Tone Death
Middle of the night; A cluster of isolated islands,
They'd left Dragon's Edge shortly before nightfall; now, their destination was in sight: A cluster of three islands rising out of the ocean, a few miles ahead of them. A full moon hung above; the sky otherwise clear, save for a few thin clouds.
Toothless slowed, turning to face the other dragons and riders. From his place, on the Night- Fury's back, Hiccup said; "Ok, gang: Stay with your teammate, and lock down your specific island; this dragon- hunter is sneaky."
"He comes in; transfers his cargo; and slips out, under the cover of darkness." Fishlegs elaborated. "Very mysterious."
"Very boring," Snotlout said; he gestured toward the islands. "Can we get to it?" Hookfang was already pulling ahead of the others.
They split up, into teams of two, and set off to search their designated island. Toothless shot after Hookfang and Snotlout; catching up with them, a few seconds later.
A few minutes later; Hiccup and Snotlout,
For the first few minutes, they flew in silence; then Snotlout said, "So: I need you to put in a good word for me, Hiccup."
"What; with who?" Hiccup asked. "And don't say 'Astrid'."
"Please: I am so over Astrid," Snotlout said, waving a hand absently, than pointing to Hiccup. "You can have her."
"Oh; I can, can I?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, thanks; I appreciate that." Toothless snorted, but said nothing.
"Anytime; I'm a giver." Snotlout pressed on, "Listen: I know Heather's been dying to approach me, but her fears got her… 'Scarred'."
"Yeah…" Hiccup said, managing to keep his voice even. "I don't think Heather gets 'scarred', Snotlout; besides, I'm not sure you're ready for a woman like Heather. She's far too … Uh; sincere, honest, brave."
"I can fake honesty, I can fake sincerity; I can fake all those things." Snotlout said; Hookfang just rolled his eyes.
"Oh, yeah… By the way: she's smart, too." Hiccup added, almost as an afterthought.
"I can fake being smarter-er!" Snotlout insisted; but Hiccup and Toothless were already out of hearing distance, beginning the descent to their island.
Astrid and The Twins,
Stormfly and Barf- and- Belch had arrived at their island, and were beginning their descent. Just as she was coming in for a landing, Stormfly stopped, suddenly, in midair. 'There's a Hunter- ship, just off shore.'
The sound of voices reached their ears: A group of Hunters, several crates, and a covered wagon were gathered together in a nearby clearing. And, better yet, the Hunters hadn't spotted them, yet.
Astrid signaled for Ruff and Tuff to stop. "I think we should move in slowly," she told them. "Preserve the element of–" The Twins shot past her before she could finish her sentence.
"Coming in hot!" Tuff exclaimed, as they shot toward the covered wagon.
"–Surprise." Astrid finished; she sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Well… So much for that!"
The Twins approached the wagon, and pulled off the cloth. "Voilà!" Tuffnut declared. Ruffnut grinned, "Dragon egg!"
Seconds later, the Hunters fire a volley of arrows; most of them hit the side of the cart. Ruff's and Tuff's eyes widen; they panic, and ran for cover. A Hunter charges forward, grabbed the cart handles, and starts pulling it in the direction of the waiting ship.
"Oh, no you don't!" Ruff and Tuff called, in unison. Barf- and- Belch breathed, and ignited, their gas cloud. The resulting fire blast narrowly missing the cart, and the egg.
Stormfly swooped toward them; and Astrid called, "Guys; we need to protect the egg, not fry it!" Rider and dragon turned, searching for the egg; spotting it on a rowboat, on its way toward the Hunters' ship.
Moments later, a voice called "Fire," but Stormfly dodged all of the arrows without incident. "Stormfly!" At Astrid's word, Stormfly launched a fire blast into the sky; it reached the limit of its range, it exploded: lighting up the sky, above their island.
A few minutes later,
The other riders and dragons immediately noticed Stormfly's signal flare, and began to converge on the Hunters' ship. "We're never going to get out of here!" one of the Hunters called, when he saw the dragons coming toward them. "It's the egg they want!" said another. "If it's the egg they want, give it to them!" the captain ordered.
