Heather sat with her legs crossed, her back to the side of the ledge she was leaning against. Einfari and the rest of the Nótts were arrayed across their side of the central cavern. This time around, she could actually hear all that was said.

That didn't make it any less boring. "How long do these things usually take?" she whispered to Einfari.

Einfari shrugged, looking as bored as Heather felt. "It should not be that much longer. They are just debating exactly what Maour can and cannot reveal if it becomes necessary."

"I know that," Heather complained. "But do you have any idea how many more little details like 'can he talk about what we like to eat' need to be debated?" Really, it felt excessive, but Maour was actually dragging it out, asking questions and bringing up more possibilities that needed to be discussed. How he could stand being so controlled was beyond her. The hypothetical about food was only a slight exaggeration.

"This is important, Heather, like it or not," Skarpur intervened. "And these same rules will apply to you, so pay attention, please."

Heather blushed. She had not known Skarpur could hear them. "I know, sorry."

But in her defense, this had been going on for quite a while, and was only now showing signs of possibly ending soon. She closed her eyes, considering whether or not falling asleep was a good idea…

Eventually the pack meeting ended and she and Einfari went home to get one final day of sleep before setting out. It was a little odd, not having anything to pack, but that was how dragons traveled and therefore how she would travel. No food, a few skins of water Maour had given her a while back, and the plain ax from the stockpile of weapons Maour kept from the Berserker visit.

The night they were to leave was warm and almost humid, thick clouds drifting in a patchwork across the sky.

'Not the best weather,' Einfari noted as they waited for Nóttreiði to show up. 'Maybe we would be better off waiting a day or so for that to pass? It might be a storm.'

"I guess it's up to Maour," Heather replied calmly.

"And Toothless," Einfari added. "They do not order each other around. If one is in charge, so is the other."

From what she had seen, that sounded right. She didn't really know Toothless that well, other than as an extension of Maour.

Actually… "What makes them different?"

'What?' Einfari had no idea what she was asking.

"Maour and Toothless," Heather clarified. "They are similar, but in what ways are they not?" She really couldn't think of a way to ask what she meant any clearer than that.

'Oh,' Einfari hummed thoughtfully. 'I don't know of many differences, aside from the obvious. Toothless is more likely to act as opposed to plan, and Maour really enjoys making things, while Toothless seems to care more about the result than the process. I don't know them well enough to see any other big differences."

That wasn't much, all in all. Surely there was more.

Heather's thoughts on the subject were interrupted by Nóttreiði walking out of the cavern, trailed by Nótthljóður.

'You said goodbye to mom and dad?' Einfari immediately asked.

'Of course,' Nóttreiði grunted irritably, looking down at Nótthljóður. 'And to Joy, but she doesn't seem to care about that.'

'I wanna go,' Nótthljóður remarked calmly.

Einfari leaned down and bopped her sister on the nose with her paw. 'No you don't, I think. There will be no time to play, flying all night, no fun whatsoever,' she explained. 'I wish none of us had to go. But if you really want to be serious for a few months…'

Nótthljóður grimaced, shaking her head and backing away. 'I don't wanna go.' She nuzzled Einfari's chest, before happily butting her head against Heather's legs. 'Come back soon.'

Heather smiled, crouching to be closer to Nótthljóður's height and tousling her ears. "I plan to."

Einfari purred loudly, nudging Nótthljóður back towards their cave. 'Go play with dad. Keep him busy, okay? We'll be back soon enough.'

There was something odd about how Einfari had said that, but Heather wasn't sure what it was.

It didn't hit her until they were in the air, headed to the Svartur entrance to the caves, as Maour and Toothless hadn't come to them.

"Einfari…" She spared a moment to be sure Nóttreiði wasn't listening, flying slightly ahead of them. "You called him 'dad' just now, but usually call him 'father'. Which is it?"

Einfari hummed thoughtfully. 'I don't actually know why I did that. Joy calls him dad. Nóttreiði and I did the same when we were fledglings. Nobody ever told us to stop, but we both did at some point. There's no real difference. Father is what we say in public.'

More of putting on appearances, putting up defenses. "Nobody gets to see how you all really are."
'It sounds bad when you put it like that,' Einfari remarked. 'Why should we show everything to anyone else? They could use it against us.'

