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Riding a horse turned out to be harder than Meveris had expected.

”I think that”s how it should be,” Zaryen told him from his place on the other horse, moving smoothly and calmly by his side. ”I”ll definitely struggle with fight practice, so it”s only fair that you”d struggle with something, too. To even out the field.”

”Consider it done,” Meveris muttered as he tried to adjust in the saddle and Dolea, his horse, started to turn left when they were supposed to be going straight ahead.

”Don”t feel bad, you”re doing well for a first-timer. I”d bet it”s much harder to get started when you”re an adult and stuff.”

Meveris chuckled after he somehow convinced Dolea to get back on track. ”Stuff?”

Without even looking at his companion, he could tell he was both blushing and rolling his eyes.

”I meant that you”re tall and have a big muscle mass. That”s much harder to balance properly.”

Meveris pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing.

””Big muscle mass”, you say? Are you flirting with me right now?”

”Absolutely not.”

”Are you sure?”

Zaryen snorted. ”If you think riding like this is hard, imagine having to do it while also being, well, hard.”

Ah.

”I concede.”

”Wise choice.”

”However, I”ll be happy to come back to this discussion when we”re not on top of two big animals that could trump all over us if they so wished.”

”Please, between a dragon and a horse, I”d put my money on the dragon anytime.”

Which was a good point, of course, but Meveris never said that he was at his best—or smartest—when faced with a real challenge. Sometimes, it presented itself as way too much confidence, and at other times, it was the exact opposite.

And yet, even wary like he was right now, he was still having fun and couldn”t wait to get better at this, to become more comfortable and more attuned with the horse. There weren”t many things a couple could do for an outdoor date around here, and a horseback ride seemed like a nice way to spend time together.

The best way would be flying with his companion, Meveris was sure, but they definitely needed to work up to that.

”Are you more excited or nervous about tomorrow?” Zaryen”s question turned his attention back to the present.

Tomorrow was their first day of the proper classes, and while there weren”t many of them yet—mind alignment and bond connection, customs, and healing basics—it still felt like an important moment, another start.

”I wish we had more time solely for ourselves, and I”m a little worried about how I”ll handle other people around us for longer periods of time, but I”m excited to get started on the teachings. And if we can get even better at us,” he waved between them, ”I want that. I can”t wait, actually.”

”It”s hard to imagine it can get better than this,” Zaryen admitted and glanced down at his hands while Meveris”s heart expanded impossibly.

”It is,” he agreed, eager to meet Zaryen halfway, to show him he didn”t have to be embarrassed by any confessions like this.

Meveris would cherish each and every one of them like the greatest treasures they were.

”And you?” he prompted, when his companion looked back at him with a soft, grateful smile. ”More nervous or excited?”

”Well, after what you said, I”m definitely more excited. My worries are all about other people and how they”ll react to… everything.”

Of course. It wasn”t only about Zaryen”s family and whether they accepted him or not. It was about everyone at the Academy, too—people who might become his friends, but they also might not. Feraan”s sudden shift in behavior had clearly hurt Zaryen, which was a bad start already. From what Meveris had gathered from things his companion said and didn”t say, Zaryen had never had many friends and certainly didn”t have anyone he trusted implicitly.

Which was heartbreaking to Meveris, who had more people like that than he had fingers on both hands. But it also made him more determined to help Zaryen build those bonds and learn to lean on others. A trusted few would be good enough, Meveris simply hoped for his companion to have people in his corner that weren”t just him. As much as he might wish to be everything Zaryen wanted or needed, the logical part of him—and the part that learned more about mourning last year than he”d ever wished to—knew it wasn”t the right way to live.

”We”ll find our people and stick with them,” he offered out loud, wishing he could pull his companion into his arms right now. ”I know it”s easier for me to say, because I have my brothers here and it”s too early to expect you to trust them the same way. But I refuse to believe we can”t find new people to connect with.”

”Your brothers have been nothing but good to me and I appreciate it more than I can say. I”m sorry I couldn”t offer you the same from my side.”

”You have nothing to apologize for. I”d be happy for you if your family was supportive, but I don”t need them for myself. I already have what I need.”

Shifting in his saddle, Zaryen stared at the horizon.

”I have you, now, so…”

”There”s nothing wrong with wanting more people at your side,” Meveris told him gently. ”We”re each other”s sole focus, now, and you”ll remain the most important person in my life until the day I die, but I have others who—” love me ”—are there for me, too, and I want the same for you.”

Zaryen nodded, and they fell into an easy silence as they made their way back.

Once they were nearing the stable, Zaryen spoke up again.

”I want the same for me, as well,” he admitted quietly.

”Good.” Meveris reached out and managed to brush his fingers along Zaryen”s shoulder. ”Then we”ll make it happen.”

As they got off the horses outside the stable, Meveris stretched his arms up and noted his muscles were tired from a workout that was ostensibly much lighter than what he tended to go for.

”You get used to it,” Aderys offered from the side, and Meveris turned to see him and Daryan, who were approaching them from the direction of the main building. ”I was definitely sore the first few times.”

”And yet, here you are now,” Daryan teased with a half-smile before turning back towards them. ”You picked a good one to start with,” he told Meveris, nodding at Dolea. ”She”s mellow and doesn”t get spooked easily.” Then he tilted his head at Zaryen. ”You”re probably good at horse riding already, right?”

Zaryen, who had already taken the saddle off of Vaya, looked up from where he was about to start cleaning her with a brush.

”I”ve been riding since I was four, so I guess I have to be good or it would be quite embarrassing.” He ran a hand over the horse”s side before facing Daryan. ”Like I told Meveris, us humans need something we”re generally better at than dragons or you”d crush our self-esteem to dust around here.”

”We both have companions who are better than us in several ways,” Aderys said, exchanging glances with Daryan, who nodded.

”Feraan and Valyn are both smarter than us, that”s for sure. But they”re also better riders, indeed.”

”Whoever put it on the subject list for the Academy knew what they were doing,” Zaryen said, and he sounded a bit more relaxed, which in turn made Meveris less vigilant.

He was still on guard, especially with two dragons so close to his companion, but he could feel the difference.

Then, Aderys frowned and looked back and forth between Zaryen and the main building.

”Speaking of our companions,” he started, suddenly unsure, only for Daryan to finish for him.

”They”re expecting us in a few hours for the training sessions, so we better get going.” He grabbed Aderys by the arm and headed towards the entrance of the stable. ”See you guys later.”

With that, the two of them went inside, leaving Meveris with no clue what had just happened. And from the tension coming off his companion, he”d guess Zaryen was wondering, too.

Was Aderys trying to address Feraan”s behavior towards Zaryen? Explain it, maybe?

After all, Daryan”s save—as true as it might be—clearly wasn”t what Aderys had in mind, and yet, he didn”t correct him, which meant he changed his mind.

Meveris opened his mouth, trying to find something to say, but then Dolea headbutted him gently in the chest, reminding him of the task at hand.

”There, I got you,” he told her softly as he grabbed a brush and started cleaning her slowly. ”I”ll take care of you.”

If he made sure it was loud enough for Zaryen to hear, too, then, well.

He figured the reminder couldn”t hurt.