entry two!
002. the eye of the beholder
translated for reading
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    "MOVE BACK from the door!"

    It was a race against time to free Valkyrie and her friends from the cage door as the Reaper tilted upwards and began to sink into the depths of the ocean. The group of Vikings▬Valkyrie, Astrid, Hott, Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twins were all squished up against the door as the ship tilted, shouting and fighting to get their way out. It soon turned into another argument with each other the moment Snotlout's stupid wig hit Valkyrie in the face. It was only when Hiccup's voice echoed above did they finally listen. 

    He landed Toothless on the sinking deck, waiting until his friends forced themselves back far enough before trying to blast the cage door open with a plasma blast. Usually, that sort of firepower worked. However, this time, they were all surprised to see Toothless's blast ricochet off the green iron. They all ducked at the sparks, letting out exclaims of shock. The lock did not budge at all. 

    Fishlegs stumbled to the door again, horrified. "Dragon-proof bars?!" he clutched onto the iron cage, eyes wide as he stared at the red-hot spot where Toothless's blast had hit. His fear dropped instantly and was replaced with curiosity. "Oh, fascinating..."

    Hiccup grabbed the edge of the cage to keep himself steady as the boat continued to tilt and sink down into the watery depths. He seemed to have forgotten all about the danger they were in to lean forward and gaze at the iron material. "Whoever built this ship really knew what they were doing..."

    The Reaper tilted dangerously to the side and Hott let out a screech when he face-planted against the cage walls. He groaned. "Ow, I think I just broke my face!"

    Valkyrie let out a painful groan herself when she was squashed against the sides behind Fishlegs's meaty back. "Ugh▬Fishlegs, gerrof▬!" her words were muffled. "Can't▬breathe▬whoa!" the ship tilted the other way and the group of caged Dragon Riders fell like tipped yaks in hot weather. She landed on top of Fishlegs, accidentally elbowing him in the stomach and he yelped, hurt. 

    Snotlout dragged himself up onto his feet, his braids long gone now. He hefted a deep breath of fury. "Oh, you know what would be more fascinating?" he seethed in a sarcastic manner. The boat tilted again and Valkyrie squealed as she was thrown across and hit Snotlout's back, pressing his face against the cage door. His face went a livid shade of red. "Getting us out of here!" he shouted. 

    Hiccup desperately clung onto the cage as well. The boat was tilting even more, now▬they were almost at a full vertical. He let out a soft yelp of surprise when his feet lifted off the deck. "Toothless! Now!"

    But no matter how many shots Toothless blasted, the lock did not break or melt. Hiccup was growing anxious and stressed. "We▬" he tried to think off the top of his head as they descended closer and closer to the water, "▬we need more firepower. Guys, dragon calls!"

    Each dragon rider did as Hiccup said. They cupped a hand against their mouths and cried out a series of guff sounds, bellows and squawks which imitated their dragon's call at a skilful excellence from lots of practice. Valkyrie just finished calling for Zephyr when something hit the edge of the ship. Tuffnut's call was cut off mid-gurgle and he hit the deck. 

    "What was that?!" yelped Hott, hunching up beside Astrid. 

    A shadow loomed above them. Something long, big and slimy landed on the cage. The giant eel screeched and showed its razor-sharp teeth. It hissed down at Hiccup and Snotlout cried: "Oh, why'd it have to be eels?!"

    Toothless came to the rescue. An explosion of purple flung the giant eel off the top of the cage, but it didn't come alone. He bounded up the deck and leapt up onto the iron, glancing around as more and more eels surfaced from the water. He fired burning hot plasma blasts where he could, but where one eel scurried away, only more seemed to take its place.

    As he did, Hiccup grew desperate. He grabbed the bars of the cage door and pulled with all his might as if he could somehow snap the lock. They tried to help, all of them pushing their arms and shoulders against the door▬hoping their weight would weaken the hinges. 

    Valkyrie saw something emerge from the depths. "Hiccup, watch out▬!"

    For such a big thing, the eel was incredibly fast. While Snotlout squealed and flung himself away from the door, Hiccup had no time to react. He yelped when the teeth of the monster latched around his metal leg. He tried to shake the eel off, but it was too big▬it was light dragging ten heavy bags of rocks. "Toothless▬!"

    The Night Fury's claws scraped the top of the cage as he turned towards Hiccup's cry. He snarled and Hiccup covered his eyes in the crook of his elbow. There was a mighty blast, and the eel screeched as it dropped back down into the water. 

    "HOOKFANG!" Snotlout was screaming, clinging onto the bars of the cage as the ship tilted closer and closer to vertical. "HELP US! I'M IMPORTANT!"

    The gigantic eels wrapped their long and huge slender bodies around the base of the boat and the entire ship tipped vertical. The group of dragon riders all screamed as they fell down, their collective weight snapping the lock free. Valkyrie squealed as she desperately grabbed onto Hott's foot, dangling down in a long chain from Snotlout who had managed to lock his fingers around the cage bars.

    At the base of their linked chain of people, Tuffnut snatched Hiccup's leg before it fell into the ocean. "Ahh..." he sighed, swinging upside down. "That was great▬Aah! No!" he ducked and whacked the face of an eel with Hiccup's metal leg. "AAAAH▬!"

    And then, out of nowhere, a spark hit the noxious gas of a Hideous Zippleback head▬Barf and Belch had come to their rescue. Valkyrie glanced over and let out a bright grin to see Zephyr and the rest of their dragons dive down towards them. 

    "Zephyr!" cried Valkyrie in delight, letting go of her brother and letting herself be caught by her dragon. "I knew you'd come back!"

    Meanwhile, Tuffnut scoffed as he dropped down onto his saddle. "Yeah, only now do they decide to show up."

    Together, the dragon riders all reunited with their dragons and escaped the sinking ship and vicious gigantic eels, seeking safety in the soft orange clouds of the early dawn. 

    "That was way too close," said Fishlegs and Hott agreed.

    "Yeah. Too close," he fixed his helmet and slumped forward, happily wrapping his arms around his Deadly Nadder in his relief and gratitude. "Way too close. Never again."

    Astrid glanced at him and sighed, rolling her eyes before turning Stormfly towards the Chief's son and his Night Fury. "Hiccup, what's the plan?"

     Hiccup pursed his lips and glanced back towards where Dagur's ship was slowly disappearing on the horizon. "You guys go back to Berk," he decided. "I'm going after Dagur. Whatever that cylinder-looking thing is, I know one thing for sure▬it shouldn't be in his hands."

    "You going alone?" Valkyrie crossed her arms and arched a challenging brow.

    "Yep," said her boyfriend quickly and turned Toothless around before she'd react, diving down towards the depths of the waters to pick up speed▬a smart move considering Valkyrie was left scowling in her saddle. 

    All she could do was sigh and gently nudge Zephyr back in the direction of Berk, slowly following the others that started a casual speed of flight▬wanting to make sure Hiccup would catch up with them. "Why do I even ask? Why do I deal with him?" Valkyrie asked her dragon in frustrated mutterings. At Zephyr's squawk, she frowned down at him, too. "Those questions were rhetorical."

