CHAPTER 17

Hiccup ran after Nraseri, shouting his name, but the Nraseri was much faster than him. He gave up after a few minutes of blindly running through the trees and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. Hiccup brushed the hair out of his eyes and looked up. The sky darkened and he looked up. Clouds had gathered, hiding the moon, and casting the world into deeper darkness than before.

Indecision gnawed at him. He needed to get back to the others before it got too dark to navigate. he didn't feel right leaving Nraseri, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to find him if he didn't want to be found. Fishlegs had been right about that: Nraseri was a master at hiding. Hiccup had to trust that his friend would be alright.

Defeated, he began the long walk back to the campsite, his stomach churning and his mind mulling over what had just happened. Hiccup had only seen Nraseri angry a few times. That fight with Snotlout had been the only major outburst. He'd been angry when talking about the mistreatment of dragons he'd witnessed during his travels and of trappers further inland, but overall, he kept a tight leash on his temper. He had never once raised his voice at Hiccup.

Something was wrong.

Hiccup thought back to the argument, back to Nraseri's last words.

"Nira," he muttered to himself. Who was Nira?

He sighed as the campsite came into view. There was nothing he could do about it. Right now, he needed to focus on finishing this training exercise.

Fishlegs had rekindled the fire and was warming his hands when Hiccup returned.

"Did you find him?" he asked, worried.

Hiccup sat down heavily. "He's fine. Got into some trouble with some dragons."

"Is he okay?" Astrid asked, setting aside her whetstone and axe.

"Yeah. I'll take this watch if that's okay."

He could feel both Astrid and Fishlegs eyes following him but ignored them and dragged his pack and blanket to the outer edge of their campsite. He stared into the darkness, thoughts churning.

They beat the others back, emerging from the forest a few hours after the sun had risen. Gobber was sitting on a log he'd pulled onto the sand and was busy cooking a fish over a small fire. Nraseri was next to him, talking quietly, the older Viking nodding and humming thoughtfully. Gobber seemed faintly surprised when Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Astrid returned together.

"Yer back already." He put a few more fish on the fire. "Hand your spheres to Nraseri and come get some breakfast."

Nraseri wouldn't meet his eyes when Hiccup handed his to him. He desperately wanted to say something—anything—but Nraseri had already turned to Astrid. He settled for sitting and talking with Fishlegs while they waited for the others. Astrid sat a ways away, obviously listening, but making no attempt to join in.

The sun was high in the sky when Ruffnut stumbled onto the beach looking a little worse for wear. She muttered something about Terrors and dropped down in the sand next to Astrid and closed her eyes.

"Lass," Gobber said after a moment, "where's yer other half."

Ruffnut just pointed to the forest. "They wouldn't stop arguing. I decided to cut my losses."

"Ah."

About fifteen minutes later, Tuffnut and Snotlout came sprinting out, clothes a little singed, hands on their knees, gasping for breath.

Snotlout balked when he saw them. "We're last?!"

"But at least yer on time." Gobber chuckled. "I'm impressed." He stood and brushed his pants off. "Okay, ye lot. Ye did well, about as well as I'd hoped. Although," he eyed Tuffnut and Snotlout, "it looks like some of ye ran into some dragon trouble. Since yer last, ye two can clean up here. We'll head back to Berk for a full rundown."

They protested but made quick work of the campsite. By the time, they all piled into their boats, Hiccup was ready to go home. Nraseri sat at the front, back facing them as he rowed. He didn't speak the entire way back. Hiccup and Fishlegs exchanged concerned looks. The latter attempted to make light conversation but gave up after a few failed attempts.

He could have cut the tension with a knife.

Finally, Berk came into view. A few villagers waved as they tied the boats and unloaded. Hiccup barely paid attention as Gobber debriefed them back at the arena. Nraseri looked like he hadn't slept at all. His face was carefully masked into a look of indifference, but his finger tapped his crossed arms as he leaned against the wall. There were dark circles under his eyes and his gaze kept flicking up to the sky every few minutes.

Questions were chewing away at Hiccup when Gobber finally wrapped up his lecture. "Okay, now that that's done, ye get the rest of the day off. Rest up. Tomorrow, we'll be working on coordinated attacks."

And like a taut bow being released, Nraseri was already walking away, his pace a fraction too quick. Hiccup thought about going after him, but Gobber pulled him and Fishlegs aside.

