Well, I can't think of a witty authors note.
-HTTYD-
Eret had almost forgotten it was getting to that time of year again, but then he realised why the nest was so abuzz with energy and why Cloudjumper was extra dopey toward Tripfire. With Alva and Vali old enough to be left alone, he'd been back in the saddle with Tripfire for a few months, but with the mating season approaching again, it remained to be seen if he'd be taking another break.
Although, perhaps Alva and Vali could babysit any younger siblings... though Eret wasn't sure the nest could take the combined excitement and explosions.
"If these two have two more kids every year, our room is gonna get pretty full. Especially when Alva and Vali are full-grown."
Valka laughed, tickling Alva's dusky blue belly as she squirmed happily beneath.
"We can always move that wall further back if we have to."
Eret nodded, rubbing his face tiredly. It felt like they'd been going non-stop the last few months, even more so than usual. Tripfire hadn't minded getting to go flying and destroying all the time, at least.
Twitchy footsteps and low chitters preceded familiar clicks, the slow progress of the Triple Stryke edging his way into their room. He was still a little wary, and jumped if approached from behind and didn't love baby dragons trying to gnaw at his tails... but considering the lashing out and isolation and pain dragon-fighting captives went through, the scars where he'd been 'trained' to do as the hunters wanted?
Eret was stunned, and proud of the progress. He waited, Triple Stryke snuffling and taking in the room again to make sure he knew where he was, but eventually letting Eret reach out just enough to pet him gently on the snout, mindful of the smaller spike and even gentler when he stroked under his scarred jaw.
"There we go buddy, you're all good. Want some fish?"
He held the fish out slowly, let the dragon take it at his own pace.
"What should we call you, hm?"
Valka hummed to herself at his question, watching the dragon.
"You name him. I've named hundreds of dragons. You two could do with the bonding experience."
Blinking, Eret looked over the dragon, taking in the powerful shape and armoured back and those very very dangerous tails. Struggling to come up with anything that didn't say dangerous, which Valka rarely approved of - she'd named a Monstrous Nightmare Mercy, for Thor's sake - Eret chose to look at the Triple Stryke's colours instead. Dark, black in some places and fading into a silvery grey.
"How about... Eclipse?"
The Triple Stryke shuffled, thinking before chirping.
"Is that a yes?"
He was allowed to pet the dragon again, before the heavy snout was nudging toward the food basket for more fish, so Eret figured it was a yes. Eclipse was effectively back to full health, but they worried how he'd fare without the Alpha to calm him. If he chose to leave, there would be little they could do, but until he did, they weren't going to try and release him to the wild again.
"I can't think when I last saw another Triple Stryke. Guess this guy might be alone this season."
Valka patted Alva one last time, then got up to get herself some water.
"Triple Stryke's mate early in the year, not late. I know a few places we might be able to take Eclipse to meet others like him after the main mating season is over, if he's ready to be around other dragons outside of the nest."
"Ah, so there's hope for my boy yet?"
Valka smiled.
"Oh, I can only imagine the horror on your face if I'd told you how quickly you'd come to love dragons when we first met."
"Yeah, well, old me was an idiot. New me is still mostly an idiot, but he knows better."
Approaching slowly so she'd not spook Eclipse, Valka leant down and kissed Eret.
"I love you, you ridiculous man."
"I love you too, crazy dragon lady."
Eclipse had warmed toward Valka quicker, which wasn't surprising for many reasons, but they seemed to all be trucking along well now. And the Thunderpede had settled in well over with Mala and the Eruptadon. The Razorwhips were back with Atali, where they belonged, and the dragon fighting enterprise was crippled beyond repair for now. They'd have to keep trying, but with how many dragons they freed, how many buildings and islands and headquarters they'd razed to the ground (and how many hunters had died or been seriously wounded trying to fight back) Eret felt it was a good years work.
"Right, let's get the feeding flight done, cus I'm starving but taking Tripfire on a fishing flight right after dinner is a bad idea. Eclipse, you wanna come? You gotta be nice to the other dragons, but nobody is gonna hurt you."
Dragons as jumpy as Eclipse often took their meals in the nest and went out for flights later, alone. But Eclipse was doing well, so Eret gave him the choice. Eclipse agreed, but he stuck very close to the Stormcutters the whole time, and he twitched and checked behind himself a lot. Used to wary rescues over the years, the rest of the dragons were very forgiving about it.
"You do keep surprising me."
"Huh? What did I do now?"
Valka rolled her eyes, folding herself into a seated position next to where Eret was rubbing spices into hunks of meat.
"How you worked with Eclipse. Especially since he was so afraid of you. I'm just so very proud of how far you've come, I suppose."
"Well, I think I still have a lot to learn, but thank you. Could you get me the water bucket so I can wash my hands?"