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    THEY HADN'T HAD something this exciting happen in Berk for three years. Yes, of course, Berk has had its few brawls, dragon training mishaps, new luxurious items from Trader Johann's boat, and eventful Dragon Racing events. But to have something this new and this exciting▬to have a new mystery to uncover after just finding out that the world expanded so much further outside the Archipelago than they thought ... while this threat of Dagur's escape from prison on Outcast Island was troublesome and concerning, their day-to-day activities that had become repetitive and boring and without the same adventure and excitement they used to have were suddenly thrown into a deep end of uncertainty. And even though she might not admit it to anyone else, Valkyrie loved it. She had missed the unknown▬she had missed exploring the skies and finding new islands and new dragons. She didn't miss the sleepless nights and battlefields against the Outcasts and the Berserkers▬but she did miss the freedom and adventure at Hiccup's side. She hated feeling trapped in the one place, forced to live up to the expectations others forced upon her. The last time she tried to do that, she had been bitter and angry, and felt like she was never good enough▬striving to win Dragon Training back when she was fifteen, feeling like that was the only way she'd earn respect as a Viking, but also from her father. 

    Until Hiccup showed her there was so much more▬until he showed her the freedom that came with flying a dragon, and Valkyrie never once looked back. 

    However, as she returned to Berk and saw her mother waving her and her brother down near the cliffside bridges and walkways leading down to the docks, Valkyrie was hit with a painful reminder of her reality right now▬when would she have the time to figure out their new mystery?

    She glanced at her brother who met her gaze, and the siblings shared a similar look of apprehension and reluctance.

    "We'll wait for Hiccup to return," Valkyrie decided, turning to the others as they hovered above the island of Berk. "You guys head for the forge▬I'm guessing Hiccup will want Gobber to see that cylinder thing he found. We'll catch up."

    Snotlout and the Twins groaned, annoyed and wanting to be the ones to wait for Hiccup▬all of them were equally as curious as to see what this new, mysterious object was. But at Valkyrie's sharp look, Snotlout grumbled out a, "Fine!" and they all dived down towards the village. Astrid followed at their tail, hesitating as she glanced briefly back over her shoulder at Valkyrie and Hott, her lips pursing with concern▬but she let it be and caught up with the rest of their friends while the two siblings veered their dragons in the direction of their mother. 

     Valkyrie and her brother, Hott, both landed on the grass in front of their mother. They dismounted, and Valkryie dusted off her leggings. She fixed a flower in her hair, catching up with Hott as they approached

    "Good, you're back," their mother huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You were gone all night."

    "Yeah, dragon rider duties called," Hott shrugged, reaching back up to scratch Spikemoth under her chin. She made a happy guttural squawk. "Didn't you hear? Dagur's out of prison▬there was this awesome place, a ship graveyard and we battled these humongous eels!" he made many gestures as he started to retell their story, but their mother held up her hand, already exasperated.

    "Tell the entire family over dinner, Hott," she sighed. "You were supposed to be at the Hangar an hour ago, and Val, darling, you promised Gothi you would take Zephyr and grab some supplies to refill her stock."

    "I know, we know," Valkyrie said quickly, holding out her hands. "We'll get onto that, I promise, just after we figure this one little thing out▬"

    "▬And what about the commitment you made with Phlegma and helping sell her flowers at today's market?" continued her mother. "Or helping your father out at the Dragon Sanctuary with moving the Windstriker mother and her hatchlings to their new pen? And don't forget Stoick invited you to have dinner with him and Hiccup tonight▬"

    "Yes, Mum, I know▬" Valkyrie tried to get a word in, "▬but▬"

    "Valkyrie," her mother soothed her to a silent huff as she took her by the shoulders and squeezed them gently. Behind them, Hott quietly walked backwards and subtly tried to sneak away, but as he reached up to grab the handle of his saddle, their mother quickly said, "Hott, don't you think about it▬I'm not finished with you."

     Valkyrie's younger brother slowly pulled his hand away, flashing a sheepish grin in a desperate grab for innocence. 

    Their mother sighed once more and fixed her stare on her eldest and only daughter. "Val," she began, "you are going to be faced with an opportunity unlike any other one day▬"

    Realising where this talk was going, Valkyrie blushed. "Mum..."

    "▬And with that opportunity," continued her mother, "there are also duties and responsibilities that you can't skip out on to fly out into the unknown with Hiccup and your friends▬no matter how much you might want to. You can try and ignore it," she added at the look on her daughter's face as she tried to cut in, silencing her with a gentle curt look, "but with how things are going with you and Hiccup, one day, you're more than likely going to be the Chieftess of Berk, and you need to start taking that seriously."

    "I do take it seriously," said Valkyrie in a feeble attempt to defend herself. "This was just ... unexpected and not planned▬but it is also important. I have to defend Berk, Mum▬I have to defend the dragons. If Dagur attacks Berk, what good am I helping sell apples and flowers at the market?"

    "She has a point there," Hott spoke up, only to be silenced by both Valkyrie and their mother's identical stern scowl. He hunched up and backed into the protective shadow of Spikemoth. "Yep, I'll stay quiet▬got it."

    Her mother sighed once more and focused on her daughter. "Look, Valkryrie▬"

    But she was cut off by the screech of a Night Fury in the sky. Valkyrie glanced up and grinned▬Hiccup couldn't have better timed his arrival. He and Toothless hovered down closer to the ground. "Val!" he called out, clueless as to what was happening, but still always being there when Valkyrie needed him. "Hott▬come on."

   Valkyrie took this chance to escape. "Sorry, Mum," she said quickly, shuffling backwards towards Zephyr, who was ready while Hott mounted Spikemoth once again. "Duty calls▬I'll get to everything later, I promise!"

    Before her mother could say anything else, Valkyrie the Vicious pulled herself up onto her saddle, and she and her brother joined Hiccup in the air. The group of them made their way towards the centre of the island where the forge sat amongst the bustle and hustle of Berkian daily life. 

     These days, the forge was also not just the one-stop-shop for everything weapon and armour related for the average Viking who wanted their axe sharpened or a new mace to bludgeon their friend. It was also a Dragon Dentistry because they all knew full well what happened when a dragon (Hookfang) got a horrendous toothache. A Viking now could not only come and get his axe sharpened but also have his friendly dragon come for their monthly check-up at the same time!

    The three of them landed outside the forge, where the rest of their friends' dragons were all waiting, enjoying themselves with some freshly caught fish in the nearby trough. Valkyrie slipped off her saddle and reached into her bag before Zephyr could bound away towards the fish with the others. She pulled out two flower crowns she made earlier but never got the time to give, and gently placed it on Zephyr's head and then Toothless, before giving the Night Fury a scratch under his chin at the gummy grin he gave her. 

    Hott watched her, unimpressed. "Where's Spikey's flower crown?" he asked.

    Valkyrie sent him a look as Hiccup came to stand beside her, letting his dragon, too, race over to enjoy the fish. "Because last time Spikemoth ate the flowers and got hay fever and almost set the house on fire with her sneezing."

    Hott pursed his lips, knowing she was right. He then shrugged, "Whatever," he grumbled. "Still isn't fair," before he led the way into the forge. 

    Valkyrie shared an amused smile with Hiccup before they followed. She couldn't help but stare as he pulled the cylinder object out of his leather satchel and held it out in front of them. Up close, it looked even more intricate, and Valkyrie reached out to grab it to see it for herself. Hiccup let her, watching her turn it around in her fingers, feeling all the nobs and indents▬the hinges and the dragon-shaped head at its top. 

    "It looks ... ancient," murmured Val, peering at the different colours on its side that looked strangely like the dragon classes they created. "Like older than even Gothi."

    Hiccup snorted and took the object back gently. "Don't go around saying that, or Gothi might just whack you with her staff."

    They stepped into the forge. Seeing them, Snotlout slumped and whined a loud, "Great, you're finally here▬only took you like hours!"

    "You were waiting no more than thirty minutes, Snotlout," said Valkyrie, dubious.

