CHAPTER 12
"Gothi, it's been three days." Tengan tried to suppress the whine in her voice. "I'm feeling much better. I haven't felt lightheaded at all since yesterday, I promise!" She sat up in the spare cot Gothi had pressed her into the moment they landed back on Berk. Cramped between Gothi's bed and shelves stocked with medicinal herbs and remedies it wasn't the most spacious recovery space. However, Tengan couldn't have wished for a more meticulous nursemaid to treat her head wound. She had lost more blood than she originally thought and, although expertly stitched, the wound would leave quite the ugly scar.
Gothi tottered over to the cot, squinting suspiciously at the teen. She poked the puckered skin around her stitches, frowning slightly. Pulling out a small clay pot, she dabbed a strong smelling green ointment around the stitches before standing back and nodding once.
"You mean it?" Tengan brightened, throwing her blanket aside.
Gothi nodded again before gesturing to the window. As if on cue, Rumble and Kelp stuck their heads through the small opening. Both dragons gurgled questioningly, trying to discern the cause of their rider's elation. In his curiosity, Rumble swung his head around, sending several clay containers flying off the table under the window. Gothi dove after them, catching two. The rest cluttered to the floor, where one broke open, spilling dried seaweed powder over the wooden floor.
Tengan flinched as the pot broke open. "Fair enough. We'll get out of your hair." She stood, pausing to help clean up her dragons' mess. "Thanks again for everything Gothi. I promise we'll bring back any medicinal plants we find to help restock." With a quick hug, Tengan shuffled out the door. "Let's go boys! It's still early enough. We should be able to catch the others at the Academy!"
Retracting their heads from Gothi's hut, the two dragons roared with agreement. Kelp fluttered over to land on Tengan's shoulder, nuzzling the uninjured side of her head. Rumble rustled his scales and extended one wing.
With a smile and a scratch under Kelp's chin, Tengan scrambled onto Rumble's back, taking a moment to settle herself in between two neck spikes. Her smile broke into a grin as Rumble threw himself off of the cliff Gothi's hut perched on, wings partially unfurled as they tipped into a dive. A laugh bubbled from her as the wind tore through her hair.
Kelp, catching the wind in his wings, lifted off her shoulders as Rumble followed suit. The larger dragon, sensing the shift in his rider's weight, turned towards the center of town. Every now and again he would flap to maintain altitude, sending a small gust buffeting into Kelp.
"Where are they?" Tengan murmured to herself as they circled above the arena. It was completely empty. In fact, it looked like nothing had been touched since they took off in pursuit of Rumble earlier that week.
A joyous roar reverberated the air around them as Toothless soared into view. "Tengan!" Hiccup cried out. "I was just at Gothi's looking for you."
"She just released me!" Tengan called back, placing a hand on Rumble's shoulder to steady the Skrill as he wheeled about in the air, lip curling at the Night Fury. Even after the flight back with the others, Rumble still seemed tense around the Riders. None of the others, Kelp excluded, could even land near Gothi's hut while she was on bedrest. "Where are the others?"
"We've been working on something." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, avoiding eye contact. "Follow me!" Urging Toothless into a tight loop, the pair started off towards the village.
"Easy now, Rumble. You know they don't mean any of us harm." Tengan rubbed soothing circles into his neck as they flew after the pair. Kelp, taking full advantage of his larger friend, landed on Rumble's head, curling his tail around a neck spine. The dragons lazily angled over the village towards the outer edges, their riders waving back at the vikings sounding greetings as they passed. "Why are we heading towards Mildew's old place?"
"Well, seeing as Mildew most likely won't be needing it anymore we've been working on making it useful again." Hiccup urged Toothless towards the open field. "It's been rough. We spent a day just airing out the smell of the place. Not to mention the Dragon Root we found in the field."
Tengan touched down next to Hiccup, attention fixated on the transformed house. The older roof had been completely replaced, a covered extension was added to the side, the sheep pen had been cleared out, and the front door had been fixed. "Wow! Looks great. What are we going to use it for?"
