A/N: This is an original chapter of mine, enjoy it.
Chapter 71: Bad Day to Be Astrid
It was a nice day on the Edge while the Dragon Riders were going about their business. Snotlout was doing some stunts around the forest as he was hopping from tree to tree.
"Hahahah! Nothing can beat this Viking! Snotlout!" Snotlout boasted as he then hopped into another tree, but then for some reason, it was bent over as it arched around. "Uh, this is a weird tree." He commented in confusion as he stood on it.
Just then, the tree then started to fling up, which caused Snotlout to fly into the air with a startling scream.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Snotlout screamed as he then flew all the way to a pond that he fell in with a splash. Snotlout resurfaced as he gave an irritated look. "Okay, whoever did this, is going to pay for this!" He yelled in rage.
In the bushes, laughter can be heard from a shadowy figure as it looks at Snotlout before moving away.
(Linebreak)
Somewhere else on the Edge, Fishlegs was picking some flowers while Meatlug was feasting on some rocks as they felt at peace in the area.
"Ah, don't you just love the peaceful moment here, Meatlug?" Fishlegs asked his dragon fondly.
'I sure do, Fishlegs.' Meatlug grumbled as she lazily laid on the ground while eating some rocks.
Fishlegs sniffed some flowers as he sighed. "And this time, no Tuffnut Changewing Prank to scare us." He said.
Just then, rustling in the bushes can be heard close to Fishlegs as he turned to it while giving an annoying groan.
"Very funny, Tuff. But I'm not following it the second time. You can come out of that bush." Fishlegs said, but the bush kept rustling as he got close to it. "Tuff, come on. You aren't fooling me. You can come out." He said again, but rustling sounds were continuing as Fishlegs had enough of it. "Okay, Tuff, I have had enough of this…" He then stopped as a monstrous face then appeared with a roar from the bush. "Oh my Thor's hammer!" He screamed in fear as he then ran up to Meatlug, who awoke from her nape from Fishlegs' screaming as he got on her as the two flew away.
The monster kept roaring, but if you look closer, it was just a plushie made monster as the one underneath the bush was laughing hysterically as it dropped the plushie as it laughed.
(Linebreak)
Where Raeda is, she is doing a little painting gallery as she is painting in the Windmaidens secret area where Minden showed her and Snotlout where she kept the Dragon Eye lens when the Singetails attacked.
"Now that is a beautiful sight. Even in a painting." Raeda said with a smile. "Gotta admit, the Windemaiden sure knows how to make a great sight with Girl Power." She added with a chuckle as she turned around and placed her paintings down.
And then, Raeda heard some footsteps as she looked around in surprise as she wondered where that noise was coming from.
"Who's there?" Raeda asked in suspicion.
Just then, a cup fell, which startled Raeda as she turned and picked it up, but then she then saw that one of her art galleries with a Nadder on it has a mustache on it, which made Raeda growled as she clenched the cup.
"Okay! Who's the punk who's ruining good honest work!?" Raeda questioned in rage before her leg pulled a trip wire and the sound of a mechanism was heard. "Huh?" She said, looking up.
And then, a bucket of green paint fell on top of her head, which made her covered in paint as she struggled to get it off her.
"Hey, who turned out the lights!?" Raeda demanded as she tried to get the bucket off her, but then she heard chuckling sounds as she then growled. "Ruff! Is that you!? Oh, when I get this bucket off, you are so gonna get it!" She yelled in rage as she tried to get the bucket off as the laughter faded, meaning that her prankster was gone.
(Linebreak)
Somewhere in the forest, Hicca and Henry are sparring with each other on their favorite spot Henry showed Hicca when his dragons were spooked by the storm as they clashed weapons with each other.
"You're getting really good at this, Hicca." Henry complimented as he blocked Hicca's Inferno. "But keep the blade up. It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it." He advised as he then pushed Hicca back.
Hicca got her bearings as she shook a bit. "This coming from a guy who lost a couple of fights to his own girlfriend." She joked with a chuckle.
Henry gave a chuckle as he twirls his sword. "You only got lucky. This time, I'm ready for you." He said with a smirk.
"That's what you said the first 20 times." Hicca said with a smirk as she then brought out her battlestaff as she readied two weapons.
"True, but I'm gonna break that beating streak." Henry boasted with confidence as he got into a ready stance.
"Not today." Hicca said with a confident smirk as she got into a ready stance as well.
The two lovebirds then ran to each other as they were about to clash weapons again, but then once they got too close, a netter-trap was released, causing the two of them to be trapped as they dropped their weapons in the process as they were left dangling from a tree.
"Okay, who put this netter-trap here?!" Hicca questioned as she and Henry squirmed around in the net trap.
"No idea. But whoever it was, they are seriously gonna hope I don't find them." Henry growled as calmly as he could.
While in the trees, the shadow figure laughed again as it then cut the rope to the net trap, which was next to it, as Hicca and Henry to fall to the group as they yelped from that before groaning from impact as the shadow figure disappeared into the trees, leaving the two lovebirds in the net.
(Linebreak)
And then, in the training arena, Hiccup and Astrid are doing some clashing of their own as they clash weapons.
"This is familiar. Don't you think, Hiccup?" Astrid asked with a smirk.
"Yep." Hiccup answered as he then blocked Astrid's ax with his Inferno. "But this time, I won't be fooled." He added with a smirk.
"Yeah, I don't see that happening." Astrid said with a knowing smirk as she dodge a swipe from Hiccup's sword.
"Oh yeah? How'd you figure?" Hiccup challenged.
Astrid then pushed Hiccup back before he could react as she jumped up and grab Hiccup by the shoulders as she then trip him to the ground before Hiccup landed on his back while Astrid landed on top of him as she grabbed his arm, which made Hiccup groaned as Astrid starts pulling his arm.
"Because you get too distracted." Astrid answered with a victorious smile as she pulled Hiccup's arm.
Hiccup groaned from the pulling. "Okay, okay! You win! You win! You always win!" He said in defeat as Astrid got off of him and pulled him up. "And you're right. I do get distracted." He admitted.
"And don't you forget." Astrid said with a smirk as she helped him up. But as the two smiled, there was a loud squawk as they turned around.
"What the?" Hiccup said before they were bombarded by a flock of Night Terrors, causing them to fall back and tumble into some new crates of fish.
Astrid sat up with a fish in her hair, "Night Terrors?" She asked incredulously, "What was their problem?"
Hiccup then sat up and spat out a fish, "Astrid, you and I both know there are only two people on the Edge who would do something like this!" He said with a glare.
Astrid immediately knew the answer. "Oh, those two are so dead!" She yelled in rage.
(Linebreak)
The Riders immediately meet in the Clubhouse and after calling the likely culprits, they immediately went off on them.
"You flung me into a lake!" Snotlout yelled, still soaked and wet.
"You trap me and Hicca in a net!" Henry yelled next.
"You ruined one of my paintings and dumped green paint on me!" Raeda yelled, while still covered in green paint.
"You startled me with a monster plushie and a roar!" Fishlegs yelled next, holding up said plushie.
"You sicked the Night Terrors on me and Hiccup and made us fall into crates filled with fish!" Astrid yelled next as she tossed another fishbone off her hair.
Hicca then glared at the two, "You two just can't get enough of Loki'ing us, can you?" She asked.
"So what do you have to say for yourselves?" Hiccup demanded.
The Thorston twins look at each other after hearing what their friends just told them as Tuff spoke.
"Look, as much as we should take credit for these pranks, which by the way sound like pure gold, we had nothing to do with this." Tuffnut said in defense with his hands raised.
Ruffnut nodded, "Yup, our hands are as clean as a Monstrous Nightmare's-"
"Okay, I would very much like to sleep tonight." Hiccup said, stopping Ruffnut from finishing.
Snotlout then gave a snort. "Come on. This has obviously gotta be you two. How stupid do you both think we are?" He questioned.
"For your case, a little." Ruffnut said.
"Shut up, Ruff." Snotlout grumbled with his arms folded.
"But seriously, we weren't the ones who Loki'd you guys." Tuffnut pointed out. "Me and Ruff were out from the Edge this morning doing some of our best tricks with Barf and Belch, blowing stuff up!" He cheered.
"Yeah! We were really enjoying the fun until you guys called us in." Ruffnut added.
Henry then looked outside and his eyes widened, "I think they're telling the truth." He said.
"Wha?" Snotlout said as they all turned to Henry.
"How can you tell?" Astrid asked.
Henry then jerked a thumb outside, "Well for one thing, the smoke bellowing." He said.
The Riders widened their eyes as they got out of the clubhouse and saw the smoke in the distance still going, which made Ruff and Tuff smile from that.
"Okay, you two weren't kidding." Raeda said in surprise.
"Told ya." Ruffnut said with her arms folded.
"Our work can even be shown in the distance." Tuff added with a fond smile.
"Remind us to put out those fires later." Hiccup said in surprise as the others nodded in agreement.
"But if you two didn't prank us, who did?" Astrid questioned while folding her arms.
Just then, a sigh was heard as they were startled from that. "Okay, I guess I can confess." A familiar voice was heard around the Dragon Riders as they looked around for the source.
