Hi! Sorry about the delay since I should have posted by around friday. I've been sick since last Sunday and it still hasn't really gone away. It was a great way to spend my Birthday... Anyway, so I hope you enjoy this despite taking longer.

Ch. 7 - Wolf in a Corner


The sun was falling down the sky as a sapphire blue dragon with its armored rider, flew down towards some large icebergs. Large structures could be seen under the ice along with varies shrill dragon cries. Lupedrax heard a horn sound as he landed beside the flag ship. He was instantly flanked by several armed men as he made his approach, but continued in his aloof manner as if they didn't matter. "It's Fenrir…" He heard one whisper to another, but their minor chatter didn't hold his attention. Instead, a much more sinister man standing at the edge on the water proved far more important.

The mercenary stopped around ten feet from him before he was addressed. "So…. Fenrir, I hope you have some good news?" He wondered as he tightened his grip around his spear like weapon.

Fenrir gave pause before speaking. "Perhaps not what you are wanting to hear at the moment."

Drago turned and his dreadlocks followed rather tamely. "So the dragon rider is not dead then?" He turned back and continued. "Disappointing. I expected much more from your reputation."

The sell sword raised a brow. "Aye, but I have yet to finish the job Drago, otherwise I would've already takin up the remainder of my price. I have only come now because I found a little something that might interest you." He hinted with a wily expression. "About a certain dragon you took a shine to."

The wicked man turned back to him with a spark of interested that was dulled with his own self-control. "Did you?"

"Aye." Lupedrax responded. "I do remember you mentioning a dragon you once had. You couldn't control it like the others, it had a rather potent poison from its tail, and.." He gave a slightly dramatic pause. "… It had a glow of the moon."

Drago's interest was now more obvious as he gave a chuckle. "So the wild one's still around."

Fenrir gave a nod. "Aye. Just thought I'd mention it just in case you were looking to add in a finder's fee for it."

Drago nodded his head a bit in contemplation as he turned completely to face the other man. "Quite possible Fenrir, but can you catch it? It is very…. Stubborn." He gave another chuckle as he remembered back. "That one was always a fighter. He was perfect for my army."

Fenrir gave a nod. "I would say so. It was very good at getting through my defenses even in the air. It's rider seemed to be experienced as well."

Drago seemed surprised by the revelation. "Rider? Surely the dragon I knew would never bow to any man. I alone will claim to be its master." He then turned and gestured towards one of his men. "Those who ride dragons are a soft lot. They have power over them, and yet the beasts are claimed to be controlled." Two men came forward. "Why don't you tell him Eret?"

The younger man stumbled over his words as he began. "I-It was as you said Drago. Those riders I captured didn't have any real control over them."

Drago gave a pleased nod. "You see? Those Berkians have no true control, just like Erikir has no true control. They will be the first to fall by my dragon army, and rest assured, I will crush them." He finished darkly with a truly mad gleam in his eye. He dismissed Eret with a wave and began to turn. "But first, I need the Alpha and that rider dead."

"Lord Drago!" They both heard from behind. A slightly smaller man dressed in furs ran up with roll of paper in hand. "We found it!" He started as he stopped to catch his breath. He unrolled the paper which showed a map. "We found the nest! It was hidden in the ice just like you said it was."

"Ha ha!" Drago cackled in triumph. "Finally! The hour draws near!" He then turned to Lupedrax. "If you are ready to continue then you now know where you are headed." He gestured to the man. "Go! Bring me the dragon rider's head! Should you come across that moon dragon, then I shall make it worth capture." He then turned completely as he dismissed him. Fenrir watched as the men who had gathered dispersed with the silent command.


"It's understandable that you are worried." Nightshade started as she flew closer to Hiccup and his dragon. "To find out your mother is alive after so many years, and then to find out another wishes her dead."

Mathias gave a nod. "Yeah, that's pretty crazy…" Hiccup didn't seem to respond as he continued straight ahead. "Hiccup?"

Toothless seemed worried at his friend's lack of response and swatted his arm with his ear. "Wha!?" The young man snapped out of his stupor. "What was that for?"

"Hiccup?"

He turned to see Mathias and Nightshade look at him with worry. "Yeah?"

Mathias let out a sigh. "Sorry but you were a bit out of it. I know your worried about your mom but…."

Hiccup realized where he was going and gave an understanding nod. "Oh yeah, sorry. I am worried, but that's not really what I was thinking about." He combed his fingers through his hair. "I was thinking about how I would tell my dad…. And what he'll say. I mean, we all thought she was dead for years." He seemed to be uncertain but happy as he said it. "It's pretty big news."

