Berk's fish scenario was looking brighter by the minute as the village watched the latest boat of the season coming back to moor at the docks.
Fishlegs' father jumped off first to tie the moorings, and the other sailors walked off holding large crates of fish.
Sköld and the few other senior members of the house's that were present on the trip were directed to the great Hall for a meeting with the chief.
The usually rowdy group of Vikings enter quietly into the great Hall, the solemn atmosphere hitting them as they crossed the boundary. The chief sat at the head of the main table, brooding silently.
They sit down to the table, and look expectantly to the chief.
"Well." He starts, "How is the catch looking?"
"Pretty good Stoick, I'd know, I hauled most of it up myself" Spitelout declares, flexing his bicep.
"And the ice? Could we get another boat out by tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid to say Stoick, the ice was coming in too fast for us to even stay there a night longer. It's been a colder year as we all know, and the ice is all the sooner for it." Sköld regretfully informs him. "Although Spitelout is right. It was a fairly large haul, so even if it's the last one this season we still might be able to make it comfortably through winter.
Gobber, who had come along with them from the docks, raises his mug "At least you all made it back in one piece".
A chorus of "Aye" accompanies the downing of many tankards.
Two days pass uneventfully, the reserves still look hopeful, and the next meeting is being held.
"The ice is so far south this year that soon we won't be able to make it out of the harbour." Mulch warns, his illness having mostly passed a day or two prior.
"It's a bad omen, it almost never comes this early." someone mutters.
Another Viking pipes up, "Don't think we also haven't noticed that Astrid and Fishlegs have gotten themselves mixed up with this dragon nonsense now too. That Dragon Master, for as glad as I am for he greatly reducin' the dragon attacks, he's a bad influence."
" 'Lessened'? Tove, we haven't had a single attack since!"
"What do ya call my house being flattened by that Gronckle then!" Another Viking snaps back.
"All right! All right" Stoick quietens them down. "I understand Tove, I know it can be unsettling, an' that chill down your spine when one flies over you isn't gonna go away soon. But for better or for worse, some are here now. And some of the cages have been recently renovated into stables for them, courtesy of the Larson's." A small cheer of appreciation rises from the side of the long room.
"But, we have a more pressing matter." Stoick warns. "We ha-"
Astrid suddenly bursts in to the room, mildly out of breath.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the Jormung is getting bolder. It's already been spotted just past Changewing Island.
"It's getting closer to us. We have to do something about it." The Vikings in the hall being to mutter.
They had all heard Gobber's tales when he came back from the fishing trip, but when confirmation had arrived from Bucket and the Dragon Master, they had been astounded. Like a flock of baby Fireworm's through a forest the news had spread, stunning people as it went.
Most of the village had taken this as an excuse to get their weapons to Gobber to sharpen up as they eagerly awaited a conflict. They'd all grown strangely bored without the constant fear of dragon attacks, and so were eager to defend their village if it came to it.
"We need to deter it from getting closer to Berk." Someone suggests above the rest.
"Ask The Dragon Master to join us here please Astrid" Stoick asks, grim faced, "We have a dragon issue on our hands."
Not long later, The Dragon Master enters the great Hall, with Astrid and Toothless not far behind.
Stoick is the only person on this half of the Hall, sitting at the head of one of the side, long tables.
"I really wished it wouldn't come to this, with our food reserves being so tenuous at the moment an' all" Stoick laments.
Astrid and The Dragon Master both look sympathetically towards the chief, his tired eyes betraying his lack of rest.
"Unfortunately Da- uh, Stoick, we have to deal with now before it gets any worse." The Dragon Master says, glancing around the room, but the only Vikings left were out of earshot.
"Ok then" Stoick sighs, "What's ye plan?"
"Astrid will fly out to locate the Jormung's island on Stormfly, because when I saw it at Crescent island it swam back to somewhere, so it must have some home. We're going to need to confront it there to ensure it is as far from Berk as possible and it will reliably be there when we make our stand.
But so while the island is being found the rest of us can sort out the weapons and supplies we'll need and I may possibly pick a few willing fighters to come with us"
"We'll also need someone on a dragon on lookout above Berk, preferably on a rota." Stoick suggests.
"Definitely" The Dragon Master agrees, nodding.
