Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR. It belongs to JRR Tolkien.
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad pulled back on Vedi's reins and guided him down into the trees. He squawked as she slid off his back and harnessed him to a large, aging oak tree. She admired the flashing orange shade of the leaves that remained on its branches before retrieving slice of boar meat from a slung pouch on Vedi's saddle.
"Good job Vedi" said Naurglahad. She tossed the meat to Vedi, who caught it in his beak, and devoured it messily and quickly. He bent his head as he swallowed, igniting a rather disgusting sound that was unmistakably a burp.
Naurglahad grinned at him as she headed toward the base of the mountains where an enormous cave stood with frightening stone icicles planted among the roof, like a great mouth, opening itself to bar its terrible teeth at intruders. But it was not this trait that petrified most travelers. It was the sound of heavy, deep, hot breath coming from the dark that gave the element.
Everyone knew what beasts lay in this den. Dragons. Six of them. Three of them were Cold-drakes, two were Uruloki, and the last, a crossover breed. Naurglahad was the only one who would dare to confront these demons, and for a good reason too. She was their 'mother'. Naurglahad had come across five strange 'rocks' while absentmindedly exploring the caverns of the Misty Mountains. She mistook them for mineral resources and transported them to Inugami, where she continued scientific study on them. When she had discovered their true identity, she hatched them quickly, and placed them in a growth chamber, shortening their needed time to develop.
By her own wits and will, she raised each and every one of them, from flying, to running, to eating, and attacking. Eventually, Naurglahad had her own elite team of reptiles. Then, mating season came around. That was when the famous crossover breed was born. He became her fiercest warrior and impacted more terror than Vedi did.
Naurglahad walked a few paces inside the cave before taking a whistle from around her neck and blowing hard. Out came a thunderous blast, followed by swishing sounds from the dark. In seconds, six pairs of slanted luminous eyes appeared, quickly advancing toward the mouth of the cave. Vedi backed behind the oak tree.
With a snarl and an almighty roar, the six Dragons flew into place, landing with a BOOM on the ground. Each Dragon straightened it's back as she paced down the line. First, there was a green Uruloki, Jade, seated next to a blue Cold-drake, Cerulean, then a black Uruloki, Ikaika, a white Cold-drake, Asira, a red Cold-drake, Firestorm, and, Naurglahad's finest Dragon, a gold crossover, Malta.
"Excellent!" she said cheerfully. Some of them tilted their heads, and the others peacefully closed their eyes. "You're all still in good shape. We're going for a flight at the peaks!"
Firestorm roared triumphantly. Naurglahad smiled.
"Let us be off then!"
She hopped on Firestorm and settled herself between his wings. Firestorm roared again and whipped his tail as he reared off into the clouds, the other five following behind. It was a glorious sight to see, six Dragons of many colors soaring upwards like a rainbow.
~*~
Feanaro whinnied in fear and panic as he galloped rapidly through the forest toward the mountains. He felt like his mouth had burst into blue flames. Legolas pitied him. Perhaps he shouldn't have tampered with the strange red feed without confirming how safe it was. But then again, he didn't see any warning labels on the pouch; unless it's scarlet color was the warning. Smacking himself on the forehead in realization of the mistake he made, he made an attempt to slow Feanaro down.
"*Lava Feanaro!" he said clearly in Feanaro's ear, "Lle fauka?"
Feanaro shrieked again in a reply, tossing head and stomping. Legolas nodded and steered him west off the path where a sprouting tree stood. Its bark was silver gray and it's tiny immature leaves were a pale shade of gold. A tiny ray of sunlight shone on it, making it glitter and glimmer mysteriously. It obviously stood out between the dark green trees that surrounded the territory. He had only discovered this tiny sanctuary three months ago. He figured someone must have planted it last springtime. Probably grown from a rather unique seed, and probably presented as a gift.
