"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion." - Alexander the Great (attributed to)
King And Queen
Shadowwing flew all through the night toward that odd constellation before he spotted anything at all. The first change on the horizon was a series of small islands that were little more than outcroppings of rock with no soil at all. Beyond them though were several larger islands, none of which he recognized from any old maps. The islands started having more grass and trees on them.
The longer he flew the stronger that faint song or call seemed to become. Nothing was audible, but it almost felt like a constant drone or vibration in his chest. A faint feeling that urged him onward with a promise of something. It was mildly concerning, not knowing what was causing that strange feeling and also because something about it felt so comforting and alluring.
Then he noticed something which begged for closer investigation. Specifically, a wrecked boat which was on the nearby shore. He alighted on the sandy beach next to the wreckage and then hop-flew up on deck.
The ship was a large one and had an opening down into the main hold. The hold had several broken chains and old muzzles.
He shivered and stifled a growl when he realized what the ship had to have been transporting.
There would be a business in that. Though I already knew that from what happened to Toothless...
Most surprising about the ruins though was the sheer amount of damage that had been done to the ship. There were claw marks and burns from stem to stern, as though it had been savagely attacked. There were even places where the deck and railing had been rent open from a massive strike.
What happened here? Whoever was on this ship ran into some angry dragons, that is for sure.
He eventually turned away from the ruins of the beached ship and resumed his searching among the islands. There were a couple other remains of old wrecked boats that he passed over.
Sure are a lot of them up here. Were they actually trapping dragons up here?
It was around midday when he saw something incredible above a distant snowcapped peak.
Dragons on the wing.
He altered his course and approached the flight as the dragons calmly soared on the day's warmest winds. Several more dragons gradually appeared in the air around the others. The rumbling in his chest palpably grew as he neared them.
Then he pulled up and hovered in place in slight alarm.
Something is not right. That does not... feel like them.
He eventually resumed his flight toward the other dragons, still wary of some unknown threat. Something else that was strange became apparent as he approached the mountain though. It seemed like a sheet of ice stretched out on the other side of the mountain.
What the...?
His jaw fell open in amazement once he finally cleared the mountain and had an unobstructed view of something that should be impossible. Ice seemed to have grown up many lengths into the sky. Bright spires of ice sparkled in the sunlight. But there was also a green color inside the ice. Almost as though it was actually hollow and something was growing deep inside.
That is... it should have melted. How can it not melt in the summer?
And there seemed to be a stream of dragons flying in and out of a large opening halfway up the frozen surface of the ice wall. Several of the dragons in particular caught his attention.
Wait, those are not on Berk! Those are Rumblehorns, Raincutters, and Snapfangs. It's a nest! A real, living dragon nest!
His heart was almost bursting with excitement at this amazing discovery. It was not just that it was a nest, but it looked like a good nest from the outside. The dragons were not flying back laden with catches to feed a monster. Instead, they were flying for pleasure, basking in the sunlight, and washing themselves in the ocean. He tucked his wings and dove for the entrance to what was certainly an amazing sight.
The passage had several narrow places where the ground and ceiling spires of ice grew close together or where he had to adjust his flight to avoid a direct crash with an exiting dragon. Then he burst out into the inner chamber, started gliding alongside other dragons, and stared in complete awe.
His home village on Berk could easily have fit inside the enclosure and had extra room besides. There were rock and ice ledges all along the frozen wall, and dragons of all kinds seemed to have their preferred roosting places among the boulders and the growing mosses.
There are... so many of them. More than were ever on Dragon Island.
Several caves extended out in various directions from the main chamber. The most notable feature of the interior other than the ice and green plants was the dark pool of water that took up almost half the ground's surface. The other half was a mess of trees, shoreline, sticks, mosses, and colorful remains of small, glossy objects.
Wait... are those shells?
He dove and landed on the unoccupied ledge nearest to the dark pool. There was no remaining doubt once he inspected the place from up close. At least some of these dragons certainly nested with their eggs here and did not leave to the island with the many hot-springs. He lay down on the ledge and looked about at the interior of the chamber in rapture.
