Sparks
Was-Grounded proudly perched on the biggest and brightest light-rock in the flock-making chamber.
This is the best place to sit in the whole hidden world! After sitting wherever Green-Wings is sitting. She makes every place the best place!
He purred to himself and held his chest out as he watched the occasional sky-kin flying on to wherever they were going.
All the ranges appeared to have an Alpha of the dominant sky-kin-kind in that range. The Alpha was usually a big, biting male who liked to fight to keep his place as the first in the range.
A rumble-horn flew high above him and glided down a far cave. There were so many passages that went unexplored that no one knew what might be hiding in the far parts of the hidden world. Well, they knew one group of sky-kin that must be out there somewhere.
He glanced down a far passageway and grumbled at it while his tail twitched.
That was the direction the Light Furies he had seen had flown off. He and his flock had flown down many of the passageways in searching without finding the hidden pack of Light Furies. The Light Furies were very good at hiding and also very shy or afraid of the ground-kin, from what the few Far-Fliers had said.
As long as they leave us alone, we will leave them alone.
He lay down to rest in the glowing warmth until he heard wings approaching. He stood at attention, ready to greet the approaching spine-tail that looked familiar as one of the New-Haven-range. The sky-kin glided in and touched down lower on the light-rock. Then, with a warm trill and bent head, the spine-tail hopped toward him and dropped a fish before him.
He did not expect tribute and fish-gifts as an Alpha, but if a sky-kin was going to give him a fish-gift, it would be wasteful and liver-chilling to the other sky-kin for him to not eat the fish-gift.
He bobbed his head in thanks, and the spine-tail preened before flying off.
Great sky-breath, I hope more of them do not bring fish-gifts.
Once, so many of the known sky-kin brought him fish that he had not been able to eat all of them. That waste of fish had been very bad and had forced him to growl in annoyance to make them stop bringing fish. Fortunately, none of the other sky-kin brought him fish. Nothing much happened after that, so he lay his head down on the light-rock to rest there.
His tail tapped on the light-rock.
He snorted and ruffled his wings, which he licked clean to pass the time. Then he rolled onto his back to stare up at the rock-sky and to let his back feel warmth from the light-rock.
Being High-Alpha was very boring.
There was very little he needed to do except leave his scent on this light-rock to show that it was claimed. Sky-kin did not come to him with problems to help with. They solved their own problems through fighting, hunting, impressing, or just doing whatever they needed to do.
That was very different from what Shadowwing had to do as the ground-kin Alpha. Ground-kin would go to him with the most stupid, rock-headed problems that they would be much better just fixing on their own.
Sky-kin did not sit around the light-rock and roar up in acclaim at him all the time. None did that, really. That left this sitting very quiet, which would normally be good and relaxing since he did not need or want sky-kin roaring at him or bending wings out of respect. Well, it was somewhat liver-warming, but it was not practical.
His thoughts kept flying to Green-Wings, to their egg, and to the future-hatchling still in the egg. The little one was big enough that they could hear the beat of its life-organ, which was very slow right now. Green-Wings said that the beat was getting stronger and that the egg had started shifting more as the little one stretched. That was a very good sign that the egg would hatch soon.
He purred as he remembered a certain flight that he and Green-Wings had flown on. First, they had Shadowwing and Luna agree to watch over Rock-Climber, not that there was much watching needed, and he and Green-Wings had flown to the large cave that went up to the island. There were very few good memories of the above, as far as he was concerned, but there were some.
All of their sons' and daughters' eggs had been made in the above, and something about keeping that true had been important to him and her. There had been a storm flying in the above when they got up into the open sky again after over a season-cycle of not seeing the above. The sky had been very windy, which just made the chase and the catching more fun. Not that she really tried to outfly him at all. She had made it very clear that she wanted and needed another egg, and they made sure that they had made an egg by the time they flew back into hiding a pawful of sun-cycles later. Those sun-cycles had been very liver-warming.
We already know this one's name whether it is male or female. Wind-Dancer!
That Wind-Dancer would be his last son or daughter for a long time was not a problem at all. Including Wind-Dancer, he would have six children: three sons, two daughters, and one unknown right now. Even more would be better, but he understood the need to control how many they were. Having many more eggs would have been much easier to provide for in the above, but the hidden world did not allow that. Green-Wings would surely have no problems with this need to stop making eggs.
He let out a heavy sigh and rearranged his tailfins while looking out over the empty chamber.
Being High-Alpha was boring.
A roar of greeting instantly woke him from his sleep as he flew to his paws. This roar was different from those that other sky-kin make. He knew this type of roar very well.
He took a deep breath and held himself proudly, stretching his wings as he watched the ranging Light Fury fly closer. He closely watched its calm flight to make sure that there was no threat, and he checked with life-fire sight to confirm that this Light Fury was alone.
The male Light Fury glided in and touched down at the base of the light-rock before slowly approached him. It did not look threatening, but he was always ready to act if there was a need.
He sat down on his rear and stared while the Light Fury stared back at him. Neither of them were blinking or speaking. It was a test of will and status that he was not going to lose.
The Light Fury blinked first and shuffled on its paws.
"Greetings to one of the Alphas of this range," it muttered.
He yawned widely, "Greetings to a Far-Flier from the pack. Which number are you?"
"This one is Sixth-Far-Flier. You know why this one is here."
"Yes, there is nothing different. The ground-kin still live in the shared-range with no new nests outside the shared-range."
"Good, the Alpha will be pleased to hear that."
He had heard only mutterings about this Alpha of the Light Fury pack. None of the Far-Fliers had mentioned much beyond that he was a strong Alpha who kept control of the pack and kept it safe from dangers.
"Do you need to fly into the shared-range to see?"
Sixth-Far-Flier shuffled on his paws again and stepped back while flaring his wings, "No, this one does not."
