Four days later, Haku awoke early in the morning, feeling disconcerted. Another strange dream… He quickly dressed himself, belting his tunic and pulling on his boots, and messily tied his hair back to get it out of his face. Treading quietly, he left his room at the end of the hall, passing his sisters' bedrooms before heading downstairs. Looking back, he could see that his father's bedroom door was open, and for some reason he peered in.

Maara had fallen asleep in the chair next to their father's bed, her arms wrapped around her torso. Silently he entered the room, picking up a blanket and resting it over her sleeping form. She mumbled something incoherently, shifting beneath the sudden warmth, and Haku smiled.

Glancing over, he gazed upon his father dispassionately, doing his best not to let his old anger cloud his judgment. The man Haku knew as his father was gone, replaced by an empty shell of a human being. He couldn't hold a grudge against someone who no longer existed, but sometimes it was hard to remind himself of that.

Not wishing to sour his mood, Haku left the room, snagging a piece of fruit from the bowl on the table before opening the front door. Stepping outside, he took a deep breath. The sun had barely begun to rise, casting hazy light in flat panes across the village. A few birds chirped in the trees, and he could hear the waves crashing against the rocks where the ocean met land below. This was paradise.

Walking over to lean on the deck railing, he pulled out his pocket knife and began to peel the fruit, shaving off the red and green peel to get to the crispy white flesh inside.

"I've never seen a fruit like that before."

Haku nearly dropped his knife and the fruit.

"Do you have a thing for terrifying people, or are you just mean?"

Rádgatá laughed, stepping forward. Haku was painfully aware that he was dressed rather sloppily, while she appeared as she had the last two times he had seen her, looking completely poised and suspiciously refreshed in her unusual leather armor. She came up next to him and leaned her hips against the railing, looking out at the perfection of the moment. His heart slowing, Haku turned back and continued peeling his fruit.

He cut off a small slice and popped it into his mouth, savoring it.

"Where's your dragon?"

"He's around here somewhere."

"You said that last time."

"I meant it then, too."

Silently he offered her a piece of the fruit, and she pulled off one of her gloves to take it from him. "Don't want to get the leather all sticky," she laughed.

"You're pretty fastidious when it comes to your armor, aren't you?"

"I learned it from my dad. Sometimes your armor is all you have."

Very true. He cut the rest of it in half and passed it to her, but instead of eating it, she simply kept it in her hand, standing upright. "Thanks for the fruit."

"Where are you going?"

"Well, my dragon will be grumpy if I've had something to eat and he hasn't."

"He likes fruit?!"

"Don't tell him I told you that," and she turned to walk away.

"Wait a minute!" he said, and ran back inside. Everyone was still asleep, so he quietly grabbed two of the largest pieces of fruit in the bowl and hurried back out. He was relieved to see that Rádgatá hadn't gone anywhere. She looked curiously at the fruit in his hands, before meeting his gaze and smiling broadly.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Nope."

Her smile widened. "Let's go, then."

Shade waited patiently not far from the village as Aeri talked to the human. They had both woken up early, and decided that it was probably a good idea for her to return to the village and continue her attempts to get the people to trust her. Personally, Shade would have liked to go fishing like they had done yesterday on the opposite side of the island, but Aeri promised they would go again later.

The day before yesterday, Shade had followed Aeri down the mountain to the old woman's house. Telling him to wait where he was, Aeri took a running start and jumped up onto the wall, somehow clambering up the vertical surface to disappear through the open window on the second floor. He listened to her voice, sitting still as a face that didn't belong to his rider appeared in the window, before turning away. A few moments passed, and he glanced up at the trees, the foliage high above filtering the sun into thin beams that spread to leave a dappled pattern on the forest floor. It was like other forests he had seen, but just different enough from Berk to keep his thoughts from traveling down unwanted paths. He couldn't completely stop them, though, and images of his family drifted across his mind's eye, trying to torment him.

But he would not be tormented. He had sworn that he would not allow anyone to cause him pain any more. His life was dedicated to making sure Aeri's was a safe and happy one. Nothing else mattered.

