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

Chapter Fourteen - Night's Flight

Through half closed eyes Hiccup saw an island, three times bigger than Berk and five times higher, coming closer and closer with every wingbeat. The moonlight was bright on its sheer cliffs, the rocks silvery and hard. 
    They swept down through the shadows of pine trees, Vikings stirring from their tents as the six dragons landed. Human voices called for Gothi when they saw Hiccup slip gingerly from the Nadder's back, his wings held stiff and awkward. She was by his side quicker than any Elder should have been, her staff in one hand and a needle and thread in the other. Swiftly, deftly she sewed the torn membrane together, her gentle yet strong hands making light work of the injury. 
    Hiccup sighed as something cool was spread over the wounds, the pain instantly diminishing. He hadn't realised how much his wings had hurt before the pain had lessened. 
    With a clearer mind he looked about him, seeing concerned Viking faces watching him and an even more concerned catlike dragon sitting a little way from him. As soon as Gothi had moved away Toothless ran over and gave him a good, slobbery lick. 
    'Urgh! Toothless!' Hiccup scolded, wiping warm dragon saliva from his face. 'Of all the greetings you could choose, you go for that one.'
    Toothless ignored the last statement and circled his Dragonblood boy. 'Who did this to you?' He asked, inspecting Gothi's handiwork. 
    'Deathgripper,' Hiccup replied, twisting around to look at his friend and instantly regretting it. 'I didn't move quick enough.'
    The Night Fury's lips curled back and his eyes narrowed. 'I should have been there. I should have stayed on Berk and been there to get you out, not gone along with Astrid to this place. I'm sorry, Hiccup. I'm a terrible friend.'
    The Dragonblood turned to face the black dragon. 'No, you're not a terrible friend, bud. You're the best friend I could ever have.'
    Toothless smiled goofily, suddenly very interested in his claws. 
    'You have done so much for me,' Hiccup said, stroking the Fury's head. 'It's time for me to return the favour.'

***

One of the few times Fury spit ever comes in useful, Hiccup thought. 
    He was mixing said spit with ground shed Night Fury scales in a wooden bowl, the movement of his shoulders making his wings ache. He'd been working since dawn, hammering, crafting, sewing and painting, and now finally he'd almost finished. 
    With a last swipe of a brush he held the black tail fin up for Toothless to scorch, the paint baking strong from the plasma blast. He folded it in and out to check that the metal mechanism worked and was
pleased to see that it all ran smoothly, cogs whining quietly. 
    He smiled sadly at the thought of Toothless flying without him, no longer needing the manual red fin he'd been using for over ten years. At least he could fly with his friend on full moons now. 
    Toothless bounded over and held his tail up to see if the fins were the same, panting excitedly. 
    Hiccup laughed and grabbed the wavering tail, attaching the new fin with tough leather straps. Toothless flexed his real fin and the fake one moved, too, almost exactly like Hiccup's would when he was in dragon form. 
    'Go and try it out, bud,' Hiccup urged.
    Toothless sprang into the air and flew a circle, his flight unsteady at first but soon levelling out. His new tail fin adjusted with his movements as easily as a real one would, flipping back only slightly in a crosswind. He swooped around Hiccup happily and made a sharp turn as he nearly collided with a green Deathgripper, who had just come to land nearby. Toothless growled and landed in a crouch before the Dragonblood, sharp teeth showing from beneath his lips. 
    'It's ok, it's ok.' Someone jumped down from the scorpionlike dragon's back, loose strands of hair whipping around as a Light Fury alighted beside her. 'Nightreaper won't do anything.'
    Hiccup ducked under Toothless's arched wing and saw Arianwen Shift to human next to Flitt. 'A Deathgripper?!' He said. 'Flitt, why have you got a Deathgripper?!'
    'He found me when I was at Berk.'
    'But how- Arianwen?' Hiccup noticed the Fury Dragonblood's distant look. 
    'Hmm?' Arianwen blinked back to reality. 
    'Are you ok?'
    'Mmhmm.'
    He shared a worried look with Flitt. Beside each other, they could almost have been sisters, he noted absently. 'What's wrong?'
    'Nothing.'
    'Oh come on.' There was clearly something wrong, she was usually alert and direct, not distant and one-worded. 'You can tell me.'
    'I said, nothing,' Arianwen snapped, her eyes becoming reptilian. 
    'Arianwen...'
    White wings flared up from the Dragonblood's back, tenting in annoyance. 'Dirwy! Lladdwr y Night Fury yw fy nhad!' She snarled. She Shifted to her dragon form in a blur of movement and shot up into the late morning sky, firing a purple plasma blast and disappearing through it. 
    They all stared at the spot Arianwen had vanished, incomprehension etched in their expressions. Toothless snapped out of it first and glanced at Hiccup. 'I'll go talk to her. If I can find her.' He lifted into the air and tacked back and forth before finding a scent and racing after it, his flight steady. 
    'Right. Er, did you know she could do that?' Hiccup asked the white haired girl. 
    'Nope,' Flitt said, fingering the point of the Deathgripper's tusk. 'I don't know what's up with her, she's been following me around all morning as if she wanted to tell me something.'
    'Huh,' Hiccup said, watching Toothless's silhouette receding. He should've gone, too. But it was too late now, he wouldn't be able to fly until his wings had healed. 
    'Shall I go after them?' Flitt asked.
    Hiccup tore his gaze from the sky. 'No. I think it's best if just one, er, dragon goes.'

