𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter seventeen; hiccup
❝ when the full moon rises! ❞

    IT'S BEEN A WEEK. 

    Hiccup didn't think in a week, there could be so much happening. 

    He spent most of his nights examining the Dragon Eye━constantly adding to his maps and the Book of Dragons. Not only about dragons he never thought he'd see to be true, or interesting developments about dragons he thought he already knew everything about (or trying to find anything about a Night Fury━or Night Furies), but anything━anything━about these Dragon Hunters.

    This Ryker guy outsmarted him. He was lucky to outsmart him the second time and help get his friends out. He couldn't afford to make the same mistakes the next time they had a run-in. And Heather? With Heather and Dagur on his ships, that made him even more dangerous. He knew dragons, and now he had two on his side that new Dragon Riders, and it wouldn't be long before he sought out Dragon's Edge for the Dragon Eye. Hiccup had to be ready for the moment he does. 

     These new enemies weren't only taking a toll on him. Astrid was out more often than not, practicing her axe-throwing and her fighting━flying Stormfly, and then training before the sun rose and way after the sun set. Hiccup knew Heather's betrayal had hit her strong; the two of them were very close, and if he knew how much it hurt him, he could only imagine double that for her. 

     Snotlout was more snappy about it. Maybe he was out to fix his hurt pride, or something else, but he was more determined than ever to show how much he could do. And in Hiccup's experience, that was always dangerous. Snotlout was a loose cannon when he was like this. He made mistakes, he didn't think things through, he often got them in more danger and trouble than the other side (and never could see through his red-rimmed gaze that what he had done was wrong). 

     Yrsa was more quiet than usual. And yes, she was always on the quiet side. But her glowering got even more sharp, and she missed plenty of times Hiccup was sure she'd take a jab at the Twins. She was even avoiding him, spending her time alone to take care of Helrose to help her regrow her scales back healthily━the last thing, she had told Hiccup, she wanted was Helrose's scales to become ingrown. But she let him see the under-scales of her dragon, something not many people got the chance to see. Hiccup got to draw them before they'd go away, and examined them as carefully as he could. They were a phenomenon, considering they were always said to be in complete contrast to a Dervishes' outer-scales, and they were right. While Helrose's exterior armour was dark purples and blacks, those underneath were a glorious, glittering pink that were as fresh and clean as if she had crawled right out of the egg. 

     Fishlegs had been spending the week with Gobber back on the island trying to figure out the recipe for Gronckle Iron. He had sworn by Odin that he had seen Meatlug been forced to eat various rocks to produce the metal they had accidentally discovered all those years ago. (But never could remember the same pattern to create it again). Now, he was determined he had it right this time and if he and Gobber managed to figure it out, Hiccup was waiting with bated breath. Having Gronckle Iron on their side again would give them a huge advantage. It was light, almost unbreakable, and incredibly sharp. 

     Most of the team had come to gather on the final day of the week in the open-roof arena, all eager to see the result of Gobber and Fishleg's research on the Gronckle Iron. They had forged a target made completely of it━shining like a prized jewel in the sun, the happy face of a Viking grinning back at them on a wooden platform with wheels. 

     Hiccup leant back up against the edge of the arena beside Toothless, watching. He glanced over to his side as he heard someone else land for the show, and there was a relief to see Yrsa. Helrose looked far much better, happily accepting the small herring Yrsa gave her as she dismounted. Meanwhile, Yrsa squeezed the water out of her long hair, not even saying hello as she walked over and came to lean in next to Toothless, as well. The Night Fury purred, nuzzling in at her touch. 

     Hiccup watched Yrsa intently. She was avoiding his gaze, he knew it. He wondered what he had done this time. "So ... good morning flight?"

     She jumped, as if she didn't realise he was talking to her. That wasn't right. Eyes wide, Yrsa stared back at him. "What?" she asked. 

     Hiccup frowned. "You ... just landed in the arena. Did you go for a morning flight?"

     She hummed, as if confused. Then, she blinked and realised. "Oh! Oh! Yeah, yeah, morning flight, a wash ... the usual ..." and then the conversation was over. Hiccup set his jaw, glowering to himself. She's been like this all week, and he assumed it was because she was worried over Helrose, but something wasn't settling well in his stomach. 

     With a sigh, he let her be and set his gaze back onto Fishlegs, Meatlug and Gobber. 

     "Are you sure you've got the recipe right?" asked Gobber.

    "Of course, I'm sure," replied Fishlegs. He waved for Snotlout hovering above with Snotlout to take the shot. They dived down with a cheer. "Three parts limestone━"

     Clang! The Monstrous Nightmare flame glowed against the metal target; it burned orange, but didn't melt. It was a good start. Gobber nodded, impressed. "Uh━huh, three parts limestone." He high-fived Fishlegs. Hiccup whistled for Toothless to follow and the Night Fury left Yrsa. Together, they took to the sky for their turn. 

     Hiccup took a quick spin into the air to gain some momentum before turning back around to the target in the arena. "All right, give it all you got, bud!" He steered them into a nose-dive. A shriek in the back of Toothless's throat grew.

    "Two parts sandstone..." 

     The blast hit the bottom of the target, knocking it right into the air. It hit the ground but was still intact. Hiccup chuckled in his disbelief. Gods, he loved Gronckle Iron. 

     "Sandstone, check."

    Hiccup landed back down near Yrsa, awaiting her comment, but she was too busy braiding her hair to really care. His bows bounced━that was the first normal reaction he's gotten from her all week. Toothless huffed at her for attention, and when he didn't get any, Hiccup sighed. He slipped off his saddle, muttering, "Yeah, I feel you, bud."

     "One part iron ore," Fishlegs and Gobber exchanged another set of high fives. "And now ..." Fishlegs whispered to the blacksmith who was on his toes ... or on the edge of his peg leg to listen, "... the secret ingredient." Barf and Belch jumped out towards the metal target. They picked it up like dogs and played tug-a-war between heads. Ruffnut joined them, growling as she clung on with her teeth.

     Hiccup made a face. 

     "One giant spoon of cooled and hardened Gronckle lava!"

     "Gronckle lava! Of course!"

    On par to the conversation perfectly, Meatlug let loose a steaming molten blast that dribbled to the stone floor of the arena. She shook her tail happily at Fishlegs's proud: "Voila! You have Gronckle Iron!"

     "All right," smirked Astrid who had been leaning back, arms crossed against Stormfly and watching. The two of them stepped forward. "Let's see how your Gronckle Iron holds up against a close range spine shot."

    "Be our guest."

    Astrid arched a brow. She nodded to Stormfly and she raised her tail with a flick. "Stormfly! Spines!"

    Hiccup tried to get a rise out of Yrsa, determined to figure out what was on her mind. He nudged her with his elbow lightly and she stopped braiding for a moment to give him a side-glare. He grinned, "So ... no want to make it a competition? Do you think a Devilish Dervish's fire could break Gronckle Iron?"

