Author's Notes
VigoGrimborne has taken up the role of beta reader for this story! You can blame him for any sudden improvement in quality.
"Remind me again what we're doing?"
Dreamer rolled his eyes. He didn't mind Astrid's question, but the tones he was picking up in it made him want to bite her. "We find dragons, where they nest. Know where hunters can hunt."
"Can't you two do that more quickly on your own?" she asked suspiciously.
"You want do nothing? Or you want meet new dragons, maybe fight hunters?"
Fishlegs buzzed up on Wanderer's other side. "I'd like to meet new dragons!" he called out enthusiastically. "Bork left some good notes but he focused more on the 'nearly getting eaten' side of things."
"Did you just say 'maybe' fight?" Snotlout asked, pulling up close to Dreamer's tail. "You promised fighting! I wanna hit something!"
Dreamer growled back at him in response. "Also safer, fly together."
"Hooh, yeah," Tuffnut chuckled, coming up below them. "Don't want to go flying into another Death Song or something huh?"
The riders didn't have to know it, but that was exactly what Dreamer was concerned about. One mind-controlling dragon was an anomaly, two a pattern. And even besides mind control, there was plenty else that could pose a threat.
Wanderer warbled reassurance and drifted a little closer to touch their wingtips, and Dreamer purred back. It would all be easier once they knew what they were up against, which was the entire point of this exercise. Only one of the four islands so far had been inhabited, by some Rock-Scales; they had initially been a little wary of the riders, but were friendly enough once convinced there was no threat.
The island they were now coming up to was near the edge of what Dreamer considered his territory, another place they might have tried for settling if the riders hadn't needed to start building. No mountain, but a presumably spring-fed river of probably fresh water ran through a rocky gorge, what looked like a great rent in an otherwise smooth island of rolling hills covered in greenery.
"Alright then," Astrid called out, "spread out for a once-over, then meet up on the north side. Remember to keep an eye out for campsites this time." Camping on this island, and then another tomorrow, would save hours of travel time in unnecessary trips to and from the Nest, reducing this project from five days to two and a half days.
The Nightstrikers took the middle of the island, flying a few body-lengths from the trees and peering through the canopy. The gorge looked harmless enough, the only thing Dreamer noted was that certain exposed pastures were trimmed, indicating there was prey to find.
Snotlout was waiting when they got there at about the same time as Astrid, with Fishlegs and the twins coming in shortly after. "Prey here," Wanderer announced, to which Dreamer chuffed in confirmation. Nobody else had anything to note.
"Alright gang, you know the drill," Astrid called out as they descended. "Fishlegs, you're with me."
"But I went with you last-" He went quiet as he glanced at her. "…Yes ma'am."
"Well I'm with Hiccup," Snotlout announced brashly, angling away. Dreamer shrugged at Wanderer and flapped over, easily catching up during his descent, and they landed on the firm ground in a small clearing.
He put his nose to the ground, finding little of note, as Snotlout dismounted and stretched his legs.
"I got a bone to pick with you," Snotlout began as they set off into the trees, lifting Dreamer's ears. "You two were more than clear this is your little adventure." Dreamer chuffed in acknowledgement. "So why're you letting Astrid walk all over you, huh?"
Dreamer hummed as he thought about it. "I not worried, not feel threatened. She help keep you Long-Paws flying forward. Easier when can say your words."
"Oh yeah? Then why her?"
"Astrid," Dreamer said with emphasis towards the original word 'fierce', "know much from Long-Paw alpha. She good with us Nightstrikers… Did have bad thoughts, do us bad, yes, but learned from that." He gave Snotlout a sideways look. "Why not Astrid?"
"Because she's stuck up, full of herself, and just… Argh!"
Hookfang's head snaked forward, sliding under Snotlout's elbow and nudging his side. Snotlout stroked his dragon, seeming to calm a bit. "She's trying to take control, and I do not take orders from her."
"You try telling her?"
"Have you ever tried telling her anything?"
Dreamer winced at that; it had taken weeks to get her to understand what she'd done to them, and what she had to do in recompense, and even then it was only under exceptional circumstances that it all hadn't gone on longer.
"That's what I thought."
"But what biting you?" Dreamer asked, turning the conversation around.
"Huh?" Snotlout checked around himself, inspecting his arms and legs.
Dreamer rolled his eyes. "Not that. Need two for fight." He warbled thoughtfully. "Maybe something biting Astrid, make her bark at you. What biting you, make you bark at her?"
Snotlout paused, remaining silent long after the usual moment to work out the Dragonese words, then snorted. "You wouldn't understand," he muttered under his breath.
"Maybe," Dreamer admitted, suspecting he knew where at least some of Snotlout's problems stemmed from. "But you need fly strong for fight hunters. Not fold wings." He strode ahead and in front of Snotlout, forcing him to stop, and gave a low growl. "You need fly with us. Not kill when we say not kill."
"…Sure," Snotlout gulped with a terribly forced smile, and they resumed moving in silence.
Kse-KA!
