The days following the events of Yazuac were pretty smooth for our companions.
During that time, Brom taught Eragon about Magic and the Ancient Language and, like he promised, Erik helped the former farmer as best as he could… while also listening to the storyteller's lessons. However, it was quickly proven that Erik, while good in Ancient Language, couldn't use the Magic in it… at least the ELEMENTAL part of it such as summoning Fire (Brisingr).
A schedule was made for Eragon : during the day, he would learn new words in the Ancient Language (with the help of Erik of course) AND training his magic… by trying to levitate a pebble from his hand. And when the night come, the young Rider would train in swordsmanship with Brom or have some lesson from Erik.
What lesson ?
Eragon had asked the Massive Bear to teach him how to be able to defend himself in case he becomes blind… or couldn't see his opponents. Erik had accepted and at first, it would be a lie to say that Eragon was very good in this.
But as the days goes by, both Brom and Erik could see that Eragon was slowly becoming better under their tutelage. Saphira, herself, was proud of how her rider was becoming.
Speaking of the Dragoness, herself was receiving lesson from Erik… in combat. While she was swift and agile in her moves, she still lacked strength and so it was why our hero decided to train her : to make her stronger. Like Eragon, she had proven to be a good student and, still like her rider, she was becoming stronger than before… which made her 'mentor' proud.
However, as the group came closer and closer to their next destination, Brom and Eragon grew more and more worried about Erik and Saphira. Why ? Because they were afraid of getting caught ! The two humans even went as far as thinking about a way to hide Saphira's gorgeous sapphire scales and his snow-white fur !
In response to this, the White Bear and the Blue Dragoness jumped into the river and it had been fun to see the two humans cursing them for their stupidity. To further annoy them, Saphira chose to laid down to take a sunbath, making her scales shined like the jewel she was named after.
Eragon and Brom had looked annoyed at the Dragoness before turning their heads to Erik who was still in the water. With a grin, the massive White Bear came out of the river… before shaking his fur, sending water everywhere ! Another set of curses escaped Brom's and Eragon's mouths for getting wet and Erik and Saphira shared a good laugh.
In the end, it was decided that Erik and Saphira would stay hidden by using their surroundings… while trying to stay close in case there was trouble.
Which was good because Erik was NOT looking forward to enter this place anyway.
Anyway, after days of travel, they finally reached Daret, which was a very small village south of Yazuac and west of the Ninor River. After wishing good luck to their human companions, Erik and Saphira went into hiding.
Where ?
Behind some large boulders close to the village, but thankfully far enough to be out of sight. The massive Beasts settled down to wait for Eragon's call… something Erik knew would come eventually. At first, things were silent between the two as they waited for Eragon's call until Erik decided to break the silence.
"Saphira ?" he called her out.
'Yes ?' she answered him with curiosity shining in her eyes.
"Want to play a game ?" Erik asked her with a tiny smile.
'Why ?' she asked him, intrigued.
"To kill time...and besides, I'm curious to see if Dragons are actually as intelligent as Brom claims they are~" Erik answered with a toothy smirk and a sweet tone.
Saphira shot him a glare and a playful snarl as she answered 'Is that a challenge ?'
"What if it is ?~" Erik asked back, still smirking.
'Then I will gladly accept it !' Saphira snarled back, but there was no heat in her tone. Instead, she looked playful and somewhat curious of what he had in mind.
"Wonderful ! Now, I heard that you Dragons are really good at riddles... Let's see if it's true..." Erik began to say with a smirk before opening his jaws to say
"There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first... Who are the two sisters ?"
Saphira went deep in thought, her eyes narrowed in concentration while Erik looked on with a smirk on his face. Where did he heard this riddle ? He didn't remember where and when but he still remembered the riddle clearly. Beside, it was a pretty good one so it was worth to keep.
Then, he regained his senses when he saw the young Dragoness turned her head to look at him with a confident look on her face
'The sisters are Day and Night !'
"Damn it..." Erik swore to himself with slumped shoulders, causing Saphira to smirk in triumph.
'My turn : Only one color, but not one size, stuck at the bottom yet easily flies, present in sun,but not in rain, doing no harm, feeling no pain… Who am I ?'
Damn, that was also a good one.
Closing his eyes, Erik went deep in thought as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Only one color… but not one size… stuck at the bottom yet easily flies… " the Bear muttered to himself with a frown, ignoring the fact Saphira looked smug.
"Present in sun but not in rain..." What can appear in the sun but not in a rain ? There was nothing… except…
With a smirk, Erik reopened his eyes, staring at Saphira as he answered calmly "You are a shadow..."
