Dawn
Dawn's eyes snapped open at the sound of Dusk's growling. She bolted up immediately (which caused Eclipse to complain as he was thrown to the floor because he was sprawled on top of her), sleep vanishing instantly.
"Dusk what's going on?" Dawn called out to him. When he didn't answer she frantically scrambled to the entrance of the tree den and what she saw stopped her in her tracks.
Three Viking cubs were standing in front of Dusk, who was snarling at them. The eldest one was a female hatchling who looked no more than 12 seasons old and had vibrant green eyes and brown colored hair that kind of shimmered a goldish color. The second one was a male with green eyes and sandy-colored hair who looked to be about 8 seasons old. And the third one was a female with dark brown hair with grayish blue eyes who looked to be no more than 6 seasons.
The eldest one had a dagger and was holding it defensively at Dusk while using her body to shield the other two. When she saw Dawn she turned to block the other from her as well as Dusk.
"Dusk," Dawn said lowly. "What in the everliving Helheim is going on. Did you fall asleep on watch?" She asked, still keeping her eyes on the Viking hatchling.
"No!" He hissed which caused the hatchlings to flinch. "They snuck up on me."
"How can they sneak up on you!? You're a Fury! You're supposed to do the sneaking, not them!" She whispered yelled at him and that caused some of the hatchlings to whimper.
Dawn wracked her brain, trying to remember what Dad had said about dealing with Vikings.
"Dusk, I need you to look non-threatening. We're scaring them. Retract your teeth and make yourself look as small as possible." Dawn instructed him carefully, not taking her eyes off of the hatchlings. Dawn flattened her ears against my head in a non-threatening way and retracted her teeth. She slowly laid down on the sand and forced herself to relax so they wouldn't think that she was gonna lunge at them. Dusk followed Dawn's lead and the eldest hatchling calmed down and slowly lowered her dagger.
"What's going on?" A voice said from behind Dawn. Eclipse was walking out of the den and froze when he saw the hatchlings. The female went defensive again and raised the dagger which made Eclipse go into a defensive position.
Dawn gave Eclipse a warning growl and he looked at her with surprise on his face. "What are you doing? They'll attack us!" He grunted, keeping his eyes on the hatchlings. Dawn glared at him.
"Only because you're scaring them," She hissed at him. "Just calm down and they won't attack us." She told him.
A look of understanding came across his face and he walked between Dawn and Dusk towards the hatchling. She clung to the dagger tighter as he came closer but it loosened when Eclipse bowed his head and made a gentle, calming purr. He backed away and laid down.
The dragons stared at the Viking hatchlings and the hatchlings stared at the dragons. "Which dragon did you see in the woods, Rowan?" The eldest hatchling asked, lowering her dagger, looking at the dragons with amazement in her eyes. Dawn was a little startled; she didn't know that she would be able to understand them.
The male hatchling (Rowan Dawn remembered) pointed at Dusk and walked towards him slowly. "That one." He said softly.
At that moment Dusk's belly decided to announce itself. Rowan giggled and went behind them to a basket that Dawn hadn't noticed until now and pulled out a fish. All of us perked up at the sight of it as Dusk wasn't the only one who was hungry.
Rowan slowly walked up to Dusk and held the fish out cautiously. But it looked like Dusk decided he was taking too long and he extended his teeth and grabbed it quickly, snapping it up in seconds. Rowan jumped backward, startled at the sudden movement.
Dusk licked his chops and looked at Rowan, making a purring noise. Dawn couldn't tell if he genuinely meant it or if he was doing that to calm Rowan. Rowan made a nervous sound before seeing the calm, trusting look in Dusk's eyes. Rowan looked hesitant but held a hand out to him. Dusk bared his teeth and backed away. Rowan looked away and held his hand out further.
Dawn met Dusk's eyes as he looked at her and Eclipse with a questioning look on his face. "First give him some of the fish?" Dawn suggested as it was customary with dragons that shared a meal. So why should these hatchings be any different?
Dusk had a thoughtful expression before shrugging. Made sense. Dusk regurgitated a piece of the fish and spat it at Rowan who caught it out of reflex. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, which after a moment Dusk copied. Rowan giggled at that.
Dusk noticed that he hadn't eaten the fish. Dusk looked back at Dawn. "Uhh, why hasn't he eaten it?"
Dawn shrugged in response. "Maybe he needs help? Dad had to teach Hiccup how to eat a fish when they first met." She suggested. Eclipse nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right."
