Warrior Cats, Httyd AU

Into the Wild - Ch. 2

"Well" hissed Bluestar, her lip curled back showing the rows of sharp teeth. Rusty could feel her icy breath against the black scales on his nose as she loomed over him. Lionheart remained silent as he towered over him too. Even the giant dragon looked small next to the titan-wing leader next to him.

He flattened his ears and cowered under the golden dragons cold stare. His spines prickled uncomfortably. "I am no Threat to your Clan," he replied strongly, looking down at his small black paws as they shook slightly.

"You threaten our Clan when leave your precious village. Viking will come looking for you, invading our territory, hunting our dragons, stealing our fish and our prey. The more of your kind, the more Vikings will come and take our land!" She spat ice forming in the air and in the back of her throat ready to blast. "You have plenty of space on your part of the island and the other islands your kind came from! You came here to explore but you were reckless! Did you notice how many traps you nearly sprang, and following that dragon hunter! If he finds you, he will return with hundreds of men, just for your pelt!"

The truth of the Titan-wing's words pierced Rusty like his own teeth through a fish, and suddenly he understood her anger. He stopped trembling, sat up, and straightened his caedyts. He raised his fiery eyes to meet hers. "I had not thought of it that way before. I am sorry," He purred solemnly. "I will not fly here again."

Bluestar swallowed her blast and signaled to Lionheart to step back. "You are an unusual dragon, Rusty."

Graypaw's sigh of relief made Rusty's ears twitch. He heard the approval in Bluestar's voice and noticed as she swapped a meaningful glance with Lionheart. The look made him curious. What flashed between the two warriors? Quietly he asked, "Is survival here really so hard?"

"Our territory covers only part of the archipelago," answered Bluestar. "We compete with other clans for what we have. And this year, late new leaf means prey is scarce. Fish are deeper in the waters, ice still covers part of the bay."

"Is your Clan very big?" Rusty barked, his eyes wide.

"Big enough," Replied Bluestar. "Our territory can support us, but there is no prey left over."

"Are you all warriors, then?" Rusty warbled. Bluestar's guarded answers were just making him more and more curious.

Lionheart answers him. "Some are warriors. Some are too young or too old or too busy caring for hatchlings to hunt."

"And you all live and share prey together?" Rusty Murmured in awe, thinking a little guiltily of his own easy, selfish life.

Bluestar looked again at Lionheart. The golden rumblehorn stared back at her steadily. Almost as if they were communicating in a way beyond which Rusty could understand. His smaller lower ears twitched slightly straining to understand. At last she returned her gaze to Rusty and spoke slowly, "Perhaps you should find out these things for yourself. Would you like to join Thunderclan?"

Rusty was so surprised, he couldn't speak.

Bluestar went on; "If you did, you would train with Graypaw until you were a broad-wing to become a clan warrior."

"But Viking Pets can't be warriors!" Graypaw blurted out, flapping his wings in protest. "They don't have warrior blood!"

A sad look clouded Bluestar's eyes. "Warrior blood," she echoed with a sigh. "Too much of that has been spilled lately."

Bluestar fell silent and Lionheart chuffed, "Bluestar is only offering you training, young short-wing. There is no guarantee you would become a full warrior. It might prove too difficult for you. After all, you are used to a comfortable life."

Rusty was stung by Lionheart's words. He swing his head around to look at the golden dragon, "Why offer me the chance, then?"

But it was Bluestar who answered. "You are right to question our motives, young one. The fact is, Thunderclan needs more warriors."

"Understand that Bluestar does not make this offer lightly," Warned Lionheart, "If you wish to train with us, we will have to take you into our Clan. You must either wive with us and respect our ways, or return to your Viking Village and never come back. You cannot live with a wing in each world."

A cool breeze stirred the loose snow dusting the ground, ruffling Rusty's spines and under his rudder wings. He shivered, not with the cold, but with excitement at the incredible possibilities opening up in front of him.

"Are you wondering if it's worth giving up your comfortable Viking pet life?" Asked Bluestar gently. "But do you realize the price you will pay for your warmth and food?"

Rusty looked at her, puzzled. Surely his encounter with these cats had proved to him just how easy and luxurious his life was.

"You already wear a harness, how long until the muzzle you, how long until they turn you from their toy to their weapon?" She sneered, "I can still smell their scent on you, it clings to your scales. You still have your own free will."

"What do you mean?" Rusty echoed a sinking feeling in his chest.

"There are viking out there that use dragons to fight their own wars, to fight us, to trap our kind, and kill our kind."

Rusty was confused. He suddenly thought of the strange viking ship he had seen earlier, and the break in from the hatchery last moon,

"The clan may not be able to offer you such easy food or warmth," continued Bluestar, "In the season of Leaf bare, nights in are cruel. The clan will demand great loyalty and hard work. You will be expected to protect the Clan with you life if necessary. And there are many mouths to feed. But the rewards are great. You will remain free, you will be trained in the ways of the wild. You will learn what it is to be a real dragon. The strength and the fellowship of the Clan will always be with you, even when you fly alone."

"Rusty's head reeled. Bluestar seemed to be offering him the life he had lived so many times, and so tantalizingly, in his dreams, but could he live like that for real?

Lionheart interrupted his thoughts, "Come, Bluestar, let's not waste any more time here. We must be ready to join the other patrol at moon high. Tigerclaw will wonder what has become of us." He unfurled his wings and flicked his tail expectantly.

"Wait!' Rusty cried, his heart pounding, "There's, there's a vikings ship. I was following a strange viking before Graypaw attacked me. I didn't recognize them, and there was an attack on our hatchery last moon."

Bluestar's eyes narrowed as she perked up quickly, "It wasn't a ship of your village?" She questioned exchanging glances with Lionheart, "Go home, rest. Make your choice. Meet here tomorrow at sun high. Lionheart will meet you here if you choose to join us." With a single nod and a large wing flap the three disappeared into the night sky.

Rusty blinked. He stared - excited, uncertain - up past the trees that encircled him. Through the canopy of leaves and bushes, to the stars that glittered in the clear sky. The scent of the Clan dragons hung heavy in the evening air. And as Rusty turned and headed for home, he felt a strange sensation inside him, tugging him back into the edge of the forest, out towards the sea. His spines prickled deliciously in the light wind, and the rustling branches seemed to whisper his name into the shadows.