Chapter 5: Exodus
After the fires were put out, the Dragon Riders called to the rest of the village for an emergency meeting within the Great Hall.
"All right! All right, everybody!" Hiccup said, trying to maintain order. "Settle down, please!"
Sadly order was a very foreign concept to Vikings and they kept on shouting and talking with one another.
Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, have you ever seen that species of dragon before?"
Fishlegs looked as if he was about to answer, he raised his finger but then promptly fell over backwards, still showing the effect of the darts.
"He might be out of it for while," said Hicca. "I took the liberty of examining the contents of that dart you found. Whatever it is, it's way more potent than Dragon Root and it works on humans, unfortunately the effects are temporary." She said.
"Any chance you can come up with an antidote?" Hiccup asked.
Hicca shook her head. "Not without more of this stuff and we don't know where it comes from." She explained "As for those dragons, with Fishlegs out of it I did a bit of research. There's nothing in the Book of Dragon or Bork's papers, but there is a reference in our old sketches of the Dragon Eye. They're called Deathgrippers, Strike class dragons and extremely dangerous predators, though how Grimmel controlled them is completely beyond me." She explained.
"Let me at 'em!" Spitelout yelled, waving his best.
"I'll give him a piece of my mind," A Viking yelled. "And by mind, I mean fist!" He then promptly punched the face of the nearest Viking.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa everyone!" Hicca calmed, "We can't just go at him Swinging axes." She called out.
"Did you miss the part where we almost died? Have you seen our house?" Hiccup yelled at the top of his voice. "This is a new kind of enemy and we underestimated him. Now, that's on us. But I will not do that again."
Snotlout then slammed his hands on the table. "We're Vikings! We don't run from a fight. At least I don't." He then pointed out Eret. "You might."
"I agree with Hiccup," Eret said as he walked towards him while Snotlout continued to point at him. "We haven't seen the last of Grimmel. He's a predator, single-minded and patient. He won't stop until he gets what he wants." He pointed out while looking at Midnight and Toothless, who are huddling closely to their cubs.
"Not to mention, not to mention this guy is as stealthy as me, and that's without the stealth suit." Valerie called out from the crowd.
"Eret and Valerie are right, Grimmel is more dangerous than we think." Hicca said, "I don't know how he did it but apart Midnight and her family, Grimmel has managed to hunt down and kill… every Night Fury." She said, choking up a bit.
The crowd immediately got riled up, shocked that this man managed to kill their more powerful dragon.
"I'm with Eret and my daughter," Valka added. "We have to take this threat seriously." She said
"Especially considering we're overpopulated," Raeda added. "This attack tonight just proves we're not prepared for any kind of conflict."
"Grimmel is just a sign of the times," Hiccup added. "Our enemies are getting smarter, more determined. We're not just overcrowded. We are exposed, and vulnerable. Short of full blown war and risking everyone we love, I don't… I don't see a way of staying here any longer."
That caused a bit of an outrage and the shouting commenced, at least until Astrid slammed her ax on the table and immediately they all fell silent.
"Hey! Hear him out!" Astrid yelled at the top of her voice as she then sat back down and nodded towards Hiccup, telling him to continue.
"If we want to live in peace with our dragons, we need a better plan," Hiccup said.
"And it will be a crazy idea, but it's worth a shot." Hicca added.
"So, what are you two saying, Chief and Healer?" Gobber asked the Haddock Twins.
"We're saying we have to disappear. Off the map. Take the dragons to a place where no one will find them." Hiccup called out.
"A place that is hard to find and where nobody will find us." Hicca added.
"And where might that be?" A Viking asked.
"They're talking about a quest for the Hidden World." Astrid explained.
"The hidden what?" A Viking woman frowned.
"Out to lunch," Ruffnut said.
Tuffnut laughed. "Yeah."
"Let them finish." Valerie said to them after nudging Tuffnut.
