The two peaks turned out to be hollow entranceways to the giant cave underneath. A little fire from their feet and hands let the siblings glide through and around the cave and its tunnels while, with a little extra fire, scorching trails to follow out if they needed to. No bones were to be seen, but they could definitely smell them somewhere.
Broken and scorched rocks along with claw marks confirmed this was definitely the dragons' lair, but after several more minutes of nothing else found the pair soon grew bored. Still, the absence of the source of the smell drove them on. There was a kill in there somewhere they could not see, which meant there was some nook they had not discovered.
Finally after more fruitless searching, Zuko decided enough was enough and launched a massive amount of red fire, the better to see by, throughout the cave. Which illuminated the cave floor as intended, but also the roof of the cave.
High up against the top corner of the cave ceiling was a little opening, obviously carved with claw and fire. And peering out were two little dragons, miniature versions of their parents. They watched the siblings with absolute interest and not the slightest movement. They could have been statues.
Zuko and Azula exchanged looks. There were many tales of how to go about taming grown dragons: besting in combat repeatedly, trapping and then finally offering food over time, often years, but nothing about young dragons. There wasn't even any information about how long they stayed in their eggs, or if there was, it had died with whomever was foolish enough to hang around a dragon nest long enough to find out. How should they do this?
The dragons seemed to realise they were spotted and retreated into their little tunnel. The royal siblings flew up with jets of blue and gave cautious chase. The tunnel snaked around in wide curves and was big enough to be comfortable to walk through side by side, much smaller than the massive ones meant for adults. But it seemed large enough for the adults to move through, if only just, and gently sloped downwards.
It opened up into a den big enough for one of the massive beasts to curl up in, perhaps to lay her eggs. Nine of which were behind the bristling blue and red dragons who just looked so adorable when compared to their giant parents. Female and male, she could tell from the crests. Well that was convenient, and the eggs would be mixed genders as well. Hopefully.
"The blue one is mine." Azula declared with all the assured arrogance of her station. Zuko barely noticed her words, gaze fixed on the little red dragon that watched him back. Or rather it was staring at his scar, at the matching red.
Hmmph. Kizu.
"And how exactly are you going to convince it of that?" He murmured back as the growls grew louder. Somehow he doubted they would understand, as grown dragons would, submitting to a master stronger than they and capable of caring for them. Though they seemed to understand their intent, if the increase meant anything.
Azula moved closer and spotted the half eaten remains of various animals. They were raw, but the smell of cooked and burnt meat lingered. There were large scorch marks around the cave, but no small marks. All the signs in the cave told of large fires, so either these dragon cubs were as powerful as their parents, or all the fire had been made by the parents instead.
And they hadn't seen the cubs breathe so much as a spark, even with all the growling.
"I don't think they can breathe fire yet." Much like firebenders, they probably had to grow into the power. Unlike the other races that were born with their gift, if lacking the knowledge and skill, firebenders came into their power later. The Fire Sages said that it allowed the sparks of Inner Fire to take and grow stronger, but most assumed it was simply to prevent toddlers burning everything down. How much more for dragons, with their endless flames?
She called forth a small ball of blue fire and watched their eyes fix on it, wary and hungry at once. Not to be outdone, Zuko did the same. They slowly approached the dragons, one on each side. He experimented and let his fire bleed red, watching for any reaction. It was instantaneous.
Both dragons calmed and dropped their guard significantly. Azula's fire went red and they calmed even more. Why...? Ah. Their parents made red fire. They probably hadn't seen fire exist anywhere else but from their parents, who guarded and fed them.
The creatures gave curious yips and high growls and leapt over to the animal remains, tails shifting back and forth as they circled random patterns around the kills, obviously hungry. But they weren't eating.
Cooked and burnt meat...
"I think they want us to cook it for them." Azula smiled, Zuzu was thinking like her now. They picked their animals and with a steadier, softer heat, roasted them. Flesh and hide cooked and burnt but the dragons leapt right in, eating even as the gentler red fire washed over their food and them too, completely happy with the food and the heat. Smoke hugged the ceiling, flowing up and out of the tunnel.
Azula related to her brother one of the stories that said the eldest dragons could swim through lava for a time, and did it to shed their thick scale coats. He was suddenly very glad the ones they had faced were not old enough to be so impervious to fire.
It was not long before the dragon cubs had gorged themselves full and began to play sleepily, seemingly not concerned in the slightest by their presence. Then they curled up around an egg each and promptly fell asleep. Apparently a nap was in order.
Zuko and Azula quietly left the small cave and made their way back outside. It was much more difficult getting out due to the steep slope, but their controlled blue jets made it simple. The carcasses awaiting them absurdly stunned them with their massive size compared to the miniature versions they had seen. Azula sent up a bright blue flare to call their airships over. In hindsight they should have done so before their journey into the caves, but the sun was still some way from setting, and they could always practice in the meantime.
oOo
"I think I'll name mine Kizu." Zuko said out of nowhere as he wobbled several metres midair. Azula was flying circles around him, both horizontally, vertically and metaphorically, but he could hover up midair now. Somewhat. He could move as fast as she could and with the same accuracy in one direction, but the finer control of maintaining a steady position was difficult. Let alone the manoeuvring his sister was doing. Everything was so much simpler when the jets could touch the ground. They were evenly matched there.
