Episode 3.5: New Dragons To Study
"Follow me!" Hiccup hollered to his fellow Dragon Riders as Toothless did a power dive towards the forest.
"Right behind you, Hicc!" Zenna called out, Stryka following her mate into the woods.
"Low-level evasive maneuvers! Come on, bud!" Hiccup told Toothless who huffed and began weaving in and out amongst the maze of trees.
The girls were quick to catch up with the boys and they zigzagged through the forest with ease. Hiccup and Zenna glanced at each other and grinned. When riding a dragon, communication was key. Both dragon and dragon rider almost had to read each other's minds.
Hiccup and Zenna had gotten pretty good at reading Toothless and Stryka's movements and body language to know when to let the two Night Furies take the lead. And the latter pair also knew when to turn depending on how their riders leaned while on their backs.
Snotlout and Hookfang still had a long way to go.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Snotlout yelped as his Monstrous Nightmare flew headfirst into some trees. "Are you trying to kill me?!"
Hookfang snickered as his Rider was swatted by tree branches.
"We gotta go back! I think you missed a branch," Snotlout grumbled.
Hookfang obliged and dove into another patch of trees before flying above the treeline.
"Got it!" Snotlout now had leaves and twigs in his hair and he had twigs stuck up his nose.
Astrid and Stormfly caught up with the gang's two Night Fury Riders. They soon sped forward, leaving the four behind.
"Stormfly, up!" Astrid commanded as they approached some trees.
But Stormfly saw something her Rider didn't. A fallen tree had fallen against another one. If she went up, a stray branch would clip Astrid over the head and she'd fall. Disobeying Astrid's orders, Stormfly bounced her up and flew down. From her brief time in the air, Astrid saw the fallen tree and landed on Stormfly's back.
"You were right, Stormfly. It was down," Astrid thanked her dragon with a sigh of relief. "Phew! I almost died."
"Almost died? I would have died!" Snotlout exclaimed as he and Hookfang flew beside the girls. He took out one of the sticks up his nose, only to put it back in when Astrid remarked, "That's a good look for you." with a mischievous grin on her face.
Suddenly, a streak of red glided down from above and started flying in between trees with fluid grace.
"Not so different from the forests my sisters and I nest in." Embla wrapped one of her head tendrils around Erland's wrist. "Might want to duck. Low hanging branch up ahead," she warned.
"Noted." Erland ducked his head just as the branch came into his view. 'Two pine trees growing closely together around here. Sharp right,' he telepathically told Embla who did the turn with ease. They flew past Astrid and Snotlout. Erland even turned around to wave at them, ducking to avoid another branch as Embla flew lower to the canopy.
"Show-offs." Astrid and Snotlout both rolled their eyes.
Erland and Embla caught up with Hiccup and Zenna, who couldn't help but be impressed.
"It's like watching a red silk thread go through the eyes of a hundred needles," Zenna commented, watching Erland and Embla fly on ahead of them and their Night Furies.
Hiccup nodded in agreement. Sure, he and Zenna communicated with Toothless and Stryka in their own way via commands and reading each other's body language. But Erland and Embla's telepathic connection meant that they could truly read each other's minds.
Still, they weren't going to let those two have all the fun. Hiccup and Zenna urged their dragons to catch up with Erland and Embla. The Twins had just joined them when Zenna realized something.
"Hey, guys? I think we're one dragon and one Rider short," she reported, her one violet eye scanning the area.
Looking around, Hiccup and Erland noticed that a certain Gronckle Rider and his said Gronckle were missing in action.
"Has anyone seen Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked the Twins.
"I saw him yesterday. Does that count?" Ruffnut piped up.
Erland shook his head while Hiccup sighed, turning Toothless around.
"Fishlegs? Meatlug? Where are you?" Zenna called out as she and Zenna followed the boys into another part of the forest.
After a few minutes of flying, Erland had Embla take a sharp left. "I hear Meatlug. Follow me!" he told his best friends.
"Ah, looks like Meatlug's stuck…" Embla remarked, spotting Meatlug's rump sticking out from between two trees. She landed in front of the trapped Gronckle with Toothless and Stryka landing by another tree.
A tree currently holding Fishlegs.
"There you are, Fishlegs. Are you okay?" Hiccup asked the husky blond Viking.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just hanging out. It's not like I crashed or anything," Fishlegs mumbled, hoping he didn't look ridiculous with him being stuck in a tree with his back to the Three Weirdos. After a second, he gave up on not being embarrassed and said, "Okay. I crashed. There, I said it."
"What happened?" Erland looked up at Meatlug.
