Warning
Shadowwing glumly nodded and retreated to Luna's side. He had asked Aurora to go search the passage and the cavern which led up to the island. She had just returned and told him she found Hidden-Hope's scent in that ascending cavern, which left no doubt what had happened.
His daughter had run away, likely flown after Valka, Dawn-Singer, and Flies-With-Sun on their mission to a distant trading post. That happened over a full waking-cycle ago, and with that much headstart there was no point in him going after her.
He collapsed beside Luna and lay his head on his paws.
"So? Any news?" Luna warbled, visibly very worried.
"We were right. She flew to the above, probably following Dawn-Singer, Kin-liver, and your sister."
Luna groaned, holding Flower-Eater close as he dozed, "It could be worse. She could have flown to other ranges in the hidden world. She will follow them. I... I hope she joins flights with the others. They will keep her safer."
"But there are two-legs above! They will try to hunt her, kill her, or-"
She hissed, silencing him, "Do not be twisted. She has her fire and fade. She can always stay hidden from them."
He just groaned, staring into the distance as his thoughts wandered.
Why had his daughter run away? What was she thinking to be so irresponsible, rebellious, and disobedient? Had she been tricking him with her being responsible and working harder recently? It was possible, and she would need to be severely punished for this!
But why had she fled on her own? How many times had she asked to go on a flight beyond the safe chamber? The only time she had gone beyond was that one occasion when he took her up to the island to be a watcher. She had been in awe of everything about the above, probably so much that she wanted to go back up there.
It wasn't as though she needed to prove herself, go out there to make her mark on the world, and... and… and-
Oh gods.
She did the same thing he used to do in the dragon raids: running out into the chaos, messing up the battles, and causing problems for others. Had he done that because he felt insufficient compared to his father and had wanted, no, needed to do something both to gain his approval and prove himself?
His daughter was the same.
She was growing up, now being almost the same size Rain-Eater and Mist-Wings were when Was-Grounded had them be the watcher alone. His brother, while protective of his children, let them fly more on their own or in a pack without a parent watching and protecting them.
Trying to keep her safe had certainly led to her feeling trapped. She kept asking to do more and see more, but he kept pushing back against that, not ready to let her go and do anything. She could probably have gone with the other Fury children on their adventure into the beyond. Keeping her safe became an excuse for stifling her, which made her feel like she needed to act out.
Like father, like son. After everything he tried to do better, he made the same mistakes after all.
"This is my fault," he whispered.
"What?"
"I forced her to fly away by not trusting her more. I kept her feeling trapped here. I did this."
Luna growled and whipped her tail, striking his flank, "She chose to fly away from us. From both of us. We are both responsible for her."
"You did not make her feel trapped. She kept asking me if she could do more, fly more, see more, and I always said no. I wanted to keep her safe, too safe."
She grumbled, "Maybe so, but I did not see that problem either. She must have been… unhappy somehow, and I did not see it. We both failed her, so what are we going to do about it when she comes back?"
What were they going to do about it when she returned? A talk was absolutely necessary, for one. Punishment? Probably, if she hadn't learned her lesson another way. But would punishment be counterproductive in this case?
Neither of them said anything else for a long time. He felt no need to add anything else, as it wouldn't change anything. Nothing would change how he had failed his daughter and pushed her away, just as his own father had with him.
Luna softly spoke, breaking the silence, "Being cold does not help, my love."
"What can help?" he shrugged.
"Maybe we can sing a song. Do you know any good ones?" she proposed.
He considered possibilities, rejecting many of the Nord war-songs and drinking-songs. None of those felt appropriate for the situation or for dragons.
One particular song came to mind. The words in the song needed to be changed to make the song more draconic and fitting for them both, but that wasn't difficult.
"Here is one my sire-father and dam-mother would sing to each other for pair-bonding. Changing the words to be good for sky-kin it goes like this. I will glide and soar on great skies, with not a fear of falling, and gladly fly the winds of life, if you will be my mate. No burning sun or biting cold, will stop me on my flight, if you will promise me your love, and fly with me for all time," he sang.