A disturbance seemed to go through the other dragons gathered nearby. Many of them hopped to their feet and began circling in the air. They called aloud to each other and filled the chamber with their cries. Something was clearly happening.
Then a flash of white caught his attention. A pair of massive, curved tusks burst forth from the water, each of which was easily several times longer than he himself was from nose to tail-tip. Then the dragon's head emerged from the water. It was almost perfectly white and looked like nothing he had ever seen before, in addition to its enormous size.
He slunk close to the ground and began to creep back from the ledge, suddenly feeling very small and remembering well the last time that he had encountered a dragon of this size. Even the Monster queen on Dragon Island was certainly smaller than this living titan of a creature.
That... is... a... huge... dragon...
The white titan gave a very deep rumble to the entire nest. The flocking dragons dove almost as one toward the interior shore where they landed. Then the titan lowered its massive head toward the shore as well as it could considering its tusks.
He tensed, not knowing what was about to happen.
The titan opened its mouth and spewed a rain of fish down on the shore. The much smaller dragons began attacking the still living fish that were flopping on the rocks.
He gasped in amazement.
It is feeding them!
The titan closed its eyes with an evidently satisfied rumble as its flock continued to feed. The sound it made echoed throughout the ground and felt quite familiar.
It was making that sound... feeling thing. Amazing.
Words of warning long ago spoken echoed again in his memory. Something Toothless had once said about very large dragons. That they can influence another dragon's thoughts and make them think bad things.
But something felt very different about this titan. None of the other dragons seemed remotely afraid of it, though they were clearly deferential to it. It did not hide in the nest and expect the smaller dragons to provide for it; instead, this titan clearly provided for the other dragons. Dangerous it certainly could be, but it did not look or feel malicious. It did not feel like a monster.
Then the white titan sniffed at the air and gave a puzzled rumble as it closed its eyes. With a huff at its feeding flock on the ground, it turned with surprising speed in the water, pulled itself partway out of the deep pool, and stood up to be on the same level as the ledge on which he stood.
It stared directly at him.
He slunk back under its gaze, almost as though he wished that he could vanish into the rock. Its massive blue eyes locked on his as its dull curved tusks hung suspended in the air around him. Its breath was like a powerful wind.
For a single instant he thought he could see shock and something almost like alarm deep in its eyes. Then he averted his eyes.
Uh... hello there...
It calmly stood there and continued to stare at him. His wariness seemed to melt under its gaze, and he took several slow steps toward it. Something felt old about its appearance, and its slow, purposeful movements were almost majestic, regal even.
The same silent song that he remembered from the last couple of days returned in full. He started to lose himself in its brilliant eyes as a faint buzzing feeling of comfort grew in his thoughts.
Protecting his nest with his strength...
Filling his mouth with fish for the nest...
Kin huddled together for warmth...
Fledglings crawling over him in his rest...
Bad-water-walkers and kin that would die...
The kin-liver savior with clever paws...
His roar of wrath sundered the sky...
Water-walkers devoured by the ocean's jaws...
Standing on the shores...
Swimming in the deeps...
Singing his song...
Calling to all kin...
Shadowwing stepped back with a soft growl as the buzzing vanished. He shook his head, but the vivid images remained for several moments.
What was that?
The titan calmly stared back at him. Then it breathed softly, exhaling a breath of very cold mist around him. Something in its eyes again seemed sad or perhaps very ancient for a brief moment.
Woah...
Then it stepped back from the ledge and dropped to the ground before retreating into the pool. It lifted its head and gave a distinctive call, almost like a summons. Then it slowly slipped back into the water and vanished into the water's dark oblivion.
He had no time to wonder over the encounter though before something else happened. A single strange dragon that he had never seen before except in writing appeared in the sky over him. It was a normally large dragon, slightly larger than an adult Nightmare, and was a mix of brown, red, and orange. It also had four wings.
A Stormcutter. Those are very rare. We did not have any of those on Berk and it...
There was something else about it that gave him pause once the Stormcutter landed a short hop away from him. There was a much smaller and strange-looking dragon on its back. The odd creature on the Stormcutter's back slid down its side and dropped to the ground on all fours. There was a stick awkwardly clutched in its paws as the dragon cautiously approached.
