Compromise
Flies-With-Sun barked, getting everyone's attention as Dawn-Singer went to stand with her, laying a wing over her back.
"Everyone! We want to speak!" Flies-With-Sun roared.
Shadowwing, Luna, Was-Grounded, and Green-Wings trotted to them.
Shadowwing had been busy in New Haven helping to resolve a dispute when Dawn-Singer had arrived and asked him to join everyone else outside the village. This was clearly an important announcement since they wanted all the parents and siblings there.
"What is it?" Luna purred after he arrived.
Flies-With-Sun smugly purred, "Dawn-Singer and I have another egg!"
Luna, Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, Hope-In-His-Liver, Paws-At-Bright-Flowers, and Moon-Pinner dashed to her and Dawn-Singer, shouting and nuzzling them both in congratulations. Moon-Pinner looked very excited by the prospect of becoming a big sister.
Amused, Shadowwing let them have their moment before he found an opening to approach after everyone settled down a little, though tails didn't stop swaying wildly.
"Dawn-Singer, Flies-With-Sun, well flown! This is a liver-warming surprise!" he said.
Dawn-Singer chuckled, "We have already decided on a name. This one will be Hides-In-Clouds."
Luna smirked, "Do I need to guess why?"
Dawn-Singer appeared very smug, "We flew a chase in the above, and I found her hiding in a cloud!"
Shadowwing laughed freely, amused by the parallel between that name and another one.
He leaned closer to whisper to Dawn-Singer and Flies-With-Sun, "Take a guess why Moon-Dancer has his name!"
Luna whipped him with her tail, but she also laughed.
Aurora pranced up to them, having kept her distance so far.
"Brother, second-sister, I am warmed for you," Aurora purred.
"Truly?" Dawn-Singer asked, as if surprised.
"Why would I not be? Flies-With-Sun, I will gladly help you sit the egg or watch the hatchling, if you want the help."
Flies-With-Sun purred at Aurora, "You have our thanks. Between me, Dawn-Singer, Luna, and my parents I think we have enough egg-sitters and hatchling-sitters, but your help is always welcome too!"
With the announcement and congratulations given, everyone started to depart to wherever they had been before everyone was summoned. Flies-With-Sun, Dawn-Singer, and Moon-Pinner went off with Luna's parents.
However, he, Luna, Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, and Rain-Eater remained behind, mostly because Rain-Eater asked for them to stay.
Rain-Eater faced them, looking serious, "You know what this means? We will probably have two eggs this season-cycle. That means my guesses about our numbers will be even more wrong. There are still season-cycles before the food-problem becomes too big, but we have less time."
Shadowwing groaned, all the lighthearted happiness from Dawn-Singer's and Flies-With-Sun's announcement gone. He and everyone else had been putting off the sustainability problem for years now. Continuing to delay would only make the inevitable solution, whatever it was, more difficult.
"I do not have any very good plans. We could try to make an agreement with the packless Light Furies to let ground-kin live with them. Maybe a ground-kin family could live with a willing Light Fury family," he proposed.
Was-Grounded objected, "There are problems with that. The packless Light Furies do not answer to one Alpha. We would need to make peace with many of the different family-packs, all without knowing which of those packs are peaceful to each other. We do not know how many of those Light Furies would try to kill ground-kin. That range is also closer to the hidden Night Furies. Some of them would probably want to hunt and kill ground-kin."
He nodded, agreeing that there were many risks in that proposal, "Another possibility is, and I do not like this one at all, we could talk to the other Light Fury pack."
Was-Grounded and Green-Wings growled, baring their teeth.
"I agree this is not a plan we want, but think about it. They live in ranges protected from most others, they have food sky-kin do not eat but which ground-kin do eat, and they are one pack instead of many. We could try to make a trade with them."
Was-Grounded snarled, "With that Alpha? You know what he would demand: that we give him one of our daughters first!"
