Only a couple more days until Season 3 of Race to the Edge! Woohoo! In the meantime, enjoy this one-shot that takes a dive into the world of Lycanwings!
By the way, this takes place in an AU. Zenna and Stryka are still here, of course, and this is post-HTTYD2, but Eret and Zenna aren't married and Zenna doesn't have Elemental powers in this one shot. Also, Heather's not here so, sorry Heather fans. I know it sounds a little confusing, but I hope you guys will still understand the plot.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD. ALL RIGHTS GO TO ITS RESPECTIVE OWNERS!
Curse of the Lycanwing PART I
"I've got its tracks!"
"Quickly! We can't let it roam free any longer!"
Eret anxiously held his breath as two Vikings neared his hiding spot in the fields that night. He crouched down low in the tall grass, praying to all the gods that they wouldn't notice him. The two Viking men, armed with torches, nets, and clubs, searched the nearby sheep pastures for a moment before moving on back to the village. Once they were gone, Eret sighed with relief and felt something nudge him. He turned to whatever had nudged him, looking into one worry-filled violet orb. He suddenly winced, feeling the sting of the wound he had gotten earlier while running away from the plaza with his companion. Some idiot had shot an arrow at him and got lucky, hitting him in the shoulder. He had pulled the arrow out upon reaching the outskirts of town earlier and running had allowed him to forget about the pain. Now he was starting to feel a bit lightheaded due to the blood loss. A worried whine brought Eret out of his pain and he gently whispered, "We have to move."
The moon had been covered by dark clouds when they were hiding but, now, it shone brightly in the night sky. "Quickly," Eret murmured urgently and his companion grunted, surging ahead of him. Eret panted as he tried to keep up, parting away the brush as the two of them made for the forest. They both sped through the trees until they found their hideout - a large cave hidden by the trees - and ducked inside. Eret leaned heavily against the cool stone wall as he tried to catch his breath. His wound was still bleeding but at least the blood was slowly oozing out now compared to when the crimson liquid steadily streamed from it when he had pulled the arrow out. Eret groaned, removing his vest and shirt, using the latter to soak up the blood from his wound. His companion whined worriedly again, stepping closer to him, and Eret got to see his friend clearly as moonlight streamed into the cave.
Standing before the former trapper was a dragon; its body sleek, streamlined, and covered in iridescent purple scales that lightly glittered in the moonlight. The dragon's head was slightly rounded at the snout and had a ridge of black scales running down from forehead to neck while its ears resembled a Night Fury's, twitching nervously, and its nostrils flared at the scent of blood. A pair of purple veined wings fluttered anxiously on its back and the dragon's long, red-tipped tail thrashed nervously against the cave floor. The dragon's one violet eye was trained on the wound Eret was currently tending to. After a minute of watching, the dragon drew closer to Eret and nudged his hand away. Eret shivered slightly as the dragon began licking the blood off and lightly scratched the dragon behind its ears. Once the blood had been cleaned off the wound and Eret had bandaged it with a ripped portion of his shirt, the dragon drew back and huddled in a corner of the cave.
"Okay, we just need to lay low until we find a way to get rid of that curse..." Eret murmured while thinking about how things would be easier for the two of them if they had Stryka and Skullcrusher at their sides. But it was too risky. After the incident in the plaza, he betted that even the dragons would be willing to help in the hunt. Stryka would definitely try to find them since she was the only dragon who knew, but Toothless, Stormfly, Cloudjumper, Meatlug, Hookfang, Grump, and Barf and Belch would, for sure, be joining the hunting party. He could still remember the betrayed look on Skullcrusher's face when he sided with...
A sad whimper brought Eret out of his musings and he turned his attention to the dragon currently curled up on the cave floor. "Hey, it'll be all right..." Eret whispered, walking slowly over to the dragon and sitting next to it. The dragon whined and Eret gently pulled its head onto his lap. Gently, Eret pressed his lips to the dragon's forehead and hugged it close to him. The dragon looked up at him, its one violet orb glistening with unshed tears. "It's okay. It's going to be okay... I promise. I won't let them hurt you..." Eret whispered as he stroked the dragon's head.
