(A/N: Are you guys enjoying the story so far? I hope so, we're still very early into it and there's still so much to do.
As you guys know if you've been following along, the riders are finally out in the world and exploring. This chapter takes place in the episode "When Darkness Falls", where they discover the island that would become their outpost.
A couple of my favorite scenes from season one happen in this episode (as seems to be the case for a lot of these episodes). So, with that in mind, I hope everyone really enjoys this chapter.)
V-X-O-*-I~o~I-*-O-X-V
For the next couple of days, the Dragon Riders have been searching what seemed to be every island for a place they could establish a base while they explored and searched for Dagur. So far, however, none of the islands they had been to seemed to be good enough for them or their dragons.
They had just left an island populated by hundreds of wild boars. The boars were not at all content with their visitors and chased Hiccup and Snotlout all the way to the edge of a cliff before they were rescued.
"Okay, so check that island off the list," Hiccup uttered.
Despite all of the bad luck that had, Fishlegs was as optimistic as he always was, "This is so exciting! Searching the high seas for an island outpost to call our own!"
Ruffnut leaned back in Barf's saddle with her arms behind her head, "Yeah, I like this idea. Move away from Berk, get my own place," she looked meaningfully at her twin, "away from you-know-who."
Tuffnut crossed his arms, obliviously agreeing with her, "Yeah, you're telling me, sister. I am so sick of you-know-who. He never knows when to shut up. I want him out of here!"
"Guys, let's focus," Hiccup interpolated before they could go further. "Alright, we need to find an island that's safe, secure, and habitable for both us and the dragons."
"Blah, blah, blah!" Snotlout interjected rudely. "How many times do we have to hear that?"
"Um, until we find what we're looking for?" he replied pointedly. He looked down and spotted a potential island below, "Let's check this one out."
For several hours they looked at multiple islands to build an outpost on, and none panned out. Each of the islands had one thing or another about them that made them uninhabitable, poisonous plants, hostile dragons and animals.
Eventually, after a while, they finally seemed to find a decent island. It had a plentiful food and water supply, no visible hostile species, it seemed to be a very good place to live.
"This looks pretty good," Hiccup admired the landscape as they flew around the island.
"Those cliffs could work," Astrid mentioned. "Good sightlines, easily defendable."
"The location is great!" Fishlegs smiled.
"It's perfect!" Ruffnut commented.
Tuffnut, however, didn't seem to have the same thoughts as his twin, "Yeah, too perfect. I'm just saying, in the immortal words of the mighty Thor: 'When something looks too perfect, it probably… sucks'."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Thor never said anything remotely like that."
"Oh, really? How do you know? Do you know Thor? Have you talked to him recently?" he questioned, almost too fast for him to understand.
He rolled his eyes again, "No, Tuff, but-"
"Well, I have!" he interjected. "And I don't recall him mentioning you. Look, I just have a feeling about this place. And I think we all know what happens when I get a feeling."
"We ignore it?" Astrid gibed with a light smirk. Helene covered her mouth as she held back a laugh.
"Mark my words! There will be something wrong with this island! Something mysterious, something horrible, something… something…!" he declared dramatically.
"Ya finished?" Ruffnut deadpanned.
It was sunset and everyone had landed near the beach for the night. They would have to be resting shortly if they planned to make this island their new home.
"Okay, first thing we need to do is set up camp for the night. We need dry wood for fire, we need fresh water, and we need someone on traps," Hiccup announced, unaware that he was speaking mostly to himself.
"Snotlout, what is that?" Astrid asked.
He was surprised to hear that, and that Astrid was reputedly more interested in something Snotlout was doing. Helene was standing next to him and tapped on his shoulder, practically patting him, and pointed at the others.
"It's an 'S'," he answered, writing in the dirt with a stick, "for 'Snotlout'. I think aesthetically it would look nice flying over."
"That's ridiculous. It doesn't matter what the outpost looks like, it needs to be functional and operational," she stated.
