The Queen's Skeleton

[Fern & Nima]

Time and Date:: December 1st, Late Afternoon

 Weather:: Foggy, freezing cold, smoke/ash in the air

 Previous Threads?:: Let Me Show You

CURRENT IC SEASON - Winter

The day was freezing cold, as smoke, ash, and fog blanketed the air; and in this kind of scenario, you could not see more then a foot in front of your nose. Boating through this was treacherous; flying in it was just plain unheard of. And yet, through the gray smog flew a purple deadly nadder; atop her back were two young girls. Siting up front was Fern, behind her was her newly found friend; Spitnose. Yet doing this for her was questioning her every instinct. And she could have sworn there had been an almost evil glint in her last tones, when she had thought to go to this island.

Just how well did she know this girl? Not hardly! And yet here she was, going to Dragon Island for her; the most dangerous, unforgiving island this side of the blasted sea. Shivering in the cold, Fern tightened her grip on the saddle, holding the reins in one hand. It was in this kind of weather that one most solely rely on their dragon, for only a dragon knew the way to Dragon Island. And this smog was exactly why; it surrounded the island, spreading for miles. A human boat could get easily lost or attacked, but a dragon knew the way.

Suddenly Nima's eyes became slits, her body stiffened beneath Fern. "What is it girl?" Fern asked, concerned, as she reached down to pat her. But her dragon flicked her away, shaking her head and flew faster into the depths. Suddenly a horde of dragons came from the fog, all heading in one direction. It seemed that even now, all these years after the queens death, the dragons still nested here. But why did they keep coming back? Was there some old instinct drawing them back to the island? Or had a new dragon taken command of the island, driving them to bring it food; or be eaten themselves?

[Spitnose]

The ride was somewhat silent, she had spent part of it just leaning on the rider infront of her staring into the water below as it rushed past. But as they drew nearer to their destination the fog grew thick. Her eyes strained, and knowing the only thing she could really trust now was her smell was far from reassuring.

She was starting to wonder if this had really been a good idea after all. Straightening up she tried to see ahead of them, but beyond the Nadders crest she saw nothing. And chances are the same went for Nima herself. But what was an adventure with out a little mystery, and danger? They were vikings, it was an occupational hazard! But she was also 12, and not exactly the sharpest blade, or the toughest shield.

But as they flew, she could feel the shift in the dragons muscles, and blinked. "What's happening?" She said, probably a bit louder than needed. Her own hearing was off right now, and when she had spoken it had seemed quiet. She couldn't hold back when she saw dragons shoot through the fog around them, a very audible gasp escaped her, and she felt herself shrink back at the sight. "Where are they going?" She peered over Ferns shoulder, frowning a bit. She hadn't realized just how many dragons apparently still lived here. By the wings shredding through the fog, it was more than just a handeful of wild dragons.

"Let's just stop on the beach..." She didn't want to get any closer than that, not after what they had just witnessed. "A quick look and then get out." She was more talking for her own benefit, even though it seemed directed at Fern. 'Gods be on our side.'

[Fern & Nima]

The dragon flew with the flock of others, and as her body tensed and pupils dialated, Fern stiffened as well. As Spitnose asked what was happening, Fern shook her head, "N-No idea..." She managed, adding, "I've never seen Nima act like this.. There must be some.. instinct.. driving them back here." She suddenly tightened her grip on the saddle as her dragon, along with the entire flock, swooped downwards, swerving this way and that before she found they were landing. Dismounting, Fern reached out a hand for Spitnose in an attempt to help her down.

Looking around, she realized visibility wasn't exactly good. "Come on, lets see where this skeleton is, yeah?" Fern encouraged, managing a smile. Her dragon suddenly flew off, and Fern yelped, "H-Hey! Wait!" But she had disappeared into the mist. "Right.. just you and me then." Fern said, and started to meander forward. It took several minutes before she finally sighed. "I don't see.. anything.. " She said with a tinge of disappointment. Yet as they kept walking forward she said, "Wait! What's that?" She pointed to a distant figure, almost as big as the volcano itself.

"Come on, lets have a look then!" She said, running towards it. There before them was.. a huge, utterly massive, and utterly scary looking skeleton. Cobwebs had formed over every inch of it, and as Fern took it in she muttered, "Wow.. The legends really are true." She yipped to the skies, "They're true!" Yet suddenly an eerie silence overtook them, as the humming that had been filling the air had stopped. Out from the shadows, a figure appeared; followed by two more.

Fern stepped back, as the figures lit themselves on fire, "M-Monstrous nightmares..." She managed shakily, and whispered, "On the count of three... Run... One.." She backed up, putting an arm out to protect the girl. "Two..." She kept backing up, moving to grab her hand, "THREE!" She turned and ran, the monstrous nightmares roaring and taking flight, firing at her. When all seemed hopeless another figure appeared, tackling them. Little did Fern realize it was Nima, and reached for her dagger.

