When she went back into the school the next week, Juniper was met with a ton of pupils running up to her and asking her millions of questions. When she could finally make it to her seat, she could hear the snickers of Trent's goons. Honestly she didn't care, it was normal and that's what she wanted, a normal day. Not people running up to her about her attack in the woods, just a normal day where she sat on her own, ignored the taunts of Trent's goons and just spend the day trying to learn.
She was thankful for that in art. Everyone left her alone, her art teacher gave her praise with her drawings and it was the only class without Trent's goons. That was the normal that she liked.
It was at lunch when people started to ask her if she was the one who attacked Trent. Seriously, the scar on her leg didn't at least give people the idea that Trent was the one who attacked her!? She saw Trent's goons laugh at her from their own scummy table. Of course she swore in her mind.
After lunch, people kept creeping behind her and yelling 'boo' in her ear, making Juniper jump out of her skin. They would then laugh and run away. Soon it just became too much in her next class as everyone kept trying to scare her rather than focusing on their work. She maintained her dry expression until the teacher took her out of the class and into Principal Jones' office, where he postponed her detention and had Rafael pick her up.
During the car ride, Rafael told Juniper that before they left, Principal Jones had told him that Juniper should have a week off before returning to school and detention. Juniper smiled at him kindly and turned her gaze away from him. "I have this shift on Saturday" said Rafael as he and Juniper ate at the dinner table "It starts at eight o'clock until one o'clock at in the morning."
"Oh?" said Juniper "And you trust me being here by myself?"
"I think you've been here long enough" Rafael smiled "Besides, I need to trust you at some point, otherwise it'll just be 'bored city' for you in here."
Juniper giggled "Thanks Raf, and I promise I won't through any parties."
"Well that puts my mind at ease" Rafael chuckled.
"Yeah" Juniper replied "Probably because I don't have any friends."
Rafael's smile faded and his face began to droop. Juniper gasped when she saw him and began blabbering out her words like it was the last time she would ever say that. "No Raf that not what I meant! I'm fine! It was a joke! Please don't be sad! I'm so sorry!"
Rafael quickly got up from his seat and whet over to the girl, quickly taking her in his arms and holding her as she continued to cry. Her panic attacks normally lasted about two minutes and he would hug her while whispering soothing words into her hair. His theory was that whenever she would say the wrong thing to her previous foster carer, they would lash out at her and do something inhumanly to her. He remembered the day when he first met her, how she trembled getting out of the car and trying to hide the rope burns around her wrists. Rafael had no idea what she had been through during her fifteen years of life, but he promised that she would never go through it again.
He heard the silent sound of sniffing and looked down to see Juniper taking in slow breaths. "Feeling better?" he asked.
The brunette nodded slowly while wiping tears away from her eyes and mumbled out another 'sorry'.
"You don't need to apologise" he whispered and continued to hold her for however long she wanted.
On Saturday, Juniper awoke to the sound of rustling from below her. She slipped on her long, soft dressing gown and hopped down the stairs, rubbing the crust away from her tired eyes. She saw Rafael chewing on a piece of toast while packing his bag on the island of the kitchen. He looked up at her and swallowed his toast before smiling at her. "Just getting ready for the day" he said "You can go back to bed if you want."
Juniper mumbled and walked into the living room, collapsing into the couch head first. Rafael walked in and huffed happily, before putting a blanket over the sleeping teen and ruffled her hair softly. "See you tomorrow" he whispered, before putting on his coat and walked out of the house, leaving a spare key under the mat.
After her short nap, Juniper wrapped the blanket around her and went back upstairs into her room. After she took a shower, got dressed, made breakfast and brushed her teeth, she made her way to her desk and pulled up some of her drawings and some blank pieces of paper. She shrieked when she noticed that all of the drawing that she had done were none other than the dragon she met! "Oh my god!" she breathed and picked up one of the drawings. The icy blue eyes of the dragon in the drawing stared back at her with intensity. Out of all the things she had to draw, why the dragon? Oh yeah, because it was a dragon and dragons were only thought to be in stories! She grumbled, running a hand over her face and sinking into her chair.
How? That was the only question on her mind. How did it get here, why is it here and why did it now kill her? Juniper chewed on her lower lip as a dangerous idea popped into her mind. What if she…went back? No, that was a stupid idea and she would never hear the end of it from Rafael. But what if he didn't know? Seriously, she wanted him to trust her, otherwise its goodbye possible adoption. But this is a life-changing discovery that helped her when she was hurt, shouldn't she know more? What if bad people would hurt it if they found the beast? Then she wouldn't say a word, only she would know.
Juniper moaned and rubbed her face again, she hoped she was doing the right thing. Fine! She would go back and see the dragon, but she would need to do some research first if she wanted to keep her skin intact. After a few clicks on her laptop keyboard, she found out that dragons were omnivores. Gulping, while trying not to think of the worst though failing miserably, she looked through the possible options. Maybe she would start off with something small, maybe…fish?
She packed her small backpack, grabbed the key from under the mat and locked the door before making her way to the supermarket. Her stomach flipped when she felt the stares of the people around her as she patiently waited for the arm-length fish that was being wrapped up in white paper. She turned her right to the head to the right and saw a woman and her small son in her arms as they stared at the girl from the corner of her eye. "Sorry, am I bothering you?" Juniper asked politely. Juniper didn't like the staring but she didn't want people to feel uncomfortable near her.
"Oh no!" the woman exclaimed "Sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to make you feel that way."
"It's okay" Juniper smiled "I would stare at someone if they bought dozens of fish."
Both the woman and Juniper laughed as the little boy looked at them in confusion. Juniper shot him a quick smile before collecting her fish from the counter. "Thank you" she said, paid him and walked out but not before giving the woman and her son another smile.
She drummed her heel nervously against the ground while waiting for the bus. What would she do if she saw the dragon again? Maybe it helped her as a one-time thing and ate her right up, should she bring a weapon? Then again she might trigger its primal instincts and she would be back at the eating idea. Her questions popped away like a bubble as she saw the bus pull up at the side. She climbed aboard before giving the driver her ticket and sat right at the back of the bus. She had hidden the fish in her bag and was hoping like mad that the driver wouldn't be able to smell it.
Her stomach flipped again as the bus pulled into the nature reserve, the police and ambulance were long gone and all was left was the guests and the beautiful scenery. She bided the bus driver good day and ventured forward.
It wasn't long before she found the path again and began to trace her steps from the week before. She found the slope and this time, gently slid down to prevent any damage to herself. After walking past the place where Trent was tackled by the dragon, she found the entrance that she tumbled down and scraped her knee. Wanting to avoid that accident, she carefully took tiny steps and noticed that the entrance she found this time was a lot different. This time, she was on top of a small cliff that looked over the ravine with small rocks on the side that resembled steps to go onto the grass if you looked closely enough.
