Chapter 8
Hazim Shel Halailah
Do not ever bring the ire
Of creatures born of thunder and fire
Worse it is to anger ones
Tied to them by bond or blood
Tread with care, respect, and know
Even the misunderstood have souls
Else bring upon yourself the sight
Of facing the fury of the night
-0-
The storm had cleared and the seas had smoothed once more, both signs good news for the vessel he stood upon. Even better, with the gentle wind behind them it made for faster sailing and they would reach their destination in mere hours.
The impatient men that came with being stuck on a boat for two weeks were quickly wearing on his nerves however; despite all of them being loyal to a fault to him, and would rough it out right by his side no matter the aim, they all still had their differences.
"Eret, are you sure that we're still on the right heading? We could have sailed past it by now, especially in that storm!"
The Sami's scowl deepened, and turned to address his crewmate. "Yes, if our guide was correct," he said. "The heavens know he was off in the head, but you don't command a fighting force like he had on the seas without decent navigational prowess. The island should be only just ahead of here; a day at most left, so get moving if you're bored!" He gestured to the unmanned oars. "You want to get there faster, you are more than welcome to start rowing!"
Just as he expected, there was a reluctant silence, and Eret snorted before turning to look out over the ocean. Ever since Drago and his forces had mysteriously disappeared from the region things had been fairly quiet, and the trapper had found himself, for the first time in years, free to pursue quarries of his own interest. Dragons were old hat though still fun to wrangle at times, and he'd tried his hand at hunting other creatures, like the snow-colored bears of the icy northern waters (they were an interesting battle in and of themselves, and had eventually led him to something of far greater interest: Woolly Howls, dragons he'd long thought were only fairy tales). He only had a pact to check in every now and then with the trapper's league coordinator, but even then Viggo was mostly concerned with keeping himself and his core crew off the radar, not caring what the others did so long as they didn't hand out info too wantonly.
Then things had gotten interesting. Strange stories had reached Eret's ears in the past year or so about their current destination, but he had mostly dismissed them as fanciful stretching of the truth, or completely false tales designed to intimidate strangers. Anywhere people coincided with dragons there were bound to be a few outlandish stories, but at least one of them had continued to be repeated with matching details, and this held intrigue to the trapper.
The young Viking chief Eret had run into while trading on the edges of the mainland of Norway had reaffirmed the legend: the presence of a Night Fury on an island called Berk, possibly the last of its kind, and that was a chance far too tantalizing for an opportunistic trapper like Eret to pass up. There were an uncountable number of characters who would be interested buyers in such a creature as a pet, or trophy, and Eret himself was tempted to try holding the dragon for himself if he managed to capture it; an intimidating beast like that and no one would belittle the poor Sami trapper again, not even Viggo, for all his skills.
"Set your sights forward, men!" Eret called, finally spotting the telltale hump of land on the horizon, the faint outline of mountains rising up from it. "Our destination is ahead!"
A cheer rose up, and Eret nodded in agreement. Good things were in store for him; he could feel it.
Or, at least so he thought.
::So, why was I the one you dragged out here?::
"Because Hawken was busy and you know Toothless will slow my progress on this any way he can think of. Plus, I designed the wings after Night Furies, so you're the best other option."
Amethyst sighed and glanced around the cove. ::Toothless will strangle me for this, you know that,:: she deadpanned. ::But, I can see the point here apparently where he can't.::
Hiccup smirked. "Nah, he's too attached to you to do that."
::And mention something like that again and I'll flat out refuse to help.::
"Ugh, fine, fine, I'll drop it."
The Night Fury nodded, and spread her wings, flexing them. ::Okay, follow my lead; actually learning how to fly rather than automatically knowing requires step-by-step work.::
"Yeah, I know, had to do something like that with Toothless back when he still had only one tailfin," Hiccup quipped, before focusing. The gem on the wing apparatus activated in response, unfurling the artificial wings to match Amethyst's.
::Okay,:: the dragon said, ::now, angling to control lift, balance, and turbulence compensation is more important than actually generating thrust or lift, so we'll start there…::
A half hour later, Hiccup had managed to gain enough practice to attempt gliding on Raven's Point, and was in the middle of tying off the rope (much reinforced compared to the one he'd used with his and Toothless' first test flight) when Toothless appeared, gliding down toward them with Teshra on his shoulder for reasons unknown.
::And what, dare I ask, are you doing?:: he growled disapprovingly, landing on the bluff. Teshra immediately left his shoulder and flapped over to Amethyst, greeting her sister.
Hiccup groaned. "I'm getting flying lessons so that I don't inadvertently kill myself trying the wings out on my own," he retorted. "I know you wouldn't be much help so I asked Amethyst instead."
Toothless looked over at his female counterpart. ::Do I have to restate how bad an idea this whole thing is?:: he asked.
Amethyst sighed, tail lashing back and forth in impatience. ::Well,:: she began, ::would you rather have him learn by just jumping off a cliff? We all know it's not beyond him.::
Toothless' mouth opened, but no response left it. Amethyst smirked. ::Oh, you don't have a response to that? How surprising.::
::I just don't want my brother getting himself involved in something else that will end up getting him hurt without reason. It would be easy enough to glide with the wings, he doesn't necessarily have to go all out with learning how to fly!::
"I am right here, you know," Hiccup interjected, but he went unheard as Amethyst snorted and snapped back at Toothless.
