"Dragon's speaking"
'telepathical speaking'
Thinking
Dragons and Guardians: Riders of Berk
Author's note: Hiccup rides on Toothless's back while Aniu flies using her wings. And Barf and Belch is one dragon. Nava and the other guardians also fly while their wings and Nava and Aniu don't have dragons but they're still part of the Dragon Riders. This note is here just to avoid confusion.
Right now the Dragon Trainer Group consists of: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, BarfBelch, Aniu and Nava.
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Chapter 11: Heather Report Part 2
Panting, Heather ran through the forest. After the dragon riders and guardians had gotten back from Outcast Island, they had jailed her in Berk's prison. She had escaped and was now running through the forest, hoping to find a boat so she could sail back to Outcast Island. None of the Berkian dragons would help her. Sliding down a slope, pushing aside some leaves and running out onto the beach, Heather found what she was looking for. But seconds later, the boat was blown up by a fireball.
"You can break out of jail as many times as you want but you're not getting off this island!" Astrid shouted down from her dragon's back. Stormfly swooped down, picked Heather up in her talons and flew the girl back to the village.
Heather grunted as she was pushed back into her cell. "Give it up, Heather. We have dragons." Astrid commanded, closing the cell door. "Astrid, I have to get back to Outcast Island." Heather said desperately. "Yeah, sure you do." Nava said, joining Astrid and standing beside her with his arms crossed. "You don't understand. Alvin has my parents!" Heather exclaimed. "Oh, yeah. Well, what happened to the pirates?" Astrid asked.
"There were never any pirates. I made it up. But, I had to. I needed you guys to trust me." Heather admitted. "Well, guess what. We don't. Not anymore." Nava said, walking away with Astrid. But as they left, Nava heard soft sniffles and sobs coming from Heather's cell. He sighed and walked away.
On Outcast Island, Savage and three other Outcasts had found the Book of Dragons and were trying to take it from a wild Gronckle. "Um, is that the book?" One Outcast soldier asked. "Looks like it." Savage said. "The only question is...how are we going to get it?" The Gronckle snarled at them and flared its wings. "Uh, if we had the dragon book, maybe it would tell us what to do." The Outcast said.
"You mean that book?" Savage asked, gesturing to the book under the Gronckle's chin. "Ah, right." The soldier said. "Look, the big, smart kid on Berk rides one of these dragons. They're very gentle. So, go take the book from it." Savage ordered. "What are you waiting for? It's just one little Gronckle. Go!" After a second of hesitation, the Outcast soldier moved forward. "Uh, hello there, dragon. If you don't mind, I'll just like to borrow your book." He said, reaching out to grab the book. But the Gronckle attacked him in a brutal way.
Savage and the two other Outcasts cringed at the man's screams. "Oh, well. That didn't work. Who's next?" Savage asked. The two Outcasts refused, not wanting to end up the same way as their comrade. Savage sighed and did it himself.
Back on Berk in the Dragon Training Academy, the dragon riders were going through a rigorous training session. Snotlout used a small catapult to fire a boulder at Meatlug who ate it. "Hey, that was a little close, Snotlout!" Fishlegs complained. "Quit whining, Fishlegs." Snotlout sneered. Fishlegs glared at him and Meatlug shot a lava blast at the mini-catapult, destroying it. "Hey! Cut it out." Snotlout complained. "Quit whining, Snotlout." Fishlegs sneered.
Meanwhile, Nava and Aniu did their own training. Nava stomped his foot on the ground, causing icicles to form and ice to radiate outwards from where his foot struck the ground. "That trick should make it harder for anyone to get close to me." He said. Aniu formed a fireball in her hands, threw her arms out and spun around, causing a ring of fire to surround her. "Cool. What will happen if I do this?" Nava asked, jumping into the air with his wings fanned out and brought them forward sharply, blowing most of the fire out. "Not bad." Aniu told her boyfriend. "But what happens when I do this?" She did her own wing-blast, knocking Nava over. Aniu walked over to her boyfriend and put a foot on his chest, pinning Nava down. But Nava managed to pull Aniu down and pin her. "Do you surrender or do I have to tickle you?" Nava asked his girlfriend teasingly. Rolling her emerald green eyes affectionately at her boyfriend, Aniu said "I surrender." Nava smiled and helped her up.
"Great job, guys. But remember, The Outcasts are not gonna be coming one at a time." Hiccup said. "So, we need to work on taking out multiple opponents at once." Aniu said, walking over to her surrogate brother's side. "You don't have to remind me. We're under enough stress." Fishlegs said. "Remember, we're only going to have one shot at getting the Book of Dragons back." Hiccup said. "Um, did I not make myself clear about the stress?" Fishlegs asked.
