Who To Become

by itsmyartfam

Sequel To Who To Fight. Her forces are the strongest and most merciless in all of history. Her moon-white scales would be beautiful, if they were not stained with blood. Many think that her scales are forever marked with blood- that it sunk into her scales and recolored it. She's called the Bloody Moon, not only because of her markings, but she is the moon- the symbol of darkness.

14. Wow a Lot Happens in This Chapter

Chapter 14

Wow a Lot Happens in This Chapter

"Why won't she get up? I'm hungry!"

"She's been like that for a while. Is she okay?"

"She's fine, I can see her breathing."

"Good."

"Ugh, but she's not like she used to be. I loved it when she played with us, but now she's making everyone wait to eat until she gets hungry."

"Now, now, children. That's enough. This is just how clan life is, so you have to respect that."

The nice morning sunlight warms up my scales as I lay on the Leader's Ledge. It's been two months since Infernious made a home in this canyon-like place, and things are going very well. The Claws have just come back with breakfast, and the dragons seem just fine with waiting for me to eat. All except Willow and Larksong.

"But I'm hungry!"

"You'll just have to wait."

"Like we're waiting to become apprentices? We're already eight months old! How long is she going to make us wait?"

"Children, that's enough."

I open an eye at Fernheart's snap. They haven't realized that I can hear them. I watch as the Changewing orphans scramble up to Willow and Larksong, who are on a rock near the edge of the cliff.

"Why are you complaining?" Wildfang sneers, "We've got to wait longer than you."

Suddenly, Willow catches my eye and says, "Oh, look! She's awake."

"I'm going to go ask her when we'll be apprentices." Larksong declares, leaping off the rock. Mid-leap, her mother catches her and carries her away, "You will most certainly not! She's probably waiting for you to grow some patience."

Purring, I leap off of my perch. I'll have to start deciding who their mentors will be, and how they'll train. Sniffing the pile of prey, I grab a plump carp (a/n Omg, guys, look up carp fish, they are insanely fat!) and lay down in the shade.

The salmon run has ended, but there are still plenty of fish in the river that are trying to eat the baby salmon, and carp is one of my favorites. Of course, I still love woodland prey, but the occasional fish is good.

Skurge noses through the pile, and eventually picks a badger. He settles down next to me and I purr, "Those two are getting restless." I jerk my head towards Larksong and her sibling and he grunts, "How do you think they should train?"

"Maybe I should ask them what they want to be, and then choose a Fang or a Claw." I suggest.

He thinks about it for a few moments, and then says, "But it would also be good for them to know how to, say, if they're going to be a Fang, hunt."

"So, they should train for both and then decide?"

Skurge pauses for a moment to pick badger fur from between his teeth with his tail and then mutters, "How 'bout they train for both for two months, and then they decide, and then they train for that for another two months?"

I nod and say, "That's a good idea."

We continue to eat in silence. The carp is about the size of my head, so it's very meaty. I no longer mind the sliminess of fish, but I'm not crazy about it.

Ripping off another chunk, I watch as Willow and Adder play with the bones of a squirrel. Meanwhile, Larksong is showing off her "flying skills" to Wildfang, Poppyseed, and Brook. She wiggles her tail, and then leaps into the sky, hovering for a moment before landing a little roughly behind her audience.

"Hahaha!" Willow laughs, but not at her, "Larksong, guys come look at this!"

They huddle around her and I can't see what they're doing. Suddenly, a squirrel skull flips high over their heads and lands behind them.

"Wow!" Brook gasps, "How did you do that?"

"I just put this bone underneath this one, and then put the skull at the base of the top one, and then I hit the other end and it flipped."

"That kind of reminds of those throwy things that the Outcasts had." Larksong comments. After a pause, she perks up and says, "Do that again! I'm going to catch it in mid-air."

She flutters onto her rock as Willow resets the catapult. The young Timberjack is about to jump off, when there's a loud yelp of alarm and she falls off.

Fernheart, who was watching them, suddenly dives into the nursery. A moment later-

"They're hatching!"

