First Contact Chapter 16

Fishlegs and Meatlug weren't called out for any dragon-trap emergencies that week, for which they were thankful. They still proved their worth, though. While out for a relaxing flight on Odinsdagr (Wednesday), Meatlug suddenly grunted and went into a spinning vertical descent. "What is it, girl?" Fishlegs asked, but he didn't try to hold her back. He'd learned to trust her sensitive nose. Sometimes she found trouble (like a Changewing egg), and sometimes she found things that were really worth finding (like dragonroot), but when she sniffed something, it was never a false alarm.

They landed on one end of a rocky beach. "Rocks?" Fishlegs wondered. "You eat rocks all the time. What's special about these rocks?" Meatlug just paced back and forth for a few seconds, then began kicking football-sized stones around with her back legs. The fourth rock hit the ground about twenty feet away and triggered a well-camouflaged leg-hold trap. It snapped shut on nothing.

"Good girl!" he beamed, rubbed her head for a moment, and ran over to dismantle the trap. To his amazement, she flew around him and blocked his path. "Now what's the matter?" She pushed him back, then resumed kicking rocks. Another trap went off. Fishlegs probably would have stepped in it if his dragon hadn't held him back.

"They trapped this whole beach?" To Fishlegs, the trappers were no longer an abstract threat; now it was personal. He began picking up rocks and throwing them in likely places. The two of them worked their way up the beach, springing one trap after another until the shoreline ended in a rocky cliff. No less than fourteen sprung traps lay behind them. When Six came out looking for them, she found Fishlegs patiently disassembling a trap, while Meatlug sat contentedly next to him, mouth open.

"That's three traps for me, and three rocks for you," Fishlegs said happily, and tossed a hand-sized rock into his dragon's gaping maw. He set aside the pieces of the trap he'd just finished and started working on another one. Meatlug licked her chops and waited for the next rock.

"It could take year to find all their traps, even if they never set another one," Six said disgustedly. "What you do with all those metal pieces?"

"The springs are probably made of good metal, so I thought I'd bring those back to Berk when we go home," Fishlegs answered. "Gobber can always use that kind of souvenir from our trip. I bet they'll make him feel better about losing Agnarr and Varinn out of the forge every few weeks. The rest of the pieces are probably cheap iron, so those are going in the ocean, unless you know any Smokebreaths who want them."

Six shook her head – drawing the attention of a nest of Smothering Smokebreaths is never a good move. She winged away, and made a quick high-altitude pass over the trappers' island to see what was happening. The men there were all trying to catch fish, either with poles or by throwing one of their dragon-catching nets. That made her content; whether they succeeded or not, they were staying out of trouble and they weren't plaguing the dragons. The Alpha would be pleased to hear this.

o

Meanwhile, back in Berk, Varinn was trying to nail down his plans to join the next exchange team. He really didn't want to spend a week in a strange place full of strange dragons unless he could bring someone familiar with him. The natural choice was Scrubby, the blue Nadder who had become the fifth member of the group. Scrubby wasn't big enough to ride yet, but he spoke Forge fairly well and he'd have no problem fitting in with the dragons in the remote nest. The problem was that the other members of the Terrible Terrors didn't want to lose their dragon friend for a week.

"It's bad enough that we're losing you, the leader of the group," Spamlout complained. "If you take Scrubby, we won't even be a group anymore!"

"It's only for a week," Varinn tried to protest.

"It's still the first time we've been apart, ever," Henny answered. "You're the first Terrible Terror who ever tried to do something big without the others. Do you have to take Scrubby away, too?"

"Maybe we should let Scrubby make the decision," Varinn nodded, and turned to the dragon. "What you think, Scrubby? You fly to other nest with me?"

"Wish yes, but no," the Nadder answered with a hint of embarrassment. "I like female, other male like same female. If I go away for week, other male gets female. Do not want."

"Scrubby, you rascal!" Varinn burst out with a smile. Then he added in Forge, "I understand. Good luck." He gave the dragon a quick scratch under his chin and turned back to the rest of the Terrors. "I guess you guys get the dragon." He paused nervously. "I don't suppose any of you would be willing to go with me?"

The other three all shook their heads, Fluffernut the last of all. "Okay," Varinn shrugged. "I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell when I get back, even though it may not be much fun. Now I have to find out which Night Fury is going to be my partner." They all wandered off in separate directions. About two hours later, while Varinn was attaching new shovel heads to handles in the forge, Fluff slipped in through the side door.

"If you really want someone to go with you, I'll go," she said quietly.

"People will talk about us," he observed.

"Let 'em," she said firmly. "If I listened to everything that everybody said about me, I'd curl up in a ball and cry all day. I'd like to meet Hiccup's mother, and I'd like to meet some of those unusual dragons, especially the babies. It doesn't sound like a fun vacation, and I understand why you don't want to go alone, but it's something our village has to do, and it's only fair if I try to help."

"I appreciate that," he said wholeheartedly. "Do you think one Night Fury can carry the both of us?"

"I don't weigh much," she said with a shrug. "Which Night Fury is going with us?"

