Left In The Night

Chapter 23

At last, an island peeked over the horizon. It wasn't terribly tall, probably no bigger than Berk. As the riders approached, Hiccup took note of the environment of the island. It was surprisingly similar to Itchy Armpit but was greener, which wasn't much of a surprise, since it was further south.

The sand and cliff faces were shades of black and gray, evident remnants of volcanic activity. The island did lack towering, angled mountains, instead bearing rounder peaks of ancient land. There were some caves that could be seen from shore, and the steep cliffs were sharp and angled, a stark contrast to the round peaks they jutted from. There were plenty of towering pines and deciduous trees, creating a thick forest, and moss covering every square inch. Ferns sprouted from the forest floor, along with all sorts of bushes and other undergrowth.

It was quite lovely, but as far as they could tell, there was little to no evidence of dragon activity here. Not obvious for the Riders at least.

The dragons had gotten whiffs of various scents in the wind as they'd flown closer and closer to the island.

And Toothless knew it, too. His ears were up and alert, listening carefully. There was activity, but it was deep within the forest. Dusk joined Toothless's side, watching his friend carefully.

Do you think this is it?

It's gotta be. It's hard to explain... but I think I got a whiff of a scent similar to Blueheart's. The dragons turned to their alpha, all curious.

What should we do? Came Barf.

I'm not sure yet... If there are really Night Furies here... they're going to be very territorial, especially with hatchlings.

Blueheart told you that? Hookfang asked.

Eh, only part of it. But... some memories are coming back to me. My mother was extremely protective of my sisters and me. Anything could be a threat, even other Night Furies.

That makes sense, especially from a mother's perspective. Stormfly observed.

Also, are we sure Blueheart is meeting us here? Belch asked, twisting his neck around.

I have little reason to doubt her. Toothless affirmed, narrowing his eyes, this is where she was born and raised. I can't imagine why she wouldn't eventually return home.

Meanwhile, the riders were working on a game plan while they waited for Zyrah and Blueheart to find them.

"We ought to camp right on the forest edge," Astrid suggested, "that way the girls won't have much trouble locating us."

"Perfect, though let's find a spot closer to the cliffs. If there are dragons here, if we hide behind a rock, then we won't be as easy to find, for our own protection at least." Hiccup added. The gang knew all too well about feral dragons and how dangerous they could be. And with young teens with them, they didn't want to take any chances with their safety.

"Alright, let's unpack and see what we can figure out next." Ana chimed in. With that, the riders grabbed their packs from the saddles and began laying stuff out for a camp. Konall and Rurik gathered some kindling for a fire, and the dragons stood to watch.

Later that evening, with the camp set up, they were sitting around the circle, chatting together, and reminiscing on old memories.

The dragons, save for Toothless, were also relaxing and enjoying themselves. The alpha was distracted and kept glancing into the forest, expecting to see something.

Stormfly and Dusk noticed how distracted he was and came to his side.

What's bothering you? Stormfly began. Toothless frowned.