𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter fourteen; yrsa
❝ her best friend! ❞

    AT FIRST glance, Dragon's Edge seemed peaceful. Quiet and beautiful, and not at all unusual in any way. Stunning in the early morning, right before the sun was to rise from the depths of the ocean. Where the only lights seen were that of Typhoomerangs in their caves by the vast mountains, the slight glow from the dormant centre volcano and the light distant down in amongst the centre of the shore. A small outpost filled with wooden walks, ladders, huts and watchtowers. A stable to the left, an arena in the centre and even a rock garden outside the secluded second home of Fishlegs Ingerman.

     But what made it unusual wasn't the place itself.

    It was the Vikings that resided on it.

    "RUFF! TUFF!"

    And yes, they were about the most unusual, unusual Vikings any unusual Viking might ever meet. 

     In through the open door of the arena in the very early hours of the morning, Yrsa Olofsdottor stormed a ferocious storm, knowing exactly what she was here to do. Bangs a little wind-blown from being out on patrol and the rest of her wild, black curls pulled up off her face into an elegant twist of many dangling braids down her back, the snobby (and a bit crazy) female Viking pointed a stern finger the way of two blonde Twins. Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston ... and yes, sometimes even they couldn't always tell who was who, even if they were completely different genders. 

     They held out a stick together towards a small, dark dragon━a species they call Night Terror━who was supposed to be on sentry guard in the towers with the rest of his friends here, instead, at the arena. And, of course, Yrsa was not happy. 

    "What are you two doing?!" she demanded, livid.

     As usual, the Twins snickered at her reaction, hoping for very much this result. 

    "What does it look like we're doing?" smirked Ruffnut, flicking a long braid over her shoulder. "Dragon training!"

     Yrsa, exasperated, turned to the other three in attendance: Astrid Hofferson, her very best━and the very most stunning blonde and blue-eyed━shield maiden with a slight tide of anger issues; Snotlout Jorgenson, her other very best━and unusual━menace (friend) that none of them ever expected her to be so close with, watching on with an amused smirk upon his face; and Fishlegs Ingerman, a pudgy Viking who most of the time could be seen with his large, round nose in any book he could find. Neither one seemed to have been doing anything to stop it, and in fact, looked like they were enjoying it.

     "Seriously, guys?" Yrsa waved her arms around, getting rather wound up over it all. 

     "What?" Snotlout rebutted, crossing his arms. "The tricks are funny!"

     "Oh, I'll show you what's funny in a moment━!"

     At the sound of Snotlout squealing in terror, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third knew he had to step in before things got too far. The son of Chief Stoick the Vast ran into the arena with his Night Fury, Toothless and Yrsa's Devilish Dervish, Helrose in tow, skidding to a stop with a disappointed (but not surprised) sigh at the sight of Snotlout and Yrsa struggling in each other's holds as they tried to attack each other's faces. Astrid had already given up, face-palming and shaking her head. 

     "Okay, okay, okay!" let out Hiccup, and immediately, both Yrsa and Snotlout froze, glancing over at him like two scolded children. Yrsa pushed her friend away from her, spending the next few seconds fixing her bangs and her skirt. She cleared her throat, recovering her regal stance. Snotlout massaged his jaw, giving her a scowl. He reached out to try and get a final slap to which she sent one of her own right after. "Ow!" He cried, clutching his shoulder. 

     Yrsa smiled to herself, very proud. But that disappeared as she remembered why she was angry in the first place, and so she pointed at the Twins, "That is not dragon training!" she told them. 

     Tuffnut gasped at her with horror, picking up the Night Terror protectively, "How dare you! You would think that you━of all people━would recognise that this is, in fact, dragon training!"

     Hiccup sighed again. Yrsa watched him cross his arms and pinch the bridge of his nose. "How would it be dragon training, Tuff?"

     The younger Twin sniffed idigiantly, "Prepare to be amazed, my friend!" He then grinned at the small dragon in his hands. "Okay, ready, little guy?" The Night Terror chirped happily in response. 

     He set the dragon down onto the stone arena floor. Yrsa crossed her arms, not impressed already. But she stayed quiet as the dragon turned to Tuffnut and he declared, "Shake!"

    At his words, the Night Terror dropped down onto his back and began to shriek and squirm. Yrsa threw her head back, not sure whether she had just died from her frustration and anger. Tuffnut laughed at his trick, "Right?!" he did not see the looks on Yrsa and Hiccup's faces. Or if he did, he did not register the incredulous and annoyed expressions they shared. "See, you thought it'd be a handshake, he'd put out his little paw, but I taught him━"

     "Oh, no, no, no, no," Hiccup cut him off, "no, we understand. I'm just not sure how usefull a skill that is."

     "Well, that's not all he does! You wanna see him get my slippers?"

     "These dragons our not our pets, Tuffnut," snapped Yrsa. Hiccup propped his hands on his hips, in agreeance with her. "They're an integral part of our security system."

     "He can also solve math problems by stomping his foot!" went on Tuffnut as Ruffnut wrestled for the branch they had for some reason with the Night Terror. Tuff then backtracked, "Well, as long as the answer is always three..."

     "She has a point, Tuffnut," said Hiccup and Yrsa titled up her head, very smug. He bent down to pick up the Night Terror. Ruffnut scowled, unhappy that her tug-a-war match had come to an end. "And you have a pet already━" he nodded back to Chicken who had been watching the whole exchange moodily from the back. She crowed and ruffled her feathers, not at all happy.

     Tuffnut stared at her, before shrugging, "Eh."

     "Ugh," Astrid's gaze shot to the heavens. "Look, funs over, Tuffnut. Dagur could park a whole fleet right offshore and we wouldn't even know they were there because the Night Terrors aren't on their perches."

     "Lighten up, Astrid," scoffed Snotlout, still massaging many growing bruises. "Dagur doesn't even know where Dragon's Edge is."

    "Not yet," Yrsa was at her side, defending her best friend fiercly. "But if you guys don't start to take these things seriously, he will soon enough." She pointed at his chest a few times to prove her point. 

     Snotlout smacked her finger away, "I say: bring it on! Let him bring that weak sauce in here! Hookfang and I will pummel his deranged butt." Hookfang screeched helpfully behind him. 