Just then, Valerie appeared behind Snotlout, which caused Snotlout to yell as he fell into a trough as he was soaking wet again.
"Really? Again?" Snotlout asked himself since this keeps happening to him.
"Valerie? Wait, you're the one who's been Loki'ing us?" Raeda asked in surprise.
"Guilty as charged." Valerie said with a smile and her arms up.
"Why? Why would you Loki'ed us?" Henry asked in confusion.
"I mean, we expected this from Ruff and Tuff, but not you." Hiccup added in surprise.
"Thank you." Tuffnut said with a smile.
"Well, it was nothing personal. I just thought I would show some gratitude for welcoming me to your team." Valerie explained.
"By Loki'ing us?" Hicca asked in confusion.
"Why would you Loki'ed us if you wanted to show some gratitude for us bringing you into the Dragon Riders?" Fishlegs asked.
"Yeah, there were other ways to show some gratitudes other than those pranks." Astrid added with a glare as she folded her arms.
Hicca raised her hands up, "Now guys, I'm sure Valerie has her reasons." She said before gesturing to Valerie to continue.
"To be honest, I was always an outcast from my own village. With no friends or family. And before I met Camo, I passed the time by doing pranks in my village just for the fun of it." Valerie started as the others widened their eyes from that. "I was always such a Loki's prankster growing up that I sorta made it my passion and hobby half the time." She added.
"That's an unusual hobby." Raeda commented.
"Sounds like a good hobby to me." Tuffnut argued.
"I agree. It sounds really good." Ruffnut said in agreement.
"Not surprising for you two." Hiccup said in an unsurprising tone as he turned to Valerie. "But seriously, Valerie, talking to us about it would've been more normal than Loki'ing us." He pointed out calmly.
"Really, Tuff told me you guys are used to being Loki'd." Valerie told him.
The others turned to Tuffnut while giving him a look as the Thorston boy gave a chuckle as he got behind his sister.
"Even though that is true, we are used to it. But that had no right to Loki'd us out of nowhere like that." Astrid pointed out while giving Valerie a stern look. "You seriously have a problem."
"What do you mean I have a problem, Astrid?" Valerie asked as she gave a glare at the Hofferson girl.
"What I'm saying is that you are a dangerous trail, a Loki'ing everything in your sight!" Astrid firmly pointed out.
Valerie then gasped in offense. "Really? And I'm a dangerous trail compared to Ruff and Tuff blowing things up?" She retorted.
Tuff and Ruff look at each other before they shrug. "Well, she had us there. She's not as dangerous as us." Tuffnut admitted.
"Yeah, even I could compare the differences between us and Valerie." Ruffnut added.
"See, even they agree." Valerie said while not taking her look off Astrid.
"Yeah. Well, that still doesn't change the fact that you can start quitting Loki'ing and start acting like a real dragon Rider." Astrid said firmly before marching out of the clubhouse.
Valerie then growled at where Astrid walked off as she clenched her fists. "Oh, she thinks she's all high and mighty to us all to give up our passions, huh?" She sarcastically questioned.
"Ahh, don't take it personally Val." Tuffnut reassured her.
"Yeah, Astrid's just a buzzkill." Ruffnut added.
"Really? Then how about I start showing her how to have some fun?" Valerie asked with a sly grin as she rubbed her hands sinisterly.
The other Riders gave concerned looks as they turned to each other. "Uh, should we do something about this?" Fishlegs asked nervously.
"Between Valerie and Astrid, Fishface?" Snotlout asked rhetorically. "Yeah, I'd rather let them work this out themselves." He said.
"I'm with Snotlout." Raeda said, "Getting between those two is like getting between a Quaken and a Deathsong."
"Good point." Fishlegs said with a shudder.
(Linebreak)
And so for the rest of the day, Astrid had endured a lot of Valerie's pranks. The first prank is when Astrid fell into the mud when she tripped, completely covered in mud as she got up and groaned to herself.
What she didn't know is that a vine was tugging before she tripped as Valerie hiding in a bush gave a smirk from that.
(Linebreak)
The next prank is when Astrid was taking a nap in her bed, but when she woke up when some light got into her eyes, she groaned tiredly as she then yelled in shock as she saw that her bed was in the middle of the ocean.
"How did I get here!?" Astrid questioned in shock as she then yelled out. "Stormfly! Help!" She called out.
In the sky, Valerie and Camo were watching while they were invisible as Valerie contained her laughter as she watched Astrid screaming for her dragon.
(Linebreak)
A little bit later, after Stormfly came to the rescue and got Astrid and her bed out of the ocean and back to the Edge, Astrid was picking up some food and supplies for the Edge in the woods.
But what she didn't notice is that a hand, which is Valerie in her camouflage cloak, appeared behind her as she grab through Astrid's skirt and grab the edge of her underwear as it was then place it on the tail of a wild Monstrous Nightmare before giving the dragon a hard slap on the flank.
The Monstrous Nightmare roared in surprise as it then flew off, with Astrid's underwear tied to its tail as she was dragged along with it, giving her an extreme flying wedgie.
"Eeeeeeeeeee!" Astrid squealed in pain as she was lifted up as she was giving the worst flying wedgie experience as the Monstrous Nightmare flew around, which caused Astrid's underwear to tug hard in the process, giving her even more pain. "Stop! Stop! It hurts! This really hurts!" She called out in pain as the Monstrous Nightmare kept flying around while still giving Astrid her worst wedgie experience.
Valerie took off her cloak as she then gave a hysterical laughter. "Oh Thor! I don't think any Viking got a Flying Wedgie from a dragon before!" She said as she kept laughing while Astrid kept screaming from the flying wedgie the wild Monstrous Nightmare is giving her.
(Linebreak)
Astrid was making her way to her hut, to grab some gear for the forest but as soon as she opened the door, a bucket tipped over and covered her in a sweet smelling orange sticky liquid.
"Ack!" Astrid cried in surprise as she got covered. She then looked at herself before taking a lick of the stuff on her, "Honey?" She said in confusion.
She then heard a squawk and turned to see Stormfly looking at her strangely, 'Hey, Astrid? You smell really…Good.' Stormfly growled as she licked her lips.
Astrid only saw that look when she brought Stormfly chicken, but she didn't have any right now, "Uh, Stormfly, why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, backing away a bit, then she noticed Barf & Belch, Hookfang and Wildstar nearby looking at her the same way. Then she remembered that honey makes dragon's go into a feeding frenzy, wanting to get as much of the stuff as they could.
And she was covered in honey, "Uh, oh." Astrid mumbled before she took off running with the dragons right on her tail. "Ahh! No, no guys stop! It's me, Astrid!" She called out as the dragons were too overcome by the smell of honey to listen.
From behind her hut Valerie snickered, "Loki'ing is a dish best served sweet!" She joked as she watched Astrid running from the hungry dragons.
(Linebreak)
And then finally when Astrid was in the forest as she was tossing her ax to a tree three yards out, which hit the target as Astrid smiled proudly.
"Now that is a new throwing record after all I've been going through today." Astrid said as she then walked up to get her ax, but then she fell to the ground with a yell as she landed with a thud, which was a hole on the ground as she coughed a bit. "What the thor?" She asked in shock.
"How is your hole, Astrid?" Valerie's voice called out as Astrid looked up and saw Valerie smirking down at her with her hands on her hips.
"Valerie?! What in Thor's name is going here?!" Astrid questioned in rage.
"Oh, nothing much." Valerie said with a smirk. "Except for the pranks I just pulled on you when you think me doing Loki'ing shouldn't be my hobby and passion!" She called out.
"What?!" Astrid yelled back as she climbed out of the hole. "You mean, the mud, my bed in the ocean, that dragon wedgie, the honey crazed dragons, that was you?!"
"Loki'd!" Valerie declared as she ran off laughing. Astrid stared at her with a red face and growling like an angry Monstrous Nightmare.
(Linebreak)
In the Hiccup's hut, the Haddock Twins were working on the Dragon Fury Eye and Toothless and Midnight napping nearby. But the peace was broken with the loudest sound they ever heard, "RRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" They all got startled from that as Hiccup fell to the floor, tossing the Dragon Fury Eye into the air before Hicca caught it as Toothless and Midnight jumped in startled as they accidently fired plasma blasts out of the hut.
Hiccup got up as he recognized that sound as he grew nervous. "Oh this can't be good." He muttered.
Hicca had the same feeling as she turned to her brother with a nervous look. "Astrid finally snapped?" She asked nervously.
"And snapped big." Hiccup added before he looked at his sister reassuringly, "Now don't worry, even when angry, I doubt Astrid will ask me to do anything too drastic." He assured, knowing his girlfriend wouldn't do anything that cruel.
(Linebreak)
Apparently he was wrong.
"You want me to do what?!" Hiccup exclaimed in shock.
"Kick her off the Edge!" Astrid repeated hotly. "She went way too far with her Loki'ing, Hiccup!" She pointed to Valerie, who was sitting with her legs on the table, looking at her nails casually.
The riders immediately meet back at the Clubhouse, and listen to Astrid's ranting about Valerie's crazy pranks on her all day. And by the red on her face she was really angry.
