Ruffrunner's heart pounded in his chest as the nightlight desperately looked for an escape against the dragon standing before him. But the captor was blocking the entire cavern, yellow eyes extremely focused on the nightlight. He thought back to his father's lesson in fighting, and that made his fear increase. He needed to escape, and for that he needed an opening, and for that he needed time.
The captor gave a hiss. "Give it to me now!"
"No!" barked Ruffrunner desperately, hiding his tail behind his body. He needed something to distract the captor, possibly talking about something that interested the monstrous nightmare.
A whine escaped from the nightlight as his eyes widened, his claws immediately extending, as the terrified dragon attempted to scare off the captor to no avail. With a fast and precise movement, the monstrous nightmare's talon, a claw almost as large as the nigtlight's entire paw, was poking Ruffrunner's chin. The nightlight's eyes widened, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. "I can do this two ways. Cleanly or in a fight. I don't guarantee you'll be alive after the latter."
"Just one thing," said Ruffrunner with a shaky voice, as his adrenaline pumped mind searching for an answer.
The nightlight considered talking about females, but that was a conversation that would buy him approximately four seconds. What more did the captor like?
Something about hurting people, and something that he could talk a lot about. Fighting? No. He had not even close enough experience to hold a conversation about that. The nightilght's heart was pounding in his chest, and the rational part of his brain was heavily struggling to work. In the end, the nightlight found it, something he had for all his life carried in his heart.
"Let me tell you why it's very good if you cut off Pouncer's or Dart's tail fin," said Ruffrunnner. The captor blinked, looking at Ruffrunner with curiosity.
"Instead of mine," added the nightlight hastily.
Meanwhile, an increasingly bothered nightlight wandered in the ravine. Sure, she had been approached by a multitude of dragons asking if she was indeed the alpha's daughter and why the alpha just had to pick this/that on decisions that she had never even heard of, but there was not really anything exciting.
Or maybe… She heard some strange cries coming from a nearby tunnel, an opening in the ravine. Her heart picking up, she rushed inside, fire building up in her chest and claws unsheathing…
And found herself face to face with an unidentified number of hideous zipplebacks who had engaged in some kind of fight and who's necks were now tied in knots that would put viking sailors to shame.
A total of eight heads turned in her direction, thus starting the nightlight's confusion. "Aren't you Dart, the alpha's daughter?" asked one of the heads, its eyes filled with marvel. However, this changed to fear in the next moment. "We mean no harm!" called out the head, and Dart noted how the many eyes looking at her were now terrified.
The nightlight then looked at herself and noted how she was still ready to leap, a plasma blast building in her throat. She cleared her throat and quickly recomposed herself, trying to brush it off. "Yes, I am Dart. Sorry for acting threatening. I will not start a fight with you. But you seem to have that covered," she said addressing the mass. Jumping in the fight was tempting, but being with complete strangers, it would be rather awkward.
Two seemingly unrelated heads in the mass of dragons bowed down. "It is an honour to meet you," answered the hideous zippleback in a much more relieved voice.
At that point, a well known light fury entered the cavern, surprised at the nightlight's presence. "Dart, hi," said Laura. Noting the mass of zippleback and the nightlight's confusion, she pointed at the two heads in question. "Meet Gin and Tonic, an unstoppable force of destruction…" As the white dragon looked at them, a soft smile crept upon her face. "…and my best friend," she added.
"I have always admired the alpha's family," said the hideous zippleback. "Your presence greatly warms my heart."
Dart was by now very confused, so Laura moved closer to whisper something in the nightlight's ear. "I suspect that there is something with her head. Like if Gin and Tonic was on some kind of strange liquid." The light fury then rose to face the hideous zippleback. "Also, fighting again? What did I tell you?"
The two heads rolled their four eyes. "These pathetic excuses for siblings never listen to me! Never! I have to teach them," justified the dragon while pointing at the rest of the mass. For some reason, the more Dart knew this hideous zippleback, the more it reminded her of someone…
"Maybe you could try to listen to us every once in a while!" complained an angry zippleback from somewhere in the pile. This complaint was ignored.
In an action that defied most of the laws of physics and all of the laws of topology, Gin and Tonic seamlessly exited the mass of dragons, her body exiting from the top followed by her two necks. "Alpha's daughter, what brings you here?"
Still a bit uneasy on how the zippleback had managed to exit that mess, Dart did her best to explain. "I came here with Ruffrunner in search of something interesting, but he escaped."
Gin and Tonic rumbled. "So what are you doing now?"
Dart thought about it. She hadn't any grand plans. "Exploring, hoping to find something interesting…" As she thought more about it, her claws started to rumble within their sheats. "…and searching for my brother so that I can cut his throat for acting like that," she concluded.
