Reward Challenge (Day 31)

The night following Ruffnut getting voted out was quite intense, lots of talking amongst the contestants, still that didn't make any of the 7 remaining contestants any less excited for their next reward challenge.

The challenge was set up on the beach and consisted of 7 stations with long poles plus cups and plates of various sizes on tables next to them. Once the contestants had entered, Jeff begins explaining the challenge. "Alright, for today's challenge, you're going to stack and balance various plates and cups on a pole stretched to just under arm's length. If at any point your plates should drop, you are out. Last person standing wins reward, want to know what you're playing for?"

They all yell out a yes. "You will be taken by boat into the middle of the ocean and go on a whale watching excursion. You'll be taken to a spot where blue whales love to hangout for a chance to dive with them. After which, you will feast upon steak, potatoes, salad, and soda. Sounds like it's worth playing for. We'll draw for spots, and we'll get started."

So they all stand in the following order from left to right: Sleuther, Astrid, Hookfang, Barf, Belch, Hiccup, Heather. Once they were all set up, they began by placing a large plate on the end of their poles.

It was no doubt the easiest thing to place, so the proceeded with a small saucer. Again, pretty easy at this stage, but then it got a little harder once they had to put a medium plate on top of that saucer.

This was followed by a large cup, a small plate and another large plate on top of that.

So far, all 7 of them were holding on strong, but then there came the next item, a large saucer, that seemed to trip Barf up and cause her stack to fall, pulling her from the challenge.

The remaining 6 had no problem getting their saucers on, so they kept on going with another large plate, followed by a large bowl that, despite him being sure that it was put on right, ended up falling and caused Hookfang to drop from the challenge, leaving 5.

The remaining 5 kept their composure as they place a small plate inside the bowl, then another small saucer, and another large bowl on top of that which caused Belch and Heather's stacks to shake to the point where they both dropped all of a sudden, leaving Sleuther, Astrid and Hiccup to battle it out for reward.

Hiccup had yet to win a challenge for himself, so he was more than determined to get this done. Although it was just a reward, Sleuther was just as determined to get as much challenge wins under his belt as he can with what little time he has left in the game. Astrid knew that this reward could lead to energy in the next immunity challenge which could help tremendously.

The challenge continue as the remaining 3 have to place a wide plate on top of their already tall stacks. Hiccup's arm was shaking a bit as the weight of his stack was starting to get to him. Both boys get their plates on top, but Astrid let go of hers too soon and it ends up dropping, leaving Hiccup and Sleuther to battle it out.

Both of them only had one item left on their tables, a bowl just slightly wider than the plate they have on top. It was currently a matter of getting the bowl on there, but also holding onto their stacks and keeping them upright.

They needed full concentration to slowly move their bowls to the tops of their stacks. Sleuther had a slight height advantage over Hiccup, but it was only by a few inches. In the end, Sleuther gets his bowl on the rim of the plate on top, but that tips the plate far enough for it to fall, giving Hiccup the victory as he drops his own stack and pumps his fists in victory.

One that was settled, Jeff says to Hiccup, "Alright, Hiccup, first ever individual challenge win. How does it feel?"

Hiccup replies, "It feels amazing Jeff. I do feel like I've been sort of gliding along in the game lately so I think this can kind of show the others that I really am a force to be reckoned with."

Jeff nods then says, "Alright, now Hiccup, you do have a choice to make. You may choose one person to take with you on this whale watching adventure."

Hiccup didn't need long to think before replying, "Astrid, get over here." Astrid smiles and runs over to join Hiccup.

Jeff then says, "Alright, you may select one more person to join you, the other four will have to go back to camp empty handed."

Hiccup scans the room and sees that Hookfang had a bit of a smirk as he expected his name to be called. However, Hiccup replies, "Well, Jeff, I think there's someone here who's more deserving of a reward than the others. Barf."

Barf's eyes widen in surprise as she rushes to join Hiccup and Astrid. Hookfang gave a slight glare upon hearing this.

Jeff nods then says, "Ok then. Hiccup, Astrid, Barf, go and enjoy your whale watching trip." As the three of them left, Jeff says to the rest, "Heather, Sleuther, Belch, Hookfang, got nothing for ya. Head back to camp, I'll see you later."

(Hookfang confession as they were walking back) "I do not get why Hiccup chose Barf over me. I've been loyal to the guy since the merge, why does he have to strip this reward from me?"

Reward

Hiccup, Astrid and Barf are taken on their reward by boat.

