Author's Note – This chapter might come close to an M for violence.
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." - Leo Tolstoy – Short Stories
Shattered Illusions
Eret, son of Eret, stood on the bow of the sloop, his muscled arms crossed behind his back, the breeze rustling his hair, and a frown on his face. He was determined and confident despite the danger.
His moment was approaching. The place was perhaps a single day of sailing ahead, and he knew how dangerous this mission was. Everyone had heard the stories. How those cursed Night Furies had ruined his previous business associate and one of the last hopes for people against the dragon menace. How they had done the impossible and probably killed the King dragon that Bludvist used to keep the others peaceful. And they had definitely killed scores of brave men who were only doing what they were paid to do and to provide for their families back home. The dragons killed them with magical fire that burned like the sun.
Or so the stories would have one believe.
Even with his former client now gone though there were other people he knew of throughout the lands who would pay handsomely for a living Night Fury and especially for a baby or an egg. The most significant bounties that he knew of were definitely the ones posted by the leaders of an entire company of specialized dragon hunters and another by a private contractor who had made quite a reputation for himself among certain circles, despite coming across as a bit of an obsessed fanatic in some ways.
There were even whispers of a merger of operations, or a joint venture, between their two organizations.
As for himself, his own skills were completely limited to trapping dragons. There was nothing else that he was good at doing and could do to earn his keep. Plus, trapping was fun. It was a contest of man against nature and of will against instinct. A contest which he was very good at winning because of his superior methods.
He had looked everywhere for leads on where to find his quarry. Eventually, he had heard a rumor in a tavern about a hidden place on the northern mainland which had many dragons roaming freely and several of the black beasts in particular. How this rumor spread was anyone's guess. Most amazingly about the story though was that people who lived there did so without fearing or being bothered by the creatures. Some of them were even apparently do-gooder dragon riders who cared for the beasts!
It seemed one of the absurd rumors that one can hear in a tavern and get drunk laughing over. But he knew far better. Several more days of investigating had yielded the location of the supposed place and they had set sail the same day without telling anyone. Completing this mission would secure the fortunes of himself and all his crew for the rest of their lives.
The plan was quite simple and one that they had been through before with other dragons and with much success.
Not many people in this region of the world took the time to see the obvious like he had. Basic questions never crossed their minds, such as 'why is the plant named the bane of dragons?' He did ask himself those questions and learned what a powerful sedative effect the essence of that plant contained. He had the filled vial down in his quarters, and there was certain to be good fishing in the area.
All he had to do was find the place and land during the night. Everyone native to that place would be asleep, and he would be long gone by morning. And the best part of all was that there was no violence needed at all. No fighting, no weapons, and no blood. It was perfect.
The trading vessel, conspicuously absent any wares for sale were anyone to check, sailed on towards destiny.
Luna was sitting by the sand nest, the egg clearly visible at her side and under her tailfins. Even now she could feel the strong hatchling-to-be within occasionally rock or shift within the egg to test the egg's shell. It would not be long now.
"You are a very strong one, my little one. Break your shell, stretch your wings, and see the sky with us. And I will be here for you to nuzzle you, hum to you, lick you, feed you, warm you, sing to you, talk to you, play with you, and be your dam-mother."
The egg visibly rocked slightly as she finished speaking.
She looked up at Shadowwing's approach and purred deeply to him.
"My love," she greeted him.
"Luna," he replied as he softly nuzzled her neck.
"Everything well down in the two-leg nest?"
"Yes, all is very quiet."
He looked down at their egg as evident pride shone in his eyes.
"Do you think it will hatch soon?" he asked.
"I think so. The little one has been pushing against the shell. I think it could be any sun now."
"I would like to go flying some. I have not flown to warm my liver in a few suns, and I want to while I have a chance," he whispered.
She seemed slightly disappointed at his reason, and her ears drooped. He noticed.
Perhaps she also wants to fly but will not leave the egg now.
"I will bring you a big fish when I get back. And I will sit the egg also so that you can fly some before it hatches."
At least that seemed to make her happier.
"Do not fly too far. I will call for you if it starts to hatch," she hummed.
Shadowwing nodded once, turned away, and left his cave. The early evening breeze caressed his wings moments later as he lazily drifted on the currents, completely alone with his thoughts.
Would it be this night? Tomorrow?
There was no way to know, and it was making him more anxious every day. It was an anxiety born of eager anticipation and fear. He had no idea how to actually be a father. Becoming a father was easy and very pleasurable. No, it was the prospect, the impending reality, of becoming a daddy that was truly frightening.
The time while his baby was still in its egg was very peaceful and free of stress compared to what he knew was in his future, as Luna, his brother, Green-Wings, and Valka had fondly assured him several times already. Soon he would have to protect and provide for, play with, and teach his first son or daughter.
His ears drooped slightly as it all weighed on him.
What if I make mistakes? My own father certainly made many mistakes. He ignored me in his work being Chief and answering every small problem in the tribe. So much of that could have been left to the people to resolve on their own, but he needed every excuse to be out of the house. And he tried to make me only what he wanted me to be, never what I wanted to be.
The responsibility and loss of freedom also weighed on his mind. How would this change in his life impact his mission? His mission to spread peace and trust throughout the lands. That was his real purpose now.
