Chapter 2: "Scuffle at The Forest's Edge"
The trio headed out of their little house and hit the village streets.
"Tilolo track Unclepon down, no problem!" Tilolo said. He ran off and nimbly jumped up some boxes, getting a bird's eye view from the rooftops. He kept his distance from the roof edges on the off chance he was spotted by Nicholas as he lept around. He did have to use his wings to flutter-jump across a gap between roofs, though. He may be a Nopon, but he was quick and light on his feet. He'd be even quicker if food were involved.
Megan and Brittany followed on the ground. They ran down the cobblestone path, keeping an eye on their tracker.
They, too, had to be careful. One, they had to avoid being spotted by Megan's uncle. Two, they also had to avoid running into people and getting themselves run over.
While jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Tilolo's keen Nopon eyes scanned the ground. Soon enough, he spotted Nicholas. 'Heh heh heh! Unclepon spotted!' He thought. He jumped over to a conveniently placed balcony and signaled to the girls.
"There he is!" Brittany said.
Megan nodded. "Stay close."
The brunette decided following through the crowd would be too much trouble. With this many people out and about, they were liable to crash into someone, causing a stir and drawing her uncle's attention to them.
As they had been living in the village for a while, the young trio had all the time in the world to figure out the best shortcuts.
Which is exactly what Megan decided to take advantage of.
Megan climbed up some crates near an alleyway.
"Oh, I don't like climbing." Brittany muttered.
"C'mon, or we're gonna lose him!" Megan said, giving her best friend a hand.
"I'm goin' as fast as I can!"
The two girls hung back near a wall.
Megan peeked around the corner, taking a look at some activity in the square. A group of musicians were performing, playing a lively tune and some villagers were tossing them some coins into an old hat. She signaled to Brittany to head on out.
As a group of Berkian kids ran past and down the street, the girls slid down a smaller roof. A few shingles fell to the ground as they did.
"Meh meh meh!" Tilolo also joined the girls on the ground. He jumped down from the rooftops, using his flutter-jump and maybe a clothesline or two to ease his descent.
At this point, Nicholas looked back, getting a feeling. A feeling that he was being watched...and followed.
The trio quickly hid in the shadows of a stall.
"..." Megan peeked around the corner again.
"All clear, Meg-Meg?" Tilolo whispered.
"Get yer baked mutton pies right here, folks!" A shopkeeper said, giving the kids a quick jump. "Wash it all down with a cup'o fresh yak's milk!" She held up a cup, the milk inside sloshing a bit.
"Yuck!" "Ick!" "No thanks!" The trio said, running off.
"H-Hey! Where'd Mr. Nicholas go?" Brittany said, looking around the square.
"I saw him heading this way, I'm sure of it!" Megan said. "Come on!"
They headed through the crowd who were gathered around the musicians.
"Excuse me!" Megan said, pushing through the people.
"Pardon us!" Brittany said, as she squeezed past someone.
The trio looked around, but they could only see the musicians playing their instruments and dancing for the people that had stopped to hear them play. There was no sign of Megan's uncle. It was like he had vanished.
"How does he bloody do that?" Brittany said. She stood on her tiptoes to try and see above the crowd.
Megan looked disappointed and slightly frustrated.
"Unclepon must already be outside of village by now..." Tilolo said.
Unbeknownst to the trio, someone had stepped up behind them.
"Hmm?" Megan seemed to sense this and turned her head.
"Megan." Nicholas had caught onto them.
"Meh meh meh!" "It was HER idea!" Tilolo and Brittany exclaimed.
"W-We were only gonna track you as far as the village gates!" Megan explained.
"Is that so? And then what would you do?" Nicholas said, with a sly smile. "Take on a flock of dragons, just the three of you?"
"...W-Well...Well, yeah! But only because I think we can hunt them together!" Megan said, getting excited. "Monstrous Nightmares, Scauldrons, Razorwhips! Deathgrippers, even!"
Nicholas let out a hearty laugh at this. "Oh what am I to do with you, lass?" He took his niece's hands and started to dance with her to the music.
"Come here, fuzzy-wuzzy!" Brittany scooped up Tilolo and danced with the Nopon.
"Meh meh! Bri-Bri have two left feet!" Tilolo said.
"Y'know, if I wanted to, I could drop kick you into the nearest barrel."
"...N-Nevermind! B-Bri-Bri excellent dancer!"
"That's better!"
"We could climb the mountain lair of a Red Death!" Megan said. "Explore the tunnels of a Whispering Death's burrow!"
"You and your stories!" Nicholas said. "They get more and more elaborate with each one you tell!"
