Chapter 57: Snotlout's Angels
The Thorston twins were leaning against the door to Snotlout's hut as the voices of both Astrid and Snotlout could be heard in a very heated argument.
"I mean how was I supposed to know?" Snotlout asked Astrid. "Do you know how many axes there are on this island?" He said, as Astrid stared at him blankly.
"That has my initials on it?" Astrid countered as she raised her ax, which clearly had her initials written on it. "One."
Snotlout looked at the Norse markings. "Oh, those are your initials." He asked.
"It's bad enough you took it without asking, but you used it to clean in between your dragon's dirty claws." Astrid said, gesturing to Hookfang, who was scratching himself. "Do you know what kind of disgusting crud is in there?" She asked
"Do I? That is some seriously nasty goof." Snotlout answered with a small smile.
Astrid was now completely furious and had a murderous look on her face. A few seconds later she screamed furiously and immediately pounced on Snotlout.
From outside the Thorston twins can hear Snotlout screaming and the sound of fists flying.
Tuffnut looked at his sister. "Sounds like she's got him in the Hofferson Head Press." He said.
"How long 'til he blacked out?" Ruffnut smiled eagerly.
"Less than 30 seconds." Tuffnut answered.
It was at that point that Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda, Henry and Heather landed just outside the hut.
Tuffnut looked at Toothless and Midnight. "Hey, T, M, how have you guys been?" He greeted the Night Furies
"What's all the ruckus about?" Henry asked
They turned to the Thorston Twins and heard the sounds of Snotlout frightening screams. "Okay, not the ear hair. Anything but the ear hair!" He begged.
They then heard a tearing sound and the sound of Snotlout screaming as they all winced.
"Oops." Astrid said.
Raeda cringed, "Ooh, that's new one." She said.
The Haddock twins hopped off their dragons and approached the Thorston Twins. "Snotlout took her ax again?" Hiccup assumed, not noticing Hicca flinching.
"Hmm," Tuffnut nodded. "And milady is not too pleased with Snotsalot." He stated.
"You would have thought he would learn by now, no one takes Astrid's things without permission," Henry said, shaking his head.
"Every time he does, we burn half our medical supplies." Hicca said while shaking her head as well, trying not to look suspicious for some reason.
"Do you think they'll be long?" Heather asked, still on Windshear. "I wanted to say goodbye to Astrid before I head home to Berserker Island." She said before they heard Astrid scream again
"Did you really just say that to me?" Astrid demanded in a low, furious voice.
"Yes." Snotlout whimpered, while on his knees looking terrified at a murderous Astrid. "Please don't hit me." He pleaded.
Astrid scoffed and walked out of the hut and past The Haddock twins, Raeda, Henry and the Thorston twins.
"I'll just go talk to Astrid myself." Heather said nervously and flew after her.
"Good luck." Raeda commented before six of them then rushed over towards the still frightened Snotlout. "You okay, Jorgenson?" Raeda asked.
"A little terrified and a bit of bruises from Astrid's rage. But, above all, I'm fine." Snotlout answered
"What did you say to her anyway?" Ruffnut asked Snotlout as he came up and whispered something in her ear, Ruffnut then laughed nervously. "Yeah, right. You did not say that." She said.
Snotlout just gave her a small nod. Ruffnut frowned and then leaned towards Raeda and whispered in her ear.
Raeda's jaw dropped as she stared at Snotlout. "Do you have a death wish?" She asked as she then leaned over and whispered into Henry's ear.
Henry's eyes widened before letting out a laugh before taking a breath, "You're so dead." He said blankly.
"What did he say?" Hicca asked as Henry whispered the word in her ears before she widened her eyes in shock. "Snotlout, you know you can't say things like that to Astrid!" She pointed out as she then whispered to her brother.
Hiccup immediately gave Snotlout a concerned look. "Okay, this could be a problem." He said.
They then heard strange noises outside and Hiccup and Hicca immediately rushed out to see several sharp weapons being tossed out of Astrid's hut.
"Okay, just… nope. Okay. Nope," Astrid said as she tossed weapon after weapon outside the hut.
"Ohh, not good." Hicca muttered.
Snotlout was looking at them with concern. "Uh, okay. What is she doing?" He asked nervously.
"Searching for something. Most likely a bludgeon." Hiccup assumed.
"Or any other deadly weapon that could slice you in half." Raeda added.
Hiccup looked at Snotlout. "All right. Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna get on Hookfang and fly out of here immediately." He said.
"Yeah, right, I'm not afraid of her." said Snotlout firmly as Ruffnut then whispered into her brother's ear, who looked at Snotlout as if he was crazy.
"You said, what? Are you insane?" Tuffnut asked in shock as even he knew not to say things like that to Astrid.
"Snotlout, if Tuffnut is telling you that it was dangerous to say that, then you're in big trouble." Henry told him.
"You should go." Hiccup advised. "Now. It's literally the only chance you have."
"Yeah. Get off the Edge until Astrid cools down before she rips you in half and sends you on a one way ticket to Valhalla." Hicca added.
"Trust us, Astrid is no joke." Raeda added.
Snotlout panicked and rushed over to Hookfang. "Okay." He said as the two then took off immediately.
The moment he was gone, Astrid marched back in with her spear, "Where is he?!" She demanded.
Everyone acted casually, "Um, where's who?" Hiccup asked while rubbing the back of his head, while Hicca was reading a random book, Raeda was looking at her nails, Henry whistled and the Thorston Twins were playing Maces and Talons.
(Linebreak)
After about half an hour, Snotlout was still flying through the dark night sky.
"I can't believe this is happening." Snotlout said in disbelief. He then looked down at Hookfang. "Can you? I mean, seriously. She needs to stop being so sensitive. Besides, I didn't even touch her ax today."
Hookfang looked at Snotlout in surprise. 'You didn't?' He growled.
"I'm serious, Hooky." Snotlout pointed out. "I used my own ax to clean your dirty toes today." He added while feeling confused. "So why would she think I used her ax when it has some same gunk as yours? That makes no sense." He said in confusion.
He was so busy griping that he failed to notice that he flew straight into a storm and only realized this when he heard the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning.
"Great." Snotlout moaned before the rain started. "Wow." Then lightning shot right past him. "Perfect." Snotlout grumbled Another bolt of lightning nearly struck him.
He then looked up to the sky defiantly. "That's right! Punish me, Thor!" Snotlout yelled to the gods, "Bring everything you got! I can take it! The Snot can take-" He immediately regretted those words, because another bolt of lightning struck his helmet knocking him off of Hookfang. "I was kidding!" he screamed as he fell towards the ocean below.
'Snotlout!' Hookfang roared as he looked around wildly for him, but there was no trace.
Snotlout landed in the ocean hard as he desperately tried to keep himself aloft which wasn't easy in this storm.
"Rider down! Rider down! Hookfang, where are you?" Snotlout cried.
He then heard a roar in the distance and immediately turned towards it.
"Oh, Thor. What was that?" he moaned. "Hookie? Is that you? Hookfang?" He called.
