The Great Beyond

Chapter 14: Team Astrid (Reign)

So, I'm going to do a little thing, and reset who's narrating in this section. So rather than starting with Hiccup, we're going to start with Reign again. I think it's really important for Reign to narrate this chapter and Chapter 16 in particular, so we're going to do that. Also, this helps with something I need to happen later on (I absolutely want Blindsided to be narrated by Reign, I think it could be really cool).

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The cold night air nipped at my face, causing blood to rise to my cheeks; it zipped right past me, stinging the little cuts and scrapes on my knuckles, but all of it was worth it. I hadn't gone on patrol with Astrid in what felt like forever, and because of that, I'd completely forgotten how fast she and Stormfly liked to go. Despite that, we were able to do a thorough check of Dragon's Edge and the surrounding areas, leaving no anomaly uninvestigated.

"Well, very good patrol, Astrid," I smiled. "The Edge is secure." Though we'd checked this accomplishment off, Astrid's face still appeared wary, scanning her eyes over the ground with an intense stare. "Uh-oh. I know that look."

"Where are all the Night Terrors?" she asked as we passed over a set of the dragon perches. "Aren't they supposed to be on watch? They're our last line of defense."

It didn't take much for me to figure out exactly where our sentries had gone, causing my hands to involuntarily ball into fists.

"Tuffnut!" I screamed, frustrated.

Immediately, Astrid and I yanked on our dragons' saddles, getting them to flip and turn back around. The closer we got to our temporary home, the stronger the warm, yellowed lantern light grew. It beckoned me toward it, whispering about ending the day and just going to bed, but I had to take care of this first.

As we'd expected, when Astrid and I landed, we found the twins hunched over one of the Night Terrors, dangling a stick over the dragon and coaxing it into jumping up and catching it. I wanted to believe that the twins would understand why they couldn't distract the Night Terrors in particular, but then again, they lacked the important life skill of common sense. It came in and out from time to time, but overall, they didn't really use their heads.

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Upon hearing my voice, the twins whipped around, proud smiles on their faces. An air of guilt crossed Fishlegs', while Snotlout remained stern and slightly annoyed as Astrid and I moved closer.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Ruffnut countered, crossing her arms against her chest. "Dragon training!" Tuffnut leaned down and scooped the Night Terror up into his arms, causing it to squeal and protest.

"Aside from Hiccup, you would think that you, of all people, would recognize that." Tuff's accusatory tone only furthered my frustration.

Right then, I heard the flapping of larger wings, and Hiccup and Toothless landed as I turned to look at them. Upon running his eyes over the scene, he shot me a quizzical look, silently asking for some sort of explanation.

"The twins have decided that playing with the Night Terrors is more important than letting them stand watch like they're supposed to," I huffed, jutting out a hip.

"Uh, excuse you, dragon training," Tuff corrected, like it made any difference. "Prepare to be amazed, my friend. Okay, ready, little guy?" He tossed the Night Terror to the ground. "Shake!" In response, the Night Terror dropped onto its back and began to move itself back and forth, wiggling furiously. I rolled my eyes, annoyed that the twins had truly wasted valuable resources. "See, you thought it'd be a handshake, he'd put out his paw, but I taught him—"