AN: It's been brought to my attention that some people found it confusing that Rhaegal thinks of themselves as they/them. This isn't a result of the mind melding with Jon. It's because canon says Dragons are neither male nor female, and so it wouldn't make sense for Rhaegal to think of themselves as male. They aren't male or female after all. So yeah, they/them is the gender neutral way in which they think of themselves. And the gender neutral way they think of Drogon of as well, because Drogon isn't male or female either. And now Jon thinks of them that way as well, because just like Rhaegal can feel that Jon is male, Jon can feel that Rhaegal is neither male nor female.
So Jon seems to have formed some kind of mental connection with Rhaegal. Not matter how much the distance between them grows, the endless fire that is Rhaegal's mind presses against his own. He keeps sensing Rhaegal's most dominant feelings as well, though the nuances are gone. He also knows where and how far away Rhaegal is.
Jon would think he'd turned into a warg, except he knows enough about warging to know that isn't what happened between him and Rhaegal. He didn't see through Rhaegal's eyes, he saw through theirs and his own at the same time. Not to mention that Rhaegal was able to control him instead of the other way around. Rhaegal only took control to prevent Jon from killing Daenerys by accident, but the fact remains that Rhaegal overpowered his mind. Though all those things might be caused by Rhaegal being a Dragon. Perhaps what happened between them is normal when warging with Dragons. Jon doesn't think so, though. This is closer to the connection Daenerys shares with her Dragons. Yet it's nothing like it at the same time. As she once said, her children's minds are their own.
Except Rhaegal's isn't, because Jon somehow shared his mind with theirs. Or more accurately, Rhaegal shared their mind with his.
Jon can't help his exasperation. Of course worrying about Daenerys isn't enough, he now has to worry about Rhaegal as well. Not for the right reasons either. Right now, Rhaegal's injury is second to their connection. Mostly because Jon can feel that while the injury is serious, it won't prevent Rhaegal from crossing The Wall. And Rhaegal is calm in a way they wouldn't be if they were in battle.
The good news is he doesn't have to worry about what happened between him and Rhaegal for long. Drogon soon reaches Castle Black. They fly over The Wall, passing the watchtower, and Jon has a fleeting moment in which he sees the two Brothers on watch stare at Drogon with utter shock.
Drogon's landing is just as rough as it was the previous time. Ensuring Daenerys isn't harmed.
Unlike last time, Jon is no longer capable of holding on as well he could before. His head smashes against Drogon's scales, his vision momentarily going black and is chest throbbing with agony as Drogon's spikes put even more pressure on his chest wounds. Jon only realizes he's falling off Drogon when they use their wing to catch him. Jon still ends up rolling painfully over the rough leather, but that's a lot better than hitting the ground like a stone.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Jon forces himself off Drogon's wing when Drogon lets out an impatient hiss. He can no longer understand the exact content of what Drogon is saying as he could when sharing Rhaegal's mind, but the general message comes through loud and clear.
Jon becomes aware panicked voices are filling the air, of men and animals both. When he looks at Castle Black, he sees Brothers stare at Drogon with terrified shock. Others are moving around and yelling.
Most are holding weapons.
"Stand down!" he manages to yell despite still being out of breath.
"Jon?"
The incredulous demand draws his eyes to Edd and oh, moving his head this fast was not a good idea, his vision darkening as he struggles to remain on his feet.
"Edd, tell them to stand down!" he forces out through the spinning of his head. He hears Edd raise his voice and he thinks Edd might be cursing, but it's impossible to make out the words.
Jon only realizes he's falling when he stops doing so, warm scales suddenly beneath his cheek. And beneath his chest. Which is throbbing very painfully.
He opens his eyes to find himself being held up by Drogon's nose. Drogon is glaring at him.
"You're always glaring at me."
Drogon lets out a derisive snort, making hot air wash over Jon. Jon now understands this snort holds a specific insult. He wonders what about him Drogon is insulting this time. The egg he came out of?
"I didn't come out of an egg."
The look Drogon gives him makes clear that whatever insult he made before, he's now insulting his intelligence.
"You don't like me."
Drogon lets out an aggravated sound and gently helps him stand on his own feet. So he doesn't need to lean on Drogon anymore. Because Drogon doesn't like touching him. But they will in order to protect him. Drogon is nice.
"How can you be nice and mean at the same time?"
Drogon lets out another aggravated sound, but this time they look long suffering in addition to being angry. Then they glare at him and let out a commanding roar. It's enough to pull Jon out of the daze he suddenly realizes he'd fallen into. His body is about to crash.
He needs to act fast.
"Mind telling me what's going on?"
The strangled question makes him look towards Edd. Edd is near and he's coming nearer still. Edd looks terrified. His eyes are flickering between Jon and Drogon.
"I need a stretcher," Jon says, refocusing on what needs to be done. "And get Ash." Ash is the closest thing to a healer they have since Sam left.
Edd focuses on him, giving him a once over before his gaze halts on his chest. Edd becomes worried. Then he yells for someone to bring a stretcher. And for Ash to get the infirmary ready. Good.