That was... probably accurate. The Alpha had already shown himself to be ruthless, manipulative, and vengeful. Given his desire for Dawn Furies, probably as a sign of how strong his pack was, he would likely demand either Mist-Wings or Aurora.
Green-Wings rumbled, staring at her paws, "He also might demand that one of our sons or you both give his pack eggs."
"Not happening!" Was-Grounded huffed.
"He probably would, and we would refuse him. But what if he does not?" he protested.
Was-Grounded clawed at the grass underpaw, "I will not meet with him except to threaten him! Do not ask me to meet him in peace. I cannot."
While Was-Grounded was being stubborn and not entirely diplomatic, it was also entirely understandable of him. That Alpha was sure to demand unacceptable terms as part of any agreement.
Luna spoke up, "I agree that we cannot trust that pack at all. Not with it being controlled by that Alpha."
Shadowwing relented, "Okay, so sharing territory with the Light Fury pack is not an option. The only other option is to have some of us fly more flights to search for a good range. Do you have any ideas?"
Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, and Luna were silent. The option to send people back out into the mysterious reaches of the hidden world wasn't desirable at all.
Rain-Eater took a deep breath and slowly spoke, "I have an idea."
Everyone looked to him, silently gesturing for him to continue.
"You might not like it," Rain-Eater added.
He shrugged, "None of the options we have are good. What is it?"
Rain-Eater nodded and sat on his haunches, "Have some of the ground-kin make a nest on the island above."
"What?" he gasped in alarm.
Rain-Eater nodded, "The island has enough trees that the ground-kin could make dens from. They could also dig cave-dens under the ground for more warmth in the cold-seasons. There are enough plants and mosses for prey-animals to eat. Kin-liver got a two-leg map when she was above, and she said that the island is on the map already. Two-legs will find the island eventually and try to nest there."
"Rain, we cannot let the ground-kin go. It is too dangerous for the hidden world."
Rain-Eater grumbled, "We would not be sending them away. They would live on that island, fish in those waters, raise ground-prey up there, live mostly without our help, and be dangerous to two-legs. Think about it, if they pretend to be angry and dangerous like the bad two-leg packs you fought against, they would keep other two-legs away from the island. They could even build part of their nest in front of the cave to hide the cave. Two problems grounded at once."
Rain-Eater purred and went silent while everyone else hummed in thought.
Having a portion of the tribe leave and settle permanently on the island above felt like a defeat or an admission that New Haven wasn't meant to be. Ideally, he and the rest of his family and tribe could completely put their tails, literally and figuratively, to the above. That was part of the point of coming here in the first place.
But that was thoroughly impractical. As Valka had shown, some supplies had to be obtained through trade, so cutting themselves off from the above was not possible.
Having a tribe on that island, especially if the tribe could acquire a fearsome reputation, would help dissuade anyone else from wanting to set foot on the island. That would help protect the only known entrance to the hidden world while also helping with the sustainability problem. The tribe would be in two groups, together though apart since they shared the same goals and common heritage.
"What do you think?" Luna asked him.
He groaned, "We talked about something like this before. If they will be staying on or near that island, we could trust them to not tell. They could pretend to be just one more two-leg nest. Them spreading out to many other ranges would be far more dangerous because all it would take is one of them to reveal where we are. I could ask the ground-kin how many of them would want to go live above instead of here."
Rain-Eater interrupted, "Maybe it does not need to be a permanent choice. The ones above and the ones below could change."
"Maybe, but I want to know how many would do this. You are right that this would help keep the island safer and help with the food problem. Brother, Green-Wings?"
Was-Grounded huffed, "How can we be sure they will not try to leave in secret? Sky-kin cannot fly freely up there if two-legs know about the island."
"We could still have watchers helping protect. Night Furies can protect at night, and Light Furies or Dawn Furies could be hidden in the day. As for the ground-kin that would live up there, I know of one ceremony that will help make sure they are not false."