     "I'll pummul your deranged butt," retorted Yrsa, pointing at him again.

     "Do it," Snotlout countered, and she fumed. They had a complicated friendship, but all of Yrsa's friendship's were complicated. The fact that Snotlout even argued with her with no fear showed just how close their friendship had become so quickly. "You don't have the guts."

      Yrsa lowered her voice dangerously. Hiccup went back to pinching the bridge of his nose. "Watch your back, Snotface, because you'll have this to deal with━" she went to pull at his growing chest hair poking out of the tips of his tunic when a loud screech made both of them scream, ducking as a Terrible Terror shot overhead. 

      Everyone darted and dived out of the way of Sharpshot, Hiccup's tempermental Terrible Terror he trained three years ago to send to and fro mail. Snotlout ended up getting to all fours, screaming and covering his ears only for Fishlegs to recieve the hit. 

     Sharpshot attached himself to the pudgy Viking's face and he let out a muffled squeal as he hit the ground. There was silence. Everyone glanced up from their hiding spots, wincing in sync. Carefully, they tip toed up to their friend to check whether he was okay with Sharpshot squirming and licking his face.

     "Oh dear," they heard Fishlegs say meekly. 

     Ruffnut snickered.

     Fishlegs pushed himself to sit up, tugging the Terrible Terror away as he started to chew at his nose. Nose red, he picked the scroll away from Sharpshot's foot, letting him settle on his shoulder.

     "What is it?" asked Hiccup as Fishlegs unrolled it. The anticipating smile on his face to hear of news from their home faltered to see the fall of Fishlegs's face. "What?" He said again. "Fishlegs, what is it?"

     Their friend glanced up to meet their gazes, suddenly very white. "It's Berk. And it's not good."

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    YRSA WISHED they could return home on better terms. She wished she'd arrive into the Berkian waters and see the home she grew up in never in such a state ever again. It took a whole days flight to get back to Berk, mainly because neither of them wanted to waste a moment. And as they all arrived, seeing the horizon of their home in the distance filled with smoke and patches of debris, each and every one of their hearts fell into their stomachs. 

     Her eyes searched for her home, heart pounding to think that maybe ... maybe it was one of the ones nothing more than just rubble━completely destroyed. Yrsa's breath hitched at the thought, and she glanced up to meet Astrid's gaze. Her best friend sent her a small, reassuring smile to tell her, your mum's going to be okay. Yrsa needed that. 

     The sound of a Rumblehorn's growl drew their attention forwards where Stoick the Vast, chieftan of the tribe flew up to meet them on Skullcrusher, his new dragon he bonded with after the mighty creature terrorised the Edge in order to save them from a great tsunami. Under a mass of red, burly curls, Stoick did not look pleased━he was grave, as ashen as the destruction around them. 

    "Son!" he called to Hiccup who led the group. "I'm glad you're here."

    "Who did this?" demanded the chief's son, already livid. "Dagur?"

    At Stoick's nod, Hiccup's glare hardened. He clenched his jaw. Yrsa's grip on her saddle handles tightened. "It was a hit-and-run attack," said the chief. "Catapults and volleys of fire arrows mostly. Hit a few buildings in town." His gaze hesitated onto Astrid, and the blonde frowned, confused. "Astrid," his voice had turned gentle. Her frown lifted, worried, "one of them was your parents' house." Her eyes widened. Yrsa stiffened, her stomach twisting for a friend as her cheeks paled by the second. "You should probably head over to━"

     Astrid didn't need to be told twice. Before anyone could see the distressed tears in her eyes, the blonde dived Stormfly down to the wreckage in the main plaza homes. Yrsa followed her, not wanting her to be alone. She could see the debris from here━standing alone. All of the years, Astrid's childhood ... burnt to nothing but ash, jagged stone and burnt timber. 

     She leapt off her saddle before Stormfly had even settled completely on the ground. Astrid's feet hit the stone pounding. She ran to her destroyed home, breath hitching into a tearful choke at the sight. Yrsa's nose stung with smoke, but she pushed through it to land beside Stormfly. On her other side, Hiccup joined her just seconds after, but she paid little attention, her gaze fixed on her best friend who searched the rubble━fearing the worst.

     But Gobber hobbled over, covered in ash and lugging a half-full bucket of water. He gave her a breath of relief when he said, "Relax, lass. Your parents are fine. They were out at the yak races. I'm sorry we couldn't save your house."

     Astrid was trembling. Yrsa could see it in how hard she clenched her fists. Despite this wonderful news, she was trying very hard not to cry. But Yrsa knew her━she knew she was on the very verge, but refused to let herself fall apart with all of them around. She managed a strained, "I━If they had been home, Gobber━"

    "But they weren't," he rubbed her shoulder. She didn't look at him; eyes distant and glassy towards the broken wooden supports of her front doorstep. "It'll be all right, lass. We'll get this place rebuilt good as new."

     Astrid nodded numbly. Gobber pursed his lips, but left her there. Not a second later, Astrid spun on her heel and stormed off. Stormfly blinked after her, squawking lowly and ruffling her wings in worry. Glancing back at the others, she started off to follow her rider.

     Yrsa's brows knitted together. The smoke was heavy in the air, but that wasn't why she was finding it hard to breathe. She met Hiccup's gaze, and he nodded, knowing exactly what she was going to do. Slipping off her saddle and letting Hiccup take Helrose with him to help rebuild, Yrsa followed Astrid as well, having a feeling she knew exactly where her friend had marched off to. 

     She retraced the steps she knew like the back of her hand━all the way from their younger days. A pathway as old as their friendship, and Yrsa could walk it with her eyes closed, her feet missing and even her knees. 

     Yrsa wasn't surprised when she saw Astrid sitting down, hunched over with her head in between her knees, alone sitting on the catapult ledge. Stormfly nervously watched her from beneath, testing whether to head up or stay down, and so Yrsa placed her hand on her flank, whispering, "I got this girl, it's okay."

     With that said, she started to climb up, following the little drawings and initials they've scratched into the wood over the years. Yrsa continued to climb until she reached the top and stepped up onto the planks. Astrid didn't move or look up, but she knew she had sat down beside her, because as soon as she did, Yrsa saw her shake as she broke out into a sob. Not thinking, Yrsa shuffled in closer and wrapped an arm around her best friend's shoulder, pulling her into her chest. Astrid hid her face into the crook of her neck, sobbing with no one watching. 

