes before placing it down against the Drake's palm.

Taiga lifted his head a bit more as he just watched, tilting his head a bit as Daiki studied it and how his stubby fingers moved. They were short, but they were still articulated like a Human's own fingers. Any dragon, in theory, could use them as hands, but without a mind to do so, they were merely paws. For Taiga however, they were hands.

Drawing in a deep breath, Taiga took his hand away and laid it back down, turning his attention back to the saddle resting on the dirt in front of him.

"It's been a year since I've flown." Taiga said as he picked up the saddle once more and offered it to Daiki.

"That's ok... You'll get there." Daiki said, holding out his arms as Taiga lowered the saddle down.

"Ugh... My dignity hurts... Alright, fine. I'll let you on my back." Taiga groaned, running a hand down his long face before lowering his head down in preparation for Daiki to put the saddle on.

Daiki stood up straighter, but his smile grew wider as he walked up to Taiga's strong shoulders and set the saddle down, settling it over the small spines that nestled right into the notches that the leatherworker had chiseled into the bottom side. He strapped the two main straps around the Drake's neck before running the rest over Taiga's form, having to ignore the grossly awkward sensation of having to coax Taiga to stand with a firm pat to the side of his belly. He crawled underneath with a pair of straps that ran all the way back to the base of his tail where he buckled a strap around its base to help keep the saddle in place. His blush never stopped, even when he had to run the next pair of long straps down Taiga's back to the tail strap before buckling the last pair around his shoulders which ensured the saddle wouldn't budge no matter how aggressively Taiga flew.

By the time he had finished buckling and strapping and settling the whole thing, the sun had moved up higher into the sky to nearly be directly overhead.

"Boy... Good thing I had those straps lengthened. You're what... thirty feet long?" Daiki blew out a long breath as he stepped back to get a better look.

"Thirty-five and a half and that's not including my tail." Taiga said, standing on all fours and looking back at himself with a tilted head.

Daiki's eyes opened wide, "Big boy... How's that feel?" He asked, folding his arms as he just stood back to give Taiga room.

"Odd... Mainly the straps down uh... down between my... uh legs." Taiga stuttered, rubbing the top of his head as he shook his backside to adjust the contraption a bit.

"Yeah... S-Sorry about that. I kinda had to get under there to buckle everything up." Daiki said with a soft tint of pink in his cheeks.

"I'm sure it's not as... weird with the other dragons." Taiga said with a soft clearing of his throat.

"Yeah... They don't give a shit since I'm not a female in heat." Daiki said, clearing his own throat to give him an excuse to cover his persistent blush.

"True-" he grumbled and shook his backside a bit more, "Ugh... The right one is chaffing against my... uh-" Taiga's voice trailed off.

"Knot?" Daiki dropped his face into his palm.

Taiga nodded, "Yeah... It doesn't feel good." He looked over at Daiki with a mild cringe on his face.

Daiki held his breath, "I'll have to get back under there." He returned the cringe.

Taiga groaned, "Fine... Just fix it."

Ignoring his blush, Daiki walked up to Taiga's side and ducked down, crouched low as he worked his way back towards the Drake's tail. On any other dragon, he would be running his hand along its belly to let it know he was there, but with Taiga, he refrained, not wanting to get too personal more than they already were. Once between Taiga's back legs, he laid down on his back to get the best look at the straps, both of which were running a bit too close to the genital knot that hide the Drake's genitals. He actually shook with the idea that he was laying in such a place, but with a deep huff that blew air right into his face, Daiki snapped back to the task at hand.

"Sorry." Daiki mumbled as he reached up to try and adjust the straps.

"Don't enjoy the view. This is weird enough." Taiga grumbled, having turned his head around to watch Daiki work.

"Trust me... This isn't a picnic for me either." Daiki sneered, his brows furrowing a bit as the straps continued to encroach in on the knot.

Taiga's brow ridges drew down a bit as he watched, having to consciously resist the urge to shake to try and adjust them himself. They were uncomfortable as they kept sawing into his knot and unless Daiki could figure out how to keep them away, he wasn't going to put up with this.

His lip started to curl with growing irritation, but when a strap slipped from Daiki's hands and slapped into his hide, Taiga flopped his hand down onto his face and grumbled unintelligible words of irritation.

"Uh... Sorry." Daiki cringed as he resumed his work, pulling the strap aside once more to position it before adjusting the buckle.