"Understandable. To find one whom you cherish after so long must bring with it many emotions." She then turned her gaze towards Mathias who seemed unaware of her hidden point.

"Anyway, first things first. We have to find the others. If they aren't out in the sea stacks then we head back to Berk hoping they are there." It was in that statement that Mathias and Nightshade found his real worry. The two traded glances and a silent understanding along with it.


A young woman let out a sigh as she and her dragon took a rest on small ice burg. "I give up!" She growled as she leaned on her hands. Stormfly seemed confused at her statement as looked down to her. "I feel like an idiot for getting separated so quickly." She berated herself. "I mean, Ruff and Tuff yeah, and Snotlout too, but me?" She grunted in frustration.

She then stood up abruptly. "No. I'm not going to be the one. No way!" She turned to Stormfly. "We need to find them now!" Stormfly cocked her head before nodding excitedly. "That's my girl." She hopped up on the Nadder's back and looked at the sky as it dimmed. "Even if we can't see as well, your sense of smell should make up for it." Just as they were about to take off Stormfly tensed up and looked high in the sky. "What is it girl?" She asked as she ducked a bit and looked up with her.

She couldn't tell much because of how high it was but she knew a dragon when she saw one. The thing about this though, is that it seemed to be wearing metal if the shine the sun had was anything to go on. "Okay. Dragon wearing metal…. Armor?" She deduced silently. Hiccup said the dragon he and Mathias ran into was wearing armor right? "What are the odds?" She wondered aloud before making up her mind. She waited a few minutes and then had Stormfly take off in the direction of the dragon. She knew to be careful if this was the dragon Hiccup and Mathias had mentioned. The rider was smart and the dragon was fast. She wore a confident smirk as she followed just in sight of him. "


Not far ahead of the shield maiden, the one she followed was smirking to himself. "Lass thinks she can tail me?" He mused as he resisted the urge to look back. "Well, let's see how good she is." He went over it in his mind. Chances are she was with the others; at the very least, one of the Berk riders. He'd heard plenty about Berk and its dragons in the last few years in his dealings around Langaholt. Several riders from Berk were the ones to stop a monster of a dragon from rampaging over the continent a few years back.

He then heard his dragon trill with excitement. "Oh? You want to check her out too?" He heard a grunt in response before he noticed the flashes before him. "Oh… so it was the storm then?" He let out a sigh. "And I was thinking you might finally agree with me." He felt the dragon shake in agitation and growled. "Oh come on now! I am a man after all, if a woman is chasin me then of course I'm goin ta enjoy it." He then gave pause. "I wonder if she's easy on the eyes?" The dragon turned her long neck to glare at him in disapproval. He sat back and raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, I get it." He then sighed. "Let's just get this job done alright?"

The dragon still seemed annoyed by the man but faced forward all the same. She seemed far to enthralled by the rolling thunder not too far ahead of them. The dragon's sapphire scales seemed to light up with energy the closer they got to the lightning strikes. It seemed that with each flash she moved faster as to intercept it. "Oi! Calm down, its justa little storm." Lupedrax tried to reason, but she ignored him as they broke through the clouds.

She looked around wildly as she listened to the thunder roll. She stopped to a hover as she looked straight up. The spikes on her tail started to spark as she opened her jaws wide. It was an instinctual sense as she caught an oncoming bolt in her mouth and sucked in the energy like air into her lungs. It wasn't long before the flashes started to happen less often and the thunder died down. The dragon continued to snap up one bolt after another until the clouds went dark. She looked around for more, but was disappointed when she couldn't hear the thunder anymore. "Are you satisfied yet?" The Sell Sword asked with impatience. She gave an annoyed trill before she started her flight again. "Finally then." He said happily as they started their way out of the clouds.

Just as the dragon got going though, a twisting tower of fire tore through before them. The Arch Striker was surprised and backed off and away from the burning column. The rider quickly found his way to his blade as he watched it taper out. "What's this then?" He was quickly answered when larger dragon broke into the clouds with a rider of its own. The dragon had two sets of wings and watched them with a piercing gaze. "Oh?" He mused as he thought about it. "Has my target come to me then?" Valka remained silent in her mask as she pointed her staff at him. He broad his blade up in response. "Is it a challenge then?" His dragon wore a confident expression as she readied for the fight she knew was coming. The opposing dragon let out a growl and the showdown was set.


