Hopeful
Shadowwing sat on his throne in the Great Hall. Almost all the humans of New Haven were gathered there to hear the news after having been cooped up with each other and the animals for the last waking-cycle. A quick cremation had already been held for Skulf, and his bones were stored deep in a designated cave.
"Trribe! Therre iss good nnewss! The danngerr iss overr! It iss ssafe to go outsside!"
"What was it?" "What was happenin?" "Whuzgoinon?" "Gimme muh ax!"
He paused before answering since he didn't know all the specifics regarding why the attacks happened. But he knew enough to give a sufficient answer.
"A grroup of Light Furriess thought you werre a danngerr. They werre trryinng to forrce you away by killinng the annimalss! They didnn't meann to kill annyonne!"
There was a lot of muttering after that news. It was probably difficult for them to believe that the attacking dragons hadn't meant mortal harm, given that there was one fatality.
"We fought them off, annd killed onne of the attackerrss! Sskulf wass avennged!"
Cheers sounded as people raised their fists and waved around their weapons.
Thorvald-Snotlout stood up once the cheering died down, "So it's safe to go out there, right?"
That's what I just said.
"Yess! It iss ssafe forr you annd the herrdss! We will sstill have double the guarrdss forr nnow! Therre iss nnothinng to be afrraid of. That iss all!"
Sighs of relief filled the Hall as people took off their helmets and scale armor before starting to go outside. Everyone looked anxious and eager to get back to normal life, though there was still a lot of muttering.
Gobber approached him and crossed his arms, "Just like that, eh? Ya all went ta those Light Furies and... showed 'em who's boss!"
He chuckled, "Morre orr lessss. They wonn't botherr uss againn. We alsso brrought back annotherr female like Fliess-Brravely."
"Did ya now? Should I be expectin' her and Moon-Dancer ta, ya know?"
Gobber made a gesture which he wouldn't dwell on, so he gently punched Gobber's shoulder.
"Gobberr! It'ss farr too ssoonn to be thinnkinng about that! Sshe doessnn't evenn have a nname yet. How iss everryonne elsse doinng herre?"
Gobber twiddled his mustache, "Eh, not too bad. Tha dead sheep made for some nice roast mutton, though my wine stores are runnin' a bit low."
He rolled his eyes, "Annd with that we might be doomed. What made life inn the hiddenn worrld impossssible? Sstarrvationn? Violennt drragonnss? Nno, lack of drrinnk!"
"I know, right? Don't ya worry. I've got another batch comin' right up, an' the potato crop is lookin' good! Gonna try and make this one a wee bit stronger too! I'm also gonna use up all the honey to replenish our supply of mead."
"Grreat. Jusst what we nneeded!"
Gobber chuckled, "Oh, yeah. After everythin' that's happened, seeing some drunk Furies wanderin' around would make everythin' better."
Shadowwing sat with Was-Grounded, Luna, and Green-Wings up on a ledge outside of New Haven. A crystal glowed nearby, warming their backs as they faced the unnamed female Light Fury. She hadn't said much to them yet, though she had assured them that she didn't feel overly afraid or stressed out. The other Fury children had been very convincing in reassuring her on the flight here.
He leaned against Luna, wove their tails together, and purred to the new Light Fury as she sat before them, waiting to hear what they had to say.
"First, our children may have explained this already, but you are not ours to command like that other Alpha expected. You are free to leave us if you want. If you want to stay with us, then there are some expectations and rules, but you are not trapped here. Understand?"
"Yes," she answered.
"We do not follow the no-names and no-self rules."
They each formally introduced themselves, even though names had already been shared on the flight here.
"Now that you know our names, you should choose a name for yourself. You are not a Helper anymore or part of that twisted pack."
She purred, "I understand. Your kin already said I should choose a name, and I have one."
"Good! What is your name?" he asked.
"I am Lone-Spark."
Luna purred, "Lone-Spark. May I ask why that name?"
"Because even in the other pack I was different," Lone-Spark said.
She said no more, so maybe she didn't want to talk about it.
"Is there anything about your past you want to tell us? You do not need to tell us anything, but it would help us get to know you better, especially if you will be ranging with us."
Lone-Spark stared into the distance, "You would let me leave if I wanted to?"
Shadowwing grumbled, "Our pack is not a trap. You can leave now if you want to fly, though it might not be safe for you to be alone with no plan."
Lone-Spark sighed, looking back at them, "Sorry, I am not used to having much choice."
Luna growled, "We understand. Much is rotted about that pack. Is there anything you want to tell us? Talking about bad in the past can help it hurt less."
Lone-Spark stretched before answering, "There is little to say about me. I was a Helper to the Fighters. You know what Helpers must do, yes?"
Luna huffed, "We know."
Oddly, Lone-Spark shrugged, "It was not very bad for me. Yes, I have been with males before, but never been hurt by them. Not truly. It was more annoying than anything."