Content with the new entrance, Juniper knew she had to test the area before jumping down. She pulled the first fish out of its paper and flung it down to the ground. She knelt down and took a few steps back. She heard the sound of large wings gently flying to where she threw the fish, which was in front of her cliff. After she listened to a few small chews, she heard some kind of blast and painful grumbles from below her. With caution, she looked over the edge of the cliff to see the dragon smacking its lips with discomfort and the fish with a few bite marks in it.
That's strange, if she heard the dragon chew it why did it spit it out in a revolting manner? She saw the dragon sniff the fish hungrily, looking desperate to eat it. Something was definitely wrong. Before she could stop herself, she climbed down the small stair-like rocks until she made it to the bottom. Her heart sank with fear as the dragon noticed her presence and stared intensely at her, its pupils slit as thin as they could possibly could. She hoped with wasn't a mistake.
She went over to the fish and held it out before her to the dragon. Its pupils suddenly dilated to the size of large pebbles and it carefully sniffed the fish, licking its lips. It opened its mouth while Juniper kept trying to keep the fish away until she figured out what was wrong. She then saw it. Please don't make me regret this she thought to herself and lunged forward, pulling a hook she found out of the dragon's tongue.
The dragon let out a pained roar that shook the dragon before growling at the girl in front of it with slit eyes again. They suddenly dilated and smacked its tongue, realising that the annoying pain it once felt was gone. Its eyes widened at Juniper throwing the hook away. She lunged the fish towards the dragon again and the beast caught it in its jaws.
Weird Juniper thought as the dragon held the fish in its…gums? Weren't dragons supposed to have…
Teeth then punctured the raw fish and the dragon threw it up in the air before catching it and swallowing it whole. It licked its lips again as Juniper stared at it, her eyes wide as well. She let out a shaky laugh before pulling out the other fish in their own papers and flung each one to the dragon, successfully catching each one in its mouth. The poor thing Juniper thought it probably couldn't eat anything with that hook in its tongue.
After eating the last fish, the dragon's pupils slit slightly as it crawled over to Juniper, who quickly began to back away. She knew it was a bad idea. "I don't have anything else if that's what you want" She said quickly, hoping it would stop the dragon. To her surprise, it did and what happened next nearly made her breakfast return to her throat. The dragon began to choke and gag until a slimy fish head landed on Juniper's trainers. "Uh" Juniper droned in disgust and confusion. The dragon looked up at her and motioned its head towards the fish.
"Thanks but…" Juniper began and took out a plastic box from her own bag "I made my own."
The dragon made a noise that Juniper couldn't tell if it was happy or sad, maybe it was both? The dragon gently took the fish head from her feet and gobbled it up. Juniper smiled and sat down, unboxing her turkey sandwich from her box and brought it to her lips. The dragon then sniffed the sandwich in curiosity. "Hey" Juniper laughed, pulling the sandwich away "This is my lunch, you already had yours!"
Juniper quickly scoffed the sandwich into her mouth and held up her hands in victory, letting out a muffled "Yay!" The dragon looked at her in confusion as Juniper chewed the sandwich and swallowed it. She felt strangely calm with the giant dragon in front of her who tried to steal her food.
She then gave the dragon a small smile, to see how it would react. The dragon looked intensely at her, making Juniper worry for her life a little bit, until something remarkable happened. The corners of the dragons lips began to tug a little, Juniper looking at her in shock, wonder and surprise until the dragon copied Juniper's smile with its own.
The dragon then noticed Juniper's bruised hand and went over to sniff it, accidently giving it a harsh nudge. Juniper yelled and hissed at the pain, holding her bruised left hand to her chest. The dragon warbled worryingly and looked down at the pained girl. It took a few steps back, not wanting to hurt her again and took off to the other side of the large pond.
Juniper reached her hand out to stop it, to try and tell it that it's wasn't the dragon's fault. She glumly looked to the ground and made her way towards the cliff and sank to the ground, using the back if it to support herself. She took her backpack off and was about to reach for her paper and pencils, until she heard the twittering of a bird. She looked up and on the branch of a tree; she saw a mother bird nuzzling a new born baby chick. Her breath caught in her throat when she realised, that was what she wanted with Rafael. Although his fatherly love was unconditional, she didn't know if he would adopt her or not. And that was what she desperately wanted. While her other homes were nothing but pain and misery, Rafael was the first person that she almost felt compelled to call him 'Dad'.
She turned away from the tree and in front of her, just five feet away, was the dragon with her lunchbox at it's feet as though to give it back. Although it seemed that it was past lunchtime as the sky began to turn orange. Very slowly and carefully, she reached into her backpack and brought out her sketchpad and pencils. After she draw a couple of lines, she looked up and gasped when she saw the dragon, its head nearly resting as it looked up at her with its large eyes.
It quickly recoiled after hearing her gasp and flew off to a different tree; hanging from the branch with it's tail and using it's tailfins to cover its face. Juniper tried to reach to it again, but gently pulled away again, not wanting to upset it.
While the dragon rested, feeling guilty about scaring and hurting the strange human, it's ears perked up when it heard something – or someone – plop down beside it. It removed the fins from it's face and looked on to see the human girl sitting on a rock beside the tree, drawing something on the piece of paper that she had.
As Juniper continued to sketch out the dragon, she made sure to add extra details like the scales and the reflection in its eyes. This time, when she felt the presence of the dragon near her as it warbled at her drawing with curiosity, she used as much strength as she could to not gasp, scream or run away. Instead her eyes went wide and she inhaled sharply as she continued to sketch the being next to her.
The dragon watched and she travelled her pencil along the page, marking it with a grey colour. The dragon warbled happily as it watched the girl creating something with much effort. It then purred in delight when she saw what Juniper was drawing was none other than the dragon itself. Wanting to repay her, she got up onto her hind legs, just like how the human did and walked over to her resting tree.
Juniper looked up from her drawing and started at the dragon with confusion, before her eyes went wide again and her face deadpanned. The dragon pulled the tree out from the ground and dug it into the ground, making a thick line. It twirled as the tree made swirls around the rock Juniper sat on, looking back at her to remember what she looked like. Juniper could only look on in wonder, could the dragon really be…drawing? It must be, as it looked back at her and added somewhat of an extra detail, just like she and many other of her peers did in art class.
She did grumble however when the dragon hit her on the head with the leaves in the tree as it finished of her drawing. After it completed it, it threw the tree away and motioned its head towards the drawing and gave Juniper a gummy smile, as if it was waiting for Juniper's approval.
Juniper could only marvel at what she saw before her, putting down her pencils and sketchpad, she stepped out of the small circle she was trapped in, standing on one of the lines the dragon made.
