"What are they saying?"
Toothless hissed. "Shut up, you don't let me hear!"
"Why are we spying on them, again?" Blueberry inquired.
"We have to know if we'll accompany you back home." Hookfang responded.
Since Toothless had the most acute hearing (and was the only dragon with actual ears), sometimes he overheard what Hiccup and the others discussed from the top of the meeting cabin, while the other dragons waited on top of the roof.
"What are they saying so far?" Meatlug inquired.
"Well, Fishlegs continues to insist that we shouldn't let Nora go such a far distance alone, and unsurprisingly, Heather agrees."
"What are you insinuating?" Goblin asked, annoyed.
"Nothing at all." Toothless leaned in closer to the door again. "Hiccup says we cannot leave Dragon's Edge unprotected for who knows how much time… Ah, but Stoic seems to actually… agree in a way with Fishlegs. It could be a chance to gain more allies."
"Heck, what about us?" Barf said. "They're not the only ones with families, you know."
"They can take care of themselves." Said Hookfang. "Besides, they will soon be in age of leaving the nest."
Toothless continued to eavesdrop the conversation, hearing how the humans argued the cons and pros of doing such a journey, while Nora kept insisting she'd be fine, that Blueberry would take care of her. Soon enough, though, the discussion was coming to an end.
"Interesting."
"What?" Goblin asked.
"Guys, we should pack up. It seems we're going on vacation."
During the week they waited for the Skybiters to recover, the riders made arrangements before leaving. Team A would divide in two groups, one would protect Berk, and the other would make sure everything was going smoothly on Dragon's Edge, and both groups would alternate. Additionally, Queen Mala also sent some of her warriors to look after the dragons and protect Dragon's Edge. By then, the Skybiters spent most of their time in the forest to avoid so many humans.
However, Goblin, Stormfly and Hookfang were particularly stressed out due to the presence of their hatchlings, especially when their mates came in one of the shift changes in Team A, following them to find Dragon's Edge. The little ones got the scolding of their lives for risking themselves like that.
There were various reactions among the riders of the journey. Hiccup and Astrid were still reluctant to travel so far, Fishlegs and Heather were thrilled at the prospect of meeting new dragons and people, while Snotlout and the twins were on a sort of neutral ground.
As days passed, the Skybiters slowly regained their strength, and little by little their plumage started regaining their lost shine, and they became livelier. Soon, they were strong enough to withstand the whole way back.
The day of their departure, everyone awoke at dawn, though Snotlout had to be dragged out of his cabin by Hookfang, As Nora explained, it usually took five days of flying southwest to reach the New World, but given that they'd have to stop at night because of the Skybiters, maybe it would take them a bit longer. The riders packed up the necessary provisions, adjusted saddles, and Hiccup of course couldn't forget Toothless's tailfins, and spare legs, as well as Hiccup's recently-finished Dragon Eye.
Just in case. Who knows? Surely there was an eye for the Feathery Class somewhere.
Before departing, Goblin, Stormfly and Hookfang said goodbye to their mates, and their still-grounded offspring. Pearl, however, acted particularly distant and angry with her father, and didn't look at him despite his attempt at softening up. Sleuther was put in charge on the dragons' side, given that he already knew how things worked around here.
Just like when they were rescued, the Skybiters flew in v-shaped formations, all following Blueberry, who was flying at the front with Nora, leading the way. Snotlout did his best to keep away from the Skybiters.
Just like Nora said, the way was long and very hard. It turned out they had to cross a whole ocean, and it wasn't easy to find someplace to rest at night, or when the dragons grew tired. There weren't many islands in the open ocean, and whatever island they could find was small, and the numerous Skybiters barely fit in it, much to Snotlout's distaste.
A few days later after their departure, they stopped to rest in one of the few islands they found in the seemingly endless waters. Hopefully, it was large enough to house most of the group. It had a small freshwater lake too, but the Skybiters used it as their bathtub as soon as they spotted it. Good thing Hiccup and Fishlegs brought extra freshwater in case this happened.
The group started a campfire a few meters away from the lake, where the Skybiters were still gathered, preening themselves and each other. Meanwhile, Ruffnut and Tuffnut continued to collect feathers of different sizes and colors, and surprisingly, Nora joined them. Though her motives for wanting the feathers were very different.
