Chapter Six

"Teeth? Are you in here?"

"At the whetstone."

Talen turned to see Teeth in the corner of the forge room. Sure enough, just as she said, she was sitting on a stool at a rolling whetstone. Next to her was a barrel of assorted weapons, sharpened and repaired, ready to be picked up by their respective owners. She herself was out of her armor and was wearing a black and dirty apron, with multiple tools stashed in the apron's pouches.

"You seem to be nearly done." He commented, gesturing for someone to follow him inside. Right behind him were Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Heather; as well as two other Marauders that were carrying something like a net and a long chain.

"'Bout time too." She huffed angrily. Lifting the sword, she squinted as she eyed the blade's edge. "I've been behind since we started to sail up to these freezing waters."

"They're not really that cold." Hiccup defended. "Maybe we can show you some islands that always have calm, warm water.

"Don't think I'll be able to slip away. Aside from being the only smith on the ship right now, I'm still learning how to be the future Chief of the Marauders. My time will be limited when that happens." She grunted, standing up from her seat. Sliding the sword in the barrel of weapons, she turned to see that the Marauders accompanying her dad and the Riders were starting to hang the net next to her hammock. It took her a second to realize that it was a second hammock. "What are you two doing?" She growled angrily.

"Doing your father's bidding, Teeth." One of the replied in a respectful tone.

Eyeing her dad, she silently demanded an explanation.

"You're in charge of Astrid, remember? As such, she'll be staying with you. I was hoping that the Riders would be able to stay with you as well, but you hardly have room in here."

"Doesn't help that my room is also the forge." She huffed in annoyance. Staring at Astrid, who was eyeing some axes mounted on the wall, she then said aloud. "Go ahead and grab one that strikes your fancy. Or any weapon for that matter."

"Thanks." She replied with a smile. Grabbing an axe that looked particularly unique, she was observing, she began to swing it around to test its balance and grips.

"Also, I have a second reason to be in here. With the Riders specifically."

"To discuss a strategy?" She asked, untying the apron and hanging it on a peg. Her red hair was all but a mess, and even some strands looked singed from the forges' flames.

"No, that's tomorrow morning. It has to do with Mikael's fate."

"Kill him." She replied simply. Hiccup and Fishlegs gaped at her, shocked at how quick she was on the verdict. "He betrayed you and our clan. He tried to do something to those that are now our allies, while we were discussing the terms. He's no more a Wrathen than a Gronckle is."

"You know I can't do that." He replied quietly. "However, I'm done pardoning him."

"And? What're you doing? Banishing him?"

"Not exactly. Something far worse for him, and far better for you."

Teeth instantly raised an eyebrow. "Go on…"

Turning around, he then gestured for someone to come in. Gunjar and two more Marauders walked in, with Mikael in between them and his hands in irons. He simply glared at Teeth, knowing full well that she was going to be part of his punishment.

"Here he is, Chief. The mighty whelp and babe himself." Gunjar growled, stepping to the side so that Talen wouldn't be hindered by anything.

Astrid herself tightened her grip on her axe she selected. Taking a seat on a barrel, she began to assess the edge of the axe, trying to keep herself from beating the apparent son of the Chief. Hiccup, Heather, and Fishlegs looked at him uncomfortably, unsure of what was going to happen.

"Since Teeth is so close to taking over." Talen began to say, glaring at Mikael. "I'm going to let her decide if my punishment is too easy or hard on you."

"She's not even blood." He instantly snapped. "And you're letting her dictate the fate of your son? If my 'punishment' isn't a duel to the death with her, I'm not interested."

"Careful, whelp. She's more blood than you'll ever know. And it better damn well interest you; otherwise I'll let the men decide what they want to do to you. From what Gunjar has told me, you're not very popular among them." Talen whispered coldly.

Gunjar scoffed, smirking at Mikael's paling face.

With narrowed eyes so sharp that they rivaled his longswords' silvered edges, Talen got right into Mikael's face, making him visibly sweat. "I know what you tried to do. Elof told me exactly what you wanted to do to Astrid. And from what Astrid, Hiccup, and Teeth have told me, I would not have hesitated to kill you in the cell if you were just one of my men; but you're not. You're my son, your mother's pride and joy; and it would break her if I did that."

Mikael turned to Teeth and smirked at her. "…the joy of having real parents…" He whispered coldly to her.

"Instead I'm putting you in a position to be killed by Teeth, since she's not your sister as you claim."

