Mystery of the Green Death (OPEN)

[wolfheart]

Nayrol flew silently over the black sea, swooping down onto a small island. It was mainly filled with an old volcano, but a lot of the remaining space was taken up by the Seadragonus Gigaticus Maximus. The Green Death.
Wolf jumped down as Nayrol landed. She wandered over to the Green Death, gently stroking its shredded wings. It was huge- it looked smaller in the library books. Wolf carefully climbed onto its head, wondering what it would be like to ride it. But she also wondered why it was still there. How could a dead dragon stay preserved for 300 years without decaying?
Nai soared into the volcano, sniffing his old home. Most of his family had died in the smoke-filled room. All because of the Green Death. But 300 years ago, Hiccup and Toothless had saved the day. Nai wondered whether he and Wolf would ever do that.
After half an hour, Nayrol climbed out of the volcano. He wanted to stay longer, but the filthy stench of decay had driven him out. He looked for Wolf and saw her, sliding off the Green Death. Nai watched it silently. Then, without warning, he dived at the huge dragon, picked Wolf up, and flew back into the volcano, settling in a cave. He set Wolf down and curled his tail round himself, trembling slightly.

[ryuzaki]

Haki hung tight to the scales of Svadlifari who flew swift beneath him. Every ripple of the great dragon's muscles as the wind caught under the leathery wings sent a brief movement through Haki that felt almost like pure power. Where the dragon was taking him he remained uncertain, usually Fari would go flying alone and Haki had remained, until now, ignorant of the destination, but today it had been almost as though the great beast had invited him along for the ride. He had pestered Haki until he had mounted then carried him off without the feintest indication of the direction they would be taking. He could no longer see much more than the form of the great black scaled dragon he rode and the rocky outcrops that emerged from the sea at all sides, but Fari navigated this with almost un-natural ease.

Finally the mist thinned and the air grew clearer and a small island came into view. At once Haki knew, this island could only be the island that was fabled as a home of dragons. His kind had once sent out ships on many occassions, intending to kill dragons and force them to find a new home. But the island had never been found, and the ships never returned. Svadilfari landed, the corpse of a great beast lay at the foot of a volcano, Haki looked upon it, not really interested in dismounting Fari just yet, he was uncertain about this place. Fari moved towards the gigantic corpse, the dragon far larger than any other Haki had seen in all his years, and yet though the smell indicated that the creature had been dead for an unimaginable amount of time the dragon's body looked...preserved. The creature actually looked as though it may, at any moment, open it's eyes and attack, as though waking, disturbed, from a sleeping state.

They had little time to investigate, as Svadilfari lifted his head suddenly and his nostrals flared fiercely, Haki watched as the ngith fury's ears moved this way and that, then with no warning at all his wings flew outwards and he lifted with terrifying speed into the air. They flew at high speed, with the wing whipping at Haki's face like a million branches of a forest, then Fari turned in mid air and plumetted down into the mouth of the volcano. The smell within made Haki's eyes water, but Fari did not slow, he spun, spinning in constant motion so that Haki began to feel sickly dizzy. Then suddenly they stopped, they seemed to have reached land, and Haki found that he was huddled close to Fari's neck, the darkness within the small space made it near impossible for him to see, but Fari saw just fine. He could see the dragon and the girl in front of him, and more importantly; he could smell them.

[wolfheart]

Nayrol growled at the new members. A Night Fury! These dragons were dangerous. But, then, so was he. He growled at Svadlifari, curling his tail protectively around Wolf.
Wolf studied the face and instantly recognized it as Haki, an outcast. Wolf was normally cautious around strangers, but she wasn't as scared as she thought she would be. "What do you want?" she asked sharply, stepping down onto a lower rock. She wasn't sure if he could see her. Nai followed slowly, hissing.
"I take it your dragon fled from the Green Death too," Wolf commented, locking her gaze with the Night Fury. "I think these dragons know something we don't. Something odd." Wolf had no idea why she was saying all this. How could she trust him? He was an outlaw!

