The Voyager and the Rogue

Chapter 28

Eyarr and I waved goodbye to Hilda and her village a few days later. Maui was with us this time, and I was ecstatic he was here.

He and I had spent several days catching up, and he had told me about what my family had been up to since I left. It left me emotional and with a deeper longing to see everyone again. Maui promised he'd been working on finding me a way to communicate with home and maybe a chance to see everyone. It was a shot in the dark but worth a try.

Despite the initial awkward interactions, Maui and Eyarr were getting along. Eyarr was dumbfounded seeing Maui transform into his favorite giant hawk form.

"First, the ocean is alive, and now there are demigods that can shape-shift? What's next? Magic?" I laughed.

"The world is wilder than you think! I didn't even know dragons existed until I came here!" I replied.

"Touché."

We did intend to fly to the south to find the Celts, but Mother Nature had different ideas.

A week after we left Hilda's village, a massive snowstorm blew through. Eyarr and I were both frustrated, but we had no choice but to stay put. Somehow, this storm was worse than the one for my first winter on New Berk. The trauma of becoming sick flashed through my head, making me shudder. I genuinely thought I was going to die, but luckily I was well taken care of until spring came, and my health improved.

I was better prepared for bad winters now. But I didn't think either of us were prepared for the storm. Ironically though, Hilda's village gifted us with fur coats for our journey.

"The North Sea becomes even colder and more unpredictable during these months. We want you to be prepared."

The North Sea was cold, alright.

It was completely frozen over.

"Fuck." I uttered, looking over the sea, standing on a cliff. The sharp wind blew my hair around, and I pulled my new fur coat around me tighter. This was a cold I had never experienced before. This was a deadly kind of cold.

"Laeli, come on. Staring at the sea isn't going to make it melt any faster. Cliffire and Riptide found a cave for us." Eyarr said as he came up behind me. He placed a hand on my lower back, "Ocean will have to wait until the spring melt."

"So we'll find the Celtic people during the spring melt?"

"We will." With a dejected sigh, I walked with Eyarr to the cave the dragons found. It was sizable, enough for all of us to fit comfortably. Eyarr had Cliffire help him put a strong, sturdy blanket to cover at least part of the cave entrance to protect us from nature's harsh winds. Maui said he would spend the winter in the realm of the gods for the time being, at least during the winter. He said while he was there, he would try and talk to the gods about how I ended up here.

We settled in just as the storm was picking up force again. Initially, I insisted that I would be fine next to Riptide for the night. But then Riptide moved closer to Cliffire for warmth. I sat there for a moment, debating whether it was worth it.

Eyarr gave me a look seeing me sit there.

"Come on, I don't bite." He joked, patting the spot next to him. I rolled my eyes, bringing over my blankets closer to him. He turned and patted Cliffire on his side. Suddenly, I could feel the heat radiating off of his scales.

"What's he doing?" I asked in wonder.

"Sharing his body heat. He can self-regulate. I don't know exactly how he does it, but regardless, it's kept us alive on many rough winters. This one won't be an exception." I leaned against Cliffire's side, feeling the heat seep into my skin, feeling the pulses through his body. I looked up at Cliffire, who craned his neck over, nuzzling me gently.