Legolas stooped next to it and plucked one leaf from a branch. At the bottom of the sapling, a tiny clear pool had formed, creating a moat around the trunk. With the leaf, he scooped a bit of water, and fed it to Feanaro. Feanaro chewed slowly on the leaf and swallowed. As he stopped prancing, he could feel the heat dramatically decrease on his tongue.
"I see you've discovered my little tree?" said a voice. Legolas whipped around.
There was Naurglahad, leaning against a giant red wall with an unsurprised look on her face. His heart started beating faster when he saw that the wall was slightly breathing.
"Your tree?" countered Legolas, "none of the trees in Mirkwood belong to you!"
"Neither do they belong to you, Legolas" she passed him and crouched near the tree, shaking her head as she looked at the gold leaves, "And please," she added, "do not pick the leaves from the tree. Use a spoon or something if you want the dew water" She stood up and glared at him. "As a tree-boy, I expected you would know better!"
"I know the ways of the trees, as well as the Earth, Sea, and Sky," said Legolas, "I am an Elf, not a foolish child like yourself!"
The red wall rumbled as Firestorm lowered his head and peered through the trees, eyeing Legolas suspiciously. He snorted a few sparks out of his nostrils.
"Watch it Elfie" taunted Naurglahad, "Anyways, this is a different type of tree. It has been planted from an unusual seed that I have received from the Eagles. Not only that, but it has been fed Dragon blood, thus, giving it extraordinary healing powers," she looked at Feanaro, "Feanaro's burning mouth for example. And speaking of that, you must have fed the poor thing a whole chili pepper!"
"Chili pepper?" asked Legolas, "You mean that red deviltry that was in the red pouch? My word, don't tell me that had Dragon blood in it too!"
"No," said Naurglahad. She sighed and patted Feanaro on the head, "That had Dragon scales in it"
"You put mithril in an energizer?"
"Well yes! All parts of the Dragon serve for thousands of things. That's everything from the claws to the saliva. Actually, if you extract the venom from it, I hear it goes pretty good on waffles…"
Legolas blanched. He really had no idea what exactly a waffle was, but if it had Dragon spit on it, he didn't want to know. Naurglahad cocked her head and went back to Firestorm, who snorted a few sparks at Legolas again.
"Well," said Naurglahad after she had climbed on Firestorm's back, "come on!"
"Why?" asked Legolas, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere far away from my tree!" exclaimed Naurglahad, "Leave it alone!"
"Fine then"
He made to mount Feanaro again, but Naurglahad thrust a hand out.
"Do not ride him," she commanded, "Feanaro is weary and deserves an easier walk back to civilization. We will let him canter behind"
"And you will let me walk beside him?"
"No. That will take too long. You can ride on Cerulean"
Booming noises were heard as the blue Cold-drake appeared from within the darkness. She sat on the grass next to Firestorm and gazed at Legolas curiously. Legolas stepped back.
"You want me to ride on that thing?" he burst out.
"Of course!" said Naurglahad as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, "You don't expect me to share my seat with you do you? Besides, Cerulean is a nice little Dragon and wouldn't hurt a fly unless I told her to!"
"Nice? Little?" said Legolas, staring at how sharp her long claws were and how her bowed head already grazed three-quarters up most of the trees. "You must be joking!"
"I'm not" Naurglahad snapped her fingers. Cerulean got up, grabbed Legolas by the collar with her teeth, and flung him up on her back. "Now just hold on to the shoulders. It's like…sitting on an Ent, sort of"
She blew the whistle. Feanaro came to Naurglahad's side and stood obediently. Firestorm and Cerulean began marching forward, sending thunder-like sounds through the forest.
This was definitely a new experience for Legolas, whom had never, like most sane people, ridden on a full-grown Dragon. Sitting on the hard scales were terribly uncomfortable in comparison to Feanaro's soft, smooth back. There weren't too many places to grab hold of without fear of getting his hand bitten off. As a Cold-drake, the crowns of larger scales on Cerulean's head were also dangerous. They were like shark fins, except harder and sharper.
