Rocky lays on Niether's back as the dragon soars through the air. The human is drawing in his journal. He draws small detailed lines on a drawing of Niether. The late afternoon sun shines down onto them.
Rocky hums a small tune as he draws. But then a moment later, he slams the book shut as he sighs. Neither lets out a rumble as he looks back.
"What are you sighing about?"
"I'm boooored." Rocky whinbes.
Niether rolls his eyes. "How can you be bored?"
Rocky puts his pencil and journal back in his satchel. "We've done nothing all day."
"Well the others were busy, so why not patrol for a few hours?" Niether rumbles as he looks down to the ocean.
"But there's nothing ever out in this section." Rocky sits up as his blows rassberries.
"So you're saying you want to fight Hunters?" Niether looks back at him with a questioning look.
"Not exactly... I just wish we choose a route with at least something. We've been flying around for hours, with nothing. Nothing but quiet open air."
"If you go looking for trouble, you'll find it."
"Well, I'm not the one flying."
Niether whips him with an ear numb. "You technically are."
"Whatever." Rocky then lets out a yawn. "Let's head back, it'll be dark in a few hours."
Niether lets out a rumble and backs to the side and turns back around, and fly back home. But as they fly, a suddenly roar sounds off in the distance. Niether's eye go slit as he lets out a chortle.
"Niether?" Rocky raises an eyebrow. "You good?"
Niether looks off to the side and quickly banks in the direction. Rocky lets out a yelp at the sudden direction change, as he nearly falls off.
"Niether?"
Niether lets out a rumble as he dives below the clouds, his teal eye looking around. "I heard something"
Niether's slit eye continues to scan around as Rocky leans forward. They soar across the ocean, as another roar rings out and Niether turns slightly. Rocky grows confused for a second.
"That sounded like..."
Suddenly a lone ship comes into view, as another roar comes from it. Niether lets out a loud roar in return. They quickly land on the large long ship, and Niether sniffs around.
Rocky glances around, keeping a hand on his sword. His eye scans the deck of ship, not finding anything. Not even the typical weapons like catapults and ballistas are not there.
Niether then lets out a grumble as he circle around a hatch leading under the ship. He lets out a chirp and stomps his paw at it. Rocky walks over and kneels down.
"Let's see what's down here." Rocky starts opening the hatch. "But keep your eye out, this feels like a trap."
Rocky throws the hatch open and Niether quickly squeezes himself into the ship. Niether lets out some chirps as he starts moving in, as Rocky lands behind him. Some similar chirp come from further in the ship, and Niether quickly scoots off.
"Hey!" Rocky calls out as he follows his dragon.
The two move to the back of the ship and come to a large cage. Niether lets out a low rumble of suprise.
"What is it bud?" Rocky asks as he steps out from behind his dragon and gasps in shock.
Inside a massive green cage is a massive purple dragon. Another Briskwind Boltren, but female. She looks nearly exactly like Niether, but her wings are all purple instead of the top being black. And the black spots around her sapphire blue eyes are more prominent.
The Briskwind is also slightly small then Niether himself. The two stare in shock as the female dragon lets out a low rumble as she stares at the two. Then she lets out a loud roar.
"Let me out fool!" The female dragon roars.
Rocky blinks a few times, and turns to his dragon, finding him stunned and in awe. Rocky then pats Niether on the side, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Niether, power shot!"
Niether opens his mouth as a blue-purple glow appears, before a plasma blast flies out of his mouth. But when the blast hits the cage, nothing happens.
"What?!" Rocky approaches the cage, but the female growls loudly at him, baring her teeth. "Hey, it's okay."
Rocky looks over the cage, finding the spot where the plasma blast hit not even warm. He looks over the cage in confusion, but suddenly a low rumbling fills the air and the ship shakes.
"Hurry up you idiots!" The Female yells at Niether. "Or we'll all be not long for this world!"
Niether walks over to the cage and bites down on a bar. He tries to tear it open, but it doesn't budge. Niether lets out a confused rumble, but gets pushed to the side by Rocky.
Rocky sticks his sword into the latch, and tugs back. He lets out a few grunts as he pulls, Niether paces back and fourth behind him. Then after a second, the latch breaks off and the cage door swings open.
Rocky smiles as he looks towards the female, but she bolts out of the cage. She slams Rocky to the ground as she bolts past him and Niether. Rocky lets out a grunt as his back slams into the ground.
"Ow..." Rocky mutters, and starts to get up, but Niether bites the back of his armor and throws him onto his back. "WAH!"
Niether then bolts out of the bottom of the ship, and the two see the other Briskwind take off into the sky. Niether opens his massive wings and shoots off towards her.
They quickly catch up, but she stops and hovers in the air as she looks back down at the ship. Niether turns around as he and Rocky look down at the ship.
Suddenly a large shadow appears under the ship, and suddenly a massive column of water shoots up into the sky. A massive shadow appears within the column of water, and they see the ship get bit in half.
Rocky narrows his eyes and sees deep purple scales of a serpent-like body. But then the dragon falls back down into the water, as the water rains down onto them.