::I'm not going to let him get hurt!:: she hissed. ::I am more than responsible enough to prevent that happening, and we've gone over preparations for preventative measures, thank you very much!::
::I have plenty of foundation for my concern,:: Toothless responded. ::You might be responsible enough, that I will admit, but Hiccup does have a record.::
Now Amethyst glanced at Hiccup, and saw his protest building. ::Everyone has a record of some sort,:: she huffed. ::Honestly Toothless, you're overreacting to this, and everyone else has agreed that it's at least a good backup idea. And like there is any project around here that doesn't involve some sort of risk; pull your head out of-::
::Don't you dare finish that sentence,:: Toothless snapped, pupils narrowing.
"Okay, BOTH of you cut it out!" Hiccup finally exploded, standing up straight and glaring at the two bickering Night Furies. "I really don't know what's gotten into the two of you, Toothless more so, but it needs to end." He focused on Toothless, and crossed his arms. "I am going to learn how to use these one way or another, otherwise my building them will have been a huge waste of valuable time for no good end and I'm not accepting that, and the next time I get knocked off of the saddle I won't have any other options but pray you catch me in time. I trust you with my life, but we've both been stuck in situations before where even a Night Fury isn't fast enough to catch me. Do you want that?"
Toothless' expression softened slightly at that, almost reaching the point of looking shameful. ::No,:: he finally muttered lowly. Hiccup nodded in response, before turning to Amethyst.
"And, I think you might want to take a break and cool off," he said pointedly. "We've been out here a while and it's clear you're tired and getting cranky-don't try to deny it," he quipped when he saw Amethyst readying to disagree, "-and in the meantime, I am going to see if I can find Hawken; at least he should be able to have a level head at the moment."
At Hiccup's pointed expression, Amethyst sighed and nodded reluctantly, turning and taking to the sky with Teshra still clinging to her shoulder. In a few moments, she was over the trees and out of sight.
Toothless watched her go, feeling a pang of guilt at having gotten worked up like he had (especially as he started mulling over what had been said and realizing he was overreacting), and turned toward Hiccup, who was busy untying the rope on the tree stump. As the Viking stood up and marched off into the woods, muttering to himself, Toothless hesitantly followed.
::Hiccup, look, I'm-::
"Save it, Toothless," Hiccup snapped, before stopping and rubbing his forehead. "Sorry, I don't mean to be like that," he sighed. "The past couple weeks have been a lot for me, but that little spat back there between you two was over the top. What has gotten into you?"
::I don't know, honestly,:: Toothless admitted quietly, padding cautiously up next to his rider. ::Look, the wings…okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so adamant about you not trying to use them. It's…it's a good idea, but it makes me nervous.:: He looked apologetically up at Hiccup. ::I've seen you hurt too many times not to react to all your new harebrained schemes.::
Hiccup smiled softly, placing a hand on Toothless' head. "I know. Hey, I promise I'll make sure I know exactly what I'm doing before I go jump off any cliff, alright?"
::It's never stopped you before.::
They both chuckled, tension broken, and Hiccup turned to embrace the dragon for a brief moment before they separated again, Hiccup giving Toothless a joking punch.
"Oh, and just so you know, I expect you to fully make it up to Amethyst," he said lightly. "No good having a pair of Night Furies at each other's throats when they're going to have to hang around each other eventually."
Toothless snorted and stuck his tongue out, only succeeding in making Hiccup smirk even more. "Oh, quit that," he laughed. "I'll make sure it happens. And if you're going to follow me, then come on; Hawken's probably home by now."
Water spilled down, soaking my head and making me splutter, before I stuck my head out of the greenhouse and located the Stenonychosaurus at the kitchen table. "You done with that pump system yet, or am I mopping this up and hand-watering again today?" I quipped.
"I'm only making a few adjustments; it'll be ready in a moment," came the exasperated reply. I snorted and retreated back into the humid enclosure, looking around more or less with satisfaction (other than the drippy hose above me). The cocktail of venom pesticides I'd mixed up had been liberally applied to the greenhouse, and shortly thereafter the other two growing areas I had, with spectacular results: not a speck of fungus, unsightly algae, or any pesky sapsuckers anywhere to be found. Though, it wasn't something that could be marketed well, seeing as how production was painfully low and slow; that thought made me frown.
A tap on the plastic doorway drew my attention out of my thoughts and up to Zipeau, who held up the pump system he'd designed for the automated watering rig in the greenhouse. "Here you go, senor impatience," he drawled sarcastically. "Anything else that requires my attention, or am I now free to return to my book?"
I shook my head and climbed out of the greenhouse. "No, no, I'm actually going to head to Berk for a while so nothing I need help with here. And weren't you reading the whole time I was at work this morning?"
Zipeau shrugged. "Can you blame me? I'm a bookworm by nature."
"As am I," I chuckled. "Alright, I'll see you when I get back. And tell Embron to leave the house sometime today, will you? He was sociable enough a couple weeks ago, but for a Nightmare he's becoming incredibly introverted."
"I heard that!" came the growl from downstairs, prompting Zipeau and I to both laugh before I headed toward the back of the house.
As I stepped out the back door however, I was surprised to find Hiccup and Toothless halfway across the yard, coming my way. "Hey guys, what brings you here?" I called. "I was just on my way to Berk."
"Flight practice was cut a little short, and I have an otherwise rare day off," Hiccup replied.
"Oh?" I intoned. "What cut it short? I recall you were having Amethyst help you out with the practice, was it something with her? Where'd she go?"
Toothless' guilty look was impossible to miss, and my eyebrow arched as Hiccup started explaining. "Well, our two resident Night Furies had a little spat over the flight practice, and I suggested that Amethyst should go flying to cool off for a while, which she did."
I nodded, pursing my lips. "Ah. Well, hopefully she'll be back soon and we can work that out." I gave a pointed look to Toothless, who drooped further. "In the meantime, I have nothing to do here, so what say we head back to Berk and try and figure out something to use up our time? And, is Cami still here?"