[ryuzaki]

Svadilfari seemed to relax slightly, Haki felt the beast's muscles slacken beneath him, perhaps the dragon sensed not real danger here. In the darkness of the space that surrounded him Haki saw little, but there was most certainly a dragon in front of them, it had strange pale almost glittering scales, the colour of polished silver and as such caught what little light there was. For a change he felt grateful for his large pupils, like a cat's eyes they took in the light and allowed him to see the pale skinned shape of a female figure that he was unfamiliar with, but something in her tone of voice made him certain that she knew him, maybe not personally but surely stories of the outcast existed within the world of Berk village people. He shifted his weight and pulled his left leg over Fari's neck to join his right leg then slipped down Fari's right side. The dragon seemed to be put on edge by this; he opened his jaw, showing his teeth to the stranger's dragon and his wings moved protectively over Haki.

Haki attempted to ignore it and stepped forward slightly towards the silver scaled nightmare and it's rider, a young female who now stood, asking questions. He looked at her, his cold green eyes gazing into the darkness at the paler shape he knew to be her face. Her words shot forward without giving him a chance to answer, but he felt that no answer was really required. Her first question was to his purpose there, something he had been wondering himself for a short while since arriving there. He had no answer for anything she said, in particular what she said about the 'Green Death'. He supposed for a moment that this had to be either some sort of plague or the great dragon corpse that had been outside. He looked at her uncertainly for some time.

"Why did you come here?" He asked with his head slightly titled to the side and his voice slightly rough in tone due to the lack of use it had recieved recently. Svadilfari seemed to be relaxing slightly once again, in the darkness of the caves very little of him was visible, but the light from the volcano silhouetted him with a feint red glow.

[wolfheart]

Nayrol winced as the stranger dragon showed it's teeth. The silver Nightmare prepared fire, but it didn't use it. Instead, it made a strange reptilian noise- it sounded like he was purring. Nai dived off the rock he was on, beckoning for Svadlifari to follow.

Wolf watched as her dragon flew away. At once Wolf knew Haki was not dangerous, for Nai never left her side unless he was sure. "The same reason you are. Or, at least, your dragon is," Wolf said, listening to his voice carefully. She liked the sound of it. Shaking her head, she asked "How can the Green Death still be here after 300 years? Although..." she trailed away. Dragons hibernated. But it would have been summer 300 times. Wolf coughed. The fumes were making her dizzy. They seemed to be strengthening...

[ryuzaki]

Haki stood his ground as the strangers dragon pounced down from where it perched and lurched itself forward past him, taking to the air on a pair of graceful silver wings. Haki watched it, his eyes piercing the darkness as well as they could, he heard the shifting of Svadilfari's scales as the night fury's head turned to watch the stranger's dragon as it entered the more open space of the cave. His scales rubbing against one another sounded almost like rock slates sliding on eachother, but the sound was more muffled, as though someone had attempted to mask it.

Haki's hand went to his hair; for a change it was down, it had been this way since he had woke that morning as he had not tied it back yet, but he did so not. His fingers pushed through his hair, forcing it all to the back of his head where his other hands grabbed it, he pulled the cloth from his wrist and the loose knot in it came undone, his fingers worked the cloth until it had been wrapped around the collection of hair twice and tied tightly. Both hands then smooth out the hair atop his skull before falling back to his sides. Svadilfari had watched this, as he always did then felt that Haki was safe and in no danger here, so he bounded back away from the pair of humans and pushed himself into the air to follow Nayrol.

Haki watched Fari as he escaped the small space of the cave then stepped a little closer to the girl, she was talking about the green death now. He was trying to avoid speaking too much, generally his people skills would be too damn awful to attempt an actual conversation, and with a female at that. However, she seemed to be demanding conversation, his rough voice retaliated to her words with no sign that it would soften. "Why do you care why the thing hasn't rotted? It obviously dead, it's got to be. No creature can lie there without food nor movement for three hundred years, and live to continue the act."

[wolfheart]

Nai hissed in delight when he saw Fari following him. He turned sharply and dived into the heart of the volcano, before coming out again covered in ash.

