Hiccup came in just as Amara was almost finished cooking "Hi, Dad. Dinner's almost ready."
Deciding it would be best to stay on hiccups good side, Roxanna slowly started talking to him about bane, being sure to mention his diet and how it affected his amber. She also went on a little bit about her theory why they seemed to hunt dragons that Amara had helped her think out.
Hiccup looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Yeah, that would explain it, actually... it kinda creates a sort of destructive cycle in that case, huh? They eat the dragons for the internal flame and Stoker-Class Gel, but the meat makes them need to hunt daily just to keep from getting sick, right? So... where is he now?" He asked curiously while Amara continued to cook.
"Outside. They're a bit overly respectful and since he knows this isn't my home he won't come inside without being officially invited. That cock crowing... is actually him." She explained.
Hiccup nodded. "Then I supposed I should go out to greet him and invite him, shouldn't I? You are both our guests, after all." He said softly. "If you would come with me, Roxanna?"
"Sure." She replied, following him out. Upon seeing hiccup and Roxanna, bane squawked 'ba-kurk?' like a chicken and turned his head 180 to look at them curiously.
Hiccup smiled. "He is quite talented, isn't he?" He said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't greet you sooner, Bane. I never meant to make you feel unwelcome." He said, stopping barely away from arm's reach of the dragon, closing his eyes and calmly holding his arm out.
"I don't know about talented but he does get bored easily-bane, don't do that." She sighed heavily as she heard the tell-tale sound of the dragon putting hiccups hand in his mouth. He made the sound of a creaky hinge shutting as he closed his mouth. But as Roxanna scolded him, he opened up again. He'd been very gentle and was just being silly but knew he'd been told off. "Next time you have to greet him, just bow ok? It'll save you getting a spittle covered hand." She said.
Hiccup chuckled. "It's not as bad as Toothless likes to get. He'll pounce on me and start licking me all over. Be careful: Night Fury spittle never washes out of leather flight suits." He warned, smiling softy. "Won't you come in, Bane? As long as you and your rider are guests of Berk, my home is open to you both." He said, gesturing inside to be a good host and let his newest guest in first.
Bane slowly headed in after Roxanna nodded, enforcing that it was ok. She followed in after him.
Hiccup smiled, sitting down at the table, pulling out a quill pen and the book of Dragons, opening to the nearest empty page. "Would you mind posing with your wings open for me, Bane? I need to draw one of your breed for the Book of Dragons, and we can't get close enough to wild ones."
Bane tilted his head and pulled faces to try make hiccup laugh instead of look so serious, but did as asked and extended his wings out carefully all the way.
Hiccup chuckled, inking his quill with practised ease as he worked to sketch the dragon before him in ink. it didn't take very long before he had the basic form as well as wing patterns done, and could add body patterns while the dragon moved around. He completely finished by the time everyone's dinner was cooked, and they had gathered. He used a bit of sand to help dry the ink so the pages wouldn't stick together. "There..." He said, a bright smile on his face. "We'll have to write info on it down, but otherwise, it's finished." Amara beamed. "And just in time for Dinner!"
Bane relaxed now, lying down on his back. "Good boy, Beau." Roxanna praised him as she joined them at the table.
Amara smiled, serving Stormfly her dinner of roast chicken as well before sitting down to eat with her family and their guest. Dinner was a quiet affair, with Toothless and Stormfly playfully greeting Bane after they finished their dinner, and the humans just having comfortable dinner conversation.
Roxanna listened more than she spoke. 'Children should be seen and not heard' had been her family's favourite motto growing up, though really they preferred neither.
I t was still a comfortable meal, and Amara soon was able to work at washing the dishes again, as was the norm.
Roxanna was right there to help. Bane was certainly more of a people dragon as he pestered Amara's parents for their attention while Roxanna was busy.
Astrid smiled, and Amara's grandmother was more than happy to play with the Deathsong as well, her years living among dragons years ago resurfacing. "Roxanna, your dragon is beautiful!" Valka said, slowly finding Bane's favourite spots to be pet or scratched.
"There's a saying in our family back home, 'the more beautiful the snake, the more poisonous the bite'. He acts all sweet and innocent but he can be a handful when he's bored." She said, putting some clean plates away. Bane hissed like a snake as Roxanna said the word.
Valka smiled and laughed at that hiss. "He's smart too... knowing sounds that go with different animals?" She asked Roxanna, her eyes lighting up.
