Hello y'all and welcome back to another chapter
I'm excited to show you this chapter as we return to a familiar place and also some interesting things happen in it. This chapter is on the longer side compared to the other one's in this block so keep that in mind.
Warning : There is a somewhat graphic description of near drowning near the latter half of the chapter and it starts at ""NO" Crystie cried out, flinging her bag onto Storm's back and sprinting over to where SwiftSpeed had gone under, diving in after him despite the protests." and ends at "Her vision was blurry and her head felt like it was spinning."
I don't think it's too bad but I'm just putting this up here just to make sure.
So, with all that out of the way, let's dive right into the things…
Chapter 14 – Stingers in the Snow
Dear Diary…
Helping out people is a good thing to do; It will help you build positive relationships and getting along with people around you. But sometimes, helping out can come at a cost…
Crystie let out a harsh sneeze as she walked out of the caves and into the open area. It was an early mid-February morning and Crystie was heading out to tidy around the lake; just try and make it neater and better looking. Everyone else was currently inside the cave, not wanting to come outside in the cold, even though it wasn't that bad in Crystie's opinion; It wasn't the coldest but it wasn't the warmest either.
The young viking picked up some twigs and put them under a random pine tree before going to find more. She breathed in a cool air; It felt somewhat nice.
Even though she felt good, something in the back of her mind kept bugging her but she couldn't pin point what or why. She pushed that feeling aside, it was no time for feeling sad; She felt like this day was going to go well and she wanted it to stay that way.
A chirping noise brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a small creature flying through the sky-hole. As it came closer, Crystie realised it was a Terrible Terror; or more specifically, Flint.
Flint was a male Terrible Terror that was a dark grey colour with black horns, paws, spikes, and vibrant yellow eyes; he was Clara's Terrible Terror. Clara had apparently met him a week or two after Crystie had left and using both him and Snowflake, Crystie and Clara communicated with each other through letters.
Speaking of letters, it seem Flint had one attached to his leg. Crystie held out her arm, letting the dark grey dragon perch on it, the dragon in question letting out a satisfied chirp.
"Hello Flint. It's good to see you" Crystie greeted while stroking Flint's chin, gaining a satisfied purr from the dragon.
Crystie removed the letter from his leg and Flint hopped to the ground and walked over to greet Snowflake who had come out. They nuzzled against each other then began walking away to probably chat.
The young viking smiled as she turned from the two dragons to the unravelled letter in her hands. The letter read as followed :
"Dear Crystie
How are you, I hope you're doing well.
I'm writing to you cause we have a slight situation here and my tribe could use your help.
I would explain more but I feel like it's easier to explain it in person as it's kind of complicated.
Please met us at the snowball field.
I hope you can here as soon as possible.
Kind regards, Clara"
Crystie's mind wandered as she finished the letter; What could they need her for? She didn't really have any outstanding areas of expertise except dragon knowledge, if you could count that as expertise. She mentally shrugged it off and rolled up the letter. Something swelled up inside her that made her feel happy; She was finally going to be around another actual human again. Whatever plans they had for today were going to have to be put on hold.
They were heading back to Winterstone.
A small while later, the group were flying over the ocean, heading towards their intended destination. The current group consisted of Crystie, Storm, Blue, Red, Rocky, Snowflake and Flint. After putting away the letter, the young viking had grabbed her parka and gloves, gathered up a few dragons and headed out; She wanted to get there as soon as possible.
Flint and Snowflake were flying ahead of the group, squawking loudly; Blue and Red were flying above Crystie and Storm while Rocky was flying on Storm's right. If Crystie had to guess, the twins seemed to be a bit near full grown, being a few inches shorter than Crystie.
Crystie streched her arms out and yawned "It's been a while since we've been to Winterstone, hasn't it?"
Storm nodded in response.
The young viking put her arms behind her head and laid down on the blue dragon's back "What do you think they need us for?" she questioned.
Storm shrugged and Crystie guessed that was a fair answer; Storm wasn't any more likely to know what was going on more than she was. Guess they'd know when they got there.
A while later, Winterstone Island came into view. The Island looked the same as ever; the vibrant white snow sparkling as the group descended towards the fields. Crystie looked over the village as they flew over it. People and dragons were walking about, together. A smile crept onto the young viking's face; It seemed like everything was going well.
Making it to the field, the group landed, making soft crunching noises as their feet sank into the snow. As Crystie plopped herself onto the ground, she could see Clara and Frosty walking towards them.
Clara looked the same as she did before while Frosty looked very different. For starters, he wasn't small anymore, he had grown quite a lot, being just above Clara's shoulders and his matured features were showing.
The two groups stopped a few feet away from each other, staring. Flint landed on Frosty's nose and the icy dragon gave a small greeting to the smaller dragon.
"Hello again" Clara greeted.
"Hello" Crystie replied.
There was a moment of calmed silence before both girls burst out laughing.
"It's good to see you again" Crystie said, nudging her shoulder against Clara's. Clara let out a chuckle.
"You too"
"So…" Crystie began "How have you been?".
"I've been good. You know, helping keep peace between my tribe and dragons and moving back into the city" Clara replied.
"That's good".
"What about you? What have you been up to?" Clara inquired.
"Oh you know, this and that. Meeting more dragons, all that good stuff" Crystie responded.
"Nice"
Clara continued on "Anyway, who are these new dragons you've brought with you today?".
Crystie clasped her hands together "Ah, right. Clara, Frosty, meet Blue, Red and Rocky" she introduced, pointing to the ones in question.
Blue and Red gave cheery roars while Rocky gave a somewhat grumpy acknowledgement.
"Nice to meet you" Clara greeted while Frosty gave a cheery roar in return.
"So…" Crystie began again "Why did you ask for me again?".
"Ah yes, that. I'll tell you about it when we get to Snowborough. Come on" Clara said, taking the young viking's wrist and began dragging her towards the forest.
Looking back at her dragons, Crystie saw that all of them, beside Storm and Snowflake were looking confused. The young viking just shrugged and motioned for them to follow as they continued to walk.
