Chapter Seven
"That's…incredible! How did you do it?" Teeth exclaimed, staring at her armor laid out on the workbench. Not a single piece of metal was showing outside of the bone shaped pieces, with the exception of a handful of black studs that bolted the plates under the actual bone.
"It wasn't that hard. I had to chisel out a little bit of the bone to make room for the connections on each piece, but it should keep the same strength as if they were bolted on top of it. Apart from that, I was able to place small plates on the inside of all your pieces like we talked about, so you don't have to put a full-size metal plate on the inside. It should be a lot lighter without having to sacrifice its strength." He replied, watching her stare at his handiwork.
Teeth gently reached out and grabbed one of the gauntlets. Slipping her hand into it, she let a real smile grow on her face. It indeed felt lighter, and it actually felt snug on her hand rather than being a little loose.
"I didn't touch your helmet, since there wasn't really anything for me to change or modify." Hiccup continued to say, turning to lean against the back wall with Astrid. "Hope it works for you."
"I…I don't…" She stammered, unable to put to words the gift that was given to her. She was sure she was going to need weeks, if not months to figure out the problem; and Hiccup not only figured out how to do it, he did it himself!
Talen smiled as he watched her struggle to convey how she felt. "A simple thank you would suffice, Teeth." He suggested.
Shaking her head to bring her emotions back in check, she looked up at Hiccup with a confident smile. "Thanks. You did alright. For a one-legged Dragon Rider."
Hiccup nodded in acknowledgement, knowing that was her way of being thankful.
At that, she instantly began to strap on her armor, beginning with the chest piece and letting her hair be tucked in it to hide its length.
"Now…I have a suggestion in regards to our attack on Viggo." Talen began to say, taking over the conversation.
"I have a few ideas as well." Hiccup replied. Taking a seat on a workbench, he got himself ready for the discussion.
"Gunjar studied that map that you and Fishlegs drafted for him. He guesses that we still have three days before we arrive at your island. And then another two until we get to Viggo's main base. However, he also estimated that if we sail to Viggo's island from where we are now, we can be there in three days. Cutting the time we spend sailing almost in half."
"But what about Toothless and his tail? We still need to fix that, don't we?" Fishlegs asked, looking at Hiccup with concern.
Hiccup frowned at the thought "He's right. I can't fly him with this leg; no offense, Teeth. And I need to repair his tail too. I need to go to Dragon's Edge."
Talen held up his hand to stop the questions. "If I recall, you have five capable dragons that can still fly. And be much faster than any ship. Could they not get what you need to repair your dragon's tail? Or your foot?"
"Uh…" He began to say, turning towards the twins.
As everyone followed his eyes, they watched both Tuffnut and Ruffnut playing with Astrid's ankle cuff. Snotlout, who was still out cold, was lying in her hammock. With mischievous grins, they slipped the cuff on his ankle and locked it shut.
"It'd be better if I grabbed what I know I need." He replied, shaking his head at the twins.
"Then take another's dragon." Teeth suggested, pulling on her bone clad boots. Surprised how well they felt, she lightly jumped up and down to test the armor's weight and to see if anything was loose after the rework on it. "Can't you ride someone else's dragon? Or at least ride with someone?"
"Yeah, I guess I could. I hate to leave Toothless here though…"
"I can keep him company. I mean, it's not like I'll be able to go to Dragon's Edge until we finish this fight anyways." Astrid suggested. "You can take Stormfly while I stay with Toothless, since she needs to stretch her wings too."
"It would give us a chance to get some Nightmare Gel bombs." Fishlegs followed up with. "We can all go grab two barrels apiece and bring them back to the White Wake."
Hiccup stroked his chin, thinking of the possibilities. Something was still bothering him, which Astrid quickly picked up on.
"I'll be fine Hiccup. It's not like I'm going to be able to fly against Viggo anyways. I can't leave this ship! You're going to have to do things without me."
