Dragon's Edge was a fitting name for a base of operations. The famed Dragon Riders constructed it not too long ago, and they already had a security system consisting of Night Terrors that were constantly on the lookout for any incoming anything. The rider soared above, acknowledging this in silence, and allowed her dragon to circle like a vulture high above.
"Let's get down lower, Daystrike." the rider said softly. Her dragon softly crooned in response before beginning to descend towards the dragon-shaped island. The rider let go of the handles to raise her hood so it left her face in shadow. She had already visited the island before, but now she was getting bolder, approaching during the daytime rather than in the cover of darkness. Not that Daystrike blended in. She could easily vanish into the clouds if it wasn't for her wings. Blues, greens, and a splatter of black dotted them. The black confused people since it made the wings appear to have large holes in them.
The rider, whose name was Rena Capson of the Hairy Hooligan tribe from Berk, kept a cautious eye and ear out for any riders or Night Terror warning calls, as did her dragon. Daystrike glided down to coast around the large mountain that rested in the middle of the island.
She could hear her dragon's telltale whistle, but since she wasn't going very fast, it was low in volume. Whistlewings were known for their sound that their wings made depending on how fast they were going while gliding. The tone and pitch of the whistles varied due to the speed or whether they were turning or not. When vikings and dragons were enemies, this sound was their weakness, allowing for an easy kill. Rena shuddered at the thought of someone killing her dragon.
While Rena was thinking that, Daystrike scanned the land below, looking in interest. Their main base was almost inviting, with dragons currently sitting on platforms, including what appeared to be their leader's Night Fury slowly inching along after his rider.
Locking her gaze to the Night Fury, she dipped lower, feeling her rider slightly lean forward, not by much.
"What do you see, Strike?" Rena asked, extending a hand to scratch lightly at her dragon's temple. Daystrike grumbled in response, and Rena chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, that Night Fury is pretty clingy to Hiccup, isn't he? Just like us." Rena replied before going silent to listen to Daystrike's whistle. She smiled, feeling the wind hit her face and help her tuck her hair into her hood. "Go up a bit, Strike. The sound will echo in this cove."
Daystrike turned her eyes forward, a low rumble emanating from her throat. Her rider leaned forward all the way in the saddle, keeping their profile as small as possible and lower the drag caused by Rena. A second later, the Whistlewing angled her wings a tiny bit, and the two of them shot up before leveling out. The whistle still echoed in the cove, though not as much, and the pair whisked away to one of the many sea stacks that surrounded Dragon's Edge.
As they flew over the small bluff overlooking the cove, their shadow passed over a Thorston, who looked on in surprise and amazement.
"Slow down, Tuffnut. You saw a what?" Hiccup asked incredulously.
Less than two minutes previous, the male Thorston had stumbled into the Clubhouse short of breath, blubbering on about a dragon he'd seen.
"IsawawhistlingshadowdragonandohmygodstherewasarideronitandInowbelieveinghosts."
Tuffnut was met with confused looks from Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout. Ruffnut stepped in to help her twin.
"What he's trying to say is that he saw a shadow of a whistling rider riding a dragon that was actually a ghost of a god." Ruffnut explained, only to get the same reaction from everyone, including her brother who gave her a snarl.
"Deep breaths, Tuff. It's not like he actually saw anything." Snotlout said, crossing his arms.
"Wait. Tuff, you said a 'whistling rider riding a dragon?'" Fishlegs asked. Tuffnut shook his head, his matted and filthy hair flying around.
"Other way around, 'Legs." Tuffnut corrected.
"A rider on a whistling dragon?" Astrid asked. She glanced at Hiccup, who was exchanging looks with Fishlegs.
"Oh my gods. Fishlegs, this could be a Whistlewing!" Hiccup said excitedly. Fishlegs took out his small notecards with dragons and classes written on them.
"Either that or a Night Fury. But Whistlewings were killed off ages ago for sport. Even if they did survive, their island is at least a four day flight from here or Berk." Fishlegs read from his cards. "Do you really think one survived?"
"There's a small possibility that one or two are left. Tuff, listen. I really want to believe you, but I'm more than a little skeptical. Last time you told us you two built a lookout tower and it was gone. Next time, bring Ruff with you so I can have a little more proof that a Whistlewing is around here."
"Thanks, Hiccup! It's great to know you trust me more than Tuffnut!" Ruffnut said happily.
"He said a little more proof, not another witness."
"I knew that."
"No."
"Yes."
"I am your twin, so therefore you didn't know that."
"I am your twin and me, so I did know that."
