How To Train Your Dragon 3 - A Tale of Two Tails -

Chapter Fourteen: His Anger

Hiccup thought his eyes would pop right out of his head. The mighty chief of Berk had trained dragons, wrestled with Whispering Deaths in their own caverns and was the feared rider of the Night Fury, the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death' itself. He'd been through more near-death experiences than he could count with his fingers. He'd explored more islands than he could remember and was known all across the archipelago.

But nothing would ever prepare him for the sight in front of him; an actual live mermaid! He thought they were just fables told during times in his childhood, alongside trolls and other strange creatures but this was real! And this time, he knew he wasn't hallucinating.

He tore his eyes away from it for a second and looked at his friends. It looked like they couldn't believe their eyes either and a few of them were even drooling.

Astrid felt his movement and turned to look at him.

He gave her a look that said 'I told you so'. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't," she warned as a triumphant smirk found its way onto his lips.

"Is that a..." Snotlout breathed.

"Mermaid..." Fishlegs said whimsically

"Holy Thor," Ruffnut gasped.

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of each of them.

The dragons looked at each other, rather amused at the whole situation.

"You know I didn't expect to be right when I was talking about a romantic rendezvous," Hookfang mockingly snarled.

"Does that mean we get to see Night Fury babies?" Barf hissed.

"But isn't she food?" his other head asked dimly.

"BELCH!" everyone scolded.

"She's half fish!" he argued before his head started to hurt, "I'm so confused."

"She is beautiful."

"Clearly our riders think so," Meatlug said with a shake of her head at their rude behaviour.

They were practically gawking at her!

However, the dragons had no idea the effect the mermaid had on them.

The way she moved was ethereal, even if it was just the twirl of her little finger. She looked like the perfect embodiment of the ocean, from the way her hair curled and shone like the oceans at night to the aura she gave off.

Her tail was the same blue that would coat the seas on sunny days as they stretched on for miles yet amidst the rain and the dark waters, she stood out more. Her tail curved around the dark body of the Night Fury in such a perfect manner that it looked like a painter's fantasy. There was an alluring light drawn around her, that painted her close to a celestial deity. Even without sunlight, each of her delicate blue scales would glimmer a soft gold that matched the sandy beaches on warm summer days.

They watched her shut her eyes, long dainty lashes fluttering as her lid closed and when she opened them, the group thought they would get sucked into the depths of her eyes. There was something enticing in the way they flashed down and towards them again. They were blue, an even deeper more enchanting shade than that of her tail. The rims of her irises were dark like the centers of whirlpools that lured them into a dizzying spiral. There was something in the way the blues shifted that reminded them of a storm, and it was then when they realised why thunderstorms were so captivating to many a viking.

However, those that could escape the pull of her eyes would soon realise they were still entranced by natural flush on her cheeks and the arches of her dark arched brows. It gave her the appearance of wider eyes but she didn't exactly look like a doll. Her lips didn't naturally curve into a smile but they were full and a light paler pink, which faired well against her porcelain complexion. Despite everything mentioned, she didn't look like just a beautiful girl. There was something more about her, something that didn't look quite right but it definitely wasn't wrong either. Maybe it was the shimmering scales that lined the edge beneath her cheekbones and neck, or maybe it was something in the way she moved that made her look like something completely new and otherworldly.