    "Yeah, thirty minutes too long," said Tuffnut, waggling an accusing finger at the two of them. 

    Gobber was waiting for them by his worktable. When he saw the two young Vikings, he let out an, "Ah! Is that it▬?" he gestured his hook at the object in Hiccup's hands. "Well, hand it over. Let me see it."

    Hiccup did as his old mentor said, resting his hands on his hips once he did so. Valkyrie crossed her arms, standing close to Hiccup and frowning over his shoulder with a curiosity shared amongst all the dragon riders inside the forge that day as they watched Gobber analyse the strange object. He peered at it under his bushy blonde brow, gnawed at it with his stone tooth and then tried to open it. 

    He struggled. He twisted the end and turned it. He jabbed his hook into one of the crevices and hinged it▬but despite how old and frail the thing looked, it didn't budge. 

    "Have you ever seen anything like this Dragon Eye before, Gobber?" asked Hiccup.

    The Dragon Riders all faced him, confused at the name. 

    "Dragon Eye?" let out Tuffnut, leaning back against one of the barrels under some hanging axes that were on show. "How do you know it's called a Dragon Eye?"

    Hiccup shrugged. "Because I named it."

    Hott gaped. "Whoa, whoa▬hang on," he held out his hands, shocked by this revelation. "Hang on. You named it? I thought we were supposed to vote on stuff like that?"

    Astrid rolled her eyes and face-palmed, not wanting to deal with Hott's antics this early in the morning. Hiccup turned to Valkyrie's younger brother who was sharing a very similar displeased look with Snotlout. "Fine," he relented. "All in favour, say 'Dragon Eye'."

    "Dragon Eye," the rest of the riders all held up their hands in a chorus of agreement. 

    Hott pursed his lips at the majority. He scoffed and shrugged, crossing his arms. "Just wanted to make sure we voted," he mumbled. 

    Meanwhile, Gobber was still in a struggling battle with opening the Dragon Eye. He whacked it against the bench and Hiccup winced a little. 

    "Can you open it, Gobber?" Astrid jutted her hip out, arching a brow at the way Gobber's meaty arms were shaking with effort. 

    The blacksmith let out a long, strained groan as he heaved at both ends of the Dragon Eye. It didn't even twist an inch. He stopped at her dubious tone and barked out a laugh. "Ha! Can I open it?" Gobber the Belch scoffed. He jabbed his hook under her nose and Astrid stared at it, startled. "I once opened a five-hundred-year-old giant clam at the bottom of the ocean with my bare hook!" He focused back on the Dragon Eye. "Can I open it?▬You younglings these days! I think it's going to be ..." he noticed a latch and frowned. "Huh ... Aha!" he twisted the latch and out of the butt of the object, a dart shot faster than the blink of an eye. 

    Valkyrie exclaimed in shock when the dart lodged itself into Tuffnut's chest. "Tuff▬!"

    He didn't notice it at first, too busy picking something out of his teeth to even react. Then he saw all of their shocked, horrified stares and finally glanced down. Seeing the dart poking out of his tunic, he let out a disgusted, "Urgh. What is that? That looks like a▬" he collapsed forward, unconscious. His sister, who was sitting on the sales bench, laughed.

    Valkyrie's head fell into her hands, not even bothering to check on him. Maybe she should, but after all the crazy (and much worse and more dangerous) antics the Twins have gotten themselves into, she was used to Tuffnut getting hurt that it was merely a normal part of everyone's day.

    "Huh," murmured Gobber, more intrigued rather than worried. "Well, that was ... something, maybe," he went back to frowning over the Dragon Eye. 

    He snagged his hook into another compartment and Valkyrie winced. "Wait, Gobber, maybe you shouldn't▬"

    Gobber waved her off. "Gah! Trust me. I'm▬"

    Valkyrie hid her gasp behind her hands, holding her breath as Gobber snagged something out of the end of the Dragon Eye and a cloud of noxious, green Zippleback gas exploded into the forge. 

    Everyone followed her actions▬all except Tuffnut, who, just as he managed to stand up, groggily returned to consciousness after being struck with the dart. "It's all right, I'm okay. I got hit with something, but now▬" he caught a rather large whiff of the noxious green gas, "▬Nope, scratch that▬"

    And just like that, he was gone again.

    Valkyrie winced when he hit the ground, and slowly approached him, a hand still over her nose and mouth. She watched Tuffnut convulse and babble on the ground. Hiccup watched her, expecting her to do something. When she didn't, he nudged her. "What?" she let out, a bit too nonchalant over Tuffnut's condition.

    Hiccup gave her a look and gestured to their friend shaking on the ground. "Uh▬shouldn't we take him to Gothi or your Mum or somebody?"

    "He's fine," Valkyrie shrugged. "Worse things have happened to him▬"

    "Gothi," Hott said immediately, neither he nor his sister eager to give their Mum the chance to lecture them again. "Yeah, let's go to Gothi."

    Deciding with Tuffnut's condition, they'd much rather fly up to Gothi's house than take the hundreds of winding stone steps up the mountain, Hiccup, the Twins, Valkyrie, Fishlegs and Gobber all grabbed their dragons and made their way up to the tallest mountain that shrouded Berk in its shadow. Gobber spent the entire trip still trying to open up the Dragon Eye from behind Hiccup on Toothless▬which the Chief's son spent the entire trip praying to the gods he wouldn't be hit by another bout of noxious green gas or Speedstinger venom or something.

    Not all of them had to take Tuffnut to see Gothi, of course, but Valkyrie went because she needed to somehow apologise and beg for her life over forgetting to grab Gohti her supplies (and promise she'd get to it later), and she could translate Gothi's scribbling. Gobber decided he needed to come for supervision and wouldn't give back the Dragon Eye, so Hiccup agreed. Ruffnut wanted to be there to annoy her brother and make fun of him (besides, she had to help fly Barf and Belch), and Fishlegs ... well, Valkyrie wasn't sure why Fishlegs felt the need to tag along, but he was anyway.  

    (Hott wanted to come because he thought it would be interesting to see Tuffnut suffer. And while it would be interesting, Hiccup had to put his foot down and declare that no one else could follow, otherwise, Gothi's small front wooden platform would be way too crowded and he wouldn't put it past one of them to accidentally trip over the edge).

     The moment they arrived, Valkyrie got a staff to her calves, causing her to gasp and hunch over with surprise and pain. "Yep," she muttered to Gothi as she shook her staff at her face. "Yep, I know▬I deserve that. I'll get those supplies to you later, Gothi, I promise."

     She huffed and sent her a disappointed side-eye, to which Valkyrie chuckled awkwardly and offered her best smile. 

    Tuffnut was still babbling and hacking the entire time it took Gothi to brew her remedy for his strange reaction to the noxious gas. Valkyrie watched and helped out, but by the end of it, she ended up standing beside Hiccup and wincing at each estranged sound Tuffnut made. 

    Once she finished, Gothi took the broth and slammed it against Tuffnut's mouth, forcing him to drink it. Hiccup turned up his nose and shared an estranged look with Valkyrie and Fishlegs. 

    After gulping it all down, Tuffnut shook and gagged at the disgusting taste, but his tremors seemed to stop. However, something else troubled him. Valkyrie made a disgusted face as well when Tuff started to scratch at his teeth. It made a sound like nails scratching stone▬and it was horrible. "My teeth are itching. My teeth are itchy!"

     Gothi grabbed her staff and scribbled something in the sand at her feet. Valkyrie glanced over and translated. "Apparently, that means it's working," she told Tuffnut. To the side, Gobber slammed the Dragon's Edge against the wooden posts of Gothi's home. Nothing happened.