Luna purred with interest, "What ceremony?"
He held up a paw, "A life-water promise. The ground-kin will spill a little of their own life-water while making a promise to never betray the hidden world or sky-kin. That promise will fly from them to all who share their life-water now and in the future. They will also promise on the names of their sky-beings. Even the most dangerous two-legs do not want their sky-beings angry with them and punishing them after death."
Green-Wings yawned, "I do not object to ground-kin living up there as you said."
"Nor do I, if they stay on that island or in the waters around it," Was-Grounded added.
Luna hesitated before answering, "I agree too, but we must let them know we are not turning tail on them or pushing them away."
He still felt uneasy about the idea, though it had its merits. Given that the alternatives both involved dangerous or disagreeable Light Furies, this option was much better.
The only real objection he had was that it was a compromise and a non-ideal solution.
Valka was sure to agree with the idea once she heard it. He suspected there would be several human families who would eagerly accept the offer. Those whose dragon or dragons had flown away or stayed away more felt like they had less to lose. After all, a friendship in which a friend never came back to visit or spend time together was not a friendship at all. Friendship needed shared activity to be able to endure.
But if Luna, Was-Grounded, and Green-Wings agreed with a suggestion, it was likely a good one. His own personal reluctance with the idea was probably his own issue. Deferring to the opinions of others who were trusted was probably prudent in any matter where his own impartiality might be flawed.
"Rain, do you know how many ground-kin would need to go live up there?"
Rain-Eater hummed in thought, his eyes closed for a while, "This is only a guess, but maybe four tens. They would be enough to support themselves, and that would also help with our food problems here."
About a third of the tribe. We could do that without too much trouble or disruption.
"Fine. I will talk to Kin-liver and the ground-kin about it."
Shadowwing flew alone up to Valka's hut. He woke her from her rest and explained the idea Rain-Eater had shared.
Valka frowned and paced, surely thinking over his suggestion. Not that he liked every aspect of it either, but it was, of all options, the most practical one.
"They'd need to swear a blood-oath," she mused.
"Thinnk they would?"
"As a condition of leaving, yes. I know several families that would want to take the offer."
"What do you rreally thinnk about it?"
She shrugged, "It's a good solution. I'm just surprised you didn't propose this before."
He grumbled, staring at his paws, "I didnn't wannt to thinnk about anny annsswerr innvolvinng the above."
"Why not?"
"Becausse it feelss a little like a lossss. What if everryonne humann wannts to leave?"
"We don't."
"Otherrss could. Annd, dad nneverr had the trribe abanndonn Berrk."
"Maybe he should have. Leaving that glorious piece of Niflheim could have saved a few lives. Not to mention fingers and toes."
Despite the serious topic, he chuckled, "Trrue, nnothinng comparress to that balmy, funn-inn-the-ssunn place which gave frrosstbite onn the sspleenn."
She wryly grinned, "Yep, good old Berk. The Sanctuary wasn't that bad on the inside, as you know. The island up there might be colder than Berk was, if also far more peaceful."
"Nnot beinng rraided will make life verry differrennt."
"Sure. My real point is that Stoick had problems compromising or seeing another option. He got it stuck in his head that he knew the only way to help his people in any situation. Of course he got that stubbornness from his father and so on and so on."
"Annd I'm nno differrennt frrom him."
"Why do you say that?" he groaned.
"I messssed up with Hiddenn-Hope, with Drrago Bludvisst, annd otherr timess."
She shrugged, "So you have some of his temperament. Fine. Nothing's wrong with being stubborn and resilient, but know when you have to let something change."
He considered that. As usual, she was probably right. There was no contradiction between being stubborn generally and allowing change when change was deserved. To keep everyone in New Haven stuck here just because of his own dislike of the world above was not fair or good for everyone else, not to mention simply impractical.
"You'rre rright. Thiss iss too good to passss up annd ssolvess a pairr of prroblemss. We cann't completely cut ourrsselvess off frrom that worrld forreverr."
