Battle Scars | Book 1 (DISCONTINUED)

Ch. 18: Dragon Hive

Her jaw dropped a little as the large red Nadder entered the arena shyly. "Tyson?" Ellith muttered, a small smile forming on her lips.

The spiky dragon hopped up excitedly, then bounced over to Ellith, nearly tackling the dragon rider over. She laughed and hugged his head as he accidentally pushed her back a little, affectionately rubbing his nose.

"Hey, boy!" She scratched underneath his chin as he pulled his head away from her and began sniffing her, pupils wide with happiness. As the giant Nadder gently head-butted her and squawked, Ellith could feel tears begin to form in her eyes once again.

Alice saw Gael walk into the arena, Scatterspine by his side. He smiled as Tyson ran around in circles around Ellith, not noticing that Alice was walking up to him.

"This is where you were?" she chuckled as the boy turned around to face her.

Tyson had begun to calm down, allowing Ellith to look over at Gael. Her smile faded a little, her hands sliding off of her dragon's head. She looked nervous as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Gael, I'm..."

She stopped when she suddenly felt him wrap his arms around her. Her eyes widened a little in confusion.

"I'm just glad you're still alive, idiot."

Her smile returned, and she hugged her old friend back. The rest of her class stood by, until Mateo stepped forward and hugged both of them, soon joined by the rest of his classmates. Even Delanie joined in, though she did seem a bit reluctant.

Alice was standing off to the side, watching them all hug each other. Flash gazed curiously, wondering why for some reason she looked so anxious. He looked over at the group of teens, still bewildered for a moment before the realization hit him. He went behind Alice without her realizing, then gently nudged her and made her stumble right into the group hug. Everyone looked confused for a moment, but then they all laughed and let her in as well.

After what felt like a minute or two, they all parted. "So what happened while I was away?" Gael asked, looking at Ellith for an answer.

"I'll fill you in on it all later," she promised him. "Basically, Brendan is going to attack a nearby dragon nest and we have to capture him."

The black haired boy's mouth dropped open a little in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Long story," Alice chimed in, then placed her hand on Ellith's shoulder. "Ellith, you need to go find Hiccup and tell him about this so he can arrange a council meeting."

"Right," Ellith nodded, then whistled for Sticky to come over. The Deathsong responded immediately, making a song-like growl and trotting over to her rider. Ellith grabbed onto her horns, lifting herself up onto the brown dragon's neck and looked back down at all her friends. "I have to go. I'll meet up with you guys here later."

With that, Sticky flared her patterned wings and took off through the door, disappearing behind a large cliff next to the building.

—————

Astrid approached Hiccup at his desk, where he was scribbling away on a piece of paper. She leaned over his shoulder, trying to see what he was drawing.

"Trying to keep your mind off the whole Ellith situation?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he sighed, then looked up at his wife and smiled before gently kissing her cheek. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on top of his as he continued speaking. "Did you find anything out on patrol?"

"We saw a few ships moving through the fog," Astrid replied, watching Hiccup draw. "Probably scouts. We managed to chase them away, though."

"Alryne's getting braver, huh?" he sighed. "I heard they've landed a few attacks on the Outcasts and Berserkers. Any word on how they're doing?"