Chapter 14: News to Report

The morning had not gone as planned. First off, the captured dragon riders discovered that Ryker was forcing their dragons to work for him. He promised better treatment if they told him what he wanted to know, but that wasn't going to happen. They were then left alone in their cell to think about their next course of action.

They returned to thinking up crazy plans. Finally, Astrid came up with a good one, and Ruffnut helped out by stealing the guard's key. They escaped the cell and ran to their dragons after Astrid took out the guards. Eira was relieved to see Swiftwings unharmed. Before she could get her out of her chains, however, she was attacked from behind.

All the riders were caught and their captors enraged. Dagur wanted to throw one of them overboard, but Heather had the idea to make them work for them. So, that's how Eira found herself scrubbing the deck with Astrid and Tuffnut, who argued about why Astrid couldn't take out Heather without her axe.

Finally, Eira had enough. "Cut it out, you two," she snapped. "Stop worrying about the past and think about the future."

"She's right," Astrid said. "Sorry, Eira."

"I think Hiccup and Snotlout are in our future," Tuffnut said.

Eira gave him an odd look. "What are you-?"

Astrid suddenly gasped and pointed to the sky. "Look!"

Eira peered up at the sky and saw Toothless and Hookfang flying towards them with their riders. They were coming to rescue them! But what was that they were wearing?

She soon realized it was some sort of armor. The dragons flew right over the ship, but the arrows shot by the dragon hunters bounced right off of their hides. Eira grinned as she watched. That was a brilliant plan!

"Let's go get our dragons," Astrid said.

Eira nodded. But as she, Astrid, and Tuffnut moved forward, Heather suddenly blocked their path. Astrid was the first to attack, allowing the other two to escape. Eira really hoped Heather knew what she was doing. She did not have time to spare worrying about her, however.

She found herself below deck, grabbed her axe, and ran to Swiftwings's cage. This time, she was able to successfully free the Windwalker. She allowed her to nuzzle her for a second before leading her back on deck, where chaos awaited her.

It was time to get out of there. She mounted Swiftwings and took to the air. Moments later, the other formerly captured riders joined her. Toothless and Hookfang took all the shots so the others could get away. And then, at last, they were out of range. They were safe from the hunters. For now.

"Did I see Dagur on that ship?" Hiccup said. "Is he with the dragon hunters?"

Eira bit her lip. "Well..." In all her worry about Heather, she had forgotten to ask Dagur why he had joined with the hunters. She supposed she should have been glad he was not obsessed with defeating Hiccup anymore, but still...

"Not just Dagur!" Ruffnut said.

"Hiccup, we have a lot to talk about," said Astrid.

Eira was glad for the flight back to Dragon's Edge, for she had time to plan what she would say when she was ultimately questioned about Heather.

Hiccup could not believe this. Heather had actually chosen Dagur and the dragon hunters over her friends? Sure, Dagur was her brother, but he could not believe she would change her allegiance so easily. "Are you sure Heather is really on their side?" he said as he looked around at the dragon riders gathered in the clubhouse.

"I'm sure," Astrid said. "You should have seen her, Hiccup. She was very... cold and without an ounce of regret."

Hiccup nodded. He could see the pain in her eyes, and he believed her. He knew she and Heather had been close, so this must be the hardest on her. "I'm sorry, Astrid."

"I can't believe she would betray me like this," Snotlout said in dismay. "I thought we had something!"

"It is unbelievable," Fishlegs said, "but Eira did talk to her to find out the truth."

"And Dagur," said Ruffnut. "She also talked to Dagur."

Hiccup turned to the red-headed Viking. "What did you say to you?"

Eira shifted uncomfortably, and she would not look him in the eye. "She said... she's alone and can't give up the only family she has left." She took a deep breath. "I was suspicious of her because I thought she was faking it in order to kill Dagur, but..." She finally raised her head to look straight at Hiccup. "That is not her plan. She is on his side."

Hiccup could see the truth in her eyes. If Heather had been lying, he knew she would have been able to figure it out. "I understand. Thank you, Eira."

She looked away and said no more.

"What are we going to do, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked anxiously. "What happens when we run into the dragon hunters again and have to face Heather?"

Hiccup hesitated. "We... treat her like we would any other enemy."

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, but they knew there was no other choice. The meeting ended, and everyone started for their huts. Hiccup stopped Eira before she could leave by grabbing her arm. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he said.

She smiled at him, but he could tell it was forced. "Sure. What is it?"

"You talked to Dagur while you were on the ship?"

She nodded. "That's right. He wanted to know if he could trust Heather, so I told him he could."