     Hiccup approached the village elder. "Thank you, Gothi," he said. "We really appreciate this."

    Gobber smacked the Dragon Eye again, and it made them all glance over, frustrated. Suddenly, Gothi's eyes widened▬and even though she never spoke a word, Valkyrie still felt a tense, chilling silence settle over her that was louder than anything she had heard in her life. The village elder turned away, looking so pale as if she had seen a ghost. 

    "Gothi?" murmured Valkyrie, both confused and worried. "What is it? Are you okay?"

    She glanced at Valkyrie, then with a troubled frown, held out her arm and pointed to a peculiar scar on the inside. Valkyrie and Hiccup's eyes widened▬recognising the patterns; the three jagged, round marks looked like they belonged to dragon teeth. But it was more than that, the shape exactly matched the three holes on the Dragon Eye they had thought were for a key to open it. 

    Before Valkyrie could ask anything else, Gothi left. She opened her door and disappeared inside her little home, and the Dragon Riders were left stunned to silence. 

    Hiccup frowned. He glanced at his friends. "Her▬her scar," he murmured once Gothi was gone, very troubled. "It matches the keyhole."

    "Yeah," agreed Fishlegs, "and it looked like a dragon bite to me."

    "But from what dragon?" wondered Valkyrie, crossing her arms. 

    The two dragon experts shrugged, looking just as clueless as her. 

    "Oh, it is a dragon bite," then said Gobber, continuing to smack the Dragon Eye against the wooden posts. "But she doesn't like to talk about it."

    "She doesn't like to talk about anything," muttered Fishlegs. 

     Still scratching his teeth, Tuffnut let out a loud but muffled: "Oh▬so that's why she writes in the dirt with her stick." His 's' sounded more like squeaks and whistles. "I thought that was▬" squeak, "▬just▬" squeak, "▬like, her thing."

     "Yeah," smirked Ruffnut, "like Snotlout being a woman repellant."

     Valkyrie shook her head. After years of knowing the Twins, she still couldn't figure them out▬maybe she never will. "You▬you've known Gothi your entire life Tuffnut, you never even▬?" she huffed a frustrated sigh and held up her hands in defeat. "Nope, nope, I'm not gonna even ask."

     "Maybe we could use the stick to itch the teeth..."

     She felt Hiccup brush past her, suddenly very determined as he reached for the handle on Gothi's door. Gobber stopped banging the Dragon Eye to frown at him. "Where are you going?"

    The Chief's son hesitated and glanced back. "After her," he said blatantly. "We have to figure out what kind of dragon made that scar. It could be the key to opening the Dragon Eye."

    "Hold on," the blacksmith held out his hook. "I have ways of making her talk," he chuckled to himself evilly. Valkyrie frowned, very concerned with what he meant by that. "Well ... scribble, anyway. Yak noodle soup!"

    That was apparently Gothi's weakness, and Valkyrie wasn't one to question it. However, it was going to take Gobber an entire day to cook and stew, so the Dragon Riders had to keep themselves busy until then. Thankfully, Valkyrie had a lot on her to-do list. Gobber hitched a ride back down to the village with Fishlegs. Valkyrie and Hiccup could follow with their dragons, but instead, they decided they wanted to make the trek on foot▬to have some time to themselves amongst the chaos. Their dragons followed behind them, annoyed at the slow pace, but keeping themselves busy with the stick they had somehow found. Zephyr wasn't playing fairly, frustrating Toothless by taking flight every time he got the stick▬until the Night Fury would send light, warning plasma blasts to scare the Windstriker back to the cliffside. 

    "You gonna go get Gothi's supplies after this?" Hiccup asked Valkyrie as they walked in front, leaving their dragons and their game be. 

     Valkyrie nodded. "Yeah, and then I'll help Dad out at the Sanctuary, see Mrs. Ack and apologise for this morning, and apologise to Phlegma and help out with the markets."

     "Busy day," mused her boyfriend and she scoffed, shooting him an amused look. 

    "It's always a busy day," she teased. "But you know Zeph and I will be ready when you need us."

    Hiccup smiled and shuffled closer so they were walking almost shoulder-to-shoulder down the steep stairwell. "I know," he said gently. "I've got time to kill so ... you want some company getting those supplies?"

     Valkyrie's face broke out into a gentle smile, too. But she quickly hid it to joke. "I just can't get rid of you. I'm going to see you tonight at dinner, but you still want to hang out with me now? Gods, you're so clingy▬" she cackled into soft laughter when Hiccup lightly shoved her but held onto her elbow to keep her from stumbling off the side of the stairwell and the cliffs. 

     "Fine," said Hiccup, shrugging and gesturing his hands in the ridiculous way that he does, "I won't help you out. Fine by me. Toothless and I will just go off exploring▬"

     "Wait, no▬" Valkyrie latched onto his arm and pulled him close, locking her arms around his elbow. Hiccup laughed. "I take it back. I take it back."

     Hiccup just shook his head and pulled away. "Bad girlfriend."

    "No▬" she laughed and tried to pull him back to her, jumping down a few steps to catch up with him. 

    "Yes! Bad girlfriend▬"

    "No▬I'm sorry▬Babe▬"

     She latched onto his shoulders from behind and Hiccup let out a strangled yelp, thankful that they had reached an even ground in the long stairwell down to the village otherwise they would have fallen right off the cliff. "Okay! Okay!" he let out but was biting back a beaming smile. "Fine▬I forgive you, Milady. I forgive you."

     Valkyrie grinned, victorious. She stayed there a little while, just hugging Hiccup around the neck from behind▬happy and content. She felt his hands come up to hold her arms, and she kissed his cheek. "Hmm, that's what I thought."

     "Yeah, yeah."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

    THIS TIME, Valkyrie had enough notice she was able to plan her adventure. Gobber the Belch's yak noodle soup somehow worked, and the next morning before the sun had even risen, the Dragon Riders all came together at the Academy to saddle up for a long ride towards Glacier Island where the Snow Wraith would be waiting for them. 

    The Snow Wraith was a Strike Class dragon. There was little much known about them except for what Bork the Bold had written, and Valkyrie knew Hiccup was eager to learn more about the mysterious dragon whose pages were blank except for EXTREME CAUTION! And some insight into its high attack scores and firepower. But Strike Class dragons, as a whole, were incredibly smart; it was a defining characteristic for a dragon to be placed under this classification of dragon species. It meant that they would have to keep their own senses sharp if they were to somehow manage to get a Snow Wraith tooth to unlock the Dragon Eye (especially after Gothi's horrific story of her own experience with the dragon that earned her such a vicious scar). 

     Which made Valkyrie wonder why they didn't just leave the Twins behind. 

    But alas, Hiccup wouldn't let her, Snotlout and Astrid lock them away in the dragon pens before they could leave. 

    The flight to Glacier Island took them a few hours, at the very least▬until the sun had nearly risen to halfway in the sky. They took their dragons far north, deeper and deeper into the frozen waters and stretches of glacial lands almost inhabitable for any dragon. There were a few key species of dragons that called the ice-lands their home. First, of course, was the Snow Wraith. But there were also other notable dragon species such as the Groncicle, Shivertooths, some Scuttleclaw groups and even some groups of Speedstingers that thrived in or had adapted to the icy north climates. 

    Finally, Glacier Island started to appear in the horizon through the icy, foggy clouds and small snow storms that knicked Valkyrie's cheeks and turned the tip of her nose red. She started to wish she had brought warmer clothes▬even in the fur coat that covered her chest and shoulders, she was shivering. 

