Chapter 29: Almost Found

Eira did not run into Snotlout the next day. She could have sought him out, but she wanted to give him some space. Still, she wondered what he could be up to and if he was feeling better. So, she found Hiccup to ask him how his talk with Snotlout went. Before she could even get a word out, the other riders suddenly barged into the room, all complaining about the Viking in question.

"He totally ruined my training exercise!" Astrid exclaimed.

"And he totally ruined my serenity garden!" Fishlegs said.

"And let us not forget he almost got us killed," Heather added.

"We're mainly here to watch the drama unfold," Tuffnut said, exchanging a look with his sister.

Eira frowned at Hiccup. None of this sounded good at all. "I thought you talked to him."

"I did talk to him," Hiccup said. "It must not have stuck."

"You have to do something, Hiccup," Astrid said.

Hiccup took in a deep breath. "Look, Snotlout is clearly going through something right now, and we need to be there for him as hard as that can seem sometimes. We're a team. He's one of us."

"Hiccup's right guys," Fishlegs said. "While flowers can be replanted, a fractured team can take years to fix."

Eira nodded. "Exactly. All of this is probably worse on him than it is on us."

"Just so we're clear, the tides have turned," Tuffnut said. "There's not going to be any banishing of anyone?"

Hiccup stared at him. "No banishments, Tuff."

Ruffnut frowned. "I should have stayed in bed."

"I should have stayed under that bed," said Tuff.

"Okay, I agree that Snotlout's a member of the team," Astrid said. "But we have a mission to destroy the dragon root. How are you going to snap him out of this?

Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "That is a good question."

"Perhaps you could remind him how valuable he is right now?" Eira suggested. "He likes to know he is appreciated."

"I will take that into consideration."

They left it at that. The following day, Hiccup gathered everyone around a map of the dragon root camp and explained his plan.

"Now Viggo's growing the Dragon Root in these fields, underneath camouflaged tarps," he said. "They make the arrows over here. And this is their stockpile. The island is heavily fortified."

"Sounds complicated," Astrid said.

"If by 'complicated' you mean 'impossible,'" Tuff began, "and if by 'impossible' you mean 'not possible,' then I - I actually... I'm lost now."

"Nothing's impossible," Fishlegs said. "I'm sure Hiccup has a great plan."

"We're going to do a practice run here at the Edge, just to make sure we're perfect," Hiccup said. "And Snotlout's gonna lead the mission."

Snotlout appeared as surprised as everyone else. "Me? Now?"

Hiccup gave him an encouraging smile. "Yes you. Now."

"You can do it," Eira said.

Snotlout nodded. "All right. Right, okay, I'm the leader. So..."

"So, that means you have to pick who drops the barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel on the arrow stockpile," Hiccup said. "It has to be a precise drop so Toothless can blast it."

The twins jumped up and down with their hands in the air, begging to be picked.

"I'll do it," Snotlout said with uncertainty. "I'll do it." This time he spoke with confidence.

"You sure?" Hiccup said.

"Do I not look sure?"

Astrid moved in close to Hiccup and spoke in a low voice, "Are you sure about this?"

"He needs a confidence boost," Hiccup said. "This'll be good for him."

"Yeah, but Hiccup-"

"That's why we're doing a training run. I'll be right there in case something happens."

"This may be what he needs to get control of his anxiety," Eira said. "Let's just see if it works." She sure prayed it would work. Otherwise they would surely be in for a mess.

Everyone found their dragons and prepared for the mission. Snotlout and Hookfang led the way to the practice area, carrying the barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

"All right, riders," Snotlout said. "Astrid, Heather, twins, take out the catapult. Fishfa...legs and Eira, focus on the farm. Hiccup and Toothless, get in position to blast the barrels and burn the fields!"

The riders split up. Eira assisted Fishlegs in shooting at the makeshift farm. Then she looked up to see how Snotlout was doing. It should be about time to drop the barrel. Hiccup and Toothless appeared ready to shoot, but Snotlout and Hookfang were swaying back and forth.

"What's wrong with Snotlout?" Astrid said in confusion.

"I dunno," Hiccup said.

"Oh no..." Eira groaned. "I think his anxiety's acting up. He's so afraid of making the wrong move that he's paralyzed."

"How do we help him?"

Eira bit her lip and shook her head. If she knew the answer to that, they would not be in this situation to begin with.

"He's all over the place!" Heather exclaimed.

"Drop it now Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted.

"Look out!" Hiccup cried.

