Author's Note – I got to use my imagination on how to develop the hidden world. A good bit of inspiration comes from the Blackreach in Skyrim mingled with a bit of Pandora from Avatar.
"Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." - Lord Of The Rings – Return Of The King
Eternal Twilight
Thorvald stared in an open stupor. None of them had ever seen anything like this before.
That the dragons had an entire hidden home underground was life-changing indeed. For that hidden home to be so completely strange, beautiful, and dangerous at once was even more amazing.
To have thousands of dragons flying around them or perched in this massive chamber filled with glowing rocks.
To see hundreds of the dragons bowing to the two Night Furies who stood up above all of them.
To the same two Night Fury brothers who were hatched in Berk all those years ago and grew up together in Chief Stoick's house.
The two Night Furies who had been driven from Berk by betrayal, had saved so many lives on the Bewilderbeast's island, had become truly family and part of the tribe, and had fought Grimmel and the dragon hunters.
It drove home his own insignificance in this world. Everything was so different now in this thoroughly alien world. Basically everything about the old way that this people had lived did not matter anymore. Three years he had led the dragon riders and done a good enough job by all accounts. The tribe had not collapsed, anyway.
But now, staring up at the glowing Night Furies above them, and considering how different the world was-
He walked over to Gobber and Dragonheart. There was something that had been on his mind ever since the departure from Haven.
"Would you look at that, now those are Kings," Dragonheart sighed.
He nodded in agreement at how amazing the sight was.
"I need to talk to you both."
"Uh, yea'... ok..." Gobber answered, still in awe himself.
"A Chief must be able to lead and protect their people however is needed, right?"
"Yeah, thaz' kinda tha' point," Gobber answered.
"But I don't know anything about this world. None of us really do. This is the home of the dragons."
The three of them glanced around at the strange, red plant things growing on the rocky surface.
"And?" Dragonheart prodded.
"I was thinking about making Shadowwing our Chief if he wants it."
Amazed glances from the other two followed his announcement.
"Have a dragon be our Chief? Oh Thor Almighty..." Gobber groaned.
"Why not?" Dragonheart chuckled.
"Fair point. I guess it could work. No one ere' would object, I think," Gobber finally mused after stroking his mustache.
"He was basically raised by Stoick so he would be in the line... in a way. Like he is Stoick's adopted son," Thorvald added.
Dragonheart and Gobber shared a wary look.
"Are you sure about this? You would give up being Chief?" Dragonheart asked.
Thorvald waved his arms around at the massive cavern and glowing crystals.
"There are no other human tribes we need to worry about now. We have left behind so many of our old traditions. The only groups we might need to negotiate with would be the other dragons. I think it might be better to have a dragon as our leader now," Thorvald explained.
"Got'ta admit, is' eh good point," Gobber chuckled.
"I will ask Shadowwing about it," Dragonheart announced.
They returned to doing what everyone else was doing. Sticking close to their dragons' sides while staring up in awe at the Kings standing above them. It was best to stay close while the unfriendly dragons sorted themselves out and flew off to be on their own.
The wild dragons, both from Haven and not, had all flown off and started dispersing to the unknown passes that led to undiscovered countries in the hidden world. All the Furies flew down to join with Haven as everyone still stood where they had during the massive ceremony.
Shadowwing strode up to the human leaders and purred warmly at them all.
"So now what?" Thorvald asked after the awe wore off.
"First, I think we find a home down here. Ideally a big chamber that we could grow food in and which is somewhat remote, right Shadowwing?" Valka offered.
Shadowwing nodded.
"Yeah, no reason to bother the dragons unless necessary. This is their home after all," Thorvald added.
"And about that, there is something else that we wanted to talk about with you Shadowwing," Valka began after glancing at Thorvald and Gobber.
Shadowwing gave her his fullest attention.
"We want to know if you would be our new Chief."
Shadowwing blinked and barely kept his jaw from falling open.
Did I hear that right? Chief?
"It would not be like before of course, so much of that role does not matter now. But it might be better to have a dragon as our leader and representative now. That Light Fury did not look like it wanted us here, and many of the other dragons that left were not so friendly either," Valka explained.
True, but me as a Chief after everything... and being a King down here, whatever that will mean...
He turned to Luna and Was-Grounded and approached them.
"Luna, brother, the ground-kin want to make me their nest-Alpha. They think that it would be better for the future mixed-nest to have a Night Fury as the Alpha now. What do you think?"
"Would it mean you would need to do many ceremonies and be away from me and our little ones?" Luna warily asked.
"No, I would not let that happen. There are many old ceremonies that will not be now. Mixed-life will be different now from what was before. And ground-kin problems between themselves do not always need an Alpha to help with," Shadowwing explained.
