Chapter 24;
Something tugged against her thoughts, the solid link shoving her out of her sleep. With a jolt, she awoke, and found herself lazily gliding against the wind. She sat upon Shruikan, who had turned his massive head to look at her through intent eyes. She gripped the spike before her as he angled downwards, tilting slightly. Much to her surprise, he landed with a soft thud, his bulk lightly hitting the ground despite his weight. He curled up, laying his head on his paws. She stood a few metres away, not knowing what to do. He thought for a moment, then slowly reached forward and wrapped his tail around her, pulling her closer towards him. He placed his head next to her, and she awkwardly began stroking his brow, smiling slightly as he hummed at the feeling. She froze as his pleasure emanated from their link, and he looked at her saying,
We better get used to that, it will happen much more often. She nodded sheepishly, again stroking his brow.
What are we supposed to do? She asked him, he looked at her through a large eye,
I'm just as new at this as you are. We'll make it through; we are a rider and dragon. She smiled, comforted by the new voice in her head.
Small one, do you have any questions? He asked her, she thought then said,
What did you tell Eragon before we flew off? She asked him, he looked at her with what would be a disbelieving stare.
The elfwas Eragon? He lifted his head to look down at her,
Yes, he was changed during the blood oath celebration. He nodded, and answered,
I told him we would be back midday tomorrow, and that you would explain. He lay back down, closing his eyes, and continued,
Are you comfortable with sharing dreams? His eye opened, she bit her bottom lip,
Yes. He closed his eyes, and he let their full link through. She gasped as his weariness washed over her. And her eyelids dropped closed. As she fell into her dreaming state, his dreams mingled with hers, and the fell deeper into their trance.