Walking down the stone tunnel, the group were making their way towards Snowborough City. Looking around, Crystie noticed that the area was well lit up, giving a clear view of the path and the carvings on the walls.
"I see you've lit up the place" she commented as they walked.
"Yeah well, we've been fixing up the place a lot and this was one of the ones that needed some work" Clara replied.
Crystie turned her attention back to the walls, looking at them carefully now that she could actually make out the details.
"Enough of the walls" she heard Clara say "You've gotta see how the rest of the city's been doing".
Once again, Crystie felt her wrist be grabbed and dragged, running down the tunnel. The dragons with them had to jog just to keep up. After a bit of running, the group came out of the end of the tunnel, still running at full force. Even though she'd seen it before, the view was still astounding.
She heard Clara chuckle "Still like the view I see".
"Well, I haven't exactly seen it many times" Crystie retorted.
"That's a fair point".
"I see you added a fence" the young viking pointed out, looking at the stone fence in question.
"Yeah well, health and safety ya know? Cant be having any more accidents" Clara explained.
Crystie nodded, remembering how Clara had nearly fell off last time.
Eventually, they made it to the entrance of the city. Crystie collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Clara said something but she couldn't make out what her friend was saying. Turning her head to her side, Crystie saw her dragons giving her concerned looks.
"I'm… fine… guys" Crystie breathed out before turning her head back up towards the ceiling.
A few moments later, Clara's head came into view.
"You alright down there?" she asked, looking down at Crystie.
"Yeah… just… trying to… get… air" Crystie gasped out, still laying flat on her back.
Clara rolled her eyes "You really need to get more exercise".
Crystie huffed as she sat up "I'm not the one that decided to drag me here while running instead of walking".
"True true but come on, we need to get going" Clara replied, holding out her hand.
Crystie took the hand was pulled up so she was standing "So, where exactly are we heading?"
"To see the chief" Clara said as they descended into the city.
Clara led them to outside a large building located near the docks. The building looked similar to the surrounding ones, with grey stone making up the main part of the building and dark grey stone making up the roof and details. This building had to seem some semblance of importance as it had a pair of Groncicle statues outside the doorway.
Leaving the dragons outside, Crystie and Clara made their way inside the building. The inside was somewhat gloomy, despite being lit by several torches. The current room they were in had several stone shelves with items like bowls, and plants. There was a stone bench on the wall to the left, a wooden table infront of the door and an archway to the right that had a small stone bench either side of it.
Crystie leaned over to Clara and whispered "What is this place?".
"Hospital" was Clara's answer.
"Why are we in a hospital?"
"You'll see" Clara replied as they walked into the next room.
Entering the next room, Crystie saw several people laying on cots dotted around the room with other people tending to them. The young viking spotted Alan on the other side of the room, looking over a person on a cot with what looked like a healer standing next to him.
"Chief" Clara called out as the two of them walked over.
Alan looked over at them before turning to the healer "We'll continue this another time. I have other business to attend to".
Nodding in understanding, the healer walked away and Alan turned towards the two girls as they stopped infront of him.
"Crystie, it's good to see you again" Alan said, holding out his hand.
Crystie took the hand and shook it "Good to see you too chief".
Alan broke the handshake and put his hands behind his back "I take it Clara has explained what our situation is?".
"No, she has yet to share that information with me" Crystie said, giving Clara the side eye. Clara just chuckled nervously.
Alan shook his head "Well, let me explain what's going on then".
He walked over to a cot nearby and beckoned them to come over which they did. When Crystie got closer, she looked at the person on the cot. The person had short blond hair, green eyes, was wearing a pale-yellow parka, brown trousers and dark grey boots. The thing that concerned Crystie was the fact they were very stiff, like they were frozen and their skin was unnaturally pale.
"What happened to them?" Crystie asked.
Alan sighed and began to explain "Yesterday, a group of our villagers were exploring up the other point of the mountain, they said they had spotted a spring up that way and they were making their way towards it, it was then a snowstorm started coming in. The group was heading back when they heard a high-pitched roar from somewhere around them. That was when some of the villagers started getting paralyzed. The Groncicles luckily protected the remaining villagers and the paralyzed ones since their icy hides meant they couldn't be paralyzed. The group managed to get away safely and come back here so we could help the paralyzed ones.".
"And what's this got to do with me?" Crystie questioned.
"Well, one of our witnesses said they saw something that they guessed to be some sort of dragon" Alan replied.
Crystie raised an eyebrow "Guessed?".
"Well, the person said it looked like a dragon" Clara interjected.
Crystie rubbed her hands over her face before clasping them together "So let me get this straight. You asked me, to come out here, in the middle of February, to help you out with a problem, that possibly relates to a dragon, based on a guess?".
"Yes" Alan said while nodding.
Crystie took in a deep breath before exhaling.
"So when we find these 'dragons', what do you expect me to do?" she questioned.
"We were hoping you would be able to tame them" Alan answered.
Crystie deadpanned.
"So you want me, a twelve-year-old viking, to go out into the wild, find a bunch of possibly aggressive dragons, and tame them?" Crystie stated.
"Yes"
Crystie took in a deep breath before grabbing Clara's arm "Excuse us for a moment".
The young viking dragged her friend to the other side of the room before turning to her.
"I know I've helped you guys out before, and I'd be happy to help you out again; but I think this is a bit above my pay grade" Crystie stated.
"You get paid?" Clara questioned.
"I wish I did but that's not the point" Crystie said "I know I may be a bit more experience with dragons than the regular person, but I aint a dragon whisperer or a miracle worker; I'm just a child".
"I understand that, but you're the only one that can help us" Clara said.
"How can I help? I'm just a kid" Crystie sighed.
"I know that. So am I" Clara stated "But if you don't help, then more people will get hurt and we don't exactly have the experience to deal with this ourselves".
Crystie sighed "Alright, I'll help; But don't expect me to be a messiah, I'm-".
"-just a kid, I know. But you're my friend and I think you'll be enough to help us" Clara smiled.
Crystie gave a small smile back and the two walked back over to where Alan was still standing.
"So, have you considered what we've said?" the chief questioned.