"Aw come on!" Astrid's voice rang out as she landed in the newly cleared field. Stormfly's saddlebags were bulging. "I thought we were going to show her together!"
"I thought it was a surprise, Hiccup!" Snotlout hollered as Hookfang touched down, his saddlebags also packed to the brim.
"Aw man, you told her?" Fishlegs pouted as Meatlug thudded to a halt, panting from the heavy load of logs strapped to her beck. "We're not even done with the desk…"
"What is all this about?" Tengan asked, half distracted by Rumble who had begun to growl. "Something about a surprise?" She glanced up quickly before sliding off of Rumble's back to rub calming circles along his face with her fingertips. "Hush now." She quietly scolded the dragons. "They were my friends before we met. They'd never hurt either of us and you need to get along." Her gaze softened as the Skrill's head dipped, muscles relaxing. "Sorry about that guys." She returned her attention to the group. "He's been a bit of a handful. I think part of the reason Gothi released me today was so she didn't have to deal with Rumble growling every time she checked the stitches. What was this about a surprise? Who's it for?"
"Oh, they mean how we've spent the last three days redoing Mildew's house so you can have it." Tuffnut stated flatly as Barf and Belch joined the throng.
"Tuff!" Astrid called out, throwing her fists to her hips.
"What?" Ruffnut interjected. "Is that not what we've been doing? Adding a dragon stall for Rumble, making a new bed, getting all those shelves put in…" She counted the projects off on her fingers.
Tengan's head whipped from the twins to each of her friends in turn, taking a moment to study their saddlebags more closely. She recognized snippets of her own handwriting from the scrolls peeking out from Stormfly's bags. "Are you guys serious?"
Hiccup sighed, head in his hand. "Yes. Although clearly the surprise didn't go as planned." He lifted his head, smiling sheepishly. "We all just figured…."
"That my living room was getting much too small." Astrid cut in.
"Especially since you found a dragon." Snotlout added. "Although if you get lonely out here at night….."
"She'll have Rumble to keep her company." Hiccup cut across him sharply.
"We all pitched in." Fishlegs piped up, unburdening Meatlug of her load. "We were going to build the desk today and put your supplies away but-"
"Well?" Tuffnut grinned down at her. "Do you like it or what?"
Tengan stared at the house for several moments. The door, freshly painted, displayed the Dragon Academy symbol. Her eyes trailed to Rumble's stall built alongside. They had pressed it up against one of the windows so he could slide his head in whenever he wanted. "I…. It's…" it was suddenly hard to speak. Blinking rapidly, she found herself somehow squished in the center of the teens. "Thank you guys." She murmured, happy none of them could see the tears prickling at the corner of her eyes in the jumbled mess of a hug.
The dragons, not to be ignored for too long, stuck their snouts into the cluster one by one. Rumble watched for several moments, head cocked to the side. Only after Kelp fluttered over to the teens did he shuffle forward, humming deeply in his chest.
Tengan never asked, but she was sure the others spent the few days on or near the island to give her more time to recover. Not that there wasn't anything to occupy their time. Between Fishlegs and Hiccup creating, in their words, the "perfect writing desk for any dragon rider", Gobber measuring and crafting a saddle for Rumble, and Tengan running her dragons through basic training maneuvers, she barely had enough time to jot down her findings at the end of her night. Although, once the desk was completed, she had to admit it was much easier to keep all of her supplies organized. The boys had even gifted her a couple new journals and rolls of parchment from Johann's latest shipment, one of which lay rolled open. On it, several paragraphs of her observations on Rumble's behaviors were scribbled. Apparently, so little was known of his kind that they were planning on adding all she learned to the Book of Dragons.
The extra space her new home provided was very much appreciated as the Riders slowly fell back into their routine. Between Gustav pestering the older teens, regular scouting missions to keep an eye out for the Screaming Death, Speed Stingers traveling on ice flows, and the unfortunate discovery of Dragon Root, free time has been all but nonexistent. Not to mention the regular recon flights to keep an eye on Dagur. Despite her best arguments, Hiccup and Stoick had outright forbade her and Rumble to fly these missions seeing as the Berserkers had no idea the Skrill was in her possession. It was almost a relief when a freak storm hit the island. Forced to stay inside for the day, Tengan had utilized the time to catch up on her increasingly scattered and outdated notes.