Heather shrugged aimlessly. "I agree, really. You guys are just more… methodical, I guess." Even their choice of words was calculated, albeit on a somewhat unconscious level, according to Einfari.

"We are? You hide yourself just as effectively,' Einfari rumbled. 'Not a bad thing, just how we, us and you, are.'

"How I am now," Heather murmured. Had she been like this before… everything? Before being hunted, before being a prisoner to Outcasts, before being forced to spy… she couldn't remember. Was how she was a product of that?

If it was, that made her even more like the Nótts, like Nóttleiðtogi in particular. Marked by her past. A past that, like him, she did not fully understand.

It was a parallel she had not noticed before. Both singled out and persecuted by a mysterious person they did not know for reasons that had never been revealed.

And both scarred by it?

Her mind was brought back to how she had zoned out in the past few weeks, how she no longer totally understood her own reactions to some things, like remembering her time on the run in detail. Maybe that was it, whatever it was in this case. Vikings knew pretty much nothing about how people thought. They weren't ones for thinking at all, so that made total sense.

Vikings knew nothing. If she was like Nóttleiðtogi, mentally scarred in some way, it stood to reason Maour, who apparently knew enough to help Nóttleiðtogi, would be able to help her.

But she didn't want help from him. Not with this. Maybe she could just find out what he knew on the sly and use it herself.

Yes, that was a much better solution. There would be plenty of time to coax him into talking about stuff like this on the trip.

And speaking of coaxing him into talking, they were here. It was a bit odd that he hadn't come to meet them, but whatever. He and Toothless were… sleeping right in the cavern entrance, totally blocking the way. Maour was on Toothless's back, awkwardly draped over the readied saddle. That could not possibly be normal, if only because she was sure Maour would wake up to a sore back and neck, sleeping like that. The saddle did not look to be a comfortable bed.

Nóttreiði had been flying in front of them, and landed first, leading the way. He was not gentle in waking them, roaring loudly from only a few feet away.

It wasn't a smart thing to do, but Heather was definitely surprised by the response it elicited.

Toothless bolted up, throwing Maour off, and spread his wings, recklessly knocking them against the sides of the cave entrance, totally blocking as much of the cave as possible. His eyes were fogged with confusion, which lifted after a few moments of his strange posturing…

But he didn't move. 'Maour?' he called back, his voice tense and worried. 'Are you okay?'

"Fine, fine, just trying not to freak out," Maour called from behind Toothless. "Waking up to a loud noise and falling through the air is horrible."

'One of those is my fault,' Toothless admitted, still tense, not looking back. 'But I was as surprised as you.'

'Are you coming, or do we need to go alone?' Nóttreiði growled, interrupting them, moving forward as if to force Toothless out of the cavern entrance. 'Time is wasting, and I would be done with this as soon as possible.'

Toothless snarled dangerously. 'Get away from our territory, Nóttreiði. Now.'

Maour squirmed out from under Toothless's physical blockade, looking to be somewhere between angry and nervous. "Let's all just calm down-"

'Hurry up then!' Nóttreiði growled. 'We are ready to go, but you are asleep!'

"Were asleep, you mean," Maour shot back. "Yes, we overslept. Sorry. Now back off." His voice was cold and almost dangerous. "Now, or you do not get to come."

Nóttreiði faltered at that, cutting off yet another snarl halfway through, clearly fighting himself. He was trying to hold to his pride… and his right to go with them. He took a step back, glaring all the way.

'Can we just put this aside and get going?' Einfari asked carefully. 'You overslept, my brother was obnoxious in waking you, and nobody is happy. Fighting over it is pointless.' She sounded genuinely confused. 'Why are all three of you just making it worse?'

Maour turned to look at Einfari. "Making it worse…" he repeated. "Well, I guess we are." He didn't sound very sorry about that.

'Yes, you are.' Einfari eyed her brother after saying that. 'And so are you.'

'Go. We will catch up in a few minutes,' Toothless suggested, still blocking the cavern entrance.

'Great!' Nóttreiði leaped into the air and abruptly left, heading out to sea.

'He doesn't know which way we are going,' Einfari objected.

