Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The Skrill is mentioned in this chapter. Credit for the name goes to Le'letha and 'Flashfreeze'.

Skin and Bones – Chapter Four

Hiccup, Astrid, Valka and Helena made their way to the village square. Two familiar silhouettes could be seen approaching in the sky, accompanied by an escort. A sleek, metallic Razorwhip, known as a Silver-Scale; and the exotic Triple Stryke, known as a Three-Tail.

The escort peeled off; their guests' dragons landed in the square, not a wingbeat out of place. Windshear and Sleuther were carrying not only their riders, but a smaller passenger each. Heather and Dagur dismounted a each lifted down from their saddle a red haired toddler.

Helena squealed in delight and trotted forwards, gleefully exclaiming "Cammie!"

"Lena!" the little ginger girl cried, equally excitable, and ran up as fast as her stubby legs could carry her. They hugged and then dragged Cammie's twin brother Oswald into it as well.

The adults chuckled fondly. "Oh, it is so good to see you both!" Heather beamed, embracing Astrid. "It feels like it's been ages."

"I know, right? We really need to visit more often. Oh, and I have the most super amazing news. Brother!" Dagur grinned widely at Hiccup, who winced as the stronger man briefly crushed him in a tight hug. Once he could breathe again, he coughed and said, "It's nice to see you guys again too."

"Definitely. We have got to catch up after the treaty signing, but for now, you all must be hungry and tired after your journey" said Astrid.

"Pheh. A little flight like that? Sleuther could do three flights between our islands a day" Dagur boasted. "So could Shattermaster. Berserker dragons are just that awesome. No offence, Hiccup, yours are good too" he added with a dismissive wave in the Dragon Whisperer's direction. Even after all this time, and his genuine face-heel turn, the size of Dagur's ego still rivalled that of his armada.

"None taken. Oh, by the way, you do realise that if he flew between our islands three times, he'd end up here on Berk, right?" Hiccup asked casually. Dagur frowned, confused. "From your island to Berk, to your island, to Berk. Three flights. You uh, can count, can't you?"

"I-! You! Argh! If I wasn't in such a good mood and we weren't friends and you didn't have dragons who would torch me, I'd punch you in the face" Dagur glared…well, daggers, at Hiccup.

"What for?" Hiccup asked innocently.

"For being smug! You have no idea how often I wanted to punch you in your smug, stupid, smartass face back when we were mortal enemies, Hiccup" Dagur informed him, making strangling gestures. Hiccup merely raised an eyebrow. Even Toothless raised an eyebrow.

"Ha! I feel ya, Dagur!"

"Thanks, Snotlung!"

"Aw, come on!"

"Quiet!" Astrid snapped. "That's enough, from all of you" she glared at them. There followed some embarrassed shuffling and mumbled apologies. With one last huff, she turned away from them. "Let's go to the Great Hall. You can eat first, we'll sign the treaty, and then talk."

Meanwhile, Toothless was greeting Windshear and Sleuther, nuzzling the former whilst the latter ducked his head in not quite a bow. *You're both welcome to help yourselves to the fish in the feeding stations* Hiccup invited them, stroking a hand down Windshear's slick muzzle. She purred gratefully at him.

"Valka, can you keep the little ones entertained whilst we're busy?" Astrid inquired of her mother-in-law, who smiled and nodded.

"Not a problem, Astrid, dear. Helena? Come on sweetie, let's go play with your friends. Oh, Aegir, would you like to come too?" she kindly asked the little boy standing beside – Well, half behind – his adoptive father. Aegir's eyes widened, and he looked cautiously up at Fishlegs for permission, before nodding.

"Hi, Fishlegs" Heather smiled, casually flicking her braid off her shoulders and resting her weight casually on one hip.

"H-hi, Heather" he replied, blushing. He'd had a crush on her for ages; they'd broken it off on good terms when they'd realised that to have a proper relationship, one of them would have to live on the other's island, but he'd never quite gotten over her.

