Family.
A bit over a month has passed since Embla joined her new family. She has already gotten much experience from living with them. She has learned how to swim better since every time they went to the lake, Skadi would encourage her to practice. Swimming is crucial for survival after all, like for dragons to fly. She had developed some skills to hunt some smaller animals, both Embla and Freyr were practicing this as getting your own food is naturally important. She had improved her stamina from dodging Fryer's talons more during play time but also to keep up with him and to play for a longer period. Skadi had also started to teach them the dragon language, bits of it at least. Skadi told them that most dragons speak specific words to show respect for one another, only the ancient ones only use that language. Embla knew she had much to learn, ancient ones for an example was something she had never heard off but was sure to find out at some point. Freyr had grown a bit over the past time as well, his neck was growing longer just like his tail, he was getting a bit larger which enabled the iridescent reflexes to come out more. His wings had gotten bigger too, he was now larger than Embla and was truly growing into his scales. Currently, Skadi was teaching Freyr how to fly. At some point they had to leave this place and in order to do so, flight was needed, she did start perhaps a little too early with him but Skadi had seen more potential with him than any other offspring. Perhaps his father's genes played a part in that, Skadi herself cannot remember if she was training to fly earlier when she was smaller, nonetheless, after the dragon attack from Vidar not too long ago, Skadi knew this place wasn't as safe as before. He most likely has some sort of pack, as a big part of males tend to fly with others. Male dragons enjoy fights more and the quest for the alpha roll is one they all desire, but so few can obtain. Therefore, flying in packs makes establishing dominance easier and safer. Although, all packs as such tends to have formed an alpha within their own group, it is a great opportunity for that alpha to get some confidence in their scales and skills which later on serves in their favor if they do try to become the new alpha. Embla only partially observed her brothers flying practice. As a child who is growing, the rags she wore would not cover her forever, therefore, Embla was practicing making a garment for herself from the dead animals Skadi brings after hunting. Embla had explained this concern to her mother, which Skadi didn't know much about. Skadi had therefore encouraged her to create her own and learn. Dragons do not buy rags to wear exactly, that is not in their nature, only humans do this. Therefore, Embla would have to do it herself, Skadi could not teach her this. She still did not like working with the skin and fur of the animals, she would use some scales that Skadi would shed from time to time to use to cut pieces of skin of the animals, wash them in water, allow them to dry then actually attempt sewing. It was hard for the six-and-a-half-year-old girl, Embla herself had started learning from observing how spiders create their web, feeling plants that were stronger and firmer and simply observing nature itself to try to figure out how to do these things. She had seen women sewing when she was living in the village but had up until now, never truly done it herself. She knew she would need a needle, fabrics and some sort of thread. Luckily, dragons shed, they shed their scales from time to time, though they lose their colors quickly and just turn dark grey, but they also shed their spikes, quite rarely though. Skadi had shed a spike two weeks ago that was a small one, a perfect needle size. Embla had taken the scale and had attempted to make a hole in it, which led to the scale breaking. Skadi had therefore helped her by using the tip of her claw to very carefully create a hole on the thicker side. After that, Embla had gathered lots of plants and would braid them together to create a sort of thread to sew with and had practiced sewing her own garments since. It was not easy as she was unsure how to make it fit on her well, but after practicing for a few weeks she had finally succeeded. she had completed a skirt that was not falling apart and stayed on her quite well. Embla smiled as she finished it. It was not the most beautiful thing she had seen, but she had made it. As any child should be, she was proud of her creation. The mixed furs were not a bother to her, rather, she liked it.
- Monah! Look! My new scales! She said lifting it up, Skadi turned her head and chuckled at her daughter. Those are not scales, silly. She thought, glad though, that she was trying to live as a dragon with her and Freyr as much as possible. Skadi turned her head back to her son. Flying was difficult in the beginning. But he was able to get of the ground and soar for a few meters. Now it was to keep going, further and higher. Freyr looked a bit scared. Skadi frowned and stomped on the ground. Not harshly but decisively. Freyr sprinted, flapping his wings faster with more force this time. He certainly got higher up this time. Skadi smiled at his progress, he was soaring.
- Remember to keep flapping to keep the height or put in more force to go higher. She did not list landing as an alternative, she was pushing him to fly. Embla looked up from her sewing, watching her brother flying properly for the first time. In awe she shouted.
- You are doing it Freyr! Keep going! The young dragon heard her and dared to keep going, putting more force in his flapping he went higher than he had before, he was now flying tight above the treetops, same height as his mother. Freyr started to realize flying might not be half bad and increased the speed a bit, flying circles around his mother. She chuckled.
