Rocky lets out a loud yawn as the evening sun shines onto him. Niether lets out a yawn as well, as Raincutter lets out a rumble as he eyes droop. Off to the side Heather runs her tired eyes as Windshear lets out a yawn.
"We've been flying for almost a day, are we there?" Heather calls out.
"We past some islands I recognize, so we should be too far." Rocky calls out.
"Windshear is pretty tired." Heather rubs her dragons neck.
"My wings feel like they're gonna fall off." Windshear complains with a roar.
"I'm rather tired as well" Niether rumbles as he shales his head.
Raincutter lets out a chirp before she speaks. "I didn't expect your home to be so far."
Rocky rubs his eyes and blinks a few times, trying to stay awake. But then he spots a familiar chain of islands head. He smiles brightly and points ahead.
"Hey, we're here!"
Heather lets out a sigh of relief. The dragons fly over Mutton and Poultry isles. Heather notices Dozens of Dragons mingling about on the islands, several she's never seen before.
They then reach Wyre island as several Terrible Terrors roar out, before flying further in the island. The three dragons land on the beach, and Raincutter and Windshear fall on their stomachs. Niether shifts his wings as he sits on his hunches.
Heather and Rocky slide off their dragons, and land on the beach with a thud. Rocky then looks out to the forest in front of them.
"I wonder if they know I'm here yet."
"Who?" Heather questions as she walks over to him.
"Oh, just some friends."
Suddenly the thumping of footsteps approach and Heather grows on alert. Rocky holds a hand out to her.
"It's fine, nothing to be worried about." Rocky steps forward as he puts his hands on his hips.
Suddenly Snips runs out of the forest and skids to a stop. She looks around and spots Rocky and lets out a loud squawk. She runs towards him at full speak, which makes Rocky panic and he tries to run away, but she tackles him to the ground.
Heather grows worried as she watches the Deadly Nadder tackle Rocky to the ground. But she calms down as she sees the dragon rub her cheek again Rocky, as she holds him down with her talons.
"Yes, it's nice to see you two, Snips..." Rocky grunts in pain.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Raincutter asks Niether.
The purple dragon nods. "Yeah, he'll be fine."
A pink Nadder walks out of the forest as he roars. "Snips, get off him, you're crushing him."
"Oh, sorry Rocky!"
Snips hops off Rocky, and he lets out a sigh of relief. He gets up and runs a hand through his brown hair with a white stripe. Then he starts scratching Snips chin, which she starts to purr.
"Yes, I'm all right." Spine walks up as he squawks. "Hello to you too, Spine."
A loud roar echoes out, and Mulic grumbles as he walks out of the forest. He looks rather unhappy, which puts both Heather and Windshear on alert. Rocky notices the angry dragon and he puts his hands on his hips, as he turns to the Monstrous Nightmare.
"Oh, what's got you so angry, huh?"
Mulic grumbles as he stomps up to Rocky. "You two were almost late."
Niether steps up with a rumble. "We ran into some complications along the way."
Suddenly Leafwisp appears at their side. "Seems like you also brought some friends along." He looks to Raincutter, Heather and Windshear, which the last two are surprised at the sight of a Changewing.
Rocky chuckles as he scratches Mulic on the chin, who then seems to calm down. Before he's suddenly grabbed by Leafwisp and pulled into his land as the dragon sits.
"Introduce us!" Leafwisp calls out.
Niether lets out a rumble as he translates for Rocky. The human then motions to the three new comers. "Well, that is Raincutter, then we have Heather and Windshear."
"You tamed a Changewing?" Heather asks in shock.
Rocky shrugs as he manages to get out of Leafwisps grasp. "More like we all of a mutual understanding. We all help each other out, but I say we're pretty good friends."
"I would have some friends that would be shocked at this."
