Chapter XIII: Flirtation

In the days that followed the celebration, Eragon convened with the Council. They were locked up for three days before anyone else saw anything of them, and on the fourth day there was a party of six dragons and riders preparing for departure for Alagaesia. Eragon himself would not be going, but it would be the first time since the establishment of the outpost that such a force would be sent back. Usually they were sent in pairs or threes, and usually had no intention of returning save for when they needed to. This mission was simply for information, and it needed to be fast. As such, the dragons needed to be strong and able as they would be flying for days on end. There were some islands on the way to break the journey up, but they were bare and there was little else there other than a few trees for shelter.

The mission was, as he explained to them all, reconnaissance. He was sending them to Ellesmera with a few scrolls bearing his signature and seal. The Riders were to converse with Queen Arya on the topic of any records that went farther back than the dragon wars, and then they were to give information to the King Aurion. Eragon did not think it would bode well if he sent correspondence only to the Queen of the Elves and not anyone else. If they found anything they were to return immediately, and otherwise Eragon had given them two weeks to accomplish their goal. It would put their journey as lasting a whole month, which was a gruelling effort for anyone. Eragon had chosen his best, with Torian and Oleg leading the charge.

Many riders and dragons lined the shores of the beach as the six pairs prepared to head out. They stood in a line facing the ocean, Eragon and Saphira in front of them as those who came to watch were in behind.

"Atra du evarínya ono varda Shur'tugalar, un atra ono waíse sköliro frá rauthr," Eragon spoke. Everyone watching could feel the weight of the words; he was not just simply bidding them farewell. As he bid the stars themselves to watch their passage, he was also shielding them from any misfortune that might come their way. How long the spell would last remained to be seen, but Eragon was a powerful magician. It would hopefully last the trip.

Individually the departing riders and dragons had a silent conversation with their leader, as was evident by the way in which they watched each other. In unison the dragons then flared their wings, and with a collective roar they took to the skies. Sand and water stirred beneath them as they took off, and for a moment they were a rainbow of colour against the dreary sky. It was not a pleasant day, and it was therefore only a matter of time before the six of them disappeared beyond the clouds. Eragon and Saphira stood watching for a little while longer though, before eventually turning back to the crowd that had gathered.

It was business as usual after that. For now, training was resumed at a regular pace. They practised spells with Blodgarm and combat with others. Their individual mentors took them through the combined workings of the two, and their training was a mixture of group and solo practise. This time Ilia threw herself wholeheartedly into the training, and soon enough began to hold her own in battle. Of course, all of it was staged; she was well aware that even if she completely cracked they wouldn't kill her. It was a false environment, but she knew better than to expect this everywhere. She had seen the real world and what it could do, and she wasn't going to stand for any weakness.

After one training session with Eragon, Ilia set her weapon down to finish. She was covered in bruises but she had managed to give Eragon at least one, and that was a victory in her books. "I was beginning to think you were invincible," she commented, a smug note to her voice.

There was a slight upturn of Eragon's lips. "Waíse heill," he spoke to the bruise on his shoulder, and it promptly disappeared. It was a hot day and he was wearing a sleeveless tunic; Ilia could see what was happening to his skin.

The woman frowned. "Not fair," she protested.

This time he acknowledged her. "I thought Blodgarm would have shown you that one," he said. His words were innocent, but she could hear the tease in his voice.

Ilia rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what Blodgarm has shown us, and it isn't that one."

Eragon pursed his lips as if he was thinking about it. He considered another smart remark, but instead settled for showing her instead. It was a useful spell, and would probably help her aches and pains. He suspected that she'd be angry with him for not showing her sooner, but he'd needed her to feel the bruises. It was too easy not to learn when there was a way out.

"It's a healing spell. It doesn't fix everything, but it's good for the minor things. If you were especially powerful it could probably mend a broken bone, but that would really be the extent of it," he explained.

"So you could do it," she stated flatly.

Eragon shrugged. "I've never tried. I'm only assuming, as it's something relatively simple. It doesn't cure diseases or fix severe internal wounds." Sometimes Eragon took the bait, but he didn't think it was necessary right now.