Would Luna and his baby be able to travel with him around the world? What about Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, and all their children? Would they ever want to join him or would they want to stay here and be separated from him far more?
What did he himself really want? What mattered most to him?
It was all confusing and frustrating.
He landed on the cliff as the sun began to set over the distant horizon. He watched until the sun completely disappeared and all the light was gone. He stayed there staring up at the night sky. It almost seemed like it was symbolic of his old life fading into something new, something unknown and hidden in the darkness of night.
The stars came out.
This was one thing other than flying that never got old. He could remember looking up at the sky long ago with very different eyes and feeling wonder at the thought of what the little lights might be. The very same wonder that he felt even now. The only idea he could ever come up with was that they had to be similar to the sun, only very far away. No matter how high he flew now, they never seemed to get any closer. On the other hand, there were the ones which seemed to fall from the sky during the night. Those certainly were not like the sun.
And there was also how Luna especially liked looking up at the stars and the moon, from which she had taken her name long ago.
There was still so much about the world to wonder about and doing so made it very easy to lose track of time.
He blinked as he realized that he had been gone far longer than he had planned.
Duh duh da, I am dead. She must be waiting for me. I better get the fish I promised her.
He jumped from the cliff, fully intending to fly back to the village and acquire a plump fish for her, when he spied a strange boat pulling up onto the shore.
I wonder who they are. We almost never have visitors. Hopefully not trappers, but we haven't seen any of those ships in weeks.
He winged toward the shore and landed a safe distance from the boat. There were four people on the boat, several torches in hand. They were not familiar and were definitely not from Haven.
It looked vaguely like Trader Johann's ship was designed.
Perhaps they are merchants.
Regardless, there was a good chance that they were not from nearby and were unlikely to know the truth about dragons. He looked closely at them and did not see any weapons on their persons. At least, there were no large weapons. That was reassuring.
It looks safe enough.
He began to walk closer to the four people; his gait calm, his mouth closed, and his wings tucked at his side to look as peaceful as possible.
"Alright lads, get those torches lit. Those supply bags filled? Got the nets and fish ready. Gotta be ready when we find the dragons!" Eret called.
A chorus of 'ayes' followed as they began to disembark.
They had so far made it without being seen, as far as he was aware. He was sure that this was the right place since they had seen several dots flying above the peninsula from afar. The settlement they had seen near the mountain was also clearly visible in the dim light because of its many torches.
He jumped from the deck and splashed into the water and the soft sand. The place did look beautiful now that he was on shore. A thick underbrush covered the ground beneath tall, rich pines and other evergreens. The mountains toward the horizon rose high above the surrounding landscape and the clearly snow-capped peaks were obscured behind clouds.
He had a job to do and time was wasting.
The four men waded through the surf onto the shore and began to assemble their supplies when they saw a shape moving toward them through the darkness. A large shape.
A couple moments later, he realized that it was a dragon. And not just any dragon.
It was a Night Fury.
I can't believe my luck! I already found one!
Rather, it found them. His other men gasped when they noticed what had found them.
"Steady men, don't do anything to it."
The Night Fury looked over at him as he spoke. He kept his eyes on the creature the entire time.
"Beren, go get the fish. You know what to do."
Beren hopped back on the deck of the ship and disappeared below deck.
He took a moment to consider the Night Fury standing about twenty feet from him. It looked like a male to him from what he could see of its body shape, and, fortunately for him, it clearly was not afraid of humans. It was just standing there and looking at him with its wide-open eyes reflecting the torchlight. As if it was waiting for him to do something.
Perfect! This is too easy.
Beren reappeared on the deck a few seconds later, a large cod in his hands. He walked up to him and handed the fish off before nervously backing away. This dragon was a Night Fury after all, and they all knew the stories.
Everyone in all the isles and far along the coastline did.
The dragon saw the fish in his hands and blinked at him with its head slightly tipped to the side. He held the fish out before him and slowly walked toward the dragon.
"Here you go. Here is a nice fish for you."
The Night Fury rumbled at him and began to walk toward him with its mouth conspicuously absent any teeth.
He could not help but quake a bit as the creature approached, even though it had done nothing threatening toward him. It stopped, sat down on its haunches, and stared at him without immediately snatching up the fish or growling at him. This was bizarre.
It must be testing me! I cannot show fear.
He stood motionless and forced himself to keep his composure as the dragon seemed to be considering what to do with him. He reassured himself with the knowledge that it was not afraid of him and was unlikely to see him as a threat. It was clearly accustomed to being around humans.
It made its decision with another rumble and bent down to gingerly pick the fish out of his extended hands. It tossed the fish up into the air and ate it in one fluid motion.
He smiled. It would only be a few moments before the poison took effect.
He was amazed at these complete strangers. They were not terribly afraid of him. Not only that, but they gave him a large fish as a gift.
A juicy cod no less.
All without him showing them that he was different. He did not even have to show them that he could write and understood everything that they were saying.
I should thank him. But not how Toothless did for me long ago. That would be funny, and I do not think that they would want to share a bite from...
He was about to reach out and begin writing in the sand when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He recoiled away from the man in surprise and waited a few moments to see if anything else would happen.
What was that!
A burning fire seared through his belly and all his limbs twitched in pain not a moment later. His head began pounding and flashes of light began filling his vision while he tried to stifle a roar of pain.
All that came out was a whimper.
What!
Wh...
His vision started fading and everything was a confused blur. The nearby man's outline was warping and twisting. He fell in place as the sand rushed up to meet him.
Thud.
None of his limbs responded to him. He could do nothing but lay there immobile and growing more depleted by the second. He forced his eyes open and thought that he saw the man walking towards him with something in his hands.
What… did…
.
… he…
.
.
Eret, restraints in hand, stood over the downed Night Fury. He gave the dragon a soft nudge on its neck with his boot to make sure that it was unconscious. Finally convinced that it was, he turned to his men while grinning wildly.
"Alright lads, it's down. Easy enough. It'll be out for a few hours. Those do-gooder dragon riders did all our work for us. They got the beasts to not fear us. Bring the rest of the ropes for this one and let's get this done."
They brought out the ropes and quickly had the dragon completely bound at the legs and wings. They also wrapped its jaws tightly. They had suffered some bad experiences with dragons getting their jaws loose when no one was watching.
After checking on the bindings one last time, the four trappers left the coast, found a way up the somewhat navigable slope, and walked into the hills. None of them had ever been here before, but they knew the kind of landscape in which dragons liked to nest. It would not be hard to find the den as it would likely be in a cave up against the mountains. Even better was how far this was from the village. No one would have a chance to see them.
Eret smiled to himself and was impressed with how easily this plan of his worked.
Why has no one else thought to deal with them this way? This is why I get paid the most and lose the least people. No point for senseless death after all.
He held his torch highly and proudly as he led his men up into the forest.
Luna nuzzled her egg once more, got to her feet, and wandered back to the mouth of the cave. She smelled the crisp air and heard the calls of various creatures of the night. It was a very dark night because of how the moon was now obscured by cloud cover, but she had no difficulty seeing clearly. She stood there for a while, silently enjoying the peace while also wondering where her mate had wandered off to.
I wonder where he has gone. He shouldn't be gone for this long to only fly and grab a fish for me.
She left the entrance to the cave and walked back to the nest. She snuggled up around her egg and was tempted to fall back asleep. She almost did except for the occasional wobble by the egg and the fact that he was not there. Some feeling in her liver told her that the egg was nearing its time to hatch and-
It was something that she had once never thought that she would have. A tiny hatchling of her own with a mate who was devoted to both her and their little one. And not just this one hatchling but many more in the seasons to come. The thought of all she had was always enough to make her purr in delight and feel a warmth in her liver.
He truly should be here when his first little one hatches. But if he is not, I will be here for my little one and to give it a first fish meal.
She could hear a scuffling sound outside.
"What took so long?"
There was no response.
"Shadowwing?"
.
"Was-Grounded?"
.
Nothing answered.
Instead, she saw the light from several torches and heard the patter of feet. Two-leg feet.
Why would they come here now?
Something about this felt bad-wrong, and she curled around the egg a bit more closely with a faint grumble.
Four two-legs walked into the cave and immediately set their eyes on her. The air gradually carried their scents to her. There was something about their smell that was familiar, but she could not quite place it.
They began talking to each other, and she was able to recognize a few words, such as Night Fury, she, beautiful, and fish.
She glared at them while slightly showing her teeth and spreading her wings in warning. They were strange two-legs with an unknown purpose and that made them possibly dangerous. Not to mention they were in her den without being invited.
The flight-Alpha approached her with a large fish in its paws. He was clearly offering her a fish gift. A peace gift. The good two-legs on their range frequently gave her, Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, and the little ones fish gifts.
Something still felt wrong about this. This one did not approach with any deference or head slightly inclined in respect. She also did not recognize him. He and his flight had walked into her cave in the night without even announcing themselves before doing so. Their smell was also not the same as the other two-legs she knew. She looked away from the flight-Alpha of the group and glanced at the other three. None of them seemed to have any hurting-things, but they had moved uncomfortably closer to her on each side. They were all staring at her, or more specifically, at where she was sitting.
Even with her limited knowledge of their expressions, she clearly saw it in their eyes.
Greed and wanting.
The smell. She finally recognized it. The faint mix of musk, sweat, fish, and many different kin.
They were kin-thrall-makers.
She fully bared her teeth and wrapped her tail more tightly around her egg while hissing outright at the Monsters. She was not going to eat the fish that they brought. She would never trust them or anything that they would offer.
And they would die if they stayed here or threatened her or her egg.
They stared in open amazement.
The Night Fury was a glorious specimen, even aside from its impossible white color that almost sparkled in the torchlight. His years of experience made him certain that this one was female from its body shape and the way it seemed to be protecting something.
Eret turned to his comrades with a smile.
"Lads, we found the other Night Fury. Isn't she beautiful, never thought they could be that color, eh? Give me the fish and let's get what we're here for, boys."
He was handed the specially prepared fish and knew that this was his time to shine.
"Are you sure about this boss? You don't have a weapon," Beren pointed out.
"Exactly, you saw how the other one was subdued. We just do the same here."
"Yeah, but I don't like how this one is looking at us."
