Disclaimer: I don't own anything from How to train your dragon
Chapter 4: When Darkness Falls
After the previous adventures, the Dragon Riders decided they need to look for a new base. However, they soon found that the task was easier said than done.
"Let's explore the island on foot; rest the dragons for a long trip home, I'm a muttonhead!" Snotlout mocked as he, Hiccup and Hicca ran away from four wild boars on foot.
"Oh like the lands you chose were any better!" Hicca retorted as they continue to run.
"OK, then genius, what's our next move?" Snotlout challenged.
The three continued to run until they reached a cliff, with the boars closing in.
"W-weapons, we need weapons." Hiccup said to the other two. Hicca readied her staff, while Snotlout eyed Hiccups' prosthetic.
"Got one!" He announced, grabbing the prosthetic.
"Snotlout, let go!" Hiccup demanded.
"What? Called dibs! Gimme!" Snotlout retorted.
"Snotlout, quit it!" Hicca said, trying to get her cousin away from her twin.
The trio then broke apart when they noticed the boars getting closer. Before the animals could get any closer, a series of Nadder spikes blocked their path, creating a protective barrier for the three human. A magnesium blast then sent the animals running away. Hiccup, Hicca and Snotlout looked up and saw Raeda and Astrid with Sparkfire and Stormfly, revealing to be the ones protecting them.
With the boars out of the way, the three humans reunited with their dragons and rejoined the others in the air.
"OK, so check that island off the list." Hiccup noted.
"Ooh-hoo-hoo! This is so exciting!" Fishlegs exclaimed, the excitement clear in his voice. "Searching the high seas for an island outpost to call our own!"
"Yeah, I like this idea!" Ruffnut agreed. "Move away from Berk, get my own place, away from you-know-who..." She looked meaningfully at her twin as she said the last part.
"Yeah, you're telling me, sister." Tuffnut nodded in agreement, not realising that he was the one she was talking about. "I am so sick of you-know-who. He never knows when to shut up! I want him out of here!"
"Guys, let's focus." Hiccup called getting them back on track. "Alright, we need to find an island that's safe, secure, and habitable for both us and the dragons."
"Blah, blah, blah! How many times do we have to hear that?" Snotlout asked, annoyed.
"Um, until we find what we're looking for?" He then spotted another nearby island. "Let's check this one out."
The dragons swooped down on the island and joined their riders in surveying the island.
"Not bad, not bad! Lots of fresh water, seems like a plentiful food supply..." Hicca listed.
"And lots of cool blue flowers." Ruffnut finished for the Haddock girl, picking up said flowers to sniff. "I'm in!"
However, she didn't know that these particular flowers were unfortunately familiar. Luckily the others did.
"Wait...aren't those...?" Astrid questioned.
Fishlegs gasped. "Blue Oleanders, deadly poisonous to dragons." They already confronted a Deathsong, they did not need a reunion with a Scauldron.
"So...we're not staying." Tuffnut questioned. He got his answer when Barf and Belch sneezed, accidently sparking a fire.
Luckily, the teens got their dragons off the island before they could become sick again and tried another island.
"Whoa, this island is beautiful!" Fishlegs commented. "I even like those weird dots all over the..."
Raedas' eyes widened at that. "Those aren't dots! They're Whispering Death holes!"
"Been there, done that." Snotlout said, and dragons quickly turned away before they could even land.
"Next!" Astrid called out.
Fishlegs, Astrid, Hiccup and Hicca inspected the next island, only to end up running away from the same boars from before, having somehow ended up back on the same island.
"My bad! Should've crossed this island off the list!" Fishlegs exclaimed as he screamed while running with the other three.
"How did we not recognised this island?!" Hicca questioned.
The four of them reached another cliff, but this time they jumped off the cliff where they were caught by the saddles of their waiting dragons, who flew them to safety
"OK..." Fishlegs trailed, feeling sick.
(Linebreak)
After some more searching, the group finally found a seemingly peaceful land.
"This looks pretty good!" Hiccup commented as they surveyed the island.
"Those cliffs could work! Good sight lines, easily defendable..." Astrid noted.
"The location is great!" Fishlegs exclaimed.
"It's perfect!" Ruffnut agreed.
"Yeah...too perfect..." Tuffnut trailed, not being taken into the scenery. "I'm just saying in the immortal words of the mighty Thor: "When something looks too perfect, it probably...sucks."
"Yeah, you know I'm pretty sure Thor never said anything remotely like that." Hicca said.
"Oh really? How do you know?" Tuffnut challenged. "Do you know Thor? Have you talked to him recently?"