'Then he can fly in pointless circles up there for a few minutes,' Toothless shot back. 'Go join him.'

"Bud, they didn't do anything," Maour cut in. "But we will be along soon. Make sure he doesn't just go off in a random direction."

'Okay…' Einfari eyed Toothless. 'Are you going to move?'

'No,' Toothless replied, in spite of all reason.

'Can I go inside and say hello to your mother?' Einfari asked, her voice speculative.

That was met with a deep growl. 'Definitely not.'

Heather had to call him out on that. "What is your problem?"

Einfari subtly shook her head, a signal Heather knew meant to stop. 'I understand. We will be waiting.' She spread her wings, giving Heather warning that she meant to leap up, and left.

"Okay, what was with that?" Heather hated being out of the loop. "He was acting weird."

'Nóttreiði is blind,' Einfari griped. 'He should have recognized what was going on and backed down immediately. You don't mess with a dragon guarding something, especially that.'

"Tell me what that is, and maybe I'll get it."

'An egg. It all makes total sense. Nóttreiði and I both did exactly the same for Joy,' Einfari explained. 'Nobody gets into their territory right now. Toothless was blocking the way in, and would sooner kill Nóttreiði than budge from his place, especially given Toothless already sees Nóttreiði as a threat thanks to past mistakes.'

An egg… "Didn't you tell me the Svarturs couldn't have more eggs?" She vaguely recalled that.

'No, I said they were trying, but it wasn't happening. I guess that changed. Good for them!' Einfari laughed happily. 'It's always nice to see another new dragon, even if we won't get to see him or her for four years.'

"Every time I think I've heard everything," Heather remarked. "Seriously? Nobody gets to see it for four years?"

'Not an "it", and yes,' Einfari corrected breezily. 'Hatchlings entirely trust anyone they interact with during that time. Nobody knows why, but that feeling is permanent. If he or she got a lot of friendly visitors, they would trust those visitors in a way that should only be extended to close family. It's not safe for them, even here.'

"So no babysitters?" Heather asked curiously.

'What?' Einfari was flying at an upward angle now, chasing after her brother. 'Who in their right mind would sit on their baby? That's the human word for hatchling, right?'

Heather laughed at that. "Yes, but that's not what they do. I just mean other people watching the baby, or in this case hatchling, for a while so that the parents can do something else or just relax."

'Then no,' Einfari replied seriously. 'Family only, so for Joy, that was Nóttreiði or me. For the Svarturs, it will be Von, Toothless, and maybe Maour. Those are the only people Svarturkló and Svarturskuggi will allow near a hatchling.'

They were getting close to Nóttreiði now. Einfari slowed down to trail him, not announcing her presence.

"Are you going to tell him?" Heather asked curiously. Nóttreiði hadn't figured it out on his own, after all.

'No. I would not be surprised if Toothless and Maour do not tell him either. He doesn't need to know.' Einfari shook her head sadly. 'He would just be rude about it.'

True. They glided behind Nóttreiði for a while, waiting for Maour and Toothless to get up into the air. The clouds were slowly scattering. It looked like there would be no storm… here.

With that thought, Heather tried to reason out which direction they would be going. It was a very complex puzzle, because she only knew where places were in relation to each other. Maps were another luxury she had not been able to afford. So, she knew roughly where Berserker island was in relation to her home island… what had been her home, when it still existed… and she could think back, following her own route out here, far from there… but then she had been caught, and from that point on, she had no idea what direction the Berserker ship had gone. A bit less than a week, in any case, which wasn't so far…

It took her a while to reconcile all of those directions, but eventually she turned in the saddle to face… the cloud bank that was even now moving away. They would be following it, or maybe flying through it.

'Now we can go,' Toothless announced, catching up to them. 'Sorry for the wait.'

'Point us in the right direction,' Einfari requested.

Toothless flew up to the front of the group, flying quickly to pass Nóttreiði, and turned, facing the retreating storm.

"That looks like fun," Maour remarked sarcastically, his voice carrying over the wind. "What moves faster, clouds or a Night Fury?"

'You know the answer to that, we fly through them all the time,' Toothless quipped. 'Us, definitely. Do we go around once we get into it?'