She purred, "Very liver-warming. And you know I will."
He chuckled, "Good, but there is more to the song. You should sing next."
"What should I sing?"
He hummed in thought until the words came easily, "My dearest one, my Shadowwing, your great words amaze me, but I've no need of such great things, if I feel your wings around me."
She repeated after him.
"Now my turn. But I will bring you... piles of fish, I will even sing you songs, and I will keep you always safe, if you will fly beside me. Now your words: I do not need your piles of fish, I care not for your songs, I only want your tail to hold, I only want you with me."
She repeated her lines while chuckling, certainly amused.
"Now we sing together. To love, to hum, to closely hold, for the dancing and the dreaming, through all the chills and warmths of life, I will keep your love beside me. I will glide and soar on great skies, with not a fear of falling, and gladly fly the winds of life, if you will be my mate."
They sang together several times until she could mostly remember her lines.
Singing helped a lot, though it was only a pleasant distraction which didn't actually change anything. All that could help would be their daughter returning to them, and then... he wasn't sure what would happen with her. Something would have to change; that much was certain.
Moon-Dancer lounged by a clear pool while Mist-Wings, Night-Light, and Rock-Climber swam to relax after a long waking-cycle. He was too worried and liver-chilled to join them.
Why had his twisted sister flown off alone? She was likely flying after Kin-liver, Dawn-Singer, and Flies-With-Sun, but the fact remained that she kept what she was planning a secret.
What she had done was twisted, stupid, and maybe a little brave, but she could have told someone so that sire-father and dam-mother would not feel very liver-chilled and afraid for her. She had not even trusted him, her big brother!
Rain-Eater and Flies-Bravely arrived and spoke to his kin, who got out of the water and shook themselves dry.
Mist-Wings ran to him, "Bro, what are you thinking about?"
"Why my nestmate sister is twisted. I do not know why she would fly away."
She groaned, "Neither do I. Rain had a good idea to help with everything."
"What is it?"
"He wants us to join a deep caves and sky-kin game. Flies-Bravely will be doing the game for the first time. Your great-parents want to watch us play a game."
He liked the idea. Losing himself in a game would help him not think about his missing sister. His great-parents had never seen one of these games either. He could help explain the game to them.
"Good idea. Where are we playing?"
"At Erevan and Helga's home-den. They wanted to do a game while their life-bond friends are away."
Flies-Bravely was very confused by the rules of this game at first. It involved a lot of numbers and thinking about places, ranges, and situations which were not truly real. Numbers were the confusing part. Thinking beyond the number of claws she had was difficult. But the thinking about places that only were in the head or the liver, that she was very familiar with and enjoyed.
How many waking-cycles had she dreamed about what was beyond her old pack? Imagined distant ranges with light-rocks and warm-livered kin? Seen herself gliding freely down long stretches of safe ranges.
"And I can pretend to be anything?" she whispered to Rain-Eater, sitting beside her.
Everyone who was playing was gathered in a clearing outside a den on the lower level of the shared-nest. Erevan and Helga had even brought a large bowl-cauldron of soup and some fish for everyone to eat while playing.
"Yes, even a ground-kin, if you want. It is twisting to pretend to not have wings, but it might help you understand their life if you live in their scales through the game."
"They have scales?"
She had never seen any on them. Maybe ground-kin had very small scales.
He chuckled, "No, it is a saying that could also be 'live in their hides'. Pretend to be them."
"I understand. What are my options? What do we need for a good game-pack?"
He asked the other game players what they were being. Moon-Dancer was being a wyvern, which was apparently a kind of sky-kin that only had two legs, though the ground-kin debated whether it was truly a sky-kin. Alvor and Safiya were a two-headed gas-breather where each of them was one of the heads. Mist-Wings was being what the ground-kin called a sorcerer, which apparently was a ground-kin with life-will-powers. Erevan and Helga had made the decision to play the game as ground-kin instead of sky-kin.
