Okay, before I even get started, I have to ask something completely unrelated to this story: What the flying hell is up with that new Pyrrha plush?! Like, did the people at Rooster Teeth all sit there in a room, look at the design, MAKE the design into a real thing, and say "Yeah. This is perfect. No problems here."?! I just…this is… I wanted JNPR plushies, but…not like this! LEAVE PYRRHA'S MEMORY ALONE, DANGIT!

Ahem… This week's dragon recommendation is a movie that I can honestly say should be anyone's introduction to dragon movies: "Dragonheart." It stars Sean Connery as the dragon, and is one of the first examples of a character completely animated with CGI in a live-action movie. It is an incredible film, if only because Sean Connery is a freaking dragon!

Enjoy!

It was the first day of elemental training, and Jaune couldn't have been more on edge. He stood in a line with the other students in one of the outdoor arenas, holding Twiggy against his chest, hoping that the dragonet wasn't picking up on his nervousness.

Zircon was certainly acting scared enough for all of them. The striped hatchling repeatedly tried to worm his head under Sage's coat, whimpering.

Pit growled irritably when Cardin's dragon started barking at him. Unlike the others, who were being held by their partners, he sat at Blake's feet, tail curled around his front paws as he looked at the younger dragons with a superior snarl.

"You're only a few days older than them," Blake murmured. "Don't let your head get too big."

Pit snorted, his tail lashing against the ground.

The arena for training earth dragonets had four terrains. The one closest to the students was rocky and covered with jagged stones. Fake sand dunes sat a little further away. There was a mud pit on the farthest side. To the right was a line of trees, bushes, and flowers.

A whoosh of air caused the students to look up just as the gray-brown form of Ragnar landed in front of them. The mighty earth dragon blinked down at them, giving the dragonets an appraising stare. Almost immediately, the hatchlings grew quiet. Even Zircon turned his head to look up at the ancient-looking dragon.

Dragonmaster Ozpin jumped nimbly from his dragon's back and approached the students. Pushing back his riding goggles, he smiled at each of them in turn. "Good morning, class," he greeted.

A few people replied with "Good morning, sir," or some other mumbled response.

"So, how many of you are beginning to feel sleep-deprived?" he asked, his voice completely amicable and cheery.

More than half of the students raised their hands, including Jaune and Sage. There were several sets of baggy eyes, and many yawns that could be heard.

Ozpin laughed. "Having a dragon isn't all fun and games. Getting past the difficult times, however, will only make the good times more rewarding." He pointed to Ragnar. "Would you believe that this fellow used to be the most aggressive little hatchling you've ever seen? Put several of the fire dragons to shame."

Jaune blinked up at Ragnar. The earth dragon's calm, gray eyes blinked slowly.

Sage raised his hand. "Sir, does that mean dragonets will grow out of certain personality traits, such as being overly skittish?" As he spoke, Zircon took the opportunity to finally duck his head under his partner's arm.

Ozpin walked over to Sage. "May I see your dragon?"

Sage handed his struggling dragonet over. "His name is Zircon."

"Zircon." Ozpin nodded. "A good, strong name." He touched Zircon's shaking wings. "Hm. This is definitely a nervous fellow. Does he still wet the bed?"

Sage's face flushed. "Uh, yes sir."

"I see." Ozpin looked at the hatchling's eyes before handing him back. "Well, he's very healthy. And he definitely trusts you. If you haven't noticed, he trembles less when you're holding him. You will have to be firm with him while also continuing to be kind and patient."

Ozpin walked over to Jaune, frowning a little as he looked at the runty earth dragonet. This one didn't have Zircon's skittish nature, but she was clinging to Jaune as if her life depended on it. "You've still been coddling her," he said bluntly.

Jaune winced, staring at the ground. "I haven't let her sleep in my bed again, sir…"

"That's good, but it's not enough." Ozpin tapped Twiggy's snout. "I'll have you two do the obstacle course first today."

Jaune nodded. "Yes, sir."

