Hello everyone!
First of all, please don't kill me. I know it has been a very, very, very long time since I updated but believe me, I wish I could have done so earlier. But my Well of Writing Ideas has run dry and can't seem to come up with anything good let alone halfway decent. Anywho, I finally have another chapter up so hopefully that will appease my avid readers. Hopefully you all know I love you and won't try to hunt me down to hurt me.
On another note, I will just be saying that while my Well of Writing Ideas is empty and no good, I will not be updating as often. Granted I didn't do much of that before but this time I will be giving everyone a heads up instead of just disappearing off the face of the earth.
Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD in any way, shape or form. I wish I did though.
Enjoy!
~o0O0o~
It was the day of departure. As expected, Hiccup didn't get as much sleep as he should have. He'd been up most of the night, too giddy to fall asleep. He wasn't the only one either. Astrid, Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout all had noticeable bags under their eyes but they were still smiling excitedly. Their dragons were also excited, but not enough to make them loose sleep over it. They had assembled in the town square waiting for Alani to come from the healer's hut. The girl had been staying there just in case something happened with her wounds.
Instead of coming from the direction of the healer's home, Alani came bounding out of the forest on Spitfire's back. The girl slid gracefully off the black dragoness as they came to a stop smiling at the Viking teens. She had borrowed a traveling cloak from Astrid but it was about two sizes too big for her tiny form so the sleeves hung well over her hands and it ended at her calf. The outfit she'd worn when she'd first come to the island of Berk had long since been destroyed by the crash landing but her vest had been salvageable. She had traded the clothes from the healer for some of Ruffnut's; a rough long-sleeved belted tunic with her vest and a skirt complete with legs wraps. She looked like a true villager of Berk.
"You guys ready to go?" the crimson-haired girl asked, grabbing her bag from the pile where everyone had just thrown their stuff. Everyone nodded, grabbing their respective bags, talking excitedly amongst each other. Families came to say goodbye to their children as the Viking teens strapped their provisions to the awaiting dragons.
Hiccup watched his father come through the parting crowd.
"Hiccup," he stated plainly, "Going off on another great dragon adventure! If I weren't the Village Chief, I'd go with yeh! But I won't be there to watch your back, so…" Stoic trailed off awkwardly before pulling Hiccup into a bone-crushing hug, "You be careful out there, alright?"
Hiccup smiled into his father's embrace and wrapped his tiny arms around his father's wide girth. Of course the big man would be worried. Last time he'd gone off on a 'great dragon adventure' as Stoic had said, Hiccup had almost died. Sure he'd lost a foot but he'd managed to survive. All thanks to his dragon companion, Toothless. Said dragon nudged Hiccup none too gently, urging the young man to get a move on. Hiccup chuckled lightly, shoving the larger black dragon aside.
"Alright, alright! I get it," Hiccup directed at Toothless before turning back to his father, "I'll be alright, Dad. I've got the 'Great Viking Heroes' and Toothless with me. What's the worst that could happen?" The brunette grinned confidently. But Stoic was not swayed by the gesture.
"Yo Stoic! If yeh keep worrin' 'bout the boy like that, if won't be long before yer bead will turn white!" Gobber limped up and placed a meaty hand on the Chief's shoulder. The large smith turned to Hiccup and gestured to the group of teens waiting for him in the town center.
Ruff and Tuff were playfully bickering with each other on their dragon, Fishlegs was on his Gronkle muttering things nervously under his breath, Snotlout was mounting his Monstrous Nightmare and Alani was handing one last bag of supplies up to Astrid perched on her Deadly Nadder. Alani turned to walk back to her dragon when their eyes met. Sky blue eyes met with forest green. Alani blinked, breaking eye-contact first to grin sheepishly and mount Spitfire.
"Yeh best git goin' if yeh wanna get out before nightfall," Gobber's voice broke through Hiccup's thoughts. The brunette nodded and made his way over to Toothless who'd gone to keep Spitfire company whilst his rider finished up with his goodbyes.
"Alright, everyone ready?" Hiccup called one last time before taking off in the direction of the sun rise.
As they flew farther and farther from his home, the one place he'd grown up in, Hiccup felt a pang in his stomach. Over the roaring winds tearing past his ears, he could hear the roars of the people and dragons left behind wishing them a safe journey. The shouts and roars soon faded until all the Viking teens could hear was the steady pounding of wings, the ocean lapping peacefully far below them and the whistling of the wind.
Hiccup maneuvered Toothless over to where Spitfire and Alani were gliding easily through the air.
"Alright Alani!" he called over the wind, "I don't really know how to get to Nila Itsaso, so how about you take the lead?"
