Fire and Ice | HTTYD Fanfiction [Book One]

Chapter Two ~ The Dragon Pack

Melanite

      I woke up to see a starry night above. I longed to fly among it, spinning and diving and just feeling free. Something on top of me rolled over, and I prepared to barbecue it to a crisp when I realized it was just the girl. It was funny; I grew up thinking that humans were nasty creatures that tortured dragons, but this girl had proven me wrong. She not only released me from Dagur but she fed me as well. Raw instinct told me she was trustworthy.

      She slowly aroused, yawning and rubbing her eyes groggily. I made a small noise from the back of my throat. She looked up and smiled.

      "Good evening," she greeted, "I don't believe we have formally met." I nodded in agreement. "I'm Adira. Do you have a name?" I shook my head to say no. "Well, I was considering a name for you. Do you like Melanite?" She asked. I nodded, it sounded dark and mysterious, actually suiting me. "Great! My Typhoomerang friend here is named Citrine." I nodded once more, giving Citrine a jab in the neck.

      "Hey!" He groaned, "I was dreaming about a lake filled with eels. I can still taste them..." He trailed off.

      "Any other dragon would have considered it a nightmare." I scoffed. He shrugged it off.

      "So guys, earlier today I had a super crazy idea. Do you want to hear it?" Citrine and I nodded simultaneously. "We create a dragon pack. We can travel around and feed and protect each other as a group. I was thinking of a leader-advisor sort of thing. The dragon that is the most well, leader-like can be the leader. The more witty yet quiet dragon can be the advisor. So if the leader wants to make a decision he has to get it approved by the advisor first. We can kind of be like a weird family of sorts."

      I considered this. I was personally used to traveling alone, but only because I was always a bit grumpy when I came out of the ice, especially if I was being hunted by Dagur. I suppose no dragon wanted to be around me then, but maybe now they will give me another chance. So I nodded as to say yes.

      "What are you thinking?" I asked Citrine.

      "As crazy as it sounds, I like the idea." He replied.

      "Me too, that way I don't have to face Dagur alone. Gods, running from him gets tiring," I growled. He made an amused sound while nodding to Adira.

      "Great!" She chirped, jumping up. "Want to go find our fourth member in the morning?" We both nodded and she laughed. "You guys must get tired of nodding your heads all the time. Sometimes I really wish I could speak Dragonese as a second language." 

      A movement caught my eye and I noticed a shooting star streak across the sky. Adira noticed it too. "Maybe it will come true." She sighed before drifting off into sleep once again.

      I lay awake for around a half hour, staring at the sky. I thought about the dragon pack. If we did pull this off, who would be the leader? Certainly not me; I'm not exactly what you would call an outgoing dragon. But I am smart, I stayed hidden in that ice so Dagur never found me. Unfortunately, when I thought the coast was clear and came out, he caught me again. But I still think I would make a good advisor. Citrine seems to be friendlier than me, so maybe he could be the leader.

      While I pondered over the roles of the pack--if we ever made one--I must have drifted asleep, because the next thing I knew Adira was frantically shaking me awake.

      "Melanite! Melanite, wake up! Dagur's returned, we need to leave before he finds us!" I shot up at the mention of Dagur's name. Anger boiled inside of me and I wanted to burn his armada down, but I knew that would result in being kidnapped again. Fleeing was the most logical solution.

      I turned to see Citrine already awake and ready to fly. I wanted to protest about breakfast, but that would just be a delay we couldn't afford. Instead, I watched Adira clamber onto Citrine's head, grabbing hold of his horns as he silently took off. I followed, just as quietly.

      We flew for a long time, probably around two hours. I spotted an island in the distance and pointed toward it with my nose.

      "We should land there."

Adira

      "We should land there." A masculine voice stated. I gasped and stared at Melanite.

      "Did that come from you?" I asked, astonished.

      "What is she talking about?" Another voice, this one coming from Citrine, questioned.

      "Oh my gods- I can understand you guys!"

      "I guess your wish did come true," Melanite grumbled. I nodded with wide eyes.

      Ten minutes later, we landed on the shores of the island. "We should wait a day and then go back to Arboribus," I stated. The dragons gave me a confused look. "I named that island Arboribus. It means trees." I explained, "I liked it." Melanite rolled his eyes. "Besides the whole Berserker thing."

      "Couldn't agree more." He murmured. I laughed.

      I climbed off of Citrine and walked a bit into the woods. After I found an armful of dry logs and sticks, I dumped them on the beach and made a circle of rocks around them. I proceeded to make my way to a small pond nearby and used my arrow to catch a pile of fish. I took two fish for myself and left the rest for the dragons.

      "Can someone light this?" I asked, gesturing to the fire pit I had created. Citrine bent his long neck down and let out a very small flame that easily caught onto the wood. I stabbed a fish into a long stick and began to cook it.

      After ten minutes, we had eaten until our stomachs couldn't hold any more food. I got up and brushed myself off.

      "So shall we go find ourselves a fourth member?" I questioned.

      "Might as well," Melanite replied. Citrine nodded in agreement and took off into the sky before I could climb onto his head. "You want a ride?" Melanite asked.

"It's easier than swimming all the way there," I responded humorously. Melanite leaned over so I could climb on.

      Once we were in the air I realized the difference between riding Citrine and riding Melanite. Melanite was faster, and I could always hear a faint hum of static electricity coming off of his scales. Also, from time to time my hair would stand on end.

      We flew for a long time and I noticed the sun reaching its peak, meaning it was noon. On the horizon, I saw the familiar red scales of a Changwing. Then I realized it wasn't any Changewing. It was Canna, the female Changewing that decided not to kill me when I was sent into the wild all those years ago.

      "Canna!" I called out. Melanite and Citrine gave me a strange look. "See that Changewing out there? She's my friend, Canna."

     "I see," Citrine growled. I gave him a confused glance. "We have a... history." He explained.

      "Well, there's no time like the present to forgive and forget," I said in a very matter-of-fact manner. Citrine rolled his eyes.

      We flew over to Canna who had a giddy smile on her face. It vanished when she caught sight of Citrine.

      "We meet again." She acknowledged flatly. Citrine snarled.

      "Citrine." I muttered, glaring at him.

      "She's talking like she can understand us." Canna warbled to Melanite.

      "I can understand you!" I exclaimed, "I'm not sure what happened, but I remember wishing that I could speak Dragonese on a shooting star. I woke up and could actually understand Melanite and Citrine." I explained to her. She nodded in understanding.

      "I'm so happy to see you again Adira!" Canna grinned, "wish I could say the same to Citrine here." Her smile faded away.

      "Care to explain?" Melanite growled impatiently.

A/N: Kinda seems like a filler, I know. However, this idea is going to be super important later on in the book.