Hiccup, Aniu and Toothless diverted their attention to the Thorston twins and their dragon. Barf spat out some gas which led to Hookfang who was being petted by Snotlout and Belch lit it. Snotlout yelped and threw himself aside. Hookfang set himself on fire and went on a rampage. "Too early, Snotlout. We have to time it perfectly." Astrid said. "It wasn't me. It was them." Snotlout said, pointing at the twins. "Uh, sorry." Ruffnut said. "Yeah, we're still working out the kinks." Tuffnut added.
"Can you calm him down?" Astrid asked in exasperation as Hookfang continued rampaging around the arena. "He always does that when he gets angry." Snotlout said. But at a look from Nava, he relented. "Oh, fine." He grumbled and ran at his Monstrous Nightmare. Everybody stared when Snotlout pinned his dragon's horns to the ground. Hookfang instantly calmed down. "Figured that one out yesterday. He likes it." Snotlout said proudly. "He likes having his horns pinned to the ground?" Aniu asked.
"Tuffnut does." Ruffnut said. "I do?" Tuffnut asked. Ruffnut leapt off Barf and pinned her brother to the ground. "Oh, yeah. That does feel kind of nice. The dirt's soft." Tuffnut mumbled. "Can we get on with it? There could be a whole army coming at us." Astrid said impatiently. "Well, we're waiting." Snotlout said, mounting his dragon. Stormfly squawked and flew up, hovering in the air. "Hit it!" Snotlout yelled and Hookfang breathed fire. "Spines, Stormfly. Now!" Astrid ordered. Stormfly let loose some tail spines and the spikes flew through the wall of flames, stabbing into the stone wall of the arena where Ruffnut and Tuffnut were.
"That's going to work great." Aniu commented. "You know, all this training is nice once we have the book but Alvin's not going to just hand it over to us." Fishlegs said. Astrid walked over to him, Hiccup, Aniu and Nava. "No. But maybe Alvin will hand it to Heather." She said. "Are you suggesting we let Heather go?" Aniu asked. "Uh, I think Astrid has been eating dragon nip again.' Fishlegs whispered. Astrid elbowed him in the gut. "Ow! Why's it always violence with you?" Fishlegs yelped.
"That's the way Astrid is, Fish." Nava said and got hit in the gut by Astrid as well. "It's not violence, it's communication." Astrid argued. "Violent communication." Aniu said and got a light punch to the shoulder from Astrid. "So, are you suggesting we let Heather go?"Hiccup repeated Aniu's earlier question. "Sort of." Astrid answered. "Yep, dragon nip." Fishlegs said before Astrid hit him in the gut again.
Nava's sapphire blue eyes lit up as he realized what Astrid meant. "So, are you planning to disguise yourself as Heather, go back to Outcast Island and trick Alvin into giving you the book?" He asked. "That's exactly it." Astrid said affirmatively. "My Mum is a good seamstress and she knows how to make disguises." Aniu said. "Perfect. Let's go." Astrid said and Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava followed her to Aniu's house.
"I just have to go inside and see if Mum's home. If she is, I'll ask her to make a perfect disguise for you, Astrid. Some charcoal should turn your hair black like Heather's. I don't know if she'll be able to change your eye colour, though." Aniu said, going inside with Nava. That gave Hiccup and Astrid a chance to talk. "Astrid, do you want to do this?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend. "Not really, but what choice do we have? Aniu's not a very good actress and they might sense there's something different about her. And I'm more like Heather than she is." Astrid said.
"I just don't want you getting hurt." Hiccup admitted. "I'll be fine and if anything goes wrong, you'll be there to help me. Right?" Astrid said. "I'll be there for you until the day we grow old and die." Hiccup promised. "Good." Astrid said, giving him a hug. Hiccup hugged her back and gave Astrid a kiss on the lips. Astrid's eyes widened in surprise but she kissed Hiccup back. Hiccup rested a hand on Astrid's back and ran his other fingers through her braided, silky-soft, golden-blonde hair. Astrid played with Hiccup's dark brown hair and placed her hands on his back. Both moaned softly before...
"Snogging behind my house. Seriously, have you two got no shame?" Aniu's voice asked. Hiccup and Astrid parted and spun around with bright red blushes on their faces to see Aniu and Nava staring at them with smirks on their faces. Both guardians started laughing and relied on each other to stay standing upright. "Can't you wait till you're older before you start becoming more affectionate?" Nava asked, barely able to speak clearly because of his laughter."You two are only sixteen! But if you want to get married early, then I'm not stopping you." Aniu said, unable to keep a straight face.
Then Toothless and Stormfly joined them. "What's going on?" Toothless asked. "And why are you two laughing so much?" Stormfly asked. "Hiccup and Astrid were just kissing and cuddling each other." Aniu gasped out. "Aww. That's so sweet." Stormfly cooed. Toothless rolled his eyes affectionately at his rider and his rider's girlfriend.
