"Raise the sails! We're headed home!" the large, bearded man yelled, his voice carrying far into the mountains on the cape. He leaned in close to the boy tied near the black dragon, probably to leer about something. Grassy green eyes narrowed at the sight of the poor creature chained up.
"Come onto my island to lure and capture dragons, will ya? Just who do ya think ye are, huh? Well, we'll see if ya get away with it, now won't we?"
Light feet swiftly slid down the rocky slopes, and a lithe body crouched down near the large boulders, staying out of sight.
"Go on, get out of here. Take me to your lair…"
As soon as the large ship slid out to sea, their stalker slipped to a crevice in the mountains, where a tiny makeshift raft awaited.
"Never thought I'd actually use this."
Nimble fingers tugged the crude craft down the beach, into the waiting waves. Their owner sat on the tied branches, staring out to sea, waiting for something. Not long after, while the ship was still in sight, the stranger was no longer alone.
"I want you to follow me at a distance, okay? They've got a black beauty on board their ship, and I'd bet my arrows that they have more wherever they're headed."
Stained, crooked teeth showed through a crooked smile. "So, let's go and rescue some dragons, eh?"
WWW
If Astrid was a worrier, she'd probably be biting her lip. But she wasn't one, so she wasn't doing that. Nor was she drumming her fingers against Stormfly's neck, no matter what Ruffnut said. Because she didn't worry herself senseless over Hiccup. That just wasn't something she did. Because she didn't worry.
At all. Ever.
Except maybe now, after hearing that the Outcasts made a Night Fury replica on the Isle of Night.
They probably lured Hiccup here somehow and captured him! She glanced at her chief and his best friend. They were both frowning at the ground, confused creases on their foreheads.
"What's wrong, Chief?" she asked. If there was something they could do for Hiccup and Toothless, by every single god and goddess she knows, she was going to do it.
"We saw signs of living further inland," Stoick explained. "In the wooded parts of the island. It seemed far too… neat, to be an Outcast outpost. There may be an outsider helping Alvin."
"In which case," Gobber added, "we'll have to be very careful. That helper could very well be the trick up Alvin's sleeve that he needs."
"Hey, there's something over there," Fishlegs said, pointing down the coast. Stoick and Gobber looked down where he gestured, and made their way toward the markings in the sand.
"Hmm," Gobber mused. "Looks like a raft of sorts was put to use here."
"And, uh, what would that be?" Snotlout asked, pointing at deep grooves, like giant snake tracks, flanked by what was clearly claw marks.
Gobber's eyes widened. "I don't know, Snotlout… Don't recall seeing tracks such as these before…"
"Whatever they are," Stoick said, "they probably were headed to Outcast Island. And so are we." Under his breath, he added, "We're coming for you, son."
Astrid silently, but wholeheartedly, echoed him.
WWW
Toothless felt pretty proud of himself after that little stunt that got him released. But gloating would have to wait. He had his Rider to find. He followed the scent into some more caged rooms, but both he and the older human were missing. He followed their trail outside, but then it led up to the air. He roared, hoping that his Rider would hear.
"Oh, wow. You truly are such a beauty."
Toothless turned about, snarling at the potential threat. It was another hairless human, not accounting for the extremely light fur growing short on its head. This one seemed to almost glow in the night, the moonlight reflecting off its natural hide. The hides that it used as all other humans do were thin, faded, and definitely past their shedding date.
No, wait… do humans shed? Maybe not.
Toothless growled at this new human, who continued to smile gently at him.
"It's all right, boyo, I promise not to hurt ya." It crept closer, slowly and tentatively. Toothless growled louder. It stilled for a moment, before raising a small foreleg. "Hush, now. It's okay, honest. I'm a friend. I was plannin' on rescuin' ya, but I guess ya beat me to it, huh, boyo?"
The Night Fury inhaled, and recognized the smells this human was giving off. It smelled of the island where he and his Rider were captured. Another scent wafted from it, though… something familiar…
It stood still, foreleg still outstretched. Toothless narrowed his eyes, but decided he'd be better off trusting this human… for now. He closed his eyes and placed his muzzle against its claw. The human smiled more broadly, and rubbed his muzzle in soothing motions.
