Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 12, 2024 19:44:56 GMT -5
Trey looked where Austin pointed, spotting his cup, a little behind and beside him — and with another air wyvern trying to stick its nose in it, just as Austin had predicted.
“Hey!” Trey reached to snatch the cup at the same time his wyvern ran forward, snapping his teeth threateningly. Trey's heart stopped — his wyvern wasn't going to end up in another fight already, was he?
Thankfully not. The little air wyvern took one look at Trey's and turned tail with a terrified yip. Trey's wyvern stopped his pursuit immediately and snorted, as if to say, You better run.
Trey let out a breath. His wyvern turned his head toward him, then bounced over excitedly. Trey smiled and tossed him a mouse. “Here. You definitely earned this.”
His wyvern snatched up the fallen mouse. It was nearly the size of his head, but he only chewed a few times before swallowing it down. Then he looked up and asked for more with that same image.
Trey gave him two more, and he ate them both in the same fashion. After the third, Trey stood up. “More later,” he promised. “Let's see if we can get more measures done first.”
His wyvern tilted his head, so Trey sent him an image of him using the measuring tape to clear things up.
Then he hurried after Austin. “Did you finish all of your measurements?” he asked when he caught up.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 12, 2024 20:24:18 GMT -5
"I can help you check, if you want," Trey offered. He gave his wyvern a mouse as well, least he get jealous of Austin's wyvern. Then he looked around until he spotted his bag. "I'm just going to grab my backpack first. Be right back."
He made his way over to his bag, his wyvern hurrying after him. But just before they reached it, more trouble came knocking.
A boy stepped into Trey's path, arms crossed and a fierce scowl on his face. “Did your wyvern attack mine?” he demanded.
Trey blinked. “I— What?”
The boy leaned into Trey's space. “Did. Your. Wyvern. Attack. Mine?”
“O-of course not,” Trey stuttered. “He's been with me the whole time, and he's only been attacked.”
“That's not what Zeus told me. He says that wyvern attacked him.” He pointed down at Trey's wyvern.
It took Trey a moment to understand, too caught up on the name the boy had used. Zeus. Greek god of the sky. It was a fitting name for an air wyvern.
Which, it turned out, was what the boy had. And not just any air wyvern. It was the same one that had tried to steal Trey's mice. Trey recognized it because of its vivid red-orange sunset eyes. It was standing at the boy's side, glaring at Trey's wyvern, who stared back calmly.
Trey swallowed. "He didn’t attack. He was just protecting his food. So, if you'll excuse me." He went to step around, but the boy copied his step, staying in front of him.
"I'm not done with you yet. I think you should hand over those remaining mice of yours to make up for the fright your wyvern gave mine."
Trey's hand tightened on his cup. "Why can't you just ask Mrs. Kimberly for more mice?"
"Don't wanna. Gimme." He tried to snatch the cup, but Trey hopped backward out of reach.
And then his wyvern really did start a fight, lunging at Zeus. The air wyvern squealed as Trey's wyvern easily flipped him onto his back and pinned him there.
"Hey!" The boy made to stomp on Trey's wyvern's tail.
"Don't!" Trey shoved him, throwing the boy's aim off. His wyvern quickly released Zeus and scurried behind Trey.
The boy turned on Trey, looking ready for a fight.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 12, 2024 20:38:45 GMT -5
Austin would have missed the trouble brewing had it not been for his wyvern. He guessed that their senses must have been better than humans, even right after hatching, for in the middle of eating, he paused and looked up. Austin figured he was just taking a break and figuring out how to eat the mouse. But when he continued to stare in one direction, he glanced up to see what it was. He spotted Trey easily, and he spotted his backpack that he was going to go get. He also saw the kid blocking his way. He watched for a minute, and when it was clear this wasn't a friendly chat, he was up on his feet. The food cup was placed on the floor, left in case his wyvern wished to stay and eat while he went to go give back-up. He quickened his approach when the jerk tried stomping Big Boy's tail.