"I'd love to have a chat after the treaty signing, if that's okay?"

"Sure! I mean, is it okay? With you, Chief?" Fishlegs asked Astrid.

"I don't see why not."

"Can he bring Skulder with him, then?" asked Hiccup, "I said I'd look at his notes on the other cryptids he's studied."

"Oh, go on then. Now, shall we?"

The adults (and one Night Fury) went up the steps to the Great Hall. The children stampeded to the Chief's house, chased after by an ageing but still quite spry Valka. Sleuther and Windshear slunk off to greet some of the other dragons and get a drink. The small crowd began to disperse, the villagers growing bored now that there was nothing that interesting being said or done.

Skulder turned to Fishlegs, wide-eyed, and asked "Dagur is reformed?! And he rides a dragon?! And his dragon is a Triple Stryke?! They're not even native to the Archipelago!"

Fishlegs blinked, and then sighed. "It's a long story…"


"So then I said, 'no pal, I'm not going down, you're going up.' Idiot spent so long trying to figure out what I meant, he didn't even notice Sleuther's tail coil round his ankle. Short flight, long drop, with extra screaming on the side!"

Everyone laughed, the ice well and truly broken. Once she'd stopped chuckling, Astrid picked up the scroll beside her and untied the string holding it together. Then she elbowed Hiccup, handing it to him when he winced and looked over at her. "Have you two finished? Great, now let's sign this treaty already and get back to more interesting things."

More chuckling ensued. Astrid rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh of her own, and prompted "Hiccup, read the terms."

He looked from her to the scroll in his hands, and then back at her. "Why don't you-?"

"Someone who is not affiliated with the Chief is supposed to read the terms, to ensure impartiality. And before you ask, yes I know we're married, but if I'd had Snotlout come here and do it he'd be hitting on Heather again" Astrid explained impatiently, before he could finish.

"I don't really think he's serious about it" Heather remarked thoughtfully. "You'd think getting tossed into a pillar would be enough of a hint that I'm not interested…"

"Um…I was going to say 'why don't you just sign it?'" Hiccup revealed. Then he smirked. "And I should hope you know that we're married. It's been six years, after all."

Astrid glared at him. "It's protocol" she retorted, through gritted teeth. Hiccup sighed inwardly. Astrid was a great Chief, but she was very by-the-book. That was, admittedly, one of the reasons she was so good.

Hiccup, however, was the very opposite of by-the-book.

He unrolled the scroll and read the contents aloud. "Ahem. Let it be agreed henceforth that on this day marking the defeat of the Berserker Tribe, who got their asses whopped by six teenagers on dragons, in the interests of preserving the peace now that we're all pals here, the Chief of the Berserker Tribe, Dagur the Defiant, and the Chief of the Hooligan Tribe, Astrid the Fearless, will hereby sign this treaty which states that blah, blah, blah de blah, something something no invading, something something act of war, everybody stays friends, hip hip hooray."

By now, Heather was lost in a fit of the giggles, and Hiccup was struggling not to burst out laughing too. Toothless had no such restrictions and was rolling about on the floor. Even Dagur was snickering. Astrid punched Hiccup in the arm. "Ow!"

"I swear to the gods, Hiccup, it's like you want to be kicked out of bed!"

"Astrid, we both know you didn't really want to read the whole thing. It's not like we don't already know what's on it" he pointed out. She kept giving him a death glare. "I'll make it up to you" he promised.

Dagur plucked the scroll out of his hands and signed his name with a flourish, then held it out to Astrid. She relented at last and signed it, before tying the scroll back up and laying it aside.

Heather glanced over at Dagur, who was practically bouncing in his seat, and rolled her eyes. "Good thing you've signed the treaty, cos I think my brother's about to explode" she remarked wryly.

"Oh, right, your 'super amazing news'. If it's really that important, why not just tell us?" Astrid inquired.

