Wanderer rolled upright, splaying his legs out, but the pressure of the den's ground against his underside was uncomfortable. He rolled onto his back, kicking the air with his hindlegs, but that made him feel restless and lacking something to grip. He grumbled and rolled back to his side, only to be reminded that it exacerbated the pressure in his hindquarters.
Giving up on sleep, he huffed and rolled to his paws, then yawned deeply and satisfyingly. Dreamer was curled up around Leaper, grumbling quietly, restless, while their son was enjoying the deep sleep reserved for fledglings without a care in the world. Dreamer still felt bad about losing his temper, but regardless, the swatting had been well deserved. In any case, it had been quickly forgiven and forgotten in the way of young fledglings.
In the mouth of the den, bright light silhouetted Fleeting sitting on her haunches, staring outside. After another yawn, Wanderer climbed to his paws and padded over to lightly run his snout up the back of her neck, groaning under his breath at her hot, feminine scent. His body wanted to mount her right there in the entrance, but he could tell her thoughts were elsewhere. "You are worried," he rumbled.
"I not know why," she grumbled dryly. "They are weak. They not can come here. Their tunnel is blocked, I helped block it more, but…"
Wanderer set aside his gripping desires for the moment, to think about his mate's problem and hopefully help put her at ease. "They came here before. They maybe will again. Maybe will threaten our son again."
"We will kill them if they try," she growled, sounding confident. "I not worried if we need fight them. I am good fighter, also my mates have much experience." She leaned into him, rubbing her head against his neck.
So that wasn't it, and she was right not to worry about it. Long-Paws were weak and frail, not much threat against a prepared Nightstriker… most of the time. Although, against an unprepared one… "You are worried because they just appeared?" he warbled. "Not know where they might appear, or when they might come."
Her tense ears and body told him that was exactly it. He hummed and affectionately licked the top of her head. "I know. I feel that also." He shuffled up to wrap a wing around her and look out at the forest. "But they not will find us easily. They not know where we nest. We will find them before they find us, if we watch for them."
"That… make me feel better, some," she said with a sigh. "I not worried much. I just… not like how they threatened our Leaper…"
"That also," Wanderer agreed with a growl; they had been let off lightly for what they had done, lucky for them it had been Dreamer to intervene. "But I also not like that my mate not is happy, that she not is happy now. That is their fault also." Last cooling-season had been exhausting, but while this rutting wasn't quite as strong, it was a sullen event compared to the hot and endless passion they had shared the first time.
"I maybe need distracting," Fleeting purred, turning a little to press her shoulders into his chest. He purred heartily as he put his paw around her, her warm back rubbing against his front while they got into position, panting into the back of her neck while they moved, digging his claws into her shoulders when her whole body tensed in waves…
But he couldn't help listening for footsteps and weapons, or occasionally glancing out at the forest. He knew that nothing was suddenly going to jump out at them, but he couldn't bring himself to lower his guard, to relax and trust. They were distracted, tired, vulnerable, and as much as he tried to focus on his mate moaning and writhing beneath him he could not fully bury that worry.
Later, after lightly dozing next to her with his paw draped over her shoulders, he nudged her with a quiet hum. "Go rest," he said quietly, "I will stay here." Maybe she would feel a bit better knowing he was keeping vigil.
She murred discontentedly, but climbed to her paws at a more instant nudge and turned to disappear back into the den. The surprised huff and happy purrs that followed suggested she'd woken Dreamer.
Wanderer kept one ear listening outside, and the other focused on the happiness inside. Hopefully he was giving them some measure of peace by keeping watch, though they wouldn't be alleviated of all their worry. The intrusion on their territory was still too recent.
But they would watch. And whatever they needed to do, he and Dreamer would ensure their territory remained safe.
"Sire. Sire. Sire? Sire. Sire!"
Wanderer cracked an eye to see Leaper's face claw-lengths from his own. "Sire!" he barked. "I hungry! Want hunt!"
Looking around the den, Dreamer and Fleeting were quite tangled, sleeping soundly. They had been awake when Wanderer had settled down, so it seemed to be his turn to wake. He yawned widely, standing and stretching the lethargic stiffness from his body, then purred and nuzzled Leaper for being so patient and not nagging before following him out into the dull light.
Wanderer blinked as he stepped into the mouth of the den, finding not early light as he had expected in his half-asleep state, but rather a thick layer of snow brightening the night. Leaper was tentatively touching it with a paw, making little prints where it spilled into the entrance. He backed away, then crept forwards again to sniff at it and squawked confusion.
Wanting to speed this up a bit so he could get moving to warm up, Wanderer stuck his paw under the fledgling's haunches and flicked him out into the snow. Leaper flailed and shrieked, continuing to shriek as he landed in the powdery ice and scrambled to his paws. He then stood there, as still as prey suspecting it was being hunted, and slowly looked up with such a miserable and betrayed expression that Wanderer just had to laugh. "This is snow," he rumbled in amusement, kicking at a lump of the stuff.