"I don't see why we would, really," Maour announced. "We don't know how big it is, and we do have a deadline of sorts. We can just find an island and set down if it gets too bad."

'You're the one with the map,' Toothless remarked.

"The old map," Maour corrected, his voice almost too quiet for Heather to hear. "The one that lists home as just another empty, deserted hunk of rock and trees. Nobody is getting anything from me on our island."

He was sure of that. It was comforting, because that certainty was protecting her as well. Having allies gave her a good feeling.

They flew all night, gliding high through the cold night sky. Conversations faltered and died as the night wore on, everyone seeming to prefer thinking to talking for the time being. Nóttreiði was sulking, or maybe quietly raging. It was hard to tell. Toothless also seemed a bit stressed, though that faded as the night wore on.

Actually, she didn't know for sure whether or not Toothless and Maour were talking. The Furies had spread out to what seemed to be a comfortable distance, only holding to a formation in that they could regroup in a few seconds of actual effort, as opposed to gliding at a distance from each other.

It did not really feel like they were one group. Right now, they felt like three different groups, each with their own goal. Maour and Toothless were out here to protect their island from any potential threats, gathering information and redirecting possible threats. Heather and Einfari were here to kill Dagur. No more, and no less. Nobody else knew that, but it didn't matter. Their goal worked hand in hand with Maour's, though he would not approve of it in advance if he knew. He would not have any reason to object once it was done.

And the third group, or more accurately loner, Nóttreiði, was here to protect and kill. Heather put her hand over the leather flap covering her borrowed ax as it lay holstered to the side of the saddle, protected from the wet night air… and from prying eyes. Nóttreiði's eyes. He didn't know she had it, or any weapon of any kind.

That was probably why he never objected to her riding Einfari. As far as he knew, there was nothing she could do to Einfari. Her teeth were blunt and her nails laughable as weapons, her arms too weak to even attempt choking Einfari. She was not a physical threat.

But he would watch her all the same, waiting eagerly for her to slip up in any way, or even to look like she was slipping up. That was all it would take. The same attentiveness would probably be applied to Maour…

Maour. How far did swearing to obey him hold Nóttreiði? Heather knew keeping one's word was important, but she could imagine breaking it for good enough reasons, and she really didn't know Nóttreiði well enough to fairly judge whether he could do the same. He seemed vile and dangerous… for a reason, no matter how wrong-headed or misguided. Einfari always insisted Heather had never seen Nóttreiði relaxed or otherwise acting normally, so clearly there was more to him than this, somewhere deep down.

Deep down, buried by hate. Would that ever change?

Time would tell. She stared at the stars above, forcing herself to relax. They were moving towards Dagur now, and she did not feel prepared. But it was going to happen anyway, and she had a family and village to avenge. There was no point in stressing out over it. She would kill him and be done with that. Life truly free sounded good, though she really didn't think it would be much different to what she had now. Just free of the lingering fear that Berserkers would somehow show up and tear apart that which she was beginning to truly value.

They set down on a rocky outcropping of islands and fallen sea stacks just before dawn, settling down to sleep.

At least, the dragons were settling down to sleep. Toothless and Einfari had their saddles removed, and all three dragons had taken their share of the water they had been carrying, though Nóttreiði did so begrudgingly, seeming to hate accepting anything from Maour, though the canteen he had been given was oddly shaped and seemed designed for a dragon to use without human aid. At least, that was what Heather assumed, as all three of the Furies had taken one, Toothless demonstrating how to use them to the other two. Apparently, all one had to do was pick it up and tip one's head back… if one was a dragon. She had her own water skin, so she wouldn't have to figure out how Maour's odd canteens worked.

Heather wasn't particularly tired, and from the way Maour was digging around in the almost comically large saddlebags Toothless had been weighed down with, he felt the same.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, going to stand behind him and hopefully look over his shoulder.

"Something you might need," he responded cryptically, beginning to pull things out of the bag, setting them on the rock beside him. A canteen, loose parchment, a notebook with ragged edges, three knives-

She subtly kicked the knives back in front of him, out of sight. He didn't notice, still digging. Best not to let Nóttreiði see those, even if he was going to be keeping them in the bag and well out of the way. Why did he even have them?