"Our father was obsessed with it when we were kids," Hiccup explained as he then gestured to the notebook and maps that he and his sister managed to save from their house on the table. "He made notes and maps in search of the ancestral home of all dragons...tucked away somewhere beyond the edge of the world. It may be the solution we need. We're dragon people. It's where we belong."
That immediately got everyone talking and from the looks on their faces and how they were talking they could believe that the Haddock Twins was suggesting such a notion. It looked as if the girls were right, asking people to abandon their homes would be a daunting task.
Seeing this, Hicca stepped forward, "Look, I know this is our home, a home that we've fought to protect with our lives for generations," She started. "Our father and everyone else who died for Berk left us to protect it and me and my Brother to protect you. But Berk is more than this island. We are Berk! Both people and dragons! I say Berk is wherever we go."
"And no matter where we go, Berk will follow and it will forever live on! But if we stay here, our enemies will strike again, and we are too crowded and unprepare to strike. So we must leave this island, but for all of our ancestors, the ones we lost, Berk will survive as long as its people and dragons survive, and no matter where we go, Berk will follow, and we will survive!" Hiccup finished.
Everyone started to look inspired by the Haddock Twins's speech, though most of them appear to be in two minds.
The Thorston twins just sat on the bench looking bored, but then Tuffnut shot to his feet.
"I'm with them! Who else?!" Tuffnut yelled.
Everyone then starts cheering as they agreed with Tuffnut as they will follow their leaders to the end of the Earth if they had to.
The Haddock Twins looked at each other with smiles as they turned to Dagur, Ragnar and Heather.
"Dagur, Heather, Ragnar, we want you three to go out and get word out to as many of our allies as you could. Let them know about Grimmel." Hiccup instructed the three Berserkers.
"You got it, brother!" Dagur said as he saluted to the Hiccup.
"We'll prepare for any worse that might come." Ragnar assured as Heather nodded in understanding.
"We'll send Terror Mail to our location when we find a proper hiding place. But be careful, Grimmel or anyone might try and attack any of you as well." Hicca added, wanting their friends to be careful if they get attacked.
"Don't worry, you two. We'll be prepared. Just get your people and dragons to safety. We'll warn the other islands about this new threat." Heather assured as she placed a comforting hand on Hicca's shoulder.
(Linebreak)
And so by dawnlight, the people and Dragons of Berk left behind their island and set off to find their new home. They got boats and as many of their supplies and belongings they could bring and loaded them to their dragons or on the boats the dragons were carrying.
Riding in these boats were sheep, dressed as dragons. With the large dragon population it only made sense to camouflage the sheep so they wouldn't get eaten. One of the sheep opened its mouth and allowed its tongue to flap in the wind, but then it noticed a Monstrous Nightmare flying alongside and carefully sat back down with the others.
Fishlegs then came flying in frantically feeding Fishmeat, who was riding with him, as many rocks as he could.
"Excuse me," he yelled. "Coming through. Just skipping through here. Fishmeat, eat your rocks. Eat your rocks."
Fishmeat eat the rocks that were given to him vigorously.
"Gods! People who fly with babies are the worst!" Snotlout groaned.
Fishlegs then fired a small lava blast at Snotlout and he quickly ducked in time to avoid it. He then glared up at the tiny dragon, thinking that it did it on purpose.
"Careful Snot, babies can be little terrors if you're not careful." Raeda said as she flew next to him
"Noted." Snotlout said in understanding.
Gobber then flew up to Hiccup and Hicca, who were looking at the distance with the Night Furies hatchlings around them. "I feel like I'm always asking you this question but—woah!" Grump then promptly fell asleep causing them to fall and Gobber immediately woke his dragon up. "Wake up, Grump! Wake up!"
Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and began looking into the horizon while Hicca looked at the map.
Gobber managed to regain control and flew back up to them. "Is there an actual plan or—"
"Just keep flying until we reach the end of the world." Hiccup said.
"Just trust us, Gobber. When have we ever been wrong about anything before?" Hicca added, recalling the times when she and her brother are always right on things sometimes.
"Ah, seems sensible and fair." Gubber said, seeing their point and finding it fair.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile on Berk, the Warlord had finally reached Berk and found the place completely deserted and burned. They then marched up to Grimmel, who was sitting at the steps of the Great Hall.
"So? Where are they!?" Chaghatai demanded.
"Gone. Obviously," said Grimmel casually.
"The Night Furies escaped you? Again!" said Griselda furiously.
"I encouraged them," Grimmel corrected. "They've abandoned their own little defensible position. Running scared with what little they can carry."
(Linebreak)
Back out at sea, the Berkians were still flying towards the Hidden World. Some however were getting bored and tired, "Ugh. It just keeps going," Snotlout moaned.
"That's because the world is actually round." Tuffnut said.
Hiccup and Hicca rolled their eyes and shook their heads as Hiccup kept on looking through the horizon through his spyglass while Hicca looked at the map for any clues and to be sure they were going the right way. Astrid merely chuckled, shaking her head as well and looked at Valka, who looked similarly amused and Raeda rolled her eyes.
"Here comes the latest Thorston's crazy talk of the day." Raeda jokes.
"At least it will keep us entertained for a bit if it doesn't get annoying first." Henry added as he and his dragons flew close by.
"The sun is round," Tuffnut continued. "Moon is round. Stars are round. Even though they're small and stupid."
Ruffnut then laughed.
"Right, stars?" Tuffnut asked the others
"Hehehe, that's funny, Tuff." Valerie chuckled.
"Can you guys keep it down a bit? We're trying to focus.." Hicca called out as she and her brother focused on their maps. But they were so occupied they failed to notice Midnight perk up.
(Linebreak)
Back on Berk, the Warlords weren't best pleased with the way Grimmel was handling things and the Hunter took note of their displeasure.
"They won't get far," Grimmel assured them. "The Night Furies are distracted." He then placed the Apple he had been eating on the tusk of one of his Deathgrippers and began to clean his knife. "I introduced them to your female and her cub. While Furies mate for life, for the sake of safety for themselves and any hatchlings, they stay in closely bonded packs, whether it's made up of their own species or subspecies, you see." He explained, referring to the Light Furies.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile the Berkians were still flying away in search of the Hidden World and Midnight sniffed the air sensing something.
Hicca looked down at her. "What're you picking up on, girl?" She asked her dragon.
They then heard a familiar roar to their right. The two Night Furies turned their heads towards the clouds and saw flying alongside them were the Light Furies and the Pride, looking as if they had been following them all this time.
"The Pride!" Astrid gasped.
"They're following us!" Valka cried.
"Looks like we've got some stalkers," Raeda chuckled.
'Mother, Father, everyone!' Midnight roared happily. The Pride then noticed them as Midnight's Father made a roar and they flew upwards as the Light Furies then fired a plasma blast and flew straight into the explosion. Almost instantly she vanished into thin air much to everyone's amazement.
"Where did the Light Furies go? Are they made of sky?" Tuffnut asked.
"I don't think so, Tuff." Valerie said with an awed smile.
Midnight may not have been able to see her, but she could still sense their presence and immediately followed after them. 'Wait, come back!'
"Whoa! Easy girl!" Hicca warned as she held on tight.
'Wait up, Midnight!' Toothless roared out as he flew after his mate.
'Mom! Wait for us!' The Kids called, following their parents.
"Woah! Hold up, Toothless!" Hiccup called out, trying to hold on to his dragon.
Once they were high enough in the clouds the Night Furies hovered in midair and began looking in all different directions for the Pride.
"Where'd they go?" Hicca wondered as they looked around for the Pride.
"That's weird. It's daylight, you'd think a Night Fury would stick out like a sore thumb, make sense for the Light Furies, but the Pride is a different story." Hiccup pointed out, sure they can't see the Light Furies but the other Night Furies should be easy to see since they only blend in at night.
"They could be using the clouds for cover." Hicca stated, not seeing an electric silhouette flying in from behind them turning into Midnight's Father and Daybreak appearing from a cloud.
Hiccup then turned behind them and saw Daybreak and Midnight's father flying towards them. "Um, sis?" He said.
Hicca turned around and smiled, "Well, look who it is!" she said.
Unfortunately Daybreak and Midnight's father were not smiling, instead they looked angry and they realized too late that they were flying towards them to grab them.
"Uh…" The Haddock Twins said, realizing what was gonna happen.
'Get off, my Daughter!' Midnight's Father roared as he snatched Hicca off Midnight's back and Daybreak then grabbed Hiccup and lifted him off Toothless' saddle.
Hiccup and Hicca were now clinging on to each dragon's legs with a nervous look.
"Aah! Oh, hey there, big guy." Hicca said nervously to Midnight's father, who growls at her.
"Yeah. It's really nice to finally—" Hiccup tried to finish, but Daybreak and Midnight's father then tossed the two the Haddock Twins into the air and they began falling towards the ocean screaming.
'There we go.' Midnight's Father said proudly before turning to Midnight. 'Are you alright, Midnight?' He asked his daughter.
Midnight looked at her father with wide eyes for what he and Daybreak just did while Toothless and their kids looked at the falling humans with wide eyes as she turned and looked at them with a glare. 'Father, did you and Daybreak just toss our riders out of our saddles and drop them?!' She warbled in disbelief at what her father and Daybreak just did to the Haddock Twins.
'Daybreak? Nice name you pick for me. But why are you angry about what we just did for you two? You both are free!' Daybreak warbled to them.
Daybreak and Midnight's father then looked at the Night Fury family as if they had done something really good as the rest of the Pride appeared behind them, clearly believing that Hiccup and Hicca had been harming them in some way.
Midnight, and Toothless just gave them awkward smiles, 'Well, that's really nice of you two but,' Toothless started before he heard the Haddock Twins screaming, 'Uh, gotta go!' He, and Midnight then immediately flew down to their riders.
The Night Fury cubs then turned to the pride, 'Bye Grandpa.' The five kids said as they flew after their parents.
Daybreak and Midnight's father, along with the rest of the Pride, just looked at them stunned pondering why they would rescue humans.
"There they are," Raeda said as the Haddock Twins then shot past the others, "And there they go," She and the others laughed as Toothless and Midnight grabbed them as they flew back up in front of the group while the Haddock Twins just gave a look in the distance while avoiding eye contact from them.
"Not a word." said Hiccup as he and his sister joined the others feeling utterly embarrassed.
"We will never speak of this again." Hicca said while giving a glare at their friends, which got them to stop laughing from their embarrassments as the Night Fury kids came to their parents' sides.
"History in the making, two dragons that don't like the Haddock Twins." Henry joked as the others laughed from that.
"Very funny, Henry." Hicca said while still looking at the distance.
The Night Fury family then looked towards the sky to see if the Pride was still there but they had vanished. This made Midnight very very sad. 'Not again.' She warbled sadly that her family was gone again.
Toothless then flew next to her, 'Don't worry, Midnight. Seeing how we're all going in the same direction we are, we may see them sooner than we expected.' He cooed softly as he gave his mate a quick nuzzle in comfort.
'Don't worry, mother. We get the feeling they will show again really soon.' Blaze said to her mother as her kids nuzzled her in comfort.
Midnight smiled at their comfort as she purred. 'Thanks, kids, and you too Toothless. That is true. At least we know that they didn't leave us after all.' She purred with a small smile.
'Yeah. At least we know.' Toothless said with a smile while unknowingly to them, hiding in the clouds is Mira and Valkyrie, hiding from the Berkians as they flew as close as they could.
"Wow. Those furies really don't like those twins, huh?" Mira asked her dragon in amusement, but didn't get no response as she looked down at her dragon, who is looking at the Night Fury family. "Valkyrie? Are you okay?" She asked in concern.
Valkyrie was silent, just staring at Toothless with a look of longing. 'He's just like him.' She warbled, almost seeing another, much older Night Fury in Toothless's place.
"Are you talking about your old mate?" Mira asked her dragon.
Valkyrie warbled a 'yes' as she remembered the last time she saw Toothless, many years ago when she was much younger.
Mira then patted her dragon gently on the head as she gave a small smile. "Hey, I know you miss him. But he will always be remembered and at least you found someone you haven't seen in a long time and he got a mate and kids of his own." She said to Valkyrie.
Valkyrie smiled at Mira before she gave a worried look. 'But will he understand if I tell him the truth?' She warbled in worry, not sure how to explain to Toothless about how she knew him.
"How will you know if you never try?" Mira asked with a small smile.
Valkyrie then gave a thought as she gave a dragon-like sigh. 'I guess you're right. I have to try.' She warbled. 'He deserves to know.' She added as she gave a small smile while looking at Toothless and his family.
"Great to hear, girl. Now, let's keep our eyes at them until we land at where they are heading." Mira said as she and Valkyrie flew straight to the clouds as they stayed out of sight while following the Berkians while staying close but hidden from the Haddock Twins and the Night Fury family.
(Linebreak)
Back on Berk, the Warlords were still not pleased with the fact that Grimmel had not fulfilled his end of their bargain.
"Yeah yeah yeah," Ragnar said impatiently. "Yes. But where did they go?" He asked Grimmel.
Grimmel sighed at the stupidity. "Do I have to explain this?" He then pulled a burnt stick and then pointed towards the map of the region. "Night Furies can't survive in the cold so they haven't gone north." He then crossed out the north part of the map. They're trying to put distance between themselves and enemies to the east and south…" He then promptly crossed out both the East and South. "…And Night Furies cannot fly long distances without rest. Their flight path must include stops." He added as he then looked at the Warlords to see whether they had the brainpower to figure out where the dragons had gone. "Therefore, they've gone… They can only have gone… Does anyone want to take a guess? Anyone? W-w-w-w-w?" He tried to give them a hint as the Warlords are dumb, but this should be easy for them.
"Ah! East!" Ragnar smiled, placing a boat on the east part of the map.
"West!" Grimmel roared furiously. "Hmm? Simple, you see. Oh oh, isn't this fun? Yes?" He then noticed the Warlords faces and they clearly didn't think that this was fun. "No."
Griselda groaned in annoyance and pushed Ragnar out of the way and walked off.
"Yes. Yes," said Grimmel.
Both Ragnar and Chaghatai then followed Griselda clearly, this is not what they had in mind when they hired Grimmel.
"Where's your love of the hunt? I thought you were conquerors!" Grimmel complained. "You'll have your prize, in time. Just allow me a few more days to enjoy this. I have dearly missed it." He sighed before he gave a thought. 'I hope my twin sister didn't come before me. Because knowing her, she always finds a way to foil my plans and ruin my hunt.' He thought to himself as he gave a hatred expression at the thought of his twin sister. 'And if I ever see her again, I'll make sure she won't get in my way this time.' He added as he clenched his fist.
(Linebreak)
As Grimmel suspected, the Haddock Twins and the others indeed had headed due west and they had been flying for hours on end.
"Potty break!" Fishlegs cried.
Hiccup groaned as Hicca flew next to him, "Yeah, I hate to say it bro but some of our dragons' look like their wings are about to fall off." She gestured behind where many of the dragons looked tired. "We should find a place to land and rest up." She added.
Then suddenly emerging from out of the clouds was a huge island that looked as if you climbed to the top you could touch the heavens themselves. Knowing that they needed to rest and noting that it was starting to get dark, the Haddock Twins led everyone towards the island.
It was a vast island, probably three times bigger than Berk. It hadn't deep dense forests, rivers that poured over the edge and giant lakes within its basin filled with pure fresh water. How pleased they were that the existence was beyond their understanding, in truth the island would be completely unacceptable for anyone who didn't have a dragon to fly them over the top cliffs.
"All right! Looks like we're camping here for tonight." Hiccup said as they landed.
"Enough room for everyone to take a break while our dragons rest." Hicca added.
"Well, thank Thor for that!" Gobber said, stretching the muscles in his back.
"Yes! My own place!" Tuffnut yelled standing on a rock. "I plan to build a hut. Only for the bearded! Ruffnut, you gotta stay out! Chin whiskers don't count!" He called out while Ruffnut looked at him while glaring at him.
Snotlout was also planning on building his own house and was using his hands as a frame as he looked over the place.
"I see a tower of manliness in the shape of me. It's gonna be taller than Eret with bigger muscles," he said.
It was at that moment that Eret had appeared in his frame as he dropped off a few crates. He had overheard some of what Snotlout was saying which left him absolutely confused.
"Wha-what?" Eret frowned.
"Get out of my house!" Snotlout yelled, marching up to him.
"Hey! Is there a problem here?" Eret asked.
"Yeah, there's a problem…" Snotlout glared as he stepped onto a wooden box to get into Eret's face. "…Ever since you showed up, you've been trying to upstage me. You're just so…" He then climbed onto a barrel so that he could tower over him. "Jealous! Delusional!" He yelled out.
"Hey, delusion is a good word for it," Eret agreed, shaking his head.
"Listen, Son of Eret!" Snotlout glared. "When Hiccup blows it as chief, I'm next in line if Hicca doesn't want to be chiefess since she's a healer. Number two…" He then held out three fingers, proving that he still can count right. "…'cause I'm clearly next in line as leader. So—better start—showing me respect!"
He then pointed at Eret causing him to wobble on his barrel. Eret merely shook his head and walked away, having no idea what was going on in Snotlout's head.
"Strange little man," Eret said.
"Ah, don't mind him," Gobber said. "It's not your fault you have the body of a Norse God. I, myself, have the same problem." Gobber then began stretching his muscles then a few seconds later there was a painful crackling sound coming from his back and he yelped in pain.
"Yeah, you might want Hicca to get that checked." Raeda commented as she came by next to Gobber while carrying a bag of her art supplies.
"Heh. Maybe later." Gobber said as he managed to shrug it off and pulled out a tall hatchet and planted it in the ground. "Blacksmith stall goes right here."
Gobber then saw several Hobgobblers staring up at him and it looked as if they had been following him for who knows how long. "Gaaah!"He cried out and then began counting them. "One, two, three, four, five… where's…?!" He asked in surprise.
"Huh, thought we only brought back one." Raeda noted, before shrugging, "Must've found some new friends."
Gobber then slowly then began to back away from them as carefully and as terrified as possible. He then bumped into Spitelout, who was standing in the crowd surrounding Hiccup "Do you see them?" He asked Spitelout if he saw right.
The Haddock Twins had noticed that everyone was starting to get settled as if they were going to settle on this new island they discovered.
"Oh, okay. Hold on, gang. I-I said make camp not, build a new village," Hiccup said looking at all the Vikings.
"We are only taking a break for the night so us and our dragons can rest." Hicca added.
"Who died and made you chief?" Snotlout commented.
The emphatic of the entire community then looked at Snotlout stunned by what he had just said, clearly forgetting about what happened to Stoick as that was completely uncalled for.
"Snotlout!" Henry called out while giving him a glare.
"Low blow!" Valerie called out with a glare as well.
"What?" Snotlout asked in confusion as Gothi then came flying past in a basket held by her terrible Terrors and whacked him in the back of the head with her staff. "Oww!" He groaned from the whack as Henry socked him in the gut and Valerie then kicked his crate, which caused him to fall to the ground. "Waaahh!" He yelled out as he hit the floor facefirst.
Raeda then came to him as she grabbed his head, sat him up and gave him a look. "For once in your life how about you use this…" She gestured to her head and then moved it to her lips. "…before using this." She finished as she let go of his head, turned around and walked away.
"Good point." Snotlout groaned as he rubbed himself from all the karma.
"Granted this place is very nice, but it's not the Hidden World," Hiccup continued.
"We don't even know if this "hidden world" exists!" A Viking said, folding his arms.
"Yeah. This place is real!" Another Viking said, pointing to the ground.
"If it wasn't hidden, then it wouldn't be called the 'Hidden' World and there would've been dragons all around us on this island by now if it was the Hidden World." Hicca pointed out. "Nobody said that it was going to be easy to find it." She finished as her brother nodded in agreement.
Everyone began to argue and it looked as if they were quite stubborn about staying here. Valka then approached her children and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"There's nothing more stubborn than a mob of tired, hungry Vikings," Valka said.
Hiccup and Hicca sighed knowing when they were beaten. "Well, I guess this could work as a base in the meantime. It's defensible. Hidden." Hiccup said.
"Plenty of wood, fish and other resources. Along with plenty of space." Hicca added.
The Haddock Twins nodded to each other as they then turned and looked at everyone. "All right! You can stay!" Hiccup called out.
"Say hello to New Berk!" Gobber announced and everyone immediately began to cheer. "Let's get building, lads!" He added.
"Until Toothless, Midnight, Hicca and I find the Hidden World." Hiccup quickly added.
"So best to enjoy it while ya can. Because once we find it, we move again." Hicca finished.
The crowd groaned in disappointment, but regardless they went off and started to build.
Tuffnut then approached them as he turned to Hiccup. "Now, about that voice. Can we lose the whole honking goose… thing? It's hard to imagine wedded bliss with that going off every minute."
Tuffnut then walked away chuckling slightly and Hiccup and Hicca shook their heads.
"Tuffnut is never gonna let this go, is he?" Hiccup asked his sister.
"Not even the slightest, bro." Hicca confirmed with a sigh.
Valka then spoke to her kids as she spoke. "If you both are going to continue west, I should head back to make sure we weren't followed," She suggested, to make sure Grimmel or anyone followed them.
"And I had better keep an eye out for our allies," Raeda added. "Tell them where we are and where to find us."
Snotlout then approached them. "Wouldn't it be more safe if a couple of us go with you, Valka. For protection." He suggested.
"No, Snotlout." Valka said. " As much as it would sound for having backup, but you and the others are far too important here." She reasoned.
"Yeah. You're right. Gotta stay back and prepare for things. Snotlout nodded in understanding.
Raeda the place a hand on Snotlout's shoulder, "Come on muttonhead, you can help me set up some supplies and tents while also keeping an eye out for Grimmel." She said, dragging Snotlout away from them.
"Sure, Rae." Snotlout nodded as he and Raeda walked away.
The Haddock Twins looked at their mother. "Just, be careful." Hiccup said.
"We don't want to lose you like how we lost dad." Hicca added a little worry.
"Don't worry, kids. I survived on my own with dragons for 20 years. I'll be careful." Valka assured, while looking as if she was going to say something else, but closed her mouth. Though the Haddock Twins could tell that she wanted to tell them something important.
"What?" Hiccup asked.
"Is there something you want to say, mom?" Hicca asked as well.
"This plan… to hide us from the rest of the world, though—though I wish it were possible, I fear it can't last, kids," She said. "And you know I tried to do the same for years. But greedy humans always find a way. I just… I only ask that you think about it." She said as she patted her kids on their shoulders and then walked off.
"We'll try, mother." Hicca called out as they saw their mother mounted Cloudjumper as they flew off as she turned to her brother. "I'll go set up our tent for the night, Hiccup." She said to her brother as she walked out.
"Okay, sis." Hiccup said as he then turned to Astrid who was busy unpacking. "Do you still think we're crazy or…"
"Let's just say, this whole idea is very… you and Hicca." Astrid said with a small smile.
"Well, thanks for supporting us last night. It meant a lot." Hiccup thanked Astrid for supporting him and Hicca at the meeting last night with a smile.
Astrid then walked up to him and gave him a book. "Don't thank me yet. I just hope you and your sister are right about this." She said as she gave Hiccup their book as she walked off as Hiccup watches.
Hicca then starts setting up her and her brother's tent as she hears someone behind her. "Hey, Hicca." Henry said as Hicca turned and saw him walking towards him.
"Hey, Henry. How's it going?" Hicca asked with a smile.
"Well Lockjaw's happy to give his wings' can finally rest for a while, Wildstar taking a nap and the others are just playing around." Henry explained as leaned on a tree, "So, pretty good."
"That's great. Toothless, Midnight, and their kids, Darkie, Shadow, Blaze, Starlight and Nightshade are resting right now after the long flight." Hicca said while pointing at the Night Fury family, who are resting together. "Even for Night Furies they spent all day flying this far, they need a break as well when they reach their limit." She added.
"We all have to rest after this long flight." Henry said with a chuckle as he then noticed Hicca looked at the Night Fury family in worry. "What's wrong, Hicca?" He pointed out in concern.
"Huh? What do you mean? I'm just fine." Hicca said with a smile.
Henry just raised a brow, "Hicca, I've known you long since we first met and during the war with the Dragon Hunters and fliers to know when you're lost in thought." He pointed out as knew how Hicca is when they first met before they found the Dragon Eye and fought the Dragon Hunters and fliers while also been dating at the time as well. "You can tell me." He said as he placed an assuring hand on Hicca's shoulder.
Hicca sighs as she then speaks. "It's just that, me and my brother have finally got to see more Night Furies and even a new species of Furies like the Light Furies, and now there is someone out there who is planning to wipe the Night Furies off the faces of the Earth, and will to destroy everything we loved if we turned over our dragons to him." She said while gesturing to the Night Fury family. "While he doesn't know about the hatchlings or the Pride or Valkyrie, he's gonna kill Toothless and Midnight just so he can wipe out the entire race of Night Furies. And I'm worried that he might come after the kids and the Pride once he realizes that they're not the only ones left. And I don't want to lose them or see their race wipe out." She said while giving a worried look at the Night Fury family, who are sleeping peacefully together.
Henry sighs as he understands Hicca as he gives her a comforting hug. "I understand, Hicca. I would feel the same way if Lockjaw, Wildstar, Sandstorm, Sandtrapper, and Scout were killed. But if I know you and your brother, we will protect our dragons and stop this Grimmel character. Because if there is one thing you and the Riders have taught me, is that nothing is impossible. Because when we work together, there is nothing that we can't do." He said while giving Hicca a confident smile.
Hicca smiled at Henry's words as she sighs. "Thanks, Henry. But I'm not sure if we are doing the right thing. And my brother and I are not sure if we can stop Grimmel if we can't find the Hidden World." She said in an uncertain tone. "Not to mention we don't even know if the dragons in the Hidden World will accept humans there." She added
"Don't worry about that, Hicca." Henry waved it off. "We put ourselves in quite a distance between us and Grimmel. We are completely off the map so no one will find us. So we are safe for now. And I know you and your brother will pull this off, you two always do." He said with a smile, remembering all the times Hiccup and Hicca have done the impossible many times in the past and when they fail at something, they strike back with something greater.
Hicca then chuckled at Henry's words, finding it true that she and her brother have gone against impossible odds in the past as she gave Henry a smile. "Thanks, Henry. I needed that." She said as she gave Henry a kiss to the cheeks for comfort and talk he gave her and turned to get back work.
Henry gave a chuckle before grabbing Hicca's hand again. "Not so fast, m'lady." He before giving her a kiss on the lips. Hicca was surprised at first before she returned it and they broke away.
Hicca looked at Henry in surprise as she smiled widely. "Still pulled off that move, huh?" She said with a smirk.
"Your brother taught me that move." Henry said with a smirk as well.
Hicca gave him a chuckle in response. "Well, thanks." She said with a smile.
"Anytime." Henry said with a smile as the two separated and went off to set up their tents like the rest of the village to rest for the night.