Chapter 12

The Bloody Moon

The trees blur around me as I run. Paw steps surround me, but I keep on chasing the shadowy tail. It whizzes between trees as fast as lightning, it's owner knowing the forest like the claws on his paw. I reach out with both of my paws, curving my spine as I dig them into the earth and then push off with my hind legs. I can't see anything except the tail. If it escapes my sight, I could be lost in these dark woods for-

"Ow!" Something stumbles beside me and I slow down a bit. The male Deadly Nadder, Fireflight, is on his chest while he flaps his wings franticly. I stop, along with the rest of the hunting party, and turn to him. Misty is already helping him up.

"What happened?" she asks, looking down at his leg. I notice that it has various scratches and scrapes. "I got caught in a Hawthorne bush!" he whimpers, lifting his injured leg off the ground a little.

As Misty bends down to check it, I look around. The tail is gone, but instead a face replaces it. "What happened?" Solheart asks, and then sniffs the air, "I smell blood."

"It's alright." I reply, "Fireflight got snagged in Hawthorne, that's all."

Skull, the Boneknapper, drops a deer he was carrying and says, "I can carry him on my back."

"Thanks." The Nadder thanks wearily and climbs up his skeletal armor. I sniff the deer and then look at Solheart, "You should carry this. The clan will be more welcoming if you bring prey."

He nods and picks up the carcass. Turning around, he continues to lead us through the forest. The rabbit that I caught makes my mouth water as I carry it, but I know that my clan needs it more than me. We're almost at the camp anyways.

The Claws Crag, Falcon, and Fireflight are all burdened with their own prey that they've caught in this dark forest. I can tell that everyone's itching to get out of these woods. It's so dark that we couldn't see a thing when we first walked into it. But we had to feed our clan, so I led them along with two Fangs into the woodland.

Speaking of clan, I can hear them now. Silently running to catch up to Solheart, I stop him with my tail. He swivels his head towards me and I whisper, "Let me go first."

The Skullion nods and I step out of the shadows.

My deputy, Skurge, is slithering around a large shallow dip in the ground along with Whiplash. Inside the dip, many dragons are sleeping. There's a fire crackling in the middle, and they're all curled up around it.

Skurge stops when he sees me, but before he can slide towards us, Whiplash charges past him. The young Grapple Grounder skids to a halt in front of me and exclaims, "You're back! And you found prey! Good job, guys, I knew you co-"

His eyes widen in surprise as I feel Solheart come up behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see him shuffling his feet uncertainly. I jerk my head, but then remember that he can't see and nudge him gently. The Skullion nods and slowly walks up to Skurge, who has caught up to Whiplash. He lowers his head and drops the prey in front of the beta.

Skurge glances at it, and then looks at me. I nod my head and stand next to Solheart, "This is the newest member of our clan, Solheart."

He looks at the wingless dragon, surprised, and then asks, "I thought Skullions were myths."

I purr and reply, "Same here. But he's proved himself, and we've decided to let him join the clan."

Skurge nods slowly and mutters, "Welcome to the clan." I shoot him a small glare and say, "You and Whiplash go to sleep. I'll get two others to keep guard."

He and Whiplash walk down into the hollow, but not without Whiplash looking over his shoulder multiple times until Skurge cuffs him on the side of his head.

I pick up my rabbit and start a pile, right outside of the sleeping area. The rest of the Claws do the same and so does Solheart, except Fireflight goes to Dracen first to get healed. I nod to them, and then say to Solheart, "Make yourself at home."

He purrs quietly and I stumble wearily down to the hollow. Exhausted, I quickly wake up Skyflame and Aquamarine, explain Solheart to them, and then curl up next to Skurge and quickly fall asleep.

Morning

A scream reaches my ears and I jolt awake.

Scrambling to my paws, I see Amber on her side with Solheart looming over her. Panic flares in me as I watch the huge black dragon bend his head down to her. Letting out a fierce snarl, I bound towards them and jump in front of her.

Solheart jerks his head back in surprise and I raise my hackles. "What are you doing?" I hiss.

He takes a step backwards and says, "Nothing! I was sleeping and she just screamed!"

"What is that?" Amber exclaims, terror in her eyes. I look at her, and then realization dawns on me; seeing a terrifying dragon must've scared the scales off of her when she woke up.

By now, everybody's awake and in a battle stance. Viperfang and Dagger are positioned in front of Fernheart and the hatchlings, looking ready to murder.

Right as Zylah prepares to pounce, I stand in front of Solheart and say, "Wait, wait! It's okay, he's with us!"

