Wanderer coasted on a pleasant tailwind, lost to his thoughts. There wasn't much else to do – there was only so much to hold his interest, flying night after night, before there was just enjoying the journey.
But that was still enjoyable. Not even two sky-ice-cycles had passed since Whispering had turned back, who would undoubtedly be with her pack again by now. She would be suffering otherwise – it was the time of year to be making eggs, or at least trying to, while the icy breath of the cold-season drifted in on the wind to promise cold lights and colder nights.
He and Dreamer were not quite there yet. He could feel its claws brushing against him, and Dreamer was becoming senselessly uncomfortable again, but they were not yet fully mature. One more rotation of the seasons, and he would be fully grown again.
That might not mean much physically, not with how strong they were already, but emotionally? Nightstrikers were supposed to live through countless cold-seasons each life, not fewer than he had claws on his paws. He was ready to be an adult again. And the end of that long hunt, always so far away, was now in sight, its trail warm and fresh.
Although, they still didn't have a mate. He was saddened that it had not worked out with Whispering, but he had thinking similar to Dreamer's, that she felt more like his fledgling in need of protecting than the fierce dam of his offspring. That she wasn't a Nightstriker was not so much part of his issue in taking her as a mate, he'd be all over the right Lightstriker if they attracted him enough in other ways, but it didn't help.
He should have pushed Dreamer to fly here sooner, it would have just been better for them. Dreamer would not be so tangled in his own hindlegs, for one thing, tripping over himself even thinking about females. Wrrr, perhaps it would not have been so good with that eel-rotted not-king-alpha stomping around without him and Dreamer to stop it, but still.
The land below them had changed somewhat, over time. What had been wild tangles of trees and vines was now much more orderly, single kinds of trees all growing together in great forests. At some point the fields had become strangled with a huge variety of small leafy plants, but then tamed to just clean grass over smooth hills. The forests and fields also became larger and larger, at times stretching as far as they could see. They passed over massive herds of prey-things, so large and numerous that they could be smelled from high in the air and far away.
Some of those prey-things were larger than he and Dreamer. Once, they had hunted one and taken a night to rest, their bellies weighing too heavily to fly comfortably. Its size and big horns had made it dangerous, as far as hunts went, but not to near-adult Nightstrikers. Still, he respected that it had tried to fight them.
There were no such herds below them now, while they flew between the peaks of two mountain ranges that looked as if a single giant claw had been dragged through the land. Through the middle flowed a trickle of water, clean and fresh, that they had enjoyed for pawfuls of nights now, though it was absent of fish. Either side of it transitioned between hard rock and dense forests of pointy trees as it rose up each steep slope.
"How far we fly this night?" Dreamer asked, sounding a little weary and distant.
Wrrr, maybe it was time to rest again, if he was asking that so early; there was still much night left to fly in. "We fly how far you want," Wanderer replied, "we not need hurry."
"Not need hurry," Dreamer echoed thoughtfully, staring off into the distance. "Where we not hurrying to?"
Wanderer laughed, "Where we want! When find somewhere we like. Maybe if… we find other Nightstrikers."
They resumed their silence while they flew. That was as uncomfortable a topic for Wanderer as he suspected it was for Dreamer, given how excited and hopeful he had been about it. Twice, now, they had encountered other Nightstrikers' territory. Neither time had anyone responded to their roars.
It didn't make sense. When he had flown with his family, their roars had always been answered, even the one time he was fairly sure Sire, who seemed to know all Nightstrikers, didn't know them. Were he and Dreamer… roaring incorrectly, or something? That was a foolish worry, but the problem was either with them or the owners of the territories. If it was the latter, he didn't want to meet them anyway, but he did want to know if he was doing something wrong – so much of his upbringing had been lost to those bad hunters. He remained wary of them, too, though he hadn't yet seen any sign of their existence.
"That lake look like good place for land," Dreamer warbled.
Wanderer followed where he was pointing with his snout, and chuffed agreeably at seeing where the steady trickle of water widened into a small lake, maybe even one large enough to swim in. It was still a fair distance away, and as good as any place to land.
With a destination in sight, the rest of the flight seemed to go nowhere for a very short time and then suddenly they were there, lazily swooping down towards the bulge in the river. The land slowly approached them on either side, but there were no sounds, barely even the rustling of leaves in the nearly nonexistent breeze, the faintest chime of the water trickling out of the lake. "This is nice place," Wanderer hummed as they landed on a tall rock outcrop by the water.
