Chapter 14

Ever seen a parrot? Like one of those birds that pirates (which everyone know are just a madder form of Viking) apparently carried around on their shoulders? Not me. Not in person, at least. There were always those little carving the traders brought along, but never the real deal. I would just have to settle for Nadders, then. Those dragons were definitely birdlike, and as colourful as the parrot drawings I had seen. Although they had a lot more spikes.

But before you ask, no, there's no important reason to mention that. That was just where my thoughts had wandered after watching Astrid swoop down onto the docks with Stormfly. The dragon had flicked her wings out in preparation of landing, reminding me of an osprey about to take a plunge, leading me to think about birds in general. Hence, parrots. But thoughts of pirate-accompanying, obnoxious birds were wiped from my mind when Astrid approached Dad and I with a clear intent to deliver a report.

"Well?" Dad prompted her.

Sounding confused by her own words, Astrid said, "They say they're fishermen."

"Bearing our flag?"

"They were worried about being attacked by the other tribes."

Okay . . . this wouldn't be the first time that had happened. Both the attacking of non-Viking vessels and the fake flag bearing. Usually, we Vikings could still tell apart our own by the much-harder-to-imitate boat designs, but like I had said earlier, the Meatheads weren't the brightest bunch. Still, in light of everything else, the odds were low that these were some shivering fishermen using us as a shield.

Dad turned. There was a small audience behind us. Some older Vikings, mostly those that would be accompanying us tomorrow, were there, along with the other riders. There was Gothi, too, frowning, still as a Terror crawled around her shoulders.

"Come." Dad clapped his hand on Astrid's shoulder. One look told the others that they were not to follow. I, of course, being Berk's technical heir, followed anyways.

We walked up the path toward my house. Once, everyone else was out of earshot, Dad asked, "Do you believe them?"

"No," Astrid said bluntly. "They're hiding something. They were too . . . guarded to be just fishermen. They weren't hostile, but they kept looking around like they were expecting to be attacked."

"That isn't an unrealistic assumption on their part," Dad admitted.

"Yes, but they weren't watching for ships or an army. They were watching the sky."

There was a minute twitch of Dad's jaw. "Did they know you were Berkian?"

"I don't think so," she said. "And I was careful to leave Stormfly out of sight. They associate that place with dragons."

"They must know something, then."

But of course. Apparently everybody knew something but us.

Dad said, "We'll investigate again at nightfall. Me and you, Astrid."

I whined.

But Dad shook his head. "I'm not planning to talk to them, or to be seen. You stay, Hiccup."

Sullenly, I extended a wing. Even though I stood directly in the sunlight, there was no reflection to be seen. Instead, the interlocking scales seemed to absorb light, to literally remove it from existence. Black. Pitch-black. If I had known how to fly, it would have been perfect.

Before I could even put on my pouting face, I smelled something. Dad and Astrid, being as tall as they were (and ahead of me), didn't see me bristle like a dog. Don't worry, there was no danger. Yet. Hard to tell with them . . .

They must have seen me, because when I dashed towards the source of the scent, I could hear the slapping of feet against the ground. I didn't bother to chase. My legs were too short to keep up.

But that didn't mean this was over.

There was no sky, tonight. No moon, no stars, just a black void of nothingness. Still, there was easily enough light to see by, even without the torches. There was no yellow though, and what pink remained was barely that – more a purple, at best. Even the orange fires struck my eyes as being ruby, or else too bright to see.

It literally hurt to stare at them. They gave off that same blinding, shard of light that the sun would on a bright day, and a colourless, white halo circled them. I guess that was the drawback of being able to see in the dark; no fireside parties for me, but hold one in a dark alley and I was good.

Berk was blue, purple and grey. Like someone had leeched the colour out of my flame and smeared the village with it. They were nice colours. Easy on the eyes.

A shadow stirred in the town square. Against a backdrop of firelight, Stormfly was beating her wings in anticipation. Her shadow swayed dangerously; as the light shifted, it occasionally outlined the edge of a Viking. Not Astrid, though. No, the shadow was much too big for that.

