Author's Note: I do not own the "How to Train Your Dragon" Movies, Animated Series or Book series. Those characters belong to DreamWorks Animation and Cressida Cowell. My original characters are mine and if you wish to use him please ask me first.
Announcements: First, my Beta Reader came back and said she will have the rest of the Second Arc finished by the time I need more chapters, but I will stick to a bi-weekly release due to the next announcement. Second announcement is that I'm struggling to finish Arc 3. I'm not at the battle yet and that will span several chapters as well. I gave myself a deadline to finish Arc 3 by July 31st, proofed by me quickly and then sent to my Beta by then. I don't know if I can do that and not seem rushed. So I will give her what I have finished to let her start the process, but this will make it that Arc 3 will be delayed possibly. Arc 3 will be released only when all chapters are Beta'd and are ready and once that is done, it will be released weekly.
Thank you to the following for a Favorite or Follow: Dragon Reverb, birdkamp, Player 1000
Reviews:
Dragon Lord Draco - Yeah it's a toy, but it has meaning.
Zeta warrior 16 - I know I lead up to the whole colony thing and then it turns out to be a toy. Little bit of a let down, but it's relevant. Now some history with Toothless and Razor will be brought up in Arc 3. I know people want to know a lot about their past and it will come. In fact, small hint at what you'll see is a full Elemental Fury Rebirth.
thearizona - I know, it's a big move in my life but it's all good. Now here is the next chapter.
Notes on how my writing style will be below:
Words typed like this are thoughts in their head
Words like this are scenes/locations where it is occurring
Words typed like this is Dragonese
Moving Forward
Night Fury Colony Exit
Sigurd landed softly at the opening of the exit, gesturing to two guards at their post to assist him. The added pair nodded their cooperation and the small group made their way down the long tunnel. Reaching the blocked opening, the dragon guards placed themselves on one side of the boulder and pushed the covering away.
They regarded the visible area for a moment before turning back and nodding that all was clear. Thanking them softly, Sigurd stepped outside and gave his own quick look as he heard the other two dragons place the boulder back. Once either side could no longer see the other, he let out a resigned breath and took a moment to steady himself.
The humans laid their hands reassuringly on his back upon noticing his action, eliciting a shrug from their new acquaintance. "Do not concern yourselves with what just happened. I knew some dragon like Cáldarr would bring that to Ívarr's attention. Your presence managed to tie Cáldarr's wing behind his back, giving Ívarr another issue to focus on."
Before Åsmund could say anything, the Night Fury continued on with, "We're flying back now, so stay close to my body. We'll be at your camp soon and I rather this task end on a partially successful note." When the humans didn't make any sound, he slowly flapped his wings to test the air currents and upon finding them satisfactory, carefully glided them out. After giving his passengers enough time to adjust themselves, he flew up to a higher altitude and let out a small boost of speed.
As their speed increased, Hiccup tried not to let their last few moments in the colony cast a cloud over the whole adventure. Obviously each dragon colony has their own sets of rules like villages do, so it's not like I can really judge them. Besides, it could have ended way worse.
In his mind, Åsmund thought about the comparisons he saw between this Night Fury colony and other dragon colonies Razor and he had met during their travels. Other Alphas we met demanded obedience as well, but Ívarr placed such a large emphasis on it. It must have to do with the Earth Elemental Fury. At the mention of their mission, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the Soother in his hands. Hopefully, calming the Fury will help dispel some of their fears and provide a better future for the next generation.
Island West of Night Fury Colony
Mid-afternoon neared and Razor initiated her fifth pacing around the clearing. Off to the side, Toothless laid down patiently and silently measured the ruts his mate had formed in the ground. So far, her third pacing still held the record of an inch and a half, but this round of pacing was coming awfully close to surpassing that.
Razor, however, remained oblivious to her unintentional plowing. The feeling from hours ago had cleared up, just as Toothless predicted it would. Despite its dispersion, her worry for her other half to return had not lessened one bit. I don't feel the dread I felt those hours ago, but I'm still concerned. Honestly, if Åsmund was… If the other dragons did something to him then I'm sure I would have felt it. But still, it's growing awfully late.