Permission granted, Dagur jumped to his feet, grin wide enough to nearly split his face in two. "You're not gonna believe this!" he singsonged. "My men and I were scouting out a new outpost on Icestorm Island, and as I was intrepidly exploring, you'll never guess what – or should I say, who I found." He paused for effect. "The Skrill!"

This grand proclamation didn't quite receive the amazed gasps he was expecting. "You found a Skrill?" Hiccup asked, as if it were a commonplace occurrence.

"No!" Dagur's arms windmilled. "Not just a Skrill, Hiccup! The Skrill! My Skrill! And it gets even better. Deathstrike is a daddy! He had a nest with a little baby Skrill egg in it. At least I think it had an egg in it, I didn't get a good look, cos he screamed at me and shot lightning so I don't think he wanted me around, but who cares?!"

Now they looked properly amazed. "What about the mother?" asked Astrid. "Dagur, are you sure you didn't see another Skrill there?"

"I was a bit busy trying not to get killed by an angry parent, Astrid. I don't think I saw another Skrill, but maybe they were just…camouflaged, or something. There are a lot of dark rocks on Icestorm Island. The point is, my baby has a family! I'm a grandfather!"

"Oh Sweet Odin, you're as bad as Hiccup."

"Hey!"

*Hiccup, about the Skrill...*

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! Hiccup, can you" –

"Just a sec, Dagur. What is it Toothless?" There was a pause as he listened to his dragon, and then he had to suppress a snicker. "Oh. Right. Uh, Toothless just reminded me that Skrills are loners amongst dragons. They're very solitary. If they find a mate, the female raises the young and the male…doesn't. Dagur, are you absolutely sure the Skrill you saw on Icestorm Island was the one we broke out of that glacier? It wasn't a different" –

"I know my Skrill, Hiccup! You can tell your Night Fury apart in a whole pack of them, can't you? I know my Skrill is on Icestorm Island. What are you trying to say?" Dagur demanded, folding his arms.

Hiccup smirked a bit. "I'm saying that Deathstrike isn't the father…they're the mother" he explained (1).

Dagur's eyes widened. "You…you mean my Skrill, my beautiful, destructive, glorious Deathstrike…is a girl?!"

He was immediately met by glares from the two warrior women in the room. "Just what is wrong with girls, Dagur?" inquired Heather, her raised eyebrow saying choose your words carefully. Astrid's hand resting on the butt of the handle of her axe beside her chair finished, or deal with the consequences.

Dagur winced, glancing at Hiccup and Toothless. They shook their heads silently. You're on your own. "Uh…I just…nothing's wrong with girls, Heather! I love girls! I was just surprised, that's all. I mean he – uh, she – looks like a boy. Right? I'm not the only one?"

Astrid sighed and admitted "I thought he – um, she - was a male dragon too. How could we not tell?"

Hiccup shrugged. "In fairness, she's the only Skrill we've seen, and dragons don't look too different between genders unless you know what to look for" he reasoned.

Dagur bounced on his heels impatiently, and burst out "Hiccup? Can I ask a huge, huge, huge favour?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow and replied "Which would be…?"

"I need you to come back to Icestorm Island with me and use your…" here Dagur looked all around, before leaning forwards and hissing "you-know-what to persuade Deathstrike to let us build an outpost on her island. Just an itty-bitty one" he said, gesturing with thumb and forefinger. He smiled eagerly, hopefully.

Uh oh. Better let him down easy. "Uh, Dagur, I don't think that's such a good…I mean, you did say Deathstrike chased you off. It's likely that she doesn't want to be disturbed on that island whilst she's raising her young" Hiccup pointed out. Dagur visibly deflated.

"I don't think it was just because she's had a baby" Heather smirked. "If you recognised her, odds are that she recognised you too."

Dagur scowled at her. Hiccup cleared his throat and remarked, "She, uh, sort of has a point, Dagur. You and uh, Deathstrike don't exactly have the best history" he pointed out. "Neither do she and Toothless, for that matter."

