Midday
Waking up as he did was not very pleasant as Aric's newly crafted body ached in response to his squirming on the ground. Soon enough he opened his amber eyes and looked onto familiar surroundings, buildings that possessed designs unique only to their tribe, Draco Hunter.
"This is Fasphas, why am I here?" He attempted to raise himself only to run into some difficulty as he was still unused to his current movement since this was a different body that didn't function like his previous form, fortunately, Aric seemed to understand it as if it was second nature to him. Once he got both to move when he commanded, he rose himself slowly off the ground, each of his legs tensing as he tested the new muscles. Sufficiently standing as high as a Night Fury possibly could, the former human looked around the village he had known most of his life and saw only buildings that lay blackened by the fires with the soil having remnants of ash floating around the air as the wind had temporarily picked up.
He looked to the right briefly before focusing his attention to the house his former parents had lived in. He didn't know of their fates, but he also hardly cared, the only one that mattered to him was Talog, his mentor and surrogate father, something the man himself hadn't known
'And now, he never will.' the dragon depressedly thought.
His mind began to refocus as the dragon noticed the slow swaying of his tail from behind as he was feeling the movement of the extra limb as well as the fidgeting of his wings much like an excited person with their hands shaking. He gazed at the scarlet red markings that ran along the top members of his wings and even enveloped the bottom of them, the wind wafted against his face as he was mesmerized by his wings, causing him to turn to the sky with a serene expression on his dragon face.
He kept his gaze with the blue sky, not once changing when suddenly his wings began to fidget about once more, causing his paws to fidget as well for an unknown reason to him. It had gone too far when unknowingly he was walking toward the edge of the cliff he woke upon, he didn't notice as he was practically hypnotized by the sky. When his forelegs found no ground to step onto, he knew he was in trouble as he soon fell twisting about. Panic set in as the ground was fast approaching, so he did what he thought was right and righted his body with his wings, as his speed increased, Aric oriented his body so that his wings now carried him far quite fast but he could feel the wind uncomfortably blowing against his wings before it calmed down. Now gliding along the sky, Aric saw the world from a point of viewpoint that only dragons were capable of beholding thanks to their wings, one his people considered cursed because of the one's who held it. Staring along the ocean and at the sea stacks that dotted around his former island, he could see that they were wrong, while they were currently at war with each other species-wide, neither side was completely mindless, just misguided.
That was the moment when his claws were streaming along the water as he had gotten to close for comfort as he flapped furiously his wings to place some distance between the big body of water and himself. Aric returned to Fasphas and landed on it unsuccessfully, he rose from his awkward placement before shaking his head from side to side to rid the stars from his eyes.
"Enjoying a flight in the sky?"
Turning to the right with haste, the once human saw Bahamut watching him with a smile on his face, "You actually turned me into a Night Fury."
"Yes, and look at how you're turning out. Already able to fly, kind of. With time, however, that will change." the dragon god assured.
Nodding at the piece said, Aric responded with confusion evident in his voice, "Why did you bring me here of all places?"
Treading around the Night Fury until his body practically circled him, Bahamut answered finally, "Best place for you to learn how to be a dragon. Though you are already better than I believed you would be if your flying is anything to go by. I will assist you in refining your flight, I do not want you to die so easily because you didn't know how to fight as one of us."
The earth beneath shifted from their previous position and formed into humanoid shapes before their rock appearance altered into the guises of Outcasts, something that was noticed by the Night Fury as his gaze sharpened at the sight of familiar forms. Images filled his mind, movements being revealed to him, enough for guidance without coddling.
A total of six "Outcasts" neared his position, slowly advancing as they sneered at him with their various weapons poised in their hands, studying their positioning, Aric tensed his posture before pouncing upon his opponents. He ended up in between the group before he struck by spinning around to clothesline an incoming Viking before turning his head to the side as a sword came near to chopping off one of his ears flaps, he responded by clawing at the Viking with enough strength to kill the animation with the one hit by twisting the neck. As an axe wielder ran up behind him, the dragon utilized his tail to trip the creation before outstretching his wing to knock aside a Viking with a bludgeon, the other three were close to surrounding him, so the amber-eyed Night Fury spun full circle in order to clip each of the Vikings with either his tail or right-wing causing each of the three to go flying a distance away.
As the ax wielder rose to its feet, it looked into the amber eyes of Aric who stood before it with his teeth bared, chomping down on its face before slamming the body against the ground multiple times with plenty of force, unaware of his scarlet markings glowing dimly in the day.
Bahamut caught the glow however, 'Good, it seems like his Ascendant energy has acclimated rather well to him if it is increasing his instincts like this.'