Suddenly, Cerulean roared ferociously and reared up high, slightly thrashing. Naurglahad and Firestorm turned. A Spider had jumped out from above and struck Cerulean on her stomach, dark blood spilling from the wound. Legolas fell from his perch and fell to the ground, right in front of the Spider. It turned on him snapping its pincers menacingly. Firestorm cowered in fear of being slashed on his belly. He was a Cold-drake and at the moment could not attack him from close range.
Realizing this, Naurglahad gave a few blasts on her whistle. Malta the gold crossover came to their side this time. She transferred herself onto his back by jumping quickly jumping off Firestorm's back and clinging to Malta's neck. He took immediate orders and shot a jet of flames at the Spider. Just as the blaze was ignited, the Spider bit Legolas. He cried out in pain as he felt the pincers grip his arm and nearly tear it off. But the pain turned from a sting to a burn as he sensed the heat of the fire blast at the Spider. His arm was released.
The Spider screeched a nasty sound as it burst into flame and withered to the ground. Legolas' next few memories were very blurred as the poison coursed rapidly through his veins. He was getting faint from both the venom and from loss of blood. He only remembered two green eyes. That, and warm breath.
~*~
Hours later, Legolas woke to the scent of a boiling hot stench in the air. He opened his eyes. He was in a dimly lit cave with a very high ceiling. Naurglahad was a few yards away from him, stirring an unknown substance in a pot over a blue fire. His arm was wrapped in a black cloth, and he felt as if he had just been put in an oven for an hour.
"Oh, you're awake" she announced when she noticed Legolas making an attempt to sit up. "Can't tell whether that's a good or bad thing. And don't sit up!"
"Ow!" Legolas felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder blade. It seemed to be broken. Naurglahad shook her head as she went back to her cooking. After a few minutes, she used the spoon to tip a few drops of the substance onto a damp cloth, and went over to him.
"This might hurt a bit," she cautioned, "so I'm going to do this as quickly as I can" She dabbed the moist cloth over his arm. Legolas seethed as he felt a pain like burning acid course through the blood in his forearm. It smoked white fumes and stank. He winced.
"What is this?" he strained.
"Heated Dragon blood," said Naurglahad quickly, "See? Didn't I tell you how useful a Dragon could be? Oh!" she unclipped a blue flask from her belt and handed to Legolas, "Drink this"
He gave her a quizzical look before raising an eyebrow.
"How do I know this isn't some kind of poison that will give me some kind of disease or even worse, kill me?"
"Why would it be poison?!" snapped Naurglahad, "Why would I be trying to kill you? Stupid… It's for your burn! Powdered Dragon scale mixed with the dew from that tree. It'll work for you as it did for Feanaro"
Legolas blinked. "Feanaro? Feanaro! Where is he?"
"Outside. Tethered next to Vedi. Now drink!"
Legolas did as he was told and tipped the flask with his left hand to drink. As soon as he had swallowed, it seemed as if an arctic wave had passed through his body, alleviating the burn in his skin.
"Now," said Naurglahad, taking the flask from Legolas and pushing him back down in a lying position, "Repeat after me: Dragons are the most wonderful and useful creatures in all of Arda"
Legolas said nothing, a lost and confused expression on his face. Naurglahad whacked him on the head with her spoon.
"Say it!"
Legolas groaned. "Dragons are the most wonderful and useful creatures in all of Arda"
"Good. Now say: Naurglahad has just saved my life. I will not irk her or defy her ever again"
"Naurglahad has just saved my life," Legolas shuddered at the thought, "I will not irk her or defy her ever again"
"Thank you very much. Now rest. I cant stand the sight of you recovering from a severe injury any longer. Maybe you'll die in your sleep! Ill be happy then because I was just 'too late to save you'"
Legolas twitched as he turned on his side and relaxed. He addressed a mental note to himself, saying to remember to kick Naurglahad one day when she wasn't looking.
