Dreamer hit the ground hard – only Leaper, still riding on his back, had kept it from being an intentional crash. He couldn't even consider the others beyond that they had landed with him in the shade of a wiry tree, too preoccupied with drawing air into his aching lungs and lowering himself to the ground. His wings physically hurt, felt so stiff that he didn't even try to furl them, just let them drop as they were. Leaper hopping off his back set off sharp aches anywhere his paws put pressure, but losing that weight was an immense relief.
Only when his heart had stopped pounding in his ears, and the aching in his chest began to subside, did he look around. Leaper was rolling around on his back in the dirt with relieved growls, paws kicking at the air. Wanderer was sat on his haunches, also with his wings splayed and limp, bowed head rocking with deep breaths through his open mouth. Fleeting was lucid, the venom having worn off hours ago, but was sprawled out on her side and looked as if she would bite anyone who suggested she should do otherwise.
Dreamer pointedly did not look at the fifth member of their little group. That would be too much right now, given what had happened.
Instead, he let his gaze drift out across the sky, down over the land stretching out to the south. The mountain they had found was maybe as high as the smallest of Berk's three peaks, and mostly barren at that, but it made for a comforting place to roost with a good view of their surroundings. It sat among generally inhospitable terrain, thin streams trickling through treacherous rocks. He could smell traces of prey too, something with hooves and fur; he had no idea what could possibly live on these rough slopes, but he wasn't arguing.
It was peaceful. The altitude felt good too, safer somehow, beyond the obvious benefits. As if nothing could ever find them here. And though he would not be letting his guard down, it seemed likely that nothing was trying to find them now.
He let out a deep sigh, feeling long-tensed muscles in his torso finally begin to relax. Grimmel could not keep chasing them, he had lost too many Death-Grippers, and if he tried, Dreamer and Wanderer would go back to picking them off again until he had none left. It was still a mystery how they had found the females and Leaper, but that conundrum would need to wait until they had all properly rested.
Before any of that, before Dreamer could even contemplate sleeping, he needed to know something first. The female did not look at him as he stiffly rose to his paws and padded over, nor when he sat on his haunches in front of where she lay. She just stared at the ground, tense and quivering a little as if expecting to be kicked.
"I not blame you," he rumbled, forcing the words out. She had endangered his son, and that clawed at him like nothing else, but she hadn't intended that any more than he'd intended to fly right into Grimmel's trap in the first place. "But now I need know. What happened to you. Why. Why you not even can tell us your name."
"I sorry," she whined miserably, dragging her paws over her head. "Pain, so much pain… Need stop pain…" The whines rose into keening, a high note that had the rest of them flattening their ears.
"I not blame you," Dreamer growled sternly. "Just help me understand. Then we can… forgive." Probably. She shifted her paw to look up at him with a hurt, disbelieving eye, and he sighed. "I know you not want to hurt us. I, also Wanderer, have many bad memories. Make us do stupid things, sometimes. I only angry because I not understand."
"But I not know what to say," she whined hopelessly, burying her face under her paws again. "They hurt me. I, I not remember, only remember pain, screeching… grief…"
He eyed the many little wounds over her back and wings; it was not difficult to make the obvious connections. "They make that noise, then hurt your wings," he guessed, feeling nauseous. She didn't reply, but that she tightened her wings against her body was proof enough. "Hunter alpha can make you do things," he growled, standing to pace.
It wasn't her fault. He held that in his mind while his paws walked him in circles, trying to set aside the danger she had put Leaper into. She didn't want or mean to be a danger to them… but… that didn't change the fact that she was. There could be other triggers to behaviour they could only guess at, there was a possibility she could end up dooming them all on a conditioned reflex. This was why she was here, why Grimmel had tortured and released instead of killed, and there was no telling how else he might use her to sabotage them.
But it wasn't her fault. "We not should decide anything now," he sighed, glancing over to Wanderer and Fleeting. They both looked confused and conflicted, as unsure as Dreamer whether to feel pity, anger, or fear. They had to protect their family… The safest course of action would be to turn her away, go their separate paths. But on the other paw, she had suffered so much, it would be cruel of them to deny her the help and company that she clearly very much needed. "We need rest, eat… think." He looked down at the female again, who still looked like she was expecting him to lash out at her. "Will you tell me your name?" he asked hopefully. "I not want just keep calling you 'female'..."