"Good work, ye two. Keep it up." Lower, he said to Hiccup, "Ye might want to check on yer friend, lad. Something's off with him."

"I know," Hiccup said. "I'm working on it."

"Alright. I've got some business to get to, so I'll leave ye to it." The blacksmith patted his shoulder and ambled off.

Astrid was waiting for him outside the arena. Hiccup stopped, only faintly surprised to see her, less surprised to see the scowl on her face.

"Look," she said, "I meant what I said back there. But, just to be clear, just because we worked together here doesn't mean we're friends. I'm winning this."

Hiccup met her glare with one of his own. He was tired of people being angry with him. "Go ahead, Astrid. You can have it. The gods know you deserve it more than I do."

That seemed to catch her off guard.

"Whatever." She pushed passed him and stalked off.

Great. Another person angry with him. Just what he needed.

Fishlegs cleared his throat. Hiccup winced internally, having forgotten that he was standing there. "Uh, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Are you going to find Nraseri? He left pretty quickly."

"I don't know, Fish."

"Oh, okay." He shifted from foot to foot. "See you in training." Fishlegs turned and hurried off.

Hiccup's shoulders slumped and he sighed, miserable. He didn't know how to fix this. Nraseri was probably hiding out in the forest. He seemed to know all the secret areas and Hiccup knew that he'd have no luck finding him. He didn't think Nraseri wanted to talk. He wouldn't have disappeared so quickly if he did. No, it was probably better to leave him alone for the moment. Hiccup knew that he'd want the same. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever had happened on the island had brought up some bad memories.

His feet led him to the forge. As he'd suspected, Nraseri wasn't there. His eyes flicked to the Gronckle Iron shield they had been making. He ran his hand over the cool metal, unable to bring himself to work on it without Nraseri. Instead, he sat down next to the pile of damaged weapons from the dragon raids and set to work fixing them.

He pulled out an axe with a cracked shaft and set it on the workbench. There was a spare shaft from an axe that they hadn't been able to save, and he compared it to the cracked one, nodding to himself. Almost a perfect fit. Could use some shaving down.

He glanced around for the drawknife. It wasn't on the bench. He frowned and stood, trying to remember where he'd last seen it.

Nraseri had been using it before they left.

Hiccup hesitated at the entrance of the makeshift bedroom. Although he used to store his old inventions and plans in the back room, he hadn't been back in since, not wanting to intrude.

He thought back to Nraseri's wild eyes as he exploded with fury, how, for a split second, he had looked more like the beasts in dark tales than his best friend.

Hiccup steeled himself. He needed that tool. Nraseri would be gone for a while. He pushed the curtain back and went in.

The room was neat. Nraseri didn't have much with him when he'd arrived on Berk. He'd said that most of his belongings had been aboard the merchant ships when they'd left. What he'd had on him at the time fit neatly in the pack that was leaned against the foot of the bed. The shelves that lined the far wall were still packed with things that Gobber had collected over the years and one of two books that Hiccup was fond of. His prototype designs for the Mangler were still pinned to the wall above the desk.

Hiccup spied the tool on the desk next to some wood shavings. He went to grab it, and as he did, his foot knocked the satchel over, spilling its contents. Hiccup cursed quietly and glanced over his shoulder. He knelt and began shoving things back into the bag. He reached under the bed in case something had rolled under. His fingers brushed something, and he pulled it out.

It was a small leather bracer, worn and cracked with age. Dirt and rust clogged the links on the bottom, but the emblem was polished enough to be distinguishable. He didn't recognize it. He knew he'd seen it somewhere before, one of those things you see just enough times to vaguely remember but not enough to put a name to it.

The metal plating was crudely engraved with an oval dragon skull with narrowed eyes slanting upwards, giving it a cruel look. Duel swords entered the skull's mouth and protruded from the top, a grotesque death, even for a dragon. It was obviously a tribal emblem so maybe it meant something. It could be a keepsake from his home. He put it back in the satchel, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty like he was intruding on something private.

He stood, grabbed the tool, and hurried out, pulling the curtain closed behind him.

The forge was still mercifully empty. Hiccup shook his head to calm his nerves and went back to the workbench and tried his best to push his questions out of his mind and focus on the task at hand.

The afternoon went by uneventfully. one or two people came by to ask after Gobber or to ask how the training was going, but for the most part, Hiccup focused on the dwindling pile of unsharpened weapons.