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad pulled back on Vedi's reins and guided him down into the trees. He squawked as she slid off his back and harnessed him to a large, aging oak tree. She admired the flashing orange shade of the leaves that remained on its branches before retrieving slice of boar meat from a slung pouch on Vedi's saddle.
"Good job Vedi" said Naurglahad. She tossed the meat to Vedi, who caught it in his beak, and devoured it messily and quickly. He bent his head as he swallowed, igniting a rather disgusting sound that was unmistakably a burp.
Naurglahad grinned at him as she headed toward the base of the mountains where an enormous cave stood with frightening stone icicles planted among the roof, like a great mouth, opening itself to bar its terrible teeth at intruders. But it was not this trait that petrified most travelers. It was the sound of heavy, deep, hot breath coming from the dark that gave the element.
Everyone knew what beasts lay in this den. Dragons. Six of them. Three of them were Cold-drakes, two were Uruloki, and the last, a crossover breed. Naurglahad was the only one who would dare to confront these demons, and for a good reason too. She was their 'mother'. Naurglahad had come across five strange 'rocks' while absentmindedly exploring the caverns of the Misty Mountains. She mistook them for mineral resources and transported them to Inugami, where she continued scientific study on them. When she had discovered their true identity, she hatched them quickly, and placed them in a growth chamber, shortening their needed time to develop.
By her own wits and will, she raised each and every one of them, from flying, to running, to eating, and attacking. Eventually, Naurglahad had her own elite team of reptiles. Then, mating season came around. That was when the famous crossover breed was born. He became her fiercest warrior and impacted more terror than Vedi did.
Naurglahad walked a few paces inside the cave before taking a whistle from around her neck and blowing hard. Out came a thunderous blast, followed by swishing sounds from the dark. In seconds, six pairs of slanted luminous eyes appeared, quickly advancing toward the mouth of the cave. Vedi backed behind the oak tree.
With a snarl and an almighty roar, the six Dragons flew into place, landing with a BOOM on the ground. Each Dragon straightened it's back as she paced down the line. First, there was a green Uruloki, Jade, seated next to a blue Cold-drake, Cerulean, then a black Uruloki, Ikaika, a white Cold-drake, Asira, a red Cold-drake, Firestorm, and, Naurglahad's finest Dragon, a gold crossover, Malta.
"Excellent!" she said cheerfully. Some of them tilted their heads, and the others peacefully closed their eyes. "You're all still in good shape. We're going for a flight at the peaks!"
Firestorm roared triumphantly. Naurglahad smiled.
"Let us be off then!"
She hopped on Firestorm and settled herself between his wings. Firestorm roared again and whipped his tail as he reared off into the clouds, the other five following behind. It was a glorious sight to see, six Dragons of many colors soaring upwards like a rainbow.
~*~
Feanaro whinnied in fear and panic as he galloped rapidly through the forest toward the mountains. He felt like his mouth had burst into blue flames. Legolas pitied him. Perhaps he shouldn't have tampered with the strange red feed without confirming how safe it was. But then again, he didn't see any warning labels on the pouch; unless it's scarlet color was the warning. Smacking himself on the forehead in realization of the mistake he made, he made an attempt to slow Feanaro down.
"*Lava Feanaro!" he said clearly in Feanaro's ear, "Lle fauka?"
Feanaro shrieked again in a reply, tossing head and stomping. Legolas nodded and steered him west off the path where a sprouting tree stood. Its bark was silver gray and it's tiny immature leaves were a pale shade of gold. A tiny ray of sunlight shone on it, making it glitter and glimmer mysteriously. It obviously stood out between the dark green trees that surrounded the territory. He had only discovered this tiny sanctuary three months ago. He figured someone must have planted it last springtime. Probably grown from a rather unique seed, and probably presented as a gift.