Pained screeches met Dreamer's ears as he rapidly blinked and shook his head, feeling hot air rising from the corners of his open mouth and up his cheeks. The faint glow of the impending rise of the sky-fire from the water behind him caught the spray of dirt and rocks as it was thrown into the air by his shot, one he already regretted.
It had been no accident; it was as easy to accidentally shoot fire as to leap into the air and fly to the clouds. He had roused from sleep to a curious but unfamiliar chirp, spotted the Speed Stinger, and reacted automatically, firing at the ground in front of it. He understood his actions and why he'd done it, but he still regretted it. The decline of the hill was unforgiving of even the smallest inaccuracy, and even despite that the force of the blast carried further down the slope.
He leapt to his paws amidst alarmed but tired cries of confusion, then swiftly and warily prowled to the Speed Stinger, stopping just out of reach of its tail. It continued to cry out, but directed a few hisses Dreamer's way as it writhed on the ground. There didn't appear to be any serious injury… but when it tried to get to its paws, its left leg gave out from under it and it dropped back onto its side.
Fishlegs was the first to reach his side. "A Speed Stinger! Oh Thor, is it, did you, oh man…!" Dreamer whined in reply, he hadn't meant to hurt it, only warn it away!
"Where there's one, there's more," Astrid said warily. "We should get out of here."
"We not can leave it!" Dreamer barked at her. He had, with many hours of reflection and introspection, come to terms with killing several of the dragons in the past, if indirectly, but this was totally different. It hadn't even been aggressive, only curious, and he'd just reacted in those bleary moments immediately after waking.
Snotlout scoffed. "Well what do you want to do, tie it up and carry it with us?" Dreamer stared back levelly at him. "…Great. Me and my big mouth."
"I get its tail," Dreamer growled, "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, distract it, Wanderer, pin its legs, Snotlout, get its head. Astrid, use things for stop it moving. Fish-Legs, try help its hurt."
"Come on sis, we're up," Tuffnut said placidly, as if this was everyday happenstance.
"Yeah, c'mon, hit me!" Ruffnut shouted at it, darting into range, only for the tail to whip around with blinding speed and jab her in the arm before Dreamer could leap on it. In the next moment he was grabbing it firmly in his gums and forcing it to the ground while Wanderer and Snotlout pinned the rest of it, but too late. Great, now Ruffnut would be-
"Huh, that's weird," Ruffnut mused, prodding her right arm. It looked as stiff as expected, but the rest of her was fine. "Kinda like when you've slept on it wrong, and you can't feel it?"
"Huh, maybe it's an adolescent-"
"Fish-Legs!" Dreamer barked, getting his attention away from the Ruffnut curiosity and to the thrashing dragon, which Astrid was already in the process of tying up.
"Ah-! Sorry!" Fishlegs shouted, crouching down by the dragon and deftly running his fingers down its leg. "Not broken, but I think it's fractured," he said as he bound part of the frame of the roasting spit to the leg. "It'll need time to heal. You don't actually want to bring it back with us do you…?"
"I do this," Dreamer said sombrely, staring down at the dragon that was still struggling, but without any of the frantic energy of before. "I need help it."
"Alright, just… this is a Speed Stinger. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I also," he agreed as he helped navigate the tail to its belly so it could be secured.
"Just hurry up," Snotlout snapped, now freed from his task and scanning the edge of the forest down the hill. "The quicker we load this up, the less chance we have of facing the rest of the pack!"
"I thought you wanted a fight," Ruffnut jeered at him.
"Yeah, a fight! You can't fight a pack of Speed Stingers!"
Wanderer barked to silence them, a terse bark that wouldn't carry far; making a lot of sound really wasn't a smart idea.
"Uh, who's gonna carry it?" Tuffnut asked.
"I hurt it, I carry it," Dreamer gritted; it was his responsibility. "Snotlout, fly behind me, ready for catch me." Just in case.
"You're really serious about this aren't you?" Snotlout asked incredulously. "Fine. Just keep it away from me. And if it stings you, I'm letting it drop."
That was acceptable, given the circumstances, as it wouldn't be safe to catch anyway. Though he watched carefully as it was wrapped in Fishlegs' blanket and thoroughly tied up.
It was much smaller and lighter than a deer, and Dreamer had no trouble getting off the ground, holding the bundle of dragon to himself. Once he got into the air it was actually rather comfortable, not nearly as smooth as flying without the weight of course but better than he'd been expecting.
He spared a glance across at his broad wings, how far to either side they extended. Wanderer must be about as big as he'd been when Dreamer had originally found him by now, and Dreamer was only a little smaller. Their growth had felt slow, but in only a few years he'd grown from something the size of his sire's cupped hands to larger than his sire himself.
That slow feeling was probably all the Hels they'd been put through in those few years. Being trapped, crippled, unable to fly…
He looked down at the Speed Stinger in his grasp, which had gone still; whether sleeping with the rising sky-fire or simply having accepted its circumstance was unknown. They could not fly, the equivalent for them was running… and Dreamer had just taken that from it for no more reason than that he'd felt threatened. He couldn't live with that.