"No...but-"
"Well, because I have! Hm, and I don't recall him mentioning you." Tuffnut said as-a-matter-of-fact. "Look. I just have a feeling about this place. I think we all know what happens when I get a feeling."
"We ignore it?" Astrid suggested.
"Mark my words! There will be something wrong with this island, something mysterious, something horrible, something...something..." Tuffnut warned.
"Ya finished?" Ruffnut asked, unimpressed by her twin.
"OK, first thing we need to do is set up camp for the night. We need dry wood for fire. We need fresh water, and we need someone on traps." Hiccup instructed.
Astrid noticed Snotlout arranging a pile of rocks. "Snotlout, what is that?"
"It's an 'S', for Snotlout. I think aesthetically it would look nice flying over it." Snotlout explained.
"I have to disagree with you there." Raeda commented, looking at the 'S'. "You need a lot more than a letter to make an island aesthetically pleasing. And nothing is more aesthetically pleasing than an art gallery."
"That's ridiculous. It doesn't matter what the outpost looks like. It needs to be functional and operational." Astrid stated.
"Uh, guys?" Hiccup called, trying to get their attention. "What we really need is-"
"-Is a place for rest, relaxation, and replenishing after a hard day's work." Fishlegs interrupted. "You're absolutely right Hiccup, look, Meatlug and I had some thoughts..." He placed a shield which has a model made of sticks and stones.
"Is that a hot tub?" Astrid questioned, looking at the model in disbelief.
"No! That's the mud bath!...The hot tub is other there." Fishlegs corrected.
Toothless rolled his eyes at the scene, which Hiccup noticed.
"Tell me about it." The boy said to his dragon.
"Wait a minute. Everyone stop." Tuffnut demanded as he and his sister moved forward to inspect the model. "I don't see it."
"Me neither..." Ruffnut agreed, also scanning the model.
"See what?" Hiccup questioned.
"Um, the boar pit!" Tuffnut answered, as if it was so obvious. "Where is it? Where's the boar pit?"
"You see, the centerpiece of any good outpost is a boar pit." Ruffnut explained.
"Why?" Astrid questioned.
"Everybody needs a little entertainment every now and then, don't they?" Tuffnut said, a little too darkly for anyones' liking. Astrid merely gave the Thorston boy a blank stare.
"Well, we do know where to get boars..." Fishlegs pointed out, remembering the island they checked out twice.
"Guys, enough of this!" Hicca chimed in.
"Thank you." Hiccup said in relief, hoping his sister could bring order to the group.
"Our first priority needs to be setting up a medical area."
That statement was met with protest, leading to Toothless firing a plasma blast to the ground, conveniently striking the 'S' Snotlout made
"Whoops! Sorry about that." Hiccup said, not sounding sorry one bit. "OK, so, uh, now that we have your attention, we really need to set up camp for the night."
"Wait, what about the-" Tuffnut was about to ask, before Hiccup interrupted.
"Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-we-we'll talk about the outpost design in the morning. For now, someone needs to get the water." Hiccup said firmly, silently pleading to his sister for back-up.
"He has a point. It's been a long day and we'll have plenty of time to figure this all out." Hicca said.
"I'm fine with setting up camp." Raeda agreed.
"Ugh. I don't know about you, but I like Whiny Berk Hiccup way better than Princess Out-post Hiccup." Snotlout whispered to Astrid.
"I know, right?" Astrid whispered back, for once agreeing with Snotlout. She turned to the Haddock boy and gave him two thumbs up. He sighed and shaked his head, seeing through the facade. He really needed to lie down.
(Linebreak)
The teens got to work setting up camp. By the time they finished, night-time came and everyone laid comfortably around the camp-fire.
A sound from a distance caught the Night Furies attention as their heads shot up. "Midnight?" Hicca questioned.
"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked his dragon.
"I'll tell you what it is." Tuffnut jumped in. "Rats. Rats the size of yaks. No, it could also-is it? Yaks the size of rats? Yak-rats!" He rambled with a chuckle. "Great, those would be adorable. No, no! I know what it is. Yaks the size of dragons, right Toothless? Ya feel me, T? M? What about you?" Both Night Furies rolled their eyes at the male Thorston and laid their heads back down, deciding that the sound wasn't really a threat.
Fishlegs scoffed at Tuffnut. "There's no such thing as yaks the size of dragons."
Tuffnut suddenly pops up behind the Ingerman boy, startling him and Astrid, who was lying down near him. "Yak-dragons to you, my friend." Tuffnut replied to Fishlegs. "And when you hear their cries...you'll believe. Trust me. Hm? Rak-ay-ya-ya-na-na-na-na-oh! - Puh Poo. That's right. Let that roll around in your head for a minute."
