A.N.: I'm back! Again, the beta work was done by Cke1st, who inspired the reference I used in this chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own HTTYD. If I did, I'd have more Riders of Berk episodes dedicated to the Thorston twins and Fishlegs.
If Scatty had been initially cold towards Toothless, now she was borderline hostile. She had let herself be distracted by Toothless' rider, who had held out the tempting dragon nip to her. As a result, her human fell ill. Scatty did not like that at all. She had roared and snapped at the other rider, and wouldn't have let the boy carry her rider to the village healer had Toothless not convinced her otherwise. Well, Toothless did most of the carrying.
That dragon befuddled her. Her fellow Night Furies in Nott were single-minded, and their daily life was a survival of the fittest. They looked down on Scatty because she was small, and they deemed her unfit to be part of the patrol team, especially because she was female. But that didn't stop Evander from bonding with and looking out for her. In return, she spent every waking moment looking out for him and nobody else. After all, isn't that what dragon partners are supposed to do? But this was the first time she encountered a dragon that also looked out for another dragon's rider, or another dragon, for that matter.
Why couldn't he sit quietly like that Deadly Nadder by the curve? Or maybe fly away with the Gronckle, Zippleback and Monstrous Nightmare she saw earlier? Even as she sulked on one corner, a stone's throw from the healer's abode at the edge of a cliff, he kept distracting her from listening in on the humans tending to her rider. He kept trotting around her field of vision, making soft rumbling noises. Annoyed, Scatty bared her teeth at him. In response, he sat in front of her, turning his great big eyes on her and sniffing.
'It'll be okay,' he seemed to tell her through his croons. Then he did something she had never seen before.
She heard the sound of retracting teeth. Toothless lifted the edges of his serpentine mouth, revealing his gums, and leaving him entirely vulnerable to attack. The sides of his mouth went higher than the others, giving her a dragon version of something that her human did when he was happy. Toothless was smiling at her?
Throughout the entire episode that followed, a Deadly Nadder kept watch. "Keep an eye on those two," her human, Astrid, had instructed her. And it was for good reason; the other riders, who had been initially been tasked by Hiccup to look after the new Night Fury, had gone flying not too long after the three disappeared in the elder's house. Stormfly had looked up from her instinctive preening when Scatty pounced on Toothless. She tried to tell them off and behave like good dragons, to no avail. Scatty proceeded to fire small rounds of plasma at Toothless, who ducked, rolled, and jumped out of harm's way just in time. Oh yes, being stuck outside with two Strike Class dragons was taking a toll out on Stormfly, the dragon-sitter.
Scatty idly wondered why Toothless wouldn't just take off. And then she managed to set his red tail on fire. Wait! Were Night Fury tails supposed to be partly red and be able to catch fire?
Startled, Toothless lost his balance and disappeared out of view when he fell off the cliff. With a cry, Scatty dived after him.
…
Hiccup thought his ears were failing him.
"But that's just a story!" Hiccup protested, but one look from the elder told him all he needed to know.
"Tell us more about this island," Astrid prodded.
"The Isle of Night is marked by a hollow mountain with a snow-capped top," Evander answered in a monotone voice. "Nott village is hidden inside the hollow mountain by a labyrinth of caves and underwater passages. Nottlanders live off fish and edible fauna, and are led by a pair of praetors."
"Praetors?" Hiccup wondered out loud, wishing that Fishlegs were here. Evander shuddered, but continued to talk.
"The founders of the village adopted a Roman political structure and enforced the Code of Nott, which made all Nottlanders swear an oath of secrecy, as part of a pact with the Night Furies that nested on the island."
Hiccup gasped. "Night Furies! So the island is their private nest? And it's being kept secret by you Nottlanders?"
"Yes."
"Are there other dragons there?" Astrid asked.
"Only their species inhabit the island."
Astrid and Hiccup exchanged eager looks. Hiccup now had a very tangible lead on other Night Furies, and Astrid understood his happiness. They didn't see that Evander's face muscles twitched, as if irritated by something.
"Do other villagers ride dragons?" asked Hiccup.
"Yes. If it is willing, a Night Fury can be partnered to a ten-year old human and they are paired for life."
Hiccup yelped in excitement. The Isle of Night DID exist! It really IS the home of Night Furies! And he had a native in front of him! Hiccup thanked Thor for the storm that led this Nottlander to Berk. Now, if only he could search for that island and reunite Toothless with his kin… but Evander's eyes refocused and he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
"How would you get to the Isle of Night?" Hiccup asked eagerly.
