Chapter Text
As Lucery Velaryon fell through the sky, the tattered remains of his poor little Arrax surrounded him. He wanted to close his eyes but he wouldn't, he wouldn't look away from Arrax, not until he had no choice. He could almost faintly hear Aemond calling out something...but whatever it was was lost to the wind rushing past his ears.
He fell and fell, his stomach no longer bothering to to tilt at the sensation. Then he struck the water. It was akin to striking solid rock, but somehow, somehow as he'd fallen a bit of Arrax had come beneath him, and that saved him the full force and while disoriented, and with injuries from at least one of Vaghar's teeth, he lived.
He thought to just let himself sink, for what was the point? But...even in death Arrax had saved him and he couldn't repay his little dragons efforts with apathy. So he forced himself to move, his arms burning from the strain, his fine clothes seeking to pull him under. He was however, a Velaryon and both grandfather and father had pitched himself and Jace into the waters around Driftmark in all manners of dress for no Velaryon should be unable to swim. Thankfully Lucerys had taken much better to swimming than sailing and he was able to force his hands up to his cloak clasp and remove it's tattered remains and kick his boots off.
Thus freer, if quickly running out of air, he made again for the surface. He broke through and wanted to sob. Ever so distantly he could make out the shadowed blob that was Dragonstone...such a distance though...
Still, he would not give in, not until he had tried as hard as Arrax...
An unknown eternity later, his left arm and side that one of Vaghar's fangs had struck were near useless, his right not much better, but still he tried...
He was near to passing out and growing concerned by the increasing lack of blood surrounding him in the water, as he'd been swimming in a cloud of it for most of his journey...he felt himself reach out, near unconsciously to anything...maybe Syrax would feel the child of her rider? He did not know but he he was barely treading water now and had no other choice. Dragonstone was only a moderately clearer smudge on the horizon than before.
Then he was suddenly being drug out of the water and found himself dangling from something mouth as the distance between him and home vanished.
He was dumped on the ground of a small alcove on the very edges of the island and he managed to roll over to look at his rescuer.
Even right beside him, in the faint light and and mist tossed from the spray The Gray Ghost was nearly invisible. He muzzily held his hand out, and with an uncertain chirr, the grey ghost pressed it's nose to his hand. Lucerys smiled, though tears were building. "Thank you." He managed to say before the dragon stiffened and looked up, moving to partially hide him.
Something massive landed on the beach near them...
Adrenaline fueling his body where nothing else could, Luke found his feet and got out from under Grey Ghost's protective wing.
The Cannibal...the spiny, black nightmare dragon was there, larger than grey ghost by half. Laying before it, helpless and keening was one of the young unclaimed dragons, a bleeding puncture on it's back told Luke how it had arrived there.
He started shaking his head. He couldn't...he just couldn't watch this. The little dragon, barely the length of Lucerys torso was purple looking in the faint light of dawn, yet Luke could not bear to see another dragon shredded again today.
The very same protective rage that had fueled his fateful maiming of Aemond came to him now and with a scream he ran forward, throwing a rock, useless as it was at the great beast.
"Don't you dare!" He cried. "It can't possibly even be a snack to you!" He threw more rocks at the now rather discombobulated dragon. Grey Ghost, already following his wishes even as it mourned him, started easing forward as he kept the creatures attention, to attempt to spirit away the little one.
Luke honestly wasn't sure what he was screaming anymore, but instead of being summarily eaten, as he'd rather expected to happen, the Cannibal was simply eyeing him in...curiosity.
Luke stopped his barrage and found himself in staring contest of sorts. He could...feel it slowly coming through as the two looked at each other...The Cannibal had never been protected...he been alone...and never wanted...so why not take that which others wanted?
Luke huffed, "you want to take something? I have the perfect prey for you." He told the great beast, his mind whirling at the impossibility happening. One dragon, one rider...that was how it went...yet he could still fell The Grey Ghost in his mind, the painful wheal of where Arrax should be, and now this...
When he called he next held out his hand, it was a far spinier nose that pressed against him this time.
His vision swam and he knew he needed to get to keep soon or all this would be for naught, he genuinely didn't know how he was even still alive.
Turning from the now...not docile but "not going to eat him or anything at present dragon" he managed in his still functioning arm to scoop the little purple dragon up, who tucked it's nose into his neck, crooning it's anxiety and wish for comfort. Lucerys did his best as he approached Grey Ghost, firstly, as he did not trust the Cannibal just yet to not forsake their fledgling bond, and with the hopes that with him riding the ghost, it was unlikely to try to take out the competition for his attention.
Grey Ghost was as uncertain at being mounted as Luke was in mounting but a sudden nose beneath his foot, courtesy of his new pet nightmare, saw him and his little charge up.
He lay as flat as he could digging his feet and hands into the small scutes along the Grey Ghost's spine, using his torso to hold the baby? toddler? dragon down and hoped for the best.
He was barely conscious for the flight, all his focus on his little companion, keeping his much larger companions calm and "don't eat anyone" and the direction of home and holding on...
The shouts from the keep and the teakettle scream of Caraxes and deeper roar of Syrax told him he'd made it, he slid down in an undignified lump of boy and dragon and had barely time to recognize Ser Erryck's horrified face before he finally blacked out.