"Unfortunately it will." Raeda sighed.
"Alright, Tuffnut, knock it off." Hiccup chided.
"Yeah, you're not scaring anyone." Snotlout snorted. He jolted back when Tuffnut suddenly zoomed in on his face
"Really? What if there were...snakes out there in the dark!" The blonde boy challenged. "Hm? Giant snakes? Snakes big enough to swallow a man whole and then barf out his bones? Bleh-ehh-ehh-ehh!"
With that Tuffnut backed away from Snotlout and the Jorgenson boy gave a scoff. "Ha! Please...barfing out bones..." But he quickly grabbed Hookfang's wing and covered himself for protection. "What?"
"Yeah, that's right. Go to bed! Sleep! If you can..." Tuffnut trailed off as he laid down, resting his head on Belch's neck, falling asleep while muttering something along the lines of 'Trolls' and 'demon-toes'.
With Tuffnut finished on his horror rants, the others were able to follow suit and go to sleep as well. The fire soon burns out and it seems to be a peaceful night, until a sudden noise in the forest wakes Tuffnut. "Ah! What was that?" He looks to see if anyone else woke up to the sound but found that it was only him. He gasps as he hears more sounds, deciding to go an investigate on his own.
As Tuffnut ventures into the forests, he gets startled when he sees a shadow running around. "It's in the trees..." Tuffnut mutters. He then jolts back when the shadow runs past him. "Ah! Yak-rats! I knew it..."
The mysterious creature turns around, revealing itself to be nothing more than an innocent little chicken.
Tuffnut sighs in relief at the discovery. "Oh...it's just a chicken. It's a tiny chicken." He then clears his throat and zero in on said chicken. "Hellooo breakfast!" He figured he shouldn't have to go back to the site empty-handed.
Suddenly, Tuffnut notices a giant shadow casted over him. Curious, the Thorston boy turns around and his eyes widened at the site. "Oh...my...Thor..."
What he saw caused him to scream at the top of his lungs as he ran back to camp at top speed, waking the others up in the process.
Rubbing their eyes, the teens to turned to Tuffnut, all wanting to know what all the ruckus was about. "Chicken! Roaring! Roaring huge chicken! Chicken roar!" Tuffnut tried to explain as he gasp for breath.
"Is he saying that he saw a big roaring chicken?" Fishlegs questioned, as he tries to make sense of Tuffnut's words.
"Not chicken...dragon." The male Thorston corrected. "Huge! Massive! What's another word? Colossal."
"But what happened to the chicken?" Fishlegs asked.
"Forget the chicken!" Tuffnut snapped. "WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"
"Is anyone falling for this?" Astrid yawned.
But Ruffnut wasn't so quick to dismiss her brother. "I don't know, I haven't seen him this freaked out since he found a leech on his-"
"Okaaay, I'm going to stop you there." Astrid interrupted, before she or the others could get traumatised.
"Hey, for all we know, Tuffnut could be telling the truth." Hicca reasoned.
"Or he thought he saw something terrifying, but it was actually harmless." Raeda interjected.
Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "OK, fine, let's just check this out, so we can all go back to sleep." He decided.
(Linebreak)
So the gang set off to the forest with Tuffnut leading them, trying to find the mysterious creature.
"OK, when this giant beast rips us limb to limb I will expect a full apology from each and every one of you." Tuffnut said to the others as they walked. "And a handshake. No, you won't be able to shake hands 'cause your limbs will be gone."
"We won't be able to apologise either if we're being ripped apart limb from limb." Hicca pointed out.
A rustle sound was heard, catching Tuffnut's attention..
"Shhh..." He shushed the group as he crept towards the source of the rustling. Suddenly, he jumped and did some karate chops in the air.. "AHHH! Ha-ha!"
But what they found wasn't the creature Tuffnut found, but was in fact, the chicken.
Tuffnut looked around, trying to find the beast he saw earlier. "No no no, it was here! And it was huge! I'm not making this up!" He then turns to the chicken. "Here, tell them. You were standing right there. Tell them, Chicken."
But Chicken merely gives Tuffnut a blank stare, wondering what the human was going on about.
"Uh, you're scaring me, bro. OK?" Ruffnut said to her brother. "And we shared a womb."
She and the others went back to camp, none were too happy about being woken up for a chicken. Tuffnut looked Chicken as it squawked. The human looked away, disgusted by the animals' betrayal. "I can't even look at you right now." Chicken bawks at the blonde boy, causing Tuffnut to snap his head back to the little animal. "What did you just say?!" Chicken merely stares for a second before bawking once. "I didn't think so." The Thorston boy walks back to camp with Chicken following behind him.