"Why is that?" Astrid wondered, looking at Toothless, "Did you two know each other, or…?"

*No, but Lightning-Fangs and Swift-Wings have been mortal enemies and rivals since…well, forever* Toothless replied.

"Why?"

*Because they're selfish vain angry jerks!*

Dagur protested, "I've changed, Hiccup!"

"Yeah, we know that, but she doesn't."

"But this will make it up to her!"

"Why do you even still want an outpost on that island?" asked Astrid, "I'd have thought you'd want to leave the place alone."

"You don't understand, Astrid" Dagur shook his head, sinking into a chair. "Icestorm Island is where my tribes legends of the mighty Skrill began. It's where our warriors of old found the Skrills that they conquered and turned against our enemies, to strike fear into the hearts of all who oppose us!" he cried, shaking his fist. Then he realised what he was saying.

He cleared his throat and continued, "I don't want the outpost built because I'm trying to take over her island. I want to use it to protect her, and her babies. She's vulnerable, and if dragon hunters found out that there was a Skrill on that island with a hatchling – who knows how long it will take the baby Skrill to grow up? A few years, at least, plenty of time for someone to try and…but if there were Berserkers guarding the island of our glorious Skrill, she would be defended."

The others exchanged glances. They could all see how passionately Dagur felt about this, as he turned pleading, begging eyes on Hiccup. The younger man shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unable to quite meet Dagur's gaze. "I know you mean well, and I want to protect them too, but don't you think having Berserkers on the island would draw too much attention?"

Dagur frowned; he hadn't thought of that. Then he rallied himself and protested, "We can be subtle! Sort of. I'm not asking to keep an armada there, just an outpost that can keep an eye on things. I'd rather draw a bit of attention than leave Deathstrike and her hatchling completely unguarded."

"She can't be completely defenceless" Astrid protested, "She shoots blasts of lightning, for Thor's sake."

"Nesting dragons are vulnerable, Astrid! You two, of all people, should know that" Dagur insisted, pointing accusingly between Hiccup and Astrid. He thumped a fist on the table and cried "There've been legends of Skrill's on Icestorm Island for generations amongst my people. It's as close to a sacred island as we Berserkers have; but there used to be more of them. There had to have been. What happened? I think it's pretty damn obvious. Dragon hunters happened."

Dagur stood up, walked around to Hiccup and loomed over him. "Look me in the eye and tell me you know for certain that Deathstrike will be safe there on her own" he demanded, staring Hiccup down. His hands were balled into fists, betraying the storm underneath an outermost layer of calm. He'd been practicing, obviously.

Undaunted, Hiccup rose to his feet and met Dagur's gaze. "I'll come to Icestorm Island with you, and talk to Deathstrike. I can't promise anything will come of it, though. She might refuse our help, and if that happens, there's nothing more I can do" he explained.

Dagur's chest heaved in a deep breath, which he held for as long as he could before letting it out slowly. "Thank you, Hiccup. That's all I ask" he said gratefully.

*You could have asked me if I wanted to see that Skrill again*.

*I can always ride there with Dagur on Sleuther*.

*…I never said I wouldn't come. But when she attacks us, don't say I didn't warn you*.


Dagur smiled broadly. "Phew! Sure am glad I got that off my chest. So, what super amazing news do you have, Hiccup?" he challenged.

"Um, well…"

"Does it have anything to do with that man who was standing next to Fishlegs and staring at us – well, mostly at me, and really, who can blame him. I'm pretty sure I've never seen him before. Who is he?"

"That's Skulder, he's Fishleg's cousin. Well, sort of. He left Berk back when we were kids, he's been travelling the world studying cryptids. Unique animals, like dragons" Hiccup elaborated in answer to their puzzled stares, "apparently there are more out there. A few of the species we thought were dragons are actually other kinds of cryptid."

