I looked toward the sky in concern as the figure of a boy on his weary dragon came into view through the cloud cover. He let out a victorious cry before swooping down just above our heads, forcing all of us to duck.
"What is with him?" Hiccup asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I heard that ever since Alvin and the Whispering Deaths attacked, he's been training non-stop," I sighed.
"I heard he's been flying all night for the past week," Fishlegs added.
"Yeah? Well I heard Gothi can de-bone a yak just by looking at it." We all turned to look at the twins, wildly confused.
"I heard if you sit on a Terrible Terror, you can make flames come out of your-" I decided to cut Ruffnut off before things went too far.
"Whoa! What does that have to do with Snotlout?" They looked at the rest of us with that expression that indicated they just caught on; an expression they wore far too often.
"Oh. I thought we were playing the 'I heard' game. And, by the way, Terrible Terror thing? Totally true. I tried it."
Snotlout landed on the beach, finally deciding to take a break from the thousands of laps he'd just forced Hookfang to endure. The poor Monstrous Nightmare collapsed as soon as he hit the sand, unable to keep himself upright any longer.
"That's right!" Snotlout shouted. "You just saw what you just saw." He kissed both of his biceps as though he'd accomplished something great, and I rolled my eyes.
"Snotlout, Hookfang looks pretty tired," Hiccup observed. "You might be pushing him too hard."
"You say pushing, I say challenging. Hookfang doesn't rest-- he's a warrior, and we warriors live for the thrill of battle. It's like my dad always says."
"Take a bath, Snotlout?" I joked.
"Rip your tongue out, Snotlout?"
"Stick your head up a yak's-"
"No! No, none of those!" he interjected. "He says 'rest is for the weak'." Everyone went silent and just stared at him. Sure, I wouldn't expect anything less out of Spitelout, but that 'advice' wasn't only stupid, it was dangerous.
"And let's all thank Snotlout for that inspirational speech," Hiccup deadpanned.
"You're welcome. Now, let's get on with this exercise." Hookfang managed to pick his head up, but his tongue hung out of his mouth and his breath remained labored-- a clear sign he needed a break. "Unless you guys are too tired." The two of them took off again, and I leaned down against Shriek, propping myself up with my elbow.
"I can name something I'm tired of," Astrid hissed.
"We should follow him," I proposed. "Just in case something happens to Hookfang. I'm less concerned about Snotlout."
I sat up straight again, and Hiccup led the rest of us in catching up with Snotlout. I knew he wanted to say something to try and dispel how annoyed I was right now, but at the same time, that was always a risk. Even I never knew whether I'd take the bait, or just start yelling. So, instead, we all just fell into formation and waited for Hiccup to relay today's training exercise.
"Okay, guys. Alvin wants Berk for himself, and now, he has dragons. If he can train them to fight, we'll have to battle dragon riding Outcast soldiers up here."
"Up where?" I slowly turned to look at Tuffnut, genuinely confused as to how he could be this stupid.
"Here." I wildly gestured my arms around to every point of empty space. "In the sky. On-on your dragon."
"Well, I say bring it on, Alvin." Hiccup sighed at Snotlout's brashness.
"Okay, Reign, for this training exercise, you and Shriek will act as our bad dragon." I smirked at him and leaned down onto Shriek. These guys had no idea what was coming for them.
"Shriek, battle ready." She pulled back and flew above everybody else. "We're gonna hit them with everything we've got, Shriek. They have to be ready for anything." She purred, as though excited for this. "That's my girl."
They all flew off to the right, my signal that the games had begun. Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout would be easy targets. It's Hiccup and Astrid I had to worry about. Stormfly and Toothless were fast, and if Hiccup managed to get him into one of those caves, I didn't stand a chance. I'd go after the former three first, leave the challenge for later. Fishlegs and Meatlug had gone for the forest, thinking that dodging in and out of trees could keep them hidden. As soon as they were in range, I had Shriek ram into a tree and knock it over, blocking their way and allowing me to tap Fishlegs.