But something felt especially strange and wrong about it. The green horns on its head and shadowed eye slits felt wrong. The claws on its paws did not move correctly with its paws. The scales did not look uniform. The dragon also had no tail.
It was almost like this was something pretending to be a dragon.
Wait, you are a human!
He glanced up at the owl-like Stormcutter. It did not seem at all concerned about him from how it had already curled up to rest without looking at him.
The wild human had paused a short length away and was clearly inspecting him from how its veiled head swiveled to look him over.
How long have you been out here?
Neither of them moved.
Time to make introductions then...
He calmly gazed back at the mysterious person. It froze and tilted its fake head to the side as he did the same.
"I wonder if you can still talk," he wondered aloud.
It recoiled slightly from him.
Wait, there is no way that worked.
"Can you understand me?" he nervously asked.
The veiled human did not immediately react to his words but did eventually start slowly creeping toward him again on all fours. He remained still to not spook it. It paused a short length away, left its staff as he now recognized it on the ground, and reached up for his muzzle.
He swiftly grabbed the arm and gently wrenched it over to reveal the soft skin under the scale-weave. The human gasped, and he started in surprise.
It was a woman.
They both glanced at the visible human hand and arm gently clasped in his paw. He could barely see that her eyes were very wide inside her helmet. Then he let her go and stepped back from her.
Let me see who you really are.
She sat down on her rump, lifted both her hands, and stared at them for several moments in clear consideration. Her movements seemed confused until she slowly lifted her hands to her head and worked at her helmet. She pulled her horned helmet off and set it aside.
The woman was middle-age, had tangled brown hair tied in a bun, had a tired but kind face, and had brilliant green eyes that sparkled with evident awe. He could only stare in amazement at how strange it was to see a woman alone in a dragon nest and pretending to be one of them.
And there was something about those eyes...
She got to her feet this time and cautiously took several steps toward him again, this time without her facade. He let her approach without interruption. She cautiously held out the same open palm toward him, and he let her place her palm on his cheek.
They remained frozen for several moments.
"A real Night Fury," she whispered.
So you can talk. That is good.
He hummed softly and nodded back at her. She withdrew her hand, almost as though she felt burned by something. She stared at him in faint alarm and shock with clear disbelief in her eyes.
He looked around the ledge for a moment before he remembered that it was solid rock and had nothing to write on. The best option had to be down on the ground. He bounded over to the ledge, gave her a beckoning nod, and glided down to the ground. Then he looked up and was treated to another absolutely amazing sight.
She seemed to be dancing in the air, sliding and hopping from dragon to dragon down to the ground. It was completely unlike anything he had ever seen before. She almost seemed to be completely one with the nest, so much so that none of the dragons even reacted in surprise at her movements.
She landed on all fours while still clutching her staff and somewhat awkwardly approached while standing upright as he patiently sat by a dirt patch. While she watched, he put a single claw to the soil.
Hello
She gasped and her eyes went very wide in astonishment as she beheld the written runes.
"No... it cannot be."
I can write
She stared at the words and then back at him in complete astonishment. When she finally spoke, it was with obvious vulnerability and shock.
"You can write?"
No actually I cannot
She leaned on her staff for a moment and then sat down before him. Her eyes were wide with childlike amazement.
"And... you understand me?"
Every word
"How is that possible? None of the dragons here in this nest understand me like this."
I grew up in a village
Her eyes narrowed slightly from the wide amazement they had been.
"You grew up around humans? That is hard to believe. It must have been somewhere far from here where people are very different. Not like the Nords. Do you... have a name?"
Shadowwing
She inclined her head slightly.
"Shadowwing, I am... honored to meet a Night Fury."
He hummed at her approval.
Why all this?
He pawed at her scale-weave armor.
"It helps when meeting new dragons at first. They are more comfortable seeing something that looks more like them."
I guess that makes sense.
What is your name?
"I am Dragonheart," she eventually whispered.
He hummed his slight confusion.
Why that name?
"Because I have always felt at home here with them. This is my place, here among these amazing creatures that only want to live their lives in freedom. They do not care if one is a man or a woman. They do not judge or hate. They only care about what is inside, about someone's character."