"I cold!" Leaper yowled, gingerly placing his paws to turn around.
When he lunged at Wanderer, however, aiming to climb onto his shoulder, Wanderer blocked him with a wing and let him slide back down into the snow, where he whimpered and writhed. "It only cold if you not doing anything!" Wanderer barked, trotting ahead. "But if you can catch me I will flame ground for you!"
"Flame ground!" Leaper screeched excitedly, apparently immediately forgetting about the cold to chase after him.
Of course, while a ground-prey would have Leaper running around for a whole night, it would barely satisfy Wanderer enough to hunt one in the first place, which he neglected to take into account until after Leaper was chasing him. He considered pushing through his cold-season lethargy, but then teeth were already biting his tail. "Flame ground!" Leaper howled, bounding around to stand in front of him and shuffling his paws in anticipation.
"I not can flame it here," Wanderer replied spontaneously. "Wait until after hunt, will flame back in den. You hungry!"
Leaper stared up at him for a few moments, his expression unreadable. "Yes, hungry," he then chuffed, turning and sniffing for prey-trails, and Wanderer quietly sighed relief. The main thing was that he appeared calm and collected, always knowing exactly what he was talking about, not that he'd actually made a silly promise and backwinged to make it reasonable.
Hrrr… How much had his own parents just been flying by the edge of their wings? They had seemed to have a response to everything, but then as far as Leaper was concerned so did he. Being on this side of the relationship was strange.
After they had finished their hunt and satisfied their bellies, Leaper digging up his own rabbit to eat, they started the walk back to the den. Leaper was initially playful and energetic, bounding around to explore and dive into snow drifts, but before long he just climbed onto Wanderer's back to huddle there.
Wanderer hummed thoughtfully, glancing around the forest. There had been no more signs of Long-Paws since the ones Leaper and Dreamer had found, and they were little threat with some basic precautions anyway. "What you should do if you see thing you not know?" Wanderer asked. Leaper rumbled uncertain, thoughtful, but didn't have an answer. "You should hide, come find us."
"I hide?" the fledgling warbled.
"Yes," Wanderer chuffed. "Some things will want hurt you much. Maybe… want take you away, so we never will see you again. Long-Paws want that, but maybe other things also." Leaper quietly whined fear, but fear was the appropriate response for him right now. "Must always listen. If worried, if see or hear Long-Paws or thing you not know, find Sire or Dam. We can fight bad things, keep you safe."
"Find Sire or Dam," Leaper quietly repeated. The lesson would need teaching many times before it was truly understood, but as long as he remembered it, and his parents all remained vigilant of their territory, it should be safe enough for him. Wanderer hummed warmly to himself, thinking of his son confidently stalking prey-dens on his own. Maybe not this cold-season, he was still very young, but soon.
The Long-Paws intruding on their territory had been a frightening reminder of their existence, but with time came perspective. They were dangerous only if antagonised or not taken seriously. The difficult part would just be making sure they weren't a nuisance.
Dreamer sighed as he clawed open another fish, wishing he'd paid more attention to when Fishlegs had been drying them at Dragon's Nest. The insides were still wet, glistening with moisture that almost looked like it might drip to the ground if he squeezed.
At least it hadn't really cost anything, snatching up a few dozen extra from the floods that came with the warming-season had been laughably easy; how Leaper had enjoyed chasing them, even if he could only eat one. But it seemed this particular variety was just a bit too big, the outside drying and shrivelling but the very centre remaining moist and prone to spoilage.
He raised a paw and flexed his claws in the dim light of the cave he was using to dry the food. Not exactly tools he could fillet a fish with. Although… could he just shred it instead? It would expose more of it to the air, more than was necessary, but it might work. Fishlegs would know what to do… Huff, if he was already wallowing in hindsight he might as well add that he could have tested this with a fish caught before the cold-season, one of an equivalent size. It might have gone to waste at the time, but he would have learned and had more now…
It was pointless to think on what could have been, though. Before long, he would figure this out and this setback would be nothing but a distant learning experience. Anyway, this fish wasn't spoiled, it just meant they'd all eat very well for a few nights. He shook his head and began gathering them up, preparing to carry what he could-
A distant but loud roar lifted his ears, and he spun towards the entrance, a fish still in his mouth. That had sounded urgent, though he hoped he'd just misheard – he couldn't assume that, so tossed the fish aside, leapt to the entrance to squeeze outside, and flung himself into the air. Enquiry, he barked, keeping his ears sharp for the reply.