"You're both out."
I didn't waste time, immediately beginning my search for the twins. It wasn't too hard to find them. They clearly thought they were hidden among the trees, snickering to each other and acting as though I couldn't see their figures looming above the leaves.
"I told you this would work," Tuffnut cackled, looking at his twin.
"Yeah. She's staring right at us, and doesn't even know we're here."
"Shh, quiet." I rolled my eyes and tapped Shriek to have her crawl forward. We stood right next to their large Zippleback, and I tapped them.
"Out, and out."
"Who's she talking to?"
"It can't be us." I shook my head. These two were certified idiots.
Before I found Snotlout, I spotted Hiccup, keeping his distance from the island, but he was just close enough that he could dive if he needed to make a quick escape. As difficult as catching him would be, the reward was worth the risk.
"You might as well give up now!" I taunted from behind him.
"Wow, you sound just like Alvin." I tugged on my hair, then pressed both my hands down onto Shriek's back as Hiccup and Toothless suddenly shot forward, diving into a cave. Just as I thought he would.
"Oh, Hiccup. So predictable." I sat up straighter for a second and made a face. "Wow, I really do sound like Alvin. Yikes..."
With that, the two of us dashed into the cave. I managed to catch the outline of Hiccup and Toothless thanks to the reaches of the sunlight, but I knew once we got deeper in, it wouldn't be this easy. Shriek, unfortunately, didn't have any sort of abilities involving flame, so in that respect, I didn't stand a chance. And unlike Toothless, she couldn't echo locate, at least not to my knowledge, so we had to move fast. The passages of the cave suddenly started to narrow, to the point where I couldn't sit up straight anymore.
"Shriek, flatten."
I swung my legs around and laid flat on Shriek's back, and she let the air out of her body, completely flattening her shape and allowing the both of us to squeeze through. I squinted my eyes as the exit spat sunlight down onto me, and I swung myself back around again as she shot up. I expected to see Hiccup somewhere above the cloud cover, but to my disappointment, I only saw the blue sky. Frustrated, slammed myself back down onto my dragon again.
"No!"
My eyes darted around again. I needed a win, following that embarrassment. Thankfully, Hookfang and Snotlout flew by above my head. They were an easy catch, especially with how tired Hookfang was. They tried to outfly us, but I managed to catch up.
"Okay, Hookfang. Let's show 'em who's the true king of the sky! Flames!" A few tiny flames shot out from Hookfang's skin, but he couldn't ignite. He tried again, but no avail. "Uh, Hookfang? I said flame!" I couldn't watch this any longer. I gripped tight onto Shriek with one hand, then had her turn upside down and I smacked Snotlout on his helmet.
"And, out."
That only left Astrid. I pulled up and waited for a few moments, trying to find her. It took a few moments, but I noticed her laying low, circling around the water on the southern end of the island. My smile returned, and Shriek made a quick dive down toward her. She was within my reach when she and Stormfly suddenly darted out of the way, and thinking fast, I pulled Shriek up and turned her around. Astrid tried her best to fly faster than me, but at the last second, I managed to catch her.
"You're getting faster," I complimented.
"We took a page out of your book." She smiled at me as she flew up to meet the others.
"Wait, you're feeding her chicken?" I flew us back to meet the others, including Hiccup, who I hadn't managed to catch. I pulled myself closer to him and watched as Snotlout screamed at Hookfang, attempting to get him to ignite. However, each time he tried, the only thing that would happen was smoke would come out of his nostrils. Hiccup and I glanced at each other, and with a nod, the two of us flew back toward shore, getting everyone to land so we could further inspect Hookfang. I looked over the dragon with wide, concerned eyes, and as one my hands flew to my necklace, Hiccup reached for the other.
"What? What's the matter with everyone?" Snotlout spat. "Never seen a stubborn dragon before?"
"Snotlout, that wasn't stubbornness," Hiccup corrected. "There's something wrong with Hookfang. He couldn't flame up."