Hiccup tried to get their attention, "Uh, guys, what we really need is-"
Fishlegs interjected without listening, "Is a place for rest, relaxation, and replenishing after a hard day's work. You're absolutely right, Hiccup. Look, Meatlug and I had some thoughts…" he showed everyone a diorama made of sticks and stones on a shield.
"Is that a hot tub?" Astrid asked, bewildered, pointing at one of the models.
"No, that's the mud bath," he responded, holding back the urge to laugh. He pointed at a different model, "The hot tub is over there."
Toothless groaned to Hiccup and he agreed, "Tell me about it."
"Wait a minute. Everyone stop! I don't see it!" Tuffnut frantically shouted.
"See what?" Helene asked.
"Um, the boar pit! Where is it?! Where's the boar pit?!" he yelled.
"You see, the centerpiece of any good outpost is a boat pit," Ruffnut calmly explained in a tone that strangely showed discernment.
"Why do you need a boar pit?" Astrid questioned.
"Everyone needs a little entertainment every now and then, don't they?" he answered darkly. She only stared at him blankly and blinked.
"Well, we do know where to get boars," Fishlegs remarked.
Suddenly, Toothless fired a plasma blast onto the grass, burning it and destroying the 'S' in the process. "Whoops! Sorry about that. Okay, so, uh, now that we have your attention, we really need to set up camp for the night."
"Wait, what about the-" Tuffnut tried to ask.
"Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah," Hiccup cut him off, "we'll worry about the outpost design in the morning. For now, someone needs to get the water."
Snotlout scoffed slightly and commented to Astrid, "I don't know about you, but I like Whiney Berk Hiccup way better than Princess Outpost Hiccup."
"I know, right?" she replied, turning briefly and giving Hiccup two thumbs up.
He let out a sigh that sounded like a groan and shook his head. He looked over at Helene, who was sitting on a boulder buried deep into the ground, she gave him a teasing smile and an almost mocking thumbs up. He groaned loudly and rubbed the back of his neck.
Night soon fell and the riders were sitting around a campfire with their dragons. After a long day of looking for a decent island and running from wild boars, rest and relaxation was something they all needed.
Toothless heard something in the bushes and craned his neck to look, warbling softly and lowly. Hiccup saw this and asked, "What is it, bud?"
"I'll tell you what it is. It's rats, rats the size of yaks. No, wait, could it also be yaks the size of rats? Yak-rats!" Tuffnut chuckled at the thought, "Oh, wait, those would be adorable. No, no, I know what it is! It's yaks the size of dragons. Right, Toothless? You feel me, T?" Toothless groaned and laid down on the grass.
Fishlegs scoffed and remarked to Astrid while laughing, "There's no such thing as yaks the size of dragons."
He suddenly appeared in between them, startling them, "Yak-dragons to you, my friend. And when you hear their cries, you'll believe, trust me." He suddenly let out an obnoxious call, causing them to cover their ears, which ended in a rather anticlimactic way. "Yeah, that's right. Let that roll around in your head for a minute."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Alright, Tuffnut, knock it off."
"Yeah, you're not scaring anyone," Snotlout added.
He got close to his face, "Really? Not even if there were snakes out there in the dark? Snakes big enough to swallow a man whole and then barf out his bones!" He gagged and stuck out his tongue, waved his hands, and rolled his eyes for added effect.
"Ha! Please… barfing out bones…" he muttered nervously. He grabbed Hookfang's wing and hid under it for protection like a small child with their blanket. Hookfang gave him a look and grumbled. "What?"
"Yeah, that's right, go to bed. Sleep… if you can!" he smirked, feeling satisfied. He then laid down on the ground, resting his head on Belch's neck, muttering, "Trolls… demon-toads…"
The other riders exchanged looks with each other at his attempts at scary stories. Before long, they were asleep with their dragons as well, allowing the campfire to burn itself out.
Sometime later, they were suddenly awakened by Tuffnut screaming frantically. He came running out of the forest and into the campsite.