It seems that Tuffnut unintentionally made a friend, that is, if he doesn't eat her.
(Linebreak)
Next morning, all the riders were awake and ready to forget the 'Chicken Incident' the previous night, except for Tuffnut of course.
Hiccup yawns and stretches. "OK, now, let's talk outpost."
"Way ahead of you!" Raeda jumped in excitedly. "I got up early and started working on a diorama to really capture the beauty-"
"And making it look completely defenseless." Astrid interjected. "Luckily, I've been working on my designs. We'll set up look-out posts with interlocking fields of fire and-"
"-and never get any rest." Fishlegs piped in. "But here, in my meditation garden..."
"None of those is S-shaped, did you not see my design?" Snotlout demanded.
"An 'S' is not going to help cure a patient in dire times." Hicca countered.
"Boar pit. Boar pit! BOAR PIT!" Ruffnut chanted from behind.
"Guys guys guys guys li-listen to me." Hiccup said, trying to restore order. He remembered why he cut this discussion short last night. "OK, we need one idea. We can't design five different outposts." That last sentence gave him a thought. "Orrr...can we? You know what? Boar pit, great idea!"
Ruffnut was taken aback by this. "Whoaaa...what just happened."
Hiccup then turned to Snotlout. "S-shaped? I love it!"
"Don't freak me out, Hiccup! It gives me the willies..." Snotlout said, getting creeped out by this one-eighty twist by the Haddock boy.
"What are you trying to say?" Raeda asked.
"I'm just saying let's all come up with a design that we each think is the best and then we'll vote on it." Hiccup suggested. "Does that sound fair?"
The others just stared at Hiccup in shock.
"What are you up to?" Astrid questioned.
"N-nothin'! Nothing at all! Just trying to keep the troops happy." Hiccup said, a bit too quickly. "You know what they say, uh, happy troops are, uh, happy...groups...?" That's when he noticed they were short one person. "Hey, uh, speaking of troops, Ruff, where's your other half?"
"Don't ask me! All I know is that this boar pit is not gonna dig itself." Ruffnut answered.
(Linebreak)
Not wanting to forget what he saw last night, Tuffnut went back to the forest to look for the dragon, with Chicken in tow.
"OK, giant dragon, you are officially on notice." Tuffnut said out loud. "Oh, you can run, but you can't hide. I guess you can fly, you can also run, you can run or fly, but either way you can't hide, because nothing escapes the watchful eye of-AH!" He was too deep in his monologue that he didn't notice he was walking on the edge of a cliff, until he slipped and fell. Chicken just stood and watch the scene, flapping her wings, either in worry for the human or wondering if she could fly.
"Oh, I am hurt, I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut called from below once he hit the ground.
Working through the pain, Tuffnut eventually managed to make it back up the cliff, where Chicken was patiently waiting for him.
"Ugh. You couldn't have warned me?" Tuffnut snapped at the chicken. The farm animal has not been doing him any favors at all. Pulling himself back up, Tuffnut walks away, with Chicken on his heels once again.
Determined not to let the fall deter him, Tuffnut continued on his search. "OK, so it's gonna be the hard way. Fine, that's the way I like it. Just ask the chicken..." Chicken just stops and squawks, wondering what exactly the human wants her to say.
Tuffnut resolved to be more aware of his surroundings, which was beneficial when he noticed that he was walking towards another cliff. He immediately jumped back. "Whoa! Ha! Ha! See? Oh yeah, Tuffnut Thorston is locked in now, he ain't falling off another cli-" He suddenly slips and ends up falling off the cliff anyway.
"Multiple ledges!" Tuffnut yelled as he hit said 'multiple ledges'. "Ow ow ow ow ow! This island is very cliffy!"
Chicken squawks as she once again watches the scene, wondering what was it with this human and his fascination with falling off cliffs, because that looks painful
(Linebreak)
Back at the camp, Hicca, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Snotlout were all busy working on their designs for the outpost. Raeda, who was already done with her design, just drew in her sketchbook.
Hiccup, meanwhile, was relaxing with Toothless, enjoying the silence that came with everyone working. "Do you hear that, Toothless? That's the sound of peace and quiet." Toothless warbled happily, agreeing with his human. "You know, making them work together might be the best idea I've ever had."
"Knew it." Hicca said, overhearing her twin as she worked on her model nearby. "Well, bro, you can enjoy the silence, because no matter what we'll end up with a medical hut anyways. It's non-negotiable and I am co-leader here."
