If We Had Wings - A Tuffnut Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

4

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"And this is the twins' den," Astrid pointed with her tail over to the messy beach cave, cluttered with random objects. "They're the one's who found you washed up on the shore just over there," she flicked her tail to point about ten yards away from the den.

"This 'Dragon's Edge' of yours is so organized," Delta admired, "I can't say I expected you all to den so far apart, though."

"When you get to know Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout a bit better, you'll understand," Astrid gurgled with laughter. Then, ears perking up, she turned away from the ocean and looked up. Two figures were plummeting their way, followed by a giant ball of flames. "Speak of the devils..." Astrid huffed.

Delta hopped away with a surprised screech as the three dragons toppled onto the beach just a few feet from the furies. "Haha, Snotlout!" The nightmare cheered as he pinned each twin with one winged arm.

"Oh please don't eat us," Tuff begged dramatically.

"And if you do, at least make it quick," Ruff added.

"I'm not gonna eat you, fish-brains," Snotlout growled, then added deviously, "so long as my den is clean by sun down." He then released the sand wraiths, who stood up and glared at their bigger friend.

Upon sight of Astrid and Delta, Snotlout's demeanor quickly changed. His flames died down immediately and he grinned. "Astrid, New Girl, sorry you had to see that," he cooed smoothly, shaking the sand form his scales before walking over to them. "Didn't catch your name," he continued to sweet talk Delta, adding proudly, "mine's Snotlout, I'm a monstrous nightmare." He stretched his wings in attempts to show off his size.

"Yeah, I've heard about you," Delta replied guardedly, taking a step away from the flirty dragon. There was a warning look in her pupils, but Snotlout didn't seem to notice.

"So you've been talking about me?" Snotlout asked cockily, "I should've known."

"Back off, Snotlout," Astrid warned with a growl, "Delta isn't used to how noisy land dragons can be yet."

"Okay, okay," Snotlout stepped back reluctantly, but continued to flirt. "So you spend a lot of time underwater? That's cool. I could show you my favorite fishing spot later, if you want."

"I think I'll find my own fishing spot," Delta responded with a bit of a hiss.

"Well, my offer won't expire," Snotlout cooed on.

"Hey Snotlout, I'm pretty sure she's not into you," Ruff observed with an amused look in her eyes, "like every other female on the island."

Snotlout puffed smoke at the sand wraith. "Don't you have a den to clean out?" He snapped.

"Snotlout, you can clean out your own den," Astrid sighed with annoyance.

The nightmare have her a look of disbelief. "But they--"

"Enough," Astrid interupted, "I think you've taught them their lesson...for now, at least."

"'For now' she says," Tuff gurgled in laughter, "Astrid, you know us too well."

Astrid rolled her eyes and turned back to Delta with a smile. "It'll be nice having another level-headed dragon around," she sighed. Delta gurgled in amusement at her comment. "Oh, also," Astrid added, "there's an empty cave not too far from here if you want to set up a den. It's close to the twins', but just let me know if they bother you too much."

"Hey, we can hear you," Ruffnut groaned as she and Tuff padded over. "Delta, we can show you to the cave," she offered eagerly, wanting to spend more time with the new species.

"Yeah, it's got sand and dirt and an ocean view and everything," Tuff added enthusiastically, "you'll love it."

Delta, also wanting to get to know these sand wraiths better, squawked her approval, "sure, that'd be great."

Astrid gave the twins a look as if to say, 'don't scare her off', then flew back to her own den. Once she was out of sight, Tuffnut began to lead the way. "This way," he called, "onward, and forward!"

Delta wanted to tell him that 'onward' and 'forward' basically meant the same thing, but she decided to simply let him be. She couldn't help finding his strangeness intriguing in such a wonderful way.

When the three dragons finally reached the cave, Delta immediately began to explore it and sniff around. "I've never had a den before," she admitted before going back to excitedly sniffing.

"Then where'd you sleep?" Ruffnut asked in confusion.

"Underwater, mostly," Delta answered as she finished up exploring. She sat down in the middle of the entrance, facing Ruff and Tuff, who were just outside. Her tail moved subconsciously to wrap over her front paws delicately.

"Woah, so you really haven't spent a lot of time on land," Tuffnut observed.

Delta shook her head in response. "Honestly, I'm surprised to find the two of you on an island like this," she admitted, asking curiously, "I thought sand wraiths like to stick to their own species?"

At this, an unexpectantly serious look crossed the twins' gazes. "Well, we did come from a big nest of sand wraiths," Ruff told Delta, "but after dragon hunters invaded, we were all that survived."

"Our old alpha, Stoick, found our egg half buried in the ashes of what was left," Tuffnut added, not sounding nearly as sensitive to the subject as Ruff.

"So you grew up in Berk's nest," Delta finished for them with a frown. Here was yet another example of how serious of a threat the dragon hunters had become. Delta knew that they were bad, picking off dragons as they sailed across the seas. But she never knew that they could take out whole nests. She found herself wondering if dragons would ever be safe again.