A/N:
Hey y'all. Thanks for tagging along, and thanks to my beta, Deadly-Beagle, for proofing. Hmm, no, that's not right, it's Deadly… Baguette? No, no, umm, Deadly-Danish? Shoot, I'm really bad at this. Oh well, onward to my favorite part of the story – responding to your review (unless you didn't leave one, and that's alright, but it's never too late to share your thoughts).

Dragonrider's Fury, yeah, poor Hiccup, forced to fight against his hunting instincts. This scene was actually inspired by an English Setter I once adopted. He was 5 years old when I got him, trained as a bird dog and then given up. Whenever he saw or smelled a critter nearby, he would start to quiver and shiver so much that some people thought he was freezing, but it was actually an adrenaline rush in anticipation of the hunt. I had him trained to the point where he could sit at my side at the edge of a duck-filled pond, shivering with excitement. Don't worry, I'd always release him, and he'd always run all around off-leash after trying to catch them to burn up all his pent-up energy. Once, he caught a morning dove – alive and unharmed! Never before have I ever seen a dog look so smug, even after I let the bird fly away.

Epclaymore, yes, insanity, here we come! Things are gonna get crazy.

Toothlessgolfer, hmm, good question. I couldn't find any online Norse translator, but I've seen the Icelandic language thrown around in some fanfics, and America would translate to Ameríku, apparently.


Bait and Swap

Thuggory Stonefist, heir to the Meathead tribe, was just starting to doze off when his dragon warbled to get his attention. Naturally, he ignored it in favor of sleep. However, his dragon, whose flying was normally as smooth as butter, rocked him back and forth to nudge him awake.

He let out a loud yawn and, with a heroic effort, lifted his head to look ahead. "What is it?" he mumbled grumpily. "Are we there yet?"

He looked down at his dragon, a Gronckle he had named Forge. Though not his first choice for a dragon companion, when he was at a dragon training event a few years ago, the relationship just developed without any effort, both rider and dragon content to hang out when they wanted to and snooze whenever they felt like it.

Forge flicked his ear fins and his head to the left, and Thuggory looked off in the distance to see some dragons flying across their path. They were too far away to see any detail, or if they even had riders, but he could tell that they were not the same breed of dragon. Since dragons were usually mostly solitary creatures that did not go for joy flights with other breeds, they likely had riders.

Thuggory yawned as he covered his mouth against the gale-force winds and shielded his eyes as he blinked the sleep out. "Yeah, we can go say hi. Tell 'em we can split the difference and fly along as we chat."

Forge let out a loud roar, and the other dragons changed course to intercept. As they drifted closer, it turned out that his assumption about there being riders was correct. It was Hiccup and his usual gang, except minus Astrid and her Nadder. It was only a few months ago that Thuggory had seen them. He recalled that Astrid – who somehow ended up with Hiccup's child in her – was so depressed that she couldn't participate in the games.

But by Odin's beard, even if it still felt a little like living in a fairy tale, that was a good day! With the introduction of dragons to almost every island in the Archipelago – a peace offering from the Hooligan tribe to ward off the collective desire for everyone to band together and beat their dragon-taming secrets out of them – the Vikings of the Archipelago naturally found a way to weave dragons into the competitions. There were races, relays, boulder drags, logrolling – where the dragons balanced on the floating logs and riders rode the dragons – and skirmishes. For every competition Vikings normally held at Thawfest within the tribe, dragons were thrown into the mix and tribes were pit against each other, and the dragons absolutely loved it.

This year's dragon Thawfest was hosted by the Berserker tribe, which had become surprisingly tame in recent years. At least, that was what people were calling it, but some traders from the South said it reminded them of Olympus games from Greece, and Thuggory heard that name this year a few times more than last.

As Forge settled in along with the other dragons, Thuggory crossed a leg on top of his dragon and leaned an elbow on his knee. "Well, look who it is. You Hooligans fluttered off so soon after the dragon games I wasn't sure I'd see you again. Figured you were ashamed Forge 'n I won so many of the contests."

Snotlout waved him off. "Oh, please. I woulda won the ax-throwing contest without even looking, but the sun was in my eyes."

