Happy Dragon Tuesday, everyone! The good news is that I've started the backlog for "Five Summers," along with my fanfiction-writing blog. The bad news is that I got my first rejection email from a potential agent. An email consisting of one sentence. An email sent from an iPad. *sigh* And so it begins.

Anyway, the dragon spotlight this week goes to Hookfang from the How to Train Your Dragon movie and TV series. While I adore Toothless, I like Hookfang's design and abilities even more. Also, there was an episode of DreamWorks Dragons that focused on his relationship with Snotlout and had him give up on a potential cure to the sickness he was suffering from in order to save Snotlout from an attacking dragon. I knew he wouldn't die, since he was going to be in the second movie, but I was still in tears. Suffering dragons do that to me.

Anyway, enjoy!

Professor Port was very impressed when he learned that Huo's elemental powers were starting to show, and decided to make a quick example of the pair during elemental training. "Fire dragons, besides having terrible tempers, also have obviously destructive powers. Therefore, it is vital that you learn how to control those powers as quickly as possible. Mister Wukong."

"Yes, sir?" Sun stood up a little taller, his flicking tail showing his nervousness. He really didn't want to fail with Huo in front of everyone.

"Commanding a dragon's power is difficult, but it can be done. Since Huo first showed signs of power through his scales, it's harder to signal out a command than it is for something like moving forward or attacking." Port paced back and forth in front of the class. "You are familiar with the battle stance command, of course. Can anyone tell me how the battle stance is taught?"

Pyrrha raised her hand. "You train them while they're at play. Whenever they prepare to get into a brawl, you say 'battle stance' and praise them. Since dragonets learn language quickly, they are able to associate your words with the action without trouble and will then follow the command."

"Exactly!" Port beamed. "Dragons, especially young ones, learn the meaning of language very quickly, even though they can't speak yet. Therefore, miming or making them feel a certain way while practicing a command is all you need to do. For example," He pointed at Huo. "If you rapidly rub your dragon's scales, they will grow warmer. Give the command 'heat' while rubbing. Your dragon will want to ignite his scales when you rub them like that. When he does, reward him. Give it a try, Mister Wukong."

Sun gulped audibly, mentally preparing himself for the bite he would probably receive. However, when he knelt down, he saw that Huo was still looking a bit distant. That was almost worse.

"Okay, Huo. Heat." He started rubbing Huo's back beneath his wing.

Huo jumped at the strange, rapid contact, blinking at his partner in confusion. Why was he rubbing his scales like that? Was something on them?

"Huo, heat," Sun repeated.

Huo sighed. His partner was using his commanding tone. This was a new order he had to learn. Okay, so what did "heat" mean? His scales were starting to feel warmer. The rubbing was getting irritating. Growling, he decided to warm up his scales a bit to make Sun stop.

Sun felt the heat and quickly withdrew his hand. "Good boy!" He fed Huo a treat, feeling almost disappointed when his hand wasn't snapped. This just didn't feel right.

Huo chewed the treat slowly. Sun was going back to commanding him, as if nothing had happened. He couldn't stop thinking about those humans and the fact that Sun had stopped him from attacking them, had acted like he was the one needing protecting. Rather than being angry, he was curious beyond belief.

Nymph had told him that putting Sun on guard all the time was a bad idea. Was there something about fighting that his own instincts weren't telling him?

"Very good." Port clapped his hands. "As for the rest of you, I want to see ten minutes at least of practicing the heat command. Do as I taught you. Let's see if we have any more emerging powers."

Yang smiled as she knelt beside Fang. "Good thing you aren't being a little shit anymore, huh?" She rubbed Fang's back. "Okay, he- Ow!" Her eyebrow twitched. Fang had turned around and bitten down on her arm. Now, he was holding on and looking at her with a decidedly smug expression. "You are an asshole," she said bluntly.

Pyrrha tried not to laugh. "I think he's starting to understand what you're calling him."

"He does not! Right, you dumb salamander?"

Fang bit down a little harder, growling quietly.

Yang winced. "Okay, fine. Can you let go of me, your highness?" When Fang let go and turned away, she threw her hands in the air. "You have got to be kidding me!" When Sun walked over, she waved to him. "Hey, Sun. Look for Weiss after class, okay?"

"Uh, why?"

"She wants to apologize," Yang explained. "She looked for you this morning."

"Really?" Sun's brows went up. An apology from the ice queen? Should I record it…? Nah. "Okay. I'll look for her." He sat down next to Huo. "Seriously dude, could you at least nip my tail so I know you're still coherent?"

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked. "Isn't it good that he's not biting you?"

"I think he's in shock or mad at me or something," Sun muttered. "He's been like this since the fight with those bigots."

"Why don't you ask Professor Port about it? It could be a behavioral thing for certain fire dragons."

Sun sighed as he stood up. "I guess it couldn't hurt." He walked toward Port, Huo trudging after him.

"Heat. Heat!" a voice said nearby.

Pyrrha and Yang turned to see Dove rubbing Tank's back. The fire dragon looked like he was falling asleep.

