[center][b]Loreal[/b][/center] 

Well before the griffon arrived, Loreal was ready to go. She awoke with daybreak as the light shattered through the trees of the forest and her home, though that was typical of most elves. They rose and set with the sun, staying up after sunset only for special occasions such as birthdays or festivities. She packed her bags—clothes, hygienics, some plants to add some life to the dull dorms—and had help from her sisters bringing them to the forest floor. They would grab a bag from the platform in the canopy called a room and then drop branch by branch until their bare feet dropped onto the soft ground. Then they’d easily climb back up the tree, hopping and swinging between branches without a sound—save for their complaining or gossip. 

Once the bags—which were made of woven wood and leaf—were safely on the ground, Loreal grabbed the last of her belongings: her bow and arrows. She picked the bow up carefully from its place on the wall and a small smile brushed her lips as she admired the woodwork with the tips of her fingers. She sighed and gave one last look around the canopy and slung her quiver and bow over her shoulder. “I’ll be back next year,” she assured the empty air. And with that, she dropped from her room and onto a branch, letting herself fall to one and then the other until she found the ground. 

“Do you have everything you need? Your furs? It’s cold in the Gate during this time of the year.” The low voice belonged to her father, who stood by her luggage with her sisters and their own baby griffon, Saxon. 

Loreal nodded in response. “I believe so,” she added with a nervous smile as she played with the fur of her sleeve. Leaving home every year was something she still had not grown used to. She also wasn’t used to the dramatically changing weather at the Academy—especially the cold. 

Her father watched her for a moment and then opened his mouth to speak. However, he was interrupted by a large winged beast dropping from the sky just behind him. It cawed in greeting and Loreal’s sisters all squeaked in surprise together, moving closer together. The baby griffon hid between her father’s legs, its eyes wide as it watched the older and much larger beast. 

Loreal laughed as the Academy griffon only snorted and loaded up her belongings. Then she hugged her father tightly—she was generally the first to express affection between the two of them. “Goodbye, and I’ll be back soon,” she promised before pulling away to address her sisters. “And thank you for the help. Goodbye!” She hopped onto the griffon, thankful to be escaping the heat in the heavy furs she wore, and held on tight. 

When she arrived at the school, the griffon landed easily and Loreal slid off the mount and into the snow. “Brrrrr,” she hissed, shivering as she pulled the fur tighter around her body. Her green eyes flickered around at the other students who had already landed and the ones still landing. There were faces she didn’t recognize—first years, most likely—and some faces that she vaguely knew. [i]Who’s going to be my partner this year?[/i] she wondered, fixing her hair. 

[center]_____________________________________________________________________________[/center]

[center][b]Dagny Ek[/b][/center]

“You cold?” Dagny asked, her blue eyes on the young woman beside her. The woman was petite and slender, making Dagny look even larger in comparison. Much of her skin was bare despite the falling snow, her broad shoulders and thick arms still free of goose bumps. 

“C-cold looking at you,” the other girl hissed, pulling her coat on tighter around her dark skin as she shivered. “Where is that bird?”

The dragon girl laughed a bit and spit fire from between her sharp teeth and into the air, providing some heat for the woman. “It’ll be here soon,” she assured, stretching her arms over her head as smoke rose from her mouth and nostrils. 

“Here” was a small house in the middle of a tundra. Dagny’s family home was terrible isolated from the rest of Sweden, Earth, and the only sign that there was life outside of the property was the road. The road, incidentally, was covered in snow and ice and therefore blended in with the rest of the landscape. As snow continued to fall, her luggage—only a couple bags—was becoming covered in it. Noticing this, the purple eyed woman brushed the powder off with a gloved hand. 

A screech broke the silence and the women looked up as a griffon fell from the sky. “Well, this is me,” Dagny stated casually. “See ya later.” She offered a wave as the griffon gathered up her things. Though the hand she waved with was grabbed and she was pulled back into a hug. The dragon girl felt her face flush red and she hesitantly hugged the other back. 

“Write me or something,” the girl ordered as she pulled away to wink at the dragon. 

Dagny glanced away, then back, and nodded. “Y-yeah,” she responded as she cleared her throat, coughing up more smoke. “I’ll do that.” And with that, she climbed onto the griffon and waved once more as they took off.

Time flew by and Dagny was more than comfortable in the air. When they were finally in school airspace, the young woman leaped off the griffon, who scolded her with a screech. Nonetheless, she hit the ground with a heavy impact, snow flying up from where she hit. “Woo!” she exclaimed, greeting the school grounds quite noisily as she stood at her full height, throwing her hands in the air. A drop from that height would break human bones at least, but she stood fine. In fact, the ground is what took damage from her drop: she stood in a small crater, lending evidence to her massive true form. 

The griffon landed beside her with a caw of disapproval, but Dagny only shrugged in response. “It’s year four—I had to do something to spice it up,” she stated matter-of-factly, her eyes flickering about at the not so fresh and fresh meat alike—mostly looking for a reaction to her fall. She did love to show off.