The dragon made a distressed sound; its pupils slit and looked like someone had stood on its tail. Juniper looked at it with worry before looking down at the ground and found out what was wrong. She lifted her foot from the ground and the dragon's happy expression faded back into its features. Just to tease the dragon a little bit, she stepped on the line three more times to watch its expression to distressed to happy, then distressed to happy again. Deciding enough was enough; she stepped over the line and gave the dragon a sweet smile. Trust me; as a fellow artist, I know the pain she thought to herself.
She continued to step over the lines, being careful not to step on any lines as she tried to figure out what the dragon drew. She finally stopped when she felt something ghost her back. She looked up and saw the dragon look down at her, its eyes calm as if they were telling her what it drew on the ground. Me?
With her bruised hand, she shakily raised it up to the dragon's snout. The dragon recoiled, in fear that it would hurt her again. Juniper drew her hand away, sensing the dragon's anxiety. She looked at her left hand; it was as purple as the dress she wore. She then raised her right hand instead, not shaking as she held it out as it relaxed near the dragon's snout, looking away and drawing her breath. Bury your fear. She closed her eyes
The dragon looked at Juniper's hand. It looked calm, gentle, comforting and was not the same colour as the other one. The scent smelt sweet too, like a calm aroma of honey and milk and…
Hesitating, just for a moment, it relaxed its nose into the palm of Juniper's hand, relishing the warmth her fingers carried.
Juniper's breath hitched as she opened her eyes slowly and turned her head towards the dragon. The dragon carefully took its snout off Juniper's hand and looked at her, not recoiling and running away, but looked at Juniper as if to say - she couldn't read the expression. It was just…calm.
Juniper looked up and saw the stars starting to appear in the night sky. She was about to go into a frenzy until she realised that Rafael wouldn't be back until midnight. "The dusk is beautiful" she said, breaking the silence "Isn't it?"
The dragon's eyes went wide and it started jumping around like a happy dog. "What is it?" Juniper asked, wondering what she did to make the dragon so pleased. "Does the dusk make you happy?"
The dragon shook its head, flapping its ears and nudged Juniper's stomach with it's nose, nearly making her tumble over. Juniper's gears continued to turn in her head until a lightbulb suddenly went off. She wanted to try her idea first though. "Dusk?" she said again.
Then dragon made a happy noise and nuzzled into her hands. "Is that your name?" she asked, the dragon replying to her in some sort of agreeing groan. "Oh my gosh, I figured out your name!"
Dusk warbled in excitement and jumped onto Juniper, sending her to the ground and began to lick her. "Hey!" she exclaimed happily "Stop it! Your saliva smells!"
Dusk got off her and helped the girl to her feet. Juniper dusted herself off and smiled back at Dusk "Well" she then bowed "My name is Juniper, pleased to meet you."
This only caused Dusk to become more excited and knocked Juniper over again, winding her. "Ack!"
As Juniper walked off the bus, she felt excitement buzz within her. Although she felt guilty about lying to Rafael, the knowledge of knowing that she had managed to befriend a dragon remained fresh in her mind. She made her way down the road again until she came across the first building she went to when she came to her new home. Carefully, she opened the door and walked. An old man was standing near the counter, giving her a gentle smile. "It's nice to see you again child" he said, holding a candle in the already dim-lighted room.
"Hello" Juniper greeted the kind man shyly "Is your library open?"
A few minutes later, Juniper found herself in the library, scanning the coal black wooden shelves for what she needed. The library was pitch black, only the moon and the candle providing her with light. She remembered spotting something from when she first came here, but she only wrote it off as just fiction. She finally found what she was looking for. She finally found what she was looking for in the fantasy section and pulled out five books. All of them were different except for the title at the top 'Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third's Life with Dragon's'.
She sat down, putting the candle next to her and opened the first book. Each fact she found was exquisite, different classes of dragons and there many abilities. However she didn't have much time and continued to scan through the pages, until she landed on one with a familiar dragon. 'Night Fury'. It did indeed look like Dusk, except for a few details. While the dragon on the page had nubs trailing down his snout, including a few extra on each side on his head, Dusk didn't have nubs on its head; it was smooth like a pebble. Dusk also had one small nub about the size of an oval pebble on each side of its head instead of two long ones and Dusk's ears were a bit rounder, shorter and stout than the one on the page. It was then that she found out that the Night Fury during Hiccup's time was the only one and was male. Did that make Dusk female?
She continued to read, learning more about Hiccup Haddock and the dragons he trained. Before she could read any further, Juniper closed the book and picked up the other four. She made her way out of the library and met up with the man again. "How much?" she asked.
The man raised his hand as if to stop her. "You acknowledging these books are enough payment for me" he smiled.
"Really?" said Juniper "Are you sure?"
The man slowly nodded as Juniper continued to protest. She gave up however and went to open the door but then stopped herself as a question burned in her mind. "D-did" she stammered nervously, in case she got the answer she didn't want "Did they find anything about her yet?"
The man sighed sadly. "Unfortunately not" he murmured "I too, worry for her safety."
"Yeah" Juniper breathed "I hope she's okay."
"It was nice to see you again Juniper" said the old man.
Juniper smiled sadly back at him and blinked slowly. "You too" she said and closed the door behind her as the man drew a breath and sat down.
"Lord help that lost child" he whispered.
Juniper fumbled with Sam's spare key in her hand as she made her way up to the workshop. She knew Sam went home for the night, which meant she had the workshop to herself so she could complete what she had to do. She turned on the lights before locking the door behind her and set her bag onto the bench. The time in her phone read seven o'clock. Good, this meant that she had a couple of hours before she went home for the night until Rafael came home.
She pulled out her notepad and cleared the desk, quickly sketching out the next things she needed to make.
After pulling the leather together she went to work, stitching them up and making the straps she made adjustable. She threaded each little thing together carefully, only pricking her finger a couple of times. She then made the little holes with the sharp end of the hammer, hoping they would be big enough for the buckle.
Finally, she was done and held up her new creation to match with her drawing…a saddle.
After the next dreadfully awful week at school – including serving that postponed detention on Monday – Saturday came quickly and Juniper repeated the same routine she did the week before. Wait until Rafael left, got ready, put her saddle into her bag and went to the supermarket to buy some fish. She then waited for the bus, tapped her foot until they arrived at the nature reserve and walked along the path until she found the opening to the ravine again.
She carefully climbed down the rocky stairs and walked up to Dusk, who was cleaning the inside of her wing until her nostrils picked up the smell of fish. "Hey Dusk" Juniper crooned, as the dragon went over to sniff her bag "Hey calm down! Don't worry; I've you your breakfast."
She took out the fish from her bag and gasped when they slid out of the paper that contained them and landed onto a small pile onto the ground. Juniper sighed, of course that had to happen. Dusk noticed the girl's sad demeanour and gently pressed her head into her side. Juniper smiled at the dragon's affections and stroked her ear. "Thanks girl" she whispered "But you should start eating soon, I wouldn't want you to starve."