While I have him here with me...
"Sixth, do you know of any far ranges that are not filled with kin?"
Sixth-Far-Flier warbled warily, "Why do you ask, dark wing Alpha?"
He considered his words before answering, "Because I and my nestmate brother were wondering if there are any ranges the kin of our range could help fill or take prey from."
The Light Fury appeared suspicious of that explanation. What he said was true, in a way of thinking about it. The ground-kin were kin also, but Sixth-Far-Flier would only think of kin as being sky-kin. A slight tail-twisting of the truth was sometimes necessary as an Alpha to make happen what he knew must be.
"None that the pack knows of. Most ranges have been claimed by other packs of kin. There is the very big and green range of the very dangerous, Packless light wings, but you do not want to fly to those piles of waste," Sixth-Far-Flier growled.
There were only the two packs or groups of Light Furies that he and Shadowwing had heard about. One was Sixth-Far-Flier's pack and the other was the group of dangerous, Packless, and very bad Light Furies that were not allowed in the formal pack. He did not want to think about why those others were thrown out and not allowed to live in the pack. They were probably named Packless because of bad things like force-mating females, refusing to work for their old packs, being too quick to bite and kill, or other life-ways that were not allowed and would hurt peace.
Sixth-Far-Flier rolled his shoulders and stretched his wings, "This one will take the good news to my Alpha."
"A fast flight to you, Sixth-Far-Flier."
Sixth-Far-Flier spun away and jumped from the light-rock. The Light Fury turned his flight for the far passageway and flew swiftly.
He snorted at the departing Light Fury. There were many things about the Far-Fliers and about the hidden pack he thought were twisted.
Why do they not have self-names? Yes, pack-roles can be important, but not having a name is... very twisted.
Flies-With-Sun had explained some of the customs the main Light Fury pack appeared to follow and which were why she had not stayed in that pack after considering joining them. The most twisted custom was how the pack did not allow life-mates. Rather, eggs were made through contests and through choices that those in power-places made. The eggs were hatched by groups of females, and therefore the hatchlings had no one sire or dam they grew up knowing. That custom in particular seemed very twisted to him.
The namelessness, except for having the name of a pack-role, was also twisted. A lot about the pack was twisted.
But, the Light Fury pack had every right to live by its own customs, and any Light Furies who choose to live in that pack necessarily accepted those customs. It was not as though all those Light Furies were being trapped in the pack.
There was also the possibility that, if they could find Light Furies who were willing to accept ground-kin, they might be able to find future mates for their older children. Aurora and Rain-Eater were mature, and both Mist-Wings and Moon-Dancer were mature. But there was no rush for any of them to get mates yet.
There was a twistedness in his own thinking which he knew about, saw as twisted, and held tightly to anyway. Finding a life-mate for Rain-Eater could be a good thing. Getting him a warm-livered female to hold close, make eggs and hatchlings with, and fly the winds of life with would be good.
The thought of any male whom he did not know, truly trust, and approve of... climbing on his dear Aurora or Mist-Wings though...
His claws were scraping against the light-rock while he snarled, so he stopped and took a deep breath.
If any male I do not know wants to chase after them, I will talk to that male first and let him know what I will do to him if he hurts either of them. I will bite off his tailfins, tear off his wings, and claw at his maleness so he never hurts a female again.
Pleased with this plan, he hopped to his paws and walked back up to the peak of the light-rock. Then he went down on his belly to return to a long nap in peace. A random sky-kin might fly up to greet him, but he really only wanted to sleep. Being High-Alpha was very boring, and he was looking forward to being back in the shared-range and with Green-Wings.
Their egg was getting very close to hatching.
Was-Grounded remembered two different very big hall-dens that the ground-kin made. The first one on the Berk-island was not a place made with sky-kin in mind. The second one, the one in the Haven-range, had been. That second hall-den had rock perches and sand places where his young could do writing to the ground-kin.
This new hall-den would be the best once it was done, from what his brother had explained. Finishing this hall-den meant working, and he did not like working. Having ropes around his back and neck as he pulled wood-beams and stones into place was not liver-warming.
Shadowwing did not mind helping with making such places, but he himself remembered. He remembered the ropes around his neck and wings when he was held as a thrall used for fighting. A sky-kin should never have ropes or saddles on it!
Well, except when a life-bond ground-kin was involved. Then it was fine since having a saddle helped keep the ground-kin safer when flying. Dawn-Singer, Aurora, and Rain-Eater understood that, though they preferred flying without any saddles now that their ground-kin had wings of their own.
His understanding was that having a big hall-den was not truly needed for the ground-kin, but it might warm their livers or keep them safer. Having a place for group-bonding and nest-ceremonies was important and...
He heard faint ground-kin screaming, and he spun toward it. The screaming was coming from a far part of the nest, over near the water.
What?
He dropped the ropes and flew very fast over the glowing forest and the rocks. Only a quick flight was needed before he dropped down a level and saw where the screaming female was running along with her kin. They did not look hurt, and he could not see anything threatening them.
He landed and hopped up to the ground-kin, all of whom looked afraid and very liver-chilled. One of them, probably the mate of the female who was dropping eye-water, whose name he did not know ran up to him and pointed with a paw at the waterfalls.
"Was-Grounded, Henryk fell down the waterfall!"
Henryk had to be one of the ground-kin's young and...
Down the waterfalls into... that was very bad. No one knew where the waterfalls went to. All they knew was that it was a big place.
Grr... what can I...
He was stuck and uncertain what to do. He had an egg that would hatch any waking-cycle. But he was an Alpha for the New-Haven-range and all the ground-kin in it. Did he owe the ground-kin this? Was a ground-kin one of his own?
He remembered diving once before to save a ground-kin from certain death. Henryk was nothing like Hiccup had been to him, but...
