makligr, httyd

xvii. when the full moon rises

𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter seventeen; hiccup
❝ when the full moon rises! ❞

    IT'S BEEN A WEEK. 

    Hiccup didn't think in a week, there could be so much happening. 

    He spent most of his nights examining the Dragon Eye━constantly adding to his maps and the Book of Dragons. Not only about dragons he never thought he'd see to be true, or interesting developments about dragons he thought he already knew everything about (or trying to find anything about a Night Fury━or Night Furies), but anything━anything━about these Dragon Hunters.

    This Ryker guy outsmarted him. He was lucky to outsmart him the second time and help get his friends out. He couldn't afford to make the same mistakes the next time they had a run-in. And Heather? With Heather and Dagur on his ships, that made him even more dangerous. He knew dragons, and now he had two on his side that new Dragon Riders, and it wouldn't be long before he sought out Dragon's Edge for the Dragon Eye. Hiccup had to be ready for the moment he does. 

     These new enemies weren't only taking a toll on him. Astrid was out more often than not, practicing her axe-throwing and her fighting━flying Stormfly, and then training before the sun rose and way after the sun set. Hiccup knew Heather's betrayal had hit her strong; the two of them were very close, and if he knew how much it hurt him, he could only imagine double that for her. 

     Snotlout was more snappy about it. Maybe he was out to fix his hurt pride, or something else, but he was more determined than ever to show how much he could do. And in Hiccup's experience, that was always dangerous. Snotlout was a loose cannon when he was like this. He made mistakes, he didn't think things through, he often got them in more danger and trouble than the other side (and never could see through his red-rimmed gaze that what he had done was wrong). 

     Yrsa was more quiet than usual. And yes, she was always on the quiet side. But her glowering got even more sharp, and she missed plenty of times Hiccup was sure she'd take a jab at the Twins. She was even avoiding him, spending her time alone to take care of Helrose to help her regrow her scales back healthily━the last thing, she had told Hiccup, she wanted was Helrose's scales to become ingrown. But she let him see the under-scales of her dragon, something not many people got the chance to see. Hiccup got to draw them before they'd go away, and examined them as carefully as he could. They were a phenomenon, considering they were always said to be in complete contrast to a Dervishes' outer-scales, and they were right. While Helrose's exterior armour was dark purples and blacks, those underneath were a glorious, glittering pink that were as fresh and clean as if she had crawled right out of the egg. 

     Fishlegs had been spending the week with Gobber back on the island trying to figure out the recipe for Gronckle Iron. He had sworn by Odin that he had seen Meatlug been forced to eat various rocks to produce the metal they had accidentally discovered all those years ago. (But never could remember the same pattern to create it again). Now, he was determined he had it right this time and if he and Gobber managed to figure it out, Hiccup was waiting with bated breath. Having Gronckle Iron on their side again would give them a huge advantage. It was light, almost unbreakable, and incredibly sharp. 

     Most of the team had come to gather on the final day of the week in the open-roof arena, all eager to see the result of Gobber and Fishleg's research on the Gronckle Iron. They had forged a target made completely of it━shining like a prized jewel in the sun, the happy face of a Viking grinning back at them on a wooden platform with wheels.