When Cardin started to snicker, Ozpin was in front of him within moments. "I don't believe I know your dragon's name, Mister Winchester."

Cardin held out his dark brown dragonet, who growled and glared at everything with its piercing green eyes. "This is Mudslide," he said proudly. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"You're holding her wrong," Ozpin said flatly, looking at how Cardin had his hands under the dragonet's forelegs. "You need to support the back feet."

"Her?" Cardin blinked.

"Yes, not that it matters. Elemental dragons are sterile, and their dispositions vary regardless of gender." He took Mudslide from Cardin and demonstrated how to correctly hold her. He didn't even wince when the hatchling bit his hand. "This one reminds me of Ragnar as a hatchling. Don't let her run wild, or she could hurt someone." He handed the dragonet back to Cardin, who scowled as he looked down at her.

Next, Ozpin found his way to Blake. He smiled at Pit. "He seems to be adjusting well," he remarked. "Has he been getting along with his teammates?"

"Storm likes him," Blake replied. "Fang doesn't like him, or anyone really, and he gets into fights with Specter sometimes."

"That sounds about standard for a team of non-related dragonets," Ozpin said with a nod. "Keep an eye on him. He has a very forceful personality, and will try to assert dominance any way he can."

Moving away from Blake, Ozpin addressed everyone. "The same will be true for many of your dragons. In the wild, dragons have hierarchical structures similar to that of a wolf pack, though they aren't as closely knit. In teams, it is common for one dragonet to become dominant over the other three and act as the leader. That dragonet won't always be the one belonging to the team's leader. In fact, it usually isn't. This is good, since it keeps one pair from having too much power."

After examining the other earth dragons and giving his assessment to their partners, Ozpin called Jaune forward. "Please introduce yourself and your dragon loudly and clearly."

Jaune cleared his throat before holding out his light brown and green dragonet. "My name is Jaune Arc, and this is Twiggy." There were a few snickers in response to Twiggy's name, and a few muttered comments about her size, which Jaune ignored.

"Very good," Ozpin said. "Now, since this is the first day, we will start things off simply. The terrains you see before you are only four of the many different terrains you will see when on missions. Today will be focused on teaching your dragonet to navigate these environments as quickly as possible. Eventually, when you start learning how to use your dragons' powers, we will move on to manipulation of these various materials."

Ozpin turned to Jaune. "Mister Arc, please place Twiggy on the ground next to you." When Jaune obeyed, Ozpin approached. "You will guide her through the rock field, then across the sand, then through the mud pit, then have her weave through the undergrowth. Understand?"

Jaune looked down at his tiny earth dragon, his heart sinking. That mud pit looked particularly intimidating. "Y-Yes, sir."

Ozpin held up a stopwatch. "Ready? Now!"

Jaune patted one of the rocks. "Come on, Twiggy. Forward!"

Twiggy, who had mastered that command by this point, immediately obeyed, scrambling to get up the steep rock, her claws leaving white scratches and her tail lashing. When she got to the top, she chirped proudly.

"Good girl, Twiggy!" Jaune started to reach into his pocket.

"You can only give her two treats," Ozpin called over. "Use them wisely."

Wait, what?! Jaune had taken to giving Twiggy a treat every time she obeyed him. He looked at her expectant silver eyes. "At the end of the sand, I'll give you one. Just stay with me, girl," he urged, then patted another stone. "Forward."

Twiggy tilted her head in confusion. Why wasn't she getting an apple? She jumped down and ran over to Jaune's hand, licking it. He drew away and patted another stone, causing her to snort indignantly.

"I know, girl. I'm sorry. Forward."

By the time they got to the end of the rock fields, Twiggy was in a thoroughly bad mood. Jaune was beginning to worry that she'd refuse to go any further. He knelt down halfway across the sand and patted it. "For-Ow!" he yelped, pulling his hand away as his fingers were burned. The sand was scorching hot.

Twiggy discovered this, and sat down with a stubborn growl.

"Come on, Twiggy. Let's just get this over with," Jaune called.

