𖣯 ✹ 🌷(makligr) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter twenty; yrsa
❝ yrsa's dangerous secret! ❞

    AT NIGHT, Helrose blended in with the clouds and stars like she was apart of the velvet sky itself. Yrsa always found flying at night something rather peaceful━where the ocean was as black as the sky, gently brushing amongst itself; its sound and its smell the only thing letting her know it was there below her. Even if she couldn't see as well as she might in the day, the moon became her guide, reflecting down upon the waves like a pathway made just for her.

     She welcomed it after such a grave conversation with Heather. Yrsa frowned at her fingers that fiddled with the edge of Helrose's saddle, swallowing down the bile in her throat that only churned in the pit of her stomach. She would have to go back to Dragon's Edge after telling Hiccup she and Astrid were heading to Berk, and then lie right to his face. 

     It's the best way to do this, she reminded herself. But it wasn't her voice, it was Heather's━constantly persuading her she was doing the right thing; making the right choice by leaving Hiccup out of the loop. It was getting harder and harder by each piece of information Heather passed on━coming up with excuses about how they learnt it, and from who. It was easier that Johann knew of their predicament, aiding with the lie if Hiccup ever asked. But Yrsa knew he was suspicious. He could tell something wasn't right━with her, specifically. It was so hard to lie and disguise how she felt to him, he could just see right through her, and she liked that he could do that; he was one of the only one she liked letting in. She hated pushing him away. 

     A blue Deadly Nadder flew into a comfortable glide beside her. Yrsa glanced over and Astrid sent her a small smile, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Still, she asked, "You okay?"

     Yrsa shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she said: "He's going to find out."

     Astrid pursed her lips. "He hasn't found out yet," she tried to be positive.

     Yrsa couldn't be positive. All she felt was shame. She went back to fiddling with her saddle━she's had to ask Hiccup to repair it far too many times from how much she's been tugging at the fraying ends. In a vulnerable, soft voice, Yrsa mumbled: "Do you think he'll hate me when he finds out?"

     Her best friend stared at her━she looked very sad; Yrsa couldn't bear to meet it. "Yrs ..." she whispered, but her voice carried in the wind to her ears. "You honestly don't think that, do you?"

      Yrsa shrugged, glum. She picked a fraying end off and let it fly away into the night. "A lot of people hate me," she said in the same mumble. "I'm very hatable..."

     "You're not," Astrid said, sounding rather emotional. "Gods, Yrsa, you're far from that. You're loyal, and you're generous, and you'd do anything for anybody in our team━you care so much ... there's nothing hatable about that. Hiccup could never hate you. If he found out ... well, we'd both know he'd be angry for a little while, but he'll understand. And it'll be back to normal because he cares about you━so much, Yrsa. More than I think you even realise."

     She made a shy face at that, her lips puckering as she hunched up, not expecting Astrid to say that so strongly━like she truly did believe that. Yrsa smiled, sheepish, a lump forming in her throat. Everyone always told her she was mean, and she was inconsiderate, and that she didn't have a kind bone in her crazy body ... and yet here Astrid was, telling her she was so very far from that. It really made Yrsa want to believe it herself ... and make everyone else see it, too. 

    Yrsa sniffled, her brows knitting together as she felt the tears come out. She quickly wiped them away, "I hate you," she told her weakly━a definite lie. "You're making me cry."

     Astrid chuckled and Yrsa couldn't help but join her━light and gentle, the two friends shared a sweet moment under the gaze of the moon and stars. 

      The blonde then met her gaze yet again, a smile so sweet on her face some might think it didn't belong there, but those who knew Astrid as well as Yrsa did, it was something she always saw. "And if━for some crazy reason━he does hate you, you'll always have me. And I'll go ahead and punch him in the face."

     Yrsa full on laughed at this, imagining the look on Hiccup's face━it brightened her night like it was suddenly day. She shook her head, "You know ..." she muttered, "... we've known each other for almost ten years ... how crazy is that?" Her eyes landed back on her best friend. Yrsa smiled, too. "And you're still my most favourite person to talk to."

     Astrid's brows lifted. Her sweet smile turned soft with a breath, and she nodded. Softly, she said, "You're my favourite person to talk to."

     And when spent together, the journey back to Dragon's Edge was no longer solemn━and Yrsa was ready to face the lies she knew she was going to have to tell, as long as she had Astrid right there beside her; always.      

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    MUCH LIKE always, it was chaotic when they returned back to Dragon's Edge. Yrsa and Astrid slowly glided their dragons down to the stables where the entire team was conversing outside the doors. None of them had noticed their arrival yet, but Toothless surely did. As soon as he heard Helrose's purr, he glanced upwards. Immediately, at the sight of his other closest companion, his face broke out into a gummy smile. He stood up on his hind legs and Yrsa waved down at him, unable to stop herself from smiling back━especially when his tail started to wag like he was a domesticated hound. 

    They returned midst a conversation that didn't truly make sense━and for someone who had no context at all to their dear friends, they would've positively been horrified. The Twins and Snotlout had stepped out of the stables after putting their dragons into their pens for the night. Approaching Fishlegs and Hiccup, Tuffnut announced his presence with a statement continuation of whatever conversation they had been having: "Yes! But not long enough." He stopped at the stable entrance, suddenly gasping with shock. "Wait!" a revelation came to him. He soon narrowed his gaze onto Fishlegs. "Unless you wanted Hiccup to get shot down."

    Ruffnut matched his suspicion. She arched a curious brow at Fishlegs propping her hands on her hips. "Hmm..." she hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting hypothesis, brother."

    Tuff rushed forward, brandishing a finger under Fishlegs's large nose. Meanwhile, Astrid and Yrsa landed behind the stables, opting to take the back way in. "Why are you trying to kill Hiccup?!" Tuffnut demanded to which Fishlegs squeaked, horrified at the very suggestion. 

     "I'm not trying to kill Hiccup!" he replied.

    Tuff just sniffed, keeping an accusing eye on the pudgy Viking, "That's exactly what someone trying to kill Hiccup would say..."

     "Indeed," his sister marched up to them, peering menacingly at Fishlegs's other side. "We're keeping our eye on you, pal."

     "Our good eye!"

     Yrsa lost majority of the conversation as she and Astrid led their dragons through the stables and towards the open door. She figured it must've stemmed from the Gronckle Iron dragon armour tests that were scheduled for this morning while she and Astrid were 'out to visit Berk'. Yrsa had a feeling they must have not gone too well. 

     But as she got close enough, she heard Snotlout make one of his usual remarks: "But it won't make it Snotlout-proof," the Jorgenson was leaning against the stable entrance. "Nothing can━" he laughed. "It's a good thing for you guys that I'm on your side."

     The opportunity was too good to miss. Yrsa walked Helrose straight into him and grinned as he was knocked face-flat onto the deck. "You are?" she teased. "Huh━honestly sometimes it's hard to tell."

     Her friend rolled onto his back, mouth agape up at her, "What the Hel was that━?!" he cried, upset. 

     Hiccup lit up, "Yrsa!" he greeted her with delight, surging forward without a second thought. "Astrid━You're back from Berk already?"

     The smile on his face fell when he noticed the looks the two girls shared. Yrsa dismounted her saddle to meet him, sighing as the lies began, yet again ... "We never made it there." His brows furrowed, concerned. "We ran into Trader Johann along the way and he had some interesting news." She pursed her lips. "Hiccup ... we need to talk."

     The conversation continued in the Clubhouse. By the warmth of the fire as the evening turned to early night, Yrsa and Astrid recounted their words with Heather, except, to their friends, it was Trader Johann who told them the terrible news. 

     "Johann flagged us down on the way to Berk," Astrid was saying. The rest of them sat around, listening with grave silence, "to tell us that he'd seen Ryker, Heather and the Dragon Hunters in the Northern Markets buying all the cold weather gear they could get their hands on."

     Snotlout frowned at this. "Why would you buy winter gear in the summer?"

    Ruffnut scoffed at him. "Hel━lo," she rolled her eyes. "That's when you get the best prices!"

    Her brother agreed. "Ruff is an excellent shopper. She actually got both of our outfits, two for the price of one."

    Snotlout turned up his nose. "Yeah ... no one's surprised by that."

    "Where would the Dragon Hunters be going that would need heavy weather gear this time of year?" wondered Hiccup, leaning forward on his knees in thought from where he sat at Yrsa's other side. He frowned at the fire, as if hoping it would give him his answer. He met her gaze. "Did Johann hear anything else?"

     Yrsa nodded, "They needed to gear right away," she remembered what Heather had told her. "And they were after something rare. A bone ... or a claw ..." she tried to prompt Hiccup on, and he did not fail.

