Blindsided
Serenity was sitting on Tenor's back at the edge of a clearing at the base of the mountain. Astrid and Hiccup were working on training the Triple Stryke. They were having little luck as Sleuther was still wild and scared. He kept lashing out with his three barbed tails, and shooting fire. Serenity watched rather sadly. She wanted to help train him, but Hiccup and Astrid insisted they could do it without her. Tenor couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He knew they weren't doing it to just be mean, he understood their reason for not allowing her to help. But he wished Serenity would be happier. They watched the training in silence. Sleuther charged at Hiccup. Toothless ran between his rider and the Stryke, ready to fight back.
"Toothless, no," Hiccup said. "We're trying to train it." Toothless backed off.
"How can we train it if we can't even get close to it?" Astrid asked from the back of Stormfly.
"Well you can't blame him," Hiccup said. "The last humans he dealt with forced him to fight other dragons to the death."
"Hiccup maybe we should make room for the possibility that the Triple Stryke is untrainable," said Astrid.
"We're making progress, we just have to find a way to get to him," Hiccup said. "To get him to fight with us and not against us."
"I could help," Serenity said, almost begging now. Hiccup sighed. He knew Serenity wanted to help, but he didn't want her to do their work for them either.
"I'll tell you what Serenity," Hiccup said. "If you let us train this dragon, then I promise you can help us train the next one. We'll no doubt find new ones." Serenity took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.
"All right," she said. She dismounted and sat on the grass at Tenor's feet. The only reason she was there to begin with was because her medical bag had the antidote to the Triple Stryke's venom. She leaned against a fallen tree and looked up at the sky. Dark storm clouds had rolled in and Serenity could smell rain in the air. She didn't glance around when Fishlegs flew up to them and alerted them to the coming storms. Rain started to fall. Hiccup and Astrid mounted their dragons and flew off with Fishlegs. When they were gone Serenity got to her feet again. She didn't even notice the rain, it suited her mood perfectly. She looked over at Sleuther. He seemed calmer now that there were fewer humans around. Serenity walked over to him.
"What are you doing?" Tenor asked.
"I refuse to sit around and do nothing," Serenity said. "I'm going to at least say hello to him." Tenor swallowed his protest. Serenity got closer to the wild dragon. He looked up at her. He growled.
"You're all right Sleuther," she whispered. "I'm not apart of the group that lives here." Sleuther relaxed a bit. He seemed surprised at a human speaking to him in his own tongue, but didn't say anything about it.
"You're getting wet," he said. "You should find shelter."
"I will," Serenity said. "Being wet doesn't bother me much." Sleuther tilted his head.
"Does the rain make you sad?" he asked. "You look very sad."
"No, the rain's fine," Serenity said. "I don't like being useless. I'm not really supposed to talk to you."
"Are those humans mean to you?" Sleuther asked.
"No, they're nice to me," Serenity said. "They just want to get to my level without my help."
"But they make you sad," Sleuther said, it wasn't a question.
"Not intentionally," Serenity said. Thunder boomed overhead.
"We should get back to the base," Tenor said. Serenity turned back to him.
"Will you come back and see me again?" Sleuther asked. Serenity smiled.
"If I can," she said. Sleuther took off. Serenity rejoined Tenor and mounted him.
They flew back to the outpost. Astrid was telling everyone what to do as they all readied the place for the storm fronts heading their way. Astrid spotted Serenity landing Tenor on Skywalker's deck. The airship had been moved to the cliff next to the outpost so it was less exposed to the lighting. Astrid landed Stormfly beside them.
"Hey, why don't you guys head to the clubhouse, it's more stable," Astrid said.
"All right," Serenity said wearily. "I just want to tie this ship down, so the wind doesn't blow it away." Astrid helped tie the ship down. When it was secure Serenity flew up to the clubhouse. She went in and dismounted. Tenor went to a corner and laid down. Serenity sat beside him. They waited for the others. More thunder boomed outside.
"You're still sad," Tenor said.
"Ah, it this storm," Serenity said. "Reminds me of that storm all those years ago." Tenor's eyes softened. "It started just like this one." She clutched her locket in her fist.
"It won't last forever," Tenor said. "Then we can go flying again. We can even fly blindfolded if you want." That made her smile.
"I hope I haven't lost my touch," she said.
Before long the riders filed into the stables. Toothless was the only dragon with them, since he didn't have a stall. They closed all the doors and locked them. Astrid turned to Hiccup.
