Author Chat!

N - So…. I really don't have much to say. Aegis is such a slave driver about it.

AD- Really, it was a joke. I thought we were past that.

N - Ah so naive. Its okay though, I don't think less of you for it.

AD- Me? Naive? Pot and Kettle, Neeko.

N - … I think you used that wrong. It's supposed to be, "Pot, Kettle, have you two met?"

AD- We've discussed this. Different states, different customs.

N - True enough, but I got that from YJ so whatever.

AD- Your Otaku is showing again.

N - First of all, YJ is an american show. Anyway, this has nothing to do with the story. Should we just let them read now?

AD- You know, one of these days, I'll succeed at talking you in a circle. But for now, on with the story.

N - Good luck with that.=^-^=

Ch. 4 - Start With Caution

The clear skies shined a brilliant cerulean as four distinct figures passed through the air. Its was a few days after Mathias and Megin arrived in Berk and after resting and packing bountiful provisions, they left with the third member of their intended party plus an extra. The two boys flew ahead of the small flock as they corroborated on where exactly they would all be headed. Hiccup held up his compass as Mathias looked over his map.

"I think we should head north this way once we pass this island. There should be a decent spot to camp out on this island here. Then we can move further west from there."

"I think we can go further than that if we make good time though." Hiccup contradicted. "There should be an alcove off the mainland just past that island."

Mathias gave a nod. "Yeah, but I really don't want to stop there." Mathias said with a slight grumble as he glanced back at his companion. "Besides, this spot is great for fishing, which is good if we have four dragons to feed."

Hiccup saw his point and gave a nod in agreement. "Alright then, sounds good."

Astrid watched the two go back and forth from behind on her dragon while Megin leaned lazily forward on her dragon's saddle.

"Are you goin ta be okay?" She asked the shield maiden.

Astrid didn't move her gaze as she responded. "Fine."

Megin gave a chuckle as she leaned on one arm. "You sure lass? 'Cause you look pretty bothered. Mathias isn't goin ta eat him, ya'know. If anything, I think Hiccup would be the one doin that between the two of 'em. Mathias is kind of a pushover in most cases."

Astrid turned to her with an brow raised. "He sounds more stubborn to me."

Megin couldn't disagree in that regard. He was stubborn when it came to stuff like this. "Well yes, but he doesn't like fighting….. unless it's arguing. He really likes to do that."

Astrid gave a light laugh to that. "I'd have to agree than. He's not one for taking no for an answer."

Megin then sat up. "Yeah well, you get used to him I suppose. Anyway, you can stop glaring daggers at him now. The longer you do that the more I think he could actually get cut by them."

Astrid let out a sigh as she reaffirmed her gaze on the boys. "Not until I'm completely sure-"

"He's harmless, trust me" Megin cut her off. "I mean, really? Does he really look like some kind of violent mastermind out to undermine your village or anything?" Megin continued with obvious sarcasm. "He's more likely to throw words at you than anything else. It's kind of annoying really…." She stated under her breath.

"Then what? I just trust you both, just like that? Does that sound smart to you?" Megin shrugged.

"Don' know lass, but it sure sounds easy to me. Why you gotta be so suspicious. Sometimes things really are what they appear to be." When Astrid didn't break her gaze away Megin just sighed and leaned forward again. "I gave it ma best shot I guess…"

Several hours later the four fly in the vicinity of a peaceful looking island with a long beach. "Looks perfect for fishing, just like I thought." He then gave Nightshade a pat on her neck. "Let's go girl." She starts her descent followed by the other three and lands first.

Hiccup lands next and scopes out the area just before jumping off Toothless. "Looks like a nice enough place, eh bud?" Toothless responded with a purr as he looked curiously at the forest behind them. "Let's get this stuff set up quickly before the sun starts to set." Hiccup suggested.

Mathias agreed as he grabbed his bag off of Nightshade's saddle. "Sounds good to me. I'm getting pretty hungry."

Megin jumped off Dyrfeng's back and strode over to the water. "Well then I'll start fishin while you do the borin stuff."

"I'm not setting up camp for you Megin." Mathias bluntly stated as he rummaged through his bag.

"I don't expect you to." She responded. "What is that?" Astrid asked as she stood beside the older woman.

"What do you…. oh, you mean the smell?" Megin asked as she took a whiff of the air. "I don't know but…. it smells good... and very familiar."

