2191/A Field Guide to the Dragons of Berk

A Field Guide to the Dragons of Berk
Date of Scene:	09 May 2015
Location:	Isle of Berk <BK>
Synopsis:	Valka gives interested parties lessons about the Dragons of Berk. Terrible Terrors are cute!
Thanks to:	Thanks to Toph for suggesting this scene.
Cast of Characters:	219, 236, 385, Inga, Bahamut, 578, 626, 759

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Valka (759) has posed:
     Class. it seems, is in session.

     Soon after Valka's arrival in the multiverse, the woman put out a call to those seeking knowledge of her home island and the denizens, and more importantly, the dragons, that called this picturesque island home. Most dragons, she has found, have somewhat of a poor reputation, with very little of the peaceful co-existence that Berk has come to enjoy over the past few years. Of course, while caution is suggested around all dragons, hopefully luck will be with her and she will be able to get a few of those that are gathering interested in dragons and willing to think a little before charging in with blades swinging . They might even get a few potential bonds for her new allies!

     A classroom of sorts has been set up in a field on the outskirts of Berk, on a grass-covered cliffside overlooking the sea. Sounds of the breeze blowing over the ocean and through the grass, the crashing of waves against the cliff face, and the warmth of the sun make this a nice place to sit and learn. Comfortable chairs - sized for a normal-sized viking or a very tall human, are arranged in a semicircle, small tables set nearby, a larger one near the back piled with food and drink. There's also a flat chunk of slate about the size of a garage door that's leaned against one of the boulders deposited during the last ice age - a makeshift chalk board that's seen quite a bit of use, judging from the faded markings that currently cover it. Sitting next to it is a stack of books - one for each person here.

     Cloudjumper, Valka's Stormcutter, rests in the shade of one of the trees, his tail moving back and forth as he watches and waits, while Valka flips through one of the books - her copy of a well-worn and annotated version of the same book that's being handed out tonight, except with her notes added in.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
While Yuna hasn't been out and about in the Multiverse nearly as much lately as she would normally like of late, the chance to learn about Valka's world, and about the dragons who come from there, has had her interest since the topic came up on radio. So Yuna tries to make a point of being there a couple minutes early, hiking up from the warpgate, with Elner flitting along next to her.

"Hi!" she calls out, waving to the young woman who's already at what seems to be the 'classroom'. "Valka, right? I'm Yuna ... nice to meet you in our human forms," she grins, approaching Valka and holding out a hand to shake.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut may be a dragon king, but on his world he is pretty much the only dragon. So, he is happy to take the opportunity to visit a dragon-filled world where the dragons are friendly.

     Rather than his usual showy entrance, Bahamut has chosen a more subdued approach. After all, he does not know who will be here, and does not want to cause undue stress on either dragons or people. So, rather than the mighty roar and the shattering of runed spellcircles, he comes spiraling through the nearest warp gate before his impressive feathered wings spread wide. He banks around the area, then flies in toward the appointed teaching spot. He looks as though he will fly over it, but pulls up and burns off speed just as he is about to pass. He floats almost gracefully down to the ground, but that doesn't stop the strong thump of his weight hitting the ground. He stretches his wings before folding them back against his body. "Hello again, Valka." he says, bowing regally, then he looks over at Cloudjumper and utters a rumble of greeting.

Freya (578) has posed:
Freya had her about Valka world and her Dragons, she's had met and fought a few dragon's in the past, so her curiousity about the dragon's in this world has intrested her. She human size, her normal size would cause too much commotions She looks around the grass area where the classrom was set up.

"Hello!", Freya says. "I assume this is where the meeting", she a puases thinking. "Gathering? Lesson? oh well! I'm Freya!"

Auron (236) has posed:
    In any other situation, Auron would be riding a chocobo from the warpgate. But honestly he's not sure if the dragons would try to eat a large bird or not. They do, after all, seem to resemble very large chickens with ostrich legs. And he's not quite sure what the dragons of Berk like to eat. So for the safety of his chocobo he's chosen to walk it.

    Once he gets to the area where people seem to be gathering, he offers a nod of greeting to Valka, as well as Yuna and Freya. Bahamut's entrance is unmistakeable as well, and he offers a respectful bow. Even if the king of dragons isn't from /his/ Spira, he's from /a/ Spira. "Hello," he offers pleasantly to the gathering at large.

Inga has posed:
Then arrives the littlest viking, Inga Freyasdottir, standing at a whopping 5 feet and leaning on a carved oak staff to help compesate for her fairly obvious limp. She's dressed in what is traditional for her home world, a white linen dress with a red wool overdress pinned at the shoulder with silver brooches, a woven belt at her waist from which hangs a leather pouch, a small knife, and a myriad of bone-charms. Her long white hair is intricately braided, hanging over one shoulder. Despite her decidedly unimposing stature, Inga has a certain air of confidece an authority. She carries herself like one who is accustomed to being respected, but not haughty.

Upon entering the clearing, the wisewoman's eyes widen for a moment as she takes in Cloudjumper. She then bows slightly to all present, a soft smile appearing. "Hail!" she greets, greeting each in turn. She knows most here from the radio at least. Auron is unfamiliar to her as of yet, so she greets him with a simple 'sir.'

