It was almost amazing how after all these adventures, the war god was still finding ways to take Hiccup out of his comfort zone. The boy was busy scribbling away the different methods he could use to make a saddle for Snotlout that would not result in an extra crispy cousin. It did not help that his friends, animals included, kept peering over his shoulder. Hiccup moved and had been doing that. After the fourth time, he frowned.

"You know, it's already tricky enough trying to figure out how to do this. It doesn't help when everyone's breathing down my neck."

"I don't need to breathe, so I guess that means I'm fine."

Hiccup looked at Dagur blankly. The taller boy crossed his arms.

"But I still won't if you need to focus."

"Thank you," the inventor said, sighing. "I'm used to working with metal, but that's really not going to help this time. I'll need something that won't get hot."

"We could probably find something like that," Snotlout stated. "We'll just have to explore more of this city to see if it has the supplies we need."

"Then let's go," Dagur suggested. "It'll be boring if we just keep watching Hiccup draw all day."

The immortal started going into the city and the others followed him. As they got closer, they began to notice something. There were not more Arae, but someone was watching them.

"Should we get ready for a fight?" Snotlout whispered.

"Maybe," Dagur said. "Follow my lead."

The redhead held up his hands. Surprised, the cousins did the same.

"We know you're out there," Dagur revealed. "What you don't know is that we just got rid of some very vengeful spirits for you, so we're not your enemies."

"You were not invited either."

The war god squinted to see into the night. From behind trees and buildings, warriors emerged. They held bows and arrows along with swords. In front of them was a young woman with short blonde hair.

"You are strangers to us," she said, pointing her blade at Dagur. "How can we trust that you defeated spirits no one else saw?"

"We can't prove that," Hiccup admitted. "But it should feel different. We know that it was freezing cold before they left. Didn't you notice?"

The warrior was momentarily quiet. She turned her gaze to the animals, then approached Toothless. The horse regarded her curiously, but he let her pet his muzzle. She looked at Hookfang next. He also allowed the warrior to pet his head.

"Oh, so you get all lovey dovey with her," Snotlout complained.

"We provide a home for magical creatures," the blonde said. "It has been a part of our history for as long as our people have been here. No stranger has come before and been able to tame the Phoenix."

"'Tame' might be a generous word," Snotlout admitted, frowning at Hookfang.

"He was walking with you as though you were allies. The Pegasus is the same. Where did you find him?"

"He was in Thrace," Hiccup revealed. "That's how he got his injury."

"The poor creature," the stranger stated, expression becoming sad.

After a moment, she raised her hand. At her silent command, her warriors lowered their weapons.

"If they deem you to be worthy of trust, I will do the same."

The team relaxed and the stranger extended her hand to them.

"I am Queen Otrera and these are my Amazon warriors."

"I'm Daedalus, this is Heracles, and that's…"

Hiccup hesitated, seeing Otrera's eyes narrow. She stepped towards the immortal curiously. Dagur lifted an eyebrow unsurely.

"You're a god," she stated.

This made the redhead's jaw drop. "How'd you know that?"

"All of you struggle in some way to truly mimic mortals. You have a stronger presence than we do; however, only certain individuals can sense this."

Dagur paused, not entirely sure what to say after that. "Oh, well, I'm Ares."

To his further surprise, the queen did not draw back in horror. Her expression remained calm and she glanced at the team as a whole.

"Was your purpose in coming here to fight the spirits?"

"No, I remembered that you all protected animals, so I figured we'd be able to find a Phoenix for Heracles to ride on."

Otrera's brow lifted. "You want him to ride on the Phoenix?"

"Yeah. We do a lot of traveling, so it'll make that easier."

"I'm looking for some materials I can use to hopefully make that possible," Hiccup commented.

The queen appeared apprehensive at first, then looked back at Hookfang. Animals understood more than most mortals gave them credit for. Surely, the bird knew what was awaiting him, but he was not trying to leave the group. If he was fine with their plan, Otrera saw no reason why she should be in opposition.

"You can enter the city with us," she stated. "I might have something which you could use."

The queen began leading the way through the city. She stopped to go speak with someone about the materials. He ran off, then speedily returned with leather in his hands.