"Yes. I will try to help in any way I can" Crystie replied.
Alan smiled "Good. Now, this is what I think we should do…"
A small while later, the group were making their way through the forest towards the mountain. From what Clara had told Crystie, the mountain had two points; a small one and a big one; The smaller point was where Clara's tribe was located which was on the left side of the island, while the larger point was located on the other side of the island.
Crystie breathed in the cool air as they walked, enjoying the peacefulness of the forest. She and Clara were walking ahead of the group; Rocky and Frosty were behind them chatting; Infront of the two girls, Blue and Red were excitedly exploring the place; and finally, Storm was beside Crystie with Snowflake riding on her back.
The sun was high in the sky, casting a vibrant light around the area. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of dragons chatting and the crunching of snow.
"So, have you made any progress in finding your family?" Clara asked, breaking the silence.
All Crystie could do was stare at the ground and shake her head, letting out a sigh "No".
"Sorry for asking" she heard Clara say, a hint of regret in her voice.
The young viking lifted her head and looked over at her friend "No no, it's alright"
She sighed before continuing "It's just, like I said before, I have no clue where to start and I don't exactly have a lot to go off of".
Clara seemed to have a moment of thinking before she asked "Well, what do you know so far?".
Crystie pondered the question for a few moments and racked her brain; How much did she know?
"Well… For starters, I believe I had a dragon" Crystie stated.
Clara raised an eyebrow at that notion "What makes you say that?".
"Well, being around dragons just seems so familiar to me, even back when I hardly knew them; And I had this weird memory, dream thing? where I was riding a dragon that I don't currently know or remember" The young viking explained.
"What was the dream about?" Clara questioned.
"I'd rather not talk about it too much" Crystie murmured, her mind briefly drifting back to the emotions she'd felt.
Clara nodded in understanding "So that's all you know?.
Crystie nodded and Clara made a 'hmm' sound, like she was thinking.
"You're right, that is not a lot" Clara stated.
The young viking sighed and hung her head, looking at the ground as she walked "Yeah. You can see why I'm struggling to find them".
She felt someone pat her back and looked up to see it was Clara.
"You may not have much to go on, but don't let that stop you from trying" Clara said.
A small smile crept across Crystie's face "Thanks".
Clara chuckled "No problem".
Crystie lifted her head back up "Enough about me. I wanna hear about what've you've been up to".
Clara then became very nervous and looked away "You know… I've been good".
Crystie raised an eyebrow at that "You sure about that?".
"Y-yeah. I just met someone that's become an important part of my life" Clara replied, her cheeks becoming slightly dusted with redness.
That got Crystie curious "Oh, and who would that be?" she inquired.
Clara's face became redder than before "M-my girlfriend" she stuttered out.
That was a surprise, Crystie wasn't expecting that. Last time she'd been here Clara had had a crush on her and now she had a girlfriend; but Clara had mentioned in some of her letters about meeting a new friend.
"You have a girlfriend?" Crystie questioned.
Clara gently nodded and tried to bury her head in her hood.
Crystie chuckled "Aww, don't be embarrassed. I'm happy for you"
Clara looked up and caught Crystie's eyes "You are?".
"Of course I am. I'm your friend and why wouldn't I be?" Crystie answered, unsure of where her friend was going with this.
"It's just, I embarrassed both myself and you last time and I'm not sure how you'd feel after I put you through that" Clara admitted, looking away again.
"Hey, it's not your fault. You can't really stop your heart from deciding who it likes and who it wants to pursue. If you meet a person that you feel a connection to and you want to know, you should try and pursue that dream. And hey, if that person changes, go with it; In the end, your heart will know who it feels like you should be with" Crystie commented.
Clara looked up and the young viking saw a small smile creep across her face "Thank you Crystie, for understanding".
Crystie nodded "Of course. Now, tell me about this new girlfriend of yours"
Clara's face somehow turned even more red than before.
"Come on, at least tell me her name" Crystie said.
Clara looked off into the distance "Her name is Catherine but I call her Cathy".
She gave a wistful sigh before continuing "She's so wonderful. We met two weeks after I'd met you. She's about a year older than me and we clicked really well. She likes caring for the animals in the village like the reindeer and she also likes studying the other animals that live on the island like artic foxes and snow hares. I love her so much".
Crystie chuckled "I can tell".
Clara shook her head and cleared her throat "Anyway, we should continue going this way and then it shouldn't take too long to get to where we need to be".
Clara eye's narrowed as she continued looking into the distance.
"What is it?" Crystie questioned, wondering what her friend had noticed.
"Is that… It is!" Clara exclaimed, sprinting off ahead.
"HEY, WAIT FOR US!" Crystie yelled, running after her with the rest of their group following quickly behind.
Breaking through the edge of the forest, Crystie stopped to catch her breath. As she looked up, she saw what was infront of her. There was a gigantic ice lake that streched out beyond her far and wide, glistening in the sunlight. The young viking and the dragons were on the edge where the forest met the ice.
Crystie saw Clara gliding across the ice, being quite graceful in her movements; she also seemed to be in her own thoughts. Suddenly, Frosty darted past them and gently skidded onto the ice, beginning to glide also; He was also surprisingly quite graceful.
Clara seemed to have noticed the group as she glided over to them and stopped a few feet from the edge.
"Hey guys" she greeted.
"What are you wearing and what are you doing?" Crystie asked, glancing down to the strange boots on her friends feet; They looked like tight brown boots but they had the addition of a metal blade going along the bottom of the boot.
"Ice-skates and Ice-skating" Clara replied, doing a small twirl on the ice.
Crystie looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Ice… skating?" she question, the concept are foreign to her.
A look of confusion came over Clara's face "You… don't know what Ice Skating is?".
Crystie clasped her hands together and exhaled ""Clara; I don't know where I came from; I don't know where I'm supposed to go; I don't know a lot of things and I'm pretty sure my memory is as good as a wet piece of paper. You expect me to know what Ice Skating is?".
Clara seemed to ponder what the young viking said before answering "Yeah, you have a point".