"This land...it is beautiful. I thank you for the invitation. I've brought a small gift," she says, reaching into her pouch to pull out a large bottle of good ale, from Mac's in Chicago.

Inga looks up at Cloudjumper again, eyes wide and appreciative. Is it an intelligent, speaking dragon like others she's met? Well, either way, she introduces herself. "I am Inga Freyasdottir, wisewoman of Uppsala."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Oh hey, class! Kyra's pretty familiar with attending all things class!

    But more importantly, Kyra's come for this because dragon's occupy a very special and coveted spot in her world. Namely, only the dragoons, knights of the Dragons, have ever seen them in person. Meeting actual dragons in person will /never/ not be novel to Kyra. Never.

    She's come dressed casually in the outfit that Tomoyo made for her ages ago. It isn't that different from her usual outfit, the biggest alteration being she's wearing pants instead of her Alexander Academy uniform skirt. When she shows up and takes a seat, she looks positively tiny and frail in the chair. Kyra is as far from a Viking as anyone can be here. "Hello again!" she greets cheerfully to Valka.

Ariel (219) has posed:
"I'm here! Hello!" Ariel has arrived! She's trotting up with a quick little prance... in unicorn form. Well, unicorn foal form. She's still pretty small, after all. Point is, she's on all fours, with only the cloak that is her Abstractum covering her. That's small right now, in hibernation.

She may have gotten delayed by prancing around the fields chasing a few things.

She is basically a unicorn, though! It's only as she walks up close and plops down next to a chair to observe that it becomes clear she's not exactly normal. Her body is a pearlescent green, and her eyes jewel-like topaz. She has no hide, but instead a smooth, chitinous material, though her hair and tail both sport the hair of a filly.

She definitely doesn't look human, but with Bahamut here she figures that's not a big deal.

Valka (759) has posed:
     Cloudjumper notices Yuna first, his head coming up, eyes swiveling over to regard the slender blonde making her way closer. Seeing no threat and no danger, he lowers his head again, and he does this with every arrival. Valka, dressed comfortably in the dress that normally lives beneath her armor, smiles at Yuna's arrival, approaching her, reaching out to take her hand with both of hers, clasping it tightly before shaking it twice, then letting go. "Hello there. Yes, it's Valka. Welcome, welcome." She chuckles quietly, looking out over the classroom and the ocean beyond. "A little like Equestria, but without the ponies or the shape changing. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

     Bahamut's subdued arrival causes the woman to smile broadly, stepping back so she can more easily look up at him at his landing spot - he is fifteen feet tall, after all! "Hello again, Bahamut. Welcome. I did not know that this would interest you, but I am glad it did." Cloudjumper returns that rumble with one of his own, lowering his head a little in a nod of welcome.

     "Welcome! Welcome!"Valka turns to Freya as she approaches. "You have found the right place. We are gathering now, Miss Freya, for the lesson." For a moment, Valka looks a little sheepish. "I admit, it will mainly be an overview, directed by your questions, and quite a bit of show and tell, but I do hope that it's interesting."

     The dragons would try and eat the chocobo if it were running loose, without a saddle, but when it's being ridden by a person? Nah. Lots of curiosity, though! If a chocobo was brought, it can be left in one of the stables where it can eat and be safe from pretty much anything that would want to cause it difficulty. Auron gets a smile and a nod as well.

     Inga's arrival does cause Valka to pause, watching as she approaches. Her style of dress is familiar - in fact, on her travels from the gate she will see women dressed in things quite similar. And, as she approaches, the red-haired woman detaches herself from the group to stand closer to Cloudjumper, lifting a hand to scratch him beneath the jaw. "Understands our words, yes. But talks?" Cloudjumper looks down at Valka, then at Inga, blowing a puff of warm breath over her that makes her hair rustle, her charms rattle, and her skirt flutter. "He doesn't talk much, but gods, he does have a mischievous streak."

     Kyra gets a wave from Valka near her spot near Cloudjumper. "Hey there, Kyra. Welcome back."

     And last, but certainly not least, the unicorn. Out of all of the people, it's basically her and Bahamut that are different but, it seems, it doesn't matter that much. Even through the edge of the village where the warp gate stands, Ariel would have been looked at, certainly, but not ignored or shooed away.

     Probably a few of the children were plotting a way to get a strand of Ariel's mane, but that's neither here nor there.

     Everyone suitably greeted, Valka moves from next to Cloudjumper toward the board where she stands, hands clasped in front of her, practically beaming from the interest that's been shown. "Th.thank you all for coming." she finally says, once people have taken their positions (or stand in the case of Bahamut). "For those of you who have not met me, or have only heard my voice on the radio, my name is Valka and this, " She extends her arms. "Is the island of Berk. Home to friendly dragons that, with time and a little bit of compassion and effort, can live with humans as companions and friends."

     The books are passed out at this time...

Freya (578) has posed:
Freya nods as she sits down listening attentively to Valka-sensei. She takes the book idly skimming throught it. She looks around the island. "There are alot of dragons here! I've never seen so many in once place. Then again most once I've seen are alot bigger."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Oh my Goddess." Kyra is up out of her chair like a shot when she finally takes notice of Auron. More specifically, when she finally takes notice of his ride. It isn't long before she's inspecting the bird, walking all around it, and staring at it, gaping. "A real one! In person. Whoaaaah..." Her awe only linges for a little while before she scoots away, back to the seat, which she just leans up against rather than sit down in again.