It was true. This female had her upper lip lifted in what was almost a snarl and its eyes were narrowed as it glared at them. The light from the torches gave its eyes a demonic tinge and there was a faint rumbling in the cave.
Of course it would be more suspicious of us here in its cave.
"Uh, boss. What is with all the stuff?"
There was certainly a strange amount of things in the cave. Packs, scrolls, boxes, and other oddments.
"Must be one of the rider's dens. Maybe their Chief or something. Doesn't matter though. Watch and learn boys."
He held the fish out on his open palms and began walking toward the dragon. Its only reaction was to open its eyes slightly more and continue looking intently at him. It softly growled when he was a few paces from it. He stopped and lifted his hands in front of him.
"Here you go girl, take the fish."
The white Fury stared at him for several moments of consideration and sniffed at the air. He saw its eyes narrow at him as it gave a deep snarl and bared its teeth openly.
He took a step back in surprise at the dragon's untrusting reaction.
I don't get it, why didn't it eat the fish? What is so different about it?
As far as he knew, there was no way for a dragon to know about the poison. He hadn't done anything differently from how he had handled the male.
"Ok lads," he whispered, "we gotta do this directly. Remember to go for the head."
"Got it boss."
He waved the fish around again to distract the dragon for the moment his men needed to act. It turned back to snarl at him again.
The men yelled and charged as one on all sides.
In any other situation, she could have easily repelled them. She could have readied her fire to dispatch the two on her left, whipped the one on her right with her tail, and pounced on the Alpha in front of her. But she could not do any of these.
She could not move away from her egg. She could not roll and struggle without possibly crushing it.
The first one which jumped on her neck had pulled a bit of false-vines out from somewhere. It tried to fasten the loop around her jaws, but was not able to do anything because she threw back her head and sent him flying into a wall. She snarled at the others and dared them to approach.
There was a brief pause as no one moved. She heard the beast that she had tossed crawling around her side toward her tail. She swung around, fully intending to maul the beast who dared to threaten her egg.
The next thing she knew was that the other three had jumped on her neck and were holding her down with their weight. The Alpha was roaring commands to his flight-mates but she could barely distinguish his voice over the yelling.
All she knew was pure anger and dreadful fear. Being held down by thrall-making two-legs many season-cycles ago. Fighting and resisting them.
She rolled to the side, crushing one of their legs with a satisfying snap followed by a howl of pain. And something heavy slammed into her head, filling her sight with bright flashes of light and sending her to the ground with a ringing in her head. One of the weights on her head removed itself and was replaced a moment later.
There was a distinct yell of triumph audible over the other noises of command.
Her vision cleared enough for her to see the flight Alpha running toward the cave entrance. It held something dark and rounded in its hands.
No!
That monster was going to take her little one away from her!
Never!
She inhaled deeply despite the weight on her neck, pushed off with her hind legs while tucking in her wings, and rolled over in place. The wind was completely knocked from the beasts she fell on and bones snapped as her entire weight crashed down on them. The remaining one yelled, drew a thin-tooth weapon from somewhere, and lunged at her, intending to drive it into the soft of her exposed throat. A quick lunge to the side let her dodge having the weapon sink into her throat, but it did bite her and spill life-water.
That small bite into her neck did not hurt nearly as deeply as the buried memories it brought to life. Badness and wrongness, hidden and forgotten under her thoughts until now, that reached cold claws up into her liver and shattered illusions of her own strength.
Being restrained by ropes and the trap. The scratches from claws on her side. The remembered grunting from above her and the weight on her belly. And the comforting lies from her own thinking which she had believed. The twisted reality known in all its pain.
She screamed in pain and rage and flared her right wing at the beast, sweeping it off its feet. It took only a moment for her to tear the false-vines and mouth-closing thing from her jaws. She grabbed the beast around its torso with her sinking teeth and crushing strength, closed her eyes against its clawing fingers, and hurled it into the nearby cave wall.
The beast screamed for the fraction of a moment it was in flight and hit the rock wall face-first with a snap. The body fell to the ground completely motionless. She turned to the other two, both cowering on the ground with their different wounds. The first of them growled in defiance in its own way and reached for a thin-tooth weapon. Red was all she saw.
She leapt on it, crushing its chest further and carving it up with her claws, tearing away belly-bones and inside parts, until it went still with its front completely torn open. Her wrathful fire burst forth and consumed the other Monster in a flash of white, leaving only charred meat and bone behind. She spun around and bounded from the cave to chase after the flight-Alpha with death burning in her liver and life-water dripping from her claws and teeth.
Eret had turned around the instant he heard the first piercing scream behind him.
They had it controlled! What did they do wrong? Inexperienced!
He could see the dragon seize Beren in its jaws and hurl him out of sight. Screaming followed, and a bright flash came from within the cave moments later.
There would have never been any confrontation if this had gone according to plan. The beast would never have known the egg was missing until he was long gone. There had been no reason for him to doubt that he would be successful so he had not brought a weapon.
The way that the blue eyes, burning with dark fire, fixed on him and the gleaming teeth were bared was enough to instill complete terror in almost anything. He could see his own death reflected in the hateful eyes.
Oh gods!