(Hiccup confession) "So, I won a challenge. That's pretty exciting, I actually didn't think I would ever win one. I think the others are really starting to see me as a contender here now."

The guide and boat driver takes them out into an area surrounded by a few islands where they soon saw a massive blue whale surface in the water. All three of them just couldn't help but stare in awe at the pure beauty of the huge animal.

The guide explained that the whale was a female named Helga, and that she was also carrying a calf that should be due later that year. Helga loved to swim around in the area they were at and loved seeing the guide's boat even more.

Hiccup pops his metal leg off as he and the girls put on snorkels and dive in to get a much better look at the magnificent beast. The whale saw Hiccup and made a high pitched noise of joy over meeting a new friend. Hiccup, on the other hand, just couldn't help but stare at Helga's gorgeous blue left eye. It reminded him of when he first met Toothless, in that he could feel a connection between him and the blue whale, only on a much larger scale.

They were all specifically told not to touch Helga, which they all respected dearly, so once they were done with the introduction, Helga dove down to go find some food. It was truly a fantastic experience for all three of them, especially Hiccup.

Speaking of food, once the three of them got out of the water and onto the boat, they head off to a nearby beach where there was a small feast waiting for them. As they were eating, Barf says to Hiccup, "So, I gotta know something, why me? Why not your buddy, Hookfang?"

Hiccup replies, "Well, Barf, we just wanted to see where your head is at in this game. Also, see if you can tell us just what Belch thinks he's doing."

Barf nods. "I see. Well, while I do agree that Belch has been acting somewhat different lately, I think all he's doing is just proving that the two of us shouldn't be underestimated."

Astrid points out, "But we trusted both of you to help us get rid of Heather. Why would Belch suddenly turn on us?"

Barf sighs. "I guess he was nervous that, once we did get rid of the Berserkers, you guys were going to gun for us to get yourselves to the final 3."

Hiccup and Astrid exchange glances at that before Hiccup replies, "Well, I mean, yeah we would've done that but that's just how the game goes. At some point we were going to have to go against each other, but we were hoping that, in that moment, you two would just stick with us."

Barf sighs again. "Look, these are Belch's words, not mine. I was happy with working with you guys but I guess when he started talking I just went along with what he was saying."

(Barf confession) "Do I wish Belch would just make up with Hiccup and Astrid? Of course. But, the fact is that I need my closest ally now more than ever. I mean, with only 7 of us left, the places to hide just get smaller and smaller and you kind of need as many allies as you can. I just hope that Belch realizes what he's doing before it's too late."

Back at camp.

Once Heather, Sleuther, Belch and Hookfang get back to camp, they go to their usual jobs of getting a pot of rice on and just sitting by the fire, thinking about the challenge and how great that reward would've been.

(Hookfang confession) "So, Hiccup chose to take Barf to the reward instead of me. I don't know if that means he's wanting to side with her and Belch to get me out or if he just wanted to talk with her. Either way, I'm pretty bummed out."

As they were sitting around, Belch speaks up and says, "Hope Barf is having a good time."

Heather adds, "I mean, I definitely didn't expect myself to go with Hiccup, not after what's been going on, but still."

Sleuther adds as he stirs the cooked rice a bit. "It is what it is, guys. We just gotta accept that."

He serves up some rice to everyone and they begin eating it.

There wasn't a whole lot to do for the rest of the day, even when Hiccup, Astrid and Barf returned, so they just went about their normal duties until it was time for bed.

Dracumo Tribe (Day 32)

It was another free day for the contestants, the first free day since Sleuther returned, so they all just went about their day doing their normal duties.

It was about 10 in the morning when Hiccup pulls Hookfang aside in the jungle and explains to him, "Ok, I just wanted to clarify something with you. I didn't pick Barf yesterday because I thought she was closer to me, I picked her because I wanted to talk with her privately about Belch and where his head is at."

Hookfang rubs his temple a bit before replying, "You could've said something yesterday, you know."

Hiccup replies, "I know, but we were together pretty much all afternoon yesterday. Every time I wanted to pull you to the side, Heather, Belch or someone just kept on following us."

Hookfang sighs. "Just, answer me this. Are you teaming up with Barf and Belch to take me out?"

Hiccup replies right away, "No."

Hookfang nods. "Ok."

(Hookfang confession) "Do I think I can trust Hiccup anymore? I don't know. If I see my name from anyone other than Barf or Belch tomorrow night, I will be mad."

