Rawr, everyone! Happy Dragon Tuesday. This week sees our boy Scarlet getting some love, since I felt he and Nimbus deserved a bit more attention.

So, today's dragon of the week isn't technically a dragon, but he was mistaken for several dragons initially by the main characters. In honor of the release of the trailer for the movie adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, I'd like to give a shoutout to the cherubim Proginoskes from the second book in the series, A Wind in the Door. That's not a typo. He's a cherubim, since he's an individual but is too vast to just be called a cherub. He appears as an ever-shifting mass of wings, eyes, and fire, and can use his eyes to transport people to different places. He assists Meg in entering the mitochondria of her brother Charles Wallace in order to save him from a deadly illness. I would highly recommend the entire Time Quartet series. It seamlessly melds religion and spirituality with math and science, creating a world where facts and morality not only intertwine, but can't live without each other.

Anyway, enjoy!

"Okay, Nimbus. Good job," Scarlet encouraged his dragon, who was starting to pant a little. "Let's get you a drink, then we'll try again."

The pair walked in a wide circle around the arena to where the water troughs were. As Nimbus drank, Scarlet turned his attention to his fellow wind Riders, who were all in the middle of the same exercise: teaching their dragons to fly.

The class was now taking place on the freshman runways, which held a series of long tracks ending with large ramps. The goal was to run down the track alongside the dragon, who would then go up the ramp and try to fly. It was similar to the gliding exercises, but the ramps went much higher, and the dragons were given more of a running start. None of them had been successful yet.

Doctor Oobleck nodded at Scarlet as Nimbus lifted his head from the trough. "Good, good. You both need to stay hydrated." He took a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to Scarlet. "Nimbus looks very close to getting it."

"You think?" Scarlet was a little doubtful. "He keeps zigzagging while running on the path. I'm starting to wonder if his eyesight is going to be a problem."

"I wouldn't worry," Doctor Oobleck said. "Ozpin will protect him if his eyesight turns out to be too bad. As for his performance, we actually have a blind Rider enrolled here. So, a visually-impaired dragon should be just as capable of overcoming difficulties."

"I guess you're right," Scarlet muttered. Secretly, he marveled at how optimistic Doctor Oobleck was. He noticed that the professors had varying attitudes toward the more disabled dragons in their year. Some, like Professor Goodwitch, showed more obvious worry about their future. Others, like Doctor Oobleck, seemed to be totally confident in Dragonmaster Ozpin's ability to protect them.

Nimbus took one more drink and padded over to Scarlet, rubbing his wet muzzle against his partner's shoulder with a cheerful purr. He liked running with Scarlet. Hearing his partner's footsteps helped him run in a straighter line than he usually would.

The two returned to their track and prepared to try again. Scarlet clicked his tongue. "Forward!" he commanded as he ran forward.

Nimbus started to run alongside him at a trot, then started to gain momentum as they both went faster and faster. He barreled ahead, his tongue lolling from his mouth. The path looked skinny, and he couldn't see his own paws as his googly eyes moved this way and that. He shook his head and snorted, electing in the end to just close his eyes.

Once he did that, everything became clearer. He could hear his partner running just behind him, could feel the path beneath his paws. As gravel turned to wood and the path started to slant upward, he went even faster. He could hear Scarlet's encouraging voice as he reached the end. Instinctively, he pushed off with his hind legs, leaped into the air, and stretched his wings.

The air went beneath them immediately and he could feel it holding him up. What a feeling! He didn't want it to end! He flapped his wings once, hoping it would make him stay up longer. To his delight, he felt himself going higher. He flapped again with the same result. He started to flap harder and harder, and even dared to open his eyes.

He couldn't tell where he was! The sky and ground spun together in a colorful blur. He tossed his head with a snort. In the process, he forgot to flap, his wings folding against his sides. All at once, he plummeted.

Scarlet's heart dropped and his entire body felt cold as he watched his dragon fall. "Nimbus, open your wings!"

Nimbus scrunched his eyes shut, shaking himself in response to his partner's shout, and opened his wings. Immediately, the air cushioned his fall, allowing him to glide the rest of the way to the ground, where he landed gracelessly on his face.

Scarlet rushed to his dragon's side, checking him over. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any sprains or broken bones. Just some scrapes and bruises. "Easy, buddy," he said. "You did good. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Nimbus groaned as he shook himself and followed his partner over to Doctor Oobleck, who was already preparing a dragon first aid kit.

"Well done, well done," the professor commended as he ran a sterile wipe over Nimbus's snout. "Always a few crashes at the beginning. Nothing to fret about." He frowned when he noticed Nimbus's eyes and their continuing erratic movement. "Hm. Will need to come up with a way to focus his vision. Perhaps blinkers or special goggles."

"I've seen blinkers," Scarlet said. "Are there really goggles that can help with eyesight?"

