Chapter 31: Getting to the Bottom of Things

Once again, Eira and her friends gathered outside their hut in the morning. None of them had seen Krogan return the previous night, so they were eager to hear what he had learned from Reidun. "She is open to all of our suggestions," he explained. "She said she will think about it."

"She better not take too long to think," Viggo said. "We are running out of time."

"I am sure she will announce her decision as soon as she is ready. Trust her. She is a good person."

"Is that why you were out with her so long last night?" Oliver said with a smirk.

Krogan looked at him. "More or less."

"Hey, there she is now!" Dagur exclaimed before the young boy could reply.

Chief Reidun stopped when she neared the dragon riders. She appeared quite at ease, so Eira hoped for good news. However, the two guards who trailed her were of some concern. "Good morning, visitors," Reidun said amiably.

"Good morning," said Eira. "How are you today?"

"Fine, thank you. Let's get right to business. I know all of you were interested in helping my people learn to better defend themselves - presumably so we no longer need outside help. I do not see a problem with this as long as you are properly supervised."

"Oh, that explains those guys," Dagur said, nodding at the guards.

"And what about the dragon products I mentioned?" Krogan asked carefully. "They could help you create better weapons and defenses."

Reidun hesitated, looking over the group before responding. "I will allow one trip into the forest to obtain the necessary materials, and you may split into two to do that. Afterwards, I will decide where to go."

"Fair enough," said Viggo.

"Thank you, Chief Reidun," Eira said, dipping her head. "We appreciate you giving us this chance to prove ourselves."

Reidun smiled slightly. "Of course. Do you mind speaking with me alone for a few minutes?"

"Not at all." Once more, Eira left her friends to get started and walked through the village with Reidun. She noticed how much better the village looked and how the people almost seemed happier.

"I want to thank you for your help yesterday," Reidun said as if reading her mind. "Even if you have your own motives, you have brought good to this village."

Eira smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I have multiple reasons for helping, and one of them is because it is the right thing to do."

"I have no reason to doubt that. Now that I am quite certain in your integrity, I want to know how dragons relate to everything. I admit I am quite confused by your close relationship with them. Why do you care for them so much?" They stopped in the center of the square, in the middle of all the activity.

Eira took the chief's interest as a good sign and was happy to oblige her. "Dragons are our friends, and we treat them as we would human friends. I grew up around dragons and know how to communicate with them without speech. Our relationship with them provides benefits on both sides. They give us the power of flight and fire while we give them safety and security that would be difficult in the wild. We bring out the best in each other."

Reidun nodded. "I see. But doesn't your relationship endanger both of you because you have made yourselves targets?"

"It may seem that way, but I don't think it's true. There is a lot of evil both the human and dragon worlds that would exist even if we remained separate. We have people like Drago who try to control others, and dragons sometimes have alphas who serve the same purpose. The humans who target us are really the same people who fear losing their power. If we didn't have dragons, I believe they would get around to conquering us eventually. With dragons, both sides stand a much better chance. Plus, the deep friendship more than makes up for the negatives. It's kind of hard to explain if you haven't experienced it yourself."

"I will have to take your word for it. Thank you, Eira, for explaining."

Eira smiled at her, pleased where this was going. Reidun seemed to be receptive and showed no signs of distrust. "Anytime. Let me know if you have anymore questions."

Snotlout spent a good portion of his morning alone trying to figure out how to talk to Ingrid. He knew there would not be much time to converse once they met up later that evening. He considered asking his dad for advice but decided against it. This was something he needed to do on his own.

Finally, he forced himself outside, thinking the fresh air might help him. As luck would have it, he ran into Ingrid staring up at a tree. Upon looking closer, he noticed two Terrible Terrors cuddling. Maybe this was the sign he needed. He cleared his throat to get the girl's attention. "Something interesting up there?" he said.

Ingrid appeared startled at his presence. "Oh, Snotlout. Those Terrible Terrors are cute, aren't they? I think they're in love."

"Uh, yeah. That sounds nice." Snotlout coughed. "Maybe they'll get married now."

Ingrid gave him an uneasy look. "I don't think dragons have marriages."

"Well, they should! Marriage is just great isn't it? We should all get married!"

Ingrid's look increased in worry. "Uh, I'm going to go..." She took several steps back before turning and fleeing.

Snotlout muttered under his breath. He messed up again!

Toothless discovered the Light Fury quicker the second time he went looking for her. She was in the middle of the forest rummaging around for something. When she saw him, she called to him in greeting, which he returned. Then he gave her a questioning look. Instead of responding, she began running through the grass. Toothless followed.

