Necessity
"Shadowwing, we must talk!" Rain-Eater cried as he dove and landed.
Shadowwing hopped away from Luna, Flower-Eater, and Night-Light. They had been gathered in a clearing among the forest where he and Luna could teach Night-Light and Flower-Eater what not to eat. The youngest was still too small to understand, but he wanted to explore. That exploration was best done while supervised, obviously.
"Rain-Eater, warm cycle to you. What do you want to talk about?"
Rain-Eater sat down on his haunches, "I finished the project you gave me."
Shadowwing started in surprise. If anyone was going to be able to find an answer to that question of sustainability, it was probably going to be Rain-Eater before anyone else. If he himself had nothing to do except think about the problem, then he probably could do it, but he had other responsibilities to the tribe, his mate, and his children.
"And?" he asked.
Rain-Eater's ears fell as his tail swished at his side, "It is not good. I saw the problem I had missed until now."
That sounded ominous.
"What problem?"
"Even limiting future egg-making to two eggs only from each pair will not help. We can start making eggs at five season-cycles, but we do not know how long we live. We might live two tens of season-cycles or we might live for ten tens or more. We cannot know."
That was all fair. He hoped that dragons lived longer than only twenty years, but there was no way to know what a full lifespan would be. Luna, Was-Grounded, and Green-Wings did not know what would count as a full lifetime.
Mimir had mentioned to him that Night Furies, absent a violent death or disease, might live a little longer than humans, so there was that at least if that detail was accurate. There was no way to know for sure.
"I follow that."
Rain-Eater grumbled, "That lifetime is the problem. There is enough food in the shared-range for all Furies who are now. Let us say that we live as long as ground-kin. All future pairs would need to only have two eggs and would need to wait over five tens of season-cycles to have any more eggs. The same is true for the ground-kin but with a different number of season-cycles."
"Wait, you mean..."
Rain-Eater solemnly nodded, "Even if we grow as much food as possible here in the shared-range, there are too many ground-kin and sky-kin if we keep having any eggs and young. None of us Furies can make any young unless we know how long we will live. Even if we live as long as the ground-kin, we cannot be any more in number at all. We and the other sky-kin are already too many. That is true even if the ground-kin never grow in number from what they are."
Shadowwing heavily groaned and glanced back at Flower-Eater and Night-Light, both playing with Luna's tail.
Gods, that is obvious. How did we miss it? A pair limiting themselves to two doesn't help if the pair lives so long after their two kids themselves grow up and find their own mates.
That dragons reached maturity and could start reproducing in just under five years was a problem given unknown but lengthy lifetimes. Just producing more food was not always going to be possible given the limited resources in New Haven itself and the surrounding cavern. The place was very fertile, but it could not support indefinite growth. Something had to change.
"Anything else?" he sighed.
Rain-Eater shrugged, "Staying here is not enough if we want to be more. Do you think we can live in other ranges with ground-kin?"
There were no known chambers that humans could even remotely live in and feel safe within. The chambers with an ocean or deep waters were plentiful with fish, but they were too dangerous for Furies or humans to permanently inhabit. The rocky and volcanic chambers far away could not support human life, while Gronkles, Nightmares, and other Stoker-class or Boulder-class dragons were fine there. The chambers that were filled with forests were mysterious and filled with strange predators.
But the map ended in blank unknowns where no one had yet flown.
"There might be some ranges we do not know about. While we might find places for us sky-kin, I do not know about ranges for ground-kin. They would need life-bond sky-kin to always protect them from other, more dangerous sky-kin. I should talk with Kin-liver about this."
Rain-Eater nodded, "Do you need me to do any more thought-flights, any more projects?"
He trotted over to Rain-Eater and lay his chin on his shoulder with a brief purr, "No, Rain-Eater. You did well. Thank you for your help."
Rain-Eater purred and stepped back as he spread his wings, "Thank you for the project. I liked testing my thinking even if it was thought-twisting."
Shadowwing watched his nephew fly off, and he trotted back to Luna. She had been watching his talk in curiosity, though she hadn't heard any of it. Night-Light hopped onto his back and proudly perched there.
"Sire-father, will you play with me?"
"I will play after I talk to your dam-mother," he answered, laying down beside Luna.
"Okay," Night-Light hummed and started napping.
"What was that about?" Luna asked.
"Rain-Eater finished his project about how many we sky-kin and ground-kin can be in this shared-range."
"And?"
He leaned against her side and gathered his thoughts, "He thinks we are too many already with only the shared-range. Worse, he thinks that none of our children can have any eggs for many tens of season-cycles if we want balance between life and food. We are already too many."
"Truly?" she sadly asked, gathering Flower-Eater between her paws.
"Yes, if we stay only in the shared-range. We... must look beyond this one. Do you or your sister know of any other ranges where ground-kin could live and be safe?"
He had heard her negative answer before, but he wanted confirmation again in case they had remembered anything.