"Did you drop off the food and water?" she asked.
"Yup," Hiccup confirmed. "All the troughs are full." Fishlegs closed the last door.
"All the dragons are safe in their pens," he said, slightly out of breath.
"Did you close the main doors?" asked Astrid.
"Of course," said Fishlegs, but then he got nervous. "But then again I might not have." Astrid sighed.
"I'll go check," she said.
"I'll go with you," Tenor said. Astrid didn't protest and the two of them left the clubhouse. Astrid zip lined down to the stables and Tenor flew down beside her. Just then a lightning bolt struck the roof of the stables, setting on fire. Astrid opened the doors. The roof started caving in. The dragons were panicking in their stalls. Astrid and Tenor split up and started letting the trapped dragons out of their stalls. They quickly flew outside as more debris fell. Soon most of the dragons were released, including the Night Terrors that were taking shelter in there as well. Astrid spotted one last Night Terror stuck in a stall with a beam blocking his way out.
"Tenor over there," Astrid said, alerting Tenor. They ran over to the stall. Tenor blasted the beam and Astrid pried the door open as another lightning bolt struck the building. The Night Terror flew outside. Tenor headed for the door with Astrid right behind him. She made it to the door when lightning hit the deck just inches in front of her eyes. One minuet she saw Tenor's retreating tail, and the next all she saw was darkness.
Tenor ran outside when he heard the lightning hit. He turned around in time to see Astrid flying backwards. She hit the floor of the stables and lay there unmoving. Hiccup and Toothless landed beside Tenor.
"Astrid!" Hiccup cried. He jumped off Toothless and ran over to Astrid. "Tenor what happened?"
"I don't know my back was turned," Tenor said. "She must have gotten knocked back by that lightning bolt." More debris fell. Hiccup picked Astrid up and carried her to Toothless. He got her onto the saddle and got on behind her. They took off and flew back to the clubhouse.
Once they were inside and the doors closed, Tenor returned to Serenity's side. Hiccup laid Astrid on her back with her head resting on a pillow.
"What happen?" asked Fishlegs.
"I don't know," said Hiccup. "Tenor?"
"The stables were on fire and collapsing," Tenor explained. "We freed the dragons. I made it out just before a bolt of lightning hit the deck. I turned around and Astrid was on the floor."
"Where's Hookfang?" Snotlout asked.
"Did you see Barf and Belch?" asked Tuffnut.
"I'm sure all the dragons are fine," Hiccup said. "They got spooked by the storm and flew off. But they'll be back. Right now I'm worried about Astrid." They all looked down at her. Astrid's face was all black from the smoke. Just then she came around and opened her eyes. But her eyes automatically went wide and blank.
"Hiccup?" she said, sitting up. "What's going on? Why's it so dark in here?" Everyone went silent.
"It's not dark in here," Hiccup said with a sense of dread.
"What do you mean? It's pitch black. I can't see a thing," Astrid said. She sounded genially scared. No one said anything. Astrid got to her feet and stumbled about like a mummy with her arms outstretched. "Someone say something." Tenor let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Guys let me talk to her," Hiccup said calmly. The riders went to the opposite side of the room, just out of earshot. Serenity sat down in the farthest corner and put her hat over her eyes. Tenor flew up to the ceiling and perched on the rafters. Hiccup guided Astrid to a chair, sat her down in it, and sat in a chair beside her.
"What's happening to me?" Astrid asked shakily.
"Whatever it is I'm sure it's temporary," Hiccup said. "You remember when Bucket lost his sight, he got it back."
"And now he wear's a metal bucket on his head," said Astrid. "Permanently."
"Look when the weather clears we'll fly to Berk and see Gothi," Hiccup said. "I'm sure she'll have a solution." Astrid took a deep breath.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do," she said. Hiccup took her hand in his.
"I can't imagine what this might be like for you," he said. "We're going to find a solution. But for now you need rest."
"No, I need to find Stormfly," Astrid said, scared again. "She's out there alone and scared, all the dragons are."
"And we're going to find them," Hiccup assured her. "But you need to rest first." Astrid gave in, since she did feel worn out. She laid back down on the spot she'd woken up in earlier.
"Hiccup, are you still there?" she asked.
"Yes I'm here," Hiccup said softly.
"Will you and Toothless stay with me until I fall asleep?" Astrid asked.