    The home of the Snow Wraith stood tall over the icy waters. Cliffsides of ice and glaciers stood and guarded mountains capped with snow. As they got closer, freezing vicious winds howled against their furs and their dragons' wings, making their flights jagged and rough. Valkyrie gently placed her hand on Zephyr's neck to calm him down▬he was growing nervous and skittish in a place so cold. 

     "Look at the size of that island," murmured Hiccup, peering through the icy clouds with his hand over his eyes.

    "The Book of Dragons mentions the Snow Wraith," spoke up Fishlegs, and Valkyrie wasn't sure whether his tremors were from the cold or pure excitement, "but doesn't have any information on it." He giggled and clapped his hands together. "Can you believe this? A brand-new dragon! It's been so long, I've forgotten what this feeling is!" 

    At their judgement, Fishlegs went red at the cheeks and sat back in his saddle. "Sorry. Excited about the new dragon."

    Astrid arched a brow. "You mean the dragon that single-handedly wiped out Gothi's entire search party? That dragon?"

    Fishlegs pursed his lips. "That would be correct▬" but he then grinned and pumped his fist into the air. "So worth the long flight!"

     "Speak for yourself!" shouted Snotlout, furious from where he flew in behind the group of them on his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang. "Your neck hair's not covered in old lady drool!" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder where Gothi▬who was joining them on their adventure today▬was fast asleep against Snotlout's back.

    Valkyrie was glad when they finally landed and she could stretch out her legs. She hopped off Zephyr's neck and landed in the snow, her fur boots leaving two deep footprints in the heavy white cover. She shivered and hunched up, hugging herself around her arms as she tried to frown through the glare of the sun on the ice▬that was almost as blinding as the sun itself. 

    Hott landed beside her. "You look cold."

    "Shut up," she grumbled as he slipped off Spikemoth's saddle. 

    "I did tell you wouldn't be warm enough in that."

    "Shut up, Hott."

    "But did you listen to me?" he gestured at her, looking quite smug at her predicament, and she glowered. "Nooo▬Agh! Ow! NO! NOT MY NOSE."

    Valkyrie dusted her hands off as she grinned down at her brother who fell face-first into the snow at her feet. "You were saying?"

    "I hate you," was his muffled reply before Spikemoth picked him up out of the snow. She set him back down with a squawk, and Hott angrily ruffled snow out of his hair before putting his helmet back on. 

    The others landed down on the snow-covered rocks of Glacier Island, settling beside a rare spring that wasn't frozen like the rest of the inland water. Their dragons all took the chance to have a well-earned drink. The last one to join them, Snotlout dismounted Hookfang and held out his hand for Gothi to follow. She smiled, surprisingly pleased by Snotlout's gentlemanly act until he swiped his hand away last minute and let her fall into the snow.

    "Oh! Whoops!" he didn't even try to hide his snickers. He shrugged innocently. "Yak hands. Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

    He cackled as Gothi stood up. His laughter was quickly silenced by an angry thwack! of her staff that tripped him right over. "Ugh▬Fair enough!"

    Astrid chuckled, crossing her fur-covered arms with a satisfied smirk▬always happy to see Snotlout be humiliated. "You know, we should bring her along more often."

    Hott was still getting snow out of his vest, grumbling to himself as Gothi wandered around the clearing. She pursed her lips and tapped a few loose pebbles at her feet with the butt of her staff. She reached the edge of the clearing before it dropped down to a deep, icy gorge. Valkyrie tilted her head, holding her breath in anticipation. Until the village elder turned back to them and simply shrugged. 

    Snotlout threw up his hands as he stood back up. "Oh, great!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "Just great! She's got nothing!" He scoffed and crossed his arms, looking down at the rest of them from his pig-shaped nose. "Someone else is wearing that bag of bones home. She's all knees and elbows."

    Valkyrie crossed her arms, too, very annoyed. "No, Snotlout."

    He slumped and let out a long, childish whine: "Why not?"

     She was about to snap at him again when the wind suddenly picked up. Valkyrie hitched her breath and was grateful for Zephyr's body warmth when he shuffled closer, holding out his wings to break the sudden cold breeze that brought light snow down onto their shoulders. It picked up so much that Fishlegs slipped and would have fallen down the gorge if Meatlug hadn't snagged her teeth into the back of his furs.

     Hiccup pushed through the sudden strong breeze to huddle close to Valkyrie, and she managed a tight smile when he rubbed her arms for her. At the sight, Snotlout and Hott both gagged. 

    "Can we please do something?" grumbled Snotlout, shivering so much his teeth clattered. "My mouth is starting to freeze shut!"

    "Don't get our hopes up," muttered Valkyrie.

    "Well," Hiccup stepped in, placing a hand on the small of her back, "then we should work fast to find this Snow Wraith. Because we're not leaving until we do."

    "How about we split up so we can cover more ground?" offered Hott and at Astrid's estranged, startled look, he grew defensive. "What?" he hunched up. "I have good ideas▬" Then he realised who he was trying to impress and quickly cleared his throat. He stood up straighter in the growing blizzard. "I mean, of course, I have great ideas. I always have great ideas▬"

    "Ugh, whatever," Astrid rolled her eyes. "We should stick in pairs; this storm is picking up pretty fast."

     "Great idea," nodded Hiccup. He gestured to them. "Astrid, you and Hott check the north side of the island▬" Astrid slumped and went to complain while Hott puffed out his chest with an ecstatic beam, "▬Ruff, Tuff, you go South. Fishlegs, you and Snotlout go East▬"

     Snotlout gasped as a thought struck him. "Wait▬Hookfang, quick, before she sees us!" he spun around, but it was too late, Gothi was already sitting there on his saddle waiting for him. "Oh, come on!"

    "▬Val and I will tackle the west side. Dragon call if you find anything," finished Hiccup, rubbing her back before turning to Toothless. "Let's go, team."

     Valkyrie took a deep breath and pushed through the wind to climb back up onto her saddle. He made a guttural sound to her and she narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I know, I should've worn something warmer▬now you're sounding like Hott!" Zephyr just whined. "No, scratch that, you're like a fretful mother."

    He tilted his neck to stare his beady little eyes into her gaze, then huffed a breath of hot steam in her face, making Valkyrie hunch up at the smell and her hair fly backwards. "Ack! Zeph!"

     They all took their dragons and searched their designated areas of the island, hoping they'd find something in the white-out. For a moment, the storm seemed to be clearing up, and Valkyrie was glad for the sunlight once more to help her see. She and Hiccup did multiple circles of the west side of the island but returned to the clearing with nothing▬no sign of anything that looked remotely like a Snow Wraith. 

     As they landed back down into the clearing, it wasn't long before they were rejoined by the others. Valkyrie slipped off her saddle but stuck close to her dragon for warmth. Zephyr wasn't much better though. He hated the cold. He and Toothless were both not at all adapted to glacial islands and freezing weather. Both of them were huddling together to help keep the other warm, as well. 

     Once Astrid and Hott returned, the last of the Dragon Riders to arrive back at the clearing, Hiccup propped his hands on his hips and asked, "Anybody find anything?"

    "No," grumbled Hott, shaking out more snow from his helmet▬the withering glare he sent Astrid told Valkyrie that his face had found a home with the ground and snow once again.

     "All we found was some scattered yak bones," shrugged Ruffnut. 

     "We didn't see anything either," added Fishlegs, glancing at Snotlout. "But I had this ... weird feeling that something was watching me."