"No, Hookfang didn't want to flame up. There's a difference." I shook my head at his denial. "He was bored with your dumb exercise, and he can flame up whenever he wants."
"Okay... how about now?" Tuffnut challenged. Snotlout looked at the ground for a moment, as though his confidence was wavering, before smirking back up at the rest of us.
"Nah, he doesn't feel like it now." Hiccup and I exchanged a glance.
"Snotlout, we really need to check Hookfang, and we should probably do it now." He lowered his brow at us.
"Fine. Be my guest. But there's nothing wrong with my dragon." He got up onto Hookfang, who somehow managed to get back to the Academy. Immediately, Hiccup and I jumped off our dragons and ran for the Book of Dragons, flipping to the page on Monstrous Nightmares. He started to skim through the part on ailments and began to read them as he looked at Hookfang.
"All right. No fire? Check. Pale coloration? Check." Snotlout began to wring his hands, a clear sign he was growing nervous. "Flaking scales? Check." Hiccup's voice began to waver, and with quiet steps, I came closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"See? He's fine," Snotlout denied. "Checks are good, right?"
"Totally." I couldn't tell whether Tuff was being sarcastic or not.
"Hiccup, any one of those symptoms would not be good. But together..." Fishlegs trailed off. "Really not good."
"So, what are you saying?" he asked as he shut the Book of Dragons.
"According to the Book of Dragons, a Monstrous Nightmare can lose its ability to regenerate flame."
"But why?" I asked, moving around to Hiccup's side.
"Lots of reasons: old age, injury, exhaustion-"
"-pushed too hard by his stubborn rider?" Astrid interjected.
"I heard that. And I always work him this hard. So he's a little low on flame. What the cure?"
"That's the thing with Stoker class dragons. Once they lose their flaming ability, they become completely defenseless."
"What are you saying, Fishlegs?" The tone of Snotlout's voice changed.
"I'm saying Hookfang is in trouble, and we need to do something now." I looked from face to face, then crossed my arms against my chest and spoke up.
"Okay, Hiccup and I will try to figure something out, the rest of you go and rest up. Especially you two." I pointed at Snotlout and Hookfang. It looked as though he was going to protest at first, then shut his mouth and allowed Hookfang to walk home with him.
By the time night had fallen, Hiccup and I hadn't come up with anything. I groaned and slammed my head against his drawing desk, risking smudging charcoal on my face in order to be dramatic. I heard Hiccup chuckle from behind me, so slowly, I sat myself up again.
"I don't get it. There's nothing in the Book of Dragons about healing a Monstrous Nightmare," I sighed. "There has to be something else besides just rest." He sat down on his bed to face me.
"For someone who always complains about Snotlout and how annoying he is, you seem to care a lot about helping him."
"No, correction: I care about Hookfang." I leaned against my arms. "I hate seeing dragons in pain, and even if his rider is obnoxious... Hookfang is no exception." I looked out the window and sighed. It was getting late, and I needed to head home at this point.
"I should probably head back, get some sleep." I stood up from my stool. "We'll reconvene in the morning, see if Fishlegs has any ideas." Hiccup smiled up at me, and I found myself getting flustered. "What?" He hesitated for a moment.
"You- ah, never mind." I crossed my arms.
"No, tell me!"
"Reign, I said it's nothing!" I laughed, and as soon as he stood, I playfully shoved him.
"You're so weird." He reached forward to wrap me into a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yep. See you then, Haddock."
I couldn't manage to wipe the smile off my face as I headed home.
The next morning, Hookfang looked worse. He'd nearly lost all of his coloration and barely moved. Hiccup and Snotlout crouched down by the poor dragon, attempting to comfort him while we waited for Fishlegs, who supposedly had found something. The ache in my chest grew as I watched the three of them, pushing me to join the two boys next to Hookfang. As I reached out to pet the Monstrous Nightmare, another hand fell over my own. I didn't have to look over to know it was Hiccup's.
"Don't worry, Snotout. We'll get to the bottom of this," Hiccup assured. "I promise." Snotlout looked at Hiccup with hostility.
