.
Broken
Chapter 13: First Hunter
The late morning sun felt good on Crush Claw's back and the woodcave under his belly, while steeply sloped, was wide enough to comfortably support his long, sinuous body. He had learned to nestle his head among the odd projections atop one end of the woodcave, hook his wing claws into the edge of it, drape his hinds straddling the peak and let his tail dangle over the opposite end. In this way he could sleep undisturbed while remaining in the preytooth's nesting grounds.
He wouldn't have been sleeping on top of a woodcave at all if it weren't for the odd and sometimes unsettling nature of the preytooths themselves. Since his first day among them he'd been trying to learn their ways. Sometimes he felt he might eventually understand them. At other times he was certain every single one of them was brain sick. Especially the one with which he'd bonded. He had come to call him 'Braintwist', partly because of his occasional erratic behavior but also because he hated the name other Kin had given him.
Earlier that morning, in fact, Braintwist had started a new game with him. He'd quickly come to think of it as 'eat and touch.' The preytooth had brought an object made of plant fibers yet was filled with newly caught fish. He'd set it down outside the woodcave and fed one of the fish to him. After he ate it, thrumming contentedly, Braintwist had laid his foreclaw gently on his snout. He was used to this, having accepted such contact when they'd bonded over the boar. The preytooth had rubbed his muzzle in a strange but soothing way. Then he'd given him another fish. As he ate it, Braintwist had laid his foreclaws upon his neck. Again he rubbed gently, getting him used to the contact.
So the game went. Crush Claw thought it was an odd game, but certainly not a bad one. Not until Braintwist went one step too far.
That was the most troubling thing about preytooths. He couldn't be certain of their intentions when he knew so little about them. He knew the history of preytooths as told him by those Kin at Fire Nest who'd fought against them. Fighting preytooths was well understood. But this new way of living with preytooths instead of fighting them was unlike any story ever told to a fledgling about the wide, wild skies beyond the nest. The new stories, like the fledglings they were told to, had no distance behind them, no history to look back on for lessons of how to go forward.
That was why Crush Claw had been utterly unprepared when Braintwist had given him a fish and then laid a foreclaw on his wing.
To touch a dragon's wings, that very part of his body that gives him flight, is almost as invasive as trying to directly touch his liver. Certainly Crush Claw's dam had preened his wings for him as a fledgling, but that was before he'd made his first flight. When Braintwist had put his small, warm foreclaw on the leading edge of his wing he had reared up and roared his displeasure. As he did, something odd happened to him.
Hatchlings in a nest know nothing. It's expected that they will step on or experimentally bite one another's wings or the wings of their dam or sire. One of the first lessons taught those who've just poked their snouts out of their eggs is the importance of respecting the bodies of both Kin and others. Crush Claw remembered his own lesson, firmly applied by his sire. As he voiced his unhappiness at having his wing touched, he remembered that lesson clearly. Only now he was seeing it from his sire's point of view. The relatively small preytooth standing before him had taken a step back, his scent broadcasting a faint but unmistakable mix of fear and confusion. And that stopped him from striking the preytooth in retaliation. Braintwist was of an adult size, as far as he could tell, yet ignorant of the ways of Kin. Lessons were needed to insure the safety and trust on both sides.
Crush Claw, unsure of what to do next and still unhappy about the inappropriate contact, had simply leapt onto the woodcave and out of Braintwist's reach. The preytooth had watched him for a time before trying to tempt him down with more fish. Crush Claw had had his fill and wanted no more of either. He arranged himself on top of the woodcave, closed his eyes and ignored the other. After a time he heard Braintwist wander off.
Although his eyes were closed, the dragon did not sleep. Instead he fretted about the preytooth to whom he'd bonded.
He'd never expected to have the problems he now faced. He'd chosen a preytooth for bonding and been accepted, but only after displaying for many others. All those others had ignored him or discouraged him. He'd started to think Swimmer had been right, that he might never find one with which to bond. Eventually he'd been forced to seek out the one preytooth he'd been warned not to approach. While Braintwist certainly did not seem the best choice, Crush Claw didn't feel he was as dangerous as the others said.