Meanwhile, Hope-In-His-Liver and Paws-At-Bright-Flowers were cuddling with Flower-Eater and watching everyone else.
Rain-Eater hummed in thought, "Your group will need a big, strong fighter. You could be a ground-kin or a boulder-class sky-kin."
He described how she would play, what the fighting-moves were, and the importance of chance in tossing or nosing around what they called the dice. The best plan could fail or succeed because of what was completely out of control, because of pure chance. She knew that all too well.
If she had not been picked as one of the females to offer to Shadowwing and Was-Grounded, she would still be in that trap-pack and destined to be a Helper to unknown and unwanted males. The bad luck of being selected had turned out to be very good luck.
While it was relaxing to lay with good fellow sky-kin and the ground-kin she was getting to know better, her thoughts kept flying to Rain-Eater.
It was very clear that he was an inside-thinking sky-kin. He was not forceful with others, thought much more than others did, and was very sharp in his thinking. He knew numbers and twisted ideas that had no lift in her head, but some of that might be because her prior pack did not see much importance in teaching females to think or ask questions. Obedience and compliance was all that was necessary.
He was also different from many of the males from before in that he seemed uninterested in anything related to mates. Every time she asked him about what he wanted out in the future, he responded with answers that did not hint at any desire for a mate.
It was amusing to see how he interacted with his life-bond friend, Safiya. They teased each other and liked playing word-games to test each other's thinking. They also enjoyed playing roughly as if they were nestmates, not counting size differences and their being different types of life.
All in all, Rain-Eater was confusing in a pleasant way. Any time used around him, even if not doing anything important, was time used well, even if it was confusing like this game. Everyone else who knew the rules looked like they enjoyed the game. She would probably enjoy it too, in time.
"Gobberr, you therre?" Shadowwing asked, standing outside Gobber's smithy.
He knew Gobber was home since Jingles was dozing nearby. There was an odd crashing sound coming from within.
"Not if ya have work for me!" Gobber replied from inside.
"Inn a way I do."
Gobber strolled outside. His prosthetic arm had a large hammer.
"What'ss with the hammerr?"
"Oh this? I was practicin' fer the tourney! I've gotta place well, obviously! Everyone's gonna be there. "
Gobber swung his prosthetic arm around in wild arcs before swinging overhead and slamming into the ground with a thud. He tugged and pulled, unable to get the hammer out of the ground.
"Imprressive. The dirrt will fearr you. Wannt to take a walk annd talk?"
"Bet I know why ya want ta talk too."
Gobber unscrewed the hammer from his prosthetic before joining him on a leisurely stroll through New Haven until no one else was in earshot.
He exhaled and glanced at a nearby crystal, noting that it glowed with a faint teal, the same as his daughter's eyes.
"Why elsse. I'm worrrried about herr. What am I goinng to do about herr? Sshe'ss alwayss beenn... differrennt frrom my otherr kidss."
"Eh, maybe so. Moon-Dancer and Night-Light aren't so rebellious, sure. Worryin' about her doesn't help. She's got ta be with her gran, Dawn-Singer, and Flies-With-Sun."
"Nnot what I meannt. How did I go sso wrronng with herr?"
Gobber flicked his nearest ear, "Eh, what's this about?"
He grumbled and faced Gobber, "I musst have made herr feel trrapped herre. I could have trrussted herr morre."
"Well, she has been actin' out fer a long time. Innocent stuff like lettin' the cattle free, mostly. Some kids are jus' rebellious and go through a phase. I remember someone else who used ta cause problems cause he wanted attention."
He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Inn my defennsse, I wannted to help defennd everryonne too, but yess, I wannted dad to nnotice me."
Gobber stopped walking and crossed his arms, frowning at him, "And what makes ya think he didn't? Every time ya screwed up, got lost, or had ta be rescued, who do ya think he came to ta talk about it?"
"I meannt I wannted him to nnotice me forr beinng a ssuccess annd helpinng."