Dusk sat on his haunches and gestured at the fish, expectantly. Rowan looked down at the fish, realization dawning on his face. He grimaced at the mere thought.
Odd. I thought Vikings valued their food. According to the dragons who raided them, they fought viciously for even a tiny sliver of scraps. Dawn mused, intrigued by Viking behavior.
"Rowan, what's it doing?" The eldest asked, confused as to what Dusk was trying to convey.
"I think he wants me to eat it," Rowan replied with resignation in his voice. He groaned and looked back up at Dusk.
"How are they so dangerous if they need help taking a bite of a fish?" Dusk asks us baffled. They heard the stories of Vikings charging into battle with weapons as sharp as a Tumberjack's wing and cries of battle that could shake the very ground and sky. But these Vikings... well they're kinda pathetic. Dawn snorted. Maybe with no dragons to fight they got weaker?
Dusk had to show the tiny human step by step how to eat the fish. Rowan looked positively disgusted as he swallowed the bite of fish that he took. He gave us a... what in the everliving Helheim is he doing? He's holding his fist out but his thumb is up. Dawn watched him warily in case it was a warning sign. But he seemed to be smiling so probably not that.
"Try doing that back to him. Maybe it's customary after you've shared food with one another?" Dawn suggested. It couldn't hurt anyways.
Dusk shrugged and sat on his haunches and -poorly- copied the tiny human. Rowan gasped and squealed with excitement. All three of the dragons flinched at the loud noise.
"Amber Amber! Did you see that!? He copied me! Isn't that the coolest thing you ever saw!?" He bounced, excitement radiating throughout his body.
"It's 'you've ever seen' Rowan," She corrected absentmindedly, looking at Dusk who was sitting on his hind legs, holding one paw in the air still doing the weird thing, looking very much like an idiot.
"Dusk, sit down. You look like an idiot." Dawn called, laughing.
"Takes one to know one." He grumbled at her but dropped to all fours regardless.
"Nice comeback." Dawn snickered, standing up to stretch her muscles before they fell asleep.
Dusk glowered at her. "You know what Dawn, go to Helheim." He hissed, marching up to her.
Dawn's playful and teasing demeanor disappeared in an instant and was replaced by growling and glaring. "Don't you da-" Dawn was in Dusk's face when a tail came between them and smacked them in the face repeatedly.
Both Dawn and Dusk yelped and shook their faces. "Will the both of you knock it off? You're making the humans nervous. And I'm kind of sick of having to deal with you two bickering all the time." Eclipse snapped at them.
Dawn and Dusk looked at each other and she exchanged a silent message with Dusk. They both looked at Eclipse, a mischievous glint in their eyes. Eclipse's face paled -as much as a dragon's scales can anyways- and he started backing away nervously. "Hey, I was only trying to stop the situat- guys no!" He screeched and tried to run away but Dawn and Dusk pounced on him and started tussling with him. Sometime during all of that Dusk's tail hit Dawn in the face and she bit it. At that point, it was just everyone fighting each other.
"Stop it!" A tiny voice yelled and a moment later Dawn yelped when she felt a pebble hit her. Dawn untangled herself from the fight between the three siblings. She tumbled onto the sand and gave the group of hatchlings a pointed look.
The youngest one had her arm outstretched, a panicked look on her face. I'm going to name her Thrower for now. Dawn thought an annoyed expression bore into Thrower's eyes. Dawn did not appreciate things being thrown at her and Dawn warbled her displeasure at the tiny human.
Amber's face paled and she dragged Thrower closer to her. "What were you thinking!? You can't make these things mad. Who knows what they'll do!?" Amber's face scrunched up in a funny little way which Dawn guessed meant that she was extremely worried. And Dawn detests being called a 'thing'.
"B-but they were fighting each other. Like mom and dad. I just wanted them to stop fighting." Thrower whimpered, her bottom lip trembling. Dawn felt the sadness radiating from the small hatchling and felt pity for her.
Dawn looked behind her to see Eclipse and Dusk had stopped fighting and were busy giving each other identical side glares while they tended to their wounds. Eclipse had managed to give Dusk a particularly nasty bite on his tail while Dusk returned the favor in the form of a scratch on his shoulder.
Dusk glowered at Eclipse. "Now my tail hurts. Thanks a lot, you-"
"Guys," Dawn cut them off gently. "We upset the young one. Can we please stop?" She asked softly. Her brothers looked at Thrower's tear-streaked face, not from fear of them but fear from memories that were probably triggered by their fight.