He sat on his throne-stone at the head of the Great Hall. Valka stood beside him while Thorvald and Gobber were at the table nearest.
Everyone was still filtering in through the front door after receiving the summons. All Nords were to gather in the Great Hall for an announcement that would impact the entire tribe.
What would this waking-cycle do to their identity and sense of who they were? They could not be dragon-riders without their dragons, obviously. But they could still be active in protecting the hidden world just by living on their own on that island. The requirement that they obtain a violent reputation, so as to drive everyone else away and make the island not desirable, was only an added bonus.
They would still be one tribe, but in two places. Both parts of the tribe would still be united by a common purpose and concern. Half would help protect the hidden world from human threats, and the other half would work on the dragon side of the obstacle to peace.
The Hall's front door swung shut as the last persons filtered inside and took places at the tables or stood at the sides of the Hall.
It's go time!
He hopped down from his perch, flamed the central bonfire, and hopped back up onto his perch. He took a deep breath while watching the flickering flames catch the kindling.
"TRRIBE! We have nnewss!"
All conversations ceased as everyone looked to him and Valka.
"Lisstenn to yourr Elderr!"
Valka stood up and faced everyone else, "We have decided that the island above is a danger to us and the hidden world! The island is empty, which makes it an island other people or tribes would want to take! We must take it first!"
Muttering and confusion followed as she continued, "I and your Chiefs want some of the tribe to go live on the island above! You would make a small village up there, keep your own cattle, fish the waters, and live entirely outside the hidden world!"
The muttering got even louder, forcing her to raise her voice.
"You would need to be dangerous! Force away anyone who tries to land on the island! Make the island one other tribes fear! Be like the Berserkers or other dangerous tribes!"
He stood tall and barked, silencing everyone else, "You musst sstay onn the isslannd alwayss. Nno ssailinng away to otherr placess. I annd the otherr Furriess will help you with buildinng yourr nnew homess annd village. You could alwayss come back unnderrgrrounnd inn devasstatinng winnterr if nneeded. Nnew Havenn would sstill be onne trribe, onnly inn two placess at onnce!"
Valka spoke up, "Anyone who would take this offer must make a Blood-Oath never to betray the hidden world! You must bind yourselves, your family, and all who will come after you! Speak among yourselves or ask questions of us!"
Furious conversation picked up as spouses and friends whispered to each other. A dozen or so came forward to ask him and Valka various questions, such as what to do if strangers ever found the island, whether dragons would live on the island above, and other logistical questions.
He patiently waited as everyone spoke. Finally, enough time had passed and the conversations looked like they were dying down. It was time to find out how much interest there was.
"TRRIBE! How manny of you wannt to take the offerr? If you wannt to leave, go sstannd onn that sside of the Hall. Everryonne who wanntss to sstay sshould go to the otherr sside!"
No one moved at first. Then they started sorting themselves out: a couple here, a family there, friends walking together.
He wasn't surprised by the final result, though there were slightly more people leaving than he expected. Ten families, just over fifty people, were volunteering to leave. He recognized most of them as the people who didn't have dragons that stayed around much. Haugenson, Sigurdsdottir, Berelachson, and Blomqvistdottir, as the leaders for their families, had been the most outspoken about wanting to leave the hidden world entirely, so they were not a surprise at all.
He was a little disappointed but not surprised that Bjorgen and Ava were volunteering to leave with their son Henryk. Losing their son over the waterfall what had to be almost a year ago had likely permanently scarred their willingness to be here, even though Was-Grounded had rescued Henryk. As concerned parents, he couldn't fault them at all.
Thorvald-Snotlout, Sifa-Ruffnut, Skald-Fishlegs, Eret, Gobber, and everyone else who was closer to dragons were obviously staying.
He glanced at Valka and nodded to her. She and Gobber went into a side-room and returned with two pots, one filled with water and the other empty, rags, and a knife. They stood by the central bonfire and placed both pots on the small pedestals set up there.