And yet he had doubts. There was something about the preytooth to which he'd bonded, something subtle and dark that he couldn't hook a tooth into. He didn't think it was Braintwist's scent. He'd learned the truth of Swimmer's statement that one could read the stronger scents and understand what a preytooth was feeling. Unfortunately that didn't help as much as one might hope because one couldn't always understand why the preytooth might be feeling any particular way. There'd been times Crush Claw had expected his preytooth to feel contented, only to pick up anger or confusion from him. Other times he might feel certain Braintwist would react to something violently only to watch him dismiss it or ignore it entirely. Underneath it all, however, there was something about his preytooth's behavior that marked him as somehow different from the others.
The lack of understanding between Kin and preytooths could have caused many problems if most Kin weren't determined to protect their truce with them. In fact, the only advice any Kin had given him that had been of value was given to him by one of the bonded brightscales. "Treat every preytooth as a hatchling. Expect them to know nothing of Kin." The truth of that had been proven just that morning.
Crush Claw wished he could get more advice from any Kin willing to talk to him. Nearly everyone he'd approached to ask questions about preytooths had instead tried to convince him to abandon the one to which he'd bonded, as though it was interfering with their hunt in some way. It bothered him almost as much as being called 'small.'
There was one thing bonded Kin did agree on concerning preytooths: the experience was often a rewarding one because of something the preytooths did that Kin usually didn't. They often touched their bond partner. Outside the egg nest, dragons seldom had reason to come into physical contact unless they were fighting or mating. Preytooths were very different. They seemed to enjoy touching things around them as often as they could. This included both Kin and other preytooths. Crush Claw had personally learned the truth of that sentiment. Braintwist liked to make contact with him frequently. It wasn't just touching either. Grooming was another activity preytooths engaged in with Kin. So was scratching.
That was utterly new to Crush Claw. When Braintwist had started to rub those blunt claws over the sensitive spot between his jaw hinge and his ear canal, it was all he could do to remain standing. When the preytooth had stopped and stepped back, he'd crooned longingly and moved closer, surprisingly desperate to experience the sensation once again.
Not all touching interested him, however. Beyond the unwanted wing contact, he wasn't at all convinced he would ever want Braintwist riding on his back. Something about the idea struck him as pungently wrong. Since arriving at the preytooth's nest he'd seen several Kin flying with their bond partner, stumpy hinds straddling a graceful neck or a powerful set of shoulders, foreclaws grasping wherever they could to stay on. He'd gotten used to the sight, but it still didn't smell right to him.
It suddenly occurred to him, at that moment, that perhaps it was the strength of the bond that made the difference. All the Kin he'd seen carrying preytooths on their back had chosen their partner and been accepted. Both Kin and preytooth wanted the arrangement. Both wanted, he assumed, to share the experience of flight in a way neither had before.
If he had bonded with a preytooth the others accepted and who didn't give him reason to doubt his own choice, would he feel differently about carrying his bond partner up into the sky?
A shadow crossed over his eyes and he heard the faint flutter of wings approaching. A friendly chirrup preceded, "Soft tailwinds!" There were the underlying tones in her voice that asked permission to land within his nesting space. He raised his head to answer with, "Swift hunting!" and the complacent rumblings that said she was welcome to touch land.
Swimmer landed beside the woodcave, her sturdy legs flexing slightly as she met the ground. He noticed she only partly furled her wings, however. She was not there simply to visit. "Has the sun warmed your blood well today, Blind White?"
Expecting her use of his egg name, he answered calmly, "I am Crush Claw. I am big enough." Brightscales were well known for their playful word twisting, but Swimmer took special pleasure in reminding him of their first meeting by using only his egg name when they met. "Yes, the sun is good today. I'd offer you a roost, but this woodcave is barely large enough to hold me."
"Thank you, but I need no roost just now. I've been fishing and thinking and I'm full of both."
"A good way to drown, diving with your head full of thoughts."
She extended her wings and flapped once, hopping with the stroke. "I am Swimmer. I can dive deep enough to reach the clawnose and the slashback. A head full of thoughts cannot keep me under." She settled, but still didn't completely furl her wings. Her head was full of thoughts, indeed.
"What can I do for my Kin?" he asked, feeling that some formality was called for.
