Chapter 4: Getting Lost

Hiccup returned returned home from an evening flight with Toothless to find Eira leaning against his hut, arms crossed and glaring at the ground. He had not seen her often in the past week aside from meals and his daily checkup on her. She always claimed she was fine, but he could tell she struggled with the task she had been given - or more like chosen.

"Eira? Is everything alright?" He approached cautiously, having learned how defensive she could get.

Her head snapped up upon hearing her name, and she plastered on a smile. "Hey, Hiccup. Everything's fine. I was just reviewing my day."

"That's good. How did it go with Snotlout today?"

"It was...eventful." She lost her smile as she shifted nervously. "I'm starting to understand him better - I think - but communication is still difficult."

"Don't worry too much about it. He can be difficult for the rest of us to handle."

Eira frowned. "So I've noticed."

Hiccup sensed something deeper in her response, but for the life of him, he could not figure out what it could be. "There's no shame in giving up, you know. We can find someone else to be your partner."

Eira's eyes widened, and she held up her hands in protest. "No! I can do this, really. He's not that bad."

Hiccup gave her a long look. "Maybe so, but that doesn't mean you'll work well together. You're so different."

"Different isn't bad. It can be a positive if we can make it work. I know my ideas can win..." She looked off to the side as if gazing at something only she could see.

Hiccup was not convinced, but he did not want to crush her optimism. "For your sake, I hope you're right."

Eira gave him a small smile. "Thanks" She paused. "I'm going to say goodnight to Swiftwings before heading inside. I'll see you later, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded. "Good night, Eira." After watching her leave, he turned to his hut and nearly walked into Asmund. Startled, he took a step back. "I'm sorry; I didn't see you there."

The man leaned against the hut with his arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. "That girl is stubborn when her mind is set on something."

Hiccup frowned. How long had he been watching? "She and Snotlout have that in common at least, which may be a problem."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the man's face. "Do not worry too much, sir. She can take care of herself."

Hiccup wondered if Asmund came from the same background as Eira. The older man certainly did not have the same air of innocence as his companion. What exactly was Torvald like, anyway? "Has she had experience dealing with... difficult... people?"

"She has learned the art of diplomacy," Asmund said carefully. "However, her experience is in mediating as a third party and not as a recipient of someone's attitude herself."

"That makes sense. Do you really think she's ready for this?"

"Is anyone truly ready for life? I admit she has been sheltered, but the only way she'l grow in resilience is by facing adversity head on. In that, I have no doubt she will succeed." Asmund straightened and strode past Hiccup. "Have a good night, sir."

"Good night." Hiccup stared after him, pondering his words.

"Come on, admit it: you had fun this week!"

Eira ignored Snotlout as they started for the training academy. She was unsure how to respond, and she did not want to say something she would regret. She had worked with him the past week, trying to find a middle ground between their very different strategies. It did not go well.

She did not know where she had gone wrong. She was willing to compromise, but her partner insisted his way was the best way. This pushed her to argue for her way of doing things, and they got nowhere fast. She did not want to admit that her efforts were futile. There had to be something she could do that she had not yet tried.

"Just because you're wrong doesn't mean I don't like you."

Eira spared a glance at Snotlout. "You have a funny way of showing it." The thing was, she did believe him. It was why she knew this could work. So what was getting in the way?

Snotlout frowned. "I thought you were good at reading people."

Eira clenched her teeth and looked away. She was good at reading people. Perhaps the problem lay with him after all.

"Good morning, Eira... Snotlout," Hiccup said as they approached. Everyone else had already arrived with their dragons.

Eira plastered on her happy smile. "Morning, Hiccup. What are we doing today?"

Hiccup looked around at the group and spoke: "I thought we'd start with a patrol of the island and then go through some basic formations and maneuvers." He turned to Eira and Snotlout. "It will be a good chance for you two to show off your teamwork."

"You're going to be impressed!" Snotlout said confidently.

Eira gave him an uneasy smile. What world did he live in? "Right..."

"Let's get going already!" Ruffnut said.

"Alright, everyone on their dragons!" Hiccup said. After everyone complied, he explained the route they would take. And then they were off.

Eira found the patrol quite peaceful. Nothing too exciting happened, and it felt good to fly with Swiftwings. Snotlout and the twins tried to create a race near the end of it, but Astrid reined them in.

Soon, it was time for Hiccup's drills. The formations were simple enough. And then came the simulations. Eira remembered her disastrous attempts at simulations last time, so she knew she had to tread carefully. She did not know how she and Snotlout were supposed to work together. They couldn't agree on anything! She racked her brain to put together the information she had on him and come up with a solution. Slowly, a plan came into place. Luckily, they were the last to go.

They had to rescue a dummy on a tiny island guarded by Toothless and Stormfly. Eira and Snotlout hovered nearby on their own dragons. The other dragon riders watched from the edge of Berk.

"Let's dive straight in and rescue him!" Snotlout exclaimed. "We can take them!"

Eira examined the two snarling dragons. "Maybe... but why should we when we don't have to?"

Snotlout frowned. "Not this again."

"Is everything alright?" Hiccup called from the ground.

"Yes!" Eira called back. "We're just discussing strategy." She turned to Snotlout. "If you're such a tough fighter, go right up to those dragons and get their attention. I'll be behind you."

"Works for me. Come on, Hookfang!" Snotlout drove his dragon down near the water.

While Toothless and Stormfly focused on her partner, she flew around and came at the island from the back. Then she jumped down and raced towards the dummy.

"What are you doing?" Snotlout said incredulously.