The dragon's ears perked up and she licked her lips hungrily when she saw the pile of fish lying innocently on the ground. She went over and was about to take one of the fish, when her eyes suddenly slit and she growled. Juniper's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and went over to see what was wrong. It was then she saw the dragon snarl at something yellow and black. She gently picked up the slimy fish, only it wasn't a fish, just a greasy, snake-like eel. Dusk drew her head back and made a noise between a screech and a hiss. "No, no, no!" Juniper tried to calm her, before throwing the nasty thing away "It's okay! I wouldn't want to eat water-snakes as well."
She knew it was an eel, but the nickname spurred in her mind and she decided to use it. As Dusk continued to eat, Juniper took one of Hiccup's books out and flipped through the pages, she finally found one that caught her attention.
What they eat.
Now normally dragons aren't very picky. As long as you feed them any kind of fish, they'll be fine. However one time when I was fifteen, I was on the search with my dragon to find a final ingredient for a medicine that my village desperately needed. An eel. These slimy suckers are an illness to dragons, literally. My dragon ate one before it choked me to death and went crazy, like it had the flu. Fortunately, my companion and I, Fishlegs, managed to get the eel out of his system before it turned him inside out. I never felt so scared for my dragon in my whole life. Seeing him in pain pained me just as much.
Juniper winced. "I guess eels are off the menu." She looked up and saw that Dusk has finished eating her fish pile, smacking her lips in satisfaction. Juniper smiled and took the saddle up out of the bag. She started walking towards Dusk, only for the dragon to slowly tense away from her newest creation. Her pupils were still big and wide inside her blue orbs, but her facial expression was beyond terrified.
"Hey" Juniper softly cooed "It's okay."
Dusk tilted her head and walked towards Juniper, sniffing the saddle and looked up at Juniper, who had to use all her will power not to lose it when the dragon gave her an adorable look. "I'll only put it on only if you want me to" said Juniper. She guessed that the place where she got that hook in her tongue made her distrust saddles as well. Dusk glanced down at the saddle one more time before turning, making her side face Juniper.
"You sure?" Juniper asked one more time, wanting the dragon to have a say in this. The dragon closed her eyes and gave her a slow nod in agreement.
Juniper took in a breath and went over to the dragon. She placed her books on the ground, opening them to follow some instructions that she had printed off earlier on how to properly put a saddle on an animal. Juniper carefully placed the saddle onto the Night Fury's back, adjusting the straps around her middle and buckled them. She made sure that they were secure, but not tight enough to hurt Dusk. She was about to haul herself on, until her eyes met her scaly friend's. She gave Dusk a look to give her permission to go on her back. The dragon gave her a nod again and she pulled herself on. She didn't add stirrups as she had to make sure how the saddle fitted first before adding anything else and absolutely refused to put reins or anything else into the dragon's mouth after seeing that hook in there. Plus, she didn't want to erase Dusk's control as well.
While Juniper was taking some notes, Dusk took the time to look at some of the pictures that were on Juniper's printed documents. Some of them were other men or woman riding a for-legged creature while genuine and happy smiles were plastered on their faces. Is this what Juniper wanted for her, for herself and the dragon to be happy…together? The dragon slowly opened her wings; there was only one way to find out.
Juniper was too busy taking notes that it wasn't until last minute that she realised that Dusk had fully opened her wings. Her lips pursed into a thin line "Oh no."
The duo then tore off out of the ravine, Juniper desperately clinging her arms around the dragon's neck, desperate to hold on as she yelled for the life of her. "Oh lord, oh why, oh why me!?"
She let out another yell, as Dusk began to fly upward. The dragon knew that Juniper must've had some kind of control in this thing we were doing, so why wasn't she doing it. Taking a chance, she stopped flapping her wings and began to dive headfirst for the ground. Juniper gasped in fear and pulled on the saddle, hoping that would get the dragon to go up. To her relief, she did and the two flew out of the ravine and above the trees of the forest. Juniper squinted her eyes, before fully opening them and let out a hearty laugh "It's working!"
She pulled the saddle a bit to the right, so the two of them would fly back into the ravine. Dusk floated above the pond while Juniper couldn't stop that amazed grin on her face. "Yes!" she squealed "Yes I did it!"
Dusk smiled at the excited girl and whipped round the other way to fly somewhere else…only to have Juniper fall off the saddle and fall into the pond. The dragon noticed the absence of the girl and began to panic. She saw bubbles coming from the surface of the pond and dove down.
Juniper swam up for air and began to cough wildly, pushing back the wet strands of her hair away from her face. She didn't have time to properly take a breath of air when she saw the dragon about to dive in right next to her. Here widened, knowing what would happen. "W-wait!" she tried to warn Dusk, but it was too late. The dragon splashed into the water, causing a huge wave of water to fall over Juniper and push her back under the water.
Dusk continued to splash around, flaying her wings while trying to find the girl. Said girl rose above the water once again, trying to manage her surroundings before glaring daggers at the dragon. Dusk stopped flaying when she saw the girl glaring at her and her ears drooped, feeling guilty for getting her new friend soaked to the brim. Juniper tried to remain stern, but failed as she erupted into fits of laughter, splashing her hands against the water. Dusk cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what amused the girl so much. She warbled in surprise as Juniper played sent her a splash of water, landing on her nose. The dragon snorted and playfully sent her another one with her wing, trying not to send her back under the water again.
The two continued their little water fight until Dusk leaned back and landed into the water again and began to swim on her own, splashing around and catching little droplets of water on her tongue. She must really love the water Juniper thought to herself.
That night, before she went home, she went back to the workshop with Sam having gone home and continued what she left on last week. After putting a few things together and making sure each size was right, she held up the new and improved saddle. This time with stirrups and reins that didn't had to go an inch near Dusk's mouth as they can be used at the front of the saddle. She even measured Dusk before she arrived so she wouldn't have to adjust the straps every time she saw here.
Week 1
Juniper held up the new saddle for Dusk to see. While the dragon did look happy, mischief gleamed in her sky-blue eyes and she ran away. "Hey!" Juniper exclaimed and chased after her, Dusk wagging her tail like a dog.
Soon they were up in the air, Juniper lightly tugging on the new reins attached to the saddle. Today she wanted to focus on turning before completely sky-rocketing into the clouds. She had done some research on how to ride a horse and apparently she read that a horse could turn by a simple tap to the side. She gripped her reins and leaned them to the left while gently tapping her heel into Dusk's side…only for the dragon to flip sideways and have Juniper fly off the saddle headfirst.
Okay…she just needed to find a way to not fall of the saddle, not problem…right?
In the workshop that night, she fixed up a thin belt that attached to the saddle with a small hook. She smiled as she gave it a quick test. Not bad.
Week 2
This time, Dusk and Juniper decided to try and fly out of the ravine and do some of the turning near the ground. Juniper tried to tug on Dusk's reins to break, but they ended up crashing right into a field that was covered with long grass.
