Author's Note – Kudos to VigoGrimborne for inspiring me to include that specific scene of Hiccup being... Hiccup. A good musical score for a certain scene in here would be 'Sogno di Volare' (from where I took the quote) - check it out on youtube.
"Once you have taken flight... you'll decide... Gaze toward the sky, you'll know that... that is where your heart will feel at home." - Sogno di Volare – Sid Meier's Civilization VI
The Dream Of Flight
The cold-season was very cold. The biting winds whipped around the mountain and through the distant sleeping-life trees. The sun-cycles were very short and left much time for sleeping. She remained hidden in her cave almost the entire time.
It was a very simple routine. Wake up, drag a large piece of tree-wood into the place of fire next to her and let the wood gradually burn. It was a very clever two-leg idea to help stay warm even in the coldest of the cold season. The fire still burned as it ate at the dead tree-wood piled together in the den. That fire had been burning there for many of the short suns straight without dying. Even on the few occasions when it had gone out though it did not stay out for long.
Shadowwing came to her den every few sun-cycles to make sure that her fire was still burning and giving her life-warmth. He visited her many times, always bringing fish or other dried meats and stories to tell. The last part, the stories, did help to bring a certain warmth to her liver. She especially liked hearing about little Aurora's and Dawn-Singer's nestmate play. There was something very warming about hearing of the life-stories of little kin who were not broken and in fear of every shadow. And she quite approved that Was-Grounded and Green-Wings were raising their young outside the reach of the two-legs' nest-trap thinking.
She even started to feel a faint warmth in her liver at the thought of the Kin-liver. It was not lost on her that this two-leg had done a much good thing for her by weaving her broken wing-skins back together.
Not that she had ever allowed the Kin-liver to truly touch her in any way that suggested bonding. Never that terrible life-twisting-thing. She would never let any two-leg put its sitting-on things on her back and claim her back as its own place to put its waste-end.
But if she could ever hold the wind in her wings again, if she could be made not life-grounded, that would be something that might deserve trust and recognition. That would be almost to mix life-fires, as twisted as it was to think of two-legs as having life-fires. It was becoming harder to deny what her own eyes and liver were telling her though in the case of this one two-leg, of this Kin-liver.
Her tail twitched as she stared into the crackling, warming flames not a short breath away and thought about the one main constant in her life.
He has a strong feeling of duty. Maybe that is part of being Alpha.
She closed her eyes when she remembered the first time he had revealed that to her. That time when he had growled in some liver-fire and said that he would bring fish and fire for her even if she did not want it. The power and concern had flared in his liver, and there had been a very faint blue glow that was visible on his back and between his teeth.
It had felt very dangerous and warming with the same beat of its wing.
He wants me to grow strong and be free again. That... is good of him.
Sigh.
I still do not know what to do in this new season-cycle even if I can fly again. Much hunting, get strong again, and... I will see...
Her great sire came to her and bent down to nuzzle her nose. She returned the nuzzle with a happy hum.
"You are most close to my liver, not so little one," he hummed.
"Great sire..."
He sat down before her and fixed her light blue eyes with his own deep blue ones.
"I had a much good sleep-vision of you."
"What was it?" she eagerly bounded around the den with youthful speed.
"You have what would be three season-cycles of living out of the egg and you will be truly nest-fledged soon. You will be free to fly the ranges of the world beyond," he somewhat mournfully hummed.
"Yes, I want to fly far on the winds and under the sky-breath above. And I want to fly with the sky-lights again!" she bounced on her feet.
"And you will. You will fly over many ranges. You will do things that no light wing has done before."
"I like that, sire," she hummed happily.
Her warm-nuzzle-you-tend-your-egg-sing-to-you dam bounded over to her and softly nuzzled her nose.
"I had a good sleep-vision. I saw that you will find a very warm mate and have many hatchlings."
Her eyes went wide, and she gave a croon at the very good thought. That was indeed the reason for the long life-flight beyond.
"How many?"
"More than you can count on both your front paws," her dam answered.
Amused, she chuckled, "That is many more than you and sire!"
"The winds of life will be very warm to you, I know this. You are a sky-light that fell from the sky above into our first egg," her sire stepped forward and proudly announced.
She had always liked being compared to the sky-lights. It was very rare that she ever got to see them. Sire had only led her out of the cave to see the beyond a couple times. Both such times left her liver burning with warmth at how much bigger the world was than she thought it could be.
