Chapter 29: Disappearances

Snotlout had been acting funny all day, and Ingrid did not understand it. It started on their air patrol but continued as they checked on the dragons on Berk. He rotated between babbling nonsense and clamming up. Ingrid decided to ignore it for now because they had more important things to worry about.

"Didn't there used to be more dragons living in the village?" Ingrid said after they finished their tour.

Snotlout shrugged. "I think so, but didn't Gobber say there were too many and he was going to bring it up with Hiccup?" He looked away quickly when he finished speaking.

Ingrid could not imagine Hiccup kicking dragons off Berk, so he had to have suggested something else to them. "Let's check the forest."

"Or maybe we could just talk and-"

Ingrid had already flown into the air with Shadowwhisper, leaving Snotlout and Hookfang no choice but to follow. They scoured the forest as they had done the village, and even here the dragon numbers were slightly off. They stopped at the edge of the island, still on their dragons. "Something's not right, Snotlout. Dragons are leaving Berk, and we need to find out why."

"Maybe they're upset because, uh, Hiccup and Astrid won't get married."

Ingrid stared at him. "What has that have to do with anything?" A white blur suddenly whipped past them. The young woman gasped as she watched a pure white dragon that looked awfully like a Night Fury fly away from Berk at incredible speed. "That must be the Light Fury!"

Snotlout whistled. "Wow, she's going somewhere in a hurry."

"Maybe we should follow her."

Snotlout gave her an incredulous look. "Are you crazy? She attacked Hiccup twice! I'm not going anywhere near her."

Ingrid stopped herself from suggesting that Shadowwhisper could keep the dragon calm enough for them to talk to her. It was just as well, for the Light Fury faded into the light. "Fine. Let's go back."

"Or we could stay here and talk."

Ingrid raised her eyebrows at Snotlout. Something about his smile seemed way too forced. Something was definitely going on. "Okay... what do you want to talk about?"

Snotlout scratched his head. "Uh, nice breeze we're having?" Hookfang snorted.

"If you're not going to be serious-"

"No, wait! I, uh..." Snotlout darted his eyes around nervously. "I wanted to talk about... our relationship."

Ingrid's heart skipped a beat. "What about it?"

"I... don't think we should follow Hiccup and Astrid's lead, do you?"

Ingrid blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, dragging things on for years with nothing going anywhere..."

Ingrid's eyes widened in realization. He mentioned something earlier about those two getting married. He wasn't suggesting the two of them should marry, was he? Panic set in, and she found it hard to think straight. "You know what, Snotlout? I think our relationship is just fine. There's nothing to change at all. Now I've got to, uh, go bathe Shadowwhisper!"

"But I just-"

Ingrid urged her dragon into the air, and soon, the two of them were too far away to hear Snotlout. Thankfully, he and Hookfang did not follow them. She let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, boy." She rubbed the side of Shadowwhisper's neck. Maybe she should not have run, but she was not ready to have a conversation with that just yet! Besides, there was no way Snotlout came up with that on his own. Someone had baited him.

"Toothless, I have a present for you!" Hiccup greeted the Night Fury with a smile upon exiting the Forge. Luckily, the dragon had finished his duties and came looking for Hiccup just as the chief completed his own task.

Toothless appeared eager with anticipation, but that quickly changed when Hiccup held out the auto-tailfin. Clearly, he recognized the design. Hiccup lowered the tail to his side. "Yes, this is a tailfin that will allow you to fly on your own."

Toothless snarled, his eyes still on the material.

"Look, I understand where you are coming from. You do not want to fly if it is not with me, right? We're a team; I get that. But this tail won't change anything. You're still my best bud, and I won't part from you unless absolutely necessary. I'll still fly with you as much as possible."

Toothless gave him a look as if to say, 'then why do I need it?'

"This is only for emergencies... and special missions. You may not think you need it now, but you'll thank me later if we're ever forcefully separated."

Toothless snorted. He took a step forward and touched the new tailfin with his snout. Then he brought his tail to his head and did the same to his current artificial fin. He looked at Hiccup expectantly.

"Why is it not red? Well..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping you would help me with the Light Fury, and she might accept you more easily if she doesn't notice this is manmade."

Toothless growled and backed away.

"I know, I know. She attacked me. But she must have a reason, and maybe you can explain to her why some humans are trustworthy."