"Unless somebody changes his mind, they told me it's Agmundr's turn to visit the nest. His brother told him all about the place; he's really curious about it. Won't your parents object to you flying off with a boy for a week?" he wondered.

"My foster parents barely notice I exist, unless they want me to do the cooking for a night," she said dismissively. "Will your parents say it's okay?"

"I guess that's the big question," he nodded. "I'll find out tonight."

He brought up the subject at supper in the Mead Hall. His father Gunnarr didn't miss a bite, but his mother Edda immediately put down her drumstick and announced, "I'm against it. The two of you are getting too familiar as it is. Now I'm supposed to approve when you both take off on your own for a whole week?"

"It took me a week to get your approval for this trip, because you didn't like the idea of me being on my own," he replied. "Now I've found a friend to go with me, and you don't like that idea, either?"

"It's not the fact that she's a friend," Edda said sharply. "It's the fact that she's a girl. You're both fourteen. It's just a matter of time before the two of you realize that you're becoming a couple, and I want chaperones around when that happens."

"Mom..." he sputtered. "For one thing, we're just friends, and that's all! She's like a substitute sister to me. Neither one of us has any feelings like that for the other. For another thing, Agnarr says the dragons are totally curious about humans and everything we do, now that they know that some of us are friendly. He says he couldn't do anything, and that means anything, without being followed around by a flock of curious dragons! And the more he tried to keep his privacy, the more curious it made them. You want chaperones? We'll be surrounded by over five hundred of them, and most of them can see in the dark! If that's what you're worried about, we'll be safer there than we would be on Berk."

"What's she going to do while you're out there?" Gunnarr asked with his mouth full. "You've explained how you're going to rescue dragons out of traps and teach them to talk your special language, but how is she going to keep busy?"

"She never has a problem finding things to do," Varinn answered. "She knows Forge; she can help with the teaching. If I know her, she'll probably wind up giving Forge lessons to that King dragon or something. Mostly, I think she'll just be glad to get away from Tuffnut and Ruffnut. That part will be like a vacation for her."

"If you won't let her go with him, then could I go instead?" his younger brother Rangi begged them.

"You can't talk to the dragons," Varinn said dismissively. "There's nothing you could do out there."

"You're right about that part," Edda agreed. "This isn't a pleasure trip, Rangi. He's doing it to help the village."

"I never get to have any fun," the boy sulked.

"It's not supposed to be fun," Varinn said, almost kindly.

"And I want to keep it that way!" Edda said, loudly enough that some Vikings at nearby tables overheard her.

After a few seconds, Gunnarr glanced at his wife. "Varinn, your mother and I will talk it over tonight, and we'll give you an answer in the morning. If you're done eating, scrape your plate and go bring in some firewood for the night."

"Okay, Dad, Mom," he nodded as he rose. "Thanks for being willing to think it over, at least."

Gunnarr and Edda had a rather intense discussion that night, even though they kept it down so Varinn couldn't hear what they said. After a while, he heard the front door open and close. His parents were probably headed for the Nest to get a second opinion from his sister. He began to relax. He and Astrid were still a little strange around each other, but she knew what dragons were like. She'd almost certainly put in a good word for his plan.

In the morning, his mother didn't serve him breakfast until she'd administered a strongly-worded lecture on Viking morals and the need to keep his family free from dishonor. Only when she thought he was quaking in his boots at the thought of misbehaving with Fluffernut did she announce that he had his parents' permission fly to the frozen nest with her. To her surprise, he didn't leap up from the table to break the news to Fluff. "I'll tell her when I see her," he said. "Can I have some breakfast now?"

"Maybe they really aren't that interested in each other," she said to Gunnarr after Varinn had left for the forge.

He grunted. "Some things are just meant to be, no matter how they look on the surface. He's a fine young man, she's a pretty girl with a good head on her shoulders, and I'd be amazed if they don't wind up together. I think one week is just about the longest time they can handle without starting some trouble. Don't forget, Hiccup's mother is out there to help keep an eye on them."

"I'm not sure how much I trust a dragon lady," Edda replied with a shake of her head. "After all those years with no people around, she may have forgotten a few things about teenagers."

The Terrible Terrors got together to eat lunch that day; that was when Varinn told Fluff that their plan had been approved. Spamlout smirked. "If you two keep spending time together like that, it's just a matter of time before your parents work out an engagement for you!"

"That's not happening, Spamlout!" Varinn exclaimed.

"For your own sake, you'd better hope you're wrong," Fluff added quietly. "If they pair the two of us off, that means you and Henny are probably next!" Hensteeth and Spamlout glanced at each other, looked away, stuck out their tongues, and said "Eww!" in chorus. They more-or-less liked each other as friends, but as husband and wife... yuck!

As they left the Mead Hall at the end of their meal, they found the doorway blocked by Ruff and Tuff. Ruff wore the smirk that told the world she was up to something, and Tuff was trying to sing –

"Varinn and Fluff'nut, sittin' in a tree,
"Uhh... doing whatever people do when they're in trees!"

