"Hey shrimp!" Roxas growled to himself as he swung at the practice target. "Harder! Harder you little bitch!"

"Shut it." He muttered inaudibly. The last thing he wanted was for his arms trainer to hear him. He'd wish for death before the day was over if that happened.

He was in the practice yard of the Dragon Court. The sound of grunts, shouts and weapons clashing on weapons filled the air. Dark dust rose from the ground as warriors practiced their footwork and clashed blunted weapons against shields. In some ways, mastery of the skills of warfare was absolutely vital for a Dragon Knight. In other ways it was a secondary skill. Their main skill was the art and craft of dealing with dragons and riding them into battle. That required excellent physical fitness and most of the trainees were tall and ruggedly strong.

Roxas was not. He was short and sinewy rather than bulky. The Dragon Master had assured him that height and bulk were not necessary for dragon riding and the second could even get in the way. But nothing could save Roxas from the judgment of his peers and he'd been called names ranging from baby face to little boy. Coming from boys two years younger than him it was very hard to take. That was why he was so determined to be successful on his first dragon hunt.

Capturing a dragon hatchling was very difficult. It would have been absolutely impossible if the dragons themselves hadn't consented to it. Roxas still didn't quite understand why they did so, but dragons were natural shape shifters. If approached and challenged, dragon hatchlings would meet a human in single combat. If the human won or just put up a good enough fight, the hatchling would consent to be ridden as a mount and partner. However, dragons had a great pride in themselves and it took a lot to impress them. All trainees were given five tries to find and catch a dragon… each try consisting of an entire month in the wilderness, food and drink being supplied by a magical pouch. Very few managed to catch their dragon on the first try.

That made it all the more important that Roxas get his dragon the first time. He wanted to finally prove himself. The thought lent energy to his swing and he hit the target harder, feeling the sweat trickling down his face and stinging a scrape on his cheek. He had to be the best. He just had to! He would make his mother proud of him –

"I said enough!" Roxas blinked and lowered his weapon as he realized the instructor had been yelling at him for a while. "Are you deaf? Go do your stretches!" Roxas flushed and began putting his equipment away, carefully cleaning the armor and practice blade. A quick glance at the sky told him it was nearly time for lunch. He followed the rest of the boys into the lunch hall and took his customary seat.

The familiar rowdy chatter grated on his nerves. Particularly the nervous edge to it. They were starting out in a week and everyone was on edge, particularly the older boys who desperately needed to catch a dragon soon. If they didn't succeed by the fifth try they could stay in the citadel as support crew. They always needed support crew – it was completely unglamorous and hard work. None of the boys wanted it. Roxas ignored the familiar taunting with ease and ate well but not to full. If he fell asleep in class the instructors could and would belt him with a ruler.

"I don't know why they'd send a babe out with us." One of the older boys said contemptuously and Roxas glanced up with a frown. "Weren't you supposed to have been held back a year blondie? You really think you can catch a dragon?"

"Worry about yourself Xiphon. This is your last year, isn't it?" Roxas knew the taunt was unwise but couldn't resist making it. The other boy flushed in anger. "Hope you get lucky."

"I have a better chance than you." The older boy snarled back and was about to continue but a floor warden cleared her throat. That reminder made all the boys concentrate on their food. They didn't want to catch the attention of the adults. Now would be a very poor time to end up on punishment detail.

The days stretched endlessly, but finally the week was over and all the kits were ready for them. Roxas picked up his pack and hefted it, reassured by the weight. It included everything he could possibly need, including a basic first aid kit, a hatchet and firestarting supplies. Also the magical pouch that could give him a three grain cakes and a flask of water a day. That was enough to keep him and the other boys alive but not healthy and there were fish-hooks and snare rope in the packs as well. It would be up to them to live off the land, but their training had included that. Roxas was relatively confident in his ability to keep himself fed.