"Of course," Hiccup said. "We're not going anywhere." Toothless laid down beside them, curling his tail around them. It all fell silent after a while. Toothless looked up where his cousin was still perched.
"You think Astrid will get her sight back?" Toothless asked softly in dragontongue, knowing Tenor could hear him clearly.
"Maybe, maybe not," Tenor said. "But being blind doesn't make one helpless. I know a dragon back home that was born blind. She can't see a thing yet she knows every inch her house and crop fields. She's also one of the best fighters in her village."
"She uses sounds and smells?" Toothless asked.
"Yup," Tenor said. "Her sense of smell would put a Rumblehorn to shame, and her ears can pick up sounds even I can't hear. She has also memorized every texture."
"That does sound pretty cool," Toothless said. "What's her name?"
"Tamarin," said Tenor.
"It must be so hard being blind," Toothless said.
"At first," Tenor said. "But Tamarin says loosing one sense makes your other ones much stronger. Even if Astrid has lost her sight for good, she still has four other sense she can see the world in different ways."
"That's true," Toothless agreed. "Like when you and I have to rely on my hearing when it's too dark to see."
"Yeah," Tenor said.
"But do you think there is away to fix Astrid's eyes?" Toothless asked.
"That is not a question for me," Tenor said. He looked down at his rider, who was now asleep.
"Why is she so unhappy?" Toothless asked, also looking at Serenity.
"She wants to travel again," Tenor said. "She also doesn't want to be useless."
"Maybe you can take her out and find a new dragon species," Toothless suggested. "I mean no one's keeping you trapped here. I'm sure there's lots of new dragon species out there that these riders haven't found yet. I get a feeling in my gut Viggo isn't going to last much longer."
"Especially with Re planning to bring in the Mountainback dragons," Tenor said. "No one can take them down."
"Who are they?" Toothless asked. "That name sounds familiar."
"They're a team of five dragons," Tenor said. "They're stronger than Thor, and their scales are harder than diamond. They only have one female and the rest are male. They live in high mountains and can go a whole year without food."
"Oh, I've heard of them," Toothless said. "They're Lord Draco's hunting pack. They're immune to everything, and are loyal to Draco and any of his soldiers. I remember the Red Death tried to hire them to take me out since I was trying to sabotage her nest. But they refused because they never kill a fellow dragon, and I was apparently being protected by Draco himself." Tenor looked confused.
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't know," Toothless said. "I guess he knew I'd make friends with Hiccup and create an alliance with humans, and take out the Red Death." Tenor yawned and stretched his wings.
"Well, we have a long storm to sit through," he said.
"You should tell Astrid about that dragon, Tamarin," Toothless said.
"Good idea," Tenor said. "Should be inspiring." He laid his head on the beam and fell asleep. Toothless went back to watching the two humans.
The next morning, the storm had lifted for the moment. Tenor told Astrid about Tamarin, while everyone surveyed the damage. None of the dragons had returned.
"So this Tamarin has never seen anything in her life?" asked Astrid. "What must that be like?"
"She has never complained about it," Tenor said. "She has plenty of other ways to see things."
"So she doesn't know what you look like?" Astrid asked. Tenor could guess where this was going.
"She was nice to me," Tenor said. "Though her brother, Jambu, thinks his sister's disability is normal compared to me. Tamarin doesn't want a mate, she's perfectly happy on her farm with her brother."
"Does she fly?" Astrid asked.
"Only with in Draconia," Tenor said. "She hasn't concurred the world yet."
"How does she find her way home?" Astrid asked.
"She follows her own sent," Tenor said. "Like how one would follow their own footprints."
"How does she see without her eyes?" asked Astrid.
"She uses her other senses," Tenor explained. "She listens, smells, and feels. Similar to how Toothless and I see in the dark." At that moment Hiccup and the other riders returned.
"How are you doing Astrid?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm fine, but we can't be worrying about me," Astrid said. "Our dragons are still out there, alone and scared."
"You're right," Hiccup said. "We should all split up and look for them." The other riders left the clubhouse. Serenity went to Skywalker and prepared for any injuries. Hiccup looked at Astrid again.
"I'll look for Stormfly, you better wait here until you get your sight back," he said. Astrid scowled.
"No, I'm coming with you," Astrid said.
"I'm not going to let you go out there in your condition," Hiccup said. "And that's my final word, I'm putting my foot down." He folded his arms in a similar fashion he'd seen Stoic do. But Astrid got on Toothless's saddle anyway. Hiccup sighed in defeat.
