Opportunities
Outside the village, on a knoll covered in wispy grass, Shadowwing rested in contentment with Luna at his side and Flower-Eater asleep on his back.
"How was seeing the above?" he whispered.
Luna hummed, "Warm enough, not that I want to go up there when unnecessary. That is too far away from you, our children, and everyone else."
"Sorry to ask, but do you mind taking Kin-liver again? Anyone else could take her if not you."
"I do not mind. How many times will she need to go to that nest?" she asked.
"A pawful more this moon-cycle. I am not sure how many. She still needs to test the remaining two-legs."
"Maybe we can go together and take Flower with us," she offered.
"Good idea. That would be a nice way for him to see the above for the first time. Want to invite Green-Wings and Wind-Dancer too?"
"And not your brother?"
"Someone should stay here for if Skadi wants to talk with us."
Luna faced him and softly huffed, "What is her problem?"
Of all the guests they had ever hosted, Skadi was easily the most solitary and wary of anything involving the humans. Just being around the village and the buildings left Skadi visibly tense and nervous, though she appeared to try to hide that reaction. Others, like Light-Hunter's family, Lone-Spark, and Luna's parents, quickly warmed to the strange denizens of their world, or at least were neutral and content to live and let live.
"She has not told me anything that would explain avoiding the ground-kin. Maybe her pack has packmates who fled the above and carry with them distrust," he proposed.
"She and I spoke a little, but she said nothing about her packmates being afraid. We should not have her think poorly about the ground-kin and leave us to make her packmates fear them. Can we do more to help her?"
"Perhaps. It would probably help her if she willingly came into the shared-nest, saw the great-hall-den, or ate with us around ground-kin. But I do not want to push her or make her uncomfortable."
"Maybe that is what she needs."
"Wait. Remember how I was too pushy with you? I do not want to make that mistake again."
She gently nuzzled his neck, "But you were right. I needed to be around them more to get to know them. Staying away was not helping me learn or grow stronger. Maybe you were too insistent and rock-headed at first-"
"What? Me be rock-headed?"
"Never change. What if we bring her into the shared-nest and great-hall-den? We can insist so she sees what our pack is truly like, which is why she is here. She needs to know so she can tell her packmates the truth."
He nodded, "Good idea. How about you lead this? You would probably do better at making her feel comfortable."
Luna softly purred her appreciation.
Flower-Eater shifted in his sleep and kicked at his back before settling down again. With his son still asleep, he was grateful for the opportunity to do nothing except rest with his beloved, no other responsibilities for the time.
His peaceful rest was disturbed as Rock-Climber, Hidden-Hope, and Rain-Eater, with Safiya on his back, arrived and approached.
"Warm flights, dear ones. Quietly, Flower-Eater is sleeping," he greeted them.
The three Furies glanced at each other until Rain-Eater spoke first, "You two can go first. I and Safiya will take longer."
Rock-Climber and Hidden-Hope came closer.
Hidden-Hope spoke, "Sire-father, dam-mother, sorry to wake you up. Rock-Climber and I want to be the watchers above. We are ready to go."
He nodded, "Alright, warm flights. Thank you for volunteering. Be sure to watch for any two-legs leaving the nest above."
"Have any of them been bad?" she asked.
"Not yet, but we need to stay alert. Rock-Climber, we will tell Was-Grounded and Green-Wings where you went. Daughter, I would give you a lick, but I am stuck."
Hidden-Hope rolled her eyes, probably thankful he was incapacitated. After Luna farewelled both of them, Hidden-Hope and Rock-Climber flew off and turned for the distant passage. With them gone, Rain-Eater and Safiya came forward.
"What iss it?" he asked them both.
Rain-Eater answered, "We had ann idea. Onne linngerrinng prroblem iss the waterrss inn ourr terrrritorry do nnot have ennough fissh forr everryonne. Ssafiya had ann idea forr how we could grrow fissh herre."
Curious, he faced Safiya, "What iss yourr plann?"
"What if we dug small lakes and weirs to store fish and catch them as needed? We could bring fish back from somewhere else and have enough here that no one would need to catch fish anywhere too dangerous. Some of the lakes could already hold fish if we only brought some to stock them," she explained.
He paused to explain everything to Luna. The best fishing was surely in the nearest water-range, but that location had its own risk in the colossal, dragon-eating creature which lived below. None of the current lakes in New Haven had anything worth living off, meaning most of the fish came from only a handful of safe locations beyond or from the above. Creating a sustainable supply of fish would greatly help everyone. There were certainly enough bugs and smaller fish present to feed the fish worth harvesting, and certain of the waters connected to others outside their territory.
Rain-Eater continued, "We would nneed sskinnss to keep the fissh alive while brrinnginng them herre."
