A.N. Alrighty. So here's another chapter. So Astrid's obviously not gonna be happy. Anyway, enough spoilers, on with the story! Read and Review.
Hiccup groggily sat up as sunlight streamed in. Ravyn was still asleep and Hiccup wished he could do that. He couldn't though. He stood up and promptly fell. There was a growl and he turned to see a small Terror sit up in annoyance.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's fine," The Terror said. "I shouldn't of slept right on the floor."
"Yeah, might not be the best idea," Hiccup said.
"Waz goin' on," Ravyn muttered as she raised her head. "Oh, you're up."
"Sorry Ravyn," Hiccup said. "I didn't mean to wake you." He reached for his armor and put it on, but he left the mask off. "I don't need to wear this right now." Hiccup walked to the window. Ravyn stretched and stepped off the bed before lumbering over to him. "Ready?"
"Yeah," she said. "But you can do all the talking to what's her name."
"Fair enough," Hiccup said. "And her name's Astrid."
"Yeah, but I don't care," Ravyn snarked. Hiccup laughed and the two leaped from the window.
Astrid's opened slowly. She sat up and looked around her. She was in her bed. What that was a weird dream. It was a dream right? Hiccup couldn't be alive. He couldn't be that demon. She collapsed back on the bed as her thoughts raced. There was an easy way to find out if she had only dreamed it. Eira wouldn't be here, and the Rider would still be walking around.
She sat up and swung her feet over the bed to meet a strange sight. Nyte was asleep, leaning against the door and it's adjacent wall. Her hair was draped around her face, covering one eye, and a her open mouth allowed for some drool to escape and trickle down her chin. She was still in her usual clothes, and Astrid felt some apprehension. Why would she be sitting there?
"Nyte?" she asked.
Nyte snorted and her head snapped up. "What?" She asked as she stifled a yawn. She pulled her hair out of her face, and hastily wiped the drool off her face. "Sorry for that," she stood up and stretched. "I've got a crick in my back now," she complained. "It's about time you woke up. We were worried you'd never wake up."
"Who's we?" Astrid asked.
"Me, the new girl, Hiccup," she said, still half asleep. "Oh shit! I wasn't supposed to call him that. Oh well, you already saw his face anyway."
"Oh gods," Astrid said as she placed a hand on her head. "I was hoping that was a dream."
"Not a dream," Nyte said. "Though you seem to have had enough of those for one night."
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"You were rolling around all night," Nyte explained. She pulled open the door. "Come on, Hiccup will want to talk to you."
"Which is why I'm already here," a voice said. Astrid watched as a man stepped in. He was definitely Hiccup, but he was so different. Stronger face, more defined, his raged, untamed hair was still there, but the usual fear that was on his face was gone. His emerald eyes stared out at her, and she could only wonder where this Hiccup had come from. He was taller, probably only a little shorter than his father, and while he wasn't overly muscular, his shoulders had broadened, and he was definitely not the fishbone she had grown up with. She stared at him, entranced by this new Hiccup.
"Astrid?" he asked. "You okay?"
"What?" She asked as she shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked away. Seeing him again made it all so much harder. She hated him before, but now… she didn't know what she felt. "Why?" she asked.
"Why what?" he countered.
"Why'd you leave?" she asked. "We thought you were dead! Chief… your father, thinks that you're dead."
"Which is better," Hiccup said. "What? Did you actually want me around?" He laughed dryly. "It's better that they actually don't know what happened to me. Especially my father. He'd be so disappointed, and the Village would turn against him for siring a traitor."
"So you thought about it?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah," he said. "The final straw was you though," he said.
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"You would talk to me occasionally," Hiccup said. "But then, you just stopped. You ignored me. When I was hurt, you didn't notice, and everyone just looked the other way. That was painful." He took a deep breath. "But then I started actually applying myself, and you went after me. You didn't ignore me now, but you hated me. When you confronted me, I decided that I had no reason to stay. So I left." Astrid had nothing to say. "And Ravyn? She was my only friend. She stood by me when no one in the village would. So why would I not stand by her?"
"What do you mean stand by her?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup turned and knocked on Eira's door. A few seconds later, Eira peeked out and rubbed her eyes.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"Get dressed," Hiccup said. "I don't want to have to explain this more than once." Eira brightened and shut the door. He turned back to Astrid. "Follow me." Eira opened the door and pulled at her last boot before sliding it on. It was almost comical how she was so excited.