"Whoa, Astrid! How about you calm down for a sec. How bad are Valerie's pranks compared to the ones she did to us?" Hiccup asked in confusion.
"She made me trip in mud! Put my bed in the middle of the ocean with me in it! Gave me a dragon wedgie while dangling in the air with my underwear tied to a Monstrous Nightmare! Spilled honey on me that caused our dragons to chase me! And then made me fall into a hole during my ax throwing training in the woods!" Astrid roared in rage as they could've sworn that they saw steam coming out of Astrid's ears.
Hiccup and the other riders just stared at Astrid with wide eyes, not expecting those as Tuff and Ruff then started laughing while holding their sides.
"Ohohohohohoh man! Those are seriously awesome pranks there! Pure gold to treasure!" Ruffnut laughed.
"Yeah! Ahahahah! Valerie, you are the Queen of Loki!" Tuffnut declared as Valerie smiled.
She then shrugged, "Eh, I try." Valerie said.
Astrid growled angry as she was about to draw her ax at Valerie, but then Hiccup quickly grabbed her before she could do it.
"Oh, okay, Astrid! We see your point! No need to draw blood!" Hiccup quickly said nervously.
"Valerie has got to go! We already had enough pranks from these two muttonheads, but she's worse than these two combined!" Astrid yelled out.
"Hey, at least I don't be a buzzkill like you when you are as fun as snoozing Hotpurple!" Valerie retorted as Astrid trembled in rage and the other riders feared she was gonna explode, "But you know, I'm a sporting girl, so how about settle this with a little duel?" She offered.
Astrid calmed down and looked at her in surprise, "A duel?" She asked in interest as the Riders were surprised by how fast Astrid's temper went off.
"Yeah. I know how much you love a good fight, so how about we duel this out like warrior ladies?" Valerie asked again with a smirk.
Astrid thought for a moment as she then spoke. "What's the major?" She asked.
"If you win, I'll give up doing Loki'ing and be a serious Dragon Rider to the team." Valerie started, which surprised the others while the Thorston twins gasped from that.
"What?!" The Thorston twins yelled out in shock.
Astrid then gave an interested smile. "And if you win?" She asked again.
"Then I get to prank whenever I want and you won't have the right to complain about it." Valerie explained while offering her hand.
"Deal!" Astrid said immediately, taking her hand, "In the arena, at sundown, your days of pranking will come to end." She declared with a confident smirk.
Valerie chuckled, "Heh, we'll see." She said, before the two of them walked out of the Clubhouse to get ready.
And the other riders just stood there, stunned by what just happened, "So, what are we supposed to do?" Snotlout asked.
"I think we'll just watch the duel, because I don't think we can talk them out of this now." Henry said with a shrug.
"Knowing Astrid, when she's challenged, she never backs down from a duel." Hiccup said while crossing his arms. "In which case, I think Valerie's pranking will come to an end."
"Yeah, there's no way Astrid's gonna lose." Hicca said in agreement.
"Let's hope Valerie wins, sis. Because her pranks are way better than ours." Tuffnut said in concern as Ruffnut nodded in agreement.
(Linebreak)
In the Training Arena, Astrid and Valerie stood ready while the other riders and the dragons watched from the edge of the arena.
Astrid narrowed her eyes at Valerie as the red-haired girl smirked and gestured for Astrid to come get her.
"Say goodbye to your pranks, Valerie!" Astrid yelled out as she gave a battlecry with her ax raised.
"Oh, I don't think so." Valerie said as she stood her ground with her spear ready with a smirk.
"Oh boy, this is gonna hurt." Hiccup said with a cringe.
"Valerie's gonna regret those words for sure." Hicca said in agreement.
Valerie still stood still as Astrid charged at her, but as the Hofferson girl came to the Ragmok girl, Valerie pulled up her spear as the metal part clashed with Astrid's ax, which surprised her and the others at the quick reaction.
"Nice swing, Astrid. But you should know that the metal part of my spear is made of Gronckle Iron, the toughest metal in the Archipelago." Valerie said with a smirk.
"Clever, Valerie. But not enough to save you." Astrid said with a smirk as she pushed her back as she then swung her ax around.
Valerie dodge or block each one. "You really think an orphan girl like me, who was with a dragon since I was a kid, wouldn't find a way to defend herself if said dragon wasn't around? I've been watching Viking Warriors fight when they never notice me nearby while invisible. One of the benefits of wearing a camouflage cloak." She said as she then grabbed Astrid's ax by the handle, which surprised Astrid and the others, as well as their dragons from that. "Pure Berkian Maiden Warrior textbook." She added a smirk.
Astrid was surprised by this before she got her bearings and kicked Valerie back. "Okay, I'll admit, you might know some skills, but you haven't seen mine that much." She pointed out.
Valerie got back up as she smirked and twirled her staff around. "Then let's see what you got." She challenged her.
"I was about to say the same thing to you." Astrid said back with a smirk as she readied her ax.
Valerie and Astrid circled each other before they then charged as they clashed weapons as sparks appeared from metal clashing before Valerie jumped over Astrid and kicked her in the back, knocking her off balance a bit.
Astrid growled as the others watched in surprise.
"You saw that, Astrid. That's how I fight like a real warrior." Valerie taunted.
Astrid growled again as she charged up to Valerie.
"That's right. A warrior. One who knows their enemies every move." Valerie boasted as Astrid then tried to get an air kick, but Valerie ducked as Astrid flipped over her back and tumbled to the ground face first. "Okay, now you're just getting sloppy." She commented.
Astrid growled again as she got up and went up to Valerie as she swung her ax, while Valerie dodge it with ease with a smirk. "Will! You! Shut! Your! Trap!?" She yelled out with each swing as she stopped and growled at Valerie again.
"Why? Because my talking bothers you?" Valerie mocked again as Astrid kept growling as she swung her ax, but Valerie dodge each one. "Making you lose focus? Messing up your concentration? Finally getting on your nerves perhaps?" She mocked again.
At that moment Hiccup realized what Valerie was doing, "Val's using Astrid's temper against her." He said to the others.
"Those pranks from her earlier were just to rile up Astrid." Hicca gasped, realizing it as well, "This duel was her real plan?"
"What do you mean?" Fishlegs asked.
"What's the biggest embarrassment you can give a Viking like Astrid: Beating her at her favorite game." Hiccup said as they turned back to the battle.
Astrid pants tiredly, before falling to her knees in exhaustion, "Aww, what's the matter Hofferson, your little temper tantrum takes all the steam out of you?" Valerie asked like she was talking to a 3 year old as she walked up to Astrid with a smirk, "Or maybe you're just the teensy, tiny bit worried that I might actually…"
She then leaned close to Astrid's ear to deliver the cherry on top, "...Beat you." She said softly.
Valerie then backed away as Astrid's eyes widened from that, actually striking a nerve. She then got her second wind and yelled in rage as she got up and charged at Valerie who just stood there with a smug grin on her face.
The Rider watched in shock as Valerie was seconds away from getting sliced in half, but then at the last second, the Ragmok girl sidestepped out of the way causing Astrid to crash face first into a wooden beam.
"Ooohh!" The others winced and covered their eyes.
"That's gonna live a mark." Henry cringed.
Astrid then stepped back, very dazed with her eyes spinning, Groaning in pain as she dropped her ax. Valerie then casually walked up to her, with her spear in hand and then with a smile, promptly whacked it on Astrid's head as she fell over to the ground.
"I win." Valerie declared casually as the Riders and dragons looked at her in shock.
"What, just, happened?" Raeda asked, still completely stunned.
"The impossible." Snotlout answered shocked as well.
"Astrid just, lost." Hiccup said, feeling really speechless at what they witnessed.
(Linebreak)
After the arena duel, the Riders were now in the Clubhouse, with Hicca treating Astrid as she placed a block of ice on her head, which made her groan from that.
"In all my years of seeing Astrid training and fighting, she never lost a duel in her life." Hicca said in surprise as she then placed some healing herbs into Astrid's mouth, who ate them to make sure she doesn't have a headache later.
"Val, that was completely amazing. What you just did was an event I will never forget." Tuffnut said in excitement.
"Yeah, you defeated the undefeated Astrid Hofferson!" Ruffnut declared.
"What can I say, like how Changewings camouflage themselves, I'm full of surprises." Valerie said with a smile as she leaned against the wall.
"No one has ever come close to beating Astrid before. Not even me when we're evenly matched. And obviously not Hiccup way before those two started dating." Raeda commented while still surprised by this.
Hiccup glanced at her with a dull look, "Oh yeah sure rub it in." He said dully as the others gave small chuckles from that.
"Dude, you really kept losing to Astrid even with a love fight. Believe me, I had enough of that with your sister beating me." Henry said with a bored expression.
"You know you could never beat me if you try." Hicca said with a playful smile.
"Either way, the majority rules and deals a deal." Valerie said with a smile. "I win and Astrid loses. I get to keep my Loki pranks going whenever I feel like it. My passion continues." She declared as she walked out the clubhouse. "If anyone needs me, Camo and I are going for a victory flight around the island." She said as she walked out.
As Valerie walks out Astrid looks down in sullenly, she didn't think anyone in her family, her mother, her father or her uncle Finn, ever lost that badly before.