He was relieved to hear that her past wasn't truly traumatic, even though she had been through what she clearly did not enjoy or want.
Luna hummed, "How bad is it for the females there? Flies-Bravely has told us stories, but she was not yet in your situation when she left."
"I am not the best to say, because I was... am different from them. Other females got more interest from the Fighters. But I do know that not everyone in the pack-roles follows or believes the rules," Lone-Spark answered.
"What do you mean?" he asked, very curious as to this further insight into the pack.
"Females talk among themselves, even across pack-roles and Helper groups. It is not twisted for one female and one male to prefer each other and only be with each other. No pairs are allowed, but they are like a pair without being named one. Everyone in the same pack-role learns who prefers who, and most do not try to intrude on these secret pairs unless they want to cause problems, which usually end in fights."
It was nice to hear a second opinion confirm what Flies-Bravely had related. Despite all the twisting of education and control over the Light Furies' lives from when they were young, there was still a natural desire to pair off with someone that was cared for and loved. Custom could not completely change their nature.
He purred, "Good to hear. You said you are different from the rest of the pack. May I ask how so?"
Lone-Spark looked away, as if worried, "You might think me very twisted."
Luna chuffed, "I can promise that you are not as twisted as my Shadowwing."
He rolled his eyes and gently knocked her shoulder, "Thank you for saying that."
Lone-Spark chuckled, "Well, since you ask, I... like other females."
He blinked in surprise, "What?"
"Males are not what interest me."
"Is that why you wanted to leave?" he asked.
Lone-Spark hummed, "When I heard that my… that the Alpha needed a Helper to volunteer to leave the pack, I knew that was my chance. Many of the females were talking in secret about the one, Flies-Bravely as you said, who fled. The Alpha said she was thought-twisted, got lost, and was taken by a dangerous dark wing, but we had doubts. Only whispered doubts, but many were doubting until talking about her was made against the pack-correct rules."
"The Alpha forbid talking about her?" Luna barked.
"Yes, all to keep the pack peaceful."
He was unsurprised that the Alpha would exert such a level of control over the pack as to even forbid talking about inconvenient topics. Controlling speech was to also control thought, in so far as speech shaped discussion and formation of new ideas.
Lone-Spark paused before continuing, "Do any of you know where I could find other light wing packs? I do not know any of these ranges."
Was-Grounded answered, "There is a range where many family-packs of light wings live, though they do not live as one pack. We can show you where that is if you want to fly to them."
"Please do. I might want to fly to them when I feel safer."
"You could stay with us if you want," Shadowwing offered.
"My thanks. I will consider that offer. Your young said they have been learning how to fight to defend themselves better. Can I learn all that too?"
Luna purr-growled, "Yes. We can help you learn."
Lone-Spark slightly bent her head, "I will help work for your pack while I am here and learning how to stay safe."
He nodded, "Very well. Onto the other important topic, you must know that our range has two-legs living in peace with us, though we call them ground-kin."
Lone-Spark hummed and glanced in the direction of the village, "So I have heard. I have never seen a two-leg… ground-kin thing before. Will one of you show me around and introduce me to them?"
"We will. You are welcome with us as long as you want to be here."
Valka frowned after removing Rain-Eater's bandage and checking on his wound while he slept. The deep slices in his shoulder were starting to scar over, but there was something far more concerning.
The flesh in the wound had started turning dark in several places, as if gangrene was setting in. An infection in such a deep wound could be dangerous.
She got up and woke Flies-Bravely from her nap. The Light Fury had hardly left Rain-Eater's side the last several waking-cycles.
"Can you please bring Shadowwing?"
Flies-Bravely nodded once, understanding that request, and flew off.
Meanwhile, she considered how best to treat this wound. Honey was the best option available, as it was naturally effective at preventing infections. But there was the problem that all the honey recently collected from the beehives had gone into making several barrels of mead. There might not be enough left over for treatment.
Shadowwing arrived shortly thereafter, led by Flies-Bravely.
"What iss it?" he asked.
"His wound is infected."
"How bad?"
"Not too bad yet, but I want to treat it now. Do we have any leftover honey?"
He rolled his eyes, "Nnope. Ussed all the harrvesst forr the mead. We cann ssearrch forr a wild hive if thiss iss urrgennt."
"Please do. I'll prepare everything else for the salve."
Mist-Wings darted and dashed through the forest while Moon-Dancer bounded along after her. They were both exploring the depths of the many-colors forest in the New-Haven-range. They were both running very fast while searching for a hive-nest of bees.
Kin-liver needed the sweet-honey-water to make a hurt-helping mix of plants for her hurt brother. No one wanted him to get sick or his hurt get rot in it! All they had to do was find a hive-nest, bring Kin-liver to collect the sweet-honey-water, and help her scare away the bees by smoking them out of the hive-nest.
