The One Who Ran Away [Open]

[Dusty the Small]

"Me too." Dusty replied happily. She glanced over at Holly and caught her running her hands through the clouds. There was a certain sense of freedom when they were flying so high. Dusty liked to feel the clouds, all cold and wispy. They looked so soft, but were more like wraiths haunting the skies.

Despite all the peace that Dusty was feeling, Slicediver smelled something. His pupils shrank and a low growl built up in his throat when Lillydew confirmed it: changewings. Before he or Dusty could react, he was rammed and let out a surprised roar. It hurt a bit, but thankfully he was larger and stronger than the thin-skinned changewing. However, strength and size didn't help him keep his balance and he tipped to one side. Dusty wasn't strapped in, but she didn't care about that. She made sure Lana stayed in the saddle and almost lost her grip in the process. Slicediver managed to right himself, and dragon and rider looked around to find that they were surrounded.

"Hold on, Lana!" Dusty cried, "What in Loki's name is going on here?!"

Slicediver had no idea why they were attacking, but he didn't care to ask. They had attacked first, and now he was angry.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lana was caught completely off guard by the ambush, and let out a yelp when Slicediver was rammed. She didn't fall off, thankfully, though it felt like she would. Her eyes had snapped shut so Lana had no idea what was going on, especially when Dusty called out. Eventually though, she opened her eyes half way. It was hard to get a good look around while she was holding on to Slicediver with what was practically a death-grip, but she caught sight of the Changewings.

"What do they want with us?" Lana frantically called. Being attacked by a dragon on the ground? Lana could handle that. But being attacked in the air? That was a whole other story. After all she had come to learn about dragons not being so vicious, this wasn't exactly helping.

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

The changewings went in for another attack. They reached out with their claws and tried to grab Holly, but she pulled out a small dagger and slashed at them. She did not want to hurt them, so she merely slashed at them with the purpose of missing. The changewing that tried to grab her pulled back, but was soon followed by one that flew in beside her. It used its flexible tail to slash at one of the small side bags that Holly had connected to her saddle. Various things fell out of her bag, most being medicine related. Holly cursed under her breath at the fact that her stuff was lost and she had to get the hole fixed. She spun backwards in her saddle so that she was facing backwards. It was good to be able to see behind her, while Lillydew had the front.

A couple other changewings focused on Dusty and Lana. They tried to grab anything they could, or rip open anything. It was then that Holly realized they were searching for something. But what? Lillydew whipped her tail at a nearby changewing, but it dodged. Dusty, what should we do? They could maybe try to land on a nearby island, just to get out of the skies for a better fight. They could also try and figure out why the changewings were attacking them for. It wasn't like them to attack like that.

[Dusty the Small]

Gnashing her teeth, Dusty smacked at the changewings with her staff. She didn't want to hurt them, but they didn't seem to feel the same way. A claw caught on her arm, drawing blood and stinging. She cried out and smacked at them that much harder. Slicediver roared when one of them tugged on his frill. He shook it off and snapped at it. Dusty heard Holly's call and answered in between strikes.

"I don't know! Would we be better off fighting on land?" she cried. Maybe they could go back to Berk. There was a whole village there that could help them fight off the changewings. It would probably be safer for Lana, at the very least. With Dusty as scared as she was, it was hard to imagine what was going on with Lana. Well, Dusty was the one that knew about dragons. What sort of firepower did changewings have? She knew it, but she couldn't recall.

When she did, her heart stopped for a moment. Acid. They spit green acid. So, if one of them was in the right mood, they could simply spit up and any one of them would be covered in the stuff. A dive in the ocean could help, but she was deathly afraid of the ocean. They needed to figure something out soon.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lana shrieked as she caught sight of a changewing diving straight for her, and ducked so it would miss. She heard the dragon screech as it flew overhead while she pressed herself to Slicediver's back. She wanted to be back on the ground. What would happen if one of the dragons knocked her off Slicediver's back? Would they be able to catch her before she fell into the ocean?

Lana didn't move, mostly because she was afraid any sudden movements from Slicediver would knock her off, but also because she was hoping that leaning over made her less of a target. She heard Dusty cry out, and reacted with a wince. She then heard the question that Dusty called out toward Holly. 'Yes, please!' her mind screamed. 'Just get me down..'

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Holly could see the terror in Lana's face as she battled off the dragons. She wanted to reassure the poor girl that dragons in general didn't attack unless provoked. That's why she wasn't sure why they were attacking them now. Holly made a split second decision to land, and looked below for a place. They were still close enough to Berk that they could land along one of the coats. She spotted a strip of beach down below them. Lillydew! Land down there! She pointed to the sand, and clung on when Lillydew made a sharp dive. She thought she heard a very high pitched squeal coming from behind her, but the wind drowned out most of the noises. The changewings that were after followed pursuit. She heard one breath in sharply behind her, and she gave Lillydew a signal. Lillydew did a mid-air tumble and avoided an acidic blob.

