The Dragon Quest; by KaliAnn

5. Unwelcomed Company

By KaliAnn

The questers had picked up the pace a little as they flew further northeast into the archipelago. They had only packed enough supplies to last them a month and they were expected back on Berk within a week and half period of that. If they wanted to return in that time table they would need to start turning around by the end of the week regardless if they found Toothless's pack or not. Hiccup was not willing to give up until they exhausted every possibility of finding the pack. He owed it to Toothless for all the times he'd helped him. The problem was just locating the right island. There were so many how did one find the Mysterious Island that was home to a pack of Nightfuries?"

"Gold for your thoughts?"

"Huh, what was that Nissa?"

"You seem awfully distracted Hiccup. I know what's weighting on your mind and heart. I'm getting anxious as well. I want to find the Nighfury pack and make things right with them as well. My people are partially responsible for Toothless losing his family. Its hard to imagine going fifteen years never knowing the truth about what happened to people you love. Dragons are resilient creatures and their bonds with family members are different then those of humans. Our cousins all have different methods of raising their hatchlings and how much time they spend with them. They may even have special long term relationships with a few of their offspring, but the maturity of the time after a dragon reaches adult status they don't have much to do with their kids. Still a pack is a family depending on one another for survival. A lone dragon is much more vulnerable and likely to get hurt."

"Nissa's right Hiccup. Even though it was torture to live under the Red Death rule I wasn't alone. We're not the most social creatures in the world, but having a friend by your side makes life a whole lot easier. I do wonder though if I'll fit in again with my kind. So much time has passed and I'm not a little juvenile anymore. I'm grown dragon who needs a human to fly."

"Don't worry bud, I'm positive that your family will be so happy to see you they won't care that you can't fly on your own. We just need to find them and soon. I'm worried Ula is going to make us turn around soon."

"It is her duty to keep us safe and alive. Even if you desire to find the Nightfury pack we must return to Berk to help with inventory and defense of the island."

The sounds of wings descending were heard as they watched Snotlout and Hookfang fly down towards them. The others were around the air in the standard formation. "Ula wanted to tell me she spotted an island up ahead. We're going to touch down and take stock of everything we've gathered so far. Then she's going to let us search for treasure for awhile! Isn't that the most awesome thing in the world?"

"Searching for treasure does sound a lot less dangerous then some of the things we've encountered on this quest so far. I would enjoy a simple search for gold and jewels then running for my life against an angry pack of dragons," Fishlegs responded as he flew back towards them.

"We have encountered so many different dragon packs its a wonder we haven't come across any strike class dragons yet."

"Don't curse us Meatlug! The last thing we need to do is come across a Skrill! Those guys are nasty and I'm a Nightmare! They have the worst temper and love to slash and maul anyone who gets in their way! If we encountered any of them our best option is to fly far away as fast as we can."

"I hate to agree with anything Hookfang has to say, but in this case he's right."

"Come on you guys don't be so paranoid."

"Nissa's right, our luck can't be that bad that we come across a pack of Skrills. We could use a break from flying so long. If you're that worried we'll keep an eye out for trouble."