A while after Tuffnut managed to recover Chicken from Blueberry (in reality, Blueberry got tired of being chased around and allowed Chicken to get off his head on her own accord), the humans went to give their dragons a good brushing. Blueberry didn't immediately follow them into the stables, he had to be lured in with some cabbages Hiccup had brought for him, but as Astrid tried to close the door Blueberry shrieked and rushed back outside with bristled plumage. Oddly, when Astrid opened the door again he calmly went back inside to finish his cabbages. Fishlegs concluded he didn't like enclosed spaces. This theory was partly correct, after what he went through with the Hunters, Blueberry didn't want to feel locked up again.
Blueberry perched himself on top of one of the upper stables and watched as the humans proceeded to brush their dragons' scales with some brushes. Well, Snotlout was trying to, the red dragon named Hookfang wasn't being helpful in that aspect. The rest of the humans had no problem with it, he noticed that Goblin and Toothless in particular were enjoying their 'session'.
However, when Fishlegs approached him with a brush, Blueberry moved away, bristling his plumage as a warning. "It's okay, Blueberry, I just want to brush your feathers so you won't have any parasites." Fishlegs explained calmly, making sure not to make him feel cornered, and showing him the brush at all times.
"Perhaps he's not used to it." Heather pointed out.
"Or his rider uses a different tool to clean his plumage." Astrid added.
But Blueberry was having none of it. He stepped away again, this time spreading out his wings slightly at the same time he bristled his plumage and giving a warning hiss, a clear sign his patience was wearing thin.
"He doesn't like baths either!" Ruffnut laugh. "Definitely, we're going to be good friends!"
"Whatever, just get him away from my beautiful self!" Snotlout snapped, but his bravado disappeared when Blueberry turned to him with slit pupils and ears down, and hid behind Hookfang, who rolled his eyes and stepped aside. That boy needed to learn to face his problems rather than hiding from them, especially when it was something he brought upon himself.
"Or perhaps…" Fishlegs started to think of an idea. Blueberry was a bird-like dragon, so maybe… "Hey, Bluefeather, how about we go to the pond?"
Blueberry lifted his ears and crest in delight, and before anyone could do something about it he was off outside. The humans, and their dragons, quickly followed to see what he was up to. By the time they were there, Blueberry was already splashing around in the pond and shaking his whole body with his plumage bristled, just like a bird taking a bath.
Unfortunately, he was so immersed in his bath he didn't notice he was splashing water all over the place, and one of those streams of water flew right into Goblin's face. The Skrill shrieked in disgust and stepped away, trying to shake the wetness off his scales, giving the humans a resentful glare as they snickered. Soon Blueberry stepped out of the pond, dripping wet, and Goblin was quick to step back just as Blueberry shook, snickering in revenge when it as the humans' turn to get soaked. Soon after, the feathered dragon spread out his wings and started plucking his old feathers.
Astrid winced everytime he plucked feather after feather. "Hey, what is he doing?"
"Looks like he's plucking his feathers, but why…?" Fishlegs thought for a moment, and noticed how he wasn't picking them out at random. Warily he picked up one of the shed feathers, and noticed it looked old and worn. "I think he plucks his old feathers to allow new ones to grow."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were picking out the old feathers, snickering as their newest pranks. Blueberry perked up his ears when he hear a small wing flapping, and glanced above just in time to see a tiny green dragon flying towards one of the wooden structures.
"Terror mail!" Hiccup said. "Come on, guys, it could be information about the Hunters."
As the humans went to the mess hall, their dragons stayed behind to talk a bit. Blueberry glanced at Goblin apologetically. "My apologies, I hadn't taken a bath for a good while."
"The look on your face…" Hookfang snickered in delight.
"Very funny." Goblin growled at him.
"Come on, you have to admit, it was funny! And you did need a bath too!" Meatlug added.
"Seriously, now you're on his side?"
Just then, Blueberry heard yet another wing flapping, but this one was heavier and louder than the last. He bristled his feathers and spread out his wings in a threatening posture when he saw a large scorpion-like dragon approaching.
"Nono, cool it down!" Toothless jumped in front of him before he could fire at the newcomer. "That's just Sleuther, he's a friend."
"And looks like he's not alone…" Barf pointed out when h noticed two three smaller spots flying after him.
Belch had the feeling things would get nasty when he recognized who they were. "Hey, Goblin, aren't those…?"
As Sleuther got closer, Goblin's pupils became slits. "Children?!"
"Grapefang?!" Hookfang cried out.
"Windslicer?!" Stormfly followed in dismay.
Blueberry looked at Toothless in confusion. The Night Fury guessed he could explain what was going on. "Hookfang, Goblin and Stormfly's kids."
"Oh."
Sleuther landed a few feet away from the other dragons, releasing Peal and Grapefang from his talons. "I had the feeling they belonged to you."
Lightingbolt and Syrilth cowered wen their father approached with a deep frown, but Pearl stood her ground even though she was trembling.
"What in tarnation are you doing here?!" Goblin growled, baring his teeth. "How did you find this place?!"
"We kind of… followed you." Syrilth said timidly.
"I can see that, but I mean why did you do that when I expressly told you not to?!"
"We were curious! All of you didn't stop talking wonders about this place and we wanted to see it!"
"What you five did was very dangerous!" Hookfang snapped. "What if you ran into a feral dragon, or a whole herd?! Or worse, what if you had ran into the Dragon Hunters!"