"I'm not worried." The way he looked at Hookfang indicated otherwise. He tried his best to hide his sniffles, but he wasn't fooling any of us.
"Whoa, are you crying?" Tuffnut peered around the other side of Snotlout to try and catch a glimpse at his face. "What's that like?"
"Crying?" Snotlout stood and punched Tuffnut in the face, getting him to back off. "That's ridiculous! There's dust... in my eyes..." He couldn't hold himself together. "Can't you see how dusty it is in here, guys?"
"Snotlout, there's nothing wrong with being upset." I smiled at him. "It just means you care." He almost looked sentimental for a moment, but tried his best to shake it off.
"All right, um... let's just pretend for a minute that I did, well, care. How would I know? How would you know?"
"Well, you might feel a tightness in your chest, you might get a little shaky, your eyes might get watery..." Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go with dust... for now." As Snotlout and Astrid exchanged a smile, Fishlegs finally arrived, a stack of books and papers in his hands.
"Hiccup! Here's something from the Bork Papers regarding reigniting a Stoker class dragon's flame." Fishlegs presented a piece of paper with Fireworms surrounding a Monstrous Nightmare on it. There were also some strange hexagonal shapes surrounding them, but I had no idea what those were meant to represent.
"Fireworm dragons..."
"Or as Bork referred to them: 'The Flame Eaters'."
"Flame eaters! We should be flame eaters." I tried to shoot the twins a silencing glance, but they ignored it.
"Cool!" Ruff punched her brother again.
"Fireworms are Stoker class dragons, too. There must be something in them that can help reignite the Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup stood, that spark of an idea in his eyes. "Okay. Reign, the twins, and I will gather up as many Fireworms as we can find. Fishlegs, keep reading."
"What about me?"
"You stay with your dragon." I tried my best to make it sound like a suggestion, but it came out as an order. "He needs you."
"It's part of caring."
The four of us hopped up on our dragons and headed to the rocky part of the island, then split up. The goal was to get every Fireworm on the island, but as many as possible would be good enough. I managed to find a few scurrying around in a cave, and Shriek and I ran our way over to them, attempting to herd them back to Hiccup, who had the fireproof container. Everyone met back up once we'd found as many as we could, and we flew back to Hookfang. Hiccup placed the Fireworms around the dragon's body, but minutes later, nothing changed.
"Nothing," Hiccup sighed. "Well, that might not have worked, but-"
"Maybe he can drink this." Tuff stepped forward with a bowl of some liquid in his hands.
"What-What is that?"
"Fireworm milk." Astrid raised an eyebrow at Ruffnut's words.
"Fireworm milk?"
"Um, Tuffnut, I don't think you can actually milk a Fireworm."
"Oh, great. Thanks." He held up a bandaged hand. "Where were you three hours ago?"
"Maybe we need to put the Fireworms on Hookfang," I suggested, "so he can absorb their heat directly." Snotlout grabbed onto my shoulders and started to shake me.
"Yeah, yeah. Good idea, Reign! Direct heat. That makes sense." He finally let go of me. "What are you waiting for?"
Hiccup went over to his bag and pulled out the pairs of tongs we used to put them around Hookfang and set them down on the dragon's scales. A few minutes in, a small flame ignited behind Hookfang's eyes. Hopeful smiles spread on all our faces.
"It's working." Almost as soon as Snotlout said that, the fire extinguished, and Hookfang went back to his hopeless state. "We need more Fireworms now!" Snotlout raced around, digging through chests and barrels, as though he'd find more of the tiny dragons in there. "Do you hear me? More Fireworms!"
"Snotlout, I think we've rounded up all the Fireworms on Berk." I hated to tell him that, but I couldn't lie to him. Defeated, Snotlout dropped the bucket he was holding with a devastated look on his face.
"Come on!" Everyone diverted their attention to the twins, who were currently trying to hit each other with Fireworms. "You said you wanted to be a flame eater!"