The smirk instantly disappeared from Mikael's face.

"I'm taking away any rank and position you had in our clan. You're nothing more than a foot soldier."

"What?! You can't d-"

"I can't?!" Talen roared, making Mikael shrink. The silvered warlord stood straight up, high above his son to quell any possible rebuttals. "You will be nothing more than a soldier, understand? You will live like one. Be treated like one. You will not have any benefits from being my son, or Teeth's brother. You will earn your food. You will save your own treasures. You will live your own legacy. Not ride on mine, or Teeth's, or any other Wrathen's! If you fail in the most basic instructions, plot any more kinds of treason, or simply remain the way you are; Teeth will have the power to judge you as Chief of the Wrathen Clan and you will be dealt with according to her desires and what she sees fit. Whether it be banishment, imprisonment, or death."

"Oooh…I like that." Teeth spoke up with a sinister smile, one that put the Riders on edge. "I might be able to be the death of you yet."

"But-"

"No buts!" Talen roared, his anger showing only a little bit of what he was capable of. "Gunjar is who you will report to now. Not me. Not Teeth. No Wrathen. You are a soldier under his command. As of now, you are stationed on the White Wake until you serve the three years required by all men; or you decide that living this life is too much for you, which you will be banished from our clan for being a coward and deserter. For once, the rules will be applied to you."

Mikael stared at Talen with horror on his face, realizing that he was indeed stuck on the White Wake until he proved himself or served his required time.

"What say you, Teeth? Is this an acceptable punishment?"

"I'd rather run him through with my spear, or his own sword." She huffed, pulling a specific spear off the wall. The pole was wrapped in dragon hide leather, dyed in black and ivory colors that twisted and wrapped around the shaft. At the end was a viscous looking tip, sharp as any sword's edge on one side, and serrated on the other. It was made of a black metal, similar to the metal that held the bones together on her armor. "But…seeing that he'll get to live what I grew up with, and fail trying…I feel it'll be poetic justice. For me at least."

"And of you, Astrid?" Talen continued to ask. "Being the one that was targeted by him, is this acceptable to you?"

Freezing, Astrid looked at Mikael, and then to Hiccup. Seeing him shrug, she could only shallowly nod.

Seeing that it was unanimous, Gunjar grabbed Mikael by the shoulder, pulling him out of the forge room. "Come on, whelp. Let's get you out of that fancy armor and show you your new quarters. Tomorrow you begin training and will be given your responsibilities."

Unable to say anything, Mikael was dragged out with the two Marauders following close by. The other two that hung up Astrid's hammock, bowed at Talen and then left as well.

"Urgh…I hope he screws up soon…" Teeth growled, setting her spear back on its mount. "Mainly for Gunjar's sake. I grew up with him and know he'll be a pain to even think of, let alone hold his hand to get things done."

"Given the person he became…I can't imagine it'll be long before he does something that will require disciplining." Talen whispered. Letting out a long sigh, he turned to Hiccup and the rest of the Riders. "I'm assuming that you don't want any part of Elof's trial?"

"Uh…probably best not." Hiccup replied. "We don't want to be involved with your business. If anything, we're pretty tired and might just go to bed."

"Fair enough. Unfortunately, since Astrid is still a prisoner under our current circumstances, she's going to stay here in the forge room. With Teeth of course."

Heather stared at Astrid with an angry look, hating the fact that she was indeed a prisoner because of their agreement. Hiccup himself looked at her with sadness, wishing it wasn't the case.

"It's alright, I agreed to it, didn't I?" She replied with an assuring smile. Holding up the axe, she added "Besides, I need to sharpen this thing. It'll take me all night!"

"I can do it for you." Teeth suggested. "Won't take me long at all."

"Thanks, but I'd like to do this myself." She replied with a mischievous smile. "Got a rock or something?"

"In the meantime," Talen cut in, taking over the conversation. Pulling out a key from a pouch, he handed it to Teeth. "Only when she's sleeping, understand?"

Taking the key, she looked at Astrid's hammock. Next to it, nailed to the wall, was the long chain the two Marauders had. At the end of the chain was a locking cuff, probably taken from one of their dragon cells. "I understand." She replied with a firm grip on the key.

"The rest of you, I'll show you where you're all sleeping." Talen called out, walking out of the forge. "Since Mikael forfeited his cabin, that's where you'll be staying."

Hiccup walked by Astrid as they were leaving. Holding her hand, he simply flashed a reassuring smile that everything would be alright.