"If I have to fly one more day, I think I'm going to bury myself a grave!" Snotlout complained.
Hookfang snorted and thought. "What does he complain about? I'm the one who does the flying around here!"
"How long do you think I'll get us to get there?" Heather asked Nora, who was busy doing… something with the shed feathers. "Er… Nora?"
"If the weather is clear, we should we arriving at the Nuevo Mundo tomorrow."
"Thank Thor! I don't think the dragons can fly for too long after these days." Astrid point out, stroking Stormfly's head.
"Speaking of which, what are you doing with that?" Hiccup asked curiously when he saw the feather thing Nora was handling.
"Well, Ruffnut and Tuffnut mentioned they wanted to make feather clothing, so I'm lending them a hand." Nora said, and held up a strange hat with a long crest of red and yellow feathers. "What do you think? My people make clothing like this for special ceremonies."
Fishlegs chirped excitedly. "Ohh, may I try it?"
Nora giggled and handed him the feather hat. Fishlegs took off his helmet and put the feather crown instead. "How do I look?"
"Well, do you want honesty, or kindness?" Snotlout said. "You look ridiculous. What kind of ceremony do you use that for? The 'King of Fools' ceremony?"
Nora frowned. "The coming-of-age rite in which each warrior is officially bonded with his dragon, his other half."
"Other half? So your people has been taming dragons for a long time?" Hiccup asked, fascinated.
"The Mordecielos were a gift to humanity from the great Quetzalcóatl. In exchange for this gift, the people would make the Gods blood sacrifices, just as the gods themselves had used their own blood to give us life."
The teens felt a bit… nervous when she mentioned 'blood sacrifices'. However, they didn't wish to somber the moment by asking what those sacrifices were about. Just then, Tuffnut emerged from the forest, coughing loudly to call their attention. He wore a strange shirt made from blue and purple plumage.
"Vikings and…" he thought of a proper name to call Nora. "…Outsiders, may I present to you the new Thorston collection: rainbow chicken!"
Ruffnut cried out from the bushes. "Hey, we said it would be called 'color storm'!"
"Well, you look more like a chicken than a storm, really!"
"Oh, yeah?" Ruffnut stomped out of the bushes, wearing a skirt made from different colored feathers. "Well, you look like you're wearing Chicken's feathers drenched in cheap blue paint!"
"Hey, take that back! I wouldn't use cheap paint on Chicken!"
With that, they started to argue again.
A few hours later, when everyone was asleep and the fire had died down, Goblin was the only one awake. He couldn't sleep; he was still worried about Pearl's attitude. He just couldn't understand that hatchling. Where did she get that behavior from, or did she learn it from someone? He was never that reckless, even back when he was in his prime, so he guessed she must have gotten it from her mother… but Quinarth had never been reckless or inconsiderate either, or maybe in her youth she was?
"Can't sleep either?"
Goblin snorted silently. "I simply don't understand what's wrong with Pearl."
Blueberry perked up his ears. "Your daughter, right?"
"Yes. Lately she has been getting in much trouble, and I don't understand why she does it. She's impatient, she doesn't think things through, and she no matter what we do, she just won't listen."
"She's young. Perhaps it has to do with that."
"I want to think that too, but what if that doesn't have to do with it? What if that's just the way she is?"
"I wish I could give you some advice, but I haven't had the joy of fathering a clutch, so I'd be lying to you if I tried."
Goblin sighed sadly. "Thanks for trying, anyway."
"By they way, the Toothless said you had already been in the hands of the Dragon Hunters before. What happened?"
"It's a long story. Heather and me were having a morning flight with Astrid and Stormfly. We heard roars of distress in the distance and went to investigate, that's when we encountered the Hunters for the first time. Sadly, at that time we had no knowledge of their special arrows, and Stormfly and I were struck."
"We got separated from Astrid and Heather when they both fell into the ocean, and we were dragged into the Hunters' ship. We were put in separate cages. Stormfly was often provoked into throwing spines, and most of the other dragons were treated cruelly, but I was a different story altogether. They kept me well-fed and never touched me, though my cage was filled with water. I eventually learned the rarest dragons were kept presentable for auctions and sold to collectors."
