Chapter 24: Dagur's Return

Heather soon grew accustomed to being a dragon rider. She fit in well and helped everyone complete several successful missions. Eira got along with her fine enough... as long as they did not bring up Dagur. She enjoyed the peace, actually, even as she knew it could not last.

One day, Eira needed to talk to Hiccup about something before dinner. She knocked on the door to his hut. When he answered, she was nearly run over by an over-excited figure. It took her a second to recognize the person hugging her.

"Dagur!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I would like to know," Hiccup said from behind him, looking utterly lost and confused.

"Eira!" Dagur exclaimed. "It's good to see you!"

Eira gave him a small smile. "It's good to see you too. Do you need help with something?"

"Heather! I haven't seen a trace of her. It's so frustrating!"

Eira exchanged a look with Hiccup. She resisted the urge to say 'I told you so.'

"Yeah, I'll bet," Hiccup muttered.

"I gotta have a dragon!" Dagur went on.

Hiccup blinked. "What?"

"To find Heather, I need to cover more ground faster! Dragony fast!"

"Makes sense to me," Eira said. Hiccup shot her a look, and she simply smiled at him. He should have known this would happen.

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, I-I don't think so-"

Dagur rounded on him. "Hiccup! You and Toothless owe me. I saved your lives!"

"You also tried to kill us."

Dagur frowned. "Did I ... really?! I think maybe in here, I never really wanted to!" He pointed to his heart. "Right, Eira?"

The girl nodded. "I believe. You did save my life a long time ago."

Dagur grinned and turned to Hiccup. "See?"

Hiccup groaned. "Oh gods. I-I can't train you to ride a dragon."

"Why not?"

"Yeah, Hiccup, why not?" Eira said, crossing her arms. She wondered how he would get out of this. Dagur might suspect he still didn't trust him, but she thought it more likely he didn't want him to run into Heather. That would be bad. Still, it was his mess to clean up.

"I don't have the time," Hiccup said dismissively.

Dagur's shoulders sagged, and his entire demeanor deflated. "Oh. You're too busy. I get it. Sorry. Guess I'll be going." He turned and started for the door. "First maybe I'll, you know, take a stroll around the base. See a few old friends. Make a few apologies."

Hiccup's eyes grew wide, and he rushed to block the door. "Uh. No, no, no, no. Uh, you can't!"

Dagur looked at him suspiciously. "Why not?"

"Because, uh, you've got to be up early tomorrow, uh, to start your training!"

Dagur's face lit up. "Are you serious? But I thought-"

"I guess you're persuasive," I said.

"Okay, well, we'll meet first thing in the morning on the far side of the island," Hiccup said quickly. "That's where the best wild dragons are. Actually, you should go there right now and camp out for the night!"

"Great idea! Thank you, Hiccup! Thank you!" Dagur enveloped Hiccup in a hug.

"Don't-don't mention it."

"You're so small and cuddly."

Eira laughed at Hiccup's uneasy expression. Clearly, he was not used to this side of Dagur.

"Please never say that again." When Dagur let him go, he let out a breath of relief. "Uh, so I'll see you later. Remember, on the far, far side of the island."

"But I wanted to catch up with Eira," Dagur said.

"Eira can go with you," Hiccup said. "Keep you company." He shot her a look that told her not to argue.

Eira shrugged. She had no problem keeping an eye on him. She wanted to catch up with him as well. "Sounds fine with me. Come on, Dagur."

Dagur grinned. "Bye, brother!" He eagerly followed Eira out the door, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone. Eira almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Hiccup had never been so nervous at dinner. He explained away Eira's absence by saying he sent her on a special mission. They bought it... for now. He hoped she was keeping Dagur calmed. He tried to causally bring up Dagur, but Heather reacted violently to the idea of her brother changing. It looked like he had a lot of work to do.

"I better go," Heather said, standing up. "I have island patrol tonight."

"No, Eira's doing that," Hiccup said quickly.

"Maybe I should catch up to her and keep her company," Snotlout said.

"No." Hiccup looked from Snotlout to Heather. "I have a way more important mission for you two."

Heather blinked. "You do?"

"Of course I do. It's, uh, one final recon mission to check out our target. You and Snotlout."

Snotlout gave him an odd look. "What are you talking about? We went last time."

"I know. That's why I'm sending you again. To be on the lookout for any last-minute changes."