A dangerous glint appeared in her otherwise peaceful eyes, and she gave a snarl that would not have been out of place coming from a smaller dragon.
"And they need protection."
What?
"Trappers. They hunt these waters and islands to catch dragons. They are very good at what they do. They leave traps and bait all over the islands."
She waved a hand around the nest where dragons flew freely.
"I have rescued hundreds of them from snares and treated dozens of broken legs or wings through the years."
Why do they trap dragons?
She gave a deep and sad sigh.
"To sell them to someone. All I know is that he calls himself the dragon master. I know where a lot of them are kept as prisoners, but there is nothing that I can do for them at that point."
He searched his memory as something about that title sounded vaguely familiar.
Dragon master... where have I heard that name before?
Her Stormcutter had apparently noticed her absence and swiftly winged down to land near her. It grumbled at him and put its owl-like head over hers.
Hi there.
"What is the problem with you, Jumpy?" she turned to her dragon.
It grumbled at her and huffed its fishy breath directly into her face.
"Cloudjumper! Why would you do that? We have talked about this!"
Shadowwing stepped back and chuckled at the exchange. It reminded him of two old friends pointlessly bickering with each other in good humor. She eventually finished scolding the Stormcutter, who lay down with a huff to rest at her side, and turned back to him.
"Don't mind him. He is quite protective of me and doesn't much like me giving other dragons attention except to rescue them."
I see that
"So, you know what I do. Why are you here?"
I am looking for my brother
"Your brother? What happened to him?"
His paw trembled for a moment as he wondered how much to reveal.
He was captured by trappers on the mainland
But he escaped and went north
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I have not seen any other Night Furies here or anywhere out in the world."
He gave a sad rumble as one more lead seemed to go nowhere.
"It was a good idea to look here though. The King has been calling all dragons to him. Your brother still might come here if he can hear the King's call."
The King...
The big white one?
"Yes, the great Bewilderbeast as I call him."
And he is good?
"Yes. He is a good King for the nest. He provides for the small, weak, or injured, builds and sustains the walls of this nest with his ice breath, and protects against any threats. He has sent many trappers down to the depths as they deserve. Sometimes I can get the people off the ship first, but the King will not wait if there are no captive dragons on the boats."
It was slightly disturbing to know that such a large and apparently peaceful creature did actually have a violent side. Not that it was surprising though since it was the King of the nest.
And there were those beached and destroyed ships I passed. Maybe it did that.
Why do you call him a Bewilderbeast?
She looked very pensive as she collected her thoughts.
"Sometimes I imagine that he can talk or whisper ideas to me. In dreams and other ways when he wants me to do something. He also seems able to make other dragons do things like stop quarreling just by looking at them."
I believe it
There were several questions about her though that he hadn't gotten answered yet. The foremost had to do with her completely unknown origins.
Where are you from?
She frowned at that and reached out to stroke Cloudjumper's proud neck.
"I have been here for many years. I try to not think about where I was before I arrived here."
Were you an Outcast?
She looked at the words and did the last thing he could have expected from her. She laughed heartily.
"Yes. I was in a way, even back among what was my own people. I never fit in with them. Only a couple of them seemed to understand me or at least tolerate me. This is my home now."
Fair enough. I cannot say that my case is all that different.
And you have never seen other Night Furies
"None. I have flown in these skies for many years, been on the mainland, and... even to the far north. I never saw another Night Fury. You are the only one," she answered.
He hung his head in renewed sadness.
So we are probably alone. If she has not seen any Night Furies in all the years she has been here... Especially with the King trying to bring all dragons here.
"But you grew up in a village you say. Are your parents there? Are there other Night Furies there too?"
Are any of my parents on Berk? Funny that you should ask that.
Many dragons but no other Night Furies
We were rescued in the egg
"Rescued from where?"
Sigh.
That is a long story for another day, if ever.
Not now
She seemed to sense that this was a painful topic and left it alone.
"Ok. What are you going to do now?"
Rest and think
An idea clearly came to her.
"Do you want to see where we roost?" she nervously asked.
That is definitely a good idea.
Yes, he nodded.
