Status: Now with a music video! (h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = c - t n J B 8 A W Q o) 'Angel With A Shotgun' by The Cab-RotG HTTYD OC Don't forget to take out the spaces!
Night's Fury
Chapter 1
Birthdays were never a happy affair for me.
I knew them, remembered the days, but I was too busy surviving to care.
My one hundredth was celebrated with an attack by a pair of Deadly Nadders, and three deep lacerations on the right side of my face that healed into my more brutal battle scars.
By human standards, I was three years old.
By the two hundredth mark, I was tired and so very lonely, walking the tightrope between human civilization and the wild where my kind hid away.
Most of the time, I was in peace-form, with the body of a small girl that had to hide her large wings and tail in order to stay alive.
If you can call my existence living.
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The forest was cold and empty in the depths of winter, trees frosted over and brittle in their sleep under mounds of snow.
My spark burned hot in my chest, keeping me warm as I curled up in the fork of a branch, too keyed-up to fall asleep.
A pack of Terrible Terrors had been prowling around earlier that day in search of food, and I did not want to be caught off-guard.
Their hunting cries could attract any number of predators, predators I was not willing to face, and so I was vigilant.
My ear horns twitched at the faint sound of laughter, and I twisted in my perch to see the source of such a foreign thing.
Children were prancing through the snow, likely from the nearby village, clearly enjoying themselves as they tossed the powdery substance at each other in play.
Intrigued, I slid down the trunk, peeking around to study them.
Despite the world’s efforts, I was still a curious six-year-old little girl.
Watching them roll in the snow, shrieking with joy and the cold, I wanted very badly to join in.
Dragons, despite popular belief, are very social creatures; I was simply not built to be solitary.
At the time, I did not know the ‘why’, only that I wanted to play and was too terrified to try.
I watched them play for hours, drawing in the snow with my tail, until the small group was called back to their homes by worried mothers.
My wings had grown stiff from being cooped up in the old threadbare coat I wore, and even my tail was starting to get chilled, but I did not move to leave.
Something, deep in the bottom of my heart, told me that I needed to stay, just a little while longer…
Looking up at the moon, shining through the reaching branches overhead, I wondered why.
The wind picked up suddenly, bringing a scent of pine and ice, and I scrambled to my feet, pressing against the bark in an attempt to disappear.
Peering around the rough tree-skin, I spot an older boy walking through the snow, a curved staff held over his shoulders.
The brown of his cloak stood out starkly against the paleness of his skin and the whiteness of his hair, and I wondered if he was cold.
Humans are so much more susceptible to low temperatures, and with the sun hiding beyond the horizon, it was frigid by their standards.
I don’t know why I drew attention to myself.
“A-Are…A-Aren’t you cold?”
My voice was weak from disuse, two centuries of silence, but he heard.
After a few moments of searching, he spotted me, still mostly hidden behind a thick tree trunk.
Oh, I was so shy back then; I shrank into myself, ear horns pressed back and blending into the black tangles of my hair.
“You…You can see me?”
My curiosity got the best of me, and I shuffled slightly from my tree, nodding once.
He seemed so excited by the thought, grinning widely and exploding into the air with a whoop of joy that nearly startled me back into hiding.
Floating down only a few feet away, he practically glowed with happiness, and I wondered why the boy seemed so relieved.
“Why don’t you come on out? I promise I won’t bite.”
Hesitation was light and fleeting, like morning dew under the first rays of sunlight.
I felt that he was safe.
Wings tucked tight against my back and tail low, I slowly abandoned my shelter, self-conscious.
I was a little dragon-girl covered in scars; any other human would have run away in terror.
But he didn’t.
He seemed a bit surprised, but there was no fear in his eyes, only curiosity.
“What’s your name?”
My face warmed, and I wondered if that was what blushing felt like.
“I-I…I don’t have a name…” I admitted, voice getting stronger the more I used it.
He seemed troubled by this, the smile that had been on his face morphing with concern.
“Your mom and dad didn’t give you a name?”
A part of me went numb, remembering, and it was from there that the next words came.
“I never knew my mom and dad.”
There was a moment of silence, the words sinking in, before he pulled me into what I could only guess was a hug.
Breathing in his scent, I felt my walls crumble as a sob caught in my throat, teary and painful.
His hand was cold as it rubbed soothing circles between my wings, but I found it comforting.
“…You could come with me.”
My ear horns perked up, hope flaring in my chest.
“R-Really?”
He chuckled softly, giving a comforting smile as he ruffled my hair.
“I wouldn’t feel right leaving you out here all alone, little one. What do you say?”
Hope was burning in me so hotly that I thought it was my spark, and my eyes were feeling strangely moist.
I nodded rapidly in response, clinging to his cloak as if he would disappear and choking out the word past the sudden tightness in my throat.
“Y-Yes!”
The boy scratched behind my ear horn, sending a jolt of bliss through my entire body that caused me to purr.
“Well, then you’re going to need a name!” He decided, voice bright.
Looking up, I could only blink at him in wonder.
No one had ever cared enough to even give me a name before…
It was like a dream.
“Well, let’s see…” He started teasingly, spinning his staff as he looked me over for inspiration. “What’s a good name for a pretty little girl like you, huh?”
My face grew warm again at the foreign compliment, but a giggle bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, genuine.
“How about…”
His smile softened, and he crouched down to my height.
“Jade, since you have such green eyes.”
“Jade…” I whispered, testing the name on my tongue, and that’s when the tears flowed.
I was Jade, I was someone, I wasn’t alone anymore.
