686Chapter 32: Progress
Progress
Hiccup sat on a small boulder and looked around at the adult Furies resting by him. He had taken Toothless's advice to heart since that very cold but also heartwarming hunt in the north two weeks ago. He had used the time since then getting to know as many of the families in the pack as he could.
Most of them were eager to get to know him also as someone other than the strangely friendly human who lives among them as one of the pack. Through him they learned more about how humans lived within tribes and what customs and beliefs were common.
The four adult Furies with him now were among the friendlier ones he had interacted with.
Lightning lay on the ground with her head on her paws while Hunts-In-Deep-Waters rested at her side with a wing over her back. Wings-Of-Ice and Eyes-That-Shimmer were sitting on their haunches before him.
"And you all lived far away from humans before?" he continued.
"Yes," Wings-Of-Ice purred and glanced at his sister, Lightning, "our home-den was good and safe, far from danger. We did fight with some of the humans when we hunted their four-legs after we flew, but we saw no more of the humans after we flew to this range and joined the pack."
"You both flew together?"
The siblings purred as one.
"Yes, we flew together to look for other dark wings and to stay safer," Lightning explained.
Makes sense...
"Someone had to keep my little cub-sister safe!" Wings-Of-Ice barked while Lightning flicked her tail in amusement.
"Was it only you two?"
Wings-Of-Ice hummed.
"Yes, we were the only cubs our sire and dam had. They said they were going to fly back to the safer world once we flew on our own."
Hmm, not sure what that means. Probably somewhere far away from the mainland.
"What about you, Hunts-In-Deep-Waters? Did you know anything of humans before?"
"No, I never knew humans, but I had heard many stories. You are not like the stories say you must be," Hunts-In-Deep-Waters agreed with a snort.
Hiccup shrugged and smiled at them.
"Yeah, I'm a little different from most humans. Even the other humans are not only..."
All four of the Furies were making various strange looks, from tilted heads to lifted ears and raised eyeridges.
"Uh, did I just grow a tail or something else strange?"
"Your teeth-showing is twisting," Eyes-That-Shimmer explained.
Why would smiling be... ah...
"Oh, yeah, that. For humans it means we are happy, not that we want to fight anyone. Burning-Star knows how to do it without showing his teeth."
Eyes-That-Shimmer barked in amusement.
"That is twisted and funny!" she exclaimed.
"Ice, you know how to smile!" Hiccup grinned.
"Do it, brother!" Lightning chortled.
Wings-Of-Ice grumbled and then reluctantly demonstrated a toothless smile. The other three Furies laughed at him and then mirrored that look without any practice.
"My dear mate, we are all toothless now!" Hunts-In-Deep-Waters laughed to Lightning.
"Hiccup, you do it! Hide your teeth!" Lightning barked in amusement.
"Sorry, but I can't do that. My teeth are always there."
They all looked shocked and surprised.
"That you humans always have teeth out feels twisting, almost like it means something about humans," Hunts-In-Deep-Waters mused.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are very dangerous."
"More than you dragons? You have wings, fire, claws, big teeth, and you are bigger than humans. You are more dangerous, in a way, but that doesn't make you bad," Hiccup countered.
They all hummed while thinking about it.
"True, I agree that being dangerous does not make someone bad," Eyes-That-Shimmer nodded.
Hiccup nodded also, glad that she so readily agreed with him.
"We humans are really not that bad once you get to know us. We make a lot of mistakes... and we have stubbornness issues, but we also keep trying to do better. Sometimes we need help doing that or someone to remind us when we are wrong."
Then he had an idea. He had already done this with another group that he spent several days getting to know earlier. It had led to some amusing results.
"Hey, I have a question for all of you. I will count to three and then I will say a word. You say the first thing that you think of when you hear the word. Understand?"
They purred in agreement.
"Sky."
"Clouds!" "Flying!" "Catching!" "Hunts! You... grr... wind!"
"Cubs."
"Ours!" "Tiring!" "Soon!"
Lightning only purred.
"Humans."
"Strange..." "Hunters..." "Not-prey..." "Kind..."
Hiccup sighed and sat down on the boulder while lost to his thoughts. It was true that there were some among the pack who took a more hostile approach and apparently thought nothing good of humans. But it was also clear that there were many who either had not known pain from humans or otherwise did not carry that pain with them.
He also remembered that the adults did not generally try to pass down that hostility to their cubs, preferring to save such lessons of warning for when their children became fledglings or adults and could better understand the danger. That was only possible because of how far away the Furies were living from everyone else right now.
What is peace?
It was not a pleasant line of thought, but he felt that it deserved some consideration.