"Sorry, what?" Evander asked, wide-eyed. He glanced at Gothi suspiciously, and the elder gave him another mysterious smile. Evander felt as if he swallowed the bitter broth again as he realized what just happened. "I told you guys about my home, didn't I?"
Astrid's smirk told him all he needed.
"Oh gods, no," Evander said breathlessly, horrified. "No! I shouldn't have told you about this."
"Why not?" Astrid crossed her arms. "You show up here and we don't kill you, whereas you tried to kill Hiccup on first sight. It's the least you could do."
Evander's gaze landed on Hiccup. What Hiccup saw in the other boy's dark eyes reminded him of how wild Evander's eyes had been when he first saw the Nottlander. Hiccup was very disturbed at how the boy was near hysterics, like he was trying to cling to whatever sanity was left to him, and it disturbed Hiccup more that he didn't know why. Not yet, at least.
"I'm not supposed to tell you. I'm on oath," Evander explained. The newcomer was startled to find a hand on his shoulder, steadying his shaking frame. The elder squeezed his shoulder gently.
"You doped me," he told her reproachfully. Gothi shrugged, as if to say 'It had to be done.' "Thanks for the broth, but you don't know what you've done. You've condemned this island to be annihilated!"
"What do you mean?!" demanded Astrid. That got her attention, and the smugness dropped from her face. Behind her, Gothi pursed her lips and turned back to her divination.
Evander put his head into his hands, and began taking deep, calming breaths. When he resurfaced, he said, "I need to see Scatty. Where is she?"
"Outside with Toothless," Hiccup replied, just as they heard a series of plasma blasts in the distance, as well as a roar which Hiccup recognized to be Toothless'.
…
It was a perilous journey down from the elder's house. Apart from several close calls and a torn tunic later, Hiccup, Astrid and Evander were able to make it safely to the rocky mainland. The scorched rock face leading to higher land loomed ahead of them. All they saw were burn marks and one restless Nadder. No Night Furies. Stormfly remained on the rock ledge, and she was screeching at something below.
"Stormfly, what happened?" Astrid was first to reach her dragon partner. The Nadder stared deep into Astrid's eyes, and jerked her head to the ocean below. Hiccup craned his neck and stepped out as far as he dared. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except that two dragons were missing, as were the supposed-to-be dragon guardians.
Evander took one look at Stormfly and blanched. "Dut-duh-duh. I'm dead. They've flown away."
"Toothless can't fly without me!" Hiccup cried out.
"What?" Evander's face twisted in confusion.
"His artificial tail fin needs to be controlled by a rider in flight," Hiccup answered. "He can't fly by himself!"
"Let's go look for them," Astrid decided. She and Hiccup mounted Stormfly, and pulled a stunned Evander on with them.
…
With Stormfly's help, they found the two missing dragons on Thor's beach. Hiccup, Astrid and Evander were surprised to see how Scatty had changed. Somehow, Toothless had earned Scatty's trust, and the two were playfully wrestling each other. Occasionally, one of them would shoot plasma, and the other would try to swat it with a wing, a paw, or another round of plasma. Stormfly settled nearby, keeping her cautious eyes on the pair of Night Furies. She even neglected her preening; her spines tensed every time a round of plasma was shot.
"Wow, Scatty seems to like Toothless," Astrid noted. Hiccup mirrored her smile. He would have been thoroughly content that Toothless had found a playmate of his own species now, except for that annihilating business Evander had brought up, and that Toothless' red tail fin had suffered a severe burn. By the looks of its charred remains, the tail needed replacing.
"That lucky guy," Evander muttered, a crooked grin forming on his pale face.
"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked. Evander just grinned, his hand on Hiccup's shoulder for support. He wasn't supposed to be walking around yet, let alone flying on a Nadder to locate his dragon partner. But Evander needed Scatty. It was a comfort thing.
"So. What were you saying about Berk being destroyed?" Hiccup asked casually, as if this was just him asking which fish he should cook for dinner.
"How can you be so casual about it?" Evander asked incredulously.
Hiccup shot him a withering glance. "Oh I don't know. Maybe if you would just explain to us why you were bursting at the seams earlier trying to tell us about it, then we'd take you seriously."
