Chapter 33
After catching a glimpse of light from the east, Croco scrambled to wake up Cassie and grab a quick bite as he put on the uniform that Will had left him. After asking the desk manager, they made their way to the Skybax Academy after a ten-minute walk, but they were both surprised to see that nobody was there. Finally they spotted a Master rider, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, walking towards them. Seeing Croco, she stopped in mid-step.
"You must be a new beginner, am I right?" she said. Croco nodded. "All right, come with me...Oolu's going to prepare the new wave of pilots today." The rider, whose name was Alynna McRae, led them out to an outcropping where several other beginners were waiting and conversing with each other. Alynna, who was three mothers Scottish, invited Cassie to stay and observe Croco after she inquired about him, but she declined and instead went back to Croco's apartment. Croco mingled among the others until Oolu came and at once, the class snapped to attention. He looked over the new crop with an intent gaze, then peered up to the sky.
"Before we begin," he started, "I would like to tell you that I will be retiring as head Skybax instructor after the next Habitat Conference. I've taught some of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents to fly and you should be honored to be the final group that I teach. Now to begin..." He threw his right arm to the sky and instantly a Skybax came gliding down to the outcropping where they were stationed. Many of the students jumped back when it landed but Croco stood firm. The Skybax preened and shuffled, balancing awkwardly on its long leg, then it caught itself and began to clean off its wings.
"Please keep in mind that this here is a pterosaur," Oolu stated, "It does not understand your language or any saurian so you cannot command it to do what you want it to unless you knew the pterosaurian language, which even I haven't mastered yet." He pointed out toward a group of statues in the distance. "Also, when you begin taking your first flights, you will discover that your Skybax will not fly past the Sentinels. That is off limits for all creatures and cannot be passed while in flight." Oolu then told the class about the two great pterosaurs and their roles in maintaining the balance of life in the canyon.
"...Quetzalcoatlus took to the clouds and chose the rainbow as its sign. Pteranodon chose to stay in the canyon and are gatekeepers to the World Beneath. Although the Pteranodons will not attack you or your Skybax, you must respect the fact that they are brothers who still have their differences." Oolu then gave a quick description of what the class was going to be like. First, they would be assigned a Skybax to which they will remain with, then they would take short flights into the canyon, and they would also be taught how to climb by a special climbing instructor. While this was going on, they would also spend time in the classroom learning about clouds and cloud formations as well as some of the more famous riders in the past. When he was finished, Oolu dismissed the class and told them to be back at the Academy Classroom at sunrise. But as Croco left, Oolu grabbed his shoulder. The young man stopped dead in his tracks as he waited for the other students to leave.
"Croco Hallaway," he said, "I want you to come with me." Croco didn't say a word as Oolu led him to the Skybax rookery at Pteros. It was a good two hours before they got there but once they did arrive, the old Master led him to where one of the great pterosaurs was penned.
"I can see that you have great potential," Oolu told him, "That alone is the reason that I am doing this for you and nobody else." He beckoned for the Skybax to come out, which it did and spread its wings out. Streaks of red ran down the wings with little pockets of green in the middle which appeared in the middle of the wing and scattered from tip to body.
"This Skybax has had a troubled past. In his twelve summers, we have given him two cadets and he has rejected them. One of them was nearly thrown off to his death in the canyon and the other quit because she couldn't handle him. Because of this he hasn't been named yet and I heard about your relationships in Treetown and thought that you would be the one that this Skybax would accept." Croco looked at the pterosaur with a great interest, as this has been as close as he had been to one, even closer than he was to Lightwing earlier. But when the Skybax looked at Croco, it was done. He lowered his head to look at him up close to scout him out for possible weaknesses but Croco stood firm. Then he then turned back to Oolu.
"I've always enjoyed a challenge," Croco said, "so yes...I want to work with this one." Oolu smiled as he motioned to Croco to come with him back to the city. He also told the young man that tomorrow the class would be assigned their Skybaxes and take their first flights into the canyon. Croco beamed with excitement, now he knew the day that he would finally fly again. He made his way back to the apartment where Cassie was waiting for him.
"So how was your first day?" she asked. The smile on his face told her all she needed to know. Still, Croco couldn't help but to share the news.
"Tomorrow we're gonna meet our Skybaxes and take our first flights!!!" he shouted ecstatically. "Oh boy, I can't wait...really!" Cassie nudged him onto the bed.
"All right, that's enough bellowing for a human," she told him. "Takes the fun outta being excited in the first place." Cassie then rolled onto her side, inviting Croco to rub her belly the way he always did. He knew she wanted it and put a hand right in the middle of her underside and began to run his hand in a circle, each getting slightly bigger. The protoceratops began to coo and purr as her eyes started to close. Cassie rolled back around to the upright position.
"Oh look at the sky," she said, noting that the sun was getting lower and lower to the west. "I know of a good place to eat, so let's go there and hopefully we'll be back here sometime shortly after sundown. C'mon Croco, let's get a move on!" The young man took Cassie's word to heart and was by her side as they walked down the somewhat busy promenade until they came up on Slider's Pub, which didn't offer the best of environments but was still a good enough place in Cassie's mind to take a dolphinback. After a good meal and many conversations with Apprentice Riders, they finally made their way back to the inn where a tired Croco immediately fell asleep, ready for the adventures that were waiting the next day.
