Rider on the run

War

The troops were arranged as soon as they got the news. Every warrior had prepared themselves and headed to the front line to fight the on coming battle, and the leaders had once again gone over the strategies.

Also, during the planning for the war, Hiccup had come up with the decision to prepare a set of ships in a secret location on the island, so that they can evacuate everyone in case the war results in their defeat. And he hoped that a situation such as that would never occur.

At the present moment, Hiccup was in the armoury, putting on his battle armour. This was an armour he had built specifically for heavy combat. The full black suit was made of multiple layers of strong fabrics and hardened leather, with Gronkle iron plates attached in places to provide the maximum protection and Nightfury scales for fire resistance.

As he was putting it on, Toothless walked in the armoury. "The Dragons are ready." He reported.

"Good. I'll be in the front lines in a few moments." Hiccup said.

Toothless nodded and then stood there for a while. "So, you and that Astrid girl huh?" he inquired.

Hiccup turns towards his draconian friend with surprise written all over his face. "How did yo-"

"Hiccup, I'm a Dragon. A Nightfury none the less. I have much better senses than you." Toothless states, pointing at his nose with his paw. "She's a good one for you." The Nightfury added before leaving.

Hiccup was red faced, but eventually got over his embarrassment and quickly put on the rest of his armour before going out to meet up with the rest at the front lines. Thousands of soldiers stood in a line just outside the borders of the village, watching over the beach and shoreline. At the distance, a huge number of ships can be seen coming towards them.

Stoick, Gobber and Valka, along with other tribe leaders and their generals were also present. All of them were dressed up and ready for the war.

Despite the best attempts at convincing, both Stoick and Hiccup had failed to convince Valka to stay behind. Instead, she had decided to fight alongside her husband and son and aid them in the war.

"Ah, Hiccup. There you are." Stoick greeted Hiccup when he saw his son coming.

"Sorry if I'm late. What is the status?" Hiccup asked as he approached them.

"The soldiers are ready and rallied up and in formation. The ships are ready at the evacuation point." Eret informed.

"Good." Hiccup acknowledged.

Hiccup joined them as they all walked in front of the troops. Hiccup stood at the front, his sharp eyes watching the enemy ships as they came closer.

Suddenly someone stood beside him. Hiccup turned his head to see who it was and found Astrid standing there. The blonde turned towards him with a warm smile on her face.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." Hiccup greeted back, a smile forming on his face.

They looked back towards the horizon, waiting for the enemy to make the first move.

Time went on, but nothing happened. The ships seemed to have stopped at their spot. Suddenly, a bird flew into their view. The bird landed in a clearing a few feet in front of them. There was something looking like a scroll tied to the legs of the bird.

Hiccup turned towards Thuggory and motioned towards the bird with his head. The heir of the Meathead clan nodded and carefully moved towards the bird. It didn't attempt to fly away as Thuggory approached it. He carefully picked up the bird and took the scroll. Once the bird was free from the burden, it squawked and flew out of Thuggory's hands. The heir shrugged and opened the scroll, reading its contents.