Preparations

The Rescue Riders spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up their Roost. The didn't even notice the heat anymore, with the excitement of the Night Fury King coming to their neighborhood. Layla opened their food barrels; they had plenty of fish, but they were running low on apples and other foods.

"We're running low on food," she said.

"I'll get more from the village," Edelweiss volunteered. She mounted Eclipse and they headed down to the village.

They landed in the plaza. The vikings were doing their normal chores. Edelweiss dismounted. She was used to the village by now. She and Eclipse went around gathering supplies for the Roost. She loaded up her saddlebags.

Axle Fink was hauling freshly chopped wood through the village back towards his uncle's workshop. The heat was unbearable, sweat rolled down his neck. He paused in the shadow of a house, to get out of the sun for a few minuets. Just then he spotted the new dragon rider, and her black dragon in the plaza. The woman was loading her saddlebags up with bags of berries. Axle couldn't help but find her very pretty. And with her standing next to a dangerous dragon somehow made her even more attractive. Axle put the wood down, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked over to them.

"You're the new dragon rider right?" He asked. The black dragon tensed and growled. The rider looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Axle isn't it?" She asked.

"Yup, Axle Fink," Axle said proudly. The girl narrowed her eyes, her dragon gnashed its teeth.

"I've heard of you," the girl said, coldly. "You live with that no-gooder Magnus, and you keep causing problems for the Rescue Riders."

"In my defense, my uncle is the one causing them problems," Axle said. "I just do what he says so he doesn't kick me out. I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"Hmm, that's nice," the girl said. Axle walked a bit closer to her.

"So what's your name?" He asked. The girl narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh, well just trying to creat small talk with a fellow Rescue Rider," Axle said.

"You're not a Rescue Rider," the girl said.

"Well, I used to be," Axle said. "It all had to do with a baby dragon I found."

"I don't want to hear it," the girl said annoyed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the Roost." She turned towards the black dragon. Axle rushed to block her.

"You didn't give me your name yet," he said. Suddenly the girl struck like a snake, and Axle found himself pinned to the black dragon's side, with a cold blade placed agains his throat.

"It's Edelweiss," she hissed. "Edelweiss Dragonborne. And if you value your head, you will not get in my way again."

"Sure thing," Axle squeaked. Edelweiss released him. Axle breathed a sigh of relief. Edelweiss sheathed the small dagger. She mounted her dragon.

"Have a nice day Axle," she said, as the dragon turned around and flew off. Axle watched them fly away.

"Wow," he gasped. "She's amazing." He turned around to head back to the pile of wood. But his legs gave way and he fainted.

Edelweiss and Eclipse landed back at the Roost. The cleaning seemed to be going well. Layla was sweeping out all the dust and fish bones.

"I got the stuff," Edelweiss said.

"Great thanks," said Layla. Edelweiss dismounted, and the dragons helped her unload her saddlebags. They put it all into barrels. When that was done Edelweiss and Eclipse helped with the rest of the cleaning. It took up the rest of the day.

Soon the sun went down and the stars came out. The Rescue Riders gathered around the bonfire with their usual dinner of fish.

"Ah, nothing like a heaping pile of fish after a hard day's work," Winger sighed.

"Yeah," Cutter agreed. "But fish is alway good, even without all the hard work." He swallowed the last of his fish, then rolled over onto his back.

"I can't wait to meet the Night Fury King," said Layla.

"Me neither," said Dak. "And it'll be so cool if he stays in our Roost. Maybe he can show us his awesome moves."

"He's sounds kind of scary to me," said Burple.

"He can be at times," said Eclipse. "But only to those who try to hurt him or someone he cares about."

"You'll be fine Burple," said Edelweiss.

"Okay, if you're sure," Burple said. Then he yawned. "I'm so tired after all that cleaning."

"Me too," said Aggro. "Let get to bed." Everyone agreed. After all the fish were eaten and the fire was put out. The Rescue Riders headed into the Roost, Edelweiss and Eclipse headed back up to their cave.

Winger woke up early the next morning. He jumped to his feet and ran outside. Edelweiss and Eclipse were already in the yard training again. Edelweiss was using a pair of swords this time. She spotted Winger and paused.

"Morning Winger," she said.

"Is the King here yet?" Winger asked.

"No, he's not coming for four more days," said Edelweiss. Winger sighed with disappointment.

