Monster?
Wintertime was approaching Berk. The vikings and dragons were stocking up on food. Among them was their allies the Draconians. They normally would have headed home by now. But their Dragon Healer would soon be a midwife to Astrid in another month, so they decided to stay for a bit longer.
Re, the Draconian King, was a handsome emerald green with kelly green underside and ocean blue eyes. He was a Whippertail; the last third of his tail had no bones, just flexible muscle. He was able to use his tail as a whip and as an extra hand. He was as tall as a draft horse with the body and legs of a wolf, a long thick neck, narrow snout, and large gazelle horns. He wore a gold crown that had the Draconian crest on the forehead, a green dragon in a blue circle with his wings open and a golden apple and music note in his talons.
The Draconian Queen, Aurora, was also a Whippertail. She was sapphire blue with tropical blue underscales, and silver eyes. She was the only begotten daughter of the Dragon God, Lord Draco. She had the gift of magic, and only used it for good. She wore a silver crown that had a snowflake made of sapphires and turquoise stones on the forehead.
Tenor the rarest and most unusual dragon of the bunch. A part of him was Blackfang where his teeth was so venomous that they were black, and the other half was Night Fury. He was as tall as an Arabian stallion and glossy black. He had the legs of a panther, a long thick neck, narrow head, large square forehead, he had the body, wings, fins, sonar flaps, tail, and eyes of a Night Fury. His crown was black with a symbol on the forehead of a sliver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars. He was the Prime Minister. Draconia was a very large country with thousands of dragons living there. Re and Aurora weren't able to look after all 600,000 square miles all the time, Tenor helped them come up with solutions for any and all problems they face.
Tenor's mate, Windwalker, was a lovely female Night Fury. She had honey golden eyes, and a heart to match. She was the Captain of that Guard. She got to call the shots whenever the dragons faced any threat. She was also the alpha of a squadron of dragons that lived on Mt. Vulcan, one of Draconia's volcanic islands. Her new crown was also black with a silver hurricane shape on the forehead. Windwalker was one of the two Night Furies that was an alpha, and she was one of the two Night Furies that had a rider.
Windwalker's rider was Chris. He was abandoned as a baby and adopted by Re and Aurora. He had been separated from them by the sea when he was twelve years old. But it hadn't been all bad. He met Windwalker and her friends a short while afterwords, and helped them defeat the Song Dynasty. Ten years of fighting the Song eventually led him to Berk, and he was reunited with his family. Chris was a tall man with short black hair, tan skin, large ears, and dark brown eyes. He wore a black pants, boots, dark blue shirt, and a large black trench coat that had seal fur on the sleeve cuffs. He had half a dragon's heart beating in his chest, without it he wouldn't be alive.
The other human the dragons had taken under their wings was Chris's wife Serenity. She was a beautiful, young Dragon Healer and rider. She had a beautiful round face, and light golden brown hair. Her eyes were the same emerald green as Re's scales. She wore a green shirt, blue leather jacket and trousers, she had a cowboy hat that was covered in black dragon scales, and black leather fingerless gloves. Like Chris, she had been taken under the wing of a dragon; a red and orange Whippertail named Ruby. Her original family had thrown her out when she was five. On her right cheek was a faint scar where she had been hit with a shovel. And like Chris she had little dragon in her, when she was younger her human blood had been replaced with dragon's blood. Re was the type of dragon that would literally give his flesh and blood for his friends and family.
Re and Aurora's two dragonets, Apollo and Avalon, were among the next generation of dragons. Princess Avalon was teal green with violet horns and spines, and lavender eyes. Her crown was purple with a big green maple leaf on the forehead. Her brother, Apollo, was blood red with golden horns, eyes, spines, and talons. His crown was darker red with a gold symbol of a dolphin leaping over a lyre, surrounded by a wreathe.
The youngest dragonet was Tenor and Windwalker's daughter, Black Widow. She looked very much like her father, half Blackfang and half Night Fury, or a Nightfang. She had red eyes and a red hour glass shape on her forehead. She admired the spider she was named after as much as she did her elders. Her crown was black and had the same red hour glass shape on the forehead. Her rider-to-be was Serenity's and Chris's daughter, Edelweiss. She was still a toddler. She had long black hair, green eyes, large ears, and was born with dragon's blood in her veins.
The Draconians were currently based at their summer home on Dragon Island. Like all the other dragons they were migratory, and went south for the winter. This year was the one exception.
Chris woke up early one morning, before the sun was even up. He looked over at Serenity who was sleeping quietly. A lot had happened to her very recently. A vengeful Changewing had kidnapped her and almost killed her. But luckily she had been rescued by her guardian dragon, Ruby. She was still emotionally recovering. She told Chris that she felt safer with him around. He was pleased that she felt safe next to him, but he could help but ask; was she safe?
Chris was a very skilled fighter and Dragon Rider. He rode a Night Fury and knew martial arts. He certainly had the means of protecting Serenity, but he also had the means of hurting her. The fact that a villain had used all that to kidnap her, made him wonder if she really was safe being near him. He remembered luring her into a trap, tying her up, and handing her over to Hael. He remembered being forced to threatened her and the Speed Stinger paralyzing her preventing her from escaping. And for a few minuets afterwards, Serenity was afraid of him, didn't trust him. But then she forgave him and felt totally safe around him again. Chris didn't feel like he deserved to be forgiven after what he said and did. He felt like, well, a monster.
He got out of bed, dressed, and went outside. He leaned on the railing of the balcony. In the distance he could see the thin line of daylight. At that moment Tenor, Windwalker, and Black Widow returned from fishing at sea. Windwalker spotted her rider on the balcony by himself. She turned and landed next to him. Chris turned around as she folded her wings.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked. "Your up awfully early."
"Can't sleep," Chris answered quietly. "But I'll be okay." Windwalker growled in disapproval.
"I know there's something wrong," she said. She walked up beside him, her elegant black wings trailing on the ground like a cloak. She sat on her haunches and waited. Chris finally sighed.
"Serenity says she feels safe around me," he said. "But I wonder if she really is."
"You're worried that you're going to hurt her again," Windwalker said. Chris nodded and gripped the railing.
"I could have easily killed her that day in the woods," he said. "Every instinct told me to stop, but I didn't. Ruby at least had a way out."
"It wasn't your fault," Windwalker said. "You would never deliberately hurt her. And besides, you weren't the only one who lured her into a trap."
"You're right," Chris said. "Maybe she would be safer of if she wasn't around either of us."
"That's not what I meant," Windwalker said. But at that moment the sun had risen and Serenity had woken up.