So, if you happen to follow me on Tumblr, you'll know that Changed got some fanart drawn of Tripfire and Eret and honestly its so damned cute! (if you want to see it, my url is the same as my username over there)
-HTTYD-
"Hmmph!"
"Don't give me that! It's their rules, not mine."
Tripfire huffed louder, turned her back and refused to look at Eret. Valka had to suppress a laugh at how Eret's face said it was a very familiar sight, that his dragon had a predictable pattern for tantrums.
"What is wrong with Tripfire?"
Mala asked, looking concerned about the Stormcutters dour mood. Eret shrugged, looking over at the dragon.
"She's mad at me because I can't go flying with her."
The Defenders of the Wing did not ride on dragon back, and Valka and Cloudjumper respected it - they flew in and out, but otherwise they stayed on the ground together or Cloudjumper flew alone. Tripfire was less agreeable about such rules, and since Eret was refusing to put her saddle on she extended her displeasure to her human too.
"Can she not fly alone?"
"Oh she can, but if she does that how can she possibly throw me off and play fetch with my screaming body?"
A few of the Defenders laughed, Mala watching Eret frown slightly at Tripfire's back. Valka felt for him really; Tripfire and he were bonded, and he seemed to make her feel safe. In a new place, new people and no Alpha to soothe her, it made sense Tripfire wanted Eret even closer. He circled around, persisting even when Tripfire tried to deliberately shift away until she finally let him scratch under her chin.
"I promise when we get home we'll go flying as much as you like, ok?"
"Hmph."
"I know. How about some trapper practice?"
"Trapper practice?"
Despite having taken both Valka and Tripfire's judgement of Eret's redemption well enough, Mala was still somewhat wary of Eret's past, and Valka supposed to an unknowing mind 'trapper practice' didn't sound all that great.
"Yeah. Why do you think I named her Tripfire? I was teaching some of Valka's dragons how to spring trapper traps, and my girl here is a natural. Plus she likes to burn things. Including trappers."
Eret was cut off by Tripfire licking him, though he didn't seem to mind since she was visibly preening with the praise. There was a gentle light in his eyes whenever he was with Tripfire, a peace she doubted he'd have found elsewhere. Something that seemed to come from a connection with dragons, an understanding and respect of the beautiful, amazing creatures that they were. She saw similar in Mala too, the Queen who had a connection of her own to the Great Protector of their island, the Eruptadon.
"I see. Perhaps you would allow some of my villagers to sit in on the lesson?"
Blinking in surprise, Eret nodded.
"Uh, sure. I take no responsibility for anyone who gets hurt though."
Valka sat with Cloudjumper and Mala on one of the wooden ledges outside of a hut near the patch of ground Eret and Tripfire occupied, Cloudjumper occasionally throwing Valka a wistful expression she understood immediately. As did Mala.
"I take it your companion is rather impressed with the lady?"
Chuckling as Cloudjumper feigned ignorance, Valka nodded.
"Quite so. Tripfire is only really concerned with Eret though, they are very close and incredibly protective of one another. I think... they needed each other, and found each other at the right time."
Mala sipped her drink, eyeing the way Eret set up the trap with practiced hands.
"Trusting him was quite the leap of faith."
Valka conceded her point.
"I know. I thought that a lot too, but Tripfire wouldn't leave his side the whole time she was grounded, and she still doesn't trust me as much as she does Eret. The Alpha accepted him, and Eret really is trying hard to atone. I don't think he'll ever forgive himself, let alone ask anyone else to forgive his past but..." Valka gestured to where Tripfire had successfully dismantled a netter trap with a well placed swipe from precisely the right angle "some things you have to take on faith, I suppose."
Humming to herself, Mala had a thoughtful half-smile on her face.
"Agreed. Although I must confess when you first turned up with him, I rather expected his role in your life to be... different."
"Such as?"
Raising one eyebrow, Mala placed her drink down and turned a little more to Valka.
