Httyd raven ch011
"AaaaaahhhH! Fly faster! Faster! GO GO GO!" Sharpshot screeched at the struggling form of Verde who flapped haphazardly a dozen feet below him. Verde dodged another projectile but lost more altitude and plummeted another few feet towards their pursuers. "Eeek, arriba, Verde. Up up!"
Verde shrieked as well and pushed his wings harder until he rose in jerking movements next to his companion. Down below, gruff yells and projectiles were thrown up at them, but they were out of range.
"Hehehe," Verde laughed shakily and watched the figures on the forested island below diminish into nothing but flailing specks as they continued to gain altitude. "So those are humans…I thought they'd be bigger." He gave a weary smile.
"They're not big enough?" Sharpshot shot back but chuckled as well. "What were you expecting?"
"…Not that!" Verde laughed again at the sheer terror they had experienced only moments ago and somehow survived.
They had started their journey North several weeks ago, slowly searching every island and sea stack they came across and doubling back every now and then to follow possible leads other dragons provided. It was tiring and for the most part, fruitless, but it had been so much fun for the hatchling who had never seen the world before. Sharpshot pointed out a few places he was acquainted with but the farther North they flew, the less the Terror knew until they were in completely unknown territory. They had decided to land on a forested island that looked pleasant enough only to find, much to their disappointment and later terror, that the only inhabitants of said island was a tribe of savage Vikings.
As it was his first encounter with humans of any sort, Verde did not know what to do at first, but much to his luck, neither had the human. After a brief staring match in which there was a bit of awkward blinking and some shuffling, they both seemed to realize what the other was.
They both released rather undignified screams of equal fear and a blood-curdling war cry on the Viking's part, and Verde only just barely managed to escape the swing of an axe in a frantic scramble of limbs and wings. Sharpshot, having heard the racket, followed from above until Verde, and I quote here, got his 'lazy dragon arse into gear before you become a Viking's dinner.' Sharpshot seemed to momentarily forget that Verde did not know that Viking did not in actually eat dragons, but it got him moving, so Sharpshot didn't bother correcting himself.
Needless to say, they fled rather quickly from the mob of very hostile and rather hairy, for lack of a better word, hooligans that were chasing the duo on foot.
They didn't go far, as they had been planning on spending the night on the Viking inhabited island before they had been so rudely evicted, and were now rather tired after a day of flying and an hour of sheer panic. All things considered, the rocky sea spires that dotted the northern coast of the island looked like a very pleasant place to spend a night. After a sloppy descent and a crash landing, the two young dragons couldn't even find the energy to warm the stone beneath them before they were curled up and out colder than an arctic winter.
…
"Well, this isn't good," Cloud Jumper mumbled to himself as he surveyed the little island before him. He had traveled quickly to the southern territories and had only a little trouble locating the island…or, what was left of it. What had undoubtedly been a vibrant and life-filled forest was now nothing more than cinders and smoke. Charred tree stumps quivered in the light breeze, and smoke drifted around the blacked roots and flowed over piles of dead shrubbery. As far as the Storm Cutter could tell, there had been no one on the island when the attack had taken place.
Yes, it was an attack. He had seen enough war in his day to recognize dragon desolation when he saw it. And this was undoubtedly a dragon, and a massive one at that, but if he had to take a guess, not nearly as massive as his own benevolent King. The fact that he had yet to encounter any corpses left him feeling rather uneasy. It begged several questions. The dragon that the King had sent Cloud Jumper here to find was, obviously, not here, alive or otherwise. But did it escape, or did the attacker reach it first? Where did the other inhabitants of this island go? Who was the attacker, massive enough to decimate a small island in on blast, and what was their motive?
The King had shared what he deemed necessary for Cloud Jumper to know. Whether that was everything the King knew or not was not for Cloud Jumper to question. He knew he was searching for a hatchling Night Fury who was being pursued by an unknown being of unknown origins with unknown intentions, who's current where-abouts were also currently unknown.
The Storm Cutter huffed irritably and stomped, kicking up a small cloud of ash around his feet. He contemplated his next move. The King should be made aware of these new developments, but Cloud Jumper did not have the time to spare to make the trek all the way back to the Sanctuary, especially considering the fact that his quarry was either on the move or taken captive by this evil creature.
