━━ chapter seventeen
egg disaster number two
✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑
━━"Ha!" Val grinned as she knocked Astrid off her feet with a swing to trip her over. Standing back up, she flicked her bangs off her face and threw her shield to her side. Nodding down at her friend with a grin, she said, "I take that win, don't I?"
Astrid glared up at her but took her outstretched hand anyway. Valkyrie pulled her up, laughing. "That's two in a row."
"Watch it, Frode," Astrid threatened, "I'll get you the third time."
Valkyrie giggled, nudging her. "You're just sad I won twice, and you fell, twice."
Astrid punched her arm in response.
Together, they walked back to the line and Gobber had the Twins come up. They were in the arena for a combat class, something Val and Astrid didn't really need but enjoyed anyway. Who doesn't like fighing their best friend for fun?!
Turning to watch the Twins, Astrid crossed her arms and blew her bangs from her eyes, annoyed at losing. Val chuckled at her again. In the centre of the arena, Ruffnut and Tuffnut glared at each other before━simoultaneously━they raised their shields above their heads and charged the other. When Ruff brought her shield town, her brother shrieked and hid his face with his own. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! She hit the wood over and over again until she overtook him with a whack across his body and he fell to the ground.
"Yeah!" she grinned, punching the air.
Gobber hobbled up to them. "As I've said a million times, and as Ruffnut has demonstrated so spendidly, the shield can be your most important weapon. Who's next?"
"Hold on," Tuff sat up, disappointed. "I don't get to hit her back?"
Gobber rolled his eyes, "On your own time," he told him. The Twins groaned, annoyed and trudged back to the line. "Hiccup!" the blacksmith turned to the chief's son. "Valkyrie━can you go another round for him?"
Val grinned mischeviously at the boy on her otherside. She slammed her fist into her palm, excited. Hiccup gaped, shaking his head, "Well, I━I don't think it's really fair for me to be fighting Val━whoa! Hey!"
He only just ducked the punch she threw and skitted back, narrowing his eyes at the grin on her face. Ducking down, he managed to throw her off balace by grabbing her shins and flipping her over his shoulder. She was surprised for a second, glancing back over as she steadied herself with a proud smile. Hiccup met her gaze, smug, only to yelp when she launched herself at him and pinned him to the ground, twisting his arm behind his back.
He struggled to get out of her grip, but she kept him down. He may be getting stronger and better, but she was still the best.
Gobber walked up to them and leant down close to Hiccup. "When you're in a situation like this," he said calmly as the chief's son grumbled in pain, "it's best to remain calm and take deep breaths."
Hiccup sent him a strained look.
"When that's not an option," advised Gobber, "I would suggest playing dead."
Hiccup gave up, and Valkyrie won. She grinned, happy. Gobber nodded, satisifed. "Just like that. Well done, Hiccup. Good form, Val."
Valkyrie let her boyfriend go and stood up. She held out her arm and helped him onto his feet. "You all right, babe?"
Hiccup massaged his shoulder, scowling playfully at the amusement on her face. "Never been better," he muttered. "Shoulder should pop back into place in no time."
"You flipped me over!" she told him, though, giving him a light punch to the chest. "That's good! You're getting better! Well done! You actually held me up."
"Well, being a blacksmith's apprentice didn't do nothing, you know..."
"You're still a twig, though."
His face went flat as the two of them rejoined the line. "Thanks, Val."
"But a cute twig," she squished his cheeks together. He smacked her hands away, shaking his head at her, but smiling nonetheless. He flicked his fingers at the new kransen on her forehead, and she decided she'll get him back for that later on by filling half of his hair with little braids.
Gobber pointed at Snotlout. "All right, Snotlout, Fishlegs, let's see what you've got."
"Whoo!" the Jorgensen punched the air, jumping up and down to hype himself up. "I think we all know what I've got! Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!"
When Fishlegs didn't come out to join, there were some frowns on the teens faces. Because, while Gobber was oblivious, they all noticed in glancing around that their favourite pudgy Viking and his dragon were nowhere to be seen.
Astrid offered to go against Snotlout instead, and ended up taking him down like pre-baked bread. It was very satisfying to watch, but as they were all dismissed, they grew worried about Fishlegs's whereabouts. (Well, all of them aside from Snotlout, who just snorted and went off on his own way with an obnoxious wave and a stride in his step. Valkyrie had rolled her eyes at that).
