Eucatastrophe
The first day of walking passed very uneventfully. They saw no one and nothing else at all as they walked north along the mountains. Several small streams from snowmelt dripped down the mountains and gave them clean drinking water as they went. No one was hungry enough that they needed to hunt for anything, but Snowflame and Windripper volunteered to bring back some fish from the river.
Hiccup offered to walk with Sky-Dancer to let Toothless and Moonbeam have some time to themselves. It was also a good opportunity to start building up his own endurance. Breath-Of-Sky also stayed close, ready to lend a wing or shoulder to rest on if needed, while Mystery and Far-Flight walked together.
Just as before, his leg started hurting the more he walked. It was also inconvenient trying to walk in the wild. His peg kept sinking into mud.
Stupid leg...
Sky-Dancer noticed and stepped up next to him.
"Get on. I will carry you now," she said in a tone that brooked no objection.
Wincing at the pain and the building fire in his stump, he didn't object to being carried, so he climbed on her back.
This will be easier once I can make a real prosthetic.
"What happens when we get back to our range?" she asked as she started walking again.
"Nothing important. We won't need to be in any more battles. Probably just more of what we were doing before: living in peace."
Then he rolled his eyes.
"Well, not nothing important. Living in peace is important too. And there are a couple things I really want to do."
"What are they?" she asked.
"One, and this is the much easier of the two, I want to get started on that Hall for the whole pack. It will be like the Golden Hall, but this new one will be much bigger and made for you dragons only."
"That sounds good. Living in dens made by humans still feels twisted, but we will be a pack together," she agreed.
"What is the other thing you want to do?" Breath-Of-Sky asked.
Hiccup grinned.
"There's someone I want to get to know better."
Sky-Dancer stopped and glanced back over her shoulder at him.
"Is this someone a female? Is it Adney?" she grinned.
"Yes, and yes."
She started walking again while purring.
"I do not know her, but Burning-Star said that she is good and warm in her soul-fire."
"Yeah, she is. Burning-Star and I took her flying, and she really liked it."
"Good. I already approve of her, not that you need my approval to want her."
He was puzzled by that remark of hers, until he realized that, in her mind, he was not a fledgling. Despite the care and attention she was giving him, she saw him as an adult, which was technically true. He was eighteen, and he had done far more than anyone else who was eighteen back on Berk or even likely in any of the lands of Middle-earth.
His thoughts went to Frodo and Sam, surely making their way into the heart of Mordor while the rest of the Fellowship and the soldiers of Rohan and Gondor were a distraction.
Whatever is going to happen now is out of our hands and paws...
The land out here outside of civilization was very silent and still. All was as he had felt shortly after leaving Minas Tirith. A hush hung over the land. The long grasses and the trees' leaves swayed without making a sound.
Everything was waiting for whatever was going to happen next.
Toothless rolled his neck and stretched while grumbling. There was a strange pain and weakness in his neck.
Moonbeam noticed his slight discomfort.
"What is it, my dear mate?"
"A small hurting: nothing too bad."
She grumbled and hopped over to his side, gently nuzzling his neck.
"Is it where the arrow bit you?"
"Yes..."
She grumbled again and glared at the small wound by his pendant. His hide there felt warmer and itched a little.
Then he forgot all about the little pain as she started licking his hurt.
"Better?" she whispered once she was finished.
"Much better. I hope that Gandalf and Aragorn got all the rot out..."
That worry was a detail that he had been thinking about the last few days. He felt generally weaker, and the only reason he could think of as to why was the hurt he had gotten.
But he saw her ears fell after he grumbled about his hurt. That sadness of hers was something bad that he could help with, especially since his sire had volunteered to carry the saddle bags for Hiccup.
So he pounced at her, gently tackled her, and pinned her on her back, their tails fighting with each other.
"Got you!" he growled.
"Burning-Star! Not now..." she slyly purred.
He laughed at that and licked her cheek, feeling no interest at all in what she suggested, not when they were so near their kin. No, this was time to play, bond, and forget hurts for a time.
"Not that, my dear mate. This is bonding-fighting!"
He hopped back from her, his tail swaying as she hopped to her paws. She roared softly and leaped at him, trying to nip his ears. He intentionally let her win the play-fight by pinning him on his belly as she chewed at his neck.
"You win!"
She hopped aside and stuck out her tongue at him while prancing around in triumph.
"Yes, I win. I got the best and bravest life-mate in the whole pack!" she proudly declared.
You are not wrong about that!
"And so did I!" he held a paw to his chest.
"Yes, you did! You got a very brave and beautiful life-mate!" she huffed.
He entirely agreed with her. But he also wondered something about her. This detail was about a part of life that he himself could never learn about on his own.
"My dear mate, how will you know if we have made a cub?"
She hummed and glanced off toward his sire and dam and the rest of their kin.