At the moment, Kelp was snoozing in his small hammock stretched over Tengan's bed while Rumble had his head and neck crammed through the window connecting the hut to his stall. His orange eyes were unfocused and half lidded. No matter how often his rider insisted, the Skrill always refused to retire for the night until she had snuffed out all the candles and went to bed. While touching, it also meant the cold air could creep into the house though the open window. Luckily Rumble's whip-like tail had been most adept at falling trees for firewood. They went through more logs in one day than Tengan could recall Astrid's family using in three or four.
"What was the recipe for the eel pox medicine again?" Tengan rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes. Her head whipped up as Rumble perked up, snuffling hopefully. "Oh, no I'm sorry Rumble. I don't have any eels for you right now." She scratched the dragon under his chin until he settled back into his half-asleep daze. Of course she had to have bonded with the one dragon that actually ate eels. It had been a trial to keep him from swallowing all the ones they collected for the cure a couple weeks ago. Chuckling to herself, Tengan shifted a few papers aside, extracting the incomplete list of effects on non-eel eating dragons out from under a quick facts page on Smothering Smokebreaths.
It was only when she had read the same sentence three times without absorbing it that Tengan admitted defeat. They had to be up early for ambush training the next day anyway. Snuffing out the candles, she gave Rumble a quick kiss on the snout before turning in. The larger dragon, sighing in apparent relief, extracted his head to settle comfortably on the floor of his stall. Kelp simply rolled over in his sleep, snoring out small puffs of grey smoke. "Goodnight boys." She whispered into the darkness. Through the wooden walls, she felt the vibrations of Rumble's reply as she drifted off.
Morning always seemed to come too quickly. After dressing, setting breakfast out for the dragons, scarfing down a few bites of cold mutton herself, and failing to convince the comfortable Terror that some exercise would do his wings good, Tengan left on Rumble, only pausing to give Kelp clear instructions not to burn any of her notes while they were at training.
Pulling alongside the others in the Academy, she yawned behind her hand as Hiccup explained the path they'd take through the patch of forest adjacent to town.
"Any questions?" Hiccup concluded as the team took to the sky.
"Why are we doing this before the sun is even completely up?" Snotlout murmured more to himself than anyone else.
Stifling a chuckle, Tengan almost missed the gleam of the first catapult in the trees. Almost. "Rumble! Left!" She cried, tugging hard on the front lip of the saddle. The Skrill responded almost immediately, tucking his wings and rolling out of the way as the boulders flew past. Fighting the swirling sensation in her stomach, Tengan's eyes refocused as Hiccup and Toothless blasted through the projectile aiming for the Night Fury's chest. She was rather impressed with Meatlug's jaw strength as the Gronkle bit through a boulder larger than her rider's head.
"Fall back everyone!" HIccup cried after several volleys. "Good maneuvering but there's too many!"
"You fall back!" Snotlout cried, apparently fully awake at last. "I'm finishing this!" He urged Hookfang onward, grinning wildly.
"Snotlout, no! That's not the point of the exercise!" Hiccup yelled at the pair.
Tengan slowed Rumble to a hover and could only watch, wide eyed, as Snotlout and Hookfang dive bombed Gobber, Bucket, Mulch, and the few others who had volunteered their morning to help the Riders practice. The blast sent a boulder flying wildly, zooming past several of the dragons before striking Astrid square between the shoulders. With a muted grunt she sagged in Stormfly's saddle before slipping off, plummeting towards the ground.
"Astrid, no!" Hiccup screamed as he dove to catch her. The rest of the group held their breath, only releasing it when Hiccup landed with Astrid's limp form. She was still breathing, if only shallowly.
"What were you thinking!" Fishlegs rounded on Snotlout as they landed beside Toothless, his voice uncharacteristically fierce.
"He wasn't" Tuffnut stated flatly, a thin frown tugging at his lips.
