JuseaPeterson - Well I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. :) It's hard for me to remember that our Thanksgivings aren't at the same time. LOL. Yeah, I keep repeating things in my head when dealing with Angie, to keep her from being massively Mary-Sue. I fugured having her Dragon Clan would already put her in that listing, so I wanted to lessen it by making her a bad fighter/weak with powers and such.

Yeah, I couldn't help but think over our discussions about the minds of the characters and ended up with how the story's gone so far, and all the issues with their minds and stuff. Now I have to get Hunter to warm up to Angie...

I FINALLY got to including some dragon stuff in it, and there will be more. I hope you like the parts with Blake being in dragon form and stuff. :)

Holding Out For A Hero - Thank you. :) I'm glad you like it so far.

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(Next Day, Tori's POV)

Ok, now I'm not the type to coo or swoon over things, but I came pretty close when Hunter walked into Ops with Blake in dragon form. I mean, he was so beautiful, and the thing about curling up and waving with a tiny claw...

"Hunter, I would like you to help Angie with her martial arts." Sensei stated as he walked along the table.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I blinked a moment, realizing I'd be staring at the said sapphire dragon and felt my face heat up as I turned to Sensei, who was telling us our duties for the day.

Hunter frowned deeply. "But Sensei, what about...?" Looking down, he gestured to the still sleeping dragon in his arms.

"Yes, I am fully aware that Blake should not leave Ops at this state." Turning to the others, he seemed to think about it. "Shane will spar with Dustin. Cam will teach Taelin more about meditation and Tori will look after Blake." he finally decided after a moment.

Huh? I thought blankly, blinking in confusion as everyone began to get up. Did I miss something? For one thing, not only did I just get out of training, but got chosen to watch over Blake

Hunter shot one reclutant look at his brother before nodding and getting up as well, leaning over to carefully hold him out to me.

Still in a daze, I gently reached out, marvelling at the warth and sleekness of his scales as my hands slid over his sides to rest under the backs of his wings. Lifting him, I blushed a bit at the squeak he gave as he squirmed in my hold, and quickly brought him close to me, holding him against my chest as he re-settled, burying his nose in my neck and clutching my top with his claws.

He let out another deep breath and his wings fluttered a bit before he shifted and curled in to me.

Of course, I'm guessing he must've thought something that Hunter caught, because the said blonde smirked as he turned and walked out of Ops.

"Yay, lucky me." Angie groaned sarcastically, stretching her shoulders and following him with a resigned air. "How any times do I have to state, I'm not a fighter?!" she whined as she climbed the stairs out of Ops.

Dustin grinned a little and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he narrowly avoided walking into Taelin. In response, Taelin blushed and smiled at him a little before walking down the hall to the meditation room in the back.

Giving me a knowing look, Shane nodded his head to me and grabbed Dustin's arm, dragging the Earth Ninja out into the forest to train, as Cam sighed and stalked into the back room.

I looked at Sensei, maying hoping he'd explain why he chose me to look after Blake in this form, but all he did was give me a warm smile and hop on to his habitat, settling down into a meditative state.

Ok, now what? I thought cluelessly, looking down at the navy scaled head. Biting my lip, I brought up my free hand and ran it over the scales lightly. I probably shouldn't just stay here, but what else can I do? Sensei stated Blake should not leave Ops in this form. Turning my head, I looked at the hall and nodded briefly to myself, getting up carefully and carrying the sleeping dragon down to an empty room. Well, we're safe here, so why not meditate?

Closing the door behind me, I turned and looked around a moment before shrugging, wincing when I got a slightly irritated sounding squeak and Blake shifted again. "Sorry." I whispered, biting back a giggle as I walked to the edge of the bed and sat down.

Blake's form wriggled again and I losened my hold, looking down and blinking a moment as my eyes met two deep chocolate ones, looking back up at me in clear confusion.

"Uh, hi." I stated uncertainly. Angie did say he'd be able to understand us, right? I thought akwardly. "Uhh... The others had to train, and Sensei asked me to look after you?" I offered weakly with a shrug. "Not that I mind!" I added quickly, realizing it may have sounded like I didn't want to help him.

His head ducked down and his eyes filled with amusement, making me turn a deep shade of red, I'm sure. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and froze when I felt his warm, scaled head rubbing lightly against my cheek. Opening my eyes again, I looked at him in confusion.

