"And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her." - J.R.R. Tolkien - The Return of the King
Embers
A heavy nudge woke Shadowwing from his sleep. He opened his eyes and gradually made out a shadow in front of him. A shadow that was eagerly bounding on its feet, had a thrashing tail, and had very wide open eyes.
"Brother, wake! The egg is hatching!"
Egg? Egg... The egg!
He flew to his feet and quickly shook off his sleepiness.
I have to see this. It never gets old.
And he had a very warming thought. There were some others who should definitely see this.
"How much time?"
"This one is strong and is breaking the shell fast!"
So scratch getting mom, I guess. I can still get someone else though.
"I will find Luna! I want her to see the hatching."
A very pleased look appeared in his brother's eyes before he hummed in agreement.
"Fly fast!"
They went their separate ways, Was-Grounded straight to his den and Shadowwing further up the cold range as fast as his wings would carry him. With his eagerness that was very fast.
I just hope that she is there.
Down the range he flew on the moonlit light and swiftly landed outside her den. There was a silvery mass deep inside when he bounded up to the entrance.
"Luna!"
She woke at his voice and rapidly blinked her light blue eyes to wake up as she stared out toward him.
"Shadowwing, why are you here?" she yawned.
"The egg is hatching! We want you to see it hatch!"
She blinked and rose to her feet with a confused croon.
"Truly? They want me to see their hatchling hatch?"
"Yes, and we must be fast."
She dashed out the cave and followed him out into the cold air. They flew directly to the cave without delay, landed, and bounded inside. They beheld the three oldest Furies within at the rear of the den while Aurora sulked nearby. Luna wasted no time in approaching the place where it would happen while Shadowwing paused at Aurora's side. She was pouting at something.
"What is chilling you, little one?"
"The little hatching nestling!" she squirmed.
"What about it?"
"Sire and dam will nuzzle and lick it instead of me," she hung her young head.
What! You think they won't love you just because you won't get all the attention?
"Think about Dawn-Singer," he hummed.
"What?"
"He was to you what you are to the hatching one. Do you think your sire and dam stopped caring for him after you hatched?"
She grumbled and rolled her eyes while not saying anything. He could see the connections being drawn in her thoughts though. Slowly and reluctantly.
"Come watch your little brother or sister hatch," he hummed.
He bent down and licked her face, causing her to sputter wildly.
"Why did you do that!" she exclaimed.
He chuckled heartily at her.
"Because you are being liver- and thought-twisted. Come."
She followed him over to the rocking egg, sat down with her head on her arms and her tail slowly twitching, and grumbled. A few occasional glances were thrown toward the egg though.
He sat down across from Was-Grounded, Dawn-Singer, and Green-Wings and next to Luna. All four adults purred and crooned their presence to the egg as it rocked between Green-Wings's arms. The top half of the egg was quite broken with all the pieces barely still held together.
It was strange, twisting, and warming to be invited into another's den to see a hatching. Neither Was-Grounded nor Green-Wings were at all wary of her being there. Though, they had already shown their trust of her by letting her play with their first two young ones unwatched, and they had named her as kin to them.
She had seen her own little nest-mates break their shells, that much was certain from flashes of memory. But none of those memory stories were complete or present to her now.
This was though.
The perfect black egg was almost shattered, and the strong hatchling-to-be within was gathering its strength.
Warmth in her liver.
Her hum on the air.
'More than you can count on your front paws.'
'That is many more than you and dam.'
She blinked at the memory of her own sire and dam telling her something important. A promise of some kind.
And the egg shattered.
A tail thrashed, wings unrolled, and a tiny head shook itself of egg-water. A little head with tiny frills and dark green eyes looked around the den with a nervous little trill. The tiny male saw what he was looking for and started slowly crawling toward his dam for comfort, food, nuzzling, and licking.
From Green-Wings.
Green-Wings bent down and licked the unnamed male hatchling clean of all his egg-water. Was-Grounded bent down as well and nuzzled the little one before depositing a fish from his belly. A fish that very quickly started to disappear into the hatchling's belly.
It was the most liver warming thing she had seen in memory. And yet-
She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift on the winds of life. Everything felt different. Warmer.
I am not afraid of all this now. This is good and very much warming. Was-Grounded and Green-Wings are good life-mates.
Sigh.
I wish that I could have this warmth.
And with that thought the last of the ice around her liver at the idea melted and shattered. She turned her head slightly without thinking and glanced at Shadowwing. He was staring ahead at the hatchling and saw nothing of her penetrating gaze.