Alani nodded and with a few extra beats of Spitfire's large wings, quickly pulled ahead of the group. Hiccup and Astrid flew behind her as Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins brought up the rear.
They flew steadily towards the south, talking amongst themselves to pass the time. The twins had already gotten into several fights before Astrid threatened to throw them both into the raging blue below them. The day continued to pass by; early morning golds and pinks fading into various shades of blue with the occasional white cloud. As the sun reached its peak in the sky signaling High Noon, the teens dug into their food, throwing the dragons fish every once in a while. Snotlout nearly fell to his death when Hookfang had missed the thrown fish and had dived after the tasty morsel. A few minutes of screaming panic and severe scolding later, and Snotlout would forever deny that he 'screamed like a little girl', as the twins so lovingly pointed out.
The sun continued its path across the sky and soon the heavens were stained with vibrant reds and golds. Night was falling and Hiccup had yet to see even a hint of land anywhere in sight.
"Alani! Is there anywhere we can land? The dragons are getting tired!" Hiccup called over the winds so that the red-haired girl could hear him. He probably didn't need to mention the part about the dragons being tired since they'd visibly been slowing down as the sun dipped below the horizon. They were relying more and more the warm updrafts to keep them airborne but now that night had fallen, there were next to no warm winds to help them along.
"If they can last a bit longer, there's a small island just a little farther ahead!" Alani yelled back and aimed Spitfire down closer to the water. The rest of the Viking teens followed and soon they were all skimming above the choppy waves of the water below.
When the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, the full moon had settled itself in his throne in the sky, bathing the Vikings and their dragons in his eerie white light.
"Oh no," Alani muttered before lying in close to Hiccup, "This is bad! We have to find the island soon or else-"
"What's that?" Tuffnut exclaimed pointing to the ocean below. A light blur was zooming below the surface directly under them. The blur grew clearer and clearer as the thing came closer to the surface and it seemed to be glowing slightly.
"Everyone! Up!" Alani ordered and Spitfire roared. The group's dragons began beating at the air not a moment too soon as a head parted the waters. The Scauldron gurgled out a roar, shooting a deadly boiling spray at its would-be victims. Toothless roared and Hiccup maneuvered them into a firing position. The black dragon shot a small ball of purple fire at the Scauldron. The giant water dragon roared, ducking underwater and Toothless' fireball hissed and died as it made contact with the water throwing up a small cloud of steam. That gave Hiccup an idea.
"Everyone! Shoot at the water!"
The other Vikings didn't need to be told twice as each dragon let out a single shot. Soon the entire area was covered with steam thick enough to hide in.
"Alright everyone! Fly above the cloud!" Hiccup yelled as he and Toothless made their way towards fresh air. He heard everyone yell their affirmatives. When Toothless and Hiccup broke through the warm steam, they found Alani and Spitfire waiting for them in the clear.
"What was that all about?" Astrid called from somewhere behind Hiccup.
"Yeah; aren't Scauldrons supposed to be more or less peaceful?" Hiccup asked a flustered Fishlegs. The large boy looked down at the ocean below, wringing his hands and chewing on his lip. His dragon Meatlug hovered above the rest of the dragons, seemingly determined to keep her beloved rider as far from the danger as possible.
"Y-yeah they are, but what could have made it so aggressive?"
"It's the moon," Alani steered Spitfire closer to the group as they stared in awe and fear down at the angrily roaring Scauldron below in the sea, "Here in the South it's what we call a Hunter's Moon. It agitates the dragons and heightens their levels of aggression. I think we'll be fine so long as we steer clear of the water until we reach land."
The Scauldron roared again as its prey flew away towards the nearest island.
"There it is!" Ruffnut shouted happily as the tiny silhouette of the island they would rest on appeared in the distance.
"Just a little longer bud," Hiccup reassured Toothless and the dragon shook his head tiredly and continued flying.
The dragons crashed onto the small stretch of beach the lined the northern side of the island and the twins immediately jumped off their dragon and began kissing the ground. It was only after their mouths were full of sand that they stopped and rushed to the water to rinse it out.
"Yech, that tastes terrible!" Tuffnut grumbled as he finally washed out the last of the grit from his mouth.
"God I never want to ride a dragon again!" Ruffnut yelled as she rubbed her sore bottom. None of the Viking where used to flying for such a long distance and though the saddles were comfortable, sitting in the same position for hours at a time really took a toll on everyone. The dragons slumped gratefully in the sand, happy to have time to rest their sore and aching wings.
"Hey where are we anyway?" Astrid asked as she unstrapped her packs from Stormfly's saddle. Hiccup shrugged and did the same for Toothless. The black dragon gurgled happily as the extra load was taking from his back.