Releasing the body, he continued his assault by leaping at the 'vikings' that had already risen off the ground, with the one in front already charging at him. He gripped onto the incoming spear with his maw before wrenching from its grip and shoving the spear into its gut and watched as it crumbled to the ground as the energy to go on left it. The bludgeon wielder had crossed the distance and attempted at swinging to swing for the dragon's head only to miss multiple times at catching it's target. Its efforts were halted as the dragon sunk his claws deep into the abdomen of the animation before pulling out a large clump with a heavy grip. The final two ran up to him with no fear evident in their faces but they were animations created from the earth so it was a moot point.
As they hastened toward Aric, a fire ignited within his gullet as he watched them, the sight of those sets of armor vexed him as it reminded him of those he had witnessed killed by the Outcast's hands as he was in battle. Before he knew it, a purple bolt was fired from his mouth before impacting one of the outcasts, as soon as it did the blast was large enough for the other to be incinerated simultaneously due to proximity
Throughout it all, Bahamut watched as Aric tore through the foes that were sent after him, the glow of the markings had ceased, but their influence was noticed.
The dragon in question walked up to him before declaring, "What do you have planned for me next?"
The god said nothing at first before responding, "Follow me." He leaped into the air as his wings carried him high with a single bound.
Looking at the display, he joined Bahamut after remarking, "Show-off." The animated earth left behind fell to pieces as soon as they both were a good distance away from the island.
At the same level in the air, Aric only looked at the view that was presented to him as he flew alongside Bahamut.
He was removed from his reverie as Bahamut stated, "You really don't need much guidance in learning how to be a dragon, you didn't notice but the power that is within you allowed for you to get used to your new body much faster as your ability to fly much easier than having the difficulty a hatchling would find getting used to their movements."
Hearing about that 'power' again made Aric question, "What does this power do exactly? How could it have such diverse effects to be able to cause such havoc as you mentioned?"
A scowl made its way to the dragon gods' visage, "The Power I speak of, Ascendant energy, power of those beyond mortal and yet under the gods, it may have granted them abilities but these powers are tied to who you are and in time many caused the chaos, for greed, lust, the dominance of whatever twisted reason. Its properties allow for it to intermingle with the host so deep that the being's aspects intertwine with the energy thus forming whatever abilities they possess. From what I saw, you adapt to your situations quite quickly, there is undoubtedly more but for now, that's all I can tell you, what else there is to figure out about your abilities is for you to learn."
Pondering the explanation, Aric gave no reply.
Looking to the silent dragon, Bahamut sighed before continuing, "I know you have no path in mind, despite the new life given to you, but you can find a path in the good that you can bring in this blood-filled world, there's too much infighting between both the dragons and humans but the conflict between them both is even greater. Should it continue, the dragons of Midgard will fade and will only be a myth. My influence in this world faded when the Order was demolished, now, Norse Gods have the most influence. With you, however, you can cause some good in this world, make things for the better."
Even flying high in the clouds, Aric stilled looked at the dragon with a dumbfound expression, "From what you're making it sound like, it sounds as if I would be some sort of hero or some champion of the gods by doing acts of valor such as saving villages and defending the innocent." he said with sarcasm evident.
"No, nothing so illuminating for you. You are still just a dragon with great instincts, before any saving however, we'll have to see if you're capable to fight." replied Bahamut.
"Didn't I already take down those...'Vikings' of yours a few minutes ago?" commented Aric.
"Yes, but do you think those were challenging No? Of course not, they were to test you, humans are more challenging creatures than what you went against as you already know. I cannot have you dying so quickly after bringing you back to life. So I must test your skills for myself" he replied.
"I won't go down so easy." declared the Night Fury.
Almost immediately Bahamut replied back, "Then show me! Attack me and injure me in some way and you'll have proven yourself." The Dragon god rammed into the ebony-scaled dragon sending both nosediving before they leveled themselves out.
Aric didn't have his eyes on the god but kept his ears alert in case he decided on anymore surprise attacks. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case as they both landed on a nearby island, a ways from each other. Their gazes locking as they began planning their first move, while Bahamut was more relaxed in this spar, Aric though was completely tense, after all, he was facing a god, he would has to hope that he would at least be able to scratch the old dragon.
He was unprepared however, for the god to leap into the air with his wings providing even more height before propelling himself downward toward his position, Aric leaped forward to dodge the charge that formed cracks along the ground. However, he was still struck by Bahamut's tail slamming into his side after landing, the Night Fury used the momentum to land on his paws before turning quickly to fire off three consecutive plasma blasts at the dragon who had already crossed the distance and tanked all three shots to his face before running through the Night Fury, raising him into the air by his head with his horns then he threw the amber-eyed Fury him into a stone wall. Shaking off the dizzied feeling, Aric refocused onto the threat in front of him, he saw the dragon keep his position for firing a stream of flames toward him. He ran along the stone floor as the flames followed behind before he jumped onto a stone wall ahead of him and jumped off before using his wings to fly toward the god. He was able to rush into him and cause Bahamut to go off balance but he stayed firm and it only sent him back onto his hind clearing the stars from his head after ramming into the hard hide, once he stopped the blinking he saw a paw about to be sent down atop his head and so he dove forward around the western dragon, dragging a claw along his scales as he did while the god's paw that broke through the stone it impacted instead.