- Alright, landing from the higher heights like where you are now, takes a bit more than simply bending your legs. You need to slow down in time to not crash but also don't take too long as that could be dangerous as well, if you are in a bad situation. Therefore, dive down slightly and once you get close, move so your back legs are the closest to the ground and your wings up, so the wings take up a large amount of air to slow you down faster. It will take some time to get, but practice makes perfect. Freyr gave Skadi a nervous look, but he knew she would be there to help him. Freyr dived down and as he tried to land, he parachuted his wings too late, making the landing a bit harsh, his back legs landed seconds before his front legs. Though because he hadn't done the landing well, the dragon fell forward and started rolling towards his mother, who simply put her tail in front of her to stop him. His head on the grass with tail, wings and back legs on his mothers' tail, he looked at her, a bit dizzy. Embla gasped as she witnessed the whole thing.
- Are you okay Freyr?! She shouted and ran up to them. She stopped only to sit down next to him and patted his head.
- He'll be fine, we are simply practicing after all, failing is not a bad thing, you learn by it. Skadi simply said and gently moved her tail away, making Fryer's tail, wings and back legs fall on the grass, so he was laying on his back. Embla looked at her mother, when she put it like that, the situations doesn't seem as dire as earlier. She looked back at Freyr who was still dizzy but smiling now, calming her down a bit. Skadi chuckled at Freyr. Embla turned her head back to Skadi.
- I had always believed dragons were soaring right away as children, like a foal standing up and walking not too long after they are born.
- Not at all, think of us more as birds of prey in that matter, they tend to start around 10 weeks. Freyr was born a week before we met you and you were reborn as Embla. If you count that in, Freyr has been Out off his egg for 7 weeks now. It is a bit early normally for a dragon to start flying, but he is a natural! Skadi said with proudness. Freyr smiled as his dizziness had passed.
- Flying is not easy my dear child. Skadi continued.
- It takes a lot of muscles to haul your body in the air, it takes a lot of practice and knowledge to fly in different terrains, knowing how to do it and how to be safe with it, such as landing as you saw. With practice, Freyr will be able to land without hurting himself and will with time be able to do it safely no matter what speed he is diving in. It all requires time. Practice and patience. Same goes for you in some ways. Embla tilted her head to this.
- You have a lot to learn about dragons in general, the alpha, the ancient ones, the language, flying on ones back and to stay safe and sturdy on there, the history and much more. As Freyr is learning, so are you. Embla hadn't thought about what she had to learn as well, she was a bit taken back by this but equally excited to learn it. It had been quite a long time now since she had last been around other humans that being near dragons felt much more comfortable then humans. She stopped to think for a second.
- Then, can I ask something now? Skadi laid down in front of her daughter.
- Yes. Was all she said. Freyr sat up and laid down next to his sister, he wanted to take this opportunity to hear the human language more to understand it better.
- Do you remember that Dragon that came to our cave when you where out a while back? Skadi simply nodded, not wanting to talk about him really.
- Well, during that night, Freyr told me that you were a special dragon. Would you tell me more about you Monah? Skadi hadn't planned on talking about it this early on, as her position is very powerful within the dragons, she knew she would have to explain this at some point for them to gain more knowledge, she hadn't told Freyr much but she didn't mind answering this question, Embla had asked it very politely as well after all.
- Very well. Skadi started and Freyr and Embla cuddled up to each other to hear about their Monah.
- There are a lot of different types of dragons out there, there are drakes who are dragons without wings, there are wyverns that uses their wings as their front legs and has two back legs, lindwrums don't have wings or back legs, amphiptere have no legs only wings, there are also dragons who lives under water, there are dragons in the east who have no wings and have more of a serpent look but fly through the clouds and in lakes. Within all these different breeds of dragons, you can only find a few groups within that is their own breed. Within dragons for an example, you have what we call goblins, they are a smaller type of dragon, typically bright red that live near cities to prey on humans and their source of food. I myself am a rare type of breed within the dragon breed. We are called aurora. We are a line of dragons that have throughout the ages been very sought after by other dragons. since older times, auroras learned from the other breeds and gained a vast knowledge and powers from them, during those times all breeds hated each other but the auroras wished to work with everyone to stop the ridiculous fights that were always occurring between the breeds or to at least be safe from all of it. The knowledge and powers have been passed down from generations since. An aurora can only be a female, we live for a long time and will only once deliver a pure aurora, once that happens, the mother takes her young away for years to teach her all she knows about our history, knowledge and powers. Once she has fulfilled that, her time is over, and the new aurora will take the place. However, Because of the knowledge and powers we gained throughout the years, other dragons forced us to share the information in order to beat the other breeds. We refused and in exchange for not killing the aurora, we share some secrets to our offspring. Auroras have always been considered beautiful within the dragon society and there is only one female alive to be bred and her offspring which would be mixed with another dragon will gain more knowledge and power. However, auroras have never shared all the secrets unless they look like an Aurora. White scales with iridescent reflexes on their wings and edges of their scales along with either bright blue or silver eyes. In order to keep our legacy going we females wait until the day comes when an aurora is born to fulfill our destiny. I am well known throughout the dragons because of this. I have skills, knowledge and powers that a lot of dragons can't even fathom. I am powerful enough to stand up to most males and am therefore sought after to be bred to create stronger dragons. I Skadi is known as a high ranked female because of all this. Some secrets I shall share to you both, also a gift I shall share with you both when the time is right, the history is something all my children will know until the day I die, although to keep the other dragon breeds safe, not all secrets shall be told. Embla and Freyr were silent, their mothers' story was somewhat tragic and beautiful at the same time. Auroras wait until the next aurora is born, only to raise it within their costumes and then die after that. Skadi turned to her son.