The door to the house swung open, pulling him from his thoughts. Aeri stepped out, followed by the diminutive older woman he had seen in the square the other morning. She didn't look surprised to see him, but she couldn't hide her curiosity.

"Rádgatá," she said, and Shade had to remind himself that Aeri had a new name now. Two new names, actually, which seemed rather silly to him, but his opinion didn't really count.

"Rádgatá, all my life I have lived in fear of these creatures. I never dreamed that someday I could look one in the eye without that fear, but here I am."

"Go on, then. He won't hurt you."

Vahna stepped forward, her eyes shining. Something told Shade this wise woman didn't often express her true feelings, but she had chosen to share them now, so he would try to make the experience as memorable for her as possible.

Spreading his wings to their full length, he bowed, not taking his eyes off her.

"Extend your hand, Vahna."

The old woman did as Aeri said, and Shade waited patiently until her hand hovered a few inches in front of his face. He took a deep breath, taking in her scent. She smelled a lot like Gobber's goody bag, to be honest. Different herbs and dried plants all mixed together. It wasn't unpleasant, so he exhaled, and her eyes widened at the rush of warm air passing through her fingers.

Slowly, keeping his eyes locked with hers, Shade pressed his nose into the old woman's palm. He felt her stiffen for a moment, then relax.

"Incredible."

"He is, isn't he?"

Incredible, huh? Shade wasn't sure about that, but he wasn't one to deny a compliment. He rumbled his thanks, and Vahna's eyes widened with surprise at the resonating sound.

"That's his way of talking. My father and a few others suspect that the dragons have their own language, a way of communicating in great detail and depth. Sometimes they'll just sit around, making noises that any human would disregard as an animal sound, but that we suspect are actually vocalizations of their language. It's quite interesting, actually."

"Really? That is very interesting, very interesting indeed."

For a while after that, Shade had sat still while Aeri told Vahna more about dragon physicalities, pointing out traits specific to Night Furies and asking Vahna about the dragons that were native to this area. As it turned out, there were three dragon types besides the "Horrible Horrors", as Aeri called them.

There were Raptortongues, apparently more cat-like dragons that sounded like they were about the size of a Gronckle, that were yellow, red, or orange, and green. Rather than a club-like tail, though, the Raptortongue had a spiny back that it used for self-defense and a poisonous bite. Then there was the Flashfang, either green, blue, or yellow, that stood on its back legs. Sounds like a Deadly Nadder.

Finally, there was the Grimler, the most feared of all the dragons that showed up on Heimme. Coming in various shades of red and brown, this larger dragon sounded an awful like a Monstrous Nightmare, right down to the ability to set itself on fire.

"These sound very similar to dragons we have on Berk. Maybe they're related, like cousins, or something…" Aeri looked thoughtful.

"You'll see them eventually, and be able to judge for yourself."

"I suppose that's true."

Now, as the light of dawn filtered through the leaves above, Shade wondered if the dragons around here would be friendly. The Horrible Horrors were basically Terrible Terrors, just different in color. So, they weren't the most stimulating of company, as they were largely preoccupied with food and getting more food. It had been a long time since he'd had a conversation that didn't involve him threatening another dragon to get off of human land or else. Looks like that's how it's going to be here, too.

"Shade?" Aeri's voice brought him out of his reverie. He rumbled loudly, and heard her footsteps crunching the leaves and sticks underfoot. But she wasn't alone, and immediately his guard went up.

"Hey, bud." She came from between a few bushes, smiling. But Shade's gaze was locked on the person rather clumsily pushing through the brush behind her.

Oh. It was just that Haku boy, or whatever his name was.

"You remember Haku, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's been less than a week."

Aeri didn't understand his words but she got the point, and she laughed. Haku just looked confused. Shade took a good look at him, taking in his slightly disheveled appearance. The human was pretty tall, taller than Aeri by at least four inches, approaching the height of some of the hulking Vikings back on Berk, but he wasn't bulky looking. He sort of reminded Shade of Eret, actually, as far as body type went. He wore a sleeveless sand colored tunic with a rusty red trim, and a thick dark brown belt around his hips. His baggy pants were also dark brown, and his boots were even darker.