"I'm not entirely sure, Serpent Tongue. Things happened so fast. We were flying and, all of a sudden, Fishlegs made me swerve. Next thing we knew, we were in the trees…" Meatlug wiggled a bit, trying to free herself.
While Erland climbed up the tree to loosen some of the branches, Embla sat upright and worked on tearing some off. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Zenna tried to get Fishlegs out of the other tree. They tugged on Fishlegs' tiny namesakes as hard as they could, but only succeeded in tearing off his pants.
"Oops." Hiccup and Zenna blushed.
"And… there goes my dignity," Fishlegs mumbled, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Sorry, Fishlegs," Zenna apologized. She and Hiccup tried pulling Fishlegs out of the tree again and failed again.
"Yeah, you're pretty stuck," Hiccup told Fishlegs.
"Really stuck." Zenna held up Fishlegs' pants and glanced over to Meatlug. She was grunting as she kicked her stubby legs about in an attempt to free herself while Erland worked on getting some of the branches out of her way.
Looking at Toothless, Hiccup got an idea. "I think I know how to get you down, but you have to stay perfectly still," he told Fishlegs and looked at Zenna, who caught on to his plan.
"As in totally still as a rock," Zenna reminded the stuck Ingerman as she and Hiccup took a few steps back.
"Why? What are you two going to do?" Fishlegs asked, feeling uneasy. The fact that he couldn't see any of his friends made whatever they were planning on doing more nerve-wracking.
"Careful, bud, he's not wearing any pants," Hiccup mumbled to Toothless.
"Use the weakest blast you can make, girl. Don't wanna burn his butt off," Zenna whispered to Stryka.
"Wait a second, what does my lack of pants have to do—" Fishlegs began to ask but got cut off when Toothless and Stryka fired out two weak plasma blasts. He yelped as he was blasted out from between the tree and landed in the bushes.
Recovering from his fall, Fishlegs turned to Hiccup and Zenna, mumbling, "Thank you…"
"You're welcome, Fish," Zenna said before cringing at the sight of Fishlegs in his underwear.
"Um, I believe those are mine." Fishlegs said awkwardly to her, smiling gratefully when he got them back.
"Now, what are we going to do about Meat…" Hiccup said before Erland hollered, "Look out below!"
BAM!
Meatlug finally dropped down to the ground, taking a few tree branches with her.
"...lug." Hiccup blinked at the dazed, but now free Gronckle.
"Well, that takes care of that," Zenna said, gently coaxing Meatlug to her feet.
Erland climbed down the tree while Embla swatted away the fallen branches with her tail.
"Many thanks, you two," Meatlug growled and bowed to Erland, who patted her head.
"How did this happen?" Hiccup asked and gestured to the fallen tree branches.
"Meatlug said you had her swerve all of a sudden, which caused you both to crash. Were you trying to avoid a tree? Because you clearly didn't succeed," Erland quipped.
Fishlegs twiddled his thumbs. "I don't know! We were just flying along. I was taking notes on the flora and fauna… typical guy stuff," he explained, blushing.
"Hey, no shame in that. I do that too." Erland shrugged. Zenna had gifted him a small journal where he could document Berk's various plants and non-dragon animals a few weeks back. So far, he'd documented most of the flowers and wild herbs for both his and Gothi's personal use.
"And then something weird jumped out of the bushes. It was like a… like a flaming squirrel."
The Three Weirdos and their dragons all stared at him.
"Really? A flaming squirrel?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Fishlegs.
"Or a chipmunk," Fishlegs added.
"That makes no sense," Zenna deadpanned.
"Or some other flammable rodent."
"I doubt it. Are you sure you weren't avoiding a tree?" Erland asked.
"I don't know, you guys. It scared us. Isn't that enough for you?" Fishlegs retorted, miffed. When the trio didn't reply, he got back on Meatlug and flew off.
"It could have been a dragon. Perhaps a juvenile Monstrous Nightmare based on his 'flaming' description," Erland remarked.
"But none of the trees look like they've been scorched. Could have been Fishlegs' imagination," Zenna guessed.
"Could have been anything." Hiccup led the group in heading back to meet up with the other Riders. "But a flaming squirrel sounds a little far-fetched. Everyone knows there's no such thing as a-" he said before something on fire suddenly burst from the bushes.
"FLAMING SQUIRREL!" exclaimed the trio as they ducked. Their dragons shielded them as the flaming projectile zoomed past them.
"Whoa! You saw that, right?" Hiccup looked at his siblings and their dragons.
"It nearly hit us. Of course I did!" Zenna exclaimed.
"That was slightly larger than a squirrel though," Erland observed.