Everybody whips his or her heads over to the nursery and I stand up. Fernheart sticks her head out of the lichen and the caretaker yelps, "The crossbreed eggs are hatching!"

Murmurs pass through the camp as dragons try to edge closer. Dracen leaps in front of them and barks, "Stand back!"

The lichen ripples and then Misty comes out, rolling her two adoptive eggs. "What do I do?" she cries out.

"Put them in water!" Fernheart and Dracen say at the same time.

Skurge and I jump out of the way as Misty and Dracen practically kick the eggs towards the pool. The crossbreed eggs are already starting to sizzle by the time they drop into the water. Everybody waits anxiously for the new hatchlings to swim to the surface.

"Aha!" Dracen says, reaching down and coming back up with a little dragon in his paw, "It's a female, and she looks healthy."

He puts the hatchling down and reaches for the next one, "This one's a male. Healthy too, and- ouch!"

The young male had set himself on fire like a Monstrous Nightmare. Dracen drops him and he lies next to his sister, sizzling. The two crossbreeds look very odd. They've got the main body of a Deadly Nadder, but they're a dark crimson color with black markings, and instead of a crown of spikes on their heads, they've got horns, like a Nightmare. Also, they have the spinal scales of their father and, apparently, the ability to set themselves on fire too.

Murmurs ripple through Infernious as Misty bends down and sniffs them. The male bats at her nose and she jerks her head back in surprise, "See? He's a little Fang already! I'm going to call him Badger."

She moves to the female one and looks at her. Her scales are a little lighter than her brother's, whose turns dark at some points. Suddenly, the little dragon's eyes flicker open, revealing strange silvery blue eyes.

"Wow," Misty says, and then turns to Dracen, "Why'd her eyes open so soon?"

The healer shrugs, "That happens sometimes, but look," he jerks his head towards the little female, whose eyes are drooping shut, "They probably won't open again 'till she's stronger."

Misty looks back at her and purrs, "I'm going to name her Silverhawk."

"Silverhawk?" I repeat, tilting my head.

"Because of her silvery blue eyes. And since they opened so soon, I feel like she's going to have a hawk's vision."

"Huh."

Badger lifts his head and stumbles towards the remains of my carp. His sister follows, and they start to nibble on the flesh.

Their new mother nudges them away, cooing, "No, no, little hatchlings, that isn't for you. I'll get you something to eat."

"It's alright," I say, "I was about done with it anyways."

Fireflight suddenly pushes between Skurge and Dracen and sticks his muzzle next to Silverhawk. "They're beautiful!" he exclaims, and then looks at Misty, "I caught a swan earlier. I'll put the feathers in your next and make it bigger."

Before she can say anything, he dashes off. Misty looks at me and starts laughing. I purr and sniff the hatchlings.

Slowly, everyone starts to walk away, going back to what they were doing. Skyflame steps next to her sister and mutters, "So, now I'm an aunt?"

Misty nods and says, "Adoptive."

"You know you're going to have to tell them about their parents eventually." Skurge warns and she rolls her eyes, "Eventually- as in, not now. Come on, my little hatchlings, let's go."

She picks them up gently and follows Fireflight, whose face is full of feathers, into the nursery.

Zylah yawns and says, "Well, I'm going to lead a Sky Patrol. Who wants to come?"

"I'll go." Amber says, padding up to her.

"Might as well…" Skyflame mutters, following him.

"I'm in!" a dark colored Gronckle named Stone says. He had joined Infernious about a month ago, along with another Terrible Terror named Calder. They hadn't been friends, but since they were new to the clan around the same time, Stone had quickly become friends with the small gray-blue dragon.

"Alright," I say, "You'd best be off. Safe flying."

"Thanks."

I turn around as they take off and nudge the remains of my carp with a claw. I had taken off the extra ones, so my claws are somewhat normal sized, for a dragon my size. Sighing, I dig a hole in the ground and bury the rest.

Suddenly, something darts in between my legs and I look down to see Larksong frowning up at me.

