Chapter 15: Five Years Later
Five Years Later
Berk
May 15
Dressed in a long-sleeve light green tunic, dark green pants and brown fur-lined boots, five-year-old Hiccup Haddock pushed open the front door and shielded his eyes as the early rays of sunlight greeted him. Lowering his hand, he stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.
The early morning sky above the village where he was born and raised was a mixture of gold and blue with a shining sun and a few clouds. Some pretty colorful flowers scattered around his front yard. Shutting the door behind him, Hiccup walked over to some pretty pink flowers, knelt down so that he was in level with the flowers and inhaled their sweet scent.
Then he looked up towards the houses that stood down the hill from his own and began to head towards them. This beautiful mid-spring day was drawing him farther and farther from his house. His father, Stoick always complained that he had the attention span of a sparrow and that he got distracted easily. And sure enough, it was happening to him again. But sometimes he couldn't help himself. There was so much to see and do!
As Hiccup got closer to the other houses, he looked at them in awe. Sometimes he found it so hard to believe that a village of seven generations could have such new-looking houses. Then again, the houses were always looking new due to the dragon herds that raided them from time to time. Even his own house had needed a great deal of repairing after that night five years ago when a mysterious dragon broke in and took his mom, Valka away. But in Hiccup's eyes, his house didn't look that new to him. If anything, it still looked the same.
As he walked further, he saw that he wasn't the only kid who was outside so early in the morning. Another kid was outside and his eyes widened when he recognized said kid. It was Astrid Hofferson!
Her long, silky blonde hair was tied back into a tightly braided ponytail. Sunlight reflected against the top of her hair making it shine like a golden river. Even the small silver beads lining the leather headband she wore around her head sparkled in the sunlight. She was dressed in a sleeveless light blue tunic, dark blue leggings and a reddish-brown skirt with spikes all over it. And right now she was stomping her foot all over the ground as though trying to crush something.
"Unh! Unh! Unh! Unh!" Astrid grunted with each stomp she made.
As Hiccup approached closer, he realized what Astrid was trying to crush was a bunch of ants. They scattered all around trying to escape Astrid's feet.
"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup greeted.
Instead of looking and greeting him, Astrid continued to stomp at the escaping ants.
"Hey, Astrid!" Hiccup greeted a little louder.
This time she looked up at him with a slightly annoyed look on her heart-shaped face.
"No need to shout. I can hear you," she said.
"I, uh, was just…making sure you did," Hiccup said, suddenly feeling warm in the cheeks.
He always felt so funny around Astrid and he didn't know why.
"Well, I did," Astrid said matter-of-factly.
"So, uh…what brings you out here so early in the morning?" Hiccup asked timidly.
"Protecting my house and food from these pesky ants of course," Astrid said still matter-of-factly, looking around for the ants that have completely gotten away. "I don't know which thieves are worse: ants or dragons. Well, at least with ants you can just crush them with your own feet whereas with dragons you need axes and swords to get rid of them. But even if you had any weapons, they can easily get away because unlike ants, they can fly."
"Yeah," Hiccup murmured, twirling his booted toes on the ground.
"Well, what brings you out here so early?" Astrid asked.
"Uh, Dad is uh…Dad is gonna take me to see this meadow that he and Mom brought me to when I was a baby," Hiccup replied. "And Gobber's coming too. He says it's it'll be the first time Dad will be at that meadow since before…Mom was gone."
"Oh, really?" Astrid asked.
An idea suddenly popped into Hiccup's head. "Why don't you come along? I'm sure it will be beautiful."
Astrid pondered for a moment before she replied, "No, thanks. I'm gonna help my Uncle Finn chop some firewood today."
"Are you sure your Uncle Finn lets you do things like that? Those axes can be dangerous things."
"Of course he does," Astrid said, somewhat annoyed. "We're Hoffersons. And besides it's not like I'm gonna use an axe alone. He'll be right with me."
