I was positively surprised at the level of hospitality Skrills expressed towards me, or at least this one did, even after my impolite intrusion.
'I suppose I would also be displeased, should someone barge like this into my house. It simply didn't yet settle in my mind that as dragons, our homes can be more... open.' I may have made a weird face at that, as Tyrfähl raised an eyebrow at me in a silent question.
Not wanting to flaunt my lack in common sense around, I quickly thought of a question to cover it up. "May I ask you, how can I contact you or others in the event that there arises a need to do so again? I can pardon myself the first time, but second, would be disrespectful." I tried to use more enriched language since Tyrfähl expressed his preference for this form of speech.
He thought about it for a moment and smiled. "Though it happens rarely, usually others would go to this large ledge sticking out of the main mountain just below the cloud ceiling. You can see it from here as it faces the northern winds. You can roar from there and an elder will come to see you."
I looked in the direction he described and saw a clearly modified ledge, jutting out of the mountain just bellow the clouds. It gave off a feeling of being carved out... and it might have been. Afterall, dragon claws are more than hard enough to do the job. 'I can imagine the sound.'
They probably have some tricks to avoid that or to carve with less scratching and more striking. 'I wonder if there are dragon architects or something. It might be something interesting to learn about.'
As we were gliding down, it didn't take us long to reach the gathering place Tyrfähl has previously mentioned to me.
The place was full of charred trees and burn marks. The air was filled with the smell of ozone. There were some noticeable differences in what I imagined ozone would smell like, but it instinctualy felt like ozone when I smelled it, even if it was strangely sweet.
As opposed to the usual frugality with which most adult dragons used their spark, the Skrills that stayed here drained themselves clean, constantly. They didn't even bat an eye that we arrived and just continued zapping eachother with electric arcs.
"Kukuku, ah the youth, they are as energetic as always." I just looked at all of this weirdly. 'This was a terrible pun.' The young Skrills were throwing lightning left and right and I started to wonder how they were doing that without running out of spark.
The answer came to me from the most unexpected of places. When I squinted my eyes, something I did when concentrating, in my vision, unconsciously focused on other spectrums than the visible light, I noticed that those breath attacks, though flashy, didn't carry much power.
'So that's how they are doing it...' My extraordinary sight didn't make me suddenly proficient in the perception of heat and electromagnetic fields, but what I was already capable of utilising allowed me to at least understand the power level displayed before me.
'If I had to describe this sensation, I think it would be similar to how babies see the world. I can see everything in little detail, having trouble keeping the image clear and focused, while also not knowing what things look like.
The last time I felt something remotely similar was when I went, in middle school, on a class trip to an art gallery and saw abstract art for the first time. I knew there was some pattern or sense in it, but even after looking at it for a long time, all I could tell was what colours were used.
We hovered like this for a minute or so and my wings started to tire, when Tyrfähl decided that it was high time to disrupt, what was in essence, a group of exited teens or young adults playfighting in dirt. Exited as in, men fashion. Loud and simple. 'Not like it's a bad thing, just not my cup of tea.'
"Attention, young ones! I have brought to you a potential new acquaintance. Due to some unfortunate circumstances she is still recovering strength in her wings so do keep that in mind when interacting with her." He then addressed me.
"I do believe you can introduce yourself without my intervention, so I will leave the rest to you." After saying that he left for the nest. This made me feel like he was treating me like a child... and he likely was.
Shrugging it off, I faced the younger Skrills, now all looking at me. This made me mildly uncomfortable. "Uhm, hi... My name is Zoya. Nice to meet you...?" After that I said nothing as they stared at me in deathly silence. My wings no longer capable of hovering me in place, forced me to land before the three largest Skrills in the area.
"Why did you say that as a question?" A blue scaled Skrill on my left asked in a female voice, like earlier, resembling a snake-like wisper. Her voice sounding way younger than what her size suggested. The smaller Skrills slowly dispersing, clearly uninterested in anything more.
"Huh..., oh... well, I just didn't know what to say... under all those gazes and so... suddenly..." 'Oh great, my social anxiety is back! Why can't they be more extroverted like Skyshot, it made everything so much easier on me.'
"I don't mind you joining our group, but I'm inclined to get to know you better before we do anything more physically engaging." The Skrill in the middle said slowly and sat more comfortably on the charred powdery dirt that turned dark gray from all the ash and charcoal.
"What kind of dragon are you, by the way? I'm almost certain that it's the first time I see someone like you. Oh, and I'm Devyn." The last one added, showing more energy than the other two combined and clearly sounding male.
"My name is Caniyo." The blue scaled girl introduced herself and sat down following the example of the Skrill in the middle.
"You can call me Gylfi and I too, am curious about your kind as I do not recall meeting a dragon such as yourself. I never studied other draconic species from outside this archipelago, so my knowledge is largely incomplete, even just in the northern sea, but it intrigues me nonetheless."
'I'm going to assume he is a man, but even his name doesn't give me much to work with. I wonder if knowing some more of norse mythology would have helped?' Thinking that, I made myself comfortable.
"Understandable, I'm a Night Fury. Excluding my parents, whom I haven't seen in forever,-" 'Literally so.' "...-and me, there is just a rumour going around that there is one living on an island called Berg. At least as far as I know." I somewhat hoped they would confirm Toothless's existence for me as living in this world for quite a while, without meeting any of the original characters, made me think that it might not be the same world afterall.
"Wait! You guys are not extinc-!" Devyn didn't get to finish as Caniyo blasted him away with a lightning. Sending him tumbling a few meters back. "That's so rude to say that!" Gylfi just watched as if nothing happened. "Please, do not mind him. He doesn't bare any ill will."
I just sat there, not knowing how to react. I managed to pull myself back to reality only after Devyn dragged himself back to us. 'Think I'm starting to understand their dynamic..."