"Laura and I will gladly help you with that. It would be an honour to meet your brother." The light fury in question glared at Gin and Tonic, but in the end decided to keep herself quiet. And so, after Dart had explained that meeting Ruffrunner was not as an honour as much as a torture, the three dragons wandered out into the ravine.
Ruffrunner's eyes were carefully examining the dragon in front of him, looking for weaknesses and holes to bolt through. When the time came, he would claw his way through anything and everything, and run. Unfortunately, no such time had been given, the captor still far too attentive and blocking the cavern. At the same time, Ruffrunner spoke, but his mind was not registering it, just letting out familiar thoughts automatically. "…if you wish, when you cut off Dart's tailfin, you can further harm her. I've already explained that she is a menace to the hidden world, and grounding her will help you become alpha. But she is also a pain in the hindquarters. Especially when you happen to be sparring against her."
If nothing else, he was succeeding in buying time. The captor seemed still frustrated, but was at least attentively listening to him. "You have been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" asked the red dragon.
Ruffrunner nodded, still scanning. If only the captor had been thinner… "But really, it's preference. There are many who also spite Pouncer, and for valid reasons. Females hate him for who he is, while others hate him for having to live with him. Once again, this will be a large boost to your popularity. As you can see, both of them are more attractive options than me. From my point of view, the alpha doesn't really matter. Personally, I want fish and a sleeping slab, and as such, will not bother you further if you become alpha."
Ruffrunner's mind scanned the target in front of him in increasing desperation. The monstrous nightmare was big, and the tunnel was narrow, making an escape hard. Still, he had to keep talking. "Now, if you cut off Pouncer's tailfin, the next step would be fleeing, because if you stay, that dragon will start talking about females to you, which I know is a painful experience. If you decide to cut off Dart's-"
"I know you are only buying time!" roared the captor, shattering the illusion of calm that the nightlight had managed to keep for a few precious minutes. The nightlight gave a desperate bark, denying this fact, and was faced with one more roar.
Orange eyes thin on slits reached him. "You tailfin or your life! Choose!" roared the orange dragon. Ruffrunner's huddled in the corner and his body started shaking, muscles tensed and ready to spring yet hopelessly outmatched against the dragon in front of him.
"Why is green gas filling up the cavern?!" barked the nightlight desperately, having seen the one thing that could become his saviour.
The orange dragon looked between his claws and at the substance that quickly flowed through and over them, rapidly gathering around the two. "Good question. I hope it doesn't explode, giving you a chance to escape."
The captor was facing towards Ruffrunner and away from the exit. As the wall of fire raged from the cavern's entrance and towards the two dragons, the monstrous nightmare's last words were simple. "It is exploding, isn't it?"
And as the fire warmed the nightlight's scales, he became practically invisible, which was only helped by the darkness, smoke and literal wall of fire between him and his captor.
The captor found himself with no choice. Not capable of seeing due to the fire, he sprung forwards and bit down hard before the nightlight could do anything.
Unfortunately for him, he bit down on a rock.
Ruffrunner leapt, with outstretched claws, doing his best to climb over the dragon in his way, littering the captor's hide with claw marks in the process. But most of his attempts, he just slid right off. And on contact, the captor turned his neck in the nightligt's direction, now acutely aware of where he had to strike…
A claw on his right front leg reached deep into the captor's body and finally gave support, throwing the nightlight forwards and towards the cavern's exit, leaving a deep claw mark just below the monstrous nightmare's neck, who shrieked in pain. Blood dripped from Ruffrunner's claw as he ran.
The nightlight shot out of the cavern and into the crowd, the orange dragon hot on his tail. But as he looked back, awe swept Ruffrunner as the dragon received a plasma blast from both sides and was stopped in his tracks by a hideous zippleback landing straight in front of him.
"Go away before we deal with you properly!" roared the green dragon as she looked deep into the monstrous nightmare's eyes. At the same time, the two dragons that had shot the blasts neared. The captor took in his surroundings with worry, before his eyes returned to the four in front of him. Finally, within a momentary surge of panic, he took off, the fight and flight system having opted for flight.
Ruffrunner's breath caught up to himself as he looked at the captor flying off, and the nightlight could hear his heart pounding in his ears. "And don't you dare touch my best friend's future mate's brother ever again!" added the two-headed dragon at the captor's rapidly disappearing silhouette.
The captor had been a terrifying opponent, and these three (four?) dragons had chased him away in seconds. The part of his mind that was still working told him that he should be grateful, but the nightlight barely registered as the green zippleback leapt towards him until the dragon was right in front of him. "Who are you?" he barked with somehow even less charm than Pouncer.