If he didn't, the dragons would lick his fingers until it started to hurt to get all the taste there. Valka handed it to him, Eret rinsing the raw meat off and moving the bucket away from the fire before it got knocked over and extinguished by boisterous dragons.
"So, anything specific we need to do before we start getting ready to deal with mating season?"
"Nothing specific, just our usual I think. We certainly can't visit the Wingmaidens, and while visiting Mala is pleasant I don't think we need to go, we know the Thunderpede is thriving there and they have their own work to do. So yes, unless scouts return with need-to-rescue news, we are mostly here except for supply runs until the season is over."
Eret nodded, poking at the meat to make sure it cooked evenly, vegetables looking done through too so he had Valka get their bowls, and she poured a few distracting fish into the Stormcutter bowls before pouring the adults drinks to go with dinner. They ate with the usual chaos of dragons everywhere, though most weren't big fans of vegetables thankfully.
Valka rubbed her stomach with a wince, putting her bowl aside and sighing.
"You ok? Something wrong with your food?"
She shook her head, gesturing to the side and Eret's eyes followed, spotting the box where she kept the tightly rolled wool for the moonsblood she didn't often get, but had not yet totally stopped. Thankfully, she knew he wasn't squeamish about it, like some men were, and wasn't shamed by telling him that was why she was uncomfortable.
"Oh, right. Here, watch my bowl a minute."
He shuffled over to the fire, putting water on to boil and steeping herbs in. He'd learned a mix back home with his tribe for that from his grandmother, and whenever Valka had trouble with cramping discomfort, Eret made it up for her. Dinner finished while the tea brewed, Eret took the pot off the fire, ladled some into a cup and let some cool water drip in from the constant trickle to cool it down.
"Here. Don't burn yourself."
"Thank you Eret."
Eret perched next to her, rubbing her back soothingly when she'd downed some of her tea.
"Better?"
Swallowing the rest, Valka nodded.
"Yes, thank you."
"Good. I'll get you another cup, if you need the bathroom then go but you're laying down after. Yes, I know you've coped for many moons, but there's no reason you can't take it easy now."
Valka petulantly stuck her tongue out, but left for the bathroom while Eret refilled her cup and placed it next to their bed, tidying up after dinner while he waited for her to come back. She seemed happier when Eret opted to lie down with her, so he was just glad she'd stopped resisting the resting. After another cup of tea and some rest, alongside a gentle massage to ease tense muscles, Valka was feeling better, and so they headed out for a late evening (and gentle) flight before they retired for the night. After a little hesitation, Eclipse shuffled in and curled up near the glowing embers of the fire, three tails braided and curled around him. Eret smiled, pointing it out silently to Valka before they both settled down to sleep.
Eclipse huffed, disgruntled about having to stop mid-flight again, but that was the standard when flying with weeks-old hatchlings.
Identical to the last scale, the two newest members of their little family were two mischief-making miniatures of their father, save for the colour on their horns and spines. Cloudjumper's were blue, but the babes had. purple like their mother.
Eret had (in his opinion, cleverly) named one Cloudjunior, though to avoid confusion they mostly called him Junior. And Junior's brother was Stormjunior, often shortened to Storm. And Valka hadn't known it was possible, but the 'twins' as they called them were actually more of a menace than their older siblings.
It was their first flight - earlier than Alva and Vali had been taken out, but needs must - and they kept wriggling out of the humans arms or lap to try and drape themselves over their parents horns, or attempting to fly, and it was making the journey with Eclipse take easily twice as long as it should have. At least Eclipse wasn't doing more than glare and grumble, despite not having much patience for baby dragons and their boisterous ways.
"You definitely know where we're going, right?"
Eret asked, trying and sort-of-managing to hold on to Junior, allowing Tripfire to keep on flying unhindered. Valka distracted Storm with scratches under the chin, which calmed him down.
"Yes, Eret, I'm quite sure. Do you really think I'd be making a trip with these two so young if I weren't certain it was best for Eclipse?"
"Alright. Fair enough."
He pulled a face as Junior started squirming again, disgruntled by the restriction on movement. It wasn't worth landing for a break when they were already fairly close, so Valka thought perhaps they should make sure the babes were tired out before they flew back, though with Eclipse hopefully finding his new home, it wouldn't be such an issue flying back.
"How far?" at Valka's glare, Eret tried to give her a pacifying smile while little Stormcutter headfins smacked him in the face "hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!"
"Fifteen, maybe twenty more minutes. You'll be able to see it soon."
Junior opted to settle, watching the movement of Eclipse's tails as he braided and unbraided them while flying, clearly anxious - he knew where they were going, but after being captive and injured and then rescued, he was understandably wary.
"Alright, here we are."
Eret mindfully dropped Junior on Tripfire's head, then leapt from his saddle and did a rather comical jog toward a tree, followed by an audible sound of relief after fussing with his armour. Rolling her eyes at his antics, Valka slid down from Cloudjumper's back, leaving Storm up there to amuse himself by playing with his papa. Alva and Vali were still at the age where everything was exciting, sniffing around the land they'd come down on. Eclipse clicked his front pincer claws, tail making the usual click as he looked around.