Hiccup began to lead the way and Astrid ran things over in her head. Why was Eira here? Shouldn't she be at her home? Was her sacrifice not worth it? As she ran these questions over in her head, she lost track of where they were. Within no time, they were in the workshop and Hiccup was talking again.
"Astrid," he said. "Are you listening?"
"What?" She asked. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Hiccup sighed. "Eira, hand Astrid the book." A book was placed in her hands, and she looked to see the Fallen, a dragon that she had always thought of as a myth. "That is the Fallen. It's the reason why dragons invade."
"No dragon could be that big," Astrid said.
"It is," Hiccup replied. "It can force other Dragons to do what it want's. When I first left, I decided I would help Ravyn destroy it. We trained for about a year before going after this beast. We lost." He gestured to his missing leg. "I lost my leg after that because the Fallen thought it would be a good warning. She forced Ravyn to hold me down while Terrors were forced to gnaw through my leg."
Astrid felt bile rise in her throat at the thought and she hurriedly swallowed it. "Then why do you still trust Ravyn?" she asked.
"Because I do," Hiccup harshly said. "She was forced to, and she still hasn't forgiven herself. Mention it to her, and you will be punished. Harshly." He glared at her. "I was at a loss for a while on what to do, so I worked on learning, and trying to lessen the casualties on both sides. This came at a loss of your food, but I was able to save lives, and casualties almost vanished completely." he sat down on a stool. "But Eira figured out the clues I left. Well, she had some extra information, but she still figured it out. Anyway, she figured out something else now. The Stardust Dragon." He reached forwards and turned the page in the book, revealing a blank page. "I know absolutely nothing about this dragon. However, it's our best bet on finding a way to stop this war."
"So how do we get there? When we find where there is," Astrid asked.
"We fly," Hiccup said.
"No," Astrid said. "I've come pretty far, held against my will and all, but I will not ride one of those beasts."
"Don't you trust me?" Hiccup snarked.
"No! Absolutely not!" Astrid shouted. "I don't trust you! I never have since you left!" She crossed her arms. "I will not do it, and you can't make me."
"Fine," Hiccup said. "You're probably going to get in the way anyway."
"I said no- wait what?" She asked.
"I won't force you," Hiccup said. "You've had enough of that. However, Nyte will be looking after you."
"Like hell I will," Nyte shouted as she walked in. "I've heard enough. This is a pack matter too Hiccup."
"How?" Hiccup asked. "Not that I don't appreciate help, but why stick your necks out for this?" He stopped before smirking. "How long were you standing out there?"
"Too long," Nyte quipped. "And I don't care if you hang it over my head for the next year."
"Don't you know it's not nice to eavesdrop?" Hiccup said with a smile.
"And it's rude to assume!" Nyte countered. "Anyway, you are the leader of this island, even if you don't really think so, but you have a huge amount of influence on the island. The pack stands by you, and if you get yourself killed, there will be war on the island because of the power vacuum." She grabbed Hiccup by the collar and pulled his face close to hers. "So I am coming, whether you like it or not."
"Do you two need some time, or…" Eira trailed off. Nyte hurriedly released him and Hiccup stepped back.
"You have a point," he said. "But that still leaves us with the problem of getting there. We'd have to find dragons willing to take us. Most aren't able to at least stave off the pain from the Fallen."
"What about that lone dragon that just showed up?" Nyte asked.
"The Grim Gnasher?" Hiccup asked. "That one's a pack dragon. If it will accept one rider, then it'll be a lifelong ally."
"Well?" Nyte asked.
"Have you ever tamed a dragon?" Eira asked. "Cause I really want to."
"Trust is huge," Hiccup said. "Communication is another part. I can to an extent, help with the communication, but eventually, you'll be able to understand and have to work with the dragon directly."
"Sure," Eira said. "Just teach me."
"And Astrid has to come too," Nyte said. "She'll need to come with us. I'm not going to be her babysitter."
"We'll figure it out later," Hiccup said. "First, we'll work with Nyte," he held up a hand to forestall Eira's complaints. "It's just that she's more able to protect herself should things go sour."
"But if that happens," Nyte said. "Then it'll be running until it leaves us alone. And that can take a damn long time."