Crystie continued "And besides, we need to get to the mountain as soon as possible so we don't exactly have time to do whatever this Ice-skating is".
The other girl shook her head "First off, we do have time as we don't exactly have a time limit; While yes, it would be better if we got this done sooner, we don't need to rush. And secondly; it'll be quicker if we go across the lake and it'll be more fun as well".
Crystie took into consideration what Clara said. It would be more efficient to go straight across than around and it would take less time as well.
"Okay" the young viking sighed "We'll go across".
Clara's face lit up, exclaiming a "yay" as she did a spin. She reached into her bag and held out another pair of brown Ice-skates.
Crystie raised an eyebrow "You just… have that on you?" she asked.
"Yes"
"The flint? Yeah I can understand that; But a whole pair of Ice-skates?" Crystie exclaimed.
Clara shrugged and Crystie just accepted the situation, taking the skates.
After a bit of a struggle, and some help from Clara, the young viking managed to get the Ice-skates on, putting her regular boots in her bag. Clara helped Crystie stand on the ice as the young viking was beginning to wobble. The young viking stuck her arms out to keep herself steady. She hear Clara snigger in the behind her which made Crystie turned and glare at her friend. Sniggering from her dragons could also be heard which made her turn and glare at them as well.
"If you think this is so funny then why don't you come out here and try this for yourself" Crystie yelled.
Blue and Red were about to jump onto the ice but Clara put her hand up to stop them.
"I don't think that's a good idea" Clara said.
"Why not?" Crystie questioned, managing to stand up straight.
"Well, since it's late February, the lake is less solid and is more likely to crack and break" Clara explained.
"AND YOU'RE JUST TELLING US THAT NOW?!" Crystie exclaimed.
"I know but it's not as bad as it sounds. If we put too much weight on the ice, that's when it'll break. Like me and you, we're fine; but too many dragons will cause too much wait" Clara replied.
"Ah I get it" Crystie commented.
She looked over at her dragons still on the shore and nodded at them which gained her a nod in return.
Extending their wings, Crystie's dragons lifted themselves into the air and began gliding over the lake very slowly. Crystie turned around an attempted to move herself forward but she just ended up tripping and falling on her face. The ice stung slightly. She grunted as she pushed herself up, the coldness of the ice not helping her in the slightest.
It was then she felt something grab her shoulders and helped her stand up and she quickly realised it was Clara. Brushing herself off, Crystie stood up straight, rubbing her face slightly from the impact. She looked over at Clara and realised she was sniggering at her.
"What's so funny?" Crystie questioned.
Clara calmed herself so she could actually speak "It's just, you're so bad at this".
Crystie huffed "Well, unlike you, I didn't grow up in the snow".
Clara chuckled "I guess that's a fair point".
The other girl held out her hand and Crystie raised an eyebrow at her.
"Since you're such a clutz, I think you'll be needing my help to get across" Clara explained, showing a small smile.
Crystie huffed, not wanting to take the hand but taking it anyway since she knew she'd never be able to get across by herself.
With that, Clara began skating across the ice, gently dragging Crystie along with her. The young viking felt her legs start to wobble at first but then she gradually started skating along with Clara, finding a good pace. They were gaining speed quite quickly and were gliding across the ice. Glancing upwards every once in a while, Crystie made sure the dragons were still flying above them. Occasionally, Frosty would glide past them, having an absolutely great time.
Out of nowhere, Clara flung Crystie forward, making the young viking stick her arms out to attempt to stay balanced. She did not want to fall over at this speed; that would hurt like hell. Clara then came up beside her and held onto the young viking's arm. Crystie stood up straight and Clara laughed at her. The young viking glared at her friend but she felt a small smile creep across her face.
They weren't in sync or the most graceful, but they were having fun. It was like she'd said earlier; she was just a kid; they were both just kids and kids were meant to relax and have fun.
The sun continued to move across the sky as the two girls continued to skate across the lake. They were getting close to the edge as it was coming into view.
Crystie sighed "Thank goodness. We're almost there".
"You wanna know what would get you there faster?" Clara suggested, a smirk creeping across her face.
Crystie looked over and felt herself go pale.
"Oh no, no no no no no no" Crystie warned, shaking her head in disagreement as Clara continued to have a smirk on her face.
And then, just like she did before, Clara flung Crystie forward, sending her flying across the ice. Crystie tried to stick out her arms and keep herself balanced but she ended up tripping; Her body went flying as she crashed into the edge of the lake, her head buried in a mound of snow.
After a few moments, Crystie pulled herself out of the snow and sat up, holding her head in her hand; that hurt. She rubbed hand over her face, feeling the scratches and soreness covering her face. Luckily, other than feeling sore, having some scratches and possibly a bruise; she'd probably be fine.
Clara came skating over with Frosty while Crystie's dragons landed on the snowy bank.
"Oh my. Are you alright?" Clara asked, holding out her hand.
Crystie grabbed the hand and grunted as she was pulled up "I'm fine, just a couple of scratches".
"Yeah, sorry about that" Clara nervously chuckled.
"It's fine, just don't do it again" Crystie advised, rolling her shoulders so they didn't feel stiff.
Storm rushed over her and began fussing over her, looking her over.
"I'm fine, I'm fine" Crystie reassured the blue dragon.
Storm seemed satisfied with that answer and stepped back to give Crystie some space. The two girls removed their skates and put their regular boots on. Crystie stood up at looked at the looming mountain infront of them.
"Looks like we're walking from here" Clara pointed out, also looking up.
"Unless you've got another way, then yes" Crystie replied.
Clara rolled her eyes "Come on then, it's gonna be a struggle to get up".
The tribe girl began walking up the slope with the dragons following slowly behind. Crystie was about to join them when a high-pitched roar caught her attention. Her eyes scanned around the area, trying to figure out where the sound came from.
"Is something wrong?" she heard Clara ask behind her.
"I thought I heard something" Crystie answered, still glancing around.
The same roar then echoed around the area and Crystie's eyes darted over to the mound of snow she'd created when she'd crashed; the noise seemed to be coming from there. Walking over to the mound, she knelt down next to it and peered into the snow pile. The snow mound shifted, like there was something inside.