Juniper spat and pushed some of the grass out of her face and turned to look at Dusk, only to see that the Night Fury wasn't there. She began to panic and ran through the grass to find her, which was cut short when she saw Dusk rolling around and happily purring into the grass.
Juniper picked up some of the grass and stared at it with curiosity, this type of grass was quite thick but very smooth at the same time. Maybe she could use it when Dusk was too excited.
Week 3
Dragon nip
This type of grass can calm any type of dragon. From a Monstrous Nightmare to a Terrible Terror, it has a positive effect on any dragon.
Juniper closed the book as she climbed down into the ravine, dragon nip in hand. She saw Dusk happily barging towards her and held out the dragon nip in front of her, desperately not wanting to be squished by the over-excited dragon.
Dusk immediately stopped in her tracks, as a groan escaped from her throat and began to purr, her nose buried deep into the strands of grass Juniper held in her hand.
Juniper flicked her hand and soon, Dusk was lying on her back as she fell to the ground with a huge thud, her leg kicking in the ear and her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Juniper knelt down and scratched her neck. "Silly girl" she giggled.
While at school, people definitely noticed Juniper's recent change in behaviour over the past few weeks. She was smiling more, answering more questions in class and even smiled at people she wouldn't normally smile too.
Trent's goons also noticed this, and they both shared a grin when they decided to tell a certain boy they knew Juniper loathed.
Week 4
This week, Juniper decided to have some playtime with Dusk instead of flying her. As she entered the cave entrance of the ravine, she gasped in horror when she saw a thick layer of coal-black skin lying on the ground. Juniper ran down the rocky steps as quick as she could, dropping her bag, books, saddle and fish as she ran towards the skin. "Dusk!" she screamed, tears pricking in her eyes as she knelt down and picked up the skin.
She chocked on her own breath and held the skin next to her, crying into it while trying to figure out what could've done this to the beloved dragon. Her tears stopped when she felt a hot breath puff onto her neck and cheek. She turned round and was met with Dusk's blue orbs as they studied the girl's face and tried to figure out why she was crying.
Juniper gawked at the Night Fury and then back down at the skin. She looked back up to the dragon "You shed!" she cried. The dragon nodded as Juniper folded up the skin. "Oh lord, I thought I lost you for a second."
The dragon purred into her side and then leaned her head into Juniper's palm. The girl knew what she wanted and began to scratch her behind the ear. Dusk continued to purr while Juniper stood up and began to scratch her neck. Dusk began to wag her tail when Juniper moved down to scratch under her chin. The dragon's eyes went wide and fell to the ground. Before Juniper had the time to thought she had killed her, the dragon let out a happy warble and the girl let out a relieved laugh.
She looked away from her dragon and towards the dragon skin, an idea forming in her mind.
After she returned home from the workshop, she sat at her desk and took out some paper. Soon she began to sketch out a jacket with a hood, some jeans and knee-high boots.
Week 5
Juniper laughed quietly to herself as she hid behind the rock, chortling as the dragon dashed around the ravine. Dusk's saddle had changed quite a bit. Instead of straps that went around her middle, Juniper had some extra straps that went around her front legs and over her chest until it met the under the saddle on her stomach.
Juniper continued to giggle while using the small light on her phone to dance around the ground Dusk stood on. The dragon huffed in confusion as she continued to chase the bright bug on the ground. She crept up on fours, claws digging into the ground and…pounced! She was sure she got it this time when the bright bug wiggled onto her paw and out of her reach. Darn it, she almost had it!
She continued to chase it, unaware the girl gasping for air with laughter as she continued to watch the dragon jump after the light.
Week 6
Dusk continued to munch on her fish while Juniper put on her saddle. They had been practicing their turns for weeks, each time consisting of slamming head first into the ground. But today, she was going to try a different approach. She had found a cliff at the edge of the nature reserve park and dug a peg into the ground as went as some rope to attach to Dusk's saddle.
After the dragon finished eating, Juniper led her up and attached the rope. Soon they were gliding gently in the air, testing out their turns. Juniper gently dug her heel into Dusk's side and pulled her reins over to the left. The dragon responded, without showing any discomfort and turned to the left. She plopped onto the ground again and the two shared a smile.
Juniper wrote down some notes in a notebook and gently tugged on Dusk's reins to get her in the air again. They only lasted five seconds when the rope snapped and sent the two flying backwards into the trees. Juniper stumbled and toppled onto the grass while Dusk followed. Dusk slowly got up and shook her head before licking her paw and cleaned her head. She then noticed Juniper sitting on the ground, her head on her lap while hugging herself.
Dusk frowned and walked up to her, nudging her legs softly while Juniper looked up at her. She wasn't crying, but she definitely did not look happy. Juniper fumbled with her fingers before scratching Dusk's behind the ears. While the dragon purred, Juniper couldn't help but feel down about the whole thing. No matter how many times she tried, she and Dusk always somehow ended up face-planting into ground. "Am I really cut out for this?" Juniper asked out loud, Dusk's ears perked up "I keep wanting to believe that I can fly you girl, but I keep on failing. That's what I always do…fail."
Dusk warbled sadly, this time nudging her nose into Juniper face and licked her cheek. Juniper laughed through her nose and smiled "Thanks girl." Her sad smile faded and a look of determination was replaced instead. "You know what? I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself."
Dusk pulled away and stared at her partner. "I've got to stop doubting myself if I ever want to fly you" Juniper said, gesturing with her hands "I've always done that, doubt myself and it's always held me back. Well, not anymore. I've got to get a hold of myself and keep trying until I get it."
Dusk warbled happily at her sudden change of attitude and rubbed her head against her again. Juniper hugged her back "Now then, all we need…is a plan."
Week 7
This was it, the big risk. Juniper and Dusk had left the ravine and the cliff behind and were now so many feet in the air above the ocean, leaving the cliff behind the as the glided across the air. "Alright girl" she chided "We're going to take this nice and slow." She looked down at her journal, looking over her notes "Okay, position four – what – no three!" She quickly corrected herself and got into position.
Dusk copied her partner and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Juniper tugged on the reins and dug her foot into Dusk's right side. Dusk responded and turned right, making sure that Juniper didn't fall off. She flapped her wings and expanded them to float on the air. Juniper looked behind her "Alright wings are fine, tail fins are good" she stopped herself; this is it, the big moment to see if she could finally do it. She drew a breath "It's show time."
On purpose this time, Juniper and Dusk dove down towards the ocean pulling up before they hit the surface. Dusk's wing grazed the water and some of the liquid sprayed behind her. "Come on girl!" Juniper encouraged the dragon "You can do this!"