She pawed at her head again with a low moan. "I… not want be called that now… I not am that female. That female was playful, fun, liked chasing tails, flying high as she could reach. She had her friend-mate, not dreamed teeth were biting her, claws cutting her. She was happy…" She looked up at him with wide, miserable eyes. "I want be that female again, but now… I not her… Please…"
Dreamer rumbled to himself as he gingerly stretched a stiff leg. "I still not like calling you 'female'. But I understand." He gave his head a shake, walking towards where Fleeting still lay. "We should talk after we sleep."
"…How… you tell me to fly… without words…?"
The question made Dreamer pause, catching him off-guard; though it really shouldn't have. Mostly he was trying not to think about basically having forced his will onto her and made her do something. Granted, that something was saving her life and Leaper's, but the means still didn't sit right with him.
"You did that when you were taken," Fleeting added hesitantly, watching him with partially narrowed eyes. "We were looking for you… then know where you were."
Dreamer looked at the both of them, then sighed and sank to his haunches. "Some Nightstrikers can… use fire to give thoughts to other wing-hunters. Make them do things. Wrrr, not only Nightstrikers, other wing-hunters can do that also. I… learned… at ice-nest. I think no other Nightstriker can do that, now." He couldn't tell why he felt that way, other than that he remembered coming to that conclusion when he did know.
"Show me," Fleeting huffed, and Dreamer snapped up to look at her. "Make me do something."
He continued staring for several moments before looking around. Wanderer was tense, watching him with wide eyes. The female nervously glanced between the three of them; Leaper had passed out on his back. Dreamer bit back a growl. "I not want to do that."
Fleeting growled at him. "I need know. You say you were trapped by bad thoughts. Now you say you can give them also? Show me."
"That like me putting my head in your mouth to see your fire," Dreamer shot back. "I not can do that to you… Not even really know how to do it." Not with any sort of precision, anyway.
They sat in a somewhat awkward silence, until the female timidly spoke up. "Can you use it on hunters…?"
Three sets of eyes watched him studiously while he bit back another growl. "No," he huffed, "I tried already, last night." That should have worked… except… Grrr, there was something about it he was missing, some nagging sense that he should know why it hadn't worked. They were dragons, they should all be susceptible, but something about Grimmel's Deathgrippers specifically…
"You not much know how to do that, and you not want to do that," Fleeting summarised, and Dreamer groaned relief, agreement. "This is strange, but… you are my mate. I trust you." She walked over and nuzzled him, hesitantly at first, but then stepping into him and pressing her neck into his. "You already were strange," she hummed quietly.
Wanderer sighed. "Leaper or Fleeting would be dead if you not… did that. We maybe not would find you if you not did it when you were taken…" He stood and joined the embrace, the three of them nuzzling each other, free of suspicion and doubt.
"I not know how else I would use it anyway," Dreamer huffed as they broke apart. "Uses my fire, not can keep doing it." Maybe if he sat down and thought, he could come up with some strategies utilising it, but it was a power he didn't want to get into the habit of using.
Weary, disinterested, Fleeting huffed, trudging over to Leaper to lie next to him and cover him with a wing. Dreamer suddenly felt the weariness too, all the fighting and flying, and dragged his paws over to nestle in against her side and put a wing over her in turn. He might have offered a wing for Wanderer or the female, but they had just lain down where they stood, and then he was already succumbing to his exhaustion.
They all slept late that afternoon, putting trust in the shade of the tree they had landed under to obscure their forms from afar. When they did wake, slowly and with great reluctance, they spent some time just lounging around and watching the sky.
It was only when paws rocked Wanderer's shoulder that he considered it even remotely worth getting up. "Sire," Leaper grumbled, "I hungry…"
Wanderer almost wanted to growl at him to deal with it – he had gone a lot longer without food himself, in both his hatchings – but they would need to find food eventually. Probably better to hunt sooner rather than later. "I will hunt for us," he announced to everyone, stretching out his legs and wincing at the immense stiffness.
"I help," the female said, sounding anxious but determined.
