Dreamer had realised something.
When he'd been captured, Grimmel had provided knowledge of their travels along the north coast, to the Lightstriker nest. That they'd taken Whispering away with them, and even that they'd eventually gone their separate ways. Flasher had also suggested Grimmel was capable of tracking Nightstrikers a month, maybe longer, after they had passed through.
The air did not hold scents, only carried them, and they left little enough of anything else that would be recognisable for so long. The land was vast, there was no hope of scouring it all for their trail. But water was both a regular need and in limited supply. It seemed obvious in retrospect, but collapsing and lying in the grass next to the only source of water in a given direction was as good as a big arrow carved into the dirt; humans of course could not follow such a trail, but dragons could, and Grimmel had dragons.
As always, the wind hissed quietly over their wings, occasionally broken by the whooshing of wingbeats, and the land slowly passed by below. Flasher had told them to fly north-east, so they were flying north-west, for now, carrying on as they had been, leaving plenty of signs to follow. For once on this long flight, Dreamer actually felt one step ahead of his pursuers.
They had beaten Grimmel back, and now they would point him in near enough the opposite direction if he did try to follow. It was tempting to wait in ambush instead, but for the off-chance he would blindly follow with the few Death-Grippers he had left, they were risking losing their lead while he recovered his losses.
And he would be recovering, Dreamer had no doubt about that. There was little to no reaction to losing his dragons, necessary sacrifices in his hunt of the most dangerous prey the world had to offer, he simply wasn't concerned about it. How exactly it all worked, Dreamer had no idea, but undoubtedly Grimmel would eventually be back with a full contingent of Death-Grippers, all as eager to kill as the last.
He sighed into the wind; then thought dryly that he'd done a lot of that lately. They hadn't won anything in their tense battles, other than time, and not nearly enough of it. What could he even do against such an opponent? Even if he could somehow strike back, he'd be forever paranoid that Leaper and Fleeting were somehow in danger. Perhaps they could make the long flight to Berk, or the Lightstriker nest… but not only did that not guarantee their safety, those were also places that Grimmel already knew about and was likely to check. Berk hadn't protected him and Wanderer from far less cunning and dangerous threats, and despite their camouflage and firepower the Lightstrikers were probably even less suited to defending against a swift, targeted attack the likes of which Grimmel would bring.
He hated to admit it, but their best shot was probably finding somewhere totally unremarkable, waiting for Leaper to grow and be able to fend for himself. Wait until he flew the nest, following his own path in life, before they dared to engage Grimmel.
Two years. They would need to avoid Grimmel for two whole years for that to work. As good as he felt about their current plan, that almost seemed an impossibility. How many times would they need to go through this, uprooting their lives and fleeing for weeks to lose the pursuit and find somewhere else? How long until Grimmel found them again? But fighting now was too risky, while Leaper was such a heavy burden, and they were not about to leave Fleeting to protect him on her own. The future looked bleak; and that only when considering Grimmel, not the problem of humans in general.
When they came across water shortly before dawn, a modest river coursing off to the north, he set down with heavy paws and a heavier heart. At the very least, this water wasn't fouled, despite there probably being at least one Long-Paw nest along it somewhere. He dunked his head and enjoyed the cool, clean taste, flavoured only slightly by dirt and crisp plant life.
Beside him, Wanderer licked at Fleeting's dripping snout, earning himself a weary swatting. Leaper had waded into the shallows and appeared to be digging up the plants waving in the current to watch them float away. The female anxiously slinked along the waterline, occasionally scenting around the knee-high grass.
The river itself stretched off into the distance in either direction, and where they had stopped on it provided a perfect indicator of their direction of travel. This seemed to be as good a place as any. "We should change here," he announced grudgingly, huffed at the two unmotivated chuffs of confirmation, then walked his forepaws forward to stretch his back and collapsed into the grass with a groan. This one last time, at least, he could make the most of lying around next to the water. It was a pity they couldn't find or make waterskins, that would make the next step much easier…
But it wouldn't be too bad. They just had to land in the water, being careful not to leave any scents around it, and take straight back to the air to find somewhere else to rest, somewhere Grimmel wouldn't think to look. This land was simply too immense to scour every field and forest for smudges of their scents.
He stared at Fleeting as she took another mouthful of water, watching her flanks as she shuffled back and dropped to lie on her side. "Pawful more nights flying, then we can look for place to nest," he reassured her. Her reply was just to groan…
She looked tired. She was almost as fit and toned as him and Wanderer, there was no worry that she was about to fall apart on them, but she was just going through the motions, focused on getting through all this and doing her best to cope. This must have been how Wanderer had felt watching him fight Viggo's hunters…
A paw rapped him on the head, startling him and making him aware Wanderer had been talking to him. "Sorry," he warbled apologetically, "what?"
"Dreaming," Wanderer snorted. "We should rest here. Rain soon, not think we can fly around it."
Dreamer looked beyond him, to the tall clouds blanketing the sky and obscuring the sky-sparks. A few short inhales confirmed what he already knew, that it would rain in a few hours, but the height and coverage of those clouds posed a problem; it would be very tiring to fly above them. "Where this rain was when we needed it," he grumbled, climbing to his paws and looking around. "I not think any caves near here…"
"Rain not is much bad," Fleeting rumbled, rolling onto her back to stretch, then paused. "Where female is?"
"Here," came a bark from downriver, the female leaping from the grass and stiffly walking over. "We staying here? Will rain soon…"
"Yes," Wanderer huffed as he lay on his chest, watching Leaper wander the shallows of the river. "Better than flying through it."