Then a flash of lightning struck and Snotlout saw a silhouette in the night sky. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, because the shadows look a lot like women with large wings.
"Of course it's not." Snotlout moaned. He then immediately swam for it. "Hookfang!" He yelled.
Hookfang was in the ablaze trying to find Snotlout, 'Snotlout! Snotlout! Where are you?!' He called before he then dived towards the ocean. However, by the time he got there was no sign of Snotlout.
"Help! Help!" Snotlout cried as Hookfang turned and saw Snotlout being carried away by winged women.
The Monstrous Nightmare's eye widened, 'What in the name of-' He growled in disbelief before he shook his head, 'Don't worry Snotlout! I'm coming!' With that Hookfang immediately chased after them.
(Linebreak)
At the Dragon's Edge, everyone there was at the clubhouse having dinner. Hiccup, Hicca, and Raeda however, were concerned that Snotlout had yet to return and judging from everyone's expressions, they were the only ones.
Hiccup was playing around with this food and couldn't stand it anymore. "All right, are we all just gonna sit here and pretend nothing's wrong?" He asked.
They stopped eating for a moment before continuing eating their food.
"Nothing is wrong." Astrid said plainly as he ate her beans.
"Actually, there is, guys. Snotlout didn't return to the Edge for a long while then he had to." Hicca pointed out.
"Something is definitely wrong here." Read frowned, "He's never gone for very long."
"You guys know Snotlout. He's too big a chicken." Hiccup added.
Tuffnut then coughed. "Ahem. Hiccup? El pollo." He said, pointing to Chicken, who was sitting on his lap.
"Oh, yeah." Hiccup said, realizing his mistake. "Sorry, Chicken."
Chicken gave a clucked to Hiccup as she sat on Tuff's lap as she raised her head proudly.
"Muchísima gracias de yo y Chicken,' said Tuffnut gratefully.
"Hiccup's got a point though," Raeda said, changing the subject, "He would never miss dinner."
Fishlegs nodded. "You know there is a chance that he got caught in that storm." He said looking outside the raging storm. "It's pretty brutal out there." He noted.
"Of course, he's got caught in the storm." Ruffnut said. "He's Snotlout. The only question is do we—"
Raeda then slammed her hands on the table, which startled the group, even Astrid as they turned to her. "I can't believe you guys are just okay, sitting here and eating while one of our riders and dragon are out in the storm!" She said in disbelief.
Astrid just rolled her eyes, "No, we're okay sitting here and eating while Snotlout and Hookfang are out in the storm." She corrected Raeda as she went back to eating.
Raeda then got annoyed as she grabbed Astrid's plate and tossed it away, which surprised her and the group that she did that. "Astrid! Take this seriously!" She yelled.
Astrid got up and walked up to Raeda, "Are you seriously taking his side, after what he did?!" She demanded.
"At least I'm more reasonable and open minded than you are!" Raeda retorted. "Besides, he didn't see your initials in that ax, and this is Snotlout we're talking about here!" She pointed out.
"Um, girls?" Henry tried to speak up but was ignored.
"Exactly, he always does and says whatever he wants with no regard for others or what happens to him after!" Astrid shot back.
"Girls." Henry tried to speak up again.
"Are you really judging him from the past when he has improved over his mistakes over the years!?" Raeda questioned as she got closer to the Hofferson's face.
Astrid clenched her fists, "That doesn't change what he said to me or the fact that he used MY ax to clean Hookfang's-"
"GIRLS!" Henry yelled, finally getting their attention.
"WHAT?!" Both Astrid and Raeda yelled as they turned to Henry.
"That wasn't Hookfang's claw gunk on Astrid's ax!" Henry pointed out as he held Astrid's ax that he somehow had with him.
"What?" The others asked in surprise.
"When I was left washing the dragons when you guys were having insomnia during the Midnight Sun, I was the one who still remembers the nastiness of Hookfang's toes." Henry explained as he pointed to Astrid's ax. "I smelled the ax and to tell you the truth, that wasn't Hookfang's gunk. I should know because once you smell it once, you never forget it." He shuddered.
Astrid was surprised by that as she came to Henry and took her ax back. "Wait, so Snotlout didn't use my ax?" She asked in surprise.
"Nope." Henry answered as he held out another ax. "Apparently, he was using his. I checked his hut and found his ax and realized he used his own." He said before he tossed it away as it hit the wall. "Has Hookfang's gunk smell all over it alright." He said as he cringed.
Astrid was confused now, "But, I don't get it. I definitely smelled Monstrous Nightmare on my ax when I found it." She insisted.
Hiccup raised a brow, "But if Snotlout didn't take your ax, then who did?" He wondered as Hicca let out a sheepish cough and they all turned to her as she tapped her fingers nervously, "Hicca, is there something you'd like to say?" Hiccup asked suspiciously.
"What? Me? Oh nothing." Hicca quickly said. "Hey, you guys wanna know about my new medicines remedies I've been learning, blindness, coughing, sick sneezing, swelling, coughing again…" She quickly listed out.
Hiccup gave a cough again as Hicca stopped as she saw that her friends were giving her blank expressions as they all blinked together with her.
"Sis. We know that you are hiding something when you list out your skills." Hiccup said with a dull tone. "Tell us the truth." He insisted.
Hicca darted her eyes before sighing, "Okay, okay. The thing is, the one who took Astrid's ax was me?" She squeaked nervously.
Immediately the others got up, "WHAT?! Are you kidding?! WHY?!" They all demanded.
Hicca flinched, "Well you see, I found out there was a Monstrous Nightmare out in the forest that a severe case of Claw Fungus and trust me, it was pretty bad and my Healer instincts kicked in and I grabbed the closest weapon I saw to help clean out the Fungus, which happens to be…" She trailed off while looking at Astrid.
"My ax?!" Astrid asked in shock.
Hicca gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I would've asked first but there was no time." She explained, "Once I realized what I did after I got back, I panicked and was about to clean it, but I saw you and Stormfly returning so I just put it back. Unfortunately I didn't realize that Snotlout and Hookfang were sleeping nearby." She said with a sheepish and nervous chuckle.
Astrid stared at Hicca in disbelief as her eye twitched as she tried to keep her anger in, but she snapped. "HICCA!" She roared.
Before she could get to the terrified healer, Henry got in between them and drew his sword at Astrid as she stopped as he gave the Hofferson girl a glare.
"Don't. Even. Think. About it." Henry warned.
Raeda then grabbed Astrid's ax before she could even attack. "Will you just think things through instead of solving them with violence for once, Astrid Hofferson!" She lectured.
Astrid growled before Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to his concerned face. She then realized what she almost did, covered her face with shame.
She then looked at Hicca apologetically, "Sorry, Hicca." She said in guilt for almost hurting her friend.
"That's okay, Astrid. I should be the one to apologize." Hicca said as she lowered her head. "I was in such a rush to help one dragon that I forgot about asking you first."
"Let's just, call it even." Astrid suggested.
"Deal." Hicca agreed with a smile.
Raeda then coughed, "Um, not break this up but I think there's someone else you owe an apology to and is currently out in the storm?" She pointed out to Astrid.