"I guess," Wolf flinched at his tone, but was secretly glad he wasn't scared to show his claws. She jumped down onto another rock, flicking her black hair out of her eyes. "You don't seem very keen to talk," she teased, eyes glittering. Then she did something she hadn't done for a long time- she smiled.

There was a small rumble, but Wolf ignored it. It couldn't be that important. Nai was still flying through the air, his silver scales shimmering as the ash fell off. Wolf rolled her eyes. She turned her attention back to Haki. He was an outlaw, but he wasn't on their land, so it was ok... wasn't it? Wolf bit her tongue to stop herself asking. He wasn't doing any harm.

[ryuzaki]

Haki flinched and stepped back as she moved slightly further towards him. She remained, for now, a stranger to him and he found it disturbing, he couldn't trust her, he couldn't trust anyone. She had the right to kill him if she wanted, who was to care if one more outcast died? Everyone had that right, so it was no real wonder that he didn't much like the idea of giving too much away, and yet, if he remained in an act of hostility she was far more likely to become aggrivated and kill him anyway. As he always did when something caused his nerves to grow a little more anxious he moved his hand to his chest and felt the string of his bow where it crossed his torso, he felt the weight of his quiver on his back and felt a little reasured that he was armed and therefore capable of defending himself.

Fari seemed to find no danger in the situation or their new companions, he was busy following Nayrol's lead and flew down into the heart of the volcano, ahead of him he saw the silver dragon emerge with a new flakey dark gray coat of ash settled on his scales. As a trail of dust slowly started to slip from the nightmare Fari dove down and emerged with a coat of ash of his own. He did not follow Nayrol's trail completely, but rather circled the area of the volcano flying upwards as he did so, a loud cry echoing from his jaws. He was growing a little uneasy about something, but from his cry Haki could not tell what it was that bothered Svadilfari, he supposed it had something to do with the thickening and strengthening of the gas filling the volcano and its smell.

Haki shifted his weight from one foot to the other before frowning at the female. "Who are you anyway?" His rough voice seemed to have taken on a colder tone alongisde one of slight interest.

[wolfheart]

"The name's Wolf. I'm a viking in training. That's my dragon Nayrol, but I call him Nai." She paused. "Hey, Haki-" her words were drowned by a terrified shriek from Nai. He was staring, transfixed, at the heart of the volcano. It was growing brighter and brighter, smoke billowing from the center.
"It's going to erupt!" Wolf cried, jumping on Nai's back and soaring up wards. But she looked down again. "Come on Haki!" she called.

[ryuzaki]

Haki watched her, remaining cautious. His gaze was fixated loosely and rested on her position but was rather unfocused. Her voice was much more gentle than his, he had noticed it every time she had spoken of course, this was not the first time he had taken it into account, however this was the first time he chose to ponder on it. Everything she did, the air of confidence that she had about her, the common yet extremely powerful dragon that obeyed her commands and followed her loyally, not to mention that she was a viking in training. This meant quite simply that she was accepted, she was a part of the village; a place in which his outcast kind was not welcome.

She introduced herself and her position, he supposed this suggested that she was proud of the fact that she was a viking in training and this was shown rather clearly in the fact she felt it almost needed to be involved in an introductiuon of her character. But she also introduced her dragon, which suggested that this 'Nayrol' or 'Nai' was of great personal importance to her, and while he respected this part of him resented it. She could openly introduce herself and her dragon without fear, but he was an outcast, hardly a title one introduced themselves, and a son of Hysteria, if this fact was to be known by her no doubt most people would consider him unworthy of Svadilfari's company.

Yet; to Haki's astonishment and fear, she already knew his name. How? What else did she know? A state of panic ensued that almost meant he didn't notice that her voice trailed off after naming him, he did not take into account the sounds the began to rumble in the depths of the volcano or the growing amounts of both light and smoke that clouded it. He didn't even hear the girl, nor notice her, as she ran and mounted her dragon, shouting about the volcano being about to erupt. Haki did however catch her final words, 'Come on Haki!' his mind repeated the words to him as though this changed the fact that a dangerously knowledgable stranger had spoke them to him.

