Author's Note – This picks up immediately after where Children Of Dawn and Echoes Of The Past both ended. Most of Liberation will take place in a far more condensed timeframe in-world than either of the preceding stories. Liberation is rated T, and will be the end of the Brothers of Night series. I plan on a weekly update schedule.
Curiosity
Shadowwing and Was-Grounded met up with Rain-Eater, and raced together toward the darkest part of New Haven to meet with a remarkable newcomer: a new kind of dragon who could speak aloud. That detail alone made it's appearance amazing, as this dragon apparently wasn't a Night Fury, Light Fury, or Dawn Fury.
Shadowwing slowed to a glide and addressed Rain-Eater, "What did she say?"
"Not much. Only that she wanted to meet the Alpha away from the ground-kin," Rain-Eater answered.
Reasonable enough. Wanting to meet away from New Haven itself was a fair precaution for a dragon who didn't already know what to expect from humans. Caution was far better than open antagonism anyway.
"Where is she?" Was-Grounded asked.
"Flies-Bravely was showing her to the falling-branches light-tree."
"What is her name?" Shadowwing asked.
"She said we should call her Skadi."
Confusing. That name was distinct from normal dragon names. Why would she have a Norse-sounding name? Maybe that similarity was only a coincidence in how the same sounded. For all he knew, the name could have a completely different meaning for her kind.
Shadowwing faced Was-Grounded, "Does that name mean anything to you or to other sky-kin?"
"Not that I know of."
Was-Grounded addressed his son, "What does she look like? Is she a Hunter like that one you all saw far away?"
"No. She is like a blue, purple, and white Light Fury with soft spines on her neck, back, and tail," Rain-Eater answered.
Light Furies didn't have spines, and didn't usually come in such apparently vibrant colors, only having faint sheens instead. Nothing else came to mind to explain that description.
"Ever heard of such a sky-kin?" he asked Was-Grounded.
"No. You?"
"Me neither."
If this Skadi was a representative Far-Flier for a distant pack of her kind, all the more important to make a good first impression on behalf of all New Haven. Having peace with a pack of her kind could be essential.
This news that Skadi could speak was confusing. Mimir had told him that only his own kind and the Furies: Night, Light, and by extension Dawn, could speak or were fully like humans, having a greater understanding or awareness of themselves and the world around them. Had Mimir been wrong? Apparently so. That ancient dragon had not known everything. But that was already certain, as he had said he didn't know if there were other Night Furies in the hidden world.
Or had he be been lying in that answer, perhaps as a way of protecting the hidden Night Furies? There was no way to be sure anymore.
They continued up alongside a waterfall and emerged on a ledge which straddled the darker portion of the chamber and the lighter parts. The only plants up there were various mushrooms, small shrubs, and the glowing willow. They dove and landed beside Flies-Bravely who immediately dashed to them, though she appeared alone up there.
"Where is our guest?" Shadowwing asked, looking around.
"She is on the other side of the light-tree. She is being twisted," Flies-Bravely grumbled.
"How?"
"Because she said nothing to me. I tried to talk with her, but she just wants to be left alone until you get here."
"Well, we are here."
"You can take over with her. Rain-Eater and I will go back to guarding."
She and Rain-Eater flew off together while he and Was-Grounded trotted around the willow and shrubbery until their guest came into view.
A shape similar to a female Light Fury but a little larger, a brilliant blue and purple shine on her hide and wings, and flexible spines running from her head all the way down her back and tail. One spine was missing from the base of her neck, and she had several old scars visible all over her sides, signs of some long-past violence.
They sat down a couple pounces away from her to give her space, and she only then faced them and approached. She sat on her haunches, her piercing eyes flecked with grey and blue fixed on them. Narrowed eyes with an intense gaze and a faint pull- or only understandable wariness.
Shadowwing blinked and bent his head, "Welcome to New-Haven-Range. We heard your name is Skadi. I am Shadowwing."
Was-Grounded also slightly bent his head, "I am Was-Grounded. We are nestmates and share being Alphas here."
