Author's Note – Remember that we have flawed perspectives, which means things are not always as they appear.
Also, anyone who was here for the first iteration of the story will remember that there is an important character who was introduced in the prologue. That person's story is now posting separately in Echoes Of The Past. EOTP is M-rated and will post alongside Children Of Dawn.
For The Pack
Fourth-Far-Flier led Shadowwing and Was-Grounded into a familiar, large, and dark chamber. There were more dragons throughout, most of which were already claiming their respective ledges and perches.
Shadowwing knew this place very well, having flown to these caverns before in the earliest exploration he and his extended family had done. Further, this was also roughly along the same path Valka said she would lead the adventurers on the way to the unknown.
Their guide turned aside from the main path most of the dragons seemed to take; instead, he led them out over a very misty path above a calm lake. The mist gradually grew thicker the deeper they flew. It was possible and even likely that there were multiple paths to wherever the pack was hiding, but they were being taken on a convoluted path to get there all to keep the place hidden. There was no way to know yet.
Was-Grounded felt a faint worry or chill nibbling his tail as he flew. There was nothing else moving in this part of the chamber, but he still felt as though he was being watched or hunted. Maybe it was the perfectly still, dark water below that was worrying.
So he shrieked aloud with finding-sound. Life-fire sight, the very useful way of seeing life, heat, or life-fire, had a far more limited range than sound-sight which could fly much further.
It was a slight relief that there was nothing on the wing other than himself, his brother, and Fourth-Far-Flier, who immediately winged closer to him.
"Do not make loud sounds here," Fourth-Far-Flier said.
"Why not?"
"We do not disturb the water."
He again glanced at the calm water partially hidden under mist. He had no reason to doubt Fourth-Far-Flier on this, so he remained silent.
Fourth-Far-Flier turned around a large, dark crystal and passed into a large side-cave, the bottom of which was flooded. The side-cave was very dark with only occasional light-rocks burning with light, mostly deep blue and purple. Most of them were under the waters, making for a very ominous look wherever the unknown depths of the lake were aglow.
Shadowwing was very relieved when the dark cavern slanted upwards and left behind the eerie lake entirely. A stream flowed down the slope from somewhere up ahead. The path also widened, brightened, and changed from rock only to having more soil and vegetation. Glowing mosses and mushrooms began sprouting all around the nearest crystals. A faint crashing sound also echoed from ahead.
Hmm, sounds like a waterfall.
The path grew so narrow that there was not enough room to safely fly side by side. Instead, they followed immediately behind Fourth-Far-Flier. The constant roar of a waterfall grew louder until they could see one ahead.
The Light Fury dove for the ground before the waterfall, so they followed him down and waited behind him at the narrowest part of the passageway.
"Wait here. This one will bring the guards," Fourth-Far-Flier said.
"Okay," Shadowwing answered.
Fourth-Far-Flier stepped forward and roared aloud at the waterfall.
Several moments passed in which nothing else happened, but it was clear that he had just announced their presence, likely to the guards.
Sure enough, four more Light Fury males slowly stalked through the falling sheets of water. Their wings were lifted in display, and their unsheathed claws clicked on the stone underpaw. These Light Furies were bigger than Fourth-Far-Flier, but they were still not as big or strong as himself or Was-Grounded. Night Furies were, simply put, bigger and stronger than Light Furies.
"Fourth-Far-Flier returns with the two dark wing Alphas," Fourth-Far-Flier announced.
The largest of the newly arrived Light Furies huffed and spoke, "You are known and expected. Welcome back, Fourth-Far-Flier. You may lead these dark wings."
The four guards stepped aside as Fourth-Far-Flier started walking, so he and Was-Grounded followed on paw through the waterfalls, as there were several in a row. A quick hop out of a depression carved by the water followed, they shook off the water, and they beheld the chamber inside.
Shadowwing stared, speechless and in awe at the truly massive chamber. The place was at first glance not so different from New Haven in that there were plenty of glowing crystals leaving the chamber very bright, soil and dirt throughout, a thick forest of glowing flowers and many other plants, ledges of different heights, and clean waters.
He could see Light Furies all throughout: gliding, washing in the waters, playing, and resting.
Amazingly, he even saw rows of edible mushrooms which had to have been tended such that they grew in rows. These Light Furies knew something of how to tend crops, which made sense given that they had probably lived here for... a very long time.
"This is a very big range," Was-Grounded huffed, impressed.
"This is only one of the ranges in the pack-territory," Fourth-Far-Flier explained.
"How many ranges are there?" Shadowwing asked, still in awe at how big and hospitable this place looked.
"Four others, all touching this one. Follow," Fourth-Far-Flier said.
They took flight and followed Fourth-Far-Flier properly into the Light Fury pack's territory.
