Chapter 7: Dragon's Edge

Snotlout could not believe Eira had simply agreed to go with Dagur. What was she thinking? She was supposed to stay with him. They were a team. After he and the others were freed from the cage and back on their dragons, he wanted to go after Dagur's ship, but Hiccup beat him to it, telling him to go home. Of course. Hiccup always had to be the hero.

Snotlout had half a mind to turn around and follow him anyway, but Hookfang seemed intent on leaving the graveyard as quickly as possible. Not that he could blame him. That place was pretty spooky. Still, he could not help but glance over his shoulder worriedly.

"She's going to be fine," Astrid said gently. "Eira can take care of herself."

Snotlout scoffed. "I'm not worried."

"Could have fooled me," Ruffnut said.

"If she wants to abandon us for a madman, that's her problem."

"She didn't abandon us," Tuffnut said. "She's right behind us."

Snotlout looked over his shoulder to see Eira and Hiccup behind them on their dragons. He quickly hid his relief. "Good for her." He did not care.

He did not care so much that he ignored her the whole flight home. Not that she tried to talk to him. She did not even apologize!

Soon, the dragon riders arrived back on Berk and landed at the academy. Hiccup immediately pulled out the cylindrical object he had found on the ship. "Well, gang, that did not exactly go as planned," he said, "but at least we retrieved this. It's got to do something important."

"Before you play with your new toy, can we discuss the wisdom of her decisions today?" Snotlout said, pointing an accusing finger at Eira.

Eira appeared surprised. "What do you mean?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "I don't think you're the one who should be questioning people's wisdom, Snotlout."

"Eira is fine just like the rest of us," said Fishlegs. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is that she gave into the bad guy!" Snotlout exclaimed.

Eira frowned. "I did not give in. I had a plan."

"A plan to get yourself kidnapped by Dagur? If you hadn't been so nice to him, he would have left you with the rest of us."

"Exactly! He doesn't know me, so this was my best chance to learn about him and get information out of him. Isn't it better to know your enemy? He certainly seems to know how Hiccup's mind works."

"She's got a point there," Hiccup said. "And she did manage to free herself with Swiftwings and retrieve this device." He held up the object. "She didn't even need my help."

"Good for you, Eira," Fishlegs said with a smile.

Snotlout shot him a look. "She left us!"

"I would have left us if I wasn't in that cage," Tuff said, earning an elbow in the side from Ruff.

"I was going to help you guys before I got caught," Eira said. "Then I changed tactics. It's not like I was in any serious danger. I got the feeling Dagur would not hurt me if I played it right."

"But Snotlout said he wasn't worried about you," Ruff said.

Snotlout crossed his arms and looked away. "That's right. I just... We're partners. We're supposed to help each other... according to Hiccup."

"If this is on my, why are you the one upset?" Hiccup said in exasperation.

"Snotlout," Eira said somewhat cautiously, all signs of defensiveness gone, "are you hurt because you thought I left you alone?"

Snotlout shifted uncomfortably. "I wasn't hurt. But you did leave me, and-"

"I'm sorry." She touched his arm, and he flinched. When had she gotten so close to him? "I should have done more to help you when we were initially attacked. I'm sorry if I made it seem like I abandoned you. Next time, I'll try to include you in my plan, alright?"

Snotlout sucked in a sharp breath and finally dared to look at her. Eira gazed at him with earnest eyes, and he felt his resolve waver and then crash. "Fine. I guess that's alright."

She beamed at him. "Great!" She surprised him further when she leaned in and gave him a quick side-hug. He awkwardly put his arms around her and pat her back.

"So... you two are good?" Hiccup said hesitantly.

Snotlout felt a genuine smile cross his face as he watched Eira return to her Windwalker. For some reason, he could not stay mad at her. "We're good."

Hiccup dubbed his new device the 'dragon eye.' The weird item required a tooth from a Snow Wraith to work, which the dragon riders procured after a harrowing adventure. Afterwards, Hiccup accidentally discovered that dragon fire was also required.

The dragon eye showed a map of islands outside the archipelago. There were weird symbols and drawings of dragons. Everyone agreed this meant there was a lot they had to go out and explore. Hiccup made his case to his father, who agreed to let them all go on the adventure.