He chuffed, having no opinion on the matter, and took his time stretching and mustering his motivation before eventually climbing to his paws and shaking out his wings. "Leaper, you come watch," he decided; it wouldn't be much trouble, and Dreamer and Fleeting could rest more easily.
"I want hunt!" Leaper barked happily, running around in a circle.
Wanderer hummed warmly at him. "Not this prey. Soon, when we find new den." Leaper grumbled to himself as he followed them out into the air.
They glided around the mountain, Wanderer watching it for signs of the prey he could faintly smell. He couldn't imagine what kind of land-prey might live up here, and when the female chuffed and pointed one out to him with her snout, he still couldn't make much sense of it – it just looked like a normal land-prey, other than the fact that it was somehow standing on what looked like a sheer rock face.
Incredibly, when it spotted them and bleated alarm, it bolted along and down the cliff, looking very out of place. He was so stunned, and perhaps also still rather exhausted, that he just watched it as it scaled the impossible surface, literally bounding along it.
The female was not so impaired, and swooped down after it. Her wings flared as she came above it, one of them angled up the cliff, and when she came away she was holding the thrashing prey in her claws with her teeth in its neck, its horns pointing harmlessly out to the side. It put up a fight, but was helpless as she soared away from the cliff, around the mountain a bit, and dropped it. Its body broke on a rocky ledge, suffering for only a few moments before she swooped down and finished it off.
Leaper barked gleefully and dropped down after her, and Wanderer yawned as he followed, blinking away the lethargic fog over his mind. It was good that this female was doing something to help, he appreciated not needing to do anything for that hunt. Curious that she hadn't used her fire… but then again, had it fallen, it would have been into thick foliage, which could have been more annoying than just catching it.
He landed to find Leaper and the female had already torn open its belly and begun to feast, so he settled down beside them to tear into its chest. It was tough, lean meat, and felt heavy in his belly, but they all managed to eat their fill, all lethargically picking at the last few scraps.
"Now need one for Sire, Dam," Leaper announced as he cleaned his face. "I will find it!" Wanderer groaned as his son leaped into the air, wobbling side to side with his heavy, slightly uncoordinated downstrokes. He had a point, but they could have had a short rest first…
One more hunt, and then he could go back to resting. That was motivation enough to spread his wings and take flight. Again they drifted around the mountain, sharp eyes scouring it for prey, though this time that prey was wary with the warning of the previous one. And yet, again, the female spotted one and swooped down after it, this time dragging it out from under a shrub to employ the same tactic, dropping it near the first.
"You hunted these before," Wanderer observed as he landed next to her; Leaper remained soaring above. She didn't reply, just stood over the prey, panting. He shrugged and walked up to take it, to carry it up to Dreamer and Fleeting, but she didn't budge. "Let me carry it," he huffed, pawing at her.
She flinched away from his touch, but glanced determination at him. Wanderer huffed again. "You caught both. I should carry it." She just bared her teeth and shuffled around it to place her paws. It wasn't until Leaper drifted down to glide just off the ledge, and she glanced fitfully at him, still panting, that Wanderer figured it out. "Stop," he rumbled, "you will hurt yourself."
He put a paw on the prey, meeting her gaze, though she held it for only a moment before lowering her head and stepping back. "I was trapped with bad thoughts for much time," he said quietly, lightly running his claws through the prey's matted fur. "Forced to hurt Dreamer's nest. I understand." He flared his wings with a light growl. "I not will trust you. You not will carry Leaper again." She shied away, huddling to the ground, and he let his wings drop. "But I understand. I know Dreamer understands also. Fleeting… probably only wants Leaper safe."
Regret, grieved, understanding, she whined, looking away. Not knowing what else to say, Wanderer hefted the prey and pushed his aching wings into carrying it off the ledge, where the wind then did most of the work for him.
With some effort, he carried it back to Dreamer and Fleeting to drop it next to them; by all appearances, they hadn't budged since he'd left. The promise of food, however, seemed sufficient motivation, as they climbed to their paws and dragged themselves to the meal.
Wanderer could relate, dropping into a heavy landing and then onto his side; their son seemed content to remain in the air, which wasn't really an issue in the failing light. "Female hunted for us," he chuffed as she landed at a small distance, also just collapsing on the spot.