Hiccup and Astrid managed to get their blushes under control when Namara walked out. "Astrid, I got the disguise ready." She said. "Thanks, Namara." Astrid said, going inside the house. Stormfly flew to the place where she knew Arrow had taken Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet out to play. Hiccup got on Toothless and flew back to the Academy, leaving Aniu and Nava alone by themselves.
"You know, I'm a little worried about Astrid. Probably because I care about her in a brotherly way." Nava said. "You were always such a caring person and that's one of the many uncountable things I like about you." Aniu said. "Oh, really?" Nava asked, leaning forward and giving Aniu a kiss on the lips while hugging her with his arms and wings. Aniu wrapped her arms and wings around Nava and kissed him back. Nava ran his fingers through Aniu's hair and wing feathers. He loved doing it, they were just so soft, silky and shiny. Aniu also loved doing the same with Nava's hair and wing feathers as well.
Both guardian teens were so caught up in their kiss they didn't notice Fengo return from a flight and land near them. But they did notice when Fengo cleared his throat. Aniu and Nava jumped apart and blushed bright red when they saw him. "Hi, Dad." Aniu mumbled, very embarrassed at the fact her own father had just caught her kissing her boyfriend. "Hey, Fengo." Nava nearly whimpered, hoping that Fengo wouldn't be angry at him for kissing his own daughter in front of him.
"Now, I know you two love each other, but could you two be more subtle about it?" Fengo asked. "We will." Aniu and Nava said. "Oh and Nava, if you break my daughter's heart then I'll break your wings." Fengo threatened. "Yes, sir. I'll just be going now. Bye, Aniu" Nava said, giving Aniu a hug before flying away. Fengo glanced at his daughter thoughtfully. "You know, my dearest daughter. Your mother and I were a lot like you and Nava at that age." He said.
"Really?" Aniu asked. "Yeah, really." Fengo said. Aniu scratched behind her pointed ears nervously. "Nava and I have been best friends for nearly all of our lives and we know each other so well." She said. Fengo nodded with a smile on his face and hugged his daughter. Aniu returned the embrace and let her father run his fingers through her golden-brown ponytail. That always seemed to her down. "Well, I got to help Stoick, Gobber and some other men with a few things. So, I'll see you and Namara later." Fengo said, once they parted from their father-daughter hug. "See you later, Dad." Aniu said, watching her father fly away. Just then, Namara called out from inside the house. "Aniu, I need your help." Aniu flew into the house through a window in her owl form. "Coming, Mum." She said.
On Outcast Island, Savage walked up to Alvin with the Book of Dragons clutched in his hands. "What's that on your helmet?" Alvin asked. "Lava. Gronckle chapter, you might wanna read it." Savage said, giving Alvin the book. "Huh. This is all very interesting. I'll have to see it to believe it. Where's the girl?" Alvin said, reading the page. "She was captured after she made the drop." Savage reported."How unfortunate for her. But let's give this a try, shall we?" Alvin said.
Back on Berk during night time, the dragon riders had set up a small boat for Astrid so she could sail to Outcast Island disguised as Heather. "Th-th-this is gonna work, right? Cause if it doesn't work, Alvin's going to know all of our dragon secrets. And if Alvin knows all of our dragon secrets..." Fishlegs rambled with a stammer. "Fishlegs, it'll work." Hiccup reassured his friend. Then they saw two figures walk towards them. One of them was Aniu "Oh, that must be..." Nava started to say before the Thorston twins recognised the second figure. "Heather?" Tuffnut asked. "Get her!" Ruffnut yelled before she and her brother charged at the Heather-look-alike. "That rhymes!" Tuffnut said as he and his sister pinned the figure down.
"You. Must. Stay. In. Your. Cell. How many times do we have to tell you?" Tuffnut asked before he and Ruffnut were punched in the face and knocked off. "It's me, you muttonheads." Ruffnut and Tuffnut were very surprised when they learned that it was actually Astrid disguised as Heather. "Cool, right? My Mother is a pretty seamstress." Aniu said.
"Sorry, Astrid. Totally unconvincing." Tuffnut said. Nava noticed one small flaw with the disguise, Astrid's eyes were blue instead of green. He hoped that the Outcasts didn't notice the fact that who they thought was Heather had blue eyes instead of green eyes. That would be enough to make any intelligent person suspicious. "Oh, yeah. I could tell." Astrid snapped, hopping into the boat. "Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend in concern. "No, but it's our only chance." Astrid said.
"We'll be shadowing you from the sky." Hiccup said. "First sign of trouble. We'll come help you." Aniu said."I don't need shadowing." Astrid rolled her eyes. "Just in case. You know, it'll make me feel better." Hiccup said. "Fine. Just stay out of sight. If Alvin sees any of you, it'll be over." Astrid relented. "Don't worry about us." Nava said. "Just get the book and get out of there." Aniu said. "We'll be waiting." Hiccup said. Astrid nodded and Fishlegs and Nava pushed the boat out to sea. Before Astrid vanished out of sight, Hiccup called out "Hey, Astrid. Be safe." earning a smile and a nod from his girlfriend. Then the boat vanished out of sight. The remaining dragon riders, Aniu and Nava waited an hour or two before getting their dragons and flying after the boat.