A small, scaley head poked out from the snow and looked up at Crystie. Digging out the rest of the creature, Crystie held them in the palm of their hand. She recognized the creature as a baby Speedstinger.
The Speedstinger was very small, barely taller than Crystie's head; They were a bipedal dragon with strong looking legs and short arms; Their tail was somewhat long and ended with a pointy stinger; They had a fin adorning the top of their head, two smaller fins adorning the base of their back and a fin on the back of both of their legs; Both the dragons arms and legs had two claws on them each; The dragon was mainly dark blue, with a white underbelly and blue fins and red eyes. They also seemed to be a male Speedstinger.
"Well hello there" Crystie greeted the small dragon.
The small dragon let out a peep and it melted Crystie's heart; This dragon was just too cute.
"WOAH, IS THAT A BABY?" Clara suddenly exclaimed from right behind Crystie. When had she gotten there?
The baby dragon must've been spooked really bad as it stabbed Crystie's left hand with its stinger then jumped onto the ground and scrambling back into the snow mound. Crystie hissed and held her hand, looking it over. There was no major bleeding, just a small hole where the stinger had been; However, she could feel her hand going numb.
Clara came 'round to stand infront of the young viking and had a worried look on her face.
"Oh my thor, I am so sorry" she apologized.
Crystie hissed in another breath "It's fine".
She tried to flex her hand a bit but she could barely feel it.
"Well, the only downside to the situation is I can no longer feel my hand" Crystie said.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Clara asked, eyeing Crystie's hand.
Crystie tried to give a double thumbs up but her left hand didn't get the memo and died.
"I'm fine, but please stay back. I don't want you spooking it again" Crystie said, looking over at Clara.
"But-" Clara tried objecting but the glare Crystie gave her made her quiet down.
The young viking knelt down next to the snow pile and scraped away the snow, with her good hand, that was covering up the baby dragon. The small Speedstinger was shivering; whether that was from fear or the cold Crystie did not know.
"Shh. It's alright" Crystie tried reassuring the young dragon, holding out her good hand.
The baby dragon hissed and tried to sting her other hand but Crystie managed to get it out the way in time. She racked her brain; What could she do that wouldn't aggravate them more than they already are? An answer then clicked into place in her brain.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out some red wild berries she'd picked the day before and kept in her bag for emergencies. She put the berries in her hand and held it out towards the small dragon. They stopped hissing and began eyeing the berries curiously.
"Go on, it's for you" Crystie insisted.
The Speedstinger looked between Crystie and the berries before he edged closer and began digging into the berries; Crystie let out a sigh of relief.
After finishing up the berries, the Speedstinger stood up straight and chirped happily. Crystie scratched the underside of the baby dragons chin which made him purr. Crystie chuckled and removed it her hand, resting it on her knee.
"You wanna go back to your family?" Crystie asked.
The dragon nodded, wagging his tail happily.
"Alright. Let me pick you up and then we can make our way there" Crystie said.
She gently reached over and picked up the small dragon, putting him in her arms. She used her right arm to support the underside while her left arm supported his front. The small Speedstinger chirped and Crystie smiled down at him.
"I'm gonna name you SwiftSpeed" the young viking said which the small dragon seemed to accept.
Crystie stood up and turned to the others who were staring at her. Storm was looking slightly annoyed, probably at the aspect of another child to help take care of; Blue and Red looked excited at another dragon while Rocky didn't really seem to care that much.
On the other hand, Frosty seemed really curious about the dragon in Crystie's arms while Clara seemed surprised.
"Woah" Clara let out "You're really good at that".
"Really?" Crystie inquired as Red sniffed the baby; SwiftSpeed just squeaked in response.
"Yes. You're really good with bonding with dragons and understanding them" Clara commented.
"No not really; I'd just done what any other person would've done" Crystie shrugged, looking down at SwiftSpeed.
"But you didn't" Clara said, causing Crystie to look back up at her "You literally go up to dragons that could be dangerous or deadly and you just, make friends with them. I've never seen anyone do that"
Crystie shrugged "It was nothing. And besides, you've never left this island so your range of people is limited".
Clara raised a finger to argue but then probably realized she didn't have a point.
"Yeah, that's true" she commented, looking away in defeat. Crystie chuckled.
"Anyway, we should probably get going, we probably want to get there, do what we need to do and get back before nightfall" the young viking suggested.
"Right" Clara replied, standing up straight and began walking up the slope.
Everyone else quickly followed behind, making their way up. As Crystie walked beside her, Storm sent her a somewhat annoyed look; Crystie just rolled her eyes and kept walking.
As they walked up the mountain, Crystie explained to Clara what she figured out and what she knew.
The creatures that attack the other villagers were Speedstingers. Speedstingers were flightless dragons, relying on their speed and agility to move and hunt; and an interesting thing was that some Speedstingers could apparently run-on water. The small dragons did not have any type of fire so they use the stingers on their tails to paralyze their prey and enemies; How paralyzing the sting would be depended on the age of the dragon; For instance, a young Speedstinger could paralyze only a few limbs while an adult could paralyze the whole body. These dragons were pack creatures, living together, hunting in their packs and having a hive-like mindset.
Crystie found them quite interesting dragons. Clara had called her 'an absolute nerd' but the young viking didn't mind it; She enjoyed talking about dragons and learning about them and being with them, and nothing would stop her from doing that.
They were roughly near the top of the snowy slope, where Alan had said the previous group got to. The sun was starting to set, bathing the entire island in a warm light.
Eventually, they reached the point where the two points met, a small gap between the two large points; The area was similar to the mountain area back on Crystie's own island but this area was much smaller and had less things in it; There was only one somewhat small entrance to the area; A large pond was located in the center of the area with a small waterfall from the wall feeding it; There was a surprising amount of green in the area, that consisted of grass and a few pine trees, given how the rest of the island was; The final notable thing was there was a cave next to the pond that was currently too dark to see into.
