━━ chapter eleven
fishy friends

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

    ━━The Twins were starting to annoy Valkyrie. They annoyed her every day, for sure, but right now, she wanted to pull out her hair at their cheers and tricks they were performing behind. She shot them a look as they shot past, staggering her flight with Zephyr, but they paid no notice.

    Hiccup clenched his jaw, "Guys," he called after them, exasperated, "can you please put a lid on it? Looking for the Screaming Death? Low profile? Remember the meeting?"

    "Yeah," said Tuff as they fell back in line, snickering. Even Barf and Belch shared a mischievous look, "but we had our own meeting━Ooh!" his gaze caught something to the right. "Dangerous pointy rocks!" and they were off.

    Valkyrie sighed, rubbing her eyes, "Remind me again why we bring them along?"

    "The Twins are important members of our team," Hiccup chided her, though he didn't sound so convinced.

    "Yeah, I might need the whole: 'Why Do We Need The Twins Speech Again'."

    "Look," said Hiccup, "it was them, or Snotlout."

    Fishlegs hovered next to her, thinking about it. "Hmm. Point taken," he mumbled.

    Valkyrie wondered how Astrid and Hott were dealing with Snotlout; the both of them barely could stand him on a good day with everyone else. Alone? Val didn't expect Snotlout to return with all of his limbs, or even alive.

    She sighed and edged Zephyr onwards, and the group of them continued their scout for their favourite over-sized all-white Whispering Death. Valkyrie leaned back a little on Zephyr's saddle after a few hours, already dozing off. Zephyr snarled at her each time her eyes drooped, jotling his neck to keep her awake.

    "What?" she snapped. "I'm awake!" she narrowed her eyes at the look he gave her. "Excuse me, bossy-pants, but you weren't up all night tending to a sick Thunderdrum! They're loud."

    He just made a sound in the back of his throat and continued on. She shook her head, but gave him a tender scratch anyway.

    "We should stop down soon, anyway," Hiccup said, giving her a brief smile. Valkyrie crossed her arms, arching a brow smug down at her dragon. He huffed. "Give the dragons a quick break. Changewing Island should be coming up in the horizon any moment."

    "Oh, great," grumbled Fishlegs, "what a wonderful place for a pit-stop."

    "We could keep going to the next island," offered Valkyrie. "Zephyr, here, obviously isn't feeling tired━" he bounced his neck again and she gasped, clinging on. "Hey!"

    "What about a quick refresher, then?" smirked Hiccup. "Island full of ill-tempered, highly territorial, and virtually invisible dragons."

    "So, we should buzz 'em!" cried Tuffnut, throwing his hands up.

    "Really rile 'em up!" added his sister. They high-fived.

    "No," said Hiccup, "I was thinking more along the lines of keeping our distance."

    "I like the sound of that," breathed Fishlegs relieved. A roar from down below at the oncoming island made him jump. He hunched up, pointing a shaky finger down, "That I don't like the sound of."

    Toothless growled, apprehensive. He glanced down.

    Valkyrie frowned; she felt something unsettling grow in her stomach. Zephyr bounced nervously as well. "That sounds like a dragon in trouble."

    Hiccup nodded, "We should check it out."

    The two of them dived down towards the sound. The Twins followed, and lastly, so did Fishlegs with a whine of, "What happened to the 'keep our distance' policy?!"

    "Fishlegs!"

    "Okay! I'm coming!"

    They grew closer. Valkyrie pulled Zephyr out of the dive and into a glide as they came to the stone sea stacks and towards the beach. There, amongst the trees, was a large, shrieking green dragon.

    She gasped, faltering Zephyr's flight for a second. "Hiccup━"

    "Yeah, I see it," he hovered in next to her. "That's a Scauldron."

    Fishlegs frowned. "W━what's it doing on land?"

    "Catching some rays?" offered Tuff.

    "Taking some alone time?" grinned Ruff.

    Tuffnut scoffed at her and muttered, "Lucky dragon."

    "Or maybe," went on Fishlegs, "it's waiting for unsuspecting dragon riders to get too close so it can blast them with its scalding hot water! Oh, just lovely!"

    Valkyrie peered in closer, and her breath hitched. "Oh, no! He's hurt!" she pointed to the pile of rocks on his wings. He pulled and shrieked, but couldn't move. "Look!" She glanced at Hiccup, pleadingly.

    But he was already on her side. "Come on, gang━let's check it out!"

    She set her jaw and pushed Zephyr onwards again. The group of Riders swept around and out of range of the Scaldron's fire to set down in the shade in front of it. Valkyrie hopped off her dragon, her heart clenching at the sight of his wing stuck under a landslide of rocks and boulders.

    He tried to reach them, scared out of his mind to attack, but couldn't get past even an inch. He snarled, letting his head fall down to the sand, defeated.

    "Whoa," said Tuff, eyes wide. "He is huge."

    "He could eat me in, like, on bite!" said Ruff.

    "Let's see!" Tuff shoved his sister forward. She stumbled towards the Scaldron, but still far away enough to be safe. The dragon reared and hissed, and Tuffnut laughed. Until his sister spun back and raised her leg. His face fell, "Or maybe not━ow!" she kicked him right in the stomach and he toppled over.

    "There must've been some sort of earthquake," murmured Valkyrie, ignoring the two of them and pointing to the landslide. "And before he could get back to the water, his wing got pinned." She spun back, pale. "A Tidal Class dragon can't stay out of the water for very long ... he'll dry out━we have to help him!"

    Hiccup approached her. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, "Don't worry," he told her. "We'll find a way."

    "Uh ... perhaps I need to remind you," Fishlegs whimpered, "Scauldron and boiling, poisonous death that way━" he pointed to the dragon, and then to the forest behind them, "━Changewings and acid-spitting invisible death that way!"

    On of the trees began to tremble and Fishlegs squealed. He ducked in behind Meatlug, cowering. But out of it, were just two blonde heads, laughing.

    Valkyrie crossed her arms, unamused. Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Fishlegs, come out," he said to the pudgy Viking. "It's just the Twins."

    They climbed down from the tree. "How do you know we're not a Changewing disguised as us?"

    "Because Changewings don't work━" Valkyrie stopped herself and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Moving on ... Guys, please, we have to help the Scauldron━we can't just leave him here."

    "Uh, sure we can. We have dragons. We can just fly away."

    Valkyrie glowered. Zephyr nudged his head against her gently, trying to coax her. She turned to him, clinging on for comfort as she glanced at the moaning, stranded Scauldron.

    Hiccup frowned at her. He made a decision then and there. "You guys keep an eye out for the Changewings," he told the others. "Toothless and I will see if we can help him."

    Val's eyes lit up, and he gave her a nod.

    Tuffnut crossed his arms, shrugging, "Yeah, feel free."

    "Knock yourself out."

    "Yeah, dibs on Toothless if you don't make it back."

    The Night Fury snarled at Tuff's words as he and Hiccup approached the wounded Scauldron.

    The dragon peered at Hiccup's careful steps, rearing back with slitted eyes. He growled a warning, which caused for Toothless to roar, immediately to his rider's protection. Hiccup quickly shushed him, hand on his snout. "No, no, it's okay, bud. I'll be fine." Toothless set another final snarl at the Scauldron before making his way back. He curled his tail around Valkyrie, and she rested a hand on his scales to try and keep him calm.

    But she understood his worry, watching her boyfriend continue to approach the wild dragon. "Hey, pal," he began softly, holding up his hand carefully. "How'd you get yourself into this mess?" the Scauldron growled. "O━okay, that's ... that's not really important. What ... what is important is us getting you out of here. So, what do you say?"

    The Scauldron's answer was the expansion of his jaw. The loose flesh billowed out and Hiccup shouted in alarm. Valkyrie gasped. Toothless and Zephyr pulled her away, keeping her down as Hiccup jumped over one of the boulders just in time. Missing the blast of boiling hot water that steamed with contact.

    Hiccup peeked over once the steam had subsided. Valkyrie managed to break out of Zephyr and Toothless's protective holds. "Okay," said Hiccup. "Not the answer I was looking for. Gang, ideas?"

    "I have an idea," said Tuffnut, just sitting and watching with his sister. Fishlegs still cowered beside them. "Wouldn't it be great if bread already came sliced? Then you could enjoy it a little bit at a time."

    Valkyrie scowled.

    Ruff gasped at the thought, "Think of the sandwhiches you could make!"

    Val crossed her arms with a scoff, "That's absurd. Why would you want to have pre-sliced bread? The warmth of it fresh out of the coals would go away, and it wouldn't soak up your stew as well."

    "Well, it obviously wouldn't be for that. You could put things on it. Like━like yak butter, and lamb, and━"

    "Guys," Hiccup interrupted them. "Can we focus━?" he gestured back to the dragon. "Scauldron..."

    Valkyrie flushed in embarassement for getting distracted.

    "I say we just blast those boulders off its wing," then said Tuffnut, finally on topic.

    Hiccup shook his head, however, "That's too big of a risk. We might hurt him more."

    "Okay," said Ruff. "What if we just blast those boulders off its wing?"

    They stared at her, blinking. She shrugged to say, what?

