2 - Island Hopping
Toothless would be the first to admit that he has done some strange things in his life. Hit a rock with his head out of sheer boredom until one of them splits in two. Take a free-falling dive into a dense forest from high altitude. Lose a tailfin, then learn to fly again with the aid of his rider. Kill a mind-controlling demonic queen by blowing her up from the inside out. Tip over a yak because he didn't like the way it looked at him. Things that would make land-striders and dragons alike do a double-take.
This, however, was one of the strangest things he never thought he'd ever do. Pressed against his own black scales was the hand of a strange land-strider. The so-called Dragon Whisperer. A while back, the dragon's rider had done this very same thing, back before he was a rider. This time, though, with the Dragon Whisperer, was so much different. He could actually hear dragons! No other land-strider could do that. Well, technically, one other can, but she's old and ornery and keeps to herself.
The Dragon Whisperer didn't look special in any way. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale flesh, the usual slabs of dead hide to provide some protection. He was unusually short for a mature land-strider, but his posture, the way he held himself even with the injured leg, portrayed confidence in his own abilities. Each motion he made had a certain snap to it, like when the dragon riders are all trying to impress each other, but it was just natural for this little critter.
Earlier tonight, Toothless' rider was threatened. His blood boiled and his vision turned red as rage took over. He knew that if he broke from hiding and attacked, there were far too many enemies to expect to survive this encounter, but that did not matter. The leader of these interlopers was about to attack his precious rider!
However, even in his seething rage, he saw the Dragon Whisperer, shiny claw exposed, and could tell he intended to intervene on the rider's behalf. It all turned out to be a false alarm, but it was enough to give the dragon pause so he could beat down the rage and think clearly like his rider always would. The Dragon Whisperer unwittingly averted the likely death of both dragon and rider and Toothless had to figure out why and how.
For a while, Toothless had been darting around the invaders, snapping twigs and trying to draw them away from each other. They always moved in pairs, but he was hoping to separate them enough so that he could dash in and pluck his rider to safety without any retaliation. They were too smart to fall for such a ploy, though, so it was back to deciding whether to rush in and die or wait and see what happens. Rushing in wasn't really an option. Toothless knew that if he was overwhelmed, his rider wouldn't run; he would stand and fight to the death to protect his dragon. Such was the intensity of their devotion towards each other.
This was why Toothless always left it to his rider come up with the brilliant ideas.
That wasn't an option, so Toothless resorted to separating the Dragon Whisperer from all the others. At first, it was just curiosity. If one is to go mad with worry for his rider, why not investigate some strange anomaly in the meantime? Such a task proved easier than anticipated as this land-strider also wanted this meeting to occur.
Initially the Dragon Whisperer simply let out a torrent of impressions in a haphazard mess, expressing how grateful he felt to be trusted by a dragon and how he only wanted to help and that he wasn't one of those interloping land-striders out there and he could help save the dragon's rider and he'll make fish rain from the sky and so on.
Toothless twitched the sensor lobes around the base of his head to keep track of his rider. Guided by a lifetime of experience, he settled in on the optimum positions to hear the projections of his rider and all the other land-striders in this forest.
Land-striders always assume these to be ear fins, but each sensor lobe was actually a tightly corded web of nerves encased in scaly hide. Even when they're not thinking with their lips, dragons and land-striders are always projecting some sort of passive hum. Not only could these sensor lobes attenuate to pick up the faintest whispers from much farther away than most other dragons, but they also allowed him to perceive distance and direction of the projection's source. Such a unique trait that augmented his night vision made him the true master of the night.
Even when trying to be sneaky, these interlopers were still quietly grumbling as they thought with their lips, producing glaring points of coordinated thought patterns that stuck out among the general hum. Toothless' sensor lobes continued to twitch around methodically, feeling out where these projections were coming from. Aside from just location, he could pick up bits of what thoughts they were projecting. A land-striders projections have always been a muddy stream compared to a dragon's calm and clear pond, but at least their primal emotions were easy to discern.
Past this Dragon Whisperer was a lone land-strider whose passive hum boiled with apprehension and frustration. It would seem that some omnipotent and all-powerful entity placed an exposed root in front of his foot as it was apparently the only explanation of how he tripped and sprained his wrist. At least, that was the gist of what Toothless could garner.