      "Oh!" perked up Snotlout, and Valkyrie threw her gaze up to the heavens at the sarcasm that laced his tone▬she was so sick of hearing it; it was every second syllable, it felt like. Sure, she had Hiccup, who was also incredibly sarcastic by nature but Snotlout was just way more annoying. "Really? That's crazy, 'cause I had this weird feeling, too. Like this old lady was stuck on my back!"

     Over his shoulders, Gothi's slender fingers gripped the leather of Snotlout's vest, and her wide, tired grey eyes peered over at them. Tuffnut almost jumped out of his saddle. "Aah!" he yelled. "Two heads!"

     Barf and Belch both tilted their heads and stared him down with displeased bright yellow eyes. Even his sister crossed her arms, offended for them. Barf and Belch snarled and Tuffnut quickly reached over to shower them with apologies and scratches. "Oh, sorry, guys. I mean, on you two, it works. I've seen it before. I'm used to it..."

     Zephyr let out a concerned crone, glancing up at the sky before the wind picked up once again. Valkyrie shivered and wrapped her arms tight around her, following his gaze and felt her stomach lurch to see a thick grey-white cloud gradually shift closer and closer to Glacier Island. Zephyr wasn't the only one. Stormfly squawked and ruffled her wings. She threw her head and Astrid quickly reached out to calm her down, frowning at her dragon's skittish movements.

     "Uh, Hiccup?" she glanced back at the Chief's son, her cheeks turning red from the cold as snow started to fall once more▬heavier this time. "Maybe we should get out of here," she pointed up to the ominous cloud. "That looks like a huge storm."

    Stubborn, he shook his head. "No," he decided and Toothless warbled, huffing a frustrated breath of smoke that was snuffed out by the snow. "We should dig in here and wait for the Snow Wraith to show itself. Remember, it likes to attack when you can't see it."

    Hott slumped and begrudgingly slipped down off his saddle. "Great," he muttered, kicking up snow with his boots. "Just great."

    Many of them with grumbles and complaining moans, the Dragon Riders did the best they could to set up camp in the growing snowstorm. Their canvas tents were flimsy, at the very least. Even with their Berkian winters, they were not used to this type of weather and extreme blizzards. With every vicious burst of wind, Valkyrie was sure her tent would go flying, but thankfully, it didn't. Snotlout's went flying a couple of times. Once into Hott's body, tackling him once again into the snow. By the end of it, Hott threw down his helmet in defeat and just lived with the snow and ice tips in his blonde air. 

    The snowstorm only got worse. It wasn't long before it was right on top of them, and Valkyrie, her friends and their dragons were all struggling. The wind was so fast, that the ice it sent knicked at their cheeks and burned their skin. The Dragon Riders all desperately tried to cover their faces with their hands, shivering and feeling their fingers start to go numb, even when covered in fur. 

    "BET YOU REALLY WISHED YOU LISTENED TO ME NOW, HUH, VALKYRIE?!" Her brother managed to shout over the howling wind▬taking the chance to get in the last word with his sister even during a terrible snowstorm.

     "SHUT UP, HOTT!"

     She was huddling as best she could within the protection of Zephyr's wings. He had wrapped her up close to his chest, the claws of his little arms clutching onto her tight. But even still, the wind was so ferocious that not even her dragon's body heat and strong wings could keep her safe from its anger.

     Somewhere to Valkyrie's left, she heard Hiccup's voice echo, "Use your dragons as extra protection from the wind!"

    Behind her, there was a loud growl and crash▬she spun around and gasped, her breath hitching in the back of her throat to see her tent gone; snatched away by the wind ... or by something. "... HICCUP!" she shouted as a warning. 

     She could barely see her friends and their dragons in the storm, and it was starting to scare her. 

     She heard Fishlegs squeal. "IT'S THE SNOW WRAITH▬!" he dived for cover under his tent. In a blur of white, bellowing growls and the shredding of claws, his tent went flying, too. Fishlegs screamed. 

    "HOLD YOUR GROUND!" shouted Hiccup through the storm. Valkyrie reached for her mallet and gripped it tight, but she had no clue where she was swinging, or what she was swinging at. Zephyr growled and flapped his wings, trying to help them see through the storm with blasts of hot air. "FIRE BACK!"

    "FIRE BACK WHERE?!" came Astrid's voice from Valkyrie's right. "WE CAN'T SEE IT!"

    Hiccup's tent was the next to go. Something large crashed down into it and snow exploded like a catapult had flung and landed metres to his left. Toothless snarled as a figure▬so white and so fast that Valkyrie almost didn't see it▬dashed back up into the storm. "Actually, you know what? TAKE COVER!"

    The Riders all split up, ducking under their arms to avoid the purple blasts that blended so well into the snow that they might as well be invisible. Valkyrie squealed and leapt for her dragon, narrowly missing the Snow Wraith's fury as snow exploded next to her. She glanced back, and her jaw slacked in both shock and awe.

     The Snow Wraith looked as if it was made from the blizzard itself, shifting in and out of sight as the snowstorm grew in intensity▬but Valkyrie caught a glimpse, and a glimpse was enough. The dragon towered at least thirty feet with a wing span even larger. Its scales were pure white and incredibly thick, his talons sharper than steel. The creature roared and revealed rows and rows of pointed teeth that were paired in threes, matching the bite mark on Gothi's arm perfectly. When it stomped its feet, the ground quivered, and Valkyrie's knees quivered with it. 

    "VAL!" she heard her brother's shout. "GET DOWN!"

    He tackled her to the ground just in time. Their dragons scrambled out of the way of the Snow Wraith's blast,  and both siblings went flying into the snow mounds nearby. Hott poked his head out from the snow, shaking it off his face and hair. Valkyrie groaned, a little dizzy▬but thankful that something softened her fall, even if it was chilling her to the bone. 

    Until mighty stomps of heavy feet made both Valkyrie and Hott freeze. They held their breaths, not making a single noise, not even moving an inch as the Snow Wraith approached them. Even though they were right in front of it, the dragon did not seem to see them. It sniffed the air around them and tilted its head, and Valkyrie noticed its eyes were glazed over with a bright, deep purple. She frowned. 

    The Snow Wraith sniffed at the air. It ruffled its wings and leaned down close to Hott who clenched his eyes shut and bit back a terrified whimper. He dared not move as the dragon got so close, that its breath blew his hair out of his face. Then, it heaved back and let loose an ear-splitting roar. Hott nearly passed out then and there.

    But, to their surprise, it moved on. 

    Hott opened his eyes and slumped forward in sheer relief. 

    Until Toothless's shriek split the thick, icy air, and a furious plasma blast broke through the whiteout. It struck the snow above the siblings in an attempt to scare the Snow Wraith off. It worked, and the dragon's attention snapped to the opposite end of the clearing. But the snow-capped ledges above the Frode siblings trembled; snow fractured and fell right down onto Hott. His frustrated yells of, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" were soon muffled. 

    Valkyrie cried out and covered her head as more fire from all of their dragons let loose in the storm. The Snow Wraith screeched and flared its wings at their dragons. Their fire was wild and loose▬it struck the snow beside Valkyrie and she heard Hiccup's shout in the wind, "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!"

    The Snow Wraith was fast▬incredibly fast. It swooped past them all, and the Dragon Riders had no choice but to split and dive for their lives. Valkyrie shivered as she attempted to pull herself out of the snow. Spikemoth was already there at her brother's side, sweeping away the top layers of snow with her tail and dragging him out by his vest. Zephyr found Valkyrie's flailing hands and hooked his head underneath her outstretched palms. She gripped on and let him pull her up. She hugged him tight as her feet dangled, shivering from the cold. 