Wanderer drifted up next to him, staring curiously at the Speed Stinger. "That Fast-Paw," he said in amusement, "it 'dragon' also?"
Dreamer groaned. This just wasn't his morning.
Fishlegs eyed the wooden bars of the small cage with suspicion. Speed Stingers didn't seem to have fire and it was solidly built out of thick branches, but using wood to cage a dragon was just asking for trouble.
The dragon inside seemed calm enough, though it occasionally barked in a piercingly high pitch that was unmistakably a distress call for its pack. More at night than during the day, at the misfortune of the riders trying to sleep.
Still, while they didn't have the time or resources to build a hut for it, an enclosure wasn't much of an issue. Though, maybe enclosure was the wrong word…
After checking the covering over its tail again, Fishlegs opened the door from beside the makeshift cage, giving the dragon free roam onto the ledge. Not exactly much room for running, but it couldn't do that anyway, and it was enough for some boulders and logs to be strewn around so that it had some obstacles to climb over; the place didn't feel so bare at least. Contained on one side by a sheer cliff face, and on the other three by a fence and a sheer drop, it couldn't possibly go anywhere but down.
But the Speed Stinger remained in the cage. Fishlegs peered in at it and it shied back; it was definitely awake, though it was only evening, it just didn't want to leave its cage.
After Fishlegs had scratched his head at it for a while and eventually tried to coax it out, Hiccup flapped into a landing and slowly approached the cage, looking particularly non-threatening. "It not want come out?" he warbled.
"Apparently not," Fishlegs replied, shrugging in confusion. "Maybe we should shake it out?"
Hiccup grimaced at that. "No," he said firmly, then peered into the side of the cage. The dragon inside just shuffled away from him, then barked its high-pitched call again. Hiccup sighed. "It hurt, lonely, not know what we doing… This," he gestured to the cage, "feel safe."
"I get it being lonely and confused, but what kind of cage feels safe? That's messed up."
"I know," Hiccup said quietly, drooping. "Take things off its tail," he growled a moment later.
"Uhh… Hiccup, I don't think that's a good idea. This is a Speed Stinger. Maybe you took one down before but, well, you're… how do I put this… a bit of a bigger target now."
"You say I heavy?" Hiccup asked, though his humour was forced. "Yes, I sure." He then stepped around to the front of the cage, prompting the dragon inside to shuffle to the back, just within reach…
"Ohh I just know I'm going to regret this," Fishlegs complained as he carefully tugged at the knot. It was a little tricky as it was a very good knot, they'd been able to rebind it while it was asleep without it so much as stirring; it actually seemed to be totally unresponsive during the day whatever they did to it. "There, not off completely but it should be able to get it off itself now." He tugged the rope along the tail, bringing the new freedom to the dragon's attention, and sure enough it had its tail free in moments while Hiccup backed up.
With that done, it then limped out, that dangerous tail pointed forwards and twitching aggressively. What was Hiccup doing? He wasn't growling or threatening it off or anything, just continued to back up as it advanced on him.
And then he lowered himself onto his chest, lazily splaying his paws and resting his head on them. "Hiccup," Fishlegs hissed urgently, but the Night Fury just glared at him briefly before letting his gaze casually wander around.
A detail he had forgotten long ago flourished in Fishlegs' mind, who this dragon had once been, spontaneously brought forward by this crazy and reckless plan… and that it was working. This was exactly what Hiccup had done with the dragons in the arena, all those years ago; while the other five teens backed up, searched for weapons, and prepared for a fight, he'd simply been calm and sure, even putting his back to the dangerous creatures.
Fishlegs found himself dredging up those old questions around the impossible change from teenage Viking to baby dragon while the Speed Stinger ignored the lounging Night Fury to limp around its playground, investigating its surroundings. Well, 'change' wasn't the right word, rather his mind had been moved somehow… Moved? Or had Hiccup been pulled back from Valhalla? Night Furies were the offspring of lightning and death, after all…
A cautious chirp caught his attention, and he brought himself back to the present to find the Speed Stinger staring at him from only a couple of paces away. "Uhhh… Hiccup…?" But the Night Fury wasn't anywhere to be seen. He stared wide-eyed at the Speed Stinger, at its blood-red eyes that watched him warily, at the tail held over its back, poised to strike. "…Nice… dragon…?"
He stared at it, so sure it would strike, for long minutes, while it stared back at him… until finally Hiccup returned, dropping two fish from his mouth and barking for the Speed Stinger's attention.
Fishlegs relaxed as those red eyes moved away from him, then watched curiously as the dragon limped away to snap down the fish. It still ignored Hiccup, but it wasn't attacking him either. It hadn't yet attacked either of them.
Speed Stingers had seemed to be the first exception to the old Book of Dragons being wrong about everything, but now that too was up in the air.
He should really be taking notes…
Wanderer was used to his Dreamer doing crazy things. Taking a Fast-Paw under his wing wasn't even the craziest, though it was high up there.