Saphira huffed in annoyance and it was Erik's turn to look smug.
'Nice guess...'
"Thank you ! Now let's see..." the Bear began to say before thinking about which riddle he could use.
But then, after a second, he found one… based on a certain book he also enjoyed reading as a human.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes out first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter..."
Saphira's blue eyes narrowed again as he finished saying the riddle and Erik watched as the Dragoness went deep in thought. Silently thanking Tolkien for having made such good riddles in his books, Erik patiently waited for Saphira to either answer him… or admit defeat. With a strong hope for the latter.
Unfortunately for him, the young Dragoness was stubborn and a few seconds later, she answered him with a smirk
'The answer is… the dark...'
A groan escaped his mouth as he pressed his face into a hand while Saphira preened in triumph at having found the correct answer.
'Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters'
Saphira's riddle froze him as it stunned him: this enigma comes from Tolkien's 'Hobbit'! How did she know it ?! However, to hide his disbelief, he quickly went deep in thought. It was an act of course but if he answered too quickly, she might get suspicious. He took his time to answer her and Saphira's confidence in his defeat was clearly showing as she was looking at him with triumph and slight smugness.
After thirty seconds, he decided it was time to deflate her smugness and answered her with a smirk
"The answer, my dear, is… the wind !"
Like he predicted, Saphira's smugness deflated like snow under sun and it was, once again, his turn to look triumphant.
'Grrrr… well played !' she reluctantly congratulated him with a nod.
Erik nodded at her in acknowledgment before speaking again "I never was, am always to be… No one ever saw me, nor ever will, and yet, I am the confidence of all who live and breathe... What am I ?"
Once he finished, Erik would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't enjoying seeing Saphira thinking about his riddle. Like him with hers, she was taking her time trying to find the answer. Like earlier, he hoped that she would admit defeat… but no.
'You are 'tomorrow' !'
"Oh, flute !" Erik grumbled as he slapped his face with a hand, much to the amusement of the young Dragoness beside him.
For a long moment, they challenged each other with riddles and each time, both of them answered correctly… much to their annoyance.
However, the game soon stopped.
Why ?
Because some times later, the game stopped and Erik was forced to look as Saphira was pacing repeatedly, sometimes snarling and glancing toward the village.
It didn't take a genius to understand that she was worried for her Rider. And while he could understand her feeling, it was annoying him to see her passing back and forth like an idiot.
"Saphira… Calm down !" Erik told the Dragoness with an annoyed look on his face.
Saphira did stop her pace but quickly looked at him with agitation 'Calm down ?! Nothing good ever comes when he's out of my sight, Valhir : either trouble finds him or he recklessly seeks it out ! I am SO tempted to have Brom tie him to my saddle !'
Our hero had to use all his will-power to not smirk in amusement as an image of Eragon being tied to Saphira's saddle passed through his mind : it would surely be a sight to see… and a fun one at that ! Shaking his head, the massive White Bear looked back at the agited Dragoness before saying calmly.
"While it is true that Eragon is a trouble magnet-"
'And that's putting it lightly !'Saphira bluntly commented with a huff.
"-but he is young… and they tend to make mistakes… but thankfully, they also tend to learn from them…" Erik resumed as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"For the best or for the worst..." he added in a whisper but it was loud enough for Saphira to hear him.
And, much to his annoyance, it did nothing to calm her down. But soon, Saphira's head sharply turned toward the village and Erik understood that it must be Eragon.
"What's going on, Saphira ?" The Massive Bear asked her with concern but she didn't answered him.
'They are returning… He said that everything turned all right…' the young Dragoness answered with a growl.
"But you don't believe him..." Erik added with a raised eyebrow.
' ...'she chose to stay silent.
"Saphira… Something is clearly bothering you… Speak to me..." Erik gently told her as he gestured for her to come closer… which she did after a moment of hesitation.
'Eragonis my rider…but he nevertried to ride me…I…I feel like hedoesn't careaboutme...' Saphira finally said as she sat right next to the Massive White Bear.
Seeing how sad she looked, Erik's heart broke a bit and gently, he used a arm to pull her against him in a gentle embrace.
"I'm sure Eragon cares about you Saphy… but I agree that his behavior so far is unacceptable… You must confront him soon… otherwise I will !" Erik sternly said to the young Dragoness in his arms.
Saphira stared at him with wide eyes before asking 'Saphy ?'
Erik smiled warmly down at her before opening his mouth to answer "Saphira… You are the little sister I never had… I would do anything for you… even putting some sense into that stupid rider of yours..."
