Author's Note: Hello, everyone! =D Welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" I still don't have much to say at the moment (darn...), so I hope you guys enjoy this next part of "How to Talk to Your Dragon!"
Summary: Finally arriving at the island where Dagur is constructing his new armada, Stoick and Hiccup leave along with their dragons to cause a distraction, but Hiccup and Toothless end up getting captured by the Berserker Chief himself. (DOB.)
How to Talk to Your Dragon, Part Three
The plan was simple: hide near Dagur's shipyard, blast the armada into oblivion, and then leave. But why did Toothless feel that he and the other Dragon Riders were missing something?
Toothless liked the plan that the Dragon Riders had concocted; it was simple, but it seemed effective since each of the Riders knew what their roles in the plan were…and they had a Thunderdrum on their side. Toothless knew that Thornado's powerful blasts would definitely come in handy when the time came to destroy Dagur's ships. A part of the Night Fury wondered if he should tell Hiccup about the unease that he was feeling, but he decided not to. He and Toothless had been in several perilous situations before, and they always found their way out of them. Whatever dangers laid ahead of them, Toothless was confident that he and Hiccup would be able to face them with no fear. Besides, they could talk to each other now. Surely communicating with each other verbally would help during the mission, right?
Stormfly and Toothless were in the front of the dragon formation; Hiccup and Astrid rode on top of them, and scanned the horizon for any sign of land. Behind the Hofferson and Haddock was Stoick and Snotlout, and behind them were the twins and Fishlegs. They flew over the dark, churning blue waters of the ocean below, making sure that they were hidden under the blanket of night. Flying above the clouds would have proved to be useful as well, but Hiccup and the Dragon Riders wanted to destroy the ships as soon as possible. And the fastest way to the shipyard was near the ground, not up in the sky.
Toothless' eyes looked up at Hiccup. "Are you ready?" he asked.
Hiccup laughed quietly. I was about to ask you the same thing, Bud.
"Destroying dozens of ships shouldn't take long, said Toothless. As long as we don't tarry and get on with it before Dagur detects us."
Hiccup nodded. If all goes to plan, we'll be in and out of here in no time.
As reassuring as Hiccup sounded, Toothless could tell by the young viking's tone that he was a little anxious. It was in moments like these that Toothless often helped Hiccup cheer up by giving him a little encouragement with a nuzzle or friendly lick. But since they could talk to each other, Toothless could actually give Hiccup words of encouragement, which was new and quite exciting.
Toothless was just about to say something to Hiccup to soothe his nerves when Astrid flew closer to them. The blonde tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "The island is just up ahead. We should take shelter in the forest. We can easily make it past Dagur and his soldiers without getting caught."
Hiccup nodded in agreement. "We'll do just that."
"I'm a master at stealth," said Toothless. "I am a Night Fury after all."
Hiccup smiled and patted his dragon's dry, scaly head. He then turned to the other Dragon Riders and his father. "Get ready to land, everyone," announced the young viking.
Everyone nodded, and the island Astrid had pointed out soon came into view. It looked as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on, but all of the Dragon Riders knew that that was where Dagur was building his new armada of ships. An armada that would be unstoppable if it wasn't put to an end right away. Hiccup and Toothless took the lead, and Hiccup let his dragon guide him to where the forest was. The Night Fury and green-eyed teen were the first to touch down on the dirt ground followed by Astrid and Stormfly, Stoick and Thornado, and the rest of the Dragon Riders. Each dragon landed almost soundlessly, and Hiccup slipped off Toothless back and took a look around. The forest was sparse, and there weren't many trees to hide or take shelter behind. Bushes were scattered across the area, and Hiccup could hear the sounds of construction coming from up ahead. The auburn-haired teen turned around to the others and put a finger to his lips, and pointed up ahead.
The twins, as usual, didn't get the message. Ruffnut turned to her brother and whispered, albeit very loudly, "Are we playing a game of charades?"
Tuffnut shrugged. "I'm not good at charades." He narrowed his eyes at his sister. "And you cheat."
"I do not!" argued Ruffnut.
Snotlout whipped his head around and faced the two bickering twins. "Can you two shut up?" he snapped. "We're following Hiccup! Can't you two follow the simplest of instructions?"
"He does know that Hiccup didn't say anything, right?" whispered Tuffnut.
Ruffnut shrugged. "These types of things just fly over Snotlout's head."