Dusk continued to focus; she will not fail her new friend. Not today. Juniper's eyes squinted due to the bright sun. She noticed that they were going to fly underneath a conjoined rock. She braced herself, holding onto the reins for dear life and narrowed her eyes to make herself see. She ignored the squawks of the seagulls above her as she flew underneath. Her eyes widened once she realised she made it through "I-it worked!" she squealed, checking Dusk's saddle before flying ahead. Apparently she celebrated too soon when saw that she was about to crash into another cliff. "No, no, no, no, no!" She pulled on Dusk's reins to stop herself, but ultimately failed when she crashed into it.
"Sorry!" she called to the dragon…before crashing into another rock "That was my fault."
Dusk tried to slap Juniper with her ear in annoyance but the girl dodged it with her hand. "Hey!" she warned her "I know I'm bad at this but I'm trying. Right, position five? No seven, sorry."
She pulled on Dusk's reins again and the two descended higher into the sky. They were soon higher than the cliffs and were so close to the clouds, something that Juniper never thought she'd do. Juniper whooped and cheered while Dusk stuck her tongue out, letting it flap around in the wind. "Oh my gosh!" Juniper cried happily "This is amazing! The wind in my…cheat sheet!"
All good things came to an end when Juniper's sheets flew out of it's small holder on Dusk's saddle and started to fly away from her. "NO!" Juniper tried to reach out and grab, only for her buckle to keep her attached to Dusk to slide out of place. She felt herself slipping and she fell off the dragon's back as she plummeted for the sea. Juniper let out a cry, this time it was for help. Dusk heard the distressed cry and looked behind her, only to see that Juniper wasn't there.
She made a distressed screech when she saw the girl falling and raced down to try and catch her. As Juniper fell, she saw her sheet in front of her as it tantalising danced in front of her. Ignoring the fact that she was falling to her death, she tried to reach out to grab it, failing each time and earned one or two paper cuts. She saw Dusk trying to catch up to her, so she reach out her hand one more time and finally caught the page. She reached up and grabbed Dusk's saddle, hauling herself on while buckling herself back in place. She held the paper in her mouth when she saw that that were heading head first for sharps rocks above the ocean. She on pulled Dusk's reins as much as she could, letting out a frightened yell and the dragons wings extended, using them as a break to hold of their fall.
Dusk let out a terrified screech, fearing for the worst income. The girl better have something planned instead of letting them be stabbed to death by rocks!
Juniper took the page out of her mouth and tried to read it, though she was finding it very to read it out while it was flying around. Lord I've been kind to you, why must you punish me now? She thought to herself. Her attention was then drawn away from the sheet and towards the rocks. If she didn't do something now, she and Dusk could die! She furrowed her eyes in determination and through the paper away. While preparing herself, she remembered one line from Hiccup's books.
The most important thing to do while flying a dragon is to not only trust the dragon, but you must trust yourself.
Juniper pulled on the reins and the two flew to the left once the neared the rocks. Juniper continued to steer Dusk right and left, making sure they didn't hit any rocks, both of their eyes were locked on the path of getting out of here and nothing could break their determination. Juniper nudged her heel into the dragon's side and she did a barrel roll while turning right. Juniper brushed away the shock she felt in her stomach and continued to keep flying.
Then, as soon as they got into that rocky situation, they were soon out of the stone forest. Juniper wasn't able to grasp onto what just happened until she felt Dusk fly up gently into the sky once again. This time, Dusk was a bit slower instead of the action packed thrill the two of them experienced.
Juniper looked up at the sky; it was turning into a beautiful shade of amber with a bit of yellow to contrast. She looked at the clouds; they were barely touching her wisps of her hair that escaped her braid. She hesitantly took off one of her hands from Dusk's saddle. She never felt a cloud before, but then again she was a hundred feet of the ground, she was taking so many risks. Yet here she was, still alive and managed to fly a fire breathing dragon. Her fingertips grazed the mist of nothingness as the danced around the lengths of her fingers. A laugh escaped her throat as she lifted another hand to touch it. Soon, she found the bravery in herself to lean back and lets her hands sift through the clouds while smiling like a fool.
Dusk looked up and copied the same smile, happy that the girl she considered a stranger to be one of her closest friends. The two barely noticed the sky turning into a deep black colour as Juniper put her hands back into the saddle as Dusk flew above the clouds to meet the starry sky. Juniper couldn't believe it; in the pitch black were dozens of stars that decorated the night sky. Like thousands of suns that have come to greet her hello. She could barely keep it together when she saw herself flying over Washington; all the lights filled those nior buildings while cars on the road continued to zoom down their many roads. It felt like she was seeing the city only in a beautiful drawing even she couldn't do. She felt overwhelmed, but in a good way.
A tear streamed down her face as she smiled and hugged Dusk around her neck. Dusk warbled happily and pressed her head into Juniper's neck, lightly licking her chin and earned a giggle from the girl. They continued to fly, admiring the city while cloaking into the night sky so no citizen could see them. "This is beyond anything that I could've ever imagined" Juniper told her, sitting back up "It's amazing…you're amazing."
She patted the Night Fury's head and Dusk leaned into her touch.
That night, Juniper decided not to spend her time at the workshop, she didn't need to. Her work was complete. Instead, she was lying on the ground of the ravine. She had taken Dusk's saddle off and put back into it's bag before she lay down. She had her right hand behind her hand as a pillow, while her left hand was used to stroke down Dusk's head. Said dragon rested her head on Juniper's stomach as a pillow while she curled up next to her favourite person, probably because she hadn't met anymore nice people yet. Trent didn't count as he tried to her Juniper, which put him off her favourite people list.
Juniper smiled and she continued to stroke Dusk. Had she felt this before? She raced through her memories and pulled out a few.
One was when she trusted Rafael for the first time, when she hit it off with Naomi, when she had her first night at support group and felt listened to. She only felt like this when she let down her walls and feel herself heal. This was it, another moment where she felt like she was on her way to continue healing.
Ah, Sunday, one of Juniper's favourite days! The other was Friday. It was a day to lean back, relax and feel free to sleep in until nightfall. She got up and stretched, cracking her limbs. "Hey Juniper!" she heard Rafael calling her.
"Coming!" she called back, pulling on her dressing down and made her way down the hallway to Rafael's room. She let herself in and saw him digging around in a plastic box while lying in bed in his Pyjamas. "What is it that you need?"
"I've got something to show you" he grinned.
"Okay" Juniper said warily and she sat onto his bed "And it couldn't wait until later because?"
"My excitement got the best of me" he smiled.
"Understatement of the year" she joked, feeling relieved when she saw Rafael laugh.
His eyes softened. This was basically every father-daughter- moment he's seen on TV. "Take a look" he urged and motioned his head to the box.
Juniper smile faded and a look of curiosity and wonder was replaced. She gasped at what she saw what was inside. A large scrapbook with an old leather cover, some old toys, old CD's – including a limited addition of 'Queen' – comics books and other pieces that she was sure every kid around Rafael's age would've had. While she did enjoy what she saw, what caught her eye were a set of goggles. She picked them up and held them in her hands. They had a golden rim and the already-dark lenses were covered in dirt and grim.