The place had the same mystical feeling he recalled New Haven having when everyone first settled down there. The forest down below had the same trees, many of which bore edible fruits or nuts. Flowers, some as large as smaller dragons, glowed in all different colors.
He even spotted a distant corner of the chamber where it appeared that dozens of hidden world deer were left to graze. The Light Furies clearly understood how to keep their herds of prey alive without overly preying on them.
Great, this would be a perfect place for humans to live, if there weren't an entire pack of dragons already here.
His idle thoughts were interrupted when he saw more Light Furies, males and females, taking flight and following them. The Light Furies kept their distance though. It was probably not every waking-cycle that they had guests.
He had no way of knowing how many years the Night Fury skeletons had lain around where New Haven was. The fighting between the Night Furies and the monstrous dragons could have been centuries ago or only a few years before he first met Mimir. It could have been a long time since these Light Furies met any living Night Furies.
Fourth-Far-Flier led them over the expanse of edible mushrooms and the thick forest while new Light Furies, with hues of all different colors against their white color, joined the flight around them.
Was-Grounded kept his attention on the terrain of this range as they flew. The present part of the range had a central stretch of water in a gully. All around the water were multiple ledges on the sides of the range. The ledges and levels rose straight up from the gully, and had forests, ponds, caves, mushrooms, and light-rocks of their own.
It looked like there were groups of Light Furies going about various activities on the ledges. He saw some visibly smaller and younger Light Furies at play on one of the levels.
A flash of light came into view as they turned a corner into a large, flat stretch of forest without very big ledges or cliffs.
The light-rock growing from the middle of the expanse of thick trees and mushrooms was the kind of place where an Alpha would like to perch to watch over the flock. But there was no Alpha Light Fury on this light-rock.
He and Shadowwing had only guesses about what this Alpha was like, and even those guesses were only from what the Far-Fliers had hinted at. All he knew for certain was that this Alpha had five mates.
Fourth-Far-Flier led them down to the clearing on the ground before the light-rock. It looked like a place where members of the pack frequently came to speak with the Alpha or do a pack activity.
"Wait here. This one will bring Alpha."
"We will wait," Was-Grounded agreed.
Fourth-Far-Flier flew away from the crystal and towards what looked like the highest ledge at the edge of the chamber.
More Light Furies, more than he could count on his paws, were either circling above or already touched down. None made to approach him or Shadowwing though, likely because it was not their place to do so. The pack seemed to put much weight on following custom and only having certain people do tasks. It was likely that only the Alpha, or his speaker, would come to greet them.
However, he could not help but hear the mixed conversations echoing all around.
"What are those!" "They are real!" "Told you so!" "Were they burned dark?" "They came back?" "Dark wings!" "Two Alphas, twisted..." "Thought they were stories only."
He snorted and nudged Shadowwing's shoulder, "They are curious about us."
Shadowwing grumbled, "For now. I wonder if they will be so interested after they learn about us and the ground-kin."
"They probably know nothing of two-legs, so they will have no reason to fear ground-kin. Not fear of fighting anyway."
"True. I hope not."
A group of Light Furies appeared high above after a few wingbeats of waiting. The flight had emerged from that very high level that probably overlooked much of the visible range.
Several of the new arrivals landed on the light-rock while the others touched down in the clearing. It looked to him that the ones up on the light-rock were females while the ones before him on the ground included both males and females.
Looking around at all the visible Light Furies, maybe two tens so far, he realized that there were more group-roles inside the pack, apparently visible in the different groups forming around him. What was more surprising was that there were far more females than there were males. It was likely that many of the males were simply not present; rather, they were probably off on hunts, exploring as Far-Fliers, or doing other tasks for the pack.
There were several implications of the imbalance. For one, there was a good chance that he and Shadowwing could find Light Furies willing to fly back to the New-Haven-range. Rain-Eater and Moon-Dancer might be able to find mates from these Light Furies. As for male Light Furies for Aurora and Mist-Wings, he was not especially eager to find any.
One of the Light Furies, a strong male with yellow eyes and many hurt-marks, landed in front of the others and, leaving behind the guards and Fighters, calmly strode toward him and Shadowwing. There was a strength and certainty in this Light Fury's gaze and stride, all of which left no doubt.
This was the Alpha.
A long silence followed as he and Shadowwing stared toward the Alpha Light Fury standing before them. The Alpha was bigger than most of the males, had hurt-marks from claws on his side, and looked unafraid. But neither was he nothing but muscle; rather, the Alpha had a calm, thoughtful look about him, as though he was one to think and plan before striking.
He was not sure whether that was good or not. A weaker-thinking but very strong male, one who was nothing but a Fighter, was easier to trick.
"Welcome to our range, good dark wing Alphas," the Alpha declared.
Shadowwing purred, "You have our thanks for inviting us to meet you. We wondered much where the light wing pack ranged."
