𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter three; yrsa
❝ the great beyond! ❞

"OKAY, BUD, go ahead."

A low beam of purple filled the room. Yrsa's shoulders sat back in surprise to see the wall in front of her light up in symbols, pictures and maps, all from the Dragon Eye settled on the barrel in the centre of Hiccup's bedroom. He had woken them all up in the early, early hours of the morning (the sun hadn't even risen yet) to show them all what he had discovered━and it was worth it.

The group of Dragon Riders all chorused mutterings of awe, their faces gleaming with the purple reflections of Toothless's beam. Yrsa had no idea what these symbols or writings meant, but it was easy to tell it was a map━one that led out further than the edges of the Archipelago.

She ran patterns along Toothless's scales, a small smirk coming to her lips in amazement.

"Fishlegs," Hiccup turned to the pudgy Viking, "can you make any of it out?"

He walked up to the map on the wooden wall with pursed lips. "There are parts of maps and symbols ... nothing I've seen before," he traced his fingers across the symbols, in awe. "And there's writing━but it's in a language I've never read before."

"What's that thing?" Snotlout pointed to the flaming fist in the centre of the map.

Hiccup shrugged, "Must be some kind of tribal crest or something."

"Oooh!" Tuffnut shuffled his feet giddily. "I like that way better than our tribal crest."

Yrsa frowned at him. "We don't have a tribal crest."

"Well, we should," Ruff countered.

"Yeah," added her brother, "and it should be that."

Yrsa resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Hiccup," Fishlegs was still studying the symbols, "this map, you realise it━"

"Goes beyond the boundaries of the Archipelago, oh, I know."

They shared looks and Yrsa could see━everyone was ready to drop everything they had worked for the past three years; their jobs, the beginnings of their adult lives, to go on this adventure. They were so ready, there was no hesitation━none whatsoever.

Yrsa felt her heart flutter with excitement. She tilted up her chin and met Hiccup's gaze, eyes blazing with the thirst for adventure. "So," she smirked, "what's our next move?"

He returned the smirk, and with the light in his gaze she knew that they were about to find out what this map meant; and what it held.

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, the Dragon Riders prepped themselves for a long journey ahead. They knew, even if Hiccup didn't gain the support of his father and the council, they would be leaving anyway. Yrsa felt like she was fifteen again, going on journeys and missions to find new dragons, to fight the Berserkers or Outcasts━she hadn't realised how much she missed it until now. Missed the thrill; the suprise and memories━how much it has started to shape her into the person she was now.

Yrsa polished her father's axe right before she left, running her fingers down the runes that spelt his and her name. Helrose waited with her bags attatched to her saddle, purring a little to notice the fall of Yrsa's face━something she didn't hold often.

As years went on by, Yrsa started to forget little things about her father, and that made her guilty. How could she forget? How could she forget that he wasn't around? Forget the sound of his laugh some mornings when she was too tired to even function. But the one thing she didn't forget, was the day he gave her this axe. The blade might've changed throughout the years━accustomed to her growth. But the hilt? The hilt has never changed. The hilt has stayed constant through everything.

With a deep breath, she grasped the hilt tightly, said goodbye to her mother (who had packed even more food provisions for her with her usual sayings and words of Viking encouragement━ "If they say no, cut their toes off." Or: "Don't you dare curse Odin's name too much, young lady." With the addition of: "Keep your posture, your manners and your pride." And of course, the usual, "You have Bog-Burglar blood, Yrsa! And remember: A Bog-Burglar cannot be kept under lock and key!").

(Yrsa really had to rush the goodbye despite her love for her mother━she really didn't want to hear the Potato Burglary story again).

But in the end, it was time to say goodbye. Yrsa hugged her mother tight and gave her a kiss on the cheek before mounting Helrose's saddle. The others were waiting for her at the edge of the village cliffs, each and every one of them more than ready for this adventure.

Seeing Yrsa's nod, Hiccup turned to Toothless and gave him a tender rub, "You ready for this?"

"Blah, blah, blah━" Snotlout rolled his eyes, fixing his grip on Hookfang's horns. "Why do you have to make a production out of everything? Let's just go already!"

Hiccup's cheeks went red, a little sheepish. Yrsa chuckled to herself, unable to keep it in. "O━okay, but if anyone has any reservations━"

They just took off into the morning sky with a great big cry of, "INTO THE GREAT BEYOND!"

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

"INTO THE great beyond..."

"Great beyond ..."

"Whoo ..."

The chorus echoed amongst the Riders━once having been happy and bright, now soft, tried and mixed with an annoyance of having been riding for hours on end, and no new formations in sight. They had reached a brewing storm, grey clouds settling around them and obscuring any view. There was thunder━but no lightning! It was boring ... boring ...

Even Yrsa had abandoned her usual posture, slumping in her saddle. Helrose groaned, tired as well. "Great beyond ..." she finally muttered, the last of the chorus before letting out a very unlady-like yawn (her mother would be horrified━but also a bit proud).

"Oh, come on, you guys," chatised Hiccup from the lead. He glanced back at them. "So, we've had a couple of tough hours━" Astrid scoffed to say, a couple? "━Nothing that's worth anything comes easy."

"Is that one of your riddles?" Tuff muttered, stiffling his own yawn. "Because now is not the time, my friend. We have to keep saying great beyond." His sister piped her head up from where she had settled on her elbows against Barf's horns.

"Great beyond ..." she murmured.