The three of them looked at each other and nodded. Toothless, Stryka, and Embla stayed close to them as they slowly crawled out of their hiding place. Looking in the direction of the alleged flaming squirrel's path, they saw something hiding under a rock.
"Well, definitely not a flaming squirrel or a little Monstrous Nightmare," Erland said while Zenna and Hiccup looked on with wide eyes.
A baby dragon huddled under the rock. Its bright yellow eyes blinked at the three humans and three bigger dragons with distrust. It chittered and tried to hide its large white head behind its bright orange wings.
"What is a hatchling doing here all by itself?" Stryka chittered as she and her mate followed their Riders to investigate.
"I'm more worried about where the mother is…" Toothless looked around, his eyes narrowed.
"They definitely don't look like any dragon we've seen around Berk before," Embla hissed and stayed back.
Hiccup crouched close to where the dragon was hiding and smiled gently. "Hey, little guy. Who are you?" he asked softly.
The dragon growled softly and hid further back in the small alcove.
"Careful. I think it's frightened," Erland cautioned and gestured to Hiccup to move back a little.
"Can you communicate with it, Loki?" Zenna asked, using the former god's real name.
Loki focused his gaze on the dragon, keeping his inner voice calm and even.
'Hello there, little one. It's alright. No need to be afraid. My friends and I won't hurt you.'
The dragon let out a soft trill of surprise. Its voice rang in Loki's head, confused and sounding like a little boy's.
'Whoa! How are you talking without moving your mouth?'
'Perks of being the Dragon Whisperer around these parts.' Loki smiled at the distinctly male hatchling.
The dragon's eyes went wide and he waddled out into the light. At this, Hiccup took out a small bundle of Dragon Nip from his vest.
"Don't be afraid. We're friends. Here."
The dragon squawked and took a step back from the one-legged boy's outstretched hand.
"It's okay. It's just a little Dragon Nip," Hiccup reassured him.
"Yummy for a dragon's tummy." Zenna rubbed her belly to emphasize.
The dragon looked to Loki, who nodded. He sniffed at the offered Dragon Nip in Hiccup's outstretched hand before taking it into his mouth.
"Wow! This tastes great!" he chirruped and hopped over to Hiccup.
"Ahhh! Little dragon, big claws!" Hiccup yelped when the hatchling jumped into his arms and he felt the claws dig into his skin.
Loki gently pulled the young dragon off Hiccup's chest and held him in front of his face.
"What's a little one like you doing out in the woods all by yourself, hm?" he asked.
"Waiting. Mama went out to go hunting and to fetch my siblings. We're moving to a new island. I got to go with her first 'cause I'm the oldest." said the dragon hatching, puffing his chest out with pride. But then he frowned and his wings went limp. "But Mama isn't back yet. I hope she and the others are okay…"
"Well, I'm sure your mother is on her way with your younger siblings. And if she's got big claws like you, I'm sure she's doing fine," Loki reassured him. He looked at Hiccup and Zenna, smiling. "He's not hurt. Just waiting for his family to pick him up before they move to a new home."
"Aw, maybe we can keep this little guy company until then?" Zenna cooed and gently stroked the top of the hatchlings head down along his spine. The hatchling purred and nuzzled his head into her hand.
At Zenna's suggestion, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla nudged their Riders.
"We might want to be careful," Toothless warbled.
"Mother dragons aren't good with strangers handling their young," Stryka chimed in.
"If the mother arrives and sees us with him, chances of us getting into a battle are rather high," Embla supplied.
Loki relayed the dragons' concerns to Hiccup and Zenna, who looked thoughtful.
"It's still dangerous to leave the little guy out here in the woods by himself," Zenna reminded Loki as the little dragon wiggled into her arms. Now he was purring as he rested his head on the Fiersome girl's shoulder.
"We can watch over him and back off when there's a sign that his mother's arriving. Though, I think one of us should let the rest of the team know," Hiccup mused, watching as Toothless and the hatchling got into a staring contest.
Toothless snorted, eyes narrowed warningly. The hatchling sneezed, letting out a tiny fireball and a puff of smoke, right into his face. Toothless growled only to get a light cuff on the head from Stryka.
"I'll let the others know. And I might as well head to the village for supplies in case we need them." Loki climbed onto Embla's back. He glanced at the hatchling and smiled. 'Try not to get into too much mischief, little one.'
"What do you mean "too much" mischief?" asked the hatchling, looking all innocent as he snuggled into Zenna's arms.
It didn't take long for Loki to find Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins. He told them and their dragons that training was done for today and they were free to do as they pleased. He and Embla flew off to the village before any of them could ask where Hiccup and Zenna were.