"Tuffnut!" Hiccup shouted. The twins looked up in unison from their scuffle taking place on the floor. Tuffnut's fist was about to make contact with Ruffnut's face, and the tips of Ruffnut's horned helmet were about to crash into Tuffnut's stomach. "If you or Ruffnut hear or see the Whistlewing, send out a signal and try to keep it in one place. Use Barf and Belch to do that, but if the rider tries anything, try to get the rider off the Whistlewing. Got it?"
They both nodded.
Rena and Daystrike reached their sea stack, which had a small grove of trees on the top, some grasses and shrubs, and a small unassuming hole which led to a cave that was just big enough for a rider and a Whistlewing with enough space left over to make a fire and store supplies.
"You hungry, Strike?" Rena asked, receiving a grumble in response. "I'll get the food tonight. You did great today."
She loosened up the harness, with the saddle attached, and stood up. She smiled and reached over, hugging her dragon and scratching on her chin. Grabbing a harpoon and some rope, she exited the cave and climbed down a bluff which led to the lowest part of the sea stack. Tying one end of the rope to the harpoon and wrapping the other around her wrist, she waited until she spotted a large fish.
Several minutes later, she came back to the cave with a fish almost as big as her tied to a winch by the mouth of the cave. Whistling for Daystrike, she stepped aside and let her dragon drag it in. She untied the rope holding the fish's tail, and Daystrike began to feed. Rena had food for her waiting in the back of the cavern by a stone-lined fire pit.
Soon, with Daystrike's help, she had a nice fire going, with some food from Berk consisting of meat and other local favorites. "Eat up, Strike. I know you love going on sunset flights."
Daystrike replied with a somewhat muffled croon before returning to her food. A small shadow entered the space as a Terrible Terror flew in. Rena smiled.
"Heya, Bean!" Rena said as Bean perched on her arm, just below her shoulder guards. She brought her other hand up to stroke his small orange-red head. "I missed you!"
Bean nuzzled her shoulder guards before chirping happily. "Really? Did you stay out trouble?" Rena asked, to which Bean shook his head. "Of course not. You can't stay out of trouble when Gustav is taking care of you. I can't wait to explain to Stoick why the wrong people got the wrong letters."
Daystrike came over to the two, rumbling softly. Bean flicked his yellow eyes to the Whistlewing before leaping off of Rena's arm to curl up in a small bowl-like feature in the cave wall. Daystrike looked to Rena, then motioned toward her loose riding gear. She cooed again, her striking dark lavender eyes focused on Rena.
"Alright, Strike. I'm hurrying." Rena said, quickly eating her small meal and then tightening the harness. She considered taking her hood, but instead settled for a bandanna which she tied around her long dark brown hair. She then leapt onto Daystrike. Within seconds, the only living thing was a small, orange Terrible Terror sleeping in a cup on a wall.
"There!" Tuffnut shouted, pointing at the ground below.
"We've been over this, Tuff. That's Toothless." Hiccup sighed, actually on Toothless. Tuffnut had been scanning the ground for the last two hours, much to the annoyance of every Dragon Rider on Dragon's Edge.
"He speaks! The rider speaks!" Tuffnut shouted, throwing his hands up in the air before looking up at the black dragon and Hiccup. "Oh. It's just you."
Stormfly squawked as she and Astrid flew up to Hiccup. "Follow me. I know the perfect place to watch the sun set, far from Tuffnut's antics." Astrid offered. Hiccup smiled warmly at her. "It's a couple sea stacks over. Stormfly and I saw one that has great views."
"I'd love to. What do you think, bud?" Toothless rumbled happily, and the two Dragon Riders flew off together. "Thanks, Astrid. I really have no idea what I'd do or, uh, how I'd get out of situations like, um, that with a good excuse, you know?" Hiccup said, silently wishing he could pinch himself for somehow managing to stumble over his words.
"What would you do without me?" Astrid asked. She looked over at Hiccup as he and Toothless glided next to them.
"I'd probably make the situation a whole lot worse." Hiccup admitted. Toothless made a sound of agreement, then a purr as Hiccup gently scratched him on the head. "So what do you think about Tuffnut's claims about the Whistlewing?"
Astrid returned her gaze to look forward. "I really think he might be onto something. Remember when he was the one who told us about the Night Terrors?"
"Yeah," Hiccup said, nodding. "But that time, he thought it was a big dragon, not a group of small ones following their leader." Hiccup paused for a moment, thinking.
Daystrike and Rena flew just below the clouds heading towards a group of sea stacks that made for a great place to work on tight turns. Other than that and Dragon's Edge, there was really nothing to fly to this far out in the archipelago.