Swimmer preened a moment, a sign she was not entirely comfortable with what was in her mind. She was downwind so he had no clearer signal of how concerned she might be. "Will you come with me to speak to the First Hunter?" There were notes of apology in her voice, a tremble of regret in her tone. "I must question your hunt."
Much like Braintwist's grasping touch on his wing, her words sparked a brief flare of heat in his liver. His wing claws, small as they were, dug furrows in the edge of the woodcave. Crush Claw doused the flame quickly, however. Swimmer was known to him and meant him no harm. To ask him to speak to the First Hunter meant she had heavy concerns for his well being. She was his elder, of breeding age, and her words were worth considering. Still, it did not please him.
He felt certain he knew what thoughts were filling her head. Her first warning had not been her last. Every Kin he approached echoed her words to him. None spoke fighting words to him, but the warnings were unending. The First Hunter must surely be ready to add his voice to Kin and others in the matter.
He saw only two directions. Either he was blind to the dangers his bond partner presented or others were being too protective. Sometimes sires or dams kept their fledglings in the nest overlong and thus did them injury. His own eyes had damaged him while in his egg nest. But he saw clearly now and trusted his eyes as any Kin should. Where was the truth of it?
Perhaps it was with the First Hunter. He supposed it would not hurt him to hear that one's words as well. He had a question of his own, though.
"Who is First Hunter of this nest?"
Swimmer bobbed her head, encouraged. "The ghostwing. His name is-"
"I know his name," Crush Claw interrupted. As though any Kin out of the shell hadn't heard that one's name. "Where is he now?"
They found him near the stony beach where the preytooths made their woodfish. He had spread himself out upon the grassy verge, his wings an impressive span for the size of his body. As they circled down to land, he could see drops of water sparkling on the dark skin. The First Hunter had been bathing and was now napping as he dried.
Swimmer asked for permission for both of them to approach and the ghostwing bade them land. Crush Claw felt a moment's irritation at having another sponsor him, but reminded himself he was the fledgling of the group. He was here to listen to the First Hunter's words.
The black scaled Kin stood and snapped his wings, filling the air with tiny droplets of water. He thumped his long tail to the ground and shook his head, stretched his legs in opposing pairs then sat and gazed at them warily. Something seemed wrong with him, something Crush Claw couldn't quite understand. Before he could ask, Swimmer approached the ghostwing and trilled a formal note.
"My flight name is Swimmer. My companion's flight name is Crush Claw. We give thanks to the First Hunter and remember his deed at Fire Nest." She stepped closer until she was nearly snout to snout with the ghostwing and worked her gullet. The front half of a large silver side, the tastiest morsel one could find in the surrounding waters, lay in the grass between them. Suddenly he worried he was supposed to make a similar offer. Then he realized she had said 'we give thanks', meaning the offering was given to show their respect. She was sponsoring him again, but he had no quarrel with her intentions.
The First Hunter stared at the offering a moment. Then he softly growled his acceptance and swallowed the silver side. "I thank you for sharing your catch." He then looked at Crush Claw, studying him briefly before turning back at Swimmer. "What may I do for you?"
The brightscale settled herself on the ground. "I met Crush Claw on his way here from Fire Nest. I taught him the winds here. I warned him that bonding with a preytooth would be difficult. I told him to avoid Iceblood." She stopped a moment to preen, trying to focus her thoughts. "Now he has bonded to that one." She turned her nearest eye to Crush Claw. "I am worried for him."
The ghostwing looked at Crush Claw again, peering closely at him. He suddenly felt the words he dreaded were coming once more. He was mistaken.
"What do you think of this nest?"
He flicked his wings a few times, unaccustomed to being asked his opinion. "It is strange. Hard to understand. The preytooths do many things that don't make sense."
His words were answered with a short grumble of agreement. "Do you scent any danger here?"
That took a moment's thought to answer. When he'd arrived he had intended to return to Fire Nest if anything struck him as a threat. But the sheer strangeness that often marked his days in this new place was hard to call a threat. How could one see danger if one didn't know all its forms? He gave the clearest answer he could manage.
"If there is danger here, other than the preytooths themselves, I don't know its sign or scent."
The First Hunter sounded agreement again. "Is that not a danger in itself? Not knowing the sign or scent of what may harm you?"
