A/N: Here's one-shot number 2!
Big thanks to: vogelflip123, shamwoohoo52, ruler of the ice dragons, nitro740, aRabidHobo, Verona-mira, Rhovania, Pietersielie, Ny'Kle, FubarDuck91, Death Berry Wizard, CrisperKarma0, BlackSheep the Sage, kittycatcharlie, VeyrLiivAhrkDir, Mac Gustah, Draelyan, Arianna Le Fay, Allard-Liao, Rex Resede90, Evilkiller and Harvester 23 for following/favouriting.
Review Response(s):
Ny'Kle: We all have our weaknesses...
gabiey: Aww, I'm glad to hear you're still willing to follow this. I do know what you mean about one shots. But really, I just didn't want to say goodbye to these guys just yet.
Miyuki Ai Takashi: Hehe, glad you thought so ;)
Mac Gustah: Fluffy is kind of mad at me at the moment... Not sure why... So he's ignoring me. But I'm sure he says 'hey' back :3 Have fun studying!
2 - She Flies With Her Own Wings
"Did you know that your daughter has somehow managed to climb onto the top shelf in the pantry?"
Ira paused, moving her eyes from the whetstone and dagger she was holding, and turning to see Alduin leaning very comfortably against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest. His eyes shone with barely concealed amusement. She blinked. "You mean the one that even I can't reach without stretching?"
"The very same."
Ira blinked again, before frowning. "How in Talos' name did she manage that?"
"Trust me, I was wondering that myself."
Ira stood up, putting her whetstone and dagger onto the table in front of her, before walking towards the pantry. In a dark corner of the room, sat very comfortably on the aforementioned shelf, was her five month old daughter. She had one of her favourite, wooden toys in her hand, and she was gnawing quite happily at it while staring down at her parents with wide, innocent eyes.
Ira returned the stare for a long time, before her eyes widened, and she spun around, a sudden revelation hitting her head. "Do you think...?"
"It's possible."
"But so young?"
"This isn't exactly explored territory."
"True, but I would have thought her body would need to develop a bit more first."
"Dragons learn how to fly from a very young age."
Ira sent him a pointed look. "Now how was I supposed to know that?"
Alduin grinned. "You could have asked," he pointed out. Ira rolled her eyes, before walking slowly towards Briiahnah, who paused in chewing her toy in replacement with watching her mother get closer. Ira lifted her arms in invitation.
Briiahnah shifted her weight forward, golden eyes darting from Ira's face to her hands, before she dropped her wooden toy on the floor and crawled towards the edge of the shelf. Ira's eyes widened as, before her eyes, her baby girl transformed into a small, white dragonling. Her small wings flapped uselessly a few times, before Briiahnah launched herself off the shelf. She flew unsteadily, and Ira almost had a heart attack when her daughter sudden swerved, but then her breathing became easier when the little dragon landed shakily on her shoulder. Briiahnah's claws dug deeply into Ira's skin as she tried to maintain her balance, but Ira didn't really care.
Ira's wide, awed eyes met the calm gaze of her husband, who simply flashed her a small smirk. Ira turned back to Briiahnah, her daughter's pearly scales dully reflecting the orange light that filled the pantry. Her eyes remained the same bright gold as always. Ira gently pried Briiahnah from her shoulder, the girl letting out a soft mewl in the process, before she gently balanced Briiahnah on her arm. Briiahnah's spikeless tail wrapped itself around Ira's arm, and her wings flapped a few times as she tried to re-stabilise herself.
"Are all dragonlings such fast learners?" Ira asked, marvelling at the small being in front of her, having to forcefully remind herself that this was her child.
Alduin hummed, stepping towards them and teasingly tickling under Briiahnah's chin. She snapped playfully at his finger, letting out a contented sound even as she did so. "They have to be," Alduin said quietly. "A dragon cannot survive without his or her wings, nor without their Voice. Both are developed quickly, and so a dragonling has to learn fast in order to survive. Luckily, any lessons we learn are not easily lost, because the dov have incredibly good memories."
Ira huffed. "And of course I wasn't gifted with such a nice attribute."
Alduin's eyes darkened and glazed over for a moment, before he shook his head and said seriously, "Let's just say some things are better if they're forgotten. Sure, we can hold on to the good things, but the bad things haunt us with frightening vividness."
Ira stared at him for a few seconds, only to jump when Briiahnah suddenly scrambled from her arm back onto her shoulder, where she settled comfortably, resting her little white head on top of Ira's. Ira smiled gently, grasping Alduin's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "Whatever it is you wish you couldn't recollect, just remember it's all in the past. It's out of your hands. And hey, you might never have gotten to this point otherwise."
Alduin snorted. "I find it unlikely that an event that happened a millennia ago would have such a massive impact on the here and now."
"You never know." Ira said, shrugging the shoulder that wasn't weighed down by a dragonling. She turned her head to her daughter and said in a stern tone, "Now, you should have been in bed half an hour ago, missy." Briiahnah huffed, as if she could actually understand what Ira was saying. "No, don't give me that. We all have to go to bed at some point." Briiahnah bumped her chin on the top of Ira's head, before letting out what sounded suspiciously like a sigh and solidifying her hold on her mother, allowing Ira to start walking without the fear of having her child fall off. Not that there wasn't another dragon hovering close by just in case such a thing were to happen.
"You know, I think more of your stubbornness is rubbing off on her with each day," Alduin commented idly.
Ira chuckled. "When she's grown up, just make sure we don't get into an argument."
Alduin let out a dramatically loud groan at the thought. "Gods, it would never end."
"My point exactly."