Chapter 4: A New Home

Savra's new life was quite comfortable. It lounged around the house most of the time, or outside in the grass, and would receive lots of attention from all the members of its new family.

On a breezy summer afternoon Savra was sitting out in the grassy yard, near the family home. Over in the distance Savra heard a voice shout.

"Savra!" Siran called out, as she had many times before. It was a name Savra was growing accustomed to hearing.

"Savra," said none other than Savra.

"You can TALK?!" Siran said to Savra, but all she got back was a look that suggested she was mistaken.

"Savra," she said again as she knelt in front of the little dragon.

"Savra," it replied, slightly smoother than last time. She placed thumb and index finger on her chin, "Siran." She didn't get a response. "Siran." She said again.

"Siran." Savra said. Siran was ecstatic. She kept this up for the next hour, teaching Savra to say lots of different words. Her brother noticed the two of them and grew curious, so he walked over.

"What are you two up to?" He asked. Siran grinned.

"Oh, nothing much," she said with a smirk on her face. "I'm just teaching Savra how to talk.*

"What? No way, you're lying," he said.

"I'll prove it," she replied. Siran looked directly at Savra and said, "Savra." Nothing happened so she tried again, "Savra."

"Savra," said the curious little dragon.

"Woah, I guess you weren't kidding!" her brother said. "Actually, is that all it can say? I mean I don't know if that would be considered talking, you know?" Siran looked displeased by her brother's words.

"No, I don't know. Savra can say other things, you know," she said. "Just… not together. Yet."

"Why not? Have you tried?" he replied.

"Well duh, that's what I just said," Siran said as she turned away and whispered, "dummy."

"I heard that!" her brother said. "Gods, you're so annoying sometimes."

Later that day, Siran and Audrey took Savra into town while Siran held him in her arms. The closer you got to the center of town, the closer together the buildings became. The roads were either made of stone or brick in town, and outside of town all the roads were just dirt. All of the buildings were made of wood which was easily the most abundant resource in the area.

Two women exited the local eatery onto the main stone road as Siran, Audrey, and Savra were passing by.

"Hey Sarah, Sam! Hi!" said Audrey as he walked closer to the two women.

"Heeeeeey" they both responded in unison.

"Wait a second, that's the animal that was trying to steal my pies before!" Sarah exclaimed. Savra saw her glaring at him and held on tighter.

"Sorry, Savra must have been really hungry before we took it in," said Siran.

"Savra," said Savra.

"Woah, it talks?" Sam said wide-eyed while Sarah glared curiously.

"Well, sorta. Savra only says a few words. I was teaching them to it earlier today, actually,," Siran replied.

"Still though, that's really cool!" Sam said.

Siran cracked a smile, "I know right."

"Could I hold it?" Sarah asked.

"I don't see a problem with that," Siran replied as she got a better grip on Savra while Sarah held out her arms, but Savra resisted and struggled to get away from Sarah during the handover. Sarah gripped the little dragon tight and pulled it close, so Savra gave up.

"So soft!" Sarah said as she held Savra close and gave it lots of pets. Sam decided to get in too, and started petting its head.

At the door to the eatery, a woman in fine clothing walks out and sees all of them standing together as Sarah holds and pets a strange, scaly, gray creature.

She waves at them and says, "hello!" Sarah smiles and the rest of them wave to her, and she walks over. She gets a closer look at the creature in Sarah's arms and she asks, "what's this?"

"Medios look! It's our new pet!" Audrey exclaims. "We found it behind the eatery looking for food, so we fed it and took it home with us."

"What an interesting creature," said Medios. "It looks eerily similar to another creature I've seen before."

"What's that?" the siblings said in unison.

"A wyvern. Not just any wyvern, either, but a rare subspecies of wyvern — and you stumbled on one. I suppose it's not too crazy to find one this close to the unexplored lands." Medios began petting Savra as Sarah continued to hold it warmly in her arms. "But still, these are known to be quite difficult to tame. I've had encounters with many wyvern knights and their steeds, but I always do my best to keep my distance from the wyverns."

Siran struck a pose with her hands at her hips and said, "I guess me and Audrey must be natural wyvern tamers, then."

Laughing, Medios said, "yes. Yes, I suppose so." He finished laughing and continued, "have you considered becoming a knight?"

Siran thought for a moment. "No, not really. My family's not rich, and we're just commoners. I never really thought that was an option for me."

"I suppose that only makes sense, given your position. However, taming a wild wyvern gives you the privilege of becoming a wyvern knight because of how difficult and rare it is. Each wyvern knight is a valuable asset to the kingdom."

Siran's face had a curious expression as she heard those words. "You really think that's an option for me?"

"Absolutely. Of course, you'd have to move to the capital where the wyvern knights are in order to receive your training. But I'd be willing to travel with you to make sure things go smoothly."

"I'll have to speak to my parents about this," Siran said in a shy voice.

Medios placed her rough hand on Siran's shoulder and replied, "that's fine. Tell them to stop by my manor anytime if they have any questions."

"Thank you," Siran replied.

"Alright, well I'm off. It was nice seeing you both!" Medios said, receiving waves and goodbyes in response.

Later that day, Siran brought up the discussion between her and Medios to her parents in their home.

"So you're telling us that you can become a knight?" her father asked.

"Yes, that's what the knight told me. She also said you can go to her manor to discuss it with her," Siran said.

"I know being a knight can be dangerous, but I think it's a good idea. They have a lot of privileges and you won't be hurting for coins."

"I agree with your father, you should take this opportunity. Not many get one like it. Our family does well but we don't have the status or luxury knights would possess," her mother said. Sensing her daughter's anticipation, she continued, "what's wrong, Bunny?"

"I don't know, this is just so unexpected." Her eyes looked downward. "Being a knight seems kind of scary. Won't I have to kill things?"

"Yes, well, that is true. You may have to do that. But it is a better life than we could give you," her mother said.

"Well, okay then. Everyone's saying it's a good idea, so it must be. I'll do it," she reluctantly said.

Her brother did a bad job of hiding his disappointment. He didn't want to see his sister leave him, but he didn't want to say anything because this would mean a better life for her. For a moment, he wished he had never found Savra behind the eatery; that would mean his sister wouldn't have to go. But he felt bad for thinking it the moment the thought crossed his mind.

He tried to speak to support his sister, but only a faint sound came out. He hoped they didn't hear it. Nothing he said would change things, so maybe it was better to say nothing at all, he thought to himself.