Tengan slid off Rumble's back and knelt on the ground near the unconscious teen. "It looks like the wind was knocked out of her. She should be coming around soon." She reached out to steady herself against Toothless, finding her limbs were shaking slightly.
As if on cue, Astrid cracked her eyes open, squinting in the sunlight. "What happened?" She gasped as Stormly bent her head low, cooing urgently.
"Woohoo!" Snotlout crowed, thudding to a landing near the cluster of teens. "That's how you do it! Snotlout doesn't retreat!" He thrust his arms into the air, a broad grin slapped on his face.
It was a mark of how serious the situation was when both Ruff and Tuff shook their heads disapprovingly, arms folded against their chests.
Tengan shifted an arm under Astrid's shoulders, slowly helping her sit up. "Can you take a deep breath?" She asked softly. The blond tried to comply, but winced as her lungs filled.
Hiccup's face contorted with rage as he spun on the spot. "You have no idea what you just did!" He bellowed, advancing on Snotlout. "You almost got Astrid KILLED!"
Snotlout scoffed. "Comeon, she's fine." He deflected. "Look at her."
"No thanks…. to you." She wheezed, fighting to get on her feet despite the combined support of Tengan and Fishlegs on either side of her. "I'm going to kill you!"
Sensing the tension in her limbs, Tengan just managed to keep a hold on Astrid's arm as she lunged for Snotlout's neck. "Fishlegs, a little help!" she wheezed as she fought to keep her struggling friend from latching onto her target. Even with the two of them and Astrid's weakened state, it was still a difficult task to keep the blonde under control.
Hiccup's frustrations, though better controlled, seemed to match Astrid's. "That's it I'm tired of this! You always have to do things your way!"
"Yeah?" Snotlout advanced on the one legged rider. "Well, I look out for number one!"
"Exactly!" Hiccup shouted. "How can we ever rely on you if you won't do what we ask? Until further notice, you're suspended from the Academy! You're grounded."
The group froze, several mouths dripping in shock. It had been a running joke as to whether Snotlout or the twins would be suspended first but none of them had actually believed Hiccup would ever go through with it.
"You can't do that!" Snotlout cried out desperately. "Ground this, dragon boy!" He taunted as he clambered into Hookfang's saddle, urging the Monstrous Nightmare to take off.
The group silently watched him depart for several moments, all eyes flickering between Hiccup and the retreating dragon. Astrid, finally stable, broke the silence. "You didn't have to do that for me." She murmured.
"If we can't trust him during practice how can we possibly count on him the next time we run into Dagur?" Hiccup turned to face the group, his brow furrowed. "Let's head back to the Academy and run drills the rest of the morning. Astrid, you guide them. I don't want you to overexert yourself today."
Astrid bit her lip and inhaled to argue. The quick movement caused her to flinch. "...Alright. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to help Gobber and the others salvage whatever Snotlout hasn't destroyed." Hiccup turned to the cluster of catapults. "I'll catch up with you all later."
The rest of the day and following morning were, to put it mildly, awkward. Astrid continued to wince, thankfully with less frequency, every time she had to inhale sharply or bark an order. The twins surprisingly made the day quite easy for her, although they did continuously elaborate on plans to combine Hookfang's now empty pen in the arena with Barf and Belch's.
"Guys that's not going to happen." Hiccup said for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Why not?" Tuffnut asked over his shoulder, not even bothering to pause in his measurements of the wall between the pens.
"Yeah it's not like Snotlout will be able to come back." Ruffnut continued. "He's still out flying. The only option you have left is permanent expulsion."
"That, or risk losing the respect of the entire Academy." Tuffnut interjected, chuckling to himself.
"They actually have a point." Astrid mused, stretching her arms over her head, pausing to wince once and only once at the apex of her maneuver.
Hiccup sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not helping, Astrid. Alright, alright. I will talk to Snoutlout when he gets back." Stomping back to Toothless, Hiccup urged the dragon to take off towards the sea stacks.
Tengan tracked the black smudge against the blue sky for several moments, hand idly massaging Kelp's back. "What are the chances Snotlout actually listens this time?" She murmured more to herself than anyone else.