Cold and confusion entered her liver again.
What am I thinking? He is too twisted in the liver. He has never wanted to chase me or tried to show wanting. He does not know what he wants.
"What is his name?" Shadowwing broke the silence.
Was-Grounded nuzzled Green-Wings in response as she gently held and nuzzled the hatchling.
"My life-mate, will you trust me to name this one?" Was-Grounded asked.
"Yes," Green-Wings hummed.
"He is Rain-Eater," Was-Grounded declared.
"Rain-Eater? Why that name?" Shadowwing rumbled in amused confusion.
Was-Grounded draped a wing over Green-Wings's back as she hummed at him.
"On our flight from her range to this one there was one much bad place to fly. A place with no water for sun-cycles. She was losing much water, and death was stalking her. It rained, and I let the rain pour off a wing into a small river so that she could drink."
A solemn moment passed between them as they remembered together the events he was relating.
"I told the sky that I would name a hatchling for that."
Rain-Eater finished his meal of fish, stretched his little limbs one more time, and vanished under a warm, shimmering green wing.
Silence filled the cave save for the drone of hums and purrs until...
"He is hatched now! Can we sleep?" Aurora grumbled.
"Oh, is my sister twisted at not being the littlest one now?" Dawn-Singer teased.
"I will bite off your nose," she growled back.
"Will you? With what and why?"
She flashed her sharp but still somewhat small teeth.
"That is how. And why? To make your face look better."
"Aurora... come here," Green-Wings hissed.
She grumbled and reluctantly strode forth.
Green-Wings lifted a wing to reveal the sleeping Rain-Eater within.
"Lick him."
"What! I do not want to lick him!"
"He is your kin. Your little nestmate... brother. He will look up at you for many suns."
"But..."
A faint rumble alongside narrowed eyes and a slightly twitching tail were the only answers given.
Aurora could not hold the gaze of such eyes, slowly bent down, stuck out her tongue, and barely touched it to Rain-Eater's tiny tailfins. She stepped back and bounded away to Was-Grounded's side where she snuggled under a wing. Her continued pouting was quite clearly forced at this point. She at least had the prudence to fall asleep, or to pretend to do so.
"Luna, was this warming to you?" Was-Grounded asked.
She looked up from the ground and faced him without saying anything for several quiet moments.
"It does warm my liver. Thank you for letting me see a hatching," Luna eventually whispered.
Spinning through the clouds. Gliding on the warm wind. Shining with the sun's light.
Free. Safe. Alone.
She glanced to the ground far below. The dark thought-hunters were still swarming far below. They never seemed to give up the flight to chase her, always present below and matching her speed.
If only she had life-fire still burning in her liver. How she wished that her glowing wrath could burn these bad-thoughts. But her fire was still dead. Torn from her. Lost.
A burning blue sun fell from the sky.
It struck the pursuing thought-hunters and scattered them for a moment, though it could not kill them. They were her thought-hunters, and only she could burn them, wrestle their necks, and throw them out of life.
She looked up and saw the kin that was spinning down from the sky. Wings of living shadow. Green eyes filled with wanting, confusion, and cold.
He joined her flight at her side. There was no fear in her liver. She knew this kin. She knew what she wanted.
'I will not hurt you.'
And she believed it. Their flights drifted nearer until she could reach out and brush him with a wingtip. And she did and felt a fire in her liver at the touch.
But he shied away and would not touch her again. His eyes spoke liver-pain and not-self-trusting deep in his thinking.
So she growled as she spun toward him and forced his flight into a sky-dance.
Back to back, belly to belly, upside down, in tight loops, and in freefall.
Never touching.
They settled into a glide at each other's side.
He never looked away as they peacefully flew. His green eyes slowly started to change the longer they glided.
Her croon filled her small den as the snow fell and the wind whipped outside the den where she slept alone.
Valka and Shadowwing huddled around the fire in his cave, warming their... everything against the chill that was... everywhere. The sun was falling low in the sky after the very short day.
It was that time of year for a certain celebration that everyone in Haven had been looking forward to for a long time.
This reminds me of Berk
Dead of winter and everything frozen
Hey we should have a feast!
Valka laughed.
"Yep, traditions after all. So what do you think? Are they ready?"
I will let them all know
Should not be hard to convince them
"Great. Do you... think Luna will want to join us?"
He hummed in thought for a moment.
