I am a horrible person, I know. It's not entirely my fault! I was on vacation for a week and a half, where I had very limited or no internet access, and these past few chapters have been really slow writing. I'm hoping that it'll get better soon. So I present to you a shiny new chapter! Here you go.
Chapter Seven: Warning Signs
At school the next day, neither Davin nor Hiccup mentioned the impulsive kiss he'd given her. Personally, Davin was still mystified. She'd never been particularly interested in boys, and they'd never been particularly interested in her. The smart ones were too terrified to even try to ask her out, and the not-so-smart ones learned better soon enough. The omitted information didn't put much of a speed bump in the conversation- all that Davin could talk about was flying. Of course, they had to be careful talking about dragons; most of the students at their small high school took the majority of their parents' stance about dragons- the only good dragon was a dead one. So mainly they talked about it while Davin was at work, when there were no customers around. Her boss didn't mind that Hiccup hung around, as long as she got her work done.
As soon as Davin got off work, she'd drive them to Hiccup's house to pick up his bike (since she had started driving Hiccup to school, his bike was generally left at his house), and off they'd go into the woods, and stay out flying until it started to get dark (by now, Mirabelle had chosen instead to extend Davin's curfew by an hour after she repeatedly came home late). Despite her store of natural talent, Davin was convinced that she was possibly the clumsiest and most awkward dragon rider there was- in her case, practice really did make perfect. But that did little to deter her, not when she could fly- a childhood dream come true.
This was what Davin thought on as they jumbled through the forest towards the dragon den. She'd long before gotten used to the bumpy ride, though her heart always skipped a beat whenever Hiccup jumped the bike over the small stream. She knew that he did it just to poke a little fun at her, not scare her, but it didn't stop her from socking him as soon as they got off the bike.
When they reached the bottom of the canyon, they found Toothless and Réalta playfully roughhousing, like two small rambunctious children. As soon as they caught notice of their humans approaching, they bounded over excitedly, practically bowling the two teenagers over in their exuberance.
"Nice to see you, too," Davin laughed as Réalta poked, prodded, and even licked her, undignified as it was. Toothless was sitting at Hiccup scratched his head, taking care to avoid the nerve that Davin had discovered on accident. After the initial greeting, they said hello to the other dragons in the canyon and then took off, this time straight from the bottom of the canyon- Davin having since gotten used to the terrifying vertical takeoffs- and shooting into the sky.
This was always the best part of her day. To be in the air, atop a dragon who had become a friend closer than family, with her new friend, who always understood everything about her, doing the thing that her heart had longed for so long, was the most incredible experience there was. She would never tire of flying all her life long, that much she knew. And despite herself, she'd come to love Berk as well- the little town was almost annoyingly lovable, the kind of thing that grows on you after a while.
They were heading to an area that they hadn't been before, mainly just to have somewhere new to explore. Davin was broken from her train of thought when Réa jerked suddenly and whipped her head around, as if she'd suddenly noticed something. Toothless seemed to be having the same reaction, and Réa, for once, took the lead as she dove into the trees below, taking cover from whatever they'd spotted.
"What is it, girl?" Davin whispered, catching the hint and crouching low against Réalta's saddle, as the dragon moved to hide herself better.
The sound of footsteps treading over the undergrowth could be heard nearby, and getting closer. In mid-spring, the plants covering the ground of the forest were mainly young, green, springy stuff, and Davin could see why she hadn't heard whoever it was before now- there were tell-tale signs in the sounds of people who were trying hard to not be seen or heard.
Suddenly a party of around five or six people, each armed with some heavy-duty firepower, went past about fifteen to twenty feet away. With a shock, the two teenagers realized that they recognized all of them as being from Berk. They stayed silent, hardly breathing at all, until the party had passed. With a whoosh, Davin let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
She turned her head to Hiccup. "Do you know anything about this?" she asked.
He shook his head, looking visibly worried. "Not really. I've heard my dad saying stuff about extra patrols in the area, but I had no idea it was like this. Those weren't just normal guns- they were anti-dragon weapons."
Davin raised an eyebrow. "That's some serious stuff. Does your dad expect to run into any dragons anytime soon?"
"I heard something about there being more dragons than usual in the area. Maybe he's out doing some kind of campaign to get them to leave before they get too close."
"He'll have to try harder than that if he wants to scare away anything bigger than a Terrible Terror. Five or six people against something like a Monstrous Nightmare or a Night Fury? Or a Venomous Whiplash? They wouldn't stand a chance."
"I don't know," Hiccup said doubtfully. "Those aren't normal bullets. They're designed to penetrate even thick dragon skin. Something that could fly fast like a Whiplash or a Night Fury, especially with the kind of attacks they've got, might do pretty well, but even a Nightmare would have trouble against those weapons."
Davin shook her head. "Whatever your dad's planning, I hope he knows what he's doing."
After that encounter, they stayed in the parts of the forest and coastline that they knew were safe, leaving their exploration for another day. But their curiosity couldn't be held in check forever, and before long they were out flying towards a set of caves near the edge of the county.
They chose to fly along the coast before turning back inland, simply because Davin liked flying over the water. This time they went farther out than on her first flight, where the sea was rougher, as Davin was becoming more adventurous. Réalta skipped over the tossing waves, brushing them as they crested before falling back into the surf.