Sire put a wing around her dam, and they both hummed at her.
"The mate you find will be most special and should speak most well of the sky-lights and winds that led him to you," dam purred.
"But wherever you fly, you will always remember the one most important life-rule, true?" sire warned.
She hissed even though she had never seen one of these bad-creatures before. The bad things do not live in this safe, much good range. The warning was enough for her to know what to do.
"Two-legs are filled with danger, flee on sight," she answered to a satisfied pair of hums.
She turned for the den's mouth and confidently bounded outside. She looked around the much good range that she knew so well, what with its mountains and great spires, its bright rocks and the light above, the deep pond and waters filled with many fish, and the grassy grove where her sire and dam played much with her and each other.
There were no other types of kin in this range with which to fight for territory or food. There were not even any other pairs of light wings anywhere in the range. That lacking was part of why she wanted and needed to fly again beyond this range that she knew. Flying the beyond might have more danger than flying these ranges, but it would certainly let her find many more kin in her search.
She turned around to glance at the home-cave-den, and she felt a chill creep over her. The home-cave-den was gone and a massive cave mouth stood in its place. A cave mouth that she was now looking out of from within a two-leg trap.
She whimpered in fear as something knocked her over onto her back. And she froze in liver-freezing terror and beheld the false-kin that had pinned her. A large male kin almost like her only with dark wings made of living shadows. Worse, it had hungry green eyes that delved into hers, saw her fears, and knew her.
"You are weak prey!" it hissed.
It lunged to claim her, held her down, closed its jaws closed around her neck, and...
"No! You promised..." she screamed.
And she scrambled awake with a fearful cry as she caught her breath.
Silence.
Empty.
Her eyes rolled every which way, staring into the darkness of the cave and glaring at every rolling shadow cast by the fire.
It felt so real... it always feels real... but that...
Her cave-den was empty except for her. There were no bad thrall-kin there to claim her. And certainly not...
Twisted thought-hunter. He would not hurt me... he promised...
She turned back to the fire and stared into it.
It chilled the liver to be so defenseless. Once again, she worked the inner air as she crouched over the fire. Only a little of the unflamed fire-air came out without being sparked to life. It slowly spilled from her maw and dripped toward the fire.
Her ears went back a moment before she realized the mistake.
Flame my...
The fire roared to life in a massive white flash, scattering burnt wood and black fire-waste all over the den. She reared back with a bellow and tried to escape the falling cloud, but she failed. The fire-waste fell everywhere including on her white wings and scales.
She glared at each stain. At each tiny badness that marked the fire-waste on her.
"No, no, no, no, no. Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!"
She dashed out of the den into the cold and pulled up as she again beheld the view through the chill in the air.
White.
Pure white.
Like her.
The frozen-fluffy-water that fell from the sky had covered the entire range in its white. There were no other kin on the wing, nor was there any green except for the distant long-tooth-leaf trees.
Life had paused.
Life was frozen.
Like she was.
She jumped onto her back in the frozen water and rolled wildly, thrashing violently in a desperate attempt to clean herself of the fire-waste. It felt liver-warming to be in the body-chilling frozen fluffy-water. Almost like playing.
The cleaning was finished. There were no black stains on her now.
Once she returned to her resting place and lay back down, she realized that there was something about the sleep-vision that was twisting even before it was fouled by her own thought-hunters. It was a clear, vivid sleep-vision. She could easily remember the look of her sire and dam, both bright white like her, but where it was... that was lost in the shadows.
Where was the great cave that she was hatched in? What was the beyond? Where were her sire and dam now?
That knowledge was hidden.
It was lost.
Like she was.
She sighed heavily inside her cave-den. The fire was still burning brightly and warmly in its fire-place. A stretch of her wings followed along with a tap of her claws on the rock.
Where am I from?
Tap.
Why do I not remember?
Tap.
She blinked in surprise and glanced down at her claws.
The claws were sharp again after many sun-cycles of sharpening them. She was not as defenseless and weak as she had thought.
And her wings did not hurt much to hold out at her side anymore. Maybe she was not as life-grounded as she had thought.
Her warm growl followed as she lay back down and closed her eyes.
"Are ya sure that we have enough?" Gobber asked Valka.
They were both huddling under their heavy cloaks while inspecting the storehouse. Barely a little of their faces were visible as they sheltered against the wind. The winter was harsher than either of them had expected, and the supplies were being used up faster than either of them cared to acknowledge.
