Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 23 - Ready, Set, Go

My hand absentmindedly reached up to brush the scratch on my cheek I'd received while running away from the Rumblehorn, but I was met with smooth skin. I smiled softly, realizing Toothless' saliva had already healed the minor injury. I'd definitely be covered in scars by now if it weren't for him. I bent over my map, writing in Guardian Island directly below my drawing.

*Come on, bud.* I sighed, folding up my map and depositing it back in the saddlebag, along with my pencil. Toothless jumped to his feet, grabbing my hand in his gummy mouth to help me stand up. I gave him an affectionate scratch on the jaw before climbing into the saddle. He stretched his wings one last time before bounding forwards and jumping off the sea stack, flapping vigorously to gain altitude. Once we were above the clouds, he straightened out, riding the wind.

*Don't you want to eat?* I wondered, leaning over to place my hand on his scaly side. After a moment I felt a slight rumble, so that proved he was hungry.

*I want to get some distance from that island first.* He explained. I nodded in acknowledgement.

*Hey, I wanted to ask before we got back to the nest—do you think Mom has been acting weird lately?* I questioned, thinking about her behavior this past week. She'd been much more...watchful than usual, almost as if she'd been taking mental notes of everything I said and did.

Toothless glanced sideways at me with curiosity. *I haven't noticed anything. Then again, I'm not as well-versed in human behavior as you.* He added.

I snorted in amusement. *Trust me, bud. I'm as clueless as you are.* I told him, pursing my lips in thought. Maybe I was just imagining things.

When we got home, my first thought was sleep. The sun had begun to set, only adding to my exhaustion. Toothless obviously felt the same. His paws dragged as he padded behind me through the dark tunnel leading to the main cavern. I planned to say a quick goodnight to my mom and head to my room.

As soon as I stepped into the cavern, the familiar sound of a thin object cutting through air lit up my tired senses and I reflexively dodged to the side. The smooth wood of my mom's staff slammed the ground where I'd just been standing, and I took another step back in shock. Toothless was frozen in place, his pupils narrowed as he tried to figure out if there was danger.

*Mom?!* I exclaimed, my eyes zeroing in on her as she straightened up and faced me, twirling her weapon around to adjust her grip. Without a word, she went on the attack once again, swinging out her staff. I ducked to avoid getting hit in the head, then immediately jumped as she tried to sweep my legs out from under me with her next movement. With fluid grace, she lunged forward, jabbing the end of her staff directly towards my midsection. Acting on pure instinct, I twisted at the last moment, grabbing hold of the staff in the same motion with my left hand while delivering a punishing elbow to her gut on the right. She doubled over with the force of it, automatically releasing her weapon.

"Good. Very good," she groaned, holding an arm across her stomach. My eyes widened, and I quickly threw her staff to the ground, reaching up to grip my hair with both hands.

*Mom! What was that?!* I demanded, unsure whether to be angry at the random attack or worried that I hurt her. Toothless padded over to us, just as confused as me. She was honestly lucky he was too shocked to do anything to stop her. He had trouble differentiating between real threats and practice fights.

She took in a deep breath, then stood up with an accomplished smile. "Just a little test of your reflexes. I wanted to make sure you're ready," she replied. I let my hands fall to my sides, staring at her as I waited for elaboration. "I'm taking you on your first mission tomorrow!" She announced, clapping her hands together with excitement.