The 'Dragon Defender'

A Race To The Finish Line

(AN: So I know it's been about three years since I last updated, but everyone was asking for this to continue. Thanks so much for all the support on this, guys. We even got The 'Dragon Master' to #1 in the HTTYD tag for a short time! Someone on my Twitch streams even found The 'Dragon Goddess' 😅. It's crazy how many of you were asking for a proper ending, so here we go to try and find a satisfying conclusion - but not a sudden one, we're doing this properly and ending only when the time is right!)

We're quick to move on from that subject as Astrid asks another question. "Do you have any other siblings?"

I nod. "I have a little sister," I reply, then realise it might be a smart choice to alter her name slightly to make it sound more human-like. "Melanie." Adriana glances at me, but doesn't comment.

"And do you get on with your family?" Hiccup asks. "Of course I do," I nod. "It was a little... awkward... at first. But I trust them now. Addie too." Adriana smiles at this.

"And the others in the Caverns of the Forgotten? What're they all like?"

"Mostly quite nice," I reply with a shrug. "They mostly mind their own business, which is good. They like their seclusion, that's for sure."

The humans both nod, seeming satisfied with my answer. "So like you?" "True," I chuckle. "But they're on a whole other level. They've gone generations undercover like that."

"They have," Adriana nodded. "We're very secluded. Indigo only got in because we found her first." "Yeah, that... that was an interesting first impression," I can't help but chuckle.

We continue to talk until Hiccup and Astrid are eventually satisfied and leave us be. "Finally," I sigh in relief once we're alone.

"They seem nice," Adriana smiles. "They are. I think Hiccup's mellowed Astrid out a little," I quip. Adriana laughs at that.

"So what would you like to do?" I ask her. "What can we do?" She returns curiously. "Not much," I admit. "Don't see why they won't let you look at the Book of Dragons, if you wanna learn about that stuff. Or there's dragon races we could watch, I suppose."

"Dragon races? What are those?" She asked curiously. "Oh, basically they ride their dragons around and gather sheep as they go for points, most points at the end wins," I shrug. "I've seen one or two, they're actually quite entertaining."

"Can we go see one?" She asks hopefully, her curiosity piqued. "Sure, if there's one on," I agree. "From what I've seen when I stop by here, there's usually at least a few riders practicing and having unofficial races."

Adriana takes my hand and tries to lead me outside. "Hey, hold up!" I chuckle, having just enough time to pull my mask back up before the door is opened.

What surprises me is Fishlegs being about to knock.

"Oh! Hey, Artemis! Hiccup told me that you'd brought a friend and wanted me to ask if you'd like me to show you both around Berk properly! There's a dragon race about to happen with the A Team if you'd like to come watch!"

"She was just telling me about that!" Adriana smiled eagerly. "I'd love to see it! Oh, I'm Adriana, by the way!"

"I'm Fishlegs," Fishlegs smiles, then pets a certain Gronkle beside him. "And this is Meatlug!"

"Lovely to meet you, Meatlug!" Adriana scratched Meatlug's sweet spot, giggling a bit when she blissfully collapsed. "Wow, you certainly know your Gronkles!" Fishlegs comments. "She's pretty good at this stuff," I agree. "Now how about we get going before these two turn into best friends?"

Fishlegs laughs and starts leading us to the arena where the A Team will all race. They're ready to go right now, aside from Gothi, who is absent for obvious reasons. Frankly, the fewer excuses to be around her the better. She's close to working me out and she still gives me the creeps anyway.

"Gothi's not here today because she's got an emergency patient to tend to, but everyone else is still ready to go!" Fishlegs smiles. "I see," I nod, glad Adriana decided not to add any comment. At least she knows when to stay quiet to make things easier to get through.

Fishlegs finds us some seats at the back and we watch the A Team prepare to race. Adriana already looks excited. I just lean back, acting casual in the hopes that I won't be noticed. I don't want to attract too much attention, it's annoying.

"Hey, is that the Dragon Master?!"

"Son of a..."

Everyone's looking over at me now as opposed to the racers, but seeing as they're also flying over I don't think they care. Adriana looks a little unsettled by all the attention of the humans, so I put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, they're just curious," I sigh softly to her. "They won't do anything."

"Hi, Dragon Master!" Gustav is the one to speak up first. I sigh, unable to help myself. "Hello. Go back to your race, don't mind me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Incident. I'm grounded for now."

"Why?"

"That's all you need to know."

"Oh. Well who's your friend?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" I sigh again, though it does give me an opening to get everyone focused back on the event. "She wanted to see a dragon race while we were here. Would you be so kind?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure! Let's go, Fanghook!" Gustav agrees eagerly. Finally, everyone returns to the race, their excitement renewed.

"You handled that well," Adriana teases, causing me to roll my eyes. "He's a kid. Kids ask questions. It's annoying, but it's easiest to just work with it."

"And then you sent him to play this."

"Just because him being a kid can be challenging doesn't mean I can't also exploit it."

"Do you exploit me?"

"Not now I know you."

"Okay."

"Figured I'd get more of a response."

"Well, I know you, too."

"Touché."

We turn back to the race as they prepare to set off.

~•~

"And Sven bags the black sheep! He's won it, folks!"

The crowd erupted into cheers at this victory, Adriana included. She's really been swept up in the excitement. I'm glad she's enjoying herself and keeping her mind off of Asher while we're here.

In all honesty, I'm struggling to pay much attention. I'm worried about Asher. What if Gothi can't heal him? And if she can, what if she discovers he's a dragon?

Adriana takes my hand and pulls me up to my feet, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What?" I question her, turning my head to the side to look her in her sparkling eyes.

"Are you kidding? How are you not loving this?! It's so amazing!" Adriana grins. "I wish we could join in!"

"Do you have a dragon?" Fishlegs asks Adriana, who pauses at the question. "You could always give it a try."

"Uh... I don't actually have a dragon, but it still looks fun!" Adriana replied quickly, a nervous laugh escaping her. "In- er, Artemis would probably do better than I would..."

"Nobody can beat Artemis, I'm sure," Fishlegs chuckled. "She's called the Dragon Master for a reason! Oh, that reminds me, Artemis; we've been working on looking into the Stealthwings! Have you found out anything new?"

"Admittedly I haven't had much chance to," I shrug. "Remind me what we know already?"

"It's all written in the Book of Dragons!" Fishlegs assures. "We can head to the Great Hall and check, if you want to."

"Mm. Sounds like a plan," I nod, liking the sound of renewing our info. Well, what info I've already drip fed them. I need to make sure I know what I can and can't say about Morphwings.