(HELLO I HAVE RETURNED ONCE AGAIN!!! Sorry I was off of Wattpad altogether for ages, but I'm back now! I've been trying to go through all the comments and holy hell they're giving me life! Thank you for all the rereads and the kind comments and the cool predictions on how the story will end, it's been so awesome to hear what you guys are thinking! Please give me any predictions you have or suggestions for what you want to happen in the story, I'll see what I can do to add them in and make it all come true!)

"Are you sure we should be away from the village?"

"What, are you scared of dragons?"

I figured I'd take Adriana out into the forests around Berk today, partially to keep her mind off of Asher and partially because she's never really been in a proper wilderness before. It seems like such a strange concept to me, a dragon that's so unfamiliar with the great outdoors, but I'm aware that she's had good reason to stick to her island. Still, she deserves to see the world as she pleases.

"Trust me, nothing will go wrong," I assure Adriana. "Worst case scenario is that we make a new friend, right?"

"I've never seen you being the optimistic one," Adriana jokes, to which I can't help but laugh. "I know. But I want to make sure you don't spend all day worrying, especially when there's nothing to worry about."

Adriana smiles at this and starts to relax slightly. Good, she's calming down. I just want her to enjoy her time outside of the caverns. She won't get many opportunities like this, so I want her to be able to make the most of it. Freedom's a fickle thing, after all.

Still, my guard remains up, just to be on the safe side. Just because Adriana needs to stop and smell the roses doesn't mean that I shouldn't keep her protected.

"It's so beautiful out here," Adriana is saying as she looks around, smiling to herself. "So green."

"I know," I chuckle. "I thought you'd like it. It's much different to where you guys live."

We continue to walk for a while, just exploring without any real aim to our wandering. The likely worst case scenario is that we get lost, but I can always get us heading back in the direction of the village, anyway. It won't be a difficult fix.

Chirping birds and leaves rustling in the breeze seem to be catching Adriana's attention a lot, exciting her, like a small child playing outside for one of the first times they can remember. I'm glad she's enjoying herself. I always knew she'd like a walk like this.

"Check this out," I smirk beneath my mask, then whistle, looking around above our heads. After a few moments, we can hear squawking, followed by a few Terrible Terrors flying down to us. I hold out my arms, one landing on each, with a third settling on my head.

Adriana can't help but laugh at this. "That's amazing! And they're so cute!"

"They are," I agree. "And they're usually pretty friendly. Hold out your arm."

Adriana does so, then the Terror on my head flies over, landing on her arm and sniffing at Adriana curiously. "Aw, hi!" Adriana smiles, petting the Terror, causing them to purr contentedly.

"Terrors are usually pretty friendly," I comment. "Figured they'd be a nice wild dragon for you to meet just in case we run into any bigger ones. I know you haven't seen many other species, so I wanna make sure you're comfortable."

"That's really sweet of you," Adriana smiles, still happily petting the Terror. "Thanks."

"No problem," I nod, then start walking again. When I gently raise my arms, the two Terrors fly off of them, the one Addie's petting following them off with a happy chirrup. We watch as the trio fly away.

"You're so good with dragons."

"You think?"

"As a dragon, yes."

We both laugh a little at this.

"I'll teach you how to make a friend, if you'd like," I offer. "Obviously you don't have to stick with them, but it can be nice to find some company for a while."

"Really? What dragon?" Adriana asks curiously. "If we find one, you can pick," I shrug. "I'll teach you whatever you want to know."

Adriana seems a little excited about this, though also slightly nervous. Must be strange to be a dragon that tames another dragon. And that's not even the biggest concern I'm sure she's facing.

"Do you like dragons? Other than Morphwings, I mean."

"I don't really have much of an opinion on other dragons," Adriana confesses. "Unless I know them specifically, I don't really give them much thought. It's rare to run into them since our island is mostly rock. There's the occasional Fireworm migration that stops by or a stray Gronkle or two, but aside from that, we're pretty isolated even from other species."

"Sounds nice," I hum, to which Adriana gives me a skeptical look. "... I... can't tell if you're joking or not..."

"Not at all; people aren't even tracking you. The only outsider that's been there for a good while is me and Selene brought me herself."

"You're not an outsider, you're one of us."

"Not the pack."

"Ah... that's true..."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "We're out here now, so how about we put all that to the side for now? I want you to enjoy yourself today."

"Gladly," Adriana agrees, offering a smile. "Come on, 'Dragon Master' - show me some dragons!"

~•~

"Shoot..."

As it turns out, jumping off a Nightmare's back is more dangerous than it looks when you're out of practice.

"Are you okay?!" Adriana asked worriedly, hurrying over to where I'm sitting up after my crash landing. The surprisingly friendly Monstrous Nightmare I was messing around with approaches as well, sniffing at me.

"All good," I assure them both with a grunt, getting up. "Just aching now. We should probably head back. It's getting late."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Adriana checks. "Yeah," I nod, walking a few paces to prove it to her. I got a few scrapes and a plethora of bruises that are currently screaming at me, but nothing to be concerned over. I was at least able to break my fall with a roll, so the worst is on my arms and shoulder.

"Okay..." Adriana agrees slowly, clearly not trusting that I'm alright but going with it anyway. "Let's head back to the village, I guess..."

I nod and start walking, Adriana sticking close to me. The Nightmare grunts softly to us before flying off, Adriana waving as it disappears from sight.