     Yrsa didn't say anything, just sat her forehead amongst her best friend's blonde hair. She could see the first engraving they intched into the stone all the way back when they were nine. Yrsa had been terrified she'd lose Astrid as a friend, because one of the older kids had called her crazy and unnatural━and it wasn't just because of her father's belief, but because of the colour of her skin, too. Yrsa had never experienced something like that until then, and she had decided that the best thing to do was try and push Astrid away in order to keep her safe from being hurt by association. Instead of letting her, Astrid━as stubborn as ever━had grabbed her knife and scratched into the spot they first met: Astrid and Yrsa will be best friends forever, even in Valhalla. And since it was set in stone, it will always be true. 

     Astrid has always been there for Yrsa, and despite being not at all easy, and possibly quite mean sometimes, and constantly a pain in the back of somebody, Yrsa was determined to always be there for Astrid, too. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     YRSA STAYED with Astrid until she was ready to head back and spend much needed time with her parents. She was going to wait for her and head down to the Academy to meet the others, but Yrsa's thoughts strayed, and so did her feet. Before she knew it, she had travelled back home━her house was still standing, thank the gods. If she had seen it shattered like others, left to nothing but debris, Yrsa didn't know how she'd be. If she lost the house of her father's memories ... it would've been worse than anything she's experienced. 

      Her mother was out helping the village rebuild, and Yrsa knew she should be there. She should be with her mother, much like how her friends were spending time with their family, but her feet didn't take her there. They took her back home for one, single reason.

     Yrsa didn't step into her home, but instead climbed the stone fence into the back. Helrose waited for her, cooing in concern at her rider's sudden actions. She stopped exacty where she knew she would, her gaze fixed on the stables━a place that used to be her father's workshop. Yrsa ... Yrsa rarely enters it if she didn't have to. In fact, Helrose never slept in there. Her mother had decided to refurbish it to move on after all these years, but that didn't mean Yrsa let herself separate from what happened. Most of it was still inside anyway. His tools, his writings, his books and his stories, and the last thing he had been working on ... and never finished. 

      She was relieved to see it was still standing. That and her father's grave━the only grave on Berk, situated behind their house with fresh flowers every morning that her mother left. Her father didn't believe in the Norse gods, he didn't believe in being sent off to Valhalla. He wanted to be buried into the earth he made things from, that they grew their food. He wanted to be apart of the land they originated, as he always said. And so they had done just that. Yrsa remembered the very day, standing by it with the ground and dirt fresh, barely able to breathe through her tears. 

        Yrsa gravitated towards the workshop. She told herself: no, but she didn't stop. Her feet reached the threshold and ignoring Helrose's whine, pushed the door open. It creaked and dust stung up her nose, making her cough. 

      She remembered being young; little and lively━by far more cheerful and kind than she was today. No one could do any wrong to little, gentle and happy Yrsa Olofsdotter. The world was filled with butterflies and everyone had a heart of pure gold. She had been naive, and stupid. Yrsa learnt an important lesson the day her father died━that no one was good, and perfect, and kind. Everyone had a dark side, and the world and gods were not kind things. Vikings that Yrsa lived with━that she might even know━killed her father and left him on that fishing boat, bloated and bloody, blaming dragons for their sinful actions; left him there for little Yrsa Olofsdotter to find after she went looking for him. There was no mercy and kindness within the people who had done that. 

     She remembered being young and walking into this workshop. She almost heard the anvil and the sound of her father scraping away at his creations. Yrsa's ears piqued, for some reason hopeful after all these years, only to realise she was stupid. Her footsteps followed those of her younger self deeper and deeper into the workshop, feeling her heart grow heavy and her throat close up so much it began to hurt. Yrsa's breath hitched when she reached it: his table, and there it sat, his last creation ... not even finished. It would seem like nothing, but for Yrsa, it was everything. A small dagger in an old, leather-bound hilt not properly tightened or enrgaved. Her father's bare work━his raw work. His raw self. Left sitting there, gathering dust after years, not once touched or disturbed, as if waiting for him to return and finally finish it. 

     Seeing it, Yrsa grew tearful. 

     What was she even doing here? She should've waited for Astrid. This was the worst decision ever, but she just━seeing the rubble, and her best friend's destroyed home and her devastation, Yrsa acted before she could think. Her heart took on a journey back to the start of her problems: the beginning of the person she was today. That dagger might even be her, now. Raw, unfinished, broken, still waiting for her father to come back. 

     Yrsa wiped the fresh tears away from her cheeks before they'd become overwhelming. But it felt as if she was swimming in the deepest waters of her fears and darkest memories━an ocean she let herself fall into. 

      But before she knew it, she had to sit down. Sliding down to the dusty floor, Yrsa hugged her knees to her chest, setting her chin on her faded leggings. Alone in her father's old workshop, Yrsa had never felt more at peace and yet more on edge. 

      Sniffling back more tears, Yrsa tilted her head to the side, trying to hide herself from her past━but every now and then it just hits her, and Dagur's attack seemed to be just the trigger. 

     Hearing footsteps by the door as it creaked open, Yrsa's breath hitched. She quickly stiffled her tears, wiping furiously at her eyes and trying to make it seem like she hadn't just broken down onto the floor in her father's workshop. But before she could get up, the person entered and they saw her there, shivering and shaking amongst dust and old floorboards. 

      Yrsa's mother's brows lifted in understanding. "Yrs, hon, what're you doing here?"

      She felt pathetic sitting on the floor like this, but with her mother standing there, Yrsa felt a little less so. 

      Her bottom lip trembling, Yrsa met her mother's eyes and croaked out, "I just miss him so much━" her voice broke off at the end as a sob crawled up. Yrsa hid her head into her arms, hating being so vulnerable. 

      She could hear her mother step forward. Soon, she was sitting down beside her and Yrsa was gently pulled her closer. She set her head against her mother's chest, hearing her heartbeat to try and calm her down as she broke. Her mother wrapped tight arms around her and said, "I know, baby, I miss him, too. I miss him so much..."