"I understand your excitement Winger," said Eclipse. "It's not everyday you get to meet your hero."

"Oh, I can't wait," Winger said eagerly. Edelweiss patted his neck.

"Try to put it from your mind for a while," she said. "Distract yourself with something else, it'll make the time go by faster. That's what my mom said when I was waiting for Eclipse's egg to hatch."

"Okay, how?" Winger said. "The Roost is all cleaned up."

"Well what do you usually do around this time?" Eclipse asked.

"Um, Dak and I usually go on a morning flight," said Winger. "But he's not awake yet." Edelweiss and Eclipse exchanged a glance.

"You want to come with us? We're going on a morning flight," said Edelweiss. "We're pretty excited too."

"Sure," said Winger. Edelweiss put away her swords, which had blades that folded into their hilts. She then headed over to Eclipse. "You can ride on me if you want." Edelweiss stared at him.

"On you?" She asked. "But I never ride another rider's dragon, unless it's an emergency. It's how I was raised."

"That's very considerate," said Winger. "But having you on my back will be different, and it'll help distract me better."

"Okay, if you don't mind Eclipse," said Edelweiss.

"I don't," said Eclipse. Edelweiss shrugged and mounted Winger. The two dragons took off and headed along the cliffs.

They flew higher to the highest peak on the island. The sun rose over the ocean. It's light reflected of Eclipse's black scales, giving them golden highlights. Edelweiss found it very interesting and fun riding Winger, but it wasn't that different from riding Eclipse or Black Widow.

"Wow, you are a fine dragon Winger," Edelweiss said.

"Thanks," said Winger. "You're pretty great too."

"I was flying on dragons the day I was born," said Edelweiss. At that moment they spotted the Silver Ironclaw perched on a high cliff looking down at her dragonets. The two dragons flew up to her.

"Good morning Ms. Ironclaw," Edelweiss called to her.

"Well good morning Rescue Riders," said Ms. Ironclaw. "What brings you young things all the way up here?"

"Just passing the time," said Eclipse. "What are you doing?"

"I'm teaching my babies how to behave around the Night Fury King," said Ms. Ironclaw. "I don't want them causing him any trouble."

"So you guys are preparing for him too," said Winger. "We cleaned our Roost yesterday."

"Everyone's preparing for his arrival," said Ms. Ironclaw. "Now if you'll excuse me, we need to go hunting in a bit."

"Right, and we should get back to the Roost," said Eclipse. "The others will be awake by now." The two younger dragons turned around and headed back towards the Roost.

They landed at the Roost and Edelweiss dismounted as the rest of the Rescue Riders came outside. The sun was well risen by then.

"Morning guys," Eclipse said. "Who wants breakfast?" She knocked over a fish barrel. The dragons and riders gathered around he fire pit, which Aggro lit up. Edelweiss laid against Eclipse's side, chewing on salmon meat.

"What are we going to do today?" Dak asked.

"We have four more days until the Night Fury King comes," said Summer. "And the Roost is all cleaned and ready for him."

"Lets work on our target practice," said Winger.

"That's a great idea," said Cutter. He spun on the spot and shot several spikes, none of them hit any targets.

"I could work on my aim as well," said Edelweiss. "I just need to grab my bow and arrows from our cave." She got to her feet and mounted Eclipse. They took off back towards their cave, while the rest of the group set up the targets.

They came back, Edelweiss now had her long bow and quiver of arrows. There were also a few throwing knives sheathed in her utility belt. Eclipse landed and Edelweiss dismounted.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Dak asked, leaning on a long stick.

"I'll go fist," said Cutter. He stepped up to bat, and focused on his orange target. Edelweiss watched, absentmindedly twirling her small dagger. Cutter took his shot, but only hit the outer rings of the target.

"Nice one Cutter," Winger praised.

"I'll go next," said Summer confidently. She turned her attention to the green target. She shot a spout of water at it, and it hit it dead center. Then Aggro went next and hit the red target, setting it on fire. She beamed. Then Winger fired a power blast at the blue target, knocking it over.

"Perfect shot as usual," said Dak.

"Ha, you think that's perfect," Eclipse said, stepping up to face the black target. She fired a plasma blast and it hit the target. It shot backwards, hit a boulder, bounced off it, and crashed into the door to the sleep cave. It busted the hinges causing the door to fall over. The target came to rest on the threshold.

