Runa

"Why do we have to do this again?" Snotlout shouted over the wind, flying next to Hiccup.

"Because we need to make sure that no dragons go missing. Krogan is still out there and we need to be careful." Hiccup answered. He had explained this before leaving the edge but Snotlout either forgot or wasn't listening. He guessed the latter. They had split the group to cover more ground and try to get this done today. Fishlegs and the twins were going to check on Dark Deep, Fireworm Island, and Breakneck Bog. Astrid was going to check on DrenchWood forest and Spleipnir Island. He and Snotlout were in charge of Healer Island and the Whispering Death Island, and the Iron Isle, which was where they were currently heading towards now.

Ever since he found out that Viggo and Krogan are out there and joined forces, he hadn't slept very well. Even though Astrid and his dad had reassured him that there had been no sight of Viggo or Krogan and that they would be ready when the time came. He couldn't help but worry, which was why they were doing the weekly checkups. Some might call it being paranoid, he preferred careful.

"Let's just get this over with. I'm starving." He shoots Hiccup a look before flying on ahead. He couldn't blame Snotlout for being cranky. They had spent a great part of the day was spent searching for the Whispering Deaths, which was no small feat, and it was already noon. As he watched the skies, he spotted storm big clouds on the horizon. They seemed to appear out of thin air and were approaching them rapidly and there were no islands nearby where they could wait out it on.

"Snotlout, let's head back." The storm was only minutes away from reaching them and if it had lighting, they would have a lot more to worry about than a little rain. He felt the wind pick up and the air felt heavy with moisture.

"That's the best thing you've said all day!" He said just as a crack of lightning raced across the now heavily clouded sky.

Neither Hookfang or Toothless seemed very happy about the situation either. They rushed across the sky, rain pouring heavily and an abnormally strong wind pushing against them. Hiccup heard Snotlout shout something but he couldn't make out what it was. No matter how hard they flew, they couldn't outrun the storm. It almost seemed like they weren't moving at all. With the rain pounding on them, he could barely see anything but even that didn't stop the oddly shaped flashes of lighting from blinding him further. Through the spots in his vision, he saw an oddly shaped rock in the water. It only takes him another second to register that it's an island.

"Snotlout! Follow me!" Hiccup shouted, only to be drowned out by the clap of thunder. So, he tried another way. "Light the way, bud!" With those words, Toothless shot three plasma blast to the sky, catching Snotlout's attention.

Hiccup beckoned him to follow and dove for the barely visible island, hoping to Thor that it wasn't just a trick of the light. But as he got closer he saw that his eyes weren't deceiving him. But because of the wind, it became extremely hard to steer Toothless towards a safe place to land. And before he can maneuver him away, they crash through a grove of trees, Snotlout crashing along with them. Both dragon and rider were sore or bruised in some way but they manage to get onto their feet.

"Not one of our most graceful landing, but at least we're away from the storm, right bud?" Hiccup smiled at the black dragon who could only nod in agreement.

"Hey! Would you stop standing around and help me?!" Snotlout shouted as he hung from a tree by his shirt.

Hiccup walked over to Hookfang, who was still shaking off a few stray tree branches. Hiccup help the dragon get rid of most of the debris and pointed it's the attention to a very angry Snotlout. The dragon paused, looking at the rider for a second too long before grabbing him and dumping on the ground. Snotlout glared at the dragon, but Hookfang could only roll his eyes.

"Come on, let's find shelter."

It was still pouring and the cold was starting to bite through his clothes. Hopefully, the storm wouldn't last much longer and they would be able to go home before sundown. After walking a few more minutes, they managed to find a nearby cave. Toothless lit a fire and they both waited for both the storm to finish and for their clothes to dry.

"That was one of the fastest storms I've ever seen." Hiccup remarked as he thought back to events that had just happened. "Did the lighting looked weirdly shaped to you?"

"No." Snotlout was taking off his boots and letting them dry near the fire. "Did you hear singing? Because I did."

"Singing?" He shook his head. A lot of things happened in the storm but he didn't hear anything. Snotlout was probably just hearing things, he thought. The thunder, rain, and wind were pretty loud.

"The whole thing was weird. The sooner we leave, the better." Snotlout remarked as he laid his head against Hookfang's body, placing his helmet over his face, ready to sleep. "Wake me up when we're leaving." Hiccup chuckled, leaning against Toothless and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if it was the calming sound of the rain or the traveling but he was hit with a wave of exhaustion and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

....................................

Hiccup woke up to Toothless whines and forceful nudging. The dragon seemed to be in distress. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, enough to firmly look at his surroundings. Snotlout was still asleep with Hookfang lying next to him. They were still in a cave, still stuck on the island but at least the rain had stopped. Toothless gave another whine, catching Hiccup's attention once more.

"What is it, bud?"

"Ugh, be quiet! I'm trying to sleep here...!" Snotlout grumbled from the other side of the cave.

"I'll be back in second. I think Toothless wants to show me something." Hiccup began to follow the dragon outside. Hookfang seemed to wake up at the sound of Hiccup's footsteps and hurriedly followed after the rider, hitting his rider with his massives wings on his way out.

"Ow!" Snotlout shouted as he rubbed the back of his head. "Why you...!" He ran after the group, running up to Hiccup. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Where are we anyway? This doesn't look like the Iron Isles." He pushed away a tree branch as they headed deeper into the forest.

"I'm not sure." Hiccup knew they had passed the Sleipnir Island and there aren't many other islands that were nearby. He had passed through these islands more than a hundred times and had never been here or even seen it. "Maybe it's a new island?"

"Let's call it Snotlout Island!" He shouted as they entered a clearing. "It has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

"Let's just get the facts straight before we-" The words seemed to die in Hiccup's throat as his eyes landed on what Toothless had found. Even Snotlout shut up as he saw it. There, in the center of the clearing were a few giant boulders. Lying in between them was a pile of twigs covered in tons of flattened grass. And lying on them was a small, balled up figure. It was covered in a thick, grey cloak. As they got closer, they saw strands of pale red hair and face poking above the cloak, fast asleep. At least, they hoped she was asleep.

Hiccup aproached carefully and Toothless followed in suit, eyes wide and curious. Hiccup gently shook the girl, but she only mumbles something inaudible. Even after several other shakes, she still doesn't wake up.

"I call dibs." Snotlout proclaims.

"You can't call dibs on someone." Hiccup turned back to look at the girl, brushing back her red hair back. She felt warm and she didn't look like she had any major injurie but he couldn't really tell for sure.

"I think we should take her back to Berk. Have Gothi take a look at her and make sure she's fine." He says, looking back at Snotlout. "You can take her while I go back and tell everyone and meet you back there." Hiccup picked up the girl, cradeling her closely as he handed her to Snotlout.

"This is great. I'll say I saved her from this cursed island and took her back to safety." He puffed out his chest, as climbed onto the monstrous nightmare. "I'll be a hero."

Hiccup ignored that, "Just get her there."

The creature watched them leave,hidden in the shadows. It's eyes narrowed as their figures vanished into the horizon and looked down at the empty place in the bed of grass.

The embers of it's remains burned throughout the night.