For Milady

TWENTY TWO: The Greater Good

"Be alert, girl," Astrid said softly. "I don't like this at all." Stormfly chirruped and moved a few feet away, her head alert as she scanned the surroundings. Quietly, Astrid gathered another handful of Rock Blossoms, making sure she had at least three dozen for the batch of mixture she was planning to make, before moving on to the last two ingredients. She knew the eels were back on Stippling but she still needed molenuts and some nosewort. For a moment, she wished Fishlegs was here, for his extensive knowledge of botany would make the task so much easier. She could vague recall her grandmother showing her nosewort when she was a child, a herb with leaves shaped very much like a bulbous nose, that was believed to be good for colds and runny noses.

"You can find this in damp, cold places-like where you would expect to get a cold and need it," her Gramma had said and she smiled, headed down to a damp, cool gorge where the little river ran through marshy banks...that were laden with the precious herb. Awkwardly, she crouched down and began to swiftly pick the slimy grey-green leaves. A small smile lifted her lips.

"Hmm...they should call this Snotwort," she chuckled as she stowed her harvest in her bag, then rose.

She was instantly on alert, her hackles raised as she listened. There was a strong sense she wasn't alone, the edge of another creatures breathing just audible at the fringes of her hearing. Instantly, she rested her bag down and fastened the flap, then pulled her axe into her hands. Stormfly hissed, her spines raised as she turned.

"I know, girl," Astrid murmured. An answering hiss sounded and her eyes widened...and then she threw herself aside as a huge glob of steaming green liquid flew through her former position and landed just by her satchel, hissing and dissolving the moss. Looking up, Astrid growled in her throat as a Changewing appeared, its yellow eyes narrowed and fixed firmly on the pregnant woman. "Of course-it would have to be a Changewing," she grumbled, knowing how ferocious the highly territorial dragons were. "I mean, it couldn't be a couple of Terrible Terrors in search of a quiet life, could it? What am I saying? Oh Thor, I've turned into Hiccup now..." And as she spoke, she dived forward, her roll awkward but accurate enough to grab her satchel and swat the dragon hard on the nose with the flat of her axe blade, before diving away as it roared and spat more acid at her.

Stormfly screeched and launched a volley of spines at the dragon as her rider dashed away, flinging herself into the saddle and urging the Nadder to launch. Responding immediately, Stormfly flung herself into the air, dodging another mouthful of acid and rolled to avoid yet another. Astrid hung on and then threw the dragon into a tight turn, allowing her to shoot more spines and use her own flame to drive the angry Changewing back. Two spines embedded in its wing and it shied away as the rider made sure her enemy was pushed back. And then Astrid sighed, seeing the dragon turn and vanish. From this angle, she could see the compression of the mud and moss as the creature headed back for its den...and out of curiosity, she followed, not knowing what she would find.

What she was not expecting was a dozen small hatchlings and a dead mother Changewing, the babies curled against her and emitting pathetic little warbles. The remaining adult, clearly injured even before Astrid had defended herself, limped up and regurgitated a pathetically small meal of fish that wouldn't feel the babies. They were clearly newly hatched-the shards of their jewelled shells were still strewn around the little clearing-and just a bit too small to feed themselves. And the injured adult was struggling. It had clearly tried to dig up some food and Astrid recognised a number of mole nut pods that would be unpalatable to dragons-but vital for her. She paused and rested her hand of the agitated Stormfly's neck.

"I know," she murmured as the dragoon warbled. "It's never completely what you think. But I guess we can help them and they can help us..." She pulled on the dragon's spines. "C'mon, Stormfly. Let's go fishing..."