??? POV
Hidden in the foliage, I smirked to myself as I saw Hiccup pale. Having the ability to make him so distressed with just a few words was really quite... satisfying.
Pulling my hood lower over my face, I crept away. Is was practically invisible in the changewing cloak, but it did nothing for sound. Only once I was a good thirty metres away did I begin to walk normally. Never too careful, as my mother used to say.
Before long I had reached a small cave which, for today, would be my base. With low ceilings but wide walls, I knew it would be perfect. Their dragons wouldn't be able to fit. Well, maybe the Night fury, but that relied on them noticing that I'm here to start with.
After ducking under the entrance, the cave opened up considerably. The floor went downhill, until the space was almost large enough for a deadly nadder to stand tall in. The cave itself was like a large room; almost square.
I knew I was lucky to find this.
Because of my survival lessons, I knew that following a stream uphill has a chance of leading to a cave - which it did. Outside was thick woodland, excellent cover, but no water source or good place to find food.
When I arrived, I had seen a store of fish that I could raid. I had to be careful though, as the place was crowded with dragons. All of which would most likely eat me.
Sighing, I placed my satchel on the floor. Inside I had some basic supplies: a water canteen, which was mostly empty; a piece of bread; an almost brand new map; a compass; my double use knife; a fire-starting kit; and a fur piece. I was proud of myself when I got it all to fit. Laying out the fur, I relaxed. I was exhausted as I had spent all night sailing to get here.
I would make the long journey worth it.
*
I woke to the sound of shuffling nearby. Holding my breath, I glanced around the almost pitch black cave. Silhouetted from the light of the entrance, a small creature dug around in my satchel. Preparing to lunge, I cautiously took out my knife.
"Achrrr," it sneezed, sparks illuminating the area. It was a terrible terror. Groaning, I put away my knife. They were harmless if ignored, but also made good trackers and early defence systems. Now, it was a light source.
"Little terror," I began, watching as it turned to face me, "why don't you leave that booooring bag over there and go and grab," I fumbled to find something, "this!" I threw a small rock outside. It just continued to glance at me.
So it's not entirely stupid, I thought.
"Did you guys hear something?"
I froze.
"Yeah, almost like a footstep on the dry leaves." Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I had to throw that rock!
"Okay Snotlout you check over there and I'll check here," a new person suggested. The cunching of leaves got closer.
"Fishface you are not the boss of me!" the same guy snapped.
"Last time I checked Hiccup put Fishlegs in charge," a female voice shot back.
"Shut up Astrid."
The sound of crumbling debris approached. I glanced at the dragon, a plan formulating in my mind. Grabbing the satchel, I ripped part of the bread off. I teased the terror, holding it next to its snout, before chucking it out. Immediately the terror dived after it.
"Aaaaiiii!" Someone screamed, sounding like they had just fallen into freezing water. "Oh, it's just a stupid terrible terror." It growled at the name stupid, before scurrying away with the bread. "Guys! It was just a terror!"
They groaned as I smirked. Success.
"Well, we need to keep looking for the invader. We can not let them roam freely after such a threatening note," the girl, Astrid, declared. They left shortly after, but I waited a while before moving. I pulled up my cloak, covering all of me except my eyes, and snuck out.
At this point, it was dusk. Perfect: the right balance of light to see and shadows to hide in. Time to steal some food and launch phase two of the operation.
Painstakingly slowly, I walked through the woods. My satchel, which I had brought to put in any food I had stolen, was under my cloak. The changewing cloak was soft on the inside, as I had lined it with rabitskin a year ago, but the outside was rough. Except for the gap I left for me eyes, I was invisible.
Each time a twig snapped or a leaf crumbled I cringed, hoping no-one or no dragon heard me. After what seemed like forever, I reached the outpost. I couldn't see any of the riders, but I could hear shouts from inside a building. Curiosity tugged me forwards. I bit my lip. It was risky, but if I could find out what they were planning, it would be a huge advantage.
Carefully, I climbed up the back wall and into the roof. It seemed metallic so I took silent steps: anything not completely quiet would've made a loud clang giving away my position. I kneeled, pressing my ear to the roof.
"-ike this, Hiccup. We know they have it in for you but we don't know why," Astrid said. I narrowed my eyes.
"I don't know Astrid. But we can't just leave now. We can't abandon Berk's plans for this island," Hiccup mumbled, so quiet I could barely hear. I frowned at the news, pressing my ear harder into the roof.
"Why can't we just go already? Lets leave this mess to whoever wants it. I certainly don't, " someone wined.
"Did you not hear Hiccup? I mean seriously, Hiccstrid get annoyed at us for not listening," a new voice added.
"Well excuuuuse me, bu-"
"We can't lead them to Berk! We don't know how powerful they are or what their motives are," Hiccup yelled over the blossoming argument. My face scrunched up in thought. This was not the response I wanted.
"We will all sleep in the stables and search again in the morning," he finished.
Which means now is a perfect time to strike, I reasoned. Carefully, I crept off the roof. Like a leopard I jumped up a nearby tree, watching the riders leave. I moved on the branch, preparing to climb down, when I saw the night fury's ears twitch. It turned, facing the bottom of my tree, its cat-like eyes searching in the dark.
We were both motionless.
Its eyes were focused, seeking whatever made the noise out intently.
"Come on Toothless," Hiccup called, unaware of Toothless' suspicions. He immediately followed Hiccup, uninterested. Probably presumed it was a squirrel or something.
I needed to be more careful. Clearly the night fury would be harder to avoid. After their dragons had also settled in the stables, I deemed it safe enough to move. I tried to find the store with resources, but came up empty. Maybe one of the huts would have some.
I pushed open a door, stepping into a cosy hut. It had some sort of hanging feature from the ceiling and a... stuffed yak. How old were they again? Ignoring the yak, I walked further in to be greeted by clucking. A chicken! Well, that wasn't what I was expecting, but I wasn't in a position to be picky. I wrapped my cloak tighter, but panicked when I heard footsteps. I jumped behind some wooden furniture.
"Chicken!" A male dragon rider barged in. "What happened Chicken?" he cooed, stroking its head. It turned to me, clucked and flared its short wings. I hoped my changewing cloak would conceal me well enough. It was made of shedded changwing scales, keeping the property of disguising whatever was underneath it. The rider stepped closer to me. I held my breath. "There's nothing there you silly chicken! Come on let's go to the stables now, can't have the intruder get you now can we?" He slammed the door behind them.
I breathed a sigh of relief, taking my cloak off my face. Now that they were gone, I had more time to look for resources and answers. I checked chests, tables, cupboards and even the stuffed yak but came up empty. Maybe they had taken anything of value and interest to the stables? Groaning, I left the hut.
Next, I searched a large building. Like the others, it was wooden, but this one had a fireplace in the middle. Rolls of parchment were dotted about like leaves on a bush. I skim read the notes, on various islands or dragons, clear detail in them. But this was not the information I was after.
Most of the huts were empty of anything useful, but I had taken some plain parchment and a charcoal-pencil. However, in Hiccup's hut, I found a cylindrical tube with the Dragon Hunters' symbol. Carefully, I slid I into my bag. It was exhausting. When I finished, the first rays of sunlight shone over the horizon.
Damn, why did this have to happen in the summer? I don't have much time. I would have to act quickly to I was to finish part two of the plan.
Now where did they store their weapons?
***
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Any ideas on what the plan is?