WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HIATUUUUUUUUS! Sorry about that! Man, it's been like, what, a month? Geez! Well, I have a good excuse. While you guys got to go to school and actually do something with your lives, I had to stay home for TWO BLOODY WEEKS WITH A FREAKIN' LUNG INFECTION! Coughing left and right every two seconds!

Ugh! I'm glad that's over! Well, mostly anyways.

Disclaimer: I do not own any httyd characters.

Warning: This chapter's really gory and kinda descriptive.

Chapter Eight

Victorious

"You heard him," I turn around and see Frostbite raising her red paw, making her claws glint in the red moonlight, "Leave, or I'll kill you."

Raven's POV

I stare in horror as dragons all around me flee, injured and bloody. "Fly away!" Snip and Snap, the son of Barf and Belch, yowls through both of his heads as he passes by.

What? No! We can't- this is Berk! This is our home!

As I watch the dragons pass by me, I spot Irria being carried by Toothless, who looks battered. Skurge must've gotten to him. My heart sinks. It's hopeless- they're too strong. But…

I turn my head towards Phoenix- no, Frostbite… or Bloody Moon, I don't know. The white and red dragon flexes her claws, her fiery eyes insane with madness and looking bloodthirsty. Her hard, powerful muscles ripple underneath her abnormally colored scales that are currently bathed in red moonlight. I take a step back, my eyes widening in horror.

She means it. She will kill me. She'll kill everyone.

A wave of fear crashes into me and I whirl around, flying after the dragons of Berk. I flap my wings hard, despite my weariness, and catch up to Stormfly. She turns to me, but before I can say anything, I hear my daughter's roar of victory behind me.

"Berk. Is OURS!"

No! No it's not! I want to yowl that to her, but….

I glance at Stormfly, her eyes dull and her shoulders limp with defeat. Roars of victory sound behind us from the Wild Dragons. The Deadly Nadder looks over her shoulder, and then back at me. "What are we going to do?" she croaks, her voice hoarse with grief.

I'm about to reply, when someone cries, "Stormfly!"

One of Stormfly's sons, Saar, flies up to us. I notice six clawmarks, raking from his shoulders down to the middle of his spine between his wings. Every flap of his wings seem to hurt him, but his eyes are wild with panic.

"It's Zahra." He hisses, and then whirls around. We follow him without hesitation as he leads us down to the sea, where Zahra's beautiful form lays crumpled on a boat. A few Viking healers crowd around her, but step back as Stormfly lands in front of her daughter. Saar and I stay aloft.

"No…" Stormfly whispers, her eyes wide with fear as she stares down at her daughter. The right side of Zahra's face is covered in blood, a dark bloody hole where her eye used to be. Her shoulder is completely shredded, scratches running over other scratches so it's just a raw bloody mess. One of her wings is battered, a long slit in it like a blade cutting through a thin piece of paper. A few of her tail spikes are missing, but they haven't grown back for some reason.

"They got ripped out from the root." Saar mutters to me as if he read my mind, "They'll take longer to grow back."

Suddenly, Stormfly's knees give out from under her and she collapses next to her daughter. "Who did this to you?" she murmurs. Just then, Zahra lifts her head and Stormfly perks up. "The one who… lead the battle." She rasps.

"Frostbite?" I ask, fear pricking my scales. But Zahra just replies, "No…. a young Timber…Timberjack…..my….my eye. What's wrong with my eye?" Zahra moves her head and then hisses in pain, "I can't see out of my eye!"

I back away, leaving the young Nadder to her family. Why would a young Timberjack lead such a battle? Why would Frostbite let her? Hmm…. she's probably important to her. But… isn't Skurge the deputy? Maybe she's delta, but then…. Who was that Skrill that was there with Frostbite and Skurge when they tried to talk us into leaving? And where will we go now?

"Raven!"

I'm jerked out of my thoughts by the call and I look up. Hookfang flies towards me, looking worried. My blood runs cold with fear.

