Trust Must Be Earned | Eret Son of Eret (HTTYD)

CHAPTER FOUR - GRIMMEL THE GRISLY

Atlas yawned. She was up extra early in the morning- unusual for her. She normally loved to sleep in. However, she had had extra orders for saddles and swords and weapons other such things. She didn't know if it was the extra rain lately making the metal rust or what, but she did know that it was important to start working hard. She had done a few things so far, and was feeling pretty tired. She would probably do a few more knives and what-not, and then she would go back to bed. She was not a morning person.

After a few seconds, Atlas heard footsteps. Her ears perked up. Could it be Gobber? She was in the forge now. An over-eager Gronckle named Horrorcow had lit the forge for her. Who else would be awake this early? Hiccup maybe? No. He and Tuffnut went out for a late night walk.

She heard a thump and a clang of metal, and then a tall shadow emerged. It was Eret. When he noticed she was in the room, his eyes widened, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I would love to be sleeping right now. Unfortunately, I have work to do."

Eret grinned. "Well then. Would it be alright if I worked with you?"

Atlas nodded. "Of course."

Then she turned her back on him and started to work again, hitting the metal again and bending the sword into shape.

Eret stared at her for a few seconds. He had seen her work a few times, but not up close like this. And she was great at it. Amazing. He could tell by the way she worked gracefully that she had been practicing for a long time. Years. He could also tell by the small smile on her face that, despite being up this early, she enjoyed her work. She enjoyed making things and creating things. She was good at it. And she knew it. He smiled to himself as he turned to his own work.

- - - - - - -

"Someone's here," Hiccup said, walking into the forge.

Atlas turned around. It was still earlier in the morning, but the sun was out and many people were awake. She and Eret had worked silently side by side the entire morning, and then Astrid and Gobber had joined them.

"Huh?" Gobber asked.

"He managed to slip past our scouts, and lay a trap in the woods." Hiccup said.

Atlas' brow furrowed. She and Astrid exchanged a look.

"It ruined boy talk!" Tuffnut said, throwing some sort of dart at the barrel Eret was holding. Eret gasped, and set his barrel down.

"Gah, let me at 'em!" Gobber yelled.

"Slow down, Gobber." Hiccup said, holding him back. "Let's get a search team on the ground, scouts in the air. Toothless and I will fly the coastline."

"Yeah, I wouldn't advise taking Toothless anywhere, Chief." Eret's handsome voice said. He was examining the dart Tuff had thrown. "I know this handiwork. Grimmel The Grisly. Famous back where I'm from. The smartest Dragon Hunter I've ever met. Well, next to me, of course." He glanced at Atlas. Atlas rolled her eyes.

"Well, he can't be that smart," Hiccup said. "He left his trap unmanned."

Eret laughed. "Nothing's accidental when it comes to old Grimmel," Atlas and Astrid were examining the dart. It had some sort of purple liquid in it. Poison- Atlas guessed. Eret continued. "He lives for the hunt, to get inside the mind of his prey, to control its every choice. It's all a game to him."

At hearing this, Atlas' chest tightened. That reminded her of someone. Someone very similar. Viggo Grimborn. About 2 and a half years ago, when the young Riders were living on their own, they had come into contact with him. It had taken them months to defeat him. Well, defeat wasn't even the word for it. He eventually realized how amazing dragons were. But in any case, she was not looking forward to a run-in with another deviously clever Hunter.