"I did, didn't I? Okay." I shook my head and turned away, looking back down as Hookfang, as though an answer would somehow come to me by staring at the problem. My eyes quickly darted back to Hiccup, who for some reason, couldn't stop staring at the twins and smiling.
"Um, Hiccup? Do you really think now is a good time to be focusing on the twins?"
"It's actually the perfect time." I put my hands up. "They just gave me an idea."
"Whoa. Don't think that'll ever come out of your mouth again." Hiccup approached the pair fighting with Fireworms and placed his hands on their shoulders.
"I-I don't say this often, but you two are geniuses."
"Like we don't know that," Tuffnut scoffed right before the two of them went back to fighting with their Fireworms. Meanwhile, Hiccup gathered all of the Fireworms on Hookfang and put them into his empty lantern. The glow from inside was pretty intense, especially in the daylight.
"What are you doing, Hiccup? Shouldn't you be figuring out how to save my dragon?"
"I am." He hoisted up the lantern and held it out for everyone to see. "As Ruff and Tuff so astutely discovered, Fireworms get brighter the closer they are to one another." He held the lantern closer to three stray Fireworms, demonstrating how much brighter they got.
"Wow, that's pretty cool."
"Whoa... We discovered that?"
'Yes. Yes, you did."
"Yes!" The twins rammed their helmets together.
"Oh, yeah!"
"So, if I'm right, the closer we get to more Fireworms..." He waited for the twins to finish his sentence, but they just kept staring off into space. "Come on. Come on, Tuff! Lead us home." They shrugged at each other.
"We'll all burst into flames!" The two of them cheered as though they'd really accomplished something. "Yes!"
"Geniuses!"
"No, actually, the closer we get, the brighter the Fireworms will glow inside this." He held up the lantern.
"Oh. Much less fun than bursting into flames."
"Wait a minute. I thought you said there were no more Fireworms on the island."
"There aren't... on this island." Fishlegs turned to a page in the Book of Dragons, then held it up for everyone to see. "But there are plenty on Fireworm Island."
"Fireworm Island?"
"That's where these little guys are going to lead us." Snotlout cast his gaze over to Hookfang, a sense of hope now growing on his face. He made his way over to his ailing dragon, and for a moment, I thought he was going to comfort him. But instead, he started to try and get him to stand.
"Come on, Hookfang. You've gotta dig deep." He moved himself under Hookfang's wing and tried to hoist him up. "I know you've got some fight left in you."
With a strained, gargled roar, Hookfang managed to pick himself up. We'd have to keep a close eye on him as we flew, but we might be able to make it before he gave out.
"Okay, gang. We'll meet back up tonight, that way we can see the Fireworms better. For now, everyone needs to rest." I looked over at Snotlout specifically, making sure he wouldn't try and push his dragon too hard.
We'd been flying for hours, and it felt as though we were no closer to finding Fireworm Island than we had been when we started.
"Bank right, bud," Hiccup ordered. He led the group, as usual, and had quite a bit of faith in what we were doing. "It's brighter this way." Everyone followed behind on this wild goose chase, somehow hoping Fireworm Island was just through the cloud cover. Hookfang and Snotlout lagged behind, and each time one of us looked back, they appeared to be getting lower and lower.
"Are you getting anything?" Astrid asked above the whoosh of the wind.
"No," Hiccup admitted, "nothing yet."
"Hookfang is getting weaker without his flame. I'm afraid he won't be able to fly much longer."
"I know. We don't have much time."
Everyone tried their best to push forward, but the Fireworms didn't change how bright they were glowing, and the further we flew, the further Snotlout and Hookfang fell. It was getting too dangerous for them to keep going.
"Hookfang is losing too much strength. We're gonna have to head back."
"No!" Snotlout protested in his usual stubborn manner. "We have to keep going."
"Fishlegs is right, Snotlout. He's losing too much altitude. It's not safe."
"Come on, boy." Hookfang continued to fall. "Keep fighting!" The pair was getting too close to the cloud layer. We all turned around and dove for them. As much as we wanted to find Fireworm Island, we couldn't risk the safety of Hookfang or Snotlout.
