Ignoring his beast, he held his breath as Honoria barreled down, her wings pressed flat against her white dragon form. There wasn't much sun, but he remembered from his youth how her scales were more iridescent in the sunshine than white.
She was beautiful in any form.
His dragon snorted, but then it came time for Honoria to pull up and his beast moved their dragon head forward to watch.
One, two, three…and Honoria released her wings and maneuvered her body so that the currents swerved her up toward the sky again.
He let out his breath and said to his beast, She's still a fast learner, and more skilled than I had assumed.
All the males probably think the same. 'She is female, so she must be weak' is the traditional way of thinking.
Asher didn't like imagining others who would dismiss Honoria so easily. It just means we have to win this thing and prove everyone wrong.
To do that, we need to be at our best. I think showing Ria a thing or two with our cock will energize her right up.
If he would've been in his human form, Asher would've smiled. You tell her that and see what happens.
Honoria hovered in front of them, flapping her wings to stay in place. She tilted her head in question, and Asher didn't hesitate to bob his in acknowledgment, letting her know she'd done it correctly.
Since his promise had been teaching her one tough maneuver before they ended the session, he pointed toward the ground with his hind leg, then to her, and back to the ground again. Trusting her to understand, he dove toward the landing area.
A long-held need to impress surged through Asher's body and he pressed his wings against his back so that he fell faster toward the ground. When he was near enough to the landing area, he released his wings, held firm against the sudden jolt of resistance, and then glided the remainder of the distance to the ground. The second he touched his hind legs to the earth, the sound of clapping filled the air.
Looking over his shoulder, Asher spotted a group of dragon-shifters mostly in their late teens and early twenties. It took him a second to recognize them; they were some of his former students. All grown and no doubt less innocent than when he'd last seen them, but as he looked at each of their faces, they only had smiles and approval for him.
His dragon said softly, Let's shift and talk with them. They won't blame you for abandoning them, I'm positive.
One of the many things Asher had worried about during his imprisonment was if his students would be safe. He'd tried to teach them how to flee if necessary, but he'd never been certain if it'd been enough.
His dragon spoke again. Whilst not all of our former students are here, many are. Let's find out what happened. If we're to ever be leader, we need to start showing everyone that we are healed and ready.
Since Asher had spent the last six months trying to heal himself and tackle his demons, he'd steered clear of almost everyone who wasn't his mother and sister. For the first time, he felt confident saying, I think we are ready to talk with them.
Asher imagined his wings shrinking into his back, his forearms and hind legs shortening, and his snout morphing back into a nose and mouth.
Once he stood in his human form, the group of former students rushed toward him. One of the older boys—correction, Tony was now a young adult male—was first to speak. "That was brilliant, Mr. Asher. I vaguely remember seeing those maneuvers back when you were teaching, but either you're better now or my memory is crap."
A female not much younger than him snickered. "It's your memory, Tony."
Tony glared, but Asher noticed the look turned into one of love. He suspected the pair were an item.
Another male spoke up. "Tony, I think it's a bit of both, if I'm being honest. You always had a hard time memorizing facts or protocols, even if you are a genius with numbers."
Another female spoke up, one who had to be in her midteens and couldn't have been more than nine or ten when Asher had last seen her. "Mr. Asher, is it true you're vying to be our new clan leader?"
He was vaguely aware of Honoria walking up to them in her human form, completely dressed. He
glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in question. Did she want him to tell the group about the joint venture?
The second she nodded, Asher looked back at the younger dragon-shifters. "I am, but not by myself. Honoria and I are running as a team."
Murmurs raced through the group, but it was the girl who'd asked about him running who managed to speak first. "I've never heard of two people wanting to lead a clan together before."
His beast said, See how she didn't first pounce on Honoria being a female? That's a good sign.
Honoria answered the female, "It's uncommon. And I don't know enough of other clan histories to say if it's ever been done at all. However, Asher and I think it's a good idea." She winked. "After all, female dragon-shifters usually avoid going to war or other such violent measures more often than the males. That alone is a point in my favor."
One of the younger males snorted. "Maybe, but I've read a lot of stories about female dragon-shifters poisoning each other. That's just as bad."