Two heads waved joyfully. "Gin and Tonic, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am your brother's future mate's best friend." The nightlight nodded, having understood none of it.
"Laura's best friend who has decided that I want to be Pouncer's mate," corrected Laura, notifying him of her presence. She looked at him momentarily and gave a warm smile. "Which is by the way my choice, not yours!"
The two-headed dragon rolled her eyes. Even more so when the light fury asked "By the way, how is Pouncer?" to the nightlight.
As the adrenaline faded away, Ruffrunner managed to realise that he had been posed a question. "He tried to cook me alive this morning, so fine," he answered. Laura didn't seem to be calmed by this statement, but then she hadn't lived with his brother for her entire life.
At this point, the nightlight noted the third dragon that had saved him, Dart. She looked at him flatly. "How are you?"
The nightlight's eyes widened, realising just how close it had been. His adrenaline fading senses finally having caught up to him, Ruffrunner whined loudly and collapsed into Dart's embrace.
Toothless panted heavily as he took the last tired steps towards the comfortable sleeping rock, his equally tired mate leaning on his side. But though their bodies were aching, both of them were perfectly content. "We should do this more often," let out Light between heavy breaths.
The night fury nuzzled her side in agreement, feeling more relaxed than he had been for a very long time. "There is something about light furies that you don't get anywhere else," he said longingly. "That sleek body, those sharp wings, it's just…"
"Oh, but I bet you that night furies would be just as fun," retorted Light. "Just look at you. Just as sleek as us, with the exception of just those little places where you add muscle instead…" she pushed her snout along the night fury's wings and towards the strong muscles that propelled them. She was so thankful for the dragons' lack of sweat glands that apparently made humans smell disgusting after just a brief period of movement. Instead, she took in the clean, strong scent of her mate's still burning body… and went back to desperately panting to get at least a trace of cool air into herself.
Her mate purred at the attention. "Oh, We should definitely do this more often," he said as he let a wing drape over the light fury's just as warm shape. He sighed happily. "I can't wait for the next time we have an all-out arial chase of someone as skilled as Lemon."
Light purred back as she collapsed onto the comfortable rock. "Me too, honey."
In truth, the chase had indeed been exciting, but had ended rather disappointingly. Sure, they had through clever flying that pushed the edge of their capabilities managed to force Lemon into a dead end and had had her at their mercy. But between Toothless being an alpha and Light being a (mostly) sensible dragon, they had not allowed themselves to truly show Lemon the way they felt about her. The light fury had been let off with a warning, but otherwise no physical damage. For the two mates, this had been highly unpleasant, but at least they had thoroughly enjoyed the chase.
And for the moment, the two laid thoughtlessly onto the rock with tired bodies and untouchable smiles.
They were disturbed a few minutes later when a particular nightlight walked into the cavern. Light's head rose to look at the newcomer. "Ruffrunner, hi. What is going on? You look shaken."
A sound could be heard from the alpha's home cavern, which quickly rose in volume to a loud, furious shriek. Inside, Ruffrunner was quietly whining, Toothless pressing against him on one side and Light from the other. His father was growling, claws extended, tensed and scraping against the rock. "We will find him," hissed the night fury simply.
Feeling for the first time somewhere near safe, the nightlight dared to open his eyes to spot his siblings, who were looking at the engagement and trying not to seem entertained. Trying and failing.
"I hope that when he catches you, he does take your fins!" barked the nightlight angrily. The two disgraces did nothing but chuckle.
"Shut up and come here," said Light as she wrapped her wing tighter around the nightlight and brushed the top of her head around his neck. The light fury's wing did not even cover half of her offspring. Ruffrunner growled angrily. He was tired, he wanted to sleep and forget ever having met the captor. But he knew that wouldn't happen.
The light fury sighed. "I am so happy that you are okay."
"Me too," added Toothless. "But we need you to help us find this captor, and the dragon who wants to become the new alpha."
There went the nightlihgt's hopes of forgetting the (literal and figurative) nightmare. "Fine," he answered with a sigh. But there was one more thing Ruffrunner wanted. "Later, can we practise more on fighting?" he asked with a shaky voice.
The captor didn't want to be found by Toothless. But like this, he was going to die of boredom before anything else, being stuck in this cave for three days. It was as safe as it would get, being one of a hundred in the middle of a forgotten tunnel, and just as exciting as one would expect. His orange scales were almost grey from the dust.
The other dragon flew in, bringing in fish for him to eat. The captor quickly swooped up the catch, but didn't show much interest in the dragon. "I am still mad at you," he clarified.