Hiccup knew Astrid was right about Finn being right beside her. It was because of his nickname, Fearless Finn that Astrid looked up to him like a hero just as he looked up to his own father like a hero.
And speaking of his father…
"HICCUP?! HICCUP!"
"Uh-oh, I hear my dad calling me. Bye, Astrid! See you later!"
Hiccup didn't stick around to listen if Astrid bade him good-bye back because he took off into a run all the way back to his house. As he ran back up the hill, he could see Stoick standing outside the yard, looking around.
"Here I am, Dad!" Hiccup called.
As the youngster put his hands on his knees, panting, Stoick turned to him and put his hands on his hips.
"Hiccup, how many times have I told you not to wander off without telling me like that?!"
"Sorry, Dad," Hiccup panted. "It won't happen again."
"You always say that and then you wander off again," Stoick pointed out.
"I'll try harder not to let it happen again," Hiccup promised.
"There's more to keeping your word than trying harder."
Hiccup nodded then asked excitedly, "So can we go to the meadow now?"
"Not right now, we're not. First we need to have our breakfast and then we have to wait for Gobber."
"Okay," Hiccup said softly, his face falling as he headed back through the door.
So Hiccup and Stoick had their breakfast and then they went outside to wait for Gobber. While they were outside, Hiccup kept his eyes peeled for any sign of the village blacksmith and his dad's best friend. As for Stoick, he wasn't looking out for Gobber but rather looking down at Hiccup as though to make sure he wouldn't wander off again. It wasn't long before Gobber came hobbling up the hill.
"Sorry I'm late, lads," he said apologetically. "Got a little caught up in my early morning molting, I lost track of the time."
"Quite all right, Gobber," Stoick said. "We don't know where we'd be without you and your weapons."
"Yeah, Gobber, you make the best weapons ever," Hiccup complimented.
"Thanks, Hiccup," Gobber said proudly.
"Now can we go, Dad? Please, please, please?" Hiccup pleaded.
"Take it easy, Hiccup, we're going," Stoick said, holding up his hands to calm his excited son.
"Yippie!" Hiccup squealed, jumping up and down.
"I said take it easy," Stoick gently chided.
"Can you blame the boy's excitement, Stoick?" Gobber said reasonably. "After being practically cooped up for the entirety of winter, I'd be wanting to get out of my house as well."
"I wasn't cooped up for the whole winter, Gobber," Hiccup pointed out. "Dad still let me play outside…as long as I stayed close to the house. I even tried to get him to have snowball fights with me but he hates snowball fights."
"I never said I hated snowball fights, son, I just have no interest in them," Stoick said.
"Dad never has any interest in having fun," Hiccup said to Gobber.
"Hiccup!" Stoick reproached.
"All right, lads, let's head for that meadow," Gobber interrupted. "The sooner, the better."
"Yeah, let's go," Hiccup insisted.
"All right, Hiccup, but stay close," Stoick said.
And so the two men and the boy were off into the forest and headed for the direction of the meadow.
"Are we almost there, Dad?" Hiccup asked excitedly as he looked up at his father.
Stoick looked down at him with a smile. "We're nearly there, son. Just try to be patient."
"I am trying to be patient but it's hard," Hiccup replied.
"True but patience is one of the main qualities of a true Viking, laddie," Gobber announced from behind them. "Then again, there are some things that not even I can wait long enough like finally finishing off that Boneknapper that's been after me for quite a while."
Stoick sighed exasperatedly. "Ah, Gobber, not this again."
Hiccup put a hand to his mouth and giggled quietly.
"All right, I think we're getting close," Stoick said. He pointed to two trees up ahead. "We just have to go through those two trees."
Sure enough, up ahead was a space in between two tall trees.
"All right, let's go," Hiccup said excitedly.
He was just starting to run when Gobber called out, "Hiccup, wait!"