Wanderer backwinged into a landing and immediately flamed the ground in a circle, which he then collapsed into with a happy groan. The ground was rocky and rough, one of many such patches in a range of low hills, but it wasn't the worst they'd slept on so far.
Leaper was quick to snuggle up against him, despite the echoes of the other adults all flaming as well, but Wanderer didn't mind that in the slightest. He held his son tightly, savouring his little purrs and the close contact that seemed to be so rare lately, while the heat soaked into them both. The previous light had not been too bad, huddling under each other's wings and sharing warmth, but then having to fly after, and the awkwardness of stopping for water by landing in it… He was appreciating a small comfort now.
Leaper wriggled, little paws hugging Wanderer's side and tail draping over his hindlegs, then squeaked as Wanderer couldn't resist squeezing him. "Si-re," he grumbled, the second half of the word suddenly strained as he was squeezed again. "Si-re. Si-re. Sire!" He wriggled again to look Wanderer in the eye, who blinked innocently. "Sire," he giggled, wings shuffling nervously. "Not, not, not do that when I say s…ire." He stared at Wanderer with wide eyes, holding his breath, teeth glinting in his slightly open mouth…
"Squeeze," Wanderer growled, wrapping himself tightly around the feebly struggling fledgling.
"No squeeze," Leaper wheezed through strained cackles, then laughed when Wanderer relaxed. "Sire… Sire. Sire. No squeeze, Sire."
Wanderer chuffed agreement. "No squeeze… Only stuck."
A few moments passed before Leaper started struggling, realising that he was thoroughly wrapped up. Claws scraped at Wanderer's chest and hindleg while he kicked, slowly working his way free and giggling all the while – the moment he got loose, he shrieked as Wanderer grabbed him and wrapped him up again. "Stuck," Wanderer chuffed happily.
"Dam!" the fledgling barked as he struggled, muffled under a wing. "Help!"
"Come here," Fleeting rumbled, amused. "I protect you." Wanderer grabbed him again as he broke free a second time, but after he clawed his way out a third time, let him go to his dam. She snatched him up and wrapped him in her wings, where he was apparently content to stay.
"He not want escape you," Wanderer grumbled at her with an amused huff.
"I his dam," Fleeting chuffed, curling up a little tighter. The happy squeaks from under her wing only rubbed it in. Still, it was good to hear that little laugh again.
Hopefully all of this wouldn't last much longer. Dreamer wanted to fly a pawful more nights, put some distance between them and the end of their trail to make them more difficult to find, and then they could settle down somewhere. It had taken them sky-ice-cycles to find their territory – brief thoughts about reclaiming it burned in his mind for a life-beat – but that had been lazy wandering, without any objective in particular. This time they only needed somewhere to stay for a while.
He let his eyes drift to Dreamer, who was curled up with his head on his tail, already falling asleep. There was no telling whether they could fight this hunter or not. They could beat him back and escape, lead him one way while they flew another, but outright fighting to the death…
And Leaper, caught in the middle. Wanderer knew what he was going through, had been through it himself. That only made it more difficult to see, not being able to do more than his own parents had for him.
He curled up and tucked his head under his wing, letting his mind drift back to his territory. There would probably be Long-Paws swarming over it, which would need killing or chasing away. Even after everything that had happened, Dreamer might still not want to kill them… but Wanderer could dream, of eviscerating them and their things from his territory with claws and fire.
An insistent nudging pulled Dreamer from sleep, a light rush of adrenaline quickly dragging the world into focus. The nameless female stood over him, staring with wide apologetic eyes, her wings tense and ears and frills flattened anxiously. "You said you will help?" she whispered.
"What?" Dreamer asked with a tilt of his head and a tired, confused rumble, figuring that they weren't in imminent danger but that something was off.
"I… maybe have bad thinking," she whined, tensely shuffling her paws and rubbing her wings against her sides. "You said you will help…"
Now? "Yes, will help," he chuffed, shuffling onto his chest and unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. As long as she didn't make a habit of doing this in the middle of the light, he was always happy to help.
"I need make water…"
He heard the words, but it took his barely-awake mind a few moments to process them. "Make water." That was definitely what she had said… Confusion, he warbled.
"We not near water," she whined quietly, hunching in on herself, though she didn't stop fidgeting and shuffling her paws. "If I mark not near water, they will find me, hurt me…"
That also took a moment to sink in. But when it did, it came with an intense shiver of realisation all the way up his spine, leaving him much more alert. "Good, good," he said tensely, climbing to his paws. "Help, yes. We…"
He stopped himself as he started thinking about where the nearest water source was. Not only were they far from one, further than her tense shuffling suggested she could make, but much more problematic was the whole reason she felt this way in the first place. If she'd been marking near where they'd drunk water all this time, Grimmel would have instantly known through his Death-Grippers whether or not they had stopped at a water source without even needing to land.
Thinking about that had to come later. For now, this female was obviously in a lot of discomfort, so that was what he needed to deal with first. "Come," he huffed, briskly trotting off into the bright field; it was only polite to put some distance to his sleeping family first.
She scurried along after him, tense and hunched, suddenly reminding him of Leaper hurrying out of the den. Strangely enough, the comparison made it a little easier to figure out his next step, once they'd gone far enough. "Nothing will come for you," he gently reassured her; she probably already knew that, but she looked tense, uncomfortable, and frightened, so hearing him say it should help. "They made you think that so they could find us. Not know where we are now." Confidence, he chuffed, standing tall to look out over the field. "But I will fight anything that comes near. Not worry." Nothing was going to jump out at them, of course, but he knew better than most that not all fear and worry was so rational.