"Ahh! Help!" He gasped for breath before he started shouting again, "Chicken! Roaring! Roaring huge... chicken! Chicken… roar!"
"Is he saying he saw a big roaring chicken?" Fishlegs asked as he continued his frantic ramblings.
"Not chicken… dragon. Huge! Massive! What is another word?" He suddenly turned dead serious, "Colossal."
"But what happened to the chicken?" he asked.
"Forget the chicken! We gotta get out of here!" he shrieked.
Astrid yawned, "Is anyone falling for this?"
"I don't know," Ruffnut replied. She then smirked at the memory she had when she saw his panicked state, "I haven't seen him this freaked out since he found a leech on his-"
"Okay! I'm going to stop you there. Ugh!" she grimaced.
Hiccup sighed, "Okay, fine, let's just check this out, so we can all go back to sleep."
Tuffnut led them through the forest to the spot he said he saw the dragon he was frantic about. "Okay, when this giant beast rips us limb to limb, I will expect a full apology from each and every one of you… and a handshake. No, you won't be able to shake hands 'cause your limbs will be gone."
There was a rustling in the bushes and he hushed everyone, although he was the only one that was talking. He jumped out and took a fighting stance, but the only thing there was a chicken, and no dragon.
"No, no, no, it was here! And it was huge! I'm not making this up!" He then addressed the chicken, "Here, tell them. You were standing right there! Tell them, chicken." The chicken just stared up at him blankly.
He started to breathe heavily and his twin approached him, "Uh, you're scaring me, bro, okay? And we shared a womb."
Everyone gave him an upset and disappointed look before leaving to go back to the campsite. He looked down at the chicken, who squawked at him.
He looked away and crossed his arms, "I can't even look at you right now." The chicken clucked at him. He turned around with an angry expression and his hands on his hips, "What did you just say?!" The chicken stared up at him and clucked once. "I didn't think so." He started to walk back to the campsite and his feathered companion followed him.
Morning came quicker than expected for everyone, for both riders and dragons. Waking up a new island was peaceful, but unexpected and would require time to adjust.
Hiccup yawned as he stretched his stiff limbs from laying on the ground the whole night. "Okay, now, let's talk outpost."
Astrid came up to him with a large piece of paper, "Since you brought it up, I've been working on my design." She scrolled open the paper, showing a rendering of what looked like a fortress. "We'll set up look-out posts with interlocking fields of fire and-"
"Never get any rest," Fishlegs chimed in. He gestured to his model on the shield, "But here in my meditation garden-"
"None of those is S-shaped!" Snotlout interjected. "Did you not see my design?"
"Boar pit. Boar pit. Boar pit!" Ruffnut cheered from behind Snotlout and Fishlegs.
Hiccup quickly stopped them before they could get too carried away, "Guys, guys, guys! Listen to me, okay? We need one idea! We can't design five different outposts." An idea then formed in his head, "Or… can we? You know what? Boar pit, great idea!"
Ruffnut gaped, "Whoa. What just happened?"
"S-shaped? I love it!" he grinned.
"Don't freak me out, Hiccup! It gives me the willies," Snotlout whimpered.
"I'm just saying, let's all come up with a design that we each think is best and then we'll vote on it. Does that sound fair?" he asked everyone. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Ruffnut all stared at him, shocked.
"What are you up to?" Astrid questioned, suspicious.
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all! Just trying to keep the troops happy. You know what they say, uh, happy troops are, uh, happy… groups?" he nervously explained as best he could. She gave him a suspicious look. He saw Ruffnut walking somewhere without her twin and decided to change the topic, "Hey, uh, speaking of troops, Ruff, where's your other half?"
She shrugged, "Don't ask me! All I know is that this boar pit is not going to dig itself."
He then saw Helene still sitting on the grass, relaxing. Ripwave was behind her and she had her back lying against her.
He went over to her, "Hey, Hele," she turned her head to look up at him, "are you going to work on your outpost design?"
