Part 2 coming your way! Due to unforeseen circumstances, it looks like I won't be able to finish the full saga by June. Hopefully I'll finish it before July ends. Enjoy!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD. ALL RIGHTS GO TO CRESSIDA COWELL, DEAN DEBLOIS, DREAMWORKS ANIMATION AND ALL OTHER RESPECTIVE OWNERS
Curse of the Lycanwing PART II
Eret thought that, after meeting the Dragon Riders of Berk, he had seen everything crazy. But, this, seeing his girlfriend turn from Lycanwing to original human form... was something that belonged to an entirely new class of madness. The young man stared, baffled, at Zenna who managed to focus a bleary gaze on him from afar. When she had heard him call her name, the Dragon Doctor knew that there was no use hiding from Eret now that he had seen her transform. Sighing, Zenna, using Stryka as a support, stood up on shaky legs, wincing as the wound inflicted upon her by the arrow burned with pain.
Suddenly, Eret's mouth dropped open and he quickly covered his eyes as his face, if Zenna looked at it real closely, turned bright red. Looking down at herself, Zenna realized that she was naked and her face flushed an even brighter scarlet. Stryka warbled worriedly, nudging her snout at the wound on Zenna's left thigh. Opening Stryka's saddlebag, Zenna pulled out a wad of bandages, a cloth rag, some cleaning brandy, and a set of spare clothes. She cleaned the wound and bandaged it quickly before putting on her clothes. Once that was done, Zenna looked up from her place in the Cove and saw that Eret was still covering his eyes.
"Eret, it's okay. You can come over here now."
Gingerly, Eret uncovered his eyes. When he saw that Zenna was now fully-clothed, he slowly made his way down. But Stryka growled at him as he approached and Eret knew why.
'I shot her,' Eret thought guiltily before meeting Zenna's eye, quickly looking away. Not only had he shot her out of the sky with an arrow ('That could have very well killed her if I had been shooting to kill!' Eret thought, feeling sick), but he had committed an infraction against her privacy. Seriously, he really should have thought of the two following things before he dared to call out to Zenna earlier:
1. She was the Lycanwing.
2. She wasn't wearing anything after transforming back into a human.
"I'm so sorry for everything," he found himself saying, the apology easily rolling off his tongue because he meant every word.
"Me too..." Zenna whispered before groaning and leaned heavily against Stryka, clutching her head in pain. Eret immediately reached out to Zenna, supporting her before she collapsed. He looked at Stryka, sending a sincere apology through his eyes, earning a forgiving warble.
"We need to get you to Gothi..." he decided and Zenna nodded weakly. Carefully, Eret placed her on Stryka's back and started to lead them out of the Cove before Zenna weakly grabbed his hand, which was resting on the Night Fury's back.
"Don't tell them..." the Dragon Doctor pleaded, her eye half-closed as she struggled to speak through the pain. Eret nodded mutely, making a mental note to ask Zenna about what he had just witnessed when she was feeling better, and led them out of the Cove.
Edgar and Henna, along with Hiccup and the other Riders, were worried sick the instant they saw the two emerge from the forest with Stryka. While Edgar and Henna took their daughter to see Gothi, Eret took Stryka home and babysat little El. He had apologized to Hiccup and the others earlier for running off without thinking and managed to spin a believable lie. He had run into Zenna and Stryka, who had decided to scout the forest by themselves, and they'd been attacked by the Lycanwing. Zenna had gotten injured when she and Stryka crashed into a patch of brambles while Eret, once again, missed his shot and the Lycanwing had gotten away, again. Thankfully Hiccup and the rest of the Riders believed him. 'I never thought I'd be able to lie to Hiccup and the other Riders that well... Loki would have been impressed,' Eret thought, remembering how easily he had been able to lie, while giving El a drinking horn of warm milk. Stryka was currently watching the two, her tail swishing from side to side, while Skullcrusher (who had been extremely relieved to see his Rider safe after last night's disastrous Lycanwing chase) kept the hearth ablaze.
