Zephyr and Dart: The Quest Of The Broken Tail

1

Black scales contrasted against white, blue eyes gleamed in the darkness. She curled against the wind and gazed up at the full moon and furled her wings around her feline body. 'Dart!' She looked down and narrowed her eyes, seeing a black figure on the rocks, he stared up at her, she rolled her eyes. Angling herself towards the ocean and falling into a dive. She inhaled deeply, an acidic taste in the back of her throat as she felt her breath warm up and fire build in her stomach. Her black scales began to glow a dazzling blue colour that was even brighter than her eyes. As she was about to hit the water, she fired. The plasma blast circled her and turned her invisible as she buried herself under thousands of litres of water and moved powerfully over to where her father perched, she leapt out of the water, flaring her wings behind her before powerfully thrusting her wings.

Her father stared at her patiently and she sighed, landing in front of him. 'Dart, you know how I feel about you flying in the open air. It's not safe.' He chastised.

'But papa, I'm practically a broad wing now. I'm fine.' She reasoned, stretching her large wings behind her. He titled his head and unfurled his own wings, they were larger than hers and darker, the blue plasma that he kept permanently rested in his skin casted patterns and intricate markings over his scales. She flattened her ear appendages and curled her lips in a disgruntled snarl. 'You're not nearly as harsh on Pouncer and Ruffrunner as you are on me.' She sighed, curling her tail around her feet and looking down.

'You're the youngest, and the only girl.' He told her, like it was obvious.

'But I'm just as strong as Pouncer and Ruffrunner.' She snorted and flitted her wings, 'I could be out scouting with them. Why don't you trust me papa?' She asked. He sighed, cuddling up beside her.

'Of course I trust you, Dart. I just don't trust the world, there are rouge dragons, and monstrous creatures and humans that could hurt you. You're not as fast as Ruffrunner or as strong as Pouncer. One wrong move and you could be in serious danger. Especially around humans.'

'Papa you always told me that humans saved you and helped you find our home.' She pointed out.

'That's different, Hiccup was my friend, he saved my life, helped me fly again. I owe him the world.' Her father swished his tail in front of him and placed his front paws on the make shift tail wing. 'The people of Berk and some of their allies are the only ones we can trust, every other person wants our kind dead.' Just then, she heard the familiar screech of a fury, her ear appendages perked up again.

'That's Pouncer!' Dart yelled, her wings spread and she flew up, looking for her brothers. She watched shapes appear out of seemingly thin air. Her father joined her, his powerful wings flapped, his intelligent eyes glinting. The four dragons met each other.

'Boys what is it?' Their father asked.

'Hunters, coming from the south, they're almost here.' Ruffrunner told them calmly, his black scales absorbed the sunlight and his green eyes shone determinedly.

'Good work boys.' Their father told her brothers, 'fetch Skye, Flame, Slate, Spark & Smaug. And take Dart home.' He continued. Lifting above them and flying in the direction Ruffrunner and Pouncer, 'come back once you get the others.' Dart sighed, she knew it was futile to argue with her father, Pouncer and Ruffrunner flanked her, the three siblings watched their father disappear. Before they hovered over the caldera and dived deep beneath the surface of the earth. The bioluminescent fungus and plants that occupied the underground sanctuary reflected off their scales as they dived.

'Ruffrunner? How many ships?' Dart asked, nudging her brother with her wing.

'A few.' Ruffrunner told her, they swirled around the huge stalactites and weaved through nests of beautiful dragon eggs that glowed as their proximity to the three dragons awakened the small reptiles within.

'How many hunters?' She pressed, as they got lower in the caldera, Dart skimmed her paw over the settled water.

'Dart, I know what your trying to do, it's not going to work.' Pouncer tapped her on the head. She growled and knocked him back, Ruffrunner glided beneath her and buffeted her upwards.

'I got you lil' sis. I'll bring you back something to destroy.' He promised.

'You're the best Ruff.' Dart laughed and brushed him with her wing. They got to their family's plateau and landed. Their mother, who had been napping in the smooth light that somehow trickled down from the sun into the gaping maw of the caldera, stirred. She blinked her eyes open and stretched, scanning them.

'Where's King?' She asked, rising onto her feet.

'Dad's fighting off some hunters that got too close.' Dart explained. 'I'll be in my nest.' She muttered and disappeared into a thicket, the leaves closed around her and she curled up in her flattened bed. She heard her mother talking to her brothers and covered her eyes with her tail, waiting till the voices died down. She shifted her tail and peaked her head out of the thicket, her mother was nowhere to be found. She took a deep breath, inhaling deeply and feeling the heat build in her core, her black scales began to glow and her white began to disappear. She lifted her head and the familiar piercing whistle sound cut through the air. She shut her eyes as the plasma reached a crescendo, effectively turning her invisible, she braced herself against the earth and leapt up, she had a while before the effects ran out. Her powerful wings lifted her higher and higher, weaving between the other dragons and making sure she didn't touch anyone.

She broke through the mist of the hidden world just as her camouflage ran out. She honed her senses and flew north, hearing and smelling her family. The taste of fire danced on her tongue as she tensed and prepared another plasma blast. She saw a ship come into view with her brothers, her fathers old friends and father firing at them, fiery ruins of two other ships were sinking below the waves, hunters, brutally burnt and festering floated lifeless on the waves. She shot her plasma blast, it hit the ship. It caught her fathers attention, his eyes narrowed into slits. 'Dart get home!' He barked at her, looking around because she was still invisible. Dart stayed hidden, shooting her fire at the ship, but her father was distracted while she enjoyed the feel of fighting and her scales cooling as she became visible. Just then an arrow from a mounted crossbow whistled through the air, aimed at her.

'Dart look out!' Her father, with his powerful titan wings managed to get to her before the arrow did, she was unscathed, but the arrow got her fathers tail.

'Papa!' Dart cried out as the two began to lose altitude, with her fathers legs encasing her wings and his tail ripping and breaking they couldn't stay in the air, Dart watched as the third ship sunk and the humans on it floated lifelessly in the current with their blood staining the water that the father and daughter had sunken into. Dart looked up as they sunk deeper, meeting her fathers enraged glare. Another dragon dived into the water, scooping him up, Dart kicked her way to the surface and heard the final word her father spoke, disappointed. She treaded the water underneath her and looked down as a shadow blocked her light. It was one of her fathers old friends, her spiked tail lashed and she shook her head at dart with her wings flapping behind her. 'Sky.. I'm-'

'Let's get you home Dart.' Sky told her softly but angrily. Dart pulled herself into the air from the water and shook the droplets off her sleek scales, following Sky.