She shrugged slightly and shook her head, "No. I grew up on a boat for fourteen years and lived on Outcast Island for three. I don't really give a damn about what it looks like."
He looked at her questionably at first but said nothing, then decided that maybe she did have a point. Berk and Outcast Island couldn't look more different from each other if they tried and she could manage to make herself comfortable in both places. While he thought he could never have the comfort on Outcast Island like she had, he could understand what she was saying.
With that implanted in his mind, he sat down in the grass near her and Toothless did the same, laying down behind him. He crossed his arms behind his head and relaxed against his dragon.
For the next couple of hours, they watched as their friends worked on their models of their ideas for the outpost. They worked on them relentlessly, only taking breaks to gather materials, use the bathroom, and have a snack.
"Do you hear that?" Hiccup asked her and their dragons.
"Yep," she answered. "The sound of peace and quiet."
He nodded, then leaned further back onto Toothless and let out a relaxed sigh. "You know, making them work together might be the best idea I've ever had."
'That's debatable, Hiccup,' she thought. 'You haven't had many of them.' She then told him, "Don't speak too soon."
He usually ignored most things like that or disregarded them, but she always seemed to be right about everything. He decided to continue to watch them, hoping that this would be the one time she was wrong.
Unfortunately, she was right, and he was proven wrong when Fishlegs and Snotlout got into an argument about a rock. It only got worse when Fishlegs fed the rock to Meatlug and Snotlout destroyed his model of his idea for the outpost in retaliation.
He stood up and groaned, "And once again I've spoken too soon." Toothless groaned behind him before laying down in the grass again, trying to ignore the conflict, and also upset with his rider.
Helene simply looked up at him and stayed on the ground, "Told you."
He gave her a slight glare before Ruffnut suddenly came up to him after digging the boar pit, speaking in a sickeningly sweet and slightly seductive voice, "Hey, Hiccup, I'm ready for a dry run. You wanna be the boar?" She cackled and moved her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, much to his disgust as he groaned awkwardly.
He looked over at Helene, as if asking her to help him, she just looked away, telling him that he was on his own. 'Your own fault, Hiccup. A chief has to learn how to fix his own mistakes.'
Suddenly, Tuffnut walked by them, covered in dirt with leaves and sticks in his hair, he looked tired. He didn't even acknowledge anyone as he went to sit down.
Ruffnut gaped when she saw her twin's condition, "Whoa, what happened to him?"
He sat down in front of a log and limply leaned against it, his chicken hopped on top of it and perched near him. He took in a few gasps as he asked, "Can I have some water?"
Helene stood up and took out a cup and a canteen from her saddlebag, taking them over to him. She poured the water into the wooden cup and gave it to him, "Here."
"Thanks." He drank the water like a Tidal Class dragon with dehydrated skin. "That big dragon is a ghost." He held up the cup to Helene, "Can I have more?" She poured more water into it.
Hiccup could have scoffed when he heard that Tuffnut was looking for the dragon he supposedly saw, "You've really been out there all day looking for that dragon?"
"Instead of digging our boar pit," Ruffnut scoffed. She lightly hit Hiccup's arm, "Priorities, huh?"
"Or, maybe he really did see something?" he considered.
"Oh, I saw something," Tuffnut replied, wiping his mouth. He gave the cup back to Helene. He looked up at his chicken, "You did too, you little backstabber. Tell them," The chicken clucked and stopped when he said, "Ah, save it! You had your chance."
"Or, this whole thing is a bunch of sticky yak dung!" Ruffnut retorted.
Tuffnut stood up from the grass, "You know what, first of all, yak dung, when made into a nice tea, can be quite aromatic."
"Agreed. But I still think you're trying to scare everyone. There's no dragon out there," she claimed.
"Uh, yeah, there is, Ruffnut. You wanna put your mutton where your mouth is?" he smirked.
She smirked back at him and laughed, "Oh, you're not suggesting…"
"Oh, I am! I'm suggesting, like a hot Gronckle in a lava pit. You know exactly what that means!" he stated.
