Stark

Hunter

Stark had watched his parents quietly his whole life. Being the only offspring of Shade and Cerimi to stay with the clan (although he did see his brother Mizu when he would come to visit Tempest) he felt he had a lot to live up to. His mother was the lead hunter, his father the jester and adviser to the clan leader. Stark wanted nothing more than to impress his parents and his clan leader. He did his best at hunting and he learned to listen closely when others spoke, often being someone others in the clan felt they could confide in.

He was especially fond of his little sister, Arwen. She had spunk, that was for sure and what his parents had done for Karli, giving her the hatchling she had always wanted, filled him with warmth. Even though his mother was Cerimi, Sansa was now his father's mate and Stark felt it only right to consider her his second mother. Cerimi was proud of how her son had handled the situation, telling him so after watching him work with Sansa one evening after one of her nests had hatched.

So it came as no surprise to him when Shade approached him about the Contralto problem. Stark had been watching Contralto for a while, usually volunteering to hunt with him to keep an eye on him. After his first attempt at a coup, King had asked Stark to keep an eye on him just in case. Stark had agreed, worrying that if someone didn't keep an eye on him, Contralto would do some real damage. Leia cautioned him to be careful, stating that while he didn't have many supporters, Contralto had enough to cause problems if he wanted.

When Arwen announced her mate and Karli announced that she was being trained to be the next leader, he watched Contralto while everyone else was distracted. The dragon was angry, his nostrils flaring, smoke curling out of them. Stark moved closer to him, tensing his muscles to pounce. But instead of reacting, Contralto turned his back, stalking away. Stark followed from a safe distance, watching as Nightshade and Impa peeled away from the others to follow him. Stark made note of that and went to find King to inform him of what he had noticed.

After Karli had dismissed the meeting with her advisers, Stark watched warily for Contralto to make another move. Shade approached his son, hesitant to ask what needed to be asked. Stark did it for him. "She's picking a mate, isn't she?" Shade nodded. "From a second or third generation nest? To appease him?" Again Shade nodded. Leia watched them intently from her spot by the fire. "Did she say whose nest?"

Shade sat next to Leia, touching her wing with his. "Yours, Son. You are loyal, you and Leia. Karli trusts that you will raise a mate for her that she can confide in and that will help her rule the clan."

Leia exchanged a look with Stark, her eyes speaking volumes. "And this will appease Contralto? A hatchling from your son?"

Shade sighed. "You think just like your mother. Too smart for me. But yes, it should appease him. He never said what pairing the dragons had to come from. He only stipulated it needed to be a second or third generation dragon."

Stark nodded. "It's true. In all the talks he had with Impa and Nightshade, he complained that Arwen's mate was a hatchling brought to our clan via Runewander's clan and raised by Karli herself. He's ultimate goal would be a mate from his own children, but Cerimi isn't on his side and would never agree. Magnum either."

"So Impa agrees with him but his own son doesn't? How does that work?"

Stark shrugged. "Impa is hot headed and very opinionated. Magnum is like his mother, calm and gentle. He's a great hunter, but he keeps to himself. He doesn't agree with his father or his wife, but he doesn't control them either. So far his children have opted to leave the clan. Not sure if that's by their father's influence or not."

"Impa has bought into Contralto's belief that he deserves more. She agrees that he should at least be an adviser to Karli and like him can't understand why she won't choose him." Leia looked intently at the fire. "I think it started as her way to connect to him, hoping to gain his acceptance by agreeing with the things he said. He's not very close to his son and she probably thought that if she agreed with him he would feel more welcome with her and his son."

"So Karli thinks that by taking one of our sons as her mate he will back off?" Stark looked down at Leia worriedly.

Shade nodded. "Yes. At least for now. She will have a mate to help her lead, one that can learn from King and Cerimi and her on how to be a proper leader while also learning from the two of you how to be a decent dragon. I know it's a lot to ask, Son. And you have every right to say no. But your leader is asking for your help to protect her place in the clan."

Before Shade could respond, Leia stood up. "Yes, we'll do it."

"Are you sure, Child?"

Leia smiled at him. "Shade, you accepted me into this clan well before I became your son's mate. You helped me find my place and put a smile on my face when I was sad and lonely. Karli treated me like I was one of her own hatchlings, regardless of the fact that I hadn't been hatched in this clan. She is loyal and I would be honored to have one of my son's be her mate and help her lead. At least if we do it this way we can be sure that she will have a loyal mate, someone who knows how to treat her and support her."

Shade enveloped her in his wings. "You are the best thing that could've happened to my family, my dear. Don't you ever doubt that. I will let Karli know. For now, let's keep this to ourselves, we will don't want to rush. Let's just see what your next nest brings, OK?" They agreed, settling in for the night. Stark curled up next to Leia, watching as Contralto laid down next to Cerimi, his eyes, as always, on Sansa as he went to sleep for the night.