“All right,
Moron, let’s go!” I barked.
Instead of a nice afternoon with
Natalie, I had to teach the new guy. He frowned at me as I stalked towards him.
“There’s no need for name calling.
My name’s Richard.”
I glanced back at Natalie and Kate
who had already moved off to talk about something else.
“No, your name is Moron. Capital M,
Moron. Two weeks as a Storm Rider and I helped drive an otherworldly god back
through a rift.”
“Well I just learn differently,” he
said haughtily.
“Oh,” I said, taking on an
understanding tone. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’ll try to teach you in a different way,
then. I’ll be your guide, your mentor. Does that sound better?”
Behind him, I willed the cloud to
thin until all but a few wisps obstructed the view below.
“Yes, I think I learn better in
that way. I appreciate that. Before we begin, do you have any food? I’m
famished.”
“Sure. We’ll go right now.” I gave
him a hard shove. He toppled backwards through the hole, falling straight down
at Yellowstone. He began screaming.
“Oh, did I forget to tell you this
is how Storm Riders mentor people? My bad.”