Haley and the Dragon Riders

There Are Two Ways To Be Fooled

We all walked into a large building that worked as their base of operations. River and I were standing closest to the door while the others made a half circle around us.

"Alright, start talking." Astrid was impatient which I completely understood.

"Okay, a few years ago I found a Speed Stinger egg on the island I was living on. There were no other Speed Stingers in the area but I left it to be safe. I checked up on the egg over the following few days but never saw any other Speed Stingers. A few days before it hatched I brought it home. River had been abandoned by her pack before she was even born so I took her in and became her new pack. We've been inseparable ever since." I hugged her as we both remembered the good times we had as kids.

"You said you found her on the island you were living on back then, meaning you didn't find her on Viggo's island. And what did your parents say to the random dragon you suddenly brought home?" Astrid asked skeptically.

"That's a good point, and the answer is, nothing. My parents had no say in it because.. they were already dead back then... I don't know my parents. They died when I was very young and I've been alone ever since. Just like River. We bonded over our shared loneliness and became each other's family."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" It was easy to tell Astrid was feeling guilty all of a sudden.

"No, no. It's okay. You couldn't have known. And since I don't know anything about them, it's kinda hard to miss them. Also, there's one other thing you should know about me... You made a good observation earlier, Astrid. You called me out on my wording. I was born on an island far from here. When my parents died I began searching for a new home. I picked up River along the way. Since she was born with webbed feet she helped me cross the ocean more than a few times. It wasn't long though, until I was too big to ride on her back."

"Wait, you actually rode that thing?" Snotlout interrupted. I was beginning to understand all the eye rolls that Astrid gave him.

"Yes. But as time went on and we both got bigger, I was growing as well. I have this... condition... that I'm born with. And as I grew up, so did it evolve."

"Woah, were you bitten by a Lycanwing? Does that mean you turn into a dragon every full moon and you use that time to move you and your Speed Stinger from island to island? That happened to me once! Well, it turned out to be a wolf, but it was awesome." The male of the twins, Tuffnut I believe it was, shot in.

"I have no idea what a Lycanwing is or what you're talking about, but you're not far off. I don't know if I was bitten by a dragon or if it's a cruel prank by Loki, but as we grew up, I ended up carrying her to new islands. We weren't part of any tribe and no one would take us aboard their ships because of her species' bad reputation."

"It's a justified reputation if you ask me."

"I didn't. But because of that, I had to learn to control... my wings." I scanned their faces for any hints of what they were thinking. Most of them just seemed confused and Snotlout, once again, was the first one to speak up.

"You? Wings? I don't believe it. Last I checked, humans don't have wings. And you, my feminine fellow, are human." He crossed his arms and looked rather proud and full of himself.

"They say there are two ways to be fooled, Snotlout. One is to believe what isn't true, like the Lycanwing, the other is to refuse to believe what is. But if you insist, I'll show you."
I lowered my head and folded out my wings. Their light blue hue was shining beautifully in the moonlight. Snotlout passed out like Hiccup did, the twins and Fishlegs seemed awestruck and Astrid dropped her axe in astonishment.
"While River helped me get around at an early age, I learned how to fly and help her out. Together, nothing can stop us."

"I know I asked this about the Speed Stinger, but Hiccup, did you know about this!?" Astrid looked at Hiccup who was standing awkwardly next to me.

"Well, actually.. The wings were why I brought her here."

"She's a Valkyrie! I'm not the only one seeing this, am I" Tuffnut asked in disbelief.

"No, Tuff, it's not just you." Ruffnut agreed.

"Before you guys completely lose it, I'm not a Valkyrie. As I told Hiccup, I don't know why Loki thought it would be funny to give me these wings, but you have my word, I'm as human as the rest of you." I explained calmly.

"Astrid, there's so much we can learn from her. How to train Speed Stingers, how to better fight against Viggo and his men and how to get close to him without him even knowing! She'll be a great addition to the team."

"Hold up. Who said anything about joining your team?" I crossed my arms and looked at Hiccup.

"What? But I thought that's why you came with me?"

"No, I came with you to meet your friends and maybe stay the night. I said I'd consider staying longer depending on their reactions and based on what I've seen so far, this is not a place where River and I could stay."

"Oh, don't be like that. Give it a few days and I'm sure you're gonna love this place." I looked at Astrid.
"And the others will love you as well. Just give it a chance and, after a few days, if you don't like it, you're free to leave."

"Fine. One week. That's how long I'll stay."

"Alright, that settles it then. I'll take you to your hut and you can get settled in for the night." Hiccup offered.

"Actually, I'll do it." Astrid quickly jumped in.

"Okay..? Hiccup didn't sound entirely convinced about why she would offer that, but he didn't object any further.

We walked to my new hut in silence. I could tell she had a lot on her mind, probably a million questions about me and River, but she didn't say a word. Once we reached the hut I turned to look at her.

"Listen, I know you have a lot of questions. I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I'm really not that bad a person and I promise to answer all your questions tomorrow. That goes for all of you. Could you let them know for me?" I gave her a cautious smile. She didn't return it but firmly nodded before leaving.
"Well, that went about as well as I could've hoped for. Let's get some sleep."

River and I walked inside. It was easy to tell this was a guest hut. There was barely anything hanging on the walls and no special carvings in the wood. Nothing in this hut that could be considered personal or unique in any way. It wasn't bad though. It had a small fireplace for a dragon to sleep in, a decently comfortable bed, a table and a few chairs so you'd have a place to eat or keep papers and a wardrobe where I could put my clothes and weapons.

I put my things away and went to bed. River went to the fireplace first but since she doesn't have any fire to heat up the cold stone, she came and laid in bed with me. It wasn't quite big enough for both of us but we made it work.