"No. Good ranges where there can be much life will already be filled. This one here... was different because of the bones as a threat-sign."
He nodded, remembering how those terrible signs that Night Furies had lived here before had kept the cavern empty of most dragons. Other dragons saw the bones and had to have wrongly concluded there was a danger.
He exhaled, resigned to the difficulty of the situation.
Why did I accept being Chief? There are problems that might not have an answer at all.
"I do not know what to do about this problem."
"Talk with Kin-liver about it," she proposed.
"I will, but first, Night-Light, are you awake?"
His son kept on dozing, which was good.
"He is asleep," he whispered.
He gazed into her light blue eyes while she returned the peaceful intimacy. But he did not try their together-feeling. No, he wanted something different, even if it was related to that act.
"My love, is there anything you want to tell me?"
She only hummed in confusion, so he explained what he was thinking after weaving his tail around hers.
"I want us to have a time, only the two of us, when we can say anything at all. Doing this around the together-feeling-seeing might be best. Am I not giving you enough of my life-flight? Am I not being enough of a sire-father? Do you see any rot in my thinking? Am I becoming... too much in the belly? Say anything you want, my love."
"Anything?" she purred.
"Yes, anything."
She was silent for a while before she answered, "You are not neglecting me or our children. You are the best sire-father I could hope for my children to have. And as my life-mate... your holding me close is very warming."
"I would hope so. The chest is not a problem anymore!"
She hummed softly, "I sometimes wish that you were not the Alpha for the ground-kin, since being that takes much time from you. On the other paw, I see the good of having a sky-kin be their Alpha."
That was fair of her. He was also frustrated at times, even though Thorvald handled most of the petty problems on his own.
She continued, "What about me? Am I twisting your tail much?"
Nothing had come to his mind before. She had no foibles that got under his hide or annoyed him. She was firm, encouraging, and comforting with their children. For as long as he had known her, she had been serious and somber about life. That was no surprise, considering what she had endured as a part of Drago Bludvist's dragon-breeding stock. But she had a playful, teasing side, and that side had come out far more after he and she had become mates.
He gently nudged her shoulder, "This is not a problem at all. It is probably part of life and being a dam-mother. You could play more and be... thought-twisted in good ways. Ways like pouncing on me while hiding from eyes and play-fighting just for fun. I miss all that. It feels like that has stopped."
She hummed in thought, considering his words, "Have I not been... maybe not. Yes, I miss that playing and twistedness. Having four children takes much time."
He didn't doubt that at all. She thoroughly enjoyed being a mother and had taken every care he imagined a good mother would take with their first three children. She helped clean up their messes without complaining about it, endured the occasional sleeplessness, was patient with teaching lessons, got frustrated with rebellious behaviors, and encouraged better behaviors.
But he suspected that there might be more that was bothering her or weighing on her. None of this was very important, but rather her more sanguine temperament, compared to Green-Wings, Aurora, Mist-Wings, or Hidden-Hope, was just something he observed and wanted to mention.
"Is there more than only being a dam-mother?" he purred.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you feel twisted about the hidden Light Fury packs not trusting us?"
"No! No. Well... Grr... yes, I do."
"Why?"
She looked wearier or maybe more thoughtful, "Their not-trusting is twisting how I see them. It sometimes feels like we are all alone in wanting that good future of together-life to live. If all other sky-kin out there do not want ground-kin here or cannot live in peace with them, then this together-life might not live."
He sighed, "The ground-kin know what that life is like. Most of them fought sky-kin without help from other two-leg packs. At least there are no bad two-legs, well, no two-legs we must worry about."
"True, but I do not think most two-legs want to eat other two-legs. Sky-kin can and do," she said.
"And two-legs will force-mate females to show control and power, kill sire-fathers, and make children and females into life-thralls. Two-legs are much worse than sky-kin!" he snarled.
"I... do not know about that. Both can have rot in their livers," she countered.
He got to his paws and shook his back, waking up Night-Light. His son yawned and pawed at his back.
Great, totally forgot about him being there.
"Are you ready to fly, son?"
"Flying! Yes! And we can practice more picture-words and playing!"
"Yes, and we can fly to Kin-liver to do that."
Night-Light hopped into the sky, hovering above him as he also spread his wings.
Luna got to her paws, "We are coming with. My sister and Moon-Pinner might be there."
She picked up Flower-Eater and held him to her chest with a paw, since he was too big to carry in her mouth anymore. Together, they flew to New Haven.
His plan was to spend some time with Night-Light as promised, and then speak to Valka about this new development. But he was not sure what ideas she might have that had not already been shared.
As he expected, Valka frowned and leaned on her staff after hearing the news.
"Alright then. That changes things," she mumbled.
"How?" he huffed.
She glanced over to where Luna, Flies-With-Sun, and Flower-Eater were sitting on the shore. The sisters were speaking about something while Flower-Eater was proudly perched on Luna's head and Night-Light and Moon-Pinner played roughly. Night-Light was getting better at the play-fights after having steadily put on inches and more muscle. He would hit his first growth spurt when he reached about two and a half years.