There were others, farther away, scattered about in pairs, radiating apprehension and excitement. Each wanted to be the one to take down the elusive black dragon. They were cautiously searching around but annoyingly mindful to stay close enough to quickly receive aid should they run into trouble. Last, but certainly not least, Toothless could sense his rider, whose projections he could recognize in his sleep, along with that crazy leader of the interlopers that hummed with joy, scorn, and far too much enthusiasm for comfort. Despite all that, the rider felt calm and annoyed more than worried.
Good. Nothing has changed, then. Even though it would be suicide to run right in, Toothless wouldn't hesitate for an instant if his rider started to feel like he really needed help. Technically, Toothless wasn't even supposed to be in this forest. He was supposed to be with all the other dragons on the far side of the island to allow their riders to wander the forest alone and practice their survival skills. Apparently, for land-striders, surviving on their own requires more than just finding a high bluff, warming a patch of stone with a stream of fire, and curling up to sleep. The riders were counting on some time alone in the forest to train, but they certainly were not counting on interlopers suddenly showing up to hunt their dragons.
Content that all was well for the moment, Toothless opened his eyes and looked at the Dragon Whisperer. Toothless had stopped paying attention to all the pleading for trust and cooperation to save the world or something like that in favor of checking up on his rider, but could simply review his memories of what just happened. Unlike land-striders, dragons lacked the astonishing ability to forget things. However, even though land-striders couldn't instantly recall every impression since birth, they compensated in imagination and creating new thoughts, which was why Toothless was hopeful that this one may be of some use.
In reviewing what the Dragon Whisperer was saying, it's an intriguing tale. Island of violent land-striders, caged dragons, Dragon Whisperer could talk to them, has seen that dragons are not simple-minded beasts, wanted to free them but had no opportunity to do so. He was certain there are dragon riders on this island and wanted to meet them and see what could be done to handle a looming threat that would surely spread. Oh, and it all happens to revolve around that crazy interloper out there in the forest.
Toothless narrowed his eyes at the land-strider standing in front of him. {Do you realize just how insane you are?}
It was Toothless's first actual projected thought above the primal hum of emotions, serving more as a communication test than anything else. Even though he was expecting a reply, he couldn't suppress his surprised yelp at hearing it come across so a crisp and clear from a land-strider. No groping around in a muddy river to try to figure out what he was trying to communicate.
{Am I insane to trust you to want to do what is right, dragon, or for all the other reasons?}
Toothless snorted. {All of it. You impaled your own leg with your shiny claw!}
{You didn't trust me! What other choice did I have? I'm just glad you didn't fly off because your land-strider friends need to know what I have to tell them.}
Toothless huffed in irritation. First things first. {If you help me deliver my rider to safety, I will allow you to speak with him.}
The Dragon Whisperer cocked his head in thought. {I can do that now. We will attract them all to this bluff and create a distraction and your rider can easily flee to safety. Then you can fly off to create a distraction that will send the invaders fleeing and then take me to the land-strider nest on this island. They will naturally want to apprehend me and I am content with that.}
Fair enough. There was just one slight technicality. {I cannot fly. Not on my own at least.}
The Dragon Whisperer gave him a flat stare. Toothless returned it with an annoyed glare. He flicked his tail around to reveal his missing tailfin and the bright red prosthetic replacement, projecting images of his rider sitting on his back, using his foot in some sort of mechanism to control the prosthetic tailfin. The Dragon Whisperer started to connect things in his mind, confusion giving way to excitement.
{You're asking me to ride you?}
Toothless curled his lips up to bare his teeth. {Try anything funny and I'll toss you into the sea. Now, get on my back and attract all those interlopers.}
{Not yet. I have a plan that will benefit both of us. Just give me a moment.}
Toothless groaned, flicked his sensor lobes to check that his rider was still safe and confident, then gave an annoyed glare at the Dragon Whisperer, who was hobbling around to gather some things. His passive hum and the look on his face reminded the dragon of his own rider who would seemingly relish driving his dragon insane by enacting all sorts of crazy plans that seemed doomed to fail but usually manage to work out well despite the odds.
However, whether this plan was necessary or beneficial, Toothless couldn't ignore the niggling feeling that he would absolutely hate it.
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He was right! By the egg that hatched him, he was absolutely right! Toothless did not like this plan one little bit, but what other choice was there? Leave the Dragon Whisperer, who even injured himself just to gain an audience with him? Directly confront all the intruders and die?
Toothless had to admit he could see the logic in the land-strider's plan. The very insane sort of logic.
