I'm Leaving Forever (a HTTYD Runaway Fanfic ~ Book 1)

30 - The Verglas Tribe: Part 3

The Chief stepped back to allow some Vikings to carry out their respective jobs in dealing with the event that had just occurred. Some dealt with the sedated dragons, leaving briefly to get some cages. Others handled the strangers riding those dragons while a couple of others escorted the intruding trapper away from the crowd. It was obvious that the trapper was the main focus for everyone; the Chief never took his eyes off her until she was completely out of his sight before he turned to the little clean-up scene in front of him. The respective tasks the Vikings seemed to be running smoothly, so trusting that it would remain that way, the Chief turned on his heel and walked away, along with everyone else who hadn't been assigned anything to do and dismissed themselves on their own accord.

This wasn't a situation that was new to him. The Chief had dealt with many cases of strangers - trappers included - turning up on his island without warning in whatever method they preferred, whether it be crashing onto their shores with a sob story fully prepared or slipping into the place where they'd definitely be seen disguised as an innocent merchant. It experiences like this that made him incredibly untrusting of people he didn't know, and he wouldn't be surprised if that was what he was known for across the archipelago or if the true merchants made it clear of that characteristic in their stories. Sometimes, he almost felt sorry for the people he nearly put to death for thinking they were a danger to him and his people when they were actually truly innocent. However, it wasn't something he could change overnight, and he wasn't was planning to change the way he dealt with these kinds of problems.

But admittedly, this situation felt different to him. It wasn't the usual, one or two people showing up looking helpless with a sob story and sucking up to everyone in an attempt to gain trust. Nor was it someone trying desperately to prove how much they could do for him and the tribe. No, there was something different about this group.

The Chief sighed, and started with what he knew first. It always helped him see where he stood with something.

Firstly, Hiccup and Toothless were with him, and Hiccup was unconscious, and clearly injured. The woman holding him, who he believed was Astrid, clearly wasn't willing to let anyone get close to him, let alone take him away, and the Chief could see that it was a genuinely look of protectiveness. It wasn't something fake. And not only that, but Toothless looked completely comfortable with her on his back, holding his rider. He knew the Night Fury wouldn't just let anyone on his back, much less hold Hiccup when he's injured, and there was no sign of discomfort. Almost like this wasn't the first time she flew him. That implied that Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid knew each other beforehand.

Then came Dagur and his introduction. He simply gave their names, told them they didn't want to fight and all they wanted was to get some medical help. That was it. No other information was given. No story as to why Hiccup was injured, although he could probably guess the reason, or why they decided to come here. Of course there was a story behind their arrival; there's always a story behind everything, but it was clear that they were defensive of him and his people. What they could do to them. What could go wrong. What could happen to Hiccup if things did go wrong. Those cautions and worries were something he had not seen at all in most of the people that had washed up on his shore in the past. They may be here for something from him, but it didn't look like they were sent here by someone.

Next was the trapper, who he recalled as Zilpah. This wasn't the first time he had seen her. He remembered the loss him and his tribe occurred because of a mission that worked in Drago's favor. She was on the mission. He saw her, and to this day, he hadn't completely forgotten about her. Besides, she was quite easy to distinguish from the other trappers.

However, there were two prominent things about her that confused him. One of them was the fact that she was flying a Skrill; a Skrill who didn't looked like it had been tampered by Drago's ways. Sure, it had scars, but compared to some of the dragons he had seen who had been imprisoned, this one almost looked relatively unscathed. In addition to that, it was clear that this dragon still had its fighting spirit. It wasn't reduced down to its instincts of pure fear and agitation. It still had a thought process and a working conscious, so it was confounding to the Chief as to how the trapper could get such a temperamental dragon to allow it to let her fly on its back, without having captured and tortured it beforehand.