"Ya don't appreciate how much he did notice ya. All yer inventions, when they weren't destroyin' tha village anyway, were special. Yeah, he coulda' better appreciated that ya were tryin', and he could have done a better job of showin' you that he cared."
"He made misstakess with me, but I made misstakess with him too. I didnn't help him unnderrsstannd me eitherr."
Gobber gently bopped him on the nose, "So ya both were at fault fer that. I know you tried ta do yer best with her. Ya took her up ta see the above. She liked that. Told me so herself."
"It sstill feelss like I could have donne ssomethinng differrennt with herr. Herr beinng my daughterr, I rreally wannted to keep herr safe, too much prrobably."
Gobber lay his remaining hand on his shoulder, "Yer father, well, he could be too stubborn and boar-headed, so much that he didn't know when he was wrong and tryin' ta make ya somethin' ya weren't, twice. Yer not him. She'll be back, don't worry about that, and you can punish her as she deserves: with responsibility."
That wasn't quite the answer he thought Gobber would give.
"Anny ideass?"
"She's got her fire-breath, so how about we put that ta good use? She could help me with firin' the clay pots an' other forge work. We always need more of those. Worst that happens is she breaks some pots by overheatin' them. Start with smaller responsibilities and let her work her way up. Show some trust in her. And the next time the other Furies head out together you can put her in their group and-"
Gobber paused, staring into the distance and twisting his mustache, which he usually did when he was deep in thought.
"Gobberrrr?"
"Eh, sorry. Just had the strangest feelin' like I've said all this before. Oh well, don' you go thinkin' yer a bad dad or a failure. Yer not perfect. No one is."
As usual, Gobber's advice made total sense. It was as though Gobber had plenty of experience with giving advice on such topics, which he certainly did.
"Good idea. I will talk to herr about thiss afterr sshe getss back."
"Wonderful! Wanna come help flame some pottery ta take yer mind off things fer a while?"
"Ssurre."
Was-Grounded yawned, very comfortable upon a light-rock when he saw wings far out in the distance of the darker part of the range. His hope, that this flight was his son, Kin-liver, and Flies-With-Sun returning with Hidden-Hope, was quickly flamed away when he saw that this was a flight of all Light Furies.
Strange Light Furies never flew openly in his range. They might send one Far-Flier or a scout, but not a large flight of males. There were over ten, but there was not enough time to count precisely how many.
He spun around and flew with speed but no fear. Flies-Bravely's prior warning that she had been visited in secret by a Far-Flier from her old pack did not bode well. There was a good chance that these Light Furies were from her old pack. If the Light Furies were a threat, he and his kin had to be ready to act together.
Upon a flat ledge well outside New Haven, Shadowwing and Was-Grounded sat with Luna and Green-Wings at their sides. Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, Moon-Dancer, and Flies-Bravely sat together behind them. Luna's parents entertained Wind-Dancer and Flower-Eater elsewhere, and Moon-Pinner and Night-Light were being occupied by Erevan and Helga within New Haven, just in case the meeting went poorly.
Shadowwing stared back at the narrowed yellow eyes of the Light Fury Alpha. This same Alpha took multiple mates, controlled his pack through fear and brainwashing, and tried to trick him and his brother into misusing a very personal part of life. This Alpha was, despite his outward politeness and twisted generosity, extremely dangerous. Further, the Alpha brought fifteen companions with him, all of whom were strong males. Of course, male Light Furies were not as big and strong as male Night Furies, but these ones looked like his personal guards or warriors and were surely competent in combat.
Shadowwing slightly bent his head, "Alpha of... your pack, welcome to our range. New-Haven-Pack welcomes you, though we did not expect you to want to come here."
The Alpha yawned, "Did you not? What a warming surprise this must be. Maybe we got off on the wrong paw at our first meeting. I know we have customs you do not approve of, but the same is true for us looking at you. Still, we did not strike at you."
"No, you would never try to trick us into doing what we never wanted," he calmly retorted.