Summons, urgent, worried, Fleeting's roar echoed back from halfway across their territory, and Dreamer angled towards her. He was somewhat relieved to hear it was her, as Leaper was playing with Wanderer and unlikely to be that close to the boundary – in fact, they were soaring up to meet him, Leaper clinging to Wanderer's back. Dreamer shared a worried look with Wanderer before chuffing confidently to their son and setting his nose to the wind.
After another round of barking to narrow down her location in the forest, Dreamer chuffed warily. "I will go, stay here with Leaper." He wanted to add something like 'keep him safe', but that was blatantly obvious and bordered on disrespectful. Acknowledgement, Wanderer chuffed, glancing around warily.
Dreamer dove, swiftly closing the distance to the forest below and dreading what he might find. That concern was magnified tenfold as he neared the canopy and the air suddenly reeked of blood, saturated to levels that were beyond the few minutes' flight here. Some of it was prey, but some of it was unmistakably Long-Paw. Not again…!
He ducked and rolled through the canopy, crashing through the little sticks and flaring his wings into a hard landing – several land-prey, from the nearby pack it seemed, were suddenly braying and backing away from him, stumbling and moving strangely. Nearby was a sight that made Dreamer glad he couldn't see nearly as much red as he could smell. Fleeting huddled helplessly in between. "I not know what to do!" she whined, taking a step towards the prey-pack, only for them to again bellow and bray but for some reason not flee.
Only when they somewhat settled again did Dreamer see the problem. They were all linked by a rope, one that could probably be broken easily by the big land-prey if not for the fact that it was linked through rings hooked into their noses. Dreamer had to cringe sympathetically, that had to be excruciating; enough to prevent them from tearing free even in the presence of their predators. "Are more Long-Paws?" he asked, breaking the situation down into individual problems that he could address.
"No," Fleeting confirmed, "I already break their tunnel again, only these came through. Wrrr, were more there, but not now."
That was a relief. Dreamer sighed, then barked summons up to Wanderer, still circling high above. "I need look at one," he said, gesturing to the prey, eyes following the rope… and failing to locate an end, the line trailing off into the trees. This had to be a quarter of the prey-pack! He snarled angrily, then took a breath to calm himself; getting riled wouldn't help him here, he needed to focus.
Wanderer landed in a tree while Dreamer was following the rope around and reassessing just how much of the pack the Long-Paws had attempted to steal. "We need take things out of their noses," Dreamer called up to him. Wanderer made an interesting face that was a mix between a disgusted grimace and an angry scowl before encouraging Leaper to stay in the trees and jumping down.
The prey had clearly fled as far as they were able to, with the rope catching on the trees. At least the line was easy to follow, with each prey tied in place. He sighed as they reached the last prey, backing away from them but just twitching on pulling the rope taut. "Just hold it while I break vine-thing," he rumbled, preparing himself for a long and tedious job; he couldn't see any obvious way to remove the rings, which would be complicated and bloody work with his claws, and this promised to be difficult and unpleasant enough as it was.
With Leaper watching from the trees, they made their way along the rope, systematically pinning each prey down to burn the knot of rope from the ring before releasing them. After Dreamer and Wanderer had both burned through both types of fire, Fleeting being out already, they were reduced to biting and clawing the rope around the knots and trying not to make it too stressful for the prey in the process. Dreamer lost count somewhere well past twenty, and that probably wasn't even halfway through the task.
Finally, after the sky-fire set and the sky-sparks twinkled above, Dreamer had to pounce the rope to stop the last one just running off with it and probably getting snagged somewhere. "Maybe we can eat this one?" Wanderer groaned. "I not want hunt after that…"
"Maybe," Dreamer huffed, "but I have much fish that need eating."
Fleeting growled discontentedly as she approached the prey, pouncing it and bringing it down in short order. "This prey is aggravating me. Fish is better."
Dreamer cut through the rope with a few snaps of his teeth, then arched his back and stretched while the prey blundered off into the dark forest. "That not was pleasant," he groaned, rolling and flexing his shoulders and neck. "But good that you caught them. We would need hunt much less if you not." At the very least, they would have needed to start watching how much they hunted to ensure the pack did not get too small.
"They should know not come back now," Fleeting snarled while she stretched herself. "Grrr, I smell like prey-thing. I will go to lake. Whoever comes help clean me can mate me."
That… was tempting, however dispassionate the offer had been. "Killing them not will stop them," Dreamer rumbled, finding himself not all that bothered by the deaths; though on second thought, he probably wouldn't be much in the mood for mating after helping clean off the blood he had noticed on her claws and face.
She scoffed as she shook out her wings. "Maybe. But I also broke their tunnel, then burned pawful of their dens. They stupid if they ignore that warning."
Dreamer froze, his eyes widening. "You burned… their dens?" he repeated slowly, an old tale echoing in his memory as he stared at the grisly mess among the trees. First, people go missing…
"Nest that get its nose bitten should learn to not sniff where it not belong," she growled, glancing back at him. Then the strikes start… "I only burned small dens, at edge of nest. Will bite them harder if they come back, until they learn."