Twiggy snorted, her tail thumping against the ground.

Jaune sighed. Can't say I blame her. This sand is really hot. I can't expect her to burn her paws for me unless… An idea occurred to him. He took off his gloves and shoes, setting them aside and crouching down. He could feel the hot sand burning his skin, and let out a hiss of pain. "Come on, Twiggy. If I can take it, so can you."

Twiggy blinked, her nose twitching as she smelled the burning of her partner's skin. With a yelp of worry, she bounded across the sand toward him. When he stood and led her to the other side, she tossed her head in relief. Her mood went up further when he patted her head and finally handed her an apple slice.

After the heat of the sand, the mud pit was a welcome treat. Twiggy needed no prompting to jump right in. However, she quickly discovered that her feet didn't touch the bottom, and started to struggle.

"Easy, girl." Jaune reached in to pick her up.

"Do not take her out!" Ozpin called from where he stood. "Let her figure it out."

Jaune groaned, reluctantly letting Twiggy go. He watched helplessly as she continued to flail, sinking deeper, her scales becoming coated in mud. She was so light, the mud would surely drag her down once she was covered.

Light. "Twiggy, stop struggling." Jaune put a hand under her. "Stop!"

Twiggy froze, whimpering. She yelped when Jaune pulled his hand away, but continued to obey his command. It was then that she realized she was floating on top of the mud. Instinct kicked in and she started to paddle with her tiny front paws.

Swimming across the mud pit took several minutes, enough so that some of the other students were starting to audibly complain. However, Jaune couldn't have felt prouder when Twiggy finally emerged from the other side, shaking her scales off.

"Last one, girl," he encouraged. "We're almost home free."

Weaving through the trees and undergrowth was relatively easy, since Twiggy was so small. She was able to slip through the thorn bushes and dart between trees easily. At the end, Jaune handed her an apple and kissed her nose, ignoring the mud. "Good girl!"

Ozpin looked at his watch. "Seventeen minutes. Pretty terrible, but that's to be expected on the first day," he said brusquely. When a familiar voice muttered something about wasting time on useless lizards, Ozpin calmly called out: "Thank you for volunteering to go next, Mister Winchester. Please get Mudslide ready."

Jaune took a towel from a nearby station, wiped away most of the mud, and returned to stand near Sage. "That could've gone worse," he muttered.

Sage sighed. "I doubt Zircon will even get past the rocks." Zircon clung to him even tighter, as if to emphasize his point.

The class watched as Cardin guided Mudslide through the course. However, it became obvious that "guided" was less accurate than "forced." Every time the dragonet hesitated or started to growl, Cardin would angrily snap his fingers or slam his hand down, prompting the dragonet to rush to the next spot.

When they got to the sand, Cardin strode across, not taking his boots off, and whistled sharply at Mudslide, who hesitated, then bounded across the terrain, kicking sand into her partner's face at the end. Cardin said something to her that the others couldn't hear before picking her up and placing her in the mud pit.

Mudslide quickly figured out how to swim, though did so with much more thrashing and zigzagging than Twiggy. When it came time to run through the trees and bushes, Cardin snapped at her, prompting her to run right through a bush, scratching her scales in the process. At the end of the course, she was panting loudly.

"Fifteen minutes, and your dragon is exhausted and hurt," Ozpin said, his tone disapproving. "Discipline is a good thing, but it should not be overused. Your dragon needs to respect you, not fear you." He looked at the brown dragonet and shook his head. "See me after class."

Blake volunteered to go next, and managed to complete the course in twelve minutes. She attributed a lot of that to the fact that Pit was bigger and stronger than the other dragonets. He climbed over the rocks with little trouble, bounded across the sand, was able to walk along the bottom of the mud pit, and only got a few scratches when dodging around the trees.

"Impressive," Ozpin said, nodding slowly. "I may need to up the difficulty for you two, considering Pit's advantage. Still, advantage or no, you clearly have him well trained."

Blake smiled, barely keeping her ears from flicking proudly beneath her bow. "Thank you, sir."