"What will you do as High-Alphas?" Luna wondered.
Was-Grounded answered.
"I think it is much different from what Alphas did above. There are no two-leg threats down here, and many problems in living in peace should not be now. The not-bonded kin were very many in the Haven range. The kin that will live in these ranges and that bowed to us will only come to us if there are true threats to the range. Most fights in their own kinds they can end on their own."
Shadowwing huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Keep safe these ranges is what we must do as High-Alphas? We would fly that flight anyway. I can be named the Alpha of the mixed-nest. Would you say no, Luna?"
"I would not, as long as it would not make you fly many flights away from us," she answered.
"You and my little ones will always be my first flight," he nuzzled her nose.
He gestured his brother and Luna to follow him over to all the other Furies.
"Our ground-kin need help. This is a different world from what we knew above. You saw that many of the kin were not warmed by our ground-kin."
All solemnly hummed and ears fell slightly.
"The ground-kin need to find a range to make a new mixed-nest in. It will need to be a big range like the first one we flew into down the cave. It should have water, dirt, plants, and light. We should fly these big caves and find a range for them."
He grinned and purred.
"And for us."
They all warmly hummed this time and began to make their plans for who would take which chambers and paths to search down and for how long. Shadowwing went back to Thorvald, Gobber, and Valka and used a bit more of the precious paper to tell them that they would talk about the role of Chief later and that the whole tribe should rest by the water in that first chamber.
The Furies were going exploring.
However, Luna sought him out again before he left to go flying. They had already left Moon-Dancer and Mist-Wings with Valka and Luna though, and the others had already flown off. Luna had volunteered to stay with the two youngest ones so that Green-Wings could stretch her wings some and help in the search.
I think I know what is bothering you, my love.
"Shadowwing," she whispered.
He lay down on his belly before her and softly purred to her.
"My love and my life-mate..." he answered.
"There were no other light wings, were there?"
He sighed.
"No. He was the only one."
She sighed.
"I hoped that maybe my sire and dam were here and would have known me..."
A soft nose nuzzle was all he could do for her in the moment.
"This hidden world is very big with many ranges. We are very far from the most good range where we became one life and where you hatched. Not finding them here does not mean that they are not," he whispered.
"True," she softly rumbled.
"We will look for them. We can go fly to the Light Fury pack and see if your sire and dam are there," he added.
"Maybe we can, but for now we should find a home-range for all of us," she answered.
She turned back to Moon-Dancer and Mist-Wings and called them over to play.
Dawn-Singer hovered in the mouth of the passageway and stared within while grumbling softly in thought. It looked like a big chamber for sure, but it also had many different kin within. These kin had no problem with flaming each other to show their dominance and claim their place in the nest-order. There was even a dead fire-scale on the ground from how bad the fighting must have gotten recently.
This is not the range for us. Too much flaming and biting. Actually, many of the kin are like that.
He put his tail to that chamber and flew off for the others.
I wonder why they did not do that much in the above.
Aurora whipped her tail and struck Rain-Eater in the side.
"What was that for!" he barked.
"That is for you being a brother!"
"I am sorry about that! I cannot help who hatched me!"
She sat back on her rear and crossed her forepaws on her chest.
"You should be sorry. Why do I have to watch over you?" she pouted.
He grinned and purred as he stepped up next to her.
"Sister, you are flying tail-first on this flight."
She only rolled her eyes at that while giving a questioning grumble.
"And what about this range? Do you think it is good?" he continued, interrupting her thoughts.
They stared out over the very water-filled range. It looked almost like an ocean itself, except that it was also filled with the shining light rocks and spires of normal rock. Neither of them could see a far shore. The water was very, very deep in places. Water-kin, mostly hot-water-spitters and very-loud-big-mouth-roarers, were visibly swimming throughout.
"It has many fish yes, but this is not a good range for ground-kin," she answered.
"You speak truth, sister. Sire told me that some of the water-kin are eaters of two-legs... and our ground-kin."
They both shivered at the thought and turned tail on the water-range. It was not a good place for their ground-kin or for them, though it might have good fishing if needed.
Was-Grounded stared into the new chamber with a tail-tickling feeling creeping on him. It was a very rocky chamber. He could see many rock-belly kin buzzing around on the ledges inside. That was not a great problem. More chilling were the holes dug into the rock itself and the very faint whispering that he could hear. It was not a sound that sparked any liver-warmth.
Sharp-teeth-rock-diggers? I have not seen any of those in a long time. Not since that one that I had to fight.
He spied something far off in the distance. Something that would have sent him diving for hiding out of fear if he was not an Alpha and a High-Alpha. There was a pure white and very, very, very big Sharp-teeth-rock-digger resting deep within the new chamber.