"We should be able to make it. It will be close though," she reluctantly answered.
"The problem is that the dragons canna' help us now. Most of em' are asleep and do not need any food, but they canna' help us catch anything," he groaned back.
"What would you have them do?"
"I dunno. Help more if they could. I mean... what about the Furies? Can they help us hunt even now in the cold?"
She thought about it.
"Maybe," she answered, "there should be good hunting if they could find the elk and moose in these lands. Even just a couple would help us a lot. I will go talk to Shadowwing."
She roused Cloudjumper from his nap, much to his disapproval given the cold, and got him to fly her up to the cave.
Cold wind-burn. Love it.
There were voices coming from within the cave as soon as she arrived. She easily recognized them, similar though they probably seemed to most other listeners.
So he is talking to Dawn-Singer. I wonder what about.
The conversation ended as soon as she strolled inside. Dawn-Singer cried out in that way that she always took to mean her and dashed for her. She gave him a wide hug around his back while humming happily to him and scratching his back. His purring of delight was as music to her ears and heart.
"I missed you too, Dawn-Singer. It has been so long since yesterday..."
Shadowwing laughed softly at that while Was-Grounded and Green-Wings rolled their eyes and shoulders.
Where could they ever have learned that from? Anyhow...
"Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, there is something that I want to know if you can do for us."
They both stared intently back at her.
"We need more food to make it safely through the winter. Do either of you think that you could help catch some elk or deer for us? Even only one more would help a lot."
Shadowwing stepped forward to the patch of soil by her feet.
I can go look for them
No promises though
"Was-Grounded?"
He considered the request and grumbled softly, but he did eventually nod in agreement.
"Good, thank you. How is everything going up here?"
Shadowwing answered for them.
Aurora is hungry a lot
And very loud
Valka laughed heartily.
"Ha, babies do that. That is called life. Be thankful you do not have to clean up after her."
Shadowwing groaned aloud at the reminder of that. While Dawn-Singer was old enough to understand how to properly deal with such natural needs, a new hatchling certainly was not.
Valka turned to Green-Wings, walked over to her, and softly stroked her neck in greeting. She was rewarded with a very happy thrum and a brief showing of the dozing hatchling at Green-Wings's side. Valka stood there for a long time before she finally sighed and turned aside. She turned back to Shadowwing with a more solemn expression.
"What about Luna? How is she doing?"
She likes being alone now
I think she likes the freedom
"I can understand that at least. Do you think that she will ever want to live closer to the village or to you all?"
He said nothing for a long time as he stared at the ground. The silence was quite deafening.
Not for a long time if ever
"Will she... stay here when she can fly again?" she nervously asked.
The silence was again deafening.
"Well, I hope that she wants to stay here by then."
She bowed to each of the Furies in turn, briefly embraced Shadowwing and Dawn-Singer, and returned to Cloudjumper.
Shadowwing watched her go. Her visits had become more infrequent as the worst of the weather was now blowing in the deep of winter. The last couple days had been a slight reprieve that let her visit more than usual.
I hope Luna wants to stay here too.
All the waking time was spent either on his ventures to provide for Luna's needs every few days, quick sojourns outside to answer nature's call or watch over Dawn-Singer as he did the same, flights to the supply room to get some frozen fish, hunting on the warmer days to aid Haven, or in the various activities in the den, much of which involved sleeping or listening to his brother and Green-Wings talking to Aurora and Dawn-Singer about every topic under the sun.
Play-wrestling was another activity that was especially fun. Such fights with his brother commonly ended the same way, with him letting his brother win the fight in order to teach Dawn-Singer something about such play. Getting pinned did get tiring after a while, and he even managed the occasional pin on his brother as he started getting better at such fights. He always grinned in amusement that even Dawn-Singer was allowed to play-fight on occasion despite their massive size differences.
He lets his little son have a chance. That is good of him.
Sigh.
I remember when dad would do that with me. Let me grab his beard and shake it and wrestle him to the ground.
He whimpered softly at the memory.
He found one particular aspect of living in his current situation quite confusing. This confusion stemmed from the approach that Night Fury family dynamics took to the concept of personal space.
It did not exist.
The initial, neat organization of the sleepers at the start of the winter had completely devolved into nothing but a tangled heap of tails, wings, legs, arms, and heads, all to share as much warmth as possible. Given that he was considered part of the family, he was expected to share the warmth. That had started out quite warmingly, unsurprisingly, to fall asleep covered in Furies, wrapped in wings, and to shared purring.