"Here we go," Maour sighed, pulling a cloth-wrapped bundle up from the very bottom of the bag. "Figures it ended up at the bottom."

"What is it?" Heather asked curiously. It was oddly shaped and almost looked like-

"Well," Maour began unwrapping it, "you said you prefered axes, one or maybe two, but you liked my Scythe having two ends."

Oh no. Heather held out a hand, straining to think of a way to stop him before-

Too late. He finished unwinding the cloth, revealing a clean, new ax blade with an odd shape. Several odd shapes, and a strange handle. "We made you something new."

She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, to see Einfari watching intently. Toothless was also observing with a smug look on his face…

And Nóttreiði was prowling down off of the slightly raised rock he had claimed, moving closer, his eyes slits.

Maour saw it too. "Nóttreiði…"

'It is a weapon,' Nóttreiði said coldly. 'A tool of death.'

'Of defense,' Toothless interjected, now tense, ready to leap into action if necessary. 'Not necessarily offense.'

'Same thing,' Nóttreiði grunted. 'I will not tolerate it on my sister's back if it is armed.'

'And you do not think to ask what I will tolerate on my own back?' Einfari objected.

"She needs some way to defend herself if something happens, and always depending only on an angry Night Fury might not be a good idea in some cases," Maour declared, setting the cloth aside to hold up the odd ax. "This is just like me letting you have claws. You need them, don't you?" There was steel to his voice, and Heather knew he would use his leverage over Nóttreiði to force this if Nóttreiði did not bend now.

But she didn't want that to happen. Her whole approach with Nóttreiði had been reduced to not antagonizing him and waiting for it to sink in that he was the problem, not her, however weak an approach that was, and this would be something he could and would rightfully hold against her.

How to use this to her advantage instead? She thought fast, and it hit her almost immediately.

"No, Maour," she said loudly, meeting his eyes and trying to project an air of seriousness. "If he doesn't want me armed, keep it. You can give it to me when he decides I can have it."

'What?' Einfari barked incredulously.

"He doesn't get to decide," Maour argued, sounding just as incredulous as Einfari, clutching the ax as if protecting it from Nóttreiði.

"I do, and I am saying he does," Heather countered, crossing her arms. "Let him be petty. Maybe it will get one of us hurt or even killed because I could do nothing to help defend Einfari or myself. That will be on his head."

'She says you get to say when she can have it,' Einfari relayed to Nóttreiði. 'And she says it will be your fault if one of us dies because she could not defend us.'

'She will be doing no defending if it comes to that, weapon or not,' Nóttreiði growled. 'I say she gets no claws of any kind.'

He didn't know about her ax… but did she want to make an even more powerful statement, or keep a secret defense?

She needed Dagur dead… but she was not great with any weapon, and he was probably much better than 'not great' in any case. Einfari would be the one to actually end him, in all likelihood…

A risk, either way. Revealing her other weapon could enrage him, would enrage him, but keeping it also might backfire if he ever found out about it on his own.

So many possibilities…

She decided to take her chances with showing him. "And since you are so sure I cannot be trusted, you might as well have this as well," she announced, walking over to Einfari's saddle and pulling off the ax, tossing it out into the open. It landed on the stone with a loud clatter. "There. Now I am as defenseless as you assumed I was."

Nóttreiði stared with slightly bulging eyes at the obvious weapon, his gaze slowly moving to the saddle, and then to Einfari, who stared back defiantly.

'You let it be armed, let it hide a danger,' he mumbled, utterly shocked.

'And what of what I am willing to carry?' Einfari repeated. 'She needs her claws and teeth, and I am not stupid enough to deprive her of those on this trip. But apparently she is stupid enough to want you appeased enough to risk death on it,' she griped, casting Heather an unhappy glance. 'If it were up to me, she'd keep both just to spite you.'

'She is dangerous,' Nóttreiði repeated hollowly, staring down at the ax. 'I will not let her be armed.'

"As you wish," Heather remarked. "Maour, if you would take that one too?"

Maour shook his head, walking over to retrieve the ax. "Is his approval really worth this?"

"Yes," she replied without thinking. "It is."

