Post by Nova on Sept 22, 2019 9:45:04 GMT
(January 22nd, nearing midnight - not far from the Barbaric Archipelago - closed to Kaia)
With the sun several hours set and the inky darkness of night perfectly blanketing the sky, darkness was interrupted only by the speckle of stars and a glowing half moon. However, the lack of light was not so much an issue for some, as it was a salvation, a comfort. Many creatures fell with the rising sun and arose at its fall. Among those was Nova.
Far more relaxed in the dark of night, a time in which she knew well her hunters struggled to see, the dragoness soared the skies unperturbed. Of course, she was always on edge, but a night fury knew well enough that they owned the sky in absence of the burning sun. So she explored her domain languidly, looking down from above at sea of trees and hills that were not nearly as endless as they seemed from the ground. Beyond, magenta orbs could easily identify several clearings, a lake, and further still, the ocean. She knew instinctively not to go that way, just the same as her instincts tried to tug her in that very direction. She was drawing dangerously close to her turning point - a land of dragons, after all, meant in her mind a land of dragon hunters. For which she was an especially prized target. However, it was hard for a dragon, hunted as she was, to feel safe within a human world.
That was why Nova was unsure, even of Toothless' tempting offer. If he were telling the truth, and he certainly gave her no distrustful vibe, then out there somewhere in her homeland was a place where humans accepted dragons like herself. Where even a night fury was safe. A sanctuary for dragons and humans alike, to live in harmony without animosity. Yet, for spending a lifetime on the run, even when she had thought some humans could be trusted, it was hard to consider living among them again. Not to mention that one human had turned around and betrayed her after so many years of trust...the concept of allowing her guard down once more, of considering that not one, but a whole nest of humans could be trustworthy? No matter how much she desperately longed to join her newfound kin, at least for now, this was something beyond what she could embrace.
Yet despite her doubts and trepidation, Nova found herself mulling over the idea yet again. Perhaps this was why she lingered so close to the lands she once roamed, venturing closer than she knew she ought to. She was safer with Moonlight - as she had opted to referring to the pale dragoness as - and those strange little draconic creatures. Yet her thoughts always had a way of guiding her wings as she wandered more aimlessly. A way that distracted her, that, for just a moment, destabilized her guard. Sometimes it was better to listen to her instincts. She may not have been created to be prey...but such was what she had been since birth.
A sharp cry was the first noise that left her lips. A shocked sound that pierced the stillness of night as something collided with her form, entangling her wings. The next was a more panicked cry. Her wings were caught. Not just entangled - caught. She struggled, but even she knew it was no use. Echoes of the past, memories from long ago, flickered vibrantly in her mind. In her thoughts she was just a babe, crying out after her brother, before being shot down in turn. It was happening again. Panic swelled within her as she writhed, wind whistling past her as she fell. The trees did little to cushion her fall. All around her branches snapped and birds flocked away in fear. Still struggling desperately, she collided with the ground, a loud thud reverberating through the forest from the impact.
For a time, she continued to cry out, struggling desperately to free her wings. She tried to claw away the ropes, but she only got two of her legs tangled as well, resulting in her rolling down a hill to collide with a large rock. Part of Nova wanted to give up. She knew this was useless. She should have kept her guard up. Should have paid more attention. Should never have gotten so close to begin with...it served her right for being foolish. What was she thinking?! Humans would never accept dragons. Even if Toothless' human and that little hatchling really were willing, their species was not - they were barbaric. Greedy. Scavenging. Cruel. All they wanted to do was hunt, kill, terrorize and destroy. Dragons hunted to survive. Humans hunted because it was a game. They were going to come for her. It was only a matter of time, before they found her, forced her to fight harmless dragons or killed her and carved off her scales.
After another hour or so of desperate struggle, the dragoness sighed and fell against the ground. The scales of her side already felt rubbed raw by the rock. Her muscles ached. She could feel the ropes digging into her hide, trapping her wings tight against her, prone and worthless. Yet still they had not come. Still she was alone. Trapped and alone. Maybe this was crueler, to shoot her down and leave her here, to let something come along and feast on her when she could barely fight back. She was not sure what was worse. All she knew was that fighting against these ropes was getting her nowhere. Rolling onto her side, Nova peered up at the infinite, dark sky. She had seen toothless heading this way...perhaps if she was lucky...She was bound to be caught by something eventually. It was worth the risk to hope it would be him.
With little else to hope for but the wavering chance of freedom, or something far worse, Nova opened her mouth and shot a bright beam of plasma beyond the tree tops and into the sky. A signal for help, if anything. 'Please let it be him...'