Hiccup looked around and was just about to ask what was wrong when he noticed the answer: Stoick had stopped walking and stood absolutely still. He had a bit of a sickish look on his face. It was like he was about to collapse at any minute.
"Are you sick, Dad?" Hiccup asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, son," Stoick said, his voice sounding a little forced. "It's just that…this is the first time I'll be going into that meadow since…"
"Maybe we should just go home instead," Hiccup said, still worried and also a little disappointed.
As much as he wanted to see his mother's favorite meadow, he cared about his father's feelings even more.
"No," Gobber said firmly. "We came all this way to see the meadow your mother loved so much and that's what we're going to do." He looked at Stoick and spoke in a softer voice, "Stoick, I understand how you feel about reminders of Val but you've got to stay strong for her. If you won't revisit some of her favorite places for her, at least do it for Hiccup."
Stoick looked from his friend to his son who nodded questioningly. Then he looked back at Gobber and took a deep breath.
"You're right, Gobber. All right, son. Let's go."
"Yes!" Hiccup exclaimed.
And the trio started to head for the space between the two trees. Hiccup was the first to step between them and what he saw was a beauty: spread out before him, his dad and Gobber was a small meadow heavy with green spring grass and colorful flowers.
"Wow! Let's run!" Hiccup shouted.
And that's exactly what he did. He broke into a run right towards this beautiful place.
"Hiccup, come back here!"
But Hiccup didn't even hear his dad's calls. He just kept running around in circles through the grass and flowers. Bumblebees and butterflies scattered away from him as he did so. Then, feeling a bit dizzy, Hiccup laid his back against the soft grass and sighed. Then his eyes widened at the big blue sky and white, fluffy clouds above him.
"Wow," he exhaled.
He didn't know why but the sky was what he loved most about the great big world. Like the ocean surrounding Berk, the sky seemed to go on and on – never stopping. When it wasn't cloudy or rainy, the sky would always be a deep blue just like it was now. And then after nightfall, it would grow dark and stars would pop out all over it along with the always-changing moon.
Oh, how he wished he could go all the way up to the sky and stay there for hours at end.
The figure of Stoick suddenly blocked his view of the beautiful sky. Although Hiccup was looking at him from upside-down, he could still make out the disapproving frown on his father's face.
"What did I do now, Dad?" Hiccup asked timidly, getting to his feet and facing Stoick.
"What you did now was that you broke rule number one," Stoick said, his tone also disapproving.
"Sorry…what's rule number one again?"
Stoick sighed and muttered something like "attention span of a sparrow".
"Rule number one," he answered, "is safety first. When you come across a place you've never been to before, look around to make sure there's no danger before you enter."
"Sorry, Dad. But I don't see what could be so dangerous about a beautiful place like this one."
"You'd be surprised, Hiccup," Gobber said, as he made his way towards them. "Even the most gorgeous spots in the world can have its dangers."
Almost a second after he said that, his peg leg tripped on a small rock and he fell face first into the grass and flowers.
"Gobber!" Hiccup and Stoick cried, running to his aid.
Gobber lifted his face and spat out some blades of grass out of his mouth. "You see what I mean, lad?"
"Yeah, I guess I do," Hiccup said.
He knelt down again, inhaled the sweet, sweet scent of the flowers and exhaled through the mouth. His smile faded as he tried to picture the first time his mom brought him to this meadow. But because he was only a baby at that time, the memories of spending time with mom were vague. The only three things he was able to remember from his baby years were a pair of large yellow eyes, a tiny prick against his chin and his parents' voices calling out each other's names.
"I wish Mom were here with us right now," he admitted, looking up and Stoick and Gobber.
"Me too, son, me too," Stoick said softly, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "I remember the time when I had to learn to live without my mother."
"What happened to your mom?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick looked hesitant again.
Gobber put his good hand on his friend's shoulder. "Go on, Stoick. He has the right to know about his family's history."