    "We need to let the Scauldron know we're friends," continued Hiccup. Tuff whacked his sister for her comment. Valkyrie stepped in before a fight could break out.

    "Maybe if we got him wet," suggested Fishlegs, "it might calm him down."

    Hiccup liked that idea, "Yeah, it's worth a try."

    "Or," leaned in Tuff, "we could bla━" Valkyrie clamped her hand over his mouth.

    "Don't say it," she told him.

    She felt something slimy on her hand. She pulled it away immediately, "Ew!" she cried and socked him in the stomach. He fell back. "That's gross━Tuff!"

    They took to the skies not long after, using the buckets they always carried on the back of their saddles━just in case━to gather enough water to pour onto the Scauldron. At Hiccup's command, they tried to tip their buckets over, but the Scauldron didn't want bath time. With his free wing, he whacked the Twins and they tumbled into Valkyrie and Fishlegs, sending them all out of the sky. Valkyrie hit the ground with a grunt, drenched in water.

    Zephyr moaned beside her, pushing himself back to his feet. He picked her up by her armour straps and tugged her back to the group, setting her down beside Toothless and sitting next to her. He began to clean his wings, because he hated it when something covered the patterns.

    Hiccup crouched in next to her, "You okay?"

    "Yes," she grumbled, squeezing the water out of her hair. "Except for the fact that my clothes are wet."

    He pushed back some of her hair to check where she hit the ground; she would be fine, just a bruise. He rubbed her shoulder and stood up, "Okay, so the idea was to get the dragon wet."

    "On the upside," said Fishlegs from where he was sprawled in the wet sand. Meatlug sniffed curiously at him, "being wet has made me feel calmer."

    "Just made me feel wetter," scoffed Tuffnut in his soaking clothes.

    "So, what's next?" asked Valkyrie, still squeezing water out of her hair.

    Hiccup shrugged, "Well, I'm open to suggestions."

    "Well━"

    "That don't involve blasting boulders off of wings."

    "Never mind."

     Valkyrie sighed, arm wrapping over Toothless's neck as he purred at her, checking whether she was okay. Hiccup turned to Fishlegs as he pulled him up, "Fishlegs?"

    There was a falter on the pudgy Viking's face. Valkyrie frowned, her arm slipping slightly. She recognised that look. "Well ..." began Fishlegs carefully. He glanced at her briefly, "If it won't let us help it, what can we do?"

    She stood up at that, "There has to be something," she said.

    "Val, you know how I feel about dragons. But a wild Scauldron is ... well, it's about as wild as they get. Maybe ... maybe this is just one of those times when nature just has to take its course."

    Tuffnut walked up to him and Hiccup, "You mean, like when I drank that sour yak milk and gave Ruffnut the 'smoky Viking'?"

    "He ..." Hiccup sighed, "he means if the Scauldron won't let us help, then, well, there's nothing more we can do without endangering ourselves or our dragons."

    Val's shoulders slumped as he walked towards her, reaching a hand for Toothless's saddle. She realised what he meant, and she shook her head. "No," she said.

    He pursed his lips, "Val, I know you want to help, but how can we help if it won't let us?"

    "I━I don't know," she was desperate. "Maybe we can distract it, or━or try and train it, or just━" she looked over to the Scauldron as he let his head fall back down onto the sand, exhaling out a long and sorrowful cry. Already, his scales were beginning to lose their colour in the dry sun.

    Valkyrie felt Hiccup take her hand, "Come on," he murmured. "You can ride with me..." he glanced at Zephyr and nodded, letting her dragon know as he tugged her gently towards Toothless.

    Val let him lead her, giving a final glance to the Scauldron before she hopped up onto the saddle behind him. Immediately, her arms wrapped around his waist and she settled her head on his back, refusing to look at the dragon, hoping it'll make things easier. They took off, only to hover when realising that Zephyr decided not to follow.

    Hiccup frowned, "Zeph━come on, boy, up━" he motioned the signal with his hand, but Valkyrie's dragon just huffed, sitting down stubbornly and focusing back on getting rid of the sand on his wings.

    Seeing this, it made Toothless drop back down, despite Hiccup's struggles to keep them aloft. Meatlug followed, pushing Fishlegs's tugs away and setting back onto the sand. Barf and Belch were next, flopping back down no matter what Ruff and Tuff did to pursuade them otherwise. Valkyrie breathed a smile, realising their dragons didn't want them to leave. Her grip around Hiccup slackened and she glanced at her dragon. They locked gazes, and her smile grew.

    "I don't think the dragons want us to leave, either," said Fishlegs. Valkyrie felt a flicker of hope in her chest.

    Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Just show them who the boss is! Watch and learn━" the Twins tried to pull their dragon to the sky, but Barf and Belch just threw their heads. Their riders were flung off in opposite directions. Tuff landed in the sand near Fishlegs, Ruff ... on the other hand.

    She skidded to a stop right before the Scauldron's face.

    She gasped. The rest of the riders froze, hearts racing as the dragon snarled.

    "H━hey..."

    The Scauldron reared his head and Ruff jumped to her feet, watching him warily as he leered in her face, sniffing with a glare on his face.

    "Ruffnut," Hiccup's voice was shakingly calm. Valkyrie clung onto his fleece vest, breath hitched. Behind them, Fishlegs had his hands to his mouth. "Do not move."

    Ruffnut held her breath. "For the first time in my life, Hiccup," she said weakly, "you have my full attention."

    She winced when the dragon grew nearer, sniffing at her hair with insterest. Valkyrie's grip loosened slightly, tilting her head in shock. The dragon didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her; in fact, he was completely enamoured.

    Tuff stirred. He tried to stand up, but was pushed right back to the ground by Barf and Belch. They roared at the Scauldron and ran in to defend Ruff. Zipplebacks were extremely loyal and territorial━Valkyrie could see them flair their wings in defiance to say, that's mine!

    The Scauldron snarled and readied a whole jaw full of boiling hot water. He shot it and Barf and Belch, and they stumbled away. Valkyrie gasped and leapt off Toothless's saddle, rushing over to check whether they were okay. She examined them for burns in their scales. They shoved her aside, ready for round two but Hiccup and Toothless intercepted them. Zephyr roared at the aggressive action towards his rider.

     "Whoa! Guys!" Hiccup held hands out to both Barf and Belch, and Valkyrie's dragon. "She's all right!"

    Zephyr glowered at the Zippleback. He huffed a breath of hot steam and snatched Valkyrie out of there. He plopped her on Toothless's saddle again, seeming to decide that was the safest place for her right now. Because he was far too busy still cleaning himself. Valkyrie has learnt that when Zephyr was cleaning himself and preening his wings, it was best to leave him to himself. Sharp Class dragons were notoriously self-centered, and he was no exception. But he always held her high in next to him. Zephyr always made sure Valkyrie would be protected when he focused on himself. Sharp Class dragons were self-centered, but Windstrikers specifically were very protective of their kin. They were known to flock together and help each other out, even if they didn't know one another. For Zephyr to consider Valkyrie one of his kin, it was extraordinary.

    Meanwhile, the Scauldron was still transfixed with Ruffnut's hair.

    "What is it doing?" asked Fishlegs with a small squeak.

    "I think it's smelling her," frowned Hiccup, if not a little awestruck.

    Tuff laughed at that, "Hey, Ruffnut!" he called to his sister. "Looks like you finally got a date that's as ugly as you!"

    Hiccup slipped off Toothless saddle, "Maybe ... maybe it's finally gonna let us help."

    He tried to approach, but the Scauldron eyed him and growled. Hiccup froze right in his spot.

    "Or not," Fishlegs hid his face in his hands.

    "What is it about her hair that the dragon likes so much?" Valkyrie asked.

   "M━Maybe it's the colour of its mother's hair?" Fishlegs suggested. Valkyrie arched a brow. He went bright pink. "That doesn't make any sense, does it? Sorry, I━I'm still terrified from what just almost happened."

    Tuffnut scoffed and sat back down on one of the boulders. "Why would anyone like her smelly old hair? It's full of fish oil."

    Those words made Hiccup's eyes widen. "Ruffnut," he turned to her, "do you put fish oil in your hair?"

    Ruff arched a brow, "Duh," she said. "How else do you think I can get this greasy, unwashed look?" she flicked a braid over her shoulder. The Scauldron's eyes followed it with a mighty sniff.

    "Okay, I'm not gonna even pretend to understand that ..."

    "N━no, it makes sense," said Fishlegs. "Scauldrons are ocean-dwelling dragons. Maybe the smell of fish reminds them of home."

    "Hey, if the smell of Ruffnut's hair keeps that dragon calm ... gang, that's our way in."

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

    ━━"You want me to do what?!"

    "Train the Scauldron!"

    So far, the idea of training the Scauldron into letting them help him was looking about as dry as his scales; the green colour now a pale, sickly lime. Ruffnut stared up at the dragon, shoulders hunched with fear. He peered down at her, still quite enamoured despite tiring down immensely.

    "Uh ... I can't do that."

    "Sure, you can!" assured Hiccup. "You trained Barf."

    "That's half a dragon!" Ruff argued.

    "And let's be honest," Tuff lounged back on the boulder he had taken over, "I did most of the work."

    "W━what about all the classes at the Cademy?"