"Whoops," Eclipse said, guiltily. They went over to asses the damage. Three of the hinges were laying in pieces. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay, Hannahr can fix this," said Layla. "It was an accident."

"Still, Edelweiss and I should get the hinges fixed," said Eclipse. "My parents taught us to be responsible."

"Okay," said Layla. "I can't argue with that." Edelweiss picked up the broken hinges and put them in her saddlebags.

"We'll be back later," she said, mounting Eclipse. "And we'll help you fix the door." Eclipse spread her wings and took off.

They flew down to the village and landed near the blacksmith. Edelweiss dismounted and pulled out the broken hinges. She went up to the blacksmith. Hannahr was hard at work.

"Hey Hannahr," Edelweiss said. Hannahr glanced up and paused what she was doing.

"Edelweiss, good to see you," she said. "What brings you here?"

"We've had an accident up at the Roost, and these hinges broke," said Edelweiss. "You think you could fix them?" Hannahr picked up the hinges.

"Should be no problem," she said. "I'll get them fixed right up." She turned back to her forge and got to work. Edelweiss and Eclipse watched. "So what are all you guys so excited about?" Edelweiss looked over at Eclipse, who nodded.

"We're about to get a visit from the King of Dragons himself," Edelweiss explained. "All the dragons in this area are preparing for his arrival."

"Ooh, the King of Dragons you say?" Hannahr said. "That does sound exciting. What's he like?"

"He's a Night Fury named Toothless," said Edelweiss. "He's really powerful, but he's pretty friendly and cute too." Unfortunately Magnus Fink was walking passed at that moment.

"Did you say a Night Fury?" He asked, glaring. Edelweiss looked sourly at him. "The Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself?"

"That's right," Edelweiss smirked. "I forgot people call him that."

"We can't have that monster come here," Magnus said stubbornly. "He'll blast everything in his path."

"Aw, is little Magnus scared?" Edelweiss taunted. "Does he need someone to hold his hand and check for monsters under his bed?" Magnus's whole head went red.

"I am not scared of anything," he roared, putting his hands on his hips. Eclipse flashed her wings, making Magnus flinch. Edelweiss smirked.

"Right," she laughed. Magnus growled.

"Are you going to be much longer?" He demanded. "I need to pick up some parts for the blacksmith, and I'm not interested in waiting in line."

"I'm done when I'm done," said Edelweiss cooly.

"Get out of my way ugly rat!" Magnus roared. Eclipse growled and knocked him over with her tail. He landed right in the mud. This made him madder. "If you can't control that dragon, you shouldn't be here!"

"Oh you're right of course," Edelweiss sighed, then she scolded Eclipse. "Eclipse, bad girl. Sit." And Eclipse sat, right on top of Magnus, squishing him further into the mud. Anyone who was watching, including Hannahr, busted out laughing. Magnus squirmed and babbled in gibberish.

"It's useless to fight Magnus," Edelweiss said, still sneering Magnus instantly went limp, looking humiliated. Hannahr placed the newly repaired hinges on the counter.

"Here you are, these should hold up for a real long time," she said.

"Ah, thanks Hannahr," said Edelweiss. She took the hinges and gave Hannahr several scrapes of belzium. "You're the best. See you later." Eclipse got to her feet, finally releasing Magnus. Edelweiss mounted her and they headed back up towards the Roost. Magnus got to his feet, and stomped off muttering angrily to himself. Everyone he passed pointed and laughed at him.

He reached his work shop where Axle was oiling the Mechano Dragon. The boy looked up when Magnus stomped around the corner.

"Hey Uncle, the Mechano Dragon is all oiled up," Axle said.

"Excellent, we'll need it," Magnus said evilly. "The King of Dragons is coming here, and it's a Night Fury."

"A Night Fury!?" Axle said, looking a bit nervous. "The Unholy Offspring of Lightening and Death Itself? That's the scariest dragon in the world."

"Yes," said Magnus. "It could tear us all to pieces if he comes here, we can't let that happen. Axle, we're going to catch that Night Fury. We'll sell it to the highest bidder, and hopefully they'll take it far from here. The other dragons will follow their precious king, including those Rescue Runts, and we'll be rid of the dragons for good."

"That's brilliant," said Axle, beaming.

"Of course it is," Magnus boasted. "But catching that dragon won't be easy, so we must prepare. Come Axle, we need to get to work." They both headed into the workshop.