Hiccup came to help out in the Dragon Sanctuary for the majority of the day, which Valkyrie really appreciated (as did her parents, which was a good plus). She, Hiccup and her brothers refilled the feed, the water troughs and gave out some treats. Hiccup had finished one of his inventions to help the Windstriker fly with her slashed wing on her own, and fixed it on while Val calmed her down with some dragon nip and scratches.
Mak and Erik helped each other lug a whole barrel of fish for the Thunderdrum down in the next stall. As they passed, Valkyrie glanced over. "You two haven't seen Fishlegs around, have you?"
Mak shook his head. "Nope. Why would we?"
"Yeah," added Erik. "We were too busy tipping yaks with the Twins."
Val frowned. She slumped, annoyed. "Mum said no yak-tipping with the Twins. You know that's against the rules."
"That's what makes it so fun," argued Mak as he hugged the Thunderdrum hello. He was a very gentle Thunderdrum, and loved the attention.
"You two are idiots," muttered Asrifth, clipping back a Terrible Terrors claws that had grown too long and were now hanging over. He was quite into this much like Valkyrie. Considering whether they started, barely able to stand one another, they had grown quite similar with their love for dragons. (Who would have thought?).
Hott sat against Spikemoth's belly, pounding down herbs for a salve to help a burn on another Nadder's underbelly from a fight with a Monstrous Nightmare only yesterday. His blonde hair was getting longer, and he had pulled it back off his face into a small tail and a braid hanging down the side; wrapped in leather and beads. "We need the yak milk, guys," he told them seriously, even though he looked very amused at the thought of yak-tipping. "If you keep scaring Silent Sven's yaks, he might not be so silent anymore."
"Hey, Hiccup," Erik hopped his way over, avoiding certain bits of hay, "Dad's wondering whether your dad can allow enough building resources for us to expand the sanctuary."
Hiccup arched a brow, glancing at Val for explanation. She hadn't said anything about this. She shrugged, not really feeling the need to say anything, mainly because it was her father's and the chief's business.
"I was hoping we could have also a special little room for Fleecy and Meecy," added Erik confidently. "Maybe with a whole canopy and━"
"No," Val cut him off immediately. "Chief Stoick does not need to waste supplies to build what you want out of the sanctuary."
Erik narrowed his eyes at her and stuck out his tongue. Val reciprocated with the same face, and he left back towards his older brother and best friend, still petting the Thunderdrum.
"What we really need is a whole hangar," suggested Asrifth, fishing one foot and going onto the next. "Not just for sick dragons but just dragons as a whole. Everyone is getting a dragon now."
Hiccup thought about it. In the end, he met Asrifth's gaze and said, "I'll talk to Dad about it. That does sound like a good idea."
"We could paint it," suggested Val off-handedly, fingers trailing softly down the Windstriker's snout. "With bright flowers."
Hiccup smiled at her. He would paint the entire village with flowers if his father let him to make her happy, if he was to be honest.
"Ew, that's gross," said Mak across the room. "Who wants flowers painted on a hangar? The dragons would hate that."
Val just rolled her eyes.
Day turned to night, and they still had no idea where Fishlegs was. Valkyrie's worries grew worse, and she walked to the edge of the walk to the docks, frowning at the horizon. Astrid crossed her arms, having joined her, Hiccup, Snotlout and the Twins in waiting for Fishlegs. He had been no where on the island, or in Berk, which only told them that he had gone for a little adventure. But where? And was he okay?
"I'm starting to get a little worried about Fishlegs," mumbled Astrid. She glanced back at the others.
Ruff shrugged. "He looks okay to me," she pointed up above and Val followed her gaze.
She sighed in relief to see her friend and Meatlug fluttering down to the grass. She soon frowned though━there was something off ... wait ... is he glowing?
Tuff let out a sound of confusion, "Uh ... is it me, or is Fishlegs glowing?"
"Actually ...?" Hiccup arched a brow. "I think he is."
Snotlout grinned, pumping his fists. He cracked his knuckles, "Not for long..."
Valkyrie rolled her eyes, "Give it up, Snotlout. Leave him alone."
Fishlegs and Meatlug touched the ground. There was a smile on the pudgy Vikings face, as he looked very proud of himself. The others approached them, all staring at the green light that seeped through his saddle bag.