A month ago...
"Another yak farm ruined by that Lycanwing..." Gobber sighed, inspecting the carcasses strewn around the paddock. Hiccup, Eret, Astrid, and Valka were also helping in the investigation, Toothless, Skullcrusher, Stormfly, and Cloudjumper sniffing around for clues. "This is the twelfth attack and winter's coming soon. If we don't find this dragon and chase it out of Berk..." Astrid looked to Hiccup worriedly, her boyfriend/Chief of the tribe nodding grimly.
For the past few months, Berk had been the target of the mysterious Lycanwing's destructive rampage. On the day before the full moon, sheep, chickens, and yaks would disappear from their enclosures only to be returned; picked clean with only the bones, feathers, wool, and fur left. Traps had been set up and all the able dragons and their Riders were on high alert every night. Sometimes the Lycanwing would be spotted; a fight would erupt, but it always got away. And it didn't help matters that nobody, whether Viking or dragon, really saw its complete appearance. The Lycanwing liked to strike when least expected and, often, whoever tried to capture it or fight it would barely have time to look at it before getting knocked out by a powerful swipe from its tail or a blazing fireball exploding near them. But it was on the three days of the full moon where the Lycanwing became truly aggressive. Men who had tried to capture the beast were found bleeding from deep gashes on their chests. Gothi had checked every injury and she was puzzled upon discovering that they were caused by claws and not bite marks.
"I bet it's someone in the village who slips away every night to turn into a Lycanwing once the moon reaches its apex! And it's saving its bite for someone who would be a suitable fellow Lycanwing," Tuffnut, ever a fanatic of the weird and unexplained, theorized at a meeting of the Dragon Masters council one day after the first few attacks. "We've asked around in the village and no one's come forward yet. Whether it is really a human who can turn into one or not, the Lycanwing has got to go," Fishlegs told everyone. Even Hiccup, who originally wanted to find the Lycanwing in order to train it, had no other choice but to declare that the dragon was a menace that needed to be driven out of the island. And so hunting parties were sent out and traps were set. Eret, being a former dragon trapper, designed most of them with a little help from Zenna. The Dragon Doctor had been keeping herself busy with treating injuries to unfortunate dragons and Vikings caused by the Lycanwing, but she sometimes stayed over at Eret's house while he drew up plans.
That afternoon, after finding no leads about the Lycanwing's whereabouts and with the full moon rising the day after tomorrow, Eret found himself sitting at the table in his house's dining room, charcoal in hand, and frowning thoughtfully as he drew up plans for a Gronckle Iron shield. Hiccup had showed him the original one he had crafted years back earlier that morning and he d gotten the idea of making an upgraded version of it. Zenna was currently with him, Stryka and Skullcrusher roughhousing outside, and she was looking over his designs expectantly.
"You can try adding a dart launcher? Like the ones you and your men used when trapping?" she suggested, threading her fingers through his thick black hair. "That could work. But, unfortunately, some of the materials required to make the darts are hard to come..." by Eret mumbled, sighing as Zenna undid the ponytail tying his hair back. "Everyone's on edge nowadays... The full moon's going to rise soon..." Zenna murmured, massaging her fingers through Eret's scalp, her boyfriend nodding in agreement.
"And with that, the rise of the Lycanwing. Whatever that dragon looks like, it's made a name for itself. Everyone's terrified of it..." Eret remarked before pausing in his planning when he didn't feel Zenna's fingers rubbing against his head. "Maybe the Lycanwing's just as terrified of us as we are of it..." the Dragon Doctor whispered.
Eret slightly shrugged his shoulders and noticed that Zenna's normally pale skin was paler than usual and she looked rather drained herself. Come to think of it... Zenna had been looking rather ill the past few months. Eret guessed she hadn't been getting enough rest due to the stress brought upon from the Lycanwing's monthly attacks. "Zenna, have you been getting enough sleep? You don't look well..." Eret murmured in concern. Zenna gave her boyfriend a tired smile. "I'm fine, Eret. I've just been working overtime. There's a lot of injuries to be treated nowadays," she reassured him.