"Inch and three quarters!" Toothless suddenly exclaimed, causing Razor to jump up in surprise and take a defensive position. As her eyes scanned around, she found nothing new had entered the clearing and Toothless was flashing her, a knowing smirk.
Trying to hide the embarrassed blush that threatened to show, she pointedly asked, "What in the world is 'inch and three quarters' supposed to mean, Toothless?"
"Look down and you'll find out," he merely stated, a chuckle concluding his sentence.
Looking straight down to where she was just pacing, Razor shook her head in annoyance upon noticing the cause for his sudden amusement. Worry for her other half more than warranted making a few dents in the ground. Deciding not to engage with his hatchling antics Razor lifted her head back up and turned towards the East, searching for some sign of the humans' return.
Toothless' mouth suddenly curved in a way that warned he was about to say something, prompting Razor to ready her own response. They suddenly froze, however, when their ears heard a Night Fury roar out. Toothless quickly stood up and they scanned the sky together, simultaneously spotting a black spot growing closer towards them.
Razor instantly worried at the sight of the single spec and readied herself into a take-off position. She immediately hesitated, though, when Toothless stated, "Elise, stay still and don't go rushing to any conclusions."
With her wings still twitching in anticipation, she asked, "Why is there only one, Tokka? Something must have gone wrong." As a multitude of scenarios popped into her head, her worry only increased and she quickly turned around to voice them all to her mate. His demeanor, however, displayed the complete opposite of hers and she couldn't help but question his attitude. "How can you be so calm? I know you said you learned to trust Hiccup, but why aren't you flying out there just to make sure?"
Toothless shook his head at her questioning, walking over and rubbing his head against the underside of her chin. "Trust me, I'm not calm one bit, but I can't exactly rush out to see what's going on," he explained, raising up his red, artificial tail fin to her vision. Razor dropped her head down a bit, ashamed that she had completely forgotten about his slight handicap. "I can't fly on my own without a rider, so that's why I have toned myself down whenever it comes to Hiccup. If he's taken a long distance away, then I can't fly there and help without back up. It's by good fortune that when we got separated two months ago that… Well, we were extremely lucky compared to past times when that has happened." He slipped his head down her neck and rested it against his claim mark on her neck, comforting himself with thoughts of what the future held in store for them.
At his words, Razor once again found her worry for Åsmund becoming more controlled, hoping that she would remember this exchange a lot longer than his earlier one when it comes to later situations like this. However, his demeanor changed towards the end and gave away that something was amiss. Reading his silent pleas, she reached her wings around her mate and held him close to her. After all this time spent comforting her and reminding her of his love, it felt only natural that the favor would be returned. She averted her gaze to look down at him, noticing his closed eyes as he nuzzled himself against the mark he placed on her.
"What are you thinking about Tokka?" she asked softly.
"Our future, and what may happen with us," he replied timidly, his words touching her heart despite their lack of strength.
Mulling them over in her mind for a while, she realized how little they have discussed beyond the near future. She knew that they would (hopefully) be together after the battle, but the afterwards only focused on whether or not they survived. If they both survived the battle, would they still feel so strongly for each other?
Sigurd looked at the two in the distance and then turned his head slightly to look at the two humans still on his back. "We are nearing your island, so you can remove your blindfolds," Sigurd told them. Åsmund nodded and translated the message to Hiccup.
Hiccup did his best to remain balanced on top of Sigurd as he unwound his blindfold. Once his eyes readjusted, he reached over and undid Åsmund's so he would not have to release the figurine still resting tightly in his other hand. The Berkian glanced down at the wooden object and met Åsmund's gaze, both understanding what was still in store for them.
Åsmund turned away when he felt Sigurd slightly adjust himself, refocusing his attention to remaining balanced as they flew for the final stretch. Looking down into his hand, he thought, all our hopes rest upon this. I hope to Odin that this Soother is the Earth Fury's Soother. If not, then that means we will have to take time to investigate the other energy radiating near him. Time that we may or may not have.
