Night Furies: the Next Generation Chapter 7
"Honestly, Gronckle-beige-flies-into-buildings! This is the third time this week you've gotten into a senseless fight!"
"I'm sorry, New-night-fury, but I thought that was my mate over there, and when I saw the other female getting friendly with him…"
"But it wasn't your mate! He isn't even the same color as your mate! I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with your eyes."
She blinked. "There's nothing wrong with my eyes, New-night-fury! I can see you and Night-fury-mother-of-twins perfectly."
He sighed. "Gronckle-beige-flies-into-buildings, my mate is out fishing. It's just me."
She blinked twice more. "Oh, dear. Maybe there is something wrong. I did see some stars when I crashed through the roof of that fish warehouse last week…"
"Personally, I think Human-chief-very-big would be a lot happier if you could go at least a month without earning your name all over again," New-night-fury suggested. "For now, try to remember to talk before you act, so the other dragon will answer and you can hear her voice. I hate having to break up fights, especially when neither dragon is actually mad at the other one." He turned to the other dragon. "As you can see, it was nothing personal. Tell the other Gronckles to speak up if they see this one coming. It might help avoid any more misunderstandings." That dragon nodded and buzzed off. After a few seconds, Gronckle-beige-flies-into-buildings did the same, narrowly missing a fish-filled feeding tray.
Hiccup arrived back at the Nest about the same time as Astrid. She'd filled her belly, and brought back a nice codfish for him as well. "Thank you," he exclaimed, and swallowed it whole. "I still don't understand why you're making all the effort to catch your own meals when there are plenty of fish in the feeding trays."
"They just don't taste fresh enough for me," she replied as she curled up on the floor next to him. "I get very picky when I'm eating for two. Or maybe three," she added with a wink. "We'll probably find out any day now."
He told her about the fight between the Gronckles. "It's frustrating when I know exactly what her problem is, but I can't do anything about it," he scowled.
"I'm sure the smith twins will have some kind of idea that will help," she suggested. They both went quiet for a few seconds, wondering where the smith twins were… and where their children were.
"It's too quiet around here," Astrid finally said.
"They'll be back," Hiccup answered. "The older ones fight like you, and all three of them think like me. Night-fury-newest-boy is a lot like his father, and the boys will add some extra brain power and some opposable thumbs. They'll all be fine, they'll get the help they're looking for, and they'll probably come back with an amazing story to tell."
"I sure hope so," she sighed, and rested her head against his.
So do I, he thought. So do I.
o
The next morning, Agmundr's arm wound was still causing him pain. He thought nothing of it until he noticed his brother limping.
"Is it starting to hurt?" he asked.
"Just a little," Agnarr replied. "I checked it; it isn't infected. At least, I don't think so; it's hard to tell when the skin around it is black. How's your arm?"
"Agnarr… I think it's starting."
Instantly, both Night Fury twins were at their sides. "Does it hurt much?" Bang asked.
"Not much," Agmundr replied. "Not as bad as yesterday, but not good." His brother admitted he felt the same way.
"We fly NOW!" Six wasn't making a suggestion. The humans packed up their gear in a hurry. The dragon twins were both ready to receive their share of the load, but the young Night Furies were still fishing. Bang let out a roar that needed no translation. Newest-boy returned immediately.
"We aren't done eating yet!" Smallest-girl shouted back.
"Come here, get your load! We fly now, not later!" Six was starting to sound angry. "Talk so they understand you!"
"Don't boss me around, Night-fury-sick-shooter! I've already got a mother!" Smallest-girl lined up for another swoop onto a school of fish... but two firebolts skimmed the water and burst, forcing her to veer off and scaring the fish deep into the lake. She glared at the shoreline angrily. Her older brother and sister both glared back.
"Get over here," Night-fury-makes-one-heck-of-a-bang growled slowly. "Now."
Smallest-girl traced tight circles in the air, daring them to come after her. The only one who rose off the ground was Newest-boy, who flew in bigger circles around her. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
"I'm sick of being bossed and treated like a child!" she shot back. "They said I did well yesterday, but today, all they can do is give me orders. They already know they can't force me to do anything, so I'm going to finish eating, and then I'll follow them. Not one minute before!"
"Do you care that the humans are starting to feel the effects of the blood poisoning?" he asked pointedly. When she didn't answer, he continued, "Do you seriously think this is the way to become awesome?"
"Whose side are you on?" she asked.