Convincing Stoick and Zenna's parents to let the three of them spend the night out in the woods was easy enough. He told the three that they would be staying at the Cove, which was the safest haven on the island. It was a lie, of course, but lying was Loki's strong suit. He promised the adults that he would keep Hiccup and Zenna safe. Now that was true for the villagers of Berk knew Erland to be a faithful friend.
Gothi was easier to convince.
"As long as you're back in the morning to do the chores," she said and handed Loki a couple of blankets and pillows. She also handed him a couple of lanterns.
"That's all? You're not going to miss my company?" Loki grinned cheekily at her.
"I'll miss having someone do the more back-breaking tasks. Take this as well. Keep it covered and have your dragons warm it on a campfire," Gothi replied and thrust a basket into Loki's hands.
Loki peered into the basket. It was filled with bread and smoked salmon, cheese, and clay jugs that were warm to the touch.
Bearing these camping necessities, Loki and Embla flew back to the forest. They spotted the hatchling playing hide-and-seek with Stryka. The little guy was using Toothless as his hiding place, ducking behind the male Night Fury when Stryka neared.
"Come out, come out wherever you are ~" Stryka crooned and sat in front of her mate, who was trying to nap.
"Please, my love, do not indulge him," Toothless grumbled as the hatchling abandoned hiding behind him in favor of climbing all over him.
"I'm hungry! Ooh, I smell food!" The hatchling chirped and jumped off Toothless' head. He dove for the basket Loki was holding, but was stopped by Embla.
Embla grabbed the hatchling by his back leg with her tail. Dangling the little dragon in front of her, she hissed, "Behave, little hatchling, and the humans will share."
"I have a name, y'know. Torch," the little one snorted.
Loki coaxed Embla to let him down. Taking out a bit of smoked salmon from the basket, he said, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Torch."
Now that they knew Torch's name, the Three Weirdos were quick to bond with him. Zenna took charge in checking him for injuries. When she found none, she let Torch climb onto her shoulders. Torch chittered as he draped himself around Zenna's neck like a scaly orange scarf and batted his claws at Stryka when she nuzzled him.
"Ah, ah, ah. No. Mind your claws, hatchling," Stryka said sternly, feeling the light scrapes against her scales.
"Sorry…" Torch mumbled and lowered his head.
Embla nudged Toothless. "When you two become parents, I bet your mate will be the disciplinarian," she told him.
"I have no doubts about that," Toothless sighed, frowning when Torch scuttled down Zenna and scampered over to Hiccup.
His Rider was growing fond of Torch, petting the hatchling and playing games with him alongside Zenna. Every now and then, he'd ask Torch a question.
"What do you call your kind, Torch? Where do you and your family usually go?"
"You'll have better luck getting answers from his mother, Hiccup. I don't think Torch is the kind of dragon who listens to educational lectures. Even ones about himself," Loki remarked before tilting his head up to examine the skies. No sign of a large dragon resembling Torch yet.
The hours passed. Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland kept an eye on Torch and made sure he didn't wander too far away from his waiting spot. But, like any young dragon, Torch wanted to explore.
"I'm getting boooorrreeeddd!" Torch shrieked and flapped his wings.
They brought Torch to the cove. As the little dragon amused himself with trying to catch fish, the Three Weirdos prepared their dinner. The sun was sinking into the horizon as they ate. Embla, Toothless, and Stryka managed to catch a few fish to supplement their humble meal of smoked salmon, bread and cheese, and herbal tea.
"Hey!" Toothless glared at Torch when the hatchling stole one of his fish.
"Let him be, my love. He's a growing dragon. Here." Stryka pushed one of her own fish to her mate.
"At least one of them's almost ready for parenthood," Loki remarked and took a swig of tea. When Hiccup and Zenna looked to him, heads tilted to the side, he chuckled and motioned to Toothless and Stryka with his head. "Try to guess."
Toothless rolled his eyes when Hiccup gave him a teasing smile.
They returned to Torch's waiting place just as the first stars of the night emerged. And more hours passed. Before the moon had even reached its apex, Torch was already asleep.
Hiccup yawned and rubbed his eyes, absentmindedly scratching Torch's back as the hatchling slept.
"How long do we have to stay here?" he asked. Beside him, Zenna was already conked out. Her mouth was slightly open as she snored, curled up against Stryka's side. Stryka swished her tail over her, purring when Zenna reached for it and laid it across her stomach.
"Just until Torch's mother arrives…" Loki mumbled as he sketched Torch's sleeping form in his journal, keeping an eye on his lantern.
Toothless and Embla flanked their little group on two sides, alert. It was a couple of hours until something significant happened.