"Good thing I'm armored down there... Shit." Taiga said, planting his hand back down to return to watching.

"Don't brag." Daiki smirked, shooting a sidelong glance Taiga's way.

Taiga just grumbled as he released a strong huff, blowing some dirt up into Daiki's face that forced him to close his eyes and look away, or risk getting the grit into them. He waited a minute for the dust to settle before returning to the task, but when he opened his eyes, his brain clicked with an idea.

"I think I know what to do. Can you reach that harness in the corner?" Daiki asked, looking down his chest to meet Taiga's gaze that had a split eye ridge popped up.

Taiga turned his head around to spot the harness before reaching out, his arm being plenty long enough to plant a claw down on a strap and drag it over.

"What're you gonna do?" Taiga asked as he put the harness within Daiki's reach.

"Gonna see if I can cannibalize it to get these straps away from your knot. I just gotta figure out how to run it without strapping it to your legs." Daiki said, sighing as he thought about how best to accomplish his task.

"You're getting too comfortable down there. Do you mind hurrying it up?" Taiga grumbled, his brow ridges pulling down.

"Well, what do you want me to do? Close my-" Daiki barked, having forgotten where he was laying as he shot up to glare.

In that moment, his head thunked hard into the genital knot that was as hard as a tree's trunk, and his whole head rattled like a bell from the hit. He instantly dropped back down with both hands holding his throbbing head and the string of curses that slipped out from between clenched teeth only served to make Taiga laugh even harder.

"Shut up! That's not funny!" Daiki hissed, pressing his hands even harder to stave off the thump.

"It's hilarious! You just rung your own bell on my junk!" Taiga laughed even louder, his mouth open with his deep guffaws.

Daiki glared and growled, but without any form of his own comeback to defend his honor with, he was left with listening to Taiga laugh about it. He just grumbled as he picked up the harness and started to study it, trying to put together his alteration in his head before starting. He knew what his end result needed to be, but how to get there seemed to be eluding him. He didn't want to strap them to his legs, but he couldn't add more straps to the buckled band, or he risked crowding his tail which served as a balancing weight when on wing.

However, that's when it hit him; He would use a single strap and loop it over Taiga's back to pull the straps apart and away from his genital knot.

Reaching down, Daiki pulled the dagger from its ankle sheath and began to cut the stitching along the harness to separate several straps and make himself a band with a loop in the center to slip it over the spine that would inevitably be in the way. He crawled out from underneath the Drake and stood, tossing the new strap over his back and pushing it down over the firm, yet flexible spine where it seated just like he had hoped. He didn't want to get back down on the dirt, but he knew he had to, so with a long blow of air, Daiki crawled back underneath and began to thread the new strap's end onto the belly straps to pull them apart.

"There... Is that better?" Daiki asked, taking one last moment to finish up before crawling out to freedom and dusting himself off.

Taiga shifted his whole body that was long and slender, shaking his backside to find that Daiki's on the fly alteration had worked. The belly straps were no longer chaffing against his genital knot and despite it still feeling odd with the whole saddle contraption along his entire form, he was much more comfortable.

"Yes... It'll do." Taiga said as he raised his head to stand like the proud dragon he should be.

"Good. Lets go for a walk to get you used to it." Daiki said with a motion with his head towards the open air.

As Daiki started to walk, it wasn't even a second later until his ears heard the heavy stomps of Taiga's feet as the Drake followed. He turned around to walk backwards, watching the way Taiga moved with his feet a bit wider than normal, not at all in a natural gate.

"Walk normally. Let it settle." Daiki said, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't going to walk into anything.

Taiga grumbled, but rolled his shoulders and straightened his gate, walking as if nothing was there, but it took a considerable effort to keep doing it the more he walked.

"It feels weird." Taiga whined, but he continued to walk as normally as he could.

"It's gonna. Quite whining and just walk. We've got six days to get you comfortable and back in the air." Daiki said, still walking backwards and studying the Drake.

"I know! Geez... Quite reminding me!" Taiga grumbled with a stern glare.

The more he walked, the more the saddle settled around his long body, each step helping to make it more comfortable, but it still felt weird to have such a contraption strapped to his form. They walked through the same meadow they had the previous night, but when Daiki spun around and broke out into a run, Taiga growled and curled his lip up at the thought of it.

"Hey!" He tried, but Daiki was taking off far too fast.

