Chapter 3: 3
[ By the way ""Not English"" Is how I will do Valyrian and other foreign Tongues so people don't have to google what I am saying. ]
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111 AC
Dragonstone
Myriah Nymeros Martell
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A light grey dragon has its back to the entrance of the cave and is slowly walking backward away from us. Its posture is low and defensive and it seems to just want to flee but I also see this as an opportunity. It is not trying to eat or burn us so there is a chance here if I do this properly.
""Don't leave."" I call out and it does nothing to the dragon who seems set on fleeing.
"Myriah!" Daeron hisses behind me as I lift my hand and follow after the Dragon.
"It's ok I got this." Every step I take causes the dragon to take another of its own so I pick up the pace until its jaw cracks open.
I stop and the dragon also stops and its jaw slowly closes while its eyes focus on me, I step forward and it also steps back. I stop and wait for a moment and it freezes as if an ice statue Daeron makes, its steel-colored eyes cutting into me with a warning.
""I won't hurt you."" I step forward and its jaw cracks open again but it does not step back.
Its jaw stays slightly open as I take another step forward and I hear my brothers behind me moving.
"Don't move you idiots and let me handle this." I whisper and the dragon's eyes move from me to them before moving back. "Back up as far as you can and let me go forward alone." I hear a grumble from Lewyn but soon hear them back up and the light of the torch in Lewyn's hands gets further away.
My torch is not far away on the ground having rolled away from me when I dropped it, just enough light to see the dragon's open jaw. I take another step forward and the jaw opens more showing off jagged teeth.
""I don't want to hurt you."" For some reason, I get the impression it's more scared of me than I am of it, even though it could kill me easily.
I stop and wait and am rewarded with its jaw slowly closing, giving it a bit longer I step forward once more and its jaw stays closed. I look up to its barely lit eyes that bore into me in the dark of the cave. With each step forward I give the dragon time to stay calm as I close the distance between us, I am closer to the dragon than I am to my brothers at this point.
I freeze ten feet away from the head as its nostrils flare and it starts sniffing the air, the ground in the cave seems to shake as its chest rumbles. I almost jump back as the nose of the dragon approaches my outstretched hand but I stand firm and confident. The scaled snout presses my hand back as its slit pupils widen to look more at 'ease'.
""Hey beautiful, aren't you a sweetheart?"" The rumble can be felt in my feet and makes my teeth chatter as I scratch its scaled face.
Its posture slowly eases up and it looks much less tense the more I scratch at it, I can't stop the smile from spreading on my face.
I stop in my tracks as its eyes narrow toward my brothers who took a step forward, I send them a glare they can't see in this dark cave.
"I got this, just let me try and get out of the cave and I will just fly off." It will be impossible for this dragon to wait around with these two as it seems very shy.
"Where are you going to go?" Daeron asks and I smile as the rumbling picks back up as I make my way around the head scratching the scales.
"Home." I look at the lowered shoulder of the dragon and wonder if I can avoid getting squished as it squeezes itself out of here.
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111 AC
Dragonstone
Daeron Nymeros Martell
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I watch with both happiness and worry filling my chest as my sister mounts the grey dragon outside of the cave. It wastes no time leaping into the air and flapping its wings.
"How is she going to steer that thing?" Lewyn asks and my eyes widen.
"I don't know." I mumble in response and Lewyn sighs and looks around.
"She will figure it out, let's go quick the sun will start rising soon and we need to be gone or in hiding." I nod and purse my lips watching the dragon level out and head out toward the south.
"Hopefully it will be fine..." I shake my head and look away from the dragon carrying away my little sister to avoid the pit forming in my stomach.
She will be fine.
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We are walking down a cliff to enter a cave when I suddenly hear something and stop in my tracks.
Looking around I spot the noise as a massive figure cuts through the air and I wonder why Myriah came back and how she found us. I squint and my eyes widen when I notice that the dragon seems to be bigger than the one Myriah just flew off on.
"Lewyn you seeing this?" He gulps and nods beside me.
The dragon glides in toward the cave and must have just noticed us as it shakes its head and roars before flapping its wings and stalling in the air. It flaps in place looking at us before looking at the cave next to us. Its mouth opens and I start to move back before it lets out a screech and moves toward the cave. It lands against the rock and climbs toward the entrance only giving us a passing glance.
"-own." I turn to look at Lewyn who just spoke.