Skadi softly hummed, her gaze relaxed, "So you are the two Alphas I heard about from Rain-Eater and Flies-Bravely. I am glad to finally meet you."
Shadowwing replied, "We are warmed to meet a new kin. If I may ask, what kin-kind do you call yourself? We have never seen one of you before."
Skadi glanced at the weeping willow before facing them again, "I am a Far-Flier for a pack far from here. What am I? I am half a light wing, but the other half has no kind-name."
"You have a different name from what most kin have. What does your name mean?" he asked her.
"I have wondered that myself too. My sire-father named me such, but I never learned what the name meant. He died before I could ask him."
Was-Grounded hummed, "We both know how chilling that must have been."
Shadowwing asked, "If you are a mixed-kin, was your sire-father a Light Fury or the other kind? Sorry if that seems too personal a question, but we are curious about you."
"I have no problem with the question. He was the other kind. My dam was a light-wing."
"What pack do you fly from?" Was-Grounded asked.
"You probably have not heard about it: Ice-Water-Pack," she answered after a brief pause.
Shadowwing searched his thoughts, as that name was somehow familiar, until he remembered where he had heard the name.
"Actually, we have. Far away in colder ranges, unless I am wrong," he offered.
"How have you heard? How much do you know about- us?" she asked, visibly surprised.
"Our children flew a flight to far ranges while exploring. They mentioned hearing about an Ice-Water-Pack from another pack they were with. They heard Ice-Water-Pack was a twisted one. We do not know how."
"Which pack did they hear that from?"
"Strong-Again-Pack, or something like that name."
She snorted, "New-Strength-Pack. We are twisted in some ways, but all packs are. My home-pack is not foul at all."
"Are there more of your kind in your pack?" he asked.
"Yes, my kind is not found in ranges near here though."
"Why have you flown to us?" he asked.
"I am a Far-Flier. I must learn about new ranges, and we heard about your New-Haven-Pack and the two-legs living in this range. I was sent here to learn about your pack."
Was-Grounded asked, "What do you think about the two-legs, as you call them?"
Skadi yawned, "Why would I think anything about them? How could I know what is in their livers and life-fires before I meet them and see how they treat kin?"
Shadowwing hummed, pleased by her reasonable and open attitude, "So you are curious about our shared-range and New-Haven-Pack?"
"I want to be a guest in your range so I can learn what is happening here. My pack wants to learn what two-legs are, why they are in the kin-ranges, and anything else we can learn about them."
He relaxed, deeply relieved by this welcoming attitude of curiosity. Hers was such a different attitude from the cold hostility other Light Furies and even Night Furies had demonstrated multiple times in the past.
"Then you are welcome with us! Many other sky-kin are not as warm. Just so you know, we call two-legs ground-kin and ourselves sky-kin."
She tilted her head and blinked, "Ground-kin? Why? Two-legs are nothing like kin, from what I have heard."
Was-Grounded chuckled, "True, they are not like us in body-shape. They have no scales, wings, or tails, but they are like us in life-fires."
He nodded, "And we call them a type of kin to make it clear that we are not different in ways that matter."
Was-Grounded added, "Them not having their own wings is a problem in these ranges. We can be their wings to help them get around."
She asked, "You have to carry the two-legs?"
"When we must to help them. Some of us do that more than others," Was-Grounded explained.
"How many sky-kin and two-legs are there in your pack? How big is your pack?"
Shadowwing answered after a moment of thought, "There are about ten tens of ground-kin and three tens of sky-kin, not including us and our kin. The number of sky-kin always changes, more and less, as they come and go as they want."
"So many ground-kin. Do you have any other nests not in this range?" she asked.
"There is one in the above outside the kin-ranges. Some of our ground-kin have made a new nest on the island which hides a cave-path coming down here. Only ground-kin live up there on the island."
"Have they? Good for your pack. It is difficult for packs to expand into new territory without fighting. Do you know what the world above is like?" she asked.