"Yeah, great beyond ..."

Hiccup arched a brow at the Twins, "Okay..." he said slowly. "Toothless," the Night Fury purred to let him know he was listening, "let's see if there's anything out there..." a sound blast lit up the sky with rings of purple, but nothing more could be seen in the grey. Even Hiccup's shoulders fell, "Nothing."

A loud clap of thunder rocked the Riders in their saddles. Yrsa gasped at the fist-sized droplets that crashed down, immmediately drenching her from head-to-toe. "Eurgh!" she let out, furious at her wet braids (At least she was no longer tired, right?) and holding a desperate arm to cover her eyes from the rain. "It seems like the further we go, the worse it gets."

Fishlegs held his helmet secure on his head, "Hiccup!" he shouted over the wind. "I think we should turn back. We've been flying for most of the day."

"We just have to keep pushing forward until we're out of this!"

Yrsa glimpsed a break in the storm up ahead; a burst of light. She gasped and pointed, "Hiccup, is that━?"

"Yeah, it is," he grinned. "Everybody, fly to the light!"

Yrsa urged Helrose to pick up the speed. With a mighty flap of her dark wings, she shook off the water and dashed through towards the light. The others followed, and just as lightning started to cascade around them, they broke thorugh the surface to hit clear blue skies.

She pulled Helrose to a hover, gazing down and eyes widening at the beautiful sight. A set of fresh islands and seastacks were pieced along the open water like they were placed by the gods to create a stunning rock garden. Yrsa could see wondrous streams and waterfalls on the nearest island, and with it, a stunning hum that seemed to just draw her towards it's shores.

"Look at this!" breathed Astrid in her awe.

Hiccup nodded in agreement, "It's incredible..."

"I know, right?!" she threw her arms up in celebration. "We made it, Hiccup! We made it!"

"Uh ... guys," Fishlegs shifted in his saddle, uncomfortable from the light flight, "can we slap each other on the backs later? Meatlug's wings are about to fall off."

"Oh," the chief's son realsied with a sheepish smile, "sorry, guys. There's a place up ahead we can set down━"

The dragons' heads all perked up, tilting down towards the island with the beautiful waterfalls and streams. The hum Yrsa had heard grew louder and louder, buzzing in her ears with a striking melody.

"Whoa, what is it, girl?" murmured Fishlegs, frowning and placing a hand on Meatlug's neck. "Don't you want to set down?"

Hiccup titled his head with Toothless, very in sync with his dragon. Yrsa's heart fluttered━she found it cute. "Guys, do you hear that?"

Snotlout nodded, sitting up straighter. "What is that?"

"I have no idea," said Fishlegs, "but the dragons are definitely pulled towards it."

"Well, then I guess that's where we're going," Hiccup guided Toothless down and they all dived towards the gorgeous island.

Reaching the shores, Yrsa's eyes lit up in delight at the scenery. Finding a lake, Helrose decided she was finished with flying and set down without Yrsa telling her to. She hopped off, letting her drink. The other Dragon Riders landed around her, taking in the view of the island around them. Fishlegs grinned, "This place is amazing," he said and the rest of them couldn't help but agree.

Letting their dragons rest, they all spent the afternoon by the lakeside. The Twins swam to the boulders in the middle, sitting ontop of the rocks and kicking water at each other with snickers and jeers. Snotlout lied out on the shore, baking in the sunlight with a happy sigh. Fishlegs peered at the formations and small rocks, already setting up Meatlug's dinner. Astrid floated in the water, her arms outstretched and her legs gently kicking along. Yrsa wanted to dry her hair after the storm, and so she sat by herself at the top of the boulders looking over the lake, running her fingers through her long, dark strands.

Feet settled beside her, she carefully tugged at some knots, brows furrowed. Her hair was like that. Long, wavy, thick━and very knotty. It was why she kept it in braids all the time. She froze a little in hearing the sound of Hiccup's metal leg behind her, but continued to work at her hair as he decided to sit down next to her.

"You all right there?" he asked her, amused at the way she tugged and huffed.

Yrsa sent him a scowl at his sarcasm, despite feeling a blush on her cheeks to see the smile on his face. Don't look at me like that, she wanted to tell him. Not after what we decided━you make me want to ignore it and kiss you where you sit, shameless. "Yes," she snapped and he chuckled. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much."

Giving up, she sighed and gave her hair a gentle shake, leaving it flowing against her back to dry in the sun. Yrsa picked up one of her fabric ties, fiddling with it in her fingers. She had a sudden memory back to that evening in the Cove; back when they were fifteen. She had allowed herself to ... drop her walls and open up, smiling and watching Hiccup draw in the dirt by his shoulder. Hiccup was one of the first people she ever did that for. Things have changed since then, for sure.

Yrsa's ridgid face softened and she smiled at Hiccup. "I'm happy for you."

It was so nice, even Hiccup's eyes widened a little in suprise. It made Yrsa chuckle. She punched him lightly for it. His gaze flickered━the sun reflecting in a lake of jade green. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I mean━" he shook his head, amused at her back-track, "━it is a way of you avoiding the evident future, but I'm still happy you have some more time to do it."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You can never just hand a compliment just as a compliment can you?" He shuffled closer to her anyway, and Yrsa smirked. Falling back into silence, they gazed down at the others in and around the lake. After a small while, Hiccup chuckled at their mutual friends and told her, "Well, I guess we don't have to vote on where we're making camp."

