Katrina gave Branwen a warm smile as she finished her introduction. It was cool that Branwen's mom was one of the top class riders ever, but Katrina had never really gotten associated with the dragon world until she'd heard about the school. After Branwen finished her introduction, she gave the group a small wave to show she would talk next.

"I'm Katrina Envy. Call me Kat or Katri. I think an interesting fact about me would be my obsession with hang-gliding," she said as she hefted her glider and held it up for the others to see. "That's about it," she said with a chuckle.

The soft purr of an engine was the only sound Zakeru heard as he drove his chopper through the grassland fields. The black machine ate up asphalt at a steady pace of around 80 mph even though the gray haired boy kept a few fingers on the brake; just to be safe. He didn't wear a helmet though, and he didn't really need one. Why? Regeneration mutation; that's why. He could heal any wound, but the bigger the wound; the longer it took to heal. Strapped behind him was a duffel bag fill of the few clothes he had. He also had a backpack on his back which held a few of the most valuable things he had. His laptop, tablet, sketchbook, and phone so he could contact his father and send him new chopper ideas.

He didn't know how far he had gone until he felt a shiver run through his body; making chills run down his spine. Braking and halting the bike, he glanced behind him and saw nothing. His brows furrowed slightly as he revved the engine on the chopper before taking off again. Slowly a first; then gaining speed. Within moments he heard the thuds generated by wings of great magnitude and it was followed by roars and bellows of the scaled lizards known as dragons. Zakeru glanced up off the road slightly; just to see if he could see any of the gigantic, yet majestic, creatures in flight. He, unfortunately, did not see any of the great scaled beasts.

With a frown, he slowed his chopper to a stop in front of a large building that looked big enough to be the dorms. Turning off the chopper, he flipped down the kickstand and let it rest at a slight diagonal tilt as he also let go of the handle bars. Leaning back slightly on the leather seat of the bike, Zakeru ran his fingers through his gray and black hair before dismounting the bike. Removing the keys, he swung his backpack around and unzippered a small pocket as he deposited the keys inside. Zipping the pocket back up, he undid the straps holding the duffel bag to his chopper. Slipping the straps into the saddle bags on the side he was on, he suddenly heard voices and cocked his head to one side to get a better fix on their location.

When he couldn't, his frown increased. Picking the duffel up, he headed towards the source of the voices. The direction he was heading took him around the big building before he spotted other people. They were talking in a group with people speaking one at a time. Probably to introduce themselves. With a shrug, he slid up to the group but hung back slightly as he watched. His odd orange eyes flicking from one person to another.

Glancing around Diana smiled at Katrina and then ducked her head in hello at the girl who had just approached. "More newcomers. Wonderful," she said in a bright voice, grinning in a friendly manner. Just as she was about to tell the girl what they were doing Diana noticed another kid walk up to them, then hang back silently. 

"More than expected," Diana said, mostly to herself, and raised an eyebrow. Shrugging, since the number was always changing from the day they recieved applicants to the academy, the training master gave the teenaged boy another smile.

"Sit down, you two, and we'll continue introducing ourselves. I'm Diana Ross, training master and second in command here at Wyvern Acres. The red-haired girl is Branwen Nye and the one with the hanglider is Katrina Envy. You say your name, any nickname you go by, age -Katrina forgot to add-, and something interesting about yourself."

Zakeru glanced at the older woman -- Diana Ross -- before looking at the two she had mentioned. His odd eyes stayed on each girl for a few second before flicking away. Hesitantly, he came forward and set his duffel on an empty bench before sliding off his backpack and placing it on the duffel. He sat down next to both. Running his hand through his gray and black hair, he tilted his head to one side as he thought about an interesting fact about himself. He came up with two, but decided on one of them.

"I'm Zakeru Tokage. I can also go by Lizard, which is a rough translation of my last name. I am eighteen years old and I help my father build and design custom choppers," he said, slowly. Then as an additional note, he added; "I also have a weird -- and rare -- genetic mutation that allows me to heal faster than normal." The last part was said in a softer tone than what he said before. And while he spoke, he kept his orange eyes on the ground before him; not wanting to meet anybody's eyes at the moment.

