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blepsthings · 2 years ago

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Accidental Destiny (Part 1)

pairing: dragon!Seonghwa x afab!reader

genre: fantasy. non-idol!au. fluff. angst.

wc: 6.3k+

warnings: based on How To Train Your Dragon. canon compliant violence. mentions of character deaths. description of injuries. might have smut or suggestive undertones in the future.

summary: Having hated dragons since you were a kid, you want to avenge the deaths of your parents by bringing down the beasts that have ravaged your village for centuries. What happens when you get the chance to bring down the worst of the dragons?

a/n: I had to split this into chapters because I had too much fun with the world building and plot and now I have a mini-series in my hands. Credit for this fic goes to @dazedhxze since this whole thing was inspired by this post! Please let me know if you want to be tagged in parts 2 and 3! (This won't be longer than that hopefully)

You duck underneath the arch of a walkway—pressing yourself to the stone and ignoring the way the jagged rocks sting against your spine—to escape the onslaught of bright orange flames from above. Bringing the collar of your cloak closer, you try to cover yourself as much as you can, but even that is not enough to entirely dodge the few sparks that rain down on you, singing the tips of your hair. At least it’s better than becoming a human shish-kebab, your brain supplies helpfully.

Someone shouts in the distance, their tone is urgent, and you feel the tendrils of dread take hold of your heart. You peek out of your hiding place, only to see children and the villagers who are not fighting, scrambling to put out the fire that has engulfed the roof of one of the buildings. They pour buckets upon buckets of water to douse the flames, sending a few droplets raining down on you. You welcome the cold relief brought by the liquid amidst the heated air, thanks to the fires raging as far as the eye can see.

It’s not a new sight, definitely not one that scares you anymore. All it does is makes you worry for the safety of your fellow villagers. Fortnightly attacks by dragons have been a constant in your life, just like the stars in the night sky which had guided your ancestors to the beautiful land of Amberdale, named so for the waters that would turn the colour of liquid gold every sunrise and sunset. Legend says that the day the waters turned red would be the day of your village’s downfall. Amberdale is surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on the other, creating a space safe from attacks by other clans. The only downside to this beautiful haven is the fire-breathing pests that have made life a living hell for the occupants for centuries.

“Move to the upper defences. We’ll counteract their attacks with the catapults!” You hear the familiar voice of your brother call to some of the warriors before he joins you underneath the arch. Behind his eyes, you see a storm brewing which is only interrupted by the flash of concern and surprise when his gaze meets yours. It’s clear that he wasn’t expecting you to be outside during an attack.

He scans you from head to toe, his sweaty and soot-stained face softening when he sees that you’re safe. “Why are you outside? Did something happen at the infirmary?”

“We ran out of supplies, so I had to run all the way across the village to restock,” you inform him grimly, pointing at the bag filled to the brim with supplies. “We really should move the warehouse closer to the infirmary, Yunho. Or better yet, extend the infirmary to allow space for the supplies to be kept in. Not only will it save the healers from making unnecessary trips when the village is under attack, but it will also keep the medical supplies safer since the sick bay is the only fireproof building in the whole village.”

“I truly am sorry, Y/N,” your brother dips his head in sincere apology. “I know you’ve raised this issue multiple times throughout the years, and I promise you it has been on our to-do list for a while, but…” he trails off with a sigh, shrugging helplessly.

You understand the cause of the delay, you truly do. There are more important things to do, like rebuild the buildings destroyed in the attacks, prepare for storm week that arrives every three months, ensure the safety of everyone during the attacks, create more weapons and install catapults around the cliffs, train people how to fight dragons, and conduct research on the various species of the beasts. There is so much to do that there simply isn’t enough time to build a new warehouse or extend the infirmary.

“I understand we have more pressing matters to attend to,” you offer him an impish grin, taking the opportunity to nudge your brother’s shoulder with your own. But the joke on your tongue dies down when a whistle-like sound you’ve come to associate with danger pierces the night sky. Involuntarily, you look up to try and spot the source of the sound. Objectively, you know that you should find cover to escape the inevitable attack that is to follow. Still, your fascination with this particular beast outweighs any and all sense of self-preservation. You search the skies for it but, as usual, spot nothing. There’s no movement, not even a blur, that would allow you to pinpoint the location of the beast.