Evander bristled. Between the twins, he was more of the nutty curious one, while Elene was the fun-loving sarcastic one. Hiccup's sarcasm painfully reminded Evander of Elene. Another problem he had to solve.
"Give me a minute," Evander said, his voice abnormally shaky. Letting go of his grip on Hiccup's shoulder, he stepped forward and called his dragon partner. "Scathach!"
The female Night Fury's ears twitched up at the call, and she bounded towards her rider joyfully. Toothless' ears drooped when she left, but he settled when Hiccup and Astrid came for him and Stormfly, who looked very much relieved to see Astrid.
Scathach the Night Fury warbled excitedly, happy that her rider was okay.
"Hey, girl, you found a new friend?"
Scatty crooned and nuzzled her rider affectionately. Evander smiled and scratched the dragon's neck absently. "I'm glad. But, listen. You know the oath I swore when we first met?"
The Night Fury cocked its head to the side. Her yellow-green eyes flashed with recognition.
"I broke it," Evander admitted. Scatty's eyes widened. "I was forced into it. I'm sorry, girl."
Scathach snorted, and poked him with her nose playfully.
"What? You're not upset by it?" Evander gaped at his dragon, who fixed him under a stern gaze.
"Okay, so you're upset to some degree, but why are you being so light about it?"
Scatty waved her tail, and averted her lamp-like eyes. Evander followed Scatty's gaze to see Hiccup and Astrid laughing about something while Toothless and Stormfly settled comfortably by their riders. Scatty flexed her tail fins in front of Evander, and jerked her head in the general direction of Toothless. And then he understood.
"Oh."
…
With the dragons socializing among themselves, Evander, after deciding to trust them, explained the basics of the Code of Nott and the whole annihilating business to them. Hiccup, and Astrid both agreed not to tell anyone else about Nott save the chief, which was a big relief for the Nottlander. Hiccup felt sorry for Evander, when the latter confessed grimly that he couldn't return to his village now to avoid setting the Berk Ragnarok day earlier.
"I don't get you," Astrid said. "First, you attack Hiccup, then you tell us that you don't want your clan to attack Berk."
Evander turned away from them. He watched the seawater beat against the smooth rocks. He felt like his life had a sudden similarity to the fate of those rocks. He was rough and unpolished; would these recent turn of events smooth him out too? But how should he be smoothed? Did he want to be changed?
"Tide's setting in," he said, glancing once to the rising water level. "We should get going."
…
Scatty was feeling guilty for burning his tail, but was glad when Hiccup was not angry about making a replacement. With much gusto, she guided Toothless when it came to using the tail for stability, and for once she was glad she had paid attention to her mom about flight assist. They swooped inside the academy after Stormfly and Astrid, and were glad that it was mercifully empty of other dragons and people. Except for one elder standing at the center.
Gothi made it clear that she wanted the younger ones to follow her. But what of the dragons?
Toothless and Scathach were left at the arena, much to the latter dragon's dismay. Evander didn't want to attract too much attention, and he was pretty certain that a Night Fury merited a second or even a third glance on Berk. Evander promised her a basketful of fish if she stayed put there, and Scatty agreed. Toothless would not let his new friend be upset, and they continued where they'd left off at play time.
Hiccup and Evander turned their backs on their Night Furies with apprehension. What if they disappeared again?
Stormfly had wanted to go with her human, but Astrid muttered quietly to her, saying, "Guard them for me? We'll be back soon."
The Deadly Nadder eyed the two black dragons anxiously. Dragon-sitter again. Oh joy.
Gothi led them down to the village proper, where the rest of the Hooligans were wrapping up their chores for the day. As they made their way through the streets, Evander was scrutinized by the other villagers. Evander returned their stares with what his twin nicknamed "the dragon-stare, "because she said it reminded her of her own Night Fury's glare. They went straight to Gobber's place, which turned out to be a blacksmith shop converted into a dragon-vet clinic. A dragon tooth hung at the entrance, which fascinated Evander.
"That's from Hookfang," Astrid supplied, when she caught him trying to touch it. Evander quickly dropped his hands.
"Oh, I thought about that." He grinned sheepishly. "So why are we here?"
"Gobber's the only one who can interpret Gothi's picture predictions," Hiccup explained, as the elder ushered them inside. Hiccup went straight to a back room, and set the remains of Toothless' tail there.