Returning a smile of her own, she gently hugged Hiccup and then let him go.

Teeth, seeing this, shrugged at the sight. Grabbing something off the workbench, she quickly ran to him and grabbed his shoulder. Taken back by being stopped, he was surprised to see her handing him his sword.

"The Nightmare gel is empty, but I figured since this is yours I better give it back."

"Thanks, Teeth." Hiccup replied with a smile. Reaching, he grabbed one of her pieces of armor lying on an anvil. "Here, I'll take a look at this tonight. Maybe get an idea on how to reinforce it."

Teeth nodded as she walked back to a desk with an array of tools laid out on it. Seeing Astrid stare where her friends had left, she then grabbed a medium sized black rock and tossed it to her. "Here, it's an Onyx stone, probably nothing like you've used before, but it's what I use to sharpen my dad's swords. It's softer on the edges, and given that the whetstone moves too fast that it would ruin them, it's the best thing to use for personal care."

Astrid fumbled with the stone, taken off guard that it was tossed to her. Staring at it, she quickly began to rub it down the side of the axe. "Thanks. Hey, is it okay that I take this axe? It looks like it took some time to make." And it was true. The axe head was a little shinier than most of the other weapons, looking like a quality weapon that required some time, patience, and skill to make. The handle also looked like it was made with skilled craftsmanship, with shallow tracks engraved in it. In the tracks were carvings of interesting designs that swirled up the handle clear to the axe head. More importantly though, was that it had the same weight and balance as her old one. It felt like her old one.

"It was a process to make that one. That one specifically was the fifth unique weapon I've ever made. Every campaign I've been on has given me plenty of time to practice. Every soldier brings his own weapon, which means I mainly do repair work instead of creating weapons. So, I decided to craft some so I didn't lose that talent."

"How many have you made?"

"Since I've been an apprentice? Too many to count." She huffed, grabbing another black ingot. Reaching for what was clearly her spear, she began to sharpen the tip as well. "But weapons that I'm proud of? Five."

"What were they?" She asked, glad to have something in common with her 'captor' and guard.

"Well, let's see..." She began to recount. "A dagger was the first thing I made. At least, like I said, the first one that I was proud of. My spear was second, and then one of my dad's swords was the third." Gesturing to the axe, she added. "Then two axes; being the fourth and fifth ones."

"What makes your dad's swords so special?"

"Sword. I only made one of them. He killed a man for the first one, but then I decided to try and replicate it. And I made it better. As far as what makes them special? They're made of a blend of metal. One of them is mostly iron with some silver trimmed at the edges. The one that I made is stronger than it." She replied, focusing on the spear head. Testing the edge with her finger, she continued to explain "I'm sure you know this…silver is very weak in regards to durability. It's pretty, but lacks strength. If they were pure silver, they'd be broken or bent against an ordinary shield."

"Sounds like you didn't have much of a choice to work with them though."

"No, all I had to do was get creative."

Listening to her tale, Astrid continued to sharpen her new axe, though it was sounding more like a gift, given she learned that it was one of Teeth's special crafted weapons.

"Like I said, the first one is made of iron with silver along the edges of it. That's why it doesn't break, but it's a pain to sharpen and repair. At one point I had to replace the silver along the edges because it got so worn down. The one I made, I played around with molten metal before I shaped it. I mixed silver with the iron. I ruined several buckets of metal to test it out, but I finally got the right mixture. I got it to look like silver, but have the same strength of iron; and without having to line the edges in silver." Looking up at Astrid with a slight smile, she gestured to the axe she was sharpening. "That axe is made out of the same stuff. Not as pure as my dad's sword, but very much the same. My spear is made out of that same stuff you're sharpening you're axe with. It's called Onyx. It's what I used to bind my armor together. I can make any run of the mill blade, mace, club, I don't care about it. It's whatever to me. But when I make a weapon for a special reason, that's when I take my time and make sure it's something I'll be proud of. Be it the iron silver metal, or Onyx."

"Sounds like you take great care in your work." Astrid commented. "I'm not much of a smith, though I've always taken care of my weapons."

Teeth nodded approvingly as she gestured to the axe. "I can see that. Next time my dad needs his swords sharpened I might have you do them. You know how much pressure to apply to the edge, and know when it's done."

Astrid smiled as she continued to run the onyx stone over the edge. "Hiccup taught me a little bit. You know, since he was an apprentice too."

"Did riding dragons change that?"

"Among a hundred other things." She replied with a smile. "But, yes. When he found Toothless, everything changed."