“Night Fury,” the whisper leaves your lips at the same time as a pair of strong arms wrap around your shoulders before the person tugs you to bring you into a crouch.

“Duck!” Wooyoung calls over his shoulder, shielding you with his body just as a ball of fire hits the catapult that is installed on the cliffs looming above you like a wrecking ball, instantly destroying the contraception and sending stones and pieces of wood raining down upon all of you. After what feels like an eternity, the onslaught stops, and you sit up, fussing over Wooyoung since he had covered you with his body to shield you from the debris.

“Your stitches,” you frown at the red-haired male, ignoring the way your ears ring with the rush of blood and the hammering of your heart as concern for him washes over you. You reach out towards where you know his injury is, but he’s quick to cover your hands with his own and shakes his head.

“I’m fine, I was careful to protect my injured side,” he smiles at you, easing some of the panic you feel.

“Are you two okay?” Yunho asks the moment you turn to check on him, crawling closer to make sure both of you are unharmed.

“Dandy,” you mutter darkly, brushing off the debris from your cloak and cursing the blasted dragons under your breath. Now that you’re sure both males are relatively unhurt, you turn to smile at Wooyoung. “Thank you for that, Woo.”

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes good-naturedly, “Someone has to look out for you when you're not paying attention to your surroundings. We can’t afford to have our best healer getting hurt, now, can we?”

Yunho grins at his friend’s words and turns his attention to you when you move to resume your journey back to the sick bay. “Do you need me to escort you to the infirmary?”

“Yunho, they’ll probably need you to man the ballista. The other dragons we can deal with, but that menace is what we need to hunt down as soon as possible,” Wooyoung tells the taller male, regarding him with pleading eyes. Now that the Night Fury has made an appearance, they need all the help that they can get, and your brother is the best hunter in the whole village.

Yunho purses his lips, seemingly unable to make up his mind. You know your brother would drop everything in a heartbeat to ensure your safety first and foremost.

“I’ll escort her if that makes you feel better,” Wooyoung continues when the silence stretches far too long for his liking.

“No, it’s okay,” you say, sighing when both of them stare at you with concerned expressions that cause a pang in your heart. “The two of you are the most gifted warriors we have, and there’s no point in either of you staying back to walk me to a building that’s a stone’s throw away from here.”

“But—”

You cut Yunho off with a firm look, “I’ll be fine, Yun. I’ve done this hundreds of times. Just don’t come back injured, please. If there is one thing I can’t bear, it’s you getting hurt.”

Yunho’s expression softens at your words, and he nods, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be careful.”

Convinced, you turn to narrow your eyes at Wooyoung, who gulps at your sudden change in expression. “And you. Don’t you dare reopen your stitches, young man. It took me an hour to do these, and I will not be gentle if you mess them up. You’re almost healed, and redoing the stitches will unnecessarily delay your healing.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Wooyoung gives you a two-finger salute, straightening his posture to stand at his full height. “I promise to be careful as well.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with me leaving?” Your brother tightens his grip on the handle of the sword that’s strapped to his side. “Wooyoung can escort you. He’s not fully healed anyways, and no one would mind him sitting out of the battle for once.”

“I’d feel much better if I knew the two of you are together,” you confess, looking away from both of them and taking in the chaos unfolding around the three of you. Despite your best efforts to seem nonchalant, you can feel both males regarding your features with probing scrutiny and worry.

Wooyoung opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by another noise, the same piercing whistle that heralds the arrival of the Night Fury. It looks like the menace circled around the mountain peak to return to the village. The noise snaps you into action, and you push both males towards the path that leads to the ballista. “Go.”

Yunho sighs, his shoulders sagging in what seems to be resignation, and he nods. His hand catches yours to give it a squeeze before he and Wooyoung rush towards the mounted weapon, which would give them the best shot at bringing down the beast.

“Your sister is downright terrifying when she wants to be!” You hear Wooyoung tell your brother when they are a few paces away, and an involuntary laugh leaves you at his whiny tone. Yunho’s laugh echoes around the area as well, followed by more whining from the other male that you can’t make sense of now that they’re much farther away.

