The Other-worldly Protector

55. I have a plan

As soon as Whiplash touched down on Dragon's Edge, Kiara leapt off and sprinted to Hiccup's hut. Her mind was clearer than it had been in a long while and her surroundings had lurched back into crisp focus. Her nerves were electrified at the thought of what's coming. She had a way.

Just as she was about to burst through Hiccup's door, it folded open and she was face-to-face with him. They both jerked away, spooked. "AH! Kiara!" He gasped with a hand clutching his chest.

"So sorry," she said, laughing slightly through the shock. The sound caught him by surprise and he looked at her properly, taking in the way she was no longer completely weighed down by the shadow that Thornado's death had left behind.

"You're better?" He could hardly believe it as he said it.

"Um, a little, I guess," she replied quietly.

"That's a relief," he sighed, "because I have a plan."

"You... Oh."

-

Kiara was quiet as Hiccup relayed his plan to everyone in the clubhouse. A maces and talons board, which he had found on Viggo's ship, was laid out before him. When he finished, most of the riders looked determined and ready to act. Most.

"While all that sounds smooth as a scauldron's underbelly," Tuffnut said, sauntering forwards with a baffled frown, "wasn't the original plan to infiltrate a dragon auction?"

Hiccup's brow scrunched in confusion. "Why would you think that?"

"'Cause Kiara was telling us on the way back," Ruffnut said. "Like, duh. Didn't she tell you?"

"No," he said and looked at Kiara, brow raised in question.

"She even found out when the next auction happens!" Tuffnut supplied happily.

"Really? Why didn't you say something?" Hiccup asked.

Kiara shrugged, pulled out the paper and handed it to him. "Figured your plan would be better," she said. "Anyway, we can look into the auctions after we've rescued Heather and Windshear."

-

Night fell like a shutter, stamping out the sun's light too quickly. Unseen to anyone below, the dragons and their riders flew in diamond formation, skimming over bundles of low-hanging grey clouds. Like ash, the clouds felt heavy. Or maybe it was the weight of the mission clinging to Kiara.

She and Whiplash were towards the back of the group, with Robbie trailing just beneath. "We're close," Hiccup announced, making her nerves spike. "The hunters' base is just a few minutes away." Her heart hammered away, spurred on by anticipation. The place she had desperately wanted to go since the day she arrived at Dragon's Edge was closer than ever before. The crystal was just out of reach. Home was just out of reach.

And it will stay out of reach, she reminded herself. She had promised herself to stay on mission. Forget the crystal. Rescue Heather and Windshear. And shove a massive axe through Viggo's business in the process. It was the least she could do to honour Thornado's sacrifice.

Against her will, images of that painful night flashed before her. Fire. Ships. Rain. Blood. Arrows. She could even hear the whistle of arrows like they were still shooting just past her. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whiplash jerked to the side and her rider lurched forward to grab the saddle before she fell off. Whoosh.

"Kiara get your head in the game!" Whiplash's thoughts screamed at her. Kiara shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"Where are those coming from?" Fishlegs' voice, along with the yelps of the other riders, joined the whoosh of arrows.