"Waíse heill," she repeated, and instantly felt the magic leave her body even as the bruise on her hand faded away. "You could have shown me this sooner." She was looking at him now, the look on her face saying that she was unimpressed.

This time, Eragon took the bait. "And let you have the easy way out? No, you're far too entertaining for that," he said with a grin.

As he had anticipated, he got a rise from the girl. She stiffened, eyes forming daggers of their own even as she reached for her boot to take the hidden one there. He hadn't practised this with her specifically, but he knew that she did so on her own sometimes. As she was right-handed he knew where her aim would go, so as she moved he did also, dodging the dagger as it came towards him. He was anticipating another, and as she followed through her previous movement to grab the next from her waist he was already coming towards her. With a spin the other hurtled towards him, but as he had predicted its trajectory he snatched it out of thin air by the hilt. His own momentum carried him towards her and his left arm caught her shoulder and shoved her backwards as his right arm pressed the blade towards her throat.

Ilia was breathing hard, her eyes at first wide with shock and then at the sight of the smirk on his lips she frowned. There was silence for a moment as they stared at each other; he amused and she unimpressed. Eventually she gave a sigh and he relented, flipping the blade in the air and passing it to her by the hilt. "You're fast," he told her.

"Not fast enough," she grumbled.

Eragon shook his head. "You learn to see the subtleties. You throw with your right hand, and in doing so I judged the angle at which your blade would fly. I based my attack on that," he told her.

Ilia rolled her eyes to hide the fact that she thought he had a good point. "So I have to throw with my left hand?"

"You have to be unpredictable."

"Throwing knives is not unpredictable?"

Eragon grinned. "I knew you would do it. At least, I hoped for it. Tomorrow we will look at that," he informed her.

Ilia's lips drew into a frown, but she knew he had her there. "What would classify as unpredictable?" she challenged.

"Simply do nothing at all and I will be utterly shocked," he said, turning on his heel and giving a wave.

Ilia knew when she was dismissed, but she hated that he had the last word. Her mouth opened as she went to say something, but she caught sight of Ailara watching them and she sighed instead. Apparently this was going to continue tomorrow, and he was going off to…do something. She didn't know what.

After pulling her first dagger from the post it was in, she replaced it in her boot and the other on her belt as she approached Ailara. "Is something happening?" she asked. The woman didn't often seek her out just to talk.

Ailara shook her head. "No, I was simply passing through when I noticed you…sparring," she responded.

It was the hesitation that had Ilia paying attention, and she fell into step beside the woman as it was clear that she was heading towards the main centre of the outpost. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

For a moment Ailara paused, considering her response. A few people had been talking, but she hadn't actually seen it. Eragon had chosen this particular girl to be his pupil because she was difficult to train. He had done well, she thought; she was much different from the rude and careless girl she'd been when she'd first arrived. However if it were only that, people wouldn't have started to whisper.

"There was a lot of flirting," she stated, her tone matter-of-fact.

Ilia's face heated red and she stopped in her tracks. "What?" she asked.

Ailara stopped a few paces ahead of the other woman. "You think Eragon interacts with all his pupils like that? He's purely business with everyone else."

For a moment Ilia stared at her before resuming her walk. Ilia did not wish her to think that she was entirely affected by this. "And what is he like with me?" she asked, keeping her tone even.

Ailara shrugged. "More at ease, I suppose. More unrefined."

"And what does that mean exactly? Perhaps I just annoy him to the point of frustration."

The other woman pursed her lips, making no effort to hide the amusement on her face. "That is generally a sign of more interest than just a master and pupil. Men seem to come a little more undone when there is a particular woman involved."

Ailara was being somewhat cryptic, and Ilia wasn't certain she appreciated what was being implied. She hadn't thought about Eragon explicitly in that way, and she didn't want to start doing that right now. "You sound like an expert on the topic," Ilia pressed, knowing that this was a prime opportunity to change the subject. "Does Eldir…come undone?"

As Ailara's cheeks burned red, Ilia knew she had the woman. Riders they were, and they were good at keeping secrets, but personal affairs were powerful things. The moment was brief though, and the other woman quickly smirked to hide it. "It's quite an amazing thing, watching a man as knowledgeable as he is turn into a stuttering fool when he wishes to impress me."