      Feeling like she was a little girl again, Yrsa sobbed out a painful, "Why did━why━" she could barely speak. "Why him? He━he━he━" she stopped, taking short breaths in between as tears flooded out of her━emotions she's kept in the last month at Dragon's Edge. "He was the best."

       Her mother sighed, a few of her own tears rolling down her cheeks. She kissed her daughters curly black hair that she recieved from her father. Yrsa recieved almost everything from her father━she had followed him around like a shadow, worshipped the ground he stood on, and it shattered her when she lost him forever. "Some people," explained her mother sadly, "can't handle people different than them. It makes them scared, because they hate what they don't understand. And that turns people into monsters, sometimes. And monsters to horrible things."

      Yrsa sniffled, letting herself close her eyes. She stayed with her mother in her father's old workshop for a good hour, just happy in her presence and feeling her gently twist her hair into a different set of braids. But it wasn't long before Yrsa heard the sound of dragons landing, and she knew Helrose had gone to grab Toothless and Hiccup in her worry for Yrsa. The sun was setting, and she knew she needed to meet up with everybody at the Acadamy. 

      She managed to pull away, taking a deep breath, "That's Hiccup," she muttered, pressing her palm against her eyes to dry them. Her mother rubbed her shoulder.

     Standing up, she said, "All right, I'll tell him you'll be out in a second," smiling a little to herself over her daughter knowing it was her close friend without even looking or hearing his voice. "Take your time, baby, he'll understand." 

      He would. Hiccup would, and Yrsa loved him for it.

      She smiled a little and watched her mother step aside. She heard her say, "Hey, Hiccup, Yrsa's all right ..."

      As she did, Yrsa pushed herself up onto her feet. Walking back towards her father's desk, she stared at the unfinished dagger. At his drawings, and his blueprints, and all of his random things━Yrsa's old toys, seashells and rocks he found. Yrsa found collecting them, wanting to add them to hers at Dragon's Edge to keep him close to her heart. She stopped at the dagger. She wanted to leave it, just as it has been for years, but then some part of her didn't. It felt wrong, now. It felt wrong to leave his last piece of work untouched, ready to degrade away to nothing. So, with shaking fingers, Yrsa picked it up. She stared at it, running a finger down the hilt. 

       "Love you, Dad," she whispered, knowing he couldn't hear, but at the same time, wondering if somehow, he could. "I hope I still make you proud."

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     "YOU WENT looking for him?" Yrsa asked Hiccup as they flew to the Academy together. Her saddle bag was filled with her father's things, but the unfinished knife she took she placed close to her on her saddle scabbard, the frayed hilt poking out by her knee. 

      The chief's son nodded as they veered to the left. "And found Dagur nowhere," he sighed, shaking his head. "It just doesn't sit with me right. Why would Dagur attack Berk ...?"

      "It can't have just been an act of deranged maniac," said Yrsa sarcastically, "it's not as if his name is Dagur the Deranged." Hiccup gave her a blank look and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. You're right, something is off. Let's sleep on it, maybe figure it out in the morning. After today ... I think we all just need some rest."

      Hiccup agreed. They descended down the slope and through the gates, and Yrsa had a wave of nostalgia to the days they spent in this Academy fighting Outcasts, Berserkers and training new dragons they found in the Berkian forests. Everyone else was already waiting, resting after a long day of hard work. Fishlegs was placing buckets of water under Meatlug's feet, the Twins seemed to have readied an entire feast of food, Snotlout was snoring against Hookfang's saddle.

     "Well," Hiccup announced to the group. Snotlout was smacked awake by Hookfang's tail and he fell flat onto his nose. His dragon laughed as he pushed himself, annoyed and weak, back onto his feet, "I couldn't find any sign of Dagur, but he did have almost a full day's head start on me. How'd you two do on the repairs?" he asked the Twins.

     Ruffnut and Tuffnut stood in front of their table of food with their arms crossed and their hands on their hips. They shared a smug glance, one that told Yrsa that they had done something that they shouldn't have (as always).

     "Awesome!" smirked Tuff. "We fixed so many houses."

     "Yeah," nodded Ruff, "but everybody was so grateful━" she gestured to the food behind them, "━they just, gave us all this food."

     "They also gave us this furniture," added Tuffnut, pointing to a pile of tables, chairs and chests. "I mean, they just left it piled out in front of their houses for us!"

     Yrsa arched an accusing brow at the Twins, "For some reason I've come to think that this is a big, smelling pile of dragon dung."

     "Hiccup! Hiccup! It's a terrible tragedy!" from the open gates raced in Sven, flushed red from running all the way from town. He heaved and wheezed for a few seconds before going on: "Someone's been looting the burned houses! Taking food, furniture━anything valuable they can get their hands on!"

     Yrsa and Hiccup both scowled at the Twins who gasped, as if this news was something shocking to them. Idiots.

     "That's horrible!" cried Ruffnut, quickly hiding a necklace she had been admiring. "What kind of world do we live in?!"

      Hiccup sighed, exasperated. "Don't worry, Sven," he said, turning back to the estranged farmer. "I'm pretty sure it'll reappear━" he gave the Twins a sharp look as he led Sven out of the Academy, "━Very quickly."

     The squawk of a Deadly Nadder drew their attention above as Astrid finally returned, landing Stormfly down without a word onto the stone. She slipped off her saddle without even a hello. Yrsa pursed her lips and surged forward, "Astrid," she said, her tone unusually gentle, "how was your family?"

     "They're okay," she muttered as she met up with Yrsa. Hiccup followed, coming to stand behind her and the three close friends shared a sad moment. Stormfly made her way to Helrose and Toothless and the dragons had a similar conversation. "Their house..." Astrid's gaze fell. She hugged her stomach. "The house I grew up in ... is gone."

     "Hey, Astrid," Snotlout decided to join them. At first, he sounded very sincere, "do you need a shoulder to cry on?" Until he wasn't. Yrsa pinched the bridge of her nose, expecting the shriek that followed as Astrid took his arm, twisted it over and completely chucked him across the Academy. He landed back beside Hookfang, dazed and groaning. "Pain," he squeaked.

