The sun slowly clawed its way up across the sky, slowly climbing above the blue horizon that the sea and clear sky formed together. The winds blew strong across the cold seas, and a few splashed of sea foam flew shortly through the air before finding their rightful place in the seas again.
The sight was amazing, and the air was still a bit cold because of the Nordic spring. The first ones to wake up was one of our heroes, Hiccup crawling out of his tent as the first few birds and Terrible Terrors started their morning ritual. The chirping of birds wasn't that bad to wake up with, but the high-pitched and almost painful screeches of Terrible Terrors were something that he could live without. Each of their 'joyful squawks' was a sharp stab into someone's ear, and especially when Sneaky, who was sitting next to the burnt-out fire pit, tried his best to sound louder and more annoying than all the other Terrors.
"Sneaky." Hiccup wined softly as he rubbed his eyes, catching the attention of the small dragon. "Please don't."
Apparently the small dragon understood him, since he quickly jumped off into the bushes, probably heading towards the sea to get breakfast. In his haste to disappear into the treeline he quickly ran and jumped across the other dragons, who quickly woke up because of the small Terror that jumped across their bodies.
Stormfly quickly stood up as the Sneaky climbed across her head, she accidently bumped into Hookfang and Meatlug, who in turn bumped into Shimmer and Bolt. It was a small and calm chaos. The dragons, in their still sleepy state, started squawking and growling at each other, and Hiccup had to say that it was rather amazing to watch. The bickering between the large reptiles continued, all of the dragons slowly started getting more and more annoyed. Each of them trying to be louder and more dominant then the other. Only Meatlug had taken a different spot away from the bickering. Bolt actually pushed himself back with his wings, standing on his hind legs, towering over the other dragons.
However, Shimmer wasn't having anything of it, and the smaller dragon quickly head-butted the Skrill, making him stagger backwards. His back crashing into the three from which Toothless was still hanging. It was only at this point that the large black dragon decided that he wouldn't get any more sleep, and opened an eye to see what was going on. He could see most of the dragons, upside down, screeching and squawking at each other. He looked around calmly, but when Bolt was pushed against the three for a second time the branch from which he hung snapped, causing the large Nightfury to land unprepared and uncomfortably on the ground.
At this point Astrid got out of her tent. She had heard the commotion and had poked her head from the flaps of the tent. "What is going on?" She asked with sleepy and hoarse voice.
"Grumpy dragons." Hiccup said as he observed the dragons. "But not much longer."
Toothless slowly got up and looked around, and at that point Hiccup knew it was done. The Nightfury dug its paws into the ground, its sharp claws digging onto the soil. He leaned back and breathed in, before letting out a deafening roar that silenced the other dragons. They looked at the smaller black dragon, before each of them slowly sat or lay down. Not wanting to have to deal with the irritated Nightfury.
"Wow." Astrid said as he looked at how calm the dragons were now. "I want to learn that trick."
"You're already pretty good at that." Tuffnut shouted from inside his tent, causing Astrid to cast an angry glare at the tent from which the sound came.
"What?" Ruffnut asked as she climbed out of the Thorson tent, looking at the dragons, her shoulders slumping when she saw that they were calmly lying together. "Aah, we missed it."
A loud sigh was heard from inside the tent, and it didn't take long for Tuffnut to also emerge from the tent. He was rubbing his eye with one hand and used the other to crawl out of the opening. Snotlout emerged from the other tent. Behind him followed Fishlegs, who was still tying the ends of his belt together underneath his large fur.
Hiccup looked around, surprised. If they asked them to rise early they wouldn't be awoken by an earthquake. But when they had almost a full day to prepare for the next flight they rose with the sun. He didn't understand it at all. He shook his head, heading towards the path in the bushes that he had followed Heather last night.
The short walk was a lot easier to take now that the path was illuminated by the early morning sun. He could now see the branches that smacked him in his face the other night, and also the roots over which he almost tripped. When he reached the rock where he'd last seen the two he wasn't surprised to find the two still there. But he was surprised to see Ragnar awake and Heather asleep. He wore a content smile, and was gently stroking her raven hair. He looked up at Hiccup, his dark blue eyes shining as the sun reflected from them. He was awake and had energy, it basically poured out of his body.