"That's it, boyo. You're all right." It glanced back at his tail. "Huh, so I guess you're a domesticated dragon, eh? You've got a saddle, and what's this?" It slowly knelt down at his side, inspecting his Rider's stirrup, but thankfully not touching it. "Connected to your tail fin, eh? Whoever your owner is, they're a smithing genius, obviously. Strange stirrup, though. How does he fit his foot onto that? Does he wear special shoes, perhaps?" It looked back up at him. "Well, either way, I suppose we'd better find him, eh? It'll be daylight soon. I'm guessing he's the kid I saw on my island, eh? Well, don't you worry, boyo, we'll find him, I promise ya."
Toothless certainly hoped so.
WWW
The sun had only just risen when the Night Fury heard the roar of his kin. Of course, that meant that his Rider was calling him. Why he hadn't just done that in the first place was beyond him, but Toothless didn't care. He answered back with a roar of his own, causing the human to grab its ears in pain.
"Well, that's certainly a human-sounding noise. I'm guessing that's your owner, then?"
Toothless began bounding off to where he heard his Rider, the new human close behind. Coming across a sandy clearing, he let out another roar, as his Rider ran towards him.
"Toothle- OH!" He was promptly tackled by a bounding Night Fury, who covered him in sloppy dragon kisses.
Hiccup laughed as he pushed his over-happy dragon off of him. "Are you okay, bud? Oh, I'm so sorry, Toothless. This was all my fault."
"'Toothless?' That's a strange name, considering I definitely saw teeth in that mouth of his."
Hiccup looked over his dragon's wings, and saw someone new, with crudely cut light-blonde hair, bright green eyes, and extremely old clothes. The boy's light grey shirt was loose and thin, tattering at the edges, and the light brown pants had huge holes in the knees, barely connected. A bow and quiver was slung around thin shoulders, and the filthy feet were bare. Not trusting any strangers on this island, he immediately jumped between this one and Toothless. He heard the others behind him pull out weapons and take defensive stances.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there!" the stranger called out, hands in the air. "I mean no harm to anyone. I saw you and your dragon get captured back on my island, and I thought I'd help out. Clearly, ya didn't even need it, so I just wasted a trip."
"Uh, Mildew?" Hiccup called back. "Do you know this guy?"
The old man started stammering. "Ah, no, I never seen his face 'round here before. He's definitely not one of Alvin's men, if that's what you want to know."
The stranger began smirking, and trying really hard to keep from laughing. Hiccup narrowed his eyes, but the chuckle wasn't malicious; it seemed something was genuinely funny to this guy. Once under control, the blonde shrugged and simply asked, "Who's Alvin?"
At that moment, Toothless started growling menacingly to the east. "Whoa, what's the matter, bud?" Hiccup asked.
"Hey there! Boy!" Everyone turned toward the sound of the voice. Alvin the Treacherous was standing atop a cliff, taunting the riders down below. "You weren't gonna leave before we finished our business, were you? Just what I expect from Stoick's little runt."
"Oh, boy," Gobber muttered anxiously. Eyes darted towards the 'runt' who was glaring at the Outcast with hate-filled eyes.
"That," he spat, "is Alvin."
"Hiccup!" Stoick warned, but his son paid no mind. He leapt upon his dragon, and charged straight for his kidnapper. "Hiccup, no! We got what we came for!"
"Oh, that's how his foot fits. It's a metal leg!"
Astrid raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, who didn't even seem to realize the thoughts were spoken out loud.
"Do it, boy! I'm right here!" Alvin taunted.
The fair stranger frowned. "Well, that's a trap if I've ever heard one…" muttered the archer, before placing two pinkie fingers in a puckered mouth and whistling shrilly. A loud roar answered, and golden brown wings covered the sky before folding into itself and landing on the ground before the one who called it.
"A Timberjack," Gobber breathed out, staring at the beast in awe.
The stranger jumped upon its back and called out, "We gotta help them!" The dragon roared again in reply, and began crawling on the rocks awkwardly, using the talons on its wings to grip the boulders.
"Now!" yelled the man on the cliff. At his signal, a group of men threw weighted ropes at the Night Fury and his Rider, effectively tying them together, and rendering them motionless. Hordes of Outcasts charged towards them and Hiccup struggled against his bonds.
Suddenly, arrows started raining down on the enemies, some of them hitting their legs, others blocking their paths. Hiccup looked up, and saw the stranger standing on the back of a Timberjack, aiming a bow with a master's focus, firing quickly at oncoming Outcasts. The limbless dragon was drooling fire at the throngs, keeping them away from the helpless duo with spatterings of the hot oil-like substance.