"Tenor will you come with us?" he asked.
"Sure," Tenor said eagerly. Hiccup mounted Toothless in front of Astrid and the two nightly dragons took off.
They flew low over the trees, looking for Stormfly. Hiccup let Tenor be in front, so it was just him and Astrid, Toothless stayed focused on flying.
"Remind me to never put my foot again bud," Hiccup whispered to Toothless, who was only half listening.
"I can hear you Hiccup," Astrid said. "But I agree." Suddenly Toothless swerved to avoid a really tall tree, and Astrid nearly flew off the back of the saddle. Hiccup quickly grabbed her and pulled her back onto the saddle.
"You need to hold on tighter," Hiccup said. Astrid wrapped her arms around him. Hiccup couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt an attraction towards Astrid that felt stronger than usual. He wished he had some to ask about this stuff, but Stoic was on Berk and Re was looking for trapped dragons to rescue with Aurora.
The two dragons landed in the next clearing to try looking for Stormfly on foot. Astrid called for her dragon as they wandered through the woods. Soon they reached another clearing at the base of a tall cliff. Astrid called for Stormfly, and listened for any sign of her.
"As jittery as the dragons were I'm thinking they wanted to get as far away from the storm as possible," Hiccup said. "We should check the beach, down stream." He pointed to the stream that lined the trees.
"No, I know my dragon," Astrid insisted. "She's more worried about me than she is about herself. Which means she'll be trying to find her way back towards the Edge, upstream." She ran towards the stream, which she could hear very clearly, when her foot caught on a rock and she tripped.
"Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed. He ran to catch her but ended up on top of her. Astrid's blank eyes darted back and forth. They stayed like that in for a moment of awkward silence.
"So, you okay?" Hiccup asked, nervously. Astrid couldn't see Hiccup on top of her of course, but all her other senses told her that that's were he was.
"I'm fine," She said, just as nervously. "We should get going." Hiccup got to his feet and helped Astrid up. Just then there came a loud screech, and they all tensed up. But then Astrid recognized that particular screech and went closer to it.
"What are you doing?" asked Hiccup.
"It's okay, it's Stormfly," said Astrid. And sure enough the Nadder appeared on a ledge a moment later. Stormfly flew down and ran to her rider. Astrid hugged her beak.
"There's my girl," she said happily. But then Stormfly raised her head in alert, and growled. Astrid then heard a loud click.
"Hiccup above you!" Astrid said. Hiccup looked up to see the Triple Stryke roaring down at them. Sleuther pounced but was blocked by Tenor, who tackled him. He wrestled the bigger dragon to the ground. He didn't bite with his teeth, just his hard gums and strong jaws. Sleuther tried stabbing Tenor, but his barbs merely bounced off his armor. While the were wrestling Hiccup turned to Astrid.
"Astrid there's a rock formation ten paces to your left," he said. "Hide behind it and you'll be safe."
"Hide?" said Astrid annoyed. "I'm not going to hide." She called for Stormfly. Hiccup jumped onto Toothless and helped Tenor keep the Stryke at bay. Astrid felt around for Stormfly. But Stormfly stayed out of her reach. She picked Astrid up and carefully tossed her behind the rock Hiccup had pointed to. Suddenly Sleuther managed to get Tenor off him and charged the Nadder. Stormfly fought back, but Sleuther smacked his heavy tail in her face, stunning her. Then he turned to Astrid. Hiccup flew Toothless over to them, picked Astrid up and put her behind a different rock as Tenor tackled the Stryke again.
"Not fair Hiccup, so not fair," Astrid protested.
"We'll discuss this later," Hiccup said. Sleuther threw Tenor off him again and rammed Hiccup and Toothless out of the air. They hit the ground but were unharmed. Tenor jumped on the Stryke again, clamping his gums around the bigger dragon's neck.
"You need me Hiccup," Astrid demanded. "Admit it, you need me. Stormfly!" She felt around for her dragon, but felt nothing. "Stormfly?"
"It's okay, she's with me," Hiccup said. "We need her help and I can't fight this thing if all I'm doing is worrying about you."
"Fine," Astrid said grumpily, "I'll hide. Just what an experienced dragon rider should be doing in a time of crisis." She sat behind the rock, sulking. Hiccup turned his attention to the Stryke who was snapping is claws at Tenor, but Tenor was proving to be too quick. The nightly dragon rammed into the Stryke, knocking him off his feet. Tenor then lifted off the ground.