The world seemed to press down, the air thick and heavy. Dreamer sank to his haunches, putting a paw on his head and staring at the ground, feeling short of breath. People go missing, inadvertently wandering into Nightstrikers' territory and getting killed for stealing prey or being aggressive. The search parties going out, finding either death themselves or bringing back news of grisly corpses, not warded off but escalating the conflict. Then the strikes start, warning shots, telling the Long-Paws to stay in their own territory, but of course they didn't have a concept of territory, not like dragons did. If that doesn't sate them, they go for larger targets, more grievous strikes where lesser warnings had failed. Of course they didn't want food or anything, they were just protecting themselves, their families, communicating in the only way they knew how until they inadvertently hit the Hall or something and the Long-Paws stopped hunting-
"Dreamer!" Wanderer barked.
Dreamer snapped out of his daze and looked up to see Wanderer and Fleeting looking worriedly at him, with Leaper seemingly ready to doze off on his sire's back. "I… I know why they fear us," Dreamer said quietly, staring back at them. Simple communication, or lack thereof. One side delivering a targeted message, the other seeing only random and malicious strikes. He couldn't blame Nightstrikers for responding the way they did, apparently with unerring consistency – because what other choice did they have? He'd like to blame the Long-Paws for being blind idiots, but that was an easy perspective to take, knowing what he did. Any Long-Paw nest would still send out hunting and gathering parties… just better armed ones.
Fleeting blinked at him, looking worried and confused, and he had another simple but ground-breaking revelation. "I need talk with them," he said faintly. It could only be him, he was the only one who knew and could empathise with both sides; maybe his dam, but she had taken entirely the wrong attitude the first time.
"You need what?" Fleeting hissed, narrowing her eyes and backing up a step. "How!?"
"I lived with them for much time. I know their words, can… say them, in one way." There were many problems to address, not least of which being somehow opening a dialogue in the first place, but if he could do that without fully revealing what he was… "They not will stop," he said suddenly, narrowing his eyes on his mate. "They not understand. Think you attacked with no reason. They will come back, but there will be more, also they will have sharper claws, more fire. Even if we burn them, there always will be more, hunting us, just trying to protect their nests…" His gaze settled on Leaper, curled up on Wanderer's back and sleeping soundly, and he sighed. "Maybe… if I talk with them… we can live peacefully…" He had to try.
Fleeting studied him with narrow eyes. Finally, she glanced at Wanderer, who chuffed confidence, then stepped forwards with a sigh. "I trust you," she said quietly, and Dreamer leaned into her as she nuzzled him. "I just want us safe. That mean you also."
"I know," he hummed into the back of her neck, "I want that also. This is best thing I can do."
Many nights later, Dreamer had a better understanding of who he was dealing with, and a plan to deal with them.
The 'lord', for that was what the people called him, was unlike anything he'd faced before. No, compared to previous opponents, this man was downright incompetent; but that was only by comparison. He was overweight, though perhaps not quite as much as say Gobber, but somehow didn't have the muscle to back it up despite lugging it around all the time. A round face with bloated, sagging cheeks, short hair, and no beard or moustache.
Dreamer watched him stomp out of his house. The giant building at the top of the village, that they had spent so long building and further working on, was his house, for him and his family. Dreamer could only guess at why he needed so much space, there was more room in there than the Great Hall on Berk. It had to be a nightmare to keep heated in the cold-season. Whatever he could think of, he could only assume that gross excess was involved. That was the second large hint as to the type of person leading this nest.
The man's flabby arms quivered with his righteous march out into the garden. The enormous garden off the side of the house, with its immaculate pebble paths, smooth shrubs, and blossoming flowerbeds. Around him, a dozen or so much burlier and stronger men brandished spears, stalking through the paths and treating every low shrub with suspicion. It might have even looked intimidating, were it observed from close up instead of a bow's range up the mountain in the failing light.
But Dreamer had to meet with this lord, and it had to be handled delicately. He had spent over a week observing and listening, when he could, getting the measure of him. Simply appearing out of nowhere, as nothing but a dragon, would most likely only scare him, as it had with Johann. By approaching as a semi-hostile force, tactfully knocking out guards and leaving cryptic messages over the course of a few nights, he was hopefully presenting a more familiar situation to deal with.
The lord knew he was meeting with a threat, and was taking it seriously, even showing up early; nightfall had been the specified time, for obvious reasons. Dreamer was taking it seriously too. Fleeting was by his side, making a low, constant growl, and Wanderer was keeping watch from further up with Leaper in his care, far out of harm's way but able to lend his fire if needed. This lord might be fat and greedy, but he likely wasn't stupid, and there were any number of ways this could go wrong.