     She knew he understood as soon as he froze up. He turned pale and they shared a stern exchange, "Or maybe a tooth?"

    Fishlegs realised what he meant━even if the others had not. "The Snowwraith!" he exclaimed. "Of course! The Dragon Hunters are after the Snowwraith to get one of its teeth."

     Tuffnut snorted. "Yeah━Good luck with that. We barely got out of there alive."

     "The Dragon Eye used to belong to the Hunters," said Hiccup thoughtfully. "They must know they need a Snowwraith tooth to make it work."

    "Who cares?" said Snotlout. "All it means is that they aren't coming our way."

    "Which means," went on the chief's son, shooting his cousin a scowl, "if they do get their own key, they'll be coming for us next."

     Snotlout went wide-eyed. "What are we waiting for?!" he suddenly sounded very enthusiastic. "Let's go stop them!"

     Astrid facepalmed. 

     Meanwhile, Yrsa was studying Hiccup's face. She knew the way his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched better than anyone. She instantly knew what he was thinking, and while she had known this was where they would end up after Heather told her this information, it still made her uneasy. 

     She crossed her arms, "Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking..."

    Ruffnut and Tuffnut━who had been watching him as well━snickered amongst each other. "Oh━" let out Ruff, leaning back against the doorway with a smirk, "he's thinking!"

    "Yep," her brother nodded, "that's definitely his thinking face."

     Hiccup set his jaw. He stood up, "We can't let that happen," he announced. "Get a good night's sleep, gang. We leave for Glacier Island at first light."

     As he turned on his foot to leave the rest of them in the Clubhouse, Yrsa subtly met Astrid's gaze━she nodded at her. Yet, while everything was going to plan, Yrsa did not feel at ease one bit. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     "HEY, CAN I ask a stupid question?"

     "You sure can! Better than anyone I know!"

     "Thank you, sister!"

     "You're welcome, brother!"

     Yrsa clenched her hands tight at the handles of her saddle. She expressed a loud huff of a breath that did not go missed by the Twins who glanced at her, blank-faced and not at all surprised by her displeasure. Yrsa bit her tongue, glowering forward at the sunrise clouds they followed towards Glacier Island. She was not in a good mood to begin with (when was she ever?), it wasn't going to take much from anyone at this stage to make her aggravated and annoyed. She met Astrid's gaze across Fishlegs and Meatlug, and her friend sent her a look that said: keep calm in more ways than one. She couldn't seem vexed and she couldn't seem anxious about what lied ahead━Hiccup could read her so well, they both knew if he was to figure out their liaisons with Heather, it would be because of her. And they had to make this work.

     It wasn't particularly a long flight from Dragon's Edge to Glacier Island, but Yrsa was tired nonetheless. They had travelled from the brink of dawn and now as the sun was finally starting to rise over the cold oceans, beating her furs into a billow behind her, she realised just how exhausted she felt. And she wasn't sure whether it was from lack of sleep, or lying to Hiccup and everyone else. 

     "Hiccup," went on Tuffnut, leaning forward on Belch's horns as he spoke loudly (and as always, annoyingly), "are we really trying to protect a dragon that the last time we saw it, tried to kill us? From Dragon Hunters, who, every time we see them try to kill us?"

     "And Heather and her dragon," added Ruffnut and her brother pointed at her in agreement. "Don't forget them. They like to try and kill us, too."

     "Heather won't be a problem," stated Astrid. Yrsa frowned at her, startled━not that the others noticed, but the two of them shared a quick exchange of, why would you say that?

     "Why wouldn't Heather be a problem?" queried Fishlegs, confused about her statement as well.

     "Yeah, Astrid," grumbled Yrsa, still eyeing her with her stern, knowing glance, "why won't Heather be a problem?"

     Her friend squirmed in her saddle, now just realising how she should have thought before saying something like that. "Just that we ... We outnumber her, right?"

     Yrsa shook her head at her and set her gaze forward. She was glad Hiccup was in front and hadn't glanced back, otherwise she was sure he'd get suspicious. "Look," he said, "Heather or know Heather, all we have to do is find the Snow Wraith first and relocate it to an island where the Hunters won't find him."

    "Oh," let out Ruffnut, rolling her eyes with a sarcasm that even made Yrsa bite back the want to smile, "that's all?"

    "Uh, that sounds like the sort of 'extremely dangerous' plan━" Tuffnut quoted his words, "━I would come up with. And no. I do not mean that as a compliment!"

     Hiccup sent him an unamused glance over his shoulder, "I didn't think so."

     Glacier Island began to show in the distant horizon. Yrsa recognised its high, icy tips━she could hear the ice move all the way from here, thundering and grinding against one another. She could see thick blizzard clouds settle around its centre and knew it wouldn't be an easy landing. 

     "Come on," went on the chief's son. "Let's head over to where we found the Snow Wraith last time."

     Snotlout couldn't help himself. He grumbled from Hookfang's back. "Oh, you mean━where it found us?"

    Hiccup set his jaw, though he could not tell Snotlout he was wrong. Swallowing his pride, the chief's son muttered, "Yes, that's one way of putting it."

    "Yes," said his cousin, quite dead-panned, "the only way."

    He glanced at Yrsa as if expecting to agree with him, but when she hadn't made a comment━not even an amused smile, Snotlout frowned. No one said anything more as they all dived down at an even pace for the island, shivering in their saddles not just from the cold. 

     If she was to be honest, the last place she wanted to return to was Glacier Island. Even in the warmer seasons, the entire island was blanketed in thick layers of snow, ice and in the midst of a heavy blizzard storm. Yrsa cuddled her furs closer around her arms, shivering and twisting her boots to try and give herself even the slightest breath of warmth. They landed harshly, but she supposed to storm gave them much needed cover from the Dragon Hunters or the Snow Wraith (wherever they were). 

     As the group of Dragon Riders shuffled together, their breaths mist in front of them and their cheeks red and ice-bitten, Yrsa stepped back against Helrose's underbelly, welcoming the warmth it provided. 

     "This is summer on Glacier Island?" scoffed Ruffnut, looking chilled to the bone. "No wonder they don't get any tourists."

     "What would their slogan be?" wondered Tuffnut off-handedly. Yrsa rolled her eyes, barely able to acknowledge Hiccup as and Toothless came to stand beside her after trying to see through the storm with a Night Fury's sound blast. She was too frozen to even muster her best glower. "Ah! I know━'If the Snow Wraith doesn't kill you, the weather will'!"

     "Hey!" grinned Ruffnut. "That's a good slogan."

     "That's a terrible slogan," muttered Yrsa. 

    "But━" quickly added Hiccup, shooting her a quick look to which she shrugged (or tried to, she believed her shoulders might be frozen), "━the good news is, if we run into any Dragon Hunters, they won't have much luck with those dragon root arrows in this weather."

     "And the bad news is..."

     Yrsa glanced over at Snotlout's voice━she quickly jumped, surprised (and sort of disgusted) at the sight. As quick as a Speed Stinger, the Twins had latched themselves onto the Jorgenson like baby Typhoomerangs━arms and legs hugging around his shoulders and waist. Snotlout stared blankly, though his jaw ticked, as if he was ready to jump off a cliff with them. Yrsa turned her nose up.

    She shared an incredulous glance with Hiccup, who matched her look exactly. Astrid face-palmed. "What are you doing?" Hiccup asked the Twins slowly. 

     "It's called body heat management," stated Ruffnut matter-of-factly, which looked ridiculous with her holding onto Snotlout in such a way. 

     "Also known as the Thorston Sandwich," grinned Tuff, "served cold." He nuzzled into Snotlout's neck and the Jorgenson let out a cry of disgust, trying to shake them off. 

     Hiccup furrowed his brows. There was an awkward silence before he decided: "That's ... horrifying." Soon, he clapped his hands━they made little sound in the storm, but he grabbed all of their attentions, "Okay! Why━why don't you guys set up camp? Yrs, Astrid and I will scout the island."

     Yrsa was admittedly glad to get away from the sight that was the Twins, Snotlout and their 'Thorston Sandwich' (served cold). She walked back to Helrose, reaching up to her saddle with a large shiver. Behind her, she heard Snotlout argue:

     "Come on━let go!"

     "No!" cried Ruffnut. "We're saving your life!"

     "I don't care!" He threw them off and broke off into a run towards his supplies. "I'm outta here!"

     Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched him go, both a little disappointed. 

    "Huh," huffed Ruff, "I can't believe he'd rather freeze to death than be hugged by us..."

     Her brother pointed an accusing finger at her, "I blame you. You're clingy."

