So, Fanfiction did a weird thing where the chapter posted, but it didn't show on my email, the site, or anything else. I deleted it and re-uploaded it, so hopefully you guys actually got a notification this time.
Anyway, today's dragon spotlight is Ruth from Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. On Pern, there are traditionally five colors of dragons: gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Each color has a different rank and purpose (the golds are the breeding queens, the bronzes are their mates, the greens are there for speed, etc.) Ruth is the one and only white dragon, born a runt from an egg that wasn't supposed to hatch. I don't want to tell you too much, since the story of him and Jaxom is one of my favorite arcs in the series. You should just read the books for yourself. Seriously. They're the best dragon books you'll find. Another fun thing to note is that Ruth is a canonically asexual character. He's the only dragon who has no desire to join a mating flight.
Anyway, sorry for the tech crap and enjoy!
Autumn was arriving in Vale, apparent in the changing leaves and cooling air. It was also obvious when one looked at the dragonets, who were now large enough for toddlers to ride comfortably.
"You hear that?" Sun asked, leaning against a tree and letting out a sigh. "That's the sound of a good day. No morons picking fights, no dragons trying to kill each other…"
As if on cue, there was a loud squawk followed by a low hiss.
Sun groaned. "Huo, can you play nice for like five minutes?" He sat up to see his dragon squaring off with Fang for what was probably the tenth time that day.
Sage watched the two dragons circle each other, shaking his head. Zircon was curled up around his feet, trying to move his head up to at least hide his face in his partner's shirt. "I'm honestly impressed that the courtyard always looks good, despite what the dragonets do to it. Have you noticed that?"
"Well, they need to make the place look presentable," Weiss noted. "It is a prestigious school, after all."
"Yes, but how do they do it?" Sage wondered.
"Well, there are some fertilizers that are infused with trace amounts of earth Dust," Weiss explained. "It can speed the growth of some plants. For grasses, I suppose it allows it to grow overnight." She stroked Specter's head, smiling fondly as she looked at the blue-black spines that were beginning to grow from his back and tail.
"Yeah, I've seen the groundskeepers walking around after dark," Jaune said. "There are a lot of them!" He looked at Twiggy, who was busy digging near a tree with Pit, and smiled. Though she continued to be dwarfed by the others, her muscles were filling out nicely, and she was growing at a normal rate. One could mistake her for being a few weeks younger, but she was otherwise very healthy.
He owed a lot of that to Titan, Freya, and Ao Guang, who always included their small sister in their personal sparring matches. Unlike Mudslide, who would constantly bully Twiggy and beat her into the ground, Twiggy's siblings actually were trying to help her get better. Jaune knew that this was how dragonets instinctively trained themselves in the wild, but it was still heartwarming.
It was also nice that Team CRDL had backed off since that fight in the courtyard. Jaune wasn't sure if it was because they were now intimidated by his team, or because Ozpin had said something to scare them. Either way, he wasn't complaining.
Freya was snuggled against Nora, partially because her usual sunny spots weren't as warm now that the weather was changing, partially because she wanted to comfort her partner. The poor human was still walking with a limp. Freya always made sure to hiss menacingly at Tornado whenever she saw him, just in case he was thinking of trying anything else.
Ren, of course, was sitting right next to Nora, allowing his best friend to rest her head on his shoulder while he watched Ao Guang chase a cricket.
Ruby sat with Yang, watching Storm and Nimbus attempting to fly. The wind dragons took turns running up some ramps that had recently been put up in the courtyard, and spreading their wings. Nimbus was, by far, the best. His large wings held him perfectly, and he was able to angle his body well, keeping himself from crashing on his face. Ruby couldn't help but notice, however, that his eyes were usually closed when he jumped.
Storm wasn't showing any changes in behavior. Ever since the incident with the implant, Ruby had stayed close to her at all times, making sure that she wouldn't have any sudden meltdowns. She knew that this probably wasn't a good idea, since she was still working on making her dragon independent. Since the end of autumn would see the dragonets moving into outdoor stalls, it was becoming even more important that Storm wasn't joined to Ruby at the hip.
Her play with Nimbus and the others seemed normal enough, and she wasn't sticking quite as close to Ruby when they walked together, so that was good. Hopefully, she'd be able to adapt to her new stall quickly when the time came.
"Fang, get over here," Yang called, noticing a dangerous glint entering her dragonet's eye as he stepped closer to Huo.
Fang hesitated, then trotted over, huffing sulkily. A slight puff of smoke left his mouth. That was happening a lot lately.
Yang grinned. "Easy, boy. You're too young to smoke." She snickered while those closest to her groaned loudly.
"Yang, that joke wasn't funny the first dozen times!" Blake called over.
"Really? I thought it was a pretty smokin' one."
"Boo!" Sun shouted.
"Man, now I'm all fired up!"
"Make it stop!" Neptune moaned, covering his ears.
"Pit, headbutt Yang," Blake commanded.