Alpha blinked, certainly understanding the insinuation, "If you cannot remember doing something, did you truly do anything? No matter. Who is this light wing with you? Would you introduce me to her?"
"She can introduce herself."
Luna purr-growled, holding her head high, "My name is Luna. Shadowwing is my life-mate."
Green-Wings huffed, "And I am Green-Wings! Was-Grounded is my life-mate."
Alpha chuckled, looking between them, "You must be a very special females if you can keep Alphas' interest all to yourselves. The things you must need to do for them to keep them pleased with you."
He growled, "All they must do for us is be themselves. Why are you here? I doubt you flew all this way just to meet our life-mates."
"No, I came here to thank you for helping me."
"How did we help you?" Was-Grounded asked.
"You found something that my pack lost. One of my pack's Helpers went missing after your visit to us."
Shadowwing shrugged, "You lost one of your own? That is liver-chilling. Everyone in your pack must be very upset that your Helper is gone."
"They are. The pack is all, and the pack must keep and protect its own. We searched for her in our territory and surrounding ranges, but we could not find her. This was terrible, and we feared she might have died or been lost. Then I heard from one of my Far-Fliers that the Helper was found in your range. You have been keeping her safe for us. For this, I thank you."
Was-Grounded grumbled, "I am confused. You found one of your pack in our territory? That is impossible. We know everyone here. All the sky-kin are part of our pack."
Alpha's eyes narrowed, "You know who I am talking about. The same Helper who... provided for you in the cave is sitting right over there!"
Shadowwing glanced back at Flies-Bravely and feigned surprise, "Flies-Bravely was part of your pack? What a surprise. She never mentioned she was part of your pack before leaving it. I guess it is possible."
"She tended to you in the cave. You knew who she was!" Alpha objected.
He yawned, "You must be confused. We met her in the ranges well outside your territory. Maybe she left your pack and found us afterwards? Anyway, why are you here?"
"I am here to reclaim her and bring her back to my pack where she belongs."
A tense silence followed that pronouncement. The Alpha's fighters shuffled on their paws, clearly uneasy.
Shadowwing chuckled, "You have some unclear thinking. We turned away that tending you offered us, so we would not know the females who you sent to us. Your pack's naming customs also make it difficult to remember specific sky-kin when none of them have their own names."
The Alpha grumbled and paced, "Is that so? What is your story for how you found her?"
Was-Grounded huffed and rolled a paw, flicking his claws in and out, "I do not see why we must explain ourselves to you, but it will probably clear up this confusion. As Shadowwing said, we were flying back to our ranges. We stopped to rest when a light wing appeared and flew to us. She said her name was Flies-Bravely and that she was packless. We offered to allow her into our pack after telling her what life was like here. She accepted, and now she is living with us. End of story."
Shadowwing nodded, "And even if it is true that she was in your pack before, she is not anymore. If she left your pack because she wanted a better life somewhere else and found it here, I do not see how she is your concern anymore."
The Alpha Light Fury growled softly, "It is my concern because if I let the pack know that the pack will fail to bring back its own, our unity will be threatened. Not bringing her back will disturb the peace. For the good of the pack, I cannot allow that. I must return her to the pack."
Was-Grounded growled, "And I say that is not your decision to make. It is her choice what she wants, so we should hear from her. Flies-Bravely!"
Flies-Bravely slowly approached and stood between him and Was-Grounded. All eyes went to her.
"You heard about the confusion. Would you tell everyone what happened and how we found you?" Shadowwing purred in encouragement.
Flies-Bravely looked from him to her former Alpha and down to her paws. She didn't immediately answer, but she calmed herself and eventually answered.
"I... it is true. I fled from this Alpha's pack. I remembered hearing good about the Beyond. Ranges where we females are not seen as things to use. Sky-kin who respect each other. Alphas that do not control and twist the thinking of hatchlings and fledglings! So I wanted out."
Alpha barked in anger, "So you admit fleeing with them!"
