“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” -- Neil Gaiman

Today was a good writing day, and I will share an excerpt with you -- 

Squeezing his legs as tight as he could to Loam's sides and clasping his hands around Kai's middle, Dakin squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on his breathing to keep the instinctive panic at bay as he felt the dragon's muscles shift and move beneath them as they lurched towards the mouth of the cave. It was bumpier than he had expected it to be; the dragon was awkward in its gait, and with every heavy step Dakin felt as though he was about to be flung off. And this was only when they were on the ground, and walking! Heaven knows what it would be like when they were actually up in the air... Seriously regretting letting himself get talked into this, Dakin pressed his forehead to Kai back and concentrated on not throwing up as the cool sea hair ruffled his hair.

With room to stretched, Loam spread its wings -- wide and leathery and quivering -- out then up, then out again, stretching out the kinks as one does with their arms after sleeping. The satisfied shudder coursed through its body, starting at the very tips of its wings and down and across its back, shaking the riders along with it. 

Kai chuckled when he felt Dakin's grip tighten in response. "Relax," he murmured. "You'll make Loam nervous. And a nervous dragon is not a safe dragon." 

"You're not helping," came the muffled response, hot through his jacket. "Just tell me when it's over so I can look." 

"I bet you anything you like that within ten minutes you'll've opened your eyes and won't be able to shut them again 'till we land." 

Dakin gave an indistinct mumble of *doubt in response. 

Knowing that he was absolutely right, Kai leaned forward and patted Loam's neck. "Come on then, dragon. Let's show him what it's all about." 

A squeak emitted from Dakin's lips as he felt them dip down like a coiled spring. It was happening and there was not a thing he could do about it and oh god-- 

There was a sharp rush of air and the squeak turned into a shriek as they suddenly hurtled upwards; the heavy beat of wings pulsing deafeningly in his ears, louder than the raor of the wind and the rush of his own blood. Up and down, they sank and rose like a ship on the most turbulent sea, higher and higher until the air was thin and crisp and cool, and only the steady throb of adrenaline kept his skin hot. 

Kai gritted his teeth against the sharp pain of Dakin's fingers digging into his middle and patted the dragon's neck a second time. 

At once, the wings stopped beating and the jerky movements smoothed out into a sleek glide, broken every now and then by a single smooth stroke just to keep them up. 

As they soared high and fast above the sea -- their silhouette a tiny shape skimming across the water below them -- little by little Dakin's grip began to relax and the high-strung tension in his body start to ease. 

Tucking his ruffling hair behind his ear, Kai glanced briefly backwards to see Dakin peeking out with wide blue eyes. "I told you so." 

Now that he didn't feel like he was going to be thrown off at any moment, Dakin swallowed down the last remnants of terror and eased himself carefully away from Kai, raising his head to take it all in. 

"Wow." 

Kai's laugh reverberated through them both. "Breathe it in," he said. "You'll find no sweeter taste in this life." 

Dakin obeyed, taking in a lung-full through the mouth. Kai was right. He'd never felt anything like it before. "What is it?" 

"Freedom," Kai told him, stooping low over Loam’s neck as they made a wide, sweeping turn to the left. "The freedom of dragons."

Excuse the cheesiness of the ending, I couldn't resist! I expect it'll get tweaked/aggressively deleted in the rewrite, but it's first draft so I can do what I like :)

I'm hoping to finish up this draft within the next few weeks (did I already tell you that?) The end is nigh, and I can already see the sequel series in the distance. Maybe. If the loss is too much to bare. I hate endings. Endings are worse than beginnings a thousand times over.

Here's what I'm listening to today --

Coming Home pt.II  - A very pretty song that popped up Pandora last week

Aaand, because I don't know why I haven't recc'd this yet, The Call by Regina Spektor for the Prince Caspian Soundtrack. I am passionate about this song at the moment. A good song for endings :)