That could have challenged the Monster on fire-nest-island. And this is not the range for us, even if those kin were not living in it. It has no green or dirt.
He turned away from that chamber and flew back the way he came. He softly grumbled to himself in confusion.
Why would any kin need to have spinning teeth? Teeth in and out like we can do is one thing, but spinning? How?
Shadowwing returned to the resting tribe by the water in that first chamber. His wings were tired after all the flying they had all done. He had volunteered for the lengthiest flight of them all to help keep the children safer, capable though they were. His own search had yielded some possible chambers, a few filled with some dirt and light. But none of them felt right. Many of them were occupied by dragons that were a bit too violent toward each other, in his own opinion.
The tribe had assembled roughly into family units gathered near simple tents and piles of supplies. A few of the adults and more capable riders were still alert and aloft while on patrol duty. It was unlikely that anyone would run into any marauding dragons now, but everyone was going to exercise caution for now.
He dove down with a relieved roar when he saw that almost everyone else was there. Dawn-Singer, Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Was-Grounded had all returned.
"Sire-father, you are back!" Moon-Dancer bounded up to him.
"Yes, my son," he licked his son on the face in greeting.
"Ugh, sire-father, why would you do that?" Moon-Dancer sputtered while pawing at his face.
"You know why," Shadowwing chuckled.
Luna purred at that and nuzzled him at his return.
"Did you find a place for us?" she asked.
"Not yet. Did any of you find a range for us?" he turned to the three oldest children.
They all looked down at their paws and hummed softly.
"No, they are either not good for living in or are filled with danger," Dawn-Singer answered.
"What about here in this one? This place has water, dirt, and much light," Aurora proposed.
Shadowwing warily hummed as he looked around and remembered key details about this place. Yes, it has a strange forest, prey animals for hunting, dirt, water, and much light. It could possibly work, but there was one main problem.
"There are many side-caves that go to far ranges. Kin that are flying between ranges must fly through here. It would be better if we and our ground-kin could be in a different range that did not have much flying in by other kin."
Everyone began to disperse after that, the children wandering off among the humans to find their friends. Several riders were aloft with their bonded dragons. Others were cautiously exploring the nearby foliage, all while their dragons stayed close to help protect them just in case.
Shadowwing sighed softly and felt Luna nuzzling his neck.
"How are you, my love?" he hummed.
"I want us to find a range soon. The sooner that we do, the sooner I can drop the egg and sing to it," she purred back to him.
"Flying much with an egg inside is not pleasant. Green-Wings was very tired after we flew from the ice nest to our old cave," Was-Grounded offered.
"Does it hurt?" Shadowwing warily asked.
Luna huffed at that.
"Hurt, no. Will I sleep much after we find the range? Yes."
He licked her cheek at that.
"You are very brave and strong. You can sleep now if you want."
She chuckled softly at that and lay down at his side. He covered her with a wing.
"I think I will," she whispered.
They waited in quiet peace until it was clear that she was asleep. Was-Grounded went aloft and spiraled high above the rest, keeping an eyes out for the one member of the search party still to return.
He eventually saw his Green-Wings gliding in from down the long passageway that she had been assigned.
She must be very tired also after all that flying. She is bigger and stronger than Luna, but it is still hard for her to fly much with a grown egg inside.
He darted over to her and brushed her wingtips with his. He saw her expression. She looked very, very solemn.
"Green-Wings, why are you chilled?"
She looked over at him again and sighed.
"I think I found the range for us."
The four nestmates stayed very close together while keeping their eyes alert for trouble and danger. There did not seem to be any now, but remaining alert was definitely a good flight.
"What happened to them?" Mist-Wings hummed from Dawn-Singer's side.
"What?" Aurora asked.
"To sire-father and Shadowwing? Sire-father has a back-hurt, and Shadowwing has many hurt marks..."
All looked at each other while keeping watch on the hidden skies. A kin or two occasionally flew by, but none were filled with fighting-wanting.
"They did not say. They did fight a bad flight of two-legs that were going to hurt all at the Haven-range," Dawn-Singer mused.
"And there were the bad kin with tusks. The bad kin that took Luna," Rain-Eater pointed out.
All four snarled softly at that.
"Maybe one of those hurt sire-father..." Aurora wondered.
Mist-Wings gasped and whined softly.
"But he won and grounded the bad kin, you twisted little nestmate," Aurora hummed.
Mist-Wings growled softly at that.
"I heard that they were fighting in sky-light. Twisted as that is," Rain-Eater warbled.
"And the sky-light only hit Shadowwing? Why?" Aurora asked.
"I do not know. Sire-father said not to ask," Rain-Eater answered.
"I want us to find a range soon. My wings hurt," Mist-Wings ruffled them softly.
They glanced over to Kin-liver as she watched over a dozing Moon-Dancer at her side.