     Ruffnut gaped and hugged her knees to her chest, "I am not!" she argued weakly, pouting to their dragon. Grumbling to herself, she added, "You're clingy..."

      Yrsa rolled her eyes to herself and guided Helrose back towards Hiccup and Astrid. She nodded at them, twisting her grip on the saddle━she locked gazes with Astrid longer, and the blonde subtly nodded, telling her exactly what she already figured: they were going to use this as an excuse to find Heather. 

     Once she met up with them, Hiccup took a deep breath━shivered from the cold━and then said, "Come on, let's go."

      She really preferred not to head straight into the storm to scout, but she had to go for multiple reasons. One, she wanted to scout the area, and the second, she and Astrid had to meet up with Heather━Yrsa had to do what she needed to do, even if she'd much prefer to tell Hiccup everything and hug him and tell him she was sorry, and then hopefully warm herself by the fire back at the Clubhouse with everything forgiven. 

     But while she wished to be hopeful for such things, Yrsa was rational. She knew it wouldn't go like that if Hiccup figured everything out. She knew him━she knew he'd be angry, and she'd feel terrible. She didn't mind telling others off even if it hurt their feelings, she didn't mind hurting others feelings if they were asking for it. But she hated hurting Hiccup's feelings. She hated making him angry and upset━especially when it was with her. 

    They took back to the sky, leaving the rest of their team to set up camp. Yrsa could barely see anything through the storm, holding a hand over her eyes and trying to see whether her glower could melt the snow itself. But surprisingly, it did not work. Searching was going to be fruitless, but Hiccup urged them onwards anyway. 

     It was growing dark in the clouds as they soared around the mountains, their dragons growing frustrated in the heavy wind and at the sound of the glacier moving and cracking around and beneath them. 

     Hiccup leaned over the edge of his dragon, keeping a strong grip to make sure the wind wouldn't carry him off, "You see anything down there?"

     "I can barely see you," said Yrsa with a snarky tongue. 

     He shot her a look, "You're being very helpful."

     She just replied with a stiff, sarcastic smile. Then, she focused in front of her, knowing this would be a great time to slip off. When she spoke up, she trusted that Astrid would understand, considering Yrsa could barely see her reaction on Hiccup's other side. "We should split up. Cover more ground."

    "No," Hiccup immediately disagreed, shooting another sharp look. "We stick together. It's safer. Okay?"

    Yrsa didn't listen. As the wind grew and a gust of snow dashed past, she took her chance, gripping onto her saddle tight and urging Helrose into a deep dive to hide behind the next stony fissure. She knew he'll be angry━she knew, but she had to go. 

     And right now, the last thing Yrsa needed was her to be weak in her decisions. 

     She met up with Astrid a fair way from where they left Hiccup; the storm made it hard to see, but soon, Yrsa could catch the sight of her yellow hair amongst the pure white and made her way towards her. Helrose clattered, frustrated with the weather━she hated this island just as much as Yrsa did━and dipped down to reach Stormfly. 

     Even in the white-out, Astrid seemed to understand exactly what Yrsa was thinking and as they hovered to a easy flight━or as easy as they could manage in this storm━together, she said, "You all right?"

     Yrsa didn't say anything. She just set her jaw and fixed her posture. Astrid expected such. She nodded, and mustered a wary smile━she looked just as tired about this as she was, and it was comforting to know she wasn't alone. "It'll be all right," her friend promised. "We'll get what we need, and Hiccup will understand━when he finds out, or when we tell him, either way. He will understand."

     Yrsa knew that. He was a very understanding person. But he was also a very trusting person━and Yrsa hated to be the one to break that trust since she valued it so much. And after all the trouble they've had recently, and how lucky they were to rekindle into a mutual friendship, she was delicate in not upsetting any of their hard work. 

    It was hard to find Heather, though they searched for the position she had advised them she'd be in. But with her dragon such a steel, grey colour, Windshear matched in with the snow perfectly, and it wasn't until Yrsa noticed a speck of the warm light of a fire that they finally found their little spy. 

    Yrsa was prepared to get this over and done with. Landing on the snow of the landing disguised behind two jagged slopes of the mountains, she went to march right over to Heather and get the information they needed━but Astrid stopped her, a mischievous look glinting in her eyes. Yrsa sighed, annoyed, but let her be. She had to remind herself that she was close friends with Heather and while since she showed up in their lives again, Yrsa and Heather have come to a mutual understanding, it wasn't the same. 

     She watched the two of them embrace and awkwardly stand to the side, protected from the snow underneath her dragon's wing. Astrid squeezed Heather tight, happy to see her and know that she was still safe. 

     "What took you so long?" said Heather as she pulled away, taking down her hood and showing her long black braid. 

     Astrid huffed a knowing sigh, "Hiccup isn't the easiest person to sneak away from. But Yrsa managed to give us an excuse."

    Yrsa stayed silent, crossing her arms and watching the two of them. Heather glanced over and there was a tense silence. It was strange between them━very strange; Yrsa couldn't quite describe it. She didn't hate Heather (truly, she never did), but she didn't particularly like her, either. She respected her for doing this, and yet didn't respect how she was making her lie to Hiccup. She was grateful that she was okay, and yet annoyed at how reckless she was being. 

     It was strange, and Yrsa didn't like it.

    Heather walked up to her and smiled grimly, "Yrsa," she greeted. "It's good to see you."

     She should say, it's good to see you, too. Part of her wanted to, but instead, Yrsa tugged at the furs around her arms and surged forward to the campfire, "Does Ryker know you're here?"

     "No," Heather said immediately. Yrsa ignored the slight disappointment in her voice. "He thinks I'm out scouting."

     "Are you sure?" she countered, eyeing her. Heather set her jaw, annoyed at her tone. "He didn't see you? No one followed?"

    "I'm sure," bit back the wayward Berserker. It took a moment of intently staring at Heather for Yrsa to be satisfied that she had successfully made it here without being seen. 

     She nodded and made her way to the small camp fire. She eyed the smoke that drifted up, hoping it wouldn't be noticed through the thick storm and decided to sit down on the log. Heather and Astrid joined her, as did their dragons, extending their wings to keep the gale from freezing their bones. 

    "How did you get him to come here, anyway?" then asked Heather. 

    "We just told him what you told us," said Astrid, beginning to warm her hands by the fire, "but let him think it was coming from Trader Johann. Any problems on your end?"

     Heather rolled her eyes, scoffing before saying, "Well, Ryker doesn't trust anyone and Dagur is paranoid, but so far I think I'm okay."

    "You think?" said Yrsa. Heather met her gaze. "You can't think you're okay, Heather, you have to be sure. If Ryker doesn't trust anyone, that means he doesn't trust you. And Dagur is paranoid, but he isn't stupid, which means there's a thin line there before he might start to suspect you━it doesn't matter if you're his sister."

     Her eyes flashed at the mention of her relation, but Heather chose not to snap. Yrsa took this as a chance to continue, "You have to be careful. One mistake━and that's it. All of this would be for nothing."

     "I know that," Heather gritted her teeth. "You don't have to keep reminding me."

     Yrsa didn't say anything. She just arched one, dubious brow. 

     "I took care of Dagur anyway," said Heather, not appreciating the way Yrsa was acting (she pretended as if she didn't care). "I sent him on a fool's errand, looking for a second Dragon Eye."

     Astrid smirked at that━she tried to lift the tense air between her two friends, "That should keep him busy. So, fill us in."

    Heather nodded and pulled out a map from the leather saddle bag she had set down beside her. Yrsa shuffled closer, curious to see what she had brought. She noticed a scaled drawing very similar to the island they were on now. Crossed with many differing symbols━caves and ice caverns that she presumed the Hunters would be searching, or have already searched. She met Astrid's gaze over the top of it, glad they were getting to the point. 

    "We've been here for two days," stated Heather in between the two girls, "searching pretty methodically. According to Ryker, the Snow Wraith digs an ice cave to hibernate in during the summer."

    Yrsa's brows knitted together, "We didn't know that," she regrettably admitted. She didn't like acknowledging she didn't know something about a dragon. 

    "That explains the rush to get out here," said Astrid thoughtfully, "probably to get a tooth from a hibernating Snow Wraith."

     Heather nodded, "Exactly."

    "Too bad we don't know where the cave is."

    Soon, Heather smirked, "But I think I might." Yrsa's brows lifted, taken aback. "Windshear and I spotted a cave on a plateau about halfway up that mountain━" she pointed to the north-most peak of Glacier's island. "You find a way to get Hiccup up there  to check it out. Meanwhile, I'll tell Ryker I didn't find anything and try to keep him as far away as possible."