"Wh- What is going on with you two?" Hiccup asked.
"Silence!" Ruffnut yelled at him.
"I officially declare Thorston Challenge," he announced.
"Thorston what?!" Hiccup shouted.
"Accepted! Usual stakes?" she asked with a knowing smirk.
"Of course," he responded.
Hiccup was now hopelessly confused, "Wha- What stakes?"
"It's better you don't know," Tuffnut replied.
He and Ruffnut then spit into the palms of their hands and shook them, officially beginning their challenge. Both of them went over to Barf and Belch with the chicken following them.
Hiccup could hardly wrap his mind around what had just happened between the twins, it happened so quickly. He then heard the familiar sound of someone handling one of the dragon saddles. He turned and saw Helene mounting Ripwave, who was now standing and looked somewhat tired.
"Uh, where are you going?" he asked.
"With them," she answered, pointing her thumb back as the twins started flying away.
"Why?" he asked her again.
She gave him a pointed look and pointed at their other friends, "Would you rather stay here with them?"
As soon as he looked at the other riders, she left to follow the twins. He watched as they fought each other over rocks and other materials for their outpost designs.
Toothless groaned to his rider, "I know, bud, I'm losing it too." He quickly mounted his dragon to fly after them. "Ruff! Tuff! Wait up! How about a couple of impartial judges for the Thorston Challenge? For the love of Thor, take us with you!"
It was nighttime before any of them knew it, they had been flying for several hours and found nothing. It seemed likely that Ruffnut would be the winner of the challenge between the two of them.
Everything Tuffnut had been through that entire day seemed to have taken effect on him, as he was fast asleep on Belch with the chicken in his arms. He began talking in his sleep, "Tastes like chicken. Chicken on a stick, chicken a la mode…" He fell sideways in the saddle, barely hanging onto it, as if he could fall off in a moment.
Toothless used his hind leg to push Tuffnut upright into the saddle. "And that's probably where we should call it a night."
"Sure! Since we never found that quote unquote yak dragon, declare me the Thorston Challenge winner and we can all go home!" Ruffnut grinned, knowing what being the challenge winner meant.
Hiccup exchanged looks with Helene, who shrugged, "Uh, okay, sure. Um, by the power vested in me I hereby declare that Ruffnut is the-"
A loud and sudden roar stopped all of them in the air. Soon, a large dark-colored dragon suddenly came into view and circled them.
"I don't believe it…" Hiccup gasped.
"Me neither. Tuffnut wins the Thorston Challenge," Ruffnut sulked.
"Yes! Told you. Now pay up!" He rubbed his fingers together. She hit him and he hit her back, she put him into a headlock.
As they fought, Helene noticed that the dragon wasn't circling them anymore. It had started to fly away, in the direction of their campsite where the others were sleeping.
"Hiccup, look!" she shouted, pointing at the dragon as it flew away.
He gasped and cried out to the twins, "Guys, focus! Look where it's headed, straight for our campsite. If it catches those guys asleep on the ground…" The twins looked at each other and started to fly after the dragon.
Tuffnut picked up his chicken and stared affectionately into the bird's amber eyes. The chicken clucked and a tear rolled down his cheek, "I forgive you too."
He placed his chicken on top of his head as he and Ruffnut exclaimed in unison, "See you in Valhalla!"
They flew straight towards the large dragon at high speed. The dragon turned to them and spread its wings, as if trying to scare them.
"Here we go!" Ruffnut happily shouted.
Just as soon as Barf and Belch made contact with the dragon, it dispersed into small dark-colored dragons. They chirped and shrieked like a colony of bats.
Hiccup was shocked by this discovery, "What in the name of... It's not one big dragon, it's tons of little ones!"
As soon as the small dragons cleared, Ruffnut was disappointed to still be seeing her twin, "If this is Valhalla…"
"What are you doing here?" they finished in unison.
He then spotted a slightly larger white dragon, the smaller darker colored dragons were flocking around it. "Whoa, check that out!"