"Uhm, hey you two. That already doesn't add up?" Astrid queries
"Yeah, you're right." He agrees, but slowly turns towards Astrid.
She can see the glint of his green eyes through his mask as he grins, "Time to do something stupid"
It's the next day, and Stoick and the Dragon Master and walking down through the village.
"You're saying we need more dragon riders?" Stoick asks incredulously. "What Vikings are you planning on asking? They'd need to be some of the most foolhardy, thrill-seeking..."
The Thorston's house comes into view ahead of them and all of Stoick's wonders are quelled immediately.
"Ah, right. The twins. Although I hope this is only going to be a temp'rary thing? Those two are destructive enough as it is without a fierce, scaly, fire breathing death machine by their side. And what dragons are you even planning on them using?"
"Don't worry, it's not just Ruff and Tuff you'll have to worry about, next we're taking a visit to the Jorgenson's". The Dragon Master laughs, "Just think of the tantrum Snotlout would throw if he didn't get a dragon and the twins did".
After very little convincing, The Dragon Master had collected all 3 more of the teen Vikings, and brought them along to a Cave on the other side of the island, just round from the docks.
"So uh, what dragons are in here again?" Snotlout asks, his fingers fidgeting.
The Dragon Master leaves them standing just outside the entrance to the Cave, and heads off inside without saying a word.
"Should we follow him?" Ruff asks
"Pfft, "follow him"? What a stupid idea." Tuff says while dodging a poorly aimed punch.
After only a minute Tuffnut begins pacing nervously and Snotlout peers into the gloomy cave entrance.
Seeing a small flicker of light, Snotlout leans forwards and cups his hands over the tops of his eyes like binoculars.
The Dragon Master appears from seemingly nowhere, backing out of the darkness, one hand in front of his cautiously.
Within an inch of Snotlout's face, a small puff of green gas sprays into his face before 4 yellow reptilian eyes flick open.
He launches backwards, swiping at his face and landing on his back.
Sitting up, he scowls at the twins as if daring them to laugh at the dragon blowing gas in his face.
"Ooh, A Zippleback, twice the heads of any puny Gronckle or Nadder" Snotlout chuckles, "I want it!"
"Hold your Selkies Snotlout. There's only two dragons in here, so the twins are going to have to share the Zippleback." The Dragon Master interrupts him, still keeping a watchful eye on the dragon as he leads it out of the cave.
After surprisingly little hassle, the Zippleback allowed the twins on its back and they sat just at the base of each of its long necks.
"Dragon Master, I think his name is Barf" Tuffnut declares.
"No, *Her* name is Belch!" Ruffnut's contrarian nature shines through.
"Hey sis, look underneath" Tuffnut snickers
Ruffnut hangs sideways off the side of the dragon, holding on to its neck with her feet. She whistles, before getting back up to her perch.
"Ok, but His name is still Belch!"
The Dragon Master disappears back into the cave while they argue, and this time Snotlout keeps a safe distance from the cave mouth.
When The Dragon Master returns walking backwards from the mouth of the cave with nothing other than a Monstrous Nightmare cautiously following him, Snotlout's eyes widened with greed, but also took a small step back.
Carefully transferring the large dragon to Snotlout while instructing him to keep his hand outstretched, was a chore even for the Drago Master.
"Oh it's not that hard Snotlout! Even Tuffnut could do it!" Ruff goads him slightly.
"At least I'll have a good view if he bites your hand off." Tuffnut comments, to which Snotlout flinches slightly before grunting and keeping his arm still and face turned away.
After Snotlout had finally managed to gain the Nightmare's trust (and plenty of fish for the dragons), Snotlout finally comes up with a name.
"Hmm, large teeth, fangs.. Hookfang! Yes!" He exclaims excitedly, patting his christened dragon on the side, to which he gets a hot jet of air blown in his face.
He blinks a few times and pats his now frizzy hair down, before determining that that meant Hookfang was happy with his new name.
The Dragon Master gazes back towards Berk along the island's coastline.
"Next step is to teach them to fly. Then we can try and make sure they end up home in one piece tonight."
A/N:
Going to be taking a break from more consistent uploads for a few months (for Exams and Coursework)
I will be back to uploading consistently after June, and will try and upload chapters as I get the opportunity to write them!