Rocky chuckles as he walks up to Heather. "Well, maybe one day I'll blow their minds... If I ever get off this rock." He then clears his throat. "But some introductions!" He motions to the dragons. "The Changewing is Leafwisp. The Monsterous Nightmare is Mulic. Then the pink Nadder is Spine, and then the black and orange is Snips. Those two are siblings."
Windshear lets out a roar. "Nice to meet you all."
"Woah, a Razorwhip!" Snips chirps as she wags. "I haven't seen one of you in a very long time."
Mulic lets out a rumble. "I thought they don't leave the island they're born on."
"That's actually not true, mainly only the Mother's don't leave the island." Leafwisp informs.
"And how do you know that?" Spine questions him.
"I have my ways." Leafwisp gives Spine a smug smile.
Suddenly they hear the chittering of a Gronckle and Grandma Drips flies down to them. Heather gasps in awe at the size of the Titan Wing Gronckle. She lands in front of the group and walks towards Rockt and Niether.
Rocky rubs his head as he lets out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, hello Grandma Drips."
"I see you two returned home safely, and even brought some extras along." Grandma Drips glances at the three new comers. "But you two went out without telling me, do you know how worried I was when I couldn't find you two."
"Ehe, sorry Grandma Drips." Niether shifts his feet as he looks down.
"Look, I'm glad you two saved some dragons, but you just can't run off without telling me." Grandma Drips looks between the two. "I account for the safety of everyone in the dragon isles, that includes you two. And if I can't find you two, I get worried."
"Sorry, we promise to tell you next time." Rocky bows to the dragon, after Niether quickly translates for him.
Heather watches in the background, confused. She leans to Windshear. "Does he somehow understand dragons.
"Good." Grandma Drips turns to Raincutter. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Drips, but everyone calls me Grandma Drips."
Raincutter chirps as he slightly bows. "I am Raincutter."
Grandma Drips smiles. "Nice to meet you." She then walks over to Heather and Windshear. "Oh, a human and a Razorwhip."
Heather glances over to Rocky. "One of my friends would be fainting at the sight of a Titan Wing Gronckle. He's obsessed with those dragons."
Heather reaches a hand out and pats Grandma Drips on the side. The old dragon lets out a rumble, before she takes off to the sky. They all watch her leave and Rocky lets out a yawn.
The human then turns to his companions. "We are pretty tired, we have a very long flight. So we're gonna head to bed." He then walks over to Raincutter. "Why don't you get acquainted with your new friends, huh?"
Raincutter chirps as she walks over to the rest of the dragon gang. Rocky turns to Heather and motions for her to follow. They climb onto their dragons and fly off.
A few moments later they land at the mountain top, and climb off their dragons. Rocky lets out a yawn as he stretches. Heather glances around, seeing all the crudely built wooden furniture.
Rocky pats Niether on the neck, before he glances at Heather. "I uh, never expected any company, so I uh, don't have any commendations for you."
"That's fine, we'll just camp out here." Heather motions to the rocky patio. But then she glances at Rocky. "Quick questions, you were talking to those dragons like you understood them.
Rocky stops and tenses up. "Uh...."
"Nice going idiot." Niether rumbles at him.
"Well, let's just say that me and Niether's bind is so good, that I uh... understand him?"
Heather stares at him with a raised brow. Niether lets out a rumbled chuckle.
"Okay fine, I can understand Niether, and only him." Rocky motions to his dragon. "So he translates what the other dragons say to me. I know it sounds crazy, because it is. But I'm not gonna try and force you to believe me, but it's true."
Heather stares at him for a moment, before looking back to the island, seeing all the dragons living in harmony. She spots Spine, Snips, Leafwisp and Mulic talking with Raincutter.
"I mean, it's not the most insane thing ever." Heather turns to Rocky. "But it is hard to take at face value, but I'll trust you for now."
Rocky smiles at her. "I'll take that for now." He lets out another yawn, as Niether yawns at the same time. "Well, we're heading to bed, if you need anything just ask."
"Alright."
