updated a/n as of 10/6/21: hello! rewriting this as the story's a year old and more new readers are more likely to see this than the update in the latest chapter. i am currently rewriting certain chapters simply when i have the time - as of now, the plan is mainly for the first couple of chapters. there will likely be some changes in certain parts, but will generally follow the same plot (though most will be way longer than the original chapter, whoops). i'm probably not going to keep older versions of the chapters up since the rewritten chapters are going to make more sense in the context of the plot for this fic

besides this, i would like to note something else as i know how shipping is in this fandom - some of the pairings in this are Wrenvy (Wren x Ivy - sort of? it's not explicitly romantic it's more of an alterous relationship since in here both are non-sam aros but yes it is Wrenvy content), Grovanberry (Grove x Rowan x Cranberry), Daffiolet (Daffodil x Violet), and Blark (Brook x Lark). ships that are mentioned in the books such as Leavy (Leaf x Ivy) and Wrendauntable (Wren x Undauntable) will be acknowledged as such in this fic, but they will remain platonic. if you aren't a fan of that, i'm sure there are other Dragonslayer sequel fics that have either ships in them that are romantic in nature - please don't get angry that i'm not going to write certain relationships in a way you may want.

and on a final note, please note that since the release of The Dangerous Gift, this story will not follow Wings of Fire's canon timeline and any stories following it will not either. so if that isn't your thing, i'd probably recommend looking elsewhere as i don't tend to follow canon after the second arc, anyhow.

without further ado, i hope you enjoy this fic that accidentally turned into a huge project that i grew to really love over time. or rereading it, if it isn't for the first time. whatever works.

WREN

Wren rubbed her eyes, blinking several times. She was greeted with a gentle ray of sunlight; presumably dawn. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Ivy and Leaf nearby, still asleep - she still found it odd to be travelling with other humans, after living alone with Sky for so long. It was odd in a nice sort of way, though - she was with humans she knew she could trust and genuinely liked. Sky had began to stir next to her, yawning a little.

Getting on her knees, she sat up, stretching. She'd been used to waking up early, usually rising with the sun - it was also useful for when she and Sky needed to leave so they could stay on the move. I wonder how quickly Ivy and Leaf will get used to this, She wondered. I mean, maybe Leaf is an early riser nowadays but…

Soon Sky was more or less awake, though he still seemed rather groggy. Wren smiled, albeit mainly to herself.

"Good morning, Sky," She greeted him, chuckling softly.

He grinned back. "Morning to you too." He glanced over in Leaf and Ivy's direction. "It's going to be so exciting travelling with more people!"

Wren gave him a smile, nodding. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about traveling with others yet, but she was glad that Sky seemed to be enjoying it. She glanced over in the same direction, a smirk creeping onto her face. Speaking of other people…those two must be late sleepers or something, She concluded. Nothing I can't fix.

Sky seemed to notice her expression. "Wren?"

She glanced back, still grinning. "What?" She replied innocently.

"What are you planning? The look on your face practically gives you away."

Averting her gaze from his, she replied, "Just waking Ivy and Leaf up."

Sky frowned. "Well, be nice about it. I don't trust that expression."

Rolling her eyes, Wren walked over to Ivy, who was curled up against the grass, sleeping soundly. Crouching down, she lightly shook Ivy's shoulder.

"Come on, Ivy. Wake up," She murmured, still shaking her.

She seemed to be waking up, though Ivy was slow to rise - she reluctantly sat up, stretching and yawning as she did so. Wren could tell there were bags underneath her eyes, though not entirely noticeable - it did make Wren wonder just how much sleep Ivy actually managed to get last night. Before Wren could say anything else, Ivy seemed to nod off a little, almost falling on her back.

Ivy gave Wren a drowsy smile. "Oh…morning, Wren."

Wren almost let out a snort of amusement. "Morning to you, too. Did you manage to get enough sleep last night? You seem out of it."

"Oh? No, no. Don't worry about me, I'm fine," She replied, though it sounded more like a yawn in Wren's opinion.

I doubt that, She thought, but she didn't say it out loud - she had the feeling that Ivy wasn't going to answer that question any time soon. Besides, she looks too tired to even pay attention.

Wren lightly nudged her shoulder. "Maybe while we're travelling Sky will let you sleep on his back."

"That'd…that'd be great." Ivy yawned once more. She stretched her arms one last time before looking back at Wren. "So why do we need to be up so early, again?"

"I just want to be on the move as soon as possible. I don't want to waste daylight," Wren replied as matter-of-factly. Ivy just groaned in response, rubbing the crust out of her eyes.

Sky came over to them, giving Ivy a cheerful grin. "Morning, Ivy!"

Ivy returned his gesture, albeit still tired. "Morning to you too." Now rubbing her other eye, she mumbled, "Sorry I'm not much of an early riser. I just find it difficult to wake up so early…"

"That's alright," Sky replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not much of an early riser either. Wren's the one who insists on waking up this early, anyways…"

Laughing, Wren nodded. "That's true! You've always been something of a slug in the morning."

Sky scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But you are the one who can never stay in one spot."

"What? No!"

Sky turned to Ivy, amused. "It's true, you know. One time when we just woke up she'd been so insistent on moving on that we skipped breakfast!"

"We got food afterwards!" Raising an eyebrow, she added, "And besides, if I hadn't gotten you to move, we'd have been staring at that snail for hours."

Sky chortled. "I can't help that snails are so adorable!"

Wren smiled. "I know you can't."

Ivy let out a giggle, taking Wren by surprise. Wren turned to face her, tilting her head.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I wasn't - your interactions with each other are adorable," Ivy remarked, still smiling. "It just makes me really excited that humans and dragons are able to get along! I'm so glad I get to travel with you guys! Agh, I can't wait to spread the word about dragon-human communication!"

