And here's another fragment of nonsense set somewhere during Race to the Edge with my favorite type of OC-insignificant, and not a catalyst to the main story. Nothing is in order. There are no rules. I love it.

The invaders had left the front door wide open when they stole her family away. Aqua could feel neither the bitter wind bite at her, nor the frozen flakes of snow as they dusted and melted onto her pale cheeks and hair. Her blue eyes remained locked on the trail outside as if waiting for the falling snow to cover the invader's tracks, or at least the dragging trail left by her parent's bare feet. A hawk's piercing cry echoed across the wide expanse of snow-laden ground.

The child shut the door.

0_0_0

"Bwok Bwok BWAGAWCK"

Plucked from her reminiscing by the sound of a chicken's distressed clucking, the huntress blinked, shifting her gaze to the tall blonde male with a plump brown hen cradled under his arm. A rasp accompanied his threatening tone, "I say we put her in the reverse crab defeather-er…er— what do you think?" Undoubtedly… he was speaking with the chicken, but Aqua did not want to know exactly what that type of device could do in reverse. A single cluck and ruffle of its feathers served as a response. "No no, you're absolutely right. She doesn't deserve it."

In a meager endeavor to distract herself, Aqua tested the rope she had been bound with around her legs. Her hands were behind her, securely fastened with iron on her wrists. There was a certain touch of relief to discover at least one competent member amongst the Dragon Riders. A golden haired girl had tied her up properly—they called her Astrid, and she was as daunting as she was compassionate from what could be gathered.

Despite the fact that she had tried to stop listening, the huntress tuned back in at the most unfortunate time—the man had removed his studded helmet, an uneven grin stretched across his slim face, and had begun serenading his chicken in a foreign language.

"Well this is… uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?!" Offense apparent, "You haven't even seen uncomfortable, sister!" Straightening out his pale green tunic, Tuffnut received just the cue he needed to orchestrate a spectacle. His twin sister observed nearby, her expression being the equivalent of rubbing one's hands together in sheer glee.

"You know I really don't think we should keep her here." Another female voice spoke urgently to Hiccup.

"I know, believe me Astrid, her being here gives me a bad feeling too." The young viking's voice responded, reminding her of a foghorn. However, after discovering the huntress prancing—okay maybe not prancing—onto the Edge all by herself, precautions had to be taken.

"Dump her in the middle of the ocean! Boom! Problem solved and fishes fed." Clapping his hands together as if being rid of an encumbering task, the short, stocky one gave a shrug when all eyes in the room incredulously turned to him. "What?! We're all thinkin' it—Thank you, Snotlout!" He exclaimed in the stead of those around him, "You are so welcome, fellow riders. Buh-bye, Snowy!" Wiggling his fingers in a dainty wave at their captive, he headed for the exit. The fruitless exchange concluded with Snotlout folding his bulky arms over his chest, muttering incessantly to himself about being underappreciated.

Eyes glittering like frost, Aqua trained her gaze on Astrid and Hiccup, observing the subtle contact between them. His hand rested gingerly on her shoulder, trailing lightly down her arm as a measure of comfort. "If anything, we've got leverage." That seemed to soften her azure eyes as she dipped her chin in an apprehensive nod.

"I wouldn't really call it that." Everyone turned, moderately stunned by the chiming laugh, normal by all means, that accompanied her words. "No. I definitely wouldn't call it that." Aqua reevaluated. She cleared her throat to clarify, "If you're worried about hunters coming." Shaking her head, Aqua affirmed, "Don't waste your time."

"And you think we're going to let our guards down just because you say so?" Astrid fully faced her, cutting an impressive and imposing figure as she strode forth.

"No. I'm trying to appeal to your common sense." Her tone was caustic at a volume so quiet and even. "Would Viggo really spare the time and resources, for one person, to storm the Edge with all of you on high alert?" The golden-haired Viking pressed her lips together, squinting one eye, and then the other. Brushing her side-swept bangs in a habitual motion, Astrid looked to their leader.

"She does… make a pretty compelling point." More than half of him remained unconvinced, pitch climbing with each, slowly uttered, syllable.

"I hear ya, but I'm starting to agree with Snotlout." Hands on her hips, Astrid shook her head to and fro, "And we all know how ridiculous that is…"

"I heard my name!" A head poked back into the room, brows wiggling like brown caterpillars.

"Guys! Guys! GUYS!" In his rush, Fishlegs collided with Snotlout, sending them both barreling onto the wooden planks of the floor. Untangling himself, clumsily, the Gronckle-rider addressed those present whilst the other male brushed himself off in annoyance. "We've got a major problem!" Panting and pausing as he issued the message, the Viking almost fell over again as his dragon bumped into him from behind.

"What… kind of problem?" Dared Hiccup.

"The giant, scary, angry, slicing-anything-and-everything-in-its-path kind!" Aqua had no idea a person's voice could fathomably reach that high. A distant explosion that rocked the very foundation they stood on demonstrated the potential catastrophe brewing outside.