I didn't need to smell him to identify him. Thornado may not be around anymore, but he had chosen Dad for a reason. Dragons, I'd noticed, seemed to gravitate towards those who were like them. And Dad and Thornado were both . . . loud. Well, Dad didn't have supersonic vocal abilities, but he could still burst an eardrum or two when he was angry. Especially when you were a dragon. Dad's voice had this low undertone that let it ride the air like a Thunderdrum surfing the waves. It carried far; sometimes, I swore that even the earth rumbled with his voice. And it was that rumbly voice I was hearing right now.

"Are you ready, Astrid?"

"I am." I heard Stormfly cluck as well. "Is Hiccup sleeping in his nest again?"

Of course he told her. That wasn't a surprise.

"He was last I checked."

Leather slid against scales as they prepared their dragons.

Astrid sighed. "He's watching us, isn't he?"

"Of course he is." Dad scanned the rooftops as he very loudly said, "The boy doesn't know when to give up. Not when dragons are involved."

Astrid waved in the opposite direction of where I was. "We're fine, Hiccup. You don't need to come along. That means no coming after us, either."

"Hiccup can't fly," Dad said. "So, unless he manages to sneak up on us . . ."

Astrid's giggle tickled my ears. "He could be hiding in your beard."

"Hmm. It is getting a tad long, isn't it?"

"I'm just joking. You look fine, sir."

They shot a few more remarks in my direction, all while trying to spot me along the darkness. But, they were right. I wasn't going to be flying after them, and there was no way I was taking Toothless for a night flight like this. That being said, I wasn't the only other one with a dragon . . .

And judging by the shift in the air, they had just arrived.

Just as Dad and Astrid took off on their dragons, my sharp eyes traced out three silhouettes in the shadows. A few moments passed, and then Snotlout and the twins crept out into the square. Snotlout shielded his eyes as if it were day as he stared upwards.

With all the noise they were making now, I was surprised Astrid and Dad hadn't spotted them. But, to give credit where credit's due, when the three of them got their mind to do something they weren't supposed to, then their abilities seemed to gain a one hundred percent jump – especially the twins. Snotlout whistled short and loud, and then Hookfang lumbered out into the open, followed by Barf and Belch.

I sighed. Here we go.

They didn't see me enter. The dragons definitely smelled something, but my scent was familiar enough that they didn't freak out. I made it all the way to Snotlout's foot, and then cleared my throat.

"Hey, guys."

Snotlout twitched. "Uh, did you guys hear something?"

Tuffnut said, "Yeah . . ."

I shouted, "Here! I'm down here!"

Snotlout looked down.

Next thing I knew, I was on my back, with a bruise growing on my chin. Not that my scales would let you see it.

"Oooo . . ." Ruffnut and Tuffnut had their 'Somebody's in trouble' faces on. Snotlout scowled, and took a step back from the scene of the crime.

"He shouldn't have snuck up on me!" he complained.

"And you guys shouldn't be here." I rolled back to my feet, resisting the urge to rub my sore chin. I knew I had smelled them earlier today.

"Do you think he's going to tell?" Tuffnut asked.

Ruffnut shrugged. "How can he? He –"

I screeched.

It lasted about half a second. I could have gone longer, but Snotlout clamped down on my snout and snapped it shut.

Snotlout hissed. "We'll take you along if you stay quiet!"

Not the result I had expected, but still acceptable!

The one downside was that apparently I had to ride with Ruffnut. I mean I would rather be with Barf and Belch than Hookfang, since he wasn't the most . . . obedient dragon. But still, Ruffnut? Ugh, I really wish Tuffnut would have been more motivated to annoy his sister, since apparently I was going to spend the rest of the night being cuddled by an overly aggressive Viking.

Night flying had always been different from flying in day. It was colder for one, and the skies tended to be less crowded. Most birds preferred the daylight, and the only dragons that tended to be out now were ones from the Strike or Tidal class. If you looked downward, you could see some of the latter. They would breach from time to time, appearing as dark blobs on an otherwise smooth sea of silver.

The ride there was pretty quiet. The twins squabbled a bit, but it never lasted long. Snotlout didn't seem to have the patience to side with either of them; I was actually surprised at how focused he was. Like he had taken his whole situation personally. Hookfang, on the other hand, had already made two attempts to fly off course, and Snotlout barely managed to keep him on track.