"Okay," Eira said with disappointment. "Just let me train one too alright?"
Astrid was conflicted. Why would Eira even be here, and how long had she been there? Was Hiccup really going to end this war? Why didn't he tell anyone? Why not at least let his father know he was alive? The questions flew around her mind, generating nothing but confusion for her.
The Grim Gnasher in question was small. Well smaller than usual. It's vibrant violet scales glinted and small bits of red showed on it's back. It's underbite showed its razor sharp teeth and it's eyes showed intelligence.
"That one?" Eira asked. "Looks mean."
"Maybe," Hiccup agreed. "But it's usually part of a pack. Taming it would be a rare chance. And if Nyte thinks she can do it, then I trust her."
"How's she gonna do it?" Eira asked.
"Feeding it's a good start," Hiccup said. "The problem is that this kind of dragon usually feeds on weaker dragons. Introducing him to a new diet would be hard."
"Do you think it's young?" Eira asked.
"Yeah," Hiccup said. "It's also a leader. The red should show up much more if it was fully grown."
"I'm gonna try," Nyte said.
"With what?" Eira asked.
"This," Nyte answered as she lifted a basket. Inside was an older sheep, and though it wasn't dead yet, it was on it's last legs.
"You think it'll work?" Eira asked.
"I don't know," Hiccup answered. "It might." Nyte walked out with the sheep and the dragon took notice of her.
"Where did she get the sheep?" Eira asked.
"I don't know," Hiccup said. "But odds are, it was just wandering around somewhere."
"That seems pretty convenient," Eira said.
"Yeah," Hiccup agreed. "Now let's just watch."
Nyte stepped closer to the dragon and knelt, tilting the basket. She opened it and the sheep tumbled out, bleating in annoyance. The Grim Gnasher looked at the sheep with confusion, and stuck his head towards the sheep. The sheep bleated again and stumbled towards the dragon. It tilted its head, regarding the sheep, before looking at Nyte. Nyte nodded, and the dragon turned back to the sheep. It's head shot out and it's razor sharp teeth cut into the sheep. The sheep let out once fearful bleat before it died, almost split in half. The Grim Gnashed began to tear into the sheep, eating with gusto. Nyte stepped closer and the dragon regarded her out of the corner of his eye. Nyte gulped and reached out her hand. The dragon didn't move from his meal, and Nyte tentatively reached out to the dragon's snout. The Grim Gnasher pulled away from the sheep, and licked his lips. He considered her, and then slowly pushed his head into her hand. Nyte took in a sharp breath while the others held their breath. The Grim Gnasher pulled away and returned to his meal. Nyte stepped away and the others let out their breath.
"I was worried for a second," Eira said.
"For a second?" Hiccup asked. "I was terrified for all of that!"
"Why?" Astrid asked.
"I don't know everything about dragons guys," Hiccup said. "I'm always learning." Nyte walked over and smiled giddily.
"That was great!" Nyte exclaimed. "Hiccup, can you help me understand him? I only got a small sense from him, but I think he's willing."
"We'll need Ravyn here to help keep him calm," Hiccup said. "Another dragon should keep him calm."
"Then let's do this!" Nyte said with excitement.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this excited," Hiccup said.
"Getting to train a dragon would be the coolest thing!" Nyte said. "I almost feel like I'm a Pup again."
"Well let's get to it," Hiccup said.
The Grim Gnasher was much less worried about Hiccup for some reason. It seemed almost at ease with him and Hiccup found no problems with marking the Dragon with the Rune of Understanding. As he turned and marked Nyte's head, the dragon growled. Confused Hiccup turned to the Grimm Gnasher to see it looking at Astrid who held a battle axe across her body.
"Astrid," Hiccup said slowly. "Put the Axe down. You're scaring him."
"I'm scaring him?!" Astrid asked indignantly. "I'm the only one here who seems to not be on the same side as you! You all could kill me if you wanted, and I'm not about to trust you!"
"Don't be unreasonable," Hiccup said. "Put the axe down."
"Fuck you," she snarled.
"I won't ask again," Hiccup said as his voice hardened. Astrid stepped away and lowered the axe, but kept it ready to be raised if needs be. Hiccup turned back to Nyte and the Grim Gnasher and placed his hands on their foreheads, where he had marked the rune. He pushed energy into them and felt the energy course through his arms and into the runes. The dragon gave a brief growl of pain and Nyte gave a small whimper. She straightened and Hiccup stepped back.