"Your dam told me what I needed to know. If I start getting sick and do not feel another cub-making time, I will know."
"You will feel sick?" he barked in alarm.
"Only for part of one moon-cycle at most, if I am like dark wings in that way. That time has much hurting and some problems keeping food in the belly, but there is no hurting after that until the birthing."
He winced at the memory of that event for Lightning. The yelps and growls of pain combined with the blood was not soul-fire warming.
"That sounds like it hurts much."
Moonbeam hummed softly while shuffling on her paws.
"True, but Sky-Dancer said that it hurts most for the first cub and hurts less after that one. The hurting is also small when weighed against the good of having the cub."
"What are you saying?"
She chuffed.
"I am saying that I want us to have a pawful of cubs. Life with humans helping with food and safety might help us all have more cubs."
He hummed in ready agreement. What she pointed out was very true and good for the pack. There were now thirty-one in the pack, after including the eight rescued ones.
"What will happen when the pack grows too big? Maybe it will split in two and one of the two can fly to a new range," he mused.
"Where would we go?"
He thought back to the map that Hiccup showed him. The river they were all following flowed down into an ocean.
"Somewhere along the water would be best. We could find more fish there, but that is all much in the future."
She purred in agreement, clearly liking the idea of living by the water, and followed him on paw. They never let the rest of their kin out of sight. It helped a lot that these lands were not very thick with trees, unlike the forest further ahead and by the mountains.
Hiccup and Faramir had said they should stay out of the forest, since there are humans living in there in secret. That was fine. He and his kin had no interest in disturbing anyone.
Toothless heard a familiar roar echo from behind them. Flame-In-The-Night was racing toward the rest of his kin.
He and Moonbeam wasted no time and flew toward them, eventually settling down when Flame-In-The-Night also touched down. Snowflame was the first to bound over to him and nuzzle her sire's nose in greeting.
"Alpha!" the rest of them cried in greeting.
"How are the new dark wings? They are in Edoras now, yes?" Hiccup eagerly asked.
"Almost. They are staying in the mountains for now until they can trust more. Snowfall is leading all in the pack while I am away. I flew back to the city because I thought you were there."
Flame-In-The-Night paused for a moment.
"I met with the Steward-Alpha Faramir. He told me what happened and why you left," Flame-In-The-Night sadly said.
"Yes, we are all walking together for safety," Far-Flight explained.
"Will you go with Wing-Of-Ice and his kin to Edoras?"
"We will," Sky-Dancer added.
"And I am going with my mate's kin also," Snowflame said.
Flame-In-The-Night hummed in approval.
"Good. You should do that for them."
"Is Free-Flight well?" she asked.
"Yes, but he misses you and wants to play with you."
Snowflame sighed.
"I knew he would."
Flame-In-The-Night then stepped back and stretched his wings.
"I will fly back to the city now. I need to meet with my... lost brother."
A tense silence followed that.
"What will you do with him?" Hiccup asked, breaking the silence.
Flame-In-The-Night shuffled in place without saying anything for a long time. The Alpha eventually glanced between Hiccup, Toothless, and Moonbeam, knowing that they were present at the meeting with Burzghash or Dark-Fire as he was once called.
"He was always someone who said things he did not truly mean, but I am not sure that I know him now. I want to think that he is not only cruel and biting. If he can see that he is wrong, then I would bring him back to Edoras so that the pack can watch him. Only bad will happen if he stays trapped where he is now."
"If you think he can be trusted," Toothless groaned.
"Trusted? No, I do not think we can trust him right now. But he is a dark wing, and we must show that we can punish or correct our own who do wrong. If we do not, we show that the humans must punish us when we do bad."
Toothless hummed in thought as he realized something about the situation.
"You bringing him back to live with the pack could give him a reason to change. Him seeing the dark wing and human cubs playing together must help him see the rot in his thinking."
Flame-In-The-Night grumbled.
"Maybe. Maybe not. How long will it be before you get back to Edoras?"
"About fourteen days," Hiccup answered.
Flame-In-The-Night nodded.
"If I get back to Edoras before you do, I will have packmates find you and help bring Wing-Of-Ice back safely. You, Burning-Star, Moonbeam, Mystery, Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Breath-Of-Sky should not need to walk all the way with him and his kin."
Hiccup thought about the offer and liked it a lot because it made sense. Having others from the pack take over as a relief for the convoy would help to spread the burden.
"Good idea. We'll be keeping within sight of the Anduin until we pass the forest, and then we'll stay close to the rivers that will lead us to Edoras."
Flame-In-The-Night hummed in acknowledgment.
"I understand. Safe hunts to you all."
The Alpha then spun away with a roar and swiftly flew south. They watched him fly until he was a dot in the dark sky. Then he was gone.
They started walking again, sticking close together as the shadows grew longer late in the afternoon.
