Chapter 30: Insights
Toothless flew through the forest in search of the Light Fury. It felt awkward and uncomfortable for him to be without Hiccup on his back, but he reminded himself that he was doing this for him. He knew he had to put in some honest effort in this task or his friend would never let it go. He was persistent like that.
Toothless finally spotted her on the other side of the island past the trees on the beach. She looked at him as he landed, seeming both guarded and curious. He grunted a greeting at her, and she made a weird noise in response. She still eyed him suspiciously, so he turned all the way around to show her that he was completely alone. Seeming satisfied with this, she relaxed and sat on the sand.
Toothless wondered where he should go from here. It had been a long time since he interacted with a strange dragon alone - especially one so close to his own species. He remembered how he initially bonded with Hiccup, so he figured he might as well use one of those tactics. He trotted back to the forest and retrieved a long, thick tree branch. The Light Fury watched him intently as he began to draw in the sand. When he finished, he backed up and smiled proudly at his creation.
The Light Fury padded forward and glanced down at the drawing of Hiccup. She immediately snarled and swiped at the sand with her paw. Toothless growled right back at her, lounging forward to stand protectively over the drawing. The female appeared surprised, but she did not back down until he took a threatening step towards her. She walked away form him and lay down in the sand with a huff.
Now that he had taught her a lesson about disrespecting his best friend, Toothless thought he could try something different and began to draw again. This time, when he finished, the Light Fury turned her head away. Toothless trotted up to her and nudged her shoulder. She growled at him, but he merely sat down and looked at her expectantly.
Finally, the Light Fury got up and made her way over to the second drawing. He felt gleeful at her surprise when she saw he had drawn her this time. She looked around in uncertainty. Spotting the drawing stick, she grabbed it in her mouth and began to create her own drawing. Upon finishing, she dropped the stick and called to Toothless.
The Night Fury joined and looked down. She had drawn a picture of him right to the picture of her. It was pretty good too! He made a satisfied noised and nudged her in thanks. She seemed almost happy as she gazed at him. It appeared perhaps Hiccup was right after all. Maybe getting to know this dragon could be fun.
***
"The situation here looks bleak," Viggo said gravely. He and the others were gathered outside their hut to discuss current events at the end of the day. "Krogan and I witnessed the villagers paying off the warlords. Clearly, they think they are not able to take care of themselves."
"They're not even teaching the kids how to fight," Dagur said. "The cycle will only continue!"
"And I don't think they'll get over their fear of dragons if they don't feel confident they can defend themselves," said Oliver.
"Agreed," said Eira. "Nonviolence as a tactic is only useful when you have the ability to use force to stop a threat. Otherwise you're letting your enemies walk all over you. Peace needs to come from a place of strength."
Krogan nodded. From experience, he knew everything they said to be true. "Then attitudes around here need to change."
"That is a good way to put it," said Viggo. "The ability is already there. The villagers need knowledge and motivation. The children are eager to learn strategy and have been quick to pick up on Maces and Talons."
"And fighting too," said Dagur. "Well, play fighting."
"Children don't have the same self-imposed psychological limitations as adults," Eira said. "Bad experiences must have biased the adults. Maybe we could ask permission to train the kids, and they will inspire their parents."
"If their parents will trust us with their kids..."
"There's no reason we can't invite everyone who's interested," said Viggo. "They will likely feel safer if some of them join. They will outnumber us, after all."
"We need to talk to Reidun," Krogan said. He did not want to do anything that would make her feel uncomfortable. She did see it as her duty to protect the village, and they could not threaten that.
"Speaking of Reidun," said Oliver, looking at something behind them.
Krogan turned around and saw the chief approaching them, her eyes on him. "Good evening, Chief Reidun."
The woman gave him a tiny smile. "Good evening, Krogan." She looked around at the others. "Everyone."
"Can we-"
Reidun's eyes flicked back to him. "-speak? Yes. Come with me."
Krogan glanced at his friends. "I will be back soon." He ignored Oliver's smirk and walked off after Reidun. He soon realized where she was headed: the grove where they spoke the previous night. It was not yet dark enough for the stars, but the area was still beautiful. The two of them took a moment to admire the water before turning to each other.
"I wanted to give you this," Reidun said. She held out what appeared to be a necklace made of two pieces of rope strong together in an intricate fashion. Tiny wooden carvings of animals, including a dragon, were placed at equal intervals around the piece. "To thank you for saving Jarl earlier."
Krogan carefully took hold of the rope and examined it closer. "This is very well made."
Reidun smiled. "This is the village's specialty and our most requested item in trade."
"I can see why. Thank you." He placed the necklace over his head. It fit just right.
Reidun nodded. "That was very impressive how you handled that dragon, by the way. I've heard that particular species is fairly aggressive."
"They can be. I had a great amount of dragon knowledge before meeting the dragon riders, but I did learn how to train the Triple Stryke from them. Each dragon is unique and requires different techniques."
Reidun tilted her head slightly to the side. "And what of the dragon that continuously attacks the village? How do we stop it?"
Krogan hesitated. "That depends on the species and perhaps the individual dragon. I do not know if I would be able to train it, but..." Hiccup immediately came to mind. "The chief of Berk is the best dragon trainer in the archipelago. If you would allow us to return home, we could bring him here, and surely he could solve your problem."
Reidun's expression darkened. "Maybe that would work, but..."
Krogan dipped his head in understanding. "It is impossible right now. We are still our enemies. You cannot trust us or let anyone know you have helped us."
Regret flashed in her eyes. "I am sorry, Krogan. I have to put my people first. After today, I know you are sincere in wishing to help us. If you have any other ideas on how we can work together, I am willing to listen."
Krogan found this to be the perfect opportunity to bring up what his friends had discussed. "Instead of relying on us, why don't we teach you what we know?"
Reidun's eyebrows rose. "About dragons?"
"Well, yes, we could certainty do that. I think it would help everyone here is they learned about dragons and how useful they can be. I know our activities have create problems in the dragon trade, but there are many products and parts that can be obtained humanely. We can show you how to do that. You may find some of the products quite useful for yourselves. If you work with dragons instead of against them, everyone will be better off."
Reidun nodded slowly. "That makes sense. I will have to think about it. It will have to be done very carefully."
Krogan felt relief wash over him. "Of course. You set the pace." He paused before continuing. "My companions and I would also like to help your people increase their mental and physical skills to make them better warriors."
Reidun gave him a wry smile. "You have noticed then. It is true, we have not kept up our defensive training. It did not used to be this way, but fierce battles wore us down. Sometimes it is easier to give in a little than lose everything. I would hesitate to accept such help from outsiders, but the children seem eager to learn. I trust their judgment as I have found children are drawn to people with pure intentions."
Krogan smiled slightly. "You may find the same is true of dragons."
This time she gave him a real smile in return. "It seems I have a lot to think about. Thank you, Krogan."
He nodded. "Thank you for your time. I won't disturb you any longer." He turned to leave.
"You can stay if you want. I wouldn't mind the company."
Krogan looked back at Reidun, and taking in her peaceful gaze, found himself unable to resist. So, he stayed.
***
"Welcome back, Toothless," Hiccup greeted the cheerful Night Fury. "Did you have a good time?"
Ingrid and Snotlout watched the scene from their hiding place in the bushes. It looked like Toothless had enjoyed spending time with the Light Fury. He was usually a good judge of character, so Ingrid wondered if they had gotten her all wrong. Nevertheless, it was their duty to investigate. Once Toothless and Hiccup left the area, Ingrid and Snotlout got their dragons and flew to the forest.
"I wonder why Toothless didn't sense anything wrong," Ingrid mused during their flight.
"I bet the Light Fury used her female trickery to seduce him," Snotlout said.
Ingrid found this highly improbably but decided to say nothing. When they neared the edge of the island, they dismounted their dragons and continued on foot. As soon as they caught sight of white scales, they hid behind a pair of trees and slowly peered out.