It was amazing to see him so rested. He had only had half a night of sleep, but it was proper sleep. And since he was used to sleeping badly this did miracles. Heather occasionally stirred in her sleep, softly muttering inaudible things and pressing herself against Ragnar. Hiccup could see his smile growing even bigger, and could also see how relaxed he lay against the cold rock.
He nodded with a smile, earning a similar response from Ragnar, before heading back towards the camp. Once he left the bushes he quickly ran into Astrid, who had realised that she'd awoken in a tent with one person less than when she had gone to sleep.
"Where is Heather?" She asked calmly as she was checking Stormfly's saddlebags. Grabbing a piece of cheese from it for breakfast, quickly taking a bite from it. "Any idea?" She asked with a mouth full.
"Don't worry." Hiccup said, heading over to Toothless to grab some of his own breakfast. "She's with Ragnar."
"Hmm." Astrid hummed as confirmation while she took another bit of the cheese. She closed the bag and watched as Hiccup kneeled next to Toothless to search in the big saddlebags. From the bag he got a large piece of leather, probably with some kind of food inside. He also got a large piece of stone, which had a dark and scorched top. She looked at it with curiosity, in the last half year she had already discovered that if Hiccup grabbed something it was usually useful and smart. He threw the stone in front of Toothless. In response the large dragon huffed, annoyed, before striking the stone with a concentrated beam of plasma.
It now glowed red hot, and a few fires were still licking the surface of the stone. Hiccup calmly walked over to it and waited for the fires to die down, which didn't take long because they had nothing to support their flames. He then unwrapped to leather to grab a piece of fish from yesterday. Putting it down on the stone. Astrid watched with interest and he used a stick to turn the fish on its other side. The heated stone warming the cold meal from yesterday. She calmly walked over to it, the scent of the bakes fish reaching her nostrils and pulling her closer towards the ever so ingenious man.
She sat down next to him, carefully observing the fish as hot air came from the stone. Hiccup was focussed, carefully turning the fish regularly to make sure that it didn't burn and stick to the stone. Astrid was watching with interest. It wasn't fair to her. Sure, she wasn't the best cook of the island, but she considered herself a pretty good one. And usually if she handed someone something, they ate it really quickly, and were often speechless afterwards. But Hiccup was just amazing, she had a feeling that he could even make a proper meal out of grass or something like that. Maybe a salad with rocks or something.
Now she was just being ridiculous.
But it didn't matter, because her mouth was already watering at the sight and the smell of the meal that Hiccup was preparing. The boy, usually not that observant when it came to his crush, could feel how desperately she was looking at the fish that he was warming on the stone.
"Would you like some?" He asked calmly, not taking his eyes of the fish, turning it again to let the other side heat again.
Astrid looked at him, pleasantly surprised that Hiccup was willing to offer a part of his delicious breakfast to share with her. She gratefully accepted the offer, offering a piece of her cheese as exchange. Hiccup accepted, he didn't expect Astrid to make her own cheese, so it was probably safe to eat.
After a while the fish was properly heated, and warm to touch. Hiccup carefully lifted it with two sticks and put it on the piece of leather that he had pun on his lap. He grabbed his knife, first dusting it off on his pants before cutting a large piece from the fish and handing it to Astrid.
She took it with hast, breaking off a part of the soft and dry meat and eating it quickly. It was extremely tasty. It was a bit dry, but that was expectable from a fish from a day old, roasted on a campfire. But what surprised her was that Hiccup had actually flavoured it a bit, using some of the dried up salt from Shimmer's skin to give the fish just a bit more taste. It was ingenious.
The rest of the group also ate, and Ragnar and Heather joined them while they were halfway. They didn't question it, the couple would be missing together sometimes, and it was best to not go looking for them. They would always surface again after a while.
However, thanks to the lazy and calm way of beginning the morning the sun already stood high on the sky, and they knew that it would be best if they started packing. It wasn't that much work. They would just have to grab the large fabrics of their tents, put the sticks and poles they use to keep them up inside them and then roll them up with the rods inside. Afterwards they would tie them thin strips of leather and use that to keep them from rolling out during flight. Now they only had to be strapped to the saddle of an unfortunate dragon and they could go.