From her place on Stormfly's back, Astrid watched as the Hunters loaded the dragon- egg into one of the ships' catapults. "Get ready to move, guys!"
Moments later, the order was given; and the egg went flying through the air. Ruff and Tuff shot towards it, shouting "We got it; we got it!" Snotlout shot in from the other side, "Back- off, dw-idiots; it's mine!" – The two dragons collided, and the egg sailed past them.
Fishlegs and Meatlug intercepted it next, managing to knock it back into the sky. Then Stormfly deflected it, off of her wing, toward Heather and Windshear – who were nearest to the ground.
"Heather!" Astrid called, as the egg sailed toward them.
Heather turned, and saw the egg sailing toward her; "Got it!" The egg sailed over her head; rolled down the length of Windshear's tail, and onto the grass. It continued to roll, until it teetered on the very edge of the cliff. Heather's eyes widened; "No!"
The egg vanished over the edge of the cliff. Then Toothless shot into view; Hiccup on his back, and the egg in his arms. "Well; that was fun…" he looked around, at the other riders. "Hey, I've got an idea: how about we get this back to The Edge."
"Agreed." Heather said, nodding. "That egg's had enough close calls for one night."
The following morning, an hour before noon; Dragon's Edge,
Much of that morning had gone into trying to find out what kind of dragon- egg they'd saved from The Hunters. "It's definitely not a Changewing egg…"
Fishlegs nodded agreement, "And Thank Thor for that!"
"And it's not the type of any of our dragons," Hiccup continued.
"Aw… Could you imagine Meatlug with her very own egg? It would be so cute!" Fishlegs asked, giving his Gronkle a hug.
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Fishlegs… Meatlug has had her own eggs; Berks' first Snoggletog with dragons, remember? The year–"
Snotlout chuckled, "The year you tried to give Gronkle- eggs as gifts, and–" He noticed Astrid glaring at him, and left his sentence unfinished.
Astrid turned, and gave Hiccup a warm smile. "I was going to say 'the year Hiccup and I got together'."
Heather blinked, "Hang on… Astrid; did you just say you and Hiccup got together during Snoggletog?"
Astrid smiled, and nodded. "I'll tell you about it later." – Heather grinned, and nodded.
Hiccup looked up from the Book of Dragons, smiled; and flipped a few more pages. "I don't think it's in here, Fishlegs; better check the Dragon- Eye notes again."
Fishlegs shrugged; "Ok, but I didn't see anything in there about eggs or hatch–"
At that precise moment, a series of cracking sounds drew everyone's attention to the egg; where it rested on a crate, next to the table. Lines appeared in the shell, and began to widen; then a final 'crack', fragments of eggshell were sent flying, and the baby dragon emerged.
The dragon's back, head, and wings were a yellowish- orange: its underside, a brighter shade of yellow. Short, ridged horns grew out the back of its head; and, in front of them, were two short stripes of darker- orange scales.
"What it that?" Fishlegs asked, staring at the newly hatched dragon.
"It looks familiar," Hiccup mused, "but I can't place it."
The mystery- dragon opened its mouth, and began to 'sing' a shrill song: causing dragons and riders, alike, to wince at the shrill notes. As one, the dragons elected to relocate to a stretch of cliff top, some distance from the clubhouse. Moments later, they were gone.
Fishlegs turned to Hiccup, "I liked him better when he was inside."
That evening,
The rest of the day passed with agonizing slowness; by that evening, the baby- dragon still hadn't stopped singing. Finally, Snotlout had had enough; "Will someone please shut that thing up?"
"Aw; it probably needs its mother," Heather sympathized. "Poor thing; all by itself!"
"That's what I was trying to say, because I'm so sincere!" Snotlout said, hurrying to join Heather. "Of course; these fools don't listen, but I listen." Heather took a step back, away from Snotlout.
Tuffnut; sitting on the floor, off to one side; suddenly said "I've got it!"
"What?" Hiccup asked, "What is it?"