"We should turn back!" Hiccup and Snotlout seemed to have a conversation in their minds, communicating ideas without even saying anything. Everyone turned around and started to head back toward Berk, feeling defeated. We'd have to find another way...
A glow out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I whipped my head around to look at Hiccup, the lantern in his hand looking as though it had the sun inside it. That could only mean Fireworm Island was...
"Guys, look!" The clouds began to clear, revealing an island not far away.
"I-I see it, Fishlegs! That's gotta be it... Fireworm Island."
Everyone dove down to get closer to the island, the glow in the lantern becoming nearly blinding as we got closer to a cave, tucked away within the rocks, nearly hidden in the darkness.
"They must be inside here." Snotlout and Hookfang managed to land after everyone else, swerving back and forth as though they'd had too much mead. "Snotlout, I think you need to stay behind with Hookfang. Reign and I will bring the Fireworms back." Snotlout took one look down at his dragon, and a sudden, new determination crossed his face as he stood with purpose.
"No. It's my fault, Hiccup. I did this to Hookfang. I'm gonna save him." And with that, he ran toward the cave. Someone had to help the ailing dragon.
"Hiccup, we'll stay behind with Hookfang," I offered. Fishlegs hopped off of Meatlug and crouched down beside Hookfang.
"You'd better hurry."
He looked back at us again, as though trying to weigh the consequences, then released the Fireworms from the lantern and allowed them to lead the way. Snotlout hopped up onto Toothless, and the two of them followed the tiny dragons. All of us positioned ourselves in front of Hookfang, ready for whatever could try to come our way. An injured dragon is like a beacon for others to come and attack, not to mention that at any moment, Hookfang could let go. While the others kept their eyes on Hookfang, I couldn't tear mine from the cave. It couldn't be that complicated to gather up a bunch of Fireworms, but still, every situation had its problems.
And ours suddenly came shooting out of the cave.
A Fireworm the size of a normal dragon sudden burst from the rock, looking around as though it were lost for a moment, before looking down at me and roaring. My eyes went wide, and Astrid moved up to stand beside me.
"Uh, Fishlegs?" I cried. "What is that?"
"That must be the Fireworm Queen. And by the looks of it. she's not happy..."
She roared again and attempted to lunge for us, but before she could even come close, Shriek let out a roar that sent her stumbling back. Stormfly then fired at her, causing her to fly away, looking dazed and confused. Hiccup and Snotlout emerged from another opening, shooting up into the sky.
"We'll handle the queen. You get to Hookfang." The two of them flew away, and Astrid and I began a full assault on the Fireworm Queen. If she got to Hookfang, who knows what she would do. We did our best to keep her cornered, just until Hiccup and Snotlout could help Hookfang get back to normal.
"Can those two go one second without awakening some angry dragon?"
"Nope!" The Fireworm Queen attempted to shoot back at Astrid. "Just keep it going, Astrid! She'll back off eventually."
Unfortunately of us, I was wrong. She instead increased the intensity of her fire, pushing Astrid and I back to the point where we couldn't hit her. The moment she had the change, the Fireworm Queen slunk her way toward Hiccup, Snotlout, and Hookfang.
"Come on!"
Astrid and I landed not far away from the scene, but instead of interfering, we just sort of watched what unfolded. Snotlout kept urging Hookfang to eat some odd hexagonal cylinder- most likely an egg- but he just stared at it as the queen loomed over them.
"You wanna get to my dragon, you have to go through me!"
"He's an idiot," I muttered, shaking my head and leaning against Shriek's back.
Hookfang, on the other hand, picked up the egg in his mouth and tossed it aside, out of his reach but within the queens. He must've been trying to give back what she was fighting for, and Snotlout- for no other explainable reason other than he's Snotlout- wasn't quite picking up on that.
"Hookfang, what are you doing? You need to eat that!" The poor dragon just laid there, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Snotlout, he's protecting you," Hiccup said. "He's doing for you what you were willing to do for him."