"So opening your eyes was your downfall?" Ruffnut asked.

Thuggory smirked. "Excuses, excuses. Was the sun in your eyes for the boulder carry too?"

"Eh, that was all about the dragons," Tuffnut said dismissively. "Gotta hand it to you, Forge, you got some muscle on ya."

"He sure does," Thuggory said. "He and I both work hard, train hard, and win hard. I'm just surprised that Meatlug didn't beat him with how she's gotta carry your fat arse around."

"Hey! Fishlegs squeaked. "That's not nice!"

Thuggory looked over at Hiccup. "I suppose I can admit your dragon is fast, but then again, he does bear a light burden. It would be awkward to leave Thawfest without winning a single contest, so good on your dragon."

Hiccup scowled and said, "Not only fast but our dance good too."

"Yeah, that," Thuggory said with a scoff. "Dragon dancing" was one of the few contests that did not test one's strength, speed, or wit, and Toothless was able to make it look like his rider was literally throwing him around or balancing him on a finger, making him the crowd favorite.

Suddenly, Hiccup grinned from ear to ear with a sinister look in his eyes. "He not know…" the rider said contemplatively.

Fishleg's eyes were wide and he was quietly saying, "Ohhhhh."

"Not know what?" Thuggory asked

Tuffnut laughed and said, "Well, let's just say that Hiccup is feeling… beside himself."

"Let's just say Toothless isn't used to being on top," Ruffnut added.

"Is that innuendo?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout snorted at that. "Everything girls say is an innuendo, but Thug, you could say Hiccup put on some muscle."

Thuggory squinted and stared for a moment. "Really? Where?"

As they bantered on, Thuggory felt a creeping suspicion that something was out of place. Hiccup was normally a pacifist who felt the itch to whine about playing nice, but instead, he was laughing at everyone as they poked fun at each other. On the other hand, his dragon seemed to feel uneasy, like he was resisting the urge to snap at someone, especially at certain times, but Thuggory couldn't quite figure out the cause. Sure, Toothless took every insult to Hiccup quite personally, being his rider, but the dragon used to have a sense of humor and would harmlessly growl at the offender before going on to ignoring people in general.

Thuggory sidled his dragon up next to Ruffnut and leaned over to smile at her. "Hey, you should come visit sometime, see what makes a legend."

"Sorry, Buttercake, but I'm already taken," Ruffnut said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "My heart is big enough for only one honey bun."

Thuggory scoffed. "You can't be serious about still holding out for Eret?! He's always squirming to get away from you. Last time I saw, he was hysterically screaming, 'Get this she-devil off of me!'"

"Ah, yes, Eret son of Eret," she swooned. "Always one to play hard to get. I'll get him, though. Two years, tops, and he's mine!"

"Uhhh… how exactly…"

Snotlout made eye contact with Thuggory and shook his head with a disgusted look on his face, like he just forced himself to down a mug of Astrid's infamous yak nog. "No. Just no. Trust me, Thug."

"Besides," Ruffnut said, "you're not a dragon whisperer, so you're automatically disqualified."

"Wait, when did you start to hear dragons?" Fishlegs asked with genuine interest.

"I'm not one yet," she snapped. "But I'm working on it…" her eyes took on a feral glint, "now that Astrid gave me a reason to care."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Tuffnut said.

"Well, ya know how people project their feelings without even knowing it, and dragon whispers can pick up those feelings?"

Tuffnut squinted. "Yeah, but you'd need to touch the dragon to sense what they're feeling."

"Or, better yet, touch my lover!" Ruffnut gleefully shouted. Everyone stared at her. "Ya know, to feel what he feels, he'd feel what I feel, all while we–"

Tuffnut smacked his helmet into hers. "Eew! We don't need to hear about that. Again. I swear, Astrid must hate us to get you all riled up about that before sending us on a trip with you."

Thuggory scowled at the reminder about Astrid. For years, he had his eyes set on her, and it wasn't just to strengthen the ties between the Meathead and Hooligan tribes. Astrid was always so visceral, so violent in a witty way, and her aloof nature only made her all that much more desirable. With his decisive strength and ambition, combined with her sharp wit and no-nonsense attitude, they would make an amazing team.