    "Wait," her eyes widened, "we have classes?"

    Valkyrie face-palmed on Toothless's saddle, "Oh, gods..."

    Hiccup stared at her, shocked. "Y━yeah, you know ... when I'm standing at the front and talking about dragons?"

    "You were talking to us?"

    Hiccup stood there for a second, unable to believe it. "Y━yeah, okay ..." he tugged at his hair a little, "never mind. Uh ... look, don't worry, Ruffnut. I will talk you through training the Scauldron."

    "Hiccup," Fishlegs whispered, "we need to hurry. The Scauldron is really looking dry."

    "O━Okay━Ruff, step one. Establish a bond."

    "With who?!"

    "With who━the dragon!"

    "Right!" Ruff eyed the Scauldron cautiously. "Uh... how do I do that?"

    Valkyrie shook her head in disbelief. "What━?" she glanced between her and her brother. "Do you guys ever pay attention?"

    "Nope," Tuff told her.

    Hiccup sighed. He did his best to stay calm. "O━okay. R━Ruffnut, try this: give the dragon a name."

    "Okay!" that was simple enough. Ruff found this very hard, however. "Um ... how about 'please don't kill me'?" 

    The Scauldron tilted his head, confused.

    Hiccup winced, "Y━yeah, or maybe something a little more positive."

    "I got one!" Tuff held up his hand. "'Scalding Painful Death: the Dragon'."

    They scowled at him.

    "How is that more positive?"

    "Uh, how is it not?"

    Ruffnut hunched back further as the dragon continued to sniff at her hair. "C━can I just go with 'Scauldy'?"

    Hiccup breathed a relieved grin, "Perfect!"

    Ruff grinned, a little proud of herself. She turned to the dragon and started to say awkwardly, "Hey, there, Scauldy. So ... Scauldy ... what brings you to Changewing Island? The tide or ..." she winced, "the tide?" she slumped. "I got nothing! Sorry, guys!"

    Scauldy moved in closer, gentler. Valkyrie's eyes widened.

    "Wait, did that just sort of work?" she asked.

    Toothless tilted his head, ears quivering.

    "Yeah!" Hiccup let out a long breath. "But here comes the moment of truth━okay, talk to him, again!" he said to Ruffnut. "But this time, reach out your hand. Like this━" he held out his palm to Toothless and closed his eyes. The Night Fury purred and went to set his snout against his riders hand ... but instead, Fishlegs took his place.

    Hiccup frowned at the strange feeling, then he saw. Fishlegs had nuzzled his nose into his palm. Valkyrie turned her nose up, weirded-out. "What━Fishlegs!" he jumped back, rubbing his hand on his fur vest.

    "Sorry!" Fishlegs cried. "Just very nervous for Ruffnut!" Hiccup arched a brow. He took the message. "I━I'll go keep an eye out for Changewings."

    Toothless growled at him as he went, annoyed. Valkyrie scratched the dragon on the neck to say, it's okay. Zephyr finished preening his wings of sand and made his way back over. Valkyrie slipped off the saddle and clung onto Zephyr instead.

    "Go on, Ruffnut," Hiccup egged the blonde on.

    "You can do it, sis!" Tuffnut added. His sister jumped at his loud voice, sending him a glare. "Oh! But in case you can't, at least your death will be quick, mostly painless and really cool to watch!"

    She glanced at the Scauldron with fresh fear. But with a deep breath, she did as Hiccup said. "So ... Scauldy," she itched her palm out towards him. He snarled warily. She flinched, but continued forward. "I━I'm guessing you're as freaked out as I am right now. But, if you don't kill me, I would really appreciate it, and━" she froze to feel his dry scales against her skin. All of Ruff's fear washed away like the ocean tide, and she turned to Scauldy with a settle of her posture. Val breathed a smile and Zephyr nudged into her fondly. She hugged him, remembering the moment she felt him put his trust in her back in the arena. Ruff let her palm fall down to the Scauldron's jaw, and she cupped his snout, smiling gently. "Hi ... Hey, Scaudly..."

    Hiccup looked proud. He nodded to the others. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

    Valkyrie smiled and hopped onto Zephyr's saddle. She turned him around and began to lead him towards the rocks keeping the Scauldron down. As she did, Scauldry growled, but Ruff was there to calm him down with a few mutters and soothing rubs.

    "It's okay, I know, I know, Scauldy," she cooed. "Hiccup's kind of bossy, and Valkyrie is a bit mean━" she gaped at her, offended, "━but, look, they're trying to help you. Trust me. Valkyrie helps the sanctuary back at home, she's great at helping dragons."