The white dragon squawked at the smaller dragons, as if commanding them. The darker dragons gathered around it, regrouping together.
"They're joining back up around the white one!" Ruffnut observed.
"It must be the leader!" Hiccup surmised.
Helene subconsciously nodded, amazed by the unusual dragons around them, "This is amazing."
Hiccup then saw the twins fly towards the dragons with a net in hand. "Guys, what are you doing?" he cried.
They captured the small white dragon in the net, holding it up. Afterwards, the darker dragons suddenly started to fly everywhere in a sheer panic.
"Bam! Problem solved," Tuffnut claimed. "Now let's go home."
As they left, Hiccup stared at the frantic little dragons nervously, "I don't know about you, bud, but I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Same here," Helene uttered, staring at the dragons with wide eyes.
They went back to the campsite where the others were awakened by the angered shrieks of the small white dragon. It was set on the ground so they could get a better look at it.
"Amazing," Fishlegs admired the new dragon.
"It looks sort of like a Terrible Terror," Astrid noted. She flinched when it suddenly screeched. "But bigger and meaner."
There were many times where Helene agreed with Astrid, but she had to disagree with her about the dragon, "No, it's more like a Smothering Smokebreath."
"And it seems like they're nocturnal," Hiccup observed. Snotlout came up to them to look at the dragon. He began to explain to him, "You know, they come out at night…"
"Yeah! I knew that! Noc-o-turnal. I was gonna explain to them," he looked back at the twins. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were laughing as they ran around in circles with the chicken, chasing each other.
"I say we call them Night Terrors!" Fishlegs declared, briefly baring a face that strangely resembled Alvin's. The chicken flew into his hands and clucked at him angrily.
Tuffnut came up to him, "Hey, I saw them first, so I get to name them." His chicken clucked at him. "No, you always say that. Now, let's think about this logically. They come out at night and they're terrifying, terror of the night… I've got it! Smidvarg and the Gang!" Everyone looked at him blankly.
"And Night Terrors it is!" Hiccup smiled and crossed his arms.
The dragon suddenly became very agitated and shrieked, almost hollering into the night. Distance roaring could be heard in addition to distressed cries.
"What's going on out there?" Astrid asked.
"I don't know," Tuffnut replied, petting his chicken. "Whatever it is, Smidvarg doesn't like it, and the Gang ain't paying attention."
"Let's check it out," Hiccup stated.
Everyone got to their dragons and mounted them, leaving the campsite and the white Night Terror. Eventually, they found the source of the sounds they heard, a trio of Changewings were chasing the Night Terrors, trying to eat them.
"Changewings!" Hiccup shouted. Toothless rumbled. "I know, bud, not exactly a fair fight, is it? Let's even up the odds."
They all flew in and intervened in this feeding frenzy before anyone got hurt. They defended the smaller, helpless dragons against the larger, more aggressive ones.
"No bullies on our island!" Astrid declared as Stormfly helped the smaller dragons.
Snotlout and Hookfang saved a Night Terror by firing at a Changewing, "You can't treat our dragons like that!"
Barf and Belch fired at another Changewing and Ruffnut exclaimed, "Only we can treat our dragons like that!"
Hiccup smiled slightly when he saw the trio fly away in retreat, "That should take care of 'em."
Fishlegs turned his head and could see a flock of red dragons in the distance, "But what about those guys?"
Hiccup quickly took out his spyglass and saw the incoming Changewings, "Incoming!"
"How many?" Astrid asked.
"Too many!" he cried, clearly scared.
"Why are they all coming here now?" Fishlegs inquired.
A Night Terror came up to Hiccup and squawked at him, "It- It must be the Night Terrors! When we captured the white one they all split up!"
Fishlegs could have hit himself, "Oh, of course! They flock into a shape of a giant version of themselves as a defense mechanism to scare off predators."
"And now that they can't," Helene began.
"They're lunch," Astrid finished.