Dreamer sat on his haunches and closed his eyes, tilting his head up towards the sky. "Very peaceful," he murmured, "very quiet. I can hear very far…"
That might be a large part of why Wanderer liked it. The air itself seemed silent, meaning he could hear everything. Not even a ground-prey could sneak up on him here. The downside of that was that he didn't want to just leap into the lake, because that noise might likewise be heard by hunters very far away.
"But…" Dreamer flicked his head and ears. "There is strange sound…" He looked around, then started walking away from the water, leaping from rock to rock in a steady climb.
Wanderer churred curiously as he followed, keeping a wary gaze on their surroundings. Dreamer would want to investigate a strange sound, but sounds usually meant things that might not always be safe.
He followed Dreamer quite a distance up and along the slope, only briefly walking up an incline but mostly jumping and occasionally flapping up steep rock. The first time Dreamer stopped to reorient himself, Wanderer heard it too, a faint clicking sound at the edge of his hearing. It was difficult to determine the direction it was coming from, as the sound almost seemed to be tapping inside his own head.
A strong leap up a rock wall twice as tall as he was long landed him on yet another flat rock, but this one had no wall on the other side. Instead, a dark and jagged opening yawned before them, that strange and annoying sound echoing from within.
Naturally, Dreamer just walked inside, and Wanderer sighed as he followed, pawsteps silent on the soft ground. He mentally resigned himself to fighting off some big thing that was probably going to try to eat them; that was what usually happened when Dreamer got curious about something strange. Whatever it was, it smelled awful.
What they found was not what he had expected at all. When the tunnel opened out, tall and narrow rock spikes hanging from the ceiling and protruding from the ground, the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere. Light was scarce, but he could just make out that the hanging spikes were moving, writhing in strange ways that would have been deeply disturbing if not for the glints of eyes flashing across it.
Prey. Very small prey, not even worth chasing, but small furred things with leathery wings a bit like Nightstrikers. Some of them flitted about the cave, clinging to the spikes and walls with hooks on their wings and constantly making that maddening clicking noise. He ducked compulsively as pawfuls more of them swooped in from behind him, joining the throng.
Wordlessly, Dreamer turned and started walking back outside, and Wanderer followed; he might have been tempted to stay longer, but that sound was really irritating.
"Strange," Wanderer snorted as they emerged from the cave, into the soft light of the kindling sky-fire.
"You think she is safe?" Dreamer asked quietly, staring at the sky.
Where had that come from? "Whispering?" Wanderer asked, then yawned widely. "She is Lightstriker. Not can be seen."
Scepticism, Dreamer churred. "Not while sleeping…" He glanced at Wanderer, at the flat look on his face. "Yes, you right… She has good thinking. Also… she not like Long-Paws, not would go near them."
"Should we go back, if you still thinking about her?" Wanderer teased, nipping Dreamer's ear, then fled retribution by jumping back down the rocky slope towards the river.
Back on the tall rock they had initially landed on, he tired of running and turned to meet Dreamer with his shoulder, taking the half-hearted pounce and letting himself be dragged down onto his side. "Maybe we should rest next night," he rumbled while Dreamer chewed the side of his face.
"But no prey here, Dreamer huffed, collapsing on top of him, then started fidgeting to get comfortable.
"Yes… But we eat much already this night." A good sized land-prey that would see them to the start of the next night at least. "Decide later. Sleep now." Agreement, Dreamer chuffed wearily.
A wing-prey twittered and chirped happily, the only sound other than Dreamer's breathing. Wanderer closed his eyes and let himself relax, willing himself to sleep… The claws gripping his shoulder and flank weren't helping, but he didn't call attention to it; only a minor discomfort, barely even annoying, and while the morning was not particularly cold he did not mind this closeness.
Still, it led his thoughts to where they were going… and what they eventually hoped to find.
No more was the endless lush green land that passed below. It had been replaced by a sea of pure white, a pristine coating that shone gently in the night, for as far as could be seen.
Though, as amazing as it was, it did make it more difficult to find anything. Wanderer was thirsty, and tired of eating snow, but where before there had been contrast between water, rock, and trees, now there were only vague shapes that did not always represent what was beneath. Food was also scarce, but they were surviving on what little they found.