     Yrsa just frowned at him, "No."

     She went back to finishing off her first braid.

    Hiccup slumped, blank-faced at her. "Seriously?" he muttered. "What is it with you this morning?"

     "What is it with you?"

    He went to shoot back with a good comeback, but faltered. He turned to Toothless who waited expectantly and shrugged. The Night Fury huffed again and sat down, watching Yrsa braid her hair, very annoyed. 

    Meanwhile, Stormfly snarled, ready to fire━but Hiccup's attention shot back to the target as Tuffnut walked miserably into the line of the shot. He was covered in leaves, twigs and dirt, muttering incoherently. He blanched. "Tuff, no━!"

    He didn't hear him. Astrid din't have time to stop Stormfly as she let loose. Luckily, Tuffnut stepped past just in the nick of time; the spikes imbedded into the iron right beside him. Hiccup slumped, relieved. Yrsa stopped braiding at this, taken aback. The younger Twin glanced over, not even startled by his near death. "Oh!" he gasped. "Thank, Loki!" The target wobbled behind him. "You guys are not gonna believe what just happened. It was━" the target fell, slamming Tuff to the stone underneath it. Hiccup and everyone else winced. He pushed forward and ran to see whether he was okay, the others with him.

    Tuffnut blinked, hazed. He raised a weak hand, "We'll talk in a little bit ..." and he slumped, unconscious.

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    "THERE I WAS," began Tuffnut once he woke. He sat by the fire inside the Club House, supporting a broth Fishlegs made for him. Beside him sat Chicken, ruffling her feathers. On his other side was Hiccup, frowning as he tried to figure out what happened. Yrsa stood back with Astrid, listening to the story, "me and my inner nut."

     "You and your inner nut?" interrupted Yrsa, incredulous. "Really?"

     Astrid shushed her quietly and she rolled her eyes, but listened. 

    Hiccup grabbed Tuffnut's attention again, leaning forward to glance his friend in the eye, "Tuff, what happened out there?"

     "It was dark," said Tuffnut mysteriously. He supported a few scratches on his face and arms. He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, before pulling him in to gaze up at the ceiling dramatically. He arched a brow, "So dark, Hiccup, not even the moon to light my merry way. And then all of a sudden━" Tuff pushed him away, eyes widening with terror, "━out of the darkness━red eyes, ferocious teeth, a growl that could peel the beak off a chicken!"

    Chicken reared back, letting out a low and fearful crone. 

    Tuffnut patted her Features reassuringly. "Sorry. Metaphor." Then, he seized her and held her up. "It grabbed me and tossed me around!" He gave the hen a small, light shake. She clucked in surprise. "Like a rag doll! A very handsome rag doll. And then, it left me ... for dead." He set back down his pet, story finished. 

    Hiccup shared a glance with Yrsa and Astrid, not sure whether to be worried or confused. The girls both shrugged in response. 

     "Tuffnut," said Fishlegs. "Can you tell us anything else about what attacked you?"

    "It was far too fast," he said. "Too cagey, too quick, too ... quick me another adjective!"

     "Oooh!" Snotlout spoke up before anyone else. "Ooh! How about, 'imaginary'?"

     Even Hiccup had to chuckle at that. It was great timing. Yrsa snorted into her hand and held up her other one to give Snotlout a high-five. Tuffnut scowled at them. "Laugh and guffaw, if you must," he huffed. "But would an imaginary beast give you one of these?!" he held out his arm and the laughter faded away. There, on his skin, was a fresh, red bite mark━as large as the length of his bicep. Chicken hobbled around and clucked, horrified. 

    Hiccup stayed up late with Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Yrsa and Gobber trying to figure out a dragon that could have been the cause of the bite mark on Tuff's arm. Just by sight, Hiccup couldn't pinpoint a species━it made him uneasy, but also a little excited, to think that there could possibly be a new dragon out there on the island he could train (though, he did not mention this to Tuffnut, feeling as though it might be slightly insensitive to hold a thrill over the dragon that bit him). 

     They searched through the notes from the Dragon Eye, the Book of Dragons and Bork's Papers. The fire was lit, keeping them warm. Hiccup sighed as he shuffled behind another page. He thought that the slimmer teeth could've been that of a Snaptrapper, but the jaw strength of this bite was far larger. Not as strong as a Gronckle, but stronger than most of the dragon's he originally suspected. Sitting beside him, Yrsa slumped as she stared at the many pages in the Book of Dragons. She muttered, "Nope," as she swiped through the pages, "Nope ... also nope━oh wait ..." she chuckled at something, "oh, I wish ... but nope."

     Hiccup peered over her shoulder for a second, a little startled to think what bite she wished Tuffnut had received. He frowned, confused as to why the dragon she wished it to be was a Terrible Terror (that had no teeth). Then he remembered when Sharpshot had attacked Tuffnut back in the arena when they were fifteen, aiming for his nose. 

    Yrsa seemed to have found something and left his side, walking up to Tuffnut and sitting down next to him. Surprised by the action, Tuffnut met Hiccup's gaze across the room, uh ...? Said his eyes, a little scared. Hiccup shrugged. Yrsa peered at the page she was looking at and then picked up Tuffnut's arm to examine the bite herself. 

     Tuff watched her, and then grinned, amused, "Yrsa," he stated. "Our vicious, mean, spiteful Yrsa. Our opponent, our natural rival, our ..." he thought of another word and decided with, "... frenemy━"

     "That's not a word," Yrsa told him without even looking up.

    "━I thank you for your rare tender touch, it warms my heart━yeouch!" She had pinched the skin of the bite. "All right," then said Tuffnut. "Never mind."

    Yrsa stood up and left him there, coming back up to Hiccup and sitting down beside him again. "Nope," she said and went back to looking through the pages. 

     In the end, Fishlegs let out an annoyed grumble, "Argh! There's nothing anywhere that matches this! The Book of Dragons, Bork's Papers, even the Dragon Eye." He turned back to Hiccup and the others surrounding the fire.

    "Ha!" let out Gobber, picking wax from his ears. He flung a clump away and Yrsa ducked with a gag to avoid being hit. Hiccup made a face, disgusted. "Won't be in any of those."

     Hiccup arched a brow up at him, "Gobber?"

     "It's obvious we're all thinking the same thing!" 

    Hiccup sighed, having a feeling he won't like where this will be going. "Well, I can pretty much guarantee you we're not. Uh ... but why don't you tell us what you're thinking, Gobber?"     

     The blacksmith glanced at them all as if it was obvious. Then, he said: "Lycanwing."

     Yrsa slumped, gaze shooting to the ceiling as she━in unison with Hiccup himself━realised that this was going to be another one of Gobber's long tales. (Hiccup regretted asking him immediately).