"Oh, I knew this was going to be bad! Okay, we have to help them, I'll head back for the white Night Terror," he told them. "He's their leader. You guys hold them off as long as you can." He glanced at Helene, "Come with me, Hele, I might need the backup."
'And because I'm the most familiar with smaller dragons,' she thought. She gave him a nod and she and Ripwave followed him and Toothless.
They managed to make it back to the campsite without coming across any Changewings, they were too focused on the rest of the flock. The white Night Terror was shrieking and crying frantically on the ground, trying to escape the net.
Hiccup landed and quickly got the net off of him. He fluttered his wings and angrily screeched in Hiccup's ear as he flew up to find his flock.
Hiccup stuck his finger into his sore ear, "Yep, probably deserved that."
'You think?' Helene mentally asked. She looked up to see the Night Terror fly away and saw a terrible sight. "Hiccup!"
He looked up when he heard her shout and saw what she saw, a Changewing was chasing the small white dragon with a wide open mouth full of sharp teeth. He quickly mounted Toothless and they flew up to help, but they feared it was too late.
Suddenly, the Changewing flew away when there was a sudden explosion, saving the small dragon. The explosion was caused by the twins, they followed them in case they needed them, and they did.
"You leave our Smidvarg alone," Tuffnut growled.
"Great job, guys," Helene praised with a smile.
"Alright, you and Helene cover Smidvarg behind, Toothless and I will lead the way," he addressed the twins. Both looked at him smugly when he called the white Night Terror by his given name. "What?" He smiled and shrugged slightly as he admitted, "Okay, so it's growing on me."
He and Toothless flew ahead of them and they were followed by Smidvarg just a moment later. Helene and the twins followed the albino dragon almost as soon as he left.
Of the four of them, or any of the riders, Helene was the one who knew about small dragons the most. Her experience with her former dragon Smog gave her the knowledge that smaller dragons tend to fly close together and discretely to avoid unwanted attention.
She looked down at the forest since she thought it would provide the most protection. That was when she saw the light from the fire of one of the other dragons and a Changewing, meaning the Night Terrors were likely nearby.
She whistled, getting the attention of Smidvarg. He looked down at the forest and saw the scene, and he knew his flock was down there. He immediately started to fly down, roaring and screeching for his flock.
The smaller dragons heard the calls of their leader and flew up to reunite with him. He roared and they instinctively formed together into the large version of their species.
They flew over the area, scaring away the Changewing with their large size and combined roar. The last of the color-changing dragons were scared away just as they were about to attack Snotlout, Fishlegs, and their dragons.
"Yes!" Snotlout cheered. Fishlegs laughed victoriously.
The Night Terrors chirped happily in unison with the threat of the Changewings gone. Smidvarg was willing to forgive the Dragon Riders for capturing him and endangering his flock since they helped him and saved all of them.
It was the break of dawn and the riders were all gathered around a piece of paper. On the paper was a new drawing of their outpost, it was Hiccup's design. Their names were in specific sections of the page, likely for the locations of their huts.
"What's this?" Astrid inquired about the paper.
"A diagram of our new outpost," he answered. "I got the idea from Smidvarg. So, you see, I combined all your ideas into one giant base. I was thinking we could call it the Dragon's Edge. What do you guys think?" Everyone exchanged glances with each other before nodding happily, content with the idea. "Okay, I just need to point out that this is the first time that that has ever happened! Let's take a look. Everyone gets to make their section of Dragon's Edge however they want it to be."
He proceeded to show everyone where they would be building their new homes, taking into account what each of them wanted originally. Helene said she didn't care about the design of the outpost and he took into consideration what was best for Ripwave when thinking about where her hut would be.
Her section of the outpost was slightly higher than where the others would be, yet it had easy access to water so that the Shockjaw could swim whenever she wanted to. Because of the higher elevation it was slightly secluded, which was perfect for a more solitary species like a Shockjaw, and also for Helene since she enjoyed having time to herself once in a while.