"What did you say?" He points to the cave.
"It was brown, that size as well, and the fact it's out here means it's most likely unclaimed that could only be one dragon we have heard about." I look toward the cave and see a tail laying at the entrance.
"Sheepstealer?" If that is true then I think we will need mutton.
But didn't someone tame this thing and they were like a third of fourth generation removed from the Targaryen line during the time of the dance? Didn't it take weeks of feeding it to calm it down enough to ride it?
"Might not work out." I mutter and Lewyn raises an eyebrow.
"Why not, this one is huge and I think I want to go for it." I roll my eyes and stand up straight.
"You have no sheep." He snorts and points a thumb over his shoulder.
"There is sheep back there that we passed a while back, a few hours walk back to the little pen holding all those sheep and then I come back and feed it. While it is eating I will just climb on its back and then we will fly off to the desert together." I resist punching him in the shoulder for treating this so lightly but after seeing Myriah just walk up and claim one I can't lie she made it look easy.
"Lots of people have died trying to get close to wild dragons." I warn and he shrugs once more.
"I am not them." I look back at the tail and still manage to see it before looking back over Lewyn's shoulder.
"Let's go get some sheep then." If my brother thinks he is just built differently then who am I to stop him?
I will just caution him on maybe staying a few days and stealing sheep over a few nights to get it acclimated to his presence. We cant show back up to Sunspear without dragons now that our sister has flown off. If she actually manages to get that dragon back to Sunspear we will look like fools when we show up empty-handed. Plus if we have only one dragon and the Targaryens hear about it they may come to try and kill it. I have a sneaking suspicion that Daemon the rogue prince would enjoy flying his blood wyrm after a Martell soaring the skies.
There is no longer any path to back up and we can only press forward and get at least one more dragon to ensure we can fight off another dragon rider. With two it should be enough to make them hesitate unless the Velaryons join in on the purging.
But I doubt it with the way my mom has said they are in 'talks' with the Velaryons for an engagement. They are discussing Laenor marrying Myriah or Lewyn and Laena marrying. My own hand is 'reserved' and by that I mean my parents want to bag me a Targaryen wife.
The only one available is Rhaenyra and it is looking like the king will be sonless again from his first wife so far. Only time will tell, and I doubt the Velaryons would attack us if we had a dragon as they would just see it as a reason to follow through on marriage. They could even style it as 'reclaiming' the dragon for the Iron throne and get rewarded for it most likely.
But if I am being honest they have the marriage candidates swapped incorrectly, Laenor would prefer Lewyn more and I think so would Lewyn. The Martell blood runs strong in my little brother and he would make Oberyn Martell proud if they ever got to know each other.
I shake off those thoughts and focus on following Lewyn and being thankful the full moon is out for both the light it provides and the power as a water bender it gives.
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"We stink, it will eat us because we stink like sheep." I bend the water from my water skin and splash him off and reabsorb the water and force it back into the skin.
"There you go, good to go." I pat his back and the sheep lets out a loud 'Baaahhh'.
Hearing the sheep the dragon in the cave starts moving and I quickly run off leaving my brother to claim this beautiful beast. I send a prayer that I won't just hear a loud flame-filled roar as my brother is turned to ash.
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111 AC
Dragonstone
Lewyn Nymeros Martell
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I slit the two sheep's throats and take a step back from their bleeding corpses giving the dragon room to take them. Its head comes out of the cave and lifts up into the air, its nostrils flaring before it looks in my direction and growls. Its wings come out and soon the rest of the body is visible as it climbs across the rocks in my direction.
I stand tall and fearless as the dragon closes in on me and opens its mouth, I am certain I will be eaten before its head lowers and gobbles up one of the sheep. It snaps its head back and I watch in awe as the sheep is tossed high into the air and bright flames light up the night as it gets toasted. It doesn't even hit the ground as Sheepstealer catches it and with an odd crunching nose devours the sheep.
Thank you, sheep farmer, I will pay you back in the future if you don't count me taking one of your biggest problems off this island as payment for two sheep.
Sheepstealer repeats the process with the other sheep before its head is lowered and sniffing the rocks where the blood is. Its eyes eventually look up at me, a slow and lazy look as it stares at me and doesn't even twitch a muscle. The nose is within spitting distance and I wonder if it's too late to escape with my life intact.
""Friends?"" I ask with hope.