"Assemble!" The bull throated roar filled the courtyard and Roxas quickly took his spot in the yard. He was in the third row, fifth back and could hardly see anything over the other boy's heads. But he could hear the voice of the Dragon Master clearly.

"Today is the first day of the Trial of the Dragon." A faint sigh rippled through the boys and Roxas' could hear the amusement in the Dragon Master's voice. "I know I will never convince you of this, but it is not the end of the world to not find a dragon. Even for those of you who are on your fifth trial, failure is not disgrace. Successful or not, you will all be welcomed into our ranks. Now go, and find your fate." Not the most inspiring of speeches, Roxas reflected as the great wooden doors to the castle opened ponderously and the boys filed out. Dragons danced through the air, ridden by their elders and Roxas glanced up at them hopefully.

Soon, perhaps, he would be on one of them.

"Ugh." Roxas scratched himself, pausing for a moment to take a swig from his water bottle. "Where are all the dragons?" He asked a songbird. It didn't reply, preening itself instead.

It was spring in the Allerian mountains. The wind was crisp and cool but not cold, even at night. The great pine forests were interspersed with massive rocks and Roxas had already done more than his fair share of climbing. In fact, he had aimed for those rocks. He and all the boys like him knew everything there was to know about dragons and one of the places they could typically be found was sunning themselves on rocks. They could also be encountered at rivers and streams, where they liked to drink and bathe. Roxas had found a small pond and considered staying, but what if a dragon never came?

"Luck." Roxas muttered to himself then sighed. One of his teachers had told them that catching a dragon was nine parts hard work and one part luck. The luck simply being finding a hatchling in the first place. At this rate he wasn't going to even get the chance to –

Roxas froze as he heard a decidedly unnatural sound. It sounded like a saw hitting a log of timber and he knew exactly what it was. He'd heard it plenty of times when he'd helped clean out the great 'stables' the dragons lived in.

"Thank you lady luck." He breathed as he quickly moved towards the snoring dragon. If he was lucky it was a hatchling. If he wasn't he could still politely question the adult and if his elders were correct, it would point him in the direction of some hatchlings. Adult dragons would sometimes consent to a duel, but only with an adult Dragon Knight who had lost his partner. They would refuse a trainee.

As soon as he saw the dragon Roxas felt his breath catch. The hatchling was beautiful. Most dragons were the velvety green of forest moss or the dark blackish blue of a deep seam of coal but they could come in a variety of more colorful shades and Roxas had found a rare one. The dragon's scales shone a beautiful, vibrant red and the softer skin of her muzzle and around her eyes was pitch black. Spiky red hair made a peculiar mane, flowing out behind her horns. Wait, horns? Roxas suddenly swallowed as he realized he'd sexed the dragon wrong. Male dragons were rare. But females had only tiny, vestigial horns and there was nothing small about these. Almost a metallic gold, they curled back into spiky red hair and made for a very impressive display.

But despite all the beauty of the dragon, he was certainly a hatchling. There was an ungainly adolescent quality about him, as if his body hadn't quite grown into the massive size of his wings yet. It detracted from his appearance and Roxas was sure that in a few years he'd be even more beautiful. Taking a deep breath, Roxas considered how to go about catching the dragon. He was the youngest and the weakest so he would need to be clever. His gaze fell on a small, scrubby tree poking out of the space between rocks and he thought of something. Would it work? And more importantly, would the dragon hear him? He could only try. Roxas went through his bag, pulling out the hatchet and a length of rope. Then he quickly began chopping at the base of the tree. The dragon stirred but to his relief, didn't waken. Roxas worked until the tree was almost ready to topple then tied the rope around the bottom branches of the tree. Then he put everything away and got out his shield and sword. Taking a deep breath, he got ready to challenge the dragon.