Loki was halfway through a yawn when his ears picked up the unmistakable sound of wing beats.
"I've got her scent." Embla stood on all fours in a defensive stance. "Torch's mother is arriving," she warned. Loki put out the lantern before he and Hiccup packed away their things.
Hiccup nudged Zenna awake, the Fiersome girl letting out a confused, "Whu…?" as she opened her one violet eye.
"We gotta go. Before Torch wakes up," Hiccup whispered, glancing at the sleeping dragon. Zenna cast a sad glance at the little guy before she and Stryka joined Embla and the boys in slowly backing away into the shadows.
Hiding behind a copse of pine trees, they watched as something enormous came to a landing a few feet away from Torch.
"Holy Shields…" Zenna breathed out, now fully awake.
Hiccup could only nod in agreement while Loki watched, eyes popping in amazement. Torch's mother loomed over them all and, by the Norns, she was a magnificent dragoness. Her wings spread out wide and blocked the moon. Only the faint rays of moonlight bouncing off her pearly white head provided light.
Torch woke up when he felt wind blowing on his face. He perked up and ran over to his mother, screeching, "Mama! Mama! Mama!"
"Hush, my sweet. Your siblings are resting," Torch's mother greeted him with a loving nuzzle.
"I had a really fun day! I met these really nice humans and their dragon friends have these weird things on their backs that they sit on!"
At Torch's words, Loki blanched. "This is when we take our leave. Slowly…" he whispered. He, Hiccup, Zenna, Toothless, Stryka, and Embla slowly began to back off, trying to keep their footsteps as silent as possible.
"Humans?"
The hiss in Torch's mother's voice made Loki swallow. They made it about fifteen steps before Torch turned around.
"Yeah! There! And one of them can talk to us without moving his mouth!" he said, waggling his wing in the direction of their hiding place.
"Time to run," Loki muttered.
While the humans turned around to start running, their dragons kept their eyes trained on Torch's mother. Toothless and Stryka barked out warnings when they saw her spread her wings while Embla took to the skies. Going full cloak, she fired a warning glob of acid.
But Torch's mother dwarfed Embla and merely flew over the Changewing. She landed ten feet away from Hiccup, Zenna, Loki, Toothless, and Stryka.
"Who are you humans and why were you with my son?" she growled. Torch then hopped into view.
"Mama, it's okay! They're nice humans!" he said frantically.
"Drop to your knees. Let me handle this," Loki whispered to Hiccup and Zenna. Looking at Toothless and Stryka, he telepathically told them, 'Be ready to fly them out of here.'
Embla landed next to her Rider as he approached Torch's mother. Loki kept his hands up, showing that he was unarmed. Craning his neck up, he focused on the wary mother dragon's eyes.
'Your son speaks the truth, Madame. We have not harmed nor do we wish to harm your son,' he thought to her.
Upon hearing the former God of Mischief's words in her mind, Torch's mother faltered. Lowering her head, she regarded the human before her. After a few minutes of staring, she let out a soft huff of warm air from her nostrils, ruffling Loki's hair.
"So you are the one I've been hearing about. The Serpent Tongue, Loki himself," she mused.
"It is an honor." Loki bowed his head. "I can see where Torch gets his impressive looks from," he complimented her.
"Flattery may work on other wild dragons, Serpent Tongue. But you will not fool me. Now, answer me. What. Were. You. Doing. With. My. Son?"
"On my honor, Madame, we did not harm Torch. My friends and I found him all by himself here in the forest. We did not want him to remain unguarded from predators so we stayed here to watch over him," Loki told her calmly.
"It's true, Mama. They've been taking care of me while I was waiting for you." Torch gave his mother the draconic equivalent of the puppy dog eyes. "Please don't hurt them," he pleaded with her.
Already, Toothless and Stryka were urging Hiccup and Zenna onto their backs. Meanwhile, Embla went closer to Loki. She was prepared to grab Loki with her tail and carry him off if need be.
Finally, Torch's mother nodded to Torch. "All right, baby. If you say so." She then looked at Loki and the other two humans kneeling close by. "Thank you for watching over my son," she told him.
"You are welcome, Madame." Loki bowed to her.
"You may call me Blazeswirl, Serpent Tongue," Torch's mother dipped her head.
At that, Hiccup and Zenna stood up.
"I guess this is goodbye, Torch." Hiccup waved to the little dragon perched on his mother's wing.
"We'll miss you…" Zenna mumbled.
Torch chittered something into his mother's ear. She rumbled something that sounded a lot like, "I suppose you're right…" to Loki's ears. She then focused her gaze on the small group below her.