"We all do. Sire-father and dam-mother flew with Shadowwing and Luna to see a new range that might be good for us all. Kin and ground-kin together," Dawn-Singer answered.
"Now what?" Aurora wondered.
"Now... you three should go over to Kin-liver and Moon-Dancer or be with our ground-kin. I will fly and watch us all," Dawn-Singer replied.
They split up again with him taking to the sky and his three nestmates bounding off toward Kin-liver. He was very certain that all in this mixed-flight had flown from the danger, but having his eyes watching over all was still good. He also remembered the feeling of power and warmth that had come over him when the dangerous kin had tried to hurt the ground-kin.
That need to protect those he held to his liver and the power-light that came with it, something his sister Aurora had also but which Rain-Eater was not old enough for yet, gave him a purpose now. He could act as an Alpha, or at least watch over all, while the true Alphas were away.
Green-Wings led the four adults down a long passageway off the side of the main chamber through a few twists and turns.
The passageway opened onto a chamber that was somewhat narrower than others at the entrance. Narrower meaning the width of maybe twenty longboats piled end to end. The pass was flanked on both sides by a rocky cavern wall with many visible outcroppings, ledges, and caves. Just like elsewhere in this world, supporting columns of rock rose all throughout from the bottom of the chamber to the ceiling.
This first fourth of the chamber was substantially darker than the remainder because there were far fewer crystals. What glowing crystals there were gave off darker shades of purple, blue, and some green. Ledges and raised plains on one side of the pass had a large mushroom forest and many of the strangely glowing flowers. The base of the cavern in this initial part of the pass was a lake filled with fish, as they found from brief diving done to test the waters, and also glowing plants sprouting out from the waters. There was also a faint chill that hung over the place from the lack of lighting. It was a place that felt unknown and mysterious even though none of them were at all afraid.
It seemed shrouded in almost an eternal twilight.
Even so, the flight through that darker part of the chamber was not a short one. It had to be the equivalent of a flight from the mountaintops of Haven down to the shore.
The deeper three quarters of the chamber, which more than dwarfed all the land of Haven, was bright with light from many large glowing spires above and many bright rocks at ground level. The ground itself was covered in soil, grasses and moss, and the strange forest that was not so completely strange by now. It appeared fed by underground springs or undiscovered streams. Part of the chamber was covered in waters that teemed with fish, the same waters as flowed in the darker part of the chamber. Birds-things, tiny orange dragons much smaller than Terrors, and various insects were plentiful. The place had a mild yet slightly cool temperature. There were even what looked like a number of small and large game animals in the alien forest.
The four Furies perched on a large crystal as they overlooked all they could see of the quiet and very empty chamber.
"I do not see any large kin here," Was-Grounded observed.
"There is nothing bad that we can see in the range. Why would it be empty of kin?" Shadowwing wondered.
"I did not like it when I saw it first because I thought it was all dark and cold. I thought that all the chamber was that. Other chambers seemed to have more waters with fish. And I did find... something else in here," Green-Wings answered with a sad warble.
"What did you find?" Shadowwing asked.
She shuffled in place for a moment before slowly spreading her wings.
"Follow me. I should show you," she weakly hummed.
They flew into the brighter part of the massive cavern. They all arrived and landed at the place she clearly meant to show him, a side ledge near a grove of the large mushrooms.
The other three froze when they saw them. It made perfect sense in that instant why this chamber must have been avoided by most all dragons for a long time.
On the ground before them, among a patch of long grass, and partly covered in moss were several Night Fury skeletons, all bearing terrible marks of violence. A short distance away was another skeleton that had a set of spikes on its head and very long claws on its broken forearms.
Shadowwing's burn marks throbbed in that instant as a wave of phantom pain and horrible flashes of memory crashed over him.
'A void, an emptiness, a hole in life.'
'A blazing white sun that hunted its kind with lightning and death.'
'Lightning and death.'
He gasped softly and recovered his breath.
"Green-Wings... that dead thing there is one of the Monster-kin that hunted me, Was-Grounded, and Luna."
Green-Wings stepped closer to him and cautiously nudged his shoulder while giving him a soft purr. Luna did so as well on his other side a moment later. She warily looked up around them.
"So those Monsters did get into this world once," Luna whispered.
"And they killed many of us. But the Monsters are all dead now, true?" Was-Grounded asked.
"True. The High-Alpha said that he felt the last one die when I killed it. They are gone now," Shadowwing answered.
"Did you find more bones in this range, Green-Wings?" Was-Grounded whined.
She closed her eyes and gave a very sad croon.
"I did. Several nest-packs of them."
Silence fell, none of them wanting to say what they all were thinking.
