Young Writers Society

Lynch chuckled as he heard Roman's unsure tone, waiting at the other end of the tunnel in the alcove that his home was in. Surrounded on four sides with rock, it was a large clearing with vines and plants draping over the top of the area, sunlight leaking through the gaps of the leaves.

"This is my home." He called to Roman. "I've lived here all my life!"

Roman made it to the other end of the tunnel, looking around at Lynch's home. "This is very... nice," Roman said, with an uncertain tone. "Is there more to it?"

He glanced around a bit more -- and then realized that Webster had seemed to calm down a little bit.

"Yes. You obviously missed the largest part; it's just round this corner." Lynch said. "There's no need to fly around anymore. Why don't you give Webster a rest. There's a feed over there and they have plenty room to fly around."

He landed Spire and slid off her quickly. "Then I'll see if I can fit you with a spare mask of mine." Lynch pulled off the straps on Spire before she scrambled off to the feed.

Roman landed Webster, dismounted, and then delicately unhooked the harness from her back. "I'm sorry, girl. I don't know what's up with you, but I'll be sure to find out." He patted her scales, trying to smooth out any possible irritated areas. "Go along with Lynch's dragon, okay? There'll be some feed."

Roman then turned his attention to Lynch. "Thank you for this help, by the way. I really do appreciate it."

"No problem. Here, come in." Lynch said, walking past the corner of rock that shielded his house from their view.

He turned the corner and looked at his house. It was very simple, a two-story log cabin that seemed to be ages old, some vines hanging off the roof. Lynch turned back to glance at Roman.

"Me and my father built this ourselves," He said.

Roman looked around, in awe at the craftsmanship. "Wow," he said. "How long did it take you and him to build it? It looks... incredible."

He extended his hand and reached out to touch the wood. "Are you aware of the type of vines growing here? They're... extremely rare and beautiful, if I'm recalling my training correctly."

Lynch frowned and squinted, recalling what happened so long ago. "Well, we started when I was eleven and finished three years ago... So it took us about, I don't know, six years? I don't know anything about the vines, really."

Lynch ran his hand across the exterior of the house. He remembered when he and his father built it, years and years ago. He smiled at the faint memory.

Roman reached into his knapsack, pulling out a small book. "I work for a delivery service, but my part-time hobby is studying plants for teas and stuff. D'you mind if I take a small sample?"

"Sure, just as long as you don't take all of it." Lynch smiled lightly. "I work for myself. I make equipment and things for dragon riders; I bet I have a mask for you inside. I'll get one for you while you take a sample."

Lynch slipped into his home, softly closing the door.

Roman knelt down and grabbed at the end of some vines, snipping them off with his silver scissors. He then pocketed them.

"This is a really nice place," he mused to himself.

There was a large bang and a yelp of surprise before Lynch revealed himself from inside, slipping out the thin opening of the door, concealing the inside to Roman. In his hands, he held a brown mask made of leather. It had two small holes for Roman's eyes and the leather was slightly distressed and marked to let air in.

"Here, this looks like it would fit you," Lynch said, thrusting it out to Roman to take.

Roman took it, examining it by running delicate fingers over the leather before slipping the mask onto his face. "Wow, this fits perfectly," Romain said.

He let the air hang silent between them.

"What type of leather is this?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.

"This? I believe... I believe this is full-grain kangaroo leather, the toughest leather in the world. It's tensile strength is ten times higher than cowhide." Lynch said, smiling nervously. "It's the first mask of it's kind I've sold or given out. Hope it works for you."

Lynch looked around his clearing, glancing at the light shining through the vines, and he leaned up against his house, deep in thought.

"You okay?"

Lynch sighed, frowning. "Yeah... My father was the one who found these vines. He was the one who put them up there." Lynch smiled faintly. "He was an explorer."