Chapter 3
The Roost sailed through the rest of the St. Lawrence. It was passed midnight when it finally reached the Atlantic Ocean. Thunder was sitting on Edel's balcony again. He was about to go inside, when he caught sight of the bright full moon above. It seemed to get brighter and brighter as they lost sight of the lights on shore. It seemed to call him to the sky. He figured as long as he stayed within the sight of the ship, he could sneak out for a night flight. He considered waking Edel, but she was a very heavy sleeper. So he spread is wings and took off.
Edelweiss woke up the next day to the sound of ocean waves outside. She got out of bed and headed outside to her large hot tub. She was disappointed when she didn't find Thunder there this time, but then she spotted him flying with the other dragons. She watched them as she filled the hot tub. She turned the temperature up to almost boiling, a temperature that would burn normal human skin but was perfectly safe for her. Black Widow landed on the balcony as Edel got into the hot water.
"Morning," Black Widow said, then she got a better look at her rider. "What's wrong? You look upset."
"Apollo talked to me last night," Edel said gloomily. Black Widow's face softened.
"Yeah, he mentioned that," she said.
"Am I going to lose you guys?" Edel asked, worried.
"Look, you're our family too," Black Widow said gently. "And we'll always love you as family. But we've all found our soulmates and found our place in life. You're the only one left who hasn't. You keep waiting around, holding onto a childhood that's long over and has been for over 1,300 years. You need something new in your life."
"I've moved into Dragon's Edge," Edel pointed out.
"True, but you're still homesick," said Black Widow. "You still go with us to Avalon's council meetings, just so you can be around us, and you really don't have to be there. Perhaps this secret admirer will help you get over this separation anxiety." Edelweiss sighed.
"Did Apollo tell you who it was?" She asked gloomily.
"Yeah, he did," Black Widow said. "And I think he'll be real good for you." She then turned and flew off. Edel watched her go, the feeling of loneliness finally hitting her.
Later after breakfast; everyone went riding. They all cheered up, even Edel. Thunder kept looking over at her, and she kept looking back at him. Tom, who had been watching Jun on her dragon, pulled Thunder alongside Black Widow.
"Hey do you have a rule about two people sharing a cabin?" Tom asked, while still looking at Jun.
"Just not my cabin," Edel said. "Otherwise no." Jun flew Wu and Wei to the water's surface, and trailed her hand through the water. She pulled back quickly, shuttering.
"Burr, that's the coldest water I've ever felt," she said.
"Remember this ocean has killed people," Edel said. "And the North Sea is even colder. So if you value your life, don't jump off the boat." She then steered Black Widow back to the Roost to take over at the helm.
The rest of the riders stayed out, but had to go back in when the weather started to turn grey. Apollo took over at the helm, putting his weather reading skills to good use. Edelweiss put together a massive charcuterie board with bread, crackers, salami, olives, and cheese. She headed from the kitchen towards the Round Table. She spotted D'Angelo admiring a picture on the wall; it showed a pair of human twins, boy and girl, standing surrounded by five dragons. They stood in front of a tall lighthouse.
"Who are these guys?" D'Angelo asked.
"Ah, they called themselves Rescue Riders," Edelweiss said fondly. "Dak and Layla there were orphaned in a ship wreck when they were very young. A mother dragon picked them up and raised them as her own hatchings, along with her actual dragonet Winger." She pointed to the blue dragon in the picture. "As a result, they learned to speak Dragontongue like me and my parents. Over time they met up with those other dragons, and formed a group that flew around helping helpless victims. They became pretty good friends of mine."
"Huh, reminds me of the Army Rangers," D'Angelo said. Edelweiss frowned.
"Ok, if you say so," she said, not sounding convinced. She carried the tray into the lounge the others were out on the pool deck watching the waves.
"Why don't you like the military?" D'Angelo wondered. Edelweiss didn't answer, but bitterly put the tray on the table. She went over to a bookcase that was full of Nat Geo magazines. She selected three of them.
"This is why," she said. She slapped them onto the table, one at at time. One was on Hiroshima and showed a bright mushroom cloud, the second was on WWI, and the third was on WWII. "They kill people mercilessly, and they get rewarded for it."
"Dragons have killed people," D'Angelo pointed out.
