Zhül's travel back to classes at Carramba High brought a strange sensation back to her, a new one for Antaakutsuath.
Why do you fear? She asked - right to the point as always with the words. Zhül sighed.
"Well, because..." She moved her hands around each other, nervously. Then she looked up to see a much larger, adult white dragon landing. He didn't seem all that big close up though, and Zhül laughed to herself. It was only because Antaakutsuath was still young and growing that she thought this ridable dragon was big!
"You've bonded a white!" Called Engell, landing on the turf near her and jumping down from the silvered white Ryslen born dragon he called his own. "Excellent."
"You're actually... just the person I needed to talk to, sir."
To allay her fears, Engell assured her that the pair of troublemaking girls had been sent packing. Literally - their parents knew when they were beat, and in lieu of actual punishment by the state, they opted to send them to a 'criminal camp' for disruptive teens.
"Well, that will either make them worse or nice," Zhül sighed with a smile, "I hope they learn from it."
"If they haven't, they will by the time your dragon is grown," Engell said. "She's.... going to be huge, isn't she?"
Zhül nodded with a big grin. "One of the biggest on their sands, in fact."
But I am not toooo big, am I? Asked Antaakutsuath. I will learn those loopyloops that you told me your friend likes.
With her first year of Earth studies finished, and among the top of the sophomore class that year, Zhül proudly stood among the others in the dragon riding class, as the endcap to a great graduation ceremony for the seniors. A good number of her friends in the dragoning classes were leaving that year - but they'd be in the community college system or even just getting a job as courier or pizza delivery until they could settle on something a bit more ... relevant.
In that year, though, Zhül's past crept up to meet her. Nayi was the first to notice the robed white-skinned men and women standing with their multiple arms crossing their tall chests. Antaakutsuath's tail lashed back and forth angrily. Protectively, she stood on her rooftop roost and mentally nudged her rider.
Go. Meet them. Speak to them! You've been practicing what to say for so long, now's your chance!
"Thank you, okay..." Zhül whispered to both her green friend and her dragon. She stepped down to the lobby, and bowed in the traditional greeting of her Order.
"The Spirit Seekers require your presence," said the one, and Zhül wasn't sure whether she liked his tone. "You were asked to return quickly, and we have discovered you here applying for ... summer schooling?"
"Yes!" Zhül said, suddenly. Her hearts were racing. What more could happen? "Yes, I've learned much about this culture and the multiverse, but I have so much left to learn. My sciences and arts grades really could use a bit of --"
"You will return and complete your duties to your Order, Zhül," said the one woman. "It is your duty, after all we raised you and sheltered you."
"And you never loved me," Zhül said. She had wanted it to come out as a hiss, or a growl, or a mean tone of some kind. She meant it that way. But... instead it was merely a flat statement of truth learned the hard way.
The trio of Spirit Seekers stood back, glancing from one to the other as though they'd never even thought of it.
"And you didn't want me to leave because you don't have someone who can raise your dead and get more funding and attention for you, any more, without me." Zhül again continued in a flat tone. She couldn't meet their eyes, hard copper colored eyes, but she watched them fidget. "I know you require me. I know your duties. But ... I have a duty to myself. I will stay here, as long as I want to, and when I'm ready to return and help the order, I will. But... you can't count on me to remain forever, even if I do return."
The trio sputtered, and finally the shortest of them (who was half a head shorter than Zhül) yelled, "what blasphemy is this? What are you saying, girl? You owe us your very life! Your livelyhood! If it weren't for the Order, you'd have been --"
"What, killed along with my parents? Did you know that they stayed with me because they loved me? I wasn't just forcing them to stay. I needed them. You didn't love me," she turned to the other two, "and I don't think you ever could. All you want is the Spirit Seekers to have their political sway."
Zhül began to pace. Nayi watched from the balcony above. The Zeddian's huge mop of hair drifted around like a black flag - or, more accurately, like a dark storm cloud following her around.
"So I'm going to stay here. On Twoarth, and learn. Stuff you never taught me, histories of other worlds and planets! And now I can reach them - I have bonded a dragon!" That stunned the trio even more. "Yes, and I intend to bring her back to her hatching place, maybe even to breed. She's big and strong, you've never seen the likes of this dragon. And you might not, unless you ... start acting nice to me."
Dumbfounded, agitated, and unsure of how to respond, the Zeddian priests turned to one another and spoke quietly. It was while they did so that Engell came into the lobby.
"Problem?" He asked simply. Zhül shook her head and smirked.
"Nope, not this time." She turned her attention back to the trio. "Thank you for your concern, but I will return on my own time. I hope that you find yourself another dead-speaker, soon. Maybe next time, you'll foster them into a proper home before starting to exploit them in the priesthood."
Two of her hands made 'shoo-shoo' motions. Abruptly the trio left, not even bothering to cast glares over their shoulders. As the doors swung shut behind them, and they vanished into the busy courtyard beyond, Zhül sighed and almost sank to the floor in relief.
"You did it!" Nayi squealed from above. She would have lept down to meet her, but even she wasn't that crazy. "You really signed up for summer school?"
Zhül nodded, "I ... wanted an excuse to stay. I mean, I don't have a place to stay unless I go 'home'."
"Wrong," Engell said, warmly. "You're a dragon rider, you've always got someplace to stay. Any one of the riders here will be more than happy to have you stay with them. Plus," he smirked, "Alabaster always has hotels and penthouses and ... you know, expensive investment property, to fill up. In fact..." he glanced around, "I've just bought this house where a number of other dragon riders live..."
