A New World, Complicated

Chapter 17: Breakneck Bog (Reign)

        Everyone has lost something they thought they couldn't live without. Sometimes, to find it again, you have to be willing to do anything, even look fear right in the eye. Just make sure you don't blink.

I stretched my arms above my head before reaching down to pat my Thunderdrum on the head.

"You ready for some training, girl?" She roared happily and I smiled. I was so happy to have a dragon again, but being a Thunderdrum, she had just about as much of a temper as I did, and that required extra training. "Come on. Maybe we can get there before Hiccup and work on some more hand gestures."

We hovered above the ground to get to the Dragon Academy, finding Hiccup already there. At first, I thought he was getting ready for training, until I noticed him loading fish into his satchel.

"Okie dokie. We'll start in the West islands, and work our way back." He seemed to sense my presence and whipped around with wide eyes.

"Back from where?" I asked curiously, hopping off of Shriek and getting closer to him.

"Uh... uh- just a quick spin around the island," he lied, stuttering. I opened up Hiccup's satchel and pulled out a large fish.

"Uh-huh. Quick spin, huh? With enough food to feed Snotlout's whole family?"

"Do I hear my name?" We both turned to see Snotlout land Hookfang and take the fish from my hands. "Ooh, do I see a salmon?" He took a large bite out of the fish and downed some of Hiccup's water.

"Alright, look, if you must know-"

"And we must," I interjected.

"-I'm going to do something for my father." My face softened as I started to feel sympathy. There was something else behind this, clearly something important. And now instead of just wanting to know, I wanted to help. "Okay, Trader Johann is bringing something for him. Something important, and he should have been here by now." My expression shifted again to one of slight discomfort. I still didn't trust Trader Johann, after all this time.

"You're not trading this fish, are you?" Snotlout took another bite out of it. "Because it's delicious." Hookfang snatched it from Snotlout's hands and swallowed it down without a second thought. "Hey!" He snapped his fingers twice, and Hookfang threw it back up into Snotlout's hands. The Viking shook it off a couple of times, then bit off the meat on the head.

"When do we leave?" I asked. As much as Trader Johann gave me the creeps, this was really important to Hiccup, and I wanted to help him in any way that I could.

"I need to go alone. If we all disappear, my dad will get suspicious."

"Go alone? You without us?" Snotlout mocked. "Like you could handle anything if we weren't there to bail you-" Right as I glared at him, Snotlout started to choke on the fish he had swallowed down earlier. "Help..." I reached over and socked him in the stomach, dislodging the fish and sending it flying across the academy.

"Alright, fine, you two can come," Hiccup caved. "But that's it! Don't even tell the others. Heed my warning, I am serious." I tried to keep a straight face, but after a few seconds, I burst into laughter. "What? What's so funny, Reign?"

"Please don't try and be authoritative," I gasped out before stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm. "It just doesn't suit you."

"Wha-hey!" I could practically hear him shaking his head at me as I got onto Shriek to gather supplies.

"Hey, Hiccup." He glared up at Tuffnut on his dragon. "Snotlout told us there would be salmon, and I love locks."

"I'm pretty sure I said 'don't tell the others.'" he snapped at Snotlout.