Hey, before you start reading, I have something to say. Thank you very much to Guest A for bringing this up to I can warn you guys. Guest A was wondering where this was heading, and it just hit me! None of you guys know what I have planned in my crazy mind, so these last few chapters have been rather boring!

These next few chapters are mainly for building up to what's going to come, so please bear with me! I promise, by chapter 12 or 13, things will be getting more interesting. Okay, that's it. Now on with de chappie!

Chapter 10

Introductions, Hunting, and Crazy Scauldrons

I wearily blink my eyes open. Sunlight flows into my large hollow, warming my bones and making me want to go back to sleep. Yawning, I stand up and walk outside. I arch my back and stretch, purring happily.

It's late morning, and the sun is almost at midpoint. A few dragons are awake, including Aquamarine, Sawyer, Dracen, and Whiplash, and they're all talking idly as the sun warms their scales. They look at me as I walk down to meet them.

"Good morning." I dip my head in a greeting and they all sleepily smile. "Morning, Frosty." Dracen yawns, showing off his pointy teeth while the sun makes his scales look gold. I smile and settle down next to him, "What's up?"

"Not much," he says, "Nice morning, though, right? A good day for flying. Lots of prey will be out, so we can fill up and then continue."

"Good."

Aquamarine purrs, "Yeah. And I bet the water won't be too cold, just nice and cool. Who's up for a nice ocean breeze?"

The dragons rumble in agreement. I look up as Skurge appears at the top of the hill and beckon him over with a whish of my tail. He slithers over and flops down next to me. Purring, I lean against him and in a few moments my deputy is gently snoring. Whiplash snickers softly, covering his mouth with his tail.

I make small talk with the group, occasionally joining in but mostly watching the rest of the clan wake up and walk out of their dens. They all yawn sleepily, and I patiently wait for them to wake up and smell the hidden Boneknapper on the other side of the hill.

Skull and I decided that he would come to the camp in the morning. I can smell him now. But the others don't recognize his sharp, musky scent as the wind carries it over the camp. Laying my head on my paws, I watch my friends intently.

Dracen looks a little confused, whilst Sawyer's head is high in the air. They don't say anything, though. Aquamarine's eyes are darting around suspiciously, but it's Whiplash who finally decides to ask, "Do you guys smell that?"

They all nod feverishly and he stands up. He makes a move towards the hill, but Crag, Misty, and Skyflame are already climbing to the top of it. When they do, they raise their heads and sniff the air. Then, Crag mutters something to the two sisters and then he and Skyflame crawl down the hill on the other side. Misty watches them anxiously. Suddenly, there's a loud yowl of surprise and she turns around and runs back to the camp, Crag and Skyflame hard on her heels.

By now, all the dragons are awake and staring at them wide-eyed. Misty reaches me first and skids to a halt, spraying pebbles on Skurge and me. He jerks awake and lifts his upper body up. Unfortunately, I was still leaning on him so I fall to my side. Quickly getting up, I look at the three dragons as Skurge asks, "What's wrong?"

"There's this huge dragon down there!" Misty exclaims, her eyes wide, "I have no idea what it was, but it was covered with bones and had crazy long teeth!"

"It was a Boneknapper!" Crag says, "We've got to organize an attack quickly; it might come and eat us and-"

He stops when he sees that I'm chuckling softly. "W-what?" he asks in confusion.

I catch my breath and prowl to the hill, "It's okay. Skull won't hurt anyone; I invited him to join our clan last night."

They look at me in confusion and follow me along with the rest of the clan. I stop at the base of the hill. "Come on, Skull." I call out sweetly, "I'll introduce you to everyone."

My clan waits anxiously beside me and a few moments later, Skull appears at the top of the hill, looming over us. Everyone gasps, some in fear and some in awe, and he starts to walk down the hill. I notice that he has something in his mouth. When he reaches the base of the hill everybody moves away to give him space.

Skull looks at me and drops his burden at my paws. It's an adult male elk. "Hello, Frostbite." The Boneknapper rumbles, "I brought some prey for the clan so they have enough energy for today."

I sniff the large game and then bark to Skurge, "Bring this to Fernheart. Dracen and Zylah will share with her and the hatchlings. There will be enough." He nods and grabs the elk by its hind leg and drags it over to the mother, who is crouching with the baby dragons under her wings and staring up at Skull.