Crush Claw could see the truth of that. The fledgling that approaches the ledge of his nest before his wings are strong enough does not understand the difference between flying and falling. But the time he'd spent with his bond partner didn't feel like falling. Well, most of the time it didn't.
"Swimmer told me Braintwist's liver was full of snow and his eyes were full of blood. I do not scent these things."
The ghostwing gurgled confusion. "Braintwist?" Swimmer chittered an odd note.
"That is what I have named him."
Now the dark Kin made sounds of amusement. "I think that is a name that would describe all preytooths." He studied Crush Claw's form once more. "Has your bond partner ever done anything that injured you?"
"No."
"Has he ever threatened you with sharp metal?"
"No." It felt good to be able to answer those questions.
"Has he tried to ride you?"
Crush Claw hesitated to answer, surprised by the realization. "No, he has not."
A long, low rumble of discontent rose from deep in the First Hunter's chest. "He is a clever one, your Braintwist. You have named him better than you know."
He did not like what he was hearing. "What do you mean?"
The ghostwing folded his wings tightly and curled his tail around himself. "I know these preytooths better than any Kin flying. I was watcher for Fire Nest after the Great Eel came. I spent many nights roosting on their woodcaves, learning their language, listening to their plans. I learned their names and their roles within their nest. I protected the gatherings as best I could."
A sickening coldness crept into Crush Claw's liver. He reared back, unable to prevent the hiss that escaped his jaws.
"Crush Claw!" Swimmer scolded him. He ignored her.
"Preytooths have no language! They have no names! They are clever beasts only! How can you say these things?" The ideas that the ghostwing was putting forth made him want to take flight for Fire Nest right then.
With a tone that hinted at humor, the First Hunter said, "No. They are not beasts. They are a kin."
That was the second time others had made that claim about preytooths and his reaction was swift and desperate. "Preytooths are not Kin!"
"I didn't say they are Kin. I said they are 'a kin.' There is a difference."
Was this nothing but word twisting to them? Were the two of them trying to confuse him?
"Do you truly doubt me?" The tip of the ghostwing's tail flicked upward, into Crush Claw's line of sight. "Do you not know my story?"
Another shock hit his liver. "Your tail!" He felt his wings quiver at the sight of the infirmity that confronted him. He looked into the ghostwing's eyes, seeking signs of brain sickness and finding none. How could this be? "You can't fly!"
Swimmer screeched a harsh note and stood with wings spread. "Fledgling! Listen to your elders!" Her words changed nothing.
"How can you be First Hunter? How can you know anything about preytooths?" He looked at the missing tail fin again and felt his whole body trembling at the wrongness of it all. "Your flight name is Wind Rip! You grounded the Great Eel! How..." He heard a loud rush as his skin fire suddenly enveloped his body. He smelled only his own fire, saw only his own flames before his eyes. Finally, in anguish and fear he roared, "WHAT ARE YOU?"
The others had moved back when he fired his skin, giving him room to take flight if he so chose. He wanted to. He wanted to jump up and put this strange nest behind him, return to Fire Nest and never again think about the strangeness of preytooths or of ghostwings who claimed their old enemies had language. He wanted to badly. He crouched.
"Open your eyes, Blind White."
Crush Claw froze. His joints locked, almost against his will. The voice had been soft, gentle. He'd almost missed it over the steaming roar of his skin fire. He trembled like a hatchling just out of the shell.
"Open your eyes and see the truth."
He wanted to shriek, wanted to deny, wanted to flee. He could do nothing. His skin fire started to ebb. Why had he ever left Fire Nest?
"The sky is far wider than your eyes. So is the truth."
No, he thought, the wideness of the sky could not hide truth. Truth was what the eye saw, what the ear heard, what the liver felt. It could not be larger than him.
Could it?
"Open your eyes and I will show you the truth. I will give you answers."
His fluttering skin fire went out as abruptly as if he'd dove into the water. Answers! Knowledge, truth; the coldest, heaviest air to climb up and up and see the full width of the sky. He panted, shaking and miserable. He turned his eyes to the First Hunter. Only then did he realize it had been him speaking.