He was also used to such crazy things actually working, though he had to admit it was disconcerting watching a Fast-Paw poke around the nest. It was recovering much of its speed, but it still walked with a limp that spoke of some small pain, and still needed the binding on its leg.
"Uh, what is that thing doing here?" Snotlout growled as he stalked into the shared den. The Fast-Paw turned to him and hissed, raising its tail threateningly. "And who unbound its tail!? I tell ya, it's just waiting to sting us all!"
"Quiet down," Astrid groaned at him. "It hasn't stung anyone yet, and it needs its weapon to feel safe." She casually gestured to him. "You want to give up your axe for the day?"
"I don't care what you say," he shot back, pointing aggressively at the Fast-Paw, "I said to keep that thing away from me!"
In the time it took him to say that, the Fast-Paw zipped across the room and its tail whipped forth before Dreamer could get to it, though he only ushered it away with gentle flaps of his wings and a calm croon.
Snotlout stared at his arm, which now appeared to be stuck in an aggressive pointing position. "See what I mean!?" He turned so his finger was pointed at Dreamer. "I blame you for this!" He then stomped off, his grumbling fading into the distance.
Wanderer yawned, wondering why he'd bothered to learn the Long-Paw language. They were easier to ignore when he hadn't been able to understand the words.
The Fast-Paw walked over to him, tail poised but not aggressively. He was tempted to growl and warn it off, but Dreamer gave him a significant look and nodded at it.
Wanderer huffed, then leaned in to scent the Fast-Paw back, not surprised to confirm it was an adolescent male as Fish-Legs had guessed. It chirped agreeably at him before hopping away to investigate some hollow-tree-things against a wall.
It certainly wasn't being aggressive, but Dreamer's attempts to interact with it were still largely going ignored. Over the last pawful of lights it had gradually grown more comfortable and did seem to like company, occasionally chirping or clucking at someone nearby, but wasn't interested in playing or really anything involving physical contact.
Which was fine by Wanderer, he had no particular desire to play with it.
"He seems to be settling," Astrid mused, echoing Wanderer's thoughts.
"Yes," Dreamer agreed, "leg healing also. Still feel bad I hurt him, but this good."
"Any sign of the hunters?" Astrid asked; Dreamer was not long back from a flight around their territory.
"No," Dreamer replied with a growl. "I not know what they doing, but I not find any. I fly out to their last nest, not there or near there. I think they do something soon, but not know what." So a bit beyond their territory, even.
"So what's the plan?"
Dreamer sighed. "We find dragons, watch for hunters. Not more we can do." He walked over to the 'map' which showed the various small-lands, though of course there was none of the little bits of tree on it to show the hunters. The bad Long-Paws had all disappeared.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have followed them? We might have found something."
"Like before?" Dreamer growled. "No, I not think we would. Hunter alpha… he think much. We would only wasted time."
Wanderer growled. The hunter alpha, Viggo, had honestly frightened him a little. Not because of anything he'd done, but because he'd looked at everyone in the way Dreamer looked at a problem in his clever Dreamer way. Viggo wasn't blindly firing into the mist, he was undoubtedly a careful and tricky hunter…
It had been a few weeks since the resident Speed Stinger had kept everyone awake with its piteous calls, but once again Astrid found herself rolling back and forth over the hard boards of her bed trying to find sleep while the dragon bayed and yowled to the night.
Speed Stingers were nocturnal, and Fishlegs had suggested it might be getting lonely, but this was ridiculous. Astrid gave up on trying to sleep, tossing away her blanket and walking outside to peer down at the flat they kept it on for most of the time. As far as she was concerned, this was the last straw, it was basically healed enough to be released.
Apparently Snotlout had a similar idea, as his grating voice drifted out over the Nest as he shouted at the noisy dragon. It ignored him, barking again in that high-pitched call for its pack-
A distant answering call, so distant Astrid wasn't even sure she'd heard it, sounded in response. The Speed Stinger barked again, and there was another answer.
"Stormfly!" Astrid called out, leaping back to the door to her hut and flinging it wide open. Her Nadder was in the process of flinging herself to her paws, and was quickly saddled. "Danger, Fast-Paws," Astrid hissed before climbing up, and Stormfly hissed back warily.
Astrid hesitated as she buckled herself in. Speed Stingers were landbound dragons, not capable of flight, and they didn't look like particularly strong swimmers. It had to have been a few weeks since they'd taken it, but how could the pack have made it here?
But she'd definitely heard something.
Thankfully, the moonlight was strong and the night clear, giving her good visibility. She couldn't see any dragons in the sky…
Now that they were drifting out, the answering call was much louder, below her. She leaned out and peered down, letting Stormfly drift down a bit. She spotted the wake before she did the dragons, a wide arrow pointed directly at the Nest, dark shapes leading its advance.
She stared at it, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It wasn't until they drifted closer that she accepted the impossibility.
"Stormfly, rally!" Her dragon let out a loud roar, one that would summon the other dragons and their riders, but they might not be fast enough, and she still didn't know what to do.