Dawn slowly approached Thrower, Amber's nervous pleas to be careful sounding out from her. Thrower scampered over to Eclipse, examining his scratch.
Amber was wringing her hands nervously when she saw how close Thrower was to Eclipse but her attention was quickly diverted when Dawn came up to her.
"Hi." She said staring Dawn right in the eyes. "I thought you guys were supposed to be gone? Where did you go?" She murmured gently, slowly reaching out to touch Dawn.
Dawn zeroed on the outstretched hand and the nervous but determined face. Amber could easily close the gap between them but she was letting Dawn decide that. A sign of respect. One that Dawn appreciates greatly. Dawn closed her eyes and pressed her snout to Amber's palm, shivering at the strange feeling but purred regardless.
She heard the light gasp and felt Amber's soft hand feel Dawn's head like she couldn't believe that she was petting a real-life dragon. "Wow..." She whispered reverently, her eyes shining.
A startled but joyfully shriek rang out from behind them. Dawn whirled around and snickered at the scene before her. Thrower was sitting on top of Eclipse's head, her arms out wide like she was about to spread wings herself and start flying. But that wasn't the part that got Dawn laughing. Rowan was yelping as Dusk stumbled aground and yanking on Dusk's ears, trying to steer him because Dusk had the basket stuck on his head when he presumably ate the rest of the fish.
"Robin, please be careful!" Amber called out to her.
"I will!" She called back and squealed when Eclipse tossed her in the air and caught her. "What do you think their names are? Could we name them!? Maybe this one can be named Badger and the one that gave Rowan the fish Vomit and the white one Sparkles." Robin said, looking extremely pleased with herself.
Yeah, no. Dawn rolled her eyes as she sat up and ambled over to the tree, looking for something. She found what she was looking for: a decently sized branch. Perfect for drawing. She was more used to the broken pieces of coral than a decaying branch but it'll have to do.
Dawn started out by drawing a straight line and adding half of a circle on it and little lines around it. A sun rising over the land. Dawn. But unfortunately Amber didn't catch on too quickly. She watched as Amber's face flashed between awe, surprise, and confusion as she looked at the drawing.
"You can draw?" She asked, her eyes shining. Dawn nodded and gestured toward the drawing once more. Amber studied it critically, trying to figure out what it was.
"Rowan! Robin! C'mer!" Dawn watched as Amber's siblings came running to her, watching their happy little faces in the moonlight. "Take a look at this. That one," Amber pointed at Dawn. "Drew this. I think she's trying to tell us something."
Robin peeked around her sister and took one at the drawing and grinned. "It's the sun rising. Dawn. Duh." She said as smugly as any 6 season old can.
Dawn and Eclipse shared an amused look while Rowan stared at his sister suspiciously. "How do you know? It just looks like a bunch of squiggles to me." Dawn huffed at him, offended. "Sorry." He said sheepishly.
"It's super obvious. Look, that's the ground and that's the sun rising." She said, tracing the drawing lightly.
Amber turned back to Dawn. "Is that your name? Dawn?" She asked. Dawn nodded before picking up the stick and drawing an arrow pointing down, to show that the sun was setting before making a line over to Dusk.
Robin understood it instantly, from the way her eyes lit up. "Oh! A sunset?" Dusk shook his head. "Hmm. Dusk?" She asked hesitantly and grinned when Dusk nodded.
"She's bright." Eclipse commented.
"I think that's why you've taken a liking to her," Dawn replied to which Eclipse responded with an amused grunt.
"Partly but mainly she just behaves better than you." He teased and Dusk guffawed in the background.
Dawn huffed at their antics and stepped forward, the stick in her mouth. She drew a sun and then a circle inside it with smaller circles in that one. The moon covering the sun. An eclipse.
Robin took a lot longer to figure this one out. "Um, is that the sun and moon?" She asked hesitantly. A nod from Dawn had her studying it much closer. "Oh! It's an eclipse, isn't it? Is that your name?" She asked, giving Eclipse a scratch on his jaw. He responded with an affirmative and happy rumble.
"Seriously, how are you doing that? You're six! You barely know the difference between pike and bass." The three siblings snickered at Rowan's antics.
Robin put her hands on her hands. "Art is much easier for me than it is for you. I am much more creative than you." Robin sassed.
Rowan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Dawn chuckled. It was like watching her own siblings interact. It was extremely amusing.
