Sorry for the late update, got a new job so I've been busy. Please leave reviews, I'd love to know y'all's thoughts so far!
At last, an island peeked over the horizon. It wasn't terribly tall, probably no bigger than Berk. As the riders approached, Hiccup took note of the environment of the island. It was surprisingly similar to Itchy Armpit but was greener, which wasn't much of a surprise, since it was further south.
The sand and cliff faces were shades of black and gray, evident remnants of volcanic activity. The island did lack towering, angled mountains, instead bearing rounder peaks of ancient land. There were some caves that could be seen from shore, and the steep cliffs were sharp and angled, a stark contrast to the round peaks they jutted from. There were plenty of towering pines and deciduous trees, creating a thick forest, and moss covering every square inch. Ferns sprouted from the forest floor, along with all sorts of bushes and other undergrowth.
It was quite lovely, but as far as they could tell, there was little to no evidence of dragon activity here. Not obvious for the Riders at least.
The dragons had gotten whiffs of various scents in the wind as they'd flown closer and closer to the island.
And Toothless knew it, too. His ears were up and alert, listening carefully. There was activity, but it was deep within the forest. Dusk joined Toothless's side, watching his friend carefully.
Do you think this is it?
It's gotta be. It's hard to explain… but I think I got a whiff of a scent similar to Blueheart's. The dragons turned to their alpha, all curious.
What should we do? Came Barf.
I'm not sure yet… If there are really Night Furies here… they're going to be very territorial, especially with hatchlings.
Blueheart told you that? Hookfang asked.
Eh, only part of it. But… some memories are coming back to me. My mother was extremely protective of my sisters and me. Anything could be a threat, even other Night Furies.
That makes sense, especially from a mother's perspective. Stormfly observed.
Also, are we sure Blueheart is meeting us here? Belch asked, twisting his neck around.
I have little reason to doubt her. Toothless affirmed, narrowing his eyes, this is where she was born and raised. I can't imagine why she wouldn't eventually return home.
Meanwhile, the riders were working on a game plan while they waited for Zyrah and Blueheart to find them.
"We ought to camp right on the forest edge," Astrid suggested, "that way the girls won't have much trouble locating us."
"Perfect, though let's find a spot closer to the cliffs. If there are dragons here, if we hide behind a rock, then we won't be as easy to find, for our own protection at least." Hiccup added. The gang knew all too well about feral dragons and how dangerous they could be. And with young teens with them, they didn't want to take any chances with their safety.
"Alright, let's unpack and see what we can figure out next." Ana chimed in. With that, the riders grabbed their packs from the saddles and began laying stuff out for a camp. Konall and Rurik gathered some kindling for a fire, and the dragons stood to watch.
Later that evening, with the camp set up, they were sitting around the circle, chatting together, and reminiscing on old memories.
The dragons, save for Toothless, were also relaxing and enjoying themselves. The alpha was distracted and kept glancing into the forest, expecting to see something.
Stormfly and Dusk noticed how distracted he was and came to his side.
What's bothering you? Stormfly began. Toothless frowned.
It's hard to explain… but I keep picking up that familiar scent.
Blueheart's?
No no, not her. It's different. It's like an old memory. Every time I pick it up, it's like I'm remembering the past…
Is it possible your family might be here? Dusk inquired.
I wish I knew… after all these years, I don't know what happened to them. Where they went… though a part of me deep down believes they're still alive somewhere.
It's a positive thought to have, Stormfly assured, but let's go settle in for the night. We don't know what tomorrow will bring.
Hopefully the girls. Dusk said with a slight smile.
You and me both… Toothless admitted with a sigh. He turned his back to the woods and followed his friends back to camp, settling in for hopefully a good night's rest.
Sometime past the moon's highest point in the sky, something woke Toothless. A rustle deep in the woods. His head lifted and his eyes narrowed, his pupils turning to slits. His night vision aided him in locating whatever it was, though he hoped it was a boar or some woodland critter.
But then he spied a shadow in the trees, and it was hopping from one tree to another.
Alarmed, his back spines rattled and began to glow blue, and a deep guttural growl emitted from his jaw, and that woke up the others. Astrid grabbed her ax and Ana her bow and arrow. Hiccup took a moment to wake up but when he saw the girls with their weapons drawn, he pulled out Inferno, lighting the area since the campfire had been extinguished hours before.
"What's going on?" Rurik groggily asked, receiving an elbow to the ribs from Konall. He silently gestured to pull out his sword; Rurik wordlessly followed the command, waiting at the ready to use it.
Then the riders began to hear the rustling as well, and all of them were on alert, weapons drawn.
"No sudden moves." Hiccup warned. He quickly glanced over only to see that Toothless left his side, and was now standing in front of the camp, wings wide, and spines glowing.
"Uh oh…" Fishlegs whined.
"Shhhh!"
Blood ran cold when that ever so familiar shriek echoed through the woods and a purple ball of fire shot through the trees, landing right in front of Hookfang, who, in response, lit himself on fire.
"Hookfang! No!" Snotlout cried.
Toothless fired back, roaring aggressively at the attacker and running into the woods.
"Toothless stop!" Hiccup exclaimed, attempting to run after him, but Astrid held him back.
"Hiccup no!"
