Thank you all of you who read, and special thanks to those of you who review. I posted this two days early because I've decided to do give you all another challenge of sorts. I'm thinking… 50th reviewer and 100th follower (both of those will take a while) get a sneak peak. There's something big coming up in about 5 chapters, but I bet you don't want to wait 5 weeks for it. So… get to it! :)

Aeri speared another fish, drawing it out of the water and tossing it into the basket with the others. Shade lounged nearby, already having eaten his fill.

"You could help, you know," she called over to him, but he just yawned and put his head down on his paws, feigning sleep. A week had passed since Aeri had begun training Maara, and they were taking a day off. His rider was a patient and knowledgeable teacher, and Shade was quietly impressed with her ability to motivate Haku's sister.

Aeri had taken Maara to the forge, where Vasara eagerly assisted her in helping her sister decide which weapon would suit her best. The younger girl had immediately turned down hammers and maces, showing interest in Aeri's spear but deciding that she wasn't quite tall enough for such a weapon. She passed over axes and bows too, until finally deciding that she wanted to stick with swords. But if she was ever going to train with a real weapon, she'd need some real armor, so she and Aeri had asked Vasara if she could come up with something.

"I want armor like Missti Einn's," Maara had said, to which Vasara shook her head.

"In all honesty, I'm not skilled enough. You could ask her to make it for you. She can have full access to the forge and all of my materials, too," she had trailed off, looking expectantly at Aeri, who pondered this for a moment.

"I'd be more than happy to make something for you, Maara, but, I could also teach you, Vasara, how to craft lightweight armor like mine, that is, if you want me to," she had finished hastily.

Vasara had looked like she couldn't believe it. "Would you really?"

"Of course."

"Then I accept. When can we begin?" And just like that, Aeri was training both of Haku's sisters, one with a blade, and one with a hammer. Now, she crouched on the rocks, holding her spear above her head as she waited for a fish to swim within range.

Shade lazily opened one eye and watched her as she bit her lip in anticipation, affection for his rider warming his chest. Suddenly a distant roar caught his attention, and his head shot up, ears perked.

"What is it, bud?"

But he was already on his feet, running towards the sound. That roar was far too loud, deep, and frustrated to be a Horrible Horror. Crashing through the undergrowth, he finally ended up in a seemingly empty meadow.

Shade sniffed around the clearing. He knew he had heard something, and he also knew with certainty that there was another dragon nearby. The grass was trampled, and he could see the remains of an old kill near the edge of the forest. It had to be at least two weeks old. Looking up, he could see that the tops of some of the trees had been broken off, as though something large had crashed through them.

A twig snapped and he whipped around just in time to see a red blur barreling towards him, smashing into him. They tumbled end over end, clawing at each other, before Shade finally managed to pin the other dragon down and got a good look at it. It seemed like a small version of a Monstrous Nightmare, not quite his size, but before he could ask it anything it burst into flames, writhing uncontrollably. Refusing to let it go despite the uncomfortable heat, Shade pressed his claws against its throat.

"Stop, or I will kill you."

The dragon froze, seeming to consider his words. Finally it extinguished itself. "Let me go," it snarled.

"Hmm…" Shade pretended to consider, before raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so. Why did you attack me?"

"You're a strange dragon sniffing around my home. You radiate danger. My options were to run, or to strike first."

"I radiate danger. What does that even mean?"

"I don't know! If you're not going to kill me, can you just leave? This is my home, I was here first."

"Do you promise you won't try to attack me again? I'll just pin you again, but next time, I don't think I'll be as nice about it."

"Ugh. Whatever."

Shade stepped off of the other dragon and it immediately rolled to its feet, one paw rubbing its neck where his claws had been pressing. "You're not from around here, are you?" it asked, and Shade's eyebrow lifted again.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, for starters, I've never seen you before."

"Well, I've never seen you before," he countered. "What's your name?"

"I don't have one," the dragon ground out. "I suppose you do?"

"Yes. I'm Shade. Nice to meet you," he said, a little sarcastically, looking over the other dragon. "What kind of dragon are you?"

It lifted itself up. "I'm a Grimler," it said proudly.

"I thought Grimlers were supposed to be bigger."

It looked offended. "Well, someday I'll be bigger! Stop giving me a hard time!"

What? "You're a kid!"