"Even so, you need to take care of yourself. Why don't you take a break? Let Gothi handle what needs to be handled at the Dragon Clinic?" he suggested. Zenna pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking about it, and finally said, "All right. If it makes you stop worrying." Eret smiled and gently kissed her. Zenna looked a bit shocked, but smiled into the kiss.
The next day, Eret finished crafting his shield. While he was testing it out in the forest, the Berkians were getting ready for the Lycanwing's next attack.
Hiccup and Astrid were overseeing the whole operation, assigning sentries all around the village.
Snotlout and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were helping Gobber ready the traps.
Valka and Fishlegs were doing rounds in the village, making sure that the children stayed within the general vicinity.
Zenna and Gothi were already stocking up the Dragon Clinic with all the necessary equipment they will need to treat injuries.
And the day after that... tensions ran high as the sun began to set.
Little Elias II Stoick Fiersome, nothing more than a few months old, babbled in confusion at the rush of activity all around him and wriggled in his mother's arms as they made their way over to the Dragon Clinic. "Your father's going to man the naval defense line. If the Lycanwing comes in from the coast, they'll be the first ones to try driving it away," Henna told her daughter. "Let's hope the Lycanwing doesn't come in from the coast, then," Zenna remarked, looking nervous. Henna sighed and gently cupped her daughter's face in her hand. "Your father will be all right, love. It's actually you we're both worried about. You haven't been looking like yourself these past few moons," she said worriedly. Zenna laughed softly and hugged her mother tightly. "Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she said soothingly and leaned down to coo at her baby brother.
El smiled toothlessly at his big sister and waved his pudgy arms up at her, wanting to be held. Zenna eagerly took El off her mother's hands and cuddled him close to her chest. "If there's anyone you and Dad should be worrying about, it's El here. I'm telling you that he's getting bigger every day..." Zenna smiled and kissed her little brother's button nose. Henna smiled and nodded in agreement. "Make sure you two stay inside with Serpent and Serpentine to keep watch," Zenna reminded her mother. "We will, love, we will," Henna promised. She and El stayed with Zenna at the Clinic for a few hours. As the sun began to set, Henna carried El back home, the baby's head resting against her shoulder.
"Be safe, love. Whatever happens, you and Stryka stick together with the other Riders," Henna told her daughter. "I will, Mom," Zenna nodded and smiled as they left. El gurgled and waved his little right hand at his sister in a goodbye. Zenna smiled and waved back, but her cheerful face suddenly crumpled into one of pain and despair as she mouthed, 'I'm so sorry.'
Eret and Skullcrusher had been assigned to scout the forest. When it came to tracking down dragons in the wild, nobody could compete with the two of them on the job. "All right, Skullcrusher, if you shoot at the Lycanwing, shoot only to stun it. Hiccup doesn't want it killed, but he wants it gone," Eret commanded his Rumblehorn. Skullcrusher growled in affirmation and lifted his nose up in the air, sniffing. Eret made sure to keep his guard up as the sun set, going deeper into the forest with Skullcrusher.
"THE LYCANWING!"
The dragon had arrived from the west beach. Edgar and his men hadn't been able to drive it off as the dragon easily evaded all of the nets as it made its way to the village. There, the A Team tried to knock it out of the sky only to get grounded themselves as the Lycanwing attacked them. Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut, on the other hand, were a lot more successful; chasing the Lycanwing out of the village and leading into the forest where they knew Eret and Skullcrusher were.
Eret heard the shouts and mounted Skullcrusher. The duo flew upwards and saw Astrid and Hiccup on Stormfly and Toothless pursuing a fast-moving blur. "Eret, nab it! We'll try to keep it busy!" Hiccup yelled, Toothless firing plasma blasts at the supposed Lycanwing. Eret unhooked his shield from his back and pulled the trigger, activating the bolas launcher/crossbow. "Hurry! We don t know how long we can keep it...!" Astrid shouted before a huge fireball came screaming towards her, Stormfly, Hiccup, and Toothless and exploded, sending all four of them careening backwards through the air! Quickly, Eret loaded a Dragon Root-tipped arrow into the crossbow and fired. But the Lycanwing easily did a flip, dodging it, and flew away.
