She was sitting on the edge of hers and Hayden's bed at Zeb and Alice's, staring down and running her fingers over the delicate flames that were engraved along the whistle. The whistle that had belonged to Hayden. She had found it in one of the small pockets on Uri's saddle the morning after the battle, Uri telling her that Hayden had told the dragon to make sure she found his whistle and that should she ever need him, she just had to blow into it three times. Just like always; three whistles meant they were in trouble and needed the other's help.
She had given herself three days. Three days before she set out to find the next rider. Her bags were packed and in the corner along with her swords and quiver, Hayden's things still on the floor next to his side of the bed. Zeb and Alice had told her that she could leave his things there until she was ready to deal with them, whether that be taking them back to his house or getting rid of them. Tucking the whistle back underneath her shirt so it was resting next to her own, she took a deep breath before slinging her quiver and swords over her shoulder, picking up her two bags.
"Good luck," Alice said, pulling her into a hug as she came into the living room and kitchen. "Remember, you're always welcome here and you're not alone," she smiled.
"Thank you," Zoe whispered as Alice released her from the hug.
"Take care," Zeb added giving her a hug of his own before she knelt down to say goodbye to Celia and Jamie. Amber and Jacob had returned to the City the night before but promised they would visit her if she couldn't come and see them, Remi and Thomas waiting for their goodbyes outside with Uri. Zeb and Alice followed her into the backyard, watching as she embraced Remi and Thomas. Her goodbyes weren't very emotional on her part, she hadn't felt anything since she lost Hayden, tears threatening to spill over every second minute and her mind zoning out more often than it should.
Numbly climbing into the saddle, she called for Sharpshot who settled himself on her shoulders before she put her helmet on. "I'll see you when I see you," she said to them just before Uri took off, the wind and sensation of being in the air making her feel slightly better. She took one last look at the group before Uri dived through her portal, the village disappearing and the main water tribe appearing in front of her.
They landed in the forest before Zoe headed into the town alone. She wanted to be subtle about searching for the next rider, wanting to keep Hayden's death from Grimmel and Viggo for as long as possible so that they didn't take advantage of there being only one rider that knew of their operations.
-o0O0o-
After having no success in the two main water bending islands, Zoe headed for an uninhabited island to settle for the night. They were hovering over the ocean, waiting for a school of fish to show itself to become Uri and Sharpshot's dinner. Just as Uri was about to fire a shot at the now visible fish, Zoe told her to stop.
"What?" Uri grumbled.
"There's something over there," she said to her dragon in her head, pointing to a sheltered beach of a small land mass that could hardly be called an island. "I think its a skrill," she added after feeling her lightning being attracted to the beach.
"Want to go check it out?" Uri asked.
"Do you really need to ask me that?" Uri headed for the beach, grumbling about her 'predictable rider'.
Cautiously approaching the skrill, Zoe noted that it was wounded and likely unconscious. Dismounting, she slowly walked towards the dragon, her hands outstretched. Sidestepping around so she could see its eyes, she discovered that it wasn't unconscious, its pale yellow eyes staring into her own and full of pain and fear.
"Shh, its ok," she soothed approaching the skrill. She stopped just within arms reach, putting her palm out towards the dragon's snout which pressed its head into her hand, closing its eyes and visibly relaxing. Opening its eyes and pulling its head back, the skrill rolled over unravelling its wings and making Zoe gasp when she saw what, or who, was lying there unconscious but very much alive. He was pale and had multiple wounds, a number of arrows protruding from his back. Scanning the beach they were on and spotting a cave, she gently pulled Viggo from the dragon's wings, using her air bending to move him into the cave. Putting a fire in the middle, Zoe turned to see Uri helping the skrill over before going to get some fish for herself and the wounded dragon. The skrill had a slash along its side, but nothing serious. After she cleaned the dragons wound, she healed it with her water bending. She made a bowl from the earth and melted some of her ice so the skrill could drink. Turning her attention to the dragon's companion, she knelt down next to him, healing the cuts and the larger gash on his front before turning him over to remove the arrows.
It was slow but methodical and not very pleasant work, Uri and the skrill having eaten and sleeping by the time she finished. Uri never questioned her desire to help Viggo, they were both curious to know how he ended up in his condition with a dragon protecting him. After nearly two hours, all of the hunter's wounds were cleaned and healed, although he would still be sore when we woke up. Once she had cleaned up, she carefully poured some water down his throat, making sure it had been swallowed before laying him back down, the skrill curling around him. Mentally and physically drained, Zoe went to lie down with Uri, keeping her armour on just in case.
-o0O0o-
She woke to the smell of cooking fish and Uri shifting next to her. Rubbing her eyes, her mind finally caught up with her senses; why could she smell cooking fish?