"No! I... tricked them too. You knew they turned me and the others away when you sent us to them to get eggs! I... escaped when Fighters were changing their watching-groups. I flew to get away from your pack, and I found Shadowwing and Was-Grounded resting on their own. Around them I pretended to be packless, and they accepted me into their pack."
Alpha stared unblinkingly at her, "Very clever of you. But are you sure you do not want to return to the pack where you belong? Think about your dam. She misses you. What does she want you to do?"
Flies-Bravely sharply inhaled and froze before answering, "I... do not care. Your pack is not my pack anymore."
Shadowwing purred, laying a wing over her back as he faced the Light Fury Alpha, "You heard her. You can leave us in pack-peace. Would you like us to offer you fish-gifts for your returning flight? I promise we will not put anything rotted or twisted in the fish!"
Alpha grumbled, "You do not seem to understand. This is a problem. You keeping one of mine is like an attack on my pack, which I cannot just forget. Others will question why I did not bring her back."
He took a deep breath, certain that this was a crucial moment. Giving up Flies-Bravely was unacceptable on principle. There was no going back on what they had decided when they accepted her as one of them.
"And you trying to take her is an attack on our pack," he calmly said.
They stared each other down, neither blinking or looking away in a test of wills.
"That is a problem for both of us," the Alpha said, his tail twitching.
"It would be. However, we know why you do not want her back. Not only is she one of our pack, but she has also taken a life-mate. As I understand your pack's ceremonies, that makes her one you do not want anyway."
The Alpha glared at him, his yellow eyes narrowed in thinly-veiled anger, "Is that so? Where is this mate of hers?"
Was-Grounded spun around and barked for Rain-Eater. Rain-Eater calmly approached, slipping in between him and Flies-Bravely.
"What is your name, dark wing?" Alpha growled.
"Rain-Eater."
"Rain-Eater, this light wing is your mate?"
Rain-Eater blinked, clearly uneasy in his presence, "She is."
Alpha slowly started approaching, his gaze narrowed on Rain-Eater.
"What are you doing?" Was-Grounded growled.
"Scenting them to learn if he is lying. He has nothing to hide, does he not?"
Was-Grounded stepped a pace toward the Alpha, "You will not threaten them."
Alpha paused and glanced at Rain-Eater, "Fine. Will you swear on your wings that you and the Helper are a pair?"
Rain-Eater hesitated before answering, "Yes, I... swear."
Was-Grounded continued, "You heard them! They are together and will not leave each other. You have no claim to her anymore."
Surprisingly, the Alpha appeared to relax, stepping back a couple paces as he looked to Flies-Bravely.
"Helper, you have broken the most important pack-rules all must follow. You fled the safe ranges for the Beyond, you use wrong and not-allowed words, and you took a mate. There is nothing the pack can do to help one as fouled as you. You are packless and worthless to us!"
His packmates all roared in unison, "Packless!"
Unsurprisingly, Flies-Bravely did not look disappointed at all. Instead, she looked relieved, since it was obvious that the Alpha was renouncing his claim on her.
The Alpha spun to face his packmates, "We are flying to our ranges. Go. I will follow."
His followers obediently took flight and turned for the distant exit. The Alpha calmly approached him and Was-Grounded while Flies-Bravely and Rain-Eater returned to everyone else.
The Alpha settled down and adopted a mild tone, "We will still have pack-peace, but I hope you do not threaten my pack again. I know what truly happened here. You played a clever game, and it worked for you this time."
Shadowwing calmly answered, "This worked for everyone. You get to save your status in your twisted pack, and she is free of you. No fighting needed."
The Alpha huffed, "You do not seem to understand the rules of how packs normally interact, but you are new to these ranges, so I will explain it. A claw for a claw, a wing for a wing, a life for a life is fair. Do not try to take from anyone again, or they might try to do the same to you."
Shadowwing shrugged, "We do not keep anyone trapped here, unlike you. All of our pack stay here because they are known and loved. They are free to leave... if they want."