Snotlout━who heard them━sat up and laughed, "Ha! I'll take care of the fire!"

Yrsa frowned, "I don't like the sound of that," she said as he stood up and rushed over to Hookfang. "We can't burn down the whole island━we just got here!"

"Hey, give him the benefit of the doubt," Hiccup smiled at her as she stood up. As she did, she arched a brow down at him and he winced. "Yeah, you're right ... Snotlout━wait up!"

Everyone gathered up on the shore to watch Snotlout ruffle up together some sticks and leaves. Yrsa crossed her arms, admittedly curious to see what he was doing. He was obviously trying to show off━and usually that ended up with them laughing at his failure, so she was looking forward to that. He made his way back to Hookfang and reached into his saddle to pull out a clay jar. He shook it at them as if they were supposed to know what it was. Astrid arched an unimpressed brow.

Snotlout scoffed, "All right, wimps━watch and learn..."

He poured a line of gree slime across the beach from his dragon to the pile of firewood and leaves. With a flourish, he turned back to his Monstrous Nightmare and said, "Hookfang━light it up!" with a cough, the dragon lit up the green substance and immediately, it flailed up all the way along, lighting the firewood and leaves with a woosh! Yrsa shuffled back, surprised at how quick it had caught aflame.

"Monstrous Nightmare gel," Snotlout told them proudly. He held it out to Yrsa with a smug smirk. She stared at him, annoyed. "Don't leave home without it."

Hiccup laughed nervously, watching the flames continue to flicker. "Okay ..." he said slowly. "Let's set up camp, gang."

Night fell; they set up camp with their dragons. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the long flight, so it didn't take long for the dragons and their riders to fall asleep under the moonlight. Yrsa and Hiccup stayed awake, sitting by the ocean shore and gazing up at the stars.

Sitting almost shoulder-to-shoulder, Yrsa tried to keep her smile to herself. She fiddled with the ends of her newely-made braids, happy for a moment alone with Hiccup without any of the others around. She felt ... comfortable with just him. She felt like she could let herself joke and smile and let the guard down she had rooted so deeply that even now it was still refusing to fall forever.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Yrsa's heart lifted to see Helrose and Toothless sleeping near each other, the Night Fury on his back and shaking his leg here and there, probably having a fantastic dream while Yrsa's Devlish Dervish huffed steam from her nostrils━still elegant in her sleep.

Setting her gaze back at the horizon, Yrsa leaned her hands back into the sand, feeling it amongst her fingers and let out a pleasant sigh. Yes, there was definitely are huge part of her that missed this━learning, discovering, exploring, especially with Hiccup.

"You were right," she decided to tell him. Hiccup arched a brow at her, jokingly at her kind words. She scoffed, shaking her head at him. "I mean it, though; there is so much more out there ... and it's beautiful..."

Hiccup matched her stance, except he leaned on his elbows rather than his hands, "And this is only the beginning, Yrsa," he said, eyes lit up with the moon. "Who knows what we'll find out here?"

"Something crazy?" she smirked at him.

He grinned, "Always."

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

"HEY, hey, Yrs━wake up."

Yrsa stirred, rubbing her eyes that were sandy in her sleep. "What?" she mumbled, unhappy to be woken. Sitting up, she realised she had fallen asleep in the sand from where they had been sitting before━she didn't remember closing her eyes, but she must have, because here she was. She expected to be covered in sand, except for where she had been lying, there was her bedroll.

Her heart fluttered. Hiccup, why are you like this?

She turned to him, but her flutters disappeared to see the frown on his face. "Do you hear that?" he asked her, far closer than she expected.

A little flustered to realise she must have fallen asleep beside him━with the chance of the others waking up and seeing her like this, she was slow to catching on. "W━what, hear what?" she stammered, doing her best to fix her hair and try and bring back the comfortable feeling of elegancy her mother drilled into her. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," Hiccup met her gaze, alarmed. "It's gone. The sound is gone."

She had been so used to it, that she didn't even realise. Now that she stopped and listened, the hymn that had been in the back of her mind the entirety of their stay so far at this island had disappeared. Now there was nothing; not even the sound of a bird chirping in the trees.

"Okay ..." she murmured, sitting up straighter as her heart began to pace. "That's ... unsettling."

"So are the dragons!" cried Fishlegs, and they spunn around with a startled jump. "All of them! Gone!"

Yrsa frowned, until she saw that he was right, and she gasped. Where their dragons had been sleeping soundly by the campfire, was now nothing but sand and leaves. They were nowhere to be seen. Yrsa's heart clenched and she jumped to her feet. "Helrose?!" she called. "Toothless?!"

They spent the next thirty minutes searching the surrounding area━the small lake and the falls, the outer rim of the forest, a cluster of boulders in hope to give them a high vantage point ... but the search brought up dry.

"Stormfly?!" cried out Astrid helplessly. "Stormfly, where are you?!"

"Hooky!" Snotlout stood at the top of the boulder hill. "Hookfang━get your butt over here right now!"

"Helrose! Toothless!" Yrsa cupped her hands around her mouth, stopping by the Twins who fell over the top of the same set of boulders they had been searching the past five minutes. She sighed. "How many times are you guys going to check behind that rock? Barf and Belch cannot hide behind it!"

Ruff walked up to her, waggling a finger in her face. "Clearly, you are not aware of the stealthiness of one Barf and Belch." She faltered, turning to her brother. "Or is that 'two Barf and Belch'?"

Tuffnut hummed in thought. "Excellent question. Two heads..."

"One dragon..."

"... Two brains ..."

" ... One body ..."

"Two bodies, half a brain!" laughed Snotlout as he climbed down the hill. Yrsa breathed sharply through her nose to keep her anger down. Sometimes she wished she could explore with just Astrid and Hiccup (and their dragons), the others are happy to stay behind at Berk━she'll happily be their farewell party! (Maybe Fishlegs can stay ... maybe).

Hiccup and Fishlegs rejoined them, unsuccessful. "Nothing," sighed the former, rubbing his brows. "I don't get it. Where would they go?"

"Oh, my Meatlug!" sobbed Fishlegs and Yrsa sighed again. Like she said: maybe. She could only deal with Fishlegs in certain doses. "She wouldn't do this! She wouldn't leave me. She would never do this on her own!"

There was a rustle in the bushes behind them. The group of Dragon Riders all spun on their feet to stare, awaiting what was hiding with bated breaths.

Through the shrub launched Toothless. He bounded towards them, and Yrsa's eyes lit up with relief. Then, they dropped when she realised what he was doing. She let out a grunt as she and Hiccup were pushed to the ground, pinned with no choice to get away as Toothless licked away at their faces.

"Toothless━stop━stop━!" Yrsa squirmed, trying to push his maw away. "It doesn't wash out━it doesn't wash out━yes, I'm happy to see you too, bud, but stop━"

Hiccup laughed, accepting the affection with open arms. "Hey! There you are, bud!" he sat up, cupping the Night Fury's snout. Yrsa sat up, too, face slick with dragon drool, but she hugged Toothless nonetheless, half of her settled to know he was okay while the other half terrified for Helrose. She glanced around in hopes to see her, too, but she was nowhere━and her heart was back to pounding. "Where did you go?"

Toothless froze. Like he remembered another thought, he reared his head back and to the side. Yrsa's arms fell away, startled at the roar he let out, far more urgent than the one before. He bounded off to the right, circling the group of them with multiple cries.

Snotlout had an incredulous frown on his face, watching the creature surround them. "Okay," he said slowly, "I think your dragon ate something weird in the forest, because he's out of his mind."

"No, no, no," Fishlegs shook his head with a deep frown. "I think he's trying to tell us something."

Hiccup knelt back down and Toothless rushed towards him, meeting his concerned palms with his muzzle. "W━what is it, bud? Is it the other dragons?"

Toothless grew impatient. WIth a growl, he snatched Hiccup's metal leg and tugged it with him back through the shrub.

There was a moment of silence between the group of them as they watched Toothless go.

"Uh ..." Astrid spoke up. "How far do you think he's gonna get before he realises?"

Hiccup sat up, now without his metal leg. He pursed his lips. "Hard to say. He seemed pretty comitted."

It took Toothless a few seconds before he realised, returning with an annoyed moan. He dropped Hiccup's metal leg down by his remaining foot and the chief's son smiled, amused. Yrsa tilted her head, giving the Night Fury a tender scratch. "It's okay bud," Hiccup said as she did, scratching under the dragon's chin as well. "I like the enthusiasm."

A fresh bout of worry flooded Yrsa as she thought about Helrose. Was she okay? Was she in trouble? Her hand froze and she pursed her lips, meeting Hiccup's gaze with slight welled-up eyes. He fixed his foot back on and pulled himself up onto Toothless's saddle. He nodded to her, and then turned to the others. "You guys stay here in case they come back. Toothless and I are gonna look for them from above."

They set off, and the remaining group of Dragon Riders continued on. Yrsa attatched herself to Astrid's side, as per usual.

"Oh, I hope they're okay," whimpered Fishlegs. "Meatlug and stress━they do not go well!"

"We'll find them," Yrsa said, though she wasn't sure who she was reassuring━them or herself. "They can't have gone far..."

"Oh, no, reptiles with big wings, no, they couldn't have gone far at all!" Snotlout muttered and Astrid whacked him over the head. "Ow!"

Their feet skidded to a stop to hear another rustle and roar; but this time, it came from behind. Tuffnut frowned. "Wow, that was quick..."

But Yrsa had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Um ... I don't think it's Hiccup and Toothless ..."

The bushes parted, and out forth leapt a while, puprle Thunderdrum. It growled at them, and they all screamed. Running for cover, Yrsa heard Fishlegs pray to Thor━behind them, the dragon charged up power for a mighty roar.

They ducked behind the nearest boulders just in time, cupping their hands over their ears as the Thunderdrum let loose a sound blast that would have knocked their heads clean from their shoulders if they had been closer.

Up above, purple sonic blasts sent the Thunderdrum running, but Yrsa barely heard them━all she could hear was the constant ringing in her ears, like the Thunderdrum was still roaring in the distance.

She poked her head up from behind the rock as Hiccup and Toothless landed. He hopped off the saddle, and the others met him in the middle. Yrsa tugged at her ear, hoping the ringing would go away.

"ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO DRAW TO US?!" Snotlout shouted, barely able to hear himself over the ringing. "CHANGEWING? OOOH! SCREAMING DEATH, MAYBE? I'M SURE THERE ARE ONE OF THOSE AROUND HERE!"

Hiccup and Toothless winced at the yelling. "Snotlout! You're yelling very loudly!"