The Light Fury repeatedly looked over her shoulder at him with a tranquil expression, so he surmised that she was not running away. Was this some sort of game? He liked games. After some time, she gracefully leapt into the air and spread her wings. Toothless skidded to a halt. He knew he could fly on his own now, but something held him back.

The Light Fury looked down on him while hovering in the air, seeming confused. Toothless shook off his apprehension. If Hiccup were here, he would encourage him to fly with this dragon. So, he spread his own wings and took to the air. The Light Fury let out a pleased sound before angling upward.

Toothless followed her up over the trees. He felt a little awkward at first, but he gradually grew used to it. They flew until they were submerged in the clouds, hiding themselves from onlookers below. Toothless smiled despite himself. This was actually quite enjoyable. Caught in the moment, he twirled several times in the air. The Light Fury gave him an odd look, and his smile faltered. But in the next instant, she twirled in the air as well, mimicking him perfectly.

Delighted, Toothless twirled once more, but this time he kept going until he was underneath the Light Fury. He gave her a goofy smile, and she laughed. Then she lightly pounced on his belly and flew off. He straightened himself up so he could fly after her. Now he flew in a large circle all around her. She batted at him to get him to back up. Toothless gave her space, and she dove, speeding up considerably. He kept pace with her while they raced.

Getting an idea, Toothless slowed just enough so he was directly behind her and then, his teeth retracted, closed her mouth over her tailfins. The Light Fury looked back at him in shock at his boldness. She curved in the air, causing the furies to form a circle that enabled her to grab onto his tail. Due to the momentum from their previous flying, they twirled into a circle towards the ground.

They landed in a giant pile of dead leaves. Their heads popped out at the same time. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. The Light Fury flicked Toothless' nose with her tailfin before darting away. Smiling, he followed.

Ingrid darted around the village, looking for a place to hide from Snotlout until he got those silly ideas out of his head. Eventually, she came upon the training dome where she found Astrid practicing her axe wielding. It took several minutes before the Viking noticed her.

"Hey, Ingrid," Astrid said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "What's going on?"

"Oh, just hiding from Snotlout," Ingrid responded.

Astrid smirked. "Enough said. You're welcome to hide out here with me."

Ingrid smiled slightly. "Thanks." She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, watching as Astrid continued to practice.

"So, what did Snotlout do this time?"

"Oh, someone gave him the idea that he should propose to me, but we're totally not ready for it. It's kind of freaking me out."

Astrid threw her axe at the target and then looked back at Ingrid with a frown. "Really? I wish someone would give Hiccup that idea. If we're not ready now, I don't know if we'll ever be."

Ah, so she did want to marry. Ingrid found the news intriguing. "Have you talked to Hiccup about it?"

"Well, no, but I shouldn't have to ask."

"Because men are so good at picking up on our hints."

Astrid laughed. "Okay, you have a point. I'll talk to Hiccup about want to get married if you talk to Snotlout about not wanting to marry."

Ingrid frowned. How did this turn around on her? "But he'll probably take it the wrong way and think I don't like him."

"He's probably taking your hiding the wrong way."

A flash of guilt struck Ingrid. "Maybe. Fine, I'll give it a try if you do the same."

Astrid smiled slightly. "It's a deal."

Snotlout spent some time thinking about where he went wrong before searching for Ingrid. Instead of finding her, he came across Valka, who was picking herbs from a meadow while Cloudjumper watched on. Occasionally, she showed a plant to the dragon, who either nodded or shook his head.

"What are you doing?" Snotlout said curiously.

Valka looked back at him with mild surprise. "Oh, Snotlout. I'm gathering herbs that are helpful in treating dragon wounds."

"Wow, I didn't know herbs could do that."

Valka smiled. "They help humans, so why not dragons?"

"I guess that makes sense." Snotlout's eyes looked around nervously while trying to figure out what to say.

"Can I help you wish something, Snotlout?"

The young Viking flinched. "I, uh, was just thinking... about..."

Valka lifted her eyebrows. "About..."

He decided to just go for it. "About marriage!" He chuckled nervously at the shock on her face. "I mean... You do think marriage is a good thing, don't you? Hiccup and Astrid should probably get on it."

"That's a bold statement, but... yes. I do believe marriage can be wonderful, and for the chief in particular it can be a means to show strength and unity."

Snotlout nodded. "Right. That's what I'm saying. So, you should probably get on him about that."

Valka looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure this isn't about you and Ingrid?"

