\n Hueroc smiled as he heard a little hatchling yawn from somewhere above him.  "Are you tired, Taran?" he said, careful to keep his head still so the hatchling perched between his horns wouldn't fall.

\n The blue dragonet yawned and squeaked once, then he could feel him settle onto his belly and put his head down...

\n He chuckled.  "Time for a nap, I think."  Reaching up with a paw, he gently scooped up his son and lifted him down, putting him on the ground near his mother; Taran peeped again sleepily, then curled up against her side.  Neth and Loria continued to play, he listening to Ellora speak with interest while his sister played with mom's tailtip.

\n Ellora purred and leaned a little closer to her sleeping child, nosing gently at him, then looking up at her mate.  "I think I can handle them on my own for a few hours...  You should go to the clan caves, and see Rhean.  I know the hatching delayed you, but he must be wondering what's taking you so long to start learning from him."

\n He paused.  "I..."

\n "Go," she smiled.  "I can take care of them, and we both know you should learn."

\n He stood and flexed his wings, tilting his head to her.  "All right, I'll go.  I hope I won't be gone too long..." he began to walk towards the cave entrance.

\n "My mate, come back over here a moment.  Have to take off your collar for you--  No, don't do it yourself!  You'll activate its magic."

\n He lowered his forepaws, and walked meekly back over to her.  "You still have magic in it, even after this long?"

\n Careful not to disturb Taran, she reached up and unbuckled it, then pulled it off for him.  "I can't just remove the charm I put on it...  Besides, it's not like you ever need to take it off yourself."

\n "If you say so..." he huffed, straightening back up.  "One day you'll have to tell me just what the collar will do to me if I activate its magic."

\n She just grinned.  "No, no, much more fun to let you find out on your own sometime!  Not until the kids are old enough for someone to watch them, though."

\n He blinked.  "I see.  Well, you keep them out of trouble, and I'll be back soon."  He purred and nuzzled her, let her return the nuzzle, then walked outside, spread his wings and jumped into the sky.

\n It had been a few months since their last visit, but Hueroc was good with directions and could remember the landmarks he needed to find his way there, flying high and fast and enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing over his scales and wings.  He was too high up to cross paths with many other dragons, so it wasn't long before he saw the massive cave down below, dipped his wings and descended to the entrance, making sure the way was clear before he landed light on his paws at the broad entry ledge.

\n He had forgotten the name of the guard who looked somewhat familiar, but still inclined his head to acknowledge him when the dragon greeted him.  He hadn't, however, forgotten the name of the beautiful black-and-white dragoness who emerged from the cave as he entered, and he stopped and bobbed his head in her direction.  "Hello, Mea!  It's been a while since I last saw you."

\n She seemed a little lost in her thoughts, and started visibly when he addressed her.  "Oh!  Hi, Hueroc..."

\n Sitting on his haunches, he leaned his head forward to give her neck and chest a little sniff.  "What brings you here?  I thought you lived out on your own."

\n "I... I do," she said, quietly, looking away.  After a short pause, she continued, "but I come here from time to time to continue my training, and learn about new combat techniques."

\n He tilted his head, smiling a little more; somehow her shyness made the warrior dragoness seem even prettier.  "Ah, of course.  And did you learn anything today?"

\n Her tail twitched.  "No..."  She paused again, looking a little uncomfortable, then said, "and why are you here?"

\n "The elders say I have magic," he glanced inside, "so I'm hear to learn from Rhean."

\n "Oh, that's good..."  Then finally she couldn't seem to stay any longer, and blushed a little, saying, "I have to go.  Was good to see you!" before flying off in a rush.

\n "Goodbye!" he called after her, then stood again and proceeded into the cave.  She seemed intelligent and capable, and if she was just a little less shy he thought they could get along...  Tossing his head, he looked around the massive cave, again getting that slight feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of dragons within.  He looked around, feeling lost, having no idea where to look for the orange mage, then growled under his breath and went towards where older dragons were tutoring the younger; that seemed as good a place to start as any.

\n He skirted the edge of the area, peering at the groups of dragons, into the alcoves where others learned in a bit more isolation...  And, of course, he finally found him at the far end of the area, in an alcove, reading from a large, ancient-looking book.  He stopped at the entrance and pawed at the ground for a moment, then said, "Rhean?"

\n The mage didn't look up for a little while, perhaps reading to the end of a sentence or paragraph or page...  But then finally he raised his head, blinked, and said, "ah!  Hueroc.  I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come back at all.  Are you hear to learn?"

\n "Yes.  I...  I'm sorry for the delay, but our eggs hatched, and my mate and I were very busy."

\n Rhean closed the book, stood and walked over to him.  "Oh, that's perfectly fine, and fantastic news, of course.  How many?"

\n He lifted his head proudly.  "Three eggs and three hatchlings, all healthy and strong; two boys and a girl."

\n "That's wonderful.  I'm glad for you, and for Ellora...  After the incident with Cortuss, I wasn't sure if she'd ever let another dragon close enough to be able to love him, or to even consider hatchlings.  I do hope to see the two of you bring them here once they're old enough."

\n "Of course," he said; Ellora had never told him the name of her evil former teacher, or much of anything of what he had done to her, but Rhean didn't need to know that.  "But for now, yes: I'm here to learn magic."