Looking up at his face, Shade took in his messy black hair, hastily tied back, and the dark stubble along his jaw. His grey blue eyes stood out against his tan skin, and were as expressive as usual. He didn't seem to be able to hide his thoughts or feelings very well.

Aeri was talking to him, and Shade saw that the human was holding two pieces of a fruit that he'd never seen before. Haku seemed to notice his focus, and smiled nervously at him. "I brought you some fruit."

Shade looked away, trying to act disinterested. He couldn't help but glance back out of the corner of his eye, to see Aeri giving Haku a push in his direction.

"What do I say?" he was asking her.

"You just offer it to him, and if he wants it, he'll take it."

"What if he doesn't-"

"He wants it."

Shade tilted his head back in the uneasy human's direction, watching him sidle closer, reaching out his arm to offer him the fruit.

Shade leaned in and sniffed it, taking pleasure in Haku's obvious nervousness. He could see Aeri behind the male, watching him knowingly. No funny business. So, Shade retracted his teeth and opened his mouth, waiting for Haku to toss him the fruit.

Instead, the human narrowed his eyes and peered closer. "You don't have any-"

He quickly snatched the fruit out of the human's hand before he could flinch, and leaning back, chewed on it thoughtfully. Nice and sweet. He rumbled his approval, noting with some satisfaction that the human was wide-eyed and frozen in place, hands tucked close against his chest.

"He likes it!" Aeri called, and Haku turned back to look at her. Shade took the opportunity to creep closer, eyeballing the remaining fruit. His rider, seeing this, put a hand up to her mouth, stifling her laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

Shade reared up to his full height and waited for Haku to turn around. When the human felt the hot breath on the back of his neck, he slowly spun around, coming face to face with a Night Fury. Shade had to give him credit, he didn't flinch or scream or run away. Instead, he shakily brought up the fruit in between them.

"Here you go."

Shade opened his mouth wide again, teeth retracted, and Haku seemed to decide it would be best to just toss the fruit into his mouth rather than wait for him to take it from him. He ate it, licking his lips, and moved forward, forcing Haku to step back, and again, until the human was actually walking backwards to avoid being run over. Shade sniffed at him, rumbling, and Haku raised his hands.

"I don't have any more!" Then he bumped into Aeri, who placed her hands on his shoulders and held him in place. Shade laughed, causing Aeri to laugh, leaving Haku incredulous.

"Is he… laughing? At me?"

"Not at you, necessarily," she grinned, and Shade did his best impression of a toothless smile, making Haku really laugh aloud.

"Amazing! You're not so scary at all, are you?"

In an instant, Shade dropped into a predatory crouch, growling ferociously, his pupils slits and ears flat against his neck.

Haku tried to step back but found he was still being held in place by Aeri.

"Okay, okay! I take it back, you're terrifying!" he said, trying to placate Shade, who was trying not to laugh again.

"That's what I thought," he said, and again, Aeri appeared to understand, and laughed.

Almost as quickly, Shade sat back on his haunches and his ears came forward, pupils widening. He laughed again, a deep, throaty rumble, and Haku's face once again went slack with disbelief.

"Amazing," he whispered.

"Go on," Aeri encouraged him, giving the human a little shove.

"What do I-"

"Hold out your hand."

"But I don't have any more fruit!"

"I know, just do it." He hesitated a moment too long and Aeri came around beside him, grabbed his hand, and dragged him closer to Shade. She must like this human, he thought curiously.

Haku, on the other hand, was anything but curious. Until Rádgatá grabbed his hand, and the contact of her bare skin on his gave him a little jolt. What the…? He looked down to where her long, slim fingers held on to the back of his larger, darker hand. But she didn't seem to notice anything, just dragged him over to her dragon, who looked just a little bit amused. He sees everything, Haku thought suspiciously.