"OH, REALLY? I CAN BARELY HEAR MYSELF! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET ATTACKED BY A WILD THUNDERDRUM!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He said something, but Yrsa couldn't hear it past the ringing. She frowned, tilting her ears towards him and Hiccup sighed. Stamping his foot, he shouted (and Toothless reared his head back in alarm), "I SAID I'M GOING BACK OUT THERE!"

"NO━!", "━NO, YOU'RE NOT━!", "━GET BACK HERE━!", "I WILL TAKE YOUR OTHER LEG!"

"NO WAY, HICCUP!" shouted Astrid and Yrsa nodded at her. "YOU ARE NOT LEAVING US ALONE!"

"YEAH!" added Yrsa. "WE'RE DRAGONLESS AND WE'RE DEFENCELESS!"

"AND," went on Ruffnut, "WE CAN ONLY COMMUNICATE BY YELLING!"

"WHICH━" her brother held up his finger, "━WHILE QUITE ENJOYABLE, IS NOT VERY STEALTHY!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, leaning towards Hiccup who stepped back, wincing yet again at the loud noise. "ARE YOU HEARING ANY OF THIS?!"

Hiccup mumbled something. Realising they didn't hear, he gritted his teeth and repeated, "I SAID WE'LL ALL GO TOGETHER!"

(Ouch, that was loud...)

Tuffnut massaged his ear, frowning incredulously at Hiccup. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO? JEEZ!"

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

THE FURTHER they walked, the creepier the island grew. The beautiful trees were soon clouded in fog; there were no birds chirping in the branches here, the sun barely reached through the leaves ... it made them all nervous. The only good thing to happen was that Yrsa could hear herself again without any distant ringing. She tugged at her ear, still frowning in annoyance. The bad part about it, was that she could hear Snotlout and Fishlegs's constant whining.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Fishlegs was whimpering and Yrsa pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I know, Fishlegs," Hiccup murmured in reply. "No longer amazing."

"Wow..." let out Yrsa, sarcasm lacing her tone. "What gave you that idea?"

Astrid managed a small snicker beside her as Hiccup threw a look over his shoulder.

"Can we get a vote for creepy and weird?" offered Snotlout. They all shot their hands up.

They reached the edge of the creepy forest, and the humour fell away as they saw what stood before them. A gasp echoed through the group. Yrsa's stomach churned.

"Are━are those what I think they are?"

A mountain of dragon bones━Deadly Nadders, Devilish Dervishes, Monstrous Nightmares, Gronckles, Zipplebacks and many more, far too many species to count━rose up high above them. An open burial ground. Yrsa felt sick. Seeing the Dervish skulls, she couldn't help but see Helrose, and her knees grew weak.

"Oh, gods," she let out. "Yes, Fishlegs, they are..."

"Weirdly-shaped white rocks?" Tuffnut frowned.

Hiccup shook his head, ashen. "Dragon bones."

"Ah!" nodded Tuff. "A boneyard. Yes, I like it━" they all turned to scowl at him and he realised. Quickly double-taking, he gave them all a nervous smile. "I don't like it."

Toothless prowled up to the bones, a growl shaking from the back of his throat. Astrid spotted something on the ground. She reached down to pick it up, "What is this stuff?" she turned to Hiccup, Yrsa and Fishlegs, who usually had all the answers, but they shrugged, clueless.

"No idea."

Further into the boulder mountains echoed a distressed roar that shook the ground at their feet more than the Thunderdrum.

"Okay," Snotlout shrunk up, eyeing the direction of the sound, "what was that?"

"That, my friend," said Fishlegs, "is a dragon in trouble."

Toothless led the way towards the dragon and the others wasted no time in following. Yrsa's heart was in her throat, and she pushed her legs to run faster. She knew Helrose's call, and that wasn't her, but it didn't make her feel any better. They darted into the rocky mountain-scape, passing through the caverns. The roars grew louder; they were getting closer. Yrsa hoped that these roars didn't mean that their dragons were also in danger, but if they were ... (She ran even faster).

Reaching the end of the cavern, they stepped out into a cove of moss-covered rocks. All around them, dragons were frozen━stuck in cocoons of amber. Those who were able to, moved their heads miserably, calling out for help. Yrsa searched for Helrose amongst them, but couldn't find her anywhere.

Yrsa walked up to Hiccup's side, heart pounding. She didn't even realise she did it, but she reached for his hand in the security of being out of the others' views. She held it tight to quench her nerves, and he squeezed her fingers as if to say, I know. It's going to be okay. He didn't let go afterwards.

"You guys do know what's going on here, don't you?" at Tuff's voice, Yrsa let go like she had been burnt. She held her hands around her stomach, not meeting Hiccup's gaze.

Fishlegs nodded from Tuff's side, peering into the cove. "Yeah," he said. "Something is trapping the dragons in this amber rock subtance and immobilising them."

"Oh. Oh, I had a completely different idea that involved oily fish and bad mutton."

"Then it's breaking them out and━and eating them," Fishlegs whimpered. "Oh, Thor━oh, Thor."

"Ah, come on," scoffed Ruffnut. "Who would be doing that?"

The screech made them all jump. Astrid reached up for her axe━from above, a dragon Yrsa has never seen before dived down onto the rocks. When it landed, she saw that it must be at least three times the size of a large Stoker class dragon, with wings the colour of yellow and burnt orange, patterned with blue and purple. Hiccup pulled her down beside him in the cover of a set of rocks while the others hid behind a group of boulders. Yrsa gazed up at the dragon with a mixture of fear and awe.