This had Ilia snickering, and even drew a small laugh from Ailara as well. Regardless of the topic at hand, Ilia was enjoying the interaction. It was a far cry from when they'd first met.

Ailara stopped, signalling that she was to enter the building they had come to. It was the back entrance to the library, and Ilia wondered if she was heading in to see the man in question himself. "It is good to see you smile and hear you laugh. Regardless of what Eragon might think or not, your work with him has done you well."

Ilia's cheeks burned again; she wasn't used to being complimented, especially on her character. "Well, it would have been boring to stay that way," she returned, though it was probably the weakest comeback she had.

Pursing her lips, Ailara shrugged. "Frustrating for the rest of us, also. It's good to see you, Ilia," she said, then turned into the building and disappeared.

The comment was a bit of a dig, though Ilia knew it wasn't an attack. The woman had also run away rather quickly and had not given Ilia a chance to fire back. It was just as well; she felt a little off her game at the moment, for Ailara had given her plenty to think about.

Dinner was an hour or so away yet, but Ilia wasn't sure if she was going to be hungry or not. Seeing Eragon after a conversation like that; she wasn't sure how she was going to respond to seeing him. Ilia found herself wandering towards the beach and away from the compound, knowing full well that Luan would find her. She heard his wingbeats in the distance and paid them mind as they grew closer, but only acknowledged him when she was sitting on the beach and he curled his body around her.

His silver head was on the ground at her side and she leaned into him, tucking herself into the space behind the bone of his cheek. He was growing bigger and stronger with each passing day that they were here, though it was still hard to believe that he would someday be as big as Thorn or Saphira.

'What plagues you?' he asked her. Luan could sense that it was something important, much like when she'd started her journey to face the pain that she'd dealt with. It felt like a delicate thing, and he didn't want to take more information than she was willing to give at a time.

For a few moments Ilia was quiet, her hand stroking the scales along the side of his snout. She found comfort in the texture, her fingers tracing along each little scale.

'Ailara thinks Eragon and I were flirting,' she said, the very thought of it causing her pulse to quicken.

'Were you?'

'I…I don't know. I enjoy spending time with him. I've never thought of him like that.'

There was a grumble of acknowledgement from the dragon. This he knew to be true, but he thought that she was, perhaps unconsciously, allowing her guard to drop around the man. 'Is it a bad thing?'

Ilia snorted. 'When did you gain wisdom to give council?'

A stream of smoke came from his nostrils. 'You've never been willing to listen before.'

He had a point there, and so Ilia begrudgingly gave him that. She waited a few moments before responding. 'It wouldn't be a bad thing if he were attainable,' she responded, and Luan detected a note of sadness to her thoughts.

'Is he bound to another? If not, he is therefore attainable,' he responded. Ilia didn't fully expect Luan to understand, as that kind of bond was something he could only understand through her. As a dragon he did not form such connections with other dragons.

'He is the most powerful sorcerer, warrior, and dragon rider in all the lands. There have been many capable women much more suitable to a man like him. If he were attainable, he would have found someone by now,' she told him.

Luan snorted. 'You are a very talented and capable woman. Do not disparage yourself so.'

A smile crossed her lips and Ilia leaned her head against him. She appreciated the sentiment. 'He was in love with the Queen Arya. I can't compete with that. Not even the memory of that.'

'Oh.'

For a few more moments they sat in silence. The feel of Luan's scales and the sound of the waves on the beach were soothing, and a good place for her to sort out her thoughts.

'But you do like him,' Luan insisted.

While she did wish he would let it drop, Ilia supposed it was easier to just acknowledge it. She knew the danger of keeping things like this hidden, and she knew it would be safe with Luan. A heavy sigh escaped her. 'Yes,' she breathed. Really, it was hard not to like him. She doubted she was the only one; she just happened to have more time to spend with him.

'What are you going to do about it?' he asked her then.

Again, Ilia was quiet as she sorted out her own thoughts. 'I'm not going to do anything,' she responded.

Luan was confused. 'Why?'