    "The Lycanwing Dragon," began Gobber, "is a rare beast, and a vicious one at that!" Tuffnut let out a small strangled gasp. "Those who survive its bite are not actually survives at all," he walked past their arched, dubious brows. "They are doomed to a life as half-man, half-Lycanwing." Tuffnut's eyes went wide, reaching out for Chicken to clutch her close. She clucked. "At the height of every full moon, the condemned Viking transforms into a terrifying dragon! Wings the size of a house! Teeth stronger than Gronckle Iron! And a thirst..." Gobber lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper, "... for blood."

     Tuffnut yelped in horror. Hiccup sighed, his face dropping into the palm of his hand to hear Snotlout cackle at Tuffnut's terror. "Tuff," he spoke up, trying to coax his friend into letting Chicken go. When he did, the hen fluttered her wings and scurried away. "The Lycanwing is a legend. It's not a real dragon. Gobber," Hiccup turned to his father's friend, "have you ever seen a Lycanwing?"

    Simply, he answered, "No."

    "Has anyone on Berk ever seen a Lycanwing?"

    Everyone else thought about it. Gobber shrugged, "Not that I can recall."

   Hiccup sat back, satisfied. "I rest my case."

    "But the stories..." Gobber shivered. "They'll straighten the hairs on a curly-haired yak."

     Snotlout suddenly grinned, "What stories?"

     Gobber's face lit up. 

     Hiccup face-palmed again. 

    Gobber led all those interested out into the night. Hiccup didn't want to come, but he figured he should follow, just in case Tuffnut would run off, or Snotlout might cause some sort of trouble (like always). They all either sat on the grass or fought for seats on the wooden seats under the shadow of the Club House. Snotlout and Ruffnut both wrestled for a seat, and in the end, the four of them: Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout and Yrsa all squeezed to fit on the same seat. Hiccup had settled for the grass, not really interested (at all). Gobber took torch and lit it up, casting his fadein a spooky glow. Hiccup felt like he was listening to all of his hammerhead yak stories again. 

     "His name was Kessler!" started Gobber, holding the torch up with his only hand. He peered right into Snotlout's face and he almost toppled off the wood. Yrsa snickered beside him. 

    "Ah!" exclaimed Snotlout. "That's a weird name."

    "Weird kid. Bright hair, eyes as black as night."

    "That doesn't even make sense," Yrsa couldn't help herself. 

    "And━" continued Gobber, spinning the torch towards her. She shrunk back, startled, "━as naughty as a Nadder in a chicken coop."

    Tuff clutched Chicken to his chest with a gasp. "That's seriously naughty!" he turned to his pet. "Am I right?" He held up a hand. "High three." Chicken just crowed at him, leaving him hanging. He scowled, "Never mind..."

     "One night, little Kessler, against his parents' wishes, went exploring in the forest. Days went by, no sign of him." Fishlegs squealed, covering his face in his fear. Hiccup stared at him, incredulous. "Only a far away scream coming from the woods." Gobber's voice caught in the back of his throat. "The little bugger never returned." He looked away. There was a pause. Then he spun back and yelled. Yrsa jumped. Snotlout laughed at her this time. She punched him so hard he fell onto the grass. Hiccup leaned away, shoving him as he tried to use his shoulder to get back up. "Or did he?! Every year from then on," Gobber leered at each of them in turn. Snotlout tried to use Hiccup as a way to get back up again. Hiccup just shuffled away, watching his cousin fall face-first into the grass again. (Now this was amusing), "when little Kessler's birthday rolled around, a red black-eyed dragon would fly over his parents' house, and pluck one of their sheep right out of the paddock! The dragon would look back," Gobber gave them mean, side-eye, "taunting them."

     Then, he returned to his cheery, loud self, "But I wouldn't worry, Tuffnut! Your'e not exhibiting any symptoms."

     "Hey, hey, hey..." soon grinned Snotlout as he clambered back up onto his seat. Hiccup already knew this wasn't going to end well. "Can we really say for Sur what our pal Tuffnut is exhibiting? Come on, Gobber! Lay 'em on us. Just for the sake of the argument."

    Ruffnut glared. She leaned over her brother to sneer, "I don't think that's a good idea, Snotlout!"

    "Well, first off," said Gobber despite Ruff's objections, "you'd be looking' at sensitivity to light."

     Hiccup wasn't surprised. This was a perfect chance for Snotlout to make fun of the younger twin. He just sighed, watching him tap his chin and say, mischievous, "Hey, Tuffnut," smirked Snotlout, "aren't you always saying that it hurts your head when you look into the sun?"

     Hiccup face-palmed (again).

    "Yes..." said Tuffnut, nodding along as he thought about it. He acted as though this was some great revelation. "I did say that." He squinted his eyes before looking at the embers of the fire. He shrieked, covering them.

    "Unquenchable thirst..."

    Tuffnut began to gasp, wiping at his tongue. Snotlout nudged Yrsa and the two of them shared a glance, hiding laughs before the Jorgenson turned back to Tuff, "You look thirsty..." he taunted.

     "He always looks thirsty!" snapped Ruffnut. 

    "What else, Gobber? There's gotta be more than that..."

     Gobber scratched his beard in his thoughts. Ruffnut threw her head back, frustrated. Tuffnut continued to pick at his tongue. "Fidgety arms!" remembered Gobber, grinning. "On account of the wings starting to sprout."

     Yrsa chuckled to herself as Tuffnut started to jolt his arms. Hiccup sent her a disapproving look. "What?" she whispered, shrugging and feigning innocence. 

     He couldn't help but shake his head, admittedly amused. He didn't want to say it, but he liked seeing her mischievous side come out (even if it was her making fun of Tuffnut with Snotlout). "Leave him alone," he scolded lightly, and was happy that instead of glowering, Yrsa just grinned.

     She leaned over to whisper as Tuffnut continued to flap his arms, looking confused that he was moving them that way himself. "He's just playing along," she told Hiccup with her hand over her mouth, as if sharing some big secret. "When we were eight, Astrid told him that people with blonde hair could erase people's minds. He then went ahead trying to convince all the kids younger than us that he could make them forget their whole lives."

     Hiccup's brows shot up, trying to think back to that. But he came up with nothing. He shrugged, but sent her a playful smirk, "Huh, ironically, I don't remember that."

     Yrsa chuckled lightly at him before sitting back up just as Tuffnut smacked Ruff off the bench.

    "Hey! Watch it, would you?!"

    Snotlout laughed, enjoying this far too much. 

    "Gee, sorry," Tuffnut rubbed his arms, "I'm fidgety..."

    "What else?" snickered Snotlout, begging for more.

    "Finally, the overwhelming desire to eat fresh fish!"

    And like that, Tuffnut was on his feet. He ran to the nearby fish trough Barf and Belch feasted from, snatching some carp with his teeth. He ran off with it, growling at shouting. "Tastes terrible!"