A puff of smoke drifted away from the group of Long-Paws below, something the lord usually liked to do in his garden just after night fell, holding a polished stick to his mouth and then somehow exhaling a foul smoke. It was a curious habit. Dreamer strongly doubted he was trying to acclimatise himself to being inside burning buildings, but it seemed to have no other apparent purpose. Southerners were strange.
"I still not like this," Fleeting growled as the sky-sparks began to multiply with the fading light.
"I know," Dreamer hummed, nuzzling her; she felt tense, worried. "But I do this before. Wrrr, not this exactly, but things like this. Also I know you will watch for me." He might feel a little better with Wanderer by his side, if only because he was more experienced, but that was why he was watching and protecting Leaper. Besides, it was a good opportunity to get Fleeting some of her own experience, and they had yet to shed, affording them an extra layer of protection if it came down to it.
When the Long-Paws below started lighting torches, both handheld ones and a number scattered throughout the garden, Dreamer took a long, deep breath, stretching out his wings. Fleeting took flight ahead of him, and he watched her silently soar into the night sky, clear to his eyes but invisible to those below, before leaping into a glide himself. So much time had passed since he'd last made contact with humans beyond just scaring them away, he felt jittery, excited and nervous. Perhaps also a little fearful, but that kept his hearing sharp and his eyes focused.
He did a lap around the area, scanning for threats, before descending to the ground at the edge of the firelight, just out of sight. He had chosen this place specifically for its hard dirt, a suitable medium for writing in, though ideally he'd have some sand or something equally fine and loose. This promised to be tedious.
After rolling his paw, he scrawled out his message of greeting; as awkward as ever, and the nearby Long-Paws grumbling discontentedly were not helping his concentration. This was it. One last step. Light a fire, get their attention.
He quietly growled at himself, forced himself to dribble some plasma just behind the message, shielded by his wing, and leapt away. Once it was all happening he would be able to react and go with it, but this first step… felt like throwing himself back into all that mess with the dragon hunters, getting tangled in human plots and schemes and wearing himself ragged…
This wouldn't be like that, not least of which because he now knew better. He gave his head a shake and crouched low to the ground, watching the Long-Paws go through the expected surprise and suspicion over a blue fire appearing out of nowhere. And as with the last time, one of them was selected and sent to investigate.
"If I wanted you dead," the man read aloud in a gruff voice with a clipped accent, "you would be. I only want to talk."
"Show yourself!" the lord shouted angrily; that was good, anger was something Dreamer could work with. "Coward!"
Dreamer snorted amusement, loudly enough that every spear was instantly levelled in his direction. Wuff, back into the fight… He slowly walked into the light of the fires, eliciting a range of surprised and fearful reactions, suddenly aware that this was the first time he'd truly revealed himself to Long-Paws as an adult Nightstriker; he'd been hunched and aggressive with the three that had first invaded their territory, that didn't count.
He was aware of his enormous leathery wings, furled and hovering above his body. His long, powerful legs, large tough scales creeping up from his paws, fins near the back catching the breeze, and sharp claws scraping the ground as he walked. His long, flexible tail, thick with muscle at the base, the tail-fins wavering on the end as it swayed. His long, tapered ears, lifted warily. His large green eyes, narrowed on the potential hostiles before him.
He knew that he looked like a killer, an extremely dangerous predator that could and would eviscerate them in a heartbeat if given reason. He was falling into the routine of dealing with humans, playing their fears against their confidence, but this was the first time he had done so at his full adult size. It felt good.
Two of the guards ran, discarding their weapons and sprinting back to the big house. The lord stumbled back with a fearful moan, struggling to turn his own weight, but Dreamer darted around to put himself between them and the house, standing over one of the pebble paths; he let the first two go, they might act recklessly if they were that jittery.
He exhaled and dropped some of his aggressive posture, willing his eyes to dilate a bit and relaxing back onto his haunches. I could kill you all, easily, but I am not. He let them think about that for a moment. Now having thoroughly knocked down their confidence, they needed to get back to that familiar territory they'd started on, the confidence and expectation of dialogue. He spent some time raking his claws through the pebble path, clearing a wide patch of it, then started writing again, remaining wary the whole time; only once, the lord tried to edge away, but a growl directed at him froze him in place.
Dreamer stepped back, putting distance to the message but remaining wary of the building behind him; he was ready to move at the slightest scuff of any weapon, drawn or thrown. Again, a guard was sent to read it, though this time much more hesitantly. "Not fight," he read quietly, shakily. "I only want… peace?"
"Peace?" the lord echoed, flabby mouth hanging open. Dreamer idly wondered if he had a neck in there somewhere. "Peace!?" He laughed deliriously, heaving his arms out and looking around. "You attacked us! You call that peace!?"