"Not this many," said Edel, her voice shaking as she sat in a chair. "Dragons don't bomb whole cities without warning. I've read about those wars. The first one I read the military forced young men to become soldiers, and fight in those horrible trenches. If they got scared and ran, they were shot. It drove many of them passed the point of insanity, and they were just thrown away like trash into asylums. And during both wars the military took everything; the food, medicine, fuel, and all the best materials. They made sure civilians had nothing, and were just left to rot in the dark. Then they build those bombs and used them to blow up two cities full of innocent civilians, reducing them to ash." She sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"No military is perfect, but they aren't like that anymore," D'Angelo said, sitting next to her. "They do everything they can to prevent wars. They're not always successful, but that's their main goal. They actually don't want to kill people. They actually help civilians who've been caught in earthquakes, hurricanes, and other disasters. They'll transport medicine do sick civilians, using everything they have to make sure they're successful." He pulled out his phone. "Let me show you." Edelweiss leaned back into her chair. D'Angelo showed her photos and videos of Marines in uniform gathering thousands of toys for homeless children. Navy ships and Air Force planes transporting food and medical supplies to people around the world devastated by volcanic eruptions and massive earthquakes. National Guardsmen rescuing ship wreck victims. There were pictures of yet more soldiers putting out wildfires, and cleaning up oil spills in the ocean. Edelweiss couldn't help but be surprised.
"They've really done all that?" She asked.
"Yeah, plus more," said D'Angelo. "All that bad stuff happened a long time ago, and they've come a long way since then." Edelweiss took a deep breath.
"All right, you've convinced me," she admitted. "I can't ignore what they've done in the past, but I can't ignore all that either."
"They're good people, trying to make the world safer," said D'Angelo. "And I intend to join them after this trip."
"You're going to be a soldier?" Edelweiss asked. "I thought you wanted to be a veterinarian."
"I'm going to shoot for Navy corpsmen," D'Angelo said. He spotted Edel's look of confusion. "That's a medical officer. Helping both human and animal patients."
"Oh," Edel said. "You think you'll be on a boat?"
"Or a Naval base," said D'Angelo.
At that moment the others came in from the pool deck as it had started to rain. Edelweiss got to her feet, picked up the Nat Geo magazines, and put them back on the shelf.
"I should go check on the bridge," she said. "We're entering iceberg territory."
"You think we'll hit one?" Alex asked, looking almost eager.
"Not likely," Edel said. "But if we do, this ship has a strong ice breaking hull." She pushed the charcuterie board towards the middle of the table, then headed for the stairs. Thunder ran up beside her.
"Mind if I walk you there?" He asked politely. Edel looked towards Tom, who was talking to Jun.
"Not at all," she said. They walked together up the stairs and down the hallway. Edel felt her heard pick speed as she walked beside the Night Light. She had strong feelings about him that she could't explain yet.
"So, what were you and D talking about?" Thunder asked.
"He wanted to show me that human militaries aren't the world destroyers I thought they were," Edel said, her cheeks blushing. "And I briefly told him about my old Rescue Rider friends." They came to a stop just outside the bridge door. Though neither them felt like going their separate ways.
"You must miss those guys," Thunder said.
"I do," said Edel admitted. Then she sighed. "Well, I best go check on them in there." She turned to face door, but then paused. She acted on a sudden impulse, and gave Thunder a quick lick on the snout. She blushed deep pink, then hurried into the bridge. She shut the door behind her, and leaned against it.
"Never done that before," she muttered to herself. She shook herself and headed for her chair.
Thunder stood there, stunned, staring at the bridge door. He felt as though the spot where she'd licked him were tingling. Then he felt a sudden, powerful, surge of euphoria. It caused him to spark up briefly. He bounded back down the stairs and headed through the ship, coming out onto the ship's bow where the other dragons were resting. He practically pranced over to them, beaming wildly. He sighed, and slid down onto his belly, his eyes focused on the bridge windows. The other dragons were quick to notice.
"What's up with you?" Plowhorn asked, confused.
"I'm in love!" Thunder boasted loudly, still beaming. The dragons exchanged shocked glances.
"In love?" Feathers repeated. "With who?"
"Edelweiss," Thunder sighed dreamily. "I haven't been able to stop thinking of her ever since we started this trip and I love her."
"Edelweiss!?" Wu repeated. "But she's part human."
"I don't care," Thunder said. "I love her too much."
"Does she know that?" Wei asked.
"No, but I intend to tell her before the trip's over," Thunder said. "I'll declare my love to her, and if she feels the same about me I'll ask to mate her."
"You know she can't reproduce," said Feathers.
"I know," said Thunder. "Which means it'll just be the two of us, forever." He smiled at the thought.
"When you say mate her," Webs said. "You mean like, full intimacy?"
"Yes," Thunder said. "It's the natural thing to do and she seems durable enough."
"That still might be too dangerous for her," Plowhorn cautioned.
