Httyd_raven_ch007

The sun rose far too early in Valka's opinion, and with it woke Raven, her tiny squawks filling the small space with frustrated urgency. Cloud Jumper started at the sudden cries and recoiled before remembering the events that transpired the previous day and settling down beside Valka once more.

"Hahaha! Quite the wake-up call, isn't it?" Valka laughed at her companion's surprised and embarrassed expression. With limbs still heavy with fatigue, Valka sat up against Cloud Jumper and adjusted Raven. She threw the blanket over her shoulder and fed her baby.

Cloud Jumper watched Valka intently, unsure of what she was doing with her hatchling under a blanket. Though after a quick swat to the nose after trying to peek under the blanket, he got the message and let the woman have her privacy. Whatever she was doing made the hatchling quiet down, and for that alone he was grateful. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes, though did not fall asleep.

With Raven now satisfied and burped, Valka placed her on the blanket in front of her. The little girl smiled an infantile smile and kicked her tiny hands and feet. Laughter bubbled up when she saw her mother and Valka smiled back, wiggling her fingers at her daughter.

The unusual noises caught the attention of several dragons who were walking past Cloud Jumper's nest and a few peeked in but knew better than to enter a nest uninvited. A little blue and yellow Nadder wiggled her way to the front of the crowd in an attempt to see the strange new creatures in the Storm Cutter's cave. The hatchling bobbed her head curiously at the pale flailing thing on the ground and took a cautious step forward only to be yanked back by a larger Nadder with a reproachful growl.

"It's fine," Valka said, the Nadder having caught her attention. She felt dozens of eyes watching her as she motioned for the little Nadder. Though some of them didn't seem to understand Norse, they did seem acutely aware of what she was saying without the use of words. "Would you like to see her?" The young Nadder looked to her guardian for permission who gave Valka a nervous glance before nudging the little one forward. She gave an excited squawk but waddled forward slowly.

"What is it?" The little Nadder that Cloud Jumper recognized as the newest hatchling, Stormfly, asked. She directed her question at Valka but Cloud Jumper answered.

"She can't understand dragons, not yet. They're humans," at that, several older dragons startled back, a few knowing firsthand what humans were capable and willing of doing, though many of the younger dragons who had lived in the sanctuary all their lives had never seen humans or heard of their terrible deeds. "But they're not normal humans," Cloud Jumper explained proudly to Stormfly, also aware of the older dragons listening. "They are kind humans." Stormfly half-listened as she approached Raven, who in turn gazed at the bright-scaled dragon. She snuffed the bright red tufts of hair atop her head, making the little thing giggle.

"It's kinda funny lookin'," Stormfly's face hovered over Raven's, and the little girl was entranced by the colors and oddities of the creature above her but showed no signs of fear. Her green eyes were alight with wonder and were surprisingly alert for one so young.

"Well, I'll admit they do look…different. But that's just because we're not used to them yet," Cloud Jumper explained.

"So they're staying here? They're going to live here?" Stormfly asked, a hint of excitement at the prospect of the humans staying, the curious little creature she was. She also quite liked the little thing's fuzz. It was so soft and such a pretty auburn color, like the setting sun.

"Yes, they are." Stormfly chirped excitedly, while a few older dragons stared on skeptically, but Cloud Jumper ignored them. "They are going to need some help, you know. They don't really know how to live with dragons. Would you be able to help them?" Cloud Jumper asked the little dragoness, knowing the eager young Nadder would jump at the opportunity and hoping that it would strengthen the trust between the two species. What better way for Valka and Raven to get incorporated into dragon society than by growing up with a dragon hatchling?

Stormfly's guardian watched on, but was one of the more reasonable dragons even though he was well aware of human's deeds beyond the safety of the Sanctuary. Stormfly doesn't remember, but her parents were killed by Vikings, and her mother's brother took her under her wing in his sister's place. He wanted peace between humans and dragons more than anything because of that tragedy, and was glad his niece would play a part in it.

Stormfly, for her part, was more excited than she had been in her short life so far. "What do I do?" She eagerly asked Cloud Jumper.

"When she gets older, she's going to need someone to teach her to speak and act like us, someone who can train her to be strong."

"I'm strong!" Stormfly squawked.

"Yes you are," Cloud Jumper laughed as the hatchling puffed out her chest and ruffled her wings. "But for now, I think she just needs a friend."