"But it didn't happen, stop making such a ruckus!" Pearl soon regretted her choice of words when her father glared at her.
"Seriously, Pearl?! What will it take for you to understand the danger you put yourself in?! To be actually captured by the Hunters?!" Of course he didn't want it to happen, it was just a metaphor.
"Dad, I know you're mad and you have every right to! But yelling at her will only push her into disobeying you again!" Lightingbolt pointed out, to which he received a smack from the tail from his sister. "OW!"
Goblin didn't have the mood to deal with this. "That's it, the three of you are grounded until we get back to Berk!" He hissed. "Now go to the stables and stay there! I don't want to see any of you right now!"
"But-!"
"Now!"
As the three Skrill siblings darted off to the building nervously, Stormfly glared down at Windslicer. "You too, young lady."
Grapefang didn't need to be told he was in trouble too, he quietly followed after his friends under his father's watchful eye. Blueberry and Sleuther had watched the whole scene quietly. Toothless approached them.
"Sorry you had to see that." He said, mostly directing his words to Blueberry. "Goblin is very strict on his children, but he means well. It's just he's been in the hands of the Hunters before, and he knows it isn't a pleasant experience."
"Tell that to me…" Sleuther added bitterly, glancing away at the reminder.
"That's okay…" Blueberry said, glancing at the building the humans had disappeared into. "What do you think they are doing in there?"
"Well, they got terror mail." Belch stated. "It could be anything. Even common messages like 'hey, how are you doing in Dragon's edge?' or 'I love you too, mommy', or…"
"They have more dragons like Bluefeather." Hiccup read the letter from Queen Mala, making sure not to miss any details. "The Hunters have been taking them to the Northern Markets to sell their feathers, it seems like they are very demanded lately."
"It's the first time those dragons are seen around here, the rarest dragons are to obtain, the more expensive they are." Fishlegs pointed out.
"But where are they bringing them from?" Heather added. "None of us had ever seen Bluefeather's kind before, and judging by this we could assume they are not from the archipelago."
"The question is, how far are the Hunters really extended?" Astrid pointed out. "As far as we know, there could be more people like Viggo and Ryker spread around the world and we don't know it."
"Well, according to Mala's informants, there will be another cargo ship transporting more feathered dragons into the Northern Markets. Maybe the Hunters have maps or something indicating where they are getting these dragons from."
"So, you say we go free those dragons and then what? Take them it?!" Snotlout cried out in annoyance. He didn't want more biting Blueberries running around. "What's this, a dragon inn?"
"Cool! More feathers for us!"
When the group glanced at the twins, the two were wearing strange crest-like crowns made of the shed blue feathers, giving them a rather comical look. "What are you two wearing?" Heather asked.
"These are our new Featherhats!"
"Made from 100% feathered-dragon feathers!"
Snotlout shuddered at the sight of the feathers, rubbing his rear when he remembered the dragon's fangs on it. "Just seeing you two wearing anything coming from that feathered maniac makes me sick!"
"Would you stop referring to Bluefeather as a maniac?" Fishlegs said, rolling his eyes. "How would you feel if someone just came and plucked a bunch of hair off your head?"
"Come on, who would want a bunch of hair?"
Tuffnut snickered. "Well, our uncle Lak would want it, he's as bald as Gobber."
"If not more." Ruffnut added with an evil chuckle.
"Hiccup, do you think the Hunters would be holding Bluefeather's rider captive in one of those ships?" Astrid suggested.
Hiccup nodded. "It could be, they would need information on how to handle the feathered dragons."
"And who better than someone who trained one?" Fishlegs realized what he meant.
They had to make a plan.
Next Morning…
She was awakened by the sunlight that filtered through her barred window, it was the only connection she had to the outside. She rubbed her eyes as she stretched out her body, and her vision cleared. Apart from the sound of the ocean from the outside, she could hear the whimpers and growls of the feathered dragons in the cages around her, but none of them was her Blueberry. None of this cries belonged to him, she would recognize it from a hundred other dragons' roars. Still, she did what she could to keep the other dragons comfortable even in her situation.
When she was certain there no guards around, the girl gave a small, almost silent whistle. The feathered dragons in the cage in front of her, two red and one yellow, perked up their ears and glanced at her. They were hungry and frightened, a few of them still sore from their plucked feathers. She took a few berries from her pouch, nd sent them rolling towards the cage. Their eyes lit up at the food, the youngest dragon's head was small enough to fit through the bars and lick up the berries from the floor, while the others had to stick out their long tongues to reach out for the other berries.
A door opening made the dragons cower back into the corners of the cages, and the girl stepped back into the corner as well.
"Okay, you feathered lizards! It's time to eat!" the guard threw one single cabbage on each cage, snickering in amusement when the dragons inside started bickering for it, though he was glad not to be grabbing slimy fish for a change. When he got to the cage the girl was being held in, he threw a small apple inside. He had wanted to eat it himself, but Ryker said to keep the girl fed.
She just glared at him as he passed by, but she quickly grabbed the apple and started to eat it. She didn't know for how much time they would continue to feed her.
She still couldn't believe she had given them what they wanted. She tried to give as much incorrect information as she could, but she also knew they were not stupid. She had given them information regarding the behavior of the Skybiters, though she tried not to give them hints regarding how to capture them.
But these men were not the ones who captured the Skybiters. They were in league, that was for certain, otherwise why would these Hunters ask for information about dragons that weren't in this part of the world anyway? If only she could manage to get out of here…
She froze when she heard a familiar cry from the outside.