Maybe it would be better for them to never meet other humans. Maybe living apart forever and never meeting each other would be best. Let the dragons fade from memory and be free on their own. That would be a type of peace.
Then he looked back up the four adults with him. Their red, orange, and yellow eyes were wide, warm, and inviting.
"Have any of you... lost one of your kin to humans?"
Eyes-That-Shimmer looked away from him whereas the others did not react.
"Eyes-That-Shimmer?" he whispered.
She looked back at him after staring off at the sky, and she spoke softly.
"My dam might have died to humans, but I am not certain. There was no body when I flew back to the den."
Wings-Of-Ice stretched a wing out over her back while purring to her.
She did not look especially sad or grieved. She did not hang her head or whine in pain. Her mother apparently disappearing on her had happened long ago.
But he remembered the stories of Furies in the pack who had been deeply hurt. Several of them carried scars, physical and emotional, even now.
"I am so sorry about how life was before: how bad it was for all of you..." he whispered.
"You are sorry? Why?" Lightning chuffed.
"I... I wish that everything had been different: that everyone hadn't thought of you as kill on sight..."
Eyes-That-Shimmer huffed at that.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because humans hurt so many of you," he explained.
"Yes, but you are not humans. You are a human. You do not carry any of their bad thinking in your soul-fire," she answered.
"I agree," Lightning chuffed, "that you should only be sorry for bad that you do, not for the bad of others. Group-rot is a twisted thought."
He shrugged, not entirely convinced by that easy dismissal. However, she was not wrong either.
"I suppose that's true. Maybe this world can be different."
"This world?" Wings-Of-Ice warbled.
"Yes, you do not know what happened to you?"
All four of them looked confused.
"Do you remember flying through twisted skies?"
"Yes," they all said.
"That flight through twisted skies brought you to this world which is very different from where we are all from. The humans here have some stories about bad dragons, but they do not know about you. Dark wings are completely new dragons to this world."
"Bad dragons like the big Alphas or the ones that hunt other dragons?" Wings-Of-Ice asked.
"I don't know about that, but this world has some very bad dragons. Toothless and I met one of them before we found the pack."
That definitely was news to them because they all gasped in surprise.
"It was an ice-breathing dragon much bigger than us. It tried to kill me and Toothless, and it even tried to break us apart," he explained.
"Why would it do that?" Eyes-That-Shimmer stamped a paw on the ground.
The best explanation he had come up with was that their turning on each other would make their deaths more likely, which would keep secret where Vorunturth's treasure hoard was hidden.
"I don't know for sure, but it did. Anyway, the humans in this world do not know you dark wings. I want to think that you could maybe live in peace with them. What do you think about that?"
They glanced between themselves without saying anything. They were purring, and their ears were lifted though. That was encouraging.
"What would that mean to live in peace with them?" Lightning asked.
"Just what it sounds like. You and them could be like two packs that live in the same range in peace. You protect each other and work for each other. No fighting or killing each other."
A long silence followed as they all thought about it.
"I want my cub to never know fighting and dying," Lightning then whispered aloud.
That simple, heartfelt concern and wish for her child to know a better world was a desire he knew was common to both kinds.
"I want that too. Do any of you know where Growls-At-His-Shadow and Dreamcatcher are?"
"They are by the far warm pool," Wings-Of-Ice answered.
"Okay, I want to go talk to them. Thank you for talking to me. All of you."
As he watched Lightning and Hunts-In-Deep-Waters and Wings-Of-Ice and Eyes-That-Shimmer quietly speaking to each other, he wondered about his own mission; it was very fragile. So much would have to go right to give the Furies an opportunity to prove themselves to humans who would be willing to listen and give them a chance.
But first the pack would have to be convinced that it was worth taking the risk in the first place.
Getting to know the pairs and helping them to think differently about humans is probably all I can do right now.
The pair of adults was resting by the pond while their cub swam in the steaming water.
Alright, how to go about this one...
They were sure to be difficult to get to. Both of them had significant issues that might prevent them from being able to trust him or any human.
Dreamcatcher had lost a brother to humans long ago, and Growls-At-His-Shadow had killed humans and even targeted them out of revenge. He had even... eaten humans before, so the Fury said, and he had no reason to doubt that.
But little Tail-Hunter had none of that violence or pain. She was so playful and full of life.
Definitely with her.
He took a deep breath and then strode toward them. They saw him and watched as he approached.
"Hello, snack..." Growls-At-His-Shadow snarled.
Okay, going to ignore that one.
"Where? Do you have a snack for me?"
"No, you are the snack."
