Racing the Ice

The next day, every available advanced dragon rider, including the original group of six, rode out to look for sea ice, and to begin measurements of its progress. Hiccup's theory, which he shared with his father after the council meeting and with the riders that morning, was that if they could identify where the ice advanced more quickly, and how fast it moved across the surface of the sea, they'd have a better idea of exactly when fishing and sailing out of Berk would cease for the winter. Better to ride out and look for the ice while they could than to wait for the ice to show up, Hiccup explained.

Stoick, wrapped entirely in preparations for winter, agreed it would be good information to have for that year and future years, and set Hiccup and the others on the task that afternoon.

Hiccup, though he couldn't say as much to anyone, was glad for a day away from the forge. He'd be there most of the winter, and it wouldn't be awful, given that the forge always had a fire going. But he missed flying, especially after being ill for so long.

Toothless was equally ecstatic to have a long ride ahead of him, and tossed Hiccup up onto his saddle after they finished getting ready.

"Hiccup," Astrid asked quietly, so the others wouldn't hear. He had to lean down toward her to hear. "Are you sure you're well enough to ride this far?"

"Yeah," he replied, not bothered at all by her asking. Not many people asked after his health. Most people, like Gobber or Stoick, yelled at him as a way of showing they cared. He didn't mind the more rare question asked out of soft concern.

Particularly not from Astrid.

"I've got a version of a new helmet I'm working on, and it covers my face so the cold air shouldn't hurt." "See you later, then. When I beat you back to the island."

"Beat me? Not a chance."

"I will beat you, and by so much time, I'll be able to light the fire in your house before you've landed."

Hiccup had no idea what to say to that. He stared at her, confused. Astrid, embarrassed beyond all possible measurement, walked over to Stormfly to check her saddle and the attachment behind it that held her axe.

Within a few moments, every dragon and rider were airborne and headed in different directions. Each of them had a route to follow from Berk, some hugging the coast and others straight out to sea. Using compasses and copies of Hiccup's map, they were to fly until they saw ice, mark the location as best they could on the map, then approximate the time it took them to return to Berk from that point. Hiccup would take all their reports and measurements and try to draw a master diagram of the ice and its progress toward Berk. Then, in a week, they'd fly out again, repeating the process until the ice was close enough that they didn't need to measure its progress any longer.

The twins and Fishlegs headed off in one direction, because trusting Ruff and Tuff to remember directions was a bad idea, but relying on Fishlegs to fly further than usual wouldn't be effective either. The twins would push Fishlegs past his usual boundaries, but Fishlegs would remember to mark the map once they spotted ice.

Snotlout and some of the younger riders flew off toward the forest to start their search on the sea that bordered the other side of the island. Astrid, Hiccup, and some of the riders from last year's class headed straight out from the harbor, beginning at the same point but angling their flight paths enough that within moments, they were flying away from each other, and from Berk.

It didn't take long to find ice. The north wind blew large chunks of it into the sea, and worked to chill the surface until it became solid. That wind was pushing toward Berk with every intention of reaching it soon. The two younger riders who headed out to sea, Balder and his cousin, Gunvor, found ice within an hour's flying, and turned their dragons around to mark the time back to Berk.

Astrid wasn't much more than an hour away when she saw the first chunks of white floating in the sea, and she and Stormfly flew large arcs to their left and right to try to see where the line of ice began, and how it held together as the sea and the wind pushed winter closer to Berk. The ice's progress followed a wavering line, and she began to mark different points of her map using a compass and the amount of time they'd been flying.

Stormfly crowed at a particularly large block.

"It is big, you're right about that," Astrid replied. "But the ice seems to be on schedule. No surprise early winter for us this year."

Stormfly shook her head, her quills vibrating in the cold wind, and called out loudly as they flew down to the largest block of ice, circled it once, then rose back into the sky to fly back to Berk.

The afternoon sun was sliding toward the horizon behind them as they flew, and the air was clear and cold. Astrid ducked down as Stormfly picked up speed, but raised her head in surprise when she saw Toothless and Hiccup approaching from their right.

It was race time. For sure.

Then she saw Hiccup wave to her.

She and Stormfly leveled off alongside Toothless, who greeted Stormfly with a happy growl.

Hiccup removed his helmet, his hair in epic disarray.

"The air is so clear, sound carries farther than I expected. I heard Stormfly's calls but you were nowhere in sight."

"Yeah, she found some huge pieces of ice in the sea. Didn't you, girl?"

Hiccup looked back at the sea over his shoulder. "Amazing."

"I didn't see you until just now. You could hear us from that far away?"

"Yeah. The sound of her voice carried over the water, I guess. It was like you were right next to us. Scary."

"Wow," Astrid said, then frowned at him. "Wait, why would that scare you?"

"It was so close. Like you were right next to me. I didn't expect that."

"...and?" Astrid frowned at him. Why would that be scary?

"I wasn't worried, Astrid. Anything that comes your way, you can more than handle it."

"This is true," Astrid said. "But you should be worried anyway."

"I should? Why?" Astrid nudged Stormfly with her ankles.

"Because I'm so going to beat you home. See you back on Berk!"

She dropped low in her saddle, and Stormfly dove down toward the water, then picked up speed as they flew. Stormfly's wings pushed them faster and faster through the icy air. The wind became a roar in her ears, and Astrid could feel her braid trailing behind her in the wind.

Within a few seconds, Toothless and Hiccup were alongside her, then above her, flying upside down above their heads. Astrid looked up over her shoulder and Hiccup waved at her.

"Are you kidding me?" She shouted at him.

Hiccup's helmet was on, obscuring his face, but she could see his eyes. He was smiling down at her.

If she sat up, she could smack him on the head.

But before she could reach up and whack him, Toothless tucked his wings and spun off to Astrid's left, down toward the water. Stormfly chased them, diving around Toothless as they spiraled through the air, increasing their speed.

Astrid could hear Hiccup laughing as Toothless teased Stormfly, and when Stormfly flew low over Toothless, Astrid reached down over Stormfly's wing with her axe handle and tapped Hiccup on the head, knocking his helmet askew.

"Hey!" He moved the helmet back into position and glared at her.

"Aw, poor, stubborn, hard-headed viking. Are you all right?"

"You are so going to pay for that."

They dove and twisted, trying to interfere with one another's flight path as their dragons tried to increase speed. Riders and dragons both called out to one another with laughter and snarls, and the sound carried on the water around them.

Then Toothless and Hiccup took off into the sky, going straight up toward the clouds.

"We've got him this time, Stormfly," Astrid shouted as they flew low across the water, picking up speed. She didn't know what Hiccup was thinking, but this race was theirs to win. Flying up meant they'd have to fly farther, whereas she could just make out the buildings on the island up ahead. Stormfly's wings cut through the air, and the cold was no match for their speed.

Then, she felt a sharp tug on her braid just as Toothless and Hiccup twisted past them, plummeting toward the sea in a spiral.

"Got you!"

"Hey! Hiccup!"

Toothless threw open his wings, and they slowed immediately. Hiccup and Toothless turned toward Berk, flying directly underneath Stormfly in the narrow space between her claws and the water below.

Astrid and Hiccup crossed their finish line, the two fire sentries off the rocky coast of Berk, at the same moment, leaving a thin trail of mist behind them.