"Go ahead, sis." Hiccup encouraged.
Snotlout, who was just forming the letter 'S' in the sand with rocks, was about to grab one more to complete the image, when Fishlegs grabbed it first. "Uh, excuse me? My rock!"
"Huh, how do you figure?" Fishlegs challenged.
"I need it! That rock makes the bottom of my 'S,' and I need my 'S.'"
"Really? Your "S." Your genius architectural marvel." Fishlegs said in sarcasm, no doubt unimpressed.
"Give me the rock!" The Jorgenson boy demanded.
Fishlegs looked like he was considering it. "Huh...since you put it like that..." He looked like he was about to hand it over to the shorter boy, only to toss it to Meatlug, who happily ate the snack. This is one of the reasons she loves her human, he's always equip with tasty rocks to give her, even when she doesn't. It's like he can read her mind. The Gronckle then spits the rock out in the form of lava. Fishlegs wasn't as bothered by the loss as Snotlout was.
"There. There's your rock." Fishlegs stated with satisfaction.
"Don't look now, bro, but it looks like the moment of peace is going to be over." Hicca alerted her brother as she watched the scene between the two boys.
Enraged by the loss of the rock, Snotlout retaliates by belly-flopping right onto Fishles' model, completely destroying it. "And there's your architectural morph."
Fishlegs went into hysterics at the sight of his ruined hard-work. The fight followed not long after.
Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Why do you have to be right?" He asked his sister, who just shrugged in response.
Ignoring the fight completely, Ruffnut approaches Hiccup. "Hey Hiccup, I'm ready for a for a try run, do you want to be the boar?" She offered in a sickeningly sweet tone. The Haddock boy groans in disgust while his twin moves away from the blonde girl.
That's when Tuffnut makes his way back to camp, looking worse for wear, with Chicken right behind him, completely unscathed.
"Whoaaa...what happened to him?" Ruffnut questioned as her twin walks by her and sits against a log.
In healer mode, Hicca checks the blonde boy for injuries while Hiccup and Ruffnut question him. "You've really been out there all day looking for that dragon?" Hiccup asked.
"Instead of digging our boar pit." Ruffnut rolled her eyes and lightly punched Hiccup. "Priorities, huh?"
"Or maybe he really did see something." Hicca said.
"I agree with Hicca." Hiccup said. After all, if it was really nothing, Tuffnut would never go through great lengths to find it. He should have already forgotten about it when he woke up.
"Oh, I saw something." Tuffnut said firmly, before turning to Chicken, who was perched on the log.. "You did too, you little backstabber. Tell them." Chicken started squawking, before Tuffnut interrupted her. "Aw, save it. You had your chance."
'This human fell down one too many cliffs.' Chicken thought to herself, which was in fact true.
"Or, this whole thing is a bunch of stinky yak dung." Ruffnut accused her twin.
"You know what? First of all, yak dung, when made into a nice tea, can be quite a-ro-ma-tic." Tuffnut countered, standing up.
"Agreed...but, I still think you're just trying to scare everybody." Ruffnut stated. "There's no dragon out there."
"Yes, there is, Ruffnut." Her twin argued. "You wanna put your mutton where your mouth is?"
Ruffnut's eyes widened as she followed her twins' train of thought. "Oh-h-h, you're not suggesting-"
"Oh, I am! I'm suggesting like a hot Gronckle in a lava pit. You know exactly what that means."
"What is going on with you two?" Raeda questions as she joins the group. The blonde twins arguing and Tuffnut's current state caught her attention.
"Silence!" Ruffnut demanded from the Henderson girl.
"I officially declare Thorston Challenge!" Tuffnut announced
"Thorston what?!" Hicca asked.
Ruffnut ignored her. "Accepted! Usual stakes?"
"Of course."
"Wha-What? Stakes?" Hiccup asked.
"It's better you don't know." Tuffnut answered.
The blonde twins spit in their hands and shook hands, making the challenge official. They then went off to their dragons.
"I have a feeling this is one of those things where we will regret being involved in but can't not be a part of." Hicca said to Hiccup and Raeda.
"Well it's either we follow them or we stay and deal with that." Raeda said, pointing to Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout who were fighting over materials for their models.
Toothless groaned, urging his human to go with the blonde twins.
"Well you have a good point, Rae." Hiccup said, before going after the blonde twins. "Ruff? Tuff? Wait up! How 'bout a couple of impartial judges for the Thorston Challenge? For the love of Thor, take us with you!"
The two girls followed after them, with Raeda turning back to the three staying behind. "My model better stay in one piece when I get back, or there will be consequences!"