The situation had come to a head, literally, when he had awoken with Green-Wings partly wrapped around him, her nose against his chest, his brother's belly in his face as he was partly curled in front of both of them, and Dawn-Singer's little rumbling under his chin. All were covered by extended wings that sheltered them all in a very warm tent, and limbs and tails were randomly coiled and strewn about, some in places that seemed a bit personal.
"Brother," he whispered.
Nothing.
He nudged his brother in the belly several times.
"What?" Was-Grounded whispered back after he woke from repeated nudging.
"I have a problem," he whispered again.
"You have many problems..."
"Thank you for saying that... I do not like all about this... sleeping pile."
A confused warble was the only answer he got.
"Not the pile though, no, it is the... closeness of bodies and the... touching..."
"Those happen in sleeping piles," Was-Grounded hummed in amusement.
Groan.
"But there is a... bad in this..."
"You do not want to be kin to us?" Was-Grounded whispered in slight dismay.
Shadowwing groaned softly and shook his head.
"No, not that... I... I do not want to be touching her... in a bad way."
Was-Grounded huffed softly and rolled his eyes at these words. He glanced at Green-Wings, Dawn-Singer, and Aurora, and confirmed that they were all asleep. He still whispered very softly though.
"You are thinking as a two-leg. This sleeping pile is what a Night Fury nest does for warmth. There is no bad in having bodies be very close and touch. She would not nestle with you for warmth unless you were kin to her as one of the nest."
With that warming explanation in mind, Shadowwing closed his eyes and tried to think objectively about it.
"Let us ask her," Was-Grounded offered.
Shadowwing blinked rapidly in alarm.
"No, no, no, we do not need to..."
Was-Grounded nuzzled Green-Wings's nose, and she arose from her slumber.
"My mate, what?" she hummed drowsily.
"Shadowwing is being twisted."
"We knew that already," she snorted.
"He is twisted by sleeping in the nest-pile."
"What? Why?" she wondered.
"Good question, why?" Was-Grounded grinned at him.
Green-Wings turned to him and blinked, waiting for an explanation.
Wow bro, thanks for throwing me under the wagon... you useless dragon.
"I... feel twisted by waking up with you... touching me... as you might with him," Shadowwing grimaced.
They both stared back at him, at each other, and back to him. Green-Wings took a heavy breath and got to her paws.
"Get up Shadowwing, I want to talk," she commanded.
He warily complied and stepped over to her. It was hard to meet her eyes.
"What is twisting you? Do you think that sharing warmth means that we have mating-wanting?" she asked.
"I... no," he grumbled.
"You are a twisted kin," she huffed.
"I know. I learned much from two-legs when I was little, and they do sleeping-places differently."
"How are they different?" she asked with some interest from how her ears went up.
"They have more care with body-touching because it is... more only what mates do."
"Shadowwing, sometimes I think you think you are a two-leg."
Both brothers could not resist chuckling at her comment.
"You do not need to fear me showing you mating-wanting. My life-mate, would you tell him the mating-wanting ceremonies?" she hummed.
"No!" Shadowwing quickly interrupted.
"No?" Was-Grounded asked.
"I am happy and warm with the sleeping-pile now. This is fine."
Was-Grounded and Green-Wings shared a warm glance and purr. The warm, purring pile of Furies was made again around the two little ones. Wings sheltered all, and their limbs and tails went everywhere.
Shadowwing gave a weary sigh as he started to slowly lose himself in the warmth and the constant drone of purring, including his own.
Dragons are far more practical about everything. We really have no shame about so much of life. I am being rather silly about all this. This is the winter, so of course we will all want to snuggle for warmth, and if a few limbs or tails get misplaced, who really cares? I will have to get used to it.
He let his thoughts drift to the coming year.
Help Luna more with food while she cannot hunt for herself. Check. Help out in the village however they need. Check. Maybe eventually fly to some other nearby tribes and introduce myself to help keep the peace. Check. Keep the peace here as an Alpha. Check. Figure out what it actually means to be an Alpha. Check.
He glanced next to himself at the dozing Dawn-Singer. A thought, an idea, began nipping at his tail again. It was a crazy thought.
Dawn-Singer fully understood that Valka could speak and had thoughts just like he did. Dawn-Singer had started learning some of Valka's words after much exposure.
