-Nanta-

The gash on her side hurt terribly as Nanta gripped the Monstrous Nightmare's leg.

"There!" Nanta pointed to where Pitch was circling. She called out to her dragon, who responded in kind. Pitch turned and flew towards the Nightmare, stopping below Nanta. Nanta let go of the leg and landed on her dragon's back, hissing as her side screamed.

"You are hurt?" The concerned dragon asked.

"I'm fine. Did you locate Racari?" Nanta gripped the gash on the left side of her waist with her right hand.

"No, the trees are too dense." Pitch flew up high to avoid the humans' attacks.

"I will search for him on foot, then." The dragon gave a disapproving grumble. "After I tend to my injury." Her Fury warbled, content.

"I will put you down and tell the dragons to end this raid."

"Ok, but you should leave with them. It will be hard for you to remain hidden here." Nanta looked to the east. The sun was breaking the horizon now.

"No. I will not leave you here." The rider sighed.

"Pitch, he might be injured. I will find him, and care for him until he is well."

"I do not like this. What if a human finds you?" Nanta put a reassuring hand on Pitch's head.

"I will not get caught. I never get caught." She smiled slightly.

"Alright. If I see Racari at the Nest without you, I will come." Nanta nodded. Pitch angled towards the ground, diving slow enough as to not alert the humans as to their presence. They landed in a small clearing in the approximate area where Racari landad. Nanta stumbled while dismounting. She opened the saddle bag and took out a bandage strip and pad.

"Go, I will be ok." She said when she saw the concerned look on her dragon's face. Pitch nudged her chest, and Nanta rubbed the top of her head affectionately. Then, Pitch turned and took off, leaving her rider in the cold forest. Once she was alone, Nanta let out an involuntary groan. Clutching her side, she searched for a water source. Finding a small stream, she sat on the edge. She took her helmet off and dropped it on the ground, dropping the bandages in it. She stripped off her upper body armor and untucked her tunic. Lifting it up, she looked at the bleeding gash on her waist.

"Shit." Nanta said, in English. She untied the rag around her wrist and dunked it in the cold, clear water. She cleaned the wound and wrapped the bandages over it. Putting her tunic back down and putting her armor back on, she grabbed her helmet and took out her journal. Opening to a finely detailed map of the island, she located where she was and set out to find Racari.

It had been hours, but Nanta was having no luck in locating Racari. As she was just cresting a hill, she heard a mighty roar up ahead. Forgetting the pain in her side, she ran towards it, donning her helmet and stashing her journal. Then she saw him. Racari had the skinny boy pinned to a rock, roaring in his face. If she recalled correctly, the boy was the Chief's son. Racari got off the boy and ran in away, to Nanta's left. Instantly, Nanta ran after the dragon, and watched as he crashed into trees. He was definitely injured. She ran as he crashed into a cove. Scrambling down the rock face, Nanta went over to where Racari was frantically trying to escape. When he felt a presence behind him, Racari turned and fired. Nanta jumped out of the blast, rolling to a stop. She jumped up and took off her helmet, dropping it to the side.

"Racari, calm down." she held her hands out defensively. "It's me. It's Nanta." The dragon calmed, pupils widening. He came towards Nanta, and she put her hands on his head gently.

"I'm sorry, Nanta." Racari said, closing his eyes. Nanta sighed.

"What happened, brother? Where are you injured?" She asked, dropping her hands. He turned back and looked at his tail.

"The rope." Nanta went to the end of his tail and knelt down, looking at the jagged edge where his left tail fin was ripped off. She put her hand on it and sighed. This injury would leave Racari helpless in flight for sure.

"Why did you spare the boy?" Nanta asked through gritted teeth. Racari didn't answer, only huffed some hot air in her face. "Why?"

"He spared me, sister. He could not find the place in his heart to kill me."

"But he also shot you down." Nanta stood and grimaced as her side sent shivers of pain through her body. She gripped the pain with her hand tightly.

"That is true, but I think that just the same as him, I could not find it in my heart to kill him."

Hi hello, there will possibly be a double upload today, as I finished this chapter early, and I feel like I have the chapters too short. Will eventually have them longer, still just getting into the full swing of this story :)