"Why does this world hate me?" I growled as I climbed to my feet. Dusting myself off I took a few careful steps forward as I went in search of the noise, only for Quiksilva to grab my sleeve. "Huh what's wrong?" I asked him and he released my sleeve shaking his head. "You don't want me to check out the noise? Why not boy?" It was at that moment that Artha and Parm rushed past me and looked over the highest point of the building. Taking out a pair of what I think were binoculars he looked towards the smoke rising up from the street below and after a long moment he spoke.
"It's coming from the street below." He said as I moved closer trying to see into the distance but I soon realized that it was hopeless. "It's probably the Dragon Eyes crew again."
"Let's go check it out." Artha said as he rushed over to Beau and as I watched a gold light pulled him into the air so he was sitting on his dragon's back. Confused I stood there as he raced away closely followed by Kitt on Wyldfir. Now even more shocked I blinked as they rushed away, heading towards the smoke and chaos below and I finally made up my mind.
"Let's go too." I said to Quiksilva but when he shook his head I frowned at him. "Why not?" I asked and he snorted before he turned around and headed for the stable. "Fine then I'll go on my own." I muttered as I walked towards the ledge and that's when I found something out. We were pretty high up and I had no idea how to get down. But I have to admit that I'm pretty stubborn so I grabbed hold of a pole and started to slide down and this seemed to work. But just as I reached the end and I was reaching for the ledge further down that would put me level to the street below I suddenly felt dizzy again and just for a moment I blacked out. When I came to I found myself caught up on an overhanging broken piece of street and I made the mistake of looking down. Seeing no visible ground beneath me I gasped and that's when I heard a ripping sound. Slowly I tilted my head back and that's when I saw that my jacket, caught up and the only thing keeping me from falling, was beginning to tear. Knowing that very soon it would rip free I did the only thing I could think of and cried out for help. No one answered at first and I cried out again. "Someone! I need help!" I tried to grab the ledge to my left but it was just too far to reach and my jacket began to tear more as I hung there. Eventually I closed my eyes, resigned to my fate when out of nowhere someone reached down and grabbed my hand. Surprised my eyes shot open and I stared up at a familiar face.
"Can you reach the ledge? You're kind of heavy." Moordryd asked and ignoring the fact that he just insulted me, intentional or not, I reached over and somehow managed to grab it. Gripping the ledge in one hand and his in the other I pulled myself up and soon sat panting on the street.
"Never…doing that…again." I gasped as I glanced over the side and cringed, thinking about how close I'd come to falling. "Not doing…that again…either." I added and Moordryd chuckled as he stood.
"That's three times I saved you now. You owe me big time." He told me as I stood and raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "Why are you giving me that look?" He asked and I finally sighed.
"Never mind. So where did you come from?" I asked him as he walked over and climbed onto Decepshun's back. "What you're just gonna leave me here?" I said but he rushed away before I had a chance to thank him. Growling under my breath I went looking for Artha and his friends. After walking for what seemed like forever, to my tired feet and sore head anyway, I finally caught up with them as they walked back to the stables and I called out.
"Hey there you are. Where's Quiksilva?" Artha asked and I frowned at him. "And what happened to your jacket?" He said as I walked over and I rubbed at my eyes.
"Long story. If you give me a lift I'll tell everyone the whole story." I said and Beau knelt so I could climb onto his back. As we walked back to Penn Stables I explained that I had followed them and when Quiksilva refused to go with me I went alone and ended up almost falling to the ground below.
"What ground?" Parm told me and I think I just about passed out again. Thankfully I managed to stay seated but it was a close call. Once we arrived back I climbed down and found Lance and Kitt waiting. "We couldn't find the cause of the explosion but we did find this." He said as he handed a strange-looking control stick to Conner and after a moment he said something about 'Wraith dragons' that instantly left me a little uneasy.