Before you enter the infirmary to start preparations for the onslaught of injured villagers, you’re unable to resist the urge to scan the skies once again for the one dragon which no one has ever seen. You hope Yunho and Wooyoung can hunt it down. The Night Fury never steals anything, but like a guardian to the other dragons, it is always there to help them to attack the village and steal livestock and other supplies. If it was out of the picture, defending your village would become much easier.

“Y/N! A little help, please.” The strained voice of your fellow healer causes you to finally look away from the ink-black sky and turn your attention to him. He’s hunched over a patient groaning in pain, and you rush to the bedside to see burn marks on their arms. You can tell just by looking at the injuries that it’s really bad.

Taking your mind off the beast, you dive into the motions of healing a burn caused by the fire of a dragon. By the time you are done helping each person who had come in injured, the sun is rising in the distance, and the battle is over. Hopefully, there will be peace for the next two weeks before another attack. You rinse your hands at the basin in the corner before rushing out of the building, breathing a sigh of relief when you spot familiar figures at the edge of the cliff that overlooks the port. You walk up to them, smiling, when you realise that Mingi, the blacksmith of your village, has joined your brother and Wooyoung. They all look battle-ravaged and tired but are watching the sunrise with content smiles. You can’t help but rake your eyes across their figures to check for any injuries that would need healing.

An amused smile tugs at the corners of Yunho’s lips at your worried scanning, “I'm fine, sis. Mostly unharmed save for a few small bruises and the soot lining our clothes.”

“And you guys?” You turn your focus to the other two males, who grin at you.

“No open stitches or any new injuries. I told you I’d be careful.”

“I’m fine as well,” Mingi smiles, ruffling your hair, causing you to bat at his hand in irritation. “I didn’t leave my workshop until the very end when Yunho and Wooyoung needed help to work the ballista.”

“Let’s go back home and get some rest. Woo and I have a meeting to attend at the hall in a few hours,” Yunho says, resting his hand on your and Wooyoung’s shoulders and guiding you towards your home. Mingi follows you guys silently, waving at the three of you before he takes the dusty path to reach his house, which also doubles as his workshop.

You’ve shared the house that overlooks the village with your brother and Wooyoung after all three of you lost your families to one brutal attack many years ago. Despite being only a few months older than Wooyoung and barely a year older than you, Yunho had taken on the role of a guardian for both of you. Sometimes you felt bad for him; he had to step into your father’s shoes of heading the village much too soon and had way too many duties than he should have at the age of twelve. But he did it brilliantly, and just as Yunho cared for the two of you, both you and Wooyoung always looked out for him in your own little ways.

“Would you like something to eat before you head to bed?” You ask, waiting for Yunho to unlock the door.

“Nope, there's no point in eating right now. I feel like both of us will be out cold the moment our heads hit the pillow,” Wooyoung chuckles amicably. “And you must be tired as well. Wake me up when you decide to make food, and I’ll help you to make brunch for the three of us.”

You know you are dreaming, after all, it has been nine years since the accident. But it seems like your brain hasn’t been able to move past that moment in your life. How can it do so when you lost almost your whole family that day? You can handle the sympathetic looks received by you and your brother even after nearly a decade has passed, but the nightmares? You hate them with passion because they leave you exhausted and weary even after a whole night’s sleep.

You know you’re dreaming, but the horror that rises in your chest is real. The panic that chokes your throat, gripping and twisting your heart in a way that has your hands shaking, is real.

It’s all real.

Someone is screaming, but you can’t make out the words. It’s loud, too loud, too hot, and too bright. There’s also smoke, and you can’t see a thing. The fire singes your skin painfully, and that’s when you make out the orange flames dancing tauntingly all around you. Your brain is screaming for you to do something, to move. But you feel like you are frozen as you try to make sense of what’s happening.

You feel the presence of someone next to you, they’re saying something, but it’s all drowned out by the loud ringing in your ears. You squint your eyes, gauging your surroundings for a way out of the building. If you don’t move, you’ll be burnt to a crisp by the flames, and you can’t die like this. You wonder for a moment how the fire got so out of hand before anyone realised. But your thoughts are interrupted by a loud crash in the next room, and the noise, along with the fear that the whole house could crash at any given moment, is what finally prompts you into action. You feel a sense of relief rush down your spine when you spot that your way to the exit is still pretty safe, so without any further hesitation, you grab the person next to you and bolt.