Saphira snorted at the last part but still, through the link, our hero could feel warmth and gratefulness aimed at him.
'Thank you… brother...'
Nodding his head, Erik's ears then twitched as he heard the sound of horses coming their way.
"Now we should go see them..." Erik said to the Dragoness who nodded in agreement before the two of them rose from the ground.
It was at this moment that Brom and Eragon appeared. Erik nodded at them before glancing at Saphira… who was approaching her rider with a serious expression on her face.
Yep, Eragon was in for it !
The former farmer barely had the time to dismount his horse when the dragoness swept his legs out from under him with her tail before pinning him to the ground, under her talons. Erik would be lying to himself if he said he was not amused by the Dragon Rider's current expression.
"Saphira! What is your problem ?" Eragon loudly asked his dragon with anger and surprise clear in his tone.
Knowing that the two needed their privacy, Erik looked away from them to look at Brom who was staring at the scene with a neutral expression on his face.
"How was the trip ?" he asked the storyteller with curiosity.
"We couldn't enter the village… they were too wary of us but they accepted to give us supplies… We can continue to Teirm now..."
"Good to know..." Erik replied with a nod.
"What about you ? Weren't you too bored ?" Brom asked him with a curious eyebrow raised.
"Nah ! We had a game of riddles so we had fun… at least, until Saphira went all mad about Eragon's safety..." Erik retorted with a snort.
Brom hummed in response before looking over at Eragon… who looked ashamed somehow.
"Well ?" the storyteller asked him knowingly.
"She wants me to ride her tomorrow..." Eragon answered lamely.
"About time you do !" Erik huffed in slight annoyance.
While Saphira shot him a grateful look, her rider looked… scared. Yep, Eragon seemed afraid of riding Saphira. Sadly, as a Dragon Rider, he will have to fly sooner or later, either he liked it or not.
Brom considered it for a moment before answering with shining eyes
"Well, you have the saddle. I suppose that if the two of you stay
out of sight, it won't be a problem !"
Saphira briefly glanced at the storyteller before looking back expectantly at Eragon.
"But what if you're attacked ? Or there's an accident ? I won't be able to get there in time and-" Eragon began to say but then groaned as Saphira pressed harder on his chest, stopping his words.
Brom and Erik smiled at this before the storyteller spoke again with a smile "It's worth the risk... You need to learn how to ride her anyway… Think about it this way: with you flying ahead and looking at the ground, you'll be able to spot any traps, ambushes, or other unwelcome surprises !"
Eragon still looked hesitant so Erik stepped in with bared teeth "Eragon, let me tell you this : if you don't ride Saphira tomorrow, so help me, I will toss you off a cliff !"
The former farmer flinched at the threat while Saphira shot a look toward the massive White Bear but it did nothing to deter the fierce look he was giving Eragon.
"ALRIGHT ! I will do it ! There, happy ?!" Eragon cried out to both Saphira and Erik.
The Dragoness nodded her head with a satisfied expression on her face while Erik retorted seriously "I am...because now I won't have to hear Saphy's complaints about you anymore !"
The last part was said in a teasing tone and, ignoring the amused humans, Saphira shot him a fierce glare while hissing 'I don't complain !'
"Sure, keep telling yourself that, Saphy~" Erik replied teasingly with a snort which caused the young Dragoness to growl at him.
" 'Saphy' ?" Eragon asked them both with a shit grin on his face as he looked back and forth between them.
"My nickname for the lovely Dragoness over there~" Erik answered while pointing at the still glaring Saphira.
"What about you ? Do you have a nickname ?"
Saphira's eyes shined wickedly at this while Erik shot her a warning look.
'Yes… it is Fluff-Ball~'
Erik's left eye twitched at the nickname and he shot a glare toward a laughing Eragon… which quickly shut him up.
" 'Fluff-Ball' ? Really ?" he asked the Dragoness with a blank look on his face.
'Don't call me Saphy again in public and I won't call you 'Fluff-Ball'… Fair ?'
"Fair..." Erik retorted with a nod.
Afterwards, Eragon once again trained in swordsmanship with Brom… but this time with Zar'rok, the storyteller's sword. The two of them trained for some time until they decided it was enough and prepared themselves for a good night of sleep.
Erik, before he joined them into Dreamland, was thinking about tomorrow and smiled as he looked toward Saphira and Eragon : it will be their first official flight and he was proud of them. With a yawn, he closed his eyes before waiting for Morpheus to claim him.
(To be continue…)