He flattened his ears to his neck to stifle any sounds, staring out over the grass in the opposite direction. Thin, scattered clouds, the dregs of the previous light's rain, floated high in the pale blue sky. He was a bit conspicuous, standing out here in a field like this, but the rough patches of dirt and stone did not grow much grass for some reason, and were dark enough to obscure them at a distance. Yes, he knew very well not all fear and worry was rational. Caution was good, but-
A snout poked under his wing, startling him into stiffness as the female slipped under it, pressed up against his side. She was shaking, rigid, breaths shallow and sharp – her body and breathing stilled, and then Dreamer found himself staring flatly ahead, under no delusion that there was any way he could possibly ignore the trickling sound behind them. Why me…
He was given a lot of time to ponder the situation. Wanderer or Fleeting probably wouldn't have batted an eye, but no, it just had to be him. He managed to amuse himself for a little while by imagining how he might have reacted before Fleeting and Leaper, who had both desensitised him to various things in their own ways. This was weird and uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't dying of mortification.
Finally, after standing there in silence for several heartbeats, Dreamer huffed and made a point of looking around. "No danger," he chuffed.
The female peered around his chest and crept forwards, looking around and staying very low to the ground. As she moved out from under his wing, Dreamer involuntarily shook his head, then discreetly snorted a puff of smoke into the grass, not wanting any further reminders.
No longer in any hurry, he set off at a walk, doing his best to appear easy and confident, but also alert to potential danger. It might have helped, he wasn't sure – though when a wing-prey suddenly flew by, twittering loudly as it passed over them, the female yelped and dove around him to huddle against his other side.
Dreamer lifted his wing to look at her with a croon of reassurance, to which she growled frustration. "I stupid," she bit out, throwing his wing off and stalking forwards.
"You are hurt," Dreamer countered, walking alongside her. "In your mind. I was hurt in my mind also. Fear stupid things. It not make you stupid." He lowered his head to look her in the eye as they walked in the light of the sky-fire. "You will heal. Your hurts will scar, become scales, then you will be stronger. Maybe you limp now, need help with some things, but that not mean you are weak. Only hurt."
She gave him a conflicted look as they reached where they'd been sleeping, a muddle of apologetic, grateful, frustrated, worried, relieved, before carefully and silently stepping among the sleeping Nightstrikers to settle down on her own, the other side of Fleeting. Dreamer had a feeling she wouldn't be finding sleep quickly.
He certainly wouldn't be. How close had they just come to Grimmel knowing exactly where they were going, despite their efforts? He hadn't even considered she could have been conditioned to sabotage them passively, when they weren't even being chased, hadn't even been watching for it. Their limited attention, after flying and hunting, tended to be focused on Leaper, she'd had every opportunity to slip off and doom them.
But any excitement over the potential to turn it against Grimmel was short-lived. They had already flown from the end of their trail, leaving a false trail now would take them days, and using it to mislead him would clue him into that they had realised his strategy. This couldn't really be used against Grimmel… but stopping it here, now, would further confuse him, make him waste more time looking for them.
Dreamer gave up on planning with a huff, then shuffled his wings uncomfortably. It felt as if a claw was digging into his nape, now knowing just how easily they'd been followed, but despite that, he purred to himself under his breath. The female had recognised the bad thinking, even tried to kill it on her own. When unable to, she'd asked for help. She might not feel it now, but she was stronger than she realised.
They flew. Land passed below them, vast and seemingly as endless as the sky itself. When the Long-Paw nests became more common on the third night, their fields visible for countless miles, they turned southwest to avoid them.
It was not hard flying, they had no need or desire to push themselves, but it was monotonous. Their task was to find somewhere they would not be found… but first they had to find it. On the fourth night, Wanderer realised the inherent difficulty in the task they had given themselves.
And then the land below gave way to forests, as far as could be seen. At first it was a nice change of pace, and a welcome barrier to Long-Paw nests, but very quickly just added to the monotony. They dropped through the canopy just after the sky-fire kindled, vainly sniffed around for something to eat, and went to sleep hungry.
They made their way to a pair of low mountains, even the tall, narrow peaks thick with vegetation, where they landed to try hunting again earlier in the night. Thankfully, this area seemed occupied by numerous prey, and they found their first meal since two nights ago.
This was necessary… Wanderer lay on his side, staring vacantly into the damp trees. How were they going to find somewhere that the one hunting them would not? Not that he minded putting as much distance between them as possible, but they couldn't fly like this forever; they couldn't even fly like this for long.
The blood in the meat had alleviated the immediate need for water, but they would still need it soon, and Wanderer wasn't aware of any near here. Neither Fleeting nor the female had flown through here before; it wasn't a very appealing place to traverse.
Wanderer churred thoughtfully to himself, rolling upright to rise to his haunches. Enquiry, Dreamer warbled from his back near one of the two prey remains they had left, picked clean but buzzing with black tiny-wing-things. "Thinking," Wanderer huffed, lazily staring off into the trees, then set off at a slow walk. "Want see something. Will return later. You should rest here this light."
"I come," Dreamer chuffed, climbing to his paws and trotting to catch up. "Noise here is annoying." He flicked a pawful of the tiny-wing-things out of the air with his tail, then shook his head. "Where we going?"
Unexpected, but Wanderer wasn't going to say no to company; Leaper and the females certainly didn't look motivated to do anything. "Following prey," he replied while he scented for the nearest trail. They hadn't chased far in their hunt, simply using their fire, but there were old scents along with the new ones of the prey-pack, suggesting some sort of commonly used trail.
He and Dreamer followed it at an easy and efficient lope, the two of them following the trail with ease. They did not talk, but it was nice to do something with Dreamer that was not fighting or flying, and tracking the prey was easier and faster with his help.