Rocky glances out to the setting sun as it fully dips under the horizon. He then rubs his eyes as he walks into the cave, as Heather sits on the ground outside. Winshear lays down beside her.
Rocky walks over to his bed and crashes face first into the pillow. He lets out a long groan. Niether walks onto his stone slam and breathes down a bit of plasma onto it, before laying down.
"The past few days have been hectic..." Rocky mutters into his pillow.
"And who's fault is that." Niether lays his head down and glances over to the bed.
Rocky groans as he rolls over, and stares up to the ceiling. "But hey, we freed about a dozen dragons, got a new few new friends."
"Speaking of new friends." Niether smirks as he moves his head up. "You and Heather~"
"Ugh, stop we just meet."
"But you were rather happy to have her come here."
Rocky grabs his blanket and covers himself. "You know how great it is to talk to someone, who doesn't want to kill me? We've been here for a couple weeks and the only people I've talked to, have wanted to kill me. And I've only been able to talk to you."
"Oh, am I not interesting to talk to?"
"I'm literally talking to myself." Rocky points out as he yawns.
"Yeah, you are crazy." Niether lays his head down as he closes his eye.
"Shut up."
Rocky closes his eye. "Really sucks that the map is gone, all the details and time spent on it." He lets out a tired sigh as he puts an arm over his eye.
"Just hope that it burned on that ship, the amount of details it has on the dragon isles, and the surrounding islands. It would be very bad if Sigewulf got his hands on it."
Rocky slowly lowers his arm as his eye snap open. He blinks a few times. "Crap.... Please be burned..."
Hours pass and the morning sun starts shining over Wyre isle. Heather grunts away as the sun shines onto her. Her eyes flutter open as she sits up, putting a hand against Windshear, who lets out a yawn as she stretches.
Heather rubs her eyes as she looks around, she spots a campfire a few meters in front of her, cooking a few fish. Then beside it there's a tipped over basket with fish inside.
She grunts as she stands up, and cracks her back. She looks off to the cave and sees Rocky hunched over a large table, drawing on a large piece of parchment.
Niether sits on his hunches beside him, looking over the table. Heather walks over to the campfire with Windshear. She grabs one of the cooked fire and starts eating it, while Windshear starts eating away at the fish in the basket.
After a few minutes of calm eating, Heather walks inside the cave as she glances around. She sees the several barrels, creates and shelves filled with Hunter weapons.
She notices the crude cabinets filled with scrolls. Some have fruits and vegetables, and others have metal junk. She then walks up to Rocky, and looks over the parchment he's writing on.
She notices him drawing a map, it has a lot of the basic islands around the Archipelago on it. She sees that he's drawing the islands surrounding the dragon isles.
"A map?" Heather questions.
"Yeah, since I lost mine, I need a new one." Rocky adds small details to some of the islands, like types of dragons and herbs there. "Luckily I remember most of the details of my old one."
Heather hums as she looks over the map. "Interesting, I don't think anyone has this much detail of the Southern Archipelago. Well, there's not much for humans down here anyway."
Rocky goes to speak, but suddenly a red Terrible Terror flies into the cave, barking. It flies over to Rocky and lands on his head.
"Svin?" Rocky questions as he grabs the small dragon and holds him in his arms.
"Dragon Hunters!" Svin roars. "Dragon Hunters are near Bone Island!"
Rocky glances at Niether and he just roars. Rocky frowns as he sets Svin on the table as he runs off to the side.
"What's wrong?" Heather asks in confusion.
Rocky grabs his sword and attaches it to his hip. "Dragon Hunters." He runs over to Niether and jumps onto his back. "Will you join me?"
Heather nods in determination. "Of course. Windshear!"
The Razorwhip runs into the cave and Heather climbs on. The two then take off out of the cave, and zip into the sky. Rocky lets out a low pitched whistle, before it turns high. The whistle echoes around the island, and a moment later several loud roars are heard.