Snotlout flushed. "What? Why would it be? We're not ready for that yet! Why are you suggesting that? We haven't even..." He cut himself off before he said too much.

Valka gave him a knowing smile. "I see. Go at your own pace and everything will work out... as long as she is on board with the pace."

Snotlout chuckled nervously. "Yeah, right. Thanks." He did not find the conversation particularly helpful. He already knew he needed to communicate with Ingrid, but she kept running away! Now what?

Ingrid knew she needed to talk to Snotlout, so at Astrid's urging, she finally left the training dome to look for him. She did not go far when she saw him wave her down in the center of the town square. She jogged to meet him, her heart hammering.

"Ingrid, Toothless just got back from visiting with the Light Fury!" he said excitedly. "I know we said we'd follow her at night, but since we know she's in the forest, we might as well observe her right now."

Ingrid relaxed slightly. So, he was not upset at her for running away. "That's a good idea. If we follow her now, we won't get lost in the darkness."

Snotlout grinned. "I always have good ideas. Let's go!" He turned in the direction of the stables.

Ingrid's heartrate picked up. "W-Wait! I needed to talk to you about something first." If she did not do it now, she feared she might never have the nerve.

Snotlout looked at her impatiently. "Can't it wait? The Light Fury might already be leaving! We can't let her take any more dragons."

Ingrid bit her lip. She knew there was no use arguing with him when he was like this. "Fine. I'll tell you later."

The couple retrieved their dragons and set off through the forest. Once again, they were careful to move ahead on foot when they neared the edge of the island. Sure enough, from their hiding spots, they could see the Light Fury communicating with four dragons of different species. The dragons looked around at each other uneasily, but when the Light Fury took off into the sky, so did they.

"Come on!" Ingrid exclaimed as soon as the dragons were far enough away to not hear her. "We need to follow them, but we have to be stealthy."

"I'm always stealthy," Snotlout said, climbing back onto Hookfang.

Ingrid frowned as she watched them. "Just make sure he doesn't light himself on fire or something." She rubbed Shadowwhisper's neck soothingly. "Let's go, boy, and how about a calming atmosphere?" The Hobblegrunt snorted in agreement. Then they were off.

They flew for what seemed like hours but was probably no longer than one. Miraculously, the Vikings and their dragons managed to remain inconspicuous and unseen. Finally, they neared an island they had never scene before. It was tall with sharp cliffs all around. The Light Fury hovered over a clearing surrounded by forest. Then, one by one, the dragons she led dipped down and did not come back up.

"Where did they go?!" Snotlout exclaimed.

Ingrid shot him a look. "Shh! We still don't want to be seen. Let's get closer." As they flew closer to the island, they noticed a rocky structure with a large opening. "I think the dragons flew into a cave. It must lead underground."

"Then let's investigate!"

"Wait!"

But it was too late. The Light Fury noticed Hookfang as soon as he zoomed forward, and she immediately blocked his path, snarling. "Whoa!" Snotlout cried. "We don't mean any harm."

"Maybe we should leave." Ingrid did not like the look of the Light Fury. Plus, now that they knew the location of the island, they could always return with backup.

"Yeah, good idea." Before either of them good move, a plasma blast sailed right between them... but it did not come from the Light Fury. Snotlout's eyes grew wide. "What was that?"

"I'm not sticking around to find out!" Ingrid directed Shadowwhisper to the ocean, but suddenly a dragon blocked their path. She gasped as she took in the familiar shape and black scales. "Is that...?"

"Night Furies!" Snotlout shouted.

Ingrid looked back at him and saw they were now surrounded by six Night Furies and the Light Fury, and they did not look too pleased at their presence. "We need to leave now!"

"There's no way we can outfly them!"

But they tried anyway. Hookfang and Shadowwhisper flew around, dodging plasms blasts and looking for an opening. Every time they thought they had success, they were blocked by one of the dragons. "This is crazy!" The Night Furies were slowly corralling them, pushing them to the forest.

Snotlout groaned. "Can this get any worse?"

"Down here!" someone shouted from the forest. Hookfang immediately dove. A second later, Snotlout screamed.

"What's wrong?!" Ingrid cried as she urged Shadowwhisper into the forest.

"It just got worse."

Shadowwhisper landed beside Hookfang amidst the trees. Ingrid followed Snotlout's gaze and let out a loud gasp. Standing before them was Drago Bludvist.

A/N: Not sorry about the cliffhanger. Also, the part with Toothless and the Light Fury is largely takes from a Hidden World deleted scene called "Toothless and his Sow Go Flying." You should watch it. It's really cute.