"Well, not on the known market." Doctor Oobleck winked. "I will speak to Ozpin."

"Okay," Scarlet muttered, though he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Are we talking black market dragon supplies, here? "Would there, uh, be not-known doctors who could help with a water dragon's gills?"

"Professor Goodwitch has been looking into options that may help Ao Guang," Doctor Oobleck assured him. "Worry about your own dragon and team. Trust me, you'll have enough to deal with as Nimbus continues to grow."

Doctor Oobleck handed another wipe to Scarlet. "I think that's enough flying for today. Bandage him up, and take him for a light jog around the track until class ends. Good job, Mister David."

"Nimbus did all the work," Scarlet pointed out.

Doctor Oobleck let out a laugh. "Well said!"

Meanwhile, Ruby was giving Storm an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "That was a good glide! You're so close to flying, I know it! You saw Nimbus do it, didn't you? You're just as good as he is, so I know you can do it. Let's try again!"

Storm whined nervously. Thinking of Nimbus didn't exactly evoke thoughts of confidence. She didn't want to fall on her face! She found herself wishing she had the metal voice to calm her down. Following Ruby's orders was always so much easier when the metal voice was there to help.

"It's okay," Ruby soothed. "You'll be just fine. Remember, you were made to fly!"

Storm listened to her partner's familiar, gentle voice and took a deep breath. If she could get used to sleeping in that stupid stall, she supposed she could handle gliding from the ramp again.

She watched as Ruby got on the human track and started to run. Snorting once, she followed. She had learned that she needed to stay on her track while her partner stayed on the smaller one. That was fine. She knew by now that any separation from Ruby was temporary.

As she reached the ramp, she felt that sense of self-doubt rising in her mind along with the image of Nimbus crashing to the ground. She slowed down as she reached the end, resulting in a clumsy jump that ended with a short glide back to the ground.

Ruby let out a sigh of disappointment, but kept her voice encouraging. "Good job, Storm. Let's try again."

Nora, on the other hand, was dealing with the full extent of Freya's laziness. "Come on, Freya!" she groaned. "I'm not asking a lot! Your legs are longer! This should be easier for you than it is for me."

Freya was sitting on the ground, yawning pointedly. She had already glided from the ramp five times. Why did she need to do it again? She persisted with this viewpoint until the end of class, by which time her poor partner was near stomping her foot with frustration.

"Ugh! You're lucky I love you so much!" Nora snapped.

Freya shook her head and nudged her partner's shoulder, snuffling quietly at her clothes.

Immediately, Nora's face softened and she hugged her dragon around the neck. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you! Your sleepy face is too cute!"

Freya let out a self-satisfied huff. Her partner was such a pushover.

After class, Scarlet rushed off to find Sage. He spotted his friend exiting the earth arena with Zircon. "Sage! Sage!" he shouted as he ran over, followed by a yawning Nimbus.

Sage smiled at Scarlet's obvious excitement. "Let me guess: Nimbus flew?"

"How'd you guess?" Scarlet asked.

"You told me that your first flying lesson would be today, and you look close to jumping over your dragon's head," Sage replied calmly. "So, his eyesight wasn't a problem?"

Scarlet sobered a little. "Well, he did crash. Doctor Oobleck said something about getting blinkers or goggles for him."

"They have those?"

"Apparently, Oobleck knows people who do."

Sage shook his head slowly. "The more I learn about this place, the more I wonder."

"I mean, I don't mind Ozpin going underground a bit if it means a better chance for us and our dragons," Scarlet said with a shrug. "That's what's more important, right?"

"True," Sage murmured. "If the Council was less idiotic, such things wouldn't be necessary."

"Exactly!" Scarlet smiled at Zircon. "And how's our skittish boy today?"

Zircon perked up as Scarlet looked at him, letting out a hesitant chirp. He liked Scarlet's bright voice, and he was glad to be near his brother. Anything was better than dealing with that awful Mudslide.

"He's doing well," Sage said. "Now that he's a bit bigger, he doesn't jump in response to everything."

"Just most things?"

"Exactly."

Scarlet laughed. "Well, nothing can be overcome in a day, as Nep has taught us." He leaned against Sage's side. "Anyway, I'm tired from all that running. Carry me?"

Sage rolled his eyes and nudged Scarlet away. "If Nimbus can walk after flying and crashing, you can handle walking back to campus."

"Aw, you're no fun." Scarlet pouted as they started back toward the courtyard. "These guys will be too big to hang out in the courtyard soon."

"It's a good thing the grounds around the stables are so spacious," Sage noted. "They won't have any trouble there."

"Yeah. I hope the move to the stables will be easier than the move to the stalls," Scarlet said. "I know Zircon and Storm are finally adjusting, but still."

They found an open bench and allowed their dragons to play on the grass. Today, this meant Nimbus plopping down and falling asleep. Zircon curled up near his brother, keeping one eye open, just in case a nasty surprise appeared. One couldn't be too careful.