"Anyone in here hungry? We've got a lovely cabbage soup tonight, yummy." Bucket said, entering the prison and walking over to Heather's cell. But he found it empty. "Oh, not again. Stoick's gonna kill me. " Bucket opened the door and entered the cell, muttering "not good, not good, not good." He didn't notice Heather hiding in the rafters until she dropped down and knocked him unconscious. Heather carefully pulled Bucket into her cell, walked out and closed the door. "Sorry, Bucket. But I have to get to Outcast Island and save my parents. Nothing is going to stop me." She said and ran away.
After some hours, Astrid noticed her boat was getting close to Outcast Island. She checked her map and ducked as a Monstrous Nightmare flew past her boat. Pretty soon, Astrid's boat hit the shore and she jumped out onto the sand, making sure to pull the boat ashore. Savage and several other Outcasts suddenly showed up, armed with crossbows. "We thought you had been captured." Savage said. Getting over her startle attack, Astrid made a quick check on her outfit and hair to make sure her disguise as Heather was still convincing before speaking. "I was but I got away." She said, hoping she sounded like Heather.
"Well, it'd good to see you safe and sound. Get rid of her." Savage said, directing the last sentence at his soldiers. "What?" Astrid yelped in shock. "We don't need you anymore." Savage told her, walking away. "Savage, wait! You do need me. I can prove it. You have the book, right?" Savage gave her a questioning look. "I watched them. I learned from them. Trust me, that book is only worth something if you know how to use it." Astrid continued. Savage stared at her and Astrid tried to keep her face neutral.
After escaping from her cell, Heather snuck into the stable in the Hofferson house. All five Deadly Nadders were asleep with Stormfly and Arrow cuddled together while Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet slept curled up beside each other. Heather gently placed a hand on Arrow's snout and the green male Deadly Nadder woke up and fired some tail spines at her. "Okay, never startle a sleeping Nadder." Heather reminded herself, carefully removing a tail spine that had pinned her tunic sleeve to the wooden wall. Stormfly had woken up and stared at Heather warily, remembering her as the girl who had stolen the Book of Dragons and used Arrow to fly her to Outcast Island.
"Hey, guys. It's me, you old pal Heather. You and I are going to go on a little trip, Arrow. Stormfly, you can come too." Heather said. Both Deadly Nadders turned around and stared at their precious hatchlings. "It's alright. Hopefully, we'll be back by morning." Arrow calmed his mate. "I just don't feel safe leaving them here by themselves even if Astrid's parents are here." Stormfly said. "Sorry, you two. No chicken tonight." Heather said, carefully climbing onto Arrow's back. "That wasn't so hard. Now, let's go find Astrid." Arrow and Stormfly chirped and ran out of the stable exit that led to outside the house. The Hofferson dragon stable had two entries and exits. One that led into the house and one that led outside the house. "Yeah, come on, you two!" Heather cheered two Deadly Nadders on.
The dragon riders and guardians were nearly at Outcast Island when Fishlegs decided to speak up. "I want to go on a record as saying I'm not so sure about this plan, Hiccup and Aniu." He said nervously. "If you have another plan, let's hear it." Aniu said. "I just think landing in a wild dragon nesting ground is really going to freak Meatlug out." Fishlegs said, concerned as ever about his Gronckle. "Really? Then how does she feel about flaming arrows and catapults?" Nava asked.
"Uh, she really doesn't like those either." Fishlegs squeaked. "Fishlegs, I'll be fine. I can handle myself against these things." Meatlug said but Fishlegs didn't understand what she was saying. "Oh, you don't say." Hiccup said. "Tell you what, Fishlegs. When we get there you just lay back and let the real dragons do the work." Snotlout bragged.
"Yeah, you really have no idea what a swarm of wild dragons are capable of." Fishlegs told him. The Thorston twins purposely flew their Barf and Belch closer to Fishlegs and Meatlug. 'You know what would be awesome?" Tuffnut asked. "Flaming arrows, catapults..." Ruffnut started to say before she and her brother finished with "...and wild dragons." Barf and Belch flew upwards. "That makes three of you." Fishlegs said miserably. The group continued on their way to Outcast Island.
"Seems pretty straight-forward to me." Alvin growled, reading a page of the Book of Dragons. "It's anything but straight-forward, Alvin." Astrid said firmly. "if there's one thing I learned, it's that people will say anything to keep themselves alive. Isn't that right, Savage?" Alvin said. "Right, as usual, Alvin." Savage said. "See? Now, you say I need you to interpret what's in this book. I say, it's nothing but a ploy." Alvin told who he thought was Heather.