He softly growled, "Do we ever? Yes, but there is much we could say about the above another time. Have you ever been up there?"
"How could I have? Ice-Water-Pack is remote, and there are no paths to whatever is up there. All we heard is that two-leg things are dangerous."
"That is not wrong. They are dangerous," he agreed.
She glanced between him and Was-Grounded, "So you are both Alphas together?"
Was-Grounded bumped his shoulder, "We are. Not that we ever intended to be Alphas, but it just happened this way."
"This might be a twisted question, but how do you trust each other? None of the other packs have two Alpha males share status."
Shadowwing explained, "We are not normal. We have known each other since we were hatchlings."
Skadi yawned again and stretched before settling down, "That would help. Sorry. I flew far to get here with little rest. Do you have a cave-den I can rest in while I am here?"
Shadowwing nodded, "We do. Do you want one near the shared-nest or further away from it?"
"Probably away from it, until I feel comfortable being around the ground-kin."
Healthy wariness was entirely acceptable. Even Luna's parents preferred to not be involved with New Haven itself, though they had no problems being there whenever their family members were in the village.
"I understand. We can lead you to one when we are done with any of your questions."
Skadi hummed, "What about your kin: your mates and your young? How many do you have?"
"My life-mate is Luna. She is a Light Fury. We have-"
"Fury? What?" Skadi asked, visibly confused.
"Sorry. We call ourselves Night Furies, Light Furies, and Dawn Furies, for our mixed kind. Other packs use dark wings, light wings, and dark-lights."
"But why Fury?"
"We can explain it later, but we blame the ground-kin for that naming."
"Twisted. Fine. How many young do you have?"
"Four. Three sons and one daughter."
Was-Grounded purred, "Green-Wings is my life-mate. She is a Night Fury like us, and we have six young. You met Rain-Eater, my second son already. We have three sons and daughters."
Skadi rumbled, evidently amused, "So many young. You both keep your life-mates busy."
Shadowwing chuckled, "They do the same to us. Well, Luna does for me. I am not sure about him and Green-Wings."
Was-Grounded snorted and shoved his shoulder, "You are both twisted. We are liver-warmed, which is all that matters."
Skadi appeared confused again, "You both only have one life-mate each?"
Shadowwing answered, "Yes."
"Do you not want more?"
He started in surprise, "No. Is that normal where you are from?"
"My pack only has one Alpha, but he has multiple mates. I was only curious how you live here," she explained.
"No problem. We are not like everyone else," he answered.
"I can see that. I would like to meet your kin, especially the dark-lights. Mixed-kin are closer to my liver since I am one."
He hummed, "We will gladly have you meet them. They would like to see a fellow mixed-kin too."
"Does your pack have important rules or customs I should know about?"
"Such as?"
"Anything. Are there pack-roles in which packmates have special duties? I ask because some packs have life-ways my pack would consider twisted or wrong."
He answered, "We know that. Our pack is probably different from the ones you know. Most Night Furies, Light Furies, and Dawn Furies here are kin to each other in some way. We do not have pack-roles like other packs do. Instead, we all share the work as needed and change who does what, though some of us prefer to help in specific ways."
Was-Grounded added, "The only custom I can think of is that we have two of our young at a time go to the island above to watch for danger."
"What danger?"
"We watch for any threatening two-legs. None have shown up there, but we must know if any do," Shadowwing explained.
"Nothing else?" Skadi asked, clearly unsure.
"Not unless you include we that watch each other's hatchlings and fledglings," Was-Grounded answered.
"What about the other sky-kin? What is their place in your pack? I have only seen one other pack which had different kin-types sharing a range."
Shadowwing answered, "As we said, they are free to come and go as they want. Those who stay help us and the ground-kin with work, and they help defend the range against any dangers. Most have a ground-kin which is special to them."
"Special how?"
"As an other-kind friend. You can learn what that means in our shared-nest."
She glanced to the passage in the distance, "Do you ever get attacked? I do not know of many kin which would be twisted enough to attack a pack of dark wings."
