AN: No smut for a couple chapters.
Domu trudged along in front of him and his wives as a Child, one unrelated to Bloodraven for a change, guided them to where Cannibal lived.
They had arrived in Skagos last night and had set camp for the night. A few hours later, the Child woke them up and told them that it was morning though they could barely see the sun.
It did not seem real to him that they were really about to meet a dragon, but there they were, climbing up a volcano. It was half a day's hike before they reached a cave entrance and their guide pointed the way inside.
"You're not coming." He said in realisation.
"No. Only dragonblood." The taciturn creature said and went to an outcropping to set up camp.
"Well, I'll head in now." He told the girls, looking into the darkness. The girls shared a look before Mya walked forward to stand beside him.
"We'll head in now." She declared and he knew there was no arguing with her.
"Take Domu with you." Munda patted the wolf, who barked in understanding, then put a hand on her axe. "I'll keep an eye on greenie there."
A hostage could only be useful. So he turned towards the cave and suppressed the urge to kiss them before he left. No place for any death flags in his adventures.
They walked deeper into the cave, feeling the temperature rise as they got closer to one of the vents in the volcano. He found himself sweating, which was unusual for him, despite the heat. Chuckling, he realised that he was afraid.
"What?" Mya asked sharply, brandishing the torch in her hand to look for any hidden enemies.
"You're nervous too, huh?" He smiled.
"Yes." She admitted. "We have seen some very weird things in this journey. Like those little forest demons. And I never thought that we'd actually find the Lord Bloodraven as anything more than a skeleton. But a dragon is something completely different."
"You didn't think we'd find Bloodraven?"
She shook her head.
"Then why did you follow me so far?"
She shrugged. "It seemed important to you. And if we didn't find him, I thought we'd still at least get to kill some wildlings."
He could tell that she wasn't telling him the full truth.
"Then you must be really disappointed."
The True North was so large and thinly populated that you rarely ran into other humans unless you looked for them. And since they had learnt to warg into Domu and Redwing they had even been proactive in avoiding any unwanted meetings.
"Perhaps." She smiled back. "I still think we should have attacked those raiders."
Redwing had found some armed men travelling through a forest and Mya had been adamant that they were raiders. He was not so sure.
He rolled his eyes, though Mya wouldn't have seen it in the darkness.
"If they were raiders, they were just raiding each other. Not worth the risk it would have been to attack them."
She hummed, letting the frequently rehashed argument distract them both. They continued talking until they arrived at the opening to the volcanic vent, where Domu became hesitant to follow them.
It was large enough to cover the entire Winterfell castle inside it. The lava bubbled in the ground, and they watched their step as they tried to take in everything in the place. A bubble in the lava rose to the surface and popped, letting out some light that let him notice something strange.
He ran his eyes over the chamber walls. They mostly went around them in a circle, except at one corner where it seemed to curve inwards in an irregular shape.
He gulped.
"There, Mya." He whispered, and she confirmed what he had seen. That was a large black dragon.
Setting down the bags of supplies they had been carrying, they moved closer to the sleeping beast.
"Rytsas!" He called out a greeting, one of the few words he remembered in High Valyrian. The language was taught to Robb in his lordly lessons so he could negotiate with Essosi magisters. Jon had learnt a few words from the instructor who had taught him to use a whip in battle.
The dragon did not move.
"Mayhaps it's dead." Mya murmured and he let out a nervous laugh and they walked closer to it.
About fifty feet from the beast a sharp pain struck his head, driving him to his knees. Visions ran through his head. Of eggs and hatchlings and dragons. Of volcanoes on small islands. Of dragons killing each other in the skies.
And along it came emotions. Rage, disinterest, and hunger. Then more unexpected emotions.
He took deep breaths and blinked repeatedly. Beside him, Mya was similarly on the ground. Turning his eyes to the dragon, he saw a lazy tail swiping forward to crush them as he watched helplessly.
Mya screamed as a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her to safety. Her hand reached out and grabbed Jon, pulling him a few feet with her before her grip failed. The person who had grabbed her stumbled because of it and she fell on top of them. But it proved sufficient as the dragon's tail passed a step away from her husband who was much more affected by the visions than she was.
She stood up hurriedly and went to pull Jon further back then turned to her saviour. It was a man perhaps younger than her, around Jon's age. His features resembled Nora, or more likely, their mutual father.
"Woah, you survived!" The man exclaimed, standing up.
"What?" She asked. "Don't we need to run?"
"Nah," he grinned with his dirty teeth. "The beast never moves. Just gives you a headache then swipes a limb to grab you."
"It's how he hunts." A pained voice sounded and she turned to find Jon getting up.
"Jon!" Her eyes ran over him to make sure he was alright. Her hand brushed against the hilt of Dark Sister, knowing even the Valyrian blade would do nothing against the dragon.