The Alpha protected them all... and that was not limited to sky-kin.
He spun away, jumped for the waterfall, and flew very fast along the rushing water. Down over the roaring waterfall and along the falling water into a stream that flowed down a narrow path. His wings were tucked close as the water fell with him in a constant roaring. The light from the familiar range faded as he spun in the flowing water going down in a swirling rushing. Water splashed in his mouth and eyes as he tumbled. The water rushed faster and faster as the down-cave narrowed.
There was a crashing sound down below, as though water was crashing on something.
Then he saw the place that no one had ever seen. At least, not from going down the waterfall. The falling stream flowed out into another waterfall into what looked like the water-range.
That was very bad.
He jumped from the water just as it fell down into the water-range. How long had it been since the young ground-kin went over? Could it swim? Had a water-kin already eaten it?
He gasped and tucked his wings when he saw a young ground-kin swimming in the apparently bottomless water. The ground-kin, Henryk, while alive right now, was not thinking well and was splashing. Splashing and making noise was a very good way to become prey by attracting hunters.
Bad idea! Just hold on!
He dashed closer and closer to the ground-kin while watching the waters for any sign of hunters. A brief check with life-fire sight saw no hunters in the water, which was very fortunate for the ground-kin.
He roared aloud, not knowing how to make any needed ground-kin words, as he dove low over the water.
Just give me something to grab.
Henryk saw him flying for him and held up his forearms, so he grabbed Henryk by the forearms with his paws and pulled him out of the water. The rough grabbing hurt the ground-kin and made him cry out in pain, but it was better to be hurt than eaten.
Carrying a ground-kin by the forearms was not very fun to do since it imbalanced his flight. There was only one ground-kin whom he had ever allowed on his back, and that was in a different life entirely.
Great... oh well, have to do this.
He found the first place where he could land on a rock-island and did so, gently setting Henryk down on the rock. The place was far away from any light-rocks and was therefore very dark. Henryk was whining in pain and completely wet. His arms would probably have hurt-marks of different colors from where he had been held and carried, but he was alive.
Henryk eventually settled down and looked up at him.
"Was...Grounded..."
He nodded.
"You saved... me..."
He warbled softly, and he crouched down with a sharp nod to his back. Henryk got to his paws and gently climbed onto his back, holding onto the front of his wings.
"Thank you... oh gods..."
All he could do was hum back to the ground-kin whom he did not know well. That he did not know the ground-kin was not important. Henryk was one of the New-Haven-range, and that made him one of his own flock to protect, in a way.
An Alpha protects them all, sky-kin and ground-kin.
He was also not giving away his back in any kind of life-bonding. That was a warmth that he did not need or want since his life-mate, his children, and his brother had their places in his liver. This was only protecting one of his own flock.
Great skies, where are we really? Yes, this is the water-range, but I have never flown here before.
He grumbled while thinking about the known caves and ranges in the hidden world. There was no climbing or flying back up the waterfall-cave, so he had to find another way back soon.
Missing his egg hatching would be bad. He had been there for every hatchling so far.
He glanced back over his shoulder and softly grunted, hoping that would be understood.
"Ready..." Henryk said.
Good. Hope you know how to hold on.
A slow trot, easy jump, and steady flight followed as he turned for where he hoped the water-range would become more familiar to him. From the cave-mouth of the water-range back to the New-Haven-range was a medium-nap amount of time in flight.
At least we learned where the waterfall goes. Waste goes with the water, fish or plants eat the waste, and we can catch the fish. A life-circle.
He kept very alert on the flight as he wove between light-rocks that grew out of the water and between the big columns of rock. It would be very hard for any sky-kin to sneak up on him, but staying aware and alert was important for Henryk's sake.
In the hidden world, there were only hunters and the hunted. That was usually good since he was one of the hunters or those that others knew not to threaten, but the ground-kin could very easily be the hunted.
Henryk's distraught parents finally went home, holding each other as they departed. That let Shadowwing slip back into his tent, collapse on his furs on the ground, and heavily sigh after hiding his head under a wing.
That was not pleasant...
Having to console distraught parents was a necessary duty of his since he was the Chief. He knew Henryk as one of the young lads who was innately friendly to the dragons. He was naturally worried for him, for one of his own.
A Chief protects his own.
But he was also worried about his brother who had so bravely flown down into the unknown to try to rescue Henryk. No one knew where that water flowed or if it was even possible to get back from going down there. All they knew was that it flowed somewhere big.
He's a Night Fury and an Alpha. He'll be fine... and will bring Henryk back! He must...
"Chief?" Valka whispered from outside the tent.
"Yess..."
She slipped inside and sat down before him with a very heavy sigh, "Everything's settling down out there. Ava and Bjorgen are... you can imagine."
He nodded, "What happenned?"
"They said Henryk was getting a little rebellious, swam further away from shore just to show that he could, and was caught in the current."
Ugh, he was acting up, probably trying to show off and prove himself...
"Lessssonn learrnned."
"Hopefully. I told Rain-Eater where his father went and why. Some of the kids might be at the prayer tent later."
He groaned.
"I know, but you might think about going there also for a while. Show some solidarity with everyone else. I'll be there for a while as the Elder."
Yeah, I probably should.
He had always had a difficult time understanding the stories about the gods and knowing what to make of those stories. His inventive mind understood creating machines and making plans, but the gods were too mysterious in so many ways. But they were important to almost everyone in New Haven.
Well, almost all the humans, anyway. His brother had not shared any stories of dragon-gods or stories of the afterlife. Neither had Luna or Green-Wings, for that matter.
He groaned and got to his paws with a nod, "Finne, I will."
"Good. Don't worry about your brother and Henryk. They'll be fine. I'm sure of that," she whispered.
"How cann you knnow that?"
She shrugged and got up using her staff, "I just do. Worrying about it won't change anything."