"Sounds interesting. I don't suppose we could meet him?" inquired Heather. Any friend of Fishlegs could be a friend of hers, right?

"I don't see why not. Toothless? Can you fetch them?" Hiccup asked his dragon, privately adding *And send word to Sharpshot as well*. Toothless left swiftly and a tad reluctantly; he trusted Hiccup and knew he was in no danger, but he still disliked being apart. It was the nature of the heart bind, and he knew Hiccup felt the same way.

Astrid watched him go and then turned to her husband. "I thought you two made up" she remarked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, we did" he reassured her, "but I can't be in two places at once. I wanted to tell you…" Hiccup explained to Dagur and Heather about Skulder's arrival with Harald and his crew. "I can vouch for Skulder, but Toothless has a bad feeling about Harald. The trouble is, a bad feeling isn't enough to convict him, so just be on your guard, okay? I don't want him to think we suspect him until we have absolute proof."

Toothless soon returned with the others, which in this case consisted of the core riders and Skulder, who was clutching a bunch of notebooks stuffed with parchment. "I told him about Dagur's…change of heart" explained Fishlegs, as Skulder eyed the formerly deranged and still rather unpredictable chieftain nervously. "I think it might take a while to sink in, though."

Everyone took seats around the table, their dragons wandering about as they pleased. Heather decided to break the ice first. "So, uh, Skulder, is it? My name's Heather, and this is my brother, Dagur. Don't worry, his bark is a lot worse than his bite."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you both" he smiled, shaking their hands and trying not to wince at Dagur's much stronger grip.

"Hiccup said you've been studying cryptids?"

"Oh, uh, yes, that's right. I brought my notes and sketches and all that" he replied, gesturing somewhat unnecessarily at the notebooks. "I've, uh, studied all the dragon species, or almost all, and other dragon-like creatures that are only distantly related…"

Dagur asked, "Do you have any notes on the Skrill? Oh, yeah, did I mention? I found my Skrill!" he beamed. "I found Deathstrike on Icestorm Island, and she's laid an egg!"

"Deathstrike? Cool name!"

"Really?! That's wonderful!"

"That awesome dragon was a girl?! Ow!"

Skulder shuffled through his notebook. "I think I have something here, somewhere…where is it…ah!" He exclaimed, unfolding the parchment to reveal two sketches of Skrills. "This is a male Skrill, and this one a female" he explained. The male, oddly enough, was a bit smaller and less spiny…though that wasn't saying much.

Snotlout scoffed. "You've got them mixed up. That one's gotta be the male, they're always stronger. That's like, a law of nature" he insisted, jabbing a finger at the larger sketch.

"Actually, whilst with most dragons it is the drakes who are more aggressive, in some species such as Changewings – and apparently Skrills – the drakainas are more aggressive" Fishlegs lectured.

"Ooh, drakaina, how do you spell that?" asked Skulder.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "As if we didn't have enough dragon obsessed weirdos here on Berk" he muttered, not entirely subtly. Hookfang overheard and snorted a blast of hot air in his face. He scowled at his dragon, annoyed and completely missing the hint. Fortunately, none of the humans appeared to have heard, or if they had then they were doing an excellent job of ignoring him.

"Those are really good drawings, Skulder" Heather complimented, remarking "They look like how you draw dragons, Hiccup."

He smiled and revealed, "Who do you think taught me to draw?"

Fishlegs prompted, "Show 'em the phoenix feather! Skulder has a real phoenix feather, isn't that incredible?!"

"Phoenixes aren't real!" Dagur protested, "…are they?"

"Extremely rare, but they are quite real, I assure you" Skulder declared, lifting the scarlet case from his satchel and unlocking it. The feather within shone bright enough to make the daylight streaming in through the open doors look dull. Everyone who hadn't yet seen it (and those who had) oohed appreciatively at the sight…then Snotlout cleared his throat, attempting to look manly again.

