Left In The Night

Chapter 50

Within the following three days since the arrival of the Berserkers and Defenders of the Wing tribes, Hiccup had been working overtime not just with his allies, but in keeping the peace within his council and his own village.

He was well aware of how on edge Zyrah had been, but when she returned after her outburst during the council meeting, she had privately discussed with him how selfish she realized she was being, apologizing for internalizing all the chaos surrounding her. But Hiccup understood, she didn't need to apologize to him, but he recognized her respect for him, and her own pride wasn't everything to her.

"Hey, listen, you're still young and trying to navigate the chaotic life of being a Viking," he assured, "I remember feeling like I could control everything, but I soon realized the same thing you have. We all go through it at some point." She gave him a tense smile in return, burying her uncertainty.

"So what now?"

Well, waiting on the arrival of the Wingmaidens and Outcasts, along with Berk's two other rarely seen allies; the Bog-Burglars and Meatheads.

The Bog-Burglar's were an all-female tribe much like the Wingmaidens, the only difference was that they did not rely on dragons to carry them around, and they were legendary in the archipelago for their thievery and had been long-time allies of Berk for as long as Hiccup could remember. Bertha was the former chieftain of the tribe and had been good friends with Stoick once upon a time, occasionally visiting Berk for meetings, which is how he and Camicazi had become friends, but only that. He had received the news that Bertha had recently stepped down to allow her daughter to step into the role, and Hiccup could only imagine the sheer delight Camicazi would get from her new role. He was excited for another young chief to aide him, and he was also looking forward to seeing how she had changed. He could only imagine she had become more cunning and sly.

And then there was the Meathead tribe. Also another long-time ally of Berk, as Stoick had been tight with Mogadon, and their great-grandfathers respectively had struck up an allyship decades ago when the Meatheads had come to Berk's aid during a great battle with mainlanders. Mogadon had passed long before Stoick did, and so Mogadon's son; Thuggory, had been thrust into the chieftain role quite young, but based on what Hiccup had heard over the years, the young man had proven himself a worthy chief in battle. Thanks to his friendship with Hiccup, Thuggory also allowed and encouraged his village to form bonds with dragons.

Thuggory's arrival on the Edge would prove interesting, as in the past, when he, Hiccup, and the Riders were young, barely preteens, Thuggory had stood up to Snotlout's constant bullying on Hiccup's behalf. Alas, the Meatheads had only been visiting, and Thuggory couldn't stand up to Snotlout for Hiccup all the time, so Thuggory had given Hiccup a little pep-talk on how to deal with his troublesome cousin. And as much as Hiccup tried, things never worked out.

But now, all these years later, with everyone having changed drastically, Hiccup was anticipating chosen words to be tossed around, and not light-heartedly. He knew Thuggory did not care for Snotlout, given their past interactions. As for Astrid and Camicazi... he was aware they acknowledged and respected each other, so he didn't have much reason to believe there would be animosity between them, but he could never be too sure.

Meanwhile, Dagur was wandering the Edge, searching for the other young teenage boy Hiccup had introduced him to just the other day, having spotted the magnificent, golden Skrill the boy was riding. How was it possible that this teenager had wrangled one of the most sought-after dragons just after Night Furies? He had to find this boy and ask him. But he also had many questions for the young girl; Zyrah, as well, from the brief interaction, he could tell she was troubled, but quite fierce, based on her actions against one of Mala's Defenders.