"I've been thinking about the tribe a lot since the last attack. None of the options are great."
He huffed, "Ssounndss like nnorrmal life forr uss."
She chuckled and wryly grinned, "True, but I have an idea of what we should do next, especially with this news."
"What?"
"You probably won't like it."
"Trry me."
She started pacing, "We can't all stay here and sustain ourselves in this chamber only. Having some of the humans leave the hidden world is not really an option. We already agreed on that."
"Yess."
She squared her shoulders and faced him, "There's no way around it. We must explore more of the hidden world to find new places where we could have some of the tribe go and live. Suppose we find another chamber like this one. If half of the humans left to go there and... if some of the Furies lived there with them, it might work."
They silently stared, both knowing what the other was thinking. Splitting the tribe in two and splitting the Fury families in two was not ideal, but it might be necessary.
The two tribes would still be family from afar. Being apart from my brother or any of them would be unpleasant. But we've done that before in a way.
"Sso, we musst explorre morre. Fill inn morre of the map."
Valka started pacing, "Yes. What I was thinking is that I, several of your brother's kids, and their human friends would go together and explore for places the tribe could make a new home. The humans could help prove to any Light Fury packs that we are trustworthy just by being themselves. To keep themselves safe, they would wear their scale armor and flight suits and would stay with their friends almost all the time. We would have to wait until after the Hall was finished."
Initially, he thought her plan was dangerous, which it was. However, Erevan, Helga, Alvor, and Safiya had shown themselves to be responsible and very trusting of their Fury friends. Wearing their scale armor and flight suits, basically presenting themselves as dragons, would make any initial meetings peaceful.
Further, any packs that didn't know humans would have no reason to be innately suspicious, even though the dragons could always see humans as food. Her point about needing to wait for the Great Hall's completion was also perfectly valid. That fortress would help protect everyone, all the humans anyway, while several of the Furies, otherwise willing to help defend, were away.
"Who would you fly with?" he asked.
"Maybe Mist-Wings or Moon-Dancer. Cloudjumper is still... you know."
"Yess."
She frowned and paused, "I know what you're thinking: it's very dangerous for them all out there. True, it is, but I think it's necessary. You know humans. We're adventurers at heart. We cannot stay trapped in this beautiful, big cave forever."
He entirely understood her point. Humans were adventurers, and keeping them trapped in this chamber wouldn't help moods improve. Humans, just like dragons, did not do well trapped and confined in limited spaces.
Well, ignoring that the hidden world is a type of trap. At least we're trapped together for our own good.
"Having the best dragon-riders in the tribe go with their Night Fury friends is probably the safest any exploration could be, if humans are going out there at all."
"Yess, havinng them therrre to sshow otherr drragonnss iss a risssk, but a necessssarry onne."
"The first contacts have to happen eventually. Better that they happen peacefully and with you all there to oversee everything."
"Agrreed."
He sat down beside her, and she leaned against his shoulder. Together, they gazed at the Great Hall in the distance. People were coming and going from it almost constantly since there was no better place for everyone to gather as a community.
"Let me thinnk about it. We musst plann forr thiss."
"What about watching the island? Do we need to do that now or while we'll be gone?
"It iss almosst winnterr. Nno onne will be inn thosse waterrss nnow."
She nodded, "My thoughts too. No one ever bothered the ice nest in the winter, and this is even further north. We'll be fine without guarding the island for a while. I'm bothered by the island being vulnerable. We'll think of something eventually."
He stepped back and stretched his wings, "I'm flyinng home, annd I'll let the olderr childrrenn knnow."
The flight back to the Fury ledge after retrieving Luna and Flower-Eater was a calm one as he thought about the proposed venture to the beyond. He trusted everyone who would be going, and he knew they would take every care to protect each other. But he had to worry about all of them, not only as Chief but also as an uncle and a father. Moon-Dancer had his fire and was responsible, getting closer to being an adult. Letting him go on this journey was, even if he didn't like it, a good idea since it would let his son explore more of the world, maybe learn something about himself, and also know that he was trusted.
On the other hand, Hidden-Hope was absolutely not going under any circumstances.
The kids will love this idea. They've been itching to go flying further with their friends for a while.
Shadowwing purred at the older children: Dawn-Singer, Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, and Moon-Dancer, as they were gathered before him on the sandy shore.
It was time to tell them what he, Luna, Was-Grounded, and Green-Wings had agreed on after speaking with Valka, Gobber, and Thorvald: the necessary flight to explore more of the hidden world.
His brother and Green-Wings were far more accepting of their children going on a long flight for their good and the good of the tribe. Of course, his brother had gone on a very long flight himself when he was four years old in this lifetime. It could be done, and further, none of them would be going alone.