    The storm was lit up in sharp purple fire, and soon, Valkyrie heard the Snow Wraith screech, and then there was silence. Zephyr carefully lowered her back down onto the ground and she tried to peer through the storm in search of the dragon. It seemed that Toothless managed to scare it off.

    "Is everyone okay?!" she heard Hiccup shout. "Is everyone here?! Val?!"

    "I'm here!" she cried. "I'm okay!"

    It wasn't long before she caught sight of Hiccup's silhouette in the storm. She held out her arms and was happy to be pulled into a tight (and warm) hug. 

    Teeth clattering and knees knocking together, Hott rolled his eyes from Spikemoth's shadow. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay too! If anyone was wondering..."

    As Hiccup checked Valkyrie over, despite her stubborn objections, the Twins emerged from the sleet. "What do you mean by 'here'?" asked Ruffnut.

    Her query was followed by Snotlout. "I have a question, Hiccup," he dusted snow off his thick woollen tunic. "What exactly is your plan to get a Snow Wraith tooth? Take it out of one of our dead bodies?!"

    "If all goes well," muttered Tuffnut seriously, "it'll be Ruffnut's dead body. And the Wraith's tooth▬agh!" his sister pushed him over. 

    "You okay?" Hiccup ignored them and focused on Valkyrie. She nodded, but it didn't soften the worried frown settled on his brows as he cupped her cheek.

    "I'm fine," she tried to reassure him, wrapping her arms tight around her stomach. "I promise." He pursed his lips but cupped her head and gently kissed her temple, relieved. "Are you okay?"

     "Yeah, I'm fine," he ran his fingers through her hair and Snotlout rolled his eyes. 

     "You guys are gross," he told them.

     Valkyrie's eyes narrowed into a glare. She went to have a go at him, but Hiccup held her back. "Wait, wait, wait▬Hold on, quiet," he nodded to the village elder who trudged her way towards him, dragging herself through the storm with her staff. "Gothi wants to tell us something."

    The Dragon Riders all went silent and huddled close, frowning down at the images and symbols Gothi etched into the snow. A dreadful feeling settled in the pit of Valkyrie's stomach as she translated. "She says we should've left when we had the chance..." She met Hiccup's gaze, and the distant roar of the Snow Wraith made them all hitch their breaths in terror. 

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    EVENTUALLY, the storm let up. The group of Dragon Riders had all braved out the rest of the blizzard together, protected from the ferocious wind by a circle of their dragons' wings and their body warmth. The Snow Wraith didn't show itself again, but Valkyrie was sure that the dragon would come back sooner rather than later to try and finish them off; and the thought irked at her, leaving her irritated and on edge. Every shift in the snowcaps above them made her jump▬prepared for the glinting, purple scowl of the Snow Wraith to appear. 

    Snotlout let out a long "Brrrr!" from where he huddled underneath the shadow of Hookfang's neck; admittedly, the lot of them had all shuffled a bit closer to Hookfang than the rest of their dragons since, as a Stoker dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare gave off more heat than the average species. "That thing was gnarly."

     It took Valkyrie a moment to realise he meant the Snow Wraith and not Gothi who he had been insulting for a good half of the trip so far. She was hugging Hiccup's spare fur around her shoulders to help keep herself warm. He used to wear this itchy thing all the time when they were younger. "Gnarly is an understatement."

    Hiccup glanced at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he murmured, still concerned after her plight with the Snow Wraith▬even after her numerous reassurances that she was okay. 

     "Yeah, promise," she elbowed him lightly. 

     "I'm okay, too," added Hott moodily, scowling underneath tuffs of blonde hair over his eyes. "Thanks for asking everyone." 

     Hiccup set a blank stare onto Valkyrie's younger brother. "Are you okay, Hott?" he asked.

     Hott narrowed his eyes before grumpily hugging his woollen jumper around him tighter to desperately grasp at some warmth. "Well, now I don't want your concern if you're gonna ask it like that," he whined.

     "Hiccup," Fishlegs stepped forward, brushing off what might have been icicles off the tip of his big nose, "you know I want a shot at this as badly as you, but maybe we should get out of here. We're just sitting ducks in this storm."

     "Yeah," agreed Hott. "I want some good yak chops."

     The group of friends all hummed in agreement at the thought of some delicious▬and warm▬yak chops. All except Hiccup who stammered and blinked, his eyes widening as a sudden breakthrough struck. "Wait, wait, wait a minute▬" he held out a hand to Fishlegs, slowly starting to grin. "What did you just say?

     Snotlout stamped his foot down onto the snow. "He said we're sitting ducks. And for once, I agree with him."

     Valkyrie knew that look on Hiccup's face. It either meant he was about to do something stupid, or something crazy▬or both. "Sitting ducks..." he murmured, spinning towards the piles of snow around them. His face lit up. "Yes, yes! YES! That's exactly what we need to be!"

     Val made a dubious face. "Uh ... babe?" she glanced at the rest of her friends and even Gothi who had similar incredulous expressions. "Care to explain a bit more?"

      Her boyfriend spun back to her, eyes wild with determination. "What if we could make the Snow Wraith think it sees us when we're not here?"

     Tuffnut gasped. His sister's jaw dropped. "You can make yourself invisible?!" He turned to Ruffnut and muttered, upset, "Why does he get to do all the cool stuff? I just have to sit here with you as a sister." Ruff glared at him.

    Snotlout gripped the curled horns of his helmet. "Will you two be quiet for ten seconds?!"

    Hiccup waved his hands at his cousin to shut him up. "No▬wait, Tuff's not that far off."

     Hott, Valkyrie and Astrid all let out an identical, disbelieving, "Wait, what?"

    The Chief's son finally decided to explain. "Look, the Snow Wraith didn't have any trouble seeing us until Hott got buried in the snow. A▬And Gothi said it couldn't find her when she fell into a snow bank." His hands were making wild gestures. Valkyrie stepped back strategically to avoid being smacked in the face. "I think that's because it sees body heat in the same way Toothless can find things with sound! We'll use this to our advantage to confuse it. Then, while it's distracted, we'll net it and get that tooth!"

      Valkyrie crossed her arms and shifted her weight on one foot, jutting her hip out and arching a questionable brow. "And ... you're sure it will work?"

     The uneasy sound Hiccup made was to be expected. She huffed and closed her eyes. "Of course not," she muttered.

     Snotlout scowled at his cousin. "I hate you," he told Hiccup. "You know that?"

     Hiccup sighed, not amused. "Yes, Snotlout. I am aware of that."

     Hiccup's stupid (but crazy enough that it was almost genius) plan consisted of this: First, they would scramble together what was left of their canvas tents and wooden posts to create some good-looking (if Snotlout said so himself) fake canvas Vikings to place out in the clearing. Second, Valkyrie would make some canvas flowers for her Viking dummy and draw ridiculous faces on them with Hiccup's charcoal. Third, Hott would get upset over the ugly face Astrid drew on his Viking dummy face. Four, Hiccup would have to sigh and remind them all it wasn't a competition for the best-looking and most awesome Viking dummy; and five, they all hide away in the caves along the mountains left of the clearing where Toothless would light up their Viking dummies and lure the Snow Wraith into their trap so they could ambush and snag a tooth out of its jaw.

     Under the cover of the overhanging cave roof and walls, Hiccup crossed his arms and looked pretty smug at the blurred view of their Viking dummies in the distance. The storm had started to pick up again, and Vaklyrie was thankful for the way the stone walls of the cave blocked the wind. "Pretty good. Now, if I'm right, when we light these on fire, the Snow Wraith will think they're us and attack. Then we'll have the drop on it." 