Astrid took a look down the beach see if she couldn't maybe spot the source. "Where is it coming from?"

"What are you two talking about?" Hiccup asked as he approached them.

Astrid sniffed the air again. "Can you smell it?"

Hiccup seemed confused a moment before he smelled the air too. "Hmmm? What is that? I don't think I've ever smelled that before."

"I have…. I just don't remember what it is." Megin responded. "But it's really making me hungry."

Mathias looked up from his bag at a rustling sound coming from the trees. He turned to see what it was but saw absolutely nothing and a small feeling of dread swelled in the back of his mind. He had just realized that he hadn't seen one animal since they landed. The last time he was here, there was a multitude of birds around the shore and the forest roared with miscellaneous sounds. It was stark quiet now though, and he wondered to himself why he hadn't noticed right away. He turned to the shore to find Megin, surprisingly, not doing anything helpful. "Megin! Are you going to fish or what?" He asked as he marched over to her.

She turned to him with not a single trace of guilt. "Well yeah, but do you smell that? I just can't put my finger on where I've smelled it before."

Mathias sighed in exasperation as he continued to approach. He stopped only a few feet away, however, and his eyes widened in realization. "... oh crap….."

Hiccup looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Mathias immediately turned around and dashed for his bag, quickly getting it hooked to Nightshade's saddle again. "We need to get out of here!" Astrid and Hiccup immediately ran over to their dragons, though they didn't really understand why they had to leave. Megin strolled leisurely towards Dyrfeng; not seeming to be in any sort of hurry.

"So what's eatin you all of a sudden?"

Hiccup jumped on Toothless' back. "Yeah, what's going on?"

Mathias mounted his dragon and secured his stuff quickly before turning to Megin who had only just arrived at her dragon. "Hurry up, Megin! There are Snaptrappers here!"

Megin turned her head slightly to the side as she faced the boy. "Snaptrappers?"

Mathias held his hand up high to indicate height. "The dragon that can tower to around 80 feet and use the smell of chocolate to lure in victims."

Megin then tapped her fist into her open palm. "Oh! That's where I smelled it before!" "Just hurry up Megin! We don't need to stay here long enough to be seen." "About that….. these Snaptrappers. Do they happen to be green and have a split jaw?"

Mathias nodded as he gave his companion a confused expression. "Yes… why?"

She pointed directly at him. "Because there is one right behind you," She bluntly stated as if it wasn't anything at all to worry about.

Mathias slowly turned his head until he locked eyes with the aforementioned dragon. "Shit….." He pat Nightshade on her shoulder. "Let's get out of here!" The dragon took flight only just barely being out of reach of the creature's jaw as it rushed to chomp down on them. Megin swung herself onto Dyrfeng's back and took off just behind Astrid and Hiccup.

"Well that could have gone better," Hiccup commented as he turned back towards the dragon as it stood to its full height. Even when they were clearly out of reach, the dragon continued to snap its jaws at them.

"Who's idea was it to camp on an island with that!?" Astrid practically yelled.

"It wasn't there last time I camped on the shore, I swear!" Mathias countered with the panic ebbing from his tone.

"Okay, after a wonderfully narrow escape I think we're fine Astrid. Just calm down." With only slight hesitancy, the viking agreed and gave Hiccup a nod.

"Alright fine, but what now?" Hiccup turned to Mathias.

"I guess this means we're going to Mosfell then?"

Mathias wore a slightly surprised expression before it fell to a frown. He let out a sigh and then nodded. "I guess we don't have much choice then….."

Megin immediately threw her arms into the air. "Alright! I heard the place was a good time!"

Mathias knew she was going to react that way. He had come by this place before the two had started to travel together, and it was just the kind of place she would fit right in at.

Not even an hour later, the group found themselves on the outskirts of Mosfell hiding in the thick forest on the eastern border. Megin picked her bag off of Dyrfeng's saddle and headed towards the village.

"I'm gonna go and get us some rooms at the inn. Chances are, they'll have some sort of stable where we can keep the dragons so no one will find 'em by accident."

Mathias agreed. "Yeah, I believe the inn here actually has a barn."

Megin seemed a bit surprised that he'd been here before. "Oh? Then that's perfect. I'll see about gettin that then." She then strode out of the trees and left her companions to wait.

Mathias let out a sigh as he resigned himself to what would be a rough night. Astrid watched the woman head towards the village with a raised brow.

"Exactly how does she expect to get the whole barn? She didn't look to have much on her."