"He knows too much and copies any noise he hears. Like, sheep, cows, pigs, horses, birds, donkeys... even other dragons." Roxanna replied as bane imitated each animal as she said them. "Give it a try."
"That's a very unique skill...it may help in locating groups of rarer dragons...my poor blinded Hobblegrunt hasn't been seen in weeks, and I can't imitate that dragon's call to try to help find it." She said softly, as sad tone to her voice. Amara finished draining the wash tub after finishing washing the dishes and got the Book of Dragons, opening to the back of the Hobblegrunt page to show Roxanna that dragon's form by touch.
Roxanna thought for a moment then spoke to bane. "Bane, remember that little guy that followed you about everywhere a few months back? Finn I think? What did he sound like?" She asked. Bane tilted his head then relayed the sound, knowing which she was expecting. It was, indeed, a hobblegrunt albeit a young one.
Valka's eyes softened at hearing that sound come from him. "Roxanna... after morning flying lessons with Amara... could you and Bane help me try to find that Hobblegrunt tomorrow?" Hiccup's eyes widened, noticing the advantage. "Of course... dragons find each other by their call... and will answer when they hear the call of their breed."
"Sure, we don't mind, do we boy? Besides, by then we might possibly be able to bring Amara with us." Roxanna said.
"One can hope." Hiccup said, having more confidence after seeing her have made friends with Bane at the Academy that day. "Don't stay up too late, girls." Amara sighed. "Yeah, days start with the sun, I know, Dad." Amara then turned to the back of the page on the Red Death to let Roxanna feel the form.
"Feels huge. Definitely an Ukrainian Ironbelly. No doubt about it. She must have gotten lost as a youngster and ended up here." She mused.
"According to Dad, she was overly cruel to the smaller dragons she had control over... and the cause of Berk's previous war with the dragons... they came to raid us at her command to bring her food. If they didn't bring enough, she'd eat THEM, according to Dad's story." Amara said.
"No doubt about it. But at least that's over with. I wonder how she got all the way out here without anyone noticing though?" Roxanna mused. "Anyway, hopefully tomorrow at the end of your lesson you could join us to find that hobblegrunt." She smiled.
"That's true... and with a dragon, it'd be easier for you to meet our soothsayer and healer, Gothi... she lives in a hut up on the rock tower above the great hall." Amara smiled eagerly.
"True. So, who do you want to practice on tomorrow? I don't think toothless will be suitable for the next lesson as it's guidance and he needs extra support than the average dragon." Roxanna asked.
"True... I'd have to think about it overnight." Amara said softly. "Are there any dragons you wanted to hear what the book says about them?"
"I think that's enough for tonight. We can read about more tomorrow." Roxanna said, yawning and stretching.
Amara nodded, putting the Book of Dragons away and showing the way upstairs for Bane's benefit. "Alright, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well, you two."
Bane settled down by the bed, his head up on the pillow. "Thanks. Goodnight Amara. Sweet dreams." Roxanna replied as she closed the door.
Amara nodded, heading to bed as usual, knowing the normal cycle would repeat again tomorrow for breakfast.
Roxanna slept a little bit easier that night, now bane was snoring away beside her.
Amara was up at the crack of dawn again, thinking more on which dragon to ask to borrow today, while also waiting for Roxanna to get up so they could get human and dragon breakfasts together, as she wanted to be sure their guest, and who Amara hoped would be a friend, had the right nutrition for her dragon.
Roxanna came down after a while, dressed in the clothes they'd found her in, though thankfully these had been washed and dried. She felt a lot more like herself in her high waisted dark grey shorts, crimson red tank top, over the knee socks, her high tops, all finished with her black cloak, the inside of which was lined with red. "Morning." She said, yawning a little as she walked down the stairs, followed by Bane who choose to wriggle down on his back.
"Morning, Roxanna. I didn't quite remember what the right ratio of vegetables to meat was for Bane's breakfast... care to help me out in getting the morning meal?"Amara asked cheerfully.
"About 70 percent veg, 25 percent oily fish and maybe 5 percent meat." She replied.
Amara nodded, smiling softly. "Alright, I'll be back soon with breakfast for all, just relax, ok?" she said softly.
"Ok. We'll still be here." Roxanna said, sitting down. Bane nuzzled her hand for attention, hissing like a snake.
Amara giggled, taking the baskets for the dragons and getting their breakfast set up, as well as ingredients for a traditional Berk Porridge, and returning to make the porridge over the fire, giving Toothless, Stormfly, and Bane their breakfasts before starting on the humans.