"My apologies for waking you, as I'm sure you can understand, I was quite hungry when I woke up. I've cooked some for you as well if you'd like?" she heard a voice say. Forcing her eyes open and sitting up, she saw Viggo holding a stick with a few fish skewered over the fire that she had left burning the night before to keep Viggo warm.
"What happened?" she asked him groggily.
"I believe I owe a thank you for saving the lives of myself and Bolt," he said gesturing to the skrill.
"I believe you owe me an explanation," she remarked as she stood up and headed over to get a drink from her water skin before offering it to Viggo who gratefully accepted.
"I was betrayed," he sighed, continuing when Zoe raised an eyebrow at him. "I had a deal with Drago who bought the dragons we caught, but he decided I was more useful to him dead so he could take my hunters and the dragons without paying," he explained.
"And Bolt?"
"He saved me. Why, I have no idea but I will be forever grateful," he said, stroking the deep purple hide of his dragon.
"How long ago was all that?" she asked as she rummaged through her bags, making sure everything was still there.
"How long was I out?" he asked in response.
"No idea, but we found you and Bolt last night on the beach," she answered, gesturing to herself and Uri who was staring at Viggo with suspicion.
"Then three days ago."
"Drago's alive then?" she asked cautiously.
"No idea, he shrugged. "I assume so, but it was one of his commanders that came after me. What makes you ask?"
"What do you know?" she asked him.
"About what?"
"Recent events."
"Nothing? Should I know something?"
After a moment of silence, Zoe changed topic without answering Viggo's last question. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"Well I can't go back to hunting dragons, can I?"
"That's for you to decide," she shrugged. "I can teach you to ride if you like?" she offered after another few minutes of silence.
"I presume you have a set of conditions with that offer?"
"No more dragon hunting."
-o0O0o-
She spent two weeks teaching Viggo how to ride and look after Bolt properly including symptoms of common dragon illnesses and ticks. She taught him how to handle wild dragons without violence and helping him train a red and purple terrible terror in case he needed to contact her.
"Where will you go?" she asked him as she strapped her bags to Uri's saddle.
"I'll probably just roam around and keep an eye on Drago and Grimmel for you, send you letters when I find anything useful," he shrugged. "But first I'm going to go and destroy all of my old bases and camps," he added, earning himself a smile from Zoe. "Are you going to tell me where you're off to yet?"
She had only told him about her and Hayden's plans of ending the hunters permanently, not that Hayden had passed or the recent battle with Drago, he would find out about the battle himself. She had enjoyed the distraction and Viggo's company the past two weeks, both of them getting along quite well and Viggo's determination to learn about dragons proving his change of heart. She was still cautious though, not teaching him anything that would aid the hunters if he were to go back to them. "Maybe another time," she told him as she jumped into the saddle.
"Why did you save me?" Viggo asked suddenly. "I was your enemy after all."
"It was the right thing to do and I figured that if a dragon was willing to save you, then I should too," she said quietly. "And I don't think we were ever really enemies. Our interests certainly were not compatible, but we were never hostile towards each other. Well compared to Drago you were very pleasant to steal dragons from," she laughed.
"You really are a true fury rider," Viggo smiled. "Good luck with your next adventure and say hello to Hayden for me." Zoe's heart clenched when Viggo spoke of Hayden so casually, her frame slumping forward as the smile slid off of her face. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Viggo asked, his voice full of concern.
She looked up at him, relieved when she was able to stop the tears from forming. "You can tell him yourself tonight," she said softly, comprehension crossing Viggo's features.
"When?"
"Nearly three weeks now," she whispered, her hands squeezing Uri's saddle.
"You're looking for the next rider then?" he asked after a moment of silence. She just nodded, afraid that her voice would crack if she spoke. "I wish you luck, and I'll make sure Grimmel doesn't find out," he added, correctly interpreting her concerns.
"Thank you," she nodded.
-o0O0o-
"And how long as she been missing?" Zoe asked the worried mother.
"Almost a month."
"And you said you found white scales in her room?"
"That's right," the middle aged woman nodded. Zoe was sitting at the dining table with the mother and younger brother of a girl who had gone missing a month ago from an isolated water tribe.
"I believe I know why your daughter has disappeared, and with the scales, and if you are willing to give me an item of her clothing, I should be able to track her down."
"Do you think you could tell us?" the younger boy asked. Glancing at the mother who nodded in approval for her to talk in front of her son, Zoe began to explain the situation.
"I haven't been completely truthful with you," she started. "I'm one of the fury riders, and I believe that your daughter is the other." Her statement was met with soft gasps.
"That's why you came to the village in the first place?"
