The dragon sailed over the tree
line, rustling the leaves as it passed them by. Kip pulled up on the reins as
they headed for an oncoming slope.
“Come on Jumper! Up! Up! You can
do it girl.” She yelled into the dragon’s ear.
Kip let Jumper the ascent. She hung
onto the reins and felt as Jumper angled upward, surging forward with broad
strokes of her emerald-colored wings. Gravity tugged at Kip, trying it best to
pull her from her seat, but she clutched on looking forward. A spectacularly
pine tree rose above the rest of the forest and Jumper was headed straight for
it. Kip laughed nervously.
“Jumper? Come on girl, spin!”
The tree closed in quickly. Just
as the dragon’s snout was about to plunged headfirst into the tree, Jumper
tucked her wings. Kip pressed her body against the dragon’s neck as it began to
spiral. The world flashed upside down in a mix of green, brown, and blue. Kip
held her breath the entire time. They leveled out with a jerk from Jumper. To
Kip’s relief and excitement they were over the rise in the forest, the pine
tree now behind and to the left.
“You did it jumpy!” Kip exclaimed
with a tone of joy mixed in with more than enough relief. “I knew you could do
it!”
Kip’s face split into a wide smile from ear to
ear. The two had been practicing the spiral dodge for some time, and it was the
first time they had done it without incident. Jumper registered the tone in
Kip’s voice and responded by shaking her head and swishing her tail. Kip felt a
small rumble throughout Jumper’s body as well.
“Now, let’s try one last time on
the way back home.” Kip turned the leather reins wrapped around Jumper’s
muscular, scaled neck.
Jumper turned with grace as Kip
stood up on her stirrups. It was more than dangerous, but Kip was feeling
pretty good. She’ll catch me if I fall.
She’s done it before. The duo headed back down the slope.
Now that they had about-faced,
Kip’s view had changed from rolling hills and forests, to a plain stretching to
the edge of Revaltree. The cottages for the farmers speckled out about two
miles from the large stockade of the outer rim of the city. Inside, although
not visible from her vantage point, Kip knew, there was a bustle of activities
complete with vendors, farmers selling produce, butcher shops, stables, and the
blacksmith off near the back. Beyond that rose the strong towers and buttresses
of the actual castle in all its grandeur of waving pennants, black-shingled
roofs, and to the left of the main keep were the massive dragon barns, small brown
blobs from the sky.
“Let’s do this right again, eh
Jumpy?” Kip whispered. Jumper responded by shaking her head back and forth. Kip
leaned back, just to be on the safe side.
Don’t need have her stab me through the throat with her horn.
It was much more difficult to
pick out the tall pine coming down the slope. The backdrop of the forest rather
than the sky helped it to blend in with its surroundings. I’ll Jumper handle this. Her senses are better than mine. Kip
patted Jumper on the neck before she gripped the reins and sunk down in her
seat once more. The pine tree rose out of nowhere, barely a hundred feet in
front of the duo. Flying downhill had already increased Jumper’s speed, and
when she tucked her wings she dropped like a sack of potatoes. Kip sucked in a
lungful of breath and hung on for dear life.
Jumper grazed her left wing
against the branches as they shot by, knocking them off balance. Kip slid in
her saddle, desperate to hold on. Her grip loosened as they spiraled again and
again at an awkward downward angle. Everything passing by was a blur. Her hair
flew out of its band and slapped her in the face. Her head felt like it was
about to explode. Then with a tremendous jolt they were level Kip left the seat
of Jumper for a moment before dropping hard onto it.
“Land jumper, land,” she coughed
out, lungs sucking in air. They circled for a moment before Jumper found a
clearing large enough for her, and they descended. The moment Jumper’s paws
touched the lush green grass of the quaint clearing, Kip slipped out of her
saddle and plopped to the ground. Her knees were or wobbly than she had
expected and she tripped to her knees. She sat there for several minutes,
trying to keep her stomach down. The clearing was still spinning in her view,
but Kip managed to spot a waterhole which Jumper was drinking from like there
was no tomorrow, and she dragged herself to the edge of it.
Kip plunged her head into the
water, and came up spluttering from the shock of cold. Then she trust her head
back in, holding it there for a good two minutes. She slammed her eyes shut,
trying to stop the dizzy spell. She pulled herself from the water and took
several deep breaths. The world was fairly calm down. The only motion was the
ripples falling from her face and hair, and the woodpecker pecking away across
the waterhole. Jumper’s eyes were wide, glancing back and forth from the
woodpecker to Kip to the woodpecker.
Kip took one look at herself in
the reflection of the stilling water. Her auburn hair was in a sopping tangled
mess, with her hairband twisted around a few strands. Her cheeks were rosy, her
wide lips pursed. Not that bad
considering all the times we’ve crashed. Kip turned to Jumper who was still
prancing back and forth on her paws, watching the woodpecker. Kip laid a hand
on Jumper’s wet nose.
“Hey girl, let’s go.”
Jumper turned and looked Kip
over, as if giving her an inspection. She sniffed Kip’s hand and hair, then
took a step back as if the investigation was complete and Kip was free to go.
But just as she took a step forward, Jumper extended her big pink tongue, and
gave Kip a hearty lick on her face.
“Hey!” Kip said in a playful, kiddish
voice, “How dare you insult the royal family like that?” She took a clump of
dirt from the edge of the water and hurled it at the dragon. It splattered
across Jumper’s underside of her whitish-green neck. Jumper Shook her head and
barred her teeth, rising up on her hind legs.
“Wide open target, eh?” Kip
smirked, pelting Jumper’s belly with the mud.
Jumper let out a small growl,
followed by a sort of whimper similar to that of a dog, then she rose of and
jumped into the water hole, head first. The splash sent water cascading onto
Kip who held up her arms to shield the splash.
“You little brat,” she hollered,
jumping into the water.
Jumper hopped to the side,
sending a small wave that knocked Kip from her feet. She came up with hair all
over her eyes. Wiping the auburn hair away, she ran to Jumper, slipped
underneath the dragon, and smacked her. Jumper’s eyes went wide and she stuck
her head between her two front legs. Kip meanwhile slipped around the other
side and hopped into her saddle.
Jumper’s head shot up, confused
for a second. She swung it back and looked Kip straight in the eyes. With a
defiant buck she sent Kip into the water once more, before crashing to her side
and sticking her legs up in the air. Kip pushed herself up and rubbed the dragon’s
belly.
“You’re just a big baby, aren’t
you?”
In response, Jumper stuck her
tongue over one side of her mouth. Kip laughed.
Points: 455
Reviews: 359
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