"What do I call you?" She asked. The dragon growled back and Hiccup could not understand it, though he picked out a few words like name and simple. Nyte turned to Hiccup. "He says he was called Little Chief," she explained. "He also said that he had to make the name more simple."
"I picked out a few words there," Hiccup said.
"Why didn't you guys understand him before?" Astrid asked, still standing far away.
"It's kind of like multiple human languages," Hiccup explained. "While other dragons can always understand other species to an extent, we do not. The languages are quite similar, but not exactly the same."
"Werewolves can pick up languages quickly," Nyte explained. "But it took us months before we understood Ravyn. Hiccup just gave me a head start in communicating with Little Chief here."
"So you can understand all dragons?" Eira asked.
"We can learn," Hiccup explained. "When you have a connection with a dragon, you learn that species language, and can start to recognise other species languages. I can understand Nadders, Zipplebacks, Gronckles, Monstrous Nightmares, Terrible Terrors, and Whispering Deaths." He tapped his mask. "But because we physically can't make the same sounds as dragons, we cannot speak to them. They can understand us to an extent if they've been around other humans enough and picked up some of the language, but to truly communicate with our dragon friends, we have to use a translation rune, or give them a Rune of Understanding. That's why I have my mask with me. I can use it to speak to other dragons."
"That's cool," Eira said. "Could you make me one?"
"I certainly can try," Hiccup said. "It'll take a while."
"Make me one too," Astrid said. Hiccup turned to look at her in amazement. "Don't look at me like that, I just want to be able to tell your damned dragon not to bother me."
"You know that Ravyn can understand you right?" Hiccup asked. "Because you and I speak the same language, she can understand you too."
Astrid considered that for a moment. "Okay then." She turned and walked away back towards the hut.
"Nyte," Hiccup said. "You have a place for Little Chief to stay? I can bring him some food later if he's with you."
"Yeah," Nyte said. "If you want to," she said to Little Chief. The dragon nodded and the motley group began the walk back towards the hut.
Erik hacked into the dummy with a training sword. Why hadn't it worked? The Twins had assured him that the trap would work. They were usually unreliable in everything except making mayhem, so why would they fall short this time. Perhaps the dragon? Maybe it was the dragon that he needed to remove first. After all, the Rider had gotten frantic once the dragon was in danger. Probably meant that he would be stuck if they killed the dragon. After all, a demon couldn't possibly care for another demon.
But more curiously, was how the two worked together. They needed to be very in tune with each other for their raids. But if dragons lived at the nest, somewhere behind Helheim's Gate, then how did he get there? Erik contemplated this as his body worked in autopilot, attacking the dummy with gusto.
"Hey Erik," he heard Tuffnut call for him. "Watch this." He pulled out a snake and a mouse. The mouse was clearly dead.
"What are you doing?" Erik asked impatiently as he turned from his training.
"The mouse was already bitten by this snake," Ruffnut chimed in.
"But watch," Tuffnut finished. He began to drag the mouse in a strange pattern on the floor. Then he released the snake and it began to follow the strange path that Tuffnut had drawn out with the mouse. The twins laughed. "It's so weird!" Tuffnut laughed. He turned to Ruffnut. "Do you think anything else does this?"
"Dragons!" Erik said suddenly. "That's how they get there! Something else leads them! That's why we can't ever get there!" He took off towards the chief's house, racing as fast as he could. It made sense now! Only a dragon could find the nest! They had a different way of sensing the way! It was how they never found the nest! It was a maze of stone that was impossible to navigate if they didn't have the same way of finding it as the dragons. But a dragon could lead them! If they chained it tightly to a ship, it would lead them home!
He pushed by people as fast as he could, running towards the chief's home, as people yelled at him for pushing by. He raced up the hill, this could be it!
"Chief!" He called. "Chief!"
"What?" Stoick boomed. "What? Is it another raid?!"
"No," Erik answered while he caught his breath. "I know how we can find the nest."
A.N. YES! I finally finished the chapter! I know that it's a short chapter, but I thought this was the best place to end it. I was at a bit of a loss for what dragon to have bond with Nyte, but I figured that a predatory pack dragon would match up well with Nyte. If you guys have other requests for dragons, please let me know. Anyway, please keep reading, and have a good day.