    Yrsa pursed her lips. She was impressed━surprisingly, that Heather managed to find the cave before anyone else could. But she was unsettled. She glanced backwards the way they had come, down towards where she knew the others had set up camp. She could imagine Hiccup's frustration━feel it all the way up here with the cold. She felt bad. She felt guilty. She wanted to tell him━they were supposed to do everything together, and without him here with her, Yrsa felt bare and uncomfortable. 

    Heather noticed, "What?" she demanded softly. 

    Yrsa clenched her hands underneath her furs tight until her nails dug into her palm. Then, once she took a deep breath, she let them go, flexing her fingers in the cold. "We should tell Hiccup what we're doing," she put on her best ordering and controlling voice, hoping it would get her way.

     "No," said Heather immediately, walking up to her. She met her gaze, scowling and Yrsa matched with a glower of her own━but she knew it wasn't her best. She knew there was something broken in it━something that showed just how upset she was. Heather noticed it, even if others seemed to be unable to. She sighed, her shoulders falling and her brows lifting. Yrsa watched her. Her eyes were greener than Hiccup's: like a true emeralds. Heather was beautiful like a sharp, glinting knife, freshly forged would be in a blacksmith's shop. Yrsa hated how she was focusing on that. "We agreed. We keep going the way we're going."

     Yrsa took a sharp breath. "No," she forced her own, not ready to back down. "He deserves to know. We can't keep hiding behind his back━" she faltered, and swallowed harshly. "I can't keep hiding from him." She turned to her friend still by the fire. "Astrid, you have to agree?"

     The blonde sighed, considering both of them. In the end, she decided, "Heather's right, Yrsa. If Hiccup found out now before we get the chance to give him Viggo, he'll drag Heather out. And you know she's right, as well. What does your head tell you, Yrsa?"

     She knew what she meant. Her head, not her heart. Yrsa's head told her this was the only way right now, until they were sure they had Viggo in their sights and Hiccup couldn't drag Heather out even if he wanted to. But her heart begged for her to be honest with him. 

     Heather was hesitant, but she reached out to place a hand on Yrsa's shoulder. She was surprised that she did not shove her away. Instead, she met her gaze again, emotional. "Yrsa," said Heather softly, "I know you hate lying to him━I understand. You might not want me to, but I do. But this is the best way to take the Dragon Hunters down, from the inside."

     "Hiccup could help us," Yrsa tried weakly, but she knew her heart was losing to her rationality. "He's━he's really smart and━and he comes up with great ideas━"

    "And he also cares too much," stated Heather. Yrsa hung her gaze, knowing she was right and hating it. 

     "I get that, but━"

     "I'm this close to getting to Viggo," urged Heather, determined. "I can't quit now━surely you must understand that, Yrsa?"

     She did. Yrsa really did. And perhaps that was why she was in this in the first place. Why she had come to grow a mutual respect for Heather after all their differences and dislikes. "I do," she whispered. Heather let out a breath, relieved. "I do, I just ..." Yrsa swallowed the lump in her throat. "If anything happens to any of the others or you━to Hiccup━because I held something back I'll━I'll never forgive myself."

    Heather met her gaze and told her, strong and sure, "Nothing will happen."

    She didn't know why she suddenly believed her. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

    "SO, WHEN WE spotted the cave from the air, it got me thinking." The next morning once the snow storm let up, Yrsa and Astrid gathered the Riders to travel up towards the cave Heather had mentioned. Nervous on her saddle, Yrsa tried to keep her voice steady and her eyes nonchalant, discussing the information they received with Hiccup at her side. The two of them lead the group of Riders up the slope, all of them tired and cold━and unhappy they were woken so early in the morning. Helrose could feel Yrsa's nerves, and she purred, growing apprehensive with her. 

     "Last time we were here," went on Yrsa and Hiccup nodded, listening intently, "the Snow Wraith was on us right away. Remember? Why not this time? Maybe because it's hibernating the summer season away━or━or something━up in that cave?" she pointed to the one Heather showed them at the highest slope. 

     Hiccup furrowed his brows, thoughtful. Behind them, Fishlegs nodded, considering this as well. "Yeah," he soon decided. "Yeah .. that━that's not a bad theory."

     "I agree," murmured Hiccup. He kept watching her. It made Yrsa advert her gaze, hating how intense it was. He knew something was up. He always knew and it was both endearing and yet frustrating at the same time. "I'm just wondering how it was you guys came all the way out here when we were all scouting in the opposite direction?"

     Yrsa fiddled with her furs. Toothless eyed her as well, though his warble of concern was far more comforting than Hiccup's suspicious glance. "I ..." she tried to think of a lie on the tip of her tongue. She was having trouble. "We ... we must've gotten lost."

     Hiccup didn't believe her. "Lost?"

    "Fine," she grumbled, trying a different angle. She met his gaze shyly, "I ... I got carried away, okay? You know how I am."

     It seemed to work. He sighed and nodded, the suspicious gaze he held softening to something stern, and yet understanding. "Yes, I do," Hiccup said. He urged Toothless a little closer to her side and he and Helrose shared a little huff. "But, Yrs ... you can't just go off on your own like that━even with Astrid. It's dangerous in a storm like that and━well━you know, I rely on you. Okay?" he let up with a small, gentle smile. He waited for her response and Yrsa looked to her hands. His smile faltered a little when he noticed how tight her grip was on her saddle bar. 

     She forced the smile on her face, fixing one of her braids against her fur hood. Yrsa nodded at him, feeling heavy with a guilty conscience. "Okay."

     He didn't look completely satisfied, but he left it at there, urging Toothless onwards. For a moment, Yrsa didn't follow, letting the others wade around her as she watched Hiccup lead the way. This didn't feel right━none of this felt right. But she had to do it. She had to lie to him otherwise their plan wouldn't work. 

    (But no matter how many times she told herself that, she knew she was wrong). 

     Finally, they reached the summit of the tallest mountain. Yrsa found it a little harder to breathe up here, and despite it being freezing cold, she loosened her furs to allow more air into her lungs. Helrose huffed━she hated being here, where it was even colder than Berk. Not that she couldn't survive in cold climates (her natural body heat made her quite accustomed to them), but she just hated them anyway. Like Yrsa, she was rather picky and particular. The two of them didn't like the severe cold, and they couldn't handle the heat and humidity (Yrsa's hair would always grow frizzy and heavier than it already was). When the leaves fell it was always a rush to prepare for winter and when the snow let up they always sneezed at the blooming flowers. Though Thawfest always made up for that, she supposed. 

     Before they could get too close, Hiccup held a hand up━they all stopped. Astrid grabbed her axe and Yrsa was quick to follow, twisting and turning the hilt in her grip. Fishlegs grappled for his little knife, holding out with trembling hands and a quivering whimper. The Twins snickered, quietly bumping their helmets, ready for the action while Snotlout rolled his eyes at all of them. There was no sound━no growls, no shifting scales; the only noise there was were their own breaths and the moving ice below. 

     The Jorgenson scoffed, "You know, Yrsa, since we've been the bestest of friends, I try not to be a discouragement━" she sent him a look that said: do you really? "━but I don't hear anything."

     Yrsa scowled at him, "That's because, Snotlout," she said slowly and with a condescending tone, "they're hibernating! They're asleep!"

     "Quiet, both of you," said Hiccup quickly and the two Dragon Riders grumbled, but kept their mouths shut. 

    Then, out of nowhere, there was the sound of something running along the snow. All of the Dragon Hunters jumped, eyes fixed on the slope to their left. Hiccup readied himself in his saddle, Toothless prepared a low, vibrating course of fire in his throat.

     "So much for your hibernation theory," whispered Snotlout to Yrsa.

     "Shut up!" she snapped back to him in the same tone. 

     The pounding sound of feet drew nearer. The Riders tensed with their weapons in hand. Fishlegs's whimpers grew higher in pitch. 

    Then, bursting forth from the snowy slope were three terrifying, very dangerous, very horrifying ...

     Squealing boars.

    Yrsa's shoulders dropped, annoyed but relieved. The three boars skidded to a stop in front of them. Toothless bit back his blast, surprised. 

     "Bet they heard Fishlegs squeals and thought he was one of their own," muttered Snotlout and Yrsa reached out to hit him in the shoulder. 

     The three boars settled their gaze on Fishlegs. That━in itself━was enough to make him scream. The sound piqued in everyone's ears; they winced. The boars squealed and scurried off.

     Once they were gone, Hiccup slowly looked back over his shoulder. He arched a brow at Fishlegs and the pudgy Viking went red at the cheeks, quite sheepish.

     "Well, you know," said Snotloout, taunting, "if the Snow Wraith's were hibernating before, they definitely won't be now."

     "Shut up, Snotlout."