(Linebreak)
So with Hiccup and Hicca as the impartial judges and Raeda as the witness to the Thorston Challenge, the rest of the day was spent looking for the dragon. Night-time soon came and Tuffnut was fast asleep in his saddle with Chicken in his arms
"They like chicken. Chicken on a stick. Chicken a la mode..." Tuffnut muttered in his sleep. He was starting to slip when Hicca came to his side and got him back on his saddle, without waking him.
"Aaand that's probably where we should call it a night." She decided
"Chicken rice..."
"Sure! Since we never found that quote on quote yak-dragon." Ruffnut said, looking at her twin at that sentence. "You and Hiccup declare me the Thorston Challenge Winner, Raeda witness it, and we can all go home!"
"Ah, OK, sure." Hiccup said. The Haddock twins exchanged glances before speaking in unison.
"By the power vested in us."
"I, Hiccup Haddock." Hiccup said on his own.
"And I, Hicca Haddock." Hicca continued, before they spoke together again.
"Hereby declare that Ruffnut is the-"
"Guys look!" Raeda suddenly called, pointing ahead where the same dragon Tuffnut saw appeared.
"No way." Hicca breathed out.
"I don't believe it..." Hiccup trailed, unable to identify the dragon they were looking at, which made his curiosity grow.
"Me neither. Tuffnut wins the Thorston Challenge." Ruffnut said begrudgingly.
As if her statement was an alarm, Tuffnut suddenly jolted awake. "Yes! Told you. Now, pay up!"
Ruffnut responds by hitting her brother, causing the two siblings to fight.
"Guys, focus!" Hiccup said, getting their attention. "Look, it's headed straight for our campsite. If it catches those asleep on the ground..."
The blonde twins snapped out of their fight and flew straight to the dragon, without waiting for the other three. As Barf and Belch flew at top speed, Chicken started squawking, getting Tuffnut's attention. He turned Chicken around to make eye-contact as a silent message was passed between animal and human.
"I forgive you too." Tuffnut replied affectionately as a single tear rolled down his cheeks. He then placed Chicken on top of his helmet.
"See you in Valhalla!" The Thorston twins yelled as they charged to the dragon.
"Here we gooo!" Ruffnut yelled as they got close.
But something strange happened. Instead of flying into the dragon, Barf and Belch flew through it as it suddenly dispersed.
"What in the name of...It's not one big dragon! It's tons of little ones!" Hiccup realised.
"That is so amazing. I want to make a painting of this." Raeda said impressed, despite the fact that they were suppose to be fighting the dragons'
Confused, Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked around themselves.
"If this is Valhalla-" Ruffnut started.
"What are you doing here?" The blonde twins said to each other.
Just then, something caught Tuffnuts' eyes. "Whoa, check that out!"
Out of all the small dragons that form a large dragon, there was only one that was white in color, while the rest were black. The black dragons all regrouped around the white dragon, going back into formation.
"They're joining back up around the white one!" Ruffnut observed.
"It must be the leader!" Hiccup inferred. "You're right, Rae. This is amazing..."
Ruff and Tuff flew straight to the dragon once again and once again, the smaller dragons dispersed, but this time, the blonde twins flew straight to the white dragon.
"Guys, what are you doing?" Hicca called out
The adrenaline twins didn't listen. Instead they pulled out a net and captured the leader of the mysterious new dragons, causing the others to scatter, now that they don't have a leader to form around.
"Bam! Problem solved." Tuffnut declared as they flew back to the group with the captured dragon. "Alright, let's head home." He and his twin flew back without waiting for the others.
"That was too easy." Raeda noted.
"And whenever it's too easy, that means the real trouble comes soon after." Hicca stated.
"I agree, I'm getting a bad feeling as well..." Hiccup said.
Toothless, Midnight and Sparkfire warbled in agreement. No doubt their night was far from over.
(Linebreak)
For now they re-joined the others back to camp, where Tuffnut and Ruffnut already filled the others in on what happened, showing them their new prisoner.
"Amazing..." Fishlegs said, as he observed the new species.
"It looks sort of like a Terrible Terror..." Astrid noted.
The white dragon started screaming as it thrashed around in the net.
"But...bigger and meaner." The shield maiden finished.
"And it seems like they're nocturnal." Hiccup pointed out, remembering that the only encounters they had with the dragons took place at night. He looked up and noticed his cousins' confused look. "You know, they come out at night..."
Now knowing the meaning, Snotlout tried to play it off. "Yeah, I knew that! Noc-o-turnal...I was gonna explain that to them." He gestured to the Thorston twins, who were busy running in a circle with their newfound friend Chicken.