Bane was a very polite eater for a dragon. Instead of slopping the food everywhere, he ate slowly and thoughtfully, not dropping a single crumb.
Amara smiled, finishing the porridge by the time her parents came down for breakfast.
"I'm thinking that, if it's alright, we should use the meatlug again... gronkle was it? She seems easiest to manoeuvre." Roxanna suggested as they sat down to breakfast.
"I could go ask Fishlegs if he'd mind if we borrow her. Meatlug is her name, but Gronkle is her breed." Amara said, nodding.
Yes, that one. She'd be good to practice on." She said.
"I'll ask him after breakfast, while you go get Bane's saddle from Gobber, ok?"
"I think we can manage that, right Beau?" Roxanna asked the deathsong. Beau Bane lifted his head from his food and chirped like a bird. "Pretty sure that's a yes." Roxanna chuckled.
Amara nodded, smiling softly. "What would you call Meatlug's breed where you're from?"
"She's a little bit like a welsh green but way smaller." She replied. "They're the most placid of dragons but still very dangerous." She added.
"Do those dragons actually spew lava for their fire? Do dragons where you're from have a shot limit?" Amara was eager to ask.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen one and the books with more information on them is kept in the restricted area of the library." She explained. "I don't think they do but I don't think anyone has ever tried counting." She added.
"Most dragon species here have a 6-shot limit...one species, which we call the Whispering Death, actually has a shot limit of 10, though."
"I see. The dragons I know of kill instantly. Being so fast and aggressive if a fireball misses then they'll hunt you down and tear you apart. Its not advisable to try to count them." Roxanna explained.
"So nobody where you live knows how to train them... or live with them?" Amara asked, Hiccup looked surprised as well. "When a Dragon trusts you, it's first instinct is to protect you."
"No, where I'm from they view people as food. They'd eat you as soon as they look at you." She replied. "Their first instinct is kill."
Hiccup smiled. "For generations, we thought that, too...until I met Toothless and trained him. First day of 'dragon lessons', where we taught our teens to fight and kill dragons, the overall lesson was that 'a dragon will always go for the kill'...but the evening before that, I'd cut Toothless loose, he had me at his mercy...and instead of killing me, he roared in my face and ran away." Toothless nodded, cooing. "Have people in your world tried to kill dragons as well?"
"Only like a few hundred years back. They're classed as protected now. We've tried to befriend them too. Millions have lost their lives in trying to help them. The only one who's ever come close was a half giant. Humans just happen to be one of their favourite food. When I found bane's egg I thought it was a bird's egg. When he hatched it took me a while to figure it out and by then it was too late to think anything scary of him and he'd had no outside influence. Or at least not from other dragons." She explained.
They nodded. "Maybe you could use what you learn of our dragons to help bring peace to humans and dragons in your homeland?" Amara asked. "And have you ever heard of a massive, water-dwelling dragon with tusks that breathes ice instead of fire?"
"I doubt it but who knows? As for a water dragon, not really but the dragons I have heard about are just the basics." She explained.
"Well, that one is what we call the Bewilderbeast." Amara said.
"You really have creative names for them hu?" She asked, trying to be polite.
"One could say that...or strange, or unique." Amara said softly as she finished her breakfast.
"...I guess." She agreed, choosing not to mention that her dad was named after the involuntary movement of the diaphragmmuscles that most found irritating or a British term for something unexpected and unpleasant. "Are we going down to the cove again to practice? Or would you rather go elsewhere?" Roxanna asked.
"The cove would probably be the easiest place to practice." She said softly, standing up and waiting for Roxanna to join her before wishing her father a good day of "Chiefing" and heading outside. "You and Beau Bane remember the way to Gobber's shop? I'll pass it on the way to Fishlegs' place, anyway, so I can walk with you if you need it." She said with a friendly smile.
"I think we'll manage, right boy?" She asked. The dragon wagged his tail like a dog but purred like a cat. Roxanna put her hand on him and let him lead the way.
Amara nodded, smiling and making her way over to Fishlegs' house. Gobber grinned when he saw the Deathsong and his rider come up. "Ah! Perfect timing, Roxanna! I just finished the saddle! Simple form, light but strong Gronkle Iron frame, finest Leather on Berk, with wool between layers of leather to give both you and your dragon comfort." He said, presenting Roxanna with the saddle.