Teeth just nodded. Setting her stone down, she then grabbed a small rod, also made out of the Onyx stone. Spinning it in her hand, she then slid it in-between the serrated edges of the spear tip to sharpen them.

"So…what's with your armor?" Astrid asked, glancing over at the black and bone chestplate. "What made you want to make it out of-"

"Dragon bones?"

"Yeah. It reminds me of a Boneknapper."

"You know what a Boneknapper is?" Teeth exclaimed in surprise.

Astrid nodded. "Yeah, had a close encounter with one. My friends and I were shipwrecked when our 'captain' ran it aground. Luckily, we were able to befriend it and it gave us a ride back to our home."

Teeth stared at her with wide eyes. "You…befriended…a Boneknapper."

"As much as I'm sitting here." She replied with a confident smile.

Shaking her head, Teeth resumed focus on the spear tip, rubbing the rod in between the serrated edges. "A Boneknapper nearly gouged my eye out. After it tried to push me through a tree."

"Is it the reason for that scar on your face?"

Teeth simply nodded, not taking her attention off the spear. "Me and a couple of men were sent to kill one that was harassing one of our islands. It was the third time my dad trusted me to take care of mission by myself. After it broke two of my javelins and my spear, simply by trying to pierce its bone armor, I was down to a dagger. One of my men was killed, another was severely burned, and the third only had a bow and arrow; useless against a dragon like that. When it was distracted, I climbed on its back and tried to find an opening in its armor."

Astrid frowned at the subject of killing dragons, though she couldn't really judge. She herself was training to be the best dragon killer before she met Stormfly. She shuddered as she recalled how she almost killed Stormfly during Dragon Training. Had Hiccup not scratched her secret spot, she would have ended her best friend. Shaking her head to get the memory out, she quickly asked. "How did you get out alive?"

"Not on my own. When the Boneknapper realized I was on it, because I sunk my dagger in a small gap between the bone plates, it slammed itself into a tree and threw me off. I couldn't move fast enough, because it swung its tail and flung me into another tree. I had a metal helmet at the time, but it didn't do anything. It was crunched because of the force of the hit. I felt it crushing my face, so I pulled it off as fast as I could. As soon as I did…heh, did you know that the bones on a Boneknapper's wings are sharp?"

Astrid shook her head, getting an idea with what happened.

"It slashed me good. And knocked me out. The next thing I knew, I woke up being dragged towards the village of the island. My dad, Talen, was pulling me back. His men were finishing off the dragon, using nets to immobilize it. I was drenched in blood, since it opened me up pretty good." Finishing off sharpening the spear tip, she blew on it to dust the shavings off. Holding her spear out so she could observe it, she smiled as she shook her head in dismay. "That experience taught me two things. The first being that problems aren't overcome simply by powering through it. Sometimes you need to think outside the box. I should have brought nets with me to tangle up the Boneknapper instead of trying to simply kill it. The second was that I needed armor made out of the same things as that dragon. Dragon bones."

Astrid also finished sharpening her axe, though frowning as she heard that they killed the Boneknapper.

"That was maybe…four years ago? Since then, I've been busy modifying and reinforcing the armor as I've been able to. Hence why I use Onyx to connect the pieces. That's what the black parts laid over the bones are made of."

"I see...that's, that's quite a story. As well as a good reason for your armor."

"Yeah, well…it's a story." She huffed, standing up and setting her spear in its rack. "Come on, let's get some sleep. I got a feeling I'm going to be busy strategizing with you Riders and my dad. He'll take hours to make sure I understand what he's teaching."

"Right, sure." Astrid replied, shaking her head as she set her axe on the workbench. As she walked up to her hammock, she watched Teeth reach for the chain.

"Wrist or ankle?" She asked, grabbing the cuff.

"Ankle."

Without a second thought, she clipped the cuff over her boot and locked it shut.

"Hmph. Sturdy." Astrid replied, shaking the chain.

"It was meant for dragons, so it'll do its job." She replied, climbing into her hammock.

"Do you not have any blankets?"

"No. The forge keeps the room warm. You'll just sweat to death if you sleep with one." She replied, resting her hands behind her head and closing her eyes.

Realizing that she wasn't really going to be receiving anything, she too climbed in her hammock with the chain rattling. Also setting her hands behind her head, she stared at the ceiling as a thought came to her. "Hey, Teeth."

"Mmm?"

"Do you…have a real name? Do you know what it was before you were called Teeth?"