"Tenor, will you cover Astrid?" Hiccup asked.
"Oh come on," Tenor complained though clenched, back teeth. But he landed on the rock Astrid was hiding behind, still facing the Triple Stryke. He, Hiccup, Toothless, and Stormfly all fired at the wild dragon, aiming at the ground beneath his feet so he didn't get hurt. Eventually Sleuther got too overwhelmed and ran off.
Hiccup landed Toothless, dismounted and went over to Astrid. She wasn't happy at all.
"I think we scared it off for the moment," Hiccup said. "We should mount up and get back to the Edge." Astrid said nothing as she went over to were she could hear Toothless breathing heavily from the adrenaline. She put her hand on the saddle as if she was going to mount him.
"Um Astrid that's Toothless, don't you want to ride Stormfly?" asked Hiccup.
"I think she's made it pretty clear she doesn't want me riding her," Astrid said, her spirit draining. Stormfly looked a bit hurt by this.
"Astrid she was protecting you, she didn't want you in that fight," Hiccup said. "It's pretty cool actually."
"I'm having a hard time finding anything cool about any of this," Astrid said walking away. Hiccup followed her and gently grabbed her arm.
"I can only imagine what this must be like for you," he said softly. "You're, Astrid, you're strong invincible."
"Not anymore," Astrid said, turning to face him. "What if this is it for me. What if the rest of my life is like this?" She remembered what Tenor had said about the dragon Tamarin, but that dragon had a lot more experience. Hiccup gripped her arms firmly, and looked her in the eye.
"Then we'll deal with it," he said. "Just because you can't see doesn't mean you're helpless."
"But that's how I feel," Astrid said sadly.
"Astrid, you and I have been though everything together, you don't think we can handle this?" Hiccup said. "Astrid you have me, you always will. No matter what happens, there will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean I'm with you." A small silence followed. Somehow Astrid could feel Hiccup leaning towards her.
Tenor leaped off the rock and stood next to Toothless.
"They're so perfect together," Toothless said.
"I remember hearing something similar coming out of Re's mouth to Aurora," Tenor said. "When we were still dragonets, just a year shy of being full grown. Aurora was nervous about being queen, about letting her father down. Re told her that she wasn't in this alone, that they would have each other every step of the way and no matter what he would always come back to her. He probably said more, but I left."
"You mean you were just standing there eavesdropping?" asked Stormfly.
"Yeah, kind of like I am now," Tenor said. Stormfly changed the subject.
"Why would Astrid think I didn't want her riding me?" she asked. "Did she really think I was rejecting her instead of protecting her?"
"I'm sure she didn't really think that," Toothless said. "I'm sure she's grateful to you. She's probably just upset and stressed about her situation."
"Do you think I was too harsh?" asked Stormfly.
"You were fine Stormfly," Tenor reassured her. "You did what you felt was right. Any of us would done the same. That's what being a friend is all about, keeping them out of harm's way weather they like it or not." He chuckled softly.
"Thanks guys," Stormfly said. "You sure you two aren't brothers?" Tenor and Toothless exchanged a glance.
"Maybe," Tenor said. Just then he heard a faint click. He sighed. "Looks like our friend is back." He rolled his shoulders and took a fighting stance. Astrid had heard the click too.
"Did you hear that?" she said, alerted.
"I didn't hear anything," Hiccup said. The click came again.
"Behind you," Astrid said. Hiccup turned around in time to see the Triple Stryke hurling towards them. He blasted fire at them. Hiccup shoved Astrid out of the way.
"Okay, this guy's got to go," he said. Tenor, Toothless, and Stormfly faced off against the wild dragon as Hiccup put Astrid back behind the rock. She didn't protest this time and sat quietly. Hiccup then joined the three dragons pulling out Inferno. Sleuther fried at them, making them scatter. He then tried stabbing them with his three tails, but they dodged them. While they fought Hiccup turned to Toothless.
"Stress call bud," he said. Toothless shot a small blast into the sky, which could be seen from all over the island.