"I think I see water," Dreamer called out, gesturing below with his snout.
Wanderer followed his gaze. Below them rose a single continuous mountain that stretched out to the east and west at a slight angle, featuring steep and jagged slopes and leading down to similarly jagged land. Where Dreamer was pointing was a dark scar in the white, like a deep wound that had never healed properly, that trailed along the mountain before splitting off and extending into the distance. "We can land," he barked back, then folded his wings into a dive.
The air stung his eyes, but… Actually, on second thought, he closed them against the wind and flicked out his sub-wings, angling them to produce the sound that allowed him to see without suffering for it. Dreamer did not use his own, but he didn't argue either; they were far from any Long-Paw nests; though the prolific things seemed to be everywhere.
His sound-sight was murky – snow was not easy to see – but he easily picked out the few exposed rock surfaces and bare trees to guide him into flaring his wings, reverting to his sight when he slowed enough that his sound-sight no longer worked. His paws sank into the snow as he landed a pawful of body-lengths from the dark gash, but only as far as his ankles, and below seemed to be dirt and stifled grass. But the happy burble of running water was more interesting, and he trotted over to-
The ground seemed to give way beneath him, and he yelped as his legs sank as far as halfway, leaving him to kick up sprays of snow as he stumbled forwards. He growled as Dreamer laughed at him – who then squeaked as he took a step and his hindpaws slid to the side, carrying his back end with them.
Wanderer snorted at him, then more carefully placed his paws as he proceeded, testing the ground before committing to each step. He fairly quickly had a good idea of what safe ground looked like, and made it to the edge of the river without further incident.
It wasn't large, about two body-lengths across. Strangely, it was not frozen, and the snow seemed to have recoiled from it rather than trying to cover it as was the case with many other rivers, ponds, and lakes they had passed in their journey. Wanderer carefully sought the safe edge of what felt like hard rock to stand on, then leaned down to scent and then lap at the flowing water…
"It warm!" he exclaimed. Wrrr, not warm, really, but it wasn't as icy frozen as he had expected it to be.
Dreamer huffed as he came up beside him. "I was thinking I not should push you in, if we not even can walk here," he said lightly, "but why this water would be warm?" He also planted his paws on the edge and leaned down, scooping up a few mouthfuls with his tongue… "Hrrr, not warm I think, but not cold… Better drinking this than eating snow." Wanderer enthusiastically chuffed agreement to that, then reached down for a few more mouthfuls.
They were on the ground now, might as well make a rest stop of it. He flexed his wings, then shook them and fitted them snugly to his sides to preserve warmth, and carefully walked away from the river with his nose to the ground. He didn't expect there to be much to smell other than the powdery ice… but before long, he was led to dimples in the snow between the spindly trees, a small prey of some kind. It smelled like the very fast land-prey he and Dreamer had hunted as fledglings, and the occasional long grooves in the tracks were familiar.
"Prey," he barked, and Dreamer leaped up to glide the short distance over. "Not much prey," he admitted, "but would feed us."
"If more, yes," Dreamer agreed, scenting the trail. "Not recent, but we know prey here." He then rumbled to himself, flicking his wings and adjusting and readjusting them against his sides. "I thinking…"
Wanderer groaned. "That always is trouble…" He laughed as Dreamer swatted at him.
"You always are trouble," Dreamer growled, then rumbled again. "I… am tired," he said, slumping, letting his wings drop after having placed them so meticulously. "We fly very far… I like that, I like flying… but I want rest…"
"We can rest here," Wanderer chuffed. It was a bit sooner than they normally took to just lie around all night, but he didn't have any objections.
"I not only want rest," Dreamer said awkwardly, shuffling his paws. "I want wait for warming-season. If prey is here… even only small prey… I want stay here. I tired, not want be hungry while I fly again…"
Wanderer winced in sympathy. "We not have always had good hunting while we fly," he agreed. "If that what you want, we do that. If prey is here."
He purred as Dreamer nuzzled him happily, then put his nose back to the trail. "We should look for prey then," he hummed. To see if it would sustain them, of course, but also to feed them now as they had not eaten since the start of the previous night; only flying conservatively had seen them this far.