"Well, at least we know their names now," Amber said as she looked at the drawings.
There was a beat of silence.
"Let's take them home! Dad's out with Mom fishing for the next two days. Although with the way they fight with each other it'll more likely be the next four days." Robin bounced with excitement.
Amber paled. "Uh, no. We'd have to sneak them through the village and where are we going to put them? It's much safer with them staying here." Amber said firmly.
"Please, Amber? It gets cold at night." Robin pleaded softly.
Amber looked back at Dawn and her brothers.
I'm glad I'm not in her position. Dawn thought amused.
"Fine." She relented and Rowan and Robin cheered. "But no one can know. That means no telling anyone or bringing anyone over. Understood?" Rowan and Robin nodded vigorously.
Amber sighed, looking much older than twelve seasons, and looked at the three dragon siblings. "C'mon then." She groaned, taking her siblings hands and started walking in the direction Dawn presumed would lead them to the village.
"Uh, what about the part where she asked if we even wanted to go?" Dusk huffed.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Oh hush you big hatchling. Haven't you ever wanted to see a Viking nest? I know I have. We'll probably never get this chance again. So c'mon!" Dawn grinned at her brother before bounding after the tiny ones, a curious and excited Eclipse in tow.
"This is a bad idea," Dusk grumbled under his breath but followed.
~~~~
"It's really... small." Eclipse commented, surveying the tiny hut. "I mean, I knew it was going to be small but not this small."
"Not everyone can have a home as big as ours I suppose." Dawn sneezed when she sniffed the inside of an empty barrel. "Eugh, I think something died in here." She coughed.
The hut, like Eclipse said, was actually really small. Smaller compared to the other huts that they had managed to get a quick glimpse at before Amber quickly led them to their hut. The bottom level was one room with cabinets in one corner and some flimsy furniture next to it as well as a small-looking fireplace with a tiny pile of ash. Three chests under the stairs that led into a loft-like area with sheets serving as walls. Under the loft was a mattress with a very ratty-looking blanket. That was likely where the hatchlings slept. There looked to be room for only one person to live here, much less five.
"Home sweet home." Amber sighed dejectedly, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. "Mom and Dad like to leave us here for days at a time to catch the 'good big fish' but they'll be lucky if they catch a sick salmon. Then they'll spend most of the money they make at the stupid bar and on stupid gambling." She glared furiously at the room (if you could even call it that) where Dawn guessed her sires lived.
Dawn nudged her gently and purred soothingly. Amber smiled gratefully. "Thanks, sorry for dumping all of that on you. Rather sudden wasn't it?" She laughed half-heartedly, her eyes trailing to her siblings who were excitingly showing Dusk and Eclipse their stuff. "The worst part is that they see me as the parent. Mom and Dad are more like visitors to them. Wish they had their actual parents to care for them."
Dawn looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry that you don't get the love that you deserve from your parents. Mine are the greatest and I'm lucky to have them. I hope yours see reason." Dawn knew that this lonely hatchling couldn't understand her but she hoped the sentiment would be understood.
Amber looked at her curiously. "I have no idea as to what you just said but I get the feeling you're comforting me. So thank you." Amber laid her palm across Dawn's face once more, a friendship kindling between these two creatures. They stayed like that, both deep in thought.
The door slammed shut, ruining the moment and causing the two to jump. Fear washed over Dawn briefly, afraid that they had been discovered. But it was just Rowan and Robin carrying as many sticks as they could. "We got firewood!" Rowan grinned brightly. Dawn hadn't even noticed they left. Neither did Amber by the looks of it.
"I helped!" Robin's voice piped up from behind her bundle of sticks that were observing her face. They both dumped it in the fireplace and Dawn fired a small plasma blast at the pile, the wood catching fire instantly.
"Woah..." Rowan looked gleefully at Dawn. "That was awesome. I know what we're doing tomorrow."
Amber narrowed her eyes at him. "We're not going to-"
Whatever Amber was going to say was cut off by a large explosion and screaming.
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Um, so don't kill me? Hehe. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to be updated almost a year later. I got the first couple of paragraphs but then my brain was like "Fuck you, no motivation or idea on how to proceed lol". Stupid brain. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. If it does, you can beat the crap out of me.
And happy valentines day! If you got someone to spend it with, shower them with extra love! Because you should be showing them your love everyday. Not just valentine's day.
As usual, give me any feedback and enjoy!!!!
Stay awesome and spread your wings to the future!
February 14, 2022.