One sunny, peaceful morning, Leyla, Dak, Winger, Summer, Aggro, Burple and Cutter were taking a stroll in the woods.
“Sigh, it feels great to start a day without having to rescue anyone, doesn’t it?” Winger said.
“It sure does.” Cutter said. “Even heroes like us deserve a time out.”
“Yeah, especially when it’s break for lunch!” Burple said.
“I don’t know you guys, but I actually enjoy rescuing people.” Summer said.
“Yeah, we must make sure everyone in Huttsgalor is safe.” Aggro said.
Suddenly, they heard something moving in the nearby bushes.
“Be prepared, Rescue Riders.” A juvenile voice said. “You’re not the only dragons here in the woods, for now you’re about to meet the one and only…”
The voice jumped out of the bushes. It turned out to be a little wolf pup!
“Ylva!” she said.
“A wolf pup?” Dak asked.
“Aw, I thought it was going to be a dragon.” Burple said.
“But I AM a dragon.” Ylva said.
“Wait… we can understand you.” Leyla said. “You speak dragon language?”
“Uh… yes, obviously!” Ylva said.
“But how?” Winger asked.
“Well, it turns out… I admire dragons! And not just that. I’m your biggest fan, too, Rescue Riders! I love the way you rescue Vikings and sheep, and how you use your dragon abilities in all of your rescues! Oh, and I learned to speak dragon language by hearing them!”
“How curious.” Cutter said. “Wolves usually are our greatest enemy.”
“Cutter!” Aggro shouted.
“What?”
“I know, but I’m not like them at all! Trust me!” Ylva said. “I want to prove I can be one of you!”
“Really?” Winger asked.
“Well, wolves can’t breathe fire, like I and Aggro do.” Cutter said. “Neither they can launch Power Blasts like Swiftwings do.”
“Hey, maybe you can shoot water from your mouth, like me!” Summer said.
“You really want to help her?” Aggro asked her.
“Aw, come on, Aggro. She’s just a girl. Let’s not break her dreams.”
“You mean it?” Ylva said. “Can I really try it? Oh, boy! Thank you! Come on, follow me!”
The Rescue Riders followed Ylva to a nearby lagoon. There, she dived in, filled her cheeks with water, and spat a water blast. However, it only reached a short distance.
“Ummm… not bad.” Summer said.
“Surely you’ll do better next time.” Winger said to her.
“Hey, why don’t you try spitting rocks like we Rockspitters do?” Burple recommended.
“Really, Burple?” Cutter asked. “Don’t you think Ylva will only hurt her mouth and cheeks?”
“Well, as long as she gulps on small pebbles, everything will be fine!”
“Great! Let’s go find some pebbles, friends!” Ylva said.
On the other side of the lagoon, they found some pebbles small enough to fit in Ylva’s mouth.
“Wait!” Dak said. “You might need this.”
He pulled out some small stick dummies and put them in front of Ylva.
“Dak, what are those things?” Leyla asked.
“Pocket sized training dummies. I made them in case small dragons want to train, too.” Dak said.
“Well thought!”
Ylva put them inside her mouth and spat them at the stick dummies, knocking them down, one by one.
“Great job, Ylva!” Burple said.
“That’s the way to go!” Summer said.
“What else could you do?” Winger asked.
“Well, let’s see. I can’t spit acid like Slobber Smelters do, nor screech like Piercing Shriekscales do, and much less inflate myself like Puffertails do!”
“Wow, and I thought I was the only dragon expert around here.” Leyla said.
“I told you. Dragons are my passion.”
“Well, if there’s something I know about wolves is that they have melodious howls.” Aggro said.
“What did you say?” Cutter asked her.
“Melodious howls. I know wolves are normally our enemies, but sometimes, I kind of like to hear their howls at night. It’s like they’re singing.”
“What a great idea, Aggro!” Cutter said. “Guys… I know which dragons we must visit now.”
The team went with their wolf friend to the island where the Songwings Melodia and Cantata lived.
“Hellooooooo, Rescue Riders!” Melodia said, in a sing-song way.
“Hey, who is this little wolf pup?” Cantata asked.