A particularly large wave rose up before them. Réalta made to swoop up over it, but out of the wave erupted a snapping, roaring creature, which, Davin realized with a shock, must be a sea dragon, a little-seen but not uncommon race of dragons. Réa and Toothless swerved to the sides to avoid the dragon, which gave chase after the two Night Furies. It would speed underneath the waves, then burst out and try to catch one of the fleeing dragons, who managed to stay just ahead of it.
Hiccup directed Toothless towards an outcropping of rock that formed a sort of maze; Davin, with a sense of apprehension, followed, no longer entirely sure in her ability to navigate such a treacherous path. Any road, the sea dragon seemed to lose interest, deciding that its chosen prey was too difficult a catch. But before either human noticed this, they were in the maze, turning and twisting sharply to avoid crashing into the stone pillars. And before she knew it, they were through, adrenaline still pumping through her system.
They flew up the cliffs that were strewn along the Oregon coastline to land, Davin happy to be on solid ground once again. Breathing hard, she looked to her left at Hiccup, who seemed similarly wound up by the brush with death. Unable to help herself, Davin broke into shaky laughter, Hiccup joining in.
"Well, that was exciting," he said, the understatement clear in his voice.
"Yeah, a little too exciting," she agreed vehemently. "I about had a heart attack when we went through that maze."
"I figured it might get that thing off our tail."
"I was more worried about getting killed in that maze than getting eaten by that sea dragon," Davin told him frankly.
"Oh, you were fine. I've told you before, you're a natural flyer. Some people it just comes to."
"I've never had anything just…come to me," she admitted. "I mean, I'm good at writing and composing, and playing music, but that's about it."
"Well, here's something else you can add to your resume," he said, grinning. "Shall we get going?"
"Yes, before it gets too dark. It's an hour later, but I've still got a curfew."
The sun was about halfway through its journey towards the horizon when the two pairs reached the outcropping of caves that was their destination. Sending the Night Furies off with a warning to stay nearby, Hiccup and Davin explored the caves, Hiccup having wisely brought a flashlight.
By far, Hiccup had the more experience between the two- not surprising, considering that Davin had spent the first sixteen years of her life, with the exceptions of a few camping trips and visits to her grandmother in upstate New York, in the most urban areas of Washington, D.C. Regardless, she was still enjoying the cool, quiet, and ancientness of the caves, a place that had remained unsullied by the modern age.
As they shone the flashlight ahead of them, they saw a faint light in the distance. Too curious for their own good, they cautiously made their way towards it. It grew brighter and redder as they got closer; soon, they came upon an opening that was roughly big enough for a teenager their size to fit through. They squeezed through to find a shocking sight before them.
They had come out on a small ledge overlooking a huge cavern. It was lit fiery red; all around them, dragons of every kind were gathered and packed in on ledges similar to their own. They seemed to be in the higher part of the cavern, but they crouched down to avoid being seen, as it was never a good idea to be alone and unarmed in a nest of dragons.
The dragons were roaring, growling, snarling, and making all such manner of guttural sounds. Hiccup had a look of concentration on his face, and Davin remembered that he could understand dragons' speech.
"What are they saying?" she whispered.
"This is not good," he said in a low, tense voice. "Not good at all."
"What is it?"
"They're going to attack Berk," he told her. "They've been congregating for a while, and now they're going to attack."
"We need to get back to Berk," she said. "We need to warn everyone."
Nodding his agreement, they stood up and made to sneak out. As Hiccup stood up, his foot brushed the flashlight, sending it tumbled over the edge. Davin held her breath, hoping vainly that the dragons might not notice.
They did. All manner of scaled and horned head twisted up to find the origin of the object falling before them. Finding the two humans, they roared and snarled, and the meaning was clear.
"Run!" Hiccup yelled, grabbing Davin's hand and pulling her along the passage with him. Dispensing with any pretense of secrecy, they pelted through the dark to the entrance to the caves, dragons scrambling and squeezing through the hole they'd slipped through. Hiccup let out an ear-splitting whistle- obviously a pre-arranged signal, because when they emerged from the caves, roaring and fire-breathing dragons hot on their tails, Toothless and Réalta came bounding into the small clearing at the mouth to the caves. Hiccup and Davin practically threw themselves onto their dragons, not even bothering to secure themselves to the saddles, as the Night Furies shot into the air and sped through the fading light faster than they'd ever gone with humans aboard, the howls and roars of the hostile dragons echoing behind them.
I think you all know what scene that was. Or at least, you should.
I hope this is enough for you guys! I promise, I really am working hard. But I've also been working on other stuff, too. No Day But Today has had a good start, and I'm trying to get another chapter out on that, as well...also, I've got some of my original stories that I'm working on, an Arthurian story and an Alice in Wonderland story as well. (The Alice in Wonderland one is a serious redo of my Alice of Wonderland story that I'd started over on .) And school starts up again in a week, so I've been trying to finish up all of my summer work as well...I'm really quite busy.
As always, read and review. I love logging onto my email and seeing those review alert messages. They always brighten my day!
Cheers, loves.
~Rebel-Angel-Hero