If she needed time, then that was her first priority. She angled Stormfly out to swoop down in front of the encroaching Speed Stingers, which were somehow running over the water as if it were land, and fired a strafing shot across the water in front of them. They angled away from the wide plume of steam, away from the Nest, but that was the most she could do; Stormfly had limited fire, and the island was big.
As she herded them away from the bay a second time, forcing them around the island, the Furies swooped onto the scene. They immediately caught on and also tried to help herd them by blustering and roaring, but the flightless dragons were persistent and kept angling for the bay, for the Nest.
Only the eventual arrival of the other riders, as they neared the island, dissuaded them with fire and roars. Giving up on their immediate target, they turned out to run alongside the island while everyone tailed them at a short distance.
"These things can run on water!?" Snotlout shouted hysterically.
"Evidently!" Fishlegs shouted back. "But I'll need more information to formulate a-!"
"Fishlegs!" Astrid snapped, cutting him off. "We don't have enough fire to keep them away from the island, what do we do?"
Snotlout pulled Hookfang forward a bit. "If we take out their alpha, they'll start fighting each other." He looked like he had more to add, but was cut off by snarling.
"No," one of the Furies said firmly, though she wasn't sure which was which at the moment; she could barely even see what he was saying. "We not killing them. Also we need let them on land, not know if they can keep running to other small-land."
"This is a terrible idea!" Snotlout shouted, but didn't otherwise argue.
They followed the dragons to a beach, where they instantly picked up speed and disappeared into the darkness. The Furies winged ahead, naturally better suited to seeing in the dark, but they must have disappeared into the forest or something because they soon turned back.
"Well now what!?" Ruffnut yelled, the worry clear in her voice. "I don't plan on getting stung again!"
"Come," one of the Furies barked, leading them back towards the base, and everyone followed; they'd lost the Speed Stingers anyway, and planning was easier on the ground where they didn't have to shout at each other.
The doorway emitted a blue flash as Stormfly alighted on the large platform rimming the communal hut, closely followed by the warm glow of fire. She dismounted and entered, Stormfly contenting to remain outside. Mmm, the warmth was blissful after being outside in the autumn night air.
"You know, Hiccup," Fishlegs said more casually than Astrid would expect as he entered the hut, "we still haven't done testing with your fire yet. We should set aside some time…" He trailed off, and then his nervousness started showing.
"Okay," Astrid started to get everyone on track, "there are Speed Stingers on the island and they're probably after the one we've got. First thing's first, how many are there?"
Toothy lifted a paw, flexing the claws on it three times and then just three claws. This sort of thinking was more Fishlegs' expertise, but she was getting used to counting in fours and eights. "Fifteen then," she confirmed. "Alright, how's our Speed Stinger's injury?"
Fishlegs nervously wrung his hands. "I don't really know, it's not like I can ask it, but it seems to be moving around okay now. I wouldn't recommend it literally running on water for another week or so though, fractures take time to heal. Dragons do at least seem to be a bit quicker than humans though."
"We might not have a choice," Astrid said levelly. "Toothy, Hiccup?"
"We already do all we can do," Hiccup said thoughtfully, his enormous eyes reflecting the firelight with a familiar but still eerie glow. "I think we can trust they will help him."
Ruffnut slapped the table. "Great! Let's go get it into its cage and let it go."
"Sky-fire will kindle soon," Toothy hummed. "Also Fast-Paw not calling for pack now." A silence followed his words while everyone listened, noting the distinct absence of the dragon calling out its high-pitched bark. "They will find cave, sleep, come back next night when –, strong."
Astrid repeated the unfamiliar word, to have Fishlegs confirm it to be 'rested'. So they would be recovering their strength…
"All the more reason to let it go now then," Snotlout pushed. "Let it find its pack and let them leave. If it can't run, well too bad because if we don't then they're all only going to attack here anyway."
As much as she hated to agree with Snotlout, "He's right," Astrid agreed. "If we can free it now, it'll reunite with its pack and there won't be any issues."
Not only had the Speed Stinger not been interested in calling for or looking for its pack once lifted up to the island proper, but now that night was falling again and it had woken up it still wasn't interested in looking.
It was doing plenty of calling, but…
"Go!" Dreamer barked down at the Speed Stinger as it ran along below him. It just happily and loudly announced its presence again, deftly weaving between shrubs and the occasional tree as it continued following.
A reply called out from somewhere nearby, but in the opposite direction as last time. Even now that they were only wheeling around in circles, the pack didn't want to approach.
"This isn't working!" Snotlout shouted angrily. "You just had to take in the Speed Stinger, didn't you!?"
"They mustn't be willing to approach with us flying around," Fishlegs suggested. "And maybe it won't leave us until it knows that's its pack, or something."
Dreamer groaned under his breath. "We land," he barked, then dropped into a casual dive. If it wouldn't leave them to go to its pack, some sort of meeting was inevitable. He thought he had a handle on the Speed Stingers though, and as long as there wasn't anything to contest there shouldn't be any reason to fight.
"There is no way I'm going down there!" Snotlout griped.