Legolas stooped next to it and plucked one leaf from a branch. At the bottom of the sapling, a tiny clear pool had formed, creating a moat around the trunk. With the leaf, he scooped a bit of water, and fed it to Feanaro. Feanaro chewed slowly on the leaf and swallowed. As he stopped prancing, he could feel the heat dramatically decrease on his tongue.
"I see you've discovered my little tree?" said a voice. Legolas whipped around.
There was Naurglahad, leaning against a giant red wall with an unsurprised look on her face. His heart started beating faster when he saw that the wall was slightly breathing.
"Your tree?" countered Legolas, "none of the trees in Mirkwood belong to you!"
"Neither do they belong to you, Legolas" she passed him and crouched near the tree, shaking her head as she looked at the gold leaves, "And please," she added, "do not pick the leaves from the tree. Use a spoon or something if you want the dew water" She stood up and glared at him. "As a tree-boy, I expected you would know better!"
"I know the ways of the trees, as well as the Earth, Sea, and Sky," said Legolas, "I am an Elf, not a foolish child like yourself!"
The red wall rumbled as Firestorm lowered his head and peered through the trees, eyeing Legolas suspiciously. He snorted a few sparks out of his nostrils.
"Watch it Elfie" taunted Naurglahad, "Anyways, this is a different type of tree. It has been planted from an unusual seed that I have received from the Eagles. Not only that, but it has been fed Dragon blood, thus, giving it extraordinary healing powers," she looked at Feanaro, "Feanaro's burning mouth for example. And speaking of that, you must have fed the poor thing a whole chili pepper!"
"Chili pepper?" asked Legolas, "You mean that red deviltry that was in the red pouch? My word, don't tell me that had Dragon blood in it too!"
"No," said Naurglahad. She sighed and patted Feanaro on the head, "That had Dragon scales in it"
"You put mithril in an energizer?"
"Well yes! All parts of the Dragon serve for thousands of things. That's everything from the claws to the saliva. Actually, if you extract the venom from it, I hear it goes pretty good on waffles…"
Legolas blanched. He really had no idea what exactly a waffle was, but if it had Dragon spit on it, he didn't want to know. Naurglahad cocked her head and went back to Firestorm, who snorted a few sparks at Legolas again.
"Well," said Naurglahad after she had climbed on Firestorm's back, "come on!"
"Why?" asked Legolas, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere far away from my tree!" exclaimed Naurglahad, "Leave it alone!"
"Fine then"
He made to mount Feanaro again, but Naurglahad thrust a hand out.
"Do not ride him," she commanded, "Feanaro is weary and deserves an easier walk back to civilization. We will let him canter behind"
"And you will let me walk beside him?"
"No. That will take too long. You can ride on Cerulean"
Booming noises were heard as the blue Cold-drake appeared from within the darkness. She sat on the grass next to Firestorm and gazed at Legolas curiously. Legolas stepped back.
"You want me to ride on that thing?" he burst out.
"Of course!" said Naurglahad as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, "You don't expect me to share my seat with you do you? Besides, Cerulean is a nice little Dragon and wouldn't hurt a fly unless I told her to!"
"Nice? Little?" said Legolas, staring at how sharp her long claws were and how her bowed head already grazed three-quarters up most of the trees. "You must be joking!"
"I'm not" Naurglahad snapped her fingers. Cerulean got up, grabbed Legolas by the collar with her teeth, and flung him up on her back. "Now just hold on to the shoulders. It's like…sitting on an Ent, sort of"
She blew the whistle. Feanaro came to Naurglahad's side and stood obediently. Firestorm and Cerulean began marching forward, sending thunder-like sounds through the forest.
This was definitely a new experience for Legolas, whom had never, like most sane people, ridden on a full-grown Dragon. Sitting on the hard scales were terribly uncomfortable in comparison to Feanaro's soft, smooth back. There weren't too many places to grab hold of without fear of getting his hand bitten off. As a Cold-drake, the crowns of larger scales on Cerulean's head were also dangerous. They were like shark fins, except harder and sharper.