While they waited for the other riders they kept fighting the Stryke, keeping him off Astrid. They surrounded him. Rain fell again, putting out the fire on Inferno. Astrid meanwhile was pondering what Tenor had said about Tamarin, and about how he and Toothless could navigate the dark without seeing. They used other senses; hearing, smell, touch. She strained her ears as she listened to the fight. She could pick out the Triple Stryke by that loud clicking sound, that must be coming from his tail. She listened harder. She hardly noticed the sounds of the other riders arriving finally. She could only hear Snotlout and the Twins however, and no Fishlegs. She focused more on the Triple Stryke. She soon picked out a pattern with the dragon's attacks. Before each strike his tail would make the same clicking sound, and then she heard her friends running all over. It sounded like Tenor was able to stand his ground, but even he couldn't defeat the Stryke. Suddenly Astrid knew what to do.
"Stormfly come," she ordered. Stormfly heard this, and ran over obediently. Astrid felt her way onto the saddle and they took off. They spun around and went into an attack dive. Astrid heard the click and reacted immediately.
"Spine shot," she ordered. Stormfly shot her spins at the Stryke's feet. She heard his startled yelp.
"Astrid what are you doing?" asked Hiccup.
"I'm fine Hiccup," Astrid insisted. "I've been listening to you guys get your butts kicked and I'm sick of it, besides I have this dragon figured out." She listened to the Stryke again, and heard another click. "Again spine shot." Stormfly shot more spines, and the Stryke jumped backward. They kept this up until the Stryke was starting to sound frustrated, indicating that he was cornered. Astrid landed Stormfly and dismounted. She walked towards the Stryke.
"Astrid," Hiccup warned.
"Quiet Hiccup, I'm dealing with it," Astrid snapped at him. She heard Tenor snicker at that. She picked up two of Stormfly's spins and got closer to the wild dragon. She heard him click his pincers. Astrid clicked the spines together, making the same sound the Stryke kept making. Sleuther yelped in a confused way. Astrid clicked the spins again, and the Stryke gave a curious croon.
"She's using the clicks to distract it," Hiccup said, happily. Astrid stayed focused. She got closer to the Stryke, still clicking the spins. Soon she could hear him right in front of her. She slow reached her hand out to him. A moment later she felt the dragon's warm scales and his smooth nose horn. She smiled, satisfied.
Hiccup beamed. The others settled down as the Triple Stryke settled down.
"And that's how we get close enough to train it," Hiccup said.
"That was awesome," Tenor said.
"How did she do that?" asked Ruffnut, amazed. "She can't see a thing."
"She used her other senses," Hiccup said. "Hearing, smell, touch, her gut."
"Speaking of which, I'm sensing something big and out of control coming this way," said Astrid. And sure enough Hookfang came flying towards them with Fishlegs on his back. They crash landed in front of the others. Hiccup then turned to Tenor.
"Say do you think Serenity would have a cure for Astrid?" he asked.
"Why don't we go ask her," Tenor said. So the riders mounted their respective dragons and headed back to the Edge. Sleuther followed at a distance.
When they got there the clouds disbursed and the sun came out at last. Hiccup, Astrid, and Tenor landed on Skywalker's deck where Serenity was waiting.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"Serenity do you have something for Astrid's eyes?" Hiccup asked. Serenity stroked Tenor's neck.
"That depends on what she was blinded by," she said.
"It was the flash of lightening," Astrid said. "I guess I was too close to it." Serenity smiled.
"I'll get my bag," she said. "I believe I've got something." She got up from her chair and went over to her bag. Hiccup sat Astrid down in the empty chair. Serenity rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small vile of a clear liquid, and some bandages.
"What's that?" Hiccup asked.
"Skrill tears," said Serenity. "I remember Flash said they can fix an eye that's been overexposed to light, he's seen work before. Since there was no direct damage to the eyes this will help them heal faster." She opened the vile and pulled out the small metal rod. "This'll sting but you must not rub your eyes, that'll make the medicine leave your eyes and it won't work." Astrid nodded. Serenity gently tilted her head back so she was looking straight up. Serenity then gently dropped a few droplets into each of Astrid's eyes. It did sting, she gripped the chair so she wouldn't rub her eyes. Serenity then wrapped the bandage around her head, covering her yes.
"Skrill tears?" Astrid said.
"Yeah," Serenity said. "Skrills are around lightening all the time. Their eyes have evolved to be able to resist the overexposure lightening causes."
"That explains it," Astrid said. Serenity secured the bandage.
"There," she said. "You'll get your sight back in no time. Come back tomorrow and I'll take the bandage off."
"Thanks Serenity," Astrid said. Serenity closed the vile and put it away. Hiccup and Astrid mounted their dragons and took off. Tenor stayed where he was.