"You're not scared of a few little dragons are you?" Astrid jeered as she and Stormfly dove after the Nightstrikers. Snotlout and the other riders followed close behind.
Dreamer landed lightly on the grass, followed by Wanderer, and the Speed Stinger ran around to a halt in front of them. It chirped happily as it looked around. That was a great game, it seemed to be saying, what are we doing next?
Another call from the pack sounded out as the riders all landed behind the Nightstrikers, and the Speed Stinger turned to face it with its reply.
Very quickly, they were surrounded.
"Hey guys," Fishlegs said slowly. "I think…"
"Not now," Dreamer grunted over his shoulder as he scanned the Speed Stinger pack. The alpha was not difficult to locate, again being considerably larger than the others and with strange markings, but he and some of the others had minor wounds, long gashes over their bodies. One was even missing a foreleg – or maybe they were arms, Fishlegs couldn't decide.
Another thing they had in common was that they were ignoring the Nightstrikers. They all looked up at the mounted riders warily, tails pointed aggressively.
The alpha stepped forward, making an odd whistling sound and staring at the young Speed Stinger. It responded with a happy chirp, hopping forward to rejoin its pack.
Dreamer breathed a sigh of relief, tinged with a little regret. Fishlegs had been ecstatic on examining it during the day to discover the retractable webbing between its claws, apparently allowing it to run on water; there had been nothing of the sort on the ones that had attacked Berk. There was still so much more he wanted to learn about them, and this was such a unique circumstance…
It paused and looked back at Dreamer, as if it were feeling the same way. "Go," Dreamer said to it.
The alpha directed a short snarl at him-
And the adolescent Speed Stinger snarled right back, sidestepping to stand between it and Dreamer, and the rest of the pack erupted into motion, darting unpredictably around the group of dragons and riders.
There were confused and alarmed shouts, both human and draconic, but Dreamer couldn't focus on that. He was busily watching the dragons darting around him, baring teeth and swiping at any that looked like they were tempted to get too close, backed up to Wanderer who was doing the same.
And even as he did that, he had to think.
The Speed Stinger had defended him from the alpha, why? He shifted his weight to prepare to bite down on an approaching tail, and the attack was aborted. Perhaps it was repaying the favour for helping its leg heal?
Several more attacks warded off in quick succession. A glance at the riders behind him showed them all backed into a circle, surrounding themselves with flame and lava. They were holding their own. He shifted again, angling a wing for a strike. Every stance, every movement, had an opening from at least one direction, so every time a Speed Stinger made to exploit those openings he had to shift to cover them, thus creating more openings.
The alpha and the adolescent were still staring each other down, though their tails were pointed back for some reason; not in submission, they were posed identically, and still growling. A strike glanced off Dreamer's taut wing, and for a few moments he was actually dodging and responding to attacks, warding them away with slashing claws and snapping teeth.
It was defying his pack, its alpha, to repay a kindness that in itself was a repayment for causing the injury in the first place. That didn't sit right, they were very much pack dragons-
The answer came so suddenly that it distracted him and he very nearly got stung, the sharp tip grazing off the scales on his shoulder and narrowly missing the leading edge of his wing. His paw caught the dragon's side and sent it tumbling out of the fray, though it quickly flipped upright and disappeared into the chaos again. A pair of attackers had to be warded off with the screech of his fire building in his mouth-
Everything became startlingly clear. His tail swung and caught one coming up in the blindspot to his side, and a wing blocked another from in front while his head was turned. Anywhere he looked was clear of the Speed Stingers, they were staying out of the path of the deadly fire casting an eerie blue glow over the clearing, and anywhere he wasn't looking was no longer a blind spot. The area around them gradually grew, and the attacks became less frequent.
Now that he could think again, and had realised the problem, what could he do about it?
The problem didn't require much thinking, there was really only one solution… as much as he disliked it.
He fired the shot in his mouth, only a small blast, hitting the ground under the adolescent Speed Stinger's tail. It yelped, startled, as it was showered with dirt and tiny rocks, and wildly looked around. Dreamer warded off a few more attacks and fired again, and again, driving the dragon back towards the alpha.
It bayed in confusion, staring wildly at Dreamer as it backed up, but also glancing back at its alpha, until Dreamer held his last shot. He had half his explosive gas left, but only the minimum amount of plasma required to shoot it.
"Leave," he snarled with a depth that came less from emotion and more from sheer requirement.
It screeched at him, and then the alpha roared and all the dragons disappeared into the trees.
Dreamer staggered in the abrupt silence, adrenaline still hot in his veins and his panting heavy in his ears, and sat down. Wanderer groaned tiredly behind him with a shuffling sound that said he'd slumped to his haunches as well, a sound echoed by the riders.
Most of them. "That. Was. Awesome!" Tuffnut shouted.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Fishlegs groaned, leaning over Meatlug's head. Everyone seemed to be unharmed, as they were all still moving around.
Except then Ruffnut fell out of the saddle, and Tuffnut and their dragon laughed at her. "Hey, it's not funny!" she yelled back at him, struggling to get up with an arm and leg immobilised.