(Linebreak)
After a quick recovery from Hicca, Astrid is walking around the edge while giving a down expression with her arms slagging and her head down as she walks through the Edge.
"I can't believe that Valerie beat me." Astrid said sullenly while still trying to process what just happened. "Me, Astrid Hofferson, lost to a rookie recruit. It's like when Hiccup and Hicca were treated badly before we befriended the dragons." She added.
She then shook her head, "No, what am I saying? Every warrior loses once in a while. Valerie just got lucky." Astrid assures herself, not looking where she was walking, "Next time for sure, next time I'll win and then-AAHH!"
Astrid was so busy talking to herself that she didn't realize she walked right over the edge of the walkway. Luckily Stormfly managed to catch her before she hit the ground and placed her back on solid ground.
'Be careful, Astrid.' Stormfly squawked to her rider.
Astrid took a breath of relief, "Thanks girl, that was close." She said, before looking down in concern, "Why didn't I see the edge, I'm always aware of my surroundings, aren't I?" She asked herself, first she gets pranked relentlessly by Valerie, then she lost big time to her and now she nearly walked off the walkway.
"Am I losing my edge?" Astrid said in worry, thinking she was losing her warrior mojo but she shook her head, "No, it was just a mistake, everybody makes mistakes, I'm sure there's absolutely nothing wrong with me." She said with a confident smile.
(Linebreak)
"What is wrong with me?!" Astrid asked in fear with her hands to head.
A few days after her duel with Valerie, Astrid has been having some misfortunes lately, leading her to race her way to Hicca's hut in a panic, which startled the Haddock girl as Astrid explained to her what's happening.
"I haven't been focusing on my surroundings lately, my ax throwing skills are off, and worst of all, I haven't even got my exercise routine right! And I always do perfect on them!" Astrid yelled out in anxiety.
"I think you're just overreacting-" Hicca tried to tell her friend but Astrid wasn't finished.
"And that's not even the start of it!" Astrid cried before recalling her other misfortunes, "During one of mine and Raeda's practice flights, I actually fell off of Stormfly's saddle in mindflight!" She said, remembering when she and Raeda were doing some flying practice, she slipped off her saddle on a sharp turn and needed to be saved by Raeda.
"Okay, that is off. But I think you are just-" Hicca was cut off again.
"And during my hand to hand combat training with Ruff and Tuff, I was so out of balance that they literally beat me! The Thorston twins beat me!" Astrid yelled in horror, since during her combat training with the Thorston twins, Astrid somehow lost her concentration that Ruff and Tuff actually beat her to the ground.
"Yikes. That is a surprise. But I'm sure-" Hicca was cut off again.
"And then the worst part of all, my dragon racing record has been broken, by Snotlout!" Astrid called out, since she was doing dragon racing with Snotlout, but for some reason, she lost the record when Snotlout beat her, Snotlout of all people.
Hicca widens her eyes from that. "Okay, now that is a serious problem." She admitted.
"Hicca, what is wrong with me?! I've never messed up this many times so oftenly!" Astrid asked the Healer.
Hicca raised her hands up, "Astrid, calm down. It just looks like you're having a bit of bad luck lately." She assured her, "You're still the best warrior dragon rider on the edge."
"You mean before or after Valerie left me face first on the ground?" Astrid asked.
Hicca pursed her lips, "Alright, so she beat you once, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you." She said.
Astrid however didn't look convinced, "But there has to be, why else would I lose so much! Please Hicca, there must be something you can do to make me a winner again." She said before going over to Hicca's medicines, "Like maybe a potion, or a herbal brew or maybe whatever this is?!" She said, holding up different bottles, tools and other medical items she found.
"Astrid, I'm a Healer, not a Miracle Worker." Hicca pointed out as she sighs. "There's nothing I can do for this kind of treatment unless it's bruises, sickness or allergies. You're just losing confidence after losing one fight. This is something for you to solve." She explained.
"But how?! There's gotta be at least something you can do!" Astrid pleaded.
Hicca looks at Astrid like she'd grown a tail, since she never heard Astrid plead before in her life, ever. "Astrid, did you just plead to me?" Hicca asked in surprise.
Astrid then realized what she just said as she went wide-eyed. "Oh my Thor! I just did! I'm completely losing my warrior mojo!" She cried out.
Hicca then stood up as Astrid started looking frantic, "Astrid," She tried to ease but Astrid was too busy panicking to realize.
"What if I accidentally shoot one of the others during a mission, or what if Hiccup sends me back to Berk if I cause us to lose the King of Dragons?" She feared while pacing back and forth, "Or worst of all, what if Hiccup dumps me if I'm not a real warrior anymore!" Astrid cried out with wide eyes.
"Astrid Hofferson!" Hicca called out as Astrid flinched from Hicca's outburst. "Get it together! None of that will happen! And why would Hiccup dump you or send you back to Berk if you aren't a warrior? He wasn't always a warrior before him and I met Toothless and Midnight and started dragon training." She pointed out.
"B-but-" Astrid tried to argue but Hicca grabbed her shoulders.
"Astrid, trust me when I say your warrior skills aren't what makes Hiccup love you." Hicca said with a comforting smile, "There are a lot of other reasons why he does, and you need to trust those reasons."
Astrid started to think about this and started calming down.
"You're right. But what if I mess up during a mission? I don't know if I can stay focused on that." Astrid said uncertainty.
"I'm sure you will be okay. You just need to not let those things get to you." Hicca assured with a smile as Astrid smiled back.
And then Hiccup came into Hicca's hut as the two girls were surprised by this. "Oh good. You two are here. Listen, meeting at the clubhouse. We might have a lead of a possible Dragon Eye lens." Hiccup said as Hicca and Astrid realized how serious it is.
(Linebreak)
Once all the Dragon Riders are gathered in the Clubhouse, Hiccup brings out a map and a letter as he starts speaking to his friends.
"Thanks to this letter we just received from Mala, we discovered a possible location where one of the lenses is hidden." Hiccup said while holding out a map.
"And where is the lens exactly?" Snotlout asked.
"The Needle Heights." Hiccup told him, pointing to an island with tall, pointy mountains.
Raeda rubbed her chin, "What're the hazards of this island?" She asked.
"Wait, Hiccup, isn't Needle Heights the…?" Hicca trails off, familiar with this island.
"Yup, the ancestral home of the Deadly Nadder and many other Sharp Class dragons." Hiccup confirmed.
"What?" Astrid asked in surprise. "Stormfly and Sparkfire's ancestral home? How did you guys find that out?" She asked.
"Well, Astrid. After using the Dragon Fury Eye on other lenses and some research of our old Dragon Eye notes, we manage the ancestral home to the Sharp Class, which Mala confirms that a lens should be there." Hiccup explains.
"So it's like Dark Deep but for Nadders?" Astrid asked again.
"And any other Sharp Class dragons as well." Hicca added as she saw an opportunity here. "That's more up to all of your departments, you three." She said to Henry, Raeda and Astrid.
"M-me?" Astrid asked in concern.
Hiccup smiled in agreement, "Yeah, besides why wouldn't I take you on a mission Astrid?" He asked his girlfriend, "You're our best fighter."
Astrid stiffened a bit as Hicca winced, "I am?" She asked in a higher pitch.
"Of course, your brave, stubborn warrior spirit has gotten us out of tons of jams, it's why I love you after all." Hiccup said, not realizing he was making Astrid's fears worse, "Alright, let's mount up and head for that Dragon Eye lens."
Hiccup and the others walked out, leaving Hicca and Astrid behind as Hicca turned to the pale Hofferson girl in concern. "Uh, okay. Maybe Hiccup didn't really mean it." Hicca said with a nervous chuckle.
Astrid's eye just twitched before they rolled back and she fainted right onto her back.
Hicca flinched as she took a sigh. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought." She muttered under her breath.
What they didn't know is that Valerie was at the doorway, haven't left with the others yet since she heard Hicca, but after seeing Astrid fainted, that something that made her concern for the Hofferson girl.
"What is wrong with Astrid?" Valerie asked in confusion before she left and caught up with the others.
(Linebreak)
The flight to Needle Heights was pretty long, especially with Astrid lagging at the back, too afraid to move any faster and risk messing up in front of Hiccup.
"What's the matter, Astrid?" Raeda called from up front, "Stormfly had too much chicken?" She joked.
"Uh, oh! Yeah! Maybe I must've given her too much before we left!" Astrid said with a nervous smile.
'Hey!' Stormfly squawked in insult.
"Okay. If you're slowing down, then we'll wait for you to catch up when we get there." Raeda assured her with a smile.
"No, no, no. It's cool." Astrid assured as she sped Stormfly up a bit, "She's just gotten her second wind right now."
Raeda raised an eyebrow from Astrid's sudden words. "Uh, okay. Just try and keep up." She said slowly as she sped ahead of Astrid.
Astrid watched Raeda go as she then gave a sigh in relief as Stormfly gave her an irritated look. "I'm sorry, girl. I shouldn't have insulted you like that. I'm just a little nervous about losing my warrior mojo." She said in an apologetic tone.
Stormfly then gave a sympathy squawk to her rider. 'Your not losing your Mojo.' She assured, even though Astrid can't understand her.