"Some flights need to be flamed away in warning. We have ways everyone here can fight or hide. Two Light Furies from a foul pack attacked us and killed one of our ground-kin. Other than that, we have been mostly left alone, which is all we want."
Skadi yawned yet again, "Good to hear. Thank you for answering my questions. Could you show me to that cave-den for rest?"
"Follow us."
He and Was-Grounded stepped back and stretched their wings as she did the same. With Skadi following them, they flew deeper into their chamber, over the forest and lakes and up a slope with waterfalls.
Something about Skadi's shape kept bothering him. He was certain this was the first time he had heard of a half Light Fury and half whatever the rest of her was. However, her shape was still somehow familiar, though he couldn't be sure how.
They continued until a patch of smaller caves and ledges appeared high up on the right-hand side of the passage. They landed on the largest ledge and stepped aside to make space for her to enter the cave. She landed, briefly inspected the cave, appeared to find it to her satisfaction, and came outside to them.
Shadowwing addressed her, "The cave is small, but this is well outside the shared-nest and inside the part of our ranges which we watch over. You will be safe resting here."
She sat down and purred in thanks, "What should I do for food, water, and relief?"
He pointed with his tail, "Any of the waterfalls is good for drinking from. For relief most of us use pits outside the shared-nest. If you are not comfortable going there, anywhere out in the deeper forest is good enough. Food is usually available in the shared-nest. We can bring you a fish or some food-mushrooms, but it would help if you come into the shared-nest. There is also a water-range we flew to beyond our territory for fish, but there are hunters in the deep water. We try to avoid going there."
"I might enter your shared-nest after I see it, but I ate well before your territory. I do not need to eat for many waking-cycles."
Was-Grounded asked, "How long will you plan to stay with us? We have not had a curious Far-Flier from a pack before."
"I am to stay until I am satisfied I know happening in this range. The two-legs are new in the kin-ranges, and I must report to my Alpha what I see here," she answered.
Shadowwing nodded, "Understandable. Who is your Alpha?"
"I may not say. Not my decision."
"Fine. Let them keep their secret. We will let you get your rest. When you are ready, you can find us or our kin among the tallest mushroom-trees, or we can come here after a waking-cycle if you want."
She bent her head to them and turned around for the cave. At the respectful dismissal, he and Was-Grounded retreated and took flight, turning inward toward where their families would be waiting. Skadi's sudden arrival had disrupted a pleasant waking-cycle of roughhousing and stories for the youngest between various lessons.
Was-Grounded tapped his wingtip, "Does she look familiar?"
"Maybe a little. I am not sure how."
"Me neither. At least she is different from Red-Paw or any of the angry Night Furies."
Skadi being entirely open to new experiences was a relief. Some reluctance and hesitation was fair and understandable for a dragon who had never seen humans before. Skadi only had to see New-Haven, and she would be assured that nothing dangerous or inappropriate was happening here. This would be their opportunity to possibly gain allies in the wider hidden world.
Skadi watched as the two Alpha dark wings departed together. Safely on her own again, she retreated to the back of the cave-den and curled up for rest. Do nothing suspicious at all. A true Far-Flier who knew nothing at all would not sneak away and secretly inspect the range on her own. Better to let the dark wings show her around, gain their trust so she could move freely in the open, and learn the truth without raising any suspicions.
How many fighting kin were here, including the dark wings, light wings, and dark-lights? What devised means do the two-legs have to defend themselves? How did the kin here guard the range?
What were the two-legs to the kin?
From how the dark wings called the two-legs their ground-kin, the two-legs were not a kind of prey. Calling them ground-kin implied bonding, being like-life, and similarity.
How could any kin be so twisted as to believe that? The two-legs had life-fires, but that did not mean much. Even bonding could be a trick-lie, as the trapped kin she had rescued in the above had been twisted into thinking their thrall-making two-legs cared for them. Perhaps that was no different from what the foul Alpha had done to his five mates: twist their thinking into reliance on him for comfort and security.
