Oneshots and Short Stories

Big Sister, Little Sister - Part Three

Ember regained consciousness lying on a rocky, mossy ground she did not recognize. She felt heavier than she had ever been, like she was wearing a thick fur coat. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her... arm? Well, whatever part of her body it was, it was on fire. It hurt so badly that she wanted to die just to end the torture.

She blinked and snorted, letting air course through her lungs. Her eyes brightened and she poked her head up to look around.

What's wrong with my eyes? she thought, confused. Everything was slightly blurry, and sort of focused in on the middle, like a magnifying glass over her face. Ember shook her head and tried to stand, pushing herself to the side-

A wing flopped in front of her, obscuring her view. It was big and purple, and looked like a Night Fury's. Ember froze.

It was just then that she noticed the feeling of something on her back, and the sensation of something coming out of her tailbone. She paled.

No. It's impossible...

She thought, and the wing moved away. Ember wanted to cry.

She had wings. And a tail. When she looked up at her hands, extended above her head, they were dark violet claws. She wasn't Ember anymore.

She was a Night Fury.

Horror coursed through her mind, and she shot up, stable on her new paws. Pain flared on her back and she looked over to see her left wing hanging limp and twisted. It had broken in the fall.

Ember lifted her head back and roared, terror and confusion muddling her thoughts in a hurricane. What had happened!?

Another shoot of pain forced her to the ground, and she covered her head with her paws.

A thump to the side made her twitch, and she moved her paw to peer out at the disturbance. The sleek black form of Shimmer, with Neima still on her back, appeared in Ember's vision.

"Ember? Ember!" cried her sister, leaping off her dragon and looking around frantically. She looked straight at Ember and scrunched her face up, confused.

"Weird purple Night Fury, but no Emmie..." she mused. Ember realized that her own sister didn't even recognize her, and beat her tail on the ground frantically, reaching out for the older girl.

"Eem..." she groaned, failing at her attempt to say her sister's nickname. "Eem...!"

Shimmer looked at her curiously and snorted, and somehow, Ember understood her! The Night Fury's movements and sounds all added up to a form of moving communication that was the language of dragons. A shuffle of the wings, the twitching of the head, each miniscule alteration to the pose could mean something different.

"Are you all right?" asked Shimmer, walking over to Ember. "Who are you, anyway? Have you seen a viking girl around?"

"Shimmer!" Ember said, moving her limbs in a way she internally understood meant words. "It's me! Ember! I'm a Night Fury now!"

She cringed internally at the last words, because in dragon terms the word for Night Fury included rustling both of your wings slightly at the same time, which she couldn't do with a broken one. But Shimmer seemed to understand.

"Ember? Is it really you?!"

"Yes! Please, I'm hurt, tell Neem!"

"I'll try..." said the young Night Fury doubtfully, then turned to her rider. Ember watched, with a sinking feeling of despair, as Shimmer tried unsucessfully to tell Neima that the mysterious purple Night Fury was actually her sister.

"Stop it, Shimmer!" snapped the older girl at last, and the blue-eyed Night Fury shrank down. "My baby sister could be dead! I don't have time for this!"

Shimmer looked regretfully at the girl Night Fury, and Ember nearly cried. Finally, the pain, sorrow, horror and shock reached her brain, and something snapped inside her.

The next thing she knew, she was human again, and her arm was hurting like hell. She screamed, and Neima was at her side, hugging her so tightly she thought her ribs would snap.

"Oh, Emmie, I thought you were dead!" cried Neima as she pulled back. Ember was startled to see tears on her sister's cheeks.

"I-I turned into a Night Fury. A purple one," shivered Ember, burying her face in her sister's tunic. "It was..."

"You turned into a Night Fury?" whispered Neem, awe in her eyes.

"Yeah."

Neima cracked a dry smile. "I knew it. You're pretty incredible, Emmie."

"W-what?" said Ember in shock, pulling back. "You're the one who's next in line to the Chieftess! You're the one with the awesome Night Fury! I'm just your stupid little sister. You're always teasing me!"

"Yeah, but you're the one with the incredible Sparkbreather. You're the one who goes on adventures. You're the one who can turn into a Night Fury, for Thor's sake. You're the amazing Emmie. I could never be as good as you if I tried." Neima cocked her head. "And you always tease me too, so I guess that's mutual."

Ember smiled, feeling warmth rise in her heart. She grabbed her sister roughly and hugged her, hard, happy as could be.

"I love you, big sis." she muttered into her sister's shirt.

"I love you too, little sis. Now, Spineclaw's gonna come back soon with Mom and Dad, so let's get you home."

As Neima led her sister to her Night Fury, Ember didn't really mind her broken arm. As long as she had her sister, she would be safe.

THE END