Meanwhile, Belch and Sleuther were talking for a minute where Sleuther says, "Ok, I hear that you guys worked together for a minute. Is that something that could still possibly happen?"

Belch replies, "It could, assuming I can count on getting votes with me."

Sleuther nods. "Well, I know from the other night that Hookfang is on your target list."

Belch nods. "He is. Would you two be willing to join Barf and myself?"

Sleuther replies, "Perhaps. Only if you tell us one thing, do you or Barf have an idol?"

Belch wanted to play his cards carefully here. He wasn't entirely sure if he could trust Sleuther, so he replies, "…No. Neither of us do."

Sleuther squints a bit, as if to detect of any sign that Belch was lying. After seeing nothing, he replies, "Ok then. You have mine and Heather's vote."

Belch nods. "Awesome." They shake hands before heading back to camp.

Immunity challenge (Day 33)

The 7 remaining contestants head off to their next immunity challenge, which was set up on a large grass plains and consisted of a huge maze that had colored bags of puzzle pieces scattered throughout the maze. There were also 7 stations for puzzles, on which was a puzzle base meant to look like a tree trunk.

One they had all entered and Heather and Sleuther give up their immunity necklaces, Jeff explains, "Alright, for today's challenge, you're going to run through a massive maze, looking for 3 bags of puzzle pieces. Once you've collected all 3 bags, you'll take them to your table where you'll solve a tree puzzle. First person to finish, wins immunity, guaranteed a one in 6 shot at winning this game. Losers go to tribal council where someone will be the Twelfth person voted out of this game. We'll draw for spots, and we'll get started."

As per usual, they draw colored rocks and stand in front of their puzzle station in the following order from right to left: Sleuther, Belch, Astrid, Heather, Hiccup, Barf, Hookfang.

Once they were all set up, Jeff raises his hand and says, "For immunity, Survivors ready…go!"

All 7 of them enter the maze and go in different directions in search of their first puzzle piece bag. They all go through the various turns and corners of the maze, finding dead ends along the way, but never losing focus.

Astrid and Belch end up getting to their first respective orange and blue bags towards the far right corner of the maze while Hookfang, Barf and Sleuther find their respective green, yellow and purple bags in the dead center of the maze and Hiccup and Heather struggle a little to find their respective brown and red bags.

Astrid, Belch, Hookfang, Barf and Sleuther quickly get their bags untied as they head out of the maze to drop them off at their tables as Hiccup and Heather get to their first bags near the far left side of the maze.

Belch and Sleuther turn a few wrong corners and find themselves lost in the maze while Astrid, Barf and Hookfang get to the table before heading back in.

Heather also makes a few wrong turns and finds herself in a deadlock while Hiccup dashes through the maze and gets his first brown bag on the table with Sleuther right behind him with his purple bag.

Now, all but Heather and Belch had gotten their first puzzle piece bags onto the table but both of them were still determined to get there.

Astrid finds her second orange bag in the middle of the maze in no time at all while Sleuther and Hiccup get to theirs as well on the top right corner. Hookfang gets somewhat lost at some point trying to find his second bag while Belch and Heather finally get their first bags on the table and head back in, hoping to make up the lost time.

Barf comes into the far left of the map just as Astrid had gotten her second bag and was heading out and Hookfang had finally gotten to where Sleuther and Hiccup were right as they had untied their bags. All 7 of them were now running around the maze either trying to get out or find their next bags.

Astrid gets her second bag onto the table before everyone else and runs back in to get her third, but Hiccup and Sleuther were right behind her.

Belch gets to the center of the maze while Heather finally gets to her first bag in the same location, and rushes to untie it as she had no time to waste at that point.

Hookfang and Barf get their second bags of puzzle pieces on the table at the same time and run back into the maze to get their third. It was now Astrid, Hiccup, Sleuther, Hookfang and Barf looking for their third bags of puzzle pieces, Belch running back with his second, and Heather running back with her first.

The first 5 all quickly get to their final bags of puzzle pieces and quickly untie them before dashing back to the entrance of the maze. Belch and Heather get the bags they had to their tables and head back in themselves.

Hiccup, Hookfang and Barf were the first to get back to the table with their third bags, but Sleuther and Astrid were only a minute behind them.

The 5 of them get to work on their puzzles. The puzzle itself consists of 15 pieces that, when put together correctly, forms a tree with leaves of the colors that they chose.

All 5 of them open up their bags and begin moving pieces around, trying to see what could fit where. Belch got to his last bag of puzzle pieces and began untying it while Heather was, again, struggling to get through the maze and find her second bag, causing hope for the challenge to dwindle.

