Thanks for the reviews! I really wasn't sure if I wanted to continue the fic but as most of you had a positive reaction to the fic, here is chapter 2. I am kind of unsure how to continue the story so if any of you have ideas please let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden...so there.
CHAPTER 2: The First Flight
"Hey Chris," a familiar voice called.
"That's LADY Chris to you!" Borus shouted from the fencepost.
Chris stopped her white mare mid-drill and looked towards the sound of the voice. "Oh. Futch," she smiled anxiously. "Uhhh…"
"You didn't forget your promise did you?" Futch's brow furrowed with worry.
"P..PROMISE!" Borus' face turned red.
"O..of course not," stuttered Lady Chris. "I suppose flying conditions are still optimal…" she trailed off hoping for a negative response.
"Oh, it's a beautiful morning for flying!" Futch gushed. "Couldn't possibly be any better! Come on. Sharon's taking Bright for a warm-up flight now," he pointed to the low flying dragon and rider coming in their general direction, "and you're in perfect flying attire!"
At the moment the beautiful lady was in a green shirt with brown breeches and black riding boots.
"What's going on?" Borus shouted as Futch began signaling for the dragon to land and Lady Chris dismounted, handing her reins to the nearest stableboy.
"Borus," said an exasperated Chris. "I promised Futch a dragon ride."
"B..but…" Borus sputtered.
Chris interrupted him a bit irritably. "I did promise and what kind of a knight breaks promises?"
"B…but," Borus stuttered desperately.
At this point Futch's signaling turned to frantic hand gestures as the headstrong Sharon was refusing to let the dragon land. In fact, she waved cheerfully back at Futch, pretending to not understand his hand signals.
"I knew I should've waited to attach the reins," he mumbled.
Percival jerked in surprise. "You use reins to control your dragon?"
"Futch smiled indulgently. "No. Not after initial training anyway..." he sighed. "But Sharon's just my apprentice, and Dragon Knight Law states that apprentices must use a saddle and reins if they are alone on a dragon…Actually she really shouldn't be alone a dragon." His facial features tensed up.
Finally Bright circled around and came to a smooth stop directly in front of Futch.
"Thanks for finally gracing us with your presence," Futch berated the appentice.
Sharon affected an innocent expression. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play innocent with me, young lady! You know I was signaling for Bright to land!"
"Oh." Sharon scratched the back of her head uncomfortably. "I guess he didn't see you."
"Sharon! It's not the dragon's responsibility to…"
"Well, nice seeing you all. Later Futch!" She exclaimed before running towards the castle.
Futch sighed again. "That girl does try one's patience." Then his expression brightened "Come on Chris." Futch gave her a leg up into the stirrups. "Don't worry," he said as he saw her face pale. "This is his cross country saddle. It's nearly impossible to fall out of it."
"F…Fall out!" stuttered Borus. "Lady Chris!"
Percival walked over, torn between concern for his captain and amusement at his friend's current state of mind. "Lady Chris…Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Of course I'm sure!" she snarled, more because of the anxiety over the impending dragon ride than anger at her knights.
The Knights stared at her in shock, taking the insult personally.
Futch smoothly mounted up behind the Captain of the Knights. "Just hang on to the grips on either side of you. "I'll keep his bridle on since this is your first time, but I'll hang on to the reins for now…" Futch's arms were now surrounding Lady Chris sending Borus into convulsions. Percival just blinked repeatedly in shock and confusion at the proximity of the dragon knight and his captain.
"We'll do a three-step takeoff. Okay?" said Futch. "We won't go far today. In fact, they'll probably still be able to see us at all times."
"B…but we can see pretty far up there!" Borus interjected. "How about you do a quick little circle around the stable and then land."
Futch gazed at the blond-haired knight quizzically. "Is he making a joke?"
"I…don't know." Chris stuttered nervously, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the handles on the saddle.
Borus' face fell.
Futch shrugged. "Ready? We'll take off on the count of three…One, two, three!"
The Knight's eyes never left their captain as the dragon spread his wings and effortlessly left the safety of the ground, his feet folding up beneath him like a passenger plane.
"Don't close your eyes!" Futch exclaimed, leaning towards her.
Chris slowly opened her eyes and looked down, causing her face to turn the color of the lake water they were flying over.
"The trick is to feel yourself moving with the saddle," Futch lectured, as if the knight was a student. Chris felt her stomach roll and leaned back against Futch for extra support.
"Ahhh. None of that now. I didn't bring any air sickness bags," he tried to joke.
Chris' head lolled down in response.
"Bright?" he questioned, desperately.
The white dragon obligingly lowered his altitude until he was almost touching the lake. He playfully splashed some of the cool water onto his two passengers before ascending back into the sky. Chris sputtered, her sickness momentarily forgotten as the cool water drenched her.