It would be good for her
I will invite her
"Ok son, see you soon," she departed to return to Cloudjumper.
The Stormcutter looked quite unimpressed at having been left outside in the cold even though he could not fit into the cave.
Shadowwing left and turned his flight first for his brother's cave.
This will be the easier of the two for sure. Just tell them about the food and they will want to attend.
He landed and eagerly bounded inside to escape the biting wind. And he could not restrain the hum that left his throat when he saw them all piled up together in a tangled mass of limbs, wings, and tails. It was something that he had seen before and been within many times, but it still warmed his heart while it looked quite silly in a way. What belonged to which Fury was very hard to tell other than from size alone and the fact that Rain-Eater would be snug under one of his mother's wings.
No personal space at all. It is very warm though. And they can all feel the purring too.
He gave a wistful sigh, padded over to his brother, and nudged his shoulder. An eye flicked open moments later along with a faint grumble.
"Grr, what is it?" Was-Grounded grumbled.
"You and all your nest want to wake now."
Was-Grounded yawned widely.
"We were deep in good sleep-visions. Why would we wake for the cold?"
Shadowwing chuckled for several moments and winked.
"Our two-legs are having their cold-season food-eating ceremony."
The drowsiness and faint irritation that had been in Was-Grounded's eyes vanished in an instant as his head shot up. And they stared at each other wide-eyed.
"Truly! When?"
"This sunfall in the largest tree-cave. Very soon. They want all Night Furies there to be warm and eat much meat and many fish."
Was-Grounded snapped his jaws shut just in time to not drool on the ground in his own cave.
"We will all be there."
"That is good. I will ask Luna to come."
"Do you... think she will want that?" Was-Grounded slowly asked.
"I hope that she has healed enough to not be much afraid of two-legs. Much food to eat is hard to turn your nose up at," Shadowwing chuckled.
"Very true."
A brief moment passed during which Was-Grounded looked to be considering something.
"Have you... do you want... no, forget I was talking..." Was-Grounded groaned.
"What? Were you saying something?" Shadowwing grinned.
"I said... grrr, you get out!" Was-Grounded pounced and batted him out the cave with very non-vicious strikes.
Shadowwing laughed to himself as he bounded out the cave into the snow, leapt into the chill air, and turned for the north, exactly as he had made the flight already many times this winter. Those were always simply to bring fire if the fire in her cave had gone out or occasionally to bring some fish. But there had been something different the most recent times. She seemed quieter, almost reserved in some way, and had been asleep more than she had been last winter.
He dove and landed in the knee-deep snow. He glanced into her den. She was indeed curled up around the dim fire with her head hidden under her tailfins.
Alright, and now to see if she wants to come with. I really hope so. It would be good for her.
"Luna?" he hummed.
She did not stir in her deep sleep. He wasted no time and strode inside, mostly to escape the whistling wind outside.
He froze when he saw her up close. The small tongues of flame, though they gave off only a little light, now gave her scales and wings something almost like a sparkle or a shine. A twinkle that reflected with every tiny movement merely from the rise and fall of her chest. It was quite a stunning sight.
That wiggling in his heart. That whispering that he was missing something obvious. That he was trying to not see and willingly closing his eyes to out of-
What am I thinking? Alright, time to get you up.
"Luna?"
No response.
Drastic measures.
He gently reached out and put a paw on her shoulder.
Her eyes flew open as her tailfins lifted from her head. Her wide, light blue eyes found his, the moment of bleary confusion passed, and-
"Shadowwing," she hummed in surprise.
"Luna, I am sorry to wake you," he stepped back.
She lay her head back on the ground and stared up at him.
"Why did you wake me?"
"The two-leg nest is having a cold-season food-eating ceremony. They bring some of their kin into the most big tree-den. They all eat and drink much as one nest."
"Why now? This is not when the eating should be done," she objected in slight confusion.
"True, but they think that by having the ceremony now they are showing how strong they are. Rock-head problems, yes."
"And you want me to come to this food-eating ceremony with you?"
"With me and all the other Night Furies. They will be there. You could eat all the fish that you want, eat much four-leg meat, and you could sit by the large fire in the den and let your scales be very warm."
She looked down at her sharp claws in a moment of thought.
"I am not saying nest with them, no. Only come with me once. Will you let me show you what is to you a new, hidden world?"
Her eyes went very, very wide.
Hidden world...
Hidden range...
Bright rock-lights...
A long and dark cave filled with...
'Look at the sky-lights, little one...'