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, Bertha and company went back to Bog Island a while ago, but our princess of mischief decided to stick around and hang with her engaged for a while."
We stepped through the portal and Hiccup climbed up onto Toothless' saddle as I morphed, all three of us casually taking to the air. "In all honesty," Hiccup continued, "between her and the twins, and Sasha now, the village is actually rather lively these days, though perhaps not for the best reasons; wish we'd figure out how to channel all that energy elsewhere rather than riling up the residents."
"What, you haven't gotten those races you were talking about figured out by now?" I teased. Hiccup groaned and his eyes narrowed as he focused forward rather than reply directly; that gave me all the answer I needed. Funny, we'd seen the movie the year before and nobody had acted on the dragon race idea yet.
As we cruised over the village, a familiar red dragon materialized below and glided up next to us. ::Hey Spitfire,:: I greeted. ::You and Kingsley see anything while on patrol this morning?::
Around the Changewing's neck, the mentioned cobra was wrapped snugly, and he lifted his head up in response to his name. ::Nothing in particular,:: Kingsley said, ::though there was a rather irritated Night Fury flying off the east side of the island.::
"Yeah, we're going to try working on that later," Hiccup noted.
::Oh, and something that looked like perhaps a fishing vessel along the northern shore,:: Spitfire added. ::Didn't look like any of ours, or any ships from Bog or Meathead Isles, so I thought I'd mention it.::
I nodded; the oceans were open to anyone, and it wasn't uncommon for traders or traveling fishing boats to pass by on occasion without stopping at the village proper, so it probably wasn't too much to worry about, but I stored the notice away anyway. "Alright, so we've got something to check out later," I commented. "I'll make sure to put it on the list. By the way, neither of you would have happened to have seen"-
"YAAAHHHH!"
The war cry rang out above me, and I spun to see Stormfly diving our way, her blonde rider leaping off her saddle, arms outstretched. My eyes widened, realizing the young Viking's motive, and dove to the side.
I moved too late though, as Camicazi's hand made contact for just a moment with my tailfin as she fell past. Cami cackled, dropping away quickly to be caught by Stormfly again.
"You're it!" she yelled. "Ha ha ha!"
I scowled, before my expression quickly morphed into a grin. "Alright Cami, you asked for it!" I yelled, glancing at Hiccup. "Tag team? No doubt she's playing with Ruff and Tuff."
Hiccup looked down at Toothless, who put on a dangerous smirk and nodded. "Alright," he agreed, "let's do it!"
Amethyst barely noticed the island passing beneath her, too many thoughts racing through her mind instead. Teshra's attempts at banter (which were more the Terror just rattling away random thoughts) were also pushed to the backburner of her mind, the Terror's voice becoming more background noise than anything else.
::It's really understandable though; he's been there a lot longer than we have, so he would know if something was going to go wrong with….:: Teshra trailed off as she glanced down at the Night Fury she clung to. ::Are you listening at all here?::
Amethyst sighed and shook her head. ::No, not really. Sorry.::
Teshra huffed. ::Well, you're certainly never going to get past this if you stay locked up in your own head all the time; you're almost as bad as Hawken is.::
::I know!:: the Night Fury snapped, eyes squeezing shut as she tried to calm down. ::I know. Sorry, look, I'm out here to clear my head, because I really don't want to go off like that again. I just need some air, and some quiet.:: She glanced back at her semi-sister. ::Out of curiosity though, how are you still holding on? Anything else would have fallen off by now.::
Teshra grinned. ::Claws help, and your crests here are a good paw hold. Really, if you need to fly, then fly! I can stay put!::
Finally, Amethyst managed to crack a smile. ::Alright, you asked for it then; hold tight!:: Wings slammed downward, and the pair rocketed forward, Amethyst barrel-rolling as she roared, letting her frustration out into the air.
The morning had been quiet as they'd moved all their necessary equipment onto the shore, and nothing much more than the occasional Terror or distant Nadder had broken the quiet of the forest the covered the northern portion of the island. They hadn't wanted to try going near the village if they could help it, but now the crew was starting to think if the risk would be worth it just to find something.
Eret's head whipped around first at the sound though when it broke the quiet, reaching his ears through the trees: a loud, shrieking roar he'd only heard once before, when he was very young. Following it to the source, the trapper quickly spotted the black figure speeding through the sky, heading their direction. Alone.
"Heads up men!" he called, running over and cranking up the net launcher, preparing it with ammo. "Night Fury on the horizon! Get the bolas ready; someone find those blasted darts if we need them! This is our best chance!"
Grabbing a second wrapped net from his passing crewmate he loaded it into the launcher behind the first one and pulled back the tension lever. Swinging the targeting mechanism around, Eret aimed toward the dark reptile ahead of him.
"Alright Night Fury," he muttered quietly, "let's see what you're made of. This trapper's got a reputation to uphold."
Black wings snapped out wide as Amethyst flared, grinning as she slowed down into a glide, closing her eyes as she caught a low air current and floated above the trees. Teshra decided it was safe to slowly release the death grip she had on the Fury's spinal crests, the Terror looking up toward the larger dragon's head.
::Feel better now?::
Amethyst smirked and chuckled. ::Yeah, perhaps,:: she replied. Slowing down to a hover, she looked over as Teshra took off from her back to fly up in front of her.