Fleeting glanced up, sparing her no more than that. "She is trying," Dreamer said quietly to her, and gave the female a grateful croon before returning to his meal. "How your tail is?" he then asked Fleeting, after they had devoured the easier, larger chunks of meat.
"Sore," she grunted, curling the appendage around to her side. "Feels strange… but not for much time, when we fly. How your hurts are?"
Unconcerned, indifferent, Dreamer chuffed… then wilted, his gaze dropping along with his ears, frills, and wings. "Sore," he admitted, pawing at one of the prey's exposed bones. "But they will heal."
"We not should stay here," Wanderer cautioned, "but we should rest. Think… what we should do. Where we should go."
"We should be near other Nightstrikers already," Fleeting growled, grabbing a bone to crack it open. "They were here pawful of warm-seasons past…" The three of them glanced worriedly at each other. "There are more," she rumbled, sounding unsure of herself, "those hunters not could hunt all already…"
"I want to talk with them," Dreamer announced. "Dangerous, maybe… but maybe, can find help. Or just learn things."
Fleeting glanced at Wanderer, looking worried and uncertain. Wrrr, this was fairly typical Dreamer thinking, and it usually worked out okay… Undoubtedly, Dreamer intended on forcing the matter, as so far no other Nightstrikers had answered their calls. Maybe these hunters were why… Agreement, he chuffed. "You know any near?"
After a moment's hesitation, Fleeting rumbled to herself and shuffled her paws. "Some should be back there," she growled, tossing her head the way they'd come. "But… gone now. Others this way, I flew past them more recently, so should still be there."
"Nobody answered our calls," the female added quietly, pawing at the ground. "When we flew…"
"Not answered us also," Dreamer growled. "That why this maybe is dangerous. But we need know." He looked up to watch Leaper still flying in the darkening sky above. "I need know… to keep us all safe."
Agreement, Wanderer chuffed. "When we are rested," he added, stretching out on his side. This seemed as good as any place to stop for a few nights.
Dreamer yawned, kneading the hard ground with his claws and flexing his wings. A few insects buzzed occasionally in the nearby pond, and the grass faintly rustled in the breeze, but other than that the night was quiet and peaceful.
Fleeting had been right, there were Nightstriker territories in this region. It was a fairly hostile region; very rocky, thin, pale dirt, and scraggly vegetation, all across rough hills and small mountains for as far as could be seen. The terrain itself wasn't an issue for Nightstrikers, but while Long-Paws would certainly avoid the place, it didn't appear to be abundant with prey or water.
As far as they could see from above, this pond was the only nearby source of water, collecting at the bottom of a low, shallow basin in which grew only thin grass and provided nowhere to hide. The Nightstriker scents around it were fresh, a male and two females, as were the territory markers. Dreamer had of course announced himself, to no response, and then he and the female had remained to see if anyone showed up to chase them off.
The first hour of waiting had been tense, fraught with worry, anticipation, and excitement. That wore off after the second hour. By the end of the third hour, it was almost boring.
Dreamer grumbled to himself, trying to quell his frustration, and roared again, determined to meet the residents even if he had to wait two nights for them to start to dehydrate. What were they doing, just ignoring him and hoping he'd go away? That was a terrible solution to any problem.
The female churred to herself from where she lay by the pond, looking around. She was still a bit of an enigma herself, especially since they'd managed to lose Grimmel; waking early to hunt for everyone, eager to offer what limited knowledge she had, keen to help in any way she could. Dreamer could somewhat understand – she was doing her best to make up for what Grimmel had done with her. The only thing she didn't really do was help with Leaper, but he understood that too.
Dreamer, Wanderer, and Fleeting had all had something of an unspoken discussion about it. There was potentially an argument for sending her away, but none of them could bring themselves to do that. Not even no-nonsense Fleeting; although maybe she just couldn't put someone else through the loneliness she herself had suffered for so long.
The female caught him looking at her, meeting his absent gaze, and he said the first thing that came to mind so that it didn't seem weird. "They will come when sky-fire kindles," he guessed with confidence.
"How you know that?" she asked curiously. "Wrrr, not matter. I can wait all season! Hrrr, if you want wait that long…"
He tilted his head at her for a moment before going back to watching their surroundings. "We not will make you leave," he rumbled. "You not need do all this."