They followed far, the night slowly passing overhead, and still they followed in their comfortable silence. Whether he would find what he was looking for, Wanderer didn't know… not until its sweet scent drifted on the wind.
Enquiry, confusion, Dreamer barked as Wanderer forewent the trail and sprinted through the trees, but undoubtedly understood as the light trickle reached their ears. They were near the bottom of the mountain now, the sheer climb visible through small breaks in the trees above, and just as Wanderer was starting to worry they were about to run into the sheer cliff, they emerged into the most pathetic little trickle of water Wanderer had ever seen spouting from a crack in the rock.
But it was water, and he gratefully shoved his head under it to let it splash over his tongue and run down his throat. Then he was bodily knocked out of the way by Dreamer, who lapped at it with a loud stuttering purr, so Wanderer shoved him back, and they spent a little while just wrestling each other for little splashes.
Now thoroughly soaked, covered in wet mulch, weary to their bones, but full and hydrated, they roared summons to the dark sky and sat back to await the arrival of the rest of their family. The little trickle really was pathetic – Wanderer had made larger ones himself – but it was enough to stay hydrated. "I hope this water is here always," Wanderer groaned, regretting the playing but yet not at the same time.
Dreamer hummed thoughtfully to himself, pawing at the black plant-mush over the ground. I think it will," he rumbled, digging his claws into the ground and looking around. "Things not grow properly here. Trees growing over us, but not here." Wanderer looked around, noting that the trunks indeed protruded from the ground at a bit of a distance, but reached up and over them to meet those growing in patches of dirt up the rough slope. "Very wet here. Ground is soft. I think water been here much time. Wrrr… We can stay, then leave if it stops."
"I want stay," Wanderer immediately agreed with relief. Not that this was particularly pleasant territory, but that would help keep them hidden, and he was tired of flying. Not to mention the hot-season was waning, the nights growing longer. "Maybe we can find den in mountain."
"Fleeting maybe not like sleeping on rock," Dreamer hummed fondly, turning his head up towards the steep incline. "But maybe she can do that now…"
"If she not can, could sleep on you instead," Wanderer joked, then walked over to Dreamer and pressed up against his side. The reminder of better times was a little painful, but it was a comforting pain.
Fleeting herself bounded through the trees shortly after, tailed by Leaper and the female, and didn't hesitate to put her open mouth to the water spouting from the rock. Leaper sat next to her, greedily eyeing the water, then whined as she nudged him aside to let the female drink.
"This water is hidden," Wanderer hummed, nuzzling Fleeting as she walked over and purring as she pressed her head into his neck. "We can stay here. Maybe… they not will find us…"
She looked around, glaring at the trees with an uneasy growl, eyeing the wet ground distastefully. But then the female stepped away from the water, and all three adults stared with quiet purrs as Leaper dove under it with relieved, happy squeaks and growls, letting it splash over him as he rolled in the mulch and playfully snapped and swatted at the trickle.
Fleeting took a long, deep breath, looking as tired as Wanderer had ever seen her. "Leaper needs this," she rumbled, glancing at Dreamer, then flicked her wings and tail. "We should stay… but I will pick our den." With that, she trotted to the nearest tree to climb it and take off.
"Not obvious den!" Dreamer called after her. "She did pick us nice den before," he added lightly, though his ears and frills fell a little.
Wanderer affectionately rubbed his shoulder against him. "We not had that den much time. But we will claim it again. Make Long-Paws regret they sent that hunter." He felt Dreamer slump, and looked to find him downcast. "They want to fight," Wanderer warned with a light growl, "want to take everything. We always will need fight them. I know you not want that, but you tried, then they hurt us. They need understand they not should hurt Nightstrikers."
"I just tired that nobody wants peace," Dreamer said sullenly, shrugging Wanderer off and walking off into the trees.
Wrrr, that tempered Wanderer's eager anticipation to take back their territory. He huffed, then noticed the female staring after Dreamer. "Not worry," he said, "he will fight. Just not will like it, or will feel bad after. Maybe both." Probably both. Sympathy, uncertain, she warbled…
Then startled as Leaper pounced her hindleg, sinking his teeth into it. "I caught you," he growled, half-climbing onto her flank to nip and swat at her tail, then pounced that too and fell into the wet mulch.
"You should play with Sire," she warbled sadly, edging away while he found his paws again.
"Sire not want play," Leaper announced with a flap of his wings, "he too tired. Want play!" Wanderer's heart sank while the fledgling bounded after the female to tackle her foreleg and bite that too.
The female looked at Wanderer with wide, uncertain eyes. He groaned under his breath, feeling the weight of how far they'd flown, then tossed his head with a chuff. He probably could play with Leaper now, but he would be happiest to play with who he'd already decided on, and she was the most rested. More people to engage Leaper was only a good thing, and she wouldn't hurt him intentionally; Dreamer had even been helping her kill her bad thinking, often wandering off with her when they landed to rest, though he didn't seem to want to talk about it.
She was hesitant, as if she still didn't believe that he trusted her enough, then awkwardly lifted the foreleg still under assault to paw at Leaper. He grappled with it, flipped over it onto his back, and growled playfully and happily while he chewed and clawed at her. The playfulness was as contagious as always, and she was quickly growling playfully back at him, pawing at his belly and nipping at his hindpaws as he tried to kick her away.
Right as Wanderer was about to join in, Leaper scrambled out from under her and to his paws, shook himself of most of the soggy mulch clinging to him – pelting the female with it – and bolted off into the trees, the female right behind him with an annoyed, playful growl. Wanderer was suddenly left on his own in the damp clearing with the cheery trickle of the water.