The Alpha chuckled, looking from Luna to Green-Wings, "With how many young you have, your mates must be very wanted and busy. We are not so different, my pack and your pack."
"How do you mean?" Shadowwing asked, thoroughly confused how that could be remotely accurate.
"You use your females to get many eggs from them, and we use ours for pleasure and comfort. There is no difference."
Luna and Green-Wings bared their teeth, though they didn't move a paw.
"None you would appreciate or understand. I doubt you love your own mates," Shadowwing growled.
The Alpha snorted and turned aside, "Love is a useful trick to make females think they are more than things we use. You deceive yourselves if you think otherwise. Warm flights."
The Alpha took flight after his followers barely visible far off in the chamber.
Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, Luna, and Green-Wings relaxed as he flew off, though they kept glaring until he was entirely gone from view.
"Do you all hate him as much as I do?" Shadowwing growled.
"That depends how much you hate him, and I hate him very much," Luna hissed.
Green-Wings snorted, "Things males use: what a pile of hot waste!"
"If we ever meet him outside his pack's territory, he might have an accident," Was-Grounded smirked.
"I would help you make sure he has an accident," Shadowwing gladly added.
They turned back for everyone else still there. All their present children had similarly relaxed and were whispering among themselves.
Was-Grounded trotted to Rain-Eater and Flies-Bravely first and addressed her, "Well done. They should not be a problem for you anymore."
She hummed and bent her head to him and Shadowwing, "Thank you, my Alphas."
Shadowwing softly purred to her, "Did you mean what you said that you do not care about your dam-mother?"
"I do care about her, some, but she wanted to forget herself in that pack. I cannot have her in my life and me not be in that pack, so I had to choose what is best for me."
"As you should."
Shadowwing faced Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, and Moon-Dancer. While they had all been part of the group-adventure and had seen, in various degrees, distasteful practices among the one Light Fury pack they had met, they probably hadn't expected to hear what they did here. So many of the customs this Light Fury pack accepted were absolutely opposed to what he, his brother, and their loved ones modeled for their children.
"Do you have any questions about everything you just heard?"
Aurora faced Flies-Bravely, "I understand why you left that pack. You have my permission to chase my brother as your future mate."
Flies-Bravely chuckled, looking down to her paws, "We are not that, but thank you anyway."
Rain-Eater looked confused or worried as he spoke up, "Sire-father, can I talk to you alone?"
Was-Grounded started in surprise and nodded aside. He and Rain-Eater trotted away together and began whispering.
Hmm, what's that about?
Aurora grumbled, "Uncle, is that Alpha what most male Light Furies are like?"
"No, why do you think that?" Shadowwing asked.
"Remember what I said about the Alpha in New-Strength-Pack?"
He remembered well. That Alpha male Light Fury also took multiple mates, had tried to pressure Aurora into being with him, and had refused any further negotiations after she turned him down. That no agreement was made with that pack wasn't a great loss, since it was very distant from New Haven and had unfriendly leadership.
"I do. Maybe... only very aggressive and biting ones get to be Alphas. We met others that are not like him at all, but they are not Alphas."
Was-Grounded and Rain-Eater returned to them after their father-son talk. He was curious what that talk was about, though it wasn't his business.
He settled in with Luna while Green-Wings went to Was-Grounded.
"What is everyone doing next?" he asked.
Rain-Eater yawned, "Some of us were in a deep caves and sky-kin game. Our friends will be waiting for us."
Was-Grounded grumbled, "Should someone go be the watcher above? We have not done that in many moon-cycles."
Good point, we should start that up again.
Shadowwing faced Flies-Bravely, "Do you want to go see that world up above?"
She ruffled her wings and stepped back a pace, "Not yet. I am happy staying here, and I would want someone else to go with me when I do fly there."
"Okay, anyone else want to go?"
Aurora huffed, "Not me. But Mist-Wings said she wanted to go up there next to see the new-life season."
Mist-Wings purred, "If I must!"