"Sswearr yourr oathss!"
Everyone who was volunteering to leave formed a line leading to Valka and Gobber. Haugenson was first in the line.
"Do you swear on your ancestors, the gods, your honor, and your lives that you and your family will never betray the hidden world, dragons, or your tribe? Will you always help protect this world and keep it hidden from all dangers?" she asked.
"I swear it!" he answered.
Valka handed him the knife. He sliced open a finger and let the blood drip into the empty pot. Valka took back the knife, cleaned it in the other pot, and wiped it dry as the next person, Haugenson's wife, approached.
He waited and attentively watched as every single man, woman, and child who was leaving went through the same blood-letting ceremony, all of them dripping blood into the same pot. The final human finished and retreated to his family.
That left only one person still to go.
He took a deep breath, jumped down, and strolled to Valka.
"Are you ready, Chief?" she asked.
He held out a forepaw, "I add my blood forr I am yourr Chief!"
He winced as she cut his paw, letting his blood mingle with everyone else's. Then he padded back to his throne-perch. Licking his paw could come later, since it wouldn't be dignified to do that before the entire tribe.
Valka took the pot with blood in it, added a little water, and poured the red mixture into the bonfire. The fire sizzled, sending up smoke and steam.
"The gods will hold you to your Blood-Oaths. Any traitors will be accursed and forbidden from Valhalla! Remember your Oaths!"
"We remember!" they shouted.
Valka began shouting a few instructions to everyone. The packing and preparation would begin without delay. It was important to use the summer warmth to get the village established before winter.
With the ceremony concluded, people began hugging, smiling, and talking about everything they were going to do: bask in the sunlight, go swimming in the frigid ocean just to show how tough they were, go fishing, dance in the rain, and let their hair billow in the wind.
There was a lot to do in preparation. The livestock needed to be split into two sustainable herds, the smaller of which would go above. Supplies needed to be packed into crates and transported. Between the willing Night, Light, and Dawn Furies, a lot of that work could be taken care of. But having the help of other bonded dragons would speed the process a lot.
Aurora winged closer to Rain-Eater while she and her nestmates carried a lot of stuff for the ground-kin. It was wing- and back-aching work!
"This was your idea, right?" she barked.
"What if it was?" he asked.
"Just curious who I should blame for needing to do this work!" she teased.
"Blame the lack of food and space in the range, not me! I only said what had to be said!" he protested.
"I know! Just twisting your tail!"
They had all been surprised and a little worried at first when Shadowwing explained what would happen. About one third of the ground-kin were going to make a new nest on the island above. Fortunately, none of their life-bond friends were going up there.
The idea also had more lift after it was explained. The ranges up there would let the ground-kin grow more food. Further, they could help keep away any bad two-legs from wanting to land on that island. Everyone she cared for benefited.
She winged closer to Mist-Wings to check on her. Her sister had been doing better the last pawful of waking-cycles. Working had helped distract her from bad memories.
"How are you, sister?" she asked.
Mist-Wings yawned, gliding in flight, "Tired already. I will sleep well after this work."
"We all will. Just think about it! We can sleep on our backs under the sun and let our bellies eat up warmth!"
Aurora and all her nestmates had agreed to help make the new nest by helping roll fallen trees into place, dig holes where underground dens would go, catch fish to provide food for everyone, and keep watch on the waters around the island. Other sky-kin, like a Timberjack, would be helping to down trees and do other work, and those sky-kin might be more visible on the island.
Helping to carry other ground-kin that were not Alvor, Safiya, or Kin-liver was not such an enjoyable idea, since she only wanted to give her back to ground-kin she knew well, but it was allowable for the good of the shared-nest. After all, sire-father gave his back to a ground-kin to carry him back to the shared-range after rescuing him.