"I should have guarded the entrance instead of abandoning you after thinking you were hopeless, I agree," admitted the other dragon for the umpthenth time. "How is the wound?"
The captor sighed and craned his neck to look at the back of his once so shiny hide. "Better. I don't think it will leave a big scar," he said thoughtfully. "And I will leave this place soon," he added.
The other dragon shook his head. "The alpha spread the news about you. A young male, monstrous nightmare, orange scales and a scar on your back. You won't last two minutes out there," was the cold, honest statement.
The orange dragon didn't agree. "I will say that I got this scar in a fight against an idiot who tried convincing me to attack the alpha. An idiot who is prone to abandoning you as soon as you may need help," stated the captor with a low growl. The other dragon didn't seem pleased at the passive aggressiveness.
"And if someone asks why were you gone for this long?" asked the other dragon.
"I will say that the alpha suspected me because of the wound, and he kept me there for three days. But since I am innocent, I was released. Therefore, you don't even have to report me since he has already seen me," stated the captor with a proud smile. It wasn't a perfect plan by any means, but it meant that he would have at least some liberty. He was a young male, and didn't want to spend his days locked into the stupid cave.
"Huh. That's… not stupid," said the other dragon. Sure, if anyone ever asked the alpha about this seemingly innocent dragon, the captor would have to run, but it was still far better than the alternative.
"I am not stupid," stated the orange dragon.
"Oh, I wouldn't get that far…" chuckled the other dragon. The other dragon then looked at the captor. "Are you still going to help me become alpha?"
The captor didn't have to think about it. That moment, with his claw on Ruffrunner's chin… He had felt so strong. And now, this alpha had made him hunted. As long as Toothless was in power, he was not free. The monstrous nightmare gritted his teeth. "You bet I am."
The sun was shining and it was a new day. And as much as Dart would have wanted to pump the wings and fly out into the great outdoors like someone truly free, there something held her back. Part of it was the small, yet present thought that she didn't know enough about the outside world to be safe there, and that her own world was, despite being boring and decadent, a (relatively) safe and pleasant place to live.
Another part of it were those annoying light furies and deadly nadders that always kept a very wary eye on her and had been instructed to bring her back by any means necessary if she was to try escaping. And sadly, they were ever so slightly faster than her. She knew from experience.
Dart wandered around the edge of the entrance, jumping from rock to rock above the roaring waterfalls. She cast a hopeful glance at one of those who were supposed to be guarding her… And grunted as the dragon shook its head, the yellow eyes not even close to giving in.
"What are you hoping for exactly?" asked Sotrmfly with an amused look.
"That you will get distracted or be compassionate and will allow me to leave?" asked the nightlight. "For instance, why don't you tell me how it is going with Scarnose? Maybe you will forget that you were supposed to be guarding me that way?"
"As if that would ever happen," said the deadly nadder with a grin. "But since you are asking…"
Stormfly then explained about the event that had shaken the entirety of the hidden world in the last few days. Dragons had then brought something never before seen into the cavern, and the news had spread like a plasma blast, igniting strong feelings of admiration and unrest into all of the cavern.
"You don't have to explain it to me. I made that event," interrupted Dart, wondering how Stormfly had managed to forget that detail about the humans' visit two weeks ago.
Stormfly shook her head and called the nightlight self-centred. The event was, obviously, the revolutionary new way of polishing scales that she and Scarnose had discovered and displayed for everyone in the underground. This method consisted in rubbing a specific type of granite against the direction of the scales, as opposed to along it. Never before had hides with quite that shade of blue been seen. Lastly, Dart was to learn a bit of humility and not assume that everything was about her.
"You are right. All the attention should go away from me and onto you instead," mocked the nightlight. "So why don't you show off that special hide to all these dragons so that you're distracted and I can leave?
The blue dragon shook her head and pointed at something on the nightlight's side. "The last time you went out there you got that scar. What makes you want to repeat it?"
The nightlight looked at her flank, and at the grey skin that now covered the wound with disgust. "I should be out there, learning about how to deal with boars. Not stuck here and wallowing in my own ignorance until a horde of boars swim across the ocean and attack us all!" she declared angrily. How could no one understand that knowledge was essential to dealing with problems?
The deadly nadder tilted her head. "You really do not know much about boars."
"And that is what I want to change," said Dart defeatedly as she let her gaze land on the horizon. If only something from there would reach her, so that she could learn about the outside world without being punished for it…
Dart squinted at a point in the distance. "Is that a viking ship?"
And that is it for today. Personally, I like the scene in which Toothless and Light collapse on their sleeping slab. I love writing about those two lovebirds, the noble rulers of the hidden world who manage to annoy everyone around them with the way they treat each other… hehe. I hope you liked it too.