The Other-worldly Protector

69. A Walk with Viggo

"Do you think Fishlegs knows about the Ingerman ancestry thing?" Kiara asked in a hushed voice as they journeyed through a quieter part of the island.

"Fish-who?" Snotlout questioned in his posh in-character voice. "Sir Ulgerthorpe knows no such Viking."

"I'm being serious here, Snotlout," Kiara grumbled, irritated.

"The only one who's taking this seriously is me." Snotlout jabbed his thumb to his chest. "And you will not tempt me to break character!" Snotlout whisper-shouted.

"You're just —ugh!" She pressed her hand to her the side of her head. "Unbelievable," she tutted, then looked up at him. "There's no one in earshot, can you just answer the damn—"

"Fishlegs doesn't know," Gobber answered. "None of us do. Now can ya quit your squabbling? We're coming to a busier area."

"Disgraceful," Snotlout tutted. "Looks like I'm the only one who can honour the art of method acting."

"Screw you," Kiara said, storming ahead.

"We're going this way, love," Snotlout told her a moment later. Stopping several spaces ahead of him, she spun around. "Come on," he said, gesturing to his left.

"Wouldn't it be smarter for us to continue this way instead so that we can find that perfect dragon to bid for, my dear?" she asked, her Scottish accent on point and with a viper-like smile. They both knew she was talking about Whiplash.

"Try thinking bigger, sweetheart," Snotlout purred. "There's more than one dragon out there."

Kiara narrowed her eyes at the implications behind his words. Does he think I don't care about dragons other than Whiplash? Her fingers curled into fists. Or that I can't see the bigger impact Viggo has on dragons everywhere?

"Besides," Snotlout continued, unphased, "I have to attend to the important matter of finding a private place to count my money... like a certain important someone's tent."

He wanted to find Viggo's tent. That was a smart move, Kiara realised but, as she and Snotlout continued to glare at each other, she was too angry to care. Stubbornness overrode logic as she decided she wouldn't listen to him and let him win like that. "I'll meet you at the bidding site," she said stiffly. She turned on her heel and walked away. "W-w-wait!" Snoutlout said as he hurriedly caught up to her. "You can't go on your own," he hissed, when he was close enough.

"Watch me," she said, then sped up and left him behind.

A few paces later she already regretted her decision. Traversing alone on this hunter-infested island, she felt infinitely more vulnerable than when she walked with him and Gobber, but she wouldn't dare to turn around. So she ploughed on.

"Miss?" a little voice asked. Kiara stopped and turned to see a red-haired girl, roughly six or seven, tugging at her sleeve. Bundling up her gown, Kiara lowered herself into a crouch. "What is it, little one?" she asked, not dropping her faked accent. The girl smiled, displaying a missing front tooth. "I wanna see a zippleback!" she said. "Do you know where I can find one?"

"I don't, but I can help you find one if you like."

"Yes please!"

Smiling, Kiara stood. "Brilliant," she said. "I was about to head to the dragons anyhow." As they began to walk Kiara looked around for any sign of the girl's parents while the little one began to rattle off with excitement. "Oh, I've never seen a two-headed dragon before!" the girl exclaimed. "I've never seen a two-headed anyfing before, but my auntie said that one of her auntie's sheep gave birf to a two-headed baby sheep —but I haven't seen it of course."