Immediately, Pit stopped digging. He looked around for a moment before his gaze settled on Yang. He blinked once, putting the words together. He knew what headbutt meant, and he knew who Yang was. If that was what Blake wanted, he'd do it. Barking excitedly, he barreled across the yard, lowering his head.
Yang's eyes widened. "Whoa!" She barely jumped out of the way of the rampaging dragon. "Blake, are you crazy? He's almost the size of a pony- Oh shit, call him off!" she yelped when the earth dragon circled around and came toward her again.
Blake laughed, "Okay, okay. Pit, stop."
Pit skidded to a halt, perplexed. He still hadn't headbutted Yang. Why did Blake want him to stop? He glanced at Fang, who was hissing and lashing his tail, and decided not to question anything. Instead, he returned to Twiggy, who had stopped digging and was waiting patiently for him to return.
He paused by Zircon, yipping once for him to follow.
Zircon swallowed loudly, but followed the larger earth dragon nonetheless. He felt safe enough with Pit, he supposed.
"Man," Sun muttered as he watched the freckled earth dragonet. "I'm still having trouble getting Huo to listen to me without chomping me. We're still working on one-word commands."
"Hasn't he mellowed out yet?" Blake wondered, frowning. "I thought the fire dragons are starting to become more mellow at this point. I know Fang is."
"Thank Dust for that!" Yang exclaimed. Though that kind of happened all at once during that fight at the crash site…
Sun shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's just a fiercer fire dragon. Maybe he just hates me."
"Oh, don't start that," Ruby said, turning away from Storm to look up at Sun. "Your dragon loves you."
"I don't know. There's something almost deliberate about the way he attacks me," Sun said, folding his arms. "It's more calculated than before. It's weird."
"Do you think he's testing you in some way?" Neptune wondered, frowning as he watched his best friend. He didn't like the look of uncertainty that decorated Sun's face in that moment. I guess getting regularly chewed on by your own dragon can cause even Sun to wear down…
"I doubt it. I've been disciplining him like Port said, but it's just not working." Sun walked over to Huo and patted his back. The fire dragon stood still before suddenly whipping around and snapping at his hand, which he quickly drew back. "See?"
"Maybe he doesn't like it when you touch his back," Yang suggested. "Since I stopped trying to touch Fang's head, he stopped biting as much."
"He reacts like that, no matter what I do." Sun sat down, flinching but not making any move to pull away when Huo bit down on his tail.
Neptune, on the other hand, walked over. He noticed that Huo didn't keep his jaws down on Sun's tail, but released it immediately with a huff. "Want me to bandage that?"
"Nah," Sun replied casually, even though jolts of pain were going through his body from his sensitive tail. "I'll wash it when we go inside. My tail doesn't really bleed much."
Nymph padded over to Huo, growling disapprovingly. Why did he have to be so mean to his partner? She nuzzled against Neptune's leg while continuing to give her brother a disparaging glare.
Huo snorted angrily at his sister. She acted all high and mighty, but her partner was a complete wimp, even now! At least his partner was toughening up. His reflexes were good, as was his pain tolerance. Huo made sure to toughen up his siblings whenever they interacted, so why shouldn't he do the same for his partner?
Nymph tossed her head, advising that maybe Huo would do well to mix some affection in with his little "strength tests."
Affection? Huo lashed his tail. He didn't need his partner thinking it was okay to cringe away from fire, thank you very much. How was her partner doing with his swimming lessons, he wondered.
Nymph bristled immediately, her head fins flaring out and a low growl rising in her throat. She would not tolerate another insult toward Neptune.
Huo met his sister's blue gaze for a moment, saw the ferocity there, and slowly lowered his head, letting out a resigned rumble.
Sun and Neptune, of course, understood little of what had passed between the two dragonets, except for a few growls and Huo's submissive posture at the end. "Huh," Neptune said, his brows going up. "It looks like there's at least someone who can calm him down."
Sun nodded. "I guess you ended up with our team's alpha dragon."
"Sweet!" Neptune grinned before looking at Sun's tail again. A red stain was spreading across the fur. "Okay, I'm cleaning that up right now."
"Dude, it's fine."
Neptune was already taking his first aid kit from his backpack. "Do you want your entire tail stained red? I don't think so. Just hold still."
Sun rolled his eyes. "Okay, Mom."
The two continued to bicker as Neptune cleaned and wrapped his friend's tail. Scarlet giggled quietly as he watched. "They act like an old married couple," he murmured.
"That's one way to look at it," Sage chuckled.
Ruby felt her Scroll vibrating in her pocket. She took it out, seeing that she had a new message. When she saw what it was, her brows furrowed.
Pyrrha noticed her expression. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, uh, just got a reply from Professor Oobleck about my test," Ruby lied as she pocketed her Scroll.
"Ugh, don't remind me of those freaking tests," Jaune groaned. "I'm pretty sure I flunked the water dragon anatomy test. Seriously, how many air sacks do those things even have?!"