Just as the Meatheads had claimed, there was a ship docked by the witch's hut. The Meatheads must have seen this ship from a distance if they thought it was ours. This was a double-sail boat, and all of ours had a single sail. And the sail shape was odd too; like a quarter circle. Not as effective as ours, I was willing to bet. The bow was fairly close to the water; at least they had gotten that part right. There was a raised cabin area at the stern, and on the deck, what looked to be an entrance to a part below deck.

I counted three sailors, two of which were seated on crates, and the other was leaning against the railing. I was surprised that they were still awake this late, although the reason why became apparent when I picked up the faint scent of meat. But while the sailors were exactly where we had expected them to be, Astrid and Dad were not. My guess was that they were in hiding, waiting for the sailors to sleep before they investigated.

"So, what's the plan?" Ruffnut asked.

Before Snotlout could say anything, Tuffnut said, "I dunno. Climb over the side and hide behind those crates at the stern?"

Yep. Leave it to the twins to see the perfect place to eavesdrop.

"Hookfang's too big to get me that close," Snotlout said.

"Okay, then we'll do it. You keep watch, or something."

Ruffnut shifted me so that my spine slotted into her armpit. They guided Barf and Belch in, staying just above the waves. Snotlout and Hookfang hovered a bit, before heading to the shelter offered by the forest. I had a feeling he wasn't totally okay with this plan.

The twins – with me – hopped over the rail. They pressed up right against the crates in a way that I knew meant they had done this very action many times before. What a shocker. Tuffnut signalled for their dragon to leave, but Barf refused to move until Ruffnut did the same. That left us three, alone, on a boat with strangers. Just another day in the life of Berkians.

"I can't hear them!" Ruffnut complained.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Tuffnut hissed back.

"I don't know, genius. Maybe something not stupid?"

Yep. Even volunteering for a stealth-based mission couldn't stop these two. I head-butted Ruffnut to remind them I was there, then tapped my head. Dragon. Sharp hearing.

"Good idea. You go!"

Before I knew it, I had been shoved out into the open.

They still couldn't see me. My belly rubbed against the ground as I crawled forward. Slowly. Slowly . . . I only needed a few steps, just enough so that I could focus on them and not be bombarded by the twin's whispers. My ears swivelled, acting independently to fulfill my wish of being to hear what look to be a private –

"- believe we came out here for nothing."

Perfect.

That had been sailor number one, otherwise known as the sailor who was standing up. He reeked of sweat, even more so than the others, and fish. There was a strange growth on his head, and it took me a few seconds to realize it was just a funny hat. Seriously, it looked like the guy had stuck a vase on his head. The other two had hoods lined with the fur of some canine. I couldn't tell if it was dog or wolf. What I could tell, however, that it was a little excessive. All three of them were bundled up in thick coats; they couldn't have been from around here.

"So, what are we going to do now?" said sailor number two, aka. the one holding a strip of jerky. "The hag ain't here, and there's no note saying where she's gone . . ."

"Not our problem," sailor one said. "We're not the ones who have to pass on the news. That's our boss's job."

Far off in the distance behind him, on the island the witch's hut lay, I saw motion. Two figures, one with distinctive wings. Snotlout and Hookfang, looking for a place to hide. Actually, their hiding place was already sufficient; it was only my Night Fury vision that allowed me to see them.

"You think she ran?" our last sailor asked. "She might have caught wind –"

"Nah," sailor one said. "He wouldn't go out of his way to hurt her. Boss says she practically raised the kid after the dragons massacred his village."

The third sailor, the one holding a lantern, snorted. "And then he paid her back by stealing her dragon. Sounds like a true family to me."

Second sailor shrugged. First one said, "She was supposed to be working on something important for him. Seems like they're on good enough terms."

Working on something? Working on what? Did this have to do with the 'control' Fishlegs had talked about? In that case, it didn't seem like she had succeeded. That much was a relief.

"Whatever. It isn't our business. Hey, you want any mead?"

And the third sailor began walking right toward me.