Luna had approved of Moon-Dancer going with them. He himself had his reservations against letting his son fly out into the dangerous world beyond, but letting his son go out into the world to make his mark was a part of letting go as a father. That encouragement was something he himself felt the lacking of... long ago, so he knew how important it was to do this right for his son. True, his father had eventually trusted him enough to let him take part in dragon-training, but there were still many mistakes made back then. He was not going to make the same mistakes his own father had made.
"Children, I want to talk to you about a flight for the good of the shared-range."
"What flight?" Dawn-Singer purred.
He nodded at Rain-Eater, "Your brother helped me learn that not all of us sky-kin and ground-kin can stay in this shared-range. There will not be enough food for us all. We must find another range where we and the ground-kin can live. Some of us, anyway."
He paused and glanced at each of them in turn, "I, Luna, and your parents want you to go on this flight to new ranges in the hidden world. The flights Kin-liver and the rest of us have gone on have not flown far enough. We want you to find more ranges where we and the ground-kin could live, and then come back to tell us about them."
"Yes, I like this!" "We should do this!" "I want to fly far!" "Exploring and ranging far is good!" "Sire-father, I like it."
"And we want your life-bond ground-kin to go with you," he added.
Dawn-Singer barked, "Is it not dangerous for them?"
"They would always wear their false-scale-hides to look more like small sky-kin. Whoever goes will keep them safe!"
Aurora purred deeply, "Alvor has wanted to fly beyond with me many times! I like this plan!"
"Safiya too," Rain-Eater added.
He glanced at Dawn-Singer, wondering about his thoughts on the possibility, "What do you think?"
Dawn-Singer grumbled, "I do not know. Erevan and I have flown in this range much, and he likes being here and working for the shared-nest. Would you want Flies-With-Sun and Helga to fly this flight?"
He grumbled and shook his head, "No, she has Moon-Pinner to watch, and so do you. I understand if you do not want to fly this flight."
"How many... sun-cycles would the flight be?" Dawn-Singer asked.
He was unsure of that detail. There was no way to know in advance how long it would take.
He shrugged, "I do not know. Between a pawful of sun-cycles and maybe two or three moon-cycles."
Dawn-Singer grumbled and glanced at his siblings, eventually settling on Aurora, "Sister, will you be the flight-leader instead of me?"
"Yes, I will be the flight-leader. I know what to do," Aurora growled.
"Good, then I will stay here in the shared-range. I have Moon-Pinner to be a sire-father for, and I want to stay here with her and Flies-With-Sun."
Fair enough. There's no need for everyone to go.
"Are the rest of you going on this flight?" he asked them.
Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, and Moon-Dancer eagerly nodded.
He purred at his nephews and nieces, "Good, Was-Grounded and Green-Wings gave their permissions as your sire-father and dam-mother. We want you to do this for the shared-range."
"What about our ground-kin?" Aurora asked.
He hadn't yet spoken with the Olefsens, and he hoped they wouldn't seriously object. He could order this mission, but having to do that would not be ideal.
"I am their Alpha, so I can ask that they do this for the shared-range. Their sire-father and dam-mother might not be so eager, but they know that Alvor and Safiya trust you."
He paused, remembering an important detail he had not mentioned, "Kin-liver will be going with you. She knows many of the ranges beyond already and can be safe among sky-kin. Mist-Wings, will you carry Kin-liver?"
Mist-Wings purred, clearly liking the idea, "I will."
"Good. Son, Rock-Climber, will you both help with carrying supplies and bags of things for the ground-kin?"
They both nodded in agreement, clearly very willing to help contribute to the mission.
Rain-Eater lifted a paw, "What about the saddles? Should we use those?"
He paused before answering the question. Part of him couldn't help but see saddles as demeaning to the one wearing the saddle. On the other hand, the saddles were purely practical and for safety's sake. It was possible that the Furies would need to outfly dangerous dragons to keep their friends safe, and having their friend strapped into a saddle would greatly increase maneuverability and let them fly faster.
"If you want to wear them. I suggest that you do. Having the saddles will keep your ground-kin safer. There is no bad in wearing the saddles for this special flight."
"I will do that," Rain-Eater nodded.
Aurora and Mist-Wings also purred in acknowledgment.
"Sire-father, am I right that you, dam-mother, uncle, and aunt are not flying this flight?" Moon-Dancer asked.
"True, we are not flying. We have hatchlings and Alpha duties here."
"What about the above-watching? Will one of you be doing that?" Mist-Wings wondered.
He growled, "This is still the cold-season, and two-legs will not take their boats on the water now."
"Good, it is cold up there," Dawn-Singer chuckled.
"When should we fly?" Aurora asked, stretching her wings.
"The flight must wait until after the great-hall-den is finished. That will keep the ground-kin safer here while some of us are gone. I will talk with the ground-kin about this flight," he said.
Rain-Eater spun around, "Nestmates! We should tell our ground-kin!"
"Yes! We should!" Aurora agreed.