"Come down a bit.," she spoke to the dragon.

The dragon complied, and lowered himself until he was eye level with Haku. He resisted the urge to swallow, trying to remain calm as Rádgatá pulled his arm forward until his hand hovered inches away from the dragon's face. The creature's pupils were wide, which Haku realized must mean that he was in some kind of a good mood. He took a little shuffling step forward, holding his breath, and placed his palm on the dragon's nose.

Its scales were warm and smooth against his calloused hand, and the dragon gave a deep purr.

"Rub his neck."

Haku slowly slid his hand around to feel the side of the dragon's head, down until his hand rested on his neck, where he could feel the vibrations resonating from the creature's chest. Suddenly the dragon pushed into Haku's chest with his head, nudging him. Instinctively Haku's other hand came up and rested on the other side of the dragon's neck, and magically he was touching the most frightening creature he had ever encountered. Not just touching. Petting.

Aeri watched the smile slowly spread across Haku's face as he started to really rub Shade's neck, much to her dragon's pleasure. She came up next to Haku, sliding her arm underneath his. "Watch this." She expertly found that sweet spot on Shade's neck that caused him to collapse in a heap on the ground with a rather stupid smile on his face.

"Whoa!" Haku exclaimed, looking at her in amazement.

"All dragons have a spot like that."

"That probably comes in handy," he commented, peering down at Shade. "When you're trying to train them. Right?"

"Exactly," she said, pleased that he was catching on so quickly.

"Does he have a name?"

Hmm. "You can call him… Dreki." Dragon. His name was lost, too.

Haku raised an eyebrow, telling her he knew that wasn't actually the dragon's name. The sunlight was just a bit stronger now as it passed through the leaves above, leaving dapples on the ground and their bodies.

"People are probably getting up about now," he finally said reluctantly.

"How about this," Rádgatá said. "I'll go with you back to the village, and maybe tonight after sunset we can go for a flight. Sound good?"

Haku's heart raced at the thought of soaring through the sky again, and he found himself nodding yes.

"Good!" she smiled, and his heart seemed to skip another beat.

"Alright, bud," she said, crouching down next to her dragon, who was beginning to come to. "Time to head up to camp. I'm going with Haku for the day, so you'll need to find something to eat. When the sun starts to set, come back here, and we'll go for a flight."

The dragon groaned in response, and, still smiling, Rádgatá walked around to his side and reached into a bag attached to the dragon's saddle. She rummaged through it, looking for something. Haku was about to ask when she pulled out her helmet, then, after re-tying the bag, she unfixed a spear as long as she was tall, expertly spinning it in her hand.

"Um…" Haku started. "What do you need that for?"

"You never know when a spear might come in handy," she said cheerfully, patting the dragon's side as he got to his feet.

"I'm not so sure the villagers will love the sight of you wandering around in the streets with a weapon like that." Even if it was the most beautiful weapon he'd ever seen. It was obviously crafted by a master. Where was she from? he found himself wondering again.

"Well, I suppose you're right," she said, no less cheerfully, as she quickly slid it back into its place against the saddle. "I'll bring you some fish another time, bud," she addressed the dragon, who nodded. Oh. Haku felt a little stupid. But he knew he was right about how the villagers would react to her walking around with a weapon of that size.

"Alright!" she said, walking back over to Haku with her helmet tucked under her arm. "Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, she spun Haku around and headed toward the village.

As they walked off, Shade found himself wondering. His human had become very cautious since they had left Berk, and had mostly outgrown her recklessness and temper. But she still had impulsive tendencies, which could get her into trouble. Shade just worried that she might become too attached to this place. While he didn't mind it here, he wasn't sure he wanted to stay here forever. Although he didn't want to admit it, he found that he had a slight- very slight- desire to someday go home. No, he thought crossly. Just to have a home. That's all.

The idea of home haunted him, made him long for the company of other dragons and human riders. Maybe they could accomplish that here, on Heimme. It didn't look like Aeri was planning on leaving any time soon, so perhaps they could change the ways of these people.