Astrid knew what she was talking about, "Oh no." She moaned while covering her face.
Hiccup got to his feet immediately. "Well, time to go find him then. Come on." He said, clapping his hands.
"Let's go find our Muttonhead." Raeda added.
"Ugh!" Everyone else groaned.
They immediately got up and made their way to the stables, but not before Fishlegs took a bit of his steak.
"You sure it's not a question, I feel like it's a question," Ruffnut said.
"No it's not." Hicca shook her head as she left the clubhouse.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout awoke to find himself in a hut and discovered that he was completely barefoot and resting on my will dried leaves.
He then looked up and saw several beautiful women merging into the hut wearing armor.
"Huh?" Snotlout stared dumbfounded. "Okay, you guys. Joke's over. Ha-ha. Take off that beautiful native woman costume, Fishface. You don't have the legs for it." He laughed, thinking it was the other riders pulling a prank on me.
He then collapsed completely exhausted.
One of the women looked at the others. "Who is this Fishface he speaks of?"
They merely shrugged.
"Ah. You're awake," said a new voice.
Then emerging into the heart was another beautiful woman with shiny green eyes and brown hair tied in a bun. Judging from the crown on her forehead she had to be the leader of this group and like all of them she was wearing armor.
"My name is Atali," She said.
"What?" Snotlout stared in confusion.
"You are safe here, young Viking." Atali said gracefully.
"Wait. I am? I am." Snotlout said, revealing his entire body. "Then, this must be…" He then stared up at the women. "Wow. You know, I thought I'd be really distressed to be, well, you know, but this is awesome." He then laughed as the women just gave confused looks. "Okay, so when do I get to meet Odin. I mean—"
Atali raised a finger. "Well—"
Snotlout then picked himself up. "He obviously handpicked me to come to Valhalla, so he must want to hang out with Snotman, catch up, lay down some warrior gifts on the…"
"You are not in Valhalla, 'Snotman." Atali assured him.
"Yeah, it's actually Snotlout," said Snotlout. He then turned and faced Atali. "Okay, let's go see the 'O' guy."
"My Wingmaidens rescued you from a terrible storm," Atali explained. "You are alive and well and on our island home."
Snotlout then rubbed his chin. "Well, if I'm not dead then where's…" Snotlout's face widened in horror. "Hookfang!"
"Just calm yourself." Atali said calmly. "You are safe from all dragons while you are here." She then gestured to a woman holding the golden goblet. "Now drink from this golden goblet. This is the purest of all herbal tea." Snotlout took it and looked at Atali. "It will give you great strength."
"Don't mind if I do." Snotlout said happily and drank it, though some of it did dribble on his tunic. He then smiled at Atali. "This is delicious, Me-likey." He then looked at the women. "Ah. Grab another bottle of this, will ya? I wanna take this with me."
He was about to walk off, but then saw the women's eyes narrow at him.
"Uh… please?" Snotlout said politely.
(Linebreak)
Elsewhere, the Haddock twins, the other Dragon Riders and Heather were trying to find Snotlout in the storm.
"Man, this is impossible!" Tuffnut yelled through the wind. "It's like looking for a bonehead in a thunderstorm." He said.
"Is that supposed to be a metaphor?" Ruffnut asked.
"Yeah, little one on the nose? Well, my brain is wet." Tuffnut said.
Hiccup looked down at his sister, Midnight and Toothless. "Hey guys? Let's try again." He said to the two Night Furies.
"Let's use the old move." Hicca added.
Toothless and Midnight then roared in order to find their way through the storm and possibly looking for any trace of Snotlout and Hookfang.
"Still nothing," Astrid said. "Guys, we're never gonna find anything out here. I can barely see Stormfly's head in front of me."
"Astrid's right, guys." Fishlegs said. "Maybe we should go back to the Edge and waited out, then when it's more—"
"Fishlegs, you're just saying that since you are afraid of a storm." Raeda called out.
"No I'm not. Just saying our options and situation here." Fishlegs said in defense, while also wanting to get out of the storm as quickly as he can.
"Guys, we're finding Snotlout. No Dragon Rider gets left behind." Raeda said firmly to them.
"Guys, wait." Hiccup said, holding out his hand as he saw something in the distance. "Do you see that?"
They saw bright light in front of them and it appeared to be heading straight towards them. When they got closer they saw that it was a very familiar shape.
"Is that…" Fishlegs asked.
Emerging through the maelstrom was none other than Hookfang, who had set his entire body ablaze. He immediately stopped directly in front of them looking a bit distressed. 'Guys! Thank goodness!' He roared in relief.
"Hookfang!" Hiccup said.
"But I don't see Snotlout with him," Raeda noted in worried.
"He must have fallen off during the storm." Heather assumed.
Hookfang then immediately unleashed a burst of flames and began flying around as if trying to tell them something.
"We've seen him do this before." Hiccup recalled.
"Like when Snotlout and Hiccup were on Outcast island or when Snotlout along with Hiccup and I were dealing with the Sandbuster, Hookfang gets so worried that he comes to us and lead us to where Snotlout is." Hicca listed out the times when Hookfang gets this worried.
"He wants us to follow him." Fishlegs suggested.
"Because he knows where Snotlout is." Hicca added. "Dragon Riders, follow Hookfang!" She announced.
Hookfang then immediately flew deep into the storm and they quickly followed him making sure to stay close so the flames illuminated their way. Eventually he let out of the storm and immediately the Riders and their dragon quickly dried themselves.
"What's Snotlout getting himself into?" Astrid asked as she dried her hair.
"No doubt something is getting himself killed as per usual." Henry assumed.
"Knowing Snotlout, that's probably what is happening right now." Raeda said in agreement since Snotlout does get himself into trouble from time to time.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout was currently having a nice meal that was being served to him by the Wingmaidens and was opening his big fat mouth to them.
"So he says to the other Viking, 'You're Thor?' 'I'm tho Thor I can barely thit down,'" Snotlout said and laughed.
However the women sitting next to him were even cracking a smile and in fact they were looking slightly disgusted.
Snotlout, naturally, failed to notice as he bit into a chicken leg. "Now this is how you treat a man. Astrid should be here taking some notes. You feel me on that?"
Atali then stepped forward. "Mr. Snotlout, although we are honored to have you as our guest, your attitude towards women is completely unacceptable."
"Hey, I always talk like this." Snotlout said. "I did chicks, uh, women…"
"And that is why you must respect them, revere them. Do you understand?"
Unfortunately at that point Snotlout was guzzling down the golden goblet. Once he finished he placed the goblet down. "Loud and clear." He said.
Atali smiled. "Perfect. Get some rest. For this evening, you will be the guest of honor at our 'Feast of Freya.' We've been preparing the sacred stew for days now." She then gestured to some of her Wingmaidens that were busy sterling a large pot. "Just a few final ingredients and it will be ready to ingest. You, Mr. Snotlout, will be the centerpiece of our celebration." She explained
"So, this sacred stew, what exactly makes it so 'sacred'?" Snotlout asked.