"Uh ... Fishlegs?" Hiccup frowned. "Where were you this afternoon?"
"You missed hand-to-face combat!" said Snotlout angrily. "My hand to your face━" he showed his fist.
Fishlegs hopped off Meatlug and began to unbuckle the saddle bag. He turned up his nose at Snotlout's comment. "I prefer to use the part of my body above the neck."
"What neck?" jeered Snotlout.
Fishlegs wasn't amused. "Oh, amusing." He slung the glowing bag over his shoulder. "But I refuse to encourage your violent tendencies, Snotlout."
"Don't knock it until you try it," the Jorgensen pointed a finger at the Ingerman.
Ruffnut peered at the glowing bag and leaned in close to her brother to whisper, "He's glowing again..."
"I know..." he replied back in the same tone, eyeing the bag with suspicion. "Spooky ..."
"It's not me that's glowing," said Fishlegs, opening the bag and pulling out what lied within. "It's this..." he showed it to them, and the teens all gasped.
In his meaty hands, a rock the size of Valkyrie's palm glowed many colours in the night. Green was one of them, but amongst it she also saw pink, and red, and yellow; rotating as if taking turns, meddling within its jagged surface.
Hiccup's eyes widened. "What is it?"
(What was it indeed?)
They turned to Gobber for their answers. Which, Val will admit later on, wasn't their wisest choice. Meeting in the Great Hall, everyone in the village had gathered to see this glowing rock Fishlegs had found. The teens surrounded him, peering over his shoulder as the light inside the rock went from green to red in a matter of seconds before switching back.
"It's a stone of good fortune," decided Gobber, nodding confidentally. The villagers all gasped and 'ooohed' in their response. Turning to the crowd, Gobber went on, "My Great Uncle's wife's brother once told me of it's powers!"
Mulch frowned. "I thought he was mute?"
Gobber glanced at him, "Until he found the stone!" he said. "Then we couldn't shut him up!" he gestured to the rock in Fishlegs's hands. "This stone brings good luck to whomever comes in contact with it!"
Snotlout crossed his arms, smirking in insterest. "Stone of good fortune, huh...?"
Astrid shot her gaze to the ceiling, "Oh, here we go again..."
It wasn't long before the entire village wanted to touch the stone. They bargained for it, offering every valuable they held. Mrs Larson even offered Gustav, her eldest son in exchange for the stone of good fortune. Fishlegs was swarmed by Vikings, knocked off his feet and might've been trampled down if Stoick hadn't signalled Thornado to send up a roar to the ceiling. Not as powerful as he usually does, but enough to gain the village's attention.
"That's enough!" he shouted in following. "Everyone stand back!"
They listened to their chief, and Valkyrie helped Fishlegs back to his feet, startled by the reactions. They had to get Fishlegs out of here, and that they did.
✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑
━━Fishlegs wanted nothing more than to get rid of it. But not to give it to anyone else. No. That was the last thing he wanted to do. Valkyrie, Astrid and Hiccup followed him as he returned to the island he found the stone with Meatlug. Val could see Hiccup was a little excited: new island! His eyes seemed to gleam. This was a secret island only Fishlegs knew of, and while Val was a little offended he didn't tell them, she also had to admit, she was a little excited to see what it was.
It wasn't long before a stretch of land appeared in the night's horizon. Fishlegs led them right to it.
"You sure you wanna do this, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked him as they neared the island.
"There's too much stress," explained the pudgy Viking. "You saw that mob━they ran right over me!"
"Yeah!" agreed Val. "Like a sack of flowers!"
"Isn't it a sack of flour?" Astrid frowned at her from Stormfly's saddle.
Val titled her head, "My mum always says sack of flowers..."
"I just wanna put this thing back where I found it," went on Fishlegs, "and never think about it again! Stone of good fortune," he grumbled ot himself, "yeah, right..."
As the group of them came closer to the island, their dragons started to get a little nervous. Val set her palm on Zephyr's neck to calm him, sharing an uneasy glance with Hiccup.
"They sense something..." he murmured. Looking forwards, his eyes caught sight of something below. Valkyrie frowned, and then she saw it. The trees. The branches of every tree in the forest of this island; they were glowing. "Hey," Hiccup tilted his head at Fishlegs, "I thought you said you found it buried in the sand?"
"I did!" said Fishlegs.