"Dragon! I challenge you!" He shouted. Another log ripping snore. "Dragon!" Still nothing. Roxas bit his lip, wondering if he should go up and kick the dragon? But that would be disrespectful. "Dragon!" The snores finally stuttered and the dragon blinked, to his relief. Roxas noticed that his eyes were a beautiful green, the shade of fresh cut grass. The dragon lifted his head, glancing around until his eyes finally lighted on the small blonde.

"Well, hello there. Are you lost?" Roxas bristled at the amusement in the dragon's voice but he did like the sound of it. It was a warm, friendly sound. "Or are your people sending children out to catch dragons now?"

"I'm fifteen." He snarled and the dragon laughed before shaking himself and standing. Roxas swallowed as he saw how large he was. The male hatchling was twice the size of a horse and quite a bit larger than the females. Of course, that would be even better if he could catch the dragon! No one could sneer at him as a baby with a dragon like this. Roxas felt his resolve firming. This would be his dragon.

"Your first time then. Well, I won't make this easy for you." With that the dragon changed. Roxas had to avert his eyes from the stomach churning shift and when he glanced back there was a man standing on the stones. A very tall man, lanky but well-muscled, with flame red hair and a ready smile. He was wearing a black robe that looked far too hot for the spring weather, but then, dragons didn't feel the heat. He hefted strange weapons, circles of steel like nothing Roxas had seen before. "I'm Axel."

"I'm Roxas." The blonde replied cautiously and Axel smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas. Now defend yourself!" Then the man was running right at him. Roxas was quickly thrown on the defensive by the lightning series of attacks but then gathered himself. He was going to win!

It wasn't easy. The dragon's fighting style was like nothing Roxas had ever experienced before, all quick attacks and lightning feints. But Axel was weak on defense and Roxas rapped him soundly in the ribs, making the redhead grin.

"Not bad kid." Roxas wished for a moment that his weapons were enchanted. Dragon hide was as tough as plate and couldn't be penetrated by anything else. He'd have loved to wipe the smirk off the redhead's face! But he would manage that anyway. Axel was preoccupied with the battle and hadn't noticed that Roxas was moving away from him in a particular direction. He'd just seen that Roxas was backing off and that moved him to pursue, which was exactly what the blonde wanted. When he was close enough he dove to the side and grabbed the rope, giving it a powerful yank. Axel was still following him when the sound of cracking wood reached him and he turned just as the tree toppled. The redhead's eyes widened and he tried to dive out of the way but it was too late. The scrubby little tree landed on him with the sound of snapping branches and Roxas grinned.

"I win!" He said, hoping the dragon would see it that way. Underhanded tricks weren't supposed to be part of duels, but using the landscape wasn't really cheating, was it? Then his grin faded as the dragon didn't stir. "…Oh shit." Had he killed the dragon? This kind of thing wasn't supposed to be fatal! Roxas hesitated a moment then went to the tree, pulling away broken branches. Surely the redhead couldn't be dead. He was a dragon! His skin was hard as plate, he could fly and breathe fire. Roxas couldn't have killed him with a tree –

"Ow." The muffled sound made the blonde slump a bit in relief. The tree shifted and Roxas had to scramble back as the dragon suddenly resumed his natural form. Axel shook his wings, shedding bits and pieces of bark and leaves. "Are you trying to catch me or kill me? My head hurts." The red dragon added, working on preening out more branches. Roxas hesitated and then carefully helped Axel with his grooming.

"I still won." He said stubbornly and looked up the dragon as Axel chuckled. The dragon snorted his hair, making the blonde blink and wince. Axel's breath wasn't very nice, thanks to the fluids and magic that let him breath fire.

"You're sneaky. I like that. Alright, I'm yours." That nasty twisting sensation filled the air again and then the man was standing beside him again. Roxas smiled as he saw a few twigs in his hair, reaching out to pull them free. Axel smiled at him. "So where are we going?"

"Back to the citadel. I'll show you." Roxas knew the way. He was accomplished at wilderness survival and knew all the landmarks of the woods. And if that failed, he had a compass and map. Inwardly exulting, he started off, the dragon trailing behind him.

A dragon on his first try. The other boys would be green with envy. And his mother would be so proud!

"Roxas. You're the first back." The gate guard, a large woman with cornflower blonde hair, sounded disapproving. Then she looked behind him and her eyes widened "Is this…?" She sounded amazed as Axel grinned at her and Roxas swelled with pride.

"This is Axel. He's my dragon." He said happily and Axel laughed before winking at the gate guard.

"I'd say Roxas is my human, but either way works." Roxas blushed as she laughed, letting them both in the smaller door set in the side of the wall. The great doors were for carts, formal events and dragons. Axel glanced around curiously and Roxas was sure the dragon had never seen humans or their dwellings before. He was only a hatchling, after all. Roxas glanced around too, really looking at the castle for the first time in years.

The castle was a huge building with tall, strong walls to repel any attack. The great dragon stables filled a good half of the space, great buildings of wood and thatch. The rest of the castle was made of grey stone and pennants were hung on the walls, snapping in the wind. The only break in the drab stone was the stained glass windows of the chapel on the third floor. The practice yard was much emptier than usual since all the trainees were gone, but young Dragon Knights were still at practice. Many of them looked at him curiously and a few even waved. One boy with brown hair gave him a friendly salute and Roxas blinked. Just a week ago none of the Dragon Knights would have acknowledged his existence.

Of course they are. I'm a Dragon Knight too now. Roxas shook himself out of his daze and returned the waves with a smile before gently touching Axel's shoulder.

"Let's go see the Dragon Master." He would need to welcome Axel and introduce Roxas to whatever Dragon Knight would be his mentor. For beginning Knights, the training was all one on one although more than one senior Knight might help depending on what a junior needed to learn. Axel nodded but glanced over at the stables. He was interested in meeting the other dragons and could smell them already.

When he reached the Master's office the elderly Knight was already waiting for them, a pleasant smile on his face. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Axel and he offered the dragon a hand.

"Greetings." He said as they shook hands, his tone warm. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting this. Are you related to Leah?" Axel blinked at that, surprised.

"He's my brother actually. You know him?" The redhead said cautiously as Roxas watched, surprised. He hadn't expected the Dragon Master to know any of Axel's family. The old Knight laughed, gesturing them to sit.

"He was my dragon, in my youth." Axel gave a small ooh sound of surprise and looked at the Master with wide eyes. "I'm sure he's told you many stories. I assure you, he tends to exaggerate." The Master sounded a little pained and Axel suddenly grinned. "You have the look of him." Roxas thought he heard a hint of sadness in the Master's voice. Did he miss his old dragon? But if a Dragon Knight was fortunate enough to live long enough to retire, their dragon departed for the mountains to live with the other dragons and raise a clutch. They often departed if their Knight was killed as well, but not always.

"Thank you." Axel said, running a hand through his hair. "It's this shaggy mane, all the men in my family have it." The Master nodded and looked at Roxas.

"Roxas, since you've had the good fortune to find a male dragon, I think it's fitting that you be mentored by one of the few other Dragon Knights to have a male dragon." Roxas nodded. He knew there was only perhaps three other Knights with male dragons but he didn't know their names. "The Knight is named Sora and his dragon is Riku." Roxas glanced at Axel but the redhead shook his head. He didn't know Riku. "You'll find him in the third stable." Roxas nodded and stood. He was ready to go. The Dragon Master smiled faintly. "And welcome to the ranks of the Dragon Knights."

"Thank you sir!" Roxas said, his heart swelling again. He smiled brilliantly as he left the office.

Everything was going wonderfully.

Axel settled down into his stall with a sigh.

The dragon stable was vaguely like a horse stable, but only vaguely. It was partitioned off to give the dragons a bit of privacy and to establish 'nests' for each dragon. Otherwise they would have been constantly snapping at each other. Only real babies lived in a pile, and all the dragons here were adolescents.

