My Unlikely Friend, My Home (Draft 2)

"Alright, let's see here..." The salesman across from me mumbled. "Leona Arganya, Your island should be just past the X Clouds," He told me as he gave me my key amulet. "I'm sure you'll love it. It has a great view of the area. Thanks for the business, miss."

"No problem, I appreciate your help." I replied. Heading out of the shop, I whistled for Veyron, my sapphire blue Glidewing. His feathers reflected the sunlight as if they were glass. His round head turned in every direction as both his eyes located me. He then walked over to me and bent his head downwards so I could pet him, like I always did when I first got him. I still remember when I received him on my 14th birthday...

It was a bright, sunny day. Every Pera child in our community that turned 14 in the past month were to receive a Glidewing from the community at an honourary ceremony.

"Fellow Perans!" Our chieftain announced. "Today is a special day for our children. Ever since our people settled here, we have travelled amongst our islands on the backs of the glorious creatures called Glidewings. Today, we allow these young adults, full of hopes, dreams, and desires, to roam free past our island bounds without a care in the world." As he was speaking, a large cart was rolled onto the stage, covered by a drape. "Let their lives be full of safety, accomplishment, and of course - adventure! Now come, our aspiring children! Come befriend the beings who will give you the freedom to achieve your goals!" The large drape over the card was taken off as it unveiled a large cage filled with Glidewings.

While everybody attending the ceremony expected all of us to go one by one, in an orderly fashioned line, we all non-verbally decided during the speech to run up there in a loud, overexcited mob. After the staff of the ceremony got us organized, we slowly started to receive our Glidewings.

Each child on the stage got to choose their own. There was a giant array of birds, differing in size and colour. There was an elegant purple bird, a feisty red bird, and just about every other colour on the rainbow.

The one that really stood out to me was Veyron - he was settled in the back of the cage, behind everyone else.

He looked absolutely amazing. I didn't see any other feather colours on any other bird - that's why I wanted him so badly.

As I approached forward and said I wanted him, I noticed he was scared - I mean, I was too, so it probably rubbed off onto him.

The large bird walked forward, its head turning in every direction. It was much larger than I expected, especially for being this young...I'd say it was half the size of a house.

I held up my hand, like every other child is taught to do when expecting to receive a Glidewing. What's supposed to happen next is, if it trusts you enough, it'll bend its neck forward, and place its head onto your hand.

It's just that..it didn't happen. Not immediately, of course. I felt my face turn red in embarassment. Was I doing something wrong? I felt like I was going to faint.

To my relief, the large bird finally bent its head toward me and allowed me to touch it.

His feathers were so soft, and I heard him hum happily as I rubbed his head.

As all the other kids got their Glidewings, I was trying to look for my dad. He said he'd be in the crowd, but I couldn't find him for the life of me.

"Now, is everyone content with the Glidewings they've chosen?" The Chieftain asked. "Great! Now it's time to saddle them up and ride them for the first time!"

Lots of staff came onto the stage and started harnessing up the birds with saddles. Slowly but surely, the stage emptied as the children were bringing their new Glidewings to the flight deck, on the other side of the island.

The streets were full of people congratulating us for getting a Glidewing. Kids were waving to friends younger and older, and even stopped sometimes to see their parents.

I tried looking for my father for the entire walk, but I couldn't spot him. He promised me he would show up to see me, where could he be?

By the time we got to the flight deck, everyone was itching to take to the skies. Of course, since most of us had no idea how to control a Glidewing, we needed to be given a quick demonstration. Duck down to go down, pull up on your bird's reigns to go up, turn left and right to turn to that direction accordingly. There were other things, but it was stuff we all could've figured out on our own (like how to stop.)

I still saw no sign of my dad anywhere. I was disappointed, honestly. I guess I can tell him how it went when I see him again.

I tried not to look upset when it was my turn to take off. I didn't want to ruin the day with my sour attitude.

When I got to the edge of the flight deck, it was hard not to look down and get dizzy. We were told stories of those who fell off the island without their Glidewings - they say they're still falling to this day.

Trying not to faint in front of the entire community, I signalled my bird to spread his wings, and to finally leap off from the deck.

The speed at which we took off was a lot faster than I expected - any faster and my hair would've ripped right off my head.

I yanked the reigns of my Glidewing quickly, just so that it could go a bit slower and I could practice basic maneuverability.

It took a few minutes, but I was able to get comfortable with how controlling it worked.

After picking up speed again, I started doing tricks with all the other kids; rolls, loops, spirals, all the fancy stuff. But after a while I went back to the flight deck since I started feeling a bit sick.

Dismounting my Glidewing, I thought I heard a voice call my name.

I turned my head in all directions, paying attention to the sounds, trying to distinctly locate my name being shouted over everything else.

"Leona!" I finally heard, as a hand grabbed me by my arm and turned me around.

After a quick recovery of my wits from the sudden turn, I was able to realize that it was my dad talking to me. He finally showed up.

"By the Seers - Dad, you scared me!" I laughed slightly, and rubbed my arm a bit. "And don't grab me like that, it hurt.."

"I'm sorry, but I saw you flying with your Glidewing and got here as fast as I could! How was it? Did you like it? Where's your Glidewing?" He was shouting so many questions that I couldn't even focus on which one to answer first.

"It was fun! I liked it a lot, I just took it easy like you told me to. My Glidewing's right there." I pointed to my bird, who was drinking water at the community's local Glidewing water bowl.

"The blue one?" My dad asked, and I nodded in response. "Wow, you chose a nice colour. I bet your mother would be proud."

My mother. I haven't seen her in my entire life. The only thing I know about her is that she was taken by Kloy'Qen bandits when I was only a baby. Thinking about her made my stomach churn. Knowing that she still could be out there, suffering as someone's slave, or even worse, hurt me.

I snapped my head back into reality before I thought of anything else about her. "Yeah, she would be, huh?" I replied.

"I'm sure of it, Leona." My dad sighed. "Have you given your new friend a name yet?"

My mind raced. I was so caught up in the entire moment of the ceremony and flying for the first time that I didn't even think of a name.

"Veyron," I spat out without thinking. "His name is Veyron."

"Veyron? An odd name, but..I like it." My dad put his arm around me and held me close. "I'm sure the both of you are going to grow really close."

And ever since that day, the two of us have been inseparable. There wasn't a waking minute of my life that I wasn't riding Veyron through the clouds.