      Astrid actually had a smirk on her face, so perhaps Snotlout had helped in his own way. "Thanks, Snotlout," she said kindly as she walked up to him and helped him back up. "I really needed that."

     As he was helped back up onto his feet, Snotlout clasped a hand to his back and said weakly, "You're welcome━" he groaned, wincing with pain, "━I know my role."

     Astrid snorted quietly, throwing an arm over his shoulder to say sorry, but you deserve it. 

     "Listen up, everyone," Hiccup announced again now that Astrid had at last arrived. They all gathered together in a circle by the centre of the Academy, like old times. "Dagur was last seen fleing due North. By my calculations, he could be heading out of the Archipelago. So, we go back to Dragon's Edge first thing tomorrow. We'll use that as our base to search for him. Now, just go back to your houses, get a good night's sleep." His eyes wandered to Astrid who stepped back to Stormfly, grabbing a blanket from her saddle. "Uh ... Hey, where are you guys staying tonight?"

      Yrsa was about to offer Astrid could stay with her, but her friend spoke before she got the chance, forcing a smile on her face, "I figured Stormfly and I woud just bed down here."

      Hiccup suddenly let out a laugh. He elbowed Yrsa's side, making her gasp and jump, sending him a glower at the strike. He replied with a knowing look that made her eyes widen, understanding immediately. "Aha! What a━what a coincidence!" exclaimed Hiccup. "I━I'm sleeping here, too."

     "Yeah!" added Yrsa, nodding. She elbowed Hiccup back and he doubled over, crying out a short wheeze of pain. "Me too."

     Astrid propped a hand on her hip, seeing right through them, "Why?" she demanded. "You guys have a warm bed and house."

      "Yeah, but━" Yrsa quickly lied on her feet, "━we were going to spend the time devising why Dagur attacked, you know?" she tapped her temple and then Hiccup's who frowned at her, swiping her finger away. "Two minds are better than one!" she gave an awefully cheerful smile, which was way too out of character for her excuse to work.

      But luckily, the others caught on, and like a chorus, everyone stepped in with their own lie to join. In fact, they had all grabbed blankets from their homes, knowing Astrid's choice before she'd even make it. Yrsa saw her best friend's breath escape her lips seeing Fishlegs step forward with a, "Yeah, Meatlug and I were gonna stay here, too, just for old times' sake!", or the Twins showcasing twin bed rolls with grins upon their faces. Even Snotlout scoffed and let out a loud, "Uh━huh. Nobody is having a sleepover!" He then pulled out his blankets, too, smiling, "Without Hookfang and me!"

      Astrid looked a little emotional. She hugged her bedroll, far more vulnerable than they've ever seen her. "Thanks, guys," she said, sniffling back some tears, "truly."

     Yrsa shrugged, playing it off as nothing, "Always."

     And so the team of Dragon Riders slept under the stars circled around the warmth of a fire with their dragons. They chatted until late in the night, about many things━laughing at tales of Snotlout's idiotic mistakes, remembering times that seemed simpler, just trying to take their minds━and mainly Astrid's mind━off the attack. But it also took Yrsa's mind off her problems, and for a moment, that night, she laughed and she teased, feeling almost at home cozied up between Toothless and Helrose as usual. Before slowly, they all drifted off to sleep, and the fire died down to embers, and Yrsa considered herself amongst her friends. 

      She was woken up the next morning by Hiccup. Somehow, the whole group of them: her, Helrose, Toothless and Hiccup had ended up in a horrible sprawl of limbs, wings and metal legs. They had been the last few to fall asleep (aside from Astrid), chatting under their breaths about why Dagur might've attacked. Yrsa was sort of glad she was one of the first to wake up, considering that when she did, the sight of her stirring with her legs sprawled over Helrose's back and resting her head right beside Hiccup's shoulder━for he somehow fell asleep right ontop of Toothless━would've been the exact fuel the Twins needed to tease her for days on end. Her eyes opened, tired, to Hiccup's light snores (another strange thing he had in common with his father) to find herself staring right in line with his face. 

      Startled, Yrsa blinked and flung herself back, falling straight onto her back harshly against the stone. "Ow," she muttered, hands to her eyes as she rubbed the sleep from them. 

       She sighed, letting her head loll to the side where she could see Astrid. She wondered whether she had even gotten an ounce of sleep, for she sat in the same position she had last night, staring blankly across the Academy.

      Despite being tired, and albeit embarassed, knowing she must've seen how Yrsa fell asleep so close to her friend, she stood up and shuffled her way over to her best friend. Carefully sitting down beside her, Yrsa yawned. "Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked her gently.

     Astrid shook her head, "No ..." she sighed. "I spent most of the night thinking."

     "About what?"

     "Depressing things."

      "Cool. Me too."

      Astrid held up a tired hand to which Yrsa clasped. She shook it and muttered, "Twinning."

      "No, but seriously," Yrsa kept ahold of Astrid's hand, "you can talk to me about it, you know."

     Astrid nodded, "I know," she smiled. "I just ..." she sighed, "...I don't think you'll like it."

     "What do you mean?"

      Her friend set her head against her shoulder, sighing again, "I wasn't here, and my parents got hurt. I ... I could've done something to stop Dagur━had━had dragons ready, or the catapults, defenses..."

     "Astrid," said Yrsa softly, "you know there was nothing you could have done to stop this even if you were here."

      Astrid closed her eyes, knowing she was right, but couldn't believe it. "I couldn't take care of them ... I can't take care of anyone."

     Yrsa scoffed at that and Astrid glanced up, surprised. "What do you mean you can't take care of anyone? That's a lie. You've been taking care of me since forever. You're strong, Astrid, and you're fierce, and you stand up for anyone you care about. And I know you'll stand up to Dagur for what he did to your home, but just because you were busy standing up for others to not be here doesn't mean you can't take care of anyone. It shows the complete opposite!"

     Astrid scrunched her nose, Yrsa's words reaching her heart. She pursed her lips and squeezed her hand, but said little more. The only words that followed were, "You're a good person, Yrs, no matter what you think..." and that was it. As the others all slowly woke up, the two girls sat in a comfortable silence, just finding comfort with each other. 

     Until Yrsa began to understand what Astrid had meant. With her head rested against the blonde's own, she muttered, "If you want to stay, you should stay."

