This is a fanfic and I make no money from this. Original copyrights belong to Dreamworks and Cresedia Cowell
Chapter 11
Gypsum's wings flutter in a flurry of motion, as the old brown dragon darts and dashes among the pillars of ice and stone, trying to keep up with her fellow survivors from the arena. Vomi and Mita, the Twin-soul, and Volcus soar on her left, while Asurestorm follows the Shadewing, Tannlaus, on her right. The huge, four-winged dragon, Cloudjumper, effortlessly carries its precious cargo in its taloned arms and feet. She was worried, as they left the small damp island behind, the path they were taking would bring them uncomfortably close to the Queen, but the strange two-leg directed them further east, taking them all well past her realm of influence.
The sun was beginning to rise before them when they came in sight of the most extraordinary nest any of them had ever seen. An island of ice and stone, covered in lush green moss and grass, and the sky above filled with every possible dragon imaginable. "It is soon feeding time," the large dragon intones, in a bass rumble, as he brings himself to hover in front of an imposing wall of ice. "Follow me closely, the tunnel is fairly narrow, but you could get lost down a side path. Tannlaus? I will take your mate to Ryder's cavern, you can show the others to the feeding grounds."
The path itself is long and winding, with branches leading into darkness every so often, but soon the troop clear the tunnel and enter the heart of the nest. The general structure is reminiscent of their old volcano nest, with high shear walls and deep central chamber. The newcomers are taken aback by the warmth and lush growth, despite the entirety of the nest's outer wall being built of ice. Taking a moment to alight on a green outcropping Tannlaus turns to look back at his charges. He has to take a startled step back as he finds himself snout to snout with the warty, brown Stone-biter.
"That young female has been through enough! I don't know what game you are playing, but I won't let you hurt her anymore. You offer her friendship, and take it upon yourself to teach her... Then turn around and abandon her, and THEN tell her you hate her?!"
Tannlaus sits unable to interrupt the furious, brown, force of nature. She continues like this for some time before finally having to take a breath. Taking the momentary silence, "You're right". This simple admission surprises the ranting dragoness into further silence. "What I did is unforgivable..." Hanging his head, he waits for Gypsum to continue her rage fueled rant.
"Why did you come back?" she asks simply, anger in her voice tempered by sympathy.
"It's a long story."
"We have time," says the older dragoness, demanding to not be put off. Even though she barely knows the injured Shadewing, her maternal instincts refuse to let her see the youngling as anything but an adopted daughter. This male, barely older, had obviously been acting on impulse. A mistake in judgement rather than malice, but still she needed to hear it from his own lips. "If we are going to hear a story, best start from the beginning." She says, hunkering down as she makes herself comfortable.
****
"I HATE you!!" Spinning on his wing, Tannlaus quickly flies from the cove and heads out to sea leaving the distraught young Night Fury alone. Even in his rage, the icy cold grip of fear took hold of his heart. His wings beat the air with all the strength he can muster, trying to put distance between himself and the first dragoness he began to consider more than a friend. 'Why did I tell her that!? Why did I tell her I hated her? I don't hate her!' Looking back, his sharp eyesight sees Kari apparently facing off against the small blond two-leg. 'Jump, Pounce, Flame! Do something! Anything!' He watches helplessly as the broad blade of the axe is drawn up, and with a heart rending cry he turns away, unable to witness her murder. Circling high above, the clouds give him a safe place to hide. His face wet from the chill moisture as much as his freely flowing tears, Tannlaus looks back and finds Kari subdued but not dead. 'They didn't kill her! They didn't kill her!' His relief is short lived as the two-legs take steps to restrain her. Though tempted to soar down and scare off the smaller blond Viking after the larger one leaves, he realizes he would still be unable to mount a proper rescue. 'I need to think.'
Setting off toward the north, Tannlaus quickly loses himself in his thoughts. His powerful wings pump against the chill air, flying faster and harder than he had ever flown before. But even the most driven of dragons still needs to rest, and he was no exception. Muscles aching, and lungs burning from his day long flight, the exhausted Shadewing finds a small cluster of islands to alight on. Every muscle in his body begs for rest, but the stubborn dragon refuses to comply until his friend is free. 'How?! How can I get her free? I could find where they are keeping her, but then what? She can't fly to safety, and our cove nest has been discovered and is no longer safe. She's a strong swimmer, but she could never reach another island.'