"Come on, Tank. Heat." Dove groaned when the bronze dragonet started to snore. "You can sleep after class, okay? Just stay awake for a bit longer."

Pyrrha hesitated before walking over. "You need to rub faster. If you do it like that, his scales won't warm up."

Dove jumped, which startled Tank awake. The small dragon noticed Titan and whimpered, hiding behind his partner. Even that short retreat was enough to cause him to trip on his paws.

Titan gave him a disparaging look and let out a yawn.

"He's a bit skittish," Pyrrha noted. "And lethargic. Does he have trouble sleeping?"

"I, uh…" Dove was staring fixedly at the ground. "Barracuda and Tornado give him a hard time," he murmured. "He has to sleep with me, but we both kick each other, so…" He gasped when he realized what he had said. "Uh, don't tell anyone, please! I know dragons aren't allowed on the beds, but…"

"I won't," Pyrrha promised, though her brows were furrowed with concern. "What will you do when it's time to move him?"

"I mean, he won't be next to Barracuda and Tornado anymore, so it should be okay." Dove shrugged. "Mudslide protects him sometimes, but she can't follow him everywhere."

"Is Mudslide the alpha dragon, then?" Pyrrha remembered that Barracuda had been the first one to attack during their fight. She and Tornado seemed to be the most vicious. Mudslide was angry, but reluctant. Tank honestly made Pyrrha think of Zircon. All she could really tell was that Tank wasn't the alpha.

"I…don't know." Dove shook his head. "Barracuda and Tornado fight a lot. Mudslide just sits in her bed when she's not protecting Tank."

"I see." The siblings fight, they don't have a definite alpha, and the fire dragon is the skittish one of the group. This team is more dysfunctional than I thought. "You should speak to Ozpin about it."

Dove sighed. "Cardin and the others would just make things worse. I'm just gonna wait till summer, then see if I can get transferred to Mistral or Atlas or something."

"You might not have to transfer," Pyrrha noted. "It's possible to train as an independent Rider."

"After my second year."

"Not necessarily. I've heard of people starting earlier. Considering the circumstances, I feel that Ozpin would want to help you."

Dove snorted. "Yeah. My team's kinda famous at this point, huh?" He finally looked up at Pyrrha. "Sorry they attacked you guys. Tornado has a nasty bite. Is your teammate okay?"

"She's recovering. The main issue is keeping her from running on it." She noticed Port glaring in their direction. "We'd better get back to work. Thank you for apologizing. If you ever want to spend time with us, I promise that our dragons won't hurt Tank."

At this, a hesitant smile came to Dove's face. "I'll remember that. Thanks, Nikos. You're pretty cool."

Pyrrha smiled kindly at him before returning to Yang, who was giving her a curious look. "What is it?"

"You are unrealistically nice," Yang said bluntly.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, just…" Yang shook her head, glancing at Dove. "Don't let anyone take advantage of that, okay? I already worry about Ruby."

Pyrrha's heart warmed at her friend's concern. "I won't. I'm a good judge of character. Dove isn't a bully, just a bystander who needs some encouragement."

"If you're sure." Yang started rubbing Fang's scales again. "Okay, buddy. Heat."

While this was going on, Sun had approached Professor Port. "Uh, sir? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Mister Wukong." Port turned promptly around to face him. "What can I assist you with?"

"Well, I'm worried about Huo," Sun explained. "We had a bit of a…run in with some thugs, and he hasn't been the same since."

Port grunted sharply. "Was he injured?"

"No, I checked him when we got back." Sun explained what had happened and told the professor how Huo's behavior had changed. "And, I'm not sure what to do. I wanted him to stop biting me, but this somehow feels worse."

Port was scratching his chin. "Hm. It's hard to say. It could be that he was surprised by the shock of a real fight, though considering how quickly he recovered after that one scrap with Fang, that's probably not it." He paced back and forth. "He could have suffered head trauma, though…" He knelt and looked at Huo's eyes. "Doesn't look like it. It looks more like he's deep in thought." He stood up again. "When exactly did he start mellowing?"

"After the cops left," Sun replied. "Wait, no… He kinda went limp while the cops were questioning the others."

"After you restrained him?"

"Yeah."

"Ah." Port nodded, his face lightening as he realized the problem. "Your dragon is simply trying to piece together what happened." He looked at the gray eyes again. "I have seen this look before. Pepper has had it many times. The first time it happened was after I scolded her for catching and trying to eat a stray cat. Dragons often don't understand the intricacies of society. For Huo, my guess is that he is confused as to why he wasn't allowed to finish off three people who clearly were trying to hurt the both of you. He'll ponder for a while, then go back to normal. Once you get more of a sense of understanding concerning commands and different situations, this will be easier."

"Was the cat okay?" Sun couldn't help but ask.

"What-?" Port let out a laugh. "Oh, yes. A bit terrified, but fine." He patted Sun's shoulder. "Don't lose hope, son. You and Huo are quite a standard pair if I've ever seen one. You're doing everything right."

Sun felt a grin coming to his face for the first time that day. "Thanks, sir."