"The hour is late and I think it prudent to continue my family's journey when it is daytime. Will you allow me and my children to remain on this island until tomorrow?"
"We would be honored if you stay here with us, Madame Blazeswirl." Loki smiled.
"Any chance you can ask her if we can learn a little more about her family's species?" Hiccup whispered to Loki only for Blazeswirl to let out a soft hissing laugh.
"My ears can hear you, companion of Loki. And I know enough of your human language to understand your request. As long as you do not do anything to harm my children, I will allow you to study us," she said.
"Splendid. Tomorrow, my friends and I will show you our Dragon Academy where we can study you," Loki replied after translating her speech. After making sure Torch and his family were comfortable, he led his friends back to the village.
Early the next morning, the Berkians were amazed to see a dragon they'd never seen before soar over the village. Torch and his two siblings shrieked with glee as their mother did a grand display of spiraling in the air before smoothly gliding into the academy arena.
Fishlegs stared at the four new dragons, mouth agape, as Erland helped Torch's mother get comfortable inside the enclosed space.
"Well, Fishlegs, turns out your "flaming squirrel" was a flaming baby dragon," Zenna greeted him and the other awestruck members of their team.
"And his mother has graciously allowed us to study her and her hatchlings for the benefit of expanding our dragon knowledge. However, let's be respectful. If they don't want to do any of our tests, we let them be," Erland reminded the group. He gave Snotlout and the Twins a warning look.
"Wait, learning?" Tuffnut piped up in disbelief at Erland's proposal.
"No, thanks," Ruffnut declined.
"Come on, you two. Learning can be fun, especially when it comes to dragons," Zenna chided them as she helped Fishlegs and Erland prepare the testing materials.
"This will also be a good opportunity for us to document a new species in the Book of Dragons. Torch's mother has even allowed us to name her family's species," Hiccup added, already taking out his journal and a pencil.
Snapping out of his stupor, Fishlegs grinned. "We even get to determine what they're called. That is… that is a really big responsibility. I don't know if I'm ready for that," he mumbled.
"I am! I'm gonna name the Snot out of them!" Snotlout proclaimed, pointing to Torch's family with a cocky grin.
"I still think naming us is a silly business. We have no name for our kind. We all know each other and other dragons by our given names," Blazeswirl remarked.
'It helps us humans tell different kinds of dragons apart. Not all of us have the gift to actually ask for your given names,' Erland explained to her.
"I think it's fun we get to have a new name for our kind!" Azure, Torch's sister, piped up.
"Make sure your friends give us a good name, Loki!" chirped Torch's brother, Tawny.
"I'll go first!" Torch hopped onto the barrel as Astrid approached with a ruler. Zenna helped him spread his wings for Astrid to measure his wingspan.
"Twenty inches for the wings," Astrid observed.
"How about Mama there?" Tuffnut glanced at Blazeswirl who complied in spreading her wings, which were so vast that they covered half of the arena's roof.
"We need the other ruler…" Hiccup mumbled. Luckily, he had just the ruler needed which measured things in feet. With Toothless' help, he went up to Blazeswirl and carefully measured her wingspan. He flipped the ruler over and counted how many times he flipped it over and did some quick math in his head.
"Fifty feet for a full-grown adult. That's a big wingspan…" he mused when Toothless landed.
"Big Wing! Big Span! Big-Wing-Span!" Snotlout exclaimed, looking at Torch and his siblings for their opinion.
"Booo!" Torch blew a raspberry at him.
"It's lame!" Tawny snickered.
"And boring!" Azure squawked.
"That's a hard no from the kids," Erland called out.
"May I have the honor of administering the claw test?" Fishlegs held up a piece of paper.
This time, Azure volunteered and chittered gleefully as she sliced the paper to shreds.
"Look at these talons… They're razor-like," Fishlegs murmured in awe as he examined Azure's claws.
"And they look like they've been well-maintained. Good girl, Azure," complimented Zenna Torch's sister.
"Thank you!" Azure giggled, puffing her chest out with pride.
"Sharp-Claw! Razor-Feet! Razor-Sharp-Claw-Talon-Feet!" Snotlout suggested.
"Is he serious?" Tuffnut asked Hiccup at the same time Blazeswirl told Erland, "Do not let the short buffoon name us."
Erland nodded and covered his mouth to stifle his snickers.
Fishlegs then came forward with a basket. "You know what's next, don't you?" he asked Hiccup.
"No. Not really." Hiccup blinked at him, eyeing the basket suspiciously.
