𝕺𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖆

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 5

The boat rocked back and forth, waking up Ari from his beauty rest. He groans, running his hands through his hair. Ari didn't want to wake up anytime soon. The young hunter stared up at the ceiling, watching as the lanterns shifted as the boat did. He knew once his father called, he had to get up. Right now, it was peaceful and quiet, he savored every quiet moment he earned.

"Boy! Wake up, no time for nonsense!" A voice yelled, making Ari jump slightly. He pulled the blanket over his face, sighing deeply.

Ari shoved the blanket off him. He sits up, swinging his legs over the bed. The young hunter grabbed his black, fur boots, putting them on then tying them. Ari wore a locket around his neck. The silver necklace having Norse written on the edge. He read the words over and over, trying to get a sense of safety. It was all he had left of her.

"Get out of the bed, boy!" His father yelled again, making Ari quickly change into his clothes and ran up the steps from below deck.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here, Pa." Ari says, standing in front of his father, yawning slightly.

His father, Grith, stood in front of Ari. "You haven't brought a dragon in a while. What's with that?" His father asks, having his hand rest on top of his son's shoulder. "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength, my boy." Grith says, trying to motivate his son to kill a beast, but the tone in his voice only gave worry and stress to the boy.

Ari nods gently, looking down at the ragged wood under his boots. "Yes, father..." He mumbles under his breath, being shoved by his father towards the rest of the dragon riders.

As Ari made his way to the group, one of them stood out. Her braided, blond hair with golden pins in them. Her beautiful, smooth skin, having no blemishes. She sat on a barrel, sharpening her axe, making a scraping sound as she did so. She wore what everyone else wore. Leather pants, with a leather tunic, having his father's clan symbols on her axe. She wore a belt tightly around her waist, having an emerald in the middle, signifying her house.

The other vikings sat around her, drinking and joking. Luckily, there was a spot where Ari could sit next to the young lady. She looked younger than Ari, not by much at least. Ari made his way to her, trying not to disrupt the lad's time.

He sat down, sighing deeply, getting the Valkyries attention. She looks over, nudging him with her shoulder. "So, you have to tell me." She says, putting her axe, leaning next to her leg. "What did the beast look like?" She asks.

Ari rolls his eyes, having the memory of the wyvern come to him. "Well, it had dark blue scales, and bright purple eyes. It was something I've never seen. It was a beautiful creature—"

The girl busts out laughing, shaking her head. "Beautiful?! The only beauty, they show off his great armor." She says through her laughter. Soon, she calmed down, noticing that Ari wasn't joking.

"Are you serious? Those monsters burn down our villages and steal our livestock. They are nothing but vicious beasts and fanged, winged fiends." She says, having more of a serious tone than before.

Ari remembered what Dain said about them. Dragons aren't dangerous creatures. They show us magic and different ways to live with them. His voice was calming and collective.

"They aren't monsters. They're called dragons, and they never mean to harm us, they just fell threatened by us. They show us magic and a different way to live. We don't have to hunt them down, we can live together without killing." Ari says, feeling hopeful of what Dain told him. Yes, he was confused by the whole thing, but if there was an actual chance that he didn't have to kill them, he would take that chance.