Back into the amazing story!
Not really. So good news and bad news! First off I have a BETA FOR THIS STORY! And bad news. Sorry pRussia fans, PruCan fans got here first. And I don't know how fast this new beta is but lets give her a cheer!
Okay, enough ranting and on to the story. And did I mention this is where the fluff starts?
Enjoy!~
Chapter 3: I'm just cold okay?
My grandpa sits down on a nearby rock and faces the assembled Wyrm riders. "Okay, today will be a hunting assessment. You and your dragon have twenty minutes to catch as much as they can and place it in a pile. This is not a partnered exercise although the team that does the best will get to go on a mission."
Rage ripples her shoulders underneath my legs outfitted in a new saddle. Time to show these good for nothings how a real dragon hunts. Romulus glances over at Isaac who nods and as soon as the words leave Isaac's mouth Rage rockets into the air.
The other dragons aren't as quick to follow and Rage lets out a rumbling laugh before plummeting down on an unsuspecting heard of deer. First she knocked out two with her tail, bit down on another's neck, and slammed her forelegs into two more. All in under a minute. She takes the largest into her mouth, runs away, turns, charges back, picks up the other four and zips into the air again.
I grip on tightly to the scales on her shoulders and she starts to glide. She reaches the clearing again and places the deer into a neat pile. Sorry, I'll try to not go as fast.
"That's okay. Second place is just the first loser right?" I glance over at my grandpa and Isaac who had dumbfounded expressions. "What?" Then Rage flew back up after a flock of geese, managing to kill each one then dropped back down to deposit those as well. The other teams had started collecting as well but it was nowhere near as big a pile as Rage's.
Either way Rage was enjoying herself, weaving around the swooping down to kill whatever animal came into sight. As she flew back Ludwig and Fidelity pulled up alongside. Then Rage and Fidelity spotted the same moose and tucked their wings in, rocketing downward.
Ludwig gave me a salute as Fidelity pulled a bit forward. I growl and whip the reins on Rage a little. I was not going to be second. Rage twisted in the air and corkscrewed down, whipping past Fidelity and extended her wings to halt her descent. I had enough time to jump off as Rage rolled. I sat there for awhile, watching the moose die as Rage bit down.
The ground thuds beneath me and I hear running footsteps. A moment later Ludwig was bent over me, holding my face in his hands. A few strands from his slicked back hair had fallen out of place and it only made him more attractive.
"Are you alright Lovino?" He pants out, inches away from my face. I frown and push his hands away.
"I'm fine. Now get the fuck off." I sit up and move everything to make sure everything worked fine, which it did. "And besides, we need to get back right?" Ludwig fixes his hair and I quickly hide my disapointment. Wasn't I supposed to love Antonio anyway? That's right. Antonio.
I get up and Rage pulls me onto her shoulders. "Tell you what. Since I fell out of the saddle you can take the moose." And with that Rage takes off but not before I got to see the smile on Ludwig's face.
~Back at the clearing~
In fact, Rage and I were first back, then Ludwig. Vash and Roderich arrived together dividing their pile in half. Then Ivan on the back of a Wyrm almost as large as Rage with cold grey scales and a flat black belly. Last to arrive was Gilbert and Umbra, the later throwing up a large amount of fish.
I crack a smile as Umbra eats one then coughs up half and offers it to Gilbert who tried to decline, saying the fish wasn't for eating just yet. Romulus stands up. "We'll accumulate your kills by enough pounds to add up to a deer."
"Alright now we count them up per team. Zwingli, Edelstein, separate your kill." In the end they had a rounded number of 15. "Braginski, Beilschmidt, separate your kill." In the end they only had 13 since fish didn't add up to much. "Beilschmidt, Vargas, separate your kill." All together it was around 26 considering the deer Rage caught were all larger than the average deer and added one half to each one caught.
"Pack your bags boys; you've got a mission in two days."
~After Classes~
I was going to do this. I was going to tell Antonio I had chosen him for mating season. That would get my mind off Ludwig for sure. Rage had opted to stay behind after wearing herself out during the hunting assessment, so now I wondered the halls alone to locate my quarry.
I round a corner to see him talking to my brother. Antonio's Bull dragon looks over at me as I open my mouth to call out. But no matter how hard I try to say something nothing comes out. Because just as I was going to say something Antonio leaned down and kissed Feliciano. Bella noticed me next and tugs on Feliciano.
They break apart and Feliciano turns in my direction, the smile falling from his face. Antonio noticed the mood change and turned as well. "L-Lovino. This isn't, I mean, crap, how do I explain?" Slowly I just shake my head, feeling tears well up in my eyes.
"Have fun this mating season." I say coldly before turning and walking away. As I pull out of their site I start to run, heading straight back to area 7.
I enter my rooms and slam the door, leaning against it and sliding to the floor, letting the tears fall. I was once again second to Feliciano. It wasn't fair. I bury my face in my arms as they rest on the tops of my knees.