"Did you find all the dragons?" Serenity asked him.
"Yup," Tenor said. "Astrid trained the Triple Stryke, it was awesome. She had to use her other senses."
"Like Tamarin," Serenity said.
"Yup," Tenor said. He nuzzled her shoulder and she hugged him. "Are you okay?" Serenity sighed.
"I'll be all right," she said. "I have plenty of dragons to be friends with and I'll find a lot more. I am happy that I got to be useful in the end." She looked up at the vacant helm. "Do you think this ship will be used again?"
"Oh yeah," Tenor said. "Once Hiccup and Re figure out what they're going to do about Viggo."
"I hope this is all drawing to a close," Serenity said. "Then I'll be free."
"Aurora thinks so," Tenor said. "It won't last forever. Viggo will be defeated soon." He laid down beside the furnace and held open his wing. "Come here." Serenity curled up beside him and he put his wing around her. "You did good today. Even though it wasn't much." Serenity stroked his snout.
"Did you have fun out there?" she asked.
"I did," Tenor said. "No one was hurt." Serenity buried her face in his neck.
"When will Re and Aurora be back?" she asked.
"As soon as they can," Tenor said. "Don't worry about them. You should sleep now. We might be setting out to face Viggo again soon." Serenity closed her eyes obediently. They both fell asleep minuets later.
The next day the storms were miles away. The sun shone down on the outpost. Serenity and Tenor stayed together for the day. Near the afternoon Hiccup and Astrid came back onto the ship with their dragons. Serenity sat Astrid down in a chair and pulled out her bag.
"You feeling better?" Serenity asked as she untied the bandage.
"Almost normal," Astrid said. The bandage came away. Astrid's vision was blurry at first, but it soon cleared and she saw Hiccup looking at her with a nervous expression.
"Astrid?" he said. "Are you...?"
"Looking at you?" Astrid finished. "Yes I am." She smiled. Hiccup relaxed and smiled back. Serenity stepped back and stood beside Stormfly. The Nadder squawked happily.
"Thanks Serenity," Hiccup said. Serenity just smiled. She packed up her stuff and put her bag away.
"The others are working with the Triple Stryke," Astrid said. "You can go help if you want to."
"It's okay," Serenity said. "They're'll be more dragons for me to be friends with. I'll let this one go. Besides the skies are calling." She mounted Tenor and they took off.
Hiccup and Astrid flew up to the top of the airship's big, red balloon. They got off their dragons and sat on the balloon. The two dragons went back down to the deck. The sun was sinking towards the ocean. Serenity and Tenor were flying erratically over the bay and cliffs. Hiccup felt his attraction towards Astrid grow stronger.
"You feeling okay now?" He asked her.
"I'm fine Hiccup," Astrid assured him. "You can stop worrying about me."
"I always worry about you, that just the way it is," Hiccup said, relaxing. Astrid smiled in flattered way.
"I guess it's that way for me too," she said. They turned back to watching the sun and the black silhouette zipping back and forth over the water. Once they flew under the balloon, staying well clear of the fire in the furnace. They soared back out and headed for the tall mountain. Astrid turned to Hiccup.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked. "Back in the forest, when we were, you know."
"Yeah," Hiccup said. He had a pretty good idea of where this was going.
"Were you about to...?" Astrid didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't need to.
"Oh! You felt that huh?" Hiccup said.
"Well, why didn't you?" Astrid asked. Hiccup took a deep breath as he thought about his answer.
"It wasn't perfect," he said. "And I though if it ever happened, I wanted it to be perfect." Astrid looked out at the sunset again. The bright, yellow sphere was just touching the horizon, as though the horizon was supporting it. Astrid was so grateful to Serenity for curing her blindness so she could see the sun again. She smiled warmly, making a metal note to herself to repay the Dragon Healer for her kindness and skill. Astrid looked back at Hiccup.
"This seems pretty perfect," she said. Hiccup looked at the sunset as well. The temperature was dropping with the sun. But the balloon was kept warm and full by the fire in the furnace.
"Yeah," he said. He took another deep breath. The two of them smiled silently at each other. Hiccup gently pressed his lips to hers. Though the two had kissed before, this felt completely different. After only a few minuets they separated, their harts full of love. They wrapped their arms around each other, Astrid laid her head on Hiccup's shoulder, and they watched the sun set together.