people who’d already managed to handle the wargs.
As he approached the group waiting for the lesson to continue, he didn’t notice it at first, but the beasts sitting beside their temporary riders began to rise and pace on the spot, or move gently away from the bess. Draco stopped Fen as soon as he noticed the reaction of the other mounts. It was clear that, for the time being, he was destined to keep slightly to one side.
The surprise amongst the cadets waiting for their turn had, in the meantime, turned to fascination. The dragon could have bet that, were it not for the firm presence of the Instructor Taumaturge, the students would have swarmed him, trying to pry out every detail about Fen. A mixture of admiration and envy burned brightly in their eyes.
Waiting for everyone to saddle up dragged on, and it seemed particularly long for bess, who stood still for a full five minutes before beginning to nudge the dragon with his paw, eventually wrapping his forepaws around the boy and leaning his full weight against him. And Fen weighed quite a lot. Somehow, however, the dragon managed not to topple over and even managed to feign that he was leaning against the beast’s chest of his own accord, allowing himself to slump down slightly. Fenrir seized the opportunity and nestled his head against the reptile’s shoulder, purring softly as he did so.
Among the other cadets, as Instructor Taumaturge had pointed out, a few were to practise with their own mounts. They were the ones who had to wait the longest for their turn.
Eventually, Adam stepped out accompanied by a creature resembling a massive cheetah with dark green fur speckled with brown, a forked tail and elongated, slightly iridescent fangs. The beast moved without making the slightest sound and seemed to be the first not to fear Fen.
Next came Warren, accompanied by a small, wolf-like creature with a long, rat-like tail and wide-set eyes, which was the size of a miniature horse. Given the goblin’s height, the mount was a perfect
