A/N: Kind of planned this (and the picture) to have come out a lot earlier, but a lot of things came up like my laptop's charger stopped working, mind wandering in and out, and also cats causing chaos as per usual. Also that Summarhildr event in School of Dragons certainly didn't help. Hope everyone enjoys!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's nor How to Train Your Dragon. Both go to their respective owners. Estelle belongs to Crimson Priestess of Miracles. I only claim Ren and Ruby. Also might have slight spoilers for Dragons' Souls but nothing major.
Gift- Shining Wings:
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the brown haired young woman, Estelle, asked.
"Don't worry. I already told Ruby to be a bit less reckless in flying, so we should have little trouble," Ren replied.
"No, I mean, taking me on a job. Shouldn't that be left to a student at the school?"
"Yeah, but I figured since there's other Strike Class experts aside from me there, it wouldn't hurt bringing you along. 'Sides, you were curious what it's like flying on a Night Fury."
"I guess."
"Oh! Before you get on-" Ren reached into one of the bags on Ruby's saddle. "-here! A present." He handed Estelle a package.
She took it, opening the box. "Goggles?"
"Yeah, they're designed to go over your glasses. Just added insurance while we're in the air. Reinforced with Death Song amber, of course, in case we run into trouble."
She smiled. "Thanks." She put them on, getting the goggles situated comfortably. After, she climbed onto the saddle. Once Ren helped to make sure she was secured on the saddle, he climbed on as well.
"Ready?"
"Mm-hmm." She wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Okay, Ruby. Let's go!"
"Rrowl." Ruby spread his wings, flapping them slowly. Once he got some air, he flapped harder to ascend into the sky.
Estelle closed her eyes when Ruby started gaining altitude. The wind whistled in her ears, almost drowning out the flapping of the Night Fury's wings. The dragon stopped climbing in the air and leveled out. His wings stayed out in a gliding motion, only flapping every other moment. "Hey, Estelle. You can open your eyes now," Ren's voice chuckled.
She opened one eye and then the other. They were above the cloud cover, the dragon's wings lightly skimming the white fluff. The view would be beautiful if the goggles didn't turn everything into an amber color. "I kind of wish I wasn't wearing these," Estelle said.
"Sorry 'bout that. They only had 100% amber goggles in the store. Maybe next time we can try to get prescription goggles, without the amber," Ren replied with a sheepish grin.
"It's okay, and we'll see if there is a next time."
"Rrrow," Ruby rumbled. The ear flaps on the side of his head were twitching at ta sound.
"Looks like we're at the site. Head down, bud. Gently!" Ren said the last part when Ruby made a sudden angle downward, causing both him and Estelle to yelp.
Ruby landed on the grass near the commotion. A large trap lay in the middle of the field, growls coming out along with a few bangs. The trap shuddered, but it never opened its jaws. Ren slid off the saddle, helping Estelle off. She gave a sigh, taking the goggles off and letting them rest around her neck.
"Hey, Ace!" Ren called to one of the riders.
The dark red haired man turned to the three of them coming up. "Oh, there you are, Ren. Perfect timing," he replied. "Who's this?"
"Oh, right. This is Estelle. I met her through my friends in New Domino, specifically Yusei, her boyfriend."
She rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side. "We're just friends, Ren," she retorted with a slight blush.
"Heheh, suuuure."
Ace let out a chuckle. "Don't worry, I can give you a list of crushes he has from the clan if you need a bit of blackmail."
Ren glared at him. "I hate you."
A louder bang came from the trap, making it shake more than it did. "Well, enough talk. We better get this dragon outta there, or it's going to hurt itself."
"Got any clue what it is?" Ren asked.
"From the sounds coming from it, a Light Fury. A very angry Light Fury," Ace responded.
"Well, I'd be pissed too if I was caught in that hunk of junk. Have Ruby and Yuki hold it still so I can figure out how to open it."