"Rright, sso it iss a lonng-terrm prroject. We sshould sstill trry. I cann have the trribe sstarrt digginng onnce you have the plannss."
Safiya and Rain-Eater whispered before departing toward the high cave where he and Safiya kept tools and other supplies.
Luna mused, "Could the Night Furies who lived here before have kept and grown fish like we plan to?"
"Possibly. They would have learned how to sustain themselves as much as they could here."
Heather quietly and dutifully worked at the laundry, scrubbing clothing as directed. Several of the shipwrecked men were being allowed to join the Jormians in fishing by the shore or in harder labor. She and the other women were instructed to work at the more domestic tasks, tending to livestock, weaving, and the like.
Chief Stonefist told everyone from the ship they would be allowed to permanently join the tribe once they had all proven themselves deserving of trust. He hadn't explained how they were to prove themselves.
At least these people were more civil because they did not demand she and the other women provide unwanted intimate services as a condition of being allowed to remain. The possibility of such was a risk in this line of work, but a small annoyance if enduring such treatment ultimately allowed her to achieve the goal and-
And make a place for herself in the world by proving loyalty and effectiveness. She would never need to rely on chance or the gods' fickle whims. Her boss's service was the best option if she were to be free and protected by someone powerful. The loss of her parents at sea and lack of any tribe of her own made life too precarious without a protector.
These Jormians were hiding something up on the plain near the central mountains, that much was for certain. She had asked why she and the other refugees were not allowed up there, and had gotten different answers. One said the plain was a hallowed area where fallen warriors were laid to rest, another said it was cursed with foul spirits of the dead, and another refused to give her an answer.
Her cloak wrapped close against the midnight chill, Heather tiptoed through the forest while keeping alert for any sign of guards. The cloudy sky left the night especially dark, and the guards usually carried torches and were easy to see from afar. The last guards she saw on the forest's edge were so boisterous even a deaf man could have heard them. Most likely, all the guards were well behind her. No one else had any reason to be nearly a rast from the village. Not that she could become complacent.
At the base of the grassy slope leading up to the mysterious plain, she made her way higher. What if this elevated plain was where the dragons were being kept? Hopefully they were tame if they noticed her. A small shiv would be useless in any fight, and that was in addition to her not knowing how to fight well. None of her training had been in physical combat.
She arrived at the hidden plain, caught her breath, and stared in awe at the now-moonlit sight.
"What in the world?"
Far across the plain and at the base of the mountain, a dim green glow emanated from the largest cave she had ever seen. The cave's mouth was easily taller and wider than two of the largest oaks combined. The green glow was inexplicable, as there were no visible buildings or fires. It almost looked like the glow was coming from the cave's walls.
Up closer, the massive cavern was far more surprising, let alone imposing in its size. The glow appeared to be from moss growing on the walls. The cool winds down on the ground blew into the cave, whereas the wind at the cave's top half looked like it was blowing outward, disturbing the grasses and plants higher up. There were no buildings at all anywhere in sight.
Holding herself against the wind, she peered into the cavern. The slope, lit by more glowing moss, quickly fell away and became steep, perhaps too much so to walk down. Regardless, it clearly went somewhere.
She crouched and traced a finger around clear claw-markings and paw-prints in the dirt. There was the proof she had been looking for. The Jormians were indeed hiding dragons, probably in the cave. How did they provide for the beasts? Were there enough fish in these waters? Did the dragons ever come out when it was safe at night?
Concerned she might get spotted, she hastily made her way down the slope. She couldn't see any dragons anywhere, but the cover of the forest would bring greater safety if anything was watching. Of course the dragons would be brought out at night to not be spotted from offshore. Now she had to wait for her boss to arrive. What he intended from there, he had not shared with her. That was not for her to know. He didn't need another pet dragon.
Near the forest, she heard a rush of wind and a faint thud. Alarmed, she grabbed her shiv and spun around, looking for anything big which could have caused that sound. There was nothing nearby.
So why did it feel as though she was not alone? There was enough moonlight that anyone would be visible.
She cautiously continued into the woods while remaining alert. Perhaps she was merely too tired and imagining events. The fear that an unknown dragon could be on the prowl would-
She paused, motionless as she beheld floating eyes ahead between the trees and bushes. The eyes almost glowed blue-green and vanished.
Her heart racing, she tightly held her shiv, pointing it at the unseen beast. Perhaps there were wolves, bears, or worse after all. Or maybe she was just seeing things which were not-
"You dissturrb my rresst!" a voice hissed.
"What? Who- who are you?" she asked, terrified.
Twigs snapped to her left, but nothing was there. Where was it? What was it?
"You trresspass onn ourr grrounnd!"