He ran, still holding the heavy egg against his chest. Maybe he could lose the female if he could make it to the dense forest. But that was too far away. There was no other choice.
Or was there?
It wants the egg...
He bent to the ground, quickly set the egg down on the grass, and ran as fast as he could, hoping and praying to whatever gods had looked out for him so far in life that the beast would stop and take back what it wanted.
And he flew like the wind as he ran for his life.
She glared coldly into the night, seeing nothing and feeling nothing, as she bounded after it.
The Monster bent down to the ground for a moment. It resumed running far faster than it had before.
No mercy! Death! I will tear off your head!
Rip you apart and eat your...
She pulled up, scrambled to a stop, and stared at the dark thing on the grassy ground in her path.
Her egg, whole, unharmed, and wildly rocking.
The Monster left behind the egg. Chase the Monster in wrath or turn away and take back her egg?
Her pained roar at the Monster sent the night birds flapping away wildly. Complete silence was all that followed.
She bent down, closed her maw around the egg, and gently lifted it from the ground. Much of the wrongness and badness with the world faded as she protectively held the safe, unharmed, and hatching egg. Her breaths slowed and thinking became clearer again.
I cannot go back to the den. Not now. There might be more of the Monsters.
She took to the skies and turned for another cave where there was certain to be safety in numbers. But the pain and chill around her liver was still great.
Where are you? Why were you not here?
What did we do to you two-legs? You Monsters...
The cut in her neck stung as she flew alone. The near death and taking of her little one in its egg cut very deeply. Old memories were brought up again, never to be forgotten. Old fears long forgotten were remembered.
'Filled with danger... danger... danger...'
Was-Grounded's head immediately shot up in alarm. He had heard… something, but it did not sound like it could be. It sounded like a roar of anger from a-
A glance at Green-Wings and their three eldest, all piled together in a tangled heap, and the hatchling under her tailfins at her chest showed that they were all still soundly sleeping. All was good with his world.
He yawned widely, got to his feet, padded over to the entrance to his cave-den, and stared out over the night landscape while stretching his legs and wings. The bright moon lit up the range in pale light on this cloudless night. He gave a sigh of contentment as how peaceful everything was. There were no sounds other than the occasional wingbeat of a bird and the small bugs of the forest. Life was peaceful now.
I am imagining things. Maybe it was only a bad sleep-vision.
He turned to walk back to Green-Wings's side and took a moment to stare at his life-mate, his warm croon filling the den, and appreciate how beautiful she was. That she wanted to become his mate all those cycles in the past was not surprising since none of them had seen any others of their kind, the rot-livered empty-head one that he and she had killed together did not count.
But that she had come to think of him as not just a mate but as her life-mate and as a kin who she knew would always fly the winds of life with her was a constant reminder to him that the sky-breath had favored him and guided his flight through a fateful meeting.
There was no way to know how different life would have been if events had flown differently. If he had not been hatched new with free flight, if he had not been made a thrall, escaped, wandered the wild, and learned about the possibility of making the long flight toward the hatching sun, he would never have found her. All these dear and liver-warming little ones would never have been.
He was about to recline at her side again when he heard the very surprising sound of approaching wings. He turned and bounded over to the den's mouth.
What? No one flies here at night.
And he saw the sparkling white of Luna's wings as she heavily landed outside his den. He jumped to his feet and ran over to her. She was breathing wildly and blue eyes shone with fear. There was also a strange smell near her. Much two-leg life-water was spilled on her and tainted her white scales and hide.
Luna, what happened to you?
She bounded straight up to him, and that was when he saw the egg in her mouth. A dam would not move her egg from the nest unless there was great danger.
"Luna, come in my den," he whispered and turned back for the den as she followed closely behind him.
He led her to the rear of the den where the egg-sitting and hatching-sand was kept.
"Put the egg here."
She did and curled protectively around it with it hidden under a wing. Several wingbeats of her soft whining followed before she recovered herself and spoke softly.
"Was-Grounded, do you know where Shadowwing is?"
"No, I was going to ask you. What… what happened to you?"
She exhaled deeply and looked up at him. He recoiled when he finally saw the drying life-water around the cut in her neck. That needed to be tended.
"May I lick the hurt?" he asked.
"Please..."
She extended her neck and let him lick the cut clean. She sighed softly with relief as he licked it and the soothing cooled the sting.
"My thanks," she growled.
"What happened?"
Her normally soft voice was filled with death when she answered his earlier question.
"Thrall-making two-leg Monsters walked into my cave-den."
He snarled.
"They attacked and held me down. Their flight-Alpha took my egg. I killed the flight and chased the flight-Alpha. And… it left the egg on the ground so that I would not chase it. The Monster ran into the trees."
She went silent for a moment.
"I thought there might be more Monsters, more two-legs here. Would you find Shadowwing? He was out of the den when the attack happened, and I do not know where he is," she moaned.
"Yes, I will," he answered.
He paused the moment he saw her begin to unfurl her curled wing and tailfins and lift them away from her side.
The egg was visibly rocking on the sand and had a large crack down its side.
He quickly made up his mind about what he had to do and nuzzled Green-Wings's neck. She rumbled in pleasure at his touch and opened a single eye.
"Green-Wings, wake up," he urged her as quietly but firmly as he could without waking up the rest of the den.