Did he just...nuzzle me?

(With Hunter and Angie, Normal POV)

"Will you please tell me where we're going?!" Angie called as she raced along behind him, struggling to keep up. "And maybe slow down, seeing as how I'm not a ninja!"

Rolling his eyes, Hunter slowed down and looked back, wincing as Angie stumbled over a rock and fell against a tree. He didn't smell pain or blood, but felt bad that he was pushing her like this. "Sorry. I just figured..." He looked away and sighed. "I dunno what I was thinking." he muttered quietly.

"Are you still worried about Blake?" she asked breathlessly as she finally caught up to him, her tone softening.

Actually, no, I wasn't even thinking of him. he thought in surprise. I mean, I know he's safe with Tori. "No." he answered simply, with a shrug.

She blinked a moment, staring at him expectantly and raising an eyebrow when he made seemed to have no intention of explaining. "Well? What were you thinking of, then? It had to be pretty important..."

"We're supposed to train, not chat." he stated gruffly, feeling uncomfortable about her questioning. It wasn't really the questions, or that it was her asking them, but the fact that he almost found himself actually answering them.

Looking around, he sighed. "This place is as good as any."

Angie looked around and glared at him incredulously. "You can't be serious! There's no room to move without tripping over something!"

And that was true. That was what Hunter wanted. He planned to teach her how to use nature's cover to help her maneuver away from enemies, or confuse them. There were fallen logs all over the place, some piles of unstable rocks, and a steep incline, and the trees were heavy. "This place is perfect." he muttered. "You'll need to learn how to use whatever's around you, in order to survive." he said, turning to face her.

Blinking a moment, she shook her head. "That sounds advanced. In case you forgot, I'm a beginner." She looked around. "This place is a death trap waiting to happen!"

"And has the perfect tools for you to use against your enemies." he ground out from between his teeth, closing his eyes and rubbing them. "I'll give you some time to think of ways to use the elements here to your advantage."

"You really must hate me." she muttered under her breath, walking a little ways away and folding her arms over her chest as she concentrated.

Hunter felt a stab of pain in his heart at those words and winced, looking down at the ground. No, actually, I don't. "I'm training you, like I'm supposed to." he stated quietly. Thinking for a moment, he sighed and looked up again, forcing his indifferent mask back in place. "What would happen if you were ever attacked in a place like this? Kelzacks won't give you time to think, or a chance to chose a 'safer' location." he stated firmly.

Maybe, but still... Shaking her head, she refused to look at him, fully aware that her words hurt him, seeing as how he stunk of pain at hearing them.

"It's not as bad as you think." he continued. "Besides, if you learn now, with me, you'll be prepared for if it ever happens."

Looking at him with a raised eyebrow, Angie brushed her lose hair out of her face, recalling a certain incident when Hunter came at her with everything he had, and shuddered a bit. Not very comforting. But, like back in Ops... He was still trying. "Fine." she stated reluctantly.

Going over the area around them with her eyes, she mentally listed ideas that came to her mind as soon as she saw them.

The piles of rocks... I can use those to trip the monsters, or as projectiles. I'll have to be careful that I don't slip on them, though.

The fallen trees... Her eyes narrowed as she looked at a small opening. I can use them as a hiding place, but it would put me in danger and mean game over if the 'kelzacks' decided to blast them. Otherwise, I can use them as cover from attacks, and ways to sneak up on the enemy.

The steep incline in the hill... I can use that, if I get close to the top, to turn and give any attacks better strength, by running down and using my speed as my advantage. Still, slipping or tripping is a danger there, too.

Reluctantly, she admitted that this did seem like a pretty good place to train. After a few moments of thinking up strategies, she nodded and turned to Hunter...

...Only to find he was gone.

Angie's jaw dropped as she looked around and she felt her anger rising. He better not have...

That's all she had time to think as a figure dropped out of a nearby tree and she felt a pain in her chest, sending her flying back. Lying on the ground as she clutched her chest, she looked up to find Hunter staring at her in disappointment, and glared angrily at him. Oh boy, here we go again.

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Yeah, they're STILL trying to teach her martial arts. LOL. At least they're getting along better...I think.

Hope you like it so far.

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"Are you serious? I can heal?"

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi