Hiccup's POV
With a 'whoosh!' the dragons took off, each flapping their wings quickly in a desperate attempt to get ahead. Cheering their dragons on, the riders streamlined themselves, heading in all directions.
"There's one, bud," I whispered, confident that my dragon, Toothless, heard me. As one, we shot through the woods, leaning to grab a sheep.
"Squaark!" A dash of blue whirled past as Astrid and Stormfly grabbed the sheep. I groaned in frustration. I really wanted to win today. We all did. After all, it was the last time we would dragon race on Dragon's Edge.
With polished precision, Toothless and I angled both tail fins, gaining a burst of speed. Like a big black bullet, we shot above the rider that was flying away with our sheep. I locked Toothless's prosthetic tail in place, balancing on his back. I leapt, opening my fake wings and glided onto Stormfly's tail. Before Astrid could react, I ran up and snatched the sheep from her grasp and jumped back on Toothless.
With a laugh-like gurgle, the night fury twirled, enabling me to drop the sheep in their basket.
Currently, Astrid was winning with six points and Fishlegs was losing with one. The twins and Snotlout both had two. As this was the last Dragon Race on the Edge, Heather joined us, with three points.
Carefully, we searched for the ten-point black sheep. Only it could allow anyone other than Astrid to win, as she had a lead.
To everyone's surprise, Fishlegs and his gronkle Meatlug were the first to find the black sheep. Trying to look inconspicuous, they flew in a zig-zag pattern to the nets. Fishlegs whistled slightly and Meatlug's yellow eyes were wide. Not subtle. I patted Toothless, leading him towards them. I prepared to jump-
"Let's go Barf!"
"Come on Belch!"
The twins jumped off their dragon, falling in front of Fishlegs. Barf and Belch knocked Meatlug. The black sheep fell. Toothless angled himself, reaching out with his claws. As the zippleback caught its riders, Toothless grabbed the sheep and tossed it into our basket.
That left us with thirteen, and a victory. Smiling like an idiot, I flew down. Shortly after, heavy wing beats thundered behind me as an irritated hideous zippleback landed beside us.
"No fair Hiccup, you and T just swept in when we did all the work," Tuffnut complained as he got down. I rolled my eyes. It was typical of the twins to jump - quite literally - into a plan with such a simple flaw.
"Yeah! That was totally ours, even though Tuff did mess up the fall," Ruffnut backed up, only to have Tuffnut parry that she didn't execute the leap properly either. Ignoring them, I turned and watched as the other dragon riders arrived. As expected, each had a reason as to why they in fact were victorious- which they argued for as they walked to the clubhouse.
Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were very distracted by their argument, whereas I just looked at the scene in front of me with a sad sigh. I would miss the Edge: the adventures, the dragons, the danger, the people. Sure, we would see each other on Berk, but it wouldn't be the same. Everyone would get jobs and get on with their lives, and knowing my Dad, Stoik the Vast, he would get more to do more 'chiefly duties'. I also needed to get rid of the two Dragon Eyes, something that I was very conflicted over.
Astrid caught my sorrowful gaze with her sharp eyes and walked up to me.
"You know, we should be jumping for joy right now."
I raised eyebrow. "How so?"
"Well, for starters, we won't have to deal with 'twintuition'. I mean, How many times have the twins gotten us into a sticky situation because of it?"
"But it also helped a lot," I mumbled half-heartedly.
"True, but was it worth the risk?" Before I could argue, Astrid continued, "and what about the wild dragon attacks? I'm sure we can live without running for our lives from some angered dragon."
I sighed. Each of her arguments were double sided. While it was dangerous, it was also exciting and unique - almost freeing.
"I know you're not convinced, but try to keep positive yeah?" Astrid advised. "Maybe some nice island flights will help," she added before heading to her hut. It was late after all.
"Grrroooo," Toothless nuzzled his head into my arm, earning a small smile.
"At least when we go back you'll still always be by my side ey, bud?" Toothless snorted, as if saying, 'Of course, mutton-head'.
Smiling, we headed towards my hut. It was a simple wolden design, made by the riders ourselves, and I knew I would miss it. I got in bed, appreciating the warmth from the blankets, as Toothless used an extended plasma blast to heat his 'bed' - a stone slab that was modified to endure extreme heat - before lying down. Before long, Toothless had fallen asleep.
But not me. I had heard each rider and their dragon as they went to their huts, some arguing on the way. Slowly, time had dripped on. Tossing and turning, I tried to fall asleep, getting more and more frustrated with each minute that passed. I gazed out the window, watching as another star would join its brethren in the smooth sky.
Groaning, I pushed off my blankets. Toothless's sensitive ears twitched, but I moved slower. Once out of the hut, I walked normally, gazing at the horizon.
Rolling waves kissed the shores. The moon was full and its glorious light reflected into weaving patterns on the sea below. Gentle stars lit up the remaining area, floating like fairies as the waves rolled.
I just stared, entranced by the beauty of the Edge. Cool winds brushed my skin, a welcome relief from the heat inside the hut. They were rather strong winds, the type good for flying.
"Grrroooo." Toothless stretched, walking up to me.
"Seems I've managed to wake you up, sorry bud," I whisperd, not wanting to break the peace. Rolling his eyes, Toothless bumped into my leg. I looked down, watching as a determined Toothles grumbled. He crouched, side-jumped into my leg again and made a satisfied grunt when he succeeded in getting me on his back.
"If you wanted to go on a night flight you should've just asked," I scolded playfully. With a deep rumbling laugh, Toothless spread his wings and took off.
Each wing beat was gentle, a silent pet on the air. I lay flat, glancing up at the stars, as Toothless glided. Before we had reached the majestic cove where Toothless had planned to stop, I had fallen asleep.
Realising, Toothless tilted his wings slightly and glided into a smooth landing. From there, he walked the rest of the way to the hut, not having reached the cove. He squeezed his wings in, managing to get through the door. With extreme difficulty, Toothless slid Hiccup onto his bead. Content, he went to sleep with ease, unfortunately narrowly missing the scene in the cove.
*
"Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted, banging his fists on the door.
"Wha-wha-what?" I snapped up, running down the stairs. A very angry Snotlout met me at the door.
"Hooky and I found something while - well, it doesn't matter what we were doing. There's a shipwreck on the island," he claimed, grabbing my arm and leading me somewhere. Concerned, I followed. Owls howled in the early morning, the sky a smooth black.
Snotlout shot me a glare as I yawned.
"You'll see," Snotlout mumbled as we approached the edge of the cove. Releasing me, he motioned him to go on. I rolled my eyes, peeking over the edge.
My jaw fell.
It was a mess. Wooden planks were strewn about lazily, as if the gods had just picked them up and dropped them at the shore. Strips of a mast littered the beach like thorns on a rose.
Glancing at Snotlout, I asked, "When did this happen?"
"Dunno." Snotlout began making his way down. I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. This could just be another one of the twins' idea of a prank.
Having followed Snotlout, I traced my fingers over the wood. With red streaks and a reflective polish, it was clearly high-quality. The mast remains were smooth, some with markings.
Sighing, I tried to reason as to where it came from. A fisher gone astray? Or perhaps something more sinister, such as a spy? A cold rung through me; the owner of this vessel could be anywhere by now. Why hadn't they come to us directly after crashing?
I turned to leave to warn the others. A crisp piece of parchment waving in the wind caught my eye. There, nailed to a piece of wood, was a note. Without hesitation, I grabbed it.
Well well well. If you're reading this, Hiccup, I guess I reached the right island. The Edge, I believe? Quite fitting, I suppose.
My eyes narrowed.
I had decided to 'visit' it but seemed to have underestimated the local tides. Not that it matters. I'll soon be able to fly back by dragon. Night fury has a nice appeal to it, don't you think?
Anger boiled in my stomach. It was such a simple remark, but no-one was going to enslave Toothless.
I will tell you this only once, Hiccup. Do not underestimate me. I am a force to be reckoned with. I have allies and am prepared to do whatever it takes.
But you wouldn't worry. After all, I am an outsider with no knowledge of the island. That is, when I arrived. But chances are that I had enough time to explore in the night? Thanks to that, I know the island's geography.
I scowled. There was no way this person was serious.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, I am advising you leave this island now, while you still can.
***
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