"What is it, my life-mate?" she whispered.
"Luna is with us. Something bad has happened."
Green-Wings was instantly fully awake and craned her neck to look at them both.
"What happened?"
"She was attacked by two-leg kin-thrall-makers who tried to take the egg."
Green-Wings glanced back at Luna, and looked out toward the cave-den's mouth with a suspicious growl.
"Shadowwing is missing, and I will find him. I told Luna that she can stay with us to be safe while her egg is hatching."
Green-Wings hummed in agreement.
"Yes, go find him, but fly with care. I will stay awake with her."
She moved over to Luna's side. Was-Grounded threw one last glance back to where Luna was gently nosing the egg, and he walked outside the den, spread his wings, and took to the sky.
Looking back over his tail, it was clear where Shadowwing would be found. He had been soaring around Shadowwing's cave and looking for any sign of him when he finally realized the obvious. The dead two-legs had not been kin-friends and could not have been from this range. They had probably come by water-walker.
He immediately winged toward the ocean and quickly noticed a beached water-walker that was completely out of place by the shore. And a dark, motionless lump lay on the sandy beach nearby the water-walker.
The liver-chilling fear filled him at the possibility that Shadowwing may be dead. It was the worst thing he could imagine, short of one of his own little ones being killed.
They were brothers. They had survived so much danger together for the end to come because of a cold-livered attack at night.
"Shadowwing!"
He landed heavily on the beach in his haste and bounded over to Shadowwing's side. The first thing he saw, that Shadowwing was breathing and did not seem to be wounded, made him cry out in relief that his brother was only deeply asleep.
He noticed the ropes. His brother was completely restrained; his wings tied down against his side, his legs tied together, and ropes looped around his jaws.
He seethed and growled in anger as the thrall-maker's flight seemed clearer. Taking the egg, that was obvious, but they also seemed to want something with Shadowwing from how thoroughly he was restrained.
Thrall-maker.
Luna's words echoed in his memory.
He took several deep breaths to calm himself. He walked over to Shadowwing's side and sliced the restraining ropes with a single extended claw. He walked around in front of Shadowwing and sat down while facing him. He raised a forepaw and nudged his brother in the shoulder.
"Shadowwing," he said gently.
Shadowwing stirred briefly but did not awaken.
He shoved a bit harder and huffed directly into Shadowwing's face.
Shadowwing groaned and weakly raised a paw to shove the offending weight away. When it did not move, he growled in annoyance and opened his eyes. He blinked once, twice, three times before appearing to recognize who was standing before him.
"Ttloooolehth. Braughthrr..."
"I am here," Was-Grounded hummed and nuzzled Shadowwing's muzzle.
"My 'ead urttss..."
Shadowwing groaned deeply while saying this and began stretching his limbs.
"What happened?" Was-Grounded asked.
Shadowwing, a slightly pained and tired look in his eyes as he slowly recovered his wits, slowly looked back up at his brother.
"I was out on a flight... after the sun went down. I saw a strange water-walker here on the sand... so I wanted to show them that we are not bad. They did not seem scared of me and they even gave me a fish... I ate it to show them that I am a friend. I... I remember that my head and belly hurt and I felt like I was falling."
Shadowwing looked down at his sides, noticed the ropes, and froze.
"Why are there ropes?"
Was-Grounded suspected that since Shadowwing did not look up he already knew the answer.
"They were thrall-makers."
Shadowwing groaned once and collapsed back to the ground, clearly deep in thought.
"They must have done something to the fish to make me get sick and fall asleep. But why? What did they want?"
His eyes narrowed and quickly looked up.
"Where are they? Is Luna in danger?"
Was-Grounded shook his head.
"No, she is not in danger now. She killed most of them. Only the flight-Alpha escaped into the trees."
Shadowwing recoiled in shock and stared off into the distance.
"They attacked her with little-teeth and ropes. And they…" Was-Grounded paused.
His voice trailed off as he did not want to have to tell Shadowwing what had happened.
"What," Shadowwing's voice took on a desperate bite, "what did they do? Tell me!"
"They tried to take the egg. She killed them and got the egg back. They are both at my cave now because there might be more thrall-makers. The egg is hatching now."
Shadowwing was immediately on his feet, though they were heavily trembling.
"My egg is hatching? My little one..." Shadowwing groaned.
Was-Grounded spread his wings and stepped back from Shadowwing.
"Do you think you can fly?"
Shadowwing stretched and flexed his wings several times before nodding.
They were both aloft a moment later, leaving Shadowwing to his confused thoughts.
They attacked her... She killed them and saved the egg.
I was not there to protect them. I already failed them.
It was shameful. The first thing he was supposed to do as a father, simply be there, he had failed at doing. And he had apparently almost gotten them both killed.
Neither of them said anything to each other on the fast flight. They alighted on the cave entrance. Was-Grounded folded his wings and eagerly bounded inside the cave. Shadowwing hesitantly followed with an odd mix of apprehension and excitement.
"Green-Wings! Luna! I found him. He is safe!"
"Where is he?" Green-Wings called back. She appeared in front of them and ran up to nuzzle Was-Grounded's neck. Dawn-Singer, Aurora, and Rain-Eater followed their mother to the front of the cave while the newest hatchling, little Mist-Wings, sleepily perched on her back.