Most confusing of all so far were Shadowwing and Was-Grounded. From their scents they were kin, perhaps nestmates. That would explain why they were willing to share status. But what was confusing was that they only claimed one mate each, and did not appear to share mates either. Not at all what she expected. They were more like Flickering-Flare or Defiance than the other Alpha males she had met.
Nothing about Shadowwing or Was-Grounded had felt twisted or rotted initially. They had not revealed many of their pack's customs or rules, so she could not be sure about that. They were clearly protective of the two-legs.
Too early to leap to conclusions and decide that nothing was rotted about this pack. No, there had to be- there surely was rot in the mixed-nest. She just had to find it. The truth was there, waiting to be found. Find the proof of what she already knew was true and-
Was there a faint wind in this range?
She got to her paws and walked outside the cave-mouth to listen for that faint hissing whisper, but there was no rustling on her nose or tickle on her wings. There had been a faint wind elsewhere in the passage to these ranges, but the air was calm outside her cave-den.
"Twisted."
She spun around to reenter the cave for rest. She froze and glared at the prominent shadow on the rock-wall, but the shadow faced her and moved while she remained motionless. Familiarity. Welcoming. Comforting.
"You again. Where were you?" she huffed.
'We never left.'
Where had Nameless been? The shadow-life had not bothered her since down in the darker and deeper ranges, so many waking-cycles ago. All throughout her becoming and being the Alpha for New-Flame-Pack, meeting with other Alphas, becoming involved with Crushes-Rocks and getting to know his friends, and everything else since her return from below, Nameless had not been present.
She strolled within and curled up, her head under her tailfins, "Why not show yourself?"
'You were not listening.'
Preparing her pack to eventually fight in defense was necessary, but all else, such as finding a partner for pleasure and trying to make friends, were distractions from the real goal of protecting all kin from the danger above and now below. Using time on other goals, though enjoyable, had probably left her not giving Nameless any attention. Her fault for forgetting purpose. Too selfish to only focus on herself.
But had any of that been a mistake? Not listening to Nameless for many waking-cycles had left her not considering the wrongness and foulness of two-legs, but she had deserved to feel warm and satisfied in ways she had not known before. Having Crushes-Rocks to be with her and share new experiences, finding friends who could respect her as a friend instead of their Alpha, and shaping New-Flame-Pack into a much warmer pack had been greater priorities before. None of that was foul or wrong.
"I suppose I was not, and I will not apologize for any of that."
'Remember why you are here. Your purpose.'
Nameless said nothing else to disturb her, but she remained awake a while longer, just listening to the calm outside her cave. Only an occasional roar or call echoed, which made sense with how most of the kin were elsewhere in this extensive range. At least there was peace in the moment, even if that peace was a lie.
Shadowwing rested atop his stone inside the Great Hall, listening to various conversations, boasting, and complaints as he regularly had to. Everyone was far more excited than usual, however, because of the first inaugural New Haven Dragon Games set to begin later this waking-cycle.
The contests would include races involving the various other dragons around marked places throughout New Haven, wife- and husband-carrying contests around an obstacle course, log-carrying, and wrestling matches within the arena. The dragons which won the races would get extra grooming services and more spacious stables. Naturally, none of his extended family would compete in earnest, as that wouldn't be fair to all the other dragons in most of the categories. The victorious humans would earn some of Gobber's pottery for their homes, a place at the head of the table at the feast after the Games, and, most importantly, glory about which they could boast for an entire year. The honor to their families was sure to be the main motivation.
There was none of the grumbling of discontent which had dominated before. With a third of the tribe living on the island above and providing for themselves, there was far more to go around for everyone who remained in the hidden world. Further, those who had stayed generally had more reason to want to stay.
Gobber approached him, "Chief, what's goin' on?'
"Jusst the ussual herre. How arre all the prreparrationnss forr the gamess?"
"Comin' along nicely. Everyone's eager to get on with it. The brews will be ready with plenty ta go around."
"We couldnn't forrget the mosst imporrtannt parrt of the feasst."