"Frostbite," she whines, "Fernheart won't let us go see the new hatchlings. Can we go?"

I purr and step to the side, "Perhaps it would be better to stay out here for a little while. Misty will be busy with Badger and Silverhawk, and she doesn't need you and your five siblings to get in the way."
"We won't!" Adder scrambles beside his adoptive sister, "We just want to see them."

"Yeah," Willow runs to us, with Poppyseed, Wildfang, and Brook following, "I heard they look really weird!"

"Hush," I say, "When they're old enough to explore outside and talk, I don't want you teasing them just because they're crossbreeds."

"We won't!"

"Good." I nod. They keep on looking at me and then I get an idea.

"Wait right here," I say and then trot to the nursery. Nosing through the lichen, I see Fernheart nudging Badger into a nest of swan feathers. She and Misty look up as I walk in.

"Did the hatchlings do anything, Frostbite?" Fernheart asks. I shake my head and reply, "No, not at all. I just want to talk to you."

"Okay."

We walk towards the back of the fissure where it narrows. I sit down and curl my tail over my paws.

"What is it?" Fernheart asks.

I smile and say, "I noticed that Willow and Larksong are eight months old now." The caretaker stays silent and I continue, "It's time for them to become apprentices. I'll announce how the training will happen after we decide who their mentors will be."

Fernheart takes a deep breath and nods, "Alright. For Willow…can Sawyer train her? He's a good dragon and is of her species."

I nod and say, "And for Larksong…?"

She looks up, thinking, and then murmurs, "I don't know. I can't think of anyone that would train her well enough. Or be able to stand her at all."

I look at my paws and then offer, "I could train her if you want."

Fernheart turns her head to me, wide eyed, "Really? Can leaders do that?"

I shrug, "I guess."

The mother looks at me for a few moments and then purrs, "Thank you. When will you announce it?"

"Now."

"Now?" Fernheart echoes, puzzled, "But what about the Sky Patrol?"

I get up and walk out of the nursery, saying, "They'll hear about it."

Willow and Larksong are currently tussling in a patch of low tussocks. With a yowl, Willow leaps onto her sister and pins her to the ground with her large wings.

On the edge of the clearing, Wildfang is crouching low to the ground as if he's going to pounce on prey. His siblings watch him with interest as he stalks up to the two wrestling sisters and leaps.

THUMP

The Changewing bowls into them and they all collapse on the soft grass. I purr softly and search for Skurge. I see Calder reaching his head down so he can lap at the water in the pool and walk towards him.

"Hey, Calder." I bark and he looks up. Even though he and Sparrow are the same species, he's clearly stronger and more agile than the omega.

"Have you seen Skurge?"

The Fang nods and replies, "I saw him going into the forest after you went into the nursery. Said he wanted to be alone for a while to think."

I tilt my head for a moment, curious about what's troubling my deputy, but then flick my ear knowing that I'll hear about it when he comes back.

Bunching up my muscles, I spring over Calder's head and land on the Leader's Ledge. Turning around, I yowl, "Infernious! Gather to hear my words!"

Everyone looks up in confusion except Willow and Larksong, who glance at each other and then yelp in excitement. Once everyone gathers beneath me, I announce, "Today our clan will gain the first apprentices." At this, Willow lets out an excited squeal and purrs ripple through the crowd, "Willow, come forward and stand next to the pool."

She does as I say and everyone watches me, waiting to hear what happens next.

Looking around, I spot one of my best friends and call, "Sawyer of Fangs, stand beside her."

The Timberjack looks startled at this, but quickly shakes it off and does what I say.

Looking down at them, I say, "You will be Willow's mentor. I hope you will pass on your agility and knowledge to her. You shall train her to hunt and fight for two months, and then she shall decide what she wants to become, and you shall train her to be that."

Sawyer nods and I pause, thinking for some way to complete their mentor-apprenticeship. Then, I say, "Now, bend your heads down and lap once from the pool, and then join the crowd as I make Larksong an apprentice."