"Fine, give it a try." Astrid said. Alvin snorted and gave the book to one of his soldiers. "You heard the girl." Alvin said. The guard opened the book and cautiously approached a chained Deadly Nadder. "Alright, seems easy enough. "Uh, what kind of dragon is this?" The man asked. "It's a Deadly Nadder. Do you need the page number?" Astrid asked, mentally scoffing at the stupidity of the man. One would think this person would know what a Deadly Nadder was because they were one of most common breeds of dragon on Outcast Island.
"Uh, no. I've got it. Uh, Deadly Nadder, likes to preen, is very sure of itself, constant grooming." The Outcast read, glancing at the Deadly Nadder who was preening its wing. "Alright, we'll appeal to its vanity." Alvin glanced at Astrid and saw her shaking her head. The soldier got closer to the dragon. "Well, you are certainly a lovely girl." The Nadder chirped and resumed preening her wing. "Or, are you a handsome boy, who can tell?" The Nadder got angry and shot some tail spines at him but Astrid grabbed a nearby shield and used it to block the spines.
"Like I said, the book can only get you so far, Alvin." Astrid said, tossing the shield to the ground at the Outcast chief's feet. Alvin narrowed his eyes at her.
The dragon riders and guardians were now in Outcast waters. "You see this, Fishlegs. You got yourself all worked up for nothing." Hiccup said. "Um, you were saying?" Fishlegs asked nervously, seeing a group of wild dragons who had noticed their presence and flew towards them, ready to drive the intruders away. It was a good thing the riders, Aniu and Nava had brought baskets of fish with them."Guys, remember. Stick to the plan, no matter how crazy it gets." Nava said. "Crazy? I love crazy. Bring it on!" Snotlout yelled enthusiastically. "Wait! What's the plan again?"
"Now!" Hiccup yelled. "Drop the fish!" Aniu shouted. Everyone opened the baskets and tons of fish fell out. The wild dragons instantly went for them. "Sweet!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Yes! We did it! Stupid dragons. Aaahhh!" Snotlout whooped, holding a fish in his hand. A Deadly Nadder saw it and grabbed the fish. Snotlout was also plucked off his dragon's saddle. Toothless and Aniu flew up to help him. "Snotlout, would you just let go of the fish?" Aniu asked. "I'll catch you!" Hiccup said.
"No! That's my lunch!" Snotlout yelled. "Now!" Hiccup snapped. Snotlout let go of the fish and dropped onto Toothless's back behind Hiccup. "It's only before dawn and you're worried about lunch when we haven't even had breakfast yet." Aniu deadpanned. The dragon riders and guardians flew the remaining distance to the island.
When daylight came, Alvin shoved Astrid into the Outcast's dragon arena. It was similar to Berk's dragon arena but had metal bars arranged like a web as a ceiling. But she turned around and held out her hand. "What is it?" Alvin snapped. "The book. I need it." Astrid said simply. Alvin stared at her. "Well, I didn't memorize it." Astrid said. Alvin sighed and gave her the book before shoving her into the arena and closing the door.
Astrid's attention was drawn to a cage door across from her. "Please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder." She begged under her breath. But what came out from the cage when it opened was a Monstrous Nightmare. It was on fire and looking very angry. "Oh, great." Astrid muttered and flicked through the book's pages, searching for the Monstrous Nightmare section.
"Well, I'm waiting." Alvin said impatiently from where he was watching. "Alright, big boy, it's you and me." Astrid told the Stoker Class dragon. She didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl dragon but she had no time to find out. Astrid approached the Monstrous Nightmare with her hand out but the dragon knocked her back. "Okay, check that off the list. How about the direct approach?" Astrid said then ran at the dragon and grabbed its tail. But the dragon didn't like that and threw her off. "Oh, our little Heather is feistier than I remember." Alvin chuckled then raised his voice. "This isn't anything my soldiers haven't tried. You'll need to do better!"
"Oh, the one time I wish Snotlout was here." Astrid groaned, hoping Snotlout would never hear what she just said. "Snotlout." She mumbled, remembering what Snotlout had done to Hookfang in the Academy earlier. She ran at the Monstrous Nightmare, jumped onto its head and grabbed its horns but the dragon pinned her against the wall with its head. "Well, that's the end of that." Alvin shrugged. "Wait, look." Savage told him, pointing at the dragon.
"Oh, these things don't budge." Astrid gasped out. The Monstrous Nightmare pulled its head back and stared into her eyes before letting Astrid bend his horns to the ground. "What? Oh, ho. I told yah she knew what she was doing!" Alvin exclaimed triumphantly. "Yes, you certainly did." Savage reluctantly agreed.
Astrid sat behind the Monstrous Nightmare's head and grabbed its horns in the proper Monstrous Nightmare riding position. "What do you say we get out of here?" She asked, patting the dragon's face. The Stoker class dragon picked itself up and Astrid grabbed the Book of Dragons, clutching it to her chest. A bunch of Outcasts stormed into the arena but the Monstrous Nightmare spat fire at them. "Going somewhere, Heather?" Alvin asked. "As far away from this place as possible!" Astrid yelled. "Without your parents?" Alvin asked, gesturing at a Viking couple being pushed forward by two Outcasts.