"Oh, I'm afraid we couldn't reveal that, Snotlout." Atali said cryptically. "If we did, well…"
"Oh, let me guess. You'd have me killed?" Snotlout laughed.
"That's one way to put it." Atali said blunty.
Snotlout immediately stopped laughing. "Huh? You guys are kidding, right?" He then looked precariously at the women sitting next to him. "I mean, with all of my respect and reverence I'm doing here, you wouldn't…"
He then saw one of the women stuffing a silken napkin into her breastplate and pulled up a knife and fork. He immediately panicked and crawled over the table watched as more women approached the table with a knife and fork.
"I'm no one's stew," Snotlout said in a panicked voice. "I don't care how sacred or delicious it is!" He immediately ran towards the door.
"Run if you must, Snotlout." Atali told him. "But, I'm afraid we cannot let you leave Wingmaiden Island."
Snotlout saw the smile on her face and screamed and ran as quickly as he could away from the village.
(Linebreak)
"This is so typical." Snotlout groaned as he ran through the woods. "I finally meet some cool chicks that I can hang out with, who get my jokes, dig me as a leader and as a warrior, and it turns out all they want to do is make me into some crappy stew."
He then immediately found an armored woman looking down at him from a boulder and quickly ran in the opposite direction. He jumped through the bushes to see another armored woman directly in front of him and ran in the opposite direction yet again.
He exited from the bushes and stopped just in time before he reached the edge of a cliff and saw Atali and more of her Wingmaidens emerging from the bushes.
"You don't think I'll do it, do you? You don't think I have the guts?" Snotlout said. He then began to pat his chest. "Well, guess what, baby? I'm all guts. Check this out. Nothing but gets here."
Atali and her Wingmaidens just smiled as they advanced towards him. Then to their surprise, he leaned back and toppled over the edge.
A few seconds later, Snotlout was screaming and clutching onto his helmet as he felt towards the water. "Oh, no!" He yelled as he struck the water hard, but thankfully he went legs first and quickly swam back to the surface.
"I did it." Snotlout said in disbelief. "I'm alive. I'm in one piece. Those lunatics will never have the stones to…" He stopped when he saw Atali and her Wingmaidens jumping right after him. "What in the name of Thor?" He muttered in disbelief.
He quickly swam as quickly as he could, but then from out of nowhere Atali and her Wingmaidens sprouted metallic dragon-like wings and flew towards him. They then immediately picked him out of the water much to his disbelief.
"No. You can't do this. I'm not edible. I'd be tough, gamey," Snotlout yelled. His attention then focused upon the flying women that were carrying him. "Wait, are you flying?" He looked up and saw Atali smiling. "How are you flying?" He asked in shock and surprise.
Panic then covered his entire body. "Help me!" Snotlout yelled in fear.
(Linebreak)
The Haddock twins and the others were chasing after Hookfang, but the dragons were starting to get tired. Hookfang eventually stopped on an arch in the middle of the sea roaring at the horizon.
"Okay, Hookfang, I get it," said Hiccup as they landed and immediately jumped off Toothless. "You're worried about Snotlout. Why don't we just take a little break and give the rest of us a chance to…"
'Rest is for the weak!' Hookfang roared as he immediately took off.
"Who needs to catch their breath anyway?" Hiccup asked rhetorically.
"You should know by now that when a dragon is worried about its rider, they won't rest until they are found." Hicca said tiredly as she mounted Midnight.
"Okay, good point, sis." Hiccup said as he then turned to the others as he mounted Toothless. "You guys relax, Hicca and I will go." He told them.
Fishlegs shook his head. "No way, all right? We are going with you guys. Meatlug just got her second wind."
Meatlug looked a bit tired, but upon hearing Fishlegs' word she immediately got a massive boost of energy. 'Yeah! I'm raring to go!' She growled.
"I can go too," Raeda added. "You guys need all the help you can get." She said, though secretly she wanted to be sure Snotlout was okay.
"The more the merrier." Hicca said.
The four of them then took off and began to chase after Hookfang. It took them long as Hookfang immediately flew out of the clouds.
'Back! Back, back, back!' Hookfang roared as if he was frightened by something.
"What the…" Hiccup started.
"What got Hookfang spooked?" Hicca asked in surprise.
They then turned towards the clouds and saw flying around them were… well, there was no other way to put it, women with dragon wings. Upon seeing them they immediately dive down back into the cloud bank leaving the three young men completely bewildered.
Hiccup stared openmouthed. "What the—Are—are those…"
"Flying women?" Fishlegs finished.
"Yep." Hicca said with wide eyes.
"Uh. Are we crazy or is that impossible?" Hiccup asked, looking at the others.
Hicca just rubbed her eyes. "Okay, we've been flying all day without food or rest, so hallucination is plausible." She suggested
"No, we all definitely saw it." Raeda said, still in shock.
It was at that point Astrid and the others emerged from the clouds. "What are you guys talking about?" Astrid asked.
"Nothing. Nothing," Fishlegs said quickly. "We're just having some friendly hallucinations." He explained
"Wait, so, you didn't see the angelic flying native women?" Tuffnut asked bewildered. "Man, did you miss it." He said.
"Yeah because that's exactly what we saw." Henry added.
"Okay, we clearly need to know more about these, whatever they are," Hiccup said, still trying to get over the shock.
"Let's see if we can get a closer look." Hicca said.
(Linbreak)
They immediately flew back towards the arch and Hiccup quickly pulled out his spyglass. He immediately turned his sights to the island in the distance and saw something that caught his eye.
"Hey, Fishlegs, take a look at this." Hiccup said, passing his spyglass.
Fishlegs immediately looked towards the island. "Amazing. Just amazing." He said in awe. "The density of that vegetation is unparalleled for an island in this area of the…" Hiccup then removed the spyglass to an inch to the right. He then immediately saw a village and flying around it were the same women they saw earlier with dragon wings. "Oh. You were talking about the giant village women with wings." He realized.
Hicca was looking through her own spyglass and lowered it. "At least we know that we are not hallucinating." She said in some relief before turning to Henry. "Henry, do you know these women?" She asked her boyfriend.
Henry narrowed his eyes, "Actually no, I've never seen them before." He told her.
"What?!" The Riders asked in shock and surprise by this.
But you traveled across the archipelago before you landed on Berk. You know the Defenders of the Wings!" Hiccup pointed out.
"Just because I traveled a lot in the past when I left the Hunters, doesn't mean I know every tribe or island in the world!" Henry said in defense.
Raeda then took a spyglass from Fishlegs. "Hold on. I think I found Snotlout," she said as she saw him with his arms and legs tied to a stick carried by two of the women. "They've got him and they're taking him into a cave." She explained.
"If I didn't know better I'd say they were about to eat him." Henry shrugged.
Astrid didn't look entirely surprised. "Yeah, he probably said something he would say, and now they're gonna—"
"Don't you even start Astrid!" Raeda snapped as Astrid stood quiet.
"Hey, at least our hands are clean."Ruffnut said.
"As a whistle." Tuffnut added to demonstrate he whistled. "Just such we didn't get to watch."
"We're not gonna let them do anything to Snotlout." said Hiccup flatly.
