i had a sudden urge to update, which is probably a good thing to be honest, :D

and in response to a review by Phantomreviewer (it annoys me when people are annonomous(spelt that wrong) reviewers coz i cant reply back to them, but oh well :D) yeah pretty much all the chapters to like chapter 20 suck in my opinion, i mean, i freaking spelt bowl wrong, what the heck was i on then?? jeez :P might repost them when the story's finished, too lazy and just dont care enough to do it right now, so hopefully you'll all survive :D

claimer: yeah...whatever, dont feel like writing one after writing all that at the top, so just ditto to all the others i guess..:D

53.-Concealment

With elf-like reflexes I caught the creature just before it bowled me over, trying desperately to hold on to the squirming, squeaking animal while Cadara leapt from the bed and fluttered her hands over the emerald form as if attempting to do something useful.

I seized the small body around its middle and held it up to the light so I could get a better look. I recognized the creature instantly, not from having seen one before, but from instinctively knowing what it was. I turned sharply to Cadara, "Is he yours?" I hissed, my cutting voice silencing the protests emitting for the baby dragon in my hands. The girl nodded, "His name is Bernlak, he hatched for me a few days ago. I haven't told anyone but Angela, I've seen what Eragon has had to deal with…and I'm scared." She admitted, her blue eyes downcast with shame. My expression softened with understanding and I stroked Bernlak along his spine absentmindedly, smiling as squeaks of pleasure sounded from his scaly form.

"Well this definitely complicates things, but you have done the right thing by trusting no one, although I am afraid that has not stopped the king from sensing the Bernlak's presence. It would not surprise me if Murtagh was on his way this second." I stared straight at the girl as she gasped in fear, "We must go. Now. Dorran and I are capable of holding him and Thorn off if the situation arises, but I'd rather it didn't get that far." I handed the dragon back to his rider and strode out of the chamber, Dorran by my side with Angela, Solembum, and Cadara clutching her dragon to her chest close behind.

"We must go to the Varden, you will be safest there, it is too dangerous for a new rider to be unprotected during the months of corruption, before your dragon is strong enough to resist magic powerful enough to cause him to forget his rider and join forces with a new one, like what has happened to Shruikan." I said, my voice being whipped away from the speed I was walking.

We reached the bottom of the dragon hold and I looked up at the darkening sky above. Perfect.

Cadara rushed up to me and grabbed my arm, her eyes as wide as her dragons. "But how are we going to get to the Varden quick enough?" she asked, her voice breathless and rushed from fear and adrenaline.

I tuned to face her, smiling from the fact that she didn't completely understand yet.

"We fly of course." I replied, grinning wider as her face adapted a look of pure terror as comprehension washed into her mind. I glanced over at Angela, raising an eyebrow questioningly, who nodded in response.

"I need to check on Elva, I have shirked my duty to her for a few months now as a favor to Nasuada, who asked me to help prepare the remaining members of the Varden for the journey ahead of them with herbs and such. Which, as you can see, has been completed, so I may as well go back now." I nodded to her, and then turned to wink at Dorran, grinning as we both morphed as one into our dragon forms, savoring the thought of being free from the tunnels once again and soaring into the night air.

I crouched to allow Cadara to climb onto my back, who accomplished it with difficulty with no help from the wriggling Bernlak in her arms who just wouldn't stay still not matter how many calming thoughts I sent to his mind.

Angela heaved herself onto Dorran's back, with Solembum leaping up gracefully afterwards to perch and curl up in between two ivory spikes that ran the length of his spine between his velvety wings.

I grinned a slightly wolfish, predatory grin at Dorran and watched with humor as his night-sky eyes lit up considerably and the tip of his tail twitched from side to side. He motioned for me to go first and I opened my wings, flexing the muscles in preparation for flight, then swept them up, crouched, then leapt into the air while pushing down with my wings, gaining altitude with every beat.