"We should go separately," Dreamer chuffed. "Not worry, I will catch something for you." He leapt away from Wanderer swatting at him, laughing as he trotted off into the trees.
Dreamer sat at the entrance to the cave they had found, staring out at the grey murk that was everything further than a body-length out into the abyss of wind and snow that howled across the face of the mountain. The cave they had originally chosen was now abandoned, because the winds of the previous light had swirled into and around it to make their sleep very uncomfortable, while this one did not suffer that problem.
He huffed disdainfully at the weather. Uncomfortable, yes, but he doubted it could even blow down a house were it built facing entirely the wrong way. Berk's roofs were a careful balance between being steep enough that they did not collapse under snow, and gradual enough that they directed the wind over them. This weather didn't warrant that, which helped explain the weird shapes that Long-Paws built in for this region.
And he was getting the impression that this was the worst this land had to offer, practically the average spring day on Berk. He could go flying in it right now, if he wanted to; they had flown in similar weather this very cold-season. But that would be pushing himself for no reason, forgoing comfort for… some vague sense of looking for something.
Only two Nightstriker nests, in their months of flying, and neither had replied to roars of greeting. He was fairly certain that the ice and snow would have stifled the scents for maybe half their journey – they may very well be in someone's territory right now, for all he knew – but even still, it felt bleak.
He wanted to find more of his own kind. The Lightstrikers had been wonderful to meet, but… they were not his kind, not quite. Not that they weren't good enough for him, or anything presumptuous like that, just that he wanted to know some other Nightstrikers. He could not be expected to decide something he knew nothing about, after all. Grrr, and his thoughts had led back to finding a mate. He didn't want to think about that for a while.
He looked around the bare cave they had claimed. Everything here, everything he had access to, was natural, in its rawest state. No tools, fabrics, dried meals, nothing, but he didn't need any of that. All he needed to survive was something to hunt, and occasionally some fresh water.
Right now, in this moment, he needed nothing. Sure, he'd like another rabbit or two, but they would hunt when the storm abated, and it wasn't an imminent requirement.
He was bored, in a strange way. He felt slow and lethargic, with no desire to provoke Wanderer into playing, and to some extent that included thinking, though there was little to think about; he had nothing to fix, nothing to build. He felt as if he was bored in anticipation of having nothing to do. It was a peculiar feeling.
The isolation was just getting to him a bit, he reasoned. This was what he had wanted, living on some remote mountain with nothing better to do than lie around in the light of the sky-fire. Now that he was here, he was having doubts.
But this was a particularly bleak night to be judging his choice, the cold-season was not representative of how he would normally be living. Perhaps, once they found somewhere and established their territory, there would be things he would need to do that would hold his attention on these dull nights.
For now, he yawned widely and retreated into the cave, where he cozied up to his warm friend and closed his eyes. Even if he didn't sleep, he was content, daydreaming while he listened to their breathing over the wind moaning outside.
Wanderer dragged his claws through the curious shore of the river, now that the snow was beginning to melt and had retreated away from the water. It was like sand, but much coarser, made from tiny rocks of different shades that clumped together when wet. Maybe it could be called sand, but it was as to sand as he was to the small land-prey they had been hunting for the last half-sky-ice-cycle. Prey tricky enough to catch that he hadn't mustered the motivation to do so yet.
He pounced on nothing in particular, driving his claws into the wet tiny-rocks, purring at the pleasant feeling against his scales… then flicked his paws irritably to dislodge the rocks that had wedged themselves between his claws. One particularly stubborn rock refused to budge, forcing him to attack it with his teeth.
"If you hungry, we can hunt," Dreamer said lightly as he bounded out from the nearby trees. "You will need that, not should eat it."
Wanderer growled at him and swiped at the ground, kicking up a spray of tiny rocks. Dreamer swatted them away with a wing, then roared and charged forwards. He pounced, Wanderer rearing up to meet him, and then they were rolling around in the not-sand trying to hold each other down but having little success. With a triumphant bark, Wanderer got under Dreamer's forelegs and shoved him while their paws scrabbled for purchase in the loose ground – Dreamer toppled over, Wanderer bearing down heavily on him, but then paws punched into Wanderer's belly and sent him right over the other side. The scant moment he lay there to wheeze was enough for Dreamer to pounce on him and hold him down.