"Let me guess, Antonio is seeing someone else?" I hear Ludwig ask. Dammit! I hadn't even heard him come in.
"Go away." The sound of a door closing makes me look up. The fucker had decided to come in and sit on my bed.
"Do you want to know something? My first love loved someone else as well. We're still friends. I never told him I like him though, so I suspect he still doesn't know." I dry the tears off my face as he speaks. "And that's okay. Because I'm interested in someone else now. I don't know if this other person likes me or not. He's pretty distant and although he seems cold I know he has a warm heart."
I find myself laughing even though I didn't know why. "Don't tell me it's Berwald. He chooses Tino every tear." Even though I said it I knew he wasn't talking about Berwald. I get up, dust myself off, and walk over to sit next to him. "I don't think I actually liked Antonio that much anyway. I'm just tired of being second to my brother."
Both of you drop into silence for awhile. "Hey Lovino, is there someone you like?" I glance at Ludwig sideways then smile.
"Yeah, he's kind of a stick in the mud though. He's taller than me and although he might seem mean he's pretty nice. I'm hoping that he'll actually participate in Rage's mating flight." Ludwig rubs the top of my head and gets up.
"I guess you'll have to wait and see then. But now, it's dinnertime." And with these words he walks back into his rooms.
"Now who else matches his description? Maybe I can get rid of this guy that Ludwig likes so much. At least it's not my brother."
~Two Days Later~
God Dammit! It was fucking cold up here. Rage puffs out bits of air to keep me warm as she glided over the snow covered slopes. Somewhere out here was a rogue Ice dragon that had started killing people. Ludwig flew up next to me.
"The den should be around here somewhere." He says looking about. I nod through clattering teeth. That's when a flurry of frozen dragon spit rose up to hit the air between Rage and Fidelity. Glancing down I see a large white and light blue Ice dragon.
Ice Dragon. Only known species of dragon that could survive extremely high altitudes, it's most prominent feature was the massive amounts of fur on its body, no scales, water type.
Ludwig nods to me and both of our dragons fold their wings into a dive and unleash two massive fireballs on the grounded Ice dragon. One of the villages it had attacked had archers that had managed to send a few arrows through the thin membrane of its wings.
Our dragons land on the ground close to it and it charges at Fidelity. Rage slapped its face with her tail to distract it. Only problem was as the Ice dragon turned it whipped its tail at Fidelity who ducked instinctively. This sent it flying into Ludwig who was thrown off his saddle into the snow. Without thinking twice I leap off of Rage and sprint across the snow.
Reaching his side I check his pulse. Good, he was still alive. Looking back I see Rage bite down into the Ice dragon's jugular and pull backward, ripping out its wind pipe and watch coldly as it struggled for air as its blood colored the snow scarlet.
I turn back to Ludwig and pull him upward gently. I didn't know how hard the tail had hit but even if Ludwig was unconscious he would feel it if I touched any broken bones. Fidelity rushes over and motions with his muzzle to a dark hole in the mountainside.
Rage swarms over and drops one of her legs in the snow, clacking her teeth at Fidelity. Fidelity rushes over to the fallen dragon in the snow and I carefully drag Ludwig into Rage's saddle and climb up behind.
"The cave is that way." I call out to rage as snow starts falling.
Understood. Rage calls back and forges through the snow quickly followed by Fidelity who was dragging the dead body of the Ice dragon. Once inside the cave Rage races to the back and drops Ludwig and me off. I'm going to locate some wood for a fire. I'll be right back. She rushes back out of the cave and I glance around.
Nearby was a mound of furs, the top one being that of a bear. I grab at it and pull frantically then Fidelity helps me lift it and drag it over next to Ludwig. I carefully drag him onto it and grab another fur and pull it over him.
He needed to stay warm but since there was no fire I was left with nothing. I pace back and forth and desperately try to think of something. Then an idea forms in my head. If Ludwig woke up while I was doing it I would kill myself.
I take off his jackets and shirt and find that he only had bruising on his arm. I quickly rip off my own layers of clothing and crawl under the fur next to him, wrapping myself around him and moving in as close as I could.
A few minutes later Rage returns and deposits a large amount of wood on the floor which she stacks in a pile nearby and lights it on fire. The cave warmed up after a bit and I find myself drift into sleep, my adrenaline catching up to me.
Someone was playing with my hair which was disturbing my sleep. I turn over and roll right onto the ice cold cave floor. I scramble backwards with a yelp to have my back collide with something warm. I slowly turn then feel like curling up in a ball and dying.
Because lying there propped up on his elbow was Ludwig, hair slightly mused, and smiling at me. "I didn't realize you had an attractive body to go with your cute face." I drag myself up and glare at him putting my face close to his.
"I. Am not. Fucking cute." I growl out. Then he grabs my chin and kisses me, effectively making my brain explode.
A/N
And here ends chapta 3!
Oh my, what's this? We're jumping into mating season next chapter? I smell an M rating coming up.
Ciao!~