This part of the forest was very thick and filled with trees, bushes, and vines. Many flowers of all colors, some of which even burned with light, grew all around her. None of the ground-kin or sky-kin ever had reason to come this deep into the forest. Small bugs and scuttling things ran and fled ahead of her.
"Anything?" Moon-Dancer shouted.
"No. Keep looking!"
They split up to cover more territory. This would be easy if all was silent except for the buzzing of bees. But there were many creatures that lived in the forest and made noise.
She kept running, leaping and bounding over boulders and old, rotted trees that fell down. A clearing came into view up ahead between the trees and mushrooms, and the clearing was filled with long grass, flowers, and a lot of buzzing bees. A hive-nest was probably close!
She walked out into the clearing while looking around, searching for any sign of a hive-nest. They could be hidden anywhere: in fallen trees, up in branches, or tucked away under big mushrooms.
A crashing sound followed from the thick trees to the right.
"Come here, I might have found a hive-nest!" she shouted.
More searching followed as she looked around the nearest branches and trees. Where was Moon-Dancer? It sounded like he was right there!
She glanced toward where he was, and saw nothing. No one was there under the trees and mushrooms. But she had heard something big! So what was-
Something was close.
She was all alone.
Could it be... the Alpha?
Had he come back to attack her again?
Powerless and helpless.
Alone and terrified.
Her claws slid out as she took deep breaths to steady herself. Many, many waking-cycles of practicing fighting with Moon-Dancer, sire-father, Shadowwing, Luna, and others had passed since the attack. She was far stronger and more dangerous now than she was back then!
She briefly closed her eyes and slowly looked around with life-fire sight. Sure enough, there was a shape like a Fury just beyond the line of trees, and it was clearly facing toward her. Beyond that she could not know anything. Moon-Dancer would not sneak around like this, since he knew how afraid it would make her. This sky-kin was someone else.
"I know you are there! Come out and show yourself! Now!" she shouted.
She crouched, ready to leap and strike as a white shape appeared in the forest. The head came into view as the sky-kin pushed through the bushes. A male Light Fury slowly walked out into the clearing. He had brown eyes, no large hurt-marks, and-
She almost relaxed.
This was not the Alpha after all. This was a completely different male, but still a strange and unknown one who had probably been stalking her. He was dangerous.
"Who are you?" she growled.
He sat down two pounces away and stared at her without immediately answering. His brown eyes were big and wide, maybe in surprise. Nothing about his eyes looked threatening like the Alpha's eyes had been. But he was not yet answering the question!
"Who are you?" she repeated.
He shook his head, "Sorry. My name is Light-Hunter. Who are you, dark wing?"
"I am Mist-Wings. What are you doing? Were you hunting me?" she bared her teeth.
He barked, "Hunting? No! I was... lost in this range."
"Lost? Do not lie! You were following me."
"Well, yes. I was following you."
"Why?"
"Because I am curious about this range and all the kin who live here. I know this is where kin and two-legs live in peace."
"Why do you care? If you are curious, why are you sneaking around?"
He stepped back a pace, "I heard there was fighting in this range! I did not want to fly into danger."
That at least was a believable excuse. There had been fighting here recently.
"How did you know there was fighting?"
He sighed, "That is a long story, but my kin heard from other family-packs that heard from Far-Fliers. News of attacks between packs flies very far, very fast."
Her ears flicked as distant roaring reached her. It sounded like Moon-Dancer, so she roared back to him.
"What was that?" Light-Hunter warily asked.
"One of my kin is flying here, so do not try anything twisted!" she hissed.
"Twisted? Why would I-"
Moon-Dancer dropped into the clearing and hopped beside her, glaring at Light-Hunter and holding his wings up in display.
"Sis, you safe?" he growled.
"Yes, he says his name is Light-Hunter."
Light-Hunter grumbled, "That is my name. Did I do something wrong?"
"You were sneaking after me," she barked.
"Because dark wings can be dangerous as everyone knows! I was afraid of fighting in this range!"
He was not wrong that Night Furies could be dangerous! She was! Or could be… probably.
Moon-Dancer folded his wings away and glared at him, "Why are you here?"
"As I told Mist-Wings, I am curious about this range, the kin, and the two-legs. Will you please take me to the Alphas? I do not want them to think I am threatening any of their kin."
Moon-Dancer leaned closer to her and whispered, "What do you think?"
She hummed in thought, glancing at Light-Hunter as he calmly sat on his haunches.
"He did not try to hurt me before you got here. We should take him to our parents," she whispered.
"Okay. You tell him."
She looked back at Light-Hunter and raised her voice, "We will take you to our parents. They are the Alpha pairs. Follow us and do not wander."
"I will follow you," he answered.