Alpha purred, "We keep to ourselves. Most kin live so in their own ranges, and there is peace as long as the different kinds do not meet or fly beyond their ranges. But some kin cannot be peaceful, no matter what the Alphas try."
Shadowwing considered his words and saw through them. The Alpha was not truly talking about other dragons keeping to their own territory; rather, he was talking about New Haven and the humans, and the possibility of humans spreading out further into the hidden world.
Did he summon us here because of the mission everyone else went on?
"Maybe true, but that does not mean the Alphas should not try for peace first," he said.
Alpha purred and rumbled slightly in apparent approval, "Yes, it is normally best for packs to live alone and in peace, never meeting. There is no rot in my Pack, so we need not go fight another pack. Peace, with no changes, is best for all."
While the message of peace was what he hoped to hear, there was an undertone in what the Alpha was saying that he didn't particularly like. However, Alpha's motivations were still unclear at the moment.
"Forgive us for not introducing ourselves. My name is Shadowwing."
"And I am Was-Grounded."
Alpha grumbled, "I have no name other than Alpha."
Shadowwing blinked in surprise, though he said nothing aloud at first. The Alpha has just referred to himself very differently from how the Far-Fliers did. Far-Fliers always impersonally referred to themselves as 'this one' or some variant instead of 'I'.
Maybe he has a special rule since he is the Alpha. Interesting. He would make an exception for himself.
"Do you not have a name other than your pack-role?" he asked.
"No, there is only the Pack. I have a special place in the Pack, since I must meet with other Alphas. What about your name-signs? Why do you have those name-signs?" Alpha respectfully asked.
Was-Grounded stretched out his left wing first. Even now, all these years after the injury had happened, there was still a faint bend in his wing's leading bone and the tiniest discoloration of scarring on the wing-skin. Fortunately, those faint remnants of his broken wing didn't so much as impact flight at all.
"Bad two-legs captured me and forced me to fight other sky-kin for my life. A fire-scale broke my wing. I was also grounded another time long ago in the past. My name is because I had a broken wing once and the other way I was grounded."
Alpha grunted, "So your name is almost a twisted-speaking: reminding you of the bad in your past while also saying that you are not that anymore. Instead, you are strong since you survived even being grounded. Do I speak truth?"
"Yes, but I would not say my name is a twisted-speaking."
Shadowwing chuckled and nudged his shoulder, "It is a little twisted to name yourself after a bad part of life, even if that bad is not a problem now."
"Not as twisted as if I had named myself Has-No-Teeth," Was-Grounded toothily grinned.
"What about Little-Cougher?" Shadowwing huffed.
"That would be even more twisted."
Purring with amusement, they looked to the very confused Alpha standing before them.
"And what about you, Shadowwing? What is the lift under your name?" Alpha asked after recovering himself.
"I... took my name when I was very lost in my life-flight. I did not know what I saw in my shadow, since I... had twisted thoughts about who and what I was. My name is somewhat like my brother's name. We both have names hatched from the past and which remind us of what was."
Alpha ruffled his wings, "I understand, even though you have very different customs than we do in the Pack. I am glad that you both flew here, for we have much to speak about. Was yours a long flight?"
Was-Grounded yawned widely with exhaustion. Theirs had been a very long flight over a couple waking-cycles. And Alpha was correct that he and his brother were not as used to very long flights as the leaner Far-Fliers were.
"It was a long flight. Do you want to begin our Alpha-talks now?"
Alpha huffed, "No. You are tired and need rest after your flight. There is a cave you may stay in while you are guests with us. I will lead you there when you are ready. Do you need to eat?"
"We ate before the flight, but we would not turn our tails on a pawful of fish," Was-Grounded answered.
Alpha purred, "Good. I will have Helpers bring you what you need. You deserve that much as guests of the pack."
"Helpers? What are those?" Shadowwing asked.
"They are females who help keep the pack living by bringing food, providing for guests, and tending to needs. Most male pack-roles, such as the Fighters, Hunters, and Far-Fliers, could not be without the Helpers helping them."
Shadowwing tried to think about human equivalents for the pack's roles. He wasn't sure where to place such a handywoman or helper who saw to general needs of other groups. The idea that people would have specific roles they specialized in was not a foreign one though. Everyone had specific roles back on Berk and in both Havens. Further, he was sure there were in this pack many more roles he didn't know about. There was time to learn all about that later.
Alpha continued, "Do you mind if we briefly speak, Alphas to Alpha, before you both rest?"
"Yes, we should speak. We both want to learn about your pack and your pack-ceremonies," Shadowwing explained.
"And I will tell you about them after a sleep-cycle. Yours was a long flight, and you must be tired. I will lead you to your cave."
"We are. You have our thanks, Alpha. We will follow you," Was-Grounded said.
The Alpha Light Fury turned to the side and barked a command. The many Light Furies gathered all around began taking flight at the conclusion of this greeting.