He stepped out his stride, each step getting further and further apart until he had broken out into a lazy canter like a very large, very ornery tiger. His wings were tucked in close as he ran, his tail swishing back and forth with each huge bound, but now that he was running, which felt completely euphoric, Taiga's discontent with being strapped into the thing began to fade away.

"There we go! Keep up!" Daiki roared back at the Drake, having to sprint with everything he had just to stay somewhat in front.

However, Taiga's much larger, much faster gate made him catch up in no time flat, but with his running and his eyes happy, Daiki took the distracted opening to risk it all.

As Taiga ran passed, Daiki lunged and grabbed the grip handle on the saddle like he had done a thousand times before. He jumped and swung his leg over Taiga's neck, coming to sit on the saddle all while Taiga ran. He seated his feet into the stirrups and clipped himself in with the belt straps around his waist onto the saddle's D rings where his movements fell perfectly into sync with Taiga's rolling strides.

For the first time in months, Daiki was riding a dragon.

"Fuck yes!" Daiki hollered, gripping a handle tightly as he pumped a fist into the air in victory.

"This isn't so bad! It settled nicely!" Taiga called back, still running and still relishing in the feel of the sun and heat against his smooth hide.

"I told you it would! Keep running! Next stop is the sky!" Daiki smiled wide as he ducked low, gripping the saddle to ensure he wasn't going anywhere.

"We can do it! I know we can!" Taiga howled, loosening his wings a bit in order to feel the rushing air over the leathery membrane.

"There's no rush! Take your time! In a couple of days, we'll head to the massive cliff to the west!" Daiki called out, patting Taiga's shoulder in the direction of the cliff.

Without a word, Taiga continued to run, but steered in that very direction, picking up his pace into a full gallop just to have more air rushing over his hide. It was so freeing, so energizing that he wanted more, no longer caring that he was strapped into a saddle with a Human, of all things, on his back. He had to admit, that if it wasn't for that man, he'd still be locked in the dark cell, still imprisoned like a caged animal. If it wasn't for Daiki, he'd still be alone to rot in the dark and if wasn't for Daiki, he'd be dead and someone's trophy.

The more he ran, the more his muscles felt alive, felt healed from a year's worth of confinement. He leaped high, spreading his wings wide to glide for quite a ways before touching back down without a break in his stride. He leaped again and again, each time spreading his wings and the closer the cliff got, the more Taiga's wings downbeat with the hopes of lifting off the ground.

"Taiga?... What're you doing?" Came Daiki's voice.

"We're gonna do it now!" Taiga yelped, his tone clearly aloof with excitement and genuine joy as he leaped again, forcing his wings down to work on waking up his stiff muscles.

"What? You haven't flown-" Daiki tried.

"We'll be fine! A Drake is different than a wyvren! Once a Human learns to walk, they never forget... A Drake is the same with flying!" Taiga called back without tearing his eyes away from the quickly approaching cliff.

Daiki's eyes shot wide at what was coming, but there was nothing he could do. If Taiga had been a wyvren, a mindless beast, sure, he could have halted his run, but that wasn't the case. Taiga was of his own mind and with that in mind, he checked the straps that were meant to keep him in the saddle, seated himself further down and hung on.

With the cliff's edge a single bound away, Taiga leaped with his wings spread wide and dove off, angling himself down to pick up huge speed. His legs were swept back against his long body and his tail trailed behind him, but just when he felt the wind feel right against his hide, everything changed.

Taiga bowled his huge wings and downbeat them hard, pulling him up and dropping the ground away just as fast as it had approached. In that long, lonely year, he had never forgotten the freeing sensation of being in the air, the way the air smelt differently as it rushed. It was fresher, cleaner, and the sound it made in his ears was like the most beautiful song he had ever heard. The previous night, he could have flown away, he knew he could have, but he stayed because he missed having a friend, someone he could trust and not lie about what he really was. He had gotten to do a lot of thinking over the week Daiki had been gone, and frankly, he had missed his visits, missed just having someone else to keep him company. It was something he missed so much, that he had had dreams about it, and he hadn't flown away that night because deep down, Taiga trusted Daiki and knew that both only had one way to go; Up.

"Woohoo! Hell yeah!" Daiki howled with a massive smile on his face at getting to be in the air after so many months.

"I told you! A Drake never forgets how to fly!" Taiga beamed, his teeth bared with his smile as his wings carried them through the sky.

