Dragons were common on the islands. Vikings had been dealing with the scourge for as long as your heritage had been. Midnight was like a predator call. They lit the houses on fire, ate people. Your family prided themselves on being the greatest slayers this side of Berk. What they weren't proud of... was you. Quite lankier yet shorter than any other inhabitant to town DragonChow, you were constantly sidelined. Not that you minded. You weren't the violent type. You were the explorer type.
You'd thought about running away a thousand times and you'd actually stolen a boat twice. The first got you beat. The second gained the stern, watchful eyes everywhere you went. Everyone checked on you, and your brother guarded the dinghies like he hadn't stranded you in one over a decade ago. So, you had no use and no chance at escape. Until midnight.
They didn't come every night, but the watchers never abandoned their posts. The all-encompassing shadows covered you well, but a strange sound stopped you in your tracks. It was a deep sound, more felt than heard, and leathery, like a saddle being dropped again and again. The wind couldn't decide where to go as it burst down on you from all directions. You looked to the sky, seeing only a single wing pass in front of the moon's fraction shown.
But the watchers noticed too and the snuffed torches suddenly roared to life. Archers took up their posts, some arrows flaming. They released the string at the and the arrows missed as they always did, only illuminating the swarm. And co.
Your gaze was drawn to the oddly dressed, startlingly masked. The misshapen wood with near horns donned a Dragon Rider. They stood atop a mighty 6 winged dragon. A few of the frontmen descended in retaliation, taking an archer and snapping her bow in two. Another sent out some fireballs to torch some homes as a distraction. And it worked, bucket-ers dumping water on all the flames barring the creators of it. You were the only civilian not occupied. Someone loaded the net launcher. He aimed at the swarm just moving along. These dragons were unknown to you, not the feral ones in sparse packs. And your people had stuck first.
Alarmed, you ran over to him. It was a miracle no one had seen you. Or maybe it was just a crisis. In any event, no one stopped you from knocking the launcher off course. The flingers of more nets were trapped instead. You stared at them in shock, mouth ajar with guilt. Defenders of your island - sitting ducks.
A dragon dropped to just over your left shoulder, scooping the launcher conductor into its claws before dropping him into the freezing waters. Still, these were scouts, defenders. They were all just migrating.
A large fire roared in your ears and you stared at the trappers, deciding your village needed them now. The swarm had mostly passed, barring the Rider hovering over the village not that you knew, and these violent fucks needed to go. Oh! and the fire was headed for them so you really ought to get on it. Fear for their deaths on your hands shot your heart-rate up with the swarm. You dropped to their level and raced for the group. You were almost in arm's reach when something scooped you up. You screamed in fear, then kicked and pushed at claws to make it release you before you reached the ocean. You passed the shore, but stayed enclosed in claws.
They weren't exactly shelter, the chilled night air slipping through reptile fingers, slowly freezing you as you traveled. You didn't have many options so you stayed as you were, watching. It was quite touching to see the dragons just with their own. They flew around each other and dove and spat fire. A few play-fought, and the multitudes of flying reptiles distracted you from the numbness spreading up your legs. A faint smile lit your face at the raw beauty.
Not that you knew, but someone was pleased to see that reaction, though she couldn't keep herself from grabbing your attention.
Your vision was invaded abruptly by that 6-winged dragon, the rider still standing on its back. "Hey!" you shouted, hoping they were still able to speak. You'd heard of riders going feral. The stark blue-green of their mask popped when they turned to face you. "I know it's probably been a while, but this is still kidnapping!" You received no response and, soon enough, or perhaps longer due to unknown hypothermia, the fleet, swarm, began its descent.
They all made for a massive, icy construct. The freedom of the sky became beautiful chaos as they all filed in.
You were dropped onto a continually cold surface, but you couldn't move. The cold had set into your bones and you had only the strength to draw in your limbs, even then only slightly. The dragon responsible for your abduction landed slightly above your head and walked around before facing you. She'd never taken a human before, but had felt compelled to. She nudged you with her snout, huffing out a hot breath across your skin. Nice as it was felt, the heat faded just as fast as it came. Quick steps came next, then the robed rider was at your side. They were surprisingly soft, gentle with you, and they seemed quite practiced in their caring movements.
Afraid, you eyed the room. A useful icicle lied by pieced apart ice shards, so you reached for the whole one. But a furry boot came down on the sharp end, breaking it off and unintentionally making a sharper end. You wanted to stand, face off, charge your abductors but the cold sapped all of your strength. You grunted under the strain of simply rising to your arms.
The rider removed their mask and robe, wrapping you up and scooping you from your own strength. She smiled down at you, you staring weakly up at... her. "You'll fit in fine," she assured you just before you fainted.