"Okay what's a wraith dragon and should I be worried?" I asked and after a quick explanation I went white as a sheet. Before anyone could stop me I blacked out.
Several hours passed and I was woken by a snort and as I opened my eyes I found Quiksilva looking down at me with what I swear was concern in his amber eyes. The moment he saw I was alright he nudged me with his snout. "Yeah…I'm awake." I told him as I rested my forehead on his for a long moment. Then I heard voices outside and I climbed to my feet, a little shaky and walked towards the voices. By the time I managed to step outside the stable I found Artha, Parm and Kitt having a heated discussion. As I listened I figured out that they were talking about breaking into the Dragon Eyes crews' hideout and I instantly stepped towards them, more than a little annoyed that they would even consider going after my friends.
"Why are you going after Moordryd and Cain? They're my friends." I said and everyone stared at me.
"You're up. Anyway they're not friends. I'm sure those two had something to do with the theft of four dragons yesterday in downtown Dragon City." Kitt said and I glared at her, crossing my arms as I did.
"Don't say that! Maybe you don't like them but Moordryd saved my life. Twice so far." I replied as I continued to glare at her until Artha stepped in.
"Wait back up a sec. He saved you twice?" He asked me as Parm and Lance stared at each other than me.
"When I passed out on the racetrack he brought me back to his compound and yesterday when I almost…fell." I told them as I stood there and after a few seconds Lance spoke surprising me.
"See I told you Moordryd's a good guy. Sometimes. When he wants to be." He said and I rolled my eyes at that. "But he might have stolen those dragons. The Dragon Eye crew does that pretty often." He added as an afterthought and I frowned before I walked towards Quiksilva. Angry I asked my dragon to get us back to the compound and gripping his neck he took off running. Ignoring my friends I decided to go back and find out what was really going on. By the time I arrived back I was holding my stomach as it growled and I realized that it had been ages since I had last eaten. Though I wasn't really sure how long ago I ate since I woke up on the racetrack and noticing that I wasn't looking so good Quiksilva slowed down. Eventually he walked the rest of the way as I whimpered and he stopped before his head turned slightly and fixed his amber eyes on me.
"I'm alright. Just hungry." I told him and he snorted before he began to walk again and pretty soon we reached a familiar gate. "Huh we must be here." I said as I looked up at it then I realized that there was no handle or doorknob. But it didn't matter because Quiksilva nudged the door with his snout and it opened instantly. Walking inside the door automatically closed behind us and as it did I jumped down and leant against my dragon as I groaned, weak from hunger and tired from my little mishap. As I walked towards the stables at the far end of the compound, closely followed by Quiksilva who stayed by my side, I found myself being stared at by Coershun and Decepshun who came over and nudged me.
"Hey you two." I said as I gave each of them a pat before I reached an empty stable and almost fell down. Very soon Quiksilva was sitting next to me, his head gently nudging my own and I gave him a weak smile and a pat on the head before I yawned. Lying back and getting comfortable I soon fell asleep beside my dragon, not realizing that someone had seen me walk inside and had decided to follow me. I didn't even hear them approach as I lay there, snuggled up against Quiksilva's side and pretty exhausted from everything I'd been through since waking up. If I had been even slightly awake I would have felt someone carefully shake my shoulder. When I didn't respond someone spread something soft over me, probably a blanket, before the footsteps receded and we were left alone. Time passed as I lay there and soon I began to dream and as I did I moved slightly in my sleep. Pretty soon I began to whimper and twitch as the dream took a darker turn and as I cried out in my sleep Quiksilva stirred and gazed down at my face. When I twitched again he gave a snort and getting no response except for a whimper he gently nudged my face with his snout. At first nothing happened and he tried again and I gasped as I suddenly shot upright. My heart beating wildly I looked at Quiksilva who gave another snort and nuzzled me and I calmed down a little from knowing he was there.
