"And now they are chopping wood," Vivian said into a sat phone. "Scaring me half to death."
"Where did the young man come from?" Mimi asked, her voice crackling from the light static.
"Jon'll talk about that when he comes into town," she reassured her mother in law. "Its not something to discuss over a spotty phone."
"Thank you for the update dear. We'll send Jon home with plenty of goodies. I'm guessing there is no chance you'll be coming with two teenagers under your roof now." Vivian chuckled.
"Jon would tie both of them up first. I'll try to get out in the spring to see you. Maybe he'll trust both of them enough to go with me." Mimi laughed.
They said their good byes before Vivian hung up the sat phone. She watched them from the roof where she had been sitting to get a clear signal. It gave her a good vantage point to watch her husband chop wood with Dagur while Iris carried armfuls back to the house. It was day three of his wood chopping spree.
The first day Dagur had almost reopened his wound, much to the young man's disgust. It was clear he didn't enjoy being idle and Jon's drill instructor attitude towards him made him feel better. She had a stern talking to with both men so they were taking it easier.
It didn't affect Iris any, except for worrying about Dagur's injuries. She was still hard working and was eager to have work. They weren't a family that sat idle for long. Something was always needed to be done to keep them busy.
Vivian had decided to let her mother in law know before Jon went to town without Iris. The older woman had been disappointed but at the mention of a young man she brightened up. Obviously Vivian hadn't told her the whole story, just some important bits. Enough to keep her happy and understanding. She loved her in laws but something like telling them about a young man who fell out of the sky and was from a story from her childhood was something no sane person would blindly accept. It made her wonder how sane they all were for accepting it so easily. There was no other logical explanation though.
Movement in the woods caught her eye but whatever it was was already gone. Jon was worried about wolves due to the snow drifting against the east fence. There were tracks along the fence already. The dogs started barking at night at the large predators as they hunted for a weak spot. With winter beginning to wane everything was getting hungry.
She watched the forest for a few minutes. Her eyes shifted constantly to avoid lingering in one place. Staring at one spot for too long would almost guarantee seeing something that wasn't there. By keeping her eyes moving she'd have a better chance of seeing something unusual. However she didn't. It didn't help with the eerie feeling she had of being watched. Looking back she noticed Iris was staring at the wall in the same direction she had been looking.
"Stop dawdling," her dad barked.
"There was something there," Iris said. "Something was watching us."
Both Jon and Dagur looked up and looked in the direction she was staring. She couldn't shake the feeling something had been watching them. Something dangerous.
"I don't see anything," Dagur said slowly. The snow crunched as he walked over to stand by her. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," she said quietly.
"Vivian," Jon yelled. "Did you see anything up there?"
"Maybe," she yelled back from the roof. "Let me come down so we don't have to yell."
Something had been out there looking at them. Iris was willing to swear by it. She didn't see it but she felt it. A heavy stare of something dangerous. It made the hair on her body stand up.
"Could be the wolves again," Jon muttered. "Even the dogs are on edge. Look."
The dogs stood by their houses, hair standing on edge and teeth bared. They didn't make any noise but shifted anxiously. Their behavior made Iris feel nervous.
"What's the plan?" Dagur asked. "A wolf hunt?"
"The snow is too deep," Jon answered. "Even with snow shoes we'd have a hell of a time moving. Besides, you can't shoot a gun and can't use a bow in your condition."
"Push comes to shove I can."
"Stop it," Iris said as she put a hand on his arm while ignoring the frown from her dad. "The more you push yourself the longer it'll take you to heal."
"She has a point," Vivian drawled as she walked over. "If I have to stitch you back up I'll smack you. Something was out there. I'm not sure what but it was there for a split second. Did you feel the staring from that direction?" Vivian pointed to the north east and Iris nodded. "That's where I saw it. Jon, why don't you all call it a day?"
"I want to go see what it could have been," he said firmly.
"I wanna come with," Iris said eagerly.
"Me too," Dagur said with a grin. Vivian sighed.
"Guess we are all going to take a look," she grumbled. "I don't want to be the only one left out."
Iris gave Dagur a grin that he returned. While she was still spooked, she wanted to see what it could potentially have been. Her curiosity would be the death of her. At least it would be worth it.
Following her parents, Iris trudged through the snow. Under the trees the snow wasn't as deep. Animal tracks could be seen everywhere with no rhyme or reason. Vivian pointed to where she saw the movement and they all headed that way.
"What do you think it was?" Dagur whispered.
"I dunno," she whispered back. "Maybe a wolf? Probably a rabbit with my luck."
"I don't think those dogs would be upset over a rabbit." He had a point.
"Spread out and look for anything unusual," Jon instructed. "Stay in eye sight. Its probably gone but just in case I want to be able to see everyone."
Iris wove through the trees, scanning the ground. There were plenty of rabbit and mouse tracks. She spotted a few fox tracks. They had dove into the snow after a mouse by the look of it. Breaking a branch of a tree she poked at the hole in the snow curiously. Nothing came out.
"Over here," Vivian yelled. "I found them!"
She wasn't far from Iris. Eagerly she raced over to her mom, following her tracks to avoid messing any tracks up. The tracks themself were large, bigger than her hand. Whatever it was had four large claws on its paw. They wer every clean and crisp as if it had no fur.
"What is it?" she asked her mom. Vivian shrugged.
"Could be a bear," Jon said as he crouched to study the tracks. "But why would a bear be roaming around already?" Dagur joined them and did a double take at the tracks.
"Av gudene," he said in shock. "Det kan ikke være."
"English Dagur," Vivian said to the shocked young man.
"Those are no bear," he said in awe. "I know exactly what made those tracks." Excitement filled his face as he looked up. "Those are nattens raseri tracks."
"What?" Iris asked. She glanced at her mom, who's face filled with shock. "Mom?"
"He said they're Night Fury tracks," Vivian said quietly.
"Wait a dragon?" He nodded. "How? We don't have dragons!"
"Now you do," he said before starting to laugh hysterically. "NOW YOU DO!" Now she knew why they had called him deranged. "There's only one person I know who had a nattens raseri. Hiccup! My brother! Unless." He stopped speaking to think. "This, this could be where they went. The reason why nattens raseri can't be found. They came to your world."