"I didn't know there was large prey like elk on this island." I say to Skull. He looks amused and says, "You can find a lot if you know where to look."

I purr and say, "Well, thank you. How 'bout you introduce yourself to the clan?"

He looks down at the dragons, who are starting to warm up to him, and says, "I am Skull, a Boneknapper. I hope I can be accepted by this clan and join you on your quest to find a territory."

Nobody moves for a few moments, and then Whiplash trots up, "Hey, my name is Whiplash, I'm a Fang. Nice to meet you, Skull."

I purr again, proud of my student. After that, many more dragons boldly introduce themselves to the huge, skeleton-like dragon. Turning around, I walk towards Fernheart, who is eating the elk with Dracen and Zylah. There seems to be enough for all, and the six hatchlings are busy trying to eat the head. One of the Changewings, who was tugging on the ear, suddenly loses her grip and tumbles to my feet.

I smile down at the youngster and tickle her belly with a claw, "Hullo little Brook. Do you like the elk that Skull brought?"

Brook giggles and squeaks, "Elky, elky, yum yum yum!"

I laugh and nudge her back to her siblings. Fernheart, Dracen, and Zylah are watching me, amused. I pad towards them and say, "How is it?"

Dracen licks his chops and says, "Delicious! I'm starting to like that Boneknapper."

"Same here." Fernheart says through a mouthful of flesh. Zylah, who only had a couple of bites, takes a step back and says, "You should eat first, Frostbite. I'll take a hunting patrol to the beach, if that's okay with you. There're probably pelicans and other marine life there."

I nod and take her place, "Thank you. And tell Skurge to arrange a few more hunting parties. Don't forget to take a Fang with you."

She nods and walks away. I hungrily bite the elk's hind leg. "So," Dracen says, stripping a piece of meat from the game's chest, "where did you find Skull?"

I crunch the hind bone and reply, "Saw him in a forest a bit away from here. Smelled him first. He was getting chased out of another Knapper's territory. Didn't have one himself so I persuaded him to join us. Agreed pretty quickly."

Fernheart makes a rumbling sound in her throat and we continue to eat in silence. I hear Skurge snapping out orders to the Claws, and also hear him telling some Fangs to join them. I sniff and lie down, content with gnawing on the hoof of the elk.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Skull shuffling around awkwardly. Lifting my head, I call, "Hey, Skull! Have you eaten yet?"

He looks at me and says, "I ate before I came."

Jerking my head, I think for a moment and then say, "How 'bout you join Zylah's hunting patrol at the beach, hm? You'll be able to snag birds out of the sky easily."

Skull nods excitedly and takes off towards the shore. I gaze around before continuing to scrape meat off of the game's leg bone. Fernheart is finished and is busy entertaining the hatchlings, who have left the skull of the elk bare.

Dracen is nibbling on a chunk of meat, but otherwise looks full. I quickly eat the rest of the leg, bones and all, and then take a bite out of the half-eaten belly. Swallowing the meat, I let out a content sigh and then stand up. There's a fair amount of scraps left, so I turn and look around.

Spotting the omega, I call him over. Sparrow looks up and trots over, "Yes, Frostbite?"

I step aside and say, "You can eat." He glances at me gratefully and then digs in hungrily.

I turn around and walk to Skurge. He's done giving out orders and is now gazing around quietly. I almost reach him when I suddenly feel a sharp pain on my tail. Whirling around with my teeth bared, I see that it's just one of Fernheart's hatchlings, Willow.

She bats at my tail playfully and I purr. Her sibling, Larksong, is crouching a bit away, watching her sister warily. I don't blame her. A giant white dragon with blood-like markings and bones on her claws- that's a bit intimidating.

Growling playfully, I face her and tease, "Rawr! I'm a wyvern! I'm gonna catch you and eat you for dinner!"

Willow squeals and flutters around. I chase her, but let her keep ahead of me. Suddenly, Larksong scrambles forward to stand by her sister, "Nuh uh! I'm gonna stop you!"

The young Timberjack lets out an adorable battle cry and leaps onto my head. Tiny, needle like claws dig into my scales but I ignore it and fall dramatically to my side, "Oh!"

