Soul of a Warrior (An RTTE Fanfic - Sequel to Heart of a Dragon Whisperer)

Chapter 11 (Melia)

We had searched for half an hour and there was no sign of Hiccup, Snotlout, or Storm. Hookfang was digging in the sand in panic, Toothless stood close to Astrid, and Starfire wouldn't even go near the sand, keeping to the grass and ocean shallows. We had found Hiccup's metal leg and with myself translating for the dragons we had deduced that our fellow riders were somewhere underneath the island. How we'd get them out was the main question on our minds. As well as whether or not to throw Tuffnut into the ocean. Well... I was considering at the very least. I was on my last straw with all the crying he was doing. 

"Guys! Over here!" Toothless screeched, digging in the sand with Lilac. I made my way over with Fishlegs, studying what looked like glass tears. 

"Astrid, I- I hate to admit it, but these rocks look a lot like..." 

"Don't say it!" Ruffnut ordered, giving Fishlegs a pointed look. Fishlegs drew his finger down his cheek while mouthing the word he was about to say. Tuffnut immediately burst into tears... again. 

"He didn't say it!" I groaned, facepalming. Astrid sighed, grabbing the "treasure map" the Twins had bought. 

"Well, I'm out of ideas. Might as well give this thing a shot." Astrid commented, studying the map for a moment before heading off into the woods, all of us following close behind. Starfire landed beside me as soon as I was off the sand, her wings brushing my side a sign of how close she truly was, Lilac on her other side. It had been about an hour of trekking through the woods before anyone finally spoke. Sadly, it was the Twins who broke the silence. 

"All right, look, Astrid. We'll give up the..." 

"The what?" 

"You know. The-" Tuffnut was cut off by his own eyes welling up in tears. 

"I think we get it." I assured him, pushing him to continue. 

"The treasure? That's ours. We earned that treasure. I earned that treasure." 

"If this works, you can have all the treasure you want. But if it doesn't, you know what's coming." Astrid remarked. 

"Uhh... Astrid, let's not." I pleaded, really hoping she wouldn't make Tuff cry again. I had felt sorry the first few times, but now... 

"Melia, come look at this." I ran up in front of the group, taking my place beside Astrid as she showed me the map. "You see that?" I glanced between the red X on the map and the path ahead. 

"Has to be." 

"Hiccup!" We all ran after Astrid. After a bit, we ended up on top of a cliff, Astrid looking into one of the many holes in the stone. 

"Astrid?" 

"Is he in there?" Astrid was silent until, 

"No. It looks like we're not the only ones who got fooled by this map." The hope we had quickly left us. 

"If this was a dead end, then where's..." 

"I don't know Starfire, but we'll find them." Lilac assured, rubbing against her friend's side. I sighed, turning to glance at the beach in the distance, the beach Storm had disappeared.

"We'll find her."

<Well, that was a let down, but my girl is determined to find her best friend. She promised herself that she'd never lose anyone close to her ever again... Not after what happened during the battle. Hope you enjoyed! See you in the next one!>