New chapter! I really want to start on The Runaway 2, at least getting a little taster out there for everyone (Which will be posted on the end of The Runaway 1 when I finally do it!), but I can't when I have this story already 2 days behind. I never seem to get time to write on Weekends, which doesn't make sense unless you think about the fact that I'm always doing something with different organisations or my family.

Snowflake: Well, one should hope so! I think we can safely assume so.

Guest: I've been working on a little soft-toy of Toothless, hand-sewing it and I hoped to get it done by the end of the summer. But thanks to this and the summer art project I didn't do in the beginning, I don't think I'll be able to. Oh well, I'll do it sometime!

Instead of retreating, as his rider was frantically asking him to do, Torch bared his teeth with a sinister snarl as the purple-black Skrill came closer. It's whole body crackled with energy. Tuffnut screamed at his dragon once more, not believing that he could possibly take on a dragon that had once defeated Toothless himself. Torch stooped and dived to avoid one bolt of charged energy, swerving as only a Typhoomerang could as another narrowly missed his wing. His glittering flame-orange scales were lit up with every bright flash as he put on quite a show for the guards gathered beneath.

Despite orders from their chief, the Berserkers were too fascinated by the dragon fight to continue chasing down either the Hooligan chief or his powerful dragon, nor were they very concerned as the vibrant Scauldron returned to pick up his rider, dripping with sea water. Ruffnut stumbled up to him, scrambling aboard before she lay across his neck in exhaustion. He spread his wings and heaved himself into the air, humming discontentedly. He wasn't sure whether his rider was okay or not, and as soon as he was able, he craned his neck back to stare at her.

"Don't look like that!" She wheezed, her hands on her hips as she regained her breath. "That was a lot or running, and my lungs still aren't better from when I was captured!" When the Scauldron continued to murmur unhappily, she gave him a hearty slap to the neck, laughing encouragingly. "Come on, you worry too much! You'd think I'd been through a war!"

Ruffnut looked out at her brother and his dragon, watching them swoop and dive with just as much interest as Dagur's troops. Then, she sighed softly, looking behind her, over the forest into which her chief had escaped. She could hear the shrieks of his dragon echoing faintly through the trees as Toothless searched in vain for his rider. Her brow creased.

"Scauldy, we need to go find Toothless. When we find him, we can find Hiccup, and when we find him, then we've got our leaders back. They'll have a plan, I just know it." Leaving her brother to fend for himself, she closed her eyes as her dragon made the turn to take them off in the direction of the calls. The Scauldron could obviously pinpoint where they emanated from with far more accuracy, as he tilted his head from side to side, concentrating hard. Ruffnut scoured the trees, looking for any breaks that might give them the clear sight they needed to spot him.

There was a sudden rush of black in the corner of her eye. She started, staring into the trees where she caught sight of it, catching another and another. A black shape heading through the forest, in hot pursuit of something. Scauldy was looking the same way. The young woman nodded. It had to be him.

Flying Scauldy closer, she peered more closely at the ground around her. She could clearly see the Night Fury, stopping to take a quick, panting breath before he set off once again. She pointed out the direction for her dragon, though he was quite capable of seeing it for himself, and they swooped down above him, edging closer with every wing beat. Toothless could have easily outpaced them if he were flying, but due to his accident 7 years ago, he now couldn't fly without the aid of his rider, and for the first time in her life, Ruffnut appreciated this, for it made her task a lot easier.

"Toothless!" She shouted down to him. His ears flickered, but save for that, he didn't slow in his pace at all. "Hey, stop a minute! We're here to help you!" Ruffnut's shouts didn't seem to make any difference to him. He was fixated on this one task and this task only. The twin took a breath, hoping she could find the words to convince the highly intelligent dragon to listen. "Look, Toothless, I know you want to find Hiccup, but this isn't the way to do it. You're alone and you're scared, I know, but please, let us help you. It's much easier to search from the air, don't you think?"

For second, it looked like the dragon was completely ignoring her. He kept on galloping at his alarming pace, unmoved. But slowly, slowly, his head turned towards her, and he looked up to meet her eyes. In a couple of strides, he gathered himself, tightly coiled like a spring, and then he soared up into the sky, snatching hold of Scauldy's back just behind his wing. The Scauldron was pulled heavily towards him, trying to stay level, though it was hard. His front claws dug in, hind paws scrabbling for a purchase, but he was beginning to slide back. The dragon was too wet and too sleek. He just couldn't hold on...

"Hang on!" Ruffnut threw herself at him, snatching one of his shoulder straps in both hands and heaving strongly, giving him just the pull he needed to bring a hind paw up and push himself into the centre of the Scauldron's back. Finally safe, both dragon and women fell back with a deep sigh of relief. Toothless looked up at Ruffnut with deeply adoring eyes, shining clearly and brightly.

"Now, we can find your rider," Ruffnut smiled, but her sentiment was cut short by a screech. She looked up just in time to find Torch barrelling towards them at high speed, the Skrill in hot pursuit. The Typhoomerang narrowly avoided smashing into the party, and Scauldy dived just in time to dodge the purple-black creature as it zoomed past. Torch span around, giving it a blast of hot flame, but Dagur's Skrill shook it off as if it were nothing. Another blast of energy sent Torch into a spiralling dive from which he barely recovered.

"Toothless, do something!" Ruffnut cried, though the Night Fury seemed to already have something in mind. He reared up, his dorsal stripe beginning to glow once again as he charged up a powerful bolt of plasma in his gut. The whistle became louder and louder so that Ruffnut was on the verge of covering her ears. Toothless bared his teeth, taking in his target, his intelligent eyes following the Skrill as it made another dive for Torch. Scauldy was looking back nervously, humming to his rider.

In a second, the blast rang out, so bright the rider was almost blinded. It zoomed with practised accuracy at it's target, striking the Skrill in the head. The scream was unbearable yet triumphant as the dragon's wings collapsed and it spiralled into the forest. The Skrill was defeated, gone, disappearing between the pines. Toothless gave a roar of victory, then nudged Ruffnut, who was still staring at the place in the sky where the creature had been struck. A chuckle bubbled up from inside her, but somehow, she still felt upset. Had they killed the dragon? Would it come back?

Toothless was suddenly silent, his ears standing on end, tense and alert. He was looking over the forest as if he could hear something. The Skrill coming back, perhaps? No, it was too close to the village. She strained her ears, closing her eyes to better hear what the dragon beside her could. Something so faint, the twin almost couldn't believe it was real. A voice, weak and cracking, calling out for someone. Toothless leapt off Scauldy's back without a second thought, ignoring Ruffnut's calls after him. He crashed into the forest below, smashing through the foliage and out of sight. Scauldy halted above him, Torch just meters behind.

"Where did he go?" She heard her brother call across the gap. She glanced over at him, a look of pure fear plastered over her face.

"I don't know! He heard something, and then just jumped!" She turned back, at a loss as to what to do.

Suddenly, a shape tore back through the trees. With a roar of triumph, Toothless folded his wings and span to the top of his climb, letting himself fall back a few meters, wings open, before regaining himself and circling around them. And there, perched on his back, was the chief of their tribe. Hiccup was back.

Fells like a good place to stop, even if it is a little short. Whoop! Skrill defeated and Hiccup and Toothless back! But there's a problem. Can you guess what it is?

I love writing...