"Beautiful." She uttered, running her hand over it, feeling it's form and craftsmanship. "Are you sure you don't want anything for it?" She asked.
"Well..." He looked sheepish. "The Chief had asked me to try to help him with a present for his wife... for their anniversary. He'd wanted a figure of his wife's dragon in Amber, but... that is notoriously hard to dig up, and all the deposits on Berk have run dry." He said softly.
"Looks like it's meat for lunch, bane. It'll be much easier to carve that way." She said. "In the meantime though, could you possibly tighten this ring for me? It's a family heirloom." She asked, taking the ring from her pocket where she'd kept it safe.
"Thank you so much, lass. You're a lifesaver." He told them with a grateful smile. "No problem at all... about how much do you need it tightened?" He asked, falling into work mode once again.
Roxanna put it on her ring finger, "Not terribly much but enough to stop it slipping off." She explained, showing him.
Gobber nodded, smiling. "Alright. I should be done with it by sundown at the latest."
"No rush. Thanks again for this." She said as she went over to bane and started fitting his saddle. Gobber had seen many things in his time but the girls movements confused and worried him slightly. But before he could ask her about it they headed off to find Amara.
Amara was standing beside Meatlug, thanking Fishlegs again for letting them borrow her for the day.
Bane was eager to go greet them but remained patient and walked over, carrying Roxanna carefully. "All set to go?" She asked as bane stopped.
She nodded, getting on Meatlug as Roxanna spoke. "Yeah." She said, as Fishlegs whispered something to the Gronkle for travel instructions prior to the lesson itself.
They headed down to the cove and Roxanna dismounted, letting bane go look around. "Ok, same as yesterday. You're just a passenger. Calm your mind and close your eyes. When you feel like you're at the same stage we were at yesterday, before toothless flew, open your eyes and we'll take it from there. Just take your time and breathe." She explained.
Amara nodded, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths as she meditated, slowly calming and feeling the area around her. It took her a bit longer today, but soon enough she opened her eyes to signal she was ready.
"Ok, now remember that feeling." She said as she moved to stand at meatlug's side. "Now, this little sweetie has a very thick skin so don't worry about hurting her, we'll be lucky if she even feels it." Roxanna said as she put her hands on Amara's leg. "To encourage the dragon to move the direction you want, I apply pressure... once they move away, release." She said, pushing on her thigh, rather than her lower leg. "The reward is the release. To encourage lift, lean forwards, lifting yourself off her back. This gives her freedom to move and leaning forward encourages this. Likewise, going down, shift your weight back and sit deep. That last part will take a lot of time but they'll understand what you want by the shifting of your weight and guiding them down." She said, letting go of her leg as Meatlug moved then patting the dragon to praise her. "Give it a go."
Amara nodded, practising as instructed. By the time lunch came around, she had become at least competent enough to get Meatlug to fly a simple search pattern around the cove.
"Wonderful." Roxanna praised them, scratching under the gronkles chin. "I think we should leave it there for today and pick up again tomorrow." She suggested. "But I do think you're ready to come with us to find the hobblegrunt if you want to? After lunch, of course." She added.
Amara nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
Bane and meatlug growled in agreement at lunch certainly did sound like a good idea.
Amara laughed lightly. "Alright, let's gather up your Lunch before we head out, Meatlug." she said, patting the Gronkle affectionately, letting the dragon pick out the rocks that were then put in her meal basket.
"Meat for lunch for Bane. I promised gobber that we'd give him some amber." Roxanna told Amara.
Amara nodded, hooking the filled basket onto Meatlug's saddle. "Alright, we'll swing by the house to get Bane's basket, then you can set it up while I get lunch for us." She said, smiling and getting ready to head out.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll go in front so meatlug should follow but try guide her yourself ok? Every time you mount up you should think of it as practice." She replied, getting on bane.
Amara nodded, getting situated as they took off and headed back to the village together. When they landed, she gave Meatlug her lunch and went to help Roxanna with Bane's lunch, also getting ingredients for a yak milk stew for lunch. Once they returned, it wouldn't be long before the meal was ready.
Roxanna ensured that bane ate just enough meat to harden his amber before letting him start on his usual diet.
Amara smiled softly, the stew ready once Bane was started on his usual diet.
"Once he's finished I'll have enough time to help clean up before I have to take him over to gobber's." She told Amara.
"Alright. I hope you enjoy the stew." She said, dishing it up to everyone.