Skulder showed them sketches of various cryptids; from the vicious and poisonous tatzelwurms, to the secretive and deadly cockatrices, along with the four headed hydras and turtle like kappas. "Nasty creatures. They'll eat anything, but they do have a particular taste for cucumbers, for some odd reason."

"What's a cucumber?"

"Oh, it's a vegetable (2) they grow in warmer places, looks sort of like a long green sausage. Kind of tasteless, if you ask me."

"What if you didn't have a cucumber with you and you ran into one of these things?" Hiccup inquired. He was trying to sound casual, but he was really very interested in all these different creatures. After all, this would be useful stuff to know when he and Toothless stepped down as Alphas and went to spend the rest of their shared lives exploring as much of the world as they possibly could.

"Then your best bet would be to bow to it. No, really; the kappa bows back and water trickles out of a hollow on top of its skull. Without water from its home pool on its head, it's weakened. That's the best – really the only – time to make your escape."

Heather inquired, "So what made you decide to come back to Berk after all this time, Skulder?"

He shrugged and replied, "My travels took me back to the edge of the archipelago, and…I got nostalgic, I suppose. Homesick. I'm not entirely sure how long I'll be staying, but…I think I might settle down again now. I'm getting a bit too old to be gallivanting off all over the place, and Berk is certainly a much nicer place to live now than it was when I left all that time ago."

Presently the conversation drifted to other matters, and soon enough the small group dispersed and went to do other things. Fishlegs invited Heather to the market; Dagur tagged along with Astrid as she went to relieve Valka; Hiccup and Toothless went to patrol their territory and found Sharpshot waiting for them.

*Here's what we want you to do. Sneak onto Harald's ship – that one, down there, with the red and white flag – sneak on board tonight and eavesdrop, snoop around, see if you can find out what Harald's plan is. If he says anything about me and Toothless, or dragon hunting, get out and come find us. Oh, and watch out for his Terror, Leo*.

Sharpshot chittered excitedly, fluttering by Hiccup's head. *I will do it, Alpha-Hiccup! I will, I will!*

*Attaboy, Sharpshot. Good luck, and be careful!*


That evening, Fishlegs put Aegir to bed early. "And the Malodorous Marauders never set foot on the island of Berk again, the end. Did you have a nice time playing with Helena, Cammie and Ozzie today?"

Aegir looked uncertain. He nodded slowly. "Are you sure?"

He mimed plaiting long hair, then twirled his finger by his ear. The girls are crazy. Fishlegs laughed. "They are a bit exuberant. But they're nice to you, aren't they?" he checked. Aegir smiled and nodded. "Well, that's good. Sleep tight, Aegir. You too, Iggy". Fishlegs kissed him on the forehead; he pulled a face, and then mimed sleeping and pointed to Fishlegs. Goodnight, daddy. The little Biter chirped and yawned.

Fishlegs closed his son's door softly behind him. Meatlug greeted him with an eager gurgle, but then he noticed that the door of the spare room was ajar. He found Skulder putting his boots on by the front door. "Uh, Skulder?" he asked. The other man startled, and nearly knocked over a poker.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just nipping down to Harald's ship. I want to ask him if his crew can unload my collection tomorrow. I've spoken to Astrid about storing it here until, ah, better arrangements are made. You and Meatlug go on to bed, I shouldn't be too long" Skulder explained. He left the house, and Fishlegs went to his room.

"I should really wait up for him" he yawned. The last thing he remembered was Meatlug starting to lick his toes…


Skulder went down to the docks, nodding a polite 'good evening' to the Berkians still up and about, and trying to resist the urge to give the dragons a wide berth. Harald's crewmen were moving around the deck of his ship; they paid him no attention – "Excuse me, good fellows, coming through" – as he boarded and climbed down the ladder into the belly of the ship.