While he had no doubt Trey could handle himself (... okay there were some doubts, but not to the point where he thought his roommate was defenseless), Austin couldn't stop himself from stepping in. He might not be able to do anything if his wyvern got into a fight, but he would be damned if he let his friends get dragged into one. "What's all this then?" he asked, stepping up beside Trey, glancing the other student up and down. Then to the wyvern that was pinned. "Oh, I know him. He was trying to forage food for himself a second ago. Too bad he didn't know it was already taken. Say, I hope he's told you he's hungry, because he'll find himself in a lot of fights if he keeps trying to sneak some from others. You heard Mrs. Kimberly. They're territorial, even at this age. And I'm sure there's plenty for him in the chest still. Have you had a chance to go get any?" At that last statement, he made sure to make eye contact with the clearly angry boy. While he smiled, there was a trace of "I dare you" laced in with his friendly conversation.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 12, 2024 21:20:21 GMT -5
Austin watched the other boy leave, only turning when he was sure whatever fight was trying to start was well and truly done. "Well, for starters, you're the Headmaster's son. That's a target enough," he answered, even though he wasn't really being asked. "And then there's the fact that you're, well, kind of a small guy. No offense by that. Once we start training and you get good at cross-country, that'll change in a heartbeat. Trust me."
They returned to their original place. Austin's wyvern had, in fact, been distracted by the food left behind. While he had been distracted by the sound of Trey getter picked on, he didn't care much about going with his Rider to help. But Austin was glad. If a fight had happened, the less wyvern's around to get stepped on, the better. "Sorry if I overstepped myself there," he apologized, taking his seat once more. "I'm sure you could have handled it. I'm just used to stepping in with situations like this. My old high school had a bunch of jerks in it."
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 13, 2024 8:33:06 GMT -5
Austin listened. He was used to his fair share of bullies. With his growth spurt so early, it made him an easy target for teasing. The only difference for him was that he has always been active in some kind of sport, helping him to bulk up and be both tall and sturdy. Most people that tried to make him a target found that it wasn't as easy as they thought it would be, and eventually the problem disappeared. But for Trey, he knew it was different. He was small, and he didn't mean that in a insulting way. He was small and on the quiet side who enjoyed the calmer things.
"Having the wyvern won't stop the bullies," he told him. "If anything, it may make it worse. Like I said, you're a prime target. People will believe you might be getting special treatment just because your mom runs the place. So they'll be gunning for you more than anyone." He reached over and placed a hand on his roommate's shoulder, grinning. "And we're going to make sure you'll be able to handle all of them on your own. And until then, you got me."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 13, 2024 16:17:46 GMT -5
"Hm. Alright." Trey handed over his notecard and pencil and got started.
The next few minutes passed quickly, with Trey feeling a little more at ease with each passing one. He was able to measure his wyvern’s full length, and with Austin's help, the wingspan — a shocking thirty-two inches. That span wasn't at all obvious while the wings were tucked up neatly against his body.
He helped Austin re-measure his little air wyvern next, mostly to make sure he had the proper wingspan — he didn't — but also for his own peace of mind. If the teacher was asking them to do this, then it must be important. It could be disastrous if something was incorrect.
Finally, they made their way across the room to the scale to weigh them. They had a twelve pound earth wyvern and an eight pound air wyvern — both average weights for newly hatched wyverns, according to Trey's book
With all of that done, they returned to their spot by the wall. But they had no sooner sat down and gotten comfortable when Mrs. Kimberly called to the whole class.
“I need everyone's attention, please. Attention.” She waited until all eyes — human and wyvern — were on her before continuing. “Has everyone finished measuring and weighing their wyvern? Is anyone stuck on a certain area of that task?” She looked closely at everyone, confirming they were all finished. “And did you all write the information down, either on the notecards I provided or your own paper?”
At that, several people tried to subtly pull out pen and paper and start writing.
“That's what I thought.” Mrs. Kimberly huffed. She waited until all the pens and pencils were away again. “All right, students. You have one more ‘boring’ task to complete before we get to the fun stuff.” She gestured to the four chests behind her. They were all closed now, with a clipboard atop each one.
“There is one clipboard for each element. I would like you to line up and one at a time transfer the information you've gathered over the last ninety minutes onto a clipboard. Are there any questions?”
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 13, 2024 17:16:26 GMT -5
"Not sure." Trey looked around, but got distracted from his attempts to count when Mrs. Kimberly started talking again.
“All right, come on and line up. Those of you with air wyverns, please line up at chest one. Those with fire wyverns can line up at chest two. Earth wyverns at chest three, and water at chest four.”
