Note: I feel compelled to add that, as someone who knows several people with asthma, I am well aware that desert climates are not necessarily better. That's why it's called creative license! :)
They flew out from Waterfall City the next morning, with dawn shining into their eyes, and made Canyon City before noon. As much as he missed Marion - and his father and brother, too, if the truth be known, and of course Zippo - David felt an undeniable thrill of homecoming as he climbed off Freefall's back and set foot on the red cliff sand again.
In Waterfall City, you could feel the falls rumbling underneath your feet all the time, day or night, and the whole city was shrouded in constant mist. Canyon City was full of dry heat, and the
only sounds were the rush of wind through the rock spires and the cries of skybax. He didn't like the wet, heavy mist; it made his asthma kick up. Out here in the desert, though, he breathed easier. Literally.
The six squadron members who had made the flight with him filed down the familiar path, out of the rookery proper and down the long, winding stairs that led to the training room, where they would discuss the flight with Oonu or one of the other instructors. David had done that exactly once before his dismissal from the Corps, and he headed for the stairs with some unease.
Freefall squawked behind him, saying good-bye, and as he turned to wave in response, he saw Romana standing at the very edge of the landing platform. Her hair fluttered in the strong breeze, and once again he had that sick feeling of vertigo from just thinking of the height. Flying with a powerful, steady skybax beneath you was one thing - standing alone on the edge of a six-thousand-foot drop was another.
"Romana," he called, wondering what she was doing. Normally she would have been the first one in line to report. "Are you okay?"
She turned away from the spreading cliffscape and crossed the rookery floor with brisk steps. "I'm just happy to be home," she said, and started down the stairs. "Come on. We're going to be late."
He shrugged and followed her.
They were the last two in the short, eight-person line - nothing unusual there. Oonu himself was waiting for them, though, which made David a little nervous, and he wished he'd gotten down the stairs faster.
"Welcome back," Oonu said, pacing the length of the line. "I know you're eager to discuss your flight, but that will not happen today. Instead -" He paused and let the moment hang in the air, building tension, then continued with, "I have an announcement to make.
"This squadron has been pushed harder and faster than any I've ever taught, and given your exemplary performance during the pteranodon crisis, I see no reason to hold any of you back now. From this moment on, you will be full second-year cadets, with all the the responsibilities inherent. The other squadron members have already been informed of the changes."
The discipline of the line broke down into murmured exclamations of surprise and joy. David >kept quiet, although he felt a surge of pride; not too bad for someone who just got off the boat, so to speak. Oonu stopped in front of Romana and gave her a rare smile. "At this rate, Cadet Romana, you'll break your father's record."
Before she could do little more than smile and lift her chin in acknowledgement, Oonu stepped away from her and said, "Before you are dismissed for the day, I will assign each of you wingmates. This is a partnership that cannot be broken - a bond between both skybaxes and their riders that will last from now until you leave the service. The Corps will only intervene and separate you if the situation endangers lives. Take the commitment seriously, and settle your grievances on your own time."
Oonu withdrew a scroll from his belt and began reading names. All of the riders were on good terms - enmity was not a concept that flourished in Dinotopia - and no one looked unhappy at the selections.
David was just beginning to wonder when his name would be called when Oonu said, "Stratus and Romana Denison, you are to be wingmates with Freefall and David Scott."
The arrangement of the names made David a little perturbed. Sure, 'D' came before 'S' in the alphabet, but he'd just helped save the whole island, for God's sake. Surely that earned him the right to get his name called first, even if William Denison had been the Corps archetype.
But he just nodded, accepting the decision, and glanced at Romana to see what she thought. He caught a flicker of something odd on her face - something dark and quiet - and then it vanished, replaced by the same pleasant expression that everyone else was wearing.
Oonu added, "You two may be the only ones who can keep up with each other."
The other squadron members chuckled, and then Oonu read the last set of names and finished with, "I'll see you all at dawn. Dismissed. Breathe deep."