"Yes, I've been looking for the new rider for a little while now."
"And why do you think that my sister is the new rider?"
"You say she disappeared a month ago?" After receiving two nods in confirmation, she continued, "my...the other rider," she struggled to say, "passed a month ago. These scales look exactly like Uri's and the next rider is a female water bender, just like your daughter. And if I'm wrong, I will bring your daughter home personally. However, if your daughter is the rider, I won't be able to bring her to you for a while but I will get her to send you a letter with Sharpshot," she said, gesturing to the terror on her shoulder.
"I understand, and thank you so much," the mother smiled sadly. "When you find her, regardless of the dragon with her, tell her we miss her and send our love."
"I will," Zoe nodded.
-o0O0o-
It only took her three days to find the girl and her dragon. Zoe was crouching low on Uri's back, Sharpshot underneath her hood on her shoulders, the three of them practically invisible to any onlookers. Uri was perched on a large tree branch at the edge of the forest, the girl and her dragon in the clearing at the lake's edge, the girl cleaning a fish and the dragon chewing on its own pile. The sun had just set, the moon not yet visible. The girl matched the description from the mother and boy in the village, dark brown hair that was cut just above her shoulders and she looked to be around 18, the age her mother had said. The dragon beside her was another white fury but instead of green, it had pale blue eyes.
Uri gently crawled down the trunk of the tree, the other fury immediately tensing at the sound. The girl put her fish down, gripping the knife as her dragon took a defensive stance around her, growling lowly, both of them looking in Zoe's direction. Uri gradually made herself and Zoe visible, starting from her head and her tail appearing last as her back paws landed on the grass. Zoe smiled to herself at the look on the girl's face when Uri and Zoe appeared, it was a mix of shock, fear and awe. Uri slunk towards them in a wide arc, not in a submissive manner, but more like a predator investigating its prey.
Zoe slid off the saddle and landed in a crouch, the other fury taking a step towards her in an attempt to intimidate. "Who are you?" the girl asked.
Ignoring the girl's question, Zoe calmed the white fury but it was still cautious, determined to protect its new rider. "Are you Amy?" Zoe asked the girl once she had stood to her full height.
"Who are you?" the girl demanded, clearly unnerved that Zoe knew her name.
Figuring that she should give the girl answers since she was clearly scared, Zoe removed her hood and pulled off her helmet.
"Come on, you should be able to put the pieces together, no?" Zoe said with a smile as Uri came and sat next to her, Sharpshot sitting up straight on her shoulder.
"You're the fury rider? Its Zoe, right?" the girl asked tentatively.
"Bingo! So, are you Amy?"
"Yes...how do you know my name?"
"I spoke to your mother and brother, they're very worried about you."
"I'm sorry," Amy said as her head hung low.
"Hey, don't worry. I told them we'd let them know once I found you," Zoe tried to soothe. "So, tell me about yourself and your dragon," she added more brightly, sitting down against Uri who was now lying down, Zoe stretching her legs out with one crossed over the other, her hands resting behind her head.
"Um, well you know my name," Amy said nervously as she also sat down with her dragon. "This is Axel," she gestured to her dragon. "Uh, I'm 18 and a water bender which I've mastered but I'm not great with weapons."
"Much experience with dragons before Axel?"
"Not really," she shook her head.
"Well we can fix that pretty easily, and I can help you train too. So, need a hand with dinner?"
"Oh, um...I was just going to cook some fish, don't have much else," Amy said, still nervous.
"I've got plenty in my bag, I restocked at your village a few days ago. I can also grow us fresh produce if you like?" she offered as she twisted around to remove the bags from Uri and pull out some food.
"What do you mean you can grow us food?" Amy asked curiously.
"What would you like? I have your common vegetables minus potato, those are too heavy to carry around, and I have a few herbs and- oh, would you like some thyme and lemon with the fish? And I can do some carrots too, they're quick," she rambled as she pulled out a cutting of thyme and some carrot seeds. Throwing a few of the tiny seeds onto the ground next to her and poking her finger into the dirt before placing the cutting into the hole, she tipped some water on the ground next to her. She pulled a lemon out of her bag that she had from the market and passed it to Amy who was skewering two fish onto two sticks.
"Thanks," Amy said as she took the lemon and sliced it in half. "What the hell is happening?" she asked in shock when she saw the dirt next to Zoe.
"Huh? Oh, it shouldn't be too much longer now," she responded, glancing at the thyme that was now a bush and the carrots that were starting to poke up above the ground.
"But how? Do you have the Foreverwing's blessing?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Mhm," she hummed in response as she watched Uri get up and head for the lake to get her own dinner.