"That sort of makes sense," Heather said.

Hiccup smiled in relief. This just might work. "And you should leave tonight."

"Tonight?" Snotlout exclaimed, leaping to his feet in a panic. "But I haven't even packed. Argh! It's gonna take a whole day to get there."

"Jeez, Hiccup, are you trying to get rid of us?" Heather said.

"Yes. No, no! That's crazy. Why would I-"

Heather smiled. "I'm kidding, Hiccup. Relax. Come on, Snotlout. Sooner we leave, the sooner we get back."

"Take your time," Hiccup said as the two of them left the clubhouse. "And by that, I mean 'be safe.'"

He had never been more relieved to see them gone. He knew Eira would want him to tell them all the truth, but he just couldn't. Not when Heather still could not accept him. Why did Dagur have to show up out of the blue? Even when he was trying to be good, he seemed to mess up Hiccup's plans.

"That cluster of stars looks like a Deadly Nadder, see?" Eira pointed to the sky and drew the pattern with her finger. She and Dagur laid side by side in the grass, gazing up at the night sky. Swiftwings lay off to the side, watching over them.

"Yes, I see!" Dagur said excitedly. "And there's a Skrill!"

Eira smiled. "That does kind of look like one."

"It's going to be so great to finally get my own dragon!"

"It sounds like you want one for more than just to find Heather." Eira rolled on her side to watch him.

Dagur grinned. "Oh yes! That's one of the many things I thought about when I was alone. I remember everything you and Heather showed me about your dragons, and I want a relationship with a dragon like you too have. Then the three of us can have many great adventures together!"

His eagerness made Eira slightly uneasy. "I would not bet on that just yet. You still have to repair your relationship with Heather. She might not be ready to get that close that fast."

Dagur faced her and gave her an anxious look. "But I saved her!"

"Yes, but you did a lot of bad things before that. And Heather... she's going through rough time. She has spent a lot of time alone as well, and I don't think it's gone as well for her as it has for you. It's hard for her to trust people, so you're going to have to work really hard at it."

"I will! Don't worry about me, Eira. I'll do whatever I can to fix this!"

Eira gave him a small smile. "Good. I know you will." Perhaps she was overthinking things. They were family, after all. Maybe everything would work out.

She kept these thoughts in mind as Hiccup met them the next morning. He appeared cautious around the overly excited Dagur, so she offered him a reassuring smile. Dagur already had practice riding Swiftwings, so this should not be too bad.

"Been thinking about what dragon I should ride," Dagur said. "Something that makes a statement. You don't have any Skrills hanging around, do you?"

Hiccup blinked. "What? No."

Dagur turned to Toothless. "Well, I suppose I could settle for a Night Fury. Not the same 'zhush' as a Skrill, but I could get by."

"Sorry, he's one of a kind."

"How about a Razorwhip? Like Heather's?"

"Dagur, I already picked out a dragon for you. You're gonna love it." Hiccup faced the trees and whistled.

Dagur followed his gaze. "He's awesome, right? And dangerous? Because I already picked out a name. 'Shattermaster.'" A green Gronckle bounded out of the trees and excitedly shook his body like a puppy. Dagur's face went blank. "Is, uh, is this my dragon's breakfast?"

Hiccup motioned to the dragon. "No, this is Shattermaster. The perfect dragon for you. Stable, easy to ride."

Eira smiled and approached the Gronckle. "Aw, he's cute." She rubbed his head, and he nuzzled into her hand affectionately.

"Yeah, uh, I am not riding that dragon," Dagur said.

Eira frowned. "Why not?"

"Then you're not riding any dragon," Hiccup said.

"It's beneath me," said Dagur.

Eira shot him a sharp look. "That's not nice, Dagur. Every dragon is special in its own way. None of them are beneath you."

Swiftwings snorted in agreement.

"She's right," Hiccup said. "Prove to me that you can even get on this dragon."

Dagur scoffed. "Easy. I got this!" He reached out and grabbed the Gronckle's tail. He tried to use the tail to climb on, but the dragon took off. "Get- Get back here!" He lost his grip and tumbled to the ground.

Eira gasped and ran after him. "Dagur, are you okay?"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "I tried to tell you."

Dagur groaned as he got up. "You made your point, you two. We'll do it your way."