Hicca then flew next to Astrid. "Astrid, Stormfly believes that you aren't losing your Mojo. I believe that too. You just need to have confidence in yourself again." Hicca told her..
"But how can I?" Astrid asked uncertainty.
"Maybe Needle Heights will help you boost some confidence back up. It is an island that would definitely be easy for a Sharp Class rider like yourself." Hicca pointed out with a smile.
Astrid looked down for a moment as she took a breath. "I hope you're right, Hicca." She said as she flew ahead as Hicca followed.
Valerie was hearing the whole thing close to them as she gave a concerned look to where Astrid flew off. "I must've pushed Astrid too far." She said in guilt, starting to think that her duel with Astrid must've made the Hofferson girl have doubts about herself.
(Linebreak)
It took a while for the Riders to get to the island, but they finally arrived at Needle Heights as the dragons landed and the Riders dismounted their dragons.
"Well gang, welcome to Needle Heights Island." Hiccup announced.
The Riders looked up and saw the Island was covered in tall mountains with sharp tops, but to their confusion there weren't any dragons around, "Huh, you'd think there would be at least a few Nadders on their ancestral home." Raeda said before looking down at her dragon, "Smell anything girl."
Sparkfire sniffed, trying to find more of her kind, 'Not a whiff.' Sparkfire growled back.
"Where are all the Nadders?" Hicca wondered.
Hiccup then sighed, "Oh gods, don't tell me this is Dark Deep all over again." He said, thinking there was another dragon on the island who drove away all the Nadders.
"We can worry about that later guys," Valerie said, "Let's just focus and find that lens."
Fishlegs then rubbed her chin, "Hmm, now if I was a Dragon Eye Lens where would I be?" He wondered.
"Well, if memory serves, the Dragon Eye lenses have the most annoying habit of being in caves." Hicca answered since they know that they found many lenses in caves.
"It's true. While some lenses can be hidden in places like say the Reaper's shield of the Changewing, the ones on islands can be in caves, protected by other wild dragons." Henry added, since his knowledge of the Dragon Eye and lenses are precise.
"Alright then, let's search the caves and see if we can find-" Hiccup was cut off when he felt Toothless step in something and looked down to see his paw in another dragon's Footprint, "Um, okay."
"Whoa, that's a big footprint." Valerie said, staring at the size of the print.
Henry took a look and it, "Hmm, it's too big for a normal Deadly Nadder's." He noted his eyes narrowing, "Looks like there are Nadders on this island."
"Well, maybe they're hunting in the forest or out hiding from something." Valerie stated.
"But from what exactly?" Snotlout questioned them impatiently.
"Well, whatever it is, it's really big and really powerful." Hicca said as she then turned to the others. "But let's focus on the mission. We need to find that lens before Johann and the Flyers get to it. Let's not push our luck any further." She said to them.
"She's right. And I think the best way to find them is quickly if we split up." Hiccup explained as he turned to the others. "Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout and Raeda, you four are with me. Hicca, you take Fishlegs, Valerie, Henry and Astrid. Check as many caves as you can and find the lens. If any one finds it, then we send dragon signals to the others." He instructed as Ruff and Tuff bashed their helmets together, Snotlout and Raeda smiled and fistbumped, Fishlegs and Valerie gave a thumbs up and Henry nodded.
Hiccup then noticed Astrid's worried expression, "Hey, Astrid are you okay with this?" He asked, "I know you usually like being with me and I know you and Valerie aren't exactly on the same side of the ship lately-"
"Oh, nonono, It's fine really." Astrid assured quickly, "I'd rather be on a team with Valerie than a team with Snotlout anyday."
"Hey!" Snotlout retorted.
"She got a point there." Fishlegs said with a shrug as Snotlout growled at him in annoyance.
Hicca then turned to her brother. "Hiccup, this is Astrid we're talking about. She can manage." She assured while looking at Astrid, who was holding her shoulder.
"Well, okay." Hiccup nodded. "Okay gang, let's move out." He called out as the Dragon Riders split into two teams and went in opposite directions.
What they didn't know is that a shadowy dragon was hiding upon the rocky cliff faces as it looked between the two groups before it spread gigantic wings over the mountains.
(Linebreak)
With Hicca's team, they walked through the forest for any signs of a cave entrance as Hicca took the lead.
"Keep your eyes out guys. We need to make sure we don't miss a single cave." Hicca advises.
"So we just need to be aware of our surroundings so that we don't miss an entrance." Fishlegs summarize.
"Sounds easy enough since we are searching for a wide open cave." Henry commented with a shrug.
Astrid however, felt uncertain as she looked around frantically as every sound, every tree branch creak, bird caw or even distant dragon call seemed to put her on edge.
"Uh, we are sure about checking every cave?" Astrid asked nervously. "I mean, for all we know that could be the Dragon that made those footprints' house."
"Then maybe that will be good too." Hicca said.
"What?!" Astrid asked in alarm.
"Think about it? What better place to put a Dragon Eye Lens than in the den of an unknown, very protective dragon?" Hicca explained, "Meaning, our Mystery Dragon's cave could be the cave we're looking for."
"That does make sense when you think about it." Valerie admitted. "Dragons sometimes also had a habit of protecting hidden treasure." She added.
"Okay then, how are we gonna get the lens without this mystery dragon trying to eat us first?" Astrid asked as they didn't notice a shadow flying past them.
"Easy: We study it, train it, earn it's trust and it'll lead us right to the lens." Hicca said with a smile, "Easy as pie."
Henry rolled his eyes, "Is that your plan for every new dragon we meet and tries to kill us?" He asked playfully as Wildstar perked up.
"Hey, every new dragon is an opportunity." Hicca said in defense as a few feet from them, a large creature silently landed and followed close behind them.
"It's true. You guys should be surprised how often that happens." Fishlegs pointed out as Meatlug perked up.
Hicca chuckled before she noticed Midnight shifting her head to the sides, "Huh?" She said in confusion, "What is it, girl?"
Midnight then stopped and sniffed the air, 'I smell something.' She growled in suspicion.
The other dragons think the same way as they look around in suspicion while the Riders are giving concerned feelings.
"Is anyone else getting the feeling we're being watched?" Valerie asked, looking around.
"Flyers?" Fishlegs said in worry.
Henry furrowed his brows and kept his senses sharp, "No, it's something else. I can feel it." He said.
Astrid looked around worriedly as Stormfly's spines extended, a sign to show there was definitely something else out there, "Oh, not now. Where is it?" She wondered.
Just then, a very large dragon appeared behind Stormfly, which made Astrid scream in surprise as she fell to the floor as Stormfly turned in surprise by this.
The others followed as they turned and saw a very large Deadly Nadder. The dragon was Greenish black black with a lavender underbelly and hot pink details. It had a lot more Spikes and horns than Stormfly or Sparkfire along its legs, back and head, its jaws were broader and fangs more pronounced, making it look even more terrifying.
"Holy Thor." Valerie gasped as Camo growled defensively at the other dragon.
"That's definitely our Mystery Dragon." Henry said as the four winged beast glared at the trespassers.
Fishlegs was in awe, "Oh wow, look at all those Spikes, and color. Hicca what do you think?" He asked.
"Yup, definitely a Titan-Wing." Hicca said as Midnight growled at the Large Nadder before it roared loudly, "Whoa, and an extreme territorial one too."
The Titan-Wing glared at them, 'What are you doing on, MY Island? Looking for MY Den?!' He growled.
Stormfly then started squawking at it as she faced the Titan-Wing. 'We don't mean any harm! We are just looking for a treasure-'
'MY Treasure?!' He demanded.
"Whoa! Hey! Easy big fella!" Hicca called out while raising her hands. "We are not here to disturb you!" She tried to reason.
The Titan wing then raised its tail and extended its spines.
"Um, I don't think it's in a listening mood, Hicca." Valerie said.
"Uh, Astrid? You are good with the Sharp Class from Stormfly, any ideas?" Hicca asked the Hofferson girl.
Seeing how all eyes were on her, Astrid tried to think of something, "Uh, well, maybe, we should," she stammered before turning back to the Titan-Wing as it got ready to launch its spines and her mind was in such a mess of fear and anxiety the only plan she had was, "RUN AWAY!" She called out in fear as she ran off.
The others watched her go with wide eyes in surprise. "Astrid!" Hicca called.
"Did Astrid just run away?" Henry asked in surprise.
"Apparently she did." Valerie said in surprise as well.
"That's shocking, Astrid has never run from a fight." Fishlegs pointed out in concern before turning back to the Titan-Wing. "Not that it's a bad idea, Run away!" He yelled before running himself.
"Okay, Riders, fall back!" Hicca yelled out as the others followed after the two vikings with their dragons following them as the Titan-Wing Nadder shot its tail spine at them.
Stormfly was about to fly off, but then the Titan-Wing then shot its spines right in front of her, stopping her in her path as the Titan-Wing suddenly pinned Stormfly to the ground.
'Hey! Let me go!' Stormfly squawked as she tried to squirm out of the Titan-Wing's Nadder talons.
'Oh, I think not, my fellow Nadder.' The Titan-Wing Nadder said with a sneer, 'No Nadder comes here to take my den and leaves.'