He had thought he had won but a large wing barreled into him while he was still airborne, after rolling along the ground, he looked back at the 'wound' only to find no apparent injury to the area he thought he gashed. However, there was no time to rest anymore when Bahamut dashed forward pushing against the young dragon once close with his forepaws causing him to go bouncing along the earth but he was able to ground his claws against the stone floor. Seeing Bahamut walk on with no apparent worry irked him, he raised himself with a bit of effort only to dodge a fireball that sailed past his left side. Ignoring an explosive sound from behind, Aric charged forward, meeting Bahamut head on, quite literally as both butted heads against one another, glaring into each other's eyes.
He slammed a paw against the dragons face but saw no mark, only succeeded in tilting his head quite a bit before being hit in the face himself but he was able to stay firm against the force of the blow before planting his paws against the ground to stop his fall, only to jump off the ground and ram into the dragon god, sending both rolling along the floor before he (Aric) was shoved off and landed on his back. Anger shined through at how he was being trounced around, sure he was facing a god but he believed his conviction of himself being worthy of this second chance was strong enough but he clearly would have to try harder to win this 'fight'. His marking were glowing once more reaching all around him when Bahamut charged forward to end this, Aric was attempting to raise himself with his head facing down. Once close he prepared to knock the Night Fury out in one hit, however, he hadn't expected Aric to turn suddenly and fire a plasma blast right at his incoming paw before being laid out cold. Bahamut looked on, a bit disappointed before flinching as he laid his paw down, he turned it and saw that the middle of the paw was seared while the scales in the middle were gone revealing the flesh with, but it was enough.
Looking to the downed dragons fading marks, 'Seems you've got some untapped potential, but don't we all?'
A Week Later
Elsewhere with the sun lowered a bit from its apex, a Night Fury flapped his wings against the raging winds going against him. The winds clashed against his draconic amber eyes, partly blinding him by the tears that were erupting from his pair of eyes. It finally got to a point that Aric decided to fly over to a nearby island, he saw that it possessed a tall mountain overrun with snow that manifested into a stream of water flowing downhill, as well as tree's for cover from this unyielding wind.
Gliding downward, the Night Fury touched down with small crunching sound emanating from the grass as he landed. His form camouflaged by the shade of the two trees near him, he crept toward the stream that calmly traveled on. Approaching, he lowered his head near the crystal clear water and began lapping up the liquid, clarity immediately returning as he did so.
Upon waking from his unconscious state, Aric surveyed his surrounding before being told by an out-of-sight Bahamut, that he had passed his test. After, there wasn't much more besides the god informing him to be careful of his abilities, not to use it for nefarious purposes, before his departure, the dragon god gave Aric a few warnings before disappearing. The past week the Night Fury spent it merely surviving, he flew long distances to get used to the flight, after he would find an island to rest on and recuperate. Earlier he traveled along the sky to endure the differing winds, he didn't know the wind would have enough force to temporarily blind him. His attention was stolen when a rustling alerted his ears, he paused his drinking and looked behind at a slow pace, his gaze caught sight of nothing, apparently nothing to disturb him. Turning back, he continued drinking water. A few seconds passed before a weight had crashed into his side, one with very light bodyweight, the crash also sent his face dipping into the stream.
His head reemerged with his eyes darting to the side as he looked to whatever the cause of the disturbance was. What awaited him was a single, light blue Terrible Terror, it possessed a size that was larger than most of its kind and it was looking at him with an expression akin to awe, while also touching his hind leg for whatever reason, commanding the limb to maneuver out of the small dragon's range of touch. Aric oriented his head once more to finish drinking water only to feel tapping sensation on his claws. Sighing heavily, the once human looked to the pest disturbing him and fixed the sitting Terrible Terror with a glare that would scare most dragons but the small dragon in front of him only stared back, still with a look of pure wonderment.
"What do you want?" Those were the only words he was going to say until he figured out why the little dragon was bothering him, also because he didn't want to lose his anger out on the dragon.
At first, there was no reply until he heard some mumbling, "You're...You're a Night Fury.
"Yes I believe I am, what's the problem?" he responded with aggression, he just wanted to enjoy his solitude.
"Sorry, I'm just surprised. Hardly anyone, ever meets a Night Fury but the tales are still ever known."
This was something else he encountered in his travels, while his tribe knew Night Furies were a rare species, he had no clue that they wre practically extinct! Most often than not, he would be a sudden interest to the dragons around. There were moments when he had to fight battle-craving dragons that were eager to battle one of the more deadly dragon species, Aric didn't complain as it allowed him to get a feel for his dragon body and defeat his opponents, with each fight he got more used to his new way of combat.
His gaze refocused on the dragon before him.
There were also moments when dragons got too curious for their own good, often asking him questions of the events that had taken place. It was a simple solution to this dilemma however, he didn't need to fill their questions with answers and instead ignored them and/or left the area for a new solitude.