He went on to explain some of the features, including a boar pit for the twins, stables with a landing strip, and a dragon training arena, all of which would be connected with bridges, zip lines, and gangplanks. He finished by explaining the center area, a clubhouse for them to eat, talk, and relax, it would be the eye of Dragon's Edge.
By the time night fell, the skeletons of their huts and the other buildings were erected and almost completed. They would be sleeping under the stars again, but it wouldn't be long before their new home was finished.
Hiccup admired the progress they had made with the construction, "It's actually taking shape. And now for one more addition to our outpost. Tuff?"
Tuffnut was playing with and hugging his chicken, "That's it, that's right…" He stopped playing with his bird and looked at everyone awkwardly, "Uh… what?" He remembered what he had to say, "Oh. Smidvarg!" The chicken leaped up and pecked his face, much to Ruffnut's amusement, "Ouch! Ow, ow, ow! What? Oh, I can't have friends now?!"
At the sound of his name being called, Smidvarg flew up from below and landed on a wooden perch. He looked down at them and chirped.
"Well, if we're going to be sharing the island with them, I figured we should share the outpost too," Hiccup casually explained.
"Plus, it doesn't hurt that they seem to have an instinct to protect!" Fishlegs happily added. Helene nodded in agreement.
"They'll be like sentries. Right, Smidvarg?" he asked the albino dragon. He squawked and stood up on his hind legs.
"So, what about the Thorston Challenge thing?" Helene asked Tuffnut.
"Yeah, when is Ruffnut gonna pay up?" Hiccup questioned.
"She already has, can't you tell?" he replied, pointing his thumb back at Ruffnut, who was sulking on a rock. "She lost, so she had to swap clothes with me!"
He rolled his eyes in disgust, "Right. And if you had lost?"
He grimaced, "Ugh! I'd have to swap clothes with her."
"Yeah, but you guys are exactly, uh-" he began before Astrid covered his mouth.
"Don't go there," she deadpanned monotonously.
Helene rolled her eyes, thinking, 'Please don't.'
Smidvarg then suddenly shrieked, summoning the other Night Terrors. They began to fly in a circle around Toothless, as if trying to study him as thoroughly as possible.
"What are they doing now?" Hiccup asked, intrigued.
"No idea," Fishlegs responded.
Once the Night Terrors were done with Toothless, they all flew up. Smidvarg joined his flock and they began to take shape.
"Hiccup, look!" Helene pointed up at them.
They formed into the perfect shape of a Night Fury! Every detail was perfect, all of the riders were in utter awe of the giant Night Fury the small dragons created.
"Whoa, awesome!"
"Amazing!"
"Impressive!"
"Incredible!"
Snotlout was completely speechless at the formation. He gaped at it and broke a stick in his hand with his thumb.
Toothless was utterly happy at the formation in the sky, he hadn't seen another Night Fury in so many years. He crooned up happily at it before standing up on his hind legs and spreading his wings, trying to imitate the formation. Hiccup laughed at his dragon.
Helene shook her head as she smiled, 'What a ham. He's adorable!'
The chicken clucked in Tuffnut's arms and he smiled, "Oh, chicken, I couldn't have squawked it better myself."
The Night Terrors flew up higher while still in formation, blocking the moon. The formation's mouth opened and let out a roar before the Night Terrors dispersed, revealing the beautiful, bright, full moon in the starry night sky.
V-X-O-*-I~o~I-*-O-X-V
(A/N: And there you have it, folks! It's finally finished and ready for you to read. I don't like to update stories like this on a weekday because I want as many people as possible to read it, but I didn't feel like waiting another week
The scene at the end when Toothless was pretty much stealing the spotlight was a real treat for me. Literally the first thing I thought when I first saw it was Scooby-Doo and how he can be sometimes (I believe he's even called a ham in a couple of the older episodes of the original series).
I'm very excited for the next chapter because we'll be getting introduced more to Ladok, the character from chapter one. I can't wait and hope everyone here sticks around to see it when it's done.)