A rapid, light flapping caught his attention, and his gaze darted around the ash filled air trying to find the source. Through the heavy smog that had settled just above the smoldering tree line, a small silhouette wobbled sporadically. Cloud Jumper, sensing no ill-intentions from the small creature and desperate for answers, released a light roar in greeting. The figure faltered and almost fled, and Cloud Jumper tensed to give chase. There was an uncertain and rather warped roar in return, and it sounded strained as if the dragon had never roared before or was attempting to do so quietly.
The dragon dropped suddenly several feet and only was only barely held aloft with pained wing strokes and Cloud Jumper immediately recognized the effects of fatigue. Before the young dragon fell from the sky completely, he took flight, rapidly ascending on all four wings. Weary, yellow eyes met his, and Cloud Jumper got a better look at the young dragon. Under heavy layers of dirt and grime, he saw faint traces of dark red scales and small twisting horns. A Monstrous Nightmare. It was young but older than a hatchling, several winters old at least.
The young Nightmare's wings faltered again from trying to hover in front of the Storm Cutter and Cloud Jumper gasped. Desperately clutched in the Nightmare's dull claws, held wearily against his thin chest, was a brown lump, a very young Gronkle. The young Nightmare squeaked like he was trying to say something, his eyes fearfully locked on Cloud Jumper's, before his wings gave out and he plummeted from the sky.
Panicked instinct took over and Cloud Jumper dove after the falling dragons, quickly catching them in his large claws and wrapping his secondary wings around them as he glided to the ground. More ash kicked up as he landed, carefully keeping the two hatchlings close to him. Unfolding his wings, he took in their bedraggled appearances. Worn and battered, scarring and fresh wounds visible under layers of ash, they looked like they had been dragged through the underworld.
The Nightmare, who had wrapped his limp wings around his companion, rolled onto his side, breathing heavily and emitting pained whimpers. The Gronkle appeared to be unconscious, only the faint rise and fall of its chest indicating life. Cloud Jumper sighed, they were both alive, bedraggled, but alive.
"…st-ay 'ack…" Cloud Jumper's attention snapped back to the Nightmare, who was trying to rise and took a stumbling step over his companion in an attempt to shield her.
"It's alright, youngling. I will not harm you or your friend," Cloud Jumper soothed and took a respectful step back from the courageous Nightmare, lowering his head benignly. When the Nightmare didn't move to attack or flee, Cloud Jumper continued. "I want to help. Will you allow me to do that?"
The little dragon breathed heavily for a few moments, clearly fighting exhaustion. "Why…'elp us?" He gasped, wariness and genuine confusion leaking into his shaking voice. Then he faltered slightly, eyes threatening to roll back into his skull, but fought to stay upright. It seemed his thoughts were distracted for a moment and he started spluttering. "M-m-my p-parents… they w-were- oh gods… SHE-" He choked on whatever he was about to say and started shaking violently.
Cloud Jumper startled forwards when the shaking sobs started and swept his tail around the two young dragons, pressing them firmly against his side. "What happened?" He demanded in a calm and reassuring tone, purring in an attempt to calm the nearly panicking Nightare.
Sensing his genuine concern or perhaps not caring if it was otherwise, the Nightmare slumped against the large dragon's side, curled around his companion. He struggled to keep his voice from cracking and his words from stuttering. He was a strong dragon, he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't…
"SHE killed them…" He heaved as he admitted the painful truths. Not wanting to linger on the all too recent agony, he continued to stutter out. "S-SHE left… angry, and there was fire…so much f-fire…M-mom told me to leave, s-said SHE couldn't get me if I w-was fast…" He glanced at his companion. "She wasn't supposed to f-follow…n-not fast enough. I c-couldn't leave her."
Cloud Jumper listened in rapt horror. He didn't want to ask, but he had to know now. "Who is 'SHE'? Who were you fleeing from?"
The Nightmare went rigid and his breath was short and harsh. Pure terror flashed in his eyes, briefly flaring to a poisonous yellow. "SHE…is death…and SHE is coming."
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Thank you for the encouraging reviews and may i encourage you to continue reviewing. Any suggestions for adventures betwixt Verde and Sharpshot?