Mathias, still somewhat annoyed at his prospects, responded. "Yeah, but she's actually quite well off. She always has money or other tradable goods on her and usually never worries about being without it. You'll see why later, I can guarantee it." The two Berkians traded glances before turning back to face the village.

It didn't take long for Megin to make good on her promise of lodgings. They had gotten the barn just behind the Inn and Mathias only wondered what she told the Innkeeper in order to get it. The four of them were now getting their things unpacked and their dragons settled. Hiccup's first action after taking off his bag was to push all the hay from Toothless' sleeping area over towards Stormfly.

"Toothless have a thing against hay?" Mathias questioned as he watched the young chief sweep it away.

"No, but I'd rather not light the place up if I can avoid it. Toothless warms his bed before he sleeps."

"Oh really?" Megin inquired. "Dyrfeng does that sometimes, but not when there's hey available instead." She then placed her bag down and headed for the door. "Let's see…." She opened the door slightly and bent down. "Looks like he was pretty quick about it," She commented as she grabbed several bedding bundles from the ground. She walked back in and proceeded to toss them to the others. "One for each a ya so you don't have to sleep on the bare ground at least. She then tossed hers over where it plopped right beside Dyrfeng. The dragon snorted at the ragged cloth before turning back to her. "Don't take offense to it now. It's just bedding." She warned the Battering Charger before turning on her heel and strolling towards the door. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm hungry."

Mathias gave a groan as he followed her with his satchel on his side. "I'm not going to like this night at all."

"What's so bad about this place?" Astrid wondered to the exasperated boy.

"Like I said before…. you'll see, trust me." And as he said, not five minutes later was Megin making a ruckus with the more hardy men in the Inn. Both Astrid and Hiccup watched in amazement and avid curiosity as Megin yelled and laughed along with several men whom they knew she'd only just met. She was challenging them to all manner of competitions right and left gaining quite a bit of coin along the way.

"At least we know why she was able to get the barn now…" Hiccup stated with a raised brow.

Astrid gave a nod as she continued to watch. "Is she really always like this?" She asked Mathias, but when she turned to him, her answer was clear. His exasperated expression as he leaned on the table was all the proof she needed to know the answer was yes.

Megin continued her fun for about half an hour or so until a bar maid brought the group their food. It only took a minute before Megin sat down at the table beside Mathias ready to eat.

"Are you quite done for tonight?" He asked her as he started his meal.

"You kidding? I've got plenty of fun left in me. Besides, I'll just be in your way otherwise while you figure out where we go next."

The boy sighed as she continued and then turned to Hiccup. "So, I think we should decide on the course for tomorrow. Having a back up plan seemed to come in handy this time around."

Hiccup agreed as he lifted his cup to his mouth. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. Maybe we should also try to stick around places a little more inhabited. If there are any dragons around, at least we'll hear about it first."

"Good point. Considering that, maybe we can make a stop somewhere around Whispering Pass. It's got a good sized village on the outskirts of the foot path and it also is supposed to have a way station for caravans in the middle."

"So I would assume travelers are pretty common then?" Astrid asks in curiousity.

"Yeah, seeing new faces isn't anything new for them, and you can find some pretty interesting stuff there too. Of course, there also plenty of unsavory characters there for that very reason." He stated with a slight warning tone. "As long as we keep to ourselves we shouldn't have much of a problem there." He then turned his gaze towards Megin. "Got it?"

She didn't seem to hear him as she looked over to the crowd she was in a little earlier. "Megin?"

"Hmm?" She turned to him. "What did ya say?"

Mathias wasn't too surprised as he repeated himself. "We're going to stop outside Whispering Pass and we need to keep a low profile when we do."

She raised bow brows as she responded. "Oh, are we goin ta be stopped in Hagvar then? That'll be interesting." She then grabbed the last roll on her plate and wandered back over to the crowd. Hiccup watched as she started back in with the guys and then turned back to the exasperated Mathias.

"I'm sure she won't be too much of a problem and if worse comes to worse we can look for another town." Mathias nodded. "Yeah, I'll go over my maps then."

"Alright then," Astrid stated as she got up from the table. "I'm going to check on Stormfly."

Hiccup got up too and followed. "I'll go too."

Once the couple was out Mathias pulled out his maps and notebook. He started to jot down a few notes and compare his track to the map when the noise in the room grew a bit louder. It annoyed him a bit, but it wasn't exactly new so he ignored it with practiced ease.