Willow comes to her sister's aid and starts clawing at my stomach playfully, "Take that, you wyvern!"

"Yeow! Somebody save me from these fierce dragons!" I pretend to cry, twitching and jerking. Willow jumps onto my side and bites my wing, "Haha! You died now!"

Puffing out her chest, she yowls to the clan, "I have killed this mighty wyvern beastie!"

Laughing, I gently slide her off of me, "There're easier ways to kill, you know. You shouldn't spend your time clawing at stomachs and heads. You sho-"

I stop, catching Fernheart's eye, and then shake my head, "Nevermind. When you're eight months old, then you'll learn. I shouldn't teach you now."

"Aww, please! That's two whole months away!" Willow pleads.

I shake my head again, "No, no. You don't need to know now."

"Yes we do!" Larksong persuades sassily, "What if a wyvern attacks us?"

"Then the Fangs will take care of it while you hide with your mother. But," I glance around, "I guess one move couldn't hurt."

They smile and are about to cheer but I quickly say, "Shh! Don't tell anyone!" The sisters nod and watch me eagerly. I take a step back, "Now this one will distract your enemy long enough for you to fly away. Since you are small, well, now anyways, you dodge your enemy's attack and quickly leap onto their back. Then," I draw in the air with my paws, "you cuff both of your paws over their ear holes really hard at the same time. That will make them deaf and you then fly away quickly."

"Wow!" Willow breathes in awe, and then lifts her wing paws to her head. "Don't try it on yourself!" I snap. Looking around, I say, "In fact, don't try it at all! You'll have your chance with your mentor. Now go back to your mother. Go on!"

I nudge them and they scramble away. Turning around, I see Skurge watching me. "What?" I ask sharply as I approach.

He turns his cheek and rumbles, "Nothing."

"No, come on!" I persuade, nudging him a little, "What is it?"

My deputy looks at me, amusement in his white eyes, and says, "You're good with hatchlings."

"So?" I give him a quizzical look.

"So," he continues, "so… why don't you have some? Get a mate, spread your offspring, extend your bloodline. They'll make great leaders an-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," I stop him, "Why are you talking about this all of the sudden?"

He looks at me curiously, "You do want to last as long as possible, right? That's how. I'm just saying."

I shake myself and look back at Fernheart's youngsters, "It was just an instinct. And besides, they have to be as loyal as possible. We need them to be like that, so they'll be loyal to me no matter what. And anyways, I don't have time to care for hatchlings, or eggs. And there're no other Night Furies." I turn and give him a piercing look, "Now get back to work," I snap, "I don't want to hear from this ever again!"

I turn and stalk away. I can feel his gaze following me, making my spinal scales stand on edge. Looking over me shoulder, I snarl slightly at him before turning and bounding out of the camp.

When I'm far away enough, I slow down and head towards the beach. I've never felt offended and…awkward. I don't know why I feel offended, or awkward. It's strange, and as he talked my heart had gotten cold and hard again, but with defense this time. I guess I just feel a little weird about the thought of having kids. I mean, it's okay if I see another female with children, but… it just feels weird imagining me with some… of my own.

I toss my head. Whatever, it's not happening anyways. There're no dragons that I'm interested in and there're no other Night Furies that I know of other than the pets on Berk.

A breeze picks up and blows towards me from the direction of the shore. It smells salty and I also smell something else. Trotting onward, I burst through the undergrowth and find the Claws.

There's a fairly large pile of prey nearby, which is guarded by Viperfang. All four of the Snaptrapper's heads swivel towards me as I approach and then nod. I sniff the pile of prey. There're pelicans, seagulls, sandpipers, and other shore birds, along with fish, but there's one strange that looks like a giant brown blubbery fish with whiskers.

Looking up, I see that the Claws are having a fantastic hunting day. Zylah is currently chasing after a flyaway seagull while Falcon and the male Nadder, Fireflight, are tormenting another one of the fat land fish. Ash is dragging a pelican towards the pile, walking backwards. And for the last dragon, Skull, even though he's going to be a Fang, is sticking his head in and out of the water. I walk up to him curiously.