Zylah gazes at me in confusion and then narrows her eyes at the Skullion. Amber scrambles to her feet, "What do you mean?"

I sigh and say, "Last night, while we were hunting, we came across Solheart. He proved himself worthy of joining our clan, and I have accepted him."

Everybody looks at me with disbelieving eyes. Solheart steps forward and says, "I'll try my best to earn your trust and my place in the clan…um…and I look forward to hunting and fighting alongside my clanmates."

Murmurs ripple through the crowd, but Skurge soon interrupts them, "Enough! Let's eat and get going!"

The dragons perk up at the mention of food. Zylah walks towards the prey pile and states, "Well, it's not enough so that everyone's full, but it'll do." She takes a step back from it and pauses. Nobody makes a move to the food. It takes a few moments to realize that they're waiting for me.

Stalking over to it, I snap up a deer leg and pad away. Settling down, I gnaw on the flesh as I watch Skurge go and take the rabbit I caught. He lies down next to me and now it's Zylah's turn to eat.

After her it's Dracen and Fernheart. They mutter to each other, and then drag the deer back to the hatchlings. Dracen barks something to Sparrow and he nods vigorously. Then, the healer and the mother dig in, with the omega lying down a bit away from them, looking fervent.

I purr, crunching the leg bone with my strong jaws as I watch the rest of my clan take their share, knowing their order. A few moments later, everyone's eating contently in the soft dawn sunlight.

A yowl comes from the edge of the area and I jerk my head towards the sound. Willow and Larksong seem to have finished eating and are now play fighting. The four Changewing orphans are watching the older hatchlings eagerly. I sniff, looking at the Timberjacks. Everyday they're growing bigger and bigger. The two siblings may be only six months old, but they look like they're a year old due to the natural size of their kind. The thought comes to me that they're going to need mentors soon. The Changewings still have four months to go 'till they are ready to be apprentices, but the two siblings only have two months. By the time we've fully settled down in our territory, they'll be ready.

I gaze around the camp. Hmm, who will be their mentors? My thoughts are interrupted by Skurge clearing his throat. "So," my deputy says, lowering his voice, "I was wondering, since we're heading to good land- I mean, we're probably going to settle there, right? Well, I was wondering…" he pauses and I lick the remains of the deer leg, waiting for him to continue, "When are we going to get our revenge on Be-"

A loud squeak interrupts him. I jump to my feet and see the Scauldron, Nixie, coming on to the shore. "Aha!" she squeals, "I knew you would stay here, even when I told you not to!"

Everybody looks at her and I walk over to the waterlogged dragon, "Look, I-"

"Why would you lie to me?" she shrills, "Even after I helped you!"

I raise my red paw, "Okay, look. First of all, I never promised you that we wouldn't stay here. Second, we were all tired and couldn't fly any further. Third, what's so bad about this island other than the spooky forest? And fourth, what are you doing here?"

Nixie crawls fully onto the island so that only her tail is touching the water, "I told you! There are bad dragons here. I wanted to see if you stayed away like I told you to. And I also wanted to come with you on your journey to the good island and-"

Right then, Solheart stands up and she catches sight of him. Her amber eyes widen and her pupils turn to slits. "SKULLION!" she shrieks and dives back into the water with surprising speed.

"Oh great," Sol mutters, walking over to us, "A Scauldron. Really?"

I tilt my head, confused, "Are Skullions and Scauldrons enemies?"

"You could say that. A lot of us find them annoying."

"That makes two of us." Skurge grumbles, slithering to us. I look at him and then back at the ocean. Nixie's head pops out a few moments later and lets out a squeak of fear at the sight of Solheart.

"What are you waiting for?" she asks me, "Fly away before he eats you!"

I shake my head and say, "It's alright, Nixie. He's nice." She gives me a disbelieving look but swims a bit closer.

"Really?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.

Solheart sighs irritably, and if he had eyes, I bet he would've rolled them. To my surprise, though, he bends down next to the water and says, "Yes. I am a good dragon."

"Okay!" Nixie squeaks cheerfully and we all jerk our head back in surprise, "I'm Nixie! What's your name?"

"Er…Solheart."

"Nice to meet you, Solheart!" Skurge and I glance at each other in confusion. A few seconds ago, Nixie was terrified of him, and now, she's acting like nothing happened. I shake my head and step in front of the Skullion.

"Back to the topic," I say, "What are you doing here?"

She squeaks and comes up on land next to me, "I told you! I want to come with you to the island!"

I tilt my head, "You mean, you want to be a part of this clan?"

"Yes!" she squeals right as Skurge snaps, "No!"