The watching in the above would not end either. The plan was to eventually have a pair of Fury sky-kin rotating being in the above, so they could take messages to the part of the shared-nest in the hidden world.
She roared loudly as she flew ahead to the front of the flight; she was the flight-leader. Several other non-Fury sky-kin roared back to her in acknowledgment.
The other sky-kin always appeared twistedly afraid of the cave that flew up to the island. Power-light display could help them fly through that fear and do what was necessary, but she still wondered why they feared the above so much. They were not sky-kin that greatly feared ground-kin or two-legs, as far as she knew.
But their fear was helpful in other ways. It meant they would not wander into the dangerous above by accident, and that would keep them safer from bad two-legs.
One good part of needing to have two watchers at the same time, for protection against dangerous Light Furies in the below, was that she would have more opportunities to come up to the above. Everyone enjoyed these opportunities. Being up here with kin instead of being alone would make the time up here much more liver-warming.
Time with Mist-Wings would help her grow stronger and more liver-flamed. Time with her brothers would be good to practice more combat with them. Time with Moon-Dancer would be good on its own, though it was tail-twisting that he had grown bigger than her!
She glanced at her kin around her: Dawn-Singer, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, Moon-Dancer, and Hidden-Hope, all helping her and working hard for the new ground-kin nest that was growing above.
Why did her liver feel different now? Being around her kin and seeing Dawn-Singer and Flies-With-Sun or Rain-Eater and Flies-Bravely bonding as life-mates or a possible pair was liver-warming instead of the twisting it had been. The frustration she had felt toward them was gone, flamed away.
Maybe the bad that happened to Mist-Wings had helped make some good for herself by opening her eyes to how good her own life truly was. Maybe perspective helped flame away the rotted thinking she had been falling into. Further, helping warm her sister's liver warmed her own liver. Helping others was an effective way to diminish her own problems.
Shadowwing looked down on the village from above at night. It had taken a lot of work over the last couple months, but most of the construction was finished except for a few barns which would house the cattle during the winter.
Turf houses, lean-to's and basic cabins were spaced among the slopes and the pine trees. The people had even started to build simple longboats and a minimal dock for fishing.
It looked like a very simple village, which it certainly was. There was no need to construct a singular Great Hall when they already had one down below. The livestock grazed freely, lacking any predators such as wolves, bears, or dragons. There were no defensive towers or walls, since there was no need for any.
Living anonymously and inconspicuously was one of the best defenses possible.
Dawn-Singer had, on one of his missions as a scout, seen a boat very far away, though the boat didn't approach the island. None of the boats had made landfall here as far as anyone knew. However, the island was on the maps, as Valka had found out when at the trading post, which meant it was inevitable that someone would eventually arrive.
The plan if anyone else were to try to land here was to have everyone up above drive them away without needing to kill. All they had to do was make the island have a feared but not hated reputation. Being hated would bring other people to want to attack. Being feared would simply keep everyone else away.
Another option was, if refugees were to shipwreck on the island or refuse to leave, to allow them to live there forever without leaving the island. They would eventually need to learn the truth if they could be trusted.
It was not ideal, but it was practical.
The island was very cold during the devastating winters, and the land wasn't the best for farming. On the other hand, the sheep, goats, and other livestock could do well with the grassland and mosses on the island. There was plentiful fishing in the surrounding waters. Further, there was always the option to temporarily support the village with food or produce grown in the hidden world, but needing to do that would be tedious. The new village becoming entirely self-sustaining would be welcome for everyone.
It was also a relief to not be constantly besotted with frustrations and complaining. The majority of the discontent members of New Haven had accepted the offer to be resettled up here.
All the humans living up here also had a new Chief they answered to. Chief Lucan Stonefist was selected by the heads of the families who accepted the offer. Lucan was not a bitter or suspicious person, though he was stern enough to be a capable leader.
Between Lucan capably handling human matters above, Thorvald-Snotlout leading New-Haven below, and himself overseeing the dragon portion of New-Haven, there was a lot of progress on all fronts.