Willing his thoughts to remain positive, Åsmund shifting his focus away from it and looked towards the approaching island. In the clearing where they had separated earlier, he noticed a dark shape near the center and as they approached further, he began to distinguish which dragon was which. His observations also drew attention to Razor holding Toothless, which immediately struck him as odd. Razor is normally not this delayed in reuniting. Why doesn't she and Toothless just fly-" The realization quickly hit him. Right, Toothless can't fly so she's waiting with him.
That explanation resonated as the most plausible in his mind, although it was also the only one he even considered. If he knew of any other reason, then maybe those thoughts would have changed.
Hiccup smiled down at the pair as they become more focused, slight relief washing over him now that this small adventure was nearly over. Toothless probably nearly went crazy with worry, but probably didn't show it for Razor's sake. Of course, they most likely spent most of the time proclaiming their affection for each other, if their current placement is anything to go by.
Sigurd angled his wings and fins, descending slowly towards the clearing and paying careful attention to any shifts in the wind or updrafts. He eased himself down and touched lightly on the ground, not relaxing anything until his feet laid firmly planted against the ground. Once his landing was complete, he gestured for the two Furies to reclaim their riders.
Hiccup slid off Sigurd's back first and reached his hand out to accept the figurine, feeling its weight settle in the middle of his hand. Åsmund, with his uninjured limb now free, carefully slid off after the other man, saying to Sigurd, "Thank you Sigurd for everything. We will do our best to leave your colony area quickly."
"Please do. I do not wish to handle two more hatchlings over the ones I will, and am already, looking after," he stated, his tone giving away a bit of the sarcasm he attempted to keep at bay. Even if his words remained stony, however, there was a speck of what could only be identified as humor in his eyes. A very small speck, of course, but still a speck.
Åsmund reclaimed the figurine from Hiccup just as the other pair joined them. Once the group combined, Razor couldn't help but ask, "Did something happen to Ívarr and Hjálmarr? When we-" A quick look from Toothless instantly elicited an exhausted sigh from her. "When I only saw you approaching, I feared something bad happened at your colony."
"Did something bad happen?" Toothless ended up asking directly, choosing not to notice Razor's smug smirk directed at him.
"Well for one, your humans have no sense of detecting danger. Second, I am inclined to believe they have no concept of ownership, which might because they lack that sense. Third, they make a mess wherever they go. And finally…" Sigurd's features softened a bit as he concluded, "They aren't exactly as horrible as most other humans out there. Although, I highly recommend you do not let them be on their own for more than five minutes at a time."
"You have no idea how many times I have tried keeping Hiccup out of trouble," Toothless replied, pressing his head against Hiccup's back. In response, the human joked back, "Oh, come on. You know you have enjoyed all our hoo-hahs and misadventures over these years."
Toothless smiled a bit at the comment, answering back by licking up and down the back of Hiccup's head and upper part of his clothes. The man lightly knocked the attacking head, complaining, "Oh come….on Toothless…" The dragon managed a few more blows before Hiccup dropped his body to the ground, rolling out of range before daring to return back to his feet. He extended out his arms, groaning a bit at the Night Fury salvia dropping down his back. "You know that doesn't wash out."
"Looks like someone's other half thinks you- Hey! Razor!" Åsmund started, finding himself becoming interrupted as Razor started licking him as well. He let out several chuckles and threw up his good arm in mock defense. When Razor went back for another round, she noticed his hand clutching something.
"Åsmund," she whispered, straightening up in anticipation. She carefully leaned forward and gave the object a few whiffs. "Is that the Soother?"
"Yeah. We found it in the possession of one of the colony members and managed to convince Ívarr to let us take it." Razor and Toothless moved forward to further study the wooden figurine, listening as Sigurd supplied, "Which leads me back to my first and second points. They found it in one of the colony member's homes, making the resident very hostile. If Ívarr hadn't intervened, then these two might have been nothing more than crispy targets."