Unfortunately, he was weary from his flight and was possessing feelings of indolence, so Aric decided to fill the Terrible Terrors curiosity to regain his solitude.
"I suppose so." was all that was said
He hoped for no more questions to arise, he was greatly disappointed, "Have you seen any others of your kind?
A flash of memories went through his head after that was said, which developed his next reply, "Only one, but we went our separate ways quite a while ago, we only worked together to fight off a human threat, that was all." If he wished to fool the dragon, a small lie would have to be crafted.
"Flying over an island, I heard a screech resounding through the air with my perceptive ears, I saw another of my kind being attacked, a bind kept him grounded by his wings. I-I couldn't allow such a fate befall another of my kind, especially with so few of us left, I flew into the fray and killed two of them in their surprise, I was able to hold the others off long enough for my ally to assist me in ending the rest. After all was said and done, he thanked me and we went our separate ways." his piece said, the Night Fury leaped across the spread of water in an attempt to escape any more conversation and in the attempt to find food. Beginning his hunt padding along the ground, his head moved around to smell for any nearby prey to feast upon, only for another, slightly more familiar scent to invade his nostrils, turning to the right while looking up at the nearby tree that housed the same little dragon that bothered him.
"Your an annoying one aren't you?" griped the adolescent
"Curious is what I'd call it." the blue Terror retorted snarkily.
The ebony-scaled dragon chuckled unexpectedly, causing the little dragon to glide down to his side, due to the calmness that Aric currently exhibited.
A couple of seconds after, Aric fixed him with a hard stare however, "Why are you really here? You don't just meet a Night Fury, have a conversation and continue it needlessly, even finding another of my species didn't result in us conversing as if we were friends! Not only that, but you were the one to get my attention so conspicuously. You wanted my attention for a reason, you might as well just get to it."
He kept an unflinching gaze before changing to a weary expression, it was enough to cause Aric to flinch back a bit in surprise, "No use hiding anymore right? Your right, I came here to find you, but not for any hostile intentions." the last part was said quickly once the suspicious gaze that was being directed at him was noticed.
"I was ordered to find you." revealed the Terrible Terror.
Puzzlement was the most prominent of his feelings, something that was quickly rectified by the other.
"My Clan are in a war with a Titan Dragon."
His eyes blinked in shock, he had heard of these types of dragons from Bahamut, apparently these were the most authoritative dragons of this era, each possessing the ability to hold sway over other dragons, with or without their willingness to act. And these dragons were fighting one?
"Please Continue."
"In short, our elder Alpha was once strong enough to shield us from the Queen's oppressive mind through his dominance, soon enough they battled he emerged the victor, forcing her to leave and find another area to feast in. However, as the years went by, our Alpha began weakening because of age, he soon informed us of how his influence now lessens as he reaches his final years. As if sensing his weakening strength, the Queen attacked once more but in the form of dragon hordes meant to kill us all. While there are a great many of us, most are injured from previous engagements or are elderly or hatchlings, others are not fighters while our own forces suffer injuries when more fights break out, we are able to hold off her attacks and freeing a few brainwashed dragons in the process while causing the rest to retreat to her lair. But we are still losing more than she can just bend to her will, we have a lot of wounded that are in the process of being healed and we can't keep up the fight with more of our guard joining them. It's forced us to go searching for others to assist us in this struggle, after all none of their species is good for us!"
Taking a breath he continued, "After hearing rumors of a Night Fury being around these parts, I and three others were sent to scout the islands in this region for a couple of days and see if you would be willing to help us in our plight. Please, we don't know how long we'll last like this without any aid." He knew that what he was asking was nothing short of suicide, he also knew that most wouldn't even agree to fight for a home that isn't their own, as well as the possibility of losing their minds to the control of the Queen, but he had to try. He had to see for himself if others would rise to join them in their effort to take down this Queen, though it could only be done as a united force, if not. They were doomed.
"I accept." acknowledged the Night Fury, entailing his eyes to widen at his words.
Hearing of their situation he couldn't just sit by while something like that was going on, an evil dragon set on bending others to her will so she can prosper. Aric had heard all about them from the Dragon God, he was warned of area's to steer away from so he wouldn't fall to the same fate.
"While I may not know of you or your clan, I do know that such a force must be stopped. Besides, I can't just leave people to suffer when I'm not exactly doing anything with my life besides surviving day by day." he explained his decision.
A loud growl was heard that moment, "Although, I would rather leave when my stomach is full." proposed the hungry Night Fury.
Shaking his head at the mood change before responding with his agreement, "Yes, I am quite hungry too. Let's hunt together, after, we can fly to my Home."
Nodding at the idea, the red-marked Fury made it a couple of steps before he eyed the terror from the side of his left eye, "And you can also explain to me better of your Clan, if I'm gonna be fighting for them, it would be best that I know best where I'll make my home."