"Irria." The word is barely out of his mouth before I'm rushing through the crowd of dragons, searching for a boat or a dragon or something carrying my daughter. Hookfang catches up to me and leads the way.

"It looks like Frostbite attacked her." He says, dodging a faltering dragon, "Her wounds are deep. She's unconscious."

The Nightmare leads me down to a boat and I see Irria splayed out on the deck, gauzes all over her body. My heart thumps wildly and I snarl, "Move!"

Any Vikings or dragons nearby immediately back away as I land next to my injured daughter. I stare at her with wide eyes. Blood wells up on her chest, already soaking the newly applied gauzes. There are multiple cuts all over her body, as if someone had taken a herding whip to her. I see small Changewing bites on her tail, face, and wings. She's barely moving- the slight rise and fall of her flank is the only thing showing she's alive.

"Oh Irria." I whisper, my heart breaking, "I'm so sorry. This should have never happened." I gently press my nose to her foreleg and close my eyes, "I started this. This is all my fault. I've turned Phoenix into Frostbite. If I had only paid more attention to her, and loved her more, then she wouldn't be like this, and Kindle wouldn't be dead, and Zahra would still be beautiful, and you wouldn't be-"

"Stop."

I glance over my shoulder and see Nate flying next to the boat. He's wounded and tired, but has a determined look in his eyes. "None of this is your fault." He growls, "Irria and I were the ones who teased her so much. Nothing you could have done would have made a difference. We scarred her for life, and now she's getting her revenge. I just wish…" he glances at his sister, "I just wish…. She wouldn't take it out on everyone. And so harshly. I just wish she could let it go (for all the Frozen fans, that was for you) and come home and live with us…. Let us start over."

I sigh and look back at Irria. One of her eyes is open and staring at us wearily. Soon, it closes again and she falls asleep.

"Poor Irria…" Nate rumbles. After a pause, he asks, "What did you say about Zahra 'would still be beautiful'? Is she alright?"

I stare at him, my heart breaking all over again. How will he react to…. Will he….? I sigh. If he truly loves her, he'll accept her no matter what she looks like.

"Wait 'till we're on land to see her." I reply, "For now, go help your father lead the dragons."

He hesitates, but then nods, turns around, and disappears. I look back at Irria and sit down, gently caressing her flank with my muzzle. Thankfully, after a while, the gauze on her chest stops soaking up blood and begins to dry. But the scent of my daughter's blood makes my stomach churn and my heart ache.

Letting out a groan, I press my nose to her scales and whine, "I wish we could start over, too."

Frostbite's POV

I grin wickedly, the thrill of triumph flowing through my veins. My battle claws dig into the mountain, easily cutting through the rock. I glance down at the long clawmarks I made before letting out a victory roar. They're lengthy and deep, showing the signs that a powerful dragon made them. I purr.

My family may have mentally scarred me, but I have physically scarred them, their clan of pets, and now, their home.

Above the roars of victory, I hear Skurge's voice, "WE DID IT!"

My heart thumps excitedly as I watch my clan drive out the rest of the pets, most of whom are simply trying to escape them and flee with the rest of their friends. I notice a Gronckle break away from the fighting and flee a few Nadder-lengths away from me. I immediately drop into a crouch, aim, and then leap into the air.

Slamming into its flank with my helmet, I dive down, smacking its head with my tail as I do. The Gronckle whirls around, but I quickly surge upwards and swipe at its chin.

It screeches in pain and lashes out. Before I can move to the side, one of its claws sinks into my left wind-flap on my head. When its paw draws back, however, I see one of its claws missing. Hissing, I send a spinning blow to its face, feeling my claws tear through flesh and then meet bone.

"Yaaawwrr!" The Gronckle shrieks and flies away. I hesitate, thinking about just letting it go, but then I take a deep breath and send a plasma blast to its tail. It cries out in pain and flies faster.

Laughing, I drop down onto another stalagmite jutting out from the mountain. I watch the Gronckle flee until it disappears into the dark night, only lit by the Lunar Moon. Sighing, my shoulders sag as my adrenaline dies down. Turning towards the red moon, I sigh again and simply stare, letting my scales get bathed in the crimson light.