They look at each other, and then Skurge says, "Look, kid, you seem nice, but we don't need another mouth to feed."

"Oh please, please, please!" Nixie pleads, "I can hunt! I can bring seafood to your clan! Oh please, please, please, please…." As she keeps on saying "please" Skurge and Solheart give me a look of pure annoyance. I purr, thinking about how Nixie is like a hatchling and males can't handle them.

"…please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeaase?!" Skurge is about to snap at her when six bundles of scales tumble past him. In a blink of an eye, they leap onto Nixie. She lets out a surprised squeal that probably permanently damaged my eardrums, but then realizes what's attacking her. Purring, she falls onto her side, "Oh please! Don't kill me!"

A small tail whacks her nose. "Take that, intruder!" Larksong jeers, "You're no match for the best Fangs in BraveClan!" I cock my head. BraveClan?

"Hiya!" Willow yowls, clawing at Nixie's large belly. The four younger hatchlings-Brook, Adder, Poppyseed, Wildfang- are darting in and out to nip at her, but let the siblings do most of the attacking.

"Please, no more!" Nixie squeals and I purr. The hatchlings seem to like her. Suddenly, Wildfang, the more outgoing of his siblings, lets out a cute battle cry and leaps onto the Scauldron's neck, sinking his tiny teeth into her. "Ahh!" she pretends to cry, "Alright, I give in to you brave fighters!" They stop, and Larksong asks, "Do you promise you won't attack us?"

"Promise."

The hatchlings leap off of her. Willow scrambles over her sister, much to her displeasure, and skids to a halt at my feet. "Did you see that, Frostbite?" she asks, jumping up and down, "We fought off that dragon that was gonna kill you!"

"Yes," I purr, "Very good."

"Yay! Can we start training now? We defeated the intruder all by ourselves! Please, can we be apprentices now?"

Larksong jerks her head over and flutters to us, "Yeah. I want to learn real battle moves! And I'm great at flying!" To prove this, she flaps her large wings and makes it two feet in the air before dropping down.

I shake my head and say, "Sorry, you know the rules. You have to be eight months old."

"Aww."

"But that's two whole months away!"

"CHILDREN!"

We all cover our ears at Fernheart's shriek. "Don't bother Frostbite when she's busy!" the mother scolds, sweeping her children away. As she passes, she gives me an apologetic look and I jerk my head.

Taking a deep breath, I look back at Nixie, "So, you wanted to join our clan?"

"We're almost there! Look, see! It's right ahead of us!"

Skurge groans in annoyance and I laugh, "Now I understand why you don't interact with the hatchlings. You can barely handle other dragons!"

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't respond. It's late morning now, and the newest member of the clan, Nixie, is below us, swimming in the water and leading us to the island. I can see it now, and it seems large enough for my clan.

There're a bunch of jagged cliffs and crags on one end, and the other end just melts into a beach. From all the green there, I can tell there's a forest and just beyond that I think I can see some plains. Overall, it looks like a wonderful place to live.

"Come on guys." I call over my shoulder, "We're almost there."

"Good." Larksong, who is flying next to her sister, says, "Cuz I'm bored." The two siblings had insisted on flying instead of riding on their mother's back. They seem to be doing a pretty good job, but Willow looks tired.

I purr and look back at the island.

"Hey, Frostbite." Zylah calls, "What's that?"

She jerks her head towards the cliffs on the island. Narrowing my eyes, I can see a few shapes moving in a large sheltered crag. "Ahh," Nixie says, "Those are the dragons I mentioned."

I tilt my head. They could either be allies, or could just get in my way. Looking around, I say, "Zylah, bring everyone to that clearing there, near the cliffs. Skurge, Whiplash- come with me." I make sure to pick the more ferocious dragons in the clan. I would've brought Skull or Solheart, but Solheart can't fly and Skull is busy carrying him.

Zylah nods and barks at everyone to follow her. Flicking my tail, I speed up and fly towards the cliffs, with Skurge and Whiplash at my heels. As we get closer, I can see that they are two dragons- a female Deadly Nadder and a male Monstrous Nightmare. A small batch of eggs lay in a nest between them.

My eyes widen. Nixie was right- some dragons are crossbreeding.

The Monstrous Nightmare lifts his head and bares his teeth at us. As he stands up to face us, his mate spreads her wings protectively over her eggs.

We land on a few nearby rocks and the male walks to the edge of his ledge, "What do you want?"

I leap onto the ledge and stand next to him. "I am Frostbite, and I am the leader of my clan. This is my deputy, Skurge, and one of my best fighters and students, Whiplash." At the mention of his name, Whiplash puffs out his chest. The Monstrous Nightmare glances at them warily and then growls, "So?"