"Then what's that?" Hiccup pointed to the glowing trees.
Astrid's eyes widened. "Okay, glowing trees? That's not freaky at all..."
They darted straight towards them. Dipping into the forest, Valkyrie stayed a little higher than the others to keep Zephyr out of the shrub and with as much room as possible. Now that they were closer, she could now see the glowing branches better. The stones were wrapped up in twigs, branches and dried leaves, like ...
"Are those...?" Val called down to the others.
"Dragon nests," finished Fishlegs.
"O━Okay, but why would a dragon fill their nest with gems?"
It hit Hiccup, and his stomach dropped. "Because they're not gems ..." he glanced at Fishlegs and the pudgy Viking smacked a palm to his forehead in his horror.
"They're dragon eggs!" he realised. "How did I miss that?! The━the egg I dug up must've fallen out and gotten buried..." he held the saddle back close to his chest, staring in at the glowing egg amongst his furs. "I ... I can't believe I almost kept this baby away from its mother..."
"But you didn't," Hiccup assured him, giving his friend a small smile. "Now let's put this egg back and get out of here."
Fishlegs nodded. Flying around for a little, they searched for an empty nest before Meatlug hovered down close enough for him to gently set the egg back amongst the warmth of the sticks and leaves.
Zephyr bobbed his head, nervous. Toothless growled and Stormfly balked her wings. Hiccup pursed his lips, "The mothers must be close."
"Yeah," mumbled Astrid at the spike in Stormfly's tail, "really close. Fishlegs! Say goodbye and let's go!"
"Okay, okay, okay," said Fishlegs, still hovering by the nest. He cooed at the egg in the nest. "Goodbye little colour-changing dragon egg!"
With that said, he rejoined the team up above and they turned back towards the ocean, ready to head home and leave this behind.
There was a creak, following by multiple thuds. Valkyrie frowned and glanced back. Her heart squeezed in terror to see trees without eggs start to fall down, as if cut straight through.
"Uh ..." she let out. "Guys━they're following us!"
"Yeah, but what are they?!" Astrid said as they sped up in their race to reach the edge.
"I can't see them anywhere!" added Fishlegs, zooming in and out of the trees. Valkyrie gritted her teeth and urged Zephyr up higher. "I don't see anything at all back there!"
Val let out a small scream of alarm as a shot of steaming green━acid?━flew past her and Zephyr. It singed the hair off her arms. They had only just missed it. "What in Thor━?!" It hit one of the trees and burnt straight through. Val pulled Zephyr to a halt to avoid it, turning to the left and falling a bit behind. He gave a strong flap of his wings to catch up with the others.
"Whatever it is!" she shouted as they came back close to the others. "It's━it's shooting some sort of acid!"
"Are you okay?!" Hiccup called, worried.
"Yeah, Zeph and I are fine," Val replied. "But we need to get out of here━now!"
Fishlegs dodged a fire of acid. It zipped past him. "Invisible acid-shooting dragons?! Great!"
When they made it back to the water, it was a breath of relief. But they didn't slow down. These dragons were invisible━what if they were still following. Astrid glanced over her shoulder with worry. But after a while, they slowed down, for no more acid came shooting at them out of nowhere.
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━━The next morning, Val laid back on Hiccup's bed, making a flower crown as she listened to Fishlegs read through the Book of Dragons for their invsible-acid-shooting reptile. Toothless sat waiting for her to finish, sniffing at the flowers she had chosen. Zephyr was waiting outside━since he was too big to sit in Hiccup's room━already with his flower crown; a set of dianthuses. She wanted to express her love for him, and gratitude. She made a similar one for Toothless, because she loved him very much, too.
"Sprays hot burning acid..." Fishlegs was murmuring, "...here it is! It's called the Changewing."
Valkyrie finished the flower crown and reached up for Toothless. He dipped down slightly so she could set the crown on his head. Once that was done, she sat up and frowned at the boys and Astrid who were sitting in a circle on Hiccup's floor.
"A Changewing?" she repeated, giving Toothless a welcomed scratch under the chin as he hovered over her shoulder.
Hiccup arched a brow at the pages. "Where's the drawing?"
Val could see over his head that he was right. There were no drawings of the species, just a blank page with writing.
"Well, there are none," said Fishlegs, stating the obvious.
Hiccup shrugged. "Guess you can't really draw it if you can't see it..."