The trip they had to make was quite a bit, and they would need half the day to travel to the new island. This was good, because it meant that they could leave halfway through the day and arrive in the evening, under the cover of darkness. This way they wouldn't be spotted if there were any hostile people on the island. Like Templars.
It didn't take long for the camp to be cleared, the tents were broken down and secured on the saddles and the last remains of the campfire were concealed. They didn't want anyone to know that they had been there, so it was best not to leave any tracks.
The sun was just past the highest point of its arc when they took off. Heading towards the new island and towards a possible new adventure. Hiccup and Ragnar flew in front, discussing how easy it had been to find the lens and how strangely familiar the cave had been to some others they had encountered in their lives. Astrid had given up on trying to listen to their conversation, she had to admit that she trusted them enough to not need to know their secrets and past. At least not as much as she had wanted. She was now interested in something else, but she wasn't sure how to get to know the truth.
The flight was long and boring, they didn't get to do much other than the occasional trick or loop. It really was only to keep everyone from getting extremely bored and distracted. Now everyone was just a bit bored.
Hiccup calmly slowed down, getting himself at the same distance as Heather and Astrid. "We're going to go scout ahead." He said, the setting sun behind him. "You know the way."
"Alright." Heather shouted as Astrid tried to protest, but before she could say anything Hiccup had flew back to Ragnar, and the two were quickly growing more and more distant by the moment.
"Why did you let them go?" Astrid asked surprised. "Who knows what they'll do!"
"I thought you said you trusted them?" Heather asked calmly, knowing that she was annoying Astrid. "Don't you trust your crush?"
"I do trust him." Astrid answered quickly, only afterwards realising what she was saying. "Wait, he's not my crush."
"Ooh, too bad the others are far behind us." Heather said with a teasing voice. "I bet they'd love to hear this."
"I'll end you." Astrid said, her face set to kill. "I mean it."
"Alright." Heather said with a playful smirk. "I won't tell them."
"You sure?" Astrid asked to make sure.
"Yes, I won't tell the rest of the riders." Heather said calmly. "But I bet Hiccup would love this."
Heather could feel the burning glare of the Hofferson lass next to her, and she decided that it would be best not to make eye contact with her at this point. Teasing Astrid was a dangerous game, but it was very rewarding, and very fun.
They arrived after the sun had set, as planned. When the island appeared on the horizon they were startled as Hiccup suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Toothless being masked perfectly against the dark night sky.
"Come." He yelled softly across the winds, motioning the group to follow him. He dived down towards the water, the rest following. Their dragons didn't beat their wings, instead using their now gained speed to glide above the surface of the water, heading towards the coast of the island.
It was larger than the previous island, and was covered in thick foliage. Astrid remembered it, she had been there a few times before, since it was an island large enough for someone to survive on. And she had hoped that a certain boy might have washed up there, back in the days when she scoured the archipelago for signs of him.
They landed on the beach, Hiccup quickly motioning everyone to be silent, and luckily they listened. They dismounted their dragons carefully and formed a quick group by him, waiting for what he had to say.
"Okay, I'll keep it short and simple." Hiccup began, his voice nervous. "We're not the first ones here."
"Who's here?" Snotlout asked softly. "Can we attack them?"
"No, not at all!" Hiccup said sternly. "I really want everyone to take this seriously, don't attack!"
"Why?" Astrid asked as she swung her axe around her neck. "I bet we can take them."
"We can't without a proper plan." Hiccup said calmly. "Even Ragnar and I are threading carefully here."
"Weren't you two supposed to always be careful?" Heather asked, slightly worried that Hiccup and Ragnar were also wary of their enemy. "What are we up against?"
"Templars." Hiccup said softly. "A camp full of them."
"So what do we do?" Tuffnut asked, surprising the group that he was actually willing to listen to a plan.
"We sleep up, and attack in the morning." Hiccup explained. "It's a point where most of their soldiers are tired and won't be at their strongest."
"We'll catch them off guard." Astrid said as she listened to the plan. "Are we going to scout or something like that?"
