The Friendship

Chapter Nineteen | Lies

~HICCUP~

Toothless and I rose into the shadows, silently pursuing Tiny Toothless, Little Hiccup, and Astrid during their romantic evening. The Aurora Borealis danced colourfully between the clouds, rippling above them. "All right, I admit it. This is pretty cool. This is-- amazing. He's amazing," Astrid exclaimed as they passed the village. She spoke of Tiny Toothless. I decided it was time to reveal myself, gliding up beside them.

"You can never get tired of it," I observed in a soft tone.

Both teens shouted at my sudden appearance before taking in the sight of me. "Him-- You-- Dragon-- Riders?" Astrid sputtered, quickly releasing Little Hiccup, whom she was holding tightly, and not out of fear for falling off. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "Which one of you, uh, came first?" she asked politely.

Little Hiccup began, "That would be--"

"Hiccup," I interrupted. I wasn't lying exactly. "That's how we met. I was walking through the forest when I saw a Night Fury struggling down in the cove. I went down to kill it, to be the first to kill a Night Fury. What a great accomplishment I would have made! But Hiccup, he stopped me. He helped me see in the darkness. He showed me what it was to be a Viking."

"How did you get-- that guy?" Astrid gestured to my dragon.

"Oh, Blueflame? Well, Hiccup told the village he shot down a Night Fury. That want entirely correct." I glanced sideways at the boy, smiling slightly. "He shot down two."

Astrid nodded once, seeming to wrap her head around the information rather well. Little Hiccup shot me a glance, half-grinning, though his eyes showed doubt, as if wondering when I would say it was all a joke. "What are you going to do now? What are both of you going to do now?" She shifted her gaze to Little Hiccup. "You have to kill-- kill the dragon," she whispered the last part, "And you," Astrid spoke to me now, "are risking yourself and Blueflame just by sticking around!" Her brows knit together, as if realizing something. "Why are still here, anyway? Hiccup knows what he's doing. You can leave, you don't need to be here." I looked away from Astrid, focusing instead on the sky in front of us. I could tell from our surroundings we were nowhere near Dragon Island.

I sighed. It had to be more difficult for me.

"Let's go, bud," I leaned down and whispered in Toothless'. The Night Fury glided around in the direction of the island. I didn't need to tell him where to go.

"Hey!" I didn't look over my shoulder to know Little Hiccup hed urged Tiny Toothless to follow, slighty irritated I had just left in the middle of a conversation. "Where are you going?" He attempted to block my path, but I out-maneuvered him, swerving away and continuing on. "I asked you where we're going," he repeated. I continued to ignore him, and Little Hiccup fell silent. A cloud of fog fell over us, making the island nearly invisible, but Toothless had flown this path many times before. He could find his way blind.

"We're here," Toothless growled to me.

I repeated the message to the others, and Little Hiccup agreed, "Toothless is acting strangely." Other dragons started sliding up beside us, all headed in the same direction. Zipplebacks, Deadly Nadders, Monstrous nightmares and Gronckles all carried their kill.

Astrid sceamed as the pack dived swiftly downwards, weaving in between the towering sea stacks. A cave emerged from the side of the mountain; the centre of Dragon Island. We swept deeper, and deeper, and deeper into the cave, a faint red glow emitting from its heart. the glow grew stronger, and brighter until we arrived.

The lair of the Red Death.

~LITTLE HICCUP~

Dragons. We were in the Dragons' Nest. Hundreds and hundreds of them swarmed, dumping their haul into a grand pit, which seemed to be the source of the red glow. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and layers of rocky shelves allowed an adundance of places to land.