Then she just married herself off to… to… a talking fishbone for Thor's sake! It felt like a kick in the pants, a defacement of all virtue in the world!

"What a waste of potential," he grumbled.

The Night Fury snorted at that and his rider said, "What?"

"You know," Thuggory said grumpily. "Yeah, yeah, Red Death and whatnot, but it's sad for this to happen to someone so fierce." And beautiful, he thought to himself. Her strength came not from bulk but from the fire that burned within. Sure, she may have been a bit flat for his taste, but she was like a goddess in every other way.

"So sad for what to happen?" Hiccup insisted. He then did something he had never done before, which was to hold Thuggory in a challenging stare, his gaze steely and unflinching. "Someone once said that the tongue can give life or death. Choose your words carefully."

Thuggory stared at him for a moment. Hiccup normally was very non-confrontational, a pacifist to the extreme. It felt quite out of place to hear a direct challenge in that nasally voice.

Still, Thuggory would not back down, especially to a little twig. "Oh, you know, to see Astrid waste away. She has always been strong and fierce." He glowered at Hiccup. "It's like yoking a lynx together with a three-legged lamb and expecting–"

SNAP!

Thuggory yelped in alarm. He felt sharp teeth grazing his cheek. "What was that all about?!" he shouted in fear that quickly transitioned to outrage.

"Not smart," Hiccup calmly said. Normally, he could take a joke, but the dragon on which he rode was clearly in a roiling boil.

"Hiccup, let's not kill the heir to our closest allied tribe," Fishlegs squeaked out. "Would be kinda awkward. Toothless, please help calm him down."

Thuggory was dumbfounded. None of that made sense. It was the dragon that snapped at him, not the rider.

"Whatever," Thuggory said dismissively. "C'mon, Forge, the sooner we get to the Lava Louts, the sooner we can go home." As his dragon veered, he said over his shoulder, "You should get some dragon nip for Toothless before he bites someone's head off."

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Hiccup's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head. It was night time, but the hint of light to the East, in hues no human eye could detect, heralded the rising of the sun shortly. The air was pleasantly cool in his nostrils, but it was a bit muggier than he would have liked.

He was roused from his sleep by… something. His mind did not quite know, but his body felt restless, like there was a tension in the air.

A yawn split his mouth wide-open and his claws idly tilled the soil beneath as he scanned his surroundings – with his eyes and his sensor lobes. Owls perched on branches, a few boar lay still not too far away where they had been resting earlier, and various other critters were scattered about, but none of it was any concern. It was amazing that this island had any wildlife at all considering that it was littered with jagged spires and ridges, which would also explain the lack of human habitation. Still, greenery managed to stubbornly find a perch wherever it could to support the wildlife.

Content that all was well, he lay his head back down, but his body already decided that sleep was a thing of the past. Resigned to wait until everyone woke up, he wiggled into a more comfortable position, curled up around Toothless and taking in the fading sounds of the night life. Snotlout and Fishlegs were having a snoring contest, with Snotlout claiming the prize for being the loudest while Fishleg's performance was the most cringeworthy. Well, instead of a contest, maybe it was more like a duet as they would stop snoring at the same time for a while, then start again in symphony. Tuffnut occasionally clucked and bawked like a chicken. Ruffnut would sometimes mumble about things she wanted to do with Eret. Disturbing things.

Finally, Hiccup couldn't take it anymore. The sky was starting to brighten anyway, so he pulled some fuel into his mouth and shot a small fireball straight up. It exploded above the foliage, sending an amusing ripple through the trees.

"ZHWAAA!" Snotlout shouted in alarm, startled by the loud noise.

"Not in the face!" Fishlegs croaked.

"Yes, face!" Ruffnut cheered, still asleep.

"Maaacey!" Tuffnut whined. He then blinked himself into the real world and curled up around his prized mace again.

Toothless blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and when he focused on Hiccup's, he reached forward to touch the scaly snout with a stern expression.

"Awake for long?" he asked.

{Less than an hour.}

"See anything?"

{Nothing concerning.}

Toothless relaxed. "Not worried, then."