"Less than zero." Fishlegs answered, absentmindedly flipping a small, flat stone between his fingers before tossing it into Meatlug's waiting mouth.
"Alright, let's not get lazy!" Astrid called out. "I already missed most of a day's worth of training. Let's get those tails into the air and work on inverted evasive maneuvers."
With minimal groaning, the teens took to the air to practice. Tengan silently thanked her lucky stars that Rumble's back spines grew so tall and relatively close together. Even with his impressive speed and flexibility, she still found herself slipping out of the saddle during slower rolls. In those moments, looping her arm around a neck spine granted her enough purchase to just hang on. Poor Fishlegs had been snatched out of the air after losing his grip three times before Astrid called the exercise to a halt.
"Never again!" The Gronkle rider cried out as the flock angled towards the center of town. He still shook slightly whenever Meatlug made an abrupt turn or dip in elevation.
"What's going on down there?" Tengan shouted to the group, pointing at the large crowd gathered in the town square. "Is there a festival or event happening today?" She rummaged quickly though Rumble's saddlebags for a scrap of parchment.
"No. There shouldn't be." Astrid answered, eyes narrowed. "Let's go check it out."
The group circled low over the crowd clustered around what looked to be Hookfang and two riders. As the people shifted, small details of the larger of the pair could be seen.
Tengan's blood froze and she veered away sharply, chest heaving. Rumble, sensing his rider's panic began growling, skin cracking with electricity. Kelp followed closely, a smaller, yet still disconcerting growl bubbling in his throat.
"Woah!" Fishlegs called as the Skrill shot past him. "Tengan what's wrong?"
Tengan continued to hyperventilate, one hand reaching up to touch the jagged, puckered scar across her forehead. "I don't know how or why. But that's Alvin the Treacherous sitting on Hookfang!" Fighting to remain calm, she had Rumble hang back from the group, high in the air as the others crowded in. She refused to land until the crowd amassed in the Great Hall, putting several walls of bodies between her and the ex Outcast leader. Even then, she stuck close to Rumble and Astrid, hands trembling as she took careful notes of the meeting from the doorway.
"What's got you so shaken?" Astrid whispered. "We've dealt with Alvin a number of times. Besides, he's not as crazy as Dagur." The blond nudged her friend gently.
"No, he's worse." Tengan hissed back, eyes locked onto the hulking form locked in irons. "Dagur is unhinged but easy to manage. Alvin is something else….." She took a steadying breath. "He tried to feed me to Rumble that night. Sounded disappointed when I survived. I thought he drowned when Dagur forced Rumble to strike the water..."
"So did I." Astrid started. Her rebuttal was cut short by Gobber's booming voice filling the hall.
"Alvin the Treacherous! You stand accused of treachery, attempted treachery, premeditated treachery, conspiring to commit treachery, and all other forms of treachery!" he glared at the accused viking, hooked hand shaking threateningly. Several others in the hall filled it with their cries for blood and vengeance. Even the dragons could feel the tension; several curled their lips and Rumble had to quench a crackling bolt of lightning building in his throat.
Stoick silenced the crowd with a raised hand, his eyes as dark as the mob's suggestions on how to handle the traitor. "Alvin, you will be remanded to our jail until we can hand down a proper sentence for your crimes."
Alvin scoffed, impressively indignant despite the hostile environment. "Is this how you treat a man who saved a valuable life?"
"I can't listen to this anymore." Tengan growled, stuffing her for once incomplete notes in her bag before shouldering it. "I'll be on patrol." Without waiting for Astrid's response, she spun on her heel and shouldered through the doors, both her dragons following closely. With a deep, steadying breath she swung into Rumble's saddle and urged him into the air. They circled the island for a while while Tengan fought to steady her breathing. Her eyes fixated on Kelp and she timed her breaths to the wingbeats of the small dragon. Inhale for five beats, hold for five, release for five. Repeat. Ever so slowly some of the tension eased from her chest and shoulders. Rumble's excited gurgles were the only thing that alerted her to Hiccup's presence as Toothless climbed to meet them.
"Astrid told me what happened. Care to talk about it?" Hiccup asked, glancing back and forth between the dragons and in the general direction of the Academy.