"What? I'm the snack?"
"Yes."
"Is he always like that?" he asked Dreamcatcher.
She blinked and stared at him until she finally answered with a question.
"Like what?"
"Mean to someone who hasn't done anything mean to him..."
"Yes, you have," Growls-At-His-Shadow growled back.
"What did I do?"
"Being a human! You are one of... them..."
Hiccup nodded and glanced out at the pond as Tail-Hunter swam to shore.
"Us or them... yeah, did you know that I lived in a pack of dragon-killing humans?"
"We have heard," Dreamcatcher warbled.
"That was what they said that humans should think like. That tribe for itself against others. Humans against dragons. Us or them. If you fault me for being human, you are just as bad as them."
Growls-At-His-Shadow clawed at the dirt and bared his teeth.
"I should kill you now..." Growls-At-His-Shadow snarled.
"You should kill one of the pack while your daughter watches?" he whispered.
"Hiccup!" Tail-Hunter bellowed.
She hauled herself from the water, shook herself off, and hopped at him. He hopped back as she waved her tail in eager play.
"Tail-Hunter, have a good swim?"
"Yes!"
"What? You not tired?" he chuckled.
"No!"
"Come on then, you fierce dark wing!"
She roared at him and then spun on her parents.
"We should play with Hiccup!" Tail-Hunter shouted.
"Little one, come here..." Growls-At-His-Shadow hummed.
"Sire?"
She dutifully sat on her haunches before her father and mother, both of whom glanced from her to him and back.
Dreamcatcher then bent down and nuzzled her neck.
"You play with him, little one. We will watch you."
"Yay, playing!"
Growls-At-His-Shadow and Dreamcatcher got to their feet; the two adults were coming with to supervise the play as they said they would. Tail-Hunter spun on him and crouched down to the ground.
"I am the hunter! You be the prey!" she cried.
Hunter and prey was a common game that the cubs liked playing. It was exactly what it sounded like: one of the players was the hunter and tried to catch the other who was being the prey. The game was basically hide and seek with some roughhousing at the end.
"No flying!" he shouted at her.
"Okay! Run!" she agreed.
He ran, weaving through the trees as best he could. There was of course no chance that he could escape her forever, but that was not the point.
The point was just to interact peacefully and be friendly and patient. Do that enough with their daughter and there was no way that her parents could be angry or suspicious of him.
No reasonable way, at least. There was no guarantee they would be reasonable.
Tail-Hunter roared in pursuit until she finally caught up to him and pinned him on his back.
"Got you!" she bellowed.
"No, I got you!"
He tickled her under the chin. She collapsed in place on him, pinning him to the ground as she became very drowsy.
Then her parents stepped up beside him and stared down at him. They looked calm but also very alert and wary.
"Uh, little help here?"
Dreamcatcher huffed and bent down to lick Tail-Hunter's head while purring to her. The drowsy cub immediately awoke, rolled off him, and hopped to her paws.
"I got him!"
"Yep! Well hunted!" he chuckled as he got to his feet.
She still yawned widely after that, probably because she had been swimming and then playing afterwards.
"Tired?"
"No..." she yawned again.
"How about you go with your dam and have a nap?"
"Do I have to?" Tail-Hunter objected.
"Yes, little one," Dreamcatcher hummed.
"Okay, dam! Bye Hiccup!"
Tail-Hunter and Dreamcatcher walked off together while Growls-At-His-Shadow remained behind. The Fury's expression was unreadable.
"So? Still thinking of killing me?"
"If I need to."
"You don't mean that."
Growls-At-His-Shadow bared his teeth and stepped closer until Hiccup could feel his hot breath.
"Yes, I do!"
"Then go ahead and do it. Kill me now and go explain why I am dead to Burning-Star, Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, the Alphas, and everyone else in the pack. I don't think you are a monster."
Exactly as he knew would happen, Growls-At-His-Shadow said and did nothing. Rather, he instead snarled and stalked off to follow after his mate and daughter.
While the Fury definitely had a violent side and was bitter, he was not stupid. Neither was he afraid. Even his anger felt somehow shallow, as if he was being that way as a display or an act.
Hiccup shrugged and started walking alone through the forest.
It'll take time with him. I've got plenty of that now.
Hiccup frowned while scratching Toothless's neck. A problem had been on his mind for the last few days.
"Toothless, we don't go flying much these days."
Toothless grumbled and shook his head; the Fury's thoughts had probably been somewhere else as he rested.
"No, but do you truly want to be up in these cold winds unless you must?" Toothless answered.
"Fair point, but I was also thinking about you. Don't you want to go flying? We haven't really flown anywhere since that hunt in the north a couple weeks ago."