El was a hungry baby, clutching the drinking horn in his pudgy hands, and gurgled to his Uncle Eret for more milk. "Wow, El, that's your second feeding and you still want more?" Eret chuckled, receiving an insistent smack on the chest. Laughing softly, Eret settled Zenna's baby brother between Stryka and Skullcrusher. The two dragons immediately surrounded the infant to keep him warm while Eret refilled El's drinking horn. He'd just sat down with El on his lap again to feed him when Edgar, Henna, and Zenna entered. Seeing his parents and big sister, El forgot about his milk and cooed happily. Eret looked at Zenna worriedly and calmed down a little when she gave him a reassuring smile.
"You sure had us worried, love. You were pale as a sheet while Gothi was examining you," Edgar gently kissed his precious little gemstone's forehead.
"What was the diagnosis?" Eret asked worriedly.
"Exhaustion. Our Dragon Doctor's tired herself out so she'll be taking a break from managing the Dragon Clinic, Dragon Riding, and, above all, Lycanwing hunting," Henna said, giving Zenna a knowing look.
"I know... I didn't keep my promise of sticking with my friends last night..." Zenna sighed guiltily.
"Well, I hope you've learned a lesson in this experience, love. But, now, you need to rest," her mother said gently and helped her go upstairs, Stryka following right behind her.
El gurgled as his father picked him up from Eret's lap. "Thank you for getting Zenna and Stryka back home safe, lad. My wife and I are in your debt," Edgar thanked his daughter's boyfriend graciously.
"No need to repay me, Edgar. It's my pleasure to be at your daughter's service," Eret shook his head as Henna came back downstairs.
"Zenna wants to see you, Eret," the Fiersome matriarch said, nodding to the stairs. Eret nodded back and headed up.
Time for him to get some answers.
Stryka gently nudged her Rider and lightly tugged the blankets up to Zenna's chin as she lied down in bed. "Thanks, girl..." Zenna murmured, patting her best dragon friend's scaly hide. Then, Eret entered her room. The air was thick with tension as man, woman, and dragon looked at each other without so much as a whisper passing through their lips.
Finally, Eret broke the silence.
"How long has... this... been going on?"
Zenna sighed heavily as she sat up, her shoulders slumping forward, and beckoned Eret to her. He did so without question and looked at her anxiously. Without a word, Zenna lifted the left side of her tunic up. Eret's brown orbs widened in horror as he stared at the faded pink bite mark, roughly the size of a Night Fury's bite mark, marring Zenna's creamy white flesh. "How...?" he whispered before Zenna cupped his cheek in her hand.
"It was a year before I came back to Berk from my medical training..." Zenna began, looking at the wall adjacent to her bed with a faraway look in her eye, as she recounted that fateful night...
They had camped out in the so-called "Black Forest" of Germany that night like they always did. The villagers in the quaint German village where Zenna learned about various herbs from their local doctor simply didn't want Stryka around the neighborhood, even when the old doctor teaching Zenna, Curtis, tried to persuade them that the young woman's scaly friend meant no harm. It was too risky for them to have a winged beast that could breathe fire in their village so Zenna and Stryka set out to look for a relatively safe place to sleep every night. Stryka always made sure to scout the area beforehand and Zenna knew where to find caves that would shelter them from storms should they blow over the area. The Black Forest became their home for the next few weeks and, by far, it was safe enough.
Tonight didn't seem so different from any other night they had spent in there. Despite all the warnings from the villagers about it being a place where all beings of the dark and vicious kind dwelled, Zenna liked sleeping in the Black Forest. The air was fresh and crisp, she and Stryka could find all kinds of herbs that could help in brewing all sorts of medicines, and when the sky was clear, they could see the stars twinkling in the dark blue sky.
Stryka warbled softly as she wrapped her tail around Zenna, who was snuggled safely in her wings, and laid her head down on the ground to sleep. Zenna yawned and closed her eye, ready to drift off into dreamland...
"AAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOO-OOOAAAARRR-OOOOO!"