"Mya." He smiled. "You saved my life."
He said it with his simple honesty and she lost all her anxiety.
"Aye." The other man interrupted, scratching at his stubble. "And I saved her. Almost broke my foot doing it too."
She could see Jon examining the man, likely coming to the same conclusion she had.
"And we thank you for that." She said, letting Jon recover.
"But who are you?"
The man's eyes focused on her, running over her leather clad body. Given the heat, she had removed her furs and the sweat made her skin glisten.
It was not unusual that he'd ogle her, and well, if something like that could unsettle her, she would not have tried to join the Night's Watch.
"I'm, cough, I'm Genji!" He said more boisterously than she liked given that they were still in the same vent as the dragon.
Domu, who had a healthy fear of the dragon but still trudged over to them when they were in danger, growled at the excited man. Jon calmed the wolf down and walked back towards the caverns. She followed him, a little worried at his hunched shoulders and slow pace. The vision had lasted longer for him than it had for her. Genji followed her.
"I got here just in time, huh? You two were about to become dragon food."
Between her own passing headache and her worry for Jon, she almost did not reply, but then thought better of it.
"Did it attack you too when you first tried to tame it?" She asked him instead.
"Oh, yes." He answered, telling her more than he thought he was. "I'd be a goner if it wasn't for brother Kane."
"Brother Kane? Is he your leader here?"
He hummed in agreement, ogling her ass as he walked behind her.
"Yeah. Though Kane and the others had ropes and stuff ready to pull me out." Then he laughed. "Man, I was so small back then."
None too subtly he tried to pose to show that he was not small anymore.
Mya smiled politely the way she smiled at travellers who would hire her back in Vale to guide them, and Genji preened at the attention.
Jon stopped a few metres inside the cavern, lit dimly by the vent and their torch, and sat down. She felt a bit better when he decided to rejoin the conversation.
"Why would they wait for you to get here before saving you? Why not stop you before you came here?"
Genji turned to her husband, his posture noticeably less friendly.
"You probably haven't figured it out yet, since you're new and all. But the Raven keeps track of you till you get here. That vision thing the dragon did? It breaks the connection and hides you from being tracked."
"And what do you do after that?"
"Oh, we live in the caves now." He said a little despondently. Then turned back to her with a little more enthusiasm.
"I know some really good places you can live in. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."
She could see Jon turn away to hide a smile and chuckled.
"That's great, Genji. But can we really not leave this volcano and return home?"
"If only. If we spend too long outside, the Raven will find us. Then he'll force us to go face the dragon again."
"Would it really be that bad?" Jon asked. "Trying it again, I mean. Maybe it'd work the second time."
"Hahaha." Genji laughed. "Did the visions drive you mad? You do seem pretty weak, given how it affected you, but I didn't think you were that weak!"
She was conflicted between agreeing with him and having faith in Jon.
Jon smiled in reply.
"Why do you think it's impossible?"
Genji looked to her for support but she only shrugged.
"Didn't you feel it?" Genji asked more angrily. "All that anger bearing down upon you. It only doesn't eat us all because it couldn't be bothered to."
Mya had felt it too. And if she didn't know Jon better she would have agreed that Jon was talking madness.
"Is that all you felt?" Jon asked, examining their faces carefully. Genji turned away without answering, but she nodded to Jon. The hunger, the anger, the disinterest. She could never forget those emotions.
"Let's get something to eat." Jon nodded decisively. "I think I'll try again after that."
"You can't be going along with this?!" Genji demanded from her.
She shrugged. She had decided to go along with Jon when he had proposed madder things like going on a months-long trip to find an ancient Targaryen bastard, then saw him accomplish it.
"He's my husband. What choice do I have but to go along with him?"
She revealed and Genji did not like the news. Then with some coyness she added,
"At least until he gets himself killed by the dragon."
Jon snorted from where he was sitting and Genji left grumbling.
He returned a few hours later, but not alone.
"That's her?" A boy of about fifteen, younger than even Munda, whispered unsubtly to his elder brother.
"Shut up." A man closer to her age, but shorter in stature, hissed at him as the two newcomers ogled her just as openly. Jon and her exchanged a look and she nodded.
"Well, who are these two?" Jon asked.
"My brothers." Genji answered. "Lemmy suggested we help you out if you're gonna try again. So we got Wally to bring some rope. If things go wrong, we'll just pull you back to safety."
He pointed in turn to the smaller man and the younger but taller one.
"That's a good idea." Mya chimed in. "You're all very helpful."
They watched as Jon tied the rope around him and walked towards the dragon. With an effort of will, she tore her eyes from her husband and looked at the three brothers. Pulling Jon to safety would require vigilance and quick reflexes with their end of the rope. So she was not at all surprised when she saw the three brothers lounging lazily and ogling her again.
She palmed the hilt of Dark Sister and waited.