::Well,:: the Terror mused, ::we're almost all the way to the other side of the island; if we take it leisurely it'll probably use up most of the afternoon to get back to Berk. Should we start heading back?::
Amethyst glanced toward the mountains splitting the island, and let out a breath. ::Yeah, probably. Hawken will worry if we don't turn-::
The noise of something whistling through the air cut her off, drawing their attention downward. Amethyst turned, expecting to see another dragon heading their way. Instead, a weighted net filled her vision, spinning with extreme accuracy straight toward her.
The Night Fury yelped in surprise and turned to dodge the projectile, but the ropes hit and wrapped around her, the weighted corners swinging around and entangling her wings and legs.
Then the realization hit her: someone else was on the island, someone who hunted dragons. No one in Berk dared to use nets or bolas on dragons, not even in play.
::Teshra!:: she yelled, fearing the net had caught the smaller dragon as well. But, twisting around as she fell, Amethyst spotted the Terror flapping desperately in her direction. ::Teshra, no!:: she yelled out.
The rest of her words were cut off as the Night Fury crashed through the canopy, branches scraping across her wings and tail before she plowed into the ground. Dazed, a pained groan escaped her throat before she slowly turned and looked up at Teshra.
::Go…get Hawken,:: she urged. ::Now!:: Her head turned the other way to see a group of men definitely not from the archipelago rushing through the trees in her direction.
Teshra knew she wouldn't be much help, her natural size limiting her usefulness in such a situation, but it pained her to leave Amethyst to whoever these people were. There wasn't much else the Terror could do though, so she reluctantly nodded and turned, speeding back toward the village, but no before yelling out, ::Don't say anything to them!::
Amethyst snorted, before her expression turned to a snarl as the lead man skidded to a halt in front of her, ropes unfurling in his hands. ::I won't,:: she growled. ::I'll scream it.::
I peered out between the buildings, tail twitching in anticipation. My targets thought they were hidden, completely invisible to most eyes. They didn't know who was it though, and they definitely didn't see me. My grin widened, green eyes narrowing, and I slunk forward. Just a little bit closer…
"HI!" "AAAAHHHH!"
I leapt out and tagged both Orha and Ember, the former dropping their shared cloak (shared thanks to Ember's armor) in shock, before growling.
"You asked for it Hawken!" he yelled, wings flaring out.
"Only if you can catch me!" I threw back, morphing fully Wind Fury and taking to the air, laughing maniacally. Hiccup and Toothless joined me soon, both of them wearing matching grins.
"Fishlegs and Meatlug are tagged as well," Hiccup said breathlessly. "That whole team is it now!"
::Pay attention you two!:: Toothless barked. We're being followed!
We looked down to see the Gronckle and her rider right next to the Shadowracer and Ember, the two pairs splitting off and circling around to try and trap us.
"Tsk, tsk, don't they ever learn that you can't catch a Fury without surprise?" I toned lightly. Hiccup grinned again. "They will now!" he laughed. A quick turn, and he and Toothless blasted off. I rocketed upward, before flipping around and diving, the scream of my wings alerting Ember to my changing trajectory. She and Orha tried to turn to tag me, but by the time they were in position I was already well past them, sending them tumbling from the wind of my passing as a white blur over the rooftops.
I spotted Valka and Cloudjumper up ahead of me, back from their visit earlier that day to Tohar's nest up north, and as I shot by them I yelled out "Hi Valka bye Valka!" and laughed at her shocked expression, barely able to track me as I sped away.
Finally slowing down as I coursed out over the harbor, scales turning black once more, I turned to see Fishlegs having given up on his chasing Hiccup, instead focusing on going after the twins, driving them right toward his partners.
"Well, we lost their focus for now," Hiccup's voice piped up nearby, and I turned to see him and Toothless gliding over to me. "I guess we should thank Cami; this might be the best way for all of us to let off a little steam that I can think of."
I smirked. "Yeah, definitely good. Though, imagine if all the Descendants had decided to join in; I don't think we'd be able to keep up with the hectic antics that would follow!"
"Eh, we'd just need a bigger playing field."
"We've got the whole sky to use. Okay, imagine if Holly and Nara joined in."
"Two words: fly away!"
We all broke out laughing, images of Holly's tag tactics running through our heads, before a desperate scream echoed over the village.
"HAWKEN!"
My head snapped around, spotting the flitting figure of Teshra speeding in over the village. As soon as she spotted me and Toothless she bolted our way, accidentally forgetting to slow down and overshooting us before backpedaling.
"Hawken…there's…the north shore…Amethyst…" she panted.
"Okay, okay, calm down for a minute and take a deep breath," I ordered. Teshra nodded, landing on my back and gulping down a few breaths full of air, before trying to continue.
"Amethyst and I, we…we flew off to the northern shore earlier; she was trying to calm down," she explained, still a bit out of breath. "There…there were people out there, not from Berk or the other islands. They…they…" she paused and took in another breath, trying to clear her head.
"They what?" Toothless pressed, eyes widening in worry. Teshra looked at him, eyes jumping around in panic.
"They shot her down!" she finally blurted. "She ordered me to get you, Hawken, but by now I don't know what they could have"-
"Whoa! Toothless!"
Teshra was cut off by Hiccup's exclamation as Toothless bolted without warning, air screaming as he headed straight north. I glanced at Teshra, who moved to hold tight to my back crests, before I snapped my wings downward and followed.
It was clear Toothless was more than worried enough to deem it worthy of rushing to Amethyst's aid, so with both of us heading to find what had happened, whoever had landed on Berk was going to end up having a very bad day.