Below me, my dragons mill around, giving out words of encouragement and praise, or simply boasting about their moves. I notice swift little Calder flying quickly towards the island of Infernious, most likely going to gather the clan. Skurge is barking out orders, it seems like it's a second-nature for him, but then abruptly stops. I glance down at him to see the Whispering Death gazing at me with a mixture of admiration and awe. I look down to meet his gaze and he flashes his teeth. But…. Not his usual excited, wicked grin. Just… like a content smile.

I purr and smile back.

"Frostbite!"

I look over to see Larksong flying towards me, looking thrilled. "Frostbite, did I-"

Unexpectedly, her eyes widen and she yowls, "Look out!"

Suddenly, something hard crashes into my back and sends me stumbling forward. I lose footing and start tumbling down the mountain, claws scrabbling uselessly for a pawhold. I yowl in pain as I crash through the trees and land on my back.

The breath gets knocked out of me and I splutter, gasping for air. Before I can do anything else, a heavy body lands on me and pins me to the ground. I yelp, feeling a searing pain in my shoulder, and look up. A young, large, dark russet, male Monstrous Nightmare stares down at me with blazing amber eyes.

"How dare you try and take our home?!" he screeches, baring his teeth and attempts to bite my throat. Hissing, I pull him to the side so that we're on our flanks. Then, I use my back claws to scratch his belly while keeping him in a headlock.

The Nightmare snarls and kicks me away. I let him go and we both scramble to our paws. Then, we start circling each other like wolves. My shoulder still hurts a lot, but not as much as it did a few moments ago, so I ignore the pain and pay attention to my rival.

"You won't take my home away from me without a fight." He growls and rears up on his hind legs. He lashes out at me and I duck. Digging my foreclaws into the ground, I quickly swing my hind legs around and slam them into his. The force causes them to buckle and he falls onto his belly. I jump out of the way, and then pounce on his back.

Suddenly, Larksong lands in front of his face and she lashes out. Her razor sharp wings slice across his face and he lets out a cry of pain.

"How dare you attack my leader?!" she spits, her eyes ablaze with fury, "How dare you attack my mentor?!" the apprentice continues to lash out, clawing the Nightmare's face into a bloody mess. As she does, Skurge crashes through the trees and yowls, "Out of the way, Frosty!"

Immediately, I jump into the air, my shoulder screaming in pain in the process. As I do, Skurge blasts him with multiple rings of fire. The Nightmare screams in agony as his scales singe and sizzle.

"Stop! Please!" he cries, trying to escape the two dragons. But they ignore him. Larksong jumps back and starts blasting him with fire, too. Meanwhile, Skurge raises his spikes and repeatedly bats the Nightmare with his tail. Blood splatters everywhere, and I land on the ground nearby them, watching the battle.

It goes on for a long time. A long time in which I am staring in disbelief, astonishment, awe, and maybe just a little bit of disgust.

Then, getting over my shock, I calmly sit down and turn my head. Licking my wounded shoulder, I wince. It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it, but there might be something on the inside. I'll have to have Dracen fix me up.

Looking back at the battle, I watch Skurge lunge at the Nightmare and roll him over, curling his body around him and pinning his limbs to his body. My deputy turns to me and snarls, "What should we do with this pathetic piece of carrion?"

I tilt my head, thinking, and then shrug. I instantly regret it, hissing in pain as my shoulder throbs.

Larksong slithers closer, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" The look of worry in her eyes seem so out of place, what with blood dripping off of her maw and wings.

I shake my head, standing up. "The ground did more damage than he could have done." I reply.

Turning to Skurge, I order, "Let him go. The wretched thing isn't even conscious."

It's true. The Nightmare seems to have lost so much blood that he blacked out. Either that, or Skurge's tail hit him in the head.

Skurge obediently untwines himself from him and circles him. "Let's make an example of him," he growls, "Send him back to those pets in pieces!"