Was-Grounded and Shadowwing followed Alpha up into the sky. They were joined by a pawful of males and the females that had been perched on the crystal throughout the welcoming.
Alpha led them all up toward the highest ledge which was hidden from below.
Shadowwing started in surprise when the highest level came fully into view. This was, unsurprisingly, likely the best place in the entire chamber. Plants, trees, and mushrooms of all colors grew throughout. The ground and rocks were covered by mosses and vines. Crystals burned with different colors throughout the ledge; there was even one small crystal that stuck out from the ledge and looked like a very good place to perch. A series of ponds and pools dripped into each other, eventually leading to a small waterfall that fell down to the distant ground.
Finally, all the way at the back and edge of the ledge, several large caves grew into the rock wall. The mouths of the caves were big enough to freely fly into.
Alpha led them to the cave to the side of the ledge and near the small waterfall. The three of them landed in that cave while most of the others who followed them landed on the ledge itself.
The cave was not very deep, having only maybe ten nose-to-tailtip lengths of depth until the end of the cave. There was also nothing in the cave, no large boulders or rocks, though there was a slight bend in the cave.
"Look at that view," Shadowwing breathed as he perched on the edge of the drop.
Was-Grounded stood beside him and purred. The mist from the waterfall burned with different colors from the nearby light-rocks, the forests glowed nearby and far down below, and Light Furies were visible as patches of white all throughout the sky, forest, and distant waters.
Alpha stepped alongside them, "This is the cave we let guests from other packs stay in and use while they are here. We have not had others in this cave in... many life-making cycles."
"Why not?" Shadowwing asked.
"We have been alone ever since well before the last High-Alpha flew to us. There is enough for the pack to always live stably in our five ranges. We also guard against the darker and deeper beyond."
"What beyond?"
Alpha growled, staring off into the distance, "You cannot see the place from here, but there is a great cave-mouth in the furthest range that is ours. That cave leads to ranges very, very far from here. The pack-stories say that there are bad-twisted kin in those far ranges. We watch that cave-mouth and stop anything from... flying out of it."
"What bad-twisted kin?" Shadowwing warily asked.
Alpha faced him, "Almost like you dark wings, but not your kind."
He and Was-Grounded stiffened.
"Have you ever seen one?" Shadowwing whispered.
Alpha huffed, "I have not. None of us have seen or heard any of those bad-twisted kin in that cave and those far ranges, but there were in the past. That does not mean they are truly gone. Some of our Far-Fliers or Fighter who go on flights to the darker and deeper do not return. Some die. Such is life."
Shadowwing nodded, "We understand. I... met that Highest-Alpha before he died. He told me that the monster-kin, the ones that lived to hunt dark wings and light wings, are all dead now. We killed the last one."
Was-Grounded growled, "That is how I got one of the hurt-marks on my back."
"And my sky-light hurt-marks," Shadowwing added.
Alpha silently looked them over, seeing all the various scars and injuries in their collection. The Light Fury was suddenly very pensive, though it was unclear why.
"Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, you can help me understand something. You have both fought many fights and have many hurt-marks, but neither of you wants to be the Alpha of your pack and range. Why not?"
"We are both Alphas in different parts of life. I am the Alpha for more of the... sky-kin, and Shadowwing is the Alpha for the ground-kin, what you call the two-legs," Was-Grounded explained.
"But why do you not fight each other?" Alpha prodded.
"Because we are brothers," Shadowwing answered.
"Brothers. You are... nestmates?" Alpha warbled, apparently in confusion.
"Yes, eggmates even. We hatched together from one egg," Was-Grounded said.
Alpha blinked in surprise, "Twisted. There are almost no true nestmates in the pack."
"What? Why not?" Shadowwing asked.
"Because of our ceremonies about egg-making. I can explain it later, but we have rules for how eggs are made. Those rules usually stop the same male and female from making more than one egg. I am different since I have mates of my own."
There was much Shadowwing was curious about and wanted to know, but that would have to wait. He was also uncomfortable with the idea of the Alpha having multiple mates. But it should not have been surprising that powerful leaders of tribes could have a harem. That was not a custom that the Hooligans of Berk had followed, but some of the tribes in the Archipelago did indeed have male Chiefs take multiple wives. Dragons were no different.
"What about you both? How many mates and young do you have?" Alpha kindly asked.
Uh... right...
"I have one life-mate: a light wing named Luna. We have four young."
"So you are the one who took the light wing as a mate," Alpha said.
Shadowwing softly growled, "Do you think that is bad or twisted of me?"
Alpha paused before answering, clearly considering his words before he spoke, "No, it is not. The light-dark joining was a rare one. There was not much trust between this pack of light wings and the dark wings, at least the ones that were beyond in the range you claimed. We remember how the surviving dark wings turned tail on us."