      Astrid immediately objected, "Yrsa, if you're upset━"

     "I'm not upset," said Yrsa, shaking her head. "If you need this, then I'm going to support it. That's what best friends do."

      She saw a ghost of a smile, and that was enough. "You sure you won't kill the Twins if I'm not around?"

      Yrsa made a face, "Can't promise that."

      Her friend chuckled lightly and linked her arm with hers, leaning in for a squeeze. "Thank you," she whispered.

      As soon as Hiccup had fully woken up, it was time for business. He stretched his arms, yawned, and stated, "All right, everyone, we're wings up in an hour. Astrid," he glanced at the girls sitting together, "you want help with your gear?"

     Astrid and Yrsa shared a glance, they nodded.

      The blonde took a deep breath and stated, "Actually, Hiccup ... I've made a decision. I'm not going back to Dragon's Edge. I'm staying here, on Berk."

      Hiccup's eyes widened. The others who were getting ready fell silent, turning to stare as the shock of Astrid's decision settled upon them all. "W━what?" frowned Hiccup, confused. "Whoa━whoa, whoa, you're staying here? When did you decide this?"

     She stood up, "Last night," her eyes fixed on the chief entering the Academy, perfect with timing, "when I was talking to your father."

      Hiccup spun to his father for an explanation, and his father shrugged, coming to a stop beside him. "We're warriors, Hiccup. We live by a code."

      Yrsa stood up as well, silent as Astrid tried to explain to the chief's son who couldn't seem to comprehend the idea of one of his most trusted just leaving like that. "I'm not leaving Berk defenseless again," stated Astrid strongly. "I can't."

     "Astrid," expressed Hiccup, pleading, "one dragon wouldn't have made a difference."

     "I know that," she shot back, "which is why I'm gonna stay and train new riders."

      "What?" 

     "An auxiliary," went on Astrid. "A backup team just for situations like this."

     "That's━uh━" Hiccup seemed distracted from what he was going to say, "━a━actually a pretty good idea."

      Hiccup looked like he wanted to say something else. He shook his head, brows furrowing, but Snotlout cut him off, and he was left staring, unable to believe what was happening.

     "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation," said Snotlout, marchig over, "probably because I was eavesdropping. If you need instructors for this new dragon-training deal━" he pointed at himself, grinning, "━I'm your man. A Snotlout-trained rider will be able to anticipate his dragon's every move. It's like chess, except ... I don't know how to play chess━whoa!" he ducked a swipe of Hookfang's tail over his head, the dragon in a mischevious mood. "See what I mean━waahh!" Hookfang didn't miss this time, smacking him straight to the stone wall. Snotlout peeled off the side like a sheet of parchment. "Checkmate," he groaned on the ground. 

     "Sorry, Snotlout," said Astrid, "but I'll be doing the training myself. This is something I need to do, Hiccup," she told the chief's son.

     Hiccup pursed his lips again. Then, his eyes lit up━he had an idea. Yrsa scowled, crossing her arms. "Okay, change of plan! Yrsa, Snotlout, Twins, Fishlegs, you'll follow Dagur's trail north of the Archipelago. If you don't find him, resupply at the Edge and keep searching."

     Astrid crossed her arms, seeing right through him, "Hiccup, what part of I'll be doing all the training wasn't clear to you?"

     "All of it, apparently," muttered Yrsa.

     "What're talking about?" defended Hiccup in his suspiciously high voice that told them he was doing exactly what they knew he would. "I'll just patrol the area around Berk, in case Dagur doubled back. You know, doing my duties as the son of the chief, helping, rebuilding..."

      Yrsa shot her gaze to the heavens, "Oh, my gods..." she muttered under her breath. 

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      "WHY DIDN'T you say anything?"

     Hiccup's words made Yrsa roll her eyes. Helrose shifted, anxious to fly, but they were all waiting around the Academy, watching the group of new riders line up in front of Astrid. It was a surprisingly good turnout of possible new Dragon Riders for the auxiliery team━also a very surprising group. She tried not to be mad at Hiccup for staying, mainly because it would be over leaving her to have to deal with the Twins alone, but she couldn't help but be annoyed. And it definitely showed. "Because, Astrid needs this, and I'm not going to not support that."

     Hiccup sighed, gripping the edge of Toothless's saddle tight. "You and I both know the real reason she's doing this, and she's not going to get anything out of it."

     Yrsa sent him a scowl, "Astrid likes to figure these things out by herself. She'll get angry if anyone interferes."

      "What? So, we're just going to let her go? We need her."

     "She'll figure it out," stated Yrsa, determined and stern. "She'll train a team, and she'll feel satisfied, and then she'll feel as though she can leave Berk in safe hands and return. You staying isn't going to change that."

      Hiccup clenched his jaw, stubborn. Yrsa sighed, throwing her hands up, "All right," she let out, exasperated. "It's your funeral."

     At the word, Tuffnut dipped Belch's head over towards them, "Did someone say funeral? I love Viking funerals!" His attention switched rather quickly to the turnout below and gasped. "Look at them! Fresh-faced and full of dreams," he cooed. "Dreams that are soon to be crushed. Huh, Hiccup," he sighed sadly, letting his head fall against Hiccup's shoulder. The chief's son smiled, amused, "were we ever that young?"

     Fishlegs noticied something, and let out a short snort of laughter, "Hey, Snotlout━" he pointed down through the wired roof, "━is that your dad?"

     At this, Snotlout lurched forwards, eyes wide. "What?" He stared down, and sure enough, there his father was, coming to stand beside Gustav with his arms crossed and ready for whatever comes his way. Snotlout instantly threw his head back, whining, "Noooo! Hiccup, you have to let me stay! I will get to make the rules. I will get to point out every one of his mistakes!"

      "Not gonna happen, Snotlout."

     Snotlout glowered at him. He pointed at the chief's son, "Oh, you owe me this! The world owes me this!" He gestured up to the heavens, shouting. "Snotlout! This is Snotlout!"

     "Come on, Snotlout," called Yrsa, turning Helrose towards the sea, "Astrid's got work to do, and so do we."