Now Eira made her case to Asmund in the middle of their hut. The man had a deep frown on his face as he took in her request. "I do not know, Eira," he said. "This sounds too dangerous for a princess."

Eira's eyes widened. "Don't call me that here! You never know who could be listening." She glanced at the door in worry. "And, yes, it's dangerous, but I can handle it. I made it to Berk just fine, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you had me with you."

"And now I have the other dragon riders. Not to mention Swiftwings. We'll all take care of each other." She offered him her best smile. "Please? We'll stop by often to check in."

Asmund sighed. "What am I going to tell your father when it comes time to write to him?"

"I'll take care of that, don't worry. I'll use a Terrible Terror. That way father will be able to write directly to me."

Asmund raised his eyebrows. "A Terrible Terror dragon?"

Eira smiled and nodded. "Hiccup and the other dragon riders taught them to send messages. I don't know if they can fly as far as Torvald, but it's worth a shot. You could also use one to reach me if needed."

"I suppose that will work." He cast her a wary look. "Promise me you'll be careful."

She grinned. "I always am." She ran up to Admund and hugged him, startling him. "Thank you."

Asmund cleared his throat. "Go on and write that letter now."

So, Eira ran off to do just that. She wrote a quick letter to her family explaining her plans and assuring them that she would be safe. When she was satisfied, she looked around for something she could use to help the Terrible Terror find Torvald. She settled on her elder brother's scarf that he had given her before she left. It should still have his scent all over it.

Letter and scarf in hand, she dashed outside to find the Terrible Terror she had befriended. She had nicknamed him 'Squirt' because of the way he liked to play in the water, and sure enough, she found him lounging on the beach. "Hey, buddy," she said. "I've got a special job for you."

The green dragon blinked his eyes open. Upon seeing Eira, he chirped and climbed up onto her shoulder.

Eira chuckled. "Are you up for an adventure?" She carefully attached the letter to his body. "Now go to the owner of this scarf." She let him sniff the scarf all over, and then she tied it around his neck. "Good luck!"

Squirt chirped again and took off.

"Hey, Eira!"

The girl turned around to see Snotlout flying on Hookfang.

"We're going to the great beyond!" he exclaimed. "Are you coming?"

Eira flashed him a grin. "I wouldn't miss it!"

It ended up taking time to find a suitable island outpost outside of Berk. Once they did find an island, they came into conflict with the resident dragons: a group of small, black dragons (with a white alpha) they names 'Night Terrors.' Eventually, they gained their trust, and the little dragons became protectors of the island.

Soon, everyone set to work building their own huts on the island. Eira chose to build hers near the base of the mountain. This was the first time she had ever constructed something like this on her own, and the hard work felt good. The dragon riders also all pitched in to build a clubhouse for themselves and stables for their dragons. It finally felt like home.

They celebrated their accomplishments with a feast in the clubhouse. Eira enjoyed herself for awhile, but eventually she snuck outside to get some fresh air. Swiftwings found her and nudged her side.

"Do you need to stretch your wings?" she said.

"Hey, Eira, is something wrong?" Snotlout said from behind her.

Eira shook her head. "No. I was just thinking about taking an evening flight. Would you care to join me?"

Snotlout smiled. "You bet. Let me find Hookfang."

He returned a minute later, and the four of them took to the skies. They remained near the island, flying circles around it. Eira enjoyed the crisp, clean air and the feeling of freedom flying always brought.

"The stars are beautiful out here," she said after a period of comfortable silence.

"True," Snotlout said. "I never noticed them back on Berk. It seems... different here."

"A lot of things seem different," Eira agreed. "We're out here on our own with no one to tell us what to do or what to think." She paused. "I sort of felt that way when I left Torvald. I was finally free of my parents, and I could do whatever I wanted."

"It sounds almost intimidating in a way," Snotlout said. "How do you know you'll make the right choices?"

"I don't. But if I make a mistake, I can learn from it and improve next time. I would rather figure things out on my own than have a path laid out for me." She looked over at Snotlout to see him gazing at her intently. "Do you have a dream for the future?"

