Cloud's Journey: Banished

Pieces of the Puzzle

I breathed in the crisp air that surrounded me. I watched the bright blue wings spotted with orange quiver in the breeze and flap. I was sitting behind Astrid on Stormfly. We were on our way to meet the other dragon riders.

I had slept at Astrid's house. At first I was going to stay at Hiccup's place, but they had decided otherwise. I could still remember the conversation:

"She can stay with me tonight." Snotlout had offered.

"No, she'll stay at my house for the night." Hiccup said.

"I don't think she should." Astrid said.

"Why not? It's what we did last time." Hiccup asked.

"This isn't like last time." Astrid had pointed out. "We're not kids anymore."

"Good point," Hiccup placed a crooked finger on his chin. "Cloud, you'll sleep at Astrid's house. We'll talk more in the morning."

Well it was morning. Something told me that Hiccup didn't want to flirt (like Snotlout did). He wanted to get to the bottom of something.

Did he know about my plans for his Night Fury? Maybe that was why I hadn't been allowed to stay at his house: to keep me away from Toothless.

Astrid flew me on Stormfly to what looked like an arena. We landed in the large stone pit and dismounted. It was a lot easier than mounting, that was for sure.

Hiccup, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and their dragons were already there.

The Night Fury was already there.

"Where are the twins?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes.

"Right." Astrid nodded, rolling her eyes as well. I took it the twins never showed up.

Snotlout strolled over to me. "Morning, lovely." He smirked.

"Morning." I blushed.

"Do you want to take a flight around the island?" Snotlout offered his hand.

"That's a great idea, Snotlout." Hiccup interrupted. "We should show Cloud around the island."

"Hop on, then." Snotlout said.

"Um, can I ride with Hiccup?" I asked, backing away.

What are you doing? I asked myself. You don't have a knife yet.

"Sure thing." Hiccup smiled. "Hop on."

I left Snotlout looking frustrated and climbed behind Hiccup in the saddle. The Night Fury felt warm and smooth underneath me. Strong too... very strong.

What a prize. How would I be able to kill something so dangerous to man?

"You must have been lucky to bag a Night Fury." I told Hiccup.

"I was." I saw Hiccup smile.

"I don't know how he did it." Snotlout was rolling his eyes now. I frowned. This was a man who cared only for himself.

Then there was a huge rush of wind. I gasped, clinging to Hiccup's waist. Did Berk get many storms? I saw the dragons' wings pounding against the wind. Then I realized: the dragons were making the wind.