"Yes we will." Hiccup explained. "We planned it for early in the morning, just before the attack."
Now that the planning was done Hiccup led them through the foliage and towards a place that Ragnar had found for a camp. It was a small clearing in the thick forest, and was perfect for them. They wasted no time in silently setting up their tents and getting ready for the night. Their dinner consisting of some leftovers from the day before, since they couldn't risk lighting a fire and being discovered.
They went to sleep quick and calmly, the night taking everyone away in a second. The trip had been exhausting, and they couldn't wait for the quick breakfast in the morning. They would rise early, taking time to sharpen their weapons and prepare their equipment for the attack. It wasn't a necessity, but Hiccup had stated that they'd need to be as prepared as possible.
The night passed quickly, but not quick enough for them to miss it. Hiccup and Ragnar climbed out of their tents with ease, awake and ready for the attack. They calmly woke everyone, and in a few minutes everyone stood beside their tents and was ready.
It was a simple plan, first they would all prepare. The assassins would clad themselves in their armour, testing their equipment and making last adjustments to them to make sure everything was working perfectly. Astrid was sharpening her axe after she had put on her armour, which she usually wore anyway. Heather was sharpening her double axe, testing the hinge to make sure it functioned properly.
The twins were doing their own preparations, Ruffnut was sharpening their double-edged spears while Tuffnut was waxing his bow. Taking great care in the process. It was one of the rare occasions that the twins would actually be focussed on a task, preparing for battle.
Fishlegs was polishing his short sword, and was very nervous. He didn't like the idea of having to attack a camp full of trained foreigners. He had already expressed his fear to Hiccup, and he had promised that he'd try to find a safe spot for him, but that they did need him. Just like Fishlegs, Snotlout was also a bit of nervous, he was used to dragons and Vikings, but this was something new, something he wasn't used to. That did strike a small bit of fear in him. He might not show it, but he feared that someone would get hurt in the fight.
It was time, preparations were made and all weapons had been sharpened to be the most effective. They group gathered everything and made a last check, before silently heading out into the bushes.
"Remember, we're only scouting." Ragnar said sternly as they sneaked through the forest. They would first check the surroundings of the camp and then return for their dragons, using them for a surprise attack on the camp.
Multiple responses sounded softly from the group, all agreeing and understanding that they were not to attack unless absolutely necessary. They calmly moved further, until they arrived at a small hill that lay at the side of the Templar camp.
The camp was different than theirs, instead of a bunch of small tents the Templars had taken large square tents, in which quite a group of people could sleep. A few torches burned throughout the camp, and a few stakes were put in the ground as a basic deterrent against local wildlife. Outside of the tents a few men stood around one of the torches, discussing something in their foreign language.
"Are those all?" Ruffnut asked confused. "I thought there was a whole army."
"Those are the night guards." Hiccup replied softly. "There's more in the tents."
"How much more?" Fishlegs asked nervously.
"We found two boats on the beach during our arrival." Hiccup explained. "So they are probably with thirty or forty men."
"And we're with eight." Snotlout said softly. Hiccup motioned the group to crawl back behind the hill again. Ragnar remaining on it to keep an eye on the Templars.
"Alright, Ragnar and I'll lead the attack on the ground." Hiccup began. "Heather, Astrid and Snotlout will cover us with their dragons."
"Sounds good." Tuffnut said. "What will we do?"
"Provide cover from this hill." Hiccup explained. "Fishlegs will stay with you to defend against anyone who comes up the hill."
"Okay." Fishlegs said softly. "I can do that."
The air was tense around them. It was the silence before the storm. They were facing a relatively unknown enemy, and although Berk had already had a run with Templars they hadn't had any combat with them.
A few meters from them Ragnar was calmly lying on the hill. Observing the camp, it would just be another routine attack, only this time they would have cover, which wasn't something he minded. They would have to attack soon, since the glow of the sun was already visible on the horizon. He looked at the camp, there were a total of nine soldiers outside of their tents, and one of them was asleep on a bench. It wouldn't be too hard to attack, with a bit of luck they could force one tent to collapse, which would mean that the Templar soldiers inside would need more time to get out into the fight. He'd plotted the plan carefully in his head, knowing that Hiccup would understand his plans with a short explanation.