"Come now Valka, we are both grown women. You know exactly what I mean."
Feeling her cheeks flush and knowing she couldn't even blame the wine, so watered down it was, Valka tsked and rolled her eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Mala turned her eyes back to the spectactle of Eret attempting to tie a knot with Tripfire nudging him for attention.
"Even I can see he is rather easy on the eye. You live in very close quarters with almost no other contact with people. You are human, Valka, no matter how much dragon there is in your soul."
"Mala, it's really not like that. I made him change his mind, I could hardly just send him away. But he helps with the dragons, and that's all it is."
"So you say."
"Because it's the truth."
Mala fell silent after that, though she did offer an affectionate rub to Cloudjumper when he leaned down to sniff curiously at their cups. Few saw Mala as she was now, relaxed and at ease with a woman whom she had nothing to prove to. Even the removal of the ornate shoulder guards she wore was rare, though not unheard of after the sun set. But she and the Defenders Queen had been friends over a decade - since Mala was a young teenager, when she and her mother had happened upon Valka after she and Cloudjumper were injured in a particularly vicious tangle with Hunters.
They'd taken her back to their island, nursed she and Cloudjumper back to health for three full days. Valka could even point out the faded scar on her side that was once a nasty cut Mala tended to. Acknowledging kindred spirits who protected the dragons, the Defenders taught Valka some of what they knew, and in turn she shared with them her own knowledge.
"I think perhaps those two were not the only ones to find each other at the right time."
"Meaning?"
Mala tilted her head, keen eyes trying to work out if Valka was being deliberately obtuse or not.
"I know you have the dragons, but I do fear for your solitude all the same. You seem... lighter than I remember. I think perhaps this Eret, son of Eret has done you some good."
Valka hid her face in her cup, unsure how to answer. Mala could really throw someone off with her deep, insightful comments in such a gentle, unobtrusive tone.
"I have Cloudjumper, I'll always be good so long as he's around."
Her dragon warbled happily, successfully distracted from pining for Tripfire to notice him for the moment. The female in question was taking a break and watching Eret, who was teaching some of the younger Defenders how to dismantle the traps without the help of a dragon. He really was trying to put the things he'd learned to a better use.
Eret was introduced to the Eruptadon the following day, and Valka found herself smiling at his wide-eyed wonder - the Magmadon species of which the Eruptadon came from were incredibly rare, and even Valka in all her travels had only seen a handful of them herself, living solitary or in groups of two or three around active volcanoes. Even Eret the 'finest dragon trapper alive' had never seen one before.
"Wow. That statue down there doesn't do it justice, he's incredible."
Magmadons were rather... flexible in their approach to sex from what she'd seen, and Valka was fairly certain they didn't need a pair to reproduce. Which was handy, since they only laid once a lifetime, a trait Valka had never seen in any other species, not even the ones who were very particular about conditions for mating and hatching cycles.
"Yes, the Great Protector is very impressive. And without him, all of this" Mala gestured out to the island below the volcano "would cease to be."
Valka would be lying if she denied swelling with pride when Eret proved how much he'd learned, approaching the huge dragon carefully, holding out an unthreatening hand and waiting for the Eruptadon to come to him. Which happened eventually, much to Throk's faint consternation - like Cloudjumper, he remained wary still.
"Hey there. I'm Eret. Still kinda new to this dragon thing, but you are really something."
Mikkel, who did not seem deterred by Eret's lack of displayed interest, headed off after him when they began to descend down to the village again. Tripfire was not pleased, grumbling in warning about someone too close to her human until Eret tickled her chin again and fed her some sagefruit.
"There you go girl, rest up."
Valka rather expected Eret to take Mikkel up on their offer now Tripfire was settled, but instead he crossed over the few steps and dropped down next to Valka.
"So... how'm I doing here? I don't wanna upset your friends."
He was worried about her? Valka shook her head, not sure how to deal with his earnest attitude over the playful rogue he usually came across as.