"Hey, guess what?" Ruff leered.

"You're in our way?" Varinn guessed.

Tuff turned to his twin sister. "No fair! They guessed it!"

"Not that! The other thing!" Ruff reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, that," Tuff said. "We overheard how two of you are going to fly out to that other dragon's nest, and guess what?"

"You're still in our way," Varinn said with a touch of annoyance.

"No, we're going to fly out there with you!" Ruff grinned.

"Were you invited by the dragons?" Fluff asked.

"Who cares?" Tuff burst out. "We'll ride a dragon, so they'll let us in, right? Whatever you two are up to, we're gonna watch the whole thing, and when we get back, we're gonna tell everybody!"

"All we're going to do is teach dragons how to speak Forge," Varinn said, trying to keep his cool. "That's a pretty boring piece of gossip to spend three days in the air for."

"Then we'll make something up!" Ruff smirked. "Something hot and interesting about the two of you! It'll be our word against yours. You'll never convince anybody it's not true!"

Fluff looked like she might be slowly working her way up to an explosion, which was something Varinn had never seen happen. He quickly cut in. "The first one you'll have to convince is the Alpha dragon who runs that nest. Are you ready to bow down in front of a dragon and show him respect? Nobody's allowed in unless they bow to the King."

Ruff glanced at her brother. "That doesn't sound like much fun. Maybe we could fake the 'respect' part."

"Not only that," Varinn quickly went on, "but my sister says he can look right inside your head and see if you're lying or telling the truth."

"Oh, forget it," Tuff said disgustedly. "That would ruin everything!" The twins stalked off in search of something to do that might be more entertaining than mentally facing off against a dragon who was bigger than their house.

"Can the Bewilderbeast really do that?" Fluff asked as they walked away.

"Yes, he can do it... to other dragons," Varinn smiled. "I have no idea whether he can do it to people or not. Probably not. But they don't need to know that."

"They might make up a story about us anyway," Fluff said with a touch of nervousness, "and spread it around when we come back."

"Let 'em," Varinn shot back. "We're the third exchange team that's going to the frozen nest. When we come back, we'll probably have Hiccup's mother with us, and everybody in the village is going to be paying attention to her, not to us, and definitely not to Ruff and Tuff. If they try something like that, they're going to get the worst treatment they could possibly imagine – they'll get ignored!" She smiled at that thought.

A few days later, they each found some runes written in the ground in front of their houses by the hand of a Night Fury.

THE TEAM LEAVES THIS
AFTERNOON. GET READY.

One of Varinn's preparations was to hide his special project in the forge. He'd been working on it, off and on, for over three months; it was finally finished and ready for the right moment to be unveiled. Both Hiccup and Agnarr had advised him, and Agnarr had helped a little, but it was his project, and he didn't want anyone to find it before he was ready to reveal it. Fortunately, the mess in the back room that used to be Hiccup's had barely been touched in the three years since he stopped being a smith's apprentice; the whole room was one big hiding place. He wrapped it in rags, both to protect it and to make it inconspicuous.

"I suppose yer lookin' forward to a week-long break from smithin'," Gobber scowled as he returned to the forge's work area.

"Agnarr's back in the village," Varinn replied. "You'll still have an apprentice. He does better work than me, anyway. It's only for a week. What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"Ye could get turned into a dragon, like Hiccup an' Agmundr did, an' I'd lose yet another apprentice!" Gobber retorted. "That's the worst that could 'appen! Now tidy up yer mess – I won't have ye leavin' all those iron scraps for me to clean up."

Around two o'clock that afternoon, Varinn, Fluffernut, and Agmundr the dragon met in front of the Nest. The Night Furies had a quick conversation, which Hiccup translated for the young people and wrote on the ground for Stoick, who was watching.

"You are last exchange team to visit frozen nest," Hiccup said. "If all goes well, we have alliance with that nest. Good for Berk, good for them, good for all dragons, maybe good for Vikings too. Do your best, enjoy dragons, come back in week. Bring my mother back."

"And bring my wife back, too," Stoick added eagerly.

"You're not coming with us, sir?" Varinn was surprised.

"I can't," he said sadly. "A day and a half out, plus a day and a half back, equals too much time off; I've got too much chiefing to do. The last two times I flew there, I came back to a string of problems that took me days to sort out. I don't want her to come back to any messes like those, or she might turn around and go back to her nest. I'll just have to wait for her here." He stepped closer to Varinn and Fluffernut, who were already sitting on Agmundr's back; he still could look them in the eye. "There is a lot riding on your success. Remember that."

The three exchange-team members nodded soberly, Night-fury-faithful-brother tensed and sprang into the air, and they winged away.

o

A/N
If anyone is unfamiliar with the children's song that Tuffnut tried to sing, the "real" words go like this:

[Person #1] and [person #2], sittin' in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
First comes love, then comes marriage,
Then comes [person #3] in a baby carriage!

The song is sung by children to a pair who are perceived to be a couple, to taunt and embarrass them. This song is going to appear again in a later chapter (sung by Ruffnut this time).