She blinked and growled at how the idea had almost... there was something about it that was so very close, but she could not grasp in her claws. So near but so far.
She heard his audible whine of despair and saw his downcast head.
"I understand Luna. I thought you might want much food though," he groaned.
No, I did not mean that!
"No Shadowwing, I am not saying no. I only... my head hurt now."
Warmth seemed to grow in his eyes at that declaration, although they also shone with worry.
"Your head hurt? Is there more hurting?"
"No, the hurting is gone."
"Good. And, you would fly this flight with me?" he warily asked.
"If you will come with me... to keep me safe," she chuckled.
He nodded and purred to her with relief. She got to her feet and bounded out the cave with him in pursuit. Their flight was fast and with purpose, no flying games, or getting distracted.
It was very cold and dark when they finally arrived.
The first thing he noticed about the Great Hall was the light from within and the sounds of revelry audible even over the wind as they both stood outside.
"Are you ready, Luna?"
She purred once to him, and he pushed open the door. He bounded inside first, stood aside, and waited as she slowly entered after him. First appeared her head, ears flattened, and light blue eyes wide open in wariness as she inspected the inside. Second, her neck, torso, and folded wings. Finally, her long tail was pulled inside.
And she sat down next to him as he closed the main door behind them.
Everything was silent when he turned back to face what was gathered of Haven. They were all, even the dragons, staring in their direction. Most assuredly in her direction. Or maybe the dragons were staring at one of their Alphas.
And her worried hum grew faintly louder only to be drowned by his peaceful hum of reassurance.
Happy chaos erupted.
"The Light Fury!" "So sparkly!" "Gorgeous!" "Have they done it yet?" "She finally arrived!" "We finally have something to celebrate!" "I'm getting' on it ya yak brains!" "Why is my ale gone?" "The ale is gone!" "We have more ale!" "The ale is back!"
It was a confusing mix of voices in which each one was hard to make out.
The situation took a minor turn for what could have been the worse. Several of the other Haven dragons, those most familiar to all and well-behaved, had been awoken as well from their deep sleeps to join in the festivities. They got up and bounded over to them both with happy growls. Luna's head whipped toward them, and she stared at their approach as they did not slow down.
Perhaps they were eager to meet one of their Alphas, or maybe they were simply not the most perceptive of dragons. Perhaps they took after their humans in that way.
He darted in front of her and barely lifted his wings while giving the other dragons a faint growl.
They all pulled up before him, blinked and grumbled in surprise, and inclined their heads while happily purring. They dashed away to where they had been to get back to resting or eating.
Gods, they can be so like Nords at times... Just say the words 'I have ale for you' or 'Fish' and problems go away.
He glanced back at Luna who almost looked sheepish at the encounter.
"Follow me," he hummed.
They walked together down the main hallway between all the rows of merry people. The massive support pillars that held up the ceiling were quite impressive in their own right, having been assembled from the largest felled trees. The torches that lit the sides of the Hall bathed the whole place in a warm light. The central fireplace roared with a bright flame above which several whole goats and swine were cooking. Tables were absolutely covered in meats, cooked fish, and some fresh fish as well.
He paused as he looked up at the two main tapestries in all their glory. There was a faint twinge in his chest at the sight but none of the crushing emptiness that had been there before.
"Shadowwing, what is it?" she asked.
He only shook his head and kept walking.
They saw the heartwarming sight. A low-set table near the head of the Hall and not far from the central fireplace was covered in scraps of meats and small fish. Around this table stood the family of Furies. Dawn-Singer and Aurora were standing by the sandbox and were furiously scribbling as their closest humans stood nearby. Green-Wings stood nearby them both and watched all the activity. Was-Grounded stood next to her while looking out over the entire party. Rain-Eater was curled up and sound asleep on his back.
And all of them had quite stuffed bellies.
Shadowwing did not try to restrain his laughter or prevent his tail from swaying.
"There you are! You both came!" Valka got up and ran over to them. She embraced his head and turned to Luna.
"Luna..."
Luna stepped forward and briefly nuzzled her cheek while softly purring a greeting to her.
"Luna!" Dawn-Singer and Aurora both hummed as one as they stumbled toward her.
"Little ones," she nuzzled their foreheads while Valka observed.
Several of the other children who had been gathered around Dawn-Singer and Aurora turned toward the small gathering and happily approached. Valka stepped away from Luna and met the children first.
"Remember, respect her and do not spook her," she chided them.
