(DISCONTINUED) Legacy of the Thunder and Fury--Book 1--Shock of Betrayal

Nine: Ambush

Okay, wow, this is even longer! No big developments, though. (Shows how long I can dwell on something that's mostly unnecessary XD) Though, here's another chapter. Somehow i managed to make this one 2,800 words of the story and not my talking in, like, two days! Though that's not very impressive, just for me it is. Gonna need to write a lot more for RoS!

One week of school down, five million to go! Bye bye writer's block!

                                                    Astrid

Stormfly chortled and dove down. Astrid had just checked the prison to make sure Heather was still there and she was, looking slightly guilty but still inside. Now Astrid was looking for a wild Deadly Nadder. The sun hadn't quite risen yet, and the sky was pinkish on the horizon and blackish on the top. No other viking was awake yet, but the Terrible Terrors were eagerly preparing to screech from the top of the huts.

She figured she could probably find a Nadder before Hiccup woke up and the Dragon Riders gather together to go to Outcast island. And maybe find out if Heather is not bluffing. But for now, Astrid needed something to watch over the prison while she and her friends leave. Stoick had left the retrieval of the book to his son, and Hiccup had proudly said that he would get it back, no matter what. Astrid knew they would. They were always the best at everything. After all, they had dragons. And even if their scaly friends couldn't do something, all of them, even Hiccup and the twins were well trained and perfectly capable of anything.

Hiccup turned out a better leader and friend than she had formerly assumed, when he was the nerd who always said the wrong things and was always the worst at everything Astrid was the best at. Dragon killing, for instance. Everything is changed, for the better. Toothless proves everything we thought is wrong. And now we're at peace.

Except for the threat of Alvin's trained dragons looming in the future. No one in the archipelago is safe until we stop him and get Heather back with her family or under control.

Astrid smiled at Stormfly's back and the dragon gurgled. The Nadder was well fed and happy, very prepared for the journey and possible struggles ahead.

Ahead, squawking and screeching caught Stormfly sharply tuned ears, and she burbled at Astrid and jabbed her beak towards a group of Nadders shrieking over a scrap of wild boar.

"Good girl," Astrid said and tossed her a piece of chicken as a treat. She knew she would never have to worry about overfeeding her dragon, Nadders were energetic and burn energy off easily, and they were pretty big. (Though small for a dragon.) And Stormfly would never tire of her favorite food, chicken, of course.

The other dragons were clustered on the beach, squabbling loudly. The sandy area wasn't too far from where Snotlout first found Heather, but the scraps of wood from the destroyed boat she washed up in were not visible from up in the sky. Tall pines lined the beach, where large boulders jutted out of the sand, glittering with the occasional crabs that skittered up and down the beach and to the rocks or water. As Stormfly landed with a sandy squeak, all the wild Nadders abruptly stopped arguing. Astrid saw all the crabs bolt back to the water and a Terrible Terror hovering nearby screamed indignantly as they all disappeared into the sploshing waves and sea foam.

Astrid jumped off Stormfly's back and two of the smallest Nadders suddenly took off, shrieking at her. One was orange and blue, and the other was a greenish yellow and purple. The biggest dragon, the one that stayed, was a dark purple and cobalt blue dragon. It sniffed daintily and bared its teeth at her.

"It's okay," Astrid murmured and held up a piece of chicken. Stormfly on her credit didn't immediately leap forward to take it, and the other dragon hissed suspiciously. Then it reluctantly stepped forward and carefully took it from her, trying to stay as far away as possible and still eat at the same time. Astrid didn't have her axe within reach, she learned from Hiccup that when you train a dragon, you have to be as least threatening as possible and if you offer it food, you better hope it eats that instead of you.