     Hiccup watched him go, grossed out. Yrsa snickered to herself while Snotlout was on his knees in his hysterics. "How awesome was that?!" he wheezed. "What an idiot..."

    Ruffnut was far from amused. She stood up, storming over to him with a seething, "You have no idea what you've done!"

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     IT WAS COLD the next morning. They were still thawing from the recent winter into a slow upcoming summer, and Hiccup felt it as he forced himself out of his bed and went for a morning flight. When he and Toothless got back, he could see that the fire in the Club House was going as the rest of the Riders had their breakfast before a day of work.

     He came in and grabbed a bowl, filling it up with the porridge already made. They took turns in making food, and Hiccup only just remembered it was Astrid's turn when he took a mouthful and felt like he had just tasted her Yaknog. He coughed, doing his best to hide it as he took a seat next to Yrsa, forcing it down his throat. Snotlout pointed at him and laughed. He glowered back at his cousin. 

      This made Astrid fume and slam her spoon down, "There's nothing wrong with my porridge!" she stated.

      The rest of the Dragon Riders present all made hesitant noises, each and every one agreeing that there was little difference between Astrid's infamous Snoggletog beverage and her morning recipes. 

      "Astrid," said Ruffnut, pointing to her empty bowel, "I can taste the cabbage in this."

     The shield maiden pointed her spoon at her aggressively, "Cabbage makes you strong! You should always have it in your morning meal."

     Hiccup stared at his porridge, immediately holding it down for Toothless to take. He loved it. He noticed Yrsa had the same idea━and their beloved Night Fury had a very rare and special breakfast. 

     Astrid was still defending her breakfast when Tuffnut finally joined them. Their conversation fell away to see him carting an entire wagon behind him. He looked miserable.

     "Uh ..." Hiccup frowned. "Tuffnut, what are you doing?"

    He didn't say anything until he stopped beside Snotlout. Then, he let out a long, mournful sigh. Out of his wagon, he pulled forth a glistening mace. Hiccup shared a quick, confused glance with Yrsa and Astrid. Tuffnut held out his mace to Snotlout and said formally, "I give you Macey. Hold her dearly. She likes sitting by the window, looking at the moon. The full moon. Heh ..." his laugh was dry, "... the irony."

     Hiccup realised and sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

    "Oh, my Thor," said Snotlout with little emotion as he took Tuffnut's beloved weapon. "That's so thoughtful." Once Tuff moved on and wasn't looking, he chucked it over his shoulder. 

    "Fishlegs," the younger twin stopped at the pudgy Viking and reached in for another object, "I give you my favourite bowl." He took it and frowned at the Gronckle painted on amongst flowers. 

     "Hey!" let out Fishlegs. "That's my bowl!"

    Tuffnut continued on with a wistful, "And now, now you have found it. Eat well, my friend. Eat well ..." he arrived at Hiccup. He sighed again, not wanting to be apart of this. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup," chided his friend, shaking his head. "What do you give the Viking who has everything?" He looked around before landing his gaze on Ruff. He tugged her to his feet and showed her over. 

    "Hey! You can't give me away!"

    "In time," said Tuffnut, ignoring his sisters struggles, "she'll come to you. She's going to take this very hard and will most certainly go through a prolonged mourning period. She's gonna need a new twin brother." Ruff rolled her eyes. Hiccup's gaze went flat. "I nominate you," he guided her closer to him. "It's a terrible job and she smells horrible. You'll have to dress like me and grow your hair long, so there are perks."

     Ruffnut shoved him away and sat back down, glowering at Snotlout and Yrsa.

     Astrid frowned, "What did I miss?"

     Tuffnut stopped by the doors of the Club House, gazing up at the morning sky. He sighed. "I'm just ... preparing myself."

     "For what?"

     "Astrid!" Tuffnut spun to her and she blinked, taken aback. "Did you see the moon last night? Tonight, it should be close to rising to its apex━which I think is a word that means the tip-top━I'm going full dragon. Tuffnut Lycanwing!"

     Snotlout burst into laughter. Tuffnut eyed him and rushed over. He stopped, surprised by his speed, "You're a funny guy, Snotlout!" said Tuffnut eerily. "I'll eat you first..." he slowly backed away, snarling and snapping his jaw. 

      Yrsa snorted into her palm, finding all of this ridiculous. Ruffnut scowled at her, "This isn't funny!" she snapped at her before crossing her arms, glaring at the fire.

    Hearing this, Hiccup groaned and stood up, "Tuff," he stressed, "we went over this. The Lycanwing is a myth. It's not real. You're not turning into a dragon! Fishlegs, would you please tell him?"

    Fishlegs made a few nervous mutters, unable to come up with an answer. Hiccup slumped, seriously? He told him. 

     "Now," sighed Tuffnut, patting Toothless's head in passing. The Night Fury huffed, shaking away his hand. "I must go and say my most difficult goodbye of all. If you'll excuse me ..." he disappeared into the back of the Club House, leaving with a swing of the door. 

     As soon as he was gone, Snotlout was back to laughing. 

      Ruffnut got to her feet, furious. "What did I tell you?! What did I tell you?!" she shouted at Snotlout. "You are going to help me fix this, Snotlout! YOU HEAR ME?!" she stormed after her brother.

     Snotlout watched her go, incredulous. "Wow," he said eventually. "They can really get riled up, huh?"

     Hiccup sent him a scowl. 

     As the day progressed, Hiccup didn't think it could get any weirder. But as he's come to learn, a day on Dragon's Edge was never simple. It wasn't long before he found out that Tuffnut had decided to lock himself into the stables, taking Chicken with him. Getting dragged away from the forge he had finally finished a few weeks ago beside his hut, Hiccup cursed Snotlout for his obnoxious mouth as he had no choice but to fly over to the stables with Gobber to try and get Ruffnut's brother out. 

     Yrsa and Astrid joined him not long after, both very curious to see their friend in his crazed paranoia. Hiccup was expecting the two of them to chuckle when they heard his estranged growls from inside the open stable doors. Meanwhile, their dragons all played in the sun, not caring about anything other than trying to grab each other's tails (and rushing out of the way before the perpetrator could manage it). Helrose usually started chasies━like Yrsa, she was a secret lover for mischief. The amount of times Hiccup had to tell her, no, you can't chase Toothless in my hut! was far too many. He sighed as he watched the two of them almost roll off the edge of the landing deck, startling Stormfly into the air with a squawk. 

     Together, they waited for Gobber to return. Hiccup had sent him in to try and coax Tuffnut out of the pen, considering he was the one who had told the Lycanwing story himself. If he said that Tuffnut wasn't turning into one, maybe he would listen.

      Yrsa jutted her hip out, getting impatient as she picked the dirt out from underneath her nails. Astrid peered around on her toes, whispering, "Is he talking to himself?"

     Hiccup tried to see, squinting his gaze, "No ..." he murmured, "I think he's talking to Chicken."

     Yrsa snorted, not glancing up, "And that's any better how?"

     Finally, Gobber emerged from within the stables. At their expectant gazes, he shrugged, "Well, I did my best. He's not talking to anyone but that chicken. And he's convinced the moon didn't apex last night, so it must be tonight."

     "Talk to me, Chicken!" they heard Tuff's voice echo from inside the stables. "What are they saying? What are they saying?"

     Hiccup sighed. (Never a boring day, at least). "Well, that's great."

     The screech above made them all turn their heads. Hiccup frowned at the sight of an out of control Monstrous Nightmare making its way right towards them. 

     Astrid crossed her arms, "Is that...?" 

     "Ruffnut," realised Hiccup, seeing her blonde braids on the back of the red-scaled Nightmare. "Flying Hookfang?"

     Yrsa shaded her eyes to help her see, "Wait━where's Snotlout?"

     Gobber limped over to them. He frowned up at the approaching dragon, then let out a, "Ah! There he is. Big lump behind her. Tear-stained face."

     Hiccup could sort of see him now, and it didn't look pretty. Snotlout clung onto Ruffnut for dear life, looking pale and sickly at the cheeks. He screamed as they landed at high-speed. Ruffnut crashed Hookfang onto the landing deck and the two of them were propelled off the saddle, landing on their backside's against the wood. Hiccup winced.

     "Whoa!" let out Ruffnut, albeit very happy about her landing. She pushed herself onto her feet, dusting off her tunic. Yrsa crossed her arms, matching Hiccup's frown. "What a rough one." She jumped when Hookfang huffed a breath of hot smoke at her. She shot him a glare. Hookfang just got up and stomped away, far from happy. Toothless, Helrose and Stormfly all stopped their game to glance over, curious. Meanwhile, Snotlout groaned, miserable from the ground. He did not look good, at all. 

     Hiccup was sort of scared to ask: "W━what are you two doing?" He gestured at Ruffnut, then behind him at the stable entrance, "We could use you right about now."

     Ruffnut marched over to Snotlout and pulled him onto his feet. He whimpered. Hiccup's eyes widened at all the red marks on his arms━he looked like he had been bitten by at least ten different animals. And soon enough, he learnt that was exactly what happened. "We've been gathering samples," answered Ruffnut, ignoring Snotlout's whimpers and groans. 

    "Samples of what?" asked Astrid.

     Ruffnut held out Snotlout's arm and all three of them jumped, horrified at the wounds. "Dragon bites. One of these has to match Tuff's and convince him that this Lycanwing deal is just another one of his paranoid fantasies."

     "And ... why is Snotlout━?"

     "He started this stupid thing with his impressive, yet sinister, powers of suggestion!" Ruffnut threw down Snotlout's arm and he cried out, face twitching in many concerning ways. "It's all Snotlout's fault━" she elbowed him and he crumpled to the ground again, moaning in his agony, "━my dopey brother thinks he's turning into a dragon."

    "Well," Hiccup stared down at his cousin, "looks like you earned this one, Snotlout."

     Ruffnut crouched down to sneer, "Not so funny now, is it?"

     He managed a croaked: "No, Ruffnut, not funny at all━agh!"

    She grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto his feet, not caring at all about Snotlout's screams. "Let's go, pal!" She dragged him past Hiccup, Yrsa and Astrid, and they watched the two of them pass into the stables, incredulous. 

     "Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup!" another rider joined the fray. Fishlegs buzzed down towards them on Meatlug, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Oh, you're not gonna believe this!" They landed and Fishlegs leapt off the saddle, only barely reminding to give his beloved dragon a scratch behind her ear. "I was at my wit's end, trying to think of something━anything━that could help with this when my perfect little angel━" he hugged Meatlug and she clattered tenderly, "━crushed my desk and look what I found!"

     He reached inside his saddle bag and Hiccup's eyes widened. There, in his fingers, he showed them a Dragon Eye lens. "It's the one you found in the cave with Gustav," he quickly explained. Fishlegs pursed his lips, apologetic. "I've ... been meaning to give it back to you, Hiccup, I'm usually not so irresponsible with priceless artefacts━"

    Hiccup didn't really care about that. His chest just leaped with excitement to think that there could be something new on a map, a new dragon, a new species to discover━ "Fishlegs!" he cut him off, beaming, "we have to go see what's on it!"

     His friend matched his grin, and beside Hiccup, Yrsa lit up and raced to Helrose, "Wait━I'm coming!"

     Soon, all that was left outside the stables was Astrid, who sighed and face-palmed with a roll of her eyes. "Dorks," she muttered at the group of three that took off for Hiccup's hut. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    IN THE END, Yrsa had fallen asleep. 

    Hiccup expected her to go before she did, but as always, she ended up slumped up in between Toothless and Helrose, head rested against the Night Fury's saddle, out like a snuffed light. He didn't blame her, they've been at this Dragon Eye lens all afternoon; it was now evening, and they had come up with nothing. 

     After dropping a fleece blanket gently over her, Toothless and Helrose, Hiccup slouched back over to Fishlegs, placing his elbows onto his table and gazing gloomily at his friend. Together, they stared at the Dragon Eye between them. Hiccup wondered if he scowled at it long enough, it would show him what he wanted. He━too━let out a yawn as the evening started to get to him. 

     "Well," Fishlegs threw out an exasperated hand towards the relic, "that's it! That's every combination I can think of."

     Hiccup watched him storm away, alerting Toothless awake. He peeked an annoyed eye open, daring not to move with Yrsa's head rested against him. "Oh, come on," said Hiccup, "there has to be something we haven't tried yet?"

     Fishlegs sat down on Meatlug's saddle as she chewed on a few rocks, arms crossed. "There's only a certain set of combinations we can try, Hiccup. I mean, it's probably a good thing, right? That means this Lycanwing doesn't exist and Tuffnut is just━you know━being Tuffnut."

     "I don't mean just the Lycanwing," Hiccup reached forward and picked up the Dragon Eye. "This lens correlates to something. Maybe we're not using the right dragon class? Maybe we need a Mystery class dragon, or a Stoker? Maybe even a Tracker class━" he cut himself off, taken by something he noticed on the Eye. 

     Hiccup frowned, holding it up as he peered at the classes on the bottom. He fiddled with the lens inside and Fishlegs frowned. "What is it?" he asked him. 

     He didn't say anything as he continued to fiddle. He fixed the lens at a clockwise turn, and then the nob to the left. He twisted the one closest to him a little down, and suddenly, one of the gems clicked into place━a breath of ghostly light projected out of the mouth of the Dragon Eye, and Hiccup's gaze jumped over to Fishlegs, eager. 

     "Let's try this," he grinned. He glanced back to his dragon, "Okay, Toothless?"