Easier said than done...
"Want me to walk there with you?"
"Pleasse," he purred.
Together, they left his Chieftain's tent. New Haven was still active with several of the more familiar dragons nearby and humans working in the fields or going about various tasks.
But everything was quieter than it had been. A pall hung over everyone and all activity, for obvious reasons. Everyone knew everyone in a community so small.
Shadowwing kept his gaze to the sky while hoping that he would see his brother returning with Henryk. Seeing nothing in the distant passageway, he spun around, glided down from the upper level into the main village level, and walked back into New Haven. He greeted all the men, women, and children whom he met on the way. On the worn streets, between the rows of very simple huts and tents, past the occasional light-bearing crystals, along the fields of potatoes, berries, and various vegetables, and finally to the clearing at the rear of the village. The construction of the Great Hall was still progressing... slowly but surely.
He grumbled when he saw Bjorgen, Henryk's father, throwing himself into labor, lifting heavy rocks and carrying beams. Where Ava was he didn't know. However, working hard to ignore grief for a while and burn off nervous energy was something that he knew all too well himself.
He had spent days, no weeks, furiously working to help construct Haven after the survivors fled the ice nest. True, the humans of the tribes needed either him or his brother down in the village to help keep the peace with the wild dragons. Doing that himself and helping with the work kept his thoughts off his father's and Astrid's deaths. They had both died well, gloriously in combat, from what he had heard and... seen. But those were deaths that he could averted if he had been more prudent, more cautious, or just plain less stubborn and proud.
Was there more that he could have done to prevent this incident? A rebellious youth running off and getting into trouble was so similar to what he had done.
This incident will scare enough people that it probably won't happen again. Not for a while anyway.
He was considering going to help out with the construction when he heard a very surprising roar of greeting. It was not from his brother.
Luna! What are you doing here?
He jumped with a roar of his own and turned toward her as she glided in. The light from the nearest crystals sparkled off her like it always did when she flew in this brighter part of the cavern.
They spun in a tight looping dance, brushed wingtips and tails, and glided over to a ledge where there were no homes or buildings. They touched down together, bounded to the overlook, and entwined tails.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I wanted to come here and be with you. My sister is sitting the egg, and all our children are back at the shared-ledge. This is time for us," she hummed and started licking his neck.
He purred in thanks as she gave him a grooming, though he was certain nothing more would happen. He just wasn't in the mood for anything else. He returned the favor to her once she finished with him.
"You heard what happened?" he softly asked after finishing.
"I did. Your brother will find the ground-kin and come back safely," she assured him.
He grumbled, "Yes, I know he will, but there are other problems."
"What problems? Can I help?"
He gestured with a paw at New Haven, "Maybe. I was thinking about all of them, all the ground-kin. Do you remember how I said that they feel trapped?"
She sighed and nodded, "I do. It is twisted, but I can understand it. I was hatched in the hidden world, and the hidden ranges are my first home-range. Would you believe me if I said that I felt trapped in the above?"
He snorted, "Yes, but that sounds very twisted to me. The ground-kin remember the above, the good parts of the above. Their kin and families are here also, but they still feel trapped. And there is the food problem. We still do not know what will happen with that."
"When will you know?"
"That depends on if Rain-Eater can finish his project."
She rolled her eyes, "I do not know how he is able to think such twisted flights and with so many numbers."
"He is very smart and clever. I do not know where he gets that from. Definitely not his sire-father!"
She laughed along with him at the teasing until he continued.
"Green-Wings is good-thinking, but she is not interested by numbers as Rain-Eater is. He also has Safiya to help him with numbers. I worry about what might happen here if..."
He grumbled and didn't finish his thought, so she did.
"If there is not enough food for all of us, ground-kin and sky-kin?"
"Yes, that. Most of the sky-kin are flying freely on their own, but this range might not be big enough for all of us. We do not know about other ranges beyond here. None of them are good for the ground-kin."
"None that we have yet found, but we can keep looking for them," she pointed out.
"Can we? We will have another hatchling soon, and so will my brother and Green-Wings. None of us can leave this range for long."
"True, but your brother's children are very grown. Even Moon-Dancer has his fire and hiding. They could fly into far ranges and explore together."
He did not know what to think about that idea. There was some validity to it. The Night Fury kids could fly freely throughout the hidden world as long as they stayed together as a pack. His oldest son was grown enough to fly with them.
But something about that felt... difficult to allow. His dear son had never been out in the world, other than the relatively safe duty of watching the above. The last time his son had been in danger was when Grimmel attacked and almost killed him.
Why did just the thought of that man, of that monster, make his chest faintly twinge in phantom pain?
"What is it?" she whispered.
So she noticed that. She would.
"I was just thinking about our Moon-Dancer being out in the ranges. He has never lived in the wild or truly needed to fight and hunt and survive. I do not want him in danger."
She purred, "I do not want him in danger either, but he will want to fly eventually. Having him fly with his kin there to protect him would be a good idea. Much better than him flying away alone."
He grumbled, reluctantly seeing the truth in her words, "Yes, it would. I know that, but it still feels like I should be the one to protect him as his sire-father. I do not want him to think that I... do not care about him as my son."
She purred and lay her head on his neck, "That is a twisted fear, my life-mate. He knows that you hold him to your liver. My sire-father knew that he had to let me go once I was grown. Moon-Dancer will be grown within a season-cycle. We must let him go eventually."
I know, but still.
He wanted to change the subject to something else, though not much less troubling.
"What if we find another range that is good for us? What do we do with the two packs, ground-kin and sky-kin?" he asked.
They passed a silent moment just watching everyone they could see below before she answered.
"If we find another good range below then we all can fly in it together. Some of this range could live in that range and make a new pack that would still be kin with this one. Maybe Dawn-Singer and my sister could be an Alpha-pair for that new flock. The two packs could be together from afar," she proposed.