"Fly high!" They snapped to attention and then fell out of the line, the new partners heading off to relax and enjoy the rare free day. David and Romana, walking together by default, were immediately approached by Kiyoshi and Elwin, two cadets who had something of a reputation as clowns, although they never played around in the air. Oonu had been smart to stick them together, David knew, because they'd drive anyone else crazy.
"Hey, David, my parents sent a postal bird saying that if I don't bring the hero of Dinotopia home for lunch, they'll throw me to the mosasaurs," Elwin said, grinning broadly and slapping him on the back. "So come on and do me a favor, huh?"
"Mosasaurs? I thought it was the sabretooths," Kiyoshi retorted before David could give his answer. "And Romana, even though this pachy-head forgot, you're invited too."
"Thanks," she said, offering up a genuine smile. "But I can't. I promised to meet with Chaz the moment I returned home."
Both Kiyoshi and Elwin raised their eyebrows, looking honestly surprised. Elwin said, "Chaz? Wow, he actually left that desk in Sauropolis?"
Romana nodded, the smile still in place. "I could barely believe it myself."
Before David could do more than start to wonder who Chaz was - a brother, a cousin, or, somewhat more disturbingly, a boyfriend? - their conversation was interrupted.
"Cadet Romana!" Oonu called out behind them, and they all stopped and turned around.
With his usual professionalism, Oonu said, "Your medal of commendation is in your quarters. Fine job. Your parents would be proud."
"Thank you, sir," she said, losing her smile, then walked on.
"Medal? For what?" David asked her. She was keeping a fairly rapid pace now, and he had to hurry to catch up with her. That was easier said than done when the path was skirting the edge of the cliff.
" 'For courage and selfless action,' " Kiyoshi answered instead, saying the phrase with mock seriousness. "Didn't you hear? She chased down a pteranodon and saved the life of a little boy."
"No, I didn't hear." David looked at her, confused. "When was that?"
Romana sighed. "The night the pteranodon swarm attacked Waterfall City. A little boy - Oliver - was taken by a pteranodon. I was flying nearby, saw them, and Stratus was able to catch up to them."
"And then she courageously and with selfless action plucked little Oliver from the very claws of death," Kiyoshi concluded, illustrating the story with sweeping gestures. "The poets and hadrosaurs will sing of her forever."
"Oh, be quiet," Romana said, the smile returning at last, although she still looked troubled, and she hadn't slowed down at all. "Stratus did all of the work. And anyway, I saved one life; David saved us all."
"It wasn't just me," David said quickly. "Karl and Dad got the all of the sunstones."
Elwin wagged a finger at him. "Ah, but you brought one to Waterfall City at the crucial moment. No false modesty, now, either of you."
The path, which had luckily widened out, now split into two routes. Kiyoshi and Elwin started down one, but Romana took the other. "Have fun!" Elwin called to her.
She waved, not looking back, and then disappeared around a twisting red-and-yellow spire.
David was momentarily at a loss. He stopped walking and stood in the middle of the forking paths, staring after her with a frown and a bemused sense of guilt. Had he done something? He must have, but he couldn't think of anything.
"Hey, what is it?" Kiyoshi asked.
"She didn't say goodbye," David answered, still frowning. Romana never broke tradition.
Kiyoshi just shrugged and made a dismissive gesture. "So she forgot. You can bug her about it for the rest of your lives - come on, we're starving!"
David hadn't exactly had a lot of girlfriends - okay, he'd had one, and that had been two years ago - but he thought he recognized the signs of trouble when he saw them, even if Romana was nowhere near "girlfriend" status. "Maybe I should go see what's wrong..."
"After lunch," Elwin said firmly, grabbing his arm and propelling David down the path. "Trust me, you don't want to get on Chaz's bad side by barging in on the reunion."
He looked over his shoulder at the place where Romana had disappeared, then gave up and went with the flow. "Who is Chaz?"
"The protoceratops that raised her after her parents died," Kiyoshi said. "I thought you knew that. She's always talking about him."
David looked over his shoulder again, this time even more confused. He wanted to say, "Not around me, she's not," but that seemed like an admission of something. Instead, he said, "I guess I wasn't paying attention."