Jon tries to move towards Edd but he stumbles before he can. This time Drogon doesn't catch him. Edd does.
"What happened?" Edd demands.
"We fought the Night King."
Edd startles before he curses as only Edd can. He yells for a stretcher again. Jon realizes Edd thinks the stretcher is meant for him when Noa and Flynn grab one and Edd waves them over.
Drogon lets out an impatient roar. It makes Noa and Flynn freeze, but when Edd yells at them to move it, they resume coming closer. Not as fast as before, though.
Drogon is listening to Edd. They're listening to everyone, in fact. Their usual dismissal of people is nowhere to be found.
"It's not for me," he tells Edd.
"What, is the Dragon supposed to get on it instead?" Edd snaps, looking wild eyed and frazzled. His gaze is flickering between Jon and Drogon again. Jon forces himself to stand on his own power. He's about to tell Drogon to let go of Daenerys, but Drogon is already doing so. Jon feels a pain in his chest that has nothing to do with his injuries when Drogon steps back.
"It's for her," he somehow manages to force out, unable to look away from Daenerys, unconscious and blue lipped and deathly pale. Unable to look away from her burned flesh and gaping wound.
She's still breathing.
From the corner of his vision, he sees Edd stare at Daenerys with shock.
"Fuck me, you were telling the truth."
Because Drogon's presence didn't make that abundantly clear already.
Jon clasps Edd's shoulder, making Edd return his gaze to him. Edd doesn't stop being shocked.
"Edd, focus," he orders harshly. To his relief, the command is enough to make Edd shake off his Dragon induced stupor. Edd yells at Noa and Flynn to hurry, before giving him a determined look. Edd wraps his arm around his waist, pulls Jon's arm over his shoulder, and all but hauls him towards Daenerys. Jon is grateful.
Daenerys is being warmed by Drogon's breath.
"What happened to her?" Edd demands, apparently not having gotten rid of his shock after all. Jon already answered that question.
He now answers it in more depth.
"She got stabbed by the Night King."
Edd gives him an incredulous look before he shakes his head with a grim expression.
"Guess we should light a funeral pyre."
Jon throws himself against Edd, barely in time to keep Edd from getting his head bitten off. Both of them hit the ground, Jon screaming as Edd falls on one of his hands, but Jon forces himself to ignore the agony great enough to blacken his vision. He's far more preoccupied by Drogon's furious roar at being denied their kill.
"You aren't helping!" he snaps at Drogon, trying to see them through the stars dancing across his vision. Drogon lets out another roar, one that makes clear they're in no mood to listen to reason. Wonderful.
"The more people you kill, the less there are to help Daenerys," he snaps, trying a different tactic. This time Drogon lets out a hateful hiss. Still furious by what Edd said but willing to exercise restraint. To a certain degree.
"Edd didn't mean it."
"Course I didn't, she's going to live to be a hundred, an age, forever even," Edd babbles with mindless terror. "No dying for her, ever."
Good answer.
Jon takes a few moments to catch his breath and stop seeing stars, before determinedly getting to his feet. Edd quickly does the same while Jon yells at Noa and Flynn to move when he sees both of them are frozen with terror.
They don't listen.
"He won't hurt you if you help Daenerys, but he will if you don't, so move it," Jon commands with a glare. Thankfully, the threat of Drogon attacking them is enough to snap Noa and Flynn out of their stupor. They resume coming over, faster than before. Noa and Flynn have always had nerves of steel. It's why they're bringing over the stretcher in the first place.
Drogon watches intently as Noa and Flynn place Daenerys on the stretcher with the utmost care. When they start taking her to Castle Black, Drogon follows. So does Jon. Half carried by Edd, but he's moving. Part of Jon is aware of the men running away from Drogon but most of him is focused on forcing himself to keep walking.
Noa and Flynn take Daenerys to the infirmary, where Ash is thankfully laying out tools and medicine. Edd helps him sit down a chair while Ash starts examining Daenerys. The grim expression Ash gains makes Jon's worry grow. Then the room is darkened by Drogon covering all the windows so they can look at Daenerys. Jon snaps at them to move out of the way. Ash needs light to work.
Drogon roars with anger because of course they do, but they also move so they're blocking but one window. Allowing Ash enough light to work.
Jon waves Edd off when he starts questioning him about his own wounds.
"Will she live?" he demands. Ash, now wild eyed because of Drogon's actions, does not give a comforting answer.
"I don't understand how she's still alive in the first place."
To no surprise, Drogon lets out another furious roar.
"Be quiet! Ash can't work like this!"
Drogon lets out a hiss that tells Jon everything he needs to know about how displeased they are with the care Daenerys is receiving, but they fall quiet afterwards. Small mercies, but right now Jon will take all he can get.
"Ash, make sure she lives," Edd orders grimly.
"Easier said than done," Ash says in a strangled voice, terrified eyes locked onto Drogon. But when Edd repeats his name sharply, Ash shakes himself out of his panic. He starts ordering Noa and Flynn, still in the room with them. Telling them to get Daenerys out of the remnants of her ruined leathers. Jon looks on as Ash grabs some kind of medicine. Looks on as Ash starts truly caring for Daenerys.