Yak stew was... an acquired taste it seemed, though back home they didn't add milk to stews so it was very different for Roxanna. She ate half to be polite before insisting she was full and excusing herself to check on bane.
The rest of the family enjoyed it, and Amara was understanding, to say the least. She figured and hoped it was just a cultural difference in cooking. As they started to clear the dishes, she gave her mother a look. "Mum... promise me you won't try to make yaknog again this Snoggletog."
Roxanna hurried bane over to gobber's so that the amber wouldn't cause him too much discomfort. He soon spat up a remarkably huge but perfect piece in one go. Roxanna fed him handfuls of grass to calm his furnace before taking him back to meet up with Amara again.
Gobber smiled, getting his chisel and hammer hand. "Thanks! Oh, when you have a few moments, I heard about your excursion with Valka...but when you're free, Gothi would like to see ya." He said, pointing to the rock spire above the Great Hall. "She came around askin' about ya when I started work on the ring... it's done, by the way." He said, nodding to the resized ring as Roxanna was helping her dragon.
"Ok, I'll visit before we go meet her." She promised.
"Alright. Take care... and thanks again!"he beamed, waving.
"You're welcome." She replied before hurrying to meet up with Amara and Valka.
Amara smiled, already doing a bit of figure-eight practising with Meatlug while they waited. "All set?" She asked Roxanna as she arrived.
"Yes, all set. I need to go back afterwards but all set now." She said, pulling Bane up close by.
Amara nodded, looking to Valka. "Where did you last see your Hobblegrunt, Grandmother?" Valka nodded, climbing onto her Stormcutter, Cloudjumper. "This way." She said, leading the way to the last location she'd seen it, a ways off the shore where Roxanna had been found. "He was trying to fish out around here."
"Bane?" Roxanna turned to her deathsong as she got off. Bane snorted then started to make the hobblegrunt noise. Roxanna walked around with him as he continued calling. "You're sure it was here?" She asked Valka, a little concerned. "Bane and I are going to take a look around." She said, mounting up and taking off. They flew low and close to the shore for a while before coming back. "I think I've found him... but there's a slight problem." She said when she landed. "He's got himself stuck in a nest of something buzzing." She said explained.
"Show me." Valka said softly, manoeuvring Cloudjumper to follow Bane, Amara using this time to practice and directing Meatlug to follow them.
Roxanna lead the way on bane to where she'd heard the hobblegrunt. Bane made the noise again and something replied in a similar noise from the end of a long dark tunnel, shortly after which came an aggressive buzzing noise.
Amara rubbed Meatlug gently. "Can you help us out to see in there with a Lava Blast, girl?" In response, she shot a large glob of lava toward a dip near the entrance, which actually gave off enough light for Valka, Amara, Cloudjumper, Beau Bane, and herself to see by.
A moment later a swarm of small dark dragons flew out, past them at an amazing speed. Roxanna steadied bane and stopped at the entrance to the cave where she hopped off. "I'll go check it out." She told the.
Amara nodded, doing her best to relax. "Were those... Smokebreaths, Grandmother? I've only ever seen them in pictures in the Book of Dragons." She said curiously.
"That's right. The buzz was from their wings." Valka confirmed.
Amara nodded, waiting nervously for Roxanna and Bane to return with the Hobblegrunt.
"Are you wanting to follow?" Valka asked with a grin, figuring that Amara was at that curious stage, something that wouldn't end as she probably inherited from her parents.
"Kind of... I mean... Dad's told me of Smokebreath nests, but I've never seen them. And why is there a new nest on Berk, and how did your blind Hobblegrunt get attracted into and stuck inside?" She said, the questions coming one after the other.
"He's blind so if they were asleep he wouldn't have known but who knows?" She shrugged. "I just hope he's ok."
"Should we go in to see? I mean, if all else fails, Cloudjumper and Meatlug can hold flames in their mouths to light the way, right?"
"Meatlug will fit but not cloudjumper. That's why she left beau bane outside." She explained. "Most left the nest so we should be ok." She added. "Besides, it's not very responsible to let her go in alone."
Amara nodded, having Meatlug fly over to the cave entrance, waiting for her Grandmother to touch down on the rock beside her before they headed in after them. Valka told Cloudjumper to keep watch, and call if the Smokebreaths returned before they headed inside.
Roxanna was a little ways inside. Without Bane to guide her she was taking it slowly and using her hand on the side of the cave to steady herself.