"Garfenyorg!" Tuff announced, proudly.
Hiccup frowned, "What?"
Tuff shrugged, "His name."
"Who cares what you call him?" Ruff asked. "It's not like he'll listen to us anyway!"
"Chicken cares." Tuffnut insisted. "And it did come out of her!"
Hiccup sighed, "Tuff; she didn't actually… Never mind."
A little later; in the dragon- stables,
"Ugh; how are the dragons going to get any sleep with this little guy, here?" Fishlegs asked, when they gathered in the dragon stables; to try to get the new- arrival settled.
"It's them or us; Fish-face." Snotlout said, irritably. "But please: feel free to babysit that thing if you want!" He turned, and made for the door.
"Maybe I should stay with him," Heather suggested.
Snotlout spun around, rushed to Heather's side, and put a hand on her shoulder. "That's exactly what I was thinking; we're like two yaks in a stall, you and me!"
"Ugh," Astrid said. – A sentiment that, from her expression, Heather clearly shared.
"Maybe the dragons should stay with us tonight," Hiccup suggested. "If we close these doors, plug our ears, and sleep under our beds; we might just be able to catch a few winks." The baby- dragon uttered another shrill wail, and Hiccup sighed. "Yeah… Ok: Lets just get out of here, before our heads explode."
The riders and dragons turn to leave the stables; then Tuffnut's pet chicken waddles up to the dragon, and 'sings' a few notes. Immediately, the dragon- hatchling stopped crying.
"Oh, he stopped cry–" Hiccup blinked, and lowered his voice. "He stopped crying!"
Tuffnut nodded, "That's because Chicken sang to him; didn't you hear that? Ah, the set of pipes of that Chicken!"
Chicken resumed singing; moments later, the baby- dragon shot an amber- like gunk that encased Chicken from the neck down. A gunk that hardened, the moment it made contact. Then the dragon- hatchling lunged at Chicken!
"Bad dragon!" Tuffnut said, pulling his pet- chicken out of harms' way. "Umm… does this look familiar to anyone but me? Impenetrable amber cocoon; vicious hungry dragon, terrified Vikings?"
"It's a baby- Deathsong, Tuffnut." Fishlegs said, nodding. "Believe me: We know."
"Oh, that's just perfect!" Snotlout exclaimed.
Hiccup sighed, and drew 'Fury'. "Tuff: if you can keep Chicken calm, I'll get that stuff off of him; just keep her facing forward." – Once Tuff, and Chicken, were ready; Hiccup ignited his sword, and rested the blade on Chicken's back: melting the amber just enough for Tuff to extricate his pet.
As Hiccup worked, the baby- Deathsong began to sing a new song.
The following morning; in the clubhouse,
The riders gathered in the clubhouse, the following morning; Heather was the last to arrive, carrying Garfenyorg in her arms.
The moment Tuff saw the dragon- hatchling, he turned to Hiccup; "We need to remove Garfenyorg from this island immediately!"
Hiccup held his hands in a placating gesture. "Ok, Tuff; don't you think you're over- reacting?"
"Nonsense!" Tuff turned, and walked to the end of the room furthest from Garf.
"It's getting difficult to handle this guy, Hiccup; you've got to admit," Astrid commented.
"She's right, Hiccup." Fishlegs agreed; "I mean, he's already gone after Chicken! How long before he goes after one of us?"
"He's got to go!" Snotlout said, moving toward Heather and Garfenyorg. "Back to Melody Island with you!"
"Snotlout: Did you forget how the Deathsong tried to eat all of us, and our dragons?" Hiccup asked, blocking Snotlout's path.
"Well, I had; until you just brought it up, thank you for that." Snotlout admitted.
"Oh; no, no!" Astrid said; shaking her head, hands raised in front of her. "It is too dangerous to go back."
"And we don't even know if a baby- dragon can bond with a dragon that isn't its parent," Fishlegs pointed out.
"You guys, he's too young to know right from wrong; he's just… following his instincts." Heather's tone was pleading; she looked down at the dragon, in her arms. "I know what it's like to be all alone, in the world… We can't just shun him!"