Stoick nodded. "Well, I was about twelve when it happened. One night, a shipload of intruders came to the island to rob us and cause mischief. A lot of our finest warriors went out to deal with them, my mother included. She took on the leader of the intruders and won the fight. But she didn't see the leader's comrades sneak up from behind her with an axe and by then it was too late."
"That's awful," Hiccup said sadly.
Stoick nodded in agreement. "Aye, it was. My father and I were devastated. But then my father said something to me I'll never forget."
"What did he say?" Hiccup asked.
"He said, 'Stoick, the loss of your mother is very tragic for the both of us. But she wouldn't want us to do nothing but sit around and mourn for her every single day. She would want us to continue living our lives – to make it through the fun times and the tough times. But most importantly she would want us to stay strong for her.' And that's what I did. I learned to stay strong for my mother and now you and I must stay strong for your mother because that's exactly what she'd want for us to do."
Hiccup forced a smile trying to look strong for his father. "All right. I'll try to stay strong for Mom."
"That's a good lad," Gobber said, tousling Hiccup's hair.
"Quit messing up Hiccup's hair, Gobber," Stoick reprimanded.
"Why not? It looks too neat like he's been indoors too long. His hair needs to look more like he's been outside more."
After spending a few hours in the meadow, Stoick decided it was time to go back home. So he, Hiccup and Gobber left the beautiful place and were walking through the forest again. They were just halfway through the woods when Hiccup noticed something.
"Dad, Gobber, look!" Hiccup said, pointing.
"What is it now, Hiccup?" Stoick asked.
Leaving the path, the youngster ran up to a small bush heavy with plump purple berries.
"Look, it's a berry bush!" Hiccup said, pointing at the bush.
"I can see it's a berry bush, son," Stoick said as he and Gobber approached. "What about it?"
"Can I have some please?" Hiccup asked. "I promise I won't spoil supper."
Hiccup started to reach for the small purple fruits when Gobber grabbed hold of his wrist, stopping him.
"Hold it right there, young fellow," Gobber said.
"I'm not gonna eat all the berries, Gobber, just a few," Hiccup protested.
"Yes, I know you want a few berries but once again, you almost violated the safety first rule," Gobber pointed out.
"Gobber's right, Hiccup," Stoick added. "When it comes to finding food in the wilderness, it's important to know which foods are safe to eat and which foods are not."
"Oh," Hiccup said.
"But luckily for you, these purple berries are perfectly safe," Gobber said as he poked the fork attached to his left arm into some of the berries, pulled them off their stems and placed them into his mouth.
"Really?" Hiccup asked, reaching out for the berries again only to be pulled back by Stoick.
"Are you sure, Gobber?" Stoick asked. "I know my berries."
Gobber continued to pluck some berries and munch on them. "So do I, Stoick, and I'm telling you the purple berries are safe." He paused from chewing and his face twisted into a quizzical expression. "Unless my memory slipped and the purple ones are unsafe."
No sooner did he say that than his face began to turn green and his eyes began to water. He dropped down to his knees and began to gag and choke. Hiccup looked horrified and Stoick looked unsurprised.
"Gobber!" Hiccup cried.
"Stoick! Stoick!" Gobber wheezed, grabbing hold of Stoick's arm.
"All right, Gobber, come on," Stoick said, helping his friend to his feet. "I'll take you to Gothi's…again."
As Stoick walked beside Gobber, his arm around his coughing friend, he turned to Hiccup who was walking beside them and eyeing Gobber worriedly.
"You see, Hiccup, that could've been you had you eaten those berries. Understand?"
"Right, purple berries are dangerous," Hiccup said, nodding. "I'll remember that."
…
Night Fury Island
May 15
Toothless's ears perked up straight, his eyes flashed open and he looked up.
Something was lurking outside the den.
