Haley and the Dragon Riders

The End Of The Beginning

In the days after my birthday, I hid at Viggo's base and gathered my strength. I'm sure Hiccup and the others were doing the same. We were all just licking our wounds and doing damage assessment.

"I'm sure your dragon is alright. Hiccup is many things, but a dragon killer is not one of them. He would never allow any harm to befall her." Viggo tried reassuring me.

"Maybe not, but Stoick is a different case. So, let's assess the situation so we're all on the same page. First River ate some dangerous plants, then while she was high on toxins, she attacked Stoick and killed Valka, Hiccup's mother. In retaliation to that, Hiccup chases you down, River disappears and Stoick ordered Gobber to cut my wings off. Then I hide out in the woods until you swoop in and save me like a shining knight in armour, that sound right to you?" I was being somewhat condescending towards him, but I couldn't care less right now.

"Haley, please don't use that tone with me. I am well aware of what happened, I was there for most of it after all. You would do well to remember that I am on your side." Viggo said sternly.

"Forgive me. I need some time to think. Don't wait up." I told him as I lingered in the opening of the doorway for a moment before leaving his hut.

I welcomed the cold night air and the soft rays of moonlight that shone down and lit up my path. Without my wings to carry me away, I relied on my instincts to not get lost while I was deep in thought.

Berk will never get away with this!

I slammed my hand into a nearby tree and heard a twig snap near me. My body flinched at the noise, and I looked down with a smirk on my face.

"What are you doing out here? I told you I wanted to be alone." I said into the empty night, but there was no reply. When the person behind me stayed silent, I clenched my fist and growled.
"What? Now you're too good to even talk to me? Answer me!"

I barked and turned around only to find that the person behind me wasn't a person at all. It was a dragon. A large, navy blue Skrill towered over me. Usually I'd have used my wings to either get away or try and assert dominance, but that was impossible now. While staring into the strong dragon's eyes, I had a sudden realization.

"If I have to survive..." I trailed off, and the dragon roared at me. I quickly felt around my body for any kind of weapon to defend myself with and managed to get a hold of my hunting knife. I held it forward while the dragon kept growling at me.

As it got closer, it sniffed the small knife, and its eyes slowly expanded as it seemed to grow more docile. I moved the knife around from side to side slowly to test how curious it was. Based on the dragon's intense eyes following the knife's every move, I'd say it's mesmerized by it.
I smiled as I got an idea.

"You're going to help me with something. Oh yeah, you and I are going to be good friends. Mori. That's what I'll call you." I slowly put my hand on the Skrill's snout, and it welcomed my movement as it closed its eyes and relaxed.
"I'll be back for you tomorrow."

I scratched the large dragon down by its chin, and it fell to the ground out of pure pleasure and happiness. I smiled and shook my head as I walked back to find a sleeping Viggo sitting on a chair outside his hut

"Hel, you're such a dork." I chuckled as I walked over and shook his shoulder. He jolted awake and looked at me with tired eyes.
"Didn't I tell you not to wait up? C'mon, let's get you to bed."

With some difficulty, I managed to get Viggo inside his hut and into bed, though I only managed to get his shoes off of him, so it was going to be a warm night for him. Warm or not, however, I still crawled into bed next to him, although I was not keeping my dirt and grass covered clothes on.