She swung up onto Cloudjumper's back, whispered some words to him, and the pair was aloft seconds later. Shadowwing followed after them and noticed something incredible about their flight.
She does not need a saddle. That takes a lot of skill and trust.
They flew to a high ledge that had a side passage which appeared to lead outside. Inside this passage lay a ramshackle hut clearly assembled over many years from various debris. There were other random supplies assembled outside the hut, such as crates, ropes, furs, tools, and old attempts at making her mask and flying attire. One wooden wall had a large map of the surrounding islands carved into its surface along with what looked like marks of where traps tended to be placed.
Very impressive for being out here in the middle of nowhere.
Then he glanced inside the simple hut. There was little inside it except for a few changes of clothing, sleeping furs, and several books and drawings on paper. The drawings were clearly of a certain Stormcutter who was currently sleeping on what was obviously his spot on the ledge outside the tunnel.
Where did she get a pencil? Those are good drawings. Almost as good as I made once.
"What do you think?" she asked.
He nodded at her with a happy hum.
"It is not much but it is my own little place in this big nest. A bit of the human world that lets me live in the dragon world."
She turned away from her stuff and walked over to him.
"Are you hungry?"
A little now that you mention it.
He gave her a half-shrug.
"The King will be back before sunset with his next catch, or you could hunt on your own. The waters around the island are filled with fish now."
Uh, that takes fire so I guess I will have to wait a while.
"And there is plenty of space for you to find a ledge to make your own. Just don't try to take another dragon's place unless you want to... fight a bit for it. Or... you could... stay here if you want... I don't think Cloudjumper would mind too much once he gets to know you..."
He briefly glanced around the area and saw a suitable space slightly sheltered by her hovel. He got up, grabbed one of the larger furs from her supplies, and lay it out on the ground. Then he gave her a smile and a nod.
She came over to him and nervously cupped his muzzle in her palms. Tears sparkled in her eyes alongside a very awed and wide grin.
"Thank you Shadowwing, you have no idea how much this..."
She wiped away the tears with her sleeve.
"Thank you..."
Then she stepped back and returned to Cloudjumper's side. The pair was gone and in the air within seconds.
He watched them as they flew away and vanished from sight. Then he got up, walked over to the inner ledge, and looked out over the nest. The green of the mosses and shrubs contrasted beautifully against the icy white and the dragons that sparkled throughout.
I did not think that a place like this could exist. It makes sense though why dragons are mostly gone from the mainland. They must have all come out here to follow the King's voice. The ones that are alive at least.
Then he remembered something else about the dragons that he had seen in the nest. While many of them were ones not native to Berk, many were the classic types that he remembered.
A lot of these could have come from Dragon Island too. That would help explain why so many of them vanished, even if a lot of them died somehow in what had been their home. The Monster queen died and then they heard the King. Maybe. Hopefully. Maybe Dragonheart knows something about it.
And she is amazing. She has been living out here for years helping dragons. She is truly different from everyone else.
I wonder what her name was before.
Roaring and confusion woke him up in the middle of the night. A Raincutter had landed on the ledge and was making a racket.
What is going on?
The woman who called herself Dragonheart rushed out of her hut moments later in her full attire and mounted Cloudjumper. The Stormcutter followed the Raincutter into the air. The King called out to the nest from down below and several other dragons assembled into a flight.
He was too curious to ignore whatever was happening and leapt from the ledge to fly after them down the passageway and out into the crisp night air. The flight went silent with none calling out to the others. They passed like shadows in the darkness over the ocean and passed several smaller islands until they arrived at one of the larger ones with trees and actual terrain.
The Raincutter dove for land and cried out. A voice answered from below with a cry of pain and alarm.
Cloudjumper dove and fanned his wings, beating up a mighty wind on the ground as he hovered and then landed. Dragonheart hooked her staff around one of his great wingjoints, and he swiftly lowered her to the ground. Shadowwing landed as well, and his breath caught when he saw the reason for the disturbance.
Another Raincutter had a leg trapped in a horrible snare down among the trees. The poor dragon had tried to tear its leg from the snare, only to cut into its own leg and carve several inches of flesh from the bloodied leg.