That figured. Dreamer sighed, then stalked forwards, and the guard scrambled back to the group with a yelp. Another message written, another poor guard shoved forward to read it. "In retaliation," he read in a similarly shaky voice. "You stole our food. But I am sorry. My… mate… is protective…"
"Mate?" the lord echoed faintly, paling, tiny beads of sweat breaking out over his face even in the chill air. Dreamer took a little while to figure out what was going through his head, and stifled a chuckle; yeah, well ahead of you on that one.
Whether by sheer chance or previously unseen cunning, it was at that moment that a near-silent wingbeat preceded a bow dropping from the sky to clatter to the path between them. Dreamer stared at it with as much surprise as the Long-Paws did – he had been on high alert, and still hadn't heard Fleeting apparently take out the unfortunate archer. It made him feel unexpectedly fiery, oh he was going to do things to that female later…
It took him more than a few moments to shake off the visions of holding her down, sinking his teeth into her neck and snarling while she howled with passion… He blinked and shook his head with a huff, now was not the time to be thinking about-
He stalked forwards again, trying to stay focused on the task at paw, and swiped away the last message to write another, short and to the point. This time, when he backed up, the lord himself shoved his guards out of the way and stormed ahead, his whole body jiggling with each footstep, to lean over the message and mumble it to himself; it had Dreamer reassessing his opinion of the man, just a little.
A long time passed while he stared at the ground, his guards edging up to stand around him. Long enough that Dreamer began to get impatient. How difficult was it? Just stick to their own sides of the mountain, and they could each forget the other existed. It shouldn't be a difficult decision if the alternative was death raining from the sky. His tail twitched with agitation, and he decided it was time to add the 'or else' right as the lord looked up with wide, wild eyes. "This is not in my power to do," he said, almost excitedly, and some of his guards gave him a confused look. Dreamer narrowed his eyes at him. "Y-you need to speak with our, ah, king! I can do nothing until then."
Dreamer pointedly looked around, then stared flatly at him. "He is not here," the fat lord said grandly, suddenly much more comfortable with the situation for some reason. "I will have to send word and await his arrival, which may be some months." Dreamer snarled, standing and stalking forward, reminding them of exactly what they were dealing with. "Wait!" the lord cried out as he stumbled back, nearly tripping over one of his guards as they fearfully brandished their weapons. "We will stay on this side of the mountain until then!"
An agreement. Dreamer relaxed with a small sigh, then more calmly walked up to the patch of dirt while they hurried back. He swiped away the previous message and wrote one last set of runes before spreading his wings and taking to the air, instructions to light a fire on the roof of his house at the full moon when ready for this meeting, as well as a vague but dire warning for if they failed to adhere to their word. Not that he would burn them to the ground, but he could sabotage them until they were forced to leave; he had a devastating combination of firepower, stealth, and knowledge.
Fleeting came up beside him as he climbed, ears stiff and eyes wide and anxious. "Not worry," he chuffed with an energetic flap, "I need talk with another Long-Paw, but they not will come back." She crooned delightedly and rolled under him, pressing her back to his front and brushing his hindleg with her tail before rolling away and elegantly soaring above him. He wove around her, catching her mood and intent, while Wanderer and Leaper gave them some space as they also flapped their way up the mountain, back towards their territory.
Dreamer spared one glance back at the human nest, only one, giving them one last consideration before putting them from his mind until the next full moon – at the very least, he could wait until they were on the other side of the mountain before forcing his mate to the ground. Otherwise that would feel a little too much like flaunting their victory.
A pained, miserable whine snagged Wanderer's attention like sharp teeth in his mind, instantly dragging him from his light sleep. He blinked at the harsh light from the mouth of the den and groggily shook his head, quickly becoming aware of the agitation across his own hide, before humming consolingly to Leaper.
The poor little fledgling's first shedding. It was a rough experience for a pawful of warming-seasons, but the first was definitely the worst. Wanderer hadn't noticed the first time, but the second time he'd been a hatchling it had been clear to him this hatchling hide didn't tear properly for some reason, not to mention the hide beneath being significantly tougher and larger, resulting in additional irritation; especially with growing, and never having experienced it before.
But that was what Sire and Dam were for. He shuffled to reach the fledgling writhing around on his back, and lifted a paw to rake big, sharp claws down Leaper's exposed front. The happy, relieved yowls softened Wanderer's mood a little, still sharp from having woken so abruptly, and he purred quietly as his son desperately writhed to put the rest of himself under the relief-bringing scratches-
Wanderer hastily withdrew his paw as Leaper yelped and something gave way. The young Nightstriker craned around to look at his own back, now split on one side to reveal the new hide beneath, then looked up at Wanderer with wide, worried eyes. "I not want my inside-meats fall out!" he yowled. "I will be hungry!"