Bumpity bump bump. Bumpity bump bump, look at Shadow go.
Bumpity bump bump. Bumpity bump bump, over the hills of...
Dragon riders! 8D
//shot

Diana nodded in a friendly manner. "Welcome then, Zakeru. And a very interesting fact. I think we'll all enjoy getting to know you." Glancing around the training master frowned and inspected the faces. "Does anyone else need to introduce themselves? We should get a move on, before the sun gets too hot."

It was known that in this particular area the afternoons were sweltering, the heat coming down thick and fast upon the open fields. Only the forest and the inside of the academy managed to stay cool during spring, summer and parts of fall.

--

Branwen shifted in her seat, wondering if Zakeru was actually telling the truth. Genetic mutations seemed awfully far-fetched, even if they were in a place were people rode dragons for amusement and trained the mighty beasts. Nibbling her lip she considered asking Zakeru if he was actually telling the truth, but a faint blush colored her cheeks as she thought of it. Her father had raised her to be polite amongst others -not that she listened- and Branwen wasn't about to make a bad impression on her classmates for the next four years.

Shrugging she turned and looked at Zakeru with her blue eyes, head tilted slightly in a thoughtful ex
pression.

"Choppers?" she asked, moving onto a safer subject. "Like, helicopters?"

Ooc; I actually thought it meant helicopters...xD;

Ooc; Alright, Tld and em, I'm kicking your characters out until you start posting. If you want to come back just r-mail me and your characters can come back. But I'm not waiting for you. Sorry if I sound harsh. :/

Zakeru tilted his head, almost jumping at the sound of the girl's voice... Branwen's voice. Her questions made his lips curve in a smile as he chuckled and shook his head. "Not helicopters. Those things are expensive to make and maintain. I'm talking about motorcycle choppers. The classics," he replied as he lifted his orange eyes from the ground to the girl. They were narrowed in amusement as his smile widened slightly. He leaned back slightly as he moved into a more comfortable lounging position. But his arms were still crossed against his chest in a guarded manor.

((Sorry guys! Long story!))

  Garrett brightened up when he heard the other guy mention motorcycles. That sounded promising for the hunk of junk lying behind the hill. He eyed the silver haired man speculativly, untill he realized that he was next in line to speak. He gave his trademark sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head, looking a little goofy. "Well, my name is Garrett Michaels. I don't have a nickname, but if you come up with one, please make it anything other than Gary, haha." He looked nervously around to see if he could extract a laugh from the crowd. Sighing, he continued, "I am 18. And as for my interesting fact, it might not be all that interesting, but, in my normal school I was in ROTC. I'm hoping they can create a division for dragon riders in the military!"

Ooc; I lost my huge post. FFFUUUU

Diana nodded and grinned at the two. "Garrett and Faile. I'll remember that. And we've also got Branwen -how could I forget you-, Katrina and Zakeru. That should be all." Doing a quick headcount to assure that that was, in fact, all the kids, Ms Ross leaned back on her seat and her smile widened a bit.

"Now we get to do the tour. I know you're all excited for the stables but to get to that we have to enter the school, and therefore you get to listen to me talk all about it. Unfortunately, you can't skip this."

Standing and brushing off her loose jeans Diana headed for the large double doors, opened wide to allow as much natural light as possible to enter into the foyer. The golden sunlight hit the dark oak hardwood and highlighted the tall marble columns that supported the tall ceiling. Tall arching windows provided even more light, shining on the glimmering brass sconces that held unlit candles. Towards the back three twisting staircases climbed upwards: one to the left, one to the right, and one towards the center. 

"This is the main lobby area, where we hold meetings as well as gatherings for the riders from around the world. You guys have no use for it. Those stairs all lead to different places. The left to the girls' dorms, the right to the boys' dorms, and the center to cafeteria, classrooms and meeting rooms. Down below we have the teachers' rooms, the stables, which are attached by a long hall down that way, and some other classrooms." 

Glancing around she made sure that the kids were listening.

--

Branwen groaned and stretched her arms high above her head, letting out a jaw-cracking yawn while she was at it. Standing she glanced down at Katrina and shook her head, smirking. "Hope you enjoy this," she said with mock sadness.