The sun set beyond the White Mountains just to the west. Everyone agreed to pack in close together for safety and comfort while someone, Far-Flight first, stayed awake on guard duty. It was very unlikely that anything would want to attack them, but it was best to be safe.
Hiccup groaned as he leaned back against Toothless's side.
Ugh, what a long day. Time to check the stump!
He unstrapped the peg and took it off with a wince. Moonbeam noticed and stuck her nose closer to see what was going on, though she froze when she saw what he was doing.
"Hiccup?" she softly hummed.
"I have to check it every so often," he explained.
"Why?" Toothless asked.
"Because if it has been bleeding I need to clean it or replace the padding for the stump."
"Let me see it," she commanded.
He held up the stump for her to see, and she softly whined when she saw it.
"Can I lick it?" she asked.
It probably won't do anything now... but you might feel better about it.
"Sure, if you want to."
She gently licked the stump. Her licks, just like Toothless's, were somewhat soothing, though there wasn't much to be done for the wound. Then he dried it off with a rag, changed the padding, and reattached his peg.
"Thanks, I'm sure that helps some."
"I hope so," she whispered.
Toothless rearranged himself so they could see his faintly-glowing pendant. All three of them purred softly when they saw that warm and precious light.
Then she lay down beside him so that he was snug between her and Toothless, secure under a dark wing. Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer lay together with Breath-Of-Sky and Mystery a short distance away.
He stared up into the sky in silence save for the breaths and purrs of the Furies around him. The sky here was clear, which let him see the myriad of stars high above. A warm wind out of the west had swept in and pushed the clouds further back into the east. However, the red horizon in the east was still covered in dark clouds from Mordor.
But everything was still and quiet. The breeze was hushed, and none of the creatures of the night were singing.
What is happening out there? The army has to be at the Black Gates by now or at least close. Oh well, nothing I can do about it.
He closed his eyes and tried to settle his mind, but it felt like there was a weight upon his heart. Something remained unfinished. Drawing nearer...
Then he heard someone padding closer to him, so he opened his eyes to see who it was.
It was Wing-Of-Ice.
The grounded male sat down directly before him, Moonbeam, and Toothless, both of whom appeared to be asleep. Wing-Of-Ice looked very unsure of himself because he was shuffling on his paws.
"Wing-Of-Ice?"
"Hiccup, I want to... say... something..." Wing-Of-Ice hesitantly whispered.
"You just did..."
Wing-Of-Ice huffed.
"I want to... say that I am sorry for saying that I wished you had not found us. I was..."
"Hurt and afraid, I understand and don't blame you at all. I thought the same thing myself," Hiccup whispered.
"Still, I wronged you when you were hurt also," Wing-Of-Ice grumbled.
"No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did."
Hiccup frowned.
"Alright, you did. Do you want to make it up to me?"
"Yes, whatever you want me to do," Wing-Of-Ice sighed.
"Okay then. Be a good father and mate. Never give up on yourself. Do not think that you are worth less to them even though you are grounded. That is what I say you must do."
Wing-Of-Ice looked like he was about to object, so Hiccup continued.
"Do all that, and I will say that the wrong is no more. Got it?"
"Yes, I understand," Wing-Of-Ice eventually answered.
Then the male turned away and slowly strode back over to Eyes-That-Shimmer's side. He lay down with her and stretched his remaining wing over her back while gazing at the dozing Nightfall at her chest.
Hiccup stared at them until a tear fell down his cheek.
The Furies caught a single deer which they rationed among themselves for lunch beside a small stream of clear water. Hiccup gnawed on some hard bread and dried fruit from his supplies and had some water from one of his flasks.
They all continued walking together into the afternoon, no one wanting to separate except briefly to relieve themselves. No one felt like playing or flying, though they had no idea why.
Hiccup continued walking at Sky-Dancer's side, pushing through the pain and discomfort so that he could build greater stamina. He had already been slowly walking, no one was trying to make great haste, for perhaps an hour after lunch. Far-Flight, Breath-Of-Sky, Mystery, Toothless, and Moonbeam were plodding along together just ahead, softly talking together to pass the time.
The wind seemed to pick up slightly out of the west.
They finally passed enough of the forest that, from the ground, they could barely see the lands begin to change into what looked more like Rohan, plains and grasslands. The two families stood a short distance apart, resting their paws in a break from the long walking.
Hiccup closed his eyes while leaning back against Toothless's side. The Fury was purring in peace. Everything was at peace.
The wind died, and the midday light dimmed.
A hush fell on the land: the rustle of leaves in the few trees, the bird-calls, their own voices, their breaths, even the beating of their hearts... faded and stilled.
Time halted.
Hiccup opened his eyes in the timeless silence. He and all the Furies found their gazes drawn inexorably to the east, to the distant and dark clouds that hovered over the far Mountains of Shadow and over Mordor.