"Don't worry my dear, they're just getting a look at us before they come out."
Sure enough, there was the clicking sound of Triple Stryke's communicating with one another, before a few heads poked out from around hills, over boulders. When one of their own was spotted, several took flight and came over, investigating the newcomers. Some recognised Valka and Cloudjumper from previous encounters, including one particularly lovely white-and-pink female who skipped right over to her for attention.
"Hello Rosethorn, it has been too long!"
"Rosethorn?"
Eret raised an eyebrow, having hooked his helmet on his saddle and tucked his gloves away to allow him to stroke Eclipse soothingly.
"Yes. The sharp points of her tail reminded me of thorns and roses. She's very sweet though."
It was why Valka had chosen this particular pack of dragons for Eclipse - they were calm, docile, peaceful. Not typical of the Triple Stryke, she knew, as they were a prideful and aggressive type who weren't afraid to fight anyone. However, they were also fiercely loyal and gracious, and rewarded their favours. Valka had helped relocate them about five years back, to keep them out of Drago's reach. They weren't the type Drago would have wanted anyway, this soft and gentle pack, but that would only have gotten them killed. Valka's help meant they remembered her, at least the ones who were alive back then. Several more were clearly hatched since then.
"Rosethorn, this is Eclipse. Eclipse, don't be afraid."
Rosethorn tottered over to Eclipse, sniffing at Eret first before turning her attentions to Eclipse. He squawked awkwardly as he was investigated, but Rosethorn backed up with a happy chirrup before rubbing her head against his. As though confused, Eclipse turned to Eret.
"It's ok buddy, she's trying to make friends."
Eclipse tried to mimic it, though when more Triple Strykes edged closer, he started to look a bit unsure. Valka rubbed his side, trying to calm him.
"This pack are very gentle Eclipse, there is no fighting here. They'll keep you safe and you won't be hurt again."
The island was well out of Drago's way, and the dragons were the only pack she knew of on it, and they were pretty good at staying undetected. If he'd needed somewhere that would keep him in line, Valka knew of another nest where there was a Titan Wing Triple Stryke who kept order, but as he proved to be rather relaxed once he felt secure, she felt Eclipse suited this island better.
"If you want to come back with us, you can of course, but if you wish to stay here, then we are happy to see you back with your kind."
They stayed for a while, waiting to see if Eclipse felt he could settle there. Rosethorn especially seemed happy to take him under her pretty wings, nuzzling him whenever Eclipse seemed tense. Triple Stryke's mated for life, and none of the males seemed to feel slighted, so she appeared to be currently 'available', and apparently quite fond of Eclipse already. He was rather dark and intriguing compared to the brighter, milder colouring of the other Triple Strykes she could see.
"Are you staying? If it's too much, you can come back to the nest anytime, alright?"
Looking between rescuers and new pack, Eclipse wavered a few times before shuffling toward Rosethorn and the others. Eret beamed.
"Atta boy. Well, you know where we are if you need us, but we should get back, there's a lot of baby dragons waiting for us."
He came back for pets goodbye, then hopped off after the others, turning back one last time before he disappeared into the trees in the distance. Valka smiled, happy to see him integrate again.
"He's gonna be alright, isn't he?"
Eret fretted slightly, having grown rather fond of the dragon. It was the reassurance Valka needed, to know what happened before was not his old ways resurging.
"Oh, I think he'll be just fine."
"Well, we better get going now these guys are tired out."
He gestured to the yawning 'twins', Junior and Storm looking ready to drop where they stood. Agreeing, Valka grabbed hold of one and climbed up on Cloudjumper, Eret copying her as he mounted Tripfire. Alva and Vali ruffled their wings, ready to fly too.
Eclipse did return to the nest, but it was a happy occasion when he did - it was about three months later, and he had brought along the fruits of a happy mating season in the form of two little babies. Rosethorn shuffled around her babes protectively, beautiful with the dusting of pink over their claws and tails, while their spikes and armoured scales were black as night. Eret was absolutely ecstatic for him, didn't even complain when the babies snapped him with their little and thankfully-not-yet-venemous tails. Her heart swelled at the sight of the dragons nuzzling each other, looking down at their hatchlings.
They waved the little four-dragon family off the next evening with smiles, Eret wrapping his arms around Valka and kissing her temple as they watched the darkening sky swallow them up in the distance. She knew he thought the same as her - sights like that were why they did what they did.
-HTTYD-
Eclipser was borrowed from Rise Of Berk, though I shortened it to Eclipse because... I couldn't see Eret naming a dragon Eclipser. He's a very handsome Triple Stryke. Rosethorn also borrowed, and super chill so ideal for Eclipse.