"Only the single most important test to determine a dragon's reaction to eels. The Eel Reaction Test!" Saying this, Fishlegs opened the basket and pulled out a long black-and-yellow striped eel. Toothless, Stryka, Embla, Hookfang, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch all hissed at the sight of the vile creature and backed off.
Suddenly, Tawny cried, "Yahoo! My favorite!" and flew towards Fishlegs, snatching the eel from his hand.
"Hey, you gotta share!" Torch scuttled over to his brother and they played a tug-of-war, biting off chunks of eel from either ends. Azure got in between them and chomped down on the middle bit, much to her brothers' annoyance.
"Holy Shields…" Zenna gasped.
"They ate it! They ate the eel!" Fishlegs exclaimed in amazement.
Erland glanced at Blazeswirl, who looked completely calm. "Um, are your kids going to be okay?" he asked her.
"Why wouldn't they be? Eels are a common treat for us when we can catch them," Torch's mother replied.
"Eels aren't poisonous to them," Erland announced to his friends.
"Eel Eater! Come on, that's perfect!" Snotlout threw out his last name suggestion. But both Torch and Erland merely shook their heads.
Hiccup glanced at Fishlegs, who was beside himself with excitement. "Fishlegs, has there ever been a dragon who wasn't afraid of–" he managed to say before Fishlegs concluded with, "Never in recorded history. We're in uncharted waters, my friend." Placing his hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
Erland grinned. 'You and your children are a unique breed of dragons. To be immune to eels is an incredible feat,' he complimented Blazeswirl.
While she did not say anything, there was a hint of a proud smile on Blazeswirl's face as she watched her hatchlings waddle over to Hiccup and Zenna.
"You hear that, kids? You're three of a kind along with your mother," Hiccup proclaimed and held up Torch.
"Now, we gotta see if they can fly," Fishlegs said before looking at the mother dragon who was rumbling something to Erland. He, in turn, hummed and took down notes in his journal.
"Um, Erland. Can you maybe ask her if her kids can fly?" Fishlegs called out.
"Go on, my little ones." Blazeswirl spread her wings. "Show them how we dance through the air," she encouraged Torch, Azure, and Tawny.
The three little dragons grouped together and started walking around in circles. Torch formed the outer ring while Azure and Tawny walked in opposite directions.
"What are they doing?" Ruffnut wondered out loud.
"Is something wrong?" Astrid asked Hiccup, who looked confused.
"Did the tests break them?" Tuffnut glanced at Zenna.
"Maybe they're just preparing to take off," Zenna guessed before she gasped.
Azure, Tawny, and Torch suddenly all spiraled up into the air in a shower of sparks. They screeched in triumph as they flew around the arena, surrounding the Riders and their dragons in blurs of blue, yellow, and orange. Blazeswirl beamed with pride as her children flew over to her, doing loop-de-loops around her.
Erland grinned as the three little dragons continued their vibrant display. He cast a small shield over himself as they flew over him, trailing sparks, and admired the patterns they made in the air. 'They fly like they're catching the winds of the eye of a storm,' he observed.
After five minutes of dazzling their audience, Torch and his siblings returned to the center of the arena, spiraling back down to the ground.
Once Torch landed, he scampered over to Hiccup who picked him up.
"You little guys are incredible!" Hiccup exclaimed in awe.
That's when they noticed that the academy's floor, scuffed and scorched from years of dragons coming and going, had gained another scorch mark.
"Whoa… look at those burn marks," Ruffnut mumbled, pointing to the spiraling black soot marks. They were quite beautiful in a way. As if someone had captured the essence of a typhoon's destructive force but softened it with feather brushes.
"Look at this burn mark." Tuffnut held up his arm, which was smoldering. His burn? Not so pretty.
"I bet their Mama's an excellent flier as well," Zenna remarked in agreement before focusing on treating Tuffnut's burn.
"Madame Blazeswirl, will you do us the honor of showing us?" Erland looked up at Torch, Azure, and Tawny's mother in awe.
"Of course. Observe, young humans." Blazeswirl gracefully slid out of the arena. Doing a power dive, she aimed for a patch of sea where the water was mostly still. Opening her wings, she spiraled up, up, up into the air. Plumes of seawater swirled and crashed in her wake, bubbling as sparks trailed from Blazeswirl's mouth and back and hit the water.
"Go, Mama, go!" Azure, Tawny, and Torch cheered.
When Blazeswirl returned, the Riders were fully impressed and already abuzz with ideas for names.
"Did you see that? They spun like… like a typhoon!" Fishlegs said.
"And they came back just like boomerangs!" Astrid added.
"Hot-Spinners! Flaming -Comebackers!" Snotlout suggested.
"No." Fishlegs shook his head just as the perfect name popped into his head.