The two dragons lap from the cool pool of water, and then step back. Willow happily follows her new mentor to the back of the crowd so they can talk.

"Larksong."

The young Timberjack nervously slithers forward and stops in the shadow of the ledge. I fix my red gaze on her, and then proclaim, "I will be Larksong's mentor."

A ripple of surprise passes through the clan, and a movement from the top of the hollow tells me that Skurge is watching.

Leaping down beside Larksong, she looks at me with wide-eyes, neither scared nor happy. Nodding, I dip my head down to the pool and lap once at the water as she does.

Turning around, I say loudly, "May these new apprentices train hard and-"

A sudden shriek interrupts me.

All heads whip towards the ocean as the Sky Patrol comes racing to us. I quickly leap towards the edge of the cliff and yowl, "What happened?"

"Intruders!" Zylah shrieks, landing beside me along with her patrol. Everybody looks around, eyes wide with panic.

"Oh no!" Fernheart cries out, putting her wings over the Changewing orphans, "They'll come and hurt the hatchlings!"

"What do we do?" Sparrow yelps, running around in a circle once. Many of the dragons have started murmuring in unease, and Skurge quickly leaps into the hollow.

"Silence!" he hisses and everyone goes quiet, "How are we to think with all your rambling?"

"But they're coming right now!" Stone exclaims, only to be snapped at by Skurge, "I know that! We've got to meet them before they reach us."

"There're at least nine of them," Zylah says, "All Zipplebacks."

I step forward and command, "I want a battle patrol to come with me and Skurge to meet the newcomers. They might not be here to fight, but we'll be ready if they are. I want Whiplash, Skyflame, Skull, Aquamarine, Viperfang, Nightwhisper, Amber, and Skurge.

Zylah, you stay and keep the clan together." I add, and then turn to Dracen, "Dracen, be ready."

He nods and disappears into his den.

"Also, I want a small group of Claws to be on standby if we need help." Skurge says, "Crag, Dagger, and…Nixie." he sighs and then turns to me and nods.

"Sparrow," I bark, suddenly remembering, "Fetch my battle claws from my den, quickly." The omega nods and dashes off. A moment later, I'm quickly slipping the deadly weapons on my claws.

I'm about to launch into the sky when Ash calls, "What about me? I'm a Fang! And Stone, too!"

I look over my shoulder and say, "We don't want to use up all of our Fangs."

Taking a deep breath, I launch into the sky with my battle unit. Using strong strokes of my wings, I fly towards the green specks in the distance that I assume are the Zipplebacks. Skurge flies by my side, his long snake-like body writhing through the wind as he soars.

With a quick bark, I order Whiplash to be by my side. "Skyflame, go on Skurge's side and Viperfang, on Whiplash's." I bark, not looking over my shoulder, "Aquamarine, Skull, Nightwhisper, and Amber, tail us slightly higher."

The Zipplebacks come closer and closer and then I stop about a Nightmare length away.

I narrow my eyes. They look like a large family, and are all fully grown. One especially large male and female are at the front, and I know that they are the parents. The father glares at me, and with all the scars on his face and body, it seems like he's had his share in fights.

"What do you want?" I snarl.

The Lead Female flies a bit closer and growls, "You're not welcome here anymore. We've been trying to find a territory big enough for our family, and we have heard of Infernious's tales. Leave while you have the chance, or we'll drive you out by force."

My battle patrol growls, and I hiss, "What makes you think you could beat us?"

The Lead Male snarls and bares his teeth, "My family, attack!"

Both groups surge forwards at the same time. The Lead Male snaps at me with both of his heads and I narrowly dodge. Hissing, I bite his wing and thrash my head. He howls in pain and I feel his teeth close around my tail. Snarling, I let go and do a downward loop, causing him to release my tail as I slash my claws across one of his faces.

The other glares at me and bites my shoulder. I grit my teeth in pain and twist my head to bite his neck. He yelps and lets go, but before the other head can attack, I blast it with a ball of plasma.