Sage and Zircon ended up being last. As predicted, the tiny dragon kept jumping from the rocks and into Sage's arms. Finally, Ozpin told Sage to step further away. Sage obeyed, prompting Zircon to curl up in a ball, whimpering pathetically.

"What can I do, sir?" Sage asked helplessly, staring at Ozpin.

Ozpin was watching Zircon, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think he's going to do it today," he finally decided. "I will give you some training tools, so you can teach him in your own time. Get him comfortable with the different exercises, and we'll try again next time."

Sage nodded, his ears hot with shame as he picked Zircon up and walked back toward the line of students.

Cardin smirked as he walked by. "Should've done it my way," he muttered.

"I would never," Sage growled, not looking at Cardin as he walked over to Jaune.

Jaune smiled sympathetically at him. "Want to have a dragon play date after this? Zircon seems to like Twiggy. Maybe playing a bit will help him."

Sage nodded. "That might work. Thank you." He noticed the larger, silver-freckled earth dragon looking at him and smiled. "Hello, there."

Pit blinked his amber eyes at him and barked once.

Jaune looked over at the dragonet's partner. "Hey. Blake, right? You want to join us? Both of our dragons are pretty submissive, so they probably won't pick a fight with yours."

Blake hesitated. She was still having trouble getting used to her new teammates, much less other students. Then again, it might be good for Pit to socialize a bit more. She looked at Pit, then at the misfit dragonets. Well, anyone who can be so patient with a runt and a scaredy cat are probably pretty nice people. "Okay," she replied aloud.

After class, they walked by Cardin, who was likely about to get a huge lecture from Ozpin. Jaune couldn't help but feel sorry for the dark brown earth dragon who sat shaking in the grass. Before, he had just seen her as a bully for Twiggy. Now, it was becoming apparently clear that there was only one true bully in that duo.

The group went to the courtyard, where several other students were playing with their dragons, and allowed their partners to roam on the grass. Pit confidently started digging in one spot. Twiggy and Zircon looked at each other, then joined him.

"So, Blake," Jaune said conversationally. "Your dragon's a bit older than the others. What's his story?"

Blake, thankfully, had come up with a story with Ozpin in the days before the arrival of the other students. "His egg was a rescue. Some people were trying to do homemade injections on eggs to sell on the black market. He was the only survivor, and hatched without bonding to anyone. The police were going to cull him, or sell him to a cage fighting ring, but Ozpin managed to get him. Some dragonets can bond, even if it's a little after their hatching. I happened to be in the area when Ozpin was asking people to approach him, and he chose me." There was just enough truth in there for it to sound plausible in her mind.

Sage let out a low whistle, staring at the larger earth dragon. "He's certainly lucky. I wonder why it wasn't on the news."

"Ozpin wanted to keep it lowkey, and the police didn't give him a lot of time to find someone," Blake replied.

Jaune shook his head, growling angrily under his breath. "I don't get it. How can anyone treat a dragon like that? Those cage fights are evil!" He looked at Twiggy. "I know that, if I hadn't chosen to keep Twiggy, she'd have been culled. How can anyone look at a dragon and do something like that?"

"So many people just see dragons as animals," Blake murmured. "They don't recognize their intelligence."

"Even if they were just animals, they wouldn't deserve this kind of treatment." Sage shook his head. "Heartless people will look for any excuse."

Pit, meanwhile, got bored of digging and stepped away from the hole. He barked once at the other two earth dragons, who scrambled to follow him as he raced across the lawn.

Jaune laughed. "Well, looks like Pit has his own little pack now."

Sage nodded. "I'm just glad that Zircon is actually playing with him." He let out a sigh. "I hope he's just a late bloomer, and can be trained like the others."

Blake watched the dragons, smiling at the surprisingly-easy camaraderie she was feeling as she sat with her fellow students. "I think he'll be okay."

A lot of the early chapters will be more low-key and will serve to establish more about the world and show more character interactions. I feel that it's always better to devote more time to that kind of thing than less.

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!