"We do not leave our friends behind." Hicca added firmly. "We're gonna go in there and get him and bring him home."
"The very least we can save them from getting food poisoning." Henry jokes,
"Who is this 'we' you speak of?" Ruffnut asked for hand quotes.
"All of us." Hiccup said plainly.
"Actually bro, this might need to be a girls only mission." Hicca said to him.
"What?" Hiccup asked his sister in surprise.
"She's right, Hiccup. Look it's all women down there," Astrid pointed out. "If we have to save him, and I'm not convinced we do, I just think it would be easier for Hicca, Heather, Raeda, Ruffnut and I to take the lead. You know, put 'em at ease."
"What if we all went in on Windshear?" Heather suggested, who had taken Hicca's spyglass and was looking at the women, but more precisely their wings. "There's something familiar about those wings."
"All right, then it settled." Hiccup agreed. "We'll be there if you need us. You might not want to mention anything about Snotlout, until you know why they have locked up in that cave."
"Don't worry. Let the girls handle this bro." Hicca said with a smirk, jerking a thumb to herself as the girls chuckled as the boys groaned.
(Linebreak)
A few moments later the five girls were riding on top of Windshear and were heading towards the island. Though Windshear seemed to be struggling, carrying so many passengers on her.
'Oh Thor, so many riders, to carry.' Windshear painted.
Heather then patted her neck, "Stay strong girl, just a little further." She encouraged her dragon.
"We can't use our dragons if what Heather said is true, but don't worry, Windshear. Once we get there, you can rest." Raeda assured.
"What a beautiful Razorwhip." A voice said beneath them.
Suddenly emerging from the clouds was Atali, who was facing. She then flew down Windshear's stomach brushing her hand against her chest.
"And so well behaved." She added, flying next to them.
Heather stroked Windshear and smiled. "I've had her since she was a hatchling. She must have gotten separated from her mother." She explained.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but who are you?" Hicca asked politely.
"I am Atali." Atali introduced herself as more Wingmaidens appeared. "We're not here to harm you, but ask how it is you find yourselves within our island's borders."
"There was a terrible storm. We were on our way back to our own island and we must have gotten blown off course." Astrid explained.
"So we were hoping that you would be allowed to rest and recuperate on your island for a while." Raeda finished.
Atali then looked at Ruffnut. "I'm afraid that we don't usually allow men on our island, so your friend will have to—"
Naturally Ruffnut was insulted by this comment. "Hey, I'm more woman than you'll ever be, sister," She glared, removing her helmet.
"My apologies." Atali apologized. "Follow us. We will provide you with shelter this evening and a hot meal."
"Now we're talking." Ruffnut smiled. "What's on the menu?"
"We're having stew. Sacred stew." Atail explained.
The five girls looked at one another and shrugged and followed Atali and her Wingmaidens back to the island.
(Linebreak)
Atali then began to give them a tour around the village. "Gotta say, your village takes the term 'Girl Power' to the next level." Raeda commented.
"As I said, we do not allow males to integrate into our tribe on a permanent basis." Atali explained with a chuckle.
"Why is that?" Astrid asked curiously.
"Yeah, why are boys not allowed on your island?" Hicca asked in curiosity.
"We have important work here, a higher purpose, if you will. Males would neither understand, nor would they be helpful." Atali explained.
"Ahem to that, sister." Ruffnut nodded.
"Ruff, you couldn't really feel that way about the guys," Heather said.
"Don't I?" Ruffnut asked, placing a hand on her hips. "I can't remember us ever having this discussion, Heather." She said to her.
A wingmaiden approached Atali and whispered something to her, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have some business to attend to." Atali said to the girl riders. "But feel free to take in the beauty our island has to offer."
"Thank you, Atali." Hicca thanked as Atalin walked off.
Astrid then turned to the others having a good feeling about what business she was talking about. "Well, that's the end of Snotlout." She said bluntly.
"Hey, at least he died surrounded by beautiful women and the smell of sacred stew," Ruffnut said cheerfully.
"Can't you two think positive for one minute?!" Raeda called out as she raised her hands.
"If Snotlout is still trapped, we have to get him out of here." Hicca added.
"If he's still alive, we need to get him before he says anything to make them any more angry." Heather finished before she noticed Astrid, Hicca, Ruffnut and even Raeda giving her a raised brow. "Yeah, that ship's sailed, huh?" she said dully.
"It already has been, Heather." Raeda answered dully as well.
"But still, we need to get Snotlout out before he becomes 'Stewlout'." Hicca told them as Ruffnut snickered.
"Hicca, can you keep their chief busy?" Astrid asked the Haddock girl.
Hicca nodded and then turned to Heather and Ruffnut, "Meanwhile, can you two find anything you can about these Wingmaidens?" She asked.
"We can try." Heather said as Ruffnut nodded.
"Raeda and I will find Snotlout." Astrid said.
Raeda raised a brow at her, "Why? So you can get first dibs on killing him?" She accused the Hofferson girl.
Astrid looked at her quickly. "No, no. Raeda. I'm not gonna do that." She said as she could not believe that she had just said that. "Snotlout's a muttonhead, but he's our muttonhead." She told her.
"Come on, Heather." Ruffnut said, placing a hand on the black-haired girl's shoulder. "I thought I saw a boar pit when we were flying in. Hey, maybe they're up for a game of doubles."
Heather didn't really like the idea of that as she gave the other girls a dull look.
"Heather is gonna be in for a messy time." Hicca chuckled as she left to find Atali.
Raeda and Astrid looked at each other. "Let's go get Snotlout." Raeda said as Astrid nodded as they walked to get the Jorgenson boy.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout was currently hanging upside down in a cave with a chain around his ankle and was at that moment snoring when Astrid and Raeda came in.
"Ugh." Astrid groaned.
"Figures Snotlout gets bored when he is left alone for a while." Raeda said with a rolled eye as the two girls made their way towards him.
Thankfully they found the key to the chain around his ankle, which was on the floor directly in front of the snoring Snotlout.
"Huh, that was convenient." Raeda commented in surprise.
Astrid picked it up and made her way towards him and saw the chain was too high for her to reach.
She sighed. "We gotta wake up, Snotlout." She told Raeda.
Raeda nodded, and grabbed Snotlout, "Snotlout. Snotlout, wake up." She said while shaking him around before Astrid flicked his nose and his eyes slowly began to open. "Hey, muttonhead." She joked with a smirk.
"Astrid, Raeda." Snotlout gasped as his eyes shot open. "You both came for me." He then immediately grabbed her. "I knew you both would. I knew it." He then released and looked at them in confusion. "Wait a minute. No, I didn't. I mean, for Raeda I do but you Astrid, you hate me. Why would you?"
"I don't hate you, Snotlout. You frustrate the living… you know." Astrid said.
"But…" Raeda added as she gave a look at Astrid.
Astrid sighs as she holds out the key. "But you're one of us. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." She told him.
"Astrid, you really care about me," Snotlout said in surprise as tears began to form his eyes. "You really, really care."