Axel rubbed his face against the floor for a moment, enjoying the coarse texture of the stone against his skin. One important way the dragon stables differed from horse stables was the flooring. It was rough textured, sandstone like material that caught and absorbed heat well. In the winter Axel knew the humans would use magic to heat it. The dragons in the caves of his home used their fire breath in a similar way, to warm the stone. Dragons loved heat and while they could tolerate cold, a cold sleeping area would make them miserable like nothing else.

"Are you hungry sir?" A very high voice spoke and Axel lifted his head, startled. He found himself gazing at a very blonde girl wearing gear similar to what Roxas' had worn when he met him. But he tentatively judged her age around ten. She had to be a trainee. Leah had told him that girls rarely became Dragon Knights but there were always some, usually the children of Knights. She was carrying a wheelbarrow filled with meat and Axel licked his lips, his nostrils flaring at the scent of blood and raw flesh.

"Yes please." He said politely and she pushed over the wheelbarrow, dumping it onto the hard stone. From the stains on the floor that was the usual procedure and Axel didn't mind. His home roost had identical marks where the females brought in their kills. "Thank you." He said before he began to bolt down the meat. She bobbed her head before taking her wheelbarrow to fetch more meat for the other dragons.

"Hey there." Axel glanced up, suppressing an instinctive desire to remove the face from the dragon talking to him. Dragons never liked to be interrupted when they were eating. It was the dragon to his left and he was standing and gripping the partition with his front legs, peering over it easily. Axel examined him thoughtfully, struck by his coloring. The stranger was pure white with a very silvery mane and horns that looked like ivory. His aqua-marine eyes were very striking against so much white. Then something occurred to him and he blinked.

"Oh! You must be Riku." Axel said and inwardly cursed himself for being thick. Of course this was Riku. Sora and Roxas had gone off to discuss human things and no one had formally introduced him to the other dragon. Riku chuckled softly.

"Yes, that's me. How did Roxas catch you? I would never have thought he would get a dragon on his first try, let alone one as strong looking as you." Axel took the compliment with grace. He was strong looking and knew it. Several of the prettier, stronger females in the stables were already quietly flirting with him. Axel fully intended to court a few of them as soon as he'd gotten used to the place. Dragon fertility depended a great deal on heat and this place was just too cold for him to impregnate any of them so love play would be nothing but play.

"He dropped a tree on me." Axel answered and Riku's ears tilted forward in surprise, then flattened into his mane. Dragon faces weren't at all expressive but their ears and tails were very expressive indeed and Riku was shocked. "Pretty clever. My head still hurts." He hadn't revealed it to Roxas but on the walk back he'd been suffering from pain all through the back of his head. Axel reached up to tentatively touch the area and winced. It was still very tender.

"You're lucky you weren't seriously injured." Axel flicked his ears in agreement. What Roxas hadn't known was that the hardness of dragon hide provided very little protection against blunt force trauma. That was why bad landings could be a serious danger for young hatchlings. "Are you feeling okay?" Riku sounded concerned and Axel laughed before gulping down more of his meal.

"I'm fine. It just feels strained. I'd rather not fly for a little while though." The movements of flying would strain those muscles more. Riku nodded, dropping down so Axel couldn't see him anymore. But he could still hear the white dragon.

"I'll mention that to Sora. It shouldn't be a problem." Riku assured him and Axel nodded. "What's your lineage?" That was the usual question and Axel readily complied, reciting a list of his ancestors until he hit one they had in common. "Alfrana was my Scheetra." Riku sounded pleased. That particular word had no human equivalent. The closest Axel could come to was sister of my grandmother's cousin. And he wasn't sure if that was correct. Riku fulfilled his half of the ritual by telling Axel about his heritage. Axel listened carefully, reflecting on how the day had gone.

He had a cute, resourceful little human for a Dragon Knight and the stables were comfortable and so far the company seemed good. Everything was going well.