"I say we call them...Night Terrors." Fishlegs suggested, referring to the smaller dragons. He gets a surprise when he suddenly receives an armful of a squawking Chicken.
"Hey, I saw it first, so I get to name it." Tuffnut interjected, taking Chicken back into his arms. Chicken then bawks at him. "No, you always say that." He argued. "Now, let's think about this logically. They come out at night, and they're terrifying. Terror of the night...I've got it." He said, snapping his fingers. "Smidvarg and the Gang!"
He was just met with blank stares.
"That's actually not one of your worse suggestions." Raeda chimed in.
"And, Night Terrors, it is!" Hiccup declared.
Smidvarg suddenly seems agitated when there was roaring sounds in the distance.
"What's going on out there?" Astrid wondered.
"I don't know. Whatever it is, Smidvarg doesn't like it, and the Gang isn't paying attention." Tuffnut said.
"Let's check it out." Hiccup said.
Leaving the still-bound dragon on the ground, the Dragon Riders flew in V-formation, looking for any signs of the other Night Terrors. They instead found three Changewings preying on the smaller dragons.
"Changewings!" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless rumbles, worried for the smaller dragons who were clearly outmatched. His human shared the same thoughts. "I know, bud, not exactly a fair fight, is it."
"Then let's even up the odds." Hicca said.
All seven dragons dove in and started attacking the Changewings, chasing them away from the Night Terrors
"No bullies on our island!" Astrid shouted, as Stormfly shot spikes at one of the Changewings.
Hookfang blasted another Changewing. "Hey, you can't treat our dragons like that!" Snotlout called out.
"Only we can treat our dragons like that!" Ruffnut finished, before Barf and Belch set off an explosion.
"That should take care of 'em." Hiccup said as the three Changewings finally decided to retreat.
"But what about those guys?" Fishlegs asked, pointing a flock in the distance. Hiccup looked through his spyglass and spotted more Changewings who were flying right at them!
"Incoming!" Hiccup warned.
"How many?" Astrid asked.
"Too many!" Hicca answered as she saw the Changewings through the spyglass.
"Why are they all coming here now?" Fishlegs pondered out loud.
A thought came to Hiccup."I-it must be the Night Terrors! When we captured the white one they all split up!"
Fishlegs eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, of course! They flock into a shape of a giant version of themselves as a defense mechanism to scare off predators!"
"And now that they can't..." Hicca trailed off.
"They're lunch!" Astrid finished.
"Knew there was going to be a downside to capturing the leader of the Night Terrors." Raeda said.
"OK, we have to help them. I'll head back for the white Night Terror. He's their leader. You guys hold them off as long as you can." Hiccup ordered.
"Got it!" Hicca said as she lead the others to fight off against the Changewings.
Toothless zoomed straight to the white Night Terror, who was still in the net. As soon as they landed, Hiccup quickly got off and used his knife to cut the net, freeing the captured dragon. Now able to fly, the smaller dragon screamed right into Hiccup's ear, clearly not happy with being in the net for so long.
"Yup! Probably deserved that." Hiccup winced. He, Toothless and the Night Terror flew back into the sky where the others were fighting against the Changewings. One Changewing zeroed in one Smidvarg and charged after it, only to be deflected by Barf and Belch
"You leave our Smidvarg alone!" Tuffnut demanded.
"Great job. You cover Smidvarg from behind, Toothless and I will lead the way." Hiccup said. Ruffnut and Tuffnut gave a smirk in triumph as they realised that Hiccup actually used the name Tuffnut gave. "What? OK, so it's growing on me." He admitted.
They fly off to help the others. One of the Changewings swoops rams into Stormfly and Astrid, causing the latter to fall off her dragon onto a rock column. The Changewing lands on it, almost smashing Astrid under its claws, but Astrid rolls away in time. Unfortunately, doing so made her end up hanging from the ledge.
"Lava blast!" Fishlegs commanded. Meatlug swoops in and hurls a lava blast at the Changewing just in time. "Oh Thor, oh Thor!"
"Stormfly!" Astrid called to her dragon, who rescues her just in time.
Fishlegs then screams when the Changewings and Night Terrors fly around him. "Oh Thor."
Hookfang and Snotlout suddenly appear, and crash into Fishlegs and Meatlug. They all end up on the ground with two Changewings charging after them. With the leader back, the Night Terrors reform, and scare the two Changewings, along with the rest of their species.
"Yes!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"Ha ha ha!" Fishlegs breathed out in relief.