Tengan sighed deeply, letting her head droop. "I'm sorry, I know I let myself get carried away. It's just I thought he was dead and….. When I was bleeding in Rumble's stall I thought I was going to die, Hiccup. Alvin did too. I could see it in his eyes. He looked excited about it. Like nothing would bring him greater joy than to watch a dragon tear someone apart." She shuddered, relaxing only when Kelp landed on her shoulders. "I thought he was dead and gone after Dagur's attack. Seeing him again…"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me. You went through a lot." Hiccup's voice softened. "If you need to sit this one out, I understand." They flew in silence for several moments before he continued. "But I could really use your help if you think you're up to it. Snotlout woke up. Apparently the Screaming Death is on it's way. With you and Rumble we might have a chance. But I don't want to put you two in danger if-"
"What?" Tengan's head whipped around, jostling Kelp off his perch in the process. "No way. You all have been like family to me for almost a year now. Berk is just as much our home to protect." Rumble growled in agreement. "What can we do?"
Hiccup smiled slightly, nodding once. "Knew we could count on you. Follow me, we're meeting the others at the Academy."
They had just started brainstorming plans to repel the wild titan wing, Boulder class dragon when a familiar cocky whooping cut through their discussion. Snotlout swooped into the arena on Hookfang, looking much too proud for a viking who had been slung across his dragon like a yak pelt not two hours ago. "Did you all miss me?" He asked the group, arms spread wide. With a chuckle he answered before anyone could do more than blink and scowl. "Of course you did! Why do I even ask?"
"Snotlout" Hiccup began through gritted teeth. "I'm glad you're ok. But you broke the rules, and nearly got yourself killed in the process. You're still suspended."
"What?!" Snotout screamed, his vice hitching up a couple octaves. "I found the Screaming Death and captured Alvin the Treacherous!"
"You were unconscious." Astrid spat back, her posture not unlike a she wolf with raised hackles.
"Yeah, unconscious like a fox." Snotlout added.
Tuffnut chuckled. "That doesn't even make sense to me and I'm foxy like a badger!"
"Nothing has changed." Hiccup asserted, leading Hookfang into his pen. "You're still suspended." Unceremoniously, he shut and locked the door, ignoring Snotlout's cries of protest. Turning his back on the raging viking, he held out his arm for an incoming Terror, a piece of parchment tied to its leg. Deftly, he tore the scroll open, scanning the contents. "Apparently Alvin wants to meet with me." He said after glancing through the scroll. "I'll be back. Since we don't know what he's planning it's probably best if we keep the dragons here tonight. Can you guys get that done while I see what he wants?" Without waiting for a response he was off again.
Tengan bit her bottom lip as she surveyed the arena. The Academy only had five stalls, and all had been claimed ages before she even set foot on the island.
"He can share with Stormfly." Astrid cut across her thoughts. "The two of them get along great nowadays." She gestured over to where the Skrill and Nadder were playfully tumbling about, tugging on each other's tails and saddle straps. Kelp, ever the instigator, swooped down to get a nip in wherever he could.
Tengan sighed, shaking her head with a small smile. "It's not just that. I-I sleep better knowing they're close by." She avoided her friend's gaze.
"Why don't you and Kelp crash at my place tonight? For old time's sake?" With a smile and a small nudge she began to herd the dragons into their pens. "Besides, Mom's making shepherd's pie. I know that's your favorite."
"If you insist." Tengan smiled back as she began to loosen the straps on all the saddles. With the threat of a potential battle, it would take too long to tack them up in an emergency. But at least they could move more comfortably with the straps a bit looser.
Fishlegs marched by them leading a sallow faced Meatlug. "Now who's supposed to lick my feet tonight?"
Both girls traded similarly repulsed looks before breaking in a muffled fit of laughter.