He grunted to himself, sending a puff of vapor out of his nostrils that slowly dissipated in the still, cold air. This plan was absolutely crazy! It was bold and risky. The outcome could be massively beneficial to all involved or end in a massive catastrophe. It reminded the dragon of his rider. Since he couldn't think of anything else to do but go along with it, he threw his head up and let out a loud, sharp roar.
Grabbing his shiny claws, the Dragon Whisperer banged them together to make some noise. Land-striders usually made loud noises with their mouths, but no sound ever escaped his lips except that of breathing. Strange. Maybe that explains his name?
As part of this crazy plan, Toothless held up his foreleg and bit down just hard enough to let out a little dribble of blood. He then dabbed his paw on the Dragon Whisperer's injured leg to smear a bloody paw-print on a rock protruding from the ground. The Dragon Whisper did likewise with the dragon's blood. Since even a land-strider could easily distinguish between their blood and a dragon's, this should easily suggest that they injured each other in a fight.
After all, it wouldn't be a convincing mauling without some gore.
{Fire!}
Toothless acknowledged the Dragon Whisperer's instruction and looked up at the tree line. He shot out a bright bolt of purple fire that hit a tree, exploding with a concussive force, charring the wood and splintering the branches, sending down a shower of burning wood chips. One small chip, glowing dimly red and leaving a faint trail of smoke, bounced harmlessly off of the dragon's head. There were some glowing embers on the wood near where the blast hit, but no flames - one advantage of his highly-volatile fire that burns almost instantly. Setting the whole forest ablaze would definitely get him in trouble.
A quick flick of his sensor lobes revealed that this diversion was working. All the land-striders were on the move. Firefly managed to slip away while they flocked toward the noise.
By now, the Dragon Whisperer had flung his broad, shiny claw into the trunk of a tree. He grabbed what appeared to be a severed goat's horn that was clinging to his torso, pressed it to his lips, and blew hard. A loud, high-pitched bellow echoed through the forest and across the valley. Shouts could be heard in the distance and similar sounds responded from multiple directions.
Of all the things to dwell on at this very moment, Toothless just felt that the name "Dragon Whisperer" wasn't quite right. After all, dragons assign a name to someone they interact with based on some related imagery as nothing more than a memory peg linking the individual to their temperament. Toothless grunted as he finally settled on a fitting name.
Badger.
Unyielding, loud, and wily. Yes, Badger would be an appropriate name for such a creature.
Badger blew three more quick blasts on the horn and threw it down, hastily grabbed a more slender, longer shiny claw, and ran towards his winged accomplice as fast as his injured leg would allow with a grin spread across his face.
{Toothless, cry out in pain as if I just stabbed you with my shiny claw.}
The dragon complied, faking his best attempt at a pained yelp.
Badger grinned at him. {Are you ready to finish off your poor victim?}
Toothless rolled his eyes. Off to the side, he noticed movement from someone blundering through the edge of the forest, giving two short blasts of his horn as he ran. Badger started to run away from Toothless, who leaped forward to tackle him, sending him collapsing face-first into the ground. His shiny claw was thrown out of reach and slid a short distance away.
By now, other land-striders were running in behind the first who spied them a moment earlier. Toothless shot a fireball toward them, taking careful aim to not actually hit anyone. His rider always did everything in his power to solve his problems without violence, even if it was at a risk to himself. Toothless took on the same mindset for himself. The fireball hit the base of the tree just behind the nearest invader, throwing him forward from the impact and temporarily blinding anyone who didn't have the sense to cover his eyes.
Toothless turned his back on the new interlopers and snarled and snapped at Badger, who grabbed onto the wide saddle strap and held on tight.
{Just don't step on me,} Badger pleaded. Excitement washed out his entire emotional palette.
Toothless flicked his head around to lob out another fireball to blind and hinder his attackers as he ran in a wide arc toward the edge of the cliff a few wingspans away, dragging Badger underneath, and leaped off the edge with his wings extended.
{Are you still there, Badger?}
Badger looked up in confusion. {Badger?}
{Yes!} Toothless snorted in amusement. {I think it's a fitting name for you.}
{How cruel you are. First, you make me stab myself before allowing me to approach, then you maul me just for fun, and now you name me after a rodent! What's next, are you going to take me to your evil lair and eat me?} Badger always had a sarcastic comment for every situation, it seemed.