After catching a glimpse of light from the east, Croco scrambled to wake up Cassie and grab a quick bite as he put on the uniform that Will had left him. After asking the desk manager, they made their way to the Skybax Academy after a ten-minute walk, but they were both surprised to see that nobody was there. Finally they spotted a Master rider, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, walking towards them. Seeing Croco, she stopped in mid-step.
"You must be a new beginner, am I right?" she said. Croco nodded. "All right, come with me...Oolu's going to prepare the new wave of pilots today." The rider, whose name was Alynna McRae, led them out to an outcropping where several other beginners were waiting and conversing with each other. Alynna, who was three mothers Scottish, invited Cassie to stay and observe Croco after she inquired about him, but she declined and instead went back to Croco's apartment. Croco mingled among the others until Oolu came and at once, the class snapped to attention. He looked over the new crop with an intent gaze, then peered up to the sky.
"Before we begin," he started, "I would like to tell you that I will be retiring as head Skybax instructor after the next Habitat Conference. I've taught some of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents to fly and you should be honored to be the final group that I teach. Now to begin..." He threw his right arm to the sky and instantly a Skybax came gliding down to the outcropping where they were stationed. Many of the students jumped back when it landed but Croco stood firm. The Skybax preened and shuffled, balancing awkwardly on its long leg, then it caught itself and began to clean off its wings.
"Please keep in mind that this here is a pterosaur," Oolu stated, "It does not understand your language or any saurian so you cannot command it to do what you want it to unless you knew the pterosaurian language, which even I haven't mastered yet." He pointed out toward a group of statues in the distance. "Also, when you begin taking your first flights, you will discover that your Skybax will not fly past the Sentinels. That is off limits for all creatures and cannot be passed while in flight." Oolu then told the class about the two great pterosaurs and their roles in maintaining the balance of life in the canyon.
"...Quetzalcoatlus took to the clouds and chose the rainbow as its sign. Pteranodon chose to stay in the canyon and are gatekeepers to the World Beneath. Although the Pteranodons will not attack you or your Skybax, you must respect the fact that they are brothers who still have their differences." Oolu then gave a quick description of what the class was going to be like. First, they would be assigned a Skybax to which they will remain with, then they would take short flights into the canyon, and they would also be taught how to climb by a special climbing instructor. While this was going on, they would also spend time in the classroom learning about clouds and cloud formations as well as some of the more famous riders in the past. When he was finished, Oolu dismissed the class and told them to be back at the Academy Classroom at sunrise. But as Croco left, Oolu grabbed his shoulder. The young man stopped dead in his tracks as he waited for the other students to leave.
"Croco Hallaway," he said, "I want you to come with me." Croco didn't say a word as Oolu led him to the Skybax rookery at Pteros. It was a good two hours before they got there but once they did arrive, the old Master led him to where one of the great pterosaurs was penned.
"I can see that you have great potential," Oolu told him, "That alone is the reason that I am doing this for you and nobody else." He beckoned for the Skybax to come out, which it did and spread its wings out. Streaks of red ran down the wings with little pockets of green in the middle which appeared in the middle of the wing and scattered from tip to body.
"This Skybax has had a troubled past. In his twelve summers, we have given him two cadets and he has rejected them. One of them was nearly thrown off to his death in the canyon and the other quit because she couldn't handle him. Because of this he hasn't been named yet and I heard about your relationships in Treetown and thought that you would be the one that this Skybax would accept." Croco looked at the pterosaur with a great interest, as this has been as close as he had been to one, even closer than he was to Lightwing earlier. But when the Skybax looked at Croco, it was done. He lowered his head to look at him up close to scout him out for possible weaknesses but Croco stood firm. Then he then turned back to Oolu.
"I've always enjoyed a challenge," Croco said, "so yes...I want to work with this one." Oolu smiled as he motioned to Croco to come with him back to the city. He also told the young man that tomorrow the class would be assigned their Skybaxes and take their first flights into the canyon. Croco beamed with excitement, now he knew the day that he would finally fly again. He made his way back to the apartment where Cassie was waiting for him.
"So how was your first day?" she asked. The smile on his face told her all she needed to know. Still, Croco couldn't help but to share the news.
"Tomorrow we're gonna meet our Skybaxes and take our first flights!!!" he shouted ecstatically. "Oh boy, I can't wait...really!" Cassie nudged him onto the bed.
"All right, that's enough bellowing for a human," she told him. "Takes the fun outta being excited in the first place." Cassie then rolled onto her side, inviting Croco to rub her belly the way he always did. He knew she wanted it and put a hand right in the middle of her underside and began to run his hand in a circle, each getting slightly bigger. The protoceratops began to coo and purr as her eyes started to close. Cassie rolled back around to the upright position.
"Oh look at the sky," she said, noting that the sun was getting lower and lower to the west. "I know of a good place to eat, so let's go there and hopefully we'll be back here sometime shortly after sundown. C'mon Croco, let's get a move on!" The young man took Cassie's word to heart and was by her side as they walked down the somewhat busy promenade until they came up on Slider's Pub, which didn't offer the best of environments but was still a good enough place in Cassie's mind to take a dolphinback. After a good meal and many conversations with Apprentice Riders, they finally made their way back to the inn where a tired Croco immediately fell asleep, ready for the adventures that were waiting the next day.