Wren couldn't help but grin at her - while they hadn't talked as much as Wren would've liked to prior, she had always found Ivy's little outbursts of excitement adorable. It made her thrilled to find another human who loved dragons and understood that they were just as complex as they were, just like herself. Well, and Rose, She added mentally. But the fact that Ivy's my age and also loves dragons like I do just makes me so happy. Wren tried not to dwell on it often, though.

"So you weren't in it just because Leaf came with?" Wren joked, raising an eyebrow.

Ivy frowned, confused. "I don't get…oh. Oh." She shook her head upon realising. "No, I just came with on my own accord. Even if he wasn't coming with, I'd still want to travel with you both."

Wren blinked in shock, though she could feel her cheeks flushing out of embarrassment. Okay, maybe don't joke about her and Leaf next time, Wren, She decided. I wasn't expecting that for an answer, though. From what Leaf described, she seemed to like him back?

I might have to ask him about that later.

"Wren? You alright?" She asked.

Wren was dragged out of her own thoughts. "Uh…yeah. It was a stupid joke, don't worry about it."

Ivy didn't look the slightest bit convinced, but shrugged. She instead turned to Leaf, lightly tapping his shoulder.

"Hey, Leaf, wake up," She murmured.

He woke up more willingly than Ivy had, though he still seemed somewhat tired. He gave Ivy a small smile, who returned it with a soft laugh. Leaf turned to Wren, blinking a few times.

"How long have you guys been waiting for me to wake up?"

Wren shrugged. "Not too long. I woke up Ivy awhile ago, but you didn't miss much, I promise."

This seemed to relieve him, somewhat. "So where are we going, then? If you haven't decided that without me already."

"Well, you and Ivy are still planning to find that golden dragon, right? I've been thinking on it and maybe poking around Valor's ruins some more might help," Wren admitted. She glanced back at Ivy. "You and Leaf encountered her there, right?"

Ivy nodded. "Yes! Since we left Valor I've been wondering about that, and since she took the sand dragons' treasure, she might be somewhere around that area! Or maybe further into the desert? I'm not sure."

Leaf smiled at Ivy. "I think you're right. It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, would it?"

Glancing back at Sky, Wren rested a hand on his shoulder. "You think you can make it back to the ruins?" Sky nodded, a determined glint in his eyes.

Her attention was drifted away once she felt a light tapping on her shoulder. It was Ivy, who had a hesitant expression on her face.

She mumbled, "Could we eat something before leaving, though? I'm starving…"

We could always hunt or gather fruits on the way there, Wren wanted to reply, but didn't have the heart to say it to Ivy's face. She probably isn't as used to travelling like the rest of us, I guess.

Nodding in response, Wren shrugged. "I suppose so. It shouldn't be too hard to find something edible in the forest. We can go hunting for a bit, if that helps."

"Well, I'll just get some blueberries for myself," Sky replied, grimacing at the mention of hunting. "I still don't understand how any of you like eating meat."

Leaf turned to Ivy, a hopeful expression on his face. "You want to go hunting together?"

Ivy took a few steps back, shaking her head. "No, but thanks for the offer." She instead glanced at Sky, asking, "Could I help? I prefer fruits over meat myself."

Sky gave her a small nod, much to Ivy's delight. Wren glanced at her brother, who seemed mostly surprised by Ivy declining his offer - and somewhat disappointed, as well. That must feel awkward as hell, She commented dryly to herself, glad she wasn't in Leaf's shoes. I do feel bad for him, though.

"Leaf, I can go hunting with you, if you want," She offered, hoping to diffuse any tension the two had. He brightened up a bit, though he still seemed vaguely upset. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit."

He had an amused yet bewildered look on his face, but didn't question it. He took off into the woods, though not without casting a glance over his shoulder every so often. Wren glanced back at Sky and Ivy, who were already chatting merily.

She crossed her arms. "You two will be alright together? On your own?"

"Yep! I'll make sure nothing awful happens out there, so don't worry," Ivy confirmed, nudging Wren in the shoulder. "I promise we'll meet you and Leaf back at the camp once we're done gathering fruit."

"Promise?"

"I just said I promise, you goof!" Ivy teased, giggling a bit. Her laughter dying down, she gave Wren a genuine look. "But I really do promise, Wren. Please try to trust me, okay?"

Wren sighed, nodding. "Okay, okay! I give in." As she turned around to leave, she added, "Just don't get yourselves hurt, okay?"

Ivy rolled her eyes in amusement, but gave Wren one last nod before letting Sky guide her into the forest. She ran over to Leaf, who had been tapping his fingers against his arms as he leaned against a nearby tree. He perked up once he saw Wren, something of a smile on his face.

She had to take a moment to catch her breath. "I'm…I'm back."

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "So what were you three even talking about?"

"Mostly reminding them to be careful." She frowned. "I'm hoping they know what they're doing, but I can't help but worry about them."

He sighed, nodding slightly. "I get that. I really wanted to go with Ivy, I have my doubts about splitting up. I'd feel a lot better about this if I was with her."

Wren rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Ivy, Ivy, Ivy! Sometimes you speak about her as if she's the only thing on your mind." Think on it a bit more, she added, "But really, I doubt Ivy needs any protection. You might be underestimating her. I'm more concerned about Sky…"

"I'm equally concerned about Sky!" He shot back. Before Wren could interrogate him further, he stopped suddenly, gesturing for her to remain silent.

I want to know what that means, She griped to no one in particular. As Leaf went ahead once more, she narrowed her eyes. I'll figure that out sooner or later.