“Melodia, Cantata, meet our newest friend, Ylva! She claims to be a dragon.” Dak said.
“Well, she’s able to mimic some dragon skills, such as spitting rocks!” Burple said.
“And spitting water!” Summer said. “Though she still needs more practice.”
“She can also howl so beautiful it sounds like if she’s singing!” Aggro said.
“Really? Does that mean you can mimic a Songwing’s abilities, too?” Cantata asked.
“Sure do!” Ylva said.
Melodia laughed and said:
“Well, Ylva, now’s your chance to prove it! Let’s sing together, shall we?”
“Yes! Oh, I’ve always wanted to meet Songwings and sing with them!”
“It’s so nice to hear that, little wolf! Now, let’s hit it!” Cantata said.
Melodia, Cantata and Ylva began to sing a nice, cheerful song while dancing. The Rescue Riders watched the show and moved to the beat. Ylva howled like never before. She had a melodious howling, indeed! After Ylva’s big finish, her friends stayed there, open-mouthed and almost hypnotized.
“That was… AWESOME!” Cutter said.
“Very good, Ylva!” Melodia said. “Gee, you really sounded like we Songwings do!”
“With that beautiful singing, water shooting and rock spitting, it seems you really are a dragon!” Cantata said.
“Thank you! It means so much for me!” Ylva said.
Ylva and the Rescue Riders said goodbye to Melodia and Cantata and went back to Huttsgalor. When they arrived, Ylva remembered something.
“Wait… I’m missing the most important dragon ability… flying!”
“But... wolves can’t fly!” Cutter said.
“I know Cutter has been a little skeptical, but that’s true.” Aggro said.
“It’s ok, Ylva. You don’t need to fly to be a dragon.” Leyla said.
“Leyla’s right.” Dak said. “There are some dragons that don’t have wings.”
“Wings! That’s it!” Ylva said. “I’m going to get a pair of wings!”
She went running to some place.
“Wait, Ylva!” Winger asked.
“Did she say she was going to get a pair of wings?” Summer asked.
“How is she even going to do that?” Burple asked. “As far as I know, wolves can’t sprout wings.”
Ylva arrived to Magnus Finke’s workshop. Luckily, she found a pair of wings! They were part of a prototype for the Mechano-Dragon Junior, a small version of the Mechano-Dragon that even kids would be able to ride. And Magnus was going to create more of them! Ylva wasted no time and put the artificial wings on. They had feather-like blades and a small triple cannon on top of them. She didn’t know exactly what they were for, but still, she headed to try her new wings. When she arrived to a cliff, she heard a cry for help, coming from the bottom of the cliff. It was Elbone, who was stuck on top of what appeared to be a very long spear coming out of the sea.
“Great! Someone is in danger!” Ylva said. “It will be my first rescue! Rescue Riders, I’m gonna make you proud!”
Brave and confident, she jumped off the cliff, and before she fell into the water, she opened her wings and soared through the air.
“I’m flying! I can’t believe I’m actually flying!” she said, excited.
Ylva headed to where Elbone was.
“Aaah! A flying wolf! I didn’t know they existed!” he cried in fear. “First I’m stuck in the middle of the sea, and now a flying wolf wants to eat me!”
“Calm down! I’m not going to eat you!” Ylva said. “I’m just trying to save you! I know you can’t understand me, but here we go!”
Ylva grabbed Elbone’s shirt with her teeth. He screamed as the little wolf began to pull him off the spear. She fluttered as hard as she could, but Elbone was just too heavy.
“Jeez, how many fish did you eat today? I need more power.”
Then, she had an idea. She decided to try the three cannons on her back, not without before aiming them at the water, not to harm anybody. The first one shot water.
“No, that’s not enough.”
The second one shot rocks.
“Neither that.”
“Wait, that wolf has a pair of mechanical wings that shoot water and rocks? Cool! I need one of those!”
The third one shot a small but powerful fireball that pushed her and Elbone a little.
“Yikes!” Elbone cried. “She can shoot fire, too?”
“Yeah! That’ll do.” Ylva said.
