The Rider

Eleven

A/N.

Oh my Gods! 200+ reads already?? I can't thank you enough! I love you guys so much for enjoying my content, and if you have any questions or ideas for future chapters, let me know by messaging me! I love ideas by others, and maybe it will help me develop this story into something special! Also, in the next chapter I will explain what inspired Daystrike's design! Now that that mini speech is done, on with the story!

Rena turned Daystrike into a barrel roll, avoiding the barrage of projectiles flying at them. "Daystrike, let's start from that lagging ship and work our way forward." Daystrike roared and soared into the clouds.

On the vessel, the sailors were baffled. They had just seen a dragon fly up in the cloud cover, seemingly having bailed. They cheered, and that was their undoing. See, when they were screaming in joy, a whistle rang out, but they couldn't hear it. The whistle grew to almost painfully loud when the dragon shot down towards their ship and opened its jaw, revealing a ready-to-fire ball of ignited gases.

Hiccup was busily taking out a ship when he heard a loud explosion. He smiled momentarily before he refocused on his targets. Toothless did his laughing noise at the screams as the men dove overboard.

One by one, the ships sank, leaving men bobbing in the water. Rena had two shots left, but decided to leave one ship floating from her group to gather the survivors and get them out. 

Eventually, they managed to force Dagur to retreat. The Berserker was now screaming at Hiccup and the others that he will return, with Hiccup angrily scowling at him.

Rena's missing thumb continued to tingle, joined by her scarred thigh. She shook it out as best she could with her focus still on the subsiding battle, guiding Daystrike back to the base which was a little ways away from their advance on the incoming ships. She could see Hookfang flying towards them, for whatever reason Snotlout had.

"Nice going out there, Rena. Thanks for showing up when you did." Hiccup said, his green eyes meeting her blues. He frowned slightly, idly scratching at his left leg.

"Hiccup, you do realize you're scratching your prosthetic, right?" Rena asked, wearing a confused look at the teen. Hiccup sheepishly laughed.

"Yeah, it, uh, it's just a nervous habit." 

"Okay," Rena said slowly, not sold at his explanation. "We should get to work on the damages those lunatics caused."

Hiccup nodded, seeming to be a little spacey. Rena grew concerned, watching him carefully when he blinked tiredly.

Both her thumb and her scarred thigh were starting to ache now that the adrenaline was wearing off, feeling like someone was continuously pinching her. She clenched her teeth together when the pain spiked, turning from a pinching feeling to a sensation akin to getting all the muscle getting incinerated over and over again.

Toothless suddenly screeched in alarm, prompting Rena to whip her head back towards the dragon. The Night Fury was starting to fall from the sky, saddle empty. "HICCUP!" Rena screamed in terror upon spotting the lanky teen plummeting towards the frigid waters. 

"Rena! What happened?" Snotlout yelled at her. Rena kept her attention on Hiccup as Daystrike dove down to nab him.

"GRAB TOOTHLESS!" Rena shouted above the whistling, watching Daystrike catch him and immediately slow down. She felt as though she were about to pass out all of a sudden. "I've - got - Hiccup."

Rena forced herself to stay conscious.

Hookfang had grabbed the Night Fury, and was now making his way alongside Daystrike. The two dragons exchanged various noises, with Snotlout left in the dark.