"We'll find a nest of Fireworms and their Queen! We could even meet a Snow Wraith or a Boneknapper! Or a Skrill! Maybe a Bewilderbeast!"
The brunette girl and her uncle let out happy, joyful laughs as they danced around. They even started to hum a little tune to the music.
The music came to a stop and the crowd let out a round of applause as the musicians took their bows.
Megan, Brittany, Tilolo and Nicholas had stopped dancing. The four of them were still laughing like the happy family they were.
However, the moment came to a sudden end when a group of soldiers walked into the square. The musicians grabbed the money they had gathered from their performance and ran. The villagers quickly went back to their daily business.
"McMartin! Come here a moment!" The lead soldier called out to Nicholas.
"Yes, sir!" Nicholas said. "Stay here, kids."
Megan sighed to herself.
"Well...that was fun while it lasted..." Brittany said.
"Meg-Meg okay?" Tilolo asked.
"...Yeah." Megan said.
"..." Just then, Tilolo's ears picked up on something coming from an alley behind them. "Hmm?" It was faint underneath the noise of a bustling marketplace, but he could make out the familiar chant of 'Dragon, kill the dragon'. The same little tune Brittany had been humming back at the house.
"What is it, Tilolo?"
"Over there! Something about dragon, Tilolo think." The young Nopon pointed out the alley where he heard the chanting.
"Didn't Mr. Nicholas tell us to stay here?" Brittany said. "We'll get in trouble."
"I think he's gonna be a while with those guys." Megan said.
"I...guess? But just in case...I told you so!"
"Glad you're not rubbing it in. Let's check it out!"
With her two friends flanking her, Megan pulled back a curtain covering the alleyway entrance. She and Brittany raised their crossbows, taking aim...and then promptly lowered them.
It was only a bunch of kids playing around. The leader of this group, a girl with short strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a simple light blue top and a brown skirt, stood on top of a wooden cage which had another kid inside who was growling like a dragon.
The leader girl laughed, "We've got the dragon, guys!"
The kids surrounding the cage with their so-called dragon were the ones Tilolo heard chanting.
At that moment, the leader girl turned to the trio. "Huh?" She jumped down from the cage. "Hey outsiders! Where are you going all dressed up like that?"
"Like this?" Megan said, holding up her crossbows. "We're hunters."
"This how dragon hunters and brave Heropons dress!" Tilolo puffed out his chest,
"Is that so? Ha!" The leader girl smirked. Her cohorts laughed. "A girl hunter with a Nopon hunter and a dark-skinned girl hunter? You've gotta be kidding!"
Brittany felt her blood boiling at that comment. "I'd watch what I say if I were you, missy." Her grip on her crossbow tightened as she growled.
"Hmph! Methinks Bri-Bri better hunter than you!" Tilolo said, coming to Brittany's defense.
"We ARE hunters!" Megan proclaimed. "Just like my uncle!"
"Unclepon best dragon hunter in all of Archipelago!"
"No he's not!" The leader girl snapped. "MY father is the best dragon hunter in all of Berk AND the Archipelago!"
The other kids started to murmur.
"O-O-Oh yeah? W-Well...Well, we're...We're hunting dragons for Lord Grisely!" Brittany said. "Whaddya think of that?!"
'Ooh! Nice one!' Megan thought with a small smile.
The leader girl and the other kids frowned at this. They glared daggers at the trio.
"Oh Lord Grisely, eh?" The leader girl said. "HE put my father in chains for nothing! Whaddya think of that?" She said that last part in a mocking tone.
Brittany gulped nervously. 'Guess that wasn't such a good idea.'
"You outsiders think you're so~ great, but you're not!"
"Yeah!" One kid yelled.
"We don't like outsiders!" Another yelled.
"Why don't you just go back to where you came from?!" A third yelled.
"Yeah, but first..." The leader girl said. Then she grabbed Megan's crossbow. "Lemme see that crossbow of yours!"
Megan held on tight. "No! It's mine!" She yelled.
"C'mon! Hand it over!"
"I said it's mine! Now back OFF!" Megan pushed the girl down to the ground.
The leader girl landed flat on her behind. The other kids gasped.
"..." The leader girl gave the three a death glare. "You're gonna pay for that, outsiders."
Two of the kids lifted the cage and handed it to their leader. The others held up some toy weapons.
"Dragon, kill the dragon." The leader girl said.
"Dragon, kill the dragon." The kids chanted as they slowly approached the trio.
Brittany grabbed onto Megan's arm while Tilolo clung to Megan's leg.