"H..Hey!" she sputtered.
"Ha, ha," laughed Futch. "Now just relax…Pretend you are riding a horse."
"But a fall from a horse wouldn't be as…fatal as a fall from a dragon," Chris returned.
Futch gasped. "Bright would never let you fall!"
Chris sighed, her hands still clenched on the grips.
"Don't you see?" Futch continued, hoping that talking would relieve some of the lady's tension. "The motion to the saddle is pretty much the same as that of a horse except much smoother and there's no rocking back motion."
"So it's really not the same as…"
"Close your eyes for a second and try to concentrate on that motion," Futch reverted back to his teaching voice.
Chris obliging closed her cool grey eyes and attempted to rock back and forth with the saddle.
"That's it," Futch tried to bolster the knight's confidence, as both Chris and he began moving in harmony with the saddle.
Chris opened her eyes and smiled. "This is…kind of fun."
Just then Roland and Leo walked up to their two comrades still on the ground, their eyes locked on the dragon. "Hey Percival. Borus," Leo greeted them. When he got no response he paused at glanced at Roland who shrugged. "Don't look at me. I will never understand humans."
Leo moved in front of his teammates. "Guys? Ummm…What are you looking at?"
Percival pointed at the dragon mutely.
"Yeeesss," Leo said slowly. "Futch often takes Bright out for afternoon flights."
"Chris is with him," Percival said, his voice devoid of emotion.
Roland looked at him. "Percival. You know your human jokes fail to amuse me. This one is particularly…"
"True," Borus finished, his eyes blank.
Both knight's eyes widened in horror as they looked first at Borus, then at the dragon in the sky.
Leo recovered first. "How could you let this happen!" he shouted, putting a hand on his axe.
Percival sighed. "It's not as if we had much choice in the matter."
Back in the sky
"You know, I think I could get used to this," Chris allowed herself a small smile as Bright made a small turn towards the castle.
Futch smiled widely. "Now for something more difficult. Bright. Circle please."
"What?" Chris didn't get the chance to say anything else as Bright obligingly made a full frontal circle. Chris' hands turned white on the handles as she prayed to the Goddess for protection. Meanwhile, Percival stared at the scene dully while Borus, quivering with rage, fell to the ground. Leo's mouth dropped open and even Roland's eyes widened in a rare show of emotion.
"Bright is one of the most maneuverable…" Futch began, but then the remains of what his passenger had for breakfast came up and caught on the sleeve of Futch's shirt. Futch looked at it in dismay. "I think it's time to land."
After Bright made his usual smooth landing, Futch bounded off and held up a hand for Chris. She ignored it and attempted to dismount herself. Only, her legs were unstable from the flight and resulting air sickness causing her to collapse into Futch.
"I've got her!" Borus "gallantly" moved in to support Lady Chris.
Sharon enthusiastically bounded over to the dragon knight, hoping for a chance at the cool down flight. "Hey Futch! How was the f…Oh! That's disgusting." She wrinkled her nose in distaste at Futch's dirty sleeve.
"Sharon!" Futch scolded his charge for her tactlessness.
Chris groaned in embarrassment. "Sorry Futch. I really didn't mean to…"
"It's fine." Futch replied, as he and Bright made their way to the ship and a change of clothes.
"Lady Chris! Are you okay? You must NEVER do that again! That was danger…" Leo broke off as he noted her pitiful expression.
Borus drew his sword, his eyes turning into narrow slits. "What's the matter! Did he do something to you!"
Chris buried her head in her hands. "I threw up on his shirt."
That snapped Percival out of his "my captain's going on a dragon ride with another eligible bachelor" shock and brought a smirk to his face. Chris quickly glanced back at him and he smoothed his expression, assuming an innocent look.
Borus sheathed his sword with a satisfied smile. "Serves him right. What an indecent, insufferable…"
"Borus!" Chris interjected. "Futch is not indecent."
Borus paled at his captain's statement as Leo and Roland swarmed around her, checking her over and asking if she was okay. Percival crossed his arms, attempting an attitude of nonchalance.
Chris looked remorsefully back towards the direction Futch and Bright disappeared in, sighed and began walking dejectedly back to the castle.
"Wait! Lady Chris. You're not fit to…" Borus began.
"Oh. Stop fooling around Borus," she reprimanded him.
His face fell and he collapsed, sobbing.
Percival came over and soothingly patted him on the back, still staring at the disappearing Lady Chris.
Just then Salome walked over to the team of knights. "Hey guys! I just walked by Lady Chris and she didn't seem to recognize me. Her expression suggested that she was upset about something. What happened?"
The knights simultaneously looked at their strategist and Borus's sobs, which had stopped for a moment, began with renewed intensity.