take these broken wings & learn to fly | toothless

[Morgana Pendragon]

There were so many strange forms of transportation in this world; Morgana didn’t even know what to make of half of them. The ‘cars’ that traveled the streets, not pulled by horses but instead running on strange, toxic fuels and producing acrid, unpleasant fumes were bad enough. She wasn’t sure she’d ever trust one enough to ride in it. But then there were other things – ships, for one thing, but people apparently used them to transport goods or for vacationing purposes, as opposed to actually using them as common methods of transportation. And then there were the strange, gigantic, flying metal machines. Like great metal dragons, wings expanded, soaring high overhead with engines loud enough to nearly burst your eardrums if they dropped close enough to the ground. These Morgana found even more disconcerting than the cars – such strange inventions people came up with when they could not rely on magic.

Morgana, thankfully, was not one of those people. In the privacy of her hotel room, especially, it was not difficult to get away with a teleportation spell…and this was what she’d been using to tentatively begin to explore the new world she had found herself in. Through research, she’d made a few shocking discoveries: for one, Camelot no longer – or perhaps never had – existed in this world. It prevailed only in myths and legends and storybooks, which she hadn’t really gotten a chance to read up on yet. Returning home was evidently no longer an option, at least for now. The realization had ignited a sort of bitterness within her, though as she always did, she carefully bottled it up. Uther would have free reign of Camelot for a good time longer now, and Arthur – nearly as deluded and prejudiced as his father – would succeed him. She brooded about it often, when she was not otherwise distracted with one of the many wonders of this new world, but today was not a day for brooding. Today was a day for exploration.

From what she had found, most of the legends involving Camelot were European in origin. If there’d ever been a point when Camelot had existed in this world, she imagined it would have been there – and that was exactly where she decided to travel to this morning. Unfortunately, a teleportation spell could only be so specific when all you had to work with was a map of the world. Ultimately, she’d ended up in the countryside, green fields spotted with a few farm animals and a long dirt road stretching before her. Morgana paused, looking around with the faintest traces of displeasure. This certainly didn’t look like a place that was just brimming with information – at least, not the kind she was looking for.

…Still, there was something vaguely comforting about this settling. It was something of a relief, actually, to be away from all the hustle and bustle that occurred in the place called New York City. The silence here felt like a blessing, for one thing, and the air was fresh and clear. Traveling on foot wasn’t exactly ideal – she rather wished she had a horse with her – but even so, she was in no particular hurry to obtain the information she sought and…well, spending a bit of time here might actually do her good. She breathed in deeply, relaxed a little, and began to walk.

[Toothless]

Not too far off from Morgana Pendragon's pleasant stroll, the soft and melodic trickling of a stream could be heard. This stream was the main thoroughfare for the small farm's water supplies, which was located a distance from the dirt road. A source of fresh water, it was as clean as one living simply farm life could get; with only the occasional small fish. Frequent splashes were heard all up and down the neck of running water as the fish swam against and with the current, jumping up from the water's surface. Today was not an ordinary day, for the fish, at least. Their motions were frantic and quick. It was as if they were escaping from something, as if they were hunted.

And, indeed they were; what was hunting them was quite apparent, as well. A large, black mass stood at the bank of the small river. With its head entirely submerged underwater, the sight was intriguing, at best; downright comedic at worst. The hunter of the fish was a being not seen for some time in this world; written only in myths and children's stories, now-a-days. For, a dragon searched for prey beneath the water's surface. How the dragon and its companion had come to this day and age was beyond the creature; after all, how can you focus on the mysteries of the world when your belly is rumbling and grumbling and there are tasty morsels leaping, tauntingly, from a river?

And so, there he was; Toothless, the only Night fury, straight out of time and myth, with his head deep underwater as he snapped at any fish to dare pass by his hungry maw. With a snort, and a subsequent bubble of air rising to the surface, Toothless' head emerged from under the water and the dragon looked first up and then down the stream. His slit pupils gazed warily at the fishy chum darting within its depths. In one last valiant effort, the dragon's head shot into the river once more. This time, he just managed to snag a somewhat large fish by its tail; and, he gulped in down in one fell swoop. With his stomach sated for the moment, Toothless spun to the expanse of field behind him, filled with grazing farm animals.

His large, green-blue eyes were suddenly consumed by his pupils as they dilated. A stray sheep, grazing mere leaps away, had caught the dragon's attention. As his belly no longer demanded sustenance, another idea came to mind. What many people would not expect of dragons, or at least dragons from the land of Berk, is that they are more attributed to felines in the aspect of mind; especially Toothless. Sometimes, the mighty Night Fury even managed to get into trouble for... well, playing with his food. And so, with his large, now-black eyes locked onto the poor sheep, Toothless slowly and stealthily crept towards the animal.