The eyes appeared again behind a bush closer to her before again vanishing. What in Thor's name was-
This was impossible. A specter? A spirit-guardian of the dead? Those were not real, but one of the Jormians had warned her about there being supposedly sacred ground near here. Nothing in her training had prepared her for this.
"You will sstay herre forreverr! Ssufferr!"
She ran. No blade could harm a vengeful ghost. Hopefully the spectral guardian, or whatever it was, could not follow, being bound to a specific place if such fantastical legends were true.
She kept glancing backwards to check for anything following her. Not that such was particularly reassuring if the ghost's eyes could also vanish. She had to assume it was still in pursuit. No one in the village had mentioned ghosts, so it probably couldn't follow into the village itself.
After several minutes of not being followed, she slowed, caught her breath, listened for anything, and regained her composure while keeping up her pace. Losing control like that was unacceptable. A quality agent had to be able to quickly adapt and make new plans when the situation changed, even if her training hadn't covered how to deal with ghosts or evil spirit guardians.
Safely faded, Hidden-Hope softly rumbled to herself in amusement while following the female two-leg on paw from a safe distance. The two-leg occasionally stopped and looked back in her direction without seeing anything. This had to be one of the two-legs from beyond the island, as she did not recognize her as one of the ground-kin now living above. The ground-kin would have no reason to sneak like this.
Sire-father had warned her and Rock-Climber to keep watch for anyone sneaking outside the village-nest. What reason would this two-leg have to be breaking the rules, sneaking around, and learning more about the island, especially the cave-path to the world below?
Perhaps this rule-breaking and sneaking was out of mere curiosity, or maybe there was another reason. Asking the two-leg was not an option, not without revealing that she was watching her and letting her know there were sky-kin here, which was supposed to be kept secret.
Regardless of the two-leg's reasons, this was a brave and adventurous two-leg who was not afraid to break the rules. Breaking the rules or causing mischief was fun when done safely without anyone getting hurt or without being trapped by cruel two-legs.
She checked her fade and silently continued until she and the two-leg arrived back at the village-nest. The two-leg crept around the dens, hid behind barrels and crates, and avoided the guards until she came to a specific den which she sneaked into without making a sound. That control, daring, and skill at sneaking was not typical of ground-kin, or the few two-legs she had ever met.
What was the difference really between the two-legs and ground-kin? Not body or shape. Behavior and what they thought about sky-kin was all that distinguished them.
She was probably supposed to tell the chief-Alpha ground-kin up here the two-leg had been sneaking around and saw the cave-path to the below, but this could be a secret. It was not as though the two-leg could go anywhere, even though it had an unknown plan.
Could this two-leg become a ground-kin? That change would surely take the two-leg actually meeting sky-kin, but perhaps she could volunteer to help. If nothing else, a two-leg which was more adventurous and understood rules as the suggestions which they usually were would be more interesting to get to know.
She spun around and took flight to return to Rock-Climber up on the central mountain. They had agreed she had to follow the two-leg since she had fade. Back up on the mountain, she dropped her fade and landed by Rock-Climber on the slope above the cave-mouth.
"Did she go back to the village-nest?" he asked.
"Yes, and I scared her by pretending to be a bodyless life-fire," she chuckled.
"Funny. Did she believe it?"
"She screamed and ran, so probably."
He peered out over the drop, "She found the cave-mouth. Why was she was looking up here?"
"No idea. I did not tell the Chief-Alpha about her either."
"Should we tell him?"
Telling would surely get the two-leg in trouble. There was no need to do that yet.
"Why must we? She cannot go anywhere or see any sky-kin."
"But she was looking at the clawmarks and pawmarks down there," he objected.
She dove down with him and landed on the ground where paw- and claw-markings were conspicuous. The two-leg surely knew sky-kin had touched down here.
"What should we do?" he asked.
Tell on the two-leg, or keep the secret while taking more precautions?
"I scared her a lot. She probably will not come back, but we should watch for any escaping boats. If there is one with that two-leg on it, we can grab her or flame the boat."
Hopefully the two-leg would not try to flee or be a traitor which needed to be killed. Only time would tell what the two-leg was doing or intended, but she would make sure she knew.
Aurora ate and drank her fill from the available supplies, and flew to find her parents. Her mind was made up, and it was time to fly into the next part of her life-flight which could not happen as long as she stayed here in the New-Haven-Range.
Flies-With-Sun had explained to her where she could find a range where sky-kin without life-mates went to find someone. While it was not exclusively Light Furies and Night Furies who went there, the place was an option better than the foul Light Fury pack or the packless ones in part of the water-range. The only other possibility was the Night Furies in Shadow-Spark-Pack, if she could be allowed to enter as part of her search.
Either way, she was determined to not return alone or without options. While three of her nestmates had warm life-mates or a likely life-mate fly into their lives, she could not- no, would not lie around and wait. Hoping something liver-warming would happen was not a plan.