"Tell me," he begged, like a hatchling needing food, shameless. Slowly his joints loosened and he sank to the ground, groaning.
"Crush Claw," came Swimmer's harsh voice.
"No," the ghostwing intervened. "He hears me now. Don't you, Blind White?" The black dragon slowly approached him. This was the one he'd been told about, whose flight name echoed throughout Fire Nest. He was the one named Wind Rip, who had grounded the Great Eel and changed the skies forever. The Kin here had proclaimed him First Hunter of the preytooth nest. His voice spoke for Kin, his words were those of the watcher.
He came to him until their noses touched. The great dark wings lifted and spread over his head, blocking the light until only the glowing eyes before him could be seen. Large black pupils were surrounded by a faint light like the ribbons of sky fire that sometimes filled the night air. He was held by those eyes, kept warm and safe, protected from any harm. They seemed to grow larger until they were all he could see. "Do you hear me, my Kin? Can my words reach you?"
It was like being preened by his dam. The sense of calm worked its way through his whole body, pushing out the fear and confusion that had claimed him. "I hear my Kin," he answered quietly, relieved.
The wings retreated and the ghostwing sat back. There was serenity in his eyes, a sense of confidence and understanding that held his gaze. "Ask your questions."
Strangely enough, the first question that came to his mind was rather unimportant but still puzzling. "How did you know my egg name?"
A gentle chuffing of amusement preceded, "I asked your friend Swimmer. You did not hear me."
Crush Claw felt oddly weak and muddled, but safe. He considered his first answer until his next question appeared. "How can you be First Hunter if you can't fly? You can't hunt if you can't fly."
The ghostwing's head tilted slightly, considering. "I am First Hunter because I can't fly." He flicked his tail again, moving the damaged fin between them. "And I am First Hunter because I can fly."
He felt his grasp of the truth slipping. "I don't understand."
Easing himself to the ground beside Swimmer, he made himself comfortable. "Will you listen to my story, and come to know the truth as I did?"
Feeling calmer, he put aside his confusion. The frightening impossibility that faced him would be explained. First Hunter would give him the truth to hold in his mouth and carry with him wherever he flew. He quietly grunted his willingness to listen.
The ghostwing started the tale as he would with any fledgling that'd been told some of the stories of his Nest. He lowered his head and closed his eyes and began to speak in the teaching tone.
"This you know: the Nest serves all Kin and all Kin serve the Nest. The health of the Nest flies with all Kin in all skies."
"This I know," he answered, remembering lessons learned from his parents.
"The Nest has watchers. They seek the hunting grounds; follow the pods of water prey and the spoor of land prey. They warn against enemies and rivals."
"This I know."
"Ghostwings are the watchers. They are the swiftest fliers, the strongest fighters. Their skin is the moonless night. Their fire is of the sun and land and water."
"This I know."
The First Hunter opened his eyes and began his tale.
"Before my egg was laid, Fire Nest was healthy. Many ghostwing pairs lived there, protecting their Nest. Kin hunted and flew and called the skies their home. For long and longer it remained." He turned his wide head, gazing in the direction of Fire Nest. "Then the Great Eel came. Most Kin knew nothing its kind. A few did." He lowered his eyes, and sounded a note of sorrow. "My sire did."
"I hear and remember," Crush Claw responded.
"He warned the ghostwings. He tried to warn all those of breeding age. The ghostwings listened and left. Most of the rest did not. My dam was heavy with eggs and ready to drop her clutch. She could not leave."
"I hear and remember."
"The Great Eel took Fire Nest. Kin became thrall. My sire took those not of breeding age and attacked. They failed and died. Some were killed by the Great Eel, the rest were taken by Kin."
For a moment, Crush Claw couldn't speak. Kin killing Kin was certainly not unheard of, but it usually involved competing for a mate or taking territory. This was horribly different.
"I... hear and remember."
"During the fighting, my egg nest was trampled. Of the three eggs my dam laid, only mine remained. When I left my egg and joined the Nest, my dam named me One Heart. She had remained, in thrall, to raise and protect me."
"I hear and remember."