Maour carefully packed the axes, old and new, back into his saddlebag, removing them from sight. "Everyone happy now?"

'No,' Einfari replied.

"I'm not either," Maour agreed. "But I guess I should have been more specific. Nóttreiði, you aren't going to try and toss this bag into the ocean while we sleep, are you? Because we kind of need the other stuff in there."

Maour had certainly come up with a very specific scenario to worry about. Heather was surprised he wasn't questioning Nóttreiði's intentions more seriously than that. She knew she intended to sleep under Einfari's wing tonight, just to be sure Nóttreiði couldn't get to her without waking Einfari. There was no telling how her actions would affect him.

Nóttreiði snarled aimlessly. 'You store the water in there.'

"Yes, and the map, and other thing that could help if someone gets hurt," Maour continued. "I am ordering you not to mess with this saddlebag."

'And I will not, for I have no choice,' Nóttreiði griped. 'But I would not have anyway. We need water.'

'I would not put it past you to take the water out and throw the bag away after,' Toothless remarked. 'Maour is just being careful. You make it necessary.'

'You do not see me objecting to his false claws,' Nóttreiði complained almost petulantly. 'Whether or not he stabs you in the back one day is not my concern. As long as they are not on Einfari, I can live with it.'

'That's a small improvement,' Toothless rumbled softly. He looked out to the horizon, and the glow of the sun that would soon rise behind the clouds. 'Now we should actually get some rest. This trip has only just begun.'

The next evening came all too soon, and it was time to go again. Heather quickly put Einfari's saddle on. Speaking of saddles…

She had to ask. "Maour, what's in the other saddlebag?" He had only dug through one the previous night, and the other was just as bulky.

'An extra pack-saddle and some spare leather," Maour absently explained. "Just in case-"

'Actually,' Toothless interrupted, 'the other pack-saddle is for Nóttreiði.'

"It is?" It seemed Maour hadn't planned on that. He stared at Toothless in confusion. "Since when?"
'Since I don't trust him to be unburdened,' Toothless growled, staring at the dragon in question, who was currently stretching, eyeing them suspiciously. 'Besides, it is only fair he carries some of the burden, just like the rest of us.'

'I will not wear that,' Nóttreiði objected strangely calmly. 'And you won't make me.'

Heather held in a sarcastic laugh. Had he forgotten that he had already sworn to obey Maour? Maybe her letting him win on the ax issue had given him false confidence, or maybe he was still addled by the lingering grogginess of waking up.

"Really?" Maour pulled the extra saddle out of Toothless's other saddlebag. "It's looking like I will. Toothless is right, it's only fair."

'And what would you have me carry?' Nóttreiði asked bitterly, his tail lashing at the stone he was standing on. 'You cannot trust I will not "lose" whatever it is. So you won't burden me with anything.'

Heather was almost impressed at how he could manage to sound both smug and bitter at the same time. He was also… not wrong. She certainly wouldn't want to trust anything important to Nóttreiði, and they had only brought things that might be vital.

Maour smiled sarcastically. "I've got a solution to that. You'll carry your portion of the water supply. Something tells me you won't drop that, because if you do, you'll go thirsty, or Einfari will if she chooses to share with you."

Nóttreiði's face fell, and he slowly backed away. 'I'm not wearing that.'

'Then leave,' Toothless growled. 'Everything else aside, I don't want to travel with someone who won't help out when needed.'

That seemed to aggravate Nóttreiði. 'You can tie yourself down all you want, but I am not stupid enough to-'

"It's made to not tie you down or hinder your flight,' Maour interrupted. "And you're not being asked to carry one of us. Just your own supplies."

'If you get separated from us, you may need your own supply of water,' Einfari added. 'The group as a whole will be faster if we are all equally burdened. It is common sense, brother. Deal with it.' Her voice was dripping with disapproval. 'I didn't think you were lazy or selfish, but you are proving me wrong right now.'

'Fine!' Nóttreiði roared angrily. 'Fine! How do I put it on?' He half-ran and half skulked over to Maour, emanating frustration.

Toothless quickly jumped between the two of them. 'You don't, Maour does.' It was very clear he didn't like that. 'And if you so much as nip him, I'm tearing your ears off.'