He looked at the largest tent of the camp. It had large Templar banners next to the entrance, and was probably the tent in which the leader slept. Probably some high-ranked noble or something who had a bit of strategic experience.
One of the men walked to the tent, disappearing inside. He exited with an annoyed expression and his helmet lob side on his head. Apparently the leader wasn't a morning person. He soon appeared from the tent after the soldier, clad in armour that was just a bit too small for him. He had messy blonde hair and that round, fat face. He held a piece of meat in his hand, eating it in the most disgusting way imaginable.
Ragnar stood up, standing tall on the hill against the dawn sky. His silhouette was illuminated as his robes waved in the cold morning winds. The Templars didn't notice him at first, but the leader soon looked up at him and saw the hooded man standing to the far side of the camp. He let go of his food, dropping it in a puddle that was next to his feet.
"Assassino!" He shouted loudly, quickly retreating back into his tent. The guards that were calmly standing around now were at full attention. Even the new recruits new that word, but they were told that there wouldn't be the thread of assassins this far north.
Hiccup heard the commotion and looked up, finding Ragnar's previous spot empty. He quickly climbed up the hill, seeing his partner running at the Templar encampment, evading the soldiers that tried to stop them, he ran straight through their defences, but would soon find himself cornered.
"What's happening?" Heather asked when she saw the grave expression on Hiccup's face.
"New plan!" Hiccup yelled, getting everyone's attention. "We attack now." He said as he stood up and followed Ragnar down the hill, soon hearing the war cries of the riders behind him.
Ragnar had already made it deep into the camp, and the defenders were having trouble to choose the greater threat, but luckily they decided that the Viking horde led by yet another assassin. This luckily gave Ragnar some breathing room. Which he, whether or not he knew it, desperately needed.
The first contact was made by Hiccup, jumping with his feet first, landing both of them on the shoulders of a Templar and sending him into the ground, his blade sinking into his neck. He quickly jumped off and ran for a group, startling the rest of the group that was lingering behind.
The Vikings would need a few seconds to defeat an enemy, it was usually the same way, wait for them to attack, parry, and strike when they can't defend. However, Hiccup was ferocious, in the time that Snotlout would need to defeat one enemy, Hiccup would run up to a group of foes and attack with deadly speed and precision. However, although he fought apart from the group, he never let his eyes wander away from them.
At one point, when Heather was occupied he quickly used his crossbow to shoot a Templar behind him, Astrid finishing him off. They were a well-oiled team, and were making short work of the camp. However, Ragnar was still nowhere to be seen.
It didn't take long for them to clear the camp, and the last thing to do was to find their missing member. They split up, everyone searching the possible places where he could be. It didn't take long for someone to check the tent of the leader, but unfortunately the person to find him was Fishlegs. After a few second of entering the tent he quickly exited, dumping the contents of his stomach outside. The gang quickly ran up to him.
"What's going on?" Heather asked, fear evident in her voice.
"He's in there." Fishlegs said.
Hiccup and Heather quickly ran in, fearing the worst. Luckily, he was alive, but the scene they found wasn't pretty. Ragnar was at the far end of the tent, using both his blades to repeatedly stab the already dead Templar leader. Heather was frozen, but Hiccup quickly acted. He headed up to Ragnar and forcefully pulled him back, snapping him out of his confused state. He looked at the dead body in front of him. The exact look of fear still evident on the face of the Templar leader. HE let his breathing calm down, observing the body in front of him.
Hiccup now realised what had happened, he also recognized the body that lay in front of them. The blonde haired Templar was there when he first stormed those dungeons, but he fled and Hiccup wasn't in a position to go after him. He was the man of Ragnar's nightmares. So it didn't surprise him that directly went after him when he saw it. It was dangerous and stupid, but he understood.
"Is he," Ragnar began, his voice soft and dry. "Is he dead?"
Hiccup looked at the body, the armour and clothes of the man was red, soaked with blood. A large puddle was already forming underneath the deceased Templar. A thin line of blood dripped from his lips, and his chest was filled with multiple wounds.
"He's dead." Hiccup said as he looked at the body. "I'm sure."