'We weren't trying to take your den! This is a matter of…' Stormfly was cut off when she squawked in pain before glaring. 'Hey, watch those talons there!' She snarled.
'You are coming with me, Nadder!' The Titan-Wing Nadder squawked as it grabbed a firm hold on Stormfly as he took to the air with his talons on her wings.
Astrid then stopped when she heard her dragon's squawking as she turned and saw the Titan-Wing Nadder holding Stormfly in the air. "Stormfly!" She called out in panic.
The others stopped as they turned and saw Stormfly being held by the Titan-Wing Nadder. "It's got Stormfly!" Hicca called out.
"Stormfly!" Astrid called out as she ran to her dragon, but the Titan-Wing Nadder flew off really fast as it was already too far away. Astrid panted as she then fell to her knees. "No!" She cried out as she slammed her fist on the ground.
The others came behind Astrid as they gave her a sympathetic look. "We'll get her back Astrid. This Titan-Wing Nadder seems to have wanted her alive." Hicca assured after seeing the Titan-Nadder's behavior.
"Hicca! Guys!" The Riders looked up and saw Hiccup and the others flying in, "What happened? We heard roaring." Hiccup said as he and the others landed.
"Stormfly's been captured by a Titan-Wing." Hicca explained in worry.
"What?!" Raeda asked in surprise. "A Titan-Wing stole Stormfly? How did that happen?" He asked again.
"Apparently, it thinks that we're intruders on its turf and attacked us." Valerie told her.
"Then how did Stormfly get caught?" Snotlout asked in confusion, "Astrid would never let that happen without a fight."
Astrid flinched at what Snotlout said as just kept kneeling and looking at the ground in shame and despair before Valerie spoke again.
"Well, we were taken by surprise by this dragon and when we tried to retreat and outrun it, it caught Stormfly from behind and grabbed her by her wings and took off." Valerie explained, which made Astrid look at her in surprise for covering up what happened.
"It's true. That Titan-Wing Nadder is really skilled and clever." Fishlegs said in agreement as he shuddered at the image in his head.
"Oh great, now we gotta find the Dragon Eye Lens and rescue Stormfly." Snotlout complained.
"Alright, did you see where they flew off to?" Hiccup asked his sister.
"We saw them fly off right to the northside of the island. That must be where its den is." Hicca said while pointing at where the Titan-Nadder flew off with Stormfly.
"Alright, gang. Let's go." Hiccup said as they all mounted up, but then he noticed Astrid hadn't moved. "Hey, Astrid, come on. Stormfly needs us." He said.
Astrid just looked away, "I'm not going, Hiccup." She said somberly.
"What?!" The Riders exclaimed.
"Astrid, are you grounding yourself?! Because that's what Snotlout did when he was a little over his head from what his father told him about respect." Henry pointed out in surprise.
"Hey! I thought we agreed not to bring that up again!" Snotlout yelled in annoyance.
"Astrid, Stormfly needs you." Hicca said.
"No she doesn't Hicca," Astrid said, "It's my fault she got caught by that Titan-Wing. I knew coming here was a bad idea." She said sadly.
The other Riders look at Astrid in shock, haven't seen her this sad when she thought Stormfly was poisoned by Slitherwing Dragons when they first picked the first island for a home for Garf.
Valerie sees this as she then sighs and gets off Camo. "Okay, you guys go on ahead. I'll stay here and try and reason with Astrid." She said as she then walked up to Astrid.
The others were surprised by this since they knew Valerie and Astrid were still not on good terms. "Are you sure, Valerie? This isn't another one of your pranks is it?" Hiccup questioned in suspicious.
"If so, then how about sharing it with us when you have the chance?" Tuffnut asked excitedly as his sister nodded in agreement as the Riders turned to them while giving them a look. "What? She is really good at pranks." He said in defense.
"No pranks this time, guys. Just a talk between friends." Valerie firmly said, which the Riders could tell that she is telling the truth from how serious her voice tone is.
"Well, okay. Then meet up with us when you can. We're gonna go and find Stormfly." Hiccup said as Valerie nodded as the other Riders then took off to where the Titan-Nadder flew off to.
Valerie looked at Astrid, who was still on her knees in guilt as Valerie sighs and walked up to her as she sat next to her.
"Astrid, you alright, girl?" Valerie asked in concern.
"What do you think, I lost my dragon all because I completely chickened out and ran like a scared little girl I'm not a real warrior anymore." Astrid said solely as she place her hands on her face. "I wouldn't be surprised if Hiccup kicked me off the Dragon Riders when we get back."
"Hey, hey don't say that." Valerie said, holding her shoulder, "You messed up, everyone messes up from time to time."
Astrid just let's out a hollow chuckle, "Heh, not as much as I have recently." She said, still looking down, "If anything, your the number one warrior of the Dragon Riders now Valerie. After all, you already kicked me butt."
Valerie blinked, "Wait, is that what this is all about? Because I beat you in that duel, you think that makes me the best warrior out of all of us?" She asked in surprise.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I've been training my whole life as a warrior. My family takes pride in our training. And my warrior mojo has been dropping like Gronckle lately after that duel we had." Astrid said while looking down.
Valerie looked at Astrid in sympathy as she continued. "Astrid, I only won because of the deal we made. I mean, you wanted me to stop something that I really loved so I had more of a reason to win." She said, "Plus you only lost because you lost your temper and made reckless moves."
"Ah yes, the old Astrid Anger, once again getting me into a hot mess." Astrid sarcastically said. "I don't know why I keep letting my anger get to me when I should've just been more focused on the fight." She added.
"From what I heard, you do tend to attack others who make you angry. Like when the others told me about that word Snotlout told you before meeting with the Wingmaidens." Valerie said with a chuckle. "You would've almost taken his head off. I know I would have." She added.
"From what I saw how you fight, I agree." Astrid said with a small chuckle as well.
Valerie then spoke again. "But seriously, Astrid. Even I know when to admit defeat, even in the most humiliating ones. But I never let that stop me from doing something I'm great at." She explained before looking a bit sheepish. "I admit, I did go a bit overboard with the pranks, but when you talked down to me like that, well, memories I'd rather forget resurfaced."
"Yeah but, after dealing with Snotlout and the Thorston twins for years, I guess I should be used to annoying vikings and crazy pranks." Astrid said as they both laughed, "But, how can I trust that I won't mess up again when the others need me?" She asked in worry.
Valerie then stood up, "Maybe you should trust the warrior in you will be there to have your back, and so will I." Valerie said as she held out her hand, "So, what'cha gonna do Hofferson, sit here and worry or get up and go rescue your dragon?"
Astrid looked at her before glancing to the sides in thought before she closed her eyes, took a breath and opened them with determination.
(Linebreak)
At the otherside of the island, the Dragon Riders have been following the Titan Nadder's trail as they keep a lookout for any signs of the cave and Stormfly.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Hicca? We've been flying for a while." Snotlout complained.
"I am very sure, Snotlout. We saw the Titan Wing Nadder fly here with Stormfly ourselves." Hicca answered in annoyance.
"It's true. So shut that pie hole and keep searching." Henry called out as Snotlout folded his arms.
"Shut up, Henry." Snotlout grumbled.
Raeda shook her head as she then saw something on the ground. "Hey, guys! I found a cave!" She called out to them.
The others looked down and saw the cave. "Good eye, Raeda. Now let's investigate." Hiccup called out as the Riders flew down to the cave.
The dragons landed as they stood at the front of the cave. Hiccup got off as he investigated the entrance as he looked around before smiling.
"This is the cave Stormfly was taken too." Hiccup said with a smile.
"How can you tell it's the right one?" Fishlegs asked in curious.
Hiccup then picked up a dagger that was on the floor as he smiled. "Astrid's dagger. Stormfly must've dropped this for us to find it." He said.
"Stormfly sure picked up a few things from Astrid." Hicca said with an impressed smile.
"I sometimes do that with Sparkfire as well." Raeda commented as she rubbed her dragon's head as Sparkfire purred at the touch.
'Oh stop.' Sparkfire growled in embarrassment.
"Still going into a Titan-Wing's den is a fight you want to be sure you're ready for." Henry said, "Maybe we should wait for Val and Astrid?"
"By the time they get here, it might be too late." Hiccup said. "Who knows what it's doing to Stormfly."
"And Astrid already has a lot going on right now. We should give her some time to clear her head and Valerie should be talking some sense into her." Hicca pointed out. "We should go on without them. I'm sure they'll catch up."
"Well, if you say so." Fishlegs said as he looked at the cave while shivering in fright.
"Let's go in quietly." Hiccup said as he then turned to the Thorston twins and Snotlout. "And yes, that means for you guys too." He quickly said.
Ruff and Tuff just sigh from that. "Uh, buzzkill." Tuffnut said.
"Whatever." Snotlout mumbled as the Riders quietly entered the cave.
With that the Riders entered the cave, and as they walked in they saw nadder spines and claw marks all around them.
"Did you see the size of those spines?" Snotlout asked, slightly unnerved.
"Then the Titan-Wing is definitely here." Hiccup said, "Keep your eyes sharp, gang."