The dragon whimpered in pain as Dragonheart approached on all fours. Then she made cooing and growling sounds at it, evidently to comfort it. Once it settled down, she turned her attention to the leg and the snare. She inspected it for several moments and then reached inside a pocket to retrieve a tool. She worked at the snare for several minutes until there was a metallic click and the trap opened.
The Raincutter hopped to freedom, wailing mightily as it put any weight on the leg. Then it was aloft and presumably being greeted by its mate. Dragonheart unhooked the jaws of the trap from the thick chain and dropped it before Cloudjumper, who growled and picked it up in his mouth.
She paused at Shadowwing's side and gave him a quick pat on the head before mounting Cloudjumper. They were in the sky seconds later. He remained a moment longer just staring at what remained of the trap.
He remembered the forest of Berk years ago. Stepping on a trap himself and being caught in a bag only to be hurt by Mildew's contingent of rebellious men. He growled softly in righteous anger at the thoughtlessness of whoever put the trap here. At their blindness to the harm and pain that they were causing.
They need to see the truth. They just don't understand what they are doing here.
He turned tail and followed after the flight as it turned back for the ice nest. He caught up to Cloudjumper's side just as the Stormcutter dropped the snare in the ocean.
Once back at the nest, Dragonheart picked up some mosses and wove them together into a bandage. Then she approached the still-pained but resting Raincutter up on its ledge. It allowed her to tend to the leg and apply the improvised bandage.
Then she and Cloudjumper returned to their ledge. Everything began to settle back down and return to sleep.
He could not sleep though as his thoughts kept turning to the trap and the blood. He got up, approached her hut, and glanced inside. She had removed her riding attire and seemed similarly unable to sleep. She rolled over and faced him with an odd, sad expression.
"That happens a lot this time of year. They fly further to get food and get caught more easily. There are also more trappers. That one was actually lucky to only get caught by the foot. Other snares can break wings."
He gasped in horror at the thought.
"Terrible, I know. Cloudjumper can carry the smallest ones back here, but the larger ones with broken wings... there is nothing I can do to help them. A torn wing I can fix, but worse wounds..."
She waved at her supplies.
"I have learned how to stitch wings if we can get the dragon back here. It is better than nothing even if not all of the dragons are able to fly again."
He sadly shook his head with a faint moan as he remembered seeing several such grounded ones at dinner. They would certainly not have survived out in the wild.
"It is only a few more months until winter, and then the dragons will be safe here in the nest," she whispered.
That makes sense. I guess they all huddle up together for warmth and sleep off the winter. Unless they are with their babies, which they still have in this nest, I think.
"I need to get something for you to write on up here," she grumbled.
He solemnly nodded and then retreated to his spot where he curled up and hid himself under a wing.
This is such an amazing place. What Skald and Astrid would give to be here.
The only remaining sounds were Cloudjumper's bellows-like breathing and a faint breeze whistling down the passageway outside his living enclosure. For the first time in a very long time, he fell asleep peacefully without any fear at all for his own safety.
She was sitting several feet away from him when he woke up in the morning and lifted his wing. He got up and stretched with a wide yawn, but she didn't move an inch.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Sorry, I just... it is still amazing to me that you are here. A real Night Fury whom I can talk to."
Then she overtly looked him over and sheepishly glanced back at him.
"Oh, do you mind if I...?"
He rolled his eyes and sighed in amusement but gave her a nod. He also fanned his wings for good measure, knowing that she would likely want to see them. She got up, approached his side, and slowly slid her fingers over his wings. That same good feeling he remembered returned at her tender and gentle touch.
"You are so thin and fast. And the proportions on your fins and wings. You are probably the fastest of all dragons. And you cannot be more than... five years old?" she clearly guessed.
He held out four short digits.
"Amazing."
Then she stepped back with an abashed look on her face.
"Sorry, I've been wanting to do that for a while..." she mumbled.
He laughed freely at that admission.
Fair enough. Night Furies are rather impressive I will admit.
"We should go get some food. The King always has a large catch in the morning."
That is a good idea.
Shadowwing and Cloudjumper flew down to the shore to await the delivery of breakfast. Being on the ground also conveyed the added benefit of there being plenty of dirt in which to write.