Nóttreiði jumped back, although he seemed more afraid of Maour touching him than of Toothless's threat. 'I don't want-'

'I don't care. We're wasting time.' Einfari stalked up to face Nóttreiði, glaring now. 'Seriously, this is going to happen, like it or not, so let's skip the argument and get on with it so we can go.'

Nóttreiði faltered, shaking his head in denial, but when he did eventually speak, it was in a tone of distaste. 'Make it fast.'

Toothless snarled dangerously. 'Do not move a muscle. I'm serious.' He shoved his face against Nóttreiði's, staring into one of his eyes. 'You will regret it, and you will not come with us if you try anything.'

'I heard you the first time,' Nóttreiði griped.

Heather watched Nóttreiði nervously as Maour quickly and efficiently began to strap the saddle on, moving around Nóttreiði and giving him a wide berth whenever possible. Toothless and Einfari were both watching carefully, and Heather was pretty sure Einfari would be just as harsh as Toothless if Nóttreiði tried anything. Whatever it was about this particular little spat, Einfari was out of patience with her brother, and it showed.

But nothing happened. Maour tightened the last strap, brought over Nóttreiði's portion of the water, and loaded the saddlebag without interruption. Then he stepped back, visibly relaxing. "There, done. It's not meant to be slept in, so I'll need to take it off every morning-'

'No. I'll sleep in it.'

'Enjoy the blisters and raw scales then,' Toothless snorted. 'Believe me, one or two days is fine, but it gets really bad after that. But nobody will force you to be comfortable.'

'He will ask you to take it off as often as needed,' Einfari asserted. 'Now, can we go?'

Heather watched Nóttreiði out of the corner of her eye as they lifted off and got back up into the air. He struggled at first, clearly unused to the weight, but eventually he adjusted, glaring into the distance the entire time.

That was all she had ever seen him doing. Glaring, snarling, barely controlling himself. Was that all there was to him? It couldn't be.

In the following days, they caught up to the storm, flying into the outskirts because they had no choice. Making it to the next stopover island was mandatory, and they could not wait the time it would take for the storm to move out of the area… only to just catch up again. Trailing behind was the only option if they wanted to get to Berserker island before Dagur had time to act on the news he would be receiving.

That did mean Heather often regretted not having a hooded cloak, because they could not afford to miss an island by flying above the clouds. She made do by pulling her tunic up over her head when it rained, though even doing that was stretching it… She was going to need a new tunic if they spent too many nights in this weather.

But eventually, about a week out, things changed.

'We need to keep going,' Toothless announced. 'This storm is slowing us down-'

'And making us miserable,' Einfari cut in, her voice quick and clipped. She had her eyes partially closed, flying through the slanting rain. Heather knew exactly what Einfari was seeing because she herself had long since buried her face in the damp leather of the saddle, covered the back of her head, and switched over to seeing through Einfari's eyes.

Nóttreiði, flying slightly to the side of Einfari, said nothing. He had been sullen and quiet recently. Einfari insisted that was not normal, but it seemed pretty standard for the side of Nóttreiði Heather knew.

'Can you and Nóttreiði fly for longer than we usually do?' Toothless asked, pulling back to fly on Einfari's other side. 'Maour says the next island is a big one, but we'll need to fly quite a bit further.'

'I can fly as long as you can,' Nóttreiði announced. 'Longer. I have far less weighing me down.'

'After five years, Maour's weight doesn't make a difference to me,' Toothless countered. 'Einfari?'

'I will make it.' Einfari was certain. 'But will we be able to rest there, or will we need to keep going to get out in front of the storm?'

'We will rest a few hours less than normal, and fly longer again the next night if everyone is up for it,' Toothless explained. 'This is a good time to do it, because there is a cluster of islands coming up. Safer if we overestimate our endurance.'

Lightning flashed far in front of them, striking aimlessly through the sky, a single crash and flash of light.

Still, going through it would be better than trailing along behind it for another week straight.

"If you can do it, I am more than fine with getting in front of this miserable weather," Heather remarked, knowing only Einfari would be able to hear her.

'Let's do it!' Einfari roared, defiantly plunging forward to gain a little more speed, forging ahead. The choice had been made. They would go through it.