That's it. No more transformations. The pain is unbearable.
Shadow groaned as she woke up. Her entire body hurt and her muscles ached. She felt as if every single muscle in her body had been heated, stretched beyond its limit, cooled and contracted. She felt incredibly stiff.
Shadow groaned painfully as she sat up, making a note of her surroundings. Her tired eyes flickered over the room as she tried to guess where she was. She was lying in a bed covered in furs - definitely not the cot in Gothi's hut – and there was a desk to one side covered in paper, sketches and drawings. Near the foot of the bed was a large slab of stone scorched black with fire.
She had never seen anyone's room before, in fact she couldn't recall ever being in someone's house while she was here. She took a quick look at the sketches on the desk, Hiccup's work obviously. This must have been Hiccup's room.
Why the hell was she in Hiccup's room?
She shook her head. First, she needed to check for injuries. With this in mind, she pulled her body off the bed to sit on the side and she let the furs fall off her body. Her armor was gone, including her boots and gauntlets, but she was still clad in her black leggings and dark grey undershirt. But those were covered in dirt, sweat and blood and felt icky on her skin.
She looked around the room and noticed a set of clothes on the bedside table, identical to what she was already wearing, but nice and clean. She reached over and grabbed a shirt and pair of leggings before standing up to get changed.
There was a full length mirror in the corner, and she walked over to it so she could check her reflection. Her face had a few minor bruises, but was overall ok. Her teeth had returned to their normal size so that was good too.
Next she pulled off her shirt to check her upper body, and she was met with bandages over her chest. Those were from ages ago. Possibly her first transformation here on the new moon night. She would need to change those. Thankfully, Hiccup had left a roll of bandages nearby too. Shadow pulled of the bandages to inspect her wounds.
All the scars on her body were exposed to her. The slash from a sword in Spain, the arrow wounds from Scotland. And the many other lacerations and puncture wounds she had suffered from in her life. She was used to looking at those scars, they didn't cause her pain. Because she knew that she had given one just like them to whoever gave her those scars. And eye for an eye. A scar for a scar.
A life for a life.
Shadow looked at the newer cuts, the ones that hadn't healed yet. Bruises from the fall into the cavern, nicks and marks from the Whispering Deaths spiny bodies, and gashes from the giant albino dragon she faced.
How long had it been since she had seen one of those last? She was the only living person left to have seen two of them face to face. She had actually seen three, but the first one was from a distance because of how young she was.
Shadow continued to inspect her body for wounds and bruises, and she was slightly shocked to see black scales growing over her back. She shook her head to herself as she remembered giving in to her urges, her desires to transform so she could fight the Whispering Death's. The Black Moon dragon had taken more than she wanted to give. It had been a near full moon when she faced the white beast, so she had to blame that for the dragons' reason for breaking free. The full moon was when she was at her peak of strength.
The scales she thought could be hidden under her clothing, it wouldn't be seen and could add an extra layer of protection, that and it would cause her too much pain to get rid of them. And the scales always fell out when she transformed into her full human form, so the appearance of black scales all over the room or purposely hidden would make everyone more wary.
After checking her entire body for cuts and bruises, and changing her bandages, she got dressed in the clean clothes and ran her hands through her short hair to comb it. She froze.
Of course the horns would still be there, but she noticed that they were shorter than she remembered when she fought. The horns were always the last things to loose when she transformed. It was an inconvenience that she still had them, but at least her hair hid them well. They had protected the back of her head from attacks, so she thought they could stay too in case for any sneak attacks from behind, until she got her normal strength back.
Finally, she was bandaged and dressed, then her stomach demanded food. She stepped out of the door and went down the stairs to the kitchen. Hiccup and Toothless were there, the former making his own breakfast while the latter munched on some fish.
"Shadow, its good to see you up. You took quite a few nasty hits from the Screaming Death. Gothi came and patched you up after the fight." Hiccup explained. "In case you were wondering, Gothi asked me to take you to my house to rest. She didn't want to drag you all the way up to her hut, and my house was closest."
So that explained why she was here then. He passed her a bowl of porridge and sat down with his own at the table. They ate in silence for a while before Toothless wandered up to her.