Astrid scowled, looking to their captive before running out. The rest followed suit. "What the—" She cut herself off, "It's a Timberjack!" Both alarm and confusion shook her voice, rippling through the rest of her friends.

Enormous hooked wings sliced through the air, easily felling a storage building that housed most of their food supply. A few trees were caught in its ruthless sweep. The creature bellowed sorrowfully towards the heavens, narrow tail lashing wildly, knocking over barrels of freshly collected fish.

"I don't understand—Timberjacks aren't aggressive! They actually prefer calm environments." Fishlegs mounted Meatlug, unable to tear his eyes away from the massive dragon.

"We'll try to lead it away from the Edge." Keeping the damage to their outpost minimal was the current objective here. "Distract it until we can figure out what's wrong." A sharp whistle summoned Stormfly in an instant, allowing Astrid to take to the skies with ease. Without pause, the Timberjack demolished two of their lookout towers, bathing them in a brilliant flame.

"Distraction? This sounds like a job for barfelch! BELFART!" The male twin frowned slightly, hopping onto his two-headed dragon.

"What?" Ruffnut yelled dubiously from her side, steering the zippleback towards the fire already spreading to the east side of the Edge.

"I've been trying to combine their names! You know, for professional team building and all that."

"Ooooh Gotcha! Then shouldn't we be trying to combine all of our names?" It was absolutely genius.

"Be careful guys! Remember; Timberjacks have super tough, and broad wings that can take a whole lot of our firepower! Like a huge shield" Even if their goal wasn't to hurt it, getting too close could prove to be detrimental. Fishlegs and Snotlout followed close behind the twins and Astrid to the center of the chaos.

A jet-black blur descended from the sky and landed at the entrance of the Clubhouse with a soft thud. Toothless' unique vibrating call beckoned his rider to him.

Crack!

Hiccup grimaced and turned, seeing their captive's face lightly contorted in pain. With ease she slipped one of her hands from the metal binds. "How—" A second bone-chilling noise snapped the thumb on her released hand back into place. Hiccup allowed a disconcerted sound to escape him.

"I really think you should join your friends on their egg hunt." Flaming sword drawn, the Viking furrowed his brow at her selection of words.

His bright green eyes widened in apparent horror, "You stole a Timberjack egg." It wasn't a question. "And its somewhere on the Edge." Glad he'd worked it out, her lips curved into a vague smirk.

Prioritization won this battle as he spun and ran for his night fury, intent on helping the enraged dragon. He knew exactly where she'd hidden the egg; the only opponent he faced right now was time. Repercussions of letting her go would haunt him another day.

0_0_0

She'd concealed her modified slalom sled well. The Chilblain invention fulfilled its purpose in gliding her swiftly across the water quite a distance with its strong propeller. Originally, ice and snow were the appropriate terrain for this vessel, but her adjustments made it more attune to cutting past waves. A hunter ship awaited her just beyond the calamity of the outpost. It was enough to ensure she wasn't followed to the current location of their operation.

Aqua kept to herself for the brief sail to the temporary, clandestine base. The information she had gathered was basic and jumbled, to be frank. In fact, she was debating whether or not a day had been wasted. Absentmindedly tucking a lock of snow-white hair behind her ear, the huntress ambled to her tent.

"Did you get what you needed from that experience?" So, he was privy her independent endeavor. Honestly, it concerned her how accustomed she was to being snuck up on. Watching, as Viggo seemed to sprout from the shadows and begin to prowl closer, Aqua straightened.

"Just studying the opponent." Smoothly pivoting to meet his gaze, carrying herself impeccably, if not a bit arrogantly, "You taught me that." She punctuated resolutely, eliminating the possibility for him to reprimand her.

"And? Did you learn anything of use?" Viggo played along, admittedly curious. He crossed to her, gesturing for her to continue. Ashamed, she shook her head.

"I was amused, if anything." Still, he waited patiently for a recount. "There are seven in total—only six were present." In detail, she reported the roles of each rider, from Hiccup's leadership to Fishleg's intellect to Tuffnut's… chicken. She then disclosed the Outpost's structure, complete with building types, battle advantages, and the unique differences in elevation. And then went on to summarize the types of dragons involved. "So we have The Leader, The Lover, The Brute, The Brain, The Twins, and The Chicken..." Aqua had added the last one quietly for posterity.

"The Lover." Recalling Astrid and Hiccup's fond interaction as an easily exploitable factor, Aqua cemented what he'd already discerned. He scanned her state, eyes catching on the cloth tightly wrapped around her right hand. "You're growing reckless." Viggo warned darkly. There was no response long enough for him to sigh heavily, "You'd do well to remember not to fail me, Aqua." Reiterating the mantra she essentially lived by, the dragon hunter turned to depart.

"Have I ever?" Her inquiry was earnest, though not lacking in a sprinkle of confidence.

"There was that dealing with the Hysteric Tribe." Idly scratching his jaw, the man spoke with a resigned chuckle, able to predict her audible wince that followed.

"That… does not count."

Thank you for actually reading? I'm legitimately … impressed.