"In time, I took the skies for my own. I quickly found my flight name. No Kin before could dive so fast that the air screamed in pain. I became Wind Rip. I became watcher for Fire Nest. I protected the gatherings while Kin in thrall attacked the preytooths. I mourned my Kin's mindless servitude but could do nothing more by myself. So it remained for many seasons until I made the worst mistake Kin can make with preytooths." He once more held up the damaged end of his tail. "I believed I knew everything I needed to know about them and what they could do."
The ghostwing's story became strange beyond belief. He spoke of being grounded, threatened with sharp metal. He explained the nature of his captivity and the curiosity of his bond partner. He told of the first moment of contact, given with trust and accepted with hope. When he related the efforts of his bond partner to give back what he had taken, Crush Claw's liver warmed. And the tale of their trial, starting with the ghostwing's arrival at the preytooth's nest and ending at Fire Nest, finally gave him the widest view of what was possible between Kin and preytooths. It left him thrumming softly to himself and wishing Braintwist were more like... like...
"You said preytooths have names."
"Yes."
"What is your bond partner's name?"
The ghostwing shifted his lean body, trying to get more comfortable. "I don't think of him as my bond partner. I think of him as my flight mate. And I've been calling him Featherstone. When he's on my back he's no more than a bird's feather. But he can be as blind and deaf as a stone sometimes."
Crush Claw bobbed his head a bit. "No, I meant his own name. What flight name did he take?"
The dark skinned Kin seemed reluctant but answered anyway. "He is called Lung Spasm."
Swimmer squawked her confusion. Crush Claw had to think about it a moment.
"What does that tell other preytooths about him? Why would he take such a flight name?"
"I don't know the why of it, only the word," the ghostwing confessed. "I am still learning about them even now. He and I are making a new language for ourselves."
"A new language," he echoed in wonder.
"Do you now understand why Wind Rip is First Hunter," asked Swimmer.
"Yes," Crush Claw answered. "I scent it clearly now."
The ghostwing turned to Swimmer. "I am no longer Wind Rip."
Turning her head several times to view him through one eye then the other, she chirred her apology. "Have I spoken it wrong?"
"No. I stopped being One Heart when I left my egg nest and took Wind Rip as my flight name." His wings twitched and his tail curled around his legs. "After the Great Eel was grounded and our Kin were no longer enthralled, I knew my flight name no longer spoke of who I was. I changed it."
Crush Claw quietly asked, "What is the First Hunter's flight name?"
"Two Hearts."
He was not prepared for how deeply this knowledge would affect him. The Kin before him, the nest's First Hunter, had come to value his flight mate so highly that he changed his flight name to tell all Kin. If only, he thought, if only Braintwist were like Featherstone. If only they could create their own language between them. Perhaps then Crush Claw would see leaving Fire Nest as a wise decision. Perhaps so would others.
"Is this why you would have me abandon Braintwist? Because he is unlike your flight mate?"
"Because he is more like the Great Eel." Swimmer fairly bounced in her agitation. "He is a deceiver. You are young, inexperienced, you've not yet bred. You are in thrall to him and do not know it."
"That one is nothing like my Featherstone," Two Hearts agreed. "There is snow in his liver. I have scented it myself." He paused a moment, considering. "Crush Claw, the bond between Kin and preytooth must be respectful in both directions. You must choose the one right for you. But you must also choose one that keeps a Kin's dignity foremost in mind when dealing with you. Many preytooths see us as big bleaters, to be used as they see fit. You must not bond with such. Iceblood has too much anger in him to see you as anything but a bleater, to be ridden then ignored."
Ridden. For the first time he could see the appeal of it. The First Hunter's story had shown him how the bond could work, making both Kin and preytooth better for it. The idea of it filled his liver with warmth and gave him something to fly toward. It sounded... wonderful.
But the warnings could not be ignored. He still couldn't understand where the heat of their mistrust lay. If Braintwist had hurt him or threatened him, well, he would have already left. And yet he did still have his own doubts, those moments when his bond partner seemed so strange and unpredictable. Was there truly danger is that aspect, as Two Hearts suggested? Would Braintwist turn on him, try to hurt him? Or worse?
Then he realized that the answer was in the First Hunter's story all along. He and Featherstone had started at odds, uncertain and doubtful. They'd worked together for their mutual benefit. They slew their fears, opened their wings to strange new winds. And look at them now. Theirs was a companionship to be desired. He saw that clearly. And he knew what he had to do.