The group made their way inside the area, albeit a bit squished since there were quite a few of them. Crystie inspected the area carefully and slowly while Clara walked around quickly. The young viking inspected one of the trees closely, SwiftSpeed squirming in her arms. The base of the tree had claw marks on it, not very deep ones but there were a lot of them.
SwiftSpeed kept violently squirming in her arms so she gently put him down and rubbed her numb hand; it was feeling less numb than earlier but only slightly. The small dragon sped off to the entrance of the cave and began roaring loudly, the roar echoing down the cave. Several roars called back and that's when Crystie felt herself pale. She mentally cursed her bad memory.
Carefully walking over to Clara, Crystie gently grabbed her arm.
"We need to go. Now!" Crystie gently hissed into her friend's ear.
Clara turned to Crystie with a confused eyebrow "Why? We just got here" she whispered back.
"Well, I may or may not have accidently glossed over an important fact about Speedstingers" Crystie whispered.
Clara rolled her eyes "What did you forget" she asked.
"Wellll, Speedstingers get quite aggressive when something comes onto their territory. And they also hunt usually at night" Crystie replied.
"What's that got to do with our current situation?" Clara inquired.
"Welllllllllll, it is currently getting close to night-time which means they'll be coming out soon; And we may or may not be currently standing in a Speedstinger nest" Crystie said with a fake grin, internally panicking.
Clara seemed to think over the information before her face paled.
"Oh" was all that came from her mouth.
"Yes, oh. And that is why we need to get out of here now" Crystie hissed, guiding Clara over to the entrance.
Catching Storm's eye, the young viking made a motion for them to follow; Storm nodded and motioned for the other dragons to move out. The group made their way towards the entrance, slowly but surely.
They had nearly all made it out; Crystie and Clara being the last ones, when a loud snap echoed around the area. Everyone stopped, tensing up.
Crystie and Clara's eyes met before they both slowly turned their heads over their shoulders. SwiftSpeed was standing there happily, his tail wagging, a snapped twig under his foot. Crystie gulped and looked past the baby Speedstinger. Standing there, were several Speedstingers, varying from adolescent to adult; all glints of aggression in their eyes. A large Speedstinger stepped forward, their body green with red stripes, fins and stinger, their tail raised; If Crystie had to guess, she'd guess that this was the leader.
Crystie slowly turned around and went to take a gently step forward but Clara just straight up bolted out of there.
"CLARA" Crystie hissed, not moving for a few seconds before bolting out of there herself.
Crystie stumbled as she tried to get down the mountain as fast as possible but not fall. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the pack of Speedstingers chasing after her. Looking ahead, Crystie saw her dragons flying above; She also noticed Clara was now located on Frosty's back.
A squeak from her side made Crystie look down to see SwiftSpeed running beside her.
"SwiftSpeed? What are you doing here?" Crystie exclaimed.
The small dragon just happily roared in response; Crystie just sighed and kept running.
A squawk from above made Crystie look up. Storm was gliding towards her, indicating to get on. Knowing it was now or never, Crystie made leap of fate and clung onto the blue dragon's side. She let out a sigh as Storm began ascending away from the ground.
It was then the young viking looked over and noticed an adolescent Speedstinger clinging onto Storm's tail.
"STORM" Crystie called out, wanting to get her friend's attention.
Storm turned her head, spotting the stowaway dragon and began thrashing her tail about. The Speedstinger surprisingly managed to say on, hissing as it did so.
It was then Crystie heard a small squeak coming from below her. Internally sighing, she looked down; Hanging onto her foot, was SwiftSpeed.
"Seriously" Crystie muttered under her breath, turning her attention back to the other Speedstinger.
The other speedy dragon was furiously trying to sting Storm while the dragon in question was trying to get them off of her. A squeak from below made Crystie look down again; SwiftSpeed was starting to loose his grip and the small dragon looked terrified. Crystie panicked, not wanting the small dragon to fall at this great a height.
SwiftSpeed's claws dislodged from Crystie's boot and began falling. In what seemed like less than a second, Crystie grabbed SwiftSpeed with her feet, bringing him up to her chest; she used her numb hand to hold onto SwiftSpeed close to her chest, the young dragon trembling like crazy.
Crystie hear a cry of pain and quickly turned her head to see the other Speedstinger had stung Storm in her left wing; the blue dragon let out a hiss and flicked her tail hard, sending that Speedstinger who knows where.
Storm began to lose her balance, slowly descending towards the ground at a rapid speed. They were heading towards the ice lake and it looked like it was going to be a rough landing. Crystie hugged SwiftSpeed tight and held onto Storm as she braced for impact.
They crashed into the ice and Crystie and SwiftSpeed were sent flying across the lake. The young viking skidded, rolled and scraped across the ice until she came to a complete stop flat on her back. She closed her eyes and groaned; That hurt now and was gonna hurt later.
Crystie grunted as she pushed herself into a sitting position and opened her eyes. Storm was carefully pushing herself up off the ice, looking like she was struggling a bit. Crystie carefully got up, holding her side and walked over to her best friend.
"Are you alright?" Crystie asked.
Storm nodded and pushed herself up, standing up; she tried to stretch out both wings but her left one was frozen. Crystie sighed, that'd be a thing they'd have to deal with later.
Looking down, Crystie realized she no longer had SwiftSpeed in her arms. He must have slipped when they'd crashed. The young viking stood up and began looking around for the small dragon.
She noticed her dragons were hovering over the lake but not landing. Clara and Frosty were also in the air but not looking like they were going to land; Clara looked somewhat nervous and worried. What could she be nervous about?
A loud chorus of roars brought Crystie out of her thoughts. She looked up to see the Speedstinger pack still running at her; They hadn't made it past the edge of the lake yet however.
It was then she noticed SwiftSpeed laying between her and the pack. From her spot, it didn't look like the small dragon had any injuries, likely just some scrapes and bruises. He must've hit himself hard as he was struggling to push himself up.
Crystie took a step forward but stopped when she heard a loud cracking sound. Looking around, she saw large cracks starting to form in the ice. The lake was breaking apart.
Looking up, Crystie saw the Speedstinger pack immediately stop at the edge of the lake, not wanting to step on the ice that was quickly splintering apart.