The Fireworm Queen picked up her egg, and for a moment, it seemed as though she were satisfied, and we'd be able to get on with our lives. We'd have to find yet another way to help Hookfang, but at least for today, we'd be safe.
Then, she roared straight in Hookfang's direction and wrapped her tail around his neck, dangling her in front of his face as though he were nothing but a useless rag doll, ready to be torn apart by a greedy and careless child.
"Hookfang!"
Her long, forked tongue darted out of her mouth and began to glow, and before any of us could shoot at her and try to save Hookfang, she pierced the ends into his scales. They stuck straight through, like hot prongs, and with a final, defeated roar, Hookfang's eyes rolled back, then fluttered shut. I wanted to tear my gaze away from the scene, but at the same time, it was like I'd been glued to it. Hookfang couldn't be... but it certainly looked like he was.
Snotlout attempted to run to his dragon, but the Fireworm Queen smacked him out of the way with her wing, not even bothering to cast him a glance as she did.
"Hiccup!"
He and Toothless shot themselves into the air and hovered around the Fireworm Queen, roaring until she released her grip on Hookfang and slithered back. Seizing his chance, Snotlout ran to his dragon's side and knelt down, as though his presence could somehow reverse all of this.
"Hookfang..." He didn't move.
"Oh, no."
His breathing came raspy, sounding as though he were reaching out to his last leg of life, desperately attempting to cling on. His eyes barely opened, not strong enough to gaze at his own rider before...
Snotlout placed a hand between Hookfang's nostrils and pet him gently, allowing tears to spill freely from his eyes this time.
"I'm right here with you. You're not just another sword, Hookfang."
Uh, what?
Snotlout's head only remained bowed for a moment before he began to look over his dragon, tears suddenly drying.
"Huh, that's weird. He's really hot."
Then, slowly, the red coloration Hookfang normally sported began to crawl over him, starting at his head until it reached the very end of his body. As it moved on, Hookfang began to stand up again, looking as though his strength returned. We all stared at him in awe. How could this have happened?
Hookfang shook his head, then fully ignited himself and let out a triumphant cry.
"Hookfang, you're back!" The dragon doused his fire and nuzzled his head into his rider's hands.
"His skin... the gel, it's regenerating!"
"Her venom must've started it up again," Hiccup pieced together. "She saved him!"
The Fireworm Queen stood on her hind legs and roared, then Hookfang did the same-- a sign of mutual respect. Satisfied, she turned in the air and flew back into her cave, where she could hopefully put that egg back. Astrid and Stormfly approached Snotlout, a smirk on her face.
"Hey, looks like you got some dust in your eyes," she teased.
"Yeah, I did," he 'admitted' as he wiped them. "Stupid dust."
With Hookfang fully healed, all of us were able to return to Berk with light hearts and eased minds. The next morning, we all gathered on a sea stack for the next round of evasive training. Well, everyone but Snotlout, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he?" Astrid grunted.
"Why are we always waiting for him?"
Our annoyance seemed to summon him, as right after Fishlegs finished his question, the two of them flew over to us.
"There he is." The pair landed in front of Hiccup. "Okay, good. We're all here. Snotlout, you and Hookfang are the evil dragon this time." Snotlout reached down to pat his dragon.
"Actually, I thought we'd sit this one out. Maybe go on a nice flight, take in the sights. I just wanna make sure that he's well rested."
"I thought your dad says rest is for the weak," Astrid challenged.
"Turns out, my dad knows absolutely nothing about dragons." Hiccup and I exchanged a glance, smirking. "I just want to take it easy until Hookfang is back to his old self."
Hookfang tossed Snotlout into the air, then shot up, ignited himself, and caught his rider.
"Okay, good. Back to his old self. Shall we?"
All of us hopped on our dragons and took off, ready for a well-deserved, peaceful flight.
Well, mostly peaceful. Couldn't say much for Snotlout and Hookfang. But, as much as they got on our nerves, we needed them, just as much as anyone else.