Can he learn writing? He is a fast learner for sure. Toothless did not particularly care for that or learn much. Maybe that is because he never truly wanted to. He did not see a reason for it. Dawn-Singer might. He has only ever known humans, and especially Valka, as being good creatures. That does it. I am bringing this up first thing in the morning.
"Dawn-Singer."
The young Fury hopped to his feet and dashed over to him.
"Shadowwing, you said my name!"
He hummed back to his nephew.
"Yes, I did. I have a question for you. Will you answer with liver-truth?"
Dawn-Singer purred his agreement.
"You know that I can do the two-leg picture-talking to share my words with them."
"Yes."
"That is how I talk with the two-legs."
"Yes."
"Do you want to learn that flight of picture-talking?"
Dawn-Singer's wings flopped to the ground, and he stared back with his toothless jaw hanging open.
"You can teach me!" Dawn-Singer exclaimed.
Shadowwing grinned and hummed at him.
"Yes, I can if you want to learn with all your liver. You must want to learn almost as much as you want to fly, and learning this is not an easy flight like flying."
"But I could picture-talk with Kin-liver!"
"And all the other two-legs, yes," he chuckled.
Dawn-Singer looked away from him and glanced at his parents. Seeing no overt disapproval from them, the fledgling glanced back at him.
"Shadowwing, teach me picture-talking."
The beat of wings awoke her even over the whistle of the wind. Her gaze fixed on the entrance to her den. It was exactly who she thought it would be, no other would ever fly here, and he had a large, dead four-leg in his arms.
Odd, I am not hungry now.
"Shadowwing," she got up and strode over to her den's entrance.
He bounded inside, dropped the prey, and shivered slightly until he stood in the fire's warmth.
"Luna, I wanted to see if you are warm."
"I am. What is that prey for?"
He rolled his eyes at her.
"Eating."
She softly chuckled at that.
"But you brought me much fish last sun."
"This is for the two-leg nest. They need more food for the cold-season."
She took a step back and grumbled at that.
"They are making you hunt in the cold for them."
He groaned softly and winced at what she said.
"Those words are twisted. I want to hunt for them to help them. And hunting is good to do or I might forget how to catch prey," he added with a chuckle.
"Great Alpha that you are..."
He hummed in amusement before glancing again to the nearby fire, the warmth of which he was still basking in.
"Your fire is still burning."
"Yes, it is hot still."
"Is there anything you need?"
"No, sleep only."
"Good, I will take the prey catch to the two-legs now."
He turned tail and flew off with the large prey in his grasp. She watched him as he departed and she dashed back inside the den.
She curled up and glanced at her claws before returning to sleep. They were not yet as long as they would eventually be, but they were sharp now after many short sun-cycles of rubbing them against the rocks. More time with natural growth from eating and resting well were all that they needed. And both of those were almost assured now.
But she gave a wary hum at the thought.
This is dangerous to be so dependent on two-legs and on him. I must be able to hunt alone as soon as I can. The cold-season is starting to warm. I will hunt when it warms and when I have my wings strong again.
She fanned her wings and looked at what was left of the old breaks. The horrible, liver-chilling breaks were gone and the wing-skin appeared whole. The only blemishes at all were the tiny vines, not even as wide as a claw tip, that still wove around where the wings had been cut. Shadowwing explained that those tiny vines would be taken out by Kin-liver eventually.
And she could hold her wings out long without them growing weak.
She folded her wings away after giving them a long pretend flight until they grew weak again. It took far longer than it had in the past. She curled up around the small fire and closed her eyes while humming with warmth.
Flying. The winds stroking her wings. The light bouncing from her as if she was a sky-light.
Peace. Up here in the sky there were no bad things. No threat from two-legs or kin because these skies were empty save for her. These winds of thought were hers only, always safe and unfouled. They were the only sleep-visions which she eagerly awaited having.
She glanced down at the ground far below and saw the swirling darkness of ground-kin and thralls trying to follow after her. There would be no escape from them when she eventually needed to land, which was hopefully never.
There was a noise. A rush of wind and wings very near to her.
She pulled up and hovered in place as she wildly looked around for the source of the noise. Was it a flying thrall-kin about to attack her? How could it be anything else?
A dark wing flew up next to her with a loud roar. The chill of fear swelled in her liver as the strange kin neared. It looked so similar to the other one that had claimed her sleep-visions before.