Gobber, as he turned out, was a typical Viking who spoke with a strange accent. Gothi prodded him with her wooden staff. He jumped, pointing his left hammer hand threateningly. The elder just gave him the 'look', and he backed down.
"What brings ye lot here in me shop?" he asked, replacing his hammer hand with a hook hand. Hiccup stepped out of the backroom.
"Gobber," Hiccup began, gesturing to boy beside him. "This is Evander. He was grounded on Berk after the storm last night. I found him earlier and… uh, I think Gothi's here to tell us about what we should do about him. We need you to read her doodles."
Gothi whacked him with her staff.
"Sketches," Hiccup corrected himself, rubbing the spot she hit. Evander was starting to dislike the elder less after she made him drink the broth spiked with what he suspected to be truth potion.
As the elder started to scribble on the ground, Gobber gave Evander the once over, and said, "Yer not bad for a newcomer. Some storm yeh went thru last night, eh?"
Evander nodded fervently. Gobber gave a hearty laugh. "So, where're ye from?"
Hiccup, Astrid, and Evander exchanged looks.
"I'm from up north," Evander supplied. Gobber gave him a shrewd look, but the boy peered over the elder's shoulder. "So what does the elder want to tell me?"
Astrid raised an impressed eyebrow. The boy knew how to handle suspicion, she would give him that.
"She says tha' you'd need our help if ye want to find yer sister," Gobber interpreted. How he managed to make sense of the drawings, Hiccup couldn't fathom.
"Obviously. Since I can't get around without you Hairy Hooligans." Evander said darkly, as if a nerve of his had been touched.
"You didn't say anything about a sister," Astrid said. "Was that why you looked so upset when you saw Ruff and Tuff?"
"Yes. We got separated when we flew into the storm last night." The boy muttered sadly. His eyes widened when he used the term 'flew', but luckily the blacksmith/dragon vet was busy studying the newest doodles.
"An' tha' we'd have a week to prepare fer an atta—" Gobber paused, and his hook hand dropped to his side. "An attack! Are yeh sure, Gothi?"
The elder shot him an impish glare. For a small wizened lady, Evander thought she was mighty scary. And that was shoving the thought of an attack aside.
"Wha' sort of attack?" Gobber asked. Gothi scribbled again. Hiccup and Astrid thought it looked like a bearded baby riding an elongated worm that sprouted two spikes. Evander was sure it was Night Furies storming the island and burning the village down. He bit his lip, preparing for the worst.
"Trolls taming worms?!" Gobber blurted out, as if his nightmares had come true. Gothi added an obscure detail, and Gobber squinted at it for a few moments then declared, "No, it's Alvin and the Outcasts riding dragons!"
"Alvin's riding dragons?" Hiccup piped up, tormented by the idea.
"How could they learn how to—?! I recovered the Book of Dragons from him!" Astrid exclaimed. She looked at Hiccup, whose eyes were glaring at the furnace as if it was his archenemy.
"Mildew," Hiccup said firmly. "I taught him how to bond with a Nadder when we were looking for Toothless. He must have taught Alvin how to train dragons!"
Gobber rattled off a series of very painful ways how he'd want to torture this Mildew person, which surprised Astrid and Hiccup. Evander, however, was looking quite relieved, much to Astrid's indignance. She glared at him, and he shot back, "What? At least you know this Alvin oddity is not going to ride Night Furies here."
"How do yeh know they don' have Night Furies?" Gobber demanded. He brought his hooked hand to Evander's face, but the boy held his ground and stared into Gobber's eyes.
"I— uh, I told him," Hiccup said. Gobber risked a glance towards Hiccup. "Toothless is the only Night Fury for miles around."
"Hmmm…." Gobber began sizing up Evander again, when Hiccup tapped his shoulder.
"So… you go with Gothi and alert the rest of the village," the scrawny boy said.
"An' wha' are yeh goin' ter do?" Gobber pointed his hook hand at Hiccup.
"I'm going to warn my father," he replied, dropping his gaze to floor. Evander wanted to ask why Hiccup's dad was so important to this. "He's gone to another village for a treaty."
"But, Hiccup, trips like that last for two days even on a dragon," Astrid countered. Evander wanted to point out that on a Night Fury, the time would be halved at the very least, but he stopped himself. "And you don't even know where that is, exactly!"
"Stoick told me." Gobber shrugged. "Yer dad said it's up north."