He ran, his feet beating the ground with each step letting out a ringing thud and sending a stringing pain up his legs, sudden desperation enthralled him and his survival instincts took over, as they often did during the more troubled days of his solitary life. He leapt from the ledge they had been on, and for a moment was falling towards the heart of the volcano and the heat, but he did not scream or cry out, but spread his arms and legs and fell as though patiently awaiting death. Of course Fari swooped up from nowhere and appeared beneath Haki, hands grasped around the scaled neck and legs tucked into the dragon torso and held their place just beneath the wing joint while they were lifted up into the air and out of harm's way. The pair had come up right behind Wolf and Nayrol, softly Haki whispered a word of thanks to the dragon body supporting him. "I knew I could count on you."

[wolfheart]

Wolf had watched Fari fly to save his master. She admired the trust Haki put in his dragon. She trusted Nai with her life, but some of the people in her training classes obviously didn't. She did wonder how an outcast could get a Night Fury, but she reminded herself she was an In-Training yet she had a Nightmare.

Nai flew upwards, his eyes thin sits, his wings a silver blur, his tail floating behind him. He craved the fresh air, the smoke making him dizzy. He could see the evening sky, scattered with stars; he could hear the waves rolling sleepily against the shore, at the same slow beat as his heart; he could feel the cold wind whip up around him; he could smell the freedom just out of his reach. He soared out of the volcano, his wings halting to bring him to a slow pace, gliding to safety.

Wolf felt the evening breeze dance through her hair, and she wondered if Haki and Fari had made it. She turned around.
Maybe if she hadn't turned around at that second, maybe the events that followed would not have happened.

Wolf turned around as a jet of lava and flame exploded into the peaceful air. She felt the shock face punch her in the stomach like an iron fist. She lost her grip and, slowly, gracefully, she slipped off of Nai. He roared in shock and spun around, but Wolf's axe fell out of her belt. As it tumbled down the side of the volcano, there was a horrible noise, like a giant roar. Dragons find it hard to fly when there is a lot of noise; Nai had quite good hearing. He could hear the clang! clang! as the axe tumbled down the cliff, the screams of Wolf as she fell into the heart of the volcano, the steady wing beat of Fari, the hissing and spitting of the great mountain. He shook his head sleepily, before folding his wings and plummeting down the side of the volcano, landing on the rocky shore, dazed, confused.

Wolf blinked and thought she saw a female figure in the smoke, a plump woman with a kind face and big brown eyes. "Mother, help me!" Wolf cried, reaching out, but the figure swirled and vanished. Wolf coughed. The smoke was all around her, pressing in on all sides. She knew she was helpless and alone, but she was sure someone whispered something close to her that she didn't catch. He looked up blearily and saw the stars faintly flickering in the sky, before it was swallowed by thick grey smoke.

[ryuzaki]

Haki remained directly behind Wolf and Nayrol, that was until confusion hit. Suddenly there was a great spout of heat below him and he looked down in time to see lava spewing up from the volcano's gaping mouth and spitting several feet into the air as though it tried to capture them. Svadilfari ignored any instruction that Haki may have shouted to him. The human called to him instructing the dragon to stay close to Nayrol and Wolf, but the dragon ignored this and flew straight up and a hart stopping speed that knocked the breath out of Haki's chest so that he could not call to the dragon and dorrect his path, he could do nothing but cling tightly and hope not to fall.

Fari's pace slowed, thankfully, and Haki was able to take a deep breath and open his eyes, they seemed to have leveled out a safe distance from the volcano, above it by some distance and he was only just able to make out the large shape of Nayrol, but there was no dark shape on the back of the silver dragon to indicate that his rider remained. Maybe Haki should have been pleased with that, she knew too much, she was a danger to him for as long as she lived, knowing his name, knowing him. She could kill him all too easily, or have her dragon do it, even indicate to the other villagers where to find him.