*
You were warm when you woke up. And alive. Still in your nightclothes from the village, you were draped in heavy, quality, fur covers, the room inhabited by two dragons and a pair of green eyes watching you from across the room.
"It's rare for a dragon so old to choose a rider so young." You looked over at the dressed-down... woman. She had hair pulled back, but it was a brown which appeared red in the light. Her clothes were entirely brown, either leather or hide, and she wore pants. You couldn't explain how she was beautiful, but she was. "They prefer someone more dynamically close in age. It helps them get along with their rider." And she spoke softly, teacher-like, and as if she'd been waiting for someone to share her lifestyle with.
"Choose?" you choked out, preceding a swallow.
The woman nodded, moving closer. My CloudJumper chose me, as all dragons do their rider." She reached out a hand, touching your hair as if she hadn't had the opportunity to touch someone else in decades. She sat beside you. "her name is Taeryn. She is a Mystery Class and the mystery is her breed."
You laughed, looking down at the heads propped on the bed. It was alarming to have two dragons staring at you, but neither seemed aggressive so you came to terms quite quickly. "What does it mean to be her rider?" you asked.
The woman smiled wide, happy you weren't scared. "She loves you already, but you'll get closer. You have to know how to treat and care for her, and she'll never leave you. Once you're trained, you can go anywhere with her." She reached out to touch your hair again. "We can start when you are ready." Her big blue-green eyes bored into you, just as soulful as CloudJumper's. "Are you ready to ride her instead of being carried?"
You nodded. The woman beamed, going to stand by the bed. You grabbed her wrist quickly. "What's your name?"
She lost a bit of power, probably realizing how long it had been since someone had asked her that. Still, she forced it and answered, "Valka."
Valka got to dress you as you'd obviously freeze flying in the clothes you'd nearly frozen in before. She couldn't put you in the clothes of Taeryn's last rider so she put you in her spare outfit. As the arms and legs hung off of your short frame, she knew Taeryn would surprise you with fur and hide until you were consistently comfortable in the sky with her.
*
Training initially consisted of weeks of Dragon care taking and Taeryn care taking. Once you understood dragons, you took to the sky. As predicted, the ill-fitting clothes only got in the way and you still had to return early, Valka spotting your azure lips. The first time Taeryn brought you skin, you hardly thought twice. You'd made clothes from worse. Piecing it all together in your head was easy. Action had problems. You'd slowly extracted one of Taeryn's claws and she helped you cut the material. Valka had some thread to piece some pieces together. It took several attempts and likely far too many dead animals, but you had three outfits, only one to a high enough degree that you could wear it riding. And ride you did. Simple trips were easy, fun.
But Valka had one lesson left to well and truly show you before you were free. You hadn't thought about once your education was done. Valka hoped you'd stay, but she did so of every rider who passed through her swarm. Luckily for you, you still had the last lesson, which could take a while.
Mostly because you couldn't focus. CloudJumper was in the sky with you all, but Valka was on Taeryn with you. You both stood on her back and she'd assured you it would take more than two pair of feet to injure a dragon's back. But it didn't take much to rattle you. The auburn haired woman stood at you backside, directing your position for each tilt Taeryn had, sliding off midair, remounting midair, walking from one dragon to the next. She taught harmony, respect, in the face of love. But her hands were driving you crazy! Perhaps you should leave the distracting wild card. She always made it hard to focus, with the strength you'd experienced more than once. Likewise with her compassion and patience. And yet, she made you dizzy with her passion and intensity. You looked back at her, realizing. So you kissed her.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Hey!!! me (@imdeadtiredtm ) and @that1notetaker worked together to make this this blog, which will be used exclusively to make memes and fan art of for this fic! Hope you enjoy both :D
I've seen so many negative things recently and it makes me so sad.
Why must some of us get so angry and want to hurt others.
We as humans...no as beings have a choice we can decide if we hurt others or if we talk things out. If we all collectively decided that violence isn't going to work then the world would be so much better right? Violence only ensures more violence.
Like if you punch someone then your gonna get punched back but if no one punched anyone then no one would be hurt.
I know this may not seem realistic to some but it could be. We have to start somewhere.
I want to live in a world where everyone tries to understand each other. Where we try to live amongst each other without so much hate. We all exist in this timeline together. Let's make it better together.
Idk if this is even understandable I'm not great with talking/texting but I'm tired of all the violence and hatred. I'd much rather be friends than enemies with others.
I want everyone to read. So everyone knows that they have a choice in how they act and how they treat others. I know not everyone is violent but there is some who need to read this.
I wasn't going to write this but if I didn't i wouldn't be trying to change anything. And I wouldn't be able to push that first domino.