Dawn-Singer chuffed, "And I will have Flies-With-Sun talk to you all about the ranges beyond. She can tell you anything more you do not know."
Dawn-Singer, Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, and Rock-Climber flew off to their various destinations.
Moon-Dancer sat down before him, ears lifted high and tail swaying in excitement, "Sire-father, you truly want me to do this?"
He padded up to him and rested his chin on his son's forehead, "Yes, my son. You are almost grown, and you are ready to do this. Show me your fire and hiding."
Moon-Dancer hopped into the sky, flamed before himself, and vanished from sight, save for a very faint shimmering and his emerald eyes.
That ability for Light Furies and Dawn Furies to vanish from sight and appear more or less at will was still amazing. Light Furies and Dawn Furies had different, softer scales and hides than Night Furies had. Truthfully, it was not really fair to think of their scales as like scale; rather, they were more like tough hide. Maybe there was something about those dragons' hides that could bend light, but only when heated. The how of it did not matter as much as that it was reliable.
Night Furies certainly couldn't do anything like that.
He heard his son touch down before him, and saw him became completely visible seconds later.
"Well done, son. You are ready for this flight."
"Sire-father," Moon-Dancer whined.
"You are. I and your dam-mother are very proud of you."
Moon-Dancer purred and looked curious, "What about my sister? She is not going on the flight, true?"
"She does not have fire yet, and she is not big enough."
The real reason had more to do with how rebellious she was and how she could not be trusted to do as she was told, but that was not a topic to talk about with his son.
"Son, just between you and me, are you afraid or liver-chilled by the flight? The flight will be away from me and your dam-mother for maybe moon-cycles," he whispered.
Moon-Dancer paused before answering, staring at his paws, "No, I want to fly this flight with my kin!"
It was clear that his son was eager to have time and an adventure away from home and from his parents. That felt significant and entirely normal, but also a little scary.
"Good. There is one more thing I want to talk to you about."
"What?"
His tail tapped at his paws in agitation. The topic had to be brought up, but he still felt it was a little awkward. More than a little awkward.
"It will be a long flight, and you might find other sky-kin like us, other Light Furies maybe. You might meet... female Light Furies."
"What about them?" Moon-Dancer blinked.
"Just... be respectful of them always. Think with your head and liver, nothing else. If they say... no to you, that means no, not maybe."
"You had to tell me that!" Moon-Dancer barked in alarm after a moment of thought.
"Yes, I did. If one of them is warm in her liver and wants to come here to this shared-range to meet more ground-kin and live here, then maybe... something good can happen... between you and her after you know each other. Not before."
Moon-Dancer looked like he wanted to say something, stumbling over his words before sighing, "I... understand."
He groaned and looked away, feigning a glance toward New Haven, "Good. Good. Good talk! We should go fly to everyone else!"
Together, they spun away and flew off, following after the other Fury children.
Alright, time to let everyone else know. Lots of planning to do!
He was not upset that he was not going on the flight. He had other duties and responsibilities here to stay busy with. The wanderlust that had been important once before was not there anymore. That was likely because he had a home now. There was nowhere he would rather be than at Luna's side, with his children, in his brother's and mother's lives, and being the Chief for the tribe.
The children were still young enough and not tied down by responsibilities. They could wander for a while on an adventure, especially when it specifically benefited the entire tribe.
Moon-Dancer could barely hide his liver-warmth and excitement! Not only was he going exploring, but he was going to do that with his dear to the liver kin! He had wanted more opportunities to fly beyond for so long. That wanting had only grown far stronger after he and sire-father went to the above as watchers for his first time.
The New-Haven-range was good and liver-warming, but he already knew almost every stretch of this range. He knew where the pools of good-for-drinking water were, where the biggest mushrooms were, where the tiny-buzzing-stingers made their nests, where the different color light-rocks were, and everything else that was good to know.
Life was not boring here, not when he had all his kin and the ground-kin in the shared-range, but there was certainly far more out beyond still to see.
He smirked and chuckled, for a few wingbeats wondering about what his sister would think about not being allowed to go with on this flight. She would not like it at all. But he understood that her going too would not be a good idea. She was too small and did not have her fire yet.
Sire-father's words about not fouling his flight with females, with Light Furies in particular, were liver-twisting to hear. But there was some lift in all he said. Not jumping too quickly into a pairing was probably a good idea. It would be warming if he could find a warm-livered Light Fury though. Maybe that would happen.
Shadowwing sat upright in his Chieftain's tent. He and Valka were gathered with Alvor, Safiya, and their parents, Halbjorn and Kiera Olefsen.
He had been present to encourage the tribe before a great battle years ago. He had been there for various ceremonies including painful funerals through the years. It was still very scary to have to tell these parents that he was going to ask their only children to fly on a mission to the beyond caverns and depths of the hidden world.
There was hardly anyone better to represent the human part of New Haven than these two teenagers and Valka. But he understood how Halbjorn and Kiera must feel worried about their children being away. He understood since Moon-Dancer was going.