       He whined again, but tugged Hookfang's horns around. He, Fishlegs and the Twins took flight. Yrsa was about to follow, but Hiccup stopped her, quickly stating, "Be careful."

     She pursed her lips, but managed a small smile, "Let Astrid work through this, okay?"

     "Don't kill the Twins."

     "I am not promising anything."

      With that said, Yrsa and Helrose launched up to the air, soaring over to join the others on the journey back to Dragon's Edge. She glanced back and caught glimpse of Hiccup watching her, until he, too, turned away and took off the opposite way. 

     They searched for Dagur for a good hour with no luck. Yrsa was reluctant to complete the journey to Dragon's Edge, but while she'd never agree with the Twins even if her life depended on it, she was hungry. So, they turned away and raced back, eager to get some food into their stomachs. But after Yrsa ate and dropped off her father's things, spending a good amount of time placing them in the right place so everything looked nice, she was ready to get out there again. Something didn't settle right in her about this attack. While Dagur might be deranged, he wouldn't attack unwarranted. There was a reason, a plan he had, and Yrsa was hurting her head to figure it out. She needed to get out there, and so she did, taking Helrose for a circle of the island to clear her head and check defences━just in case.

     She wasn't happy when she saw that the Night Terrors were away from their posts ... again. 

     Yrsa was livid. Diving back down to the arena, she leapt off Helrose and clenched her hands, gritting her teeth to see that the Twins were playing with the dragons yet again. 

     "Are you serious?!" she exploded, storming up to them. She kicked Snotlout awake who had been snoring obnxiously against Hookfang. He jumped awake, shouting and throwing out his arms in chopping motions. "Hiccup and I told you not to take the Night Terrors away from the towers!"

      Tuffnut stood up from where he was teaching one to play fetch with a stick. "Oh, yeah, okay. Sorry, I am very busy doing research."

     "They need to be at their stations!" snapped Yrsa, pointing at the younger Twin. "And you have a pet already, remember?" she moved that finger to Chicken preening her feathers in the background. She ruffled her wings and Tuffnut glowered at her.

     "I know you're nodding back there," he told her, "I can hear your feathers ruffling. You stay out of it!" Chicken clucked, miffed before hobbling off. Tuffnut went back to playing with the Night Terror, wrestling the stick out of his teeth. 

      "Oh, my Thor!" Yrsa tugged at her braids. "Why don't you ever just listen to me! Hiccup put me in charge, and that means you have to follow my orders. Leave the Night Terrors alone! We need them as lookouts in case Dagur..."

      Yrsa stepped back, eyes wide as it all suddenly hit her. "Oh no..." she murmured.

      Snotlout frowned, "What?"

     She threw a hand to her forehead, cursing to Loki with every colourful word she had. Ruffnut gasped and covered the ears of her Night Terror. "We messed up," realised Yrsa. "I know why Dagur attacked Berk. He was trying to draw us out. He needed to draw us out so he could see where we came from and where we left━to follow us ... to find out Dragon's Edge's location ... and since we don't have lookouts at the moment━" she glowered down at the Twins. Tuffnut went wide-eyed, even his thick head realising what he and his sister had done. 

     On cue, down by the shore, there was a cry of, "FIRE!" 

     They spun around. Yrsa's breath hitched to see a volley of thirty arrows or more rise up and over the cliff edge, heading straight for them. 

     "Guys! Guys!" came Fishlegs shouting. He was running towards them, heaving. "Da━" he took a long breath, "━Dagur's here!"

      "Yeah, we got that!" shouted Snotlout in reply as they watched the arrows tilt down. 

      "Everyone━take cover!" cried Yrsa and they ran. She raced for the lever, jumping over the edge and sprinting. The arrows came closer and closer, but she didn't stop. Her heart pounded as she ran, skidding to a stop by the lever and pushing it down with all of her might.  The arrows were seconds away. The arena door started to close. Yrsa gasped and stumbled over her feet to get back in time. Helrose was shrieking from inside, telling her to run faster. Yrsa gritted her teeth. Some arrows landed in the grass around her just where her feet had been. There was only a crack left of the closing door and Yrsa leapt. 

      She made it inside in the nick of time, hitting the stone harshly and rolling across. The rest of the arrows bounced off the metal roofing. Yrsa groaned, feeling Helrose and the others racing to her side to check whether she was okay. Her elbow stung, and when she glanced down, she saw blood drip from a graze on her arm.

     Yrsa let her head fall back, mind swimming with dreadful thoughts. Dagur had found them, and they were outnumbered and without ready defences, locked and trapped.

     They had given him a perfect siege victory. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    THEY FOUGHT as long as they could, tag-teaming in and out of the arena to take down as many ships as possible. But it seemed as soon as they went out, they'd have to return for injury, and swap places. Yrsa and Helrose managed to sink the main catapult ship, but replacing it came the flaming arrows. They somehow kept it up for a day, sieging in the arena and doing what they were able, but Yrsa was getting tired, and so were her friends and their dragons. Meatlug's wing was injured, Ruffnut had a few burns, Snotlout had an arrow wound to his arm, and Yrsa herself was supporting a sprained wrist from nearly being thrown off Helrose's saddle if she hadn't managed to grasp her saddle in a way that was not forgiving, but did save her life. 

     But the sound of a Night Fury's cry was relieving. Yrsa got up, tired and breathless from just being out in the night, spirits lifting when Toothless and Hiccup shot up through the crack and landed in the arena. 

     "Hiccup!" greeted Fishlegs from Meatlug's side.

    The chief's son leapt off his saddle, flushed and furious, but ready to fight. Astrid wasn't with him, and while Yrsa had hoped for extra back up, she was sure a Night Fury was going to do some real damage in their favour. "Is everybody okay?!" 

     "Beaten and bruised," answered Yrsa as Hiccup made a beeline for her arm that was covered in bandages now, tight around her wrist to keep it still. "But otherwise alive."

     "Meatlug took one in the wing," explained Fishlegs while Hiccup examined the cut on Yrsa's cheek and she moved away, not wanting to be fussed over, "but she'll be okay in a few days."

     "They got the drop on us!" stated Snotlout angrily, holding his injured arm. "Hit us before we knew they were there!"