The young viking was about to climb onto Storm but so they could run off the ice together but stopped when she saw several cracks forming around SwiftSpeed. The little dragon had just stood up but froze when the ice underneath him buckled and gave way, plunging him into the icy depths.
"NO" Crystie cried out, flinging her bag onto Storm's back and sprinting over to where SwiftSpeed had gone under, diving in after him despite the protests.
The coldness of the water clawed at her skin as soon as she hit the water. Her limbs started to stiffen, her lungs seemed to cry out and she had to close her eyes to stop them from stinging so much. It was cold; It was so, so cold. Her body didn't want to move but she made it, kicking her legs forwards so she could swim. Not being able to see, she pushed what little she could feel of her arms forwards, trying to reach for the baby dragon.
After a few moments, her hands felt something cold, smooth and solid; She also felt a faint heartbeat so she was sure she'd located SwiftSpeed. After securing him tightly in her arms, or as much as she could at this point, she used the little energy she had left to push herself back up to the surface.
Crystie was struggling; She was running out of air; the coldness continued to claw at her skin; her lungs felt like they were going to burst; she was starting to feel light headed and her limbs were starting to stiffen again.
She was struggling to stay awake; her body felt like it was shutting down.
Maybe this was it.
No.
This would not be it.
This would not be how she went out.
There was a life on the line, she wouldn't rest until they were at least safe.
Using the last of her energy, she pushes herself up, breaking the surface of the lake.
Her vision was blurry and her head felt like it was spinning. She vaguely felt something grab her, dragging her through the water and placing her against something soft. She felt SwiftSpeed leave her arms and she weakly tried to stretch her arms out, trying to get him back. Everything felt numb, she could barely feel a thing and everything was vague.
There was a buzzing sound that she guessed was a voice but it was too vague to make out at all, and Crystie was using all her remaining energy to even stay awake. Staying awake however, was a loosing battle and with no strength left, her mind slipped off into a deep state of unconsciousness.
Her senses slowly came back to her but something felt off; like she wasn't fully conscious and was in an in-between state. She attempted to open her eyes but her body refused, not moving an inch. Everything felt strange, she didn't feel like she was anywhere, like she was nowhere.
A presence nearby caught her attention. She tried to move towards it but her body was still unmoving and was limp. The presence edged closer until it was right next to Crystie. They felt really familiar but Crystie couldn't place why; All she had to go on was a feeling.
They sighed, like something was saddening them.
"Oh Crystie, this hasn't been easy for you, has it? These trials and tribulations have been difficult to get through and I'm afraid you still have many more to come"
The voice's tone then became more upbeat.
"But don't worry, this isn't the end; Sure, you may have many challenges ahead of you, many difficult and not all of them will seem to be able to be overcome; but you'll have the ones that you care about by your side to help you push through those troubled times."
They sighed again, but it sounded more relaxed
"This isn't your end. It can't be it; it won't be. You have so many more people to help, so much to do, and I'll be by your side watching it all".
Crystie was confused. Who was this person?
It was then her mind started to become clearer, like she was waking up.
"Heh, looks like I was right" the voice chuckled.
The presence then began to move away, becoming more distant.
"See you later Crystie" the voice said as they faded away and a bright light blinded Crystie's vision.
Crystie blinked awake as the light faded from her vision. When her senses came back to her, she realized she had something thick covering her. Tilting her head down, she saw it was a thick fur blanket. Why did she have this over her?
Sitting up and looking around the room, she saw that she was in the Snowborough hospital in one of the beds in the right corner of the room; She also noted that she was the only occupant of the room. She also looked down to see she was not wearing her own clothes; She was wearing a brown long sleeved fur top and pale brown fur trousers. Whose clothes were these?
Something didn't feel right. Why was she here and how did she get here?
She cast her mind back as far as she could. She remembered running from a pack of Speedstingers, crashing onto the ice, SwiftSpeed going under the ice and Crystie diving after him.
Oh, that's right, she'd nearly drowned and froze to death. But that begged the question, was she dead and just having a vivid hallucination.
"CRYSTIE" she heard someone yell, causing Crystie to jump, her heart beating franticly. Not dead then.
She lifted her head to see Clara standing in the doorway of the room, a relieved look on her face. She sped over to where the young viking was sitting and enveloped her in a tight hug. Crystie tensed to the sudden contact, not really used to getting physical contact but returned the hug regardless.
After a few moment, Clara let go and sat on the edge of Crystie's bed.
"Can I just say-" Clara began "that was a stupid thing to do".
"What was stupid?" Crystie questioned.
Clara had an expression on her face that seem to read 'are you kidding me?'.
"What was stupid?! You jumping into a freezing cold lake in the middle of February" Clara all but screamed.
Crystie chuckled nervously, rubbing her neck slightly and avoiding looking at Clara "It's fine though. I was saving SwiftSpeed and I'm still here aren't i?".
Clara closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking "That's not the point".
She sighed before continuing "You should be thankful we got you both back here in time otherwise you might not have made it".
That made Crystie look down, hot shame washing over her. She'd never want to cause anyone difficulty or panic and, now that she was thinking about it, she'd done exactly that. She'd just wanted to help since she was asked, but in doing so, she'd made everything worse and made herself look like an idiot and a screwup.
She looked down and fiddled with her hands, feeling more shame wash over her.
"I'm sorry" Crystie murmured, barely audible.
She heard Clara exhale and saw a hand be placed over the young viking's own. Crystie looked up to see Clara giving her a soft look.
"Don't be sorry. You were saving someone; I shouldn't shame you for that. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm just glad you're okay" she said, giving Crystie a small smile.
Crystie gave a small smile back before she looked back down at her hands. Maybe everything would be fine after all; Crystie would be fine and Storm would be fine and the other dragons would be fine and SwiftSpeed would be fine…
Wait, was SwiftSpeed fine?
Her head shot back up and she looked at Clara "Where is SwiftSpeed, is he alright?"