Dagur quickly became determined to master the Gronckle. Hiccup tried his best to teach him how to control the dragon, and Eira went along for support. However, Dagur was a bit too eager to learn everything right away, and this resulted in him knocking into Toothless and sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Bad Dagur, bad!" Dagur said in frustration. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."

"You're trying to do too much too soon," Hiccup said. He held up his artificial leg, which was bent from the impact. "Great. I can't fly Toothless like this."

"Gimme it. I can straighten it out." Dagur snatched the leg and attempted to fix it.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

As expected, Dagur broke the leg in half. He winced. "Oops. Here you go." He handed Hiccup the pieces.

Hiccup sighed and accepted them. "It's okay. I have a spare back at my hut. I'll take your dragon and be back as soon as I can." He made his way over to Shattermaster and mounted him. "Okay. Now you stay right here. Don't go anywhere. Don't do anything. All right? Eira, keep an eye on him."

"Got it," Eira said. She looked at Dagur, who smiled at her. A moment of silence passed.

"Okay, I'm bored," Dagur. He turned to Toothless, who looked at him curiously. "Hmm..."

When Eira realized what he intended to do, it was too late. He mounted Toothless, and the Night Fury took off at lightning speed. So much for keeping an eye on him. She scrambled onto Swiftwings and took off after him.

Eira's heart sunk when she realized they were headed straight for the base. By the time she reached the main part of camp, she found her friends angrily surrounding Dagur and tying up his hands. Toothless sat nearby, looking on worried.

"Guys, stop!" Eira exclaimed. She jumped off her dragon and ran to the group. "He's on our side!"

Astrid cast her a suspicious look. "Then where's Hiccup?"

Eira pointed behind her where Hiccup was approaching. "Right there."

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs cried.

"You're alive!" Tuffnut said. He paused. "Wait. You're alive?"

"What's going on here?" Astrid said. "Dagur says you're buddies now and you're teaching him to ride a dragon?"

Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it's a funny story, actually. Let's talk somewhere else..."

Eira untied Dagur, and then all of them headed to the clubhouse. Finally, Hiccup told them the story about how Dagur saved his life.

"Then I flew away in one direction and he sailed off in the other," he concluded.

"So, Dagur saved your life?" Astrid said in shock.

Dagur smiled. "And Toothless's. Right, bud?"

Toothless growled in agreement.

Hiccup shrugged. "Yeah. Pretty much."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell 'em, brother?" Dagur said, giving him a look.

"He told me and I told him to tell the rest of you," Eira said. "But he kept putting it off."

"Because I wasn't sure how you would feel about it," Hiccup said. "'Cause I wasn't sure how I felt about it."

"To be fair, I have done some pretty questionable things," Dagur said.

Fishlegs glared at him. "Questionable? Trying to kill us is not questionable!"

"One step at a time, Fishlegs," Eira said. "He's trying."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tuff said. "He saved you. I get that. But why are you teaching him how to ride a dragon?"

"I'm looking for Heather," Dagur said.

"Yes, and the sooner I teach him how to fly, the sooner he can leave to go find her, wherever she might be," Hiccup said.

The twins exchanged a look. "Dagur, have we got some good news for you," said Ruff.

Hiccup turned Dagur so his back was to the twins. "Yes, yes, we do. Fishlegs, here, is the best Gronckle trainer in the world. He can help improve your flying."

Fishlegs smiled. "Aww. Thanks, Hiccup."

"Maybe you should go train him."

"Good idea," Eira said, eyeing the twins who were still trying to get Dagur's attention.

"Now!" Hiccup said.

Fishlegs seemed to catch on. "Oh... Yes, right away."

Dagur grinned as he followed him out of the clubhouse. "I want to know everything. Everything!"

"Okay. Where to begin? The Gronckle-"

Eira chuckled as she watched them leave. "That was nice to see. Good thinking, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded. "Thanks. Now to deal with these two..." He gave the twins a look.

Eira slipped outside while he cleaned up this mess. She did not want to intrude on Dagur's training, but she wanted to be around just in case. It had been awhile since she saw him so happy. She liked it.

Snotlout and Heather raced back from their mission. Everything had gone well, and they were eager to report back and get started with the real work the following day. Heather arrived at the clubhouse first. Snotlout got there right after here. At Hiccup's surprised look, he said, "We raced back."

"Uh, I think I know who lost," Hiccup said.

"You!" Heather said venomously.