"I'm okay…just a bad dream." I told him and he stared at me for a full minute, his amber eyes staring directly into mine. "Alright it was more like a nightmare." I finally agreed and he nodded at me before he noticed the blanket and he nudged it with his snout which drew my attention away from my nightmare. "Hmm where'd this come from?" I said as I examined it and as I did I heard a voice and my head shot up.
"From me." Moordryd said as he walked over and noticing the stare I was giving him he stared back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sorry it's just…I'm a complete stranger and you're being so nice. Unlike what Artha and his friends told me." I replied and that's when I noticed Moordryd's grey eyes instantly narrow at the mention of Artha's name. "Did I say something wrong? I have a bad habit of saying whatever I want and…wow I remember that? But nothing else? Figures."
"Artha and I…aren't exactly friends. Never mind. So why were you hanging out at the stable brat's home?" He asked me and I sighed as I tried to explain.
"I woke up there after Quiksilva led me there. I thought they were nice until they started saying that you and your crew were thieves. I told them off and stormed out with Quiksilva and we wound up back here." I told him and just for a moment I thought his eyes looked off into the distance but then he looked down at me.
"Heh well I did save your life three times so far so you do owe me." He chuckled and I stood, annoyed at him for saying that.
"Excuse me but you saved me twice now. Once when I was out cold on the track and the second time when I almost fell. What's this third time?" I asked and he chuckled as I glared at him.
"I didn't tell my father about you stealing his dragon so that makes three. And believe me I am saving your life." Moordryd told me and for some reason that made sense. "Whatever." He added as I stretched my aching limbs.
"Okay fine then I owe you a lot. So what happens to me now? I can't go back there and frankly I don't want to. Can I stay here?" I asked him and he rubbed his chin, considering it and I glanced at Quiksilva who gave a snort. "Please?"
"Fine you can stay. Besides we could always use another crew member." He told me and I grinned as Quiksilva gave a snort clearly happy about me becoming part of the Dragon Eyes crew. "Of course you're going to have to earn your place." He said and I frowned slightly, a little unsure at what being in his crew involved and after he noticed the look I was giving him he grinned.
"So what do I need to do anyway because I've never been in a crew before?" I said as Moordryd started walking towards the entrance of the stable and I hurried to catch up leaving Quiksilva to watch me walk away. After a moment he stood and followed me as Moordryd introduced me to the other members of his crew. While I was introducing myself to Rancydd, Vizz, Swayy, Blarre and Prankk I saw five dragons watching from a short distance away. Interested Quiksilva wandered over and judging from the snorts and growls he made I guessed he was saying hello to them. "Hi guys." I said as they all eyed me and I started to get nervous, not sure what to say next until Cain showed up.
"So the dragon thief's back?" He asked and when I glared at him, he just stared back. Thankfully Moordryd interrupted before an argument could break out.
"Before you two start Quiksilva magged Rayne and carried her out of the compound so it's not really stealing if the dragon does the stealing. If it was that easy everyone would steal dragons." He said and I raised an eyebrow at him, a little surprised that he mentioned stealing. Quickly he changed the subject. "Never mind that now. Does my father know that Quiksilva's chosen a rider?"
"So far no but I don't know how long that'll last. He missed Quiksilva and Rayne escaping the compound yesterday through dumb luck probably." Cain told us and again I wondered what Moordryd's father was really like. Apparently pretty intimidating judging from the worried glances I saw between the crew members standing nearby. In minutes they went back to whatever they were doing before, some patrolling the compound and others taking care of their dragons, which left Cain, Moordryd and I to wander the compound. As we did Moordryd started asking more questions about me like where I was from and how I ended up on the racetrack.
"Like I said before I can't remember. Frankly I'm lucky to know my name. I must have hit my head pretty hard on something to forget so much. But I suppose I'll figure it out. Hopefully." I replied and I noticed Cain give me an odd look which I frowned at. "Hey I'm telling the truth." I added and before anyone could stop me I stormed off, leaving Moordryd to glare at his best friend.