Hookfang roiled around in the air because of his unstable rider and ended up tossing the barrel of Nightmare Gel towards Hiccup and Toothless. Heather managed to blast it before it hits them. Horror-stricken, Snoutlout immediately flew back to the Edge. Eira took off after him.

Snotlout trudged through the grass, carrying a bag on a stick. Hookfang unhappily followed behind him. It was all over now. He was a failure, just like he always feared. How could he ever face his dad again?

"Snotlout!"

He stopped and turned around to see Eira running towards him. For a second, his heart lifted in hope, but then reality crushed it. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a mission?"

She stopped in front of him, taking a moment to catch her breath. "So do you."

Snotlout frowned. "I'm not going on the mission. You saw what happened. I was a mess. You can't rely on me as a leader or a dragon rider."

Eira shook her head. "That's not true, Snotlout. I rely on you a lot. We're partners."

Snotlout looked away. "Maybe you should find a new partner."

"You don't mean that! What happened today was a mistake. You were anxious. We can work on that."

Snotlout grit his teeth in frustration. "No, we can't. Don't you get it, Eira? I tried to take my dad's advice and become a leader, but I failed. I'll never be anything great. I might as well give up now."

Eira gazed at him with sympathy and sadness. "You've got it all wrong. You don't need to seize a leadership position to be great. Success is determined by what you think is important, not your dad or anyone else. I already think you're great. You're my best friend. Doesn't that count for something?"

Snotlout wanted to respond in the affirmative, but his father's words flashed in his mind. "My dad said I don't need friends. You'll all turn on on me if you can't use me to get something."

Hurt flashed in Eira's eyes... and also something else he did not understand. "Do you believe that, Snotlout? Do you think I am just trying to get something from you?"

Snotlout faltered. He had not expected her to ask him so directly. "I - I don't know. Maybe. You don't always say what you're thinking."

Eira frowned. "I'm sorry about that." She took a deep breath. "Right now I'm thinking that I stick around you because I care about you. The others do too, and we all really want you on this mission. Will you please come with us?"

Looking into her eyes, he wanted to say yes. He wanted another chance to prove himself. And yet... He could not risk messing it up for the whole team. "I'm sorry, Eira, I can't."

She nodded. "Fine. But this isn't over. When I return, we'll talk again." She looked over her shoulder once as she walked away. And then she was gone.

Eira could not stop thinking about Snotlout even as she and the other riders neared the dragon hunters' dragon root island. She had never seen him like this, and she did not know what to do to break him out of it. She would have done anything to help him.

"Diamond formation, gang," Hiccup said. "Stay low to avoid the catapults. Fishlegs, ready the barrel."

"Ready!" Fishlegs said.

Eira forced her thoughts down so she could focus on the battle. She could not afford to be caught off guard here. The dragon hunters saw them coming and readied their arrows. Swiftwings dodged them and blasted the camp with her water balls.

The battle was going in their favor. Eira caught a long enough break to check in on Fishlegs and Hiccup, who hovered near the camouflaged tarps. It looked like it was about time to blast the barrel.

"Now!" Fishelgs called. Meatlug dropped the barrel and Toothless blasted it, leaking Monstrous Nightmare gel all over the tarps.

"Nice shootin', Toothless!" Hiccup said. "Now let's roast some Dragon Root and go home." Toothless flew closer to the tarps, but just when he was about to shoot, Snotlout and Hookfang appeared out of nowhere and pushed him out of the way of a harpoon that suddenly shot out from under a tarp. Hiccup looked at them in surprise. "Snotlout?"

"It's a trap!" Snotlout shouted.

Swiftwings blasted at one of the tarps, forcing it to fly off and expose dragon hunters with harpoons underneath. "He's right!" Eira said. But how he figured it out, she had no idea.

"Evasive action!" Hiccup ordered.

"Circle back around!" Astrid said. "Wait, Snotlout!"

Eira caught on to what Snotlout was doing and dove to the tarps with him. He glanced in her direction but did not ask her to leave. The destroyed all the tarps and then returned to the others.

"Now we can mow the field," Snotlout said. "Follow me, I'll draw their fire."

"You got it!" said Ruff.

"We'll flank'em," Astrid said once the dragon hunters were gathered in one place.

Snotlout, Eira, and Astrid flew to one side while Fishlegs, Hiccup, and the twins flew to the other. They worked together to beat back the hunters and destroy their weapons. But then Hiccup got separated from the others and appeared to be in danger.

"Snotlout, peel off and help Hiccup," Astrid said.

"No way," said Snotlout.

"Go! I'll be all right!"

"I'm not leaving your wing!" Snotlout looked at Eira. "Or you, partner. I'm sorry."

