A shout rose from the back of the bakery. “Morwena! Where are you? I need your help!”

“That’s my mother. I should go.” Morwena jumped up and ran to the back. She waved and smiled at Gwinn as she went.

Gwinn picked up the furling and placed Merith on her shoulder. “Come on, maybe you can help me with the maps.” She went through the glass paned door and exited the bakery. A small bell jingled above her. She walked down the cobbled street but then halted. “I keep forgetting which road to take. Is it this one or that one?” Gwinn pointed down the two streets in front of her.

Merith chirped. “That one.”

“Thanks.” Gwinn headed down the street on the right. It was a narrow lane with tall buildings to each side.

“That was a nifty trick you pulled earlier.”

Gwinn spun around. She saw Torston standing there with two other boys. One of them was a blonde boy she recognized as a trainee and the other was unfamiliar to her. They blocked the entrance to the lane. “Would you leave me alone?” She wasn't afraid of them. Gwinn had faced countless bullies at the convent.

He crossed his arms and stood with his feet apart, taking up as much space as he could. He looked down at her. “If you keep doing stuff like that we won’t have to worry about you anymore. You’ll do yourself in.”

“You’d love that wouldn’t you?” Gwinn spat. Merith gave them a sharp angry chirp.

“I wouldn’t mind. Then the Airwolf would have to find a new Rider.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t sound so happy. Alcor would never choose you.”

“How can you be so sure? I’m the top trainee. I’ll probably be First Rider someday.”

Gwinn rolled her eyes and groaned. “You may be big in your own eyes but Alcor does not see you the same way besides, I heard that Airwolves only select the bravest people to be their Riders.”

“Then that makes me a front runner.”

Gwinn snorted. “Only a coward would bring reinforcements to confront a girl in an alley.”

“I am no coward!” He uncrossed his arms and balled his fists. “I don’t need their help.” He pulled his hand back and punched Gwinn in the gut.

Merith shrilled. Torston and the boys grabbed their ears as Gwinn doubled over. Footsteps clicked against the paving stones. “What’s going on here?” Gwinn recognized the voice. It was Marshal.

“She unleashed her furling on us.” The blond boy complained still holding his ears.

“That’s enough. All of you.” Marshal said. “You three get out of here and it would be best for you not to mess with her in the future.” They left but with reluctance. Torston gave her a hard glare before leaving and she glared back. Then Marshal turned all of his attention toward her. “And you should think twice about starting anything with those boys. They’re a lot harder to deal with than an Innkeeper’s daughter.”

“They came after me. I didn’t start anything.”

“You can’t tell me you didn’t want to hurt them.” He said. “You still haven’t gotten over your bitterness and you haven’t learned how to make friends.”

“I don’t want to be friends with them.” She spat out.

“That’s my point.”

“Look, I’m just trying to get along here. I didn’t ask for any of this. You brought me here and, they hurt me, but that doesn’t matter to you does it? You don’t care. None of you do. You’re all so worried about Alcor and what he can do for you.”

“We are worried about the future and all the people that will be affected by our actions. We have a responsibility to the people of this kingdom but I guess you don’t understand that type of responsibility. You don’t care about anyone.”

“Why should I care about anyone if they’re all like Torston?” She said.

He gave her a look of disapproval but then it turned into something else as he turned away. Was it sadness? She didn’t understand the odd look and, it left her feeling confused as she stood alone in the alley. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

The hall was quiet. A blue sky and puffy clouds were visible above the domed ceiling. Members of the board sat behind the long table and waited for the meeting to begin. Nemek Silverwing, the Senior Rider, banged a gavel and disturbed the silence in the hall. “I call the meeting to order.” He said in a commanding voice. “The advancement ceremony is proceeding on schedule?”

All the members turned to Marianne. A woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun. She was the secretary of the Board and the event planner. There were several stacks of paper gathered around her and she shuffled through them before making her report on the progress of the event. Darolyn looked at her but her mind was elsewhere and she was sure that Marianne had the advancement ceremony under control.

She was more concerned about the trainees. As head trainer she was responsible for the training of each new Rider and her newest trainee was proving to be the most difficult student she had ever faced.