"Of course and by the way, my name is Okeley." introduced the now-named Terrible Terror.
"Aric."
Continuing on both were silent at this point, simply listening to the sounds of nature around them, both hunting for prey of their own. As they traveled along the grass eventually they separated but still close enough to know where the other was by mere glimpses.
Until a sound drew Aric's head sharply to the right, what caused it was a deer that was walking aways away and it had stepped on a branch if his keen eyes were correct. It was also quite aware of him and if his guess was correct, the poor thing was attempting to sneak away before it was noticed. Their eyes shared a glance before it bolted away, blood rushing in excitement, the hunter crossed the distance of where it had last been standing with a wing guided leap before darting for his soon to be meal.
The deer ran fast, very fast, it must have been at the peak of its prime, as a human, this would have been extremely difficult if not impossible. But he was a dragon now, had been for quite a bit. Stalking the now steadfast but cautious deer, his mind began to ponder his time as a Night Fury.
As he traveled island to island, encountering other dragons, he found that they all weren't that different from humans, besides their characteristics but they were just like humans in possessing their personalities. Not the mindless beasts that his village believed they were, but it didn't mean he wanted any companions especially considering the species he was. He didn't like the questioning it would bring, standing and talking, standing and talking, it was nonsense to him! He enjoyed the fights better than satiating others' curiosity, he loved the feeling of his blood rushing throughout his body as well as the flight he did not take for granted. There were moments that the red-marked Fury would get annoyed enough to instigate a fight, but none that went out of hand as he simply relied on his inherent skills, at the end of each fight, both would fly away satisfied at facing a worthy competitor, not to the death. His few fights had taught him about dragons and their unique fighting styles when compared to humans, they used their attributes to their advantage to get the drop on the opponent with whatever features assisting them in whatever way they deem necessary. Once, a Zippleback attempted to constrict his body by wrapping both necks around tightly, it failed of course, but it was a teaching moment for him.
Watching as the deer was now grazing reminded the dragon of the food-gathering portion of his journey, most times he would resort to catching fish to fill his gullet but there were moments like these when he found the calling to hunt for a meal. His experience in hunting as a human allowed him a template to start on, as he began it was tough at first getting used to the body, but as he practiced and refined his new skills, it soon began to fall into a routine. As such, his experience of eating deer allowed him to know that such an animal filled his stomach much greater than a simple fish would do but, of course, it would still only be a snack when compared to his larger size. Each hunt was worth it however as he excelled far better than the previous one, even as a human he enjoyed the hunt greatly to the point he wasn't around his former parents' home any longer and instead built his own. Now, he was a beast of the wild, no longer bound to a single territory, he was free to explore and travel.
SHINK!!!
His teeth and claws emerged sharply as he grinned toothily, watching his quarry walk away into the denser part of this forest while being followed by silent padding along the grass. Managing to sneak to a bush that completely shielded his body from sight, the Night Fury eyed through the brush for the game he hunted with such vigilance, he saw his opportunity as soon as the animal began to chew on the bush a few feet from him. Grinning, he burst through the leaved bush and gripped onto the neck of the animal with his maw and before it could attempt to struggle out of the fixed hold, a quick twist ensured a crack to resound through the area, the corpse was then dropped to the grass. As he looked down at his game, Aric felt only victory.
As a smaller dragon, it was more difficult to hunt for a meal. Not to say it was impossible, but the smaller size of his species didn't allow for greater advantages over animals that were bigger than them. When they separated, Okeley made sure to stay within a certain range of his Night Fury companion which went out the windows when said companion fled for his own game. Now completely solo, the light blue dragon was following a herd of boar currently, doing his best to stay in the shadows, waiting for a member of the group to separate from the rest, things would kickstart once the event begins.
His opportunity then arrived. When one of the adults by his observation separated from the herd to munch on a bush. Leaping from his perch, Okeley tackled the off-guard boar with both rolling along in the brush, he got to his paws first and watched as his quarry went to raise itself after recovering. It didn't get the chance when the blue dragon leaped before its downed foe, pushing the pig onto its side and grasp onto its throat before jerking his head to the right, yanking a chunk out of the beast's body. Blood flowed from the fatal wound, even as the animal stilled from lack of blood, looking down as his kill, the dragon sank his teeth into the belly, greedily filling his stomach. He finished when the belly no longer had any suitable muscle to consume. Licking his red-tinted chops, the Terrible Terror walked along a lowering slope, looking down into the cove that remained below him, he saw the tantalizing to quench his thirst before bounding down.
He lapped up the clear water and savored the chill it brought to his mouth as he did so, he kept going till his belly was sated. Thankfully, not enough to harm his flying capabilities, so he looked back up at the radiance that lit up the sky, he figured the day was near over and night was fast approaching. He would have to return to the red-marked Night Fury so as not to lose his interest, there was too much at stake for him to waste his time any longer. Thinking about the trials he may have to soon face, the little dragon sighed, it wouldn't be easy to deal with the monster that they're facing up against as well as the dragons she had under her command.
