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Myranda listened closely. Outside there was a commotion. The voices of several excited villagers could be heard, as well as an odd crashing noise. She rushed out of the door. The eyes of the villagers were trained on a rooftop. Myranda looked to it just in time to see Myn finish scampering to the top.
"Myn! What are you doing!?" she called out.
The dragon looked excitedly to her and unfurled her wings. She leapt from the roof and flapped wildly, taking a less-than-graceful lurching trip through the air. Despite the rather abortive attempt at flight, the little creature did manage to pick up a remarkable amount of speed. Her aim was impressively accurate as well, as she covered just enough ground to collide with Myranda, knocking them both to the ground.
"Well, you have certainly been busy," Myranda managed after sitting up and looking the little creature in the eyes.
Solomon came trotting over to them, growling some throaty message to Myn.
"That is the furthest she has managed to travel," he explained.
"When did this start?" Myranda asked, climbing to her feet as Myn sprinted back to the building and clawed her way to the roof.
"This morning, after watching you and Ayna at work, she came to me, curious. I showed her how to start on the path to flight," Solomon answered helpfully in Northern.
Myn took to the sky again, flailing through the air and slamming into Myranda. This time the girl was ready and caught the dragon in her arms. The force of the landing still caused her to stumble backward. Myranda realized for the first time how much Myn had grown since the day they first met. The creature was as heavy as a child! She let her down and watched her run to another building, this one even further away.
"How long is this going to keep up?" Myranda asked Solomon as she braced for a third test flight.
"She needs to develop the muscles. To do that, she will need to practice. If she remains as enthusiastic as she is now, I cannot foresee her requiring much more than a week to fly for at least a few minutes at a time," he said.
Myranda caught her friend and released her again.
"Take a few more steps back. Make her work. It will speed her progress," he said.
Myranda stepped back. Sure enough, Myn fought harder and made it into her arms. The game continued for some time. Though it was a bit rough, Myranda found it quite enjoyable. The sun had drooped in the sky before Myn couldn't manage the distance from the roof to her friend, a distance that had grown to nearly a hundred paces. The poor little thing was exhausted. Solomon praised both dragon and girl for working together so well before retiring to his hut. Deacon, who had left to continue his scribing after watching for a time, had returned when he found that the sequence of flaps and crashes had ended.
"I trust you had some fun," he said.
"Did you see her? She practically made it halfway across the village!" Myranda said excitedly, scratching the weary creature.
"Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it was impressive nonetheless," he said.
"She's growing up. I know I should be happy, but inside I'm not," she said.
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't want to lose my little dragon. She's enough of a handful at this size. Can you imagine when she is grown?" Myranda said.
"Yes, well, you've got years before that becomes a problem," he said. "As I understand it, they grow quickly at first, but it slows after the first year. Besides, I think you've got something else to worry about right now."
"What?" she asked.
"Look at the sky," he said.
The sun was nearing the horizon.
"Lain! I have to get to training!" she said.
"I'm afraid so," he said.
Myranda rushed off to her hut, with Myn trudging as quickly as she could to keep up. She retrieved the quarterstaff and hurried to where Lain was waiting.
"Myn is learning to fly. I lost track of time," Myranda explained as the tired dragon collapsed beside her.
"I know. It is a difficult spectacle to miss. Never mind the quarterstaff--take this," he said, tossing her a shorter, stouter rod.
"What is this?" she asked.
"That is roughly what you will be given when you have finished your wizard training, minus the crystal. It is the weapon that you are most likely to make use of in the future. It is also the second weapon I have decided to teach you," he said.
"Very well," she said.
"Today, I will attack, and you will defend," Lain said.
"You will attack? I have been catching Myn all day. I am not sure I can take many hits," she said.
Lain took a wooden training sword from the rack behind him. With a swift slash, he brought the weapon to within an inch of the girl's neck before she could react. There it stopped without touching her.
"If my weapon comes as close as this, you can consider yourself killed," he said.
"And how do I earn a question?" she asked.
"If you manage to block three attacks in a row, I will allow you one question," he said.
After a brief explanation of the differences in the usage of the staff as opposed to the quarterstaff, he instructed her to prepare herself, and they began. Had she more energy, Myn would have viciously objected to the violent display. Instead, she cast a weary eye on the proceedings between dozes.
Whereas she had been slow to pick up the correct methods of attack, defense came far more naturally to Myranda. Before long, she was blocking his first attack without fail. Unfortunately, this nearly always left her weapon out of place to block the follow-up attack. Lain scolded her as she failed again and again to block his second attack.
"Your opponent may be able to attack more quickly than you can move, but not more quickly than you can think. Use your mind. Battle is more than about the body. If you cannot position a block in the time between when you identify the intended target and the moment of impact, then you must move sooner. You must know where the foe will attack next! Anticipate!" he demanded.
By the end of the session, she had only managed to block a second attack a handful of times, and never a third. Magic had forced her to think deeply. It would seem that combat was forcing her to think quickly. The two skills, on the surface, seemed practically opposite. It was clear that if someone were to possess both skills, though, there would be little that such a person could not handle.
After a few final pieces of advice from Lain, Myranda parted ways and headed for home. Myn was still quite weary and took her usual post atop her when Myranda went to bed.