"What is the problem? Why is Luna here?" Dawn-Singer rumbled.
Green-Wings almost answered but instead turned to Shadowwing.
"Shadowwing, you should... go to Luna. She wants to see you. And young ones, we will go with your sire out of the den."
He nodded softly as Dawn-Singer, Aurora, and Rain-Eater followed Green-Wings to Was-Grounded's side outside the den. He crept inside the cave and saw her.
Luna lay curled into a small ball at the rear of the den with her head tucked under a wing.
What must she think of me? Does she hate me for not being there?
He sighed and growled at himself.
She should. I definitely deserve it. I really messed this up.
She tensed at hearing his approach and lifted her head to look at him.
He cried out and moaned when he saw both the thin slice in her neck and the drying blood on her neck and chest. Shame and guilt wracked him anew.
"Luna, are you okay?"
She briefly hummed.
"It does not hurt much now. Was-Grounded licked it for me," she whispered.
That was not good enough for him though. He hopped over next to her and began to lick the cut clean himself.
"Thank you," she mumbled in appreciation.
"The egg? Where is it?"
She said nothing and glanced to the side toward the cave's wall where the shattered remains of a dark egg lay. In the same moment she lifted first her wing from her side and secondly her curled tailfins.
And he whined softly at what he saw.
The hatchling was pure black, had very smooth scales, and had a head that looked a little big for the rest of his body at the moment. He also looked slightly different from a pure Night Fury. He had what looked like slightly smaller frills on his head, perhaps shorter and more rounded wings at their tips, only one short and narrow fin-ridge down his back, and a lengthier tail than any of the other hatchlings he had seen. He was dozing peacefully, his tiny chest rising and falling, his head on his forearms, and his eyes motionless under his eyelids. The unfinished remains of a fish from Luna's belly were next to him.
His son.
"Oh son, I am... so sorry," he finally whispered after staring for a long time.
Luna recovered the baby with her tailfins and replaced her wing to keep him warm.
"Shadowwing, what happened to you? Why were you not there?" she whispered.
Shame. Betrayal. Anger.
They all seemed jumbled in his mind.
"I… they tricked me."
"What? What do you mean they tricked you?"
"They… tied me up with ropes and made me go to sleep. Was-Grounded had to wake me up and cut me free."
She stared at him. Something seemed lacking about his explanation though, and she grumbled in confusion.
"I do not understand. How did they make you go to sleep or tie you up?"
He was caught. What could he possibly say that wouldn't stress his mistake? What exactly was his mistake though? It was bad luck only.
"I saw a new water-walker, and I went to see who it was. There were four two-legs there, but they did not seem afraid of me. I wanted to show them that I am not a Monster... and I ate the fish that they gave me. I got sick and fell into sleep."
Her breath caught for a moment when she remembered that she had been offered a fish as well. If she had eaten it, if she had trusted the two-legs or had not recognized their smell, the same thing would undoubtedly have happened to her.
And the thrall-makers would probably be long gone, escaping with an egg about to hatch. With her egg and little one.
"And they made the fish rotted so that you would get sick. You ate a fish that thrall-makers gave you."
He winced as he could clearly hear the scorn in her voice. It was not something he was used to hearing.
"I did not know. They seemed warm."
She actually snarled at him.
"But you trusted them! They gave me a fish, and I did not eat it. What did they do to get your trust? How did they show you that they deserve any warmth or trust?"
He remained silent.
"Or, maybe you gave them your trust because you wanted them to be kin-bonded. Because you still think you can change all of them and are a world-changer!"
"But I... I can talk to the two-legs, I can show them that we are not Monsters," he whined.
She recoiled and leaned away from him.
"Shadowwing, you can talk to one who does not want to listen and they will not hear you!"
He closed his mouth in alarm and said nothing into the brief silence that followed.
"Shadowwing, what do you want?" she whispered.
That was not a question he had been expecting.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you on your flight to change all the ranges and nests? You are not a two-leg, and you owe those Monsters nothing!"
Why was he? He had been devoted to this cause for years. He had changed the minds of many different tribes on the mainland. Even before the terrible tragedy at the ice nest that had shattered so much of the peace, what had been was proof that peace was possible between the humans and dragons.
"That is who I am."
"No!" she yelled, "that is not a reason! Those words are empty!"
She closed her eyes, seemingly in pain, and looked away from him. She said nothing for a long time until the flood burst.
"When you and your brother got me off the thrall-island season-cycles ago, I told myself that I would never have or want a mate. I thought I was too hurt. I am not who I was and neither are you! You are not only Shadowwing, the twisted kin who once was a two-leg in a past-not-now-life and who wants peace and bonding between two-legs and kin. You promised to be my life-mate and you have a little one now! What are you going to do with us? Do you think that we will fly to all the ranges of the world and put ourselves within snap of the two-leg-Monster's trap with you on your... flight to others? Will you risk us so you can flame your own liver and be a... savior and range-changer! Are all of us nothing to you!"
She stopped and gasped for breath between her snarls.
"Two times now you have not been there to protect those you say you care for! All because of this one flight you want to fly! I will protect my little one, even from you if I must!"
