Three days later, Gustav, Fanghook, and Spitelout came clamoring to Hiccup's current residence, announcing that they had seen the sails of Defenders of the Wing and the Berserkers approaching the Edge. Hiccup thanked the A-Team for the information, and he was already anticipating that the Outcasts and a couple of other tribes would likely be coming soon.
Zyrah, Konall, and Rurik were at the training ring, teaching a small group of kids on proper sword fighting etiquette when the trio were called to the Clubhouse for a huge meeting.
"What's going on?"
"Two of Berk's allies just showed up, Hiccup needs you three there now!" Spitelout informed them.
The trio hurriedly made their way to the Clubhouse where there was already a crowd growing, and the group had to shove their way through, ignoring the gossip and chatter as people were somehow excited about some of the best leaders in the Archipelago coming together.
Inside, Hiccup was attempting to quiet the crowd so everyone could hear themselves and each other speak, and as he sat down in his chair, Zyrah, Konall, and Rurik finally made it to the council.
"Zyrah! Konall, and Rurik, right on time." Zyrah's attention was immediately grabbed by the tall woman a few feet away from Hiccup, dressed in formal black and gold armor, which did little to hide the growing baby bump. Her hair was blonde and cropped short, just barely reaching her ears, and she fashioned a buzzcut underneath, where an angular pattern was shaved in. Next to her was a beefy redhead, with wild hair and a mess of a beard, various scars patterning his face. The look in his green eyes was as wild as his hair, but not of a malevolent nature. He bore similar armor to the blonde woman but also had a large Skrill decorating his chest plate.
And next to the redhead man was a woman who shared the same green eyes as him. She wore silver armor, which Zyrah recognized was not metal, but appeared to be fashioned of dragon scales. Her black hair was long and hung down her back in a braid, with a few pieces of silver jewelry scattered about. On her back was a large ax, which also seemed to be made of the same material as her armor. She was fierce and carried an intimidating presence, but also a level of kind… sternness about her as well.
"Zyrah, I'd like to you meet Queen Mala, leader of Defenders of the Wing," Hiccup began, gesturing to the blonde; Mala, and then to black-garbed individuals standing behind her, half their faces covered. "And this is Dagur the Deranged, Mala's husband and chief of the Berserker Tribe." Ohhh so that was the guy that tried to murder Hiccup numerous times. What… a redemption arc, Zyrah thought.
With a small smile, she shook Mala and Dagger's hands, surprised by the grip of Dagur.
"…Nice to meet you, heard a lot about you." She said.
"Oh, I'm quite sure my beloved little brother has happily indulged you in our various adventures, eh, Hiccup?" Dagur grinned, pulling Hiccup into a headlock, playfully rubbing his hair.
"Yeah, yeah," Hiccup groaned, freeing himself from Dagur's grip, "Anyway, and this is Heather the Unhinged, Dagur's sister, and second-in-command of the Berserkers. Heather, Dagur, and Mala, this is Zyrah, Konall, and Rurik. The three of them have become part of our fight against the trappers and hunters that still haunt the sea and skies for our dragons."
"I see. And what exactly do they offer us in this war?" Mala questioned, clasping her hands behind her back, watching the teenager closely. Zyrah felt the piercing gaze of the queen on her as she knew she was being studied, and who was she to tell this stranger no?
"Well, Zyrah? How about you show our guests?" Hiccup said. With a quick nod, Zyrah whistled for Blueheart and subsequently, Nightfire. A roar echoed overhead, garnering shocked expressions from the guests of honor. The Berkians stepped aside, allowing the female Night Fury to join her rider's side.
Needless to say, Mala, Dagur, and Heather were not anticipating the presence of another Night Fury.
"Hiccup…?" Dagur began, looking at the young chief.
"That's…"
"That's a female Night Fury." Zyrah couldn't help but roll her eyes, quickly glancing down as Nightfire curled up around her legs.
"And that's… a baby Night Fury! Hiccup, my dear brother, what has been going on here?"
"Blueheart is my dragon, and we met Hiccup when he and his group came to my island to form ties. Lots of chaos went down, and now here we are," Zyrah replied, resting her hand on her waist.