Eira shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We'll be fine!"

"Go now!" Astrid said.

Snotlout reluctantly left them. He neared Hiccup just as a hunter fired a harpoon at Toothless. He intercepted it but got hit in the process. The force of the blow sent him tumbling off Hookfang to the ground.

"Snotlout!" Eira cried. She did a quick scan to make sure she was not needed and then shot after him. She stumbled off Swiftwings and fell to her knees next to her friend. "Snotlout?" Her heartbeat picked up in fear. She gently shook his shoulders. His eyes were closed, and he did not respond. "Are you alright?"

Having won the battle, the other riders landed and gathered around them, looking on in worry. "Snotlout, can you hear us?" Hiccup said.

"Snotlout?" Astrid said in concern.

Eira lifted Snotlout's head and placed it in her lap. Tears swam in her eyes as she stroked his hair. He had to be fine. She could not lose someone else. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt him stir.

Snotlout opened his eyes and looked at her. "Eira?" He sat up. "Did we win?"

Relief flooded Eira's chest. "You're alright!" She flung her arms around him, bringing them both to the ground.

Snotlout chuckled as he hugged her back. "I wasn't about to leave you."

Eira let go of him and smiled. "Good." She glanced back to the others to see they seemed pretty happy about the outcome as well. Maybe now he would understand how much they cared about him.

"That was some move, Jorgenson," Astrid said.

"You were amazing," Eira said.

"You saved my life," said Hiccup.

Snotlout smirked at him and held up two fingers. "Yeah. Two times."

"But if the dragon root crops aren't here, where are they?" Fishlegs said.

Snotlout glanced at the sun and then scanned the island. "There." He pointed to the mountains in the distance. No one else had any better ideas, so they set off.

Sure enough, they found dragon roots crops growing at the highest point of the island, directly in the sun. Snotlout looked on proudly as Barf and Belch lit the plants on fire.

"You see, Hiccup," Snotlout said in an authoritative tone, "some plants grow in the sun, and some in the shade, and some in the, some... the partial something, and some in the also partial... the something."

Eira laughed. "You discovered that all on your own?"

Hiccup smiled. "You know, I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of you, Snotlout. But who really knows what the future holds for any of us?"

Snotlout nodded. Yeah, I've been thinking. Whatever greatness I end up doing, and trust me, it will be great, it's gotta be what I want to do. Not what my dad wants me to do." He looked at Eira, and she smiled at him.

Hiccup appeared surprised at the admission. "You know, we may not be so different, after all."

Snotlout approached Eira soon as they returned to Dragon's Edge. He knew he had hurt her the most the past few days, and he wanted to make it up to her. Thankfully, she readily agreed to walk to the beach with him. They used to go there often, but lately they had not found the time.

"You really were great back there," she said as they stepped onto the sand. "Your dad is wrong about you not needing friends. It seems to me you're at your best as a leader when you're looking out for your friends."

Snotlout gave her a small smile. He had not thought about it like that. "You may be right." He stopped and faced her. "Listen, Eira, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I wan't thinking straight."

"Clearly not. That's what I tried to tell you."

"I know. I appreciate you trying help me out. I just want you to know that-" He hesitated. He hated talking about feelings, but she deserved to know the truth. Her calm demeanor encouraged him to continue. "You're my best friend too, and you are important to me. If I ever forget that again, feel free to hit me on the head."

Eira chuckled. "Hopefully it won't come to that. But thank you. And if you ever have problems with your dad again, you know you can talk to me, right? I understand what it's like to not want to meet the expectations of those you love."

Snotlout looked at her in surprise. "You do? I thought you'd be the perfect daughter."

Eira smiled almost sadly. "Not in my father's eyes. He never wanted me to come to Berk, you know. He didn't believe in my destiny. He wanted me to settle down and marry someone he approved, but I didn't want that kind of life. I hated feeling like I disappointed him."

Snotlout felt his heart move with sympathy. "I had no idea. Is it still that way?"

Eira shook her head. "Thankfully, no. He respects my decisions now and supports me. For awhile it was difficult, but we got through it because we love each other. And you will too. One day, I know your dad will be proud of you for being who you are."

Snotlout smiled at her. He liked that idea very much. "Thanks, Eira. I have plenty of time to make that happen, but right now I'm happy as things are. I like being here with you as friend."

Eira grinned. "Me too. Now, let's go have some fun!"

Snotlout heartily agreed.

A/N: Everything seems fine now, but there's more Defenders of the Wing coming up. And Dagur will be back soon...