"It kind of explains why they never plucked my feathers." Blueberry commented. "Even among my kind, my coloration is rare. Only one in a thousand Skybiters is born with this type of coloration."
"I can tell. I've seen the other blue Skybiters, but they usually have yellow or white. You only have blue colors." He finally let out a yawn. "Well, I think we should go to sleep. O have the feeling we still have to fly a long way, am I right?"
Blueberry replied with a yawn of his own. "Yeah. But like Nora said, we should arrive tomorrow once if the climate is clear."
With that, both dragons went back to sleep.
The next morning, the group departed at dawn, as soon as all the Skybiters were awake. Thankfully, just like Nora hoped, the climate was ideal for flying, and there was no need for stops. A few hours after departing, soon the group spotted something in the horizon; it was a massive piece of land, most of it covered in jungles and even more distant mountains. Even more incredible, it seemed to stretch endlessly with no apparent limit.
The closer they flew, the more agitated the Skybiters became, and when they were but a few kilometers away, the v-formations of Skybiters broke up and all scrambled to fly towards the continent. The Vikings had a hard time avoiding a backwards collision.
"Everyone, land on that beach!" Hiccup cried out over the shrieks.
Avoiding the fleeing Skybiters (though Hookfang and Snotlout unfortunately did collide a few times with some of the younger ones), the humans and their dragons landed on the beach while the wild Skybiters disappeared among the lush foliage and the distant sky.
"They know they are not far from home." Nora said, smiling at the sight.
The Vikings didn't listen to that proclamation; they were awing at the place. They had seen beaches before back in the archipelago, but never one like this. The ocean was a beautiful mixture of various shades of blue, and the sand was soft, warm and golden, while the white foam from the waves gathered a bit at the edge of the water. And just a few meters away started a lush jungle with a different type of trees they were accustomed to, even though they looked pretty similar.
But what called Fishlegs' attention was the large rock at one side of the beach; it had the shape of an eagle head, and its 'beak' was pointing towards the jungle, particularly at the creek that started from the ocean and turned into brackish water as it went inland, it was a sort of estuary.
"Eagle head estuary has a good ring to it…" Fishlegs muttered as he sketched this particular landscape in a different notebook he had brought.
"Well, considering we've been flying nonstop, for a week, I say we stop here for a while!" Snotlout pointed out, rubbing his sore rear from so much time on top of Hookfang. "Whoever agrees with me lift your hand!"
The twins lifted their hands in agreement, but even to even Snotlout's surprise, Astrid, Heather and Fishlegs also lifted their hands.
"I don't think it'll hurt if we take a break, right?" Astrid said. "I think the dragons really need the rest."
"Nora, do you mind if we rest a bit?" Hiccup inquired. "I mean, if you're in a hurry we could always…"
"No, no, actually, Morazul also will need to rest his wings." Nora responded.
Snotlout clapped his hands. "Good! If you need me, I'll be napping over there! Don't wake me up unless something happens!" With this, he headed over to some nearby palms to lie down and half-cover his eyes with his helmet.
The dragons were the first ones to lay down on the sand, panting from the long journey. While they rested, the Vikings temporally separated. Ruffnut and Tuffnut went toward Snotlout, snickering, already planning a prank. Hiccup and Astrid went to check on the dragons to make sure they were alright. Heather, Fishlegs and Nora went into the jungle to find some water for the dragons, and Fishlegs wanted to document the flora and fauna in there.
Nora led the, already feeling right at home into the jungle, followed by Heather, and lastly Fishlegs, who was writing in his notebook.
"It's really hot here!" Heather said, wiping her sweaty forehead.
"Most of this territory consist of tropical rainforests and jungles, so it's normal, especially on this time of the year. It'll get hotter the further inland we go." Nora explained.
"This time of the year? It's winter."
"There's no winter here. Only dry and rainy seasons, and right now we're in the dry season."
"Dry season means you don't get much rain, right?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.
"Yes." Nora had to admit, she was amused at the way he asked questions and then wrote her answer down, almost like a child.
"And what kind of animals do you have here?" Heather inquired.
Nora laughed. "Soon enough, you'll see."