He took a deep breath, resolving to play with Leaper later, when he would be more rested and thus more fun. For now, he flapped up to one of the overhanging branches, curling his tail around it and dropping backwards to hang. The best thing he could do right now, for himself and everyone else, was rest.
Food, water, and shelter, well known as being the three things required for survival. Nightstrikers perhaps did not require quite as much of the latter, but food and water definitely. Those requirements marked places they could feasibly live, and they weren't built to roam all their lives, certainly not while carrying a fledgling.
The seemingly infinite forest stretched out below Dreamer as he coasted on the wind riding up the mountain. Those trees contained food and water, and there was a small fissure in the mountain with a crooked floor that could just about be called a cave, all hidden beneath the wild greenery. They could survive here for as long as they needed, hidden away from the world and anyone looking to find them.
"Surviving" was a good word for what they were doing. He glanced at Fleeting, who drifted beside him, then swooped down to skim the canopy, keeping his nose sharp for scents. Prey here did not seem to need water as often, and when they did they usually made use of the small lake nestled between the mountains, on the other side; it was not hidden, so going near it was to potentially reveal their presence. Instead, they hunted the prey that roamed through the tangled forest, staying away from the main trails as best they could but at the same time needing to follow scents. It was a balancing act they were constantly refining, slowly improving.
With no prominent scents on the wind, as to be expected, he and Fleeting flared their wings a few miles from the mountain and landed in the thick canopy. Dreamer's claws wrapped around twigs that had no hope of supporting him, but it was so thick, woven with the occasional vine, that he didn't fall through it. With an ease borne of much practice over the last sky-ice-cycle, he wedged his head into the foliage and basically crawled through it, holding his wings tightly to himself so they did not get snagged, until he fell through it to the ground. Fleeting landed gracefully a heartbeat later.
They immediately set off in opposite directions at a comfortable lope, noses sharp for fresh scents. Some prey seemed to migrate through the forest, heading west, which was what they were looking for, nice straight trails that were relatively easy to find. Even still, it had to be the better part of an hour before he heard Fleeting's bark of summons in the distance, the sign that she had found something.
He climbed back up through the thick canopy and took off, wings working hard where he could not push off from the springy branches, to meet up with her, his stomach growling audibly. She led him further west for a while, maybe a day's walking, before setting down again to pick up the trail and ensure they weren't off-course. Normally it was a case of repeating this process, until they were close, guessing by the age of the scent, but this time the prey appeared to have stopped or gone a different direction, so they backtracked on paw, weaving through the trees together a little way downwind with their noses to the damp ground; there wasn't any point in separating with how densely the trees were packed, they needed to be able to see each other to silently communicate.
Thankfully, it didn't take too long to find the prey, its scent drifting to them on the breeze. Finally… Dreamer caught Fleeting's eye and tossed his head in its direction, letting her take the lead, and prowled after her towards the meal. Where once she would have recklessly sprinted after it, now she moved with caution and consideration, planning their approach and indicating when Dreamer should circle around it.
The dense forest did mean they could get closer to their prey without being seen. What looked like a deer, but proportioned slightly differently, rested with its legs folded beneath it, though its wary eyes glinted in the darkness. Like some dragons, those eyes were pointed to either side, giving it a wide range of vision. It would be simple to fire at it – but like with accessing the lake, they did not want to give any indication they were here, and a great explosion in the middle of the night would be heard for miles.
The prey startled moments before Dreamer could get into position, hopping to its hooves and leaping away from Fleeting's claws trimming the fur from its flanks, slightly ahead of Dreamer where it pivoted away from him and left him lunging around the wrong side of a tree. His claws scraped thick roots as he sprinted after it, taking a straighter path that went a bit wide so that he could get ahead of it.
A hunt practised many times over a sky-ice-cycle, the familiar process of heading the prey into each other adapted to this forest with its many, many trees to wind around but little to no shrubs or bushes to slow them. Listening for the sound of its hooves, he pivoted to come up around it, slightly ahead, forcing it aside and into Fleeting's waiting teeth and claws.
She tumbled with it, expertly keeping herself clear of its weight and kicking hooves to land on top of it with her teeth in its neck, which she then violently twisted. With a sickening crack, the prey slumped to the damp ground, its wide eyes sightless and unseeing.
Dreamer walked over and nuzzled her while she stood over it, both of them panting, before they parted its fur and feasted on the meat within. It was on the smaller side for this prey, far from the largest they had caught, but it easily filled them both. How much it would fill Wanderer, Leaper, and the other female, on the other paw… They would definitely need to hunt again next night, not wanting to risk a failed hunt the night after.
Leaving little more than the skin and bones, they climbed out of the forest and flew back to the mountain, the meat weighing heavily in their bellies. Two shadows joined them as they neared, Wanderer with Leaper, the latter of whom zipped around them with eager impatience as they made for their den.
Leaper pulled ahead and disappeared into the foliage on the steep mountain, and Dreamer ducked in after him, passing under a crooked tree and into the crevice it hid. The female lay at the back, just beginning to rouse with Leaper climbing on her and chewing her ear, and Wanderer and Fleeting followed him inside.
The cave felt a little crowded with them all there, but they hadn't been able to find better; being only hard rock, maybe it was better to be on the smaller side, to keep warmer in the cold-season. They had enough room to share their meals, at least, Dreamer going halves with Wanderer and Fleeting sharing between the female and Leaper, who seemed to be getting fussy for some reason. Dreamer wasn't sure when they'd started doing it this way, but he and Wanderer were bulkier, requiring more food to maintain their strength, which they needed to keep in case they had to fight again. For when they had to fight again.