"All right." Ace brought up two fingers and whistled. A gray dragon that looked like it had fur came running up. Ruby joined her, jumping on top of the trap to keep the dragon inside from rocking it again.
Ren located the lever on the side. He planted his foot on the bottom of it and started tugging it toward him. "You might want to back up, Estelle," Ace warned. "We have no clue if the dragon might retaliate as soon as it's out."
"Okay," she replied.
She jogged a few feet away. Right as she got to a safe distance, the trap was flung open, causing Ruby and Yuki to jump off and fly away from the opening. A white blur shot out from inside the trap, landing on the ground. The Light Fury's red-violet eyes scanned around, smoke coming from its mouth. Ruby tried approaching the dragon carefully but got a plasma blast right in the face, causing him to roar in pain and anger.
"Ruby!" Ren yelled, running for his dragon.
Yuki growled, cold air gathering around her open mouth to fire her icy breath only to be interrupted by the Light Fury tackling her and sending the attack flying away from its target. "Everyone, get back!" Ace ordered. "Get the students away from the area!"
Riders and dragons were panicking, trying to get away from the angry dragon. Ruby shook his head, growling. He let out a roar, the Light Fury also roaring. The two Furies kept their backs arched like angry cats. The two prepared their blasts to launch at each other.
"Stop!" a female voice shouted. Ruby stopped his charge when Estelle came in front of him.
"Estelle, get outta here! It's too dangerous!" Ren said. Then he noticed the Light Fury's reaction to the woman coming between the two dragons. "What the..?"
The Light Fury had also stopped its attack, jumping back a bit. The dragon's eyes went from slits to rounded pupils, still nervous but also curious. The Light Fury straightened its back and front legs. "We're trying to help you."
"Estelle."
"We're not the-"
"Estelle! I've got an idea."
She turned to him. "What is it?"
"This is going to sound crazy, but I think we can train her."
"Train her? Are you sure? She seem look too thrilled a moment ago. She even attacked other dragons!"
"I know, but she snapped out of it when you jumped in. Strike Class dragons, namely the Night and Light Furies, are hard to tame unless someone impresses them. Just outstretch your hand, look away, and let her come to you."
"All right, if you're sure about this." Estelle reached out her hand, looking away from the dragon. Ren and Ruby who had snapped out of his stunned phase kept watch in case the Light Fury turned hostile again. The Light Fury crouched a bit at the movement. Then she stepped closer to Estelle's hand. The dragon sniffed her hand and then pressed her snout into Estelle's palm.
Estelle turned back to the dragon, finding the dragon had closed her eyes a bit and opened them when Estelle moved her hand a bit up on the dragon's head. The dragon gave a little purr. Ren quietly clapped his hands together, muttering, "Oh thank gods I was right."
Ace came up with Yuki at his side. "Well, guess you've got a new student on your hands," he told Ren.
"Yeah...wait, don't you mean AJ?" Ren looked at Ace.
"You heard what I said, Ren. Besides, you taught Yusei just fine."
"Kalin has a Strike Class dragon, and I did squat to teach him."
"Perhaps, but Quicksting isn't exactly the hardest dragon to bond with."
Estelle walked over, keeping a hand on the Light Fury's head. "I guess this makes me a dragon rider, then?" she asked.
"If you want to train as one, yes. The only thing left is giving the dragon a name," Ace replied.
"I'm not sure what to call her."
"What about something simple like I did with Ruby? Like Pearl, or Star?" Ren suggested. The Light Fury's ears perked up at the last suggestion. "Looks like she likes Star."
"Star. I like it, too."
"Okay, now if you two excuse me, I gotta get this huge trap back to base to be broken down. You two take it easy flying back."
"We will!" Ren and Estelle replied.
A/N: I didn't know what else to call the Light Fury. ^^' Star kind of came from a gemstone called a star ruby, but I figured that might get confusing with Ren's partner Ruby. Also, figured I'd throw in Ace and Yuki since I kind of cut them out of an early appearance in Dragons' Souls.