"Do all what?" she asked, feigning innocence – but she couldn't hide the surprise, nervousness, unease in her tone. Dreamer just stared at her flatly for a moment before resuming vigil… "Maybe you think that," she said with a huff, "but I need do… something. I did terrible thing, I not can sleep if I not… grrr, not know what…"
Hrrr… Trying to make up for a grievous act, even if it wasn't her fault… Not dissimilar to, for example, shooting a dragon out of the sky on a starry night… Acceptance, understanding, he huffed, slowly brushing his claws against the grass and feeling a weight of years on his mind. Nothing had been lost in her case – thankfully – but that only left her without direction to redeem herself. He certainly didn't want anything from her…
"You want do something for us?" he hummed, and her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Heal. Find this sickness in your thinking, then tear it out. Howl for your friend-mate, then let her rest. We can help, if you need. Nightstrikers are rare already, I not want see another grounded by bad thinking…"
She studied him for long moments, before eventually looking away, shuffling her forelegs in the grass. They returned to waiting in silence.
It was still some time before dawn that the subtle sound of wings cutting through the air pricked Dreamer's ears, and he quickly scanned the sky to locate the source. A single Nightstriker drifted on the wind above, watching them. After a few moments of nothing happening, the figure slowly descended, Dreamer's heart racing faster and faster as the distance closed; this would be his fourth wild Nightstriker encounter, not that he was keeping count or anything.
The male dropped into a landing a short way downwind, trying and failing to look intimidating. In plain appearance he looked just like Wanderer, at least at a distance, though his narrowed eyes were a much darker green. His teeth were bared, wings held tensely and standing in an aggressive crouch, but a weariness clung to him, lacking alertness in his ears and frills, his breaths plain to see. "What you want?" he growled with a snap of his teeth.
"Not fight," Dreamer reassured him, remaining sitting on his haunches. "Just talk. Then we will leave." The male hissed at him. "We fought Long-Paw with wing-hunter pack," he added hurriedly, before the male could be tempted to fire at him, "killed his wing-hunters. He not can hunt for some time, I think."
The male stared at him, silencing his growl and dropping some of the hostility. Eventually, he shook out his wings and switched to caution and suspicion. "You reek of death," he said in a low growl, "but they deserve that." Frustration, he growled. "Talk. Quickly."
"We want know how he hunts," Dreamer explained hurriedly, trying not to let his nerves fumble his words. "He knew which way we flew, found us near water, hunted us for nights. We hunted his wing-hunters, but he found our family. He not will stop hunting… but maybe, we can fight him if he finds us again. But we need know how he hunts." He didn't mention how the female had been used, because it was complicated and not a quick thing to explain, though it wouldn't be a problem anyway for these Nightstrikers as they probably would have just ignored her…
They sat in silence, Dreamer turning over an uncomfortable thought while those piercing eyes watched him. Finally, the male snorted and spread his wings. "Fly two nights that way," he said flatly, pointing north-east with his snout. "Nightstriker lives in canyon there, maybe. He will talk. Now leave." With that, he leapt aside and took to the air, beating his wings and soon disappearing among the hills.
"Canyon?" Dreamer warbled, confused; not a word he'd heard before.
"Like big claw-mark in ground," the female supplied, reminding him she was there. "Like mountain, but ground goes down, not up." Maybe he'd know it when he saw it. He chuffed, spreading his wings-
"I think he lost someone," she said sadly, staring after the unwelcoming male. Dreamer paused to glance questioningly at her, and she drooped a little. "His eyes were sad… I not know how to explain it. I just know he was thinking about them."
Dreamer sighed. "Maybe…" Surely that would be all the more reason to help, to get justice, vengeance, make the world a safer place for their kind. But that kind of loss… He couldn't imagine it. "We should go," he huffed, leaping into the air to take flight.
Flying all night was much nicer when they weren't perpetually fleeing lethal dragons led by a deranged human Hel-bent on destroying an entire species. But even still, Dreamer was more than happy for the excuse to set down when they stumbled on another Nightstrikers' territory, a night's flight from the previous one.
They all roared, of course, as was only polite, but none of them were the slightest bit surprised when there was no response. Sad and disappointed, perhaps, but not surprised. They set down by a pond shrunken by the hot-season, barely enough to swim in but again with good visibility of its surroundings and nowhere to hide; it was looking like a common feature, one he was already planning on utilising himself somehow. The water was gritty and tepid, and he pitied the family depending on it, gently holding Leaper back from jumping into it.