I'm about to ask him what he's doing when his head suddenly resurfaces with a large fish in his jaws. Not like the strange brown land fish, but a normal one. He turns around and walks out of the water. Seeing me, he drops his fish and says, "Good hunting. I might even consider wanting to become a Claw."

I purr, "Choose wisely. You have time, but I'd like to know by the time we find our home."

The Boneknapper nods and picks up his fish. After disposing it on the pile, Zylah comes back with a seagull and Falcon and Fireflight come back with the strange land fish. Ash put the pelican on the pile.

"Hey, Frostbite," Ash says cheerfully, "Zylah said that these things," she gestures to the strange fish, "are called 'seals' and that they have a lot of meat to give us energy!"

"Wow," I reply, mildly interested. I nose the 'seal'. It smells salty like the ocean, and greasy, "Cool. Let's bring this prey back to camp. After eating we should leave," I glance up at the sun, which is at midpoint in the sky, "We're losing time."

"Right." Skull says, and then picks up both of the seals in his mouth. Zylah grabs her seagull along with a sandpiper. Falcon carries the large fish that Skull caught and Fireflight picks up two pelicans while Ash grabs a godwit bird and, surprisingly, a crab.

That leaves me to carry two medium sized fish. I scoop them up by their tails, and immediately a sharp, bitter taste lands on my tongue and I almost gag. Scrunching up my nose, I try to make the slimy fish not touch my tongue. I've never had fish, mainly because I just grew up eating land food, but I never imagined it to taste like this!

I grunt and run ahead of the group, eager to drop my burden. The Claws follow me, and Viperfang brings up the rear, looking for any danger. I tear through the undergrowth and soon enough, we reach the camp.

I force myself into a trot and drop the two fish on the prey pile, which is filled with land prey from one of the other hunting parties. The rest of the hunters do the same as I lick my paw to get rid of the awful fish taste. Ugh, how do dragons eat that stuff?

I watch as the Claws and Fangs wait for Skurge to pick his meal. He chooses one of the seals and a sandpiper, and then it's the Claw's turn to choose. I purr, happy that my clan has learned the eating method quickly.

Something out of the corner of my eye approaches me and I turn to see Sparrow the omega. He has the skull of the elk in his small jaws. "Can I bring this as we travel so I have something to map on?" he asks and I nod, "Of course. Good thinking."

The small omega bows his head and walks away. I look back at my clan. Viperfang, who is the lowest Fang in the ranking, has just taken a fish and a rabbit off of the now small pile and is settling down near Skyflame and her sister. Everyone else is eating or is done.

I walk to Dracen, who is licking his maw. "Gather your herbs," I say, "We're leaving soon."

The healer nods and says, "Alright. But I suggest that we take some of the leftovers," he jerks his head towards the prey, "in case the hatchlings get hungry. They're going to need every bit of food as possible if they are to grow up in new lands healthy."

I nod and look around. Viperfang could carry something, or Skull. Hmm, but I think it would be better if Skull were to carry the six hatchlings.

Walking over to Viperfang, I say, "You are going to carry the crab and the two mice," I jerk my head towards said prey in the pile, "as we travel for the hatchlings."

He opens his mouths as if he were about to object, but then thinks better of it and mumbles, "Yes, Frostbite."

"Good." I jerk my head and walk to the edge of the camp. Sitting down, I wait for my clan to finish eating. As I watch, Skurge comes and settles down next to me, soon followed by Zylah on my other side. I take a slow, deep breath and puff out my chest. This is the feeling that I love. Having two powerful dragons by my side to lead this clan, but when it all comes down, I'm the main leader.

Slowly, the dragons finish and crouch down in front of me. The last one to do so is Nightwhisper, but immediately after, I stand up, "Well, then. Let's go."

I am flying. Just flying. Over the open sea, with no land in sight.

I sense that there are dragons around me, but I'm not surprised. I remember this from my dream.

The sound of beating hearts reaches my ears, strong and loud. They're evenly paced, but I can tell that there's many hearts beating. I close my eyes, listening to the sounds of my dragons as they fly. Their heartbeat. Their breath. Their wings flapping as they fly.

I feel their power as we fly. I can feel their loyalty in me. Their trust and determinedness to fight with me, for me.