'He can never know. Eventually our training will stop, and I will not have such exclusive access to him. I will be as all the other riders here at the outpost. My feelings will amount to nothing. It's not love, Luan, and it isn't a bond. It's simply because he is a handsome and talented man and I am spending a lot of time with him. Once that stops, my feelings will also.'

To a certain extent Luan felt that her logic was sound, but he wished she had a little more faith in herself. Still, these were matters of the heart that he did not fully understand, and he knew that she'd lost love before. What she wasn't saying, and what he did sense behind her thoughts, was a fear of betraying her first love and that it would all simply amount to nothing even if she did take the risk. She was protecting herself, and perhaps it was for the best. He did not wish for her to retreat into her shell again. Much progress had been made, but there were parts of her that were still fragile.

'Will you go to dinner tonight?' Luan asked.

Ilia shook her head. 'I wish to collect my thoughts a little more before I see him again,' she answered. What she really wanted to do was go flying, but she would need to inform Eragon that that was what she intended to do. With the threat still looming above them, they needed to be safe.

For a little while longer the pair sat there in silence, feeling the last warmth of the fading light and listening to the sound of the waves on the shore. The time for dinner was approaching, though Ilia decided she would find some food later on. As she was thinking on this another sound tore through the air; it was the sound of a dragon in distress.

Immediately Ilia and Luan were on their feet, and Ilia was swinging into the saddle. Luan was not in the air long before they spotted Thorn. His red scales shone brilliantly in the sunset, and Ilia was so taken by the sight for a moment that she initially missed that he was flying low and laboured, and that the reason for it was because he was carrying a dragon on his back and two riders in his claws. It was Arin, Sorren's black dragon, and he did not look well.

Ilia and Luan were not the only ones to rush to the scene. Narqa and Elen were there as well, and many of the other dragons and riders had collected and were running to their aid. Eragon and Saphira shot from the treeline to the south, urgency in their movements, as Thorn all but crash-landed into the open space that surrounded the north side of the outpost.

Murtagh emerged from one of Thorns set of claws as Luan and Ilia arrived. "He's dying," he said curtly, and Eragon rushed to the dragons aid. "Get the healers. All of them!" he called over his shoulder. Saphira was helping to get Arin from Thorns back. Upon closer inspection it was clear that both dragons were injured, but Arin was by far the worse off of the two.

Ilia scanned the area for Sorren; he was nowhere to be seen. Arin barely looked conscious and it was possible that no one had noticed his missing rider. She spotted him though, laying listlessly in Thorns other claws.

There were a lot of people around but no one seemed to be doing much of anything, and so Ilia rushed to the man's aid. As she did Narqa came to help, and the dam's increased strength enabled them to get him out of Thorn's claws. The motion woke him, and he sputtered awake with a cough. "Arin! Where is Arin?" He spoke frantically, reaching out and grabbing Ilia by the tunic to pull himself up.

"It's alright, we've got him. Eragon and Saphira are with him now. What happened?" Ilia asked.

Sorren began to tremble in their arms, and he was still looking for his dragon. "Where is Murtagh?" he asked.

"Here," answered the man. Generally he had been calm and collected, but Ilia noticed a tinge of anxiety to his movements. He was eying Thorn and eying Arin and Sorren as well, though Ilia wasn't sure if it was because of what had happened or if he had had something to do with it.

'I am alright,' came the deep, musical voice of Thorn. His head was on the ground and he relaxed now that he wasn't minding injured dragons or riders.

Murtagh breathed a sigh of relief, though he still looked to be on edge.

"Murtagh!" Eragon called, and the man looked to his brother. Eragon came rushing over, spotting Sorren.

"What happened?" he asked, though it was clear that he was not assuming that Murtagh had had something to do with this.

"I don't know, I'm not-"

"It was so big, we couldn't get away," Sorren said. All eyes were on him as the man spoke, though his eyes were fixed on the dragon.

"It just…it came out of nowhere. It felt like it was sucking the life out of us. If Murtagh and Thorn hadn't…we would've…"

'Eragon!' Saphira cried.

The man in question's eyes went wide before his attention went immediately back to Sorren. "That's because the life was being sucked out of you. I'll get the story later, but right now I need you. I'm going to give you instructions and you need to give them to Arin. If you don't, he dies," Eragon said.