    "Hey," he scowled at Astrid, "that insult wasn't even directed at you." She smirked, smug and sarcastic before leading Stormfly past them. Snotlout watched her with a glowering breath. "Yeah, go ahead and make it all about yourself, Astrid. Go, Astrid. You're the real Viking, Astrid." He mocked her name each time. 

     "You're so annoying," Yrsa told her friend before catching up. 

     "You say that but we both know you secretly love me." 

     "Shut up." She stopped right before the cave that descended deep into the mountains side━and probably sloping down below inside. She glanced at Hiccup who waited by its entrance, scowling into the darkness. "I'll go check it out," she offered.

     "No," he shot her the same scowl, still miffed beneath it all. "We'll all go check it out."

     She bit hard on her tongue, knowing better not to argue. She matched his scowl, but knew she deserved it. With a huff, she dismounted Helrose. The others followed and together, they entered the cave on foot with their dragons close behind. It didn't take long before Hiccup noticed something. He marched up towards the cavern walls and his fingers inched along the stone and ice, following the length of two, large claw marks. 

      "Look at these claw marks," he mused, and Yrsa knew he was wondering what caused them━and how big the dragon was to make such a mark. "Well," he met her gaze, "I'd say we found the right cave."

    "It's nice," said Tuffnut, eying it all with a very judging upturn of his nose. His sister matched his expression completely. "It's no boar pit. But it's nice."

     "All right, gang━let's take it slowly and quietly. Snotlout, get the Nightmare gel out."

     Although grumpy, Snotlout did as he was told, and soon the dark cave was lit up in the eerie glow of the fire from their torches━a mixture of burning red and tinges of green that illuminated each of their faces in a ghostly glow amongst the ice. 

     Yrsa held her torch up, gazing at the way the ice mixed in with the stone, turning it a splendid colour of blue that if they were in different circumstances, she'd smile and be awe-struck. The ice spread across each fissure, each dent━a frozen river on either side of them, and above. She dared not get too close, scared she'd melt it and a waterfall would fall. She couldn't help it, she breathed a smile, eyes following a pattern that split off into two different streams, crossing over others like lightning strikes. 

     She didn't realise Hiccup had approached her until he was at her side. Yrsa glanced over, a little shy━she didn't know whether he was angry, whether he was miffed, or whether he had gotten over their small spat. She had to remind herself that once he knew the truth, it would be more than some small spat between friends. 

    "I'm sorry," then whispered Hiccup to her gently. "For being stern earlier, I just ..."

     "I know," she croaked. She hated this━she hated lying, especially to him. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't━Astrid and I━shouldn't have ventured off."

     "Well, perhaps it was good you did," he smiled. "I don't think we would have found this cave if you hadn't. Just ... next time, bring me with you. That's our thing━we rely on each other, we have each others backs, we do things together. We're a team." His smile turned cheeky as he struck out his hand, looking ridiculous. "Deal?" he offered and for the first time since they arrived here, Yrsa chuckled━light and warm in her chest no matter the cold weather.

     She matched his ridiculous look, taking his hand and giving it a good shake. "Deal."

      Hiccup's smile returned to something sweet and gentle. Yrsa knew it was time to let go of his hand, but she found she didn't want to. She held on, and so did he. For a moment, she didn't care that the others were around, or if they could see them━and it struck her by surprise. But she didn't let herself pull away to run and hide. She held on━she held on and she continued to stare into his eyes and she found something beautiful in the glow of the firelight and glimmering ice. 

      They were friends, she reminded herself. They had decided to stay friends. That was what was best for the both of them right now. She wanted to stay friends. 

      They were friends. 

      She still did not let go. They were friends, and they didn't lie to each other. They were a team━they were more than a team, deep down. Yrsa took a deep breath, and her heart spiked when she thought━for a moment━Hiccup's gaze had flickered to her lips. She found it hard to speak. She hated how he could do that to her. "H━Hiccup," she whispered. He hummed. "I ... I have to tell you something━"

     She never got the chance. 

     Something grated━long and spiked━against the ice outside. Yrsa let go of his hand, startled when she heard her dragon growl. They all glanced back, and she gasped. 

     "Get down!" Hiccup shouted. 

     He pulled her to the cave wall as Dragon Root arrows cascaded towards them. Hunters perched themselves at the entrance, trying to lock them in. The cave lit up in bright blue and purple as Toothless intercepted the volley of arrows with a sonic blast. Astrid acted straight away, "Stormfly, spine shot!" 

    The Hunters dived from the entrance to avoid her dragons poisonous spikes. In the moment of calm in gave them, Hiccup pushed Yrsa along to Helrose. "Go━!" he told her and rushed to Toothless himself. The rest of the Riders prepared their dragons for the next set of Hunters that were sure to follow. Yrsa realised what the sound had been━it had been Windshear. Heather had warned them. 

      Yrsa was prepared when the next set of brave and stupid Hunters charged them in the cave. At Hiccup's order, they all fired a series of shots they knew off by heart━the team worked together, and they worked well, despite their many differences. But when surrounded by snow and ice, they had to be careful. Helrose, Stormfly and Hookfang━all three with the hottest flame, did not spark in fear of melting the cavern on top of them and suffocating them all in a cave in. Instead the Deadly Nadder kept the group of Hunters skidding back with a volley of spines and Toothless's sharp blasts vibrated the snow at their feet━they fell over, coughing and winded. A stray arrow somehow imbedded itself into Tuffnut's helmet. (He was lucky the stupid helm was so thick it didn't pierce further). When they tried to get back up, it took the threat of a Zippleback's firestorm (and Belch's cheeky spark from his maw) to send them running for a retreat. 

     When the calm settled again, Tuffnut glowered up at the arrow shaft poking forth from his helm. "Oh, shoot my helmet, will yah!" he shouted back through the open cavern. His sister just laughed, quite happy with the result. 

    Hiccup just shot them a scowl, "Keep it down, will you? We wake up that Snow Wraith, things get a whole lot trickier."

     "I'm more worried about whether that arrow got rid of Tuff's only last remaining piece of intelligence," grumbled Yrsa. 

      Tuffnut shrugged, not disagreeing or agreeing━in fact, he didn't seem bothered by the prospect. 

      "What do you think Ryker's next move is?" asked Astrid now that they had some time. 

     "Surrender?" offered Ruffnut cheekily.

     "Or ..." spoke up Fishlegs uneasily, "I guess he could do that..." he pointed to the entrance and they all followed his gaze. There, a shadow approached, large in the reflection above. Soon, Yrsa could see Ryker emerge, seemingly alone.

     Her gaze hardened as he grew nearer. She didn't trust it. 

    "Dragon Riders!" he called to them. "Send out your leader to talk!"

     Yrsa shook her head, knowing it would have to be a farce. She turned to Hiccup, "No," she told him, already realising he was considering the fact. "It's a trap, Hiccup. He'll have archers hidden. I should go out and see what their game is."

     Snotlout smirked at this. He snickered, "Yeah," he said, knowing full well it would be a disaster either way, "let Yrsa go."

     "If there are archers," said Hiccup to Yrsa, completely ignoring Snotlout's snide comment, "it won't matter who goes out."

     Yes it does, she thought to herself. I know Heather is on our side, you don't. "But━"

     "Hiccup Haddock!" bellowed Ryker and he looked over, setting his jaw. "Let's talk this out, like men!" He slammed his sword deep into the ice, disarming himself━dramatically, but disarming himself all the same. 

     Fishlegs whimpered and the shudder it made. "Oh! I don't like the sound of that."

     Hiccup took a deep breath. Yrsa tried to argue her point, but he had made up his mind. Stubborn, he jumped off his saddle and pulled his shield off his back. "If there's one chance to settle this without bloodshed, I have to try." He started forward, but when Toothless went to follow, he stopped him with a hand to his snout. "No, bud. If this is a trap, I may need you to get me out of it." He glanced at Yrsa, nodding to her. She sighed, but slipped off Helrose's back to come to Toothless's side. She wrapped a hand around his saddle, comforting, but strong to make sure he didn't jump into action unless needed. He met her gaze, wide and pleading━and she felt the same, but she rubbed his scales to calm him down. 

    "He'll be all right, bud," she whispered to him. Then, she met Hiccup's gaze. "He's right though. This is stupid. You're impossible."

     Hiccup arched a brow, "You just were offering to go yourself━" stopping himself before they'd get into another short spat about who was impossible and who was not, the chief's son just fixed his grip on his shield and promised her, "I'll be careful."

     "Word of advice," spoke up Tuffnut from the back, holding his hand against his mouth as if spreading a shocking secret, "open with a compliment."