Down bellow Mulic, Spine, Snips, Leafwisp and Raincutter shoot up. They all fly up and soar beside them.
"Dragon Hunters?" Spine questions with a squawk.
Niether lets out a deep growl. "Yes, they never give us a moment of rest."
The rest of the dragons growl as they soar over the ocean.
"Is Sigewulf's Hunters always so relentless?" Heather calls out.
"Yeah, you saw his fleet right?" Rocky glances over to her. "It's massive, and while that was most of it, he has dozens upon dozens of ships out at a time. I've been taking out ships just about everyday for the past two weeks."
"Sounds tiring."
Rocky lets out a grunt as he runs his hands down his face. "You have no idea."
The seven dragons and two humans soar across the sky, and an hour later. They spot a single Hunter ship sailing across the ocean.
"A single ship?" Rocky questions. "They normally have several together."
"Should we be worried?" Heather calls out.
Rocky shakes his head. "No, but stay on alert." He looks over to Spine and Snips. "Spine, Snips, take out the archers. Mulic burn the sails. Leafwisp, you're on lookout. Raincutter, you're with us. Remember everyone, keep the ship intact till we know if they're dragons or not on the ship."
The dragons all dip down towards the ship, but Leafwisp, he goes invisible as he hovers in the hair.
Down below a Hunter notices then and points up in the sky. "Dragons!"
Several Archers aim their bows up in the air, but they get launched to the ground by several spines. Someone starts turning a catapult, but a blue-purple plasma bolt strikes it, blowing it up.
Mulic sets himself on fire as he flies past the sail, catching it on fire. Niather, Windshear and Raincutter land on the deck of the ship, making it rock. Spine and Snips hover in the air above them, while Mulic lands on the mast and clings to it as it groans under his weight.
All the Hunters brandish their weapons. All the dragons growl in anger as their eyes go slit.
"You know, I recommend putting the weapons down." Rocky smugly slides off his dragon.
"And why's that, boy?" A Hunter glares at him.
"You known wooden boat, big ocean, how is your swimming?"
A Hunter grows worried as he taps the point of his axe. "Not good."
Rocky smugly smiles. "So, best put your weapons down, lads."
The Hunters look at the dragons as they growl at him. They then toss their weapons on the deck, as Heather slides off Windshear. Rocky looks at Mulic.
"If they move, burn 'em."
Mulic smiles as he leans down to the Hunters, and they all huddle in fear. Rocky quickly motions for Heather to follow and they head below deck.
"Never seen someone command dragons so easily." Heather comments.
"I'm not commanding them, I'm advising them. They do their own things, and I just add my sense to it." Rocky looks around, keeping a hand on his sword.
They enter the holding area and start looking around, but all the cages seem empty. Rocky looks around in confusion.
"This can't be right, they're sailing towards the main fleet, but they're empty."
Heather stops in front of a cage. "Other then this one."
Rocky walks over and he grows confused. Inside the cage is a small Speed Stinger. its mouth is chained closed, and its tail is chained to the floor. it glares at the two and growls.
"A single dragon?" Rocky questions as he goes to open the cage, but Heather grabs his hand.
"That's not any dragon, that's a Speed Stinger."
"Speed Stinger?"
Heather motions to the chained dragon. "They're very fast dragons, that can paralyze someone with a single sting of their tail. Along they're not very dangerous, but they normal are pack animals. So it beds the question, why is there just one."
Rocky looks inside the cage. "Better question, why do they have one. From the sounds of it, they would be very hard to catch."
"They are." Heather crosses her arms. "A few friends of mine had a heck of a time with them. But I think this one is young, its rather small."
Rocky opens up the cage and walks to the dragon.
"Hey, are you crazy!" Heather calls out.
"I can't leave him with the Hunters, even if he is dangerous." Rocky goes low to the ground and holds his hand out, as the dragon growls at him. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here to get you out, okay."