***

'Arianwen! What's wrong?'
    The Light Fury raged through the air currents mercilessly, her slim wings slipping through the mixture of gases like a sharp axe through wood. Toothless followed behind like a shadow, calling out to her and just making her more furious. 
    'Ewch i ffwrdd!' She yelled. 'Dim ond gadael llonydd i mi!'
    'Come back! I could help!'
    Arianwen rolled up into the clouds then down again further away from the Night Fury. 'Nei du kan ikke!' She called back, flying into low cloud and vanishing. 'Ingen kan!'
    Toothless shot after her and flew through the low cloud, nearly flying into the Light Fury when he emerged on the other side. 'Why don't you just tell me?' He turned his eyes to where she was looking below, and the sight that met his green eyes made his heart skip. 'Oh.'
    On the blue-grey sea below them were a fleet of ships, armoured sides ploughing through the waves. The lead ship was being pulled along by two Deathgrippers, a Woolly Howl and a Nadder, long chains fixing them to the gunwales. 
    And they were heading west. 
    'Å nei,' Arianwen muttered. 'Move!' She turned and dove, but even with her Fury speed she was not quick enough to escape a chain that snakes down and caught her tail. Toothless looked up and saw a strange metal structure quickly lowering, a Deathgripper on each of the four struts flapping with their strong wings to keep it aloft. 
    A chain of dragon proof metal whipped down and caught him by his tail, tipping him up and reeling him like a hooked fish. He struggled against it, flapping his wings and trying to worm from the grasp of metal. 
    Grimmel slipped down the chain, his wings spread for balance. He somehow managed to get a strong metal and leather head collar on the Night Fury's flattish head, nearly getting his fingers bitten off by the supposedly toothless dragon in the process. A leather strap wrapped around Toothless's flailing wings, pinning them in place. 
    By this time Arianwen had been hauled up beside him, her usually graceful white wings also pinned. Grimmel practically fell down the swinging chain and forced her into a head collar, a cruel smile playing on his thin lips. 'Vel, vel, min eldste. Er ikke dette morsomt?' he chuckled before climbing up to a small platform and whistling to the Deathgrippers. Within four wingbeats they were racing after the fleet of ships, towards New Berk and the whole of Old Berk's dragon and Viking population. 
    Arianwen and Toothless glanced at each other helplessly. Their friends were in danger and there was nothing they could do.

1425 words.

Arianwen is multilingual, the languages I've included here are English (obviously), Norse and Welsh. I just hope Google translate got it right XD