The Gift of the Princess (HTTYD)

Taming

Chapter 44: Taming

After briefly meeting with Hiccup, Reidun offered to show him around the village. Krogan decided to join them, so that left Dagur alone with Oliver and the dragons. They did not want to set off on some grand mission without the others, so remained near their old hut, casually talking.

"Are you sure you don't have any juicy details about Krogan to tell me?" Dagur asked the boy hopefully.

Oliver raised his eyebrows at him. "I don't know what kind of information you're looking for. He's not one to easily divulge his secrets." He paused. "But he did stop denying that he likes Reidun."

Dagur grinned. "That's something! I bet he hasn't had much luck wooing her. He could use some brotherly advice!"

Oliver shook his head. "He doesn't want to 'woo' her. He's trying to avoid her."

Dagur frowned. "What kind of sense does that make?"

"He's worried he'll go back to his old behavior and hurt her."

"That's utter nonsense! I'll set him straight!" Dagur rounded on his feet, preparing to set off.

"Dagur, maybe you should let me handle this. I've already been talking to him about it, and I don't think he'll take well to you yelling at him."

Dagur groaned. "But that's the fun part!" He sighed and turned back to Oliver. "Fine, I'll let you deal with him." He smiled. "Eira will be happy that you're bonding."

Oliver shrugged. "I'm just doing my part."

***

Snotlout did not join Ingrid, Eira, and Valka when they met up to discuss their plan of action. Ingrid seemed downcast but assured everyone she would not let it affect her performance. They all decided to visit the Night Fury's island later once they developed a more sophisticated strategy. For now, their focus was on the Light Fury.

"How do we even know she'll come back to Berk?" Eira asked as they made their way through the forest.

Valka glanced at Toothless. "If she is serious about her plan, she will want to win over our alpha. That would essentially gain her all of our dragons."

"I guess that makes sense." They walked in silence for several minutes, stopping when Toothless let out a low growl.

"She must be near."

"Go ahead, Eira and Toothless," Ingrid said. "We'll wait here in case you need us." They had agreed to send the two of them out to the Light Fury first to gain her trust. Ingrid insisted it was the best way to go as per her experience with Drago and the wild Night Fury.

Eira looked at Toothless. "You ready to go?" The Night Fury grunted, and they started off. The young woman had to admit she was curious about the Light Fury. From Hiccup's description, she could not remember ever seeing any dragon like it around Torvald. It must be a pretty rare species.

Eira slowed when Toothless growled again. He did not let up even when a pretty white dragon came into view. Eira stopped. The Light Fury looked like she had just landed, and when she saw Eira, she snarled. Toothless immediately put himself between the two and roared. The Light Fury flattened her ears and took two steps back.

"Thank you," Eira said, placing a hand on Toothless' head, "but I'm fine." She offered the Light Fury a friendly smile. "Hello there. It's nice to meet you. I'm Eira, a friend of Toothless'." The white dragon shot her a suspicious look. "Don't worry, I'm not here to try anything. I just want to get to know you." She stuck her hand in her bag, and the Light Fury growled. "I have something for you." She pulled out her hand and opened it, revealing dragon nip. The female dragon still appeared suspicious. "Why don't you bring it to her, Toothless?"