Toothless looked all around at his father and siblings who were sprawled all over the den, snoozing away. None of them seemed to be sensing the danger beyond the den…if it was danger. Then he turned to Sapphire who was napping beside him. Although he was a full-grown five year old Night Fury, no longer a tiny baby, he still liked sleeping next to his mom. When he had done this as a youngster, he felt safe by her side. Now that he was all grown-up, it was his job now to keep her and the rest of the family safe. He rubbed the side of his face against her body, then, eyes narrowed, he looked out the den's entrance. Whatever was lurking about out there, it was up to him to chase it away.
Slowly and quietly he stood up and began to make his way towards the opening. It wasn't easy though what with his family sprawled in all directions. Biter had his right hind leg hovering in the air and it would twitch occasionally. He had Soft Paws' ear in his mouth. Luckily, his teeth were retracted so he wouldn't bite off his brother's ear. Noserubber was lying on top of Big One with her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her front paws wrapped around her big sister. No doubt she had been grooming her again.
Toothless lifted his paws slowly and carefully as he tried to step over his snoozing family. But it was not easy. Once he stepped on his father's head and bumped right into Soft Paws. Both his father and brother groaned and rolled over but did not wake up. Toothless sighed exasperatedly. This den seemed to be less crowded when he and his siblings were smaller. But he managed to make his way out of the den.
Once he was out, Toothless looked all around for any signs of danger.
None so far.
Wait!
A small rustling sound was coming from the grass!
Baring his teeth and growling softly, Toothless slowly stalked towards the grass and lowered himself into a pouncing position.
And out of the grass popped…
…a field mouse!
Toothless' eyes widened at the sight of the tiny creature before him and the little brown mouse stared back at him with its tiny black eyes, its whiskers twitching.
Toothless suddenly felt silly for thinking there was danger outside his family's den when all this time it was just a tiny, insignificant mouse. But he decided to scare it off anyway. So he narrowed his eyes again and let out a soft, short roar. And with that, the mouse scurried away.
Toothless snorted and nodded his head proudly.
"What's going on out here?" came his mother's call.
Toothless turned around.
Dusk, Sapphire and Big One were standing outside the den. Noserubber, Soft Paws and Biter were right behind them.
"I'm just protecting all of you from danger, that's all," Toothless assured his family as he approached them. "But you're safe now."
He sat down in front of them and lifted his chin proudly.
"You're just like your father," Sapphire crooned with pride. "Always being on the lookout for danger and protecting us from whatever it is."
Hearing this, Dusk also lifted his chin with pride similar to his son. Then he lifted his paw and placed it against Toothless' forehead affectionately and warbled, "You'd make a good leader someday, son."
"I don't know about a leader, Dad," Toothless replied, and tilted his head towards Big One. "Big One seems more of the leader type. She was the first one to hatch you know."
"Thanks, Toothless, but you have just as much leadership as I have," Big One warbled humbly.
Toothless' head relaxed and he rubbed his face against his older sister's. Then Biter softly nibbled his ear with his retracted teeth. Then without warning, Soft Paws playfully knocked them both to the ground. Then Noserubber joined in with the playful wrestling and dragon laughing.
Then Biter caught sight of a branch lying nearby and squirmed out of the Night Fury pile to approach it and pick it up with his teeth. Soft Paws followed close behind and clamped his teeth against the branch and the two brothers were having a round-of-tug of war. But their game ended too quickly when the branch snapped in two. The brothers' faces fell and they groaned sadly.
"Your bites have gotten stronger over the years," Saphire complimented.
"Well, we're gonna find a much bigger, stronger branch to play with," Biter declared. He motioned for Soft Paws to follow.
"Well, Big One and I are going to the meadow," Noserubber announced.
"Do you wanna join us Toothless?" Big One offered.
"No, thanks, I'm going flying," Toothless said. "I'll see you all later."
And with that, he flapped his wings and began to take off.
"Toothless, wait! I'm coming with you!" Sapphire called, following after him. "I want to keep an eye on you."
"Mom, I'm not a young one anymore, I don't need to be looked after anymore."