"Oh." He shook off his disappointment. It was not her fault she had not learned anything useful. "That's all I wanted to know, thanks."

She started to leave but suddenly stopped and looked back at him. "For what it's worth, Dagur seemed really happy to have his sister with him, and I don't think that's a typical sentiment you find in 'evil villains.' Call me crazy, but this might actually turn out to be a good thing. In the long run, I mean. In the short term, it's definitely bad."

Hiccup understood her line of reasoning. He did not think it too probable, but it was the only hope he had. "Thank you, Eira. I'll keep that in mind." Whether good or bad, this news certainly changed things.

Eira sat against a wall in her hut, paper propped up on her legs. The glow of the candle next to her allowed her to see the words she wrote. It was about time she sent a letter to her parents. She really had news to tell them now! She wondered if she should ask them for advice on dealing with the dragon hunters. And should she mention Heather?

A loud banging on her door broke her out of her thoughts. "Eira!" Snotlout shouted. "Let me in before she gets to me again!"

Eira knew exactly what he was talking about. The other night, Tuffnut had been bitten by something, and Snotlout had him convinced he was turning into a dragon. All day, Ruffnut had been dragging Snotlout off to collect bites to prove to her brother that it was not a Lycanwing that had bit him. Eira stood up and placed her paper and pen on a table.

Snotlout nearly fell on top of her when she opened the door. "Thank you!" he exclaimed. He shut the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" Eira asked worriedly. He looked kind of sick, and those bites had to hurt. "If you need treatment-"

"Gobber already took care of me, thanks. I just need a place to hide out."

The idea of Snotlout hiding from Ruffnut made Eira smile. "What's the matter? I thought you were a big, tough Viking. You can't handle one girl."

"Ruffnut is crazy!"

"And I think you feel guilty." Eira knew he could have truly avoided Ruffnut if he wanted to - and hiding out here didn't count. "You're a good friend."

Snotlout scoffed at that. "This is not about that."

Eira smiled. "Sure it's not." She knew better by now. As much as he wanted to make it seem like he didn't need anyone, he really cared about everyone here.

Someone banged on the door again, making Snotlout leap in fright. "Snotlout!" Ruffnut shouted. "I know you're in there!"

Snotlout scrambled away from the door and hid behind Eira. "Make her go away. You said you would protect me!"

This was not exactly what Eira had in mind when she told him that, but she supposed she could give it a shot. She opened the door just enough so she could see Ruffnut's angry glare. "Snotlout's not home."

"Yes he is!" Ruff said. "I saw him run and hide like a baby."

Eira glanced back at Snotlout, who shook his head furiously. She frowned at Ruff. "Well, he's been through a lot today. I think you should give him a break."

"I'll give him a break when I have my brother back! Now get him out here or I'll go in and drag him out myself!"

Eira had to admire her commitment to her brother. She was not sure if she would do the exact same thing for her own siblings, but she would do everything in her power to make it right. Still, she hated to see Snotlout suffer. "I'm not letting you have him. But... I'll go with you in his place."

Ruff appeared taken back. "You will?"

"No, she won't," Snotlout, suddenly appearing beside me. He pushed the door open the rest of the way and scrambled out before I could stop him. "It's my fault; I'll do it."

Ruff looked from my baffled face to Snotlout's still-panicked one. "Interesting..."

Indeed.

Eira watched as Ruff dragged her friend off once again. She contemplated continuing her writing, but she ultimately decided she needed to put a stop to this herself. She closed her door and started for the stables where Tuffnut had locked himself up to 'protect' everyone.

Tuffnut escaped! Of course, Eira was not worried he would hurt them, but she was concerned he would hurt himself. Hiccup and Fishlegs were off to Lycanwing Island to investigate the myth, so Eira did the only thing she could do: she went off into the woods after Tuffnut.

It took her a long time of searching in the darkness, but she finally spotted him. He stood on the edge of a cliff with chicken, howling at the moon. She took a deep breath and went over her plan in her head. If she messed this up... No, she couldn't think like that. She would succeed.

She took a tentative step towards the boy. "Tuff?"

He swung around to face her, a crazed look on his face. "Don't come any closer, Eira! I'll strike!"

"But I just remembered the antidote."

This caused him to pause, temporarily replacing his madness with confusion. "Antidote?"

Eira nodded. "When I was a kid, there was a boy who was bit by a Lycanwing. Our healer worked hard to find an antidote - and it worked. To this day he has never turned into a dragon." She tried not to feel bad about lying to him. The story was true. She simply left out the part that the boy would have never turned into a dragon. Kids could believe some crazy things, and apparently the same was true of Tuffnut.