Astrid was furious. They would not owe this stranger a debt, even if it did seem to be a friend. "Dragons, everybody!" she ordered, turning around to find…
...a dragonless clearing.
"Uh, we'd love to, but as you can see…" Tuffnut trailed off at the sight of Astrid's face.
Mildew scoffed. "Trusting dragons. This is what it gets you."
Astrid repressed a groan. Where did they go? She rolled her eyes, and caught sight of winged beasts in the sky. "Wait, look!" She pointed to their dragons, flying to the stranger's aid.
Meatlug surrounded Hiccup and Toothless with her lava-like fire, staving off the Outcasts that slipped through Barf and Belch's and the strangers' defenses. Hookfang and Stormfly flew down, and grabbed Toothless and carried them off to safety, near the rest of the group. Stoick and Gobber immediately ran to them and cut through the ropes binding them.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked as soon as he was free.
"The dragons saved you on their own," Fishlegs told him, awestruck.
Astrid shook her head. "Did they? It seemed to me that they were following that guy," she pointed toward the fair stranger, who was keeping lookout as the Timberjack hovered above them.
Catching their eye, the stranger called down, "Maybe you all should catch up later? I don't have an unlimited supply of arrows, here!"
Stoick nodded briskly. "He's right. Let's get out of here now." He jumped upon Thornado, his Thunderdrum, and everyone else followed suit, Gobber clambering on the Deadly Nadder Hiccup temporarily rode to escape, Mildew right behind him.
Stoick allowed Thornado to send a booming roar at the charging Outcasts, distracting them long enough for everyone to safely take to the skies. The stranger kept to the rear, occasionally loosing an arrow at an enemy who ventured too closely. They hadn't gone long before trouble reached them again.
Mildew, apparently, hadn't held onto Gobber or the Nadder tight enough, and was soon hanging on for dear life on the dragon's tail.
"Oh, for the love of Thor," Gobber muttered. "Mildew, get back up here!" One hand fell from its grip. Gobber's eyes widened. "Don't you let go, old man!"
Mildew looked up apologetically. "Tell the boy, I'm sorry."
And with a scream, he plummeted to earth.
"Mildew!" Hiccup cried, turning Toothless around.
Perhaps fortunately, the old man fell into some trees, slowing his fall enough that he survived the crash onto the rocks. Unfortunately, a group of Outcasts was waiting for him. The stranger narrowed green eyes at the sight.
"Go, Hiccup!" Mildew yelled. "You'll have to leave me!"
Hiccup was planning on ignoring the old grump. After all, he'd done so most of his life; why should he stop now? But his path was blocked by a giant, wooden-toned dragon.
"Listen to him," called the Timberjack's rider, as the mount herded the Night Fury away from the island. "Ye can't do anything for him anyway!"
Hiccup was about to protest, but his father called to him, agreeing with the fair stranger. With a muttered curse, he properly turned Toothless around, and headed home.
WWW
Astrid narrowed her eyes. The stranger was following them to Berk! And Stoick was allowing it! This couldn't be good, for anyone involved. Hiccup was just kidnapped, they had just dealt with Heather, and now they were expected to welcome this guy to their home?
She knew it was too late to say something, though, when Berk could be seen on the horizon.
They all landed on the hill behind the Chief's house. The Timberjack grabbed on the trees behind them, stretching its impressive wingspan fully between holds. Its Rider jumped over its shoulder, and slid down the front of its belly, landing gracefully on bare feet in front of the group of Berkians.
"So, this is where you live, huh?" was the first casual remark. "Quaint." A Gronckle chose that moment to fly over them. "And you, what, breed dragons here? You live peacefully among them, then?"
Astrid stalked over to the stranger, unlatching her battle-axe.
"Astrid, wait!" Hiccup called.
He needn't have bothered, though. Before Astrid could take another step toward their unwanted guest, the Timberjack released its grip on the trees, dropping on top of its Rider. It held its weight on its tail, shielding the human with its wings like a tent. Its long neck stretched toward the female Viking, and it bared its numerous sharp teeth.
"Easy, Hati, easy," came the soothing voice of the stranger. Stoick felt a nagging thought in the back of his mind as he searched for a reason that the name sounded familiar. A delicate hand reached up to stroke the neck of its protector, as bare feet came slowly from behind the giant wings. "I'm sure she means well." Green eyes snapped onto the axe-wielding blonde. "What have I done to deserve such a welcome? I should warn you, Hati here is extremely protective and fierce. The wings themselves-"
"Yeah, we know," Astrid interrupted. "A Timberjack's wings are razor sharp, and can cut through a full-grown tree."