Hiccup began to try and illustrate some details of what had occurred over the past few months, and Mala inquired a bit further, but Zyrah was not interested in the semantics. She temporarily zoned out until she heard Hiccup bring up the topic of her birth parents. There were a few whispers of surprise as these outsiders processed the information that Zyrah was the daughter of dragon hunters. It was still a deeply sensitive topic.
She attempted to bite her tongue and not say anything, but one member of Mala's Defenders made an unsavory pass that did not sit well with Zyrah, and before she could think, she lunged, yanking her sword out, and pinning the Defender to the wall, snarling and holding her sword against their throat.
"I don't care who you serve under, but I will not let that pass slide. I am NOT my birth parent's daughter, and I will not allow you to hold that over my head." Still holding the Defender against the wall, Zyrah twisted her head to the guests with a fire in her eyes, "My words extend to the rest of you as well. I did not kill my father for his tainted legacy to be hung over my head. He did not raise me, and he does not define me. I fight for my family and my dragon. And if you don't like that, then I'll happily work alone." She backed off, letting the Defender fall to the floor.
Still pissed, Zyrah climbed atop Blueheart's saddle, and they flew off.
Konall hurriedly apologized for Zyrah's behavior as he followed her outside to go chase her down. Meanwhile, Rurik quietly offered to remain at the meeting on his sister's behalf, also apologizing for her outburst.
"It's quite alright, I will handle the punishment for that individual later," Mala assured, glaring at the Defender who was being comforted by others.
"I was not expecting that response, she seemed a bit shy for a moment," Heather remarked.
"She can be a total bitch when she wants to," came Rurik's reply, crossing his arms.
Meanwhile, Zyrah held the handles on Blueheart's saddle so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She wasted no time in locating a secluded spot to let off some steam; she landed Blueheart in an opening in a wooded area not to far from a cliff, just out of sight where the Edge was.
Blueheart was at a loss for what she could do, it wasn't fair for her rider to receive so much flack for something beyond her control, and seemed as if no one was going to let her forget it, for better or for worse. Zyrah was doing her best to heal and move on, trying to focus on ensuring the safety of Blueheart and her family, the colony included. Every action Zyrah took was just another reminder of what she was trying to change.
The flapping of wings overhead caught the female's attention, and she half smiled seeing Lightbolt and Konall landing nearby. Konall didn't really wait for Lightbolt's feet to touch the ground, practically jumping off the saddle to join Zyrah. The Skrill and Night Fury shared concerned expressions with each other, watching their riders talk.
I'm so worried about her, Lightbolt. The golden Skrill wordlessly nodded, understanding his friend's thoughts. Lightbolt knew that the three teens felt very lost in the world they lived in, with multiple opposing sides and only certain groups that agreed with each other. All the interpersonal conflicts between various tribes and differing opinions on dragons left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Blueheart, Lightbolt, and Killgrave were extremely aware of their riders doing what they could to help and do the right thing, but only a few took them seriously; i.e., their own families and the Berkian riders.
What am I supposed to do? Blueheart growled, her pupils thinning in frustration, I would give them all a piece of my mind if they could bloody understand me.
I know you would. I think all the dragons feel the same, but there's only so much we can do. As much as I hate to admit it, the humans have to figure their shit out for themselves.
Off to the side, Konall had managed to calm Zyrah down enough and sat her down next to him, she was breathing heavily and fighting back tears.
"Gods, I can't believe I humiliated myself like that…" She hugged her legs, burying her head in her knees, "What is wrong with me…" she rhetorically questioned, her voice muffled. Konall sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, waiting to see if she would pull away. She didn't, so he pulled her close, allowing her to lean on him.
"There's nothing wrong with you," he assured, giving her a gentle squeeze, "Honestly, I think you taught that Defender a lesson on not rushing to judgment," she slightly lifted her head, eyeing him doubtfully.