Sleuther and Astrid get a decent start with their respective purple and orange puzzles while Hiccup was taking a more strategic approach and arranging pieces on the ground and Barf and Hookfang tried putting pieces on, but failed.

Belch pops out of the maze with his third blue bag of puzzle pieces and gets to quick work on opening them.

Hiccup seems to have an idea as he begins constructing his brown puzzle, finding that the pieces he laid out fit perfectly, making him soon catch up to Astrid and Sleuther.

Hookfang starts to get a bit of a momentum going with his green puzzle while Barf was confused on how to get her yellow puzzle going.

Heather, the only one still in the maze, had finally reached the spot for her second bag of red puzzle pieces, and was scrambling to untie the strings of the bag.

Hiccup's strategy was quickly paying off as he managed to quickly get his brown puzzle together and even get ahead of Astrid and Sleuther. Sleuther could see that Hiccup was catching up, so he picks up the pace with his purple puzzle. Astrid was fine if Hiccup won instead of her, as there isn't a closer ally still in the game, but she was still determined to finish the puzzle.

It was down to the last few pieces for both Hiccup and Sleuther and Hiccup manages to get his last piece on seconds before Sleuther did as he calls Jeff over, sealing his victory and securing his spot in the final 6.

(Hiccup confession) "Did I seriously just win another challenge? I-I'm shocked. I don't even know what to say."

Once everyone had gathered at the front with Jeff, Jeff slips the immunity necklace over Hiccup's neck and says, "Hiccup cannot be voted out tonight. Of course, you all know what this means. Astrid, Hookfang, Barf, Belch, Heather, Sleuther. For one of you guys, it's your last night in Survivor. Grab your stuff, head back to camp. I'll see you tonight. Good job, Hiccup."

So they all get their things and head back to camp.

Dracumo Tribe (Day 33)

Once the final 7 contestants get back to camp, Hiccup hangs up his immunity necklace as Astrid hugs him and the rest give him congratulations. Of course, now it was a matter of figuring out who to send to the jury next.

As per usual, Hiccup, Astrid and Hookfang get together on the beach as Hiccup says, "Ok, I'm safe tonight, so who do we go for?"

Astrid replies, "Honestly, let's just get Heather out already. We've been wanting to do it for so long, why not just get it over with?"

Hookfang pokes the sand as he says, "Not bad, but knowing how Sleuther is, one of them could easily have an idol. Question is, what do we do if she does?"

Hiccup sighs. "We…could maybe see if Barf wants to go with us. It did seem like she's worried for Belch at the reward, so she might be willing to go with us."

Astrid adds, "Or, maybe I should talk to her, a little girl talk?"

Hookfang nods. "Barf could just vote with us without them knowing. Ok, Astrid, if you think you can convince her, then go for it."

Astrid nods and gets up to find Barf. As Astrid leaves, Hookfang leans back in the sand as he thinks something.

(Hookfang confession) "You know, I've sort of been holding in my, how should I say it, honest side all this time but, well, Barf and Belch are clearly out for me tonight. I don't know, maybe it's time for my true fire to ignite.

Meanwhile, Heather, Sleuther and Belch were having a meeting of their own. Heather says to Belch, "Ok, so you and Barf are definitely going with us and we're taking out Hookfang?"

Belch nods. "I know I am and I'm sure that once I tell Barf, she'll be in as well."

Sleuther raises a brow. "You haven't told your other half about our plans? How come?"

Belch replies, "Well, the thing is that she did go on that reward with Hiccup and Astrid. I don't know if they connected at all over there or anything like that."

Heather replies, "Hiccup does have a way with convincing people. Heck, he convinced all of Berk that dragons are friends."

Sleuther suggests, "If anything, you can at least talk to Barf and see if you can gage where her head is at."

Belch nods. "I will do just that." So Belch goes off to look for Barf. Barf was sitting in the shelter at camp all by herself when Astrid and Belch come in from both sides.

Astrid and Belch see each other and Astrid says, "Hey guys. What's, uh, going on?"

Belch replies, "Nothing, I was just getting here myself."

Barf rolls her eyes. "Guys, I'm not dumb. I know that both of you are coming over here to convince me to vote with you. I…kind of expected it. What I'd like to do is hear why voting with either of you is a good idea."

Belch blinks before replying, "Barf, before a month ago we literally shared a body, and even out here we've still been closer than some of the other dragons out here. Come on, it's me, your brother."