Toothless projected an image of himself disgustedly spitting out a rodent that was clamped in his jaws. {I would not eat you. Creatures that eat meat taste terrible. Just open my tailfin before we both crash! I'm already starting to lose my balance. I cannot hold on much longer.}
Toothless could feel Badger shift around below, reaching for the mechanism that controlled the tailfin. The fin deployed but needed adjustment. It was rolling Toothless left against his will and they started to lose a lot of altitude, but they were still a comfortable height above the sea. They were, as his rider would always put it, three mistakes high - a fitting measurement hailing back to their first days together, learning how to work together to fly. Toothless extended his left wing a little farther, retracted his right, and rotated his left aileron fin down in an attempt to stabilize the flight. It helped some, but not enough.
{Up! Up! Up! Move the tailfin up!} Toothless roared out in frustration.
Badger flicked the tailfin down to the dragon's dismay, causing him to pitch against his will. This would make it even harder for Badger to retain his grip while also controlling the tailfin lever. The sea was rapidly approaching.
{No! That's not up! The other way!}
Toothless breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the tailfin snap upward, correcting his flight momentarily.
{Now down a bit, but not too much... more... too much, back up again. Now, try again... there, that's good.}
{I'm flying a dragon! I'm flying a dragon!}
{Last I checked, the dragon is flying you.}
Toothless gave a surprised yelp as his tailfin wiggled back and forth erratically.
{That's not funny!}
Badger realigned the fin. {Oh, I almost forgot we're faking my death.} Toothless looked down to see his "rider" holding a dead stick above his head.
{Toothless, this stick is very dry. Break it in your mouth. It will sound like you're breaking my bones}.
The dragon complied, wrapping his teeth around the stick and biting down hard with a twist of his neck. A loud crack pierced the air and could be heard bouncing from the rock wall that was now a little ways behind them. Wooden quills could be heard whizzing through the air, but hitting a black dragon on a dark night was impossible.
Toothless took in a deep breath and let out a long, loud roar over his latest "victim". Hopefully, this display would distract the invaders enough to grab his rider and get to safety.
If he focused his sensor lobes just right, he could find his rider out there in the forest. He was on the move and alone, which was very encouraging. The crazy land-strider didn't run away to safety when he had the chance but followed the invaders in seclusion, more worried about his dragon than himself. Confusion reigned in his emotional hum, but at least he had the sense to put some more distance between himself and the threat. As tempting as it was to turn around and get him immediately, flying straight was hard enough with the underslung rider without adding any more complexity. They were nearing some sea stacks up ahead to land on and maybe Badger could then get in the saddle to properly work the tailfin. Having his "rider" hanging below made the dragon feel quite uneasy.
Toothless looked down at his cargo. {Badger, do you think the plan worked? Will those land-striders think I killed you?}
{I have no doubt. On top of that, they revealed their position to anybody on the island and will be forced to beat a hasty retreat. That display we put on should convince them that you dragons are all mindless killers, which should distract them for a while.} Badger sounded confident
{Maybe I am a mindless killer, meat.} Toothless imagined himself standing on the ground with a big smirk on his face, teeth bared, and Badger lying face-down under his paw.
He then yelped as he felt his tailfin jerking up and down, fighting his attempt to fly straight. He casually flicked Badger with the smooth back of his claw and felt his tailfin slide back to the neutral position.
{Toothless, can you still fly if I lock your tailfin like this? I assume this is only for flying straight, but are you still able to maneuver around?}
Toothless thought about it. {I never tried it. My rider has always controlled the fin for me. Hold it there and I'll see what I can do.}
By now, they were out of sight of where they took off from, partway around the island. The coast looked small. Toothless started some banking turns, climbing and diving gently.
{Why do you ask? Is it hard for you to control my tailfin?}
As Toothless started to pull up out of a dive, Badger's grip loosened and he started to fall. The dragon felt his panic and quickly wrapped his front legs around him. {I got you!}
Badger projected his relief and gratitude. {Thanks for the save. I don't think I'm going to last very long. I'm losing a lot of blood. Continuing like this will only get me killed and send you for a hard landing. I think I can rig your tailfin so that you can fly alone without me. This will allow you to go reunite with your rider even if I fall unconscious. Drop me off on the sea stack there and I'll rig your fin before I pass out.}
Toothless grunted in affirmation and beat his wings harder to get to the sea stack. It was only a few wingspans wide, but it was large enough for what they needed. At one time, this may have been part of the island. Years of tunneling from certain subterranean dragons probably caused landslides and formed these isolated sea stacks.