She found Green-Wings overseeing Wind-Dancer and Flower-Eater at play.
"Dam-mother, where is sire-father?" she asked.
"He went to help catch escaped prey-animals."
"I will ask him to come here. We need to talk."
She took flight, found Was-Grounded out past the fields, and landed outside the thick forest he was within. He emerged from the trees wingbeats later, a living and braying prey-animal in his jaws. The nearest ground-kin took the prey-animal from him, and thanked him for his help.
"Sire-father, are you finished helping them?" she asked.
"There are two more to catch, but the ground-kin can finish from here."
"Good. Will you follow me? I need to talk with you and dam-mother."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. Yes, but nothing to worry about."
He followed her across the fields, over small ground-kin-dens, and down to the ground where dam-mother was waiting. Her parents nuzzled in greeting before facing her.
"Sire-father, dam-mother, I need to fly from the pack."
"What is wrong?" Green-Wings worriedly asked.
She chuckled, "If you have not noticed, I have not found a life-mate. Some of that is my fault for not seriously looking for one. I must do this."
Was-Grounded nodded, "We knew this waking-cycle would eventually come. What is your plan?"
"I will fly to the mating-grounds Flies-With-Sun found. Maybe I will find a Light Fury or Night Fury there. If not, I will try Shadow-Spark-Pack. Defiance and Branch-Biter are the Alpha pair, right?"
"They are. Those Night Furies will be reluctant to meet any ground-kin," Was-Grounded replied.
"So most of them are twisted. Maybe not all of them. If I find someone who is not foul or twisted, I will bring him back here to learn about our pack. If he cannot trust ground-kin, he cannot be with me, no exceptions. Do not worry, I will not take someone as quickly as Dawn-Singer did."
Green-Wings chuffed, "It worked for him, but taking more time to learn each other's life-fire first would not hurt."
"How long will you be gone?" Was-Grounded asked.
"To get to the place is probably three waking-cycles of flight, and another three to Shadow-Spark-Pack from there. Finding someone at one of those places could take any number of waking-cycles. I do not know."
Green-Wings came closer and nuzzled her, "It will be dangerous out there. Strange males do not deserve trust."
"I know, and I planned for that. I ate plenty of no-eggs-berries for if one of them attacks me, and I will stay protected the whole time."
"There are more threats beyond only force-mating. You do not plan to go alone, do you?" Was-Grounded asked, visibly worried.
Who else was there who would want to go with or could be away for so long?
"Being in a flight of a pawful would be best, but everyone has reason to stay here. I could ask Moon-Dancer if he wants to come with me. Maybe Mist-Wings and Light-Hunter could also fly. That flight might give them more chances to bond."
Was-Grounded rumbled, "Whoever it is, we would feel much better if you not make this flight alone."
She nuzzled her parents again, and took flight to search for her kin. After a brief search, she found a pawful of them dozing together by a light-rock: Moon-Dancer, Mist-Wings, Light-Hunter, Hope-In-His-Liver, and Flies-With-Sun. She landed and gently nudged Moon-Dancer, Mist-Wings, and Light-Hunter awake. They followed her away from the other two to not disturb them.
"What is it?" Mist-Wings yawned.
"Sorry about waking you up, but I need to leave these ranges for a while."
"Where are you going?" Mist-Wings exclaimed.
"I am going to find a life-mate, hopefully."
"Where are you going to look?" Moon-Dancer asked.
"Wherever I can. There is the mating-grounds Flies-With-Sun told us about. I can also try Shadow-Spark-Pack. They might have someone who does not fear ground-kin or is willing to learn about them. Anyway, I will be away for many waking-cycles. I should not go alone, obviously it is not safe. Do any of you want to fly with me?"
Mist-Wings glanced at Light-Hunter, "I suppose I could if no one else will. Light-Hunter?"
Light-Hunter answered, "I told my parents I would stay in your pack's ranges so they could find me if they need to."
Mist-Wings sighed, "Sister, I- do not know how much help I alone would be, and I want to stay here if he is."
"No problem. I understand. Moon-Dancer?" she asked.
He did not answer, instead just staring at his paws.
"Moon-Dancer."
"Sorry. Sure. I can fly with you. When are we leaving?" he asked.
"Now. I am ready and wished everyone else warm flights."
He stepped back and stretched his wings, "Just let me eat, and tell my parents I am going with you. Meet you at the shared-ledge?"
"See you there!"
He flew off. She briefly nuzzled Mist-Wings, and even gave Light-Hunter a headbump before departing.
Out at the shared-ledge, she landed and paced with nervous energy while waiting for Moon-Dancer. He arrived soon after, landed, and bounded to her near the edge of the dropoff.
"They had no problem with you going?" she asked.