He struggled, but he couldn't get any grip on the tiny rocks. Grrr, get you next fight… Then an enquiring snout brushed over his head, and Dreamer huffed. "You smell like water," he rumbled, then started licking.
Wanderer purred, giving up on his futile struggles. Admittedly, they had been a bit lazy with cleaning and sharing their scents this cold-season, now that they were not fishing from salty water or flying until their wings ached. Dreamer was right to remedy that-
He yelped involuntarily as Dreamer licked up the back of his ear, then growled and struggled again, but he really was stuck. Huff.
"I wanted show you thing!" Dreamer suddenly barked excitedly, jumping off and leaping away to land in an impatient crouch. "Come!" He then jumped straight up, his wings enthusiastically beating the air while Wanderer was still getting to his paws.
Wrrr, probably to do with wherever he had wandered off to earlier. Wanderer shook himself, then took a running leap to follow.
Dreamer led him along the river, following its curve. The snow had engulfed it until this night, but now it had receded enough to reveal a sprawling web of trickles across the ground, what had made it difficult to find its source; the unique scent of the water was everywhere, and could not be traced.
But Dreamer kept going, even after the dark cracks in the snow faded away. Though there was disturbed snow, carrying on further along. He eventually landed in a large patch of such snow, gesturing excitedly to what looked just an open field at the end of a valley in the mountain. Wanderer churred thoughtfully as he set down-
Then yelped as his forepaws kept going, sending him headlong into the cold slush. He grumbled at Dreamer's laughing, fumbling around for purchase to back his way out.
Though, as he watched, water trickled into the hole he had made, slowly wetting the snow. Curious, he leaned down to sniff it, catching a strong scent of the river.
"I think this where it comes from," Dreamer announced happily, hopping off his forepaws, then waded into the slush and started digging it out. "Ground here is like ground under river, also is much deep." He disappeared almost entirely, only his excitedly twitching tail showing. "When dig, water fills hole." He backed out and shook himself, though lumps of white slush still clung to him.
"What all that mean?" Wanderer asked, pawing at the snow. "River is from snow?" He looked up at the mountains – they were tall, but from what he'd seen they wouldn't have snow all year.
"I not think that," Dreamer hummed thoughtfully, lifting a slush-covered paw to scent it. "Maybe from ground. Not know. Need wait for see. To see."
Wanderer huffed and tossed his head. "I hungry," he growled, then stalked into the trees with his nose to the ground and Dreamer happily trotting alongside him.
Dreamer reached out, filled with disappointment at finding only empty air over the rock beside him. He extended a wing back to confirm there was nothing there either. Not unusual, but for some reason this made him feel irrationally sad this particular evening.
He pawed at the cold ground in his loneliness, then rolled onto his front and forced himself to his paws with a devastating yawn. Muted light still filtered into the cave they had claimed, far too early to be awake, but he was craving company and it had been a while since he'd seen dusk. Blinking blearily, he stumbled to the mouth of the cave and fell into the wind.
Several moments passed before he thought to roar, then a few more before he angled for the reply. Even more passed before he realised that the world was no longer white, not completely, just patches of it lying over the dull green landscape.
Wanderer was staring into the lake when Dreamer landed beside him, and didn't seem bothered by Dreamer stumbling up to him and nuzzling into his side. He wasn't particularly warm, but under his wing was not cold, and he was company…
"Wait," Dreamer rumbled, "this is lake now." One that was still partially covered in snow by the look of it, big lumps of it floating across the surface. It had still been powder and slush the previous night.
"Lazywings," Wanderer crooned condescendingly, battering him with the wing, then went back to staring.
"What you doing?" Dreamer asked, though he got no answer. They were just staring at the water, dark but clear with thin plant-things drifting limply along the bottom of the shallows.
Wanderer suddenly lunged, and Dreamer yelped as he was unexpectedly splashed with cold water that got even colder in the light breeze. He shook himself off, debated flaming the ground to lie on, debated flaming Wanderer to lie on, then growled at the perpetrator, who was proudly walking out of the water with a dark lump in his mouth.
A fish. A weird fish, one that was a deep green instead of silvery and that did not sparkle or reflect light. It was oddly flat, and had little fins…
Dreamer suddenly felt very awake. "Fish!?" he barked, leaping over to sniff at it as Wanderer climbed back onto the muddy bank. The last time they'd had fish was… wrrr, almost since leaving the Lightstriker nest. "You not tell me there is fish!"
