Howling Echoes - A How to Train Your Dragon Story, The Echoes, Book 1

24: Snowing Wrath

   Water rushed around me.  Cold, paralyzing, shocking water.  It filled my vision, and I could barely see a thing.  "Frostflake!"  I tried to call through the water, but all I could see was her blurred outline in the sky.  Then, she dove down and grabbed me.  

   As soon as I broke the surface, I sat on a table in Viggo's ship.  He handed me a piece of meat, saying it was chicken, but it looked like ham.  Then it looked like a watermelon.  Then it looked like that flower that had caused the Pink Flu.  I quickly threw it at Viggo and scrambled away.

   Then, I was in the air, falling after the two eggs.  I felt like I had feathers in my stomach as I suddenly jerked awake, breathing heavily.

   Frostflake was still asleep.  Her tail had draped over my back legs, and she had rolled onto her side.  I had barely moved.  It was still dark outside, but I could hear roaring in the distance.  I carefully slid away from Frostflake and walked out through the forest.  The snow had subsided, and now I was walking through the familiar landscape of my home.

   Or, well, the only real home I've ever had.  

   I was just about to go around a tree when it got blasted into a million pieces in front of me.  I flung my arms up to guard my face and stumbled back, avoiding the bark and leaves that flew everywhere.  When I rushed back,  I saw the three Snow Wraiths roaring and battling two Short Wing Frost Wraiths.

   I quickly rushed between them, and all five of the dragons stopped.  A Snow Wraith - Snowstorm - raced up to me and covered me in broad licks.  Blizzard, another Snow Wraith, nudged her away and laid on me, deadweight.  "Ok, ok, that's great and I, but if I could - breathe..."  I gasped.

   Blizzard made an apologetic sound and drew back, then Pine came and nuzzled me.  The two Frost Wraiths came and pranced around me, nearly tripping me.  "Talltree!  Cotton!"  I giggled, gently shoving them away.  "Alright, alright, why are you all fighting?"

   All five dragons drew back with a guilty look.  "Aha.  You changed the territories again, didn't you?"  I asked them.  A few whimpers emitted from the two groups.  "Alright, let's see, how did you change them?"  I questioned, hoping this wouldn't end in a huge battle.

   Luckily, the territories were just spread into what had become unclaimed land since Frostflake and I got captured, but since we were back, it turned out the fighting was unnecessary now.  It was dawn when Frostflake crashed through the trees, freaking out, just to see me petting (and getting buried in) a pile of dragons.

   She glared at me, and I lifted an arm to show her that she could join us.  She happily bounced into the pile, and I was surprised I wasn't suffocated yet.

   Seriously, you have four fully-grown dragons and two almost fully-grown dragons all on you at once.  It's not fun.  

   Frostflake's scales were warm, and, despite all of the weight on me, being in the pile of dragons was comfortable, and I was still tired from waking up earlier.  I felt my eyelids grow heavy and close, and next thing I knew I was engulphed in a warm, fuzzy blanket of nothing.