    Kyra cheerfully waves at Bahamut, happy to see him again.

    Taking a book, Kyra shifts again so she's sitting on the edge of the way too big chair. She unfolds the book into her lap. "So there are many different species here, then."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Lots of familiar faces, and a few less familiar; Yuna does her best to keep up with the new arrivals, though, waving to everyone whether she already recognizes them or not. She doesn't have much of a chance to exchange more direct greetings before Valka calls the 'class' to order, though; Yuna finds a seat and sits properly at attention, with Elner settling in to hover by her left shoulder.

Yuna also accepts a copy of the book that's being handed out, and opens it up to see just how hard the text will be to decipher when she only knows how to read Japanese. She's probably going to have to fish out her smartphone-like radio, and balance it next to her textbook. Apart from that, though, she's listening intently.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut also offers a greeting to each arrival, but for him it is Auron that gains the most attention. "Sir Auron! It is an honor to see you again." Bahamut says, lowering onto one knee and bowing respectfully. Kyra is second on his list of attention. He offers a warm smile to the young woman. "How are you, Miss Kyra. It has been a while since I have seen you as well."

     The others, Bahamut has not met. So, they are given a slight bow. Ariel's prancing and child-like antics cause him to chuckle softly. "It is an honor to meet all of you. I am Bahamut, King of Spiran Dragons and Aeon of Bevelle." he says before blinking as he is handed a book. He looks at it, having to carefully hold it between his large talons, then rests it in his left palm and attempts to open it with the claws of his right. It takes him a few tries, since he is trying to be careful with it.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel hops up, and... takes the book? With hands! She has a humanoid form, apparently, but it's still obviously not human. She even has a nubby little horn on the forehead! But she has legs and arms and hands, too, and those are what she uses to sit down and settle in with the book. "Ah, thank you, Miss Valka!"

The others are given pleasant waves as well, of course. SOme, like Yuna, she's worked with before. The others not so much, but she's at least spoken to them. "Mn... maybe I should have brought Al." She glances up, realizes that she hasn't done a full introduction.

"Kuklos ka Ariel Schmendrick-Fortuna!" A beaming smile, and she adds, "But you can all just call me Ariel."

Inga has posed:
Inga didn't really have a chance to explore the village itself, having prefered to do that after she's been formally introduced to Valka and perhaps given a guide. Oh, but she is /extremely/ curious though, given what she had seen so far.

Everyone's love of helmets with horns is just a little odd though.

Inga would pass her gift, thinking she should have brought a gift for the dragon as well.

Do dragons like tacos?

One is produced, bizarrely, from the relatively small pouch at her waist and offered to Cloudjumper.

Inga can't help but giggle as Cloudjumper breathes a warm puff over her, setting her skirt a-flutter momentarily. "Well, it is my great pleasure to meet you as well...don't suppose you would like a taco...?" she asks, holding it upward. "Its...meat. Of somekind," she offers, her nose wrinkling suddenly. "You know, I never did stop to ask what kind of meat..." she trails off, shaking her head. No matter.

Inga looks back toward Valka, reaching to take the book she's offered, brow furrowing slightly. Books. Lovely.

But as she takes the object, brushing Valka's fingers slightly, naturally a vision is triggered. Inga goes rigid momentarily, frozen in place as her pupils widen quickly, the black swallowing the warm hazel completely. She is quiet for a few moments, then shakes her head as if to clear away the fog of the glimpse she'd gotten of the wyrd. "Nightfury," she says quietly, blinking.

Inga doesn't wish to interupt what is to be a lesson any further. She could talk more about her vision later. "Apologies...your son is quite clever though, isn't he?" she says, then turns and moves to take a seat.

Her eyes fall on the unicorn and go round as the moon. PRETTY PONY!!!

Dignified cough! She nods to Ariel, smiling. "A pleasure," she says.

PRETTY HORSEY!

Right then. Inga looks down at the book, grumbling quietly to herself as she opens it.

Only to let out a small cry of delight! it's in RUNES! "I CAN READ THIS!" she cries, triumphant.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron returns Inga's greeting with a polite bow of his head. He recognizes her voice from the radio, but he doesn't know her personally. Same with Ariel; he knows her voice but has never met her (that he recalls). As Ariel calls out, he offers the same polite bow of his head in greeting to her. Bahamut's greeting gets a smile. "You as well, Lord Bahamut." Yes, he will call Bahamut 'Lord'. not just out of respect to /this/ Bahamut, but to the Bahamut before him, the Fayth.

    Introductions seem to be being made to those who don't know each other. So he offers simply, "I am Auron." No titles or last name, just a single name. He's paying attention when Valka begins her lecture proper. Then... a book? Despite the way his left arm is kept in his coat as if the coat was a sling, when the book is passed to him, when he takes the book, he uses his left arm as if it were perfectly normal. And he too begins to look through the book.