"Nothing will fall out," Wanderer snorted, desperately trying not to break down into laughter; he couldn't wait to tell his mates about their son's latest leap of logic. "You are shedding. Remember? Your hide will come off, but new hide under it. See?" He licked the new hide now visible down his son's back.
Leaper whimpered, arching his back and stretching out a paw, then lay there panting. "Sire?" he rumbled. "I itchy."
"You are shedding," Wanderer reminded him again, nipping around the tear to encourage the old hide to further separate; Leaper certainly wasn't complaining. "Shedding is itchy. But you will feel better after."
"Not want be itchy," Leaper grumbled, then attacked his own foreleg with his teeth and an agitated growl.
"I know," Wanderer hummed, catching a tooth between the two hides. Leaper whimpered again while Wanderer peeled off a good strip from his back and then licked the fresh hide beneath.
His own hide was once again becoming unbearably uncomfortable, and he had to abandon Leaper to gnaw at an itch on his shoulder. "Go to Dam," he said with a huff, nudging the fledgling.
Leaper stumbled to his paws, staggered to one side with a confused growl, then limp-hopped to the tangle that was Fleeting and Dreamer to whine piteously at them. Wanderer didn't know how they could mate while shedding, the itchiness was too uncomfortable and it was exhausting enough already, but he didn't think they should get any extra sleep just because they were wearing themselves out. Besides, he needed help himself.
After waking with an ungraceful snort, Fleeting wearily untangled herself and began lazily scratching at Leaper. Dreamer stretched stiffly, wincing as he flexed, then padded over to Wanderer and put a paw over his back-
Wanderer sank to the ground of the den with a groan as relief was brought to the sharp itching around his wings. "This is Leaper's," he mumbled as he pawed at the little scrap of hide, working up the motivation to return the favour but just enjoying the ministrations for the moment. What had Leaper said earlier…? Something funny… Wuff, he'd remember later.
Adoring, Dreamer purred, turning his head to look back at the fledgling and his dam. "Wrrr, I checked again last night. Long-Paws are digging, but near their side. Heard them from over their nest. They not will intrude again." Wanderer purred at that, a little more of that worry ebbing away. And then he purred a little louder at the not-quite-painful tearing sensation moving slowly up his shoulder, shifting his head and shoulder to allow access to his neck if needed, though it seemed to come loose before then.
A large chunk of hide fell to the ground by Leapers, and they both took a moment to compare the two; adult hide, thick and stiff, and the little hatchling hide, thin and flexible with haphazard edges. "Think we should keep that?" Dreamer warbled, stepping off him to nose at the little scrap. "His first hide."
"Why?" Wanderer rumbled.
Dreamer shrugged. "Can look at it much time later. Remember how small he was. Wait, what we do with his egg?"
"I buried it when he hatched," Fleeting supplied while she licked over Leaper's back. "I not need keep things. I always will remember this little nuisance!"
"I not nuisance!" Leaper cackled as his dam nipped at his neck and frills, writhing and trying to push her off. "I Leaper!"
"Fledgling-thinking," Dreamer laughed, walking over to him and nuzzling him with a loving purr.
That reminded Wanderer of what he'd said earlier, though he decided to save that for a bit later. "We should hunt," he barked-
"Hunt!" Leaper barked, scrambling out from under his sire and dam to race around and tackle Wanderer's neck.
"Not hunt me!" Wanderer laughed, falling onto his side and lightly swatting at the fledgling trying to bite his neck. "Hrrr, but maybe I would like a nice fledgling snack!" He opened his mouth wide, baring his teeth, and Leaper shrieked as he scrambled off him and raced outside.
"I guess we are hunting," Dreamer chuffed, standing and trotting to the mouth of the den. "Big family hunt!" he added joyously as Fleeting playfully bounded after him, pouncing at his tail, and Wanderer chuffed as he followed. Life was finally starting to feel back to normal.
Night had long since fallen, a calm, solemn wind blowing through the trees in the darkness outside, but Dreamer didn't care. He was going to lie here, in his nice warm den, snuggled comfortably under Wanderer's wing, for as long as possible.
Their sleeping was all over the place with Leaper waking up seemingly whenever he felt like it and eventually passing out again just as arbitrarily, but that was only part of it. Dreamer had lay down to sleep at a sensible time last light, well before midday, and had slept long and deep. Lack of rest was not why he was still dozing even on this peaceful night.
He inhaled deeply through his nose, savouring the smells of his den, his family. Wanderer's was most prevalent, being right next to him, a strong and comforting musk, familiar and reassuring. His wing was blissfully warm, trapping warmth under it and warding off the draught of cool air wafting in from outside, and he was purring quietly, a comfortable vibration against Dreamer's side, pressed together as they were.