Silence fell.
He stood completely still, pierced to his heart by her fierce words and bared teeth. They cut directly to the core of who he was and what he stood for.
"What are we to you, Shadowwing?" she eventually whispered.
A savior and world-changer because of his special situation.
Prideful and stubbornly trusting his own way even now.
An always present need to feel affirmed by others.
To not be useless to the wide world around him.
To make up for years of being useless to the tribe before.
He had told himself that he had a duty to the rest of the world to make it a better place for everyone. A duty to the rest of the world imposed on him because of his unique circumstances. He had chosen to have a duty to Luna, their future children, his brother, and everyone else here at Haven.
'What are we to you, Shadowwing?'
"You are the wind in my sky... you are everything," he gasped.
She blinked as he slowly walked forward, keeping his eyes on the place where his son was hidden. He submissively crouched down on his belly, and she slowly removed her wings and tail again. The sleeping hatchling had awoken somewhere during their argument but had remained frozen and silent the whole time.
He stared into deep emerald eyes that blinked rapidly at him.
He almost touched his hatchling with his nose but settled for breathing in his scent. There was not much there to smell yet, only a bit of dirt, fish, and something between himself and Luna. It still filled his heart and limbs with warmth and protectiveness.
The hatchling looked up at the giant head so near to it, blinked, and bunched its head up near its shoulders in suspicion. A soft purr escaped his throat, and his son immediately reacted by perking up and getting to his feet. His son raised a tiny forearm and began playfully batting at his nose.
He completely broke.
She did not need to ask what he had realized or decided. She rumbled softly in profound relief and let him get acquainted with his little one for as long as they needed.
As he looked down on and nuzzled his newly hatched son, he could not help but feel afraid. This was a little person whom he would be responsible for, now and long into the future. He would have to show him how wonderful life was, teach him how to fly, talk, and write, and be his daddy. And protect him and her both from dangers.
He would not repeat the mistakes of his own father, the foremost one being abandoning himself to work and missions and therefore neglecting and being blind to the needs of his own.
It was necessary to move on and let go, even if that meant turning his tail on things and missions that had previously seemed important. There was something more important in his life now.
He froze when she warmly nuzzled his neck and purred into his ear.
"What are we going to call him? His name?" she softly rumbled.
He finally tore his eyes away from the baby who was already yawning and preparing to go back to sleep.
What should they name him? He definitely had no plan to follow the Norse naming convention of bestowing a hideous name to be finally shed upon reaching adulthood.
It should be something short and simple. Something befitting a Fury. Beautiful and a little mysterious. But it should also have meaning to her.
He watched as his son curled his tiny body up into a ball and rested against her side.
"Moon-Dancer?"
"Why that?" she warmly hummed.
"You are warmed by seeing the moon. And we might have... made him in our sky dance in the moonlight."
She thought for a moment before crooning in satisfaction.
"That is a good name. He is Moon-Dancer."
And he stepped over before her and hung his head.
"Luna, you were... I… am sorry... very sorry."
She softly nuzzled his forehead.
"I know, Shadowwing. You will not fail us again. I trust you. This would not have happened if we were somewhere safer though," she whispered.
He looked up at her and noticed that something seemed different in her eyes. There was a wariness or distance in them that had not been there before.
"What do you mean?" he weakly asked.
She almost answered before she paused.
"We talk next sun. We should sleep now."
As one, they both looked at the already sound asleep Moon-Dancer. They stared for several minutes before he excused himself to tell Was-Grounded that it was safe to bring their entire family back in. There had been a bit of roaring and yelling after all. The adults, after briefly conferring, agreed that it would be safest for all of them to remain together until the village could be informed about what had happened. Was-Grounded and Green-Wings stepped over to Luna with a wordless question.
She lifted her wing and let them bend down and sniff Moon-Dancer. Was-Grounded's warm croon joined the others an instant later.
"He looks like both of you. Both Night Fury and Light Fury. What is his name?" Was-Grounded softly asked.
Shadowwing answered, much to Was-Grounded's and Green-Wings's approval.
"No more twisted-naming from you now. Good. You both sleep. I will stay awake and guard us all," Was-Grounded whispered.
In a few short moments, all of the Furies were curled up together in the same cave to get what rest they could. Shadowwing was tucked tightly between Luna on his left with Moon-Dancer between both of them and his watchful brother on his right. The other children were in their usual tangled heap on and around their father and mother with tiny Mist-Wings at her mother's side.
Everyone would find out about the attack, the dead bodies would be disposed of, the leader who had fled might be caught, and life would go on tomorrow.
But Shadowwing knew that he would never be the same again. What had seemed important before now was not anymore. Family came first, and he could not be blind. That final vestige of stubborn trust in his own way had been burned away by the thought that Luna and his own child could have died because of his own blindness and mission of spreading peace.
The thought of humans from distant tribes now filled him with suspicion and fear instead of hope. Someone from beyond, someone whom neither he nor Luna had ever harmed, had reached out and almost plunged a knife into everything he loved. Someone had almost cut out his own heart in a way.
One thought, one thing that Luna had said, kept disturbing him as he gradually drifted off to sleep.
'This would not have happened if we were somewhere safer...'