"This kind is enchanted," the queen explained. "We've used it in the past for gloves to wear while tending to injured Phoenixes. This group will escort you to where our craftsmen work."

"Thanks!" Hiccup told her.

He happily accepted the item and went off with the warriors. His friends went along just to be sure that the inventor was not being led to a trap. Satisfied that he was not, they glanced around.

"What's this city called?" Snotlout asked.

"You are in Themyscira, Heracles. It might not be as esteemed as cities such as Athens, but we are proud of what we have."

"Could we explore it?"

Otrera thought over this, then summoned another subject. "Would you be his guide?"

The person nodded respectfully and started to show Snotlout around the city. As he did, Dagur stayed behind.

"Have you ever had an Arae problem here?" he inquired.

"I do not believe so," Otrera responded. "I have never seen one and none of my warriors have mentioned it."

"I'm not sure if it was sent for us or for someone here too. You've heard that mortals are in danger now, right?"

Otrera shook her head. "It is not often that we communicate with others outside of our city."

"Good thing we came by then. You all could be in danger too. We're pretty sure that the king of giants, Poseidon, and maybe Hades are working together to kill a lot of heroes."

The queen's eyes widened. "And stopping this is part of your mission?"

"The whole thing is our mission. We don't know why they're doing this, so we want to figure it out and put an end to it."

"I will certainly tell the others, but I do not know if I would consider any of us heroes. Often, we stay home unless we are in search of injured animals."

Dagur shrugged. "Sounds pretty heroic to animals."

"Well, thank you," the blonde said, a small smile on her lips, "but it seems like the majority of immortals do not view such actions as worthwhile."

"I've never been much like them."

"No, certainly not from the stories I have heard."

The god chuckled sheepishly. "Can we pretend like you didn't hear those stories?"

"I do not know if that's necessary," Otrera commented. "I always found them rather fascinating."

Dagur's unsure expression turned into a grin. The queen gestured to an area behind them.

"I must oversee the care of some of our newest creatures, but you are welcome to accompany me."

"A day around a queen? Yeah, I think I could do that."

The duo began walking towards where the animals were kept as Hiccup began creating the saddle. He was unfamiliar with using leather, but it wound up not being as difficult as he expected. By the time the sun rose over the city, he was almost done. The inventor left the shop and hopped onto Toothless's back. They soared over the city until they spotted Snotlout. He and Hookfang were looking at some baby hydras being hand-fed by the Amazonians. The duo glanced up at their teammates when they heard the flapping wings.

"They've got everything here," Snotlout commented. "It's weird that I've never heard of them before."

"I think I've read a little," Hiccup revealed, "but they normally keep to themselves. That might be what's kept them safe for so long."

He got off his saddle to hand the new one to Snotlout. The warrior looked at it closely.

"And this won't let me roast?"

"That's the goal. We won't know until you're on his back and he's on fire."

Nervously, Snotlout looked at the Phoenix. He tried to put the saddle on Hookfang's back, but the bird moved at the last second.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Mischievously, Hookfang began running. Snotlout at least appreciated the fact that he was not flying away, but the Phoenix was oddly difficult to catch. Finally, Snotlout tackled him.

"Got you!"

As fast as his hands could move, he put on the saddle. Hookfang let out a huff but did not fight anymore. Snotlout started to hop onto his back. Hookfang decided to not make this easy for him either. He wiggled deviously, almost making his would-be rider fall.

"Hookfang! Will you stop that?"

A sort of chortling, amused noise escaped the bird and he relented. Snotlout settled properly on the saddle, then held on tight.

"Okay, up."

Nothing of the sort occurred.

"That means fly."

Snotlout was met with more of the same.

"Please?"

At last, the bird flapped his wings. Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I've got the pet that only responds to good manners."

Hookfang let out a challenging squawk, although he continued to fly. Beside the duo, Hiccup and Toothless were flying. Snotlout looked over at them.

"You two make it look easy," he said.

"It's all about trusting him," Hiccup revealed.

"Easy for you to say."

The smaller Berkian tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we should actually start with him flaming up just in case I need to spend more time on the saddle."