A smile illuminated his face in opposition to his thought process, though with help like his new friend it would be an easier process. He turned sharply before bounding up and out of the cove, eager to see what awaits him and his Clan.
Unaware of a dragon watching his movements with honed eyes.
Far away from their island, a dragon remained at rest, allowing its flock to do all their while she remained strong and fed whereas her slaves risked their lives day and night for him to live. She would watch as the pest gathered a Night Fury to his cause, A Night Fury!
An ominous chuckle ran through the chamber, his luck had just increased with the machinations of his enemies, thought the being while looking at violet eyes that stared at a fresh kill, completely devoid of any of the passion that would normally be felt.
Meeting up once more after retracing their steps, both flew into the sky with Aric purposefully slowing himself so he remained behind the short-winged dragon. That was until Okeley positioned the flaps of his wings to carry him until he was over Aric's head, pulling his wings in, the little dragon landed on the cat-like dragons back, sitting down while the flyer stared back at him incredulously.
"You're faster than me, I'll guide you to our home while you fly us there." stated his intrepid guide.
He kept his gaze forward after a few seconds with his ears lowered to his head and eyes squinted, revealing his displeasure to his passenger.
Mentally chuckling at the display, he began directing the bat-like dragon to their destination.
Few minutes of silence passed, currently, Aric was flying in an unswerving path with Okeley staring ahead with a pensive expression, he was snapped from his mused state by the Night Fury below him.
"So, what about that talk of your clan?"he inquired.
"Ah yes, I did tell you I would inform you of the clan. Are there any specifics you would like to know?" questioned the Terrible Terror
A hum resonated through his throat as he thought to himself, "Your Alpha if he can resist the subjugation of a Titan, what is he?"
Unknowing to the Night Fury, Okeley gained an anxious expression, he wasn't prepared to talk about his Alpha quite yet as he didn't know how the Night Fury would react to him but he did his best to dissuade the flyer from that line of questioning.
"I would rather you meet him and get your perspective on him, he is quite intimidating but he cares for his colony as if we were his family." informed the Terrible Terror.
Though it seemed suspicious to Aric, he figured that he would find out soon enough, so he relented, but a new question had revealed itself, "Do you have a big colony?"
Smiling, he replied without hesitation, "Yes, big enough to deal with the continued attacks except we had many wounded when I left we were also able to remove a few dragons from the Queen's control. We had a couple of dragons fly to an island where we collect berries and plants that assist in the recovery when I left, however, the island is quite far off from our home and so it would take a few days for them to return, I wish the best for them." he finished. He believed neither would encounter any issues on their mission but he stilled wanted the best for journey.
Confusion erupted in the black dragon's head, "Wait, you use herbs to heal your wounded?" he spoke with a disbelieving tone."
"Yes, it was a skill a few of us learned from watching the humans, they began by using specific plants, leaves, berries, and roots for different injuries and/or ailments. With that, it allows us an easier time of recovery."
His eyes drifted up, looking from the corner of his eyes at his passenger before looking forward again, dragons possessed the knowledge of medicine, or rather at least this Tribe of dragons. It showed that they possessed great ingenuity, they had to have scouted humans healing their wounded to be able to learn this skill or even smelled out the needed herbs and familiarized themselves with the scent, he surmised. It only took them teaching which herbs are needed to others, which allows for it to become a widespread concept to other dragons.
Tilting quite a bit upon his companion telling him to do so after flying by a particular island, before having to stay on course once more.
"How often are the attacks?" probed the Night Fury.
"She's been bold recently, we've seen four attacks with each possessing a great number of dragons."
"You wouldn't happen to know those numbers would you?"
A smug smirk made its way to the dragon's face, "Thanks to me being the lead scout, I do. Our common raid numbers range around the forties whereas our more dangerous raids rise to the eighties."
Aric was surprised for both this dragon being the lead scout of the colony, "How did you become the Lead Scout of your colony for one so small?"
Figuring that he can pass the time off with a tale, Okeley chuckled before beginning, "It didn't start easy as the fourth brother among seven siblings, I lost two sisters to humans before I could even fly and my eldest brother as he was training me on long-distance flying. Though the incident put me down for a few days, I regained my will to continue with my aspiration and I made sure that I was the best in my field of skill. I could spot a Changewing from a couple of yards away, I can use larger objects to blend in with my surroundings, and am light with my steps."
Both eyes rose a bit, impressed that this dragon was able to gain such prestige despite being of a common race, though he knew that anyone has to capacity for anything.
"You made a name for yourself with the skills and the scars to show for it." stated the Night Fury.
The rest of the flight was filled with silence after that with Aric's curiosity being sated for the time being.
(HTTYD: Forbidden Friendship OST/ I Do Not Own!)