"How about that guy?" pointed Ruffnut. "Yeah, he looks supsect to me━" Fishlegs smacked his hand over her mouth, pulling her down before the dragon could see them.

Yrsa helped Hiccup in keeping Toothless still, tugging onto his saddle and dragging her feet in the dirt as he growled at the humongous dragon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw it snatch up a Terrible Terror encased in amber marble with its teeth and soared back off, the poor dragon in its clutches crying out. Before it left, it roared the same melodical hum Yrsa had heard stepping onto this island, and she realised with a sick stomach that it had been this dragon the entire time.

Toothless's eyes narrowed into slits and he went to go after the dragon, as if entranced. Yrsa gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, desperately pulling him back with Hiccup. "No!" she whispered. "No, Toothless━no, bud!"

Hiccup glanced up at the others who shuffled from the rocks they hid behind. "It's the sound," he said. "That song━that's what draws the dragons in."

"What drew our dragins in..." murmured Yrsa, holding onto Toothless now for reassurance and comfort instead of keeping him grounded.

Fishlegs suddenly gasped. "Songwing!"

Astrid frowned at him. "What?"

"That's what we should name it!"

Hiccup sent the group an annoyed glare. "Now? Really?! You want to name it now?!"

"We need to call it something!"

"I know what we should call it," snapped Yrsa. "It Ate Fishlegs For Focusing On A Stupid Name Instead Of Saving Our Dragons!"

Hiccup held a hand up to her to calm down. She scoffed and turned back to Toothless. Meanwhile, Tuffnut was shaking his head. "Yeah, I don't really like that name," he disagreed with her words. Yrsa clenched her fingers. "I'm thinking Deathsong might be more appropiate." His sister nodded in approval. "You know, 'cause you hear the song, you're dead."

Astrid face-palmed.

Hiccup went to argue, but stopped, "Tell you what, he makes a pretty good point."

"Yeah, I do━" realising he complimented him, Tuff jumped back, started. "Wait, what was it again?"

"Oh, my gods!" Yrsa stood up, over all of them. "It doesn't matter what we call it! If it's doing it to all these dragons, then it probably did it to ours!"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, but no one argued.

"We have to find them," cried Fishlegs.

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah; fast."

Breaking out into a run again, the Dragon Riders searched the cove of downed dragons for their dear companions. Yrsa checked every Dervish, but so far, came up unlucky. "Helrose!" she called. "Helrose━where are you, girl?!"

"Hookfang?!" Snoltout wasn't far behind her. "HOOKFANG!"

"Snotlout!" Astrid rushed towards a red Monstrous Nightmare stuck amongst the amber. The saddle on his neck told them all it was Hookfang. "Look!"

He spun around and gasped, "Hooky!" he blubbered, running to his dragon and dropping to his knees. He held his snout to his chest, "I am geting you out of there, Fangster!"

"Astrid, I've got Stormfly!" Fishlegs called from up on one of the ledges, doing his best to tug the Deadly Nadder from the cocoon.

"Yrs━over here!" Hiccup had found Helrose, trying to calm her with a stroke down her snout. Yrsa stumbled a little in her desperation to reach her dragon, searching the cocoon for any weak spot━any nook she could smash with her axe.

"It's okay, girl," she replaced Hiccup's plam with her own and Helrose closed her eyes, moaning in discomfort. "It's okay━I'm going to get you out of here, I promise."

Toothless tried to help her, wrapping his teeth around one of the lumps of cocoon and trying to bite it away. His teeth made no damage. They were too scared to fire, not wanting to hurt Helrose inside. Yrsa tugged and tugged, trying to stay calm with the lump in her throat.

The roar of the Deathsong returned and Yrsa gasped. Toothless shot up, and his face contorted with anger. Before she or Hiccup could top him, he dashed to the rocks to face the dragon. "Toothless, no━!" he ignored them, readying himself on all four legs and growling at the descending Deathsong three times his size.

He shot a plasma blast at the dragon and it stumbled at the impact, but kept its ground. With a snarl, it shot a burst of maple casing━like the cocoons━instead of flame, and it hit Toothless around the torso as he tried to get away.

Hiccup's face fell. "Toothless!"

Yrsa's heart dropped, but she stayed at Helrose's side while Hiccup raced after his dragon, pointing back at the rest of them. "You guys, get your dragons free now!"

They were in a frenzy to free their dragons━pulling at the sap, whacking anything they could. Yrsa pulled and kicked at the amber that encased her dragon. One by one, they were taken out. The Deathsong shot amber sap at Fishlegs first, freezing him up inside and falling to the ground. The Twins were stuck in the same cocoon, Snotlout was spread starfish agianst his dragon, Astrid threw herself over Stormfly in her best attempt to protect her, getting stuck, too.

"I━I can't move!" cried Fishlegs. "I'm totally stuck!"

Yrsa ducked out of the way of the blast the Deathsong sent to her, rolling along the grass. She quickly broke out into a run towards Hiccup who was still desperately trying to get Toothless free.

"Me too!" shouted Snotlout. "I can't believe that thing got me! I'm usually so limber."

Even now, Astrid managed, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Yeah?" Tuffnut turned his head as much as he could over his shoulder. "Well, at least you got your own cocoon."

His sister glared at him. "Oh, yeah, like this is a picnic for me━" she shoved backwards and with identical cries, the Twins fell down onto their backs like bugs stuck in a spider trap.

