Learning To Fly

The wind whipped through Kyleena’s hair, the blonde tendrils blown in every direction. She would never tire of the sensation that riding Sinia would give her, the feeling of gliding through the air as if she had her own set of wings.

“Don’t think you’ll get away from me that easily!” Dyviss called after her, his own dragon not far behind her’s.

“Think again dear brother!” She called back, urging her dragon forward. Sinia put forth a surge of speed, leaving Dyviss and Flint far behind, Kyleena laughing gleefully at the sight.

After a few moments of pure, undiluted quiet, Kyleena started to get suspicious, turning in her saddle to get a better glimpse. She was unable to locate her brother, her brow furrowing in confusion at his sudden disappearance.

“Eyes forward if you please,” a voice said suddenly.

“Dyviss!” She yelled, whirling around to see the smirking face of her younger brother.

“Were you worried about my well-being? Oh! I’m touched!” He said dramatically, feigning surprise.

“I wasn’t worried for you, but rather for myself. I can’t have my little brother beating me at flying, now can I?” She replied haughtily.

“Oh yes. Of course,” Dyviss said, rolling his eyes. His sister had always been a terrible lier.

Dyviss took a sudden plummet towards the ground, maneuvering his way between the tall trees, Flint tucking his wings and rolling to the side without even needing the prompting from his rider.

Kyleena watched from higher above, her eyes shifting their aim between her brother and the sky before her, marveling silently at how much better Dyviss had gotten at riding.

“He truly has gotten better Sinia,” she whispered into her dragon’s ear. “But I’m sure we can still beat him!”

Another nudge of her heels sent Sinia barreling forwards at an even more rapid pace than earlier.

“We will show him who is the superior both in birth and in training,” she muttered, a smirk twitching her lips upwards.

——-

All that week and the next, Kyleena attempted to best her younger brother in every area of flying, and yet at each and every turn, he surprised her.

They raced day in and day out, Kyleena demanding that they do it again, only to be beaten soundly once more.

Finally, she decided to approach her brother and inquire as to how he had become so fluid and dexterous with Flint.

Dyviss was currently sitting in front of the fireplace, whittling a tiny figurine.

“How do you do it?” Kyleena asked, taking a seat beside her brother and brushing a tendril of hair from her brown eyes.

“Do what?” He asked, his eyes still trained on his wooden project.

“Flint. How do you get him to listen to you so much and trust you?”

“By listening to and trusting him,”

“What?”

Dyviss put down his knife and wood, sighing. “Listen Leena, I don’t have some magic formula or secret technique, I simply pay attention to Flint. His likes and dislikes, his wants and needs. Just like you would with a person,”

“Can you teach me?” She asked hestitantly.

Dyviss smiles warmly.

“Of course I can. Anytime you want,”

Kyleena smiles back at her brother, the warm light of the fire lighting up his blue eyes. Maybe she could learn a few things from her little brother after all.