"What are they doing?" Luna whispered.
"They want to be warm to you."
"Bonding?" she hissed.
"Only small-bonding. Not riding or carrying," he explained.
She warily hummed and turned back to the two-leg fledglings. They could walk upright but were clearly not ready to leave their home-dens and their sire and dam's protection. And their tiny eyes were very wide as they looked her over in... awe, wonder-seeing? They lifted their small paws and waved them at her while flashing their small teeth in the twisted-happy showing. There was also something in their eyes that looked very different from what she thought had to be there. A dangerous and powerful warmth.
She slowly stepped around them without growling or glaring at them and walked over to the place that held all her attention and got her tail swaying.
Meats dripping with fat and many large fish...
She took a glance at Shadowwing as he came to stand next to her. He looked at her and back to all the food on the table. She licked her jaws and stepped closer to the food.
"Try not to make a mess," he chuckled.
Amazingly, she did not. She was a very neat eater. And a hungry one.
Though, it does help that there is no blood. I wish some of this was fresh at least.
He waited patiently as she ate to her heart's content. None of the other dragons thought to bother her, and, despite the novelty of having the Light Fury in the Great Hall for the first time, all the humans were otherwise occupied. All except for the children who could not stop fawning over Dawn-Singer and Aurora.
She stepped back with a satisfied belly and nodded to him. He stepped forward and filled his own belly with the remaining goat, fish, and venison.
Definitely much better than only cold fish all the time.
He glanced up to the head of the Hall where Thorvald was sitting. Gobber was there also and the two were in council of some kind.
"Luna, I will talk to our two-leg Alpha."
"I will stay with our kin," she bounded over next to Green-Wings and remained attentive there when she sat down.
I am not going to complain about that.
He walked over to the Chief's table.
"... if the rumors are true..."
"Aye, I know. But nothin' will happen in tha winter," Gobber muttered.
"I am just worried about the peace. I hope it lasts but, oh, Shadowwing perfect, I was going to get you."
Shadowwing clutched a paw to his chest in surprise.
"Yeah, Chief to Chief in a way."
Wow, I guess that is true. I am a Chief. What would dad have said about how I've done? Though I have different responsibilities than a Nord Chief would have. Still leadership though.
He sat down and gave Thorvald his full attention.
"More people were saying that they are seeing ships on the water. Maybe trappers."
He restrained the angry growl that threatened to rise. Mostly restrained.
"But nothing is certain now. Everything is a lot better with the other dragons. I don't know what we would have done without the two of you helping."
A slight ruffle of wings and a nod was sufficient answer.
"But there are still a lot of them that fly everywhere and go out to hunt. We will be found eventually, I'm afraid, and we must be ready when that happens."
He grimly nodded back and gave a pointed glance at Valka.
"We've talked a bit, but we will need to figure out what we will do if something happens."
Gobber stepped forward.
"Ah Chief, maybe ya' should get on with the evenin'. It's about time. There'll be plenty of time ta plan later."
"You're right, Gobber."
Shadowwing bounded back to the other Furies and sat down next to Luna and Was-Grounded while Thorvald stood up and rang a gong to get everyone's attention. All voices silenced as people turned toward their Chief.
"I will keep this short. Let us remember the fallen and honor them through our lives here in the world they died for."
Everyone rose to their feet and stood to attention with their heads bowed.
"Stoick the Vast! Astrid the Dragon Whisperer! All the others of our family who feast now in Valhalla!"
Mugs were raised high in salute and emptied. A solemn moment passed as heads remained bowed in honor of the fallen.
"Come on, let's sing something fun, like The Drunk Nord!" someone in the back shouted.
Crickets.
"To avoid redundancy, shouldn't that just be The Nord?" Skald loudly objected into the silence.
Rounds of roaring laughter went up from the tables. The solemn moment was thoroughly broken and happy chaos resumed.
"So a Nord, a trapper, and mainlander walk into a mead hall!" "I know... that's what she said!" "So I said, hold my ale and watch this!" "Drinking problem? Yeah, the mug's empty..." "What's fun about being sober? Nothing!" "Take me drunk... I'm home!" "So a Nord walked out of a mead hall... it could happen!"
Those not engaging in banter, more drinking, and contests of strength and endurance, which included drinking, filtered out into the middle of the Hall and began dancing.
Luna looked out at the spinning activity and wondered at its meaning.
"Shadowwing, what are they doing?"
"They are dancing."
