Chapter Thirteen

As Raba's Flight continued training, news was spreading from some of the senior officers of a new revolution building.

"Who do they think they are?"

"It's not like we left them out in the wild without aid."

"Our Royal's take care of them and yet they disrespect us so."

MeiAnne heard those and more as she headed into the mess hall for breakfast. Gen and Raba were already seated at the table whispering amongst themselves, but stopped to smile at MeiAnne when she approached.

Raba was quick to start up a conversation. "Did you notice the cool breeze this morning?"

MeiAnne nodded, eating her breakfast instead of replying. The seasons were changing on her again. The day at the river had revealed fall was only around the corner, but now it was knocking at her door. She knew the weather wasn't what Raba and Gen had been talking about, but didn't want to push.

Instead of drills, MeiAnne would get to accompany the Flight Unit on a patrol. It would be all five Flights that responded to Raba heading out. Of the whole unit, MeiAnne was the only one fresh out of training, so she put pressure on herself. She had to prove that her place was not an act of favoritism, for Raba's image and her own.

As she looked out over the others in formation while gearing up for takeoff she noticed a sort of pattern. Blue, green, and brown dragons seemed to be abundant with yellow, violet, and red dragons scattered in less often. The less common types of dragons usually filled in officer positions, with the exception of Yama and Sela. Maybe that was why she was always so grouchy.

She also noticed that Loola was the only white dragon and that there were no black dragons to be seen. She knew they were still hatching, however it seemed they were only partnered with the highest officers. This left her wondering how Raba and Gen were officers at so young, and if it had to do with the chance that their dragons were a rarer magic type.

Each Flight Commander had their partner raise their wings high up into the sky as a signal. Once each Flight signaled, Raba had Loola spread her wings up in the same fashion. MeiAnne was reminded of how magnificent Loola was as the entire area brightened and warmed.

Thanks to extensive training Molis knew exactly what to do from this point. In unison each dragon lowered itself to prepare. Raba's Flight would be the one to lead the others into flight, despite being much smaller than usual Flights.

MeiAnne always loved the feeling of takeoff. She knew how to balance against the lurching forward. The air cooling her off from working up a heat in the leather jacket they have to wear to stay warm in flight. The feeling of Molis beneath her, both partners acting as one in the sky.

The air sounded like thunder as every Flight traveled through the air. There were clear skies on this particular day, so MeiAnne could look down and watch as their shadows raced on the ground.

Their patrol would take them to the western coast, along the volcanic mountain range, and then back through the arid interior. They would stop for an evening halfway through the route, just before they leave the mountains. There was a small outpost that had offered to host for a few hours.

Flight went smoothly for the first few hours. MeiAnne could glance over her shoulder and see a sky decorated with the bright colors of dragon wings. There were one hundred and twenty dragons behind her Flight. It was an impressive sight.

Despite most of the dragons besides Loola and the violet ones growing tired, they made it to the mountain outpost with good time. The evening sun illuminated the mountain in orange-red light.

A peak had been leveled off to fit the outpost and its purpose. It was a tight landing compared to what MeiAnne was used to at the main base, but everyone still fit. However, they were not warned that many would be sharing rooms.

"I do apologize, but I am sure you understand." The host apologized to Raba. MeiAnne overheard Raba thanking the host and discussing the morning schedule.

She hung around Gen for the most part as Raba acted his rank in front of her for the first time. She was impressed at how quickly and fluidly he moved from Flight Commander to the next, instructing them on what to do.

When he came down to Yulan, it was the first resistance he caught.

"What makes you think us sharing such a small space is okay?" Raba calmly stood as Yulan shouted about his perceived disrespect and Raba not leading as well as he should.

Then in a very icy voice, masking what MeiAnne knew was rage by the look in his eye, "Why don't you sleep out here then?" Raba walked with his head up high as he left a disgruntled Yulan behind him.

Gen chuckled at seeing his friend put someone in their place again. MeiAnne saw that this must've been a regular occurrence. Especially as this wasn't the first time Yulan had been sent on his own to cool off. She remembered meeting Yulan in the first place and could imagine a similar outburst leading to that.

MeiAnne shared a room with women from other Flights that she had never met or spoken to before. She opted to make herself the one to sleep on a cot on the floor, mostly because she wasn't comfortable sharing one of the beds with a stranger, but also because she felt the need to prove that she didn't think she was higher than the others.

The night went smoothly, outside of MeiAnne waking up a little sore from her sleeping situation. Yulan looked ready to start a scene the whole morning as everyone ate and prepared for departure. Raba seemed aware as he pushed everyone to leave as quick as they could to make it harder on Yulan to do so.

It looked like the flight home would go just as smoothly, if not better. There was a tailwind predicted for the first leg, and patrols rarely came across trouble with the desert cities.