Night Fury's Venom

Part 37: The Storm

"How much longer until he arrives?"

The old dragon turned to face me. "Eh? He should arrive soon, from what I could see, he was resting on a small island not too far from here." The little Tail-Biter looked at me quizzically. "I still think you should have chosen someone... well, more. The Dark one couldn't manage the distance in one flight, he's weak!"

I glared. "I chose him as my mate, and he has accepted me in return. You should remember me speaking of his transformation from a Scaleless, so it isn't like he's been a dragon his entire life!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Eh, does it matter, young one? For a Dark One, he is pitiful. How could you deem him a proper-"

I snarled and forced my exhausted body forward, slamming into the Tail-Biter and pinning him against the den wall. "Don't you dare speak of him that way! I've made my choice! All these season cycles, you have pestered me endlessly to find the one, and now I have! If you say one more thing against my choice, you old twat, I will rip what's left of your tail off with my own jaws!" I roared, "do you understand me?! I don't care if you are an elder, you speak of him that way again, and you will never see the light of day!"

He nodded rapidly. I could see my own exhausted, yet peeved, reflection in his fearful eyes. I've looked better.

"Good." I dropped him and jerked my head toward the den's entrance. "Get out of here, and tell those eavesdroppers to leave too!" Again, he nodded, bolting out of my sight quickly, hearing him order the sneaking dragons to leave. That was a short talk, but I was used to that nowadays.

Once they were gone, I sighed softly, finally giving up on hiding my fatigue. I slumped to the ground shakily, feeling like I could sleep for days. I've been using my magic for far too long lately, maintaining a projection was taxing on my already strained core. I just hoped he would understand.

Another thought flew into my mind, making me groan. I shouldn't have treated Short-Tail that way, he was well-known to be inconsiderate of any offenses his words might cause, and I treated him like a limp fish. He was an elder of our nest, and he should've been treated with respect, but I threw him around and yelled at him instead. Feeling guilty, I shuffled into the shadows of the den in an attempt to hide. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working very well, but it was good enough.

I let my eyes slowly slide shut to rest, my body relaxing considerably. The big day was coming, and I wanted to be ready.

(^-^)

Why do deer need to be so heavy? Even in death, the thing wanted to make it hard for me. It was dead, so why did it care anymore?! With one final yank, I burst out of the treeline and onto the beach. It was strange how the beach started immediately after the trees ended. Still, I wasn't complaining, the sand made it easier to drag my prey.

Apparently, Hiccup was awake now, mostly. He still looked pretty tired, but he was asleep for two sunrises, so I couldn't really blame him. He laid still in the sand, his wings spread wide to catch the most of the warm sun above. Astrid seemed to be burning perfectly good fish over a fire—that ruined good food, in my opinion.

Hiccup's head popped up and turned to look at me when I got within earshot, giving me a chuff and an ear flick as a greeting before laying his head back down. I returned the gesture, then blinked. Wait, since when did Hiccup greet others with body language and wordless sounds? He used to just say a full 'hello.' I chuckled to myself, he probably didn't even realize how many draconic habits he has already picked up.