Astrid then says, "Barf, I'm not saying you should choose friends over family, but you know what you said at the reward. We…we're going for Heather tonight. I think you should do the same." With that, Astrid and Belch go back to their respective groups.

Barf puts her head into her hands as she says, "Man…"

(Barf confession) "How did it come to this? Me having to choose between some of my closest friends and my own brother. I decide to head out and take a walk along the beach to clear my head. In my heart, I know what the right choice is, but the question is, is my head thinking the same way?"

She couldn't make a full decision at the moment, but it was already getting dark so she got back to camp where she and the others grab their things and head out to Tribal Council.

Tribal Council (Day 33)

Once the 7 contestants enter Tribal Council, they sit in their usual spots while the jury of Stormfly, Gustav, Windshear, Toothless, Dagur, Fanghook, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Ruffnut sit on their benches.

Jeff sits down as well and they begin. "Alright, we're at day 33 in this game and there's 7 of you left. Heather, do you feel like everything that's been going on in the game has sort of gotten to you this challenge?"

Heather replies, "No doubt. It's been a little bit since I've had sort of a full meal or a full night's sleep and I think all of that just got to my head and I just lost my train of thought way too easily.

Jeff nods then asks, "Belch, challenge aside, surly your body has been feeling the exhaustion. Has there been a point where you just want to give up?"

Belch replies, "Not at all, Jeff. The longer I'm in this game, the more I can smell the final 3 and even the win. I know that, at this stage in the game, every move you make counts for something and I really gotta just keep thinking."

Hookfang smirks. "That's kinda rich coming from someone like you."

Jeff raises a brow to that. "What do you mean by that, Hookfang?"

Hookfang replies, "Look, we all know the truth. Outside this game, guys like Belch, Barf, those twins, Gustav, they're all just dumb kids that don't know their butts from a volcano crater. The fact that these two…" He gestures to Barf and Belch. "Are even still here baffles me. It's as if splitting them allowed all the brain power to go into their heads, rather than being split between them, and they can actually be smart around here."

Barf, as well as many of the jury members, hang their heads open as she says, "Hookfang, I gotta say I'm pretty offended by that. I mean, yes, I will admit that Belch and I aren't the smartest dragons but-"

"Understatement of the century, ladies and gentlemen." Hookfang says.

Sleuther looks over to Hookfang and says, "Yo, Hookfang, show a little respect for your fellow competitor won't ya?"

This just makes Hookfang smile wider. "Oh, like you know what's been going on around here the past few weeks. Look, the whole reason why we've kept those two here all this time is because they're just dumb enough that, even if they do somehow make it to the final 3, we can beat them out easily for an easy win."

Barf opens and closes her mouth a few times before saying, "You know what, Hookfang? You just made my decision a lot easier. I know exactly who I have to vote out tonight."

Jeff nods and says, "Anything else?" Hookfang leans back in his stump and says, "Ok, it is time to vote. Astrid, you're up." So all 7 of them get up and write their votes down before putting them in the urn.

Once that was done, Jeff grabs the urn and says, "If anybody has a hidden immunity idol, and you'd like to play it, now would be the time to do so." No one got up, so Jeff says, "Ok, I'll read the votes." He pulls up the first vote and says, "First vote…Hookfang."

Then proceeds with the other votes. "…Heather, that's one vote Hookfang, one vote Heather.

…Hookfang, that's two votes Hookfang, one vote Heather.

…Hookfang, that's three votes Hookfang, one vote Heather."

Jeff pulls up one last vote and says, "Twelfth person voted out of Survivor: Humans vs dragons…Hookfang. That's four, it's all I need to see."

Hookfang scans the room and sees that there isn't a surprise on anyone's face, so he gets up and grabs his torch, presenting it to Jeff. "Hookfang, your tribe has spoken." He says before snuffing the torch. "Time for you to go." Hookfang then walks off without another word.

Jeff then says to the rest, "Well, looks like you were right, Belch, every move does count for something. Grab your stuff, head back to camp. Goodnight."

The final 6 grab their things and head back to camp.

(Hookfang confession) "I don't regret what I said tonight. Someone needed to hear it and I was here to give it. Hiccup, Astrid, good luck and screw you."

Only 6 left and let me tell you, the next chapter I have in mind will end with quite the bang.

Thank you for reading this story up to this point, I hope you've enjoyed it, if you have then please drop a favorite, a follow, or do something.

Take care and see ya next time!