"This was a range of Night Furies until they were killed or flew away. That is why the other kin do not want to live here. Seeing the bones might be a threat-sign to them, or maybe they remember the dying and fighting that happened here," Shadowwing sadly mused.
"But that past is dead. Maybe this range can have life in it again," Luna wondered.
A moment of quiet consideration passed between the four adults.
"Is this the range for us all?" Luna asked.
Shadowwing glanced around and considered everything about it one last time as compared to all the other options. There was something slightly morbid about the idea, but it was definitely the best option, if for no other reason than that it was uninhabited and there would be minimal tensions with other wild dragons.
"It is good for us. I think that this is the range for all of us together. The part of this range with dirt, green, and much light is good for the ground-kin. The bones of our kin in this range can be given a death-resting ceremony."
His ears lifted as he looked over his shoulder into the dark and mysterious passageway.
"And I think that we will be warmed by that part of the range. That looks like the only flight into the range, so any kin that would fly in must fly past us. That will let us keep the peace and keep safe all in the range," Shadowwing explained.
Green-Wings and Luna stepped over to each other, stared without saying anything, came to some agreement, and spread their wings.
"We will look for a cave!" Luna shouted.
Both females were off and flying toward the peaks of the ledges and the visible crevices carved into the side of the large passageway.
Shadowwing blinked and turned to his brother as they both gave a questioning hum.
"Did she say a cave? Not caves?" Shadowwing wondered.
Was-Grounded laughed freely, loped closer to his side, and shoved him with his shoulder.
"I think our nests will be one soon, unless that is a problem for you."
Shadowwing added his own laughter and shook his head with amusement.
"There will not be need for sleeping-piles because there are no cold-seasons here. But there is a good chill in that darker place, and I think having both nests pile together more will be liver-warming."
"Now and always. Will you be twisted about this?" Was-Grounded teased him.
"No, I will not be twisted as I was. There is no bad in living as one nest. But I still want to not be there when you and Green-Wings are... together!"
Was-Grounded huffed.
"Fine. We will not bother you that way."
They took to the sky as well to aid their mates in the search, knowing that they would soon turn back for the initial distant chamber where a tribe awaited news of its destiny. It felt good to take a place that had seen terrible death once and to fill it with life again, especially the same life that had once been taken from it.
To say that the dragon riders were eager to finally settle down was an understatement. They had been flying and waiting for almost a week, were hungry, had limited opportunities to properly relieve themselves, and were in a completely strange, if amazing, world.
A round of cheering had went up when the four Furies returned with news that they had found a new home for everyone. Supplies were repacked, explorers were recalled, children were safely strapped in place, and all took flight again toward the future, led by the Furies.
"Well, look at that," Valka whispered to no one.
She stood on the edge of a ledge that dropped off vertically several hundred feet into a strange forest by the water's edge. A small waterfall fell from another ledge down to the distant lake in which she could already see dragons diving to bathe, drink, or hunt. The different ledges and spires of rock were set at varying heights, which made it possible to travel down certain of them in dramatic fashion.
She flung out her arms in her flight suit, jumped from the ledge, and glided across the chasm to the lower ledge. She awkwardly landed, rolled to her feet, and stared into a familiar owl-face that had hopped after her.
"Cloudjumper! I flew! Did you see that?"
He huffed happily in her face and followed her over to edge of the rocky ledge. She held up her arms, looked around at all the other dragon and dragon-rider pairs flying freely or wandering on the ground to explore the new world.
"This is what it is to be a dragon!"
Cloudjumper lifted her back up to the level where the other village leaders were busily planning. Thorvald, Sifa, Skald, and Gobber in particular were gathered together.
"So how is this going to work? I don't know what the village will even look like down here," Thorvald muttered.
"Aye, true. But rememba' we aren't Nords anymore," Gobber answered.
"I may have an idea," Valka interjected.
The others eagerly looked to her for her council.
"We are starting anew here. Maybe the old way is not the right way anymore. We should have a Great Hall for when the whole tribe must meet or celebrate important things, but I think spreading out the village further might help. Each type of dragon likes different ledges; some warmer, some cooler, brighter, darker, closer to water, further from water... Let each family decide where to make their home. And there is a lot less danger as long as everyone stays here."
They thought about it and saw some sense in it.
"Except fer the farmers. They will need ta be down in what will be tha fields over there. Do we have tha potatoes?" Gobber asked
"Yep, crates of them for eating and growing. Most common vegetable of all and toughest also, just like us!" Thorvald laughed.
"Yeah, those things can grow in anythin'. And the potatoes should have eh' good chance down here too!" Gobber chuckled.
Valka immediately caught on with a laugh.
"I lived in the ice nest for decades. We will be just fine down here. There is plenty of hunting."
Thorvald chuckled a moment later.