Valka lay a palm on Kiera's shoulder, "Halbjorn, Kiera, I and your Chief wanted to speak with you and your son and daughter about a task. There is something we want your children to do for the good of the tribe."
Alvor and Safiya perked up slightly.
"What is it?" Halbjorn asked.
Valka paused, "We might want to talk on our own first without your son and daughter here."
Halbjorn turned to his son and daughter, "Al, Saf, please leave us for a moment. We need to talk to the Chief and Elder."
They obeyed without question, stepping outside and closing the tent's flap behind them.
Halbjorn and Kiera faced him and Valka.
"What is it?" Halbjorn asked.
"We learned that we must explore more of the hidden world. The Furies would do this themselves, but we think there's a need for some humans to go with them. I will be doing this, and we want your son and daughter to go with Aurora and Rain-Eater," Valka answered.
Halbjorn and Kiera initially looked aghast.
"But it's dangerous out there. How would they be safe?" Kiera asked, visibly worried.
Shadowwing hummed softly, "They would sstay with theirr frrienndss. They would alsso wearr theirr flight ssuitss annd sscale arrmorr to look like drragonnss themsselvess."
Valka nodded, "It's true. I lived that way for... decades. Most dragons would be curious at first and would not notice the humans. If any of the dragons are dangerous, well, so are Night Furies."
Halbjorn held Kiera's hand and stared at him, clearly nervous about the proposal, "Chief, I... I hope you know what you're asking of them. They're almost of age, true, but they're our only children."
Understanding their reluctance, he gently rested a paw on Halbjorn's shoulder, "They will be ssafe with uss. Drragonnhearrt annd my firrsst ssonn will be goinng with alsso."
"Is it... really necessary for them to go?" Kiera pleaded.
Valka answered, "It's probably needed to introduce other dragons to humans. There's no one better in the entire tribe than me and your son and daughter to do that."
Halbjorn paused, "Can you promise that they will come back?"
Shadowwing wanted to give that reassurance, but he knew that he couldn't truthfully give it. There was no certainty that any of them would come back.
"Nno, I cannnnot."
"Are you ordering them to go?" Halbjorn asked.
"I would prreferr that they volunnteerr."
Halbjorn whispered with Kiera and eventually nodded, apparently resigned, "Then... then let's ask them in private."
Kiera went outside and waved them back within.
"Son, daughter, we... we need to talk," Kiera whispered.
"What is it, mother, father?" Safiya asked.
"Your Chief wants you both to do something for the tribe. He wants you to go with the Furies and... explore the hidden world out there," Halbjorn said.
Alvor and Safiya gasped.
"Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, Moon-Dancer, and I will be going with you," Valka added.
"My dears, you know how dangerous it would be... if you do this," Kiera said while holding Safiya's shoulders.
"Father, mother, why are you asking us?" Safiya said.
Shadowwing sat down before them, "Becausse I wannt to knnow if you will do thiss. We all do. Thiss cann help by sshowinng otherr Light Furriess what you humannss arre like."
Alvor and Safiya glanced at each other and then nodded as one.
"Yes, Chief." "We will."
He could tell that they were very excited, though they were trying to conceal that. He understood their excitement at the prospect of adventuring in the hidden world.
"When do we leave?" Alvor asked.
"It must wait until after the Great Hall is finished. You should go talk to your friends soon and gather your supplies. I'll be going with Mist-Wings," Valka explained.
"Onne morre thinng: nnonne of you sshould talk about thiss missssionn. Let me tell the trribe laterr," he added.
Everyone in the family agreed.
"Come on, sis! We should start packing!" Alvor eagerly said.
"Yeah, same!" Safiya added.
They ran off together without waiting a moment longer.
"They'll be fine. Nothing can happen to them while their friends are there with them," Valka kindly said.
Halbjorn frowned, "I know that they'll be protected, but you know why we're afraid for them."
"I unnderrsstannd. My firrsst ssonn iss goinng too."
Flies-With-Sun growled, "Remember what I said about the Light Fury packs?"
Aurora grumbled, not liking what the kin Light Fury had explained.
For one, Light Furies, for whatever life-twisted reasons they have, might not want to pair with a Night Fury like her. Apparently, Luna and Flies-With-Sun thought differently because of what their sire-father and dam-mother had taught them.
The thought-twistedness of most Light Furies did not matter for her. She was not flying this flight to try to find a mate. She did not need or want a mate at all! She was happy and liver-warmed as she was!
But if that finding were to happen... well, maybe... if he could fight with biting words, was strong and brave, and had no great fear of ground-kin... maybe... he might be close to worthy of her!
She growled, "Yes, we remember."
Flies-With-Sun purred, "Good, always fly as a pack if you find them. Aurora, Mist-Wings, you two should not fly off on your own around them, ever."
"Why not?" Mist-Wings asked.
Ugh, sister...