Lillydew landed on the sand, and immediately spun around to face the changewings. She held her head low and her tail high, ready to strike if needed. What do you want from us? Holly cried out, not wanting to fight the creatures. Suddenly, she felt movement behind her...in her knapsack? A tiny changewing burst from the flap of her knapsack, chewing on some milkweeds. Wha-? How did you get in there? The changewings stopped and watched, unable to get close because of Lillydew. Holly took the knapsack off her back and took the tiny dragon out of it. So that's what they were looking for. One of the changewings stepped forward. Please, give us back the youngling. Lillydew snorted at them. We had no intention of stealing. Tell your youngling to stay out of trouble. The changewing lower its head. We apologize for attacking then. We thought the humans were stealing our little one. Holly slid off Lillydew's back and put the baby changewing on the sand. It hobbled over to the changewing that spoke, then nuzzled noses together. All is forgiven, Holly stated.

[Dusty the Small]

It came as a huge relief to Dusty that Holly decided to land. She knew Slicediver had a temper and he was already getting worked up, so it would be safer for everyone if he was on the ground. He wouldn't be able to move around as quickly and gracefully, and Dusty would have better control of the situation.

She leaned heavily to one side, pulling Lana along with her. She didn't mean to scare her, but it had to be done. It threw Slicediver off-balance, forcing him to bank to one side. Then Dusty leaned them forward, forcing Slicediver to dive gently. After a few seconds of that, a ball of acid barely missed them and he gave in. He went into a full dive, not as fast and hard as he was capable of, but thankfully it was fast enough to lose the changewings. At least until they landed. They landed hard, jarring Dusty a bit, but she slid down as soon as she could. She didn't bother unstrapping Lana. "Stay up there, Lana." she called.

Slicediver lowered his head aggressively, growling. Dusty watched the dragons try to get close to Holly. She leaned her head like a stormcutter would when it was puzzled. "A baby...?" Slicediver raised his head, just as surprised as the rest of them.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Revan]

Lanayril | Female Wanderer

Lana's heart nearly leaped from her chest when Dusty leaned to one side, pulling her along as well. After a moment though, she realized what the dragon rider was doing. If they hadn't been under attack, Lana might have been able to admire the way Dusty was giving quick, non-verbal cues to her dragon. After a frightening dive and what felt like an eternity, they were back on the ground. At this point, Lana risked a glance at Holly and Lillydew. She nodded in response to Dusty's instructions for her to stay put.

At the sight of the changewing hatchling, Lana couldn't get over how cute and innocent it looked. She'd never even seen a baby dragon before. In silence, she watched the exchange take place between Lillydew and the adult changewings. Everything certainly seemed a lot more calm and under control now.

"Speech." | 'Thoughts.'

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

Holly let out a sigh of relief as the Changewings took their leave. The baby who had found its way into her knapsack flew clumsily beside its mother, letting out little squeaks of joy. Holly felt a nudge behind her and turned to pet Lillydew. The nader squawk appreciatively and leaned into her hand. Holly turned to Dusty and Lana, giving them an empathetic grin. Well, Lana, I'm sure that was some adventure for you. I hope that didn't scare you. The dragons weren't trying to harm us in vain. They were merely trying to get their baby back. Though, I understand if you don't want to take flight again. We can still reach the village by walking. She turned to survey the strip of beach they landed on. After getting her bearings, she guessed they wouldn't be able to walk back before it got dark. If they decided to walk, it they would have to camp out in the woods.

Suddenly, she turned back to them. Oh I almost forgot! Is anyone hurt? Is Slicediver okay? Acid can leave a nasty wound. She had received only minor scratch wounds, but nothing she was concerned about. She looked over Lillydew as well, but only found similar scratches.

[Dusty the Small]

Dusty and Slicediver watched the changewings fly away together. Nothing melted the heart quite like a baby dragon. It didn't matter the species; they were all cute. Although she briefly wondered what Slicediver had looked like as a hatchling. She snapped out of it and climbed back up to unstrap Lana as Holly spoke to her. When she was done, she nodded. "Yeah, they just wanted their baby. They weren't trying to be mean." Slicediver lowered himself so that Lana could slide down to solid ground.

Dusty was more than willing to walk, or to fly. Either way, it didn't matter as long as she and Slicediver got home. Lana, too. Holly suddenly asked if everyone was alright, and Dusty glanced at the cut on her arm.

"No acid on me, just a cut." Slicediver lowered his wing so she could see where the acid grazed him. "But Slicediver was grazed. Are you alright, Lana?" She turned to the outsider girl, hoping she and Slicediver had been able to keep her safe, at least. Slicediver cooed, either at his wound, at Dusty's wound, or at Lana. Even Dusty herself wasn't sure.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts