*VOLUME 1*

CHAPTER 1

SUMMARY (VOLUME 1): Following the afterglow of victory of the heroic actions of dragon-riders Hiccup, Snotlout, Astrid, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs towards saving dragon-kind from traffickers and illegal hunters, the riders decide to return to Berk. However, during their time there, each of them find specific reasons why they must choose between staying on Berk or returning to their past life on the island. After many trials and errors, each person decides for themselves about their future. Meanwhile, two friends in the group spend more time together than they ever had before, and a powerful new challenge arises for everyone.

OVER DRAGON'S EDGE ISLAND, the night was silent. The sky hung shadows over the terrestrial island in drapes of darkness. Despite the small twinkles of yellow-light given off by passing groups of fireworms, deep-blue reflections from the island's moonlit sea draped over a colorful camp-base created by Berk's finest dragonriders: Fishlegs, Snoutlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Astrid, and Hiccup of the Hooligan Tribe.

The main clubhouse on Dragon's Edge Island was fashioned as a dome with a decorative dragon's head that had been carefully crafted by everyone in the camp. It sat on a platform of tall stilts that would raise it high above any floodwaters that could pour from the sea in a bad storm, and the main house was protected at its height from any scorching lava pools that could spurt at any unprepared moment from the island's ancient volcano.

A bright triangle of light lit the high platform of the central building. Part of the light came from the flaming lamp-torches of the place that housed the dragons of the inhabitants of Dragon's Edge.

Toothless, the Night Fury that belonged to Hiccup, slept soundly in the first cage and shrouded his slowly expanding and deflating body with his sleek, black wings. Next to him slept Hookfang, Snoutlout's Monstrous Nightmare. Every puff of breath in Hookfang's slumber left smoky and orange tendrils to weasel from his red, scaly nostrils into the air. Hookfang's long and spiky wings were cupped downward on the ground at either sides of his head and weighted to the floorboards of the dragon's holding room with his sharp talons.

In the cage beside Hookfang, Stormfly, Astrid's Deadly Nadder, prefered to curl in a spiral so she could rest her large blue and multi-horned head upon her tail of deadly spikes. The next cage held a two-headed Hideous Zippleback who belonged to the twin dragonriders, Tuffnut and Ruffnut. Each exhale from Barf's mouth created a light vapor of flammable, dark green gas, and from Belch's slumbering mouth came light sparks. A small flame ignited and quickly disappeared as the two heads slumbered against their shared paws.

In a final cage was Meatlug, a Gronckle with rock-hard body armor who belonged to the rider Fishlegs. Meatlug's compact and strong body sat in the middle of her cage and hardly moved except for her unconscious breaths that remained in deep sleep. A pair of tiny ears twitched once on her head at the sound of human laughter that emanated from the clubhouse's eating room in which all of the dragonriders were feasting for the night.

Hiccup took another bite of tenderly-cooked veal from his wooden flatbowl. He licked his fingers clean of grease and pinched another cluster of meat into his mouth. His chews were painful from laughing too hard at Snoutlout's story he told to everyone at the clubhouse's wooden dining table.

"...and that's exactly why you should never drop a baby yak down a well." Snoutlout finished. His laughter died down with everyone else's final chuckles.

"Good one, Snoutlout," Hiccup admitted. There were rare times that Hiccup chose to relax around his friends. He felt better to not worry for a while about discovering the next new species of dragon for the knowledge of his village, Berk, and the rest of the world. Dragon-discovery was the entire point of the camp's creation, and Hiccup hoped that would remain so for generations after he and his friends lived. Hiccup licked his lips at the dining table again, more tastefully. "Who cooked the meat?"

"Me. Why?" Astrid accused from her seat across from Hiccup.

"Nothing! It's just delicious." Hiccup used his sleeping tunic's fleece sleeve to clean his chin, since there wasn't any messcloth around like there was in his own home in the village. "Do you have anymore?"

"Oh." Astrid said. She smiled that the leader of the camp liked her cooking for once. She had practiced, and it showed. "Yeah, there's a lot left. Anyone else want seconds?"

"I'm full," said Fishlegs. His barrel-shaped body settled sleepily into his chair.

"Keep it comin'," said Ruffnut, who was breaking her mealy bread apart into chewable morsels. Even the bread tasted better than usual for Astrid's sophomoric cooking expertise.

Ruffnut, on the other hand, was never one to volunteer to cook. What she enjoyed most was eating the spoils of everyone's hard work to create their meals in the camp. Ruffnut's responsibility had always been to gather the firewood for the meals' kindling with her twin brother, Tuffnut.

Tuffnut agreed with Fishlegs. "My stomach has reached fifty-one percent capacity."

"What happened to the other forty-nine-percent?" Snoutlout asked without interest.

"That's for dessert. What are we having?"

"There is no dessert, Tuff." Astrid said, chuckling once. "There's...never been any dessert."

Tuffnut looked incredulous. He turned to the camp leader. "Hiccup! I petition to have dessert every night from here on in!"

"Don't you mean here on out?" Fishlegs chuckled.

Snoutlout yawned beside Fishlegs, feeling fatigued already by the twins' idiocy. His eyes felt heavy as his chin rested against his folded elbows on the dining table.

"That's way beyond the scope of my duties," Hiccup laughed lightly to Tuffnut. He was the worst person to ever be trusted near a bag of flour or sugar. He remembered something. "Before I forget, who's turn is it for night patrol?"

Ruffnut chewed quietly and avoided eye contact with Hiccup. Her cover was blown when everyone turned to look at her.

"Ruffnut? It is your turn, right?" Hiccup said, purposefully leaning his dark-brown brows.

"Yeah, but-!" Ruffnut whined sourly. She blurted, "it's so boring! There's nothing to do now that no one's trying to kill us." Ruffnut looked to her friends for sympathy.

They, some bleary-eyed, faced Ruffnut with compassion. The post to survey Dragon's Edge was not very exciting anymore, although it served an important purpose.

Hiccup thought Ruffnut was right. The many legions of dragon raiders who had sought Dragon's Edge Island for intel and dragon-lore were long gone and defeated, by their own teamwork and perseverance to keep their camp safe.

Ruffnut had been a valuable asset for the cause. There were times that Hiccup had judged her and her twin brother unfairly because of their goofy behavior and lack of attention to tactical details. Hiccup thought it was fitting to let Ruffnut's wills be considered for once.

"Oh-kay...any volunteers for tonight?" Hiccup suggested. "Going once...going twice...?"

"Why don't you do it?" Snoutlout said.

Hiccup floundered. "Uhh...because...nose goes!" Hiccup clamped his nose with his fingers at the same time of Ruffnut, Fishlegs, and Snoutlo

"That's the oldest trick in the book," Ruffnut sniggered nasally.

Only Astrid and Tuffnut were left without covered noses. Astrid hadn't expected Hiccup to stoop to such a playful low to escape duties, and Tuffnut had been brainstorming his first argument about the historical applications of nightly desserts on productivity.

"Looks like you and Tuffnut could fill in for Ruffnut? It'll just be for three nights."

Astrid whispered to Hiccup, "you aren't serious! I am not spending seventy-two hours with that pea-brain!"

"Just do your job as great as you usually do, and it'll go by quickly, I promise." Hiccup whispered in return.

Tuffnut stood from the table and saluted Hiccup at the exit of the dining room. Astrid grimaced to herself and followed Tuffnut outside.