"No matter what age you are, dragons always look after each other."
Toothless could see no arguing in that subject so he and his Mom flew side by side over the forest where Big One and Soft Paws were looking for another branch to play with, over the pond, over the meadow where Noserubber and Big One were frolicking through the flowers. They flew over some more tree tops until they were gliding high above the seawater.
Letting out a call, Toothless dove nose down towards the water.
"Toothless!" Sapphire called.
Once he was close enough to the water, Toothless tilted himself and glided with the tip of his left wing ripping through the water like a dorsal fin. Then he tilted himself in the opposite side and the tip of his right wing was now streaking through the water.
"Toothless!"
Toothless glanced over at his mother as she flew behind him. Then he looked over at the sea stacks a little ways from their island and got an idea. Toothless began to pick up the speed to get as far from his mother as he could.
"Wait up!"
But Toothless didn't wait up. He just kept heading for those sea stacks until he arrived in front of one of them and quickly went behind one of them. He could hear his mother catching up to him and once he saw her head and blue eyes pop up from the corner of his side of the stack, he whirled around to the other side.
Just as Sapphire started to follow him around, Toothless hurriedly flew to the other sea stack and hid behind there. His eyes glinting deviously, he peeked around the corner to see his mom confusedly trying to find him. Toothless let out a call which made her look to his direction.
Then he took off again and zig-zagged around the stacks. He glanced behind him to see if Sapphire was still following him. To his surprise, he didn't see her behind him anymore. He paused, his wings still flapping, still looking behind him confusedly.
Turning his head back to the front, he yelped and jumped when he saw his mother flapping right in front of him.
"Gotcha!" she warbled teasingly.
Then the Night Fury mother and son laughed their dragon laughs as they flapped in mid-air.
"Isn't flying fun, Mom?"
Sapphire nodded. "Yes, flying is fun. But it's even more fun when you have someone to share it with."
She looked up at the top of a stack.
"Let's take a quick rest on top of that sea stack."
"You go ahead of me, Mom. I'll catch up to you."
Sapphire exhaled good-naturedly and nodded. Toothless watched as she flew to the top of the sea stack and sat down. Then he dove down into the water, startling a bunch of fish the moment he splashed into the underwater world.
Toothless swirled around under the water with an open mouth catching any fish he could sink his teeth into. He ate a good healthy amount of fish but his fishing wasn't over yet. He swam around some more, catching more fish the whole time. Soon he had a large amount of fish in between his teeth but instead of eating them, he carried them out of the water and all the way up to the top of the sea stack where Sapphire was waiting.
She stared at all the fish in his mouth. "Doesn't that stomach of yours ever get filled up with enough fish."
Toothless poured the feast right beside her feet. "Actually, I caught it for you."
Gratitude filled Sapphire's eyes. "Thank you."
Sapphire lowered her head to eat. Then Toothless looked out to the far distance in front of them. Once she was finished with her fish, Sapphire lifted her head to look at her son.
Toothless turned to her. "What do you suppose is out there?"
"Probably more islands full of trees, grass, flowers and water," Sapphire replied. "Islands where other dragons dwell."
"Even dragons like us?"
Sapphire paused and stared at her son before answering. "Perhaps."
Toothless looked out towards the distance again. "We've explored every inch of our island and flown short distances from it. But we haven't made any far distances. Do you think I'm finally old enough to head out there?"
"What do you think?" Sapphire asked. She rubbed the side of her face against Toothless' body. "Before you and your siblings were even eggs, your father brought me along to find a safe place to live and nest and we did. We both wanted to protect you from any danger that might bring you all harm."
"And you have protected us – from drowning and from having our tails stuck under some rocks and even eels," Toothless said. "And I am grateful for that."
"But now you'd like to go out there – far from our home," Sapphire crooned wistfully, her eyes wide with slight sadness.
"Not too far, but yes, I'd like to go out there," Toothless crooned back, nuzzling his mom reassuringly.