(Linebreak)
The fight with the Changewings left everyone exhausted and they immediately went to sleep afterwards. The next morning, the group was gathered around Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda, the last of the three unrolled a parchment containing blueprints for the island.
"So you're going with Raeda's design without discussing with the rest of us?" Astrid asked in disbelief.
"Figures they'd choose the best friend." Snotlout grumbled.
"Yes, it is Rae's design, but it's a new one." Hicca explained. "Hiccup and I got the idea from Smidvarg."
"With Rae's help, we combined all our ideas into one giant base." Hiccup continued. "We could also call it the 'Dragon's Edge'. What do you guys think?"
The others look at each other, and nodded happily, all agreeing to the plan.
"OK, I just need to point out that this the first time that that has ever happened." Hiccup said. "Let's take a look. Rae?"
The Henderson girl nodded and brought attention to the blueprints. "Everybody gets to make their section of Dragon's Edge whatever they want it to be. Astrid, you can make yours the most heavily armed bedroom in the known Viking world. And Fishlegs, your place is quiet and secluded, overlooking the ocean. Very serene, very relaxing, with room for your very own rock garden. Hicca will have her medical hut at her place. Snotlout, your spot is up here! Now it's, it's not S-shaped, but you can go S-crazy and paint 'em all over it."
"Yeah I can! Snotlout!" The Jorgenson boy chanted.
"Just so you know this will be the first and only time I'll ever let you borrow my paints. Don't make me regret this" Raeda warned.
"Boar pit. Boar pit! BOAR PIT!" The blonde twins chanted in anticipation.
"Yes, yes! Ha ha! Glad you brought that up." Hiccup said, pointing to a spot on the blueprint. "There's a space for one right underneath your hut. Just do me a favor and lock up the boars after you're done with them."
"Aw..." Ruffnut cooed.
"You do care!" Tuffnut said happily. "Boodooboodeedoo..."
"We'll connect the different sections with bridges, zip-lines, and gangplanks." Hiccup continued, ideas already running in his head. "We'll have really cool stables with our own landing strip. And, of course, a dragon training arena. And in the center, overlooking everything else, will be the clubhouse, the "eye" of Dragon's Edge."
(Linebreak)
The rest of the day was spent building the outpost. When night time came everyone was happy to report a smooth process in laying the foundations.
"It's actually taking shape." Hiccup said, proud of everyone. "And now for one more addition to our outpost! Tuff?"
Said boy was busy petting and hugging the Chicken. "That's it, that's right, ha ha...ha..." He then noticed the others looking at him. "Uh...what? Oh. Smidvarg!" Chicken pecks at him, trying to get his attention back. "Ouch ow ow ow!" Ruffnut, who was sitting on a rock in the background, started laughing. "What? Oh I can't have friends now?"
Smidvarg flies up from behind them, followed by the gang. They land on the wooden perches which were made and set up specifically for them.
"Well, if we're going to share the island with them, Hicca and I thought we should share the outpost, too." Hiccup said.
"Plus it doesn't hurt that they seem to have an instinct to protect!" Fishlegs agreed.
"They'll be like sentries." Hicca said. "Right, Smidvarg?"
Said dragon squawkes in response, happy with this new alliance with the Dragon Riders.
"OK, so the Thorston Challenge. When is Ruffnut gonna pay up?" Hiccup asked Tuffnut.
"She already has." The blonde boy answer. "Can't you tell? I mean, look at her, she lost, so she had to swap clothes with me!"
"Riiight...and if you had lost?" Hiccup asked.
"Ugh, I'd have to swap clothes with her." Tuffnut explained with disgust.
"Yeah, but you guys are exactly, uh-" Hiccup tried to explain, before Astrid puts her hand on his mouth.
"Don't go there." She advised.
Smidvarg shrieks, getting everyone's attention, and the other Night Terrors gather around him.
"What are they doing now?" Hiccup wondered.
"No idea..." Fishlegs said.
The Night Terrors started flying in a new formation, one they worked on this morning.
"Hiccup, Hicca, look!" Fishlegs called.
Everyone was surprise and in awe to see that the Night Terrors joined together to form a Night Fury. The smaller dragons wanted to show their gratitude to their new allies for helping them defend their land.
"Whoa...awesome..." Ruffnut said.
"Amazing..." Hicca praised.
"Impressive!" Raeda said, smiling.
Toothless and Midnight croon happily at the sight and both proudly stand up to match the Night Terrors' formation. Their humans laughed while Chicken, who was in Tuffnut's hands. squawks.
"Oh, chicken, I couldn't have squawked it better myself..." Tuffnut agreed, happily.