Good morning, everyone! We're back with the next chapter of this AU, and I'm so excited. As I've said, dragons are always awesome and I never get tired of writing about them.
For my dragon recommendation of the week, I'd like to nod at a book series called "Wings of Fire" by Tui Sutherland. It's a series taking place in a world of various dragon species that are at war with each other. Humans exist, but are mostly extinct and seen as strange animals to the dragons. Even though it's technically a children's series, it's very well-written. The differences between the species species, political structures of the different kingdoms, and the friendship between the main characters are all driving forces. Also, each book is from the perspective of a different dragon. I guarantee that your favorite character list will change with each book.
Anyway, enjoy!
"Ruby, wake up! Come on!"
Ruby groaned as a rough shake to her shoulder jostled her from sleep. She rubbed her eyes, glaring into the darkness. She had been in the middle of a pleasant dream. There had been dragons flying around her while she stood at the top of a mountain peak.
"What?" she muttered, squinting as her eyes adjusted and she recognized the outline of Yang standing over her.
"It's Tex! She's laying her eggs. Dad needs both of us to help." Yang's voice was sharp and urgent.
Immediately, Ruby sat up, tiredness seeping from her body like water through a sieve. "I'm up! I'm up!" Flicking on the light, she ran to her dresser, where her leather boots, thick denim pants, and flannel shirt sat ready. She quickly changed before running after Yang, yanking her right shoe on as she hopped on her other foot.
The two ran to the giant stable, already aware of several noises from within. Yang pushed the doors open and rushed past the two open areas that held Quake and Tempest, to the closed stalls in the back.
Ruby paused briefly, glancing from Quake to Tempest. "Hey, guys. Don't worry. Just another laying. I'm sure you're used to it, right?"
Quake's tail thumped against the ground and he rumbled softly. Tempest let out a chirp, her blue eyes taking on an excited shine as she listened to the sounds coming from the back.
Smiling at the two, Ruby ran to the back of the stable, where four stalls sat. The two on the right held older, sickly dragons that had been abandoned at different points in their lives. One was a tiny, bronze-colored fire dragon with a bad left eye named York. The other was a failed breeding dragon with stunted wings named Caboose.
The two on the left side held the Xiao Long family's only breeding dragons. The smaller one held Church, a lithe and sleek brood sire that Qrow had rustled in the mountains and given as a gift to the family. In the larger stall sat Tex, an excitable, intelligent brood dam who had a reputation for unlocking her stall and going on solo flights when the family was away.
Her great, gray-colored head turned in Ruby and Yang's direction as they approached. The usual fire in her silver eyes was replaced with tiredness and pain.
"Hey, girl," Ruby cooed as she opened the door. "I know. This is the annoying part, huh?"
Taiyang was standing near Tex's tail, already holding the first of the eggs in his hands. He was checking it for blemishes before setting it aside in a large, padded box that had been prepared specifically for this occasion. "Good girl." He patted her side gently, then turned to Ruby and Yang. "Yang, help me with the eggs. Ruby, talk to her and keep her calm. It looks like I was right about there being six overall."
Ruby nodded, moving to Tex's head. Zwei, the family's stable dog, was already standing between the dam's front paws, yipping softly and attempting to distract her from the pain. "Hey, girl," Ruby said, patting the large, gray head. "Don't worry. We just need to get the eggs, and you can go back to sleep. It'll be fine."
Distraction was key when collecting eggs from a dam. If the dragon placed too much focus on the nest, her maternal instincts would flare up and prevent anyone from taking the eggs without risking severe injury. Taking the eggs discreetly was the best way to avoid danger for both the dragon, and her handlers.
Next door, Church let out a concerned warble. "It's okay, buddy," Ruby called. "Don't worry. Tex is just fine."
"That's two," Taiyang muttered. "Careful, Yang. Remember, one of these will be yours."
"As if I could forget," Yang snorted, rolling her eyes. She wiped the egg in her hands dry, taking a moment to feel it. It was about the size of a large textbook and felt as smooth and hot as a transportation vehicle left out to sit in the sun.
In a month, it would hatch into a tiny, scaled beast that would be no bigger than Zwei. Most of the eggs would be kept in a separate barn until they hatched into dragonets. Then, buyers from larger brooderies would select which ones would be best for their stock.
