Calley came rushing into the cottage, sand flying from her damp feet. She barely noticed Krysta peeking out from the kitchen as the ten-year-old flew through the house in a violet blur to the bathroom; she grabbed up the mass of faded lavender towel from the bathroom counter and wrapped herself in the folds as quickly as she could. �Ahhh��
Nips smiled sheepishly at his coach, bouncing to a halt at the bathroom doorway, the brown chitin scales along his back now glistening from the beach sand�s polishing. Krysta stepped around him and looked in on Calley, two glasses of lemonade in her hands. �Have fun?� she asked, smiling in distracted humor.
�I forgot my towel�� Calley responded, cheeks pink in a mingle of embarrassment and sunburn.
Krysta smiled slightly and handed the young girl a glass. �Well, you have good timing; Makzin and Zane are thinking it�s about time to get you back to Laurel� they told me you might be heading back this way for your final test, though.�
Calley�s eyes lit up to the same hue as her sunburn. �Yeah! I start tomorrow! Right, Nips?�
�You said so this morning� I wish you luck,� Krysta replied politely.
�I guess I should pack up my stuff now�� Calley said as she gulped down some lemonade. �I didn�t think the trip would be this short� what were you guys doing?�
Krysta shrugged lightly, �We had to run to the Hall to send out a message, and got back just before you came in. You�ve been down at the beach for hours��
�Wow, I didn�t realize I was down there so long,� Calley said sheepishly, then quickly drained the rest of her glass. �Mmm, thank you! You went to the Hall? Aw, I wanted to see! I haven�t been in the Talston Hall in a long time, since I was little��
�Don�t worry, I�m sure you�ll be running all over the Hall when you get tested,� Krysta said with a smile, taking the empty glass from the child. �Maybe I�ll be here when you return on your test.�
Calley beamed, pulling her long-sleeved, teal and black shirt over her mostly dry bathing suit. The teal slowly stained to a darker shade as the dampness seeped through the cotton fibers, nearly as dark as the black racing stripes on her sleeves. �I hope so! Will you be testing me?�
Krysta laughed, smiling softly down at Nips. �I�m not allowed to tell you that, now am I?�
�Aww�� Calley said, wrinkling her nose in a pout as she pulled on her brown pants. She made for her socks, now wrinkling her nose at the sandy coat her bare feet had developed. �Uh� sorry��
Krysta waved in dismissal, �Don�t worry about it. That�s what brooms are for� and it�s my brother�s turn to do the floors this week,� she winked.
* * * * *
Krysta walked out through the grass with Calley, meeting up with her fellow Rangers along the northern treeline where Sadira and Jackavar had spent their time in the shade. The large wolf rose at Krysta�s approach, gliding through the tall grass to the woman�s side to nuzzle a solemn greeting. The sapphire-haired Ranger hugged the wolf, nuzzling him back in greeting. �Hopefully our messenger hawk won�t run into any trouble��
Zane nodded, swinging his daypack up onto his shoulders and clasping the hip and sternum straps tight. �I think the weather�ll be fine for him. I�ll talk to Dr. Lake again and see if she�s found anything new� I don�t want to leave her long with that Bayyo, even with Lena and Katt helping her.�
Makzin nodded in somber agreement, looking to Calley. �Pick up Nips, we need to get back for your feast tonight,� he said, resettling his own large pack on his back and looking over to the kneeling dragon. Timber was gone, already sent back home through the magic of Makzin�s gem; unfortunately, the plump erinacci hadn�t been bound to a gem yet, so had to get home the old-fashioned way.
Calla, now wide awake and rested, clambered up onto Zane�s pack for the ride, then squeaked enthusiastically with a wave to Nips. While she technically could travel via gem to get home, gems couldn�t teleport non-living items like Calla�s leather armor. She was bound to the green gem set into the side of Zane�s headset, but for emergency purposes only; monax were notoriously inseparable from their armor, just as humans disliked being un-clothed. Zane wouldn�t consider magically recalling her and thus seperating her, naked, from her armor unless her life was in danger.
Calley turned to wave goodbye to Krysta; the female Ranger was swinging up onto Jackavar�s furry back. Krysta nodded a smile down to Calley. �Good luck tomorrow� I may or may not be here when you return, but I�m sure you�ll do fine and get along great with whichever maow you�re paired with. Good luck and have fun��
�Thanks!� Calley nodded brightly, jumping through the grass to her brother�s side and then carefully making her way up Sadira�s heavily scaled arm. Nips was hanging from her shoulders as she climbed, clinging to the hood of her cloak as he straddled her backpack.
Makzin sighed, watching her climb; yet again he would have to crawl around his sister on Sadira�s back to protect her from sliding off the dragon�s tail mid-flight. Not that he would complain much if she became a gooey splatter against the countryside, but his parents would give him forty hells and he had the ecosystem to think of. No ranger should litter like that.
As he watched his sister settle herself on Sadira�s back, Makzin allowed a satisfied smirk to grace his face. Soon, he would be rid of her for atleast a week or more while she travelled alone on her test, though the idea of being rid of her forever was much more enjoyable.
Zane was giving Sadira a treat of sweetmeat and rubbing her long, amethyst-scaled nose. �We�re ready when you are, Sadi,� he said, Calla leaning from his shoulder to pet the dragon�s nose as well.
The dragon paused in her slow chewing, carefully lifting her head back from Zane�s hand to gulp down the meat; she could swallow the whole piece easily, but enjoyed to chew a bit first, savoring the sweet taste. She nodded gracefully to Zane after swallowing, �Thank you� I am ready.�
Zane gave her a final loving pat on the nose. �Thanks,� he replied, turning to Krysta. �Lady Cassidy, thank you for having us�� he saluted with a grin, and Krysta gllared at him again, ��I�ll phone a message back here if we find anything important��
Krysta nodded, scratching Jackavar absently behind an ear. �Ditto. Hopefully we�ll find some answers� I�ll be in touch.�
Makzin and Zane got into place on Sadira�s back, double checked that Nips, Calla, and Calley were secure, and waved a final goodbye to Krysta and Jackavar as the dragon spread her dark wings and leapt from the seacliff, catching the ocean�s salty breeze in her broad, leathery wings.
* * * * *