    Inga's shout brings his attention to the writing in the book. If the book is written in runes, Auron probably won't be able to read it, no. But if there are illustrations of the dragons inside, the point should still get across.

Valka (759) has posed:
     The books are simple leather-bound tomes with sheepskin pages, each hand-written (or, rather, hand illustrated) with names and simple drawings of each dragon known to those in Berk, as well as facts about how to gain their trust, what they eat, and other tidbits of information like that. The 'extremely dangerous - kill on sight' that used to accompany each page, as well as the threatening wording, has been changed to be more informational than frightening, giving the reader an overview of exactly what is known.

     "There are quite a few dragons here, yes." Valka responds to Freya and Kyra. Then, to the rest of the gathered people, she speaks. "We know of a little more than fifty different types - of course, not all of them are on the island and some do prefer to be left alone entirely, so this class will focus on the ones that get along with people the best. The rest of them, what we know, are in the book, and if you'd like to meet any of them and they're not overtly hostile, I'm sure it can be arranged."

     Valka chuckles - she can't help it - at Bahamut and the too-tiny book. "If you'd like, Bahamut, I can get you a larger copy made or your priestesses could make it more readable." she suggests before looking to Ariel who is no longer a unicorn. She pauses, blinks, and shakes her head in disbelief. "You're quite welcome, Miss Ariel. Now..."

     Inga's gift is taken with a nod of thanks. Cloudjumper sniffs the offered taco and deftly plucks it from Inga's palm with a deft tongue, swallowing it down before bending to give the little shaman a light touch of head to head - thank you, it seems. But the vision? That gives Valka pause, a wry smile flitting over her face. "Yes...yes he is." She agrees, looking to the woman with a bit more respect since she seems to be a seer. Still, at the exclamation about the runes, Valka can't help but laugh. Still, this IS a class.

Valka claps her hands. "Introductions done, all surprises taken care of. What you hold in your hands is the Book of Dragons - everything we know and have learned over the years about them. It's been changed a bit from when we first started - originally the book was a manual on how to...kill." She coughs. "Ahem. How to kill dragons, but in our more enlightened times, we've made it a book of knowledge. It's written in runic but I have supplied the Union with a translation, so if you'd like, you should be able to pull up something on those things some people use to help. Now...where would you like to begin?" She takes her staff and indicates the board where, written in halfway decent common, are six names, pointing to each one in turn. "Deadly Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare, Stormcutter, Zippleback, Terrible Terror and, of course, Night Fury. The names are a hold over from when we fought dragons before, and for historic purposes, we've kept them to remind us."

Freya (578) has posed:
Freya nods listening intentely to Valka. She raises her hand. "Why the change over from killing to domesicating... hmm no living side by side with the dragons?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Yuna Kagurazaka," Yuna introduces herself (somewhat belatedly) as apparently people WERE exchanging introductions. Oops. "And this is Elner."

By the time she says that, Elner's pulled up the translated file that Valka mentioned and it's being displayed on the screen of Yuna's phone; Yuna goes back (largely) to focusing on Valka's lecture. "I gather the dragons are still largely predators, or at least meat-eaters?" she asks. She's paging through the book's entries for those six, though, as if trying to figure out which one to start with.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel points out to Inga, "If you'd like a taco that has no meat, I'll bring some next time. Atlantean tacos don't have any meat." She's looking through the book, though, right now. Light flipping through pages, scanning them thoughtfully, and twitching one loppy ear now and then. "Nnnn... kind of like some of the fairies back home."

Well, Ariel doesn't seem too surprised that they're friendly rather than vicious. Anyone who knows her wouldn't be surprised, considering her general pacifism.

She does have one question, though. "Um, I guess I'm a little curious how common dragon-riding is in your world. It seems like not a lot of people have tried to be friends with them."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron may not be able to read the book, but if the board is written in a common language, he can compare the board to the book. With that he can figure out which dragons are which, at least. He doesn't really carry a lot of technology on him when he travels most of the time. Horribly behind the times, unfortunately. But he'll make do.

    He has a question of his own, though... something's made him curious. Ariel does actually touch on it. He nods as she speaks, adding, "...Usually a shift of public opinion on that scale takes a massive push. What changed the opinion from killing the dragons to coexisting with them?"

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut manages after he gets used to the book, but he also has some trouble reading it. "The Nightfury is the most famous of these dragons among your people, I take it?" he says as he fingers through the pages. He takes note of each dragon, finding the wide variety to be a rather pleasant surprise.

Inga has posed:
Inga, cheeks slightly pink, flips through the book, quietly pleased with herself. She is going to love it here. She cannot wait to show Harry, Riva, and other friends. Then...Harry seems rather /not/ fond of dragons. Perhaps he needs a little exposure therapy. Yes, that would do nicely.

"The Terrible Terror, is that it's full grown size?" she asks.

She's totally not asking because she wants one. Nope.

Inga looks to Yuna. Oh, that's a good question. Feeding.

To Ariel, Inga smiles. "It's alright, thank you. These tacos are...sort of special. They are...healing...tacos," she says, hesitating as she seems to realize just how ridiculous that must sound to an outsider.

Inga looks over then to Auron, leaning over, pointing to the runes. "This one says Whispering Death," she says, with an absurdly pleased look on her face.