Tuff gave her a skeptical look. "And what exactly is this antidote?"

Eira opened her mouth to respond.

"TUFF! DON'T DO IT!"

Eira spun around to see Ruffnut run up to them, panting heavily. "He's not doing anything."

"Eira claims there's an antidote," Tuff said suspiciously.

Ruff glared at Eira. "There is no antidote! This isn't real!"

"I knew it," Tuff muttered. "There is no antidote, but this is real. I can feel it!"

Eira shook her head in dismay. She was so close! She wanted to be mad at Ruff, but she knew she was just looking out for her brother.

Ruffnut stepped right up to Tuffnut, who turned away from her. "Look at me, bro! You can fight this!"

"I can't, sis," he said in utter despair. "You don't know the hold it has on me. It has its claws on me."

"I still think-" Eira started to say.

Ruffnut shot her another glare. "Quiet. You've done enough." She turned back to her twin. "What if we fight it together? We do everything together, we always have! Look, I refuse to spend the rest of my life doing anything alone. Do you hear me?!"

Tuffnut placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a sad smile. "You always were the brave one. Mom should have named you 'Tuffnut.'"

'But she didn't. She named you 'Tuff.' I'm begging you! And you know how much I hate to beg, just get down from there!"

Tuff stepped away from her and threw his arms in the air. "It's too late to stop the metamorphosis, can you not see what I've become? MEEEHEHEHE!"

"Tuff, stop!" Hiccup called, striding forward with Fishlegs and Astrid. Eira breathed a sigh of relief. "There is no metamorphosis, alright?. You are not turning into a dragon. Fishlegs, please tell him."

"It's true!" Fishlegs said. "We found the cave of the Lycanwing. It was just a myth to keep people away from these!" He pulled out several Dragon Eye lenses.

"Clever," Eira said.

Tuffnut shook his head. "No. No! I don't believe you. Look at me. I'm hideous, I'm terrifying!"

"Tuff!" Astrid said sharply. "You're not hideous! Terrifying at times, yes. Hideous? No."

"Well, then how do you explain this?" He motioned to his face. "Can't do it, can you, hm? That's what I thought. Now, it's time to fly!" He lifted a foot over the ledge.

"Wait wait wait wait!" came Snotlout's voice. "Wait! I can explain! I can explain it!" He entered into the moonlight, looking like he'd lost a bad fight and dragging an apparently heavy bag behind him.

Tuffnut's eyes widened. "Whoa, you look worse than I do."

"Are you alright?" Eira asked in concern. Maybe she should have tried harder to keep Ruff away from him.

"Uh, Snotlout?" said Hiccup, eyeing the moving bag. "What do you have in that bag?"

"I have what did this!" Snotlout said, pointing to a bite mark on his arm that looked a lot like Tuff's.

Eira gasped. "You actually found it?"

"Ah!" Tuff cried. "The Lycanwing got him too. Save yourselves!"

"It's not a Lycanwing," said Snotlout. "It's not even a dragon! It's a wolf. And I caught him. You're not turning into a dragon, Tuff."

Tuff blinked. "I'm not?" A grin spread across his face. "I'm not!"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," Hiccup said in exasperation.

"I just made you think that!" said Snotlout. "But it's not true. It's funny, but it's not true."

Tuff shot Eira a look. "And you said their was an antidote."

Eira rolled her eyes. "I was just trying to help. It worked on the kid."

Suddenly, the ledge broke off, and Tuffnut and Chicken started to fall. Toothless leapt forward and grabbed Tuff, who grabbed Chicken. Both of them were pulled to safety.

"Oh, thank Thor," said Hiccup.

Eira nodded. "I hear you." As Ruff ran to hug Tuff, Eira turned to Snotlout. "How are you holding up?"

Snotlout shrugged. "Oh, you know, I just feel like sleeping for the next decade."

"So, you learned your lesson?"

"Yes, I learned that both the twins are out of their minds!"

Eira laughed. "Exactly." She saw him watching the twins reconcile. "Do you want a hug too?" Before he could respond, she walked up to him and embraced him, careful not to hurt him. It took him a second to respond, but he did hug her back.

"Thanks," he said with a small smile.

"Uh, Snotlout," said Hiccup, "where's the wolf?"

Snotlout blinked. "Huh?"

Something growled behind him. A wolf leapt out of the bushes and lunged at Snotlout who screamed. Eira managed to pull him out of the way just in time.

"I think it's time we all got out of here," said Tuff.

"I couldn't agree more!" said Eira. Now maybe she could get back to her letter!