#httyd reader

They heard whispers from merchants and travelers about a truly mystifying sight. A warrior donning a wolven mask, accompanied by two dragons of black and white. Who have been seen cutting down monsters in a flurry of movements, too fast for the witnesses to comprehend. All they remember is the haunting eyes and gleaming fangs of the mask the rider wore before disappearing in either a spark of lightning or a flash of flame.

Honestly, just hearing "warrior" was more than enough to catch the group's attention.

They had recently landed back into the champion's era, as told when he spotted a familiar tower in the distance. After regaining their bearings, they let the Link in question guide them to the nearest settlement, which happened to be the East Akkala Stable. It was there that they had decided to rest for the night, perform an inventory check, tend to wounds, repair damaged clothing or items, and the like.

In the midst of such, they happened to overhear the conversations from the other travelers that came and left. All about the individual who rode on the backs of dragons.

One individual, a hylian merchant, had been speaking to the stablehand about what he saw on the road. He spotted the trio resting along the tops of the Dueling Peaks as the sun began to set below the horizon.

Another traveler, a Rito, had chimed in that on her flight here, she swears that she saw someone walking on the dragon's backs, performing tricks for the fun of it. She remembers that they were hylian, with silver ornaments in their hair and a fluffy fur cloak wrapped around their shoulders. 

Lastly, a pair of children, the stablehand's sons, told the gossiping adults they were saved from monsters by one of the dragons. They said that it was white and sparkly, giggling madly when they mentioned that it sounded like a really big cat.

All these stories had the Chain curious and somewhat suspicious. It was the topic of conversation once they had left the stable the next morning.

"A hylian with a wolf mask accompanied by two dragons," Warriors echoed. "I can't say I've heard that one before."

"Me neither. It seems a bit surreal, doesn't it?" Hyrule replies, looking toward Wild. "You said there were dragons here, do you know who this dragon rider could be?"

The champion shook his head. "Not a clue. The dragons I know are huge and are surrounded by so much elemental magic that no one could even safely approach them."

"You think it's related to our problem?" Legend asks aloud, arching a brow.

"It could be," Wild replies. "But I doubt that it is. You heard those kids, the dragons and their rider saved them. It'd be weird that they'd be willing to cut down their own allies if they were working with the enemy."

Warriors nods at the reason. "Agreed. It has to be something else."

Time finally decides to make his opinion known. "No matter the case, it would be best that we seek this dragon rider out. We will most likely be getting something useful out of it either way."

The rest of the group didn't argue, coming to a consensus on their leader's statement. So they kept trekking onward toward their next destination: Hateno Village.

It was a fairly calm trip from there on out.

You know, up until they were ambushed.

One could call it an unexpected turn of events, though they knew that really it wasn't. It was inconvenient and extremely irritating at that point more than anything, but at least they were somewhat prepared for it. Weapons were drawn, magic was sparking, and everyone in the group had steeled themselves as the enemies came in droves.

When the first monster approached the Link that was closest to it, their sword came down in one sweeping motion. When sharpened steel sliced through soft flesh, a messy stain of black blood coated the blade's edge.

The situation had gone from irritating to bad very quickly.

Upon witnessing the sight of the ebony ichor, each Link had made a silent yet unanimous agreement. Pick a section and focus on your batch of monsters. It was easy enough.

Or it would have been had one not been corralled away from the others, and it had to be the youngest of them too. The sailor in particular could feel himself getting angry about the idea of being cornered, mostly because of how he'd definitely be getting babied by the captain, rancher, and probably even the old man once he rejoined the group later. Alas, he was preoccupied with fighting for his life to really let the anger settle into his bones, so instead he chose to channel it into his next set of attacks.

Swing, dodge, parry, duck, swing, swing, roll.

A familiar set of words that would repeat themselves in Wind's mind in random patterns. A mantra that every hero knew by heart, or would soon come to learn one way or another.

Wind couldn't remember how many monsters he had cut down. His sword was coated in their foul smelling ichor, his heart was racing, and his mouth felt dry. He was tired and the adrenaline pumping through his veins wouldn't last forever. Despite this, he doesn't let up.

He then felt something invisible seizing his lungs, a dreaded feeling. Fear, he deduced. He feels his posture stiffen as he looks around frantically for the cause of it. His head jerks up as a thundering roar rattles the trees around him. He turned his head, his eyes growing wide as a white maned lynel entered his field of vision.

It was safe to assume that the lynel was black blooded as well, and the sailor was in no position to even consider engaging it in battle. The only thing useful he had on him was a single, half empty healing potion that would do very little in this situation. The thought of making a tactical retreat to regroup with the others crosses his mind, but the idea is quickly discarded when he sees that the lynel has spotted him from its place across the field.

He can't outrun it.

It knows that he can't.

So it charges.

Wind thinks he can hear the distant shout of one of the others. He makes an attempt to call for them, opening his mouth to yell—   that's when he hears it. A strange whistling, high pitched and piercing, echoing through the air and in his eardrums. It was unlike anything he's ever heard before, and his mind still riddled with adrenaline shook itself for a possible answer. Although, the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize… that……….