"Heather's right," Hiccup decided. "We've worked with all kinds of dragons; everything from a Night- Fury," he gave Toothless a rub on the forehead, "to a Night- Terror. We should be able to train him not to eat us; we might as well try, while we look for a long- term solution."
Fishlegs nodded; "Yeah, we could try."
"We owe it to Garf." Heather said, her relief evident in her voice. In her arms, the Deathsong- hatchling starts to 'sing' again.
"And what about that?" Snotlout demanded. "Does anyone else, not named 'Hiccup', have and idea; before I take, a running leap, off the top of The Edge?"
"Nobody say a word!" Astrid said.
"Funny, Astrid!" Snotlout said, turning to her. "By the way; I'm over you, in case you haven't heard." Astrid shrugged, but Snotlout seemed not to notice. "And I'm just being honest with you, because I'm nothing if not honest – did you hear that, Heather?"
Heather wasn't paying attention; she was humming to the baby- Deathsong, in her arms, which calmed down almost immediately. A moment later, she began to sing: "The sky is dark, and the hills are white; as the Storm King speeds from the north to-night. And this is the song, the Storm King sings; as over the world his cloak he flings. Sleep, sleep: little one sleep. He rustles his wings, and gruffly sings; sleep, little one, sleep." By the time she finished, the hatchling dragon was fast asleep.
Fishlegs wiped his eyes; "That was… That was beautiful, Heather!" – Heather smiled.
Snotlout's eyes narrowed. "'That was beautiful, Heather'." he repeated, in a mocking tone, then made kissing- noises.
Astrid sighed with relief; "Thank Thor something worked!"
"Huh, would you look at that: Garf wasn't the only one it worked on!" Fishlegs commented. The others turn, to find Ruff, Tuff, and their Zippleback; also fast asleep.
Hiccup returned his attention to the young Deathsong, his expression thoughtful. "You know, it makes perfect sense: The Deathsong sings to its prey to draw them in; that might be the primary way it communicates!"
Heather smiled, "And it might also help us train it!" – Hiccup nodded; "Interesting…"
"Yak- dung." Snotlout said, and then cleared his throat; the sound woke up the Deathsong. "Well: You'd better keep singing, then!"
Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "You mean 'we'."
Snotlout blinked, "I do?"
"Oh, yes; you do!" Heather said, nodding.
"Oh, yes: Of course I do!" Snotlout agreed, though he didn't sound happy about it.
Once they'd arranged a rotation schedule, for the rest of the day; Hiccup and Toothless took the first shift, and left the clubhouse with the Deathsong.
Early- afternoon; Hiccup and Toothless,
Hiccup and Toothless arrived at the beach a few minutes after leaving the clubhouse. Once they were settled; Hiccup cleared his voice, and began. "Now listen my young dragon- friend, and I will tell a tale; of days when Vikings feared the sound of monstrous, distant wails. There was a time, not long ago, when wars were bravely fought; against a foe we feared until a lesson we were taught…"
He was about five minutes in when he heard a sound he recognized; he looked down, and found his right foot encased in an amber cocoon. He sighed; unsheathed his sword, and freed himself. This pattern repeated itself 'a few' more times, though Hiccup and Toothless dodged all but a few of the amber- shots. – On the plus side: the Deathsong had stopped singing its shrill song for most of Hiccup and Toothless's shift.
When their turn was over, they brought the hatchling to Fishlegs and Meatlug. Then they returned to the clubhouse, to see how the others were doing.
Fishlegs and Meatlug;
Fishlegs had decided to 'entertain' the Deathsong- hatchling in his 'meditation gardens', by playing the panpipes. Like Hiccup, he quickly learned to dodge the shots of orange- amber. By the time their shift came to an end, however: Meatlug had 'intercepted' several shots, and was 'a little less then fond' of their new guest.
That evening; Snotlout and Hookfang;
The moon had risen fully, when Hookfang rose into the sky: Snotlout and the Deathsong- hatchling on his back. The Monstrous- Nightmare had lit his underside, and parts of his back, on fire; in an effort to melt any amber- shots the young dragon 'might' launch.