The two boys and their dragons landed on Berk just as the sun was setting on the horizon. Hiccup was quick to make his way into his house since he saw the light from the windows. "Dad!" He certainly surprised the man by his sudden arrival.

Hiccup had been avoiding him recently and so the last thing he expected when he got home was to be addressed. "Hiccup?" He placed down food in curiosity. "Well, its about time you came home-"

"Dad, have Astrid or the other come back yet?"

Stoic raised a brow. "Well, last I heard, they were with you. Fishlegs made a bit of a fuss when he found out you'd left without him." Hiccup's disappointment was instant. "What's goin on Hiccup? Are they not with you anymore?"

He shook his head. "We got separated in some fog and then…." He trailed off with a sigh. "We had a bit of trouble."

"Hiccup!" He heard Mathias shout from his door. "It looks like none of the others are back yet. I don't see their dragons either."

"Damn it." Hiccup cursed. "Something must've happened while we were at that nest."

Mathias tried to calm him a bit. "Or they could be looking for us."

Hiccup turned to him with understanding. "Or that…. But I'd rather know for sure."

"What's goin on Hiccup? What happened?" His father inquired with a serious tone.

Hiccup raised his hand to his mouth and whistled. "We ran into someone while we were out… a very dangerous dragon rider." Only seconds after he said that a red blur zoomed down the stairs. Scorch sat happily on the young Vikings shoulder now and rubbed against the stubble of the trainer's chin. "Alright buddy, I hope you're all rested up." He picked him off his shoulder and turned to Mathias. "If they aren't here then we need to find them, before Fenrir does. If he thinks they are in the way then who knows what'll happen."

"Right." Mathias responded as he let Hiccup through the door.

"Hiccup?" Stoic called, but his son didn't turn back. "Hiccup!" He ran out the door behind them. His frustration mounted when he saw them take off before he could stop them. "Damn that boy!" He cursed as he watched. He then headed down to Gobber's stall in hopes of some idea of what was going on. He found the smithy looking through a barrel of swords. "Gobber?"

The man seemed startled as he stumbled on one leg. "Oi Stoic?" He turned with relief. "Don't sneak up on me." He then gave a pause. "Anyway, something I can help you with?" He continued before looking through the blades again. "Hiccup's not here though."

Stoic let out a breath of frustration. "I know. I just saw him and that Mathias take off on their dragons."

Gobber raised a brow. "What about the others? I would have thought Fishlegs had caught up with him."

Stoic rubbed his temple. "Me too, but he said they got separated in some fog and he doesn't know where they are. He took Scorch to try and find them, but he didn't tell me anything else and took off."

Gobber seemed to find the one he was looking for as he pulled it out. "Then what's the problem then? I'm sure Hiccup can handle the search with that blood hound dragon."

Stoic shook his head. "Normally I would agree with you, but he mentioned a name before he ran off." His expression grew more serious. "He spoke about Fenrir."

Gobber seemed confused a moment before his eyes widened. "You don't think it's 'That' Fenrir do ya? Why would he be after Hiccup?"

"It could be for any number of reasons Gobber, he's a Sell Sword for Odin's sake!"

Gobber scratched his chin. "You do have a point there…"

Stoic rolled his eyes. "Do you know why they left earlier?"

The Viking gave a shrug. "Well, I heard they went to check something out about a dragon, but Fishlegs was a bit frantic at the time since they left without him." He seemed a bit confused. "I was surprised he hadn't gone with them from the start." Stoic turned around after that and started off and out the door. "Oi?" Gobber called in confusion. "Stoic? Where ya goin Stoic!?" The smithy was frustrated at the man's lack of answer as he scratched the side of his head. "And he wonders where Hiccup gets the impulse to rush off."


The moon was now high in the sky as three dragons stood upon a large iceberg. The sky was clear and the standoff was silent. The two riders seemed ready to go, but somewhat worn as well. The Stormcutter stood beside Valka with venom in his eyes, but it was the Moonstreak, who had barreled into the fight which held the man's interest. He stood between the two riders with his wings folded before him but left himself room to see. He let out a low growl as he took a step forward and Lupedrax kept his guard with his halberd. "You are a wild one eh? I'm surprised at how well you were fighting after that tussle we had before." He spoke with his dragon poised behind him.

