When I awoke, a silent uneasiness hung over the sanctuary. It seemed too quiet for my liking, and I realized Valka must have taken the dragons out to feed. Stretching and yawning, I hobbled to my feet, rubbing my sleep-weary eyes. Comet yawned, her teeth retracted. I stroked her neck and she playfully batted me with her tail. I pretended to tackle her, eventually ending up slumped against her shoulder. She let out a laugh, which echoed around the cavern.
I slowly got up, relieved that the pain in my shoulder was quickly fading. I hopped up on Comet's back, smiling as she shook her head excitedly, causing the feathers hanging off her ear to tremble slightly. We dashed out through the kitchen to our favorite icy platform, where Comet performed one of her favorite tricks: a vertical takeoff. I hugged her back, squeezing her sides tightly with my knees and clutching the strap around her neck. The thrill of such quick acceleration rushed through me, and I couldn't help letting out a joyous shout.
Once we had reached an acceptable height, we glided along, enjoying the cool winds on our faces. We went into a steep dive, pulling up just as Comet's wingtips brushed the surface of the water, sending up a splash of ocean spray.
Comet suddenly veered off and landed on a iceberg, ducking down behind a thick layer of ice. I dismounted and walked around to the front of the iceberg, searching the ocean for the ship Comet had hidden from. I walked to the tip of the iceberg while Comet slowly and carefully crept up behind me. I peered from the edge of the ice at the ship, startled to see a collection of dragons on the deck. I couldn't distinguish the dragons very well, nor could I hope to pick out any humans. But I watched from afar, trying to see what was happening. I called out to Comet, and she came up beside me, ears perked up and listening. I hopped on her back, and keeping low and close to the ocean, we flew closer. We stopped, still a good while away, but I was able to see more clearly. A motion caught my eye, moving in the air not too far from the ship, and I curiously looked over. A figure, clearly not a dragon, dropped from the sky, and I almost started to chase after it. But the figure extended what seemed to be small wings and flew down to the ship, grasping the sail and sliding down to the deck.
Comet and I both cocked our heads at the strange sight, and my heart leaped as my eyes retrained on the dragons on the boat.
Standing protectively beside the figure was a black dragon. A Night Fury.
My heart stopped beating for a second, and I peered closer, unsure if it was a trick of my eyes or not. I blinked several times, knowing it had to be false, had to be a figment of my imagination. But the dragon flew off and into the clouds, trainer in tow, and I knew my mind was not fooling me. But my chances to unite with the Night Fury had vanished, and wishing I had acted sooner, I turned back towards the Sanctuary. The whole flight home, questions pounded and revolved in my head.
Who was that? Was I not the only one to survive? Who could it be? How did they escape? Why didn't they come looking for me sooner? Why were they on that ship? Who were the others? I had to force myself to stop before my questions overloaded my common sense.
As I neared the Sanctuary, I saw Valka and Cloudjumper. I almost flew up to greet them, when I saw another figure grasped in the arms of a dragon behind her. The dragons of the sanctuary flew behind her. Confused, I followed behind, but not so near as to cause suspicion or alert others to our flew into the Sanctuary, and I noticed Valka had her armor on. She only ever put her armor on when flying far enough out to deem it necessary. I decided to let her deal with what I supposed was a dragon trapper by herself. Comet and I returned through our normal shortcut, and we flew to a rock pillar in the center of the main chamber. She perched herself on the top, glancing around at the dragons that were returning and flying around. I hopped down, precariously perched on a rock ledge. The waters below me shimmered, and I slowly began climbing down towards a comfortable looking nook.
I lowered my feet down to gaps in the rock, my hand brushing the mossy surface, searching for handholds. The little nook I had chosen was not easily reachable, but I noticed a outcrop from where I could jump. I shimmied across a ledge, knocking dirt and pebbles off, hearing them hit the water below with a sploosh. Taking a deep breath, I continued, cherishing the exhilarating feeling of being high up, being able to climb freely, trusting in my own strength and skill. I understood why Comet loved flying so much.
I pulled myself up onto the rock outcrop, and it held steady, fused with the rocks behind it. The nook was farther away than I had first thought, but not too far away. Comet snorted from above, looking down at me. I grinned at her, accepting her challenge, then turned back to the task at hand. I took a step backwards, until my foot was aligned with the back edge of the rock below me. Taking a deep breath, I kept my eyes focused on the nook, determined as ever. I closed my eyes for a second, reopening them as I took one quick step forwards, and then another, and then I was flying through the air, and I felt weightless, until my feet hit the stone of the nook and I stumbled forwards.
Comet let out a cry as I landed and toppled over, afraid I was getting ready to fall off. But I merely landed on my bottom, letting out a ringing laugh. I scooted to the edge of the nook, dangling my feet over, swishing them through the open air. Comet flew down and landed beside me, laying down and shooting me a look. I smiled smugly at her, knowing she thought I wasn't going to make it. She yawned and curled up beside me anyways, her tail hanging limply over the edge.
I looked at her, studying her black face. She was my friend, always had been, and I would never trade her for anything else. I took the green pendant that hung around her neck in my hands, turning it over to reveal thin lines on the smooth underside. I had carefully carved it there with a knife myself when I gave it to her. The lines read two names: Lucaria & Comet. I gazed at the small, graceful letters, smiling to myself. The green of the pendant reflected in my own forest green eyes, and I stroked the smooth surface of the stone. Comet lifted her head and glanced down at my hands, looking back up at me with her eyes widened. I pressed the pendant to her nose, and she closed her eyes. I leaned down and placed my forehead against the pendant as well. The pendant was a symbol of our unity, of our friendship, of our soul.
I saw Valka enter the sanctuary through a small tunnel, meeting up with Cloudjumper. They leapt to the wall, Cloudjumper upside down and Valka perched on the base of his wing. She scanned the sanctuary, eyes missing me. Suddenly, another figure emerged from the same tunnel, stumbling out on one synthetic leg, pausing as he gazed upon the swirling cluster of dragons in front of him.
And a Night Fury followed. A Night Fury, slightly larger than Comet, emerged after the boy, watching the dragons as well. For an unknown reason, I leaned in closer to Comet in an attempt to conceal myself. Valka, sliding down with Cloudjumper's assistance, approached the boy.
I watched them curiously, never having met another outsider since Valka. I was unsure of the newcomer, not sure why Valka brought him to our sanctuary, if there was any chance he was allied with Drago. But I trusted her judgement.
Valka went over to the other Night Fury, studying it and laughing as it played with her. I couldn't help smiling to myself. I looked over at Comet, who had a mixture of excitement and anxiety in her eyes. I stroked her snout and ears, trying to calm her down. She showed no signs of willing to move though, and kept her eyes trained on the Night Fury below us.
I almost let out an audible laugh as Cloudjumper scared off a frenzy of baby dragons that were surrounding the new Night Fury. I looked over to Valka and the boy, who were gazing down upon the Great Bewilderbeast. The mighty being lifted its massive head, bringing it face-to-face with Valka and the boy. Valka bowed, as did the others dragons, and I felt the compulsive need to bow as well. The boy just gazed in wonder upon the majestic creature. After a few seconds studying the boy, it blew a small breath of ice upon his face, and I smiled, knowing it was a sign of approval. I myself had gone through the same ritual when I had first arrived.
Suddenly Valka looked at us, catching my eye. She turned to the boy, saying something to him, and he looked out our way, thankfully not spotting us hidden behind the rock. But Valka knew we were there, and I knew what was bound to happen next.
"Lucaria?" She called, a smile spreading across her face, "There's someone you need to meet."