Skullcrusher roared and shot one of his own fireballs at it, growling in frustration as his target evaded his attack. "We need to keep it away from the village, Skull! Come on!" the former trapper shouted, the two of them engaging in pursuit. Hiccup and Astrid joined them, followed by Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins. "Can someone tell me how we're supposed to get rid of this thing?!" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang opened fire. Eret grabbed an arrow and waved it in the air to get the team's attention. "Eret's got to hit the Lycanwing with a Dragon Root arrow. Our job is to keep the Lycanwing contained long enough for him to take a shot. Once its disoriented, we trap it, then, we get it off the island," Hiccup instructed before Toothless roared, going into Titan Mode. But even with the enhanced plasma blasts and his legendary speed, Toothless couldn't get the Lycanwing to slow down or get confused enough.
If anything, the dragon just seemed to get angrier!
"We might need more than one Night Fury to keep up with this thing and contain it! Where's Stryka?!" Eret asked as he and his friends chased after the Lycanwing. "We have no idea! As soon as the sun began to set, she and Zenna suddenly disappeared!" Astrid answered. "What?! Why didn't any of you lot follow her?!" Eret asked incredulously. "We didn't see them all day! How do you think we're supposed to find Zenna or Stryka when we didn't even see where they went?!" Ruffnut shrieked at him. "Or maybe they're already with us and we just don't see them?" Tuffnut suggested before hearing Fishlegs scream, "Evasive!" as the Lycanwing did a 180-degree turn and began to fly at breackneck speed towards them!
"Everyone, scatter!" Astrid screamed. The Riders split off in different directions before the Lycanwing rammed into them. But, just as the team began to regroup, it fired a blast! The Riders all screamed and the explosion sent all of them crashing down to the ground! "Well, there goes our original plan..." Hiccup groaned, helping Toothless up. "At least it's flying away from the village. If we're lucky, some of the sentries we posted on that side of the island will drive it off..." Astrid murmured, tending to Stormfly. "So what's our next move?" Snotlout asked, frustrated, Hookfang snorting heavily from overexertion. "Some of us ought to head back to the village and keep watch," Fishlegs said seriously. "Good idea. Fishlegs, you and the Twins head back to the village. Snotlout, Astrid, Eret, and I are going to go after that Lycanwing," Hiccup ordered, making sure Toothless was still okay to continue.
"We'll signal you if it tries to attack the village!" Tuffnut hollered as he and his sister followed Fishlegs and Meatlug on Barf and Belch. "Be careful!" Ruffnut added as they flew off. "You three still up for the chase?" Hiccup turned to his Milady, his cousin, and tracking expert. "Blah, blah, blah! Are we gonna stay here just jabbering or are we going Lycanwing hunting?" Snotlout rolled his eyes at him, already jumping onto Hookfang's back. "Hunting's a bit harsh of a term..." Eret remarked, patting Skullcrusher's horn and hoisting himself onto his back. "Let's just get this thing out of Berk before it decides to attack any more farms or, worse, other dragons and villagers," Astrid said seriously, mounting Stormfly.
"Eret, how many more of those arrows do you got?" Hiccup asked the trapper as they took to the skies.
Eret checked and his brow furrowed.
"I've got four of them; four shots," he replied. "Make them count," Hiccup told him grimly.
Unbeknownst to the Lycanwing pursuit party, Stryka was down on the ground, keeping up with them. The dragoness huffed as she tore across Berk's rugged terrain, making sure that she had the Lycanwing constantly in her line of sight. She had to make sure it wasn't injured or killed. Part of Stryka felt guilty for keeping herself hidden from her beloved mate and her comrades. The other part of her, the protective part, was more than willing to go into offense should her mate and her friends try to harm the Lycanwing.
"I'll try to get in close! Cover me!" Eret yelled as they reached one of Berk's mountains, he and Skullcrusher flying ahead of the group, loading his crossbow. He fired; and the dragon dipped its head down to incinerate the arrow with a fireball.
Three shots.
