New commission, and AHHH! I'm so looking forward to this one.
The rating covers likely violence, possible deaths and a probable smut scene. Just so you know.
Set maybe five or six years after Valka was taken? When she's settled in to life with dragons and is super duper at flying.
-HTTYD-
Shoving the handle of a wooden spoon between her teeth, Valka poured the liquid over the cut on her arm and hissed in pain, biting down hard on the wood. She really needed to get some better protective armour, though something strong enough to offer protection from sword and arrow while being light and flexible enough to fly and fight in wasn't an easy mix, especially for a woman who'd never really bothered with armour before her new life.
It wasn't deep enough to need stitches, thankfully, and she managed to dress it well enough that she could use both hands to treat the wounded dragons. Cloudjumper followed at her side, occasionally helping restrain a particularly distressed dragon so Valka could treat them better.
When she was finished, she dropped down heavily next to the fire, Cloudjumper and a few other dragons coming around her to rest. Discovering the rampant hunting and commodity trading of dragons was a fairly recent thing for her, after spending the last couple of years getting better at flying and exploring more of the world, finding more and more kinds of dragons and learning all of their secrets.
That was when she stumbled upon that hellish place, pretty much by accident. They were flying along in the middle of the night, and Cloudjumper started fussing oddly. After a minute, Valka realised she could hear cries of pain and distress, distinctly non-human.
"Where's that coming from?"
She asked, and Cloudjumper immediately turned toward the sound, diving them both down until they landed on a small island. The sounds were louder, and the smell was awful. Valka was used to the smell of dragons after years sharing a nest, but that had been something else entirely. There was a thick layer of fear in the air, and something else Valka couldn't identify right away.
And honestly, she sort of wished she never found the source.
Dragons, dozens of them, packed in cages. Some alone, others crammed in so tightly they couldn't move at all. Many muzzled. Some wounded, others clearly dead. There were a few dragons Valka's heart broke even further for, those trapped in cages with other dragons that had already died.
She couldn't walk away.
"Keep a look out Cloudjumper."
Her dragon nodded, folding his wings in close and peering around. There were only a handful of dragons with her, and aside from territory disputes around nesting season, there was never really much fighting in their lives.
Valka crept over to the first cage, trying to comfort the dragon - a Deadly Nadder - inside. The lock wasn't very complicated. It didn't need to be, it was for keeping dragons in, not keeping people out. They probably never expected somebody to try.
"Hush, hush. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm going to open the door, you need to be quiet, alright?"
The dragons in her nest understood her well enough, but Valka wasn't sure how much these dragons understood. Easing open the cage door, she held her breath and was relieved the hinges didn't creak too loudly. Her stomach turned passing those she was much too late to help, but she'd opened a dozen cage doors before Cloudjumper began to shift unhappily, letting out a short rumble of warning to Valka that alerted her they were no longer alone.
"Hey!"
"Cloudjumper, stall them!"
She'd never asked him to do such a thing before, but he didn't hesitate for a second before spewing flames along the ground, giving light to Valka and forming an obstacle between those who wanted to keep their caged dragons.
In the midst of all the pain, Valka felt a spark of hope, a reminder of why she'd chosen the life she did, when she saw the dragons too wounded to fly being helped by the others. An arrow whizzed inches from her head, knocking the breath clean out of her but Valka managed to open the last cage before turning to see Cloudjumper looking very, very angry. He knocked several of the angry, armed men down with his long tail, already rearing up again to fight them off.
"We need to go!"
If she wasn't mistaken, Cloudjumper actually rolled his eyes at that, but he didn't argue, lowering his head for Valka to climb up on the back of him as they took off. As they dodged a few more projectiles, Valka realised several of the rescued dragons were following them.
Well, at least they'd be safe.
They flew all the way back to the nest, completely exhausted but as she stumbled down from Cloudjumper's back on shaking legs, Valka was ecstatic. Devastated by the awful fate those dragons had been resigned to if not for the pure chance of her coming across their captivity, but they were free, and safe now! Gods, how good it felt to see them look around the mountain in wonder, to see the peace and tranquility, to meet their Alpha and be soothed by his huge, guarding presence. The Bewilderbeast looked to Valka, obviously expecting an explanation. She dropped on one knee and bowed her head in deference before explaining what she'd found.
Even the gentle giant was outraged, his sound of anger enough to disturb many dragons before he realised and calmed himself, the dragons following the Alpha and tension eased from the air.
And since that day, her life had changed from simply living with dragons to actively defending them, fighting by their side against the humans who wished them harm or wanted to use them for profit.
Or for war.
Valka quickly got far too used to the sight of those sails - a dragon's head with a sword running through the middle, the mark of the Dragon Hunters. They seemed to split their time between catching dragons to sell to the highest bidder, and catching dragons to tell to their master.
Drago Bludvist.
Valka made herself armour, both to hide her identity - she still had to venture in to towns and markets now and then for supplies - and to protect herself in fights. The staff she'd been working on as a way to see how much dragons could be taught to respond to sounds became something of a dual use weapon, that she also managed to make into something Cloudjumper could pick her up with.
Climbing around her nest, flying dragons and carrying heavy little hatchlings meant Valka was in pretty good shape already, and thankfully it didn't take her long to learn how to pick locks when the Hunters began using better ones on their cages. Cloudjumper, as it transpired, could pick locks anyway - his wing-tip claws were incredibly dextrous, and every time he managed to pop a lock quicker than Valka, her dragon gave her the smuggest look. He couldn't see her roll her eyes under her mask.
Once, just once, she tried to reason with one of them. He was wounded, and alone after breaking off from the others to chase after her. His features and tattoos were quite unlike anyone she'd seen before, even on her travels.
"Why do you do this? They won't harm you if you leave them in peace."
His answer was cruel, and Valka went from simple anger to absolute fury.
"These mindless beasts don't deserve peace."
Valka didn't remember raising her staff, or bringing it down hard on him. What she did remember was stepping back, armour and staff spattered with blood, emotions a strange tumbling mix of guilt and relief.
Guilt, because she'd killed him - when he was already wounded, no less.
Relief, because he'd never hurt another dragon again, and she knew that with absolute certainty.
She didn't have much time to dwell on those feelings, because they weren't finished with the 'raid'. So she pushed those thoughts aside, and they got on with it. The body lingered in the back of her mind all the while, even as they flew back. It was unavoidable to think about when they landed, and she had to take take off the blood stained layers. Her armour definitely needed improving, and possibly changing altogether - there was blood on her clothes underneath, where things weren't covered. That meant lots of places a weapon could get through.
Staring at the blood there, Valka weighed her thoughts against the twisting in her gut.
It wouldn't happen again, she decided. Not on purpose, at least. Sure, they'd caused wounds to some who were in the way, they had to, to save the dragons. But killing? On purpose?
Valka was better than that.
Wasn't she?
-HTTYD-
Intros are always the worst for length. Next should be better!