"Wait. Stoick the Vast is your dad?" Evander stared wide-eyed at Hiccup. "You're the chief's son?"
"Got a problem with that?" Astrid asked, balling her fists.
"No, I don't!" Evander amended. It confused him that it was Astrid who spoke for Hiccup, who had a scowl etched on his freckled face. Evander raised his open hands and laughed uneasily. "By the way, I could help you since I know my way around the northern lands and seas. What's the village called?"
Evander stared into the blank faces of the Hairy Hooligans.
"Unfortunately, Stoick forgot ter say the name of the village."
All three teens glared at the blacksmith/vet, and Gothi respectfully remained silent while watching the whole exchange.
"A' right! I was busy tending to that Zippleback's molar! I don' know if he did say it."
"Gobber!" Both Astrid and Hiccup cried out.
…
"An attack." Hiccup blurted in disbelief, once the adults left to gather the rest of the Hooligans at the great hall. He needed a moment before he started on the burnt tail fin. "By the Outcasts riding dragons."
Evander wondered why those Outcasts riding dragons seemed such a surprising idea to Hiccup, when he found the boy to be a natural rider. Evidently, riding dragons, which is one thing he grew up with, had been a recent phenomenon to these Hairy Hooligans.
"Is dragon riding new here?" Evander asked.
"Yes, it is," Astrid answered impatiently, ignoring the Nottlander's surprise. "And stop looking so upbeat, Evander."
"Look," Evander replied. "I don't know who this Alvin and those Outcasts are. They could be training chipmunks to sing and dance for all I care, but you really are far better off than you might think. If a swarm of mixed dragon species is giving you a lot of trouble, think about a whole elite squad of Night Furies and their equally strategic riders!"
"You're right, you don't know Alvin!" Astrid snapped. "He's the worst Viking you could ever go up against, because he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. He blackmailed Heather, and sent her as a spy just to learn the secret to dragon training. He managed to kidnap Hiccup just to learn how to train dragons! Now that he's on a dragon… "
"I hate that he's using dragons as weapons," Hiccup spat out, disgusted.
"Dragons are not weapons for one to exploit," Evander agreed. There was a dark solemnity in his tone that Astrid noticed, and her respect for him rose up a couple of notches.
"All this talk is not helping us find the chief," Astrid pointed out.
"There must be something he's mentioned," Hiccup muttered, immersing himself in thought.
"Maybe we could ask a tracker?" Evander suggested. When the others came up blank, he scoffed. "Come on! You know that dragons have a keen sense of smell! Scatty's not as good as Cinder, the best tracker on Nott, but she'll be able to locate your dad."
Astrid and Hiccup both looked at Evander, who grinned sheepishly. "Okay, so next problem! What do you guys want to do now?"
Eyes burning with determination, Astrid punched the wall of the smithy/clinic. "That's easy. We'll prepare for the attack. No Outcast is taking Berk without a fight. We will defend our land."
Astrid rounded on Evander. "And you? Where do you stand?"
"I have to look for my sister," the boy answered shortly, trying to be certain about what he said. But to Hiccup and Astrid, he only looked uncertain.
"There's a 'but' in there somewhere," Hiccup noted.
"I'm already qualified for exile, so I might as well have a little fun before the actual punishment," Evander decided, forming a wry grin. "So Scatty and I are going to help Hiccup locate his father, and maybe help out you guys with this attack thing. Who knows, maybe I might find Elene along the way?"
"Just one question," Astrid said. A skeptical look crossed her face. "How do we know you're not going to set a whole squad of Night Fury riders on us?"
Evander puffed out his chest. "And burn this lovely little Viking village? From what I've seen, Berk is a home for dragons too, and it's endangered. I have nothing to gain from destroying it, or letting someone else do the destroying. So humor me and let me be part of your team to help defend this dragon sanctuary. I'll do my best. Nottlander's promise."
Astrid wasn't entirely assured, but she seemed satisfied for now. Evander read her expression, Just you try.
On the contrary, a small smile crept into Hiccup's face. "That's the spirit! Now who wants to help me repair Toothless' tail fin?"
A.N.: Who else is an Alvin and the chipmunks fan out there? Go check out Cke1st one-shots referencing those cuddly singing threesome. What did you think of this chapter? Like it? Hate it? Tell me why in a review! ConCrit is always welcome.
In the next chapter, Hiccup and Evander head out to track Stoick, or so they initially assumed.