Maybe.

Aeri pushed through the last few bushes that led to the area behind Haku's house. Behind her, Haku did the same, just rather noisily. With some amusement, she decided she would have to train him to be more subtle. If he was ever going to approach a wild dragon, he'd need to be as quiet and confident as possible. Best not to pressure him with that just yet. He'd barely been able to stand still when Shade was playing around with him, but to his credit, he did hold his ground as well as he could.

Finally they were free, and together they walked around to the front of the house, looking out as the villagers were just beginning to emerge from their homes. Aeri could hear the distant sound of metal clanging against metal, and suppressed the urge to ask Haku to take her directly to the village blacksmith, just to watch him work. Resist the past, Aeri.

Haku heard his sister in the forge, and wondered why she was out so early. Before he found out, though, he wanted to check on Maara, so he went up the stairs to his front door.

"Rádgatá, do you mind if I just-"

"Go right ahead."

With a nod of thanks, he slipped inside. "Maara?"

Her face appeared in the doorway across the room. "Haku?"

"How are you doing, Maara?"

"Everything's fine. Vasara was calling you earlier, but when you didn't answer, she left for the forge. Where were you?

"Me? I was, uh… taking a walk."

"A walk, huh?" his sister looked skeptical, but didn't question him. "Okay, well, she wanted me to tell you to meet her at the forge."

"All right, thanks Maara." Quickly he ran upstairs to his room, throwing on a fresh tunic and re-tying his hair back in an attempt to be more presentable. Rubbing a hand along his jaw as he jogged back down the stairs, he sighed, figuring he'd just have to shave another time.

Haku stepped outside, and was relieved to see that Rádgatá was leaning against the railing of the deck, overlooking the village. Without looking back at him, she asked, "Where to first?"

Before he could answer, the front door opened behind them. "Ha- oh. Oh. Sorry!"

They both turned to see a clearly disconcerted Maara standing in the doorway. "I didn't, ah…" she trailed off, staring at Rádgatá. "I'll just go back inside now." She began to close the door, but Haku caught it.

"Maara, wait. Rádgatá, this is my sister, Maara."

"Hello, Maara," Rádgatá said, smiling warmly.

Maara clearly didn't know how to react. Her mouth opened in a little 'o' and she didn't answer.

"Come on, Maara," Haku said, a little frustrated. "She's usually quite talkative, I don't know…"

"No, it's alright, Haku," Rádgatá said calmly. "Hmm… you look about sixteen, but you're obviously more mature than any of the sixteen-year-olds I've met. Am I right?"

Slowly, Maara nodded, seeming to unfreeze a bit. Rádgatá spoke again, suddenly appearing a little hesitant. "I…" she paused, clearly debating on whether or not to continue. "I have a brother, back where I'm from. He would be… seventeen this year. He's always been quite serious, reading lots of books and learning as much about the world as he can."

Haku smiled a little. His sister had a few worn books on a shelf in her room, that she read over and over again. Finally, she responded.

"I like books, too," she whispered.

Rádgatá smiled encouragingly. "You two would probably get along very well. While he seems very preoccupied with his thoughts, he has a marvelous imagination, and he's very skilled with his sword, and when he's with Storm-" she immediately broke off, her face going blank.

Maara looked worried, afraid she had done something wrong. Haku, seeing this, intervened.

"Rádgatá, who is Storm?"

"No one. Forget… I'm sorry. Maara, it was very nice to meet you. I hope you won't be frightened of me forever," she added cheerfully, before turning to look at Haku.

He looked at his sister, who no longer looked frozen, but a bit troubled. "I'm not afraid of you," she said firmly, and Rádgatá looked at her with some surprise.

"Really?"

"I'm not. I just don't know you."

"That's… very reasonable. I hope to get to know you, though, if that's okay with you."

Maara appeared to consider this. "I guess I'm alright with that."

Rádgatá smiled again. "Excellent."

Saying their farewells, Haku led Rádgatá down the steps and towards the village. She was looking around this time, appearing very interested, her helmet still tucked underneath her arm.