"I want nice water," Leaper grumbled, biting Dreamer's paw. He seemed to have settled into a grim acceptance as of late, no longer asking to go home but being generally lethargic and ill-tempered, his normally bright and curious eyes now dull with fatigue and resignation.
Dreamer gently nuzzled over his head and ears, not knowing what to say. It tore at his heart that Leaper couldn't fly and play with them as they all wanted, it felt like they were losing crucial time with him and he was losing a piece of his upbringing… but that wasn't something they could fix. They did their best to keep him engaged, but none of them were left with much to give after flying and hunting.
"You go," he rumbled to Wanderer and Fleeting. "Land outside this territory, rest, play with Leaper. I will try talking again." The male from the previous light could have been wrong or misinformed, or maybe whoever they were to meet had moved on; the concept of lying just didn't seem to occur to dragons, they didn't even have a word for it, besides which Dreamer would have seen right through it anyway.
"Daaaam!" Leaper complained with a laugh as Fleeting wedged her head under him to toss him onto her back. "I want stay!" He tried to jump down, but Fleeting put her wing in the way. "Dam!"
He squeaked as Fleeting spun around and growled at him, huddling between her shoulders, and then she and Wanderer took off into the night.
Dreamer watched them go with a sigh, lowering himself to lie on the grass. How had he ever fought so constantly, day in, day out? Had he felt this weary back at Dragons Nest, and simply ignored it? He couldn't remember… It was all a bit of a blur-
He leapt to his paws and hopped aside, the lance of light streaking down from atop one of the jagged hills overlooking the basin and striking the ground a body-length in front of where he had been lying. The explosion left a dull ringing in his ears and a scar of light across his sight, but was otherwise harmless.
Though the message was clear; they weren't welcome here. He roared aggravation, disappointment into the night, then snorted and turned tail to take wing, the female following right behind him.
Wanderer gazed down over the oddity in the land they had been directed to, a deep gouge through the ground with sheer, jagged sides that meandered along its length. In some places, water spouted out of the walls to collect in a river at the bottom that seemed to pool at the far end. Leaper roared joyously as he leapt from Dreamer's back, flapping twice and then folding his wings to plummet. Everyone was quick to follow, not wanting to curb the fledgling's excitement for what looked like cool, clean water; the first they had seen since they'd fled their territory.
Especially after such a miserable flight. The ground had become hard and dry, the air parched, the sky-fire burning much hotter than was pleasant. The grass had grown wilted and pale, even scratchy, and the trees were thin and ragged. Water was scarce. They had been close to turning around, unable to survive in these conditions.
But the deep canyon they were hurtling towards was bright even in the pale light of the sky-ice, overflowing with life, vines and leafery climbing a considerable distance up the cliffs. The water collected and wound along the bottom in a swift river, banks thick with overhanging trees and draping vines. A bright ember of life in an otherwise dead swathe of land.
They pulled up deep within the canyon, alongside Leaper, and hurtled above the trees; Leaper maintained an impressive speed, they barely needed to slow for him at all. It wasn't long before they were flying out over a massive lake, slightly larger than the one back in their own territory.
It was even reminiscent of their territory, so much water and the looming shadow of the ground rising up beside them. A little wrong, as the river flowed in instead of out, and they were surrounded by near-vertical cliffs on all sides, but it felt close enough considering everything they'd been through the last two pawfuls of nights. That was probably part of the reason Leaper was so eager, diving down to land on the water at speed – he slid a whole body-length before his paws snagged and sent him tumbling across the smooth surface with a splash and a yelp.
Fleeting was right there with him, recklessly diving in and leaving her mates to scout for danger, though it seemed safe enough. Wanderer and Dreamer glanced at each other and rolled their eyes before splitting up, slowing to drift around the lake in opposite directions, keen eyes piercing the darkness of the trees lining the rocky shore, nose scenting the wind for anything out of the ordinary.
Performing a full check of the entire shore would take the rest of the night, but confident there were no dangers lurking in the immediate vicinity, Wanderer turned back to meet Dreamer on an outcrop of rock where the river met the lake. It felt so good to finally fold his wings, and even more to slake his thirst; they hadn't found any water the previous night.