"I don't know about a dream, but I do have a goal: to become the strongest Vikings that ever lived."

Eira chuckled lightly. "I see. And then what?"

"And then... everyone will listen to me and respect me." Hookfang snorted. "Respect us. What about you?"

Eira smiled and rubbed Swiftwings' neck. "I want to explore new places and meet new people so I can teach them how to get along with dragons, gaining us new allies."

Snotlout frowned. "Now you sound like Hiccup."

Eira shrugged. "Is that a bad thing?"

"You're nicer than Hiccup though."

She blushed. "Thank you." She thought Hiccup was pretty nice, but she supposed she was nicer to Snotlout. She cleared her throat to get rid of her sudden awkwardness. "It's getting late. Let's head back before the others worry."

She and Swiftwings led the way back to Dragon's Edge. Back to their new home. Who knew what adventures awaited them?

It was a bright, sunny morning on Dragon's Edge. Eira and Snotlout were practicing their hand-to-hand combat while their dragons watched on, when suddenly, a voice called out from the sky:

"Have no fear! Gustav is here!"

Snotlout immediately froze in his tracks, his eyes going wide. "Not Gustav."

Eira frowned as she relaxed out of her fighting stance. "Gustav?" She looked in the air to see a Monstrous Nightmare flying towards them with a young boy riding him.

Snotlout turned around and pointed. "That's Gustav," he said with a groan.

The Monstrous Nightmare skidded to a halt behind them, and the boy stumbled off of him. "Gustav at your service," he said, smiling at Eira. "And who might you be, pretty lady?" He winked at her.

"She's off limits," Snotlout said sharply.

"Why? Is she your girlfriend?"

Snotlout flushed. "N-No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you're an annoying kid who shouldn't be here!"

Eira giggled. For some reason, she found the entire exchange funny. "Be nice, Snotlout." She turned to the boy. "My name is EIra. It's nice to meet you, Gustav."

Gustav beamed at her. "The pleasure's all mine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Hiccup. Come on, Fanghook." He strode past them with the Monstrous Nightmare on his tail.

Once he was out of earshot, Eira smirked out Snotlout. "Fanghook?"

"The kid's a copy-cat!"

Eira laughed. "Okay, what's the story with him?"

"The story between Snotlout and Gustav?" Ruffnut said as she and Tuffnut suddenly popped up on either side of Snotlout. "That's a good one."

Snotlout groaned. "No, it's not."

"Only because we got you good," said Tuffnut.

"Now I have to know," Eira said, holding back a grin.

"You know the five signs of Valhalla, right?" said Ruff.

Eira nodded. "If you see all them, it means you're going to die, right?"

Ruff smirked. "Precisely. Tuff and I faked the signs so that Snotlout thought he was dying."

"He really started panicking," Tuff said.

Snotlout glared at him. "It wasn't funny!"

"We thought it was," said Ruff.

"And what about Gustav?" said Eira.

"Oh, right," said Tuff. "Snotlout wanted Gustav to be his replacement with the dragon riders and take over riding Hookfang."

"At the time, Gustav idolized Snotlout," said Ruff, "so it was a mutual exchange."

"But then our fun was ruined, and Snotlout realized he wasn't dying, so he cast Gustav aside like an unwanted piece of fish."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "It wasn't like that. Besides, you two are at fault for tricking me."

"We sure are," Ruff said, high-fiving her brother.

"So, Gustav already had a taste of the dragon rider life, and he didn't want to give it up," Tuff continued. "He went off to the woods and found his own Monstrous Nightmare, which he named 'Fanghook.'"

"Very original."

"But we didn't need another dragon rider at the time, so Hiccup kicked him out," Snoutlout said. "End of story."

"You forgot the part where he went after Dagur and nearly got himself and Fanghook killed," Ruff said.

"But somehow he ended up saving the day, and Hiccup said he would train him to become a dragon rider when he was ready," Tuff finished.

The four vikings all exchanged looks. Eira had a suspicion they all knew why Gustav was there. All four of them took off for the clubhouse.

A/N: Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoyed that little chapter. Next up is the Gustav episode!