The Edge of Black Wing

3 Through Thick and Thin She's Gone Away II

"I'm not sure," Ska'i started. "We just got here; I saw her from the end of the walkway."

"Hey, what's that?" Tuffnut pointed at something that was sticking out of Astrids' dragon.

"A Dragon Hunter arrow," Hiccup noted grimly. Fishlegs tried desperately to calm her down enough to gently work it out of where it was stuck in her.

"No," Ruff breathed, and Snotlout chimed in," You don't think . . . ?"

Toothless and Hiccup had already taken off to the sky, while the rest glanced at each other in lost dread. Tuffnut knew this was bad and reached out for Ska'is' hand, which she clasped as if on autopilot, taking a deep breath to try steadying herself.

"Sh-she can't be that far, can she?" Fishlegs studdered a bit over his words.

"Wait, where did she even go in the first place?" Ruff seemed confused.

"She didn't go anywhere, Ruffnut. Not on purpose," Ska'i added, as an afterthought.

"I, for one, refuse to believe she's lost!" Tuffnut burst out.

"Of course, she's not lost, you idiot - you . . . genius," Snotlout badly corrected himself, as Ska'i immediately rounded on him before his sister could.

"No," Fishlegs agreed. "She was -."

" - Taken," Hiccup finished, as he and Toothless dropped on the sand without a tell. "It must have happened a while ago; I didn't see any ships."

"By Dragon Hunters?" But Ska'i didn't phrase it as a question.

"But why?" Fishlegs couldn't fathom.

Ska'i was about to shoot some speculations, when Hiccup and Snotlout spoke in unison, "Who cares?" "Does it matter?"

"We have to go after her!" Ruff claimed.

"Well, duh," Snotlout scoffed. "But which way?"

Hiccup gazed at the horizon like he wanted to take off in any direction, but that question made him pause. Then Fishlegs suggested, "Maybe Stormfly could help."

"Now, how in the heck is she able to help?" Snotlout doubted.

"Yeah," Ruff chimed in. "Is she going to wake back up, and start talking?"

"No, no, sis," Tuffnut answered. "Remember, Hiccup can speak Dragonese."

"Right, the hand thing," and she stretched her arm, palm out toward an invisible dragon.

"I'll get the tea antidote of purple oleander, fresh water, Fire Fern, and Bitterweed," Fishlegs volunteered before Hiccup could ask him.

"What, so Dragon Hunters kidnap people?" Ska'i was incredulous.

"Oh, they've always done that," Ruff shrugged off.

"They might be trying to get to us, by doing this," Hiccup theorized.

Tuffnut opened his mouth to say, "It seems to be working." But last minute, he caught Ska'i's eye, which reflected his thought, and prevented him from saying it outright.

"But what do we even have that they're trying to get?" Snotlout didn't understand.

No one answered him, and Tuffut saw a grim expression beginning to spread across Hiccups' face. He could also see the realization light in Snotlout's head right when Ska'i muttered, "The Stones."

"Of course!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Do you think they know what they do? How do they work?"

"Why do you sound so eager?"

"Because, Snotlout, if they know all that, then we could get the information from them!"

"But how could they possibly know we have them?" Ska'i was in disbelief.

"You think they learned it somehow from New Berk?" Ruff threw out the possibility.

"If you're insinuating my father -" Hiccup started.

"Whoa, no!" Ruff exclaimed, hands thrown up in innocent surrender. "Geez. I don't know. Maybe someone had overheard, or something. Maybe they're the ones who them. . . ."

"You don't sound confident in that at all, sis."

"Yeah," Ska'i mused. "You're suggesting one of your people on New Berk, is a traitor."

"A spy," Snotlout cut in.

"A betrayer-er!" Tuffut added.

"Guys," Hiccup seemed so fed up.

Ska'i caught on to Hiccup's urgency, "I'm sure we'll figure that part out, later. What matters most now, is - ."

" - Finding Astrid," Fishlegs spoke simultaneously.

"Whoa!" Ruff exclaimed in surprise at his soundless arrival.

"Finally," Hiccup breathed the word out so faint, but Tuffnut heard.

Time and again, Stormfly kept trying to take flight, then the Riders had to crowd around so she wouldn't have enough room to spread her wings. They circled her, as she tried taking to the air, flinching as she lashed at them. (Although Ska'i hung back a bit more than the others.) Murmuring kind words, and gently pressing against her, helped Fishlegs get close enough to give her the antidote.

Once it was done, Ska'i backed away from Stormfly's continued freakout. She glanced around at the other Riders, and after noting they weren't appearing as nervous, she seemed to take more control of herself. But Tuffnutt realized Ska'i had never been around a dragon before knowing them. Let alone see how one reacts to the effects of dragon root and its antidote. Moving toward her with arms open, she happily welcomed his embrace but didn't take her eyes off Stormfly.

No one said a word, waiting for the antidote to take effect. Tuffnut couldn't quite tell what was weighing on everyone's mind; where Astrid could be, or what kind of power the Stones could have. How would they go about finding her?

It seemed to take to the start of Ragnarok until the dragon root finally seemed to loosen its' venomous hold on her system. Once her pupils dilated back to normal, Hiccup approached her and went to hold out his hand. Stormfly wasted no time, swiftly bumped her nose against it, leaped up and over the Riders before any of them could stop her, and took flight. Tuffnut blinked, and Hiccup followed her suit, already in Toothless's saddle. "Get on your dragons!" He snapped the command, then shot after the Deadly Nadder.