They then heard a loud squawk, "A Nadder in trouble." Fishlegs recognized.
"Not just any Nadder, that's Stormfly!" Henry stated.
Raeda then heard the squawking again, "It sounds like she's not alone too." She noted, hearing more than one Nadder.
"This way!" Hiccup ordered as they all rushed deeper into the cave. Eventually they came to an arena sized part, and in the middle of it they saw not just Stormfly but a bunch of other Deadly Nadders, "Holy Thor." Hiccup said.
"There are a lot of Nadders." Raeda said in surprise with wide eyes as Sparkfire looked at her kind in the middle of the room in worry.
"But, why would a Titan-Wing Nadder keep them all here?" Fishlegs questioned in worry.
Hicca then let out a nervous cough, "Um, would this be a bad time to mention that Titan-Wings have been known to develop cannibalism?" She asked nervously.
"Um, that would've been nice to know before we entered the cave, Hicca!" Snotlout yelled out.
"Wait, what's cannibalism?" Tuffnut asked.
"You got me." Ruffnut shrugged.
"Oh for the love of… It means that one species that eats its own kind! Hicca explained in annoyance while the others looked shocked and disturbed.
"Okay, that's just creepy and gross." Tuffnut said in disgust.
"Yeah, who wants to eat their own family?" Ruffnut added in agreement with the shiver.
"Oh I don't know, maybe that guy?!" Snotlout pointed up above them as they looked up.
The Titan-Wing Nadder then appeared from one of the cave tunnels above them as it looked down at the Dragon Riders as it roared.
'Trespassers!' The Titan Nadder roared at them.
"Whoa! That is one big Titan-Wing Nadder!" Snotlout yelled in surprise from the sight of the big Nadder dragon.
"This is hardly the first Titan Wing we've faced Snotlout." Raeda said as Sparkfire growled at the Titan-Wing.
The Titan-Wing noticed Sparkfire as it growled at her back. 'And look at that, another one to add to the flock.' It squawked. 'This might be my lucky day.'
Sparkfire heard what he said and blinked, 'Wait, flock?' She squawked.
The Titan-Wing then turned to Hookfang, 'Ooh, I've never tried a Monstrous Nightmare before.' He growled.
Hookfang growled back at it. 'You wanna piece of me? Then come and get me!' He roared as he flamed up.
'If you insist!' The titan-wing roared back and dived down towards them.
(Linebreak)
Outside, Astrid sat behind Valerie as Camo flew through the forest, staying on the scent of the others.
They soon came to the large cave, "That's gotta be where the others are." Astrid said, confidence in her voice returned.
"How can you tell?" Valerie asked before they heard a girlish scream echoing inside the cave.
Astrid smirked, recognizing that scream, "Easy, the sound of the Screaming Jorgenson." She said with a chuckle.
Valerie chuckled too as Camo dived into the cave.
(Linebreak)
In the cave, the Riders are flying around as the Titan Wing Nadder is firing blasts and spine shots at them, while making sure not to hurt the other Nadders and Stormfly in the process.
"Keep drawing its fire! We can't get Stormfly and the other Nadders caught in the crossfire!" Hicca called out.
"How is this dragon so fast?! I thought Titan-Wings were bad at turning!" Snotlout exclaimed, remembering how he and Hookfang beat the Titan-Wing Monstrous Nightmare.
"This is a Nadder Titan-Wing, Snotlout! Different principles and different dragons!" Hiccup pointed out. "You saw how well Stormfly and Sparkfire are when they fly and eat chicken!" He added.
"It's true! Sparkfire is really good at turns!" Raeda called out while dodging a spine shot that Sparkfire flew over.
"Oh, that's just great! As if a Titan-Wing Monstrous Nightmare was already bad enough!" Snotlout complained.
"We just gotta wear this thing down!" Henry called out as Wildstar blast at the Titan-Wing, but it dodged the attack.
But no matter how much they flew, the Titan-Wing still stayed right on their tails. "Doesn't he ever get tired?!" Fishlegs panted before he screamed when he felt the Titan-Wing nip at Meatlug's tail.
'Hey, that's my tail!' Meatlug growled as she then got her tail free and hit the Titan Wing in the face as she flew ahead of it.
Then the Riders had another problem as they were faced with a wall, "Oh great." Hiccup moaned as they were trapped between a dragon and a hard place.
"Looks like we hit a dead end." Tuffnut commented.
"Don't say the d word!" Ruffnut pleaded as the Titan-Wing stalked closer to them.
"This is gonna hurt. This is really gonna hurt!" Snotlout whimpered as the Titan-Wing raised its tail.
"Brace yourselves!" Hicca said as they all looked away.
But then at last second, a stream of green acid shot the Titan-Wing from behind. It turned and roared as Camo, Valerie and Astrid flew in.
"I'm here for my dragon!" Astrid declared, pointing her ax to the Titan-Wing.
'Astrid!' Stormfly squawked happily, happy to see her rider and to see the confidence in her eyes again.
"Astrid, Valerie! You made it!" Hiccup called out happily.
"And we're gonna teach this Titan Wing a lesson on what happens when you get between a Rider and her dragon!" Astrid called out.
"So let's show 'em what we warriors can do!" Valerie declared. "Camo, acid blast!"
Camo appealed to Valerie's words as he shot an acid blast, which Titan-Wing dodged as he growled and fired his magnesium blast at them.
Camo dodged the blasts and kept flying, "Whoa, okay this guy is tough!" Valerie commented.
"Set me down, I can handle this guy." Astrid told her.
"Are you sure?" Valerie asked, turning to the shield Maiden.
Astrid just smiled, "I've never been more certain." She said,
Camo flew close to the ground as Astrid leapt off, rolled across the ground and landed perfectly on her feet with ax in hand.
The Titan-Wing looked at Astrid as he growled at her. 'You dare challenge me?!' He growled.
"Come and get me Spiky!" Astrid dared with a smirk.
The Titan-Wing roared and charged at Astrid but then from out of nowhere, Stormfly rammed into his side, knocking him away.
Stormfly then stood in front of Astrid protectively, 'Leave her alone you big bully!' She roared before turning to Astrid and gesturing to her saddle, 'Don't just stand there, climb on!'
Astrid smiled, "Good to see you too girl." She said as she mounted on Stormfly as she petted her dragon.
'Good to see you too, Astrid.' Stormfly squawks as the two then look at the Titan-Wing.
The Titan-Wing shook his head and glared at Stormfly, 'You dare attack your alpha?!' He roared.
'Your no Alpha of mine.' Stormfly growled back.
"Show him what you got, girl!" Astrid encouraged.
The two Nadders then charged at each other, the Titan-Wing tried to bite at Stormfly but the smaller dragon dodged him and fired a blast at him from behind. The Titan-Wing roared in pain from that as he then brought out his tail and started shooting his spine shots at Stormfly. Stormfly flew up as she dodged the shots as she retaliated with her own spine shots as the Titan-Wing moved back from them as the two Nadders then fired blasts at each other.
"Stormfly's using her speed to fight the Titan-Wing's power." Hiccup smiled.
"As long as she stays out of range, the Titan-Wing can't get her." Hicca added.
The battle kept going as the Titan-Wing was getting tired but still wasn't done yet.
Astrid grunted, "This guy just won't quit!" She then looked at the wall and remembering her duel with Valerie, she got an idea, "Stormfly, to the wall!"
'What?!' Stormfly squawked in shock.
"Trust me." Astrid told her, as the Dragon reluctantly complied.
The Titan Wing then growled, 'You fool! You allowed that human to leave you open to attack!' He then charged at Stormfly with his jaws open, ready to snap her in two.
Hiccup's eyes widened in fear, "Astrid look out!" He called.
Astrid stayed right where she was and then once the Titan-Wing was close enough, she held Stormfly's wing as she did a Gronckle Drop, barely missing the Titan-Wing as it crashed into the wall.
"Ooohhh! That had to hurt." Henry cringed as the others did as well while Valerie noticed the move Astrid did.
The Titan-Wing looked dazed from the crash as he fell to the ground with a thud, completely exhausted.
"Hey, that's the same move I used on Astrid during our duel." Valerie said in surprise.
Astrid and Stormfly then landed on top of the Titan-Wing triumphantly, "Don't mess with a Hofferson or her dragon!" Astrid declared as Stormfly roared in victory, "You tell 'em girl."
The Nadders were amazed at how this blue stranger was able to defeat their captor with such ease and courage. Stormfly then turned to her fellow Nadders, 'Go now. He'll never bother you again!' She squawked.
The Nadders squawked back at Stormfly in response as they all then started flying out of the cave while roaring.
The Titan-wing however weakly turned his head to them, 'No, come back.' He called but it was in vain.
Stormfly and Astrid look down at the Titan-Wing as they glare at him. "Face it, Spiky, your dinner plans have been canceled." Astrid declared.
'Next time, stick to chicken!' Stormfly suggested as they walked off the Titan-Wing and towards the others.
After Astrid dismounted from Stormfly, Hiccup embraced her, "As if I could ever doubt you." He said with a smile.
"Way to go Astrid." Raeda said as she gave Astrid a high five.
Hicca then approached her, "Told ya you just needed to get your confidence back." She said, bumping her shoulder.