I sniff, and then reply, "I think we've already done that with the rest. We could just kill him, but where's the fun in that? Larksong," I turn to my apprentice, who suddenly seems much older and bigger now, "Any suggestion?"

The Timberjack perks up and then hisses, "Let's keep him prisoner in our new camp!"

I purr and nod. Limping into the trees, I flick my tail and say, "Be a dear and drag him to camp, Skurge. Larksong, come with me."

I hear Larksong flutter over, and Skurge's grumbles as he moves to grab the Nightmare's scruff. "What is it?" my apprentice asks nervously, "Did I mess up on a move? Or maybe, back there, I should've used the-"

"No, no, you did fine." I say, my pawsteps becoming stronger with each step, "Perfect, in fact."

"Really? Great!"

"Larksong," I look ahead, barely seeing the wrecked Viking village through the trees, "Over the months of your training, you've become… an heir, of some sort, to me. Like a daughter I never had."

"Oh." Larksong looks surprised, and then curious, egging me to continue.

I nod slowly, "No doubt you'll be a high-ranking Fang after today."

There's a pause, as my words sink into Larksong, and then she gasps in realization. "Really?" she squeals, "Wait, really? I'm going to be a full clan member? Today?"

I nod again, purring. She leaps into the air in joy, "Grrreat! I'm going to go tell Willow!"

Larksong begins to take off, but then stops and looks back at me, "Willow's going to be a full member too, right?"

"Of course!"

She purrs, and then presses up against me for a brief moment. "Thanks," she whispers, rubbing her muzzle against my chest, "You've kinda become a mother to me too."

Then, she pulls away and leaps into the air. Looking over her shoulder, she purrs in amusement, "Besides Fernheart, of course."

With that, she whirls around and disappears.

I stare after her. For a few moments, I stand there in bewilderment, and then realize that I've stopped dead in my tracks. Quickly picking up the pace, I push through the undergrowth until I come to the edge of the forest.

Leaves and bushes rustle behind me as Skurge comes out, dragging a bedraggled Nightmare. He's puffing with the effort, but I ignore his struggles and simply say, "Come on. We have a clan to lead."

I take off and fly into the wrecked village. Most of the houses are either burned or knocked down. Many dragons are gathering the wood into piles, much to my wonder.

Flying over to Zylah, I ask, "What's going on?"

"Frostbite!" the Skrill turns to me, joy in her eyes, "I was wondering where you were. Are you alright? Dracen and Poppyseed are almost done patching everyone up. Did you get your revenge on your family? I feel great! This whole battle was such a rush- it was fun!"

I purr, raising a paw to stop her. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches and a wrenched shoulder, I think. A Monstrous Nightmare tried to attack me and we fought in the forest, but then Larksong and Skurge came and nearly shredded him."

I look over as Skurge comes nearer, dragging the russet body with him. Zylah follows my gaze and gasps, "Wow!"

"This is our new prisoner." I state, my voice hollow. Shaking my head, I continue, "Anyway, I did claw my sister and my mother, but I didn't get to Toothless. Or Nate." I add with a growl. Turning to Zylah, I finish, "I'm glad you had fun. Now what is… this?"

I gesture to the dragons moving wood and other Viking rubbish. She perks up and explains, "I've asked Skull, Viperfang, Snapper, Swiftstrike, Stone, and the apprentices, Brook, Willow, Wildfang, and Larksong to gather the wood into piles so we can light them later and stay warm. The rest are either injured or helping the clan get here. Look," Zylah jerks her head to the horizon, where a bunch of dark shapes are growing bigger against the cracking dawn.

"Good." I say, "The Claws and Fangs that didn't come can hunt and make new nests while we rest."

"No need."

I turn around to see Crag dragging a dead yak towards us. Bluemoon trots beside him with her mouth stuffed with three chickens. She hops over and spits them out into a pile.

"The humans barely had any time to get their livestock. They left a lot of prey behind. These chickens practically ran into my paws- it seemed rude to ignore them!"