There’s no time to waste.

You breathe a sigh of relief when you and your sister burst out of the door, relatively unharmed by the fire. The adrenaline in your veins and the smoke in your lungs makes it hard to understand what’s happening fully: people are running, they are screaming, and you can feel the panic in the air.

Taking another deep breath, you finally lift your eyes up from the ground to see the damage. But instead of a burning building, you spot something much worse in front of you that shakes you to your core. This is new and probably an image your brain created because of the constant fear you feel. Every time Yunho is out fighting the dragons during an attack, you can’t help but worry about his safety.

A huge claw is wrapped around your brother’s torso, he’s trying his hardest to escape from the clutches of the dragon, and his eyes reflect the fear and panic you feel. There’s a beat of silence as if the world has stopped around you before you jump towards the creature holding him hostage. But you’re too late. You meet the ground with a crash while the dragon takes off, taking Yunho away.

You wake with a start, and your heart is hammering so fast in your chest that you feel like it wants to escape from your ribs. You gasp for air, for the relief that comes with your lungs being filled with oxygen. Your forehead is dotted with beads of sweat, and you feel it trail down your back. You look at your hands, rolling your wrists as though you expect the blood and soot to be there.

Dazed and disoriented, you get up and make your way to the bathroom. Your eyes are wide, and you look like you are about to have a panic attack. You’re breathing fast, too quick to be considered normal. The breathlessness is worse than what you feel after running through the forest to find herbs for your fellow villagers. You stare at your hands as you run them beneath the water, splashing the cold substance onto your face.

“Y/N?” You re-enter your room to find your brother gazing at you worriedly.

But before you can answer, Wooyoung walks in through the door, which is now wide open courtesy of Yunho.

“Is everything okay?” Wooyoung breaks the silence as he takes in the scene in front of him, his voice is still gravelly from sleep. You feel bad for waking them up and worrying them like this, but right now, all you can focus on is the raging panic inside of you. “I heard you screaming, Y/N.”

You blink, your throat definitely feels raw, but you can’t remember hearing yourself scream.

“I think it was a bad dream,” Yunho mutters softly, eyes still trained on you.

Dream?

You gasp, finally understanding why you’re feeling like this. You had the nightmare once again, the same one you had had since your sister was taken away by the dragons when you were barely ten years old. With clammy hands, you tightly grasp the bedside table to steady yourself, but it’s futile. You stumble, falling on the floor as you try to calm your furiously beating heart.

Wooyoung gasps while Yunho scrambles to kneel next to you, his brows furrowed. “Y/N, breathe with me, c’mon. It’s okay, you’re safe.”

You let him tuck you into his chest. His touch helps you to ground yourself. Tucking your knees into your chest, you breathe deeply, timing your breaths in tandem with Yunho’s. He’s safe.

“Was it the same dream?” Wooyoung asks softly, his voice is closer now, and you open your eyes to see him in front of you. You hum as an answer to Wooyoung’s question.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” you whisper apologetically, but they’re quick to shush you and tell you that it’s okay.

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” Wooyoung murmurs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as if he already knows your answer, “or would you like to help me with brunch?”

“Brunch,” you tell him, untangling yourself from Yunho and getting up carefully because said male has fallen back asleep, little snores leave his mouth, and you stifle a giggle that threatens to leave your lips. You grab the pillow off of your bed to support his neck, hoping that he doesn’t wake up with his neck hurting, and then quietly follow Wooyoung into the kitchen.

“What are we making?” You question, standing in the middle of the space while Wooyoung scours the cupboards.

“How do omelettes and buttered toast sound? Yunho bought bread from the village baker last evening, and I’m sure we haven’t run out of the jam we prepared,” he stops his hunt and starts gathering the things needed to make said food.

“We also have some leftover meat pie,” you inform him, fishing out the said pie from the pantry and setting it on the table. You grab a big bowl, cracking some eggs as Wooyoung chops the vegetables, the two of you falling into rhythm easily.