"I feel like you need to tell me about yourself," Amy said with awe. "Like where are you from? How old are you? What other gifts do you have? And is it true you're an elemental and can control lightning?" she asked without taking a breath.
"Whoa, calm down," Zoe laughed. She was surprised at how easy it was to be in Amy's company without feeling like it should be Hayden who was sitting across from her instead. She suspected that Axel being another white fury as opposed to a night fury also helped. "But to answer your questions; I'm from the world of Grey, I'm 24, we both have the gift of winter, I am an elemental and I...have an affinity with lightning, but I don't control it."
"Wait, 'we'?"
"Yes, we both ride white furies therefore we both have the gift of winter. I'll help you with it but it's a similar concept to bending."
"And you have an 'affinity' with lightning?"
"Like I said, I can't control it but I can direct it if there's enough electrical energy around me. There's other more complicated things to do with it all too but no one really understands anymore than what is talked about in the legend," she explained. It was true, even though she had reached another level with her bending, gift of winter and blessing from the Foreverwing, she still didn't know much about her lightning, only becoming more confident in her handling of the 'curse'. She had come close to using up all of her energy a few years back, and just like Gus had said, it made her feel fatigued and slightly delirious, but at least now she knew her limit.
Not much else was said as they ate their food, Uri assuming her position behind Zoe after the dragon had finished eating. They were sitting in comfortable silence after putting the things they used for dinner away when Amy asked another question rather hesitantly; "Zoe? What happened to the other rider? His name was Hayden, right?" As soon as Amy's question left her mouth, Zoe's stomach dropped and her chest tightened.
She tried to compose herself before answering, swallowing thickly she responded in the most neutral tone she could muster, "uh, I'll tell you later, I'm quite tired and we need to be up early tomorrow to start your training. Oh also, your family wanted me to tell you that they miss you and to send their love. I told them I'd get you to write to them when I found you, so you can borrow Sharpshot who can deliver it when you're ready."
"Thank you...and I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"Bringing him up so soon."
"Its ok, you have a right to know, but I'm not really ready to talk about it yet," Zoe explained quietly.
"I understand, and thank you."
"For what?" Zoe asked again.
"Finding me, being so nice to me, I don't know, I guess I just feel safer now that you're here."
"I'm glad I found you so soon. I kept Hayden looking for a year," Zoe said as she shifted her position so that she was lying down next to Uri, Sharpshot settling himself in the nook of her bent knees.
"How did you last a year on your own?" Amy asked, shocked. "I mean you were from the world of Grey, how did you survive?"
"Uri took me to the air benders and I was there for 11 months, so only one month by myself. The same as you."
"Huh...I bet Hayden was annoyed with you," Amy smiled as she settled down next to Axel.
"For more reasons than one," Zoe laughed, remembering how stubborn and secretive she had been.
After a few minutes of silence between them, Amy whispered a goodnight to her before Axel tucked his wing over his rider. Zoe lay there, staring up at the stars and fiddling with Hayden's whistle. "I found her," she whispered to the stars so softly that she barely heard herself. "I can only imagine how frustrated you were with me, so I guess I should apologise," she smiled to herself, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I miss you more than you can imagine. I hope you're having fun with Max up there."
-o0O0o-
"Not that I don't appreciate you training me, but why aren't we going to the Academy?" Amy was lying on her back and trying to regain control over her breathing after a particularly brutal exercise that Zoe had put her through. Zoe had been training Amy for nearly a month now and Amy was progressing reasonably well. Zoe would always do the exercises alongside Amy in a show of support, but also because she needed to stay in shape herself. In the past month, Zoe had heard from Viggo twice, the first letter confirming that Drago was alive and updating her on the number of his bases that he had destroyed, the second one telling her that Grimmel was still unaware of Hayden's death. Both Drago and Grimmel believed that Viggo was dead, along with the Academy and the majority of the villages and tribes.
"They uh...we don't see eye to eye," Zoe shrugged with a smirk. She always found it amusing that the Academy had named her an enemy, so naturally, she went out of her way to mess with them in a harmless manner when she was in the area.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Well...they've kinda declared me an enemy so if I took you there, they would try and imprison me. Not to mention they'd try and turn you on me."
"Why are you an enemy?" Amy asked curiously.
"They don't like my gifts and lightning," she shrugged.
"But I thought you saved them twice? That's what people who visited our village said anyway."
"That doesn't matter to them."
"That's stupid, and I'd never turn on you either," Amy said with a smile as she turned her head to look at Zoe who was sitting against a tree, sharpening one of her many daggers.
"Thanks," she laughed. "But they'd probably turn you away as soon as they saw Axel."
"Why?"
"He's a white fury which means you have the gift of winter, and that's one of the things that they don't like about me."