Was-Grounded growled softly and pawed at the ground as he glared at the male Light Fury sitting on his haunches several pounces away. Mist-Wings and Moon-Dancer were right before him, explaining what had happened while he, Green-Wings, Shadowwing, and Luna listened. Moon-Dancer and Mist-Wings had been searching for a hive-nest of bees to help Kin-liver make a hurt-helping mix for Rain-Eater. This strange male had appeared as if he was hunting or stalking Mist-Wings, probably because he wanted to threaten or attack her! No male Light Furies were good or warm at liver.
Well, that was not actually true. Hope-In-His-Liver was very good and warm. But no others were any good!
Or were they?
The only male Light Furies he had interacted much with or heard about were Alphas, both from his children's adventure far away and the one twisted-rotted-foul Alpha of the hidden pack. The warmer males, one that were content to be good life-mates and sire-fathers, probably did not attract as much attention, so he would not hear much about them. Maybe he only did not know about the good ones out in the hidden world.
Mist-Wings and Moon-Dancer stepped aside, finished telling them what happened.
Shadowwing stepped forward and addressed Light-Hunter, "Light-Hunter, my name is Shadowwing."
He, Luna, and Green-Wings also introduced themselves.
Light-Hunter bent his head toward each of them, "So I am clear, are you the two Alpha pairs?"
Shadowwing answered, "We are."
Light-Hunter hummed, "Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, you might not remember, but we have met."
Shadowwing purred deeply, "Yes, I remember you! We met you and your family: your sire-father, Crashes-Mushrooms; dam-mother, Singing-Glimmer; and... Moss-Eater?"
Light-Hunter sighed in evident relief, "Moss-Muncher. She has grown a lot and has learned her words since you saw her."
With that, he also remembered where he met Light-Hunter. Light-Hunter had led him, Shadowwing, and Flies-With-Sun to the hidden Night Fury pack.
While it was a relief to know that Light-Hunter came from a good family-pack, that did not explain why he was here or had been secretly following Mist-Wings.
"What are you doing in our range?" he asked.
Light-Hunter shuffled in place, probably anxious as he glanced from Mist-Wings, to him, Shadowwing, Luna, and Green-Wings.
"Far-Fliers take news between the Light Fury packs. A Far-Flier flew to family-packs mine knows about. The Far-Flier asked if the range of dark wings, light wings, other kin, and two-legs have any alliance agreements with the light wings."
"Do you know where the Far-Flier came from?" he asked.
"No, I do not. The Far-Flier said there was a plan to attack your range and force the two-legs out."
He spun on Shadowwing, furious but not surprised what this meant, "We knew it! That Alpha was behind the attack!"
Shadowwing nodded, "Yes, I still do not know why he would want this."
They faced Light-Hunter again as Light-Hunter continued speaking, "More Far-Fliers took news of the attack after it happened. I did not know where your range was, and it took waking-cycles for me to get here. You should not have been attacked. That was bad."
Shadowwing huffed, "It was. But why are you here, really?"
Light-Hunter sat taller, holding himself confidently, "I do not know the two-legs you have here, but you said they are good, strong-thinking life. I want to learn about them and your pack."
Was-Grounded stepped forward, staring at Light-Hunter until the male Light Fury looked down to his paws, "Is that all? Do you have any other reasons?"
Light-Hunter's tail twitched, "Yes, there is another reason. I heard that your pack has... females I could get to know."
No one said anything or moved a paw.
"Get to know how?" he softly growled and stepped closer to him.
Light-Hunter retreated a step, "I... want a strong-thinking life-mate who is not afraid!"
"Or maybe you just want to have some fun with them!"
"No! I promise on my wings!" Light-Hunter bellowed.
A promise on his wings. There was no greater promise a sky-kin could make. Could he trust this Light-Hunter? Not at all, but he could trust Light-Hunter to understand what would happen to him if he did anything threatening.
Green-Wings stepped beside him and purred at Light-Hunter, "True, we have two daughters who are alone. You have not met Aurora. Mist-Wings, you have met."
Light-Hunter not very subtly glanced at Mist-Wings and looked away. There was probably only one reason for Light-Hunter's apparent interest, especially since he had been sneaking after her.
"What do you think of our Mist-Wings?" he calmly asked.
"I... she is... very liver-warming. Do I need to talk about this here and now?"
Light-Hunter's discomfort was obvious and very good. Anything to keep this potentially dangerous male afraid was helpful and would protect his daughter.
"I must know what you plan to do with her," he said.
Light-Hunter stared him down without saying anything for many wingbeats. Maybe he was reconsidering being here at all.
"What did I do wrong?" Light-Hunter asked.
He stared at Light-Hunter without answering.
"I flew to your range in peace, I did not hurt anyone, and you are being cold to me! Why?" Light-Hunter hastily added.
"You might be a danger to my daughter!"
"A danger? What?"
"You do not deny it! You are-"
"Sire-father, stop! Please!" Mist-Wings shouted.