Snotlout rolled his eyes, and the Dragon Riders proceeded to trudge through the open forest. Toothless and Stormfly sniffed the ground, and Hiccup and Astrid followed them not to close behind. The Deadly Nadder and Night Fury followed the rather pungent scent of the Berserkers all the way to the edge of an escarpment that led down into the shipyard. The Riders and Stoick ducked behind some bushes; they could all hear the sounds of intense building and Dagur yelling orders at his men. Hiccup peaked over his bush and spotted several ship masts lined up in a row some distance away from where the ships were being constructed, and he guessed that was where Dagur was keeping all of the completed ships.
"Let's go to high ground so we can take a better look at things," said Hiccup.
The Dragon Riders furtively crossed a completely open area with no trees or bushes to take shelter behind and climbed up a hill side that led to an even higher cliff. There were no trees, just bushes, and from that higher point, Hiccup had a clearer view of the entire shipyard. There was an area where the ships were constructed, and the young viking noticed that the ship that was currently being worked on was almost complete. Only a few more planks of wood were needed to finish the deck. Off to the far left were the rows of masts that Hiccup had seen earlier, and all of the ships were marked with the Berserker's crest: a Skrill. The ships were heavily armed with arrows and chains, and Hiccup knew that there were definitely catapults, bola launchers, and arrow launchers hidden on the other ships. Both Hiccup and Toothless frowned at the sight.
"Thor, Dagur sure does love his armadas," said Toothless.
You got that right, Bud, agreed Hiccup.
"If you don't mind me asking," said Snotlout. Everyone turned to the Jorgeson boy. "Are we going to start blowing up the armada now instead of just sitting here?" he asked impatiently.
"We have to wait until there aren't so many Berserkers in the area," said Hiccup. "If we fly in now, we risk getting caught or worse."
"And we don't want to get caught by any of Dagur's traps or weapons," Astrid added.
"But that could take for-ev-er," complained Snotlout.
Astrid was about to say something, but she then furrowed her brow in thought. "You know…you're right."
Snotlout blinked in surprise. "I-I am? I mean, of course I am. I'm Snotlout."
Astrid rolled her eyes and turned to Hiccup. "We can't sit around here and wait for so long, Hiccup. We're going to need some kind of diversion to drive the Berserkers away from here so we can start destroying those ships.
Hiccup nodded. "Toothless and I will cause a commotion on the other side of the island while you guys wait here."
"Wait, why us?" asked Toothless.
Because we're faster than the other dragons. If something goes wrong, we'll be able to get out of it quicker than the others.
"Oh, gotcha."
Stoick wasn't comfortable with the idea of his son traveling out alone to cause a distraction that could bring the Berserkers to him. "I'll go and cause a distraction," he said. "It's too dangerous Hiccup, and I don't want you hurting yourself again."
"Dad, I'll be fine," said Hiccup reassuringly. "Toothless and I will go."
"No, I will," Stoick said insistently.
Hiccup frowned. "Dad—"
Before an argument between father and son could break out, Astrid intervened. "Why don't you both go? Hiccup can cause the distraction while Stoick acts as a lookout in case anything goes wrong."
Hiccup and Stoick looked at each other.
"I'm fine with that," said Hiccup.
Stoick nodded. "Then let's go before we run out of time."
Hiccup mounted Toothless and he turned to the others. "You guys stay here and wait for the signal, okay?"
The other Dragon Riders nodded and ducked behind the bushes. Astrid stayed out a little longer and she placed her hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Be careful out there," she said.
Hiccup smiled. "I will. I promise."
Astrid gave Hiccup's shoulder a light squeeze, and then she headed to hide behind the bushes with the other Dragon Riders. Hiccup and Stoick took off into the night sky, and they soared over the island that was crawling with Berserkers. But despite the fact that they were flying over enemy territory, Stoick, Hiccup, and their dragons did enjoy the beautiful night scenery. The moon was their lantern and it guided them where they needed to go, and the stars sparkled against the elegant dark sky.
Hiccup and Stoick flew side-by-side in silence for a while. After some time, Stoick asked, "So, son. What is it like being able to talk to Toothless?"
Hiccup shrugged. "It's kind of like talking to a person," he replied. "Except I can only hear Toothless through his mind and thoughts. We can communicate metnally too, which is what we've been doing most of the time to avoid public embarrassment."
Stoick laughed and Hiccup continued.