This is novel for her, after all.

As for Auron's question, she looks to Valka and smiles knowingly.

Valka (759) has posed:
     Valka points to Freya when she raises her hand, listening to the question. "Simply put, it was a question of survival. Originally, the dragons raided us constantly for food and we, of course, tried to fight them off. It was believed that they were mindless killers for the longest time, taking far more than they needed to survive, or killing just for fun. The fighting between us and the dragons...it really only made things worse." She trails off, thinking quietly. "Not to get into any long tales, suffice to say that after my son and Toothless bonded, the Vikings of Berk discovered that dragons weren't raiding for hunger, but to feed the alpha dragon which, thankfully, is no more. Freed from the Alpha's control, the dragons became quite gregarious. Friendly, even, to those that showed them respect." Cloudjumper trudges over and sinks down next to Valka, looking at the gathered people before poking her with his wing lightly, getting a squeak out of the red-haired woman who responds with a playful push on the dragon's wing..

     Turning to Yuna, Valka nods. "Yes, Yuna, that is correct. They are still, for all intents and purposes, meat eaters. Our dragons mostly eat fish and, rarely, game such as elk, mutton that they can catch while hunting or chicken if they deserve a treat. Sometimes vegetables, but of course that depends on the breed."

     Then Valka turns to Ariel. "Dragon riding is fairly uncommon. Berk, from what we know, is the only place that it happens on this world with any regularity. Oh, I'm sure there have been others, but we're the ones who have made it a part of our life." Referring to Berk as her world? That's going to take some getting used to. Still, she continues. "Most other people that we know of simply go places dragons aren't, and the dragons tend to stay away from populated areas since, a lot of the time, humans are hostile or, in the worst case scenario, trappers or dragon hunters. We've found that being friendly helps quite a bit."

     Auron's question, along with Ariel's touching upon it, gets the woman to nod, turning to face them both. "The simple answer is my son. My clever, clever son, as Inga put it." She leans on her staff. "Now, I wasn't there, but I've heard the tale. During one of the raids after I had been taken...." she trails off there, apparently leaving off a massive bit of story. "Hiccup shot down a Night Fury - Toothless - using some kind of machine that combined a net with a bow mounted on a cart." She waves a hand. "The whole shooting down thing was pure luck, and he thought it would get him accepted by the rest of the vikings but, when he managed to find Toothless in the woods, still wrapped in the net, he couldn't bring himself to kill him. Everything he had ever been taught said to kill this night fury, but he listened to his heart...and set him free. That simple gesture was the seed, and over time the two became close. The two became inseparable and, eventually, they led the vikings in an attack against the alpha dragon that was the cause of all the raiding."

     "Toothless....the only Night Fury we know, is the most famous of our dragons. Notoriety does have its advantages sometimes." Valka chuckles, nodding to Inga. There should be a human-sized drawing next to the dragon to give you an idea of their size. So, yes. The Terrible Terror is about the size of a housecoat."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra has gone silent. Just about everything discussed here is new to her-if only because this world had a different sort of dragons than many of the other. But just little things like the confirmation of dragons as meat eaters were significant to her. The mystery of dragons where she is from runs deep.

    "Wait wait wait, you had been taken? Like the dragon just kind of...carried you off?" Kyra seems confused by this, clearly. As if it doesn't strike her as normal dragon behavior beyond what happens in silly, completely untrue stories. Her attention is soon drawn by the pictures present in the book.

    Aww, tiny dragons. "That's exactly the kind Riva could have if they're so small." Kyra remarks. "She lives in an apartment and doesn't have a lot of space."

Freya (578) has posed:
Dragon riding? Freya thinks she will skip that, too much exciment that would cause some problems for her. She nods listeing to Valka. She idly looks thought the book listening. She doesn't have any more questions at the moment.

Inga has posed:
Inga doesn't look too surprised by some of this story--she'd seen a bit of it in her vision.

Inga then glances sidelong to Kyra, nodding. "Yes, as do I--until the cottage is built anyway," she comments. Oh goodness, Harry would probably never forgive her if she came home with a dragon.
% Ah, but they are not just pets you take home. These are dragons, to be respected. A companion, a friend. To see the bond Valka has with her dragon is inspiring.

Inga has many questions, though not all to do with dragons. She'll try to stay on topic. "An alpha? So the dragons are pack creatures, like wolves?" she asks.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna raises her eyebrows a bit at the 'Terrible Terror' being that small ... and she almost can't help but ask.

"What's the Monstrous Nightmare like?"

With a name like that, she's not expecting it to be all that cuddly or friendly (without a fair amount of work, anyway) but just knowing the answer could be useful, and/or interesting.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron looks to Inga as she points to one of the dragons in the book. "Thank you," he responds with a smile. "And this one?" He points to another dragon in the book. It's kind of at random, since he's comparing the letters on the board (which he can read) to the letters in the book (which he can't read). A few of the letters almost seem close enough to English letters to figure out. English he can read.

    Valka begins to explain several aspects of dragons and life with them, as per questions that have been answered. Auron listens to this information, filing it away for later use. Valka's story of her son gets a thoughtful look. So it doesn't seem like there was a worldwide shift in opinion, just a local one. That makes sense, given that dragon-riding is apparently not that common in this world.