Suddenly, Cerulean roared ferociously and reared up high, slightly thrashing. Naurglahad and Firestorm turned. A Spider had jumped out from above and struck Cerulean on her stomach, dark blood spilling from the wound. Legolas fell from his perch and fell to the ground, right in front of the Spider. It turned on him snapping its pincers menacingly. Firestorm cowered in fear of being slashed on his belly. He was a Cold-drake and at the moment could not attack him from close range.
Realizing this, Naurglahad gave a few blasts on her whistle. Malta the gold crossover came to their side this time. She transferred herself onto his back by jumping quickly jumping off Firestorm's back and clinging to Malta's neck. He took immediate orders and shot a jet of flames at the Spider. Just as the blaze was ignited, the Spider bit Legolas. He cried out in pain as he felt the pincers grip his arm and nearly tear it off. But the pain turned from a sting to a burn as he sensed the heat of the fire blast at the Spider. His arm was released.
The Spider screeched a nasty sound as it burst into flame and withered to the ground. Legolas' next few memories were very blurred as the poison coursed rapidly through his veins. He was getting faint from both the venom and from loss of blood. He only remembered two green eyes. That, and warm breath.
~*~
Hours later, Legolas woke to the scent of a boiling hot stench in the air. He opened his eyes. He was in a dimly lit cave with a very high ceiling. Naurglahad was a few yards away from him, stirring an unknown substance in a pot over a blue fire. His arm was wrapped in a black cloth, and he felt as if he had just been put in an oven for an hour.
"Oh, you're awake" she announced when she noticed Legolas making an attempt to sit up. "Can't tell whether that's a good or bad thing. And don't sit up!"
"Ow!" Legolas felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder blade. It seemed to be broken. Naurglahad shook her head as she went back to her cooking. After a few minutes, she used the spoon to tip a few drops of the substance onto a damp cloth, and went over to him.
"This might hurt a bit," she cautioned, "so I'm going to do this as quickly as I can" She dabbed the moist cloth over his arm. Legolas seethed as he felt a pain like burning acid course through the blood in his forearm. It smoked white fumes and stank. He winced.
"What is this?" he strained.
"Heated Dragon blood," said Naurglahad quickly, "See? Didn't I tell you how useful a Dragon could be? Oh!" she unclipped a blue flask from her belt and handed to Legolas, "Drink this"
He gave her a quizzical look before raising an eyebrow.
"How do I know this isn't some kind of poison that will give me some kind of disease or even worse, kill me?"
"Why would it be poison?!" snapped Naurglahad, "Why would I be trying to kill you? Stupid… It's for your burn! Powdered Dragon scale mixed with the dew from that tree. It'll work for you as it did for Feanaro"
Legolas blinked. "Feanaro? Feanaro! Where is he?"
"Outside. Tethered next to Vedi. Now drink!"
Legolas did as he was told and tipped the flask with his left hand to drink. As soon as he had swallowed, it seemed as if an arctic wave had passed through his body, alleviating the burn in his skin.
"Now," said Naurglahad, taking the flask from Legolas and pushing him back down in a lying position, "Repeat after me: Dragons are the most wonderful and useful creatures in all of Arda"
Legolas said nothing, a lost and confused expression on his face. Naurglahad whacked him on the head with her spoon.
"Say it!"
Legolas groaned. "Dragons are the most wonderful and useful creatures in all of Arda"
"Good. Now say: Naurglahad has just saved my life. I will not irk her or defy her ever again"
"Naurglahad has just saved my life," Legolas shuddered at the thought, "I will not irk her or defy her ever again"
"Thank you very much. Now rest. I cant stand the sight of you recovering from a severe injury any longer. Maybe you'll die in your sleep! Ill be happy then because I was just 'too late to save you'"
Legolas twitched as he turned on his side and relaxed. He addressed a mental note to himself, saying to remember to kick Naurglahad one day when she wasn't looking.