      His dragon huffed, annoyed at him. His eyes darted to the girl sleeping against him. Hiccup sighed, "Seriously, bud? She's not gonna kill you if you wake her."

     Toothless just stared back at him.

     Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Oh, all right━" grabbing the Dragon Eye, he marched over to where they lied and crouched down. Holding the Dragon Eye himself in front of Toothless, only then did he open his maw and let out a gentle, low flame. Hiccup's breath hitched as he saw the entire wall opposite light up in a new set of runes. 

     (He always loved it when it did that).

     Not taking his eyes off the markings, Hiccup reached backwards and found Yrsa's face. Gently, he tapped her cheek━once, twice, three times━ "Hey, hey, hey, Yrsa━Yrsa━Yrsa, wake up━"

     "What?" she grumbled, smacking his hand away. But she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Forcing herself to look up, Hiccup expected the gasp that escaped her lips. "Odin's Boots!"

      Fishlegs was on his feet, and the three of them stared at the markings all across the wall━their eyes fixing on a certain image projected amongst purple light. It looked like a man; a skeleton, with claws for feet and wings for arms and a long, curled tail.

     Hiccup couldn't believe it, "Okay..." he said slowly, "Now ... am I crazy, or is that a man with dragon wings instead of arms?"

     "You're not crazy," said Fishlegs. He picked up the dragon eye and twisted the back lens. The projection switched, becoming bigger. He pointed to an etching a little above━the pictures connected to show the transformation ... of man into dragon. "And there he is again, with a tail to go with the wings."

     "This is ..." Yrsa swallowed harshly. "I'm━I'm going to admit, like━I seriously thought Gobber was joking..."

     Fishlegs glanced anxiously at Hiccup beside him, "Hiccup?"

     "Can you make out what this says?" he just asked him, a deeper frown etching its way onto his face. 

     Fishlegs nodded. He shuffled closer, reading the runic words up at the top of the transforming Viking next to an island jagged in rocks and creeks: "'No man shall tread on these shores, lest he becomes what he has most feared'━that must be Lycanwing Island."

     Hiccup sighed, "And that, my friends, is why we always listen to Gobber."

    "Hiccup, this Lycanwing," went on Fishlegs, sounding grave, "it could be━well━not a myth..."

     Yrsa propped her elbows up against Toothless's saddle, accidentally waking up Helrose in the process. Her dragon moaned in annoyance, stretching her long neck. "Still doesn't mean I believe Gobber fought a Viking in ice."

     Hiccup crossed his arms, thoughtful. He didn't believe in this Lycanwing, but ... now that the Dragon Eye showed him this, he wasn't too sure. Maybe there was a dragon with a bite that had a venom that could make a Viking aggressive like a dragon ... or maybe there truly was a Lycanwing ... either way, Hiccup had to check it out. "That island's not far from here ..." he turned to Fishlegs and Yrsa with a slight grin.

     Yrsa scowled at him. Fishlegs whimpered. "Why do I get the feeling we're going on a little Hiccup-Yrsa-Fishlegs recon mission?" squeaked the pudgy Viking. 

     "That's because we are," muttered Yrsa. 

     Hiccup rolled his eyes at them. He grabbed his saddle bag, "Come on, guys, if we leave now, we should be back before it's way too dark."

     So, the group of them rushed to the stables to grab their saddles and som last minute supplies. The island wasn't too far━if everything went well, Hiccup suspected they should be back before dawn. He, Yrsa and Fishlegs took off as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, veering East towards Lycanwing Island. Yrsa complained most of the trip: "I like these little missions," she had said, "just when I'm not ready to head to bed."

     But she stayed with them the entire trip. Just like Hiccup had guessed, it didn't take them long━at all━to reach the island. Soon enough, he could see the jagged rocky shores in the distance after a quick blast of Toothless's sonic waves that lit up the sky. He led them down towards the centre of the island where the jagged cliffs surrounded a small valley with a few steams and some woodland.

     There, hidden in the fissures and cracks, there was a cave━just like the Dragon Eye had depicted. Hiccup glanced back at the others, "I think I found our Lycanwing lair━" he joked before diving down, only just hearing the start of Fishlegs's terrified whimpers. 

     They landed at the cave's entrance. Hiccup swung his leg off his saddle and stepped onto the stone ground. Yrsa and Fishlegs followed. Yrsa huffed, fixing her furs and hair, brushing some of her bangs off her face so she could glower into the dark. Hiccup strained his ears for something, but even if he heard a noise out of the ordinary, inside of the cave was so dark they wouldn't be able to see a thing━the Lycanwing could sneak right up behind them. 

     "I don't like this," whimpered Fishlegs, huddled next to Meatlug. "I really don't like this."

      Hiccup ignored him and set his hand on Toothless's neck, "Okay, bud, give us some light."

     He obliged after a hand signal. Hiccup flicked his hand twice before pointing to the cave. Toothless let loose a sharp blast that rocketed through the cave, lighting up a whole box of twists and turns and sharp ledges pointing down towards them like they were standing before the jaws of a dragon. 

      There was a rustle that followed. Hiccup frowned, trying to see what it could've been. The rustle grew louder, and louder, and louder━something big was coming towards them: big, super big: there were squawks, a lot of them, and Hiccup only realised just in time that the great big mass coming towards them was an entire swarm of spooked Night Terrors.

     "Duck!" he cried and covered his head in his arms. Yrsa and Fishlegs followed. Hiccup winced as he felt claws rake at his tunic sleeves. Though, he wasn't sure what was louder, the Terror's screeches, or Fishlegs's. 

     It wasn't long before they were gone, and Hiccup could stand up straight. Yrsa brushed off herself, picking off some scales that had fallen onto her pauldrons. Fishlegs was still hunched up, quivering in his boots. Hiccup sighed at him, "Come on," he coaxed his friend, nodding to the cave in front of them. "Let's go, Fishlegs. Don't worry, I'll be right next to you the whole time."

     "So will the Lycanwing," taunted Yrsa as they started at a walk into the dark. She suddenly shoved Fishleg's shoulder tightly with her best imitation at a dragon growl. He screamed. She laughed.

     "Yrsa! Don't do that!"

     "Guys," Hiccup chided them. 

     Yrsa continued to chuckle as she shuffled up to Hiccup to catch up, very proud of her scare. 

     They walked through the main cave entrance for a short while in silence. Well, as silent as it could be with Fishlegs's whimpering and his knees knocking together every second. Hiccup kept an eye out for any movement, making sure Toothless was close. He heard Helrose let out a guttural purr, not nervous, but instead bored. 

     (She and Yrsa were way too alike it was sort of scary). 

     Not far along, Yrsa had taken to sitting on Toothless's saddle. Hiccup frowned at her, and she shrugged, "What?" she whispered in the dark. "You weren't sitting on it."