"Ugh, did anyone not get hit?" Fishlegs asked wearily.
"I didn't," Tuffnut announced. He was alone.
Dreamer warbled in confusion and padded over, stepping over the globs of cooling lava. "You all still can move?"
"Fast-Paws all fledglings," Wanderer mumbled, coming up beside him. "Wrr, some adults, maybe two."
Fishlegs held up a finger, his face still hidden in the back of Meatlug's neck. "Yeah, so what I was saying earlier… Where are the rest of them?" There was an eerie silence while everyone stared at him. "The pack that attacked Berk was, what, forty strong at least? Fifteen's kind of low."
"They injured," Dreamer said, trying to push past his morose mood. "Bigger Fast-Paws have many hurts. I think… hunters maybe attack them."
"Can we go back to the Nest?" Astrid asked. "I can't see a thing anymore." She tentatively let go of the saddle to rub her eyes with her left hand, then blinked heavily. Her axe was still in her right hand, frozen in place.
"Hey," Dreamer barked, getting the attention of the dragons. "You can fly?"
Barf picked up Ruffnut by the collar, which she grumbled about, and they flew back to the Nest and alighted outside the communal hut. The Nightstrikers padded inside, and everyone else stumbled and dragged themselves inside while Wanderer lit the fire with a glob of plasma and Dreamer dropped a log on it.
The group all looked a bit sorry for themselves, various limbs stiffly motionless, as they crowded around to lean on the table. They left a gap on one side so they could see the Nightstrikers, who lowered themselves to the floor.
"So, I think I'm not the only one wondering what in Niflheim just happened!?" Snotlout barked.
"Fast-Paw," Dreamer sighed, "he think we his pack."
"So…" Fishlegs started after a few moments of silence, "he had to choose between us or them…"
"That what I think," Dreamer confirmed with a nod for Ruffnut's benefit. "Alpha not liked that. Not liked you." He took a deep breath while everyone waited for him to elaborate. "Those Fast-Paws mostly fledglings, not many adults. Pawful, maybe. Adults had many hurts, look like hurts from Long-Paws."
Fishlegs hummed thoughtfully. "So if the hunters got to them, that would explain why there were so few of them."
"Yes," Dreamer agreed.
"We were too late for these guys," Astrid said sadly.
Everyone stared at the fire in silence for a time, listening to it crackle.
Dreamer huffed to get their attention again. "There was death always. There will be death always. We come here sooner, we too slow for other dragon. Not feel bad, not us who do that. We here now. We help now." That had been a hard lesson to learn himself; however fast he was in fixing something, there would always be someone he was too slow to save.
"That doesn't make it okay," Astrid growled.
"No," Wanderer agreed. "But it not you who do that. Be angry, but not at you."
"Hey, so what's that like, anyway?" Tuffnut asked casually, poking Astrid's arm.
"Fine," she replied shortly, "can't even feel it."
"Just wait," Ruffnut groaned, "when it starts wearing off it feels like there's a hole in your arm. That's because there's a hole in your arm."
Dreamer huffed tiredly to Wanderer while the riders talked about the Speed Stinger paralysis, and they quietly stood and made their way outside and to their den. It had been… a really long day.
Astrid stumbled for the door, wrestling with her stiff arm and side. She'd never known how much it was used for balance until it was locked at an awkward angle, but being the middle of the night didn't help.
"Hel-cursed Speed Stingers again," Snotlout grumbled to himself under his breath behind her as he dragged a stiff leg across the floor. "Why do we always gotta deal with the dragons that always want to eat us?"
"Seriously, you've done nothing but complain since we got here," Astrid said levelly at him. There was no frustration or anger behind her words, just pure observation. "Why did you come? Compared to the rest of us, you Jorgensons get it easy. The rest of us have to prove ourselves warriors."
"Oh that's rich, coming from you," he griped. "We Jorgensons, have never lost a Thawfest game. Never."
"You mean until now," Astrid said levelly, staring back at him.
"Hey, I had you beat in the real challenges," he growled. "Then this year, yeah, let's bring dragons in, change three hundred years of tradition. And guess who gets the short end of the stick?"
"Are you blaming your dragon?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what's this about?"
"You asked," he grunted, then awkwardly shoved his way past her and out the door.
The good weather continued to last, despite progressing well into autumn. It made Dreamer wonder why the Hooligans were so adamant in staying on their miserable little island. Sure, it was enormous, and plentiful in various resources, but the land was rough and jagged, it rained more often than not, and the hard ground was difficult to farm.
Out here there were far fewer clouds, granting blissfully warm sunshine and beautifully clear nights, and the rain they did get was steady but not torrential or stormy. It hadn't even hailed on Dragon's Nest yet.
Still, the other tribes had far more pleasant weather, and would be impossible to move; the inhabitable islands out here were further apart. Dreamer glanced around as he flew, seeing only the other riders in formation behind him and the endless sea in all directions with some faint smudges on the horizon.