"I dunno. Alani's the one you should be asking-hey! Where's Alani?" Hiccup asked. The teens looked around but there was no sign of Alani or Spitfire anywhere.
"Alani! Spitfire!" Hiccup called as loud as he could. Toothless roared. The island was small, barely a mile long and a mile wide so the girl couldn't have gone far. If she was still on the island, she would be able to hear the Vikings calling for her.
"Hey, you don't have to yell," Alani pushed a small bush to the side as she strode out of a forest only a few dozen trees strong with Spitfire on her tail, "I just scouted ahead. There don't seem to be predators near here so we should be safe for the rest of the night. I found a good place to camp though; follow me."
Alani motioned to the group and they followed her to a small clearing almost in the middle of the woods. The rest of the gang unloaded their dragons as Astrid and Hiccup searched for firewood. Ten minutes later they had a warm fire going and everyone was slowly nodding off. Snotlout had already fallen asleep leaning against Hookfang and the dragon curled up around his rider. The twins, Barf and Belch purred irritably at each other but too tired to really get into it. Fishlegs was whispering a goodnight story to Meatlug and soon the only ones awake were Alani, Astrid and Hiccup. Stormfly was asleep and purring contentedly beside her rider and Toothless was nodding off. Spitfire however remained alert, electric blue eyes vigilantly trained on the southern part of the forest. If there were any predators bigger than the mosquito, they would not be getting past her. Alive, that is.
They sat around the fire, watching it lick and eat away at the wood, casting sharp shadows around the clearing. Alani looked up at the full moon smiling down on them from the inky black of the sky. She sighed heavily.
"If they're still following the old traditions, my village will be celebrating the Hunter's Moon tonight with a hunt," she murmured, eyes still trained on the floating white orb in the sky.
"So about this Hunter's Moon…what is that exactly? Your explanation earlier didn't really clear that up," Hiccup asked, looking over the fire at the crimson-haired girl. She sighed again and tore her gaze from the moon to stare into the warmth of the fire.
"Here in the South, a Hunter's Moon is something that has only been half explained. We know it causes the animals - not just the dragons - to be more aggressive towards everything but we don't know why. The only animals I've ever seen to resist the Hunter's Moon are the Sky Serpents but that's because they are holy creatures," Alani explained, "Hunter's Moon occurs in the months leading up till winter and signals the end of the summer. That's usually when we stop diving for pearls and other sea treasures and begin working more on the land."
Alani sighed deeply and leaned back up against Spitfire who purred softly. Her tail cradled around the girl keeping her safe and warm, all the while, keeping her eyes trained on the southern darkness of the forest. Hiccup smiled at the female dragon's actions. It was really rather cute to watch the fearsome beast fuss and coddle over Alani. It wasn't until Alani yawned widely that Astrid suggesting going to sleep. They did have another big day ahead of them and they needed to be well-rested for the remaining flight to Alani's island home. Hiccup couldn't wait to see it. Another place, other than his own island home so far up in the North. He stared up at the full moon in the sky above him and sighed. Already things were starting to show signs of being different. Back home on the isle of Berk, there was no such thing as a Hunter's Moon. No full moon to increase aggression in all the animals, no moon to signify the end of summer and the beginning of the fall and winter months.
A log in the fire cracked and popped before collapsing in on itself, sending a swarm of golden fireflies into the air. The fire settled and dimmed, giving off less light than before but Hiccup was too exhausted to move and throw another piece on the fire. Besides, they were surrounded by their dragons; only an idiot with a death wish would even think to attack them.
Alani mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep and Spitfire cuddled the girl closer to her belly with a quiet rumble. Hiccup smiled at the affectionate display and rolled around to find a more comfortable spot against Toothless' sleeping form. The female dragon's electric blue eyes almost glowed in the pale light of the moon as her eyes fell on Hiccup. He felt his breath hitch. Spitfire's pupils were slits but rounded off into soft orbs as she realized the toothpick boy was only getting comfortable. The dragon grumbled a soft affirmative and her eyes returned to watching the darkness.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Hiccup asked despite himself, tone slurred slightly by exhaustion. Spitfire's glowing eyes found his again and in the pale light of the moon, Hiccup could have sworn the dragoness shook her head. Hiccup briefly wondered if Alani knew her dragon stayed away all night before consciousness slipped from his fingers and he fell into a deep sleep filled with Scauldrons, black leather wings and flowing red hair.