"It isn't all bad," he said. "And I kind of like being able to actually talk to Toothless now, although we never really needed to talk to each other in the first place. We kind of just understood each other, even without words."
Stoick nodded. "Do you think it'll wear off eventually?
Hiccup thought for a moment; that never came to his mind. The young viking frankly didn't know if his ability to talk with Toothless will ever go away, and he didn't mind if it does either. Sure, he would miss hearing Toothless' actual voice and being able to understand him not just by movements, actions, and expressions but with words. Actual, audible words. So maybe a part of him would miss being able to communicate with Toothless. Hiccup secretly hoped that it wouldn't any time soon; he had so many questions for his friend, and he didn't get the time to ask them yet.
"I honestly don't know," answered Hiccup. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"I sure hope it doesn't go away," said Toothless. "I have too much to say to you, Hiccup."
Hiccup laughed out loud, which left Stoick feeling confused. He guessed that Toothless must have said something humorous.
"What did he say?" asked Stoick.
Hiccup smiled. "Toothless says he has too much to say to me, and he hopes that our ability to talk to each other doesn't go away."
Stoick chuckled. "Toothless has quite the sense of humor, aye?"
Toothless smirked proudly. "Your sire has an eye for talent," he told Hiccup.
"Toothless says you have an eye for talent," Hiccup said to his father. Stoick smiled.
"I'm glad that Toothless knows how to respect a chief," he said.
Soon, Stoick, Hiccup, Toothless, and Thornado reached the far side of the island, and were glad to have stumbled upon something that they could use for a distraction. A beach came into view, and it was cluttered with old ship parts like wood, masts, flags, and sails; the perfect materials to start a fire. Hiccup guessed that the farther side was used to some kind of junkyard, and the young viking was glad that there weren't any Berserkers disposing of things at the moment.
"Okay, Bud. You know what to do," said Hiccup as he patted his dragon on the head. Toothless opened his mouth and fired a bright purple plasma blast at the pile of flammables, and the ship parts immediately burst into flames. The fire spread rather quickly, since all of the items were easy to catch fire, and soon, every single disposed ship part was being licked by bright orange flames.
Thornado looked around and growled; he sensed something, and Toothless could sense something too. "The Berserkers are coming, Hiccup!" said Stoick.
"Then that means it's time to go!" exclaimed Hiccup. The young viking turned around and followed his father back the way they came from, but they only made it a short distance before arrows suddenly launched from the ground. Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless, and Thronado dodged and evaded them, but there was one arrow that managed to tear its way through Toothless' tailfin. The ripping sound was one that Hiccup hoped was just his imagination, but he was proven wrong when he and Toothless both began to fall to the ground.
"Hiccup!" shouted Stoick. He was about to dive for the young viking and Night Fury when dozens of arrows flew through the air toward his direction.
"Go!" yelled Hiccup. "Tell the others to start blasting the ships! We'll meet you up there!"
Stoick didn't want to leave his son. He really didn't, but he knew that if he stayed, he would get captured too, which would make escape even harder. Stoick closed his eyes and sighed.
"Good luck, Hiccup. And hurry!" he yelled as he flew away.
…
Hiccup and Toothless crashed to the ground with a loud and sickening THUD. Hiccup felt pain dash up his left arm, but he ignored it as he quickly got to his feet and stood beside Toothless, who was already growling and threatening the Berserker soldiers surrounding them. The soldiers weren't at all frightened by Toothless thought, and they held up their crossbows and aimed at the auburn-haired viking and his dragon. Dagur soon emerged from the ring of soldiers, and he chuckled madly.
"Well, hello, Hiccup! Toothless! It's good to see you two!" he said with feigned cheer. The Chief of the Berserkers pulled out his own crossbow and aimed it at Hiccup. "Now, you have three seconds to tell me where Stoick is flying off to and if your friends are here as well, or else you die. Best hurry up."
Hiccup stayed silent. He wasn't revealing a thing.
Dagur tsked. "Bad choice, brother," he said. The Berserker chief turned to his men. "Capture them! Muzzle the Night Fury!" he ordered. "And put them in separate cages so they have no chance of escaping!"
And all too soon, Hiccup and Toothless were separated.
Author's Note: WHY DAGUR? WHY MUST YOU BE SO...SO ANNOYING?
Hopefully Hiccup and Toothless can find their way back to each other. =) I hope you guys enjoyed this part of "How to Talk to Your Dragon," and I'll see you in the next one! =D
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203