"I can do that! I'll make sure she's the strongest, bestest, prettiest dragon-human ever!" And with that she sat herself beside Raven's head and began to preen the tufts of red hair. Cloud Jumper laughed again and Stormfly's guardian chuckled a bit too. The rest of the dragon's seemed to relax a bit as well, seeing how at ease the hatchling was in the presence of humans.

Valka had watched the whole exchange in awe. She felt more than saw the unease and tension building until the point when the little Nadder plopped down beside her daughter and started nipping at her hair, grooming it perhaps? She raised a careful hand, palm up, towards the little Nadder who acknowledged her with a sideways glance but continued to focus on Raven's hair. Valka took that as permission and rubbed the Nadder's head with the tips of her fingers. That got the girl's attention. She startled a little but a look of pure pleasure washed over her features and she leaned into Valka's gentle touch.

"Oh I like this human too," Stormfly crooned. Cloud Jumper just chuckled again. The quickest way to any dragon's heart was through food and a good scratch.

There was a muffled roar behind the crowd of dragons and suddenly they all took off, save for Stormfly's guardian, who quickly called her over. They too followed the swarm of dragons. Valka startled and scooped up Raven, thinking that something had happened, but Cloud Jumper reassured her with a nudge. He stood up, stretched, and gestured for Valka to climb on his back once more.

"What's going on?" Valka asked, her nerves settling at Cloud Jumper's calm actions.

"Feeding time, you sill human. Dragons must eat too," Cloud Jumper glided gently down from the cave ledge and swooped over a now empty cavern.

"Where did the King go?" Valka asked, oblivious to Cloud Jumper's earlier remark.

"You'll see. I think you'll enjoy this," the Storm Cutter followed the crowd of dragons through the tunnels and into the morning sun. "I think you're going to like this a lot."

…

Sharpshot sat beside the small black dragon that had yet to wake since his blackout the previous night, though if his injuries were any indication, he could use the rest. They had pulled him into one of the many small coves that dotted the island so that he could rest in the relative safety from the colder winds of on-coming winter.

He was a strange dragon, that was for sure, completely black save for the splotches of red from his wounds. Though he was not much bigger than the average Terrible Terror, Sharpshot could tell that this dragon would grow to be much, much bigger. Perhaps not Timberjack or Typhoomerang Big, but big none the less. And fast. He was too sleek to be anything but the fastest dragon alive, and looked like he could give Rumblehorn a run for his money in muscle density. A Night Fury, he realized and had he not been in shock and awe, he would have scolded himself for not realizing it sooner.

After Sharpshot and Iggy had gotten the young Night Fury back to their nest, their brothers and sisters had done what they could to treat his wounds, but in the end it came down to time and rest. His injuries were pretty bad and it was nearly a miracle that the kid was even still breathing. Aside from low to mid severity burns all across his body, his wings were battered and bruised, one was sprained, and a thin bone in his tail fin fractured. That would take the longest to heal, wings and tails being as delicate as they were, and the most painful as well.

Sharpshot shook his head. He himself was only 5 winters old and had seen his fair share of horrors. But this poor kid couldn't have been in the world more than two winters and already he'd been through more than some dragons do in half a life-time. He just wished he knew what. And why. North, he had said. He had to go North. Sharpshot licked an eyeball, deep in thought. There was nothing north of here except the Viking islands, and that was certainly no place for a young dragon, no matter what he had faced, Vikings were not to be trifled with. North of the Archipelago…well, a frozen wasteland. There was nothing in the North lands except legends.

He looked back at the Night Fury again as a curious thought struck him. Could he be chasing the myth of the Bewilderbeast? The sleeping dragon's breathing was slow and labored, and his face was scrunched like he was having a nightmare. Whatever he escaped must have been beyond nightmares if he was chasing mythical beasts. Then again, perhaps it was the only thing he could believe in.

Sharpshot knew from experience as well that even the most improbable hopes were better than facing the world they lived in. There were times when hope was all they had, all that kept them breathing and fighting. Still young, Sharpshot wanted to believe more than anything that the legendary King was real, as he had in his even younger days.

But hope was in short supply where he came from.

.:~:.~.:~:.~.:~

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I enjoy writing as much as i enjoy reading and i'm glad others can appreciate it too. Thanks especially to guest morte-tan for appreciating the work i put into making it grammatically correct. haha thank you!

Anyway, i may have to do some revising to my next few chapters, so please be patient. It shouldn't take too long, though. I've just got to fix some small plot holes, nothing major.