Information about the Cure

After hours of flying, Astrid and Stormfly finally arrived at Berk and made a beeline for Gothi's hut. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the healer's Gronkle. Then the dragon's rider came out and asked the shield maiden via scribbles what brought her to her hut all the way from Dragon's Edge.

"I need whatever notes you have on the Scourge of Odin," said Astrid, "Snotlout caught it during patrol."

Gothi's eyes widened in fear and she nodded her head 'yes' and went inside to fetch her notes about the Scourge of Odin. Astrid paced back and forth as she waited nervously for the healer to come back out with the notes she needed. As she waited, Astrid started to become more and more nervous and worried; what if Gothi found nothing that could help? What if she did not make it in time to save Snotlout?

Suddenly, Fanghook landed nearby and Gustav came up to the hut and greeted the girl who formed the team he was currently leading.

"Hey, Astrid," said Gustav, "Fanghook and I saw you and Stormfly arrive. We saw you two land here and were hoping to catch up. Maybe go for a fly."

"Sorry, Gustav," said Astrid, "Stormfly and I are only here to get notes from Gothi. We're leaving right after we get them."

"Why?" Gustav asked, "What's the hurry?"

"We've got a really sick dragon rider," said Astrid, "And he needs a cure pronto."

"Whoa," said Gustav, now feeling concerned, "Who is it? It's not Hiccup, is it?"

Astrid shook her head and said, "It's Snotlout."

"What's wrong with him?" Gustav asked.

Astrid started to wonder if she should tell him or not. Part of her felt that she should tell him and have him tell Spitelout, feeling that Spitelout deserved to know what was happening with his son. Although, another part of her felt that it might be dangerous to let that information get out, fearing that it might cause a panic throughout the whole village. Before Astrid could make her choice, she felt someone tap her arm and turned to see Gothi holding a scroll out to her; these had to be the notes she came for!

"Thank you, Gothi," said Astrid, taking the scroll from the old woman. Astrid was just about to take off when Gothi stopped her and scribbled in the dirt asking if she should tell Spitelout what happened. Astrid finally made her choice, "I guess it's only right that he knows. It is his son after all."

"Knows what?" Gustav asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Gustav, I don't have time to talk," said Astrid, "I really need to go."

With that, Astrid mounted Stormfly and took off into the air. Gustav turned to Gothi to ask her what was wrong, and she told him what Astrid told her. Gustav finally understood why Astrid was in such a hurry to leave and why Spitelout should know. As the leader of the A-Team, Gustav felt it was his responsibility to tell Spitelout, so he took Fanghook to go look for him.

Back at Dragon's Edge, Snotlout was still sick in bed and just waking up. He could see that Hiccup was waiting impatiently for Astrid to return with Gothi's notes. His impatience was reflected in the fact that he was currently pacing back and forth.

"Hiccup, stop that pacing already," Snotlout moaned, "You're gonna make a hole in the floor."

"Sorry," said Hiccup, "I'm just really worried."

"Relax, Hiccup," said Snotlout, "I'm sure Astrid's fine. She's tough, she can take care of herself."

"I don't have any doubts about how strong Astrid is," said Hiccup, "What I'm worried about is you. She's on her way back with Gothi's notes that could contain information about how to cure you."

Snotlout smiled at his cousins words and then Fishlegs came in. "Hey, Hiccup, why don't you get some rest? I'll watch over Snotlout."

"How about you both get some rest?" Snotlout suggested, "I have Hookfang."

Hiccup was about to reply when he and the others heard Stormfly land outside. He met up with Astrid, who handed him the notes she went to get.

As Hiccup read Gothi's notes, Astrid approached her sick friend and said, "Hey, Snotlout. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Snotlout answered. He then smiled and said, "It might help me feel better if you warm me with your body. I'm feeling a little chilly."

Astrid rolled her eyes and then covered him with a blanket and said, "Even when you're sick, you're the same old Snotlout."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Snotlout.

At that moment, Hiccup found something in Gothi's notes that made him smile. "There's a cure!" he declared, "In Gothi's notes, there's a cure for the Scourge of Odin!"

"Really?" Snotlout asked, sitting up, "I'm so relieved!"

"It says right here that the cure for the Scourge of Odin is a green solution made from the saliva of a Buffalord dragon," Hiccup said, reading from the scroll. He noticed that both Astrid and Fishlegs were silent and looked upset about something, "What? What is it?"

"Guys, Hiccup just read about a cure for my illness," said Snotlout, "I'm gonna be fine. Shouldn't you be happy."

"That is good news," said Fishlegs, "Except... Well... The thing is..."

"There aren't any Buffalord," Astrid finished sadly, "They were all hunted to extinction during the Scourge's last out break."

"No," Snotlout said in shock, "That can't be. That can't be true."

"That's right," said Hiccup, "We don't know for sure that they're all gone. We need to get out there and find one."

"Hiccup, think about this rationally," said Astrid, "We don't even know where to start looking."

"Astrid's right," said Fishlegs, "There's no mention of the Buffalord anywhere. It's like they were completely wiped from history."

"We can't just give up," said Hiccup, "Snotlout's life is on the line! We have to do something!"

Suddenly, everyone heard Snotlout coughing violently and saw him fall over back on the bed. Hiccup immediately rushed to his side and Snotlout looked up at him, his eyes filled with fear.

"Hiccup... I'm scared," Snotlout whispered before he passed out again.

Hiccup put the blanket back on Snotlout and said, "I'm not giving up on you. We're family."

With that, Astrid and Fishlegs went to get whatever research material they could find on dragons; the Book of Dragons, Bork's papers, even the Dragon Eye notes. Hiccup was right, they could not just give up on one of their own; not without trying everything they could. Hiccup decided to stay with Snotlout a little longer, just to make sure he rested. He only hoped that their research would not be in vein.

Author's Note: I hope I did a good job on this one. Please be honest. I felt that it might make sense for Gustav to stop by after seeing Astrid arrive at Berk and to have Gustav feel that it's his responsibility to tell Spitelout. Gustav is the leader of the A-Team and Spitelout is one of his riders after all. I also hope that I captured the other riders accurately.