"Cain!" He growled and Cain just shrugged at him. "Scales. We need her to trust us so she'll join our crew."
"You really think she knows something about the lost gauntlet?" Cain said as Moordryd watched me walk towards Quiksilva. "If she does know something she's not telling us." He commented and when his friend didn't answer he rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should ask her." He added and walked away before Moordryd had a chance to answer back.
"What is he going on about?" Moordryd said as he went after me. After a few minutes of searching he found me sitting beside Quiksilva in the stable, absent-mindedly stroking his snout as I sighed to myself. I was still thinking about how Cain hadn't believed me and I didn't notice Moordryd walk in until he was practically standing over me. When he coughed I tilted my head back to look at him and he noticed that I wasn't happy.
"What do you want? Come to tell me that I'm a liar too?" I said as I climbed to my feet and crossed my arms. "Because if you do I'll leave now." I added though it was a dumb threat since I had nowhere to go and Quiksilva technically wasn't mine either. For a few seconds Moordryd just stood there as I glared at him, frustrated that someone I had thought might be a friend didn't trust me. But then he grinned and that threw me as I stared back.
"Actually I thought maybe you'd want to like to go for a walk with me and Decepshun." He offered and that surprised me for a moment before I gave him a nod. Walking over to Quiksilva I was all set to climb onto his back when I heard Moordryd chuckle. I turned back to see him shake his head at me in amusement. "Why don't you just get him to mag you?" He asked and when I blinked, completely lost, he rolled his eyes at me. "You remember the black and silver energy that appeared the moment Quiksilva picked you up? That's magging."
"Um okay." I said as I looked at Quiksilva. "Okay Quiksilva mag me. Gently." I quickly added and I swear he was laughing at me before that same energy picked me up and set me down on his back. After a moment I grinned and looked down at my dragon. "Whoa that was cool!" I said and Moordryd laughed. After Moordryd magged onto Decepshun's back he headed for the huge gate from before and as we followed a short distance behind I couldn't help wondering just where we would end up first. But we didn't get far when I Quiksilva stopped abruptly and I looked around as he growled. "Huh? What's wrong boy?" I asked him as I noticed that Moordryd had continued on and when he noticed that I wasn't following him he turned slightly in his saddle.
"Why did you stop?" He asked as I looked at Quiksilva, who seemed to sense something, and I shrugged at him.
"I'm not sure. Quiksilva just stopped and now he won't budge." I replied as Decepshun walked over and that's when I heard something and for a moment I was obvious to Moordryd speaking and it wasn't until he waved a hand in front of my face that I almost fell off my dragon's back in surprise. "Whoa!" I yelped and he fixed me with an odd look. "Didn't you hear that? It sounded like a woman's voice." I asked him and he shook his head leaving me more than a little stunned. "Never mind. Let's just keep walking." But just as Decepshun started walking again I heard the same voice and this time it addressed me by name. I looked behind me and as I did something began to call me towards what I originally assumed was a dragon crews' compound. This time the voice blocked out everything else and I climbed down from Quiksilva's back and started walking towards the voice as it called to me, urging me to follow it. And so I did, even when my dragon gave a snort and tried to grab my sleeve in his teeth and pull me back, I firmly pushed him away and kept walking.
"That's really weird. Hey Rayne! Where are you going?" Moordryd called out as he watched me head towards a citadel and when I didn't respond he looked down at Decepshun who seemed as confused as her rider. "Maybe that blow to her head's making her act weird. Maybe we should…" He started to say as Decepshun walked towards me and Quiksilva but just as he was about to call out again everyone except me heard a low rumbling sound. As they listened the sound began to get louder and louder until the ground beneath us started to shake and just as Decepshun stopped the ground underneath me opened up with a massive and earth shattering crack and before Quiksilva had time to mag me back, I tumbled into the crevice.