Astrid fiddled with the straps of her arm guards, curious. In her hands, she was fiddling with one of Hiccup's old sketchbooks, considering she had been interested in what he had drawn. This wasn't the first time the four of them have hung out here in his room. Astrid has gone through almost every drawing journal of Hiccup's with Valkyrie (purely because they were nosy).
"Listen to what it says," went on Fishlegs, tapping at the writing. Val hopped off Hiccup's bed to kneel behind Fishlegs, settling her chin on his shoulder to read. "This remarkable dragon is able to change the colour of its skin to blend in with its surroundings."
"Does it say anything about eggs?" Val asked.
"N━No!" at Fishlegs's outburst, Valkyrie jumped back from his shoulder, startled. He turned back to glare at her, suddenly very distressed. "I━It didn't look like a dragon egg! Right? If I had seen that you know I wouldn't have gone and stolen━"
"Fishlegs," Valkyrie took her friend by the shoulders. "Breathe. We know you wouldn't have. None of us knew what they were━"
"But I should have," he stood up and began pacing the room. Valkyrie quickly got out of the way, going behind Hiccup instead. "I should have known!"
"All I know," began Hiccup gently, standing up and walking towards Fishlegs, "is it's a good thing we brought that egg back to its mother. Who knows what they might do if the eggs were still on Berk━"
A face suddenly popped in through the window of Hiccup's room. Tuffnut peered in next to Zephyr, who squawked in surprise. "Hey, Hiccup!"
Ruffnut appeared next to him, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, Hiccup! What're you all doing? Is this some cool ritual? Because we love rituals."
"Yeah," added Tuffnut, "especially when it involves sacrificing Ruffnut━" he gestured his hand to his sister. She nodded in agreement. The four of them all stopped to see a glowing stone in his palm.
No. A glowing Changewing egg.
"Uh..." Hiccup pointed at the egg in Tuffnut's hand. "What's that?" he knew the answer of course, but that didn't change how he didn't want that answer to be right.
"Oh!" Tuffnut grinned and waggled the egg at them, suddenly very proud. "Uh, I don't know━" he chucked it from one hand to the other, "━maybe a lifetime of good luck!" Grinning, the twins knocked helmets. As Ruffnut fell back, Tuff began to dance in celebration. Zephyr stepped away from them, squawking at Valkyrie as if to say, what is with them?
Astrid growled. Standing up, she stormed to the window. "I'll take that━" she demanded, reaching out to snatch the egg from Tuff's hand.
He gasped and stepped back, holding it to his chest. "Over my cold dead body!"
"That could be arranged!"
"Have to catch me first!" Ruff and Tuff poked their tongues out before running away.
Astrid growled after them. "How did you even get it?!"
"We traded for it!" shouted Ruff in reply.
"Traded with who?!" called Hiccup. They were too far away now to answer.
It didn't take them long to find out who it was. They could hear his obnoxious voice a mile away. Set up in front of his home, Snotlout had a whole crowd of Viking spectators listening to him ramble and auction off his goods. Already, he had an entire wagon of weapons to his side, three yaks, and multiple poor bleating sheep. And he wasn't done. He quietened down the audience with a sophisticated wave of his hands.
"All right! All right! All right!" he called. "Everybody━settle down! Settle down! I got six yaks and three chickens from the woman with a hook on! Do I hear seven and four?"
"Seven and four!" a younger voice piped in. Valkyrie saw Gustav━of all people━holding the egg for the audience to see, echoing Snotlout's words. He was even dressed similar; with the same green tunic, leather vest and arm-guards.
Valkyrie gritted her teeth. "I'm going to murder him."
Astrid agreed. Hiccup calmed them down, though, before they got the chance.
Bucket through his hand up and Snotlout grinned. "Seven and four! Gustav, the guy with the bucket on his head!" The youngster flashed a bright smile, showing Bucket the egg with a taunting, you know you want it look upon his face.
Ugh, Valkyrie thought.
Bucket bounced happily, holding up an entire barrel of weapons. Snotlout gasped, holding a hand to his heart. "Oh! And he's throwing in a matching set of battle-axes. How cool!"
"Cool!" echoed Gustav.
"Seven and four━plus the axes━" Snotlout addressed the crowd again, "━come on, folks! Only one left! Good luck for the rest of your life ... going once! Going twice ... and sold! Gustav! Give Bucket his stone of good fortune!"