This time, the villagers weren't so chilly. They did stare, and they did follow once she and Haku had passed, but overall, their reactions were far less dramatic. They walked by a woman with a little toddler on her lap. The chubby baby lifted an arm and jerkily waved it back and forth, and Rádgatá smiled and waved back, causing the child to laugh, which was rather disconcerting for its mother.

Once again they approached the center of the village, and the clanging of metal caught both of their attention.

"Can we go over there?" Rádgatá asked him, suddenly looking very alert.

"Actually, that's where we are headed now."

"Oh! Perfect," she said, a little mysteriously.

"Yes, but-" she was already striding ahead. Haku didn't have a chance to tell her to let him speak to his sister first. "Rádgatá, wait!"

But she was already approaching the forge, where his sister was working, oblivious.

Vasara had her back turned, and was hammering away at a battle axe, seemingly letting out some pent-up rage. Rádgatá walked up silently, watching his sister thoughtfully, not seeming surprised at all that the blacksmith was a woman.

Haku figured he should probably alert his sister to their presence before Rádgatá got too close. He'd nearly had a heart attack earlier when she'd appeared behind him. He didn't want to think of what might happen if they surprised his sister while she held a hammer in one hand and an axe in the other.

"Vasara?" he called, his voice barely carrying over the clanging of her hammer. "Vasara!"

Finally she turned, wiping her forearm across her brow, and seemed startled to find Rádgatá standing only feet away, watching her work. Immediately she became defensive, though she couldn't explain why. "Can I help you?" she asked, her politeness failing to mask her inexplicable dislike of the stranger.

"Maybe. Have you been the smith here for very long?"

"I was Seppa's apprentice for fourteen years before I took over."

"So, you must be…"

"Nineteen," Vasara said shortly, as if daring Rádgatá to say anything about it. Instead of her usual short nod, the stranger's face broke out into a wide smile, and Vasara frowned slightly, uncertain.

"I'm nineteen, too," Rádgatá revealed, which came as a surprise to both Haku, Vasara, and the small group of people who had accidentally-on-purpose wandered over to the forge. She seemed so much older than that! Haku himself was twenty-three, but he was beginning to feel that he was something of a child compared to this strange woman.

Vasara didn't bother to hide her disbelief, and Rádgatá laughed. "I forget my age, sometimes. When you live half your life in the sky, time means… less."

Haku's sister didn't seem to know how to respond. Not perturbed, Rádgatá kept speaking. "If you're the smith, maybe you could assist me with something. Two things, actually," she said.

Recovering, Vasara frowned, and Haku wondered at his sister's strange insistence at being rude to Rádgatá. "I guess so. What do you need?"

"Well, first, I need a thick strap of leather four feet long and four fingers wide. Do you have anything like that?"

"I might," Vasara said shortly. "What do you need it for?"

"Well, when I arrived here, when I first arrived here, I was unconscious, so I've only pieced this together through various accounts and evidence. Anyways, I suffered a pretty nasty gash on my right arm, and bled just a bit too much. We were flying through a storm, and I knew if I fell I would likely be lost. So, I hooked a strap that I keep attached to my saddle for just this kind of situation around my waist, right before I passed out. Apparently, some of your men found me lying on the beach, unconscious, with the strap still around me. Unfortunately, it was no longer attached to anything, which means that my dragon must have cut me loose so that I could be rescued, rather than killed on sight. Very thoughtful of him," she said, almost as an afterthought. "Long story short, I need another strap for my saddle, just so I have it in case of an emergency."

Vasara, Haku, and the crowd were momentarily stunned by her quick and to-the-point explanation. His sister recovered first, and said, without any indication of bitterness, "Yes, I think I've got something like that. Um, what else did you need?"

Rádgatá pulled out her helmet from underneath her arm and gently set it on the countertop. Vasara glanced at it, then looked back, drawn in by the intricacy of its construction. "Are those… wings?" she asked.