Teeth opened her eyes slowly. Turning her head so she was looking right at Astrid, she let a dark expression grow on her face. "I do. But it isn't me. I was never that person when I was taken aboard this ship. I'm Teeth. No one else."

"But…you do have another name though, right?"

Teeth slowly sat up in her hammock, glaring at Astrid with the forge's fire reflecting off her eyes. "Astrid, I feel that we have a lot in common. Maybe I'm a little more cut throat than you, but we still have similarities. And I'm sorry I have to treat you like a prisoner. However, just because we're allies and now have a common goal with fighting Viggo and Ryker Grimborn, we're not friends. Got it?"

Astrid could only nod, realizing that Teeth wasn't going to open up about that particular part of her past.

"It's the reason why I'm going to be called Chief Teeth, the Matriarch of the Wrathen Clan." She continued to say. "The only one that I've ever considered to be family to me, is Talen. My adoptive father. He's the only one that knows my real name and will be the only one that will know what it is. If I'm lucky, it'll die with me."

"That's…a sad thought." Astrid whispered, looking at her with concern. "I hope that it changes later in your life. But I won't ask anymore."

"Thank you. Now get some sleep. I have to wake up early to fletch a couple quivers of arrows." Teeth growled, rolling over in her hammock.

Astrid watched her guard almost instantly fall to sleep, realizing that she was probably exhausted from working the forge all day. Frowning, she too closed her eyes, trying to ignore the light from the forge and the anxious feeling that she was indeed a prisoner.

The next morning, Astrid awoke at the sound of a light knocking.

"It's open." Teeth's voice sounded.

Groaning, Astrid looked up from her hammock to see Hiccup, Heather, and Fishlegs open the door. Glancing over at the workbench, she saw that Teeth was busy fletching some arrows, as she said she would be.

"Morning, Astrid, Teeth." Hiccup greeted, walking into the forge.

"Hmm." Teeth replied, returning her attention to the arrows.

"Hey, you're still chained to your bed?" Heather asked, seeing Astrid swing her legs off her hammock.

"Just woke up." She grunted. Shaking her head to wake herself up, she looked at Teeth and commented. "You were right. The forge keeps the room nice and toasty."

Teeth nodded in acknowledgement. Pulling something out of a pouch strapped to her belt, she held out the key for someone to grab. "Go ahead and unlock it. I expect to get the key back."

Heather was first to respond. Taking the key, she then jogged to remove the chain from Astrid's ankle.

"So…I was looking at your armor piece last night." Hiccup began to say, holding it out and setting it next to Teeth on the workbench. "If all your pieces are built similarly, I think I found a way to reinforce it without making it heavier."

Teeth's head perked up at the subject. Setting the arrows to the side, she cleared a spot for him to show her.

Flipping the armor around, he began to point out a few things. "First off, I think where you have your armor connect by this black metal, you're exposing it a weak point by laying the metal on the outside. If you place it on the inside, not only are you getting rid of a weak point, you're also able to reinforce it from blunt weapons that can shatter the joints."

"I thought of that, but I have no way to make the metal fit around my leg." She quickly countered. Taking the armor piece, she showed him as she strapped it around her calf, being the leg piece he took. "See? It's more comfortable and frankly the only way to do it."

"Hmm…do you need the forge today?" He asked, letting an assuring smile grow on his face.

"…why…?" She asked, looking at him with a skeptical look.

"Well, I think I can make it work. If you leave me in here with a supply of this black metal you use, I bet I can convert most of it in a few hours."

"The forge is yours. Honestly, with how well the men take care of their weapons, it'd be good for them to go a day or two without being able to have any repair work done on them. Teach them to take better care of their gear, and not use them for tools in regards to repairs and other chores they have." She grunted, standing up and taking off her apron. After hanging it on the usual peg, she turned to see Heather handing her the key back. "Thanks." She replied, swiping the key and setting it in her pouch.

"Fishlegs, Heather, why don't you guys keep an eye out for Snotlout and the twins?" Hiccup suggested. "I figured they couldn't be too far behind you, and we should stop them before they do anything…uh…"

"Rash?" Astrid huffed, rolling her eyes at the subject.

"Yeah..."

"Sure thing. Though, don't you want something to eat before you start on this?" Fishlegs asked. "I mean, we all know you won't stop until you make some progress."

"I'll get you something." Astrid suggested. "Need to stretch my legs anyways."