"You don't have to act all smug about it."

"I'm not-" Shade shook his head, then started sniffing at the other dragon. "And you're a girl. The most fun combination of all."

"And you're rude. A bully and a jerk, looks like. Which is the worse combination, again?"

Shade couldn't help but laugh. "You remind me of my sister." The words slipped out before he could stop them, but the other dragon didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

"There are more of you?" she asked. "Great. What kind of dragon are you, anyways?"

"I'm a Night Fury."

"Never heard of you."

"I'm not offended."

"Darn. I'll have to try harder."

He laughed again. "Look, you attacked me. You said this is your home. Why here? On the humans' island? Don't you all have an island somewhere nearby?"

"Well, "we all" live back at the nest, but I can't go back."

"Why not?" Shade was curious.

She lifted up her left wing and he saw that the membrane was badly torn in several places. He couldn't help but wince.

"Last raid, something attacked us. I think it was another dragon, but I've never heard of a dragon that shoots explosions like that. Anyways, we got out of there as fast as we could, but some Flashfang accidentally shot off a bunch of spikes, shredding up my wing. I crashed over here, and I've been stuck ever since."

"That's terrible!"

"I know. Say, how did you end up here? I've never seen you around the nest… or anywhere. You say you have family, but I don't know of any Night Furies flying around these islands." She looked suspicious, and Shade wasn't sure of how much to tell her.

"Well, you see-"

"And what's that on your back?"

"Um…"

"Shade?"

Uh oh. The Grimler's pupils turned to slits at the sound of Aeri's voice and she lowered into a defensive crouch, growling. Shade heard Aeri's footsteps nearby, and just as his rider stepped into the clearing, spear in hand, he leapt at the Grimler, knocking her over.

"Aeri! Get out of here!"

Aeri looked shocked to see him wrestling with a wild dragon, but instead of running away, she yelled at him.

"Shade! It's injured!"

Shade currently had the Grimler pinned again, but she was struggling even harder than she had before. "Why is it talking to you?" she hissed.

"It is my human," he grunted as she kicked him in the stomach.

"You have a human?" she seemed startled, and momentarily stopped struggling.

"Yes. Are you going to quit fighting? She won't hurt you. She might even be able to help you with your wing," he said trying to persuade her. Aeri had dropped her spear and was slowly approaching, so he growled at her, trying to make her wait. Frowning, she stopped, watching as the two dragons communicated.

"Why should I believe you? You're nothing more than a pet to those savage creatures," the Grimler snarled.

"If I were feeling less patient I would kill you for suggesting such a thing. Do I look like I'm anybody's pet?"

She appeared to consider his words. "Not really. I guess. I don't know. What I do know is that you're a jerk and you and your human should leave me alone."

Shade heard the defeat in her words and immediately released her, stepping off of her and placing himself between her and Aeri. Slowly she rolled to her feet, shaking her head, and Shade was stricken by the realization that he had been fighting a kid. She wasn't much of a challenge, but he felt bad that he'd had to use force on her at all.

"I'm sorry," he started, but she growled.

"Just leave me alone," she snapped, turning her back and limping away.

"Hey, bud, what's going on?" Aeri had appeared at his side, but he was still frowning at the Grimler's back, taking in her shredded wing.

"I said leave!" the Grimler shouted, back still turned as she curled up in the grass. "Before I change my mind and eat you both."

Shade saw right through her bravado. She knew she couldn't hope to take him in a fight, and, from the sound of it, she was hungry. He still felt bad. After all, it was sort of his fault that she was in this position in the first place. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He crouched, gesturing to Aeri that she should get on his shoulders.

"Are we just going to leave it here?" his rider whispered to him as she leapt up to the saddle, snatching her spear out of the grass.

"I can hear her!" the Grimler called. "And yes, you are. Good-bye."

Turning, Shade darted from the clearing, narrowly avoiding trees as he sprinted back to where they had been fishing earlier. Aeri's basket was still there, full of fish. He rumbled at his rider, motioning at the basket with his head. It took her a moment before she realized what he wanted, and a smile spread on her face. "I gotcha."

A few minutes later they were back in the clearing. The Grimler hadn't moved, but turned her head and hissed. "What don't you understand about-" she trailed off as the smell of fish wafted towards her.