In a burst of magic, I spontaneously transformed into my dragon form, pouncing on the laughing boy and drowning him in dragon-kisses.
That deep place inside of me said that right next to Jack Frost was where I belonged.
I knew them, remembered the days, but I was too busy surviving to care.
My one hundredth was celebrated with an attack by a pair of Deadly Nadders, and three deep lacerations on the right side of my face that healed into my more brutal battle scars.
By human standards, I was three years old.
By the two hundredth mark, I was tired and so very lonely, walking the tightrope between human civilization and the wild where my kind hid away.
Most of the time, I was in peace-form, with the body of a small girl that had to hide her large wings and tail in order to stay alive.
If you can call my existence living.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The forest was cold and empty in the depths of winter, trees frosted over and brittle in their sleep under mounds of snow.
My spark burned hot in my chest, keeping me warm as I curled up in the fork of a branch, too keyed-up to fall asleep.
A pack of Terrible Terrors had been prowling around earlier that day in search of food, and I did not want to be caught off-guard.
Their hunting cries could attract any number of predators, predators I was not willing to face, and so I was vigilant.
My ear horns twitched at the faint sound of laughter, and I twisted in my perch to see the source of such a foreign thing.
Children were prancing through the snow, likely from the nearby village, clearly enjoying themselves as they tossed the powdery substance at each other in play.
Intrigued, I slid down the trunk, peeking around to study them.
Despite the world’s efforts, I was still a curious six-year-old little girl.
Watching them roll in the snow, shrieking with joy and the cold, I wanted very badly to join in.
Dragons, despite popular belief, are very social creatures; I was simply not built to be solitary.
At the time, I did not know the ‘why’, only that I wanted to play and was too terrified to try.
I watched them play for hours, drawing in the snow with my tail, until the small group was called back to their homes by worried mothers.
My wings had grown stiff from being cooped up in the old threadbare coat I wore, and even my tail was starting to get chilled, but I did not move to leave.
Something, deep in the bottom of my heart, told me that I needed to stay, just a little while longer…
Looking up at the moon, shining through the reaching branches overhead, I wondered why.
The wind picked up suddenly, bringing a scent of pine and ice, and I scrambled to my feet, pressing against the bark in an attempt to disappear.
Peering around the rough tree-skin, I spot an older boy walking through the snow, a curved staff held over his shoulders.
The brown of his cloak stood out starkly against the paleness of his skin and the whiteness of his hair, and I wondered if he was cold.
Humans are so much more susceptible to low temperatures, and with the sun hiding beyond the horizon, it was frigid by their standards.
I don’t know why I drew attention to myself.
“A-Are…A-Aren’t you cold?”
My voice was weak from disuse, two centuries of silence, but he heard.
After a few moments of searching, he spotted me, still mostly hidden behind a thick tree trunk.
Oh, I was so shy back then; I shrank into myself, ear horns pressed back and blending into the black tangles of my hair.
“You…You can see me?”
My curiosity got the best of me, and I shuffled slightly from my tree, nodding once.
He seemed so excited by the thought, grinning widely and exploding into the air with a whoop of joy that nearly startled me back into hiding.
Floating down only a few feet away, he practically glowed with happiness, and I wondered why the boy seemed so relieved.
“Why don’t you come on out? I promise I won’t bite.”
Hesitation was light and fleeting, like morning dew under the first rays of sunlight.
I felt that he was safe.
Wings tucked tight against my back and tail low, I slowly abandoned my shelter, self-conscious.
I was a little dragon-girl covered in scars; any other human would have run away in terror.
But he didn’t.
He seemed a bit surprised, but there was no fear in his eyes, only curiosity.
“What’s your name?”
My face warmed, and I wondered if that was what blushing felt like.
“I-I…I don’t have a name…” I admitted, voice getting stronger the more I used it.
He seemed troubled by this, the smile that had been on his face morphing with concern.
“Your mom and dad didn’t give you a name?”
A part of me went numb, remembering, and it was from there that the next words came.
“I never knew my mom and dad.”
There was a moment of silence, the words sinking in, before he pulled me into what I could only guess was a hug.
Breathing in his scent, I felt my walls crumble as a sob caught in my throat, teary and painful.
His hand was cold as it rubbed soothing circles between my wings, but I found it comforting.
“…You could come with me.”
My ear horns perked up, hope flaring in my chest.
“R-Really?”
He chuckled softly, giving a comforting smile as he ruffled my hair.
“I wouldn’t feel right leaving you out here all alone, little one. What do you say?”
Hope was burning in me so hotly that I thought it was my spark, and my eyes were feeling strangely moist.
I nodded rapidly in response, clinging to his cloak as if he would disappear and choking out the word past the sudden tightness in my throat.
“Y-Yes!”
The boy scratched behind my ear horn, sending a jolt of bliss through my entire body that caused me to purr.
“Well, then you’re going to need a name!” He decided, voice bright.
Looking up, I could only blink at him in wonder.
No one had ever cared enough to even give me a name before…
It was like a dream.
“Well, let’s see…” He started teasingly, spinning his staff as he looked me over for inspiration. “What’s a good name for a pretty little girl like you, huh?”
My face grew warm again at the foreign compliment, but a giggle bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, genuine.
“How about…”
His smile softened, and he crouched down to my height.
“Jade, since you have such green eyes.”
“Jade…” I whispered, testing the name on my tongue, and that’s when the tears flowed.
I was Jade, I was someone, I wasn’t alone anymore.
In a burst of magic, I spontaneously transformed into my dragon form, pouncing on the laughing boy and drowning him in dragon-kisses.
That deep place inside of me said that right next to Jack Frost was where I belonged.