She purred as she lay there and looked out over the dancing. There was something hard to understand about it.
"Is it a... mating ceremony?"
Uh... no...
"No, why do you think that?"
"The males are all paired with the females."
Ok, fair point...
"Many mated pairs do this dancing, but non-pairs also dance. It is a two-leg bonding ceremony that is also very liver-warming to them."
She considered the laughing and smiling group of two-legs. He said that this was not a mating-ceremony, but it did seem that the males were all paired with females. Some were even doing the mouth-touching thing that mates or those displaying wanting to a partner seem to do.
He knows more about them and their twisted ways than I do.
She saw Kin-liver dancing with a one-armed, one-legged, two-leg. This was the male who was bonded to the bone-gatherer kin.
Kin-liver is not young and is probably past her egg-making seasons. Perhaps this is not a mating ceremony after all.
"What do two-leg eggs look like?" she asked.
Shadowwing groaned while Was-Grounded laughed at the question.
"Why are you laughing?" she hissed.
"I asked the same thing. Would you believe it is liver-truth if I said that two-legs do not make eggs?" Was-Grounded hummed.
Her eyes went wide as she gave a gasp.
"No eggs?"
"None, the little one comes out of the dam's belly," Shadowwing explained.
Luna warbled in confusion at learning something new about two-legs.
"That is very twisting. This ceremony does look like a warming one for them though," she granted.
"It is very warming. Look at how happy they are."
That certainly seemed true from how warmly they were laughing and smiling.
Shadowwing rumbled with amusement.
"Did you know that I danced with one of them many season-cycles ago?"
She lifted an eye-ridge at him.
"How?"
"It was long ago when I was much smaller, only as tall as their adults. It was this same time of the season, and I was with them when they were dancing. There was… one female that I knew and she needed someone to dance with. So I joined with her and we danced."
She gave him a bemused stare.
"A female? You joined with her? And you say that this is not a mating ceremony?"
"Yes, I'm sure… but… no! I... did not… not with a two-leg!" he stammered in response.
She laughed aloud and whipped his tail with her own.
"I had to foul your flight."
"Flight fouled," he rolled his eyes.
Was-Grounded laughed at them and chuckled softly.
"Brother, will you hold Rain-Eater for me?"
"Yes," he reached over, gently plucked the dozing hatchling from his brother's back using his maw, and carefully placed him on his own back.
Was-Grounded bounded over to Green-Wings and whispered something to her. Her ears went up in amusement an instant later.
What are you two doing?
Shadowwing chuckled to himself as the other two walked out toward the dance floor, displacing many people as they did so. The sight of the two adult Furies walking into a crowd of dancing people naturally garnered the attention of most of the dancers.
The two turned toward each other and began a dance of their own. Theirs involved a lot of happy purring and growling, spinning in circles while chasing the other's tail, and leaping to playfully bat at the other.
"Hey, look at that!" "Well, I'll be darned!" "What are they doing?" "Knew it, need more ale!"
"He has never done that before," Shadowwing chuckled.
"I think your liver-twistedness is in both of them now," Luna grumbled back.
She threw another glance at him and at how Rain-Eater slept safely on his back. Exactly as a sire would do for his own little one. The warmth from the fire soothed both of them as they lay close by.
"Shadowwing, I have a question about two-legs."
"Yes?"
"Some of the pairs dancing are too old and cannot make any young. Are those life-mates, and how do two-legs know that others are life-mates?"
"Life-mates have like-shiny-things they put on their fingers. That is one way of showing that they are claimed. Two-legs do not smell as much as kin can. Many of the old pairs are life-mates. They..."
Actually, he never taught me that word. Time to make another one.
"... love their life-mate."
Luna warbled in confusion.
"What is that two-leg word?"
"It means they... it can mean different things. One type of love is a warm-liver-feeling from being known by another, like a sire or dam for their little one. Another love is for another who has a like-life-fire or a like-life-wind in a different body. Another love is for..." he barely winced, "egg-making. It makes the mates... join to make more life. The last love is to wish good for another without getting or wanting anything from them."
She closed her eyes as she thought over his words.
"And do two-legs do all those?"
His sad hum immediately followed.
"They should, but they do not much. Sometimes life-mates are false and stop being mates by taking others that are younger and more eye-warming. And it is very not normal for one to do good without wanting something."
"Why must two-legs make names for all things? Those are all part of life. A sire and dam should nuzzle, warm, and be warmed by their young. Life-mates or close kin will become more like the other with more seasons together. Making more life is good," she paused and hummed in wary confusion.