But this one-
He did not move to strike her or claim her in the sky but rather joined her flight at her side even as she shied away from his flight and did not brush his great wings. He turned to look at her, but she turned away and would not look at him. It was merely enough that he be there flying at her side.
His great wings cast their shadow on the ground below, a shadow which seemed to consume the dark ground-thrall-kin that hunted for her. Or at least it hid them from her sight for a moment.
Deep asleep in her cave, with her head tucked at her side under her wings, basking in the faint glow from the fire, and knowing nothing of the cold-season's constant progression toward the new-life-season, she gave a very faint hum at the sleep-vision of flight not on her own.
The weather was starting to warm as the winter had finally broken. The trees were starting to come alive again as green returned to the world. More people down in the village started emerging and going forth in the world. Dragons started flying more.
But there was a problem with the world at the moment. A tiny and very frustrating problem.
"I broke the tree-skin," Dawn-Singer grumbled.
Shadowwing sighed as well as he looked down on the ripped paper.
I should have known. Writing on paper is not going to work. One, there is not enough paper. Two, you have already broken one of the precious pencils. Three, there is not enough paper.
"This has no lift. You need to learn your picture-words with a different flight."
He paced in the den for a moment, deep in thought about alternative ways to learn to write. He remembered the very first time he had written by carving runes into fireplace ash.
Wait, I got it! Valka and I made a dirt box to write in. That way we never used up anything we could not replace. But where to put it?
"I do not think they will want a dirt pile here. We will need much ground to do this."
"To do what?" Dawn-Singer eagerly hummed.
"Get the two-legs to make a place to hold dirt. We can make the picture-words in the dirt and not break the tree-skins."
"Is this like the picture-talking place that you and Kin-liver used at the ice nest?" Was-Grounded spoke up.
Shadowwing hummed in thought.
"Yes, that and bigger."
"Bigger? Hmm, that will be a problem in this den."
"I know, I was thinking about where to put it," Shadowwing clarified.
"And Aurora might try to use it to drop her waste in."
"That would be a problem," Shadowwing groaned.
"How about you make your own den for it? You could fill it with all the two-leg things you need, you twisted kin."
There was a sparkle in Was-Grounded's eyes.
"First of my liver, do you know how twisted Shadowwing is?"
"How twisted?" Dawn-Singer eagerly answered.
"Sometimes I think he has the liver of a two-leg," Was-Grounded grinned a toothy grin.
Dawn-Singer laughed at the tease while Shadowwing huffed.
"If you have flown your fouling flight against me, yes, there are other caves. I could make one a place of learning. I will get the two-legs to help me make it a good cave-den," Shadowwing answered.
Was-Grounded hummed at the idea.
"That would be good. And you could let Luna sleep there for warmth."
Shadowwing froze and groaned at the suggestion.
"No, we both prefer to be alone."
Was-Grounded blinked in surprise and soft dismay.
"But that is twisted. You are not alone now when you sleep with us in our den."
"That is different. We are kin to the other. She... she does not want any to be her kin."
"She does not want any to be her kin? That is very bad thinking," Was-Grounded exclaimed.
"It is what it is. She does not trust much now. That is where the winds of her life have blown her."
"And you?"
Shadowwing sighed.
"I do not know what I want. I do not see the skies ahead now."
Was-Grounded stepped forward and gently butted heads with him.
"We will be flying those skies with you. Always within call of you."
"Well, we made it! A bit battered and busted and broken up and covered in lots of ice and snow, but we made it! " Thorvald announced to all.
A weary round of cheering greeted him. The men all had their full winter beards grown to help protect them from the worst of the cold.
"This is home! It is our home! Sure it is a bit harsh and tried to kill us several times over the winter. But we are used to that. We are Nords! It is an occupational hazard!"
"This is just like Berk! We are a family!" Skald roared.
"That it is, Skald. And now what are we going to do?" Thorvald turned to the dozens in the audience.
"More building?" Gustav proposed.
"Make that lad an Elder! Yes, we will rebuild and make this just as much our home as Berk and the other islands were. Massive stables for our dragons! Great docks for our boats that we will build! A huge Great Hall large enough for our dragons to join us in! It will be right here in the middle of town and will have perches for dozens of dragons!"
"Sounds like a lot of work..." "I dunno..." "I need to do my axe-returns..."
"What are we waiting for..." Sifa raised her voice over the den.