     "Wait, wait, wait!" Snotlout waved his arms to stop Hiccup from giving Toothless the signal. "Can we take a moment to stop and appreciate how realisitically gorgeous my statue is? I can't in good conscience send that into flames▬!" the wind snagged the head of his statue off and Snotlout let out a horrified whimper.

    Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'll work through the pain and do it for you."

    Snotlout slumped, his eyes widening with a soft breathless sense of gratitude▬not even realising the sarcasm in Astrid's tone. "Wow, you'd do that for me, Astrid?"

    Hiccup shook his head, moving past it and waving his hand towads his dragon. "All right, Toothless▬" he pointed two fingers twice at the clearing. "Light 'em up."

    The Night Fury leapt forward and sent two, well-aimed blasts out into the cold. They struck their Viking dummies and soon the clearing was set alight in flames.

    Beside Hott, Snotlout sniffled back tears in the silence that followed, taking off his helmet and holding it to his chest in mourning. "Somewhere in the world, a silent tear was just cried." 

    For a while, nothing seemed to be happening▬despite Hiccup's genius plan, there were no growls, no flash of scaly white and shadows; no Snow Wraith in sight. Fishlegs tettered nervously in his fur boots. "Uh ... Hiccup, I don't know if this▬"

    Until Hiccup spotted something shift in the heavy snow. "Wait, wait▬look!"

    He pointed out into the distance. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. And then she saw it. Down through the heavy snow, sleet and howling wind, dived the ghoulish white of the Snow Wraith down towards he flaming statues in the clearing. Its scales glinted with a sunburst orange as it grew closer to the flames, swooping viciously before it darted back upwards.

    "Okay!" said Hiccup and the others readied themselves by their dragons. "Next time in comes in, we go."

    The Snow Wraith soon doubled back and its screech was so loud it pierced through the horrific wind and made Valkyrie wince. She watched it extend its talons and snatch Snotlout's statue right out of the ground.

    Snotlout gritted his teeth and pulled his helmet back over his black hair. "Oh▬ho no, you did not!" He tapped Hookfang and just like that, the Monstrous Nightmare burst into flames. 

    Valkyrie gasped. "Snotlout, no▬!"

    But it was too late. The ice above them cracked and splintered. Toothless screeched and tackled Hiccup out of the way as the snow and ice fell, crashing down onto the cave entrance▬blocking Hiccup and Toothless outside, and the rest of the Dragon Riders inside.

    "NO!" shouted Valkyrie, running forward and slamming her hands on the ice▬as if that would somehow break it. "HICCUP!"

    She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands, spinning on her heel to face the Jorgenson who was suddenly quiet for once. "Snotlout!"

    "What?!" he let out, defensive. "It was Hookfang's fault!"

    The Monstrous Nightmare huffed a puff of steam in his face. 

    Valkyrie threw her hands up in her fustration. "Ugh! I don't even know why I▬" she gave up and whistled for her dragon. Zephyr poked his head out from where he had been hiding it underneath his wings. "Zeph▬heat blast!" she pointed to the ice sheet blocking the entrance. 

    "Hookfang!" Snotlout also gestured for the cave entrance, and while the Vikings hacked at the ice with their weapons and hands, the two dragons let out low flames and hot air blasts to try and melt through the thick sheet of ice and sleet▬praying that they'd get to Hiccup in time. 

    When the ice sheets started to melt and the Vikings could elbow and hack their way through▬seeing the glimpse of the snowstorm outside and the raging bellows of the Snow Wraith, Gothi suddenly elbowed her way forward and rushed through the small opening, sprinting straight for the clearing.

    "Gothi!" let out Valkyrie in surprise. 

     Hott stopped at her shoulder, watching the Village Elder run away. "Wow, you'd never think those skinny, wrinkly old legs would have that in them."

    Astrid scoffed and shoved him forward. "Just go!"

    The group of Dragon Riders stumbled back out into the open, shivering in the snow storm lit up by sonic sound waves, Snow Wraith blasts and the fire from their Viking statues in the clearing. Valkyrie saw Hiccup and Toothless backing up in the shadow of the Snow Wraith's mighty wings. It thrashed its head, trying to throw Gothi off her staff that was lodged in its mouth. Toothless struck the dragon with a warning shot and Gothi and her staff went flying into the snow. 

    The Snow Wraith screeched in fury and flared its wings. It reared back on its hind legs, but before it could land a mortal blow on Toothless and his rider, Snotlout shouted an order and Hookfang let loose a furious column of fire. The Monstrous Nightmare flames sent the Snow Wraith strumbling off balance to avoid the sheer, horrific heat.

    "Oh yeah!" shouted Snotlout, throwing his hands up in victory. "That's right! Snotlout got us out of the snow."

     "Yeah, and you're also the one that got us buried in it to begin with!" snapped Valkyrie before taking off at a run towards Hiccup and Toothless, Zephyr following shortly behind. 

    "Ah, details..."

     Soon, the Dragon Riders all skidded to the side of their leader, their dragons fiercly roaring over their shoulders. Valkyrie gripped her mallet, setting a scowl on the Snow Wraith as Toothless's blast struck the dragon's jaw, knocking him back. 

     "Okay!" let out Hiccup, breathless. "We have him surrounded▬Let's get that tooth."

     But the Snow Wraith had other ideas. The dragon was so startled, Valkyrie almost felt bad for it. The creature screeched and backed away, its tail going in between its legs▬and then, before any one of them could get even an inch closer, it took off, disappearing quickly into the heavy snow.

    "No!" cried Hiccup, stumbling forward. He stared up after the dragon, but could see nothing in the ferocious storm. "We can't lose him!"

     "Actually," Tuffnut held up a hand, "he lost us."

    Hiccup shot him a scowl and moved to climb up onto his saddle, but Valkyrie stopped him. "Hiccup," she murmured, "this storm is crazy▬we should get out of here while we still can."

    He shook his head, frustratingly stubborn. "Not yet," he told her and she huffed, slouching in her exasperation. "This isn't over."

    Slowly, Gothi wandered over with her staff. She reached a bony finger up to tap Hiccup lightly on the shoulder. 

    He frowned at her. "Not now, Gothi▬" he turned back to his team. "Gang, we came here for a Snow Wraith tooth and▬" she tapped his leather shoulder pads once more. He huffed and held out a hand to. "I▬yeah▬I said in a minute, Gothi. And we are not leaving▬!" she tapped him again and Hiccup spun to her, annoyed. "Gothi! Without▬" 

    Gothi held up her staff and Hiccup fell short. He and the others all stared at the tooth lodged into the wood of her staff. "Oh," murmured Hiccup, surrpised. "Oh, a tooth."

     It then hit him and his eyes widened. "Wait▬A tooth!"

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    a/n: lonnngggg chapter.

    the gang is back guys!!!! so sorry it took me a year to publish this chapter (*hides*). tbh for a little while, i fell out of love with the httyd fandom (not httyd itself i love the franchise with every part of me) because of how they treated, and still are treating nico for being casted as astrid, and now how they're treating the actress who was chosen to play ruffnut. this fandom should actually be ashamed of itself. 

    but then the live action teaser trailer came out, as well as first looks of astrid, and hiccup (aghhhh they're so cute!) and i was like thrown back into my hyperfixation with this franchise, and the amount of people defending this cast, especially nico, amongst all of the haters has restored a lot of my faith in this fandom. so here i am a year later. if you're still reading this, thank you sm for your patience and i hope i won't be too lengthy between updates from now on. i love you guys so much, and i hope you liked this chapter.

    (minimal editing).