He first saw it as a large island, as he got closer, Aric soon saw that instead, it was just a collection of four large islands that were interconnected and would allow for a colony of dragons to live relatively close to each other. Each island was connected by rocks that stretched to each island, keeping them from separating, getting closer, the newcomer could see that each island was quite large, and now that he was before its entirety, he could see that he was dwarfed by its sheer magnitude. Soon enough he entered the trees, his eyes caught sight of dragons hiding within the foliage, each being in a different location. 'Sentries.' he thought as he continued his flight through the foremost island.
He made his way through passageways that were covered with leaves on either side, he followed the native's directions while eyeing his surroundings briefly in wonder. Soon enough, the passageways cleared and allowed for a greater sight, one that made Aric's eyes go wide with amazement.
A ways below, there were fields of grass with spaces occupied by dragons, but it was the considerable number of dragons that left the Night Fury in awe. There were a great many, into the hundreds undoubtedly, though the exact number was lost to him. In his state of wonderment he didn't notice his Terrible Terror passenger fly off his back, now flying solo, the dragon only flew high in the air with no destination in mind.
Snickering at this display, Okeley watched with a smile as his wings kept him hovering, recollecting the number of times he had brought groups of dragons here to live away from the troubles of man. A dragon came to his side, a dark blue Rumblehorn, "So those rumors were right after all, another Night Fury... I assume he's agreed to help then."
Nodding, "Tell your Sentries not to engage, but make sure he's kept out of areas he's not supposed to go." requested the scout.
"Of course, I was going to do that anyway, but you need to snap him back to reality soon, you see it don't you? The apprehension." motioning his horned head toward the others below who were gazing at the black dragon that had flown in their home, a dragon they had witnessed once before. Even from this height, both could see the fear in the eyes of those below.
"I see what you mean, alright, I'll go get him." conceded the scout before flying off toward his charge
By this time, the ebony-scaled dragon already noticed the scouts departure but remained focused on his surroundings, till he saw a vacant stone ledge, bounding upward. It didn't take long for his form to reach the high area, he landed on the mossy stone, watching the masses of dragons that dotted the environment around him. In his admiration, he didn't know that he had someone following him on his flight, a fact that he was about to be aware of in a moment.
SHINK!
Eyes darting back to get a glimpse of the origin of the sound that disturbed him, Aric had to jump back quickly to avoid a red tail that was seemingly made of metal, creating a mini-trench where the impact was. Looking at the assailant, the Night Fury took on a guarded position before asking, "What was that for?"
His assailant was a Razorwhip if he remembered from his studies as a kid correctly, this one before him possessed red metal-like scales for most of its appearance but it possessed an orange underbelly. It also looked quite angry.
"Why else Night Fury? After what you've done, you still come to finish us because of the damned Queen!" at that end, the male Razorwhip pounced forward.
An unknown enemy as well as being a member of this Colony kept Aric from attacking and so he kept to evasion, simply leaping to the side, away from an attack and landing on the grass below, where a few feet away the edge lay.
His claws sunk into the stone enough to leave indents before turning to the right, launching multiple carefully aimed sharp barbs at his target before rushing up himself.
Batting the projectiles aside with his left-wing, Aric had little time to react when he noticed the Razorwhip charging at him, he turned a complete 360 and slammed his tail into the incoming dragon, laying him out onto his back. The metallic-like dragon didn't stay down for long as he soon launched a blue wave of fire from his maw, prompting him to do the same, as both of their streams of flames clashed, they splayed across briefly before dissipating unlike the spread of blue flames clashing against one another. It stayed like that for a few seconds with neither side gaining the advantage, both let up at almost the same time but neither looked close to being weary.
A fire blast in the middle of both of them halted eithers approach as Okeley intervened before things could worse, landing in the exact place he fire, "Alright that enough!"
Looking down at the lead scout, the Razorwhip spoke harshly, "What are you doing?!, This assassin needs to be dealt with before it kills any of us again!!!"
"Cairn, calm down. Thi-" However his words only seemed to instigate the dragon even further.
"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!! I AM TRYING TO STOP THIS NIGHT FURY FROM KILLING ANOTHER MEMBER OF THIS COLONY AND HERE YOU ARE STOPPING ME FROM DOING EXACTLY THAT!!!"
"CALM YOURSELF DENIZEN!" bellowed a loud voice. Each turning to the speaker, it was revealed to be the same Rumblehorn to meet with Okeley. Landing on the stone ledge with a loud thump while glaring at both dragons, daring either them to attack the Terrible Terror in between them both.
Amazingly, even that didn't calm the rageful dragon, as he roared out "NO! NOT UNTIL HE PAYS FOR WHAT HE DID!!!" the red Razorwhip was about to pounce at the Fury once more, only for a small weight to slam into his chest, forcing him back onto the ground with Okeley staring down at him.
"STOP THIS, HE IS NOT THAT NIGHT FURY!!!"
