That was the enthusiasm that he loved to hear, washing over like warm surf on a summer day. It sent tingles down his tail and stroked the fire in his body to a hotter flame. He wiggled as he sunk lower to the ground- training narrowed eyes to the sky and then he launched. The wind sang around them with whistles as air streamed off his body and over Ava’s back. They accelerated into the sky and he snapped his wings open as he altered their course, angling his body and flying donuts around a natural spire of stone until they had almost hit land and he pulled up again, skimming past the tops of the trees with such speed that the snow was flung from their canopies in a dazzling display. 

He roared, challenging the sky with his youth and shot across the coast line. When he circled around he sent a flock of sheep scattering but not without grabbing one in his paws, flying away from the frightened creatures with a prize. He lifted over the town at a slower speed with an air of smugness. Not noticing another dragon lifting up on the currents over the sound of a celebration below until it suddenly squawked, startling he dropped the sheep and the nadder dived down to make the save.

Blue scales rose ahead them and upon the nadder’s back was Calder, with the sheep tucked easily beneath one arm, standing up and smirking at Blizzard’s look of surprise though it quickly boiled down into annoyance where Blizzard was involved. The boy laughed “Oh, I thought we were doing a little dragon racing. What with the sheep and all.”