Evening was setting in when he set down the final sword and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He stretched his aching muscles and debated making the trek to the Grand Hall for dinner or just going home.

He didn't really feel like talking to the others.

Home it was.

Toothless stared out over the ocean from his vantage point on the cliffs, head in his paws. Rain droplets bounced off his scales. He welcomed it. The icy drizzle was helping clear his head at least a little. He'd flown for hours, trying to untangle the mess of thoughts in his head.

Guilt weighed heavy in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't meant to get so angry, hadn't meant to shout at him.

It was just….

The remnants of his nightmare surfaced. He could see the gaunt faces of his clan, feel the heat of the flames, hear that grating voice as it ripped through him. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the cool raindrops on his scales.

He couldn't make heads or tails of it. who—what—had spoken? What were they looking for? And why had the amulet reacted the way it had.

In the pit of his stomach, he knew. Something was wrong with the amulet.

He wanted to cry.

All his planning. The end of training was less than two weeks away. He was so close to Hiccup being free from the burden of going up against the Monstrous Nightmare. And after that…. After that, he could tell him. He wouldn't have to hide.

He was so close.

"Get yourself together, Toothless," a familiar voice that sounded suspiciously like Nira said. "You have time to fix this." Toothless opened his eyes and huffed. Nira would have known what to do. She always was the smarter one.

He stood and shook the water off. A figment of his imagination or not, his sister was right. Whatever was going on, he was going to fix it. He unfurled his wings and took to the sky. The wind whispered around him, so different from the harsh gale from his nightmare. He closed his eyes and let it carry him back to Berk.

It was dark when he finally returned to the village, having shifted a good distance away. The rain had stopped, but he managed to get his clothes at least a little damp. It would look suspicious if he came out of the forest bone trudged toward the forge, tired from the long flight. He stopped as he passed the Great Hall.

The chief's house was still lit.

His feet moved without thinking and he found himself at the door, hand raised before he knew what he was doing. He hesitated, then knocked.

Hiccup rested his head in his arms and pushed his pencil across the table, deep in thought. His journal was open in front of him, a half-finished sketch of the Night Fury taking up the two pages.

There was a soft knock. He paused. It was almost midnight. Who would be knocking this late? Frowning, he got up and opened the door.

Nraseri stood in the doorway. mud splatted his boots and his clothes were dishevelled and dirty. "Hi," he said quietly. "Sorry. I saw your light and wanted to talk. Can I come in?"

Hiccup opened the door wider, bewildered. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Come on in." He closed the door behind him. "Do you want some dinner? I've got some leftover fish."

Nraseri shook his head. "I'm fine." He didn't look fine. he looked terrible like he hadn't slept, and he kept glancing at the doors and windows.

An awkward silence fell.

"Nraseri, I'm sorry—"

Nraseri stopped him. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have run." He ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. "It's just…what you did was reckless. It scared me because I showed you how to do that and it could have gotten you killed. I don't want you to get hurt. I've already lost so much. I can't lose you too."

"I don't want to lose you either," Hiccup said. "You're my best friend."

Nraseri's eyes widened a fraction, startled, and Hiccup wanted to shake him because how could he not realize how much their friendship meant to him? He finally smiled. It was small, a far cry from his sharp-toothed grin, but Hiccup was happy to see it. "Well, that's good to hear."

They sat in silence for a while, the tension fading to nothing, and Hiccup thanked the gods for that. But he wasn't so naïve to think that it was all over. They couldn't ignore the fact that something had happened. And he had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to it than Nraseri had let on. Something that had deeply unnerved Nraseri. That thought alone made him uneasy.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hiccup asked. "You know you can tell me if something's wrong, right?"

Nraseri's smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'll be fine. I just haven't been sleeping well. Old memories surfacing. But enough of that. I should get going. You have training bright and early, and I have to help Mulch rebuild the livestock fence."

Hiccup nodded. He had even more questions than before. He wanted to ask. Gods know he wanted to. But this wasn't the time. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow." Nraseri paused at the door, hand on the frame as he turned back to face him. "I know you want to ask. Thank you for not. I promise I'll tell you everything after training's finished. We can sit down, and you can ask all the questions you want."

Hiccup gave him a crooked smile. "I look forward to it."

He stood at the door and watched as Nraseri disappeared into the night in the direction of the forge. He stood there for a long time, thinking. Hiccup had always thought of Nraseri as capable of doing anything. But he was only human. An incredible human, but even he had his own demons.

