꧁ The Last Hope HBD IC (semi open- PM ME!) ꧂

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꧁ Ilia Farra || Kyrena ꧂

The fire wyvern cackled at her sister, a rattling laugh that was not quite right. A clawed wing scraping against the floor as she moves closer to the main table, settling down. Nikita will have food, and we can hunt later. She grumbled across the hall, settling beside the great fireplace.

Ilia, about to sit next to Kyle, looked up as Nikita poked her head around the wall calling out that dinner was nearly done. Kyle had left to give Neha a small chunk of his food and so Ilia followed, tapping his shoulder lightly. "If you have any chores after dinner or the like, don't worry about those and just come over to me. Have a bit of news for you, good news, I promise." Well, it was rather subjective. Would it be good for him to hear? It was better than hearing he was being sent home in any case.

As Caisin asked Byx once more, "When will we get our dragons anyway?", Ilia laughed softly. "Once they're ready and once you're ready. You may have that bond now but you need to earn it as well. Kyrena or Neha may just as easily refuse to let you around the hatchlings if you haven't earned their trust or our own." She replied, a small tilt of her head to Byx. "Go along now, go find somewhere to sit down. There'll be food out soon."

While everyone sat down, she'd go and help bring whatever food out. Nikita was sure to have made much more than what the woman and Raymond could carry alone.

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「」Nikita「」

Ilia was very right. Two platters of bread and butter, a smaller first course of simple vegetable soup, nothing terribly exciting and just small. The main course, potatoes and simpler vegetables from the overgrown but still surprisingly useable gardens up near the spare houses and stable. Of course, everyone had a few thick cuts of meat - saved from the last trip to the village and stored with ice chipped from the caverns. As it turns out, wyvern made ice doesn't melt easily and will keep food fresh longer than normal ice.

Ilia had practically cackled at that, the 'traitors of the King' able to keep their food fresh and unrotten while the royals were forced to spend and spend on importing ice from the cold lands of the north.

Moving on! With the students seated, Nikita and Raymond started to bring the actual food out while Ilia carried the various plates of extras over. Nikita had told her practically countless time she wouldn't need to but the headmaster simply shook her head and smiled.

Plain water was set out as well, pitchers to refill it. Truly, Nikita had been planning this for a long while. Soon enough, Ilia moved back to the larger table set at the head.

--

꧁ Ilia Farra || Kyrena ꧂

Ilia passed by Kyrena, settled next to the fireplace, and moved along to her seat.

"A small, not quite, toast. To all of you, for making it here. For accepting our invitation and arriving safely, for helping to bring the wyverns back to life. To Byx, for being the one to remind me of logicalities in getting everything sorted for you. Nikita, Raymond and Kyle for all remaining here and getting practically everything sorted and rebuilt. For both Kyrena and Neha, even if they don't understand all of this. They've kept us safe, kept the eggs safe, and made sure that this small haven is hidden away." Kyrena growled loudly, shaking out the heavy spines along her neck. A push at the bond, Kyrena wanting to wash the air in her own fire for dramatic effect and nothing else. An amused sigh and Kyrena sends a wash of flame gusting high above the student's head.

Ilia laughed quietly and Nikita, bringing food along to the pair of wyverns, scowled at the burst of heat but the smile tugging at her lips took away any heat. _[hehe]

"We'll have more to talk about later but I think I'll wait until we've all finished eating and when I no longer need to shout across the hall. Thank you again, Nikita and Raymond, for the food. If you would like to pray or otherwise then please feel free to do so. Enjoy!"

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༺ Ida ༻

Far below the hall, with the dark sky light only by the weak moon and stars above them, Ida and Calliope set off once more. Just a walk, bundled in warmer clothes as they plodded along.

Ida, going against the make of the saddle, had swung a leg over the pommel sitting side-saddle in a saddle certainly not made for it. A way to stretch the muscles that hadn't been used in a while, stuck sneaking around the castle in an attempt to gain information. Calliope had been lucky, trying to rally aid from other nobles and those around the castle, which meant she was able to leave the horrid building. Now all black and dreary, wrapped in shadows and darkness.

She had heard stories, seen paintings of the rulers before, when the riders had been a force of fifty and above, keeping not only Draig safe but her own lands to the north, to the hot deserts of the south, river lands in the east and the mining counties to the west. Not to mention to travellers across the sea, fingers webbed and strange, bodies changed from a lifetime on the seas. Those who travel across the various lands, trading and selling their wares. Now, with this cruel king, travellers were allowed to be.... inspected. Detained and wares searched, punished if they didn't have a license and a complete list of items. Those on the ocean were no longer allowed to dock on Draig, despite how those on Draig tried. Either party could be killed for that but both those on Draig and those in the seas, those travelling, they needed the wares others had.

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❖ Byxem Arros

The headmaster was just about to answer Caisin's question when Ilia did it for them. They smiled at the student, nodding. Turning to Ilia as she turned her attention to them, they smiled ever wider, bowing slightly. "Of course," they said, before walking to one of the tables.

...