"He's fine. After we brought both you and him in, he was sent to the dragon hospital and he luckily recovered much quicker than you did. After he was well enough, I brought him back to his pack" Clara explained.
Crystie let out a sigh of relief, glad the little dragon was safe.
"Although…" Clara continued.
"Although?" Crystie inquired.
"A few hours later, he turned up outside here. I was confused and took him back a second time but then, a few hours later, he turned back up outside again, refusing to leave this time. " Clara explained.
"Huh, I wonder why he did that?" Crystie wondered.
"Well, I think, it's because he was worried about you" Clara responded.
"He was?" Crystie questioned.
Clara nodded "He came into this room and stayed by your bedside for a while, until we needed to give you some peace so we have to move him; he put up a bit of a fight though. He's been with your dragons ever since".
That surprised Crystie. She didn't know the small dragon cared for her that much; It was nice though. An important question popped into Crystie's mind.
"How long have I been out?" she asked.
"About a day and a half" Clara replied.
Crystie sputtered "N-nearly two days?!"
"You had hypothermia; the healers had to be careful so you didn't die from it. And you seemed tired before you went in the ice so they let you sleep anyway." Clara explained.
Crystie exhaled and let her head fall back onto her pillow. This had been quite an event.
After a few moments of silence, Crystie decided to speak up.
"So, what did Alan say about the whole Speedstinger situation?" she questioned, lifting her head so she could see Clara better.
"Well, after making sure you were alright, me and him talked about everything that happened. I suggested we just try to avoid that area of the island so we don't aggravate them; And if we do accidently come across one, we'll try and be calm and move away" Clara explained.
"Wow; That's actually quite smart" Crystie commented.
Clara let out a gasp "Are you saying I'm not smart?" she said, a fake offended look on her face.
"No no no, not at all. I'm just surprised how well you took initiative and handled the situation" Crystie explained.
Clara stared at her for a few moments before she burst out laughing. Crystie nervously laughed along with her, not sure what was so funny. They kept laughing for a while until they stopped and just sat there in silence; or lay there in Crystie's case.
An unknown amount of time later, Alan walked into the room and headed over to where the two girls were.
"Crystie, it's good to see you're feeling better" the chief said, stopping next to the bed.
Crystie sat up "Yeah, I'm feeling much better than earlier".
Alan smiled and nodded "That's good. I'm here to thank both of you".
"Thank… us?" Crystie questioned.
Alan nodded "Yes. Thanks to you we have got this situation under control and now the necessary steps to take if something like this happens again".
Clara smiled proudly while Crystie rubbed her neck and chuckled nervously.
"Anyway" Alan continued "I've come to give you your compensation".
"Clara; We've already discussed yours so we'll deal with that later" Clara nodded to that statement.
Alan then turned to Crystie "So Crystie; What would you like as your compensation?".
Crystie blanked, tilting her head in confusion "Compensation?".
Alan nodded "Yes, compensation. What can we give you as a reward for your services?".
"I can get anything?" Crystie questioned.
"Anything within reason" Alan responded.
Crystie lowered her head and put her hand on her chin. What would she want? What could she want?
After a few moments, something popped into her mind.
"I have a few small things I can think of…"
A while later, Crystie was getting ready to leave and head home. The sun was starting to set, panting the area in a warm orange light that glistened.
She and her group were outside, a similar place they had been the last time they had left. Crystie was feeling more refreshed than earlier and was wearing her regular clothes again; They did let her keep the other clothes though.
When she had left the hospital earlier, Storm had all but tackled her. After reassuring her friends that she was fine, she turned her attention to the small Speedstinger. The small dragon had basically attached himself to her foot when he'd spotted her. Crystie had chuckled and knelt down to speak to the dragon better. She asked him if he wanted to come with them and the small dragon had nodded confidently; That had warmed Crystie's heart.
While the little dragon had caused a few problems for them, Crystie honestly didn't blame him; He's a child, a young one at that; he can't be expected to not make accidents.
Going back to the present, Crystie was making sure they had everything before they headed home. She hadn't really wanted much as compensation so she had honestly just asked for stuff they needed like food, some materials and small things like books and blankets.
After tying the last of the bags to Blue and Red, making sure they were comfortable, Crystie turned around. Unlike last time, there was only two people going to watch them leave; Clara and Frosty.
Crystie walked up to Clara and stopped infront of her.
"Well, I guess this is it" Crystie started.
"I guess it is" Clara replied.
"Thanks for coming out here; even though it went a bit worse than planned" Clara continued.
"It's no trouble. You're my friend, of course I'd help you; and besides, I'm not dead yet; A little water can't hurt me" Crystie replied, trying to make light of the situation.
Clara nervously chuckled "Yeah, I guess that's true".
She then held out her hand.
"Until we meet again".
Crystie smiled and took the hand "Until we meet again".
Breaking the handshake, Crystie waved and turned around, heading over to Storm. The blue dragon looked ready to go and so did SwiftSpeed, who was currently standing on Storm's back. Crystie chuckled as she climbed up and secured herself. SwiftSpeed climbed into Crystie's lap and looked up at the young viking. Crystie just smiled and gently patted his head. She gave one last wave towards Crystie and Frosty before the group lifted off into the air.
This had been a tiring event but an interesting one; And now, they could all go home and have a nice long rest.
So that's what happened today.
This one was… interesting to say the least. I won't lie, it was somewhat scary in the water, the coldness was unbearable but I had to do what needed to be done.
On a lighter note, it was nice seeing Clara and Frosty again. I'm glad Clara's found someone that made her happy, she deserves it. Maybe I'll be able to find someone like that one day but I doubt it.
That's all from me today.
I hope we talk again soon.
This is Crystie, signing out.
So that was the chapter…
Did you guys like it, even though it was a slight pain to write, it was still fun to.
I hope the near-drowning bit wasn't too bad cause I didn't really want to make it too graphic.
This chapter was honestly a lot longer than I thought it would be but I don't think it's really a bad thing.
Anyway, that's all from me.
You can check my twitter for updates by searching ChatoicViking and you can check my DeviantArt for art I do of the series.
I hope you all have a nice day
This is CrystieSong, signing out.