Wooyoung reaches over to add the chopped vegetables to the bowl, stirring them with the eggs as you place two pans on the stove. Soon, you have two omelettes cooking at once. You carefully add different spices and other ingredients to each one based on how each of you likes your omelettes. Spotting some extra vegetables, you throw them in a pan to sauté them while Wooyoung handles the omelettes.

“Wow,” Yunho walks into the kitchen, probably drawn in by the smell of food and peeks over your shoulders. “That’s a feast right there.”

“I don't think we’ll have the time for lunch, anyways. The two of you will probably be in the meeting till dinner, and I have to go into the forest to gather more herbs. It’s amazing how fast we burn through them after the attacks,” you sigh, already tired by the mere thought of having to lug a huge batch of herbs from the forest.

“Be careful,” Yunho warns you. “The forest is safe, but you can’t be careful enough.”

“Don’t worry,” you smile at him, handing him the cutlery so that he can set the table. “I’ve done this so many times.”

Eventually, you and Wooyoung finish cooking and Yunho helps you to carry everything to the table. The three of you happily wolf down the food, joking, teasing, and laughing between bites.

Not long after that, you bid goodbye to the two males and take one of the trails behind your house that lead into the forest. You hum a small tune to yourself as you walk through the woods. You know it is safe, despite the village being attacked every fortnight, dragons don’t really stick around for fear of getting captured by your village. The chirping birds and the small animals frolicking around in the undergrowth lift your spirits. You take a deep breath, unable to stop yourself from breaking into a smile. You hear the sound of a waterfall nearby and change course to move towards the opening through the trees. However, you stop in your tracks when you spot broken trees and some upturned earth as if something came barreling down from the sky.

You halt in your tracks, the only thing that could fall from the sky is a dragon. Unsheathing your shortsword, you slowly approach an outgrown rock where the wreckage seems to be the worst. You take a deep breath to calm yourself before peeking to check if you’re right, only to hide yourself behind the rock once again quickly. There, on the other side of the rock you are hidden against, is a dragon you’ve never seen before.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the dragon is a Night Fury, also known as ‘the offspring of lightning and death itself.’ The beast’s scales are pitch black, small horns spike from above its eyes and go down its neck, back, and tail, the tip of which is fanned like that of a whale. The funny thing is that it doesn’t look that terrifying, especially considering the fact that it reminds you of a feline more than a vicious reptile. For being a dragon that is dreaded across the seven seas, the beast looks tamer than the ones you’ve come across over the course of your life.

You peek from behind the rock once again, only now registering that the dragon is tangled in rope. It seems to have struggled a lot, but it hasn’t been able to free itself from its binds. Since it looks like it is asleep, you move closer, awed by the sheer size of the creature. The dragon probably hears you approaching because even though it can’t move, one of its eyes is open, and it is staring straight at you. It releases a warning growl when you move even closer, but you scoff, knowing fully well that it wouldn’t be able to hurt you.

“You know, you really look more like a cat than a dragon,” your tone is belittling, and you tilt your head to the side, meeting its gaze head-on.

The dragon lets out what seems like a scoff, and you roll your eyes. “You should be nicer to me. After all, I could kill you, and then what would happen, huh? Your little family would find it harder and harder to attack us, considering that you’re the one who makes it difficult for us to bring down the rest of your kind.”

This would be your first dragon kill, and for some reason, it gives you a sense of satisfaction. Killing the Night Fury would be a step closer towards your goal, which is to avenge your family and the countless others who were destroyed by these beasts.

You raise your blade, looking down at the beast with a blank look. That is your first mistake. The dragon is looking at you with big, pleading eyes, its pupils round and sparkly like that of a cat. Your grip on the weapon falters, and probably sensing your hesitation, it lets out the most pathetic of whimpers.

“You have some nerve, really,” you sigh, feeling the urge to harm the creature ebbing away the longer you look into its eyes. It’s a living, breathing creature, and it goes against all your ideals as a healer to kill a sentient being. “First, your kind kills my family, then you guys literally cause so much damage to my village every time you attack, and here I am, wanting to spare you? Why can’t you be as ugly as a Gronckle?”