Toothless purred in acknowledgment.
"Thank you, Hiccup. I do not need to fly right now. Being on the ground with my kin is enough."
"Alright, just tell me if you want to go flying."
"I will. Can I see my starlight pendant?"
"Sure, let me get it for you."
He went over to the supply bags and found the pendant. He had to search through the supplies, which were starting to run a little low on Lembas bread.
There's nothing but meat and sometimes fish up here. I'd say I can probably make it another month up here at most.
He returned to Toothless and held out the pendant to him.
"Do you want to wear it now?"
"No, I only want to look at it."
So he set it down on the ground before Toothless and watched as the Fury stared at the white pearl. The gem did not glow or shine with much visible light during the day. It only glowed very bright at night, and he had no idea why that would be except possibly some connection to the stars being out. Maybe all it needed was darkness for it to show its light.
Toothless eventually sighed and turned away from the pendant.
"Can you put it back?"
He did and then came back. Toothless's ears were fallen as he stared at his paws.
"Bud, are you okay?"
"Yes, I am."
"You don't look happy."
Toothless sighed and lay his head down on his paws.
Privately, Hiccup thought that Toothless was a little more reserved recently: not talking cheerfully or wanting to play in the morning. He had been sleeping in a lot more also.
It was probably something about the weather and the cold. The dreary clouds and chill wind could certainly sap the will to do much of anything.
"I do not? Hiccup, I am... happy in a way I have never been before."
Something about how he said that almost sounded uncertain, as if Toothless was trying to assure himself that was true.
"Bud? Are you sure?"
Toothless then looked at him.
"Yes. I feel... wanted by my kin now... by everyone I care for."
Hiccup nodded in understanding.
Yeah, finding a tribe of your kind and finding your family will definitely do that...
"And," Toothless continued, "I have been thinking a lot more about the future and what I want from life."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I have been talking a lot with Jumps-At-Fire, and I feel much warmth for her."
Hiccup started in surprise, and he was not entirely sure what to think of this news, which he now knew he absolutely should have known was going to happen eventually.
This was the first that Toothless had openly told him about such interest as more than a vague possibility. He had seen Toothless and Jumps-At-Fire occasionally talking in the range, but no more than would be expected for any fellow Fury of the pack. She was also apparently a loner among the pack, from what he had been told, and didn't spend much time around the rest of the pack.
"Warmth?"
Toothless turned to him, hesitated as if he wanted to say something, and then sighed, his ears fallen.
"Yes, I want to make her my life-mate."
There the admission was. He totally should have foreseen this, especially since he had teased Toothless about exactly this.
On the one hand, he knew that it would probably be good for Toothless if he could find a mate and have a family of his own. On the other hand, Toothless finding a mate would change a lot about their own relationship in ways he could not know beforehand. It was also awkward to think about them... doing that... and having a kid, a cub.
Oh, I understand. That's why he's feeling anxious right now. He's just nervous about figuring out life.
"Okay, so how does that... happen for you two?"
Toothless looked off into the distance for a long time before answering.
"I... need to learn more about her before we would become a true pair."
That was good. The longer that they took to figure that out the better it would be. Taking time in relationships was a good idea, as far as he knew. Not that he himself had any experience in relationships.
"That's fair enough. I hope that goes well for you both and you make each other happy."
"So do I."
"Want to talk about anything else, bud?"
"What is there to talk about?"
"How about the pack? What do you think of them, other than your family of course?"
Toothless huffed.
"I had no idea what my kin would be like. Their lives are simple, slow, and safe. I like that they live much as a pack with no true fighting with each other. They trust everyone in the pack."
"Yeah, definitely. Do you think they'd have lived like this before coming to Middle-earth?"
"What do you mean?"
Hiccup frowned as he thought about how to describe it.
"Well, many of the pairs said they were living on their own, not as a pack. What they are doing here is... apparently different from what they were living like back then."
Toothless hummed in agreement.
"Yes, I heard that also. They have only the life-rules that they need so they can live in peace: rules like having mate-pairs, working and hunting for the good of the pack, choosing a good pair to be their Alphas, and listening to the Alphas to resolve disputes."
Hiccup idly nodded while wondering about one odd characteristic of all the Furies up here in the pack. It was something that he had noticed and wondered about almost from the first moment they met Wings-Of-Ice.
"Bud, do you think it's odd that they can talk like you and me?"
"Odd? Hmm, no more odd and twisted than me talking," Toothless pointed out.
"Right, but even you learned what some words meant by listening to me, as you said. If they are changed to talk like you, are they also... tempted by gold and treasure?"