"None. They agreed you should not go alone. You know the flight-path?"
"Most of it is along the way we already flew on the adventure out there. I hope you are rested because this will be a long flight."
He rolled his shoulders and stretched his wings, "I should be."
She stood beside him and perched on the edge, "Good. I am glad you are coming with me. This is much safer than going alone. Have you thought about going out there to find someone? You are old enough to want to."
He huffed, "No. I guess I have not wanted to take the risk before."
She chuckled, "If we find any liver-warming female Night Furies or Light Furies out there, do you want me to introduce you or share some good words about you?"
He whipped her with his tail, "This is your flight, remember."
She roared, leaped from the ledge, and turned for the distant cave-mouth and waterfalls. Moon-Dancer fell in beside her in steady flight. While this was not at all certain to be a success, at least there would be known and pleasant company on the way, in addition to this being much safer than flying alone.
Skadi cautiously followed behind Shadowwing and Luna into the outer edge of the mixed-nest. They were insistent she finally enter the mixed-nest on paw to see what it was like, or what they wanted it to appear like.
Luna fell back beside her, "What is wrong? You look worried."
She glanced at the nearby tree-den and the two-leg outside it, staring at her, "Sorry. This is new and much to see. I do not know what these are all for."
"There is nothing to fear."
Luna nodded at each of the nearby tree-dens, explaining what each one was for. The two-legs they passed took clear note of her, staring her direction or pointing with their paws. So far they did not appear to have any false-vines or traps set.
A pawful of tree-dens were large enough they had kin sleeping inside on dried grass or warmed rock, both of which were surely comforting.
She froze when she saw where Shadowwing and Luna were leading her: to the largest den of all, what they called the great-hall-den. The great-hall-den was apparently the equivalent of the flat place in her pack's living-range where the entire pack could gather. The den-mouth was open, with two-legs visible within.
This looked like a trap.
Luna sat down and gestured at it, "Do you want to follow us inside? It would help you understand our pack."
She took a deep breath and forced aside the fear, "Yes, please show me."
She followed Shadowwing and Luna through the open mouth and into-
The great-hall-den looked much bigger inside than it did from outside, though that was surely a sight-trick. There was so much within: a large and flat stone at the highest point, many wooden stands, distinct areas separated from each other, controlled fires burning meat and fish, holding-things filled with what had to be food, groups of young two-legs gathered around old ones, hanging picture-shapes of various kin and two-legs, and far more.
Luna explained what everything was used for, that certain hanging picture-shapes on hides were of the former two-leg Alphas of the pack, and even that the stone was where Shadowwing sat as an Alpha for the two-legs. Why would the two-legs submit to a dark wing as their Alpha?
"Ground-kin bring food here for everyone as needed," Luna explained.
Just like her own pack and the Hunters who brought fish. And how the young had dedicated caregivers who were not the sires and dams. The old two-legs appeared to have a role in telling stories or teaching the young.
Two-legs were so similar to kin, or at least this two-leg pack lived similarly to her New-Flame-Pack.
The present two-legs had noticed her. None of them were moving toward her, just pointing at her and whispering to each other. So many eyes staring directly at her. Some of the two-legs had visible hurt-marks, probably from claws, or missing limbs. That and Shadowwing's explanations combined. The two-legs had suffered from kin in the past. Kin could be foul. Two-legs were- could be foul.
So similar.
She froze, seeing a dark shape in the corner opposite the contained fires. A living shadow glared in her direction, its empty eyes piercing through her as her head pounded and-
"Are you well?" Shadowwing asked.
She blinked, and the shadow was gone. Shadowwing glanced toward the corner and back to her.
She gasped for breath, "Sorry. This great den is so much, too much. I do not feel well."
"Then we should leave," he said.
Luna and Shadowwing departed, and she followed. Once outside, she flung out her wings and flew for a high ledge. Breath returned and the pounding in her head was mostly gone. Luna and Shadowwing landed beside her.
"What happened? Does your belly hurt?" Luna gently asked.
How to even answer? Nothing foul or bad had happened or was happening in the great-hall place. Nothing at all.
"My head. Maybe I did not drink enough water earlier."
Shadowwing offered, "Stress can do that. Was there anything you were afraid of in there? Did any of the ground-kin scare you?"
The similarities only in different shapes were far too unsettling, like disturbances or bumps on a calm wind.
He had no idea. How could he understand? He could not see what she could! He- could not understand.
"No, it was all at once. Different and the same. Sorry, I-"
"Maybe you should get rest. We can bring hurt-helping plants if you need any," Luna offered.
"Please do. That will help. I will be up at the cave-den."
Moon-Dancer landed on the remote ledge covered in golden grass and white flowers near a small stream. The ledge was out of the main flight path in this range, so it was as safe as anywhere could be out here. They had not passed many other sky-kin, only a pawful of spine-tails and rumble-horns in the first waking-cycle since leaving their home-range.