"Parents? Heather was telling the truth?' Astrid whispered to herself in shock and horror. The man and woman did look quite like Heather. "I might see my way clear to trading them for that book. Or you can leave and I'll kill them." Alvin bargained. Astrid was now trapped in a very hard decision. She couldn't let Heather's parents be killed but she couldn't leave the Book of Dragons with Alvin because he would use the knowledge inside it to train dragons use them to conquer or even destroy Berk.
The dragon riders, Aniu and Nava waited in a clearing not far from the arena. Fishlegs was feeding Meatlug boulders in preparation for the possible upcoming battle and Snotlout began making bird calls. "What are you doing?"Aniu asked him. "Duh, that's our signal." Snotlout told her. "Snotlout, we don't have a signal." Nava said, leaning against a tree. "We don't give the signal this time, Astrid does. We talked about this." Hiccup said. "Like any of this matters anyway. She's almost an hour late. Oh, we should never have let her go." Fishlegs said nervously then started rambling. "Alvin must've figured out what was going on..." He stopped, not able to continue on anymore.
"Costume stunk. I told you guys." Tuffnut said. "Guys, she'll be here soon. This is Astrid Hofferson we're talking about." Hiccup said, even though he was worried about his girlfriend. Nava sighed, took a book out his vest and began to read. "Really, Nava, you're reading a book when we're supposed to wait for Astrid?" Ruffnut asked. "I'm reading it just to pass the time." Nava told her. "What book are you reading, Nava?' Hiccup asked.
"It's called Guardians of Gahoole book 6: The Burning. You can have a look at it if you like." Nava replied. Hiccup nodded and read the page Nava was on.
Chapter fifteen: Twilla Suspects
It was just after the evening meditation flight and Twilla made her way back to the hollow, which was empty as she expected. Where had that miserable old owl and that beastly snake gone? She felt a twinge of guilt calling Ifghar 'miserable'. This was certainly not the way of the Glauxian Brother's retreat. She had looked after Ifghar for years and although he did provoke pity in her she could never say she had felt any warm feelings toward him. It was the Glauxian way to always forgive and she had forgiven him for his treachery against his brother, the noble Lyze of Kiel and the Keilian League, Lyze himself had said to her before he had left the retreat that he was sure that someday his brother, Ifghar, would come seeking mercy and help and he hoped that she would help him as she had helped Octavia and himself when they had arrived. But Lyze had not really needed much help. He had only needed solitude and time to mend from the devastating loss of his beloved Lil.
Hiccup pondered what he just read and nodded before going back to waiting for Astrid to show up.
Astrid was currently at a crossroad and dismounted the Monstrous Nightmare. "Well, hand it over." Alvin said impatiently. "Send them over first." Astrid ordered. "Fine. Off you go." Alvin said shoving the couple towards what the girl who looked a lot like their daughter. But they knew it wasn't her. Most parents recognise their children and usually never forget. "Mum, Dad!" Astrid yelled, running forward and embracing Heather's parents. "I'm a friend of Heather's and I'm here to help." Astrid whispered, calming the two Vikings down.
"You do realize I'll never let you out of here with that book?" Alvin questioned. "No kidding! When I tell you, drop to the ground. It's about to get really hot in here." Astrid said, directing her last two sentences to Heather's parents in a whisper. "Oh, Heather. I'm waiting." Alvin said. "Now!" Astrid yelled at Heather's parents then threw the book into the air once they had ducked. She punched the Monstrous Nightmare across the snout, saying "Sorry, boy.". The dragon reared up, set itself on fire and spat fire at the Outcasts.
Astrid ran over to the Book of Dragons and Heather's parents followed her but Alvin threw a bola at Heather's father's ankles, tripping him up. Astrid grabbed the book and tried to help him up but Alvin reached them. The Hofferson girl threw herself on top of the book in an attempt to protect it but Alvin grabbed her hair and pulled her up, wrenching the book from her hands. "Heather, Heather, Heather." He tsked before noticing something with what he thought was Heather's hair. He let go of her hair and found his hand covered in soot. "Or are you?" He growled at her.
Hiccup tapped his foot impatiently against the boulder he was sitting on. Aniu was sitting beside Hiccup with her wings by her sides and she was looking around. Nava had stopped reading his book and was now lying on his back, conjuring snowflakes in the air above him. Then, the three teens saw three figures walk towards them. "There's Astrid." Hiccup said, standing on his boulder and recognizing the smallest figure. "Who's that with her?" Nava asked, sitting up and walking up to the boulder.