"I hope not, but I have not thought about that," Toothless grumbled.
"Maybe we can find out. It's something we should probably learn, just in case."
"Yes, we probably should."
"In other news, I've made good progress with most of the pack. Just survived Dreamcatcher and Growls..."
Toothless growled and grumbled.
"I do not like that male. He has problems."
"Yep, I noticed, but he hasn't killed me yet!"
"Good. Are any other packmates being cold to you?"
Hiccup paused before answering him.
"Well, there is someone I haven't spoken to yet..."
Hiccup put his hands behind his back and took a deep breath to steady himself. This was probably going to be the most difficult talk of all, based on what he knew of everyone in the pack. He had not approached her or spoken to her since that day over three weeks ago when he and Toothless had first met her and learned how painful her past was. That inability to talk to her in the meantime was partially because she had kept busy with hunting, but it was also because she took no initiative to be around them and give them a chance to interact with her.
It was only possible for him to meet her now because she was resting with a couple of the cubs, Free-Flight and Storm-Chaser, under a wing after having watched over their play.
Hopefully she does not kill me! I'd be okay with getting just a scar out of this. Maybe a slight mauling would suffice...
At least Growls didn't do anything violent to me.
Resigned to his fate, whatever it would be, he started toward her.
"Hello Moonbeam!"
Her white head lifted as she turned to silently stare at him. Her eyes narrowed while she said nothing and remained very still.
He stopped before her and shuffled in place under her intense gaze. Her ears were back while she grumbled.
"So, uh, nice weather we are having," he began.
"What do you want?" she barked.
No small talk. Got it.
"I just want to talk."
"You certainly can. There is nothing more I need to say to you."
He did his best to ignore how short her temper was. Losing his patience would not help.
"Are they asleep?" he gestured to the cubs.
"Yes."
He stepped closer to her, intending to sit down next to the two young Furies, but he froze when she softly growled at him.
"Touch me and you lose a paw!" she hissed.
"I was not going to touch you. I will not. I promise."
He frowned as he sat crosslegged before her. She kept glaring at him all the while.
"Why do you not trust me? You know that I'm not a monster human; you said so yourself."
"I have my reasons. Why do you care?" she huffed and looked away from him.
She was being very frustrating.
"I care because I am one of the pack now. You did not object to that either."
"I know. I should have, but I did not. It was twisted of me..."
"Why didn't you?"
She sighed.
"You, Burning-Star, Breath-Of-Sky, Far-Flight, and Sky-Dancer looked so... happy. Almost like a good, whole family..."
She then remembered who she was talking to and narrowed her eyes again.
"If you ever do anything twisted that hurts the pack, I will tell the Alphas, and they will throw you out of the pack or worse."
"That will never happen because you will not have anything to tell. I will not betray the pack. I made a promise."
She tapped her tail on the ground.
"You might trick us."
"Really? All of you? If I could trick Burning-Star, both Alphas, Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and all the other pairs... well, you would all deserve whatever happened then if you were all that blind."
She huffed.
"True, that would be twisted for none of us to see your falseness."
"There is none, but that is what someone who is false would say, so that doesn't actually help me."
"No, it does not. Humans are the best hunters of all," she snorted.
He was very stuck with her; she didn't want to open up at all to him.
Maybe a different approach might work better.
"How are they?" he gestured toward the cubs, both of whom had their tailfins over their heads.
She glanced down at them and hummed softly.
"They will sleep much. I played pinning with them and was teaching them how to get out of a pin."
"Their sires and dams are hunting now, right?"
"Yes, I do much cub-watching for the pack. They need much protection against dangers."
"What dangers?"
"There are wolf-hunters in this range. They usually stay away from us, but we do not leave the cubs unprotected. The cold is also a danger to them."
He shivered at the memory of meeting those large wolflike things in the Waste. Normal wolves did not have glowing eyes.
"Being with cubs makes my soul-fire warm," she added.
"Mine too," he whispered.
She blinked.
"Does it? Planning to take their wings and back for your own also?"
"No. I want to be friendly with them and show them humans are not bad."
"So you say. What about Burning-Star? What does he think about cubs?"
It was a strange question coming from her.
"He likes them a lot. You should have seen him with the small-not-human cubs, the Hobbit cubs. He let them climb all over him and slide down his wings. I'm sure you've seen him playing with pack's cubs too."
"Yes, I have been... watching both of you. I have also seen him... talking to Jumps-At-Fire."
There was a hint in how she said that which suggested she knew what was happening, so there was no reason denying it on Toothless's behalf.
