In the Cards
Tom and Jun were heading for the sliver cabin. Jun held her book on Norse mythology. They went through the cabin and out onto the patio. The dragons were sunning themselves, and Edelweiss was in her porch swing cleaning her saddle.
"Morning guys," she said.
"Hey Edel," Jun said. She and Tom greeted their dragons
"Are we the first ones here?" Tom asked.
"No," said Edelweiss. "D'Angelo was here before I even got up." She looked at the book in Jun's hands. "What are you guys up to?"
"Ever since we got back from the Dark Realm I've been reading up on Norse mythology," Jun explained. "Because that twisted spire looked familiar to me." She flipped through the book as she sat on the porch swing. "The Vikings wrote about the Nine Realms, which sound just like the Dragon Realms we've been exploring." She turned to a specific page and showed it to Edelweiss, who put her saddle aside to look at it. The page showed an illustration of the dark twisted spire from the Dark Realm. Edelweiss looked through the rest of the book, scanning each page.
"My grandmother told us stories about the history of dragons," she said. "She said dragons have lived on this planet for billions of years, since even before the first dinosaurs. She told us about the ancient nest where the first dragons hatched. This planet changes so much that it's certainly possible the humans have stumbled across it, and perhaps a lot of their religions and mythologies were created around those experiences."
"That's what I've been saying," said Jun. "All these stories had to come from somewhere." Edelweiss closed the book and handed it back.
"Turns out we've explored seven of the nine realms," Tom said. "And we're wondering what could be in the other two."
"Well, if there's a Dark Realm, perhaps there's a Realm of Light," said Edelweiss. "Seems these realms work in opposites." Tom sat on Edelweiss's other side.
"Could one of them be the one you live in?" He asked cautiously.
"I don't know," said Edelweiss cagily, suddenly going stiff. "Maybe." She got to her feet with her saddle. She went over to Black Widow and put the saddle on her back. At that moment Eugene and Alex joined them. D'Angelo was the only one not present. So they all made themselves comfortable to wait.
"Why won't you tell us anything about your home?" Jun asked.
"Queen's orders," said Edelweiss. "She wants to keep out parasites like Sledkin and Buzzsaw." She tightened the saddle straps.
"It's because I lost the book isn't it?" Tom said annoyed, not even hearing what Alex was saying at that moment.
"No, it's because the book exists at all," said Edelweiss. "My queen isn't mad at you Tom, she's mad at Hiccup for writing the book in the first place."
"Did you guys even hear a word I just said?" Alex asked loudly. They all looked over at her.
"Relax Alex, meeting hasn't even started yet," said Tom. "We're still waiting for…." At that moment D'Angelo finally joined them.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "I had an emergency at the Dragon Hospital, several Terrors were having an allergic reaction to some plants and were itching like mad." Eugene rolled his eyes.
"Uhgg, let me know when he's done telling his itchy dragon story," he said.
"Are you serious?" D'Angelo barked.
"Well, we're all here now we can get the meeting started," said Tom, trying to defuse the situation.
"So we can only start a meeting when you decide?" Alex asked, annoyed.
"Yeah," Eugene agreed. "You and my sister have had your nose in that book all morning." Tom tried to explain, but Eugene blew a raspberry every time he tried.
"Uh oh, I sense teen drama," Edelweiss said in Dragontongue.
"Is that bad?" Plowhorn asked.
"Not usually," said Edelweiss. "But it does get annoying. It is to be expected though."
"Guys listen to yourself," said Jun, loudly. "You're acting like Wu and Wei who can never agree on anything. No offense you two." Wu and Wei scowled but said nothing. "Everyone's just focused on themselves. Luckily I know just what we need, a Tarot Card reading." Everyone groaned. "Oh come on, it'll help us see what we need to do to come together as a team." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. Suddenly both Apollo and Black Widow let out a snarling hiss, gnashing their teeth.
"What's their problem?" Eugene grumbled.
"We don't like voodoo," said Edelweiss.
"My sister says things like Tarot Cards and Oujia boards are either extremely useless or extremely cursed," said Apollo.
"Oh, come on it's not that bad," said Jun. "I've been reading Tarot Cards for many years." The riders all sat in a circle around Jun. She put three cards out in front of her, face down.
"Watch, you'll turn over those cards, and you'll automatically play worst case scenario," said Apollo. Jun glared at him, but ignored him. She turned over the first card. It showed eight goblets in a stack.
"The Eight of Cups," Jun said. She turned over the second card, which showed five coins. "The Five of Coins." Jun suddenly looked nervous, her hand shook slightly as she flipped over the third card. It shows figures falling from a tower. "Oh no, the Tower."
"What does it mean?" Tom asked.
"These cards point to our group splitting up," said Jun with a sense of foreboding.
"Told you," said Apollo. Feathers looked over at him.
"What do you foresee happening Apollo?" She asked. All the dragons looked over at Apollo. He took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. His face went blank.
"I do see the group splitting up, so the cards got that part right," he said. "But it's not a bad thing, Jun just thinks it is. The group will part ways for a time, but they will still bad together in a time of crisis."
"What about Buzzsaw?" Thunder asked.
"Don't worry, karma's coming for him," said Apollo. "I can't see what form it will take. But it will be fun to watch." The dragon looked over at the riders, who were still arguing.
"Ms. Dragonborn, you there?" Chief Baker's voice came through on the ICARIS radio Edelweiss kept on her utility belt. Edelweiss took it off.
"Yes Phil?" She said. The riders paused in their argument to listen.
"We've got a situation in the woods," said Chief Baker. "Might be something in your department." Edelweiss looked over at her dragons, who nodded.
"Ok, we'll come take a look," she answered. She put the radio a way and got on Black Widow's back. The riders all got on their dragons and they took off.
They flew over the edge of the fissure. Edelweiss and her dragons flew slightly separate from the riders, not wanting to be drawn into their teen drama. They soon spotted Chief Baker standing next to his ATV. Edelweiss steered Black Widow down and landed next to him. The riders landed nearby, while Apollo circled overhead. They were all quickly spotted the rubber eels scattered on the ground, some of which were broken in half.
"Hobbs spotted this," Chief Baker said, gesturing to the Hobbgobler perched on the front of his ATV.
"Really, you guys got all worked up over some broken toys?" Edelweiss asked, rolling her eyes.
"I'm more interested in what broke them," said Chief Baker.
"All right," said Edelweiss. "Hobbs, did you see any other sign of what did it?"
"No ma'am," said Hobbs. "Saw nothing, heard nothing." Edelweiss translated. She steered Black Widow over to the rubber eels. Chief Baker soon rode off with Hobbs. The riders looked over at the rubber eels as well.
"Looks like they make a trail going this way," said D'Angelo, pointing the the broken eels that headed off in one direction. "We should spilt up for an aerial recon." He went to mount Plowhorn.
"No, don't you remember what the cards said?" Jun asserted. "Splitting up is a bad idea."
"The cards didn't say that, you said that," said Alex. "You could be interpreting it wrong."
"I don't think I am," Jun argued.
"Look, there's a dragon out there," said Tom. "We have to find it."
"We should take this opportunity to reconnect with each other," said Jun. "This could be a group bonding exercise." The riders all exchanged a glance. Jun looked more nervous. "Do you want to risk the team splitting up for good?"
"What do you think Edel?" D'Angelo asked, but got no reply. They all looked around in time to see Edelweiss and Black Widow riding off into the forest, following Apollo above.
"Oh no, guys come back!" Jun called after them. The riders jumped onto their dragons and rode after them. Jun pulled Wu and Wei alongside Black Widow. "Where are you going, we should stay together."
"Apollo spotted something," said Edelweiss irritably. "And I don't trust voodoo." She urged Black Widow to go faster. They soon reached a small clearing; in the center of which, was a large scorch mark in the shape of a pinwheel. The riders dismounted and looked around.
"Look at that scorch mark," Tom said. "And look over there." He pointed to another rubber eel that had been chewed in half.
"This mark looks familiar," said Edelweiss. Just then Webbmaster grunted to get their attention. They all looked over to see him looking at another rubber eel, that wasn't broken.
"Oh come on Webbs," Eugene scoffed, picking up the eel. "It's fake." But then the eel suddenly came alive and hissed in his face. Eugene panicked and dropped the snake. The dragons, minus Black Widow, instantly spooked and bolted. Soon they were long gone before anyone could stop them.
"Great," Eugene pouted.
"I'll ride ahead and see were they went," said Edelweiss.
"No, remember the cards…." Jun started to protest.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STUPID CARDS JUN!" Edelweiss snarled between her clenched teeth. "There could be more at stake here." Black Widow then took off with a snap of her wings. They joined Apollo, and flew after the other dragons. The riders followed on foot.
They walked through the woods calling for their dragons. Suddenly the saw a red plasma blast ahead. They followed it and found their dragons munching on purple plants. Edelweiss and Black Widow landed near by, Apollo continued to circle above.
"Oh, you just wanted to grab a snack huh pal?" Tom said, approaching Thunder. The dragons seemed much calmer, grazing on the plants.
"You guys sure you should be eating those?" Edelweiss asked.
"What, they smell so sweet," said Webbmaster. "And they're helping us calm down." D'Angelo got a closer look at the plants and suddenly grew concerned.
"Oh no, guys spit it out!" He alerted.
"What they love this stuff," Eugene argued.
"Yeah, and so did all those Terrors I was treating at the Dragon Hospital," said D'Angelo. "The ones who were itching like crazy. This plant irritated dragons' skin." The riders instantly pulled their dragons away.
"Okay, well the didn't eat that much," said Jun.
"Yeah, and maybe this stuff only effects Terrors," Tom said. But then seconds later all the dragons started scratching constantly.
"It's happening," Jun said darkly. "The Five of Coins, it said there would be an ailment among us. The cards predicted this."
"Don't worry," D'Angelo said. "I've got a tube of anti itch cream that I used on the Terrors." He pulled out said tube.
"Great, see we worked together to fix our problems," said Jun.
"However," D'Angelo continued. "There's only enough left for one dragon."
"Wu and Wei should get it, they can carry more of us," said Jun.
"Yeah, totally Wu and Wei should get it," Tom said almost robotically. Jun stared at him. All the riders instantly made a grab for the tube. The dragons continued to scratch.
"Edelweiss do you have anything that can help?" Plowhorn asked, rubbing against a thick tree. Edelweiss smiled wearily and patted Black Widow's neck. The black dragon knelt down. Edelweiss got off and opened up her medical bag. She pulled out a large bright blue spray bottle, and a large cloth. She beckoned Thunder forward first. The Night Light approached her, twitching.
"This will be cold, but it will help," Edelweiss said. She sprayed the bright blue liquid onto Thunder's scales, and spread it all over him with the towel. Thunder instantly relaxed.
"Oh, that feels much better," he sighed. "Thank you." The other dragons instantly lined up. This finally drew the attention of the riders, who stopped arguing.
"What's that stuff?" D'Angelo asked.
"This is Flightmare spray," Edelweiss explained, as she moved onto Feathers.
"What's a Flightmare?" Tom asked.
"It's a highly elusive dragon, that shines like a living star," said Edelweiss. "It sprays a mist that completely paralyzes it's victims. A while back my mother figured out how to convert the mist into a liquid form, and in small amounts it can sooth any itch. Whether it be a rash, or hives." She moved on to Wu and Wei.
"You could have mentioned that sooner," said Eugene, angrily.
"I don't have time for a lengthy argument," Edelweiss said, not spraying Plowhorn. "There's still a wild dragon to be found."
"She's right," said Jun. "The Eight of Cups said we were heading for turmoil. We need to stop fighting."
"You said you saw that burn mark before," said Tom. "Have you racked your memory at all."
"That was a very long time ago Tom," Edelweiss said. "And I only saw it once. But I'm sure once we find the dragon It'll come back to me." She finished spraying down the dragons. "I'll circle up above, keep a look out." She put her spray bottle and cloth back into her bag.
"You sure you don't want to stay with the group?" Jun asked. Edelweiss glared at her, and down at the deck of cards Jun was holding in her hand.
"Pretty sure," Edelweiss said coldly. She mounted her dragon and they took off. They joined Apollo again. They kept their eye riders and their dragons who were walking below.
"You know you don't have to be so harsh," Apollo said authoritatively. "I don't like the Tarot cards either, but you can just ignore it all with out running your mouth."
"I know," Edelweiss said. "That's why I came up here. I need to cool off."
The sun started to go down as they searched the woods. Edelweiss and her dragons flew overhead.
"We're loosing daylight," said Apollo.
"Not a problem for me," said Black Widow. Then she glanced down at the ground. "They've stopped again." The other two looked down to see that the riders were arguing again. Apollo and Black Widow circled around and landed on a pair of trees.
"What's bothering them this time?" Edelweiss asked.
"I think they're just tired," said Wei. "We've been looking for this wild dragon all day."
"Guess I can't blame them this time," said Edelweiss. Suddenly a bright light filled the woods near them. Everyone looked to see a large tawny dragon rear up, with a rubber eel clenched in its jaws. The dragon was taller than the trees, with very large wings and small, narrow head. The dragon suddenly noticed every one looking at it, and it took off. The riders quickly got onto their dragons and gave chase. The wild dragon flew low over the woods, scanning the ground below.
"Seems like it's looking for something," Tom said.
"Maybe something it can actually eat," said Apollo.
"Let's surround it and force it to land," said D'Angelo. The riders urged their dragons to go faster. Edelweiss and her dragons flew above the wild dragon so it couldn't go higher. The others blocked it on all sides, and fired. The tawny dragon was torched to land in a nearby clearing.
The sky was dark as all the dragons landed in the clearing, and all the riders dismounted. The tawny dragon looked around at everyone, looking slightly annoyed. Edelweiss took a better look at the tawny dragon, and a look of recognition crossed her face.
"I remember a page in the book about a type of dragon that eats eels," Tom said, approaching the tawny dragon.
"Typhoomerang," Edelweiss and Tom said in unison. They both exchanged a surprised glance.
"I remember Hiccup told me about his encounter with a baby Typhoomerang," Edelweiss said. "But I've only seen them in passing." Tom looked at the Typhoomerang. The dragon growled defensively.
"We're not going to hurt you," Tom said reassuringly.
"Why are you out here Typhoomerang?" Edelweiss asked. The Typhoomerang looked at her curiously.
"I've heard of the human you can speak our tongue," it said in a warm, feminine voice.
"You're female," Edelweiss said. The Typhoomerang nodded. "What's your name?"
"I'm Firenado," the dragon said. She glared at the riders. "What do these humans want? We're trying to have a romantic evening."
"We?" Black Widow asked. Suddenly a loud roar filled the air. Everyone looked up to see another Typhoomerang, a red one, glaring down at them. Firenado seemed very happy to see him.
"Firewind!" she called. "Save me, these humans are bothering me." Firewind snarled and encased all the riders in a circle of flames, cutting them off from their dragons. Then both Typhoomerangs took off and circled above, laughing. The riders bunched together to avoid the flames.
"They've cut us of from our dragons," D'Angelo said.
"One of those cards showed a flaming tower," Alex said. "Are Tarot cards usually this literate?"
"We've got to stick together," Jun said loudly over the roar of the fire.
"We're completely defenseless without the dragons," Tom said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"No problem," Edelweiss said confidently. Then she walked right through the flames and out near the dragons. The Typhoomerangs were gone.
"Are any of them burned?" Thunder asked.
"No," Edelweiss assured him. The Night Light then turned to Wu and Wei.
"Wu, can you put out that fire?" He asked. Wu grinned, then blasted the fire with his frost breath. When the riders were free the ran to their dragons.
"You walked through fire!" Alex exclaimed.
"Yes I did," Edelweiss said. "I'm fireproof." They all looked up at the sky, looking for the Typhoomerangs.
"They left?" Jun said confused. The riders all got on their dragons and took off.
They headed back towards Rekketown. It didn't take longe before they spotted the Typhoomerangs circling over the town. They looked so graceful, blasting streams of flames. Then they flew overhead, then flew at each other and locked talons.
"What are they doing?" Alex asked.
"They've locked talons," said Tom.
"It's a courtship dance," Edelweiss explained. "Dragone will lock talons with each other, then spiral down at high speed. I've seen it done so many times."
"Like bald eagles?" D'Angelo said.
"Yup, they got the idea from dragons," Edelweiss said. "I've heard it's super thrilling."
"They're heading right towards Rekketown," Tom said. The riders urged their dragons to go faster.
They soon reached the town. Chief Baker was near the facility and the dragons landed near him.
"There are you are," he said. "We're under a dragon attack."
"They're not attacking," said Edelweiss. "It's a courtship dance."
"I don't care what they're doing," said Chief Baker. "Just get them out of here. I'll help with the evacuation." He ran off, Hobbs at his heels. The riders dismounted, except for Edelweiss.
"Tom, what's the plan?" Jun asked. Tom looked a bit lost.
"I don't know," he said. "What do you think we should do?"
"You make a decision for once," Jun said annoyed. "What's going on with you lately?"
"Well, I thought the break up the cards referred to was about us," Tom admitted. Jun stared at him.
"Where did you get that idea?" She barked. Tom said nothing but looked sideways at Eugene.
"I was just looking out," Eugene said, grinning.
"Since when did you start listening to Eugene?" Jun shouted. Thunder meanwhile looked up at the courting Typhoomerangs, then back down at the riders who had broken into yet another argument.
"Okay, I don't know about the rest of you," Wei said. "But I've just about had enough of waiting around waiting for these guys to act civil."
"Me too," said Plowhorn.
"Well, looks like it's up to us," Thunder said.
"Lead the way Night Light," said Webbmaster. Thunder took off, and all the dragons followed. They flew up towards the Typhoomerangs.
"Wu, Wei, cool them down so nothing catches fire," Thunder ordered. "Plow, you get their attention with a few bomb loogies." The Mist Twister nodded and sped up. Wu breathed his frost breath on the Typhoomerangs, causing them to stop. Plowhorn fired a few loogies, being careful to not hit anything. The Typhoomerangs paused and hovered, looking confused. Thunder flew up to Feathers and Webbmaster. "You two come at them from behind, and Draconians can come at them from above. We need to escort them away from the town." They all nodded. The dragons surrounded the Typhoomerangs.
"Right this way you two," Apollo said. "Follow the Night Light. We'll find you a better spot." The Typhoomerangs flew after Thunder, with the rest of the dragons escorting them away from Rekketown. It grew darker and quieter as the town lights faded, and the dragons headed farther up the fissure. Soon they all came to a stop. The Typhoomerangs looked around.
"Huh, this is better," Firenado agreed.
"No one's going to bother you out here," said Black Widow. The Typhoomerangs looked at each other, then nodded. They then flew up as high as they could go. They locked talons again, and spiraled down in a fiery halo. They soon disappeared into the dark fissure. Once they were out of sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm so glad that's fixed," Edelweiss said.
"Same here," said Feathers.
"Nice job everyone," Thunder said, grinning. They all smiled appreciatively at each other. They then turned and headed back towards the town.
"What are we going to do about our riders?" Plowhorn asked.
"I don't think there's anything we can do," said Thunder. "Except just keep being there for them."
"I hope we'll still hang out though," said Feathers. "I like having you guys for friends."
"Sure we will," said Wu.
"What are you guys going to do?" Wei asked the Draconians.
"I guess we'll go back to exploring the realms for a while," Edelweiss said. "Spring Buzzsaw's traps, lend a wing in the Dragon Hospital."
They soon reached the town. The humans cheered as the dragons glided over them. They landed next to their riders, who greet them while avoiding looking at each other.
"That was close," Tom said solemnly.
"Too close," D'Angelo agreed. Everyone murmured in agreement.
"But it worked out though," Jun said optimistically. "The Typhoomerangs are together, Rekketown isn't destroyed, and we're still a team."
"Lets face it, we weren't at our best today," said Alex. "All we did was argue all the time."
"Alex is right," Tom said. "If it weren't for our dragons, this would have ended in disaster."
"We're not the dragon rider team we once were," D'Angelo said. The riders all looked sadly at each other.
"Then I guess the cards were right," said Jun. "Maybe we do need our own space." They all silently agreed. Jun watched as one by one, her friends mounted their dragons and took off in opposite directions. Then Jun spotted Edelweiss and her dragons looking absentmindedly at the fissure. "I can't believe this is really happening."
"It's okay Jun," Edelweiss said softly. "All groups split up at some point, that's life. I'm sorry I snapped at you by the way."
"That's okay, the constant arguing would drive anyone crazy I suppose," said Jun. She sniffed now feeling the tears in her eyes. Wu and Wei nudged her.
"They'll be back," said Edelweiss, handing Jun a hankie. "I'm sure of that." Jun accepted the hankie and dabbed at her eyes. Then Edelweiss turned her dragon around, and they took off into the night with Apollo right behind them. Jun got on her dragon, and headed home.