Eret groaned as he pulled on the rope, lending a hand in dragging the Night Fury toward the ship. Not only was she (he was certain it was a female, despite word of mouth suggesting otherwise) a lot heavier than she looked, which he attributed to the massive wings, but she'd also put up an incredible struggle. The shriek that left her jaws when they'd gotten near had almost left his eardrums bleeding before they'd managed to rope her jaws shut, and she'd knocked out one of his men with a fireball before the muzzle had been drawn tight. Two other men had received dislocated shoulders when her tail had lashed out unexpectedly moments later, and though at least one of the men had pulled out the dragonroot darts and shot her with one, it had absolutely no effect, worryingly.
Eret knew that most of the Boulder Class dragons were immune to the effects of dragonroot, but none of the other Strike Class species he'd come across, or Night Fury relatives, had shown such a trait. He shrugged it off though as one of the many unique traits of the species that made them so elusive, and looked ahead; they'd finally reached the beach where the ship was anchored offshore. Now, with more room to maneuver, everyone set about securing the Night Fury properly so that she wouldn't pose a threat on the ship even in bad weather.
Something felt off though; every time Eret looked at the dragon, he felt as if she was yet up to something; the look in her eyes was a clear message painting the notion of a hidden hand. But, the trapper had seen similar looks in others of the more intelligent dragon species; the beasts bluffed with looks as much as they did wings and colors in order to scare their attackers into fearing repercussions, with little to back up their displays.
"You're quite a handful," he muttered, pulling tight the rope in his hands again. "But, I guess I ought not to expect anything less from so infamous a dragon. Though," he mused, glancing over the reptile, "for a creature nicknamed 'Offspring of Lightning and Death' I might actually be a bit disappointed."
A savage hiss emanated from the Night Fury, her eyes narrowing, and Eret could have sworn the dragon was giving him an insult of her own in some manner. He just shrugged though, content to know that it couldn't talk, and turned to the ship, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Arveni, prepare a holding rig!" he yelled. "And make sure that it's maximum security; we don't want this one getting loose!" Looping up the rope in his hands, he made to start pulling the dragon along the sand again.
"Uh, Eret, her escaping from the boat might be the least of our problems," his first mate, a short, stocky man by the name of Grimligh, spoke up, voice rising through the sentence. Eret scowled and turned to glance at the man, before following his gaze.
Then the sound rose up and reached all their ears: the high-pitched, unmistakable whistle of a Night Fury at high speed.
Eret's eyes widened when he spotted the pair of figures blazing through the sky. "I thought this one was the only…" he trailed off as he glanced at his captured prize, who was undeniably looking at him with a smug grin. "Right. Okay men, two more opportunities! Grab the nets!"
They didn't get the chance to acquire their traps before an indigo fireball ripped through two of the nearby net launchers, throwing the nearest men to the ground as the shockwave slammed outward, the structures themselves blown to splinters and burning chunks.
Eret dove to the side as a second searing blast carved a crater in the sand a short ways from where he was standing, before hearing someone above him yell "Whoa, whoa, Toothless hold on!"
An irate roar followed, and he looked up to see one single Night Fury carrying a rider dressed in a slick black suit the likes of which he'd never seen before, and the other….
Eret blinked in surprise, looking around frantically for the second Night Fury that had been on the loose, but somehow it had vanished in the chaos. Instead, he was greeted by a second young man landing in a crouch about ten feet away from him on the disturbed sand. This one carried a dangerous look in his eyes as he glanced up toward the trapper, an exotic looking staff in one hand, and a green and orange Terrible Terror that was glaring at the trapper from the man's opposite shoulder.
Eret stood up slowly and brushed himself off, facing the man in the less-shiny looking black clothes and signaling to his crew as the still-circling Night Fury and his rider came to a pointed landing nearby, the rider jumping off and drawing a blade made from a metal Eret had also never seen before, not unlike the rider's clothing.
"You are trespassing without due permission on the island of Berk, and dually in the process of breaking one of our highest laws," the rider stated, pointing the blade toward Eret. "State who you are and just how you managed to get it into your head that you were allowed to come here unannounced and shoot down our residents."
The Sami was admittedly taken aback a little by the abrasiveness of the pair of skinny post-teens; neither one of them could have been much past twenty years old, but one –no, scratch that, both of them it appeared as the second only had a Terror with him –had managed to ride a Night Fury, so he deemed it likely wise to comply, at least until he found something to hold as an advantage over them.
"I am Eret, son of Eret," he stated aloud, immediately noticing the telling looks the pair of humans shared, "and I am here to uphold the reputation I have built over the years as the finest dragon trapper in the northern waters." He grinned and gestured to the one Night fury he'd managed to truss up behind him. "After all, not just anyone can manage to take down a Night Fury, let alone do it unscathed."
"I know, I've done it before," the sword-wielding Viking growled. "That doesn't answer the question of why you think you can do so here."
Eret shrugged. "I was tipped off by a man on the mainland that a Night Fury lived here," he explained, reaching behind him for his knife as if casually scratching his back. "He quite apparently lied or was misled himself as he claimed there was only one, but no matter. With no psychotic overlord breathing down my back anymore and trying to push me around to his whims I am free to go where I please and do with my quarry as I very well wish to. And this creature could certainly fetch a hefty price on the markets down south, or provide a figurehead for my own reputation."
"You're talking as if you think she's actually leaving with you," the second young man spoke up now, twirling the staff in his hand and taking a step forward. "In some manner of speaking, she belongs to me, and I certainly have no intention of letting her go anywhere anytime soon."
Eret snorted. "Oh? And who are you two to stop me? The lands and oceans are free reign, and I've already dealt with one Night Fury, so yours there won't be much issue, even if…"
He trailed off, eyebrow rising, as the unbound black dragon snarled, his spinal crests elongating and splitting into two rows, the scales around them beginning to fluoresce bright sapphire blue at the same time.