I laugh and purr, "We'll eat good tonight."

Dracen's POV

"Good job, Poppyseed. Now just mix some more burdock root and goldenrod, apply it, and add some catchweed to keep the poultice from being rubbed off."

My apprentice nods, carefully picking through the pack of herbs. I watch her as she tends to a long scratch on Aquamarine's flank. It isn't deep, but I don't want it getting infected. My ears perk as I hear Frostbite's voice and I say, "I'm going to check on Frostbite. You continue here."

I turn around and come face to face with Skurge.

Blinking in surprise, I take a step back. "What is it?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even and growl-free, despite my dislike for the Whispering Death.

He moves to the side and reveals a severely injured Monstrous Nightmare. I gasp in shock. There are cuts and gashes all over his body. Burns and bruises and gouges- his face doesn't even look like it's a face! It looks like an Outcast blade started slashing at it, but then someone burned it with fire. Good thing it was cauterized, or else he might've lost all his blood. But, seeing as I can't distinguish his eyes from the rest of his burnt face, he'll probably be blind for the rest of his life.

Looking up at Skurge in shock, I yowl, outraged, "Did you do this?!"

Skurge rolls his eyes and replies casually, "He attacked Frostbite, so Larksong and I shredded him."

"How could you injure a dragon in such a way?" I yelp.

Sighing irritably, Skurge says, "He's just a pathetic Viking pet."

I flex my claws and square up my shoulders, "Pet or not, he's still a dragon! He's got blood, feels pain, and has a life like you and me! Just because we're wild and he's not doesn't make us better than him- oof!"

I stagger backwards as Skurge buffets me with his head. Thrusting his snout next to my face, he growls, "Just make sure he doesn't die. We need our new prisoner to be breathing."

Snarling, I lash out and snag my claws on his nose. We both jerk our heads back in surprise.

"You scratched me!" he growls, "You're not a Fang, you're a Healer, so start acting like one or I'll report you to Frostbite!"

With that, he whirls around and slithers away. I stare after him until Poppyseed's call startles me.

"Dracen!"

I turn as the young Changewing trots over to me. She looks half worried and half annoyed. "Dracen," she repeats, stopping in front of me, "The dragons that are gathering wood are all injured in some way. I've healed some, but they won't listen to me when I tell them to rest. They won't get better unless they stop working and rest for at least one night. And the others didn't even let me heal them! Brook's got a cut on her eye that I'm really worried about and Swiftstrike-"

She cuts off, staring at the mangled Nightmare in horror. "Great Sky gods!" she exclaims, "What happened?"

"Skurge, Frostbite, and Larksong happened." I growl, turning back to the injured dragon. Looking up, I see Skurge, Zylah, and Frostbite talking. Flicking my tail, I say, "Keep an eye on him for a moment, Poppyseed. I'll be right back."

Trotting over to them, I clear my throat and Frostbite turns to me. Skurge narrows his eyes, but I ignore him and announce, "I have something to say to the clan."

She looks a little taken aback, but then nods, respect in her eyes, and stands up. "Of course, Dracen."

The queen turns around and leads Zylah, Skurge, and I to a taller rock plateau. Hopping onto it, she turns to me and asks, "What's it about?"

"Just a little medical problem. Might interfere with their work." I answer simply. Frostbite nods and purrs, "Well, the rest of the clan is back already, so that's alright. By the way, if you could take a look at my shoulder later, that would be great."

Turning to the cliff, she yowls, "Dragons of Infernious! Gather to hear my words!"

As soon as the clan is assembled, Frostbite turns to me and jerks her head, "Go ahead."

Walking to the edge of the plateau, I announce in my loudest voice, "Poppyseed and I need all the dragons that participated in the battle to stop what they're doing and let us heal them. The rest of the clan has come, so they can take your places while you rest."

Roars of outrage meet my words, but I yell over them, "It's either that or have your wounds get infected and then you won't be hunting or fighting for as long as I want. I am your healer- I only want what's best for you."