"I killed my first boar, when I was just a boy; a maple battle- axe was my favorite toy! Each of my enemies, it left them all destroyed: for I am Snotlout; OY, OY, OY!"
Some time later,
Hiccup was just completing the finishing- touches of his latest project; when he heard Astrid's voice, and several others; calling his name. He sighed, "I've got a feeling I know what this is going to be about."
Toothless got to his feet. 'At least we have a plan now.' – Hiccup nodded agreement.
Hiccup and Toothless emerged from their hut; and Stormfly came in for a landing on the platform, next to them. "Hiccup: This is officially out- of- hand! We cannot go on like this."
The blade of Astrid's axe, and a number of the spikes on Stormfly's back, were solidly encased in orange- amber. Hovering in the sky, above them, Hiccup noticed that the other riders and dragons were in 'similar' predicaments.
"But we can't abandon him, we just can't!" Heather said, imploringly. "I'd never forgive myself!" – She was also holding the young dragon, in her arms. And, interestingly, she and Windshear were the only ones completely free of the orange- amber.
"We won't abandon him." Hiccup said, firmly. "We'll do what we should've done to begin with: We'll take him to be with his own kind." As he spoke, he placed his hand on 'Fury's hilt.
Astrid's eyes widened; "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Hiccup nodded; "Yes… We're going to Melody- Island, to find that Deathsong. I've been working on a solution for the Deathsong- problem; I'll explain it in the morning… For now: We should all get some rest; we're going to need it."
The following morning; in 'The Dome',
Heather and Windshear circled above The Edge, humming to Garf; the other riders and dragons were gathered in 'The Dome', getting ready for their upcoming mission.
"Hey, genius; have you found a way around the fact that the Deathsong mind- melts our dragons?"
"Actually; I have," Hiccup said. He pulled something out of one of Toothless's saddlebags, and began to make a circuit of the arena, handing something to each of the riders as he passed them.
"Good, good, good, good, good!" Snotlout continued. "So do you have a plan for that, or are we just going to 'wing- it'?"
"Pun intended!" Tuff said, chuckling. "Get it: he said 'wing it'!" He flaps his arms, miming dragons' wings. "Because dragons have–"
"We get it, Tuffnut." Astrid said, exasperatedly, as she patted Stormfly's lower jaw.
"We're going to handle that; Snotlout," Hiccup explained, "with these." He hands something to Fishlegs.
Fishlegs took a moment to examine the objects, and then he grinned. "Moss- earplugs; awesome!"
"Right." Hiccup joined Astrid, and handed her Stormfly's set of moss- earplugs. "I custom- made them for each dragon; to keep out the Deathsong's call."
Snotlout huffed; "Great! As if this guy needs another reason to not listen!" – Hookfang shot Snotlout an irritated look, and breathed a cloud of steam at him, through his nostrils. Snotlout ducked, to avoid it.
Astrid grinned at Hiccup; "You didn't happen to make any for us, did you?" – Hiccup grinned, and shook his head.
Snotlout rolled his eyes, and turned to face them. "Ha-ha-ha! Very funny, Astrid; you should take that comedy routine on the road!" – As he spoke; the other riders began to clamber into the saddles, of their dragons' backs.
Astrid shrugged; her grin widened. "Well, maybe I will!"
"'Well maybe I will'," Snotlout mimicked. "Except you shouldn't, because it's completely contextual!" – Stormfly, and the other dragons, take off; Snotlout hurriedly clambered into the saddle on Hookfang's back, and they followed after them.
A ways into their flight,
The baby- Deathsong was still fast asleep, in Heather's arms. Hiccup shook his head; and, nodding at Deathsong; asked, "Fishlegs; how did you swing that?"
Fishlegs grinned, "Dragon- nip; I wasn't entirely sure it would work on this particular species, but it only took a few tries to knock the little guy out."
'A couple tries; and another glob of that amber- stuff, stuck to my forehead.' Meatlug interjected.