A moment passed before they understood what Alpha had just revealed.
"Wait!" "What?"
Alpha grunted, "Yes, there were dark wings who lived past the fighting. They blamed us for not killing more of the monster-kin. They left us and stopped mixing with us at all. They now live in other ranges."
"Mixing? Pairing with you?" Was-Grounded clarified.
"That and more, like hunting prey and watching our young together. The dark wings flew from us and took all their mixed-kin kind with them, leaving only us light wings behind. That hurt this pack since the mixed-kin young are special."
Shadowwing stared at the Alpha in awe at this revealed news. Not only had Night Furies and Light Furies been close before, but they had even paired off in the past. However, the Hunters had killed many Night Furies before the Light Furies could help, or something like that had happened. The surviving Night Furies turned tail on the Light Furies out of spite, pain, or some other reason.
"Do you know where the dark wings are?" he eagerly asked.
"I know where some were, but not now. There are many ranges beyond in the distance where we never fly. Was-Grounded, what about you and your mate?" Alpha asked.
"My life-mate is named Green-Wings. She is a dark wing. We have six young."
Alpha huffed, visibly surprised by something, "You both have only one female? Why only one? Wait, I might know. Are the only other female dark wings and light wings in that range your life-water kin?"
"They are," Shadowwing answered.
Alpha grunted in apparent understanding, "That has lift. They would not be the best mates for you. Still, it is not good that Alphas as big and strong as you not have more mates. I could have females sent back with you as gift-mates when you leave here."
"Thank you for the offer, but we do not need more mates," Was-Grounded huffed.
Shadowwing grumbled, "Speaking of mates, we see your pack-ceremonies about not having life-mates or pairs as very twisted. We are not... words-flaming you or the pack, but we do not understand why you or the pack live that way."
Alpha did not appear to take offense as he shrugged his wings, "We have our customs that work for us. You flew from the above, I believe. Life in this world needs control of desires and nest-sizes. Life-mate pairs do not think enough about the pack since they fly their flights for each other first. The only way to not become too many is to not allow mate-pairs at all."
"That is... very twisted..." Shadowwing said.
"We can control ourselves. We know how to not make too many eggs," Was-Grounded added.
Alpha chuckled and faced them, "Maybe you can, but there is more than just the egg-making. Mate-pairs distract each of the pair from the needs of the pack. There is nothing other than the pack, after all. We all live only... for the pack."
Shadowwing grumbled, "Well, we probably will not agree on that, but that is not why we flew here."
Alpha yawned, "True, our packs have different customs. I will explain our ways more to you if you want to hear them and understand."
"Please do next waking-cycle. A question for now, have you ever had a pair of light wing mates named Hope-In-His-Liver and Paws-At-Bright-Flowers fly to your pack?"
"Not many pairs have flown to us, and I do not know those name-signs. Why are you asking about them?" Alpha asked.
"They are Luna's sire and dam. We do not know if they live."
"As I said, I do not know those name-signs. I will ask my Far-Fliers if they have met a light wing pair by those name-signs."
Shadowwing purred, "You have my thanks."
Alpha glanced over to the ledge where a number of Light Furies were patiently waiting, "Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, stay here in the cave and be comfortable. I will come back soon. I would prefer if you stay here and not... wander the range."
"That almost sounds like a threat," Was-Grounded calmly said while glaring at him.
"Brother, I am sure there is a reason. True, Alpha?" Shadowwing countered.
"Yes, as I said earlier, many in the pack do not trust dark wings or do not know you. They might try to flame you without knowing first that you are allowed here. I will tell them that you are guests of the pack."
"Fine. We will stay here," Was-Grounded agreed.
Alpha flew over to the ledge and began speaking with some of those waiting for him. Shadowwing and Was-Grounded trotted deeper into the cave and found comfortable places to curl up after flaming the rocks for warmth.
"Think he believed it?" Shadowwing chuckled, getting himself into a more comfortable position.
"The good-Alpha, bad-Alpha trick? Maybe, but I do not care. Did you hear what he said? There might be more Night Furies out there somewhere!" Was-Grounded exclaimed, his tail swaying wildly.
Shadowwing purred deeply, feeling the warmth in his heart at the faint possibility that there might be more of their kind... somewhere.
"We should have known that not all Night Furies lived in the above. Some of us must have survived the hunter-monsters in the hidden world."
"True! We are fighters! But I wish... I wish we knew where the other Night Furies are hiding. We could fly to them! Maybe our children will find them."
"They might. Alpha might also know more than he said," Shadowwing whispered.
Was-Grounded grumbled and faced him, "What do you think about him? He is hiding much from the pack."
Shadowwing rumbled to himself in thought while considering what he knew about Alpha, "Yes, he is... tricking the entire pack, but he does not seem very, very bad. His having five mates, and the pack customs about mate-taking and the names of all in the pack are all very twisted. But we do not know enough about him and the pack yet."