"Me and my clan are claiming this island as our territory. You can either join us, or leave."

His eyes widen, and then narrow, "What? You can't do that!"

I grin maliciously, "Watch me. Now, if you know what's best for you, you will either come join our clan and live a wonderful life, or leave, and we will never bother you-"

The Monstrous Nightmare takes a step forward and growls, "Shut up and get out of here! We're not leaving!"

I narrow my eyes and unsheathe my claws. "You shouldn't have said that." I growl, and then quickly bark, "Skurge! Whiplash! Take care of the mother, but don't kill her or the eggs!"

As fast as lightning, Skurge zips past me and curls his snake-like body around the female Deadly Nadder. Whiplash stands by him, nipping and scratching her.

The Nightmare starts to run to her, but then whirls around and lunges at me. I dodge and score my claws down his flank. He shrieks in pain and I pounce, pinning him to the ground. He struggles, looking into my fiery orange and red eyes. "Do you give in?" I ask and he snarls, "Never!"

He tries to bite my neck, but I dodge and put a paw at his throat. "Skurge, Whiplash!" I hiss without taking my eyes off of my victim, "Make the mother see this. She has to learn what happens when you defy me." There's a moment of shuffling and yelps, and then Skurge grunts.

The cold ice in my veins return and I imagine that this is Alvin…or one of my siblings. That'll prove to them that I'm more than they ever thought I would be, or what they would be.

Grinning, I raise my red paw and then dig my claws into his throat. The Nadder cries out, but I continue on to rake them down to her mate's chest. Blood splatters on stone and I jump off of the Nightmare. He lays motionless, blood forming a pool around him from the deep gash in his chest.

Whipping my head around, I glare at the female Nadder, who's looking up and lets out a wail of grief. Nodding to my cronies, I say, "Let her go." They do as I say and immediately she takes off into the sky, flying away. Her wing beats are uneven, and it seems like she's just flying in a blind panic.

"Why didn't you kill her too?" Whiplash snarls, "What's the point of letting one live?"

I look at him and reply, "She'll spread the word about me. About us." Skurge nods and then gestures to the batch of crossbreed eggs. Most of them got smashed in the fighting, but there're two left.

"We'll give them to Fernheart." I say, "If she'll take them."

Picking one up, I nudge the other to Whiplash and say, "Alright. Now let's get back to the clan."

Raven's POV

A bit later…

A weak roar reaches my ears and I look up. Toothless, Nate and Irria, Stormfly, and Hookfang all look up, too.

"What was that?" Toothless asks, his mouth still full of fish. I glance down at my meal, and then up at the sky, "I don't know."

Another roar rings through the air again.

"Sounds like a Nadder." Stormfly exclaims, looking worried. Hookfang looks around, and then yelps, "There!"

We all charge towards the docks. An exhausted, beaten up female Nadder is flying towards us. Toothless goes to fetch Hiccup while Stormfly and I fly out to help her. When I reach the poor dragon, I see that she has various bites and scratches all over her body. And I also notice that her eyes are wide in panic and grief.

"What happened?" I exclaim, putting my wing under hers in case she drops. As Stormfly does the same, the beaten dragon gasps, "Attacked…white….killed…."

I glance at Stormfly in confusion and lead the Nadder down to the docks. She collapses immediately, gasping for breath. Toothless soon returns with his rider and the gang, who then go and treat the beat up dragon.

"What happened?" I ask again once the female has caught her breath. She looks up at me with weary eyes and rumbles, "We were attacked. Me and my mate. They…there were three of them. The leader said something about joining a clan, but my mate refused. The other two attacked me while the leader…"

She pauses to let out a wail of grief. "She killed him! And she made sure to do it right in front of me! And our eggs! Our eggs got smashed."

Toothless and I look at each other. Then, I pad up to her and press my nose to her shoulder, "I'm sorry that happened."

The female jerks me off and looks at me with wide, grief-crazed eyes, "You should've seen her! She was- I don't even know what species! She…her…" the Nadder is starting to gasp now, and I can tell memories are flooding her mind, "She was kind of like you. But huge! Her…her claws were crazy…crazy long! And-" she lets out a cough, "And her scales were white…so dazzlingly white. Like the moon!" another cough, "But…but they were stained…with blood. She was white and red…she…she is the Bloody Moon!"

My eyes widen, and with a heaving gasp, the Nadder falls unconscious to the floor.

Pray for the 9/11 victims and their families. R&R