"They don't know all your story, they don't know what really happened. But you don't owe them an explanation. All we owe them is showing that we're on the same side. That we want to put an end to the tyranny of dragon hunters and trappers, right?" She inhaled shakily, nodding. She opened her mouth to say something but was unsure of how to phrase it. She had so many questions about how this war would play out.
"What do we do…? How do we finish this?" She gazed up at her boyfriend, eyebrows furrowed tightly in uncertainty and worry. He didn't have a definitive answer, but he assured her that for now, they work with Hiccup and his allies. Working together was better than fighting alone.
"I especially don't want you taking on enemies by yourself. Do you know how worried I was for you when you took on Einar by yourself?" She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly, grimacing.
"I'm sorry, I got caught up in the heat of the moment." She admitted. Konall just sighed, shaking his head.
"Astrid has told me how self-sacrificial Hiccup has been and continues to be. For the love of Odin, do not let that rub off on you, 'kay?" She lightly snorted, pushing a strand of her black hair behind her ear.
"I can't promise it won't happen accidentally. Can't help we have the same mindset."
"… I know. I just don't want to lose you." He confessed, though she knew that, it wasn't really a confession, more or less a reminder.
"The only thing I'll be losing is fights with my brother."
"Ah, well, that can't be helped." She lightly shoved him, chuckling and then wiping her eyes and nose. For a little longer, they sat in the woods, comforted by Lightbolt and Blueheart's presence. And being away from the Edge and the Clubhouse allowed Zyrah's mind to quiet down a little. She wanted to fix anything she could, but she was starting to understand that such a task was impossible. Konall was right, she did have to work with the others, as much as her independence wanted to do the opposite.
"Get your shit together, Zyrah. It's not just about you." She harshly thought.
Back at the Clubhouse, Rurik had apologized to the Berserkers and Defenders of the Wing for Zyrah's behavior.
"She can be a total bitch when she wants to, but she's under a lot of stress- I know we all are. She's just… not suited to handle it all at once."
"You don't need to apologize for her, Rurik-" Ana attempted.
"Thanks, Ana. But she is my sister."
"Anyway, moving on. I did want to start this meeting by announcing that myself and my council have been formulating plans on attack strategies should Grimmel track us down here-"
"Which is certain," Eret interrupted, "for those unfamiliar with Grimmel the Grisly, he's not your typical hunter, he gets a thrill from the hunt. He makes it a game, aiming to mess with the mind of his prey… or in this case, human victims as well. That's what makes him particularly dangerous."
"Right. So, I'm anticipating that Grimmel will eventually track us down here, and it's unknown for now whether or not he knows that we've reached out to you guys and our other allies for backup."
"And so, it's not a matter of if, but when." Heather pointed out, to which Hiccup confirmed.
"So then what? We wait for him?" Dagur questioned.
"Yes, but we might have an idea of what to do when he attacks us. And we can thank Zyrah for the outline of a plan." Hiccup then informed his audience of what Zyrah had in mind. Once he finished, Mala was thinking deeply, tapping her chin with her bent forefinger.
"So, what I'm gathering is… we play his game against him." She concluded. Beside her, Dagur began softly laughing maniacally.
"Ohohoooo it's been so long since we've had a good cat and mouse chase!" He enthused, his grin reaching his eyes, to which Heather just rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree, Dagur. But hopefully, we'll end this, once and for all." His enthusiasm was followed by cheers of agreement. Hiccup then called the meeting adjourned, allowing the guests to disperse, but Mala, Dagur, and Heather didn't leave, remaining with Hiccup, the riders, and Rurik.
"I'm surprised your sister missed the whole meeting," Ruffnut commented. Rurik just shrugged.
"I dunno what to tell you, Ruff. She was pretty pissed about getting called out the way she did. She needs time to think."
"Hasn't she considered we're all struggling, too?" Snotlout commented pointedly, crossing his arms.
"Indulge me on what you're struggling with?" Rurik fired back, mirroring Snotlout's stance. The stout Viking just pursed his lips in irritation, narrowing his gray eyes at the teenager.
"Obviously you don't know if you have to ask me!" Astrid groaned.
"Snotlout better behave himself when Minden gets here. I'm not in the mood to physically restrain him."