Settling both on the island and in the hidden world itself was, in hindsight, a much better choice than flying everyone blindly into the hidden world. This was safer for everyone too, since the hidden world needed help to stay hidden forever.
Dawn-Singer shouted, his tail thrashing uncontrollably, "Sire-father, dam-mother, come now!"
His parents followed him after pawing off Wind-Dancer to Shadowwing and Luna. Hope-In-His-Liver and Paws-At-Bright-Flowers already knew the good news.
He led his parents on a quick flight through the darker part of the range up to his and Flies-With-Sun's cave-den. There was no need to tell them why.
They landed behind him and followed him into the cave-den and behind the large rock inside. There they saw Flies-With-Sun curled in on herself while softly crooning. Her parents were already there across from her. He slipped in beside her and lay a wing over her back while purring deeply.
"They are here. Show them," he said.
She lifted her head, flicked aside her tailfins, and showed off the egg between her paws. It was almost pure white with only faint swirls of dark.
Sire-father purred, stepped to them, and gently butted their heads, "Son, second-daughter, well done and warm flights to you with your second egg!"
Dam-mother did the same, though she nuzzled them and briefly spoke to his life-mate after she covered the egg again.
Sire-father got his attention, "Has Moon-Pinner seen the egg yet?"
"Not yet. She knows she will be a big sister, but we wanted her to be away for this."
Laying the egg could be messy, and there was no way to be sure how a fledgling might react.
Dam-mother nodded and grumbled, "I understand that. But do you want to sit the egg here? This is your cave-den, but it is much further away from everyone else."
That was a fair point which he and Flies-With-Sun had not really considered. She wanted to lay their egg in their own cave-den, naturally. But there was the problem that this cave-den was closer to the mouth of the range than where their kin usually rested.
No one had forgotten the threat of the Light Furies beyond their territory.
Paws-At-Bright-Flowers perked up, facing Flies-With-Sun, "Daughter, I agree with Green-Wings. There is more danger sitting your egg out here. There is a cave next to ours much deeper in the range. It is a smaller cave, but it is big enough for you both, the egg, and Moon-Pinner."
"You think I should sit the egg there instead of here?" Flies-With-Sun asked.
"I do."
She looked to him to hear his thoughts.
"I agree that it is safer deeper in the range. Is the egg safe to move right now?" he asked.
Dam-mother purred, "It is safe to move as long as you are gentle and do not drop it or try to shake it."
Flies-With-Sun hummed in thought before huffing, getting to her paws, and picking up the egg in her mouth.
They left the cave-den and flew calmly deeper into the range. Her parents had made their cave-den much closer to the shared-nest, though not right next to it. Flies-Bravely also had her den not far away from them.
He rolled his eyes as he thought back to one season-cycle in the Haven-range. The ground-kin had made a home-den for his parents and nestmates. The home-den was different inside from what ground-kin used, but sky-kin had different needs. A natural cave-den was good enough.
Mist-Wings flew up to the new cave-den her brother and Flies-With-Sun had claimed. Having them closer to the shared-nest was good and a relief. No one needed to have a flight partner here so close to the shared-nest and where there were always guards watching the skies.
She landed outside the cave-mouth, dropped her dried fish, and announced herself.
"Mist-Wings, enter!" Flies-With-Sun shouted.
She calmly strolled into the cave-den where she could see Flies-With-Sun curled up on a patch of thick moss and other cut grasses which made a nest.
First, she tossed the tried fish to her. It was liver-warming to provide for an egg-sitting dam-mother.
"Thanks for the fish," Flies-With-Sun purred.
"You are welcome. The egg? May I see it?"
Flies-With-Sun showed off the egg at her chest after moving her tailfins.
She chuckled, "What did Moon-Pinner think about it?"
Flies-With-Sun snorted, "She is very liver-warmed to become a sister. She offered to sit with the egg, but we will not allow that."