"Don't push it," Astrid warned. "You're lucky that Hicca told me that she was the one who used my ax to handle a fungus toed Monstrous Nightmares after you left." She said to him.
"Wait, Hicca was the one who used your ax?" Snotlout asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it shocked us too. Apparently she was in a hurry and grabbed my ax." Astrid said with a bored tone.
"Be lucky that me and Henry stopped her from doing something she might regret." Raeda added.
"You were gonna hurt Hicca?" Snotlout asked in shock, already getting what Raeda was gonna say.
"Almost, but the others talked me out of it." Astrid said. "Anyway, what exactly is it that you said to them to get them so mad at you?" She asked the upside-down Jorgenson boy.
"All I did was fall in the ocean and these clearly unstable natives are planning on using me in their sacred stew." Snotlout explained.
Astrid sighed and walked away.
"That's exactly what happened." Snotlout said. Astrid continues to walk away.
Raeda rolled her eyes as she came up to Astrid and grabbed her shoulder. "Astrid, seriously?" She asked the Hofferson girl in annoyance.
"There's no way Snotlout got thrown in here for no reason." Astrid told her.
"True but still, we can't leave him like this." Raeda pointed out as she turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout, just tell us the truth already." She told him.
"Alright, maybe I said a few things that were taken out of context…" Snotlout honestly said to them.
Astrid looked at him and held out the key. "Snotlout."
"Seriously man?" Raeda groaned.
"Fine. I'm learning. I'm a work in progress. The archipelago wasn't built in a day." Snotlout said, folding his arms.
"Alright, the others are gonna meet up with you at the base of the mountains north end of the island." Astrid said, giving him the key and he immediately began to unlock the shackle around his ankle. "Do you know which way is north?"
Snotlout managed to unlock the shackle, but it fell to the ground.
"Seriously, did you just ask me that?" Snotlout asked as he picked himself up and placed his helmet back on his head.
"Do you even know which way it is?" Raeda asked as Snotlout then pointed west.
"It's that way," Astrid said, pointing north which was directly behind her and Raeda.
"Oh, got it." Snotlout said and immediately ran to where she was pointing.
"Oh, yeah, you're welcome. No, any time, sure. My pleasure." Astrid grumbled.
"Snotlout!" Snotlout yelled.
"Just let him go, Astrid. I'm sure he's grateful." Raeda said as she patted Astrid's shoulder as they walked out of the cave.
(Linebreak)
Astrid and Raeda soon met up with Heather and Ruffnut and discovered that the two of them were completely covered head to toe in mud.
"Whoa. What happened to you two?" Astrid asked.
"You guys look like a mudslide ran over you." Raeda commented.
"Turns out there was a boar pit." Heather said as she tried to get the mud out of her hair. "And they did want to play doubles." She said to them.
Astrid was fighting back a laugh as Heather stood up. "Well, I'd ask you how you did, but…"
"I take it the boars have it?" Raeda asked while snickering.
"Don't." Ruffnut said as she picked herself up. "I do not want to talk about it." She then looked directly at Heather. "Some people do not take the game as seriously as they should." She grumbled.
Heather looked annoyed, but said nothing.
Astrid and Raeda shook their heads. "We'll take your word for it." Raeda said
"All right, let's go. Where's Hicca and Windshear?" Astrid asked them.
"You're not leaving, are you?" A voice said behind them as they turned and saw Atali flying her way over to them.
"Oh, yes, I'm afraid we have to." Astrid said.
"We have a long way to fly, and it'll be dark soon," Heather nodded.
"What's the hurry?" The girls looked up and were shocked to see Hicca flying in with a pair of wings just like the Wingmaidens on her back, "We still have time to kill." Hicca told the girls as she hovered over them.
"H-Hicca, y-your, h-how?" Astrid mumbled in shock, pointing to Hicca's wings.
"How am I flying?" Hicca finished with a smirk. "That's why me and Atali are here to get you girls." She said as she landed next to them.
"Indeed, I wanted to show you the newborns," Atali explained with a smile.
She and Hicca turned their backs to them and they soon realized that they're wings were actually the wings of baby Razorwhips, clinging onto their backs.
The four girls gasped upon seeing the babies. "Razorwhips?" Raeda gasped.
"You girls have got to see this." Hicca said excitedly.
(Linebreak)
With their curiosity intrigued, Atali and Hicca took them to a clearing where they saw more baby Razorwhips.
Heather looked confused. "I don't understand. Where are their mothers?" She looked at Atali shaking her head in disbelief. "How could you keep them from—"
"We're not keeping them from their mothers. We're saving them." Atali assured the girl. "Heather, are you aware that nearly a thousand years ago, the Razorwhip almost became extinct?" She asked.
Heather stared at her. "No. I had no idea." She said.
"It's true." Atali confirmed. "And it was then that our Wingmaiden tribe was changed with a divine mission. A mission given by Freya herself, and one we fulfill with great honor to this day."
Astrid looked at the baby Razorwhips and noticed something. "There's something about them. Are they…" She trailed off as she noticed two of the babies bumped into each other and it looked like they were squinting.
"Blind?" Hicca finished. "Yes. From what Atali told me, all Razorwhips are born blind. They're helpless and the mothers cannot protect them against the bigger and stronger male Razorwhips."
"Been there." Ruffnut said, standing up straight.
Astrid gave her a questionable look. "When?" She asked.
"Uh… just sounded like the right response." Ruffnut shrugged.
"Adult male Razorwhips are too powerful for the mothers to fight on their own and they will feed on the babies unless someone is there to stop them," Atali explained.
"And that's where you come in." Heather assumed, gesturing to Atali.
Atali nodded. "Exactly. We have a mutual understanding with the mothers that the hatchlings will stay with us until they are able to stand and are strong enough to fly. Then they fly on our backs until they are old enough to defend themselves. It is only then that they are released back to their mothers and then into the wild."
Heather's eyes widened as she looked at Windshear. "So, what you're telling me is that-"
"Your dragon was once part of our family." Atali nodded as the baby Razorwhip on her back crawled into her arms. "She was raised by us until she was strong enough to go on her own."
"Windshear was so little when I found her, but she bonded with me right away." Heather said as she hugged Windshear.
"Well, the first contact with another living being creates a lifelong bond." Atali explained as she stroked her Razorwhip. "One that shall never be broken. You are a very lucky woman, Heather."
Heather smiled. "I am."
"And your friend Hicca Haddock explained to us about you being Dragon Riders and how your friends to not just Razorwhips, but to all dragons." Atali said as Hicca flew up a bit.
"When they showed me the baby Razorwhips, I just couldn't resist their cuteness and one of them took a liking to me and just bonded to me right away." Hicca said as she petted the baby Razorwhip on her back as the baby Razorwhip purred at the touch.
"And here we thought you were these crazy babes who flew with dragons and a stew made out of fat annoying guys." Ruffnut commented.
Astrid quickly covered her mouth. "That is not what we thought." She told her.
Hicca then laughed, "Girls, it's alright. That whole turning Snotlout into stew was just a trick to make him a little more tolerable." She explained.
"Wait, really?" Raeda asked in surprise. "You don't stew males if you see one?" She asked.