Scarlet watched them for a moment before asking: "Do you ever worry that we work them too hard?"

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"Well, we put them through so many different, weird scenarios, from moving to different stalls to running on a track." Scarlet shrugged. "It must be confusing for them, but they do it anyway, because we tell them to."

"It's part of the curriculum," Sage said. "Besides, they need to be trained if they'll ever be able to fight Grimm."

"Which we bred them to do in the first place. It's not like they have a choice."

"If we start discussing the overall morality of making elementals and having Dragon Riders, we'll likely be here for several days."

Scarlet sighed. "I know. I'm just worried about Nimbus. If his eyesight doesn't get better, he may be in danger of being culled, just because he doesn't meet the standards of people who just see dragons as cannon fodder." He watched as Nimbus rolled onto his side. "Now that I think about it, a lot of our dragons are in danger of that: Twiggy, Ao Guang, Nimbus, Pit if people find out about him. You'd think there would be more cases of people fighting against dragons getting culled, considering how common 'defective' ones seem to be."

"Well, until recently, dragonries did hatchings very differently," Sage explained. "It used to be that dragons were hatched in separate chambers. Only a few people were allowed contact with them, and they wore gloves and didn't spend enough time around them to form a bond. Dragons with defects were culled and the ones deemed physically adequate were then released to bond with potential Riders. It was common for hatcheries to keep several extra eggs preserved so that replacements could be given to people who didn't get dragons the first time around."

"That's awful!" Scarlet gasped.

"It is," Sage agreed. "Once Ozpin and Lionheart took over at Beacon and Haven, they changed things for the better."

"What about Shade and Atlas? There's no way they still do that, right?"

"Unfortunately, they do. Atlas has always had a higher standard for their military, and Shade is…rather shifty with their practices. There have been rumors that deficient hatchlings in Vacuo are sent to be trained for the pits instead of being culled."

Scarlet shook his head. "I just don't get it. How can anyone think that's okay?"

"People do the same thing with basically any other domesticated animal," Sage pointed out. "Dogs are trained for the police force, and are made to sniff out bombs and drugs. Others are made to fight each other, and are put down if they so much as bite a person. Kittens are abandoned in cardboard boxes on the sides of roads, just because they're seen as being disposable. Before technology became more advanced, people fought wars on horseback. All we can do is fight against people who mistreat animals and dragons, and take care of the ones we can help."

He smiled at Zircon as the earth dragon padded over to him and plopped his large head in his lap. "I wish there was a way to somehow give Mudslide to someone else."

"Cardin really does mistreat her, doesn't he?" Scarlet asked.

"He does," Sage sighed. "Everyone knows it. Ozpin has given him so many lectures and detentions. I overheard them talking after class recently. Cardin was saying something about his dad suing the school if Ozpin tried reporting him one more time."

"Ugh! Can't they just take Mudslide away from him? Ruby's dad has abandoned dragons at his broodery, right? Couldn't she go there?"

"If things keep up, Ozpin may try that," Sage allowed. "Though, dragons are usually not the same after they're separated from their Riders. Also, the Council has to approve it. Most of the time, they deny claims. In some cases, it's determined that the dragon is too vicious or untrainable, which leads to it being culled or sent to the pits."

Scarlet scuffed his foot in the dirt and groaned. "It really seems like a no-win situation. What can we do?"

"Just keep learning what we can," Sage said. "And keep helping our dragons and each other. It's all we really can do."

"I guess you're right," Scarlet sighed. He scooted over and leaned against Sage. "If I fall asleep, will you carry me to class?"

"Someone has to put Nimbus back in his stall, remember?"

"Good point." Scarlet let out a yawn. "Can we just not move for a few minutes, then?"

Sage glanced at his Scroll. "It looks like we have some time before lunch."

"Good," Scarlet muttered. "My legs hurt."

Sage wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders, a fond smile coming to his face. "I'm sure you'll live."

Zircon purred as his partner continued to scratch his chin with his free hand. Despite the chill in the winter air, he felt wonderful. There were hardly any other people or dragons around, and his partner, brother, and brother's partner seemed content. This was one of the few times when Zircon could actually feel totally safe.

Fun random fact: I found out a few months ago that this story had been placed in a C2 specifically dedicated to hetero-only RWBY fics. I was quick to send a message saying "Uh, yeah. Might want to get my story out of there. Things will be getting hella gay later on." Honestly, anyone who reads my fics should know better than to expect hetero-only anything. I have at least three gay ships planned for this fic, including Seamonkeys and Red Herb (though there's an increasing number of people begging for a Shining Sun poly quad, which I may also consider). Knowing me, there will definitely be more than three gay ships over the course of this gem.

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

For writing tips, prompts, top 10 lists, and fandom rants from yours truly, check out my blog at soloragoldsun dot wordpress dot com.

Peace out!