He strolled to their chosen resting spot underneath a blue-leaf tree near a light-rock. Aurora was curled up with her head on her forepaws, staring into the distance below as if she was distracted or deep in thought. There was nothing significant out there to see, other than light-rocks, thick forest, and a pawful of Terrors or other tiny sky-kin chasing each other for whatever reason. The nearest light bounced off her hide and scales, making tiny specks of light among her beautiful green and blue.
"What is nibbling your tail?" he asked.
"Nothing," she muttered.
He continued to her side and lay down next to her. They had not spoken much beyond planning certain details for the flight, like how often to stop for water, rest, or relief.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
She sighed, "Sorry, my thoughts have been flying wildly. Hopefully we do not waste much time searching. Wandering out here is dangerous for a flight of only two."
"At least we have not flown into any of the foul Light Furies, though they should not be in these ranges," he pointed out.
"Sadly. There has been no good opportunity to flame any of them recently. The more I think about it, the more it feels like we must be accepted among the Night Fury and Light Fury packs to find possible partners, but our pack is still on its own because of the ground-kin not being trusted."
"What changed? Why this flight to find someone now?"
She huffed and faced him, "Hides-In-Clouds reminded me of the good life I want."
"What about being jealous? Are you sure that is not a reason anymore."
She paused before shaking her head, "I do not want to find someone just because Dawn-Singer or Rain-Eater have found their life-mates. That was me not knowing my own life-fire. I want someone to be with, love, and be loved by so our life-flights can be better, warmer, and more... more. I will not drift on my life-flight. Not anymore."
He hesitated for a wingbeat, and had to remind himself to breathe. Was this the time to finally be honest with her, and to tell her the truth? How she would react was unknowable, and the safest option was to keep his thoughts and wants to himself.
But she was too special to not find someone eventually. She deserved the truth directly from him. This flight, just the two of them, was the best opportunity he was going to get. Not only did she deserve to know, but he deserved a chance, flame the risk!
He took a deep breath and got to his paws, "I need to tell you the truth."
"What truth? Do you think I still have life-problems?" she softly asked.
"No, not those. Yes, it is about you, but this is more about me."
She got up, yawned, and faced him, "About us? Tell me."
Whatever else happened, she would have to at least hear him out.
"I did not fly this flight to find someone new out there. I do not need to find someone special to me because there already is someone."
She blinked and looked down to her paws, "There is? Who?"
"You."
Silence followed with neither of them moving for wingbeats. She finally looked up at him, her blue-green eyes wide with surprise.
"Me?" she finally whispered.
"You are more beautiful and liver-warming than anyone else. I want you."
A wingbeat passed before she answered.
"Is this a joke? No, sorry, forget I said that. I did not mean it. You would not joke about this. Why- why did you not say anything earlier? How long have you felt like this about me?" she breathlessly asked.
"I was confused and afraid of saying anything. I have wanted you for season-cycles, even before we and our kin flew on the adventure far away, but back then that was only twisted-wanting."
"Twisted-wanting?"
He groaned, "What would a young male who is still learning about life want with a beautiful female? I also got jealous every time I thought you might find someone, or if I saw someone else looking your way."
She snorted, "Really? I had no idea you saw me that way."
"I still want you, but I want you to be happy, whatever else happens. You are as beautiful and liver-warming as the night sky-breath colors of your name. I love you, Aurora."
Aurora sat motionless before him, her tail curled around her paws. Moon-Dancer had admitted deep feelings for her. Feelings he had buried and hidden so well there was never any hint beforepaw, at least none she had ever noticed. What was she supposed to think about that? At least he had finally been honest and wanted her to know the truth.
She had never considered him as anything other than one of her part-kin. Far more removed from her life-flight than any of her nestmates, he had never annoyed her the way Dawn-Singer or Rain-Eater could, or even Mist-Wings when she was being ignorant. She had even confided with him some of her fears and desires, and gotten his advice, which she had not done with anyone else. While there was no rule for what type of partner could fit well into a life-flight, perhaps there was lift in considering someone more of her own opposite, more stable. He was easily more careful in what he said, taking care to not say what he did not intend, instead of speaking first and considering afterward.
His care for the rest of her kin was beyond doubt. He was willing to risk himself to protect everyone, as he had when he led the spinning-teeth rock-diggers away so she and the rest of the flight could flee. Telling her the truth was only another type of liver-flame and bravery.
She took a deep breath and faced him, "Thank you for telling me. That must have been difficult."
He deeply exhaled, "More than you know, but you deserve to know the truth."