“Do you have the final list of the trainees who will be promoted to full Ridership?” Marianne asked her.

“What? Oh, yes.” She said turning her attention back to the board members. “I have the list right here.” She handed the list to Nemek. He looked it over and then passed it along to the other board members.

“That seems to be in order. I would also like to ask you about your newest trainee. I’m sure we would all like to know how her training is coming.” Nemek said. The others nodded in agreement.

“The girl perplexes me.” Darolyn said.

“How so?”

“On one hand she is capable and tries hard but on the other hand she is obstinate. She rebukes the other trainees and, she has no respect for the Riders.” Darolyn explained.

Nemek raised his bushy eyebrows. “I have never heard of such a thing. People in every town respect Riders.”

“Apparently she has only encountered Riders that are rude. She openly admitted to me that she has no wish to be a Rider.” She added.

“That is disturbing. No one has ever turned down acceptance as a Rider. Maybe Marshal was right about her.”

“I don’t know.” Darolyn shook her head.

“You’ve already admitted that she is obstinate and Marshal already told us she is self-centered. Can you really tell us that these are qualities you want in your trainees?” He asked.

“There is still something about her; something that the Airwolf must have seen. I think she does have some good qualities but they must be buried deep. I am not ready to give up on her.”

He shrugged. “It may not be up to you. If the Airwolf chooses someone else that will be an end to it.”

“Well, if the other trainees don’t start displaying better qualities the Airwolf won't change Riders.” Darolyn said.

“Are you suggesting that our trainees are not suitable for the Airwolf?”

“I am suggesting that they have not been showing themselves to be brave and honorable and if the Airwolf is looking for those qualities, they will need to work harder to prove their worthiness.”

“Then it is your job to train them.” Nemek reminded her.

“I will train all of my trainees but it will be up to them to develop a worthy character.” She reminded him “which brings me to another point.”

“Yes?” He didn’t really sound like he wanted to hear her point.

“I think we should evaluate the behavior of our current Riders.”

“Whatever for?”

“It has been brought to my attention that they are rude and arrogant when they are on the road.” She said.

“Who said that?” He asked quickly.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want any of our Riders to be seen as rude or arrogant or anything worse. They were recruited because of their ability to uphold the standards of ridership and we believed they would be good representatives of what we stand for. If they are rude or arrogant in any way, they are not representing this institution properly unless you want people to perceive us as rude and offensive.” She said making her point.

“You know I don’t.”

“Then you’d better try to remedy the situation. Maybe we could have our current Riders do some volunteer work.” She suggested.

“All right, we’ll work on it.” Nemek gave her a curt nod.

Darolyn nodded back satisfied that he would look into it. Nemek could be an old bull sometimes but he didn’t want the Stormriders of Aerion to have a bad reputation. He had put in too much hard work and time into this institution to let that happen. He continued on to a different topic and Darolyn let her thoughts drift again. What was she going to do with that girl? She believed Marshal was wrong about her but how could she get through to Gwinn? Darolyn knew Gwinn purposefully kept people at a distance. This was going to be hard.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Gwinn went back to her room but, she found it almost impossible to study her maps. She was still upset after her encounter with Torston and then Marshal. None of them knew what it was like to grow up alone, without a friend in the world. Why do they keep picking on me? Before long she gave up on the maps and decided to visit Alcor. She needed a friendly ear. Gwinn found her way to the stables but when she got there she didn’t see Alcor. He must be here somewhere. She could feel him close by.

“Why do we keep meeting in barns?” Kellin walked in behind her.

“Oh, it’s only you.” She frowned.

“It’s nice to see you too.”

“I wasn’t… I mean… I was looking for Alcor.” She stammered.

He chuckled. “It’s fine. I’m pretty sure you didn’t come here looking for me. He must be around here somewhere.”

“He is.” She said glancing around in search of Alcor.

“So, how is your training going?” Kellin asked.

“Um, fine. I guess.” He was not the one she wanted to talk to. “I don’t get along well with the other trainees.”

“Let me guess. You have a problem with Torston and his cronies.” Kellin said.

She nodded. “I can’t stand him.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t get along with him either.”

“He said he was going to be First Rider someday.” She added.

“Let’s hope not.” Kellin said without hesitating.