One, however, was going to belong to Yang. Whichever egg she chose would be taken to a representative of the Schnee Dust Company, who would inject it with Dust, causing the unborn dragon to mutate so that it would hatch into a specialized elemental dragon. This beast would be Yang's partner when she went to the Beacon Dragonry in the fall, and would continue to fight at her side as she trained to be a Dragon Rider.
Will it be you? Yang wondered, running a hand over the smooth, coppery surface.
"Yang! Focus!" Taiyang's sharp voice cut in. "We have another one coming."
"Right." Yang quickly put the egg into the box and stood ready to accept the next one.
Ruby, meanwhile, was gently stroking Tex's snout. "You're doing so well, girl. Once this is over, I'll get some nice apples from the house. You'll like that, huh?"
Tex tilted her head, black tipped ears flicking at the mention of apples. Dragons were omnivorous, so a piece of fruit was usually as readily accepted as an extra hunk of raw meat.
Zwei hopped up and down on his hind legs, panting excitedly.
Tex snorted, nudging the dog with her snout and causing him to topple into a pile of hay. She tossed her head and seemed to huff a laugh when Zwei let out an indignant yip.
Ruby laughed as well. "Good boy, Zwei." The black corgi had been present for the last three hatchings, and had a perfect track record when it came to keeping Tex content and distracted.
The process continued until the large crate held six smooth, perfect eggs. Taiyang quickly covered the crate and wheeled it toward the stall door.
Ruby kept Tex's attention on her while the door opened and closed, and didn't stop talking to the dragon until the sound of wheels vanished. Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief. "That went well." She smiled at Tex, who was looking around in confusion. "I know, girl. I wish we could let you keep the eggs, but then we wouldn't be able to afford this stable."
"You know regular brood dragons don't understand us, right?" Yang asked as she walked over, patting Tex's shoulder affectionately. "Only elementals can do that."
Ruby huffed. "Well, she certainly won't listen to someone who talks about her like that." She stuck out her tongue before turning to kiss Tex's snout. "Right, girl?"
Yang rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep from smiling at her sister. "Whatever. I'm going to take Quake over to the other barn so he can start his month-long guard duty."
"Okay." Ruby watched her sister rushing down the aisle to get Quake, feeling a touch of envy. Two years, she reminded herself. Then, Dad'll be giving you your egg. She looked at Tex. "I'll get you some fresh hay, and then get that treat I promised you. How's that sound?"
Tex yawned, placing her head on her front paws tiredly, narrowly avoiding a yelping Zwei.
"Careful, Zwei," Ruby warned. "Don't forget that the dragons are bigger than you."
Zwei tilted his head and sneezed as a bit of hay tickled his nose. His tail wagged as he followed Ruby out of the stall.
Ruby paused as she passed the open platform that held Tempest. The green dragon was pacing restlessly, though she stopped when she noticed Ruby.
"Rrroo!" Tempest called, stepping off of the platform and padding over to Ruby. She nuzzled Ruby's arm with her thin snout, purring loudly.
"Hey, Tempest!" Ruby said, stroking under the wind dragon's chin. "You know what's going on, don't you? I know you'll miss having Quake around, but someone needs to watch over the eggs. I'll keep you company, okay?"
"Rrroo!" Tempest chirped happily. "Eck. Gud."
"Yeah. The eggs are all good," Ruby replied. "I'll bring an extra apple for you when I come back, okay?"
Tempest's tail lashed eagerly. "Food! Gud!"
About an hour later, after Ruby had fed and pet all of the dragons to their satisfaction, she curled up on a patch of clean straw near Tempest's platform. She felt Zwei crawl up next to her and closed her eyes. "Night, everyone," she called.
"Rrroo safe." Tempest muttered, opening her jaws in a wide yawn. Despite her sleepiness, she remained alert for another hour, watching Ruby carefully, before allowing herself to fall asleep.
…..
Weiss knew that visiting her father's dragon unsupervised was forbidden. Still, she couldn't keep herself away. Ever since she was a child, she had dreamed of the day when she would become one of the only people in the world to be gifted with a Schnee ice dragon. She had to learn as much as she could before fall arrived and she was finally sent to Beacon Dragonry.
Since the Schnee Dust Company held exclusive patent rights to the egg injection process, they also controlled who had access to what kinds of dragons. Until recently, the only legal elemental dragons were of the four basic elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. Weiss's grandfather, however, had begun experimenting with different forms of Dust. The end result was a unique, pure white creature that breathed a mist that could turn the skin black within seconds.