They had a nice view from up here, at least, and it was more pleasant than sharing off the perpetually wet ground below. He also didn't mind the closeness, their odd little family all squeezed together. Room to stretch would be nice, and he didn't recall trodden tails being an issue before, but he definitely didn't mind rubbing shoulders.
An angry screech was suddenly cut off by a pained yelp, and Dreamer took a deep breath before turning from the entrance and its nice view to find out what the ongoing fuss was about. Fleeting was snapping up what was left of the food she'd shared, and Leaper huddled at the back of the cave, glaring at her. Not this again…
Dreamer climbed over Wanderer's flanks, barely avoided stepping on the female's tail, and nestled up against Leaper, looking at him sternly but neutrally. "What happen when you get angry at Dam?" he asked.
"Dam get angry," Leaper replied bitterly, shuffling a claw-length away from him. Agreement, Dreamer chuffed. "Then you talk, make me bored," the fledgling added with a growl.
"So you not should be angry at Dam," Dreamer concluded, choosing to be amused by the new addition. "What you should do?"
Leaper growled frustration, wisely turning away before baring his teeth. "But Dam not will give me fish!"
"We not have fish," Dreamer calmly explained for what had to be the fiftieth time since they had settled here. "I want fish also. But no fish here." There were none in the lake, though even if there was they might be too dangerous to fish, in case anyone was watching it. He waited a little while, but this time it seemed they were going to skip the usual argument of magically finding some, which was progress. "You want eat now?" he asked lightly, more interested in feeding his son than punishing him for wanting some variety.
"Yes," Leaper huffed, "but I only want fish."
Dreamer shrugged, folding his paws and resting his head on them. "We not have fish, so you will be hungry. Or you can apologise to Dam, ask nicely for your land-prey." Fleeting similarly settled down, though her tail flicked back and forth against her side.
"I can play with you," the female offered to Leaper with a wide yawn, then gave herself a shake. "You can come back when you want." Leaper barked a terse agreement, and climbed over Dreamer to reach the exit without going near his Dam.
Dreamer nudged his son's flank with his snout as it passed over him, "No flying until you eat." It was nearly dawn anyway, and he needed some kind of consequence. Agitation, Leaper growled, deliberately spreading his wings and flapping them as he leapt outside. The female rumbled amusement before following.
"Dam said fledglings do this," Fleeting grumbled, staring flatly at the wall. "I always think fledgling not do things that get them bitten. I definitely not did things that made Dam bite me."
Amusement, Wanderer huffed. "Leaper not is you. He is like Dreamer. Dreamer do many things that get him bitten."
"What?" Dreamer barked, offended. "What I do that get me bitten?"
"Annoy Fire-Scale," Wanderer said flatly, tilting his head and staring at nothing. "Annoy me. Fight hunters but not kill them, fly at danger when at ice-nest-"
"I had reasons for those things," Dreamer protested.
"But you still do them," Wanderer growled, rolling onto his back. "Now we lose our territory, live here where Leaper whines about fish."
That put a pit in Dreamer's stomach. He dropped his head back to his paws with a huff, and they lay in silence. He was almost entirely certain Wanderer did not begrudge him their circumstances, this would probably have happened sooner or later regardless; occasionally they just needed to snap at each other, vent some frustration. The kick in the teeth was that the best way to handle the situation, from their perspective at least, would probably have been to destroy the entire Long-Paw nest at the first sign of trouble and leave nobody alive. Grimmel would have remained unaware of their existence for much longer, and they wouldn't be doing all this while trying to care for a young fledgling.
Admittedly, their lives weren't great at the moment. But they were still recovering from pushing themselves so hard to escape; it was slow with the difficult hunting and doing their best to keep Leaper engaged, even if he didn't seem to appreciate it, and there was the ever-present uncertainty of the looming cold-season. Hopefully, everything would improve with the warming-season.
As the nights grew longer, tensions began to abate. The sky-fire spent less time in the sky, taking its warmth with it, and everything began to settle down.
Dreamer reflected on this as he tussled with Leaper, roughing him with a paw while he bit and tried to claw at it with happy, playful growls. The nights they spent with their son were certainly a huge part of everyone's gradually improving mood, giving them something to look forward to, a purpose to their arduous hunts beyond just surviving. And with the warming-season he would be old enough to properly help, large enough to keep up while tracking prey and help take it down.
Hunting for himself… Where had their tiny little helpless hatchling gone? On one paw, Dreamer was so very much looking forward to him being more independent, responsible enough to go flying on his own. But on the other paw, these wonderful, heartwarming moments seemed to be slipping by, soon to be a faint memory.
Wrrr, that was simple enough to fix. Dreamer pinned the fledgling, preventing him from escaping while he repositioned, then lay across him, purring at the reminder his little Leaper was still little. Leaper growled and thrashed, futilely pushing and kicking and trying to budge Dreamer's far greater weight.
Dreamer took the opportunity to give his son a good cleaning, stopping him from getting bored by making him annoyed. Leaper fought him the whole time, but lanky as he was, Dreamer's broad tongue made short work of the task, even being thorough about it.
With that done, he let his son escape to shake himself off with annoyed grumbles. Dreamer crouched playfully, being obvious about preparing to pounce, then chased after the shrieking, laughing fledgling when he fled. "Tickles!" he roared as they bounded through the forest.
"No, Sire!" Leaper shrieked breathlessly, stumbling over a protruding root in his haste and scrambling to recover. "No tickles!"
Dreamer roared and pounced, grabbing him in a roll to take the brunt of the fall himself. He landed on his back, clutching at Leaper and nipping at his neck while the fledgling shrieked and writhed, trying to pull free.