"That's the spirit. Plus, those not on construction duty are on fish and dung duty!" Thorvald grinned.
"I can do it..." "I guess I can..." "If you want..." "Something need doing..." "Right on it..." "Work, work..."
"Those are the Nords that I know! And, I have even better news for you all!"
That proclamation got the audience's attention.
"We will find the nearest merchants, we will trade with them, and we will bring back the ale!"
A loud roar went up from all the gathered people and there was much rejoicing until the dragons joined in as well, not quite knowing what their humans were announcing triumph over but figuring that it would be good to add their voices to the noise.
Luna took a deep breath, left her den, and walked long until she rose up the nearby green ridge at the feet of the mountain. The new-life-season had arrived all around the range. None of that and the natural wants that the new season should spark mattered for now. The idea of any male kin climbing on her and embracing her...
She arrived at the top of the ridge and paused with her tail twitching as she stared down the slope.
This is the sun-cycle when I leave the ground even if only for a few wing-beats.
She slowly extended her wings out to their full length and held them there. Again, she stared at the old healed breaks.
Breaths in and out. Life-fire smoldering and smoking.
And that hated, twisted voice in her own liver spoke again. That voice that had spoken truth for an unknown number of season-cycles.
'You are weak prey...'
Her wings did not tire from being held out as she stood there and soaked in the sun's light on her scales. But standing there was not enough.
She wanted to jump and glide but she felt weighed down to the ground. Her wings slightly drooped as she remembered that the ground was where life seemed safe, though she knew that was not true. It almost felt like being grounded was a part of her life-story and should always be.
'You will fly over many ranges...'
She crouched down on her hind legs while stretching her wings wide again.
'The winds of life will be very warm to you...'
A defiant snarl crept out from her maw.
'My sky-light...'
And she jumped from the ridge.
It was not true flight at all, but it warmed the liver very much to be off the ground as she glided down the ridge. Down toward the flat grass. She arched her back and threw out her legs. A heavy landing followed as she ran to a standstill with her wings forgotten at her side and her tail stilled.
Breaths in and out. Life-fire burning brightly.
She glanced over her shoulder at her wings that had held her aloft even for so short a time. Her wings were strong again and had not failed her.
'You did it, my little one...'
A growl of warmth and life-fire burst from her liver.
I did it... even if only gliding for now.
And she gazed toward the sky... with wanting.
"Soon."
"Well, I think that will do. What do you think?" Valka asked.
He closely inspected the handiwork put together on such short notice. A wooden box similar to the old one that they had built before now lay on the flat part inside one of the larger caves a short flight from Was-Grounded's and Green-Wings's cave. More than that though there were several other accommodations that made this place better than a mere cave.
It now had a shelf for storing maps, scrolls, and pencils. It had a rock-contained fireplace constructed alongside the dirt writing box. There were old, ragged furs to rest on as well as a little ledge that could be a good resting rock. Finally, it had a fur covering set up by the entrance to significantly block drafts.
All considered, it was a rather snug cave in which to eventually teach eager Night Furies their letters. And maybe it could be a place for him to stay more regularly if there were to be such a need.
It will work
Thank you for helping make it
"Of course. I really hope that he learns. That would change everything if a true Night Fury could learn writing."
He seems eager and knows a few letters now
"Already? Wow, he is such a fast learner."
He nodded and hummed at her apt observation.
We seem to remember very quickly when little
I did when Toothless taught me to talk
She shook her head in clear amazement.
"He is not even a year and half old, and he is already fluent in his own speech. The amazing things of youth. Why do I think that he will pick this up quickly too?"
He was most excited
About being able to talk to you
She gave a giddy grin and beckoned him out of the cave. They walked outside and looked out together over the view which was gradually starting to fill out in green.
"Think about it, son. He will be the first Night Fury to never fear humans. To learn how to write with them. To fly with them willingly not as a mount or a loved pet but as a friend and equal. It is very good."
He very gently batted her in the shoulder and bounded back inside to the box.
Hey, what about me and Toothless?
"You two don't count. Well..."
She paused and hesitated.
"Son, what was he to you way back before this happened to you? How did you think about him? Honestly. I don't think we ever talked about this before."
He gathered his own thoughts on the topic.
I thought I owed it to him after how I hurt him
He had too much purpose in what he did and chose
I would never have called him a pet
He softly grumbled.
