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This was bad. This was very bad.
Torrential rain poured from the black clouds, lighting flashing and thunder roaring. Below the sea was at war with itself as huge waves crashed against each other. Caught in the middle of it was Heather and Windshear.
For weeks now they had been out here, travelling the archipelago, to find Dagur. Her time as a spy had only made her hate him that much more, but the Berserker had vanished not long after the Viggo Grimborn fiasco. All Heather knew for sure was that he had deserted from the Dragon Hunters. Something that Viggo had not taken kindly to, if the bounty on her brother’s head was anything to go by. That bounty was the reason she was caught in this storm in the first place.
At the Northern Markets she had overheard a group of hunters discussing her brother. A discussion that included their plans to capture him. The group left port not too long after that and she had trailed after them.
Everything had been going fine. Right up until the moment they sailed directly into a storm. With that ship being her only lead, against her better judgement, Heather had chased after it. Now it looked like her decision was going to get herself and Windshear killed.
Not only had they lost sight of the ship ages ago, but the storm was only growing worse. The wind shrieked as it tried to knock Windshear from the air. The sea more than ready to claim both dragon and dragon rider. While lightning zapped through the clouds. Lighting the world up briefly before it was plunged back into darkness. At one point, Heather swore she saw a shape in the clouds. It looked like a dragon, but the only dragon she knew that would willingly fly a storm were Skrills, but according to Fishlegs they were very rare.
Though, with how bad her luck had been recently, it wouldn’t surprise her if it was a Skrill.
All of a sudden there was a bright flash of light, blinding both her and Windshear. A weightless feeling came over her and Heather screamed for her dragon. As she plummeted through the air, no sign of her Razorwhip anywhere, she was sure she would be met with the freezing cold of the sea below; swallowed up by the waves and claimed by Njörðr.
It didn’t happen.
Right before she hit the water, something grabbed her. Heather looked up, expecting to see Windshear, but was met with the red underside of a different dragon. Lightning danced across the underbelly scales, the static making her hair stand on end as she gulped. The silhouette she had seen was a Skrill and for some unexplainable reason it had decided to save her, but why? It made now sense. From what Fishlegs had said, Skrills were so incredibly territorial that they were untrainable. Yet here it was. Holding onto her with a strong, but somehow still gentle, grip.
With powerful wingbeats, the Skrill easily flew through the storm like it was a calm, sunny day and not Thor’s fury battering against them. The strong winds barely effected its pace and it didn’t flinch when lightning struck the sea. Looking around franticly, Heather searched for Windshear, but there was no sign of her beloved Razorwhip anywhere. Had she fallen into the sea? Like Heather almost had?
“Windshear!” she shouted, hoping that her dragon could hear her over the roar of the wind. When no reply came,
The Skrill shrieked, the sound deafening. Had she just angered it? She really hoped that she hadn’t because this dragon was the only thing stopping her from entering the realm of Helheim. It shrieked again, more lightning zapping across its scales and dancing down to its claws, giving Heather a slight shock. It made her gasp as her body tried, and failed, to flinch away.
After the third shriek, there was a reply. A roar that Heather would recognise anywhere. Windshear! Relief washed through her, chasing away the panic as her dragon did her best to level out next to the Skrill. Something that the strong winds made extremely difficult as they battered the Razorwhip around. Her deep green eyes met Heather’s as she roared softly, but still loud enough that she could hear her.
“It’s alright, girl!” she called out.
As the dragons flew, almost, side by side, the Skrill glanced over at Windshear, cocking its head slightly. Though Heather could not hear it over the roar of the wind, she felt the dragon rumble. Windshear replied with a short roar. The Skrill ascended and glided on the strong wind, positioning itself right above her dragon. With great care, it placed Heather back onto her saddle before levelling out alongside them again.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she told Windshear as she stroked her. She was so unbelievable relieved that her dragon – her best friend – was okay.
Heather looked back over to the Skrill and her eyes widened. There, on its back, lightning dancing over her armour and cloaked, was another dragon rider. Though her face was covered by a mask, the strong winds had pushed her hood off, leaving multiple braids intricately weaved together flowing out behind her. Her brow furrowed. Fishlegs had been wrong?
The rider regarded her for a moment, before gesturing for them to follow. She didn’t wait for a reply as the Skrill took off.
“I guess we’re doing this,” Heather murmured as she urged Windshear to follow and keep up. The Skrill and its rider were the only way they were going to get out of this storm alive.
The lightning that was still dancing across the Skrill's scales and its rider's armour made following easier as it illuminated them against the darkness of the storm. Windshear was still struggling against the wind, but the other dragon seemed to pick up on this as it was not flying nearly as fast as it had been when it had grabbed Heather.
Before long the rain stopped and they were surrounded by walls of black clouds. They had led them to the eye of the storm. Once more, the Skrill slowed and came to fly next to Windshear.
"You should fly above the clouds so you don't get caught in the storm again," the rider told them.
"We will. Thank you for helping us!" she replied.
"Good luck out there, rider."
Without another word, the Skrill screeched and took off after the storm again, disappearing in a bright flash. Heather had a smile on her face as Windshear climbed high above the clouds. Telling Fishlegs about the tamed Skrill and its rider was the last thing on her mind as she wondered if she would ever see them again.