Their mother had been proud when they had hatched. The cold wind of the night had given the valley a disturbing chill in the air. Dark eggs sat in a nest of bones and furs; blood still attached to the thin strands of hair and muscle from a crudely skinned beast. Trinkets and an assortment of warding items were surrounding the lone eggs before a crack echoed in the sheltered hollow of the cave that sat high on Wounded Maw territory.A large shadow merely turned it’s head to peer inside, red eyes a dull glow.
“They’re coming... They’re finally coming...”
Short little gasps of air filled the cave with a sense of dark life, the ice shards that once held three unborn hatchlings melted into the fur beneath it, soaking it to the stone. Between two lithe squirming forms, one did not look quite the same as the others, the mother peering closer. It very much resembled the father, who preferred to dwell outside the cave, near it’s mouth. A bounce of delight came from the mother as she nudged them all together. Doing her best to keep them warm and safe, the night was not going to be any more forgiving than it was; the dark magic had only just settled to give time for the three eggs to hatch.
2 Weeks Later.
The sky was alive with a small snow storm; not breaching the walls of the valley that was secure, but enough of a stir had sent many dragons seeking their homes for shelter. Among it all, snow white eyes stared from the darkness of the cave, a mere smile on the dragon’s lips. Stepping out of the shelter, she sat near the edge of the cliff, turning to beckon forth the young she had so lovingly protected.
With a stumble and a squawk, three young and blackened hatchlings approached their mother with caution and curiosity. Ears listened and both crests and feathers adjusted to the bracing wind that would have sent them back into the safety of the cave. A low rumble from behind, the father of his young sat and watched, a bone clenched in his claws; top shattered from a bite.
“This is your home, my young ones. It is all ours, from mountain to mountain, and the plains below. We are a family, but there are more of us. Others, but not family.For we are different.Not like me. Not like Pa. For whatever you wish to be, my young ones, you have both of us, behind you.”
Heads turned and the hatchlings smiled, charging their father who fell at their might, gruffing with the defeat he’d succumbed to. The hatchlings cheered and sat on their father, proud and strong.
2 Months Later.
“Haar!”
Wings snapped in the air, a rough landing hitting the stone as the dragon that had once been in the air, crashed into his sibling, the female sent sprawling. Soft laughs filled the air, when suddenly a heavier dragon came along and slammed beside them.
“Careful you big oaf! You almost squashed us!”
“It wouldn’t be any different if you two did it!”
Watching with a gentle fondness, the parents admired their children, but it was short lived. The night soon came, and the moon was nowhere to be seen. The prowling was beginning. Leading her children to beyond the borders, their mother sat perched on an out cropping. She said nothing to her young dragons, simply letting instincts run their course. She had learned to resist the call of the beast, but her children, had not.
Marvix was the first. Teeth had found their way into the neck of a snow elk. Bringing it down without too much force, the scent of blood filtered in the air. Bait. An attraction that brought a loner dragon from the depths of the snow. It was not long into the night that the scent of blood was thick in the air, and the loner was set upon by three.
Teeth shredded scales and tore in muscle, the shriek and roars of a weakening dragon sending the trees into a cold shake as the wind of beating wings made them tremble in the darkness of the night. No stars were present, and clouds were scattered across the blanket of darkness above them. Madness and a streak of insanity was present in the night where beasts dwell.
Several hours later.
Returning from the valley beyond their home, the three siblings staggered into the ranges, energy deprived and sightless to where they were going. Was it home? Was it back into a fearful embrace? Neither of them knew. Until the female looked up to see their mother, her cold gaze peering down at them from a cropped rock.
“You my children, have passed your final test. May you hunt and thrive, as pure Wendigo,”