Unbenounced to him, as he never lifted his head, a very large man was staring him down from the entrance. While all the other patrons looked his way as he walked in, this one boy didn't and it angered him. 'Who was this boy to ignore him like this?' He asked himself as he stomped over. He stopped a few feet from the table and eyed the boy who still had yet to notice him at all. Astrid and Hiccup slipped back into the large room just in time to see the large man bump the table where Mathias was sitting.

"Is that guy….."

"Yeah I think he is." Hiccup responded to her. "I wonder what his problem is."

"Whatever it is, it looks like it's worth pickin a fight for." Megin stated from beside them. They were a bit surprised at her sudden appearance and that she didn't seem to be doing anything about the man.

Mathias was now staring blankly at the thick charcoal line through his map. He let out a sigh as he grabbed for a leftover piece of bread to clean it off with.

"Oi! Lad!"

Mathias looked up to the man standing beside him for the first time with a slightly irritated expression. "Yeah?"

"It's about time."

"Yeah it is about time you apologized. You should be more careful not to run into people's tables while they're busy."

The man's face lit up a irate red as he slammed a hand on the table. "Ya mind repeaten that? I don't think I heard you right."

Mathias started to rub away the charcoal as he responded in a sarcastic tone. "Come on, you don't look that old, but if your hearing really is that bad, I'd be happy to repeat myself. Watch where you're going."

The man let out a growl as he grabbed the back of Mathias' tunic and tore him from the table. He dropped him down in front of him, but the young man barely stumbled in response. He took to inspecting his shirt for dirt and tears causing the large man to become even more angry.

"Do you make grabbing strangers a habit, or is this just your way of saying hi?"

Seconds later he found the end of a very sharp sword at his throat and a crowd looking on with wary gazes. There were a few excited expressions in the crowd as well but they were outnumbered by the those who simply didn't want to get in the way.

"You got 5 seconds to give me a reason not to slice your throat clean through."

Hiccup and Astrid now seemed actively worried as they observed this while Megin simply watched in amusement.

"Aren't we going to do anything?" Astrid asked as she turned to Megin.

She simply waved it off. "Are you kiddin? This is going to be great."

Hiccup shook his head. "No its not."

He then made a move to walk over to the confrontation. Megin wouldn't hear of it as she grabbed his arm mid stride. "Hold on there, I think you got the wrong idea. Mathias ain't the one you need to be worried about."

Hiccup raised a brow. "I thought you said he hated fighting."

Megin nodded. "Well yes but that don't mean he doesn't know how. Normally I would have stepped in because Mathias wouldn't do much of anything, but this guys gone and pissed him off. I think Mathias can handle himself from here."

They watched as the man slowly brushed the blade up on the boy's neck. "Well? I'm waiting."

Mathias rolled his eyes. "For what? Some sense maybe?" He then ducked under the blade before the man could even register the statement and elbowed him in the side. "I really hate guys like you, always picking fights for stupid reasons." The large warrior swung his blade towards the boy but Mathias ducked again and gripped the armed hand tightly as he jabbed at the thumb. The sword quickly fell from the man's grip and landed in Mathias' quick grip. In surprise, the man stumble and Mathias helped him along with strategically placed foot causing the man to fall flat on his face. Mathias looked down on him with a pleased expression and then walked around to his head. "Now," He started as he turned the blade to face the floor. "I'm just going to say this one more time, alright?" He quickly jabbed the blade into the floorboards not even an inch from the man's head. "Could you be so kind as to watch where you're going?" His voice became more venomous near the end and then he stepped over the man and back toward the table.

A low murmur swept through the crowd but no one would say anything aloud as most of them shuffled back to what they were doing previously. Megin simply looked on with a smirk on her face.

"Ah, now that's the way to end an argument, even if it was a tad short." She then stopped leaning on the wall and headed back over to Mathias with a surprised couple just behind her.

When she sat down, Mathias instantly stopped what he was doing and looked over to her. "I take it you were amused?"

She gave a curt nod as she sat down in her spot from before. "A little bit. I was hoping for the guy to put up more of a fight than that, though." She then shrugged. "Oh well."

Astrid gave him an impressed expression. "I have to admit, that was pretty cool. That guy didn't have a prayer." She then leaned over to Megin and whispered. "I thought you said he was harmless."

Megin just smirked and whispered back. "He is. Unless you piss 'im off, of course."