Her sister still had her eyes closed to so much of life. Mist-Wings always wanted to think the best of someone, probably because she did not remember as much of the bad that happened in the above.
"Because of the thought-twisted males who might want to force-mate us?" she growled.
Rain-Eater, Moon-Dancer, and Rock-Climber shuffled in place while snarling.
Flies-With-Sun huffed, "That or tricking you with false wanting."
"But why would they be false?" Mist-Wings asked.
She spun on her nestmate and growled softly, "Because some males are like that. Why is not important."
Mist-Wings stared at her paws, visibly chilled. That was good. Whatever was needed to keep her safer.
Flies-With-Sun continued while pacing, "Sky-kin you might have not seen... fog-dwellers, melted-rock-swimmers, many-color-faders, and light-eaters. Have you heard of those?"
Rain-Eater shook his head. If her brother did not know those kin, none of them would have.
"Fog-dwellers live in fog and mist. You never see more than their glowing eyes. Do not go into mist alone. Melted-rock-swimmers swim in melted rock, surprisingly. They are no threat, but you cannot swim with them. Many-color-faders have fade, but they do not fade with fire."
"How do they?" Moon-Dancer asked in surprise.
"They can change their hide-colors since they have no scales. They will match any color around them. Those sky-kin defend their ranges much and can be dangerous to smaller life, like ground-kin. They shoot mouth-water that can eat rock. The last sky-kin, the light-eaters, is the smallest in number. You probably will not see any."
Aurora vaguely remembered hearing something about a type of sky-kin that could eat sky-light-lightning and then use that lightning like fire. Maybe these were the same sky-kin type. They probably would not have any lightning, since there was none underground.
"What about new plants?" Mist-Wings asked.
"Most of the plants here are also in the other ranges I flew in. But there might be some new ones you can find."
Rain-Eater purred, "Is there anything else we must know for the most important part of this flight: keeping our ground-kin safe?"
"You know all you must do. Keep them close always, have them sleep under your wings like hatchlings..."
They all chuckled for a few wingbeats.
"... and they will be safe," Flies-With-Sun finished.
Rock-Climber laughed, "Do we want to bet fish on how many waking-cycles pass before my brother and sister snap at their life-bond ground-kin or nestmates?"
"What!" Mist-Wings gasped.
"Yes, being stuck together almost all the time for many waking-cycles without stopping, that will be thought-twisting! I say two tens of waking-cycles for my brother."
"And me?" Aurora hissed.
Rock-Climber toothily grinned at her, "Two waking-cycles at most."
How could he say so twisting of a thing! Let him! She could easily get back at him for this.
"I will fill a fish with mouth-water and give it to you to eat," she calmly said.
Rock-Climber shrugged, "I should have said before the flight starts."
Whatever. Useless brother.
"What! Really?" Hidden-Hope bellowed in surprise, her teal eyes going wide.
"Yes, your brother is going on the flight," Luna said.
"What about me?" Hidden-Hope exclaimed.
Shadowwing shook his head, "No, daughter. You are not going with for this."
Hidden-Hope's eager expression vanished instantly, "But... but... why not?"
"Because you are too small, and the ranges beyond are not safe," he explained.
"But... I am bigger now! I want to fly! I... I can fly fast!"
"No, daughter," Luna calmly said.
Hidden-Hope sat down, staring at her paws. She was being remarkably calm for the situation.
"And... Rock-Climber, is he going?" she asked.
Ugh, just let it go.
"He is going on the flight. He has his fire, but you do not yet," he explained.
Luna purred, "You need hiding-fire before you can fly safely."
"But I..."
He growled, "No buts! You are not big enough to leave yet! You are staying here! Do you understand?"
Hidden-Hope looked away. Unlike in the past, her obvious attempt to guilt him was not going to work. She started walking away without having answered his question. That was unacceptable of her. How dare she disrespect her own father like that!
"Stop! Do you understand me?" he roared.
She winced, not looking up to meet his eyes, "Yes... sire-father..."
Luna stepped between him and her, "Go, daughter. I will talk to you later."
He and she watched as Hidden-Hope flew off on her own toward the mushrooms.
"Can you believe that? To talk like that to her own sire-father and dam-mother!" he growled.
Luna sat down before him, softly grumbling, "She should not have done that, but you could have been more understanding."
"How? What did I do wrong?"
"She feels trapped here too. She is the same age as Rock-Climber, even if she does not have her fire."
"Do you agree with her?" he asked, incredulous.
She narrowed her eyes on him, "No. She should stay here for now, but telling her what to do without showing her why you want her to do that does not help. Shouting and roaring is not your way: that is not you."
Shouting and roaring... had he been doing that? Had he yelled at his daughter? True, she had been being impertinent, ungrateful, and not showing her father the respect owed, but had he...
He stepped back in surprise and shock as he recalled how angry he had felt in that moment. How disappointed he had felt.
Oh gods, I'm becoming my own father.
