Preparing to depart with her dragon Ash and her sister, Gina looked to Ember as she mounted the saddle. "We'll be back in the morning." She still looked a bit sore from what had happened between her and her father the couple hours prior. "We'll find the army, and check their progress…if they're anywhere near the village, Gina and I will find them." Holding onto Ash's saddle, an angry glare stood plastered on Gina's face. No one even stood up for me…what the hell is the use of having a twin sister if she never helps me when it really matters?

Noticing the angry look her sister wore on her face, Mia became concerned. "Hey Gina, you ok?" Reaching out a hand she was surprised to find her move away. What's with her? She could sense something resembling the feeling of anger and resentment emanating from where Gina sat on the saddle, but couldn't understand why.

Being so new to the world of sorcery and physic power had its disadvantages, and made it frustrating to not be able to decipher something as minimal as emotion.

Without a second glance, Gina led the way out of the village and into the rain.

"What's her problem?" Astrid walked up next to Ember accompanied by Hiccup.

"Oh, it's not entirely her fault…" Watching the two girls disappear around the corner on their dragons, she sighed. "I wasn't doing my job as her friend, and I let her get yelled at." A saddened look appeared on her face. "Well anyway, I should inform you all about what's going on. There's a lot to tell, and I'm afraid there isn't much time to tell it in."

Hearing the dangerous tone in his rider's voice, Marble could remember only one other time that she had been so serious. Something bad is about to happen… Nudging his snout under Ember's arm, he let out an anxious croon.

"I know you can sense it too…but fear is something normal." A smile crept across her face. "Just don't worry, and I'm sure we'll find a way out…just like always." Patting her worried companion on the head she was overwhelmed by a looming sense of doom. "If I can talk to Odin, then there must be something I can do."

With the rest of the group hot on her tail, Ember was taken a bit by surprise when Frankie walked up from behind and gave her a massively comforting hug.

"Um…that's just…to show you that you do have family that cares about you." Frankie backed up and walked with Alyssa.

"Yeah, and entire village worth." Hiccup nudged her with a slight smirk. I think anyone would aree that you've earned a place."

Without a word more being spoken, Ember led the group into the elders hut.

-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-

After nearly an hour of running through the damp forest, Mia and Gina had come across several un-settling sins of destruction. Several camp sites through-out the forest now lay destroyed and uninhabited.

Thought these sites were now uninhabited, they held some tragic and horrifying clues as to why that was. Blood stained the tarps and cloth which scattered the ground among many of the sights, and under mounds of dirt lay the remains of several people…some of them mere children.

"We're getting close." Picking up a broken razor blade, Gina looked back to Mia who was doing her best to avoid looking at the blood. "Why do you INSIST on coming on scouting missions with me if you can't handle a little blood? I mean you know there's usually blood on a scouting mission."

Holding her eyes closed, Mia groaned. "I come so I can keep an eye on you." Feeling around for Sierra, she grabbed onto the saddle and swung one leg over her back. "Let's just get out of here, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. We should go back while we still can."

"No, we still haven't found the barbarians the elder told us about…and until we do we can't give up." Holding her hand to the earth, Gina sighed in frustration. "UGH! Why can't I find them!"

"Uh, better question. Why do you WANT to find them?" Mia opened her eyes and growled looking into the grey sky. "Maybe they couldn't find it and they left, I mean…why go looking for a bunch of murderous, oppressive men?"

"What is it with you and men?" Turning toward Mia with fists curled, Gina glared at her sibling who didn't seem to notice. "I mean our dad's a man, and he's always treated you right!"

"Well yeah but still, it's not fair that he thinks men and women aren't equal…it's not right to patronize us just because of our gender." Sensing the anger level rising in her sister's ora, Mia looked to the stories she had heard from the elder for a way to calm her sister's nerves. "You know…there's an old story about a girl and her village Chieftain…She worked very hard to impress the Chief of her village, but only became disappointed when she was overlooked. Trying even harder to impress him didn't work wither, and by the time she had grown old and the chieftain had died, she came to realize that all he needed to do was stand up for herself." A break in the rain sent a breeze through the camp-sight. "If you want father to be impressed with you, then do something daring and stick up for yourself like I do. That's all it takes."

Thinking about this oddly wise advice, Gina laughed. "You know, I think you might be right about that." Talking up to Ash she didn't notice the odd anxious look on his face as he glanced seeming uneasy about something around them. "I mean fighting with him doesn't help…so maybe if I-"

Her words had barely passed her lips before a sharp pain shot through her side. What in the name of…the gods… Suddenly her body fell limp on Ashe's back, and a flood of warmth began to pass over her back and side. What is this…? Hearing a sudden scream, she attempted to focus on what had begun to happen around her.

She could see small objects flying through the air, and could suddenly feel the massive dragon beneath her lift from the ground. Her sister was shouting her name, but nothing made sense to her anymore. They were now shooting through the air at top speed, but as to what direction they were going she couldn't tell.

A few more shrieks rang deafly loud in her ears, and they sent a surge of fear coursing through her chest. Ash was hit, and now they were both plummeting to the earth. Soon however, she could no longer tell where she was or what had happened, and the only thing she could think of was the obvious fact that she had overlooked. In all her days as even a minor hunter, she had been the best at rapping her prey, yet she had remained oblivious to the trap she herself had fallen into.

She hadn't considered the fact that perhaps the enemy would be waiting for them…but how could they have known where they would be?

Everything went black in that instant.