She awoke to the sound of birds chirping.

Her eyes opened, and she took in a paneled ceiling, open windows, with white curtains stirring in the gentle breeze. She was in a bed, with a thin sheet draped over her.

Aeri didn't know where she was, or how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was flying through the storm, and blood, and Shade- Shade!

Panicking, she sat up in bed, resisting the dizziness that overcame her. Sliding across the mattress, she almost hissed when a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Glancing down, she saw a thick white bandage over where the strange disc had hit her.

She threw her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, taking small steps forward, nearly to the window, when she heard footsteps approaching the closed door.

Shade hadn't known what else to do. He'd landed roughly in the shallow salt water, dragging himself onto the beach with Aeri strapped to his back. Panting heavily, it took him a moment to take in their surroundings.

It was a few hours before dawn. They were on a silty, stony beach, coming out of a forest of tall trees not unlike the ones on Berk. The water was somewhat chilly, but nothing like it was up north.

Rumbling with concern, he tried to wake his rider.

"Aeri?"

No response.

He growled his frustration. Her heartbeat was faint but steady, he could feel it where her chest pressed against his neck. Slowly, he tilted his body, wincing at the soreness in his hind leg, allowing her to slide off, still hooked to the strap that connected her to the saddle. He tried to use his claws to cut her free, but the leather was just beyond his reach.

He growled again, loudly, then froze. Faintly, he could hear human voices, calling out.

They could help Aeri.

But if they saw him, they might kill them both.

Desperately he turned again, stretching his paw as far as he could, extending his claws. Almost-

"I heard it coming from over here!"

Time's up.

He watched from just beyond the edge of the forest as the humans rounded the curve of the beach and caught sight of his human, unconscious on the shore.

"Hey! There's a person over there!"

Quickly the group ran over, checking her pulse. "She's alive!"

"What's this strange leather strap?"

"Does it matter? We've got to get her to Vahna."

The humans gently lifted her up, careful to avoid her injured arm, and started jogging back the way they came.

Following them under the cover of the trees, Shade soon caught sight of their village, overlooking the ocean, about the same size as the village on Berk, with a dock below where a number of ships were berthed. He noted that there were several large constructions on offshore rocks, that looked like… catapults. Interesting. How had he missed them? He must have flown right over all of that. But the men, also carrying spears and nets, took a different path, one leading into the forest. Curious, he followed them, worried that they might have changed their minds about helping his rider. Then, through the trees in the pre-dawn light, he spied the lights of a house among the trees, nestled in a small clearing a ways from the village. The first man knocked urgently on the door, and soon it opened. They carried Aeri inside, closing the door, and he had to stifle the urge to barrel into the house and make sure she was alright.

Please be okay, he thought fervently. Please be okay.

Aeri stumbled slightly, landing a little roughly from jumping out the window. As quietly as she could, she crept barefoot through the leaves and pine needles to hide behind a large tree trunk, listening carefully.

"What- where'd she go?"

"I don't know… Vahna!"

The sound of their footsteps faded as they left the room, and Aeri took the chance to run for it, ignoring the sharp pains in the soles of her feet from the various sticks and rocks littering the ground. The ground sloped slightly upwards, and she was soon panting, her dizziness beginning to overtake her. With a grunt she shoved her way through the foliage of a large bush, and she stumbled out into a small meadow.

Small birds took off, chirping loudly, startled by her arrival. A small stream ran through the hip-high grass, trickling and shining in the soft sunlight. Purple butterflies fluttered in pursuit of each other, and she watched them, slightly mesmerized as she caught her breath.

Thinking analytically, she surveyed the space, deeming it a suitable site for a camp. There was a source of water, it was well hidden by thick brush, and one side was completely walled off by a high stretch of light gray rock. No one could sneak up on her without alerting her to their presence.

There was only one thing missing. Now, to find- A deep rumble caught her off guard as she stepped farther into the meadow, and quickly she turned, deeply aware that she had no way of defending herself.

Relief washed over her like water. "Shade!"