[Spitnose]

Everything seemed so, otherworldly as they flew. Like it wasn't real at all, and she was almost even more excited to see the sandy beach approaching than she was about being here. When they landed she struggled to untie herself from the saddle, and after a few moments of that tried to get down with out help. She managed to land in the most ungraceful way possible, one leg stuck in the ropes of the saddle, leaving her really wishing she had taken the offered helping hand. Once free of the the ropes she looked around.

"Yeah! It must be massive, shouldn't be too hard." She walked a few paces before noticing the Nadder behind them take to the sky. "Uh... she'll be back... right?" She looked more than a little panicked at the thought of being stuck here. "I don't want to have to swim all the way back to Berk." That was a joke, and a legitimate worry all at once.

She followed at a slower pace behind Fern as they walked, taking in the sights of the volcanic island. But no skeleton yet, plenty of rocks though. And even more wrecked ships just beyond the shore line. But when Fern seemed to notice something she snapped to full attention. "Dragon skull! Dragon skull!" She chanted like, well, the child she was. The sight of it before them was mighty indeed, it certainly made you stop and realize how small you really where in comparison to that former giant. The bones hung ancient above the sand, devoid of any signs of life and yet still so terrifying.

"I bet you could live in that thing..." She added quietly to herself, grinning at Ferns excitement. But then her heart sank as something approached them from the shade of the skeleton. The horns, the stance, the fire... Her heart began to race as she realized what was coming after them, and yet she couldn't muster the courage to flee. "R-run?!" She stared at the dragon as two more sauntered out of hiding. "I-I can't!" She was frozen in place, at least until Fern darted past her. A quick shake of her head and she turned as quickly as her body would allow and followed suit.

A scream escaped her as a liquid blast of Nightmare fire struck beside her, far to close for comfort. She felt like she was going to puke, and her eyes began to sting as tears welled up. This was worse than she could have possibly imagined. This was, ironically enough, a nightmare. She shrieked as she was suddenly pushed to the ground, being forced into the sand by something she could only assume was a territorial dragon. Thankfully her shield was between her, and whatever had knocked them down.

But yet... even when pinned, she wasn't dead. Or burning, or both. She worked up the courage to see what was happening. The dragon above them wasn't a Nightmare at all, but a Nadder! "I-it's Nima!" What was she doing? She didn't exactly have time to think about it though, the snarls of the nightmares were loud enough that even with her good ear stuck in the sand she could tell they were far too close for her liking. "What do we do?!"

[Fern & Nima]

As Nima took off, Fern could only hope what the girl said was true; hopefully her dragon would return. After all, this wasn't exactly a friendly place. Yet all the same, as they came upon the skeleton Fern took in all the excitement of seeing the it, even laughing at her joke about living inside the bones. "I bet ya could!" She agreed, but all that was blocked out of her mind as the dragons from the shadows came forth. Within moments, her plan to run was in action. She looked behind her to see Spitnose following, hearing her terrified scream. Fern would have screamed as well, had a figure not tackled them.

With Spitnose's shield and the weight of the dragon pinning them down, Fern reached for her dagger, yet it slipped from her grasp. She couldn't see the dragon very well, but realized as she heard its roar it was... "NIMA!" She cried out, reaching up to hug her leg; she clung to it much like a child, before regaining some of her composure. As Spitnose panicked, asking what they should do, a look determination crossed Ferns face.

"We trust our dragon." She said firmly, "Grab on to her leg." She commanded, and called to her dragon, "Nima, get us out of here!" However her dragon was too busy fighting off the nightmares, who were breathing fire. With every blow her dragon shielded them with her fireproof wings, firing her own blasts back at them. Her roars of ferocity filled the air, as she suddenly looked beneath her to check on her humans. Seeing they were fine, she roared at the dragons once more. Fern, in the chaos, managed to grab her dagger and sheath it.

Suddenly as the dragon felt her legs being clung to, she lifted off the ground, her claws moving to dig into their clothes. The monstrous nightmares follows, as Nima blasted her spikes at them. A few hit, knocking one out of the air; it cowered, flying back. But the other two didn't give up. As one came to grab at them, Fern grabbed her dagger. She stuck it straight into the nightmares leg, as it recoiled, its grip on them loosening. Suddenly Nima dove straight downwards, as Fern screamed, "Hold on!"

Her dragon swooped downward and swerved, her claws clinging to the girls, as the monstrous nightmare lost its grip on them before falling downward. But Fern had fallen with it! She was falling, falling through the air; when at last Nima caught her she was just feet from the ground. "Two down, one to go.. " Nima breathed. "Hop on her back." She said firmly.

[Spitnose]

Squirming a fair bit she pulled herself through the sand, out from under the dragons claws. "T-trust?!" She had only just met the dragon, and this was kind of a life or death situation. But she didn't quesiton, and quickly wrapped her arms tightly around the dragons leg that had previously been above her.