"My pleasure. Now, back to work!" He shot a glare toward Pyrrha and Dove. "All of us!"

….

Weiss walked right toward the fire arena after class, going at a brisk pace that required Specter to jog to keep up. She ignored his annoyed whistles as she looked for any sign of Sun or Huo. Neptune had told her that Sun would almost definitely forgive her, but she was still nervous.

Ever since her talk with her team last night, an uncomfortable feeling of guilt and self-loathing had started to rise within her. She couldn't help but think about how she had callously treated Faunus servants in the past, about how rude she had been to Rusty the stable hand, about her tendency to think words like "riff-raff" or "ruffian" when passing a Faunus on the sidewalk.

She had always thought that she was better than her father and brother, that her way of thinking was more progressive. After seeing Sun's hurt expression and feeling Blake's stinging disapproval, it was clear that the gulf between her and her family's reputation wasn't as large as she would have hoped.

When Sun came out of the arena with Yang and Pyrrha, Weiss's back stiffened and she wondered how exactly to approach this. It turned out that she didn't have to worry, since Sun made a beeline for her once he saw her.

"Yo, Weiss," Sun called. Her guilty expression was painful to look at, so he decided to let her get this over with as soon as possible. "Yang said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes." Weiss cleared her throat. "I…was out of line yesterday. I was very insensitive, considering the circumstances, and wanted to apologize."

Sun shrugged a shoulder casually. "Eh. It's cool. I figured you didn't mean it."

"No, I did," Weiss said, her voice becoming strained. "That's the problem." She looked downward. "I was taught to be wary of all Faunus, because of my family's feud with the White Fang. I had to be suspicious because my father was convinced that they would try to use me as a hostage if they caught me. Due to that, I developed a negative view of Faunus."

She looked back at Sun, relieved to see that he was listening and didn't look angry. "I do not hate them on principle. I honestly do not care if someone has a tail, an extra set of ears, horns, or claws. That doesn't faze me."

Sun grinned in what he hoped was a comforting way. "Hey, that puts you ahead of basically all of the bigots who think we're nothing but animals."

"I'd rather be further ahead of people like that. I know that my views need to change, and will work to change them." Weiss took a breath before saying: "They won't change overnight, though. I hope that you will be patient with me in the meantime. You are a friend I would like to keep." By the time she was done speaking, her voice was shaking and her cheeks were red with embarrassment at how much she had revealed.

Crap! She's about to cry, Sun realized. He quickly moved forward, pulling Weiss into a hug. "You got it, Ice Queen!" He felt her stiffen and loosened his grip a little. "You okay?"

"Yes, I…" Weiss hated how she was shaking. "I'm just not used to…" She looped an arm loosely around Sun's waist. "Thank you."

"No prob," Sun replied, smiling brightly even though his mind was reeling. Has this girl never received a hug in her life?! I kinda want to punch her dad in the face right now. He squeezed her once, then stepped back. "Come on, let's see a smile."

Weiss hurriedly wiped her eyes and returned Sun's smile. "I appreciate your understanding, Sun," she said, trying to regain her usual, formal tone of voice. "And, if you want, I can lend you my pepper spray the next time you go into town alone."

Sun snorted. "Pepper spray? Please. Punching them in the face is way more fun."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Aim for the groin if you must go that route. That'll incapacitate them more."

"Really? I had no clue!" Sun gasped. "Hey, Nep!" he called to Neptune, who had been standing nearby for the past few minutes. "Did you know kicking a dude in the groin freaking hurts?"

Neptune widened his eyes comically. "No! Weiss, please tell me more!"

This was enough to make Weiss recover her usual attitude, and she fixed them both with a dry glare. "Why did you bother becoming Dragon Riders? Clearly, you're just a pair of two-bit comedians."

"I used to think about going into comedy," Yang commented.

"And the entire world is grateful that you decided not to," Sun finished.

"What was that?!"

"Eep! Neptune, hide me!"

"No way, dude! I'm not getting involved!"

"Traitor!" Sun crouched down behind Huo. "I'm just a simple, handsome Fire Rider. Don't hurt me!"

Huo looked at his partner. He was hiding behind him, but didn't smell of fear. He looked at Yang, then finally at his rival, Fang. He met the other dragon's eyes and shook his head slowly. What was wrong with their partners?

Fang huffed and flicked his tail. Honestly, he had decided to just go with the flow and figure things out as he grew older.

Huo bobbed his head once and sighed. He thought about asking Nymph for advice, but decided against it. His sister didn't need to be any more self-satisfied than she already was.

Yet another relationship I wish had been more explored in canon was the friendship that could have developed between Sun and Weiss. The few times they interacted on screen were freaking hilarious! ("I climb trees all the time!") I can see Sun mellowing Weiss out with his chill attitude and Weiss becoming almost like an irritable second mother to him as they grow closer. And, of course, there's the chance to show Weiss actually overcoming her prejudices instead of them just vanishing after one episode.

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

If you want fanfiction advice, prompts, top 10 lists, and fandom-related rants from yours truly, check out my blog at soloragoldsun dot wordpress dot com.

Peace out!