"True, we are only here to make peace between our pack and this one. How they live on their own is not for us to think about," Was-Grounded agreed.
Shadowwing turned to him, wondering about that detail, "What if... what if this pack had very twisted customs? What if they were doing bad like... killing their own and eating their young. Should we stay out of that and let them do what they want even though we believe them to be doing bad?"
"How would that bad touch our life-flights? The light wings are staying here in this range."
"Does bad always stay in one place? What if bad is like a sickness that flies from those who are sick first and then makes others sick? What if all who live are connected and touch life-flights, somehow?"
"What?" Was-Grounded wondered.
Shadowwing paused to gather his thoughts, "Think about it like this: what if I wanted to start hurting myself? Is that my choice which you should respect and let me do, or should you jump in and stop me from hurting myself?"
"I would stop you from hurting yourself."
"Why?"
"Because you are my brother and my kin. Because you have Luna and your children who need you."
"Yes, you would not respect my choice. My hurting me would hurt others. I wonder if allowing bad to happen in private or secret does still hurt everyone."
Was-Grounded nodded after a moment of thought, "Maybe if you knew that true bad was happening and you choose to not stop the bad, then that not acting would hurt your life-fire. But remember that you cannot change everyone."
Shadowwing lay his head on his paws, "True, maybe all we can do is live as we believe is best, tell and show others what we believe is best, and not care if they are offended or challenged by our new, different way. Those who will change will change if our way is better."
Motion got their attention at the mouth of the cave. Alpha had returned as he said he would, but he was also leading four females, all with fish in their jaws.
"How is the cave?" Alpha asked.
"It is good for rest. The ledge where we sleep in our home-range is darker, but it is also not a cave," Shadowwing explained.
Alpha gestured with a flick of his tail for the other Light Furies to come forth, so they did and stood out of the way at the side of the cave.
"Good. These Helpers have your fish and will see to your needs while you are my guests. They will show you where to drink water and relieve yourselves, and will help with anything else you want."
Shadowwing purred, glad that they would at least be shown around, not that he wanted to stay here longer than was necessary for the inevitable peace talks to finish.
"When will we talk about why you summoned us?" he asked.
"We will talk after you are both rested. Take as long as you want. None will disturb you," Alpha purred and departed from the cave.
The fish-bearing female Light Furies got to their paws and approached as soon as Alpha was gone. Each of the four females was subtly different from the other three. One had a faint blue hue to her wings, another had distinctly orange eyes, another had silver spots on her hide, and the last one was very plain with no noteworthy markings or colors, though she had deeper blue eyes. None of the females had any scars or scratches.
"Alphas," they each softly said after dropping the fish at their paws.
He and Was-Grounded each ate two of the plump fish they were brought.
"Thank you for bringing us the fish," Shadowwing purred in thanks.
"We are doing our duty for the pack," the blueish-winged female purred.
"You are the first dark wings any of us have ever seen," orange-eyed one added.
The silver-hide female was busy licking her shoulder.
Was-Grounded chuffed, "We are a special sky-kin kind. There are not many of us now."
The plain female, silent until then, faced Shadowwing and mildly spoke, "You both flew from... the far beyond ranges, true?"
"Beyond where?" Shadowwing asked, trying to reassure her.
"Beyond where our pack lives," she clarified.
The other three Light Furies snorted dismissively.
"You would ask about that." "We should not go there." "The beyond is not important."
Shadowwing glanced at Was-Grounded and shrugged, amused that there were such different opinions about the unknown. It was very likely that they had lived sheltered lives, never needing to go beyond what they knew. Their range was their safe space, so they didn't know much of the rest of the world. But they would be curious about it.
"Yes, we flew from the beyond. Am I correct that you do not fly beyond much?" he asked.
The plain female ruffled her wings in a shrug without looking away from him, "None of us are in pack-roles that need flying beyond. We... Helpers know our place in the pack."
"There is much I can tell you about the world beyond. We both can. True, brother?"
"We can tell you if you want to listen to us," Was-Grounded agreed.
Blueish-winged Helper leaned closer to Was-Grounded, "If that is what the Alphas wish. We are here for you and anything you want."
Silver-hide Helper stepped before Shadowwing and preened slightly, "But we want to do more than only listen to you talk to us."
"What do you mean?" Shadowwing asked, confused.
Silver-hide Helper purred, "We have been eating no-eggs berries. There is no danger of eggs."
"And it is our privilege to first be with Alphas. We have not been with a male yet," the orange-eyed one added as she stretched before Was-Grounded.
Huh? What...
Shadowwing froze the moment the silver-hide female started licking his neck. Was-Grounded similarly froze when the blueish-winged and orange-eyed ones, purring deeply, started nuzzling him.