Sapphire nuzzled her son back. "I always knew the time would come for you and your siblings to make the choice of going out there or remaining here with your father and me."
"So what should I do?" Toothless purred questioningly.
"It's your choice not mine," Sapphire said. "But even if you do decide to leave, always remember that you, your father and your siblings will always love you no matter how far we are."
"And I will always love you, Dad and all my brothers and sisters no matter how far I am," Toothless assured her.
"And if you ever decide to return to us whenever you'd like, we'll be right here waiting for you," Sapphire purred.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Toothless slid his head under his mom's chin and nuzzled her again. Sapphire gently rubbed her chin against the top of Toothless' head.
Suddenly, Sapphire's ears pricked up and she looked around cautiously. Toothless was confused about his mother's alertness at first until his own ears pricked up too. His pupils constricted as he growled softly and looked around.
Sapphire also began to growl softly. "Something's wrong."
"Yeah," Toothless agreed. "I wonder what it could be."
Sapphire tilted her head, gesturing to the island. "Come on. We've got to get back to the den."
Sapphire took flight off the sea stack. Toothless stayed behind for another second, growling and swinging his head, trying to find the distant danger before taking flight and following his mom.
The two Night Furies flew back to their island as fast as they could and they didn't stop until they landed in front of their den. By the time they arrived, Big One, Biter, Soft Paws and Noserubber were already walking inside. Dusk stood outside the entrance, making every member of his family got inside the den safely before going in himself.
"We could smell the danger coming while resting on the sea stacks," Sapphire told her mate.
"We could also sense it from where we were," Big One replied.
"What do you suppose is coming?" Biter warbled. He looked ready for action.
"I don't know," Dusk grunted gravely. "All we can do is remain in here where it's safe until the danger passes."
"What if something, whatever it is, finds us in here?" Noserubber questioned.
"Then we'll be ready," Dusk answered grimly.
…
(Quick Note: All right, everyone, I think you know the reason why when I encourage you to turn on the HTTYD 3 soundtrack and listen to Dinner Talk/Grimmel's Introduction.)
Grimmel the Grisly leaned over the rails of his makeshift airlift and craned his neck to get a better look at the island his Deathgrippers were carrying him towards. It looked like a beautiful, large island full of trees and grass…and possibly even herds of dragons for him to wipe out.
He looked up at the four Deathgrippers who clutched the chains attached to the four corners of the airlift tightly in their claws and whistled, pointing towards the island. Then he looked over his shoulder at the two other Deathgrippers that were following close behind. Those other two dragons carried a large chest full of traps and other supplies. He whistled for them as well as he pointed to the island. As he wanted, all six Deathgrippers carried his lift and his chest all the way to the island.
The Deathgrippers landed the airlift and the chest near the edge of a small cliff. Grimmel climbed out of the airlift, removed his head and smoothed down his salt-and-pepper hair as he looked around.
All was quiet. Too quiet.
Turning to two of his dragon comrades, he whistled softly, gesturing to follow him. The Deathgrippers retracted their long white tusks and lifted their scorpion-like tails as they walked side-by-side with their master.
Grimmel walked slowly and looked around cautiously for any signs of dragons as he stepped through the trees. Because this was a forested area, he decided that maybe there would be Timberjacks here. Maybe even some Nadders or Zipplebacks. Maybe some Changewings were using their invisibility powers to hide against the trees. Or maybe even…
The lead Deathgripper snarled as though he picked up a scent he was familiar with. Grimmel raised his eyebrows at the dragon, wondering what it could have spotted.
And that's when he saw it: just in front of them were a series of footprints. And scattered around the footprints were small round black scales.
Grimmel bent down and scooped up some of the scales with his hand and ran his thumb across the smooth texture.
He recognized these scales and footprints almost immediately. They belonged to the very dragon species he loved exterminating the most: Night Furies.
"Perfect," he murmured.