Gustav ran down the steps and passed the egg over to Bucket who squealed and skipped off, holding it happily.
Snotlout sighed sadly to the crowd. "Well━that's it, folks. I only have three stones and I'm all sold out. So it's time for me to pack up!"
The crowd grumbled, but didn't leave.
Snotlout frowned at them. "Uh, hello? Go away. It's over!"
As the crowd disperted, very disappointed, Valkyrie, Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs surged forward.
"Snotlout!" exclaimed the chief's son. "What are you doing?!"
The Jorgensen rolled his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he said. He threw his arms out to the stock he managed to snitch. "I'm getting rich!"
"But you can't!" cried Fishlegs in dismay.
"I already did," Snotlout crossed his arms. "The gems are gone."
"Gone," added Gustav. The four of them arched a brow at him.
Hiccup sighed and let the boy be. "They're not gems," he tried to explain to Snotlout. "And they certainly don't bring good luck."
"Plu━lease!" Snotlout leapt down from his porch and towards his stock, running a loving hand along the wagon of weapons. "It's bringing me goodluck. I'm up to my neck in weapons and livestock!"
Astrid stamped her foot. "Snotlout! Those are dragon eggs!"
"Uh, Changewings to be exact," Fishlegs held up a finger.
Snotlout scoffed, leaning against one of his new yaks. "Changewings, smange━I don't care what they are! All I know is: I'm rich, and you're not."
Gustav leaned against one of the sheep, copying Snotlout's stance. "We're rich and you're not."
Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose, starting to get really frustrated. "Snotlout, listen to me━we need to get those eggs off of Berk before something really bad happens."
"You do not want to separate a dragon mother from her egg," added Fishlegs. "Especially one you can't see that shoots burning acid!"
"Really?" Snotlout leered forward. "You did."
Fishlegs went bright red. "I━I━that━that was an accident!"
"Accident, on purprose," Snotlout weighed them out, shrugging, "rich, poor━who cares! They're gone and I have a no return policy. Tell them Gustav."
"No returns!" the kid smirked.
Valkyrie glared at Snotlout. He chuckled at her. "If you want them, you'll have to take it up with customers━see yah!" he tapped the yak and the creature started to pull his wagon of weapons away with Gustav in the rear, carrying the sheep.
As he left, Fishlegs tugged at his hair. "Oh, this is all my fault!"
Valkyrie's gaze softened after him. Hiccup sighed, "It's not your fault," he tried to say but Fishlegs just shook his head, taking a defeated seat at the edge of the stone path.
"Yes, it is!" he said. Mealtug frowned at him, concerned. "If I hadn't gone to that island and brought back that egg back, then Snotlout wouldn't have known where to go get them, and we wouldn't be in danger of of imminent attack by angry mother Changewings!"
Astrid jutted out her hip, bouncing her brows. "Well, when you put it that way..." Hiccup frowned at her. She shrugged. "Just saying."
"Look," Hiccup placed a hand on Fishlegs's shoulder, "it doesn't matter who's fault it is. We just have to find these eggs."
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━━Astrid dropped Tuffnut roughly back on the grassy cliff. He grumbled as he got back onto his feet, glaring at her and Stormfly for ruining his fall into a Fireworm pit. "What was that for?"
"I saved your skin," Astrid argued, leaping off her saddle and crossing her arms. "Literally."
"Guys," Hiccup started to explain to the Twins while the other three stood back, watching, "that's not a good luck stone, it's a dragon egg. And it's mother, is a dangerous dragon that blends in with just about anything and spits hot, burning acid and destroys whatever is in it's path."
He said this in one breath.
The Twins gazed at him quizically. They shared a glance, before Tuffnut shifted his weight onto one foot, "Okay, so ... like, if a tree━for example━were spitting acid and melting everything in sight ..."
"You're saying that would be one of these dragons?" Ruff finished, crossing her arms.
Valkyrie blinked, startled. "I actually can't believe you understood that first go."
Ruff scowled at her, "We're not stupid."
"Yeah," agreed her brother. "At least, I'm not. And besides," he pointed above their shoulders, "there's one right there."
They glanced back and a tree fell down, burnt straight through the trunk. Valkyrie's shoulders fell. "Oh, great..." their dragons growled in the direction of a tree to the right where in the sunlight, glimmered a silhouette against the trunk.