Megan held onto her crossbow. She tried to look for an escape or something to help them get this girl and her gang off their backs.
"What's going on over here?!" As if answering the trio's prayers, Nicholas had come to their aid.
"Soldier!" The leader girl exclaimed. "Scatter!" She and the kids took off running like rats.
The trio were glad for this, but they didn't let out sighs of relief. They knew they were in trouble.
"Megan...why must you and your friends wander off like that?" Nicholas asked as he and the kids walked down the streets of the village.
"I...I was...I was just trying to help, Uncle." Megan said. "There was this girl and she said that her father was a better dragon hunter than you!"
"She insult Bri-Bri and thinks girls, Nopon, and dark skinned people can't be good hunters!" Tilolo said. "Even though she is girl too!"
"And then she tried to steal Megan's crossbow!" Brittany said.
"Kids..." Nicholas gave a heavy sigh. "We are...not quite so welcome in this place yet." As they approached the gate leading out of the village, the soldiers standing guard opened it for the hunter. "You three are much better off staying at home whilst I work. It's safer this way."
"But we would be just as safe out there with you!" Megan argued.
"No Megan!" Nicholas shut the gate on his niece and her friends. "You must stay inside the village and do as you're told."
Megan bit at her lower lip and tried to hold back some tears.
"..." Nicholas hated to see his young niece so unhappy. He just wanted her and her friends to understand that he was only trying to keep them safe. He knelt down to meet Megan's eyes. "...Look, lass...when I get home this evening...You three can help me make some new arrows, and you can tell me your stories of Deathgrippers and Bewilderbeasts." He plucked a small daisy out of the ground and tucked it into Megan's hair. "Would you like that?"
"...I...I guess so." Megan said, still a little sad.
"There's my girl. Now then, be good, you three."
"Yes, Uncle." "Yes, sir." "Yes, Unclepon." The three of them said.
With that, Nicholas left for another day of dragon hunting.
Megan continued to look out the gate with a longing in her eyes, until the two guards blocked them with their spears.
"No children outside the village walls!" The one said.
"Lord Grisely's orders!" Said the other.
The trio walked away from the gates and back into the village streets.
"...If..." Megan said.
"Huh?" Brittany turned to her.
"If he could just...just see how good we are." Megan said. "See what good hunters we are."
"Yeah, because shooting a dragon poster from twenty feet away makes me a good hunter." Brittany said, sarcastically.
"Still, if we could just prove it to him, then Uncle Nick would have to let us come along on his hunts!"
"We won't be proving anything like this, cooped up in the house and in the village. And it's not like he'll actually listen to us."
"These days, it's like he almost never listens." Megan said.
"Must run in Unclepon's side of family." Tilolo said.
"And whenever he does, there are times when he gives me this look, like...like, I don't know, someone had the nerve to skimp out on the roast beast in his sandwich or something!"
"I think you mean roast BEEF." Brittany corrected.
"I know what I said."
The other brunette sighed, "Well, then you're not doing this alone. Whatever you're thinking of doing, we're with you."
"Meh? Bri-Bri mean BOTH of us?" Tilolo said.
"Yes, you too, Tilolo. If we're going down, we're taking you with us!"
"Come on, Tilolo, are you a chicken?" Megan said, teasingly. "Or a Heropon?"
"Tilolo brave Heropon!" The young Nopon said, with a heroic pose. "Let's do it! Prove to Unclepon we great hunters!"
"That's the spirit!"
"Now...how we get out of village and into forest where Unclepon is?"
"Right. There's gotta be a way." Megan said. "But the only way out is through the gate."
While they were trying to figure out their escape plan, Brittany could hear the familiar chanting of 'Dragon, kill the dragon'.
"Hmm?" Brittany looked around the square when she spotted them. The gang of kids and their leader!
It looked like this group of kids were ganging up on another kid, one that wasn't a part of their ranks. This kid had scruffy brown hair with a few viking braids and he wore a dark green tunic with brown trousers and no shoes. He looked scared and was trying to get away but the leader girl wouldn't let him go.
"L-Leave me alone!" The kid yelled.
"...I've got an idea!" Brittany said.
"What's up?" Megan asked.
"Looks like our new 'friends' are up to no good. See?" Brittany said, pointing them out.
Megan looked at the gang bullying an innocent kid. After they had insulted her friend and tried to steal her crossbow, this would not do. "I see! What did you have in mind, Brittany?"
"Heh heh!" Brittany smirked. "Just follow my lead!"
The two girls took cover by a barrel next to an empty stall.
They raised their crossbows, taking aim.
Then they fired their arrows at a flagpole, shooting the flag down.