Thank you for letting me stay up there
"Of course, it is nice to have someone to talk to. Someone whom I know is actually listening and can talk back. Someone who is not myself or owl-face here. Oh right, I should get some sand or dirt up there so we can talk. Paper is quite limited out here as you can imagine."
That would help
"It is not as though this island is on the trading routes, now is it?" she laughed.
He chuckled as well.
I have a question
Did many dragons come here about five years ago?
She thought about the odd question.
"Now that you mention it, yes they did. I couldn't say how many but maybe a hundred or so."
He breathed a sigh of relief.
So, many of them did live after all. That is good.
Thank you
Her grin faded as she again noticed something. She slowly approached and knelt before him to more closely inspect his chest. She gently ran her fingers against the old wound.
"You have a scar."
He glanced down at it and remembered painfully digging out the arrow that had pierced him long ago.
It was an arrow
I had to dig it out
"That must have hurt a lot," she whispered.
Yes, but other things hurt more
"What do you mean?"
He hung his head and hummed softly.
Not all scars are on the outside
She was silent for a moment as several other dragons swooped down and greeted her with happy growls and affectionate nudges. They also did the same to him but with more sniffing that he did not appreciate. Then he bellowed outright in alarm and swatted them back with a growl when they tried to get very personal with where they sniffed at him.
"Alright you all, back up..." she ordered.
Amazingly, they backed up several steps.
"Sorry about that, they are just happy to see... and smell... someone new."
Grumble.
"Well, if you ever want to... talk about those other scars, I would be glad to listen. Skies above, I know all about what it is like to have those. And I have been meaning to ask, what are you going to do now? You said that you were looking for your brother."
She certainly did not avoid the important issue of his reason for being there at all.
I hoped he had come this way
"I would know if another Night Fury had ever been in this nest. He still might come this way though. The King's voice is strong and carries far on the wind."
That was a good point. It was quite likely that Toothless could indeed pass this way in the future.
This is probably the safest place for any dragon in the world. And with the winter coming in a few months...
Can I stay here for the winter?
She looked positively giddy at the suggestion.
"Of course you can. I would like that a lot. What about until then? I think that we still have a couple months until the weather changes for the worse."
Then I will stay and search for him
This is a good and safe nest
I can also help you protect the other dragons
"That would be very welcome. May I see your paws?"
He held out an arm for her to gently hold. She inspected his paws, complete with their joints, short digits, and sharp claws.
"Those are different from most other dragons. With those you might even be able to help some of them out of traps without me."
He once again appreciated having useful digits on his paws. Then another question came to his mind. There was a secondary purpose that he had given himself in his time searching for Toothless.
Where are the nearest villages?
She clearly frowned at that question.
"The closest to this nest is maybe on the mainland or the far southern islands. Why do you ask?"
So I can talk to them
And change their minds about dragons
She stared at the words for a long time before answering. She sounded very bitter when she spoke.
"People do not change. Not Nords at least. Maybe where you are from is different but here they are too stubborn, proud, and sure of themselves."
I spent last winter with a foreign tribe
They accepted me
"Maybe, maybe a few people can change if they get to really know you. But people in general do not change. I tried. I tried for years and my own people did not listen to me! Even my own husband didn't... listen to me..."
She stopped and wiped away the tear from her cheek while giving a decently draconic snarl of her own.
"You might be able to convince someone alone that you are not a monster but put that same person back in a crowd of their own people who want your head or think you are taken by bad spirits and they will not say anything. They will not speak up for you... and besides, the villages up here work with the trappers to make coin. They would only try to capture you."
He could practically feel the sadness and emptiness flowing from her. It was a terrible contrast to his own hopeful optimism.
Changing minds is what I am good at
Why do you despair?
She closed her eyes, clearly overcome by her memories. It was a long time before she answered.
"You are only four years old. You do not know the ways of the world yet. When you have seen as many years, traps, and dead or grounded dragons as I have, you will know why. The best you can do is protect your own and not think that you can change the whole world. The world is too big."
The King had arrived during their discussion and had deposited the usual bounty of flopping fish. With a fair bit of sadness in his heart, he turned away from Dragonheart and grabbed a few of the remaining smaller fish.