- By inheriting the iridescent reflexes, you Freyr have an upper hand with communicating with the other breeds, never have any of my children even gotten that and Embla, you shall not be emptyhanded from your mother here either, I shall present you a gift to make you able to fight like a dragon too someday. Embla felt a bit of excitement when hearing the word gift, she wished to know but knew Skadi would most likely not tell her until the time is right. Freyr and Embla were not truly sure what this all meant yet. But hearing about this made them understand a lot about their mother as a high ranked individual, perhaps it would be in their favor in the future? They all sat quietly for a few seconds.
- I don't understand what this all means. Embla confessed, Skadi chuckled and lowered her head and licked her daughter's small cheek.
- You will learn by time my child. Stories like these holds deep meaning within them, the meaning is something you will have to create yourself and decide what you want to do with it, how you want to live and what you want to do. My destiny as an aurora keeps on as when the day comes when I give birth to an aurora, I shall teach them the story and secrets, you and your brother, have your own journey and destiny. Knowing your family's history allows you to create your own future after all. Embla did still not understand, was she too young to understand? Oh yes. She believed she'd have to turn at least seven until she would understand.
- Do you have any more questions? Skadi asked. The two children looked at one another, they both did have more questions. But with their tummies growling, their questions would have to wait for another time. Embla raised her hand and Skadi waited for her to speak.
- I do want to know more but I am hungry. Freyr quickly added a me too and Skadi chuckled.
- In that case, I shall go hunting, Freyr help your sister gather some wood. Freyr nodded.
- Monah. May I gather some plants to make a bed with?
- Why do you need that? Skadi asked.
- Although you keep me warm at night, the cold rock surface underneath me is hard to sleep on. I though perhaps a bed made from plants and leaves would stop that. Skadi immediately understood that the warmth the provides is not enough to overpower the surface she is laying on, having no scales she feels the different temperatures more easily in that sense. Skadi nodded.
- Very well. Do what you must. And with that, Skadi took of to hunt and the two children went to gather the things.
Skadi returned after a while, this time she brought a moose with her, a cow. Embla and Freyr were patiently waiting in the cave with Embla's bed set up and the pieces of wood set up to make a fire later. One Skadi dropped the Moose in front of the entrance, she landed where Vidar had landed a month ago. His arrival was not welcome, but he had created a closer landing spot to the cave for Skadi. Embla and Freyr walked out the cave to their mother. Skadi nudged for Freyr to stand next to her whilst Embla stayed to observe. Along with flying, Freyr was training his fire breathing. When Skadi brought a meal home, they would breathe fire on it to cook it. It wasn't just for Embla's sake; dragons enjoyed their meal cooked as well. Could they eat it raw? Certainly! But cooked tastes better. After they both had breathed fire for a short amount of time, the three feasted on the moose cow. Night had once again fallen over the trio. The sun was low now and soon darkness would be here. Skadi made sure her children came into the cave with her and they watched the day turn to night together enjoying each other's company. A while later, after the fire had been made, the children had fallen asleep. Although the bed was for Embla, Freyr was laying on it as well, tucked next to Skadi. She looked at them, but her eyes soon landed on her daughter. She thought back to the month she had spent with her. The thought of bringing her in and raising her as her own was a very spontaneous one and had her doubts a bit in the beginning about how this would all work. Now, she felt good about her decision, Embla was proving to be a child full of love and kindness, wanting to learn, experience and travel. She was always interested to learn more about dragons. Would she turn evil and use the information about dragons to harm them in the future? Skadi did not believe so. After all, dragons and humans had some similarities to them that even Skadi was surprised about, the one she clings on to most is they are shaped by how they brought up. Skadi knew this works for dragons as a child who is brought up by training and becoming strong will only have that focus, whilst others have more respect. She therefore believed that if she raised these two, like she had raised her previous offspring, no doubt would they become wonderful dragons.