Nora moved some leaves blocking the way aside, revealing a beautiful spring surrounded by trees, and a small waterfall falling from a small rock formation above. On the other side of the spring, white-tailed deer lifted heads in alarm at the newcomers, and galloped away from the place. On the branches, there were weird birds that were reminiscent of the Skybiters. Overall, what called their attention was the large, sturdy, spotted feline swimming around in the water.
"What's that…?" Heather said, dazzled at the animal's natural elegance and beautiful coat.
"It's the jaguar." Nora said with an air of reverence as she kneeled down, lowering her gaze to give the feline the proper respect.
Although the jaguar spotted the trio, it seemed more interested in relaxing and ignored their presence as it went out of the water and disappeared through the foliage.
Once it was gone, the trio proceeded to refill the water skins to their maximum capacity, though Nora couldn't help but take a scoopful of water with her hands to take a drink.
By the way they returned to the beach, Snotlout's body was buried under a dune of sand, while Ruffnut and Tuffnut proceeded to place a crab on top of him. Toothless was playing in the water with Blueberry, while Hookfang and Goblin were running from Meatlug and Stormfly as they tried to get them wet.
"Guys, you won't believe this! There's a beautiful spring in there, and the water is delicious!" Fishlegs cried out.
"Huh, what?" Snotlout tried to stand up, only to realize he was buried under a big pile of sand. "What the-?!" He couldn't finish the sentence before Hookfang unintentionally threw sand towards his head when trying to throw it at Stormly to keep her away. Snotlout spat the sand from his mouth and glared at his dragon. "Hookfang!"
"And there was this… big felid with spots, it was so… beautiful!"
"Whoa, whoa, is it me or you're excited about something that is not a dragon?" Hiccup said, almost laughing at the excitement.
"Sorry, but it's just…! I just can't wait to see what dragons live around here!"
"My people is settled further in land, but I must warn you." Nora said. "Your… dragons have never been seen around here, so they're likely to call unwanted attention."
"Well, as long as they don't throw spears at us or arrows at us, I think we can cope with that…" Hiccup said, a little nervously.
"So, which way to we go?" Fishlegs said, getting on Meatlug when she got closer, eager.
Nora blinked in surprise, but she giggled. "Follow me."
Snotlout managed to release his les from the twins's sand trap, but panicked when the rest of the riders got on their dragons and left. "Hookfang! Don't just stand there, get me out of here!"
Hookfang rolled his eyes and lifted his rider by the foot, releasing him from the sand. But he didn't bother to put Snotlout back in the saddle, and instead merely flew after the group, ignoring Snotlout's protests.
"So, how is your village like?" Heather asked curiously after a few minutes of flying.
"It's paradise." Nora stated. "It covers plenty of terrain, most of it was deprived of trees to make way for our agriculture fields. The main city is in the center, but there are various villages around it where the crops are grown, and a river runs through those villages to help with the crop growing."
"And where do the dragons live?" Astrid asked.
"Most of the time they reside in the jungle, but they will come when their Other Halves call for them."
"You mean they're semi-feral?" Hiccup said, curiously.
"Not exactly." Nora said. "Once the Bond has been made, it lasts for a lifetime. But the Mordecielos are free-spirited, and it restraining them in any way is strongly frowned upon. Instead of putting them in cages or chains, they are allowed to roam freely in their natural environment, where they feed by themselves."
"Oh, so technically your dragons live in the wild, but they are domesticated! We're learning so much!" Fishlegs said, again scribbling in the Book of Dragons.
"What are you doing? A Book of Dragons volume 2 or something?" Snotlout asked sarcastically.
"You know, it doesn't sound like a bad idea." Ruffnut said, snickering. "A Book of dragons collection!"
"Special Edition: Feathered Dragons and Blue Chickens!" Tuffnut added, to which Blueberry responded with an annoyed shriek.
"So, what other dragons live around here?" Fishlegs inquired.
Nora explained. "Well, if remember I mentioned there was one dragon that preyed on Mordecielos?"
Before Fishlegs could reply, Toothless perked up his ears when he heard something above; not only that, but out of sudden he didn't fell the sun's rays on his back anymore. He looked down momentarily, and saw a large shadow in the shape of a bird.
Blueberry was the second to spot the shadow, and by the time he shrieked and looked upwards, the intruder dove down towards him with a loud cry and open talons.
