Chapter 7 - The Third Evening
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Notes/Disclaimer: This fic is based solely on the Dinotopia movie, NOT the series. I apologize for any inconsistencies with the books. I don't apologize for any inconsistencies with the series because it bit. I don't own the movie, or the series, or the books. Thank you.
Note: I had to change the amount of time that the cadets spend in training with White Riders. It's now down to one week, because frankly, I don't have enough material for two.
And yes, this chapter does deserve a more complete title. You'll see why at the end.
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Towards the middle of the afternoon, David was finally starting to get the hang of the white balls. It was difficult, but if he managed to align himself correctly, the sun flashed off of the white surface of the balls, and they shone all the way down, making them easy to catch. The trick was to line it up correctly.
David leaned slightly to the left in his saddle, giving Freefall the cue. Any second now. He could feel it.
From across the canyon, Cliffdiver swept back and forth, his form a riot of fierce color in the late sun. David shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate. Cliffdiver's brilliant colors were a constant distraction, but the ball throwing required absolute focus.
There. David saw Sebastian move slightly, his body extending into a throwing motion, though he couldn't see the ball itself. He urged Freefall into a quick spiral and watched closely... Success! A flash of white caught his eye and he brought Freefall back sharply, getting himself back into the position where glistening light made the ball look more like a dropped diamond, or a falling star.
The ferocious whistling of the wind was the only sound as he held on to Freefall's saddle tightly, watching the ball. Closer and closer they came. Now only yards separated them from the ball. Now feet. Now inches.
Holding tightly to the saddle with one hand, David allowed the wind to snap him upright, reaching out his hand and... YES! He brought his arm down triumphantly, the white ball clenched tightly in his fist. He lay back against Freefall's saddle and let the Skybax take him on an easy ride back to the cliff.
Sebastian was waiting for him when he got there, grinning. "You got it, didn't you?" he asked.
David held up the ball in reply, unable to stop an answering grin from spreading across his own features. "It's not as hard as it seems, once you get the hang of it."
"That's the spirit!" said Sebastian enthusiastically, clapping him on the back. "Now what say you we make it harder?"
David's spirits sank just the slightest. "It gets worse?"
Sebastian nodded, still grinning. "Uh-huh. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna stand on the cliff and throw the balls like I usually do. I'll use a mix of the white and black so you'll never know which one to expect. But here's the catch: We're going to tie ribbons to Freefall's feet, and Cliffdiver will be out there without me trying to rip them off. The trick is to catch the ball while losing as few ribbons as possible. Sound like a challenge?"
It did sound difficult. But David found to his own surprise that he was looking forward to it. Before this training session he had never really known how good it felt to push your limits. He was discovering new depths and abilities every day that he had never even suspected that he had. He squared his shoulders, snapping off a salute.
"Sounds good! Let's do it!"
"Mount up!" yelled Sebastian, mimicking the military formality that Oonu had always used with the cadets.
Feeling rather optimistic, David strode over to Freefall and jumped into the saddle.
By the time they sat down to eat supper, the moon had already risen and David was more physically exhausted than he had ever been in his life. Every muscle in his body ached. But at the same time, his mind was far too alert for sleeping. Hours of watching his back, trying to predict where his attacker would come from, had taken their toll. Even worse was the sheer panic when Cliffdiver would suddenly appear, seemingly from thin air, right in his path. It was all he and Freefall could do to bank as hard as they could to avoid collision, and they always wound up losing quite a few ribbons in the process. Even as Freefall had set him down on the cliff, David caught himself watching for a surprise attack out of the corners of his eyes.
Sebastian looked just as tired, even after they had eaten. Though he had been simply standing on the cliff most of the day, it had been scorchingly hot, enough to give a man sunstroke.
At least I had the wind to cool me off, David thought to himself, trying with difficulty to ignore the way Sebastian's shirt clung to his chest with sweat.
Sebastian grinned tiredly at him. "Had enough exercise for one day?"
David nodded. "I don't think I could ever get to sleep though. I'm still on edge from watching for Cliffdiver."
Sebastian paused for a moment, then got a suspiciously cunning look on his face. "How would you feel about one more lesson for today?" He asked.
"Will it be difficult?" David asked, not sure if he could handle it even if it wasn't.
Sebastian shook his head. "Nope. This is a cool-down technique. I think we could both use it about now."
"Okay," said David amiably. It sounded reasonable.
Sebastian walked over to where the Skybax were roosting and murmured something to Cliffdiver that David didn't catch. The great dinosaur roused himself and gently nudged Freefall, relaying the message in Saurian.
Sebastian motioned for David to come to him at the edge of the cliff. When they were both at the very edge, they looked over to the black water far below them.
"Here's what we do," Sebastian said softly, evidently too tired to even adopt his usual teaching volume. "The birds are already undressed for the night, which is good. We don't want them in their saddles for this. Now, this is very simple. All you have to do is get onto your bird bareback and hold on as tight as you can. With a name like Freefall, your bird is bound to be good at this. Oh, and take off your shirt."
Startled, David stared dumbly as Sebastian thoughtlessly shucked off his shirt, tossing it back towards the fire. He looked at David expectantly and after a moment they were both shirtless.