      "See, you can do that," he pointed at her, "because you're the favourite."

     She didn't deny it, just leaning forward to give Toothless a scratch. 

     There was a moment as they walked through the dark cave that Hiccup almost yelled in fright. They had neared the centre when out of nowhere, Helrose balked and Meatlug shrieked, running for cover, knocking Fishlegs over onto the stone. Yrsa reached for her axe and Hiccup his shield, until he realised that it was only Helrose deciding that it would've been fun to spook Meatlug, and Hiccup remembered how impractical their three dragons could be in a time like this. They were like a group of misbehaving kids half the time.

    "You've had your fun?" Hiccup scolded Yrsa's dragon who just nudged against his cheek, happy that he paid attention to her little act. "Hey, no, don't give me that. I'm mad at you━stop it. Stealthy, Helrose. Stealthy━" he tapped two fingers on his left palm before tapping one against his lips,  knowing Helrose's hand signals back to front. "No fun and games right now, girl, okay?"

     "Uh ... Hiccup?" 

    He glanced over. Fishlegs had gotten back onto his feet, and was staring up at the cavern ceiling with a petrified gasp. "What?"

     "Look," Yrsa pointed and he followed her gaze. 

    He stepped closer in seeing more markings in bright red━just like the ones in the Dragon Eye. "Fishlegs ..." he prompted, not liking the vicious images shown of scattered Viking limbs and a deadly beast. 

     "'Beware the beast'," translated Fishlegs, pale with terror. "'Turn back before you become him. Your fate is sealed'?!" He lost it. "Did you hear that, Hiccup?!" he let out a hushed screech, sounding like a baby Deadly Nadder in a boar pit. "Our fate is sealed!"

     "Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, trying not to get frustrated. "We're fine. It's just an old cave drawing."

     Fishlegs's bottom lip trembled. "I can't believe we're gonna die chasing an imaginary dragon!"

     "Hey, you said it yourself," Yrsa gestured towards him, "it's imaginary, so, nothing to be scared about, Fishface."

     Fishlegs scowled at her, "Snotlout's rubbing off on you━and that's not a compliment."

     Yrsa just gave him a smirk. That smirk was wiped right off her face when Toothless bared his teeth into a low snarl. She gasped. Fishlegs shrieked. Hiccup jumped, turning around. His mouth dropped at the sight of a ginormous shadow━the shadow of a dragon with hollowed eyes, jagged, pointed teeth and a spiked-tail: the same dragon pictured on the Eye. 

     "There it is!" screamed Fishlegs, pointing a trembling finger. He latched onto Meatlug, sobbing into her scales. "Oh, if I have to go, girl, I'm glad it's with you!"

     "Helrose!" Yrsa extended her hand out, fingers spread. Her dragon dipped her neck low, battle-ready with a growl. She unsheathed her axe and Hiccup called, "All right, Toothless, light!" He pointed up at the stalactite above the dragon's shadow.

     Toothless's aim was perfect, as always. He struck the stone, and it became a glowing, orange torch. Hiccup's scowl dropped, turning suspicious as he could see the shadow better. It didn't move━no dragon made a sound aside from their own. And its eyes ... there was something familiar about the shadow's eyes. 

     Ignoring Fishlegs and Yrsa's screams, both of them ending up clinging to each other with their dragons at the very thought of being bitten by the Lycanwing, Hiccup turned around.

     He slumped, exasperated.

     He rolled his eyes at himself. "Wow," he muttered, sarcastic, "way to go, Hiccup..." he walked up to what he had seen. "Guys━its eyes!"

     Hands over his eyes, Fishlegs shook his head. "I am not looking into that thing's eyes! Do you know me?!"

     "It probably has lava for eyes!" added Yrsa, hiding herself behind Helrose's wing. 

     "Would you guys just look?!"

     Slowly, his two terrified friends showed their faces, peering between fingers and over dragon wings. Hiccup gestured to what he had found: a statue. It was made out of splintered rock━at least hundred years old, he believed, starting to crack apart at its hand-built foundation. The same shape of the shadow with its jagged teeth and horned snout, but what was most peculiar, were the two rimmed lenses it had for eyes.

      No wonder those shapes had been so familiar. 

     Yrsa dropped Helrose's wing. She huffed at her, immediately tackling at her talons, cleaning her scales. "Oh," she let out, anticlimatic, "Dragon Eye lenses."

      Hiccup tugged them out with mighty pulls. He held them up with a grin, "Dragon Eye lenses," he repeated, ecstatic. She made her way over and picked one up, peering at it with Fishlegs over her shoulder. Hiccup crossed his arms, both smug and amused. She noticed and arched a brow at him. He grinned. "You screamed."

      Yrsa glared. "Shut up," she shoved him and he laughed. Seeing her clinging, terrified to her dragon and Fishlegs was definitely a memory he will never forget. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     THEY ARRIVED back at Dragon's Edge sooner than anticipated now that Hiccup was sure the tale of the Lycanwing was nothing more than some yak dung. The night had become darker as they reached the early morning, but not so dark that they couldn't see where they were going. They landed back down in front of the stables just as Gobber stepped out of the iron doors.

    Hiccup surged forwards, eager to end this mess once and for all, "Gobber, how's Tuff doing?"

    Gobber chuckled to himself, shaking his head at whatever was inside as he closed the doors. "Gone," he then said, his laughter dropping. "He and the chicken flew the coop last night. Said something about taking flight off the tallest cliff when he went 'full dragon'."

     Yrsa rushed forward, eyes wide in horror, "A━and you didn't stop him?!"

     Gobber frowned at her, taken aback by her accusations. "I was a bit busy!" he defended himself, jabbing a thumb to the closed stable doors behind him. 

     Hiccup shared anxious glances with his friends either side of him. Fishlegs frowned, "Doing what...?" he asked, a little scared to hear the answer.

     Gobber grabbed a clay jaw from his bag and showed them, "Extracting sea snake venom from Snotlout." He cackled to himself. "You should've heard him. He sounded like a yak being turned inside out!"

     Hiccup set his jaw. He glanced up at the moon still high in the sky. He was sure they didn't have much time until Tuffnut's fantasies got him killed. "Well, we better go tell Ruffnut━"

     Gobber shook his head, "Gone, too," he told them. "Went to look for her brother. She seemed to think whether he was a dragon or not, he wouldn't survive 'the flight'."

     Yrsa looked like she might snap something along the lines of: of course, he wouldn't, Gobber! But Hiccup gently tapped her arm, waiting for his old mentor to finish. 

      "Dragged Snotlout with her," went on Gobber. "Personally, I'm surprised he made the trip. The boy's not looking so well..."

      Hiccup's stomach dropped with dread. He didn't need to say anything; Yrsa and Fishlegs understood. They all got onto their dragons, taking off towards the woods in search of Tuffnut before it was too late. They caught up with Astrid who was already looking from the air with Stormfly's incredible tracking capabilities. 