He warbled and rumbled in Dragoneese, saying that he was worried for her after watching what she did. He wanted to make sure she was ok, and also wanted them to get along better, since their friendship before had been tense at best.
She had risked her own life – and only known by Toothless, she risked exposing herself – to save the entire village and the dragon riders. He expressed his gratitude by regurgitating half a fish he ate for breakfast.
Hiccup groaned at the dragons' antics, but Shadow understood the gesture. Without a word of complaint, she grabbed the slimy fish and took a large bite of the raw flesh.
Hiccup gaped at her.
"Haven't you ever had sushi before?" she inquired as she chewed. He shook his head not understanding. "It's just a dish found in eastern countries made with raw fish."
The two of them sat in silence for a while, trying to get their minds back into gear. Hiccup didn't fully comprehend what he saw Shadow do, and didn't understand what she did to drive it away. Surely, he thought, fire blasts from a dragon would do more damage to it than her human teeth and nails could. Granted she had unusually long and sharp teeth and claws and took it by surprise, but he still doubted what she did. He couldn't explain how she managed to drive it away.
Shadow was trying to come up with a lie or excuse to explain to Hiccup how she managed to almost kill the Screaming Death, but she couldn't come up with anything tangible. Her best bet was to dodge the questions when they came.
Hiccup wanted to ask all sorts of questions, in fact he was in the middle of questioning her before she ran off into the forest, and pretty much started the whole Whispering Death/Screaming Death issue. When he asked her certain questions, he noticed that she clammed up, especially when he wanted to know about the Black Moon dragon. She was incredibly secretive about it, and her link to it. It made him insatiably curious, but he realised now that if he became too forceful she wouldn't tell him anything.
He suspected that this mysterious link between the two of them may have something do with how she acts, fights and behaves in certain situations. He still didn't know what this link was, and he refused to believe the theory that the Gods were directly involved.
He decided that he would allow her to tell him in her own time, when she was comfortable. He would hint at the information but he wouldn't directly ask if it wasn't necessary.
After they ate, the three of them went outside and towards the academy. Everyone was on their way there and wanted to know what happened with Shadow. Once they arrived, Hiccup watched as Shadow retreated within herself, and he sensed that she didn't want to speak about what she did to that monster. Fishlegs tried to pester her about it, but she didn't relent. In fact, Hiccup saw her retreat further into her own mind.
He wanted as much as the others to understand what happened in that fight, but he understood better than them that she had to be wanting to talk to them about it, but he didn't exactly know how.
Everyone was tired after the events of the last few days, the outbreak of eel pox and the tough day of riding and searching, the fight with three hatchling Whispering Deaths, and the massive battle for their lives against the new Screaming Death, a dragon which they knew almost nothing about except their own observations.
They seriously needed a break. Snotlout was the one to first suggest this. Everyone agreed readily and Hiccup relented. Then the plans changed, and they wanted to go on their own little camping expedition.
Hiccup relented again.
The plan was that they would go to Dragon Island – the old home of the Red Death – and spend some time camping there to unwind.
After they decided the details, everyone went to grab supplies. Hiccup had gotten Shadow some more clothes and a bag to put her things in, and soon everyone was ready to leave. Stoick saw them off from the entrance to the academy.
The group of them flew off in the morning sun towards the island, excited for their camping trip and a chance to relax. Quite a few hours later, the island came into view and they began to search from the skies a place to stay.
They found the perfect place right next to a river with lush green grass and trees surrounding the clearing. It was large enough for them all and their dragons to move around without bumping into anyone. They landed and dismounted from their dragons, Shadow hopped off Toothless's saddle and grabbed her pack.
"You know Shadow, if you are going to stay with us at Berk, we will need to look into getting you your own dragon. I don't think you and Hiccup can double up every time we go anywhere." Comment Ruffnut. Shadow just chuckled and shook her head no.
"In case you haven't noticed, every dragon that comes near me becomes hostile, the only reason I get along with Toothless is because we reached a mutual understanding. We tolerate each other. And besides, I don't really get along with any other dragon, even your dragons still don't like me, they don't trust me and I don't trust them." She answered.