Light eyebrows raised up. "A Timberjack, eh? So is that what your kind are called then, Hati? Aptly named, I s'pose."
Hiccup frowned. "You don't know the name of your own dragon?" he asked.
"Well, it's not like I was studying dragons on that island," came the lofty reply, before the green eyes narrowed. "But ya haven't answered my question: Why do ya stand as if ready to attack? Have I done something worthy of your hostility?"
"Yeah," Astrid replied. "You followed us. Why?"
The stranger blinked. "Oh. I guess we did end up doing that. Sorry 'bout that, I guess neither of us really thought about where we going."
"Why didn't you just head back to where you came from?" Astrid demanded. "And why did you help Hiccup? Did you want to get close to a Night Fury?"
"One question at a time!" the stranger cried, throwing hands in the air. "First: We were plannin' on leavin' that island, anyways, we've outlived it. Second: I helped your friend, because he needed help. And finally, as gorgeous as that black beauty is, why would its specie be the deciding factor to be a decent human being?"
"Astrid, as strange as this guy is, he did save my life, and Toothless'," Hiccup defended, gently pushing his friend's weapon down. "That alone gives him the right to keep his life."
Gobber and Stoick shared a look. The chief stepped up. "I am Stoick, chief of Berk. I thank you, for rescuing my son and his dragon. I assume it was your campsite that we found on the Isle of Night?"
The stranger shrugged. "Probably, I was the only person living on it for nearly a year, before those kidnapping bastards came by. And don't worry about it, I only did what any decent person should've done."
Tuffnut frowned. "I wouldn't have done that, would you?" He turned to his twin.
"Of course not," was his sister's reply. "That would imply we were decent!"
"Oh, right…!" Tuffnut said, as if he now fully understood what everyone was talking about.
The stranger distractedly petted the muzzle of the dragon. "Would you mind if I stayed on your island?" came the inquiry. "Not even in the village, we can get by well enough in the woods."
Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
She was answered with a shrug. "We're here, we can't go back, and this island seems bigger than our last one. We'd probably actually be able to survive longer."
Gobber frowned. "Don't ya have family, lad?"
The stranger's face darkened. "I promise not cause harm to any of ya, we'd just want to live peacefully. All I ask in return is respect and privacy."
Stoick and Hiccup looked at each other, before Hiccup said, "It shouldn't be too big of a problem to allow that, right, Astrid?"
Astrid stared at him in disbelief. "Really? You're gonna let a stranger just waltz onto Berk, doing whatever he pleases, just 'cause he saved your life? What if he's a spy for Alvin? It's the Heather incident all over again!"
Snotlout raised a hand. "I disagree! I don't think this guy is anything like Heather!"
"Thanks, Snotlout," Hiccup said, surprised that his self-proclaimed arch-rival was taking this so seriously.
Snotlout nodded sagely. "Heather was one gorgeous babe, this guy is obviously not."
"And there is the Snotlout we know," Hiccup sighed, glancing at the stranger, whose face looked confusing, as if unsure whether to laugh or look insulted.
"Enough!" Stoick said firmly. "Lad, how old are you?"
The stranger stood taller, looking prouder than a lost traveler. "Fifteen, sir." Astrid was surprised to hear that this kid was a year younger than she. And yet they asked for respect? This guy was obviously hiding something!
Stoick nodded. "You're recognized as a man, then, lad. As thanks for your help on Outcast Island, we welcome you to Berk. But understand this, we are not trusting you blindly. If we catch you doing wrong, mark my words, we will kill you."
The stranger's eyes hardened. "While I promise you that it will never come to that, I feel it's only fair to say that you could certainly try, but Hati and I have proved hard to kill in the past."
Stoick blinked, finally recognizing the name. "'Hati?'" he asked. "You've named your dragon after the moon warg?"
The stranger smirked. "I found it a fitting name. After all, my name is Mani."
A/N: The thing about having younger siblings is that you're constantly being bombarded with cartoons. "Race to the Edge" is one of the more recent 'all-day, everyday' shows, and it's actually tolerable. I love the movies, but usually spin-off shows, especially animated ones, are horrendous. I was pleasantly surprised to actually (for the most part) enjoy this one, and of course, the writer in me had to create a character for the universe. So, I give you Mani and Hati!