"I guess I was just being hopeful…" He whispered, frowning at the thought of leaving her and Toothless. "Ruff, Tuff, wake up Snotlout. We're going back to the Edge."
"Oh, it'll be our pleasure…" Tuffnut replied with an evil smile.
"Fishlegs and Heather, gather some supplies that we can use on the trip so we don't have to stop. I gotta tell Toothless that I'm leaving him here with Astrid."
"Got it, Hiccup." Heather agreed, turning to walk out with Fishlegs.
"I'm assuming this means I can alter our course towards Viggo's island then?" Talen replied, smiling at the decision.
"Yeah, it does." He replied with a solemn expression. "I figured the sooner we stop Viggo, the sooner we can get Astrid back. Er, I mean get her out of this agreement. And the sooner I can get Toothless in the air."
Talen nodded approvingly at the motive, having his instinct confirmed with the relationship between her and him.
"That still leaves us with one problem." Teeth spoke up, making everyone turn to face her. "We still have no idea where Viggo or Ryker are. From the sounds of it, it seems like he's not in one place for long."
"She's right. We were always on the move when I was spying on them." Heather confirmed. "Ryker rarely went to the same island twice. I'm sure Viggo is the same, if not more paranoid than him."
Sighing, Hiccup shook his head at the task that lay ahead. "Chief Talen, while we're gone, I'll have a couple of us run some recon missions. See if we can't pick up where Viggo is."
"That would be better than just going straight to his main base." Talen agreed, frowning at the thought. "Do you think you can find his whereabouts?"
"I do. We have a friend named Trader Johann. He's usually tuned to all the gossip regarding the Hunters, and has a lot of connections. If anyone knows anything about Viggo, it's going to be him."
"What will we do while we wait?" Teeth quizzed, looking at her dad with concern. "We can't just randomly sail around. Viggo's ships are sure to spot us and ruin the element of surprise."
"According the map Hiccup and Fishlegs helped us draft, there's an island nearby. We'll set anchor there. It'll be good for the men to get off this ship, and more importantly, resupply with water and other supplies we can find there." Turning to Hiccup, Talen let a calm smile grow on his face. "Fly fast, Hiccup Haddock. We'll soon be rid of the Grimborns."
"We will, Chief Talen. And I'll be back as soon as I get what I need to repair Toothless' tail." He replied. "The others will search for Viggo and learn of any possible locations he could be at."
"I'll tell Gunjar to sail for this…island." Teeth volunteered, sliding her helmet over her head. The black chain veil again covered any expressions she may have had, except that her eyes were still shining with excitement with her modified armor.
"Ahem…perhaps you should help Mister Snotlout first…" Talen suggested, pointing to the cuff that was locked on his ankle.
"Ugh, sure…" She groaned, reaching for the key she left in her blacksmith's apron.
At this point, the twins were each taking turns slapping Snotlout, who was groggily trying figure out what was going on. "Ugh, what? Hey! Stop!" He shouted, trying to block the strikes. Finally feeling awake, he quickly fumbled out of the hammock and onto the floor. "Gah! Oh I'm going to kill you twidiots!" He roared, scrambling to his feet.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut simply smirked at him as they took a step back. Placing their hands behind their back, they simply waited for him to charge them.
"Aha! Gotch'ya!" He exclaimed as he leapt head first to tackle Tuffnut. Just as he did so, he felt himself stop instantly and crash onto the floor. "Agh…" He groaned. "Wh-what happened?"
"Shut up and keep still." Teeth growled as she slipped the key into the cuff.
"Good to see you're awake! See ya!" Tuffnut shouted as he and Ruffnut bolted out of the room.
Realizing that he was cuffed to the wall, Snotlout looked up at the bone clad person unlocking the cuff. "Uhh…thanks? Who are you?"
"No one." She growled, standing up to leave.
Slightly recognizing the voice, he stared at her with confusion. "Teeth?"