Toothless eyed him suspiciously.

"If I'm not there, I can't get hurt, right? This tail will help you get close to her in ways I can't... unless you want me to try training her again."

Toothless snarled before ripping the tailfin out of Hiccup's hand.

"Whoa, okay, bud. We'll get this on you." Hiccup smiled in relief as he set up the new fin. Toothless still did not seem very happy about the fin or the Light Fury, but this was a start. The young Viking was certain he would like the Light Fury if he gave her a chance. Then hopefully she would give Hiccup a chance in turn!

Oliver remained with the children, who resumed playing with Eira and Dagur. After awhile, however, Eira saw her little brother wander off from the group and lean against a tree. When she approached him, she noticed he appeared to be in thought with a deep frown on his face.

"Oliver," she said gently, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking," said Oliver. "I'm sorry about causing trouble today. I didn't mean for that to happen, and I won't do it again."

Eira nodded. "That's good to hear."

"Do you... do you think Jarl will still be allowed to play with me?" There was a hint of fear in his eyes as he looked at his sister.

Eira took a moment to think about it. "I do not know. If Jarl had as much to say in what happened as you, I don't think Reidun will hold you entirely responsible." She paused. "Why does it matter that much to you? Jarl is several years younger than you, right? If you want to play with kids, there are plenty more."

Oliver shook his head. "No, it's not that. I don't care about playing with kids. Jarl is different. He's cool, and he listens to what I have to say. He actually takes me seriously."

"Ah, you're used to being the youngest brother, so now it feels good to play a pseudo-role of older brother?"

Oliver shrugged. "I guess so."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Just remember that older siblings have important responsibilities. If you want to be a good role model, you have to think about the consequences of your actions. If you do that, I'm sure Reidun won't have a problem with you playing with her son."

Oliver's expression brightened considerably. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Eira. You're a pretty good role model yourself."

Eira smiled. "Thanks. That's good to hear." She sometimes worried about the impact she had on her siblings, so it was good to know they thought well of her.

"Children, it's time to return home!"

Eira looked over her shoulder to see a portly woman rounding up the kids who had been playing with Dagur. The dozen or so kids grumbled but got in line near the woman. "'Home?'" Dagur said in confusion. Eira also wondered about the use of the singular. There was no way all these kids were related.

"Yes, to the orphanage," the woman replied. "Would you like to see it?"

Dagur and Eira exchanged glances. "If you don't mind," said Eira. She looked to Oliver, but he seemed content to remain put. So, she and Dagur followed the woman as she led the children through the village. "We didn't realize they were all orphans."

"Yeah, why are there so many of them?" Dagur asked.

"They're not all from this village," the woman said. "They are mostly refugees from villages torn apart by war. Their parents died in battle, and their villages did not have the resources to take care of them. Our generous chief took them in and provided them safety."

"That's great and all, but why haven't they been placed with families?"

The woman gave him a sad smile. "Some of them were, but our families are suffering as well. We can only ask so much of them." She stopped at a large, rectangular building that appeared to be just held together. "Here we are. It's not much, but it's home."

"Hmm... Looks like it could use some repairs."

"We would love to help you with that," Eira said.

The woman smiled and dipped her head. "Thank you. That would be much appreciated."

Eira wished there was something more she could do for the kids. It was terrible they had to grow up this way. From the look in Dagur's eyes, she knew he felt the same way. Though they could not take on so many problems at once, she vowed to take any opportunity to help that presented itself.

Viggo stood on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the docks below. His position allowed him to observe the activities going on down there, and the numerous trees gave him cover in case anyone looked his way. Members of the Northern Alliance had decided to stop by today and were currently in conversation with village soldiers.

He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone approaching. It was only Krogan. He motioned for him to remain silent and then nodded in the direction of the docks. Upon looking at what was going on, Krogan's eyes narrowed. "What are they doing here?" he said in a low voice.

"They're being paid off by the village," Viggo responded just as quietly. "For protection, I suspect."

"Protection from them. We need to interrogate them."

Viggo eyed his friend carefully. "It is not our place to intervene. Not yet."

Krogan grit his teeth in frustration. "We have to do something to help the village see the truth."

