The Gift of the Princess (HTTYD)

Recruits and Setbacks

Chapter 16: Recruits and Setbacks

Stoick set Ingrid in charge of Eret, so she spent a good amount of time showing him around Berk. Snotlout followed them like a lost puppy, so she decided to bring him along on the mission the following day.  She and Eret rode Shadowwhisper while Snotlout and Hookfang flew beside them.

"Good thinking bringing me and Hooky along," Snotlout said. "We can rough these guys up if they give us any trouble."

"Please don't," Eret said in a worried tone.

"That is not why you're here," Ingrid said firmly.  "Try to be nice to them, okay?"

"Fine," Snotlout grumbled.

Fortunately, it did not take them long to locate the dragon trappers floating at sea with no clear direction. They spotted the dragons almost immediately and raised their weapons when they approached.

"Hold on, mates!" Eret said. "It's me!"

"Eret?" one of the trappers said in disbelief. They all dropped their weapons. "When you didn't return, we thought something terrible happened to you!"

"What are you doing with this riders?" said a second trapper.

Ingrid positioned Shadowwhisper so Eret could hop onto the boat. "I've joined forces with them," Eret said. "This is Ingrid and Snotlout and their dragons, Shadowwhisper and Hookfang."

"It's nice to meet you," Ingrid said with a smile. The trappers seemed a bit doubtful, but they gave her hesitant smiles in return.

"What do you mean you've joined them?" a third trapper said. "What about Drago?"

"I don't answer to him anymore," Eret said confidently.

"Because Drago tried to kill him," Snotlout said.

Eret shot him a look. "Yes, and a dragon saved me. Now I know who my true friends are. All of you are welcome to join us." He paused. "And I want my boat back."

"We've been trapping dragons for years," the second trapper said. "Why should we stop now?"

"Because you'll miss me?"

"We'll protect you from Drago," Snotlout said. "We've already escaped him once, and I bet he'll be after you because you worked for Eret."

The trappers' faces turned pale. "We'll join you," they said in unison.

Ingrid smirked at Snotlout. "Nice job." The hardest part of their mission was now complete.

***

"Your plan actually succeeded?" Stoick said in surprise when Ingrid and Snotlout lined up the dragon trappers in front of him.

"Of course it did," Eret said, puffing out his chest. "My men are loyal."

Stoick's eyes narrowed slightly. "Loyal to you, maybe, but will they be loyal to Berk?"

"We don't want anything to do with your war," said a trapper. "We never did."

"Yeah, lock us up if you don't trust us," said another. "We won't mind."

Ingrid frowned. "Don't you want to help us instead?"

The first trapper shook his head. "No way. We're not dumb enough to go up against Drago." He pointed at Snotlout. "He said you would protect us."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "What's dumb is thinking you'll be protected if Berk falls."

"Forcing them to fight won't do us any good," Stoick said. "We best grant their wish."