"No. We would never do that." Atali assured with a chuckle. "What we are—"
"The man has escaped." A voice said from above them as they saw a Wingmaiden looking down at them from the cliff. "Someone set him free." She said to Atali.
"Sorry, We didn't know." Astrid explained. "He's meeting our friends at the base of the north mountains."
"Uh-Oh." Hicca worried.
"That's unfortunate." Atali frowned in concern.
"Why? Why is that unfortunate?" Heather asked.
"Hicca, what are you two talking about?" Raeda asked in worry.
"Girls, there's a reason why they kept Snotlout caged up and why males aren't allowed here." Hicca said, "The female Razorwhips are so protective of their babies that they've adapted to attack any male creature that wanders too close to their territory."
"And the north side of the island are the nesting grounds of the Razorwhips," Atali added. "And if the females sense any sort of male presence there, they will attack. To kill. He'll have no chance."
"We sent him right into that." Astrid realized as she and Raeda looked at each other in horror.
"We just sent Snotlout to his death." Raeda gasped in dread.
"We gotta get the others and tell them about this before Snotlout is Razorwhip food!" Hicca yelled out as she flew off as the others went to grab Windshear.
"Hicca is enjoying flying on her own thing, huh?" Heather asked with a smirk.
"Maybe a little." Raeda said with a chuckle.
"Your leader did bond well with her baby Razorwhip." Atali said with a small smile.
"Hicca and her brother do have ways with dragons, babies or adults." Astrid said with a small smile. "Now, let's get Windshear and warn the others." She reminded them as they went off.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout was making his way to the north mountains as quickly as he could, unaware of the danger that lay before him.
"There it is." Snotlout said as the mountain came into view. "I think I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna actually live."
He was running so fast that he failed to notice the female Razorwhips sleeping above him and as he walked past they awoke. 'A young male has entered our domain.' One female growled.
'Dispose of him, protect the young!' Another ordered as They immediately flew after them and one of them dived towards Snotlout, but the Jorgenson boy tripped over his own feet and rolled out of the way to avoid her.
"Where did you come from?" Snotlout panicked as he looked around wildly. "Hey, uh, I actually know your cousin Windshear. We get along great." He said to the Razorwhip.
He then saw one of the Razorwhips making another dye towards him and he quickly ran for it. He died beneath a boulder to avoid her, but then saw two Wingmaidens flying in the air, unaware they were trying to save him.
"Oh, come on." Snotlout groaned. "Are they serious?" He then looked directly at them. "Save your breath, ladies. The dragons are gonna kill me before you even get here." He then laughed, but then quickly realized the stupidity of his statement. He then quickly ran for it as another Razorwhip appeared overhead.
"Ugh." Snotlout groaned as he ran. "This is all my fault. All I had to do was to be nice to Astrid. That's all I have to do. But, no. Snotlout had to go and open his big fat yap." He scolded himself.
He immediately jumped and grabbed hold onto a vine and swung to safety before a Razorwhip could snap at him. He then quickly began to climb it with a triumphant look on his face.
"Hah! You gotta get up way earlier than that to…" Snotlout stopped when he came face-to-face with a Razorwhip. "Like this guy. Early riser. Great." He muttered.
'I'm a female!' The Razorwhip then roared at him in insult.
"Okay. Gotta go." Snotlout said and released the vine.
As Snotlout felt he quickly grabbed hold of a branch and began to jump from tree to tree until he reached the ground. He then skidded across the ground and found himself in a hollow stump, which protected him from the Razorwhip chasing him.
"Yes." Snotlout said triumphantly. "Snotlout!"
(Linebreak)
Hicca and the other girls along with Atali and one of her Wingmaidens immediately head towards the arch where Hiccup and the others were waiting.
"Hiccup!" Hicca called to her brother, as she and the others flew towards them.
Hiccup then approached his sister but was quite shocked by this."H-Hicca!?" He asked in surprise.
"W-Were you just…" Henry tried to ask but was quite surprised.
"I'll explain later." Hicca said as she landed on her feet. "Quick version is, these women fly with baby Razorwhips on their backs." She said as she turned and gestured to the baby Razorwhip on her back, surprising them.
"Wow, that explains a lot then." Hiccup said as he then asked a question. "Are we okay here? Or…"
"We're fine, Hiccup." Astrid said as she came towards them. "Which is more than I can say for—"
"Let me guess. Snotlout." Hiccup said knowingly.
"Yep." Raeda nodded.
"Unfortunately, your friend has found himself in a Razorwhip nesting area." Atali informed him.
"It is filled with angry female Razorwhips who will kill him on sight." Hicca explained.
"I think old Snotty is a ways away from 'finding himself,'" Tuffnut said, looking at his sister. "And does anybody really ever 'find themselves?' Isn't knowing who you are a journey that never ends with a beginning that never starts?"
"Now's not the time Tuff." Raeda called out with a look.
Fishlegs shook his head and looked at the ladies. "What's he doing there? Doesn't he know how female Razorwhip respond to male presence while they're nesting?" He asked.
Henry raised an eyebrow. "You do realize this is Snotlout we're talking about. You know he's terrible with women. And I think girl dragons feel the same way." He pointed out.
"Okay, point taken." Fishlegs said. "But he should know better than to wander into a dragon's nesting area."
"He does now." Tuffnut said.
Hookfang then growled at him. 'Not, helping.' He growled.
"Oops, sorry." Tuffnut quickly apologized, "I'm sure he's fine."
"All right, the way I see it, the only shot he has is for us, and when I say 'us,' I mean, Henry, Fishlegs, Tuff and I to ride over the forest and distract all the female Razorwhips."
"Yeah, hopefully they're more interested in male dragons than male muttonheads." Henry commented.
Hicca then turned to Atali. "Female Razorwhips also defend their eggs from male dragons too, right?" She asked.
"Yes. Which is another reason why no dragon, other than Razorwhips, are on our island." Atali confirmed.
"Then, we can go in and rescue Snotlout's boneheaded butt while they're still distracted." Astrid stated.
"And make sure he doesn't get hurt either." Raeda finished.
Hookfang immediately got up and tossed Tuffnut onto his saddle.
"What's going on?" Tuffnut panicked. Hookfang then immediately took off before he could jump off. "I don't think this was the plan!"
Immediately they all mounted their dragons, though Ruffnut went with Heather and Hicca then looked at Midnight with a smirk.
"I always wanted to fly by your side girl. Wanna fly side by side together?" Hicca asked Midnight.
Midnight gives a smirk to Hicca. 'Yeah!' She roared.
"Great! Let's fly, girl!" Hicca announced happily as she and Midnight and the rest of the girls immediately took to the skies with Atali and her Wingmaiden.
(Linebreak)
Hiccup, Fishlegs, Henry and Barf and Belch will fly directly over the forest near the north mountain. In no time at all female Razorwhips took to the sky and headed straight towards them.
"Here they come." Hiccup to them. "They're just trying to protect their eggs, so we don't need a fire on them."
"Evasive maneuvers. Gotcha!" Fishlegs nodded.
