Ember wasted no time in fulfilling Ryker's orders. Preparing the stalls for a hunt included checking them for anything that needed to be repaired such as the door hinges or the chains used to keep the Dragons from flying out if for whatever reason the door needed to be opened. Sometimes if the Dragons were strong enough they would yank the chains that were attached to the wall right out.
Rykers last hunt must have been rough because almost every stall needed one or both of those repairs. It took her the entire first shift to just finish that.
After completing those tasks, Ember was tired, but she plowed on, lest she wanted to be yelled at by Ryker.
The rest of the work was relatively easy though. She swept out the stalls and stocked them with rocks for the Dragons that ate them since they won't spoil unlike fish. That would be caught as needed while on the expedition.
After attending to a few other minor tasks, Ember stood at one end of the row of stalls and admired her handy work. Everything was spick and span, Ryker would have to be impressed. Though he isn't much for praising, just a nod of approval would be enough.
Now Ember wondered what she should do with the last two hours of her shift. It was well into the night. Deciding that it would be best to ask Ryker himself, Ember made her way on deck.
She was greeted with the cool night air that smelled of smoke from the campfires on the port mixed with the saltiness from the sea. The ship was still docked, and would most likely leave at first light.
After Ember closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she opened her eyes and was met with two large green orbs just a few inches from her face. She couldn't hold back a gasp from shock and stumbled a few feet back which only gave her a better view of the beast standing in front of her. A dragon. Ember, being well educated in all the dragon species known to man, didn't have to think hard to know which species the dragon in front of her was.
Razorwhip.
Ember didn't think twice about reaching for her katana in its sheath that hung from the belt around her waist. She'd rather have a bow and the arrows that are coated in dragon root. One was all that was needed to take a dragon down.
She held her katana, ready to strike the beast down before it could harm anyone. Once it saw the weapon, it began growling lowly as a warning.
When Ember took a step closer to the dragon, it roared and spikes rose from its tail. That was her second warning. One of the metal spikes would slice through anyone. Ember knew this, but it didn't make her back down.
Both the girl and the beast stared each other down, waiting for one to make the first move.
Ember aimed her sword to where with one lunge it would pierce the dragon right in its heart, the scales on that part of the dragon being thinner metal and easily breakable.
Just as Ember was ready to end this dragon's life, a voice shouted to stop, but Ember didn't know if it was directed at her and she knew better than to break her gaze away from the target.
The dragon, to Ember's confusion, backed down and turned in the direction where the voice came from.
Ember should have taken the opportunity to finish her job, but was baffled as she watched the Dragons entire demeanor change. It's tail spikes were no longer out and it clambered away from Ember to the owner of the voice. Heather. She laughed as the dragon nudged her with its head and it showed no sign of wanting to maul her.
Ember snapped out of her faze when Heather looked away from her dragon and saw the former standing there like an idiot with her sword still raised. Heather's face morphed into one of fury as she realized what Ember was trying to do. She glared daggers as she marched over.
"What do you think you're doing with my dragon?" Heather demanded, and Ember was now more confused than ever.
"Your Dragon?" Ember asked, wondering if she heard right. Heather cannot be serious.
"Yes, I just said that." Heather said, annoyed at Ember for seeming to not understand her, "Don't you dare ever again to try and hurt her." Ember couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Hurt her?" Ember pointed to the dragon with her sword, "This- this thing is dangerous. It can slice through anything and you're worried about me hurting it? Is this some kind of joke?"
"No, Windshear is my dragon." It was then that Ember noticed the saddle the dragon wore. "She won't hurt anybody as long as they don't threaten her with weapons. Put your sword away." Ember narrowed her eyes at the other girl.
"I only take orders from one person and that's Ryker." She told Heather, "You're telling me this thing is your pet and you let it roam free? You're a dragon sympathizer, not a hunter. Ryker would never approve this." Heather crossed her arms and looked at her with defiance.
"Well let's go ask him." Heather suggested. Ember agrees, very certain that Ryker will set this girl straight. How dare she think she can let the dragon do as it pleases or give orders to Ember.
"You better have a good reason for seeing me at this late hour." Ryker told the pair after they had found him in his study, about to turn in for the night. While ember thought it would be best to settle the situation in the morning, Heather wasn't afraid of Ryker and started the discussion.
"Ryker, I caught this girl trying to kill my dragon." Heather informed him while glaring at the girl, who chose to remain emotionless. She knew how to keep her emotions in check even though she despised both the girl and the dragon.
"Is that so?" Ryker asked with a hint of amusement, which only infuriated Heather more. She set her hands on the desk and her glare intensified.
"I thought I told you to tell your men to back off and not go near her in any way." Ryker shrugged and leaned back in his chair casually.
"I suppose I forgot to mention it to this particular person." He replied. Ember let her emotionless mask slip a little as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Wait, am I to understand you are letting a dragon roam around your ship? That's preposterous!" Ember knew she was in trouble when Rykers gaze hardened. She wished she had stayed quiet.
"Heather, leave. I'll deal with this one on my own." He said, with a calmness that made Ember dread when Heather would leave. Said girl looked a little taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere, but did what she was told.
Ember could see Heather glance at her before she left, but kept looking at the ground. She didn't see the slight worry in Heather's eyes, despite them just arguing a few minutes ago.
Once the door closed, there was a silence with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ember waited for Ryker to speak first.
"Were you really about to kill the razorwhip?" He asked, and Ember nodded once.
"Yes sir." She answered quietly without looking at him. She waited for the yelling to start.
"What were you doing on deck? I gave you a job."
"I completed it and was looking for you to see if there was anything else I could do. That thing startled me and I thought it was attacking us. I didn't know it was Heather's... pet." Ember said the last word with disgust. She hated Dragons, and even more so people who sympathized with them. When they've taken the lives of many people.
"Well, like it or not, you are not allowed to kill this dragon. If I hear you step out of line again, you'll wish you hadn't stepped foot on my ship. Understood?" Ember, surprised that she was let off so easy, nodded.
"Yes sir. It won't happen again." She said and Ryker was satisfied enough with her answer and she was dismissed. Ember didn't realize she was shaking until she left the study and stood there in the hallway to compose herself.