"Of course not! There'd be no feast at'all!"
"Arre the arrennass rready?"
"Just puttin' the finishin' touches on em as we speak. The checkpoints fer the dragon races will be up on time too."
The main door to the Hall opened, and he saw Moon-Dancer just outside. His son gestured to get his attention, so he hopped down and went to him outside the Hall.
"What is it, son?"
"The new sky-kin visiting us is awake and asking for you. She wants to meet all of us," Moon-Dancer answered.
While Skadi had shown some reluctance to meet the humans of New Haven, it was still possible for her to meet a handful of them in a safe setting. Small steps were best for such an introduction.
"Where is she?"
"On the flat between the mushroom-trees."
"Will you go tell our kin to meet there? Everyone who does not have other duties should be there to meet her. Oh, and have Alvor and Safiya come too. I will bring Kin-liver."
"Yes, sire-father."
Moon-Dancer spun around and took flight. Meanwhile, he dashed back inside and found Valka at one of the tables. She was whispering advice or wisdom to a young girl. She noticed him waiting, finished, and came over to him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We sshould talk."
She followed him outside the Hall and throughout New Haven until they could speak freely.
"Therre iss a nnew drragonn vissitinng uss."
She started in surprise, "A new dragon? Tell me."
"Like uss, but with sspinness. Sshe cann talk too. Herr nname iss Sskadi."
"Skadi? That's not a normal dragon name," Valka remarked.
"I thought the ssame. Sshe doessnn't knnow humannss, annd sshe iss herre to learrnn about them. Alvorr annd Ssafiya will be therre forr thiss. Cominng with?"
"Gladly."
He crouched down, let her climb on his bare back, and took flight, following after several members of the extended family also flying toward the untamed part of the chamber. He met up with Luna and Green-Wings, with Flower-Eater and Wind-Dancer gliding at their sides.
Flower-Eater drifted closer and playfully batted at Valka with the tip of a wing.
"The new sky-kin wants to meet us?" Luna asked.
"All of us. She most wants to meet our children. She is also a mixed-kin."
Luna blinked and hummed in audible curiosity, "A mix of what?"
"Half Light Fury and she does not know the other half."
"How could she not know that?"
"Ask her."
They eventually arrived at the mossy clearing between the tall mushrooms. Was-Grounded and several of the children were already present across from Skadi.
He landed, let Valka climb off, and waited as everyone kept filtering in. Aurora, Rain-Eater, and Flies-Bravely eventually arrived with Alvor and Safiya in their saddles. His own Moon-Dancer, Hidden-Hope, and Night-Light arrived together and settled down beside him, Flower-Eater, and Luna, all of them curiously gazing at Skadi a short distance away.
Night-Light nudged his shoulder and whispered, "Sire-father, who is that sky-kin?"
"Her name is Skadi. She is a guest with us. She wants to learn about our pack and the ground-kin."
"Okay."
Everyone except for Dawn-Singer, Flies-With-Sun, and Luna's parents were present. Dawn-Singer and Hope-In-His-Liver were on guard together, while Flies-With-Sun and Paws-At-Bright-Flowers were occupied elsewhere.
He glanced at Was-Grounded, Luna, and Green-Wings, and beckoned them forward. Skadi's gaze left Alvor, Safiya, and Valka back among the other children and found him. The same wariness as before was clear in her narrowed eyes.
"Skadi, we trust you slept well," he offered.
"Very well. Are these your mates?"
Green-Wings hummed, "We are. I am Green-Wings."
"And I am Luna."
Skadi glanced at both of them, her gaze lingering slightly longer on Luna, "You must consider yourselves favored to have Alphas as your mates."
Luna answered, "We do."
"They never do anything twisted to you?" Skadi asked.
Luna purred, "All the time. But we do the same to them."
Shadowwing huffed, "Thank you for saying that."
Skadi chuckled, perhaps amused, "I was surprised when I heard how many young you have. It is rare for a pair to have so many."
"We lived in the above at first. Family sizes could be bigger up there," Luna explained.