"I didn't know there were any sides," he answered. "I thought we were all in this together."
"I'm sick of being treated like a hatchling," she protested feebly.
"Acting like a hatchling isn't going to help," was all he said as he returned to the shore.
She obviously had no allies in this rebellion, and his common-sense rebuttals to her challenges left her without a wing to fly on. After a few seconds, she meekly flew to the shore and landed in front of her brother.
"Well?" he demanded.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"Let's get a few things straight," he growled. "I'm not your father or your mother, but I'm the oldest one here... by half a minute," he added, with a nod to his twin sister, "and when we have to make decisions, that means I'm in charge. But this trip isn't about me. It's about our human friends. They're dying, just in case you forgot. We probably have less than a week to find our volcano full of water and get help from the dragons there, before we lose our riders forever. We do not have time for hatchling games!
"Nobody twisted your tail to make you come on this mission, and nobody is making you stay. If you want to turn around and go home, you can do that. I still think you should. But if you want to fly with us, you are going to do things our way. Because if you don't, and I lose my friend because of your little delays..." His face changed to a mask of barely-controlled rage. She'd never seen her brother looking that angry, not even during the war. She backed off a step.
"You can also rest assured that Mom and Dad will get a full report about everything we've done on this trip," her sister added, "and about everything you've done as well. We'd like to bring home good news, but we aren't going to lie."
"This little episode was your warning," her brother finished. "If it never happens again, we'll never mention it again. The rest is up to you."
"It won't happen again," she said meekly. She allowed the human twins to strap a small bag to her back, and they were all in the air again in less than five minutes. They flew silently.
After a few minutes, Six asked Agmundr, "How much does it hurt?"
"Not bad, but it hurts," he answered. Agnarr gave a similar answer to his own dragon-friend. The dragons sped up imperceptibly.
On and on they flew, for hour after monotonous hour. The scenery below them changed continuously, from forest to farmland to barren wasteland and back again. They occasionally passed over flocks of migrating birds, which scattered when the dragons' shadows fell across them. They sometimes passed over people working in the fields; most of those farmers never looked up to see them.
In mid-afternoon, Smallest-girl slid over toward her sister. "Are we there yet?"
"We don't know how far we have to go," Six answered. "In our dream, it seemed like a very long way away."
"I had no idea the world was this big," the younger dragon said.
"None of us did," Bang interjected.
"What if we already went past your water-volcano? What if it's a few miles north or south of us, and we never even see it?" Smallest-girl went on.
"All we can do is hope that doesn't happen," Six replied. "Your brother and I just know we're on the right course. We're high enough that we can see for miles. We have to keep going until we get there."
"Would it help if I flew a few miles off to the side, just so I can see farther that way?"
Bang looked thoughtful. "Yes, maybe it would. Smallest-girl, you're the outrider to the north. Youngest-boy, you branch off to the south. If you see anything worth investigating, rejoin us so we can all check it out at once." The two yearlings angled away until they were almost out of sight, even to sensitive dragon eyes.
"That will gain us only a few miles' worth of extra vision," Six commented.
"That might matter, if we're a little off course," her brother replied. "What really matters is that she feels like she's doing something useful. She wants to be bigger than she is, just like us when we were yearlings. If we can keep her occupied and happy, maybe there won't be any more incidents like what happened this morning."
"You're definitely sounding like Dad," she smiled.
"I'll take that as a compliment," he grinned back.
They saw nothing that day. It was now an unwritten rule that they would camp as far from humanity as they could. Tonight, their camp site was a broad ledge halfway up a mountain, high above a clear blue lake. Agnarr and Agmundr could never leave there except on dragonback, but unlike most humans, they were perfectly comfortable with that situation.
"How much does it hurt?" Six asked her friend.
"Not bad," Agmundr replied. "I can eat, I can sleep."
"Good," Six said.
The next morning, the dragons dove off the cliff toward the lake below them. It promised to be full of fish, but they quickly saw that they were not alone. Three Nadders, a Zippleback, and a Timberjack were skimming the water in search of lake trout.
"There must be a nest nearby," Six said. "Shall we go say hello?"
"Absolutely," her brother answered. "It's a rare dragon who won't be glad to meet a Night Fury. Come on, Smallest-girl, Newest-boy – let's go meet the neighbors." They spiraled down until the other dragons saw them. The reaction they got was not what they expected.
"Night Fury! Everyone, fly away! Hide!" The Night Furies looked stunned as the local dragons scattered in panic.