The dragon blinks at you in confusion.

“Stop looking at me like that!” You tell it, only causing the dragon to huff once again, this time in amusement. Sensing that you’re not going to kill it, the beast lets out another whine and closes its eyes.

Sighing once again, you use your sword to cut through the ropes, loosening the bonds that bind the poor creature. That is your second mistake because the very moment it is free of its bonds, the dragon leaps at you, pinning you against the rock as you gasp in shock. It growls at you, keeping you pinned with its claws.

“Oh, very nice,” you scoff at it. “I see how it is. I basically saved your life, and you thank me by pinning me to a rock? That’s quite kinky of you if I must say so.”

The beast looks at you as if you’ve grown two heads, scoffs in disbelief, and turns around to move further into the forest. It is only when you see it crash into an outcrop of rocks that you realise how unsteady its flight is.

Is it injured?

Your brows furrow as a pang of worry pierces through your heart, but before you can act on it, you realise how late it is and you haven’t even started collecting the herbs you had come to the forest for. Deciding that you will come back tomorrow to check on the dragon if it is still around, you start the laborious work of looking for the herbs you need.

When you reach the end of the treeline after your work is done, you spot Wooyoung making his way towards the forest. He smiles when he sees you, rushing to take the wicker basket from you despite your protests.

“What was discussed in the meeting?” You ask, giving up the prospect of Wooyoung returning the basket to you and start walking towards the infirmary.

“Yunho wants to send a team to scout for the dragons’ nest,” Wooyoung informs you. “Also, we’re extending the infirmary so you can keep the supplies there.”

“All expeditions to find the nest have resulted in failure, everyone comes back empty-handed,” you sigh, shaking your head in disbelief. “And what will we do even if we find the nest? We don't have the strength or the numbers to attack them.”

“We’ll work on that when we get the location of the nest.”

You sigh once again, thoughts going back to the Night Fury you had seen in the forest. It seemed like it could understand what you were saying, maybe you could use it to gather knowledge about the nest? But why would it give away the secret of its kind, especially considering the animosity between humans and dragons? For now, all you can do is hope that the ones who go out on the expedition come back home safe and sound.

“Absolutely not!” Your fingers dig into the wood almost painfully while you glare at the male who is at the other end of the table. “Wooyoung, please tell him it is a stupid idea.”

“I did, but he obviously won’t listen to me,” he sighs, resting his head against his folded arms on the table. Mingi is seated beside him, and he has been watching you and Yunho argue for the past thirty minutes with growing concern.

“It’s not stupid, Y/N,” Yunho purses his lips, running his hands through his hair. He is growing angrier by the minute, but you don’t care. You don’t want him heading the expedition that will search for the dragons’ nest. “If we find it, we can flush out the dragons once and for all!”

“And like I’ve been saying all this while, we don’t have the strength or numbers to do so!” You finally lose your patience, and your voice raises in volume as anger courses through your veins.

“I am going whether you like it or not,” Yunho informs you with an air of finality.

“You don’t even get it, do you?” You shake your head sadly and meet your brother’s eyes to stare him down. “I don’t want you to go because, more often than not, the ones who go out in search of the nest don’t return. The dragons took everyone from me, our mom, our dad, and our friends. I can’t let them take away the only family I have!”

You don’t give him a chance to say anything and storm upstairs to your room, banging the door loud enough for them to hear. You hear the shouts of protest from Mingi and Wooyoung, but you don’t care.

Tears of frustration drop down your cheeks as you gather your shortsword, your twin daggers, and a bag of herbs, along with some other tools you think you would need. You fasten everything to yourself before locking your door and opening your window. As quietly as you can, you climb over the windowsill and grab the sturdiest branch of the tree that grows right outside your window. You climb down the tree and stealthily make your way through the trail, only breathing a sigh of relief when you are hidden by the treeline.

The forest looks beautiful at night, everything is silent, and the only sound you hear is that of the breeze rustling through the leaves of the trees. Moonlight filters in through the gaps between the branches and lights your way as you search for the Night Fury you had found that morning. You follow the sound of the waterfall again, going off the trail and slipping through the gap between the trees.