"Okay." Ragnar said, now slowly crawling backwards, Heather stood behind him, and as soon as he bumped into her she kneeled down and hugged him tightly. The assassin was transformed to a young boy again, hugging her back like she was the only person that he trusted in the world. He pressed his face into her shoulder, because he didn't want to see anyone, and he didn't want anyone to see him. He softly started sobbing, Heather gently rubbing his back for comfort.
"Shhh." Heather said softly. "It's over now."
Hiccup kneeled next to the body, closing the eyes of the diseased Templar. He hated the man, he hated him with a passion, but that didn't mean that he did not deserve his final rites and a calm passing.
"Requiescat in pace." He said softly, knowing that Ragnar wouldn't be too happy with him whishing this bastard a peaceful afterlife. He then saw the corner of a blood-soaked piece of paper sticking out from a pocket in the man's armour. He carefully grabbed it, not wanting to rip the soaked paper. It had been written by some kind of ink, so it was smudged by the warm blood. The only thing that wasn't soaked in the red and sticky liquid was the corner, it was smudged, but still readable.
Drago Bludvist.
The name rung a bell, but he would have to look at his old notes to be sure. He stood up and casted a glance at Heather and Ragnar, Heather looking at him with a questioning look. Ragnar still had his face pressed into her shoulder, but the sobbing had luckily stopped.
He walked past them, heading out of the tent where the rest of the gang had gathered. The first one to speak was Astrid.
"What's going on?" She asked quickly. "Is he okay?"
"Yea, sure, he's fine." Hiccup said calmly, scratching the back of his neck. "Heather's in there with him."
"What happened?" Ruffnut asked, she had been helping Fishlegs with emptying his guts. "Why did he go berserk?"
"That's his business." Hiccup said sternly. "If he wishes to share it with you, you'll hear it." He looked around him at the remains of the camp. "Let's start cleaning."
It was tradition. After a fight, whomever your enemy was, you would help them after the fight. The dead needed help for their passing to Valhalla, and they wouldn't load boats themselves. It was tough work, loading the two vessels with the bodies of the fallen Templars, but the help of dragons made it easier. Ragnar had joined them again, for he wanted to see the body burn, just to be sure. The vessels were pushed out to sea, and the tinder on their decks were lit with a simple fire blast from a dragon. It wasn't the prettiest funeral, but it would have to do. They had other things to do.
They still needed to find something, probably another lens. It would be somewhere around the area, they only needed to find it. It didn't take long for Fishlegs to suggest they'd use Stormfly's good nose to search for any expeditions that the Templars had done around the island. The large bird-like dragon led them through the island at ease, not stopping a second as she pushed small trees and bushes out of the way to make a path.
It didn't take long for the gang to find a large opening in a rock, the cave already lit from the inside by a blueish glow. They decided that it would be best to set up camp in front of it, the island was safe now, and the large rock wall would keep them out of the wind. One group would gather the tents and supplies, meanwhile. Astrid, Hiccup, Ragnar and Heather would inspect the large and mystical cave.
Hiccup would go with Heather, since Ragnar wanted him to explain his history, since he didn't feel comfortable with talking about it. Astrid would go with Ragnar, since it would be safer for both of them to have at least one person who was a bit familiar with the Temples.
They headed in, both groups heading their separate ways, but while Hiccup explained the basics of Ragnar's behaviour, Ragnar was talking about something else.
At first Astrid and him were just walking calmly together, Astrid holding a torch to light a still dark tunnels. The blue light glowed dimly at the back of the hallway, but every time they rounded a corner it was still a pretty far bit away.
"So, how long have you liked him?" Ragnar casually asked, inspecting the clean and smooth walls, avoiding her gaze.
Astrid meanwhile almost tripped over her own feet. She was slowly starting to get used to Heather making those kinds of accusations, but she wasn't expecting this. "Who?" She asked, playing dumb.
"Gobber." Ragnar said with a sarcastic tone. "Who do you think?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Astrid quickly replied, avoiding eye contact.
"Sure." Ragnar said as he turned to her. "And the reddish colour of your face is the torch?"
"Yes." Astrid answered to quickly, cursing to herself for not being more calm and patient.