Only a Schnee was permitted to have such a dragon.
Weiss walked past the broodhouse, past the stable for the resident elemental dragons, and to the smallest, but grandest of the three dragon buildings at the end.
Going in the front entrance would guarantee getting caught, so she snuck around the back, looking for the small hole in the stone that she had found months ago. Her eye fell on it, and she walked over, breathed a puff of air through it, and stepped back, waiting.
A moment later, a white mist trickled out of the hole. She smiled, putting her hand in it without fear. This wasn't an ice dragon's deadly frost breath, but a simple greeting. Her father had taught her how to tell the difference between the different kinds of mists.
"Hello, Glacier," she whispered into the hole. "I hope you're well."
There was no reason for Glacier to be anything but well, of course. Mister Schnee employed the best stable hands. Any need that the mighty ice dragon had was met immediately. Also, with Winter's dragon gone, he had the entire building to himself.
Even though Weiss wasn't looking at him, she could easily picture his majestic, sharp-edged form. Large, delicate head frills that turned several shades of rosy pink and baby blue when light shined through them. A long, stern face with narrow blue eyes. Stark, white scales that could blind a person if they looked at them for too long. Spines going down the back and to the tail that looked like blue icicles.
I will have one soon, she thought with a smile. Then, I can go to Beacon and finally have some freedom.
For the past few months, she had exercised incredible restraint, biting her tongue whenever her father said something to irritate her, remaining silent when he insulted Winter's "foolish" decision to join the Atlas Aviation Squad, being discreet in apologizing to workers when he was overly harsh to them in her presence. It would all be worth it when he finally handed that egg to her.
Visiting Glacier was the only way she kept herself sane during the long wait. Her father had said that the dragon was not to be handled by anyone but him. Still, Glacier always seemed to perk up when he saw her. Her father didn't visit the stable often, so she figured that the dragon thought of her as a substitute of sorts.
She approached the hole again and breathed gently into it one more time, waiting for the answering mist before reluctantly turning back toward the mansion. If she was caught out here, there could be trouble.
"Good night, Glacier," she called as she left.
Behind her, a low, mournful keening noise sounded from the building. If her father hadn't told her that such sounds were characteristic of ice dragons, she would have been positive that Glacier was crying.
…..
Blake's ears twitched at the sound of footsteps, and she hid quickly behind a pillar, holding her breath until the steady noise faded away again. She clutched a thick, padded satchel to her chest, hoping that it would muffle the loud beating of her heart. Her cheek stung with the imprint of a familiar palm, but that was the last thing on her mind in that moment.
Only two things dominated her thoughts: escape and justice.
The former could have been easily achieved. If that had been her only goal, she would have been halfway to Vale at this point. Adam was too distracted by his plans. He wouldn't have noticed until it was too late. However, since Blake also wanted justice, her plan became infinitely more complicated and risky.
The plan was simple enough: sneak into the hatchery, steal one of Adam's "special" eggs, and escape. She would anonymously leave the egg at Beacon Dragonry with a note detailing Adam's plan and location. While he would likely flee before being found, at least his operations would be greatly hindered.
For the sake of the dragons involved, Blake hoped that would be the case.
She stopped again outside of the hatchery, listening for any guards. If they were people she knew, she could play off her presence as Adam sending her to check on some of the soon-to-hatch eggs. Of course, that would lead to them asking Adam about it in the morning, greatly reducing her time window for escape.
To be safe, she waited until the moment when the guards switched, and took the opportunity to slip in. She'd wait for the next few hours until the guards were switched again, and leave with the egg at that point. She had specifically made sure not to drink anything in the hours leading up to the execution of her plan.
She paused briefly to look at the rows and rows of incubators. Eggs of every color lined the walls. Despite the warmth of the room, Blake shivered. There was something so cold and mechanical about this setup.
Some of the eggs were more heavily guarded than others. The ones that were closer to hatching, the ones that had more combinations of Dust injected into them, the ones that Adam himself wanted to use, had computers monitoring their vital signs. Blake would leave those alone.
Her aim was one of the simpler eggs, one of the experimental eggs. Those were kept on heated pads and were mostly there to show what different Dust combinations would do. Most of the hatchlings would die hours after birth, or be culled.
Just before she hid in one of the corners behind the computer equipment, her eyes fell on one of these eggs. It was a dark, pine green color with a scattering of silver flecks on it, like stars. That's the one, she thought as she settled in and waited.
