Reforged Through Thunder

Episode 1

[Please read the very end of the chapter for notes and art by Moonie]
{check in the comments for the art on WebNovel, sadly you won't be able to see it on ffn}

Episode 1
That decision had major consequences

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
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(?)

On an island uninhabited by humans, dragons roamed the landscape. Some hunting wild boars who were stupid enough to stroll into their nests and eat their eggs, others hovering above lakes in the hopes of catching their next meal.

At the entrance of a cave that had a wall covered with tally marks, a boar had just wandered inside before suddenly being violently knocked back by a dark purple shot of plasma, leaving it on the ground with a cavity in its side, giving one final breath before it died. Smoke poured out from a very large, female Night Fury's mouth as she growled with irritation. "Fucking boars." She voiced out hatefully, her yellow stripes briefly darkening to orange in response to her anger before returning to normal.

She fidgeted with the two dragon eye lenses in her claws before clutching them in her right paw, then pushed herself to stand, glancing at the lenses for a moment before suddenly throwing them into her mouth and swallowing them. 'They should be fine.' She noted with a hint of concern for her stomach, as she just threw caution out the metaphorical window. Exiting her den, the titanic, grey-scaled Night Fury moved at a casual pace toward her training grounds; a clearing that was scattered with large boulders. She passed by the dens and temporary resting spots of a few dragons she was familiar with, mainly through fights she herself had instigated.

A pair of yellow eyes stared at her as he passed, before a male Deadly Nadder—mainly composed of a mixture of green and yellow scales—walked out from behind the brush to greet her. "Hey, Ashtail, how's it going?" The Nadder waved a wing, something that Ashtail had taught him—along with a few other things about humans—after they'd first met and fought. "Yo." Ashtail waved back. "I'm doing good so far, killed a boar back at my den. How're you, Chestnut?" Ashtail chuffed with a smirk on her lips.

Chestnut sighed with exasperation. "That's not my name." He said with annoyance as Ashtail glanced at him, her violet tinged gaze exposing her amusement as she met his gaze. "And Leaftail is better?" Chestnut shook his head, walking around a tree. "No. But Chestnut doesn't feel right either." Ashtail hummed thoughtfully, before a mischievous smirk crossed her face. "Could call you Decaf." She said with stifled laughter—the name was a nod to a skit she'd seen in her past human life—with Chestnut immediately frowning and rolling his eyes in response.

"Isn't that one of those things humans drink?" He queried, earning a series of snickers from the female Titanwing Night Fury. "Yeah." Ashtail replied with her answer, her snickers calming down a few moments after. "But in all seriousness, what do you think of Chester?" The Deadly Nadder took a few moments to ponder the suggested name, before nodding in agreement a while later. "Yeah. I like it, it's one of those human names, yes?" Chester nodded, acknowledging the new name before he asked his own question.