Rocky holds his hand in front of the Speed Stinger, and he jerks his tail against the chains. Rocky brings his hand back, before showing the dragon his palm and reaching out.
"Hey, if you promise not to sting me, I'll let you out, okay?" Rocky slowly approaches as Heather watches in worry. "Just trust me, okay? I'll bring you someplace nice and safe, with lost of food and friends."
The Stinger stares at him as Rocky slowly approaches, he then gently takes the chains off the dragon. He then holds his hand out to the dragons face. It leans forward and snips his hand, before letting out a low rumble.
"Okay, I'm gonna set your tail free, okay? So uh, please don't sting me." Rocky walks over to its tail, and stops. "I'm putting a lot of faith in you, okay."
The Speed Stinger lets out a low rumble. Rocky sighs and looks over to Heather, who steps back a bit. Rocky takes a deep breath and undoes the chains around the Speed Stinger's tail.
It suddenly shoots forward and runs around the holding area, as Heather runs over to the door, ready to run for it. Rocky walks out of the cage and the Speed Stinger stops in front of him and lets out a roar.
Rocky kneels down and holds his hand out to the dragon. The Speed Stinger sniffs his hand, before leaning against it. Rocky lets out a soft chuckle as Heather stares in shock.
"I have never seen such an aggressive dragon be so calm before." Heather mutters in shock.
Rocky gently rubs the Speed Stinger's face with a chuckle. "Alright, boy, shall we get you off this boat?"
The Speed Stinger roars as it runs over to the door. Rocky walks up and glances at Heather.
"Let's find out why they needed a Speed Stinger." He opens the door and the Speed Stinger run out, and onto the deck.
All the dragons roar in panic and fly up. They hover above the ship and stare down at the Speed Stinger. It sniffs around and before locking on the Hunters, it growls at them.
The Hunters all panic and it roars at them. Rocky chuckles as he pats the Speed Stinger on the head and walks past it. Heather stands back at the entrance, as she watches Rocky walk up to the Hunters.
"I'm gonna ask one question, and I shall get an answer for it." Rocky starts as he stops in front of them. "Why did you all need a Speed Stinger." None of the Hunters speak, and Rocky sighs. "I could just have the Monstrous Nightmare eat you all. Or maybe have the Stormcutter burn the ship while I lock you down in the cages. Hmm?"
"Okay!" One of the Hunters yells. "Sigewulf wanted the Speed Stinger to extract its venom. So he could make a new weapon!"
"What kind of weapon?" Rocky crosses his arms.
Another Hunter speaks up. "Is some sort of repurposed bola launcher. But it launches specializes glass balls that break on impact. The Speed Stinger's venom is so potent that even getting a little on the skin can paralyze a dragon."
Rocky hums in thought and looks back at the Speed Stinger, and it chirps at it. He then motions to the Hunters and the Speed Stinger roars as it speeds forward, making the Hunters scream in panic.
The dragon stings each of the Hunters causing them to freeze up. But Rocky notices only about half their body seems to freeze up. The Speed Stinger runs up to Rocky and chirps.
He chuckles and pats his head. "I think I'm gonna called you Stinger."
Stinger roars up at him and purrs. Rocky then looks up at the dragons.
"Oi, can we get out of here?"
"Are we brining the Speed Stinger with us?" Mulic calls out.
Niether lands besides Rocky and translates for him. Windshear lands beside Heather.
"Of course, Mulic." Rocky climbs onto Niether, and Stinger jumps onto the dragons back as well.
"This is a bad idea." Spine calls out.
"You're pretty crazy, Rocky." Heather comments as she climbs onto Windshear.
"Never said I wasn't." Rocky pats Niether on the neck, and all the dragons take off, back towards home.
The Hunter's all paralyzed at the stomach down, watch them leave. Then one of them speaks up.
"We're getting fired, aren't we?"
"Yup..."
6-28-2026
3700 words