"I'll tell Gunjar the plan. After which I have something I'd like to do, if I'm able." She announced, ignoring Snotlout.
Talen nodded. "Do what you need to. I'll send off the Dragon Riders."
Hiccup turned to Astrid, looking at her with worry.
"I'll be fine, Hiccup. You need to stop worrying about me. If I felt in danger, I would have left when I was with Stormfly earlier today."
"I know, but that's what worries me. You don't feel in danger." He whispered, standing up to leave. "You're still on a Dragon Hunter ship, ones that call themselves Marauders…I can't be at peace knowing you're going to be here alone."
"I'll be with Toothless! We'll take care of each other." She replied with a smile. Grabbing the axe Teeth had given her, she added. "Besides, I'm not unarmed. I'm not going to be defenseless."
Still not comforted, he simply walked with her out of the forge room, hoping the agreement would come to an end sooner than later.
Both Toothless and Astrid watched as the Riders flew off into the distance. Toothless let out a growl of sorrow, watching Hiccup leave on the back of Stormfly.
"I know, bud…" Astrid whispered, frowning at the sight. "Hiccup didn't want to leave us either. But you know he needed to. So that you can fly again, and to get me out of here."
Toothless simply groaned, letting his head rest against the railing of the ship.
Kneeling next to him, she continued to stroke his head to comfort both him and her.
"Well, this is the first time I've seen you look blue about your circumstance. To be honest, it could be much worse. We could shackle you behind the White Wake and drag you behind us."
Both Astrid and Toothless instantly perked up, shocked to hear someone talk to them. Turning around, they both saw Grange standing there, with his mace strapped to his hip and his shield hanging from his back. In his hand was a glass bottle of some kind of drink.
Smiling, he handed it to her. "Drink this. It always makes me feel better after I lose a friend to dragon, or something else."
A little hesitant at first, she slowly grabbed the bottle. Pulling the cork off, she sniffed the contents. It was easy to smell honey in it. Taking a sip, she was caught off guard by the taste. It was actually the best tasting mead she ever had.
"Don't tell me you don't drink mead." He teased, seeing her look at the bottle in surprise.
"Not like this." She answered, taking another swallow. "It's rich. Is this what you all drink?"
"No. Most men drink some kind of grog when it's not water. It's harder than this. And tastes worse." He explained. "The officers and ranking men get to have that as a treat. I'm lucky enough to have access to it, being Teeth's right hand man. Er, future right hand man. There's an entire island under our banner that is dedicated to making that mead, and we make sure we have enough to last us a year of sailing." Gesturing for her to follow, he smiled as she took another swig. "Come on, I think I could use your help."
Beckoning Toothless to follow her, she walked alongside Grange with a curious expression. "Where are you taking me?"
"Teeth asked me to help her pick apart the Grimborn's ship we found you in. She thinks it'll help us be able to combat Viggo and his fleet."
"So why are you asking me to help you?"
"Because you're a Rider who spent a lot of time fighting the Grimborns. I'm sure you have some knowledge of the ships that would help us. If not, I guess it'll be good for you to check it out; and to take your mind off the fact that you're stuck here."
"Until you reminded me." She huffed in sarcasm. "As it turns out, I do know a little bit about those ships. Does spending a few days captured on board one count?"
"Depends. Did you see more than the room you and Hiccup were tied up in?" He teased, thinking she was talking about what happened recently.
Shaking her head, she let a mischievous smile grow on her face. "I wasn't talking about how you and Teeth found me and Hiccup. A couple months ago, I was captured with a few of the other Riders. It was when we first met Ryker. Heather was also working for him at the time."
"She was a Hunter?" He replied with shocked expression.
"As a spy, yeah. Unfortunately, her guise was busted by Viggo, which almost led to her death."
Shaking his head, Grange let out a sarcastic laugh. "Can't say I'm jealous of how you earned your knowledge of Viggo and Ryker. Sounds like an eventful way to get to get to know them."