"Then you'll want to come this way." Teeth cut in, grabbing a very simple looking sword from the barrel of weapons. Testing the weight and balance of the blade, she nodded in satisfaction. "Come on, I need to run this by Gunjar. Hiccup, more of that metal is in those storage containers, next to the whetstone."

"See you in a bit, Hiccup." Astrid called out, following her out of the forge.

Hiccup simply nodded, focusing on removing the metal from the armor.

"So, what's the sword for?" Heather asked, walking alongside Astrid and looking at her skeptically.

"Gunjar came by earlier this morning, saying he needed it for Mikael. He's getting a whole new change in lifestyle." She replied simply. "It's his new weapon apparently, since his other sword was a gift from another island. This is a basic soldier's sword, nothing special or fancy."

As the group walked on, a voice called out next to them. "Oi, Teeth! There ya' are!"

Everyone turned to see a happy looking Marauder jog up to the future chief.

"Grange. It's been a bit." Teeth replied, resuming walking.

Ignoring the Riders, he walked alongside her. "What's this I'm hearing that you were permitted to judge your brat brother? You didn't kill him?"

"I didn't choose the sentence. I only approved of it." She growled. "Don't tell me you listen to the rumor mills. You're smarter than that, Grange!"

"It's been going around the ship since he arrived in the crew's bunks last night; and with his constant rants about you, it wasn't hard to figure out that you were the one that played a part in it."

"If I 'played a part in it', it started when I was first adopted as a Marauder." She replied, already growing tired of the conversation. "Can you put an end to the rumors? Talen is in charge, and I'm still learning. The last thing we need is to have everyone busy with gossip and not their jobs. Yours included."

"Sure thing, Chief." Grange teased with a smirk. Turning towards the Riders as if he was finally acknowledging them, he let a calm smile grow on his face. "So, you're our new allies?"

"Most of them anyways." Astrid replied. Gesturing to Teeth, she asked. "How do you two know each other?"

"Grange has been with us for the last three campaigns. We hunted dragons together after my encounter with the Boneknapper." Teeth explained, turning to walk up a flight of stairs. "He's the only one that's actually not part of the clan with a leadership position."

"Soon. Soon to be in a leadership positon." Grange corrected, letting the Riders walk ahead of him up the stairs. "Not until Teeth actually becomes the chief. Right now, I'm no more than Mikael. A simple foot slogger."

"You know that's not true." Teeth huffed in annoyance. "Mikael is a brat. You have a level head. Hence, why you're going to become my right hand."

"Aaaahhhh…that's so sweet of you!" Grange teased, knowing she hated sentiment. "I'll make sure to write that down."

"…great..." She groaned, knocking on a door.

The door instantly swung open, revealing an angry looking Gunjar. "I swear, Mikael, if you- Oh! Teeth!"

"I can already tell how it's going with him." She replied, unfazed by the heated response. At that, she handed the sword to him.

"Ugh, it's going to take everything in my power to not 'give' it to him by running it thru' his head." He groaned, taking it and setting next to the doorway. "At this point, I might make him a sailor."

"I won't ask what he's doing. Just know if it's condemnable, you come talk to me; since I'm apparently his judge now." She replied, trying to assure him. "Where is he?"

"Sweeping the mess hall. The only thing I trust him to do at this point. I'm thinking of assigning him to a scouting team, since he's decent with a blade; and those men usually have no problem taking care of their own problems to ensure their survival. We might get lucky and have them end him for us." Gunjar grumbled, shaking his head in frustration. "Thanks again, Teeth."

Only nodding, she turned to walk to the mess hall, being only a little farther down the upper deck they were on. "Hey, where'd Grange go?"

"He went ahead. Said he'd get us breakfast." Heather replied.

"Great. More reasons for him to tease me with." She growled with an annoyed tone. "I assume he said to meet him at the dragon?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Come on, this way."

"Uh…Teeth?"

Turning around, she stared at Fishlegs, who looked like he was nervous about asking something. "If this is about my personal life, I don't want to talk about it."

"N-no! It's nothing like that! I was just…just curious if you were nervous or anxious about becoming chief. It seems to be the talk all among the ship."

"Great, you too?! Forget the rumors! But…in answer to your question, no, I'm not. I've been living most my life as if I were in charge. I've given orders, completed missions and raids, and been in charge of almost everything I've done. With the exception of my dad, since he's the patriarch of the clan."

Fishlegs nodded in understanding, knowing that was probably the most she'd ever say about the subject.