"You were sleeping," Wanderer growled, turning his shoulder on Dreamer and hunkering down on some wilted grass.
"I was lonely," Dreamer whined, climbing onto Wanderer and sprawling across his shoulders. Wanderer growled and put a paw on his fish to turn and snap at him, warningly nipping the side of his head.
Dreamer, not one to miss out on suicidal spur-of-the-moment opportunities, shoved his head into the gap beyond Wanderer's shoulder to snatch his fish.
Sharp pricks of pain immediately and firmly pressed into his neck, each of them vibrating with a low, dangerous growl. Dreamer was frozen in place, partly by instinct and partly because he was being held as far forward as he could reach. Not that it was going to make him let go; he was far too stubborn for that. But nor could he properly take it with Wanderer holding its tail firmly under his paw.
Claws invaded Dreamer's parted teeth, seeking to pry it from him. They were properly tangled now, and Dreamer wasn't sure he could let go even if he wanted to, but he was still on top and thus had the upper paw. He navigated his way around to awkwardly reach over with a hindleg, and raked his claws over Wanderer's belly.
The teeth in his neck clamped down a little harder, forcing a whimper from him, but he was determined not to give in. Wanderer was writhing, trying to escape the torture, and his stupid suggestive trick wasn't going to work this time. The fish loosened a little, and Dreamer immediately tugged and lunged for a better grip on it. They were mauling it even as they fought over it, flesh tearing to teeth and claws, but it wasn't about the fish any more.
The constant growling deepened, Wanderer shifting his grip before withdrawing his teeth – Dreamer jerked back, right as Wanderer rolled-
The fish went flying as the strike caught him in the jaw, dazing him for the instant Wanderer needed to shove him away and presumably scoff the fish, given the wet chomping sounds. Dreamer lay on the cold ground, blinking away the bright spots clouding his sight and waiting for the pain to subside. The ache did so quickly, but a line of fire burned from the corner of his mouth, and soon he could smell blood.
Surprised, hurt, he whined, unmoving, staring ahead at nothing. An enquiring snuffle then blew against his face, followed by an apologetic croon and a gentle lick over the hurt. "Stupid," Wanderer snorted, stepping into his peripheral. "You should let go." Dreamer scoffed; as if his pride would have let him. "Not should try take my fish then," Wanderer huffed, and Dreamer wheezed as he stepped onto his chest to walk over him.
"You should get me for fish," Dreamer grumbled, rolling to his paws and then testing the cut with his wrist. It wasn't bleeding profusely, just a little, and would probably scab over soon. Hopefully it didn't scar, that would be a very annoying place for those large scales to grow. "Where they come from?" he then asked, bounding over to peer into the water; he couldn't immediately see anything, other than the drifting strands of thin plants.
"Why I would know that?" Wanderer said with a huff. "Why you care?" he then asked, prowling along the water's edge.
Dreamer snorted, then leapt to catch up and fell into step behind him. "This all was ice. Now there is fish? Did they freeze? Come from river? Maybe not enough for hunting…"
"That is too much thinking," Wanderer groaned. "I want fish, so I hunting fish. If we can hunt all, then that would happened already." He suddenly tensed, eyes tracking something in the water, and Dreamer quickly spotted what he was looking at.
Not to be outdone a second time, Dreamer lunged when the fish abruptly turned towards him. His paws hit the clear surface, obscuring his prey with the splashes, but he could feel it thrashing under his paw and quickly lunged to grab it in his teeth and yank it up into open air.
…
He whined and quaked in the freezing shallows, and Wanderer laughed at him. "Now you know why I not give you fish," he chuckled, resuming his prowl along the edge. For his part, Dreamer leapt up onto the shore to shake himself off, then eagerly wolfed down his prize; it was worth it. It looked weird for a fish, its fins and eyes and everything were all in the wrong places, but the meat was softer, fattier. It tasted of the river and lake rather than the sea, and best of all, came from fresh, clean water.
He licked his face clean, vainly sniffed for scraps, then set off after Wanderer to look for more; perhaps it would be more efficient to go the other way, but that would be lonely, and they had all the time in the world.