"The last one you said, to do great good without wanting anything, I do not know if I can think that is. It is too much not how the world and life are."
"I know that it is truth. I have felt it and lived it," he answered her.
"What? When?"
He looked away from her and out to the dance floor where Was-Grounded and Green-Wings were alternating between chasing each other through the Hall while weaving through all the other dancers.
"When my brother flew his own life into danger to save mine. He was willing to die for me."
And did in a way, many years ago.
"You cannot do it!" Aurora teased very loudly.
They both glanced back and saw something initially very amusing. The young humans had departed, leaving only the two young Furies to tease each other. Aurora was laughing at Dawn-Singer as he seemed to be softly heaving. He brought out a little unflamed gas.
Oh, you are trying to make fire. No, no, no, no, bad idea!
"Dawn-Singer!" he cried.
His nephew regretfully turned away from the sand and strode over to him.
"I do not understand it! I should have my fire now!" Dawn-Singer softly growled.
"You cannot do it!" Aurora laughed.
"And I will bite your tail!" he retorted.
Aurora stuck out her tongue at him.
"You can learn your fire Dawn-Singer, but do not try to learn it in here. Night Fury fire is very hot, and you would not want to hurt anyone here."
Dawn-Singer's ears fell at the thought.
"No, but I know in my liver that I should have fire now."
Well, I think I know what can cheer him up.
"I did not learn my fire until after you were a fledgling. And your sire was only a little older than you are now when he flamed. He learned his fire when he fought against a bad sky-light-eater."
Luna blinked and hummed in understanding.
"Is that where his neck hurt-marks are from?" she asked.
"Yes, he liked them much, and I said he was twisted."
"You both are..."
"Thank you for saying all that..."
And she laughed almost in the same moment as both Dawn-Singer and Aurora yawned widely from the combination of it being well after dark, being in the warm glow of the fire, and having full bellies finally having caught up with them. They both approached the reclining crescent moon. Dawn-Singer lay down before her while Aurora, somehow overcoming her sibling frustration, hopped between them and snuggled up against Luna's side.
Luna blinked in surprise and deeply purred to them both. She lay her head down and stared ahead toward the fire.
He felt the growing exhaustion of the evening himself as the fire's warmth rolled over all of them.
I could do with some rest.
He noticed the empty space next to the dozing children at her side. The inviting space that had to be filled. So he got up, shuffled over to them, and lay down next to her. And he lifted a wing to drape it over her and his nephew and niece to share warmth. He was asleep, lost to the comfort of a full belly, the warm fire, the voices of people all around, and the constant hum of dear Furies with him.
She was still awake and quite lost to her thoughts as she stared at him, carefully watching the rise and fall of his chest. Confusion swirled within her thoughts. Nothing in his smell, look, or words ever had ever showed any interest in her before. Was it possible that he truly had no desire at all for a mate and did not want that goodness in his life-flight? The idea was unthinkable.
Except I was like that also until so recently.
On the other paw, he was a very strange kin and almost tried to live like something between a kin and a two-leg. He had no definite direction in his life.
But he was sheltering her with his wings even now, and that felt very warming.
Maybe he does have wanting but does not know it yet. Maybe he has been flying from his own wants.
Valka reclined nearby them both, as she was uninterested in the partying, stories, or songs. She only had interest in the sight before her eyes. Shadowwing and Luna curled up more or less together, his wing over her back, all while three younglings slept at her side and on his back.
Son, you are quite lost now even if you do not know it.
Several other people started taking notice as well. Fingers were pointed, voices whispered, and wagers were placed. Many wagers.
Both Was-Grounded and Green-Wings walked up to her, completely exhausted from an evening of abandoning themselves to yearling play and silliness. They both glanced at the sleeping pair and rumbled to each other in apparent satisfaction.
Valka realized something. They had seemed to spend as much time as possible away from the other two after deliberately leaving their three children in the care of Shadowwing and Luna.
You clever matchmakers.
"Did you do this? Leave your little ones to them so that this would happen?" she whispered in his ear.
Was-Grounded thought for a moment and gave her a gummy grin and a nod.
Shadowwing awoke to a slight pressure on his shoulder.
"Brother?"
"Grrr, I am awake now..." he groaned.
"We are going back to our cave-den now. Kin-liver said that there is a cold-storm coming."