The Lead Male shrieks and backs up a bit. I seize my advantage and charge. Lashing out with my red paw, I leave a long scratch in between his two necks. Grabbing one in my jaws, I bite down hard. His head shrieks and makes a gurgling sound. I huff in satisfaction, only to see that I'm surrounded by green gas.

My eyes widen and I look around for clear air, to find nothing. The Lead Male snickers as one of his heads starts to spark. Suddenly, the gas is blown away by a fierce wind.

I look to my left to see Skull flapping his large wings at me. The father lets out a yelp as Skull snaps at him. He grabs him by the tail as the leader tries to flee and flings him across the sky. The Zippleback shrieks and flaps his wings as he tumbled uncontrollably towards the ocean. With a large splash, he slams into the water just as a wave crashes over his head.

I flash Skull a look of gratitude and he nods before snapping at one of the sons that leaped on his neck.

Looking around, I see Skurge with his snake-like body wrapped around the necks of the Lead Female. He hisses and lets out a stream of fire right at her faces and she screams in pain.

Grinning, I fly towards them and duck under her belly. With my double extended claws, I lash out and rake them across her soft underside. She lets out a cry of pain that is nearly as high pitched as Nixie's.

"Please, please, stop!" she shrills, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, we'll leave, I promise! We'll never come back, just please- I can't take any more pain!"

I fly up to her side in time to see Skurge grin and growl maliciously, "We'll see about that."

The Lead Female shrieks as my deputy sinks his teeth into one of her necks. I bare my teeth and claw her shoulder.

"No!"

I feel claws rake the base of my tail and whirl around to see the eldest son. He's bruised and battered, but hatred lights up his eyes as he roars with rage and lurches towards me. I dodge and fly upwards. As hoped, he follows.

Once we're above the battle, I tuck in my wings and flip around so I face the ocean. The Zippleback looks at me in surprise as I dive and slam into him. Wrapping my wings around him, I use my weight to make us both free-fall towards the sea.

The son shrieks in confusion and I grab both of his necks in my jaws before he can snap at me. I don't bite down hard enough to crush his wind-pipes, but enough so he can't move.

I watch the ocean come closer and closer as we plummet. Then, right before we hit the water, I let go of him and spread my wings. I hear him crash into the sea as the wind tugs at my wings a little painfully. Water splashes up beside me, due to the speed of my dive, as I try to regain flight control.

Tilting my wings, I surge upwards at impressive speeds and quickly choose a target. Skurge is fighting another Zippleback right above me. Closing my eyes, duck my head and-

WHAM!

I hit the enemy in the stomach so hard that she's sent soaring across the battlefield-er-sky. Skurge looks at me in surprise, then grins and barks, "Nice one, Frostbite."

I jerk my head and look for my next opponent. Most of them are fleeing already, leaving two behind. Soon, Whiplash sends his rival screeching after his family, leaving only one Zippleback left.

In the distance, I see the Lead Female. One of her necks is dangling limply in front of her. I tilt my head. It must be so weird to have two heads.

The last Zippleback, one of the older sons, is fighting Skyflame. Seeing his fleeing companions, he breaks away and flies after them. Not long after that, he turns around and snarls, "You'll regret this. We will have our revenge, and it won't be pretty."

"Can't wait." I snarl sarcastically, and my dragons back me up by laughing. The Zippleback sneers, but I can tell it's uncertain, and flies after his family.

Grinning, I tilt my head up and let out a roar of victory. Skurge joins me along with everyone else. The fleeing intruders, though wounded, hiss and spit at us.

"Yeah!" Whiplash jeers, even though the Zipplebacks are far away, "That'll teach you what happens when you mess with us!"

"Bet you won't forget us in a hurry!" Skyflame adds.

I chuckle and look at Skurge. My deputy is staring at me blankly and mutters loud enough for me to hear, "I need to talk to you."

He turns tail and flies back to camp. I look at him in confusion and then glance back at the battle patrol. They all have injuries, but none as serious as the ones we inflicted on the Zippleback family. I can tell that Amber's are a bit deeper due to her softer skin, but she's still alive and that's what matters.