"Should I... apologize to her for shouting?"
Luna nuzzled his neck while softly purring, "Yes, but do not let her go on the flight."
"Got it."
"Good. I will be with Kin-Liver and Flower-Eater. I will fly to our daughter after you come to me and Flower-Eater."
He nodded, watched her fly off for Valka's distant hut, and turned his flight toward the mushroom forest.
Hidden-Hope fumed, lashing her tail in frustration as she stalked all alone through the mushrooms. Being around any of her kin was not what she wanted right now or ever!
Pile of waste! So unfair!
Why was she being kept here, trapped in this shared-range with the hatchlings and fledglings? She was not as small and smelly as Flower-Eater or Wind-Dancer! She was much bigger than Moon-Pinner and Night-Light! She almost had her fire too!
She stared down a rock a couple pounces away. The rock looked like it wanted to be flamed.
Her can-be-fire-air gathered in her mouth, mixed with mouth-water and the air, and then... she coughed, getting the can-be-fire-air out. There was no spark to make the fire be.
She fell on her belly and moaned with liver-chill.
What was wrong with her? Why was she so small and not growing and why was her fire dead and why was life so mean to her?
She heard wings approaching. A quick glance was all she needed to tell that it was him! Sire-father!
Just leave me alone.
He was not going to do that; no, he would rather chill her life-flight even more!
"Daughter, I want to talk to you," he said, sitting down beside her.
Then talk! You will anyway...
"So?"
"Look at me, please."
She very reluctantly lifted her head and looked in his general direction.
"I should not have yelled at you. That was... twisted of me. You know I love you. Can you forgive me?"
Did he really mean any of that? Probably not. He would let her go on the flight if he did.
Whatever...
"Sure," she mumbled.
"Well... good. You understand why I and your dam-mother do not want you flying the flight?"
You do not trust me!
"Yes, I do."
He purred, "Good. We just want to keep you safe. Do you want to talk about anything else?"
Nothing you would understand.
"No, sire-father."
"Okay then. Good. Your dam-mother will be along later for you. Good talk. I am just going to... go now and good talk!"
Finally, he turned away and flew off, leaving her alone and in peace again. That was good. She did not want to be around anyone else. So she curled up and hid her head under a wing so she could sleep for a while.
Her promise to herself in the last range-fight flew back into memory. She had to do something to prove how big she was. She had to do something brave and liver-flamed! Maybe even run away from the home-range! Yes, that was a good idea!
That will show sire-father! I will... run away and... never come back... for a while, and then I will come back just to show I can!
Flying away now was not a good idea. She knew she had to wait at least until she learned her fire. But then she could secretly fly on the next adventure and flight to the beyond!
That would be very liver-warming!
Her sleep was broken when she felt dam-mother nuzzling her awake.
"Wake, daughter. We should talk."
"What is it, dam-mother?" she yawned.
Dam-mother rested a wing over her back. That was usually a warming gesture, but it was missing something this time.
"You remind me so much of me as a fledgling. I wanted to learn my fire and hiding so quickly. I wanted to grow up too fast."
"I just want to be one of you... big, strong, flaming, fast, warm in my liver," she whined.
"You think that being grown is all fun? No, it is not. It means more work, more danger, and more doing. See these hurt-marks?" dam-mother bent her head.
As usual, she tried to not look at the hurt-mark lines on dam-mother's head. Her liver always felt colder as she imagined someone bad hurting dam-mother.
"Yes."
"Good. Part of growing up is getting hurt-marks, both on scales and hide and also inside on your liver. Bad sky-kin or thought-rotted ground-kin will probably hurt you, somehow. I was."
"How were you hurt, dam-mother? Was it those hurt-marks only?"
Dam-mother stared at her without answering for many wingbeats, "No, these hurt-marks were the last ones two-legs ever gave me. What is important for you to know is that life is about getting to your paws and flying on anyway, even if it hurts. That is why I and your sire-father do not want you flying now. You have not been hurt by life yet, and you are still too small for the danger in the beyond."
So, dam-mother did not understand either. Was that it? Maybe, but sire-father was worse!
Dam-mother nuzzled her nose, "Daughter, let us make a word-promise now. You will keep practicing with your fire, and you will let me know when you learn it. Then I will teach you about the beyond. Better, you and your sire-father can go be watchers on the above together."
The above.
Now that was a good, liver-warming idea! She had been hatched in this world, and she knew no other world, nothing beyond the bounded limits of this large range.
Being told about the above, about the flying waters that fly so high no sky-kin can fly to them, the sun-sky-rock and night-rock-moon, and the fast flying winds, was not the same as seeing it with her own eyes and feeling it on her wings!
"Yes, dam-mother! I agree," she purred.
"Good. Fly back to the shared-ledge with me."
She followed dam-mother into the sky without voicing how unhappy she was. She could hide that inside while thinking about flying to the above to see how amazing and liver-warming that world was!