"Gee, you are really dense if you don't know already," the first rider chuckled. "That, or you're spending way too much time on your ship; we were the ones who ended Drago, whom I am guessing is the overlord you mentioned. I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, heir to the chiefdom of Berk and renowned dragon whisperer. And this here," he gestured to his dragon, "is Toothless Haddock, the Alpha dragon of the Barbaric Archipelago. Oh, and our good friend over here," he gestured with a sweeping hand to the second boy, "is Hawken Carlton, the current guardian of this part of the world and dragon master like me."
Eret's other eyebrow rose this time. "Well, certainly a colorful bunch of characters you are then, and quite a story to swallow. Perhaps I've underestimated you, if you took on Drago as you claim." With a smirk, he pulled out his knife, spinning it warningly. "But you live in a village; you make use of the land here perhaps, but beyond the kingdoms of the mainland there's no one rich or powerful enough to own such an island as this; out here it's free reign."
"Even if that were the case, "Hiccup interjected, "you are still breaking a law that has been agreed upon throughout the archipelago. Dragons are considered here citizens of Berk, and despite the fact that you are laughingly wrong about us owning the island, you have already committed a crime heinous enough for us to jail you without further ado. Permanently."
Eret burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. "Citizens?" he guffawed. "They're animals! You can't be serious. Want to run that by me again so I can get in another good laugh?"
Hiccup sighed and glanced at his human companion. "Well Hawken, you want to take over here and elaborate?"
I smiled thinly and spun my staff again, pointing the tip toward Toothless. "Eret, do you know why the Night Fury is called the 'Offspring of Lightning and Death'?"
"Supposedly it's the deadliest and most feared dragon known to man," Eret drawled. "Thus far I'm not convinced. What of it?"
"They earned that title for good reasons," I continued. "Fastest naturally occurring species, the most powerful firepower of any dragon in existence, and one of the most intelligent. If you don't listen carefully, I'll ensure you experience the Night's Fury, literally; attacks from three of that race, all of them very, very ticked off already."
Silence for a moment, then Eret sighed and rolled his eyes, gesturing to me with his knife. "So there is a third around here somewhere; very well, explain yourself."
I nodded. "Aside from your breaking modern Viking law, here's a good reason to jail you: these are also the last two representations of this species"-
"Two? You just said that there were three left," Eret interrupted. I frowned, eyes turning colors and quieting him again. "Yes," I quipped, "and I will get to that tidbit in a moment. These being the last two, Toothless and Amethyst are the last of a unique sentient race." I fixed the trapper with a very serious look. "Dragons, despite the stories I'm sure you've been fed all your life, quote-unquote 'finest dragon trapper alive', are as intelligent and free-thinking as we are. They have a language, their own customs, and morals."
Expectedly, Eret cracked up. "Oh, you have got to be joking!" he guffawed. "After all they've done to so many"-
"And that's the same argument we're faced with by anyone too ignorant to shut up for a minute and listen!" I snapped, cutting him off. A single electric spark ran off my hand and up the staff, making sure everyone was caught off guard enough at the sight for me to continue (Eret's crew was inching toward their weapons, and I had no intent to let them use them).
"How war-like are people, hmm? How often do we go out to kill each other over such things as stupid and useless as a petty disagreement or griping over spilled wine? Dragons, for all the myths surrounding them, almost never partake in such quarrels. They only ever attack each other, or us, if they have good reason to. That alone makes me think that the dragon you tied up there is a whole lot smarter than you!"
"Now hold on a minute," Eret snapped, walking up to me with a strong grip on his blade. He stopped short when my staff swung pointedly toward his neck.
"Hazim shel Halailah," I growled.
"What?"
"Hebrew for Night's Fury, and your second warning. Would you like me to lose my temper now and let us all have our way with you and your crew? I assure you it wouldn't be pleasant for your side, despite there being only the four of us and the one you've already tied up." I glanced over at Toothless. "Introduce yourself before he starts mouthing off again."
Toothless looked at me oddly, before catching my meaning. He nodded, walking over to stand between Hiccup and I, and looked Eret straight in the eyes.
"As they already told you, my name is Toothless," the Night Fury spoke, every word to the point and laced with derision. "Every dragon within 50 miles of here answers to me directly," he continued, making the trapper go slack-jawed. "If you have any sensibility you will release Amethyst or I will personally fly you over to Dragon Island myself and leave the self-proclaimed 'finest dragon trapper alive' to the claws of those dragons who are going to be far less civil than we will." His scales lit up to maximum luminosity, causing Eret to take a couple of steps back again.
"Like I said Eret, they've got their legends for a reason," I drawled, watching the Sami work over what we'd just hit him with. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw that we'd stunned the rest of the crew into immobility as well. Eret glanced slowly at Amethyst, then back at us, then back toward the Descendant.
After a minute or two of no real action for the better, Toothless scowled. "Alright then, I'm tired of waiting; I'll do it myself." He leapt forward toward Amethyst, raising his claws to tear off her bindings.
Eret reacted immediately, his knife-wielding hand swinging forward toward Toothless as his crew jumped back into action. Eret's weapon didn't get far though, before a miniature Night Fury fireball blew it out of his hand, half-melted and useless. He froze again, as did his crew, and traced the blast's trajectory back to me.
"What-where did…what was that from?" he stuttered. I scowled, opening my hand and letting my staff dematerialize much to our visitors' shock again.
"I told you," I hissed, "let her go or you will face three Night Furies: Toothless, Amethyst, and me."
Scales swept across my face and down my neck, the trademark black wings and tail stretching out and lashing behind me, my eyes glowing green to match Toothless', and my own vertebral scales beginning to glow, a dangerous shimmering red much like the colors of the other two.