"Four," Neptune promptly replied. "Two in the upper body, two in the lower body. They can expand and contract them depending on the needed level of buoyancy."
"Neeeerrrrrrrd!" Sun drawled.
"Hey! The term you're looking for is 'intellectual.'"
"Nah, I'm pretty sure I meant nerd."
While the two started squabbling again, Yang walked back over to Ruby and sat down. "What's up?" she muttered.
"Ozpin," Ruby whispered. "I'll tell you on the way back."
Yang nodded and said nothing more on the subject.
…..
It was nearly dinner time when the three teams finally took their dragons back inside to rest. Ruby, however, walked toward the main building with Storm, keeping one hand on her dragonet's head.
The message from Ozpin had been simple: "Come to my office before dinner. Bring Storm."
Does this have to do with that fight at the crash site? Ruby wondered. She and her team had kept their word to Ozpin, not telling anyone about what had happened. A few people knew about the crash, but since no one had died, it had quickly become old news.
Her stomach dropped when she entered Ozpin's office and saw a familiar metal place sitting on his desk. Dragonmaster Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, hands folded, a troubled look on his face. "Hello, Miss Rose," he greeted. "Hello, Storm. Have a seat."
Ruby sat down in one of the armchairs and Storm sat down on the floor next to her. "What's going on?" she asked, keeping one protective hand on her dragon's back.
Storm chirped softly, noticing a familiar metal item on the desk. She tried to step forward, but a command from Ruby kept her from getting too close.
Ozpin took a deep breath, letting it out as a long sigh. "Miss Rose, I desperately need your help. You are free to say no, but please hear me out first. Will you do that for me?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed. She already knew what her answer would be, but supposed it would be polite to let the Dragonmaster talk. "Okay."
Ozpin nodded. "Thank you. Obviously, you remember this device: the Physical, Emotional, and Neurological Implant, P.E.N.I. for short. I told you after the incident at the crash site that Ragnar and I had been tasked with testing the beta model. Well, I tried putting it on Ragnar today." He touched the plate. "It rejected him immediately, and would not listen to my orders. It would seem that this current model can only attach itself to a single dragon. Once that attachment occurs, its functions are molded exclusively to that dragon."
"I'm not putting that thing on Storm again," Ruby said flatly.
"Let me finish," Ozpin said, holding up a hand. "As I said before, this device does not cause any harm to dragons. Even when it malfunctioned and rejected Ragnar, he was not harmed. I've known that dragon for years, so I'd know if something bad had happened. More importantly, I would never harm him."
He tapped the device. "This beta model was sent here at great risk. It is also the only one of its kind at the moment. To make a new one and send it out would be time-consuming, making it impossible for the unveiling during the Dragon Festival to happen. If the unveiling doesn't happen, the Council will not be happy. If the Council isn't happy, they may put the creation of the final invention into the hands of someone less interested in the overall welfare of the dragons involved."
Ozpin looked at Storm. "I would not be asking this if I wasn't desperate for help," he said frankly. "You are a first-year, and should not be worrying about these things. However, my hands are tied."
Ruby looked at the P.E.N.I. and groaned. Why did Ozpin have to bring up the overall welfare of dragons? That made it really hard to say no! And there was also the fact that Storm seemed very eager to get closer to the implant.
"As an added incentive," Ozpin continued. "Since the implant will only work for Storm, that means that Storm will have to be there for the unveiling." He smiled. "I will personally make special arrangements, allowing you and your team to travel to Mistral for the Remnant Dragon Festival. Would you like that?"
"Yes, but you can't bribe me into putting that thing on my dragon!" Ruby said, though she could feel her resistance fading. If Ozpin was telling the truth, if there was a chance that the implant could be given to someone else… She imagined a flight of brainwashed, mind-controlled dragons flying to their deaths and shuddered.
"She won't wear it all the time," Ozpin promised. "Only when you bring her in. Think of them as extra lessons. We'll get her used to it and figure out the device's capabilities. It may only take a few times. I repeat: It won't harm her."
Ruby looked at Ozpin, at the device, and finally at Storm. "What do you think?"
Storm blinked, tilting her head, then looked back at the metal plate. A nice voice came from that plate. She wanted to hear the nice voice again. Tossing her head, she chirped happily.
Ruby breathed a sigh, then reluctantly nodded her head. "Okay," she muttered. "We'll help you."
Ozpin's shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, Miss Rose. You are doing a great service to every dragon in Remnant."
Ruby wanted to believe that was true. At that moment though, the only thing she was sure of was that she was definitely not in the mood for dinner that night.
And so it begins! I originally wanted the implant to stay on all the time, but I realized it would make no sense since it wouldn't allow Storm to develop her own personality. Also, Ozpin would likely want to keep the thing a secret. Next week will be a chapter devoted to our water and ice Riders.
If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!