As he approached the door of Harald's cabin, Skulder overheard shrieking coming from behind it. It sounded like a dragon, one of those little Terrors, and he couldn't help but go nearer. Perhaps the poor thing had gotten stuck in the cabin somehow. He'd come back to the spare room in Fishleg's house to find it in shambles, with little claw and bite marks all over the place. He didn't think Harald would be pleased to find a Terror had gotten into his belongings as well.

When he was outside the door, reaching out for the handle, he heard raised voices. "CAN'T YOU SHUT THAT INFERNAL PEST UP?!" Skulder hesitated, startled. That didn't sound like Captain Harald…it sounded more like his first mate. He couldn't hear the reply, but he did hear "OH YEAH? LISTEN, YOU! SHUT UP BEFORE I WRING YOUR NECK!"

Skulder bit back a gasp. The shrieking stopped, and he held his breath in the silence that followed. Presently, he heard Harald saying "Could you please try to keep your voice down?"

"There ain't nobody there, cap'n". Skulder froze, wanting to escape but afraid to move…and a bit unwilling, too. "'Sides, they'd just think I was yellin' at your pet, there. I still don't see why you went an' caught the other one, not like it was gonna blab."

"I'll thank you to not say any of your vulgar threats to Leo. It's a shame he couldn't retrieve the most valuable piece in that fool's so-called collection. Don't worry, my little friend, you did your best." (3)

"Hmph. I say we just set sail with his collection right now and be done with it. This job is a bust, Captain; the target's too well guarded! He's got eyes everywhere, with these dragons – like that dratted thing – and that Night Fury never leaves his side…"

"Then it's a good thing the order was to capture both Haddock and his dragon alive, isn't it?"

Skulder couldn't believe what he was hearing. Thieves! Brigands! Bounty hunters! They wanted to steal his belongings and capture…he had to warn Hiccup. Skulder stumbled away from the cabin door, and his foot landed on a particularly creaky bit of plank. A loud crack rent through the air. Skulder bit back a wince. Maybe they hadn't noticed?

"What is it, Leo? Someone's out there."

Or maybe they had. Skulder ran for it. He made it about halfway when another crewman came down the passage; a hulking brute of a man, whom Skulder had always deigned to avoid. "Whatcha doing?"

Skulder skidded to a halt, weighed his options briefly, and took off in the opposite direction – only to find himself face to face with Harald and his bo'sun. Damnit. "Uh, ah, Harald! I was just, uh…is s-something wrong?" he stammered, very aware that he was outnumbered three to one. He wasn't in bad shape, but the odds weren't on his side.

"I'm afraid there might be, Skulder" Harald said gravely, "I think you might have overheard something you weren't supposed to hear."

"What? No! No, no, I uh, I heard nothing! I just, um, came down to ask if you and your crew wouldn't mind unloading my specimens tomorrow morning? Then you can go back to your own course, and we'll never have to see each other again. Uh, not that your company was…unpleasant…" Skulder trailed off at their unimpressed stares, and realised there was pretty much nothing he could say or do to get out of this. Instead, he glared. "You're a fiend, Harald."

Harald shrugged. "I've heard worse. I'm afraid, Skulder, that I can't have you leaving this ship and going to warn a certain someone…but I really must thank you, my dear fellow. You've been most helpful" he remarked, smiling sinisterly. Before Skulder could protest, he was caught in a tight grip; a sweet and overpowering scent filled his nose, and he knew no more…


Hiccup and Dagur were setting out early for Icestorm Island. Whilst Dagur waited (im)patiently, Hiccup and Toothless made their usual morning circuit of the island. By now most of their subjects knew that they were leaving the nest for a while, and they had to reassure the dragons who were awake that they'd be back soon.

As they flew over the docks, Toothless glanced down…and noticed something that made him back-wing and hover, twisting in midair to face the source of his consternation. "What is it?" asked Hiccup.

*Harald's ship isn't there* Toothless replied. Sure enough, when Hiccup looked he too could see no sign of the broad-decked, red and white flagged ship. Had they really just left in the middle of the night?