    Fishlegs was still hesitant as they approached, "S━shouldn't one of us stay back as a lookout for Changewings?"

    Hiccup shook his head, "Changewings or not, we need to help this dragon. And it's going to take all of us to get these rocks off."

    "Besides," said Tuffnut, getting off of his boulder to join, "if there were Changewings anywhere near us, I would sense it."

    Valkyrie scoffed, guiding Zephyr onwards, "I highly doubt that."

    All of the sudden, her dragon balked. Valkyrie gasped, holding on tight and looking up to where he growled. Her eyes widened to see a red Changewing eye her down with an acid-dripping snarl.

    "Val!" Hiccup shouted.

    But Zephyr had her back. He shot a blast of hot air that sent the Changewing shrieking to get away. But he wasn't the only one around. From the trees, shimmered into view a whole pack, snarling and surrounding the wounded Scauldron.

    They did their best to fight them of while Ruffnut tried to calm Scauldy down. Valkyrie took to the air, hoping to try and draw them away, but it wasn't working. Zephyr changed from hot air to fire, blasting short blasts to keep them back from Meatlug who had been enveloped.

    "Oh, man," said Tuff in between Barf and Belch who were letting loose sprouts of gas and sparks menacingly, "I must be dreaming. Because this is way cooler tha what was happening minutes ago."

    Zephyr touched ground in between Toothless and Meatlug. Valkyrie reached back for her mallet, holding it up high.

    A magnesium blast came to their aid.

    Valkyrie grinned broadly as Astrid and Stormfly swooped down, scattering a few of the Changewings in her direction. "Hey! We don't bully here!"

    Behind her, Snotlout and Hott were following at dives.

    "Aha!" cheered Snotlout, loading Hookfang up for a column fire-blast. "One Snotlout suprirse coming up!" the Changewings darted out of the way.

    Some tried to get closer to Scauldy but Hott pulled Spikemoth into a hover, "Spikey━spine!"

    She obliged, shooting enough that made the Changewings skid to a stop and take to the air, instead. They let loose blasts of acid towards Scauldy, who managed to dodge his long neck around, roaring defiantly. Ruffnut had to dive away, screaming.

    Valkyrie took to the air again, pulling into a defensive sky-line in front of the Scauldron. "Astrid━!"

    She understood. She nodded to Hott and together, their Nadders let loose more spines. Zephyr set them alight with a heat blast and the Changewings scattered to avoid them. They retreated back to the woods, disappearing in blinks of shimmering light.

    They were gone, for now. But they would be back, Valkyrie was sure of it; and with more of them.

    They set down. As they did, Astrid crossed her arms, "What have I told you guys about playing with wild Changewings?"

    Valkyrie gasped, "It wasn't me this time, I swear!"

    "We're trying to keep them away from Scauldy," said Hiccup and Astrid arched a brow.

    "Scauldy?"

    "Well, it was that or 'Scalding Painful Death: the Dragon'."

    Tuff raised a finger, "Mine."

    Hott rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, Tuff, it was a given."

    "Those Changewings are gonna be back," said Valkyrie, soothing Zephyr's growls with her hands tracing the patterns of his scales. "And with more friends, for sure."

    Hiccup nodded, "You're right. So let's move these boulders. Ruff," he turned to the Viking still trying to calm Scauldy down from the Changewing attack, "you need to keep Scauldy focused on you, not us."

    "Okay!" she said, then back-tracked. "Wait!" she watched them take flight again, "How do I do that?!"

    "Do your stupid Hiccup impression!"

    Ruff laughed at her brother, "Oh, yeah, good idea!" she turned to Scauldy as the rest of them hovered overhead, keeping a safe distance while they waited for the dragon to calm down. Ruffnut sucked her chest in to look as skinny as she possibly could, leant on her right foot more than her left and began in a nazally voice, "Hello, nice dragon!" she wiggled her shoulders and gestured her arms around widly. Scaudly watched them, eyes wide. "You can be my friend! My leg fell off!" Valkyrie did her best to hide her chuckles, finding it very accurate. "All of the dragons are my friends!"

    Hiccup blanched, "I don't sound like that!"

     Hott snickered, "Yeah, you do."

    Valkyrie shook her shoulders for extra affect, laughing while her brother flung his arms about to mimic his wild gestures.

    Hiccup shook his head at them, "Oh, and P.S━" he called down to Ruff, "━my leg didn't fall off!" she arched a brow to say, you sure. "That's not how it works. I didn't get frostbite! Try something else!"

    "Like what?"

    Still sitting on the boulder, Tuffnut clapped his hands together with an, "Oooh!" Barf and Belch nestled their heads on the rock on either side of him, "Try one of those songs Mum used to sing to you when you were little and were afraid of the dark."