\n "Right; to business.  Let me take you to one of the teaching alcoves..."  Rhean walked out into the main chamber and back towards the center of the teaching area, then into another of the small alcoves--one of the few that was empty.  "This should do, yes..."  He looked critically at a large, intricate circular symbol etched into the floor at the center of the room.  "This looks strong enough.  Stand in the circle, please, Hueroc."

\n He went and stood at its center, peering at the lines scratched deep into the stone.  "What is it?"

\n "It's a magical nullifier.  It will absorb the energy of any magic you attempt to perform, so you won't accidentally use a dangerous ability when you don't know what you're doing... and when it is absorbing something, no matter how strong or weak, it will glow, so it will help me see how much power you're able to wield."

\n "All right."

\n "Though...  Nullifiers can't stop everything, especially if the dragon is strong enough, and since we rarely teach full-grown dragons it wouldn't surprise me if you can overwhelm it... especially considering the power I felt when we were testing you.  So please direct any magic you summon at the dummy," he pointed with his snout towards a padded, cloth-wrapped doll that looked vaguely humanoid.

\n "I'll do my best..." he said uncertainly, his tail twitching.

\n "Of course."  Rhean sat on his haunches beside him--outside the circle.  "The first step in the use of magic is to be aware of its energy inside you.  I know you thought before that you had no magic, so perhaps you were not trained to sense its power...  Close your eyes, relax, and try to feel that energy.  It might feel like the current of a river, or a strong wind, or perhaps a heat..."

\n Hueroc did as he was told, standing still, trying to clear his thoughts and waiting for that feeling Rhean described to make itself known to him...  Then looking for it, shifting on his paws as he 'searched' his mind as best he could for the magic the elder claimed was inside him.  He was quiet for a minute or so, then, "I don't feel anything."

\n "It can be difficult, if you've never knowingly used magic before.  Try again, find the power in your mind..."

\n He tried his best, he really did, but he felt nothing, and growled softly in frustration.  "I can't.  I don't feel any energy."

\n Rhean blinked and looked at him, head tilted to one side.  Then he said, "Ellora does not love you."

"What?" he snarled, stomping a hind paw furiously--and then he narrowed his eyes.  "You're trying to make me angry, aren't you."

\n The elder just shuffled his wings.  "Now do you feel anything?"

\n "I--"  He paused.  There was something now, mixed with his anger at what Rhean had said.  An urge, an energy building inside him, a rush of heat and strength through his body that wanted to be released, feeling like... fire, roiling and burning...  "Yes.  Fire."

\n "I thought that might work.  Later we'll work on finding the magic without getting you angry first, but for now...  Concentrate on that fire that you can feel, the strength and power of it, the energy it gives you, and try to channel that power.  Try to release the magic somehow, towards the dummy."

\n He didn't need to be told twice.  Snarling again, tail lashing, he let the flame he felt building inside him take control, to grow even further, and to release itself--  Then he spread his jaws and breathed a bolt of fiery magical energy that struck the dummy and blew it to scattered, burning pieces, the nullifier glowing brightly beneath him as it failed to contain the magic.

\n Rhean just stared, seeming dumbfounded.  "That...  You..."

\n Hueroc sagged a little in place, panting, feeling somewhat drained.  "I think that was magic."

\n The mage recovered after a moment.  "That wasn't just any magic.  That was... was...  Ancients, I thought it was a myth.  Have you heard the name Petren before?"

\n The fire he'd felt before began to fade as he calmed down.  "My father claims that he and I are of his line."

\n "That... would have been good to know before, but I never suspected..."

\n A dragoness, one of the other tutors, poked her head into the alcove.  "Are you two all right?  The whole cave heard whatever just--  Oh my, what did you do to that poor practice dummy?"

\n "We're fine," Rhean said.  "Though I suppose, yes, this alcove will need a new target."  The dragoness left.  "Hueroc, we've made progress, but I must speak to Emma before we continue.  A powerful dragon is one thing, but this...  Ragefire is another matter entirely.  Have you ever done that before?"

\n Ragefire?  He had heard that word before, though his father preferred to call it something else.  "I...  It's possible.  I've been angry before, felt that sort of energy before, but... usually I would go into a rage, and not remember what happened during it."

\n "Hence the name," he sighed.  "I will speak to Emma; I do not think she will object to my teaching a dragon with abilities as powerful... and dangerous, if uncontrolled, as yours, but I want to make sure she knows about this before we continue.  You may go; I will come to your and Ellora's cave once I have spoken to her."

\n He hesitated; Ellora had insisted that Hueroc come here to learn to make sure nobody found out about their... oddities, but they had built a door for the 'play-room' before their eggs had hatched, so now it was likely safe.  "Very well...  I'll be waiting for you."

\n He tilted his head, and Hueroc turned to leave, but then he said, "oh, and by the way...  Of course your mate loves you; she would not have had your eggs otherwise.  I only wished to make you very angry very fast, and I'm sorry about that.  She is a fine dragoness, and you must be an equally fine dragon to have gained her love."

\n Hueroc swished his tail, and purred softly.  "Thank you."

\n "I will see you again in a few days, Hueroc...  And I may bring Emma with me; she might be interested in meeting you."

\n "I'll be sure to tell Ellora.  See you then."  And then he left, flying back to his waiting mate and hatchlings.