"Typhoomerang."
Erland glanced at Blazeswirl, who slowly nodded.
"Hmmm… Yes. Yes, I think that name sounds fitting."
"She gives it her seal of approval, Fishlegs." Erland then walked over to Torch and his siblings. "It's settled. From this day forth, your kind shall be called Typhoomerangs," he declared.
"Typhoomerang?" Snotlout scrunched his brows. "Nah, I don't get it," he said.
"It's a combination, Snotlout. You know, typhoon plus boomerang?" Zenna noticed that Snotlout still didn't get it and sighed, "Never mind…"
Azure, Tawny, and Torch hopped about in excitement. They loved the name and were soon screeching, "We are Typhoomerangs!" as they flew about.
Once the naming was done, the Riders spent another hour observing Torch's family. Hiccup and Erland had their charcoal out and were sketching as if their lives depended on it. Zenna, on the other hand, busied herself with helping Blazeswirl groom her massive wings with the help of Astrid and Ruffnut. Tuffnut and Snotlout decided to try teaching Torch and his siblings how to play fetch with their helmets. The game ended when Tawny did a poo in Snotlout's, much to the latter's horror.
The other dragons themselves were content to sit and watch, occasionally striking up a conversation with Blazeswirl.
"I don't know how you manage it without a mate. Three younglings with that kind of energy must be a handful sometimes," Toothless sighed as he resigned himself to becoming a climbing frame for Torch, Tawny, and Azure. His lower right eyelid twitched as Torch gnawed at one of his ears.
"They can be a lot to handle at times, Night Fury. But I consider it a gift to be their mother. In time, they'll leave my side to become their own dragons and start families of their own." Blazeswirl smiled softly as her children went over to her. "When the time comes for you and your mate to have hatchlings of your own, you'll be surprised at how much love will overflow your very being."
"It's interesting that you say that. Toothless and I already feel that kind of love towards our humans." Stryka looked at Zenna, who was looking through Hiccup and Erland's sketches and offering her input to them. "They may not have scales like us, but we know that they are ours," she said softly.
Toothless glanced at Hiccup and smiled a little. "And they can be quite a handful sometimes… But it is a privilege to be by their sides to protect them," he agreed.
The hour passed and it was time for Torch and his family to leave.
"Goodbye, Torch. You and your siblings look out for each other, okay?" Hiccup told the orange Typhoomerang, giving him one last pat on the head.
"Hope we get to see you all again someday," Zenna said as she helped Azure and Tawny onto their mother's back.
"We thank you for allowing us to get to know you and your children, Madame Blazeswirl." Erland bowed to the hatchlings' mother. "You are welcome to grace the skies of Berk anytime," he said.
"My children and I thank you for your group's hospitality, Loki. Until we meet again," Blazeswirl said before spreading her wings and taking off. Leaving the arena, she spiraled through the air a few times, sparks trailing behind her, before flying away.
Watching the Typhoomerangs leave, the Riders and their dragons had time to reflect on everything.
"You know, in terms of discovering a new species, this instance was surprisingly tame," Fishlegs remarked.
"What do you mean? Does this look tame to you?" Tuffnut held up his bandaged arm.
"There was no aggression from Torch and his family whatsoever. If they'd been discovered in the wild, they would have attacked us out of self-defense." Fishlegs glanced at Erland. "Thanks to Erland's ability to communicate with dragons, we avoided unnecessary conflict," he concluded his findings.
"Huh… that's true. Imagine if Erland didn't know how to talk to them…" Ruffnut mused.
"Yeah, like can you imagine if you guys brought Torch into one of your homes, not knowing he was a baby?" Tuffnut slowly nodded in agreement.
"Toothless, Stryka, and Embla would have been the only ones to know and you three would have thought they were jealous of Torch getting all the attention. And then his mom would have arrived and gone on a rampage looking for him because you guys accidentally kidnapped him," Snotlout snorted.
Looking at each other, Hiccup, Zenna, and Erland went pale at the thought.
"Norns, I think we dodged a major fireball thanks to you," Hiccup told Erland, who merely nodded in agreement.
"Things could have gone really badly." Zenna leaned closer to Erland and whispered, "You're a literal godsend."
Erland chuckled at her little jest and flipped through the notes he, Hiccup, and Fishlegs took. "Well, I'm glad to offer my Dragonese translation services if it enriches our knowledge," he said and looked at his sketches of Torch's family. "Let's use this one," he pointed to his full sketch of Torch's mother. "for the Book of Dragons' Typhoomerang entry," he suggested.
And that was how the Book of Dragons gained a new entry to its vast compendium of dragons.