Val's eyes widened to see it moving; eyes narrowed. She could make out an outline of a sharp-nosed dragon with two strands, like a beard of vines hanging down from its snout. A long slender body followed its neck with sharp-taloned wings.
"Whoa..." breathed Astrid. She pointed at it. "A Changewing."
Toothless stepped in front of them protectively; the rest of their dragons followed. Zephyr snarled as the Changewing changed colour just for a fraction of a second━a blur of orange-red━before it camouflaged into the grey of the boulder.
Hiccup gaped, "That's amazing..." he murmured. "It really does bend in..."
"Oooh! Hiccup, quick!" piped up Tuffnut. "Train it so we can keep it! And make it spit acid at Ruffnut!"
His sister glared at him. With a growl, she shoved him to the ground and the Changewing mother balked. With a cry, she shot a column of acid at Ruff, and she only just ducked, staring at it steaming against the stone behind her.
Zephyr squawked in alarm and grabbed Valkyrie by the tips of her tunic, pulling her away from a second shot. Toothless and Hiccup had to split, the latter shouting. Trees around them burnt through and they fell. Astrid and Stormfly were blocked from another, Fishlegs screamed and threw his arms up, running to Meatlug, and Tuffnut was surrounded.
More Changewings appeared from the trunks of trees, lurking towards Tuffnut with their eyes fixed on the egg in his hands. He glanced around, eyes wide. "Nice try!" he told them, showing the egg bravely (or stupidly). "But, as you can see━I am holding the stone of good━wahhh━!"
The mother wrapped her claws around Tuffnut's torso and shook him. If Val didn't fear for his life, she would have found it funny. The Changewing didn't even care about him. All she wanted was the egg from his grasp, and went it fell, she snatched it up and like that, the group of Changewings were gone; shimmering invisible in the air.
Hiccup scrambled to his feet, amazed. "Did you see that?!" he cried out, gesturing to where the Changewings fled.
"At least they're gone," sighed Ruff, but at the look on Hiccup and Fishlegs's faces, Valkyrie had a terrible feeling that was far from the case.
Tuffnut rubbed his tailbone as he got back onto his feet, dizzy. He fell back down.
"Uh ... they're not gone," mumbled Hiccup.
Astrid frowned. "How do you know that?"
"Because the Changewings worked as a team to save that one egg," explained Fishlegs.
Valkyrie started to understand. Zephyr set her back down onto the grass. "Wait, so does that mean ...?" she met Hiccup's gaze, and he nodded. "Oh, gods..."
"What?" Tuff pushed himself back up again.
"None of the Changewings are gonna leave until all of their eggs are safe," said Fishlegs.
Hiccup tugged at his hair, gazing back in the direction of Berk. "And they are going to tear apart the village until they find every last one..."
✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑
━━"So, what you're telling me is that our village is about to be under siege by wild dragons we can't see?"
Stoick practically summed it all up. Pacing by the fire, Valkyrie nodded, a little sheepish. She stood with the gang, warm by the flames, but also shivering in fearful anticipation of what might happen at any second.
"Oh!" Tuffnut spoke up, snapping his fingers. "Don't forget the hot, burning acid part." The others stared at him, incredulous. "What?" he exclaimed. "It was awesome."
The chief sighed, resting his hands on the leather of his belt. "Well," he said, "grab your dragons, then. We'll fight them off."
Hiccup winced. He stepped forward, "Dad, I wish it were that easy. No matter what we do, they won't go away until they get what they want."
"They just want their babies!" cried Fishlegs, head in his hands in his misery. "Oh, it's all my fault!"
The door flung open, and in ran Gobber. He heaved as he skidded to a stop, sweat coating his brow and filfthy blonde beard. "Stoick!" he wheezed. "I━" breath, "━just━", another breath, "━realised something! It's not a stone of good fortune. It's a Changewing egg!" he slapped a hand to his face. "I always get those two confused."
Valkyrie's shoulders fell. She resisted the urge to spit out, oh, you realise this now?!
"So!" Gobber turned to the teens, suddenly very casual. "What are you all up to?"
Stoick sighed. "Hiccup," he held a hand to his son, "what do you suggest we do?"
"I think we should get everyone off the island until we can get the eggs back with their mothers, and the Changewings are gone," said the chief's son. "Hopefully it's not too late."