Amidst Johann's usual rambling on his latest visit, to trade a number of furs they had accumulated for seeds, preserves, leathers, and an assortment of things, he had mentioned an encounter with a large dragon hunter vessel. Dreamer wasn't even sure the merchant knew what the riders were out here for, but he seemed to think nothing of it and Astrid was almost subtle in probing for details.
Based on Johann's description, Dreamer was able to narrow down its heading to an island not far out of his territory, one that looked like it might be home to one or more varieties of dragons They clearly intended to hunt, as it was unlikely there was any sort of base there with how they hadn't spotted any traffic around it.
This time, everything had been planned out in advance. Off to their left, the last embers of the sky-fire were fading, though the night was clearer and brighter than they'd hoped it was still quite dark. This time, they had practised, all knew their roles well in advance, and hopefully wouldn't do something stupid in some misguided sense of glory.
Everyone was silent for the duration of the trip. When the island came into view, when the riders noticed it and their faces set in determination, Astrid didn't even feel the need for a motivating speech. The first time, they had been blindly swinging around themselves with nothing but raw enthusiasm. This time they were striking quickly and with precision.
As they neared the island, the Nightstrikers flew ahead to locate their quarry. It was reasonably big and roughly circular, split almost completely down the middle by a rocky mountain range that provided a variety of environments. There were many places for a ship to dock, but it was difficult to miss the three tall masts jutting up from a long beach. Cages haphazardly littered the shore, most with doors hanging open but some looked occupied. It looked like everything was winding down for the day, there was just a single torch on the mast to light the deck as hunters meandered over it, packing up or whatever they were doing. This time it bore the hunters' crest on the sails, the likeness of a flaming fist.
They returned to the riders and Dreamer quietly barked three times, a necessary code in the darkness; once for trouble, twice to land and discuss, three times to go ahead with the mission.
If the hunters listened carefully they might have heard Meatlug's buzzing approach, but that didn't matter. While Wanderer reminded Hookfang and Stormfly of what they needed to do, Dreamer dove, flexing his sub-wings to produce the wail of a diving Nightstriker. It would never cease to be amusing, how the hunters below paused, as if listening to confirm what they already knew, and then began scurrying for cover.
But that wasn't the point today. He pulled up just above the masts and immediately tucked away his sub-wings, cutting off the sound. The images of sound-sight lingered surprisingly long afterward, and as he sped away and banked around he mused that he really should experiment and practise with it.
Confusion would be prevalent on the ship. A Nightstriker never missed – not once he'd had some practise – but Dreamer hadn't fired at all. Right about now they would all be peeking out of their hiding places, watching the sky and listening for the attack that had not come, perhaps squinting up at the silhouettes against the stars…
Hookfang and Stormfly fired in unison, just over the top of the ship, Hookfang's flames arcing over the edge to quench harmlessly in the water. Dreamer's eyes rapidly adjusted back, leaving only a small spot in his vision, but the hunters aboard would not be so lucky with their inferior sight. Particularly when a bolt of blue fire removed the one torch from existence.
Dreamer's own shot streaked towards the boat, striking the side of the main cabin in exactly the same place as last time. He had a moment of confusion that it didn't do nearly as much damage as Wanderer's had, punching a hole in the wood but nothing more, but then he had reached the deck and could think no more of it.
Startled and blinded, the hunters flailed helplessly against the riders and dragons suddenly surrounding them, now only Barf and Belch using their explosive fire so as to not start any illuminating flames. A debilitatingly loud noise distracted Dreamer for a moment, one of the hunters striking the rim of his shield with his weapon, but it quickly ceased as Snotlout cleaved the head from the axe and dealt debilitating – but thankfully non-lethal – injuries.
Dreamer shook his ringing head and lunged for his target again, a man hunched over something at the prow. It wasn't clear what he was doing, and that was suspicious, so the hunter found himself with his legs swept out from under him and then Dreamer slammed him heavily against the deck. He stopped moving.
"It's locked!" Fishlegs shouted, and Dreamer barked in reply. Rather than try to open the trapdoor, he jumped up and grabbed hold of the mast, using that to fling himself higher and adjusting with his wings to fire a small shot directly down into the edge of the big cargo doors. A foot-wide hole appeared where the lock would be underneath, allowing the doors to be opened-
"Imbeciles," a distinctly well-pronounced voice growled, "must I do everything myself?"
Dreamer whirled on the source, noting Viggo striding around the edge of the fight and to the rail. He wasted no time, simply striking what looked like a flint and steel-
A flame sped along the rail, lighting several little fires even brighter than Stormfly's fire, and light suddenly flooded over the deck. At the same time the cargo doors seemingly flung themselves open.
The turnaround was practically instant. The riders were now the blinded combatants, and were quickly disarmed and pinned by superior strength and numbers. The remaining hunters jumped on the dragons, more than practised in taking down the common types, while more streamed out of the cabin, carrying bolas and nets, quickly roping the twins together and dragging the Zippleback's heads onto the deck, the rest of it scrambling to follow.
All this in the time for a platform to rise from the ship's hold, and for the pair of net launchers on it to fire at the Nightstrikers.