"You can tell me." Ragnar said calmly as he continued down the hallway, before turning to her again. "I might also know something."
"You do?" Astrid asked, again way too quickly. "I mean, what do you mean?"
"You learn a lot about someone in a few years." Ragnar said as he trailed his hand across the walls. "I know a lot about Hiccup's interests."
"Define interests." Astrid said carefully, not willing to slip up too much.
"Well, dragons, of course." Ragnar said with a grin. "Berk, the cause of the assassins, Toothless, maybe somethings or someone else."
"Someone?"
"Hey, even assassins have emotions, you have a perfect example right here." Ragnar said as he pointed at himself. "You must be jealous that Heather has already hooked herself one."
"Has she been talking to you?" Astrid asked carefully. The raven haired girl already knew way too much, and she didn't want all that sensitive information leaking towards Ragnar and possibly Hiccup.
"We talk all the time." Ragnar teased. "It's important in a relation, luckily you already talk a lot with him."
Astrid balled her fists, Ragnar was even worse than Heather. "What are you implying?"
"I've seen the way you act, it's pretty clear." Ragnar said. "The fish you try to steal, the way you try to keep him grounded."
Astrid was feeling her face get warm, and it wasn't only the torch. "So?" She said, averting eye contact again.
"I'd say go for it." Ragnar said with a smile. "I'd say you're chances are pretty good."
"You think?" Hiccup asked as he used inferno to illuminate the insides of a large hall.
"Yea, definitely." Heather said as she calmly followed. "You're golden."
"I don't know." He replied as he looked around the hall, spotting a similar pedestal as the one they found on the previous island. "I don't want to risk the friendship."
Heather sighed loudly. "You're both cowards." She said as she followed him to the pedestal, Hiccup was carefully observing the piece of stone for possible traps. Heather just walked up to the lens that lay on top and grabbed it, twisting it in her fingers. "Sometimes you just have to take something you want."
"Sure." Hiccup said as he carefully walked away from the pedestal, still fearing possible traps.
From the other side of the room they now heard voices, and quickly recognised them to be the other two.
"Hey!" Heather yelled loudly, her voice echoing through the strange structure. It took a while before she got a response.
"Heather?" Astrid's voice echoed through the halls, her voice a mix of joy and irritation. Heather swallowed, fearing that her boyfriend decided to slip some of the information she told him in confidence.
They appeared out of a small hallway that was at the far end of the large room. They greeted each other and made sure everyone was alright, before calmly heading out the way Heather and Hiccup had taken.
The camp had been set up, and it looked like the intensive day was finally taking its toll on everyone. The twins looked tired, and Snotlout was almost asleep. They had already set up the tents, hoping to be able to sleep as soon as possible.
Hiccup smiled as he looked around, he had to admit that he was growing tired as well. "Rest up." He said calmly, looking at the tent that stood ready for him. "We'll head back to Berk somewhere tomorrow."
If the rest still had energy to cheer they would, but they settles with sighs of relieve as they climbed into their tents and greeted some well earned slumber.
AN:
So, there's another one done. Sorry that it took a bit longer.
Allow me to explain why, and why updates will probably be one in two weeks again.
As most of you will know I finished my finals, and my new study had finally started, the week before last week was my introduction, which was extremely tiring, mentally and physically. It was like some kind of military boot camp.
Anyway, that was why there wasn't an update last week, the previous week my school finally started, and I must say that it is interesting, but also time consuming. I had to write the chapter quickly and a bit hasted, so I hope it isn't too noticeable.
Anyway, I'll be busy for most of the week, so it'll be difficult to find writing time.
For those interested in what kind of study I'm doing, as well as some other information, here you go. I study 'Ocean Technology', also known as Hydrography. It's basically a cartographer for the seafloor (Basic explanation).
I study at the MIWB, in Dutch the 'Maritiem Instituut Willem Barentz', it's basically a large naval school on some small island called Terschelling. Holland has these five small island above it, and I currently live on the third one. This meant that I had to move and stuff and that I still have to travel quite a bit, so that also takes up some time.
Anyway, that's most for now. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and the story. If you have anything to say, review, if now, still feel free to review. :P
Take Care!
R4y