Even as Nima blocked the fire, she could feel the heat of the battle. She back ached in a phantom pain, awoken by the dragon fire that now ripped through the air around them. 'Make it stop...' She closed her eyes, head pressing against the dragons leg. The roaring was ringing in her ear, head shaken from all the noise. 'Just make it all stop.' She bit her lip, trying to shut it all out. The noise, the fire, it was too much for her to handle and her brain was begining to shut down.

She was jostled back to reality as she felt her weight sag as the dragon left the ground. They were flying, and she was just hanging from the dragons foot. She felt a bit better as the Nadder curled it's claws around them, at least she had some sort of saftey net. But nothing could slow her racing heart, not now. Her eyes shut again as she felt the hot breath of the Nightmare on her side, but refused to look. One had already been taken down by Nima, but the others were too close. One was almost upon them, but she heard ot screech as Fern stabbed it.

Spit didn't have to be told to hold on, she never dared to loosen her grip even just a little bit. This was not a situation where letting go was even remotely on her mind. As the dragon began to drop, her eyes were forced open by the wind rushing against her face, hair whipping around her head. The sight only made her stomach lurch, and she wished that she could look away but the force of the drop was too great. She could hardly move. But thankfully, while she was immobile the Nightmare was also jostled free of them. But she couldn't miss the much smaller form falling with it. "No! Get her, get her!" Nima didn't need the coaching, but it made Spit feel a bit better. Before she could even finish encouraging the dragon they were swooping to rescue the fallen rider, and just in time.

Shaken limbs pulled her up, awkwardly fitting herself into the saddle once more. Every part of her was numb from fear, ear ringing still from all the noise, but she was in one peice. Thank Odin for that. But Fern was right, there was still one of the dragons after them. She didn't understand why these dragons were so eager to fight either. Sure they were Monsterous Nightmares, but did they just sit around waiting for something to attack?

It didn't make sense to her, but she didn't have time to think much right now. Just time to hold on for dear life and hope that she wouldn't end up brutally maimed.

[Fern & Nima]

Fern screamed, her small figure falling helplessly through the air as her eyes closed tight, preparing for the worst. Helplessly she flailed, grasping for air was like grasping at straw at this point. But just when all seemed hopeless two claws firmly grabbed, her and she opened her eyes to see herself hovering just above the ground. Heart racing, she didn't question it; she hadn't the time. She knew they had to get out of here, and fast! But why were these dragons so eager to chase them? It hadn't occurred to her yet, but the dragon left chasing them was.. much.. smaller.. then the other two. Why was that? Was it simply a smaller beast, or- wait.. could it be? It was... "It's a baby!" She exclaimed suddenly, looking to the dragon. Nima fired a blast at it, and with a screech it fell back and retreated to the larger ones.

As the young nightmare retreated to its injured parents, who checked it over with care, Fern took the chance to say, "Lets get out of here; and fast!" With that she nudged Nima, who took off in a hurry towards the skies. With one nostalgic look back at the skeleton, it seemed like a suddenly huge accomplishment; for they had just taken on wild dragons! And they had both come out of it alive, and relatively unscathed. Fern found that she had claw marks and burn marks all over her skin despite Nima's best efforts. A relatively bad gash was on her arm, which could very well leave a scar. "Only fun if you get a scar out of it, eh?" She joked, feeling it was a much more relaxed environment.

Her grip, however, never loosened from her dragons saddle, as every limb of her shook with fright and shock at what had just happened. As they flew, she put together what had happened, "I suppose something can live there...." She said softly, quizzically looking back at the fading island, "Those big nightmares must have been the parents, and that littler one their teenage offspring." She laughed a little, "Can you believe we just made it out alive.. from a dragon attack, no less! Dear odin, what a story we can tell the others, eh?"

[Spitnose]

She barely heard the comment, something about a baby? Her head was spinning, so focusing on words wasn't exactly something she could d right now. Focusing on staying upright was far more important. But she certainly heard the comment about leaving. She dared to open her eyes again, Fern was back in the saddle and they were leaving the giant skeleton behind.

"Oh gods you're hurt." She winced looking at Ferns arm, her own were scraped and bruised, but nothing as bad as that gash. Or at least she assumed so, she couldn't actually see any part of her arms or legs as they were hidden under long sleeves and pants. But nothing felt sore like a nasty wound, and none of her clothes were damp from blood. So she must be fine. Though she was pretty sure she had sand in her ear. "Yeah okay." She laughed a bit, trying to relax more. "Let's agree to never do that again..."

Blinking slowly, she glanced back. Fern mentioned they were probably a family, and she shuddered a bit. They were teaching the baby how to hunt probably, and they had been the unlucky targets. Judging by the size it was probably ready to leave it's parents and fly off, and perhaps they were lucky it was still some what attached to it's parents. Shaking her head, she grinned wide. "That. Was. Insane!" Her laugher was much fuller, and louder than before. She was recovering from the event fairly well, mostly by not looking back at the island. "Dad will never believe me!"