As they sat at the tables among the students and other school staff, they couldn't help but feel overjoyed. Their first meal, all together! It was a wonderful occurrence, one they hoped would become a greatly loved tradition. As Ilia and Nikita started bringing out the food, Byx thanked them. "This looks delicious, Nikita," they said, grinning.

It's amazing the wonders a short nap can do. They hadn't felt this light in weeks.

Byx raised their glass of water as Ilia raised a toast. "Here, here!" they chuckled, watching amusedly as Kyrena sent a burst of flames over everyone's head. They instinctively glanced over at Neha, who had shimmied herself to the opposite end of the dining hall, and sure enough, she was taking in a deep breath.

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ϟ Neha

The wyvern unfurled her wings and, snapping her tail against the ground, sent up a gust of air into the flames, making them sputter and swirl and spark. She let out a joyful roar, cracking her wings together. Food, warmth, and a chance to show off her amazing skills? Surely, this was the peak of her life! She bumped into Kyrena's side playfully, nudging her head against her chest.

Eventually, the growling of her stomach wouldn't quiet down, so she instead turned her attention to her food. She scarfed it down almost immediately, throwing it into the air and snapping it up, not unlike how she ate the intruder and that scrap of meat. She turned her bright blue eyes to Kyrena's meal, letting out a low hiss as if contemplating if she should risk stealing the larger wyvern's food.

She slowly lowered her head, keeping her eyes on Kyrena, ever so slowly inching closer to it.

So... hungry... she whimpered, glancing back down at the food, before looking up at Kyrena with giant eyes.

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꧁ Kyrena ꧂

Kyrena's dark eye followed Kyle's path lazily, tolerating his presence with an unimpressed snort but making no effort to chase him away.

As Nikita finally brought food out, Kyrena ate it slowly, picking at the meat. A soft whimper from her side, the slowly moving shape of Neha's head brought her attention with a snap and snarl barely inches from the other wyvern's nose.

So greedy. You had that one earlier and we'll hunt once the students are asleep. The fire wyvern scolded, grabbing the meat and swallowing a thick slice with a snort, smoke escaping her mouth.

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༺ Ida ༻

A glance back to her love, a sliver of apple hold out and Ida smiled, taking the snack and squeezing Calliope's hand softly.

The academy was close, poking up through the trees. "We'll have to get through the back entrance, I'm guessing.. it's late enough for dinner to be in progress. Unless you'd like to climb the gate." She mused quietly, silence filling the air before an angry rumble from Calliope's stomach sounded and her partner muttered a grumpy reply. Ida snorted rather ungracefully, looking over with a grin.

The gate looked very foreboding, literally just appearing as a mountain wall before the trees covered it. But about halfway up, there was a small ledge and a passage to the other side. There was still something you had to unlock there, but you could use a key.
Otherwise, the back entrance. Skirt around the wall, hidden by natural and imported stone and trees, there was another gate there. This one you had to turn the gears for. Five gears, all lined up, and you had to push a certain combination. The most recent one was two, three, one, one. Very simple but frustrating to guess if you did get it wrong.

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[taking control of some characters, just to move it along and get to the next day :D this post is very dialogue heavy, so uh... have fun reading]

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「」Nikita「」

As Raymond fell into silence, clearly pained about something, Nikita brought him away from the tables. She needed to bring the last of the food out, but best make sure he was okay.

"You alright lovey? Don't you be worrying about anything, I'm sure it'll be quite alright. I'll come right back and we can chat if you'd like, lemme just pop these treats out for the rest of them." She patted his shoulder, a smile crossing her face before she went back over to the dessert.

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꧁ Ilia Farra || Kyrena ꧂

Soon enough, both the main meals and dessert were finished. Ilia and Byx moved down to the student's tables while Nikita disappeared back to the kitchen - something about cleaning up and making sure Raymond was okay. Kyle, chased away (carefully) by Kyrena, came to the table as well.

"I do hope you all enjoyed your first day here. As I'm sure you know, something has happened earlier today. It has been dealt with but I figure you do need some kind of explanation, as well as why it happened." Ilia started with once everyone was settled.

"If you don't wish to hear then feel free to sit with the wyverns or help Nikita in the kitchens. Otherwise, please pay attention to what I say and try not to guess or interrupt. You could count this as one of your first lessons and it's just as important as what you will learn otherwise."

A second while people chose and Ilia settled in the chair, beginning to talk.

"The King ordered all wyverns and riders to death close to sixty years ago. There were three dragon handlers that remained, not riders, just handlers. There is a lot to explore in what life was like before the deaths but we'll go over that later. I was born to a Commander and a noble lady and from that, I was allowed access to the palace libraries. From there, a plan evolved and with a lot of luck, some bribes, and threats, I left the procession headed to Gorma - the nearby village - and took one of the horses, heading up this mountain."

A pause to let everyone understand. "I met Headmaster Arros, having followed the procession but unaware of just who he was following, while riding up the mountain. Both of us were following the same path, coming from different directions. This was long before we cleared away the paths so that you were all able to ride up with... relative ease. It took a while before we would actually work together and continue on our way. But we came across the hidden gate, although there was no one to welcome us. That day I learned dropping from the top of a gate and not landing properly will result in injuries. Other than a badly twisted ankle, we made it inside. And the rest isn't terribly important but we found the dragon handlers, and we found our wyverns."

A small smile as she looked around the gathered students. "And now, this is almost where you come in. After... some news, brought to me by dark magic - the same dark magic that will has razed this land and brought forces of shadow and horror under the King's command - we set out to erase some of these forces. And we certainly did but most importantly, Kyrena and Neha caught certain scents. All of you, the smell of wyvern-bond and magic wrapped into your usual scent. And I saw your bonds. Not yet fully formed, just small trails of colour... but it was enough. Ravens were sent to all of you. And most of you arrived safely."

And a sigh, before Ilia continued. "But one of you did not. Despite all I had tried, despite the work I had sent people to do in the capital... the King found a student and sent a spy in their place. The student was killed. But so was the spy. They do not know about any of you being here and it will remain that way. This will be dangerous but the King does not know about any of you, only of Headmaster Arros, myself, and the two adult wyverns. For as long as we can, it will be kept that way. We won't cage you in completely, I suspect we wouldn't be able to if we wanted to, but it does mean there's going to be certain rules when we leave the valley."

Silence fell over the hall, save the crackling fire behind them, before Ilia continued. "Are there any questions so far? Aside from when you will get your wyverns. The answer is still, and always will be, once you and they are ready."

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ϟ Neha

As Kyrena snapped at her, the younger wyvern reeled back with a flap of her wings, drooping her head in disappointment and letting out a dramatic whine. But they'll take forever to get done, she whinged, warily eyeing the burst of smoke emitting from Kyrena's nostrils. Neha knew Kyrena's limits, and she was really pushing them. So, instead, she picked her head up to scan the room for Nikita.

Do you think I could get some more? she rumbled to herself hopefully, thumping her tail on the ground. Her jaw dropped in longing as she watched the woman bring out dessert, and her stomach growled earnestly. She lapped at her lips, staring at the bowls, her whole body leaning forward. If she looked hard enough, someone would surely notice her and give her some, right?

Unfortunately, she had gotten her hopes up too high, as everyone finished their meals. She let out a snorting huff of indignance as Nikita took away the plates, and shook out her wings, curling up next to Kyrena. She watched the humans with a bored look in her eyes, huffing and sighing loudly ever so often. She looked up at Kyrena hopefully. She didn't want to listen to Ilia prattle on about things that had already happened; she'd much rather be swooping and diving through the cool night air!

Kyrena, she hissed so as to not interrupt the humans, sliding her head closer to the older wyvern, her pointed scales scraping against the ground. Kyreeeena she hissed again, slightly louder this time. Can we go hunting nowww?

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❖ Byxem Arros

Halvor decided to wander around the dining hall, going from student to student (and occasionally up to some of the staff) to get pets. Despite being completely loyal to Byx, he spent the entire night closely following Nikita's heels, a dopey expression on his face. Byx couldn't help but grin every time they saw him lope past, drool slopping from his lolling tongue. They'd have to offer to clean up afterward; they doubted Nikita would appreciate dog slobber covering her clean floor.

The headmaster paid no attention to the wyverns for the rest of the meal; they were too involved in the conversations taking place. As they moved down to the student's tables, they couldn't help but sit with one child that was sitting by themself. Aybis, their name was. Turns out, the two shared some common interests in insects. They were in mid-conversation about their favorite moths when Ilia stood up, and Byx sat back, falling silent, giving their companion their full attention.

There was a painful twist in their chest as she mentioned the handlers. Oh, how they missed them! Byx may not have known the three in the short time they were together, but their courage to go against the King and protect the very things he sought to destroy always filled them with awe. They puffed their cheeks out slightly, taking a deep breath and holding it for a couple of beats, before blowing it out through their flared nostrils. They swallowed down the burning sensation in their throat, silently mourning the loss of their companions, before turning their thoughts elsewhere.

Byx zoned out slightly as Ilia recounted all of the events leading up to this point, snapping back to reality as she mentioned Byx's name, slight panic flaring up in their chest. As they realized she was only talking about them and not talking to, they relaxed again, allowing themself to smile at their mistake.

They nodded every so often, reminiscing on the battle the four had initiated that day. It was bloody, yes, and Byx regretted having let their emotions loose so easily, but the feeling of avenging the fallen ones was enough to wipe that regret away. Byx wilted slightly at the mention of The Incident, swallowing down that burning again. They couldn't afford to look weak in front of these students, who had no choice but to look up to them and Ilia. They couldn't let them down, now could they?

Byx cleared their throat, giving the students a small, slightly forced smile. "Yes, rules, which I will be happy to explain to you all later on," they said, nodding their head. If there was one thing Byx loved above all else, it was rules. They had always enjoyed giving instructions and seeing them carried out; it gave them a sense of satisfaction that not many other things did.

But, they suspected this particular group of children wouldn't be very easy to tame. As is with many young ones, they thought affectionately, thinking back to their own childhood.