Frostbite comes to stand next to me. "You will do what Dracen says." She orders, "And anyway, you all did a good job and deserve some relaxation."

"But what about all the wood?" Whiplash calls out.

"We're almost done." Skyflame nudges him, "Come on, you have to be a little tired."

He grins, "Are you kidding? I could keep on fighting 'till winter!" Skyflame scoffs and rolls her eyes. I inwardly sigh. More eggs to come. And that means more flustering mothers not knowing what to do when their eggs hatch and relying on me (a male!) to tell them what to do and-

Frostbite also seems to notice their sudden closeness and lets out a quiet purr.

Fireflight speaks up, "Don't worry, Whiplash. Us Claws can take care of the wood. And it looks like you're almost done anyways." He nods to the many piles of wood.

"But where will we sleep?" Snapper asks. Frostbite pauses, and then replies, "For tonight, you'll have to sleep without a nest. Keep the hatchlings and Misty, Dracen and Poppyseed, and the apprentices in the center."

The dragons murmur in agreement, and then Solheart says, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get that wood stacked and those bellies full!"

"Wait!" Frostbite calls before they can leave, "I have a few more announcements." I notice Willow and Larksong looking up at her eagerly. Instead, Frostbite says, "We have captured a Monstrous Nightmare pet and are keeping him prisoner. He will need guarding at all times. Multiple Fangs will keep watch over him for a period of time everyday."

"I'll take first shift." Sawyer, who didn't fight in the battle, offers.

Frostbite nods, and then mutters to me, "You can go heal them now. I've got one more thing to say."

I nod and jump off the plateau. Trotting over to Poppyseed who is watching over the Nightmare, I ask quietly, "How is he doing?"

She looks up, concern in her eyes. "No better, no worse." She whispers, "Dracen, he's really hurt."

"I know." I gently nose her away from the mangled body, "Go take care of the rest of the dragons. I've got this."

Poppyseed hesitates, and then pushes a bundle of herbs towards me. "I packed everything I thought you would need in here." She says.

I nose through it, and then look up and say, "It's almost everything we brought."

"Yeah," she purrs, "But Sparrow and Nightwhisper brought the rest of the herbs that we left back on Infernious Island, and more. Apparently Sparrow knows a bit about herbs and picked some for us. He says he just remembers what his mother did for his crooked paw, and that he would get hurt sometimes because of it so she healed him." Poppyseed's eyes sparkle, and then she turns around and starts looking over Bluemoon, who is closest to her.

Looking away, I settle down in front of the prisoner and listen idly as Frostbite proclaims, "Larksong and Willow showed true bravery in the battle. Although the rest of you did as well, Willow is not a full-grown dragon and still fought her first battle without her mentor. And Larksong warned me before the Monstrous Nightmare could sink his teeth into my neck, came to my aid when I was injured, and it was her idea to take him prisoner. Without her, I could be dead.

And that is why she and Willow shall be the first apprentices to become full clan members on our new island."

I try to block out the roars of joy and encouragement as I chew up Celandine before applying it to the Nightmare's eyes.

"Larksong, step forward. Is it your true desire to become a Fang and defend your clan with your life?"

"It is!"

"Good. Now, since we don't have the pool for you to drink from, simply… pluck a blade of grass from the ground and cut it in half with your claw."

I almost purr aloud. She didn't seem to plan for this, did she? The ceremony continues and Willow steps forward when Frostbite calls her. Mixing some tormentil and marigold, I gently rub them into the Nightmare's slashes. I wince as I feel the burnt flesh under my paws.

"It is!"

"Do the same as Larksong and cut a blade of grass."

I move on to the rest of the Nightmare's body, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the amount of wounds on his hide. I don't even know how this dragon is still alive!

"By my authority, these two young dragons, Willow and Larksong, shall be full members of Infernious from now and on!"

I sigh, ignoring the cheers of my clanmates and instead focusing on my task in paw. This is going to take a while.

