15. Preparation

Spring was well on its way with the winter almost forgotten.  Regal, at not quite one year old yet, was larger than most adult dragons.  Brinn's head was only a little higher than his shoulder when he was on all four feet.  When his wings were spread, it was almost 10 feet from wing tip to wing tip.  Talsha didn't know when he would stop growing, but there was no question that he was going to be larger than normal.

"I don't  believe he will get much bigger," the healer told Brinn one day while they were working in the garden, "but I've never raised a dragon before.  I don't know how long they keep growing."  She looked at Regal who was watching some birds build a nest and smiled. "And this dragon is definitely not normal, so who knows?"

Regal looked at her and snorted.  Both women laughed.  "She just said you weren't like the other dragons," Brinn told Regal to console his wounded pride.  "We think you are better."

The dragon snorted again, this time in satisfaction.  He settled down in a sunny spot to take a nap.  He already knew that he was special.  Weren't he and his friend Brinn going to save the humans?  No other dragon could fly.

Talsha turned back to Brinn.  "I do think it is time to take a practice flight to the shoreline.  You need to see if you can find the cave and see  how tired Regal gets.  I have a map inside.  We will see if we can get you pointed in the right direction."   

Talsha knew what direction Lonely Island was from the cottage.  As far as she knew, there weren't many farms, if any, between home and the shore.  The southern point of the peninsula where Brinn's cave was didn't get much travel.

If Regal was able to fly straight there, Talsha figured he could make it in about one hour.  That didn't sound like much, but for a young dragon still new at flying, it wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.  He would also be carrying Brinn.  So far, the only time they had flown that long, they had rested a few minutes in the middle.

After they had organized the practice trip for the next day,  Brinn went out to talk to Regal while Talsha fixed dinner.

"Are you up for a long trip tomorrow?" She rubbed his eye ridges as he closed his eyes.  His feeling of contentment and confidence encouraged Brinn.  "You are a strong dragon.  You probably won't even be tired when we get there."  Regal snorted in agreement.

"Food is ready, Brinn," Talsha called from the house.

Brinn gave Regal a hug.  "Sleep well, friend," she whispered.  She almost thought she heard, "You also, my friend."  She turned and looked at Regal, but he was following Mousy to go on an evening hunt.  Brinn shook her head, dismissing the thought, and headed in to dinner.