I glance down and look at my clan in the reflection of the ocean. It surprises me, how species that usually hate each other are willing to get along, because of me.

To my right is my deputy, Skurge. He's looking straightforward, determinedness written on his face, like in the dream. Ash is flying on the other side of him, the same look on her face.

On my left is my delta, Zylah. The Skrill looks exactly like the others. Sawyer is flying next to her, and if I look closely, I can barely see Dracen on his other side.

Then, I remember what happened next in the dream and look down again. I don't gasp at my reflection like I did in the dream. The scars and my difference from other Night Furies is no surprise to me, and I like how I'm not like them.

Suddenly, the surface starts to bubble. I jerk my head back, confused. That never happened. The bubbles follow us as we fly. Skurge and Zylah notice too and look down. Signaling with my tail, I order everyone to slow down. The trail of bubbles does the same.

"What is that?" Ash exclaims. I narrow my eyes. The bubbles abruptly stop and then a large head pops out. A Scauldron head.

She catches my eye and shrills playfully, floating on her back as we fly. Her scales are many shades of green, darker on top and lighter on her underbelly, with an aqua green horn on her nose and spinal scales. I also notice that the area of wing around her wing-claw is a bright golden color.

"Hello!" she squeaks happily, rolling back onto her belly and swimming normally. I hear Skurge sigh irritably and mutter, "Here we go."

"How are you doing today?" the Scauldron, maybe a bit younger than me, asks cheerfully, "Wonderful weather for warm waters, fishing, and playing!"

I flick my ears, inwardly wincing. Her voice is high-pitched. "I bet." I respond, resuming the previous flying speed. My clan follows me, but so does she. I decide to ask, "Do you know if there's land anywhere?" When we'd first left the Boneknapper Island, I had gotten a feeling that we should fly northwest. I don't know why, but I knew we had to. So we did. It's late afternoon now, not quite dusk, but close. The hatchlings ate the food that Viperfang had brought. I don't want them to get hungry again; we have to find land soon.

The Scauldron squeaks and nods, "Oh, yes! I forgot that you were land dragons for a moment! There's a beautiful island a bit away from here. You'll probably get there by morning; it's a little far away. What you'll do is keep going this way, and you'll come across a medium-sized island with a dark forest. From there, you go east for a while, and then you'll reach it. It's very big and pretty! I go there sometimes, but now there's a family of dragons there. They've only settled on one side, so maybe you can bring your…."

She seems to realize that there are a lot of dragons following me. Narrowing her eyes, she asks, "Are you a clan?"

"Yes." I answer, "And I'm the leader."

"Oh," she breathes, "Well, maybe you can live on the other side. The family is strange, though. I don't think their eggs have hatched, but I do know that they're cross-breed."

Skurge tilts his head, "Cross-breed?"

The young female Scauldron nods feverishly, "Oh yes! A Deadly Nadder and a Gronckle!"

"What?" I exclaim, "Is that even possible?"

She nods, "Mmm, hm. But most don't do it because they don't want them or their children to be teased."

"Huh." I huff, looking away, "Well, thank you…?"

"Nixie!" she squeals, letting herself fall back from the clan, "And you are very welcome, leader of the clan of dragons!"

I rumble a goodbye and look forward again. Skurge lets out a breath of relief, "Oh thank the gods! She was annoying."

"She was helping," I purr, "And it's not her fault she's so energetic and high-pitched."

Zylah laughs softly as Skurge grumbles. Suddenly, Nixie appears underneath me again. "Oh!" she squeals, "I forgot!"

I look down and she says, "Don't spend the night at the island with the dark forest. There're bad dragons there that you don't want to mess with."

"What kind of bad dragons?" I ask curiously and she shrieks, "Skullions!"

I frown in confusion and she says, "It is true! They are real!" before disappearing under the water.

I look up as Skurge mutters, "Crazy waterlogged dragon!"

"What?" I ask.

"Skullions don't exist," he barks, "Everybody knows that! They're just stories that parents tell to their hatchlings to scare them into behaving good." I nod, once again angry that my mother never bothered telling me. Nate and Irria probably don't even believe in that story anymore.

Sighing, I pick up the pace and fly on.

Is it just me, or does anyone else just love Nixie?