A strange thing struck him, an odd act of humanity that Haki was not usually inclined to, but when he saw the large silver scaled shape of Nayrol becoming more distant and insignificant he knew at once something was amiss, the dragon was going down and had lost his rider. Had he been hit, knocked out of the sky? Was he going to find Wolf? It didn't seem to matter what the odds were of that, they weren't enough. Haki leaned forwards and rubbed the delicate spot on the side of Svadilfari's neck for a moment, then stopped, knowing that he now had the dragon's attention. "Down Fari, we have to at least try to help them!" It was amazing that the dragon always seemed to understand just what he wanted, and this was no esception.

Fari turned on an invisible pivot and dropped with stupendous speed, again Haki lost his breath and felt the air punch his chest, his eyes closed as water began to stream for them and suddenly they had levelled out again. It would seem that the sound that had caused Nayrol to fall had stopped, because there was no effect on Svadilfari, but the air was a thick grey and behind him, flowing towards him like a river Haki could see the glowing red of the lava as it approached. As he often had to in such conditions Haki relied on Fari's superior senses of hearing and sight, the dragon dropped down onto all fours alongside what appeared to by at first simply a pile of cloths, but it called out. Wolf was lain, obviously confused, and calling out to her mother?

Haki dismounted quickly and moved forward, "Wolf! Wolf! Come on!" His voice was urgent and sharp, but she seemed somewhat out of it, he sighed and rolled his eyes then turned back to Svadilfari, "You'll have to take two," he muttered, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her up onto Fari's back, holding her in front of him and making sure to be extra secure in his seating. "Lets get out of here!" Svadilfari needed no more prompting than that and quickly lifted himself off up into the air and out of the smoke. The pair spared a thought for Nayrol, but it was brief, he was a dragon, surely smoke and heat would do him no harm, right? Besides, his was the kind that set themselves on fire during battle.

[wolfheart]

Wolf seemed to be falling into a lava-filled abyss, smoke billowing all around her. Then suddenly, she was on the back of a Night Fury with Haki just behind her. Still delerious, she looked behind. "Gideon? Brother? I'm sorry I left you..." she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, looking more with it. "Haki? What are you..." she looked down at the lava pouring over where she just was. She tried to thank him, but the words were stuck in her throat. Instead, she gasped as a fireball sped towards them.

But it was no fireball. It was Nai.

Nai soared through the air, his silver scales on fire. He was calling out joyfully, circling around the volcano, clearing smoke so he could get out. He seemed not to mind he was on fire. He even breathed some purple flames to add to the effect.

[ryuzaki]

Haki couldn't help but feel suddenly incredulous. He held her in his arms, he had rescued her, saved her life. And what did she do? Well at first she couldn't even correctly identify him, not her fault though, she was delerious, probably hit her head when she fell, it wouldn't surprise him, but then to feel as though he were being accused of something bye her sudden exclamation of his name. He felt she that she was about to demand to know what he was doing and stiffened a little where he sat. Fari was now flying at a slow and relaxed pace, having a rider that was being held on and another that was holding a second rider, he understood that it would be easier for the humans if he went slowly, even if he didn't like Wolf too greatly, afterall, she was so strange.

Haki sighed, "Me? Oh I'm not doing anything," he muttered, refusing to look at her when he spoke in his rough, cold tones. "We're taking you home, then you're on your own," his voice seemed a little distant. He couldn't help it, he had grown so used to being on his own, avoiding contact with people wherever he could, not saving them, carrying them around as if her cared, and speaking to them! He was no longer comfortable with such behaviour.

[wolfheart]

Wolf nodded as he explained. She was silent as they flew back to Berk, Nai gliding alongside, no longer on fire but sill smoking slightly. Wolf felt unusual. A strange feeling was spreading over her as she flew gracefully on the Night Fury, Haki holding on to her.

After a long silence, when they were almost there, she gathered up her courage. "Thank you, Haki, for saving me," she said softly, smiling at him. Her next words, however, were darker. "I hope I never meet you in battle." Wolf scanned the island. Nobody was out. Nobody was looking for outcasts. Nobody would notice.

Nayrol flew silently alongside them, pondering. His master had always been snappy, but something odd was inside her, a new feeling coming off in waves. Nai quickly dived down and caught a fish, killing it swiftly. This was unusual, for Nai normally liked to play with his food. He silently held it out to Fari, as if it was an offering of thanks.