Both woman and dragon jerked awake and got into battle stance. "Keep your senses sharp, girl We might need to find a new place to sleep if our howling friend's a territorial kind of guy..." Zenna whispered to her Night Fury. Stryka growled, baring her teeth, as they heard another guttural howl. Readying her battle sticks, Zenna looked around, squinting to see through the darkness.
She barely heard Stryka's roar when a pair of mad red eyes blinked at her from within the nearest bush and something sleek yet huge pounced on her! Zenna frantically tried to kick the creature off, but it was too strong for her. The next thing she knew the creature had sunk its needle-sharp fangs into her side! Oh, how she'd screamed and writhed in pain until Stryka managed to clamp her jaws down on the mysterious creature and pull it off of her. Zenna barely made out her attacker's scaly tail slithering away into the depths of the forest before she felt her whole body seize up. A scream tore through her lips as she felt everything inside her turn inside out. Her bones felt like they were on fire, breaking and reassembling themselves in the most painful way possible; her organs as well and she felt things poking out of her skin. Crouching on her hands and knees, Zenna lifted a hand to her face and saw, to her horror, purple scales were covering her hand and claws were poking out from underneath her fingernails!
"S-St-Stryka... r-r-run!" the young woman hoarsely yelled as she arched her back and howled in pain as a pair of wings suddenly sprouted from her back, ripping her tunic to shreds.
Stryka roared and backed away as her Rider transformed before her very eye. Zenna groaned as her whole body changed. Her face became covered with scales and elongated, her hair seemed to shape itself and harden into ridges, and a tail sprung from her behind. When she felt the agony end, Zenna wildly looked around until she looked up and saw the full moon. Tossing her head back, the once Dragon Doctor let out a howling roar that sent every woodland creature running. Stryka whimpered and approached Zenna, who stared at her as her chest heaved from exhaustion.
"Stryka...? What's happened to me...?" Zenna asked her, not realizing that her words came out as growls and grunts, feeling woozy all of a sudden.
Stryka gulped and said slowly, "Zen, try not to freak out... You're a dragon." earning a terrified yelp from Zenna. Frantic, Zenna looked at herself, the shock slowly registering on her face, flexed her claws, swished her tail, twitched her ears that had somehow ended up on top of her head, and lightly flapped her wings.
When she finally understood that what Stryka just said was true, Zenna shrieked. She was full-on freaked out and it took all of Stryka's calm to keep her from losing it and crashing through the forest in a panic. After getting calmed down, Zenna could only whimper and curl up in a tight ball, hoping beyond hope that this was all just some twisted nightmare she could wake up from. Stryka stayed with her until the sun came up. That's when Zenna turned back into a human after another slow and painful transformation. Recovering from the weakness she felt after transforming, Zenna noticed the still fresh bite mark on her side. Glancing at Stryka, Zenna felt dread form in the pit of her stomach.
"Hey, girl, remember one of those letters Hiccup sent us talking about a dragon called the Lycanwing and how Tuffnut thought he was turning into one after getting bitten by what turned out to be a wolf?"
Not waiting for her best dragon friend to reply, Zenna said, I think we met a real Lycanwing last night, Stryka. And now it's bitten me... so that means I'm a Lycanwing, too."
"After that first time, I had to take precautions. Every month, before the full moon appears, Stryka and I always go somewhere isolated. I transform and hunt out in the wilds every night as long as the full moon's still there. I also transform on the night before it's due to appear. Things worked out pretty well while we were on the road. But, when I came back here, it became tougher for me to slip away every month. What's worse..."
Zenna let out a pained sigh and looked down at her hands. "Every time I transform, it's like the part of me that's more Lycanwing than human is trying to overpower me. That's why I attacked anyone who tried to capture me. I don't want to hurt them, Eret, I really don't. But my instincts take over and I can't control myself..." she said softly. Eret could only look at her, stunned, as he digested all of this new information. Honestly he had no idea how he was going to be able to help Zenna with this problem. He knew that he wanted to help her... but how do you help your girlfriend handle transforming into a Lycanwing and keep her from decimating Berk's livestock and its overall population of both Vikings and dragons?