It takes him a few moments to realize Edd is saying something. The reason he notices is because Edd starts unbuckling his armor. Jon grabs his arm on reflex and then hisses at the agony that causes his hand.
"Jon, you need to take this off. In case you hadn't noticed, you're bleeding."
He is? Right, Drogon pierced his armor when they grabbed him from Rhaegal's back. The puncture wounds aren't deep, at least, Jon doesn't think they are. But they do need to be cared for. Same for his hands. And the other cuts and cruises he got during the battle.
Ash is looking after Daenerys. So are Noa and Flynn. Jon can allow Edd to look after him instead.
Jon allows Edd to take his armor off, absently following Edd's directions and trying to ignore the way it makes the throbbing of his entire body so much worse. His head is pounding as well.
Most of him focused on Daenerys.
She's so still. So devoid of energy. So unlike the vibrant image she's supposed to present.
She can still die. He can still lose her.
He can lose her as he lost Ygritte.
"So just how fucked are we if she dies?" Edd asks in a low voice, his gaze flickering towards Drogon. Drogon, who heard Edd, gives Edd a hateful glare but thankfully remains quiet.
"Ask me again when I can think clearly," Jon says, exhaustion slamming into him with a vengeance. Now that Daenerys is in Castle Black, now that he's done all he can for her, his body is crashing with a vengeance. The injuries he sustained, the exertion of battle, the flying before that. All of that is now hitting him like a sledgehammer. The burning that is Rhaegal's presence, growing stronger with every moment that passes, isn't helping. They're about to reach Castle Black. Even injured, Dragons can cover ground with unparalleled ease.
Was it only this morning he and Daenerys left White Harbor? It feels like an eternity ago.
"Would a punch to the face help?" Edd asks seriously. "I'd gladly take on that duty for the good of all."
Jon feels a whisper of humor but it's gone as fast as it appears. Edd places a hand on his forehead and grimaces.
"You've got a fever. Great."
"My hands are injured as well," Jon says, realizing Edd doesn't know that yet. His hands are still wrapped in Daenerys' leathers.
"You just keep the good news coming."
Edd unwraps the leathers from one hand, making Jon scream as his vision goes black. Gods, but that hurts.
Edd curses viciously.
"What the fuck did you do to yourself, you absolute lunatic?"
Grabbed ice and fire. Jon doesn't say that out loud, though. It's a struggle just to keep his breathing steady. The air hitting his ruined skin is not doing him any favors.
Edd yells for Ash, but Jon snaps at him to keep working on Daenerys. Her survival comes before all else.
"Don't be an idiot," Edd snaps but whatever he says next is lost by the world splitting in two. Jon knows Edd is still talking, hears his aggravated voice and sees his worried expression, but he also sees The Wall.
Except he doesn't see a wall at all. He sees pure Magic.
He sees a dome. The Magic that forms The Wall covers the ground and arches over the sky, indescribable colors woven together in a net of pure power and Jon had noticed this before, had seen it when escaping the Night Kin,g but he hadn't realized this isn't how Rhaegal always sees the world.
Of course they don't always see the world like this. The sky isn't supposed to be covered, that goes against its very nature. It's why they were so interested in the lock in the first place. Now is Mother awake yet?
No, she's still unconscious. Jon looks at Daenerys so Rhaegal can see that for themselves. They are displeased.
They want Mother to wake up.
Daenerys got stabbed through the midriff by Night King, and then she got stabbed again by Jon himself. Either one of those things would make it impossible for her to wake up soon, never mind both of them.
They know that. Mother has been harmed before, and sometimes she sleeps for a long time after. Doesn't mean they can't want her to wake up now.
How can Rhaegal be so certain she won't die?
Because Mother can't die and so she won't.
Jon is fairly certain Drogon doesn't agree with that.
Of course their Brother agrees with that. Their Brother just worries a ridiculous amount as well. Before they Chose their Jon, they thought only Mother was better at worrying than their Brother is.
Jon can't help but worry. Is that going to be a problem?
No. Their Jon is perfect just the way he is.
It's the most touching thing anyone has ever said to him. Jon can feel Rhaegal's sincerity, knows with absolute certainty that Rhaegal truly does consider him to be perfect just the way he is. Rhaegal doesn't like everything about him, but even if they were given the chance, they wouldn't change a single thing about him.
If they wished to change something about their Jon, they wouldn't have Chosen him.
"Jon."
Jon refocuses on Edd, now squeezing his shoulder. They don't like the mortal touching their Jon.
Edd is a friend. He can touch him if he so wishes.
They know this is one of their Jon's Chosen, know its touch is pleasing to their Jon. And they're happy its touch pleases their Jon.
Doesn't mean they have to like the mortal touching their Jon.
When Edd tightens his grip on his shoulder, Jon realizes he's missed another question Edd posed. Edd was talking, that he knows, but it was impossible to focus on the words. He can take a guess what Edd was asking, though. Edd was probably asking why he's acting the way he is. The answer to that question is simple.
"Rhaegal is here."