Coloring his words with the learning tone, he said, "I have heard your words and will consider them fully. I will try to do what is best for the nest. And for myself."
"That is all I can ask," Two Hearts responded.
Taking his leave, he crouched to lift himself. Before he could, another question came to him, the very one that had brought him to the preytooth's nest in the first place.
"Should preytooths be called something different now? Since they have changed so much?"
The ghostwing blinked surprise, looked at the brightscale. Swimmer said nothing. Turning back to him, he said, "I hadn't considered that. It may be we should give them a new name." His tail twitched a bit. "I will have to think on it."
Crush Claw was once again filled with determination. It had moved him from Fire Nest to this place, and it would move him to reach across the strange, confusing distance between him and his bond partner. He wanted what Two Hearts had with his flight mate. To share such a strong and meaningful connection with one who was not Kin, but was a kin, sparked a new kind of heat in his liver. He wanted it more than anything he'd ever known, except perhaps to be a mate to another firescale. Being sire to a nest full of fledglings might just overshadow such a partnership.
That was many and more seasons away, and he had rough air to fly if he would get what he wanted. He had landed back at Braintwist's woodcave to find it unoccupied. He perched once again on top of it to wait for that one's return.
He had much to think about. How would he go about changing Braintwist? How could he make that one see that behaving so oddly would only damage their partnership? He couldn't even explain to him why it was bad to touch a Kin's wings. Two Hearts had said he and Featherstone were making a new language of their own. He wondered if he could use it with his own partner.
The sun was dropping to its resting place when Braintwist finally returned. By then, he'd found his solution. He would follow the brightscale's advice: 'Treat every preytooth as a hatchling. Expect them to know nothing of Kin.' He would treat his preytooth as he would a hatchling and teach him the lessons he needed to know to live within the nest with Kin.
It would not be easy, he knew. Braintwist could be just as blind and deaf as Two Heart's flight mate. But he was determined. He would have what the First Hunter had; a partnership that made both stronger. They would fly the skies together and roar their names to the clouds.
When the preytooth came flailing/falling toward his woodcave, Crush Claw leapt down from his roost. Braintwist stopped, wary. He slowly moved toward the smaller creature, doing his best to appear non-threatening. Lowering his head, he crooned and thrummed to his bond partner. That one made noises before approaching. Could that really be a language? If it was, would he ever be able to understand it? Could his preytooth ever learn to speak the language of Kin?
A foreclaw touched his snout and he huffed a gentle breath at the contact. Blunt claws scratched the point of his chin and rubbed the sensitive skin around his nostrils and forehorn. His thrumming deepened with pleasure.
The scratching stopped when he leaned slightly to one side and extended his wing toward Braintwist. The preytooth looked at the wing and back at him. He scented mild confusion, which he supposed was understandable. When his bond partner extended his foreclaw he drew the wing back out of reach and gently thrust his head against those soft, warm foreclaws. More confusion exuded from the squishy pink body. He extended the wing once more, only to draw it back again when Braintwist reached for it. He pushed his head against his bond partner, hoping he would get the message.
To his surprise and delight, it worked. Eventually Braintwist stopped trying to reach for his wing when he extended it toward him. His head and neck and shoulders were understood to be appropriate areas for scratching, but not his wings. Crush Claw's liver was bursting with heat.
He knew that there were odd objects that the preytooths used to help them sit on a Kin's back. They were usually made of dead skins and such. He began thinking he might allow Braintwist to put one on him, if he should try.
(c)Wirewolf 2011
"How to train your dragon" and all attendant characters are copyright
Dreamworks Animation and used without permission
A/N
I struggled quiet a bit with this chapter. I spent the first week agonizing on how 'real' to make the dangers of this world. I seriously considered changing my plans on how I would present the story. In the end, though, I decided to go ahead with my original intentions. I believe readers will understand and accept the hardships and tragedies that will befall the characters as long as they serve the story.
I'm also worried I may have over done it with the dragon's POV. Even reading it myself, it gets a little overwhelming at times. I hope it doesn't put anyone off.
The next chapter will be delayed a bit, with the holidays approaching.