With the sun several hours set and the inky darkness of night perfectly blanketing the sky, darkness was interrupted only by the speckle of stars and a glowing half moon. However, the lack of light was not so much an issue for some, as it was a salvation, a comfort. Many creatures fell with the rising sun and arose at its fall. Among those was Nova.
Far more relaxed in the dark of night, a time in which she knew well her hunters struggled to see, the dragoness soared the skies unperturbed. Of course, she was always on edge, but a night fury knew well enough that they owned the sky in absence of the burning sun. So she explored her domain languidly, looking down from above at sea of trees and hills that were not nearly as endless as they seemed from the ground. Beyond, magenta orbs could easily identify several clearings, a lake, and further still, the ocean. She knew instinctively not to go that way, just the same as her instincts tried to tug her in that very direction. She was drawing dangerously close to her turning point - a land of dragons, after all, meant in her mind a land of dragon hunters. For which she was an especially prized target. However, it was hard for a dragon, hunted as she was, to feel safe within a human world.
That was why Nova was unsure, even of Toothless' tempting offer. If he were telling the truth, and he certainly gave her no distrustful vibe, then out there somewhere in her homeland was a place where humans accepted dragons like herself. Where even a night fury was safe. A sanctuary for dragons and humans alike, to live in harmony without animosity. Yet, for spending a lifetime on the run, even when she had thought some humans could be trusted, it was hard to consider living among them again. Not to mention that one human had turned around and betrayed her after so many years of trust...the concept of allowing her guard down once more, of considering that not one, but a whole nest of humans could be trustworthy? No matter how much she desperately longed to join her newfound kin, at least for now, this was something beyond what she could embrace.
Yet despite her doubts and trepidation, Nova found herself mulling over the idea yet again. Perhaps this was why she lingered so close to the lands she once roamed, venturing closer than she knew she ought to. She was safer with Moonlight - as she had opted to referring to the pale dragoness as - and those strange little draconic creatures. Yet her thoughts always had a way of guiding her wings as she wandered more aimlessly. A way that distracted her, that, for just a moment, destabilized her guard. Sometimes it was better to listen to her instincts. She may not have been created to be prey...but such was what she had been since birth.
A sharp cry was the first noise that left her lips. A shocked sound that pierced the stillness of night as something collided with her form, entangling her wings. The next was a more panicked cry. Her wings were caught. Not just entangled - caught. She struggled, but even she knew it was no use. Echoes of the past, memories from long ago, flickered vibrantly in her mind. In her thoughts she was just a babe, crying out after her brother, before being shot down in turn. It was happening again. Panic swelled within her as she writhed, wind whistling past her as she fell. The trees did little to cushion her fall. All around her branches snapped and birds flocked away in fear. Still struggling desperately, she collided with the ground, a loud thud reverberating through the forest from the impact.
For a time, she continued to cry out, struggling desperately to free her wings. She tried to claw away the ropes, but she only got two of her legs tangled as well, resulting in her rolling down a hill to collide with a large rock. Part of Nova wanted to give up. She knew this was useless. She should have kept her guard up. Should have paid more attention. Should never have gotten so close to begin with...it served her right for being foolish. What was she thinking?! Humans would never accept dragons. Even if Toothless' human and that little hatchling really were willing, their species was not - they were barbaric. Greedy. Scavenging. Cruel. All they wanted to do was hunt, kill, terrorize and destroy. Dragons hunted to survive. Humans hunted because it was a game. They were going to come for her. It was only a matter of time, before they found her, forced her to fight harmless dragons or killed her and carved off her scales.
After another hour or so of desperate struggle, the dragoness sighed and fell against the ground. The scales of her side already felt rubbed raw by the rock. Her muscles ached. She could feel the ropes digging into her hide, trapping her wings tight against her, prone and worthless. Yet still they had not come. Still she was alone. Trapped and alone. Maybe this was crueler, to shoot her down and leave her here, to let something come along and feast on her when she could barely fight back. She was not sure what was worse. All she knew was that fighting against these ropes was getting her nowhere. Rolling onto her side, Nova peered up at the infinite, dark sky. She had seen toothless heading this way...perhaps if she was lucky...She was bound to be caught by something eventually. It was worth the risk to hope it would be him.
With little else to hope for but the wavering chance of freedom, or something far worse, Nova opened her mouth and shot a bright beam of plasma beyond the tree tops and into the sky. A signal for help, if anything. 'Please let it be him...'