The Deathsong turned onto Hiccup and Yrsa pushed herself to run faster, "Hiccup━no━!" she tried to warn him, but it was too late. The Deathsong fired and Yrsa could think of nothing else to do but to throw herself at him, pushing her best friend to the ground to be hit instead.

Her skin seared with heat for a fee seconds before it cooled down, and she could no longer move. Hitting the grass, she growled in frustration, trying to yank her arms free of the amber substance━but it was like she was frozen within ice.

Hiccup scrambled to get up, "No━Yrsa!" he went to run to her, but she shouted:

"No, get out of here!" he didn't want to, but at the cry of the Deathsong, he knew he had no choice. He had to find a way to get them out, and Yrsa knew he undersood that there was no way he would be able to cocooned like the rest of them.

He gritted his teeth. Meeting Yrsa's eyes, he said, "I'm coming back."

With that said, he sprinted off back through the rocks and cliffs, narrowly missing fire from the Deathsong. Yrsa watched him leave, whispering a, "I know," even though she knew he wouldn't be able to hear.

They lied there in silence for a few seconds, not speaking a word to one another. There were some grunts as they tried to escape, but they knew it was no use. Yrsa just kept her gaze flickering around as far as she could, waiting for Hiccup to return. The Deathsong was yet to come back, and she hoped to the gods he outran it.

When someone did start speaking, it was Snotlout (of course, why would you be surprised?)━and to nobody's shock, he complained, "Gah! Where's Hiccup? I knew he'd leave us. I have to pee."

"Hiccup didn't leave us," stated Yrsa. "He'll be back."

Astrid struggled a few yards away, "If I could just reach my knife━"

"It wouldn't matter, Astrid," sighed Fishlegs. "Whatever this is, it's really strong. I don't think we can cut through it."

"If we can't cut it," grumbled Snotlout, "then how do we get out of here?!"

"Yeah!" agreed Tuffnut, stuck on his side next to his sister above, her hair dangling in his face. "You can't tell me my last breath is gonna be inhaling her stinky fish hair."

"Oh, yeah, that's real origial," Ruff scoffed back. "You know what? I hope it eats you first. At least I'll have something cool to watch before I die."

"You just stay on your side of the cocoon, missy━WHOA!"

Something rammed them head on━or someone━making them tumble across the dirt and lay back flat. "Whoa!" Tuffnut laughed. "What's going on? Do it again!"

Yrsa strained her neck to look over and breathed a grin to see Hiccup frowning fromt he top of the wild Thunderdrum they had encountered earlier. "Okay," he said, "so that's a negative on plan 'A'━Ramming the cocoon open."

"Please tell me you have a plan 'B'," growled Astrid.

"If it involves cutting, ramming or ripping," squeaked Fishlegs, you might as well forget it, Hiccup. Once it cools down, this stuff is hard as any rock I've ever seen."

This struck an idea within the chief's son and he sat back, "Cools down?"

"And hardens."

Soon, there was a slight grin on his face, "Nobody move," he said and Yrsa scowled.

"Oh, yeah, that's funny," grumbled Tuffnut. "A real comedian."

Hiccup just ignored him and rushed to Snotlout. He screeched, wondering what the Hel he was doing until he just grabbed his saddle bag from beside him and pulled out his clay pot of Monstrous Nightmare gel.

"Wait, Hiccup━" Astrid's eyes widened. "Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?"

"Just trust me," he told her and started to pour it all over their cocoons. He started with Snotlout and Hookfang, smearing it along the amber before conecting it along the ground to Fishlegs and Meatlug. Then the Twins, after that was Astrid, and to Helrose who purred, nervous━Hiccup gave her a gentle rub. Finally, Hiccup reached Toothless and Yrsa, scratching his dragon's head in passing as he poured it up and over, then down next to Yrsa.

As he smeared it along her shoulders, she muttered, "If you burn us alive, I'll definitely haunt you."

"You'll be fine," he told her.

"I'll be burnt."

Hiccup just smiled. She narrowed her eyes━he was a smug tease, sometimes. It should infuriate her, but instead it just calmed her down. She hated that.

He finished the chain of Monstrous Nightmare gel back by Snotlout, pouring it all across his chest.

Snotlout glared at him. "What are you doing, Hiccup?"

"Just trust me, Snotlout."

"Says the man who's about to set me on fire?"

"You said it only stings a little."

"I was lying. You know I'm a liar!"

"It'll be okay, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "I promise."

"It'll be okay, Snotlout, I promised," he mimicked under his breath as Hiccup left him there. Up above, the Deathsong returned with his melodic roar. The dragon landed on the highest rock above them, gazing down for his next pray. Snotlout hitched his breath to stop his scream and played dead, sticking his tongue out. Yrsa let out a grumble of annoyance. Idiot.

The Deathsong landed behind Fishlegs and he froze up, trying to hide his usual whimpers but instead let out a high-pitched whistle━sounding like boiling water upon a fire. The large, bright orange and yellow dragon sniffed around, before picking up a blue-scaled Gronckle and soaring back into the air.

As soon as it was gone, Fishlegs shrieked: "Hurry up, Hiccup! He just took the appetiser. I think I'm the main course!" he struggled and the amber broke between him and Meatlug, sending him to his back like a frenzied ant. "Oh, Thor━Oh, Thor!"