"I don't know." Aniu said. Astrid waved at her fellow dragon riders. "But that's the signal. Let's go, bud." Hiccup said, mounting Toothless and gliding over to Astrid and the two strangers who backed away upon seeing the Night Fury. Aniu and Nava followed them while Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut mounted their dragons.
'Who are these two?" Hiccup asked, gesturing at the two Vikings. "Heather's parents. She was telling the truth. Just go with the plan." Astrid said. Just then, a group of Outcasts surrounded them. "Well, Hiccup and Aniu. I bet you're surprised to see me.' Alvin sneered, walking toward them with Savage behind him. The Book of Dragons was tucked into Alvin's belt. "Eh, not really." Aniu shrugged. "This is where you live, right?" Hiccup asked sarcastically and Toothless snarled at the Outcast chief. "Easy, bud. Looks like he's got us this time."Hiccup calmed him down.
"You know, you two? With this book, your knowledge of dragons, Hiccup, your knowledge of magic, Aniu and my knowledge of warfare, we could make quite the team. How does that sound?" Alvin asked. "Uh, insane, demented, delusional, stupid, crazy? Oh, looks like I used all my fingers. Aniu, mind helping me out?" Hiccup said. "Um, let's see. Dumb-brained, idiotic, mutton-headed, something we will say no too. And that's all I've got." Aniu said casually.
"Alright the, we'll just have agree or disagree. You two are smart people. You know, I can't let you leave the island." Alvin growled. "And you're a smart murderous barbarian, Alvin. You know Aniu and I have a better plan than this." Hiccup said. "So do I." Alvin said. "Now!" Hiccup, Aniu and Alvin shouted.
The dragon riders and Nava flew forward and the battle began. Hookfang spat fire, Nava turned into his dragon form and shot tail spines and fire balls, Meatlug slammed into her opponents and Barf-Belch headbutted their Outcasts away. For a few minutes, it looked like the dragon riders and guardians had the upper hand but then despite their training, the battle turned in favour of the Outcasts. A bunch of Outcasts in the trees began firing arrows at them.
Two Outcasts threw a net over Fishlegs and Meatlug. "This wasn't part of the plan!" Fishlegs yelled. Another Outcast lassoed a rope Barf-Belch's necks and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were thrown, landing in a pile. Toothless and Aniu (in her dragon form) batted away Outcasts with their wings and tails. Astrid stole a shield and hit Outcasts with it. "There's too many of them!" Snotlout shouted. He, Hookfang, Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Aniu and Nava were still fighting but they wouldn't last long before they captured with the rest.
"We need to rethink our plan!" Nava yelled, startling Outcasts who didn't know he could speak in his dragon form. "We're never going to get out of here!" Astrid yelled. Then two figures flew overhead, pulled the net off Fishlegs and Meatlug, burned the rope off Barf-Belch's necks. "Is that...?" Aniu started to ask."Yeah!" Yelled a familiar voice. To their surprise, Heather was riding on Arrow's back while he and Stormfly flew over the battle field. "Heather!" / "Stormfly!"/ "Arrow!" Hiccup, Astrid and Nava exclaimed.
"What? Heather?" Alvin shouted, realizing the Heather imposter was. Stormfly and Arrow landed, allowing Astrid to run and stroke Stormfly's snout. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Astrid said sincerely. "It's okay. I wouldn't have believed me either." Heather said. "Now, let's get your parents." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly. The other dragon riders, Aniu and Nava took that as their cue and flew up into the sky. Stormfly and Arrow swooped down and plucked up Heather's parents. "Mum, Dad! Hang on!" Heather called to them.
Barf-Belch hissed at the Outcasts who were pointing spears at Ruffnut and Tuffnut, scaring them away. The Thorston twins laughed, fist-bumped and mounted their dragon. "Alright guys, just like we practiced!" Hiccup alerted his comrades. "Remember what strategies we planned!" Aniu yelled, flying beside hiccup and Toothless.
"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, cover fire!" Nava ordered. "It's about time." Ruffnut said as Barf-Belch dove down to a line of catapults. "I love this part. Wait for it, wait for it." Tuffnut said as Barf let out a stream of gas. Belch ignited the gas with sparks, causing an explosion which destroyed the catapults. A boulder was catapulted at Fishlegs and Meatlug. "Fishlegs, incoming!" Hiccup yelled. Meatlug ate the boulder and spat a lava blast at the catapult, destroying it.
"That's it, Meatlug." Fishlegs congratulated his brown and purple female Gronckle. "Yeah!" Heather whooped as Arrow and Stormfly dodged some arrows. "Now, Snotlout!" Astrid shouted. "Go for it!" Snotlout yelled as Hookfang set himself on fire. Arrow and Stormfly shot tail spines through a wall of Hookfang's flames and they stabbed into dead trees, setting them on fire.