"What?!" Razor exclaimed, moving her attention away from the Soother to her other half. "Åsmund, what possessed you to do something so dangerous like that?"
"Razor, you must remember: your definition of dangerous and mine do not perfectly match up," Åsmund offered lightly, letting out a small chuckle. His dragon, on the other hand, found no amusement with the situation and launched into quick, almost unintelligible statements about how worried she was about him.
When Sigurd turned to observe Toothless' reaction, he was surprised to find the dragon only sighing. Noticing the other's stare, Toothless stated, "We've had worse encounters than that. Plus, nothing I say will keep Hiccup from rushing headlong into danger. I have learned to just deal with it as it comes." Hiccup wisely stayed silent, flashing Toothless a scheming smile.
After another minute, Razor ceased voicing her past concern, allowing Åsmund to say, "In my defense, Ívarr did give us permission to retrieve the Soother. We were just lucky that it wasn't another Night Fury." Sighing, the female dragon replied, "True, at least it isn't a Night Fury. I am sure it would have been disastrous trying to convince them to join us."
"Exactly," Åsmund agreed. Now that Razor's customary concerned talk was concluded, he turned to Sigurd and said, "We'll make sure we sooth the Earth Fury and then leave here. Maybe next time, we can meet under better circumstances."
"If you four manage to survive against the Earth Fury, then maybe Ívarr won't automatically call for your deaths on sight." From the tone Sigurd answered, it appeared that would be the highest honor any former threat could receive from the highly protective and ruling Alpha. "Personally though… I would not be completely closed off to exchanging pleasantries."
Åsmund translated everything to Hiccup as the dragon went on. When he reached the end, Hiccup's features scrunched up for a moment, brightening quickly. Turning to Sigurd, he stated, "I'm glad you were there for us, Sigurd. If we do survive and Ívarr decides we might be trustworthy, Berk is only hours away from here. You and your team are more than welcomed to visit, if Toothless doesn't mind as well."
When eyes turned to him, Toothless tilted his head for a second before answering, "I do not see why not. Many of the dragons and humans on Berk do not have much experience with other Night Furies. I am sure your presence will only encourage greater connections between our colonies."
Sigurd looked between the human and dragon leader, thinking their offer over. After a while, he replied, "I cannot promise anything, due to my duties. However, I am sure Njörðr will not be against meeting new dragons, and possibly humans. For now though, I suggest you focus entirely on the Earth Fury. Ívarr prizes actions over words so if you want any chance of us to meet again, then I hope your quest ends well. Until next time then."
The group bowed their heads in farewell, the four moving back as Sigurd's wings spread out. He let out a few flaps to test the air and once he felt confident, he leapt into the air and quickly soared off back to his colony.
The four remained in the middle of the clearing, watching the retreating figure until he disappeared over the horizon. Now that it was just them, the two humans let out long sighs of relief and sat down. "Well that went better than I expected," Hiccup commented.
"What were you expecting?" Åsmund asked, bringing the figurine closer for further inspection.
"A whole lot more fire," the man stated, flopping down on his back. "And possibly a lot more growling." At the mention of growl, both Hiccup and Åsmund's stomachs let out their own calls, prompting the dragons to let out quiet laughs.
"I take it you two haven't had anything to eat since this morning," Razor observed, smiling. She observed the sky for a moment and stated, "I'll bring us some fish then. Toothless, you stay here with them. I won't be gone long."
The male in question teasingly pouted and did as commanded, commenting, "It feels like we are taking care of two hatchlings instead of two grown humans."
"Well, Sigurd did say we should not leave them alone and that they still have a few things to learn about survival." She winked at Toothless, leaving the clearing to the unintelligible mumblings of Hiccup's complaint about being regarded as a child.
Hiccup smiled a moment later though, saying, "It is nice though to be back with dragons that I can actually understand. I hated having to be told what the others were saying, no offense Åsmund. You were extremely helpful."
Still studying the wooden object, Åsmund stated, "None taken."