"It was, wasn't it bud?" She laughed, turning to stroke Toothless' head.
Growling happily, he continued to walk alongside her, grateful to have her pet him.
As the two continued to walk down towards the stern of the ship, they saw the Hunter's ship being moored alongside the White Wake. Teeth was already on board, observing one of the hatches that led down to the hold's cells.
"Teeth! I brought someone that might add a few insights." Grange announced, crossing the gangway over.
Looking up, she nodded with approval. "Good. At this rate, it'll take me the entire trip to learn everything about this ship." Standing up, she removed her helmet and clipped it to her side. Pulling out her reddish hair from under her armor, she let it blow in the sea breeze, as if she was venting her frustration of her task. "The only thing I've been able to determine is that this ship was modified. I've found halfhearted patches and repairs to the deck, doors that could be pulled off the hinges. The only thing solid are the cages, cells, and the captain's cabin."
"Why the shoddy craftsmanship?" He asked, looking at an example.
"Probably so they only had to focus on keeping us as prisoners." Astrid commented. Gesturing to the cabin where she and Hiccup were held, she continued to explain. "Usually the cabins are where the captains stay, or at least Viggo and Ryker if they're on board. They turned that into a cell for us. I think they intended it for all of the Riders, but only ended up with me and Hiccup."
Looking at her, Teeth then gestured for her to lead the way. "Tell us what would be on a normal ship then."
Nodding, she smiled as she walked into the cabin. With Teeth and Grange right behind her, she gestured to the trap door that led down to the hold. "First off, they usually don't have this here. It's a one way in and out room. This trap door was a trigger for the trap that caught Hiccup, and then me." Opening the door, she began to walk down the stairs. "See these stairs? They're crudely put together. They don't usually have them installed."
"Then what's this room down here supposed to be?" Teeth asked, following closely.
Reaching the end of the stairs, she gestured to all around her. "From what I know, it's a simple store room. Either for their arrows and ballista launchers, or as an armory for capturing dragons. It's pretty meaningless. What you want to know is in here." At that, she opened the door to show the rest of the ship's hold. Cells with thick heavy iron doors lined both sides of the hallways, sectioned off into two different areas.
"Gotta admit, they know how to build cages." Grange commented, observing the cells. "When I found that Night Fury and your Nadder, I couldn't help but notice how solid the cells were. They could keep Nightmares in here for weeks without an issue. Heh, even a Catastrophic Quaken."
"I can see that." Teeth replied, walking up to a cell door. Pulling the latch next to it, she was surprised to see it swing up, instead of to the side like a normal door.
"These aren't exactly warships given they're not very fast. That being said, they still can put up a fight." Astrid continued to explain, seeing Teeth walk in to observe it closer. "They're meant to move and transport dragons."
"Meaning they have reinforced hulls and walls." Teeth whispered, touching the outer wall. "They might not be warships, but they're just as unsinkable, making them a bigger risk. How many of these do the Grimborns have?"
Astrid shrugged. "No idea. They have multiple fleets of them; the smallest usually having three, the largest having six. We have an idea that they have seven active fleets around the Archipelago, but we're unsure if they have any in reserve or hidden."
"Let's say they have eight fleets, all full with six ships…" Teeth quietly estimated. "Forty eight ships in the worst scenario…a bit more than what the White Wake can handle…"
"Not to worry, we have Dragon Riders helping us." Grange teased, nudging Astrid with his elbow. Suddenly, he grabbed the cell door and slammed it shut, locking Teeth in the cell she was inspecting. Seeing her fume at him, he simply pulled a face at her.
"Grange. I'm going to beat you senseless when I get out." She growled, looking at him in annoyance.
"Are you sure? How are you going to get out? I'm not going to let Astrid open the latch." He continued to tease.
"One thing these ships have is a failsafe." Astrid continued to say, pulling both their attention to her. Walking to the center of the room, she pulled on a single chain.
Instantly, every door opened up, including the cell that Teeth was locked in.