He closed the door. Whatever it was, Hiccup wanted to be there for him. If that meant waiting a bit longer for answers, then he was okay with that.

But even as he doused the fire and headed up to bed, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly his friend was hiding.

Toothless made his way back to the forge, thoughts churning. He felt like a hatchling again, trying to navigate his way through the forest after straying too far from the clan. He ached for his uncle's wisdom, for Silfr's kind words. He could almost hear the old warrior's soft voice, urging him toward caution. But his uncle was dead, and he hadn't a clue where Silfr was, or if he was even still alive.

He needed to talk to someone here, someone that wasn't Hiccup, not with the amulet's strange and hostile whispers. He made a beeline for the arena and unlocked Stormfly's cage and stepped in. She bristled for a moment, tail spines at the ready, wings flared but lowered them when she recognized him.

"Toothless?" she chirped a small chuckle. "You're back. I hope you brought that chicken you promised."

He winced. "Sorry. Not this time."

She took one look at him and stopped. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong with the amulet."

Her eyes widened. "how so?"

"I don't know. I need you to be completely honest with me. when I first came here, you said that you'd heard of me. of the Vinr Sætta. You were surprised that I was this close to the Nest. Why?"

She was silent for a moment. "The Queen told us to bring back news if we ever came across the one who carries the amulet."

"Why?"

"I no longer know her thoughts. I have been away from the Nest for months, her hold on me disappearing after I was captured. Either way, she searches for you."

The thought unsettled Toothless. No good could come from catching the Red Death's eye. "Does she know that I am a Nraseri?"

"No. We protect our own. No dragon would allow a Nraseri to be snared by her trap. I do not think she knows that one of your kind is so close to the Nest."

Toothless blinked. "Why is that?"

Stormfly huffed as if the answer was obvious. "You sound like a hatchling, Taelos. You must know that it is blasphemous for a queen to control an alpha species. None of our kin would dare be the one responsible for the queen getting her claws on a Nraseri. I shudder to think of what she would do with that power. She's already responsible for this centuries-long war."

"Right."

"Clearly you've spent too much time around the humans. Was that all you wanted to know?"

Toothless shook his head. "Something happened when I was out there. It was like the amulet was rejecting me. I could not breathe, I could barely hold my form. And then later, I dreamed of my clan and woke up on the other side of the island. I do not know how I got there. I have no recollection."

She just hummed, deep in thought. "This worries me."

"Could it have something to do with the Queen?"

"She does not have that much power. You have not entered the Nest."

"Then what?"

"I do not know."

Toothless sighed and sat on the floor and drew his knees to his chest. He rested his head on his arms, suddenly feeling drained. "The Nraseri clan has commanded the skies since the gods walked the earth. They passed down their knowledge through each generation and know more secrets than any other creature that has ever lived. There was a saying in my clan: a story for every grain of sand on the shore, a secret for every star in the sky. As we dwindled, so did the knowledge. We have forgotten more than most human civilizations remember. Our elders did their best to teach us. Nerin used to tell my sister and me stories each dusk.

"The night my clan was slaughtered, he told me of the warrior who befriended our kin. How he had learned our ways and had gone where no human had ever tried and offered peace between dragons and humans. It is the oldest tale the dragons know.

"Silfr never told me how he did it or how the amulet helped him. He said it was up to me to figure it out. That the amulet would guide me as it did him.

"I had it all planned out. Hiccup was going to let someone else win and then in the night, I was going to set you all free. I told him that after training, we would travel, and I could teach him about dragons and show him what he had been missing. I could make my mentor proud. I could finally stop hiding."

He stared at the wall, eyes stinging. "And then this happens. I cannot do this without the amulet. If something happens to it if I can no longer control it, everything Silfr and I have done will be for nothing. How can a dragon convince the humans? I cannot even communicate with humans without it. They do not understand us like we do them."

Stormfly settled down next to him. She nudged his cheek with her beak. "You have the weight of two worlds on your shoulders and you are exhausted. Rest here for a little while. Tomorrow, you can search for a solution."

He wanted to protest, but he was too tired. He shifted and leaned against her side. She hummed and curled around him, wrapping her wings around him like a mother does to her hatchlings.

"Sleep," she murmured. "I will wake you before dawn."

He closed his eyes and, listening to the thrum of the dragon's heart, fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.