The lake was the first thing to melt, piles of snow slowly collapsing into it to reveal more and more. Then they woke one night to find a mild avalanche from the valley had half-filled it again, but in the process had revealed that it was much larger than Dreamer had originally guessed, backing right up against the mountain.
As that snow began to melt, the white blanket gave way to dull, anaemic grass and shrubs. But far more interestingly, that melt all flowed into the river, turning the trickle into a stream, then a torrent, until it overflowed and created a cascade of fresh, startlingly clear water that spread outwards in little waterfalls and rapids as it all sought somewhere to go.
Without the ocean nearby, Dreamer's mind boggled at the thought of all this water. Would it just… keep going? More than once, he flew as high as he could, but could not see the end of the swollen river. It just disappeared into the distance.
He and Wanderer played a lot, leaping from rock to rock between the rapids and trying to push each other in. Sometimes they even succeeded, which usually ended with a reckless tackle to ensure they both fell in. The water ran quickly and was just shy of frozen, but they had fished in such temperatures many times in the past, and there were very few places it was actually deep. And retreating to their sheltered cave afterwards to flame the rock and lie on it was sheer bliss.
But all of that was nothing compared to what was to come.
The night started like most others, Dreamer waking drowsily to Wanderer stirring against him; the other Nightstriker should learn to enjoy more sleep, they were in no rush to do anything. After over a week of it, the distant sound of the rushing river was familiar and comforting, a persistent backdrop to their simple lives, reminiscent of all the fun they had enjoyed already.
Dreamer rumbled sleepily and licked the shoulder by his snout, then purred as his affection was reciprocated. A random thought popped into his head that they would probably be shedding soon, and that it would be weird to apparently do so after the snow melted for once, but he didn't let it worry him. He wasn't itching yet, so it was still the cold-season.
The warm presence embracing him shifted and withdrew, and Dreamer sighed as cold loneliness replaced it. Resigned to getting up, he stretched out on his back and yawned, intentionally slapping Wanderer with a wing as he extended and flexed those too, then rolled to his paws and shook himself off. There was something to waking up somewhat early to have a nap later, he supposed as he yawned again.
"Dreamer," Wanderer huffed, now at the mouth of the cave. "See."
Wha? Dreamer flexed the stiffness from his legs as he walked over, then looked down over the land. "I looking," he mumbled.
"See river," was the only elaboration, and he let his gaze drift to it. What about it? The dying light of the sky-fire was casting weird shadows all over it, but…
Wait… That odd shadowy flickering was not normal. He shared a look with Wanderer before they both leaped from the cave and angled into a steep descent.
The abnormality did not resolve until they were about halfway down to the ground, but only because the sheer absurdity of it had kept him from believing his eyes. "Fish," he squeaked. The odd flickering, the strange darkness, it was all fish, but they covered the bloated river, hundreds, maybe thousands of them, maybe more, all fighting the rushing water for as far as he could see. They were not small, either, each a good snack at least.
He laughed deliriously, steepening his dive to hurry after his friend to the veritable feast teeming in the water below. Landing on a rock jutting out of the water, he could only stare, vaguely wondering if this was some dream he would wake from only to be disappointed by reality. How could this much food exist all in one place!? The fish leaped from the water, clearing it entirely and often jumping up the many rapids strewn around him. Wanderer wasn't even getting wet catching them, just snatching them out of the air as they leapt up around him.
"I dreaming," he said weakly; this couldn't be real.
…But if it was a dream, he might as well enjoy himself, right?
A fish jumped up within his reach, and he lunged to bite down on it. He almost expected it to squeak or something, it was weird to catch prey like this, but it just silently flopped and jerked, futilely trying to free itself from the teeth impaling it.
The taste that filled his mouth convinced him this was all somehow real, and he wolfed it down, sighing relief as the ache in his stomach subsided a little. He leapt to new perches for each catch, revelling in just having food, let alone such an obscene abundance of it, eating far more than was sensible but he didn't care because this was just so amazing!
Finally, he stumbled to the edge of the river and collapsed on the shore. He did somewhat regret eating so much… but to be sated, to feel his belly stretch, and with barely a splash of water on him? He was convinced now he was awake, but this still seemed too good to be true.
Wanderer staggered over and gently lay on his side by Dreamer, purring deeply. "I not see fish like this before," he murmured, stretching a leg and digging his claws into the grass before going limp.