She seemed angry, but not too eager to attack as she stood with one claw turned to move away. Her wings seemed to shake with one of them lower than the other. "I can see why Drago has an interest in you, and why you gave him so much trouble." He then let out a laugh. "I'm surprised you'd allow for a man to ride on your back like you were." He received an aggressive roar in return as the Moonstreak took another step with his tail raised to strike.

Valka raised her staff towards him. She didn't speak, but when she stamped it to the ground her statement was clear. Several dragons started crawling out from around the ice. "So… Looks like this isn't going well for me." He mused while never faltering in his stance. He heard a whine from his dragon and he gave a nod. "Exactly what I was thinking, but can you even fly like that?" She seemed to whimper in response as she took a step back. "Thought so." He then took a good look at his position. He turned his blade a bit and the glare from the moon shined on the tip. The dragon's eyes seemed to narrow at the sight and she took a side glance to her rider.

This silent signal didn't go unnoticed to the Moonstreak who tensed up in preparation for whatever they were going to try. He kept his gaze shared between the two, and so he wasn't taken by surprise when the dragon suddenly started to charge up its lightning attack. He jumped to rush the dragon, but the man stopped him cold with his blade. Lupedrax kept an especially vigilant eye on the dragon's tail since his earlier encounter with a Moonstreak and was able to hold him up just long enough for her to fire, but not at the dragon. She instead aimed for Valka much to the Moonstreak's surprise. As he battled with his opponent he started to charge his own attack. Once he blasted the man back he turned to Valka and her dragon to find them completely unharmed.

They both seemed rather interested in what appeared to an ax which now stuck out from the ice. It seemed to glow from the lightning strike and the dragon eyed it in confusion. Lupedrax quickly recovered from the dragon's tactic and gave a quick look around for where the blade could have come from. His answer came with two points of stabbing pain in his right leg. "Damn it!" He cursed as the Nadder dropped out of the sky. Stormfly was in battle mode as her spikes stood on end. "Damned dragon." He spat as the Nadder raised her wings in a threatening display. He then noticed the saddle and found his eyes wandering.

"Finally caught up with you." Astrid sated as she pulled her ax from the ice. She stepped forward and just past the Moonstreak with her newly reclaimed ax.

"Thought I shook you in the storm….." He grunted out as he fell on one knee. He pulled out one of the quills while holding his halberd up to act as a shield.

"That won't help. A Nadder's quills have a paralyzing poison so-" She was cut off when felt a jab in her side. She turned with a stumble to see the Moonstreak rescind his tail. She seemed confused at first before she fell to her knees. "You…. You're not Nightshade…." She then collapsed to the ground; remaining still as a corpse.

The dragon stepped forward and raised a claw over her, but was stopped by Valka. She held her staff in his way as she looked at the girl's ax in interest. The dragon let out a grumble before moving onto the immobilized man. He sharpened his gaze and turned to Valka who made no move to stop him this time. He turned back and knocked the man's weapon away. With the Nadder's poison running through him he found his muscles failing him and he fell over on his hands. His dragon, who was retaliating against the Nadder, came to his aid. She covered him with her good wing and bared her teeth at the moon lite dragon. Her fangs glowed with latent electricity as she locked herself in a standoff with him. The standoff lasted a few minutes before it was broken by a shaky trilling which emanated from Valka's staff.

At the call, the Moonstreak took a few steps back and the other dragons moved in. After only a little resistance, they were able to break the Arch Striker from her rider and carry her off with Lupedrax being close behind. Valka then kneeled over the young shield maiden with her ax in her free hand. She took another look at the engraving on the blade before motioning to Cloud Jumper. She climbed up on his back and he grabbed her right off the ground. The small flock followed the Stormcutter, but the Moonstreak remained behind. He seemed a bit frustrated at what the Valka had done, and the lightning dragon's protecting of the human. He looked towards the moon with that question floating in his mind and then took off on his own.


So that's it. Looks like Lupedrax my have bitten off more than he can chew with this hit huh? (Of course Valka had an unfair advantage in several ways.) Regardless though, I'm sure you'll enjoy what's to come. It also seems that Stoic and Gobber are familiar with Fenrir themselves. Just so you know, they do know Drago. The name just hasn't come up to them yet. Also, Hiccup was in a hurry before which is why Valka never came up between him and his dad. Its also my way of making the plot stay out of Berk for the time being.

Until next time my wonderful readers. As always, I love responses, questions in reviews, and you can also point out any mistakes or inconsistancies. I will try my utmost to update in a week. Again, I am sorry for the wait.=^-^=