    But the mention of the alpha dragon gets a tilt of his head. "So there /are/ hostile dragons? Not all of them can be coexisted with?" he inquires. "Are these that do in the minority?" That's a useful thing to know...

Ariel (219) has posed:
"Huuuuh... there's a lot of kinds," Ariel mumbles, still leafing through. "They're all kind of cute." All of them? Then again, she has a shoggoth as a pet, so her definition might be a little warped. "We actually have a dragon roost in the volacno fortress, but it's for a Thousand-Forged Dragon, which is a construct-type thing. Still, I wonder if it'd make a good place for visiting?"

Yeah, she's going to invite Valka over to the house without consideration for her parents. Or daughter. Or book.

"It sounds like there are good and bad dragons, just like humans," Ariel notes, paging through thoughtfully... then unrolling a scrap of paper and doodling one of the pictures for herself. Not because she wants to keep it, she probably just likes the aesthetic. Apparently, she likes the Monstrous Nightmare when it's aflame.

Inga has posed:
Inga looks over again to Auron, smilingly pleasantly. "That one is called the Hideous Zippleback," she informs him with a nod. "They all have rather interesting names, don't they? This one is a called a Gronckle, and this is a Deadly Nadder," she continues, flipping pages a bit.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut can't think of anything to add. But, the talk of these alphas does bring an idea to his mind. It would be nice to have a group of dragons to actually call him king. There are no others that he knows of in Spira, after all. At least, not ones that are really alive. "What does it take to become an alpha to these dragons?"

Valka (759) has posed:
     Valka nods to Kyra. "Exactly that. Twenty or so years ago, just after the birth of my son, there was a raid. I could never bring myself to kill a dragon, but when Cloudjumper here..." She reaches up to pat the dragon who seems to be intently listening to her. "Broke into my home where Hiccup was, in his cradle. I took up a sword and ran to save him. My son meant so much to me, I would have broken that most sacred of my beliefs, but, when I entered the room, he was just...looking. At the baby. He wasn't attacking, wasn't breathing fire. Just...looking. There was evidence that dragons weren't bad, right there in front of us." Valka smiles at the memory. "And then the moment was gone. My husband, Stoick the Vast, came in, saw the dragon, and attacked. Cloudjumper thought Stoick was attacking /me/ and he...well...carried me off to the nest where I stayed for twenty years, learning their secrets. It....it was not the best decision I ever made, but it was the one I made."

     "The dragons are pack creatures, yes. The largest that we know of, the Bewilderbeast, is normally the alpha species, but Toothless challenged one and now he, all sinewy and sleek black Toothless, is the head of all the dragons in this area and as far as he can fly." She looks to Bahamut with a twinkle in her eye. "To become alpha, you must defeat the alpha simply enough. Get him or her to back down with posturing, threats, or outright overwhelming strength. Show that you're worthy to lead. This, of course, does not mean kill any challengers, since a murderous dragon is often turned on by those it thinks it has control over.

     "There are hostile dragons, yes, just like there are hostile people. Territorial more often than not, or not really good for living if nearby, but dragons don't just seek out people to attack. The best way I can describe hostile dragons are almost like a hive of bees...you leave them alone, they leave you alone. You poke their hive? They poke back."

     "Monstrous Nightmare...page..." Valka's fingers wiggle as she flips imaginary pages. "Twenty seven or so. Near the middle. Fearless and proud. Aggressive in battle. First to arrive in battle and the last to leave. Show it respect and you'll earn it's trust. Just touch him on the nose and...Hang on. I'll let you practice." She lifts her staff and spins it around her head, a howling whistle echoing along with a rattle from the inlaid bones before she lets it back down.

     There is silence for a moment as the sound drifts away but, it seems the howling staff apparently did something, summoning without a spell, because suddenly from the air, the ground, and the sea, dragons descend - one of each type listed on the board (and four or five Terrible Terrors!) save for Toothless, the Night Fury. Valka approaches the red-scaled Monstrous Nightmare, lifting a hand to touch it on the snout, stroking it lightly before turning to the group. "Just touch them on the snout like this and show him that you're not a threat. That's the best way to go." She gestures to Yuna. "Come over here."

     The other dragons settle around Cloudjumper, close to Valka, watching the group expectantly (except for the Terrible Terrors, which investigate the table of food, Inga, Kyra, and anything else of interest, even trying to climb into available laps).

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut grins as Valka explains the terms of becoming an alpha. "I see." he says, then listens to the rest of the explanation. When the other dragons are summoned through apparently mundane but seemingly magical means, Bahamut rumbles lightly. "I will leave the riding to others. I suspect the dragons would not appreciate it if I tried to ride one of them." he says, amusement in his voice.

Freya (578) has posed:
"oh my..", Freya says as the dragons come closer. One of the terrible Terror comes up to her. "umm hi?". she looks a bit neverous. "I don't got any food.."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna looks uncertainly at Elner; the robo-faerie just 'bobs' slightly as if shrugging at her. "Valka wouldn't offer the chance if she thought you might do something wrong and get eaten up whole, right?" says Elner.