"What are we doing, exactly?" David asked.
"We're going for a swim," said Sebastian nonchalantly. And before David could question him further, Cliffdiver ambled up to them and Sebastian leaped effortlessly onto his back. With a final grin at David, the two of them literally fell off the edge of the cliff.
David watched, heart in his throat, as the two plummeted towards the water's surface. At the very last second, Cliffdiver flared his wings and positioned himself as though he were going to set down on the water like a duck. But instead of alighting gently on the surface, he simply kept going and disappeared into the black deep. In a few moments David watched the tiny figure of Sebastian wade out into shallower water as Cliffdiver re-emerged from the waves, waddling onto the bank and shaking himself in an almost dog-like fashion.
David looked nervously at Freefall, but he could tell that the Skybax was eager to get in the water, and he didn't have the heart to disappoint his partner. So he mounted, clutching at Freefall's bare skin as tightly as he dared, and shut his eyes in fear as the Skybax simply let go of the edge of the cliff and let himself fall.
The few seconds of freefall were the most exhilarating, mind-numbingly terrifying, life-affirming seconds of his life to this point. He could virtually feel the adrenaline pumping into every vein, making his blood rush with the same intensity and roar as the wind rushing past his ears.
And then there was the sudden snap of opening wings and the welcome soothing coolness of water against his skin. He kicked away from Freefall and paddled towards where he thought the beach was until he felt his feet hit solid ground. He stood, the water coming to about his waist, and looked over at Sebastian, who was smiling triumphantly.
"You did it David!" He whooped, pumping a fist into the air. Freefall echoed the sentiment with a crow of his own as he dove back into the water to join Cliffdiver in what appeared to be a splashing contest.
Sebastian lowered his arm, his grin relaxing into a more sedate smile. It took David a few seconds to realize that he was staring. Sebastian standing there, with his hair wet and shining with pure white highlights in the moonlight, with water dripping from his face, over his lips and down his chest, looked... God-like.
Sebastian stepped towards him, noticing his silence, and suddenly they were very close. David found himself strangely aware of his own breathing, slightly ragged from the intensity of the fall. It seemed loud in his ears, a strange counterpoint to the gentle lull of the waves washing on the beach.
He suddenly felt another's breath on his face. It was Sebastian, close enough to him now that their faces were mere inches apart. His eyes were gently closing, his lips moving inexorably toward David's own...
And they kissed, coming together like a gentle sigh. Feeling as though he were in a dream, David couldn't seem to make himself fight it. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation as one of Sebastian's hands came to rest on the back of his neck, pulling him closer and forcing the kiss to deepen. He didn't protest as Sebastian gently slipped his tongue into David's mouth, controlling the kiss with an expert skill that David had never before encountered. He had been kissed before but never, never like this.
Slowly David realized that Sebastian was moving him, pushing him downwards to sit in the water, leaning over him and pushing him backwards. He felt his shoulders meet the granulated smoothness of the beach sand, felt the waves lapping at his hips, just coming to the tips of his fingers where they were braced against the sand, the last support keeping him partially upright.
Sebastian's lips moved gradually away from David's mouth, along the edge of his jaw and down his neck. One of his hands gently trailed down David's chest, amazingly reminiscent of the dream that had been haunting him the past several nights.
Sebastian's lips left off his collar bone and returned to David's own, like coming home, bringing with them a sweetness that David found himself quickly becoming addicted to. They were pressed very closely together, and their bare torsos brushed against each other, a delicious skin-on-skin contact.
The touch started a certain heat in David's chest and he felt it rise into his throat and develop into a deep, needy, and entirely involuntary moan. And that, more than anything else, finally brought home to him the reality of the situation.
He panicked. Thrashing, he scrambled out from beneath Sebastian, struggling to his feet and backing away. He kept moving backward until his back hit solid stone, and then he leaned against it, trying to regain his bearings.
Sebastian, for his part, looked rather surprised and a little miffed at David's hasty departure. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"I... We were... It... Almost... No, I..." David knew he was babbling, but he couldn't seem to think. It was like he had just woken up from a dream and was still disoriented.
"I... I just... I'm going to go sleep now," he said lamely, motioning desperately for Freefall to come to him.
Sebastian got there first. He put a hand gently on David's arm and looked at him with concern in his eyes.
David found himself wishing that the hand would go away. He didn't want Sebastian touching him. It made him think of- Made him think-
"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked softly. "I'm sorry if I scared you or something."
David licked his lips nervously, unable to forget the taste of Sebastian's kiss. It lingered on his tongue, driving him crazy. "I-I'm fine," he said finally. "I just... I can't..."
"You don't want to?"
"No, I want to, it's just..."
What the Hell? David thought. Did I just say that? Where did that come from? I don't want to do... that with him, do I?
...Do I?
Sebastian chuckled and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Let's go sleep now, hm? You'll feel better in the morning, and then you can think about this more easily. Sound good?"
David nodded, unable to do much else. The Skybax finally reached them and waded onto the shore. They mounted up and let their respective partners carry them back into the sky.
Oh God, that was hideous. Take me back.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.