A mere meter away, he leapt; landing all of his weight on the spot just behind his prey. Startled, the sheep bound away, growing every more frightful. Toothless gave chase, following the white spherical puff across the field. Only when he came across the dirt path and its lone traveller did the dragon stop. His interest in the fleeing sheep lost, the Night Fury glanced back at the stream before returning his gaze to the human. Hiccup-Friend would be awfully worried if he returned to find no Toothless. But, the dragon's curiosity was growing. After his and Hiccup-Friend's adventures on Berk, Toothless had become slightly less hostile of humans, and more curious. The Night Fury would never let his guard down... but his curiosity was beginning to be too much to bare.

With a huff, Toothless made his decision. He would assess the Curious-Human-Traveller quickly and expertly and return to the stream and await Hiccup-Friend. After that, perhaps Hiccup-Friend would be curious to meet Curious-Human-Traveller, as well. So, the black mass crept up along behind Morgana Pendragon, keeping as silent as he possibly could. Toothless froze, however, when a small twig snapped under his overbearing forepaws. With swiftness only a dragon could pull off, Toothless ducked behind a nearby boulder. On instinct, he hunched low, wings and tail curling about him, as he conformed to the shape of the boulder.

Once he was sure the coast was clear, the Night Fury lifted his head above the boulder, nose twitching as he scented the air and pupils dilating once more.

[Morgana Pendragon]

The moment she heard the twig snap, Morgana went rigid, tension making her shoulders hunch slightly and her arms stiffen at her sides. The countryside was hardly a place that injected her with much fear or wariness, and prior to this she hadn't really been on her guard - but the moment she became aware that she was no longer alone, all of that change. Distrust instinctively gripped at her, and she swiftly turned in search of whoever it was that had decided to follow her. She was surprised to find the path behind her empty, and her sharp expression slowly turned to one of vague uncertainty. This was completely typical of her, she realized wryly. She couldn't even allow herself to relax long enough to take a quiet walk in the countryside. But something was off here, she could discern that much - the snapping of the twig hadn't been her imagination, and twigs did not simply snap on their own.

It seemed unlikely that whoever had been following her could have managed to get out of sight so quickly, however. Unless...her gaze fell upon a boulder off to one side of the path, and she inquisitively quirked an eyebrow. Perhaps she really was being a bit paranoid now, but...it wouldn't hurt to investigate none the less. Morgana remained still and silent for a moment longer, weighing her options, and had very nearly resolved to take a step towards the boulder when a sudden, dark flash of movement made her freeze where she was. The first thing that drew her immediate attention were the creature's eyes. Bright green, almost catlike, they contrasted sharply against its deep black...scales. She regarded the creature with newfound realization and surprise. A dragon. This was a dragon. It was unlike Garchomp, the dragon she'd met in New York - no, Morgana knew enough to realize that this was a different sort of dragon entirely, and one which looked far more similar to the sort the stories described in Camelot at that.

For a moment, all she could do was stare at it in slight shock. Why had it been following her? Why was it hiding now? Perhaps it had...merely been drawn to the magic she possessed? Dragons were creatures of magic, after all, and it only made sense that one might be able to sense it and wish to investigate. Whatever the case, she didn't want to startle it and either provoke it into attacking or frighten it into running off. And so, for the moment, Morgana remained right where she was and made an uncharacteristic attempt to make her body language seem as nonthreatening as possible.

"There's no need to hide," she stated slowly, keeping her voice steady - though she couldn't entirely suppress the faint smile that had formed on her lips. "I will not harm you." She was assuming the dragon would understand, knowing that dragons from her own land were capable of human speech. But where had this one come from, she wondered? She might have almost believed that it was wild, that this was its natural home, but...evidently, dragons did not exist here in this world. It would have had to come from somewhere else. She was only grateful that this dragon had found its way into the countryside, rather than one of this world's crowded cities - that, Morgana knew from recent experience, simply did not end well.

[Toothless]

As he slowly rose his head from behind the boulder, Toothless kept a curious gaze on the Human-Traveler. When she began speaking, his ears twitched slightly to better catch the sound and he cocked his head to the side. He let loose a quizzical rumble as he listened to her. With slow movements, from practice handling unpredictable and cautious Vikings, Toothless placed first one paw and then the other onto the rocky formation before him, his claws digging into its surface for purchase.

The Nighty Fury climbed slowly over the boulder; though his body was in motion, his head moved nary an inch as he kept his eyes on the Curious-Human-Traveler. His tail swayed to keep his balance as he moved up and around the boulder, finally planting a foot on solid ground again on the side before Morgana Pendragon. Although he was curious, Toothless was still very cautious. His steps were slow and careful. His nose continued to twitch as he took in the scents surrounding the woman.

However, catching the familiar scent of refined ore, the dragon's disposition changed dramatically. He tensed, spreading his footing out to for firm balance. His once toothless maw flexed and filled with teeth as a soft growl echoed from its depths. The once-dilated pupils narrowed to slits and he snarled at the Suspicious-Human-Traveler. After fighting against the Vikings of Berk for so long and, even after befriending them and finding other adversaries, Toothless had grown incredibly wary of the weapons of humans. His tail curled around him, poised to strike, as he continued to growl. He searched the woman in an attempt to locate the source of the smell of steel. He shall harbor no trust until the blade is gone.