They immediately split up and a Razorwhip began to chase each and every one of them.
(Linebreak)
Elsewhere in the forest Hicca, Raeda Astrid, Heather, Ruffnut and Atali and her Wingmaidens were flying through the forest searching for Snotlout while Hicca and Midnight flew close together.
"There's acres of forest down there." Heather told them. "Uh, how are we gonna find him?"
"Just listen to the high-pitched screams. That'll be him," Astrid said.
"Knowing Snotlout's screams, it will be easy to pick up." Hicca added.
"He did scream a lot that we would know that it's him alright." Raeda finished.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout was still hiding within the hollow stump, unaware that a female Razorwhip had just landed beside it and could hear his voice merging from it.
"I can't believe I'm gonna die in a tree stump," Snotlout whimpered. "Why can't I have a heroic death? Is that too much to ask for? Is it?" He asked
It was at that moment that the Razorwhip smashed the trunk and revealed him in broad daylight. The Razorwhip roared at him and Snotlout immediately screamed in a high-pitched voice.
(Linebreak)
Hicca and the others could hear his screams close by and saw many Razorwhips leaving the forest.
"Like that?" Heather asked, looking at girls.
"Exactly like that," Ruffnut nodded.
"That's Snotlout alright." Raeda added.
"Follow the sound of the screaming Jorgenson." Hicca ordered.
They immediately flew down towards the screams.
(Linebreak)
Snotlout was holding out a piece of bark to fend off against the Razorwhip.
"I take it back, Odin." Snotlout said, quivering. "I don't want to be heroic. And why'd you only listen to me when I say stupid stuff?" He asked.
The Razorwhip then raised onto her hind legs and was about to attack, but then it was blasted back by a fire blast. Snotlout recognised the flames and looked up to see Astrid and Raeda flying above him.
"Astrid. Raeda. How did you two find me?" Snotlout asked.
"Your scream is unmistakable." Astrid said.
"We heard it all the time, it's pretty easy to know." Raeda added as she then pointed behind him. "Look out!"
Another Razorwhip was charging towards him, but Windshear's tail struck her, knocking her to the ground. Unfortunately, two more Razorwhips appeared out of nowhere and were advancing towards him.
"Uh, Astrid, Raeda." Snotlout whimpered.
"Yes, Snotlout?" Astrid asked.
"Can you two, I don't know, hurry?!" Snotlout screamed as several Razorwhips surrounded him.
"Relax! We're coming!" Raeda shouted as she and Astrid then flew down and grabbed Snotlout just before a Razorwhip tried to take a bite out of him. Unfortunately, they quickly took to the sky and began to follow them.
"Uh, Astrid, Raeda." Snotlout said again.
"We see them." Astrid said.
"We gotta shake them!" Raeda called out.
They immediately performed a loop to loop in order to avoid the Razorwhips, but they were just too nimble and were soon back on their tails. Snotlout then screamed and at the moment, the Razorwhip grabbed hold of his legs with her hind legs.
"Let go of me! I am not a piece of meat." Snotlout screamed.
Hiccup arrived just in time to assist, but unfortunately his path was quickly blocked by another Razorwhip. 'Stay where you are, males!'
"Whoa! Man, they really don't like us." Hiccup said as he backed away from the Razorwhip.
A Razorwhip then fired a blast right in front of Stormfly, causing her to release one of Snotlout's arms. This sudden balance also freed the Razorwhip and Snotlout, on other hand, was slipping from Stormfly's talons.
"Girls!" Snotlout cried as he plummeted towards the ground.
Then from out of nowhere Hookfang appeared with Tuffnut and immediately unleashed a burst of fire straight at the surrounding Razorwhips, knocking him out cold. He then flew down and grabbed Snotlout, who thought it was another Razorwhip.
"No!" Snotlout cried.
He opened his eyes and realized that he was no longer plummeting and it wasn't a Razorwhip that caught him, but Hookfang.
"Hey, bro." Tuffnut said as Hookfang flipped him onto his saddle. "You know, I gotta say, this is one cool dragon. Do you know he can fly so fast it almost rips your face off?" He asked.
"Yes. I know that, Tuff." Snotlout nodded, placing his hands on his hips.
"Oh, okay. And, Snotlout, you mind holding onto something else?" Tuffnut asked. Snotlout instantly removed his hands from Tuffnut's hips. "I just don't want the Wingmaidens to think I'm taken." He said.
They didn't waste any time leaving the nesting grounds and once they were gone the Razorwhips flew back into the forest to take care of their eggs.
(Linebreak)
Later that night at the village, the Dragon Riders and Heather were enjoying the hospitality of the Wingmaidens after assuring Snotlout that they don't want to eat him.
A pair of baby Razorwhips were playing in front of them before they scampered off to play somewhere else as Hicca released her baby Razorwhip as she set it free to play with the others.
"Go be with your friends, little one." Hicca said to her Razorwhip as it slightly cooed at her. "You did great today. Thank you for the flight you gave me and for helping me save my cousin." She said as her Razorwhip purred and scampered off to play with its friends as she waved goodbye to it.
Raeda placed a hand on Hicca's shoulder. "Was it fun to fly on your own?" She asked in interest.
"Well, it's kinda like I was really a dragon when I flew on my own." Hicca answered with a chuckle. "It was fun flying side-by-side with Midnight, but I prefer to ride on her." She said as Midnight came to her as she purred as Hicca hugged her head.
"True that, Hicca." Raeda said with a smile before looking up to where Snotlout and Astrid are at. "Now Snotlout just needs to apologize to Astrid for what he said to her." She added.
"And Astrid needs to apologize to him for beating him up for my mistake." Hicca finished.
Meanwhile, Snotlout then looked at Astrid, but was unable to say anything. He was finding it extremely painful to apologize to her.
Astrid nudged his arm. "Something you'd like to say?" She asked, knowing he was struggling to apologize like her.
Snotlout looked at her. "Astrid, I learned my lesson this time. I swear." He said, raising his hand. "No more disrespect. No more cleaning Hookie's body parts if I ever had your favorite ax. I'm just, well, sometimes I can be a bit of a muttonhead."
"But, you're our muttonhead," Asrid said, punching him across the shoulder.
"Yeah. I guess I am." Snotlout said, rubbing her shoulder.
"And besides, I should be the one to say sorry to you." Astrid said. "I jumped to conclusions again when I thought you used my ax when it turned out to be Hicca who used it." She apologized. "Sometimes I can be a bit of a muttonhead myself."
"I think we're all muttonheads in our own way." Hiccup commented.
"We all make our mistakes, but we can always learn from them to make things better in the future." Henry added with a smile.
"So I call this for a toast and greetings to our new friends from Dragon's Edge." Atali said, raising a gauntlet. "You have taught us a lesson in tolerance and acceptance. You will always be welcome here on the Island of Wingmaidens." She then looked directly at Snotlout. "Every one of you. And to the conclusion of the nesting season." The Razorwhip on her back began to nuzzle her affectionately. "Now that it is all over, there is much work to be done, but no other task brings us such joy."
She then raised a gauntlet and the others did the same as he began to toast the new alliance.