While Eret stood speechless and wide-eyed (muttering something about "stories were actually true"), his short first mate finally lost it. Drawing a dagger and letting out a frenzied yell, he charged me, starting a chain reaction of the rest of the crew leaping forward either toward me or Toothless.
I spun, sweeping my tail under the little man, and then leapt forward myself to pin him under a single paw in one deft move. Toothless did the same to a pair of men coming after him as Hiccup drew Inferno into his hands and lit the blade, intimidating the rest to a halt as they looked on at yet another surprise we had in store.
"You've never faced off with a Night Fury before, have you?" I mused. With the wind knocked out of him, all the first mate could do was shake his head as he tried weakly to push my paw off his chest.
I snorted in response. "They're the most feared dragon alive, until I turn into one. Then I am." I snapped my head up to glare at Eret again. "I've given you two warnings already, and they extend to each and every one of your crewmates. This will be your third and last: Hazim shel Halailah, if you do not release my half-sister. There probably won't be much of that entire ship left if you wait any longer, and you won't be reimbursed."
I grinned as Eret, who was just starting to work out what had happened in the whirlwind he just been face with, was thrown into surprise once more at my statement. "Sister?!"
"Yes, in a manner of speaking she's my sister. Fully dragon, but semi-related to me. All the more reason to release her," I mused, "as she likely has a gift inherited from me that neither of us is aware of. Do you want to take that chance? After all, the shape-shifting isn't all I've got left."
Something finally got through not only to Eret, but his crew as well, as they dropped the ropes and weapons they held like they were on fire, and let Toothless move once again to Amethyst's side. He slashed the ropes, rendering them forever useless, and pulled the makeshift muzzle off with ease, allowing Amethyst to work her jaws again and stand. She glanced at Eret, who cringed, and then looked at me.
"So, what do I get to do with him?" she asked lightly, feigning innocence but parlaying everything she intended in the same tone. I shook my head and released the man I stood on, before morphing back halfway. "Him? Nothing. But you see all the tapping mechanisms they've still got laying around here?" I gestured to the nets and launchers and various other equipment setting around on the sand, and nodded toward the ones on the ship.
Amethyst didn't hesitate. Lifting off the ground, she fired point-blank at the contraptions and ripped them apart, each shot more heated than the last until she, too, began fluorescing. Like her name, her scales shone a mesmerizing violet.
Eret and his crew scrambled to try and salvage what they could, only for Toothless and I to swing our tails around and block them from reaching the traps. Eret winced as another blast took out the first of the ones on the ship, before glaring at me. I smirked and looked up at Amethyst again.
That was when I saw it: a spark of electric current, arcing between Amethyst's spinal crests. Before I could scrutinize further however, she'd taken out the last of the contraptions on the ship and settled to the ground again.
"My equipment!" Eret yelled, looking around at a loss as to what to do with the smoking shards on the sand. "What've you done?! Viggo's going to kill me!"
"Viggo? Who's that?" Hiccup queried, lowering his swords and extinguishing Inferno. Eret whipped around to him, face red as his hands clenched and unclenched.
"The one person who I might have called better than me," he snapped. "The one person nobody tangles with up here because he's always a step ahead! This was my own mission, but I also had a payment to make and you just sure enough made it certain that I can't do that!"
"No, you made certain of it by coming here and trying to steal Amethyst," I snapped back. "And actually, I think I spoke too soon." My eyes narrowed as I looked slyly at Eret, before glancing at the female Night Fury. "Clearly the crew here needs some long-overdue re-education. So, Amethyst?"
She perked up, looking at me and eager to hear what I would say, while Eret paled and cringed again. "Tell you what," I drawled, "you can carry him back to Berk. Make sure he gets there alive is all I ask. And his crew can meet him there if they want him back."
Eret immediately turned and bolted, but nothing outruns a Night Fury. Amethyst quickly caught him and took off, the trapper screaming the whole way.
I looked at Hiccup and Toothless, and drawled, "Shall we? Before she gets any more ideas?"
Toothless started laughing mischievously as Hiccup climbed on, and we took off as Eret's crew scrambled to get the ship sailing for Berk.
"AAAHHHHH! Gods above, put me down!"
"There's only one God, and he's not going to make me let you go."
"Oh for the love of….I'm not having a religious argument with a dragon. Put me down!"
"Not going to happen!"
"Let go of me!"
Amethyst flared, slowing down to look down at her captive, who was struggling to remove her iron grip from his arms. "Alright tough guy, you want me to put you down?" she growled. "I'll let go, right here, right now, or you can shut up until we get to the village."
Eret finally took a moment to look down, and blanched. Even a fifteen-foot drop could kill a person if they landed wrong, but they were hovering at least two hundred feet above the floor of a rocky mountain valley; only a dragon survived a fall from heights like that. He immediately switched tactics, scrabbling to gain a grip on the dragon's paws. "No! No, never mind, don't put me down!" he squeaked.
Amethyst snorted, and took off again, soaring up over the mountains and down toward Berk, aiming for the plaza. Immediately upon her appearance, other riders began gathering to find out what happened.
As they slowed to land, Amethyst unceremoniously dumped Eret, taking satisfaction from the way he hit dirt and rolled, yelping and coughing before slowly trying to stand up again as she set down. "Now," she growled, "about a proper punishment." She stalked forward, wings hooded as Eret fell backward again and scrambled to move away from the angry Night Fury.
"Well now, what do we have here? Trappers on Berk?" a new voice cut in from above, making Eret twist around before shielding his eyes from the gusts of wind that rushed in from the wings of the huge dragon. As it landed, he recognized it and paled further, knowing exactly who he was dealing with.