After a moment everything clears up, and all the remains of the ship is a few boards floating on the water. Niether and Rocky stare in shock. The female dragon lets out a rumble, before quickly flying off.
"Well, that was both interesting and terrifying." Rocky mutters as he blinks.
Suddenly Niether jerks to the side and flies after the female dragon.
"Woah, Niether?"
"Dude, it's a female." Niehter points out as they start quickly catching up. "And she's so pretty." Niether lets out a dreamy sigh.
Rocky raises an eyebrow as he looks over to the female dragon a little ways in front of them, then back down at his dragon. "If you say so."
Niether quickly catches up and flies right beside the female dragon. The three fly in silence for a few moments, before she glances at him. Niether gives a gummy smile after retracting his teeth.
But she bears her teeth as him with a growl, and flies off. Niether lets out another dreamy sigh, and Rocky looks down at his dragon in confusion. Niether continues to fly off after her.
She looks back and spots them following and narrows her eyes. She takes off into the clouds, and Niether follows after her. They go above the clouds, and find her calmly flying.
Niether smiles as he flies up right beside her. She grows an annoy look, before tucking her wings in and diving down below the clouds.
"Uh, I don't think she likes you." Rocky points out.
But Niether doesn't seem to listen and dive down after her. Rocky tries to pull up on the saddle, but Niether just shakes his head and continues after the female dragon.
They see her land on a large island below, and Niether quickly lands behind her. She then jerks around and loudly roars at Niether.
"STOP FOLLOWING ME, FOOL!" The female dragon quickly runs off, and disappears on the other side of a hill.
Rocky slides off his dragon. "What'd she say?"
"Uh... let's follow her!" Niether quickly hops after her.
Rocky sighs as he shakes his head. "Who's the rash one now."
Rocky quickly follows after Niether, and the two stop on top of the hill. They spot the female dragon at a pond drinking from it with her eyed closed. Niether smiles as he flaps his wings and glides down towards her. Rocky throws up his arms as he starts walking down the hill.
The female Briskwind calmly drinks some water, but stops as she hears a light thud behind her. She then opens her eyes with an annoyed look and rumbles. She looks back to see Niether sitting on his hunches with a smile.
She growls as he turns to him. "I said stop following me!"
"Sorry, but your like, the only other Briskwind Boltren I've seen!" Niether points out as he slinks towards her. "I'm just... really excited!"
The dragon growls and looks him over, noting his large size. "How old are you?"
Niether thinks for a moment. "We're assuming about 16, we don't exactly know."
"That's impossible." She walks around Niether, and he watches her.
"How?" Niether tilts her head.
She sniffs him a few times, before stopping back in front of him. "The males of our species are supposed to be smaller then me. But you're bigger? You can't be this big, while that young..."
"Maybe I'm... a Titan Wing?"
The dragon shakes her head with a rumble. "Impossible, only the old get to become those."
"Not entirely true, I heard that its possible for a baby to hatch as a Titan Wing, but it's like, super rare."
The female hums as looks him over, but then hears footsteps approach. She looks to the side and sees Rocky approaching. She then lowers herself to the ground and growls at him.
"Woah..." Rocky holds his hands out as he slows down. "I'm not a threat."
She opens her mouth as a blue glow appears, and she suddenly fires a plasma blast at him. But Niether jumps in front of the blast, with his wings held out.
He lowers his wing as Rocky blinks in surprise. he then scoots over to Niether and hides behind him. The female dragon growls at Niether.
"Why are you protecting him, his kind are the reason of our species extinction. They do nothing, but take and take."
Niether growls back, which surprises her slightly. "Rocky is my best friend. He would never intentionally harm a dragon, we save them."
The female growls at him, before turning around. "I don't have time for this, there are babies I must save!"
She turns around a runs off, before taking off to the sky. Rocky pokes his head out, watching her fly off.
"Babies?" Niether questions.
"Huh, what about babies?" Rocky questions as he puts a hand on Niether's neck.
Niether lowers himself, allowing Rocky to climb on. "We should continue after her."
Rocky climbs onto his back. "Really, after she tried killed me?"
"If they're baby dragons involved, maybe it'll be worth risking your life." Niether takes off into the sky after the female.
"I don't think this is a good idea." Rocky mutters.
Niether doesn't respond as he speeds after the female, and quickly catches up beside her. She notices and growls at him.
"What are you doing, fool?"
"Look, we want to help." Niether speaks up.
"I do not need the help of a dragon that lets a human ride him."
"Would you really refuse the help in rescuing baby dragons?" Niether tilts his head at her.
She stares at him for a few moments, before sighing. "Fine, but if you or your human get hurt, you are on your own."
"That's fine with us."
The two then fly in silence for a few moments, and Rocky takes out his journal. He then starts sketching the female dragon.
"Salivna..." The female dragons says.
"Salvina?" Niether questions.
"My name is Salvina." She looks at Niether.
"My name is Niether." He gives her a gummy smile.
"A fool is still a fool."
Niether lets out a rumble as Rocky glances off to the horizon, seeing the sun halfway down it. He then leans down to Niether.
"Whatever were doing, we should hurry. Night is only a few hours away."
Niether glances over to Salvina. "How far is it?"