Azula gave in and snorted. "Kizu? My Shori at least has a name she can be proud of." She stopped the fire from her hands and tried to stay upright with just her feet. She was getting better, but for now she needed the extra balance they provided for anything more than several seconds. Which meant little chance to attack. Gah. But she could do it, it just meant more practice.
"And you're doing it wrong. The jets are narrow in the middle with the tail, but wide at the top for balance and force. The jet doesn't have to be so straight from your feet, either. Adjust the direction for balance as you go."
"Yes, Dragon Lady Azula." Came his reply, dry as sand. She smiled sweetly, then frowned. "Say it again, properly this time."
Brow raised, he repeated himself with less attitude. Her frown deepened. "No. Lord."
"Yes of course, Dragon Lord Azula." Leave it to her to disregard her gender in favour of a vaguely implied /slight/ amount of more power.
"Again." With a smile that would have made him shiver.
"Of course, Dragon Lord Azula." He smiled back. A little.
"Hmm, still not quite right..."
"Perhaps Overlord? King? Master? Supreme Ruler?" His sarcasm returned in full force.
"Zuzu, while I do appreciate your attempts at flattery, you're meant to give higher praise than deserved, otherwise it's just praise. Though I suppose that is rather difficult in my case."
She considered something off in the distance. "Queen. I think I prefer Dragon Queen. Like the pirate raiders in the old tales, held in place by a king or queen ruling as many as they could with a bloody steel claw." She turned back to her brother. "I think it fits."
"Indeed." He nodded sagely. "Does that make me Dragon King?" The effort to hold his smirk back was legendary, and in vain. Azula scoffed.
"You will always be my little Zuzu, Dragon or not."
And then the airships were in sight over the peak, and they could hear the shouts from all the way down there. They had apparently spotted the dragons.
oOo
"You killed a dragon? Wow Azula, that's amazing! Dragon Azula!" Ty Lee was energetic as always, and continued to bounce and bubble on about fantastic Azula. Mai complimented the siblings in her normal flat tone and watched dispassionately as the Dai Li tried to help the crew bring the corpses aboard.
"Don't tell me we're going to be travelling with those things. They'll rot." Zuko tuned it out after that and looked down from the airship to the temple housing the Eternal Flame. What should they do about the Sun Warriors? And the criminals now loose on the island? He didn't want any complications. Maybe the Sun Warriors would stay away?
Somehow he doubted it.
One of the Dai Li and the captain approached Azula. "I'm sorry princess, the dragons are too large. We could attach one to all three airships and carry it in a net, but-"
"Very well. Give me a moment." She casually leapt down and eased her descent with fire, before walking around the red dragon. Hmm. Several precise slashes later and the head, limbs and wings rolled free of the body. Zuko repeated the feat with the blue dragon.
"Take these back for now, and give them to the Fire Sages for treating, but make sure to guard over them. I dont need to tell you dragon bones are rare; so do not let a single one go missing, understood? I expect them to be ready and all accounted for by the time we return."
"You... aren't returning with us, Princess?" The Dai Li this time.
"No. My brother and I have business here. Leave some supplies, and come back once the bones are properly secured and my father has been informed of these events. Oh, and bring extra food with you when you return." She waved them off.
Ty Lee cartwheeled up, ending on her fingertips. "So... We're staying? Gosh it'll be like one of the camping trips we used to have! Except without the Royal Procession, and umm, everything else."
"Ew. I am not camping here without at least a tent."
Ty Lee's smile fell at Mai's words. "C'mon Mai, it'll be fun! We could tell tell scary stories and everything!"
"As tempting as that sounds, Ty, I think I'll head back to the Capital." First blue fire, then lightning, firebending practice and crazy new forms, and now this. Yet another new bond formed, binding Zuko and Azula closer together and making it even more impossible for Mai to reach her crush. Whatever they had discovered here, and it had to be insanely important to keep Azula from proudly returning home with her slain dragon, she couldn't bear to watch it.
Enough was enough.
Ty Lee soon realised Mai's true motives and decided she would keep her company and try to cheer her up. Azula waved them off as the airships departed, slightly eager to be rid of them so she could go tame her dragon. Zuko was utterly indifferent, Ty Lee and Mai had all but ignored him recently, a favour he returned in abundance. They were Azula's friends, not his.
Besides, they had dragons to tame.
oOo
A/N: Kizu primarily means 'wound', but can also mean 'burn', 'scar' etc (or so google tells me), and it has both the classic hard 'K' and the Fire Nation Royal Family 'Z' (SoZin, AZulon, OZai, Zuko, AZula but oddly not Iroh and Lu Ten). Shori means 'victory', 'triumph' etc and is apparently a boys name, which fits in with Azula not caring so much about gender stuff, and it's got an 'O' which also seems to be a male Royal Family Thing (SOzin, AzulOn, IrOh, Ozai, ZukO). If people think the names suck I am willing to change them, though I am rather attached to Kizu.