This doesn't seem all that reassuring to Yuna ... but she sets her book and her phone aside and gets up from her seat, walking over to where Valka indicated. A piece of her is wondering if she should err on the side of caution and transform first, but ...

Well. If the point is to not be a threat, then being armored is probably a step in the wrong direction. Besides, Yuna picked her T-shirt and jeans for a reason - so she heads over to the Monstrous Nightmare, bowing slightly as she approaches (without taking her eyes off the red-scaled dragon), and stepping forward to pet its snout like Valka just demonstrated.

"Is this one male or female," she wonders, "or haven't you had occasion to find out?"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron's quiet as Valka speaks about... a lot of things! But that's what a lecture is, and so it's expected. Some of them are personal, though. Of her staying with the dragons, he notes, "That might have been best. Until the others had learned not to attack them on-sight. Cloudjumper might have been attacked."

    He nods to the mention of the dragons being more territorial than truly hostile. And a smirk when the analogy of bees is made. "Bees generally can't take off an arm, but I do see the similarity." That might have been a teasing comment. Then suddenly HERE THERE BE DRAGONS!

    Oh come on. /Someone/ had to make the joke!

    In all seriousness, Auron blinks his remaining eye as the dragon appear. And, as to be expected, one of the Terrible Terrors comes to investigate him as well. He smells different, after all. Not like someone from Berk. Also BIG RED COAT! That tends to be an eye-catching feature. Plus the little dangly beaded thingie on his left shoulder.

    Not just that. But Auron tucks his left arm, and that leaves his coat loose on that side. Apparently one of the Terrors mistakes this for a cave, because it alights upon Auron's left shoulder, and then proceeds to crawl right in there where is left arm is tucked. Auron pauses, looks at the small dragon. "...Come on now. Out." He shifts his arm, getting a squawk of protest, and the Terror doesn't move. Apparently it finds this area quite comfy!

Inga has posed:
The wisewoman watches in awe as more dragons descend, apparently all friendly but understandably cautious. Most of them, anyway. Inga pulls out another taco as a Terrible Terror starts to investigate her. Indeed, the creature's behavior reminds her quite strongly of a cat. She smiles, offering food and to let the little beastie smell her. Inga is normally good with animals. Witch powers or something of that nature.

Soon enough, there's a little dragon in her lap, being stroked gently like a scaly feline.

Inga purses her lips slightly when bees are mentioned. As keen as dragon's sense of smell is likely to be, Inga smells rather sweet. Like honey, in fact.

Blinking, she looks over to watch one of the Terrors climbing into Auron's sleeve and can't help a laugh.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "So he carried you off mostly because of a mistake?" Kyra looks to Cloudjumper. Intelligent and a bit more complex than most animals, Kyra will give it that, yes. Beyond that, though? "At the very least it does answer that question as to why a dragon would carry off a Hume for real. Well." Besides food but that was a nuance that didn't apply to this world and thus didn't get brought up.

    Summoning staff indeed, though. "...so they respond to sound.." Kyra murmurs as the dragons converge en masse in several different ways. She looks absolutely delighed by all of this and immediately pulls out her phone so she can take pictures of them all.

    It isn't long before Kyra is trying to coax one of the Terrible Terrors into her lap with enticing wiggling fingers in their direction.

Valka (759) has posed:
     Valka looks to Bahamut with a smile. "I don't think we have a dragon that you could easily ride on. You'd need to be at least half your current size....at least half your weight as well. But I think they appreciate it."
     The Terror investigating Freya squawks, almost like a parrot, but squeakier, before nudging her foot with its nose, wrapping around her ankles in a figure 8 motion, and settles down on top of her feet where the friendly giant may notice that the little dragon is quite an effective foot warmer. "Be careful." Valka teases gently. "If he takes a fancy to you, it'll be hades to pay to get him to leave you be any time you visit."

     The Monstrous nightmare is standing there, leaning down on his 'elbows,' basically the bends of his wings since there aren't any forelimbs on this breed, watching Yuna approach. "Best to learn by doing." Valka says, stepping aside as the blonde draws closer, the Nightmare lowering his head, peering at Yuna with baleful yellow eyes when she reaches out. He watches her for a moment, looking from hand to woman, to Valka, and back again before moving forward just a bit, lightly pushing his snout forward to bump against Yuna's palm, holding it there, as warm as a sun-baked rock in the summertime, and smoother than expected. "This is Hookfang. He's a male. Why he's a male, you can see in the book." Apparently anatomy lessons aren't in the cards today.

     At the assault of the Terrible Terrors, Valka can't help but laugh, specifically at the one curling in Auron's jacket, peering out with beady yellow eyes, squawking in defiance as it curls into a tight little ball to (hopefully!) resist extraction from the comfy cave attached to this nice man! And Inga's offer of a taco? Food is the fastest way to a dragon's heart. If the little Terror could purr, he would, but instead he begins to snore, squeakily.