"And what about the dragons? They won't just leave us here will they?" Thorvald worried.
Valka shrugged as they watched the hidden skies. Dragons, both with riders and without, flew freely in the chamber in exploration.
"They might for a while. They are free now, definitely not our pets, and they can go wherever they want. This world is their home. But I have a feeling that the ones we know are not going anywhere for too long," she explained with a chuckle.
"And the Furies?" Gobber wondered, also giving her a subtle and knowing look.
They all turned and looked off toward the far corner of the chamber. Toward that large door riddled with glowing spires of light and through which they had all flown in wonder and awe. Toward that more mysterious place where shadows lay and darted in the pale light. Toward where all the Furies had flown to search for their own new homes outside the village but still nearby where they could be gatekeepers of sorts.
"I think we will be seeing a lot of them. They are truly our family after all," Valka whispered.
They all flew down to the ground and joined all the others involved in the various duties of rebuilding, however that would work down in this world. Crates of supplies were gathered and unloaded, duties were assigned, and encouragement was given. Plans were made for various homes, fields, and pens for livestock. People began exploring and finding the various new plants in this world. Temporary tents were put up in the clearings. Hunting and fishing began.
None had any doubt that they would endure.
They had stubbornness issues.
All four of the adults lay on one of the taller spires as they stared ahead into a massive crevice that was not truly a cave. Their youngest ones stood with them while the older, more capable children flew nearby and explored their new range in a pack of three.
The crevice before the four adults formed a ledge that looked out onto a darker portion of the distant wall while also being lit faintly by a purple crystal on one corner. The other side of the ledge partly overlooked the deeper section of the cavern where more grass and plants grew in the brighter light.
"Shall we?" Shadowwing asked.
The other three adults purred, and all leapt to glide over to the large rocky ledge while Mist-Wings and Moon-Dancer followed. It was mostly flat on the inside, was not exposed to any wind, what little of that there was, was definitely large enough for dozens of Furies at any given moment, and had some crevices where they could be a bit more isolated.
The two fledglings bounded around the ledge to inspect the place closer.
"What do you think?" Shadowwing rumbled to both Luna and Green-Wings.
It was ultimately their decision where they would all stop and live together.
"We will need to bring sand for our egg-nests," Green-Wings hummed.
"And I can find the strong-life-hatchling-flowers for the future," Luna added.
Green-Wings's ears went up with an obvious question at that.
"They are light-making flowers can help make a hatchling strong if we eat the flowers before we make their egg," Luna explained.
Was-Grounded and Shadowwing spared each other an amused glance.
"So, when you see her eating light-making plants, you know you will warm her belly soon!" Was-Grounded laughed.
"Toothless! Did you have to say that?" Shadowwing exclaimed.
"That knowing might fly over your rock-head if I do not tell you!"
"That knowing... is not a problem for me!" Shadowwing protested while indignantly pointing a paw at him.
They all joined in the laughter until Luna gave a gasp.
"There is a problem!" she exclaimed.
"Great, we needed some of those!" Shadowwing chuckled.
"Long-tooth-grass does not grow here in these ranges. Dropping eggs will hurt more here... unless..." her voice died off as her tail slowly swayed.
"Unless what, Luna?" Green-Wings eagerly asked, knowing that this matter definitely involved her soon.
"There are other plants that make soft blue light and can help make hurts not hurt much," Luna explained to her.
Both females turned as one and expectantly looked at their mates.
"We will get them for you both!" Shadowwing instantly spoke up.
"I promised that I would bring long-tooth-grass always. Bringing this new plant will keep the promise," Was-Grounded grumbled.
He laughed.
"Luna, have I ever told you how good your thinking is?" Was-Grounded asked.
"No, you have not," she teased.
He swept out a wing and gently swiped her on the head while Green-Wings and Shadowwing chuckled to themselves.
"Grr, that is my mate! Do you want me to pin yours?" Shadowwing teased.
Was-Grounded, toothless maw gaping wide, leapt at him with a soft roar. The battle began as they joyfully attacked and carefully swiped at each other while prancing around the large ledge.
"Males," both Luna and Green-Wings groaned in amusement while Moon-Dancer and Mist-Wings chortled and pounced at each other in play.
Shadowwing was gently knocked onto his side. But he growled and whimpered in pain when he fell. Was-Grounded immediately froze and bent down to him.
"Brother, what?"
Shadowwing hissed as he slowly recovered and got to his feet. Both Luna and Green-Wings were also over at his side as he rose.
"The sky-light hurt-marks hurt when I... fall on them or hit them."
Was-Grounded winced as he again glanced at all the marks on his brother's neck, side, and back. The new one on his chest from where he was shot would leave a very impressive hurt-mark once it healed.