There was still a presence above him as he ate. He glanced up and saw that the King's powerful eyes were trained on him. It was quite humbling how large, powerful, and gentle the King was when back in the nest.
As he stared into the blue eyes, he again noticed that there was something in the King's eyes that almost conveyed a feeling of concern. That odd feeling was gone as soon as he noticed it though, leaving nothing behind but the warm strength and confidence that he remembered emanating from the King.
"Are you ready, Shadowwing?"
He nodded to Dragonheart and waited as she put on her impressive gear and climbed up on Cloudjumper's back. They left the ice nest at dawn.
This was his first time to go with her and see what it was that she did outside of the emergency rescue missions since his arrival at this amazing nest nearly a month ago. Understandably, it seemed to involve a lot of flying, which was a definite perk of patrol duty. She and Cloudjumper would fly a mostly set course around the surrounding islands every couple weeks. Any traps or snares that they would find would then be disposed of. The Stormcutter was apparently large enough to carry back to the nest any seriously injured dragons that could not fly on their own.
This flight was turning out to be a rather uneventful one as nothing much happened all morning.
Then Dragonheart must have noticed something because Cloudjumper dove for the island down below and landed near a grove of trees. He naturally followed them and landed next to the Stormcutter.
Dragonheart had dismounted and led them both to a grove among the trees. That is when he saw it along the main path. He froze and gave a faint growl.
"You see it, don't you?" she asked.
Oh, yes I do.
He bounded over to inspect it up close. A series of metal jaws, like those that would be used to catch wolves, only much larger, were hidden under various forest refuse and laid out around a pile of old, rotted fish. All the traps were chained together and tied to nearby trees. All it would take is a slight pressure on the central plate in each of the jaws and they would snap shut on any unsuspecting dragon that was tempted by the fish.
"Careful, let me show you what to do."
Actually, I already have this under control.
He shook his head and held out a paw toward her. Then he jumped up toward a nearby tree and bit off a small branch. He clasped the branch in his forepaws and cautiously stepped closer to the traps. Then he triggered the traps one at a time. Each of them violently snapped shut but found nothing to close on, having been designed to hold a leg and not a mere branch.
"Very smart. Now what do you do?"
Probably get rid of the trap altogether so that it cannot be reset.
He bent back down and followed the chain to the trees to which it was bound.
Alright, somewhere here... and... found it!
He found the link that held the chain to the tree. Some careful manipulation of the chain in his paws eventually produced the desired result, and he unhooked the link from the base at the tree. With it done once, it was easy to do much faster the next three times.
And... just gotta kinda angle it... give it a twist... and... done.
With a happy hum, he clasped the massive chain in his paw and turned back to Dragonheart. Her jaw hung open in obvious amazement, and she struggled to speak for several moments.
"Well, that is amazing. How did you know what to do?"
Lots of experience working the forge certainly helped... I am also quite clever.
"Nevermind, you can tell me later. Think you can handle getting rid of that yourself?"
Yes, he nodded.
He collected the lengths of chain and the triggered traps in his arms, heavy though the trappers' tools were, flew out over the sea just as he remembered Cloudjumper doing, and dropped his terrible cargo in the water. He bared his teeth and growled at the chains as they fell.
Good riddance!
Cloudjumper and Dragonheart rejoined him in the sky to continue on their ordained course.
I could get used to doing this while I am waiting here. This is good work, and it will be a couple more months until winter. Toothless might show up here if he heard the King like I did.
He glanced over at Dragonheart again and marveled at everything she was doing. At how strong and brave she was in the face of such great creatures, at how she chose to live alone out here to benefit the dragons in the nest, at the strange attire she had fashioned for herself, and at how she could fly with Cloudjumper without any saddle.
I wonder if Toothless and I could have been like that if he had been able to fly freely. Probably so.
Still though, he felt a nagging in the back of his head as he watched her atop Cloudjumper. There was something about her demeanor and appearance that was impossibly familiar. It was almost as though he knew her somehow but did not know her at the same time.
Maybe I am just lonely and want good company. To be around people who understand. I am sure that there are many stories we can share with time.