The amount of pushback told Dreamer that Fleeting was pressed to Wanderer's other side. Usually she slept in the middle, but not always, particularly if she came to sleep last. Her scent was also strong, a smooth and alluring aroma that would be drawing him around to her were he not so comfortable where he was. He was familiar with her scent now too, which had – unlike when she'd been carrying Leaper's egg – returned to normal almost immediately after her heat in the cooling-season, but it had changed overall since they'd met. Even aside from her unique scent, she smelled like his mate, his and Wanderer's. It was difficult to describe. She didn't smell available anymore, more like that she was available only to them. Dreamer shifted to lie his head over Wanderer's foreleg, tucking his legs under the warm body pressed to him, to better appreciate her scent.
It put his nose closer to Leaper too, who seemed to be nestled between Wanderer and Fleeting, tucked against their chests and his Dam's neck. Dreamer could not only smell that he'd played to exhaustion, but how long ago, and it seemed likely he'd sleep a while longer, which meant more time to lie in.
Wanderer shifted, shuffling to get comfortable, and Dreamer purred as weight settled on his head and neck, warm breath blowing down his back and further warming the air trapped under the wing. He purred a little louder as Wanderer's tongue came out, lightly licking the back of his neck. Had he really ever thought this would be weird? Adding Fleeting to their lives had done nothing to dilute or lessen what they had with each other. Everything was perfect…
Desperate, panic, harried, haste! The loud but distant shrieking roar cut through Dreamer's peace, and he jolted upright to share a bewildered look with Fleeting and Wanderer; Leaper stirred but didn't quite wake, kicking his legs in the air and pawing at the sudden absence of his dam's neck. The sound quickly cut off and started up again, over and over, the Nightstriker it belonged to clearly frenzied and at the height of panic, constantly shrieking at the top of their lungs.
The three of them shared a moment of wordless communication – they all wanted to go, but both Wanderer and Dreamer wanted Fleeting to stay, to protect Leaper. Outnumbering her, they swiftly lunged out of the den and into the night, throwing out their wings and trusting her to protect their son; they had worked together longer, were more experienced, and there was no telling what they were flying into.
They both pumped their wings for speed, then banked and swerved sharply, neither needing to voice the need to obscure the location of their den. Only after they had made some distance in a different direction did they head towards the sound, east along the mountain, and Wanderer loudly barked a curt reply. There seemed to be no change, although maybe the roaring did get a little louder, as if the Nightstriker had turned to face them.
Wanderer growled to himself, then inhaled and barked through his fire, an explosion of sound bringing a rush of colourless sight in all directions. Dreamer paid particular attention to the clear echoes off the mountain while his eyes scanned the forest, looking for anything unusual, but aside from the panicked roars there was nothing out of the ordinary.
A single blip in the distance echoed back at them, the source of the cries, but there didn't appear to be anything following it. Even with their incredible eyes it was too far to make out anything in this darkness, and Dreamer shared a look with Wanderer before they put a bit more strength into their wingbeats and flicked out their sub-wings.
The next thirty seconds or so took an eternity to pass, though it did so without incident, and then they were finally banking around to pull up on either side of the lone female that had flown into their territory. She ceased her roaring, staring ahead with wide, panicked eyes, then frantically looked around, seemingly everywhere except at the two males flying either side of her.
Enquiry, Dreamer barked, and she finally locked eyes with him, her gaze shaky and her breaths rapid and erratic. Distress, haste, she yowled loudly, before wildly looking around again, her head swivelling every which way…
Except for behind them. She wasn't looking back, though that made a bit of sense with the speed they were travelling, far faster than anything other than a Lightstriker could even hope to fly. Dreamer glanced back, seeing nothing, and barked through his fire to again find nothing out of the ordinary, nothing chasing them and apparently nothing to flee from.
But she was fleeing. "Our first cave?" Dreamer barked across at Wanderer, who barked affirmative. It was sheltered, not too cold, and hidden. This female looked as if she'd appreciate somewhere to hide right now.
It wasn't far, and she followed them readily enough, though she constantly scanned the sky and ground around them. When they reached the cave, and Dreamer ducked inside, she rushed past him and threw herself against the back wall to disappear behind her wing.
Wanderer landed with a scuff of claws and a confused rumble. "I will tell Fleeting," he said quietly. "Then I will scout around our territory. Something was hunting her."
Agreement, Dreamer chuffed tersely, accepting the unspoken corollary that he would stay with her. He watched Wanderer leap back outside, then took a few steps towards her, a thousand questions on his mind, but she clearly wasn't going to talk any time soon; nothing was visible except her trembling wing and a bit of tail, and her breaths were short and rapid. He sighed and returned to lie in the entrance, letting his paws dangle over the edge to stare out into the night and keep watch, mindful of his own den as well. Whatever was hunting her, it had picked the wrong Nightstrikers' territory to chase her to.