"Grr, licking those hurts will not help them be better or not be," Was-Grounded groaned and hung his head.
"I do not know if those will ever not hurt some," Shadowwing sighed.
He growled and cautiously got to his feet.
"But I will not be a hatchling about it."
Was-Grounded slowly stepped over to him and gently butted heads with him.
"You are very strong. I will remember your hurts always, and we must play with care now."
"We will. And your back-hurt?" Shadowwing asked.
"It does not hurt much. It was licked much, and Kin-liver helped it and your chest-hurt with helping-plants."
Several sets of wings approached as Dawn-Singer, Aurora, and Rain-Eater bounded down and landed on the ledge.
"Is this the almost-cave-den?" Aurora asked.
"Yes, this is our shared den-ledge. We will live more as one nest now," Was-Grounded answered.
Aurora and Rain-Eager started dashing around the massive ledge to inspect the whole place. Dawn-Singer only walked up to the adults and gave a peaceful but solemn hum.
"What is twisting you, my first?" Green-Wings wondered.
"I was thinking about my name while flying these cave-skies. I will never be able to sing to the dawn now because there are no dawns here. My name is still me because I will remember watching the sun hatch, but it feels sad and happy, cold and warm in one memory-flight," Dawn-Singer sighed.
Shadowwing padded over to his grown nephew and nudged his shoulder before putting a wing over him.
"I know that feeling. But you will learn that losing some of what was is not only bad. You change into a new kin who grew stronger unless you lose too much. I learned that life-lesson. You have us always and all the ground-kin who came with us."
Dawn-Singer warmly hummed at that and dashed over to join his parents and siblings, all of whom were gathering together into one of their bigger sleeping-piles.
Shadowwing stood there on the ledge and stared out at the familiar strangeness of their new home. The spires and supporting columns, the faint chill in the air and in the rock he stood on, the darkness broken by the glimmers of glowing shards of crystal, the faint flash of fire from a far and dark ledge, the rippling waters far below, the large mushrooms, the-
Wait, what? Fire? I know I saw something over there.
He jumped from the ledge and soared over toward that place where he saw the strange flash until he finally arrived and touched down on a large ledge. Nothing was there except for a strange but faintly familiar scent. But that was impossible.
Maybe I am just seeing things. I don't think Luna was ever over here, so why would it smell like a-
He closed his eyes and looked around. There it was. A lone bright light was shining up above him and circling in the sky. It was a light he could not see with his eyes. He jumped and flew for the hiding Light Fury, uncertain whether this was dangerous considering how unpleasant the last such encounter was.
Let me try the friendly approach. I don't think this is the same Light Fury.
"Do not hide!" he shouted.
The unseen dragon circled up above for several moments as he followed and glided under it, content to let it make the first move. It dove for another ledge and landed. He touched down a respectful length from where it had to be and made a point of sitting down and tucking his wings away. A strange shimmering was all he saw in the pale light before him.
"Do not fear. You can let me see you."
A moment passed during which he could hear the other dragon's breaths but could see nothing of it. The shimmering slowly vanished as a grey and white shape appeared in its place.
She was not as bright white as Luna, had very faint streaks of a yellow shine in her wings, and was also slightly smaller. Her eyes were a deep blue mixed with silver, and her body had no scars at all. She also looked far more wary from how she kept shifting on her feet and her tail had a twitch. She was perched on the ledge with her wings still fanned, ready to fly off at any warning.
"You followed us here?" he kindly asked.
"Yes, I heard about you," she softly answered.
"Do you have a name?"
"I am Flies-Alone."
He blinked at that.
I'm not sure that I want to know why.
"I am Shadowwing," he answered.
"You are one of the dark wing Alphas of these ranges," she warily continued.
"Yes, me and my only nestmate are the Alphas. Why did you fly here, Flies-Alone?" he asked.
She shuffled nervously again.
"I have never seen your kind before, and it is very twisting to see those two-leg things flying on the kin deeper in this range."
"You have not seen kin-bond ground-kin before?"
"No, I have never flown from these ranges. The hidden world above is filled with danger," she said.
What? Oh yeah, you would think of the above as the hidden world. It is to you.
"There are other kin like you, other dark wings, yes? I heard that there were..." she continued.
"You want to meet my nest-kin?" he eagerly asked.
"Yes, if there are no two-legs there..."
"It is only us. I will fly you to my kin. Follow my flight."
He jumped from the ledge and flew back to their new sheltered ledge with Flies-Alone gliding behind him. He bounded up to Luna's side as soon as he landed, just to make it very clear that he was taken.
A moment of silence passed as all who noticed on the ledge got to their feet, gasped in amazement, and watched as the new Light Fury dove and landed among them. Flies-Alone and Luna stared at each other, their heads slightly tilted.