"This not is someone's territory," Dreamer said sadly as he stepped back from the river, a stream of water running from his snout. "Not is marked. But this is place we were told to go…"
Sympathy, Wanderer crooned, sinking to his haunches. Dreamer sighed, then tossed his head at the lake, wearily lowering himself to his chest, and Wanderer only hesitated for a life-beat before turning to slip into the cool water.
The passive hum of the world muted, replaced with the deep comforting rumble of the water and the gentle rush of the river flowing in. The water was still and clear, descending into darkness below, but he could make out three shapes rising back to the surface. He kicked his tail and easily glided towards them, the cool water feeling wonderful to his tortured muscles as it slipped over him.
Fleeting surfaced and gasped for breath, drawing in a few lungfuls of air before Wanderer grabbed her and pulled her under again. She kicked at him, but not violently, just lazily pushing him off and slipping around him while he enjoyed the feel of her scales against his. Leaper then somehow slipped in between them, his claws latching onto Wanderer's foreleg and wing and whatever else he could grab to just climb over him, enjoying the novelty of a lack of gravity.
Still so small, and yet, growing rapidly, about as long as Wanderer's tail. A mere two more hot-seasons, and he would be staring at the horizon, wings itching to fly at his own pace… but not yet. He was still a lanky fledgling – maybe a bit thin, all things considered – and needed to learn many, many things before he would be ready. And even then, it wasn't as if he would just disappear into the world, he would only be exploring for a pawful of nights, at first.
Wanderer grabbed him and held him close, nuzzling the little Nightstriker as he kicked and writhed, trying to get free; Leaper didn't yet know how important and wonderful it was to have the love of a sire and dam, but he would appreciate thinking back on it later. To that end, Wanderer weathered the swatting and continued to grab at his son, holding him close in this little pocket of the world, isolated by the stifling water.
But he had to recognise the more insistent kicking, and reluctantly let him rise back to the surface. Capable of going much longer without air himself, Wanderer glanced around and spotted Fleeting, gliding lazily and effortlessly through the water, generally enjoying herself. Then another female swam past, and he had a brief moment of confusion as to which one was which.
Admittedly, he still wasn't really paying much attention to the strange female tagging along with them. She was an oddity, something he didn't know what to do with. She wasn't courting them, or apparently wanting anything at all from them, but nor was she a burden. All of this flying and fleeing had perhaps been slightly easier with her around, if nothing else.
Now that he could relax for a moment, he watched her and Fleeting curiously as they swam, both of them enjoying themselves for the first time in many nights. The still-unnamed female did not really act timid or weak, but only now was he getting a sense of her strength, her powerful tail firmly kicking at the water and her body moving fluidly and gracefully. No, he certainly did not mind her following them… even if they needed to be a little careful of what she might do around the hunter alpha that had been chasing them.
He snorted, an explosion of bubbles erupting from his snout, which he chased back to the surface. He breached into the air with a deep gasp, filling his lungs with surprisingly warm air that felt very nice now that he was cool from the water – and startled at seeing two Nightstrikers lying on the rock he'd left Dreamer on, both of them staring out over the lake. With an uneasy rumble, Wanderer kicked over towards them and climbed up onto the rock, which was more than large enough to accommodate the three of them.
The male was small and rather thin, looking old and weary. Large, tough scales crept up from his paws to his knees, spread over his weathered face, and a thick line of them ran over his shoulder to his back. He seemed… tattered, worn down, his hide almost seeming frayed in places.
To be polite, Wanderer backed up a bit before shaking himself off, doing his best not to pelt Dreamer and this male with water, then quickly licked a paw and wiped it over his face before advancing to exchange scents… His eyes went wide as he recognised it. "Blood-kin," he rumbled quietly.
"You are same," the male rumbled in just as much surprise, looking between Wanderer and Dreamer. "Hrrr, no, that not matter. Sire, Dam, they are…?" Wanderer blinked at him, but then slowly lowered his gaze, feeling very heavy. The male let out a low moan, his head and wings drooping nearly to the ground. "I thought that… but hoped… Wrrr, they were very old. Maybe too old. Now they can rest."