New Haven splitting in two could be acceptable, if neither half felt neglected by the other.
"Finding another range could be good, true, if that is needed. We do not know that it is needed. Not yet," he huffed.
"You said the ground-kin are feeling more... trapped in this range and are not warmed in their livers," she warily said.
"Yes, I did."
She lifted her head from his neck and lay her head on her paws after heavily sighing. She glanced at him without saying anything.
"Luna?"
"I... nothing. Do you want to try the together-seeing-feeling?"
"Sure, why not?" he muttered and lay his head on his paws.
Staring into her wide, light blue eyes. Feeling her stilled tail woven around his. Hearing her calm breaths.
Wondering about Henryk possibly gone forever. His first loss as Chief. Worried about the sustainability of this hope. Fearful for his brother.
Ugh, this is not...
He growled to himself and tried to stop thinking, but he failed at that. There was too much that was unsettling him now. Too many worries and fears were always present.
"Sorry," he huffed.
She sighed and glanced down at her paws, "Your thinking is being blown on many winds. This together-seeing-feeling does not work if your thinking is too filled."
"I cannot help that. I am Alpha, and there are some I am chilled and afraid for."
She hummed, "I know, but you should also learn to leave those chills behind. Stop being Alpha right now and just be my life-mate. You can go back to being Alpha and carrying those fears in your thinking later."
"That is easier said than flown."
She stepped away from him and spread her wings, "Fly with me and try to leave your thinking here."
Good idea. Answering the tribe's fears and dealing with a terrified couple is wearying.
He got to his paws and followed after her on a calm flight through the familiar skies. They glided around glowing crystals, down waterfalls, over ledges and the forest of mushrooms and trees, and gradually into the darker portion of the chamber where they and their families permanently lived. He was sure that she was delaying on this returning flight, probably to give him time to relax and leave his troubles behind.
Green-Wings knew not to fear for her life-mate. He was a High-Alpha, had fought against and helped her kill a Night Fury that was bigger than him, had defeated a great-tusk-Alpha, and had helped kill a monster-kin that was hunting Night Furies. He was strong and dangerous.
But there were dangers that strength and sharp-thinking could not help with. What if that water went down forever? What if there was no way to get back? What if he was gone?
Whining and whimpering in liver-chill would not help or be good for the egg and almost-hatchling. It was such a terrible and twisted way of thinking, but she had to think about it as a dam-mother.
What if he was gone?
Shadowwing would certainly step in and be a second-father to the hatchling and would help to raise it as his own. There was no doubt about that. But what would happen afterward? Would she still want a mate of her own after everything that happened in her life? Could she have or want Shadowwing in that way as a... shared-mate? Better would probably be to go find a male Light Fury who would be willing to live in this mixed-range. Then she might have a Dawn Fury hatchling of her own.
But that was flying thoughts very far ahead. Much, much better would be for him to just not be dead. She took him in the sky when they made Aurora's egg, and doing that was a promise that they wanted no other in life so long as they both live.
What was the twisted idea that Shadowwing and Luna used? Love? It was hard to understand since it was used in different situations. Does a sky-kin love flying the same way it loves fish? Both wantings are different from the love for a life-mate and for the little ones, but the word is the same.
Twisted ground-kin thinking.
There was a warmth that she saw in Shadowwing and Luna, something in how they gazed at each other and did things for each other, that was done not only out of need or wanting. They had already agreed to be life-mates, and that meant that he did not need to further win her liver, she already gave it to him, but he did so anyway through small things like bringing her a fish without being asked and watching the young so she can have time alone. Maybe doing that was just further bonding between them or a way of sparking more wanting in their livers.
That was so twisted of them. Why would they join as mates when they would not get an egg from it? She did not understand it.
Maybe I am missing something. How could I know if I am?
The thought that he might be gone kept flying back to her. Looking back over her tail, she should have been very worried about that up at the Haven-range and the battle that happened there. She had stayed on the ground to watch all the young while Luna, Shadowwing, and her life-mate did the fighting.
But now, knowing that she might not see him again, what was the loss and fear-chill in her liver? What was she truly afraid of losing from her life-flight? More eggs from him in the future? Possibly, though that was unavoidable anyway.
Would she be able to replace him with any other good male and feel like nothing had truly changed? That felt like what she should say, that one good male can do the same that any good male can do, but, while true in a way, there was something missing. What was missing?
He would be dead and unable to be happy and liver-warmed with her. Could that be it? Could she be feeling a chill on his behalf that he would not be warmed to be with her?
That was another twisted thought since she and Was-Grounded did not do any of the strange sharing-seeing-feeling that Luna and Shadowwing were learning. That greater bonding and trusting had not seemed important to her.
She and Was-Grounded did everything they were supposed to do as mates: they made eggs, protected each other, provided for each other and their young, and taught their young their life-rules. What need was there for anything more or for greater bonding?
Maybe this is ground-kin twistedness from Shadowwing somehow.
She lay her chin on the egg and whispered to the little one within, "Little one, you have heard everything about my life-flight, though you do not understand anything of it. You know how far I flew and how warm your sire and future father is in his liver. He has been very good to me and to your older nestmates. He is not here now, and you should wait for him unless you must hatch now."
The egg did not rock or sway, though she felt the little one move slightly. Its time was coming closer.
She looked out toward the passageway and stared long without seeing any fellow Night Furies. All her young were here in the New-Haven-range, and Shadowwing and Luna had just recently returned also to this shared-ledge, after which Flies-With-Sun and Dawn-Singer had returned to their cave-den.
Please fly back soon, my life-mate.
Shadowwing lay beside Luna and Green-Wings on the ledge. He was holding the egg while Luna was resting with Night-Light sound asleep on her back and Hidden-Hope under a wing. Moon-Dancer was somewhere else with the other Furies. Green-Wings was sitting with her egg as usual while also staring out toward the cavern entrance.