Nate's POV

My wings sag tiredly as I land/crash onto the shore of Dragon Island. The Vikings were iffy about it, and so were the dragons, but this is the only place we could go. Although I normally would be tense and vigilant on this island, remembering the stories of the horrible tyrant, Red Death, I'm too exhausted to even move.

Toothless got attacked by Skurge, the terrifying Whispering Death that has had a grudge against my father since before I was born. At first, it was just him and Toothless fighting, but then I saw and came over to help. Even though we outnumbered him, he still managed to beat us up. And then this female Skrill joined the fight, and it all just went haywire from there.

And to make matters worse, Irria had to face Phoenix alone! I inwardly shudder, the memory of finding my sister bleeding out on the forest floor fresh and vivid.

But the scariest thing is Phoenix. She's just….she looks so different from when we were hatchlings. She's so much bigger, way bigger than Toothless, and so tough and muscled. Her markings and eyes are a frightening crimson, and what's up with her blood-red paw? That wasn't there when we were young. Neither were her horrid scars, or her deadly, long, sharp claws. And her right head wind flap is missing a chunk, and her wings are torn, no doubt from other scuffles. It's just… so strange to see her like that. She barely looks like a Night Fury. And now she's out for revenge. A powerful dragon like her… I don't even want to think about what's going to happen to us. I know we will see her again. She hasn't gotten the chance to claw me or Toothless.

Shakily, I get to my paws, the light of dawn shining down on my shoulders. I need to go see Zahra. Raven scared me when she told me not to go see her until we're on land.

I walk as quickly as I can, looking around for the beautiful Nadder. Father down shore, I see Stormfly and Saar fluttering next to a Viking boat. Making my way towards them, I jerk in surprise as someone calls my name.

"Hey, Nate!"

I look over my shoulder to see Griffin walking towards me. He looks pretty battered, but his eyes still have their mischievous glint. I wait for him to catch up and then ask, "What is it?"

"Where's Zahra?"

I look over at the boat where Stormfly and Saar are. "I think she's on that ship." I reply. Griffin nods and starts walking towards it. I scramble after him, feeling slightly protective of Zahra.

Stormfly catches my eye as we approach and I ask, "Is she in there?"

"Yes." Stormfly's voice is choked with grief. I glance at Griffin. Even he seems to be worried.

"Can I see her?" I ask gently and the Nadder nods numbly. As I stiffly leap onto the boat, Saar adds, "Don't stay long."

"I won't." I call over my shoulder as Griffin hops on next to me. Nosing my way through the crowd of healers and leaving Griffin behind, I stop in front of a body and gasp.

There, covered in blood and gauzes, lies Zahra, with an empty hole on one side of her bloody face. She wearily lifts her head and whimpers, "Nate?"

Just then, Griffin catches up to me and gasps as well. But, being the snarky, rude dragon he is, he exclaims in disgust, "Gross!"

Zahra wails and buries her face into my chest. I wince in pain, and then glare daggers at Griffin.

"I think you should leave." I growl, my voice shaking, "Go check on your brother or something. Where is he anyway?"

"I don't know."

"Go find him…. What was his name again?"

"Flynn."

Dracen's POV

My shoulders droop in fatigue as I drop my forepaws, finally done healing the Monstrous Nightmare. It took all morning and most of the afternoon, only pausing for a chicken or two, to apply herbs to all of his wounds and covering them up as best as I can with cobwebs and birch leaves.

Sighing, I simply settle down next to him, too tired to make a nest. Poppyseed already went to sleep, and still is sleeping, but I've been up since…. since…

My thoughts cloud up as exhaustion sets in. But before I can close my eyes, I hear the Nightmare stirring.

He lets out a whimper of pain and I sit up. Fetching three poppy seeds, I put them in front of him and order gently, "Here, eat these. They'll ease the pain."

The Nightmare hesitates, but then laps them up, wincing in the process. "Wher 'm I?" he slurs.

I pause, and then reply, "You're safe. With me. I'm Dracen."

The Nightmare lets out a long sigh and replies, "I'm Flynn," before falling asleep.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yeah, review