Eret wasn't exactly sure how. It's not like he can train Zenna to...
Wait a minute...
"Nobody, not even Hiccup, knows about your condition?" the former trapper asked. Zenna nodded her head. "And Stryka is the only one who accompanies you whenever these transformations happen?" Eret asked. Zenna glanced at Stryka, who warbled curiously, and nodded. "Have you ever tried to attack her while in your Lycanwing form?" Eret questioned her, earning a shake of the head from the Dragon Doctor.
"I guess I'm so used to her being around that, in my Lycanwing state, I don't see her as a threat. I wish it could be the same for when I'm around people..." Zenna murmured. Eret folded his arms across his chest and thoughtfully put a hand to his chin, rubbing the tattoos on his chin, as the gears in his brain turned to formulate a plan.
Finally, after about ten minutes of careful planning, Eret came up with an idea.
"If you always try to isolate yourself before and during the days of the full moon, then, you won't be able to be at ease around other humans. That's probably the reason why you're always aggressive when you're hunting in the village. But, maybe, if you had someone else with you... there's a chance that you could get used to his presence and not turn out aggressive," he told Zenna carefully. Stryka let out a confused growl while Zenna raised an eyebrow at him.
"Hypothetically speaking, Zen, if I could come with you during the times you're a Lycanwing, I might be able to help you get used to my presence well enough to allow you to control those primal instincts that make you attack people," Eret clarified.
Zenna pondered on her boyfriend's words before slightly smiling. "Are you saying that you plan to train me, Eret?" she asked, a challenging smirk on her face.
Eret smirked back at her. "Only to allow you better control over your Lycanwing half, yes," he replied smoothly.
Zenna, seeing that he was serious, frowned.
"It'll be dangerous," she warned him.
"I know," Eret replied easily, not looking the least bit afraid.
"It might not even work."
"I know."
"I could even end up attacking you in my other state."
"I know."
"You still want to try?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Even if there's a pretty good chance that it will be dangerous, won't work, and that I could possibly hurt or even... kill you?"
"Yes, yes, and yes."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Zenna brought her face closer to Eret's. "Why are you still willing to risk your life on this plan of yours to help me that might not even work?" she asked. In reply, Eret softly kissed her lips and pressed his forehead to hers.
"I am not leaving you alone... not when you need someone in this challenging time. Whatever happens, Zenna, we'll find a way to get through this... together," he said softly. Stryka warbled in agreement, padding over to the two lovers and got in between them.
Eret chuckled as he petted the Night Fury's head. "See? Stryka's willing to give it a try. Three days and three full moon nights, just the three of us, in a place where we can be left in peace. It should be enough time for me to help you rein in that wild Lycanwing nature of yours before it gets worse," he told Zenna. When the Dragon Doctor still looked unsure, Eret gently clasped her hand in his.
"We have to try, Zenna. If you can't fully control yourself in your Lycanwing form, it might end up with the whole village trying to chase you off the island. And, I swear to Odin, I am not going to let you be chased out of your own home and be forced to leave your family behind," he said, his amber brown eyes serious.
Zenna thought about it for a good, long moment before making her decision.
"Okay... But, first things first, we need to come up with an excuse to give to my Mom and Dad."
Eret smiled, a reasonable one already brewing in his mind.
Phew! Finished Part 2 before June ended. Speaking of June how many of you have watched the new episodes of Race to the Edge?
I binge watched all 13 episodes last week and, I must say, that the team behind RttE is doing phenomenally well in building up the story while also breaking a ton of hearts (Episode 11 of the series broke mine, that's for sure!) and driving us crazy with the cliffhangers (watch Episode 13 to see what I mean!).
Well, Part 3... I know it'll involve Eret "training" his girlfriend-turned-Lycanwing to get used to being around him (a human), but I wonder how I should escalate the drama. Should I introduce the new monster hunter character here? What else can I do to make this Lycanwing saga better?
Let me know what you think in the reviews! Thanks so much for being patient with my irregular update schedules.
-GuardianDragon98