"They are talking about becoming mates," he explained.
She stared at him for a while until she snorted.
"Are they? Truly? They might be good for each other, except for the cubs part, since he is a downed dragon and she has her problems."
It was hard to ignore the blatant mention of Toothless being a downed dragon.
This was also the second time he had heard that Jumps-At-Fire had problems, but he had no idea what that meant. She definitely felt more comfortable on her own, but he understood that preference. He wished he had more chances to speak to her, since he hadn't talked to her after their first introduction.
He also wasn't sure what Moonbeam meant about cubs being a problem.
"I don't understand. What problems?"
She looked like he wanted to answer his question but wasn't sure what to say.
"She has problems trusting others because of... a hurt in her past," she finally answered.
Honestly, that sounds like you too.
He considered saying it out loud, but thought better of it. Intentionally antagonizing her would not help her trust him at all, even if what he said was strictly correct.
"Everyone can change and heal with time," he settled on.
"That is easy for you to say! What have you lost? Have you lost both your parents to dragons that hunted humans?" she hissed.
He scowled at that and crossed his arms.
"My mother, my dam, was killed... carried away by a dragon! You don't see me hating all dragons because of that one..."
"Then you did not truly care for her."
That took him aback. His retort died before he could say anything.
She was correct that he had not deeply felt that loss since he had still been a mere baby then. He could not even remember that terrible event, so he didn't feel it as terribly as his father must have. On the other hand, she had been plenty old enough to understand and feel the pain from when her parents were killed.
It was frustrating how she countered, even unknowingly, so many of his points.
"No, I have not become bitter like my enemy."
Then she shuffled in place and grumbled. She looked like she was about to shout at him when she suddenly gasped and lifted a wing. All her frustration withered in an instant.
"The cubs are waking up," she whispered.
Sure enough, Free-Flight opened his eyes, yawned widely, and hopped to his paws while stretching everything.
"Hiccup! Are you here to play?" Free-Flight asked with his eyes very wide and tail swaying.
His swaying tail knocked into Storm-Chaser and woke her up also. She cried aloud and nipped at Free-Flight's tail before she noticed him there also.
"Hiccup!" she shouted.
Always playing... I always wanted to play at that age too. Never could find any trolls in Berk's forest...
"Sure, I can play. How about I hide and you both try to find me!"
"Okay!" both cubs shouted.
He spared Moonbeam one more glance before he ran off to find a hiding place. She stared calmly back at him without snarling or glaring. She would probably be following the cubs as they searched for him.
It was not much, but it was progress.
Toothless continued on alone through the night. This was a very familiar walk to him by now because he made this journey every few nights to meet her. It was only different this time because a soft dusting of snow was steadily falling from the clouds above.
Their nights followed the same pattern: they were together as she wanted, they practiced bonding and cuddling afterwards as he wanted, they spoke some about life and experiences, and then he journeyed back to the pack and his kin. The bonding was a part of the night she was still reluctant to embrace because of what doing so implied about him and her.
But he wanted this night to be different. After several nights of enjoying each other, he wanted more time for them just to talk and be in each other's presence. It felt important to know if they could bond at all and enjoy being together without any mating. Hopefully she would want that also. There was nothing wrong with jumping straight to the bonding. He was unsure whether he enjoyed more being one with her or the bonding that followed. Both were good.
She was sitting attentively, waiting for him when he arrived. The ground was covered in a thin layer of snow and many of her pawprints where she had been pacing.
"Burning-Star, how was your day?"
"Not the best. There was not much hunting the last few days. The pack should fly to the cold waters again soon."
"Is there a problem with that?"
"I feel twisted making Hiccup fly with me on the very cold flights."
She hummed, "That is a problem. You probably do not want to stop flying those hunting-flights though."
"True, I want to provide for the pack."
"Is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked.
He said nothing about feeling more tired and discouraged about his lack of progress with her.
"There is something else. This looks like it will be a very cold night, but I can help with that," he purred.
She slyly purred, ready to start, so he interrupted her.
"I want us to go somewhere else."
This was a change which he hoped she would go along with.
"Where do you want to go?"
He yawned widely and nodded toward the mountains.
"To your den. I do not know where it is."
She had never mentioned where her den was hidden.
"Fine. Follow me," she said.
He dipped his head with a purr of surprise. That she was willing to go along with this was very good. Hopefully she would be accepting of the other way he wanted this night to be different.
"You lead me, my pretend mate."
She chuffed at that and started on paw, alternatively running and trotting toward the mountains. It was another long journey with climbing up the slope which was covered by some moss, many boulders or large rocks, and only a few small bushes. He was short of breath by the time they got to a high ledge.