Suddenly, Crag, Dagger, and Nixie appear.

"That was great, guys!" Dagger congratulates, "You really taught them!"

"That was so exciting!" Nixie squeals, "It was really violent too! I thought they would kill you, but then they didn't because you guys started fighting too! And, Frostbite, that dive-down-and-up move was awesome! And Amber-"

"Alright, alright," I say before she can make our eardrums explode, "Save it for camp. I'm sure everyone will love to hear what happened."

---

Later

"And then, Skyflame grabbed the brute's tail while I bit his shoulder!" Whiplash boasts as he recaps the battle to his audience, "You wouldn't believe how loud he shrieked! It was as nearly as high as Nixie's!"

"Hey!" Nixie chirps, huffing as everyone chuckles softly. We'd just gotten back to camp a few moments ago, and Whiplash immediately started vaunting about how well he fought. Meanwhile, Dracen is going around and treating everyone's wounds as they listen. The Claws and Fangs that stayed behind had kindly hunted a feast.

"And remember when Frostbite slammed into one Skurge was fighting?" Aquamarine speaks up, "I never knew a dragon could be hit so hard, or knocked away so far!"

I purr in my pride as Dracen puts some herbs on my wounded shoulder. He hasn't said anything, but is simply doing his job. I turn to him and ask, "What's wrong?"

He looks at me and mutters, "Nothing. Just…" he seems to hesitate, then settles with, "This bite wound is deep. Tomorrow I want you to come to my den so I can check it. Don't want it getting infected."

I sniff, unsatisfied, and he walks away.

"And then, while I was fighting, I saw Skurge and Frostbite gang up on the Lead Female. Frostbite nearly ripped her in half and Skurge basically burned her scales off! You should've seen them! They make a great team and fight so well together!"

Larksong jumps up and says, "I'm so glad she's going to be my mentor! I'll be the best Fang ever!"

"Frostbite."

Skurge's growl behind me makes me jump in surprise. Scrambling to my paws, I turn around and face him. I hadn't seen my second-in-command since the battle; he seemed to disappear when we got to camp.

Now, he's looking at me blankly, but I can see a hint of anger in his eyes.

"What is it?" I ask and he gestures to our cave, "We need to talk."

I nod and flex my claws. My battle claws are still on, so they sink extra deep into the soft dirt. I easily spring onto the base rock in front of my den and confidently plunge into the darkness.

Slipping into the grey light in the middle of the cave near the nest, I turn around and sit. Skurge settles down in front of me with his tail softly touching mine. I nod for him to speak.

"Frostbite, look how well we fought out there. Our dragons barely got hurt at all, and with armor we'd be invincible." I stare at him and he growls gently, "You know where this is heading."

I sigh and nod, "Yes, yes I do. You want to know when our revenge on Berk will be. I'll think about it, okay?" I'm about to stand up but he blocks me, "No, Frostbite, we are deciding now. You and I both want revenge."

I huff and say, "You are right about that. I want it so badly. But what do you think the clan will say? It's a bit odd to just go and randomly attack a island full of dragons and Vikings, don't you think?"

"Some of the dragons were there when Berk attacked Outcast Island. They'd want revenge too. We'll just explain to everyone else. Or we can say that we should teach a lesson to those pets for disgracing the dragon name and living with humans. Or that we need to extend our territory. Or that Berk is better than Infernious Island."

"I don't know if they'll believe us," I say doubtfully, "Perhaps we should wait a little for more dragons to join us like Stone and Calder…"

Skurge suddenly shoves his muzzle close to mine and growls, "Stop delaying this, Frostbite. I don't care if it's because you're scared to face your family or what, but I will have my revenge on Berk.

With, or without your help."

Soooo...this is the last chapter of 'Who to Become'. I shall be creating a new story, the last of the 'Who to' series. I think you can guess what it's about.

Btws, I NEED A NAME FOR THE NEXT STORY! Recommendations are appreciated.