The Great Beyond

Chapter 15: Night of the Hunters, Pt. 1 (Hiccup)

                The soft, morning sunlight drifting in through the cloth on my roof carefully woke me up, creating a sort of glow against the boards. Beside me, Reign was still fast asleep, her mass of red hair spread out around her head like a crown. Every now and then, one of her brows would twitch, or her lips would curl into a smile, before she finally opened those bright green eyes. The moment she woke up, her gaze turned to me, and her peaceful indifference turned to confusion.

"Were you watching me sleep?" The scoff in her voice kept me from tensing in fear.

"Not for long," I shrugged, propping myself up on one of my arms. Some of her hair had fallen in front of her eyes, so I reached over and brushed it away. Right as my hand started to move away, Reign reached up and grabbed onto it, setting our hands between us as she matched my posture.

Neither of us spoke for a while, just allowing the peace of a quiet morning on Dragon's Edge to keep us in bed for a little while longer. Normally, by this time, the twins would be arguing and making a mess, or Hookfang would've set something on fire, but right now, for whatever reason, this was the morning where we finally got to just relax. Part of me wanted to suggest testing how long we could keep this going, but in the back of my mind, chores and tasks for securing the island were already trying to creep in. Still, as Reign leaned forward and pressed our lips together, it was enticing not to leave.

"We have to do... work eventually," I sighed, resting my forehead against hers. Reign whined a little, protesting the idea. "Yeah, I don't really want to, either, but I worry about leaving the twins and Snotlout to do their tasks without someone responsible watching them."

"So get Astrid or Fishlegs to do it," Reign groaned, pulling away and flopping back onto her pillow.

"That still requires us to get up, babe," I reminded her. With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Reign finally pushed herself up and to her feet, motivating me to do the same. Quickly, the two of us got dressed and ate, then we started to make our way out the door. Right as I opened it, I grabbed onto Reign's wrist and turned her to face me, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Smiling, I leaned forward and kissed her. One of her hands moved to my cheek, lingering for a bit longer than normal before I wrapped an arm around her waist and started to walk out into the world.

"I love you," I whispered, resting my cheek against her hair.

"I love you, too."

We hadn't gotten very far, when we ran into Snotlout, who took one glance at the two of us and pretended to gag. In response, Reign pushed away slightly, her cheeks turning the color of her hair, but I kept a firm grip on her hand.

"What do you want, Snotlout?" I asked, trying to get a move on.

"Astrid hasn't shown up for her patrol yet," he complained. "And none of us can find her. She skipped out on her guard duty!"

Immediately, I watched Reign stiffen, worry taking over her face. Astrid was the closest thing she had to a sister here on Dragon's Edge, and the moment something was even the slightest bit wrong, she flew into her protective mode and sometimes forgot Astrid was still... well, Astrid.

"She's probably just out on Stormfly," I suggested, trying to keep anything from escalating. "Knowing Astrid, she'll be back soon."

Snotlout protested, exclaiming about how that wasn't fair treatment, but I honestly didn't care at the moment. Reign and I had our own things to take care of, not to mention Snotlout had tasks to take care of well. Throughout the day, I noticed Reign checking the skies and finding excuses to go to other parts of the island, each time coming back on her own. The day had dragged on to nearly its end, and Astrid still hadn't returned. At that point, even I started to get worried. Sure, Astrid sometimes disappeared for a while, but never for this long.