"Yes, that's what I was hoping you could help me with, you see, the one on the right is a little bent and…" after another brief explanation, Vasara leaned back, rubbing her chin.

"I think I have what you need, but I don't think I can do the repair myself. You'd probably have to take it back to whoever made it for you in the first place. Those are quite intricate," Vasara gestured at the wings.

"Well, that's no trouble, they didn't take me particularly long. I just don't happen to have the proper tools with me to- what?"

Vasara's jaw had dropped. "You… you made that helmet?" she asked incredulously.

Rádgatá looked sheepish. "Guilty."

"Did you also make your outfit?" Haku's sister was staring at Rádgatá's armor, clearly wanting to examine it more closely.

"I did."

"Where did you learn how to craft like that?"

"Back where I'm from, I was the blacksmith's apprentice, as well. But I also learned a lot from…" she swallowed, "… from my father."

Vasara looked awed. "Could I… could I see some of your armor sometime?"

Smiling brightly, Rádgatá replied, "Of course! Here, you can see my chest plate…" Haku watched as she nimbly unhooked a complicated series of straps and hooks before lifting the entire thing over her head, leaving her upper body clothed in a skin-tight cloth and leather bodysuit. The collar seemed particularly long, and it lay flat next to her neck, neatly folded. Haku could see that her shoulders were slightly broad for a woman, but not so wide as to be unfeminine. Wait… what?

Not noticing his stare, Aeri handed her upper body armor to the blacksmith, a dark blonde woman standing about six inches shorter than herself. Her shoulders felt strangely light without the large pads on them, and she took a deep breath, stretching out her chest. With a small smile, she watched as the woman's gray eyes hungrily took in every detail of her chest plate and shoulder armor.

Aeri had never considered herself to be a particularly good smith. How could she, when her father was, well, who he was? His ingenuity and skill surpassed any that she had ever encountered. So when Heimme's blacksmith was so impressed with her work, she felt torn. On the one hand, she felt good about herself. On the other, she wouldn't be able to do any of it without what she learned from Gobber, but more significantly, her father's tutelage and his designs. She would be no one without the training her parents provided her with. Obviously, everyone is a reflection of the person or people who raised them, but Aeri never felt that she lived up to her parents' abilities. Not her mother, the warrior, not her father, the inventor, the peace-maker, the leader.

Who was she, if not some messed up combination of her parents gone wrong?

She looked at the blacksmith's face. What had Haku called her… Vasara. She looked familiar, although Aeri couldn't place her, until she got a good look at the other woman's eyes.

"Are you two related?" she asked Haku, who seemed slightly surprised.

"She's my younger sister," he replied. "How did you guess?"

"Your eyes are the same."

And they were, a stormy gray that did a poor job of disguising their emotions and thoughts. She had only been around Haku a few times, but she already felt that she had a good sense of who he was. He seemed to be dealing with a lot, but doing his best to hide his inner turmoil. However, with eyes that expressive, it was impossible for him to disguise his feelings entirely. Aeri wondered what exactly was going on in his life, but didn't feel like it was the right time to ask.

"Missti Einn?" Vasara interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I have the things you need. I'm sorry I was so rude before, I suppose I just don't trust easily, especially when it comes to…"

Dragons. "I understand. Where I'm from, we were not always allied with the dragons. Before, if someone consorted with one not as hunter and prey but as partners, they were shunned by the tribe. I know this because it actually happened, to one boy."

Vasara set down the armor on her workbench, leaning back against the counter. "Sounds like quite a story."

"It certainly is."

Haku spoke up. "I think we'd all like to hear it, Rádgatá." Turning around, Aeri realized that a sizable crowd had gathered outside the forge and was watching her interactions with Haku and Vasara. No one seemed particularly hostile, simply… curious. It made sense, of course. It was the perfect story to share, the story of the boy and his dragon, the best friends who changed life as her people knew it. For that was exactly what she was asking of these people, to take a chance on one person with a dragon, a chance to move forward in life without fear.

"Well, I suppose I can't say no to all of you."

Now, where to begin?