"Oh" Rafael chuckled "This brings back a lot of memories."
"What are these?" Juniper asked, Rafael raised his eyebrow at her "Okay I know there old goggles, but why do you have them?"
Rafael laughed again. "Well my mom would use to make me and my friends our own costumes for Halloween. I guess by the look of these goggles, we were really into fantasy at that time."
"These are incredible" Juniper's eyes widened with awe, inspiration immediately filled her heads with ideas for the outfit she was making. Her eye then caught a picture sticking out of the leather book. She picked up the book – learning that it was surprisingly heavy – and opened the page that the picture was sticking out of. In the picture were two people about her age. One of them she presumed was Rafael - except he didn't have the coiled afro yet - and the other was a girl. Her skin was pale and she had warm brown eyes. She had long brown hair that flowed to her waist and wore a black half of a ying and yang necklace with the initials O and G carved into the black wood in golden writing. She was giving the camera a sad smile. "Is that-?"
Rafael sighed and moved the box to sit closer to Juniper. "That's Ophelia Grayson" he murmured his voice and eyes dropping "The girl that was bullied during my high school years."
"Were you friends?" Juniper asked, giving him her wide and curious eyes "Is that why you're both in the same picture?"
Rafael drew a deep breath. "Yeah" he said, clutching his half of the necklace close to his heart "We were really close."
Juniper sensed his misery. "Sorry" she whispered "I shouldn't've asked."
Without looking at each other, Rafael put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. She didn't complain and closed her eyes while he stroked her braided hair. It was times like this – even in the sad moments – when she was glad to have Rafael.
Finished! Juniper put her sewing machine away and placed the outfit on her bed. There lay a Night Fury skinned leather jacket, leggings, leather gloves, high-knee boots, face-scarf and the goggles laid at the top of it all. She had taken out her regular braid this morning after getting dressed and put it into two Dutch braids instead. She spent all day making this outfit that it was nearly five o'clock in the evening when she finished. Wasting no time, she tried it on. She pulled the goggles and face-scarf over her face and stared in the mirror. She looked…different. Like some kind of vigilante. Honestly, she couldn't get rid of the feeling of running down to the ravine, getting on Dusk and stopping a bank robbery during the middle of the night.
Her thoughts were interrupted however when she heard Rafael call her down for dinner. She quickly changed out of her outfit and back into her normal clothes before rushing downstairs. It was only while they were eating their dinner when Rafael got a phone call. He excused himself ever so politely – even though he didn't need to but did it anyway – and answered it.
"Hello?" he said "Woah Naomi slow down, what's wrong?"
Juniper couldn't help but feel the slightest bit intrigued and leaned over the table to get a closer listen.
"Okay I'm putting on the TV right now" he said, turning on the TV and flicking through the channels with the remote. He immediately dropped it and his eyes widened, Juniper copying the same movement as her breathed hitched when she saw what was on the news.
Whispering Deaths
These dragons are ones you should pray don't come near you. All these things do is destroy. Either hide and pray for mercy or show them that you are not a match to play with.
After remembering Hiccup's information about these deadly beasts, Juniper tried to breathe when she saw the dragons terrorise a building as people screamed in fear, ran away or were getting help from firemen or doctors.
"Okay, I' heading there right now!" said Rafael in a panic "Just let me get my things."
Just as he put down the phone and went upstairs, he was back down again in his uniform and a medical kit. "Juniper stay where you are until I come back!" Rafael explained "I have no idea what's going on but people are getting hurt. I'll be back…I promise." He fled out the door without looking back and locked it. Juniper could only stare at the TV in worry and disbelief. People were getting hurt and if he wasn't careful, Rafael would to.
Suddenly, an idea went off in her head. The suit. What if she used it to help those people as well as using Dusk as well? She didn't hesitate to run upstairs, pack up her suit and run back downstairs. She used her own keys and unlocked the door and locked it behind her once she was outside. Rafael's car was already gone and she ran down the street as fast as she could.
You couldn't believe how thankful she was when she saw the bus roll up to her. The ride to the nature reserve was just as painful, she couldn't stop worrying about those people, they could be getting hurt the longer she waited. As soon as the bus rolled into the dark reserve, she leapt off and dashed into the woods. She tore off the same path she followed for the last seven weeks until she came across the ravine, spotting her familiar Night Fury. "Dusk!" she screamed, unable to keep it at bay as her fear swam around inside her.
The dragon's ears perked up at her name and dashed towards the girl, stopping when she saw the distressed look. "I need your help" said Juniper as she pulled out Dusk's saddle and buckled it onto her "People are getting hurt thanks to some Whispering Deaths and they need our help."
The dragon growled at the mention of the terrible species. "I guess this means you're on board?" Juniper asked, as the Night Fury snorted in agreement "Good."
Juniper pulled on her suit, pulling the goggles over her eyes and the scarf over her mouth and nose. She hauled herself onto her dragon and gasped when she saw her disappear from the ground. "What the-" she spluttered, until she saw that her hands, feet and the rest of her body had disappeared. Dusk and her body reappeared as the dragon chortled at the girl. "You can camouflage, even with your dead skin?"
"That sounded better in my head" she admitted and the dragon nodded "Nice." She then proceeded to pull the scarf all over her face and soon, both she and Dusk had disappeared. Juniper gently pressed her heel into Dusk's side and the two tore off into the night.
Thousands of ambulance's, fire truck and police cars circled the building. The top of it was already destroyed and on fire while the people inside struggled to get out. Rafael and Naomi continued to treat the people that were injured, though some of these injuries were starting to get out of hand and too many people were getting hurt.
"This is a nightmare" Naomi walked over to Rafael and helped him finish his stitches on a woman "What are these things?"
"I don't know" Rafael replied.
Naomi ran over to one of the newly injured people and put there arm underneath their shoulders. "Look over at the east side of the building" she told one of the policemen "There might be more over there."
The policemen nodded and ran off. She just sat the person down when she heard an explosion and rubble fell off the top of the building and was about to hit innocent bystanders near the ground. She was going to run over to warn and save them if it wasn't for Rafael grabbing her arm and holding her back. "No!" he yelled "It's too dangerous."
It hurt him to hold her against her will, but he couldn't lose her. He would never forgive himself for that. Tears stung in Naomi's eyes as she watched the rubble continue fall. The bystanders, too scared to run, screamed in fear as they awaited their death.
Suddenly a screech tore through the air and the rubble was blown to smithereens, saving the bystanders. Rafael and Naomi stopped and stared into the sky with shock. A silhouette flew against the stars and shot another blast underneath one of the creatures that was destroying the building. The sky brightened with the fire from the blast and everyone covered their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded.
