"What about that one?" Snotlout leaned forwards, pointing at a small island.

As if on cue, an explosion broke out. The red contrasted against the dark purple sky. Smoke formed a twisting trail upwards.

"Definitely not," Astrid stated, voice final. Almost a week had passed since they were banished, but they hadn't been able to stay in one place for more than a day.

Snotlout groaned. "We're never going to find a campsite before dark at this rate. We should just go back to that island and take our chances with the whispering deaths."

Astrid turned to Hiccup, face red. She looked like she was about to throttle Snotlout.

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "You know why we've rejected all the islands so far. The island has to be safe, uninhabited-"

"Stable, filled with resources and no violent dragons. I know."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you complaining?"

Snotlout looked away, mumbling something under his breath.

Rolling her eyes, Astrid flew next to Hiccup. "That one could work."

Hiccup followed her gaze, focusing on a small rocky island. "Let's hope so. The dragons are exhausted."

As if to emphasise the point, Toothless yawned, twitching his ears. Hiccup leant forwards and scratched Toothless' chin, earning a quiet purr.

With relative ease, the group landed on the island and built a campfire by the cliff side. Protected from the wind, they abandoned all thoughts on gathering supplies and settled down.

Hiccup sighed, leaning back against Toothless. He watched the flames as they danced carelessly in the air, flickering upwards.

Shuffling, Snotlout tried to get comfortable. He was lying down on Hookfang's wing, slightly slanted. Then he was lying against Hookfang's side. Now by his tail. Then against his neck.

"Will you quit it?" Astrid said, glaring at him from Stormfly.

Snotlout glared right back, resting his head on Hookfang's leg. "Hey! A full night is important beauty sleep."

Astrid scoffed. "That's never worked for you."

"Shut up, Astrid."

Hiccup shivered, pulling his fur jacket tighter around himself. Suddenly feeling shattered, he shut his eyes. Somehow, he managed fall asleep instantly, even with Astrid and Snotlout bickering.

*

Hiccup fell forwards, getting a mouthful of dirt. He pushed himself up off the floor and searched accusingly.

"Who did that?" Hiccup's voice was croaky and he coughed twice. "Snotlout?"

"Hey, don't look at me!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it! Look at your dragon." Snotlout crossed his arms.

Turning to face Toothless, Hiccup sighed at the sheepish look on the dragon's face.

"You want to go flying already?"

Toothless crooned, nuzzling Hiccup's arm.

"Well too bad!" Astrid interjected, leaning down from Stormfly. "We have to get supplies. Snotlout, get fresh water. Hiccup, fish."

Snotlout placed his hands on his hips. "And what are you going to do, bossy?"

Astrid huffed. "Patrol the island. We didn't have time to check it out properly so we don't know what's here."

Snotlout made to complain but Hiccup nodded. "Good plan. Meet up here in a few hours."

"Fine," Snotlout grumbled, mounting Hookfang. They took off towards the mountain without another word.

Astrid rolled her eyes and led Stormfly to the coast.

Turning to Toothless, Hiccup grinned. "No harm in getting some proper flying practice at the same time."

Toothless gurgled, head-butting Hiccup's back. Without hesitation, Hiccup mounted him and they took off. They climbed steeply, reaching the clouds in no time at all. In their exhilaration, they didn't notice the boat in the distance.

Hiccup shivered, streamlining himself against Toothless. They twisted on the air, wingtips slicing through the sky. With a dive, they plummeted to the waves. Toothless stretched out his wings and they glided over the water, eyes staring below.

Hiccup froze. "Wait, drop me off on that sea sta- ahh!"

Toothless dragged him through the sea, mouth wide open to catch fish. Hiccup kept his eyes and mouth shut, clinging onto Toothlesd tightly.

When they broke the surface, Hiccup gasped loudly. "A little warning, next time?"

Toothless gave a draconic laugh and dived again. Hiccup saw it coming and took a large breath.

After a short while, they were able to gather a respectable amount of fish. Toothless glided over the island, reaching their campsite.

Snotlout was already there, sitting on Hookfang. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him before spotting the filled flasks.

"Has Astrid stopped back yet?"

Snotlout shrugged. "I just got here. Wait, there she is."

Astrid landed heavily on the ground, Stormfly squawking. "We need to leave."

Snotlout threw his arms up, exasperated. "We just found this place!"

Astrid glared at him. "There's a port on the far side of the island, and a village by the coast. We're not allowed here."

Sighing, Hiccup mounted Toothless and took off.

Even being banished is difficult apparently. Can't go anywhere.

Snotlout seemed to be having the same idea. "Why don't we just disguise ourselves?"

"Oh, and how are you planning on hiding our dragons? It's not like we can call them pet yaks," Hiccup said sarcastically.

Snotlout frowned. "Sorry for wanting to be a normal Viking."

Hiccup suddenly felt guilty. Astrid looked conflicted gaze shifting to where the village was.

Snotlout took their silence as being defeated. "You really blew it Hiccup! Not only did you fail get Alvin jailed, you also got us banished!"

Hiccup didn't meet his eyes.

Astrid crossed her arms. "You know why we did that! If we waited, Alvin would've-"

"Would've what exactly? It's not like he could tell the councils some lies as he wasn't meant to be on that island at all," Snotlout challenged.

"He could've done lots of things! He could've unleashed those dragons on us, or attack others to lure us in!"

Hiccup placed his hands in front of him in a 'stay calm' gesture. "Guys, we need to-"

Snotlout whipped around and glared at him. "The last time we followed your instructions we all ended up banished!"

"Hey, that's not-"

"Not what? Fair? Guess what, it's not fair that I can never go home, can never do anything normal, because you ran off with some half-baked plan!" Snotlout was shouting now.

Hiccup's shoulders sagged. Some of the anger melted from Snotlout's eyes.

Hiccup took an uneven breath. "It's not going to be forever."

Snotlout squinted at him. "Hate to break it to you, but that's how banishment works."

Hiccup shook his head. "No, what I mean is, we're going to get that evidence. We're going back to Dragon Games Island and we're going to make them believe us."

***

Thanks for reading this part! I tried to show some of the ways they were reacting to banishment here. Sorry it's a late update! I've returned from holiday so they should even out now.

Timeline wise, there's about a week left of the Dragon Games.

What evidence would you bring to the council? Alvin's good at twisting words so it would need to be undeniable.

Who's your favourite villain? I loved book Alvin probably more than even Viggo, just because he was that little bit unhinged.