She kept shooting fireballs and boosting both of them toward the edge of the cliff. However, just as she was close enough, she ran out of bullets!
“No, I’m not giving up! Today is not a day to fall!” Ylva said.
She kept fluttering in order to reach the edge, but to no avail.
“Hey, Ylva! Need a hand?” A female voice said.
It was Leyla, followed by the rest of her team, who were heading to save her and Elbone!
Winger and Summer grabbed Elbone from his sides and brought him to safety, while Aggro, Cutter and Burple did the same with Ylva.
“How did you end up like that, Elbone?” Dak asked him.
“You see, I was trying a new fishing technique that combine pole vaulting and spearfishing, like our ancestors did, but as soon as I jumped, the spear got caught between my shirt, and I ended hanging from it in the middle of the sea! Then, this little flying wolf appeared and tried to save me! Though, at first, I thought she was trying to eat me!”
“Her name is Ylva.” Dak said. “She’s a new friend of ours.”
“And she’s a dragon expert, just like me!” Leyla said. “She wanted so bad to be like us.”
“Well, nice to meet you, little Ylva!” Elbone said. “Well, I think I must go back to normal fishing.”
Elbone headed back to his house boat.
“Did you really do it all by yourself, Ylva?” Summer asked.
“It wasn’t easy, but I tried my best!” Ylva said. “Anyway, thanks for the help, guys! How did I do?”
“It was great!” Winger said.
“You just need to grow up a little, and improve using that thing.” Cutter said.
“By the way, where did you get those wings?” Aggro asked.
“I found them in some workshop.”
“Guys, does she mean…?” Burple asked.
“Those mechanical wings were made by Magnus Finke!” Leyla said. “I knew they seemed familiar to me. Come on, Dak. We’re gonna visit Magnus. I know it sounds crazy, but we must.”
Dak and Leyla went to Magnus’s workshop.
“What are you doing here, Rescue Losers?” Magnus said. “Can’t you see I’m busy working on my new project, the Mechano-Dragon Junior?”
“Speaking of that, we’re here to say… thank you.” Leyla said.
“What?”
“The wings of your future Mechano-Dragon Junior were of use for our new friend, Ylva!” Dak said.
Ylva showed up, closely followed by Winger, Summer, Cutter, Aggro and Burple.
“A wolf is using a creation of mine!?” Magnus said, annoyed.
“Yes, but don’t get us wrong!” Dak said. “She used your mechanical wings to save Elbone! And we think she could use them to help other people as well! “
“Well, I… uh…”
“Think about it, Magnus.” Leyla said. “Once again, you’ve helped somebody with your inventions! Keep it like that, and you’ll earn the acknowledgement of all Huttsgalor!”
“Thanks again, Magnus!” Dak said. “See you later!”
After Ylva and the Rescue Riders left, Magnus smiled. He was finally appreciated for something he created! So he let them keep the mechanical wings. At the Roost, Leyla prepared some targets for Ylva to start her training. She made very good use of her fireballs, water blasts and rocks to knock some targets down. Then, she at last used the blades in her wings to pierce other targets. They were supposed to mimic Cutter’s spine shots!
“Wow! She makes me so proud!” Cutter said.
“And you were doubtful at first.” Aggro said to him.
“How wrong I was.” he said.
Both dragons hugged.
“So, how did I do?” Ylva asked.
“Excellent!” Dak said.
“However, you are still a pup, so you won’t be able to help adults.” Leyla said. “But don’t worry! Just like Cutter said, you just need to grow up. Until then, your missions will consist in rescuing kids and small animals.”
“Missions? Rescuing? Does that mean…?” Ylva asked.
“That’s right. In the name of all dragons and humans here present, we now declare you an honorary member of the Rescue Riders!”
“Welcome to the team, Ylva.” Winger said.
“Oh, thank you!” Ylva said, happily.
She jumped onto Leyla’s arms and began to lick her face. Dak hugged them, and Winger, Summer, Cutter, Aggro and Burple joined in for a group hug. Ylva had finally fulfilled her lifelong dream, and everyone lived happily ever after.
THE END