"Good morning everyone!" Alani cheered. The rest of the group grumbled and mumbled about how early it was. Well, everyone except maybe Fishlegs; he'd gotten used to rising with the sun with his beloved Meatlug. It wasn't even an hour past dawn and the red-headed girl was already up and about; preparing breakfast, packing up her belongings and urging the rest of her party out of bed. Apparently, Alani was more of an early bird than everyone else including Spitfire. The dragoness was off on a large rock sunning herself in the early morning sun, watching the pale wingless hatchlings go about their business. When Astrid announced she'd be 'taking care' of anyone who slept late, the rest of the snoozing crew jumped to their feet and began eating and helping Alani clear up the camp.
"Hey Alani!" Hiccup called. The girl stopped in the midst of rolling up her sleeping roll, eyeing him inquisitively.
"How far do you reckon till we reach the island…"
"Nila Itsaso," Alani finished for him with a grin. Somewhere behind her, Spitfire grumbled and rolled over so the sun could warm her belly, "If we keep up the pace we had yesterday, we should be there at about sunset tonight."
Hiccup nodded in confirmation before suddenly realizing something.
"Hey Alani? You said you came to Berk one day even though you didn't mean to. It just sort of happened, right?"
Alani raised a confused eyebrow but nodded nonetheless.
"It's already been a day. Why's it taking so long?"
At this, Alani laughed, "You mean you haven't noticed?"
Hiccup frowned and shook his head. What was it he was supposed to have noticed?
"We've been flying against the wind. The South wind is against us when we head further south. That's why I got to Berk in one day; I had the winds at my back."
"Hiccup!" Snotlout called loudly, causing the scrawny brunette and the red-head to jump, "You better not be skippin' out on the chores! If I have to work, so do you." Snotlout thrust an accusing finger in Hiccup's face. Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" he asked sarcastically.
"Exactly!" Snotlout exclaimed and shot a seductive look at Alani. The girl's face turned red from trying to contain her laughter. Snotlout, thinking his masculine charms finally overcame the red-head, threw a casual arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close. The girl barely managed to squeak in fear and confusion before Astrid and Ruffnut's fists knocked Snotlout back and away from Alani. The Viking teen landed with a thud on the ground.
"Ow! Hey!" Snotlout glared at the two girls standing above him. Astrid and Ruffnut exchanged a satisfied smirk before leading a confused Alani away from the desperate boy.
"Watch it Snotlout! Maidenly space, remember?" Ruffnut called over her shoulder before cackling madly. The three girls headed over to where the dragons lazed in the sun and prepared their bags for takeoff.
Tuffnut and Fishlegs trudged over to where Snotlout, who was still sitting on the ground where he had landed, and Hiccup stood.
"Wow, dude, you just totally got your butt handed to you by a girl," Tuffnut remarked with a snicker. Snotlout's scowl grew deeper.
"Yeah, well for starters, that girl is your sister!"
"Ok, ok!" Hiccup pressed himself between Snotlout and Tuffnut as the two lunged at each other and trying to hold the two of them apart, "Hey! Take it easy! What would Alani think of you two?" Hiccup asked, narrowly missing having his face rearranged by an angry Tuffnut. At the red-head's name, the two broke apart, straightening their clothes and avoiding each others' eyes. Hiccup smiled inwardly. Keeping those two apart would be easy; all it took was a little 'Alani' and BAM! Instant not-fighting Vikings.
The girl in question looked up from strapping her pack onto Spitfire's saddle to look at the Viking boys in confusion. She leaned in towards Astrid and asked something, probably something concerning the boys of the group. Astrid laughed and waved her hand, occasionally motioning to them with an easy wave of her hand; probably dismissing any worrisome thoughts Alani might have. Alani shot another worried look towards Tuffnut and Snotlout each still ignoring the other before shaking her head with a small smile. She returned to her work and finished strapping down Spitfire's saddle bags and packs.
"Hey you guys!" Ruffnut shouted, effectively getting everyone's attention, "We're about ready to head out. Any of you ready to go?"
Everyone aside from Hiccup and Fishlegs shook their heads and rushed to get their things pack before the rest of the group took off without them. Hiccup cringed at the way Snotlout stuffed his more delicate items into his big sack.
Alani strode forward as everyone began mounting their dragons. Spitfire stepped up behind her as always.
"Everyone know that game plan?"
Everyone nodded. Alani smiled.
"Sweet! Then we'll just take off and be at Nila Itsaso by tonight!"
This caused a major outbreak of cheers. The majority of the party members were excited about seeing and discovering a new island with new people and dragons but they were mostly excited about not having to ride their dragons for another 24 hours. After all, the twins had only just gotten feeling back into their bottoms.
"In that case," Alani jumped up and mounted Spitfire with practiced grace, "Let's get going, shall we?"