He eventually allowed Leaper to escape – he hadn't needed to relax his grip by much – and rolled onto his side. "What you want do now?" he asked, faintly hoping the answer was going to be to nap; the thought of curling up around him sounded wonderful, just enjoying the contact and company.
Leaper stood by a tree, looking ready to bolt around it in an instant, panting heavily but seemingly invigorated. At the question, he rumbled thoughtfully to himself, staring off into the distance. Dreamer was more than happy to close his eyes and half-doze for the few minutes this would take. "Sire!" came a decisive bark, and he cracked an eye. "Want hunt!"
Hrrr… Hunting the big land-prey here was not an option yet, requiring more time than was left in the night and energy than Dreamer had to spare. But that wasn't the only thing they could hunt. "Dam said you not could catch her…" It was out of context, but that was beside the point.
Leaper growled affronted, playful, kneading the ground with his claws, and Dreamer briefly stretched before rolling upright and loping into the trees. He slowed whenever Leaper misstepped and made sound, but there was no need to remind him, he knew the basics of hunting by now; all that was left was to practice.
They made their way to the trickle of water flowing from the base of the mountain, only small scuffs betraying their presence in the night, and not even that as they neared it. As expected, there was nobody around – the ground was wet, damp, and generally unpleasant for everyone other than Leaper – but it was Fleeting's turn to rest while Wanderer hunted with the female, and she would return here sooner or later. "Why we are waiting here?" Dreamer quietly asked Leaper while they waited.
His son's green eyes glinted in the low light, staring at the water; it was almost strange to see him so patient and still, but they were hunters by nature, and he was perfectly capable of focusing when he needed to. "We downwind," Leaper murmured, not taking his eyes away from where his prey would appear.
It was no surprise he knew the answer, but knowing something and doing it were two very different things. To that end, Dreamer felt around for a leaf with the tip of his tail, then squashed it with a quiet rustle – Leaper's ears flicked, his head twitching, and Dreamer relaxed with a satisfied huff. Had he not reacted, Dreamer would have bitten him for not remaining wary of his surroundings.
Time seemed to pass slowly, but it was nice. Dreamer couldn't doze, he had to appear alert, but he was lying in comfortable silence with his son, teaching valuable life lessons by occasionally flicking his tail. As long as he kept an eye and ear out, he could relax a bit, just enjoy the time together, knowing he would easily hear Fleeting when she arrived. He knew that fulfilling instincts was a wonderful feeling, even if that meant staring at a shaded little clearing for an hour, though for him it was just some nice quiet time. It made him aware of the tense knot in his chest, a faint ache so persistent he'd stopped noticing it.
Fleeting did eventually announce her arrival with firm wingbeats, and Leaper tensed. She swooped down towards them and backwinged to slip through a tiny gap in the trees, where the overhanging trees didn't quite meet the higher branches of the one growing out of the steep rock, then gracefully bounded the short distance down the slope from where she had landed and pranced to a halt by the water. Dreamer gave up wrestling with the knot of tension, as it had only gripped him more firmly with her arrival, and focused on not betraying their presence to watch.
When she had almost entirely turned her back to drink, Leaper prowled from the shadows without needing to be prompted. He advanced slowly, but speed was secondary to silence and would come naturally with practice.
Fleeting continued to lap at the water, seemingly completely oblivious. Leaper froze at a sweeping flick of her tail, his wings tensing and flaring comically, though Fleeting then sat on her haunches to clean her face, and he resumed his slow advance. Of the five of Leaper's body-lengths he had to cross, only three remained. Dreamer dug his claws into the ground, certain Fleeting had noticed him by now; her movements looked a bit stiff to be natural, and cleaning herself now was too convenient, just playing her part of clueless prey. Still, she let Leaper get very close before she 'happened' to turn her head-
She threw herself forwards with a genuinely startled shriek, slipping in the rotting leaves for an instant while Leaper snarled and tackled her flank. He didn't have the weight to bring her down, but he successfully hung on, one paw hooked around her hindleg and the other over her tail, while she figured out what was happening and then dramatically collapsed to the ground with a defeated roar.
Dreamer couldn't stop laughing as he walked from where he was hiding. "You really not knew he was hunting!?" Granted, Leaper had been basically flawless, but still!
"When you get so big!?" she roared at their son, pushing at Leaper while he scrambled over her to bite her neck with an ecstatic growl. She made a show of shrieking and thrashing for a bit before falling limp, and Leaper stood on her to roar his success to the sky. Then Fleeting rolled and grabbed him, and he cackled while she playfully and affectionately nipped and nuzzled him.
Leaper managed to pry his way free and gave himself a shake. "I got this big this night!" he replied proudly. "But not next night. Next night, I will be bigger!"
Dreamer rumbled amusement, adoration to himself as he walked up to Fleeting to nuzzle her affectionately, feeling… flighty and tense, all told, but happy. "He is very big," he told her matter-of-factly, and Leaper chuffed agreement.
"Maybe not hunt me next hunt," Fleeting growled, grabbing Dreamer to bite him.
They were distracted by Wanderer and the female returning hopefully with food. "Much noise here," Wanderer crooned as they landed, his tone mostly light but with an edge of worry; they were hiding, after all.
"I hunted Dam!" Leaper barked a moment before he tackled Wanderer, wrapping paws around his neck and trying to bite his face. Impressed, Wanderer barked, twisting to get under the fledgling and pushing him back to rough with him.
"He did," Dreamer confirmed with a proud purr, "he had very good hunting. She not even know! Was very funny."
"You think was funny," she snapped. "Listen to my life-beats!" She grabbed him and held his head to her chest, and indeed her heart was still racing. But it made the tension in his chest flare, so he quickly twisted free with a laugh.