Sleuther flew over with Dagur on his back. "Can we go, Hiccup? What's taking so long?" he demanded, "and what are you staring at?"

"Harald's ship is gone" explained Hiccup.

"Whose ship?"

"Harald – you know, the merchant I told you about yesterday, the man Toothless had a bad feeling about."

"You mean the one who might secretly be a dragon hunter? Well, if his ship is gone, isn't that a good thing?"

"It doesn't make sense. If he was up to something, why would he just leave? And if he wasn't…I don't think they unloaded all of Skulder's specimens, not to mention – Sharpshot! Sorry, Dagur, but Icestorm Island is gonna have to wait" declared Hiccup. He and Toothless dived down to the docks as Dagur yelled after them "No it doesn't! Can't you just leave this be?!"

Toothless landed on the docks were Harald's ship had been tied up, but there was no sign of any crates or canopic jars. "I'm sure they didn't unload anything…Astrid would have been told if there had been a load of dragon bones and who knows what else left on the docks" Hiccup remarked, thinking aloud. Before Toothless could reply, a small yellow and green Biter flew up to them, squawking in distress.

*Alphas! Help! I can't find my mate!* the Biter wailed; then Hiccup recognised her, she was Sharpshot's mate, Quicksnap. He let her perch on his wrist and asked her, "You can't find Sharpshot? You mean he didn't come back to your nest last night?" he asked worriedly. Guilt clawed at him inside – he was the one who had asked Sharpshot to spy aboard Harald's ship, the same ship that had now vanished.

*No, Alpha-Hiccup, no! I waited, waited, waited and he never came!*

*I'm sorry, Quicksnap. Don't worry, I think I know where he is and we'll find him, okay? I promise. Just hang on*. Quicksnap bowed on his wrist, leapt to his shoulder to nuzzle him briefly, and then took off again. Hiccup and Toothless flew straight to Fishlegs' house, with Dagur and Sleuther in close pursuit.

Hiccup dismounted and knocked repeatedly on the door. "Fishlegs? Skulder? Are you in there?"

"What are you doing, Hiccup?! You're gonna wake the whole bloody village! Fishlegs can come visit my Skrill some other time."

"Not helping, Dagur." Hiccup tried the door handle – it wasn't locked. That's weird, Fishlegs always locks the door. Unless…he pushed it open and walked in, trying not to make too much noise. Not easy with a metal foot. He went to the guest room Skulder had been sleeping in; the door was ajar, and when he peered around the edge, Skulder was nowhere to be seen.

"Hiccup? Err, what are you and Dagur doing in my house? This early?" Fishlegs asked, appearing in nightclothes and yawning.

"Where's Skulder?" Hiccup demanded.

"Well, good morning to you, too…"

"Fishlegs, it's important! Where is he?"

"You mean he's not in his room? I dunno…he went down to Harald's ship last night. Said something about asking them to unload his stuff?" Fishlegs shrugged.

"Harald's ship is gone, and they haven't unloaded anything."

"What? Where?"

"They've gone after my Skrill!" Dagur exclaimed. "This long lost 'friend' of yours must have told them about Deathstrike – Hiccup, you said we could trust him!" he snapped, grabbing Hiccup by the shoulders and shaking him.

Pulling himself out of Dagur's grasp, Hiccup protested "We can!" At least I thought we could. "Something isn't right here. Fishlegs, get dressed. We need you and Meatlug to be our fall-back."

"But Aegir…"

"He'll be fine, now come on!" Hiccup and Dagur rushed out of his house, leaving Fishlegs to stand there and wonder just how his day had gotten off to such a strange start.

"Ugh…I hate early morning missions…"


(1) I know the wiki says the Skrill they encounter is male, but the only way this worked was to make them female. So, yeah.

(2) Technically a fruit, but let's not worry about that.

(3) Leo was attempting to steal the phoenix feather when he wasn't with Harald that morning.