He froze and stared at her in shock. She never raised her voice to him.
"What?"
She looked away from him, "He did not hurt me or threaten me at all! He is not dangerous!"
How could she know that? Did she know what she was risking? Had she forgotten what happened to her?
Green-Wings snorted and walked to Light-Hunter. She stood a nosetip taller than the Light Fury since Night Furies were slightly bigger.
She looked down on him and purred, "I do not know you, but I think you have a warm liver. You want to range with us and learn about our daughter to find out if you and she can be good life-mates, true?"
Light-Hunter quickly answered, "Yes, true. If she wants to learn about that. I promise on my wings… again."
With both his daughter and his life-mate thinking well of Light-Hunter, the decision was already made. He could not... would not go against both of them. But he had one more warning to give, one special duty that fell to the sire-father in such a situation.
"Follow me! We must talk on our own," he growled.
Light-Hunter slowly followed him until they were out of hearing of his kin.
He took a deep breath and faced Light-Hunter until the Light Fury looked down to his paws again.
"Maybe I have been too cold to you so far. Let me start over. You may range with us. You must help with work and protecting the range while you are here."
"I will."
"Our kin will introduce you to the ground-kin and show you around the shared-nest."
"I… look forward to it."
He slowly put a paw on Light-Hunter's shoulder, making him flinch slightly, "Good. About Mist-Wings, or Aurora if you become interested in her, you will not threaten them in any way. Tell yourself that I am always watching you. You will not do anything they do not want. No, better, even if they want to do it, you will get my approval first. If you are good to one of them and become her life-mate, you will be a second-son to me, and there is nothing I will not do for my kin. If you hurt her or use her, you will wish that I killed you. Do you understand? You can leave now if you want to leave."
Light-Hunter gulped, "Yes. I will stay."
Even after all that... he wanted to stay? Maybe he meant what he said. Maybe he truly meant no harm. Only time would tell.
He huffed and stepped back to return to his kin, all of whom were watching. He sat with Green-Wings and purred.
"Light-Hunter is welcome with us," he announced for everyone to hear.
Shadowwing snorted in apparent amusement as he faced Light-Hunter, "Do you want to meet the ground-kin? We can also show you where the caves are."
Mist-Wings slapped Moon-Dancer with her tail as she stepped forward, "Or he could help me and Moon-Dancer search for bee-hive-nests first. We could use the help."
Light-Hunter cautiously went over to them and stood with Moon-Dancer, "I want to help work."
He huffed. Having Moon-Dancer there too was good. He would help keep Mist-Wings safe, if that was necessary.
Mist-Wings breathed a sigh of relief when Shadowwing, Luna, sire-father, dam-mother, and the youngest children flew away together, leaving only her, Moon-Dancer, and Light-Hunter.
Her sire-father was very protective, which was good. He had known and felt when she was... attacked by the Alpha. She could not dream of having a better, more liver-warming sire-father.
But he was not being nice at all to Light-Hunter!
Light-Hunter did not do anything bad, and he had good enough reasons for why he was hiding in the range. Further, openly saying to her parents that he was interested by her, a very tail-twisting thought, meant he was risking himself and being honest.
She looked around and saw that Light-Hunter was staring at his paws, which was liver-chilling, so she trotted to him. Moon-Dancer followed beside her.
"So, that happened," she purred in encouragement.
"This was stupid of me," Light-Hunter muttered.
"What?"
He shrugged and looked away, "Flying here. I thought I could just be me and be warm to everyone here, but... your sire-father is scary!"
She groaned, annoyed by how problematic her sire-father had made this, "Sorry about him. He is an Alpha, and he has reason to be afraid for his kin. The attack on the range was bad. One of my older brothers was hurt."
Moon-Dancer spoke, "That hurt is why we were searching in the trees when you found us."
Light-Hunter's fallen ears lifted a little, "What were you searching for?"
"Bee-hive-nests. You know those?"
"I have seen them. What are they for if not a snack?"
She answered, "We need the sweet-honey-water in the hive-nests. That honey-water helps stop hurts from getting rotted."
Light-Hunter hummed, looking between them, "I did not know sweet-honey-water does that. Are you nestmates?"
"Liver-nestmates. We have different parents, but our sire-fathers are brothers. We have played since we were no-words hatchlings," she chuckled.
Moon-Dancer snorted, "I still remember you biting my tail."
"Same here. Anyway, I do not think you are bad, Light-Hunter, but this is not a good time to do any... bonding or talking."
Light-Hunter purred, "I understand. One of your kin is hurt. Let me help you look for what your brother needs."
Moon-Dancer faced Light-Hunter and calmly spoke to him, "I do not know what Was-Grounded said to you, but she is my liver-sister. Remember that."
"I will."
Light-Hunter was thoroughly confused as he walked through the brush, helping Mist-Wings and Moon-Dancer search for a bee-hive-nest. Sire-father had told him to just be himself, be respectful of others, be patient, and liver-warmth would eventually follow. He did not doubt sire-father.
