Stormbound

Scene 5: Over a lone island

Wind lashes Hiccup's face as Toothless dives, and he squints his eyes against it. He's fairly certain Toothless is faster than the raindrops, as several splatter in his face. Far below, Hiccup can just make out the writhing gray surface of the ocean and a dark speck that might be an island. The roar sounds again, and Hiccup winces from the volume, but he can't cover his ears with his hands or he'd lose Toothless. At this speed, who knows how far he'd get before realizing the absence of his rider. The ocean looms closer with every passing second.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouts over the whistling of wind in his ears.

Then Toothless's wings snap open and their fierce dive becomes a fast glide, skimming over the white-capped waves. Hiccup is soaked in an instant by the pounding rain, and loosens his death grip on the saddle to wipe his wet hair from his eyes. Toothless shakes his head with a disgruntled moan.

"Sorry, bud. Let's see if we can get some cover," Hiccup pats Toothless's head and points to the lone island. Toothless happily obliges, dipping his wing in the water as he turns towards shelter.

Up close, Hiccup can see the island is small and rocky, but with dense forests that look very welcoming in this weather, and large rock formations pockmarked with caves that probably form a system of tunnels through the island. Toothless angles for those, but the Thunderdrum roars again, so loud, Hiccup claps his hands over his ears and Toothless banks away from the island, growling and pawing at his head.

"Forest, bud!" Hiccup shouts over the ringing in his ears, steering Toothless towards the source of the sound. At least the Thunderdrum's blast dulls the noise of the incessant pounding of rain, the rolling of thunder and howling of the wind.

Toothless touches down under the thick cover of the trees and shakes himself like a dog. Hiccup laughs and flicks water on the Night Fury, who bowls him over and starts furiously licking Hiccup's already wet face.

"Agh, no! Toothless!" Hiccup protests, pushing Toothless's head away and scrambling out from under him. Toothless laughs as Hiccup wipes his face on his sleeve, noticing the ringing fading from his ears.

"Come on, bud. We gotta find that Thunderdrum."

Hiccup leads the way, Toothless close behind. The trees block most of the rain, but enough gets through to make Hiccup wish the Thunderdrum were in the caves. Something must be keeping it from getting there, Hiccup frowns, knowing the Thunderdrum itself would prefer dark tide pools to dense forests.

"Careful, bud," Hiccup warns. Dragon hunters are the most likely cause, whether actively present or just leftover traps. Either way, it wouldn't do to blindly blunder into them.

"Let's get some light. Toothless, slow burn."

Toothless opens his mouth, fire hissing just inside. The dark forest brightens a little, and Hiccup can more clearly see the path ahead. He catches a glimmer in the corner of his eye.

"Wait!" he holds up a hand to stop Toothless. Slowly, he bends down and grabs a stick from the forest floor. Without moving his feet, he carefully reaches over and pokes the stick into the ground. Instantly, metal jaws snap closed, crushing the stick between them. Toothless growls.

"Watch out for traps, bud."

Hiccup proceeds more cautiously, rapping the ground in front of them with a stick. A couple times, traps spring closed and Hiccup has to get a new stick. He's on number four by the time they reach the Thunderdrum.

A young adult female, Hiccup guesses. Her scales are a bright blue-green color, unusual for Thunderdrums, as they tend to fall more on the purple side.

Then Hiccup's gaze falls to her leg and he winces.