Even though Snotlout knew this would happen, he still felt hesitant. He glanced down at Hookfang, hoping the animal would not use some especially powerful version of his skill.

"Alright, Hooky," he said, "let's see how this goes."

Snotlout saw the Phoenix's feathers turn a brighter red until they were orangeish. He moved his hands back slightly to keep from being burned. Almost immediately, the bird was all flames again, but Snotlout was not getting scorched. He grinned happily.

"Hey, it worked! Nice job!"

"Thanks," Hiccup said, smiling. "At least now, we know you can work on the other details with flying. Come on. Toothless and I will help show you how to do evasive maneuvers."

The less experienced pair followed them through the sky. They started to get closer to some buildings. Toothless turned, galloping alongside the walls as he continued to flap his wings.

"Show off," Snotlout remarked with a smirk. He patted his saddle. "We can't let them outdo us."

Hookfang felt the same and sped up. His fiery wings grazed the sides of the stone buildings, leaving a design behind him. The group kept flying until it began to get late. They landed, spotting more of the Amazons. Their queen was with them, walking with Dagur.

"How'd it go?" the immortal asked.

"Great!" Snotlout eagerly informed him. His smile faded slightly as he looked at Otrera. "But we might have left a few scorch marks on one of the buildings. Sorry about that."

"You are fine," the ruler assured him. "With all the animals we are around, we have done many repairs and expect to do more. A few scorches are not an issue as long as no one is harmed in the process." Her eyes remained on the bird. "I am glad that the material was suitable. Flying on creatures is still very uncommon to me, but I will not deny that it looks interesting."

Briefly, a thoughtful look crossed Otrera's face, but she did not elaborate. Almost as soon as it had appeared, she turned towards the palace.

"It is getting late. Phoenixes do not have strong night vision. He would need to use his flames to see and that would cost him most of his energy."

Dagur looked at her with intrigue. "Is that your way of inviting us to stay until morning?"

"You could say that. You could also say that it is my duty as queen to be hospitable to guests. I would not want the king of gods to deem me worthy of punishment, so harboring your group for the evening is a fine price to pay."

Dagur could not but notice a sort of twinkle in her eyes. He found that more appealing than he expected. The redhead set aside those thoughts. He looked at his friends.

"I'm fine staying if you are."

The cousins glanced at each other before nodding.

"It's always fun to see new places," Snotlout stated, then made a face. "Actually, it normally isn't for us. We always go wherever monsters and people are trying to kill us. It's sometimes fun to see new places."

"Well, ideally, you will find your time here satisfactory," Otrera commented. "I can almost guarantee that no one will try to kill you."

"Almost?" Dagur asked.

"One can never be certain."

There was that twinkle again. It was nearly teasing. Otrera started walking towards the palace. It was just less extravagant than the one in Ephyra, but it seemed better. It could have been the warmth of the castle and the way that the subjects inside looked happy. Otrera gestured to a room on the right side of a large hallway.

"These are the guest quarters," she explained. "Dinner will be served in one hour."

Otrera continued walking and Dagur took another step with her.

"Are you going to check on more of the animals?" he asked.

"No," she responded. "Matters of the kingdom have been completed today."

Dagur found himself getting more curious. "So, what are you doing?"

"I am going to do some training."

The queen gestured to the sheath on her belt. It was used for the same sword Dagur had seen earlier when it was pointed at him.

"Okay, see you at dinner," he said, heading into the room.

"Actually, would you mind joining me?"

Speedily, the redhead popped back out.

"I had some questions I wanted to ask you," the queen stated.

Dagur nodded, going to walk beside her again. She took him to a large training ground behind the palace. The queen unsheathed the sword, then raised her hand. In the next instant, Dagur learned that she had been signaling for an archer to shoot at her. She lifted the blade of her weapon, splitting the arrow in two.

"Impressive!" Dagur complimented, laughing. "I'd like to watch you fight one of these days. I've never seen a mortal do that before."

"Perhaps we are more surprising than you think," the queen mentioned, almost smiling.

Otrera blinked, becoming serious again. She cleared her throat and continued her training as she began asking questions.

"If your belief is correct, two of the three god kings are your enemies. Do you know if Zeus is also involved?"