Pacing back and forth on the small tower of rock, he grows more frantic. For every idea for rescue his thinks of, a dozen ways it is doomed to failure come back to him. "Why wasn't she honest with me?" He turns and blasts a small tree with his breath. "Did she think so little of me? That I would think less of her?" He blasts another tree, sending a spray of bark and needles around the slowly growing clearing. Over and over he questions her behavior, trying to piece her story together, but too many questions are left unanswered and each question leaves him growing more and more frustrated, making him lash out, blast after blast, until he is too exhausted to think and too empty to fire another bolt.
"What has angered you so? Have these trees done you some disservice?" A deep booming rumble comes from above. The startled Shadewing stops in mid step. A large four-winged dragon hovers overhead. Strange and owl-like the larger dragon settles down into the clearing, "Or has madness taken hold, and you pose a threat to my nest?" it rumbles.
"I'm no threat... I didn't even know there was a nest nearby." Tannlaus looks confused as he notices something moving on the dragon's back. The larger dragon takes a step forward, then tipping one of his forewings downward a strange figure slides down the length of his wing and stands beside him. "Is that a two-leg?" Tannlaus looks confused at what he sees. A two-leg dressed in scales and leathers of greens, blues and browns, and wearing a strange mask that has the look and scent of dragons.
The huge dragon looks at the Shadewing, a slowly building grin crosses his fearsome visage. "This is Ryder. She is a friend."
The strangely garbed human crouches low, and on hands and knees, takes a tentative step forward, closing the distance to the ebon dragon. Confusion at this strange creatures behavior has him frozen, until he realizes too late she has placed her open palm against his snout. With a snap he could take her hand before she would have a chance to react, but the level of trust this tiny two-legs has in him is humbling. Closing his eyes, he can almost feel the tiny humans compassion filling him.
The strange 'Ryder' says something, almost chattering away. The tone doesn't sound threatening and there is no scent of fear. "What is it saying?" Tannlaus asks the larger dragon.
"I don't know. But she seems quite taken by you."
Ryder begins scratching behind Tannlaus' ears, lowering his guard he lets out a slight coo of pleasure. As much as he is enjoying the vigorous scrubbing, he moves to ask the other dragon about himself when Ryder's fingers find a spot along his jaw. A bolt of lightning strikes, sending his brain into convulsions of pleasure, and causing his legs to turn into jelly. He hears the larger dragon openly laugh, but in his current state Tannlaus' glare instead comes out as a heavy-lidded purr.
'If I can do this for Kari, maybe she will forgive my stupidity.' Tannlaus snaps up, all enjoyment of Ryder's wonderful attention, forgotten. 'Kari!! I need to get back to her!'
Ryder jumps back in surprise at the black dragon's sudden movement, shaking a long rattling staff, he had missed her holding. The large dragon steps between them, lowering his head "You best not be thinking of harming Ryder. She has shown you kindness and you threaten her? What madness has taken hold of you?"
"Sorry! I'm not threatening her. My mate was captured by two-legs, and I need to find a way to rescue her. I can't be delayed."
"Your 'mate'?" The big dragon asks. Tannlaus feels his face warm, he hadn't meant to use that word... Did he? "There is another Shadewing?"
Nodding, "Yes we were recovering in a small cove, on an island south-west of here. I was hurt, and she... She was never taught to fly." Once more the crushing weight of shame fills him with dread. "Our nest was discovered, and I fled... I said some things to her before I left... I need to get back. I need to rescue her, to apologize to her, prove I didn't mean what I said!"
The big dragon sits back down, relaxing his posture showing Ryder she is safe. "Young one, you are in no shape to rescue your mate. You have physically exhausted yourself, and from the looks of this clearing, it will take a day or two to recover your fire." The big dragon once more tips his wing down, allowing Ryder to climb back up onto his back. "Ryder calls me Cloudjumper. So THAT is who I am now... What are you called, Shadewing."
"My name is Tannlaus. I'm sorry Cloudjumper, but I must go back!"
"And do what? You are so worn. How long have you been flying? Hours? I doubt you have the strength to reach this island of yours, let alone find your mate. Come back with us to the nest, rest for a day or two. We will come up with a plan to rescue her."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Like you, I'm rare... I haven't seen a female of my kind in over twenty-five summers. Mating season is quickly approaching, and if I have any say in the matter, there will be a new Shadewing egg by winter." The large dragon pumps his wings, rising into the air, and without preamble grabs Tannlaus with his powerful limbs and takes to the air. "Relax little one, and enjoy the ride. Rest and recover. We WILL free your mate."