The 'Dragon Defender'

Wingmaiden Island

After around half an hour, we're still flying. Fishlegs has been making notes on me all the while and Dagur has been trying to convince me to join his beloved Mala, though all his attempts have been in vain.

"So do you really think the Wingmaiden's know anything about Stealthwings?" Snotlout asks. "Well it's worth a shot," Hiccup replies, petting Toothless's head. "The worst that could happen is that we don't find out anything new about Nightling, right?"

"Um, what about Nightling burning down Wingmaiden Island?!" Snotlout snaps, raising his voice. "You are literally screaming right in my ear, idiot," I grunt, wincing.

I feel a hand run its way gently along my wing, so I snap my head around and growl. To my surprise, however, it's not Dagur.

I see what at first appears to be three winged women, but upon closer inspection they have Razorwhip hatchlings clinging to their backs. That's a pretty cool trick, actually. The one who had been touching me retracted her hand. "My apologies, I have simply not seen one of your kind before," she says sincerely. I only grunt in reply.

"Where did you find her?" The woman asked the riders. "That's a long story, Atali," Hiccup replied. "We were hoping you knew at least something about her, since she looks so much like a Razorwhip."

"Well she's no Razorwhip, but I know about her kind," the woman named Atali stated. She knows about Morphwings?

I give her a curious look, causing her to chuckle. "I'll take her straight to the island. I want a word with her alone. Minden, Nadia, you take care of our other guests, please."

I look to the other dragons. "Did she really just send Snotlout of all people off with two women?" I ask, earning literal roars of laughter from the dragons and confused looks from the humans.

Atali flies ahead of me and gestures for me to follow her. "Go ahead, Nightling," Astrid says with a nod. I nod back to her before reluctantly following Atali.

She lands on an island before turning to face me. "I only know about your kind from what I've read from notes left by my ancestors," Atali says to me. "But you seem just like a Morphwing. Am I correct?"

I think about whether I should answer correctly or not for a moment, but eventually I nod. "Do you mind if I see your human form?" Atali asks. Again I pause to consider, but eventually I comply, making sure my mask is up before she sees anything.

"Don't tell those riders anything," I order her. "They know both sides of me, but not that we're one being. I'd prefer to keep it that way to avoid a fuss. Most of them don't even know my real name."

"If that is what you wish," she agrees. "I am Atali, Chieftess of the Wingmaidens. What about you?" "The riders know me as Artemis," I reply. "Though many humans call me the 'Dragon Master'."

"The one of legends?" Atali chuckles. "I find that hard to believe." "The dragon version of the legend titles me as the 'Dragon Defender'," I add. This causes the Razorwhip on her back to perk up and fly over to me. "The Dragon Defender?! That's really you?!"

"That it is," I nod to him. "So Freedom Island and the Dragon Sanctuary actually exist?!" The Razorwhip asks. "Of course they do," I confirm. "Though I doubt you've been there before."

"I... I'm surprised," Atali says, looking at the little Razorwhip. "Forgive me. It just sounded unlikely."

"I hold no grudges," I reply. "Not with you, anyway. But tell me something; has anyone here ever harmed a dragon?"

"Of course not!" Atali glares at me. "We'd never harm dragons here! We protect our Razorwhips. All Razorwhips are born here. It is the duty of the Wingmaidens to raise and protect them, then set them free into the wild."

"I just needed to be sure," I explain. "Even before I figured out anything related to Morphwings, I had a certain reputation for not tolerating those who harm dragons."

"By any chance is there a Razorwhip at your sanctuary, Dragon Master?" She asks. "Yes, though she hatched there," I confirm. "I rescued her egg from a hunter ship a few years back. She's been safe at the sanctuary all her life."

"You will have to bring her here someday," Atali says. "If you'll allow it, I'll gladly show her the place where her egg was most likely laid," I agree. "She deserves to know more about her origins. It's the least anyone can be given."

"You speak of this like you find it personal," Atali remarks. "Long story short, my family had to flee when a hunter attack reached us around a decade ago," I brush it off, not really wanting to go into detail about it. "The choice was to leave me or fly into the line of fire with my brother. Most of them chose the smart option."

"I'm sorry about your family," she says. "It's fine," I reply. "I know they're alive. I found them again, not very long ago. Well, they found me. I'm just glad they're safe."

"At least there's that," Atali agrees. Then she whistles, calling her Razorwhip friend back onto her back. "We should get back to those riders before they suspect anything is wrong. If there's one word to describe Hiccup Haddock, it would be persistent."

"You have no idea," I nod in agreement. "Just... don't tell them too much about Morphwings. They don't know much about us. I've been changing my habits when I'm around them in dragon form just so they can't get an idea of what we're like. I can't let them know too much. It would make Hiccup go on a wild goose chase for more Morphwings and he's already close to finding a virtual treasure trove."

"Your secret is safe with me, Dragon Master," Atali smiles. "I'll lead you off. You simply need to play along." "Thank you," I say to her before morphing into dragon form and allowing her to guide me through the village of her tribe.