He blinked in surprise when he saw the place that she led him to. It was on the side of the mountain where the range turned slightly for the north. From the edge of the ledge, he could see the distant western horizon across all his vision. The fallen snow reflected the moonlight and glowed with a faint light.
Back against the mountain's slope was a slight shelter where the cold wind did not blow and the snow did not fall. It was not a cave, but it certainly had the same purpose and was probably good enough to live in permanently. The rocky ground was covered in a tough moss near what was once probably a very small stream on the side of the ledge.
Hers was a beautiful almost-den that would be a good place to live in and raise cubs to see the open sky and the horizon.
He sighed at the thought and then trotted over to her in her almost-den.
"It is a warming den. I like how open to the sky this is."
She purred and lifted her ears as she looked around the place.
"So do I. It is close enough to the pack and also lets me stay far enough away. I see the open sky every day and night I am here. I never feel trapped here."
He sat down before her and softly asked the question which kept nipping his tail.
"Why do you still want to keep yourself away from the rest of the pack?"
She huffed, stepped over to him, and put a paw to his muzzle.
"No questions now. You know what to do."
He huffed with a soft groan of frustration while hoping that she would enjoy what he wanted instead of mating.
"True. I am yours now, but I want us to do something different this time."
"Different? What?"
He gently nudged her nose.
"Will you sit with me and... watch the stars and talk with me? I am tired after a long day and... I want some peaceful pretend-bonding this time."
She purred while nuzzling his side.
"No mating?" she wondered.
"True. There is no need for that right now."
She barked softly in surprise and hopped away, though she stared curiously at him.
"I... alright then... why not try this once? You want to watch the stars?"
"Yes, and maybe see a burning one falling from the sky," he chuckled.
She chuckled at his wit, and then she nodded toward a flat part of her ledge. He followed her over there and lay down at her side. Neither of them said anything for a while.
All the stars were visible as the moon also shone brightly high above. The mountain blocked the worst of the biting wind, but it was still very cold up at this height.
"My pretend mate, are you ready for bonding?" he hummed.
She huffed and rolled her eyes.
"Yes, we should try that," she said.
With that reassurance, he wrapped his tail around hers and stretched a wing over her back. She leaned against his shoulder while purring in peace and staring at the sky. The aurora flowed high above while the stars burned, flying freely as they always did.
"Do you want to talk about anything?" she asked.
That she asked him first was encouraging and a good sign. Maybe she was warming to him truly. The warmth inside his soul-fire at the possibility helped a lot with the chill, and he hoped that she similarly did not feel much of the cold.
"Do you know what the stars are?" he wondered.
"They are the soul-fires of dragons, or so the stories say. I do not know if those stories are true."
"No, how could any of us know that?"
She huffed.
"True. One part I do not like in the stories is that there is no place for the free-fliers like me. All the dead are expected to join with a star-pack. I do not need a pack. It is... safer on my own."
Safer? What are you afraid of?
She seemed to him afraid of the pack or of being part of a community. That much was rather obvious. She did not fit in with the pack because of her ideas.
"When did you join the pack?" he asked.
"Nine winters ago. I flew from the den after my dam did not fly back to the den. Then I was in these skies and wandered until I found the pack."
"Was she lost to humans?"
She grunted once and huffed.
"I do not know or care."
"What? Why not?"
"Because she and I had... problems in our kinship. She was very angry and cold after my sire left her."
He growled.
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he wanted a younger mate," she answered without hesitation.
She seemed very certain of that, but he was not sure.
Maybe it is that simple or maybe not.
"He must have had problems in his life, but I do not know anything about him. What about your dam? Why did you have problems with her?"
She hesitated before answering.
"She... taught me a painful lesson, but it helped me grow strong and survive."
"What lesson?"
She stared aimlessly into the distance without answering him.
He was very curious what that lesson was. However, she did not say anything more, and he was not going to push her on that if she did not want to speak about what had happened.
"What about the pack? You are part of the pack even though you keep yourself outside it much."
She sighed and shuffled in place before staring off at the distant horizon. He joined her in doing so in peaceful silence until she lay her head down on the ground between her paws.
"They are trapped in their ways that make them less free. I see the females with their cubs, talking to them, playing with them, and nuzzling them. Those females let themselves be trapped by life and needing their males to hunt for them much. They are not like me. Free."
He winced at how twisted her thought was on that matter.
She continued.
"I sometimes hunt for the pack, but I do not feel warmth resting with them. The males rejected me, and the females are living in traps," she added.
He nudged her shoulder and licked her neck.