…was it getting louder?

The sound distracts him to the point where he almost forgets about the lynel galloping towards him rapidly. He can feel its heavy footsteps shake the ground as it gets closer and closer. The beast is more than halfway across the field when it happens.

A speeding ball of violet blue fire comes out of nowhere and hits the lion centaur straight in the chest point blank. The impact knocked it to the ground, and he thinks he can see its black blood splatter across the grass. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the monster had sustained an irreparable amount of damage (a polite way of saying that its top half of its body was definitely in pieces).

He feels his namesake blow past him, a blur of white entering his field of vision as it lands just mere feet away from him.

It's big, noticeably bigger than Epona, with a lithe and lean body shape. Its features were surprisingly round and soft from what he could see, and it was coated in white scales that shimmered with blue, purple, and pink undertones. Its wings were noticeably larger in comparison to the rest of its body, and its tail was adorned with fins shaped sort of like fairy wings. It almost looked like it was…

…like it was a dragon.

Its body was crouched in front of him, its back arched into a defensive posture with its wings raised to make itself look bigger. He couldn't see its face, but he could hear it snarl. It was most likely looking at the body of the lynel it had just blasted to hell and back.

He peered over at the lynel's body, or what was left of it really, to see it crumble and dissipate into smokey red embers before fading completely. The dragon relaxes as it folds up its wings, its head raising up and allowing Wind to see two round ears perk as it scans its surroundings, though he could also see that there were also two smaller nubs beneath them. Its gaze soon fell on the young hero, causing it to let out a soft warbling purr.

He wasn't expecting to see such non-threatening features on a mythical creature that had just taken out a lynel in one attack only moments ago. Now that he had a much clearer view of the dragon, it looked less like a dangerous beast of ire and flame and more like a scaly marshmallow that someone had dumped an entire box of glitter on.

Lavender hues eyed him curiously, once hostile slits rounding out to more passive ovals. He could see two separate leather strings decorated with various charms and precious stones hanging around its neck. A black armband with silver ornaments was secured along its upper right arm, the ornament itself shaped like a four pointed star.

It squinted its eyes for a moment, before leaning its head forward to sniff at him from a distance. Wind wasn't sure what to do when it began to approach him, taking slow and careful side steps toward him. It stopped for a moment, and he saw its eyes staring at the blood stained sword in his dominant hand.

He could practically hear the lecture that he would definitely be getting for what he was about to do next, but had since decided that his curiosity of the result outweighed the certainty of consequence. He put his sword down, and took a good few steps away from it.

That seemed to be enough for it to continue its approach. Once it was right in front of him, it lowered its head with its ears flattened against its neck, as if to assure him that it meant no harm. He raised his left hand, the one that wasn't nearly as bloody as the other, and held it out to the dragon.

It tilted its head, sniffed, before leaning forward and rubbing its head against his hand.

Wind couldn't stop the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips, spreading out wider when it began to purr. He pressed the palm of his hand against the top of its head, marveling at the smooth feeling of its scales. He noted that it felt somewhat warm, and that its body was vibrating from the intensity of its purring.

He let out a shout of laughter when it suddenly pressed its whole body toward him, thankfully not on. It curled around him until the front half of its body was on one side and its tail on the other. It rolled onto its back, exposing the pale blue coloring going from its neck all the way down its chest and underbelly. Wind was more than willing to indulge the dragon and give it the pets it desired.

"You're way nicer about being pet than Wolfie is," he comments, scratching the dragon's belly. "You don't even growl or bite either!"

Wind hears the same whistling sound that the dragon had made previously, though this time it was brief and much more calm. He was about to turn to see what it was before he was distracted by a wet and slimy tongue dragging itself across his cheek. His expression morphs into one of disgust as he reaches up to wipe off the dragon's admittedly very sticky and thick saliva with his arm. Though it's clear that he isn't actually that mad about it, judging from the smile that was still present on his face.

"Lux, there you are! Why did you…."

He freezes, standing up straighter at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"What have I told you about personal space!" He turns to the owner of such. "Shoo, off! Dårlig drage, skam!"

The white dragon, whose name he now knew to be Lux, cooed softly in apology. It rolled back onto its feet, nuzzling Wind's shoulder one last time before darting toward the newcomer with its head ducked down. It cooed and warbled at them once they had dismounted the black dragon they had arrived on.

Wait, black dragon?

His expression changed into one of shock and realization.

The warrior donning a wolven mask, accompanied by dragons of black and white.

He looked the person over, and sure enough he spotted a wolf mask with its face twisted into a threatening snarl attached to one of their belts. They wore a fur cloak around their shoulders and a pair of dragon fang earrings. From what he can see of their arms, he spotted a myriad of tattoos depicting swirls of dragons painted across their skin.

