A/n- Hello devoted readers! Im really glad that you all enjoy this so much, and im sorry i havent been on lately, school is hooooorrrible...but ill try to get a chapter up every week, so please dont stop reading, thankyou!
Exire looked up as Nasuada approached, and he tensed. He was still not comfortable around the Varden leader, not after the way she had demanded entry into his mind. When she reached him, she stood a few feet before him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. But Exire acted as if he didn't notice her, sharpening his sword steadily.
Exire... Snarled Darad. Be respectful, before I make you. Exire scowled at the dark silver dragon, who was lying curled up outside his tent. Nasuada was still standing in the entrance, the Nighthawks standing behind her outside the tent. Nasuada raised her chin as Exire turned to face her, sheathing his sword and placing his whetting stones down on the small table that had been provided for him, along with his tent and cot. Still no word from either. After a few more moments of silence, Nasuada cleared her throat and said,
"I trust that you have found our accommodations, comfortable?"
"Yes."
"Then I must speak to you. Will you accompany me to my pavilion? We can speak in private there." Exire looked about himself, as if searching to see if there was someone hiding in the confines of the small tenet, before saying,
"It's private here. And no one is listening in. I would be able to tell, and then Darad would eat them." He said these last few words in a casual matter-o-fact manner, that caused Nasuada to raise an eyebrow. Then she sighed, and said,
"Very well then." Exire blinked expectantly. Then he said, stepping forward. "What is it?"
Nasuada glanced back at her Nighthawks, and saw that Darad had pushed them away from the entrance with his head, bringing his head in alongside Nasuada and blinking at her with one large silver eye.
Tell her that I will hear whatever she has to say to you. He rumbled. A rider and a dragon do not keep secrets from each other, right? As he said this last bit, he shifted his gaze to Exire, raising one scaled eyebrow. Exire rolled his eyes, and then repeated Darad's words to Nasuada, who nodded.
"I would expect as much." She said. Then she turned to Exire. "First, I need to know what your true intentions are."
"What do you mean?" Asked Exire, his brow furrowed.
"Why did you decide to join the Varden? Eragon and Arya told me that they met you, already on the way to join us. Why is that?"
Exire shrugged."It was time to leave the sands." he said shortly. "The empire is terrified of the desert now, by the time we left, patrols would come through once every three months or so. And the slavers are pretty much nonexistence. There wasn't much else we could do, at least, not compared to what we could do here." Nasuada nodded as he said this, as if his answer satisfied her. Then, she said,
"Second, I need to know what your strengths are. What can you do in the field of magic, war fare, on the battlefield, strategies, that sort of thing. So, to learn your abilities, you'll be put through a series of tests." Then, she added in a tone with a slight hint of mocking concern. "Are you alright with that?"
Exire considered playing along and claiming that he felt insulted with the needs to test his abilities, but he decided against it. He would let the dark skinned Varden leader win this one.
"Yes, Im fine with that." he said, then added with a slight smirk. "Im flattered by your concern." Darad snorted, letting out a puff of smoke. "When do I begin?" Exire continued, shooting a glare at his dragon, who blinked.
"Tomorrow morning." Said Nasuada, not noticing Exire's glare and seeming to be unfazed by the smoke now drifting about the tent. "Eragon and Arya will be in charge of your testing." Exire nodded,
"Very well then, I see them then." Then he stood in silence, his arms folded across his chest. Nasuada shifted slightly, then said,
"I will speak to you tomorrow afternoon then, to see how you have done with your first tests." Then she turned to leave, dipping her head respectfully to Darad before slipping past him and signaling to her guard. The night hawks silently took up their positions about Nasuada, following her back t her command pavilion. Exire stepped towards the entrance of the tent, watching them go and not seeing the glance Darad shot at him, but he did notice the feeling of humor building up in the great dragon.
What? He snapped, tearing his eyes from the retreating form of Nasuada and marching back into his tent, picking up the spear Fredrick had lent him. Darad shoke his head, rumbling.
Nothing. Exire sighed, realizing that there would be no getting the truth out of the tight lipped silver dragon.
The next morning saw Exire sitting on Darad's back by the training arena, watching as Saphira approached, soaring ahead. She landed in a flash, sending up a cloud of dust. Darad snorted slightly, blinking the dust from his eyes. Saphira strode over to him, her neck arched proudly and Eragon astride her back.
"Morning!" called Eragon. Exire pressed his right fist to his left shoulder, in the traditional greeting of his tribe.
"Morning Shadeslayer." He said. "Nasuada told me that you and Arya would be testing our skills starting today,"
"That's right." Nodded Eragon. "We're starting with air battle. Arya is waiting for us out in the plains, where we can practice without being interrupted. She's going to watch and see what your strengths are."
"Sounds good." Exire said, shifting in his saddle, which he noticed was different from Eragon's which seemed to have more buckles for holding him in place. Exire's only had four, two for his legs, and two for his wrists, but eh never really use them, Darad's shoulders were broad and it would be hard for hi to fall off unless he was in a fight, which it was evident he was about to be in.
Darad leapt into the air, spreading his grey wings and pressing them downwards. With a few strong strokes, he was ahead of Saphira, gliding like a silver specter across the plains below in the dim early light.