For the first time in months, Daiki got to see the Crimson Kings's kingdom from the air. The castle was a gleaming beacon in a world that had the full potential to be a dark place, a place that people from all across the land could go to, to find safe harbor if one was willing to fight in order to defend it. The world didn't favor those whom preferred peace, being more than willing to trample them, but when it came to being a rider, very little could get to him from the air.

As Taiga leveled off to fly straight, Daiki sat up to admire the view, but he was too captivated by how Taiga looked while on wing. All the other times he had seen him, he had been curled up in his cell, so he hadn't been given a real chance to study his form. His wings were so much bigger than he had originally thought and he was so graceful that it was almost as if he was dancing while he flew. He had to admit that the Drake was quite striking, even with the small, healed scar that punched right through the stretched membrane of his wing.

"Got a little damage in that right wing. You gonna be alright?" Daiki asked as he patted Taiga's shoulder, earning a brief glance from the Drake as he turned his head just enough to see.

"Yeah... It'll be fine now that it's healed. When I got captured, I got nailed and it brought me down." Taiga said before looking back forwards and smoothly flapping his wings.

"By what?" Daiki asked, falling into a comfortable posture as he enjoyed the freeing air.

"Crossbow bolt... Your Captain fired it." Taiga said, briefly glancing back at his rider while he smoothly flapped his wings just to maintain their gentle cruise.

"He captured you?" Daiki asked with all the glee gone from his tone.

"Yeah... Well, he lead the squad that did. I was living out of a cave in the mountains north of here and they caught wind of it when the nearby farmer reported that a dragon was taking cows from his herd." Taiga said, smoothly banking left to head in that very direction as he leveled his wings to glide.

"Were you?" Daiki asked plainly.

"Yeah... I'd snag one a month, or so. He saw me one night and the very next morning, his son had left to report to the castle. Your Captain and a squad of riders showed up a couple weeks later and trapped me." Taiga briefly explained.

"I'm surprised they just didn't try to kill you." Daiki said as he leaned over enough to plant his elbows down and rest his head in hands.

"Oh, they tried, but after a couple failed attempts, they just captured me and carted me off." Taiga said with a snort.

"And you just played along huh?" Daiki asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Yup... I'd be dead otherwise. For a whole year, no one was the wiser until you showed up." Taiga said, beating his wings gently.

"You aren't gonna freak out come next week then are you?" Daiki asked, sitting up straight and placing his hands on the warm hide of Taiga's shoulders.

"Don't worry. I'll play the part. Can't guarantee I won't snarl at him though." Taiga huffed a smirk.

"Snarling is fine, just don't bite his head off." Daiki said with a firm pat to the Drake's shoulder.

"No promises."

The pair chuckled a bit at the thought of just throwing caution to the wind and ending the creepy man's reign, but both knew that he was their ticket to freedom and flame broiling him was most definitely not in their best interests. It was a pleasing thought nonetheless and it put smiles on both their face as they flew North, not caring about the time and just enjoying the air. Daiki had lost all sense as he just truly relaxed, allowing Taiga to have complete control, but when he felt the Drake slow and descend towards the ground, his brows furrowed with the sadness that it was over.

"You alright, Taiga?" Daiki asked, finally taking in that Taiga had made a huge loop and was lowering down to the ground at the cliff's edge.

"Yeah... Just tired. It's been a year remember?" Taiga snarked as his back feet touched down before his front.

"Right... Sorry about that." Daiki said as he removed the clips and dropped down to the ground.

Taiga shrugged and shook his wings out before tucking them in close to his body, "Whatever... So now what?" He asked as both started to walk.

"We keep training to build your stamina back up. You've only gotta put up with this for a week." Daiki said as his face dropped and he looked down at the grass.

"Just a week? But I thought you said that if we proved to your Captain that I'm not just gonna eat everybody, that we'll be given a mission." Taiga said, stopping and lifting his head in question at the Human.

"Well, yeah... I mean, if you stick around. Didn't I promise to set you free afterwards?" Daiki asked, his brows furrowing harder as he began to second guess himself.

"I don't remember that." Taiga smirked before starting to walk.

Daiki just stood there with a dumbstruck look on his face as Taiga walked passed him with a natural gate. He swore he had made that promise, was even willing to bet money on it, but that pang of uncertainty fluttered around in his gut anyways. He was certain he had promised to set Taiga free just as soon as his life was secured, but the way he had smirked and just kept on walking as if it didn't matter was more confusing than second guessing himself. He was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't going to need that job at Natalie's tavern after all.