"I was telling him about bad hunter-alpha," Dreamer said sombrely, awkwardly shuffling his paws. "What we know."
The male tossed his head in acknowledgement, ruffling his wings. "Wrrr, sorry," he rumbled to Wanderer, "I am Flasher. I met you, much time past, but you probably not remember. Were very small. Liked hunting my tail." He purred fondly while Wanderer grumbled wordlessly to himself. "Now you have fledgling also… But not good to have fledgling now." He sighed, staring out over the lake. "I will tell you what I know, but it not is much. Many hot-seasons past, firelings disappeared. Not could find them, just never flew home. Then, families. Some firelings flew home, but family gone."
"Fleeting," Dreamer warbled sadly, glancing out at the lake where the females were playing with Leaper.
Sympathy, Flasher rumbled. "These hunters are very dangerous, but some Nightstrikers escaped. Not for much time now, I think. Maybe only your family, for many seasons. I know they hunt near water, also food. They can follow for much time, even sky-ice-cycle after you fly."
Wanderer's stomach sank. "We lead them here, to you?" he asked worriedly, his wings twitching restlessly, and Dreamer warbled worry, agreement.
Confidence, Flasher chuffed. "They hunt here every cooling-season, when water stops. Maybe not this cooling-season, if you kill their wing-hunters… I hope not." He turned away, looking uncomfortable. "But you not will want stay. Only if you can live five nights with no water, while they hunt."
Five nights!? That wasn't possible… Without food, maybe, if they barely moved that whole time, but three nights without water was very dangerous, let alone five. "Not can fly to water?" Dreamer asked, voicing the same question Wanderer had.
"Some tried," Flasher said sadly. "They not returned. I not know how, but they were hunted. We are too old to fight, but… if we hatch again, maybe not will survive. Maybe we not will hatch again, have lived much time already. Maybe not want hatch again…"
Sympathy, Dreamer crooned, and Wanderer echoed him; there was only the scent of a single female on Flasher, where he would have expected more, which led to some sad conclusions.
The old male shook his wings nonchalantly. "We are old, lived three lives now. No thing lives forever." Wanderer rumbled amusement at that, recognising their Sire's words. "We can survive here, but… you not can do that with fledgling. Rest, but fly soon. You will need find territory before cooling-season. Look for small water where nothing can hide, far from Long-Paws. Maybe try north-east, some places there when I last flew. Cold-season should be safe, but stay wary when hunting. We not mark territory, but I not think that help, so you maybe will want do that. Also, stay away from other Nightstrikers."
Wanderer saw some sort of sense in all that, even the bit regarding other Nightstrikers if they were all as aggressive as the few they'd met so far, but Dreamer barked appalled. "Why!?"
"Not know," Flasher said with a shrug of his wings. "Many say Nightstriker found them, fleeing hunters. They always disappear."
Wanderer looked sideways at Dreamer, who had gone rigid. "You not explain that," he said levelly, then sighed. "Female flew into our territory before we were hunted. Was hurt, her friend-mate killed. But hunter-alpha… can make her think she will hurt again. We nearly were killed trying to save our son when she folded wings."
Weary, Flasher growled. "Hearing more about these hunters burns my blood. If I see other Nightstrikers, I will tell them. Not is good Nightstrikers are hurt… but if they bring death…" He abruptly climbed to his paws, the task seeming a little arduous for him. "I said all I know. You said all I want know. Safe flying." With that, he leaped into the air and beat his wings to fly up the river.
Dreamer took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. "I hoped we could stay here," he rumbled. "Much water, probably food also. Needed fly far to get here, hunters would be tired. But even if they tired… too many to fight…"
"We will find somewhere," Wanderer hummed as they noticed Fleeting swimming over, only her head above the surface, though she just floated next to the rock. "Is safe here now," he reassured her. "We not can stay, but can rest for pawful of nights." She chuffed agreeably at that and leaned back to drift on her back, the clear water lapping at her chest and hindlegs.
Dreamer watched her with a glazed expression, not even reacting in the slightest to Leaper suddenly splashing loudly further out in the lake. Being hunted was wearing on all of them, a few nights wasn't nearly enough to properly recover. They would just need to rest when they could… as long as they kept moving. The more distance they could put between themselves and those hunters, the better.