"Fishlegs, relax!" snapped Yrsa, her frustration getting the best of her. "It could take hours for him to eat that dragon━" her mouth fell shut as the melodic roar echoed again across the fields. The shadow of the dragon hovered over her, and she winced.

It sailed back down near Fishlegs and he screached, "Or minutes━HELP!"

The dragon landed right over him. Fishlegs gulped like he was taking a deep breath of air before heading underwater. He stared right up at the dragon's horned snout, and tried to stay in his its blindspot, shuffling around in the dirt. The Deathsong tilted his head until Fishlegs returned to face right up and laughed out a nervous, "Hi, sir ..."

The Deathsong snarled. Fishlegs screamed. He might've been snatched up if it weren't for Hicucp and his new Thunderdrum friend sending a sonic blast that caught the dragon's attention. "Hey!" he shouted down. "Remember us?!"

The dragon roared and shot up to them. Hiccup grinned and swooped up and around, diving the Thunderdrum down and leaping off its bare back. He landed against the Monstrous Nightmare gel with the metal of his Gronckle Iron shield, sparking it alight. The flames travelled all the way across, and over the smeared places of gel against the amber on the dragons and Riders. When it reached Yrsa, she winced and closed her eyes, rearing her head away from the heat, but when it died down, and the amber warmed up, she gasped in delight when she coudl finally kick herself free. She stood up, shaking the rest off.

"It's working!" she cried out.

As soon as Helrose was free, she bounded towards Yrsa and almost barrled her back over onto Toothless. But the Night Fury was also estatic to be free and kept her up with a excited nudge to her back. Yrsa laughed, wrapping both of them close. "Oh━yes━yes, I know━I'm glad you guys are okay━I was so worried━whoa━!"

Another body joined them. Hiccup threw his arms over Toothless, chuckling in his relief, "Hey, bud, good to see you!" Helrose nudged him and he grinned up at Yrsa's dragon. "You, too━" he gave her a scratch under the chin. Yrsa felt her heart grow warm like she had been doused in Monstrous Nightmare gel all over again.

The roars above interrupted their moment. Yrsa frowned up at the Thunderdrum taking on the Deathsong, raring back his wings with a deafening scream. Hiccup scowled━she knew that look.

He met her gaze, "Lead the others off the island, I'll meet up with you."

Yrsa was about to argue, but a second roar caught them off guard. It wasn't full-grown━a squawk like the sound of a baby ... a baby she knew the roar of a thousand times over. Glancing over, her eyes widened to see a young Thunderdrum struggling in the amber, trying to reach the purple, grown one above.

Hiccup's shoulders slumped in realisation. "It's an adolescent Thunderdrum. No wonder he stuck around..." There was a new change of plans━Yrsa knew it immediately.

She hoisted herself up onto her saddle. "I'll get the Thunderdrum. You handle the Deathsong."

Hiccup nodded.

They split up. Yrsa grabbed the baby Thunderdrum with a gentle flame from Helrose━it was strong enough to melt the amber enough without hurting the blue dragon. She snatched him up under her arm and he squawked painfully in her ear. But she ignored it and took to the sky with the others while Hiccup and Toothless ascended the opposite way━quicker than a blur in the sky.

With the melting amber, the adolescent Thunderdrum was freed completely in no time. They met back up with Hiccup after he took care of the Deathsong, locking the dragon inside one of the mountain caves.

The Thunderdrums' reunion was sweet to the point it melted away at Yrsa's heart. She managed a small smile at the two dragons as they bobbed their heads and nuzzled hteir snouts. She guided Helrose to hover next to Hiccup, happy he and Toothless were okay.

Hiccup had a smile on his face, too. "If I were you two," he told the dragons, "I'd maybe find another island. I don't know how long that's gonna hold."

Tuff frowned at him from Belch's saddle. "Uh ... you know they can't hear you, right?"

The chief's son rolled his eyes, "Yes, Tuff, I know. Let's just get out of here."

Together, the Dragon Riders soared back out towards the horizon, leaving the island and the Deathsong far behind them.

They spent a few minutes in the air before Hiccup sighed and said, "Hey, gang, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you all into this. If you want to turn back━"

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Are you kidding?"

"No way!" added Ruff in passing.

"This is the most fun we've had in years," said Snotlout.

Yrsa nodded, agreeing. Then, she said, "But there is one thing we need to do, though." Hiccup arched a brow at her, all ears. "We need an island, our own island."

"Yrsa is right, Hiccup," said Fishlegs, pulling Meatlug up net to her. "We're way too far out to travel back and forth to Berk."

Hiccup thought about this; he soon smirked, liking the idea. "What we need is a base of operations."

"Exactly. But this time, we don't let the dragons pick it━" Meatlug snarled at him and Fishlegs scratched her behind the ears, "━sorry, girl, it had to be said."

"All right, Snotlout," Hiccup turned to the Jorgenson, "you're the man of the hour for bringing the Monstrous Nightmare gel. You choose."

Snotlout's eyes widened, taken aback, "Wait, seriously?"

Hiccup grinned, "Yeah, seriously!"

Snotlout smirked, smug. He puffed out his chest and called out, "All right! What do you say, Fangster?" the dragon roared in reply and he laughed. "Ha! Couldn't agree more━into the great beyond!"

"The great beyond!"

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     a/n: here I am, publishing this when I should be working on other books lol oh well. Hope you liked it!!! pls don't me mad at yrsa, she's gonna go thru character development to reach the way she is in httyd 2 I promise.

      hiccup and yrsa headcannons anyone?