Walking out, she slammed her fist into his stomach, coupling him over. Looking at Astrid, she then asked. "Why would they have that installed?"
Astrid shrugged. "Beats me. Though I'm not complaining. It's been helpful for a few of our raids on them."
"I'm sure it was." She replied, stepping over Grange, who was still on the floor gasping for air.
Suddenly, a growl sounded from the other section. As the two went to check it out, they saw Toothless walking down the main stairwell into the hold.
"So they always have cells like these in all their ships?" Teeth asked, looking at the new array of cell doors.
"No always, they're actually pretty versatile. The one I was captured on had this section converted into an armory. A full working blacksmith station, a cage to produce Gronckle Iron, and another for Nadders so they could be used to make ballista tips." Looking down, she growled. "Stormfly was held in one of those."
Teeth nodded in understanding, knowing that her dragon was a touchy subject for her; in regards to being used and hunted. "Gronckle Iron? Care to enlighten me?"
Astrid walked up to one of the cell doors. Hitting it with her fist, she explained. "The metal the Hunters use for their cages and weapons. Unbreakable. Even from dragons." At that, she demonstrated her claim. "Toothless, can you blast this please?"
Growling, Toothless put on a gummy smile. The next second, a bright purple blast smashed into the door, leaving it red with the heat. However, the door remained intact.
"How…?" Teeth gasped, walking up to the door. Putting her hand next to the glowing metal, she could feel the heat of the hit through her gauntlet. "I need to learn how to make that. It'd change everything."
"You'll have to 'ask' them how to, after we find them. If not, we can help with that" Astrid replied, turning to see Grange hobble after them while clutching his stomach.
"How hard is it for one of you to sink a ship like this?" Teeth asked, walking up the stairs that Toothless came down on.
"Two of us can usually do it. Just to overwhelm their archers and their Dragon Root arrows. Hiccup's been able to sink a few on his own with Toothless."
Teeth turned to see Toothless closely follow Astrid, who was eyeing herself closely. "I'm surprised he hasn't made a move on me or Grange; anyone for that matter."
Astrid smiled as she stroked his head. "He knows you're friends. You haven't threatened us once." Rolling her eyes, she quickly corrected herself. "Alright, except when you first dragged us onto your ship."
Teeth eyed him warily as she walked out onto the deck. Looking around the ship, she then asked "Is there anything else I should know about these ships?"
"That's pretty much everything I know about them. I'm sure there'll always be something to learn though. The Hunters are always coming up with creative ways to fight us." Astrid replied. Seeing Teeth continue to observe the ship, she knelt down and whispered into Toothless' ear.
Perking up, Toothless growled happily.
Grange, who was still down in the hold since he was moving a lot slower, heard Teeth shout in surprise. Panicked, he rushed up the stairs to help her, only to see her tackled on the deck with Toothless licking her.
"Get off, you stupid dragon!" She shouted, trying to push his head away from her. "Astrid! Get him off!"
Laughing, Astrid looked at Grange who was also enjoying the sight. "I can try. But I can't guarantee he'll listen to me!"
"Aaggghhh!" She roared in distress, trying to kick him off.
Toothless roared happily, giving her an extra-long lick, covering her face.
Gasping, she started to gag as she was completely drenched in dragon drool.
"Alright, Toothless, you showed her how much you like her." Astrid laughed, guiding Toothless off of her.
Slowly sitting up, Teeth looked down to see exactly how much she was covered. "Ugh! I'm going to kill you, Astrid!"
Grange was the first to respond, laughing as he helped her up. "It wasn't Astrid, Teeth. From what I saw, Toothless wanted to show you how much he cared about you."
Teeth looked up and glared at the black dragon, who was looking at her with excited, puppy like eyes. Knowing she couldn't get mad at that, though she very much was, she growled as she stormed off. "Great, now I gotta get cleaned up now. We're not done yet, Astrid. I want to talk to you about ship formations and Viggo's strategies!"