Her dragon bounded out from the shadows beneath the trees, blue eyes shining with emotion. She lifted her uninjured arm and he pressed his forehead against hers, warbling his concern as she stroked his neck.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Shade." He began sniffing her, focusing on her bandage, before examining her head to toe. For the first time, Aeri realized that she only wore a thin night shift, clearly made for someone much shorter than herself. It barely reached halfway down her thighs, and there was nothing underneath it, not even leggings.

"Do you still have…" he turned, showing her all of the bags still strapped to his back, along with her spear. "Thank the gods."

Quickly she began rummaging through them, pulling out her armor. With her hurt arm, it would be a challenge, but she felt confident that eventually she'd get it on. She never wanted to feel so exposed again. Now she understood why her father wore his armor every day. Being caught without it could be disastrous.

A while later, she straightened, gently strapping down the shoulder pad over her injured shoulder. She'd removed the bandages, relieved to see that the cut was a clean one, and that there was no sign of infection. Whoever had cared for her had also done a neat job stitching the wound, so she had no complaint there. Fortunately, she carried bandages and salve of her own in one of the bags on Shade's saddle, and she efficiently re-wrapped it, tearing off the extra strip of fabric with her teeth. She avoided moving it too much, not wanting to stretch or pop her stitches.

Tucking the nightshift into one of the bags, Aeri wandered over to the stream, crouching down and cupping her hands in the cool mountain water before splashing some on her face. After drinking several handfuls, she stood and followed its winding path, finding a small pool of clean, still water mostly prevented from moving on because of a pile of stones. Leaning over, Aeri looked at her reflection, realizing that her hair was an unbelievable mess. She ran her fingers through the chaos, trying to work out some of the knots. Why didn't she carry a hairbrush?

Eventually, she had it tamed to some semblance of what it used to look like. It had been nearly two years since the night she had impulsively cut it, and an impressive amount had grown back. Now her auburn locks reached down past her shoulder blades. She was pleased that the small braids she had made were still intact, although they served to remind her of her father's hair. Her mother always liked to leave little sections of his shaggy mop in braids, for some reason.

With a sigh, she made her way back towards the rock wall, where the grass was highest. Theoretically, Shade could flatten himself against the ground and hide himself there if need be. Aeri also liked that she could keep an eye on the entire clearing.

She had her dragon stomp around on the grass, creating a flat, padded surface for her to lay some blankets down on. Much nicer than some of the other places they'd slept. The sky was clear, but Aeri figured that if it rained, she could just have Shade cover her with his wing. He'd probably do that anyways. They both liked to sleep in, although they rarely had the opportunity to do so.

Lighting a fire probably wasn't the smartest idea, so Aeri found a flat rock, and with Shade's help, dragged it over to their small campsite. Anything they hunted could be roasted there with the dragon's white hot plasma.

Aeri, noticing Shade staring blankly at nothing, realized how tired her dragon must be. "Nap time, bud?"

He nodded, and yawned.

"Let me get all that stuff off your back." She figured that this would be a safe enough place to stay for a few days. They weren't particularly close to the beach, so no pirates would know they were there, and Aeri felt sufficiently confident that they were far enough from those other humans to avoid detection. Besides, they had no idea where they were. Even though she had passed out, she was sure that they had been blown far off course by that storm.

Leaving Shade's saddle on, just in case, Aeri piled all her bags up nearby, keeping her spear close. You never know.

Later, they both awoke with rumbling stomachs. "I think we need to find something to eat." She'd had bread and dried meat in her bags but found that both were slightly disintegrated from the storm. Her fruit, however, was still intact, and with a bubble of optimism she pulled out a few, cutting them into slices with her knife. They were large with soft yellow flesh inside a green peel. Slowly, she bit into a slice, and found it sweet and juicy. Score!

Mouth full, she offered Shade a slice. He sniffed it, and took it delicately from her fingers, chewing on it thoughtfully. Finally, he shrugged, causing Aeri to laugh. Her dragon had quite the sweet tooth, but liked to pretend he didn't care one way or another. Grinning, she tossed him a whole one, which he devoured quickly, licking his lips.