I crouched low. The light from his lantern washed over me, but I remained invisible. He stopped right by the crates, pried the lid off one, and rummaged through it. His elbow jerked and twisted wildly, finally bumping the lid, which fell –

Right onto Tuffnut's foot.

"Huh?" The sailor leapt back. Tuffnut's groan had been quiet and brief, only enough that the sailor wasn't entirely sure wheather he had heard something. To make things better, his exclamation had attracted the attention of his friends. They stood too, and began to advance on the crates –

I leapt into the shadows, and then shot a fireball into the sky.

The diversion was enough. All possible stowaways were forgotten as their eyes flickered with the purple light of my flame. "Where did that come from?" one murmured, as they began to look around.

In the distance, I saw Hookfang rear up, clearly alarmed. But thank you, he stayed put –

Unlike Barf and Belch.

Upon seeing the fireball appear over the place where their riders were, the Zippleback had darted towards the boat in the quickest, most un-sneaky way he could. And those sailors, already expecting to see a dragon, saw him.

"Incoming dragon!"

"Good. At least we won't go back empty-handed."

Sailor two threw his jerky to the ground, and ran to the rail to man some sort of machine. It was mounted onto the ship, but could rotate on its platform. And its shape, it looked . . .

It looked like a crossbow.

The twins had peeked out and saw it, too. They were gesturing frantically for their dragon to go back, but either he couldn't see them, or had already made his mind up to 'protect' them. Toothless could get like that, too. But there was no Toothless, now. Just Barf and Belch, and a crossbow aimed right at them . . .

Sailor two grinned. "That's it. Come closer."

There was no choice.

I pounced.

"Argh!" My mouth filled with coppery liquid as I sunk my teeth in. I was off the sailor in a flash, running madly around the ship's deck – anything to stay out of sight.

"A rat! I think there's a rat!"

More lanterns were lit. Barf and Belch were close now, and the commotion appeared to have attracted attention on shore. Hookfang had spread his wings, but I had no idea if Snotlout had told him to, or not.

Then, I was illuminated in red. And this time, there would be no hiding.

"Is that a Night Fury?" sailor three asked.

"I'm not sure . . . Grab it!"

They lunged. The first two slammed into the deck, one right on top of the other, actually. I would have paused to laugh, but the last one was chasing after me, the light of his lantern following me like some creepy ghost. I ran back toward the crates, pressing my back against the wood as he closed in –

Clang! Ruffnut popped up from behind a crate, bowing her head just in time so that the sailor's head collided with her metal helmet. Next to her, Tuffnut laughed, "Bet he's going to feel that in the morning."

One of the sailors growled as he stood. Not a real growl, but that low, angry sound that makes somebody sound like they're in pain. Or trying to terribly imitate a bear. The twins didn't seem frightened by it; if anything, they were even more pumped up. But we were still outnumbered, and if the second sailor's descent into the cargo hold meant anything, they were armed.

"Time to go!" Ruffnut deftly scooped me up, and then the twins ran for the rail. They leapt gracefully into the air, soaring right above the wide-open sea. One of the sailors' mouths fell open. Then, our flight came to an abrupt stop as Barf and Belch came up from underneath. With practiced ease, the twins slithered up his necks until they were in their usual spot by the head.

"See ya, wouldn't want to be ya!" Tuffnut crowed.

They wound one victory lap around the masts and then headed out to sea–

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the mounted crossbows pointing right at us.

Review Responses:

vangian13: Well, this is the only place I can really respond to you... so what's your username, then?

havic: You mean apart from this one, or more chapters in this one focusing on Toothless and Hiccup?

Ninjastar2.0: Thank you! But no, there will be no superpowers for Hiccup. He's just your ordinary Night Fury...

Jazz: I believe that first question of yours has been answered. As for the other, I made up the Fiends, but Mogadon is from the books. (And yeah, it probably does on cats. They be crazy ;p)

Guest: Thank you!

kuraby: At this point, Hiccup doesn't really need any. Dragons are designed so that once they purposely breathe fire, the how to do it is engraved into their minds. Can't have them accidentally charring everything in sight now :)

Matt: I just keep hearing someone say "Ooooo" ;)

a random person: I imagine it would be the plot X)