"Well, I plan to talk to Queen Avalon before I move forward with any of this," Thunder said. "See what she suggests. Edel is part human, so I might find out how humans do this." He shuddered happily.
"You can go to her," said Feathers, smiling. "You should spend as much time you can with her, before you declare your love for her."
"Good idea," Thunder said, thrilled. He took off and headed back towards the bridge.
Edelweiss sat in her chair, staring out at the water. She watched silently as the ship started to sail passed large chunks of ice. Apollo was watching the weather through the windows. Edelweiss wasn't really paying attention to anything around her. She was daydreaming about Thunder. Her heart seemed to swell just thinking about him. However, this meant she wasn't watching where she was going.
"Edel look out!" Apollo roared. "You're heading right for the ice!" Edel shook herself, just now seeing the chunk of ice right in their path.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. She quickly turned the joysticks and the Roost turned sharply to the left. It missed the iceberg by centimeters. They relaxed when they soon lost sight of it. "That was close."
"I think for all our sakes, you should take a break from the bridge for a while," Apollo said. "You've gotten too distracted."
"I'm fine," Edel insisted.
"No you're not," Apollo said, sitting next to her. "I can tell." Edel sighed in defeat.
"Thunder's my secret admirer isn't he?" She said.
"Yes," Apollo said. "I knew you'd figure it out."
"Are you sure you don't need me in here?" Edel asked. "I don't want you think I'm not contributing."
"It's fine," Apollo insisted. "Avalon and Eider will be joining us tomorrow. So we'll have plenty of helping wings." At that moment there came a scratching on the bridge door. "That'll be him." Edel got down from her chair and went over to the door. She opened it and there was Thunder, smiling at her. Her heart leapt at the sight of him.
"Kind of a sharp turn there," Thunder said.
"Yeah," Edel admitted, as she closed the door. "I had to dodge some ice. I just missed it. Though it caused Apollo to relieve of duty. Oddly enough, I don't feel upset about it."
"What are you going to do now?" Thunder asked, sounding hopeful. Edel looked at him and took a deep breath.
"You think Tom will be looking for you anytime soon?" She asked.
"He's pretty occupied with Jun," Thunder said. "I doubt it." Edel walked passed him, placing a hand on his neck.
"Come on," she said. She led him to her cabin door. She opened it, they went inside, then she closed the door and locked it.
They sat on the thick carpeted floor, in front of the massive windows, looking out at the grey sky. Edel found she was extremely comfortable laying next to the Night Light, and she didn't ever want to leave. She wormed closer to him, and he draped his wing around her. He was just as comfortable as she was, her skin pressed against his.
"Your parents and grandparents coming out tomorrow?" Thunder asked. "With Avalon and Eider?"
"Yup," Edel said.
"Good, I wanted to ask them somethings," Thunder said, glancing down at her. He inhaled her sweet, floral scent.
"About Toothless?" Edel guessed.
"Um, yeah," Thunder lied. "What he was like before he was the Alpha."
"I see," Edel said. Thunder looked at her again.
"You were there when he met his queen," he said.
"Moon, yeah I was," said Edel. "Avalon actually saw most of it."
"Hiccup doesn't seem to talk about her at all in his journals," Thunder said. Edel shrugged.
"They didn't get along that well," she explained. "Moon was terrified of humans, because she'd been caged by them. She would flee every time she sensed Hiccup was nearby. That made things harder for poor Toothless. She would fly away."
"And he couldn't follow her," Thunder finished. "Because of his tail."
"Yeah," Edel said. "But Hiccup was no fool, and realized he was getting in his friend's way. So he build Toothless that special tail fin that allowed him to fly on his own. He flew away to be with her."
"What was Hiccup's reaction to that?" Thunder asked.
"He was really anxious," Edel said. "I don't think he fully trusted Moon. They way he talked about her, made it sound like she was luring Toothless into a trap. But he came round in the end, when the bad guys were defeated."
"I bet living a domesticated life for so long, meant he had trouble courting her," Thunder said.
"Oh yeah," Edel said, looking amused. "Took him a few attempts to win her over. But Moon was very patient, she was willing to wait for him to figure things out and still accepted him."
"They really wanted each other," Thunder said.
"Yes," Edel said. "And when we get to Old Berk, I can probably find the exact spot where they met." She leaned her head on Thunder's shoulder, breathing in his scent of a warm campfire. That combined with his warm scales, and the rocking of the boat was making her drowsy. Thunder could feel her body relaxing into his, and her breathing slowed. He watched her fall asleep. He curled around her, and gently gave her cheek a lick.
"I hope I have a much luck as he does," the Night Light muttered to himself before resting his head on her lap, and falling asleep himself.