Free Falling [CLOSED; MATTHEW]

...Speaking of free falling.

The other, fellow Free Rider and her draconian companion hadn't been the only ones who seemed to enjoy the feeling of falling through the skies on their own volition. In fact, there was another pair of both dragon and rider alike who had been indulging within the very same activities earlier that day. Having made it a daily routine to warm their skills and reflexes up, the two had brought themselves to awaken early - or late, depending on one's perspective - during the darker hours between night and dawn, flying through the skies and enjoying the crisp air as it further awakened them for the events to come later on throughout the day. Once it got light outside, they shifted to a final phase of their warmup that involved a sort of acrobatic spree, in which they each shot through the skies; either together, or separately- though they would both join together before one obtained injuries before repeating the process, either way.

The current day was no exception for such routines- and it would be clearly evident as an ebon-scaled dragon soared through the sea of clouds above within a flight path perpendicular to the earth and seas alike beneath it, followed not too long afterwards by its rider as he shot through the heavens during his descent, as well. With a clear mind and a clear soul, Matthew Aaron Sanctum remained metaphorically light as he calmly extended his arms out before him, letting the wind carry them as they would as he felt the air rushing past and seemingly through him with a subtle, appreciative smile. Shutting his eyes, he inhaled deeply and slowly, holding the breath within his lungs for several moments before expelling it within a similar manner, the sound-based evidence of it being lost to the roaring winds seemingly occurring around him.

Voids of a sharp, yet, at the same time, kind, emerald radiance would unveil vaguely and narrowly as he cast his gaze above him yet again- though just in time to pass by the islet from which the other rider had jumped off of before she had actually done so. Curiously, he kept his focus upon her until her own drake had flown around and caught her. If it hadn't been for his own, beloved reptilian steed producing a shadow from the corner of his eye and sight, he would have looked towards her a little bit more, pondering upon the fact that she, too, seemed eager to indulge within similar activities, regardless of the seeming, idiotic risks that they had to offer.

Alas, since signs of the beast had made its way to his senses, however, Matt merely chuckled under his breath as he watched Mortum rapidly circle around him several times before swooping under him. To that maneuver, Sanctum swiftly flipped his body over; initially facing the nearing seas below, but meeting the sight of a series of rather darkly-colored scales less than a moment later. Knowing full well that they belonged to his own dragon, the man leaned over, gazing over towards the reptile's head thoughtfully and gratefully before appropriately securing himself.

Mortum began his ascent towards the islands again soon afterwards. Taking a few, aerial detours, however, he took care to process a couple of flips and spins as their casual time drew to a gradual close. Once the final flip was finished, the grand dragon unfurled his wings, transition into a slow, lazy glide towards and around the rider that they had encountered earlier. Matthew glanced over at her with a smirk of amusement, tilting his head.

"Heh... It's not every day you see someone willing to jump off a damn island," he called out simply. Although hypocritical with his words, given what he himself had just done, his tone carried a trace of joking amusement as he gazed at the girl afar. "A risky thing to do, don't you think~?"

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655 Words ::: Kiara Drakos

Kiara Drakos

Upon hearing the initial reply that she had to offer him, Matthew blinked, chuckling softly while widening his eyes faintly within a shroud of not surprise or shock, but amusement. All the while, his brows rose slightly to emphasize the feeling. "Jumping off the side of Velderoth, huh...? Heh...nice, nice..." he cooed leisurely, taking his own turn to shift upon Mortum's back. While still taking care to maintain at least a hand's secured grasp onto one of the drake's scales - a gesture that was surely discomforting during the times that his mother was still his Free Rider, though also one that he was more than used to after all these years - he sat up as his flight-bound steet slowed its venture through the air, rolling his shoulders while keeping an eye on Kiara as she neared. To her following remark, he couldn't help but laugh once more, shrugging nonchalantly. "Aaaah...guilty as charged. For both the acrobatics and jumping off the edges of Velderoth, too."

A rather drawn-out and perhaps even exaggerated sigh would follow those latest words as the man leaned back, absentmindedly closing his eyes while pondering upon the next inquiry directed towards him. "Well...I myself enjoy a good book, or a simple skygazing session every once in a while..." he began thoughtfully. Another shrug, and he would have opened his eyes once more, glancing over at the girl from the rim of his sight as he shook his head, adding, "Although...I feel like that would be a bit too inactive for your tastes, despite the fact that I literally know nothing about you other than the fact that you seem to like having a potential death wish. ...Then again, though, the rush you get when you do stupid stuff like that is something I know well. So...I can say with personal confidence that nothing really beats anything more than actually doing something risky for fun. More thrills that way."

Truth be told, was a tad surprised when the girl subtly denied his assumption of her, stating that she was more or less in the grey zone when it came to literature- or as far as he could see and guess thus far. Chuckling, he slowly turned his head, briefly averting his gaze from her as those gentle, yet equally sharpened and alert eyes of his locked towards the air paths before him, casting a jade-hued glint towards the rising sun off in the distance, peeking out to greet the neighboring realms within a seemingly shy manner as it gave off a growing, solar glow. For sake of decreasing whatever strains the direct look into the distant star would have initially caused him, his eyes remained narrowed even more so than usual as he fell within a thoughtful silence for just a few moments, pondering upon the remarks and responses that the other had given him prior.


"If that's the case, you should pick a book or two up again sometime soon," he suggested leisurely, though in a tone that was far from forcing or domineering, as many others seemed to often be when giving another a piece of their mind and thoughts. Shifting his gaze from the sun, he glanced down and towards a closer point of interest, smirking as he pat the base of Mortum's neck as a sort of habit during their casual flights, noting how the drake himself turned his head ever so slightly, glancing at his rider from the corner of his eye in response to the touch. As he snorted, Matthew grinned a little bit more before nodding at him, which, in turn, appeared to be a wordless signal for him to not mind him as the scaled beast turned his head forward once more, continuously guiding his way through the skies. Glancing towards his flank, his eyes finally met hers yet again, and Matthew shrugged, saying, "As for skygazing, though... It's a favorite past time of mine. I'd spend hours on end with Mortum here looking at the clouds and stars during night and day alike during my childhood since it was a good way to clear my mind... Never thought to do it around Mons Igneus, though. Seemed a bit dangerous at the time, but...heh...I guess it's really nothing compared to potentially falling to your death daily."

Taking a deep breath, he paused for another time as he mentally scrolled over their conversation within the passing minutes, gradually looking diagonally upwards and towards the sea of clouds that shrouded over all four of them. He puffed his cheeks out absentmindedly before leaning backwards, trusting within his companion not to pull any sudden movements as he released his scales, instead shifting his hands behind his back and leaning back upon them as he enjoyed the passing scenery. "I won't explicitly ask about why you have that death wish since I'm probably not in a friendly enough position to ask about personal matters like that, then... So, that aside, I'll just agree that the thrill of death itself is ironically something worth living for, too," he went on in response to her latter statements, nodding in agreement. "But being the cause of constant cleanups for your brother, huh...? Heh... I assume that's to just generally annoy and spite him a lot of the time?"

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562 Words ::: Kiara Drakos