"I'll be ready!" She called out, smiling as she watched her stomp past a few Marauders snickering at her.
"Didn't think you had a funny bone in ya'." Grange replied, walking up next to her. "What did you tell Toothless to make him do that?"
Smiling, Astrid looked at Grange with a smirk. "I just said that she would like to be kissed by him. He did the rest."
Grange's smile broadened from ear to ear. "Hah! That's great! She's fun to tease, isn't she?"
"To be fair, it was also to see how much he liked her." She replied with a smile of her own. "He wouldn't have gone near her if he didn't trust her. Stormfly would have crowded her, rubbing against her and trying to get closer. She's very affectionate to those she cares about. A dragon's trust is a good way to judge a person."
"Have to admit, Astrid, it's fun to see the other side of these beasts." He said, staring at Toothless who was watching a couple of Marauders. "I'm not even close to being the most seasoned dragon hunter aboard this ship, and I can tell you stories that would make anyone cringe."
"I'm sure you can. I'm just glad you can see the relationship we have with dragons." She admitted. "I hope everyone here can see that. That dragons aren't simply tools or things that crave to kill."
Grange's face fell at the comments, making her worry slightly with what he was going to say.
"Remember what I told you earlier, when I gave you that mead, about how it makes me feel better after I lose a friend?"
Astrid nodded.
"I'm going to let you in on a secret about us Marauders. At least, the younger ones like me. We rarely fight men and invade islands. At least, now we do." Walking up to the railing of the Hunter's ship, he looked down with a long expression. "It's mostly protecting them from dragons that raid our villages and people."
"But that doesn't mean tha-"
"Astrid, four of my closest friends were killed by them." He cut off, looking resolute. "We all signed up at the same time, and I'm the only one that's made it this far. Dragon hunting is no sure way to live a quiet life. And the crazy thing? I'm not the one that lost the most to dragons."
Astrid stood next to him, waiting for him to continue.
"I…I'm not going to say too much, but Teeth lost someone not too long ago to a Scauldron." He whispered. "Not just her, but Chief as well. His name was Torlund, and he was the previous blacksmith on this giant tub. He was Chief Talen's best friend. He was the one that made Teeth his apprentice when they took her onboard. He was in a sense, a second father to her."
Astrid stared at him with a mixture of sadness and understanding.
"Just…keep that in mind when dealing with her." He continued to say. "I know she's rough to talk to, and even to work with; she's always been that way; but even more so since that happened."
Sighing, Astrid nodded in understanding. "I get it. I do. It may not look like it, but dragons also hurt me like that as well."
Raising an eyebrow, he silently waited for her to continue her tale.
"Before we learned how to train dragons, we were like any other tribe. We fought them for centuries. We killed them, and they killed us. My uncle was called Fearless Finn. He earned that name, and taught me a lot about being a fighter. He was a role model to me. And because he was fearless, he contended with a dragon called a Flightmare."
"A Flightmare? Haven't heard of that one before." Grange replied with curiosity.
"Instead of fire, it breathes a mist that paralyzes its prey. Which was the reason why my uncle was killed when he faced it. So trust me, I know what it's like to lose someone close. Because of what happened to him, I strove to be the best. The best dragon killer that ever came out of Berk. And you know what? I was."
"Sorry to hear you can relate to us." He whispered with a sorrowful tone. "And it's interesting to see you and your island move past old feelings like that. I guess I'm only saying that you shouldn't be surprised if others don't agree with you, or even accept your methods. Experiences that we talked about are sometimes harder to get over for others."
"I'll keep that in mind." She whispered, nodding in understanding. "You know, you're not bad yourself. For being a Dragon Hunter and all."
Letting a friendly smile grow on his face, he shook his head. "I can say the same thing about you, dragon lover. Siding with the enemy of mankind. It should be a death sentence for such treason."
"If only you were the first to say that." She replied with a smirk, rolling her eyes at the accusation.