Was-Grounded was concerned about what Rain-Eater wanted to talk about. The timing of his son asking to talk to him, coming right after the topic of him and Flies-Bravely, made it likely that he was concerned about that possibility. Rain-Eater was very unlike Dawn-Singer at the same time in life in that Rain-Eater did not consider finding a mate to be very important. Dawn-Singer had thought very much about that, which was probably part of why he and Flies-With-Sun became a pair quickly soon they met.
"What is it, son?" he asked.
Rain-Eater stared into the distance, "I lied for her. I said on my wings that she and I were mates."
"Yes, what is the problem?"
"But, sire-father, I broke the most important words-promise there is! I can never make that promise again!"
He refrained from laughing at what Rain-Eater was worried about. His son was clearly concerned about this, for some reason, so considering it carefully and seriously was important.
"It is not that simple. When you make a promise on your wings, you should never break it or lie. But you did not lie to help yourself. You lied to help her and to keep the peace between our packs. You did not lie to any of your kin. Was the lie you told bad? I do not think so, but even if it was bad, the other option would be much worse. Better to step on a rotted fish than to step in a pile of waste."
Rain-Eater considered his words, took a deep breath, and purred in visible relief, "Okay, I wanted to hear it from you to make sure I was not... being twisted."
He gently shoved his son's shoulder with a paw, "Rain-Eater, you have some twisted-thinking, like the game-flights and how you can think about numbers, but you have good liver-thinking. I and your dam-mother have no doubt of that."
Was-Grounded trotted to greet Mist-Wings as she landed in the clearing many of his kin were occupying. Green-Wings was dozing with Wind-Dancer, while Shadowwing and Luna were doing the same with Flower-Eater. Hope-In-His-Liver and Paws-At-Bright flowers were occupying Night-Light and Moon-Pinner. Everyone else was on their own throughout New Haven and the surrounding range, going about whatever they wanted to do.
"Ready to go?" he purred.
"Yes, we finished the game," Mist-Wings answered.
He never understood the deep caves and sky-kin game or the appeal of it. But it was enough that his children enjoyed it and used the game to bond with each other and their ground-kin.
"How did that game go?"
She chuckled, "Well enough. Flies-Bravely had fun pretending to be a ground-kin in the game. She likes Rain-Eater already."
He purred, pleased and amused, "Why do you think so?"
"She stares at him longer than she needs to. She stays close to him and looks away when I see her staring. Maybe they are just friends already, but there is more."
"I hope so. They would be good for each other."
She rolled her eyes, "If he will ever do anything about it."
He chuckled, "Watch for Hidden-Hope too while you are up there."
She nodded, "I will fly back here with her if I find her."
She flew off for the above, and he returned to Green-Wings, covering her with a wing. Nothing was more important than getting rest after a long couple waking-cycles filled with concern from Hidden-Hope flying away on her own and from the unwelcome visit by the thought-rotted Alpha Light Fury.
Was-Grounded glided down to the ground past a waterfall and mist that covered his wings. He landed as most of his kin jumped out of the forest. Rain-Eater walked to him while standing upright like a ground-kin.
"Roll the dice!" Rain-Eater barked, pawing forward several dice.
He nosed the dice over, and Rain-Eater laughed after looking at the result, "Ha, you get to be a ground-kin!"
What? He was a ground-kin? Impossible.
But his wings, tail, scales, and sharp claws were gone. His paws held before his face were ground-kin paws! He was even wearing ground-kin furs!
"What just happened?" he asked, feeling his wrong-shape face.
"It is part of the game!"
"I do not like this game! It is twisted!" he huffed, crossing his wrong-arms.
"Twisted!" "Twisted!" "Twisted!" everyone laughed, tails thrashing.
Was he stuck like this: as a two-leg? That would be terrible, wrong, rotted, and NO!
Fear swelling inside. Panic grew as the laughing, touched with something that was not amusement, continued. But all his kin were gone. No one was there. No help.
Alone.
Terror.
Pain.
He woke up, flew to his paws, and leaped into the sky without looking back.