Aeri hopped off of Shade's back, the large basket on her back. "Hey," she said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you. We brought you some food," she gestured back to the basket, dropping her spear into the grass.

The Grimler scowled, but didn't move. Shade stayed a few steps behind his rider as she walked slowly towards the injured dragon, who looked suspiciously between the two of them.

When she was a few yards away, Aeri dropped the basket and pushed it over, sending a pile of fish sliding out. "Hey… girl," she ascertained quickly. "Come on, it's all good. No eels, I promise."

"No eels?" The Grimler looked surprised.

"She knows all about dragons. Not just because of me. Where we come from, dragons and humans live in peace."

The other dragon scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"But it's true," Shade persisted. "You can trust us. I'm sorry I tackled you earlier, and all that. We won't hurt you any more. Like I said, she might even be able to help your wing."

The Grimler looked sad. "I don't think so. It's broken pretty bad, and all shredded up, and the poison from the spikes spread through the membrane pretty fast. It hurts."

"Well, at least let her look at it. She can help with the pain, I know that."

She pondered this, and Shade and Aeri waited patiently. Finally she got to her feet, sending them both a warning glance, before slowly coming forward. Keeping her eyes on them, she hesitantly grabbed the fish closest to her and ate it.

"I promise we didn't poison them. Go on, eat."

Finally, she nodded, and quickly began devouring the rest, her hunger betraying her. When she finished, her pupils were wide, and she looked curious. Slowly, Aeri held up her hand and walked forward, Shade looking on vigilantly.

"What is she doing?"

"Well, she fed you, and she's going to help with your wing, so just let her bond with you."

"Bond with me?!" she hissed, and Aeri paused, not lowering her arm.

"Yes," Shade said patiently. "Just trust us. Humans aren't actually so bad, once you get past the rock-throwers." Well, most humans, he thought, thinking of the pirates that had attacked him and Aeri.

Shade was pleasantly surprised that the Grimler sat completely still as Aeri approached her. She didn't even growl as Aeri's hand hovered inches away from her face.

"Well?" she muttered. "Is she gonna touch me or what?"

"Put your nose in her palm."

"Why?"

"She trusts you not to eat her hand or light yourself on fire, so show her that you trust she won't attack you."

"Fine."

The Grimler pressed her nose into Aeri's hand, and once again looked surprised as Aeri gave her a wide smile.

"Why is she smiling?"

"She's pleased to meet you."

"Oh. Uh, nice to meet you too?" Aeri seemed to understand, as usual, and laughed.

"I'm Aeri," she introduced herself. "Bud, does she have a name?" she asked, looking back at Shade, who shook his head.

"Hmm. Do you mind if I give you a name? Humans are funny that way," Aeri laughed at the dragon's bewildered expression. "We always have to name things."

The Grimler seemed to think about it, before nodding. "I guess I need a name if I'm going to be a pet."

Shade would have been irritated if she hadn't been smiling slightly when she said it.

"Hmm…" Aeri was thinking, slowly sliding her hand around the Grimler's face to rub her neck. Pleasantly surprised, the dragon purred, and Shade's rider laughed, scratching the suddenly docile dragon under her chin.

"I think I'm starting to like your human," she hummed at Shade, who gave her a toothless smile in return.

"Where are your teeth?!" she asked, shocked, and his smile turned toothy once again.

Opening his mouth, he retracted his teeth, and the Grimler looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head.

"How about… Mika?" Aeri interrupted their exchange, and the Grimler looked back and forth between Shade and his human.

"I guess that works," she said slowly. "Mika. Meeeeekaaaaa." She nodded at Aeri. "It'll do."

"I'm quite pleased to make your acquaintance, Mika," Aeri announced, scratching behind the Grimler's horns. Mika groaned, rolling over onto her back so that Aeri could scratch her sides.

"I could get used to this," she sighed.

"How old are you?" Shade finally asked, and she tilted her head to the side.

"Thirteen." So young. Aeri gave Mika a pat on her side and turned back to pick up the basket.

"Do you have siblings?"

"I had a brother and a sister," she said sadly, rolling back over to get to her feet.

"What happened to them?"

"Well, my brother was shot down in a raid, and my sister was… she was eaten."

Oh, no. That meant… "By who?" Shade forced himself to ask, dreading the answer.

"By the Queen."

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