It was clear why these females were here. Perhaps they were truly here to see to needs for water or to show them a proper place to relieve themselves, but the females were also here to provide... other favors. Favors appropriate for Alphas to enjoy without consequences? These females looked and smelled so alluring, so tempting.
They barked in alarm, hopped back from the females, and firmly sat down, too shocked even to bare their teeth or growl at them.
"What are you doing!" Was-Grounded shouted.
"We have life-mates!" Shadowwing bellowed.
The silver-hide, orange-eyes, and blueish-winged females winced and whined softly as they hopped back in apparent confusion.
"Sorry..." "Apologies..." "Alphas..."
"What! Why are you trying to... do that?" Shadowwing exclaimed.
"We are only doing what we were told to do," silver-hide whimpered.
"Told by whom?" Was-Grounded growled.
"Alpha told us to... see to your needs, all of them. Even this, if you want it," orange-eyes softly explained, staring at her paws.
"We do not! So do not try that again!" Shadowwing declared.
"We will obey, as you command," silver-hide agreed.
"Then go. Leave us alone in this cave," Was-Grounded huffed.
None of them immediately moved.
Blue-winged slowly began, "We cannot totally leave you, not without breaking our role-rules. One of us at least must stay with you. That one can bring the rest of us if you... need anything. I will stay with you."
"And I will stay," silver-hide volunteered.
"I can stay," orange-eyes added.
Shadowwing started pacing, not liking where this was going. Letting any of these females stay in the same cave as him and his brother felt wrong, considering what almost happened. At least the females were being more reasonable now and not... being too pushy about... wanting either of them.
"It is our choice which of you, if any, stays. Can that one... wait for us on the high ledge outside the cave?" he huffed.
"Yes," blue-winged answered.
Was-Grounded lifted a paw and pointed at the plain female, the one who had hung back and not started showing interest, "You... you will stay with us. The rest of you go now. We will tell your packmate here if we need anything."
The blue-winged, orange-eyes, and silver-hide females obediently bent their heads, spun away, and dashed out the cave, taking flight for somewhere else.
Silence followed as he and Shadowwing stared at the remaining female Light Fury. She was calmly sitting on her rear. She alone among the females had not shown any interest toward them. However, she looked very confused, her ears swept back and tail stilled at her side.
"What is happening?" Shadowwing asked her.
"What do you mean?" she asked back.
"You know what I mean. Why did you... those females want to be with us?"
She grumbled while staring at her paws, "That is... part of our pack-role. We must tend to needs, even that one."
Shadowwing stared at her in renewed shock at what he just heard. His understanding of pack-roles had just gotten far more clearer and more terrible. Was that really an expectation of all the females in that role?
Was-Grounded hummed at her, "But what about you? You did not show any wanting or try to twist our thinking."
She almost immediately answered, but instead she caught herself, "This one... is only obeying what you Alphas ask for. You... did not ask for mating, so... this one does not offer it or... show wanting."
"That is not all. You are not saying something," Was-Grounded prodded her.
She warily glanced to the mouth of the cave. Apparently satisfied, she slowly padded closer to them while staring at her paws.
"This one... would tell the dark wing Alphas that they should avoid eating any more fish they do not catch themselves," she whispered.
"Why not?" Shadowwing asked, confused.
"Because... you might... get sick. This one... cannot say more," she whined.
"Wait. Are we in danger here? Will the pack try to hurt us?" Was-Grounded hastily asked.
"Hurt you? No, but... do not eat... the fish."
She looked like she was getting distraught or disturbed, so Shadowwing decided he had heard enough. He was sure there was something different about this female; that much was clear from how she was the only one of the four who had restraint and was now confiding something in them.
"You have our thanks. Will you go to the ledge and leave us? We will find you if we... need anything, like a guide to water or a place to relieve ourselves."
Clearly grateful, she bent her head and stepped back from them, "If the Alphas ask it of this one."
She turned halfway to the side and paused, suddenly frozen as she glanced back at them. She stared at them and hung her head.
"You could have claimed all of us just for fun. Why did you not?" she whispered.
"We have life-mates, and we will have no other," Shadowwing calmly explained.
A long silence followed as she glanced, wide-eyed, between them. She struggled to speak and again glanced aside to make sure no one else was in the cave.
"This one... no... I like that," she whispered, spun around, and vanished outside the cave.
Shadowwing immediately spun on Was-Grounded and stared at him in a stupor, struggling to find the words, "What just happened?"
"Much. She does not like the twisted-thinking of the pack. She is not like the other three were."
"She wants us to keep that a secret. What was her warning about the fish? I did not smell any rot in them. Did you?"
Was-Grounded grumbled, "No, but she would probably know better than we do."
"She would not have warned us for no reason. Or... maybe she is the trick. Maybe Alpha wanted us to think well of her so that we trust her," Shadowwing proposed.