When a deer wandered into the meadow, Aeri silently picked up her spear. Truth be told, she really didn't like hunting. Taking lives just wasn't her thing. To add to that, they both preferred fish. But they had to eat, especially Shade. They could fish another time. So, she crouched and crept through the grass, unheard as the breeze rippled through the meadow. Once she was close enough, she leapt to her feet and expertly threw her spear before the deer could even react. It found its mark with deadly accuracy, and Shade got up to help her move it closer to their little camp.

A little while after that, they were both chewing on tender venison in companionable silence, when a chorus of high-pitched squeaks sounded nearby.

Something rustled in the bushes at the edge of the meadow, and Aeri slowly set down the stick holding her meat and picked up her spear. Shade brought his legs underneath him, ready to leap to his feet if need be. For a moment, nothing happened, then they both spied the barest of quivering in the tall grass, moving towards them. With a low growl, Shade bared his teeth, prepared to defend his human.

Suddenly, the movement stopped. Holding her breath, Aeri listened carefully. Birds were still chirping in the surrounding trees, butterflies still fluttering about. The sun was setting, casting shadows over the meadow. A moment passed, and she was about to sit back down when the grass rustled loudly right next to them. Alarmed, she jumped to her feet, spear arm raised, when-

Squeak squeak! A brown and green dragon, about the size of a Terrible Terror, emerged from the grass, clearly drawn by the scent of their kill. Relieved, Aeri released the breath she didn't know she had been holding, and dropped into a crouch, setting her spear on the ground and grabbing a small piece of meat.

"Hey little fella," she crooned. "You hungry?"

Hesitantly, it came forward, sniffing loudly. Smelling her hand, it quickly snatched up the piece of meat, swallowing it whole. Squeak squeak! Three more emerged from the grass, all various shades of green and brown, all sniffing loudly. Shade gave a low growl, and the small dragons gave him a wide berth, approaching Aeri, who sat in front of the remains of the deer.

"So you brought friends to the party, huh? I guess that's fine." Without looking away from them, she tossed each of them a piece of meat, all of which were immediately devoured. One inched towards Shade, whose dinner was piled in front of him. A loud snarl quickly dissuaded the small dragon from getting any closer, so Aeri, feeling generous, tossed each of them another piece.

When she went to sit by Shade again, the small dragons trailed after her, coming to gather around her and quickly fall asleep. Smiling, she finished off her own dinner, tossing the blackened stick far into the grass. Leaning back, she rested her head on her dragon's side, feeling every movement as he finished his meal.

Contentedly, they all rested there as the sun set. The night had begun to creep overhead, revealing twinkling stars, when suddenly all the little dragons, which she had affectionately named "Horrible Horrors", sat up, staring out in the same direction.

"What is it?" But they were stiff, as though in a trance. Behind her, Shade began to shake his head, as though fending off some invisible assailant. "Shade?"

The Horrors spread their wings and took off, flapping in the direction they were staring. Over the sounds of her dragon's grumbling, Aeri heard the first distant roar, and with a sinking feeling, realized that they might have a problem on their hands.

Leaping to her feet, she darted around to place her hands on Shade's head, shouting at him.

"Block it out, Shade! Remember, you belong to the Alpha. Whatever controls these dragons can't stand up against the Alpha!"

Gradually he calmed, opening his eyes to reveal large pupils. He gave her a small toothless smile in gratitude, and she smiled back, until they were both disturbed by another, louder roar, followed by a number of shrieks. A dragon attack. There were humans on this island, somewhere down the hill. They would be in danger, and if they weren't, these dragons were.

"Come on, Shade. Let's see what's going on."

She grabbed her helmet, quickly tucking her hair into it before jumping onto her dragon's shoulders. Her bags would probably be fine. Spreading his bat-like wings, Shade leapt into the air, joining the flock of dragons heading as they flew towards their unknown destination.

I wonder what happens next. :) Review, friends!