Noticing the other's intense focus, Hiccup slowly sat back up and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing really. I just wondering why this was chosen for the Earth Fury's Soother. Every Soother is chosen for a reason, either because they intersected with the Elemental Fury at some point in their life or are close to them. This item, however, is relatively new and doesn't seem to have interacted with the Earth Fury prior to him being born."Åsmund turned the object over slowly in his hand, adding, "This is also the first object Soother that we know of. The Water Fury and Razor's previous incarnations have all had living Soothers, so I am not too knowledgeable about an object Soother."
"Did the Sea King and Queen mention if there is any major difference between the two?"
"Not really, but they did not really explain either one in grave detail either. They just explained the basics of how Soothers work and some common features among them."
As Åsmund finished, Razor crested over the tree line and flew down directly beside them, her mouth full of fish. She deposited them into a small pile and happily cheered, "Midday meal is served."
She laid her head against Åsmund's side, snapping the man from his thoughts about the Soother. Noticing her catch, he smiled and said, "Thanks, Razor. Now that we have some time, let's discuss what will our next course of action would be."
"Do you want me to collect some wood for a fire?"
"Don't worry about that, Toothless. I got it covered."
She moved herself more evenly between every member and carefully opened her mouth. Gas began gathering upon her command, igniting just enough that the energy expelled as a low flame in her mouth instead of one of her offensive blasts. Hiccup became immediately distracted at Razor's actions, only shaking himself out of the daze when Åsmund presented him with a stick to heat his fish on.
Taking Åsmund's cue, they carefully positioned the creatures over the heat source while Toothless merely at his raw. Once their first fish had heated up enough, Razor cut off her flame and ate a few morsels herself. When both men were done, she repeated the flame process and they settled into a small routine as they discussed the next day.
As they ate, Åsmund sketched out a rough map of the area in the dirt, pointing out where the Elemental Earth Fury resided and marking out the relative locations of other features. "The Night Fury colony is somewhere this way-" he made a vague circle in the intended area. "So let's avoid going back that way anytime soon. If my memory serves me right, then somewhere towards the Earth Fury-" he added a few shapes. "There should be a group of islands that might have a place where we can camp out for the night."
"This is close to an area where Toothless and I stopped flying out to explore," Hiccup observed, frowning a bit. "We had planned on going out this way to explore some more, but then Drago came along and with everything that happened after that, there was never a good time to head back out."
At the unexpected mention of his home, Hiccup asked, "Åsmund, do you have an idea when we can expect to be back in Berk? I'm sure nothing important is burning down, but there are still some preparations and issues I need to discuss with my village."
"Well if all goes according to how I imagine," he started, moving away his fish and allowing Razor the opportunity to settle her appetite for the moment. "Then at most four days. The only way I can see us taking longer is if the Soother we have now isn't the Earth Fury's."
"Then I guess we better hope that this is the Soother we need," Toothless stated, Hiccup nodding in agreement.
Once everyone had their fill, Hiccup and Åsmund placed their weapons back on their bodies, well aware this next encounter would be anything but peaceful. Hiccup made sure Toothless' tail fin did not have any issues or kinks and Razor voiced her continued concern about Åsmund embarking on such dangerous activities with his injured wrists. When the other riding pair announced they were ready, however, her features immediately tightened to a battle face and she stated, "Whatever happens now, at least we are in this together."
Everyone nodded with her statement and without another word, they quickly set off planning on finding a more protected island for them to rest that night before facing the Earth Fury.
Current Chapter Word Count: 3,800
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"Well…" Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a quick look, with the dragon eventually gesturing for the human to continue. Taking a small breath, Hiccup continued, "Maybe that's part of it. Mom was taken away during a raid when I was a baby by Cloudjumper. So while I tried learning how to fight them and not burn down the village, Cloudjumper and the other dragons taught her their secrets. I remember asking her a few days after the Drago incident if she ever felt threatened by any of them. She just laughed and said 'Cloudjumper wouldn't let any dragons near me for weeks after he brought me there.' I guess all of us have overprotective dragons that can't take the hint."