His thoughts kept going out to his brother, somewhere out in the hidden world.
It has to have been almost half a cycle now. I mean, let it take however long it takes for them to safely get back, but still... ugh... the sooner they get back the better... if for nothing other than his egg!
What if there were hidden packs of Deathgrippers, the horrific Hunter dragons, more Bewilderbeasts, or other unknown dangers out there? Sure, Was-Grounded was a strong, powerful Alpha, but even he had limits to what he could do. He couldn't mentally command dragons which didn't know him, nor could he fight any great number of them alone. Could he possibly protect a scared boy on his own and bring him back safely?
Yes, he could and he would!
He resolved to not think about that anymore since there was nothing he could do about it. The best thing he could do with the time was attend to the egg since doing so needed far more time and attention.
There was now definitely a hatchling inside, and that hatchling needed to hear voices, words, and care. What those words were didn't truly matter as long as it heard that he, Luna, or someone was there to protect it.
So he bent down to the egg and stared at it, wondering what was best to say.
"My little one, what will you be: male or female? You being a female would make us have two of each. Whatever you are, we will hold you, love you, teach you, be patient with you, protect you, and teach you to fly the winds of life, as much as we can. Even if there are very few winds down here."
He glanced over his shoulder at Hidden-Hope and Night-Light and then back to the egg.
"I am still learning how to be a sire-father. Being a sire... that part is easy. Being the father... that can only be truly learned by doing. I have probably made mistakes; no, I know that I have made mistakes already. But I am learning and trying to not make the same mistakes each time. What will I do different with you? Maybe not push so much for you to learn ground-kin words so early. Learn our sky-kin words first so that your word-flights are not confused."
He rolled his eyes, "But ground-kin word-flights are very twisting anyway, so that will happen no matter what. Luna and I both know better how long after a hatchling eats or drinks you will need to go relieve yourself, so we can take you down from here to do that without many messes. What else will be different? We will..."
His ears wiggled as he heard something. That sound was the beat of wings, and this particular one was very familiar.
Oh, please be him... please be them.
His brother's welcoming and heartwarming roar followed and was answered by a soft roar of welcome from Green-Wings. He wanted to fly to his paws in relief when he saw Henryk on his brother's back, holding onto the base of his wings.
They were both back safely without incident.
Was-Grounded gently touched down on the ledge without leaping at anyone or waking anyone up. Neither did Henryk move from on his back. Was-Grounded first trotted to Green-Wings, nuzzled her, whispered something unheard to her, and finally strolled to him.
He purred and relaxed, "Brother, welcome back!"
Was-Grounded snorted, "Good to be back. The waterfall goes down into the water-range."
"Does it? Good to know. What happened down there?"
"I found Henryk down in the water and grabbed him from the water, but I might have hurt his arms. Better hurt arms than him eaten."
"Yes, much better. I should come with you as the ground-kin Alpha. Wait for me."
He picked up his egg, nuzzled Luna awake, and sat the egg down at her chest, "My brother is back with the lost ground-kin. They are both well. I must fly to the ground-kin as the Alpha. I will be back after this is done."
She purred in understanding, covered the egg with her tailfins, and went back to resting, not wanting to wake up Night-Light and Hidden-Hope.
He bounded over to his brother's side and glared at Henryk, "Hennrryk, arre you well?"
"Yes, Chief. I'm so... sorry about that. I... I won't do it again," Henryk whimpered.
"Tell yourr parrenntss."
Henryk gulped, knowing that he was probably doomed.
He and Was-Grounded were then flying through the massive cavern as they had done many times before. While he so wanted to play with his brother out of relief that he was well, that would have to wait until Henryk was safely handed off. But there was something he could do now, so he winged closer and tapped his brother's shoulder.
"So, how is carrying a ground-kin?" he teased.
Was-Grounded rolled his eyes, "This is the first ground-kin I have ever carried on my back!"
"Are you so sure about that?"
"Hiccup does not count. I already said he had the life-fire of a sky-kin."
"Yes, I did... do."
They wove far apart to pass around a glowing crystal before gliding together again.
Was-Grounded grumbled, "Anyway, he has not tried to do anything twisted, which is good of him."
The lights and shapes of New Haven came into view before too long. They dove for the large clearing by his Chief's tent, roaring softly as they did so. That summons brought out many of the denizens of New Haven. Having as many of them present to see this would help a lot with morale.
That need to take even a small success and use it to reassure the tribe in a difficult time was one of the Chiefing lessons that he remembered and appreciated.
Then there were other wings in the sky as Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, and Moon-Dancer approached from wherever they had been.
Well, they'll be very glad that he's back now.
He and Was-Grounded touched down, and Henryk hopped off Was-Grounded's back and immediately ran for the crowd of approaching people.
"Sire-father!" a chorus of cries echoed as the children landed.
One by one, Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Mist-Wings lay a chin on their father's shoulder in a Fury hug. Moon-Dancer gently bumped his shoulder.
There's mom, Gobber, Eret, Legs, Lout, the Olefsens, the Haffnars, and... the screaming ones must be Ava and Bjorgen. Definitely.
Was-Grounded briefly joined him in watching the crowd of people gathering around the returned young man, "It is done. I am going to Green-Wings and the egg."
"Do you not want to stay and see this or talk to them?"
"No, I flew much and I am tired. You can talk to them for me."
"Okay, I will."
Was-Grounded and his children flew off without saying anything else. That was fair of him. He finished his rescue mission and now deserved his rest, not to mention that he should definitely be around the egg as much as possible since it might hatch any moment.
"Sire-father, I want to fly back to the shared-ledge," Moon-Dancer hummed.
"Okay, son. Fly fast."