The clearing is surrounded by tall rocks on all sides, and there is a freshwater lake to the side into which a stream of water falls into the pool. From your vantage point on the ledge, you are able to spot the dragon you have been searching for. It is curled up on itself at the edge of the lake. Even from a distance, you can tell that its breathing is laboured.

Almost as if sensing your presence, the dragon’s eyes open, and you bite back a gasp because its eyes are glowing in the darkness. This is the first time you’ve seen a dragon’s eyes glow in the dark, so it shocks you. When it recognises you, it lets out a whine, unfurling one of its wings to reveal the deep gash on its side that was undoubtedly caused by the ballista. You spot the dark crimson blood pooling onto the ground and wince involuntarily. You’re glad you decided to search for the dragon tonight because, at the rate the wound is bleeding, it would have succumbed to the injury by dawn.

You make your way down the clearing carefully, all the while keeping your eyes on the beast, which has been watching you closely. It lets out a warning growl when you approach it, causing you to stop in your tracks and look at it with an unamused expression.

“Listen here, you menace,” you want to sound admonishing, but your voice cracks because of the shouting and crying you had done before you arrived here.

The dragon’s eyes widen as if realising you’re not very happy right now, and it lets out a whine, extending its wing to poke at your hand. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought it was worrying about you.

“Are you worried about me now? You were just growling at me when all I wanted was to help you with that wound,” you huff, narrowing your eyes when a thought strikes you. “Are you a male? I swear all you males are the same, stubborn, and never listen when you are supposed to.”

The dragon lets out a sound that you think means confusion. So, you sigh and drop your weapons and your bag to the side before fishing out your canteen of water and filling it up with water from the lake. You also gather all the herbs and the ointment base along with your mortar and pestle. The dragon watches in fascination, eyes flashing in recognition as if it knows the herbs you have taken out. Only when you have everything ready do you settle down in front of the dragon’s wound.

“This will hurt,” you warn the beast and start pouring water onto the open wound.

The dragon growls but doesn’t move or try to attack you. The only thing it does is curl its tail a bit so that it’s resting against your back as if it’s holding onto you to ground itself. The movement causes you to freeze and look at the dragon with wide eyes, but it keeps its own closed, so you can’t tell what it’s thinking.

“I’ve only healed humans before, so I’m not sure how effective this will be,” you admit softly and grab your mortar and pestle. You use them to crush the herbs into a paste and add the ointment base to it. “I honestly don’t know why I am helping you. If my brother knew, he’d be so disappointed. But then, why should I care about him? He didn’t even think of me when he decided to go on that blasted expedition. He’s the only family I have. I guess Woo and Mingi count too, but… Yunho is my brother, and if…”

You trail off, suddenly overcome by emotion. A tear drips down your cheekbone, and you sniff, surprised by your tears and the fact that you are telling your sob story to a beast that probably doesn't understand what you are talking about.

The Night Fury lets out a whine, and you look up from its wound to see that its eyes are open and brimming with sympathy. It shifts a bit, causing you to blink at it in alarm, but the only thing it does is brush its nose over your hair before resuming a position that would allow you to take care of its wound.

You stare at it in shock. Did it just try to comfort you? You learn a new thing every day, you suppose. You shrug, going back to flushing the wound. You have to make more paste at least thrice because of how big the wound is. It’s close to dawn by the time you’re done, but at least the bleeding has stopped. You cover the paste with a piece of cotton cloth, attaching it with some adhesive that you had brought with you.

“That should work,” you say and get up slowly, wincing when you realise your limbs are numb due to how long you have been sitting in the same position. You move to the lake to wash off your hands and the tools you brought. You dip the mortar to rinse it off but jump in surprise when a fish finds itself in the bowl.

“Hey, dragon,” you turn to the beast and throw the fish towards it, smiling when it quickly gobbles up the fish.

You move to pack everything up after you are sure it has eaten its fill. When you shoulder your bag and secure your weapons around yourself, you find the dragon looking at you mournfully, as if it is sad you’re leaving.

“I’ll be back to check on your wound before sundown today,” you tell the dragon. “Don’t move around a lot, otherwise, the makeshift bandage will fall, and it could irritate the wound. Stay safe.”

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