"Ah, there you are, Astrid."
The two turned to see Talen walking towards them, with a still scowling Teeth following behind. Though in her hands, she held her personal spear and Astrid's axe that she gave her.
Crossing the gangway, he stopped in front of the two. "I hope you're still comfortable after having to stay here while your friends left. You and Toothless."
"We're coping." She replied, stroking Toothless' head to assure both him and her. "We'll both feel better when we finally get rid of Viggo and his Hunters."
"Which leads me to ask you an important question."
Astrid stood up straight, waiting for him to ask.
"How close are these fleets? Are they usually fairly close in formation? Or are they spread out?"
"Usually spread out. They're not just for finding and trapping dragons. They use them to supply the islands that are buying from them. So a few fleets are used to ferry dragons to and from places, while others focus on expanding and hunting."
Talen nodded approvingly, stroking his silver beard as he thought of the answer.
Teeth then walked up to her. "What about Viggo? Does he have a specific fleet he sails with?"
Astrid shook her head. "The few times we ran into him, he's always been on a generic ship. I don't think he has a flagship that he personally uses. Same with Ryker. He seems to use whatever fleet will suit his needs."
"Good. That means the worst-case scenario, we hunt these fleets until we find Viggo." Teeth growled. Turning to the few Marauders standing on the White Wake's deck, she shouted. "Come aboard and start setting up obstacles! Something like a Dragon Hunter ship would have."
Astrid watched as the men crossed over, some grabbing and shifting the cages already on the Dragon Hunter's ship. "What are you doing?" She asked, watching two men reposition a cage.
Not saying anything, she tossed Astrid her axe. "Practicing."
Confused, she watched Teeth slide her helmet back on and ready her spear, staring at her with dark eyes.
"Oh, I see…" She replied with a sinister smile, also readying herself.
"I want to make sure I'm ready when I raid another one of these ships. So help me." Teeth growled, slowly circling Astrid. Then, with a little playfulness in her voice, whispered. "Besides, I need to get back at you for letting Toothless tackle me."
Astrid let her smile widen, now know her intentions. Not paying attention to Grange or Talen, who had taken a step back, she too readied her weapon.
"…rrrrraaaAAAGGHHH!" Teeth roared, charging Astrid!
"YEEEAAGGGHHH!" She replied with her own war cry!
The two watched as the girls clashed with each other, blocking attacks and striking out with their own.
"I haf ta' admit, chief…" Grange replied, smiling as he watched Teeth chase Astrid up a cage. "These Riders may be the best allies we've ever come across. Look at her! She's contending with Teeth! Most of your men haven't lasted this long against her. Me included."
Talen nodded, smiling as Astrid and Teeth locked their weapons atop of the cage. Pushing against each other, Astrid side stepped and sent Teeth sailing past her, letting her crash onto the deck. "Indeed." Turning to Grange, he then asked. "Do you think I should offer them a place among our people?"
"Offer? Sure." He replied with a shrug, watching Teeth roll away from Astrid's jump strike. "I don't think they'd take it though. Just talking to Astrid, I get the feeling they like doing things their way. Besides, we hunt dragons. They protect them. We don't exactly mix. It's like a bad love story."
"Sometimes extreme differences are what make relationships so special." He whispered, watching the two square up to each other a second time. "I can always ask at least."
"Yeah, I guess you can."
"Thank you, Grange."
Surprised, he pulled his eyes away from the fight to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What for, sir?"
"Being loyal to Teeth. She's going to need more men like you when she replaces me."
Letting a broad smile grow on his face, he shrugged at the compliment. "Eh, she needs someone to tease her. She's always so serious all the time."
"See that you keep doing that then." Talen replied with a smile of his own. At that, he handed him something. A glass bottle. One in each hand.
Smiling, Grange took the offer and pulled the cork off.
Tapping the bottles together, the two stood there, drinking and watching the fight continue between the Rider and Hunter.