Green-Wings hummed, "And we, or I, might not have understood myself as well as I thought. All is warm now though."
Skadi looked beyond them to the children who began to approach. Aurora and Rain-Eater still bore their saddles from whatever activity they had been engaged in with Alvor and Safiya before they were summoned.
Green-Wings explained, "These are Aurora, Rain-Eater, Mist-Wings, Rock-Climber, and Wind-Dancer. My eldest, Dawn-Singer, is away."
All of them, even little Wind-Dancer, purred in greeting before retreating.
Lastly, Flies-Bravely approached to stand beside Rain-Eater.
"Flies-Bravely joined our pack from beyond, and she is Rain-Eater's mate," Green-Wings added.
With those introductions done, Luna called forth their children.
"Moon-Dancer, Hidden-Hope, Night-Light, and Flower-Eater," Luna named each of them.
Skadi hummed, "So these are the dawn wings."
Night-Light barked, "Dawn Furies! What are you?"
Skadi blinked, perhaps surprised at being addressed by a fledgling, "My kind has no special name, young one."
Skadi stepped back and looked over everyone else to Alvor, Safiya, and Valka. The former two were clad in their flight-attire while Valka wore a normal hooded robe and had her staff with her.
"Are these ground-kin two-legs?" Skadi asked.
He gestured with his tail, and they approached with Aurora and Rain-Eater.
He answered, "They are. I asked them to come here so you could meet them."
She blinked and shook her head, "Wait, you asked them to come here? What?"
"What is confusing?" he asked.
"You cannot mean they understood you, do you?"
He chuckled, "They cannot hear and understand our talking, but we can speak with them."
"What? Not possible. How?" she barked, visibly surprised.
He faced Valka, "Drragonnhearrt, come herre."
She obliged, slowly approached, and stood at his shoulder with a hand on his neck.
"We can talk like them, not perfectly, but well enough for them to understand," he explained.
"No, I do not believe this. You could have taught it to come to you. Prove it," Skadi objected.
Aurora huffed, "You want more proof? I will tell Alvor, he is my life-bond friend's name, that he smells bad and needs a bath. Watch. Alvorr, you ssmell bad annd nneed a bath!"
Alvor threw up his hands in dismay and sniffed one of his armpits, "Do not! I just had a bath a couple cycles ago. Promise!"
Aurora purred and faced Skadi, "See. He understood me."
Skadi sat back on her rear and blinked wildly.
"The two-legs are strong-thinking like us?" Skadi asked after a pause.
He chuckled, "Yes. More twisted in some ways though."
Was-Grounded huffed, "More like most ways."
"And we can truly talk to them?"
Aurora answered, "Not with all their sounds, but enough that they understand."
"Aurora, Rain-Eater, what are these two-leg ground-kin to you? What did you mean by life-bond?" Skadi asked.
Aurora answered, "He is my friend. I let him fly with me. We argue and put up with each other, sometimes, most of the time."
Rain-Eater snorted, "It is the same for me and Safiya, but with less arguing. My nestmate-sister Aurora is special."
"Yes, I am special! Do not forget it. But I am getting better! Are you going to deny that? Are you?"
"No," Rain-Eater hastily answered.
"Good."
Skadi stared at their backs, "What are the two-leg things on your backs?"
Rain-Eater explained, turning aside to give her a clear look, "Saddles. They let us safely carry our ground-kin and share flight without risking the ground-kin falling off."
"You let them use you like that?"
Rain-Eater shrugged, "I would not use those words. It is not that they use us. We want them to fly with us."
"Do many of the other kin, or sky-kin, have to do that?"
Shadowwing answered, "Those who stay here do when they want to fly together with their ground-kin. Also when they help with work. Saddles are often necessary for work."
Skadi again faced Valka, "What about this one?"
"Her name is Kin-liver. She lived in a nest of sky-kin above and helped the great-tusk Alpha protect sky-kin from trapping two-legs. We say she has the liver of a sky-kin because of all she has done for us."
Valka whispered a suggestion to him.