In the sky, Dusk and Juniper uncloaked themselves, feeling thankful that the Night Fury skin would bask them in the night sky. "Okay Dusk" Juniper muffled against the mask "There's only three in total. We don't want to hurt them but let's make sure that they get out of here as soon as possible without destroying anyone or anything."
Dusk gave her a roar to tell her she understood and the two flew off into the direction of the Whispering Deaths. One of them came rushing towards them, thinking that it could take them on. Dusk proved it all too wrong and sent a plasma blast right underneath its stomach. The Whispering Death screeched too loudly for Juniper's taste and tried to fly away. Dusk was far too smart and much smarter and blocked its escape. It screamed again and kept trying to escape, only for each attempt to be blocked by the dragon-rider duo and kept sending it a warning shot.
Soon the dragon camouflaged again and twirled into the sky before going behind the Whispering Death and sent another shot to the side of its head. The dragon hissed and flew off, away from the building and – from which Juniper guessed – the away from the city's nearest beach as it flew away from the current earth it was near. "Good job girl!" Juniper praised Dusk happily and scratched behind her ear "Now let's take care of the other two."
The two blended into the sky again and made their way over to the two other dragons. Dusk sent another warning shot above their heads and they screeched in annoyance. They look up and saw the pair. "Follow me ugly!" Juniper hollered to them and tore off. The dragons hissed and followed the girl and her dragon into the sky. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't camouflage, which gave Juniper and Dusk a bit more of an advantage. They gave off a warning shot, startling the Whispering Deaths and making them separate. "Silly dragons, shouldn't they know that you should never leave a man behind?"
Dusk chortled and flew off after one of them. She blocked off its exit and gave it another warning shot. "How rude" Juniper taunted "Leaving your partner in crime like that for your own benefit, that doesn't sound very nice, does it Dusk?"
The Night Fury warbled in agreement and gave the Whispering Death another warning shot below its tail. The dragon screeched and flew off to find its other half, Juniper and Dusk hot on its tail. It soon reunited with the other dragon and they tried to make their way back to the building, until they were met with an angry Dusk, sending them both two warning shots above their heads and let out an angry roar. They tried shooting their own fire at them, but the dragon and rider barely dodged it and flew higher above them. Dusk soon gave them more warning shots, circling them until the two dragons were trapped in a catch of plasma blasts that barely grazed them. The Whispering Deaths hissed and screech and followed in the same footsteps as the first on and flew away from the city and away from the beach to where they came from.
"We did it!" Juniper cheered "Now let's go save those people."
Juniper and Dusk flew towards the building, Juniper gasping when she saw all the people trapped on different floors. "How are we going to save them all?" she asked.
Dusk was already a step ahead and folded her ears outwards. She could hear the screams of the people as is they were close by, even though they were far from the people. Dusk then flew straight forwards into the building and crashed through the window, luckily not harming herself of her rider. She then scooped up as many people as she could in her paws, as they screamed in fear of the large dragon and flew out. She set them gently on to ground and flew back up again as the policemen helped them to the ambulance.
She did the same thing to each floor. Grab all the people who were stranded and bring them softly to the ground. They soon finished with all the people as they reached the ground floor, swiftly carrying them out and put them in the refuge of the police, firemen and doctors. The top of the building was still on fire but there was nothing they could do about it, unless they wanted to help spread it. At least everyone was out. "Come on girl" she crooned "Let's get you back home."
Just as soon as they took off into the sky, the dragon let out a screech of pain and toppled onto the roof of building and landed on her side. Juniper quickly detached herself and ran over to the other side of her dragon, gasping when she saw a sharp blade underneath her wing. She gently pulled it out and threw it away, but wasn't able to stop the blood spilling from the wound. She took out her jacket from a bag she attached to Dusk's saddle and pressed it against her wound. What was she going to do? She couldn't just leave her here, and how would people react of she took her to the vet? Time was running out, what could she do? An idea formed in her head and she frowned, she just hoped this idea didn't freak out, scream in fear and run away.
Rafael turned the key in the door and walked into his home. He was about to go upstairs and check on Juniper when he heard a crash coming from the garage. He turned around in confusion and began to walk towards the door that led to it. Once he opened the door and turned on the life, his face dropped and his eyes widened in fear and horror. Here was Juniper, clad in a black suit with goggles and a leather head-scarf thrown to the side of a room while pressing her denim jacket against a wound of a bleeding dragon.
He stood there, frozen in shock. Juniper turned to him, tears in her bloodshot eyes that held a pleading look. "Raf, help me!" she cried "I don't know how long she'll last for!"
His heartbeat quickened as glanced over at the bleeding dragon on the ground, who stared at him with the same look Juniper had. Wait a minute, Juniper was the one who chased those creatures away, who saved those people from the burning building, who-"Raf please!"
He turned around; the large door of the garage was shut, indicating that she shut it before the crash. He took a deep breath before walking over and kneeling, opening his medical kit. "Do you think you can calm her?" he asked.
"Yeah" Juniper replied, getting up and taking out some dragon nip from her bag. She went over to the dragon's head and held the plant near her nose. "Here girl, this'll help."
The dragon sniffed the plant and her moans of pain began to die down. Rafael looked up at Juniper "What did this to her?" he asked. Juniper only stared at him with a tear-stained face.
"I don't know."
The man with the black beard, dark eyes and full suit stared at the computers his workers typed at. He could only watch the replayed footage of his escaped dragon getting taken down by his sniper over and over again. It's what he deserved, after escaping from him. And this was only the start to his devious actions.
He heard the buzz of his door opening, not bothering to turn round as he already knew who it was. "Hello my son" his voice droned "I guess you've heard the news about the dragons as well."
Trent walked in with his mother, as she plopped down into a comfy chair and pulled out her phone to answer some emails. "I did yes" the boy smirked as he went over to his father "I must say, I'm impressed."
"Well, letting out some dragons to lure our one to come back was the most plausible option" he sneered "I also see that it drew the attention of his new friend as well."
Trent growled "That stupid girl!" he banged his fist near one of the keyboards "I want her dead!"
His father grabbed his wrist and held it high, strands of hair falling in his face as he tightened his grip on his son's arm. "Watch it boy!" he hissed through gritted teeth before shoving his arm away "All in good time, and soon we'll get your dragon back."
"It's…mine" Trent could only gawk.
"Well it is the best of its species" his father explained "And don't worry, we'll punish it after it attacked you in the woods."
Trent chuckled darkly "The sniper and Whispering Deaths are just the beginning."
His father returned the laugh with his own "Indeed."
"Mr Hunter" one of his workers spoke up "The boy returned your message; he says that he wants to meet up."
"Oh did he know?" said Mr Hunter and he grinned "Arrange a meeting for us in one hour."
He turned away and walked towards the door. "Soon, they'll all be mine."