Gwinn laughed. “Yeah, let’s hope.”

“Does that mean you’re planning on staying around long enough to find out?”

She stopped laughing. “I…Uh…”

“Never mind,” he smiled. “You don’t have to decide right now.”

She changed the subject anyway. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You said you were still a trainee but I haven’t seen you on the practice field.” She said.

“I’m in the last stage of my training. I’ve been doing a lot of book studying. I have to learn maps and figures.” He shrugged. “I’m almost done.”

“Then you’ll be a full Rider.”

“Yeah, but don’t sound so sad. I’ve been working toward this for a long time. I’m looking forward to becoming a Rider.”

“I’m sure you have.....I’m sure you are.... I mean I understand.” She tried to say without sounding like a jerk. Why did he always make her feel so uncomfortable? “You must be excited. Your whole family must be excited.” She finished with more composure.

He shrugged again. “I’m excited. I don’t know if they are.”

She gave him a curious look. “Why not? Aren’t they proud that you’re a Rider?”

“They are disappointed in me. They wanted me to finish first in my training class and I’m sure they wanted me to be First Rider someday.”

“They’re upset because you didn’t finish first?”

“Not exactly, they’re upset because I am finishing last. All the other people in my initial training class have already become Riders. It has taken me longer to finish my training and you don’t become First Rider by finishing last in your class.” He said it with a sad but resigned tone in his voice.

“But you’re still going to be a Rider.” She argued. “And regular people don't know about any of that First Rider stuff. They think all Riders are amazing.”

“My parents don’t see it that way.”

“Then they’re looking at it the wrong way because you’re the nicest Rider I’ve ever met.”

He smiled. “Thanks, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

She blushed. She wasn’t trying to flatter him. “Well, it’s the truth.” She stammered.

“Maybe it is but, that’s not what matters to my parents. I don’t know if they’ll even show up to my graduation ceremony.”

“That’s stupid. They’re your family.” She said. “I don’t understand.”

He frowned at her. “I guess you’ve never had one before so you may not realize this but not all families are loving and caring to one another.”

She fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves and bit her lip. “No, I didn’t realize. I always thought it would be nice to have a family.” They stood there awkwardly for a moment in silence then Gwinn added. “Well, it may not be worth much but congratulations.”

He had a melancholy tone during their conversation so far but he suddenly smiled. “Thanks, it does help.”

Alcor walked into the stables and they both turned to look at him. “Where have you been?” Gwinn asked.

“I was getting my fur brushed out. Doesn’t it look nice?” He stood in the light that cascaded through the windows.

“Lovely, but you knew I was looking for you.” She said stomping her foot.

“I knew there was nothing wrong and, I was enjoying my brushing. You should try it sometime it is very relaxing.” He said.

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Ya know,” Kellin said scratching his chin. “He seems vainer than I expected an Airwolf to be.”

Alcor snorted and Gwinn laughed. “He’s really not that vain. He’s just making up for all that time he spent hidden in the loft…. I think.”

Alcor grumbled at them both and stood up straighter. “I’m not vain. I am brave.”

Kellin laughed. “I understood that.”

Gwinn patted him on the back. “We know. We were just giving you a hard time.”

“Well, I have to get going.” Kellin said. “I only came in to grab a brush.”

Gwinn hesitated before responding. “All right….good luck with your graduation and everything.”

“Thanks, I might need it.” *

He left them alone and Gwinn turned to Alcor. “I’m still upset that you were ignoring me.” She punched him lightly in the shoulder.

He lowered himself to the ground and crossed his paws. “I knew you were with Kellin. I wasn’t worried.”

“But I was looking for you. I wanted to find you.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She refused to accept his nonchalant attitude.

“I thought maybe you would like to spend time with Kellin.”

“Why?” Her annoyance turned to confusion as she dropped her arms.

“You should spend more time with humans. You need to make some friends.”

“You’re my friend.”

“I know but I’m not human.” He reminded her.

“Yes, and I trust you more than any of them. Why do I need to make friends with people?”

“Because you are human.”

“I still don’t see your point.”

He sighed and laid his head down. “Because you may need humans one day and I won't be able to help you with that.”

“Well, I don’t know what for.” She sighed too.