"Now with that taken care of, let's find that lens and go home." Henry suggested as they all nodded, he then looked around the chamber, "I think it must be somewhere in here."
The others looked around, before Astrid noticed something in the wall, "Well, what do we have here?" She said, walking over to the wall.
"You found something, Astrid?" Fishlegs asked.
Astrid walked up to the wall as she then did a punch to it, which caused something to fall off of the wall, and that something happened to be the Dragon Eye lens.
Astrid caught the lens as she held it up with a smirk. "I don't suppose that this is the lens?" She joked with a smile.
"You found it!" Hicca cheered as the others joined in.
Hiccup walked up to Astrid and gave her a kiss, "What was that for?" Astrid asked.
"For always being the Rider, and the girlfriend I can rely on." Hiccup said with a smile.
Astrid blushed with a smile from that. "Well, I tried." She said with a smile and hands on her hips.
Hicca then gestured to them, "Come on guys, let's go." She said as they all turned to leave. But just before they left they heard something and turned to see the Titan-Wing, struggling over to them.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Snotlout groaned.
"Doesn't this guy know when to give up?" Henry asked tiredly.
The Titan-Wing tried to charge a blast but just collapsed again.
Astrid just looked at the dragon with pity, "Big guy, unless you plan on killing us with dragon breath, you're doing a terrible job at it." She said as they kept walking.
The Titan-Wing then just gave them a sad look before looking at Stormfly and Sparkfire as he growled. 'No, please. Don't leave me alone.' He squawked.
Stormfly and Sparkfire stopped as they turned to him with a look. 'And why should we do that? You tried to eat us and our species.' Stormfly growled.
'What? Eat you? No! I never would eat one of my own!' The Titan Wing groaned.
The two Nadders look at the Titan Wing in surprise by what he said. 'Wait, so you weren't going to eat us?' Sparkfire asked in surprise.
'No. I would've even laid a tooth on one of my own. Not even you two.' The Titan-Wing said as the two Nadders looked at him while the other Riders stopped once they noticed Sparkfire and Stormfly talking to the Titan-Wing Nadder.
"Stormfly? What is it?" Astrid asked before noticing the Titan-Wing didn't look vicious anymore, just sad. "hey guys, Spiky looks pretty down all of a sudden." She said in sympathy.
"Yeah, he sure does." Raeda said in agreement.
"Who cares? This dragon tried to kill us. Let's just leave it." Snotlout complained.
"Wait, Snotlout. Have you noticed something weird about this chamber?" Raeda asked as they looked around.
"No. Why?" Snotlout shrugged.
"Well, Hicca said that Titan Wings are sometimes cannibalism, right?" Raeda recalled.
"Well, yeah. I did. But… wait a minute, now I know something is weird about this chamber." Hicca said while looking around. "This place is not showing any remains of a Nadder dragon."
"She's right. There are no bones or remains of a dragon here." Hiccup said in agreement after seeing this as well. "Maybe this Titan-Wing wasn't gonna eat those Nadders after all."
"I suppose Nadders are social creatures. It doesn't make sense for one wanting to eat his own kind." Henry noted.
"Then why did this guy capture Stormfly and those other Nadders?" Fishlegs wondered.
Astrid looked at the Titan-Wing's expression and then back Stormfly and Sparkfire and then it hit her, "Of course, it's just like you said Henry, Nadders are social dragons that like to live together." She told the others.
Hiccup realized it too, "He wasn't bringing those Nadders here to eat them." He started in realization.
"He was trying to make his own flock." Hicca finished while looking at the Titan-Wing in sympathy, "This poor thing was just lonely."
Sparkfire and Stormfly gave pity looks to the Titan-Wing. 'So that's why you've been gathering Nadders. Because you feel lonely.' Sparkfire said with a sympathetic dragon-like tone.
'Yeah. I mean, it gets lonely around here on my own. I mean, look at me, I'm a Titan-Wing Nadder that looks like it has spears that could scare a terrible terror with just a look.' The Titan Wing said as he got up and sat on his haunch while giving a sad look with his wings down.
Sparkfire and Stormfly look at each other before turning towards the Titan-Wing with guilt. 'We're sorry. We didn't know that you were lonely.' Stormfly apologized.
'We just thought you were a cannibal dragon that was trying to eat our kind.' Sparkfire added.
'I don't blame you, everyone on this island is afraid of me because of my look. I guess I will forever be alone.' The Titan-Wing said sadly as his wings dropped some more while looking down.
Stormfly and Sparkfire gave him sympathy expressions as they turned to their Riders.
Astrid and Raeda caught on to what their dragons were saying as they turned to the others. "Hiccup, Hicca, this dragon isn't a bad dragon, just a lonely dragon." Astrid started.
"He's been alone for so long that he needs company." Raeda added. "He just went about the wrong way."
"We know, no dragon deserves to be alone." Hiccup agreed.
"Then how can we help him?" Raeda asked.
Then Astrid got an idea as she walked over to the Titan-Wing and held out her hand. The Titan-Wing hesitated for a moment, but then drew its head closer to Astrid slowly as her hand met his snout as he purred from the touch.
Astrid smiled, "Don't worry big guy, I think I know place where you'll have company." She said with a smile.
Snotlout then widens his eyes, having a feeling what Astrid is thinking. "Oh no." He muttered.
(Linebreak)
At the Edge, a trio of young Nadders were drinking by the lake and they were joined by Stormfly, Sparkfire and the Titan-Wing Nadder as they all enjoyed each other's company as fellow nadders.
The Dragon Riders watched from a distance as they smiled at the picture. "Gotta say, Astrid. Bringing the Titan-Wing Nadder to the Edge really was a great idea." Raeda commented.
"Well, no dragon deserves to be treated just by how they look." Astrid said with a smile and her arm crossed. "And they certainly don't like being treated like an outcast either." She added while looking at Valerie, who smiled at her in response.
"You read my mind." Valerie commented.
Hicca smiled, "Well looks like the neighborhood just got bigger and we now have our fifth dragon lenses." She said, holding up the lens they found.
"That's five down and two to go." Hiccup added with a smile. "We are one step closer to the King of Dragons." He added.
Valerie then turned to Astrid with an apologetic look, "Oh and Astrid, sorry for pranking you all over the island. I was just trying to let you see how Loki'ing is my passion but I went too far." She said.
Astrid just gave a smile to Valerie as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I kinda deserve those when I yelled at you to give it up, but all I did was bring back bad memories to you. I should've been a little more calm to explain it better." She said with a forgiving smile.
Valerie smiled in return. "For now on, I'll try and keep my pranks to a minimum. So that they won't be too drastic or painful." She promised as she held out her hand. "Warrior's honor." She added.
Astrid looks at Valerie's hand with a smile as she then grabs her hand as they shake. "Warrior's honor." She repeated as the two smiled.
The other Riders smiled from this as Hiccup spoke. "Okay, gang. Let's get to the Clubhouse to check this lens." He said as they nodded, but then suddenly, they all trip, except for Snotlout, Valerie and Astrid as the two latters laughed from that. "What the?!" Hiccup called out as he turned and looked behind him and saw that his legs were tied with ropes to the others.
"We're tied together!" Hicca called out in surprise as she turned to Valerie. "Valerie! We thought you said that you would keep the pranks to a minimum!?" She called out.
"Oh, I did. But it wasn't just me who did that trick." Valerie said with a smirk as she turned to Astrid.
"We did this one together." Astrid finished with a smirk with her arms crossed.
"What?!" The Dragon Riders asked in shock, Astrid of all people, teamed up with Valerie and pranked them.
"Yeah, turns out she's a pretty good prankster." Valerie said as the two fistbumped.
Raeda deadpanned, "I think I liked it better when you two were trying to kill each other." She said dully.
"Haha! Well you need to work on that one because you missed me." Snotlout boasted with a prideful smile.
Valerie and Astrid just kept smirking at Snotlout. "Oh, we didn't forget you, Snotlout." Valerie started.
"We just have something special for you." Astrid finished with her arms crossed.
"Wha?" Snotlout asked in confusion and a little worried before Astrid and Valerie then whistled together as Hookfang from behind him gave a smirk as he then flew up, which also brought Snotlout along with his pants tied to Hookfang's tail. "Aaaaaahhhhh! Hookfang!" He cried out as Hookfang was flying around in the air while Snotlout dangled in his pants tied to his dragon's tail.
Astrid and Valerie then laughed together as they held their stomachs. "Oh man! You were right, Valerie! That is pretty funny!" Astrid laughed.
"That trick never gets old!" Valerie laughed as the two Riders laughed together as the others watched with amusing smiles and chuckles.
"Well at least those two are getting along well." Hicca said with a chuckle.
"They sure are." Hiccup answered with a smile.
"And something tells me Snotlout's gonna need a new tunic after this." Henry said with a small laugh.
"On that we agree, my Grimborn brother." Tuffnut said as laid back watched Snotlout scream his head off by the most painful ride he ever got.
"There will be repercussions for this! REPERCUSSIONS!" Snotlout yelled in pain as Hookfang went faster in the air and performed tricks, pulling his pants harder while the other Riders laughed while watching the show.