He hummed in approval, "Do you want to greet Kin-liver? You could let her touch your nose with her paw."
Valka held up a palm facing Skadi. Skadi stared at her, twitched, and stepped back several paces.
"With respect, I would rather not. Not- yet. This is much to consider," Skadi whispered, looking down to her paws.
He nodded once to acknowledge her decision. This was still a lot for her to take in, and she'd need to build trust before trying that.
Moon-Dancer hummed, "Sire-father, do we need to stay here?"
"No, children, you may go. Moon-Dancer, you are responsible for them."
His four children departed together along with Rock-Climber and Wind-Dancer. Aurora, Rain-Eater, Alvor, and Safiya also left for New Haven after being dismissed. Meanwhile, Skadi kept silently pacing back and forth.
Valka tapped his shoulder while leaning on her staff.
"Yess?"
"Where is she from?" Valka asked.
"Sshe ssaid Ice-Waterr-Pack, farr frrom herre."
Valka frowned, "Does she remind you of Mimir?"
He considered Skadi anew. He hadn't actually seen Mimir in person, only a pair of visions somehow sent from afar. Assuming that vision was accurate, there were similarities. Skadi was almost the same size and had soft, flexible spines just like Mimir had. Her colors, blue, purple, and white, were different from Mimir's pure white, but that could be explained by her being female or by being a mixed-breed.
"Maybe sso. I thought sshe wass ssomehow familiarr. I will assk herr."
He got up and calmly approached Skadi, "I have a question."
She faced him, "What?"
"Did you know the last High-Alpha? His name was Mimir."
She blinked and slightly tilted her head without blinking, "I have heard about him. Why do you ask?"
"Because you remind me of him. I was wondering if he is somehow your kin."
She huffed and chuckled, as if amused, "I cannot say I know him. No one like that ever flew to Ice-Water-Pack."
He bent his head to her and retreated to leave her alone.
"Sshe ssayss sshe doessnn't knnow him."
Valka shrugged, "There was a chance. He never mentioned having any family, not that he would have told me if he did."
Skadi paced at a distance from the other kin. Confirmation that the dark wings could speak like the two-legs was confusing. The noises Aurora and Shadowwing had shown they could make were meaningless, but they sounded much like the noises the two-legs made. Two-legs were strong-thinking, that much was certain, and kin could learn to understand their noises.
But this was concerning in other ways. The dark wings, Aurora and Rain-Eater, which claimed the two-legs were friends, a completely twisted idea, did not see themselves as being used by the two-legs. Rain-Eater had said so himself.
Why not? Why would any kin want to be burdened with carrying a two-leg or the carrying-things?
The youngest kin she had seen here were young fledglings, and they had not been afraid or surprised by being around two-legs at all. That explained it.
From a young age, the dark wings and dark-lights had to have been around two-legs, such that they did not know better. They did not know the truth. That ignorance could not explain why the adults, why Was-Grounded, Green-Wings, Luna, and Shadowwing, were comfortable with two-legs.
Maybe the two-legs had to respect the dark wings and dark-lights more since the two-legs knew the kin could understand. That was no guarantee the two-legs were any different toward other kin though.
There was one way to find out and confirm the truth. Using her life-will-powers against any of the dark wings, light wings, or dark lights would be too risky.
Doing so against the other, simpler kin was a different matter.
She stopped pacing and approached Shadowwing and Was-Grounded. Thankfully, the trick-name Kin-liver two-leg stayed back and did not try to touch her.
"Will one of you lead me to the rest of the range?"
Shadowwing bobbed his head, "Of course we will. I will lead you if you want."
"Please do."
Shadowwing, Was-Grounded, and their mates took flight, and she followed after them. Shadowwing carried the false kin-liver on his back. She had to not show any disapproval of him having a two-leg with him.
Everything had gone well so far. Slowly learning more about this pack from within. No one had reason to suspect her of having any hidden reason to be here. Further, all these kin felt like they had warm, trusting livers, which made them easier to deceive.