     Hiccup frowned at him, but let it go. With a final breath, the chief's son marched up the slope and towards the cave entrance where Ryker stood waiting behind the gleam of his jagged sword. The Dragon Riders watched, their breaths hitched, their ears piqued━awaiting any sign of danger so they could dart in and help. But as their leader neared, nothing happened. It was frustratingly peaceful━and Yrsa didn't believe it for one second.  

     "Hmm..." they heard Ryker muse to himself, eyeing Hiccup up and down and chuckling. "Dagur was right. You don't look like much."

     Without a beat, Hiccup was there to mock him with an instant: "Yrsa was right. You look like a psycho."

     Tuffnut slumped back in his saddle, disappointed and confused. "Not exactly the compliment I would have led with..." he murmured to the rest of the Riders. Astrid rolled her eyes. 

      Ryker's chuckle echoed through the cavern━bouncing off the walls and settling with an uneasy weight in Yrsa's stomach. Hiccup set his shield against his metal leg and demanded, "What do you want, Ryker?"

     "The Dragon Eye."

     "Not a chance."

     "It belongs to us, the Hunters. You stole it from our ship. And I will have it back."

     "Not today, you won't."

     "Oh no?" Ryker chuckled at Hiccup's arrogant smile. He gestured to the cave, "Look around. We're in front of you. The Snow Wraith is behind you. One time offer. Hand over the Dragon Eye and you're free to go."

     Hiccup felt his tunic and pants. Yrsa scoffed a smile, unable to believe he could be cheeky in a time like this. "Hmm!" he let out with mock surprise. "Would you look at that ... Sorry, I must have left it in my other pants!" Snotlout wasn't so impressed. He mocked him quietly under his breath. 

     Ryker clenched his jaw, "Well, in that case, surrender and you won't meet the same fate as your dragons."

     All jokes had passed. Hiccup uncrossed his arms, glowering at Ryker with his best glare━he may be small, but there were a few things he inherited from his father; his glare, one of them. "Okay, then here's my offer," he began, deadly serious. "Leave now, and your men won't have to find out what burning flesh smells like."

     Ruffnut whistled lowly to the rest of them hidden in the depths of the cave, "Wow, he really went with that one. I'm impressed."

     "Badass," Tuffnut checked them off his fingers, "serious, catchy━" he held back fake tears, "━I'm so proud of him. He's grown up so much."

     "You guys are ridiculous," Astrid told them, considering Yrsa was too busy going over Hiccup's words and finding herself a mixture of pride, surprise, and sort of wanting to hear him say it again. 

     Ryker sighed, glowering at the chief's son, "You really don't have the Dragon Eye with you?"

     "No," said Hiccup strongly.

    "And━you aren't coming out?"

     "Not any time soon."

    "Well," Ryker shrugged. He didn't sound bothered. Yrsa frowned at that. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance." Beside her, Toothless emitted a low growl. Ryker grasped the hilt of his sword and tugged it out. A sudden light dropped to the ice, and Yrsa saw the shadow of a hunter aiming his arrow right for Hiccup's heart.

    She let go of Toothless and shouted, "Hiccup! It's a trap!"

    The Hunter fired. Hiccup brought his shield up in the nick of time, and the arrow bounced harmlessly off the iron. Ryker gritted his teeth and hurried back━two more Hunters took his place. 

     "Helrose!" Yrsa ran back to her dragon. She was ready, letting her leap onto her saddle just as the second set of arrows arched upwards and down towards them. They did their best to intercept then with blasts of fire, burning the wooden shafts to ashes━but the loud noise and heat made Yrsa worried. The last thing they wanted was for either the Snow Wraith to wake, or this whole cavern to come cascading down upon them. 

     But when the whole cave was lit up in sheering silver light, Yrsa had no choice but to duck her head in her arms. The entire cavern shuddered━stone cascaded down either side of her. Helrose shrieked and almost threw her from the saddle. Yrsa had barely any time to think of the others before she hit the ground, painful and her dragon pulled her into her wings, keeping her close as the entire cave collapsed. 

     And Yrsa realised she really should keep her thoughts positive, because she seemed to be jinxing quite a lot. 

     She huddled up, close to Helrose's underbelly as the stone fell. It bounced off her scales and her hard wings━but each sound made Yrsa flinch, terrified that the force would be too much and end up hurting her dragon. But when it finally subsided, she felt Helrose huff out a long breath. There was silence. Yrsa shivered. 

     A glow emitted through the dark of Helrose's wings. A voice followed it, unsure and hesitant, "Is ... is everyone all right?"

     Relief washed over Yrsa when she heard Hiccup, and then Fishlegs to her left, "Define 'all right'."

     Yrsa emerged from Helrose's wings once she folded them back and almost immediately Toothless was at her side, sniffing and nudging her to check whether she was all right. Yrsa breathed a chuckle, a little pained in her side, but nothing she couldn't handle. She crouched down and hugged the Night Fury, letting him know she was all good. 

     Hookfang lit up behind them, startled from all the commotion. Or perhaps agitated by his rider who stamped his foot and declared the Hunters stupid. "Why would Ryker seal himself off from the key?!" he demanded, rather furious by all of this. 

     "He wasn't sealing himself out," said Astrid, struggling back onto her feet with Stormfly's help. "He was sealing us in."

     Hiccup sighed. He rubbed at his cheeks. Yrsa watched him, concerned as she continued to scratch both Toothless and Helrose's scales (she was never one to leave the other out). "Astrid's right. Ryker figures we'll fight the Snow Wraith for him and then he'll come in and deal with whoever survives."

     Snotlout chuckled at this, suddenly impressed. "Oh━ho━awesome!" His grin quickly dropped. "But we're not gonna do that, right?"

     Hiccup walked over and pulled himself back onto Toothless's saddle. Yrsa stepped away, arm slung over Helrose's neck. "The plan hasn't changed," he told them. "We grab the Snow Wraith and get it out of here away from Ryker."

      His cousin rolled his eyes, climbing back up onto his saddle. "Oh, is that all we have to do? So easy."

     "It'll work out," offered Yrsa, following everyone else's example and returning to her dragon's back.

     "That's very uncharacteristically positive of you, Yrsa," stated Tuffnut.

     "Well, I thought the cave would collapse in and it did so maybe it's time for a temporary change."

      "See, it's all right if you believe it," Fishlegs whimpered. "You really don't believe it."

     Yrsa shrugged, playing a coy smile upon her lips. Then, each and every one of the Dragon Riders set off at a soar through the wide cavern. They took twists and turns, veering their dragons into the icy tunnels in search of where the Snow Wraith lied. From the backs of their dragons, it wasn't too long until the icy hallways expanded out into a vast cavern of crystal, frozen water━extending up so high Yrsa craned her neck to see. They had found a chamber that felt as if it belonged to a castle of ice and snow. 

     "Even if Yrsa doesn't believe it," went on Tuffnut as they landed. He still had that arrow stuck to his helmet. "I choose to think positive. We can do this."

     "Sure!" agreed Ruffnut. "We beat the Snow Wraith before ... sort of ..."

     "Yeah!" added Fishlegs as they all walked to the edge. "And it won't have a blizzard to hide in."

     "And we outnumber him five to one━" their conversation turned into hitched gasps as they found what the others had set their eyes upon. The colour was drained from their cheeks.

     Yrsa winced, "I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

     There, within the centre of the vast, icy chamber was many large stepping stones of snow and rock. On the centre most stone, slept not one, but four Snow Wraiths. Circled and tight-knit, their low breaths rumbled across the chasm so loud, Yrsa felt it in her bones. One Snow Wraith was trouble, but four of them? They were standing before a death wish. 

     She briefly met Hiccup's gaze, and was glad to see that he was worried, too. 

     "We're going to die," she whispered, desperate not to wake up even one of those dragons. 

      "Yep," agreed Snotlout in the same tone. "Goodbye Summarhildr..."

      "Hello Niflheim," finished Yrsa. 

      "Niflheim?" squeaked Fishlegs and the two of them shushed him for being so loud. "Oh, so you two get to talk?" he added in the same hushed whisper. 

     "Well," said Tuffnut loudly. Yrsa spun to him, quickly shaking her head and swiping her hand in wild gestures for him to stop. He didn't see her, "at least they're still asleep, and they won't wake up━"

     One Snow Wraith lifted its head just as Yrsa managed to snag Tuffnut's face and clamp his mouth shut. They all watched, breaths bated for its eye to open, and when it did not, Yrsa snapped a very harsh whisper to the younger Twin, "You are the absolute worst positive thinker!"

     He just pointed up at her from her vice-like grip. "That's a very positive thing to say."