Confused, Snotlout took a good look around the room. Then he spotted the problem. Dagur sat at a table, chatting with Eira, Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs. What in Thor's name was he doing there? Had Eira invited him because Heather and Snotlout were gone?

Dagur appeared oblivious to Heather's hostility. He stood up and started towards her, his arm opened wide, and a grin on his face. "Sister!"

"Heather, no!" Hiccup cried as she ran towards Dagur with her axe raised.

Eira scrambled out of her chair and placed herself in between Dagur and Heather. She blocked Heather's axe with her own and glared at her, which Snotlout found quite frightening because of how unnatural it looked on her. "Back off," she said.

"I guess a hug is out of the question?" Dagur said.

Heather lowered her axe and spun on Hiccup instead. "What is going on here?"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "I would like to know that too."

Hiccup sighed. "I can explain."

And explain he did. Hiccup weaved a tale about running into Dagur on a deserted island and having his life saved by his former enemy. Then he explained how Dagur came to him looking for Heather, and he agreed to teach him to to ride a dragon so he could 'look' for her. Neither Heather no Dagur appeared amused.

"Hiccup Haddock, I cannot believe you kept my Heather from me," Dagur said in frustration. "I was so worried. Was she alive? Was she dead?"

Heather shot him a look. "Oh, please. Drop the act." She turned to Hiccup. "And you! Bad enough you were consorting with my mortal enemy, but then you teach him how to ride dragons? Have you lost your mind? I expected this from Eira but not you."

Hiccup looked at her wearily. "Heather, he saved my life."

"I don't care! You can't trust him. You think it's a coincidence that he shows up now before this mission? It's a setup, Hiccup. Can't you see that?"

"To be fair, that was my first thought, too," Astrid said.

"It is not a setup," Eira said. "He's here because he cares about you. He helped you escape from Viggo because he cares about you. He's willing to give up his old life because he's found something better. How can you deny him the chance to choose differently?"

Heather glared at her. "He set me adrift as a child. He killed our father, for Thor's sake. He tried to kill each of us multiple times."

Dagur appeared sadder and more defeated than Snotlout had ever seen him. "Most, if not all, of those things are true, but I am trying to change, sister." He gave her a pleading look.

Heather simply turned her glare on him. "Don't ever call me that, spy."

Dagur winced as if he had been struck. "I'm not a spy. I don't know how I could possibly prove that. I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it." He looked at her hopefully.

"Heather, please," Eira said.

But Heather's expression of firm resole did not change.

Dagur's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I don't think I would take it, either, if I were you. So, thank you all for the hospitality, but I think Shattermaster and I should be going. Good day." He slowly dragged his feet towards the door.

"Oh, come on," Hiccup said. "Dagur." But he did not stop. "Dagur."

Dagur looked back at him, revealing tear filled eyes. "I said 'good day.'" And then he was gone.

Snotlout frowned. He never expected to see that. "Was he crying?" He did not know whether to believe Dagur or not. It was all so much to take in, and he was not always the best judge at things like this. But Eira was.

Heather scoffed. "Yeah! Tears of laughter, at us."

Eira rounded on her with an enraged expression. "How can you do that? Are you so filled with hatred that you're blind to the truth? He's changed."

Heather met her glare with one of her own, refusing to back down. "People don't change."

"Yes, they do. If given the chance. That is what my people have taught for generations." Anger flared in her eyes as she moved in closer. "You see the world as a dangerous place full of evil people, but the truth is good and evil reside in each of us. Every day we face the choice between good and evil, and every day we can change our decision regardless of the days past. We can choose the good in us. And the greatest thing we can do for each other is to help each other choose the good. Dagur is your family, Heather. That was enough to inspire him to change, and it should be enough for you. Do you not realize the power you have to help him? Without proper support, he may well turn back to evil. To let that happen - to deny someone the ability to choose good - that is the cruelest thing you could do." She gave Heather a look of pure disappointment. Then, without waiting for a response, she stormed out of the room.

Stunned silence permeated the room before Snotlout broke it: "Wow. I've never seen her so angry." The others murmured in agreement.

Snotlout found himself leaning towards Eira's side. He may have been jealous of Dagur in the past, but he could not deny Eira was simply giving him what she had already given Snotlout. And that was the reason why he liked her so much. He shook his head at Heather and then left the room to go after Eira and Dagur.