"Yee-haw! You feeling the heat, boys? Cause I sure am!" Snotlout hollered. "Astrid's got the Book of Dragons, Hiccup!" Aniu yelled. "Great job, guys! Let's get out of here!" Hiccup yelled and the dragon riders and flew away. "They're getting away! Stop them!" Alvin growled, grabbing Savage and putting him into a catapult. "Shouldn't we test this first?" Savage asked nervously before Alvin pulled the lever, sending him flying into the air and knocking Astrid and the Book of Dragons off Stormfly.
Savage and Astrid landed on dead tree branches which broke, causing them to fall to the ground. Astrid groaned as she sat up. Alvin ran over, grabbed Astrid and the book before running away with Astrid slung over his shoulder and the book tucked into his belt. "Astrid!"/ "Astrid!" Hiccup, Heather, Nava, Aniu, Stormfly and Arrow screamed. Hiccup, Toothless and Aniu gave chase with Toothless spitting plasma blasts at Alvin but they all missed.
Alvin stopped at a cliff edge and got an evil idea. "Surrender, or I'll...well, you know the rest." He said, holding Astrid over the cliff edge. "Do it, bud." Hiccup hissed, patting Toothless's head. If he had to make Toothless fire a plasma blast at Alvin to save Astrid, then so be it. Aniu (back in her human form) flared her wings and a ball of fire appeared in both of her hands.
Toothless readied a plasma blast and Astrid saw the Monstrous Nightmare she had tamed in the arena flying towards her. "Hiccup, don't shoot!" She yelled. Toothless swallowed back his plasma blast and the Monstrous Nightmare flew upwards, hitting Alvin with its tail and making him let go of Astrid and the book. Astrid got up, grabbed the book and hopped onto Toothless's back then they flew away with the Monstrous Nightmare following them. "Who is that?" Aniu asked curiously, gesturing at the Stoker Class dragon. "Just a new friend I made." Astrid said.
"Hello, my name is Stoker." The Monstrous Nightmare said. "Nice to meet you. Would you like to live in Berk with us. There are dozens of other dragons there, including Monstrous Nightmares." Aniu said. "Well, it sounds like a much better alternative than living on Outcast Island." Stoker said. They continued the flight back to Berk in peace.
"Did you see that? The dragon came for her. It protected her." Alvin asked, watching them fly away. "Bonded with her. We need to get that book back, Alvin." Savage said. "We need more than the book. We need that boy and his guardian as our weapon." Alvin said.
Back on Berk, Heather and her parents were getting ready to go back to their home. While her parents were on the ship prepared for them, Heather said goodbye to Hiccup, Toothless, Aniu, Astrid, Nava and Tuffnut. She had already said goodbye to Stormfly, Arrow, Skyflier, Forestflier and Violet.
"I can't thank you enough, especially you, Astrid. You put your life on the line for us and I'll never forget that." Heather said, giving Astrid a hug. Astrid was surprised but hugged her back. Aniu and Nava also got hugs from Heather. 'I'm gonna miss you. Both of you." Heather said, stroking Toothless on the head and smiling at Hiccup. "Uh, you know. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." He said, unaware that their next meeting would be in three years on a special island called the Dragon's Edge (spoiler).
"Maybe we will." Heather smiled. "Just promise us one thing." Nava said. "If you need help again, you'll ask." Aniu finished. "I will. I promise." Heather said. "I'll really miss you Heather." Tuffnut said, blushing slightly. "Thanks, Tuffnut." Heather smiled, giving the male Thorston twin a hug and ran over the ship and boarded it. "You okay there, Tuff?" Aniu asked. "She just hugged me. Whoa. I think she likes me." Tuffnut whispered. "It seems like she does, Tuffnut." Nava grinned. The ship set sail and Heather waved goodbye at her new friends.
"Ever since dragons showed up on Berk, we've learned to expect the unexpected."
Heather saw Snotlout standing on another part of the docks. "Write to me." He whispered hopefully. She would write letters, but not directly to him. Hiccup, Astrid, Aniu and Nava: definitely. Tuffnut: well, since she had a small crush on him, most likely. As for the others, she would.
"But every once in a while, someone or something comes along that surprises us. And when that happens, you kind of hate to see them go."
Astrid gently punched Hiccup on the shoulder and he smiled. Aniu and Nava stood on both sides of them and placed an arm on their shoulders as well as put a wing on their backs.
Heather said in Dragons: Race to the Edge that Dagur and his Berserkers attacked her village and killed her foster parents. Dagur was in prison between Cast Out part 1 and Dragon Eye of the Beholder part 1 so the attack must've happened between Dragons: Defenders of Berk episode Night and the Fury and View to a Skrill part 1 and 2 or The Flight Stuff and Smoke Gets in your eyes.
Thawfest is an episode that I don't really like so I am not looking forward to writing and for that reason, it might take a while.
I am looking forward to Dragons and Guardians: Defenders of Berk. That's when things start to get serious.
This chapter was 12 pages long on Microsoft Office.
Updated: 5.12.2015 Australian Time