Dark wings were supposed to be very dangerous, which seemed true so far. But they were also supposed to hate light wings, which was obviously not true, contrary to the stories the Far-Fliers were spreading. One of the Alpha dark wings even had a light wing as his life-mate.
Mist-Wings was completely different from any female kin he had seen up close before. Her color was different, obviously. The other female dark wings in Shadow-Spark-Pack were too dangerous to approach up close, because of the cold wind between the kin-kinds. Compared to fellow light wings, she was bigger, stronger, and beautiful in her own way. Any male who could win her liver and be with her would be favored in his life-flight. That did not even consider the strong pack she was part of and which her mate would be part of. Her hurt-marks were signs that she had been in fights and probably been the victor as she was alive and strong.
But there was a problem.
Her sire-father very much did not like him, though he could not understand why. What had he done wrong? He reasonably tried to keep his distance to learn what was happening in what might be a dangerous range, he asked to be taken to the Alphas to state his reasons for being there, and he told them that one of his reasons was to maybe find a mate. What was the bad in that?
At least Mist-Wings also appeared frustrated by how biting her sire-father was. Her dam-mother did not seem to dislike him, so that was good.
Maybe it was only bad timing. Was-Grounded was liver-chilled and still upset from the attack on his territory and pack. That had to be why he was not very warm to light wings from beyond his pack. Yes, that explained everything.
The two-leg ground-kin living deeper in their own nest were very different from any kin. He had many questions. Where had the two-leg ground-kin come from? How strong-thinking were they? How did they live without wings or balance without tails?
He heard Moon-Dancer give a loud and pleased roar. Moon-Dancer had probably found what they were looking for, so he took flight to find him and Mist-Wings.
This waking-cycle had not gone very well, but he was hopeful future ones would be better. Being around Mist-Wings when her kin were not as worried would probably help. Getting to know the rest of her kin and the ground-kin two-legs would also be good.
Shadowwing nudged his brother's shoulder and led him aside to speak on their own. He had not said much during that meeting with Light-Hunter, mostly because it wasn't directly his business. But he still saw something he felt he had to mention, though it might be unpleasant to bring it up.
"We need to talk."
"What about?"
"I made mistakes with Hidden-Hope. By keeping her trapped and not trusting her enough, I made her think she needed to fly away to prove herself. Do not make that mistake with Mist-Wings."
Was-Grounded's eyes narrowed slightly, "What do you mean?"
"I understand why you want to keep Mist-Wings safe. We all do. But you could have been warmer to Light-Hunter. He did nothing bad."
"Easy for you to say. What am I supposed to think when I hear a strange male was sneaking after my daughter? You know what he might want!"
He rolled his eyes, "Did you ever secretly watch Green-Wings before you were mates?"
"Yes, but that is different!"
"No, it is not. You and he were both interested by what they saw. Mist-Wings said he was respectful to her, did not threaten her, and asked to be brought to us. What more could we ask for him to do? He does not know what happened to her."
Was-Grounded scowled and looked away, his tail tapping on the ground.
He continued, "Mist-Wings will probably want someone eventually. You cannot change that. Do not push away or be cold to someone who will probably be good and respectful to her. There is no good reason to not trust him or not give him a chance."
Was-Grounded grumbled, "I... just want her to be safe."
"So do I. There is such a thing as too safe. Light-Hunter knows not to threaten her, and she is not as weak as she was before. Just try to be warm to him. Will you?"
Was-Grounded huffed, "Maybe."
"Good enough. I will lead him through the shared-nest and show him the ground-kin."
Flies-Bravely returned to the flat outside Kin-liver's den. Carrying a bucket of water by the handle in her jaws was not easy, and the water splashed a lot. But she was eager to do this for her... for Rain-Eater. He needed the help.
Mist-Wings, Moon-Dancer, and the new Light Fury named Light-Hunter had found a bee-hive-nest from which Kin-liver took some sweet-honey-water. Kin-liver used a waking-cycle mixing together many plants, water, and sweet-honey-water into a hurt-helping mix. That mix would apparently help Rain-Eater.
She carefully landed and trotted to Kin-liver, Rain-Eater, Safiya, and Green-Wings. His shoulder hurt was looking and smelling bad, as if rot was growing in it.
Kin-liver took the bucket, thanked her, and arranged all the things she was going to use: a bowl of green plant-mix, furs for cleaning tools, a knife-claw, and buckets of water.
Kin-liver grabbed the knife-claw and sat by Rain-Eater, "Ready?"
He groaned and lay his head on his paws, "Yess."
Safiya knelt at his head and lay a paw on his head, "Be brave!"
She had no doubt that Rain-Eater was brave and would be strong for this. Kin-liver needed to cut out the rot from the hurt, which would probably hurt Rain-Eater when doing it.
