I Have a Dragon

Reprieve - 26

"Rayne," Hiccup caught her arm as she followed the others out of the clubhouse. She shook free of his grip, but stayed put, cocking her head curiously. He glanced at Snotlout, who was making the obvious attempt to linger and eavesdrop. Hiccup shot him a stern glare, and he sulked off, muttering.

Rayne fidgeted, nervous. Hiccup, noting what his attention was doing, walked across the room to study the map in a pretense to make her feel more comfortable. He waited a long moment until he heard her give a tiny little exhale and move toward him.

"I need to know what happened out there," he said. She stiffened instantly. Without taking his eyes off the map, Hiccup continued, "Calico is quick enough to have avoided that trap. Something happened. That's why you went down, right?"

Rayne licked her lips, "Yes."

"What happened?"

Silence raised the tension. Hiccup followed a river with his finger, his mind drifting to their failed mission. It wasn't the fault of anyone in particular. It did, however, make him wonder as to Rayne's true purpose with the Riders. Rayne's voice reeled him back to the present.

"I saw something familiar, and froze up. Calico responded in kind. It wasn't her fault."

Hiccup finally turned away from the map, "I need to know you won't be doing that again. While Ruff and Tuff were supposed to be your wingman, you could have avoided the whole fiasco by keeping your mind in the present. Can I continue to trust you, or would you rather be pulled from future missions?"

Rayne hesitated, weighing her options. They'd been kind to her. She wanted to take down Krom and Ryker. But she wouldn't live with herself if Viggo was killed in the process. "My loyalties lie with the Riders," she carefully picked her words, answering the question that he didn't ask, "I will follow you as my leader. However, as you know, I have a.... history with the Hunters.  I am.. attached?..to one in particular. I can't promise you that I won't pull out if they're our target."

Hiccup nodded thoughtfully, "Is that what made you freeze? You saw them?"

"It won't happen again," she deflected. There was a thump on the darkening porch, and then a nose nuzzled the door open. Calico peeked in.

Hiccup grinned at the inquisitive look on the little dragon's face, "Have I ever told you that she's quite rare?" he changed the subject, "Fishlegs couldn't stop fawning over her when we first saw you in that storm at Berk."

A smile graced Rayne's face, "You've said so. Did I ever tell you there are thousands of them where she came from?" she bit back a giggle at Hiccup's face, "Tell Fishlegs that. Someday maybe I'll take him there. I called them a Silencer at first, you know."

Hiccup shrugged, "Makes sense. Thank you for the talk."

Rayne accepted her dismissal, running her hand over Calico on her way out. The Storm Chaser yawned, padding a circle to follow her rider.

*~*~*~*~*

Krom was back. Rayne leaned sideways, causing a concerned glance from Calico. Suspended thousands of feet in the air, they circled the ships below like a hawk after mice. The two ships had joined together, running a gangplank over for a familiar figure to stride across. It was about that time that Calico lept for the heights. She knew Krom had seen her, but it didn't matter. A mere dot in the sky, they were far beyond reach of any weapon.

There was a bustle of activity below. Calico kept her wings tilted, lazily circling in large loops. Little green ants scurried around, the brown leaves they sailed drifting apart as the two ships moved away from each other.