After complaining about being woken up so early, everyone spread out to answer nature's call before reconvening to munch on some jerky. None of the dragons were hungry yet, as they had eaten last night, but Hookfang and Meatlug cleaned up the remaining meat and bones from the boar carcass from last night. The few scavengers and predators on this island had been wise to stay away during the night.

Everyone saddled their dragons, and Toothless rigged up the tailfin – a task in which he was quite proficient by now. After Hiccup shifted his weight around and stretched to test the fit, he gave a friendly little chuff to which Toothless responded with a friendly slap on the flank.

The rider then reached into a pocket on the saddle that normally housed his journal, fished out a drawstring bag that was also tethered to the saddle, and peered inside to see the all-important gemstone in all of its dull and empty glory. One could not be too cautious when transporting something so irreplaceable, but bringing it was necessary to test with any larger lenses the tribe would likely have on the island. Satisfied, he put it back in the bag, cinched the drawstring, tucked it into the saddle pocket, and tucked in the slack on the safety tether.

"Ugh," Fishlegs groaned as he scanned the sky. "Not liking those clouds. You know the saying; red sky in morning–"

"This trip is so boring!" Tuffnut whined.

"Not quite how the saying goes, but close enough," Snotlout chimed in.

"I hope we at least get captured by dragon trappers or something to spice things up."

Ruffnut jammed a finger into her brother's chest. "If I didn't need this thing so badly to get Eret, I'd be onboard with you there, but I'm not, so don't push your luck.

Hiccup wasn't concerned about the weather. If anything, some good cloud cover would help them fly unseen by eyes below. Besides, they were only a morning's flight away from their destination, hardly a hop and a skip. By noon, they would reach the Hysteric tribe where they would use the pelts and seal skins they had packed along as a downpayment on a large order. Once details were hashed out regarding cost and time to produce the lenses, a ship could be sent over to conclude the trade.

If everything went well, he would be holding his child in his own human hands.

In theory.

Hopefully.

"Do we really have to go now?" Tuffnut whined before letting out a massive yawn.

"Yeah, the sun's not even up yet," Snotlout said.

"I dunno if the weather will get any better before it gets worse," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup agreed with Fishlegs, so he urged the riders onto their dragons – his teeth were really good at that. Up in the air they all went, and the grousing and grumbling gave way to the inexhaustible excitement of flight. However, the clouds quickly became larger and darker, and gusts of wind started to buffet them.

"Uhh, maybe we should go back to that island and wait this one out?" Fishlegs suggested, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

"Nah, it aint that bad," Ruffnut shouted back.

Rain suddenly started to hammer them in sheets.

"I retract my previous statement!"

"Ugh, not like!" Toothless whined.

Lightning split the sky in multiple directions and thunder split their ears.

"Yeah, we should land and wait this one out." Snotlout shouted. "Our island has places to shelter from the wind."

Everyone instantly turned around and frantically flew for the island. The gusts became more powerful, the temperature plummeted, and thunder boomed all around, the bolts increasing in frequency until it seemed the entire sky was alive with a nonstop shower of sparks.

It was only when a particularly powerful gust flipped Hiccup around and tossed him like a leaf that he realized he had lost the other dragons and riders. He let out a roar, but nobody responded.

"What you see?" Toothless shouted at his dragon. His voice was ripped away by the wind, but the projected thought still carried, and Hiccup looked around, straining to see what he could through his transparent inner eyelid. Blinding daggers of light and curtains of darkness were all that he could see.

"Not with eyes." Toothless slapped a sensor lobe. "With these!"

Hiccup felt around, allowing instincts to flit the sensor lobes around to feel what he could. The lightning became more frequent, and each bolt sent a dizzying spike through his head, but between the bolts, he could pick up a few things. Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch were scattered far and wide, and they were ready for this storm to be done and over with. The riders were miserable, but they've endured biting wind and soaking rain before. It was hard to focus, though, as all this lightning scrambled his senses like eggs in a pan.

Oh, and he could also detect a creature with overwhelmingly intense hatred and an uncompromising desire to kill the black dragon.

Hiccup barked in alarm and looked back at Toothless' grim face. They both knew the signs.

A Skrill was hunting for him.