"I am your son. I will fly fast," Moon-Dancer chuckled.
He just rolled his eyes, gently bumped his son's shoulder, and watched him fly off. He remained there just watching the reunion as Henryk was being furiously hugged and held by his crying parents and by everyone else who was clearly relieved to see him again.
Alright, everything can go back to normal now.
Even as he thought that he still felt a nagging concern. Henryk, Was-Grounded, and everyone in New Haven had gotten fortunate this time that no one had died or been lost. What about next time?
Valka and Bjorgen came over to him while Ava still held Henryk.
"C... Chief," Bjorgen muttered past his wild beard.
"Bjorrgenn, he iss ssafe nnow."
"Yes, can you... tell your brother that... we are... so..."
He gently rested a paw on Bjorgen's shoulder and nodded to him, knowing that it must be hard for the man to say what he truly meant and how thankful they were.
"I knnow. I will tell him."
Bjorgen nodded and went back to hug his wife and son. Valka remained with him, watching the departing crowd of people until they were gone entirely. A few people remained just going about their tasks.
"Well, that's over with," she whispered.
"Yess, thiss time."
"Where did they go?" she gestured at the waterfalls.
"The ssunnlessss sseass," he hissed.
"Yikes. At least we know where the waterfall goes."
She leaned on her staff and frowned, "I had a talk with the children. They're... a little more scared by that, but that means they won't act up as much, so some good came from this. They won't do anything stupid until they forget this, anyway. You know how crazy and upset people can get when they're cooped up inside. Cabin fever."
He huffed, remembering the many long, dark nights that the people of Berk spent indoors during the devastating winters. There was not much to do except tell stories, huddle around the fire, snuggle for warmth, eat dried meats, and sleep a lot. The wintersblott festival, which some called Snoggletog for some unknowable reason, was one of the main events held in the winter for the precise reason that it gave everyone an opportunity to bond in shared defiance against the worst of harsh nature.
"I knnow. Cann't they be happy inn peace?"
She chuckled and shook her head slowly, "Peace is good, but you know how humans are. Boredom is worse than suffering and struggling. At least having an enemy that everyone agrees on gives a reason to keep going."
I guess that's true, but it still feels like people should just be more content.
"I nneed to go to the eggss annd rresst," he said, weary after all the worrying.
"You should. I'll have Thorvald take over anything else for a couple cycles."
"Thannkss, mom."
"Oh, you let me know when the egg starts hatching," she added.
He purred at the reminder that his new nephew or niece, a new life, would be welcomed into the world very soon, if what Green-Wings had said was any indication. Valka definitely wanted to be there to see it.
"I will," he hummed.
He took flight, wanting to get back to his family as soon as possible. There would be plenty of time to talk with his brother about what he saw out there. Being able to add to the large map of the hidden world was another positive that came from this incident.
Everything was calm when he got back to the massive ledge and saw everyone there.
Was-Grounded at Green-Wings's side with Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Rock-Climber around them. Luna with Moon-Dancer, Hidden-Hope, and Night-Light. Both mothers had their eggs with them, obviously.
Both families were also gathered closer together now than they usually were. But that was expected now with the eggs needing better protection in a pack. Even Flies-With-Sun and Moon-Pinner were present. Almost everyone looked busy napping, which sounded like a very good idea right about now.
Hmm, guess Dawn-Singer must be here too.
Sure enough, Dawn-Singer was perched on a glowing crystal out in the passageway from where he could keep his gaze on the massive cavern entrance. That was good since there always had to be someone keeping watch.
Satisfied, he glided toward home and rest in peace now that he could stop worrying. Nothing had truly gone wrong. Not this time.
Was-Grounded awoke to a heavy nudge in the side.
Great sky-breath, can I just sleep?
"What?" he grumbled, keeping his head hidden under a wing.
"The egg is hatching," Green-Wings eagerly whispered and nudged him again.
Those words, egg and hatching, instantly drove away all his sleepiness as he hopped to his paws and stared eagerly at the dark egg. The egg indeed had several small cracks at its top half and even rocked slightly as he watched.
Very little filled his liver with more warmth than watching his own little ones hatch. He remembered, because of the twistedness of his own life and how he had known himself even in his second egg, what life was like inside the egg. There was nothing much to enjoy or do. All of that life was meant for just growing stronger until the little one was ready to hatch.
Which this one was ready for.
"How long?" he whispered.
"Some time still. The hatching only started now. Why do you ask?" she whispered back.
"We want Kin-liver to see this."
"Yes, go bring her."
He hopped away from her and the egg to go nudge his brother awake.
"What?" Shadowwing grumbled without opening his eyes.
"The egg is hatching."
As expected, Shadowwing immediately hopped to his paws, his eyes wide and ears lifted in excitement and liver-warmth as he glanced toward Green-Wings.
"You should go get Kin-liver. Can you please bring a soft fish for the hatchling?" he asked.
"I will."
Shadowwing nudged Luna awake, gave her the good news, and jumped from the ledge.
Meanwhile, he went to wake up his children since they definitely should be awake to see their new nestmate hatch.
Nothing bad had happened with any of his eggs, so he knew that he should not worry much. However, he had just recently gotten back from rescuing a lost ground-kin who had definitely almost died. That probably made him more worried than he normally would be.
Shadowwing eagerly flew back from New Haven with Valka on his back and a fish in his belly for the hatchling. They all knew that this hatching would happen soon, but it was still a wonderful event, especially since a couple years had passed since the last new hatchling on his brother's side.
He remembered the different reactions he had seen in the past. One year-old Dawn-Singer had been mostly curious about Aurora, whereas Aurora has been more upset and hesitant about Rain-Eater. Everyone had been accepting of Mist-Wings and Rock-Climber.