What did she absolutely need to know from him? If they were to share life-flights, they had to be compatible on what was most important and close to her liver. The concern about her potential mate not thinking well about ground-kin did not apply to him, even though he had no special life-bond ground-kin. Shadowwing and Luna had raised him well to not have important thought-problems. But she had never asked him about his desire for an egg or hatchling.
"I need to know your thoughts on having a family of your own. What do you want?" she asked.
"A big family is not so important to me, even without the rules for nest-sizes. I am not like my sire-father or yours. You want a hatchling, right?"
She nodded, "Yes. I want to be a dam-mother, but I do not need many even without family-size rules. One or two would be enough."
"That is fine for me too."
Did it matter that he was a type of her kin, cousins as the ground-kin called the relation? While her knowledge of ground-kin pairing-rules was not the best, she had heard that such pairs could happen but might have problems, though she had no idea what those problems could be or mean. Was that risk also true of sky-kin? Nothing about his scent was wrong, too-close, or annoying.
"Because we are part-kin to each other, would it even be good for us to have any hatchlings?" she asked.
He shrugged, "I have no idea. We could try to find out back at home. My sire-father would probably know if that would cause any problems. Even if we should not have any of our own, we could claim an unwanted egg or a hatchling from another pack. I am willing to be a second-father and adopt if we must do it that way."
He was willing even if they could not be a sire and dam together. He had a valid point they could still start a family-nest in another way if necessary. That was a relief and eliminated one possible problem.
"That would be fine with me if we must. I have to know, did you ever think about my sister like this?"
"Never. She is no different from Hidden-Hope, as a nestmate. I never truly thought about you like that."
"So you are attracted to me. You know a beautiful sky-kin when you see one."
"Guilty, and you are," he paused and looked down at his paws, seemingly avoiding her gaze.
"What?" she asked.
"I sometimes stared at your flanks, but I stopped when I noticed what I was doing. I know I should not look if you like that do not want me to, but it can be a struggle. Sorry."
No reason to doubt his sincerity. To be the object of someone's interest was- no, object was wrong or insufficient. Other males had stared at her with such interest, but he was not like them. He respected her instead of only answering to his wants. How could he be rightly faulted for having normal interests? She once had her own, differently twisted wants and reasons which would have been poor to act upon.
Now that she knew about his interest, he was pleasant in appearance too, fully grown and even slightly bigger than her despite being two season-cycles younger. Different in shape from a pure Night Fury but the same dark color common to males. Strong, broad-winged, healthy, and carrying himself well. More than pleasant in appearance.
"Do not apologize for having wants," she whispered.
"It is not the having wants. I do not want to worry you or make you feel unsafe around me."
She huffed, "What? Now you are being twisted. You have never done anything to make me feel unsafe around you. I did worry about you when you risked yourself against the Alpha-spinning-teeth-rock-digger, but that was completely different. I cannot say I have ever stared at you anywhere like that, but you are pleasant enough."
He blinked, "Only pleasant enough?"
"No, that is not what I meant. I- waste, I am not good at this. I meant I do enjoy seeing you, and you are attractive and strong, but I never thought about you like this before."
"I do not need you to decide anything now. That would not be fair of me," he offered.
A realization struck her like a flash of sky-light. Every indication was that he truly cared about her happiness and wishes, and he was willing to join his life-flight with hers in everything important.
What was that if not love?
Maybe love was not always obvious or blatant. Having known him since he was a hatchling, she already knew much about him, so there should not be any more big surprises. Perhaps the answer to her life-problem was there all along, only she had been blind to it. Though in her defense, he gave no prior indication at all of his true feelings. How quickly everything could change.
Was she only seriously considering him out of desperation and lack of other options? That did not feel correct at all. She would surely find someone acceptable in another pack eventually if she only looked. But between his known care for her kin, maturity and responsibility in pack duties, bravery in risking himself and in telling her the truth of his interest, clear thinking, and his being appealing in both body and life-fire, there could be no going back to how she previously saw him. He was far more.
"This is not what I expected would happen on this flight," she muttered.
"What did you expect?"
"Maybe I hoped I would happen to find some strong, brave, sharp-tongued, worthy male out here, and he would come back with me to our range where I would test him for many waking-cycles until he finally had enough and flew away in alarm and certainty that my egg must have been shaken."
"You would not foul your flight that badly," he protested.
"Do not be so sure. I can be me when I try."
"You should not try to be anyone else."
She hummed at his warm words and wit before considering a lingering concern, that of the possibility they might not work out as life-mates. Such a failure might foul their kinship forever or might even hurt their families' kinship if it became known. On the other paw, all of life had risk, but that was not reason to avoid pouncing on opportunity. The best she could do was trust her liver, trust that he meant well, and try to not make her brother's liver-warming mistake by too quickly deciding. Though, it might be more difficult to tease him after this.
