Life on the Edge

1.03 Imperfect Harmony

The other Riders don't much appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night. Luckily, Hiccup and Ragnar's new discovery is enough to calm their tempers.

"Okay, bud. Go ahead," Hiccup prompts.

Toothless gives another low blast of plasma and the Dragon Eye lights up as glowing symbols are projected on the wall.

"Woah," Astrid breathes.

"Amazing!" Snotlout adds.

"Cool!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut say together.

"Definitely worth getting up for," Fishlegs decides.

"Fishlegs, can you make any of it out?" Hiccup asks.

He hums as he moves closer to the wall, carefully studying each image. "They're parts of maps and symbols. Nothing I've seen before and there's writing but it's in a language I've never read before," he says, clearly interested.

Snotlout points at a symbol that looks a bit like a flaming fist. "What's that thing?"

"It must be some kind of... tribal crest or something," Hiccup guesses.

"Ooh, I like that much better than our tribal crest," Tuffnut tells them.

Hiccup gives him a confused look. "Tuff, we don't have a tribal crest."

"Well, we should," Ruffnut says.

Tuffnut nods. "Yeah, and it should be that." He points at the crest in question.

Ragnar sighs, one hand coming up to rub his temple. "Ruff, Tuff, you can't just take another tribe's crest."

"Why not?" they ask in unison.

"I don't think they're using it," Ruffnut adds obliviously.

"Because that's how you start a war. And no," he adds before they can even speak, "that's not a good thing nor is it fun."

"Hiccup, this map..." Fishlegs says slowly. "You realize it-"

"-goes beyond the boundaries of the Archipelago," he finishes. His eyes are bright with excitement. "Oh, I know."

Ragnar watches him with a smile. He leans toward Astrid. "Look at him," he says. "Like a Terrible Terror with a new chew toy."

She gives him an amused look but nods in agreement. "Oh, yeah. There's no stopping him now." She crosses her arms and turns to Hiccup. "So, what's our next move?"

"I need to talk to my dad," Hiccup tells them. "He- he needs to see this." He starts toward the door like he's planning to wake Stoick up right now.

Ragnar reaches out and grabs his arm, gently pulling him to a stop. "Slow down, Hic. I think it can wait until tomorrow."

"But-"

"It can wait," he repeats. He lets go of his arm and shrugs. "Besides, if you do wake him up now, he's a lot more likely to say no."

The others nod and murmur their agreements.

"I would."

"Yeah."

"Out of spite, mainly."

"Definitely."

"Maybe best to wait."

Hiccup reluctantly nods. "Okay. Fine. I'll wait." He points at Ragnar. "But you are definitely coming with me when I talk to him."

Ragnar gives him a curious look, studiously ignoring the "yeah, duh" he hears from Snotlout. "Why?"