    "You were afraid of the dark!" she snapped at him, holding Scaudly. He was now turning grey. They were losing time. "Not me━I was afraid of you!"

    "Just sing!"

    Ruff clung on desperately as Scauldy started to thrash his head, wondering why dragons were circling him above. "Uh━hush, little Viking, don't you cry!" she began in a raspy voice. Scaudly stopped in surprise, gazing down at her. "Or the Berserker will stab you in the eye━" he huffed, and she winced. "Uh, maybe━Don't let the enemy see you afraid, or he's gonna gut you with a rusty blade." He began to listen, tilting his head. Taking the chance, the Dragon Riders━one by one━dived down and snagged a boulder off of Scaudly's wing as Ruff continued to sing. "If that ragon hears your moans, he's gona mash up all your bones━" he snarled, not particularly happy with that lyric. "Oh ... sorry, Scaudly ..." an idea hit Ruff, and she shuffled in closer. She held her new dragon friend tenderly and murmured with soft, gentle strokes to Scaudly's drying scales. Valkyrie watched with a warm clench of her heart as Zephyr took a rock; she's never seen Ruffnut like this, so gentle, so motherly and caring unless it was with Belch. There was a lot more to the Twins than Val has given them credit, she realised that today. "I promise, Scaudly," she continued, setting her forehead against his snout, "if you don't kill me. My friends and I will get you out to sea."

    The final rock was lifted and Scaudly's eyes widened. He looked to his wing and with a triumphant cry, went to move it, only for his cry to turn into one of pain. Ruffnut was blown back by the sheer force of it, tumbling backwards in the sand. She looked up, eyes wide, "Scauldy!" she exclaimed in horror.

    Valkyrie gasped, "It's his wing!" she recognised the shape of a broken wing anywhere. His joint was crooked from being stuck under the sharp rocks━the impact must have fractured it. He probably didn't realise until now. 

    She set Zephyr down, trying to get a better look. Scaudly snarled at her and she hunched, hands up. Zephyr growled, but she held a hand back, stopping him.

    Ruffnut rushed to her feet and cupped Scauldy's snout again. "It's okay! It's okay, Scauldy━I'm here! She won't hurt you━she's trying to help."

    He calmed down enough to let Valkyrie get closer. She got onto her knees and examined the tilt of the wing. She dared not touch it in fear she'd startle Scauldy into his anger again. She hasn't dealt with a broken wing as large as this.

    "He won't be able to fly, or swim," she realised, feeling really sick to see Scauldy's scales dry up even more in front of her to the point they were flaking. All colour in him had disappeared; he was nothing but grey and lifeless.

    Ruff's eyes welled up with sudden tears, "So ... so we did all this for nothing?"

    "It looks like a simple break," Valkyrie thought as she spoke. "I━I could fix it, but━"

    "With what?" Snotlout scoffed. "A giant dragon splint?"

    Her chest jolted. She glanced back, grinning. "Yes! Exactly━Snotlout, you actually said the right thing for once!" She got to her feet, eager.

    Snotlout sat back in his seat, startled she'd compliment him. "Uh ..." he quickly recovered, "I knew that. That's why I said it. 'Cause it was my idea." Astrid rolled her eyes.

    "Any time now!" snapped Ruff, holding onto her friend.

    "All right," Valkyrie turned to the team, "we're gonn need wood. The biggest pieces you can find, as well as something to secure the splints."

    "We can use the rope from my shield," Hiccup picked up the Gronckle Iron disk, "but we'll need more. So, bring any vines you can find."

    Fishlegs nodded, "You got it."

    "And Ruff━"

    "I know!" she said. "I'm stuck on stupid dragon-sitting duty!" Scauldy stared at her, offended. She quickly fixed her words. "I didn't really mean that, I'm sorry."

    "Hey!" Tuffnut jumped up from his boulder. "What am I supposed to do?"

    Hiccup held out his shield towards him. "Start pulling out all the rope from the grappling hook and the bolas. But be very careful of the━" Tuffnut cried out when a stone struck him in the nose. He took the shield with him as he hit the ground. Hiccup winced apologetically, "the mini-catapult."

    "Meanwhile, Ruff," Valkyrie picked up her bucket and handed it over to her. Scaudly seemed to understand they wanted to help, now. "Fill this up with water and rub it on his scales when your petting him, it should soothe him and keep him going for long enough."

    She nodded. Then, she did something Valkyrie didn't expect. She launched forward and hugged her. Val froze, unsure on what to do. Ruff has never hugged her before. "Thank you," she told her before pulling away and rushing to the ocean's shore.