He chuckled, "You might want to hold me down if I... hurt much in this."
"Got it."
Green-Wings nuzzled his head on his other side, "I will help, my son. Be strong."
"Well, I suppose I can be strong for the most important females in my life!"
It struck her that he was surrounded by Kin-liver, Safiya, his dam-mother, and herself. And he included her in that list of most important females in his life. That had to mean something!
Kin-liver got to work, cutting away the rot from Rain-Eater's hurt while he whined in pain. Her liver hurting for him, she helped hold him down so he did not accidentally thrash or hurt the ground-kin.
The scent of his life-water filled the air as he whined in pain. Finally, Kin-liver cleaned off the life-water from his shoulder and asked Safiya to give her the hurt-helping mix. She watched as Kin-liver put the hurt-helping mix into the hurt.
To her relief, Rain-Eater stopped whining almost as soon as Kin-liver finished and put the bandage-furs over the hurt.
Kin-liver gently patted his neck, "Done. You should rest here for the next few cycles. I want to regularly check it."
"Finne, if I musst," he grumbled.
Green-Wings nuzzled and licked his neck, "Son, you stay here and rest until you are well."
"Yes, dam-mother."
Green-Wings faced her, "Will you stay with him and help him? I should go back to Wind-Dancer."
"I will," she answered.
Green-Wings purred, briefly nuzzled her, and flew off while Safiya whispered warm words to him.
Kin-liver got her attention, "Are you staying with him?"
She nodded.
"Okay, be sure he gets lots of rest, and come get me if he needs more help."
She nodded again before Kin-liver and Safiya departed, leaving her alone with him.
"How much does it hurt?" she whispered.
"Not much. More than it did before this, but it had to be done."
She glanced at the shared-nest visible in the distance from here, "I will bring you fish when you want them. Water too."
He chuckled, "How was carrying the water in the bucket?"
"Not easy. Ground-kin paws are much better for carrying things than ours. I had to use my mouth to hold the bucket."
"Anyway, thank you for the help and for saving my life in the fight."
She chuckled, "You did not put enough points into defense for your... fighter."
He laughed, "No. Good thing you had the faded stealth advantage and a very big bonus attack from stealth!"
"It was, how do you say it, a critical attack?"
They laughed together, and his laughter was good and liver-warming.
He lay his head on his paws while facing her, "Are you going anywhere?"
She shrugged, not having anything important to do anywhere else, "I have no plans. Why?"
He purred, shuffled in place, and lay his tail on hers, which it was obvious what that meant. He had never done anything like that before to intentionally make her life-organ skip a beat. It was very good and liver-warming!
"I can rest here with you, if I must. We can think about new deep caves and sky-kin game-flights too," she proposed.
He hummed in thought, "Would you ever want to be the deep caves master who guides the game-flights?"
That was a fun idea, since she liked using imagination to think about different flights and places.
"Maybe, but I would need to learn to talk in ground-kin first."
"Sure, having game-flights without our ground-kin friends is not as fun. How is that learning?"
"Slow. I mostly know names and a pawful of important words. But there are rules that are not always rules! It is very twisting!"
He groaned, "The more you learn about ground-kin, the more twisted you see they are. Their words are no different."
Shadowwing strolled through the trampled streets of New Haven while Light-Hunter walked beside him. The Light Fury kept glancing in curiosity at the homes, storehouses, shops, and stations providing various services. The people of New Haven either continued on with their duties and tasks, or, if they realized Light-Hunter was a new dragon, briefly stared at him.
He had already introduced Light-Hunter to Valka, Alvor, Safiya, and Gobber, naturally without any problems. Light-Hunter was entirely amicable and curious about them. Despite being told that humans could speak, Light-Hunter was still surprised when he heard them and learned that he could reply to them in kind.
"What is that one for?" Light-Hunter asked, gesturing at a building.
"We bring fish or meat there, dry the food so it does not rot, and keep the food there."
Light-Hunter hummed in thought, "So you do not need to hunt and find all your food when you are hungry?"
"Correct. We plan for future waking-cycles."
Light-Hunter kept walking and nodded at the Great Hall, "What is that very big one?"
He sat down beside him and purred with pride, "That is our Great-Hall-den. All the ground-kin and some of the smaller sky-kin can go inside together for bonding-ceremonies, food-eating ceremonies, and talks with all the pack. They can also go in there for safety if the range was attacked, like happened recently."
Light-Hunter warbled and looked away, "I am sorry about that."
He snorted and shoved Light-Hunter's shoulder, "Do not apologize for what you did not do. Please follow me."
They kept walking through the village, and Light-Hunter remained very curious all throughout, observing the non-Fury dragons either dozing, gliding, or helping with various work.
He stopped on a slope overlooking the stretches of fields, dozens of people working the fields down below, watering plants, picking herbs and vegetables, and tending to the crops.
