How to Train Your Dragon - Traitor Among Them

Chapter 1 - Discovered

As soon as Lyra heard the familiar flap of wings, she ducked beneath the cliff, praying she was far enough back to be fully absorbed by the darkness. The night fury continued forward in a graceful dip, and all was quiet. The young man on his back turned, eyes scanning the cliff briefly. Lyra sucked in her breath, but she watched his eyes pass her. She waited a few minutes before emerging, then let out a specific whistle. Grey-blue eyes peered at her from the darkness of the trees, and the bushes rustled as the dragon rumbled her concern.

"Enya," Lyra said, beckoning her closer.

Enya refused and shrank back, growling her refusal.

"En, it's all clear. He's gone."

Enya let out another growl – much sharper, and that's when Lyra realized something was wrong. She looked up to see something dark skim the top of the trees, so fast she wondered if she had imagined it. However, she trusted Enya. Without hesitation she pulled up her mask and hood and laid a hand on the small hilt of her unique sword. The hilt was in the middle, with horizontal, intricate blades on either side. She could lift her fingers and pull down the next bar, which brought the blades together in a more sword-like appearance. It was like that now, sheathed in a durable pocket at the side of her thigh. She backed up, then the heel of her boot hit the roots of a tree and she stopped. Enya was big enough to circle around most of the tree, lifting her face up to scan the openings in the foliage above. Her tail swayed away from the bushes next to Lyra. Enya was being careful, which meant Lyra had to be twice as careful. Every place that looked like a potential hiding spot Lyra paid close attention to. Everything that stirred was a false alarm, and the tension reached the breaking point. A small animal scurried into a hole. A bird called from above. Eventually, the voice of the forest quieted, and Lyra had been around long enough to recognize the stillness right away. She drew her weapon and put a hand on Enya's shoulder, creeping away from the tree in a wide circle. She and Enya walked further and further out, covering as much ground as they could. It was still quiet, which meant the dark dragon and its rider were close.

"Take the left and circle back around. Do not show yourself unless necessary," Lyra whispered to Enya with a motion of her hand.

Enya obeyed, and they went their separate ways. Lyra felt much safer in the company of her dragon, but she was more worried for Enya than she was for herself. If the young man and his dragon were indeed watching, she expected him to pick a target. She braced herself for the full wrath of a night fury.

Meanwhile...

Hiccup watched Toothless swivel his head back and forth, a deep growl rumbling in his throat.

"I know, bud. I have a feeling we're being hunted, too. It can't be Heather, can it? She has a hood –" he broke off, knowing speculating wouldn't answer his questions.

He had a feeling they would be answered soon enough, as Toothless became hyper-alert to their surroundings. He didn't like this person's tactics. It was obvious they weren't rookie dragon hunters. It was possible they weren't even hunters at all, although those occasions were rare, and he had witnessed dragon hunters riding dragons before. Anything was possible, and that alone sent a shiver of concern through him. Suddenly, Toothless went deathly silent and whipped around, no longer searching. He had found something, and now Hiccup could see the large grey-blue eyes of a dragon, it's figure slightly bigger than Toothless. The eyes watched them with intelligence, which meant it would not attack in reckless abandon. This dragon was following orders. He couldn't deduce much more than that, and he wondered where the dragon's companion had gone.

"Tell your night fury to stand down," came a voice directly behind him.

Hiccup couldn't help it; the voice had taken him aback. He jumped and turned. His hand lingered close to his own weapon, but he knew the delay would cost him. The young woman in front of him already had her own weapon drawn and pointed, and he was intrigued by its design despite his situation. Even if he chose to draw his own weapon, he doubted it would scare her off. He saw no traces of razorwhip armor on her, which meant she wasn't Heather. In fact, he couldn't recognize the style of anything she wore, which meant he couldn't pinpoint any tribal ties.