"You're doing fine Eret. More than, it seems."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Valka wasn't sure why it bothered her. Was she worried Eret might take up wth a Defender and stay on Caldera Cay? After she'd finally gotten used to having someone around again? And, admittedly, how nice it was to have someone around. Cloudjumper was undoubtedly the other half of her soul and Valka could never replace him, but Eret cooked and told terrible jokes and helped care for the dragons in ways only someone with opposable thumbs could.
Despite doing her best not to get attached, to try to remind herself her life was not conducive to stable human relationships - her friendship with Mala was built on an understanding of that, and Mala never asked more than what Valka could offer - she knew if Eret left, she'd miss him. And Cloudjumper would definitely miss Tripfire.
Was she being overdramatic? Eret would probably never move to Caldera Cay anyway - he couldn't fly Tripfire there, and that would be one long tantrum from his dragon. Gods, she was being ridiculous. Eret wasn't even interested! Mala's ridiculous insinuation about Eret and she... no. Valka wasn't going there. Shaking it off, she realised Eret was looking at her oddly.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine, fine. I always struggle a little being away from the mountain, but I do so love to visit here."
"I can see why. It's beautiful out here, and they have a really cool dragon and they heal dragons. I mean, if you didn't have the mountain you would probably move in here. I wouldn't. Tripfire would never forgive me."
Glancing over at the blissed out Stormcutter, Valka found herself laughing.
"I agree. She can stretch her wings on the flight home."
"I know. And I respect their way of life here, I do. I just don't like Tripfire being mad at me, and she doesn't like flying without me so its gotta be frustrating for her."
As Tripfire was effectively napping, Cloudjumper had seized the chance to bring her a gift without getting yelled at and left a bundle of local flowers next to her head. Ever since he'd seen her watching as Cloudjumper brought Valka flowers to make paint from, he'd started bringing flowers for Tripfire too. Valka considered it progress that they weren't immediately set on fire.
Having seen so few Stormcutters in her time, Valka had very little idea how they expressed intention. Lots of dragons used mating dances, but others used rituals and more used gifts. Gronckles brought shiny rocks. Nadders danced. Zipplebacks blew things up - the most explosive explosion usually got the attention of a female. For all she knew, Cloudjumper constantly bringing presents was exactly what his species did.
Tripfire woke to the pile of flowers, immediately looking around suspiciously but Eret was nearby and Cloudjumper a respectable distance away. Giving her space seemed to be helping his cause a little. She wiggled her frills at Eret, cooing until he went over to her.
"What do you want hm? More sagefruit? Is that stuff addictive? Is she gonna get mad we don't have it back home?"
Home. The way he called the mountain home so easily struck a chord in Valka - he hadn't been there that long, not really, but it was clear they'd forged a sort of living situation that both had settled in to and would probably prefer not to lose.
"No no, we have something similar anyway. Sagefruit is just a tastier option, and depending on how much they eat it can simply relax rather than induce sleep."
Cloudjumper huffed when Eret sat down to start playing with the flowers he'd brought over for Tripfire, grumbling but not going over to challenge him. He soon perked up - Eret turned the pile of flowers into a long, Tripfire-sized flower crown, draping it over her horned crown and laughing as she wiggled her nose plates, trying to reach the lowest hanging flowers with her tongue.
"Aww, you look like a queen yourself now Tripfire."
She preened, standing tall and clearly attempting to look haughty and regal. Cloudjumper looked very happy she wasn't rejecting the flowers he had brought, even if Eret had to turn them into something.
"My plan worked perfectly!"
"Your plan?"
"Yeah, to make Tripfire stop rejecting all the gifts right away. See? Worked."
Eret nodded at her very happy dragon, obviously quite proud of himself as he winked at Valka.
Valka certainly did not like it when he did that. Not one bit.
-HTTYD-
The question is not what happens next. The question is how much pining can be endured before we all explode.