Hours later, Blake shook herself to attention. She had just started dozing off when she heard a guard nearby let out a loud yawn. They would be switching guards again soon. She glanced toward the egg, preparing to sprint over, bag it, and run. It wouldn't be long before Adam noticed her absence.
As soon as the guards left, she rushed over to the egg and picked it up. It was warm, smooth, and heavier than usual. This one must be getting ready to hatch, she thought as she slipped it into the satchel. I hope I can get to Beacon before then.
The egg went into her bag and she was gone, darting down the hallway until she reached the window she had decided on. Taking out her scaling tools, she began the descent, stopping every now and then to adjust the satchel and make sure the egg wouldn't bang against the building's side. Yet again, she marveled at how Adam had reinvented this old fortress to serve his purposes. There were rumors that he had found a wealthy sponsor to help in his endeavors, but these were unconfirmed.
It didn't matter. Blake would see to it that it ended, one way or another. Her gaze went involuntarily toward one of the distant fields. The form of a dragon was visible in the darkness, looking like a statue in the shadows. Blake knew, however, that venturing closer would reveal the smell of decay.
Shuddering, she turned away from the field and focused on the climb. She still had a long way to go before she could relax.
…..
Yang ran a hand over each of the six eggs in turn, smiling to herself as she tried to decide which one she would choose. To an untrained eye, all six eggs would look exactly the same with their smoothness and coppery color. Yang, having been raised by a Dragon Rider and breeder, could see that each one was unique. One was just a bit bigger than the others. One had a dent in the side that had to be felt rather than seen. There was one that was just a bit smaller, hinting at a runt.
Which one would she choose? Would she be softhearted and choose the runt? Since her dad would be selling the others, that would probably be the best way to make sure he made a bigger profit. Would she be obvious and choose the big one? Would she pick the one with the light sprinkling of brassy flecks on the one side? She wasn't sure.
All she knew was that she wanted her dragon. After years of watching Ruby become a better dragon handler than she could ever be, she wanted to have just one dragon that liked her the best.
Ever since they were little, dragons had always taken more to Ruby, likely because of her gentler nature and friendly demeanor. Tempest treated her like a daughter, the broodies calmed down instantly at her touch, and the two abused dragons adored her. Out of all the Xiao Long dragons, Quake was the only one who preferred Yang. Even then, however, she was second to her father.
It wasn't that she was jealous, per say. Some people just got along better with dragons. Yang didn't need every dragon to love her. She just wanted to know what it was like to have one that looked to her first.
Once she chose her egg, she would then have to decide what kind of dragon she wanted. Dragon Riders could have one of four different kinds of dragons: fire, water, earth, and wind. The Schnee family held exclusive rights over the newer ice dragons, but that was fine. Yang didn't want a frosty ice dragon.
She wanted a fire dragon.
It had taken a lot of thought. When she was younger, she had wanted an earth dragon similar to Quake. However, as she grew up and realized how different her temperament was from her father's and how slow and dull his dragon sometimes seemed, she had started thinking of her mother.
Raven Branwen had had a fire dragon. Apparently, it had matched perfectly with her fierce personality. Fierce was definitely a word that described Yang.
Her uncle Qrow had a water dragon, which suited his traveling purposes just fine. Yang had met Salty a few times and liked him, but still had the feeling that such a dragon wouldn't be right for her.
When she looked at York, the abused fire dragon, she saw a spark in his one good eye that reminded her of herself. She hoped that her father would understand and wouldn't feel sad that she wasn't going to follow in his footsteps.
She had no doubt that, when the time came, Ruby would choose a wind dragon. She wondered if the hatchling would ever love its partner as much as Tempest seemed to.
"Ang?" Quake's deep, brassy voice rang through the stable. His gray-brown, broad head was tilted to the side. He blinked a green eye at her. "Leep."
Yang rolled her eyes. "I know I need to sleep, Quake. I already have one dad. He doesn't need your help." She walked over to the earth dragon and affectionately patted his snout before leaning against his shoulder. She closed her eyes, the steady breathing of her father's dragon lulling her to sleep.
So, I'm not a political person, but I encourage all of my American readers to go vote today. Seriously. There hasn't been a more horrifying election in my lifetime. Look deep and figure out what you want to see in the next four years for this country, and vote accordingly. Just don't stay home and do nothing. Please.
Anyway, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun. Become a patron for weekly updates of this fic, as well as other rewards. See you next time. Peace out!