"There. That's the dragon. I guess dragons. Given all yours are right there." Teeth announced, pointing at the massive iron dragon head at the bow of the ship. Lying out on the deck were the Rider's dragons.

"Stormfly!" Astrid called out, running past Teeth with a wide smile.

Stormfly instantly perked up, hearing Astrid's voice. Squawking happily, she rushed to her rider.

"How are you girl? You have a good night sleep?" She asked, grabbing her dragon's head and holding it.

As the Riders and their dragons reunited, Teeth simply stood back and watched them. It was interesting to see the beasts have feeling and even passion towards their riders. They even had a natural love for the Marauders, as if they knew they were friends.

"It's something else, to see the other side of those beasts, isn't it?"

Surprised, Teeth turned to see Talen standing next to her, with his hands behind his back.

Smiling at his daughter, he gestured to the Riders now playing with their dragons. "They've always been smart creatures. You know that for yourself."

"Yeah, only a handful of times." She muttered sarcastically.

"Yet…this isn't just seeing them be clever. They have a certain…intelligence. They understand the circumstance around them and their riders."

"What are you trying to teach me?" She asked, tired of the run around.

"Only to open yourself to the possibility that you can learn something from everyone."

"Even Mikael?"

"Did you learn on how not to act because of him?" He quizzed, unfazed by the rebuttal.

Teeth reluctantly conceded her father's point.

"They're different than us; these…Riders." He continued to say. "But that doesn't mean they're useless or cowards. They can offer you something that you'll otherwise never know."

"What? How to ride a dragon?"

"What you learn is up to you. Just remember that everyone, including dragons, can teach you something. Never stop growing. Never stop learning. Never settle."

Nodding in understanding, she whispered. "Thanks…I think I get it. And trust me when I say this, I learned that I should never settle after watching Mikael turn into what he is now."

Talen smiled at his prodigy, knowing she was well on her way to being a better ruler and leader than he ever was.

Letting out a long sigh, Teeth asked the question. "So, how long until we get to their home? Dragon's Edge, right?"

"Gunjar guessed another two or three days of sailing. After that, we're going straight for Viggo's main base."

"Is that suicide? The White Wake is big, but…can it take on all of Viggo's ships?"

"It can with Dragon Riders running interference. While the ships are busy with the Riders, we're going to deal with Viggo and Ryker personally. After sailing through a few ships ourselves."

"Good. I prefer it that way." She replied, nodding in agreement.

Suddenly, both Fishlegs and Heather leaped onto their dragons. In the same instant, they bolted into the sky with such speed that even Teeth hadn't seen while hunting dragons.

"Where are they-"

"Look! More Riders!" A Marauder shouted, pointing up in the sky.

Teeth and Talen whirled around, seeing where the sailor was pointing. Two more dragons were coming in fast at them, though Heather and Fishlegs were both intercepting them.

"A Nightmare…and a Zippleback." Teeth spotted, squinting to help her to see in the distance. "These Riders sure have a diverse group of dragons."

As they watched the four Riders converse, Astrid walked up to both Teeth and Talen, with Stormfly close behind. "That's Snotlout and the twins. The last of our group."

"Snotlout?" Teeth repeated, confused at the name.

"Oh, trust me, that's not the worst of it. The twins are Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They're…well, I guess you'll see soon enough." At that, she beckoned them to follow her.

At that, both Fishlegs and Heather landed, followed shortly by the three new Riders.

"See? Told you Hiccup and Astrid are fine!" Snotlout groaned, stepping off of Hookfang. "I mean, wait- where is Hiccup?"

"He's fine." Heather growled, already tired of Snotlout's company.

"Snotlout, twins, this is Chief Talen Wrathen. Patriarch of the South Sea Marauders." Astrid began to introduce. "And this is his daughter, Teeth."

"Teeth?" Ruffnut repeated, making Teeth and Talen cringe with her voice. "Shouldn't it be tooth? Teeth is plural."

"Indeed, my dear sister. This calls for-"

"No! Stop! Nothing more from you two!" Astrid quickly cut off, glancing at Teeth nervously, who simply looked annoyed at the conversation between the two.

Teeth knew Astrid was trying to control the situation, to which she just huffed and observed the Monstrous Nightmare that seemed to be eyeing its surroundings curiously.

"Why, hello there." Snotlout quickly jumped on, seeing Teeth stare at Hookfang. "I guess you haven't seen a Nightmare like this before, huh?"

"Actually, Snotlout…before you go-" Fishlegs tried to warn, only to be cut off.