"That… was Night Fury fire!" Fishlegs squealed, though no one was sure if it was in delight or terror.
"Not the time, Fishlegs!" Ana scolded.
"He's right, though!" Rurik exclaimed.
Suddenly Lightbolt fired an electric ball into the woods when he was startled by something on the tree line.
"Lightbolt!-" Konall cried, attempting to grab the Skrill's saddle.
Then… as soon as the onslaught began, it stopped. And the air fell eerily silent.
"I don't like this…" Ana murmured, still keeping her bow at the ready.
"Where's Toothless?" Hiccup asked, sounding desperate, "if he was hurt-"
"Hiccup! Wait!" Astrid said, joining his side. She pointed up in the trees, and the others followed her point, only to see several shadows looming in the treetops.
"What in Odin's name-" came Rurik.
"What are they?" Tuffnut asked, almost astounded.
A thud met their ears as one of the shadows landed on the ground, and in the reflection of the faint light, they could see eyes, and suddenly there were multiple pairs, watching them.
Toothless then emerged from the woods, thankfully no visible injuries, and he didn't seem threatened anymore, which was a relief.
Toothless stopped in front of Hiccup and Astrid, turning to them with a gummy smile, which was a good sign.
He growled in the direction of the forest, and several of the figures stepped into the faint moonlight for the first time, and Hiccup dropped Inferno into the sand in utter shock.
Night Furies.
Elsewhere, Zyrah was exhausted, not used to flying at night. But Blueheart was determined and seemed to have a specific direction, so Zyrah just leaned back and tried to get some sleep. But she was still far too angry to relax. Frustrated at herself mostly, but also at her birth parents. She couldn't believe she almost fell for their trap, how could she be so naive?! She was better than that.
And seeing that Night Fury hatchling head horrified her. She'd never seen anything like it, and she knew it would haunt her for years. The poor thing… she grieved its death, even though it'd likely been dead for gods know how long.
She could sense Blueheart was deeply troubled, but knowing her dragon, Blueheart usually had found a way to push that stuff into the back of her mind. She was always incredibly grateful for her dragon, and she felt proud of her for standing her ground and protecting both of them.
But all Zyrah wanted was to go home and collapse in her mother's arms, seeking her comfort. She knew though, that wouldn't be for a little while. And she also desperately wanted to see Konall, in his embrace as well.
Blueheart could sense Zyrah's distress, and she couldn't blame her for feeling that way. For now, it was just a matter of getting herself back home, and meeting up with the others. Because, just as she suspected, she knew Einar and Ragnhild would not let up in their search for the colony. Seeing that hatchling, as horrifying as it was, sealed the deal. That was their trophy, and given Night Furies were seen as the ultimate prize, they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
But Blueheart knew the nature of Night Furies, once they were threatened, they would stop at nothing to protect their own. And with the other dragons, Einar and Ragnhild wouldn't stand a chance.
Weapons were dropped as soon as the gang realized what they were face to face with.
Night Furies. And a lot of them, at least 10 or 15 of them.
Hiccup was absolutely speechless, with only a few sounds of astonishment emitting from his throat.
"Oh… my… gods…" Fishlegs squeaked out.
Hiccup noticed how Toothless acted around a few of them, like… he knew them…?
"Bud?" He finally managed to say. Toothless glanced back and forth between the three Night Furies he stood next to and Hiccup. He had a huge gummy smile on his face, and it didn't take much for Hiccup to see how over the moon his dragon was.
It was evident that one of the Night Furies Toothless stood next to was older than him, with more head appendages, longer ears, and multiple scars to boot, but Toothless was actually a bit bigger. Or, bulkier at least. Hiccup also took note of the eyes, which looked to be a cooler greenish blue, with flecks of bright blue around the pupils.
Two of the other Night Furies Toothless was surrounded by also bore a similar resemblance to the older one, cool-colored eyes, more in the bluish range, but one of them had the same shade of green around its pupils like Toothless.
Astrid took note of the behavior of the older one, acting similarly to how Stormfly acted with her own children, and immediately figured out its identity.
Leaning to Hiccup, Astrid whispered, "Hiccup… I think that's Toothless's mother…"
Toothless's ears perked up when she said mother, confirming her observation.
"Beard of Thor…" Tears welled in Hiccup's eyes, unsure of what else to say.
"Bud… is this… your mother?" He finally uttered, and Toothless warbled happily in response. The female's eyes widened in confusion at the interaction between her son and this twig of a human. She leaned forward, sniffed him, and focused on the leg, which she realized was fake. She stuck her tongue out and tasted the metal, reacting negatively, growling in distaste.
The two smaller Night Furies watched the older female, and then shifted their attention back to Toothless and Hiccup.
The one with green rings around its eyes spied Toothless's tail, sniffing it as well, pawing at it in wonder.
"I think… those are Toothless's siblings!" Ana mused.
"Incredible."
"They all do look related!" Snotlout affirmed, crossing his arms.
"Dare I say Toothless might be the big brother!" Rurik exclaimed with a slight chuckle, "I know that kind of annoyed expression anywhere!" One of the smaller females growled at him for his comment, causing him to flinch.
"Uh, I don't think that's quite accurate!" Konall teased.
"But this is Toothless's family…" Hiccup confirmed with wonder in his voice, "I have no doubt about it…"