Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 4: Absence of Light

~I'M SORRY! I totally forgot all about the double-release, and the release in general! Since I totally spaced that, there will only be one release today, then I'll release the second promised chapter tomorrow on my birthday. 

Anywho, this chapter is when the plot actually starts, and it definitely veers away from the original HTTYD plot. It won't be obvious what the big conflict is yet, but there will be parts that foreshadow what is to come. 

This chapter returns to Aurora and Auroon, beginning with Auroon thinking about his role as a father. The last chapter was a bit more than a week in the past, but this chapter returns us to the present timeline. If you're confused about the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one, remember that there is about a week-long gap between the two chapters. If what happens doesn't completely make sense, then no worries, that's the point!

Let's just say that a lot can happen back home in only a week. Enjoy!

-NFD

~~~

"Feeling better?" Aurora didn't answer. I bent my head to peek under the wing protecting her from the worst of the cold, seeing her fast asleep. That was enough of an answer for me.

The snowstorm caught us by surprise, much bigger than the last one a few nights ago. Unfortunately, when it hit us, we were flying over the open ocean. It was by pure luck that a tiny island was found before Aurora dropped out of the sky. Flying through a blizzard was definitely risky, especially since the water in the air could collect and freeze on our wings, preventing them from working properly. While frozen wings could be painful, I knew that the blizzard was nothing short of lethal for Aurora from experience. 

The island we were currently resting on was nothing special, merely a mound of dirt and sand without any flora or fauna to be found. I had to quickly dig a hole in the ground that we could both fit into, if just barely. I rested with my back toward the entrance, Aurora sandwiched between me and the end of the burrow to keep her safe from the biting cold.

By the time the hole was finished, and I forced a very confused Aurora into the hole first, she was very close to hypothermia. Thankfully, we didn't have Soulmagic, or she would be dead by now, and I probably would as well with all of the snow pelting my back. It took a long time to warm her up again, and she attempted to escape a few times to relieve the painful pins and needles sensation as her numb body heated up. Obviously, I refused to let her poke a single scale outside of her pocket of warmth, knowing her confusion had stemmed from the near-hypothermia. Needless to say, she survived.

I took a moment to inspect her thoroughly, reveling in the thought that I had her for a daughter, not unlike the countless other times I have. She was my flesh and blood, and she's survived this long because of me and her mother. It didn't feel any less strange to think about how I actually made little versions of myself, just as I dreamed about doing as a fledgling. The joy of hearing her or Vaskr calling me 'Dad' never faded, and I didn't want it to either. Thinking about all the good I had in life never got old.

Someone once told me to enjoy the little things in life, to savor them for as long as I could, because they were the most important things in the world. I've learned from my past; all of the problems I worried over only degraded my mental health, and I never stepped back and looked at the good things I had. Now, however, I would always remember to see the good as well as the bad. It might be cold and miserable right now, but my daughter was here with me, and she wasn't cold and miserable.

I've always wondered what a son or daughter of mine would grow into if I ever had one. Would it be a son? A daughter? Would I be the father they needed and deserved? Would they be happy? Would I raise them into strong, confident, adult dragons? Would I be too afraid to punish them and make the mistake of being their 'friend?'