Rena sighed to herself in contentment, enjoying the silence. Ever since Daystrike first trusted her enough to ride, they went on routine "pre-night flights", no matter where they were. The Whistlewing was currently silent, making no noise whatsoever except for a low-toned whistle that was barely there.
"What's on your mind, lovey? You want to practice your maneuvers around the sea stacks?" Rena asked, leaning forward to pat her dragon softly. Her dragon happily squawked, almost sounding like a Nadder, in response, flapping her wings twice before gliding on a strong wind current. Rena raised an eyebrow, her gray green eyes bright with excitement.
Rena lowered herself so she was almost touching Daystrike's neck, then whistled a command. Daystrike followed the order and went into a steep dive, the pair plummeting towards the ocean until Daystrike leveled out at the last second, causing the water only feet below them to stir from the air being sliced through by the dragon's wings. A smile made its presence known on Rena's face when Daystrike's whistle raised in pitch as they coasted on a strong gust of wind that led them towards a sea stack.
Rena and Daystrike both loved flying together and becoming one. A different sounding whistle issued by the rider told the Whistlewing to bank to the left, and Daystrike obediently angled her wings to turn, the dragon's whistle all but obscuring the softer calls from the rider. Another sea stack, a similar whistle.
Soon, the Berkian and her dragon were so tuned into the maneuvers that they failed to realize that two Dragon Riders, one on a Deadly Nadder and the other on a Night Fury, had landed on a nearby sea stack.
*THIS NEXT PART HAS SOME(mild) HICCSTRID*
When Astrid told Hiccup about a sea stack that was isolated and away from the antics of Tuffnut, she wasn't joking. It wasn't far away, which meant Dragon's Edge was still visible, but it was quiet and had plenty of space for Stormfly and Toothless to play around without either of them falling off. (Toothless had fallen off a sea stack once and had given Hiccup the fright of his life)
"What's on your mind, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. She and Hiccup both sat on the edge of the sea stack, a space between them that a Terrible Terror could fill. He turned and looked at her, a thoughtful look in his forest green eyes.
"Well, for starters, Dagur. You know as well as I that he is unpredictable. What if he attacks the Edge? What if he, he hurts you to get to me? What if he kills our dragons? Everyone thinks that since I'm the leader I have the answer to everything and that I will always be right. I just can't-" Hiccup would have continued if Astrid didn't stop him.
"Hiccup! Listen, we haven't seen Dagur for a while now. He might be taking a break from being maniacal. You need to stop worrying. What else are you thinking about?" Astrid asked softly, leaning towards him a little.
"That Whistlewing. I really think Tuff may be onto something with this one. The rider must have been lucky to find one and tame it, if there actually is a Whistlewing and not one of Tuff's pranks. We have to be wary of the rider for now since we don't know whether they are Hunters or not." Hiccup finished, his brow creased in worry. Behind him, Toothless and Stormfly were busy running around and bobbing their heads.
"Well, I didn't take you here to worry. I wanted to be with you. Alone." Astrid said, reaching over to place her hand on Hiccup's arm. Hiccup's gaze met hers, baby blue meeting pine green. A smile graced her lips, then Hiccup's. He scooted closer a tiny bit before stopping, hesitant that she would not like it.
Astrid's smile drooped a little, and Hiccup froze, dropping his eyes to the ocean below, his shoulders hunching forward and up. "Oh. I, uhh, I didn't mean to, uh, mean it like, um, that." Hiccup stumbled. He wanted to smack himself in the face when he noticed Astrid. She had scooted the rest of the space and was now snuggled up next to him. She had her hands wrapped around his shoulder opposite to her and had nuzzled her head into his other shoulder.
"Oh Hiccup, what did you think? That I wouldn't like you getting closer to me?" Astrid asked, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.
Hiccup blushed madly as he tried to come up with an answer, stuttering a lot before exhaling loudly. Instead he answered by wrapping his arm around her, but not exactly touching her. His hand was hovering over her arm, afraid to touch her skin. Astrid noticed this and laughed lightly. "Hiccup, I'm not delicate. You can touch my arm." Astrid felt his auburn locks move and could sense his gentle gaze on her before he moved his hand until he felt her soft skin beneath his rough fingers. He was tense until he focused on Astrid's breathing and how relaxed she was in his hold. When he did relax, he felt Astrid lean into him more.
"Astrid?"
"Yeah?"
"The dragons have been silent for awhile."
"Mm, probably sleeping."
Hiccup silently agreed.
In reality, Toothless and Stormfly were diligently watching a grayish colored dragon flying around the base of nearby sea stacks. The wind was hiding the whistles that their riders could hear, but the pitch that they could hear was clear as day.