The 'enemy' dragons snapped their heads to look at her. She gave them a small wave before hopping on Swiftwings and taking off. "Come on!"

Snotlout trailed behind her as she flew back to Berk. She landed and handed the dummy off to Hiccup. Snotlout landed beside her.

"Congratulations." Hiccup said. "Interesting tactics."

Snotlout shot Eira a look. "Yes, very."

Eira simply smiled. It had worked, hadn't it?

And so it continued in that way. Eira used her knowledge of Snotlout to influence his behavior. And her tactics worked. She felt proud of herself for figuring it out. She really did know people after all!

"Good work today, everyone," Hiccup said once they had all gathered in the training academy once again. He nodded at Eira and Snotlout. "Especially you two. I had my doubts, but you do make a pretty good team."

Eira smiled. "Thank you, Hiccup. I told you there was no need to worry."

"Of course not since I was a part of the team," Snotlout said haughtily.

"I'm impressed," Astrid said. "You handled Snotlout very well. How did you do it?"

"It turns out all our disagreements gave me all the information I needed," Eira said. "I probed his weaknesses to get him to want to do things my way."

Snotlout frowned. "Wait, what?"

"She used you, bro!" Tuffnut taunted.

"I don't know if that's exactly what she did," Fishlegs said cautiously.

Ruffnut laughed. "Sure, it is. Weren't you watching? He was always the distraction so she could be sneaky. And then she used his impulsiveness and insecurities to get him to follow her. Brilliant!"

Astrid nodded in approval. "Not bad. You're going to make a great addition to the team."

Eira suddenly felt uncomfortable. When they put it that way, she was not quite sure she had done the right thing. "Well, I was just trying to show that I know how to read people..."

"And you did," Hiccup said. "Sorry, Snotlout, but it looks like she won this one."

Snotlout's eyes narrowed. "But she tricked me. I didn't want to do any of that."

Astrid smirked. "Doesn't matter. The fact that she got you to do it at all is pretty impressive."

"She got you good!" Tuffnut said.

"Don't think it will happen again!" Snotlout gave Eira a sharp look. "I thought you were different from them, but I guess I was wrong. Come on, Hookfang." He scrambled onto his dragon and then took to the air.

"What a sore loser," Ruffnut jeered.

"You alright, Eira?" Fishlegs asked in concern.

"You won," said Astrid. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

Eira did not realize she was frowning, and at this point there was no use hiding it. She sighed and shook her head. "I guess I just don't feel like I won." She felt Hiccup's gaze on her, but she was not ready to face him. She had to find Snotlout.

"Really, Hooky? Here?"

Despite his rider's protests, Hookfang landed in the field of daises where Eira had brought Snotlout to teach him about her culture. The viking sighed as he slid off the dragon's back. He looked back and forth at the tree lines, glad they were at least alone.

"What has gotten into Eira anyway? I thought we were fr-" He stopped when he realized what he was saying. "Who am I kidding? I don't need anyone."

Hookfang stuck his face in Snotlout's and glowered.

"Of course, except for you, Hooky!" Snotlout said quickly. "All we need is each other."

Hookfang snorted and bent his head to sniff the flowers.

Snotlout frowned. "I know you like her..." He had liked her too. But if the twins' assessment was correct, the feeling was not mutual. Why had he let himself get his hopes up?

She had been really good with Hookfang. Where had she touched him again? Snotlout reached out to rub his neck. Hookfang turned his head and stared into his eyes. "We're going to be alright," Snotlout said quietly. He moved his hand under the dragon's chin, causing him to close his eyes in contentment.

A smile flickered on Snotlout's face. He was not so bad at this either. No one knew his dragon like he did! "Let's get in some training and I'll see if I can find you some dragon nip."

Hookfang roared his agreement.

Eira was surprised to find Snotlout in the field of flowers she had discovered earlier. She hid in the trees as she watched him talk to Hookfang. She had intended to speak to him, but something held her back.

She found him to be very sweet towards his dragon. However, if she told him that, he would immediately become defensive and deny it. She had to figure out something else. There had to be a way to get through to him.

She returned to town and found Asmund adding some finishing touches to their new hut. She had not spent much time with him since arriving in Berk, but their relationship had always been too formal for them to really be friends. She hoped that would change.

"Good afternoon, Asmund," she said politely.

"Evening, miss," Asmund said. He motioned to the hut. "I hope you will find your new accommodations acceptable."

"I'm sure I will." Her gaze flickered to the ground as her thoughts returned to Snotlout. She had really messed up, hadn't she?

"Is something the matter, Miss Eira?"

Eira opened her mouth to give the standard response, but then she reconsidered. Asmund was the only other person around from her homeland and the person who knew her better than anyone else here. Perhaps he could help. "I've made a big mistake, Asmund, and I don't know how to fix it. I thought I could read people well, but I guess that doesn't mean I know what to do with that information."

"You will learn with practice," Asmund said gently.

"But what if it's too late?"

Asmund gave her a small smile. "It is never too late if you still want to try. Everyone makes mistakes, Eira. What I admire about you is your ability to focus on the future and do what you know is right. Look inside yourself and you'll find the answer."

Eira nodded. "I guess. Thank you, Asmund."

She turned and gazed out at the streets. Did she really know the answer? She closed her eyes and thought about it. Clarity eluded her, but she did feel a general direction. She had gotten into this mess by giving into her frustration and desiring to win the 'competition.' If she was going to fix this, she had to do it for Snotlout's sake, not hers.

She decided then she would do what it took to really know him. She would learn first and then figure out what to do with that information. She would prove to him she was different. She would be his friend.