Dragon Riders: Legacy(Book 2) Completed

Chapter 16:Hunting with a Dragon:Ermine

   It was the morning after the night he talked with his grandmother about a message he received from the Riders themselves. Which resulted in himself and Snowdrift going to the Riders base, Sanctuary, in two years to begin their training.
   It also resulted in him finding out that he was descended from a Dragon Rider. And not just any Rider. He was descended from Atiqalaaq, who was his great uncle because his grandmother was apparently his younger sister, and who was also over a hundred years old.
   But that also made him wonder what happened to Atiqalaaq, since his grandmother had been taking about death and not leaving when he picked up the sword that must have'd belonged ho his great uncle. She wouldn't tell him when he asked, so she was most likely hiding something she didn't want him to know.
   "Enough pondering." Snowdrift interrupted his current thoughts. "You said we could go hunting in the morning." Sounding eager to finally go hunting, if his father let him.
"I said if my father would allow me to go outside the village on my own. Which he may or may not. It depends on his mood."
"Well maybe I can be a little persuasive." She said wryly.
"Snowdrift!" He scolded her. "He'll slice you in two before you even get a chance to get near him to attack him, or Tulok will snatch you up in his jaws and kill you." He said to her, imagining with cold dread of his father cutting Snowdrift in half like butter, or Tulok, his father's Arctic wolf, crushing her small form in his jaws.
   "You think a wolf can beat me? Ha! I would like to see Tulok try. I bet if I swatted him on the nose he would turn tail and run with his tail in between his legs, whimpering." Snowdrift said, sounding cocky.
   "You can't even fly yet. How do you plan on getting away from a big thing with teeth when you can't even fly to save your life?" He asked, scolding himself for not planning on trying to help her learn how to fly.
   "I may not be able to fly yet, I won't be able to fly till I'm around ten or twelve months old. But I still have my claws, teeth, and tail, and I can hide much better a wolf, who's bushy fur will stick up when laying in the snow." She said, sounding like a critic against wolves.
   "Ok. But you realize Briggan is a wolf, right?" He asked her, talking about Briggan the Wolf, the patron beast of Eura, who died in the First Devourer War ninety-one years ago.
   "Wow. I should be scared of a big bad wolf that died almost a century ago?" She asked sarcastically.
   "You know if Briggan was still alive he could kill you or torment you with visions for the rest of your life." He defended the fallen beast.
   Snowdrift snorted.
   "Dragons and Riders have been around longer and are more powerful than fifteen animals with cute little powers. So you need to stop being scared of them. You are a Rider, and a Rider bows to no one, not even a so called Great Beast or a king or queen." She said, making him feel like he would be betraying his people's beliefs and customs.
  "What did I just say about not being scared of a bunch of wussy Great Beast, more like Cowardly Beast, that hide, while the world around them goes to war, and they don't do anything about it. They just sit around waiting for someone else to take care of it for them, like the Riders, who have been around longer than the Great Beasts, and have actually been protecting Erdas, instead of just sitting around for someone else to solve Erdas's problems." Snowdrift growled, totally dissing the Great Beasts.
   "Isn't that a little harsh, after all—."
   "Where were the great and powerful beasts during the First Devourer War? Oh, wait, that's right they were all hiding while two of their own started the war, and only four of them fought and died in the process to end the war! I can't believe they were such cowards to let four of their own die, and they didn't I anything to stop it! I call that plain cowardice." Snowdrift yelled, hurting the inside of his head from the intensity of her voice. She sounded like the Great Beast caused all the problems in Erdas.
   "Don't feel sympathy for them when they wouldn't do the same for you. Now go ask your father if we can go hunting. All this talk about cowards has made me hungry." She ordered him, but in a kind way.
   He got off he bed, which he had been sitting on during the lengthy conversation while Snowdrift laid under his bed because Sokka was still asleep, and he couldn't risk Sokka seeing Snowdrift because he would never shut up about it.
   He walked into the kitchen, finding his mother cooking breakfast, while his father played with Korra.
   He walked over to his father, and sat down by him, carefully choosing his words that would hopefully convince his father to let him go hunting with Snowdrift.
"Father," he started, pretty sure his words would convince his father. "Can I go hunting today? It would be a good chance for me to practice my hunting and tracking skills." How could his father say no to him wanting to practice hunting and tracking skills.
"No," his father said with an even voice.
Ermine let his head droop in defeat.
If he couldn't convince his father to let him go hunting by saying he was going to practice his hunting he tracking skills then what use was it trying to convince him anymore.
"Not without someone." He heard his father say.
Ermine was surprised that his father was letting him go hunting with someone. But who would his father pick to go hunting with him?
"Amaruq's wife went into labor last night, and he is currently with her and their new born son, so he can't go. But that one kid with the ermine who brought you home after his "friend" kicked and punched you, what was his name?"
His heart skipped a beat.
His father was going to let him go with Kallik, the eleven year old from another village that was visiting family in his father's village.
Then be suddenly realized his father was staring at him waiting for a name.
"Oh, uh Kallik. Kallik." He said the name more loudly the second time.
"Kallik..." his father murmured to himself. "You may go with him, but you are both to return at noon, no later."
"Thank you father." He said excitedly.
Then not knowing what he was doing, he gave his father a hug, who surprisingly gave him one back.
"Good luck, my son," his father whispered in his ear before they both let go.
   Then he quickly walked back to his room, confused and surprised at the same time that his father could hug despite his rough exterior, he did have love in his heart, not a chunk of coal that he had imagine was in his father's chest when he was four because of the lack of love his father would show him. But now he knew his father did love him.
   When he got in his room, he saw Sokka still asleep, and to his horror he saw Snowdrift sitting on his bed waiting for him.
   "What are you doing." He hissed at her, baffled why she was sitting on his bed, while Sokka was in the same room as her, sleeping or not.
   "No thanks for getting your snow clothes out?" She asked wryly.
   "Thank you, but you should've stayed under my bed. You never know when Sokka will wake up." He whispered to her.
   "Ermine, who are you talking to?" He heard Sokka ask sleepily.
   "Hide!" He mentally shouted at her.
   Snowdrift didn't wait a second later. She quickly crawled under a blanket, and laid down as flat as she could.
   He turned quickly on his heel to face his little brother, who had his eyes slightly opened.
   "I was just talking to myself. I do that sometimes. Now why don't you go back to sleep."
   Sokka responded by closing his eyes and rolling over so his back faced Ermine.
   Breathing a sigh of relief, he quietly put on his parka, boots, and gloves, and Snowdrift got into her position she did last night.
   Then leaving his room, he grabbed his bow and arrows by his door; even though he wasn't very good.
   Then he left to go find Kallik, since his father would know if he took Kallik along or not.