Once more, the Light Fury appeared in conversation with several dragons. After she had her say, the dragons grumbled amongst themselves. Finally, the Light Fury barked out what seemed to be an order or a challenge and took to the sky. The other dragons immediately followed suit. Then, the Light Fury led them away from the island, into the night.
"She's definitely stealing our dragons!" Snotlout exclaimed. "We have to stop her!"
"Hold on," said Ingrid. "We still don't have any prove." Hiccup had a point that she might not be up to anything evil. Perhaps she was helping the dragons with something after all.
Snotlout crossed his arms and frowned. "Yeah, you're right. Talking to Hiccup again won't be of any use. He's too interested in learning about the Light Fury to see the dangers. And he seems to think dragons are some pure, innocent beings - conveniently forgetting the existence of the Red Death."
Ingrid nodded. "We need to give it some time to prove we're not acting rashly. If she leads dragons away again tomorrow, we should follow them and find out what they're up to. That should be enough proof for even Hiccup."
Snotlout grinned. "It's a date."
***
Hiccup slept better than he had in the past few days. He may not have found a solution to all of Berk's problems, but Toothless' progress with the Light Fury lightened his heart. If a small step could be made in this regard, then he had to retain hope that the same was true of their bigger problems.
Hiccup and Toothless stepped out of their house and were immediately greeted by a face they had not seen in awhile: Alvin, the chief of Outcast Island. "Alvin, what a surprise to see you here so early in the morning," Hiccup said.
Alvin did not look amused. "We need to talk."
Hiccup stifled a yawn. "I suppose it can't wait."
Indeed, it could not wait, so they started for the Great Hall. Valka and Eret noticed and joined them inside. They did not even have time to take a seat before Alvin began speak, "This madness in the archipelago has to stop. The problems you and your dragons have caused are affecting our trade."
"We are sorry, Alvin," Valka said. "We should have contacted you sooner, but we thought you would be left out of this because there are no dragons on your island."
"It seems being allies with you is enough." Alvin crossed his arms and looked straight at Hiccup. "So, what are you going to do about it? Do you have a plan of attack?"
"Attack?" Hiccup said in surprise. "Well, no. We're waiting them out so we can respond to their next move."
Alvin shook his head. "That's no good, boy. You need to take the offensive! That's what your father would do. He would never let things get this far."
Hiccup winced. "I understand, but who would we attack? Their are forces all over the archipelago."
"We do know that Grimmel is in charge, though," Eret said, "and he likely has a large central army somewhere. I could send my men out to search for their camp. They will be less likely to raise suspicion if they go by ship and not dragon."
Hiccup looked at him in relief. "That would be great. Thank you, Eret."
"Let me know what you find out," said Alvin. "I will help you in the fight, but if it does not start soon enough, I will create my own."
"Understood, Alvin. Thank you for your insight."
Alvin grunted in response. He made his departure, and Eret followed. Hiccup sighed and turned to his mother, who looked at him with compassion. "I am sorry you have to go through all this," she said.
"Is he right? Should I be going on the offensive?" Hiccup knew very well he was not like his father. Even when he knew fighting was necessary, he was not sure how to go about it.
Valka hesitated. "It is not wrong to gather information and formulate a plan before acting, but you need to figure out when it is time to stop planning and start enacting the plan. I am afraid we are reaching that point. If Eret returns with useful information, it would be wise to act on it."
Hiccup sighed. He was afraid of that. "It would help if we knew what Grimmel was waiting for. If he has the ability to take us down, why doesn't he just do it?"
"Perhaps he doesn't. He may be waiting on something that will allow him to win, which is all the more reason to strike soon before he obtains it."
Hiccup nodded. "Then it's time to develop a real plan." Toothless whined, looking at him in worry, and he offered him an encouraging smile in return. "Don't worry, bud. We'll find a way out of this. I promise."
***
A/N: We're about halfway through this story. Thank you for sticking with me so far!