"Hey... we're here to try to help a bit... Cloudjumper is gonna keep watch to let us know when the Smokebreaths return." Amara said softly. "Meatlug, some light, please?"
"That's an idea." Roxanna said as she continued walking.
Meatlug started to bring up a fireball for light, but then saw a pile of especially tasty-looking rocks and decided to have a 'snack', which killed the light. "Well... so much for that idea. Too bad there was so much on Dad's Chiefing list today... we could have used Toothless' help here... he can see with sound..."
"You didn't have to follow." Roxanna said, picking her way carefully as it sloped down.
"I've never seen a Smothering Smokebreath nest... according to the Book of Dragons, they steal metal to make their nests to protect themselves from larger dragons." Amara said, and Valka laughed. "The curiosity and dragon affinity runs in the family. She takes after her father, who takes after me." Valka said. "Oh... if only I could see more than a few inches from my face..."
"Are you really struggling back there?" Roxanna asked as she tried not to slip down a particularly slippery stone. "Lumos." She uttered, holding her left hand out to the side. A bright globe of light shone just above her palm and hovered there, staying between her fingers though never touching them. "I think he's just a bit further... be careful, it starts to get slippery. He must have slid down." She said, not giving what she'd done a second thought.
Amara nodded, wanting to ask about the globe of light, but deciding to wait until their rescue went through, using her skills from having lived through Berk Winters to deal with the slippery slope, reaching her hand back to her Grandmother, in case she needed it.
"W-what... is that?!" Valka asked, a note of worry in her voice. "Hmm?" Rox asked, glancing back, more so she could hear clearer. "In your hand!" Valka said, a hand on Amara's shoulder as though to pull her back if the girl turned out to be violent. "...it's... well... light. You said you wanted to see." Roxanna explained calmly.
"Grandmother, it's not that much different from Dad's canisters of Zippleback Gas, or his dragon blade that he lights on fire, is it? What matters is saving your Hobblegrunt, right?" Amara asked, quick to the defence of her friend.
Valka nodded. Roxanna shook her head. From back at the mouth of the cave, bane let out the noise again. Somewhere a little further ahead a hobblegrunt replied. Turning a corner past a large boulder they saw the poor old dragon, lying there and looking sorry for himself. "This what you were looking for?" She asked them.
Valka gasped nodding. "Oh, you poor thing... what happened to you?" She said, soothing her Hobblegrunt. In the light of Roxanna's spell, Amara could see the eyes, and whispered to Roxanna he was just like her, in how much sight he had. The Hobblegrunt let out a soft cry at Valka's familiar scent. Then they saw: Its wing was trapped under a fallen chunk of metal from the Smokebreath nest. "We need to get it's wing out from under that..." Amara said. "Can you use my voice and touch on my arm to help find the thing to help us lift it, Roxanna?"
"If you step aside I can move it." She replied. "How high do you want it?"
"About 6-10 inches... high enough that he can get it free so we can get him out of here." Amara replied.
Roxanna nodded and waited a moment for them to move then, just using her right hand she pointing with her finger and made a swish and flick motion as she said "Winggardium leviosa." The chunk of metal wobbled slightly then slowly lifted up about a foot in the air.
Valka was a bit unnerved, but once his wing was free, the Hobblegrunt nuzzled up to her, distracting her from the strange occurrences. She proceeded to guide the blind Hobblegrunt outside, leaving the girls to follow.
Bane was a box of excitement as he sat outside, waiting for them, his long tail wiggling like a snake as he saw the light coming from Roxanna's hand getting closer.
Valka called Cloudjumper over, getting the hurt Hobblegrunt onto him behind his saddle. "I'll meet you girls back home. Roxanna, Beau Bane... thank you for helping me find him... trapped as he was... I don't like to think what might have happened to him."
"Think nothing of it. Bane just likes showing off but we're glad he's ok." She replied. Bane chirped in agreement.
"Thank you again... He can barely change his colour any more... he's probably nearly starved... he owes his life to you and Bane." The Hobblegrunt let out an appreciative sound, it's head turning toward the sound of Roxanna's voice.
"Really, it's quite alright. I think we should be getting back. We need to return meatlug and then visit someone." She explained as she mounted up on beau bane.
Amara smiled, and Valka nodded. "Alright, I'll meet you girls back at the house. Try not to take too long...first Freeze of the season is going to be tonight, so you'll want to be inside where it's warm." She said, flying ahead on Cloudjumper while Amara got on Meatlug.