    And so, they all got to work. The others gathered what they needed while Ruff lathered as much water on Scauldy's face and neck as she could. Tuffnut worked to gather the rope from Hiccup's shield and bolas while Valkyrie carefully set Scauldly's wing out so she could work on it. As soon as they returned, she and Hott started to work on the large splint, having done this thousands of times━just on ... you know, smaller dragons.

    Hiccup and Toothless, Spikemoth and Zephyr helped them set the tree trunks down on either end of the wing. Snotlout and Astrid went scouting for more Changewings just in case. Fishlegs helped Valkyrie and Hott tie the splints together with rope and vines. Ruffnut kept singing to Scauldly, coming up with lyrics on her toes.

    Valkyrie worked quickly, tightening the vines with gritted teeth.

    Meanwhile, Ruff sang, "Hurry up, guys, and fix that wing; because I've run out of things to sing!"

    "I think it's going to work," said Valkyrie as Fishlegs tied the last vine together. Hiccup grinned at her.

    "Comin' in hot!"

    Snotlout's voice made them look over. He and Astrid were━indeed━coming in hot, diving down to meet them. Hiccup's grin fell away, "Oh, this can't be good," he grumbled.

    Reaching the ground first, Snotlout whimpered to Hiccup "I don't understand women."

    "Changwings behind us," said Astrid, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. "About five minutes out."

    "How many?"

    "Enough that they aren't bothing camouflaging themselves."

    Hiccup grimaced, "Uh, Val?"

    "One more━" she pointed to Fishlegs. He shook in his urgency and accidentally tugged too tight. The vine snapped.

    "Oh!" he cried. "It broke!" he tried to pull it back together, but it was now too short. "It━it won't reach! We need more rope!" Screeches from above made Valkyrie gasp. Above, a whole flock of Changewings were descending. Fishleg's screamed. "Oh! We're out of time! They're coming! They're coming!"

    He got up and ran to Meatlug, hopping onto her saddle. Valkyrie gasped and rushed to take his place, tugging at the vine with all her might.

    "Guys!" Hiccup told her and Ruff. "We have to go!"

    "No!" they snapped.

    "Can't we all lift Scauldy?" Ruffnut asked miserably, holding on.

    "Even if we could," said Hiccup, distressed, "it wouldn't do any good. The dragon can't swim, Ruffnut. Valkyrie, come on."

    She looked up from the splint, glancing between him, Scaudly and the Changewings. They were getting closer. Valkyrie froze up a little, not sure on what to do. She watched Ruffnut hug Scaudly, trying to make a decision. She glanced over at Hiccup again, torn. He was already on Toothless, shield on his back.

    "Guys, come on."

    "No!" Ruffnut cried. "I am not leaving him here!"

    Even Tuffnut understood the weight of the situation. He stepped towards his Twin, "Look," he began softly, "sis..."

    "Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it now," said Astrid, voice sharp and demanding.

    Scaudly glanced over at the Changewings and with a moan, he pushed Ruff away. She stumbled, startled. He nudged her again. Valkyrie stood up, feeling her throat ache. She stepped towards Zephyr, who began to tug her closer to his saddle, egging her to get on.

    Ruff tugged at her hair, looking around for anything that could help━then, it hit her. Her eyes widened at the rope and looked down at her hair. She gasped, "Wait! I have an idea!" she pulled out her knife and before anyone could stop her, sliced right through her long, voluminous blonde hair.

    Ruffnut loved her hair.

    But for Scaudly, she was willing to sacrifice it; and it was worth it, to see him swim again, scales green and luxurious. They flew back to Berk, the Scaudlron swimming below. Valkyrie smiled at Ruffnut, seeing her happily sit in her saddle with her short hair whisping around. The older Twin met her gaze, and they shared a knowing nod.

    Valkyrie leaned down to hug Zephyr and he squawked up at her fondly.

    Hiccup flew in beside Astrid, "Sorry about sticking you with Snotlout today."

    "Eh," she shrugged, smirking at Hott. "It wasn't so bad. Watch this━" she batted her eyelashes over at Snotlout and called out, "Hey, Sweetie Pie! Honey Punch? Snotty-Kins!"

    Valkyrie burst out into laughter, clutching her stomach in her hysterics over the names. Snotlout whined, not liking them one bit. "Would you stop that already?! You're grossing me out!"

    "Yeah," Hiccup chuckled, brow arched, "you're kind of grossing me out, too."

    "Hey, Honey Punch!" Astrid continued to tease Snotlout, cackling as he dived away, shouting loudly as he blocked his ears.

    Valkyrie continued to laugh the entire way home.

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

    a/n: i'm proctrastinating making dinner ... anyway, another chapter because why not? they're all written now anyway.