How to Find Your Fire

(WoF) Chapter 34: Death

By Puffnut
Starscale's POV

Starscale talked quietly with Diamond about the Plan as the scavengers squeaked together below them. "Isn't this plan impressive?" asked Diamond. "It proves my theory that scavengers are a lot like us!"

"Yep." Starscale's eye drifted to the scavengers again where the leader was squaking up a storm. "Hey Diamond..."

"Already on it," replied Diamond with a huff. She listened to the leader and nodded her head.

"I think I saw her as we came in," her high voice irritated Starscale to no end.

The leader responded with a short exclamation, and the scavengers got on their corresponding dragons. All except the small yellowed haired girl. Diamond quickly explained, "The dragon she usually rides is the one we're going to go find." She paused before giving her a pleading look. "Can she ride on you instead?"

"Why can't you do it?" Starscale countered.

"Paisley is already jealous as it is..." Starscale sighed before laying on the ground so the girl could climb on her back. She tried to climb up multiple times, but slipped and fell. Starscale sighed and carefully nudged the girl up with her paw. After settling on her back, the girl hardly weighed anything to Starscale, and she worried that she wouldn't be able to tell if the girl fell off.

"Diamond? What if she...?" asked Starscale, turning to the hybrid, only to discover the other dragons were a good couple of wing beats ahead. She sighed and gently took off from the ground, feeling the scavenger tighten her grip on Starscale's smooth scales.

With the exception of the black dragon and the blue and yellow spikey one, the small dragons were moving very slowly. Starscale could practically feel the tension building in the scavenger on her back, and she realized the girl must have a very close bond with the dragon. As they flew, she tried to fathom the fact that the dragons of Phyrria knew so little about the little creatures walking along their floors, especially concerning their empathy and understanding.

"Starscale? Starscale. STARSCALE. STARSCALE!" Diamond shouted.

"What?" questioned Starscale, glaring at Diamond.

"Do you even know their names?"

"Whose names?" Starscale was still thinking about the extent of the scavengers' brains.

"The scavengers? And their dragons?"

"Oh.. right," replied Starscale, finally snapping to the present. "Uh.. no I guess I don't."

"Ok, I'll tell you then!" exclaimed Diamond. "I warn you now though," she added in a whisper. "Their names are weird." Starscale blinked in surprise. "The two on the two headed dragon are Ruffnut and Tuffnut and their dragon is Barf and Belch. The two legged dragon is Stormfly and her Rider is Astrid." Starscale tried to follow as well as she could. "The fire dragon is Hookfang, his Rider is Snotlout; the black dragon is Toothless with Hiccup, their leader, on his back; the lumpy brown one is Meatlug with a rider named Fishlegs." She paused a moment to let the small dragons catch up since, while she was ranting, she had flown steadily faster until they had reached what looked to be a crash site.

"And," she added, flicking her barbed tail dangerously close to Starscale's head as she motioned to the scavenger on her back. "That is Puffnut. Youngest Rider and cousin to those two." She motioned her head to Tuffnut and Ruffnut. "Her dragon is Cloudracer, one of the only two of the black dragons, called NightFurys, left on their island." Starscale blinked in admiration.

"Wow." They landed and Starscale felt the small scavenger slide off her back. Almost instantly, the strong smell of death hit Starscale's nostrils, and she reeled back in alarm. A number of possibilities flashed through her mind, and she feared she knew which one was true. Gesturing with her head for Diamond to keep the other scavengers away, she growled and swiped her tail in front of the small scavenger who was walking towards the trees. Puffnut looked up at Starscale. A sad look crossed her face, and Starscale recognized that she knew in her gut what was beyond the wall of trees.

She turned to Diamond and squeaked something to her. "She says to tell you to stay here," explained Diamond.

Starscale hesitated, before dipping her head in acknowledgement. "Tell her to call if she needs help." Diamond related the message to Puffnut who nodded silently. Starscale slowly dragged away her tail, watching carefully as the girl disappeared into the underbrush.

Only a few minutes later, Starscale heard a loud scream of frustration, louder than any noice she had heard a scavenger make. Her paws itched to follow Puffnut, to comfort her, to help her through the pain. Afterall, she had only recently lost her own parents. But, remembering her promise, she waited as her tail swished across the leaves in agitation.

After a few more minutes of waiting a painstakingly long time with ears perked for any sound of distress, Starscale sighed in relief as Puffnut came back out of the bushes. Her eyes were red from crying, and her shoulders were slightly hunched with sadness, but there was a determined light in her eyes as she looked up at Starscale. "I want to look for the Dragon Root immediately," Diamond translated her squeaks for Starscale. "The Red Death will pay for this."