Run Away

Night Fury

"Alright, let's go home." We walked through the sanctuary, and I was amazed at all of the dragons just laying or flying around peacefully. Oh, how wrong we all were about them. Mom took me into a cave, lit by the light coming through the ice. Inside was a little house. There was a bed in a hole in the wall, a fire pit, a makeshift kitchen, and benches. Crudely made baskets laid around the walls. Mom took me over to another, smaller bed near her own. It was crude as well, rock covered in big pieces of leather with a leather pillow. I looked up at mom. "Why is this here?" She smiled. "I had a feeling you'd say yes when I asked you to come with me." I smiled back up at her. "Thank you" I gave her one last hug. She hugged me back. I still couldn't believe it. I had my mother back. And now I was living with her in a dragon nest. I laid down on my new bed in my new home, and, exhausted from the day's events, fell asleep. The next morning I woke up not knowing where I was. I sat bolt upright, and the previous evenings events came flooding back to me. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. There was a fire in the pit, and mom was roasting a fish on a skewer over the flames. She smiled over at me. "Good morning son. Sleep well?" I nodded. "Like a rock." She laughed. I got up and wriggled into my tunic over my head before skewering another fish. I joined mom at the fire and propped the fish up before sitting on the log next to her. She kissed my cheek. "We've got a big day ahead of us." I raised my eyebrows. "Oh? What are we doing?" She pointed out the cave entrance. "Well, to start with, we need to get you your own mount." My heart dipped. "You mean... My own dragon?" She laughed and nodded. "Yes son, your own dragon!" I was too excited to speak. My own dragon! I had seen how mom and Cloudjumper interacted, could I have the same relationship? I smelled something burning. Looking around, I quickly found the source of the smell. I nervously tapped mom's arm. "Uhh, mom? Your foods on fire." She yelped in surprise and yanked the fish from the fire before dunking it in a water bucket. By the time she was sitting next to me again I was doubling over in laughter. She ruffled my hair. "Oh, one of these days." She stood up. "Let me know when you're ready." I nodded. "I will." She got up, and I sat there waiting for my fish to cook. When it was done and I had eaten I got up and turned to mom. "Ready." She turned to face me and smiled. "Alright then, let's go." She lifted the curtain obscuring the rest of the sanctuary from the house, and I ducked under her arm. We climbed up on Cloudjumper, and flew off. We landed on the other side of the sanctuary and hopped off. Mom took my shoulder and led me over to a group of dragons. "These are my most agreeable ones. Pick whichever you like, and I'll guide you through the rest. I looked back at her for reassurance before walking into the dragon group. A Nadder inspected me, sniffing my face and knocking up against me before apparently deciding i wasn't worth it and laying back down. This happened a few more times with other dragons, including a group of terrible terrors and a dragon mom told me was called a 'raincutter'. I had just about given up when I noticed movement in a cave near the back of the group. Curious, I headed back. I looked into the cave. A black dragon, small compared to some of the other dragons, with large ears and big green eyes was huddled in the back of the cave. I gasped. A Night Fury! I slowly made my way to the dragon. "Hey big fella, what's wrong?" The dragon looked back at me. I was amazed. Me and the other Viking teens grew up being taught that Night Furies were merciless, vicious beasts. This dragon didn't look vicious at all. He just looked really scared. I slowly held my hand out as I got closer. The dragon's pupils slowly turned from slits to circles, and he turned around. He approached me carefully and sniffed my hand. I gently placed it on his snout, and he purred. Astonished, I put my other hand on his head. "Hey, bud."