"I never see fish jump like that," Dreamer laughed weakly, then groaned. "I not will move all night…" Except now that he'd said that, he was thirsty and kind of needed to relieve himself, but that could come later. Wanderer just groaned his assent.
Dreamer wasn't sure how much time passed before those needs outweighed his gluttonous lethargy, but eventually they did, and he dragged himself to his paws to remedy both.
Feeling content again, he let his gaze drift up the river, wondering where all these fish were actually going. To the lake, he supposed… but why?
He trudged up the strips of land between the torrents of water, forcing himself on in his curiosity. It came to mind that this was dangerous, stuffing themselves silly like this – it left them slow and vulnerable – and also highlighted just how slow walking was compared to flying. Still, he was determined, and had nothing better to do.
Finally, he made it to the lake; it felt as if it had taken all night, but he could still see Wanderer in the distance behind him, lounging on the grassy bank, probably asleep. Here, he could see where all these fish were journeying to, the huge expanse of water the size of a large village. They weren't so keen to come near the shore, but he could see movement further out, fish that would probably be roaring joy, success, relief, if they could. He and Wanderer had just cut that journey short for a good many of them, within sight of their final objective; that had to sting. But what was here for them?
Wrrr, this was the start of the warming-season, or close to it. These fish must swim all the way up here to breed… for some reason. It seemed ridiculous, but he couldn't think of anything else, and he'd heard of stranger things… maybe; nothing was coming to mind right now.
Even still, this was… incredible. He and Wanderer could live for years on all this fish, if they could somehow keep them all here, but it was probably a fleeting miracle. However…
He was deep in thought when Wanderer eventually came to find him, lying on his side and staring out over the lake while it slowly filled with fish. "I thinking," he rumbled, then glanced at Wanderer. "What?" he asked, planting a paw in preparation for standing.
Wanderer continued scenting the air, then ducked down to scent the ground before lifting his snout to the breeze again. "I smelled…" He trailed off, looking around, and was silent for several seconds. "I not know," he huffed, then sprawled on his side. "What idea you have now?"
"Not say like that," Dreamer grumbled, too lazy to swat at him. "We waiting for snow to melt. But… here we have water, prey. This," he gestured out over the water, "maybe happen every cold-season. I think… maybe we could nest here…?"
Wanderer's gaze shifted from him to the lake, his frills twitching and eyes narrowing while he thought. "Maybe not enough prey here," he mumbled. "If these fish not stay."
"I think they not will stay," Dreamer admitted. "But some prey here. We can hunt more prey. Will find prey not far from here I think. Water here, but no Long-Paw nests." He wondered why that was, they were built on pretty much every other body of water. "I maybe think something if no prey." He might be able to start a new herd here or something, encourage wild game to venture into the nearby forests.
"Maybe," Wanderer hummed warily, shuffling his paws.
"What?" Dreamer asked, catching on to his friend's anxiety as if it was contagious.
"I…" Wanderer stared down at his paws. "I not had territory before…"
That was his reservation? "You never want territory?" Dreamer asked probingly. Sure, he'd never owned any either, other than Dragon's Nest which had been shared with the riders and other dragons. Maybe he didn't know what to do with his own territory, other than live in it, and maybe he'd have to fight off contenders if this bounty of food was going to be hotly contested… Grrr, now he was feeling anxious for his own reasons.
"I want territory," Wanderer argued, staring firmly back at him. "But…" His gaze drifted back to the lake. "I not know… This place…"
"This feels too good for us?" Dreamer guessed.
Wanderer barked loudly, "Yes! That! Grrr, not know why I feel that."
"I also," Dreamer agreed. "But we have fought much all our lives. I think we should have this now." He might not feel that way emotionally, and he might just be getting his hopes up if there turned out to be some problem with it, but he wanted this place. And if all he had to do was claim it… "I want this," he declared.
Wanderer stared into his eyes for several long heartbeats. "Yes," he eventually agreed, then looked around at the range of steep mountains, over the lake, down the river, and to the forest behind them that was still bare of leaves. "Yes," he repeated more confidently. "This is our territory."
Author's Notes
When I said I wanted to hit the brakes, I wasn't kidding. We're not even done with the 'down' chapters, there's so much more I need to establish. But hopefully things have been kept interesting, and now I can finally start setting up for the conclusion of this grand tale. This is the place that will all begin.