"What do you think about the ground-kin?"
"They look like good life. I like how they are sharing a range with the kin... with the sky-kin here. What is sky?"
Right, this problem again.
He stretched and faced Light-Hunter, "It is difficult to explain and much easier to see. You know that we and the ground-kin came from very different ranges?"
"I have heard."
"The ranges we came from are very different from all the ones you know. The above has no end to the ranges, we can fly much higher, and... and you really need to see the ranges to know them. No words are enough."
Light-Hunter purred, "How can I see that above?"
"Some of us fly to the above every so often to help protect these ranges against dangers. You could fly with our kin when they fly to the above."
"That sounds fun. I would like to do that."
They looked up as Lone-Spark flew overhead before landing on top of the Great Hall.
"Who is that?" Light-Hunter asked.
"She is Lone-Spark. She is living with us for now, but she will probably fly somewhere else later."
Light-Hunter hummed, "I do not know that name from the ranges my kin flew in. Where is she from?"
He shrugged, "Beyond. She was once with a twisted pack that has rotted rules and a foul Alpha."
"I know of that pack. My sire-father and dam-mother explained why to never fly there."
"What do other light wings say about that pack?" he asked, curious.
Light-Hunter snorted, "They say everyone in that pack is flying backwards, going nowhere because they are trapped, and forgetting everything important. How did she get out of that pack?"
"We got her as a… gift."
Light-Hunter grumbled, "What? You take gifts of kin?"
"Not as a rule, and we do not give such gifts. In her situation, it only helped her. You can ask her if you have any doubts."
"Hmm, I do not want to scare her. Females in that pack do not have their wants respected. Plus, I would not want to tempt her with how strong I am!"
He rolled his eyes, amused at Light-Hunter's bravado, "You can go ahead and talk to her. She… does not look at males that way. Her interest is different."
Light-Hunter huffed, "I see. Good. Can I see more of this mixed-nest?"
He led Light-Hunter onward, showing him the inside of the Great Hall, fields of crops, rows of homes, Gobber's smithy, the stables in which several dragons were dozing, and the storehouse containing fish and meats. They met a few familiar faces, and he introduced Light-Hunter, explaining that he would be staying with them for some time.
Having met everyone and shown off everything important about New Haven, he led Light-Hunter outside to a ledge overlooking an expanse of forest.
"So, thoughts about ground-kin?"
Light-Hunter snorted, "How do they walk on two legs without tails to balance?"
He chuckled, "Practice. Any other thoughts?"
"They look warm to the other kin… sky-kin here. I do not know their words though."
"Those are difficult to learn. You can learn if you want."
Light-Hunter hummed, "Maybe I will. That would help if I want to stay here long and-"
Light-Hunter said nothing else, staring into the distance without saying anything.
"Something nibbling your tail?"
"What did I do wrong with Was-Grounded? Why does he hate me?"
He groaned, momentarily frustrated with his brother's attitude displayed when Light-Hunter first arrived, "No, you did nothing wrong. It might have been better if you flew straight to us to announce yourself instead of hiding in the forest, but I understand why you did not."
"I was worried you dark wings might attack me or that there was still fighting here!"
"I know. My brother knows too, but he is very protective of us all. He does not hate you, though it might not look like it. Do you want advice?"
"Please."
"All you must do to be accepted here is be respectful. I do not know much about you or what you might have done in the past. Mist-Wings or Aurora would want you to be slow about getting to know them and their kin. You will not find eager females here, if that matters to you."
Light-Hunter looked a little embarrassed or anxious about the topic, "I want a life-mate, as I said."
"Good. Be patient, respect all of us, help work for our pack, and you will always be welcome with us, whatever else happens or does not happen."
Light-Hunter purred and bent his head, "Thank you, Shadowwing."
Several roars sounded as Moon-Dancer, Hidden-Hope, and Night-Light swooped in and landed before leaping toward Light-Hunter.
"Children, what are you doing?" he asked them.
Moon-Dancer nodded at Light-Hunter, "We came to ask him if he wants to explore with us. We will stay in the shared-range."
Hidden-Hope spoke up, "We finished our work for the waking-cycle."
Light-Hunter got to his paws and stretched his wings and limbs, "That sounds fun! Want to play a game?"
Hidden-Hope smugly purred, "Yes! We all have fade, so we should do hide and hunt while faded!"
Night-Light eagerly bounced on his paws, "I will hide! Big brother will be the hunter!"
Shadowwing chuckled, "Go play!"
Light-Hunter and his three oldest children flew off together away from New Haven.
He will fit in well here.
He was sure nothing would happen between Light-Hunter and either of his nieces any time soon. Mist-Wings was much stronger than she had been shortly after she was attacked. Whether she was emotionally well again wasn't so clear. There was no way to know if she would want or welcome such attention.