I Am Dragonblood: Secret Uncovered {Book Three} (HTTYD Fanfic)

Chapter Seven - Dragon Revealed

Hiccup, with Astrid still on his back, glided through the pillars of glowing rock, his thoughts in turmoil. Astrid knew his dragon side, Fishlegs knew, Gobber and Gothi knew. There was another Dragonblood here. There were Night Fury eggs and Toothless had come from here. His mind had frozen from the chaos of events, it was all he could do to glide and not crash into anything. 
    Astrid laid a hand on his shoulder, her body heat seeping into his scales. 'I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in there.'
    'It's fine,' he warbled. 
    'You do know I have no idea what you're saying.'
    The Night Fury chuckled, thin wisps of smoke puffing from his nostrils. 
    'We should get back to camp,' Astrid said. 'The others are looking for you.'
    Hiccup halted in midair and turned his head to look at her, eyes narrowed. 
    'They don't know, do they?'
    He shook his head, looking at the dragon and Dragonblood as they hovered beside him. 
    Astrid smiled. 'Let's change that, then.'
    Hiccup shook his head again, trying to say "no" as best he could in humantongue. 
    'Oh come on, you can't stay hidden anymore, Hiccup,' she told him, trying to encourage him to move. 'If you don't tell them, I will.'
    Hiccup growled in protest, but he knew it was true. They would find out eventually, no matter how careful he was, so why not now?
    'Fine,' he growled, and turned and soared towards the camp. 
    It took twice as long to get back than it had to get to the tunnel, mainly because they had flown a little further away after being chased and they had a Nadder tagging along. At last they saw it, after an hour of getting lost because of the rocks looking the same and a certain Light Fury being of no help at all. Hesitantly he glided down and landed on the coarse gravel, the stones crunching under his feet, sounding extremely loud. 
    'They must still be looking,' Astrid observed, seeing there was no one around. She jumped down and turning to face him, arms crossed. 'So, when are you going to tell me about... This.'
    Hiccup huffed indignantly. 'Really? Again with—' he was cut off by an ebony scaled creature slamming into him, knocking him over onto his back, and a pink tongue rasping over his scales. 'Ew! Toothless!' He twisted from the dragon's licking frenzy and pinned his tail down with a forepaw. Toothless easily pulled free and pounced at Hiccup's tail, promptly missed and dove face first into the gravel. The Dragonblood trotted over and half stood on Toothless proudly, grinning goofily. 
    'Are you always like this?' Arianwen asked. 
    'What? Bullying me?' Came a muffled reply from the gravel. 
    'I don't—'
    The Light Fury growled, shrinking back into the shadows as a Gronckle, Zippleback and Nightmare landed. The twins immediately jumped down and advanced on the Night Furies, a mischievous gleam in their eyes. 
    'Oh no,' Hiccup backed away and growled at them. 'Um, guys?'
    'You're fine,' Toothless darted out of the way. 
    'Guys, leave him,' Astrid commanded. The twins froze like they'd walked into treacle. 
    Snotlout and Fishlegs walked over, the stones crunching under their boots. 'So we've been searching for another Fury for ten years and now two turn up at once,' the Jorgenson said, his small eyes scrutinising Hiccup and the Light Fury. 
    Astrid glanced at him, then at Fishlegs, who had a knowing expression on his face. 'I wouldn't be so sure.'
    Excited squeals came from the twins. 'Look at his leg!'
    'It's like Hiccup's!'
    'Please tell me you're Hiccup,' Tuffnut begged the Night Fury.'Please, please.'
    Hiccup looked at Arianwen. 'Hey, if I Shift do you think you could, too?'
    The Light Fury settled back on her haunches. 'And why would I want to reveal myself?'
    'Well, I... Don't really want to be alone in this.' He watched as Ruff edged towards Arianwen, trying to be stealthy and utterly failing. 'And you'd probably have the twins fighting to ride you. Trust me, you don't want them riding you.'
    Arianwen narrowed her eyes at Ruffnut. 'I'll see.'
    He grunted, backing further from Tuff. The moon's pull was waning, so it must have been nearing dawn. He felt he could shift back down here, with no moonlight bathing his scales in their strong glow. 
    'Go on then,' Toothless said, sitting down to watch the show. 
    Hiccup sighed and looked at Astrid. She still had her arms crossed and her blue eyes shone brightly, waiting for him to change. He reached for the tingling cord of energy and thought himself to hybrid form, feeling his bones crack as they changed to dense human bone. 
    There was a look of awe on the Vikings faces when he dared to look at them, even Fishlegs, who had seen him Shift before, had an amazed expression. 
    'I have to know how to do that,' Tuffnut was the first to brake the silence. 'Show me, oh great Dragonblood.'
    That caught Hiccup's attention. 'You know about Dragonbloods?'
    'Of course we do,' Ruff said. 'Our great, great, great—'
    'Great—'
    'Great—'
    'Great—'
    'Great—'
    'Great—'
    'Great grandmother left us a book about them.'
    Fishlegs came over, his amazement replaced by excitement. 'There are books about Dragonbloods?'
    'Yes!' Tuffnut said. 'But only one.'
    'That we own.'
    'We? You mean me, sis. Me...'
    As usual, their conversation turned into a brawling match. The Light Fury leapt out of the way as they rolled past her, arms flailing. 
    'I see what you mean,' she said from the top of a rock. 
    Hiccup rolled his eyes at the twins, then looked over to the Jorgenson, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. 
    'Cousin...' Snotlout muttered. 'You're my cousin, so does that mean?...'
    Hiccup shook his head. 'No, I think. Only if one or both of your parents is a Dragonblood.'
    Astrid walked over to him, inspecting one of his midnight black wings. 'Does that mean that Stoick was one?'
    He gulped, not wanting to go there. 'No. Valka is, though.'
    He shut his eyes for a second, a flashback of that terrible moment replaying behind his eyes. If only he hadn't Shifted to hybrid form, then the Alpha wouldn't have been able to get as stronger hold...
    A yell from Tuff brought him back to the present, though it was garbled due to the fact that his sister had him in a headlock. 'Another one!'
    A woman of around twenty sat on the rock the Light Fury had been on, her long, loose white hair hanging straight, the reddish ends brushing her elbows. Wings flowed from her back, just as white as her hair, and were folded neatly behind her. She smiled dazzlingly, her teeth pointed like a Fury's, and slipped gracefully down from the rock. 
    'Yes, another one,' she said, still with a hint of Dragontongue highlighting her words. 'I'm Arianwen, Skjult Verden guardian. You, my friends, are now under my protection.'

1159 words.