"None of them talk much about you or say bad things about you."
"They think it," she countered, staring into the distance.
"I will stay here and keep you warm as long as you want," he offered.
"Thank you, Burning-Star. Sharing warmth is good," she sighed.
A long and peaceful silence followed as he wondered what else to do with her. There was no mating-wanting at all; he only wanted more bonding and more getting to know her soul-fire.
He chuckled.
"I have an idea. You tell me a story, and I will tell you a story. You wanted storytelling one of these times."
She purred and lifted her head to gaze at him.
"You want me to tell you a story? What kind of story?"
It was good that she was interested.
"Tell me about your flights, maybe about a special place you have flown to."
She was silent in thought until her eyes lit and ears went up.
"There is an island far off in the cold waters. The island is covered in teeth of ice and has caves with rocks that shine with light inside when the sun's light shines. There are no humans, other dragons, or any prey except fish in the waters. I flew to that island, hunted fish, and then slept there. I remember waking up on the rocks as the sun rose to fly in the sky. The light bounced and danced off the ice like sparks of fire. The cold wind flew in my face and wings, but my soul-fire was so warmed by the pure freedom. A full belly, nothing holding me down, and no obligations or duties."
She inhaled and continued.
"That was the one time in my life when I felt perfect oneness with... all the world out there. What about you, Burning-Star?"
He hummed while staring at the stars.
"I know what you mean. I felt that when Hiccup and I first flew together in a true shared flight. We flew closely though tight teeth of rocks. We were flying so fast that hitting any of them would have killed us. Hiccup learned how to fly with me when he learned my small signals, a lean or head-turn, and trusted his own soul-fire more."
She gave a wary warble.
"I do not care about your being grounded; we do not need flying for each other. But being grounded on your own must be very bad for you."
He rolled his shoulders in a shrug.
"It is what it is. I am not grounded when Hiccup is with me. My being grounded brought my and his life-flights together, and that is good. I am not free to fly on my own, true, and I am..."
He grumbled, not sure what to say.
"I am trapped with him, but I do not hate that. Sometimes a trap can be a good one if you are trapped with someone you care about and who cares for you."
She appeared uncertain about that, so he continued.
"I can trust you with this. There is something else about me and Hiccup; no others in the pack know about this truth."
"What is it?" she whispered.
"You and all the pack know that he found me and could have killed me. True?"
"Yes, you told us."
"But he is also why I am grounded. He shot me from the sky, and I lost the tailfin when I fell into a tree."
She gasped and stared at him in shock.
"And you do not hate him for that?"
"No. Why would I carry anger in my claws and thinking? Doing that would only weigh down my flight."
"I suppose it might," she chuffed and lay her head on her paws.
Neither of them said anything else for a very long time. He finally bent down and nudged her head.
"What do you want now, Jumps? Should I stay here tonight and keep you warm?"
She considered him and then looked around her den.
"How do you want to keep me warm?"
"Whichever way you want. I do want some rest though," he answered.
She growled softly as she thought about it until her ears fell.
"You would be missed if you sleep here or stay here much longer. Your kin and Hiccup would ask where you were."
Grr, she is right.
They had been meeting without a regular pattern, to help hide what they were doing, but his being gone an entire night and not there in the morning would be very difficult to explain. Even being with her any longer was likely to be noticed, if anyone was awake.
"True, I should go back to rest with them and the pack."
He unwound his tail from hers, hopped to his paws, and turned for the slope that led down the mountain.
"Burning-Star?"
He glanced over his tail at her.
"Jumps?"
"We should meet up here from now on."
"I would like that," he purred.
Then he roughly glided down the slope, gently landed, and started walking alone through the night.
His soul-fire was both warm and chilled at the same time, twisted though that was. He was warmed because of all that they had done together and how willing she was to start opening up to him, and he was also chilled because of this keeping themselves secret and because of how her problems kept her from trusting the pack and him as much as she should.
She is changing slowly.
There was still a biting suspicion in his soul-fire; it felt like there was a problem he had not seen about what they were doing. Whether it was a problem with him or her, he had no idea. He still felt some warmth inside just from being around her, but there was no way to know for certain whether she also felt that warmth. She would know how to avoid getting a cub from him, so that probably was not the problem.
He could just ask her, but doing that felt dangerous since it might show her that he was almost trying to trick her into wanting him truly. Was it wrong to make her want him by learning who he was? Was that even a trick, or was that what all pairs did before becoming mates?
Was that the problem?
Another possible way to get an answer would be to talk to Hiccup or Far-Flight, but... having them give him an answer felt like a mistake. This learning was something he had to do on his own