Chapter Eleven

When Raba told Gen of the news of the previous training in the storm, he was quick to check on MeiAnne and Molis.

As the sun woke MeiAnne and Molis they heard running towards their stable. Gen appeared breathless around the corner and rushed to the pair.

"Raba told me everything! Are you okay?" Even though he was winded, he was loud as ever. It put a smile on MeiAnne's face.

"Thank you Gen. Still a little shaken, but neither of us is hurt too badly."

He nodded before pulling MeiAnne into a hug. "I would kill Raba if he didn't catch you." He grumbled to MeiAnne while still in the hug.

That brought out a laugh, something MeiAnne had needed. "I know, I know."

They released each other and went straight into catching up. MeiAnne ran Gen through her point of view of the previous day. She showed Gen the bruising and missing scales, both happy that was all that Molis had.

"Let's do something fun today." Gen clearly had already made up his mind. His tone was clearly not a question.

MeiAnne sighed, although not in a bad mood. "Like what?"

"Let's take the dragons to the river!" He beamed.

It did not take long for Gen to drag Raba's whole flight to the river, dragons in tow. There were Loola and Jusa, the two dragons MeiAnne was most familiar with. The nice man when she first met the Flight, Tifus, rode a brown dragon named Truis. Yama's partner was Sela the yellow dragon. The blonde that always followed her every move was Elan and he rode the green dragon Hos.

As the soldiers of the Flight all set up a canopy to shield them from the sun the dragons were quick to jump into the water. Hos used her magic to keep the waves from reaching the humans on the bank, creating this magnificent view of waves hitting an invisible barrier.

Molis was splashing and swimming, mouth open showing her teeth all the way in a dragons version of a grin. Loola was laying just slightly in the water on the opposite bank, letting the other smaller dragons play a game of splashing her. Loola chuffed with her deeper voice as it was clear she was having fun as well.

"This was a good idea, Gen." Raba clapped his friend on the back, hard. Gen groaned slightly, but still forced his face into a smile.

"I knew it." He replied through gritted teeth. The Flight all shared a laugh.

Even the two usually grumpy blondes Yama and Elan were enjoying themselves, basking in the sun. Tifus sat under the canopy relaxing as well.

Gen quickly set himself up building a sand castle with rough sand. MeiAnne would watch Jusa grunt a warning just before another dragon would accidentally splash the castle, ruining Gen's work. MeiAnne wondered if that was Jusa's magic or if he was just observant as well.

Raba joined MeiAnne in watching the dragons in their fun.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked softly, so the others wouldn't hear their conversation.

"I did, which was a good surprise." She saw Raba nod happily at that. Although she also noticed he had dark circles under his eyes showing he had barely slept.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be." He dismissed that potential conversation quickly. Instead he returned to silence as they both sat together.

It was a beautiful day on the river. Despite the storm the previous day, the water was not murky or too high. There was a breeze in the air so they were comfortable even though the sun was hot.

Occasionally MeiAnne would feel like she didn't truly belong with the talented people she was surrounded by. Then Gen would crack a joke or a dragon would slip as they played in the water, distracting her as she joined in the laughter.

Soon it came time to prepare a quick meal, something they were happy to do so they wouldn't have to leave the river quite so soon.

Tifus put the two blondes to work setting up an area for everyone to sit and eat. MeiAnne helped Gen prepare a plate for everyone. The food smelled heavenly compared to mess food. Raba treated them all to ingredients he bought in the capitol.

The evening sun cast a warm light as everyone relaxed, well fed and happy. The dragons basked in the last rays of the sun to dry themselves and their partners napped on the bank of the river.

It was a wonderful day for everyone in the Flight. They got to take a breath from the rest of the Luaecian military.

MeiAnne was very happy to follow the previous day's events with such positive ones. She would enjoy coming to know each and every one of her new Flight mates and maybe she could get close to them like she was with Raba and Gen.

Packing up took longer than unpacking, or it felt like it since everyone was feeling sun tired. Even the dragons dragged their feet when the time came to load up and return.

The sun was setting, perfectly matching Molis' eyes, behind the Flight as they left.

"Thank you, this was a wonderful day." MeiAnne rested her hand on Gen's shoulder as they began to head back to their barracks.

"Of course, you needed it." He smiled down at her before looking over. MeiAnne saw a look on his face that she couldn't decipher before his usual smile returned.

"Night Raba!" He lifted his hand, forcing MeiAnne to pull hers back, so he could wave to Raba.

"Oh, goodnight!" MeiAnne turned to wave to Raba as well, but he seemed more focused on Gen. Only for a second before he smiled at MeiAnne and waved.

Returning to her own room was refreshing. Even though she likes the people she spent the day with, showering and getting back to her own space was relieving.

As MeiAnne fell onto her bed she could still hear the sound of the river rushing by, and the dragons splashing. Her mind lingered on sitting with Raba as she drifted off to sleep.