It was a rather nice change to have dinner with the Hofferson's again. Tengan had almost forgotten the ever present smell of fresh bread from the family's oven, or just how booming Astrid's father's voice was when he decided to start singing at the dinner table. However, the highlight of the evening was certainly when Kelp drained half a mug of mead and spent several minutes hiccuping small balls of fire. Once the flames on the table had been put out the entire lot doubled over from laughing until they were grasping at their sides. No one brought up Alvin once, something Tengan thought had to do with Astrid warning her parents ahead of time. She appreciated the gesture all the same, and was able to quickly fall asleep on her old bed, Kelp splayed on his back across the stump side table, snoring every few breaths.
It seemed only seconds later the household erupted with activity as a booming horn reverberated the walls. Tengan bolted upright, her heart hammering. "Astrid! Warning signal! What's going on?"
Astrid, already tearing down the stars, threw the front door open, repeating the question to the other vikings running past. "It's Dagur!" she called over her shoulder. "He's been spotted by the training arena. Let's go!"
Tengan was on her feet in a heartbeat, trying to shake the half-conscious Kelp awake. "Comeon, Kelp! I need you to wake up! Rumble's in trouble!"
"Leave him here!" Astrid gestured urgently. "That mead did a number on him. We have to get to the Academy!" With a final backwards glance, she shouldered her axe and began jogging towards the arena.
Tengan nodded one, pausing only long enough to place Kelp on her vacated bed before tearing out of the house after her friend, struggling to belt her sword properly. "I didn't have it on me the last time we faced off Dagur." She growled to herself. "I won't make that mistake again. You better not have hurt my dragon."
The other teens joined the girls as they ran through the village as fast as they could. No one was surprised when Fishlegs emerged with Meatlug, squeaking out some excuse of her being afraid of the dark. The arena erupted with bursts of flame and furious roars as they closed in. The source was only discovered when Hiccup and Fishlegs made a cautious flyby before landing back amongst the anxious teens.
"Dragon root." Hiccup explained. "Dagur must have planted it. They're attacking each other over it."
"Hiccup, listen to me!" Snotlout interjected, a note of sheer hysteria coloring his voice. "I need to tell you something! It's really important."
"Not now!" Hiccup shouted back. "Fishlegs, you and Meatlug are the only ones who can grab that root. Toothless and I will cover you."
Tengan paced several steps back and forth as she watched the two dragons carefully maneuver into the fray. Her eyes rapidly scanned the area around the Academy for any unnatural movements, occasionally being drawn to the arena as she recognized Rumble's cries amongst the chaos. Any other day she'd be more concerned by Snotlout's look of anguish, but at the moment all her thoughts were focused on her dragon. 'Dagur had to have seen that the Rumble was in the Academy.' Her mind reeled at the implications. 'Since he clearly hasn't dragged him off before planting the root, he has to have another plan in mind.' Absentmindedly, she brought her thumb to her mouth, biting down on the tip of the digit as she continued pacing.
"There's too many for Hiccup to cover alone. We have to get in there!" Astrid cried out, breaking away from the group to charge into the arena and stop Storfly from impaling Meatlug with a spine.
The rest of the teens followed with no hesitation. Snotlout quickly drew Hookfang's frustration towards him while the twins distracted Barf and Belch by running circles around them. Tengan, throwing her arms wide, lept in front of Rumble as he prepared to launch a bolt of lightning at Toothless. Thankfully, the Skrill deflected the attack at the last moment in an attempt to protect his rider, the blinding flash of light striking the bars of the arena before raining down as dancing sparks.
Fishlegs, taking full advantage of the distraction, nabbed the dragon root and followed Toothless to the exit. The Night Fury swept out the open door, clearing a path. Meatlug followed, almost clearing the entrance before-
SLAM. The gate bounced off the stone floor as it boomed shut, locking the dragon root in with the crazed reptiles. Two Berserker soldiers stepped out of the shadows, blocking the gate as Toothless swung around.
"Open the gate, right now." Hiccup all but growled the command as Toothless' jaw hung open, ready to strike. "Or-"
"Or what?" Taunted a familiar voice from above, drawing the attention of the teens upward. Dagur grinned maliciously down at the chaos before him. All around him other Berserkers and even a few Outcasts stepped into view, their weapons trained on Toothless and Hiccup.
"Dagur?! What do you want?" Hiccup yelled in a strained voice.