She entirely agreed. While she had helped playing with Rock-Climber and Wind-Dancer when they were hatchlings, sitting with their egg was not what a big brother or sister should need to do unless under very special circumstances for a short time. There was no reason to confuse the hatchling as to who its sire-father and dam-mother were, and that was assuming the big nestmate did not feel jealous or at all twisted.
"How are you doing? I do not get out as much right now," Flies-With-Sun said.
She shrugged, "Better. Some. Learning fighting and practicing helps."
"You look stronger."
"Really? Maybe I am a little."
Eret son of Eret was busy working in the fields as usual, overseeing everyone else responsible for parts of the crops. Maize, potatoes, and various other vegetables and fruit bushes grew aplenty, though the lack of rain meant just about everything had to be watered by hand. It was tedious, but it kept everyone occupied.
He was glad that, after being promoted to a supervisory role, he didn't need to be directly involved in spreading the... fertilizer. Someone else had that wonderful task.
"Boss! Boss! Come 'ere!" someone shouted from the distance.
What the blazes?
"Skulf, what is it?"
"Some o' the sheep are gone!" Skulf exclaimed.
"Gone? You mean they got free?" he groaned.
If Hidden-Hope did something again...
"I canno' find them anywhere!"
He sighed, "Show me where they were."
Disgruntled and frustrated at the prospect of another cycle of having to search for escaped livestock, he followed Skulf over to the enclosed pastures. The front gate was closed when he got there.
"Was the gate open?" he asked.
"No, it was closed," Skulf answered.
They entered the pasture, and he looked around inside, counting the visible sheep. There were around two dozen he could see.
"Did you count them?" he asked.
"Yeah, I lost count at nine."
"Nine?"
Skulf held up both his hands, missing a single finger.
Ugh. Twenty four... twenty five... wait. Not good.
Five sheep were missing. None of the pasture's walls were broken or collapsed. It was as if the sheep had disappeared.
"Great, which dragon has been on watch?" he asked.
"Uh, think it was Meatlug."
That wasn't useful. Gronkles were among the lazier of breeds and could easily doze off at unhelpful times, sometimes even in flight.
Tracking down the lost sheep would be frustrating and tedious. Fortunately, he had an easy way to speed that along. He knew a dragon who was helpful when tracking.
"I'll handle this. Stay here and let me know if you see anything."
"Got it!"
He left for New Haven while considering the possibilities.
Probably a prank. Hidden-Hope, Ysmir, Theron, or someone else. Troublemakers! If they ever join forces, gods help us.
Sheep going missing had happened before, but it had been a while since a real incident.
He arrived in town and didn't have to search for long before he spotted the very Nadder he was looking for. He whistled to her, and Stormfly eagerly dashed for him, knocking him over and nuzzling his head.
"Hey girl, I've got a job for you. You up for it?"
Naturally, Stormfly trilled happily as she crouched down to let him up.
"To the sheep!"
She quickly flew to the appropriate pastures and landed within, scattering the other nearby sheep. While the sheep were not absolutely terrorized all the time anymore, they still fled from any dragons that flew nearby or entered the pastures.
He hopped down from her and pointed at the sheep, "Search! Find! Fetch!"
She understood the routine, having trained to do this plenty of times before. She dashed like an overgrown hen around the large pasture while sniffing at the air and the ground. She would know if any smells didn't belong. There was always the possibility that a dragon had snagged several of the sheep and not been noticed.
Stormfly trilled and took flight, swiftly flying away from the pastures and out toward the alien forest. She must have picked up a scent. Perfect, the sheep had been found and the cycle held no further drama.
He waited until Stormfly appeared again, flying back to him with a sheep in her talons. She landed before him and dropped the sheep, so he went to thank her.
But he froze as he got nearer and saw the truth. Not only was the sheep dead, but how it was dead was most concerning.
"Uh, that's not good."