The Edge of Black Wing

6 We're Hunting You I

Ska'i Malamalama

The second the ship loomed up to meet her though, she didn't know what she intended to do. Toothless seemed to sense her indecision and chose for her. He tucked his wings in at the last second before diving into the water with a near-silent splash. It took Ska'i a second longer to realize what he had planned, but she took a necessary gulp of air. It was all Toothless taking the reins - figuratively - at this point. Ska'i had no idea what she was doing, or what to do. That wasn't the part that was freaking her out a little bit, though. Not at all; she had been around Hiccup and Toothless long enough, and had seen how utterly remarkable this particular dragon was. No, she felt rather calm and trusted him wholly.

It was a whole different experience, riding a dragon underwater. For one, you hovered in the saddle, rather than simply sitting in it; Ska'i had to squeeze her thighs to remain where she was! Then there was, of course, the obvious conscience act of having to hold your breath. Most don't have to concentrate, no matter where they are, or what they're doing. Waiting at a doctor's appointment, standing in a grocery line, even laying down in bed. These were automatic things, but it sure as gehena mattered a lot when you had to focus on them!

As they'd leveled out, dragon and girl stared up at the blurry heads with horns coming out of the side, waiting them out beneath the shimmering ripples. They reminded her of some of the daimonios from the stories the elders would tell her as a warning if anyone on the island fell too far out of line. After finally disappearing a few seconds later, Toothless began swimming beneath the ship. Toothless noticed how many things Ska'i must have experienced today that may have shocked her. When she realized what he intended to do, Ska'i blew out slowly, watching the bubbles float up and away from her. She couldn't tell if he was digging his claws in, or if his pads had a little suction cup action. But he kept moving along the underside of the ship until their heads quietly submerged right beneath one end.

It was a rather awkward position. They were half-submerged in the ocean, and she was upside-down on a dragon, clinging to the underside of an enemy Viking ship - hold on. An enemy Viking ship. So does that make me a Ula still, or am I a Viking? Oh, right, because now is the time to wonder about this, Ska'i!

Voices floated over the ship's railing, "Did you hear that?"

"What was that?"

"Did you see anything?"

"Eh, it was probably just a fish."

"Oh, duh."

"Yeah, muttonhead. We are in the middle of the ocean."

"Hey! There's no need for name-calling."

"Awww, did I boo-boo your whittle feelings?"

"Well, yeah. I'm not the enemy."

Pause. Then, "Alright. I'll save it for those goody-goody Dragon Riders."

Their boots thumped away across the deck, and Ska'i sighed in relief. When their mending conversation faded, Ska'i wondered what to do next. Toothless sensed this, looking up at her in curiosity. She gave him a half pout with her bottom lip, and shrugged, leaving herself completely up to his mercy.

Toothless shrugged back - could dragons shrug? - and followed the voices along the ship's length, with Ska'i clinging onto him as best she could. He wasn't ready to head back to the rest of the Riders and Hiccup just yet, and Ska'i agreed with him. Being already down here, they might as well try to find whatever - anything they could.

There was a type of cabin near the other end of the ship, and Toothless kept traversing until he was below one of the windows. They heard a different set of voices this time, the first sounded so nervous, that Ska'i almost felt concerned for him.

"Uh, so that was what we had to take a detour for, sir?"

A fellow Hunter sighed, "Yes, Pavel." It sounded somewhat muffled, almost like he was talking through gritted teeth.

"To kidnap someone? Sir?" That last part was added in haste, as if as an afterthought.

Another sigh. "There is a possibility she could know the location of the stones, you fool."

Palaka. Hiccup was right; other people were hunting down these stones, and they were this charming group called "Dragon Hunters"! Ska'i wasn't sure if her clenching was due to the sensation she was in danger of falling off Toothless and noisily splashing in the water. Or if it was because they were so close to these dangerous people. Granted, what was more pressing, was exactly where Astrid was being kept.

Just a few moments longer, she thought. She pressed herself even closer to Toothless, flattening her body as much as it would go. As if in doing so, she could hear more clearly, and those voices there would tell her the exact thing she needed to hear.

Pele must still be on her side today.

"And this island we're sailing to, Erick?"

"Just you worry about the prisoner we have aboard our ship in the lower cells for now," the second voice, Chef Bossy commanded. "Interrogate her. She's been holding up remarkably well under our other forms of inquisition."

"Uh, you sure I'm the best man for the job?"