Valka slid expertly off Cloudjumper's back and walked up to Eret, her new staff in hand as she stood over him. "Oh, I remember you," she toned, lifting his head up with her staff. "Greatest trapper alive finally met another dragon he couldn't handle? Or three, I'm guessing?"
Eret groaned. "I'm going to hear that thrown back at me all day," he groused. "What, are you the Night Fury rider's mother or something now?"
"In fact I am."
The Sami face-palmed, knowing he was screwed. "The gods are laughing at me now, I know it."
"There's only one," Valka mused, a knowing smirk growing on her face that grew wider when Eret glared at her for that comment; she was piecing together exactly what had happened on the north shore, and it was somewhat amusing, save for the fact that Amethyst was still seething nearby. "Though, I've met Odin and company and I'm sure they'd find it funny as well if they were here to see this. You're certainly in a lot of trouble, and should be counting your blessings if you knew what my son and his friends are capable of." Looking up, she nodded at Amethyst. "Stoick and I will deal with him from here, at least until Hiccup and Hawken show up again."
Amethyst sat back, before her eyes narrowed and she readied to protest. "I mean it, Amethyst," Valka warned, "as much as we might be entertained by your burning his britches off it's not going to do any good."
The Night Fury huffed in annoyance, before spreading her wings and taking off, heading for one of the lookout points above the village. Valka sighed, before turning to the befuddled Eret. "You've finally got what's coming to you after all these years," she toned. "Viggo know you're here as well?"
"No, luckily for you," Eret spat, only encouraging a chuckle out of Valka. "No," she returned, "luckily for him as he wouldn't get the softer treatment we'll grant to you, right Stoick?"
"Never heard of the other's name, but I think I've seen this one around before," the chief said, walking up with Thornado at his side. "Though I'm guessing you'd probably know best concerning the trappers. What do you reckon we ought to do with him?"
Valka began to speak, before the whistling noise of a Night Fury returned, and they all looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless glide in for a landing, and Hawken drop out of the sky with Teshra still on his shoulder, sending dust rolling through the plaza. "They were there to see what happened; why don't we let them decided?" she suggested.
Eret cringed at the look Hawken gave him, something akin to a whimper escaping his lips.
With Eret handed over for proper reprimand, Toothless had been let free by Hiccup, on the condition he found a way to clear the air between him and Amethyst. He found the female Night Fury sitting off on her own on the bluff above the village proper, gazing off across the ocean with an unreadable expression. There was clearly a mood hanging in the air around her; not even Teshra had come up to try and console her sister.
Despite all of the warning bells going off in his head, Toothless landed softly a ways behind her and slowly walked up to her side, sitting down. Silence reigned for a moment before he spoke.
::I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier today,:: he said quietly. ::In the end it's my fault that you got dragged into this whole mess with Eret and company.::
Amethyst smiled faintly as she glanced his way. ::Did Hawken tell you to come up and say sorry?:: she inquired.
::No, he's busy down at the arena chewing out the trappers; the rest finally sailed in as well.:: Toothless chuckled at the thought before growing serious again. ::Alright, so Hiccup did a little prodding, but I mean it, I'm sorry. I finally got it into my head that I was wrong, way wrong, not long after you and Teshra flew off, and when she came back to let us know that you…I…well…::
Now it was Amethyst's turn to chuckle. ::Oohhh, I see. You cared about what happened to me, didn't you?:: she teased, smirking.
Toothless immediately began stuttering. ::Well, I, uh…now come on, I thought you were in danger, and since I drove you out there I felt like I was obligated to go and help…:: he trailed off as Amethyst's look turned deadpan and serious. A moment passed, the male taking in a deep breath before slowly letting it out, and then he looked at the ground, tail curling in on himself.
::Yeah, okay, so maybe I…I care a little,:: he muttered quietly, clearly blushing under his dark scales. Glancing around, he continued sheepishly, ::I don't want to see you get hurt, and definitely not because of me. Not just because we're the last two of our kind, but because I…I…:: He looked up, and then glanced away again, embarrassed. ::Never mind.::
::No, not never mind,:: Amethyst replied softly, leaning over and nudging him. ::It's kind of endearing, actually.::
Toothless' ears perked up slightly. ::I'm not being embarrassing?::
::No worse than your regular self,:: Amethyst teased again.
::Hey!:: Toothless protested, sticking out his tongue. The female only chuckled.
::And honestly,:: she continued, ::I'm glad you came as well. I heard mention that you bolted as soon as Teshra finished telling you guys what had happened.:: A smile graced her features again. ::I might, just might, care to call you a little more than a friend as well.::
Toothless smiled at that, and they leaned together, nudging each other reassuringly. Amethyst pulled back shortly after however. ::You tell anyone though and I'll throw you from one end of Berk to the other, Alpha or not,:: she warned half-jokingly.
::Well, same goes to you,:: Toothless returned. ::If Hiccup, Hawken or, heaven help us, Cami or the twins catch wind of that, then we'll never hear the end of-::
A quiet chuckle, followed by a rustling of leaves, caused both of them to jolt upward and turn to look at the bushes behind them. A flash of orange and black showed itself for just a moment, before it disappeared down the hill. Toothless glanced down into the village, and spotted Hiccup in the streets below, right where the tiger was headed.
::Oh, no.::
A/N-This may well be the longest chapter I've yet typed up in one go...though I doubt that record will last long. So, we've got another familiar face, some more Amethyst-Toothless interaction, and...well, what do you think? Let me know in your reviews!
P.S. Perhaps I shouldn't post spoilers, but: this isn't the last we've seen of Eret, son of Eret :D