Wanderer distracted him by heaving up a pile of meat onto the ground, which Dreamer barely even grimaced at; the wet ground was annoying to eat off, but it wasn't as if it would hurt him, and they were all already gathered there. Everything was quiet for a minute while they shared the meal.
Afterwards, Dreamer tuned out of all the praise and little bouts of play with Leaper, feeling distant and tired, which wasn't unusual; for the most part, only one out of every three days was spent resting and relaxing, in solitude. He didn't need to feel responsible for Leaper any more now that the others were around, which was a relief, but he just had to take a moment to collect himself.
When Leaper flew off with Wanderer and the female, Fleeting stayed, looking worriedly at him. "You are good?" she asked, wings poised to take off after the others. Dreamer didn't immediately answer, realising that he didn't know. Now that he was aware of it, he felt tense and agitated over nothing, his breaths heavy, almost panting. It wasn't worry, not entirely at least…
He was starting to get an idea when Fleeting nuzzled him, her snout brushing his neck. "When we last mate?" he asked as he leaned into her, feeling a desperate need for contact.
She pressed her forehead into his neck with a sad croon. "Much time past… But we need rest…"
He couldn't even remember mating with her since they'd fled their territory. That couldn't be right, there had to be some moments here that they'd shared when waking, when settling down… but he couldn't remember any. She was right, they needed their rest, and after playing with Leaper all night – midnight naps were now a thing of the past – it was probably irresponsible to further burn himself out. But… Grrr, he couldn't put it to words, could only growl frustration.
"My back already is wet," she rumbled huskily in his ear, then dragged him to the ground. He didn't hesitate to leap on the long-awaited opportunity, revelling in just holding her close, feeling her pressing against his body, wrapping his tail around hers. She smelled tired even after having the whole night to rest, and she wasn't very engaged, clearly doing this more for his benefit, but he did his best to maximise her enjoyment as well.
After those final, breath-stoppingly tense moments, he finally relaxed, heartbeat thumping in his ears, feeling ready to fall asleep then and there. Fleeting clearly didn't share his sentiment, because she rolled him into the mulch to climb to her paws. After lethargically helping clean each other off, she gently nuzzled his head with a purr, and climbed up into the trees to take off.
Dreamer just lay on his side, feeling much better… He really should get up and return to the den, dawn was beginning to light the sky, but the thought just didn't appeal to him. Not that he wanted to remain there on the cold, damp ground either… He certainly hadn't taken his time, but maybe he had overdone it…
Despite trying not to, he dozed off where he lay, barely able to contemplate getting up. He kept climbing to his paws and going to climb a tree or fly straight out, only to find he was still lying on his side, only imagining getting up.
It was only when wingbeats pricked his ears that he felt remotely alert, noticing and feeling guilty that the sky was now a bright blue. He actually did manage to climb to his paws then, in time for the female to slip through the trees into a landing and croon worriedly at him. He rumbled back as he stretched, not having intended on dozing off or worrying anyone. He'd just needed…
Not what he had got. Those precious, passionate moments with his mate had helped immensely, but that tension, that need, was still there, clawing at his ribs and clutching at his breath. It wasn't as if he wanted to mate again, but he still didn't feel good.
The female nudged his shoulder, and he rumbled and shook his head; this wasn't something to worry her about. He lethargically climbed a tree to leap from its branches, thinking that it might be difficult to get back to sleep now that he had already slept for a little while; teach him to doze off.
He did his best to shake off the leaf litter clinging to his back and side before alighting in the den, brushing off the worst of what remained as he padded inside. The rest could be dealt with next night, when it was his turn to rest. Alone.
Fleeting typically had two sides to her, rarely showing anything else. Usually she was strong and dominant, very rough, and very clear that she was taking what she wanted. She also loved being on the receiving end of that, having someone take out their lust on her. Right now, they were both too tired to get rough.
He sighed as he lay on his paws next to Wanderer. Their relationship was far more balanced, though had settled into something a bit different once Fleeting had become involved. Perhaps they needed to go back a bit, towards what it had been before…
An enquiring snout brushed Dreamer's head, which he lifted to look questioningly at the female it belonged to. She looked tense, uncertain, her gaze flicking down for a moment, while she hesitantly put a paw over his shoulders to lean over him. Her broad tongue glided up the back of his neck a moment later, and he immediately dropped with a quiet groan, feeling the tension melt at her firm but gentle touch.
He wanted to protest, feeling a little uncomfortable, but this was how dragons were. Fleeting didn't have to worry he would be unfaithful because he was physically incapable of it, and they were naturally affectionate creatures. Her eyes had told him she wanted to help him, because he had helped her. Everything was just so much better when everyone helped each other…
It wasn't as if the grooming was intimate, she didn't go anywhere near his flanks and all she did of his front was some of his chest, but it was easily enough to satisfy his aching desire for contact and affection. When she was finished, she settled down between his splayed paws and put a wing over him, much as he often had for her.
"I have thinking," he purred quietly, wanting to voice something before he drifted off and forgot, and she shifted her head to look questioningly at him. "You say you not female that you were. But we all change. I not am same male I was before Leaper hatched, but that not is bad thing." He hesitated, entirely unsure of how appropriate it was to offer this, but mustered his confidence and forged ahead anyway. "Reaching. I would like to call you Reaching. You trying to be something, I not know what that is but I see you are strong, finding what you need to be happy again." He rumbled uncertainty, "Maybe this is strange, but I not like calling you 'female'."
She watched him for several moments, her expression unreadable. She didn't reply, but her eye dilated as she closed it and snuggled up to him with a purr.