His hands found Toothless's and Moonbeam's necks for reassurance while Breath-Of-Sky stood between Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer.
Powerless to take any other action, they waited together for they knew not what.
Then they saw it.
Far off beyond the horizon and above the smothering clouds... another great and impenetrable darkness towered over the world and filled the sky. A mountain of darkness, flickering with fire and crowned with lightning, rose up like a wave that threatened to roll over the land.
Oh gods, what is this?
Hiccup glanced around at his family and froze when he saw them all staring into the distance. Their gazes were narrowed on the darkness above the clouds, their ears were swept back, and they were growling with their jaws parted and teeth bared. Even Breath-Of-Sky looked affected between Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer as they stood frozen.
The fear passed through his heart for an instant. Something very important had happened, and it did not look good. All the Furies seemed affected at the same time.
Maybe the mission had failed and Sauron had recovered his Ring. Maybe this visage was the start of this world's Ragnarok. Maybe this lightning-crowned shadow that stretched up into the sky was Sauron in his full, indomitable strength. Maybe all the dragons were now about to fall to Sauron's power.
Maybe Toothless was about to turn on him now.
But he had thrown away his dagger long ago, trusting that Toothless was free to act as a good being. He gave up control long ago in a different world and had done that again in this world by giving Toothless his freedom. Toothless fought so hard to resist temptation and anything that would try to control him.
So what was he: was he free or not?
Hiccup exhaled in peace as the fear departed from his heart. If anything tragic happened to him in the next few moments, it would not be Toothless's or Moonbeam's fault; his dragon brother and sister would never willingly hurt him. The same went for his adoptive parents and younger brother also.
"Brother? Moonbeam?"
At his voice, they both blinked and turned to him. Their slitted eyes slowly widened as they stared at him. Toothless's pendant was also shining brightly.
"I'm glad to be with you, both of you, no matter what happens."
"So am I," Toothless hummed back to him.
Moonbeam purred softly while nuzzling Hiccup's side.
Out of the corner of his vision, Hiccup saw Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, Breath-Of-Sky, and Mystery approach and stand beside the three of them. He also clearly saw Snowflame and Windripper sitting together with their tails entwined. Wing-Of-Ice and Eyes-That-Shimmer stood beside Snowflame and Windripper while young Nightfall hid under one of her mother's wings. They were all staring together toward the distant, towering shadow of what was certainly, somehow, Sauron himself.
While they had never been as close to the Ring as Toothless had, they were all now, in some way, exposed to Sauron's visage. He had no idea what, if anything, that meant for them.
But they all in that moment had with them what was most precious to them, their truest treasures, in each other.
From far away, now dim, now growing, and then mounting to the clouds, there came a drumming rumble, a roar, a long echoing roll of ruinous noise that shattered the calm.
Enormous and mighty, the lightning-crowned shadow reared above the world and stretched out a vast threatening hand, terrible but utterly impotent: for even as it leaned over the world a great wind gusted from the West, seized the shadow, and tore it apart into wispy strands that faded.
Still they looked on as the dark clouds that had long hovered over Minas Tirith and the Pelennor were similarly rent asunder under the gale from the West.
A bright orange and red flash erupted from beyond the far mountains. The ground shook under foot and paw.
In an awed silence, they stared at a wave of wind that flowed out from deep within Mordor. The wave tore apart the dark clouds from within and then rushed out over the mountains and onto the green of North Ithilien. The trees and grass on the far slope visibly swayed at the wind's passing.
The wave of wind struck them and passed by with a crash, doing little more than disturb the grass and trees where they stood. The grating roar and rumbling that had seemed to well up from the earth gradually faded as the faint shaking similarly died away.
A hush fell anew.
The dark clouds, so long having hovered over Gondor, were gone entirely, leaving the land looking far greener than it had before. The far Mountains of Shadow that formed the border of Mordor were bathed in light from the afternoon sun.
"What just happened?" Breath-Of-Sky barked, breaking the silence.
Hiccup wiped away and tried to restrain the tears that he did not know he had been weeping. A weight, so subtle that he only now noticed it from its absence, upon his heart was no longer there.
He turned to all his family gathered there with him. They all looked shocked and at a total loss for words.
"I don't know, but... I think it's over."
"Over?" Toothless gasped.
"I feel... so very happy and free now. What about you all?"
"There is more light shining now," Sky-Dancer whispered.
"I want to roar!" Breath-Of-Sky joyfully cried.
"Me also!" Far-Flight added.
Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, Breath-Of-Sky, Mystery, Toothless, and Moonbeam lifted their heads to the sky and roared for the joy that welled up from what source they had no idea. Hiccup stopped trying to restrain his tears and let them fall freely. The other Furies a short distance away added their voices without any prompting.
Their united roars shivered the sky.