A cloud of dust swirled around as Toothless gently landed. Badger plopped himself down and immediately sat up to remove some sack that was slung under his shoulder. He found a length of vines, which he used somewhere back there to secure the tailfin in the neutral position, then tugged hard to test it out to his satisfaction. Toothless warbled his appreciation and started to step away, spreading his wings to take off, but he felt a tug on his saddle and stopped to look back at Badger.
{Hold on, Toothless. There's one more thing I have to do. This is important.} Badger rummaged around to find a chunk of charcoal. {We normally use this to start fires, but I have an idea.}
Toothless shifted his weight uneasily. It killed him to know his rider was still out there, but Badger has proven himself to be trustworthy so far. {I'm listening.}
{I know I did not find you so much as you desired to lure me away. Still, looking for your red tailfin in the dark made it easier to find you. Let me color it black to match the rest of you. You need to be invisible and take advantage of how dark this night is unless you want to attract unwanted attention to yourself and your rider.}
Badger proceeded to drop the charcoal on the ground, crushing it into dust under his heel.
{Give me your tail, please}.
Toothless curled his tail around so that the prosthetic fin was in front of Badger, who started to smear the charcoal dust on both the top and bottom of the fin, working it into the membrane. After a moment of that, he leaned back, satisfied with his work.
Toothless asked Badger if that was all he needed to do, but judging by the lack of response, it seemed the land-strider could not hear him. No surprise there considering he appeared to be still developing his ability to hear the thought projections dragons use. However, it seemed that Badger heard enough to realize he was being addressed as he reached forward towards the dragon's head to make contact.
{Badger, I guess your ability to hear me is hit-and-miss without contact.}
Badger smiled as he felt sympathy from Toothless. {Let's just say I'm not as magnificently equipped as you. Anyway, here's a plan. You can now fly alone. I would imagine you're not as maneuverable as you would be with someone on your back working the tailfin, but it seems you can at least get around. If you attack one of the sea vessels, the invaders will be forced to beat a hasty retreat off the island.}
The dragon received an image of his target, specifying which part of it to hit. It was the largest of the three sea vessels, just above the base of a large tree sprouting up from the center of it. Knocking that down would make it a lot less maneuverable.
Toothless blinked and was about to turn away, but Badger leaned forward to keep contact. He had more to say. {Your first shot is free. They will not see it coming. Don't go for a second – it's risky. Going back again for a third would simply be suicide as they would be prepared with lots of weapons to take you down. One shot only, then you can easily snag your rider in all the panic and confusion. If you need to find me later, you know where I'll be.}
Toothless warbled at the thought of reuniting with his rider. {Thank you, Badger. I won't forget about you. By the way, take this to keep warm.}
He shifted around, presenting his right flank. Badger opened up the saddlebag and pulled out a black, hairy yak hide. He gave Toothless an affectionate pat on his shoulder and then sat down heavily on the ground. He had almost no strength left.
Satisfied that he should be fine for now, Toothless leaped off the edge of the sea stack, eager to find his rider. He couldn't stand this game of cat and mouse any longer.
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Skuf watched as the Night Fury kicked off of the edge of his sea stack and flew off towards Dagur's ships. Hiccup made it to safety and Dagur was on the retreat, empty-handed. That Loki-damned knife wound was still bleeding, though. Still, he might be able to consider this dragon to be a friend. An ally.
Before taking off, the dragon even spared a moment to share his name. No Teeth or Toothless or something like that. The dragon even… retracted his teeth and extended them again… as strange as that seemed. Maybe it was all a hallucination from the blood loss.
Speaking of which, dying now would be really annoying, so Skuf grabbed some rope and tied a tourniquet above his wound, using a charcoal pencil as a stick to twist the rope tighter. With his wound dressed as well as he could manage for the moment, he laid himself down and rolled up in the yak blanket. It was actually a very good find - a gift from the dragon at that - with a thin hide, but long, thick hairs.
Off in the distance, a loud, high-pitched scream sounded out, followed by a very brief, almost surreal silence. Then, an explosion and splintering wood. Off in the distance, the main mast of Dagur's flagship twisted and buckled with a loud groan, as if the ship was crying out in pain, followed by a loud splash.
A smile spread across Skuf's face as darkness overtook him.