"I don't think he is. This doesn't seem like his style. If he wanted to kill a bunch of mortals, he could just do one big lightning storm and over half the population would be gone."

"What would lead a god to aligning with a giant?"

"It's got to be a distraction," Dagur commented. "They don't need him. Anything he would do to kill someone is less than they could."

"But if he is the one everyone sees, they might go unnoticed."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking."

"Will you bring this matter to the king?"

Dagur hesitated, deciding to stab one of the targets with his ax. "I already tried. He doesn't think it's anything to worry about."

"Why do you? Did any of the others confess?"

"Eurymedon sort of did. I guess I'm mostly doing this off instincts. That's what I've always done. It's helped me a lot in wars. You can't always trust your senses and can pretty much never trust others, but you can trust yourself."

Otrera's brows furrowed slightly. "That sounds like a very lonely existence to trust only yourself."

"Maybe, but you know you won't be your own betrayer. You'll never hurt your own feelings, so it works out pretty well."

"What of those young heroes with you? Do you not trust them?"

Dagur got quiet. It was not a question he had been preparing for. He had expected the ones about the plan. He even was willing to answer a few questions about his past wars, but this took him off guard.

"I mean…we're a team."

"Do you trust them?"

"Do you trust your warriors?"

"With my life. I hope they trust me in the same way."

Dagur paused, feeling awkward. "Do I have to answer?"

"You're a god, Ares. You do not have to do anything, but I was curious."

The immortal sliced with the ax, using too much strength. The target was cut off at the top and he looked at it sheepishly.

"My bad."

"I have done that plenty of times myself." Otrera eyed him with a question in her eyes. "I have one more question."

"Go ahead."

"Do you care for them?"

This one was simpler to answer. The immortal nodded his head without a second thought.

"Yeah actually. It's probably weird, but I guess I shouldn't be shocked by doing something weird now."

"Why would it be weird?"

"Immortals aren't supposed to care about mortals. Not really anyway."

"Why should they not?"

Dagur made a face. "You said you had one more question, Queenie. You just asked for two more."

Otrera chuckled softly. "I suppose that I did. My apologies."

After a moment, Dagur looked back at the destroyed target. "Two reasons. The first one is used more. It's 'beneath us' to care about someone who's not another god. We're supposed to be great, so it's a waste of time." He frowned at the item on the ground. "I've never liked that answer. The second one is because they die and we don't. Why get attached if you're just going to miss someone after a few years?"

"It might hurt, but during those years, I imagine that there could be great joy experienced."

Dagur was not sure how he felt about that.

"Cute," he said. "Idealistic, but cute."

"I do not think I would want to live for an eternity without enjoying at least some idealism."

"I guess you'd be making friends everywhere you went, then having a funeral each day."

Otrera frowned slightly. "I see little purpose in living in misery for so long."

"I didn't say I was miserable."

"You did without even realizing it."

Dagur felt himself getting irritated. He and the queen both stood tall, ready to argue for their viewpoints. Gradually, they saw that this did not matter. They would not be around each other for much longer anyway. Making the night unpleasant was pointless. Otrera put up her weapon.

"I am going to prepare for the meal, then I will see you there."

The immortal nodded and started to return to his chambers. At the last second, he stopped. He quickly grabbed Otrera's arm, pulling her back.

"What ar—"

The queen stopped talking as her eyes widened. Just barely, she had avoided being clawed by a monster. It snarled at her, talons reaching again as Dagur moved them both further back. He glared at the creature and stood protectively in front of the queen.

"Harpies," he hissed.

In Greek mythology, harpies are half-person, half-bird (and fully horrifying. Seriously. Look these up for yourself if you don't believe me). The main story with harpies is actually the one I mentioned with Jason. The king they stole food from was King Phineas who Zeus gave the gift of prophecy. Apparently, the mortal was not given the gift of keeping secrets. When he saw what Zeus was planning one day, the immortal king blinded him, abducted him to an island with a buffet, and made sure he could never eat from there because the harpies would steal the food. When getting people gifts, just remember to not be like Zeus. Harpies continue to be gluttonous, little creatures as they reportedly stole food from the Trojans as well.