"Shouldn't be too far, the humans took off not too long before you two arrived." Salvina growls in anger. "I can't believed they used me as bait!"
"Could be worse."
"Shut it, male!" Salvina growls loudly at him.
Niether lets out a dreamy sigh as he stares at her. Rocky stares down at his dragon with a questioning look. But the human stays quiet as they fly in silence.
Almost an hour later they come across several Hunter Ships sailing away.
"There!" Rocky calls out as he points down to them. "If I know theses Hunters, the babies will be in the big ship in the middle. The smaller ships on the side will house Archers, and ballistas or catapults."
"He's smart at least." Salvina mutters.
Niether glances at Rocky. "So, what's the plan?"
Rocky hums for a moment. "Hit the small ships first, taking out the archers, then take the mast out on the big ship. We must cripple is so it'll be easier to board."
Niether lets out a nod as he zips forward, and starts a dive bomb. Salvina grumbles and follows after then, divebombing. Loud low pitched rumbling fills the air from both the dragons.
All the Hunter around the ships start preparing their weapons. But several Power Shots fly down, taking out the Hunters on the smaller ships. As they swing past the ships, they quickly turn and fire off another pair of Power Shots.
The small ships start to sink, and the mast of the big ship falls over. They dragons dive up into the air and look at the ships. Rocky then pats Niether on the next.
"We should be good, let's go."
Niether rumbles as he dives down to the big ship, and quickly lands on it. The boat shakes from his landing and suddenly several light roars are heard from underneath. Salvina lands beside them, and the boat shakes again.
Rocky quickly runs over to the hatch and throws it open. The two dragons slip inside, with Rocky quickly following behind. They slip into the holding area, with Niether slamming a few Hunters into a wall, knocking them out.
Rocky enters in behind them and finds cages filled with child dragons. He frowns as he pulls out his sword.
"Let's hurry, we don't want to stay here long."
The two Briskwinds nod, and everyone quickly starts opening the cages. The little dragons all quickly file out of the bottom of the ship. Then once the last cage is open, with the last of the child dragons flying out.
Rocky smiles as Salvina quickly exits the ship. Niether lets out a rumble as he motions for Rocky to climb on. The human nods as he mounts onto the dragon and they quickly leave the ship. Then Niether quickly takes to the air after Salvina.
The female dragon lets out a warbled laugh. "That was pretty fun."
Niether rumbles. "I did enjoy that too."
Suddenly a loud thump rings out, making the three confused. Rocky then looks down, seeing a new large fleet, and yells in panic as he tries to turn Niether. But a pair of bolas suddenly slam into them, wrapping around Niether.
The two yell in panic as they crash down onto a large Hunter ship. Salvina lets out a shock roar. Rocky rolls right as he hits the ship and pulls out his sword. Behind him Niether struggles against his bindings.
Rocky brings his sword up, but sweats in panic as nearly a dozen archers point their bows at him. He slowly lowers his sword, and looks back into the sky, watching Salvina fly away.
"The female Briskwind Boltrens have no care for the males of their species." Sigewulf walks out from behind the archers, making Rocky growl at him. "But their maternal instincts are better then most dragon species. They're often the protectors of large nests, guarding the babies of any species."
"Sigewulf." Rocky growls at him.
"Ah, no need to be so hostile Rocky." Sigewulf stops a few feet i front of them. "While the plan didn't go fully to plan, I at least was able to capture you two."
Rocky grits his teeth in anger as he grips his sword tightly. He looks at all the archers in front of him, then to Niether behind him. Niether is still trying to worm is way out of his bindings, bit with no sucess.
"So, give up Rocky." Sigewulf calls out with a smug tone. "There is no way out of this one."
Rocky glares at him, before raising his sword, pointing it in front of him. "I won't let you take my dragon."
Sigewulf shakes his head. "Just had to be stubborn till the end, huh..." He holds up his hand, and the archers get ready.
Suddenly a low pitch loud rumbling fills the air, making everyone confused. Sigewulf looks to the sky and sees Salvina diving towards them. he goes to shout, but she fire three Power blasts.
Two of them hitting the grouped up archers, and one hitting Niether. Smoke fills the ship, and everyone starts coughing. Sigewulf waves a hand in front of him as the smoke clears. And he sees Niether standing up, and letting out a loud roar.
Rocky laughs as he quickly climbs onto Niether, and pats him on the neck. "Let's get outta here."
Niether blows smoke out his nose as he glares at Sigewulf. Before taking up to the sky as Salvina flies past, smacking her lips. The two zip off into the distance, and Sigewulf growls in anger.
"Won't be long Rocky." Sigewulf puts his hands behind his back. "Before I burn everything you care about to the ground."
The two dragons quickly speed around the sky, away from the
Rocky lets out a sigh as he sheathes his sword. "Always a close call when he's around."
Niether looks over to Salvina. "Uh, thanks for the help."
Salvina glares at him as she lets out a huff. Then she looks back forward and slightly speeds up. Neither glances back at Rocky.
"I think she's mad."
"Really, what gave it away?"
The three then fly off in silence, leaving the burning ships behind them.
7-7-2026
3100 words