The Great Beyond

Chapter 63: Snuffnut (Hiccup)

              Warmth against my side lulled me into a sense of safety and calm as the morning hours passed by, completely mundane and uneventful. Repairs to the Edge had been completed, and there hadn't been any Flyer activity to speak of, allowing all the Riders to do as they pleased for a while. Sure, there was a Changewing migration moving through, but they had yet to really bother anyone or any of the dragons. Currently, the twins and Snotlout were nowhere to be seen, but if they were causing some sort of mischief, that'd be their problem to deal with. Astrid, Fishlegs, Reign, and I chose to spend our time in the Clubhouse, all the doors and windows open to let in the relatively nice morning air. I carefully read over the words in the book in front of me, ensuring I didn't miss anything. Bork's papers laid out specifics of the Changewings and their migration patterns, something Fishlegs and I had missed beforehand but now were grateful we'd found at all.

Heavy footsteps drew all our attentions up to the doorway. Snotlout was leaning against the frame, covered in vegetation and garbage. His eyes were wide with panic and he was having trouble catching his breath, but there was no indication of what had startled him.

"Do not ask, because I do not want to talk about it," he panted. The rest of us just shrugged and turned back to what we were doing. "Huh? Do you have any idea what I've been through? This Changewing migration is going to be the death of me." He picked a piece of rancid meat off his shoulders and threw it onto the ground.

"Snotlout, if you just leave the Changewings alone, they'll move on in a couple of days, and you won't have to worry about them again," Fishlegs sighed. "We go through this every year."

"You're agitating them," I scolded. I kept one arm around Reign, pulling her up with me as I stood. "All that ranting and screaming and stomping around just makes them madder and makes them stay here that much longer."

"Wait, so now this is my fault?"

A pair of arms emerged from behind Snotlout, growling and grabbing onto his shoulders and causing him to scream and jump out of the way. Tuffnut started to storm toward him, done up in camouflage makeup and clothing. He'd taken it upon himself to try and help with the Changewing migration through disguise, and although he wasn't actually doing anything useful, Reign and my attempts to get him to understand that had proved futile.

"Changewing out!" With that, Tuffnut scampered away on his hands and feet.

From off in the distance, an unfamiliar horn sounded, indicating someone was pulling into the docks. I looked to Reign, confused, but her expression mirrored mine. That ruled out the possibility it was anyone from her family, and my dad would have just flown in on Skullcrusher, leaving us out of likely possibilities.

"Are we expecting visitors today?" Reign shook her head.

"Not that I'm aware of."

Our questions weren't really answered once we made our way down to the docks. The Eruptadon painted on the sail of the ship gave us an idea of who might be coming, but when we reached the bottom and found only Throk on the boat, we were left with even more questions and no answers.

"Throk. Did we have plans?" I asked cautiously. No one had sent a Terror Mail ahead of time, hopefully meaning they weren't in any danger.

"I am on your shores today to fulfill a mission that is most personal and of the utmost importance," he explained, tying his ship to the dock and climbing out.

"Okay. How can we help?" Reign inquired.

"You can point me in the direction of the fragrant savior of this man's very life—Ruffnut Thorston." All of us looked to each other, still deep in confusion. "I am here to lift her off her feet." From beside me, I heard Reign snicker.