Peter Mercier and the Hunters of Artemis

Chapter 17

Hiccup and Peter had quite a long wait before Eret and Amber came around. So, in the meantime, they'd started a fire on the beach and made some more crude arrows to spare and lazily draw in the sand with. The two hunters turnt up around dusk, unfortunately coming back empty-handed and mildly disappointed. Now cold, the group sat around a roaring orange fire on the sandy beach, having speared the pink meat of the salmon on sharpened sticks. "Not bad," Eret admitted, taking a fat piece and popping it into his mouth. "Good catch, chief."

"Thanks," Hiccup replied, sitting across from him, looking into the fire. He glanced up, taking a piece off his stick and eating it. "Peter helped, too."

"Understatement of the week," he muttered, sitting across from Amber. The bow was on his back, a few arrows on the ground, in case something turned up in the night. "How was the pen? Anything around it?"

"It was pretty run down, I'm afraid," Eret said, a small canteen around his neck full of water. "It looks like they broke out a long time ago. We checked the forest around it for a hundred yards or so and nothing was there. I'm sure we can find something tomorrow if we try another spot."

"Maybe we could camp out near the pond, and wait for them to get a drink?" Amber suggested, taking three pieces and eating them in one gulp. "Unless there are more places they can get water."

"As far as I know that pond's the only one on the island," Peter shrugged. "Maybe we'll look around tomorrow and see if there's another one after all."

They ate and talked for a while about the island and where they might find more food for when the dried meat ran out, but as night started to seep in they decided to go to bed before they wore each other out too much with conversation. Peter and Amber decided to watch the sunset before they slept to Hiccup's reluctant approval, sitting on the roof as the thick clouds overhead slowly crept closer. "It's pretty out here," Amber said, watching from afar as the waves lapped against the logs on the beach and doused the fire. Her coat fluttered in the breeze. "Cold, though."

Peter shrugged but was also shivering, his torn shirt billowing around as well. The cold wood on their aching feet was relaxing. As they sat next to each other, Amber reached her arm around and gently squeezed him. He tensed up, not expecting the gesture, but relaxed as she let go. "Thanks for, um," she faltered as Peter quietly cleared his throat and turned the other way, pretending to look at the forge. "Helping with the map. I think it'll be useful, just so we don't get lost."

"You're welcome," he replied, hiding a smile, his face pink. From the chill, of course. "That's important. We all want to stay together. So we don't get hurt, of course."

"That is the idea, Mr. Mercier," Amber assured after a moment, rolling her hazel eyes and smiling. "How's the raft going with Eret?"

"We haven't gotten very far with it," he sighed, still looking away from her. "It'll take all of us a while. But it's doable, we think."

"Is it even worth it?" she asked, laying on her back and looking at the stars. A few small drops of rain started to fall, quietly pitter-pattering against the roof. "Like, where would even we go? New Berk is pretty far, Peter. Unless you can build a raft with a canopy, it won't be fun for me. And by extension, any of you."

He didn't seem as light about the point as she did, though. "I don't know," he finally faced her, resting his elbow on his knee. "It's up to Hiccup. Whatever happens, I trust him."

"Isn't he the one who suggested we go to the den in the first place?" she raised a brow. "That might've been me," he winced. "And what other choice did we have? Keep Lillian prisoner for gods know how long, waiting for Artemis to find us and take her back? Anyway, Hunters or not, I'm sure we'll sort all this out."