Snotlout then got the idea to just charge on ahead with Hookfang and knock the Lycanwing out of the sky. "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!" the Jorgenson whooped just as the Lycanwing lashed out at him and Hookfang with its tail! Hookfang roared when the Lycanwing's tail grabbed onto one of his horns and yanked him and his Rider into a cliff wall! "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Snotlout grunted as his head made contact with the rocks several times until the Lycanwing used its tail to fling him and his Monstrous Nightmare out of its trail. "Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid commanded, her Deadly Nadder firing a couple of poisonous spines from her tail at the Lycanwing. Once again, the dragon evaded the attack. And when Astrid and Stormfly tried to get in close with Eret loading his second arrow, it grabbed the top of a tall pine tree and pulled it back. Once the Rumblehorn and Deadly Nadder were close enough, the Lycanwing released the pine tree's top! "Ah!" Astrid yelped as the tree swatted her and Stormfly backwards into Skullcrusher! "Whoa!" Eret released the accidentally released the arrow, hitting nothing.
Two shots.
Toothless growled and fired a plasma blast at one side of the cliff, rocks raining down on the Lycanwing. The dragon roared as it was struck by debris, but kept flying. Eret loaded his crossbow and just about had a clear shot when the Lycanwing suddenly went berserk and fired fireball after fireball!
"Look out!" Hiccup yelled as he and his companions frantically dodged the blasts. Accidentally, Eret fired the arrow and hit Toothless! "Whoooooaaaa!" the Chief hollered as the Alpha got out of control, ramming into Hookfang, then, Stormfly and, finally, Skullcrusher! All four Dragon Riders yelped as they crashed down back to earth. "Chief, Toothless, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Eret apologized profusely as he tried to help the team calm Toothless down. Then he looked up and saw the Lycanwing flying away. Angry at himself for causing his friends trouble, Eret loaded his last arrow into the crossbow. "I'm getting that Lycanwing for this..." he muttered and, ignoring Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout's shouts for him to stay, ran off.
He had some dragon wrangling to do.
Eret kept the Lycanwing in his sights as he chased after it, reaching Raven Point. He saw it fly up into the sky and circle around the nearly full moon. Then, the Lycanwing tossed its head back and let out, not a roar, but a howl that made the hairs on the back of the trapper's neck stand on end.
'One shot left...' Eret thought as he took aim, uttered a quick prayer to the gods... and fired.
The arrow hit the Lycanwing's flank the same time a large black blur came out of nowhere and tackled Eret, knocking him out.
"Uggnnhhh..." Eret groaned as he came to, blinking his eyes wearily open, and sat up. He was at Raven Point, his crossbow lying forgotten on the ground. Picking it up, Eret flipped it back into shield mode and remembered that he had successfully shot the Lycanwing down. Looking around, Eret didn't see any trace of it... until he heard the roaring. Quickly, Eret followed the roars until he reached the Cove, where the forbidden friendship between Chief Hiccup and Doctor Zenna and their two best dragon friends were forged. Looking down, Eret saw the Lycanwing writhing on the ground in pain. And something else that made his eyes widen.
Stryka was there with the Lycanwing, the Dragon Root arrow that had hit it in her mouth. Before Eret could call her, the Lycanwing let out another roar as the rays of early dawn danced on its violet scales that changed colors in the early morning light. 'The sun's rising...' Eret realized and gasped as the Lycanwing's body began to change. Slowly and painfully, the Lycanwing's sleek, scaled body became petite and covered in flesh... hair as black as a raven's feathers grew from its head... the ears disappeared along with the tail and claws as the body became more... human.
Eret watched, transfixed, as the Lycanwing turned into a human female, who fell to the ground on her face and lied down there, unmoving. Stryka whimpered and nudged the woman who feebly stirred and moaned. When the woman raised her head, Eret gasped.
Her paleness, tiredness... her and Stryka's disappearance last night...
The Lycanwing was...
"Zenna?"
I'm really sorry this took so long to write. I've been busy with tons of other things and I've been distracted. I hope to finish the Lycanwing saga before June ends. After that, I'm going to focus on my Harry Potter story, "Harry Potter and the Phoenix Soul."
Anyways, read and review whenever and whatever you want :)
-GuardianDragon98