Not knowing that he can talk
Would have been sad
"I figured that is how it must have been for you two. But Dawn-Singer and hopefully all his brothers and sisters will be different from all that were before. They will never have to see violence at all. They can truly be part of the tribe and accepted as equals."
He grumbled as he thought about something that had bothered him in the past.
Will they want to stay here?
Or will they want to leave?
"Why would they leave?"
Toothless wanted to leave Berk to find a mate
She seemed suddenly nervous as she considered the possibility.
"We still have a few years before they start having such thoughts. I am afraid that it is too dangerous for them to be wandering in the wild and hoping to find other Night Furies."
He could hardly deny the truth in her words.
"We don't even know if there are any others out there. Did you ask Mimir about whether there were any in the hidden world?"
He said there were not
Her expression seemed to fall further at that.
"He would know. Do you think... would Luna want to learn any writing?"
Doubtful
She does not trust any humans
He gave a wary hum.
Except maybe you
"Well, you might consider asking if she would like to learn. Only when you think she might be ready. It might help her feel a bit more accepted to learn a bit more about us. Her only long experiences with humans being what they were... no one should have to suffer what those monsters did to her."
He did not try to restrain the wrathful snarl.
I would gladly kill Drago myself if he were alive
She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's try to let the past be. Accept that it happened, learn from it, and move on. It may hurt all the time, but you eventually get used to it."
He heard her words and knew that they were not only applicable to Luna's situation.
How?
"How? One foot in front of the other. One day at a time. If that is not enough, from each moment to the next you just keep going. Deal with small problems first instead of the big ones that take a long time. That is the only way that someone can survive what happened to you or what they were doing to Luna. Stubbornness issues," she solemnly chuckled.
He recalled a finer detail that Valka appeared unaware of, at least he had not mentioned it to her before.
She said that she never stopped fighting
"What?" Valka asked in confusion.
Luna said she did not let the males
He growled at the thought of strange dragons being forced to do that to Luna. To climb on her and force themselves on her, all because of Bludvist's desire to add more dragon slaves to his army.
Do it to her
Valka seemed surprised at that and gave a heavy sigh, clearly on Luna's behalf.
"That's a relief. She seems to be very strong, unbroken, and wild at heart still, even after everything that happened to her."
She is indeed.
It was a bright, warm, and sunny cycle when she growled at herself, overcome with the wanting, and flew to her feet. A pair of sun-cycles has passed since she started gliding again without her wings ever hurting.
I cannot wait anymore! Too many painful and twisting sleep-visions! I want it true and now!
She bounded out the cave-den and dashed up that ridge again, being unable or unwilling to wait. This time when she reached the top though she spread her strong wings wide and did not look down at the ground. Gliding was something only hatchlings trying to fledge should need to do.
.
She gazed toward the sky and knew that that is where she would feel at home.
.
Among and beyond the clouds, soaring toward the sun and moon, and feeling the stroke of the wind on her wings. In the burning and warming sunlight, on great skies, with no fear of falling.
.
She leapt for freedom.
.
It was as her stretched wings carried her away from the ground, as she felt the wind whip around her, as she spun in a tight loop, and as she looked down on the trees, range, and waters below her, that those most terrible teeth that had been clenched around her liver for unknown season-cycles lost their grip on her life.
Higher and higher into the sky with the wind pushing her ever yet higher.
'Sire! I fly now!'
Up into the white clouds where she vanished. Up and beyond the clouds where she soared.
'Yes, my little sky-light...'
Into the open air with the sun's light warming her wings and scales.
She looked around in renewed awe at the spinning and rolling clouds that stretched out to the horizon like an ocean. And far, far below sparkled the rolling green of the range she knew so well and called her own now.
She pulled her wings in close and spun into the wind.
I am a sky-hatched light wing again!
She threw out her wings wider and angled higher toward the far distant clouds that flew up near the moon and the sun.
Her joyous flight was slightly fouled by feeling the faint strain in her wings. Despite the flight-joy, she knew that it would not be good thinking to push too hard on her first free flight after so long being grounded.
She glared up at the distant clouds and the white moon.
I will touch you one sun-cycle!
She tucked in her wings and let herself tumble from the sky in a weightless freefall.
And as the feeling of her own weight vanished, as the wind whipped around her, as the only noise was the roaring rush of falling, and as the hum of burning life-warmth flowed from her liver, she was filled with only one simple, glowing idea.
She threw out her wings, spun up through a cloud, and filled the sky with her roar.
"I AM FREE!"