"Oh? It's simple really. Just two little things." Dagur fiddled with the handle of his axe. "One: the head of your Night Fury. Two: what is rightfully mine." He swung the weapon towards the arena, gesturing at the rampaging Skrill. "Seems you little storybook friend has been taking good care of MY Skrill. Hand over both dragons and we leave peacefully." He chuckled darkly. "Or don't. We both know the Skrill will make short work of those lesser dragons. How long can they keep this up? It's your choice. Your dragon or your friends? Isn't this exciting!" He cried out, eyes widening with rabid glee. "What will he choose ladies and gentlemen?!"
Hiccup glanced down at his friends. Meatlug was flying in desperate circles around the perimeter, barely staying ahead of the others. Hookfang had nearly set Snotlout on fire with his latest attack while the twins were already sporting several new burns. Astrid and Tengan were back to back, the former holding a spine studded shield while the latter had a new gash along her right arm. Before he could open his mouth to argue, another voice called out over the commotion.
"We choose to run you through and open the gate ourselves!" Stoick boomed, banging a studded hammer on his shield. Behind him, Gobber, and what looked to be nearly half the village, echoed his war cry as the army broke into a run to meet the Berserkers.
Tengan cried out as she threw herself onto Rumble's back, fighting to get a grip on one of his neck spines. The blood dripping from her cut slipped between her hand and the bony protrusion, slicking the scales in the process. "What is going on up there?!" She shouted to no one in particular.
Tuffnut bolted by, followed closely by his sister and their incredibly furious dragon. "Stoick brought most of the island along with Alvin apparently and they're fighting off Dagur!"
"Did you say Alvin?" Astrid interjected, raising her shield again to ward off a volley of spines.
"Less talking, more running!" Ruffnut shoved her brother forward just in time to avoid another blast.
"Alvin?" Tengan cried, losing her grip on Rumble and tumbling to the floor. "No no no not now!" She inhaled rapidly as her heartbeat thudded in her ears. Eyes widening, she glanced around, twitching like a rabbit caught out in an open field. Her bloodied hand found her sword and struggled to pull it free.
Rumble, temporarily distracted by the smell of his rider's blood turned his head abruptly to face her. Fighting the urge to pounce on the nearest dragon in pursuit of the root, he lowered his head to her level, vibrating deeply in his chest.
Tengan's sight slowly came into focus as her dragon's large, orange eyes filled her vision. Abandoning the bloodied hilt of her sword, she placed both palms on either side of his head. They both winced as the battle around them raged on. "I-I'm ok now boy. It'll be alright. You've got me and I've got you…. Eyes on me!" She cried as Meatlug flew by once more. She winced as Rumble jerked in her grip before returning his gaze to hers. With a pained cry, he broke away again, chasing after the Gronkle with half raised wings. "Watch out! I've lost him!"
Thankfully, miraculously, the gate began to creak open as Stoick, freed from the chaos of battle, took hold of the chain. Meatlug, seeing the opening, scrambled for the gate as Toothless flew in, laying down cover with a couple well placed plasma blasts. In her haste, she bowled straight over half a dozen Berkians, including Stoick, who let the gate boom back shut behind her as he collapsed.
Almost as if the last few minutes never happened, the dragons calmed and staggered back to their battered riders. Tengan collapsed against Rumble's side, her injured arm shaking with fatigue. "Is everyone alright?"
"I think so." Hiccup cast a quick glance over the group. "All except for, wait. Where's my dad?"
"Don't even think of trying to follow us!" Dagur's voice echoed over the group from a nearby cliff face. Before him stood two guards, each with a sword point at Stoick's throat. "If I see a single dragon following us, rider or not, you'll be looking for a new chief." With a burst of laughter, the group departed, dragging a bound and struggling Stoick with them.
"Dad, no!" Hiccup cried out, only held back from a blind, reckless pursuit by Gobber's deft hand.
Tengan shared a horror struck look with the other riders clustered in the arena. Through the various bruises, cuts, and abrasions she could still tell they were all sharing a singular thought: How were they ever going to get Stoick back?