"Do we? Our first priority is ensuring our ability to leave the island. After that, it may be useful to gain information from the Northern Alliance, whether or not the village 'sees the truth.' Remember, this is merely one of many villages under similar control of the Northern Alliance. What does it matter if we free this one?"

Krogan cast his gaze to the ground. "It matters to them."

Viggo smiled. That sounded like an answer someone like Hiccup or Eira would give. "Indeed. Then let's see what we can do for them, shall we?"

Krogan looked at him with a hopeful expression and a hint of a smile. "Yes. Let's."

Snotlout feared he had already ruined things with Ingrid. She had run away from him just like his father had warned him about. Could his innocent questions already have scared her away? He spent a large amount of time sharing his worries with Hookfang, but after awhile, he realized he needed to find out the truth himself. Hiding did not solve anything, as he had learned several times over in the past.

He forced himself to search the village for his girlfriend, quickly finding her about to mount her dragon. "Hey, Ingrid," he said with a nervous smile. "Going somewhere?" She wasn't running (er, flying) away from him again, was she?

Ingrid climbed onto Shadowwhisper's back and then looked down at Snotlout in surprise. "Oh, Snotlout. I thought I saw the Light Fury returning to the forest, and I'm going to investigate. Do you want to join me?"

Snotlout stared at her for a moment with his mouth partly open. She was acting like nothing had happened between them, and he was not sure if this was a good thing or not. He did know it would be wise to accept her offer so they could progress their relationship. "Okay. We're not going to do anything dangerous, are we?"

Ingrid smiled. "Of course not. Let's go!"

Snotlout scrambled onto Hookfang and took off after Ingrid. The dragons flew silently through the forest until they landed without warning. "What's going on?"

Ingrid rubbed Shadowwhisper's neck. "Do you smell the Light Fury?" The Hobblegrunt seemed to nod in confirmation. "Maybe you should create a relaxing environment... just in cast." She slipped off his back, and Snotlout followed suit. They slowly moved forward, being careful where they stepped. "Hide!"

The Vikings ducked behind neighbor trees. Snotlout slowly moved his head until he could just see the Light Fury in the distance. Several dragons gathered before her, and she appeared to be discussing something with them. "What is she doing?"

As if in response, the dragons took to the air and began flying towards the edge of Berk. The Light Fury had a satisfied look on her face. She then trotted off deeper into the forest. Snotlout let out a breath of relief once she was gone. "I don't like this," Ingrid murmured. "That is pretty odd behavior, and I always thought the timing of her appearance on Berk was highly suspicious."

"Yeah, I'd say she's up to something," Snotlout agreed, "but what?"

Ingrid chewed her bottom lip. "What if... what if she's the reason dragons are leaving Berk?"

Snotlout paled. "We have to tell Hiccup."

The two of them returned to their dragons and took off once more. On their way to their village, a black dragon with no rider flew past them. "Was that Toothless?" Ingrid said incredulously.

"That's impossible. Toothless can't fly without Hiccup." They found Hiccup at the village square and landed their dragons.

"Hiccup! We just saw the Light Fury!"

"She's in the forest?" Hiccup said. "Great! I just sent Toothless there to talk to her."

Snotlout frowned. "But Toothless can't fly without you."

"He can with the new tail I made for him. He's going to help me research the Light Fury because she's more receptive to him than me."

"I don't think that's such a great idea, Hiccup," Ingrid said, sharing a worried glance with Snotlout. "We've managed to observe her and noticed some suspicious behavior."

"She's doing something to make dragons leave Berk!" Snotlout shouted.

Hiccup gave him an odd look. "Leave Berk? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe she has some sort of evil plot."

"We noticed there are less dragons on Berk than usual," Ingrid explained. "Then we saw the Light Fury talk to dragons, who then flew away from Berk. I think."

"You think?" Hiccup shook his head. "I think you two are thinking too much about this. I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for everything. Just the other day Gobber was complaining about too many dragons on Berk. Maybe some of them got the message and found another safe place to live. Or maybe the Light Fury knows of a great island and told them about it - no evil involved."

"I'm not convinced," said Snotlout. "We'll have to do some more research."

Hiccup continued to look at him as if he were crazy. "You do that, Snotlout."

"Don't worry," Ingrid said with a grin, "we'll find out the truth for sure! And if something nefarious is going on, we'll figure out how to stop it."