I could hear Cadara's teeth grinding and her legs and arms tightened around my shoulders and neck. I looked back and smiled as I noticed Bernlak fluttering his wings as if trying to fly himself, his jaws wide with happiness and his emerald eyes glimmering brightly in the growing moonlight. I blew a small smoke ring around his head and my heart swelled as he squawked in contentment, I felt as if he were my child, a strange thing to feel after just meeting the creature, but I couldn't help it.

I looked down at Dorran and noticed him looking at me with mixed emotions on his scaly face and I remembered with a jolt that he knew everything I was feeling and could hear my thoughts too, and I turned my head from him, ashamed.

A few seconds later his silken wing brushed against mine and I was forced to look in his eyes, there is nothing shameful about wanting a family, most girls your age are already married and have at least one child, it is only natural to feel that way. He thought to me, his voice soothing in my cluttered mind.

I realized with a start that my birthday had passed while I had been training, and what he said was true, the friends I had had back in the village would have husbands, and maybe even a child, by now. I was once again reminded of what the events in my life had caused me to miss, but then, if I thought about it, I realized I wouldn't change what had happened even if it was possible to.

What about you? I thought to him, you would have probably run off with some girl by now too if Shifters never existed and the forces of this universe weren't so against you.

But then I wouldn't have had a girl to run off with because I would have never met you, he thought back, grinning slyly, his gleaming teeth shining in the starlight.

I smiled and blew smoke in his face playfully, then flapped my wings to rise higher in the night to avoid the tip of a mountain.

"You know, flying absolutely terrifies me, but I guess I have to get over that fear if I am to be a dragon rider." Cadara remarked from behind me and I turned to face her, smiling slightly.

"Yes, and maybe, if you want, you could train a bit with me while Bernlak is still growing. If you wish to, of course." I added, feeling slightly embarrassed as I realized what I had suggested, not sure if I was offending her by saying that she should train with me before her actual dragon.

But she smiled back, obviously sensing my unease, "That would be good, thank you." She sighed and closed her eyes, apparently exhausted, and cuddled the now tired Bernlak to her chest and proceeded to sleep against my neck. I sighed and looked down at Angela and Dorran, startled as I realized that Solembum was no longer on Dorran's back, but in his place stood a boy with dark, wild hair and slanted red eyes. He noticed me looking at him and he looked up and grinned revealing a mouth of pointed white teeth. I smiled, nice form Solembum, do you do dragons as well?

Not all of us are complete freaks, the were-cat retorted and I laughed but then squinted my eyes in the distance. Something red was growing on the horizon and it sure wasn't the sun.

Thorn, I hissed into the minds of my companions, causing their heads to shoot up in alarm, fully awake and frightened.

Has he seen us yet? I heard Cadara ask in our minds and I shook my head, the dragon was drifting almost lazily, he wasn't chasing anyone just yet, and I hoped to keep it that way.

Into the trees, I whispered to Dorran, locking my wings to dive slower than Dorran did because I knew my scales would stand out more in the darkness and I couldn't only rely on the hope that he would mistake me for a falling star or something. My heart beat fast as I fell far slower than I would have liked, the hard thumping of Cadara and her dragons' hearts beating against my neck scales only increasing my adrenaline rush. I shut my eyes, willing them not to see me, when I felt something close around one side of my body and my eyes flew open, heart racing, only to realize that Dorran had shielded the part of my body that was visible to the enemies with his large dark wings.

Excellent thinking, I thought to him, slipping silently into the tree canopy undetected by our pursuers.

That's why you keep me, he thought back, grinning with humor as we morphed and pressed ourselves against the tree trunks in a vain attempt to blend in. Cadara shoved her dragon up her shirt so that he wouldn't make any noise that would give us away, much to the baby's disapproval.

I soothed the dragonet (is it dragonet of dragonette? I'm confuzzled..) with my mind and settled onto the needle-covered forest floor with Dorran sitting on my right and Cadara on my left with the unhappy Bernlak curled up in her shirt, sulking silently.

This was not going to be a fun night.

stupid Thorn ruining the party...hmph, lol

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