His father scoffed, hating the idea of running away. He shook his head, stiffing his shoulders in a prideful, "In all the years I've been Chief, we've never turned in fear of anything!" Hiccup sighed, annoyed. "I'm not about to start!"
A scream echoed into the night.
Valkyrie's stomach lurched.
They all ran outside to see the siege already starting. Mrs Ack continued to scream as she ran from her home, a Changewing leaping forth from the door, checking in each barrel and chest, enfuriated by not finding the egg she wanted. She roared. Starkard was revealed behind a door burnt away by acid, clutching a chest of his belongings. He threw it up into the air and ran for his life. The Changewing mother sniffed at the box, but chucked it away, screeching.
The group of Vikings skidded to a stop at the edge of the slope.
"They're looking for their eggs!" said Hiccup.
Stoick growled. With a heave, he pulled out a post from the very ground and charged after the Changewing. She roared and fled to a nearby rock, disappearing amongst the stone. Stoick came to a falt, shocked.
"Where did it go?"
Hiccup ran to his side, "That would be the blending in, can't see it at all, part."
The others joined. Tuffnut narrowed his eyes at the stone. "I see it!" he announced, scoffing at their dramatics. Stepping forward, he held out his palm to the rock. "Hey, I got this cheif..." throwing his hair out of his face, Tuffnut declared, "Stay, dragon!" in his best Hiccup impression. "I am now your master..." his palm reached the stone. The Changewing was long gone. But Tuffnut didn't seem to think so. He glanced back, very proud of himself and gave Hiccup a thumbs up.
Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
"It's gone?" Stoick was perplexed. "Isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah," Hiccup just looked tired. "Long gone."
They quickly thought of plan as the siege continued. Vikings screamed and ran from the Changewings who were everywhere, and nowhere, melting anything in place with their green, steaming acid. Mounting their dragons, the riders split up in search of the eggs━of which belonged to Bucket and Mrs Larson while Stoick and Gobber stayed back to help the village. Soon, Stoick had no choice but to call for an evacuation, and the villagers started to gather their things and head to the docks.
They found Bucket easily. The man━bless his soul━was just wandering the village, completely ignorant to the carnage around him as he whistled his favourite song. It wasn't until a Changewing found him and started chasing after him did he realise. Valkyrie heard his scream first.
Tilting Zephyr down, she and Astrid found him sprinting down the cliff walk, desperately trying to escape the dragon at his behind.
Astrid dived in, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "Bucket! It wants the egg!"
"WHAT EGG?!" screamed Bucket, reaching the tailors houses and quickly ducked under the perch of the last. Valkyrie sighed and she and Astrid raced after him.
The Changewing disappeared. Bucket hid with his breath in his throat under the wood, clutching the egg tight. There was a shimmer in the grass, and the head of the dragon appeared. It knocked the egg from Bucket's fingers, snatched it up and took to the sky.
One down, one to go.
Valkyrie sighed in her relief.
Hiccup, Fishlegs and the Twins saved Mrs Larson's baby and the egg before the Changewings took off with it, and the group of them all met back up at the docks where almost the entire village was now on the boat, ready to leave. Thinking it was all over, they were suprised to find the dragons crawling up the sides of the cliff by the docks, peering at the boat.
There was one more egg left.
And Snotlout━(Valkyrie is going to slap him after this!)━was the one who held it.
Fishlegs gritted his teeth at the teen chatting with Gustav on the deck. "Can you guys keep the Changewings at bay?" he asked his friends.
Hiccup frowned. "What are you going to do?"
Fishlegs squared up. "Something I should have done a long time ago."
The village was saved that night thanks to Fishlegs. And Snotlout sure learnt his lesson. Never underestimate the quiet ones, because when they're angry? They sure do get angry.
Valkyrie can say that Snotlout could not stand on two feet for the next three weeks afterwards.
(And it was hilarious).
✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑
a/n: i wrote this all in like three hours. non-stop. it's so bad. but like. i'm proud of it cos i wrote in like three hours ahahahah.
lesson of the day: do not underestimate fishlegs.
lesson two: valkyrie, hiccup, astrid and fishlegs are the dream team of today's chapter.
lesson three: ily
drawing for today: modern hiccyrie! (hands can go fuk themselves why are they so annoying to draw?!)