"Who is this?" Luna hummed in surprise.
"She is Flies-Alone. She flew here because she wanted to meet our nest and kin," he answered.
"I heard that a light wing was with the dark wings," Flies-Alone warily said.
She cautiously stepped closer and looked again at Luna, Shadowwing, and Moon-Dancer.
"You are mates. What is your name, light wing?"
"I am Luna. Shadowwing is my life-mate," she proudly answered while nuzzling Shadowwing's neck.
"Luna? What does that mean?" Flies-Alone wondered.
"It means Like-The-Great-Night-Sky-Rock," Luna explained.
Flies-Alone hummed in surprise.
"You have seen the great sky rock? Yes, you would have if you flew in the filled with danger world above. And you two dark wings?" she turned to the other pair.
"I am Was-Grounded, and my life-mate is Green-Wings," Was-Grounded answered.
Flies-Alone stared in wonder between Was-Grounded and Shadowwing.
"You are the two Alphas and are living as one nest with no fighting? Do you not want to be the one Alpha?"
Both males laughed after glancing at each other.
"We fight the other for fun and liver-warmth..." Was-Grounded began.
"And take the other's fish..."
"And foul the other's flights..."
"And hit the other with our tails..."
"And pretend to want the other's mate..."
"Because we fly the winds of life within each other's call..." Shadowwing ended with a chuckle.
Flies-Alone blinked in apparent confusion and amusement at this.
"We hatched from one egg together. We trust the other in all of life," Was-Grounded hummed warmly.
Dawn-Singer, Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Mist-Wings came forward from behind their parents. Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Mist-Wings bounded forward and danced around Flies-Alone with cries of welcome and play.
Dawn-Singer froze. His wings fell to the ground and his jaw hung open as he stared at her.
Flies-Alone noticed him and stared back at him as her ears went up.
Silence fell over the ledge, and no one moved for many wingbeats.
"Who are you... dark wing?" she asked.
"I... am... Dawn-Singer..." he fumbled.
"I am Flies-Alone. Where is your mate, Dawn-Singer?"
He was unable to look away from her and subtly stood a little taller.
"I do not have one."
Flies-Alone did not react for several moments until she finally spoke.
"Neither do I."
She turned and faced all gathered before her.
"This is a very warm mixed-nest, you two pairs of life-mates and your little ones. There are two-leg ground-kin in this big range, yes? You dark wings and light wing know the... ground-kin?"
"Yes, we do. Their warmth and chills, good and bad," Shadowwing hummed.
"I do not know them except that I should flee from them on sight. These are the first I have seen of them. I have never flown in the above."
Flies-Alone turned away and pranced over to the ledge where she perched with her wings fanned and tail swaying.
"I will fly in this range for now. If any of you want to fly with me and show me these ground-kin things and talk much... I would be warmed by that."
She jumped off the ledge and began to glide away.
All eyes on the ledge immediately went to Dawn-Singer.
"Go fly!" Green-Wings grinned a very toothy grin.
Dawn-Singer glanced at his father and mother, found his courage, and bounded forward off the ledge.
The other adults crowded together on the ledge and watched as Flies-Alone and Dawn-Singer gradually soared through the spires deeper into the cavern toward where the rest of Haven was settling down.
Was-Grounded and Green-Wings purred very loudly.
"They will be mates before the end of the... sun-cycle," Was-Grounded declared.
"Is that not very fast to be mates?" Shadowwing wondered.
"Why? Neither of them have a mate now. They are both life-making age, and they both smelled like they have interest," Was-Grounded answered.
"Yes, but they do not know the other's life-fires or livers yet."
Green-Wings hummed.
"She seems good in her thinking, and we know that he has a strong life-fire. I do not think he will want her if she has ground-kin hate in her liver. We will see."
Shadowwing sighed and closed his eyes.
Practical dragons... Though not being dramatic about relationships is probably good overall. Something tells me that Dawn-Singer might want to make sure of her first though.
"Luna, what do you think?" he asked.
"I think Flies-Alone will not fly alone in life now. Hmm, there is something different about her," Luna purred.
"True, she was not like the other Light Fury. I do not think she has hate for ground-kin because she has always been in this hidden world. She does not know what to think of them yet," Shadowwing mused.
All glanced toward the rear of the ledge.
"Sleeping-pile!" Aurora voiced what they all were thinking.
"But you males have a flight to fly first. Blue flowers, remember?" Luna interjected.
"Yes, you do not want your mates to hurt much from dropping their eggs, would you?" Green-Wings added.
Shadowwing and Was-Grounded sighed to themselves and spared a glance at each other.
"And the sooner that you bring us those flowers, the sooner you can hold our tails and see your eggs," Luna purred.
The ledge had two fewer Night Furies an instant later.