     "Ugh!" Yrsa shoved him away. 

     "Both of you, be quiet," Hiccup said, dragging Yrsa back towards him before she'd start a fight and wake up all of the dragons. 

     Tuffnut still didn't receive the message, "If we don't move," he told them all very, very loudly as the Snow Wraith tilted its head, trying to sniff them out, "maybe it won't notice us."

     The Snow Wraith heard him. Its head snapped towards the group of Dragon Riders across the chasm, eyes opening to show a deadly, violet glare that made even Yrsa shrink up with fear. It snarled, and she cursed, "Odin's Underpants━"

     "Maybe," whispered Fishlegs to Tuffnut, annoyed, "if you didn't move and kept your mouth shut!"

     "What do we do?" asked Astrid. 

      Hiccup thought on his feet━eyes darting around for anything to use. He noticed the arrow in Tuffnut's helmet, and his gaze lit up. "Maybe," he said, "we can put him back to sleep."

     And like that, Hiccup took off at a run. He snagged the arrow shaft from Tuffs helm (to which he was very unhappy about) and sprinted to the edge of the ledge they found themselves at. Pulling out his shield, he positioned the crossbow towards the Snow Wraith that launched up into the air. As it prepared its breath for fire, Hiccup let the bolt loose.

      Yrsa thought it was a fantastic idea until the Snow Wraith easily dodged and their only dragon root arrow lodged itself into the snow bank on the other side of the cavern. 

     "Okay, so that didn't work," managed Hiccup.

    "You think?!" grumbled Snotlout. 

    The Snow Wraith roared so loudly, the roof of the cavern chipped stone and ice downwards into the chasm. At the sound, his brethren slowly woke from their deep slumber. Yrsa's shoulders slumped, realising their luck couldn't just get any worse. Three more Snow Wraith's rose into the air, all with deadly violet ices, an icy breath and very threatened by their presence. 

     Yrsa took a deep breath. She clenched her hands into fists and felt Helrose growl over her shoulder. The other Riders prepared themselves for a fight, clambering onto their saddles. When the Snow Wraith's let loose sheer white flame that burst against the snow, their dragons leapt back into the air. Yrsa tugged Helrose to the side, barely missing the shards of ice that ricocheted from the crystal behind her. She joined Hiccup in the air, hovering Helrose at his side with flushed cheeks━both from the cold, and all the action that has happened with just few minutes between. 

     She watched, stunned as the first Snow Wraith spun its body and dived head-first into the ice and snow━there was a sound she was all too familiar with as it tunnelled through the stone, and yet a sound she'd never believe she'd experience with this sort of dragon. Its brethren followed without a moments thought, burrowing deep into the ground like Whispering Death's and disappearing from view.

    "Uh..." let out Yrsa, not sure whether to be amazed or terrified. 

    "Burrowing!" exclaimed Hiccup, actually delighted. He grinned. "That's new!"

    "I know," whimpered Fishlegs, trembling from Meatlug's saddle. "And I don't think I like it."

    There was an ear-splintering sound behind Yrsa. She gasped and Helrose spun them around. In the nick of time, she fired a blast that sent the remerging Snow Wraith from the ice and stone spiralling. If she hadn't, its razor sharp teeth would have taken out Yrsa before she could even blink. To the left, a second shot out from above and spooked Snotlout with a blast that missed him by mere inches.

    "Oh," he exclaimed in frustration as he veered Hookfang out of the way, "I know I don't like it!"

    "Added stealth stat?" meanwhile muttered Yrsa to Hiccup weakly. 

    "Crazy stealth stat," he agreed in the same breathless tone. The Snow Wraith's dipped back down into the snow and Hiccup frantically shouted: "Quick! Defensive formation!"

      At his order, they all darted to the centre of the cavern. Backing up into a circle, the Dragon Riders glanced at each sound, each rumble━each crack in the ice. Helrose shuffled, nervous on the snow, her tail curling in. Yrsa was breathing heavily with her, clutching tight onto her saddle in between Hiccup and Astrid.

    "Everybody take an angle! Fire as soon as you see them!"

    Yrsa's breath hitched, her heart pounded. She knew she had to trust Snotlout behind her and she did, but even she was anxious at every sound that could either be a burrowing Snow Wraith or a moving glacier. It took everything in her not to spin around. She narrowed her eyes on the fissures in front and above her, awaiting for one of the dragons to reveal itself. The ground trembled beneath her and her palms grew clammy. 

     Snow Wraiths. Strike Class dragons. High attack, high speed, high armour, high firepower, very high stealth with a shot limit of ten━they were dangerous, territorial and great adversaries when only one was around. Four ... Yrsa knew she was scared. 

    Snotlout was beginning to freak out as the rumbling sound grew louder. "Feels like they're going left━" he jolted, "━No! Right━left━which one's which?!"

    "Forget that!" shouted Hiccup. "Just cover your zone!"

    Yrsa flinched when she heard the sound of one explode forth in Astrid's zone. She spooked it back into the ice as soon as it came, the magnesium melting the hole it made closed. Helrose tensed, she reared back━and Yrsa gasped with terror as another burst forth right in front of her. "Helrose!" she cried and her dragon acted immediately. As the dragon charged its flame right before her eyes, her dragon stunned it backwards and it stumbled off into the chasm. When it regained its flight, it dived down forth into the earth beneath her. Yrsa let out a breath; though she knew it was far from over. Behind, to her left, a noxious explosion from the Twins told her the third had shown itself. That only meant one more. That is, if she assumed they were going in a pattern of chronicle order━for all she knew, they could come out all at once. It wouldn't take long for a Strike Class dragon to understand their formation and take advantage of it. Maybe descend from above, or worse yet, in between behind all of them from the centre. 

    But then the final Snow Wraith burst forth from the snow bank to Yrsa's right. Hiccup leant forward in his saddle and Toothless's fire vibrated within his chest at a high-pitched shriek. "Just stun 'em, bud..."

     Toothless did not miss. His blast struck the Snow Wraith in the shoulder and it crumpled to the snow with a pained screech. The other Snow Wraith's emerged from the ice to reach its brethren. It was amazing, for a moment, to see them all take their friend's wings and tail and gently descend deeper into the mountain. The Dragon Riders waited for a moment. They didn't resurface. 

    Even then, they were hesitant. 

   "Anybody feel anything?" spoke up Astrid, still on high alert. 

    "Just a profound sense of relief," admitted Tuffnut. 

    His sister nodded, thoughtful, "Yes," she mused, "and perhaps a tinge of sadness?"

    "Oh, exactly sister."

    Yrsa's ears piqued for any sound that vibrated the stone, but there was nothing. "I think ... I think they're gone," she breathed. 

    Hiccup eyed the way they left, curious. "Maybe they tunnelled all the way out. If they did━" he glanced back at them and Yrsa knew exactly what he meant. 

     Her face lit up with hope, "That could be our way out, too!"

    They all winced at the screech that followed━distant and yet close; somewhere just outside the mountain. The cry of a dragon in need; a Snow Wraith. That could only mean one thing:

     "The Hunters!" cried Hiccup. "Let's go━" he dived down he tunnel and with a quick glance between each other, the others soon followed. 

     It was a race through the burrows. Yrsa dived Helrose after Hiccup, spinning her through the twists and turns━trying to follow where he went, though it wasn't long before she lost him and grumbled to herself, swiftly dipping down left through an intersection. It was a maze of underground pathways, wrapping through and around the hollow of the mountain. She tried to follow the sound of the Snow Wraith's, but it got obstructed by the scream of Snotlout that almost barrelled into her, taking a turn into her tunnel at an extremely fast pace. She shouted after him, livid as she had to pull Helrose to a sudden stop━she soon screamed when Astrid ran right in behind her and the two friends and their dragons tumbled down the slope after Snotlout, passing Fishlegs waiting patiently at the intersection. 

     "You don't pull to a stop in a speeding tunnel!" scolded Astrid. 

     "You fly to the conditions!" snapped Yrsa back. 

    In the end, they all ended up back together at the same intersection as before. Completely forgetting about the Snow Wraith's, Yrsa pointed at Snotlout and cried, "I had the right of way!"

     "I have a Monstrous Nightmare!" he argued. "I automatically have all the right of ways!"

    "That is not how the flight rules work!"

    This erupted a momentum of arguments between the lot of them. Yrsa furiously complained to Snotlout while he shot down all of her points of argument and Astrid counted each reason why Yrsa shouldn't stop in the middle of a high-speed flight tunnel. Shouting over the top of them, the Twins pleaded their case of 'having two heads means they have the right of way' and Fishlegs furiously slammed his hands down, stating he was the only one truly following the Rules of Safe Flight. 

