The Alpha is Rising

Putting Friends First

What Hiccup didn't feel before with his hand, he now felt with his whole body. It almost did feel like he was under water, ice water, with an air bauble covering him and Toothless. It was weird, to say the least, and a bit uncomfortable, but before he said he wasn't going to that again, he realized he was going to have to, to get back home. He groaned, things were spiralling out of control way too fast for him. He had just found out he was a Dragon Master only a few days ago, and now here he was, riding a dragon as they searched for his friends. Drago apparently wasn't going to let Hiccup get much further in his search for the signs. Hiccup gritted his teeth, well then, he was going to fight Drago with everything he had to stop him from going through with his plan. He and Toothless glided through the night sky, looking for any kind of a camp, or even a sign of his friends. But when they had traveled for miles with no signs of any kind and sleep threatening to take over, they stopped to rest in a cave, hoping the daylight would bring better results.

"So, what do you say bud, should we circle around and check that area again?" Toothless shook his head. "Why not? We could have missed something." Hiccup gasped as a voice went through his head.

"I can smell a lot of things from a distance, and I know what your friends smell like. I didn't smell any of them when we passed over." Hiccup just opened and closed his mouth. "What? Didn't you know that Dragon Masters can communicate with their dragons? I've heard about it from all the other dragons, and even Gobber!"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean . . . I knew that, but, why didn't you communicate with me earlier?"

Toothless shrugged, "I don't know, I tried, but couldn't get through. I could only sense our connection. Perhaps only here we can communicate?"

Hiccup nodded, "That makes sense. OK, onward then?"

Toothless nodded, "Onward." Hiccup opened his mouth, only to look down. Another one, but, how? None of his friends were here. "Hiccup?"

"A sign," he muttered as he knelt to push the dirt around. In a minute, his hand grasped it and pulled it out of the ground. This one was bronze with the rune for earth. "But, how? None of my friends are here!"

"Am I not your friend?

Hiccup glanced at the dragon, "Oh, right, you are, sorry, I'm used to having my other friends nearby." He placed the copper piece in the pouch around his neck. "Alright, I'm expecting that nose to work well."

Toothless snorted, "It will, it hasn't failed me yet, nor will it until I'm fifty years old."

Hiccup chuckled as he climbed back on Toothless, "Good to know. Let's go." Toothless took off, heading in a northwestern direction. The two used their link to communicate tales of their past and family. Toothless kept teasing him about Merida, of course, but for the most part, it was a pleasant conversation. They took a quick break for lunch before continuing on their search, Toothless pointing out a few dragons to Hiccup. The sun was beginning to set when Toothless let out an exclamation.

"There's one!"

"Really? Who?" Toothless just snickered as he descended.

"Hiccup! I'm so glad to see you!" exclaimed Merida as she approached them.

"Merida! Are you alright? Where's everyone else?"

Merida shrugged, "I don't know, I was the last one through. I waited around for Heather, but when she didn't show, I hightailed it away from the spot in case any of Drago's men were in the area."

Hiccup beamed, "Smart. But, uh, where'd you get the bow and quiver?"

Merida grinned sheepishly, "Oh, yeah, about that, I did run into one of Drago's men, but, uh, well . . ." She turned to the bushes and waved. Another Nightfury approached cautiously. "He was trying to take her to Drago, and since I helped her get free, she's been walking with me." Toothless approached the Nightfury, and the two seemed to introduce each other. "I hope she doesn't mind, but, I named her Morrigan."