He lifted his head and saw Green-Wings and the other three children patiently waiting for their father. Most of the raucous festivities had faded and only quiet conversation and storytelling remained. As well as dozens of unconscious people on the floor.
"I will let you tell her," Was-Grounded whispered before turning for his family.
Tell her?
It all came back to him, and he slowly turned to his side. There she was partly under his wing and softly crooning even while asleep.
He retracted the wing and got to his feet. He stepped around her, bent down, and softly nuzzled her nose until she awoke again.
"Shadowwing?"
"I am flying to my cave to go to the long sleep. The cold-season ceremony is ending here," he softly hummed.
She blinked at his words. This meant they would be separated again since she had surely planned on returning to her cave-den for another long and slow cold-season sleep in the world that she knew and felt comfortable in.
"May I sleep at your cave-den?" she yawned.
"Is there something bad with yours?"
"No, but it does get cold. And I am warmed by your cave-den more, especially after learning much picture-talking there. It would be better for you to not need to fly in the cold."
He thought about it. The last time she had slept in his cave was when she was helping him with his mysterious illness. That was completely understandable, and his cave was also far more snug and warm than hers out in the wild for sure.
"I do not see why not. It will be warmer than the last time you were up there to help me," he groaned in a faint reminder of his mortification.
"I hope so. Why I ever wanted to help you with that problem, I do not understand. I was the twisted one," she teased.
"As long as no one put bad-wrong-snake-fish or long-tooth-grass in something I ate, we should be safe."
They made their way outside through the thinning crowd and Luna launched herself skyward through the dusting snowfall, but he heard something that made him pause.
A group of men were facing his direction while cheering and whistling. He spared them a polite nod.
Hmm, probably too much ale. I wonder how long their supplies will last them.
His flight took him up and into the cold sky, following a bright light through the darkness and over the snowbound landscape. And she was waiting for him outside the entrance to his cave.
"Please go ahead," he said.
She did, and he pulled the cloth across the mouth of the cave behind them to block out most of the wind. He lit the kindling in his fireplace and added another log from the stack by the door. They settled down next to each other near the budding fire as the wind slowly began to pick up and whistle outside.
"It looks different. More tree-skins and pictures," she remarked.
"Yes, I have been making pictures that show places, maps, for everyone to use. Maps from around here and from my memory of journeys far from here. They use much tree-skin."
She sat down and faced him.
"There is not much you can do with your suns now in this season."
"Other than teaching Aurora some, no. There is not much to do as Alpha because many of the kin are sleeping. I sleep much now."
"No more bad sleep-visions, I hope," she hummed.
"No, I have not had one of those since I had the belly-badness. They are good, warmer ones now."
He yawned widely.
"Please sleep anywhere. I am warmed that you will be sleeping here and not alone."
She watched as he got to his feet and stepped back from the fire before hopping up onto what was clearly his own rock-bed. She curled up around the fireplace.
Silence settled into the cave-den. He eventually stilled in sleep.
There was something barely not true about him. He had a very faint scent of wanting, almost too faint to notice if not looking for it. But something was stopping him from admitting it to himself.
Maybe this is because of the past deaths he felt. But none of them were a kin-bond two-leg or a mate. He should not be that life-twisted.
She grumbled in dismay and lay back down on the warmed ground.
Her thoughts turned to how her own bad sleep-visions had diminished over time and how the memories of her time as an almost mating-thrall did not hurt as much now. Those memories were becoming faded now as warmer memories took their place. Almost as though the she who had suffered was not the same light wing she was now.
She sighed.
What am I to you?
She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Despite the confusion there was a warmth in her liver that she could not recall burning there before. Sleeping near him in his cave-den felt like where she should have been for a long time now.
He woke later that night to a cold feeling in his world. It was less a cold of absolute and more a cold by comparison from recent experience. The fireplace and the white moon curled around it were very inviting when compared to the stone bed on which he lay.
And he stared at her, eventually realizing what was wrong.
I am an idiot. We do not worry about sharing warmth with... family.
He hopped down and walked over to her. He wasted not a moment before laying around her back and putting a wing over her as he had done at the Blott. Doing so felt... right. It was good to share warmth on a cold winter night. Deep sleep came for him between the fire's warmth and her warmth at his side.
She was again in her trap back on the terrible island. He imagined other dragons scrambling at her and trying to force her. The fear in her eyes the first time they had met. The fear that was now gone from her eyes.
'I will not hurt you...'
And in that dream it was impossible to tell which of them had spoken that promise.