Slow down Exire cautioned, tightening his buckles. We don't know where we're supposed to be going, and they do. Darad grunted, then back drafted with his wings, hovering long enough for Saphira to reach him, then he set off again at her own pace. They flew in silence for a few moments, and all the while Exire's eyes were scanning the terrain below, committing it to memory. These lands were all new to him.
"Land there!" Came Eragon's voice over the sound of rushing winds. Exire looked to see where he was pointing, then felt Darad tilt slightly as he turned, flaring his wings to land on his hind legs, before settiling on all four. Saphira landed beside him, and folded her wings, blinking as Arya approached with a few quick and elegant strides. She was dressed all in tanned leather, with leggings instead of a skirt. A single leather band held her long raven black hair from her face, and a slim sword hung from her hip. The elf greeted the two riders in the ancient language, and Eragon did the same. Exire struggled to reply, frustrated by his lack in the knowledge of the ancient language. It seemed that ever since the incident that had left him powerless over his magic, that he had begun to forget the words of the ancient language.
"Are you ready to begin?" Asked Arya of the two riders. Eragon nodded, and Exire adjusted his seat in the saddle, gripping his spear and making sure his sword, which was slung across his back, was accessible. He doubted that this simple man made spear he was holding would stand up for long against Eragon's elf sword.
"Ready." He said shortly, anxious for the fight to begin.
"Then go, I shall watch from down hear. Stay clear of the camp, and refrain from breathing fire, Darad and Saphira, It would be better if you did not burn one another." then Arya took a step back, holding up a hand to protect her eyes from the flash of the sunlight off the scaly hides as the dragons took off, circling one another as the gained altitude.
Exire ready his grip on the spear while Darad lashed his tail, flexing his muscles. Saphira was doing like wise, then, without warning, she struck. The dragoness leapt forward with a roar, claws outstretched as she reached for the silver dragon. But Darad surged upward, flying over Saphira until he was directly above her. Then he dived downward, jaws snapping shut barely an inch from Saphira's right wing as he passed her.
Exire saw Saphira flinch away from Darad, alarm in her eyes. But it soon disappeared as she snarled, folding her wings to her side and lunging for Darad's side. Darad roared with anger as she rammed into his side, flipping him over. Exire gritted his teeth, wrapping his arms about Darad's neck and ignoring the scales digging into his arms. Flaring his wings, Darad rose above Saphira again, but this time he did not dive. Instead, he dropped.
Saphira bugled in alarm as the much older and much larger dragon slammed atop her, sending her plummeting to the ground.
What are you doing? Exire exclaimed in alarm as the ground rushed up to meet them. Darad didn't reply. Instead, baring his teeth with effort, Darad hooked his curved talons in the layers of scales and heaved upward, opening his wings and lifting himself so as not to crush Eragon. Exire braced himself for the oncoming impact.
Darad's efforts did not stop the fall, instead, they merely softened it. Saphira grunted as they struck the ground, but Darad released her as soon as she hit the earth, stepping aside and snaking his neck around to look at her face. Darad roared as Saphira suddenly slammed his head down with one mighty paw. Exire leapt off Darad's back, landing behind Eragon as he felt Darad's anger come rushing off him in waves.
Exire winced as Darad bellowed. He had forgotten how short his dragon's temper was. Arching his back, Darad battered Saphira with his wings, buffeting her and forcing her to release him. She staggered back as Darad rose to his full height, towering over her. Then, with a growl, he lunged forward, snapping together his glittering teeth. Saphira snaked her head to one side, avoiding the teeth and nipped Darad's shoulder.
As the two dragons fought, lashing and slashing at one another, Eragon realized that Exire was behind him. He reached for his sword, but Exire said,
"Oh no, not that!" Then he tackled Eragon, knocking him off Saphira's back and rolling with him in the tall grass, clear of the now wrestling dragons. Saphira had grabbed Darad's tail in her jaws, and Darad was twisting and turning, trying to snap at her. Exire couldn't help but laugh as he watched Darad run in circles, trying to reach the blue dragon. Eragon, who was surprised by this, looked over to where the dragons wore, and laughed to.
You're chasing your tail! Laughed Exire. Darad snarled in reply, then shut him out of his mind as he returned to the fight. With a jerk, he yanked his tail free of Saphira's jaws, ignoring the pain that lanced up it, and smashed it back into her cheek, sending her sprawling. Then, with a growl of satisfaction, Darad turned and reared up, placing one large taloned paw on Saphira's side, baring his teeth in a feral snarl and flaring his wings.
"The battle is over." The dragons and the riders all looked up as Arya approached. Darad drew away from Saphira, coming to stand behind Exire. Exire was knocked forward off his feet as Darad struck him in the back with his snout. The youth glared over his shoulder at his dragon, before turning back to Arya as she began speaking again.
"Exire, I notice that you did not engage Eragon in combat, mentally or physically. And Darad, your attacks seemed to rely more on force and strength, not agility. You need to become more agile, faster. The only reason you beat Saphira is because you are stronger then her.
"He doesn't see why that's an issue." Exire said, repeating the words that had appeared in his mind.
"Because when you come face to face with Galbatorix, brute force will not help you." Snapped Arya.
"No, but it'll probably help." Muttered Exire. Arya glared at him. Rolling his eyes, Exire crossed his arms and stood still, listening to the rest of Arya's lecture with very little interest.