The black dragon, who was also glaring at Lux trying to suck up to the stranger, was noticeably bigger in size. The ears along its head were much longer and in great numbers. There were shark fin shaped dorsal plates running a line down the length of its spine that became increasingly smaller as it trailed to the end of its long tail. Speaking of, its tail also seemed to have that set of fins on either side, though they were sharper looking than the other dragon's in comparison.

Well, he might be forgiven for petting the dragon now that he's found who the group has been looking for.

Speaking of whom, he saw them looking towards him after scolding the white dragon.

"I'm sorry about Lux, she doesn't exactly understand the concept of respecting people's personal bubbles," they said to him "Did she hurt you at all? I know she likes to lean, but I don't think she realizes that she weighs nearly a ton."

Wind blinks, taking a few moments to register the question before he shakes his head. "No, she saved me actually," he replied with a smile. "It-  uh, she absolutely destroyed that lynel earlier!"

The stranger's brows raised up in surprise, their gaze turning to Lux. "So that's why you suddenly disappeared. If you want to dive into battle, at least tell us first. We can't keep doing this or else I'm going to get gray hairs before I even reach thirty."

Lux rumbled softly, nudging her rider with her nose. She received a pat, which she purred under.

"They're yours?" Wind decided to finally ask, recapturing the rider's attention.

"I guess you could say that," they answered, "They're my family, more like. Sisters that I never had."

So they were both female, he'd have to remember that. "The white one's name is Lux?"

Another nod of confirmation. "Her full name is Faeralux, Lux for short," the stranger then raised a hand to gently stroke their fingers across the black dragon's head. "And this is Rhae, which is short for Rhaeneir."

"Of course, my name is Y/N," they added. "Might I know the name of the boy my overly affectionate Light Fury saved from peril?"

"My name is Link! But I'm going by Wind right now," he answers, biting his tongue on the reason why he's going by the name Wind.

Thankfully Y/N doesn't question it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Wind. Thank you for tolerating Lux's affection, and not attacking her."

It doesn't take a genius to understand why someone would attack Lux, yet even if she's a dragon, she doesn't look or act like any he's ever seen. Granted, he only really has Valoo for reference on that front, but his point still stands.

He opens his mouth to ask another question when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Wind?!"

"Sailor, where are you?!!"

The trio of dragons and dragon rider all perk up to the voices. Y/N turns to him and speaks, "Is that your flock?"

Wind nods, and Y/N turns toward Lux. "I'm staying with you from here on out. I don't need you to get any more ideas about diving without saying anything."

The white dragoness coos softly at her rider's decision before leaning down for Y/N to hop on. Yet before they could, Wind interrupts the action.

"Wait!" Y/N turns to look at him questioningly. "Me and my group were looking for you actually, so if you wouldn't mind, could you stay here until they come?"

The black dragon, Rhae, narrows her eyes scrutinizingly at the sailor, causing him to shrink the slightest bit under her gaze. Y/N waves a dismissive hand to get the Night Fury to let up.

"Are they as friendly as you?" the rider asks him. "Because if they're not and are prone to the 'attack first ask questions later' instinct, I don't need them trying to kill me or my dragons."

"I promise they won't, not if I tell them that you're safe," Wind says, gazing at them hopefully. "Please?"

Rhae remains unconvinced, but she sees Y/N's resolve start to bow at the sight of the sailor's look. She grumbles lowly, her expression morphing into a look that said, Are you seriously going to bend that quickly to some random hatchling's pleading eyes??

The Night Fury gave her rider a flat look when the answer was yes, as told by the sigh of resignation Y/N breathed out. 

You're weak, Rhae warbled.

Y/N's only reply was a halfhearted swat in the general direction of Rhae's face, an attempted hit that was nowhere near making contact. It was the rider's way of saying that they didn't need her judgment right now.

"Fine, I'm choosing to trust you on this one. Don't make me regret it," Y/N says, dismissing the little mental talk that they just had with Rhae. The rider turned, to which something shiny was seen in their peripheral vision. "If that sword is yours, best you pick it up so your flock doesn't assume I disarmed and cornered you. Gods know I don't need a repeat of that problem."

Wind nods and goes to retrieve his weapon he dropped in favor of coaxing Lux toward him. Y/N hummed, perking up when they heard the bushes rustle and a mop of blonde hair emerge.

"Wind?" Crystal blue eyes search the area frantically before they land on their target. "Wind!"

The boy, who had just sheathed his sword, called back to the other. "Warriors! Check out who I found!"

The captain's face displayed confusion, brows furrowing as his lips were parted just the slightest amount as he was stopped before he could speak. Wind points to his left, and Warriors follows where it goes and is gobsmacked by what, or rather, who he sees.

Y/N's arms were crossed as they were leaning on Lux, who was currently sitting down. They raised their hand momentarily to wave, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

Lux looked curious about the child's sibling, at least, they smelled like siblings to her.

Rhae was passive, not particularly interested or disinterested, merely there to witness.

It wasn't exactly the strangest ragtag group of individuals the captain has ever seen and believe him, he's seen his fair share. Though he would admit that this one was definitely in the top five.

Now to go tell the others about all of… this.