Maybe it was the fact that his head hit the ground a bit hard or that last part of that sentence, either way, it made the dragon stay quiet as Okeley continued his explanation, "This Night Fury, is one that I was sent to find to help us in our fight. The Night Fury who killed Amber was female, believe me, Cairn, I saw her with my own eyes, Fariss was with me that night!" from what Aric could surmise, each of the dragons here knew one another through some previous incident that included another Night Fury. He could move from the corner of his eye and after spotting it, he saw it was from the Rumblehorn and he (Aric) assumed he was Fariss.
His gaze was brought back to the struggle, he saw the relent that his once-foe was allowing and so he relaxed somewhat himself, enough to prepare to dodge once more in case this was a trick, but thankfully it wasn't. Feeling that he could the dragon up and with Fariss watching it would be an easier situation, Okeley stepped off, still a bit cautious but it was unneeded as Cairn rose, eyeing Aric with his narrowed yellow eyes but they relented as the dragon sighed and turned, walking away before flying off as another dragon joined him as they took a particular route.
With the situation effectively diffused, Okeley released his wary stance and sighed at the turn of events, he left for only a few minutes and this issue occurred. Turning to the Night Fury, he asked, "You look alright but I got to ask..." the words were still left unsaid but Aric acknowledged the question with a nod before the other sighed.
"I'm sorry about that, I didn't expect for him to be able to learn of your existence so quickly."
If he was going to say anymore, his words were cut off when Aric spoke quickly and to the point, "You didn't tell me there was another Night Fury."
"I was going to." was the quick reply.
"Unfortunately, this situation only rushed the time that I was going to calmly speak to you about it before saying it abruptly." finished the lead scout.
Seeing that his companion remained silent, Okeley took that as his cue to continue speaking, "Look we will speak about that later, right now I need to bring you to the Alpha of our Colony, would you please hold your questions until then."
Though he was curious about there being another Night Fury, he was content with withholding his questions until later especially after the excitement he was just introduced to. Following behind the little dragon who ambled toward his colleague, once Okeley was close to the Rumblehorn, he began introducing the two, "Aric, this is Fariss, a great friend of mine. Fariss, this Aric...a Night Fury."
"I noticed." dryly stated the Rumblehorn before stepping up to get his take on the dragon before him.
"Do you know what kind of mess you're in? Our war with a Titan?" he asked.
He gazed at the dragon curiously before answering honestly, "I don't but I don't like the fact that many dragons are being used as slaves to kill others by the control of one cruel monster. If it takes me joining this fight with others behind me to free them, that's what I'll do." now he was staring hard at the other, with their hard gazed connecting all Okeley could do was watch.
Until Fariss backed down, satisfied with the one joining their Colony, the robust dragon turned and beckoned the two before taking flight with Okeley following a moment after with Aric in tow.
Suspecting that the route they were taking was leading to the Alpha, Aric followed along at a steady pace which was enough to keep up with both dragons. The trio reached a large cave, enough to fit families of dragons, both entered while he remained behind for a few moments before stepping through. He observed both dragons looking around the wide expanse they were in before Fariss rumbled, "He's not here, he's got to be out hunting, the only reason why he would leave unannounced. That gives us time to introduce you to our dilemma and how deep it runs, it would be best if our leader was here...but obviously, that is not the case."
Okeley continued at his pause, "The reason why is war exists is that many years ago, she wished control over the dragon we would soon call our Alpha because of the legendary species he is, he would prove to be a weapon for her, but she had underestimated the strength of his mind and willpower, because of her attempt at dominance, she awakened his own ability to affect other dragons, with this he resisted her call and was able to fight with no distractions. Though the fight was close for either, the Queen retreated to heal and control more dragons for an army."
"While we can sometimes free dragons from the control, it doesn't happen often but it does happen, but she also can steal our dragons, we don't know how as our Alpha passively protects us from her influence, but we have reports of missing dragons shortly after each battle." the Rumblehorn paused once more for a breath.
Continuing, "Each raid her dragons are quite coordinated, each difficult to deal with as they fight with no care for the damage they receive while dealing whatever damage they can to those around them."
Taking over again, Okeley began, "Then, there is that Night Fury of hers. She arrived a month ago before causing trouble.
Curiosity filled his head after hearing of another Night Fury, but he remained quiet.
"She's extremely dangerous. She faced three veteran Sentinels and killed each while taking minimal damage a week after she arrived. She was able to continue fighting after that! I, Fariss, and another had to face against her to stop her onslaught, we were able to injure her along her belly forcing her to retreat but we know she is not dead."
As he eyed the Terrible Terror for an explanation, all he got was, "Call it a gut feeling." spoke the small dragon.
"A feeling you are right to trust in!" bellowed a loud voice, causing the Night Fury to turn down a tunnel he hadn't paid attention too, now that he did, he saw the large whole it possessed, A VERY large hole. A large white head erupted from the hole, once in full view, the mere sight of this dragon intimidated the Night Fury.
As the Alpha of this Colony was a Screaming Death.