"But yea, hypothetically, if you could have a dragon, what kind would it be?" asked Tuffnut. Shadow thought for a moment.
"Well, technically I already have a dragon. The Black Moon. I don't think I would trade it for anything else."
"I still don't understand though. You said that where it goes, you follow. How exactly does that work? If you and the dragon follow the same path, shouldn't you two be connected like Hiccup and Toothless are, with it walking beside you?" asked Fishlegs.
Shadow could sense the questions coming, and she did her best to satisfy their questioning gazes without giving herself away.
"The dragon and I… don't fully get along. I follow it, yes, but we cannot walk side by side with each other. We are individuals. But we both understand the importance of each other, and we walk the earth together. Separate but as one to keep each other alive." She said.
It was the truth, the dragon always fought for dominance, it was a simple part of its instinct and nature so she didn't fight it that much. When in her human form, it was locked away and hidden, the opposite of what it is meant to be. It never liked the second rotation of the lunar cycle, but understood that it wasn't allowed to have full control, and it understood that she was important for it to keep it alive, as well as the rest of the species.
Her human form kept her alive in more ways than one, and it was grateful for that. They didn't get along sometimes because the dragon was locked away, but she allowed it to survive in this harsh and cruel world. It is for this reason that the dragon follows her, and why she follows it.
"You haven't really told us much about that dragon. I mean, you gave us a description of it, but, is there more you can tell us? I've been dying to put the Black Moon into the book of dragons. Could you tell us what its behavior is like, since you've seen it?" Asked Fishlegs curiously.
Shadow considered for a moment before speaking. As she spoke, the dragon riders set up their campsite.
"The Black Moon dragon is a very powerful creature, and it knows this very well. It is a being of strength and dominance, and will do anything to ensure this over any challenger. It mostly lives in solitude, constantly moving around from one location to another, but it will form alliances for its own benefit, however, it will always assume the alpha role. Not many creatures dare challenge it, but those that do have to follow their rules of combat, which consists of an intense stare-down and growls. The Black Moon considers itself, and pretty much is, one of the most deadly dragons in the entire known world. Its intelligence rivals a Night Fury, and it can think like a human can. As I said some time ago, it is very much like a Night Fury, but better in every way."
Toothless snorted his disagreement. The teens eyes were wide with wonder and admiration. Hiccup was still curious and saw his opportunity for learning more about the dragon.
"How would one challenge or stand up to a Black Moon dragon?" he asked her.
"If the dragon and a challenger were to get into a fight, and they wished to challenge the other for dominance, food, territory, a mate or anything they would have to go through a particular process. The opponent would hiss a verbal challenge in dragoneese to initiate the contest. The other would hiss the same word in reply, thus beginning the fight for the alpha role. The combatants would stamp their feet and stand in their strongest fighting stance, and one at a time would roar or growl at the other. The goal for them is to not flinch or break eye contact, and therefore yield to the victor."
"That is awesome. But, are you implying that dragons have their own language?" asked Fishlegs. He looked like he was going to faint from all this knowledge going to his head.
"Of course dragons have their own language. They speak Dragoneese, but there are also many different dialects because no two dragon roars are the same. But they share a common tongue and use it to communicate with one another and express their emotions. Some growls and hisses aren't even proper 'words' but carry strong meanings. I am fluent in their language and speak it as often as I do my own native tongue." She said. Fishlegs squealed with delight.
Even Hiccup was fascinated, and wanted to learn more.
"Can you teach us how to speak Dragoneese?" he asked. He couldn't stop the smile covering his face.
Shadow smiled in return. "Sure."
So after all that drama and a big fight, its time for some relaxing time. in the next few chapters, the gang will be learning more about Shadow and the Black Moon dragon, and maybe a few little tips and tricks along the way. :)
i love hearing your reviews for this story, and would like to know what you think Shadow should tell them. her past? the kinds of people shes met? and I'm thinking of having a truth or dare game between them all for laughs, shits and giggles. send me questions, dares and answers that you want me to write in future chapters. thanks everyone who reviewed and read my story. love ya!