She approached him until she could feel his breath on her nose, "Hoping that warmth will happen to me is not a good plan. You are special to me like no one else. I probably love you too, but I am not ready to say it the same way you can. Not yet. Please understand."
He exhaled and gently nuzzled her muzzle, "We can take all the time you want. I promise my liver will not change."
Relieved by his understanding, she returned his nuzzling and bonding which felt so different from any prior time. Knowing how important she was to him sparked a warmth which had never taken before in her liver. There was no need to test him or worry about his true intentions or their ability to share life-flights. She could trust him fully in anything.
There were other desires she had always refused. He openly admitted he had such desires and interest toward her, and he was appealing in both appearance and life-fire. It was unlikely any other male could make her feel as special and warm as he already had through what he told her. Where they were was liver-warming enough, near a stream on an isolated ledge, under a blue-leaf-tree, and among white flowers and golden grass. She had waited so many season-cycles, and more waiting would be so frustrating, but-
He stepped back from her and nodded at the open space nearby under the tree, "Want to rest or start back for the home-range?"
"We do not have to start home yet. I- have not made love before."
"I have not been with anyone either."
His admission that he had never been with anyone was a relief, though not a surprise. Why would he have been with anyone else if he wanted her all along?
"Good. I want us to make love, but there is a problem."
"What problem?"
"I cannot be sure the no-eggs-berries I took will work. They should, but there is risk. The egg or hatchling we might accidentally make could be foul or wrong. If we were not related, the risk would not matter and I would take you now, but-"
"Do you want to wait until we learn if us making an egg would be foul-wrong?" he asked.
She stomped with a paw and fumed, "Want to wait? No! I have waited so long! But we probably should wait, just to be safe."
"I can wait for you," he offered.
She calmed, "Thank you, Moon. I knew you would understand. Even without being together like that, we have to do something while we are alone!"
"What do you suggest?"
She told him what she wanted, and began intimately exploring him while letting him do the same to her. She had never fully seen any male before, or let anyone touch her as he did. Burning excitement and anticipation. Let him take her right now and-
She stepped alongside him and nuzzled his muzzle, "We should stop there. I am not sure I trust myself to not pounce on you!"
"I want you too."
"Oh, I know."
She nodded toward the mossy ground under the blue-leaf-tree's branches, and he followed her. She lay down, snuggled against him, and held his tail, her warm desire cooling.
He hummed, "Did you know you are the most beautiful Night Fury of all?"
"Of course I am. Never forget it, and tell me often how beautiful I am. I will insist. Did you always plan to tell me the truth on this flight?" she asked.
"Maybe without knowing. When you said you meant to find someone, I knew I had to fly with you, and I was not going to find anyone else."
"Thank the sky-breath I asked you to fly with me."
Everything might have gone far differently if she had not asked him. Would he have followed her or known where to go? There was no way to know what would have happened, and that other possibility would not matter. On the other paw-
She lunged and nipped his nearest frill.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he yelped.
"That was for you being twisted! What if you had not told me the truth, I had not asked you to fly with me, and this never happened! What then? That would have been horrible and chilling, all because of your mistake by not talking to me! Promise me you will tell me anything I need to hear instead of clutching it to yourself, especially if what I need to hear is how important I am to you!"
"I promise!"
She growled, "Good. Never forget that either. We should decide what to tell our kin before we go home. Any suggestions?"
They needed a believable excuse for why they cut the flight short and returned much earlier than expected. No one else needed to know what they had become, serious possible life-mates, until that decision was final.
"We can say we decided to not fly so far away on our own. Maybe there were threatening sky-kin blocking the way, so we returned early and decided to fly this flight again later with a larger flight for safety," he offered.
"That should work. No one will have reason to doubt us, and we can wait as long as we want before saying we plan to go out here again."
"What about telling our parents about us?" he asked.
"Only after I am, no, after we are both certain what we want. If we do become life-mates, I doubt our parents will object."
She did not want to consider what would happen if they did object. The only understandable objection would be if he and she making an egg would be foul-twisted, but there were other options if that would be a problem. Their parents should not be an obstacle to their happiness and warmth even in that situation.
She lay her head on his neck and closed her eyes for rest. This flight had worked out after all, though not how she had expected or dreamed. Something about having Moon-Dancer at her side felt correct, like he belonged there. Completely safe with him, the feeling of his belonging whispered that he was important and should never leave her life-flight. She had to keep him close, maybe even forever to ensure no one else could ever get their paws on him, not that he could want anyone else.
How could she know for certain if she had flown into love with him? She had never previously needed to consider that possibility for anyone in this way. Experiencing shared pleasure with him, and subtle questions asked of her kin and nestmates would surely help. For now, the assurance that she need not be alone and unwanted, and the certainty that he desired her were liver-warming like she had never felt before.