"Shut it, Fishface!" He snapped, glaring at him to shut up.

Teeth simply shrugged as she stepped closer to the Nightmare, who instantly stared back at her. "You're right. I haven't seen one like this. The black and red mix well with each other, which makes it very unique; at least for us from the Southern Seas. All of ours are usually are blue with some white blurred in. The hide would sale for quite a price; even if it was damaged."

Snotlout instantly recoiled back in surprise, confused with what she was talking about.

Teeth continued to gesture to the Nightmare, apparently named Hookfang. "Only if he were a titan wing…he'd be worth a fortune."

Snotlout just stared at Teeth with wide eyes. "Uh…you mean alive, right?"

"No. Dead. The Nightmare hides and leather are fire resistant, so ships like to use them for their sails. And the coloring on this one would make valuable cloaks and ponchos, which would help add value since some parts of its hide can only be used for something simple like that. Plus keeping one contained is…costly; at least if you don't have the proper equipment, which can be very hard to obtain."

Snotlout continued to gape at Teeth, swallowing nervously with what she was telling him.

"As I was trying to tell you, Snotlout, these guys are also Dragon Hunters." Fishlegs spoke up, glaring at him. "We're teaming up with them to take down Viggo. Teeth is actually in line to be chief after this war is over."

"O-oh okay…" He stammered, realizing who Talen and Teeth were.

"So…these are the rest of your group?" Teeth asked, looking at Astrid with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup. The rest of the Dragon Riders are at Berk; this is everyone that lives at Dragon's Edge." She replied with a sheepish smile. "We're the original Dragon Riders, and most experienced."

Shaking his head, Snotlout put on his confident smile as he walked up to Teeth. "Hey, so…Teeth, isn't it?"

Teeth frowned as she nodded.

"I'm not sure if you could tell, but…I'm actually the real leader here. Hiccup just likes to talk about how he's in control. I just let him feel that way."

"I see…" She growled, seeing Heather, Astrid, and Fishlegs roll their eyes at the same time.

Talen watched as Astrid put herself behind Teeth, making motions for Snotlout to stop moving towards her. He let a smile grow on his face as he watched the inevitable happen.

Clearly ignoring Astrid's warnings, he threw his arm around her shoulder. "So, you're going to be chief? Maybe you can learn a few things from me. Wanna…go talk alone?"

"Teeth? Chief? Did we get new Riders?"

Everyone turned around to see Grange standing there and holding a large tray of food. He simply stood there staring at Teeth with wide eyes and a confused expression. "Teeth? Why is he leaning against you? You hate being touched!"

"…I know…" She growled with a tone that would kill by itself. Her right fist slowly curled up, as if helping bottle up her anger.

"Oh, don't be that way! It's not every day a babe gets to be with Snotlo-"

Clang!

With lightning like reflexes, and with a force similar to a Gronckle barreling into a rock quarry, Teeth swung her clenched fist and nailed him in the side of the head; all while knocking his helmet off and laying him out on the deck. "I'll tell you something, Mister Snotlout. It's not every day you see me without my armor! You better thank the gods that I wasn't wearing it, or I'd have buried my fist in your head! If you know what's good for you, stay down! Unless you really want to know what I can do!" At that she stormed, off, leaving the Riders, Grange, and her dad behind.

"So…do you think she knows that she knocked him out cold?" Heather asked, staring at where Snotlout lay.

"Don't think it matters." Fishlegs replied, shaking his head at their fellow Rider. "Snotlout will think twice before he approaches her again."

"You really think that?" Astrid growled, rolling her eyes at the subject. "Come on, let's take care of that bump on his head. I can already see it growing."

"Hmm. You have a…a very interesting group, I'll give you that." Talen replied, kneeling down to help Fishlegs pick up Snotlout. "Let's take him to the forge, since Hiccup's there. It'll let us finally discuss a strategy to attack Viggo; plus it's the closest to a hammock and then we can work on waking your friend up."

"You might regret helping him wake up." Astrid mumbled to herself. "Come on, Ruff, Tuff. Let's get you somewhere so you don't accidently blow up a piece of the ship."

"Aahhh…why?! I thought you said they were dragon hunters! When don't we blow up their ships?" Ruffnut whined, obviously angry that they weren't going to be lighting anything on fire.

"They're different hunters. These guys won't bother us." She replied. "Or at least, that's what they promised. Come on, I'll fill you in with what's happened and what we're doing."