"Ms Ross is going to go on and on and then you might get lucky and have Headmaster Fabian lecture you. (:D) Just try not to fall asleep, the way those two go on." Chuckling Branwen waited for the girl, taking in a good look at the other kids. Garrett wasn't too fascinating to her, to be honest. The military was something Branwen just took for granted. Either it was there, or it wasn't. Faile seemed nervous, poor thing, and Branwen felt chagrin at her earlier thoughts on her bubbly attitude. And Zakeru was simply mysterious. 

Katrina had a feeling she would become closest to Branwen during her stay here, a small bond probably already made between the two. She chuckled when Branwen warned her of the lectures to come, but following Diana had more of a ring to it. So, she folded her glider under her arm and stepped after Branwen, who kindly waited for her.

Walking into the school itself was another surprise; the building was old. It was rightfully so, probably having been there since the dawn of the dragons. The grandeur ceilings were supported by beautifully constructed columns that lined the main hallway; a soft carpet under their feet bringing a homey atmosphere to the ancient building.

Katrina found her fingers running along the walls as she walked by, drinking in Diana's instructions and lecture about the school overall. She peered up the center staircase as she passed, cocking her head as she looked up at it. "If I could interrupt, is there some way for our dragons to fly up there with us? From the outside, maybe?" Katrina questioned Diana, her large brown eyes glittering.

((Ahh! All the hate on Garrett and Faile! Ah well. That's ok!))

  Garrett smiled at the young girl who spoke after him and followed after the others. He was excited to get to the dragons, of course. It was the whole reason he was here. He sighed as Ms. Ross began speaking, taking in her words without really hearing her. The other students were a bit of a puzzle to him. Branwen seemed to already be making friends with the other girl, Katrina, who liked to hang glide. Odd habit, that. He would be interested in finding out more. Both girls were very pretty, and he found himself a little intrigued. Faile seemed young, younger than she was, and incredably innocent. He had to laugh a little, she seemed like a true sweetheart. The other guy was just plain out odd. Orange eyes and silver hair? Had to be dye and contacts. Oh well' what ever blows your skirt up, Garrett's mama had always said. The guy seemed like he could be a friend. And they had motorcycles as a mutual intrest. Pulling himself from his contenplation he tuned in to what Ms. Ross was saying just as Katrina asked her question.

  Faile smiled back at the tall man, Garrett. Maybe it wouldn't be bad here. She put it out of her mind and listened attententivly to the professer. The building was so beautiful, she almost couldn't stand it. The gleeming wood and polished stone captured her admiration. She smiled at the sight, her small face brightening in happiness. Excitement flooded through her. Good things were going to happen here. She just knew it!

Diana nodded and grinned at Katrina's question. It wasn't a question that seemed to crop up, as most of them tended to do with the dragons themselves. Inclining her head she looked in the same direction, up to the center staircase where the classes where. 

"Unfortunately the dragons can't access the classrooms, but during the day if you go up to the dormitories you would see large stone balconies of a sort. They close at night, for your safety, but that's where the dragons are allowed to land whenever they want to see their riders. They stretch along the wall of the entire dormitory, so there's enough room for three or four good-sized dragons." Pursing her lips Diana couldn't find anything else interesting about the hall, other than its age.

"The academy, including the stables, was built in the 1400's though, when dragonriding first became a sport and tolerable by most people. It used to be that this area was a stronghold for dragon hunters, but it was razed to the grounds and rebuilt. Some buildings are newer, like the wall that surrounds the propery, and renovations of course, but for the most part this building is over six hundred years old."

--

Branwen grinned at Katrina, giving her a thumbs up at the question. Ms Ross had a thing for inquisitive kids who asked intelligent questions. Since Branwen already knew the school inside and out she had no questions, but she asked one for the benefit of the other students.

"Ms Ross, can we see the classrooms?" she asked, knowing that they would be in for a treat. Branwen hadn't been allowed in all of them, but the ones she had seen were very...interesting. Especially the forestry craft room. 

Ooc; Not hating on Faile and Garrett, but poor Branwen has nothing in common with them. xD