     Hiccup sighed, eyes shooting to the tunnel ceiling, exasperated with the lot of them. 

     He was glad when the Snow Wraith shrieked yet again from above. "Follow me!" he shouted over all of their arguments and they stopped immediately. Yrsa quickly launched into the air to fly up the tunnel above right behind him━not without having Helrose nearly smack Snotlout off his saddle in her retaliation. Her mother always told her Flight Rage was never a good response to anything, but her mother wasn't exactly here to tell her she was wrong━and it was Snotlout, and satisfying, so she would say she was in the right. 

    The Dragon Riders followed the tunnel towards the sunlight━and Yrsa took a deep breath to find herself back out into the fresh air. Though it wasn't all relieving. Once she glanced down, her heart fell to notice broken arrow shafts, scattered nets and an open, abandoned cage right by the Snow Wraith's tunnel hole. They had been too late. 

    Hiccup clenched his fists, examining the sight with a grim set of his jaw. "Ryker knew about the burrowing the whole time." He cursed under his breath and closed his eyes, immediately blaming himself. "He used us to flush the Snow Wraiths out. Then, he captured them."

     Recognising the doubt on his face all too well, Yrsa tried her best to offer up a solution. They still had time. They had to still have time. When she found the footprints, she pointed them out with no hesitation, "Look! It seems like they're heading back to the ship along the south side of the glacier. They can't have made it far."

     Hiccup's eyes surged with fresh determination and she knew she had done her job. "They're not gonna get there."

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    THE SNOW had decided to let up at the worst time possible. Just as Yrsa and her friends veered around the vast glacier to the south side of the island, the storm that had plagued them lifted and they could see the Hunter's ship clear at the shore━but they could also see them clearly, too. Following the slope towards where they had docked the ship, Yrsa could see Ryker leading a squadron of Hunters tugging dazed Snow Wraiths in nets and iron cages. Her chest flared up with heated anger. 

    They stayed at a distance, careful not to get too close for any wandering eye to see them. 

     "We can't get too close," said Fishlegs. "We need to stay out of the range of their arrows."

    Hiccup frowned down at the Hunters, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an idea. Yrsa knew the moment he did━his eyes fixed on a sleet of ice and snow hanging dangerously over the pathway the Hunters took, and a small grin made its way across his lips. "Maybe we don't need to. Ruff, Tuff, see that ice sheet up there?"

    They followed his gaze, and the Twins let out equal gasps of sheer delight and excitement. Their eyes lit up, their entire faces grew bright as if they stared at the most wondrous thing in all the world. They clasped their hands together and prayed under their breaths, "Please say avalanche ... please say avalanche ... please say avalanche ...!"

     Hiccup chuckled at them, "We need an avalanche."

    "Yes!" cried the Twins. 

    "Our specialty!"

    "Positive thinking works!"

     Even Yrsa couldn't hide her small grin of amusement to see the Twins dive down with every eagerness they held. They darted Barf and Belch over the top of the ice sheet, unbeknownst to the Hunters below. A long trail of green smoke stretched all the way from the far edge of the mountain to the other and when Belch sparked it alight━the explosion rocked the entire island. 

     Hunters scattered as ice cascaded down━falling spikes, stones and snow struck the pathway to their ship; the avalanche shattered at the touch, breaking into smaller shards that darted across the snow like arrows. 

    When it faded, Ryker spun around to glare up at the Riders waiting. Yrsa squared her shoulders, knowing he wouldn't see it all the way up here, but she was determined to make herself as strong and intimidating as possible━she wouldn't admit it to anyone, but after the way he had taken her dragon from her so easily, he had begun to unnerve her and scare her. 

     Hiccup gestured back at them, "You guys get the Snow Wraiths out of here! I'll deal with Ryker."

    He and Toothless shot down before Yrsa could disagree. Her heart spiked for a moment, knowing it wouldn't make sense if she was to object━but the fear of something happening to him, or to Heather because he didn't know the truth, gnawed at her stomach and made her ache to dive after him. Helrose sensed her agitation, and as if knowing exactly what she wanted to do, prepared herself to head downwards. Yrsa had to pull her back up and over, following Astrid to help her in grasping the Snow Wraith inside the iron cage. 

     Trusting Helrose to follow Stormfly, Yrsa glanced back over her shoulder, heart pounding as she saw Hiccup confront Ryker. Her hands shook on the handle bar of her saddle, she could feel her blood in her ears. She's never been so scared of something to happen━so scared that she found it hard to breathe. She knew this wasn't going to end well━she knew.

    As soon as Helrose set down the cage with Stormfly on the mountains, Yrsa tugged them around before anyone else could say something. She heard Snotlout shout her name, surprised, but she only just dived back down. 

     The wind wrapped around her and her dragon, bending to their will as she veered them back to where Hiccup had been━and Yrsa felt her heart drop to see him chasing after Heather. 

     "No━come on, Helrose!" she cried to her dragon and she folded her wings━their speed increased, and with a spin, her Devilish Dervish became a distant whirlwind in Yrsa's desperation to catch up. 

    They dodged the dragon root arrows that passed as Hiccup dived out of their way. Yrsa didn't think he noticed they were following yet and as they came to the same pace, she cried, "Hiccup━wait!"

    He didn't hear her. Heather darted Windshear around the mountain with Ryker on the saddle behind her, out of arrows and shouting for her to speed up. Yrsa's heart pounded even faster as they followed━she's never pushed Helrose so fast to keep up with the speed of a Night Fury; she never thought her dragon capable of it, but it would seem she was just as frantic as her. 

     "Hiccup!" she called. Her voice was lost in the wind. "HICCUP!"

    She heard the shriek━Toothless's maw glowed a deadly purple; a shot not meant to stun, at all. Yrsa panicked. "NO!" she screamed. 

    Yrsa didn't think. She dived Helrose down into a steep swoop and rushed back up again. She had to stop him. She had to stop Hiccup from hurting Heather━

     Stupid, crazy and insane, Yrsa held no grasp of intelligence as she pulled Helrose to a stop right in between Hiccup and Heather. "HICCUP!" She shouted. "STOP━!"

     His eyes widened. His cheeks went pale. He had no time to stop━

   "YRSA━!"

    He desperately tugged at his saddle, screaming her name in horror━even then, it was too late. There was a deathly flash of purple━so bright it blinded her. Her ears rang, Yrsa couldn't react when the snow and ice exploded from the mountain side next to her. He managed to miss her, but he did not miss the snow bank━and when it fell, it took Yrsa off Helrose's saddle with it. 

    Hiccup cried out. He dived Toothless down so sharply he felt his stomach rise up with his heart to his throat. He felt sick━he was unable to breathe. He was shocked, he was horrified, he was more than livid━

     Toothless snatched Yrsa's limp arms and darted them out of there just before the snow hit the ground. He settled her down onto the snow away from the avalanche and Hiccup stumbled from his saddle. He heard Helrose land down behind him, frantic at the sight of her rider. The others soon followed and Astrid leapt down, looking sickly pale. 

     "Yrsa!" Hiccup cried her name, desperate. He shook her limp body, for a moment having never been so terrified. "Yrsa!" 

     Helrose fought to reach her, and he felt her shove against his shoulder to sniff at her━to check whether she was still breathing. She looked pale, cold and unresponsive. Hiccup was terrified that for a moment, Toothless had struck her instead of the snow. 

      He put his ear to her chest, aching to hear the sound of her heart. And when he heard it, he slumped, more than relieved. "Yrsa!" he tried again to wake her, cradling her head━her hair covered in sleet. "Yrsa━come on, wake up!" he felt something wet on his palm, and when he pulled it away, his heart dropped so low he thought he'd break to see his hand covered in her blood. 

◞ ★ ꒱꒱◜

     a/n: long ass chapter with dramatic cliffhanger ending? yes. 

    look, I like angst and these guys are definitely full of it. but if I get anybody commenting a stupid 'damsel in distress' 'she always needs to be saved' 'she's so stupid' sentence such as that, imma remind you this is entirely in yrsa's character to do this. she's fiercely protective, and she'd do anything for any of them even if she hides it. sometimes it takes her into doing something drastic. 

     yrsa saves hiccup, hiccup saves yrsa, yrsa saves hiccup, hiccup saves yrsa - they balance each other out the amount of times they have each other's back. that's who they are. 

    and besides, you know me, I love a cliche and turning it into something of my own. 

    so, in summary: if anyone calls yrsa weak for this imma smack you because she's far from it and if anything, her doing this proves that. because in a way, she was saving hiccup in this, too, from doing something he'd later regret. 

    (limited editing).

    (also snotlout and yrsa being and acting like children as usual >>>)