The flag landed on the gang of kids, surprising them. This gave the bullied kid a chance to run away.
Even though they had lost their 'dragon', the leader girl stood up and took the flag. "Alright! We got a flag, you guys!"
The gang cheered as they ran up to the guards at the gate with their prize.
"Ha ha! Down with Lord Grisely!" The leader girl said.
Naturally, the guards did not like this and immediately gave chase.
"Hey! Get back here you little rebels!" One guard yelled.
"Give us that flag!" The other shouted.
As the guards chased after the kids, some of the villagers started to laugh and cheer a little bit. It was like they were encouraging this mischief.
With the guards occupied and away from their post, Megan, Brittany and Tilolo slipped under the gate unnoticed. They couldn't help but let out big smiles and laughs as they hightailed it to the forest. Finally, they would have their chance to prove to Nicholas that they were great dragon hunters, just like him!
At the edge of the forest, Nicholas headed into the dense woods, this time unaware that he was being followed.
"Stay close." Megan whispered to her friends, as they stepped into the forest.
The trio kept their distance as they followed Nicholas.
Megan and Brittany stuck to the ground, while Tilolo would follow from the trees.
After a while, Nicholas walked into a clearing with a huge tree. Underneath a curved root, he set up a dragon trap. The trio was observing this from a distance. Nicholas covered the trap with a layer of foliage and with that finished, he continued on his way.
"Let's go!" Megan said softly, as she ran on ahead.
"W-Wait for me!" Brittany said, trying to be just as quiet.
Right as the brunette approached the curved root—
"Meg-Meg look out!" Tilolo landed right in front of her. He was reminding her of the trap that had just been set.
"Yes, I see it." Megan said. She used one of her arrows to reveal the trap. "No, I'm not gonna step in it." She covered it up again, only letting the teeth of the trap showing.
Some minutes later, they found Nicholas kneeling by a small river, examining something. He readjusted his gear on his back and proceeded to wade through the water, heading ever deeper into the forest.
Once he was out of sight, the trio stepped up to see what Nicholas was examining.
"A dragon pawprint." Megan said. She held her hand over it. "What do you think?"
"Umm...Boulder Class, I think." Brittany said. "Judging by the size...I'd say Gronckle or Hotburple."
Suddenly, the trio could hear the faint sounds of a bell frantically ringing and people crying out "Help!" and "Dragon!"
"Dr-Dragon?" Brittany stuttered.
"Dragon!" Megan exclaimed. "Go, Tilolo! Find the dragon!"
"On it!" Tilolo climbed up a nearby tree and headed back the way they came, jumping from branch to branch.
"Come on!" Megan quickly ran after.
"I've got a bad feeling about this...and I hate running." Brittany grumbled as she followed.
In no time at all, the girls had arrived back at the forest's edge to see quite the scene happening.
Sheep were running around in an absolute panic, bleating and crying out.
It was brief, but the girls could see the shapes and scales of dragons amidst the fluffy wool coats. They could hear growling and snarling.
A woodcutters was ringing a bell and calling out, "Help us! Dragon!"
Another woodcutter was holding out a pitchfork, trying to fend a dragon off. Due to all the sheep freaking out, the girls couldn't see it clearly.
"Bri-Bri! Meg-Meg!" The girls looked up at the call. Tilolo was jumping around on the sheep, occasionally flutter-jumping with his wings. "Over there! Dragon! Over there!" He pointed out.
The girls got a little closer to the scene.
Now they could see it. The woodcutter with the pitchfork was trying to fend off a Monstrous Nightmare.
"Help! Help us!" The woodcutters shouted.
Brittany started shaking really bad. A dragon poster was one thing, but this? This was a real dragon.
Megan felt herself shaking, but she couldn't show fear now. She steeled herself as she loaded an arrow into her crossbow.
"What are you doing?!" Brittany yelled.
"I need to get closer or I can't get a clear shot!" Megan said.
"Are you crazy?! That's a Monstrous Nightmare! Your uncle told us these dragons have a nasty habit of setting themselves on fire! You won't stand a chance!"
"This is the perfect chance!" Megan yelled.
"WHAT?!"
"If taking down a Monstrous Nightmare doesn't convince Uncle Nick we're great hunters, I don't know what will!"
"B-But...But...GRRR~! Just be careful!"
"Always!"
Megan made her way through the sheep running about. She tried to aim at the Nightmare's wing and stop her hands from shaking. The sheep certainly weren't helping either. She didn't want to hit them. If she could get her shot just right, maybe she could take the Nightmare down.
The woodcutter fending off the Stoker Class dragon noticed her. "What're ye waitin' fer?! SHOOT!"