      "We would've," grumbled Yrsa, "except our early-warning system had been infiltrated━"

     "Hey, hey, hey," Tuffnut cut her off, still holding that damned dragon and playing with it without a care in the world of the battle raging outside. "Let's not start throwing the Twins under the yak cart."

     Yrsa chuckled dangerously, "Oh, I'll throw you under whatever I like━" she surged towards them, not caring about her sprained wrist, but Hiccup held an arm out in front of her to stop her. The arena shuddered from another catapult and the Night Terrors inside shrieked and swarmed for a few seconds. 

     "We have to fight back!" Hiccup said.

     "We tried," Ruffnut stood back up, glowering. "It didn't go so well."

     Wham! The entire arena shook this time. Helrose ducked her head under her wings. Yrsa turned to Hiccup, "Dagur has us pinned down with a dozen ships," she said. "We're looking at seriously low chances, here."

     "And they have this catapult that can launch━like━twenty arrows at a time," added Tuffnut. "It's actually pretty cool. I'm asking for it for Snoggletog. Do you think Dagur will give it to me?"

     Hiccup clenched his jaw. "It doesn't matter, okay?" he told them. "This is our home! We're defending it. Now, think. What are our advantages?"

     "High ground," listed Yrsa immediately, having already thought through all of this. "Good cover, supplies━things I've already considered."

     "And," Tuffnut pointed a finger, trying to be helpfull, "we have dragons."

     Yrsa and Hiccup stared at him blankly. Yrsa then gasped, sarcastic, "No, really?"

    "We'll send a Terror mail to Berk for reinforcements," Hiccup marched back to his saddle bag, pulling out charcoal and parchment. "In the meantime, we hold the Edge."

     "And not die," said Snotlout, unenthusiastic. "Great! Perfect plan."

     "The usual," Yrsa bounced her brows. 

     And so they spent the rest of the night into morning defending their home. Hiccup was perhaps the only one out of them who could fly a dragon at full speed. He took Toothless for divebombing Dagur's ships, and in moments, the Berserker chief was already at loss of five well-armed barges. Yrsa and Snotlout worked together to keep Berserkers from climbing the cliffs and trying to reach past the defences. With help from Helrose and Hookfang, they scared away those brave enough to get close, using their enemies catapults to their advantage to block off entrances and break off the wooden walks at the shore. Fishlegs could take Meatlug for very short trips with her wing, but they managed to break away large parts of pathways of invasion with lava blasts from long range. The Twins defended on foot, running to and fro from their crossbows to their catapults to everything in between, dodging flaming arrows as they did. 

     And when sillouhette's could be seen in the distance━back-up from Berk in the form of Astrid and Stoick the Vast, the odds evened out only slightly. They were still outnumbered, but at least they had more fighters that weren't injured. Yrsa felt ready to drop, but she kept going. She pushed through her exhaustion and her pain to take Helrose into flight despite Hiccup's objections, wrapping an entire arm around the handle of her saddle to let her dragon go full dervish. Eyes closed, she let Helrose lead them down past the ships, the sheer wind of her speed driving back arrows in on themselves, lodging into Dagur's ships instead. 

     "Yrsa!" Hiccup saw her and threw a hand up, annoyed. 

     "Yeah, I'll regret it, I know!" she shouted back, pulling backwards on her saddle with her good arm to change directions back the way they came. 

     Astrid became a force to be reckoned with. Her anger fuelled her, and Dagur's ships did not stand a chance. Stormfly's spines poked holes in the hulls, and the ships sunk faster than Beserkers could blink. They were going to pay for destroying her family home. 

     Stoick the Vast and Skullcrusher rammed head on, crushing boats into two. When overwhelmed by a weighted net that sent them crashing onto the deck of a ranged boat, Stoick was not deterred. He grabbed his axe and ran straight into battle, rather quite enjoying it. 

     But even with the extra help, there were only more arrows, still more boats. Yrsa gasped and spun away from multiple nets, only just barely pulling up from a flinging bola. Looking back over, she saw with horror that the only entrance into the arena had been blocked by two large boulders, trapping Snotlout and the Twins back inside. Astrid was caught without Stormfly, facing Dagur weaponless and Hiccup was too busy trying to help his father who had found himself in a similar predicament. 

      "Look out!"

      Yrsa frowned. Glancing up, her eyes widened to see a hoard of dragons dive down, and on their backs, Dragon Riders. She saw Gustav and Fanghook, in the lead. Following was Spitelout upon a pink and blue Deadly Nadder, Gothi on her very own Gronckle, Sven on a deadly-green Monstrous Nightmare and even Mulch and Bucket sharing a Hideous Zippleback. 

     They soared down into battle. Dagur shrieked as Fanghook swooped, distracting he and his men enough for Astrid to free herself and jump up, latching onto Fanghook's foot. Gustav veered them back to Stormfly and the blonde leapt down onto her saddle in fluent movement. Mulch and Bucket exploded the boulders trapping Yrsa's friends with one spark of gas, and Snotlout emerged with the Twins, cheering to join the fight. Hiccup flew to action, helping free his father from the Berserker grip with only just a few sonic blasts. The chief took to the air again, joining his brother and together, he and Spitelout sank one of the remaining ships, leaving Dagur stunned.

     "NO!" shouted the Berserker Chief. "That's CHEATING!"

     "How's the weather fairing, Dagur?" taunted Yrsa as she flew past. "I hear there's a shower of dragon fire coming right along!" as she said it, Gothi followed her with a spew of molten lava from her dragon, causing Dagur and his men to dive for the water. 

     "Oh, come on, her?!" Dagur whined from the water, glaring after Gohti. "Since when does she ride a dragon?!"

     And before they knew it, the remaining ships with a drenched Dagur and Savage were retreating back towards the horizon. Yrsa laughed, cheering into the morning. The Twins joined her with a few mean jeers and gestures.

     "Yeah!" shouted Snotlout as Dagur fled. "Next time you better think twice about trying to destroy our home!"

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     a/n: liked the start of the chapter, hate the end, lol. 

     hope y'all enjoyed it!!! FIRST CHAPTER OF ACT TWO!!!!!! EXCITING!!!! I have so much planned for this act; some serious character development, relationship development, love interests and angst hehehehehe. it's all happening here.