Was-Grounded reluctantly nodded, seeing the lift in such a trick, "That could be, but she did not feel to me like she was being false. I agree that there is likely no true danger to us here. The Alpha or his Fighters would have already done something if they planned to fight us."
Shadowwing sighed, covering his head with his tailfins, "We do not know enough to say yet, but the more I learn about this pack the more rotted or twisted it feels."
"I agree. We will learn more next waking-cycle."
"I still cannot believe that they wanted to... mate us!"
Was-Grounded huffed in amusement, "They offered us that because we are Alphas, probably. They were probably told to offer us that as a gift from the Alpha."
Shadowwing growled at that obvious implication. The idea of any female Light Fury being used or compelled in that way hit far too close to his heart, given all that Luna had endured many years ago under Drago Bludvist's forces.
"Probably. That pack-custom is so very rotted and twisted!"
Was-Grounded nodded, "Forcing them to offer that is twisted, yes. I can understand the gift-giving by the Alpha as a way to make pack-peace only if the females wanted to do that for the pack. Not that I would do that or push my daughters to be like those females."
"Nor would I," Shadowwing agreed, closing his eyes and trying to relax.
It had been a long waking-cycle for them both, and nothing truly important had yet happened. There were likely to be lengthy negotiations next along with more learning about how this pack lived.
While there was obviously a lot about the pack's ways that he already didn't approve of, this pack had been living here in the hidden world for possibly many centuries. There were surely lessons about sustainability that he could glean from how this pack lived.
Further, there was something about that plain Helper who was different from the others. He suspected they might see her again before too long.
Shadowwing woke up after a long, refreshing nap. He didn't know how long they had slept, since they had been very exhausted after the long flight to the Light Fury pack's range. It was now time for their normal routine after waking up.
He rolled his eyes after getting to his paws and stretching. The drama about three of the females trying and completely failing to seduce them was very much on his mind. That would make for a good story to tell everyone once... or maybe not.
Nope. We should not tell our mates about that. Three is no reason to make them want to kill anyone.
Just the thought of that strange, nameless female licking his neck was so wrong. Only Luna had the right to do that!
"Brother, you awake?" he asked.
"No."
"Good, ready to go?"
Was-Grounded reluctantly got to his paws and yawned widely, "If you are. Think that good female is still there?"
"Hopefully. I do not want any of the others to lead us anywhere."
They left the cave together and winged the short distance over to the Alpha's ledge. Unfortunately, the female Light Fury waiting for them was the orange-eyed one; she was one of the ones who had been showing interest toward Was-Grounded. There were several males also present, standing a short distance behind the female.
She hopped to her paws and respectfully bowed to them once they landed, "Alphas, how can this one help you?"
"You can lead us to water and to wherever we should go to relieve ourselves," Was-Grounded answered.
"The water falling from Alpha's ledge is good for drinking and not fouled. Waste goes into the ground to be food for plants and mushrooms. This one will lead you."
Shadowwing glanced at the nearby stream.
Practical. We do the same in New Haven.
Was-Grounded nodded toward the males, "Who are they?"
"Those are Fighters. Alpha sent them here to follow us to make sure you are not bothered by any others."
They glanced at each other.
"Yes, I am sure that is his reason," Was-Grounded grumbled as he strode to the water.
As she had assured them, the water was good and clean, so they drank their fill and returned to her.
"If you would follow this one," she said before she took flight.
They followed her at a respectful distance as she led them over the long stretch of forest. Plenty of Light Furies saw them on the wing while keeping their distance. Apparently, the word had been spread that he and Was-Grounded were not to be bothered or mobbed. They were thankful for that, especially after the attention they had been shown before going to sleep.
The guards, the Fighters, flying a distance behind them probably helped. They both understood that these guards were here not only to keep them safe, but also to keep them from... wandering.
They eventually came to a dirt clearing underneath a patch of large mushrooms. There were a series of shallow pits dug underneath the large mushrooms.
Their guide touched down on the edge of the clearing and pointed with a paw at the pits.
"Use one of those. This one will wait for you here," she said as she sat down.
Shadowwing was very pleased that she and the other Light Furies gave them some privacy to do what needed doing. They returned to her side after finishing on their own, and she wordlessly guided them back toward the high ledge where the long talks would take place.
All along the flight back, he took note of the Light Furies he could see as they went about their unknown tasks. Excluding the handful of guards, he couldn't see more than a dozen Light Furies, likely because the pack's territory spanned five large chambers the sizes of which he had no idea. The rest of the pack was certainly spread throughout those chambers.
For all he knew, each of the chambers could be as large as New Haven's territory, which was alone very large. This first chamber they had seen part of probably wasn't as large as all of New Haven. He had no idea how large the pack itself was, but he was sure to find out very soon.