'This will have to do.' Megan thought. She had a clear shot lined up.
Just as Megan was about to take the shot, a sheep slammed straight into her, throwing off her aim. The arrow was fired from the crossbow...
And shot Tilolo, right in one of his wings.
"M-Meh?" Tilolo fell to the ground right at the forest's edge.
Megan's eyes grew in shock. What had she done? "Tilolo!"She cried.
"No!" Brittany exclaimed, just as shocked as her best friend.
Suddenly, a howl sounded out. The sound of a girl howling like a dragon.
The dragons stopped what they were doing. For a moment, their eyes glowed as their heads turned in the direction of the howl.
The Nightmare, along with a Deadly Nadder, a Gronckle, a Hideous Zippleback, a Razorwhip, and a Rumblehorn, ran into the forest.
Megan froze as the flock zipped past her and into the darkness of the woods.
"M-Megan!" Brittany ran up to her friend and hugged her.
"I'm fine! T-Tilolo...Tilolo is..." Megan said. "Th-There! There he is!"
They took a few steps to the spot where their little Nopon friend had landed.
As they got closer, they soon heard a growl. Fearing that it could be another dragon, the girls stopped. Brittany hid behind Megan, leaving her to take the lead.
Megan didn't move. She tried to get a better look at who or what was growling at them. She could make out the silhouette of a person.
Then they revealed themselves.
It was a girl with blond hair tied into a braid and blue eyes. She wore a blue top under a red vest, shoulder pauldrons, some kind of arm vanguards, possibly a skirt too. The girl growled at them. She growled at them exactly like a dragon.
'Wh-What the heck?' Megan thought.
The girl looked down at Tilolo lying motionless on the ground. She...sniffed at him. When she saw the arrow in his wing, the girl had put two and two together.
"Th-That's our friend!" Megan yelled. "Leave him alone!"
The girl glared at Megan and snarled. Then, as quick as a wink, she grabbed Tilolo and ran into the depths of the forest.
"NO!" Megan shouted. She tried to go after the girl.
But the dragon flock soon appeared before her. They wouldn't let Megan go after that girl without a fight.
The Razorwhip bared its teeth and took a swipe at the girls.
The left head of the Zippleback clicked its teeth together, sending out sparks.
The Nightmare snarled, ready to ignite its body into flames.
The Deadly Nadder flared its tail spikes and hissed at Megan. It took a step towards the girls.
Before the dragons could get any closer, an arrow flew by, hitting the Nadder right in its wing joint.
The Nadder screeched in pain.
"Megan!" Once again, Nicholas had come to their rescue.
The girl's howling sounded out again, and the dragons retreated.
Nicholas rushed to the girls and held them. "Megan! Brittany!" He said. "Girls, what are you doing out here? What were you thinking?!"
"W-We...W-We're...We're sorry, Mr. Nicholas!" Brittany blurted out through tears.
"You two could've been eaten alive!"
"Tilolo! Tilolo's gone!" Megan cried. "We have to save him!" She tried to get out of her uncle's grasp so she could chase after that weird dragon girl.
"No, lass, you two aren't going after him. Not out there." Nicholas said, tightening his hold on the girls.
"B-But! But we can't leave him!"
"Megan! I promised your parents I would keep you safe!"
"..." Megan couldn't stop the tears from falling down her eyes. She cried into her uncle's shoulder.
Nicholas picked Megan up as he stood. He took Brittany's hand. With his girls in tow, he started to walk back towards the village. "It's all right, loves. You two will be safe back inside the village."
Yes! A longer chapter!
So the young would-be Heropon Tilolo has been shot by a wayward arrow and kidnapped by a weird dragon girl (AKA Astrid.). Yes, I fully understand his name is silly, but it just stuck when I thought of it.
In the next chapter, we finally meet our villain! I mean, it's not like I was trying to keep it a secret, you already know who it is. Megan (AKA me) and Brittany (AKA My OC based on my friend) head back into the woods to find their Nopon friend.
I know I only mentioned them, but I've gotta say this: I actually LIKE the Deathgrippers. I think they're-If you'll pardon my French- very bad $$ dragons. Don't ask me why though, I can't exactly put it into words. Is it because a part of me feels sorry for them? Or is it simply I like them because I like them? Like I've said before, my thoughts on HTTYD3 are mixed and I really don't feel like causing any discourse. I'm not the only one who likes them.
Also, on a whim, I'm trying to incorporate some classic HTTYD lines, which I'm certain you've noticed in here. No reason, I just wanted to do it, and I don't regret it.