Fishlegs patted her on the head, "Sorry about that, girl."
"Just make sure he's awake when we get there," Hiccup cautioned. "We need him alert and focused."
Astrid and Stormfly; who'd been hanging back, for the first part of the trip; pulled up between Toothless and Hookfang. "How do you get a one- armed Jorgenson out of a tree?" Astrid called; she paused for a moment, and then continued. "You wave to him!"
The other riders and dragons chuckled; Snotlout scowled, "'Wave to him', that's not even funny; oh, wait: I just got it; it is funny."
"How do you sink a Jorgenson battleship?" Astrid continued, "You put it in the water!"
Again, the riders and dragons laughed; Fishlegs called, "That's good; one more! One more!"
"Yeah; more!" Heather called, grinning widely.
"That's right: laugh, all of you!" Snotlout called, "But don't come running to me, when you're out of Monstrous- Nightmare gel!"
'It's my gel, Snotlout,' Hookfang pointed out, 'and I'm enjoying these jokes. Keep 'em coming; I'll throw in a few more jars of gel, for the emergency- supply, when we get back to The Edge.' Snotlout scowled; Astrid grinned, and the jokes continued.
When the island came into view, ahead of them,
"Alright, gang; the Deathsong's strike is very precise, very streamlined." Hiccup told the group. "So, we need to spread out; that way, it can only go after one of us at a time." The riders nodded, the dragons spread out their formation a little; and, they continued their approach towards Melody- Island.
The dragons come in for a landing a short distance from where they had first encountered the adult- Deathsong. They heard nothing; they began searching for the Deathsong, but saw no sign of it.
After a time, Astrid turned to the others; "Hey, how do you confuse a Jorgenson?" Brief pause; "Put him in a round arena, and tell him to go to the corner." Everyone laughed, again; Snotlout scowled, again.
Hiccup and Toothless emerged from the next cave; which they'd searched, while the others kept watch outside. He shot Astrid a grin, and she could tell that he'd heard and liked her latest joke; Astrid grinned back. – Hiccup turned to the others; "Well, he's not in there."
'That's good news for Garf.' Toothless commented, looking around.
"And bad news for us." Snotlout pointed out, as he took in their surroundings.
Hiccup clambered into the saddle, on Toothless's back. "Ok; lets go find this guy…" – The dragons spread their wings, and rose into the sky; maybe they'd have better luck searching from the air.
Some time later,
About an hour after they arrived on Melody- Island, the familiar sound of the Deathsong's call reached the riders' ears. Only this time, the dragons showing no sign that they'd heard them; in fact, they didn't react at all.
Fishlegs turned, in his saddle. "The earplugs are working, Hiccup!"
"That's great. Hiccup said, nodding. "Now lets get closer; everyone on high- alert!"
Snotlout rolled his eyes, "No kidding."
About five minutes later, they flew between two rocky pillars, which rose high to either side. The air filled with a cloud of mist, which obscured what lay ahead of them, and made them all feel a little on- edge.
Occasionally, the mist would part, and they would see a pile of amber- coated dragon bones: the remains of the Deathsong's old- kills. Heather took in the sight; her expression sad, and she looked down at the dragon in her arms.
The Deathsong's call filled the air, again, and the young dragon stirred. Heather turned in her saddle, "Hiccup; he's waking up!"
Hiccup nodded, "Got it." He signaled, and the other riders split up; each dragon flew in a large circle, they and their riders searching for any sign of their quarry.
As they regrouped, Heather began to hum to the Deathsong- hatchling: moments later, an orange amber- like material hit them, hardening on impact. Immediately, Windshear began to go down; "Fishlegs!" Heather cried out, as they fell.
"Heather!" Fishlegs called, after them. But, before they could react: they, too, were immobilized in the amber- like material. Seconds later, they were plummeting toward the ground!
The Deathsong appeared, out of the mist; it landed on a rocky pillar, spread its wings, and sang its song. The earplugs did their job, however: the dragons were unaffected.