     The group of them raced against the night, soaring over the treetops with Stormfly in the lead. She took them deep into the forest━past the caves, the lagoons and towards the cliff-edges on the west side. Hiccup had Toothless light up the dark when things got too hard to see, but the Vikings relied on their dragons to see when they could not, just keeping their ears piqued for Tuffnut's voice. If they knew him at all, they'd know he'd be playing this to the full. 

     And when they heard his estranged growls and roars into the night, they didn't need Stormfly to tell them exactly where he was. Hiccup followed the sound of his shouts and his breath hitched in horror to see him standing at the edge of one of the tallest cliffs Dragon's Edge had to offer. With Chicken clasped under his arm and his toes sending broken rocks crack off and fall down into the ocean, Tuffnut turned away from his desperate sister a few paces away, howling a set of growls, snarls and deep-throat calls into the night. 

     "Tuff!" shouted Hiccup, diving Toothless down. "Stop!"

    He landed and leapt off his saddle, "There is no metamorphosis, all right?!" He held out his hands towards his friend, managing to catch his attention briefly. Ruffnut looked tearful. "You are not turning into a dragon! Fishlegs, please tell him."

     "It's true!" stressed Fishlegs, following in dismounting his saddle. "We found the cave of the Lycanwing. It was just a myth to keep people away from these━" he showed Tuffnut the two Dragon Eye lenses, all of them praying to the gods this would be enough to convince him. 

     Tuffnut stared at them for a second. He hugged Chicken closer. He began to shake his head, "No. No!" he took a step back. The edges of the cliff crumbled slightly. "I don't believe you! Look at me, I'm hideous. I'm terrifying!"

     "Tuff!" tried Yrsa, gaunt at the cheeks in her fear. "You're not hideous, okay? Terrifying at times, yes. Maybe sometimes a bit stupid. But hideous? Never. Just━step away from the cliff, okay?"

     Tuffnut frowned to himself. "W━well ... then how do you explain this?" he showed them the bite mark on his upper arm. No one said anything. Hiccup heard Fishlegs whimper. Tuff nodded at them, expecting their lack of an answer. "Can't do it, can you? Hmm? That's what I thought. Now ..." He took a deep breath, eyes clenched tight as if searching deep within him for the power, "... it's time to fly!"

     He turned away from them. Hiccup's heart pounded. He bent his knees, ready to run to Toothless to dive after him, when a voice called out━

     "Wait, wait, wait!"

     From the woods struggled Snotlout. He looked terrible. His arms were covered in bites━large bites, small bites, ones with puss, others looking as if Gobber seized dragon teeth from his skin. He had a bandage wrapped tight around one eye. But he pushed through it all, dragging something writhing in a canvas sack behind him. Whatever was inside was not happy. It shook, it scratched and it growled, furious. 

    "I can explain!" he panted, continuing to dag this strange creature to the cliff. "I can explain it!"

     "Whoa!" Tuffnut had to look, a bit startled. "You look worse than I do."

    "Uh ..." Hiccup shuffled back as Snotlout set the writhing sack next to him. The growls inside set him on edge. "Snotlout ... what do you have in that bag?"

     He let out a huff as he let go of his prisoner. "I have what did this━!" he showed him his arm. And amongst all the other bites and wounds that made Hiccup sick to the stomach, there was one that looked exactly the same as Tuffnut's own.

     Tuffnut screamed at the sight of it. "AHH! The Lycanwing got him, too! Save yourselves!"

     "It's not a Lycanwing!" said Snotlout. "It's not even a dragon!" He gestured to the snarling thing inside the bag. "It's a wolf━and I caught him! You're not turning into a dragon, Tuff."

     Tuffnut's shoulders dropped. Finally, they seemed to be getting to him. He stared at the writhing wolf and his face lit up with relief, "I'm not?" he soon grinned. "I'm not!"

     Hiccup breathed a smile, grateful, "That's what we've been trying to tell you."

    "I just made you think that!" admitted Snotlout. "But it's not true ..." he thought about it, "It's funny," he added, "but it's not true."

     Tuffnut met his sister's gaze, and she nodded. That seemed to be the final reassurance he needed, and he smiled back. He stepped towards her━

      When the cliff edge crumbled completely, and Tuffnut fell. 

     "NO!"

     Ruffnut surged forward, screaming. But Toothless shouldered past her. He bounded to the cliff's edge and leaned over the side. Just in the nick of time, he snagged a grip around the leather of Tuffnut's boot, catching him before he fell too far. 

     But Chicken wasn't so lucky. Tuffnut cried out in horror as he watched her fall past him. He swung his hand blindly, desperate━and when he felt his hand wrap around the thin scale of her leg, he cried out a joyful cheer. 

     "Yes!" Hiccup let out, his arms thrown up into the air. 

     Yrsa slumped in her relief and she rushed to hug Astrid, the two of them holding onto each other as everyone shared a moment of rejoice to know that their quirky, eccentric━and sometimes a bit stupid dear friend and his pet chicken were all right. 

     Toothless pulled the two of them back up, and before Tuffnut could even get onto his feet again, Ruffnut threw herself forward. She heaved him up into a tight hug, hiding her face into his shoulder. 

      Hiccup watched her shed a few tears, his heart warm.  

    Tuffnut was surprised for a second, but soon, he hugged her back, a smile on his face. "I know what you'll say," he said, passing it all off as a joke. "You realise how much you love me━" Ruffnut chuckled at him, pulling away to meet his gaze, "━you were scared you were gonna lose me, and I better never do that again."

     "Actually," she said fondly, "I was just gonna tell you what an idiot you are━" she shook him by his cheeks before lurching forward to hug him again, "Come here, dumbass!"

     Hiccup glanced back at the others, all of them sharing a similar smile. Until he noticed there was no growling. He looked down at Snotlout's sack. It was empty. His stomach dropped. "Uh ... Snotlout? W ... where's the wolf?"

     His eyes widened. "Huh?"

    He looked down and yelped to see the sack empty. There was a growl in the trees. They all spun around. Something charged them from the shadows━

     Snotlout let out a strangled scream. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

   a/n: lol I love this episode.

    I forgot I had those star thingy's to separate chapters instead of the book name like in Yrsa's other book and so I just went back and fixed the last two chapters cos I have no short term memory. 

    (tuffnut and ruffnut's relationship is so sweet sometimes I love them). 

    also, I was gonna have Yrsa be dragged around too getting bitten by everything under the sun because it would've been funny to see her be bossed and shown up by ruffnut. but I decided against it because then I was like Yrsa would get such a grudge and that's not where I wanna go this part lol. there's gonna be some development between her and ruff. 

     this is such a long chapter ahahah sorry not sorry. 

    Yrsa and snotlout bring out both the worst and the best in each other its hilarious they're so chaotic.