Sorren nodded, but he was still trembling.

"We will help you walk," said Narqa, and Ilia nodded.

Ilia and Narqa did this, helping Sorren towards his dragon. Eragon was agitated and Murtagh just looked exhausted, though it was clear that somehow Eragon had needed him.

"You need to help us show Arin how to disengorge his heart of hearts," Eragon said.

Murtagh looked shocked. "What?"

"Saphira is currently maintaining Arin's life with her own, but it won't last forever. Whatever this thing was, it was essentially doing that process for him."

"The creature was pulling out the eldunari," Murtagh said, his own voice trembling some as he glanced to Thorn. He hadn't realised the danger he was putting his own dragon into.

Ilia had heard of the term but only in context to the ones that Eragon had told them about. "What does that mean?"

"It means that if we don't get it out of him, he'll die. Right now it's neither in him nor out of him, and his body can't handle that. If we can get him to finish the process, we can save him and keep the heart of hearts safe," Eragon answered. "It also means that you were right, Ilia. It was looking for something. Whatever this thing is, it's looking for Eldunarya. We happen to have a lot of them here."

They had reached Arin by this point, who seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. Luan and Elen had joined in and were helping Saphira keep the dragon alive, but it was clear it was taking its toll. Others were joining in, but they only had so many dragons and so much magic. They had to work quickly, or even that would be depleted.

The magic that was performed was undoubtedly dangerous. Once they were close enough Sorren decided he could stand on his own, and Ilia and Narqa took a step back. There were some very tense moments, and it seemed to take forever, until, somehow, Sorren was holding a brilliant jewel in his hand. It wasn't as big as the one that Eragon held, but there was certainly power emanating from it.

Tears were streaming down Sorren's face, and Eragon put his arm around the man. "Arin is safe," he said, "but you have been entrusted with a big responsibility."

Sorren nodded, though fell to his knees. It was clear that he was going to need some medical attention as well. Eragon signalled to the healers to come and tend to them both before stepping away.

Murtagh needed attention as well, but he sent them to Thorn first. "Did you tell him of the consequences of this?" he asked his brother.

Eragon glanced to the women that were still standing there, then sighed. "No, but I will," he answered.

Ilia, for her part, did not think that this was fair. "So you made him perform magic without giving him the consequences? That, I believe, goes against everything you've taught us." It didn't matter that she'd just decided she had feelings for this man; if he was going to make decisions like that she was done and he was everything she thought he was.

Eragon sighed again and shook his head. "The consequence of not doing it would mean a dead dragon. There is no way to put the eldunari back into a dragon once it is out. Arin's body would have shut down and he would have died," he explained, "there was no time to make any other decision."

Ilia still did not think this was the best practise, but he looked burdened enough. "What are the consequences?"

"Simply that Arin's eldunari will not grow any larger. It does not mean he cannot get stronger, but it means that he and Sorren will have to work harder. They will find their way around this," he said. It was common knowledge around most of the riders; they just hadn't gotten to that training yet with the newest recruits.

In terms of consequences Ilia didn't think that it was the worst, but she understood why it could be the problem. Arin hadn't reached the peak of his growth, and so it meant that this source of power would therefore not grow either. Not the worst possible consequence, but not the best either.

Now that Sorren and Arin were being tended to, Eragon turned to the gathered magicians, most of whom had in fact started helping in one way or another. "Rest up. Tomorrow we will speak with Murtagh and Sorren, as well as Thorn and Arin, and we will gather information. For now, everyone will rest." He dismissed the crowd, though Ilia watched as he moved to where Blodgarm was standing. There was a conversation and the blue elf nodded, before he then went to gather some spell-casters of his own. Eragon may have told them to rest, but Ilia didn't think he would be getting any of that tonight.

Calmer of the Storm: Right! You know the drill, review! I've got lots of ideas for later on; it's just a matter of getting there. Not quite sure how that will happen.

Edit: I can't respond to guest reviews privately xD But I misread the text (or rather, it was a bit misleading); the dragon does not stop growing, simply the eldunari. I've edited to reflect this.