"Remember!" Hiccup called; to the other riders, "If we don't bunch up, it can't– Heads up!" Toothless dodged the amber- shot directed at them; but Astrid and Stormfly, Snotlout and Hookfang, and The Twins and Barf- and- Belch were hit and immobilized. All of them began to fall to the ground.
"I forgot how much I hate this guy!" Snotlout said, as he and Hookfang fell to the ground below.
On the ground: Astrid was struggling against the amber that encased her hands, even though she knew it was a futile effort. When she glanced back, and saw that patched of Stormfly's tail were also encased in amber; her eyes widened, and she gasped.
Movement, in front of her, made her turn; just in time to see the Deathsong land, a short distance ahead of them. It sang its song again, and then looked at them: considering its newest captives.
Stormfly sighed. 'He just has to rub it in, doesn't he?'
Then Garf came in for a somewhat- clumsy landing; between them and the adult Deathsong, who blinked at the new arrival, clearly surprised; then Garf 'sang' a few notes.
Snotlout shook his head, "I never thought I'd be happy to hear that!"
The adult Deathsong growled, and spit an amber- shot at the ground between them; Garf imitated him. "Well; at least they're not shooting it at us," Hiccup commented to Toothless.
The Deathsong sang several bars of his song, and waited for Garf to repeat them back; Garf, however, did nothing. Eyes narrowing, the older dragon repeated the bars. Instead: Garf warbled something, and trilled a series of other notes. – Heather and Fishlegs exchanged uncertain glances.
The Deathsong repeated his song again; and, as he had before; Garf responded with different notes. Glancing over, Astrid saw Hiccup and Toothless come in for a landing, a short distance from her and Stormfly. Hiccup dismounted, nodded to them; and then turned his attention to the exchange between the two Deathsongs, his expression wary.
Suddenly: the adult Deathsong whipped his tail at Garf, sending the baby- dragon flying into a large rock. Heather's eyes widened; "Garf!" "That can't be good," Snotlout commented. "Hiccup!" Fishlegs called.
The Deathsong spun around, and launched an amber- shot at Hiccup and Toothless. The Night- Fury was fully immobilized; and, while Hiccup's increased agility allowed him to dodge the worst of it; his right foot was also covered, anchoring him in place.
Hiccup's hand drifted to his sword, but the Deathsong landed in front of them, roaring.
"I knew this was going to go bad!" Snotlout said, in a panicky voice. "Why does no-one listen to me?"
"Hiccup; what's going on?" Astrid asked, turning to face him.
Hiccup sighed, "Garf is singing our songs; the ones we sang to him; and the Deathsong doesn't like them." – As he spoke, Garf scurried over to Heather and Windshear, and hid behind them.
"You know: everyone's a critic!" Snotlout commented.
"So what do we do?" Astrid asked; her attention fixed on Hiccup.
Hiccup thought for a moment. "Garf needs to learn the Deathsong's song; it's the one he was supposed to learn; but… I think he's worried we'll be mad at him, if he gives up our songs."
Heather turned, and began to speak to Garf; exactly what she said, the others couldn't hear. The fully- grown Deathsong glared at the riders and dragons; than, for reasons unknown; it lunged at The Twins.
Then Garf was there; flapping his wings, hovering between them; he repeated the notes of the Deathsong's song, back, to the dragon. Then Garf rose higher into the sky, singing the notes a second time. The adult Deathsong's eyes widened; he spread his wings, and took off, following Garf into the sky.
They hovered there for what must have been close to five minutes: Garf singing the notes; the older Deathsong repeating, and emphasizing; parts of the melody, as they practiced. Then the two of them flew off, presumably to continue practicing elsewhere.
Hiccup grinned. "Well, it looks like Garf saved us."
Heather nodded, "Yep; we saved him, and he saved us."
Hiccup drew 'Fury', and ignited the blade. "Ok… Now: lets get out of here before they get their appetites back!" He freed first himself, than Toothless from the amber: than Astrid, Stormfly, and the other dragons and riders.
Seven minutes later, they were back in the sky: beginning the return flight to The Edge.
To Be Continued…