As everyone started moving, Mrs. Kimberly added one more request. “And if they are willing, I recommend everyone place their wyvern on their shoulder. It is also encouraged that you have them there anytime you are moving around indoors. Fights are far more likely at close quarters, but that likelihood drops considerably if the wyvern is physically connected to their bonded partner. However, if your wyvern is not yet willing to sit on you, do not force it. They will do this only when they trust you.”
Trey stopped walking toward chest three and crouched down beside his wyvern, many others doing the same around the room. “What do you think?” he asked the little guy. “You wanna come up?” He patted his shoulder for emphasis.
His wyvern looked from Trey's eyes to his shoulder and back, then tilted his head. He needed a clearer message, so Trey sent him an image of him on Trey's shoulder, then offered his arm as a ramp. The rest was up to the little wyvern.
A minute passed, then two. Finally, the wyvern stepped forward, but didn't start climbing. Instead, he gave Trey's hand a gentle nudge and made a little “mrr” noise that Trey felt was meant to be comforting.
Trey couldn't hide his disappointment, even after looking around and seeing that he wasn't the only one who's wyvern didn't want to climb up. In fact… Trey blinked and looked closer. The majority of wyverns still on the floor were… green.
“Oh.” Trey looked back at his wyvern. “Earth. You don't want to leave the earth.” It wasn’t a lack of trust. It hadn’t even been a refusal. He was just unsure about leaving the ground, the source of his power.
“It's okay,” Trey told him, speaking with his words and his thoughts. “You don't have to. But if you do, I promise I won't let you fall.”
Another moment passed, and then his wyvern climbed his arm to his shoulder. Trey smiled. He stood carefully, both of them adjusting to the new situation. Then Trey joined the earth line, the only one who's wyvern had agreed to sit on his shoulder.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 13, 2024 17:58:06 GMT -5
At the instruction to pick their wyverns up, Austin made a quick dive to scoop up his before he had a chance to scamper away. He thought that it shouldn't be a problem to keep the little guy there. He was wrong. Grey Guy stayed for maybe half a second before he got the same sensation of free falling again. Quicker this time, he managed to grab hold of his wyvern before it could launch itself into the air. This fall would certainly injure him for sure.
Stay, Austin tried to tell him. How was he supposed to get it across that the fall would hurt without being morbid about it? Even if it was a creature, he couldn't imagine dark imagery of a broken leg would be an appropriate thing to send. A pale pink eyes looked up at him, the same sensation returning, with a stronger sense of air blowing across his face. Austin wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew he was an air wyvern, but was this how they communicated? By the feeling of wind? Or was this just the only way the little one could describe what he wanted? He wanted to jump, that was for certain, but how did he convince him that jumping wasn't a good idea right now?
He tried once more to see if his wyvern would listen and try to stay on his shoulder on his own. He did for a little longer, but his attention snagged on something else, and it had him wanting to go elsewhere. So, to try to prevent another jump, Austin moved him so he was cradling the wyvern in his arms instead. This way, he could at least distract the little guy with head scratches.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 13, 2024 19:52:42 GMT -5
Austin found himself with the same problem. He had been so focused on everything else that had happened during the class, he hadn't stopped to think what his wyvern's name would be. It couldn't be Grey Guy forever, even though he was sure there was nothing stopping him from using that as a real name. No, he wanted something different, something better. Luckily, from the looks of some other students, there were plenty of unnamed wyverns still. So he left the name blank for now, making a note to come back and fill it in as soon as he could.
So, naturally, that was the first thing he asked when he and Trey met back up. "Did you come up with a name for your wyvern?" he asked. "Because I completely forgot about it. Funny how that detail could slip my mind, seeing as we'll have these guys for the rest of our lives. You think they already have names and we have to figure them out?"
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 15, 2024 12:22:30 GMT -5
Austin, knowing he didn't have time to be picky, started whispering out any names he saw that related to their elements. Some were basic terms that really didn't sound like names. Others, though, were of different origins and had at least a little complexity to their meanings. He tried to remember as many as he could, but knew that they'd have to have the final picks once he had put his phone away.
"Hey, look, Zeus, too bad that one's taken," he muttered. "Vega, Notus, Zephyre... Heath, Orion - that one's pretty cool-, Keir, Nemus, uh... Silas. Anything catching you're attention?"
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