As for his own family, Moon-Dancer had been eager to have a sibling to play with, and the same was true for Hidden-Hope with Night-Light. As for his own future hatchling, Night-Light might be old enough to understand and not be worried about there being a new hatchling. He was also more timid than the others.
Almost all the family was gathered closely together up on the ledge when he and Valka arrived. Everyone, except his own Luna, was packed in around Green-Wings, gazing at the egg and purring or talking to each other.
He landed, waited as Valka hopped down, and approached the gathering with her. He brought up the fish and dropped it beside Green-Wings.
"Anything happen yet?" Valka eagerly asked.
He and she sat down between Moon-Dancer and Rain-Eater.
"Nnot yet. Sslow hatchinng," Rain-Eater hummed.
Not surprising. I wasn't away long enough anyway.
Hatching could take a few minutes or maybe an hour. He settled for listening to the children talking about flights with their friends, stories they had learned about, or just their dozing from those, mostly the younger ones, who were asleep. There was nothing to do except for wait and occasionally glance at the egg between Green-Wings's paws.
And wait.
And wait even more.
The egg slowly got more cracked and kept slowly shaking, but no crucial break had happened yet.
Aurora mumbled, "Does it usually take this long?"
"No, this one is being slower," Was-Grounded answered.
They watched the egg as it remained still, surely because the hatchling was resting.
Shadowwing frowned and glanced over at Luna where she was resting with their egg. She had told him a story about how she had needed help to hatch because she was smaller than normal. Her father had helped her hatch by poking a hole in the egg to let more air into it.
Surely it was too early to worry about something like that being necessary here. Interfering in a natural event was not always a good idea. Or was it?
Maybe it is better to be safe than sorry.
He strolled to Was-Grounded and whispered to him and Green-Wings, not wanting to scare anyone else.
"Should we help the hatchling hatch?"
"What? Why?" Was-Grounded asked.
He nodded at the still egg, "Because it is not moving. The little one might need help. It is better to help it than not if it needs the help."
Was-Grounded stared at the egg for a couple seconds and then growled softly, "Yes, we should. Green-Wings?"
She purred in agreement and flicked out a claw which she started carefully tapping against the eggshell along the largest cracks.
"What is happening?" Aurora asked in wonder.
"We are helping the hatchling hatch," Was-Grounded explained.
He purred in agreement, "Helping the hatchling hatch is not the normal way of life, but this is good. Even the small deserve life. Always remember that."
They all hummed in thought and gave nods or purrs of agreement as everyone focused on the egg.
"Come on, little one. You are strong," Green-Wings hummed.
The hatchling chirped, a weak sound which was heard by all in the silence, and started working on the shell again, tapping and chipping away at the egg.
"Almost there," Was-Grounded purred.
The top half of the grey egg broke as a tiny dark head with teal eyes appeared with a soft chirp. The small female, still mostly trapped in the egg, was gently nuzzled by Green-Wings and Was-Grounded, both of whom then helped peel away the shards of egg.
Finally, everything was done, and Green-Wings had a perfectly healthy but small female hatchling resting at her chest and coiled in her tail. The hatchling was being cleaned and was gnawing on the fish he had brought and chewed on for her.
"She is small," Aurora hummed, leaning in to see her.
Green-Wings purred deeply, "Your new nestmate sister. Wind-Dancer is her name."
"I will play with her much and help her grow big! She will be like me!" Aurora declared.
Rain-Eater huffed, "Do not forget about us. We will help too."
"I cannot have you twisting her thinking with brother-thinking," Aurora teased.
Mist-Wings chuckled.
Shadowwing just rolled his eyes and waited as Green-Wings let Valka stroke Wind-Dancer. Wind-Dancer was completely unconcerned and even seemed to like the attention. Her hatching had been a little more dramatic than he thought it would be, but everything worked out in the end.
Shadowwing was ready to turn in. All the children were either asleep or were talking on their own and taunting each other.
Was-Grounded caught his eye and nodded toward the ledge, so he followed him over there and sat down with him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"She needed the help. She is smaller than the other children were. I was starting to wonder about the hatching myself," Was-Grounded sighed.
"Having Luna as my life-mate made me think about that need to give help. But you and I both understand why the natural way is not always best," he explained.
"We do. Our little Wind-Dancer," Was-Grounded whispered.
Shadowwing smirked.
Hold on. There has to be a story behind this name.
"Wind-Dancer? Why that name?"
Was-Grounded purred, "The skies above were very windy when we flew together."
Shadowwing snorted and slapped his brother's tail, "You were both up there for... how many sun-cycles?"
"A week of being watchers together."
"Yes, I am sure that you were both watching the waters very much. A great-tusk could have swam in the waters and walked onto the island, and you would not have seen it."
They both laughed.
"Most of my children have above-world names, and we made all their eggs in the above. Doing the same with this last one felt good," Was-Grounded added.
"I understand."
"Now you and Luna need to hatch your egg without any problems."
"We will in two more moon-cycles. Life should be peaceful until then."
Together, they glanced back at the ledge and everyone on it. Having new hatchlings would make the ledge feel more familiar to them and would also mean more living together, at least for the moms and the hatchlings. But everyone was already used to that.
They went to their respective families: Was-Grounded to Green-Wings and tiny Wind-Dancer, and himself to Luna and the egg. He lay down at her side and covered her with a wing, though he winced slightly at the annoying twinge in his chest.
Grr, will that ever stop?
"How is Wind-Dancer?" Luna whispered.
"Well. She is sleeping and ate all the fish she could."
Luna hummed, "Good, I like that they made her in the above. I say we should do that next time, whenever next time is."
He knew that might not happen for a very long time, but that was a topic for very far into the future. For now, he was glad that everything in and around New Haven was peaceful again. Nothing had gone wrong after all.
Author's Note – Cut scenes are in To Fly The Winds Of Life chapter 12.