     Turning to Kyra, Valka nods. "Exactly. I mean, look at it from his view. I was there, I didn't attack him, and Stoick rushed in to attack. He...made a decision. I think he thought I was a dragon. I'm positive he does think that now. Anyway, it turned out to be a nice one in the end." Valka lifts her staff, the rattles rattling, and offers it to Kyra to look at if the Terror doesn't crawl into her lap. "Sounds, low ones, generally, are the ones made by the larger, generally alpha dragons. So...I dragon-backed on it, basically." She twists the staff and a muffled 'clatter' of the balls inside can be heard - the dragons turning their attention to her - even the one in Auron's coat, until she lets the staff down. "It's part of the training and the bonding. They learn nuances. They apply dragon-thought to people and see us as flightless, scaleless dragons. So they help."

Freya (578) has posed:
Freya chuckles a bit. "Noted.", she hmms looking at valka staff. "I know some sheep hearers use bells to herd the sheep. but I think Dragon's are a bit smarter than sheep."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "They start to think of the Humes as...dragons?" Kyra repeats following Valka's explanation. She sounds like her mind just got blown by turning it around like that. In a way, it did kind of make sense. "It's interesting that they'd so readily adopt someone into 'dragonhood' like that."

    The wiggling pays off. The Terrible Terror does crawl into her lap just as Valka offers her the staff. It, of course, looks up at attention as the staff clatters as Valka turns it.

    Kyra pets the little dragon in the meantime, completely delighted by the smaller creature.

Auron (236) has posed:
    The laughter from Inga, and then Valka, gets a sheepish look from Auron. A little embarrassing, but a little embarrassment never hurt anyone. And he reasons, "If they're anything like housecats... have you ever seen a cat pass up crawling into a bag? Or a box? Seems the expression 'if I fits, I sits' can apply here." His coat must have looked like a safe little hidey-place.

    Since he's probably not going to get the thing out of his coat without damage (that arm isn't as well-protected from scratchy claws as his right; besides, he can just move his arm if he needs it, there's plenty of resistance with his belt holding his coat closed for the Terror to sit in there even if his arm's not in the coat.

    Valka's mention of low sounds attracting the dragons gets a raise of his remaining eyebrow. "Low sounds... infrasound?" he inquires. He uses infrasound, in a limited capacity. "You mean..." He draws in a slow breath, closing his eye briefly as he does. And when he opens that eye, a low rumble of sound, possibly more heard than felt, emits from his throat.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna smiles, petting Hookfang's muzzle. Thinking of him as a giant cat, personality-wise, seems to help a bit ... even if the dragon could still chomp her in half with an ill-timed yawn. Sure, he's kind of scary to look at, but he seems friendly enough now that Yuna's been guided through making his acquaintance properly.

She has to giggle a bit at the comment she overhears from Auron, too, and she takes a moment to look around at how her 'classmates' are doing so far.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut watches the much smaller dragons dispersing through the ranks. He chuckles as well when one claims Auron's jacket, then turns his attention to Yuna. When she makes contact with the Nightmare, he waits for something to happen. When nothing really does, he smirks lightly.

     "These dragons seem to be an interesting mixture of intellect and strong instincts." Bahamut comments, then chuckles. "I suppose that could be said of any intelligent creature."

     Then, Bahamut finds that one of the Terrors apparently finds him to be a good perch. He is tall, sturdy, and a dragon. So, the little creature scampers up him like a cat up a tree, and perches on his head. Bahamut rumbles in slight annoyance as the Terrible Terror surveys the area from the top of his head. "I notice that Cloudjumper seems rare as well. Is he another apparently one of a kind dragon?" Bahamut asks Valka as he tolerates the little passenger.

Valka (759) has posed:
     Valka nods to Freya. "Considerably smarter. With their own likes, dislikes, and dreams. Usually it's of a full belly of fish, but still." Valka reaches up to scratch the Deadly Natter beneath it's jaw, smoothing back the spines with her other hand.

     "They start to think of us as them. The fact that we can help them get food, give them places to sleep, and treat them as companions and not terrors..." Valka leans in to hug the Deadly Natter, looking over at Kyra. "If more people would act like this, the major battles between the Confederacy and the Union would be gone in a season, I'd wager. It's hard to accept those who are different, but the eyes of the dragon see through that as easily as the sun clears the fog in the morning."

     The rumble of sound from Auron gets all the dragons looking toward him, the Natter's needles going up and then back down, Hookfang looking over, then back down to Yuna to keep her touching his nose. It feels nice, you see. The Terror in Auron's coat shrinks down and, with a thump, wiggles its backside out of the arm of the coat and slinks to hide behind his boot, peeking around with a muffled squeak. Sorry, it seems to be saying.

     Cloudjumper, at the mention of his name, looks over to Bahamut, then down to Valka. "Oh, a hard one to find for certain." Valka says, chuckling at the sight of Bahamut with a tiny dragon on his head. "They're normally not as big as he is now, but they're out there. Toothless is the rarest of them all, followed by the Bewilderbeast alphas, followed by Stormchasers like Cloudjumper. Think of a bag filled with colored balls....for each Toothless, there are....ten or so Cloudjumpers? So...they're about ten times more likely, but that's still very rare."

Valka (759) has posed:
     And as they talk, information is shared, questions are asked and answered, and, in Valka's mind, seeds of hope are planted. Those seeds are to be carried from world to world, to be shared that some dragons aren't completely and utterly evil, that they can be lived with. That they can be touched. Come and see. Come and see.